Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Topological organization, functional characterization and localization of the bovine rod photoreceptor na/ca-k exchanger

The Na/Ca-K exchanger in vertebrate photoreceptors plays an essential role in regulating the calcium concentration in photoreceptor outer segments. The structural and functional properties of the bovine rod photoreceptor Na/Ca-K exchanger were examined in this study using eight, anti-exchanger monoclonal antibodies. Experimental evidence for the topological organization of the exchanger was provided by mapping the epitopes of the antibodies using glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins containing specific regions of the exchanger. Five antibodies were mapped to the large N-terminal hydrophilic domain and shown to label the extracellular surface of the rod outer segment (ROS) plasma membrane by immunogold labeling for electron microscopy. Three antibodies were mapped to the hydrophilic domain connecting the two putative transmembrane domains and shown to label the cytoplasmic surface. The antibodies were also used to determine subcellular localization of the exchanger and to purify the exchanger by immunoaffinity chromatography. The exchanger was localized to the plasma membrane of rod photoreceptor outer segments. When the ROS membrane proteins were solubilized in CHAPS detergent, the exchanger did not appear to co-purify with other ROS membrane proteins. Treatment of the immunoaffinity-purified exchanger with deglycosylating enzymes indicated that the exchanger possesses a large amount of O-linked oligosaccharides in the large N-terminal hydrophilic domain. Limited proteolysis was used to determine the importance of the large extracellular and intracellular domains for ion transport. Trypsin degraded the extracellular domain, and kallikrein degraded a large part of the cytoplasmic domain. Following the removal of either of these hydrophilic domains, the exchanger exhibited Na and K-dependent Ca 2 + efflux activity similar
Cancer Care Cost-Effectiveness in Africa

Developed countries spend a fortune on health care compared to developing countries. However, concerns have recently been raised about the ever increasing cost of cancer care even in the most affluent countries in the world [1]. Cancer therapy is one of the most expensive aspects of health care as it embraces screening, diagnosis, treatment, surveillance and palliative measures [2]. Screening involves the use of evidence based methods to detect early cancers. Diagnostic methods have evolved into very complex radiological, nuclear and molecular testing [3]. Treatment comprises special and complicated surgeries, chemotherapy and targeted therapies as well as radiation therapy at the initial stages of diagnosis or as palliative options. Surveillance includes schedules doctor visits with associated blood test, numerous radiological and nuclear imaging [4]. Palliative care involves not only the use of pain medication but may involve any of the above interventions that may improve quality of life.
Solvent Influence on the Magnetic Properties of Iron(II) Spin‐Crossover Coordination Compounds with 4,4′‐Dipyridylethyne as Linker

New iron(II) coordination polymers with solvent-dependent spin-crossover behaviour have been synthesised by using an N2O2 Schiff base like ligand and 4,4′-dipyridylethyne as the bridging axial ligand in different solvents. The effects of different solvents and preparation methods (temperature, concentration) on the magnetic properties have been investigated. Annealing the coordination polymers prepared by the same method but in different solvents led to the same compound exhibiting the same three-step spin crossover independent of the magnetic properties of the solvated species. The X-ray structures of the axial ligand, an iron(II) dimer and one of the iron(II) coordination polymers are discussed. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis was additionally used for further comparison of the compounds.
Water sorption isotherm and thermo-physical properties for the analysis of natural rubber drying.

The water sorption isotherm and thermo-physical properties of blocks rubber type (STR 20 and Skim block rubber) were presented. Sorption isotherms were evaluated by the static method using saturated salt solutions and sounding temperature of 45-60°C (KNO3, NaCl, Mg (NO3)2•6H2O, MgCl2•6H2O and LiCl). The experimental sorption curves are then determined by the Modified Oswin, Modified Henderson, Modified Halsey, Oswin, Iglesias and Chirife and Smith model. A nonlinear regression analysis method was used for evaluating the constant of all equations. The results showed that simulated data using the Modified Oswin model was in good agreement with the experimental sorption isotherm over the entire temperature ranges. Thermo-physical properties in terms of apparent density, specific heat capacity and percentage of void fraction were studied. The initial moisture content of samples was in the ranges of 2-36% dry-basis. By determining of experimental data with the regression analysis, the results showed that apparent density, specific heat capacity and percentage of void fraction were linearly related to initial moisture content of block rubber. Keyword; Block rubber/Water sorption isotherm/Thermo-physical properties
Leaching of thiooxidans and oxidized Thiobacillus ferrooxidans local environments chalcopyrite by Thiobacillus copper ore by isolated from

Metals are released from insoluble minerals directly through oxidative metabolism of microorganisms or solubilized indirectly by chemical oxidants produced as metabolic products of microorganisms. The most important commercial application of microbial mediated metal leaching is extraction of copper containing sulphidic minerals, namely, covellite (CuS), chalcocite (Cu2S) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2). In United States, 18% of total copper produced in 1978 was through bacterial leaching (Wadsworth 1982). Bioleaching of copper in Bulgaria (Groudev et al. 1982) is also practiced with 20 MT (million tonnes) of low grade copper ore being produced from open cut mines. Thiobacillus f e rroox idans and T. thiooxidans are the principal microorganisms which play an important role in ore leaching (Ralph 1985; Lundgren et al. 1986). T. ferrooxidans, having the ability to oxidize sulphur, ferrous iron, cuprous copper, pyrite and iron containing sulphidic ores, has been extensively studied for the bioleaching of copper (Lawrence et al. 1984; Agate & Khinvasara 1986). T. thiooxidans, having ability to oxidize sulphur and reduced sulphur compounds, generally does not oxidize sulphides. However, it has been used for leaching of both zinc sulphide ores and copper concentrates (Khalid & Ralph 1977; Kelly et al. 1979; Groudev 1983; Agate & Khinvasara 1986). Leaching by T. thiooxidans and T. ferrooxidans of different zinc sulphide ores and carbonate rich German copper shale has been compared (Khalid & Ralph 1977; Groudev 1983; Bosecker et al. 1978). As a result of T. thiooxidans producing sulphuric acid, Cu, Cr, Zn and V from nonsulphide industrial waste products can be extracted (Bosecker 1983). Although biohydrometallurgical processes for the extraction of copper are being
Determination of Serum Folate with Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay

Objective To determine the serum folate with electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). Methods After the serum folate was tied with the ruthenium-labeled folate-binding protein, we supplied a voltage to the electrode and induced chemiluminescent emission. The results were measured by a photomultiplier, and thus the serum folate was determined. ECLIA results were compared with those of radioimmunoassay(RIA). Results The linear range of ECLIA was 1.21-38.80 nmol/L, and the intra-batch and inter-batch variance coefficiency was 1.5% and 2.4%, respectively. The recovery of folate added to serum sample was 102%. The results determined with ECLIA or RIA had no significant difference. The results were also positively correlated (r=0.97). Conclusion ECLIA is an accurate, rapid, specific, and suitable approach to measurement serum folate in clinical practice.
Visibility enhancement of fog-degraded image using adaptive total variation minimisation

Images degraded due to bad weather conditions affect the quality of vision-based security systems, as the distortions obscure contrasts in the frames of the images. In this paper, we present a novel approach that uses adaptive total variation minimisation to retain the object and reduce the noise from a single image, thereby enhancing fog-degraded images. Representative experimental results show that our proposed algorithm is effective for contrast and saturation enhancement of fog-degraded images.
PHOTOMETRIC MONITORING OF URANIUM IN WASTE WATER AFTER ITS SEPARATION BY ADSORPTION ON ACTIVE CARBON

A study on the separation of uranium in the uranium mine gallery water and in the mother liquor of precipitation of ammonium uranate by adsorption on active carbon is reported in this paper. It is found that a recovery of greater than 96% is obtained by this adsorption process, when the waste water at pH 4.7～8.0 is acted as mobile phase and is passed through a column packed with a layer of active carbon of 40cm in height in a counter current direction. The uranium remained in the effluent wast water from the adsorption column is then determined photometrically with arsenazo Ⅲ as chromogenic reagent. The hexavalent uranium is reduced rapidly by the new reduction system composing of Fe(Ⅱ), EDTA and ascorbic acid.
New Analysis of Clopidogrel Bisulphate in Plavix Tablet and HumanBiological Fluids Utilizing Chemically Modified Carbon Paste Sensor

The fabrication and the performance response characteristics of a novel sensitive, selective, simple, and rapid sensor for the determination of clopidogrel bisulphate (CLO-H2SO4) were described. The sensing modified carbon paste sensor comprised of an iron-pair based on clopidogrel with silicotungastate (CLO-ST) where this study included: composition, usable pH range, response time and temperature. The sensor exhibited a wide linear dynamic concentration ranging from 1.00×10−7-1.00×10−2 and the usable pH ranges from 1.2-4.8 with the response time ranging from (5-8 s) which is much faster compared to liquid ISEs with a detection limit equals 0.34 nM. The selectivity of the sensor (CLO-H2SO4) was applied with respect to a many of organic and inorganic cations, amino acids and sugars. The application of the sensor was utilized in bulk powder, Plavix Tablet, human (serum-urine) and monitoring Plavix tablet dissolution rates. The obtained results were statistically analyzed in both accuracy and precision and were compared using the US pharmacopeia method where there is no significant difference was observed.
Influence of trifluoropropyl-POSS nanoparticles on the microstructure, rheological, thermal and thermomechanical properties of PLA

In this work the influence of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) content with trifluoropropyl substituents on the microstructure, rheological behavior, non-isothermal crystallization behavior, thermomechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites prepared via melt blending was investigated using various techniques for understanding the structure–property relationship. Morphological analysis (SEM, EDX and XRD) showed that POSS particles have a fine dispersion at low content (up to 2.5 wt%) in a polymer matrix but the imposed processing conditions were not able to prevent the formation of large POSS agglomerates at high POSS contents because of strong interaction among the POSS particles. It was observed that only the POSS nanoparticles dispersed almost at molecular level could act as a lubricant in the system since lower values for the glass transition temperature, storage modulus and complex viscosity were observed from DMA and rheological investigations. The viscosity and elasticity of PLA were improved in the presence of high contents of POSS however, the degree of enhancement was not strong enough for a transition from liquid-like to solid-like behavior. In addition, the POSS particles at low loadings had a promoting impact on the cold crystallization of PLA while at high loadings the cold crystallization was retarded. Also, it was found that the presence of POSS slightly reduced the thermal stability of the nanocomposites relative to the neat PLA. However, the thermal degradation mechanism of PLA remained unchanged.
Laser Spectroscopy Applied To Energy, Environmental and Medical-research

Through the development of powerful laser spectroscopy techniques new means for advanced diagnostics and sample analysis have emerged. Applications of laser spectroscopy in the fields of energy, environmental and medical research are discussed. Emphasis is placed on non-intrusive diagnostic techniques for studying combustion processes, for remote monitoring of atmospheric pollutants and for industrial and medical applications of laser-induced fluorescence. Selected examples from work performed at the Lund Institute of Technology are used as illustrations, and references to books, reviews and selected papers are given.
REGNet: REgion-based Grasp Network for End-to-end Grasp Detection in Point Clouds

Reliable robotic grasping in unstructured environments is a crucial but challenging task. The main problem is to generate the optimal grasp of novel objects from partial noisy observations. This paper presents an end-to-end grasp detection network taking one single-view point cloud as input to tackle the problem. Our network includes three stages: Score Network (SN), Grasp Region Network (GRN), and Refine Network (RN). Specifically, SN regresses point grasp confidence and selects positive points with high confidence. Then GRN conducts grasp proposal prediction on the selected positive points. RN generates more accurate grasps by refining proposals predicted by GRN. To further improve the performance, we propose a grasp anchor mechanism, in which grasp anchors with assigned gripper orientations are introduced to generate grasp proposals. Experiments demonstrate that REGNet achieves a success rate of 79.34% and a completion rate of 96% in real-world clutter, which significantly outperforms several state-of-the-art point-cloud based methods, including GPD, PointNetGPD, and S4G. The code is available at https://github.com/zhaobinglei/REGNet for 3D Grasping.
Cigarette Smoke Formation Studies: IV. The Dynamic Measurement of the AxiaI Density of a Burning Cigarette

Abstract Much research has gone into establishing the temperature gradients that exist inside a burning cigarette. These temperature gradients should correspond to changes in the density of the tobacco column due to the condensation and subsequent re-evaporation of volatiles resulting from pyrolysis, combustion, and final ash formation. These dynamic measurements on the burning cigarette were made using a modified beta thickness gauge. A beam of collimated beta particles from a 32P-source is projected through the side of a cigarette at a fixed position. The cigarette is allowed to burn past the focused beta beam. The number of transmitted particles is dependent upon the density of the mass penetrated by the incident particles, and is reflected as a change in the number of counts detected per unit time. A density profile of the burning cigarette has been established for both the puffing and static modes. These density changes are correlated with published temperature profiles. The buildup of the volatile materials (mostly water) on the tobacco rod behind the pyrolytic region is presented. The rate of evaporative losses of these condensables is shown to be dependent on puff count (cigarette length). A detailed density profile of the condensing materials from a single puff has been established. The relationships of these density changes to current smoke formation theories are discussed
Assessment of molecular diversity in intra-hirsutum genotypes of cotton

In any crop plant species, for development of improved varieties requires presence of large magnitude of genetic diversity among the breeding lines. Molecular characterization of genotypes helps in precise estimation of their genetic relatedness, which can be used by breeders for creating the desired variation. In the present investigation, a set of Fifty two markers covering A and D genome of G. hirsutum were employed to assess the molecular diversity and genetic relationship among 44 intra-hisutum lines, which include a subset of 40 RILs along with parental lines namely RS 2013, PUSA 56-4, standard check LH 2108 and genetic standard TM-1. A total of 263 alleles were detected by 52 primers in the 44 lines with an average of 5.05 alleles per primer. The maximum number of alleles (9) was amplified by NAU3324 and NAU2862 markers. The polymorphism information content (PIC) providing an estimate of discriminatory power of a locus and loci, varied from 0.45 to 0.90 (BNL1421, NAU2722, BNL1421, NAU4898). A dendrogram generated by unweighted pair group with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) revealed the genetic relationships among 44 lines by dividing them into three distinct clusters. Cluster A, B and C represent 23, 11 and 10 lines, respectively. Results reveal the presence of large magnitude of molecular diversity among the studies genotypes.
Knowledge-based building of a clinical decision support system

Based on a review of research and application of the clinical decision support system (CDSS) at home and abroad,a KB-CDSS building model is proposed.The authors rounded up the architecture,principle,process,construction of the knowledge base,system design and application value of the system.In the end,the paper introduced the application of "WanFang Data Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Knowledge Base". Key words: Clinical decision support system; Knowledge base; System
Response rate and diagnostic accuracy of early PET/CT during neo-adjuvant therapies in oesophageal adenocarcinoma: protocol for a systematic review

Background Patients with potentially curable oesophageal adenocarcinoma have a staging positron emission tomography (PET) examination combined with a computed tomography (CT) to assess loco-regional and distant disease. Although only 20-30% of patients are suitable for surgical resection, the majority receive neo-adjuvant therapy (chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy) before their operation. However, less than 25% experience any clinically meaningful benefit from the neo-adjuvant therapy. A repeat PET/CT after one cycle of treatment can assess for early metabolic response but remains exploratory. Patients without an early response could be offered alternative treatment strategies. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to estimate the early response rate defined by PET/CT, its diagnostic accuracy and explore associated factors. Methods Primary studies reporting response rates and diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT will be identified from MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) Search Portal and ClinicalTrials.gov databases. Peer-reviewed randomised control trials, observational cohort, cross-sectional and case-control studies reporting original response rate data, published from 2005 onwards will be included. Studies recruiting mixed cohorts and with PET/CT repeated after more than one neo-adjuvant treatment cycle will be excluded. The reference standard will be pathological response, defined by either validated Becker or Mandard tumour regression grade (TRG) classifications. The primary outcome will be metabolic response rate after one neo-adjuvant treatment cycle, defined by a reduction in maximum standardised uptake value (SUVmax) of 35%. Secondary outcome will be the sensitivity and specificity of early metabolic response to predict pathological response at this SUVmax reduction threshold. Pooled early response rate, sensitivity and specificity will be calculated using a random effects model with data extracted from selected studies. Heterogeneity between studies, risk of bias and methodological quality will be assessed. Discussion This systematic review and meta-analysis will identify and synthesise evidence to determine early response rates to neo-adjuvant therapies and the corresponding diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT to guide future clinical trials. This strategy could identify patients that will not respond to neo-adjuvant therapy and to offer this group alternative treatment strategies. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO (registration number CRD42019147034)
Removal of nickel ion from industrial waste water using maize cob.

The adsorption of Nickel (II) on Maioze cob has been studied using atomic absorption spectroscopy for metal estimation. Parameters like Heavy metal concentration, adsorbent dose, contact time and agitation speed were studied. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were employed to describe adsorption equilibrium. Maximum amount of nickel adsorbed as evaluated by Freundlich isotherm. Study concluded that Maize cob, a waste material, have good potential as an adsorbent to remove toxic heavy metal like nickel from industrial waste water.
Detecting Fraudulent Insurance Claims Using Machine Learning Methods

Machine learning methods are explored in an attempt to achieve better predictive performance than the legacy rule-based fraud detection systems that are currently used to detect fraudulent car insurance claims. There are two key principles that lead the exploration of machine learning techniques and algorithms in this thesis, namely, the applicability to imbalanced data, and the interpretability of predictions. The dataset used for model training and evaluation contains only 0.3% fraudulent claims compared to 99.7% non-fraudulent claims, which can therefore be considered highly imbalanced. Furthermore, prediction interpretability is of great importance, since fraud experts are directly interfacing with the output of the machine learning models. With the key principles in mind, this thesis considers four algorithms, Logistic Regression, Random Forest, LightGBM and a Stacking classifier. The algorithms are trained on the imbalanced learning problem by using a combination of undersampling (random and Edited Nearest Neighbors), oversampling (SMOTE) and class weighting. Conclusively, each trained model meets the objective, with the Stacking classifier combining the best performance with the lowest variance. By benchmarking the baseline for two different parameters, the models can be evaluated for two boundary conditions, which leads to tunable performance between the two conditions. Ultimately, the performance of the Stacking classifier is tunable (by moving its classification threshold) to roughly a 70-80% increase in extra fraud caught or a 75% reduction in effort. Extra fraud will increase the amount of real fraudulent claims that fraud experts get to see, and effort reduction leads to an increase in capacity, which enables fraud experts to spend more time on other more relevant tasks.