Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perspectives on percutaneous penetration: Silica nanoparticles

Abstract Nanotechnology is a rapidly expanding area of research involved in developing science-based solutions for innovative therapeutics. Silica nanoparticles (SNPs) have received wide attention in several industries and medicine and are being developed for biomedical and biotechnological applications such as drug delivery, DNA transfection, and targeted molecular imaging of cancer. Recently, they are emerging in the fields of cosmetics and dermal preparations. SNP may offer a revolutionized treatment of several skin diseases by controlled and sustained release of drugs to skin, as well as enhanced skin penetration of encapsulated drug ingredients. SNPs are candidates for transcutaneous vaccination and transdermal gene therapy, too. Yet there exist concerns that whilst the properties of SNPs have enabled numerous industrial and medical applications, their toxicological and environmental safety mandates evaluation. The knowledge of passage of SNPs through skin following skin exposure (intentionally or unintentionally) and subsequent effects is limited. This review surveys the key experiments on SNP-based formulations in the fields of dermatology and cosmetics with the goal of rationalizing data and informing public health concerns related to SNPs’ toxicity among scientists and manufacturers handling them, while highlights the research gaps in dermal absorption of these compounds.
Pro‐region engineering for improved yeast display and secretion of brain derived neurotrophic factor

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a promising therapeutic candidate for a variety of neurological diseases. However, it is difficult to produce as a recombinant protein. In its native mammalian context, BDNF is first produced as a pro‐protein with subsequent proteolytic removal of the pro‐region to yield mature BDNF protein. Therefore, in an attempt to improve yeast as a host for heterologous BDNF production, the BDNF pro‐region was first evaluated for its effects on BDNF surface display and secretion. Addition of the wild‐type pro‐region to yeast BDNF production constructs improved BDNF folding both as a surface‐displayed and secreted protein in terms of binding its natural receptors TrkB and p75, but titers remained low. Looking to further enhance the chaperone‐like functions provided by the pro‐region, two rounds of directed evolution were performed, yielding mutated pro‐regions that further improved the display and secretion properties of BDNF. Subsequent optimization of the protease recognition site was used to control whether the produced protein was in pro‐ or mature BDNF forms. Taken together, we have demonstrated an effective strategy for improving BDNF compatibility with yeast protein engineering and secretion platforms.
Benefit Finding in the Cancer Caregiving Experience

Objective: To characterize the domains of benefit finding in caregiving among close family members of cancer survivors and to relate the domains of benefit finding in cancer caregiving to other psychosocial variables. Although cancer is a problem that involves the entire family, little is known about which caregivers of cancer survivors are likely to find meaning in their caregiving experience or about the relationship of benefit finding to caregivers’ psychological adjustment. Methods: A total of 896 family caregivers participated in the American Cancer Society Quality of Life Survey for Caregivers. Participating caregivers were primarily middle-aged (mean age = 54 years), educated (76% received >high school degree), and affluent (69% earned ≥$40,000 annual household income). Results: Six domains of benefit finding in caregiving were identified by principal axis factor analysis: acceptance, empathy, appreciation, family, positive self-view, and reprioritization. The comparison between six- and one-domain models of benefit finding demonstrated the superiority of the six-domain model. A series of hierarchical regression analyses showed that the domains of benefit finding were uniquely associated with life satisfaction and depression and that not all aspects of benefit finding in caregiving related to better adjustment. Specifically, coming to accept what happened and appreciating new relationships with others related to greater adaptation. Becoming more empathetic toward others and reprioritizing values related to greater symptoms of depression. Conclusions: These findings suggest that caregivers may benefit from interventions that enhance their ability to accept their situation and find meaning in their caregiving experience, which may improve their satisfaction with life and reduce their depressive symptoms. CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Index
Efficient generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes against cervical cancer cells by adeno‐associated virus/human papillomavirus type 16 E7 antigen gene transduction into dendritic cells

Adeno‐associated virus (AAV) is able to efficiently deliver a cytokine gene into dendritic cells (DC). Improvements in T cell priming by DC might be effected by the delivery of antigen genes into DC, resulting in continuous protein expression, as most proteins have short half‐lives. In this study, a recombinant AAV vector containing the human papillomavirus (HPV)‐16 E7 gene was used to pulse/infect DC and compared to the pulsing of DC by the lipofection of bacterially produced E7 protein. Pulsing of DC with AAV/antigen (Ag) gene was found to be superior to pulsing with protein in six different assay systems: (1) the level of antigen transfer into DC as determined by intracellular staining; (2) the level of MHC class I‐restricted killing in cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) assays;(3) the level of IFN‐γ expression; (4) the level of DC‐T cell priming clusters generated; (5) the level of CD80 and CD83 expression on DC; and (6) in the resulting CD8:CD4 ratio. Finally, AAV/Ag gene pulsing resulted in strong CTL activity after only 7 days of priming. These data suggest that AAV vectors may offer advantages over the commonly used protein‐pulsing technique and that AAV vectors may be useful for the stimulation of CTL activity and adoptive immunotherapy protocols.
Effectiveness of Anti-Smoking Advertising: The Roles of Message and Media

In the last few years, Malaysia government has put in a lot of efforts in order to reduce the number of smokers especially youths in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the numbers of smokers are still increasing according to Global Adult Survey Tobacco (2012). This survey was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-smoking advertising message and media in Malaysia. A questionnaire was used as a research instrument in this survey. The findings showed that the respondents are “neutral” on the anti-smoking advertising messages except for the fear message. One-way ANOVA and independent samples t-test were used to test the hypotheses. The result from independent samples t-test shows there is a real difference between gender and effectiveness of the anti smoking message. However, the result from one-way ANOVA shows there is no difference between ethnic groups and effectiveness of the anti - smoking message. Besides, the findings also showed that the Internet was the most effective medium to promote anti-smoking advertisements. In future, the comprehensive evaluation of anti-smoking advertising effectiveness in terms of copy, layouts and appeals needs to be studied.
Assessing the quality and usability of smartphone apps for pain self-management.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate smartphone apps intended for self-management of pain using quality assessment criteria and usability testing with prospective users. DESIGN 1) Survey and content analysis of available apps; and 2) individual usability study of two apps. SETTING University of Leeds, United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS Forty-one participants (aged 19-59 years) with experience of chronic or recurrent pain episodes. METHODS We undertook a survey, content analysis, and quality appraisal of all currently available mobile phone apps for self-management of pain. Two apps were then selected and assessed with usability testing. RESULTS Twelve apps met the inclusion criteria. The quality assessment revealed wide variation in their clinical content, interface design, and usability to support self-management of pain. Very little user or clinician involvement was identified in the development of the apps. From the usability testing, participants stated a preference for an interface design employing a lighter color scheme and particular text font. Although very few participants were aware of pain-reporting apps prior to participation, many would consider use in the future. CONCLUSIONS Variation in app quality and a lack of user and clinician engagement in development were found across the pain apps in this research. Usability testing identified a range of user preferences. Although useful information was obtained, it would be beneficial to involve users earlier in the process of development, as well as establishing ways to merge end user requirements with evidence-based content, to provide high-quality and usable apps for self-management of pain.
Social language use in parents of autistic individuals

SYNOPSIS Social language use (pragmatics) in parents of autistic individuals and controls was compared. Autism parents displayed atypical pragmatic behaviours more often than controls. Preliminary factor analysis suggested three parsimonious groupings of pragmatic abnormalities: Disinhibited Social Communication, Awkward/Inadequate Expression, and Odd Verbal Interaction. The pragmatic features observed in some autism parents are milder but conceptually similar to the social language deficits of autism. Possible reasons for familial aggregation of pragmatic language deficits are discussed.
Solid rotor end effects - Analytic and experimental results for high-power high-speed machines

The solid rotor end effects have been discussed widely in the literature decades ago. The end effect calculation has become important again, as large purely solid-rotor machines (8 MW at 12000 rpm) have been designed for gas compression applications. The paper introduces new ideas for applying a two-dimensional finite-element-method-based analysis and traditional analytic calculation techniques particularly in defining the power factor of a slitted purely solid rotor having “end rings” made of the same solid material.
The relationship between homework compliance and treatment outcomes among older adult outpatients with mild-to-moderate depression.

OBJECTIVE The authors extend previous research on homework in psychotherapy by examining the relationship between homework compliance and therapeutic outcome among depressed older adult outpatients (N = 63), addressing previous limitations by using session-by-session therapist ratings of homework compliance and including both interviewer ratings and patient self-reports of outcomes. METHODS Patients were participants in a randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of desipramine versus cognitive/behavioral therapy-alone (C/B-Alone) versus a combination of the two (Combined). Given the current study's focus on homework compliance, only patients assigned to conditions with assigned homework in the clinical trial (i.e., C/B-Alone and Combined conditions) were included. RESULTS Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that homework compliance contributed significantly to posttreatment outcome as measured by both interviewer-administered and patient self-report measures of depression. A separate series of ANOVAs also found significant differences in pre-posttreatment change between patients scoring above and below the median of reported homework compliance. Findings were similar for patients in the C/B-Alone and Combined conditions. CONCLUSION The study's results call for additional research on issues related to homework compliance with older adult patients.
Toxicity of non-abeta component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid, and N-terminal fragments thereof, correlates to formation of beta-sheet structure and fibrils.

The non-Abeta component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid (NAC) and its precursor alpha-synuclein have been linked to amyloidogenesis in Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Previously we have shown that NAC forms beta-sheet structures and fibrils [El-Agnaf, O.M.A., Bodles, A.M., Guthrie, D.J.S. , Harriott, P. & Irvine, G.B. (1998) Eur. J. Biochem. 258, 157-163]. As a measure of their neurotoxic potential we have examined the ability of fresh and aged NAC and fragments thereof to inhibit the reduction of the redox dye 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide by rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells. Micromolar concentrations of NAC and fragments thereof display varying degrees of toxicity. On immediate dissolution and after an incubation period for 3 days at 37 degrees C the full-length peptide and fragments NAC(3-18) and NAC(1-18) scrambled sequence [NAC(1-18 s)] were toxic, whereas fragments NAC(1-13) and NAC(6-14) were not. CD indicates that NAC(3-18) and NAC(1-18 s) exhibit beta-sheet secondary structure in aqueous solution, whereas NAC(1-13) and NAC(6-14) do not. NAC(3-18) aggregates, as indicated by concentration of peptide remaining in solution after 3 days measured by an HPLC assay, and forms fibrils, as determined by electron microscopy. However, although some fibrils were detected for NAC(1-18 s) it does not come out of solution to a significant degree. Fragments NAC(1-13) and NAC(6-14) form few fibrils and remain in solution. These findings indicate that the ability of the central region of NAC to form beta-sheet secondary structures is important for determining the toxicity of the peptide. This contrasts with what has been reported previously for most Abeta peptides as their toxicity appears to require the peptide to have formed fibrillary aggregates as well as displaying beta-sheet. These results suggest that an intermediate, which exhibits beta-sheet structure, may be responsible for the toxic properties of NAC and provides further evidence for the role of NAC in the pathogenesis of AD, PD and DLB.
The Pattern of Neuropsychological Deficits in Vascular Cognitive Impairment-No Dementia (Vascular CIND)

We examined the pattern of neuropsychological deficits in Vascular Cognitive Impairment-No Dementia (Vascular CIND) by comparing the cognitive and behavioral performance of 41 post-stroke Vascular CIND patients to that of 62 post-stroke patients with no cognitive impairment (NCI). Neuropsychological test scores were grouped into seven cognitive and four behavioral domains, then converted to standardized, weighted principle component scores (PCS) for each domain. Multivariate logistic regression models built on cognitive domains found the immediate recall and psychomotor domains to best predict diagnostic group membership. In a separate model limited to behavioral data, the depressed mood domain best predicted group membership. The combination of immediate memory deficits, psychomotor slowness and depression have also been found in Vascular Dementia (VaD), suggesting that the pattern of deficits in Vascular CIND and VaD neuropsychological deficits are similar. This cognitive and behavioral pattern similarity supports the hypothesis that Vascular CIND lies on a continuum between NCI and VaD.
Selective Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitor 7-Nitroindazole Protects against Cocaine-Induced Oxidative Stress in Rat Brain

One of the mechanisms involved in the development of addiction, as well as in brain toxicity, is the oxidative stress. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), a selective inhibitor of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), on cocaine withdrawal and neurotoxicity in male Wistar rats. The animals were divided into four groups: control; group treated with cocaine (15 mg/kg−1, i.p., 7 days); group treated with 7-NI (25 mg/kg−1, i.p., 7 days); and a combination group (7-NI + cocaine). Cocaine repeated treatment resulted in development of physical dependence, judged by withdrawal symptoms (decreased locomotion, increased salivation and breathing rate), accompanied by an increased nNOS activity and oxidative stress. The latter was discerned by an increased formation of malondialdehyde (MDA), depletion of reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, and impairment of the enzymatic antioxidant defense system measured in whole brain. In synaptosomes, isolated from cocaine-treated rats, mitochondrial activity and GSH levels were also decreased. 7-NI administered along with cocaine not only attenuated the withdrawal, due to its nNOS inhibition, but also reversed both the GSH levels and antioxidant enzyme activities near control levels.
Service Matchmaking and Discovery with Rough Sets

The past few years have seen the Grid is evolving as a service-oriented computing infrastructure. It is foreseen that various resources in a Grid environment will be exposed as services for use by a wider user community. Service discovery becomes an issue of vital importance for utilising Grid facilities. This paper presents Rosse, a Rough Sets based Search Engine for service discovery that can deal with uncertainty of service properties when matching service advertisements with service requests. The evaluation results show that Rosse is more effective in service discovery compared with other mechanisms such as UDDI keyword matching and OWL-S matchmaking.
Data Semantic Graph Layout Force-Directed Layout Clustered Word Cloud Natural Language Processing Graph Drawing Algortihm Word Cloud Appending

User generated reviews, like those found on Yelp, have become important reference material in casual decision making, like dining, shopping and entertainment. However, very large amounts of reviews make the review reading process time consuming. A text visualization could be used to speed up review reading process. In this paper, we present the clustered layout word cloud; a text visualization that would assist in making decision quicker based on user generated reviews. We used a natural language processing approach, called grammatical dependency parsing, to analyze user generated review content and created a semantic graph. A force-directed graph layout was applied to the graph to create the clustered layout word cloud. We conducted a two-task user study to compare the clustered layout word cloud to two alternative review reading techniques: random layout word cloud and normal block-text reviews. The results showed that the clustered layout word cloud offers faster task completion time and better user satisfaction level than other two alternative review reading techniques.
Self-organized polymer nanocomposite inverse opal films with combined optical properties.

Inverse opal films with unique optical properties have potential as photonic crystal materials and have stimulated wide interest in recent years. Herein, iridescent hybrid polystyrene/nanoparticle macroporous films have been prepared by using the breath-figure method. The honeycomb-patterned thin films were prepared by casting gold nanoparticle-doped polystyrene solutions in chloroform at high relative humidity. Highly ordered hexagonal arrays of monodisperse pores with an average diameter of 880 nm are obtained. To account for the observed features, a microscopic phase separation of gold nanoparticles is proposed to occur in the breath-figure formation. That is, individual gold nanoparticles adsorb at the solution/water interface and effectively stabilize condensed water droplets on the solution surface in a hexagonal array. Alternatively, at high nanoparticle concentrations the combination of breath-figure formation and nanoparticle phase separation leads to hierarchical structures with spherical aggregates under a honeycomb monolayer. The films show large features in both the visible and NIR regions that are attributed to a combination of nanoparticle and ordered-array absorptions. Organic ligand-stabilized CdSe/CdS quantum dots or Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles may be loaded into the honeycomb structure to further modify the films. These results demonstrate new methods for the fabrication and functionalization of inverse opal films with potential applications in photonic and microelectronic materials.
High Sensitivity for Lung Cancer Detection by Analysis of Exhaled Carbonyl Compounds

Objective: Several volatile carbonyl compounds in exhaled breath have been 48 identified as cancer specific markers. The potential for these markers to serve as 49 a screening test for lung cancer is reported. 50 Methods: Patients with CT-detected intra-thoracic lesions and healthy controls 51 were enrolled from 2011 onwards. One liter of breath was collected from a single 52 exhalation. The contents were evacuated over a silicon microchip, captured by 53 oximation reaction, and analyzed by mass spectrometry. Concentrations of 2- 54 butanone, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 2-hydroxyacetaldehyde, and 4-hydroxyhexanal 55 were measured. The overall population was divided into lung cancer, benign 56 disease, and control groups. An elevated cancer marker was defined as ≥ 1.5 57 standard deviations above the mean concentration of the control population. 58 One or more elevated cancer markers constituted a positive breath test. 59 Results: There were 156 lung cancer, 65 benign disease, and 194 control 60 subjects. A total of 103 (66.0%) lung cancer patients were early stage (Stage 0, I, 61 and II). For ≥ 1 elevated cancer marker, breath analysis showed a sensitivity of 62 93.6% and a specificity of 85.6% for lung cancer patients. Additionally, 83.7% of 63 stage I tumors ≤ 2 cm were detected while only 14% of the control population 64 tested positive. When comparing cancer to benign disease, specificity was 65 proportional to the number of elevated cancer markers present. Conclusion: Screening using low-dose CT scan is associated with high cost, 67 repeated radiation exposure, and low accrual. The high sensitivity, convenience,
Multidisciplinary approach for modelling and optimization of Road Electric Vehicles in conceptual design level

Road electric vehicles can be considered as complex systems, their modelling and multidisciplinary optimization in conceptual level is an extremely important step in their design process. An appropriate approach with adapted modelling techniques are therefore required, to cover the design process with an accurate design evaluation while reducing long computing time. SysML and Modelica languages are positioned as important languages for complex system modelling. Surrogate modelling technique also comes up as a solution for decreasing time computing in multidisciplinary optimization. In this paper, an approach combining SysML, Modelica and surrogate modelling techniques is applied to electric vehicle modelling and optimization. Results show that the proposed approach allows designers to integrate easily accurate models in conceptual design level with a significant reduction in computing time.
A numerical unitarity formalism for evaluating one-loop amplitudes

Recent progress in unitarity techniques for one-loop scattering amplitudes makes a numerical implementation of this method possible. We present a 4-dimensional unitarity method for calculating the cut-constructible part of amplitudes and implement the method in a numerical procedure. Our technique can be applied to any one-loop scattering amplitude and offers the possibility that one-loop calculations can be performed in an automatic fashion, as tree-level amplitudes are currently done. Instead of individual Feynman diagrams, the ingredients for our one-loop evaluation are tree-level amplitudes, which are often already known. To study the practicality of this method we evaluate the cut-constructible part of the 4, 5 and 6 gluon one-loop amplitudes numerically, using the analytically known 4, 5 and 6 gluon tree-level amplitudes. Comparisons with analytic answers are performed to ascertain the numerical accuracy of the method.