Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in Cell Wall Thickness between Resistant and Nonresistant Strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Using Transmission Electron Microscopy

The ultrastructure of the cell wall of extensively drug-resistant (XDR), multidrug-resistant (MDR) and susceptible tuberculosis (TB) bacilli was viewed under transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Under the TEM, marked differences were observed in the thickness of their cell wall: 20.2 ±1.5 and 17.1 ±1.03 nm for the XDR and MDR TB bacilli, respectively, and 15.6 ± 1.3 nm for the susceptible isolates (p < 0.05). In MDR bacilli, thickening of the cell wall was observed in the intermediate electron-transparent layer (ETL) and outer electron-opaque layer, whereas in XDR TB cells the basal peptidoglycan layer was denser and almost fused with the ETL. Five to seven percent of XDR TB bacilli had the appearance of the stationary phase with cell wall thickness ranging from 21 to 26 nm (p < 0.001). Information provided in this study is of significant importance in terms of drug selection for effective treatment of resistant strains.
are most fixating , your own or Whose ideas other people ’ s ? The effect of idea agency on subsequent design behaviour

During idea generation, designers might inadvertently restrict their exploration of the solution space by adhering either to their own initial ideas or to those developed by others. To investigate which of these sources of ideas is more fixating, we conducted an experimental study with Engineering students engaged in a series of ten computer-based structural design tasks. Participants were divided into two conditions, either developing their own solutions to the first five tasks or watching someone else do so. In the subsequent five tasks, those in the first condition more often adhered to the design approaches suited to the initial five tasks. This resulted in fewer design variations, greater costs and different subjective experiences of the tasks. 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
A FULLY IDENTIFIED SAMPLE OF AEGIS20 MICROJANSKY RADIO SOURCES

Infrared 3.6–8 μm images of the Extended Groth Strip yield plausible counterpart identifications for all but one of 510 radio sources in the AEGIS20 S(1.4 GHz) > 50 μJy sample. This is the first such deep sample that has been effectively 100% identified. Achieving the same identification rate at R band would require observations reaching RAB > 27. Spectroscopic redshifts are available for 46% of the sample and photometric redshifts for an additional 47%. Almost all of the sources with 3.6 μm AB magnitudes brighter than 19 have spectroscopic redshifts z < 1.1, while fainter objects predominantly have photometric redshifts with 1 ≲ z ≲ 3. Unlike more powerful radio sources that are hosted by galaxies having large stellar masses within a relatively narrow range, the AEGIS20 counterparts have stellar masses spanning more than a factor of 10 at z ∼ 1. The sources are roughly 10%–15% starbursts at z ≲ 0.5 and 20%–25% active galactic nuclei mostly at z > 1 with the remainder of uncertain nature.
Reducing CO2: Optimum blend of binders in the UK

Various strategies have been proposed for reducing the CO2 emissions of cement manufacture. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that “Materials substitution, for example the addition of wastes (blast furnace slag, fly ash) and geopolymers to clinker” could be used to reduce global CO2 emissions. Most current research on this area has focused on high fly ash / GGBS contents in Portland cement blends and geopolymers based on fly ash and GGBS with a view to produce materials with the lowest possible CO2 emissions. Completed studies have not normally included the constraint of the availability of waste materials and geologic mineral precursors and the effect this can have on outcomes. This study investigated the CO2 emissions based on UK binder requirements and the current and future production of waste materials. The effect of using limited fly ash / GGBS supplies, other waste materials and geologic minerals in both ternary PC blends and geopolymer binders was investigated and use patterns which produce the lowest CO2 emissions proposed. A substantial reduction in CO2 emissions from the current uncoordinated approach was found to be potentially achievable, but new technologies could have a greater impact.
Finite-Time Stabilization of Uncertain Switched Positive Linear Systems with Time-Varying Delays

This paper is concerned with finite-time stabilization (FTS) analysis for a class of uncertain switched positive linear systems with time-varying delays. First, a new definition of finite-time boundedness (FTB) is introduced for switched positive system. This definition can simplify FTS analysis. Taking interval and polytopic uncertainties into account, a robust state feedback controller is built such that the switched positive linear system is finite-time bounded. Finally, an example is employed to illustrate the validities of obtained results.
Orthotropic k-nearest foams for additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing enables the fabrication of objects embedding meta-materials. By creating fine-scale structures, the object's physical properties can be graded (e.g. elasticity, porosity), even though a single base material is used for fabrication. Designing the fine and detailed geometry of a metamaterial while attempting to achieve specific properties is difficult. In addition, the structures are intended to fill comparatively large volumes, which quickly leads to large data structures and intractable simulation costs. Thus, most metamaterials are defined as periodic structures repeated in regular lattices. The periodicity simplifies modeling, simulation, and reduces memory costs - however it limits the possibility to smoothly grade properties along free directions. In this work, we propose a novel metamaterial with controllable, freely orientable, orthotropic elastic behavior - orthotropy means that elasticity is controlled independently along three orthogonal axes, which leads to materials that better adapt to uneven, directional load scenarios, and offer a more versatile material design primitive. The fine-scale structures are generated procedurally by a stochastic process, and resemble a foam. The absence of global organization and periodicity allows the free gradation of density, orientation, and stretch, leading to the controllable orthotropic behavior. The procedural nature of the synthesis process allows it to scale to arbitrarily large volumes at low memory costs. We detail the foam structure synthesis, analyze and discuss its properties through numerical and experimental verifications, and finally demonstrate the use of orthotropic materials for the design of 3D printed objects.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Highly Efficient Catalytic Reactivity of Suspended Palladium Nanoparticles

Abstract The catalytic activities of suspended nano-sized palladium catalysts toward various olefin hydrogenation reactions are reported. The Pd nanoparticles were prepared by a laser ablation method followed by careful characterization. Two types of Pd nanoparticle systems were fabricated and subjected to a series of catalytic activity measurements: (i) Pd nanoparticles stabilized by tetraoctylammonium bromide (TC 8 ABr) ionic micelles with an average diameter of 2.4±0.5 nm and (ii) bare-Pd nanoparticles with an average size of 12.7±5.7 nm in diameter. The catalytic activities of both TC 8 ABr–Pd and bare-Pd nanoparticles were examined by measuring their turnover numbers (TON) in several target olefin hydrogenation reactions, such as the transformations of styrene to ethylbenezene, 2-methyl-2-butene to 2-methylbutane, 1-octene to n -octane, trans -stilbene to bibenzyl, and cyclohexene to cyclohexane. Data are compared to the hydrogenation results using a commercially available Pd/C catalyst system under similar reaction conditions. An exclusive selectivity of the catalytic styrene hydrogenation reaction on the C=C bond, rather than on the aromatic ring, was found among three systems, giving ethylbenzene as the only product. The catalyst stability was found to be on the order of TC 8 ABr–Pd>bare-Pd>10% Pd/C.
Pathway deviation-based biomarker and multi-effect target identification in asbestos-related squamous cell carcinoma of the lung

Asbestos-related lung carcinoma is one of the most devastating occupational cancers, and effective techniques for early diagnosis are still lacking. In the present study, a systematic approach was applied to detect a potential biomarker for asbestos-related lung cancer (ARLC); in particular asbestos-related squamous cell carcinoma (ARLC-SCC). Microarray data (GSE23822) were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, including 26 ARLC-SCCs and 30 non-asbestos-related squamous cell lung carcinomas (NARLC-SCCs). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by the limma package, and then a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed according to the BioGRID and HPRD databases. A novel scoring approach integrating an expression deviation score and network degree of the gene was then proposed to weight the DEGs. Subsequently, the important genes were uploaded to DAVID for pathway enrichment analysis. Pathway correlation analysis was carried out using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient of the pathscore. In total, 1,333 DEGs, 391 upregulated and 942 downregulated, were obtained between the ARLC-SCCs and NARLC-SCCs. A total of 524 important genes for ARLC-SCC were significantly enriched in 22 KEGG pathways. Correlation analysis of these pathways showed that the pathway of SNARE interactions in vesicular transport was significantly correlated with 12 other pathways. Additionally, obvious correlations were found between multiple pathways by sharing cross-talk genes (EGFR, PRKX, PDGFB, PIK3R3, SLK, IGF1, CDC42 and PRKCA). On the whole, our data demonstrate that 8 cross-talk genes were found to bridge multiple ARLC-SCC-specific pathways, which may be used as candidate biomarkers and potential multi-effect targets. As these genes are involved in multiple pathways, it is possible that drugs targeting these genes may thus be able to influence multiple pathways simultaneously.
High Performance Work System and Firm Economic Outcome Evidence For an Italian Local Production System

It has been widely recognized by academic literature that the introduction of high performance work practices impact on labour productivity. The general empirical evidence point to a positive effect of high performance work practices, within which high commitment/involvement practices may be encompassed, on labour productivity, despite the heterogeneity of approaches and of available data. As a matter of fact, empirical studies on the main issue of the paper are not scanty, but they rarely utilize an integrated perspective that take into consideration, contextually, worker representation and high performance work practices as determinants of firm’s economic performance. One of the value added of the paper is, indeed, that of considering both organizational changes and firm level industrial relations as elements potentially influencing firm productivity. The main aim of the paper is to provide further evidence on the empirical literature relying on a unique cross section dataset and on balance sheets data that span a period of about ten years. The data collected concern the manufacturing firms of the local production system (LPS) of Reggio Emilia (RE) province. The cross section data derive from face to face interviews carried out in 2002 both to management and union delegates. The panel of official balance sheets data cover the period 1994-2004 and provide information on the economic performance of the firms. The preliminary results obtained can be synthesised as follows. The single practices or single indexes capturing just one aspect of a HPWS dimension do not show unambiguous relations with productivity. When principal components are used in the estimations, in order to capture the possible existence of complementarities, then the results seem to show the presence, although not strong, of complementarities among organizational aspects.
Components and Antimicrobial Activity of Polysaccharides Extracted from Thai Brown Seaweeds

Seven species of brown seaweed, Colpomenia sinuosa (CS), Hydroclathrus clathratus (HC), Dictyota dichotoma (DD), Padina australis (PA), P. minor (PM), Sargassum polycystum (SP) and Turbinaria conoides (TC) were collected from Chon Buri (01), Chumphon (02) and Rayong (03) provinces. Polysaccharides were extracted by boiling the dried seaweed samples in water at 100°C (E1) for 2 h and at 75°C, adjusted to pH 3 by addition of 2 mol/l HCl (E2), for 5 h. The total polysaccharide yield, total carbohydrate, sulfate content and sugar components of the E1- and E2-extracts were determined. The E1-extract of SP03 gave a maximum yield of 1.97±1.15% (w/w). The greatest percentage of carbohydrate (55.95±0.72%) was obtained from the E1-extract of PM02. The maximum sulfate content (18.10±0.25%, w/w) was obtained from HC01. For the E2 extraction, the maximum yield (19.69±0.23%, w/w) was obtained from HC01, while the greatest percentage of total carbohydrate obtained was 44.41±0.94% (w/w) in PM02. The sulfate content was high in the E2-extract from CS01 (14.22±0.69%). Fucose was identified as a main component in all extracts, with the highest percentage in HC01 (12.35%). Mannose was observed in samples from CS01, PA03, PM02, SP01 and SP03, but not from DD02, HC01, PA01 PA02 or TC02. Furthermore, regarding the antimicrobial activity determined in both extracts at 2 mg/ml, only the E1- and E2-extracts of SP01 and the E2-extract of CS01 demonstrated activity against Candida albicans. In contrast, most of the E1- and E2-extracts were not only inactive against the microorganisms that were tested, but actually promoted microbial growth, particularly in the case of extracts that contained mannose.
Evaluation of yield and yield contributing traits for submergence tolerance of rice

Ten rice genotypes were evaluated for association studies of yield and its contributing traits to select the traits for yield improvement in submerged condition. An experiment was conducted in the experimental field of Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) and 15 morphological traits Viz. Days to flowering (days), plant height (cm), Tiller number plant -1 , (Nos.), effective tiller number plant -1 (Nos.), 100 seed weight (g), harvest index (%) etc. were studies to measure nature of association between these traits and yield. Correlation studies showed total tiller number plant -1 (0.661), effective tiller number plant -1 (0.694), flag leaf breadth (0.651), fresh weight (0.705), dry weight (0.700) and harvest index (0.689) had significantly positive relationship on yield. Path co-efficient studies indicated direct positive association of tiller number plant -1 (2.481), panicle length (2.431), Unfilled grain panicle -1 (0.033), fresh weight (0.0451), dry weight (0.166), harvest index (1.255) and chlorophyll content (1.72) with yield. Breeding for submergence tolerance of rice genotypes considering these characters could be useful for improvement yield in future. Progressive Agriculture 28 (1): 7-11, 2017
Identification by full adjustment: evidence from the relationship between futures and spot prices

This paper proposes a test for orthogonality of the errors in a vector error-correction model (VECM) that focuses on the recursive ordering among the contemporaneously correlated errors. The test is based on the fact that when the frequency of the data is sufficiently low one of the variables in the long-run equilibrium relationship adjusts fully within the same period to its new equilibrium level. An empirical investigation of the relationship between spot and futures prices for commodities traded on the Amsterdam Exchanges and the Chicago Board of Trade reveals that the spot price adjusts fully to its new equilibrium level if the price-discovery function of the futures market works well. Copyright 2002, Oxford University Press.
Left Ventricular Structure and Function in Transthyretin-Related Versus Light-Chain Cardiac Amyloidosis

Background— Immunoglobulin amyloid light-chain (AL)-related cardiac amyloidosis (CA) has a worse prognosis than either wild-type (ATTRwt) or mutant (ATTRm) transthyretin (TTR) CA. Detailed echocardiographic studies have been performed in AL amyloidosis but not in TTR amyloidosis and might give insight into this difference. We assessed cardiac structure and function and outcome in a large population of patients with CA and compared findings in TTR and AL-related disease. Methods and Results— We analyzed 172 patients with CA (AL amyloidosis, n=80; ATTRm, n=36; ATTRwt, n=56) by standard echocardiography and 2-dimensional speckle-tracking imaging-derived left ventricular (LV) longitudinal (LS), radial, and circumferential strains. Despite a preserved LV ejection fraction (55±12%), LS was severely impaired in CA. Standard measures of LV function and speckle-tracking imaging worsened as wall thickness increased, whereas apical LS was preserved regardless of the pathogenesis of CA and the degree of wall thickening. Compared with ATTRm and AL amyloidosis, ATTRwt was characterized by greater LV wall thickness and lower ejection fraction. LS was more depressed in both ATTRwt and AL amyloidosis (−11±3% and −12±4%, respectively, P=0.54) than in ATTRm (−15±4%, P<0.01 versus AL amyloidosis and ATTRwt). TTR-related causes were favorable predictors of survival, whereas LS and advanced New York Heart Association class were negative predictors. Conclusions— In patients with CA, worsening LV function correlated with increasing wall thickness regardless of pathogenesis. Patients with ATTRwt had a statistically greater wall thickness but lesser mortality than those with AL amyloidosis, despite very similar degrees of LS impairment. This paradox suggests an additional mechanism for LV dysfunction in AL amyloidosis, such as previously demonstrated light-chain toxicity.
Molecular Characterization of Economically Important Penaeid Population in South East Coast of India

Genetic variation of wild Penaeid populations of South East Coast region in India, using Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis as DNA marker has been examined. Important penaeid species like Fenneropenaeus indicus, Penaeus semisulcatus, Penaeus monodon were collected atdifferent geographical location such as Chennai, Nagapattinam, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin, but P. monodon was not obtained from Tuticorin. For RAPD analysis, 15 numbers of primers were used, among which 3, 4, and 6 numbers of primers have worked well for F. indicus , P. semisulcatus and P. monodon respectively. The results of this study, genetic variation (6- 33)% for F. indicus , (16-49)% for P. semisulcatus (16- 53)% for P. monodon . As conclusion, from the pattern of genetic diversity of these three penaeid populations, it could be considered as moderate to high, and maximum three population stocks are within the collected area.
Reducing Data Acquisition Effort by Hierarchical System Modelling

The design structure matrix (DSM) is a powerful tool for system analysis and modelling. It has been successfully applied in process management, product design and many other areas. The methodologies based on DSMs have led to more extensive matrix models such as the domain mapping matrix (DMM) and the multiple-domain matrix (MDM). Methods based on matrices depend on high-quality system models. Data acquisition is crucial for the quality of the results of a later analysis. There are different approaches for data acquisition e.g. based on interviews, on workshops or existing system models such as bills of materials or computer aided design models. Interviews and workshops are rather time consuming. Biedermann et al. (2009) proposed a system of metrics to support workshops by highlighting the consequences of a decision during data acquisition. However, this method requires a pre-filling of a DSM and does not reduce the effort but focuses discussions. In this paper a possibility to reduce the data acquisition effort is presented. It uses several levels of hierarchical system models. Starting at an abstract level the network is then mapped to a more detailed level using matrix multiplications. Moreover, a case study modelling an assembly cell consisting of 103 components is presented. Thereby, it is shown that the proposed method can reduce the data acquisition effort by up to 65%. Finally, possible reasons for the acceleration are given and an outlook to future research is displayed.
Monsoons in a changing world: A regional perspective in a global context

We provide a new view of global and regional monsoonal rainfall, and their changes in the 21st century under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios as projected by 29 climate models that participated in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5. The model results show that the global monsoon area defined by the annual range in precipitation is projected to expand mainly over the central to eastern tropical Pacific, the southern Indian Ocean, and eastern Asia. The global monsoon precipitation intensity and the global monsoon total precipitation are also projected to increase. Indices of heavy precipitation are projected to increase much more than those for mean precipitation. Over the Asian monsoon domain, projected changes in extreme precipitation indices are larger than over other monsoon domains, indicating the strong sensitivity of Asian monsoon to global warming. Over the American and African monsoon regions, projected future changes in mean precipitation are rather modest, but those in precipitation extremes are large. Models project that monsoon retreat dates will delay, while onset dates will either advance or show no change, resulting in lengthening of the monsoon season. However, models’ limited ability to reproduce the present monsoon climate and the large scatter among the model projections limit the confidence in the results. The projected increase of the global monsoon precipitation can be attributed to an increase of moisture convergence due to increased surface evaporation and water vapor in the air column although offset to a certain extent by the weakening of the monsoon circulation.
Aspects of CFD modeling of fan and pad evaporative cooling system in green- houses

A methodology approach in order to simulate numerically (CFD) a greenhouse equipped with fan and pad evaporative cooling system is presented. Using the main aspects of evaporative cooling systems in terms of heat and mass transfer, the flow and boundary conditions of the simulation model are identified integrating both the external and internal climatic conditions. The crop (tomato) was simulated using the equivalent porous medium approach by the addition of a momentum source term. Preliminary calculations were carried out in order the pressure drop, occurred in crop model due to air flow, to be determined as a function of leaf area and stage of crop growth. The temperature and humidity of incoming air and the operational characteristics of fans were specified to set up the CFD model. The numerical analysis was based on the Reynolds-averaged NavierStokes equations in conjunction with the realizable ke turbulence model. The finite-volume method (FVM) was used to solve the governing equations. The 3D full scale model was solved in several differencing schemes of various orders in order to examine its accuracy. The simulation approach was used mainly to identify the critical parameters of microclimate of greenhouse and the regions were these have to be measured during the upcoming experiments which will take place in Farm of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Results show the influence of the different airflow rates on greenhouse microclimate, indicating that the proper choice of ventilation rate is crucial factor in order to improve the efficiency of evaporative cooling systems.