Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pyrvinium Treatment Confers Hepatic Metabolic Benefits via β-catenin Downregulation and AMPK Activation

Genetic evidence has indicated that β-catenin plays a vital role in glucose and lipid metabolism. Here, we investigated whether pyrvinium, an anthelmintic agent previously reported as a down-regulator of cellular β-catenin levels, conferred any metabolic advantages in treatment of metabolic disorders. Glucose production and lipid accumulation were analyzed to assess metabolic response to pyrvinium in hepatocytes. The expression of key proteins and genes were assessed by immunoblotting and RT-PCR. The in vivo efficacy of pyrvinium against metabolic disorders was evaluated in the mice fed with a high fat diet (HFD). We found that pyrvinium inhibited glucose production and reduced lipogenesis by decreasing the expression of key genes in hepatocytes, which were partially elicited by the downregulation of β-catenin through AXIN stabilization. Interestingly, the AMPK pathway also played a role in the action of pyrvinium, dependent on AXIN stabilization but independent of β-catenin downregulation. In HFD-fed mice, pyrvinium treatment led to improvement in glucose tolerance, fatty liver disorder, and serum cholesterol levels along with a reduced body weight gain. Our results show that small molecule stabilization of AXIN using pyrvinium may lead to improved glucose and lipid metabolism, via β-catenin downregulation and AMPK activation.
Inhomogeneous coulomb fluid. A functional integral approach

A functional integral representation of the grand canonical classical statistical integral for the inhomogeneous Coulomb fluid is derived. The charged species are confined between two interfaces, also defining the dielectric inhomogeneity in the system, bearing constant surface charges. The thermodynamic potential is obtained in a closed form if the Gaussian approximation for the fluctuations around the mean electrostatic potential is used. The formalism embodies the mean field (Poisson–Boltzmann) terms generalized by the presence of image interactions plus the correlation (fluctuation) terms, which give significant correction to the classical expressions for the force between charged interfaces. The numerical results for a counterion-only system with charged surfaces are treated in detail and compared with simulation data.
Fully Integrated Switched-Inductor-Capacitor Voltage Regulator With 0.82-A/mm2 Peak Current Density and 78% Peak Power Efficiency

Fully integrated voltage regulators (FIVRs) can improve the performance and reduce the power consumption of a system-on-chip (SoC) by providing point-of-load voltage regulation with dynamic voltage scaling. The desirable attributes of FIVRs include high power efficiency, high power density, and fast transient response, which are difficult to achieve due to on-chip area constraint and parasitic effects. Low-quality and low-density on-chip inductors and capacitors are currently the main performance-limiting factors. This article presents a switched-inductor-capacitor (SIC) voltage converter that can operate more efficiently with compact on-chip air-cored metal-tracked inductors than existing step-down voltage converters. The SIC converter consists of an inductor, a flying capacitor, and three power switches, and it can provide fine-grained voltage regulation by using pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) control. The unique SIC converter topology eases the on-chip inductor integration by positioning the inductor at the input power supply and reducing the current stress of the inductor. A proof-of-concept fully integrated SIC voltage regulator is fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS process, with an area of 1.3 mm $\times $ 0.5 mm excluding pads. The output voltage can be regulated from 0.6 to 0.9 V given a 1.2-V input power supply. The output voltage ripple is below 56 mV over the entire range of output voltages and load currents. The peak power efficiency is 78% at an output of 0.9 V and 406 mA. The peak power density is 730 mW/mm2, and the peak current density is 820 mA/mm2.
Incorporation of Phosphorus into Mesostructured Silicas: A Novel Approach to Reduce the SiO2 Leaching in Water

Nanostructured mesoporous silica networks with phosphorus substitutions have been obtained through evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) method using a nonionic surfactant as structure directing agent and triethylorthosilicate and phosphoric acid as SiO2 and P2O5 sources, respectively. Diverse mesopore arrangement symmetries and textural properties have been obtained by modifying the Si/P molar ratio. Therefore mesoporous matrices exhibited an evolution from 3D cubic to 2D hexagonal and wormlike structure with the increase in the substitution degree of the silica network by P2O5 centers. Studies carried out by soaking these materials into water at 37 °C revealed that P-containing nanostructured materials, with P2O5 contents above 1.25% mol, release smaller amounts of silica to the aqueous medium than pure silica matrix. The increase in the cross-linking degree of the silica network together with the increase of the acid character due to the presence of phosphorus centers could explain the decrease of s.
Quantitative Estimation of Dynamic Modulation in Remote Environment Sensing

Teleoperated robots are an effective means to sense a remote environment. Impedance control is often preferred in teleoperated robots due to its capability to modulate the dynamic relationship between the position and force of the robot. One of the challenges in the practical implementation of impedance controllers is the determination of the extent to which the dynamic properties of the robot are to be modified. A methodology for quantitatively estimating the desired dynamic parameters of the robot in order to have stable interaction with the environment is proposed in this paper. The best set of scaling factors by which the environment parameters need to be scaled to obtain a corresponding desired parameter for the robot are formulated. In addition, novel impedance controllers for teleoperated robots, which achieve the desired dynamic performance even under time-varying delays, are formulated in this paper. The uniqueness of the proposed controllers lies in enabling the system to interact with a wide range of environments, unlike the traditional teleoperation controllers which allow interaction with only those environments whose dynamic properties are within a specific range. Passivity analysis is performed to prove the global asymptotic stability of the system. Experimental implementation demonstrates the successful sensing of a wide range of environments.
Local Charge Disproportion in a High-Performance Perovskite

The temperature-dependent local charge disproportion in the (Ba0.5Sr0.5)(Co0.8Fe0.2)O3−δ perovskite-type oxide (denoted as BSCF) was monitored by in situ electron energy-loss spectroscopy applying monochromized electrons in a transmission electron microscope. At elevated temperatures, oxygen is removed from the crystal lattice in these perovskite-type oxides that is due to a reduction of the transition metal sites. To determine the site-specific valence in the BSCF perovskite, we measured the cobalt and iron L-edges and the oxygen K-edge on increasing the temperature from 298 to 1223 K. It was found that the loss of oxygen at elevated temperatures is mainly due to a reduction of the cobalt site compared to the iron site. The understanding of the site specific redox behavior in this material is important in explaining its long-term instability at intermediate temperatures, which has not been elucidated priory this study.
Study of the Optical Characteristics of Aluminim Doped Zno Thin Film

In this work, the study on the influence of the aluminum on the optical properties of ZnO thin film was carried out with a focus on the influence of variation of aluminum ions on the optical behavior of the ZnO thin film. The film was deposited on the glass substrates by chemical bath deposition technique and aluminum was used in the following varied quantities, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3M, to dope the thin films, respectively. The solutions were prepared using zinc sulphate, ammonia and Hexamine with aluminum nitrate. The optical characteristics of the film such as the spectral absorbance, reflectance and transmittance within the ultraviolet and near infra red region of electromagnetic wave spectra were investigated using UV-VIS spectroscopy with the energy band gap found to be in the range of 3.5eV to 3.9eV (
Myocardial Inflammation, Sports Practice, and Sudden Cardiac Death: 2021 Update

Myocardial inflammation is an important cause of cardiovascular morbidity and sudden cardiac death in athletes. The relationship between sports practice and myocardial inflammation is complex, and recent data from studies concerning cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and endomyocardial biopsy have substantially added to our understanding of the challenges encountered in the comprehensive care of athletes with myocarditis or inflammatory cardiomyopathy (ICM). In this review, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of myocarditis, ICM, and myopericarditis/perimyocarditis in athletes, with a special emphasis on arrhythmias, patient-tailored therapies, and sports eligibility issues.
Geometric optimal techniques to control the muscular force response to functional electrical stimulation using a non-isometric force-fatigue model

A recent force-fatigue parameterized mathematical model, based on the seminal contributions of V. Hill to describe muscular activity, allows to predict the muscular force response to external electrical stimulation (FES) and it opens the road to optimize the FES-input to maximize the force response to a pulse train, to track a reference force while minimizing the fatigue for a sequence of pulse trains or to follow a reference joint angle trajectory to produce motion in the non-isometric case. In this article, we introduce the geometric frame to analyze the dynamics and we present Pontryagin types necessary optimality conditions adapted to digital controls, used in the experiments, vs permanent control and which fits in the optimal sampled-data control frame. This leads to Hamiltonian differential variational inequalities, which can be numerically implemented vs direct optimization schemes.
A Scheduled Intentional Islanding Method Based on Ranking of Possible Islanding Zone

In this article, a new ranking based approach is adopted that can rank different islanding zones (IZs) based upon their stability indices during any major disturbances incepted inside the microgrid. A ranking index, known as Ranking of Islanded Zone (ROIZ), is formulated for all possible IZs inside the microgrid which indicates the stability of each zone. If the values of ROIZ are positive, then the IZs are stable and on the other hand negative values of ROIZ lead towards the unstable IZs within the microgrid. The index is formulated by considering the critical levels of the connected loads, stability of bus voltage, frequency as well as line flow inside the IZ. The stability check of the proposed ranking approach is achieved by the small-signal analysis of microgrid, where the traces of eigenvalues of the IZ state-space matrix is evaluated. The performance of the technique is also tested with the coherent and non-coherent group distributed energy resources (DERs) available inside the IZs. To validate the performance of the proposed scheme, two test systems (a 7-bus and IEEE-33 bus test system) are simulated in the Real-Time Digital Simulation (RTDS) platform and the proposed scheme is tested.
Dielectric-Loaded SIW H-Plane Horn Antenna With Gradient Air Slots

In this letter, a new structure of a dielectric-loaded substrate integrated waveguide H-plane horn antenna with gradient air slots, fed by a coaxial pin, is proposed. This novel structure aims at improvements in the radiation characteristics, including the gain, front-to-back ratio (FTBR), both E- and H-planes half-power beamwidth (HPBW), and sidelobe level (SLL). The measurements of the fabricated antenna show 15.4 dBi gain, 37 dB FTBR, and narrow E- and H-plane HPBW of 35° and 27° respectively, at 24.15 GHz. The entire antenna structure design is briefly expressed to combine the advantage of one single Rogers TMM4 thermoset laminate layer for reduced manufacturing difficulties and ensured improved performance. The optimized proposed antenna is fabricated by standard printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing process, with the overall size 61.2 mm × 18.6 mm × 3.175 mm.
Capacity Fade and Aging Effect on Lithium Battery Cells: A Real Case Vibration Test With UAV

This article presents an analysis of the capacity and the state of health (SoH) of 3-Ah lithium battery cells operating in a real case vibration stress scenario based on drones. An unmanned aerial vehicle (quad-copter) is adopted to acquire real vibration profiles during different phases of flight. First, the possible capacity fade and aging effect on lithium cells are investigated by considering vibrations applied to the radial and longitudinal battery axes with both short-term and long-term (aging) tests. Then, the cruise-flight vibration profiles are applied and characterized. A comparison with standard (no vibrations) cycling aging is also presented and discussed. The experimental results show that no significant effect on capacity fade can be observed between standard and real case vibrating operating conditions.
The origin of the antibacterial property of bamboo

Bamboo is an eco-friendly and multifunctional plant. Bamboo clothing has recently entered the textile market with a claim for its antimicrobial properties, but without scientific evidence. In this study, the antibacterial activity of plant extracts from Australian-grown bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) is investigated. Bamboo extracts were made using water, dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and dioxane and their antibacterial properties were compared against Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli. It was found that the extract made in 20% DMSO aqueous solution showed weak antibacterial activity, whereas the extract made using 90% dioxane aqueous solution exhibited strong antibacterial activity, even after 20 times dilution. The results indicate that antibacterial agents of P. pubescens are located in lignin, not in hemicellulose or other water-soluble chemical components.
Curing kinetics of the synthesis of poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a crosslinking agent

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the effect of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA, as a crosslinking agent) content on the curing kinetics of the polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). EGDMA may cause a crosslinking-facilitated gel effect which reduces the termination rate of living free radicals and enhances the overall reaction rate, but it may also induce a diffusional resistance for the reactants so that some free monomers are trapped and pendant vinyl groups are prohibited from reaction by the crosslinked structure. At higher content of EGDMA, the later effect becomes predominant, and the reaction rate and the final conversion are limited. The exothermic peak of the curing reaction tends to carry a shoulder and then split into two peaks as the amount of EGDMA is increased, possibly due to a later reaction of the trapped monomers and pendant vinyls. The heat of reaction measured by DSC in the scanning mode is 61.2 kJ/mol CC. The activation energy (E) of the curing reaction ranges from 56.5 to 78.3 kJ/mol CC depending on the EGDMA content and the type of operation. The diffusion-limited reaction rate and the different thermal history experienced in the nonisothermal and isothermal curing can result in variations of the results in the activation energy measurement. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 1873–1889, 1997
Reputation Based Attacker Identification Policy for Multi-Access Edge Computing in Internet of Things

In the recent years, there has been an explosive growth of smart devices applications with high computational demands and critical latency. The Internet of Things (IoT) multi-access edge computing (MEC) framework offers a lower latency and a higher speed to the users, by offloading the cloud computing capabilities at the nearest edge of the mobile network. In this operating scenario, the proper allocation of limited resources is one of the biggest challenges, and security is becoming vital as the number of devices in an IoT network tends to billions. According to recent studies, even authorized edge devices may be a significant threat for IoT networks (i.e., selfish behavior), as a result of mixed service structures with a wide range of different requirements. Thus, this work proposes a novel two-fold method to allocate resources and then identify attackers (selfish IoT malicious devices) by means of a reputation-based stable matching policy. The devices are categorized in three different states, namely honest, suspicious, and malicious states, according to their reputation indices. Our algorithm allows to move the devices between the three states, in order to exclude malicious devices and to rehabilitate users identified as unintentional attackers (due to bad propagation conditions). Theoretical and simulation results confirm the validity and effectiveness of such approach for identifying malicious IoT devices in MEC networks.
Entamoeba histolytica—Gut Microbiota Interaction: More Than Meets the Eye

Amebiasis is a disease caused by the unicellular parasite Entamoeba histolytica. In most cases, the infection is asymptomatic but when symptomatic, the infection can cause dysentery and invasive extraintestinal complications. In the gut, E. histolytica feeds on bacteria. Increasing evidences support the role of the gut microbiota in the development of the disease. In this review we will discuss the consequences of E. histolytica infection on the gut microbiota. We will also discuss new evidences about the role of gut microbiota in regulating the resistance of the parasite to oxidative stress and its virulence.
Etude par simulation numérique d’un réacteur de synthèse de nanopoudres

Dans le cas de la synthèse de poudres céramiques par pyrolyse laser, un modèle de calcul numérique a été développé. Ce modèle prend en considération les transferts d’énergie et les réactions chimiques, le but étant de comprendre les différents mécanismes responsables de la formation et de la collecte des poudres. Une étude du réacteur dans un regime turbulent a été réalisée dans le but de concevoir un réacteur industriel.
Isolation of New Strain of Cordyceps militaris HB8 and Optimal Condition for Production of Adenosine and Cordycepin in Fruit Body

Cordyceps has been used in traditional Chinese medicine more than 2000 year ago. In this study, the new Cordyceps militaris was founded and isolated from O-dae mountain in Korea, and was identified its genetic characteristics. The newly isolation strain HB8 was most closet to Cordyceps militaris W141449 (99.82%), Cordyceps militaris JLCY-LI819 (99.82%) and Cordyceps militaris 4642 (99.81%), respectively. the genotypic result was show that train HB8 was belonging to the Cordyceps militaris genus, therefore, Cordycep militaris HB8 proposed with accession number MT835161. This study we find the optimal condition for production of cordycepin from Cordyceps militaris HB8 was 8 mg /g (200 g of pupa, 1 g of KH2PO4, 0.5 g of K2HPO4, 20 g of glucose, 1 g of MgSO4, 0.05 g of vitamin B1, and 1 mg of NAA per liter; light condition 300-700 Lux and day/night was 14 h/10 h) and the optimum condition for the production of adenosine was 2.6 mg/g (15 g of skim milk powder, 1 g of KH2PO4, 0.5 g of K2HPO4, 20 g of glucose, 1 g of MgSO4, 0.05 g of vitamin B1, and 1 mg of NAA per liter; light condition 300-700 Lux and day/night was 14 h/10 h).
Structures of Peptaibol Antibiotics Hypomurocin A and B from the Ascomycetous Fungus Hypocrea muroiana hino et katsumoto

From a submerse culture of the fungus Hypocrea muroiana Hino et Katsumoto (Ascomycetes: Hypocreales) two major groups of peptides, designated hypomurocin (HM) A and B, belonging to the peptaibol family, could be characterized. Both groups showed antibiotic activity (Bacillus subtilis) and caused hemolysis of rat erythrocytes, HM A being less active than HM B. Peptides were isolated from the culture broth by chromatography on XAD-2 adsorber resin, octyl silica, and Sephadex LH 20. HM A and B were separated by preparative TLC, and individual peptides from each microheterogeneous group were isolated by preparative HPLC. Amino acid analysis and sequence determination by fast atom bombardment and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry revealed the composition and structures of six 11-mer peptides of the HM A group and of six 18-mer peptides of the HM B group. Positions of isomeric amino acids Leu/Ile and Val/Iva (present in some of the peptides) were determined by methanolytic cleavage of the pure peptides, followed by trifluoroacetylation of the dipeptide methyl esters released and assignment of their structures by gas chromatography-selected ion monitoring mass spectrometry. As examples, two sequences of HM A and HM B are presented (exchange positions in parentheses). – HM A-1(2): Ac-Aib1(D-Iva1)-Gln-Val-Val-Aib-Pro-Leu-Leu-Aib-Pro-Leuol11; HMB-1(2): Ac-Aib1-Ser-Ala-Leu-Aib-Gln-Aib-Val-Aib-Gly-Aib-Pro-Leu-Aib-Aib-Gln-Valol18 (Leuol18), (Ac = acetyl, Aib = α-aminoisobutyric acid, Iva = D-isovaline, Leuol = L-leucinol, Valol = L-valinol).
Toward Understanding of the Propulsion Mechanism of Rod-Shaped Nanoparticles That Catalyze Gas-Generating Reactions

There is no consensus in the literature on the propulsion mechanism of rod-shaped nanomotors that catalyze hydrogen peroxide decomposition to oxygen and water. Historically, the directional motion was discovered with bimetallic nanorods,1,2 and the related asymmetry of catalytic rod surface has been taken as a necessary condition of self-propulsion in all of the mechanisms proposed to date. This study for the first time demonstrates that hydrodynamic behavior of monocomponent catalytic nanorods in a H2O2 solution is similar to that of the bicomponent ones, and hence, the surface chemical asymmetry is unlikely to be a governing factor in the rods self-propulsion. The experimental results have shown that oxygen bubbles' evolution from the rod surface and related gravitational forces alone can drive directional motion of the rods. A new model is proposed that is based on the gravitational forces and considers rod motion in the 3D space. Nonparallel rods orientation relative to the horizontal plane has been f.
Temporal trend analysis of extreme precipitation

Asiri iklim olaylarinin sikligi ve yogunlugundaki degisiklikler onemli sosyal, ekonomik ve cevresel sorunlara neden olmaktadir. Ozellikle, iklim degisikliginin ekstrem yagislar uzerindeki etkilerini arastirmak cok onemlidir. Son yillarda bircok arastirmaci tarafindan kuresel, bolgesel ve yerel olcekte ekstrem yagislarin mekansal ve zamansal degisimi arastirilmistir. Bu calismada, Turkiye'de Konya Kapali Havzasi’nda bulunan 4 meteoroloji istasyonunun (Konya, Karaman, Aksaray, Nigde)ekstrem yagislarinin zamansal degisimi arastirilmistir. Bu amacla, Mann-Kendall (MK), Spearman’s Rho ve Innovative Şen Trend testleri kullanilmistir. Trend yontemlerinin sonuclarina gore Aksaray, Karaman ve Nigde meteoroloji istasyonlarinda ekstrem yagis verileri istatistiksel olarak anlamli olmayan azalma, Konya meteoroloji istasyonunda ise anlamli olmayan artis egilimleri elde edilmistir.