Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantum dot cellular uptake and toxicity in the developing brain: implications for use as imaging probes

Nanometer-sized luminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been utilized as imaging and therapeutic agents in a variety of disease settings, including diseases of the central nervous system. QDs have several advantages over traditional fluorescent probes including their small size (5–10 nm), tunable excitation and emission spectra, tailorable surface functionality, efficient photoluminescence, and robust photostability, which are ideal characteristics for in vivo imaging. Although QDs are promising imaging agents in brain-related applications, no systematic evaluation of QD behavior in brain-relevant conditions has yet been done. Therefore, we sought to investigate QD colloidal stability, cellular uptake, and toxicity in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo in the brain environment. We found that QD behavior is highly dependent on surface functionality and that treatment of cultured organotypic whole hemisphere (OWH) slices with QDs results in dose-dependent toxicity and metallothionein increase, but no subsequent mRNA expression level changes in inflammatory cytokines or other oxidative stress. QDs coated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) were protected from aggregation in neurophysiologically relevant fluids and in tissue, allowing for greater penetration. Importantly, QD behavior differed in cultured slices as compared to monolayer cell cultures, and behavior in cultured slices aligned more closely with that seen in vivo. Irrespective of surface chemistry and brain-relevant platform, non-aggregated QDs were primarily internalized by microglia in a region-dependent manner both in slices and in vivo upon systemic administration. This knowledge will help guide further engineering of candidate QD-based imaging probes for neurological application.
Antibacterial and antioxidant activities of crude aerial part extracts of Satureja Punctata (Benth) Briq

This study evaluates the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the crude extract of an aerial part of Satureja punctata (Benth.) Briq. The dried aerial part of S. punctata (Benth.) Briq was extracted separately using aqueous, ethanol and n-hexane. The antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was assessed using disc diffusion method, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extracts were determined by the agar dilution method. The radical scavenging activity of the extracts was evaluated by DPPH assay. The result indicated that the aqueous and ethanol extracts exhibited significant antibacterial activities on the test microorganisms. The antibacterial activity of 600 mg/ml aqueous extract as measured by inhibition zones against S. aureus was 10.33±0.25 mm, E. coli 9.83±0.19 mm and P. aeruginosa 8.53±0.12 mm. The 600 mg/ml ethanol extract inhibited through zone of inhibitions S. aureus (10.33±0.41 mm), E. coli (9.37±0.18 mm) and P. aeruginosa (10.17±0.46 mm). Furthermore, the MIC values for both aqueous and ethanol extracts were from 75 to 100 mg/ml; whereas the MBC values for same extracts were from 100 to 150 mg/ml. The in vitro free radical scavenging activity showed that the aqueous, ethanol and n-hexane extracts showed maximum antioxidant activity of 87.89, 78.68 and 47.18 % at 25 mg/ml concentration, respectively. The results showed that the aerial part of S. punctata contains components that have antibacterial and antioxidant properties that substantiate the medicinal importance of the plant. Key words: Satureja punctata, antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity, zone of inhibition.
Resistive Switching Characteristics of Resistive Random Access Memory Based on a BaxSr1-xTiO3 Thin Film Grown by a Hydrothermal Method

Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is one of the most promising candidates for emerging nonvolatile memory technology. Much effort has been devoted to exploring the resistive switching (RS) mechanism of multioxide films in the RRAM, especially perovskite oxide films. In this letter, we adopted a hydrothermal method to prepare a BaxSr1-xTiO3 barium strontium titanate (BST) thin film as a perovskite intermediate layer sandwiched between a top Pt electrode and a bottom TiN/Pt electrode in the RRAM cell. Based on current–voltage measurements, the result illustrated a typical bipolar RS characteristic, and with the increasing cycle count, the clockwise switching mode transformed to a counterclockwise switching mode. The double-logarithm current–voltage curves indicated different mechanisms, including ohmic conduction and space-charge-limited current, in both the set and reset states. A conductive filament (CF) model in which the RS behaviors are dominated by the movement of oxygen vacancies (VO) in the BST was adopted. In addition, the influence of the compliance current and maximum voltage is considered.
Hematological and Biochemical Changes in Rats Induced With Diethyl Nitrosamine and the Hepatoprotective Role of Some Antioxidants

Abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and in Egypt the most common form of primary liver cancer. HCC represents the second most prevalent cancer among men in Egypt. The important risk factors for HCC include hepatitis C and B, alcoholic, schistosomiasis, aflatoxins (AFB), hypothirodism and cirrhosis. Diethyl nitrosamine (DEN) is a well-known strong hepatocarcinogenic agent. It is known that DEN induces damage in enzymes involved in DNA repair and is normally used to induce liver cancer in experimental animal models as rats. Curcumin is a strong anti-inflammatory agent and anti-cancer effects with strong therapeutic potential against a variety of cancers. Vitamin C is an important free radical scavenger in extracellular fluids, trapping radicals and protecting bio membranes from peroxide damage and tissue damage of the liver and in HCC cases. Objective: To evaluate the hematological parameters and some liver function tests in the early stage of HCC and the hepatoprotective role of curcumin and vitamin C.Materials and methods: This study was conducted on a patch of 90 adult mature healthy male albino rats (Rattus rattus) averaged weight (190 ± 10 g) were allowed to acclimatize in the laboratory and distributed into 9 groups 10 rats for each. Hematological parameters and some hepatic tests were measured and histopathology of the liver, for all groups at the end of the experiment.Results: The results showed that significant alterations in all hematological parameters and hepatic function tests when compared with its corresponding level in the control group, and when treated with curcumin and vitamin c the results showed improvement for some parameters when compared with DEN group. Conclusion: Antioxidants like curcumin and vitamin C administration improved the hematological parameters and liver function tests.
Nitramine Derivatives of NTO - A DFT Study

NTO is a nitrotriazole type explosive having good thermal stability and low chemical sensitivity. It is relatively insensitive to impact and shock. In the present study, nitramine derivatives of NTO are considered within the constraints of density functional theory at the level of B3LYP/6-31+G(d). The stabilities, some geometrical, physicochemical, and some molecular orbital characteristics etc., of the structures are considered. The calculated IR and UV-VIS spectra are presented and discussed.
CHEMICAL QUALITY OF URBAN AND RURAL DRINKING WATER, IN TARAPACA, NORTHERN ARID AREA OF CHILE

The population of Tarapaca, northern Chile, is supplied with drinking water of underground origin. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical quality of water for human consumption in nine urban and rural locations and its compliance with current norms (temperature, salinity, alkalinity, dissolved majority ions, As and B). Geochemical classifications were deduced to consider the origin and relationships between waters. Moreover, five water stability indicators were evaluated to estimate potential corrositivity (B/Cl - ratio, Cl - /SO 4 2- ratio and Larson ratio) and calcareous inlays formation (Langelier Saturation Index and Ryzman Stability Index). The samples analyzed were determined had mild temperatures, slightly alkaline, with a wide range of values of salinity (74.7 - 1287 mg L -1 ). The hydrogeochemical results confirmed four water types: Na + /HCO 3 - -Cl - -SO 4 2- , Na + /SO 4 2- , Na + -Ca 2+ /SO 4 2- , and Na + -Ca 2+ /Cl - -SO 4 2- . The 168 samples reached 100% of the degree of compliance of NCh409, except in the wells of Colonia Pintados, where As concentration exceeded 13 to 30 times the norm. Sulphate and B exceded international standards. The water taste deterioration can be attributed to high concentrations of SO 4 2- , Cl - , Ca 2+ , and B. Finally, water stability indexes determined the capacity for severe corrosively potential and formation of light calcareous deposits. The internal regulations of the country must harmonize and admit substances suggested by the WHO.
Anisotropic interfacial properties of monolayer GeSe—metal contacts

Monolayer germanium selenide (ML GeSe) has been experimentally fabricated recently. It is a new member of the two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor material group and shares a similar pucker structure, direct band gap, anisotropy, and high carrier mobility with isoelectronic ML phosphorene. Additionally, it had an advantage over phosphorene in that it is intensely ambiently stable and thus more suitable for a channel material for next-generation high-performance transistors. We systematically research the contact properties between ML GeSe and electrodes (Cu, Ag, Ti, Au, Pd, Pt, graphene and graphene-Cu) in a transistor configuration by using first-principle and quantum transport calculations. ML GeSe field effect transistors (FETs) have strong Fermi level pinning and anisotropic Schottky contacts in the lateral interface. Graphene electrodes have a dramatic lateral p-type (quasi-p-type) ohmic contact in the b (a)-axis direction of ML GeSe FETs, and graphene-Cu hybrid electrodes have a quasi-p-type ohmic contact in the a-axis direction. Hence, high performance can be achieved in ML GeSe FETs with graphene electrodes or via the insertion of graphene between the ML GeSe and a Cu electrode.
Regulating IoT: Enabling or Disabling the Capacity of the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the technology buzzword of the day. The number of networkconnected devices has now exceeded the world population, and recent market research estimates that 8.4 billion connected ‘things’ will be in use in 2017.1 IoT technologies add an online identity to objects that have traditionally had only a physical identity – from fridges, to cars to power plants – enabling these objects to be virtually sensed, analysed and even actuated.
Biocompatibility evaluation of hexagonal boron nitrides on healthy mouse hippocampal cell line and their positive effect on stressed cells

In this study, hexagonal boron nitrides (hBNs) and their degradation product, boric acid (BA), are comparatively evaluated to investigate their biocompatibility and oxidative stress relieving effects on embryonic mouse hippocampal cell line (mHippoE-14). First, cell viability is assessed for a wide concentration range of 4.40-440 μg/mL of boron (B) containing hBNs and BA for 24 and 72 h exposures. Then, cell cycle, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and cell death mechanisms are investigated at a concentration range of 4.4-44 μg/mL with increased incubation times. Finally, the influence of hBNs and BA on apoptotic body formation is monitored to analyze their nuclei integrity with confocal microscopy. Both hBNs and BA are found to be not cytotoxic at lower than 22 µg/mL B containing concentrations, and hBNs are much less cytotoxic compared to BA. At low concentration of hBNs, no detectable change in cell cycle, ROS production and DNA damage are observed. The study was further extended by exposing the cells to doxorubicin (DOX) to cause stress on cells before treating with hBNs and BA to investigate their positive effect on cellular metabolism. It is found that both hBNs and BA helps to increase the cell viability after the exposure to DOX. The results are envisioning the exploitation of hBNs as biocompatible agents for their possible biomedical applications including mitigating oxidative stress caused by various drugs used for neurological diseases and brain cancers. Since hBNs slowly degrade in biological media, they can be used as a controlled B releasing agent as compared to ionic BA in addition to their nanocarrier feature.
Technological-Technical and Environmental
Evaluation of Herbaceous Plant Usage for
the Production and Burning
of Granulated Biofuel

Three unconventional herbaceous energy plants – sida (Sida hermaphrodita Rusby), elephant grass (Miscanthus giganteus) and reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) – were grown and investigated in the experimental fields of Aleksandras Stulginskis University, and the technical means of plant preparation and usage for energy purposes were investigated. The physical-mechanical characteristics (moisture content, density, flow angles) of chopped and milled unconventional energy plants were investigated. These characteristics are required to project and choose the supply, transportation and storage equipment. In evaluating the quality of plant chopping and milling, the fractional compositions of reed canary grass, sida and elephant grass chaff as well as the mill were determined. The largest chaff fraction was found in a sieve with 8-mm diameter holes (from 52.0 to 62.7%), and the largest mill fraction was found in a sieve with 0.5and 0.63-mm diameter holes (from 37.6 to 46.4%). The pellet moisture content was sufficiently low and varied from 6.7% to 9.6%. The highest density was determined in reed canary grass pellets (1035.1±63.9 kg m-3 DM), and the lowest density was in elephant grass pellets (653.6±67.1 kg m-3 DM). The emission of harmful gases was determined when various unconventional energy plants were burned. The highest concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) was observed when burning elephant grass (2294.7 ppm), and the smallest concentration of CO was observed when burning reed canary grass (905.2 ppm). The most carbon dioxide was detected when burning sida (7.9%), and the smallest when burning elephant grass (5.2%). The nitrogen oxide emissions differed only insignificantly; the values ranged from 176.2 ppm (Reed canary grass) to 216.1 ppm (Elephant grass). The production of granules, when biomass was not dried artificially in a dryer, was calculated to have *e-mail:algirdas.jasinskas@asu.lt DOI: 10.15244/pjoes/99106 ONLINE PUBLICATION DATE: 2019-07-30 4370 Streikus D. , et al.
Antibacterial Activities of Perfume: Combination Flower Magnolia alba, Cananga odorata and Mimusops elengi L, Fixed with Pogostemon cablin Oil

Abstract: The making of perfume from the combination Magnolia alba (M. alba) flower oil, Cananga odorata (C. odorata) and Mimusops elengi L (M. elengi) fixed with Pogostemon cablin oil (P. cablin) have been done. Essential oil of M. alba and C. odorata was distilled by water distillation and extraction essential oil of M. elengi flower using n-hexane evaporated solvent method. Composition perfume through organoleptic test obtained with a ratio of 4% v/v, 4% v/v, and 2% v/v for each essential oil M. alba, C. odorata and M. elengi. Antibacterial activity of the perfume and each of the volatile oil was performed by the disc diffusion method. Antibacterial activity test showed that perfumes were able to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria, but less active. Antibacterial activity of the perfume was more active against E. coli with an inhibitory zone of 8.3 mm and 39.81% inhibitory power than S. aureus bacterial 7.3 mm inhibition zone with 37.55% inhibitory power. Perfumes after storage for one, and two months had better antibacterial activity than before storage with an average inhibitory zone of 11-15 mm and inhibitory power of 50- 68,18%. Keywords: Antibacterial, E. Coli, C. Odorata, M. alba, M. elengi, P. cablin, , S. aureus
Decision Making guided by Emotion A computational architecture

A computational architecture is presented, in which "swift and fuzzy" emotional channels guide a "slow and precise" decision-making channel. Reported neurobiological studies first provide hints on the representation of both emotional and cognitive dimensions across brain structures, mediated by the neuromodulation system. The related model is based on Guided Propagation Networks, the inner flows of which can be guided through modulation. A key-channel of this model grows from a few emotional cues, and is aimed at anticipating the consequences of ongoing possible actions. Current experimental results of a computer simulation show the integrated contribution of several emotional influences, as well as issues of accidental all-out emotions.
Term Variation in Specialised Corpora: Characterisation, automatic discovery and applications

This book addresses term variation which has been a very important topic in terminology, computational terminology and natural language processing for up to twenty years. This book presents the first complete inventory of term variants and the linguistic procedures that lead to their formation. It also takes into account issues raised by multilingual applications and presents ways to detect variants in five different languages: French, English, German, Spanish and Russian. The book provides insights into the following issues: What is a variant? What are the main linguistic mechanisms involved in the transformation of base terms into variants? How can variants be automatically detected in texts? Should variation be taken into account in natural language processing applications? This book is targeted at terminologists and linguists interested in term variation as well as researchers in natural language processing and computer science that must handle term variants in different kinds of applications.
Anomaly detection through spatio-temporal data mining, with application to near real-time outlying sensor identification

There is a need for robust solutions to the challenges of near real-time spatiotemporal outlier and anomaly detection. In our dissertation, we define and demonstrate quality measures for evaluation and comparison of overlapping, real-time, spatio-temporal data providers and for assessment and optimization of data acquisition, system operation and data redistribution. Our measures are tested on real-world data and applications, and our results show the need and potential to develop our own mechanisms for outlier and anomaly detection. We then develop a representative, near real-time solution for the identification of outlying sensors that far outperforms state of the art methods in terms of accuracy and is computationally efficient. When applied to a real-world, meteorological data set, we identify numerous problematic sites that otherwise have not been flagged as bad. We identify sites for which metadata is incorrect. We identify observations that have been mislabeled by provider quality control processes. And, we demonstrate that our method outperforms enhanced versions of state of the art methods for assessment of accuracy using comparable or less computation time. There are many quality-related problems with real data sets and, in the absence of an approach like ours, these problems may have largely gone unidentified. Our approach is novel for the simple but effective way that it accounts for spatial and temporal variation, and that it addresses more than just accuracy. Collectively these contributions form an overarching data-mining framework and example that can be used and extended for data-mining method development, model building and evaluation of spatio-temporal outlier and anomaly detection processes.
Devulcanization of natural rubber vulcanizates by Bacillus cereus TISTR 2651

The ability of Bacillus cereus TISTR 2651 to perform biological devulcanization of natural rubber cured by con-ventional vulcanization (CV), semi-efficient vulcanization or efficient vulcanization was studied. Among the three curing systems, B. cereus TISTR 2651 could specifically devulcanize rubber products formed from the CV system the best, removing 26.44% of the sulfur within 20 days. Moreover, B. cereus TISTR 2651 could oxidize and desulfurize the sulfide crosslinks in the CV rubber and transform them to oxygen-containing sulfur-based groups via the 4S pathway. Additionally, the molecular weight, crosslink density and gel fraction of the CV rubber were also significantly decreased from the original levels. Horikx analysis was used to propose the mechanism of bacterial devulcanization. Finally, ground tire rubber (GTR) was devulcanized by B. cereus TISTR 2651 and the percentage of sulfur removal was about 27.98 for 20 days, where similar results were also obtained. Accordingly, B. cereus TISTR 2651 can be applied for the management of rubber waste, leading towards a solution of this environmental problem.
Mutual Conservation of Redox Mediator and Singlet Oxygen Quencher in Lithium–Oxygen Batteries

Li–O2 batteries are plagued by side reactions that cause poor rechargeability and efficiency. These reactions were recently revealed to be predominantly caused by singlet oxygen, which can be neutralized by chemical traps or physical quenchers. However, traps are irreversibly consumed and thus only active for a limited time, and so far identified quenchers lack oxidative stability to be suitable for typically required recharge potentials. Thus, reducing the charge potential within the stability limit of the quencher and/or finding more stable quenchers is required. Here, we show that dimethylphenazine as a redox mediator decreases the charge potential well within the stability limit of the quencher 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2. 2]octane. The quencher can thus mitigate the parasitic reactions without being oxidatively decomposed. At the same time the quencher protects the redox mediator from singlet oxygen attack. The mutual conservation of the redox mediator and the quencher is rational for stable and effective Li.
Antibacterial mechanism of peptide Cec4 against Acinetobacter baumannii

Background A case of Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii), known as gram-negative bacteria, causes a range of nosocomial infections. Due to the continuous detection of multi-drug resistant A. baumannii in the clinic, there is an urgent need to find alternative therapies, including broad-spectrum antibacterial peptides (AMP). Recently it has been found that the peptide Cec4 has good antibacterial activity against A. baumannii, but the antibacterial mechanism remains elusive. Materials and methods The basic structure of Cec4 was analyzed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and the potential antibacterial mechanism of Cec4 was detected by flow cytometry, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence and confocal microscopy. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of antimicrobial peptides against various A. baumannii was determinated with broth microdilution techniques. The biofilm formation and the sensitivity detection of biofilms to antimicrobial peptides were detected by crystal violet staining. Results In this study, the main secondary structure of the antibacterial peptide Cec4 is α-helix (99.7%) in the hydrophobic environment. Furthermore, after the treatment with Cec4, an amount of leakage of A. baumannii and the destruction of its cell membrane were detected. Moreover, it was observed that FITC-Cec4 can enter the cell, and more cells were held in the G1 phase with peptide Cec4. However, the DNA binding assay of the peptide Cec4 indicates that the peptide does not target DNA. In addition, peptide Cec4 was superior in reducing adherent biofilms of A. baumannii compared to conventional antibiotics and has no cytotoxicity. Conclusion It is apparent that the antibacterial peptide Cec4 may achieve rapid sterilization by multi-target interaction and presents an attractive therapeutic option for the prevention and control of A. baumannii infections.