Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PCR Evaluation in Ticks Artificially Infected Artificial Infection of Ticks with B . Burgdorferi s . s . ( B 31 )

Background. Lyme borreliosis and relapsing fever are important zoonotic diseases worldwide and the improvement of diagnostic strategies is a prioritized task considering the morbidity of these diseases in some areas. PcR based methods appear to be of utmost importance because of the high sensitivity and specificity of these assays. Objectives. To obtain a molecular method based on PcR for the detection of the genus Borrelia infection in different specimens. Results. Sets of reported primers were evaluated “in silico” and they did not fulfill the proposal parameters. On the other hand, the two new, designed sets of primers were theoretically efficient for Borrelia dNA amplification. PcR procedures with these primers were standardized with borrelial dNA and optimum annealing temperatures, primer concentrations and reaction cycle numbers were determined. The PcR analytical sensitivity was 10 genomes per reaction for each technique. Both PcR were highly specific to different Borrelia species dNA and to samples (sera, cerebrospinal liquids and hard ticks) infected artificially with a Borrelia strain, visualizing the amplification of the expected dNA fragment. No amplification was obtained when other microorganisms were used. 36 human clinical samples were negatives in a preliminary study. Conclusions. Both sets of primers with their respective PcR protocols showed similar results, which suggest that each one can be used indistinctly in detecting Borrelia spp. , mainly in countries where the situation of these diseases are unknown (Adv Clin Exp Med 2013, 22, 5, 639–653).
Novel phases in twisted bilayer graphene at magic angles as a result of van Hove singularities and interactions

The discovery of different phases as a result of correlations, especially in low-dimensional materials, has been always an exciting and fundamental subject of research. Recent experiments on twisted bilayer graphene have revealed reentrant unconventional superconductivity as a function of doping as well as a Mott-like insulating phase when the two layers are twisted with respect to each other at certain ”magic” angles for doping corresponding to two particles per moire unit cell. In this work we propose a microscopic model that takes into account interactions and the van Hove singularities in the density of states of the twisted bilayer graphene at doping corresponding to one particle (ν =1) per moiré unit cell and study how superconductivity emerges. We identify the possible symmetry of the order parameter as s±, while if the inter-valley coupling is negligible the symmetry is s. In addition, we find and characterise the insulating region of the system, as a region with a uniform charge instability where there is coexistence of the metallic and insulating phases.
Credit Constraints and the Measurement of Time Preferences ( preliminary )

Incentivized experiments are commonly used to estimate marginal rate of intertemporal substitution (MRS) in the lab and in the field, and to make inferences about subject’s time preference. This paper considers the implications of an integrated model of behavior in which individuals are subject to financial shocks and credit constraints and take those into account when making experimental choices. The model shows that measured MRS depends on the individual’s effective interest rate and her marginal utility of current and future consumption. Experimental responses should therefore be correlated with other variables that describe the subject’s financial situation, like savings, income and consumption shocks. We test the model with a panel data set from Mali and find evidence for such effects. We discuss how our model can be combined with repeated time preference measures to identify time preferences and other household characteristics including credit constraints and the importance of different types of financial
Novel rapid green fabrication of ZnO nps using mycofiltrate by local fungus Aspergillus Parasiticus Ap 4

Fungi have been used as biofactories for synthesis metals oxide nanoparticles because they are easy, clean, safe, non-toxic, biocompatible and environmentally acceptable. The present study aimed to investigate the biological synthesis, fungal screening protocol, productivity scaling-up and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO Nps) using different fungi isolated from spoilage fruits and vegetable. There were nine fungal strains had been obtained and subjected to primary and secondary screening to investigate capability of ZnO nanoparticles synthesis by fungal extracellular free-cells filtrate. Aspergillus parasiticus Ap4 was given the peak of ZnO Nps 373nm detected by Uvvisible spectrophotometry and significantly optimum strain in highest quantity (mean ±S.D) 0.0137±0.001gm/100ml and smallest average nanoparticles size (mean ±S.E) 73.91±1.4nm at p≤0.05. To improve the productivity, the controlling by temperature and initial pH of reaction has been accomplished. The final optimum parameters were 45oC in 5.5 pH that given significantly compatible for scaling-up in quantity 0.017 ±0.0004 with average size 54.67 ±4.04nm. The ZnO Nps characterized by Uv-visible scanning spectrophotometry, Atomic Force microscopy (AFM), X-RD, Scanning electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy(TEM). The final average ZnO Nps was 56.55nm. The study concluded that there are capability of fungi as eco-friendly and cheaply bionanofactories to manufacture ZnO Nps and easy to improvement the productivity through of some reaction factors.
Dexamethasone Role for Pain Flare Prevention after Palliative Bone Irradiation : A Single Institutional Randomized Trial

Background: Bone metastasis is the most common cause of cancer-related pain. Radiotherapy is the gold standard palliative treatment of painful bone metastases. However, pain flare is a possible adverse reaction. Dexamethasone is an effective drug to manage the pain flare. This trial will study the dexamethasone role to prevent pain flare, to determine the optimal dose schedule and to evaluate the dexamethasone related complications Methods: From July 2016 to June 2018, 311 eligible patients with painful bone metastases entered into this three-armed, randomized study. All patients received a single 8 Gy dose of radiotherapy. Group I did not receive dexamethasone. Group II received 8 mg dexamethasone once daily administered: the day before radiotherapy, one hour prior to radiotherapy (the same day of radiotherapy) and one day after completing radiotherapy. Group III received once daily 8 mg dexamethasone given: one hour before irradiation and for two days after completing irradiation. Results: Of the Group I (110 patients), 45 (40.9%) patients experienced pain flare. Of the Group II (101 patients) and Group III (100 patients), 18 (17.8%) and 16 (16%) patients experienced pain flare. The difference in the incidence of pain flare between the two groups which received steroid and the group which did not receive was statistically significant (P = 0.002), but there was no difference between the two groups which received different schedule of dexamethasone. No dexamethasone related complications were reported. Conclusion: Dexamethasone significantly decreases the pain flare incidence after palliative bone irradiation. Dexamethasone, at three doses of 8 mg, is a well-tolerated and safe schedule. Three doses schedule of dexamethasone may be considered for patients who undergo palliative radiotherapy for painful bone metastases and have no contraindication for this treatment. Publication History: Received: 16 July 2018 | Revised: 15 August 2018 |Accepted: 20 August 2018
FACILITATING PHARMACOGENETIC ASSOCIATION STUDIES USING AN EXTENSIBLE GENOTYPE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

This research is supported by NIGMS grant UO1-GM61373-05, Tamoxifen Pharmacogenetics and Clinical Effects, (Principle Investigator: David Flockhart, MD, PhD), NLM grant 5-K22-LM009135-02, Bioinformatics approaches to characterizing amino acid function, (Principle Investigator: Sean Mooney, PhD) and funds provided through an INGEN grant. The Indiana Genomics Initiative (INGEN) is supported in part by the Lilly Endowment.
Motivational Interviewing in Nursing Practice: Empowering the Patient

Motivational Interviewing in Nursing Practice: Empowering the Patient is a guide to learning Motivational Interviewing, a set of skills that utilizes therapeutic communication to promote behavior change. This text provides unique tools for nurses to implement and help patients take responsibility in their own health care, make informed decisions and provide guidance toward healthy behavior change, leading to improved health of our communities and country. This unique reference contains diagrams, tables, and case studies throughout to offer a better understanding of how to utilize the skills in daily practice. Clear objectives are at the beginning of each chapter and key points to remember are included at the end of each chapter. The skills learned will help nurses to accomplish the many healthcare goals and empower their patients through communication.
SURFACE DAMAGE OF ROLLING BEARINGS CAUSED BY DISCRETE CURRENT FLOW

In recent years, assisted by the promotion of energy-efficiency and alternative energy use, the application of frequency converters to control electric machines (motors and generators) is increasing steadily. Variable speed drive-systems, utilising such control electronics, are capable of saving energy in various applications – especially pumps, fans, electric power engines, lifts . [1] Furthermore, in the quest for ecological usage of electric energy, wind power is an excellent possibility. Here, due to some beneficial properties, wind power systems using doubly-fed induction generators (DFIGs) are used very commonly [2]. These DFIGs also utilise frequency converters to enable power generation at varying wind speed and, hence, rotor speeds.
LocalizationoftheActIII actinorhodin polyketide ketoreductase to the cellwall

Structurally diverse polyketides provide a rich reservoir of bioactive molecules. Actinorhodin, a model aromatic polyketide, is synthesized by minimal type II polyketide synthase and tailoring enzymes. The ActIII actinorhodin ketoreductase is a key tailoring enzyme in actinorhodin biosynthesis. With purified antibodies against actinorhodin polyketide synthase a subunit (KSa) and ketoreductase, we conducted systematic localization experiments of the two proteins in Streptomyces coelicolor subproteomes. The results support the membrane location of KSa and cell-wall location of ketoreductase. Considering previous evidence that some other tailoring enzymes of actinorhodin biosynthesis may be located outside the cytoplasm, a picture is emerging of an extensive role for extracellular biochemistry in the synthesis of type II polyketide antibiotic.
POSITION ESTIMATION AND TRACKING WITH A NETWORK OF HETEROGENEOUS SENSORS IN VIDEO SURVEILLANCE APPLICATIONS

This paper presents ainnovative multi sensors system for object position estimation and tracking inspired to a model inherited from the Data Fusion domain: the Joint Directorate of Laboratories (JDL) model [1]. The problem specifically faced is location and identification of multiple users equipped with radio devices. A network of Video Sensors that cooperatively detect, segment and classify objects of interest, produce evidences regarding object location. By contrast, identity estimation is inferred using a network of Radio Sensors (IEEE 802.11 WLAN Base Stations). Results show that association is feasible between the two sets of sensors and that position estimation accuracy improves exploiting a multisensor approach.
Simultaneous Tracking , Object Registration , and Mapping ( STORM ) by

An autonomous system needs to be aware of its surroundings and know where it is in its environment in order to operate robustly in unknown environments. This problem is known as Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). SLAM techniques have been successfully implemented on systems operating in the real world. However, most SLAM approaches assume that the environment does not change during operation — the static world assumption. When this assumption is violated (e.g. an object moves), the SLAM estimate degrades. Consequently, the static world assumption prevents robots from interacting with their environments (e.g. manipulating objects) and restricts them to navigating in static environments. Additionally, most SLAM systems generate maps composed of low-level features that lack information about objects and their locations in the scene. This representation limits the map’s utility, preventing it from being used for tasks beyond navigation such as object manipulation and task planning. We present Simultaneous Tracking, Object Registration, and Mapping (STORM), a SLAM system that represents an environment as a collection of dynamic objects. STORM enables a robot to build and maintain maps of dynamic environments, use the map estimates to manipulate objects, and localize itself in the map when revisiting the environment. We demonstrate STORM’s capabilities with simulation and real-world experiments and compare its performance against that of a typical SLAM approach. Thesis Supervisor: Gian Luca Mariottini Title: Perception and Localization Group Leader The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Thesis Supervisor: Sertac Karaman Title: Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
POLARIZATION CROSS COUPLING IN ASYMMETRIC PHOTONIC WAVEGUIDES

Planar photonic microstructures in optically thin silicon membranes are becoming increasingly favored in emerging optical signal processing and sensing technologies. Two-dimensional photonic crystals slabs (2D PC slabs) are especially interesting due to their ability to confine and manipulate light on small scales by a combination of photonic bandgap and index guiding. Line-defects defined in the otherwise periodic lattices are served as waveguides, and point-defects are used as miniaturized optical resonators. The traditional photonic devices on a broad photonic bandgap which exists in dielectric membranes only for the transverse electric (TE) polarized light, restricting their operation to that particular polarization. Thus, the capabilities of photonic circuits can be significantly enhanced if both polarization modes are utilized. While independent manipulation of TEand TM-polarized light in photonic crystal membrane has been demonstrated, polarization mixing between different polarization states has not been thoroughly investigated. This thesis explores polarization cross coupling between the quasi-orthogonal modes triggered by structural asymmetries in the guiding and localization regimes. The criteria for coupling are established by parity arguments applied to the field overlap integral. Two basic device geometries representing the fundamental building blocks of many existing photonic circuits, viz. (i) a photonic crystal line-defect waveguide and (ii) a photonic crystal mode-edge cavity, are studied computationally and experimentally. Polarization cross coupling between the TEand TM-like modes in photonic crystal membranes is utilized in the development and demonstration of novel narrow-band grating filters and vertical add-drop cavity filter. Critical Word: Photonic Crystals, PWE, FDTD, Asymmetric Waveguide, Vertical Asymmetry, Horizontal Asymmetry, Cavity, Guided Mode, Mode Coupling, Anti-crossing, Filter
Biogas Digestate Application Modifies Solute Transport Conditions in Soils and Increases the Release of Phosphorus

Severe rainfall events cause increased phosphorus release from soils. The proportion of DRP increases with increasing rainfall duration. Digestate application causes a 400‐fold increase in pore water P concentrations. The DRP fraction is clearly dominant immediately after fertilization. Digestate application facilitates a flux regime shift with preferential flow pathways.
Comparison of bone mineral density in male patients with psoriatic arthritis and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: The local and generalized inflammatory process in chronic arthritis may affect the metabolism of bone tissue. The aim of our cross-sectional study was the evaluation of bone mineral density (BMD) in male patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Material and methods: The study involved 39 patients with the peripheral form of PsA, 34 patients with seronegative RA and 28 men without inflammatory diseases of the joints. The age of the examined patients ranged from 20 to 75 years. The measurement of bone density was performed in the left femoral neck and lumbar spine using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The activity of the disease was assessed by using the DAS 28 (disease activity score) and two standard laboratory parameters: ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and CRP (Creactive protein). Results: In our study, we found mineralization disturbances among the men with PsA and seronegative RA at a level of 54% and 62%, respectively (p = 0.09). BMD in the lumbar spine of patients with PsA was significantly higher than in patients with RA (1.004 ± 0.139 g/cm2 vs. 0.898 ± 0.162 g/cm2, p = 0.039). BMD in the femoral neck of the examined groups of patients did not differ statistically. The duration of the disease was associated with decreased BMD in the femoral neck for both groups with arthritis. Conclusions: Disturbances in the bone mineralization measured in the femoral neck of patients with PsA and seronegative RA are similar and are related to the duration of the inflammatory joint disease. Forum Reumatol. 2018, tom 4, nr 1: 4–9
Avaliação bioquímica, morfológica e funcional do músculo estriado esquelético de ratos na insuficiência cardíaca

11 I – INTRODUCAO 12 1.1. Caracteristicas Gerais do Musculo Estriado Esqueletico 12 1.2. Plasticidade do Musculo Esqueletico 17 1.3. Insuficiencia Cardiaca 17 1.4. Alteracoes nas fibras do Musculo Esqueletico na Insuficiencia Cardiaca 18 II – OBJETIVO 22 IIIMATERIAIS E METODOS 23 IV – REFERENCIAS BIBLIOGRAFICAS 31 V – CAPITULO 1: Differential morphofunctional characteristics in fast and slow muscles in a monocrotaline-induced heart failure 40
Fractional Programming for Robust TX BF Design in Multi-User/Single-Carrier PD-NOMA

We present a new Beamforming-based (BB) Multiple-Input Single-Output (MISO)- Non -orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) scheme for Power Domain NOMA (PD-NOMA), in which the total transmit power consumption is minimized subjected to prescribed signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) requirements for each user, and under the assumption that only imperfect channel state information (CSI) is available at the transmitter. To this end, the fractional programming (FP)-based quadratic transform is employed to reformulate the non-convex SINR constraint of the original problem into a tractable quadratic form, which contains an estimate of the CSI error vector as a parameter. Taking advantage of the fact that the zero duality gap holds for the non-convex quadratic problems, a closed-form expression for an estimate of the CSI error vector is derived, completing the formulation. Finally, a novel iterative algorithm based on both the herein derived CSI error vector and the semidefinite relaxation (SDR) technique is contributed, which is shown to capable of efficiently solving the constrained min-power problem. Simulation results are given which illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, which is found to sacrifice only small quantities of transmit power in return for substantial increase in robustness against CSI imperfection.
Developing a contained and user emulated malware assessment platform

Penetration testers and red teams develop malware to simulate real digital threats to organizations. In order to test which virus scanners detect their malware before using it, they would like to test their malware, without risking sample submission to the AV vendors. Furthermore, they want to test their malware as if it was executed by a user in a realistic way and within a controlled environment. In this research, we investigate the kind of traffic that AV software generates, how sample submission can be blocked and how the user behavior can
Extension of theMultipole Approach to RandomMetamaterials

Influence of the short-range lateral disorder in the meta-atoms positioning on the effective parameters of the metamaterials is investigated theoretically using the multipole approach. Random variation of the near field quasi-static interaction between metaatoms in form of double wires is shown to be the reason for the effective permittivity and permeability changes. The obtained analytical results are compared with the known experimental ones.
Serpin E 2 promotes breast cancer metastasis by remodeling the tumor matrix and polarizing tumor associated macrophages

The extracellular serine protease inhibitor serpinE2 is overexpressed in breast cancer and has been shown to foster metastatic spread. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that serpinE2 creates tumor-promoting conditions in the tumor microenvironment (TME) by affecting extracellular matrix remodeling. Using two different breast cancer models, we show that blocking serpinE2, either by knockdown (KD) in tumor cells or in response to a serpinE2 binding antibody, decreases metastatic dissemination from primary tumors to the lungs. We demonstrate that in response to serpinE2 KD or antibody treatment there are dramatic changes in the TME. Multiphoton intravital imaging revealed deposition of a dense extracellular collagen I matrix encapsulating serpinE2 KD or antibody-treated tumors. This is accompanied by a reduction in the population of tumor-promoting macrophages, as well as a decrease in chemokine ligand 2, which is known to affect macrophage abundance and polarization. In addition, TIMP-1 secretion is increased, which may directly inhibit matrix metalloproteases critical for collagen degradation in the tumor. In summary, our findings suggest that serpinE2 is required in the extracellular milieu of tumors where it acts in multiple ways to regulate tumor matrix deposition, thereby controlling tumor cell dissemination.
THE VERTICAL TRANSMISSION OF RICKETTSIA TSUTSUGAMUSHI IN LEPTOTROMBIDIUM PALLID UM

Leptotrombidium pallidum naturally infected with Rickettsia tsutsugamushi was reared and bred in our laboratory for several generations by brother and sister mating. The larvae and adults at the 8th and 9th generations were sectioned and observed by electron microscopy for analysis for the distribution of rickettsiae in the mites. The distribution densities of rickettsiae were markedly different among organs in each mite, but rickettsiae were seen in all the organs and tissues. Rickettsiae were distributed in the highest density in the salivary gland of larvae, and in the salivary gland, excretory bladder, epidermal layer, ovary and testis of adult mites. Only a few rickettsiae were recognized in the muscle of both larvae and adults. On the other hand, we found, in the infected family line used, a significant number of mites in which no rickettsiae were found by electron microscopy. The grouping of rickettsia-positive and -negative mites according to the parent family revealed that the efficiency of vertical transmission of rickettsia was different from one parent family to another. Thus, it became clear that a significant number of rickettsia-negative mites are produced in an infected family line.