Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mécanismes de croissance de nanotubes de carbone alignés : relation catalyseur-nanotube

Dans le domaine des nanosciences qui est actuellement en plein essor, les nanotubes de carbone (NTC) suscitent un fort interet en raison de leurs proprietes originales qui resulte de leur structure particuliere. Pour maitriser et optimiser les procedes de fabrication, il est essentiel de comprendre les mecanismes qui regissent leur croissance. Parmi les techniques de synthese des NTC, la CCVD (Catalytic Chemical Vapour deposition) d'aerosol, developpee au laboratoire Francis Perrin, permet la croissance rapide et continue de NTC multi-feuillets alignes et propres par l'injection simultanee de precurseur carbone liquide (toluene) et catalytique (metallocene). Notre principal objectif a ete de comprendre comment le metallocene donne naissance a la particule catalytique, quelle est la nature exacte de celle-ci, quels sont les parametres qui controlent son activite et enfin comment les especes catalytiques cheminent pour permettre la croissance des NTC. Grâce a une approche experimentale faisant intervenir une etude systematique des produits le long du four pour differentes conditions thermodynamiques (flux et mode de refroidissement) et chimiques (concentration en precurseurs, introduction de gaz reducteur), nous avons mis en evidence une germination homogene des particules de fer en phase gazeuse se produisant en amont de la zone isotherme suivie de leur depot graduel le long du four. Les particules catalytiques a la base du tapis de NTCs alignes seraient un fer semi-fondu sursature en carbone qui est alimente en continu par les especes catalytiques qui diffusent le long du tapis de NTC jusqu'a sa base.
Neurocognitive functioning after electroconvulsive therapy in late‐life depression: A 4‐year prospective study

Despite the proven efficacy and safety of ECT, there is still concern about the possible cognitive side effects of ECT in older patients. In this study, we aimed to characterize the long‐term cognitive effects of ECT in patients with late‐life depression (LLD) from before the start until 4 years after the index ECT course.
The Predictive Role of Raw Bioelectrical Impedance Variables in Disordered Eating Attitudes in Female Ballet Dance Students

The present study used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to investigate the accuracy of body composition and raw bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in correctly classifying disordered eating attitudes (DEA) in dance students. Participants were 81 female dancers assigned in two groups: beginner training (BT; age (mean ± SD) = 10.09 ± 1.2 years, n = 32) and advanced training (AT; age = 15.37 ± 2.1 years, n = 49). Fat mass (FM) was estimated by Slaughter’s equation and skeletal muscle with Poortman’s equation. Impedance (Z), resistance (R), reactance (Xc) and phase angle (PhA) were obtained through multifrequency BIA at a frequency of 50 kHz. Fat-free mass (FFM) was assessed using Sun’s equation. For evaluation of DEA, the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) questionnaire was performed. We defined an EAT-26 score ≥ 20 as positive for DEA. Comparisons between groups were performed by a one-way ANOVA test or Kruskall-Wallis test. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were performed to assess associations between variables. ROC curve analysis was utilized to test the accuracy of body composition and BIA variables in predicting DEA. In the BT group, Xc and PhA demonstrated high accuracy in predicting DEA with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.976 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85–1.00) and 0.957 (95% CI: 0.82–0.99), respectively, (both p < 0.0001). FFM Sun had an AUC of 0.836 (95% CI: 0.66–0.94) (p < 0.0001) in the BT group and FFM Slaughter was 0.797 (95% CI: 0.66–0.90) (p < 0.001) in the AT group. Reactance and Phase angle were excellent and useful predictors of DEA in the BT group.
Macrophage inhibitory cytokine‐1 promotes angiogenesis by eliciting the GFRAL‐mediated endothelial cell signaling

Macrophage inhibitory cytokine‐1 (MIC‐1) is a cytokine with pleotropic actions and its expression is markedly increased by inflammation and cardiac injury and in cancers. In particular, MIC‐1 production after cardiac ischemia injury is associated with enhanced cardiac angiogenesis as well as myocardial protection. However, it remains uncertain whether MIC‐1 itself has proangiogenic activity. In this study, we tried to determine the precise role of MIC‐1 in physiological and pathological angiogenesis. Human microvessel endothelial cells responded to MIC‐1 with enhanced angiogenic behaviors. Employing various angiogenesis assays, MIC‐1 was found to promote vessel formation and development with a potency similar to that of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). MIC‐1 transgenic (Tg) mice also displayed enhanced neovascularization in both developing embryos and neonatal mouse retinas, compared with wild‐type mice. Furthermore, endothelial cells (ECs) isolated from MIC‐1 Tg mouse lung exhibited higher angiogenic potential than ECs from wild‐type lung. MIC‐1‐induced angiogenesis was also observed in the recovery or healing processes of injuries such as hindlimb ischemia and skin wounds in mice. However, unlike VEGF, MIC‐1 induced neither endothelial inflammation nor increased vascular permeability. In ECs, the MIC‐1 signal exerted proangiogenic actions via the MEK/extracellular signal‐regulated kinase‐ and phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase/Akt‐dependent pathways. Notably, these MIC‐1 signaling events in ECs were abrogated by small interfering RNA‐mediated knockdown of GFRAL, suggesting that GFRAL is an EC receptor for MIC‐1. In summary, we here show a novel role of MIC‐1 as a potent EC activator, which promotes both normal and injury‐related angiogenesis.
Fabrication of polyvinyl alcohol based fast dissolving oral strips of sumatriptan succinate and metoclopramide HCL

Migraine is a throbbing condition, usually associated with nausea and vomiting and requires concurrent administration of anti-migraine along with anti-emetic therapy. The current study was undertaken with an aim to fabricate fast dissolving oral strips (FDOSs) containing Sumatriptan succinate (anti-migraine) and Metoclopramide HCl (anti-emetic) in combination without involving any superdisintegrant. Hydrophilic polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used alone with three concentrations of 100, 125, and 150 mg using variable concentrations of glycerol. The solvent casting technique was employed to formulate FDOSs and were evaluated for surface morphology, mechanical properties, surface pH, % moisture content, disintegration time (DT), total dissolving time (TDT), drug contents, and dissolution profile. PVA (150 mg) with 5% glycerol concentration gave best formulation results. FDOSs have exhibited good tensile strength with smooth and uniform surface morphology. DT was ranged from 7.7 to 28 s; while TDT was from 26.4 to 77.6 s. Both polymer and plasticizer concentrations were found to be influencing the characteristics of the strips. Dissolution studies were carried out in distilled water for 15 min and all the formulations have shown released more than 50% drug within first 2 min thereby highlighting the usefulness of FDOSs for the delivery of both drugs in combination significantly. Optimized combination of ingredients was found to be suitable for the formulation of FDOSs for simultaneous delivery of Metoclopramide HCl and Sumatriptan succinate.
BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic): the ‘new normal’ in collective terminology

Anyone who has been tracking the public health literature on the greater risks experienced by minority ethnic groups in the coronavirus pandemic will have been struck by the almost ubiquitous use of the acronym ‘BAME’. Government public health agencies use BAME as a modifying adjective for ‘… communities’, ‘… groups’, ‘… households’, ‘… people’, ‘… populations’, ‘… staff’ and as a noun. A 2020 report by Public Health England1 on the impact of COVID-19 on minority ethnic groups mentioned BAME 217 times without defining the term other than spelling out the acronym. Such usage is redolent of Ian Hacking’s ‘kinds of person’,2 a social group brought into being by the creation of labels for them and whose life narratives are dependent on social practices associated with such labelling. While ‘BME’ (black and minority ethnic) entered the lexicon in the early 1980s and was first used in Parliamentary proceedings in 1987, …
Acute Viral Encephalitis Associated with SARS-CoV-2

Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain parenchyma caused by either viruses or bacteria. The viruses can broadly cause central nervous system infections. As the viral encephalitis with severe complications can be life-threatening it has raised global concerns. Depending on the pathogen, host immunity and the environment in which patient live, the expansion of brain involvement and prognosis of this disease would be different. Coronaviruses are pathogens that typically involve respiratory and gastrointestinal system. Although rare, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can probably involve central nervous system and cause neurological symptoms such as headache, seizure, myopathy and impaired consciousness. The viral neurotropic and neuroinvasive characteristics of some coronaviruses facilitate accessing the nervous system through nasal cavity and cause some neurological disorders like encephalitis, demyelination and neurodegeneration disorders. Here we present two cases that according their history, manifestations and laboratory data confirmed COVID-19 followed fatal viral encephalitis.
EMG-Based Decoding of Manipulation Motions in Virtual Reality: Towards Immersive Interfaces

To facilitate the development of a new generation of Virtual Reality systems and their introduction in everyday life applications, new intuitive, immersive methods of interfacing have to be developed. Over the years, Electromyography (EMG) based interfaces have been utilized for unobtrusive interaction with computer systems. However, previous EMG studies have not explored the continuous decoding of the effects of human motion (e.g., manipulated object behavior) in simulated and virtual environments. In this work, we present an EMG based learning framework that can allow for an immersive interaction with Virtual Reality environments. To do that, EMG activations from the muscles of the forearm and the hand were acquired during the execution of object manipulation tasks in a virtual world along with the motion of the object. The virtual world was visualized using an HTC Vive VR headset, while the hand motions were tracked with a dataglove equipped with magnetic motion capture sensors. The object motion decoding was formulated as a regression problem using the Random Forests methodology. The study shows that the object motion can be successfully decoded using the EMG activations, despite the lack of haptic feedback.
Results of thin-cap small-incision lenticule extraction.

PURPOSE To evaluate the influence of a thin cap in small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) for the correction of myopia or myopic astigmatism SETTING:: Tertiary care private practice. METHODS Chart review of 102 eyes of 51 patients. The effect of 120 µm vs 100 µm cap thickness on postoperative spherical equivalent refraction (SEQ), cylinder, corrected and uncorrected visual acuity, and ease of lenticule separation was assessed in a contralateral manner while all other parameters were identical between eyes (including optical zone, minimum lenticule thickness, incision size, and energy and spot settings) using paired t test. RESULTS At 3 months postoperatively, SMILE with 120 µm cap thickness was undercorrected in SEQ relative to SMILE with 100 µm cap thickness. The difference of 0.06 ± 0.39 diopter (D) (or 0.7% ± 5.7%) did not reach statistical significance. Postoperative cylinder was not statistically different in both groups. Visual acuity was similar in both groups. Ease of lenticule separation was identical in both groups. Suction time was shorter with a 100 µm cap (p<0.005). Postoperative central residual stromal thickness was 20 ± 15µm thicker with a 100 µm cap (p<0.0001). Adverse events were comparable. CONCLUSIONS Postoperative refraction, visual acuity, ease of lenticule separation, and incidence of adverse events were not significantly affected by cap thickness. Surgeons may safely use 100 µm instead of 120 µm caps without nomogram adjustment. Alternatively, after suction loss during the lenticule cut a second docking with a programmed cap thickness of 100 µm (and a larger optical zone) may be a rescue technique enabling surgeons to still perform the intended SMILE procedure.
Early disruption of nerve mitochondrial and myelin lipid homeostasis in obesity-induced diabetes

Diabetic neuropathy is a major complication of diabetes. Current treatment options alleviate pain but do not stop the progression of the disease. At present, there are no approved disease-modifying therapies. Thus, developing more effective therapies remains a major unmet medical need. Seeking to better understand the molecular mechanisms driving peripheral neuropathy, as well as other neurological complications associated with diabetes, we performed spatiotemporal lipidomics, biochemical, ultrastructural, and physiological studies on PNS and CNS tissue from multiple diabetic preclinical models. We unraveled potentially novel molecular fingerprints underlying nerve damage in obesity-induced diabetes, including an early loss of nerve mitochondrial (cardiolipin) and myelin signature (galactosylceramide, sulfatide, and plasmalogen phosphatidylethanolamine) lipids that preceded mitochondrial, myelin, and axonal structural/functional defects; started in the PNS; and progressed to the CNS at advanced diabetic stages. Mechanistically, we provided substantial evidence indicating that these nerve mitochondrial/myelin lipid abnormalities are (surprisingly) not driven by hyperglycemia, dysinsulinemia, or insulin resistance, but rather associate with obesity/hyperlipidemia. Importantly, our findings have major clinical implications as they open the door to novel lipid-based biomarkers to diagnose and distinguish different subtypes of diabetic neuropathy (obese vs. nonobese diabetics), as well as to lipid-lowering therapeutic strategies for treatment of obesity/diabetes-associated neurological complications and for glycemic control.
Mucosal Immunity in Sexually Transmitted Infections

Quantitative evaluation of the cells involved in the immune system, such as lym‐ phocytes, plasma cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, and epithelial cells, together with their products, including antibodies, cytokines, and humoral factors of innate immunity, convincingly revealed that the immune system associated with the mucosae is greater than its systemic counterpart (Russell et al. 2015a). This fact should not be surprising, as the development of the entire immune system during evolution and continuously in everyday life is driven by stimulation with commensal microbiota, antigens present in food and inhaled air, as well as path‐ ogens throughout the enormous surface area of mucosal sites, which far exceeds the skin surface. The mucosal immune system comprises anatomically remote and physio‐ logically distinct compartments that provide protection at various mucosal sites. Although the genital tract shares some common features with other mucosae, including the presence of humoral factors and cells of innate immunity, and the origin of cells involved in antibody production and T cell‐mediated immunity, there are also many distinct features characteristic of the genital tract (Russell and Mestecky 2002, 2010; Mestecky et al. 2005). The spectrum of antigens including commensal or pathogenic microorganisms, and sperm is different from those at other mucosal sites. Furthermore, the primary physiological role of the genital tract is reproduction, which involves the acceptance of allogeneic sperm and semi‐allogeneic offspring. This distinct physiological role influences the immune system of the genital tract with respect to the induction or suppression of immune responses, which must be considered in the development and application of vaccines against infectious agents of sexually transmitted diseases. Mucosal Immunity in Sexually Transmitted Infections Jiri Mestecky and Michael W. Russell
Dying by drying: timing of physiological stress thresholds related to tree death is not significantly altered by highly elevated CO2.

Drought-induced tree mortality is expected to occur more frequently under predicted climate change. However, the extent of a possibly mitigating effect of simultaneously rising atmospheric [CO2 ] on stress thresholds leading to tree death is not fully understood, yet. Here, we studied the drought response, the time until critical stress thresholds were reached and mortality occurrence of Pinus halepensis (Miller). In order to observe a large potential benefit from eCO2 , the seedlings were grown with ample of water and nutrient supply under either highly elevated [CO2 ] (eCO2 , c. 936 ppm) or ambient (aCO2 , c. 407 ppm) during two years. The subsequent exposure to a fast or a slow lethal drought was monitored using whole-tree gas exchange chambers, measured leaf water potential and non-structural carbohydrates. Using logistic regressions to derive probabilities for physiological parameters to reach critical drought stress thresholds indicated a longer period for halving the starch under eCO2 than aCO2 . Stomatal closure, turgor loss, the duration until the daily tree C balance turned negative, leaf water potential at thresholds and time-of-death were unaffected by eCO2 . Overall, our study provides for the first-time insights into the chronological interplay of physiological drought thresholds under long-term acclimation to elevated [CO2 ]. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Sea Surface Temperature Contrast in Tropical World : 1 Part 1 Mean State

12 Warming experiments with a uniformly insolated, non-rotating climate model with a slab 13 ocean are conducted by increasing the solar irradiance. As the climate warms, the sur14 face temperature contrast between the warm, rising and cooler, subsiding regions increases, 15 mostly driven by the stronger greenhouse effect in the warm region. Cloud changes act 16 to decrease the surface temperature contrast. The clouds in the convective region be17 come much more reflective as the climate warms, acting to reduce the surface temper18 ature contrast. It is argued that the increase in cloud ice in the convective region is as19 sociated with stronger clear-sky radiative cooling in the upper troposphere in warmer 20 climates. This more top-heavy radiative cooling rate can be explained with simple the21 ory. The mass circulation rate between warm and cool regions consists of shallow and 22 deep cells. Both cells increase in strength with warming. The lower cell remains connected 23 to the surface, while the upper cell rises to maintain a roughly constant temperature. 24 At temperatures above about 310K surface temperature contrast begins to decline, and 25 the climate becomes more sensitive. The reduction in SST contrast above 310K again 26 appears to be initiated by clear-sky radiative processes, although cloud processes in both 27 the rising and subsiding regions contribute. The response of clear-sky outgoing longwave 28 to surface warming begins to accelerate in the region of rising motion and decline in the 29 region of subsidence, resulting in a smaller SST contrast. 30 Plain Language Summary 31 A global model of a non-rotating Earth with an ocean that stores heat but does 32 not transport it is run to equilibrium with different values of globally uniform solar heat33 ing. Despite the complete uniformity of the system, it develops regions of warm sea sur34 face temperature where rain and rising motion occur, and regions with downward, sub35 siding air motion where rainfall does not occur. These contrasts between rainy and dry 36 regions look very similar to what is observed in the present-day tropics. As the climate 37 is changed from current temperatures toward warmer temperatures, the warm regions 38 warm faster, mostly because the rising regions contain more water vapor. The clouds rise 39 to higher altitudes in the warmer climates, and produce more cloud ice. These changes 40 are shown to arise from well-understood physical processes that are expected to oper41 ate in nature. 42
IDFW 15 : Cultivating Knowledge

Fractional Factorial Controlled Sequential Bifurcation (FFCSB) is a newly proposed two-phase screening procedure for large-scale simulation experiments. Sequential screening algorithms inform the decision maker of critical factors in their simulation models and optimize the use of computation resources in studying only critical factors. At IDFW15, FFCSB is applied to the Hierarchy organizational model, which serves as a benchmark to compare innovative Command and Control (C2) structures for enabling more effective warfare. The model is developed in Projects, Organizations and Work for Edge Research, which crystallizes two decades of collaborative research between the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and Stanford University.
THE IMPACT OF DROUGHT

The main purpose of this study was to assess and analyze the climatic trends in the Lake Chad basin region between 1960 and 2002 for which the climatic data is made available. This is because of the impact of drought and desertification in the region which affects socio-economic life of the people in very remarkable ways as virtually every economic activity that the people engaged in is dependent on weather. The data for annual rainfall and temperature were for synoptic meteorological stations within the basin. These included N'Djamena, Mao, Bousso, SARH, Lai (Logone), Djimtilo (near Lake), Bol (Lake). The main findings revealed that the climatic data with respect to rainfall total annual figures show a declining trend until about the early 1980s, there after it begins to show an upward trend. The temperature patterns also varied from one stations to the other although Mao stands out from the other stations. The general trend from the polynomial curve is that of a slight decline from 1960 to 2002. It can be concluded that a proactive allocation of water among the various communities in the basin must be pursued to ensure that everyone has access to water optimally.
Assessment of changes in population ageing in regions of the V4 countries with application of multidimensional scaling

The study investigates the variation in population ageing in four Visegrad countries (V4) and across their NUTS2 regions in 2016 compared to 2005. Population ageing was assessed using the median age, old-age rate, double ageing index, ageing index, and old-age dependency ratio. The authors took into account causes that explain changes occurring at the bottom and at the top of the population pyramid. By applying multidimensional scaling combined with the composite indicator and the Theil decomposition, the study identified differences in the level of population ageing in a two-dimensional space and the dynamics of these changes. Such an approach, with the visualization of the results, enriches this interpretation. In the reference period the process of population ageing in the V4 countries and their regions accelerated considerably. The disproportion between regions has increased in Slovakia, slightly increased in Poland, and decreased in the Czech Republic and Hungary.