Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Citric acid promoted melanin synthesis in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells, but inhibited it in human epidermal melanocytes and HMV-II melanoma cells via the GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway

Melanin, a pigment synthesized by melanocytes in the skin, resists the damage caused by ultraviolet rays to cells. Citric acid, a well-known food additive, is commonly used as an antioxidant and is an important part of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle for energy production during cellular metabolism. Here, we aimed to investigate whether the addition of excess citric acid regulates melanin synthesis, and to delineate the underlying mechanism. First, we observed that citric acid exerts opposite redox effects on mouse and human cells. Interestingly, treatment with excess citric acid increased the melanin content in mouse cells but decreased it in human cells. Furthermore, the expression of factors important for melanin synthesis, such as microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), was also regulated by citric acid treatment—it was promoted in mouse cells and suppressed in human cells. Citric acid also impacted the upstream regulators of MITF, glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), and β-catenin. Second, we determined the importance of GSK3β in the citric acid-mediated regulation of melanin synthesis, using a GSK3β inhibitor (BIO). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that citric acid regulates melanin synthesis via the GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway, and that equal amounts of exogenous citric acid exert opposing effects on mouse and human cells.
Variation of Sentence Connectors as Logical Devices in Abstracts

This study was an attempt to examine the category and frequency of sentence connectors in research articles’ abstracts of two disciplines of Applied Linguistics and Electrical Engineering written by native English speakers (NES) and non-native English speakers (NNES). The corpus of eighty research articles that all taken from well-known refereed journals, are selected by scholars within two disciplines. Sentence connectors were identified and classified following the taxonomies of Quirk et al. model. In this model, taxonomies included connectors occurring both within and beyond the sentential level. The words were counted by Ant-Conc-3.4. 1 software. The results indicated the sentence connectors in the two disciplines were differently used. The frequency of sentence connectors in Electrical Engineering articles was higher than that in the Applied Linguistics. As for the NES and NNES, the results demonstrated stylistic differences as well. So, writing style is not only a function of disciplinary distinctions but also a reflection of the writers' linguistic backgrounds.
Poly(ethylene oxide)-sodium dodecyl sulfate interactions studied using static and dynamic light scattering

Static and dynamic light scattering measurements have been made on poly(ethy1ene oxide) (PEO) in the presence of the ionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solution over a range of relative concentrations. The purpose was, in part, to demonstrate the polyelectrolyte effecte which arise in PEO on formation of the charged complex between the components in solution in which small SDS micelles are incorporated into the flexible PEO coil. The influence of the ionic strength of the medium was studied. Static light scattering measurements show that the radius of gyration changes as a function of SDS concentration and the ionic strength of the medium. Diffusion coefficients from dynamic light scattering (DLS) reflect changes in the pair interaction potential as the SDS and ionic strength are altered. Laplace inversion of the DLS time correlation function gives relaxation time distributions consisting of the PEO/SDS complex as the main component and free SDS micelles as the minor component. Changes in peak areas are related to the increase in the degree of binding between SDS and PEO as the relative concentrations change and also the increase in SDS micellar size with increase in the ionic strength of the medium.
The Shortest Strategy for Generating Phosphonate Prodrugs by Olefin Cross-Metathesis – Application to Acyclonucleoside Phosphonates

A short synthetic route to phosphonate prodrugs by olefin cross-metathesis, which uses either (acyloxymethyl) or (hexadecyloxypropyl) allylphosphonate building blocks is described. A study of eight ruthenium catalysts including the Ru–indenylidene catalyst, which bears the N-heterocyclic carbene 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroimidazol-2-ylidene, was undertaken. This method was applied to the synthesis of acyclonucleoside phosphonate prodrugs. This strategy is appealing for further uses in pharmaceutical and medicinal research.
Acoustic Strength-based Motion Tracking

Accurate device motion tracking enables many applications like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). To make these applications available in people's daily life, low-cost acoustic-based motion tracking methods are proposed. However, existing acoustic-based methods are all based on distance estimation. These methods measure the distance between a speaker and a microphone. With a speaker or microphone array, it can get multiple estimated distances and further achieve multidimensional motion tracking. The weakness of distance-based motion tracking methods is that they need large array size to get accurate results. Some systems even require an array larger than 1 m. This weakness limits the adoption of existing solutions in a single device like a smart speaker. To solve this problem, we propose Acoustic Strength-based Angle Tracking (ASAT) System and further implement a motion tracking system based on ASAT. ASAT achieves angle tracking by creating a periodically changing sound field. A device with a microphone will sense the periodically changing sound strength in the sound field. When the device moves, the period of received sound strength will change. Thus we can derive the angle change and achieve angle tracking. The ASAT-based system can obtain the localization accuracy as 5 cm when the distance between the speaker and the microphone is in the range of 3 m.
Understanding User Contexts and Coping Strategies for Context-aware Phone Distraction Management System Design

Smartphones are often distraction for everyday life activities. In this work, we envision designing a context-aware system that helps users better manage smartphone distractions. This system design requires us to have an in-depth understanding of users' contexts of smartphone distractions and their coping strategies. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the contexts in which users perceive that smartphones are distracting in their everyday lives. Furthermore, prior studies did not systematically examine users' preferred coping strategies for handling interruptions caused by smartphones, possibly supported by context-aware systems that proactively manage smartphone distraction. To bridge this gap, we collect in-situ user contexts and their corresponding levels of perceived smartphone distraction as well as analyze the daily contexts in which users perceive smartphones as distracting. Moreover, we also explore how users want to manage phone distraction by asking them to write simple if-then rules. Our results on user contexts and coping strategies provide important implications for designing and implementing context-aware distraction management systems.
Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture Through Camera Trapping: A Review of Benchmark Analyses for Wildlife Density Estimation

Camera traps have become an important research tool for both conservation biologists and wildlife managers. Recent advances in spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) methods have increasingly put camera traps at the forefront of population monitoring programs. These methods allow for benchmark analysis of species density without the need for invasive fieldwork techniques. We conducted a review of SECR studies using camera traps to summarize the current focus of these investigations, as well as provide recommendations for future studies and identify areas in need of future investigation. Our analysis shows a strong bias in species preference, with a large proportion of studies focusing on large felids, many of which provide the only baseline estimates of population density for these species. Furthermore, we found that a majority of studies produced density estimates that may not be precise enough for long-term population monitoring. We recommend simulation and power analysis be conducted before initiating any particular study design and provide examples using readily available software. Furthermore, we show that precision can be increased by including a larger study area that will subsequently increase the number of individuals photo-captured. As many current studies lack the resources or manpower to accomplish such an increase in effort, we recommend that researchers incorporate new technologies such as machine-learning, web-based data entry, and online deployment management into their study design. We also cautiously recommend the potential of citizen science to help address these study design concerns. In addition, modifications in SECR model development to include species that have only a subset of individuals available for individual identification (often called mark-resight models), can extend the process of explicit density estimation through camera trapping to species not individually identifiable.
Sensing Dissolved Sediment Porewater Concentrations of Persistent and Bioaccumulative Pollutants Using Disposable Solid-Phase Microextraction Fibers

Polymer coated glass fibers were applied as disposable samplers to measure dissolved concentrations of persistent and bioaccumulative pollutants (PBPs) in sediment porewater. The method is called matrix solid-phase microextraction (matrix-SPME), because it utilizes the entire sediment matrix as a reservoir for an equilibrium extraction: A glass fiber with a 15 μm coating of poly-(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was placed in a sediment sample until the PBPs reached their equilibrium distribution between the PDMS and the sediment matrix (1-30 days). PBP concentrations in the PDMS were determined by gas chromatography, and they were divided by PDMS water partition coefficients to derive at dissolved porewater concentrations. This approach was applied to measure porewater concentrations of spiked as well as field sediment, and several hydrophobic organic substances (log K(ow) 5.2-7.5) were measured with high precision in the pg to ng/L range. Simple equilibrium partitioning is the basis for the substantial concentration factors that are built into matrix-SPME and for the low demands in materials and operation time. Matrix-SPME was in this study directed at the determination of dissolved porewater concentrations in sediment, and it is further expected to be applicable to other environmental media, to field sampling, and to the sensing of fugacity. Polymer coated glass fibers were applied as disposable samplers to measure dissolved concentrations of persistent and bioaccumulative pollutants (PBPs) in sediment porewater. The method is called matrix solid-phase microextraction (matrix-SPME), because it utilizes the entire sediment matrix as a reservoir for an equilibrium extraction: a glass fiber with a 15 μm coating of poly-(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was placed in a sediment sample until the PBPs reached their equilibrium distribution between the PDMS and the sediment matrix (1-30 days). PBP concentrations in the PDMS were determined by gas chromatography, and they were divided by PDMS water partition coefficients to derive at dissolved porewater concentrations. This approach was applied to measure porewater concentrations of spiked as well as field sediment, and several hydrophobic organic substances (log KOW 5.2-7.5) were measured with high precision in the pg to ng/L range. Simple equilibrium partitioning is the basis for the substantial concentration factors that are built into matrix-SPME and for the low demands in materials and operation time. Matrix-SPME was in this study directed at the determination of dissolved porewater concentrations in sediment, and it is further expected to be applicable to other environmental media, to field sampling
Microstructural evolution of nanotwinned Al-Zr alloy with significant 9R phase

Aluminum (Al) alloys have a multitude of applications, notably in the automotive, aerospace and coating industries, yet they exhibit significantly lower mechanical strength than conventional steels. Nanotwins drastically improve mechanical strength while retaining ductility. However, the high SFE of Al largely prevents twinning. Here, we synthesize Al-Zr alloy films containing an abundance of incoherent twin boundaries and 9R phases. These alloys exhibit an extended solid solubility of Zr, retaining a columnar nanotwinned structure across all compositions. These films reach a hardness up to 4.2 GPa with 10 at% Zr and demonstrate the capacity for producing strong Al alloys with nanotwins. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
THE DOPPLER EFFECT AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF PHYSICS (I)*

IT IS doubtful if there is a serious rival to the Doppler effect as the department of modern science in which the experimental basis is slightest in comparison with the structure raised on it. Most of our knowledge of stellar motions, including the characteristics of binary stars, the evidence for the rotation of the galaxies, and the whole phenomenon known as ' the expansion of the universe' consists of deductions from this one principle. It would be fair to say that without it cosmology would scarcely exist as a scientific subject. Yet the number of cases in w,hich we have independent evidence of a spectrum shift and an associated motion are very few, in all of them the velocities concerned are so small that they will fit a variety of formulae, and in no case at all have we evidence of the reaproaty of the effect—i.e. evidence that if A observes B's spectrum to be displaced, B will observe A's spectrum to be similarly displaced. The original justification for supposing the effect to exist was purely theoretical, and the theory concerned is no longer acceptable. This situation calls for a specially close examination of the various possibilities between which an experimental decision cannot yet be made, and so is an eminently suitable subject for the philosophy of saencc. It will be seen, I think, that there are problems myolved in the understanding of die Doppler effect that are not generally realised, and that take us to the roots of physical theory.
Development of novel radiation remote-sensing method based on laser spectroscopic measurement of radiation-induced radicals

For monitoring of intense radiation fields, such as around nuclear reactors, high energy accelerators, it is requested to develop a reliable radiation sensing method with high radiation resistance. As one of the promising methods, we propose a novel radiation remote-sensing method based on high sensitive cavity ring-down (CRD) laser spectroscopic measurement of radiation induced radicals. To verify the detection principle, we have made basic experiments on the CRD spectroscopic measurement of the radiation induced ozone concentration in the air irradiated by 60Co gamma-rays, while we have also developed the calculation model to estimate the yields of radiation induced radicals by solving simultaneous rate equations numerically. Through comparison between the experiments and the calculations, we have confirmed the detection principle and the validity of the calculation model, where the results show that the detectable range for the absorbed dose rate is from 4.8x10-2 to 3.2 Gy/s with time resolution of 35 sec by controlling the flow rate of the irradiated air.
Semi-Fluorinated Trialkyltin Fluorides and Fluorinated Telechelic Ionomers as Viscosity-Enhancing Agents for Carbon Dioxide

Direct thickeners for dense carbon dioxide were designed and synthesized. Each thickener contained “CO2-philic” fluorinated groups to impart solubility in carbon dioxide and “CO2-phobic” functionalities to promote intermolecular associations for viscosity enhancement. Semi-fluorinated trialkyltin fluorides and fluorinated telechelic ionomers were soluble to at least several weight percent in dense liquid carbon dioxide without the use of a cosolvent. Increases in solution viscosity at 297 K were measured using falling cylinder viscometry. The viscosity of liquid carbon dioxide was increased by a factor of 2−3 at thickener concentrations of 2−4 wt %. These results demonstrate that carbon dioxide viscosity enhancement is possible without the need for a cosolvent through the design of compounds with the appropriate balance of CO2-philic groups for solubility and CO2-phobic associating groups for macromolecular, viscosity-enhancing interactions. Neither compound, however, was as effective as the (29% styrene−.
ESGO/ESTRO/ESP guidelines for the management of patients with endometrial carcinoma

A European consensus conference on endometrial carcinoma was held in 2014 to produce multi-disciplinary evidence-based guidelines on selected questions. Given the large body of literature on the management of endometrial carcinoma published since 2014, the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO), the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO), and the European Society of Pathology (ESP) jointly decided to update these evidence-based guidelines and to cover new topics in order to improve the quality of care for women with endometrial carcinoma across Europe and worldwide.
The Development of a New Concept: The Role of Oxygen Transients, Defect and Precursor States in Surface Reactions

Surface sensitive spectroscopies, and more recently scanning tunnelling microscopy, have provided a new insight into the dynamics of oxygen chemisorption at metal surfaces. Studies at low temperatures, using probe molecules, provided the first evidence for the role of metastable “hot” oxygen transients and molecular complexes in opening up low-energy pathways in oxidation catalysis. Progress over the past 15 years is considered, emphasizing the limitations of the classical approach in discussions of the mechanisms of surface reactions and how concepts developed through surface spectroscopies could be sustained at the atom-resolved level.
DeepRange

Acoustic ranging is a technique for estimating the distance between two objects using acoustic signals, which plays a critical role in many applications, such as motion tracking, gesture/activity recognition, and indoor localization. Although many ranging algorithms have been developed, their performance still degrades significantly under strong noise, interference and hardware limitations. To improve the robustness of the ranging system, in this paper we develop a Deep learning based Ranging system, called DeepRange. We first develop an effective mechanism to generate synthetic training data that captures noise, speaker/mic distortion, and interference in the signals and remove the need of collecting a large volume of training data. We then design a deep range neural network (DRNet) to estimate distance. Our design is inspired by signal processing that ultra-long convolution kernel sizes help to combat the noise and interference. We further apply an ensemble method to enhance the performance. Moreover, we analyze and visualize the network neurons and filters, and identify a few important findings that can be useful for improving the design of signal processing algorithms. Finally, we implement and evaluate DeepRangeusing 11 smartphones with different brands and models, 4 environments (i.e., a lab, a conference room, a corridor, and a cubic area), and 10 users. Our results show that DRNet significantly outperforms existing ranging algorithms.
VerHealth

Healthcare applications on Voice Personal Assistant System (e.g., Amazon Alexa), have shown a great promise to deliver personalized health services via a conversational interface. However, concerns are also raised about privacy, safety, and service quality. In this paper, we propose VerHealth, to systematically assess health-related applications on Alexa for how well they comply with existing privacy and safety policies. VerHealth contains a static module and a dynamic module based on machine learning that can trigger and detect violation behaviors hidden deep in the interaction threads. We use VerHealth to analyze 813 health-related applications on Alexa by sending over 855,000 probing questions and analyzing 863,000 responses. We also consult with three medical school students (domain experts) to confirm and assess the potential violations. We show that violations are quite common, e.g., 86.36% of them miss disclaimers when providing medical information; 30.23% of them store user physical or mental health data without approval. Domain experts believe that the applications' medical suggestions are often factually-correct but are of poor relevance, and applications should have asked more questions before providing suggestions for over half of the cases. Finally, we use our results to discuss possible directions for improvements.
Prompto: Investigating Receptivity to Prompts Based on Cognitive Load from Memory Training Conversational Agent

Prospective memory lapses, which involve forgetting to perform intended actions, afect independent living in older adults. Although memory training using smartphone applications could address them, users are sometimes unaware of available times for training or forget about it, presenting a need for proactive prompts. Existing applications mostly provide timebased prompts and prompts based on users’ cognitive contexts remain an under-explored area. We developed Prompto, a conversational memory coach that detects physiological signals to suggest training sessions when users are relaxed and potentially more receptive. Our study with 21 older adults showed that users were more receptive to prompts and memory training under low cognitive load than under high cognitive load. Interviews and an in-the-wild deployment of Prompto indicated that majority of users appreciated the concept, found it helpful and were likely to respond to its prompts. We contribute towards developing technologies with cognitive context-aware prompting based on users’ physiological readings.
Electronic Structures and Chemical Bonding of Fluorinated Fullerenes Studied by NEXAFS, UPS, and Vacuum-UV Absorption Spectroscopies

The chemical bonding and the electronic structures of C60Fx and C70Fx were investigated by near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy and UV photoemission spectroscopy (UPS), which are useful methods for examining the unoccupied and the occupied states, respectively. With these results and XPS measurements, we derived the electronic energy diagram of C60Fx and discussed the change of the electronic structure from that of C60 by fluorination. The energies of the LUMO and the Fermi level of solid C60F48 were estimated to be −5.0 and −5.4 eV below the vacuum level, indicating that highly doped C60Fx is a strong electron acceptor. The electronic absorption spectra of C60Fx solutions deep into the vacuum-ultraviolet region were also measured, and the isomerism of C60Fx was discussed by comparing the observed results with theoretical simulations.