Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular properties prediction, anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities of some pyrimido[1,2-b]pyridazin-2-one derivatives

Introduction: The anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities of a novel series of eleven pyrimido[1,2-b]pyridazin-2-one analogues substituted at position 7 were assessed in the current study. Methods: The physicochemical characteristics were studied using MolSoft software. The antiproliferative activity was investigated by MTT cell viability assay, and cell cycle analysis elucidated the antiproliferative mechanism of action. Western blot analysis examined the expression levels of key pro-apoptotic (Bax, p53) and pro-survival (Bcl-2) proteins. The anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by measuring the production levels of nitric oxide in RAW264.7 cells, and the expression levels of COX-2 enzyme in LPS-activated THP-1 cells. In addition, the gene expression of various pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, TNF-α) and chemokines (CCL2, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3) was assessed by RT-qPCR. Results: Compound 1 bearing a chlorine substituent displayed the highest cytotoxic activity against HCT-116 and MCF-7 cancer cells where IC50 values of 49.35 ± 2.685 and 69.32 ± 3.186 µM, respectively, were achieved. Compound 1 increased the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins p53 and Bax while reducing the expression of pro-survival protein Bcl-2. Cell cycle analysis revealed that compound 1 arrested cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase. Anti-inflammatory assessments revealed that compound 1 displayed the strongest inhibitory activity on NO production with IC50 of 29.94 ± 2.24 µM, and down-regulated the expression of COX-2. Compound 1 also induced a statistically significant decrease in the gene expression of various cytokines and chemokines. Conclusion: These findings showed that the pyrimidine derivative 1 displayed potent anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties in vitro, and can be selected as a lead compound for further investigation.
Spray Drying Enzyme-Treated Cellulose Nanofibrils

Enzyme-treated cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were produced via a lab-scale mass colloider using bleached kraft pulp (BKP) to evaluate their processability and power requirements during refining and spray-drying operations. To evaluate the energy efficiency in the CNF refining process, the net energy consumption, degree of polymerization (DP), and viscosity were determined. Less energy was consumed to attain a given fines level by using the endoglucanase enzymes. The DP and viscosity were also decreased using the enzymes. The morphological properties of the enzyme-pretreated spray-dried CNF powders (SDCNFs) were measured. Subsequently, the enzyme-pretreated SDCNFs were added to a PP matrix with MAPP as a coupling agent. The mixture was then compounded through a co-rotating twin-screw extruder to determine whether the enzyme treatment of the CNFs affects the mechanical properties of the composites. Compared to earlier studies on enhancing PMCs with SDCNF powders, this research investigates the use of enzyme-pretreated SDCNF powders. It was confirmed that the strength properties of PP increased by adding SDCNFs, and the strength properties were maintained after adding enzyme-pretreated SDCNFs.
Polymerization of N-phenylmaleimide Using Different Catalysts

The polymerization of N-phenylmaleimide (N-PMI) employing sodium phosphate tribasic as a catalyst has been successfully investigated in this study. The effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solvent on the principal catalyst, sodium phosphate tribasic, was extensively studied. The effects of several catalysts, including tetrabutylammonium acetate (TBAA), 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), Benzyl triethylammonium chloride (BTEAC), 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3. 0]non-5-ene (DBN), 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4. 0]undec-7-ene (DBU), 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2. 2]octane (DABCO), 1-Methylimidazole (1MA) and potassium phthalimide salt on polymerization of N-PMI have been discussed in this study. Additionally, the kinetics of polymerization in DMSO with Na3PO4 as the initiator is investigated. By using 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum analysis, attenuated total Reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), the resultant polymers were identified. Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetric analyses were used to study the thermal behaviors. Our results prove that a salt form of catalyst can initiate the polymerization of N-PMI in dimethyl sulfoxide at a suitable concentration and under favorable conditions.
Intermediate water ventilation on the Northeastern Pacific Margin during the Late Pleistocene inferred from benthic foraminiferal δ13C

Late Pleistocene intermediate water ventilation history in the northeastern Pacific has been inferred from benthic foraminiferal carbon isotopic data from seven California margin basins. Secular variations in oceanic δ13C recorded at North Pacific ODP Site 849 were subtracted from each basin record leaving a residual δ13C history that reflects variations in ventilation. During the previous interglacial intermediate waters above 2000m contained less oxygen than they do today or Pacific deep water at Site 849 was better ventilated. Intermediate water ventilation began to improve during oxygen isotope stage 4 and continued to improve throughout stages 3 and 2. This enhanced ventilation was not contemporaneous at all depths and appears to have progressed upwards through the water column. The diachronous nature of these changes suggest that there was not simply an “on”/”off” mechanism which resulted in higher or lower ventilation in the North Pacific during the last glacial cycle.
ARCube: the augmented reality cube for archaeology

Augmented Reality (AR) allows the direct and intuitive access of digital objects visualized in real time on computer screens. AR applications are commonly used in many different areas, such as entertainment, sports and tourism, while their use in archaeology is still limited. When employed, current archaeological AR applications use expensive devices or flat targets, which are insufficient for visualizing complex artefacts. In this paper, we present a low-cost, automated method called the ARCube System, which allows the expansion and enrichment of AR applications focused on archaeological objects. In this paper, the newly developed ARCube System is described by presenting several archaeological examples to show the system's ability to visualize and investigate archaeological finds. The reported tests demonstrate the method's reliability on a variety of objects characterized by different shapes and sizes. The ARCube System allows users to interact with digital 3D models, rotate them through 360° and explore details in high resolution (without any risk of damaging the find). The system renders 1:1 scale between digital and actual object and offers a low-cost flexible system for the interactive visualization of archaeological finds that can be beneficial to public research (e.g., museum exhibits) and education (e.g., the classroom) and may possibly lead to new avenues of archaeological research.
Increased Terrestrial Carbon Export and CO2 Evasion From Global Inland Waters Since the Preindustrial Era

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) evasion from inland waters (rivers, lakes, and reservoirs) and carbon (C) export from land to oceans constitute critical terms in the global C budget. However, the magnitudes, spatiotemporal patterns, and underlying mechanisms of these fluxes are poorly constrained. Here, we used a coupled terrestrial–aquatic model to assess how multiple changes in climate, land use, atmospheric CO2 concentration, nitrogen (N) deposition, N fertilizer and manure applications have affected global CO2 evasion and riverine C export along the terrestrial‐aquatic continuum. We estimate that terrestrial C loadings, riverine C export, and CO2 evasion in the preindustrial period (1800s) were 1,820 ± 507 (mean ± standard deviation), 765 ± 132, and 841 ± 190 Tg C yr−1, respectively. During 1800–2019, multifactorial global changes caused an increase of 25% (461 Tg C yr−1) in terrestrial C loadings, reaching 2,281 Tg C yr−1 in the 2010s, with 23% (104 Tg C yr−1) of this increase exported to the ocean and 59% (273 Tg C yr−1) being emitted to the atmosphere. Our results showed that global inland water recycles and exports nearly half of the net land C sink into the atmosphere and oceans, highlighting the important role of inland waters in the global C balance, an amount that should be taken into account in future C budgets. Our analysis supports the view that a major feature of the global C cycle–the transfer from land to ocean–has undergone a dramatic change over the last two centuries as a result of human activities.
Enhancement of Cardiac and Respiratory Sounds for Cellphone Reproduction by Means of Digital Sound Processing Methods

Telemedicine has become increasingly popular due to its convenience and accessibility. However, one of its drawbacks is the difficulty of performing lung and heart auscultation remotely. As a solution, we propose smartphone-based tele-auscultation for capturing lung and heart sounds. However, one of the obstacles to this approach is that low-frequency sounds, such as heart sounds, cannot be accurately reproduced by a smartphone speaker, due to their frequency response. To address this issue, we suggest using pitch-shifted versions of these sounds, specifically designed for hearing through smartphones. We conducted an initial evaluation of these processed sounds by obtaining 10 heart sounds and 20 lung sounds from open-source databases, which were pitch-shifted using algorithms based on Paul’s Stretch and SoundStretch libraries, respectively. These processed audios were validated by 40 final-year medical students using a web survey and conventional headphones and were compared against the original versions. The results showed that 72% and 80% of responses indicated that clinical information was preserved in the samples of respiratory and heart sounds, respectively. These findings suggest that pitch-shifted sounds could be potentially used in tele-auscultation devices such as smartphones. However, further research is needed regarding the recording and playback capabilities of smartphones.
Bioefficacy of Some Botanical Extracts against Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer [Leucinodes orbonalis (Guenee); Lepidoptera, Pyrallidae)

Plant-based biopesticides such as extracts of neem and eucalyptus are gaining increasing attention as potential alternatives to synthetic pesticides due to their reduced toxicity to non-target species and the environment. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora Hook.) as biopesticides against the brinjal fruit and shoot borer (BFSB) (Leucinodes orbonalis), a major pest of brinjal (eggplant) crop. Experiments were conducted to determine the lethal concentration of both neem and eucalyptus extracts against BFSB larvae. The biopesticides were applied to brinjal fruit and their efficacy was evaluated by monitoring the mortality of BFSB larvae and pupae. The results showed that both neem and eucalyptus extracts were effective in controlling BFSB larvae, with the neem extract being slightly more toxic than the eucalyptus extract. A 5% concentration of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of neem caused 82% and 64% mortality of BFSB 3rd instar larvae, while the same concentration of eucalyptus extracts caused 73% mortality with 60% mortality, respectively. BFSB 5th instar larvae showed a decreased mortality as compared to 3rd instars. It concludes that the use of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of neem and eucalyptus could help to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides to control brinjal fruit and shoot borer. Further studies are needed to assess the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of these biopesticides in controlling BFSB and protecting brinjal crops.
Electrical Imaging of Fractures Using Ground‐Water Salinity Change

Cross‐borehole Eletrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) has been applied to map the spatial distribution of an electrically conductive zone within a hydrologically complex limestone environment. Advantage has been taken of a “natural” conductive tracer provided by salt‐water migration resulting from long‐term pumping at a “well” within the fieldsite. The resistivity distribution of 13 between‐borehole planes has been reconstructed from borehole resistance measurements, and comparisons between resistivity images obtained prior to, and during, saline migration have been made. The distribution of resistivity obtained from the a priori measurements revealed the location of electrically conductive pathways between boreholes which correlate with cavity features obtained from Borehole Television (BHTV) logging. The continuity of these pathways between boreholes suggests the presence of a laterally extensive electrically conductive zone. The reconstruction of differences in resistivity caused by the salt‐water migration confirmed the presence of this conductive zone and has shown that the saline water passed primarily through this zone. This preferential flow illustrates the hydrological importance of this zone and suggests that it is not only an electrically conductive, but also a highly hydraulically conductive feature.
Enhancing the Efficiency of Inverted Organic Solar Cells with Treatment Techniques: Numerical and Experimental Study

The combination of UV-ozone and Al-doping enhancements in the ZnO ETL layer was studied for fullerene-based (P3HT:PCBM) and nonfullerene-based (J71:m-ITIC) solar cells. The study focused on morphological and interfacial defects and their relation to the electrical and optical properties of different Al-doped ZnO layers. The study also investigated the surface recombination velocity at the interface of the ZnO/active layer, as well as the carrier lifetime and diffusion length of the active layer theoretically. The most effective Al-doping dosage was 3% for P3HT:PCBM and 2% for J71:m-ITIC, attributed to the varying sensitivity of the active layer materials to morphological enhancement.
Content-based retrieval for remotely sensed images

The work describes an innovative technique to automatically extract and manage remote sensing image-content. Simple but very flexible numeric recognition methodologies allow the content-based retrieval from huge remotely sensed image database. The most important result of this methodology is a tool for the information retrieval based on example. In order to properly characterize remotely sensed images and improve retrieval performance, many factors, such as the image resolution, the scale, the sensor features, have been taken into account. Kingfisher is the content-based database management system, developed at DIBE laboratories, that exploits these methodologies.
Utilization of observations of well bore failure to constrain the orientation and magnitude of crustal stresses: Application to continental, Deep Sea Drilling Project, and Ocean Drilling Program boreholes

The conditions necessary for compressive and tensile failure of well bores drilled into crystalline rock can be adequately represented by simple elastic failure criteria, and analysis of well bore failure can provide constraints on the magnitudes of in situ stresses if the strength of the rock is known. When applied to several boreholes drilled into continental crust where there is relatively complete knowledge of stress magnitudes, these criteria enable us to predict the depth at which compressive failure of the well bores is observed. In oceanic crust, breakouts have been observed at depths below 700 m below sea floor in Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) hole 504B, drilled into 5.9 Ma crust south of the Costa Rica Rift, and near the bottom of DSDP hole 395A, drilled into 7.3 Ma crust west of the Mid–Atlantic Ridge. In both cases the azimuth of maximum horizontal compressive stress is roughly perpendicular to the ridge axis. As the unconfined compressive strengths of basalt samples from DSDP hole 504B are generally above 200 MPa (Bauer and Handin, 1985), the existence of breakouts in DSDP holes 395A and 504B requires a highly compressional stress state, where Shmin ∼ Sv and SHmax ≥ 100 Mpa at about 500 m subbasement. These results are consistent with the state of stress inferred from compressional (strike-slip and reverse faulting) earthquake focal mechanisms in young oceanic crust. As ridge push forces are relatively small in young oceanic crust, we concur with previous suggestions that the high horizontal compressive stresses result from the thermoelastic effects of a convectively cooled upper crustal layer overlying a conductively cooling lithosphere.
Geocoding techniques for interferometric and polarimetric airborne SAR data

This paper presents a detailed study of geocoding algorithms for interferometric SAR data from airborne sensors. They allow to relate a phase value in slant-range coordinates to a position in a cartesian reference system and, hence, a height value on a topographic map. Two basic approaches, which follow forward or backward strategies, are proposed in this paper. Another aspect is related to the kind of the acquisition mode: single- or repeat-pass. In general, a wide variety of techniques and combinations (single or repeat pass, direct or indirect transformations, one or two steps, zero-Doppler or squinted geometry) exist. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art of these combinations, as well as their evaluation, comparison and discussion by means of real data from the DLR’s E-SAR system. The discussion includes the problem of polarimetric data geocoding. In that case, the map-projected height information derived from a X-band single-pass system is used to geocode non-interferometric channels (for example polarimetric L-band data).
The Multifaceted Functions of Prion Protein (PrPC) in Cancer

Simple Summary Despite its involvement in several human pathophysiological processes, the cellular prion protein (PrPC) remains enigmatic. During the last ten years, PrPC has also been reported to be implicated in several human cancers, the molecular mechanisms of which are under investigation. In some tumors, elevated expression of PrPC protein is associated with poor patient prognosis. At the cellular level, high PrPC expression in tumor cells is associated with the acquisition of stemness1-like characteristics, metastatic and invasive process, and resistance to chemotherapy. This review explores PrPC’s expression in different types of cancer and addresses its potential as a target for their treatment. Abstract The cellular prion protein (PrPC) is a glycoprotein anchored to the cell surface by glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). PrPC is expressed both in the brain and in peripheral tissues. Investigations on PrPC’s functions revealed its direct involvement in neurodegenerative and prion diseases, as well as in various physiological processes such as anti-oxidative functions, copper homeostasis, trans-membrane signaling, and cell adhesion. Recent findings have revealed the ectopic expression of PrPC in various cancers including gastric, melanoma, breast, colorectal, pancreatic, as well as rare cancers, where PrPC promotes cellular migration and invasion, tumor growth, and metastasis. Through its downstream signaling, PrPC has also been reported to be involved in resistance to chemotherapy and tumor cell apoptosis. This review summarizes the variance of expression of PrPC in different types of cancers and discusses its roles in their development and progression, as well as its use as a potential target to treat such cancers.
Comparison and validation of the aerosol optical depth obtained with the Langley plot method in the UV‐B from Brewer Ozone Spectrophotometer measurements

(1) The Aerosol Optical Depths (AODs) retrieved from Brewer Ozone Spectrophotometer measurements with a method previously developed (Cheymol and De Backer, 2003) are now validated by comparisons between AODs from six Brewer spectrophotometers and two CSEM SPM2000 sunphotometers: two Brewer spectrophotometers 016 and 178 at Uccle in Belgium; one Brewer spectrophotometer 128 and one sunphotometer CSEM SPM2000 at Norrkoping in Sweden; and three Brewer instruments 040, 072, 156 at Arosa and one CSEM SPM2000 sunphotometer at Davos in Switzerland. The comparison between AODs from Brewer spectrophotometer 128 at 320.1 nm and sunphotometer SPM2000 at 368 nm at Norrkoping shows that the AODs obtained from the Brewer measurements with the Langley Plot Method (LPM) are very accurate if the neutral density filter spectral transmittances are well known: with the measured values of these filters, the correlation coefficient, the slope, and the intercept of the regression line are 0.98, 0.85 ± 0.004, and 0.02 ± 0.0014, respectively. The bias observed is mainly owing to the wavelength difference between the two instruments. The comparison between AODs from different Brewer spectrophotometers confirm that AODs will be in very good agreement if they are measured with several Brewer instruments at the same place: At Uccle, the correlation coefficient, slope, and intercept of the regression line are 0.98, 1.02 ± 0.003, and 0.06 ± 0.001, respectively; at Arosa, the comparisons between the AODs from three Brewer spectrophotometers 040, 072, and 156 give a correlation coefficient, a slope, and an intercept of the regression line above 0.94, 0.98 and below 0.04, respectively.
The Glyde Sub‐basin: A volcaniclastic‐bearing pull‐apart basin coeval with the McArthur River base‐metal deposit, Northern Territory

Sedimentological, geochemical and tectonic studies have been carried out on the Glyde Sub‐basin, a fault‐bounded depocentre adjacent to the margin of the Batten Trough, 80 km south of the HYC Pb‐Zn‐Ag ore deposit, in the mid‐Proterozoic McArthur Basin. Although it is unmineralized, the basin is, in some aspects, morphologically similar to the HYC Sub‐basin and provides an insight into processes which occurred coevally along strike from a giant shale‐hosted base‐metal deposit. The geometry of the sub‐basin supports an origin in a releasing bend of the Emu Fault during oblique right‐lateral extension of the Emu Fault Zone, resulting in the deposition of a very thick sequence of below wave‐base Barney Creek Formation carbonaceous siltstone. Prior to sub‐basin development the area was covered by hypersaline carbonate tidal flats of the Coxco Dolomite Member of the Teena Dolomite. Internal syn‐sedimentary normal faulting fractured the sub‐basin into seven major blocks, establishing a basic geometry of northern.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) Regulates Hepatic Lipid and Glycogen Metabolism in Schizothorax prenanti

Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) plays important roles in angiogenesis, inflammatory response as well as energy metabolism in mammals. However, its effect on glycolipid metabolism in fish has not been reported. In this study, we cloned and characterized the vegfa gene of Schizothorax prenanti (S. prenanti). vegfa expression was significantly higher in liver and muscle than that in other tissues. Then, the VEGFA recombinant protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and obtained after purification. VEGFA i.p. injection significantly increased the serum glucose and TG content compared with the control group. Moreover, VEGFA protein aggravated the glycogen and lipid deposition in the liver of S. prenanti. In addition, we found that VEGFA treatment increased hepatocyte glycogen and lipid droplet content and increased the levels of pAMPKα (T172). Furthermore, AMPKα inhibition attenuated the ability of VEGFA to induce TG and glycogen accumulation. These results demonstrate that VEGFA regulates hepatic lipid and glycogen metabolism through AMPKα in S. prenanti, which may contribute to a better understanding of VEGFA functions in the glycolipid metabolism of fish.