Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapamycin Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles as a New Tool to Deliver mTOR Inhibitors: Formulation and in Vitro Characterization

Recently, the use of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors, in particular rapamycin (Rp), has been suggested to improve the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, as Rp is a strong immunosuppressant, specific delivery to the brain has been postulated to avoid systemic exposure. In this work, we fabricated new Rp loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (Rp-SLN) stabilized with polysorbate 80 (PS80), comparing two different methods and lipids. The formulations were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and particle tracking. In vitro release and short-term stability were assessed. Biological behavior of Rp-SLN was tested in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. The inhibition of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) was evaluated over time by a pulse-chase study compared to free Rp and Rp nanocrystals. Compritol Rp-SLN resulted more stable and possessing proper size and surface properties with respect to cetyl palmitate Rp-SLN. Rapamycin was entrapped in an amorphous form in the solid lipid matrix that showed partial crystallinity with stable Lβ, sub-Lα and Lβ′ arrangements. PS80 was stably anchored on particle surface. No drug release was observed over 24 h and Rp-SLN had a higher cell uptake and a more sustained effect over a week. The mTORC1 inhibition was higher with Rp-SLN. Overall, compritol Rp-SLN show suitable characteristics and stability to be considered for further investigation as Rp brain delivery system.
Widespread Horizontal Gene Transfer from Double-Stranded RNA Viruses to Eukaryotic Nuclear Genomes

ABSTRACT Horizontal gene transfer commonly occurs from cells to viruses but rarely occurs from viruses to their host cells, with the exception of retroviruses and some DNA viruses. However, extensive sequence similarity searches in public genome databases for various organisms showed that the capsid protein and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase genes from totiviruses and partitiviruses have widespread homologs in the nuclear genomes of eukaryotic organisms, including plants, arthropods, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa. PCR amplification and sequencing as well as comparative evidence of junction coverage between virus and host sequences support the conclusion that these viral homologs are real and occur in eukaryotic genomes. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis suggest that these genes were likely transferred horizontally from viruses to eukaryotic genomes. Furthermore, we present evidence showing that some of the transferred genes are conserved and expressed in eukaryotic organisms and suggesting that these viral genes are also functional in the recipient genomes. Our findings imply that horizontal transfer of double-stranded RNA viral genes is widespread among eukaryotes and may give rise to functionally important new genes, thus entailing that RNA viruses may play significant roles in the evolution of eukaryotes.
Efficient global optimization of nonconvex and nondifferentiable climate control problems

We explore numerical solution techniques for nonconvex and nondifferentiable economic optimal growth models. As an illustrative example, we consider the optimal control problem of choosing the optimal greenhouse gas emissions abatement to avoid or delay a abrupt and irreversible climate damages. We analyze several stochastic global optimization methods such as controlled random search, multi-level coordinate search or differential evolution. The different evolution (DE) algorithm gave the best results in terms of objective function and execution speed. Other techniques are faster than DE in obtaining a local optimum close to the global optimum but misconverge ultimately. The solution time for DE rises approximately exponentially with increasing problem dimension. The nonconvex problem in DE requires up to 50to converge than the convex problem. A simple parallelism scheme without sub-populations decreases the overall solution time for low (around 4) degree of parallelization.
Leader-Following Control of Multi-agent Consensus for a Discrete-Time Case

This paper considers the consensus of the leaderfollowing systems with a discrete-time model. The velocity of the active leader is unknown in real time. This paper designs the control laws and observers based on the neighbors to solve the consensus problem. The Lyapunov approach has played an important role in the leader-following systems. It is shown that all agents asymptotically move with the same velocity and position. Moreover, it is also proved that each follower can track the active leader in a noisy-free environment, and the tracking error is estimated in a noisy environment.
Construction on Mode of Chinese Woman's Leisure Constraint Based on Cultural Factors

Crawford,Jackson,and Godbey(1991)developed a hierarchical model of leisure constraints that included three kind of types as intrapersonal,interpersonal and structural.However,the study found out that intrapersonal,interpersonal and structural constraints were also influenced by culture including knowledge,religion,art,morality,law and custom.Therefore,in our model,the cultural factor is priority to intrapersonal constraints and interpersonal constraints and structural constraints.
Parasites and Symbionts from Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamark, 1819) (Bivalves: Mytilidae) of the Aveiro Estuary Portugal

Abstract The primary aim of the present study was to conduct a 1-yr parasitological survey of a Mytilus galloprovincialis mussel population from the Aveiro Estuary, Portugal. In addition, we attempted to assess the host response to parasites by examining host histopathology, including an evaluation of hemocyte infiltration and parasite encapsulation. The parasites present (prevalence) included the following: 1 protozoan, Nematopsis sp. (70%); 1 turbellarian, Urastoma cyprinae, (39%); 2 trematodes, Diphtherostomum sp. (58%) and Prosorhynchus crucibulum (0.3%); 3 crustaceans, Bathylaophonte azorica (0.3%); and 2 species of Mytilicola sp. (3.5%), M. intestinalis and M. orientalis. Highest prevalences for the most abundant species occurred in summer and autumn. Histological sections of the mantle of infected mussels revealed a marked reduction in the reproductive tissue, indicating that P. crucibulum invades the mussel and promotes a severe damage to its reproductive capacity.
Effect of Fresh Orange Juice Intake on Physiological Characteristics in Healthy Volunteers

Background. Impaired endothelial function is a predictor of cardiovascular events. Orange juice (OJ) is rich in dietary flavonoids and could inhibit oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. We examined the effects of commercial (COJ) and fresh orange juice (FOJ) on endothelial function and physiological characteristics in healthy humans. Materials and Methods. Twenty-two healthy volunteers years were enrolled in a single blind randomized crossover controlled trial. The two groups consumed either COJ for the first 4 weeks and then FOJ (CFOJ, 4 weeks), or FOJ for the first 4 weeks and then COJ (FCOJ, 4 weeks). We assessed endothelial function by measuring flow-mediated dilation, serum concentrations of lipids, apolipoproteins A and B (apo A-1 and apo B), and inflammatory markers such as vascular endothelial adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), E-selectin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and interleukin-6. Results. Consumption of both juices decreased VCAM, hs-CRP, and E-selectin but increased apo A-1. A decline in LDL occurred in the FOJ group. There were no differences between the characteristics of two groups, with the exception of apo A-1 levels that were increased with both forms of OJ. The largest variations occurred with hs-CRP, VCAM in both groups. Conclusion. Consumption of COJ and FOJ produced beneficial effects on the physiological characteristics of healthy volunteers. Although these results could encourage the consumption of OJ, intervention studies are needed to determine the long-term effects of these types of OJ on metabolic and cardiovascular endpoints.
Application of a virtual scientific experiment model in different educational contexts

E-learning practice is continuously using experimentation in order to enhance the basic information transfer model where knowledge is passed from the system/ tutors to the students. Boosting student productivity through on-line experimentation is not simple since many organizational, educational and technological issues need to be dealt with. This work describes the application of a Learning Model for Virtual Scientific Experiments (VSEs) in two different scenarios: Information and Communication Technologies and Physics. As part of the first, a VSE for Wireless Sensor Networks was specified and deployed while the second involved the specification and design of a collaborative VSE for physics experiments. Preliminary implementation and deployment results are also discussed.
Telemade: A Testing Framework for Learning-Based Malware Detection Systems

Learning-based malware detectors may be errorneous due to two inherent limitations. First, there is a lack of differentia-bility: selected features may not reﬂect essential differences between malware and benign apps. Second, there is a lack of comprehensiveness: the machine learning (ML) models are usually based on prior knowledge of existing malware (i.e., training dataset) so malware can evolve to evade the detection. There is a strong need for an automated framework to help security analysts to detect errors in learning-based malware detection systems. Existing techniques to generate adversarial samples for learning-based systems (that take images as inputs) employ feature mutations based on feature vectors. Such techniques are infeasible to generate adversarial samples ( e.g., evasive malware) for malware detection system because the synthesized mutations may break the inherent constraints posed by code structures of the malware, causing either crashes or malfunctioning of malicious payloads. To address the challenge, we propose Telemade, a te sting framework for le arning-based ma lware de tectors.
Assessing the Writing Efficacy of Post-graduate Students at a University of Technology in South Africa

Abstract The study assessed the writing efficacy of students enrolled for the post-graduate studies at a University of Technology. It sought to answer the following questions: (a) What is the level of writing efficacy of post-graduate students enrolled in the three programmes, namely, B.Ed.(Hons), PGCE and ACE programmes? ; (b) Are there differences in the writing efficacy of these students? ; (c) To what contextual variables can the differences in the writing efficacy (if any) of these students be attributed? ; and (d) What intervention strategies can be employed to help students in these programmes? This is an exploratory and descriptive survey. Eighty- four students participated in the study. The study found that students lack understanding of concepts and terminology related to the discipline such as spelling, grammar, referencing, punctuation, and writing coherently and logically. It can be concluded that students enrolled for the post-graduate studies have a low level of writing efficacy.
Equiripple Design Of Real And Complex Filter Banks

A simple methodology is presented for mapping minimax-optimal, equiripple unconstrained filters such as those produced by the Parks-McClellan algorithm to design equiripple perfect-reconstruction filter banks. The method is applied both to the design of standard low- and high-pass filters for perfect reconstruction, and to the design of critically sampled complex filters. For the case of real filter-bank design, our method produces equiripple low- and high-pass filters optimizing standard minimax filter design criteria while meeting the constraints of perfect reconstruction. For the case of complex filter-bank design, our method generates a critically-sampled, envelop/phase representation of a resonating signal while allowing perfect reconstruction. The magnitude response of the complex filter is an equiripple approximation to an ideal positive frequency passband, and the phase response is an equiripple approximation of pure linear phase
Genetic Diversity of Carbapenem-Hydrolyzing Metallo-β-Lactamases from Chryseobacterium(Flavobacterium) indologenes

ABSTRACT The class B carbapenem-hydrolyzing β-lactamase IND-1 has been characterized for Chryseobacterium indologenes strain 001. With internal primers for the bla gene for IND-1 (blaIND-1) and an internalblaIND-1 probe, PCR amplifications failed, while hybridization results were positive when DNA from anotherC. indologenes isolate, strain CIP101026, was used as a template. Thus, a blaIND-related gene was cloned from this C. indologenes reference strain. Sequencing of the insert of a recombinant plasmid conferring resistance to carbapenems revealed an open reading frame with a G + C content of 39.9% and coding for a 243-amino-acid preprotein named IND-2. IND-2 shared 80% amino acid identity with IND-1 and had a similar broad-spectrum resistance profile, including resistance to carbapenems. It was classified in functional subgroup 3a of class B carbapenem-hydrolyzing β-lactamases. IND-1 and IND-2, despite their genetic diversity, possessed similar kinetic parameters, except that ceftazidime was hydrolyzed less by IND-2. To obtain the entireblaIND-related gene sequences of eight otherC. indologenes isolates, PCR was performed using internal and external primers, followed by inverse PCR techniques. The likely chromosome-mediated metallo-β-lactamases of the 10 C. indologenes isolates were divided into several groups and subgroups. IND-1, IND-2, IND-2a, IND-3, and IND-4 shared 77 to 99% amino acid identity.
Effects of Gape and Tooth Position on Bite Force and Skull Stress in the Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) Using a 3-Dimensional Finite Element Approach

Models of the mammalian jaw have predicted that bite force is intimately linked to jaw gape and to tooth position. Despite widespread use, few empirical studies have provided evidence to validate these models in non-human mammals and none have considered the influence of gape angle on the distribution of stress. Here using a multi-property finite element (FE) model of Canis lupus dingo, we examined the influence of gape angle and bite point on both bite force and cranial stress. Bite force data in relation to jaw gape and along the tooth row, are in broad agreement with previously reported results. However stress data showed that the skull of C. l. dingo is mechanically suited to withstand stresses at wide gapes; a result that agreed well with previously held views regarding carnivoran evolution. Stress data, combined with bite force information, suggested that there is an optimal bite angle of between 25 degrees and 35 degrees in C. l. dingo. The function of these rather small bite angles remains unclear.
Interaction Between Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Gene Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibition on Survival in Hemodialyzed Patients

AbstractThe association between ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and mortality has been inconsistently observed in earlier studies in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. We hypothesized that the effect of ACE gene I/D polymorphism on mortality may be influenced by concurrent ACE inhibitor therapy in this population.In this prospective, multicenter cohort, observational study, data was collected from 716 prevalent chronic hemodialysis patients, blood samples were genotyped for I/D single nucleotide polymorphism. Patient mortality was assessed in tree genotype groups insertion/insertion, insertion/deletion and deletion/deletion (I/I, I/D, and D/D) using multivariate Cox proportional hazard models.The most frequent genotype was I/D (42.6%), followed by D/D (37.7%) and I/I (19.7%) genotypes. The mean age was 54.9 ± 15.5 years, 53.2% of all patients were male and in the total group the prevalence of diabetes was 19.3%. ACE inhibitor therapy was prescribed for 47.9% of all patients. The median duration of dialysis before blood sampling was 23.8 months (IQR 11.2–47.1). Patients were followed for 10 years, the median follow-up time was 29.8 months (IQR 12.6–63.4). Patient characteristics were well balanced among the genotype groups. D/D genotype, was associated with inferior survival (I/I vs D/D: log-rank test: P = 0.04) in patients not receiving ACE inhibitor therapy, and the presence of this therapy diminished this difference. There was no difference in survival among unselected patients with different genotypes. In multivariate Cox regression models, D/D genotype (compared to I/I) was a significant predictor of mortality only in patients without ACE inhibitor therapy (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.46–0.97, P = 0.03). Our data suggests that hemodialyzed patients with the deletion/deletion (D/D) genotype might have inferior outcome, and ACE inhibitor therapy may be associated with improved survival in this subgroup.
The scale-precision trade-off in spacial resource foraging by plants: restoring perspective.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS From the results of a comparative study using quantitative standardized assays of the scale and precision of responses of root and shoot systems to resource patchiness, Campbell et al. (1991; Oecologia 87: 532-538) proposed a mechanism of species coexistence in herbaceous communities involving a dynamic equilibrium between, respectively, the coarse- and fine-scale foraging of dominant and subordinate species. The purpose of this paper is to reject a recent assertion that with respect to root systems the scale-precision hypothesis has been falsified. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Reference to the original papers confirms that the scope of the hypothesis was confined to circumstances (eg. mown meadows) where the vigour of potential dominants is restricted by intermittent removal of biomass. This qualification in the original hypothesis is a crucial omission from the meta-analysis conducted by Kembel and Cahill (2005; American Naturalist 166: 216-230). The original papers also contain examples that illustrate the operation of forms of selection that prevent the development of precise foraging below ground; these also appear to have escaped the attention of recent participants in this field of research.
Transferência de Conhecimento Tácito em Empresas de Base Tecnológica

O objetivo deste trabalho e analisar os fatores de transferencia do conhecimento tacito em empresas de base tecnologica no estado de Minas Gerais. A proposta de pesquisa foi estruturada a partir do modelo desenvolvido por Lemos (2008). O modelo de pesquisa esta estruturado em identificar praticas de transferencia do conhecimento tacito, baseada nos fatores idiossincraticos, nos fatores organizacionais, na estrutura organizacional, na estrategia de transferencia de conhecimento. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo com abordagem quantitativa. Os dados foram coletados por meio de questionarios estruturados do tipo survey , com escala Likert de sete pontos. A pesquisa foi respondida por 242 empregados de 72 empresas. Os dados foram analisados utilizando estatistica multivariada. O estudo indica que as empresas de base tecnologica possuem uma estrategia de transferencia do conhecimento definida, onde existe a valorizacao e o reconhecimento em relacao a transferencia do conhecimento. Com relacao ao fator estrutura organizacional a forma mais utilizada para a transferencia do conhecimento e a conversa pessoal, telefone e e-mails, o que pode facilitar a transferencia do conhecimento tacito, a hierarquia nao atua como barreira para a transferencia do conhecimento e existe uma rede de relacionamento entre os funcionarios das empresas de base tecnologica.
The effect of contraindications and patient preference on dialysis modality selection in ESRD patients in The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are about to start long-term dialysis therapy are faced with the question of modality choice. The aim of the current study is to determine the influence of different factors on long-term dialysis modality choice. METHODS As part of a large Dutch prospective multicenter study, the Netherlands Cooperative Study on the Adequacy of Dialysis, we consecutively included all new patients with ESRD. Nephrologists indicated the most important reason for the modality selection. RESULTS Of 1,347 included patients, 36% (n = 483) had a contraindication to either peritoneal dialysis (PD) or hemodialysis (HD) therapy. Eighty percent (n = 386) of all contraindications were directed to PD therapy. The most frequently mentioned contraindication was a social one; ie, the expected incapability of patients to perform PD exchanges themselves. Patients with contraindications were older, had more comorbidity, and lived alone more often compared with patients without contraindications. In patients without contraindications (64%), modality choice was based on patient preference. Older age increased the odds of choosing HD, whereas receipt of predialysis care was associated with a lower preference for HD. CONCLUSION Older age was associated with more contraindications to PD therapy and stronger patient preference for HD therapy. An elderly patient therefore was more likely to start with HD therapy. Results from the current study suggest that an increase in provision of predialysis care, in combination with a reduction in social contraindications to PD therapy, may be associated with an increase in likelihood of starting with PD therapy. In a time of an aging population, increasing demand on dialysis capacity, and limited amount of financial supplies, we may reconsider current strategies to provide future patients with ESRD the possibility to start with the dialysis modality they prefer.