Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The combination of nanofibrous and microfibrous materials for enhancement of cell infiltration and in vivo bone tissue formation

Fibrous scaffolds are desired in tissue engineering applications for their ability to mimic extracellular matrix. In this study we compared fibrous scaffolds prepared from polycaprolactone using three different fabrication methods, electrospinning (ES), electro-blowing and melt-blown combined with ES. Scaffolds differed in morphology, fiber diameters and pore sizes. Mesenchymal stem cell adhesion, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation on scaffolds was evaluated. The most promising scaffold was shown to be melt-blown in combination with ES which combined properties of both technologies. Microfibers enabled good cell infiltration and nanofibers enhanced cell adhesion. This scaffold was used for further testing in critical sized defects in rabbits. New bone tissue formation occurred from the side of the treated defects, compared to a control group where only fat tissue was present. Polycaprolactone fibrous scaffold prepared using a combination of melt-blown and ES technology seems to be promising for bone regeneration. The practical application of results is connected with enormous production capacity and low cost of materials produced by melt-blown technology, compared to other bone scaffold fabrication methods.
Investigation of Controllable Parameters of Mechanical Treatment on Aluminum-Based Composite in Marine Application

Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment (SMAT) process, as one of the typical severe plastic deformation technologies, can be utilized to generate layup structure with finer size of grains and large residual stresses at the near treated surface area on the alloys. Such technology not only improves the mechanical behaviors but also keeps neatness of alloys without inducing extra compositions. In this paper, four major controllable parameters of SMAT process are investigated to demonstrate their influence on ball-impacting intensity of the treatment, which the improvement of mechanical behaviors are greatly dependent on. The high speed camera is employed to capture the motion of the balls and measure the impact velocities by counting the number of frames. The compared results indicate that the amount of balls not only varies the average velocities during SMAT process, but also offsets the effect of distance between treated surface and source of balls. In addition, the influence of ball sizes, the mentioned distance and power of excitation exhibits apparently on intensity of SMAT process when limited amount of balls are used.
Interactions between DBC1 and SIRT1 are deregulated in breast cancer cells

3784 Cell Cycle Volume 8 issue 22 Deleted in breast cancer 1 (DBC1, KIAA1967, p30 DBC) was identified to be homozygously deleted in chromosome 8p21 in breast cancer specimen. In contrast to that initial report, other groups have found increased expression of DBC1 in breast cancer patients. Although the expression level of DBC1 remains unclear, all findings about its deregulation imply that DBC1 may participate in the development of breast cancer. With regards to cancer, diverse roles of DBC1 have been investigated. First of all, DBC1 was shown to augment apoptotic signaling via the relocalization of DBC1 C-terminal fragment into mitochondria upon tumor necrosis factor-a (TNFa) treatment in HeLa cervical cancer cells. DBC1 is also able to regulate the transcriptional activity of some nuclear hormone receptors. For example, DBC1 is a transcriptional coactivator of retinoic acid receptor a (RARa) and androgen receptor (AR). However, the implications of these results are unclear because RARa-mediated signaling may inhibit the growth of MCF7 breast cancer cells, whereas AR-mediated signaling may enhance the growth of LNCaP prostate cancer cells. It has also been shown that DBC1 stabilizes the estrogen receptor a (ERa) protein by directly interacting with it, and thus promotes the survival of MCF7 breast cancer cells. All of these findings indicate that DBC1 has the potential to act as either a tumor promoter or a tumor suppressor. Finally, an intriguing finding by the other group is that DBC1 inhibits the deacetylase activity of SIRT1. SIRT1, a mammalian ortholog of yeast Sir2, is a interactions between dBC1 and Sirt1 are deregulated in breast cancer cells
Co-transplantation of autologous OM-MSCs and OM-OECs: a novel approach for spinal cord injury

Abstract Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a disastrous injury that leads to motor and sensory dysfunctions in patients. In recent years, co-transplantation has become an increasingly used therapeutic treatment for patients with SCI. Both mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and olfactory-ensheathing cells (OECs) have been adopted to ameliorate SCI, with promising outcomes. Remarkable effects on the rehabilitation of patients with SCI have been achieved using MSCs. Olfactory mucosa (OM) MSCs from human OM are one of the most ideal cell resources for auto-transplantation in clinical application owing to their a high proliferation rate and multipotent capability. In addition, OECs derived from OM have been used to improve functional recovery of SCI and resulted in promising functional recovery in years. Accordingly, co-transplantation of OM-MSCs coupled with OM-OECs has been adopted to improve the recovery of SCI. Here we reviewed the reported applications of OM-MSCs and OM-OECs for SCI treatment and proposed that a novel combined strategy using both autologous OM-MSCs and OM-OECs would achieve a better approach for the treatment of SCI.
Giant Invasive Pituitary Adenoma Extending into the Sphenoid Sinus and Nasopharynx

BACKGROUND Invasive pituitary adenomas involving the skull base are difficult to distinguish from other, more aggressive tumors. Intraoperaive diagnoses are crucial for deciding the course of treatment. CASE A large mass extending from the sella turcica to the sphenoid sinus and nasopharynx was identified in a 42-year-old male. Because of the lack of endocrine abnormalities and lack of an apparent rise in pituitary hormones, preoperative diagnoses included chordoma, chondrosarcoma, meningioma and pituitary adenoma. Tumor fragments were easily squeezed into a thin layer of cells for cytologic specimens. Uniform, round tumor cells were arranged in minimally cohesive cell sheets and possessed regular, ovoid nuclei with a fine chromatin pattern and granular cytoplasm with prominent Golgi areas. The cytologic features indicated a probable diagnosis of pituitary adenoma and excluded other possibilities. Immunohistochemical demonstration of prolactin and ultrastructural features established the final diagnosis of prolactinoma. With the administration of bromocriptine, a large reduction in tumor size occurred. As compared to frozen sections, cytologic preparations are more effective for the intraoperative diagnosis of pituitary adenomas. Such neoplasms should always be included in the differential diagnosis of tumors involving the skull base.
Current state in the development of candidate therapeutic HPV vaccines

ABSTRACT The identification of human papillomavirus (HPV) as an etiological factor for HPV-associated malignancies creates the opportunity to control these cancers through vaccination. Currently, available preventive HPV vaccines have not yet demonstrated strong evidences for therapeutic effects against established HPV infections and lesions. Furthermore, HPV infections remain extremely common. Thus, there is urgent need for therapeutic vaccines to treat existing HPV infections and HPV-associated diseases. Therapeutic vaccines differ from preventive vaccines in that they are aimed at generating cell-mediated immunity rather than neutralizing antibodies. The HPV-encoded early proteins, especially oncoproteins E6 and E7, form ideal targets for therapeutic HPV vaccines since they are consistently expressed in HPV-associated malignancies and precancerous lesions, playing crucial roles in the generation and maintenance of HPV-associated disease. Our review will cover various therapeutic vaccines in development for the treatment of HPV-associated lesions and cancers. Furthermore, we review strategies to enhance vaccine efficacy and the latest clinical trials on therapeutic HPV vaccines.
Fair Clustering Through Fairlets

We study the question of fair clustering under the {\em disparate impact} doctrine, where each protected class must have approximately equal representation in every cluster. We formulate the fair clustering problem under both the $k$-center and the $k$-median objectives, and show that even with two protected classes the problem is challenging, as the optimum solution can violate common conventions---for instance a point may no longer be assigned to its nearest cluster center! En route we introduce the concept of fairlets, which are minimal sets that satisfy fair representation while approximately preserving the clustering objective. We show that any fair clustering problem can be decomposed into first finding good fairlets, and then using existing machinery for traditional clustering algorithms. While finding good fairlets can be NP-hard, we proceed to obtain efficient approximation algorithms based on minimum cost flow. We empirically quantify the value of fair clustering on real-world datasets with sensitive attributes.
Recent developments of kenaf fibre reinforced thermoset composites: review

Abstract Kenaf fibres are recently upcoming reinforcement material to be used in composites. This is due to its low density, commercially viability, no health risk, high specific strength and modulus and renewability. It can also be cultivated in a variety of soil and is easily cultivable in some countries. Although traditionally it has been used for products such as rope, twine, bagging and rugs, recently, interests have grown for uses in other applications such as fibre reinforced composites. This paper reviews the recent developments in the use of kenaf fibre as a reinforcement material in thermoset composites. This paper also discusses the multiple types of kenaf fibres itself that are currently available in the market. The processes of kenaf cultivation and pretreatment have also been reviewed. The properties of various kenaf reinforced thermoset polymer composites, interface between kenaf fibre and matrix, and multitude of current manufacturing processes have also been discussed and presented. Recommendations for further research and development have also been given in this paper.
Polymer nanocomposites reinforced with C60 fullerene: effect of hydroxylation

Novel nanocomposite films of polycarbonate (PC) with fullerene derivatives, such as pristine fullerene C60 and polyhydroxylated-fullerenes, C60(OH)12 and C60(OH)36, were prepared. The optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the composites were measured. Nanocomposite films of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with C60(OH)36 were prepared as a reference to show how improved dispersion of the nanofiller affects the overall transparency of the composites. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy showed that the addition of hydroxylated fullerenes did not affect visible light transmittance of the films significantly in the range of 400–800 nm. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo–gravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements showed the increased thermal stability of PC/C60(OH)12 film as compared to pristine PC film. This phenomenon was explained by the rigid polymer interphase regions formed around C60(OH)12 due to the plausible hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction. On the other hand, the lower thermal stability of PC–C60(OH)36 was assumed to be caused by large agglomeration of the C60(OH)36 particles and the partial hydrolysis of the polycarbonate matrix. Tensile testing of the composites showed reduction in elongation at break and yield tensile strength. These results may be caused by the particle agglomerations which act as the initiation points for cracks.
Markov Switching Model for Quick Detection of Event Related Desynchronization in EEG

Quick detection of motor intentions is critical in order to minimize the time required to activate a neuroprosthesis. We propose a Markov Switching Model (MSM) to achieve quick detection of an event related desynchronization (ERD) elicited by motor imagery (MI) and recorded by electroencephalography (EEG). Conventional brain computer interfaces (BCI) rely on sliding window classifiers in order to perform online continuous classification of the rest vs. MI classes. Based on this approach, the detection of abrupt changes in the sensorimotor power suffers from an intrinsic delay caused by the necessity of computing an estimate of variance across several tenths of a second. Here we propose to avoid explicitly computing the EEG signal variance, and estimate the ERD state directly from the voltage information, in order to reduce the detection latency. This is achieved by using a model suitable in situations characterized by abrupt changes of state, the MSM. In our implementation, the model takes the form of a Gaussian observation model whose variance is governed by two latent discrete states with Markovian dynamics. Its objective is to estimate the brain state (i.e., rest vs. ERD) given the EEG voltage, spatially filtered by common spatial pattern (CSP), as observation. The two variances associated with the two latent states are calibrated using the variance of the CSP projection during rest and MI, respectively. The transition matrix of the latent states is optimized by the “quickest detection” strategy that minimizes a cost function of detection latency and false positive rate. Data collected by a dry EEG system from 50 healthy subjects, was used to assess performance and compare the MSM with several logistic regression classifiers of different sliding window lengths. As a result, the MSM achieves a significantly better tradeoff between latency, false positive and true positive rates. The proposed model could be used to achieve a more reactive and stable control of a neuroprosthesis. This is a desirable property in BCI-based neurorehabilitation, where proprioceptive feedback is provided based on the patient's brain signal. Indeed, it is hypothesized that simultaneous contingent association between brain signals and proprioceptive feedback induces superior associative learning.
The Efficient Dual Receiver Cryptosystem and Its Applications

We put forth the notion of e‐cient dual receiver cryptosystems and implement it based on bilinear pairings over certain elliptic curve groups. The cryptosystem is simple and e‐cient yet powerful, as it helps to solve two problems of practical importance whose solutions had proven to be elusive until now: (1) A provably secure \combined" public-key cryptosystem (with a single secret key per user) where the key is used for both decryption and signing and where encryption can be escrowed and recovered, while the signature capability never leaves its owner. This is an open problem proposed by the work of Haber and Pinkas. (2) A puzzle is a method for ratelimiting remote users by forcing them to solve a computational task (the puzzle). Puzzles have been based on cryptographic challenges in the past, but the successful design of embedding a useful cryptographic task inside a puzzle, originally posed by Dwork and Naor, has remained problematic. We model and present \useful security puzzles" applicable as an online transaction server (such as a Web server).
Search for genetic modifiers of IRF6 and genotype–phenotype correlations in Van der Woude and popliteal pterygium syndromes

Van der Woude syndrome is the most common form of syndromic orofacial clefting, accounting for 1–2% of all patients with cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Van der Woude and popliteal pterygium syndromes are caused by mutations in IRF6, but phenotypic variability within and among families with either syndrome suggests that other genetic factors contribute to the phenotypes. The aim of this study was to identify common variants acting as genetic modifiers of IRF6 as well as genotype–phenotype correlations based on mutation type and location. We identified an association between mutations in the DNA‐binding domain of IRF6 and limb defects (including pterygia). Although we did not detect formally significant associations with the genes tested, borderline associations suggest several genes that could modify the VWS phenotype, including FOXE1, TGFB3, and TFAP2A. Some of these genes are hypothesized to be part of the IRF6 gene regulatory network and may suggest additional genes for future study when larger sample sizes are also available. We also show that families with the Van de Woude phenotype but in whom no mutations have been identified have a lower frequency of cleft lip, suggesting there may be locus and/or mutation class differences in Van de Woude syndrome. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Interactive Robot Knowledge Patching Using Augmented Reality

We present a novel Augmented Reality (AR) approach, through Microsoft HoloLens, to address the challenging problems of diagnosing, teaching, and patching interpretable knowledge of a robot. A Temporal And-Or graph (T-AOG) of opening bottles is learned from human demonstration and programmed to the robot. This representation yields a hierarchical structure that captures the compositional nature of the given task, which is highly interpretable for the users. By visualizing the knowledge structure represented by a T-AOG and the decision making process by parsing the T-AOG, the user can intuitively understand what the robot knows, supervise the robot's action planner, and monitor visually latent robot states (e.g., the force exerted during interactions). Given a new task, through such comprehensive visualizations of robot's inner functioning, users can quickly identify the reasons of failures, interactively teach the robot with a new action, and patch it to the current knowledge structure. In this way, the robot is capable of solving similar but new tasks only through minor modifications provided by the users interactively. This process demonstrates the interpretability of our knowledge representation and the effectiveness of the AR interface.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolism in ecological context

The architecture and regulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolic network are among the best studied owing to its widespread use in both basic research and industry. Yet, several recent studies have revealed notable limitations in explaining genotype–metabolic phenotype relations in this yeast, especially when concerning multiple genetic/environmental perturbations. Apparently unexpected genotype–phenotype relations may originate in the evolutionarily shaped cellular operating principles being hidden in common laboratory conditions. Predecessors of laboratory S. cerevisiae strains, the wild and the domesticated yeasts, have been evolutionarily shaped by highly variable environments, very distinct from laboratory conditions, and most interestingly by social life within microbial communities. Here we present a brief review of the genotypic and phenotypic peculiarities of S. cerevisiae in the context of its social lifestyle beyond laboratory environments. Accounting for this ecological context and the origin of the laboratory strains in experimental design and data analysis would be essential in improving the understanding of genotype–environment–phenotype relationships.
The association of psychedelic use and opioid use disorders among illicit users in the United States

Background: Preliminary studies show psychedelic compounds administered with psychotherapy are potentially effective and durable substance misuse interventions. However, little is known about the association between psychedelic use and substance misuse in the general population. This study investigated the association between psychedelic use and past year opioid use disorders within illicit opioid users. Methods: While controlling for socio-demographic covariates and the use of other substances, the relationship between classic psychedelic use and past year opioid use disorders was analyzed within 44,000 illicit opioid users who completed the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2008 to 2013. Results: Among respondents with a history of illicit opioid use, psychedelic drug use is associated with 27% reduced risk of past year opioid dependence (weighted risk ratio = 0.73 (0.60–0.89) p = 0.002) and 40% reduced risk of past year opioid abuse (weighted risk ratio = 0.60 (0.41–0.86) p = 0.006). Other than marijuana use, which was associated with 55% reduced risk of past year opioid abuse (weighted risk ratio = 0.45 (0.30–0.66) p < 0.001), no other illicit drug was associated with reduced risk of past year opioid dependence or abuse. Conclusion: Experience with psychedelic drugs is associated with decreased risk of opioid abuse and dependence. Conversely, other illicit drug use history is largely associated with increased risk of opioid abuse and dependence. These findings suggest that psychedelics are associated with positive psychological characteristics and are consistent with prior reports suggesting efficacy in treatment of substance use disorders.
Modified NiSi ∕ Si Schottky Barrier Height by Nitrogen Implantation

Nitrogen implantation prior to nickel silicidation is shown to result in a modified Schottky barrier height at the NiSi/Si(001) interface. Passivation of dangling bonds at the NiSi/Si interface to de-pin the Fermi level, axiotaxy texture, and strain-induced barrier lowering are determined to be the main mechanisms for the barrier-height modification. Significant barrier-height reduction (by as much as 0.37 eV) can be achieved on n-type silicon. However, the resistivity of nickel silicide increases significantly beyond a critical nitrogen-implant dose (1 X 10 15 cm -2 ).
Advances in Non-Destructive Early Assessment of Fruit Ripeness towards Defining Optimal Time of Harvest and Yield Prediction—A Review

Global food security for the increasing world population not only requires increased sustainable production of food but a significant reduction in pre- and post-harvest waste. The timing of when a fruit is harvested is critical for reducing waste along the supply chain and increasing fruit quality for consumers. The early in-field assessment of fruit ripeness and prediction of the harvest date and yield by non-destructive technologies have the potential to revolutionize farming practices and enable the consumer to eat the tastiest and freshest fruit possible. A variety of non-destructive techniques have been applied to estimate the ripeness or maturity but not all of them are applicable for in situ (field or glasshouse) assessment. This review focuses on the non-destructive methods which are promising for, or have already been applied to, the pre-harvest in-field measurements including colorimetry, visible imaging, spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging. Machine learning and regression models used in assessing ripeness are also discussed.
Late Bronze Age climate change and the destruction of the Mycenaean Palace of Nestor at Pylos

This paper offers new high-resolution oxygen and carbon isotope data from Stalagmite S1 from Mavri Trypa Cave, SW Peloponnese. Our data provide the climate background to the destruction of the nearby Mycenaean Palace of Nestor at Pylos at the transition from Late Helladic (LH) IIIB to LH IIIC, ~3150–3130 years before present (before AD 1950, hereafter yrs BP) and the subsequent period. S1 is dated by 24 U-Th dates with an averaged precision of ±26 yrs (2σ), providing one of the most robust paleoclimate records from the eastern Mediterranean for the end of the Late Bronze Age (LBA). The δ18O record shows generally wetter conditions at the time when the Palace of Nestor at Pylos was destroyed, but a brief period of drier conditions around 3200 yrs BP may have disrupted the Mycenaean agricultural system that at the time was likely operating close to its limit. Gradually developing aridity after 3150 yrs BP, i.e. subsequent to the destruction, probably reduced crop yields and helped to erode the basis for the reinstitution of a central authority and the Palace itself.