Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ecological Risk Assessment of Metal Pollution along Greater Cairo Sector of the River Nile, Egypt, Using Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, as Bioindicator

The present work aims to evaluate seasonal metal pollution along Greater Cairo sector of the River Nile, Egypt, using wild Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, as bioindicator and to conduct a risk assessment for human consumers. Greater Cairo is the largest populated area along the whole course of River Nile with a wide range of anthropogenic activities. Effects of metal pollution on fish body indices were studied using condition factor (CF) and scaled mass index (SMI). Metal pollution index (MPI) showed that the total metal load in fish organs followed the follwoing order: kidney > liver > gill > muscle which gives a better idea about the target organs for metal accumulation. Metal concentrations in fish muscle (edible tissue) showed the following arrangement: Fe > Zn > Cu > Mn > Pb > Cd. Metal's bioaccumulation factor (BAF) in fish muscle showed the following arrangement: Zn > Cu > Fe > Mn > Cd and Pb. The hazard index (HI) as an indicator of human health risks associated with fish consumption showed that adverse health effects are not expected to occur in most cases. However, the metals' cumulative risk effects gave an alarming sign specifically at high fish consumption rates.
Carbon nanotechnology : recent developments in chemistry, physics, materials science and device applications

Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Conventional Technology to Carbon Nanotechnology: The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Discoveries of C60, Carbon Nanotube and Nanodiamond (L. Dai) Part I. Synthesis and Structure of Carbon Nanomaterials Chapter 2. Synthesis, Growth Mechanisms and Processing of Carbon Nanotubes (A. Govindaraj and C.N.R. Rao) Chapter 3. Solid State Formation of Carbon Nanotubes (Y. Chen) Chapter 4. Catalytic Chemical Vapor Deposition of SWNTs (W. Fu and J. Liu) Chapter 5. Fabrication of Fullerene Nanostructures (H-M. Zhang and L-J. Wan) Chapter 6. Carbon Blacks and the Source Materials for Carbon Nanotechnology (M. Ozawa and E. Osawa) Part II. Chemistry and Physics of Carbon Nanomaterials Chapter 7. Functionalization and Applications of (60) Fullerene (A. Mateo-Alonso, D. Bonifazi and M. Prato) Chapter 8. Functionalization and Applications of Carbon Nanotubes (L. Qu, K. Min Lee and L. Dai) Chapter 9. Biological Activity of Pristine Fullerene C60 (L.B. Piotrovsky) Chapter 10. Separation of Metallic and Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (Y. Lin, K.A. Shiral Fernando, W. Wang and Y-P. Sun) Chapter 11. Electrochemical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes (S.E. Moulton, A.I. Minett and G.G. Wallace) Chapter 12. Carbon Nanotubes: Surface, Porosity and Related Applications (Q-H. Yang and H-M. Cheng) Chapter 13. Carbon Nanotubes as Nanoelectromechanical Systems Components (S.B. Sinnott and N.R. Aluru) Part III. Carbon Nanomaterials for Device Applications Chapter 14. Aligned Carbon Nanotube Membranes (B. Hinds) Chapter 15. C60 and Carbon Nanotube Sensors (T. Ohashi and L. Dai) Chapter 16. Carbon Nanotubes for Electron Emitting Devices (K. Kajiwara and Y. Saito) Chapter 17. Optical Limiters and Photovoltaic Cells Based on C60, Carbon Nanotubes, and their Nanocomposites (M.H-C. Jin, M. Durstock and L. Dai) Chapter 18. Carbon Nanotube and Epoxy Composites for Military Applications (A.M. Schrand and T. Benson-Tolle) Chapter 19. Polymer and Carbon Nanotube Composites for Space Applications (K.A. Watson and J.W. Connell) Chapter 20. From Carbon Nanotechnology to Bioanotechnology: Protein and Peptide Nanofibrils and Nanowires (O.I. Kiselev)
Effect of Thermomechanical Processing on Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Aluminum Conductor Alloys

The effect of different thermomechanical processes (hot extrusion and Properzi continuous rolling) on the electrical and mechanical properties of the Al-Fe aluminum conductor alloys was investigated. The microstructural evolution of the supply rods was characterized by an optical microscope, a transmission electron microscope and the electron backscatter diffraction technique (EBSD). Tensile tests and electrical conductivity measurements were carried out at room temperature on the supply rods. Results showed that, at the same Fe content, the continuously rolled rods demonstrated higher tensile strength but lower elongation and electrical conductivity compared with those of the extruded rods. A partially recrystallized structure along with a big subgrain size appeared in the extruded rods while only a dynamic recovery with a small subgrain size was found in the continuously rolled rods. The precipitation of iron-rich dispersoids was observed in the extruded rods and is associated with a depletion of the iron concentration.
Partner Selection and Power Control for Asymmetrical Collaborative Networks

We derive an adaptive power control method for a collaborative network utilizing partner selection that aims to minimize the frame error rate (FER). We model a decode-and-forward (DF) collaborative network under block fading conditions, which contains M independent users utilizing codes, whose performance can be expressed by a signal to noise (SNR) threshold, such as turbo codes. We show that partner selection can reduce system complexity and power allocation can improve the FER performance. We use both a search method as well as a convex deterministic method to demonstrate our power allocation scheme. This research extends other work in which adaptive power allocation is only applied to limited scenarios. We conclude that power control can greatly benefit a DF collaborative network in a block fading environment.
ACC/SCA&I EXPERT CONSENSUS DOCUMENT American College of Cardiology/Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions Clinical Expert Consensus Document on Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Standards

American College of Cardiology/Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions Clinical Expert Consensus Document on Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Standards A Report of the American College of Cardiology Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus Documents Endorsed by the American Heart Association and the Diagnostic and Interventional Catheterization Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology of the AHA
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 UL34 Gene Product Is Required for Viral Envelopment

ABSTRACT The herpes simplex virus type 1 UL34 gene encodes a protein that is conserved in all human herpesviruses. The association of the UL34 protein with membranes in the infected cell and its expression as a gamma-1 gene suggest a role in maturation or egress of the virus particle from the cell. To determine the function of this gene product, we have constructed a recombinant virus that fails to express the UL34 protein. This recombinant virus, in which the UL34 protein coding sequence has been replaced by green fluorescent protein, forms minute plaques and replicates in single-step growth experiments to titers 3 to 5 log orders of magnitude lower than wild-type or repair viruses. On Vero cells, the deletion virus synthesizes proteins of all kinetic classes in normal amounts. Electron microscopic and biochemical analyses show that morphogenesis of the deletion virus proceeds normally to the point of formation of DNA-containing nuclear capsids, but electron micrographs show no enveloped virus particles in the cytoplasm or at the surface of infected cells, suggesting that the UL34 protein is essential for efficient envelopment of capsids.
A simplified interventional mapping system (SIMS) for the selection of combinations of targeted treatments in non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of death worldwide. Targeted monotherapies produce high regression rates, albeit for limited patient subgroups, who inevitably succumb. We present a novel strategy for identifying customized combinations of triplets of targeted agents, utilizing a simplified interventional mapping system (SIMS) that merges knowledge about existent drugs and their impact on the hallmarks of cancer. Based on interrogation of matched lung tumor and normal tissue using targeted genomic sequencing, copy number variation, transcriptomics, and miRNA expression, the activation status of 24 interventional nodes was elucidated. An algorithm was developed to create a scoring system that enables ranking of the activated interventional nodes for each patient. Based on the trends of co-activation at interventional points, combinations of drug triplets were defined in order to overcome resistance. This methodology will inform a prospective trial to be conducted by the WIN consortium, aiming to significantly impact survival in metastatic NSCLC and other malignancies.
Functional and structural brain alterations in insomnia: implications for pathophysiology

Insomnia is defined as the complaint of not being able to fall asleep or to maintain sleep, and/or nonrestorative sleep, accompanied by impaired daytime functioning on a social, emotional or professional level. Insomnia per se is a very frequent complaint and can be caused by environmental, medical, mental or psychosocial factors or the intake of drugs. Primary insomnia is an insomnia subtype characterized by the absence of a causative medical or psychiatric factor. From a pathophysiological point of view, persistent hyperarousal on autonomous, emotional, cognitive or neurobiological levels is thought to be the decisive factor for the development and persistence of chronic primary insomnia. This view is supported by studies confirming that patients with primary insomnia display heightened levels of fast frequencies of the sleep EEG, show increased production of cortisol and interleukin‐6, and demonstrate increased metabolism in several brain areas during sleep (as measured by positron emission tomography). Furthermore, primary insomnia is coupled with cognitive deficits during waking and with impairments of nocturnal memory consolidation. Just recently, reductions in hippocampal volume size have been reported in patients suffering from primary insomnia. In the light of neurobiological theories of sleep–wake regulation, primary insomnia may be conceptualised as the final common pathway of the interaction of a genetic vulnerability to an imbalance between arousing and sleep‐inducing brain centres (which is triggered by psychosocial and/or medical stressors) with perpetuating mechanisms such as maladaptive behaviours, learned sleep‐preventing associations and cognitive factors.
Agglutination by concanavalin A of normal chick embryo fibroblasts treated by 5‐bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)

When chick embryo fibroblasts are grown for two days in the presence of low doses (18 μg/ml) of 5‐bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), their agglu‐tinability by Concanavalin A is increased to about the same degree as following viral transformation of the cells by Rous sarcoma virus. Simultaneous addition of a large excess, but not of a low dose of thymidine prevents this effect of BrdU.
Divergent Signaling Capacities of the Long and Short Isoforms of the Leptin Receptor*

Leptin receptors include a long form (OBRl) with 302 cytoplasmic residues that is presumed to mediate most or all of leptins signaling, and several short forms, including one (OBRs) that has 34 cytoplasmic residues, is widely expressed, and is presumed not to signal but to mediate transport or clearance of leptin. We studied the abilities of these two receptor isoforms to mediate signaling in transfected cells. In response to leptin, OBRl, but not OBRs, underwent tyrosine phosphorylation that was enhanced by co-expression with JAK2. In cells expressing receptors and JAK2, both OBRs and OBRl mediated leptin-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK2, and this was abolished with OBRs when the Box 1 motif was mutated. In cells expressing receptors, JAK2 and IRS-1, leptin induced tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1 through OBRs and OBRl. In COS cells expressing hemagglutinin-ERK1 and receptors, leptin increased ERK1 kinase activity through OBRl, with the magnitude increased by co-expression of JAK1 or JAK2, and to a lesser degree through OBRs, despite greater receptor expression. In stable Chinese hamster ovary cell lines expressing OBRs or OBRl, leptin stimulated endogenous ERK2 phosphorylation. Whereas leptin stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of hemagglutinin-STAT3 and induction of a c-fos luciferase reporter plasmid through OBRl, OBRs was without effect in these assays. In conclusion, OBRl is capable of signaling to IRS-1 and mitogen-activated protein kinase via JAK, in addition to activating STAT pathways. Although substantially weaker than OBRl, OBRs is capable of mediating signal transduction via JAK, but these activities are of as yet unknown significance for leptin biology in vivo.
Computing the Polar Decomposition and the Matrix Sign Decomposition in Matrix Groups

For any matrix automorphism group G associated with a bilinear or sesquilinear form, Mackey, Mackey, and Tisseur have recently shown that the matrix sign decomposition factors of A ∈ G also lie in G; moreover, the polar factors of A lie in G if the matrix of the underlying form is unitary. Groups satisfying the latter condition include the complex orthogonal, real and complex symplectic, and pseudo-orthogonal groups. This work is concerned with exploiting the structure of G when computing the polar and matrix sign decompositions of matrices in G. We give sufficient conditions for a matrix iteration to preserve the group structure and show that a family of globally convergent rational Pade-based iterations of Kenney and Laub satisfy these conditions. The well-known scaled Newton iteration for computing the unitary polar factor does not preserve group structure, but we show that the approach of the iterates to the group is precisely tethered to the approach to unitarity, and that this forces a different and exploitable structure in the iterates. A similar relation holds for the Newton iteration for the matrix sign function. We also prove that the number of iterations needed for convergence of the structure-preserving methods can be precisely predicted by running an associated scalar iteration. Numerical experiments are given to compare the cubically and quintically converging iterations with Newton's method and to test stopping criteria. The overall conclusion is that the structure-preserving iterations and the scaled Newton iteration are all of practical interest, and which iteration is to be preferred is problem-dependent.
Local information maximisation creates emergent flocking behavior

The three boids rules of alignment, separation and cohesion, introduced by Reynolds to recreate flocking behaviour have become a well known standard to create swarm behaviour. In this paper we want to demonstrate how similar flocking behaviour can be created by a local, agent based model, following a principle of information maximisation. The basis for our model is an extension of Vergassola’s infotaxis model, where agents determine their actions based on the highest expected reduction of entropy. We adapted this approach to a grid world-based search task, and extended the agents abilities so they could not only perform a Bayesian update with information gained from the environment, but also with information gained from other agents. The resulting global flocking behaviour is then analysed in regard to how well it resembles the basic boids rules.
Programmatic Evaluation of a Combined Antigen and Antibody Test for Rapid HIV Diagnosis in a Community and Sexual Health Clinic Screening Programme

Background A substantial proportion of HIV-infected individuals in the UK are unaware of their status and late presentations continue, especially in low prevalence areas. Fourth generation antigen/antibody rapid test kits could facilitate earlier diagnosis of HIV in non-clinical settings but lack data on performance under programmatic conditions. Methods and Findings We evaluated the performance of Determine HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo Test (Determine Combo), a rapid test with indicators for both HIV antibodies and p24 antigen, in participants recruited from community outreach and hospital-based sexual health clinics. HIV infection was confirmed using laboratory enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EIA), Line Immuno Assay (LIA) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In total, 953 people underwent HIV testing. HIV antibody (Ab) prevalence was 1.8% (17/953). Four false positive rapid tests were identified: two antibody and two p24 antigen (Ag) reactions. Of participants diagnosed as HIV Ab positive, 2/17 (12%) were recent seroconverters based on clinical history and HIV antibody avidity test results. However, none of these were detected by the p24 antigen component of the rapid test kit. There were no other true positive p24 Ag tests. Conclusion These data lend support to an increasing body of evidence suggesting that 4th generation rapid HIV tests have little additional benefit over 3rd generation HIV kits for routine screening in low prevalence settings and have high rates of false positives. In order to optimally combine community-based case-finding among hard-to-reach groups with reliable and early diagnosis 3rd generation kits should be primarily used with laboratory testing of individuals thought to be at risk of acute HIV infection. A more reliable point of care diagnostic is required for the accurate detection of acute HIV infection under programmatic conditions.
7 Drug Synergy – Mechanisms and Methods of Analysis

The term synergy is derived from the Greek syn-ergos, "working together". Synergies have been described in many settings and situations of life, including mechanics, technical systems, human social life, and many more. In all cases, synergy describes the fact that a system, i.e. the combination and interaction of two or more agents or forces is such that the combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. This definition implies that there are three possible ways of such an “interaction of agents or forces”: these forces could simply add up, not affecting each other (no interaction), their combination could produce a greater than expected result (synergy), or the combination could lead to a result that is less than the sum of the individual effects. This “negative” summation is called antagonism. Interactions of biologically active agents are an important aspect of pharmacology and biomedicine. In this context, interaction describes the biological activity that results from the presence of several drugs at the same time. Such situations occur in numerous clinical situations: combinations of cytotoxic drugs in the treatment of cancer and infections require lower doses of each drug to obtain better therapeutic effects with less side-effect toxicity. combinations of antibiotics likewise combine better efficiency with fewer side effects and reduced development of resistance. many serious clinical situations require administration of several drugs simply because of multiple therapeutic indications. Although in such a case drug combinations are not formulated to look for synergies, the interactions of these drugs need to be assessed. the effect of one drug may be augmented by another drug that does not produce such an effect on its own In all these cases, multiple drugs are administered, and will show some form of interaction, synergistic, antagonistic, or none. Methods to determine and quantify drug interactions are thus an essential tool in pharmacology. Historically, extracts from plants, animals, or even soils were the first classified pharmaceuticals. These were complex mixtures rather than single agents, and some ingredients may have interacted with others. Over the years of development of pharmacy, isolation, synthesis and marketing of single drugs became the accepted standard. Whether a complex mixture or a combination of drugs is used, the biological interaction of all active substances should be known. Synergy may be observed in simple systems – two drugs that only act on one target protein can show synergism. In such a case we can study the interaction of the drugs mechanistically and determine why and
Extensive Divergence Between Mating-Type Chromosomes of the Anther-Smut Fungus

Genomic regions that determine mating compatibility are subject to distinct evolutionary forces that can lead to a cessation of meiotic recombination and the accumulation of structural changes between members of the homologous chromosome pair. The relatively recent discovery of dimorphic mating-type chromosomes in fungi can aid the understanding of sex chromosome evolution that is common to dioecious plants and animals. For the anther-smut fungus, Microbotryum lychnidis-dioicae (= M. violaceum isolated from Silene latifolia), the extent of recombination cessation on the dimorphic mating-type chromosomes has been conflictingly reported. Comparison of restriction digest optical maps for the two mating-type chromosomes shows that divergence extends over 90% of the chromosome lengths, flanked at either end by two pseudoautosomal regions. Evidence to support the expansion of recombination cessation in stages from the mating-type locus toward the pseudoautosomal regions was not found, but evidence of such expansion could be obscured by ongoing processes that affect genome structure. This study encourages the comparison of forces that may drive large-scale recombination suppression in fungi and other eukaryotes characterized by dimorphic chromosome pairs associated with sexual life cycles.
Severe Eosinophilic Syndrome: Highly Unlikely Associated with the Use of Probiotic Supplements!

A recent report in this journal suggested a causal relation between probiotic consumption and eosinophilia. In our opinion, the data presented does not suggest such a relationship. The two described eosinophilia cases have not been shown to be caused by infection and certainly not by probiotic infection. The consumed probiotics could not be retrieved in shops, so their identity remains unknown. Furthermore, the alleged consumption took place 2–4 weeks prior to the onset of the symptoms; during such time period, probiotics tend to have disappeared from the intestine. Because most probiotic health benefits are strain specific, also potential risks are strain specific. Thus, generalizing a risk to probiotics as a class is incorrect. We do, however, agree with the authors of the case report that quality control of probiotics should be rigorous. We also do not dispute that there may be certain risk groups (e.g. severely immune-compromised patients), where probiotic use should be carefully monitored. In conclusion, the data presented in the case report do not indicate that specific probiotics strains might cause eosinophilia.
Contraction and Revision over DL-Lite TBoxes

Two essential tasks in managing Description Logic (DL) ontologies are eliminating problematic axioms and incorporating newly formed axioms. Such elimination and incorporation are formalised as the operations of contraction and revision in belief change.In this paper, we deal with contraction and revision for the DL-Lite family through a model-theoretic approach.Standard DL semantics yields infinite numbers of models for DL-Lite TBoxes, thus it is not practical to develop algorithms for contraction and revision that involve DL models. The key to our approach is the introduction of an alternative semantics called type semantics which is more succinct than DL semantics. More importantly, with a finite signature, type semantics always yields finite humber of models.We then define model-based contraction and revision for DL-Lite TBoxesunder type semantics and provide representation theorems for them.Finally, the succinctness of type semantics allows us to develop tractable algorithms for both operations.