Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Sciences Synthesis and Characterization of Polyethylene Glycol Mediated Silver Nanoparticles by the Green Method

The roles of green chemistry in nanotechnology and nanoscience fields are very significant in the synthesis of diverse nanomaterials. Herein, we report a green chemistry method for synthesized colloidal silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in polymeric media. The colloidal Ag NPs were synthesized in an aqueous solution using silver nitrate, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and β-D-glucose as a silver precursor, stabilizer, and reducing agent, respectively. The properties of synthesized colloidal Ag NPs were studied at different reaction times. The ultraviolet-visible spectra were in excellent agreement with the obtained nanostructure studies performed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and their size distributions. The Ag NPs were characterized by utilizing X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential measurements and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The use of green chemistry reagents, such as glucose, provides green and economic features to this work.
Footprint of Positive Selection in Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum Genome Sequences Suggests Adaptive Microevolution of the Syphilis Pathogen

In the rabbit model of syphilis, infection phenotypes associated with the Nichols and Chicago strains of Treponema pallidum (T. pallidum), though similar, are not identical. Between these strains, significant differences are found in expression of, and antibody responses to some candidate virulence factors, suggesting the existence of functional genetic differences between isolates. The Chicago strain genome was therefore sequenced and compared to the Nichols genome, available since 1998. Initial comparative analysis suggested the presence of 44 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 103 small (≤3 nucleotides) indels, and 1 large (1204 bp) insertion in the Chicago genome with respect to the Nichols genome. To confirm the above findings, Sanger sequencing was performed on most loci carrying differences using DNA from Chicago and the Nichols strain used in the original T. pallidum genome project. A majority of the previously identified differences were found to be due to errors in the published Nichols genome, while the accuracy of the Chicago genome was confirmed. However, 20 SNPs were confirmed between the two genomes, and 16 (80.0%) were found in coding regions, with all being of non-synonymous nature, strongly indicating action of positive selection. Sequencing of 16 genomic loci harboring SNPs in 12 additional T. pallidum strains, (SS14, Bal 3, Bal 7, Bal 9, Sea 81-3, Sea 81-8, Sea 86-1, Sea 87-1, Mexico A, UW231B, UW236B, and UW249C), was used to identify “Chicago-“ or “Nichols -specific” differences. All but one of the 16 SNPs were “Nichols-specific”, with Chicago having identical sequences at these positions to almost all of the additional strains examined. These mutations could reflect differential adaptation of the Nichols strain to the rabbit host or pathoadaptive mutations acquired during human infection. Our findings indicate that SNPs among T. pallidum strains emerge under positive selection and, therefore, are likely to be functional in nature.
The Missing Link between Research and Reality: the significance of the relationship between retail format and organic food consumption

The impact that the retail format has on the level of individual motivation tends to be overlooked in discussions of the determinants of organic consumption, this neglect due to the tendency to model individual and contextual factors separately. Hence, the dominant research paradigm has difficulty accounting for the differences in energy and motivation across consumers. Moreover, in spite of the expansions to the set of contextual factors, this paradigm is unable to increase the 'reality' of descriptions of consumer behavior so long as such attempts are then filtered back through modeling frameworks initially developed to address different questions. To illustrate the dual importance of asking the right questions and using appropriate models, this paper utilizes a modeling exercise to explore the consequences of using two prevalent modeling approaches that utilize a limited form of the relationship between individual and retail format to explain the level of motivation. By illustrating the potential for omitted variable bias and misleading policy implications, it is argued that novel modeling approaches are necessary to integrate the broader range of relationships that exist, as well as the relevance of these relationships to the level of motivation.
MILD EXECUTIVE DYSFUNCTIONS IN UNDERGRADUATES ARE RELATED TO RECOLLECTING WORDS NEVER PRESENTED

The aim of this study was to explore whether individual differences in executive function in undergraduate students (n = 72) contribute to false recall and recognition as obtained with the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. Participants were subjected to the DRM paradigm and also were given a test designed to assess executive function-–the Random Number Generation task (RNG). A relationship was found between heightened seriation on the RNG (indicating a deficiency in the ability to inhibit cognitive schemes) and false recognition of non-presented, critical lure words in the DRM paradigm. This suggests that individual differences in executive function do occur in a healthy population and that the reconstructive activity inherent in memory depends in part on executive functioning.
Total Harmonic Distortion Analysis and Comparison of Diode Clamped Multilevel Z-Source Inverter

A desired AC voltage is achieved from several levels of DC voltages is done by multilevel inverters. These inverters are applied to high voltage and high power applications due to better harmonic spectrum and faithful output. In recent years a single X-shaped LC network is important development in multilevel inverters. The power quality improvement is obtained by reducing the harmonics present at the output voltage of the inverter. This paper presents the comparative THD analysis of several multicarrier PWM control techniques which is effectively used for harmonic mitigation in the proposed diode clamped multilevel Z-source inverter and this work is compared with conventional three level inverter by using MATLAB/SIMULINK.
Readers' Theater: “Hold On, Let's Read it Again.”

Roberta, an inclusive kindergarten teacher, and Rajan, an intermediate self-contained classroom teacher, were having a similar conversation with the reading coach who serves their schools. “One research-based strategy for engaging your students in meaningful rereading of texts is readers’ theater,” said the literacy coach. “Not only do the students enjoy doing readers’ theater, but research suggests it can have a significant impact on their fluency rate, word recognition ability, and comprehension. ” Roberta and Rajan both seemed a bit skeptical. I don’t really have a lot of reading resources,” said Roberta. “And with the budget cuts, there aren’t any funds left for buying more books. ” “The time factor is most important to me,” added Rajan. “I have kids in and out all day. I need something that can engage a few students for shorter periods of time. I’m also already spending a lot of time planning for my guided reading groups. ” “Readers’ theater is a relatively simple strategy to implement and doesn’t have to take a lot of time or a special curriculum,” responded the literacy coach. “It’s perfect for small group instruction for shorter periods of time and there are free scripts available from a number of web sites. If you want to try it, I can model it for you and you can take it from there. I know I have a couple of collections of scripts in the resource lab as well. ”
Estimating epidemiological parameters for bovine tuberculosis in British cattle using a Bayesian partial-likelihood approach

Fitting models with Bayesian likelihood-based parameter inference is becoming increasingly important in infectious disease epidemiology. Detailed datasets present the opportunity to identify subsets of these data that capture important characteristics of the underlying epidemiology. One such dataset describes the epidemic of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in British cattle, which is also an important exemplar of a disease with a wildlife reservoir (the Eurasian badger). Here, we evaluate a set of nested dynamic models of bTB transmission, including individual- and herd-level transmission heterogeneity and assuming minimal prior knowledge of the transmission and diagnostic test parameters. We performed a likelihood-based bootstrapping operation on the model to infer parameters based only on the recorded numbers of cattle testing positive for bTB at the start of each herd outbreak considering high- and low-risk areas separately. Models without herd heterogeneity are preferred in both areas though there is some evidence for super-spreading cattle. Similar to previous studies, we found low test sensitivities and high within-herd basic reproduction numbers (R0), suggesting that there may be many unobserved infections in cattle, even though the current testing regime is sufficient to control within-herd epidemics in most cases. Compared with other, more data-heavy approaches, the summary data used in our approach are easily collected, making our approach attractive for other systems.
ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURE COUNT OF ANGULAR HEXAGONAL-SQUARE CHAINS

The algebraic structure count of a graph G can be defined by ASC{G} = √ | detA | where A is the adjacency matrix of G. In chemistry, thermodynamic stability of a hydrocarbon is related to the ASC-value for the graph which represents its skeleton. In the case of benzenoid graphs (connected, bipartite, plane graphs which have the property that every faceboundary (cell) is a circuit of length of the form 4s+2 (s = 1, 2, . . .)), the ASC-value coincides with K{G} the number of perfect matchings (Kekulé structures). However, in the case of non-benzenoid graphs (in which some cells are circuits of length of the form 4s(s = 1, 2, . . .)) these two numbers ASC{G} and K{G} can be different. Angular hexagonal-square chains (open and closed) belong to this latter class. In this paper we show that the algebraic structure count for these graphs can be expressed by means of Fibonacci and Lucas numbers.
Recovering Communities in the General Stochastic Block Model Without Knowing the Parameters

Most recent developments on the stochastic block model (SBM) rely on the knowledge of the model parameters, or at least on the number of communities. This paper introduces efficient algorithms that do not require such knowledge and yet achieve the optimal information-theoretic tradeoffs identified in [AS15] for linear size communities. The results are three-fold: (i) in the constant degree regime, an algorithm is developed that requires only a lower-bound on the relative sizes of the communities and detects communities with an optimal accuracy scaling for large degrees; (ii) in the regime where degrees are scaled by $\omega(1)$ (diverging degrees), this is enhanced into a fully agnostic algorithm that only takes the graph in question and simultaneously learns the model parameters (including the number of communities) and detects communities with accuracy $1-o(1)$, with an overall quasi-linear complexity; (iii) in the logarithmic degree regime, an agnostic algorithm is developed that learns the parameters and achieves the optimal CH-limit for exact recovery, in quasi-linear time. These provide the first algorithms affording efficiency, universality and information-theoretic optimality for strong and weak consistency in the general SBM with linear size communities.
Planetary nebula or symbiotic Mira? Near infrared colours mark the difference

Nebulae around symbiotic Miras look very much like genuine planetary nebulae, although they are formed in a slightly different way. We present near infrared photometry of known and suspected symbiotic nebulae obtained with the Deep Near Infrared Southern Sky Survey (DENIS). We demonstrate that the near infrared colours are an excellent tool to distinguish symbiotic from genuine planetary nebulae. In particular we find that the bipolar planetary nebulae M 2-9 and Mz 3 are in fact symbiotic Miras. Further observations on prototype symbiotic Miras prove that the proposed classification scheme works generally.
Progesterone with Vitamin D Affords Better Neuroprotection against Excitotoxicity in Cultured Cortical Neurons than Progesterone Alone

Because the complex heterogeneity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is believed by many to be a major reason for the failed clinical trials of monotherapies, combining two (or more) drugs with some potentially different mechanisms of action may produce better effects than administering those agents individually. In this study, we investigated whether combinatorial treatment with progesterone (PROG) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 hormone (VDH) would produce better neuroprotection than PROG alone following excitotoxic neuronal injury in vitro. E18 rat primary cortical neurons were pretreated with various concentrations of PROG and VDH separately or in combination for 24 h and then exposed to glutamate (0.5 µmol/L) for the next 24 h. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assays were used to measure cell death. Both PROG and VDH significantly (P < 0.001) reduced neuronal loss when tested independently Primary cortical cultures treated with VDH exhibited a U-shaped concentration-response curve. PROG at 20 µmol/L and VDH at 100 nmol/L concentrations were the most neuroprotective. When the drugs were combined, the “best” doses of PROG (20 µmol/L) and VDH (100 nmol/L), used individually, did not show substantial efficacy; rather, the lower dose of VDH (20 nmol/L) was most effective when used in combination with PROG (P < 0.01). We also examined the effect of combinatorial treatment on mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation as a potential neuroprotective mechanism and observed that PROG and VDH activated MAPK alone and in combination. Interestingly, the best combination dose of PROG and VDH (20 µmol/L and 20 nmol/L, respectively), as observed in cell death assays (LDH and MTT), resulted in increased MAPK activation compared with either the most neuroprotective concentration of individual PROG (20 µmol/L) and VDH (100 nmol/L) or the combination of these individual best doses. Such interactions must be considered in planning individualized combinatorial therapies. In conclusion, the findings of the present study can be taken to suggest that VDH warrants study as a potential partner for combination therapy with PROG.
Impact of Combination Evidence-Based Medical Therapy on Mortality in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes

Background—Several individual pharmacological agents, such as antiplatelet drugs, &bgr;-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and lipid-lowering agents, have proven efficacy in reducing mortality in patients with acute coronary syndromes. However, the impact of the combination of these agents on clinical outcomes has not been studied before. Methods and Results—A total of 1358 consecutive patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes between January 1999 and March 2002 were identified, and data on baseline demographics, comorbidities, and in-hospital management were collected. On the basis of discharge use of evidence-based therapies, we created a composite appropriateness score depending on the number of the drugs used divided by the number of the drugs potentially indicated for each patient. The impact of the composite score on 6-month mortality was analyzed using a risk-adjusted logistic regression model. The odds ratio for death for all indicated medications used (appropriateness level IV) versus none of the indicated medications used (appropriateness level 0) was 0.10 (95% CI, 0.03 to 0.42; P <0.0001); similarly, odds ratio for appropriateness level III versus level 0 was 0.17 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.75; P =0.0018), odds ratio for appropriateness level II versus level 0 was 0.18 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.77; P =0.01), and odds ratio for appropriateness level I versus level 0 was 0.36 (95% CI, 0.08 to 1.75; P =0.20). Conclusions—Use of combination evidence-based medical therapies was independently and strongly associated with lower 6-month mortality in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Such therapies, most of which are generic and inexpensive today, seem to offer a marked survival advantage compared with patients in whom such therapies are omitted.
A Robust Scheme for Transmit Diversity and Spatial Multiplexing Based on Channel Spatial Correlation

A new scheme consisting of a combination of transmit diversity, spatial multiplexing and beamformer is presented for the spatial correlated channels. The proposed scheme exploits the benefits of combining transmit diversity and spatial multiplexing to provide diversity and multiplexing gain. Based on channel's correlation matrix, a robust beamformer is designed. Simulation results show that the robust scheme has a significant performance gain over conventional scheme.
Serogroup W-135 Meningococcal Disease during the Hajj, 2000

An outbreak of serogroup W-135 meningococcal disease occurred during the 2000 Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Disease was reported worldwide in Hajj pilgrims and their close contacts; however, most cases were identified in Saudi Arabia. Trends in Saudi meningococcal disease were evaluated and the epidemiology of Saudi cases from this outbreak described. Saudi national meningococcal disease incidence data for 1990 to 2000 were reviewed; cases from January 24 to June 5, 2000 were retrospectively reviewed. The 2000 Hajj outbreak consisted of distinct serogroup A and serogroup W-135 outbreaks. Of 253 identified cases in Saudi Arabia, 161 (64%) had serogroup identification; serogroups W-135 and A caused 93 (37%) and 60 (24%) cases with attack rates of 9 and 6 cases per 100,000 population, respectively. The 2000 Hajj outbreak was the first large serogroup W-135 meningococcal disease outbreak identified worldwide. Enhanced surveillance for serogroup W-135, especially in Africa, is essential to control this emerging epidemic disease.
Torque controller via second order sliding modes of WRIG impelled by DC-motor for application in wind systems

In this paper, the authors propose three robust non-linear controllers based on a second order sliding mode technique named super-twisting method which can be applied into work bench for research related to wind system. The main control scheme is proposed to control the electromagnetic torque and stator power factor of a wound rotor induction generator connected to a local electrical network and mechanically coupled with a DC-motor whose velocity is controlled applying feedback linearization technique and super-twisting algorithm; it is known that the DC-motor can be emulate the operation of the wind turbine. Finally, a grid side converter controller is proposed to regulate the DC link bus located between to power converters connected in “back to back” standard configuration, applying linearization by block control and super-twisting algorithm. The performance of the designed controllers for the DC motor-WR induction generator group is validated through real time implementation.
Rabies viruses leader RNA interacts with host Hsc70 and inhibits virus replication

Viruses have been shown to be equipped with regulatory RNAs to evade host defense system. It has long been known that rabies virus (RABV) transcribes a small regulatory RNA, leader RNA (leRNA), which mediates the transition from viral RNA transcription to replication. However, the detailed molecular mechanism remains enigmatic. In the present study, we determined the genetic architecture of RABV leRNA and demonstrated its inhibitory effect on replication of wild-type rabies, DRV-AH08. The RNA immunoprecipitation results suggest that leRNA inhibits RABV replication via interfering the binding of RABV nucleoprotein with genomic RNA. Furthermore, we identified heat shock cognate 70 kDa protein (Hsc70) as a leRNA host cellular interacting protein, of which the expression level was dynamically regulated by RABV infection. Notably, our data suggest that Hsc70 was involved in suppressing RABV replication by leader RNA. Finally, our experiments imply that leRNA might be potentially useful as a novel drug in rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. Together, this study suggested leRNA in concert with its host interacting protein Hsc70, dynamically down-regulate RABV replication.
The Future of NMR Metabolomics in Cancer Therapy: Towards Personalizing Treatment and Developing Targeted Drugs?

There has been a recent shift in how cancers are defined, where tumors are no longer simply classified by their tissue origin, but also by their molecular characteristics. Furthermore, personalized medicine has become a popular term and it could start to play an important role in future medical care. However, today, a “one size fits all” approach is still the most common form of cancer treatment. In this mini-review paper, we report on the role of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics in drug development and in personalized medicine. NMR spectroscopy has successfully been used to evaluate current and potential therapies, both single-agents and combination therapies, to analyze toxicology, optimal dose, resistance, sensitivity, and biological mechanisms. It can also provide biological insight on tumor subtypes and their different responses to drugs, and indicate which patients are most likely to experience off-target effects and predict characteristics for treatment efficacy. Identifying pre-treatment metabolic profiles that correlate to these events could significantly improve how we view and treat tumors. We also briefly discuss several targeted cancer drugs that have been studied by metabolomics. We conclude that NMR technology provides a key platform in metabolomics that is well-positioned to play a crucial role in realizing the ultimate goal of better tailored cancer medicine.
Editorial: Color and Form Perception: Straddling the Boundary

The Editorial on the Research Topic Color and Form Perception: Straddling the Boundary For many years, the dominating stance in neuroscience was that visual information processing is characterized by feature analysis (Hubel and Wiesel, 1959), followed by convergence and synthesis in a cascade of information processing stages (Hubel and Livingstone, 1987). In this cascade, color and features, such as orientation of achromatic contour segments, are initially separate (Zeki, 1978). So the question of how color and form perception are related was simply: At what level of processing do chromatic and achromatic features come together? This question has taken a different form today. In the present volume, whereas Moutoussis presents a contemporary version of this classical view, Rentzeperis et al. argue that neuroscience has moved on to accommodate broadband selectivity and population coding of sensory information, as well as lateral and feedback connections, enabling context-selective tuning of receptive fields. This means that the neural architecture, as understood today, enables a broad variety of perceptual integration functions. Therefore, we should not be surprised that integration of color and form appear at different levels and in various domains, from integration of color and orientation, over dynamically filling in (or the watercolor effect), to higher-order processes, such as implicit associations of color and shape in aesthetic judgments and color constancy for 3D objects. These different topics are brought together in the present E-Book. We expect that the collection of articles will be attractive to the community of researchers whose work straddles the boundary between the two visual perception fields—of color and form perception, as well as to the wider community interested in integrative/systems neuroscience.