Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Miniature Electrical Stimulator for Hemorrhage Control

Noncompressible hemorrhage is currently the most common cause of preventable death in battlefield and in civilian trauma injuries. Tourniquets, specialized wound dressings, and hemorrhage-inhibiting biomaterials are not sufficiently effective in arrest of noncompressible hemorrhage and often cause collateral tissue damage. An effective, easy-to-use, portable device is needed to reduce blood loss in trauma patients immediately following injury and to maintain hemorrhage control up to several hours-until the injured is evacuated to a medical facility. We developed a miniature electrical stimulator to induce vascular constriction and, thereby, reduce hemorrhage. Vasoconstriction of the rat femoral arteries and veins was studied with pulse durations in the range of 1 μs to 10 ms and repetition rate of 10 Hz. Pulse amplitude of 20 V, duration of 1 ms, and repetition rate of 10 Hz were found sufficient to induce rapid constriction down to 31 ± 2% of the initial diameter, which could be maintained throughout a two-hour treatment. Within one minute following treatment termination the artery dilated back to 88 ± 3% of the initial diameter, providing rapid restoration of blood perfusion. Histology indicated no damage to the vessel wall and endothelium seven days after stimulation. The same treatment reduced the blood loss following complete femoral artery resection by 68 ± 11%, compared to untreated vessels. Very low power consumption during stimulation (<;10 mW per 1.6 mm electrode) allows miniaturization of the stimulator for portable battery-powered operation in the field to control the blood loss following vascular trauma.
Experimental Study on 3D Chi - Hap Scaffolds for Thyroid Cartilage Repairing

Due to the limitation of self-repairing capability for cartilage injury, the construction of tissue engineering in vitro has been an ideal treatment to repair tissue injury. In this paper, hydroxyapatite (Hap) and chitosan (Chi) were selected to fabricate the scaffold through low temperature deposition manufacturing (LDM) technique. The scaffold was characterized with interconnected structure and high porosity, as well as lower toxicity to cells (TDC-5-EGPE). Animal experiment was performed, Twelve white New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into two groups, the side of the thyroid cartilage was removed, Chi-HAP composite scaffold was implanted into the cartilage defect as the experimental group A. Group B was treated for thyroid cartilage defects without any treatment. After 10 weeks, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and S-O staining were carried out on the injured tissues. The result showed that newborn chondrocytes were found in repaired areas for group A, and there are no new cells found for group B. Therefore, Chi-HAP composite scaffolds formed by LDM possess biological activity for repairing injury cartilage.
Oral Administration of PF-01247324, a Subtype-Selective Nav1.8 Blocker, Reverses Cerebellar Deficits in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis

Cerebellar symptoms significantly diminish quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). We previously showed that sodium channel Nav1.8, although normally restricted to peripheral somatosensory neurons, is upregulated in the cerebellum in MS, and that Nav1.8 expression is linked to ataxia and MS-like symptoms in mice. Furthermore, intracerebroventricular administration of the Nav1.8 blocker A-803467 temporarily reversed electrophysiological and behavioral manifestations of disease in a mouse MS model; unfortunately A-803467 is not orally bioavailable, diminishing the potential for translation to human patients. In the present study, we assessed the effect of per os (p.o.) dosing of a new orally bioavailable Nav1.8-selective blocker, PF-01247324, in transgenic mice expressing Nav1.8 in Purkinje neurons, and in wildtype mice in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model. PF-01247324 was administered by oral gavage at 1000 mg/kg; control groups received an equal volume of vehicle. Behavioral assays of motor coordination, grip strength, and ataxia were performed. We observed significant improvements in motor coordination and cerebellar-like symptoms in mice that received PF-01247324 compared to control littermates that received vehicle. These preclinical proof-of-concept data suggest that PF-01247324, its derivatives, or other Nav1.8-selective blockers merit further study for providing symptomatic therapy for cerebellar dysfunction in MS and related disorders.
Metal-doped TiO2 colloidal nanocrystals with broadly tunable plasmon resonance absorption

We report here the discovery of metal-doped colloidal TiO2 nanocrystals (NCs) with broadly tunable plasmon resonance absorption; and their synthesis by a facile and scalable one-pot method. A strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption peak occurs in the as-synthesized Mo, W, and Nb-doped TiO2 NCs in the visible, near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared regions respectively. Density functional theory calculations indicate a dopant perturbation of the TiO2 electronic structure and the resultant increase in the electron density at the Fermi level as the likely cause for the strong LSPR absorption. The W-doped TiO2 NCs are the most versatile since their LSPR absorption in the NIR region can be varied from 980 to 1700 nm by tailoring the dopant concentration and the NC morphology. The method of synthesis can also be scaled up to gram-level production in batch reactors. Tunable LSPR properties and the ease and scalability of synthesis are the strong features of these metal-doped TiO2 NCs for plasmonic applications.
Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences Anti-hyperglycaemic and Antioxidant Effects of Bidens Tripartita and Quantitative Analysis on Its Active Principles

Original article Objective(s): Bidens species are used for their antidiabetic properties traditionally in many countries. Aim of this study is to evaluate hypoglycaemic and antidiabetic activity of Bidens tripartita extract and to identify its active compounds through bioactivity guided isolation technique. Materials and Methods: Hypoglycaemic effects of B. tripartita extract and its sub-extracts were investigated in normal and glucose-hyperglycaemic rats. Streptozotocin induced diabetic rats were used to examine antidiabetic activity of the extract and its sub-extracts after acute and sub-acute administration. Additionally, in vitro enzyme inhibitory and antioxidant activities were evaluated. HPLC analyses were carried out to determine the active constituents of the extract and its sub-extracts. Results: Through in vivo bioactivity-guided fractionation process, ethyl acetate and n-buthanol sub-extracts were found to have potent antidiabetic activity. In vitro enzyme inhibitory activities of the same sub-extracts were found to be potent. The highest total phenol, flavonoid contents and radical scavenging activity was determined in ethyl acetate sub-extract. According to LC-MS analyses, chlorogenic acid, luteolin and 7-O-glucoside of luteolin (cynaroside) were determined as the main components of the active sub-extracts. Conclusion: According to our results, B. tripartita has potent antidiabetic activity and its active constituents might be beneficial for diabetes and its complications.hyperglycaemic and antioxidant effects of Bidens tripartita and quantitative analysis on its active principles.
Living Light 2018: Conference Report

Living Light is a biennial conference focused on all aspects of light–matter interaction in biological organisms with a broad, interdisciplinary outlook. The 2018 edition was held at the Møller Centre in Cambridge, UK, from April 11th to April 14th, 2018. Living Light’s main goal is to bring together researchers from different backgrounds (e.g., biologists, physicists and engineers) in order to discuss the current state of the field and sparkle new collaborations and new interdisciplinary projects. With over 90 national and international attendees, the 2018 edition of the conference was strongly multidisciplinary: oral and poster presentations encompassed a wide range of topics ranging from the evolution and development of structural colors in living organisms and their genetic manipulation to the study of fossil photonic structures.
The promise of preschool in Africa : a randomized impact evaluation of early childhood development in rural Mozambique

This brief summarizes the results of a gender impact evaluation study, entitled The promise of preschool in Africa : a randomized impact evaluation of early childhood development in rural Mozambique, conducted during the time period early 2008 to 2010 in Mozambique. The study observed that primary school enrollments increased significantly by 24 percent in treatment communities. Beneficiary children spend a significantly greater amount of time on schooling and homework activities (7.2 hours) and a significantly less amount of time on family farm activities. There are consistent significant improvements in cognitive and problem-solving abilities, fine-motor skills and socio-emotional and behavioral outcomes. The program also has a positive externality on other household members by increasing schooling and increasing the propensity to work of adults in the household. Finally, the program leads caregivers to adopt more appropriate punishment and increase the practice of daily routine. Funding for the study derived from Spanish Impact Evaluation Fund.
APPLICATION OF GRAPHENE OXIDE ON APTAMER-BASED BIOSENSOR DEVELOPMENT FOR AUTHENTICATION OF GELATIN

Objective: The objective of this study was to perform aptamer selection using systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) method which assisted by graphene oxide against target of porcine gelatin (non-halal gelatin). Methods: The aptamer selection was carried out using SELEX method without target immobilization. Selection of aptamer capable of binding porcine gelatin by applying grafen oxide (GO) was known as GO-SELEX. The selection process was initially carried out by incubation of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) libraries targeting on porcine gelatin with the addition of graphene oxide. The selected ssDNA was then purified by several stages namely; symmetric PCR amplification, purification of products with DNA purification kits, asymmetric PCR amplification, and continued purification of DNA with native PAGE. The analysis of each stage was done by agarose gel electrophoresis. Results: the results showed that aptamer targeting porcine DNA could be selected. This was indicated by the results of DNA analysis using native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in which sharp separation band with a base length equivalent to the marker of the ssDNA library (about 80 base pair) was obtained. Conclusion: Aptamer targeting on porcine gelatin has been successfully developed using GO-SELEX method. GO can increase selectivity in developing aptamer which will be used as a biosensor to detect porcine gelatin. The method could be proposed as a standard of apatamer based method for porcine gelatin detection on halal products authentication.
Soil moisture and ecosystem function responses of desert grassland varying in vegetative cover to a saturating precipitation pulse

A critical linkage between hydrological and ecological processes is plant cover, yet the ecosystem‐level responses of aridland systems of varying plant cover to extreme precipitation events, predicted to increase in the future, have not been well studied. We tracked volumetric soil water (θ15 cm) across the entire summer monsoon season, and ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET), net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (Reco), gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP), and leaf‐level net carbon assimilation (Anet) and stomatal conductance to water vapour (gs) for 30 days in high‐cover (ca. 50%) and low‐cover (ca. 23%) plots in response to a runoff generating experimental rainfall. For 35 days following the pulse, θ15 cm was 2·5% higher in high‐cover plots compared to low‐cover values, with identical soil drying rates between cover conditions. After θ15 cm converged to similar values between cover conditions, dry‐down rates were longer in low‐cover plots. ET and gs did not differ between plots. For 7 days after the pulse, slower Anet development in some grass species compared to rapid development by the canopy dominant, Lehmann's lovegrass, may have resulted in similar GEP between low‐ and high‐cover plots. After this, GEP and Reco were higher and increased in parallel in high‐cover plots. In low‐cover plots, Reco levelled at + 21 days, resulting in similar NEE to high‐cover plots, even though GEP was lower. These findings suggest that low biomass in low‐cover areas may constrain Reco and lead to more evenly distributed productivity across semiarid grasslands following large, infrequent precipitation events. Published in 2011. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
A global, spatially-explicit assessment of irrigated croplands influenced by urban wastewater flows

When urban areas expand without concomitant increases in wastewater treatment capacity, vast quantities of wastewater are released to surface waters with little or no treatment. Downstream of many urban areas are large areas of irrigated croplands reliant on these same surface water sources. Case studies document the widespread use of untreated wastewater in irrigated agriculture, but due to the practical and political challenges of conducting a true census of this practice, its global extent is not well known except where reuse has been planned. This study used GIS-based modeling methods to develop the first spatially-explicit estimate of the global extent of irrigated croplands influenced by urban wastewater flows, including indirect wastewater use. These croplands were further classified by their likelihood of using poor quality water based on the spatial proximity of croplands to urban areas, urban wastewater return flow ratios, and proportion of wastewater treated. This study found that 65% (35.9 Mha) of downstream irrigated croplands were located in catchments with high levels of dependence on urban wastewater flows. These same catchments were home to 1.37 billion urban residents. Of these croplands, 29.3 Mha were located in countries with low levels of wastewater treatment and home to 885 million urban residents. These figures provide insight into the key role that water reuse plays in meeting the water and food needs of people around the world, and the need to invest in wastewater treatment to protect public health.
DNA Damage, DNA Repair and Cancer

DNA damage is a change in the basic structure of DNA that is not itself replicated when the DNA is replicated. A DNA damage can be a chemical addition or disruption to a base of DNA (creating an abnormal nucleotide or nucleotide fragment) or a break in one or both chains of the DNA strands. When DNA carrying a damaged base is replicated, an incorrect base can often be inserted opposite the site of the damaged base in the complementary strand, and this can become a mutation in the next round of replication. Also DNA doublestrand breaks may be repaired by an inaccurate repair process leading to mutations. In addi‐ tion, a double strand break can cause rearrangements of the chromosome structure (possibly disrupting a gene, or causing a gene to come under abnormal regulatory control), and, if such a change can be passed to successive cell generations, it is also a form of mutation. Mu‐ tations, however, can be avoided if accurate DNA repair systems recognize DNA damages as abnormal structures, and repair the damages prior to replication. As illustrated in Figure 1, when DNA damages occur, DNA repair is a crucial protective process blocking entry of cells into carcinogenesis.
Coordinated Design of Droop Control in MTDC Grid Based on Model Predictive Control

A new multi-terminal DC (MTDC) grid controller based on model predictive control (MPC) for coordinating all droop controllers is proposed. This grid controller is designed to minimize the deviations of the DC voltages of the MTDC grid and avoid control mode change, so that to preserve the ability of droop voltage source converters (VSC) in controlling DC voltages. This is achieved by coordinately adjusting the gains of all droop controllers when changes in the MTDC grid power flow occur. A systematic discrete-time linear model of MTDC grid for this grid controller is derived in detail. In addition, the limitations on over shoot of DC voltages, converter capacity, and droop gain rate of change are taken into account in the MPC. Note that the constant droop gain will lead to a constant ratio <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta P/\Delta {U_{dc}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>. Minimize the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta {U_{dc}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> means <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta P$</tex-math></inline-formula> is minimized. So if necessary, the active power of a particular droop VSC can be fixed at a constant level by setting the lower and upper constraint on the corresponding droop gain to be equal. Tests are conducted on the system with six-terminal converters. The performance of the proposed grid controller is compared with those of fixed droop scheme. Simulation results have demonstrated the superiority and flexibility of the proposed grid controller under various operating conditions.
Tea or coffee? A case study on evidence for dietary advice

Abstract The present paper explores the level of evidence required to justify giving dietary advice to the public. There are important practical differences between the development of public health nutrition guidelines and guidelines for clinical practice. While the gold standard for evidence for clinical practice guidelines is a meta-analysis of a number of randomised controlled trials, this is often unrealistic and sometimes unethical for the evaluation of public health nutrition interventions. Hence, epidemiological studies make up the bulk of evidence for nutrition guidelines. Tea and coffee are an interesting case study in relation to this issue. They are two of the most commonly consumed beverages worldwide, yet there is little dietary advice on their use. The evidence for a relationship between coffee or tea consumption and several diseases is discussed. The available studies, predominantly epidemiological, together with animal and in vitro studies, indicate that coffee and tea are both safe beverages. However, tea is the healthier option because it has a possible role in the prevention of several cancers and CVD. While the evidence for such relationships is not strong, the public will continue to drink both tea and coffee, and will continue to ask nutritionists to make recommendations. It is therefore argued that advice should be given on the best available data, as waiting for complete data to become available could have severe consequences for public health.
Patient awareness of dysphagia

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of reduced patient awareness of oropharyngeal dysphagia. While patient awareness of dysphagia has been explored in individuals before participating in formal swallowing assessments, no studies have been identified in the literature that have explored awareness after patients have participated in an examination and received information about their dysphagia. In addition, the relationship between patient compliance and reduced awareness, as well as the application of stages of change in this population were explored. Twenty-one inpatients and outpatients, newly diagnosed with oropharyngeal dysphagia, participated in this study. A retrospective analysis found that 40% of participants demonstrated reduced awareness of their dysphagia before participating in a videofluoroscopic swallowing examination. Reduced pre-examination awareness of dysphagia occurred most frequently in those with general medical diagnoses versus neurological or structural diagnoses. Reduced pre-examination awareness was not significantly associated with a reduced cough response following aspiration. Exploration of post-examination patient awareness of dysphagia, the primary intent of this study, revealed that 19% of patients demonstrated reduced awareness of their dysphagia, even after receiving specific verbal and visual information regarding their diagnosis. Reduced post-examination awareness of dysphagia occurred equally in those with structural and neurological diagnoses and was not noted in those with general medical diagnoses. Reduced post-examination awareness was not significantly associated with a reduced cough response following aspiration. Consistent with the literature on reduced patient awareness of deficit, patient awareness of dysphagia was modality
A lattice predictor based adaptive Volterra filter and a synchronized learning algorithm

This paper proposes a lattice predictor based adaptive Volterra filter and a synchronized learning algorithm. In the adaptive Volterra filter (AVF), the eigenvalue spread of a correlation matrix is extremely amplified, and its convergence is very slow for gradient methods. A lattice predictor is employed for whitening the input signal. Its convergence property is analyzed. Convergence is highly dependent on a time constant parameter used in updating the reflection coefficients. Furthermore, a synchronized learning algorithm is proposed, by which fast convergence and a small residual error can be achieved. Computer simulations, using colored signals and real speech signals, demonstrate that the proposed method is 10 times as fast as the DCT based AVF.
What Are Biofilms?

Figure 1. Etiology of spinal infection. Contaminating Stapylococcal aureus (S aureus) aggregate into biofilms either in the wound fluid or on the surfaces of the protein-coated implant or bone. D ments, between 1 in 20 and 1 in 100 patients undergoing spinal surgery develop an infection. For patients with traumatic injuries, these rates easily exceed 10%. Prevention of spinal infection depends on immune surveillance, stringent sterile measures to minimize bacterial bioburden, and antibiotic prophylaxis. As the topography of the hardware and the bone is complex, the intervertebral disc and fusion mass reside in a relatively hypoxic environment, retention of hardware is required for spinal stability, and antibiotics show attenuated efficacy against implantassociated bacteria, infections can cause life-threatening problems in spinal sites. In the presence of an implant, bacteria adhere and form biofilms (Figure 1), which are three-dimensional networks of bacteria that are encased in an extracellular polymeric substance, an encapsulating slime that contains polysaccharides and nucleic acids. The structures are semipermeable and have channels for nutrient streaming where position within this three-dimensional structure may impact survival. Importantly, once bacteria are formed into biofilms, whether floating or associated with the implant or bone matrix, the bacteria undergo changes in metabolism and gene expression that reduce antibiotic susceptibility. This antibiotic recalcitrance occurs due to: (A) reduced metabolic rate—antibiotics generally target functions of rapidly growing cells; (B) secretion of factors that sequester
Learning Embeddings to lexicalise RDF Properties

A difficult task when generating text from knowledge bases (KB) consists in finding appropriate lexicalisations for KB symbols. We present an approach for lexicalis-ing knowledge base relations and apply it to DBPedia data. Our model learns low-dimensional embeddings of words and RDF resources and uses these representations to score RDF properties against candidate lexicalisations. Training our model using (i) pairs of RDF triples and automatically generated verbalisations of these triples and (ii) pairs of paraphrases extracted from various resources, yields competitive results on DBPedia data.