Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A study on the food contact suitability of recycled paper and board

The suitability of recycled paper packaging materials for direct food contact applications is a major area of investigation. The evaluation of food contact suitability was conducted on two commercially produced recycled papers. The white top testliner and the fluting paper, commonly used as integral parts of corrugated container, were tested. Selected papers were also submitted to additional chemical cleaning, which was obtained by means of laboratory deinking flotation. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate a possible decrease in the amount of chemical contaminants in the deinked pulp after laboratory deinking flotation had been conducted. Two original paper samples as well as their corresponding deinked pulp handsheets were checked for the presence of potentially harmful substances that are usually found as residues of recycling procedures. Food contact analyses comprised determination of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg), primary aromatic amines, diisopropylnaphthalenes (DIPN), phthalates and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) from aqueous or organic solvent extracts of paper samples. It was found that all amounts of measured contaminants were below the maximum limit of concentration proposed for these compounds by the European legislation. Furthermore, deinking flotation applied on the white testliner and fluting samples had a positive effect on the reduction of chemical contaminants from the deinked pulp.
Statement of the Third International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Development Conference, Carlsbad, California, 2015

The third International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia (EAH) Consensus Development Conference convened in Carlsbad, California in February 2015 with a panel of 17 international experts. The delegates represented 4 countries and 9 medical and scientific sub-specialties pertaining to athletic training, exercise physiology, sports medicine, water/sodium metabolism, and body fluid homeostasis. The primary goal of the panel was to review the existing data on EAH and update the 2008 Consensus Statement.1 This document serves to replace the second International EAH Consensus Development Conference Statement and launch an educational campaign designed to address the morbidity and mortality associated with a preventable and treatable fluid imbalance. The following statement is a summary of the data synthesized by the 2015 EAH Consensus Panel and represents an evolution of the most current knowledge on EAH. This document will summarize the most current information on the prevalence, etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of EAH for medical personnel, athletes, athletic trainers, and the greater public. The EAH Consensus Panel strove to clearly articulate what we agreed upon, did not agree upon, and did not know, including minority viewpoints that were supported by clinical experience and experimental data. Further updates will be necessary to both: (1) remain current with our understanding and (2) critically assess the effectiveness of our present recommendations. Suggestions for future research and educational strategies to reduce the incidence and prevalence of EAH are provided at the end of the document as well as areas of controversy that remain in this topic. [excerpt]
Photodynamic Therapy with Hypericin Improved by Targeting HSP90 Associated Proteins

In this study we have focused on the response of SKBR-3 cells to both single 17-DMAG treatment as well as its combination with photodynamic therapy with hypericin. Low concentrations of 17-DMAG without any effect on survival of SKBR-3 cells significantly reduced metabolic activity, viability and cell number when combined with photodynamic therapy with hypericin. Moreover, IC10 concentation of 17-DMAG resulted in significant increase of SKBR-3 cells in G1 phase of the cell cycle, followed by an increase of cells in G2 phase when combined with photodynamic therapy. Furthermore, 17-DMAG already decreased HER2, Akt, P-Erk1/2 and survivin protein levels in SKBR-3 cells a short time after its application. In this regard, 17-DMAG protected also SKBR-3 cells against both P-Erk1/2 as well as survivin upregulations induced by photodynamic therapy with hypericin. Interestingly, IC10 concentration of 17-DMAG led to total depletion of Akt, P-Erk1/2 proteins and to decrease of survivin level at 48 h. On the other hand, 17-DMAG did not change HER2 relative expression in SKBR-3 cells, but caused a significant decrease of HER2 mRNA in MCF-7 cells characterized by low HER2 expression. These results show that targeting HSP90 client proteins increases the efficiency of antineoplastic effect of photodynamic therapy in vitro.
Update on Mechanisms of Vegetation Mortality Mechanisms Linking Drought , Hydraulics , Carbon Metabolism , and Vegetation Mortality 1 [ W ]

Events of regional-scale vegetation mortality appear to be increasing in a variety of biomes throughout the Earth and are frequently associated with increased temperatures, droughts, and often (but not always) with outbreaks of biotic agents such as insects and pathogens (for review, see Allen et al., 2010; Supplemental Information S1). The precise physiological mechanisms underlying plant mortality are poorly understood, which limits prediction of where, when, and how vegetation will change with future climatic variation (for review, see Supplemental Information S2). In particular, hypotheses regarding carbon starvation (failure to maintain metabolism or fend off biotic agents due to prolonged negative carbohydrate balance) and hydraulic failure (desiccation from failed water transport) have stimulated recent debate (Adams et al., 2009a, 2009b; Leuzinger et al., 2009; Sala, 2009; McDowell and Sevanto, 2010; Sala et al., 2010). In this Update, I offer a perspective on the mechanisms of drought-induced mortality by providing an integrated view of carbonmetabolism in relation to stress and mortality, linking carbon metabolism with new evidence on the role of hydraulic failure in mortality, and identifying associated uncertainties. Drought is the predominant climate characteristic associated with mortality (Allen et al., 2010), but there are parallels with low temperature, light, and paleo-CO2 concentrations, from which I have cautiously drawn evidence regarding mechanisms of drought-induced mortality. Two novel results emerged from this review. First, well-known carbohydrate partitioning patterns are consistent with observations of carbohydrate concentrations in stressed but surviving plants as well as those that are dying, and these results support carbon starvation as a threat to survival during drought. Second, carbon metabolism and hydraulics are coupled via multiple interactions that are only recently becoming appreciated, including an enhanced risk of mortality in species that maintain narrow margins of hydraulic safety.
Mitomycins and Porfiromycin: Chemical Mechanism of Activation and Cross-linking of DNA

Mitomycins and porfiromycin, generally nonreactive in the natural oxidized state, behave as bifunctional "alkylating" agents upon chemical or enzymatic reduction, followed by spontaneous loss of the tertiary methoxy (hydroxyl) group and formation of an aromatic indole system. Thus activated, mitomycins and porfiromycin react in vitro with purified DNA, linking its complementary strands. A high content of guanine and cytosine favors this cross-linking reaction, which is the basis of the lethal effect in vivo of these antibiotics. The activation and cross-linking reactions are discussed in terms of reactive sites on the mitomycin and DNA molecules.
Bicaudal D1-Dependent Trafficking of Human Cytomegalovirus Tegument Protein pp150 in Virus-Infected Cells

ABSTRACT Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) virion assembly takes place in the nucleus and cytoplasm of infected cells. The HCMV virion tegument protein pp150 (ppUL32) is an essential protein of HCMV and has been suggested to play a role in the cytoplasmic phase of HCMV assembly. To further define its role in viral assembly and to identify host cell proteins that interact with pp150 during viral assembly, we utilized yeast two-hybrid analyses to detect an interaction between pp150 and Bicaudal D1 (BicD1), a protein thought to play a role in trafficking within the secretory pathway. BicD1 is known to interact with the dynein motor complex and the Rab6 GTPase. The interaction between pp150 and BicD1 was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation and fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Depletion of BicD1 with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) caused decreased virus yield and a defect in trafficking of pp150 to the cytoplasmic viral assembly compartment (AC), without altering trafficking to the AC of another essential tegument protein, pp28, or the viral glycoprotein complex gM/gN. The C terminus of BicD1 has been previously shown to interact with the GTPase Rab6, suggesting a potential role for Rab6-mediated vesicular trafficking in HCMV assembly. Finally, overexpression of the N terminus of truncated BicD1 acts in a dominant-negative manner and leads to disruption of the AC and a decrease in the assembly of infectious virus. This phenotype was similar to that observed following overexpression of dynamitin (p50) and provided additional evidence that morphogenesis of the AC and virus assembly were dynein dependent.
Absorbed-Dose Specification in Nuclear Medicine: Abstract

Abstract A number of reasons have led to a reappraisal of dose specification for nuclear medicine. These include an appreciation of non-uniformities in the distribution of radioactivity in the body, at all levels, for even the most common diagnostic and therapeutic agents; an increasing need to deal with the complexities of varying dose rates; the imperative to provide individual rather than standardised dose estimates as targeted radionuclide therapy becomes more sophisticated; as well as improvements in technology. This Report deals first with biological considerations that inform the rational use of radionuclide dosimetry. Radiobiological factors in the selection of radionuclides and tumour and normal-tissue dose-responses are discussed. Then, the MIRD (medical internal radiation dose) approach to nuclear medical dosimetry, a robust method that has proven its clinical utility, is described. Following on is an elaboration of non-uniform distributions of radioactivity and of varying dose rates. Lastly, the Report deals with techniques and procedures for measuring time variant activity distributions, image fusion, patient specific dose computations, smallscale dosimetry, and the comparison of calculated and measured doses.
The Short-Term Effects of Risperidone-Induced Hyperprolactinemia on Lipid Metabolism in Drug-Naïve Children and Adolescents

Objective The present cross-sectional study was designed to assess the risk of elevated prolactin levels and other hormonal or metabolic changes in children and adolescents taking risperidone. Methods Twenty-five children and adolescents [aged 7-18 years, 12.1±3.3 years (mean±SD); 19 boys and 6 girls] who had been taking risperidone for at least 3 months were enrolled. The following blood parameters were measured: serum levels of prolactin, thyroid hormones, alanine transaminase (ALT), sex hormones, lipids. Results The median risperidone dosage was 1.55 mg/day (SD 1.14 mg/day, range 0.25-4.00 mg/day). The prolactin level (33.65±16.71 ng/mL, range 5.8-68.3 ng/mL) was higher than normal, and was elevated (≥15 ng/mL in male, ≥23.3 ng/mL in female) in about 84% of the patients. The dosage of risperidone was positively correlated with serum prolactin level (r=0.767, p<0.001). The TG/HDL ratio was higher in the group with higher prolactin levels (i.e., ≥30 ng/mL), and hence might be a useful marker of insulin resistance. Conclusion In young patients taking risperidone, a high serum prolactin level may influence lipid metabolism, even when cholesterol levels are within the normal range. Further investigation is needed around this issue. Serum prolactin assessment is recommended for children and adolescents taking risperidone.
Home automation: HMM based fuzzy rule engine for Ambient intelligent smart space

in this paper, we proposed a new type of decisionmaking system to achieve the intelligent goal for automated smart environments. The artificial intelligence techniques, used as building blocks to understand inhabitant activity patterns. The collected information fused to a central inference engine based on Hidden Markov model and Fuzzy rules for taking appropriate actions to communicate and control various home appliances. We proposed a novel CASH (cognitive automated smart home) architecture, based on the Hidden Markov Model and the fuzzy rule based system. The Hidden Markov Model and fuzzy rules are well equipped to address the spatio-temporal activity pattern recognition problem and to trigger appropriate task execution rules. Keywords— home automation; rule mining; smart home; artificial intelligence; expert system; cyber physical system.
Lifetime map reconstruction in frequency-domain fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy

We propose a robust statistical framework for reconstructing lifetime map corrupted by vesicle motion in frequency domain FLIM imaging. Instrumental noise is taken into account to improve lifetime estimation. Robust M-estimators and ML-estimators allow to jointly estimate motion and lifetime. Performances are demonstrated on simulated and real samples.
PHOTONIC BAND STRUCTURE OF 1D PERIODIC COMPOSITE SYSTEM WITH LEFT HANDED AND RIGHT HANDED MATERIALS BY GREEN FUNCTION APPROACH

In the framework of the Green function method, we theoretically study the photonic band structure of one-dimensional superlattice composed of alternating layers of right-handed and left- handed materials (RHM and LHM). The dispersion curves are studied by assuming that the dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability are frequency dependent in each layer. It is shown that such structures can exhibit new types of electromagnetic modes and dispersion curves that do not exist in usual superlattices composed only of RHM.
Regulation of the neutralizing anti‐hepatitis B surface (HBs) antibody response in vitro in HBs vaccine recipients and patients with acute or chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection

Antibodies directed to the HBs antigen indicate viral clearance and the development of life‐long immunity in patients that recovered from HBV infection. In HBs antigen vaccine recipients anti‐HBs antibodies provide protective immunity. However, little is known about the regulation of this HBs‐specific antibody response. The existence of anti‐HBs‐secreting B cells was demonstrated using the highly sensitive ELISPOT technique compared with conventional ELISA in serum and cell culture supernatants. In the peripheral blood of patients with acute self‐limited hepatitis B, HBs‐specific B cells were demonstrated with a high frequency despite undetectable anti‐HBs serum antibodies. HBV‐immunized patients that had recovered from infection and vaccine recipients had significantly lower frequencies, whereas chronic HBV carriers and negative controls showed no anti‐HBs‐secreting B cells. Coculture experiments of isolated B and T cells revealed that the anti‐HBs antibody response was restricted to the presence of T helper cells, but not to identical HLA class II molecules. Allogeneic T cells derived from vaccine recipients or chronic HBV carriers stimulated the HBs‐specific B cell response in HBs vaccine recipients. Otherwise, isolated T helper cells could never provide sufficient help to induce the HBs‐specific B cell response in chronic HBV carriers. Furthermore, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of six out of 10 vaccine recipients, one out of five HBV‐immunized patients, but of no chronic HBV carrier showed a proliferative response to different HBs antigen preparations. This study demonstrated a high frequency of circulating anti‐HBs‐producing B cells in the early phase of acute HBV infection, but a lower frequency of HBs‐specific B cells years after resolution of HBV infection. In chronic HBV carriers, however, deficient HBs‐specific T and B cell responses were observed.
Practitioner's Trial on the Efficacy of Antihypertensive Treatment in Elderly Patients with Hypertension II (PATE‐Hypertension II study) in Japan

Aim: Reduction of elevated blood pressure (BP) has been an important treatment goal in elderly hypertensive patients. However, it has been reported that an excessive reduction of systolic BP to less than 120 mmHg might be harmful in such patients. We investigated whether this was the case in a study which assessed long‐term antihypertensive efficacy, tolerability and impact on cardiovascular/cerebrovascular (CV) morbidity/mortality in a large cohort of Japanese patients.
The implementation and performance of compressed databases

In this paper, we show how compression can be integrated into a relational database system. Specifically, we describe how the storage manager, the query execution engine, and the query optimizer of a database system can be extended to deal with compressed data. Our main result is that compression can significantly improve the response time of queries if very light-weight compression techniques are used. We will present such light-weight compression techniques and give the results of running the TPC-D benchmark on a so compressed database and a non-compressed database using the AODB database system, an experimental database system that was developed at the Universities of Mannheim and Passau. Our benchmark results demonstrate that compression indeed offers high performance gains (up to 50%) for IO-intensive queries and moderate gains for CPU-intensive queries. Compression can, however, also increase the running time of certain update operations. In all, we recommend to extend today's database systems with light-weight compression techniques and to make extensive use of this feature.
Composition patterns: an approach to designing reusable

Requirements such as distribution or tracing have an impact on multiple classes in a system. They are cross-cutting requirements, or aspects. Their support is, by necessity, scattered across those multiple classes. A look at an individual class may also show support for cross-cutting requirements tangled up with the core responsibilities of that class. Scattering and tangling make object-oriented software difficult to understand, extend and reuse. Though design is an important activity within the software lifecycle with well-documented benefits, those benefits are reduced when cross-cutting requirements are present. This paper presents a means to mitigate these problems by separating the design of cross-cutting requirements into composition patterns. Composition patterns require extensions to the UML, and are based on a combination of the subject-oriented model for composing separate, overlapping designs, and UML templates. This paper also demonstrates how composition patterns map to one programming model that provides a solution for separation of cross-cutting requirements in code—aspect-oriented programming. This mapping serves to illustrate that separation of aspects may be maintained throughout the software lifecycle.
Multivariate ordering in color image filtering

Multivariate data ordering and its use in color image filtering are presented. Several of the filters presented are extensions of the single-channel filters based on order statistics. The statistical analysis of the marginal order statistics is presented for the p-dimensional case. A family of multichannel filters based on multivariate data ordering, such as the marginal median, the vector median, the marginal alpha -trimmed mean, and the multichannel modified trimmed mean filter, is described in detail. The performance of the marginal median and the vector median filters in impulsive noise filtering is investigated. Simulation examples of the filters under study are described. >
Joint Ancestry and Association Testing in Admixed Individuals

For samples of admixed individuals, it is possible to test for both ancestry effects via admixture mapping and genotype effects via association mapping. Here, we describe a joint test called BMIX that combines admixture and association statistics at single markers. We first perform high-density admixture mapping using local ancestry. We then perform association mapping using stratified regression, wherein for each marker genotypes are stratified by local ancestry. In both stages, we use generalized linear models, providing the advantage that the joint test can be used with any phenotype distribution with an appropriate link function. To define the alternative densities for admixture mapping and association mapping, we describe a method based on autocorrelation to empirically estimate the testing burdens of admixture mapping and association mapping. We then describe a joint test that uses the posterior probabilities from admixture mapping as prior probabilities for association mapping, capitalizing on the reduced testing burden of admixture mapping relative to association mapping. By simulation, we show that BMIX is potentially orders-of-magnitude more powerful than the MIX score, which is currently the most powerful frequentist joint test. We illustrate the gain in power through analysis of fasting plasma glucose among 922 unrelated, non-diabetic, admixed African Americans from the Howard University Family Study. We detected loci at 1q24 and 6q26 as genome-wide significant via admixture mapping; both loci have been independently reported from linkage analysis. Using the association data, we resolved the 1q24 signal into two regions. One region, upstream of the gene FAM78B, contains three binding sites for the transcription factor PPARG and two binding sites for HNF1A, both previously implicated in the pathology of type 2 diabetes. The fact that both loci showed ancestry effects may provide novel insight into the genetic architecture of fasting plasma glucose in individuals of African ancestry.
Optimization of floating bilayered tablets of Ketorolac Tromethamine

Objective : The aim of the present study was to formulate the floating bilayer tablets of Ketorolac tromethamine, first immediate release layer and second sustained release floating layer which would provide initial loading dose of drug and remain in stomach and upper part of GIT for prolonged period of time in a view to maximize solubility of drug which is necessary for its absorption. Methods : The floating bilayered tablets of Ketorolac tromethamine were prepared by using 3 2 factorial designs by direct compression method. For this, polymers like sodium starch glycolate and polyox WSR 303 were used in various concentrations. Sodium bicarbonate was used as a floating effervescent agent. The formulations were evaluated for hardness, friability, weight variation, swelling index, floating lag time, floating time, % CDR etc Results : From the result obtained, S3 having 23 % Polyox WSR 303 and 12 % sodium bicarbonate showed better results. Conclusions : The results showed that Polyox WSR is promising tool to designing of sustained release formulation.