Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A C. elegans MAP kinase pathway is required for wild-type display of an L1-specific surface antigen (srf-6 is nsy-1 III)

A C. elegans MAP kinase pathway is required for wild-type display of an L1-specific surface antigen (srf-6 is nsy-1 III) Stephen J. Foley, Zheyang Wu, and Samuel M. Politz 1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 2. Department of Mathematical Sciences, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 3. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA
Kaolinite/TiO2/cobalt(II) Tetracarboxymetallophthalocyanine Nanocomposites as Heterogeneous Photocatalysts for Decomposition of Organic Pollutants Trimethoprim, Caffeine and Prometryn

São Simão’s Brazilian kaolinite has been treated with titanium(IV) isopropoxide and cobalt(II) tetracarboxymetallophthalocyanine under different conditions (acidic or basic), leading, after drying at 100 oC, to new titania-doped cobalt(II)-metallophthalocyanine/kaolinite solids. These solids were characterized by chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal analyses and nitrogen adsorption. No significant changes were observed by diffractometry, but the specific surface area depended of the synthetic route followed. The ability of these solids for photodegradation of trimethoprim, caffeine and prometryn was evaluated. The photodegradation was followed via mass spectrometry and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The presence of photodegradation by-products was verified in all cases. All the photocatalysts showed high photodegradation rate against prometryn, trimethoprim and caffeine, the degradation efficiencies were 54, 30 and 90%, respectively, when using the heterogeneous photocatalysts. Comparison with commercial TiO2 (Degusa) proved that the synthesized photocatalyst based on kaolinite present higher degradation rate than isolated titanium dioxide.
Synthesis, Characterisation, Crystal Structure and Anti-corrosion Studies of an Organotin(IV) Complex of 2-acetylpyridine 4-ethyl-3-thiosemicarbazone (LH): n-BuSn(L)Cl2

This study explored the possibility of Schiff-base ligand compound, 2-acetylpyridine 4-ethyl-3-thiosemicarbazone (LH) and its organotin(IV) complex (BuSn(L)Cl2) as a corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1M hydrochloric acid (HCl) medium. The chemical structures of the synthesised compounds were confirmed by performing elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV-Vis, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography diffraction study. The structure showed the LH served as a tridentate (N, N’, S) donor to tin through its pyridyl, azomethine nitrogen, and thiolate sulphur. The corrosion inhibition characteristics of the free Schiff-base ligand and its organotin complex were studied by the standard weight loss method. They showed inhibition activity through adsorption, and this phenomenon was found to obey Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The inhibition efficiency of both compounds was found to increase as their concentration was increased from 1 to 3mM, but the efficiency achieved with the tin complex was greater, being 98.98% at 3mM concentration.
The Quality of E-Government Management, Information Security and Quality

The purpose of the presented paper was to present the state of e-government services in the Republic of Kosovo within the management of electronic services and the role of ICT in data security and quality. E-government is an important sphere in Kosovo, which has been shown to have positively influenced the provision of services to all stakeholders, taking care of the security and quality of these services. This paper belongs to the qualitative and quantitative types, where a total of 115 subjects, experts, and users of e-government services participated and gave their opinions against these services. A literature review was used to process qualitative data, while a questionnaire was used to process quantitative data with experts and users of e-government services. From the results of the research, we understood that the level of use of e-government services in the Republic of Kosovo is high and that there is a high level of data security and quality of services, where the role of ICT in the management of e-data-government is essential and very important. It is recommended that, according to the results of this study, direct access to the management of these services should be considered and offered to ensure the sustainability of e-government services in the Republic of Kosovo. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-01-016 Full Text: PDF
Yeast cells can partially revert chromosome segregation to repair late DNA double-strand breaks through homologous recombination

ABSTRACT DNA repair in late mitosis sets paradoxical scenarios. Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) activity is high, which favors homologous recombination (HR), despite a sister chromatid is not physically close to recombine with. We have found that DNA double-strand breaks partially revert chromosome segregation to find an intact template and repair through HR.
Chapter 4. Biomimetic Antimicrobial Polymers

Increased levels of antibiotic drug resistance of virulent bacteria is an urgent healthcare issue that needs to be rethought, not in terms of producing more potent antibiotics, but requiring a paradigm shift. A class of small proteins called host defense peptides are a promising area to understand the evolution of such peptides as an integral part of innate immunity system, and learn design principles which can be used to develop biomimetic synthetic polymers with antimicrobial properties. The goal of such research is to understand at a fundamental level the role of oft-repeated specific motifs present in such peptides, including presence of both charged and hydrophobic entities and facial amphiphilicity in their antimicrobial mechanism, and adopt them into the synthetic polymers. Another goal of such research is to use these peptides or biomimetic polymers as a platform to investigate a fundamental paradigm of biology: structure–function relationship. Recent studies show that many biomimetic polymers and a class of proteins called intrinsically disordered proteins are capable of acquiring functional structures under specific conditions without such a structure built into the system. Such capabilities open up the possibilities of design of smart polymers, which may be very cost-effective and functionally relevant when required. In this chapter we primarily focus on mechanistic design and computational details of biomimetic antimicrobial polymers and their interaction with model membranes, particularly highlighting the effect of such polymers on structural integrity of membranes.
Effects of propofol and tramadol on cholinergic receptor-mediated responses of the isolated rat ileum

Objective: The present study was designed to evaluate the direct effects on basal tension and its effects on the cholinergic receptor-mediated responses of propofol and tramadol in the isolated rat ileum. Material and Methods: Full thickness segments of ileum were obtained from rats (n=8) and placed in longitudinal direction in a 10 ml organ bath. The direct effects of propofol (10-10 M) and tramadol (10-10 M) at basal tension and the concentration-response curves for carbachol (10-10 M) in the presence and absence of propofol (10-10 M) and tramadol (10-10 M) were recorded isometrically with a Grass model 79 E polygraph. Results: Propofol significantly reduced basal tension of ileal smooth muscle at 10 M concentration. Tramadol slightly reduced basal tension only at 10 M concentration. The contractile response of the ileum to exogenously applied carbachol was not influenced by propofol at concentration of 10 M, but was inhibited at 10 M concentration. In the presence of 10 M propofol, the concentration-response curve for carbachol was shifted to the right with significantly lower Emax and pD2 values when compared to control values. Carbachol-induced concentration-response curve did not significantly change in the presence of 10 and 10 M tramadol. Conclusion: Results obtained suggest that propofol reduces basal tension and cholinergic response on the rat ileum in vitro, but tramadol does not.
Impact of proton irradiation with different fluences on the characteristics of InP/InGaAs heterostructure

ABSTRACT The effect of traps to C–V and I–V plots of InP/InGaAs heterostructure with 3 MeV proton irradiation at different fluences has been discussed. After proton irradiation, the total reverse capacitance increases, which does not only include the variation of the depletion region width, but also the charging and discharging effect of traps. The total actual traps density NSS of InP/InGaAs heterostructure could reach 13 orders of trap density, which is from the peak under reverse bias. The forward current is dominated by recombination current at low voltage and by the tunneling current at high voltage. The tunneling current and trap-assisted tunneling current are dominant in the reverse current.
STUDY OF OXIDANT MDA AND ANTIOXIDANTS SOD AND CATALASE IN PREGNANT & NON-PRENANT WOMEN

Introduction: Pregnancy is state of dynamic changes in body systemsresulting in increased oxygen consumption. Pregnancy is associated withoxidative stress. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), are main causes of oxidativestress (OS) which are generated constantly by external and internal stimuli.ROS causes cellular injury by attacking the phospholipids of cell membranesand reacting with polyunsaturated fatty acids commonly associated withdisorders of pregnancy. Aim of this study was to evaluate the level of pro-oxidant and antioxidant in healthy non pregnant and pregnant women.Materials and methods: Parameters of the oxidative status Malondialdehydeand antioxidant Superoxide dismutase and Catalase was estimated in serumof 35 non pregnant and 35 pregnant women in the age group of 20-40 years.Results: Findings were, that there was an increase in Malondialdehyde levels(p<0.0001) and a decrease in superoxide dismutase and catalase activities(P<0.0001 and P<0.0001) in pragnent women significantly.Conclusion: This study shows that there was difference in oxidative statusdue to dynamic changes in body and circulation that are inherent. Duringpregnancy oxidative stress is increased that can be fatal to the health of themother and the fetus.Keywords: Oxidative stress, Antioxidants, Normal pregnancy, Whole blood,Serum, MDA, SOD, Catalase
High‐Q Polymer Microcavities Integrated on a Multicore Fiber Facet for Vapor Sensing

The further development of “lab on fiber” technology demands more powerful optical microsystems and optical fibers with special functions to create sensors with better performance. Whispering gallery microcavities (WGMs) made of different materials with high quality factors show very good sensitivity to gases, nanoparticles, and biocomponents. However, realizing the excitation and detection of the resonant modes of WGMs on the facets of optical fibers is still a great challenge. This work employs the advanced 3D manufacturing technology of two‐photon lithography to fabricate an optical microsystem on the end facet of a multicore optical fiber, which enables excitation and detection of whispering gallery modes on the end facet of an optical fiber. Whispering gallery modes with high quality factors are observed, and the sensing characterization of this device for vapors of three types of volatile organic compounds is investigated. Such optical fiber vapor sensors can be applied in the fields of medical care, environmental monitoring and chemical manufacturing. Additionally, the out‐of‐plane light coupling strategy may be useful for the design of integrated optical circuits on chips.
Palladium(0) Nanoparticles Immobilized onto Silica/Starch Composite: Sustainable Catalyst for Hydrogenations and Suzuki Coupling

The present paper aims to give insight into the art in the field of the synthesis, characterization and applications of Pd(0) nanoparticles immobilized onto silica/starch composite (SS-PdNPs) for hydrogenations and Suzuki coupling. Metal(0) nanoparticles immobilized onto silica/starch composite [SS-MNPs] were prepared from different metal acetylacetonate complexes [Co(acac) 2 ], [Cu(acac) 2 ], [Pd(acac) 2 ], [Ru(acac) 3 ], [Mn(acac) 3 ], [Co(acac) 3 ] by immobilizing onto silica/starch composite, followed by reduction with NaBH 4 . Excellent yield of the products, reusability and the facile work-up makes SS-PdNPs a unique catalyst for the reduction of nitroarenes/carbonyl compounds, a,b unsaturated carbonyl compounds and Suzuki coupling under environmentally benign reaction conditions. All the catalysts were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) analyses, while the most active catalyst [SS-PdNPs] was further characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Copyright © 2019 BCREC Group. All rights reserved
Cholesterol Uptake and Survival of Lactococcus lactis Strains in Fluids Simulating the Human Stomach and Duodenum

Scientific evidence exists showing that lactic acid bacteria, including the genus Lactococcus, have the capacity to bind and remove cholesterol. However, in many cases, in vivo and in vitro results are not unambiguous or reproducible; thus it appeared valid to conduct a study which would explain what factors determine adhesion and assimilation of cholesterol by Lactococcus. The study on Lactococcus bacteria under in vitro conditions in model digestive fluids may contribute to the explanation of the observed ambiguities. In vitro research has proven that Lactococcus is capable of removing free cholesterol under in vitro conditions in broths without bile salts, as well as in a simulated gastric fluid and in the conditions of simulated intestinal fluid. The amount of cholesterol removed by live cells of Lactococcus is directly proportionately dependent on the concentration of this substance, incubation temperature, count, and viability of cells. However, oftentimes these relationships are not linear. Under the conditions of model gastric fluid or intestinal fluid, the cultures of Lactococcus release portion of the previously bound cholesterol, independent of cell viability. The survival rate of Lactococcus cells in simulated gastric fluid or simulated intestinal fluid depends on the tested bacterial culture and does not depend on the presence of cholesterol.
Coumarin Derivatives with Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities

Coumarin derivatives are structurally interesting compounds for synthesizing antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. Starting from 4-methyl-7-hydroxycoumarin, several derivatives with these properties have been obtained through different reaction steps. Their molecular structures were established by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The synthesized coumarin derivatives exerted meaningful activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as strains of Candida spp. All compounds also exhibited high and moderate antioxidant activity in assays for DPPH inhibition, total reducing power, and nitric oxide (NO) inhibition when compared to ascorbic acid.
Kinetic and electrochemical analyses of a CuCI/HCl electrolyzer

An electrochemical analysis is carried out from a kinetic electrochemistry perspective of a CuCl/HCl electrolysis cell, within the CuCl thermochemical water splitting process for hydrogen production. The anolyte is a solution of 2 mol L−1 CuCl(aq) and 10 mol L−1 HCl(aq) while the catholyte solution is 11 mol L−1 HCl(aq). The cell current density of 0.5 A cm−2 and voltage of 0.7 V are the desired working conditions for a CuCl/HCl electrolyzer. The current density of 0.5 A cm−2 is assumed to occur at a 5% anolyte conversion degree. At 25°C, the activation overpotential of the anode half‐reaction is found to be 53 mV for a current density of 0.5 A cm−2 while the activation overpotential of the cathode half‐reaction for the same condition is 87 mV. An increase in working temperature decreases the overpotential of the anode half‐reaction and increases the cathode half‐reaction activation overpotential. The ohmic overpotential of the cell membrane is almost 1000 times smaller than that of the activation overpotentials of the electrode half‐reactions for the same temperature and current density. A higher working temperature results in a lower membrane ohmic overpotential. The required voltage to trigger electrolysis for a current density of 0.5 A cm−2 is found to be 0.53 V at 25°C and 0.59 V at 80°C and a higher temperature results in a higher electrochemical efficiency. The cell electrochemical efficiency increases linearly with working temperature while the voltage efficiency peaks at 75% at 60°C.
Synchrophasor-based overhead line impedance monitoring

Thermal limits of overhead transmission lines create network constraints that can result in curtailment of renewable energy generation. Thermal limits are conventionally static and based on worst-case, non-cooling ambient weather conditions, leading to under-utilization of overhead lines. Utilization can be increased and network constraints reduced by rating overhead lines dynamically, based on actual conductor temperature. Installation and maintenance of temperature and weather sensors along an overhead line is expensive and laborious. A more cost-effective solution is to derive average conductor temperature from overhead line impedance parameters, which can be calculated from measurements of electrical signals at each line end. Synchronized phasor measurement technology is becoming increasingly available in substations to capture voltage and current signals with high accuracy and reporting rates. It is known that the substation instrumentation channel can introduce significant systematic errors to the phasor measurements, which in turn cause inaccurate line impedance parameter and temperature values. This thesis presents novel methods for accurate, real-time monitoring of overhead line impedance parameters using synchronized phasor measurements that have systematic errors. In contrast to previous research, the time-variance and temperature dependence of line resistance as well as compensation of systematic errors is taken into account in the system model to increase parameter estimation accuracy. In addition, an algorithm for the selection of the best parameter estimates from different measurement sets is given. The effectiveness of the novel methods is demonstrated in several case studies on measurement data from simulations and an actual overhead line. The results show that the identified correction factors compensate systematic measurement errors, leading to a reduction in impedance parameter estimation errors of at least one order of magnitude compared to existing methods. Furthermore, the accuracy of real-time estimation of average conductor temperature was increased by at least one order of magnitude relative to previously proposed methods.
Geometric techniques for trajectory planning and chaos control of a bio-inspired autogenetic capsule robot

Biological systems achieve energy efficient and adaptive behaviours through extensive internal and external compliance interactions. Active dynamic compliance are created and enhanced from musculoskeletal system (joint-space) to external environment (task-space) amongst the underactuated motions. The terminology bio-inspiration implies the understanding of fundamental principles underlying the motion behaviours of animals and humans and transfers these principles into the development of robotic systems. For example, during walking, the muscles constantly change their stiffness and damping when the leg is swinging forward and the foot is put on the ground. This idea enables the exploration in robotic systems with flexible elements—viscoelasticity to mimic the compliant motion of biological muscles. Underactuated systems with viscoelastic actuation are similar to these biological systems, in that their self-organisation and overall tasks must be achieved by coordinating the subsystems and dynamically interacting with the environment.
Effect of controlled-release urea combined application with urea on nitrogen utilization efficiency of winter wheat

In rich fields, with the rising of application rate of nitrogen fertilizer, both the utilization efficiency and unit production rate of nitrogen fertilizer declined. The loss of N not only waste the fertilizer but also bring about a high potential risk of environmental pollution. Aiming to increase the crop production and N utilization, a field plot experiment was conducted to study the effects of combination application of conventional urea with controlled-release urea on grain yield, grain protein content, nitrogen utilization efficiency of winter wheat and accumulation of NO_(3)~(-)- N in soil. The results showed that combination applications of conventional urea with controlled-release urea, no matter was the N rate equivalent to or 30% less than that of single conventional N, could increase grain yield significantly and raised grain protein content markedly or maintain same in comparison with single application of conventional urea. Meanwhile, nitrogen utiLization efficiency was improved and accumulation of NO_(3)~(-)- N in soil was reduced markedly.
A Novel Image Denoising By Targeted External Databases

In recent years, over complete dictionaries combined with sparse learning techniques became extremely popular in computer vision. While their usefulness is undeniable, the improvement they provide in specific tasks of computer vision is still poorly understood. The aim of the present work is to demonstrate that for the task of image denoising; nearly state-of-the-art results can be achieved using orthogonal dictionaries only, provided that they are learned directly from the noisy image. To this end, we introduce three patch based denoising algorithms which perform hard thresholding on the coefficients of the patches in image-specific orthogonal dictionaries. The algorithms differ by the methodology of learning the dictionary: local PCA, hierarchical PCA and global PCA. We carry out a comprehensive empirical evaluation of the performance of these algorithms in terms of accuracy and running times. The results reveal that, despite its simplicity, PCA-based denoising appears to be competitive with the state-of-the-art denoising algorithms, especially for large images and moderate signal-to-noise ratios. Key Wards: local PCA; state-of-the-art denoising algorithms; moderate signal-to-noise ratios
Effects of Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT)
on the Performance of a Pilot-Scale Trickling
Filter System Treating Low-Strength
Domestic Wastewater

Attached growth wastewater treatment systems are considered to be effective in developing countries due to their low energy, operational and maintenance costs. Thus the present study mainly focused on the treatment of domestic wastewater by a pilot-scale trickling filter system (TFs) installed in the natural environment at a residential area of Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan, and it was operated under three different hydraulic retention times (HRT), i.e., 24, 48 and 72 hrs. Furthermore, pilot-scale TFs showed significant efficiency regarding the removal of physico-chemical and microbiological parameters under different HRTs, i.e., 70.9 and 23.5% reduction in COD and EC contents, respectively, at HRT of 48 hrs. , while significant removal of TDS (34%), SO4 (37%), PO4 (81.8%) and TN (66.6%) were noticed during operation of the system after 72 hrs of HRT. Likewise, a maximum of 86.4%, 82.5% and 83% decrease in total bacterial count were observed at HRT of 24, 48 and 72 hrs, respectively. Finally, it was suggested that pilot-scale TFs have great potential to be transferred to field scale in the areas disconnected from a centralized treatment system for handling sewage of small communities in underdeveloped and developing countries.