Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliability of isokinetic tests of velocity‐ and contraction intensity‐dependent plantar flexor mechanical properties

“Flexibility” tests are traditionally performed voluntarily relaxed by rotating a joint slowly; however, functional activities are performed rapidly with voluntary/reflexive muscle activity. Here, we describe the reliabilities and differences in maximum ankle range of motion (ROMmax) and plantar flexor mechanical properties at several velocities and levels of voluntary force from a new test protocol on a commercially available dynamometer. Fifteen participants had their ankle joint dorsiflexed at 5, 30, and 60° s−1 in two conditions: voluntarily relaxed and while producing 40% and 60% of maximal eccentric torque. Commonly reported variables describing ROMmax and resistance to stretch were subsequently calculated from torque and angle data. Absolute (coefficient of variation (CV%) and typical error) and relative (ICC2,1) reliabilities were determined across two testing days (≥72 h). ROMmax relative reliability was good in voluntarily relaxed tests at 30 and 60° s−1 and moderate at 5° s−1, despite CVs ≤ 10% for all velocities. Tests performed with voluntary muscle activity were only reliable when performed at 5° s−1, and ROMmax reliability was moderate and CV ≤ 8%. For most variables, the rank order of participants differed between the slow‐velocity, relaxed test, and those performed at faster speeds or with voluntary activation, indicating different information. A person's flexibility status during voluntarily relaxed fast or active stretches tended to differ from their status in the traditional voluntarily relaxed, slow‐velocity test. Thus, “flexibility” tests should be completed under conditions of different stretch velocity and levels of muscle force production, and clinicians and researchers should consider the slightly larger between‐day variability from slow‐velocity voluntarily relaxed tests.
Eco-Friendly and Economic, Adsorptive Removal of Cationic and Anionic Dyes by Bio-Based Karaya Gum—Chitosan Sponge

A novel, lightweight (8 mg/cm3), conjugate sponge of karaya gum (Kg) and chitosan (Ch) has been synthesized with very high porosity (~98%) and chemical stability, as a pH-responsive adsorbent material for the removal of anionic and cationic dyes from aqueous solutions. Experimental results showed that Kg-Ch conjugate sponge has good adsorption capacity for anionic dye methyl orange (MO: 32.81 mg/g) and cationic dye methylene blue (MB: 32.62 mg/g). The optimized Kg:Ch composition grants access to the free and pH-dependent ionizable functional groups on the surface of the sponge for the adsorption of dyes. The studies on the adsorption process as a function of pH, adsorbate concentration, adsorbent dose, and contact time indicated that the adsorption capacity of MB was decreased with increasing pH from 5 to 10 and external mass transfer together with intra-particle diffusion. The adsorption isotherm of the anionic dye MO was found to correlate with the Langmuir model (R2 = 0.99) while the adsorption of the cationic MB onto the sponge was better described by the Freundlich model (R2 = 0.99). Kinetic regression results specified that the adsorption kinetics were well represented by the pseudo-second-order model. The H-bonding, as well as electrostatic interaction between the polymers and the adsorption interactions of dyes onto Kg-Ch sponge from aqueous solutions, were investigated using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and the highly wrinkled porous morphology was visualized in depth by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis. Moreover, the samples could be reused without loss of contaminant removal capacity over six successive adsorption-desorption cycles. The hierarchical three-dimensional sponge-like structure of Kg has not been reported yet and this novel Kg-Ch sponge functions as a promising candidate for the uninterrupted application of organic pollutant removal from water.
Near-Ultraviolet Circular Dichroism and Two-Dimensional Spectroscopy of Polypeptides

A fully quantitative theory of the relationship between protein conformation and optical spectroscopy would facilitate deeper insights into biophysical and simulation studies of protein dynamics and folding. In contrast to intense bands in the far-ultraviolet, near-UV bands are much weaker and have been challenging to compute theoretically. We report some advances in the accuracy of calculations in the near-UV, which were realised through the consideration of the vibrational structure of the electronic transitions of aromatic side chains.
Select neurotrophins promote oligodendrocyte progenitor cell process outgrowth in the presence of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans

Axonal damage and the subsequent interruption of intact neuronal pathways in the spinal cord are largely responsible for the loss of motor function after injury. Further exacerbating this loss is the demyelination of neighboring uninjured axons. The post‐injury environment is hostile to repair, with inflammation, a high expression of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) around the glial scar, and myelin breakdown. Numerous studies have demonstrated that treatment with the enzyme chondroitinase ABC (cABC) creates a permissive environment around a spinal lesion that permits axonal regeneration. Neurotrophic factors like brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurotrophic factor‐3 (NT‐3), and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) have been used to promote neuronal survival and stimulate axonal growth. CSPGs expressed near a lesion also inhibit migration and differentiation of endogenous oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in the spinal cord, and cABC treatment can neutralize this inhibition. This study examined the neurotrophins commonly used to stimulate axonal regeneration after injury and their potential effects on OPCs cultured in the presence of CSPGs. The results reveal differential effects on OPCs, with BDNF and GDNF promoting process outgrowth and NT‐3 stimulating differentiation of OPCs, while CNTF appears to have no observable effect. This finding suggests that certain neurotrophic agents commonly utilized to stimulate axonal regeneration after a spinal injury may also have a beneficial effect on the endogenous oligodendroglial cells as well.
Smartphones in the nursery: Parental smartphone use and parental sensitivity and responsiveness within parent–child interaction in early childhood (0–5 years): A scoping review

ABSTRACT The omnipresence of smartphones has not stopped at the door to the nursery. It is especially important to better understand the impact of parental smartphone use on relationships at the beginning of children's lives. Babies and toddlers are essentially dependent on caregivers’ sensitive and responsive behaviors within the context of the development of attachment patterns. Disturbances in parental sensitivity can have a negative impact on attachment‐related interactional processes between parents and children and on child outcomes, such as self‐regulatory capacity. The goal of this review is to compile existing research on the impact of parental mobile device use through technoference or absorption on parental sensitivity and responsiveness within parent–child interactions in the early years (0–5). We conducted a thorough search of the databases PsycInfo and PubMed, additionally consulting data sources such as Google Scholar and Google. In this review, we included 12 studies with a variety of methodical approaches. The research so far indicates that parental smartphone use may be associated with changes in parental sensitivity and responsiveness. Absorption in the device appears to contribute to this association more strongly than short interruptions of relating per se (technoference). However, to better understand these processes, more in‐depth, longitudinal research is needed.
Harnessing fast periodic visual stimulation to study face cognition: Sub‐processes, brain‐behavior relationships, and objectivity

Rossion et al. (2020) review over a decade of work investigating the neural basis of unfamiliar face individuation (FI) - the brain's ability to distinguish unfamiliar face identity - using fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS). Though FPVS measures rapid, automatic processing, its value for studying vision and face cognition could be increased by addressing three important aspects.
Extracellular Vesicles in Viral Pathogenesis: A Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is a fundamental property of living cells. EVs are known to transfer biological signals between cells and thus regulate the functional state of recipient cells. Such vesicles mediate the intercellular transport of many biologically active molecules (proteins, nucleic acids, specific lipids) and participate in regulation of key physiological processes. In addition, EVs are involved in the pathogenesis of multiple diseases: infectious, neurodegenerative, and oncological. The current EV classification into microvesicles, apoptotic bodies, and exosomes is based on their size, pathways of cellular biogenesis, and molecular composition. This review is focused on analysis of the role of EVs (mainly exosomes) in the pathogenesis of viral infection. We briefly characterize the biogenesis and molecular composition of various EV types. Then, we consider EV-mediated pro- and anti-viral mechanisms. EV secretion by infected cells can be an important factor of virus spread in target cell populations, or a protective factor limiting viral invasion. The data discussed in this review, on the effect of EV secretion by infected cells on processes in neighboring cells and on immune cells, are of high significance in the search for new therapeutic approaches and for design of new generations of vaccines.
Synthetic Lateral Inhibition in Periodic Pattern Forming Microbial Colonies

Multicellular entities are characterized by intricate spatial patterns, intimately related to the functions they perform. These patterns are often created from isotropic embryonic structures, without external information cues guiding the symmetry breaking process. Mature biological structures also display characteristic scales with repeating distributions of signals or chemical species across space. Many candidate patterning modules have been used to explain processes during development and typically include a set of interacting and diffusing chemicals or agents known as morphogens. Great effort has been put forward to better understand the conditions in which pattern-forming processes can occur in the biological domain. However, evidence and practical knowledge allowing us to engineer symmetry-breaking is still lacking. Here we follow a different approach by designing a synthetic gene circuit in E. coli that implements a local activation long-range inhibition mechanism. The synthetic gene network implements an artificial differentiation process that changes the physicochemical properties of the agents. Using both experimental results and modeling, we show that the proposed system is capable of symmetry-breaking leading to regular spatial patterns during colony growth. Studying how these patterns emerge is fundamental to further our understanding of the evolution of biocomplexity and the role played by self-organization. The artificial system studied here and the engineering perspective on embryogenic processes can help validate developmental theories and identify universal properties underpinning biological pattern formation, with special interest for the area of synthetic developmental biology.
Esmolol in Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE To assess whether the administration of the ultra-short-acting β-blocker esmolol in cardiac surgery could have a cardioprotective effect that translates into improved postoperative outcomes. DESIGN Single-center, double-blinded, parallel-group randomized controlled trial. SETTING A tertiary care referral center. PARTICIPANTS Patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with preoperative evidence of left ventricular end-diastolic diameter >60 mm and/or left ventricular ejection fraction <50%. INTERVENTIONS Patients were assigned randomly to receive either esmolol (1 mg/kg as a bolus before aortic cross-clamping and 2 mg/kg mixed in the cardioplegia solution) or placebo in a 1:1 allocation ratio. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The primary composite endpoint of prolonged intensive care unit stay and/or in-hospital mortality occurred in 36/98 patients (36%) in the placebo group versus 27/102 patients (27%) in the esmolol group (p = 0.13). In the esmolol group, a reduction in the maximum inotropic score during the first 24 postoperative hours was observed (10 [interquartile range 5-15] v 7 [interquartile range 5-10.5]; p = 0.04), as well as a trend toward a reduction in postoperative low-cardiac-output syndrome (13/98 v 6/102; p = 0.08) and the rate of hospital admission at one year (26/95 v 16/96; p = 0.08). A trend toward an increase in the number of patients with ejection fraction ≥60% at hospital discharge also was observed (4/95 v 11/92; p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS In the present trial, esmolol as a cardioplegia adjuvant enhanced postoperative cardiac performance but did not reduce a composite endpoint of prolonged intensive care unit stay and/or mortality.
Policy evaluation for a complex world: Practical methods and reflections from the UK Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity across the Nexus

The value of complexity science and related approaches in policy evaluation have been widely discussed over the last 20 years, not least in this journal. We are now at a crossroads; this Special Issue argues that the use of complexity science in evaluation could deepen and broaden rendering evaluations more practical and rigorous. The risk is that the drive to better evaluate policies from a complexity perspective could falter. This special issue is the culmination of 4 years’ work at this crossroads in the UK Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus. It includes two papers which consider the cultural and organisational operating context for the use of complexity in evaluation and four methodological papers on developments and applications. Together, with a strong input from practitioners, these papers aim to make complexity actionable and expand the use of complexity ideas in evaluation and policy practice.
Participatory systems mapping for complex energy policy evaluation

The use of complexity science in evaluation has received growing attention over the last 20 years. We present the use of a novel complexity-appropriate method – Participatory Systems Mapping – in two real-world evaluation contexts and consider how this method can be applied more widely in evaluation. Participatory Systems Mapping involves the production of a causal map of a system by a diverse set of stakeholders. The map, once refined and validated, can be analysed and used in a variety of ways in an evaluation or in evaluation planning. The analysis approach combines network analysis with subjective information from stakeholders. We suggest Participatory Systems Mapping shows great potential to offer value to evaluators due to the unique insights it offers, the relative ease of its use, and its complementarity with existing evaluation approaches and methods.
Analytic evaluation and basis set dependence of intensities of infrared spectra

Equations are presented for the analytic determination of dipole moment derivatives with respect to nuclear coordinates for closed‐shell, open‐shell unrestricted, and open‐shell restricted Hartree–Fock wave functions. The efficient evaluation of these derivatives and the resulting infrared intensities simultaneously with determination of the vibrational frequencies is discussed. Intensities are presented for a selection of test molecules with a wide variety of basis sets. It is concluded that basis sets of double‐zeta polarized or higher quality usually give correct qualitative information about the ordering of the intensities, while smaller basis sets may not even predict the most intense mode correctly. Quantitative accuracy using the larger basis sets seems to be limited primarily by the use of the double harmonic approximation.
How Representational Is the Mind? Introduction and Overview

Abstract:This article offers an introduction and overview of ideas about mental representation. Current ideas are introduced from enactivism, connectionism, and symbolic calculation, followed by a historical overview of ideas about mental representation in Western philosophy from Aristotle to our present time, as well as in Buddhism, especially Yogācāra. We can see that ideas that are currently discussed in analytic philosophy, cognitive science, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence have a long history and sometimes have developed independently from each other in different places and cultural contexts.
Preparation of Agar Nanoparticles by W/O Emulsification

The objective of this study is to develop the process conditions of a w/o emulsification method for the preparation of the smallest agar nanoparticles possible in a low nanometer range with the highest yield, prior to adding an aqueous solution containing an unstable drug such as a protein drug for its encapsulation. The volume ratio between the organic phase and aqueous phase was set as 10 : 1, the lowest ratio among those of previous investigations. Agar solutions of 0.5, 1 and 2%w/v concentration were emulsified in soybean oil. Then, various homogenizer speeds were investigated for the yield of agar nanoparticles and their particle size distribution under those agar concentrations. The visual appearance of the re-dispersed emulsion-converted-to suspension was turbid without any visible aggregates, even though the suggested methodology is more economically efficient in terms of the ratio between the organic phase and aqueous phase, than those of previous investigations. In terms of agar concentration, the yields of agar nanoparticles were optimized at 1%w/v of agar concentration for all the homogenizer speeds of 13000, 15000 and 17000 rpm. Accordingly, the yield of 76.5% was the highest at the preparation conditions of 1%w/v agar concentration and 15000 rpm homogenizer speed.
Manganese Toxicity in Barley is Controlled by Solution Manganese and Soil Manganese Speciation

It is well established that Mn toxicity to crops may occur in acid soils and under waterlogging, but there is little information on toxic thresholds in soils. This study was set-up to derive toxic thresholds for plant growth in soils and to relate toxicity of Mn to the Mn speciation in soils. Toxicity of Mn to barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was assessed for three soils (pH 4.7–6.7) freshly amended with Mn(II) salt using root elongation and plant growth tests. A 50% yield reduction occurred at a shoot concentration of 3500 mg kg–1, which was reached at a soil solution concentration of 360 mg Mn L⁻¹ or a total Mn concentration in soil between 500 (low pH) and 2500 mg kg⁻¹ (high pH soil). Waterlogging of the soil during plant growth marginally increased Mn uptake in the high pH soil but did not have a significant effect on the total soil Mn-based toxicity thresholds. X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy (XANES) spectra were collected for unamended soils and for soils amended with MnCl2 near the 50% inhibition dose. The soils were incubated either at field capacity or were waterlogged for 7 d or 2 mo with or without addition of organic matter. Waterlogging had no effect on Mn speciation in the low pH soil (pH 4.7), in which Mn was mainly as Mn(II). In the unamended soils with pH > 6, waterlogging reduced Mn(III/IV) to Mn(II), and increased the solubility of Mn. However, in soils amended with MnCl₂, the added Mn remained for a large part as Mn(II), even under aerobic conditions, explaining why waterlogging had little effect on the toxicity of Mn. Addition of hay promoted reduction of Mn(III/IV)) while peat decreased reduction rates. This study showed that Mn toxicity can be related to the solubility of Mn, which is strongly dependent on pH and on kinetically controlled redox reactions.
Modeling Dynamic Light Scattering of Supercoiled DNA

A new computational scheme, based on the Brownian dynamics and Monte Carlo techniques, was used to calculate the dynamic structure factor of supercoiled SV40 DNA (5243 base pairs) in 0.1 M sodium chloride solution. All model parameters are known independently, and none are fitted. The results are in good agreement with earlier dynamic light scattering measurements. The calculated dynamic structure factor, as a function of time, could be very well approximated by a simple analytical formula. The analysis of the experimental data based on this formula allows one to obtain the distribution function for relaxation times of intramolecular motions, if additional information about the DNA structure is available from Monte Carlo simulations. The range of relaxation times for supercoiled SV40 DNA comprises approximately 2 orders of magnitude, with the upper boundary exceeding 1 ms.
Determination of Phospholipids in Food Samples

Phospholipids (PLs), the most important class of polar lipids in foods, are ubiquitous compounds because they are the major components of animal and plant cell membranes. Their technological and biological properties therefore make them important in human nutrition. The efficient separation and accurate quantification of PLs can be achieved with high-performance liquid chromatography–evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD) because ELSD is a quasi-universal detector for liquid, countercurrent, and supercritical fluid chromatography and can detect any analyte less volatile than the mobile phase. In this article, the principles of ELSD operation (i.e., nebulization of the chromatographic effluent, evaporation of the mobile phase, and measurement of the scattered light) as well as the application of LC-ELSD to determine the amount of PLs in different food matrices are reviewed. Food matrices containing PLs include milk and dairy products, meat, fish, eggs, cereals, and oils. Both the technological aspects and analytical parameters affecting the concentration and quantitative determination of PLs in food matrices are evaluated. In particular, different extraction, purification, and chromatographic conditions were extensively investigated; moreover, wherever possible, the results obtained are reported and compared with other detection methods.
Phase transformations and magnetic structure of nanocrystalline Fe-Pd and Co-Pt alloys studied by in situ neutron powder diffraction

The formation of the ordered L10 structure from the A1 phase in nanocrystalline Fe100−xPdx (x=50–60) and Co100−xPtx (x=45–55) alloys is followed by in situ neutron powder diffraction. The A1→L10 transformation starts at about 620 and 730K in Fe50Pd50 and Co50Pt50, respectively, and proceeds faster in the Fe–Pd alloys. In both Fe–Pd and Co–Pt, a deviation from the equiatomic composition leads to the deceleration of the ordering process. The magnetic moment of iron in the L10 FePd phase decreases with increasing Fe concentration from 3. 3μB in Fe40Pd60 to 3. 0μB in Fe50Pd50. In the Co–Pt alloys, the Co magnetic moment is found to be independent of the composition and degree of chemical order and is equal to 1. 9μB.