Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HCl nanoscience at copper and copper/gold alloy surfaces

Abstract The reaction of HCl with clean, Cu(100) and (111), and Au/ Cu(100) surfaces was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) under ultra high vacuum (UHV) conditions. Exposure of the Cu(100) and (111) samples to HCl at room temperature leads to the formation of a saturated copper chloride monolayer. In the case of Cu(100), the saturated coverage was half monolayer corresponding to a c(2x2)-Cl reconstruction (half monolayer is 7.25x1014 cm-2) while for Cu(111) it was one third monolayer consistent with the reconstruction of (√3x√3)R30o (one third monolayer 5.9x1014 cm-2). The interaction of HCl with preoxidised Cu(100) and (111) showed different behaviour from those of clean copper surface depending on the way of interaction of oxygen with copper surface. Interaction of HCl with peroxidised Cu(111) at saturation oxygen coverage leads to the adsorption of chlorine on top of the copper surface with one third coverage. In contrast, presence of oxygen on Cu(100) surface at saturation coverage or less leads to adsorb chlorine but with an excess in chlorine concentration (more than the expected c(2x2) coverage). Oxidized Cu(100) and (111) surface at elevated temperature leads to the formation multi oxide layer. The two oxide surfaces („‟44‟‟ and „‟29‟‟) observed at the Cu(111) depend on the temperature of the substrate at the time of oxidation. The (√2x2√2)R45o structure was observed on the Cu(100) surface on heating which is the same structure formed at saturation coverage at room temperature. Interaction of HCl with Cu(100) and (111) surfaces covered by multilayers of oxide lead to adsorption of chlorine on top of the copper surface with a coverage more than more than the saturation coverage. Interaction of HCl with Au/Cu(100) showed two different behaviour depending on the gold coverage. Au/Cu(100) alloy formed at half monolayer of gold coverage, forming c(2x2) structure. Exposure of the Au/Cu(100) alloy at half monolayer of gold coverage to HCl leads to the formation of c(2x2)-Cl structure with saturation coverage of half monolayer in similar manner of interaction of HCl with the clean cu(100) surface. Interaction of HCl with Au/Cu(100) surface at gold coverage more than half monolayer leads to a dealloying of the gold from the copper surface and forming the Au(111) surface. Cu-Cl formed underneath the Au(111) surface with excess of chlorine concentration.
Degradation of water soluble polymers under combined ultrasonic and ultraviolet radiation

The degradation of water soluble polymers, namely, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), by ultraviolet (UV) and ultrasound (US) exposure in the presence of combustion solution synthesized $TiO_2$ (CSN $TiO_2$) was investigated. The time evolution of the molecular weight distributions (MWDs) was determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). A continuous distribution model based on binary scission was proposed, and the degradation rate coefficient was determined. The degradation of polymers was also investigated with combined simultaneous exposure to UV and US in the presence of CSN $TiO_2$. The model with binary breakage and additive contribution from UV and US fits the experimental values of the number-average molecular weight but not the weight-average molecular weight and thus is not a true representation of the physical process. Therefore, a ternary fragmentation model was developed and used to fit the experimental data successfully. The increase in overall rate of degradation on the combined simultaneous exposure of ultraviolet and ultrasound is due to an increase in the number of scission products per breakage and not due to the increase in the intrinsic rate.
Structure of a New Neuritogenic‐Active Ganglioside from the Sea Cucumber Stichopus japonicus

A new ganglioside molecular species SJG-2 has been obtained from the n-hexane-soluble lipid fraction of the chloroform/methanol extract of the sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus. On the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence, the structure of SJG-2 has been determined, as NeuAcα2⇄4(NeuAcα2⇄3)Galβ1⇄8NeuAcα2⇄3GalNAcβ1⇄3Galβ1⇄4Glcβ1⇄1Cer. The new ganglioside SJG-2, possessing a unique carbohydrate moiety, is the first ganglioside containing either a branched sugar chain moiety or an N-acetylgalactosamine residue to be isolated from a sea cucumber. Partial hydrolysis with hot water and dilute acetic acid has proved useful for the structure elucidation of the complex oligosaccharide moieties. Moreover, the ganglioside SJG-2 exhibits neuritogenic activity toward the rat pheochromocytoma cell line PC12 cells in the presence of NGF. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2003)
A binomial truncation function proposed for the second-moment approximation of tight-binding potential and application in the ternary Ni–Hf–Ti system

We propose a two-parameter binomial truncation function for the second-moment approximation of the tight-binding (TB-SMA) interatomic potential and illustrate in detail the procedure of constructing the potentials for binary and ternary transition metal systems. For the ternary Ni–Hf–Ti system, the lattice constants, cohesion energies, elastic constants and bulk moduli of six binary compounds, i.e. L12 Ni3Hf, NiHf3, Ni3Ti, NiTi3, Hf3Ti and HfTi3, are firstly acquired by ab initio calculations and then employed to derive the binomial-truncated TB-SMA Ni–Hf–Ti potential. Applying the ab initio derived Ni–Hf–Ti potential, the lattice constants, cohesive energy, elastic constants and bulk moduli of another six binary compounds, i.e. D03 NiHf3, NiTi3 HfTi3, and B2 NiHf, NiTi, HfTi, and two ternary compounds, i.e. C1b NiHfTi, L21 Ni2HfTi, are calculated, respectively. It is found that, for the eight binary compounds studied, the calculated lattice constants and cohesion energies are in excellent agreement with those directly acquired from ab initio calculations and that the elastic constants and bulk moduli calculated from the potential are also qualitatively consistent with the results from ab initio calculations.
New homo- and hetero-bimetallic assemblies based on 2,5-bis(4-carboxyphenylamino)-3,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone: synthesis, characterization, and magnetic properties

Synthesis, characterization, and magnetic properties of a new series of dinuclear compounds MIIM′IIL2(H2O)4 (where MII, M′II = Mn (1), Ni (2), Cu (3) and MII = Cu, M′II = Co (4), Ni (5); LH2 = 2,5-bis(4-carboxyphenylamino)-3,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone) are reported. These complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, FAB mass spectra, thermogravimetric analysis, spectroscopic techniques (infrared, NMR, UV-Vis), and powder XRD studies. Magnetic properties investigated by SQUID magnetometer show antiferromagnetic coupling between the metal centers connected by the extensive π-delocalized ligand. Magnetic coupling constants (J) ranging from −1.01 to −3.01 cm−1 based on the Hamiltonian H = −2JS i S j have been obtained. The optimized geometry of the ligand derived from DFT is also reported.
Isotopic diffusion in polar firn: implications for interpretation of seasonal climate parameters in ice-core records, with emphasis on central Greenland

Abstract If it were possible to properly extract seasonal information from ice-core isotopic records, paleoclimate researchers could retrieve a wealth of new information concerning the nature of climate changes and the meaning of trends observed in ice-core proxy records. It is widely recognized, however, that the diffusional smoothing of the seasonal record makes a “proper extraction" very difficult. In this paper, we examine the extent to which seasonal information (specifically the amplitude and shape of the seasonal cycle) is irrecoverably destroyed by diffusion in the firn. First, we show that isotopic diffusion firn is reasonably well understood. We do this by showing that a slightly modified version of the Whillans and Grootes (1985) theory makes a tenable a priori prediction of the decay of seasonal isotopic amplitudes with depth at the GISP2 site, though a small adjustment to one parameter significantly improves the prediction. Further, we calculate the amplitude decay at various other ice-core sites and show that these predictions compare favorably with published data from South Pole and locations in southern and central Greenland and the Antarctic Peninsula. We then present numerical experiments wherein synthetic ice-core records are created, diffused, sampled, reconstituted and compared to the original. These show that, alter diffusive mixing in the entire fini column, seasonal amplitudes can be reconstructed to within about 20% error in central Greenland but that all information about sub-annual signals is permanently lost there. Furthermore, most of the error in the amplitude reconstructions is due to the unknowable variations in the sub-annual signal. Finally, we explore how these results can be applied to other locations and suggest that Dye 3 has a high potential for meaningful seasonal reconstructions, while Siple Dome has no potential at all. An optimal ice-core site for seasonal reconstructions has a high accumulation rate and a low temperature.
Sequence Specific Cleavage of Double Helical DNA N-Bromoacetyldistamycin

We report that N-bromoacetyldistamcyin (BD) which contains the electrophile bromoacetyl on the amino end of the tripeptide tris-N-methylpyrrolecarboxamide" cleaves a single adenine within a restriction fragment containing 167 base pairs of DNA after 5 h of reaction time at 37 °C followed by a depurination workup procedure.
Characterization of a Novel Human Natural Killer-Cell Line (NK-YS) Established From Natural Killer Cell Lymphoma/Leukemia Associated With Epstein-Barr Virus Infection

A novel cell line was established from a patient with a leukemic-state nasal angiocentric natural killer (NK) cell lymphoma with systemic skin infiltration. The morphology of the leukemic cells was large-granular-lymphocyte (LGL), and their immunophenotype was CD2+, CD3-, CD5+, CD7+, CD16-, CD56+, and CD57-. The presence of Epstein-Barr viral (EBV) genome was shown in specimens from the patient's nose, skin, and peripheral blood by in situ hybridization using an EBV-encoded small RNA-1 probe or by Southern blotting using a terminal-repeat probe of the EBV genome. Leukemic cells were cocultured with a mouse stromal cell line (SPY3-2) in the presence of 100 U/mL recombinant human interleukin-2 and a novel stromal cell-independent cell line, NK-YS, was established. The NK-YS cells showed LGL morphology and expressed surface CD2, CD5, CD7, CD25, CD56, and CD95. The NK-YS cells retained cytotoxicity against K562 and Jurkat cells. A Southern blotting using a terminal-repeat probe of EBV showed that NK-YS and fresh leukemic cells had a clonal EBV genome, whereas the T-cell receptor beta and gamma chain genes of NK-YS were not rearranged. In an immunocytochemical analysis, the NK-YS cells showed a type-II latent infection of EBV. The NK-YS cells preserved the original characteristics of NK cell lymphoma/leukemia and will be a useful tool for the study of biological characteristics of EBV-associated nasal angiocentric NK cell lymphoma/leukemia.
Doping effect on the optical properties of ZnO nanostructures

High quality undoped and Ga2O3 or In2O3 doped ZnO nanostructures are grown by chemical vapor transport and condensation. The doping effect on the optical properties is investigated by photoluminescence. At room temperature, photoluminescence on Ga2O3 doped ZnO nanostructures reveals an enhancement of the ultraviolet near band edge emission at 390 nm, while the intensity of the deep level emission at 530 nm weakens. At 5 K, an intense neutral-donor-bound exciton (D0X) line dominates the undoped and doped ZnO photoluminescence spectra. The presence of well resolved two-electron satellite lines allow to determine the type of donors. At 5 K, the results indicate that ZnO nanostructures grown with 10% of Ga2O3 display an excellent optical quality, proved by an intense D0X line, a high intensity ratio between the D0X line and the deep level emission as well as the presence of numerous phonon replicas of the main lines. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Language Discrimination by Newborns: Toward an Understanding of the Role of Rhythm

Three experiments investigated the ability of French newborns to discriminate between sets of sentences in different foreign languages. The sentences were low-pass filtered to reduce segmental information while sparing prosodic information. Infants discriminated between stress-timed English and mora-timed Japanese (Experiment 1) but failed to discriminate between stress-timed English and stress-timed Dutch (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, infants heard different combinations of sentences from English, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian. Discrimination was observed only when English and Dutch sentences were contrasted with Spanish and Italian sentences. These results suggest that newborns use prosodic and, more specifically, rhythmic information to classify utterances into broad language classes defined according to global rhythmic properties. Implications of this for the acquisition of the rhythmic properties of the native language are discussed.
Optimization of synthesis conditions and the study of magnetic and dielectric properties for MgFe2O4 ferrite

AbstractNano-sized magnesium ferrites were synthesized by the sol-gel auto-combustion method using a variety of chelating/combustion agents: tartaric acid, citric acid, cellulose, glycine, urea and hexamethylenetetramine. The original purpose of this work was the synthesis of nano-sized magnesium ferrite by using, for the first time, cellulose and hexamethylenetetramine as chelating/combustion agents. Synthesized samples were subjected to different heat treatments at 773 K, 973 K and, respectively 1173 K in air. The disappearance of the organic phase and nitrate phase with the spinel structure formation was monitored by infrared absorption spectroscopy. Spinel structure, crystallite size and cation distribution were evaluated by X-ray diffraction data. The morphology of as-prepared powders was studied using scanning electron microscopy. The magnetic and dielectric properties were studied for the obtained samples.
Size‐dependent C:N uptake by phytoplankton as a function of irradiance: Ecological implications

Dual-labeling assays were performed on the phytoplankton community of Lake Biwa (Japan) to estimate the ratio of inorganic carbon to nitrate-N uptake as a function of cell size and irradiance. The assays were conducted during a period of change in underwater light and phytoplankton species composition associated with typhoon-induced mixing events. There were consistent qualitative differences in the C:N uptake characteristics of large (>2 µm) versus small ( 2-µm fraction and negative for the small cells. This striking difference between the two fractions also corresponded to patterns in the C:N stoichiometry of the plankton. Surface samples of the >2-µm fraction had a higher C:N ratio than deep populations; this pattern was not seen in the 2-µm fraction. These observations imply that in aquatic ecosystems where nitrate plays an important role in the nitrogen economy of the phytoplankton, high-irradiance conditions favor maximum biomass production per unit of nitrogen uptake by large phytoplankton, and low-irradiance conditions favor a high biomass increment per unit of nitrogen uptake by small cells. These observations are consistent with the ecological distribution of large- versus small-cell phytoplankton in several types of freshwater and marine environments.
NF-κB Transcription Factors Are Involved in Normal Erythropoiesis

NF-κB/Rel designates a widely distributed family of transcription factors involved in immune and acute phase responses. Here, the expression and function of NF-κB factors in erythroid proliferation and differentiation were explored. In an erythroleukemia cell line, TF-1, high levels of p105/p50, p100/p52, p65, and IκBα were detected 24 hours after growth factor deprivation. In response to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) stimulation, significant induction of p52 expression was observed. GM-CSF also induced nuclear translocation of both p52 and p65. No induction of NF-κB factors was observed with erythropoietin stimulation of TF-1 cells. Overexpression of p52 and p65 in TF-1 cells by transient transfection resulted in significant induction of a κB-TATA-luciferase reporter plasmid, showing that these factors are functional in vivo in erythroid cells. To determine whether NF-κB factors may play a role in normal erythropoiesis, levels of these factors were determined in burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E)–derived cells at different stages of differentiation. The NF-κB factors p105/p50, p100/p52, and p65 were highly expressed in early BFU-E–derived precursors, which are rapidly proliferating, and declined during maturation. Furthermore, nuclear levels of NF-κB factors p50, p52, and p65 were higher in less mature precursors (day 10 BFU-E–derived cells) compared with more differentiated (day 14) erythroblasts. In nuclear extracts from day 10 BFU-E–derived cells, p50, p52, and p65 were able to form complexes, which bound to κB sites in the promoters of both the c-myb and c-myc genes, suggesting that c-myb and c-myc may be among the κB-containing genes regulated by NF-κB factors in normal erythroid cells. Taken together, these data show that NF-κB factors are modulated by GM-CSF and suggest they function to regulate specific κB containing genes involved in erythropoiesis.
Repeated measures ASCA+ for analysis of longitudinal intervention studies with multivariate outcome data

Longitudinal intervention studies with repeated measurements over time are an important type of experimental design in biomedical research. Due to the advent of omics-sciences (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics), longitudinal studies generate increasingly multivariate outcome data. Analysis of such data must take both the longitudinal intervention structure and multivariate nature of the data into account. The ASCA+-framework combines general linear models with principal component analysis, and can be used to separate and visualize the multivariate effect of different experimental factors. However, this methodology has not yet been developed for the more complex designs often found in longitudinal intervention studies, which may be unbalanced, involve randomized interventions, and have substantial missing data. Here we describe a new methodology, repeated measures ASCA+ (RM-ASCA+), and show how it can be used to model metabolic changes over time, and compare metabolic changes between groups, in both randomized and non-randomized intervention studies. Tools for both visualization and model validation are discussed. This approach can facilitate easier interpretation of data from longitudinal clinical trials with multivariate outcomes.
In vivo Characterization of MRI-based T1w/T2w Ratios and Covariance Network in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common type of intractable epilepsy in adults. A novel method based on the ratio of T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) magnetic resonance images can investigate brain microstructural changes and how these regional changes interact with each other. This study estimated T1w/T2w ratios in 42 left TLE (LTLE) and 42 right TLE (RTLE) patients and 41 healthy controls (HC). A T1w/T2w structural covariance network (SCN) was built by calculating correlations between any two regions across subjects and analysed by graph theory. Voxel-wise comparisons of T1w/T2w laterality were performed among the three groups. Compared to HC, both patient groups showed decreased T1w/T2w in frontotemporal regions, amygdala and thalamus; however, the LTLE showed lower T1w/T2w in left medial temporal regions than RTLE. Moreover, the LTLE exhibited decreased global efficiency compared with HC and more increased connections than RTLE. The laterality in putamen was differently altered between the two patient groups: higher laterality at posterior putamen in LTLE and higher laterality at anterior putamen in RTLE. This study demonstrated T1w/T2w reductions in frontotemporal and subcortical regions and extensive disconnections of SCN, providing evidence that TLE is a system disorder with widespread disruptions at regional and network levels. The putamen may play a transfer station role in damage spreading induced by epileptic seizures from the hippocampus.
Systematic review of the association between rotavirus infection, or rotavirus vaccination and coeliac disease

Background There is some evidence that rotavirus infection leads to an increased risk of coeliac disease (CD), and some immunological and biological plausibility for the human immune system recognising rotavirus particles and gluten proteins in a similar way. It is therefore plausible that rotavirus vaccine could have a role in preventing CD. However, such evidence has not previously been summarised in a systematic way to present a coherent picture. We conducted this systematic literature review to address this gap in the evidence. The aim of this research was to determine the nature of any association between rotavirus infection, or rotavirus vaccination, and risk of CD. Methods We searched Scopus, MEDLINE, Europe PMC and medRxiv for studies published between 01 January 1980 and 31 July 2020, using terms related to CD and rotavirus. Publications were screened independently by two reviewers using exclusion criteria. We extracted data from included papers using a standardized data extraction form and assessed risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Outcomes were descriptions of the settings and methods reported in included papers, and any estimates of effect. Results After exclusions, we reviewed five papers of which two used the exposure of rotavirus infection and three used the exposure of rotavirus vaccination. One paper found that rotavirus infection increased the risk of CD and that this was statistically significant. None of the three publications studying the association between rotavirus vaccination and CD were graded as high quality. All found a protective effect of RotaTeq rotavirus vaccination, but this was only statistically significant in two studies. Conclusions Few studies have been published on this research question. Those that have been published are not of sufficient quality and did not use comparable methods. Due to differences in study results there remains uncertainty regarding the relationship between rotavirus infection, vaccination and CD.
Bioconcentration and excretion of diazinon, IBP, malathion and fenitrothion by willow shiner

Bioconcentration and excretion of diazinon (diethyl 2‐isopropyl‐4‐methyl‐6‐pyrimidinyl phosphorothionate), IBP (S‐benzyl diisopropyl phosphorothiolate), malathion (S‐1,2‐bis(ethoxycarbonyl)ethyl dimethyl phosphorothiolothionate) and fenitrothion (dimethyl 4‐nitro‐m‐tolyl phosphorothionate) was studied for the fresh‐water fish, willow shiner (Gnathopogon caerulescens). The concentrations of these pesticides in whole body of fish reached plateaus in 6–48 h exposure (IBP 6h, fenitrothion and malathion 24 h, diazinon 48 h). The average values of bioconcentration factors (BCF) in whole body of fish were 33.2 for IBP, 398.5 for fenitrothion, 34.4 for malathion and 247.9 for diazinon through the 168 h exposure period. The excretion rate constants from whole body offish were 0.07b‐1 for diazinon, 0.07b‐1 for fenitrothion and 0.49h‐1 for malathion assuming their processes to be first‐order kinetics. For IBP, the rate constant was 0.0017gng‐lh‐1 assuming the process to be second‐order kinetics.