Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Triglyceride Glucose-Waist Circumference Better Predicts Coronary Calcium Progression Compared with Other Indices of Insulin Resistance: A Longitudinal Observational Study

The triglyceride glucose (TyG) index, a product of triglyceride and fasting glucose, is a reliable marker for insulin resistance. We aimed to investigate the association between the TyG-related markers and coronary artery calcification (CAC) progression. We enrolled 1145 asymptomatic participants who underwent repeated CAC score measurements during routine health examinations. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), TyG index, TyG-BMI (body mass index), and TyG-WC (waist circumference) were calculated. Progression of CAC was defined as (1) incident CAC in a CAC-free population, or an (2) increase of ≥2.5 units between the baseline and final square root of the CAC scores in participants with detectable CAC. According to the quartiles of parameters, we stratified the subjects into four groups. The prevalence of progression increased with the TyG-WC quartile (15.0%, 24.1%, 31.0%, and 32.2% for each of the groups; p < 0.001). The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for CAC score progression was 1.66 (1.01–2.77) when the highest and lowest TyG-WC index quartiles were compared. Furthermore, the predictability of TyG-WC for CAC progression was better than the other indices in terms of the area under the curve. The TyG-WC index predicted CAC progression better than other indices and could be a potential marker of future coronary atherosclerosis.
Phloroglucinol Derivatives from Dryopteris crassirhizoma as Potent Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitors

Dryopteris crassirhizoma rhizomes are used as a traditional medicine in Asia. The EtOAc extract of these roots has shown potent xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory activity. However, the main phloroglucinols in D. crassirhizoma rhizomes have not been analyzed. Thus, we investigated the major constituents responsible for this effect. Bioassay-guided purification isolated four compounds: flavaspidic acid AP (1), flavaspidic acid AB (2), flavaspidic acid PB (3), and flavaspidic acid BB (4). Among these, 1 showed the most potent inhibitory activity with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 6.3 µM, similar to that of allopurinol (IC50 = 5.7 µM) and better than that of oxypurinol (IC50 = 43.1 µM), which are XO inhibitors. A comparative activity screen indicated that the acetyl group at C3 and C3′ is crucial for XO inhibition. For example, 1 showed nearly 4-fold higher efficacy than 4 (IC50 = 20.9 µM). Representative inhibitors (1–4) in the rhizomes of D. crassirhizoma showed reversible and noncompetitive inhibition toward XO. Furthermore, the potent inhibitors were shown to be present in high quantities in the rhizomes by a UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis. Therefore, the rhizomes of D. crassirhizoma could be used to develop nutraceuticals and medicines for the treatment of gout.
Novel Approach to Tooth Chemistry: Quantification of Human Enamel Apatite in Context for New Biomaterials and Nanomaterials Development

A series of linear profiles of the elements of the enamel in human molar teeth were made with the use of an electron microprobe and a Raman microscope. It is postulated that the enamel can be treated as the superposition of variable “overbuilt” enamel on the stable “core” enamel at the macro-, micro- and nanoscale level. The excessive values characterize the “overbuilt enamel”. All the profiles of excessive parameters along the enamel thickness from the enamel surface to the dentin enamel junction (DEJ) can be approximated very precisely with the use of exponential functions, where Ca, P, Cl and F spatial profiles are decaying while Mg, Na, K and CO32− ones are growing distributions. The “overbuilt” apatite formed on the boundary with DEJ, enriched in Na, Mg, OH and carbonates, reacts continuously with Ca, Cl and F, passing into an acid-resistant form of the “overbuilt” enamel. The apparent phases arriving in boundary regions of the “overbuilt enamel” were proposed. Microdiffraction measurements reveal relative variation of energy levels during enamel transformations. Our investigations are the milestones for a further new class of biomaterial and nanomaterial development for biomedical applications.
On the structure of dissolving thin liquid films

The structure of thin circular films, formed over a flat water surface during the dissolving (influenced by surface forces) of isobutanol, is examined by performing film thickness and surface velocity measurements. The thicknesses were obtained by light absorption determinations, and the velocities by a stroboscopic method. The film profiles and the dynamic wetting angles obtained differ markedly from those corresponding to a static lens. This is explained by considering the equilibrium between dynamic surface tensions instead of that between static surface tensions.
Cardiac Connexin-43 Hemichannels and Pannexin1 Channels: Provocative Antiarrhythmic Targets

Cardiac connexin-43 (Cx43) creates gap junction channels (GJCs) at intercellular contacts and hemi-channels (HCs) at the peri-junctional plasma membrane and sarcolemmal caveolae/rafts compartments. GJCs are fundamental for the direct cardiac cell-to-cell transmission of electrical and molecular signals which ensures synchronous myocardial contraction. The HCs and structurally similar pannexin1 (Panx1) channels are active in stressful conditions. These channels are essential for paracrine and autocrine communication through the release of ions and signaling molecules to the extracellular environment, or for uptake from it. The HCs and Panx1 channel-opening profoundly affects intracellular ionic homeostasis and redox status and facilitates via purinergic signaling pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic processes. These conditions promote cardiac arrhythmogenesis due to the impairment of the GJCs and selective ion channel function. Crosstalk between GJCs and HCs/Panx1 channels could be crucial in the development of arrhythmogenic substrates, including fibrosis. Despite the knowledge gap in the regulation of these channels, current evidence indicates that HCs and Panx1 channel activation can enhance the risk of cardiac arrhythmias. It is extremely challenging to target HCs and Panx1 channels by inhibitory agents to hamper development of cardiac rhythm disorders. Progress in this field may contribute to novel therapeutic approaches for patients prone to develop atrial or ventricular fibrillation.
Phenylalanine and Tyrosine as Feed Additives for Reducing Stress and Enhancing Welfare in Gilthead Seabream and Meagre

Simple Summary Food additives (phenylalanine and tyrosine) were tested in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and meagre (Argyrosomus regius) to improve fish welfare in sea farms. These amino acids improved the stress response in both species, reducing some stress markers, though interspecific differences were detected. The results indicate that these dietary supplements could be provided before submitting fish to typical stress conditions in sea farms (sampling, grading, etc.) for improving animal welfare. Abstract Increased aquaculture production is associated with a growing interest in improving fish welfare. For this reason, the search for strategies to mitigate stress has intensified, one of these strategies being food supplementation with amino acids. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary phenylalanine (Phe) and Tyrosine (Tyr) on the stress response and metabolism of juvenile gilthead seabreams (Sparus aurata) and meagres (Argyrosomus regius). Fish batches were fed a control diet and two diets supplemented with 5% Phe or Tyr for seven days. At the end of the experiment fish were stressed by air exposure for 3 min and then sacrificed for the extraction of blood and brain. Classical plasma stress markers were analyzed (glucose, lactate, proteins, cortisol), as well as hormones derived from those amino acids (adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine). Despite interspecific differences, fish fed the diets supplemented with Phe or Tyr showed a reduction on several stress markers. However, interspecific differences were detected for many indicators. Concretely, hormonal stress markers were significantly attenuated in meagres fed the enriched diets. Moreover, the stress condition favored a mobilization of amino acids towards the brain, especially in supplemented diets, hence this amino acid excess could be used as an energy substrate to cope with stress.
Variable temperature study of the crystal structure of paracetamol (p-hydroxyacetanilide), by single crystal neutron diffraction

The crystal and molecular structure of paracetamol (p-hydroxyacetanilide) has been determined by single crystal neutron diffraction at seven temperatures between 20 and 330 K. Short data collection times were used in this neutron study, with the fastest data set collected in just 5.5 hours, the longest in 11 hours. The structure is monoclinic, P21/a, Z=4, with unit cell parameters over the temperature range 20-330K ranging from a=12.667(4)-12.872(3), b=9.166(3)-9.370(2), c=7.073(3)-7.085(2) Å, β=115.51(2)-115.62(2)°, V=741.2-770.5 Å3. The molecular geometry and hydrogen bonding are briefly discussed, along with the variation with temperature of non-bonded contacts. The refined anisotropic thermal displacement parameters in the structure are analysed using the TLS approach at each temperature, including those for the hydrogen atoms which are well determined in this neutron study. The large torsional motions of the terminal methyl groups are found to be adequately modelled within the harmonic approximation for atomic vibrations, and show values for the mean square torsional amplitude in the range 170 deg2 to 930 deg2, but with a large residual zero-point motion, whose lower limit is estimated as 120 deg2. The variable temperature experiment is also shown to be useful in estimating bond length corrections due to thermal vibration effects and an empirical approach for doing this is introduced in this work. Application of this empirical correction leads to an estimate for the unshortened C-H bond lengths of 1.103 Å.
Assembly of nano-superstructural aragonite CaCO3 by living bio-membrane

Biomimetic living templates, mung bean sprouts (MBS), were employed to control the crystallisation of calcium carbonate. Metastable aragonite superstructure can be readily generated in normal conditions. Some interesting morphologies including elaborate piny dendritic, flowerlike and rods were also prepared using citric acid, nitrilotriacetic acid and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as cooperation modifiers in the mineralisation process, under the conditions of 0.01% of crystal modifier and ambient temperature. These morphologies were assembled by some elaborate substructures, similar to nanowire and featherlike crystals. The products were characterised by SEM, XRD and FTIR, respectively. The results indicated that the formation of aragonite polymorph of calcium carbonate was favoured in this system. A probable mechanism was proposed.
Solvent deuteration enhancement of hydrophobicity: DSC study of the inverse temperature transition of elastin-based polypeptides

As previously shown, the polypentapeptide of elastin, (Val{sup 1}-Pro{sup 2}-Gly{sup 3}-Val{sup 4}-Gly{sup 5}){sub n} or simply poly(VPGVG), undergoes an inverse temperature transition which is seen macroscopically as a phase separation with a dense viscoelastic phase of about 60% water, 40% peptide by weight and which is characterized molecularly by increase in intra- and intermolecular order as evidenced by formation of specific hydrophobic contacts. Furthermore, from an extensive study of polypentapeptides of the composition poly(f{sub x}(VPGXG), f{sub v}(VPGVG)), where f{sub x} + f{sub v} = 1 and X is any of the amino acid residues with apolar (hydrophobic) side chains, it has been shown that the temperature of the transition decreases and the heat of the transition increases with increased hydrophobicity. In the present paper differential scanning calorimetry has been utilized to determine the effect of D{sub 2}O on the temperature and heats of the inverse temperature transitions for poly(VPGVG), poly(IPGVG), poly(LPGVG), and poly(VPAVG) and in the latter case in the presence of 0.5 and 1.0 N NaCl and of 1,2, and 3 M urea. In all cases, the effect of D{sub 2}O as compared to H{sub 2}O is to lower the transition temperature about 2 C and to increase themore » heat of the transition about 10%, and this occurs also in the presence of NaCl, which itself lowers the temperature and increases the heat, and in the presence of urea, which itself raises the temperature and decreases the heat of the transition. It is concluded that the effect of replacement of H{sub 2}O by D{sub 2}O by D{sub 2}O in these polypeptides is to effect a small but consistent increase in the expression of hydrophobicity. « less
Metal clusters in plasma polymerized matrices: Gold

This paper describes how plasma processes can control the metal content, metal cluster dispersion, and metal cluster crystallography embedded in dielectric fluorocarbon film matrices. We will show that the metal volume fraction can be controlled over a wide range by superimposing varying degrees of physical sputtering onto the chemical plasma etching/polymerization process which inevitably takes place simultaneously in certain halocarbon plasmas using a capacitively coupled rf diode discharge system. The critical metal volume fraction Vc at which the metal cluster containing polymer suddenly becomes conducting is 0.4. Evidence is given to show that the crystallographic features of the Au clusters (particle size, nonuniform strain, unit cell dimensions) have quite a different functional behavior vis‐a‐vis the overall film conductivity at different metal volume fractions depending on the deposition temperature in the range −15 to 60 °C. Furthermore, crystallographic features of the clusters are independent .
Polymers designed to control nucleation and growth of inorganic crystals from aqueous media.

Water soluble graft polymers prepared by copolymerization of either methacrylic acid (MAA) or vinylsulfonic acid (VS) with α-methoxy-ω-methacroyl-oligo(oxyethylene)s (PEO n -MA) serve to control nucleation and crystal growth during precipitation of inorganic crystals from aqueous media. Precipitation of zinc oxide crystals ('zincite') is used as example for such mineralization processes. Homogeneous and narrow crystal size distributions are obtained in presence of ppm-amounts of graft copolymers. Copolymer is incorporated into the crystals demonstrated by using latex particles with -CO 2 H-group rich surfaces as controlling additives. Incorporation of these particles leads to single crystals with pores of the size of the particles ('Swiss cheese' morphologies).
Poly(lactic acid) polymer stars built from early generation dendritic polyols

A family of polymer stars has been prepared from early generation dendritic cores with four, six, and eight arms. Four dendritic cores were prepared from the sequential reaction of a multifunctional alcohol with a protected anhydride, followed by deprotection to afford two or three new alcohol functionalities per reactive site. These cores were used as initiators for the tin-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of l-lactide and rac-lactide to afford isotactic and atactic degradable stars, respectively. Two series of stars were prepared for each monomer, either maintaining total molecular weight or number of monomer units per arm. The polymers were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, light-scattering gel-permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. Our results support previous work that suggests that the length of the arms dictates thermal properties rather than the total molecular weight of the star. Little effect was noted between aromatic and aliphatic co.
Effect of Dog-Assisted Therapy on Psychomotor Development of Children with Intellectual Disability

Background: Although dog-assisted therapy (DAT) has been used for years, there is still a scarcity of research findings confirming efficacy of the method. The current study was designed to assess effects of DAT on psychomotor development of children with mild intellectual disabilities. Material and method: The study involved 60 children with mild intellectual disabilities, aged 10–13 years, divided into a group participating in a 10-month DAT program, and the control group. Four tests were applied, i.e., finger identification, postural imitation, kinaesthesia, and Bourdon-Wiersma Dot Cancellation Test. The examinations were carried out before the start and at the end of the DAT, and at a two-month follow-up. Results: The results obtained by the DAT group in all the four tests, at all the three timepoints, were not the same (p < 0.001). No statistically significant differences were found in the measurement at the end of the therapy between the DAT group and the controls. On the other hand, the DAT group achieved significantly better scores (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001), compared to the control, in the follow-up measurements two months after the end of the therapy in postural imitation and finger identification tests. Conclusions: Some of the scores achieved by the children in the DAT group improved in the measurements performed over time. Two months after the therapy ended, the children in the DAT group presented greater gains in motor planning (postural imitation test) and in the sense of touch, attention, and concentration (finger identification test), compared to the control group. Although the measurement performed immediately after the therapy did not show significant differences between the DAT group and the controls, the examination carried out at the two-month follow-up identified long-term gains in the treatment group in the domain of motor planning (postural imitation test).
Effects on Pellet Properties and Energy Use When Starch Is Added in the Wood-Fuel Pelletizing Process

The production and use of wood-fuel pellets have increased significantly worldwide in recent years. The increased use of biomaterials has resulted in higher raw material prices, and there are no signs that indicate a decrease in raw material competition. Additives can be used for different purposes. Partly, they are used to facilitate the use of new raw materials to increase the raw material base, and partly, they are used to decrease the energy use in the pelletizing process. They are also used to increase durability or shelf life. Consequently, it is necessary to do research that systematically investigates the consequences of using additives. In this work, it is investigated how various percentages of different kinds of starch influence pellet properties, including shelf life and energy use in the pelletizing process. Four different starch grades were used: native wheat starch, oxidized corn starch, native potato starch, and oxidized potato starch. The pellets were produced in a small industrial pellet press located at Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden. The result shows that starch increases the durability of the pellets. Oxidized starches increase the durability more than native starches, and the best results were obtained by adding oxidized corn starch. The durability did not decrease with storage time when the pellets were stored indoors during 7 months. The oxidation process was not consistently altered by the addition of starch. The energy consumption of the pellet press decreases when starch is added. Again, the oxidized corn starch showed the best result; when 2.8% of corn starch was added, the average energy consumption was reduced by 14%.
Supercapacitors Technical Requirements for New Applications

The supercapacitors (SCs), also called ultracapacitors or electrochemical capacitors, are devices with a very high specific power and high capacitance, available for a long period of time with negligible deterioration, that have been historically proposed in small applications (memory back‐up in consumer electronics and storage systems for microsolar power generators) and now are proposed for high power/energy applications, such as hybrid and electric vehicles, power quality systems and smart grids. The advancements in new materials and the rapid growth of more demanding storage systems in a variety of applications have created a lack of universally accepted definitions of these devices and, consequently, a real difficulty in describing developments and progress in the SC field.
Systematic Review on Which Analytics and Learning Methodologies Are Applied in Primary and Secondary Education in the Learning of Robotics Sensors

Robotics technology has become increasingly common both for businesses and for private citizens. Primary and secondary schools, as a mirror of societal evolution, have increasingly integrated science, technology, engineering and math concepts into their curricula. Our research questions are: “In teaching robotics to primary and secondary school students, which pedagogical-methodological interventions result in better understanding and knowledge in the use of sensors in educational robotics? ”, and “In teaching robotics to primary and secondary school students, which analytical methods related to Learning Analytics processes are proposed to analyze and reflect on students’ behavior in their learning of concepts and skills of sensors in educational robotics? ”. To answer these questions, we have carried out a systematic review of the literature in the Web of Science and Scopus databases regarding robotics sensors in primary and secondary education, and Learning Analytics processes. We applied PRISMA methodology and reviewed a total of 24 articles. The results show a consensus about the use of the Learning by Doing and Project-Based Learning methodologies, including their different variations, as the most common methodology for achieving optimal engagement, motivation and performance in students’ learning. Finally, future lines of research are identified from this study.
The effect of the metal atom on the absorption spectra of phthalocyanine films

The visible and near ultraviolet absorption spectra have been measured for thin films of H2Pc [C32H18N8], MgPc, FePc, CoPc, CuPc, and ZnPc. Magnesium and iron phthalocyanine have very different absorption spectra. For most of the phthalocyanines, structure of magnitude 0.21 eV is seen on the visible and Soret bands. A d band is indicated in the region 4.0–4.7 eV. This is the spectral region most sensitive to substitutions of the central metal atom.
Co‐adsorption processes, kinetics and quantum mechanical modelling of nanofilm semiconductor gas sensors

A quantum mechanical model of co‐adsorption on semiconductor surfaces is developed and successfully adopted towards exposure to several gases. It is related to nanofilms and thus allows the application of electric fields altering the electronic surface properties of adsorption centres (electroadsorptive effect, EAE). The model is matched against experimental data with O2, NO2 and CO measurements under the hypothesis of no direct interaction among the species. However the sequence of adsorption plays an important role where the adsorption of one gas species is opening up other sites that are filled by another sort of impinging molecules. Quantum mechanical modelling of co‐adsorption: (a) NO2 and CO present at the SnO2 surface. (b) Simplified model. (c) Probability of adsorption.