Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DIC MODEL ON MICE. TISSUE FACTOR OR PLATELET AGGREGATION INDUCERS?

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity of the classical model of DIC-syndrome in the conditions of tissue factor initiation. The study was performed on 60 male mice. All laboratory animals were divided into two groups: the first group of mice used a mixture of solutions of 0.5 mg/kg of collagen and 0.06 mg/kg of epinephrine as a trigger for thrombosis, the second group – 10 mg/kg of recombinant tissue factor. In conditions of systemic thrombosis, injected suspension of epinephrine and collagen (group I) resulted in the death of all animals within 3 days. Notably, more than 50% of the mice died within the first hour of the experiment. The death rate in group II on the 14th day of the experiment was 100%, but in contrast to group I, the death of laboratory animals was registered daily throughout the entire observation period (2.0±1.8 vs 133.5±124.7, p<0.01). The results show uniform loss in laboratory animals after induction of thrombosis, and morphological evaluation of animals is characterized by a low content of blood clots in the lungs of lab animals, suggesting the root cause of death of animals is not in acute thrombosis but in the development of delayed manifestations of DIC, which this model does not presuppose since it is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of new antiplatelet drugs in the acute experiment. Thus, the findings demonstrate the limitations of the use of tissue factor in model thrombosis and justify the feasibility of using physiological aggregation inducers.
Environmental Assessment and Sustainable Development in the United States

This study aims to overview the U.S. sustainable development by measuring the environmental performance of 50 states over the period of 2009–2018. To attain the objective, we employ data envelopment analysis for environmental assessment where we prioritize the minimization of CO2 emissions first and the maximization of gross state product later under the concept of managerial disposability (i.e., an environment-based performance measure). Then, we examine how the state-level environmental performance measures are associated with their political and spatial contexts. For the purpose, we conduct the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test across groups of states characterized by their political transitions in the presidential and gubernatorial elections and defined by the regions of the U.S. Economic Development Administration and Environmental Protection Agency. Based on our empirical results, we find that (a) overall environmental performance has gradually enhanced over time, (b) there are statistically significant differences in the environmental performance measures along with the political transitions, and (c) states on both coasts have outperformed those of the middle in the measurement.
A modeling study of temporal and spatial pCO2 variability on the biologically active and temperature-dominated Scotian Shelf

Abstract. Continental shelves are thought to be affected disproportionately by climate change and are a large contributor to global air-sea carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes. It is often reported that low-latitude shelves tend to act as net sources of CO2 whereas mid- and high-latitude shelves act as net sinks. Here, we combine a high-resolution regional model with surface water time-series and repeat transect observations from the Scotian Shelf, a mid-latitude region in the northwest North Atlantic, to determine what processes are driving the temporal and spatial variability of partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2). In contrast to the global trend, the Scotian Shelf acts as a net source. Surface pCO2 undergoes a strong seasonal cycle associated with both a strong biological drawdown of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) in spring, and pronounced effects of temperature, which ranges from 0 °C in the winter to near 20 °C in the summer. Throughout the summer, events with low surface-water pCO2 occur nearshore associated with coastal upwelling. This effect of upwelling on pCO2 is also in contrast to the general assumption that upwelling increases surface pCO2 by delivering DIC-enriched water to the surface. Aside from these localized events, pCO2 is relatively uniform across the shelf. Our model agrees with regional observations, reproduces seasonal patterns of pCO2, and simulates annual outgassing of CO2 from the ocean of +1.9 ± 0.2 mol C m−2 yr−1 for the Scotian Shelf, net neutral CO2 flux of −0.09 ± 0.16 mol C m−2 yr−1 for the Gulf of Maine and uptake by the ocean of −0.88 ± 0.4 mol C m−2 yr−1 for the Grand Banks.
Redox Flow Batteries: Stationary Energy Storages with Potential

On the way to a secure, economic, and environmentally compatible future of energy supply, the share of renewable energies will rise strongly as part of the energy transition. To ensure a constant and resilient energy supply, despite the fluctuations of renewable energies, efficient energy storage systems are crucial. One of the most promising technologies are redox flow batteries. They are of particular importance in the field of stationary applications, due to their flexible and independent scalability of capacity and power output as well as their high cycle stability, calendric service life, and operational safety.
Structure of oxidised silver (1 1 1) and (1 1 0) surfaces

Abstract An exhaustive suite of classical molecular dynamics simulations is performed to investigate the stability of oxygen on silver (1 1 1) and (1 1 0) surfaces as a function of surface/subsurface location, binding site, fractional occupancy, and temperature. The ReaxFF potential is used to allow charge transfer between the oxygen and silver components. Comparison of the binding energies at various sites from ReaxFF and ab initio calculations reveals partial agreement between the two approaches. For many of the conditions sampled in the current study, we observe an initial state gives rise to a more disordered reconstruction, which is energetically more favourable. The driving force behind this reconstruction is largely an increase in the coordination of O by Ag, resulting in a more favourable binding site. The extent of reconstruction and atomic motion that initiates the reconstructive process is highly dependent on surface type, fractional occupancy, initially occupied site and temperature. For example, in the temperature range studied (77–500 K), on Ag(1 1 1) it is fractional occupancy that predominantly dictates the type and extent of reconstruction. However, on Ag(1 1 0) it is temperature rather than fractional coverage that is seen to have a more influential effect on the extent of surface reconstruction. These simulations clearly show that O atoms move from surface to subsurface sites, as has been observed experimentally.
Trusted Blockchain Oracle Scheme Based on Aggregate Signature

With the development of blockchain technology, more and more applications need out-of-chain data. Thus, blockchain oracles have become an important bridge for transferring data on and off the chain. This paper studies the mainstream blockchain oracles scheme, summarizes the shortcomings of the existing schemes and proposes a new blockchain oracle scheme based on BLS (Bohen-Lynn-Shacham) aggregation signature to ensure that off-chain data can be transferred into the blockchain in a trusted and reliable way. Specifically, the scheme uses multiple blockchain oracles to avoid the single point of failure or even a small number of malicious oracles, and improve the credibility of data. At the same time, it not only uses BLS aggregate signature to reduce the storage cost and communication overhead, but also uses commitment mechanisms to ensure the reliability and authenticity of the data. Besides, the simulation results show that the scheme can meet the practical application requirements.
Youth wildlife preferences and species-based conservation priorities in a low-income biodiversity hotspot region

Summary Public preferences for wildlife protection can dictate the success or failure of conservation interventions. However, little research has focused on wildlife preferences among youth or how youth prioritize species-based conservation. We conducted a study of youth between 7 and 20 years old (n = 128) at five local schools situated near critical hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting beaches in El Salvador to determine their wildlife preferences and how they prioritize species for conservation based on five attributes: endemism; use for hunting and fishing; rapid decline in population size; presence around their home; and ecological significance. These Salvadoran youth showed preferences for native over non-native species and tended to rank rapid population decline as the most important attribute for prioritizing wildlife for protection, followed by use for hunting and fishing. Participants in local environmental education activities placed greater importance on species in rapid decline than non-participants, who considered endemism as most important. Overall, these findings reveal how environmental education may successfully promote increased prioritization of imperilled species among youth. Economic payments for conserving hawksbill turtles may link the two top reasons that Salvadoran youth provided for protecting species by compensating for the reduced hunting required to facilitate population stabilization.
Transition to Taylor vortex flow between combinations of circular and conical cylinders

The stability and flow transitions in the annular gap between two coaxial rotating bodies, termed Taylor-Couette flow, presents a great importance in the field of fluid dynamics. In this paper, the fluid motion in an annulus between cylinder-cone combinations is investigated numerically using CFD simulations for a three dimensional viscous and incompressible flow. The transitional phenomena occurring in this flow are discussed under the effect of opening angles of the outer cylinder. The main goal it is to show how operates the change in the structure of the movement when changing the geometry of the flow through angular deviation, i.e., from coaxial rotating cylinders to an inner cylinder rotating in a conical container. Particular attention is given to the transitional regime and the onset of Taylor vortices when the outer cylinder is replaced with a cone. The numerical calculations are carried out over a range of apex angle α from 0 (classical case) up to 12°. The critical Taylor number, Ta c1 , characterizing the occurrence of Taylor vortices in the flow, decreases drastically: the first instability mode of transition changes from Ta c1 = 41.6, corresponding to the classical case to Ta c1 = 20.3 when the apex angle reaches 12°. The velocity distribution and the wavelengths are also presented. It is established that the number of vortices occurring in the gap between rotating cylinder in a cone is inversely proportional to the apex angles.
Analysis of the Influence That Parameters Crookedness and Taper Have on Stack Volume by Using a 3D-Simulation Model of Wood Stacks

The influence that parameters crookedness and taper have on the stack volume was analyzed by using a 3D-simulation model in this study. To do so, log length, diameters at the midpoint and both ends, crookedness, bark thickness, taper and ovality were measured in 1000 logs of Scots pine. From this database, several data sets with different proportions of crooked and tapered logs in stack as well as with different degrees of taper and crookedness were created and taken as basis to simulate the stacks and carry out the analysis. The results show how the variation of these parameters influences the stack volume and provide their volume variation grades. These rates of variation were compared with measurement guidelines of some countries and previous research works. In conclusion, the parameters crookedness and taper influence the stack volume to a considerable extent. Specifically, the stack volume is increased as the crookedness degree or the proportion of crooked logs increases. In contrast, the stack volume is reduced as the taper degree or the proportion of tapered logs increases. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the capability of this simulation model to provide accurate results which can serve as a basis for future studies.
Anti‐disturbance adaptive sampled‐data observers for a class of nonlinear systems with unknown hysteresis

In this article, based on radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) and disturbance estimator (DE), an adaptive sampled‐data observer design scheme is proposed for a class of nonlinear systems with unknown Prandtl–Ishlinskii (PI) hysteresis and unknown multiple disturbances. To begin with, we investigate a class of sampled‐data nonlinear systems and present corresponding sufficient conditions ensuring ultimate uniform boundedness (UUB). Subsequently, a sampled‐data observer and a DE are designed to estimate the unknown states and compounded disturbances, respectively. Additionally, the unknown hysteresis and the unknown unmatched disturbances are approximated by RBFNNs. Meanwhile, we also give the learning laws of the weights of RBFNNs. The estimation errors of the states and the weights are verified to be UUB in the light of the obtained sufficient conditions and a special constructing Lyapunov–Krasovskii function. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed design method is verified by numerical simulations.
Suspension Cell Culture of Dioscorea deltoidea—A Renewable Source of Biomass and Furostanol Glycosides for Food and Pharmaceutical Industry

Dioscorea deltoidea is a medicinal plant valued for its high content of steroidal glycosides (SG)—bioactive compounds with cardioprotective and immunomodulation actions, also used to treat reproductive system disorders. To overcome the limitations of natural resources of this species, a suspension cell culture of D. deltoidea was developed as a renewable and ecologically sustainable source of raw biomass and SG. Cell culture demonstrated stable and intensive growth in the laboratory (20 L) and industrial (630 L) bioreactors operated under a semi-continuous regime (specific growth rate 0.11–1.12 day−1, growth index 3.5–3.7). Maximum dry weight accumulation (8.5–8.8 g/L) and SG content (47–57 mg/g DW) were recorded during the stationary phase. Bioreactor-produced cell biomass contained inorganic macro (K, Ca, Mg, Na) and micro (Zn, Mn, Fe, B, Al, Cu, Cr, Se, Co, Ni) elements in concentrations within the safe range of dietary recommendations. Acute toxicity test showed no or insignificant changes in organ weight, hematological panel and blood biochemistry of laboratory animals fed with 2000 and 5000 mg/kg dry biomass. The results suggest that cell culture of D. deltoidea grown in bioreactors has great potential to be used as functional foods and a component of specialized dietary supplements in complex therapy of reproductive system disorders and mineral deficiency.
Efficient Topology for DC-DC Boost Converter Based on Charge Pump Capacitor for Renewable Energy System

In an attempt to meet the global demand, renewable energy systems (RES) have gained an interest in it due to the availability of the resources, especially solar photovoltaic system that has been an importance since many years because of per watt cost reduction, improvement in efficiency, and abundant availability. Photovoltaic system in remote and rural areas is very useful where a grid supply is unavailable. In this scenario, power electronic converters are an integral part of the renewable energy systems particularly for electronic devices which are operated from renewable energy sources and energy storage system (fuel cell and batteries). In this article, a new topology of charge pump capacitor (CPC) which is based on high voltage gain technique DC-DC boost converter (DCBC) with dynamic modeling is proposed. To testify the efficacy of the introduced topology, a prototype has been developed in a laboratory, where input was given 10VDC and 80VDC output voltage achieved at the load side. Furthermore, the experimental result shows that the voltage stress of MOSFET switches is very less in comparison with the conventional boost converter with the same parameters as the proposed converter.
A simple lectin-based biochip might display the potential clinical value of glycomics in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage

Background Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a cerebrovascular disease with extremely high disability and mortality rates. Glycans play critical roles in biological processes. However, whether glycans can serve as potential biomarkers for determining clinical diagnosis and prognosis in ICH remains determined. Methods In this study, we established a lectin-biochip to measure serum glycans levels in ICH patients (n=48) and healthy controls (n=16). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out to determine serum levels of IL-10 and TNF-α in the patients. Correlation analyses of the serum glycan and cytokine levels and the clinicopathological parameters of patients were performed. Results The biochip-based data revealed that the serum levels of α-Man/α-Glc (ConA), Galβ3GalNAc (PNA), GalNAc (VVA), Fucα6GlcNAc (AAL), α-Fuc (LTL), and Galβ3GalNAc-Ser/Thr (AIL) significantly increased in the super-acute phase of ICH in comparison with healthy controls. Clinicopathological analysis indicated the serum levels of ConA, VVA, and LTL had significant associations with the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and serum VVA levels had a significant association with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) at day 90 after ICH. Correlation coefficient analysis revealed significant correlations between TNF-α and ConA (P<0.001) as well as between IL-10 and ConA (P<0.001), PNA (P=0.02), VVA (P<0.001), and MAL (P=0.04), respectively. Conclusions We established a proof-of-concept platform for detecting serum glycomics and highlighted their potential value in diagnosing and predicting ICH patients’ outcomes.
Advances in Valorization of Lignocellulosic Biomass towards Energy Generation

The booming demand for energy across the world, especially for petroleum-based fuels, has led to the search for a long-term solution as a perfect source of sustainable energy. Lignocellulosic biomass resolves this obstacle as it is a readily available, inexpensive, and renewable fuel source that fulfills the criteria of sustainability. Valorization of lignocellulosic biomass and its components into value-added products maximizes the energy output and promotes the approach of lignocellulosic biorefinery. However, disruption of the recalcitrant structure of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) via pretreatment technologies is costly and power-/heat-consuming. Therefore, devising an effective pretreatment method is a challenge. Likewise, the thermochemical and biological lignocellulosic conversion poses problems of efficiency, operational costs, and energy consumption. The advent of integrated technologies would probably resolve this problem. However, it is yet to be explored how to make it applicable at a commercial scale. This article will concisely review basic concepts of lignocellulosic composition and the routes opted by them to produce bioenergy. Moreover, it will also discuss the pros and cons of the pretreatment and conversion methods of lignocellulosic biomass. This critical analysis will bring to light the solutions for efficient and cost-effective conversion of lignocellulosic biomass that would pave the way for the development of sustainable energy systems.
The Trajectory of Public Attitudes Toward Immigrants in the United States: Latent Growth Analysis Approach

Objective: Public attitudes toward immigrants influence their adaptation to new circumstances. This study examines public attitudes toward immigrants in the United States to identify the patterns of attitude change from 1996 to 2014; the relationship between individuals’ income and the trajectory of attitudes toward immigrants is investigated as well. Method: I conducted a latent growth model using the General Social Survey data sets (1996, 2004, and 2014), which included a module on immigration. The total sample size was 3,639. All participants were U.S. citizens. Results: General attitudes toward immigrants have significantly worsened from 1996 to 2014 (intercept = 2.510, slope = −.025, p < .001). Respondents’ annual household income influenced the trajectory of attitudes toward immigrants (β = .002, SE = .001, p = .006), with poorer households having more negative attitudes toward immigrants. Conclusions: Study findings warn of growing anti-immigrant sentiments. Further investigation is needed to correct negative stereotypes and misconceptions about the harm caused by immigration to the U.S. economy and welfare of the population.
Larger distances from larger vehicles: effect of vehicle size, viewing side and their facia on comfort distance in virtual reality

ABSTRACT Objective: It is of critical importance to develop socially sensitive vehicles that will enhance pedestrians’ sense of comfort and safety. The current study is the first to extend these effects to vehicles, by investigating individual comfort distance in virtual reality with regard to vehicles that vary in terms of size, viewing angle and anthropomorphized emotional expression. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of individual differences in terms of height, anxiety and aggression. Method: Forty-four individuals were presented with three-dimensional stimuli of vehicle models differing in size and viewing angle in virtual reality and positioned them at the distance they felt the most comfortable with. Results: Our results show that individuals are more comfortable standing further from larger vehicles and when presented with the front versus the rear view of a vehicle. Moreover, the distance from vehicles was negatively associated with the height of the individuals. Conclusion: This paper suggests that it is important for designing self-driving and autonomous vehicles to consider that vehicle size and direction as well as pedestrian’s height may impact the comfort distance felt by pedestrians. These data have clear implications for vehicle design, including self-driving and autonomous vehicles. KEY POINTS What is already known: Individuals maintain larger distances when in front of individuals/agents than beside or behind them. Individuals provide greater physical space to larger agents (animals and/or humans). No previous study investigated the effect of vehicle size, view angle, and fascia on the comfort distance preferred by individuals as pedestrians. What it adds: Individuals are more comfortable standing further from larger vehicles. Individuals prefer to place more distance between themselves and a vehicle when seeing it from the front versus the rear. Shorter individuals adopt a larger distance from vehicles irrespective of vehicle size and viewing side.