Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transdermal delivery of peptide and protein drugs: An overview

Recently, a large number of new and potentially potent peptide and protein drugs have been developed. Their systemic delivery is difJicult because they are rapidly cleared from the bloodstream, are of large molecular size, are vulnerable to proteolytic attack, and tend to undergo aggregation, adsorption and denaturation. Controlled release strategies have many advantages over the current delivery method of injection or intervenous infusion. Controlled release allows for prolonged delively while maintaining the drug concentration within therapeutic limits. It also improves and increases patient compliance by removing the discomfo rt of repeated applications. The transdermal route of delive ry is particularly attractive because it avoids peptide and protein degradation via the gastrointestinal tract and the hepatic first-pass effect, and delivery can be interrupted by simply removing the device. Its primary problem is that the skin is an excellent bam'er to large, hydrophilic, polar compounds. Recent work in the area of transdermal peptide and protein drug delivery is overviewed, including strategies such as prodrugs, chemical enhancement, iontophoresis, electroporation, and ultrasound, with focus on mass-transport mechanisms of different systems. Of the strategies studied, iontophoretic delivery appears the most promising. It is clear, however, that more work remains to be done before transdermal peptide and protein delivery devices come to market. Chemical engineers can contribute significantly to further research in this exciting area.
Thermally Stable Multi-Phase Nickel-Platinum Stanogermanide Contacts for Germanium-Tin Channel MOSFETs

We demonstrate a novel metal stanogermanide contact metallization process for high mobility germanium-tin (GeSn) channel MOSFETs. The multi-phase nickel-platinum stanogermanide [Ni(GeSn)+Ptx(GeSn)y] contacts are formed by reacting Ni-Pt alloy with Ge0.947Sn0. 053 alloy, which is epitaxially grown on Ge (100) substrate by solid source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Compared with nickel stanogermanide [Ni(GeSn)] contacts, the Pt-incorporated contacts, i.e. [Ni(GeSn)+Ptx(GeSn)y], exhibit enhanced thermal stability in a wide range of formation temperatures and have superior surface morphology even after thermal processing. The proposed contacts are attractive for the integration in high mobility GeSn MOSFETs.
What Classroom Audio Tells About Teaching: A Cost-effective Approach for Detection of Teaching Practices Using Spectral Audio Features

Acoustic features and machine learning models have been recently proposed as promising tools to analyze lessons. Furthermore, acoustic patterns, both in the time and spectral domain, have been found to be related to teacher pedagogical practices. Nonetheless, most of previous work relies on expensive or third party equipment, limiting its scalability, and additionally, it is mainly used for diarization. Instead, in this work we present a cost-effective approach to identify teachers’ practices according to three categories (Presenting, Administration, and Guiding) which are compiled from the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM. Particularly, we record teachers’ lessons using low-cost microphones connected to their smartphones. We then compute the mean and standard deviation of the amplitude, Mel spectrogram, and Mel Frequency Cepstral coefficients of the recordings to train supervised models for the task of predicting three categories compiled from the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM. We found that spectral features perform better at the task of predicting teachers’ activities along the lessons and that our models can predict the presence of the two most common teaching practices with over 80% of accuracy and good discriminative power. Finally, with these models, we found that using audio obtained from the teachers’ smartphones it is also possible to automatically discriminate between sessions where students are using or not an online platform. This approach is important for teachers and other stakeholders who could use an automatic and cost-effective tool for analyzing teaching practices.
A simple fluorescent assay for lead(II) detection based on lead(II)-stabilized G-quadruplex formation

A fluorescence quenching result was obtained when an FAM-labelled G-rich oligonucleotide T30695 was treated with Pb2+, owing to the formation of a lead(II)-stabilized G-quadruplex. Based on this phenomenon a selective fluorescent assay for lead(II) detection with a limit of detection of 0.77 ppb and a detection range from 0 to 200 ppb was constructed.
Cardiovascular effects and simultaneous pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling of cilostazol in heahthy subjects

Aim To relate cardiovascular effects of cilostazol and plasma drug concentration using simultaneous pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) modeling techniques. Methods A single oral dose of 100 mg cilostazol was administrated to 20 male healthy volunteers. Blood samples and pharmacodynamic measurements (HR, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)) were performed prior to dosing and over to 48 h thereafter. The plasma concentration (Cp) of cilostazol was determined by the reversed-phase HPLC method. Results The plasma concentration-time course followed a two-compartment open model. Mean peak plasma concentration (Cmax) was 749.2 ± 348.7 µg·L -1 approximately 3.7 h after administration. The maximal increase in HR was 14.9 % at 6 h after administration. There was no significant effect on SBP, but the maximal decrease in DBP was 28.4 %. An important delay was observed between Cp of cilostazol and its cardiovascular effects. Plots of effects versus Cp showed counterclockwise hysteresis loops. After PK-PD simulating, the relationship between effect compartment concentration (Ce) and the effect was successfully characterized by an effect-link sigmoidal Emax model. Conclusion A simultaneous PK-PD modeling was successful established to describe the relation between plasma concentration of cilostazol and its effects on HR and DBP.
Autoignition Delays of a Series of Linear and Branched Chain Alkanes in the Intermediate Range of Temperature

A set of ignition data of linear and branched chain alkanes (n-butane, n-pentane, neopentane, n-heptane, and isooctane) measured in an original rapid compression machine is provided. It allows a comparison of the ignition conditions of pressure, temperature and equivalence ratio for these hydrocarbons. Detailed mechanisms from different research groups based on a similar generic scheme of hydrocarbon oxidation are tested against the experimental ignition delays. The differences between experimental and modeling results are discussed.
Calculation of bridge function coefficients via modified Mayer-samplings

Two modified Mayer-sampling methods are described based on Transition Matrix Monte Carlo (TMMC) and overlap sampling for calculating the integrated diagrams appearing in the coefficients of the bridge function; bn (r) constructed in terms of the total correlation function h(r) for a hard-sphere system. Calculations are performed using prescribed h(r) for reduced densities at 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8 up to the third-order expansion in density. The results from these methods compared with the generic Monte Carlo Mayer-sampling are analysed in detail. It was found that the TMMC Mayer-sampling approach shows better precision over core and tail regions of b 2(r) and b 3(r), and the overlap sampling method shows overall improvement in the precision of the bridge coefficients. Both methods can be straightforwardly applied to calculate higher order bridge function coefficients and to any model systems with relatively simple modifications.
A Novel Air Balancing Method for HVAC Systems by a Full Data-Driven Duct System Model

Air balancing is an important technique in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) applications to achieve accurate air supply for satisfactory indoor air quality and better energy saving performance. The existing air balancing methods are usually based on a hybrid duct system model, which includes a data-driven duct system model between terminal flow and static pressure, and an American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) damper model between static pressure and terminal damper angle. Most of the existing methods just focus on how to improve the accuracy of the former part (i.e., the data-driven duct system model), whereas neglecting the latter. However, it is found that the ASHRAE damper model cannot exactly reflect the characteristics of the actual dampers in practice and may lead to unavoidable modeling errors. To fix this issue, this article develops a full data-driven duct system (FD3S) model to directly reveal the relationship between the terminal flow and terminal damper angle in the whole duct system. As a result, the desired terminal damper angle under the design flow conditions can be more accurately predicted. Besides, since the proposed method directly models the relationship between terminal flow and terminal damper angle, it avoids installing extra pressure sensors and reduces the operating cost. Besides, the proposed FD3S model greatly reduces the model complexity compared with the previous hybrid model. The proposed FD3S model-based air balancing method is fully tested on three real duct systems, and the results proved the effectiveness and generality of the proposed FD3S model-based air balancing method.
On the collapse of vapour cavities in a thin liquid layer under high pressure transient

An apparatus was built in conjunction with the transparent anvils drop weight machine to view the events occurring during the formation, growth, and collapse of vapour cavities in thin liquid layers. During the collapse phase, several mechanisms operate, namely: proportional shrinkage, volume jetting, surface jetting and secondary cavitation, which can be attributed to features of the liquid flow under compression. Localized flow in the bodies of the liquid surrounding the cavities drives the proportional shrinkage (in which the cavities roughly retain their shapes); the pressure or shock waves propagation and reflection at the cavity interfaces drive the volume jets; the interaction of the release or rarefaction waves with the pressure/shock wave itself seems to initiate the secondary cavitation and the surface jets seem to be caused by the variations of the vertical distribution of the horizontal flow velocity during the transition from the tensile to the compression phase. A simple model which considers the liquid a perfectly plastic material and assumes a very rapid rate of vapour condensation fits the experimental results throughout most of the collapse process. It seems that in the final stages of the collapse the rate of condensation is not fast enough and the model is not valid there. Further studies should be carried out to better quantify the various mechanisms observed.
Amorphous surface and quantitative X-ray powder diffractometry

Experimental quantitation constants for direct quantitative X-ray powder diffractometry, kiJ, are compared with values calculated assuming a model of an ideal crystal. Differences between experimental and calculated kiJ, values demonstrate the existence of significant amounts of amorphous surface in the samples of quartz and corundum investigated.Using respirable dust specimens from “pure” quartz of diverse origins, kiJ, for the 101 reflection varied from 40.5 to 54.5 net counts cm2µg–1 for the diffractometer conditions used. The maximum value expected for quartz (calculated using Linde A corundum to calibrate the diffractometer for intensity) was only 47 net counts cm2µg–1. After considering all possible influences, the variations in kiJ were attributed to amorphous surface in the quartz, while the higher values than the theoretical maximum found for quartz were attributed to amorphous surface in the corundum. kiJ for both corundum and quartz increased after a hot orthophosphoric acid treatment, while kiJ for quartz decreased with grinding. These results support the amorphous surface concept.The significance of amorphous surface to quantitative X-ray powder diffractometry is discussed. The likely presence of amorphous surface in powders necessitates that care be taken in the interpretation of quantitative results. It is suggested that theoretically calculated X-ray powder diffraction data may prove useful as a source of quantitation standards that are free of amorphous surface effects.
Correcting aethalometer black carbon data for measurement artifacts by using inter-comparison methodology based on two different light attenuation increasing rates

Abstract. In black carbon (BC) measurements obtained using the filter-based optical technique, artifacts are a major problem. Recently, it has become possible to correct these artifacts to a certain extent by using numerical methods. Nevertheless, all correction schemes have their advantages and disadvantages under field conditions. In this study, a new correction model that can be used for determining artifact effects on BC measurements was proposed; the model is based on two different light attenuation (ATN) increasing rates. Two aethalometers were used to measure ATN values in parallel at aerosol sampling flow rates of 6 and 2 L min−1. In the absence of sampling artifacts, the ratio of ATN values measured by the two aethalometers should be equal to the ratio of the sampling flow rates (or aerosol deposition rates) of these two aethalometers. In practice, the ratio of ATN values measured by the two aethalometers was not the same as the ratio of the sampling flow rates of the aethalometers because the aerosol loading effects varied with the aerosol deposition rate. If the true ATN value can be found, then BC measurements can be corrected for artifacts by using the true ATN change rate. Therefore, determining the true ATN value was the primary objective of this study. The proposed correction algorithm can be used to obtain the true ATN value from ATN values acquired at different sampling flow rates, and the actual BC mass concentrations can be determined from the true ATN change rate. Before BC correction, the BC concentration measured at the sampling flow rate of 6 L min−1 was smaller than that measured at 2 L min−1 by approximately 13 and 9% in summer and winter seasons, respectively. After BC correction by using the true ATN value, the corrected BC for 6 L min−1 can be exactly equal to the corrected BC for 2 L min−1. Field test results demonstrated that loading effects on BC measurements could be corrected accurately by using the proposed model. Additionally, the problem of enhanced light ATN caused by light scattering at the unloaded filter can be overcome without using any light scattering coefficient. Therefore, the correction algorithm can be applied to a newly designed instrument to determine actual real-time BC concentrations by using two sampling spots for different aerosol deposition rates. Moreover, a simple empirical correction scheme for post-processing for correcting the existed aethalometer BC data is also presented. While this simple correction scheme is dependent on the aerosol type, it can be used to correct BC data when the primary source of BC and the weather conditions are similar to those in this study. Furthermore, two existed aethalometers with appropriate flow control can be used to create correction schemes suitable for different environments.
Magnesium nanostructures for energy storage and conversion

Mg nanostructures have enhanced the great potential of bulk Mg in the area of energy storage and conversion due to their lightweight, abundant, and high-energy density properties. In this paper, we highlight the recent developments in the synthesis of Mg nanostructures and their application in two specific areas: high-energy batteries and hydrogen storage (related to fuel cells). We hope it will benefit further developments of Mg nanostructures.
Force field influences in β‐hairpin folding simulations

All‐atom force fields are now routinely used for more detailed understanding of protein folding mechanisms. However, it has been pointed out that use of all‐atom force fields does not guarantee more accurate representations of proteins; in fact, sometimes it even leads to biased structural distributions. Indeed, several issues remain to be solved in force field developments, such as accurate treatment of implicit solvation for efficient conformational sampling and proper treatment of backbone interactions for secondary structure propensities. In this study, we first investigate the quality of several recently improved backbone interaction schemes in AMBER for folding simulations of a β‐hairpin peptide, and further study their influences on the peptide's folding mechanism. Due to the significant number of simulations needed for a thorough analysis of tested force fields, the implicit Poisson‐Boltzmann solvent was used in all simulations. The chosen implicit solvent was found to be reasonable for studies of secondary structures based on a set of simulations of both α‐helical and β‐hairpin peptides with the TIP3P explicit solvent as benchmark. Replica exchange molecular dynamics was also utilized for further efficient conformational sampling. Among the tested AMBER force fields, ff03 and a revised ff99 force field were found to produce structural and thermodynamic data in comparably good agreement with the experiment. However, detailed folding pathways, such as the order of backbone hydrogen bond zipping and the existence of intermediate states, are different between the two force fields, leading to force field–dependent folding mechanisms.
The influence of various operating conditions on specific cake resistance in the crossflow microfiltration of yeast suspensions

In this paper, a multi-regression method was used to study the influence of different operating conditions on the specific cake resistance (SCR) of yeast suspensions in order to optimize the operating conditions in the crossflow microfiltration. The experimental results showed that the crossflow velocity, transmembrane pressure, concentration and temperature had an obvious influence on the SCR. The SCR decreased with the rising temperature, and increased with the increasing crossflow velocity or pressure, and also increased with the increase of the concentration in the range of 1.0–3.0 g/l first and then decreased in the range of 3.0–5.0 g/l. The relative degrees of the influence of the crossflow velocity, concentration, transmembrane pressure and temperature on the SCR of yeast suspensions were 38.85%, 28.32%, 19.34%, and 13.49%, respectively. A reasonably quantitative regression relationship between the SCR (α) and the crossflow velocity (U), transmembrane pressure (P), feed concentration (C) and temper.
The hydration and polymerisation of succinaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, and adipaldehyde

The 1H n.m. r. spectra of solutions of succinaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, and adipaldehyde in deuterium oxide have been studied. At room temperature, the major component of solutions of succinaldehyde and glutaraldehyde is a cyclic monohydrate which is accompanied by the free aldehyde OCH·CH2·[CH2]n·CH2CHO, the acyclic monohydrate (DO)2CH·CH2·[CH2]n·CH2·CHO, and the dihydrate (DO)2CH·CH2·[CH2]n·CH2·CH(OD)2; at higher temperatures the free aldehyde content increases, mainly at the expense of the cyclic monohydrate. Adipaldehyde, by contrast, forms only the acyclic dihydrate. Although the undiluted aldehydes polymerise readily, their neutral aqueous solutions are stable for Iong periods; acidification induces rapid polymerisation. A common mechanism is suggested for hydration and polymerisation.
Efficient Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation by Using Amorphous Ni–Co Double Hydroxides Nanocages

Ni–Co amorphous double hydroxides nanomaterials with a hollow structure and tunable Ni/Co molar ratio are synthesized using a template method. The amorphous NiCo2.7(OH)x nanocages demonstrate high surface reactivity, comparable catalytic activity, and excellent stability for efficient water oxidation. Density functional theory simulations suggest that the component-dependent electrocatalytic activities are connected to the binding energies of oxygen radical on diverse hydroxides.
99HRT Effects of Chronic Alcohol Exposure on Kainate Receptor-Mediated Neurotransmission in the Hippocampus

Abstract : We have been testing the hypothesis that chronic alcohol exposure alters expression and/or function of kainate receptors (kA-Rs) in the hippocampus. KA-Rs control hippocampal excitability and an ethanol-induced upregulation of KA-Rs could contribute to the hyperexcitability associated with alcohol withdrawal. Unexpectedly, Western immunoblotting and immunohistochemical studies have demonstrated that chronic ethanol exposure does not upregulate KA-R subunit expression. However, studies with cultured neurons suggest that alcohol withdrawal itself, but not chronic ethanol exposure, upregulates KA-R function. Therefore, we are now focusing our efforts at testing if this is also true for animals exposed to ethanol. We have switched to a different method of alcohol exposure; we are using the inhalation route, which reproducibly produces high ethanol levels. We are currently processing brain sections from control rats and rats withdrawn from a 14-day inhalational ethanol exposure paradigm. These sections will be immunostained with anti-GluR6/7 antibodies and will be used for radioligand binding experiments. We have also characterized the acute effects of ethanol on the function of interneuronal KA-Rs. Moreover, a preliminary experiment with hippocampal slices from rats withdrawn from a 6-day inhalational exposure paradigm suggests that the function of these receptors is upregulated. During the last year of support, we will concentrate on characterizing the function of KA-Rs in the CAl and CA3 regions in alcohol withdrawn rats.
Determination of Free Formaldehyde in Durable Press Fabric: Comparison of Cold Sulfite Method with Headspace Gas Chromatography

Comparison of free formaldehyde contents obtained by the cold sulfite and headspace gas chromatography methods at 25°C indicates surprisingly good agreement at low formaldehyde concentrations (<500 μg/g fabric). At higher concentrations, the agreement is less satisfactory, the cold sulfite method giving considerably lower values than headspace gas chromatography and the actual amount present. The agreement extends to durable press fabrics with considerable N-methylol content, suggesting that the low temperature and the short reaction time of the cold sulfite method eliminate contributions from N-methylol hydrolysis.
Peroxidation in Relation to Olefinic Structure

Abstract The process of autoxidation among olefinic substances comprises two major phenomena, that of the incorporation of molecules of oxygen (peroxidation), and that of secondary change (peroxide breakdown) during which the peroxide groups formed by this incorporation act as oxidizing agents for adjacent unsaturated centers. Interest may, accordingly, be directed towards two quite distinct but composite themes, viz. : (1) the nature of the mechanism by which the oxygen molecules are incorporated, the positions they take up in different kinds of organic molecules, and the effect of their introduction in causing (or not causing) specific types of molecule-linking, and (2) the inherent stability or instability of the peroxide groups in different molecules and its structural cause, the mechanism of breakdown of the peroxidic groups and the way this is influenced by light, heat, or catalytic influences, and finally the manner of utilization of the “active” oxygen given up by the decomposing peroxide groups i.