Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-Performance Carbon Aerogel Air Cathodes for Microbial Fuel Cells.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can generate electricity from the oxidation of organic substrates using anodic exoelectrogenic bacteria and have great potential for harvesting electric energy from wastewater. Improving oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance at a neutral pH is needed for efficient energy production. Here we show a nitrogen doped (≈4 wt%) ionothermal carbon aerogel (NDC) with a high surface area, large pore volume, and hierarchical porosity, with good electrocatalytic properties for ORR in MFCs. The MFCs using NDC air cathodes achieved a high maximum power density of 2300 mW m-2 , which was 1.7 times higher than the most commonly used Pt/C air cathodes and also higher than most state-of-the-art ORR catalyst air cathodes. Rotating disk electrode measurements verified the superior electrocatalytic activity of NDC with an efficient four-electron transfer pathway (n=3.9). These findings highlight NDC as a better-performing and cost-efficient catalyst compared with Pt/C, making it highly viable for MFC applications.
Prevalence of Specific Genotypes of Porphyromonas gingivalis fimA and Periodontal Health Status

Porphyromonas gingivalis fimA gene encoding fimbrillin, a subunit of fimbriae, has been classified into 5 genotypes (types I to V) based on their nucleotide sequences. Here, we investigated the relationship between the prevalence of these fimA genotypes and periodontal health status in adults. Dental plaque specimens obtained from 380 periodontally healthy adults and 139 periodontitis patients were analyzed by the PCR method. P. gingivalis was detected in 36.8% of the healthy subjects and in 87.1% of the periodontitis patients. Among the P. gingivalis-positive healthy adults, the most prevalent fimA type was type I (76.1%), followed by type V. In contrast, a majority of the periodontitis patients carried type II fimA organisms (66.1%), followed by type IV. The univariate analysis illustrated that periodontitis was associated with the occurrences of type I fimA (OR 0.16), type II (OR 44.44), type III (1.96), type IV (13.87), and type V (1.40). These findings clearly indicate that there are both disease-associated and non-disease-associated strains of P. gingivalis, and that their infectious traits influencing periodontal health status could be differentiated based on the clonal variation of fimA genes.
NCAM and lung cancer

The presence of the neural cell adhesion molecule, NCAM, is indicative for a poor prognosis in lung‐cancer patients. Using MAb 735, we have investigated the expression of polysialic acid, PSA, on NCAM in a spectrum of neuro‐endocrine lung tumors, ranging from the slowly growing typical carcinoids via the atypical carcinoids with clinically unpredictable behavior to the highly aggressive small‐eel I lung carcinomas. Our immunohistochemical findings indicate a significant association between the presence of PSA on the tumor cells and an aggressive and immature sub‐type of the tumor. This might be related to impairment of cell‐cell and cell‐matrix interactions by the presence of PSA, as we demonstrated in vitro, since detachment is one of the first steps in the metastatic process. The NCAM‐MAb 123C3 used in these studies appeared extremely useful in immunoscintigraphy and immunotherapy of SCLC xenografts in nude mice, and for immunoscintigraphy of a SCLC patient. This may be explained by internalization of the 123C3 antibody, which we demonstrated in vitro. 123C3 is the only Cluster‐1 SCLC MAb studied thus far that becomes internalized.
Concentración plasmática de homocisteína en ayunas en individuos sanos de la ciudad de Medellín

El aumento moderado de la concentración de homocisteína (Hcy) en sangre es considerado un factor de riesgo para enfermedades cardiovasculares. Objetivo: determinar la concentración de Hcy en individuos sanos de la ciudad de Medellín. Material y métodos: se seleccionaron 57 individuos que decidieron voluntariamente participar. De éstos, se incluyeron 48 (30 mujeres y 18 hombres). Con un promedio de edad de 35+3,5 años, sin antecedentes de alteración metabólica, manifestación clínica de hipertensión arterial o de enfermedades cardiovasculares. Resultados: la concentración promedio de Hcy plasmática en ayuno fue de 8,5 ± 3,7 μmoles/l (intervalo de confianza del 95% 7,45 9,54 μmoles/l para el grupo en general). Por género, el promedio fue de 7.6±2.7 μmoles/l en las mujeres (intervalo de confianza 95% de 6,6 8,6 μmoles/l) y de 10.1 ±4,7 μmoles/Ι en los hombres (intervalo de confianza 95% de 7,9 12,3 μmoles/l). Esta fue significativamente mayor en los hombres que en las mujeres (p < 0.02). El limite superior normal fue de 13,0 μmoles/Ι en las mujeres y de 19,5 μmoles/Ι en los hombres. El 8,3% presentó hiperhomocisteinemia moderada (dos hombres y dos mujeres). Conclusión: los resultados de esta primera aproximación a la concentración de Hcy en una población colombiana sugieren que ésta difiere de la de otros países y confirma las diferencias entre hombres y mujeres. Estos datos deben ser confirmados por un estudio que involucre un mayor número de individuos y que determine su importancia como factor de riesgo en la población general y en pacientes con enfermedades cardiovasculares. (Acta Med Colomb 2002; 27: 194-197). Palabras clave: homocisteína, metionina, vitaminas B6, B12 y ácido fólico, metionina sintasa, cistationina ß-sintasa y hiperhomocisteinemia moderada.
RFID access authorization by face recognition

RFID identification has been widely adopted in access control. This kind of card or tag based approaches has a major drawback that anyone could get access with the card. In this work, we propose a neural network based face recognition system as the second access control to make sure the person granted access matches the ID on the RFID card. In this preliminary work, the face of accessing person is detected in video stream and we extract the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) features from a face image. To enhance the generalization capability of the face recognition, we introduced the Localized Generalization Error Model (L-GEM) to train the Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) for face recognition. Experimental results show that the proposed method could identify person that matches the RFID access card or not in a high probability.
Modeling Infection Transmission— The Pursuit of Complexities That Matter

The assessment of risk and benefit in public health often assumes that a population is merely the sum of its individuals. It assumes that population outcomes are not affected by interactions among individuals. This assumption implies that there is no feedback through which outcomes in one individual affect outcomes in others. In the case of transmissible infections this assumption seems likely to invalidate the conclusions of many analyses based on it. Moreover, since infection levels can often be more successfully reduced by changing contact patterns than by changing individual risk factors, assuming away contact pattern effects blinds us to the most effective interventions. Epidemiology is rapidly improving its capacity to model the complexities of transmission of infectious diseases. New approaches are adding flexibility and power to transmission system analyses.1 But the challenges are formidable. One major problem is how to model the contact patterns between susceptible and infectious individuals. Another is how to model the genetic diversity of the infectious agent. Both of these add new levels of complexity to the analysis. In this issue of the journal, Hughes et al.2 model the potential effects of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines on the prevention of cervical cancer. Their initial steps to address this question are hopefully the beginning of a successful journey. Some of the key issues are discussed here.
Nonmedical Use of Prescription Stimulants During College: Four-Year Trends in Exposure Opportunity, Use, Motives, and Sources

Abstract Objective: Examine trends in nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS), including motives, routes of administration, sources, cost, and risk factors. Participants: 1,253 college students. Methods: Data were collected annually during academic years 2004–2005 through 2008–2009. Generalized estimating equations analyses evaluated longitudinal trends. Logistic regression models evaluated stability of associations between risk factors and NPS over time. Results: Almost two-thirds (61.8%wt) were offered prescription stimulants for nonmedical use by Year 4, and 31.0%wt used. Studying was the predominant motive (73.8% to 91.5% annually), intranasal administration was modest (< 17% annually), and the most common source was a friend with a prescription (≥ 73.9% annually). Significant changes over time included decreasing curiosity motives, increasing overuse of one's own prescription, and increasing proportion paying $5+ per pill. Lower grade point average and alcohol/cannabis use disorders were consistently associated with NPS, holding constant other factors. Conclusions: Prevention opportunities exist for parents, physicians, and college administrators to reduce NPS.
Effects of nifedipine on systemic hydraulic vascular load in patients with hypertension.

STUDY OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was (1) to determine the difference in aortic input impedance and derived parameters between hypertensives and normotensives; and (2) to assess the acute effects of nifedipine on the aortic impedance, compliance, and resistance in patients with hypertension. DESIGN A high fidelity multisensor catheter (Millar) was used to obtain the aortic pressure and flow signals for impedance analysis. The acute effects of nifedipine on the impedance parameters were evaluated at steady state before and after (10-30 min) a sublingual dose of 10 mg. PATIENTS The patients included seven normotensive (mean blood pressure, 97 mm Hg) and nine hypertensive (mean blood pressure, 135 mm Hg), age matched, ethnic Chinese. Patients with clinical evidence of heart failure and valvular or congenital heart diseases were excluded. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Pulsatile aortic flow and pressure were measured by Millar catheter inserted into the ascending aorta. Cross sectional area of aorta was estimated by echocardiograms. Cardiac output was determined by Fick principle with an oximeter. These data were subjected to Fourier analysis for impedance spectra. In comparison with normotensives, hypertensives had increased peripheral vascular resistance R, at 2751(705) v 1651(363) dyne.s. cm-5; increased characteristic impedance Zc, at 193(64) v 122(27) dyne.s. cm-5; and increased first zero crossing frequency of impedance phase angle fo, at 4.8(0.9) v 3.4(0.7) Hz. Arterial compliances corresponding to peak systolic pressure Cs were lower, at 0.32(0.19) v 0.90(0.32) ml.mm Hg-1, as was mean pressure Cm, at 0.55(0.25) v 1.24(0.38) ml.mm Hg-1, and end diastolic pressure Cd, at 0.83(0.29) v 1.65(0.44) ml.mm Hg-1. Although the values of external ventricular hydraulic power were higher in hypertensive subjects, the difference was not statistically significant. Nifedipine administration in 7/9 hypertensives significantly reduced R, from 2806(721) to 2433(664) dyne.s. cm-5; mean aortic pressure Pm, from 138(22) to 112(12) mm Hg; total external ventricular power Wt, from 1452(306) to 1121(135) mW; and steady external power Ws, from 1251(310) to 939(119) mW; but did not reduce Zc, fo, Cs, Cm, Cd, and oscillatory external power Wo. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that (1) the stiffness of proximal aorta and vascular tone of peripheral arterioles are higher in hypertensives than in normotensives; (2) in hypertensive subjects, sublingual administration of nifedipine reduces the arterial pressure and peripheral arteriolar tone, but not the stiffness of proximal aorta; (3) the decrease in total external ventricular power in hypertensives treated with nifedipine results from a reduction in the steady, but not the oscillatory, component of hydraulic external ventricular power.
The Classification and Treatment of Dysthymia

The diagnostic concept and classification of chronic depressions has long been a matter of controversy. Kraepelin (1921) considered chronic depression to be a ‘rudiment’ of fully developed manic-depressive insanity, and this view was shared by Slater & Roth (1969), who cited occasional dramatic improvement in patients with neurasthenic disorder when they received convulsive therapy.
Gene expression patterns that correlate with hepatitis C and early progression to fibrosis in liver transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Liver transplant recipients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) develop recurrent hepatitis soon after transplantation and, in some cases, progress to fibrosis within the first 2 years. Our goals were to identify molecular processes influencing the liver disease progression and to find potential gene markers of early fibrosis. METHODS We performed gene expression profiling on serial liver biopsy specimens obtained from 13 (11 infected and 2 uninfected) transplant recipients within the first year after transplantation at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months. The data were compared with clinical observations and with a gene expression database obtained for 55 nontransplant HCV-infected and uninfected liver samples. RESULTS We identified several specific gene expression patterns. The first pattern was unique for the transplant recipients regardless of their infection status. The corresponding genes encoded stress response proteins and blood proteins involved in coagulation that were differentially expressed in response to posttransplantation graft recovery. The second pattern was specific to HCV-infected samples and included up-regulation of genes encoding components of the interferon-mediated antiviral response and immune system (antigen presentation, cytotoxic response). This up-regulation pattern was absent or suppressed in the patients who developed early fibrosis, indicating that the disease progression might result from an impaired liver response to infection. Finally, we identified gene expression patterns that were specific for 12-month biopsy specimens in all 4 HCV-infected patients who developed early fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS The identified gene expression patterns may prove useful for diagnostic and prognostic applications in HCV-infected patients, including predicting early progression to fibrosis.
Social Network Analysis to Monitor Interactions in Virtual Learning Environment

Social network analysis is appointed as a promising approach to analyze the interactions in e-learning environments. Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) allow the register of significant amounts of data, proving to be a valuable data source to support researches on online interactions. This study is applied in a course offered in Brazil for training individuals to act as digital inclusion agents in telecenters. Our goals were to investigate the influence of the tutor's role in the grouping of individuals who interact through the VLE and to investigate the grouping of individuals from different regions of the country. Our approach presents the visualization of structure of interactions among the actors and discusses structural aspects of the interactions occurred in the VLE. We found that the classification of individuals by region could be predicted by the classification using a community detection method.
Emotions and the autonomic nervous system.

The frequent association of manifestations of physiological dysfunction with overt emotional disturbance has led to the widely accepted but confusing proposition that emotions are the cause of bodily reactions. The confusion is further compounded by the difficulty of defining an emotion. Different writers use the term in different ways. Literally, the word implies movement of some sort, thus, an emotion is clearly a manifestation, not a cause. Many authors, however, equate the term with a feeling state. To them, an emotion is a sort of sensation or at least an awareness which may be pleasant or unpleasant; for example, joy, satisfaction, hope, and appetite as well as fear, anger, and resentment fall into the category of emotions. But, even in this context, emotion is not a stimulus, but is rather part of a reaction to some circumstance which is pleasing, frightening, or frustrating. Emotion is therefore not the cause of
Medication adherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a critical appraisal of the existing literature

Adherence to medication in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is low, varying from 30 to 80%. Improving adherence to therapy could therefore dramatically improve the efficacy of drug therapy. Although indicators for suboptimal adherence can be useful to identify nonadherent patients, and could function as targets for adherence-improving interventions, no indicators are yet found to be consistently and strongly related to nonadherence. Despite this, nonadherence behavior could conceptually be categorized into two subtypes: unintentional (due to forgetfulness, regimen complexity or physical problems) and intentional (based on the patient’s decision to take no/less medication). In case of intentional nonadherence, patients seem to make a benefit–risk analysis weighing the perceived risks of the treatment against the perceived benefits. This weighing process may be influenced by the patient’s beliefs about medication, the patient’s self-efficacy and the patient’s knowledge of the disease. This implicates that besides tackling practical barriers, clinicians should be sensitive to patient’s personal beliefs that may impact medication adherence.
Pt/graphene nano-sheet based hydrogen gas sensor

In this paper, we present gas sensing properties of Pt/graphene-like nano-sheets towards hydrogen gas. The graphene-like nano-sheets were produced via the reduction of spray-coated graphite oxide deposited on SiC substrates by hydrazine vapor. Structural and morphological characterizations of the graphene sheets were analyzed by scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. Current-voltage and dynamic responses of the sensors were investigated towards different concentrations of hydrogen gas in a synthetic air mixture at 100°C. A voltage shift of 100 mV was recorded at 1 mA reverse bias current.
Randomized Global Transformation Approach for Dense Correspondence

This paper describes a randomized global transformation approach to estimate dense correspondence for image pairs taken under challengingly different photometric and geometric conditions. Our approach assumes that a correspondence field consists of piecewise parametric transformation model. While conventional approaches consider large search space including flow and geometric fields exhaustively, our approach is based on an inference of optimal global transformation model from transformation candidates. To build a reliable global transformation hypothesis, we build optimal global transformation candidates with a randomized manner from an initial sparse feature correspondence, followed by a transformation clustering. Furthermore, the optimal global transformation is estimated as a cost filtering scheme with fast edge-aware filtering to provide a geometrical smoothness. Experiments demonstrate outstanding performance of our approach in terms of correspondence accuracy and computational complexity.
Neoglycosylated liposomes as efficient ligands for the evaluation of specific sugar receptors on macrophages in health and in experimental leishmaniasis

SUMMARY Receptors interacting with terminal sugars as ligands are involved in the binding of Leishmania donovani promastigotes to the macrophage surface and their subsequent internalization. Mannose and glucose are specifically involved in the binding process. Decreased binding occurs to macrophages already infected with L. donovani either in vivo or in vitro. When mannose- or glucose-bearing liposomes are used as ligands the binding shows similar trends and the percentage inhibition of binding with mannose-bearing liposomes increases when compared to that for the glucose-bearing ones. The decreased binding of the ligand seems to be due to a decrease in the number of receptors after infection. The affinity of the ligands for the binding sites either on the normal macrophages or on the infected macrophages apparently remains the same. The results based on the incorporation of [3H]phenyl alanine and supported by the binding of glycosylated liposomes to both infected and non-infected macrophages suggest that protein synthesis, in general, is suppressed in L. donovani infected macrophages thus affecting also mannose/glucose receptor protein synthesis, resulting in fewer receptors on the macrophage surface.
Women more vulnerable than men when facing risk for treatment-induced infertility: A qualitative study of young adults newly diagnosed with cancer

Abstract Background. Being diagnosed with cancer constitutes not only an immediate threat to health, but cancer treatments may also have a negative impact on fertility. Retrospective studies show that many survivors regret not having received fertility-related information and being offered fertility preservation at time of diagnosis. This qualitative study investigates newly diagnosed cancer patients’ experiences of fertility-related communication and how they reason about the risk of future infertility. Material and methods. Informants were recruited at three cancer wards at a university hospital. Eleven women and 10 men newly diagnosed with cancer participated in individual semi-structured interviews focusing on three domains: experiences of fertility-related communication, decision-making concerning fertility preservation, and thoughts and feelings about the risk of possible infertility. Data was analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Results. The analysis resulted in three sub-themes, ‘Getting to know’, ‘Reacting to the risk’ and ‘Handling uncertainty’, and one main theme ‘Women more vulnerable when facing risk for infertility’, indicating that women reported more negative experiences related to patient-provider communication regarding fertility-related aspects of cancer treatment, as well as negative emotional reactions to the risk of infertility and challenges related to handling uncertainty regarding future fertility. The informants described distress when receiving treatment with possible impact on fertility and used different strategies to handle the risk for infertility, such as relying on fertility preservation or thinking of alternative ways to achieve parenthood. The negative experiences reported by the female informants may be related to the fact that none of the women, but almost all men, had received information about and used fertility preservation. Conclusions. Women newly diagnosed with cancer seem to be especially vulnerable when facing risk for treatment-induced infertility. Lack of shared decision-making concerning future fertility may cause distress and it is therefore necessary to improve the fertility-related communication targeted to female cancer patients.
Isolation of StachybotrysFrom the Lung of a Child With Pulmonary Hemosiderosis

Recently, Stachybotrys atra, a toxigenic fungus, has been implicated as a potential cause of pulmonary hemorrhage/hemosiderosis in infants living in water-damaged homes. Although epidemiologic evidence supports this association, neither the organism nor its toxic products has ever been recovered from humans. We report the first case in whichStachybotrys was isolated from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of a child with pulmonary hemorrhage.Stachybotrys was also recovered from his water-damaged home. The patient recovered completely after his immediate removal from the environment and subsequent cleaning of his home. This case provides further evidence that this fungus is capable of causing pulmonary hemorrhage in children.