Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Receptor research on xenohormone effects of human serum extracts containing the actual mixture of perfluorinated alkyl acids: a short review

Perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs) are used in many household products including food contact materials. Hence, humans are continuously exposed, and the PFAAs are accumulated in human serum with half-lives up to 8.8 years. In humans, high PFAA serum levels have been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and other adverse health effects such as lower birth weight and longer time to pregnancy which might be related to disruptions of various hormonal systems. For instance, direct cell exposure studies in vitro suggest that some PFAAs can transactivate the estrogen receptor (ER), antagonize the androgen receptor (AR) and has the potential to interfere with TH and AhR functions. Moreover, the PFAAs also showed cellular oxidative stress. Humans are exposed to an array of PFAAs, and the quantity and combination of these PFAAs in human serum differs between individuals. Hence, the toxicological studies of single PFAAs and simple mixtures might be insufficient to predict how the actual mixtures of PFAAs may affect humans. To get a better evaluation of the actual mixture effects, we developed a method to extract the actual mixture of PFAAs from human serum. Preliminary results showed that 17% of the PFAA serum fractions from pregnant women could significantly transactivate the ER, and 94% of the fractions could further increase the transactivity induced by the potent ER ligand 25 pM 17β-estradiol. As part of the international FETOTOX project ( http://fetotox.au.dk/ ), we are currently extracting the actual PFAA serum mixture from 700 pregnant women to further elucidate whether the serum PFAA mixture can transactivate the ER at the levels found in human serum. We suggest that our method can in the future be used to study the actual serum PFAA mixture effects on both steroid hormone actions as well as other hormonal systems e.g. thyroid hormone function. In the current review we will discuss how our recently developed PFAA extraction method might be used in future research to assess the endocrine impact of PFAAs on human health.
Household Food Security in the United States in 2018

An estimated 88.9 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2018, with access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (11.1 percent, down from 11.8 percent in 2017) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 4.3 percent with very low food security (not significantly different from 4.5 percent in 2017), where the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns disrupted at times because the household lacked money and other resources for obtaining food. The 2018 prevalence of food insecurity declined, for the first time, to pre-recession (2007) levels. Among children, changes from 2017 in food insecurity and very low food security were not statistically significant. Children and adults were food insecure in 7.1 percent of U.S. households with children in 2018; very low food security among children was 0.6 percent. In 2018, the typical food-secure household spent 21 percent more on food than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and household composition. About 56 percent of food-insecure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food and nutrition assistance programs (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps); Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and the National School Lunch Program) during the month prior to the 2018 survey.
Effect of growth regulators applied together with different phosphorus fertilization levels on the content and accumulation of potassium, magnesium and calcium in spring wheat

The objective of this study has been to trace the effect of endogenous growth regulators and different phosphorus fertilization levels on the content and accumulation of potassium, magnesium and calcium in spring wheat. The research was based on the results of a pot experiment established on soil of grain size distribution of light loamy sand. The soil was slightly acidic and moderately abundant in available phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Against the background of stable NKMg fertilization (1.5 g N, 1.5 g K and 0.25 g Mg), increasing phosphorus rates (0.0 to 1.02 g P per pot) were tested. In order to compare the effect produced by growth regulators, applied in conjunction with rising doses of phosphorus, the pots were divided into 4 groups according to the sprays: distilled water (control), kinetin, gibberellin and auxin. Kinetin and auxin increased the content of potassium in wheat grain, whereas gibberellin stimulate the removal of this element. Increasing P rates depressed the concentration of potassium in wheat except the oldest leaves. The highest uptake of potassium was observed following an application of 0.68 g P per pot. Gibberellin increased the content of Mg in leaves, glumes, oldest leaves and grain, whereas kinetin and auxin resulted in lower Mg levels. The highest Mg uptake occurred after using 0.68 g P per pot. The plant hormones raised the content of ca in wheat grain. Gibberellin and auxin increased the uptake of calcium by P non-fertilized wheat. Phosphorus fertilization broadened slightly the Ca:P ratio in grain, glumes and stems. Kinetin and auxin narrowed the Ca:P ratio in leaves. Higher phosphoru rates, especially in vegetative organs, narrowed the Ca:P ratio. Gibberellin narrowed the K:(Mg+Ca) ratio in grain and vegetative organs, which in con-
Transient optical polarization response of aluminium at an interband transition

Femtosecond optical pump–probe measurements have been performed upon a 500 A polycrystalline Al film at an interband transition at a wavelength of 800 nm. The dependence of the intensity and polarization of the reflected probe pulse upon the polarization of the pump pulse has been determined. A sharp peak was observed in the polarization signal at zero time delay that contains contributions from both the specular inverse Faraday effect (SIFE) and the specular optical Kerr effect (SOKE). The SIFE and SOKE are associated with the optical orientation of angular and linear momentum, respectively. The dependence of the peak height upon the pump polarization has allowed us to deduce values of χxxyy = ( 1+0 .6i) × 10 −8 rad cm 3 erg −1 and χxyyx = (0.5 − 0.1i) × 10 −8 rad cm 3 erg −1 for the non-vanishing components of the local cubic susceptibility tensor. A distortion of the peak was observed when the pump was elliptically polarized. Its detailed shape shows that the characteristic relaxation time for the SOKE is about 30 fs longer than that for the SIFE in measurements of ellipticity. This suggests a similar difference in the relaxation times for the angular and linear momentum of the optically excited hot electrons. The initial peak was generally followed by a tail that decayed with a time constant of several picoseconds, which we attribute to an ultrafast anisotropic excitation of the lattice.
Synthesis and Crystal Structure of a Novel Tetrahydrofuran-2,3,4,5-tetracarboxylic Acid-bridged Manganese (II) Polymer with 2-D Structure

First tetrahydrofuran-2,3,4,5-tetracarboxylic acid-bridged manganese(II) coordination polymer [Mn2L]n(L = tetrahy- drofuran-2,3,4,5-tetracarboxylic acid tetraanion) has been synthesized and characterized structurally. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c. a = 14.9418(15)Å, b = 7.7340(8) Å, c = 10.7222(11) Å, β = 102.59(10)•. Both of the Mn (II) ions in the complex are six-coordinated with a distorted octahedral geometry, but the coordination environments for them are different. For every ligand, all of the oxygen atoms are participating in coordinating. The complex displays a two-dimensional polymer through coordination bonds.
Late leaf removal aimed at delaying ripening in cv. Sangiovese: physiological assessment and vine performance

Background and Aims Global warming is inducing a general earliness in the onset of grapevine phenological stages including ripening, a phenomenon that occurs often in the hottest seasons and which leads to unbalanced wines. Our aim was to assess the physiological basis of late leaf removal applied above the bunch area as a tool for delaying ripening. Methods and Results Potted cv. Sangiovese grapevines were subjected to leaf removal treatments applied preveraison (DEF-I) and postveraison (DEF-II) by pulling out six to seven primary leaves and laterals, if any, above the bunch zone; untouched vines served as the control. Whole-canopy net CO2 gas exchange was monitored seasonally from 9 days before DEF-I to 35 days after DEF-II. Concurrently, single-leaf gas exchange was assessed, and at harvest yield components, grape composition and the leaf-to-fruit ratio were determined. The seasonal carbon/yield ratio did not differ between treatments because of the high capacity for photosynthetic compensation shown by the DEF treatments and quantified as about a 35% higher net CO2 gas exchange per unit of leaf area per day. While ripening was temporarily retarded in both DEF treatments, with sugar content being lower and titratable acidity higher, a week later both treatments had fully or partially recovered; phenolic ripening was unaffected at either harvest date. Conclusions Defoliation above the bunch zone applied at lag-phase and postveraison (average 12°Brix) was effective in temporarily delaying technological ripeness without affecting colour and phenolics. This result depended upon the high compensation capacity for photosynthesis shown by vines in both treatments. Significance of the Study The data provide a preliminary yet robust physiological background for targeting better field application of the technique.
Al–Si ordering in the framework of leucite and Cs-exchanged leucite

Ordered distributions of Al atoms in the frameworks of leucite and Cs-exchanged leucite (pollucite) are determined, under the restriction of the Al–O–Al avoidance rule. The observed 29Si MAS NMR spectra of pseudo-tetragonal leucite and Cs-exchanged leucite cannot be explained by an Al-configuration of tetragonal symmetry, but are consistently explained by one of P1121/a symmetry. On the other hand, an XRD pattern of a single crystal of leucite supports pseudo-tetragonal symmetry. This discrepancy is interpreted by the pseudo-tetragonal crystal consisting of twins of monoclinic microcrystallites. A detailed analysis of the 29Si MAS NMR spectrum of Cs-exchanged leucite of the high temperature phase (pseudo-cubic) shows that the domain size of the monoclinic phase is only several unit cells. The origin of an abnormal twist of the framework of tetragonal leucite and a driving force to transform it to the pseudo-cubic phase at higher temperature are discussed. The degree of the long-range order, S, is newly defined for this system, and estimated from 29Si MAS NMR data as S = ca. 0.8.
Dialog oder Konflikt der Kulturen

Kultur ist nicht nur im Europäischen Jahr des interkulturellen Dialogs 2008 in aller Munde, und doch bleibt der Gehalt des Begriffs häufig schwer fassbar und verschwommen. Im Zuge des Projekts „Hauptschule trifft Hochschule“ entstanden, bietet dieser Artikel Überblick über Konzepte, Theorien und Analysen, um das komplexe Themenfeld Kultur zu begreifen. Ausgehend von einem Panorama zentraler Definitionen des Begriffes, kreisen die hier diskutierten Ansätze und Thesen um die Opposition von Dialog und Kampf der Kulturen. In einem kritischen Schweifzug durch Diskurse über Kultur(en) werden sowohl Konzepte wie Multi-, Interund Transkulturalität, als auch die kulturalistischen Thesen von Samuel Huntington beleuchtet, wobei die AutorInnen letztere auf der Basis von Konzepten wie Orientalismus, Hybridität und Übersetzung problematisieren. Die Auseinandersetzung mit Daten des 2. Österreichischen Migrationsund Integrationsberichtes 2001-2006 ermöglicht außerdem eine Verbindung zwischen diesen theoretischen Ansätzen und der österreichischen Situation im Hinblick auf Formen von Konflikt und Dialog der Kulturen herzustellen. Not only in the European Year of Intercultural Dialog 2008 culture is on everyone ́s lips, and still its content is often elusive and blurred. Produced in course of the project “Hauptschule trifft Hochschule”, this article offers a survey of concepts, theories and analysis to comprehend the complex subject of culture. Based on a panorama of central definitions of the idea of culture, the discussed approaches and assumptions circle around the opposition of dialogue and struggle. This critical exploration of discourses about culture(s) highlights concepts such as multi-, interand transculturalism as well as the culturalist ideas of Samual Huntington, which the authors problematize with concepts like Orientalism, Hybridity and Translation. Furthermore a discussion of data from the Second Report on Migration and Integration in Austria allows to establish a connection between these theoretical approaches and the situation in Austria concerning forms of conflict and dialogue of cultures.
Percolation and dielectric breakdown

A simple percolation model is put forward to give a qualitative analysis for intrinsic breakdown in insulating polymers. The electron's migration in polymers should be electron hopping-conduction between localized states. When the electrical field is high enough so that electron's hopping probability between localized states is increased to a threshold, the localized electron wave function will overlap to form a percolation path which corresponds to the extended state. Finally, breakdown will be induced by the electron multiplication process or Auger effect in the extended state. <<ETX>>
Oxidative Stress and Parkinson Disease

The cause of Parkinson disease is not known at present, and there are many theories as to why the loss of nerve cells that characterises the condition occurs. In recent years, there has been some interest in role of free-radical damage, particularly the damage caused by highly reactive molecules in Parkinson disease and other conditions. In early stages of Parkinsonism, there appears to be a compensatory increase in the number of dopamine receptors to accommodate the initial loss of dopamine neurons. As the disease progress, the number of dopamine receptors decreases, apparently due to concomitant degeneration of dopamine target sites on striatal neurons. The loss of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease results in enhanced metabolism of dopamine, augmenting the formation of H2O2, thus leading to generation of highly neurotoxic radicals (OH • ). It has been supposed that degeneration in Parkinson’s disease could be a result from the oxidative stress due to dysregulation of dopamine metabolism with consequent free radical formation, depletion of reduced glutathione, a high level of total iron with reduced level of ferritin and deficiency of mitochondrial complex I.
A Method of Correlating Heat-Transfer Data for Surface Boiling of Liquids

A method based on a logical explanation of the mechanism of heat transfer associated with the boiling process is presented for correlating heat-transfer data for nucleate boiling of liquids for the case of pool boiling. The suggested relation is clTxhfg=Csf(q/Aμlhfg(q/A)σg(ρl-ρv))0.33(clμlkl)1.7 where the various fluid properties are evaluated at the saturation temperature corresponding to the local pressure and Csf is a function of the particular heating surface-fluid combination.
Chemical vapor deposition of graphene on copper

The era of two-dimensional materials has begun with graphene. It is the first artificially-isolated single-atom-thick material, which is also an exceptional example of its kind. With its extraordinary physical and chemical properties, it has become hugely popular among scientists and technologists in a timeframe of less than a decade. When first isolated, graphene was a subject of the fundamental research by condensed matter physicists. Later, the hopes on graphene’s applicability have leapt forward by its synthesis on sacrificial substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Thus, a great deal of interest in research and development of graphene has risen all over the world. The present thesis addresses the synthesis of graphene by CVD on copper, which has become the most popular catalyst for graphene growth. The entire CVD process, as well as the sacrificial transfer methods is studied in this project. One of the first demonstrations of ethylene-based graphene growth is presented herein. The methods for substrate selection and preparation, graphene growth and transfer to rigid and porous substrates are explained in detail. Low defect density (IG′/IG = 1.82±0.25) and high monolayer covering (98.4%) have been achieved, yielding a charge mobility of 3,600 cm2 V-1 s-1. A significant study on the graphene growth kinetics and mechanisms is also reported in the present thesis. It has been previously claimed that graphene growth on copper by CVD is dominated solely by crystallization from the surface initially supersaturated with carbon adatoms, which implies that the growth is independent of hydrocarbon addition after the nucleation phase. Here, an alternative growth model is presented, based on the observations that oppose this claim. A Gompertzian sigmoidal growth kinetics model described here supports the postulate that the graphene CVD can be controlled by adsorption-desorption dynamics and the dispersive kinetic processes of catalytic dissociation and dehydrogenation of carbon precursors on copper.
Rapid redistribution of P to deeper soil layers in P saturated acid sandy soils

Problems of excessive soil phosphorus (P) levels as a result of intensive agriculture are found in many regions in Western Europe, USA, Canada and New Zealand. This may lead to phosphorus leaching in soils with low P binding capacity. However, little is known about the changes in P saturation degree (PSD) of such soils with time. Between 1995 and 2005, an intensive inventory of the PSD status of acid sandy soils in Flanders was conducted, the results of which were used to enforce strict rules on P fertilizer inputs on P saturated soils. A new smaller survey on a selection of these fields was undertaken in 2009 and 2010. Comparison of the survey results shows that the mean PSD increased significantly from 46 to 59% over this period. We found evidence for a strong shift of the PSD from the upper to lower layers. The PSD level in the top layer (0–30 cm) generally increased significantly (P < 0.01) from 83 to 91%. The average increase in the PSD level of the 30–60 and 60–90 cm layers was even greater, from 33 to 55% and from 14 to 25%, respectively (P < 0.01). Current limits on P fertilizer application have not yet resulted in P mining in these soils and will thus need to be further restricted. The very clear increase in PSD movement in deeper layers from both increased Pox, and reduced Feox concentrations show that these high PSD soils pose a very serious and direct threat to groundwater quality.
Programa educacional de autocontrol de medicación en asmáticos crónicos con monitorización domiciliaria del ápice de flujo, PEF

OBJETIVO. Determinar la utilidad de un programa educacional de autocontrol de medicacion en el mantenimiento domiciliario del asma bronquial cronico del adulto. PACIENTES Y METODOS. Se realiza un ensayo de intervencion en comunidades, de 6 meses de duracion. Los pacientes del grupo experimental, son instruidos en un programa que incluye diario de sintomas, informacion sobre uso y utilidad de medicamentos, medida del grado de conocimiento que los pacientes tienen sobre los medicamentos que consumen y pautas dinamicas de tratamiento en funcion de las oscilaciones del apice del flujo (PEF). 94 pacientes consecutivos son incluidos en el estudio. RESULTADOS. En el grupo experimental, se detecta mejoria en los parametros de morbilidad medidos: no de perdida de jornadas laborales, no de consultas medicas en asistencia primaria y, no de asistencias en servicios de urgencias, (p<0,004). La funcion pulmonar medida con espirometria mejora FEV1(%), (p<0,001). En el grupo control los parametros monitorizados mejoran aunque sin alcanzar los niveles de significacion detectados en el grupo experimental. CONCLUSIONES. El programa demuestra su utilidad para disminuir morbilidad, estabilizar la funcion pulmonar y optimizar la utilizacion de recursos humanos y materiales en el asma bronquial cronico.
Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Production from Carbon Dioxide by Recombinant Cyanobacteria

Global warming is the urgent issue of our time, and the carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas of the major concern. There are various research activities for carbon dioxide mitigation, such as CO2 recovery from the flue gas of industrial sites, underground and undersea CO2 storage, and also chemical/biological conversion of CO2 into the industrial materials [1]. On-site CO2 fixation by bioprocess is based on the activities of photosynthetic organisms. The fixation of CO2 by photosynthetic microorganisms can be an efficient system for the CO2 mitigation, but one of the major problems of this system is the effective utilization of the fixed biomass. The biomass produced by photosynthetic microorganisms must be utilized as a resource, or it will be easily degraded by microorganisms into CO2 again. Cyanobacteria are procaryotic photosynthetic microorganisms and can provide a simple genetic transformation system for the production of useful materials from CO2. We have established an efficient vector-promoter system for the introduction and expression of foreign genes in the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC7002, and examined the production of biodegradable plastic, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), by genetically engineered cyanobacteria. The PHA is a biopolymer accumulated by various microorganisms as reserves of carbon and reducing equivalents. PHAs are linear head to tail polyesters composed of 3-hydroxy fatty acid mono‐ mers (Figure 1), have physical properties similar to those of polyethylene, and can replace the chemical plastics in some applications, such as disposable bulk materials in packing films, containers, and paper coatings [2]. PHA applications as implant biomaterials, drug delivery carrier, and biofuel have also been investigated [3]. The commercial mass production of PHA from corn sugar by using the genetically enigineered microorganism was started in 2009 in the United State and China [3].
The potential of the ocean for the management of global warming

The ocean represents a potential opportunity to store carbon dioxide from fossil fuel away from the atmosphere. Three carbon sequestration strategies are reviewed and the technical, legal and ethical issues that would follow from their widespread adoption are examined. Each of these strategies could play a significant role in mitigating the carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere. The legal basis for the ocean sinks of carbon dioxide is unclear, but it is certain that climate modification by ocean sinks will lead to some winners and some losers. It is concluded that staged intervention to manage climate change is morally defensible. The opportunity to produce economical protein accessible to the poor while managing climate change justifies further investigation of the ocean fertilisation strategy.
Computational methods in catalysis and materials science

METHODOLOGY DFT-Periodic Functional Theory Car-Parinello Dynamics Hartee-Fock Correlations Multiscale Coarse Graining Approaches in Molecular Dynamics Molecular Dynamics, Diffusion Reactive Force Fields Equilibrium Monte Carlo Methods, Zeolites Kinetic Monte Carlo CATALYSIS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE APPLICATIONS NMR Methods XAS Spectroscopy Applied to Oxides XAS Spectroscopy Applied to Surfaces Vibrational Spectroscopy Application Zeolites Surface Catalytic Reactivity, Metals Surface Catalytic Reactivity, Zeolites Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy simulations reaching chemical sensitivity Excited States (DFT)