Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surface microstructures of daisy florets (Asteraceae) and characterization of their anisotropic wetting

The surface microstructures on ray florets of 62 species were characterized and compared with modern phylogenetic data of species affiliation in Asteraceae to determine sculptural patterns and their occurrence in the tribes of Asteraceae. Their wettability was studied to identify structural-induced droplet adhesion, which can be used for the development of artificial surfaces for water harvesting and passive surface water transport. The wettability was characterized by contact angle (CA) and tilt angle measurements, performed on fresh ray florets and their epoxy resin replica. The CAs on ray florets varied between 104° and 156°, but water droplets did not roll off when surface was tilted at 90°. Elongated cell structures and cuticle folding orientated in the same direction as the cell elongation caused capillary forces, leading to anisotropic wetting, with extension of water droplets along the length axis of epidermis cells. The strongest elongation of the droplets was also supported by a parallel, cell-overlapping cuticle striation. In artificial surfaces made of epoxy replica of ray florets, this effect was enhanced. The distribution of the identified four structural types exhibits a strong phylogenetic signal and allows the inference of an evolutionary trend in the modification of floret epidermal cells.
Comprehensive survey of proteins targeted by chloroplast thioredoxin

Possible target proteins of chloroplast thioredoxin (Trx) have been investigated in the stroma lysate of spinach chloroplasts. For that purpose, we immobilized a mutant of m-type Trx in which an internal cysteine at the active site was substituted with serine, on cyanogen bromide-activated resin. By using this resin, the target proteins in chloroplast were efficiently acquired when they formed the mixed-disulfide intermediates with the immobilized Trxs. We could acquire Rubisco activase (45 kDa) and 2-Cys-type peroxiredoxin (Prx), which were recently identified as targets of chloroplast Trxs. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and sedoheputulose 1,7-bisphosphatase, well-known thiol enzymes in the Calvin cycle, also were recognized among the collected proteins, suggesting the method is applicable for our purpose. Furthermore, four proteins were identified from a homology search of the NH2-terminal sequence of the acquired proteins: glutamine synthetase, a protein homologous to chloroplast cyclophilin, a homolog of Prx-Q, and the Rubisco small subunit. The Trx susceptibilities of the recombinant cyclophilin and Prx-Q of Arabidopsis thaliana were then examined. The method developed in the present study is thus applicable to investigate the various redox networks via Trxs and the related enzymes in the cell.
A most-probable number technique for methanotrophic bacteria determination in biological reactors using methane as an electron donor for denitrification

The most-probable number (MPN) technique along with methane uptake determinations were used to estimate the density of methanotrophic organisms in the biological reactors used for wastewater treatment. The experimental technique was conducted using serum bottles seeded with an inoculum taken from an aerobic sequencing batch reactor that used methane as the sole carbon source. To verify the presence of methanotrophic organisms in the support media, biomass samples were subjected to molecular cloning and sequencing techniques. When compared with the sequences published in databanks, the nucleotide sequences obtained showed a phylogenetic similarity of 98% to Methylomonas sp. (access number AF150792) and a phylogenetic similarity of 96% to Chryseobacterium sp. (access number AB264124), which are type I methanotrophs and denitrifiers, respectively.
Studying potential donors' views on embryonic stem cell therapies and preimplantation genetic diagnosis

Embryo experimentation raises many ethical questions, but is established as acceptable practice in the UK under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The development of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and embryonic stem (ES) cell research is dependent on couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) donating for research embryos that are unused in, or unsuitable for, treatment. Rarely is the role of these donors acknowledged, let alone studied. One concern is whether couples feel an obligation to donate embryos because of their gratitude for the IVF treatment they have received. This article, based on an ongoing study investigating the similarities and differences between the views and values of those IVF couples who agree to donate embryos for research and those who refuse to donate embryos, explores the broader issues around embryonic research. Discussions such as this, embedded in a background of empirical research, will assist practitioners and policymakers in assessing the social and ethical contexts of this very important aspect of current and future scientific developments.
Cost-effectiveness of PET in the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease.

PURPOSE To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of positron emission tomography (PET) in the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) in community-dwelling patients with mild or moderate dementia who present to specialized AD centers. MATERIALS AND METHODS A decision-analytic model was used to compare costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) associated with strategies involving single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and PET as functional imaging adjuncts to the standard clinical work-up. Sensitivity analyses were performed to examine changes in test characteristics, health-related quality-of-life survey instruments, therapeutic effectiveness, and treatment rules. RESULTS The use of PET to confirm the results of the standard clinical work-up cost more but yielded fewer benefits than a strategy in which dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced MR imaging was substituted for the typically performed structural computed tomography. This relationship remained stable in scenarios in which standard diagnostic work-up accuracy, drug treatment effectiveness, and version of the Health Utilities Index were altered. Dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced MR imaging cost US dollars 598800 per QALY gained (range, US dollars 74400 to US dollars 1.9 million per QALY), compared with the cost of the standard diagnostic work-up. Treating all patients with dementia was the dominant imaging strategy, except when side effects in patients with non-AD-related dementia were modeled. In all scenarios, SPECT yielded fewer benefits than other strategies at a higher cost. CONCLUSION PET may have high diagnostic accuracy, but adding it to the standard diagnostic regimen at AD clinics would yield limited, if any, benefits at very high costs.
DA PRÁTICA À TEORIA: EXPLORANDO NOVOS CAMINHOS DE FORMAÇÃO CONTINUADA NO LÓCUS ESCOLAR

Apresenta-se um relato de experiencia realizada em uma escola publica de Ensino Fundamental que tem como objetivo qualificar a pratica docente a partir de estrategias de formacao no locus escolar. A formacao continuada e assessoria permanente no âmbito da escola articulam relacoes entre teoria e pratica, partindo de problemas identificados na pratica cotidiana da sala de aula possibilitam a ampliacao do conhecimento matematico atraves de estudo e reflexao. Ao longo do processo, no inicio e final do ano letivo, verifica-se o desempenho dos alunos na resolucao de problemas matematicos e a partir dos dados resultantes dos testes propoem-se atividades de formacao continuada que procuraram qualificar os conhecimentos didaticos e de conteudo matematico sobre a resolucao de problemas. Os resultados tambem apontam para a necessidade dos docentes serem administradores ativos de seu conhecimento e de que a escola deve oferecer e estimular espacos de desenvolvimento profissional na busca coletiva de novos fundamentos para a pratica a fim de melhorar o desempenho dos estudantes. A formacao continuada de professores qualifica e favorece os processos de ensino e leva a crer que o professor tem um importante papel no avanco do desempenho escolar.
4/2 PAM Pre-emphasis Transmitter with Combined Driver and Mux

A new multi-Gbps pre-emphasis design methodology and circuits for a 4/2 PAM transmitter over cable are proposed. Theoretical analysis of the total frequency response of pre-emphasis, package, cable and termination are carried out. Then, we propose a pre-emphasis design method so that the over all frequency response in the receiver side is uniform within the desired frequency range. A test chip of transmitter with pre-emphasis, PLL circuit and on-chip termination resistors are implemented to verify the design methodology. The measurement results of 10/5 Gbps (4/2 PAM) are carried out over 5 meter (m) long cable and is in agreement with our analysis and simulation results
Spectrum, distance, and receiver complexity of encoded continuous phase modulation

A comparison of different classes of encoded continuous phase modulation (CPM) schemes is presented. In terms of joint power-bandwidth performance, it is found that coded eight-level systems are better than coded four-level systems and that partial-response signalling is better than full-response signalling. In general, the price paid for better performance is increased receiver complexity. Heuristic design rules have been used to find good codes for CPM. In most cases the coding gains found are identical to published results that were generated by exhaustive search, indicating that the choice of design rules is quite appropriate. In the present study bandwidth efficiency is considered from both the 99% and 99.9% power-bandwidth points of view. It is found that partial-response signalling is even more jointly power and bandwidth efficient for the latter than for the former bandwidth criterion. >
Induced abortion and adolescent mental health

Purpose of review Induced abortion is widely believed – by the public, healthcare professionals, and policy-makers – to lead to adverse mental health sequelae. This belief is false, as it applies both to adult women and adolescents. However, it has been used to rationalize, and been quoted in, restrictive and intrusive legislation in several states and in proposed federal legislation. It is essential for gynecologists to have accurate information, as clinicians, for their patients, and, as key experts, for policy makers. Recent findings New articles concluding that there are adverse psychological outcomes from induced abortion continue to be published. The methodological flaws in these articles are so serious as to invalidate those conclusions. Several recent scholarly analyses detail these flaws. Methodologically sound studies and reviews continue to demonstrate that psychosocial problems play a role in unwanted conception and the decision to abort unwanted pregnancies but are not the result of abortion. Summary Clinicians may have to reassure patients making decisions about their pregnancies that abortion does not cause psychiatric illness. They can do so on the basis of recent analyses substantiating that finding.
Pušenje i alkoholizam: učestalost u populaciji studenata

Rasprostranjenost upotrebe duvana i alkohola ispitivana je u razlicitim populacijama, odnosno u razlicitim starosnim grupama, sa ciljem procene velicine problema i uticaja na zdravlje drustva u celini. Kao pokazatelj rasirenosti ovih navika, najcesce je izracunavana njihova prevalencija u populaciji ili njenom uzorku, a razlicitim tipovima epidemioloskih studija identifikovani su i mnogobrojni faktori udruženi sa upotrebom duvana i alkohola. Rezultati ovakvih ispitivanja u mnogim sredinama doprineli su definisanju preventivnih strategija namenjenih razlicitim segmentima populacije u cilju sprecavanja i suzbijanja rasprostranjenosti ovih navika. Ovaj pregledni rad se bavi prevalencijom pusenja i upotrebe alkohola u populaciji studenata. U uvodnom delu daju se objasnjenja relevantnih pojmova i definicije zavisnosti od duvana i alkohola. Dalje se navodi prevalencija upotrebe ovih supstanci u populaciji studenata u razlicitim zemljama sirom sveta.
Mitochondrial Fission Contributes to Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Insulin Resistance in Skeletal Muscle

ABSTRACT Mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle has been implicated in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Considering the importance of mitochondrial dynamics in mitochondrial and cellular functions, we hypothesized that obesity and excess energy intake shift the balance of mitochondrial dynamics, further contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic deterioration in skeletal muscle. First, we revealed that excess palmitate (PA), but not hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, or elevated tumor necrosis factor alpha, induced mitochondrial fragmentation and increased mitochondrion-associated Drp1 and Fis1 in differentiated C2C12 muscle cells. This fragmentation was associated with increased oxidative stress, mitochondrial depolarization, loss of ATP production, and reduced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Both genetic and pharmacological inhibition of Drp1 attenuated PA-induced mitochondrial fragmentation, mitochondrial depolarization, and insulin resistance in C2C12 cells. Furthermore, we found smaller and shorter mitochondria and increased mitochondrial fission machinery in the skeletal muscle of mice with genetic obesity and those with diet-induced obesity. Inhibition of mitochondrial fission improved the muscle insulin signaling and systemic insulin sensitivity of obese mice. Our findings indicated that aberrant mitochondrial fission is causally associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. Thus, disruption of mitochondrial dynamics may underlie the pathogenesis of muscle insulin resistance in obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Responses of macroinvertebrate communities to long‐term flow variability in a Sonoran Desert stream

Current global models predict a hotter and drier climate in the southwestern United States with anticipated increases in drought frequency and severity coupled with changes in flash flood regimes. Such changes would likely have important ecological consequences, particularly for stream and riparian ecosystems already subject to frequent hydrologic disturbance. This study assessed the potential response of aquatic macroinvertebrates to interannual variation in hydrology in a spatially intermittent desert stream (Sycamore Creek, AZ). We compiled data on the recovery of macroinvertebrate communities following spring floods, with successional sequences captured 11 times over a 16‐year period (1983–1999). This period encompassed a transition from perennial to intermittent flow in this system, and included a record drought in 1989–1990. Results show that while the size of floods initiating sequences had little explanatory power, changes in macroinvertebrate community structure during postflood succession were closely associated with antecedent flooding and drought. Year‐to‐year differences in benthic communities integrated taxon‐specific responses to antecedent disturbance, including differential resistance to channel drying, use of hyporheic refugia, and variable rates of recovery once stream flow resumed. The long‐term consequences of drying on community structure were only evident during later stages of postflood succession, illustrating an interaction between flood and drought recovery processes in this system. Our observations highlight the potential for predicted climate changes in this region to have marked and long‐lasting consequences for benthic communities in desert streams.
A Learning-based Multiuser Opportunistic Spectrum Access Approach in Unslotted Primary Networks

Opportunistic spectrum access presents a new approach to wireless spectrum utilization and management. In this paper, we propose a non-cooperative based OSA approach: learning-based approach to allow multiple secondary users to achieve maximal throughput in an unslotted opportunistic spectrum access (OSA) network. In this approach, collisions among secondary users are taken into consideration while making channel sensing decisions. Spectrum maps for secondary users are estimated based on occurrence of collisions. Our approach allows secondary users to achieve maximal throughput by seeking independent spectrum opportunities without exchanging any control information among secondary users. Numerical results show that the learning-based approach obtains near-optimal performance in most of the scenarios.
Toward an Integration of Interpersonal and Biological Processes: Evolutionary Psychiatry as an Empirically Testable Framework for Psychiatric Research

Abstract Phenomenological, biological, and interpersonal aspects of psychiatric disorders lack an integrative empirical framework. In this paper evolutionary psychiatry is proposed as a meta-theory to integrate biological and interpersonal aspects of psychopathology. Pathological cognition, emotions, and behaviors may be examined according to specific biosocial goals originally pursued to increase the individual's inclusive fitness, similar to the ways that “normal” processes have been analyzed by evolutionary psychology. Sex-specific differences in prevalence rates and symptomatology of psychiatric disorders may also be better understood if divergent problems of adaptation for men and women in human evolutionary history are taken into account. Instead of mistaking the evolutionary approach for being deterministic and empirically untestable, it may rather be appropriate to provide a functional classification which adds to the contemporary psychiatric nosology through analysis according to specific conflicts of adaptation (at the ultimate level), the pursuit of biosocial goals, and proximate specifiers such as genetic, developmental, and interpersonal causes of disorders.
Análisis de lA estAbilidAd del ángulo del rotor de un sistemA máquinA-bArrA infinitA

Este articulo presenta una aproximacion al analisis de estabilidad del angulo del rotor de un sistema maquina-barra Infinita. Se analiza la estabilidad del angulo del rotor de un sistema tipico maquina-barra infinita, bajo determinadas condiciones de operacion. Posteriormente se incorpora un estabilizador de sistema de potencia para lograr un amortiguamiento en el modo mecanico que permita mantener un sincronismo en su operacion. Finalmente, se presentan los resultados con simulaciones realizadas con la herramienta computacional Matlab®.
Effect of Sodium Bisulfite Injection on the Microbial Community Composition in a Brackish-Water-Transporting Pipeline

ABSTRACT Pipelines transporting brackish subsurface water, used in the production of bitumen by steam-assisted gravity drainage, are subject to frequent corrosion failures despite the addition of the oxygen scavenger sodium bisulfite (SBS). Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes was used to determine the microbial community composition for planktonic samples of transported water and for sessile samples of pipe-associated solids (PAS) scraped from pipeline cutouts representing corrosion failures. These were obtained from upstream (PAS-616P) and downstream (PAS-821TP and PAS-821LP, collected under rapid-flow and stagnant conditions, respectively) of the SBS injection point. Most transported water samples had a large fraction (1.8% to 97% of pyrosequencing reads) of Pseudomonas not found in sessile pipe samples. The sessile population of PAS-616P had methanogens (Methanobacteriaceae) as the main (56%) community component, whereas Deltaproteobacteria of the genera Desulfomicrobium and Desulfocapsa were not detected. In contrast, PAS-821TP and PAS-821LP had lower fractions (41% and 0.6%) of Methanobacteriaceae archaea but increased fractions of sulfate-reducing Desulfomicrobium (18% and 48%) and of bisulfite-disproportionating Desulfocapsa (35% and 22%) bacteria. Hence, SBS injection strongly changed the sessile microbial community populations. X-ray diffraction analysis of pipeline scale indicated that iron carbonate was present both upstream and downstream, whereas iron sulfide and sulfur were found only downstream of the SBS injection point, suggesting a contribution of the bisulfite-disproportionating and sulfate-reducing bacteria in the scale to iron corrosion. Incubation of iron coupons with pipeline waters indicated iron corrosion coupled to the formation of methane. Hence, both methanogenic and sulfidogenic microbial communities contributed to corrosion of pipelines transporting these brackish waters.
Expressions of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs) are directly influenced by permeability barrier abrogation and inflammatory cytokines and depressed PPARα modulates expressions of chemokines and epidermal differentiation‐related molecules in keratinocytes

Previous studies have demonstrated that the activation of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs) not only has positive effects on permeability barrier homoeostasis but also has anti‐inflammatory effects by an as yet unknown mechanism. Reduced expression of PPARα in lesion of human atopic dermatitis (AD) and in epidermis of murine AD‐like dermatitis has been demonstrated. This study revealed that expression of PPARα alone among PPARs (α, β/δ and γ) was suppressed by both permeability barrier abrogation and additional existence of Th2 cytokine in cultured normal human keratinocytes. In addition, expressions of transglutaminase 1 and loricrin and those of thymus and activation‐related chemokine and regulated on activation normal T‐cell expressed in cultured human keratinocytes were reduced and enhanced, respectively, by transfection with siRNA for PPARα. In conclusion, depressed PPARα in keratinocytes might be involved in a relationship between permeability barrier abrogation and allergic inflammation and could be a therapeutic target which accounts for both the aspects in AD.
Three-Dimensional Sparse Turntable Microwave Imaging Based on Compressive Sensing

In this letter, we propose a fast reconstruction algorithm for 3-D turntable microwave imaging from sparse measurements. A conventional Fourier-transform-based 3-D microwave imaging method collects data over densely azimuth-elevation samples and needs a large amount of data storage and long collection time. To reduce the cost of data acquisition, the proposed method exploits the sparsity in the image domain to achieve 3-D microwave imaging by utilizing sparse measurements. For this aim, the signal model is first represented as a tensor array, and then, a novel sparse reconstruction algorithm called 3-D-SL0 is applied to recover the 3-D scattering reflectivity, i.e., a 3-D image. Simulation results are finally shown to investigate the validity of the proposed method.
On the Effect of Scattering on the Performance of Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistors

Based on the non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism the performance of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors has been studied. The effects of elastic and inelastic scattering on the device performance have been investigated. The results indicate that elastic scattering has a more detrimental effect on the device characteristics than inelastic scattering. Only for short devices the performance is not affected because of the long mean free path for elastic scattering.