Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surface Modified Nanocellulose and Its Reinforcement in Natural Rubber Matrix Nanocomposites: A Review

Natural rubber is of significant economic importance owing to its excellent resilience, elasticity, abrasion and impact resistance. Despite that, natural rubber has been identified with some drawbacks such as low modulus and strength and therefore opens up the opportunity for adding a reinforcing agent. Apart from the conventional fillers such as silica, carbon black and lignocellulosic fibers, nanocellulose is also one of the ideal candidates. Nanocellulose is a promising filler with many excellent properties such as renewability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, reactive surface, low density, high specific surface area, high tensile and elastic modulus. However, it has some limitations in hydrophobicity, solubility and compatibility and therefore it is very difficult to achieve good dispersion and interfacial properties with the natural rubber matrix. Surface modification is often carried out to enhance the interfacial compatibilities between nanocellulose and natural rubber and to alleviate difficulties in dispersing them in polar solvents or polymers. This paper aims to highlight the different surface modification methods employed by several researchers in modifying nanocellulose and its reinforcement effects in the natural rubber matrix. The mechanism of the different surface medication methods has been discussed. The review also lists out the conventional filler that had been used as reinforcing agent for natural rubber. The challenges and future prospective has also been concluded in the last part of this review.
Research on the Compound Optimization Method of the Electrical and Thermal Properties of SiC/EP Composite Insulating Material

In this paper, in order to improve the electrical and thermal properties of SiC/EP composites, the methods of compounding different crystalline SiC and micro-nano SiC particles are used to optimize them. Under different compound ratios, the thermal conductivity and breakdown voltage parameters of the composite material were investigated. It was found that for the SiC/EP composite materials of different crystal types of SiC, when the ratio of α and β silicon carbide is 1:1, the electrical performance of the composite material is the best, and the breakdown strength can be increased by more than 10% compared with the composite material filled with single crystal particles. For micro-nano compound SiC/EP composites, different total filling amounts of SiC correspond to different optimal ratios of micro/nano particles. At the optimal ratio, the introduction of nanoparticles can increase the breakdown strength of the composite material by more than 10%. Compared with the compound of different crystalline SiC, the advantage is that the introduction of a small amount of nanoparticles can play a strong role in enhancing the break-down field strength. For the filled composite materials, the thermal conductivity mainly depends on whether an effective heat conduction channel can be constructed. Through experiments and finite element simulation calculations, it is found that the filler shape and particle size have a greater impact on the thermal conductivity of the composite material, when the filler shape is rounder, the composite material can more effectively construct the heat conduction channel.
Photoinduced Charge Transfer and Trapping on Single Gold Metal Nanoparticles on TiO2

We present a study of the effect of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) on TiO2 on charge generation and trapping during illumination with photons of energy larger than the substrate band gap. We used a novel characterization technique, photoassisted Kelvin probe force microscopy, to study the process at the single Au NP level. We found that the photoinduced electron transfer from TiO2 to the Au NP increases logarithmically with light intensity due to the combined contribution of electron–hole pair generation in the space charge region in the TiO2–air interface and in the metal–semiconductor junction. Our measurements on single particles provide direct evidence for electron trapping that hinders electron–hole recombination, a key factor in the enhancement of photo(electro)catalytic activity.
Solid-Contact Ion-Selective Electrodes for Histamine Determination

Solid-contact ion-selective electrodes for histamine (HA) determination were fabricated and studied. Gold wire (0.5 mm diameter) was coated with poly(3,4-ethlenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as a solid conductive layer. The polyvinyl chloride matrix embedded with 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl(porphyrinato)iron(iii) chloride as an ionophore, 2-nitrophenyloctyl ether as a plasticizer and potassium tetrakis(p-chlorophenyl) borate as an ion exchanger was used to cover the PEDOT:PSS layer as a selective membrane. The characteristics of the HA electrodes were also investigated. The detection limit of 8.58 × 10−6 M, the fast response time of less than 5 s, the good reproducibility, the long-term stability and the selectivity in the presence of common interferences in biological fluids were satisfactory. The electrode also performed stably in the pH range of 7–8 and the temperature range of 35–41 °C. Additionally, the recovery rate of 99.7% in artificial cerebrospinal fluid showed the potential for the electrode to be used in biological applications.
Carbenoxolon Is Capable to Regulate the Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore Opening in Chronic Alcohol Intoxication

Background: carbenoxolone, which is a derivative of glyceretic acid, is actively used in pharmacology for the treatment of diseases of various etiologies. In addition, we have shown carbenoxolone as an effective inducer of mitochondrial permeability transition pore in rat brain and liver mitochondria. Methods: in the course of this work, comparative studies were carried out on the effect of carbenoxolone on the parameters of mPTP functioning in mitochondria isolated from the liver of control and alcoholic rats. Results: within the framework of this work, it was found that carbenoxolone significantly increased its effect in the liver mitochondria of rats with chronic intoxication. In particular, this was expressed in a reduction in the lag phase, a decrease in the threshold calcium concentration required to open a pore, an acceleration of high-amplitude cyclosporin-sensitive swelling of mitochondria, as well as an increase in the effect of carbenoxolone on the level of mitochondrial membrane-bound proteins. Thus, as a result of the studies carried out, it was shown that carbenoxolone is involved in the development/modulation of alcohol tolerance and dependence in rats.
Effect of parenteral nutrition duration on patterns of growth and body composition in very low birth weight premature infants.

BACKGROUND Parenteral nutrition (PN) is essential to support premature infants' growth and varies with enteral nutrition (EN) advancement rates. Data on PN duration's impact on premature infants' growth is limited. The aim of this multicenter observational study was to determine early PN duration effect on body composition at term corrected gestation (CGA) in very low birth weight (VLBW) premature infants. METHODS VLBW infants exposed to PN in the first week of life and exposed to significantly different EN regimens, were divided into two groups per early PN duration. Infants with a birth weight (BW) < 1000g and PN duration < 28 days, and those with a BW 1000-1500g and PN duration < 14 days were assigned to the 'Short-PN' group. Infants receiving PN for longer durations were assigned to the 'Long-PN' group. Body composition was assessed at term CGA or prior to discharge via air displacement plethysmography. RESULTS 62 and 53 infants were assigned to the short- and long- PN groups respectively. The two groups were significantly different in BW and gestational age (GA), so a nested case-control study was conducted after matching 36-infant pairs. Infants in the long-PN group had significantly lower fat-free mass (FFM) z-scores but both groups had comparable fat mass (FM) z-scores. Long-PN was a significant negative predictor of FFM z-score in the multivariate regression analysis. CONCLUSION In VLBW premature infants, PN duration is negatively associated with FFM z-scores at term CGA without affecting FM z-scores. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Cerebral Oxygenation Responses to Aerobatic Flight.

BACKGROUND: Aerobatic pilots must withstand high and sudden acceleration forces (Gz) up to 10 Gz. The physiological consequences of such a succession of high and abrupt positive and negative Gzon the human body over time remain mostly unknown. This case report emphasizes changes in physiological factors such as cerebral oxygenation and heart rate dynamics collected in real aerobatic flights. CASE REPORT: A 37-yr-old man, experienced in aerobatic flying, voluntarily took part in this study. During two flight runs (1520 min), the pilot performed aerobatic maneuvers with multiple high (10 Gz) positive and negative accelerations. During the flights he wore a Polar heart rate sensor while cerebral oxygenation was measured continuously over his prefrontal cortex via near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). NIRS allows for measurement of the relative concentration changes of oxygenated hemoglobin (O₂Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HHb), making it possible to determine cerebral oxygenation and hemodynamic status. DISCUSSION: The continuous in-flight monitoring of O₂Hb and HHb revealed the large effects of successive positive and negative Gz exposures on cerebral hemodynamics alterations. The results showed a significant and positive correlation between changes in Gz exposures and O₂Hb concentration. This case report highlights that NIRS provides some valuable and sensitive indicators for the monitoring of cerebral hemodynamics during aerobatic flights exposed to multiple and high acceleration forces. To our knowledge, this first study quantifying cerebral oxygenation changes in aerobatics opens the way for the assessment of individual physiological responses and tolerance in pilots to repeated high Gz during real flights. Fresnel E, Dray G, Pla S, Jean P, Belda G, Perrey S. Cerebral oxygenation responses to aerobatic flight. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2021; 92(10):838842.
Recent Technologies, Security Countermeasure and Ongoing Challenges of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT): A Survey

The inherent complexities of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) architecture make its security and privacy issues becoming critically challenging. Numerous surveys have been published to review IoT security issues and challenges. The studies gave a general overview of IIoT security threats or a detailed analysis that explicitly focuses on specific technologies. However, recent studies fail to analyze the gap between security requirements of these technologies and their deployed countermeasure in the industry recently. Whether recent industry countermeasure is still adequate to address the security challenges of IIoT environment are questionable. This article presents a comprehensive survey of IIoT security and provides insight into today’s industry countermeasure, current research proposals and ongoing challenges. We classify IIoT technologies into the four-layer security architecture, examine the deployed countermeasure based on CIA+ security requirements, report the deficiencies of today’s countermeasure, and highlight the remaining open issues and challenges. As no single solution can fix the entire IIoT ecosystem, IIoT security architecture with a higher abstraction level using the bottom-up approach is needed. Moving towards a data-centric approach that assures data protection whenever and wherever it goes could potentially solve the challenges of industry deployment.
Yield Estimation and Visualization Solution for Precision Agriculture

We present an end-to-end smart harvesting solution for precision agriculture. Our proposed pipeline begins with yield estimation that is done through the use of object detection and tracking to count fruit within a video. We use and train You Only Look Once model (YOLO) on video clips of apples, oranges and pumpkins. The bounding boxes obtained through objection detection are used as an input to our selected tracking model, DeepSORT. The original version of DeepSORT is unusable with fruit data, as the appearance feature extractor only works with people. We implement ResNet as DeepSORT’s new feature extractor, which is lightweight, accurate and generically works on different fruits. Our yield estimation module shows accuracy between 91–95% on real footage of apple trees. Our modification successfully works for counting oranges and pumpkins, with an accuracy of 79% and 93.9% with no need for training. Our framework additionally includes a visualization of the yield. This is done through the incorporation of geospatial data. We also propose a mechanism to annotate a set of frames with a respective GPS coordinate. During counting, the count within the set of frames and the matching GPS coordinate are recorded, which we then visualize on a map. We leverage this information to propose an optimal container placement solution. Our proposed solution involves minimizing the number of containers to place across the field before harvest, based on a set of constraints. This acts as a decision support system for the farmer to make efficient plans for logistics, such as labor, equipment and gathering paths before harvest. Our work serves as a blueprint for future agriculture decision support systems that can aid in many other aspects of farming.
Fabrication and Characterization of Composite Biofilm of Konjac Glucomannan/Sodium Lignosulfonate/ε-Polylysine with Reinforced Mechanical Strength and Antibacterial Ability

In order to enforce the mechanical strength and antibacterial ability of biofilm and explore the underlying mechanism, sodium lignosulfonate (SL) and ε-polylysine (ε-PL) were introduced to fabricate the composite film of konjac glucomannan (KGM)/SL/ε-PL in the present study. According to our previous method, 1% (w/v) of KGM was the optimal concentration for the film preparation method, on the basis of which the amount of SL and ε-PL were screened by mechanical properties enforcement of film. The structure, mechanical performance and thermal stability of the film were characterized by SEM, FTIR, TGA and tensile strength tests. The optimized composite film was comprised of KGM 1% (w/v), SL 0.2% (w/v), and ε-PL 0.375% (w/v). The tensile strength (105.97 ± 4.58 MPa, p < 0.05) and elongation at break (95.71 ± 5.02%, p < 0.05) of the KGM/SL/ε-PL composite film was greatly improved compared with that of KGM. Meanwhile, the thermal stability and antibacterial property of film were also enhanced by the presence of SL and ε-PL. In co-culturation mode, the KGM/SL/ε-PL composite film showed good inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli (22.50 ± 0.31 mm, p < 0.05) and Staphylococcus aureus (19.69 ± 0.36 mm, p < 0.05) by determining the inhibition zone diameter. It was revealed that KGM/SL/ε-PL composite film shows enhanced mechanical strength and reliable antibacterial activities and it could be a potential candidate in the field of food packaging.
Clarifying the molecular mechanism of tomentosin-induced antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects in human multiple myeloma via gene expression profile and genetic interaction network analysis

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an aggressive B cell malignancy. Substantial progress has been made in the therapeutic context for patients with MM, however it still represents an incurable disease due to drug resistance and recurrence. Development of more effective or synergistic therapeutic approaches undoubtedly represents an unmet clinical need. Tomentosin is a bioactive natural sesquiterpene lactone extracted by various plants with therapeutic properties, including anti-neoplastic effects. In the present study, the potential antitumor activity of tomentosin was evaluated on the human RPMI-8226 cell line, treated with increasing tomentosin concentration for cytotoxicity screening. The data suggested that both cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis could explain the antiproliferative effects of tomentosin and may result in the inhibition of RPMI-8226 cell viability. To assess differentially expressed genes contributing to tomentosin activity and identify its mechanism of action, a microarray gene expression profile was performed, identifying 126 genes deregulated by tomentosin. To address the systems biology and identify how tomentosin deregulates gene expression in MM from a systems perspective, all deregulated genes were submitted to enrichment and molecular network analysis. The Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network analysis showed that tomentosin in human MM induced the downregulation of genes involved in several pathways known to lead immune-system processes, such as cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine or NF-κB signaling pathway, as well as genes involved in pathways playing a central role in cellular neoplastic processes, such as growth, proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. Tomentosin also induced endoplasmic reticulum stress via upregulation of cyclic AMP-dependent transcription factor ATF-4 and DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 protein genes, suggesting that in the presence of tomentosin the protective unfolded protein response signaling may induce cell apoptosis. The functional connections analysis executed using the Connectivity Map tool, suggested that the effects of tomentosin on RPMI-8226 cells might be similar to those exerted by heat shock proteins inhibitors. Taken together, these data suggested that tomentosin may be a potential drug candidate for the treatment of MM.
Frequency and Temperature-Dependent Space Charge Characteristics of a Solid Polymer under Unipolar Electrical Stresses of Different Waveforms

In this paper, we studied the space charge phenomena of a solid polymer under thermal and electrical stresses with different frequencies and waveforms. By analyzing the parameter selection method of a protection capacitor and resistor, the newly built pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) system can be used for special electrical stresses under 500 Hz, based on which the charge phenomena are studied in detail under positive and negative DC and half-wave sine and rectangular wave voltages. Experimental results show that the charge accumulated in the polyimide polymer under DC conditions mainly comes from the grounded electrode side, and the amount of charge accumulated with electric field distortion becomes larger in a high-temperature environment. At room temperature, positive charges tend to accumulate in low-frequency conditions under positive rectangular wave voltages, while they easily appear under high-frequency situations of negative ones. In contrast, the maximum electric field distortion and charge accumulation under both half-wave sine voltages occur at 10 Hz. When the measurement temperature increases, the accumulated positive charge decreases, with a more negative charge appearing under rectangular wave voltages, while a more positive charge accumulates at different frequencies of half-wave sine voltages. Therefore, our study of the charge characteristics under different voltage and temperature conditions can provide a reference for applications in the corresponding environments.
Technology-Supported Guidance Model to Support the Development of Critical Thinking Among Undergraduate Nursing Students in Clinical Practice: Protocol of an Exploratory, Flexible Mixed Methods Feasibility Study

Background Critical thinking is an essential set of skills in nursing education, and nursing education therefore needs a sharper focus on effective ways to support the development of these skills, especially through the implementation of technological tools in nursing education. Objective The aim of this study protocol is to assess the feasibility of a technology-supported guidance model grounded in the metacognition theory for nursing students in clinical practice. Methods Both quantitative (research questionnaires) and qualitative (focus group interviews) approaches will be used to collect data for a feasibility study with an exploratory, flexible mixed methods design to test a newly developed intervention in clinical practice. Results The intervention development was completed in December 2020. The intervention will be tested in 3 independent nursing homes in Norway. Conclusions By determining the feasibility of a technology-supported guidance model for nursing students in clinical practice, the results will provide information on the acceptability of the intervention and the suitability of the outcome measures and data collection strategy. They will also identify the causes of dropout and obstacles to retention and adherence. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/31646
A Frequency-Programmable Miniaturized Radio Frequency Transmitter for Animal Tracking

In animal tracking applications, smaller transmitters can reduce the impact of the transmitter on the tagged animal and thus provide more accurate data about animal behavior. By combining a novel circuit design and a newly developed micro-battery, we developed frequency-programmable and more powerful radio frequency transmitters that are about 40% smaller and lighter in weight than the smallest commercial counterpart for animal monitoring at the time of development. The new radio frequency transmitter has a miniaturized form factor for studying small animals. Designs of two coding schemes were developed: one transmits unmodulated signals (weight: 152 mg; dimensions: Ø 2.95 mm × 11.22 mm), and the other transmits modulated signals (weight: 160 mg; dimensions: Ø 2.95 mm × 11.85 mm). To accommodate different transmitter life requirements, each design can be configured to transmit in high or low signal strength. Prototypes of these transmitters were evaluated in the laboratory and exhibited comparable or longer service life and higher signal strength compared to their smallest commercial counterparts.