Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON OPTIMIZATION OF BINDER CONTENT IN HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE

The concept of particle packing is of basic importance in optimization of concrete mix. The particle packing of a system is a function of particle size distribution, particle shape, surface area, method of compaction, grain size and presence of liquid. While particle packing has a significant influence on the properties of concrete, which contains different sizes of particle, the paste properties are also affected by the interaction between the cementitious particles. Improvement in the packing density of the cement by blending with cementitious materials plays a major role in enhancement of particle distribution, reduction of thermal cracks and in improving mechanical properties of high performance concrete. In the present experimental study, Punkte test conducted to determine the packing density of cement and cementitious material combinations to evaluate optimization in mortar paste. The optimization of different mixes evaluated based on the packing density. It is observed that, Punkte test gives a good indication of optimum packing and significantly helps in designing the mix proportion of the binder materials for high performance concrete.
Treatment of oxidative stress-related pathologies with plants in Abidjan (Ivory Coast)

The objective of this study was to identify medicinal plants used in the treatment of some oxidative stress-related diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and hemorrhoids. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in March, 2016 for medicinal plant in three cities of the District of Abidjan. A total of 35 plant species belonging to 22 families used in the treatment of diabetes, hypertension and hemorrhoids were identified. The most treated disease was diabetes (21 species) followed by hemorrhoids (15 species) and high blood pressure (13 species). The most represented families were Asteraceae (5 species; 14.28%) followed by Euphorbiaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, and Rubiaceae, each with 3 species (8.57%). Four plants (Alchornea cordifolia, Vernonia Amygdalina, Moringa oleifera, and Morinda lucida) were used for the treatment of these 3 pathologies. The high content of polyphenols and / or flavonoids in the plants studied could justify their use in traditional medicine in the treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure and hemorrhoids.
Fortune Favors the Prepared: Safety and Efficacy of Allogeneic Hypoxia Preconditioned Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Primates.

The intrinsic regenerative capacities of the adult mammalian heart are believed to be limited and insufficient to compensate for major cell loss upon injury. Transplantation of cells bearing regenerative potential emerged as a possible therapeutic strategy more than a decade ago; however, investigators continue searching for the ideal cell and implantation strategy.1 Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are among the most widely used cell types for regeneration studies.2 MSC are multipotent, but rigorous in vivo proof of their stem cell identity is still lacking. Residing in the perivascular space of nearly all tissues, MSC are most commonly retrieved from bone marrow or adipose tissue aspirates. MSC are immune evasive and exhibit immunomodulatory properties,3 essentially making them suitable for possible allogeneic use. MSC are identified by a defined panel of surface markers in the absence of hematopoietic markers and by their in vitro trilineage differentiation potential into osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic lineages.4 Irrespective of these criteria, MSC represent a heterogeneous population, and their properties depend on a variety of factors, which include donor and tissue of origin as well as isolation and culturing techniques. In particular, the choice of culturing media, supplements, and oxygen supply may greatly influence their characteristics, which can be exploited to modify their regenerative potential. Article, see p 970 “Fortune favors the prepared mind” (Louis Pasteur, 1854), as biology favors the prepared cell. Besides molecular or pharmacological manipulation and genetic engineering, culturing of MSC under hypoxic conditions before transplantation, also known as hypoxic preconditioning, is one of the strategies to enhance their viability and engraftment and to modify their secretome, thus promoting anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and proregenerative properties.5 Hypoxic preconditioning has the advantage that it is broadly available, easily applicable, and free of safety concerns inherent to pharmacological or genetic manipulation. Nevertheless, because hypoxic …
Studies on process standardization and organoleptic evaluation of sour cream

The present investigation focuses on standardizing the process for preparation of sour cream and its use in different food products. Sour cream was prepared by ripening of cream with the addition of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptococcus lactis) culture. The sensory characteristics of sour cream show that the sample with 6% culture (L. acidophilus & S. lactis) addition had highest overall acceptability and was better than other samples in terms of taste (8.5) and mouthfeel (8.5). Thus sample with 6% culture addition was selected for further research findings. Also, xanthan gum was added to the selected sample in various proportions i.e. 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.4%. The sample with 0.2% gum was rated high for overall acceptability. Hence, the sample of sour cream containing 6% culture and 0.2% gum was selected as the most acceptable. The microbiological characteristics of sour cream indicated that the total plate count of accepted sour cream sample was 2.7x10, 4.3x10, 5.8x10, 7.5x10, 8.6x10 cfu/g for the sample on day of production and 8, 16, 24, 32 days after production respectively. Yeast and mold count was not detected till 8 days of storage period. The coliform was not detected in the sour cream throughout the storage period of four week. Further, the shelf life of sour cream is found to be for four weeks at the refrigerated storage condition.
The application of penetrating compounds for repairing concrete, reinforced concrete and stone structures

Repair and protection of structural elements remain a relevant issue throughout the whole period of building operation and maintenance. Housing and public facilities regularly require rehabilitation and major repair. One of the main reasons behind a shorter lifespan of structural elements and units in a building is the impact on them of aggressive liquid and gaseous environments. The application of newly-developed cementitious products with penetrating properties is suggested in order to maintain and restore the protective properties of the concrete and reinforced concrete structures.
New Insights into Red Blood Cell Microcytosis upon mTOR Inhibitor

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of everolimus, a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, on red blood cell parameters in the context of iron homeostasis in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and evaluate its effect on cell size in vitro. Everoli‐ mus has a significant impact on red blood cell parameters in patients with TSC. The most common alteration was microcytosis. The mean MCV value decreased by 9.2%, 12%, and 11.8% after 3, 6, and 12 months of everolimus treatment. The iron level declined during the first 3 months, and human soluble transferrin receptor concentration increased during 6 months of therapy. The size of K562 cells decreased when cultured in the presence of 5 μM everolimus by approximately 8%. The addi‐ tion of hemin to the cell culture with 5 μM everolimus did not prevent any decrease in cell size. The stage of erythroid maturation did not affect the response to everolimus. Our results showed that the mTOR inhibitor everolimus caused red blood cell microcytosis in vivo and in vitro. This effect is not clearly related to a deficit of iron and erythroid maturation. This observation confirms that mTOR signaling plays a complex role in the control of cell size.
University of Birmingham An operator splitting scheme for the fractional kinetic Fokker-Planck equation

In this paper, we develop an operator splitting scheme for the fractional kinetic Fokker-Planck equation (FKFPE). The scheme consists of two phases: a fractional diﬀusion phase and a kinetic transport phase. The ﬁrst phase is solved exactly using the convolution operator while the second one is solved approximately using a variational scheme that minimizes an energy functional with respect to a certain Kantorovich optimal transport cost functional. We prove the convergence of the scheme to a weak solution to FKFPE. As a by-product of our analysis, we also establish a variational formulation for a kinetic transport equation that is relevant in the second phase. Finally, we discuss some extensions of our analysis to more complex systems.
THE IMPACT OF AUTOMOBILE RECALLS ON STOCK PRICES

The impact of automobile recalls on stock prices hasn’t been investigated on a large scale since the 1980s. Based on a sample size of 201 recalls spanning from 1980 to 2016 in the United States, we investigate the impact of a recall on stock prices using event study methodology. We found that the automobile recall announcements generated statistically insignificant Average Cumulative Abnormal Returns (ACAR) in the main event windows (-5,5), (-2,2). Furthermore, we investigated whether the impact depends on overall market conditions, and found no significant difference in the ACAR generated by recalls during periods of economic expansion or recession.
Sensitivity analysis of an aerosol aware microphysics scheme in WRF during case studies of fog in Namibia

Aerosol aware microphysics parameterisation schemes are increasingly being introduced into numerical weather prediction models, allowing for regional and case specific parameterisation of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and cloud droplet interactions. In this paper, the Thompson aerosol aware microphysics scheme, within the Weather, Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, is parameterised for two fog cases during September 2017 over Namibia. Measurements of CCN and fog microphysics were undertaken during the Aerosol, Radiation and Clouds in 15 southern Africa (AEROCLO-sA) field campaign at Henties Bay on the coast of Namibia during September 2017. A key concept of the microphysics scheme is the conversion of water friendly aerosols to cloud droplets (hereafter referred to as CCN activation), which could be estimated from the observations. A fog monitor 100 (FM100) provided cloud droplet size distribution, number concentration (Nt), liquid water content (LWC) and mean volumetric diameter (MVD). These measurements are used to evaluate and parameterise WRF model simulations of Nt, LWC and MVD. 20 A sensitivity analysis was conducted through variations to the initial CCN concentration, CCN radius and the minimum updraft speed, important factors that influence droplet activation in the microphysics scheme of the model. The first model scenario made use of the default settings with a constant initial CCN number concentration of 300 cm 3 and underestimated the cloud droplet number concentration while the LWC was in good agreement with the observations. This resulted in droplet size being larger than the observations. Another scenario used modelled data as 25 CCN initial conditions which were an order of magnitude higher than other scenarios. However, these provided the most realistic values of Nt, LWC, MVD and droplet size distribution. From this it was concluded that CCN activation of around 10 % in the simulations is too low, while the observed appears to be higher reaching between with a mean (median) of 0.55 (0.56) during fog events. To achieve this level of activation in the model, the minimum updraft speed for CCN activation was increased from 0.01 to 0.1 ms. This scenario provided Nt, LWC, MVD and droplet size 30 distribution in the range of the observations with the added benefit of a realistic initial CCN concentration. These results demonstrate the benefits of a dynamic aerosol aware scheme when parameterised with observations.
A Short Report on Status of Leprosy in India

Hansen’s disease, known as leprosy in colloquial language has been able to maintain its prevalence in the Indian subcontinent due to the haggard socio-economic status, lack of awareness and multiple other predisposing factors. Leprosy has been found to suppress the immune system thereby accentuating the chance of secondary infections. Contrary to the long held prevalent notion that the disease is not very contagious but shows long term effects that may lead to permanent limb and nerve disfigurement. The chronic effects of the ailment also include loss of visual acuity along with deformed limbs. Despite the prevalence and emergence of substantial number of new cases of leprosy each year in most of the developed and developing nations, the disease has still not been identified as a major health problem. The major hurdle in tackling the disease is also stemmed from the under reporting of the ailment caused by the excommunication of the afflicted individuals. India accounts for a large chunk of the global burden of leprosy, contributing almost 3/5th of the newly documented cases per annum. Reemergence of leprosy has been evidenced due to development of resistance in the causative bacterial strain. Yet much has not been accomplished in developing therapeutic regimen to curb the rampage of this insidious enemy. The aim of this short communication aims at portraying the true scenario of leprosy and there by attract the attention of policy makers and implementers to take radical actions to eradicate the menace to public health. Mini Review
Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes and Resistance to Anti-Viral Treatment in Mardan, Pakistan

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease of liver, caused by Hepatitis C virus (Frank et al., 2000). Hepatitis C infection causes acute and chronic hepatitis (Kanda et al., 2013). When a person first infected with hepatitis C virus, it can develop an acute infection, which may be a very mild illness with few or no symptoms or may be a very serious condition, in which the patient might be hospitalized. Acute hepatitis C is a short-term illness which occurs within the first six months after the infection with hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a hepacivirus of Flaviviridae family (Alter et al., 1992). It is a small (5nm in size), enveloped, positive-single stranded RNA virus (Arshad et al., 2012). Its genome is 9.6 kb in size, encodes a poly protein (about 3,ooo amino acid) which is processed and release 3 structural ( core, E1, E2) and 7 nonstructural (P7, NS2, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, NS5A, and NS5B ) proteins (Lin et al., 1994; Reed et al.,
Effect of Oral Supplement “Lycopene” On Reducing the Signs of Skin Ageing

In today’s world physical appearance is important not only as a symbol of identity, but also as an indicator of health and youth and there is a growing awareness that beauty starts from within. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of a tomato based oral supplement formulation (Lycoderm) containing different phytonutrients including lycopene the red tomato carotenoid on skin appearance after 16 weeks of use. A panel of 60 subjects was divided in two groups of 28 and 32 subjects provided with the placebo and Lycoderm capsules, respectively. Skin carotenoid level, image analysis of photography, questionnaire for assessment of skin condition and expert visual grading of facial wrinkles were obtained before treatment and every month for the course of the study. Results indicated a statistically significant increase in skin carotenoid levels in subjects who ingested Lycoderm, but no remarkable change in the placebo group. There was also a significant reduction in the appearance of lines and wrinkles in subjects using Lycoderm. The subjects noticed multiple skin benefits such as skin brightness and tonality, skin hydration and overall skin condition after using Lycoderm. Based on the confines and conditions of this study oral supplementation with Lycoderm resulted in significant increase in skin carotenoid level as well as tangible benefits to skin.
Logical reconstruction of programming language paradigms

: The concept of programming language paradigms is a one of fundamental concepts of computing, but the present usage of the term is quite chaotic. Using method of logical reconstruction programming paradigms are modeled by original logical models of computation that are considered paradigms of programming language paradigms. The space of the programming languages is visualized as a prism, with edges of imperative, function and logical paradigms corresponding to basic models of computation, and depth axis as degree of modularity of languages. Actual programming languages are represented as occupying some space in such a model. Finally, the model is evaluated for completeness with regard to existing programming languages.
The Influence of State Anxiety on Perceptual Judgments and Executed Action

Emotional state and in particular anxiety has been shown to constrain perceptual judgement of action capabilities. However, whether anxiety also constrains actual behaviour is unknown. The current study therefore aimed to determine whether state anxiety constrained firstly perceptual judgements of action capabilities and secondly actual behaviour. To do this we asked participants to make perceptual judgements and perform action behaviours in relation to crossing ground-based apertures representing puddles. State anxiety was measured in 30 participants using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The critical ratio of aperture-size relative to leg length at which participants’ behaviour choice would switch between a step and a spring was calculated. In a perceptual judgment task participants judged the ratio at which they would choose to switch. In a subsequent executed action task, the ratio at which they actually switched was measured. Perceptual critical ratio could be predicted via state anxiety and age, while action critical ratio was not predicted by either. Therefore, this study has demonstrated that state anxiety and age both constrain perceptual judgement of action capabilities, as shown in previous studies. However, this does not seem to result in a change in emergent behaviour. This highlights the importance of measuring emergent behaviour rather than inferring it from perceptual judgements even when they are couched in terms of action.
JCB_201402041 23..40

The Rockefeller University Press $30.00 J. Cell Biol. Vol. 207 No. 1 23–39 www.jcb. org/cgi/doi/10.1083/jcb.201402041 JCB 23 Correspondence to David Morgan: david.morgan@ucsf.edu; or Chao Tang: tangc@pku.edu. cn Abbreviations used in this paper: APC/C, anaphase-promoting complex or cyclosome; DDK, Dbf4-dependent kinase; MCC, mitotic checkpoint complex; SAC, spindle assembly checkpoint; SD, synthetic complete media with 2% glucose; SPB, spindle pole body; TEV, tobacco etch virus. Introduction
DEV115071 1..12

Determining direct synaptic connections of specific neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) is a major technical challenge in neuroscience. As a corollary, molecular pathways controlling developmental synaptogenesis in vivo remain difficult to address. Here, we present genetic tools for efficient and versatile labeling of organelles, cytoskeletal components and proteins at single-neuron and single-synapse resolution in Drosophila mechanosensory (ms) neurons. We extended the imaging analysis to the ultrastructural level by developing a protocol for correlative light and 3D electron microscopy (3D CLEM). We show that in ms neurons, synaptic puncta revealed by genetically encoded markers serve as a reliable indicator of individual active zones. Block-face scanning electron microscopy analysis of ms axons revealed T-bar-shaped dense bodies and other characteristic ultrastructural features of CNS synapses. For a mechanistic analysis, we directly combined the single-neuron labeling approach with cell-specific gene disruption techniques. In proof-of-principle experiments we found evidence for a highly similar requirement for the scaffolding molecule Liprin-α and its interactors Lar and DSyd-1 (RhoGAP100F) in synaptic vesicle recruitment. This suggests that these important synapse regulators might serve a shared role at presynaptic sites within the CNS. In principle, our CLEM approach is broadly applicable to the developmental and ultrastructural analysis of any cell type that can be targeted with genetically encoded markers.
Two-point nonlocal nonlinear fractional boundary value problem with Caputo derivative: Analysis and numerical solution

Abstract This work presents the existential and unique results for the solution to a kind of high-order fractional nonlinear differential equations involving Caputo fractional derivative. The boundary condition is of the integral type, which entangles both starting and ending points of the domain. First, the unique exact solution is extracted in terms of Green’s function for the linear fractional differential equation, and then Banach contraction mapping theorem is applied to prove the main result in the case of the general nonlinear source term. Then, our main result is demonstrated by an illustrative example, which shows its legitimacy and applicability. Furthermore, numerical-based semi-analytical technique has been presented to approximate the unique solution to the desired order of precision.
OP-PLCE210107 2221..2234

The genetic basis for the fine-tuned regulation of gene expression is complex and ultimately influences the phenotype and thus the local adaptation of natural populations. Short tandem repeats (STRs) consisting of repetitive DNA motifs have been shown to regulate gene expression. STRs are variable in length within a population and serve as a heritable, but semireversible, reservoir of standing genetic variation. For sessile organisms, such as plants, STRs could be of major importance in fine-tuning gene expression as a response to a shifting local environment. Here, we used a transcriptome dataset from natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana to investigate population-wide gene expression patterns in light of genome-wide STR variation. We empirically modeled gene expression as a response to the STR length within and around the gene and demonstrated that an association between gene expression and STR length variation is unequivocally present in the sampled population. To support our model, we explored the promoter activity in a transcriptional regulator involved in root hair formation and provided experimentally determined causality between coding sequence length variation and promoter activity. Our results support a general link between gene expression variation and STR length variation in A. thaliana.
On theoretical study of femtosecond photoionization

Multiphoton ionization of the Na2 molecule by a single phase shaped femtosecond laser pulse has been theoretically studied using time-dependent quantum wave packet method including the effect of molecular rotation. We analyze the temporal development of the population and further discuss the molecular motion by mapping the rovibrational wave packet propagation in the excited state. The calculated results show a strong dependence of the kinetic energy-resolved photoelectron spectra on the laser chirp directions and the pulse duration. PACS: 33.80. Rv 12