Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

In the present study, the effects of short‐term methoxychlor exposure on the viability, reproduction, and locomotor behavior of adult seminole ramshorn snails (Planorbella duryi) was assessed. To examine impacts on viability and behavior, individuals were exposed to a water control, vehicle control, or 12.5, 50, 100, 250, 500, or 1000 μg/L of methoxychlor for 48 h; and differences in mortality and locomotor behavior assessed using the freely available ToxTrac software. To determine impacts on reproduction, pairs of snails were exposed to a vehicle control and 12.5, 25, 50, 100, and 250 μg/L of methoxychlor for 9 d; and the number of clutches and eggs laid quantified every 24 h. Methoxychlor concentrations in treatments were determined using gas chromatography. Complete mortality was observed in the 500 μg/L and 1000 μg/L treatments after 48 h and in the 250 μg/L treatment after 9 d. Decreases in the number of egg clutches were observed in all treatments, and the number of eggs laid decreased starting in the 25 μg/L treatment. Decreases in average speed, mobile speed, and total distance traveled, as well as a significant increase in frozen events, were also observed. Our results suggest that methoxychlor exposure causes detrimental effects on several nonlethal endpoints in a nonmodel aquatic invertebrate species and that the analysis of locomotor behaviors serves as a reliable, sensitive endpoint for ecotoxicology testing. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:220–228. © 2019 SETAC
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

Recently, there has been renewed interest in the development and use of empirical models to predict metal bioavailability and derive protective values for aquatic life. However, there is considerable variability in the conceptual and statistical approaches with which these models have been developed. In the present study, we review case studies of empirical bioavailability model development, evaluating and making recommendations on key issues, including species selection, identifying toxicity‐modifying factors (TMFs) and the appropriate environmental range of these factors, use of existing toxicity data sets and experimental design for developing new data sets, statistical considerations in deriving species‐specific and pooled bioavailability models, and normalization of species sensitivity distributions using these models. We recommend that TMFs be identified from a combination of available chemical speciation and toxicity data and statistical evaluations of their relationships to toxicity. Experimental designs for new toxicity data must be sufficiently robust to detect nonlinear responses to TMFs and should encompass a large fraction (e.g., 90%) of the TMF range. Model development should involve a rigorous use of both visual plotting and statistical techniques to evaluate data fit. When data allow, we recommend using a simple linear model structure and developing pooled models rather than retaining multiple taxa‐specific models. We conclude that empirical bioavailability models often have similar predictive capabilities compared to mechanistic models and can provide a relatively simple, transparent tool for predicting the effects of TMFs on metal bioavailability to achieve desired environmental management goals. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:85–100. © 2019 SETAC
Semantic Web: Languages, Tools, and Standards

The term “ Semantic Web ” (SW) refers to Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s vision of the Web of Linked Data (called also the Web of Data) as an extension of the conventional Web. In the time since the SW’s initial conception, the W3C SW Activity Group has accepted numerous Web technologies as standards or recommendations. However, in order to make the Web of Data a reality, and push large-scale integration of, and reasoning on, data on the Web, huge amounts of data must be made available in a standard format, reachable and manageable by SW tools. Therefore, the SW community has delivered a wide range of software frameworks that support the Linked Data life cycle including the extraction, storage, interlinking, enrichment, quality analysis, publishing, and exploitation phases. This entry gives an overview of the state-of-the-art SW knowledge representation mechanisms, SW tools, SW services technologies, SWapplication domains, as well as a projection of the future trends based on the current major open issues.
Fast residual static correction method using first arrivals in the 3D shot–receiver united domain

The result of processing the residual static correction has a profound effect on the finished quality of a reconstructed image. Static correction using wave reflection techniques cannot be guaranteed when the signal-to-noise ratio is too low or the residual static correction is larger than a half-wavelength of the refracted waves. A novel method based on first arrivals in a 3D shot–receiver united domain is presented to handle these situations. This method fits and smooths the first breaks in a robust 3D way to calculate the shot and receiver static. This method has a lower sensitivity to first arrivals than traditional methods. Applications on synthetic and real data show very high performance of the presented algorithm. We introduce a residual static correction method using first arrivals. Since we fit and smooth the first breaks in a 3D shot–receiver united domain, this method has a lower sensitivity to first arrivals and performs better than traditional methods.
Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 548 Design and Characterization of RF-Power LDMOS Transistors

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. III " Investigation of the non-linear input capacitance in LDMOS transistors and its contribution to IMD and phase distortion, " The following papers are related to the work in this thesis but have not been included.
Effect of CO2 on Rock Properties: Frio Crosswell Case Study

A time- and –space dependent rock physics model using the constant cement model is used to interpret velocity changes observed from the CO2 sequestration site of Frio (Texas, USA). For this site, classical, purely mechanical rock physics models cannot explain the observed changes in both P-wave and S-wave velocities, suggesting changes in the rock frame itself. We introduce a non-elastic factor in the model in the form of cement percent change. The strategy was to estimate changes in the dry-frame from shear-wave measurements given by crosswell traveltime tomography, as the shear moduli is independent of the nature of fluids. Our approach allows variation of cement percent both in time and space, which effectively explains the time-lapse changes observed at the injection well and away from it. The model suggests that a small amount of cement is removed at grain contacts, consistent with minute dissolution.
Development of Carvedilol Nanoformulation-Loaded Poloxamer-Based In Situ Gel for the Management of Glaucoma

The objective of the current study was to fabricate a thermosensitive in situ gelling system for the ocular delivery of carvedilol-loaded spanlastics (CRV-SPLs). In situ gel formulations were prepared using poloxamer analogs by a cold method and was further laden with carvedilol-loaded spanlastics to boost the precorneal retention of the drug. The gelation capacity, rheological characteristics, muco-adhesion force and in vitro release of various in situ gel formulations (CS-ISGs) were studied. The optimized formula (F2) obtained at 22% w/v poloxamer 407 and 5% w/v poloxamer 188 was found to have good gelation capacity at body temperature with acceptable muco-adhesion properties, appropriate viscosity at 25 °C that would ease its ocular application, and relatively higher viscosity at 37 °C that promoted prolonged ocular residence of the formulation post eye instillation and displayed a sustained in vitro drug release pattern. Ex vivo transcorneal penetration studies through excised rabbit cornea revealed that F2 elicited a remarkable (p ˂ 0.05) improvement in CRV apparent permeation coefficient (Papp = 6.39 × 10−6 cm/s) compared to plain carvedilol-loaded in situ gel (CRV-ISG; Papp = 2.67 × 10−6 cm/s). Most importantly, in normal rabbits, the optimized formula (F2) resulted in a sustained intraocular pressure reduction and a significant enhancement in the ocular bioavailability of carvedilol, as manifested by a 2-fold increase in the AUC0–6h of CRV in the aqueous humor, compared to plain CRV-ISG formulation. To sum up, the developed thermosensitive in situ gelling system might represent a plausible carrier for ophthalmic drug delivery for better management of glaucoma.
Diagnóstico de Babesia bovis en búfalos de la región occidental de Cuba a través de un ensayo de nPCR

Este trabajo se realizo con el objetivo de determinar si los bufalos en el Occidente de Cuba son portadores de la infeccion por Babesia bovis, empleando un ensayo de PCR Anidada (nPCR). Se procesaron 222 muestras de ADN, extraido de sangre de bufalos, de diferentes edades, procedentes de siete granjas de la region occidental de Cuba, a los que tambien se les realizo frotis sanguineo. Como resultado encontramos que todas las muestras resultaron negativas al frotis sanguineo. Sin embargo, 94 de ellas (42,1%) resultaron positivas en el nPCR, visualizandose bandas de 298pb. La infeccion estuvo presente en animales de todas las granjas y de las cuatro categorias estudiadas. Se secuencio el producto del nPCR de una muestra positiva. La secuencia obtenida se deposito en el GenBank y se comparo con otras secuencias disponibles en diversas bases de datos, verificandose elevada identidad con respecto a aislados geograficos de B. bovis. Se concluye que los bufalos en Cuba son portadores de la infeccion por Babesia bovis.
Preferential flow mechanisms identified from staining experiments in forested hillslopes

Field staining experiments in five different plots at two sites in Japan (Okaya in Nagano Prefecture and Konohara in Mie Prefecture) were undertaken to improve understanding of subsurface stormflow runoff within organic layers of natural forested hillslopes. This type of shallow lateral subsurface flow, specifically referred to as biomat flow, was observed only at the Okaya site based on staining experiments conducted under controlled water application rates. When the same irrigation rate (50–100 mm h−1) was applied to the Konohara site, overland flow without a significant shallow subsurface component was the dominant flow mechanism. Even in gently sloping (15–20°) forest soils at the Okaya site, biomat flow was responsible for lateral dye transport over much longer distances than subsurface flow in the matrix of mineral soil layers. Based on analysis of staining pattern images observed in the Okaya site, we conclude that (i) the organic biomat layer could be divided into two sub‐layers of different structure, (ii) biomat flow transported the dye tracer longer distances than subsurface flow in the matrix and (iii) the biomat layer topography affected biomat flow by generating preferential flowpaths and subsequent percolation into the deeper soil. Based on field experimental results and pore‐scale consideration of water infiltration into pores of soils with varying wettability properties, we hypothesized and developed a conceptual model for two key biomat flow mechanisms. The first mechanism considers lateral subsurface flow because of a permeability contrast between the much more porous and hence permeable biomat layer and the underlying mineral soil. The second mechanism involves a hydrophobic soil layer between the biomat and the underlying mineral soil. Flow across the hydrophobic layer is believed to occur when a threshold pore pressure is exceeded, i.e. as a result of a perched water table within the biomat layer. Lower pore pressures are needed to initiate flow when preferential flow paths exist, which are less hydrophobic than the surrounding organic layers. Numerical models of catchment hydrology should include lateral biomat flow when such layers are present in hillslope soils, in addition to typical subsurface flow within the soil matrix. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cloud microphysical differences with precipitation intensity in a torrential rainfall event in Sichuan, China

Abstract High-resolution data of a torrential rainfall event in Sichuan, China, simulated by the WRF model, were used to analyze the cloud microphysical differences with precipitation intensity. Six-hourly accumulated rainfall was classified into five bins based on rainfall intensity, and the cloud microphysical characteristics and processes in different bins were studied. The results show that: (1) Hydrometeor content differed distinctly among different bins. Mixing ratios of cloud water, rain water, and graupel enhanced significantly and monotonously with increasing rainfall intensity. With increasing precipitation intensity, the monotonous increase in cloud water number concentration was significant. Meanwhile, number concentrations of rain water and graupel increased at first and then decreased or increased slowly in larger rainfall bins. (2) With precipitation intensity increasing, cloud microphysical conversion processes closely related to the production of rainwater, directly (accretion of cloud water by rain (QCLcr) and melting of graupel (QMLgr)) or indirectly (water vapor condensation and accretion of cloud water by graupel), increased significantly. (3) As the two main sources of rainwater, QCLcr increased monotonously with increasing precipitation intensity, while QMLgr increased slowly, even tending to cease increasing in larger rainfall bins.
Role for a bidentate ribonuclease in the initiation step of RNA interference

NATURE | VOL 409 | 18 JANUARY 2001 | www.nature. com 363 22. Saitoh, S. , Takahashi, K. & Yanagida, M. Mis6, a ®ssion yeast inner centromere protein, acts during G1/S and forms specialized chromatin required for equal segregation. Cell 90, 131±143 (1997). 23. Kelly, T. J. et al. The ®ssion yeast cdc18 gene product couples S-phase to start and mitosis. Cell 74, 371± 382 (1993). 24. Fernandez-Sarabia, M. J., McInery, C. , Harris, P., Gordon, C. & Fantes, P. The cell cycle genes cdc22 and suc22 of the ®ssion yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe encode the large and small subunits of ribonucleotide reductase. Mol. Gen. Genet. 238, 241±251 (1993). 25. Lin, L. & Smith, G. R. Transient, meiosis-induced expression of the rec6 and rec12 genes of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Genetics 136, 769±779 (1994).
RNA Interference: Antiviral Defense Mechanism and Immune Memory

A review of the mechanisms of the generation of antiviral immunity in bacteria, plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates directly indicates the leading role of innate immunity. Bornovirus infections in mammals have been proven to be inhibited by the RNA interference mechanism. Authors propose a possible role of innate human immunity in combating viral infections, including SARS-Cov2. This hypothesis is based on the notion that antiviral response involves a molecular mechanism of RNA interference stemming from the specific viral patterns incorporated into host cells’ DNA. Innate immunity plays an important role not only at the first encounter with a viral infection, but also fully participates in the formation of specific immune memory. RNA-interference along with interferon system is integral parts of human anti-viral defense system. The joint work of these systems is considered. Caution is warranted in both PCR testing interpretation and in assessing prospective vaccines. False positive result without any clinical presentation of the disease in some people might mean that PCR test was picking up any specific SARS-Cov2 sequences that already had incorporated into asymptomatic person’s cellular DNA due to the possible RNA-interference based anti-viral immunity. Future vaccines aimed at producing specific antibodies can cause the phenomenon of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of the infection. In ADE virus not only infects susceptible cells through appropriate receptor, but is able to highjack virus-specific antibodies to easily traffic virus bodies inside the monocytes/macrophages, granulocytes, platelets, mast and many more host cells through interaction with Fc and/or complement receptors. It is necessary to draw the attention of medical community, especially practitioners to the role of innate immunity, which is especially important in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
RNA interference : application to drug discovery and challenges to pharmaceutical development

CONTRIBUTORS. PREFACE. FOREWORD. I. Biology of RNA Interference. 1 RNA Interference: What is it? (James A. Birchler). 2 Nucleic Acids as Regulatory Molecules (Faqing Huang, C. J. Yu, and Yanlin Guo). 3 Use of siRNA Oligonucleotides to Study Gene Function (Kristin A. Wiederholt and Adam N. Harris). 4 Genome Scanning by RNA Interference (Roderick L. Beijersbergen and Oliver C. Steinbach). II Development of siRNA for Therapeutic Applications. 5 Discovery of New siRNA Delivery Agents (Paul H. Johnson, Diane Frank, Kunyuan Cui, Roger Adami, Harry Wang, Michael Houston, and Steven C. Quay). 6 siRNA Delivery Vehicles (Aliasger K. Salem and Mark A. Behlke). 7 Interferon, Cytokine Induction and Other Potential In Vivo Toxicities (Adam Judge, Marjorie Robbins, and Ian MacLachlan). 8 Application of RNA Interference to Viral Diseases (Ralph A. Tripp and Stephen Mark Tompkins). Index.
Inter-annual and Inter-decadal Variations of Climate in Sichuan Basin in 1951～2000

Based on the daily mean air temperatures and precipitation data of 20 stations in Sichuan Basin from 1951～2000,characteristics of inter-annual and inter-decadal climate variations in Sichuan Basin were statistically investigated by calculating climate tendency with least square method and temperature changes per ten years of air temperature.These results show the picture of climate in Sichuan Basin for recent 50 years and can give us some clue in forecasting the coming years' climate.
Seismoelectric couplings in a poroelastic material containing two immiscible fluid phases

A new approach of seismoelectric imaging has been recently proposed to detect saturation fronts in which seismic waves are focused in the subsurface to scan its heterogeneous nature and determine saturation fronts. Such type of imaging requires however a complete modelling of the seismoelectric properties of porous media saturated by two immiscible fluid phases, one being usually electrically insulating (for instance water and oil). We combine an extension of Biot dynamic theory, valid for porous media containing two immiscible Newtonian fluids, with an extension of the electrokinetic theory based on the notion of effective volumetric charge densities dragged by the flow of each fluid phase. These effective charge densities can be related directly to the permeability and saturation of each fluid phase. The coupled partial differential equations are solved with the finite element method. We also derive analytically the transfer function connecting the macroscopic electrical field to the acceleration of the fast P wave (coseismic electrical field) and we study the influence of the water content on this coupling. We observe that the amplitude of the co-seismic electrical disturbance is very sensitive to the water content with an increase in amplitude with water saturation. We also investigate the seismoelectric conversions (interface effect) occurring at the water table. We show that the conversion response at the water table can be identifiable only when the saturation contrasts between the vadose and saturated zones are sharp enough. A relatively dry vadose zone represents the best condition to identify the water table through seismoelectric measurements. Indeed, in this case, the coseismic electrical disturbances are vanishingly small compared to the seismoelectric interface response.
Medical Informatics: A Systematic review on Health and Medical Information Systems

Medical informatics brings together both medical skills and computer sciences to develop improvements for healthcare and patients overall outcomes, this field involves the intertwining of both medical practices and innovative technological advancements. Healthcare and Medical Information Systems are one of the most revolutionized improvements ever brought forth into the healthcare sector, the digitization of information has aided in the advancement of the healthcare sector at large, giving room to larger improvements which in these past years have aided both healthcare providers and patients generally. This paper aims at identifying recent trends and technologies that are being implemented in healthcare and medical information systems and lays out a systematic approach on the current trends in medical informatics.
A symbol layout classification for mathematical formula using layout context

We describe a symbol classification technique for identifying the expected locations of neighboring symbols in mathematical expressions. We use the seven symbol layout classes of the DRACULAE math notation parser (Zanibbi, et al., 2002) to represent expected locations for neighboring symbols: Ascender, Descender, Centered, Open Bracket, Non-Scripted, Variable Range (e.g., integrals) and Root. A new feature based on the shape context (Belongie, et al., 2002), named layout context, is used to describe the arrangement of neighboring symbols relative to a reference symbol, and the nearest neighbor rule is used for classification. 1917 mathematical symbols from the University of Washington III document database are used in our experiments. Using a leave-one-out estimate, our best classification rate reaches nearly 80%. In our experiments, we find that the size of the reference symbol neighborhood area, the number and the sampling positions of the points of the key points model representing a symbol’s location, play important roles in the classification process.
Application of machine learning techniques for obesity prediction: a comparative study

Obesity, characterized by excess adipose tissue, is becoming a major public health problem. This condition, caused primarily by unbalanced energy intake (overconsumption) and exacerbated by modern lifestyles such as physical inactivity and suboptimal dietary habits, is the harbinger of a variety of health disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. Therefore, there is an urgent need to accurately diagnose and assess the extent of obesity in order to formulate and apply appropriate preventive measures and therapeutic interventions. However, the heterogeneous results of existing diagnostic techniques have triggered a fierce debate on the optimal approach to identifying and assessing obesity, thus complicating the search for a standard diagnostic and treatment method. This research primarily aims to use machine learning techniques to build a robust predictive model for identifying overweight or obese individuals. The proposed model, derived from a person's physical characteristics and dietary habits, was evaluated using a number of machine learning algorithms, including Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Fuzzy K-Nearest Neighbors (FuzzyNN), Fuzzy Unordered Rule Induction Algorithm (FURIA), Rough Sets (RS), Random Tree (RT), Random Forest (RF), Naive Bayes (NB), Logistic Regression (LR), and Decision Table (DT). Subsequently, the developed models were evaluated using a number of evaluation measures such as correlation coefficient, accuracy, kappa statistic, mean absolute error, and mean square error. The hyperparameters of the model were properly calibrated to improve accuracy. The study revealed that the random forest model (RF) had the highest accuracy of 95.78 %, closely followed by the logistic regression model (LR) with 95.22 %. Other algorithms also produced satisfactory accuracy results but could not compete with the RF and LR models. This study suggests that the pragmatic application of the model could help physicians identify overweight or obese individuals and thus accelerate the early detection, prevention, and treatment of obesity-related diseases.