Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of protamine shell on nanoemulsions as a carrier for cyclosporine-A skin delivery

Abstract Novel protamine-based nanosystems have been studied for cyclosporine-A (CsA) skin delivery. Core-shell structure systems have been developed to this end. These vehicles have particles sizes of 200–300 nm, a low polydispersity index and a zeta potential which varies between −16 mV and +35 mV. The resulting four nanosystems efficiently encapsulated CsA in their oily nucleus (60–80%) and released this drug in a controlled manner. These formulations have shown a high stability in aqueous suspension in storage conditions at 4 °C (for at least 21 months) and in acetate buffer at a physiological temperature of 37 °C (for at least 24 h). Ex vivo transdermal diffusion experiments using Franz diffusion cells and 2- to 3-day-old pig skin as a biological barrier were performed. All nanoformulations designed produced an increase in CsA transdermal delivery and two of these nanosystems presented a marked promoting effect; the more relevant parameters were smaller particle size (200 ± 7 nm) and negative superficial charge. Finally, the ability of these nanosystems to enhance retention of CsA in the skin was also studied. The protamine disposition in the shell influenced CsA skin retention. Therefore, the incorporation of CsA into the nanosystems studied here makes them suitable vehicles for CsA transdermal administration. Graphical Abstract
The Protective and Restorative Effects of Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 on Methadone-Induced Toxicity In Vitro

Evidence to date suggests that opioids such as methadone may be associated with cognitive impairment. Growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are suggested to be neuroprotective and procognitive in the brain and may therefore counteract these effects. This study aims to explore the protective and restorative effects of GH and IGF-1 in methadone-treated cell cultures. Primary cortical cell cultures were harvested from rat fetuses and grown for seven days in vitro. To examine the protective effects, methadone was co-treated with or without GH or IGF-1 for three consecutive days. To examine the restorative effects, methadone was added for the first 24 h, washed, and later treated with GH or IGF-1 for 48 h. At the end of each experiment, mitochondrial function and membrane integrity were evaluated. The results revealed that GH had protective effects in the membrane integrity assay and that both GH and IGF-1 effectively recovered mitochondrial function and membrane integrity in cells pretreated with methadone. The overall conclusion of the present study is that GH, but not IGF-1, protects primary cortical cells against methadone-induced toxicity, and that both GH and IGF-1 have a restorative effect on cells pretreated with methadone.
Vertical transmission of naturally occurring Bunyamwera and insect-specific flavivirus infections in mosquitoes from islands and mainland shores of Lakes Victoria and Baringo in Kenya

Background Many arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes have been implicated as causative agents of both human and animal illnesses in East Africa. Although epidemics of arboviral emerging infectious diseases have risen in frequency in recent years, the extent to which mosquitoes maintain pathogens in circulation during inter-epidemic periods is still poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate whether arboviruses may be maintained by vertical transmission via immature life stages of different mosquito vector species. Methodology We collected immature mosquitoes (egg, larva, pupa) on the shores and islands of Lake Baringo and Lake Victoria in western Kenya and reared them to adults. Mosquito pools (≤25 specimens/pool) of each species were screened for mosquito-borne viruses by high-resolution melting analysis and sequencing of multiplex PCR products of genus-specific primers (alphaviruses, flaviviruses, phleboviruses and Bunyamwera-group orthobunyaviruses). We further confirmed positive samples by culturing in baby hamster kidney and Aedes mosquito cell lines and re-sequencing. Principal findings Culex univittatus (2/31pools) and Anopheles gambiae (1/77 pools) from the Lake Victoria region were positive for Bunyamwera virus, a pathogenic virus that is of public health concern. In addition, Aedes aegypti (3/50), Aedes luteocephalus (3/13), Aedes spp. (2/15), and Culex pipiens (1/140) pools were positive for Aedes flaviviruses at Lake Victoria, whereas at Lake Baringo, three pools of An. gambiae mosquitoes were positive for Anopheles flavivirus. These insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFVs), which are presumably non-pathogenic to vertebrates, were found in known medically important arbovirus and malaria vectors. Conclusions Our results suggest that not only ISFVs, but also a pathogenic arbovirus, are naturally maintained within mosquito populations by vertical transmission, even in the absence of vertebrate hosts. Therefore, virus and vector surveillance, even during inter-epidemics, and the study of vector-arbovirus-ISFV interactions, may aid in identifying arbovirus transmission risks, with the potential to inform control strategies that lead to disease prevention.
Investigating Relationships Between Drinking Venues, Drinking Companions, and Corporal Punishment of Children

Limited evidence suggests that how much a parent drinks in a particular venue, such as a bar, restaurant, or a friend’s home, is associated with use of corporal punishment. However, these relationships could differ depending on their drinking companions (e.g., spouse or friends). In this study, weighted zero-inflated Poisson models were used to examine whether the relationships between venue-specific drinking frequency, heavier drinking, and corporal punishment are moderated by drinking companions in a mixed-mode sample of parents (n = 1,599). The relationships between drinking frequency, heavier drinking, and corporal punishment varied by drinking companions, with some combinations being protective and others conferring risk. While most alcohol screening tools focus on individual alcohol use, more nuanced assessment examining where and with whom parents are drinking could be helpful in understanding risk of physical discipline.
Glycaemic efficacy and safety of linagliptin compared to a basal‐bolus insulin regimen in patients with type 2 diabetes undergoing non‐cardiac surgery: A multicentre randomized clinical trial

The use of incretin‐based therapy, rather than or complementary to, insulin therapy is an active area of research in hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). We determined the glycaemic efficacy and safety of linagliptin compared to a basal‐bolus insulin regimen in hospitalized surgical patients with T2D.
L‐Arginine supplementation enhances growth performance, lean muscle, and bone density but not fat in broiler chickens

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effects of crystalline arginine (Arg) on performance and body composition in male broilers. A total of 600 1‐day‐old Ross 308 broilers were distributed in a completely randomized design, with 5 treatments and 6 replicates of 20 birds. The treatments were given as a percentage of the Ross 308 requirement, and defined as 70, 80, 90, 100 (Ross 308 requirement), and 110% of Arg. Body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were evaluated at 10, 24, and 42 d. Bone growth was measured from 7 to 11 d using mineral apposition rate (MAR) technique. At 42 d, 2 birds per pen were euthanized for bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition measurement using dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry, and liver gene expression and muscle diameter size analysis. The means were subjected to ANOVA and, when significant (P ≤ 0.05), were compared by Dunnett's test. Regression analyses were performed to evaluate trends of Arg dose response. Birds fed 70 and 80% of Arg had lower BWG than the ones fed 100% of Arg (P < 0.001), with quadratic effects for all phases (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.94). The 70% of Arg group showed lower FI compared to 100% from 11 to 24 d and 1 to 42 d (P < 0.009), with quadratic and linear effects (P < 0.049, R2 > 0.72), respectively. The 70% of Arg group showed higher FCR compared to 100% (P < 0.0001) with quadratic effects (P < 0.002, R2 > 0.94) for all periods. At 42 d, the 70% of Arg group showed lower BMD, tissue, and lean muscle percentage than 100% of Arg. There was a quadratic effect of Arg levels on lean muscle (P = 0.046, R2 = 0.89). Therefore, the dietary supplementation with Arg is necessary as it leads to an overall body growth with increased lean deposition and BMD, without increasing fat accretion in Ross 308 broiler chickens
An Efficient Algorithm for Partial Discharge Localization in High-Voltage Systems Using Received Signal Strength

The term partial discharge (PD) refers to a partial bridging of insulating material between electrodes that sustain an electric field in high-voltage (HV) systems. Long-term PD activity can lead to catastrophic failures of HV systems resulting in economic, energy and even human life losses. Such failures and losses can be avoided by continuously monitoring PD activity. Existing techniques used for PD localization including time of arrival (TOA) and time difference of arrival (TDOA), are complicated and expensive because they require time synchronization. In this paper, a novel received signal strength (RSS) based localization algorithm is proposed. The reason that RSS is favoured in this research is that it does not require clock synchronization and it only requires the energy of the received signal rather than the PD pulse itself. A comparison was made between RSS based algorithms including a proposed algorithm, the ratio and search and the least squares algorithm to locate a PD source for nine different positions. The performance of the algorithms was evaluated by using two field scenarios based on seven and eight receiving nodes, respectively. The mean localization error calculated for two-field-trial scenarios show, respectively, 1.80 m and 1.76 m for the proposed algorithm for all nine positions, which is the lowest of the three algorithms.
Occurrence and Quantitative Risk Assessment of Twelve Mycotoxins in Eggs and Chicken Tissues in China

Aflatoxins (AFs), deoxynivalenols (DONs), and zearalenones (ZENs) are common mycotoxins that contaminate feedstuff, causing contamination of poultry products. In our study, these mycotoxins were quantified in 152 egg samples collected from markets in Jiangsu (JS), Zhejiang (ZJ), and Shanghai (SH) and in 70 chicken tissue samples (liver, heart, and gizzard) from ZJ in China. The main mycotoxins observed in egg samples were DON, 15-AcDON, and ZEN, although only ZEN family mycotoxins (ZEN, α-ZEL, β-ZEL, and α-ZAL) were detected in chicken tissues. Furthermore, for the first time, we assessed the health risks of exposure of three populations (children, adults, and elder adults) to DONs (DON, 3-AcDON, and 15-AcDON) and ZEN in eggs (from three different areas) and to ZEN in chicken tissues. We show that the mean dietary intake (DI) values and the 97.5th percentile DI values of DON and ZEN through egg ingestion were lower than the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) (1 μg/kg body weight (BW)/day) for the three populations in the three geographical areas studied. However, eggs contaminated with high levels of DONs and ZEN contributed to a large proportion of the PMTDI of these mycotoxins, especially in children and elder adults. Although ZEN was highly detected in the chicken tissues, no significant health risk was observed.
How habit affects continuous use: evidence from Jordan’s national health information system

ABSTRACT Implementing a health information system (HIS) to enhance healthcare services and patients’ experience has become a growing trend in developing countries. Yet little is known about acquainted users’ attitudes on continuing the use of an HIS after adoption. Healthcare professionals (physicians and nurses in particular) are reluctant to use HISs because they perceive them as an interruption of their interaction with patients, thus negatively influencing their efficiency. In this study, we extend the technology acceptance model (TAM) by integrating habit as an exogenous variable that affects HISs’ perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) to investigate experienced healthcare professionals’ attitudes in continuing to use an HIS. The setting of this study is a developing country (Jordan) that implemented a nationwide HIS named Hakeem. The findings show that in the context of healthcare, attitude is the major determinant to continue using HISs. Findings also show that habit significantly increases healthcare professionals’ perception of PU and PEOU, which improves their attitudes toward continuing to use HISs. These findings have implications for both research and practice.
A Single-Step Approach to Musical Tempo Estimation Using a Convolutional Neural Network

We present a single-step musical tempo estimation system based solely on a convolutional neural network (CNN). Contrary to existing systems, which typically ﬁrst identify onsets or beats and then derive a tempo, our sys-tem estimates the tempo directly from a conventional mel-spectrogram in a single step. This is achieved by framing tempo estimation as a multi-class classiﬁcation problem using a network architecture that is inspired by conventional approaches. The system’s CNN has been trained with the union of three datasets covering a large variety of genres and tempi using problem-speciﬁc data augmentation techniques. Two of the three ground-truths are novel and will be released for research purposes. As input the system requires only 11 . 9 s of audio and is therefore suitable for local as well as global tempo estimation. When used as a global estimator, it performs as well as or better than other state-of-the-art algorithms. Especially the exact estimation of tempo without tempo octave confusion is signiﬁcantly improved. As local estimator it can be used to identify and visualize tempo drift in musical performances.
Tumor-promoting effects of pancreatic cancer cell exosomes on THP-1-derived macrophages

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumor growth is enhanced by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), yet the mechanisms by which tumor cells and TAMs communicate are not fully understood. Here we show that exosomes secreted by PDAC cell lines differed in their surface proteins, lipid composition, and efficiency of fusing with THP-1-derived macrophages in vitro. Exosomes from AsPC-1, an ascites-derived human PDAC cell line, were enriched in ICAM-1, which mediated their docking to macrophages through interactions with surface-exposed CD11c on macrophages. AsPC-1 exosomes also contained much higher levels of arachidonic acid (AA), and they fused at a higher rate with THP-1-derived macrophages than did exosomes from other PDAC cell lines or from an immortalized normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cell line (HPDE) H6c7. Phospholipase A2 enzymatic cleavage of arachidonic acid from AsPC-1 exosomes reduced fusion efficiency. PGE2 secretion was elevated in macrophages treated with AsPC-1 exosomes but not in macrophages treated with exosomes from other cell lines, suggesting a functional role for the AsPC-1 exosome-delivered arachidonic acid in macrophages. Non-polarized (M0) macrophages treated with AsPC-1 exosomes had increased levels of surface markers indicative of polarization to an immunosuppressive M2-like phenotype (CD14hi CD163hi CD206hi). Furthermore, macrophages treated with AsPC-1 exosomes had significantly increased secretion of pro-tumoral, bioactive molecules including VEGF, MCP-1, IL-6, IL-1β, MMP-9, and TNFα. Together, these results demonstrate that compared to exosomes from other primary tumor-derived PDAC cell lines, AsPC-1 exosomes alter THP-1-derived macrophage phenotype and function. AsPC-1 exosomes mediate communication between tumor cells and TAMs that contributes to tumor progression.
DALI: A Large Dataset of Synchronized Audio, Lyrics and notes, Automatically Created using Teacher-student Machine Learning Paradigm

The goal of this paper is twofold. First, we introduce DALI, a large and rich multimodal dataset containing 5358 audio tracks with their time-aligned vocal melody notes and lyrics at four levels of granularity. The second goal is to explain our methodology where dataset creation and learning models interact using a teacher-student machine learning paradigm that benefits each other. We start with a set of manual annotations of draft time-aligned lyrics and notes made by non-expert users of Karaoke games. This set comes without audio. Therefore, we need to find the corresponding audio and adapt the annotations to it. To that end, we retrieve audio candidates from the Web. Each candidate is then turned into a singing-voice probability over time using a teacher, a deep convolutional neural network singing-voice detection system (SVD), trained on cleaned data. Comparing the time-aligned lyrics and the singing-voice probability, we detect matches and update the time-alignment lyrics accordingly. From this, we obtain new audio sets. They are then used to train new SVD students used to perform again the above comparison. The process could be repeated iteratively. We show that this allows to progressively improve the performances of our SVD and get better audio-matching and alignment.
Knowledge and Practice on Infection Prevention among Nurses of Bir Hospital, Kathmandu.

BACKGROUND Infection prevention is a crucial component to provide quality care in any health care setting. Infections are leading cause of death and preventable illness. This study was conducted to find out the knowledge and practice among nurses regarding infectionprevention. METHODS A descriptive study design was adopted for the study. Total 170 nurses were included by usingcensus technique to assess knowledge on infection prevention.Probability systematic sampling technique was used by selecting every odd number from staffs' list to observe the practice of 85 nurses.Semi-structured self-administered questionnaire and observation checklist was used for data collection. RESULTS The study showed that 57.1% of respondents had adequate knowledge and only 48.2% had good practice on infection preventionthrough hand hygiene, use of adequate personal protective equipment, decontamination, cleaning of instruments, sterilization, and use of antiseptics, disposal of sharps and waste disposal. Similarly 88.8% of the respondents had not received any training related to infection prevention. CONCLUSIONS This study reveals that respondents had better knowledge than practice on infection prevention. The study suggestthat need for organizing regular training, monitoring, development and implementation of guideline to improve knowledge and practice of nurses for prevention of infection in the hospital.
Depression, antidepressants, and the risk of non-valvular atrial fibrillation: A nationwide Danish matched cohort study

Background Depression is associated with an increased risk of a series of cardiovascular diseases and with increased symptom burden in patients with atrial fibrillation. The aim of this study was to determine the association between depression as well as antidepressant treatment and the risk of incident atrial fibrillation. Design A nationwide register-based study comparing the atrial fibrillation risk in all Danes initiating antidepressant treatment from 2000 to 2013 (N = 785,254) with that in a 1:5-matched sample from the general population. Methods Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and associated 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), both after initiation of treatment and in the month before when patients were assumed to have medically untreated depression. Results Antidepressant treatment was associated with a three-fold higher risk of atrial fibrillation during the first month (aHR = 3.18 (95% CI: 2.98–3.39)). This association gradually attenuated over the following year (aHR = 1.37 (95% CI: 1.31–1.44) 2–6 months after antidepressant therapy initiation, and aHR = 1.11 (95% CI: 1.06–1.16) 6–12 months after). However, the associated atrial fibrillation risk was even higher in the month before starting antidepressant treatment (aHR = 7.65 (95% CI: 7.05–8.30) from 30 to 15 days before, and aHR = 4.29 (95% CI: 3.94–4.67) the last 15 days before). Overall, 0.4% of patients were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation from 30 days before to 30 days after antidepressant treatment. Conclusions Antidepressant users had a substantially increased atrial fibrillation risk, particularly before treatment initiation. Whether this mirrors a causal relation between depression and atrial fibrillation may have large consequences for public health and should be discussed.
Efficient Frequency-Domain Synthetic Aperture Focusing Techniques for Imaging With a High-Frequency Single-Element Focused Transducer

Synthetic aperture focusing techniques (SAFT) make the spatial resolution of the conventional ultrasound imaging from a single-element focused transducer more uniform in the lateral direction. In this work, two new frequency-domain (FD-SAFT) algorithms are proposed, which are based on the synthetic aperture radar’s wavenumber algorithm, and 2-D matched filtering technique for the image reconstruction. The first algorithm is the FD-SAFT virtual source (FD-SAFT-VS) that treats the focus of a focused transducer as a virtual source having a finite size and the diffraction effect in the far-field is taken into consideration in the image reconstruction. The second algorithm is the FD-SAFT deconvolution (FD-SAFT-DE) that uses the simulated point spread function of the imaging system as a matched filter kernel in the image reconstruction. The performance of the proposed algorithms was studied using a series of simulations and experiments, and it was compared with the conventional B-mode and time-domain SAFT (TD-SAFT) imaging techniques. The image quality was analyzed in terms of spatial resolution, sidelobe level, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast resolution, contrast-to-speckle ratio, and ex vivo image quality. The results showed that the FD-SAFT-VS had the smallest spatial resolution and FD-SAFT-DE had the second smallest spatial resolution. In addition, FD-SAFT-DE had generally the largest SNR. The computation run time of FD-SAFT-VS and FD-SAFT-DE, depending on the image size, was lower by 4 to 174 times and 4 to 189 times, respectively, compared to the TD-SAFT-virtual point source.