Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epigenetics and Neuroinflammation Associated With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Microglial Perspective

Neuroinflammation is a cause of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome, and cerebral palsy. Converging lines of evidence from basic and clinical sciences suggest that dysregulation of the epigenetic landscape, including DNA methylation and miRNA expression, is associated with neuroinflammation. Genetic and environmental factors can affect the interaction between epigenetics and neuroinflammation, which may cause neurodevelopmental disorders. In this minireview, we focus on neuroinflammation that might be mediated by epigenetic dysregulation in microglia, and compare studies using mammals and zebrafish.
Role of Therapeutic Plasmapheresis in SARS-CoV-2 Induced Cytokine Release Syndrome: A Retrospective Cohort Study on COVID-19 Patients

Background Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) significantly contributes to the pathophysiology and progression of COVID-19. It is speculated that therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) can dampen CRS via elimination of pathogenic cytokines. Objectives The study is intended to compare the outcomes of COVID-19 patients with CRS treated with TPE and standard care (SC) to their counterparts receiving SC alone. Methodology A retrospective cohort study of severe COVID-19 confirmed patients presenting with CRS and admitted to the medical ICU was conducted between March and August 2021. Using case-control (CC) matching 1:1, 162 patients were selected and divided into two equal groups. The primary outcome was 28-day in-hospital survival analysis in severe COVID-19 patients with CRS. However, secondary outcomes included the effect of plasmapheresis on inflammatory markers, the need for mechanical ventilation, the rate of extubation, and the duration of survival. Results After CC matching, the study cohort had a mean age of 55.41 (range 56.41±11.56 in TP+SC and 54.42±8.94 in SC alone; p=0.22). There were 25.95% males and 74.05% females in both groups. The mean time from first day of illness to hospitalization was 6.53±2.18 days. The majority of patients with CRS had comorbid conditions (75.9%). Diabetes mellitus was the most common comorbidity (40.1%), followed by hypertension (25.3%), and chronic kidney disease (21%). Notable reduction in some inflammatory markers (D-dimers, LDH, CRP and serum ferritin) (p<0.0001) was observed in the group that received TPE+SC. Moreover, the patients in the plasmapheresis plus standard care group required relatively less mechanical ventilation as compared to the group receiving SC alone (46.9% vs 58.1%, respectively; p>0.05). The rate of extubation in the TP+SC group vs SC alone was 60.5% vs 44.7%, respectively (p>0.05). Similarly, the mortality percentages in both groups were 19.8% and 24.7%, respectively. Conclusion For this particular group of matched patients with COVID-19-induced CRS, TPE+SC was linked with relatively better overall survival, early extubation, and earlier discharge compared to SC alone. As these results were not statistically significant, multi-centered randomized control trials are needed to further elaborate the role of therapeutic plasmapheresis in COVID-19 induced CRS.
No xylem phenotypic plasticity in mature Picea abies and Fagus sylvatica trees after 5 years of throughfall precipitation exclusion

Forest trees are experiencing increasing frequency and intensity of drought events with climate change. We investigated xylem and phloem traits from mature Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies trees after 5 years of complete exclusion of throughfall precipitation during the growing season. Xylem and phloem anatomy, leaf and branch biomass were analysed along top branches of ~1.5 m lenght in 5 throughfall precipitation excluded (TE) and 5 control (CO) trees of both beech and spruce. Xylem traits were analysed on wood cores extracted from the stem at breast height. In the top branches of both species, the lumen diameter (or area) of xylem and phloem conduits did not differ between TE and CO trees. At breast height, TE trees of both species produced narrower xylem rings and conduits. While allocation to branch (BM) and needle biomass (LM) did not change between TE and CO in P. abies, TE F. sylvatica trees allocated proportionally more biomass to leaves (LM) than BM compared with CO. Despite artificial drought increased the mortality in the TE plots, our results revealed no changes in both xylem and phloem anatomies, undermining the hypothesis that successful acclimation to drought would primarily involve increased resistance against air embolism.
LGBTQ+ asylum and transformative accommodations between religion, faith and sexuality in the UK

ABSTRACT The right to asylum on grounds of sexuality and/or gender-based persecution is frequently seen as synonymous with the right to “exit” one’s oppressive religious community. This article aims to critique this assumption through a focus on LGBTQ+ asylum claimants, refugees and support providers everyday negotiations with and between faith, religion, sexuality and gender identity in the UK. Drawing on critical scholarship on religion, gender, sexuality, difference, and asylum, as well as empirical research with asylum claimants and secular and religious support organizations in the UK, this article shows how LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum claimants respond to experiences of marginalization through processes of “transformative accommodation” between faith traditions and liberal LGBTQ+ rights. Such accommodations highlight the instability of assumptions that view LGBTQ+ rights in conflict with faith and religious belief, in turn contesting the basis on which racialized, secular and gendered differences that pervade contexts of LGBTQ+ asylum are maintained.
SHEAR TRANSFER STRENGTH OF CONCRETE PLACED AGAINST HARDENED CONCRETE

Shear transfer strength of concrete placed against hardened concrete has been of researcher’s interest because of the unavoidable joints between structural elements. The failing joints in the application of adjacent box beam girders causing premature aging of the bridges and financial liabilities. There are no design guide lines for such joints. ACI 318-2011 overlooked important factors that may affect shear strength. This research was performed to understand the joint behavior, vertical shear transfer mechanism. Three sets of Reinforced, un-reinforced, compressed test specimens and finite element analysis models were studied in this research, it was established that (a) ACI 318-2011 over estimates the shear strength for joints with high clamping force. (b) The shear strength expression introduced by Patnaik 2001 for horizontal shear is applicable for vertical shear with upper bound for shear strength at clamping force larger than 800 psi. (c) Lateral stresses and lateral spread of joints are generated due to vertical shear. (d) Lateral supports and the application of normal compressive forces to shear interface will increase the joint strength. (e) The allowable vertical slip for shear interfaces at failure is larger when the externally applied normal force was increased.
The contribution of smoking-attributable mortality to differences in mortality and life expectancy among US African-American and white adults, 2000–2019

BACKGROUND The role of smoking in racial disparities in mortality and life expectancy in the United States has been examined previously, but up-to-date estimates are generally unavailable, even though smoking prevalence has declined in recent decades. OBJECTIVE We estimate the contribution of smoking-attributable mortality to observed differences in mortality and life expectancy for US African-American and white adults from 2000–2019. METHODS The indirect Preston–Glei–Wilmoth method was used with national vital statistics and population data and nationally representative never-smoker lung cancer death rates to estimate the smoking-attributable fraction (SAF) of deaths in the United States by sex-race group from 2000–2019. Mortality rates without smoking-attributable mortality were used to estimate life expectancy at age 50 (e50) by group during the period. RESULTS African-American men had the highest estimated SAF during the period, beginning at 26.4% (95% CI:25.0%–27.8%) in 2000 and ending at 12.1% (95% CI:11.4%–12.8%) in 2019. The proportion of the difference in e50 for white and African-American men that was due to smoking decreased from 27.7% to 14.8%. For African-American and white women, the estimated differences in e50 without smoking-attributable mortality were similar to observed differences. CONCLUSIONS Smoking continues to contribute to racial disparities in mortality and life expectancy among men in the United States. CONTRIBUTION We present updated estimates of the contribution of smoking to mortality differences in the United States using nationally representative data sources.
Trends in the occurrence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Arada Sub-City: A 5-year retrospective study.

Helicobacter pylori infection remains a major public health problem in Ethiopia. This retrospective study aims at determining the prevalence of H. pylori infection over a period of 5 years, from 2016 to 2020 among dyspeptic patients at nine Health Centers of Arada sub-city, Addis Ababa. Data were collected from the patients record books of the nine Health Centers. At the health centers a stool antigen test is most often used than a serology antibody test, because stool antigen test is more specific and detects only an active infection. Chi-square analysis was employed to identify associations between variables. A P-value of <0.05 was considered significant. In the present study, the overall prevalence of H. pylori was 49.2%. The prevalence was higher among patients of age 60 years and above (59%); whereas it was lower in the age category of 15 to 29 years (43%). No association was observed between H. pylori infection and the sex (gender) of the studied cases. However, statistically significant increments in H. pylori cases were observed over the five year study periods. It can be concluded that the overall prevalence of H. pylori was 49.2% and there were no associations between sex (gender) and H. pylori infection. The authors would like to recommend the health centers to use stool antigen test and to provide an awareness for the study population.
Bioactive Evaluation of Ursane-Type Pentacyclic Triterpenoids: β-Boswellic Acid Interferes with the Glycosylation and Transport of Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 in Human Lung Adenocarcinoma A549 Cells

Ursane-type pentacyclic triterpenoids exert various biological effects, including anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. We previously reported that ursolic acid, corosolic acid, and asiatic acid interfered with the intracellular trafficking and glycosylation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells stimulated with the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1α. However, the structure–activity relationship of ursane-type pentacyclic triterpenoids remains unclear. In the present study, the biological activities of seven ursane-type pentacyclic triterpenoids (β-boswellic acid, uvaol, madecassic acid, 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid, ursolic acid, corosolic acid, and asiatic acid) were investigated. We revealed that the inhibitory activities of ursane-type pentacyclic triterpenoids on the cell surface expression and glycosylation of ICAM-1 and α-glucosidase activity were influenced by the number of hydroxy groups and/or the presence and position of a carboxyl group. We also showed that β-boswellic acid interfered with ICAM-1 glycosylation in a different manner from other ursane-type pentacyclic triterpenoids.
Pluralist Behavioral Economics (PBE) for Consumers, Firms, Gender, Health and Society

The paradigm of economic rationality is eroded by criticism from related behavioral disciplines, especially psychology. Neuroeconomics is a new multidisciplinary approach to behavioral economics. Neuroeconomics orders the Big5 Taxonomy by risk-will into a pluralist behavioral economics (PBE) that changes the classical and develops new domains of economic behavior: Firstly, consumer behavior is not sovereign but formed by group standards centering Open-mindedness. The rational consumer standard is now “Simple Living” as an alternative to consumerism. Secondly, the prototype of open-mindedness in production life is identified as the Pilot-in-the-plane entrepreneur that expands the production scope far beyond maximization of profit to include characteristics such as pragmatism, versatile team composition and perseverance to overcome obstacles. Thirdly, stress-management by meditative in-depth relaxation is evidenced as a complement to fitness. Fourthly, gender economics is supported by neuroeconomic findings on mental gender differences. Fifthly, Neuroeconomics explains the qualitative value of industrialization as “Rise of the Creative Class” due to liberal upbringing, broader and better tertiary education and more business options. The Discussion focuses on spillovers from PBE to the democratic culture. The option is to moderate historical economic-political polarization to that of complements with a broader population base.
Web 2.0 Applications in Open Access Institutional Repositories of Asia

The primary purpose of the present study is to find out the adoption of Web 2.0 tools in social science repositories of Asian countries. Open access repositories were selected from OpenDOAR in the year 2021. Later, websites of all repositories were manually checked to identify the existence of Web 2.0 tools. The results revealed that Japan has established the maximum number of open access digital repositories in Asia, followed by Indonesia, Turkey, India, and China. The study shows that out of the total 101 social science institutional repositories found in these top five Asian countries, only 92 repositories were operational, and the rest weren’t accessible. From the operational repositories, 31.60 per cent (30) were Web 2.0 enabled, and 69.40 per cent (62) hadn’t incorporated Web 2.0 in their repositories. The highest number of Web 2.0 enabled repositories was found in Turkey, followed by Indonesia and China. Japan has the highest number of OA repositories but lags behind Turkey, Indonesia, and China in Web 2.0 enabled repositories. The least number of Web 2.0 enabled repositories were found in India among these countries. RSS feeds and Atom were the most used Web 2.0 tools in these institutional repositories.
TRUTH: Trust and Authentication Scheme in 5G-IIoT

Due to the extremely important role of data in the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) network, trust and security of data are among the major concerns. In this article, we develop a cloud-integrated 5G-IIoT network architecture enabled by a three-party authenticated key exchange (AKE) protocol with privacy-preserving to secure data exchanged via wireless communication, cope with unauthorized entities, and ensure data integrity. Moreover, we develop a trust model based on the Dempster–Shafer theory to check the trustworthiness of data collected by smart devices/sensor nodes. Security analysis performed on our scheme demonstrates that it can withstand different well known attacks in the IIoT environment. We also analyzed the validity of our scheme by using the automated validation of internet security protocols and applications tool. Additionally, the performance evaluation and experimental results prove the effectiveness of the proposed scheme compared to the existing works in terms of accuracy, delay, trust, and throughput.
Diane Keaton’s late films: aging gracefully for the silvering screen

ABSTRACT This article offers a cultural analysis of Diane Keaton’s later career that teases out the age/gender interactions of the roles she has played past her mid-fifties. Drawing on both age and gender theories, our analysis of Keaton’s late-life characterizations explains the actor’s transformation into an icon of a positive and desirable form of female aging. At the same time, it observes the normative aspects of gendered old age that are also perpetuated through Keaton’s late-life representations of aging femininity, and which troublingly reiterate Hollywood’s normative white heterosexuality.
Temperature Change between Neighboring Days Contributes to Years of Life Lost per Death from Respiratory Disease: A Multicounty Analysis in Central China

Background: Many epidemiological studies have recently assessed respiratory mortality attributable to ambient temperatures. However, the associations between temperature change between neighboring days and years of life lost are insufficiently studied. Therefore, we assessed the attributable risk of temperature change between neighboring days on life loss due to respiratory disease. Methods: We obtained daily mortality and weather data and calculated crude rates of years of life lost for 70 counties in Hunan Province, Central China, from 2013 to 2017. A time-series design with distributed lag nonlinear model and multivariate meta-regression was used to pool the relationships between temperature change between neighboring days and rates of years of life lost. Then, we calculated the temperature change between neighboring days related to average life loss per death from respiratory disease. Results: The total respiratory disease death was 173,252 during the study period. The association between temperature change and years of life lost rates showed a w-shape. The life loss per death attributable to temperature change between neighboring days was 2.29 (95% CI: 0.46–4.11) years, out of which 1.16 (95% CI: 0.31–2.01) years were attributable to moderately high-temperature change between neighboring days, and 0.99 (95% CI: 0.19–1.79) years were attributable to moderately low-temperature change between neighboring days. The temperature change between neighboring days related to life loss per respiratory disease death for females (2.58 years, 95% CI: 0.22–4.93) and the younger group (2.97 years, 95% CI: −1.51–7.44) was higher than that for males (2.21 years, 95% CI: 0.26–4.16) and the elderly group (1.96 years, 95% CI: 0.85–3.08). An average of 1.79 (95% CI: 0.18–3.41) life loss per respiratory disease death was related to non-optimal ambient temperature. Conclusions: The results indicated that more attention should be given to temperature change, and more public health policies should be implemented to protect public health.
THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AS A MEDIATING EFFECT OF THE CHARACTERISTICS AND CULTURE OF SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES IN PASURUAN

Many of small-scale clothing industries in East Java that develop from a home scale. Gradually these industries turned into a business-oriented craft industry and then managed to penetrate the market in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, and some major cities in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Not simply to meet the local needs, but most crafters have successfully exported their products to Japan, America, the Netherlands and European markets. Based on the explanation above, this study aims to clarify how the factors of organizational culture of small-scale business levels and the characteristics of small-scale business affect entrepreneurship and performance. In this research, the analysis used to test the above-mentioned hypotheses was the analysis of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using Sobel Test approach to examine the mediation among variables. This study used the technique of proportional cluster random sampling, in addition proportional based on the Master of the regency/ city. This study employed a sample of 135 small-scale clothing business situated in Pasuruan City. These research findings that entrepreneurial orientation mediates the relationship between the characteristics of small- scale industries and the culture of small-scale industries on the performance of these small- scale industries. The results of this study can provide an input for the actors of small-scale business and the regional government of Pasuruan to make policy related to the model for the development of small-scale industries.
Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) in the Evaluation of Renal Masses with Histopathological Validation—Results from a Prospective Single-Center Study

Background: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in characterizing between malignant and benign renal lesions confirmed by histological examination. Methods: Overall, 110 patients, for a total of 118 renal masses previously identified at CT and MRI underwent CEUS. An expert radiologist evaluated morphological, qualitative and quantitative parameters. Acquired data were analyzed to assess the value of each parameter to differentiate between malignant and benign lesions. Results: Histological results of 118 renal masses showed 88 (75%) malignant lesions and 30 (25%) benign lesions. Among morphological features, inhomogeneous echogenicity was the best predictor of malignancy depicting a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 76%, 76%, 88% and 57%, respectively. Among qualitative parameters, the most reliable parameter was the presence of pseudo-capsule. Here, sensitivity, specificity, positive PPV and NPV were 85%, 86%, 94% and 71%, respectively. Among quantitative parameters, the most reliable parameters were peak intensity (PI) and the area under the (AUC) with sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV values of 94%, 92%, 96% and 87% and 99%, 92%, 97% and 97%, respectively. Finally, the most reliable parameters were combined to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions. The best combination obtained was restricted to CEUS parameters (PI and AUC). Here, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy rate were 93%, 100%, 100%, 83% and 93%, respectively. Conclusions: CEUS increases the US accuracy to discriminate between benign and malignant renal lesions.
Effect of Deficit Irrigation Practice on Nitrogen Mineralization and Nitrate Nitrogen Leaching under Semi-Arid Conditions

Agricultural sector acts as a major consumer of water which accounts for 70 percent of global freshwater use. Water scarcity acts as an imminent threat to agriculture, there is a need to use those irrigation and management practices that could overcome this overwhelming situation of water scarcity. Lab incubation study was designed to evaluate the effect of different moisture levels (50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100% FC) on nitrogen mineralization rate. Net nitrogen mineralization was shown at 60% and 80% FC levels. Two opti-mized irrigation levels (I 0.6 and I 0.8 ) along with four levels of dairy manure (10, 15, 20, and 25 Mg ha −1 ) were used in a lysimetric trial. Nitrate-nitrogen was measured at four depths (D 1 : 30 cm, D 2 : 60 cm, D 3 : 90 cm, and D 4 : 120 cm). Results showed strong interaction of irrigation and dairy manure at all depths. Mean maximum nitrate-nitrogen concentration was shown under full irrigation at 120 cm soil depth with the application of DM @ 25 Mg ha −1 . Under two levels of deficit irrigation, I 0.8 has shown maximum nitrate-nitrogen concentration at 90 cm soil depth with the application of DM 25 , however, deficit irrigation level I 0.6 restricted nitrate-nitrogen movement up to 60 cm soil depth, and high concentration was found at 30 cm soil depth. We concluded that deficit irrigation practice along with dairy manure resulted in more nitrate-nitrogen in the upper 60 cm layer of soil where it can be more available for the crops.