Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Breast Meat Fatty Acid Profiling and Proteomic Analysis of Beijing-You Chicken During the Laying Period

The disparity in fatty acids (FA) composition exhibits a significant impact on meat quality, however, the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying this trait in chicken are far from clear. In this study, a total of 45 female Beijing-You chicken (BYC) hens, fed on the same diet, were collected at the slaughter age of 150, 300, or 450 days (D150, D300, and D450) from sexual maturation stage to culling stage (15 birds per age). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and tandem mass tag labeling technology based on liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (TMT-LC-MS/MS) analysis strategies were applied to profile FA compositions and to compare differential expressed proteins (DEPs) between these different slaughter ages, respectively. The FA profiling showed that increasing hen ages resulted in increased contents of both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Proteomic analyses showed a total of 4,935 proteins in chicken breast muscle with the false discovery rate (FDR) < 1% and 664 of them were differentially expressed (fold change > 1.50 or < 0.67 and P < 0.01). There were 410 up- and 116 down-regulated proteins in D150 vs. D300 group, 32 up- and 20 down-regulated in D150 vs. D450 group, and 72 up- and 241 down-regulated in D300 vs. D450 group. A total of 57 DEPs related to FA/lipid-related metabolisms were obtained according to the enrichment analysis of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). These DEPs were involved in 21 significantly enriched (P < 0.05) pathways, including well-known pathways for FA synthesis (metabolism, desaturation, and elongation) and the signaling pathways for lipid metabolism (PPAR, adipocytokine, calcium, VEGF, MAPK, and Wnt). In addition, there existed several representative DEPs (FABP, FABP3, apoA-I, apoA-IV, apoC-III, apoB, VTG1, and VTG2) involved in the regulation of FA/lipid transportation. The construction of the interaction networks indicated that HADH, ACAA2, HADHA, ACSL1, CD36, CPT1A, PPP3R1, and SPHK1 were the key core nodes. Finally, eight DEPs were quantified using parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) to validate the results from TMT analysis. These results expanded our understanding of how the laying age affects the FA compositions and metabolism in hen breast meat.
Urethane Improves the Response of Auditory Neurons to Tone

Urethane has little effect on nervous system and is often used in neuroscience studies. However, the effect of urethane in neurons is not thoroughly clear. In this study, we investigated changes in neuron responses to tones in inferior colliculus during urethane anesthesia. As urethane was metabolized, the best and characteristic frequencies did not obviously change, but the minimal threshold (MT) remained relatively stable or was elevated. The frequency tuning bandwidth at 60 dB SPL (BW60dBSPL) remained unchanged or decreased, and the average evoked spike of effective frequencies at 60 dB SPL (ES60dBSPL) gradually decreased. Although the average evoked spike of effective frequencies at a tone intensity of 20 dB SPL above MT (ES20dBSPLaboveMT) decreased, the frequency tuning bandwidth at a tone intensity of 20 dB SPL above MT (BW20dBSPLaboveMT) did not change. In addition, the changes in MT, ES60dBSPL, BW60dBSPL, and ES20dBSPLaboveMT increased with the MT in pre-anesthesia awake state (MTpre−anesthesiaawake). In some neurons, the MT was lower, BW60dBSPL was broader, and ES60dBSPL and ES20dBSPLaboveMT were higher in urethane anesthesia state than in pre-anesthesia awake state. During anesthesia, the inhibitory effect of urethane reduced the ES20dBSPLaboveMT, but did not change the MT, characteristic frequency, or BW20dBSPLaboveMT. In the recording session with the strongest neuron response, the first spike latency did not decrease, and the spontaneous spike did not increase. Therefore, we conclude that urethane can reduce/not change the MT, increase the evoked spike, or broaden/not change the frequency tuning range, and eventually improve the response of auditory neurons to tone with or without “pushing down” the tonal receptive field in thresholding model. The improved effect increases with the MTpre−anesthesiaawake of neurons. The changes induced by the inhibitory and improved effects of urethane abide by similar regularities, but the change directions are contrary. The improvement mechanism may be likely due to the increase in the ratio of excitatory/inhibitory postsynaptic inputs to neurons.
Automatic bird species identification employing an unsupervised discovery of vocalisation units

An automatic analysis of bird vocalisations for the identification of bird species, the study of their behaviour and their means of communication is important for a better understanding of the environment in which we are living and in the context of environmental protection. The high variability of vocalisations within different individuals makes species’ identification challenging for bird surveyors. Hence, the availability of a reliable automatic bird identification system through their vocalisations, would be of great interest to professionals and amateurs alike. A part of this thesis provides a biological survey on the scientific theories of the study of bird vocalisation and corresponding singing behaviours. Another section of this thesis aims to discover a set of element patterns produced by each bird species in a large corpus of the natural field recordings. Also this thesis aims to develop an automatic system for the identification of bird species from recordings. Two HMM based recognition systems are presented in this research. Evaluations have been demonstrated where the proposed element based HMM system obtained a recognition accuracy of over 93% by using 3 seconds of detected signal and over 39% recognition error rate reduction, compared to the baseline HMM system of the same complexity.
“Derived Multiple Allogeneic Protein Paracrine Signaling (d-MAPPS)” Enhances T Cell-Driven Immune Response to Murine Mammary Carcinoma

Breast cancer is considered refractory to immunotherapy. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for the therapeutic use of new immunostimulatory agents which would enhance antitumor immune response against breast cancer cells. “Derived Multiple Allogeneic Protein Paracrine Signaling (d-MAPPS)” is a biological product whose activity is based on chemokines and cytokines that modulate homing and phenotype of immune cells. d-MAPPS contains high concentration of dendritic cell (DC) and T cell-attracting chemokine CXCL16 and potent T cell-activating cytokine IL-27 which enhance DC:T cell cross-talk in inflamed tissues. Herewith, we used 4T1 murine model of breast cancer to analyze d-MAPPS-dependent enhancement of T cell-driven antitumor immunity. 4T1+d-MAPPS-treated mice showed delayed mammary tumor appearance compared to 4T1+saline-treated animals. d-MAPPS significantly reduced tumor weight and volume and improved survival of 4T1-treated mice. Significantly increased concentration of CXCL16, IL-27, IFN-γ, and IL-17 and decreased concentration of immunosuppressive TGF-β and IL-10 were measured in serum samples and tumor tissues of 4T1+d-MAPPS-treated mice. d-MAPPS enhanced production of IL-12 and increased expression of MHC class II and costimulatory molecules on tumor-infiltrated DC, significantly improving their antigen-presenting properties. d-MAPPS in CXCL16-dependent manner promoted recruitment of antitumorigenic IFN-γ/IL-17-producing CD4+Th1/Th17 cells and in IL-27-dependent manner induced expansion of tumoricidal CD178+granzyme B-expressing CD8+CTLs and inhibited generation of tolerogenic DC, IL-10, and TGF-β-producing FoxP3-expressing T regulatory cells. In summing up, d-MAPPS, in CXL16- and IL-27-dependent manner, enhanced T cell-driven antitumor immune response and suppressed breast cancer growth in experimental mice.
Breastfeeding in times of COVID-19: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced postpartum women in breastfeeding. Method: a scoping review, with a search in seven databases. Studies available in full, in English, Portuguese or Spanish, published from December/2019-April/2021 were included. The analysis was carried out by categorizing common themes. Results: 25 studies were included, grouped into five categories, presenting the influence of the pandemic: in the routine of breastfeeding care, evidencing preventive measures against COVID-19; in breastfeeding rates, highlighting changes in dietary practices; in the support network for breastfeeding, indicating a lack of service care; in the postpartum women’s emotions, with predominance of concern and stress; in the use of technology to support breastfeeding, with teleservice facilitating care. Conclusion: the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced new forms of care, in the offer and duration of breastfeeding, in emotional health and in the support network fragility. It is expected to contribute so that health professionals provide care with greater assertiveness in the face of this new situation.
Understanding Heavy Tails of Flood Peak Distributions

Statistical distributions of flood peak discharge often show heavy tail behavior, that is, extreme floods are more likely to occur than would be predicted by commonly used distributions that have exponential asymptotic behavior. This heavy tail behavior may surprise flood managers and citizens, as human intuition tends to expect light tail behavior, and the heaviness of the tails is very difficult to predict, which may lead to unnecessarily high flood damage. Despite its high importance, the literature on the heavy tail behavior of flood distributions is rather fragmented. In this review, we provide a coherent overview of the processes causing heavy flood tails and the implications for science and practice. Specifically, we propose nine hypotheses on the mechanisms causing heavy tails in flood peak distributions related to processes in the atmosphere, the catchment, and the river system. We then discuss to which extent the current knowledge supports or contradicts these hypotheses. We also discuss the statistical conditions for the emergence of heavy tail behavior based on derived distribution theory and relate them to the hypotheses and flood generation mechanisms. We review the degree to which the heaviness of the tails can be predicted from process knowledge and data. Finally, we recommend further research toward testing the hypotheses and improving the prediction of heavy tails.
Customized Utilization Strategies of Industrial Lignin to Produce Adsorbents and Flocculants Based on Fractionation and Adequate Structural Interpretation

Lignin, a by-product of pulping and biorefinery, has great potential to replace petrochemical resources for wastewater purification. However, the defects of lignin, such as severe heterogeneity, inferior reactivity and poor solubility, characterize the production process of lignin-based products by high energy consumption and serious pollution. In this study, several lignin fractions with relatively homogeneous structure were first obtained by organic solvent fractionation, and their structures were fully deciphered by various characterization techniques. Subsequently, each lignin component was custom-valued for wastewater purification based on their structural characteristics. Benefiting from the high reactivity and reaction accessibility, the lignin fraction (lignin-1) refined by dissolving in ethanol and n-butanol could been used as a raw material to produce cationic lignin-based flocculant (LBF) in a copolymerization system using green, cheap and recyclable ethanol as solvent. The lignin fraction (lignin-2) extracted by methanol and dioxane showed low reactivity and high carbon content, which was used to produce lignin-based activated carbon (LAC) with phosphoric acid as activator. Moreover, the influences of synthetic factors on the purification capacity were discussed, and the LBF and LAC produced under the optimal conditions showed distinguished purification effect on kaolin suspension and heavy metal wastewater, respectively. Furthermore, the corresponding purification mechanism and external factors were also elaborated. It is believed that this cleaner production strategy is helpful for the valorization of lignin in wastewater resources.
The Role of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET Radiotracers in Brain Tumors: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Ongoing Clinical Trials

Simple Summary [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET imaging has recently been introduced in the management of patients with brain tumors, mostly meningiomas and pituitary adenomas or carcinomas. The current literature demonstrated the superior diagnostic accuracy of this imaging modality, especially for lesions difficult to be detected or characterized on conventional imaging protocols, such as skull base or transosseous meningiomas. [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET tracers also seem to provide superior volume contouring for radiotherapy planning and may also be used to evaluate the tumor’s overexpression of somatostatin receptors for devising patient-tailored peptide receptor radionuclide therapy. In this review, we comprehensively analyzed the current literature discussing the implementation of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET imaging in brain tumors, further presenting ongoing clinical trials and suggesting potential future applications. Abstract Background: The development of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET tracers has garnered interest in neuro-oncology, to increase accuracy in diagnostic, radiation planning, and neurotheranostics protocols. We systematically reviewed the literature on the current uses of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET in brain tumors. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane were searched in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines to include published studies and ongoing trials utilizing [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET in patients with brain tumors. Results: We included 63 published studies comprising 1030 patients with 1277 lesions, and 4 ongoing trials. [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET was mostly used for diagnostic purposes (62.5%), followed by treatment planning (32.7%), and neurotheranostics (4.8%). Most lesions were meningiomas (93.6%), followed by pituitary adenomas (2.8%), and the DOTATOC tracer (53.2%) was used more frequently than DOTATATE (39.1%) and DOTANOC (5.7%), except for diagnostic purposes (DOTATATE 51.1%). [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET studies were mostly required to confirm the diagnosis of meningiomas (owing to their high SSTR2 expression and tracer uptake) or evaluate their extent of bone invasion, and improve volume contouring for better radiotherapy planning. Some studies reported the uncommon occurrence of SSTR2-positive brain pathology challenging the diagnostic accuracy of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET for meningiomas. Pre-treatment assessment of tracer uptake rates has been used to confirm patient eligibility (high somatostatin receptor-2 expression) for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) (i.e., neurotheranostics) for recurrent meningiomas and pituitary carcinomas. Conclusion: [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-SSTR PET studies may revolutionize the routine neuro-oncology practice, especially in meningiomas, by improving diagnostic accuracy, delineation of radiotherapy targets, and patient eligibility for radionuclide therapies.
Terpinen-4-ol, the Main Bioactive Component of Tea Tree Oil, as an Innovative Antimicrobial Agent against Legionella pneumophila

Legionella pneumophila (Lp), responsible for a severe pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease, represents an important health burden in Europe. Prevention and control of Lp contamination in warm water systems is still a great challenge often due to the failure in disinfection procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro activity of Terpinen-4-ol (T-4-ol) as potential agent for Lp control, in comparison with the essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) (TTO. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of T-4-ol were determined by broth micro-dilution and a micro-atmosphere diffusion method to investigate the anti-Lp effects of T-4-ol and TTO vapors. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was adopted to highlight the morphological changes and Lp damage following T-4-ol and TTO treatments. The greatest antimicrobial activity against Lp was shown by T-4-ol with a MIC range of 0.06–0.125% v/v and MBC range of 0.25–0.5% v/v. The TTO and T-4-ol MIC and MBC decreased with increasing temperature (36 °C to 45 ± 1 °C), and temperature also significantly influenced the efficacy of TTO and T-4-ol vapors. The time-killing assay showed an exponential trend of T-4-ol bactericidal activity at 0.5% v/v against Lp. SEM observations revealed a concentration- and temperature- dependent effect of T-4-ol and TTO on cell surface morphology with alterations. These findings suggest that T-4-ol is active against Lp and further studies may address the potential effectiveness of T-4-ol for control of water systems.
The Performance Improvements of Self-sensing Control for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines

This thesis presents a general solution for the problem of position self-sensing with surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous machines at zero and low speeds using high frequency signal injection, and introduces two different novel designs of interior permanent magnet synchronous machines with concentrated windings which are attractive to the self-sensing control system and have been verified by respective experimental results.
Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis in CEMAC Countries

The objective of this study is to test the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznet curve (EKC) for 6 CEMAC countries covering the period 1960-2014. We wanted to know if the evolution of per capita income affects environmental quality in the income-emissions relationship (environment). To achieve this objective, we used the method of fixed effects. The results of this study reveal that there is no empirical support for the presence of an environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. On the other hand, there is rather an inverted "N"-shaped relationship between gross domestic product per capita and CO2 emissions. Moreover, the use of the FMOLS method gives robust results. For this purpose, the minimum turning point which corresponds to per capita income from which CO2 emissions increase is 89.84 dollars and the maximum point corresponding to per capita income from which CO2 emissions decreases is 116.21 dollars. Therefore, CEMAC countries must undertake income policies with the aim of reaching at least the threshold of 1116.21 dollars per capita in order to reverse the evolution of CO2 emissions.
Case report: Parasitism of Ornithonyssus bursa (Macronyssidae) in humans in the Taquari River Valley region, southern Brazil

Ornithonyssus bursa hematophagous mite whose main host is wild and domestic birds, which can temporarily parasitize humans in the absence of the main host. Infestations occur when birds abandon nests or direct contact with infected birds. The specimens were collected in a house in the urban area, with the help of a paper towel and kept under low refrigeration for later identification. The mites were identified as O. bursa, considered an important poultry pest. The present report is the first case of hematophagous parasitism in humans in the region of Vale do Taquari, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Study of the Electron Beam Melting Process Parameters’ Influence on the Tensile Behavior of 3D Printed Ti6Al4V ELI Alloy in Static and Dynamic Conditions

The Ti6Al4V alloy is widely adopted in many high-end applications in different fields, including the aerospace, biomechanics, and automotive sectors. Additive manufacturing extends its range of possible applications but also introduces variations in its mechanical performance, depending on the whole manufacturing process and the related control parameters. This work focuses on the detailed tensile stress–strain characterization at low and high strain rates of a Grade 23 Ti alloy manufactured by electron beam melting (EBM). In particular, the main aim is to study the effect of the variation of the EBM process parameters on the performance of the material and their consequent optimization in order to obtain the best printed material in terms of ductility and strength. The adopted optical experimental setups allow the semi-local scale analysis of the neck section which makes possible the accurate estimation of stress, strain, and strain rate, all over the post-necking range and up to the very incipient specimen failure. Among the EBM printing process parameters, the speed function was previously identified as the one mainly affecting the material performance at static rates. Therefore, two different parameter sets, corresponding to the standard value and to an optimized value of the speed function parameter, respectively, are tested here at dynamic rates of 1, 15, and 700 s−1, for assessing the effect of the speed function on the dynamic material response. The results show that the optimized parameter set has a better performance compared to the standard one in terms of strength and ductility. In particular, in both static and dynamic conditions, it presents an increase of the true stress–strain curve (about 5% on average) and an increase of the failure strain (about 11% on average). Moreover, in respect to the standard parameter set, the optimized one is also characterized by a huge increase of the amplification due to the strain rate (about 49% on average for the considered strain rates).
Sex Moderates the Association between Frailty and Mild Behavioral Impairment

Frailty has been associated with cognitive markers of dementia but its relationship with behavioral markers of dementia are poorly understood. To investigate the association between frailty and mild behavioral impairment (MBI), and whether this association is moderated by sex. Cross-sectional observational study. 219 non-dementia participants (cognitively normal and mild cognitive impairment) from the Comprehensive Assessment of Neurodegeneration and Dementia (COMPASS-ND) study. Frailty was measured using the frailty index (FI) with higher scores indicating more health deficits/greater frailty. MBI symptoms were derived from Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire scores using a published algorithm with a cut-off of >0 indicating MBI symptom presence and higher scores indicating greater severity. Multivariable logistic and linear regressions adjusted for age, sex, education, and cognitive diagnosis were used to test the association between FI and MBI symptom presence and severity, respectively, with MBI as the outcome variable. An FI-by-sex interaction term was included to test for sex-dependent effects. The FI mean and SD across the entire cohort was 0.14 ± 0.06 (median = 0.14, IQR = 0.09–0.17, range = 0.02–0.38). Higher FI scores were associated with the presence of MBI symptoms both globally and in the domains of decreased motivation, affective dysregulation, and psychosis. Higher FI scores were also associated with more severe MBI symptoms in a sex-dependent manner: both sexes reported similarly low MBI symptom severity at low (−1 SD) levels of FI but males reported 1.9x higher MBI symptom severity relative to females at high (+1 SD) levels of FI. The FI is associated with both the presence and severity of MBI, especially for males. This suggests that screening for early dementia risk should incorporate assessments of MBI for patients with frailty, and assessments of frailty for patients with MBI.