Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduced Immunity Regulator MAVS Contributes to Non-Hypertrophic Cardiac Dysfunction by Disturbing Energy Metabolism and Mitochondrial Homeostasis

Cardiac dysfunction is manifested as decline of cardiac systolic function, and multiple cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) can develop cardiac insufficiency. Mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS) is known as an innate immune regulator involved in viral infectious diseases and autoimmune diseases, whereas its role in the heart remains obscure. The alteration of MAVS was analyzed in animal models with non-hypertrophic and hypertrophic cardiac dysfunction. Then, MAVS-deficient mice were generated to examine the heart function, mitochondrial status and energy metabolism. In vitro, CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing was used to delete MAVS in H9C2 cell lines and the phenotypes of mitochondria and energy metabolism were evaluated. Here we observed reduced MAVS expression in cardiac tissue from several non-hypertrophic cardiac dysfunction models, contrasting to the enhanced MAVS in hypertrophic heart. Furthermore, we examined the heart function in mice with partial or total MAVS deficiency and found spontaneously developed cardiac pump dysfunction and cardiac dilation as assessed by echocardiography parameters. Metabonomic results suggested MAVS deletion probably promoted cardiac dysfunction by disturbing energy metabolism, especially lipid metabolism. Disordered and mitochondrial homeostasis induced by mitochondrial oxidative stress and mitophagy impairment also advanced the progression of cardiac dysfunction of mice without MAVS. Knockout of MAVS using CRISPR/Cas9 in cardiomyocytes damaged mitochondrial structure and function, as well as increased mitochondrial ROS production. Therefore, reduced MAVS contributed to the pathogenesis of non-hypertrophic cardiac dysfunction, which reveals a link between a key regulator of immunity (MAVS) and heart function.
Turist Rehberleri Bakış Açısıyla Dijitalleşme ve Robot Rehberler (A Study of Digitilisation and Robot Guıdes From The Perspectıve of Tourıst Guides)

Bu çalışma turist rehberlerinin dijitalleşmeye bakış açısını, dijitalleşmenin ve robot teknolojisinin rehberlik mesleğine olabilecek muhtemel avantaj ve dezavantajlarını turist rehberlerinin perspektifinden değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmada veri toplama aracı olarak nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme tekniği kullanılmış ve elde edilen veriler içerik analiziyle değerlendirilmiştir. Veriler, ATRO (Aydın Turist Rehberleri Odası)’ya bağlı olarak çalışan 20 turist rehberiyle yapılan yüz yüze görüşmelerle toplanmıştır. Görüşme yapılan turist rehberlerinin turlarında dijital platformlardan Headset, navigasyon, Audio-guide gibi bazılarını kullandığı, özellikle anlatımın zor olduğu yerlerde bu uygulamaların destekleyici rol üstelendiği belirlenmiştir. Turizm endüstrisinde robot rehber kullanımının duygusuz bir anlatımla iletişime engel olabileceği, ancak müze ve ören yerlerinde iş yükünü hafifletmesi açısından avantaj sağlayacağı da ifade edilmiştir. Teknolojinin hızla gelişimi ve hayatın hemen her alanına adapte edilmesiyle birlikte turizm sektöründe de teknoloji uygulamaları yaygınlaşmaya başlamıştır. Bu değişimler turistler ile aktif şekilde iletişim halinde olan turist rehberlerini de büyük ölçüde etkilemiştir. AudioGuide, QR Kod ve sanal gerçeklik gibi uygulamalar turist rehberleri tarafından rakip olarak görülmemeli, uygulamaların turlara adapte edilerek kolaylaştırıcı avantajlarından yararlanılmalıdır.
Evaluation of Respiratory Particle Emission during Otorhinolaryngological Procedures in the Context of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Understanding the risk of infection by routine medical examination is important for the protection of the medical personnel. In this study we investigated respiratory particles emitted by patients during routine otolaryngologic procedures and assessed the risks for the performing physician. We developed two experimental setups to measure aerosol and droplet emission during rigid/flexible laryngoscopy, rhinoscopy, pharyngoscopy, otoscopy, sonography and patient interview for subjects with and without masks. A high-speed-camera setup was used to detect ballistic droplets (approx. > 100 µm) and an aerosol-particle-sizer was used to detect aerosol particles in the range of 0.3 µm to 10 µm. Aerosol particle counts were highly increased for coughing and slightly increased for heavy breathing in subjects without masks. The highest aerosol particle counts occurred during rigid laryngoscopy. During laryngoscopy and rhinoscopy, the examiner was exposed to increased particle emission due to close proximity to the patient’s face and provoked events such as coughing. However, even during sonography or otoscopy without a mask, aerosol particles were expelled close to the examiner. The physician’s exposure to respiratory particles can be reduced by deliberate choice of examination technique depending on medical indication and the use of appropriate equipment for the examiners and the patients (e.g., FFP2 masks for both).
Endurance training induces structural and morphoquantitative changes in rat vagus nerve

Introduccion:Muchos tejidos del sistema nervioso y celulas sufren cambios positivos cuando se enfrentan con el entrenamiento fisico. Sin embargo, los datos sobre la adaptacion del nervio vago que resulta de los estudios con el ejercicio son ausentes.Objetivo:Analizar el efecto del entrenamiento de endurance en la morfologia del nervio vago de ratones.Metodo:Ratones Wistar (6 meses de edad) se dividieron en dos grupos: grupo control (GC, n= 8) y grupo con entrenamiento aerobico (TA, n=8). El grupo TA se sometio a un programa de entrenamiento sobre una cinta de correr cinco veces por semana durante 12 semanas. La velocidad maxima estipulada en el protocolo de entrenamiento correspondio al 60% de la intensidad media maxima alcanzada por el grupo en la prueba de ejercicio maximo.Resultados:Doce semanas de entrenamiento en una cinta resultaron en la hipertrofia ventricular en el grupo TA en comparacion con GC. Se obtuvo un aumento significativo en el area de ambos axones mielinizados y no mielinizados, y en el area de la vaina de mielina con entrenamiento. El numero de neurotubulos y neurofilamen-tos de fibras mielinizadas fue significativamente mayor en el grupo con entrenamiento aerobico en comparacion con GC (p = 0,05). Conclusion:El entrenamiento de endurance causo un aumento significativo en los parametros morfometricos del nervio vago en la misma forma en que afecta a los nervios somaticos.
Interrogative Pronouns in Dagbani and Likpakpaanl

This paper provides an analysis of the properties of interrogative pronouns of Mabia languages drawing data from Dagbani and Likpakpaanl. We focus on the inventory, internal structure, and key grammatical characterisation of the interrogative pronouns. We contend that interrogative pronouns are salient syntactic elements in the content question systems of these languages. In addition, we demonstrate that number marking, distinction between human/non-human and lexical ambiguity are salient grammatical properties of these interrogative pronouns. We further show that the inflection for number employs both suppletive and nonsuppletive patterns. We also contend that the interrogative pronouns that specify for the semantic domains of [+human], [-human] and [+thing] are sensitive to number, since they alternate for plurality (ŋuni ~banima (who.sg ~ who-pl), bo~bonima (what.sg ~what-pl), dini~dinnima (what.sg.thing ~ what.thing-pl) for Dagbani and (ŋma ~bilabi (who.sg ~ who-pl), nilan ~ bilabi (what.sg ~what-pl), ba ~ ba (what.sg.thing ~ what.thing-pl) for Likpakpaanl. Because the root may differ or be the same from that of the plural as evident in both languages, we propose that number marking in these interrogative words exhibit both suppletive and nonsuppletive patterns. The data are based on native introspection of the authors who are native speakers of these languages. This paper is important because of its empirical and theoretical contribution to the study of the Mabia languages.
Predictors of depression, anxiety and stress during the first wave of the covid-19 pandemic: The results of an online survey in Serbia

Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of population worldwide. Aim: Assessment of risk factors for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online survey including 161 participants was conducted in a population of both healthy participants and people who tested positive to COVID-19. The survey collected sociodemographic data, knowledge about the pandemic, psychological impact, and mental health status of the participants. The psychological impact on mental health status was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Logistic regression was used to determine the risk factors that increased the likelihood of having symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Results: A total of 63.8 % of participants showed symptoms of anxiety, with 31.6% showing moderate symptoms of anxiety. Symptoms of depression were found in 44.1% of the sample, with 23.7% showing moderate symptoms of depression, according to DASS-21 cut-off criteria. No mental health history, a positive test for COVID-19, physical health status, and time point of assessment were the most significant factors predicting symptoms of depression. In relation to symptoms of anxiety, we observed the importance of physical health, having offspring and testing positive for COVID-19, and being male. Factors that influenced higher degrees of stress were: testing positive for COVID-19, special nutrition, having offspring and being of low physical health. Conclusion: Our study indicates that, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia several factors could be important for the development of stress, depression, and anxiety and can be used as a basis for larger, population-based studies. Based on such future studies, evidence-based preventive mental health measures could be implemented in Serbia.
Perilous Flood Risk Assessments

Flooding is among the costliest natural disasters in the United States. Although the federal government provides floodplain boundary maps and subsidizes insurance, demand remains extremely low. This paper assembles the most comprehensive set of files ever compiled on flood risk and insurance to investigate the impacts of information provision on residential demand for flood insurance. I find that map updates over the past fifteen years removed more than one million properties from the high-risk floodplains on aggregate. This nation-wide decline in nominal flood risk is inconsistent with the best available flood science. Leveraging the staggered timing of flood map updates, I estimate that households respond to changes in official flood risk information, even when this information appears erroneous. Map updates caused a net reduction in demand for flood insurance, in stark contrast with the stated policy goal of increasing insurance coverage. The largest declines were concentrated in neighborhoods with a higher share of African Americans, a pattern largely driven by rezoning these households outside of the high-risk floodplains. On the other hand, digitizing previously-available flood maps does not impact insurance takeup, suggesting that the private benefits of improving access to flood risk information are small. Employing independent flood risk estimates in a structural model of insurance demand reveals that official map updates decreased welfare by at least 300 million dollars annually. Correcting flood maps would yield annual welfare gains exceeding 20 billion dollars, primarily in wealthy neighborhoods. ∗Agricultural and Resource Economics Department, UC Davis. I thank the First Street Foundation, FEMA’s disclosure office and Zillow for data access, as well Marianne Bitler, Katrina Jessoe, Pierre Mérel, Ashish Shenoy and Michael Springborn for their continued support. I also thank Mark Agerton, Charlotte Ambrozek, Briana Ballis, Colin Cameron, Maxime Depalle, Miki Doan, Caitlin Kieran, Yanjun Liao, Karen Ortiz Becerra, Maureen Page, Emmanuel Paroissien, Eric Ratcliffe, Jim Sanchirico, Christopher Sampson, Kathleen Schaefer, Adam Soliman, Takuya Ura, as well participants at the UCLA Climate Symposium 2020, WEAI 2021, EEA 2021, the 2021 CU Environmental & Resource Economics Workshop, the Wharton Risk Center, AgroParisTech-ALISS, University of Georgia, University of Alaska-Anchorage, Southern Methodist University, the Federal Reserve Board, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of British Columbia, Harvey Mudd College, Colby College, the UCD NatuRE Policy Lab and UCD Econometrics Group for thoughtful comments. Financial support from the John Muir Institute of the Environment and the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence is acknowledged.
High-Sensitivity and Wide-Range Resistance Measurement Based on Self-Balancing Wheatstone Bridge and Gated Recurrent Neural Network

A Wheatstone bridge and the following amplifier are widely used for measuring resistance. However, for the measurement of small resistance change, the gain of the amplifier must be very high, which can reduce measurement range and introduce obvious baseline drift into the measured signal inevitably. In this study, a self-balancing Wheatstone bridge is designed based on a digitally controlled potentiometer (DCP). During the initial balance of the Wheatstone bridge, the DCP is adjusted until the output of the bridge is close to 0 V. When the bridge works for the measurement of dynamic resistance, the DCP is readjusted to compensate the remarkable change in the resistance, and the output of the amplifier is, thus, limited in the input voltage range of the analog-to-digital converter (ADC). At the same time, the signal sampled by the ADC is processed by the least-squares fitting to extend the measurement range. In addition, an attention-based gated recurrent unit is proposed to remove the drift in the signal. The effectiveness, stability, and accuracy of the proposed method have been demonstrated through multiple force measurement experiments on the instrument of a robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery system.
Output DM EMI Noise Prediction for MHz TCM-Based Single Phase Inverter

Conventional fast Fourier transform analysis is limited in conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI) prediction for triangle current mode (TCM) based converters. Several prediction strategies based on EMI receiver modeling have been published for this issue, but the prediction range was below 1 MHz. Such a narrow frequency range cannot meet the demands of EMI prediction for MHz converter. In this article, a more accurate differential mode (DM) EMI prediction is proposed for MHz TCM-based single-phase inverter. The accurate drain-to-source voltage model considering the TCM resonant transition is established for different TCM-derived strategies at first. Passive components of the propagation path are also modeled with the measured impedance for more accurate transfer gain. An improved envelope detector model of the EMI receiver is proposed for an accurate quasi-peak spectrum. The prediction range can be extended to 5 MHz. Moreover, the EMI of TCM, hybrid triangle current mode, and sinusoidal triangle current mode are analyzed and compared with the established prediction strategy. The worst spectrum can be determined, and the DM filter can be designed without repetitive measurements. Finally, A 500 W MHz single-phase inverter prototype is built, and the evaluation of the measured conducted EMI spectrum and the EMI filter design can verify the theoretical analysis.
Dietary Supplement Use in Relation to Socio-Demographic and Lifestyle Factors, including Adherence to Mediterranean-Style Diet in University Students

The study aimed to examine socio-demographic and lifestyle determinants, including diet quality, of dietary supplement (DS) use among 2545 students who attended public universities in Warsaw. The data was collected using a self-administered health and lifestyle questionnaire and a 5-day dietary record method. Diet quality was assessed using a Mediterranean Diet Score. To determine the covariates of DS use, multivariate-adjusted logistic regression models with an estimation of odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used. The results showed that 41% of participants were DS users. The following predictors of DS use were identified: gender (male vs. female; OR:0.62, 95% CI:0.50–0.79), physical activity (high vs. low; OR:1.79, 95% CI:1.45–2.20), BMI (≥25 vs. 18.5–24.9 kg/m2; OR:0.77, 95% CI:0.61–0.98), cigarette smoking (yes vs. no; OR:0.67, 95% CI:0.52–0.86), and presence of chronic diseases (yes vs. no; OR:2.37, 95% CI:1.89–2.98). Moreover, higher nutritional knowledge, special diet usage, eating more meals/day, and fortified food consumption were determinants of DS use. Adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet was positively associated with DS use, a 1-score increment was associated with a 10% (p-trend = 0.011) higher probability of DS usage. Given that the use of vitamins and/or minerals is common among university students and their users are characterized by eating a higher quality diet, investigating the contribution of DS in overall dietary nutrient intake warrants further study.
Synesthetes are More Involved in Art — Evidence From the Artistic Creativity Domains Compendium (
 ACDC
 )

Creativity is a multidimensional, multistage, and time-dependent process, which can be expressed in various artistic domains and sub-domains (e.g., visual arts, literature, music, and performing arts). The present study investigated the involvement of synesthetes in art, and whether the type of synesthesia determines the preferred artistic domain. We tested 709 participants with either grapheme-color, sound-color, or sequence-space synesthesia (monotypical synesthesia) or a combination thereof (multiple synesthesia) and non-synesthete controls with the Artistic Creativity Domains Compendium (ACDC). The ACDC measures the involvement in art on the three levels “interest,” “ability,” and “performance” for the four domains “visual arts,” “literature,” “music,” and “performing arts. ” Overall, the results showed that synesthetes have an afﬁn-ity for all four artistic domains compared with non-synesthete controls. Moreover, the presence of multiple types of synesthesia affected the speciﬁc preference. Besides, compared with monotoypical synesthetes, the group of grapheme-color-sound-color-and-sequence-space synesthetes showed higher involvement in all artistic domains, most pronounced in visual arts. Overall, the study demonstrates that synesthesia is associated with higher interest, ability, and performance in art.
Evaluation of Certain Botanical Extracts and Synthetic Insecticides against Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and Cotton Aphid, Aphis gossypii L. on Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under Field Condition

Screening extracts of wild plant species for insecticidal properties might lead to the discovery of new agents of pests management. The aim of this study was to evaluate insecticidal efficiency of five plant extracts in comparing with three synthetic insecticides against white fly, Bemisia tabaci and cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii infesting cucumber plants. The study was conducted at Nobaria district, Beheira Governorate, Egypt during two successive summer seasons of 2020 and 2021 under the open field conditions. The tested botanical extracts included aloe, Aloe barbadensis ; oleander, Nerium oleander ; ginger, Zingiber officinale ; garlic, Allium sativum and chinaberry, Melia azedarach. The results showed that these extracts had potential effects in reducing the population density of B. tabaci and A. gossypii on cucumber plants. The descending order of plant extracts efficacy against B. tabaci nymphs treated with 10 % (w/v) was chinaberry followed by oleander, garlic, aloe and ginger. On the other hand, the efficiency of the tested plant extracts on the cotton aphids could be arranged according to their percentages of reduction in infestation as following: chinaberry, oleander, aloe, garlic and Ginger. According the provided data we can conclude that the tested aqueous extracts have an insecticidal effect against B. tabaci and A. gossypii and can be integrated into their management strategies. However, this inference needs thorough testing before generalization.
Determination of adropin, body mass index and other biochemical parameters in Iraqi type II diabetic patients

Evidence suggests a hormone peptide named adropin, is involved in lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, and obesity. However, its role in pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is still unclear in humans. Therefore, we investigated whether adropin levels are altered in T2DM patients, and evaluated its association with diabetes- related parameters. Samples which collected from 180 subjects were divided into case group [n = 90] and control groups [n = 90]. The mean age was [43.17 ±11.13] years. Men (n=81) and femanl (n=99) were participated in case-control study. Serum adropin levels were determined by ELISA. The mean serum adropin level was significantly higher [P<0.01] in the control group compared to case group [6.9±1.3 vs. 5.8±1.2] respectively. The result shown there was a significant difference [P-value<0.001] between body mass index and adropin. adropin with high significant negative correlation [P-value<0.001] between adropin and body mass index, fasting blood sugar, glycated hemoglobin, insulin, and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance also a significant negative correlation was found between the adropin and low-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, very low-density lipoprotein and no significant with cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein.
Parental Views Regarding Distance Learning of Primary School Children and Screen Time during the Covid-19 Pandemic Process

This research aims to explore the views of parents regarding primary school students' distance education experiences, the difficulties they face, the support they need in this process, and their screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic period during which face-to-face education was suspended and distance education was started. The sample of the study consisted of 400 parents whose children were attending primary school. An online questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. Findings showed that children had difficulty in completing the given learning activities during distance education, and they needed adult support to complete these activities. In general, the participants stated that they were satisfied with the given instruction during the distance education process, but they wanted make-up lessons. It was observed that schools carry out educational activities with simultaneous collective lessons during distance education, and most of the difficulties children faced were caused by a lack of interest and resources. Finally, it was investigated that most of the primary school children spend more than 2 hours a day in front of the screen without parental supervision in this process. At the end of the research, some suggestions were offered such as planning the instructional activities more appropriately by making use of the experiences gained during the pandemic, developing effective learning materials by improving the digital knowledge and skills of teachers, and providing various pieces of training for parents.