Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of DNA Methylation in Development of Cardiovascular Diseases, Resulting in a Sudden Cardiac Death (Review)

An effective system to diagnose predisposition to development of sudden cardiac death (SCD) is required in order to determine the risk of developing a sudden fatal outcome well in advance of the onset thereof, including in people with asymptomatic cardiovascular disease, as well as to implement early preventive measures that can result in a decrease in the population mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Thus, the search for SCD risk markers becomes a topical issue for modern health care. According to recent studies, epigenetic mechanisms of heredity, and DNA methylation above all, play an important role in development of many diseases. The review provides the results of recent foreign and Russian studies on identification of a link between DNA methylation and development of cardiovascular diseases being the basis for SCD (IHD, cardiomyopathies, heart rhythm disturbances). The major part of the review is dedicated to studying DNA methylation in IHD, which is the most epigenetically explored nosology at the moment. Attention is also paid to studies of the DNA methylation role in development of acute coronary syndrome and myocardial infarction, which have development mechanisms similar to those of SCD. There were only few studies on identification of a link between DNA methylation and cardiomyopathies and cardiac arrhythmias conducted, however, an association of specific genes methylation with the explored nosologies was revealed. The review also provides pathogenetic substantiations of the possibilities to use epigenetic markers of cardiovascular diseases as SCD markers. Thus, it has been established that study of genes the methylation of which is associated with IHD ( CTH , PLCB1 , PTX3 , MMP9 , FN1 , F2RL3 , ABCB1 , FOXP3 , GDF15 , IL6 , CASR ), with lipid metabolism disorders and atherosclerosis ( CETP , CCL2 , SREBF2 , TIMP1 ), as well as with heart rhythm disturbances ( SCN5A and KCNQ1 ), may be most promising in relation to SCD.
Prevalence of overweight and obesity among secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis Kwara State, Nigeria

Obesity became recognized in the classification of diseases 79 years ago (1948-2017). Since then, it has risen exponentially to become a global treat to health affecting different populations. The estimation of obesity prevalence cannot be overstressed. Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence of overweight and obesity among secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria. A cross-sectional design was adopted for this study; the population for this study comprised all the secondary school students in the metropolis. Multistage sampling method comprising stratified; proportionate and simple random was used to select 1,569 participants for this study. Four research questions and hypotheses were answered and tested for this study. Frequency counts and percentage was used to answer the questions and independent sample t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 significance level. Anthropometric measures of Body Mass Index. (BMI) and Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) conducted for classifications into overweight and obesity using percentile ranking. The standardized instruments for data collection were weight scale (BF9015B model) and inelastic tape rule that provides 100g tension. All the measurements for this study were ISAK compliant. The four hypotheses were rejected and the percentage analysis of the data indicated that; 28.1% of the male students in the private schools were obese, 20.1% were obese in the public schools. In the female category, 23.0% were obese in the private schools while 21.8% were obese in the Public schools. The mean WHR for female in the private and public schools were 0.87 and 0.80 respectively. It was concluded that; overweight and obesity was prevalent in the schools but higher prevalent was recorded in the private schools. Regular participation in physical activity and routine assessment of overweight and obesity status of the students using BMI and WHR methods for monitoring and timely interventions were part of the recommendations.
Transcriptome Profiling Reveals Role of MicroRNAs and Their Targeted Genes during Adventitious Root Formation in Dark-Pretreated Micro-Shoot Cuttings of Tetraploid Robinia pseudoacacia L.

Tetraploid Robinia pseudoacacia L. is a difficult-to-root species, and is vegetatively propagated through stem cuttings. Limited information is available regarding the adventitious root (AR) formation of dark-pretreated micro-shoot cuttings. Moreover, the role of specific miRNAs and their targeted genes during dark-pretreated AR formation under in vitro conditions has never been revealed. The dark pretreatment has successfully promoted and stimulated adventitious rooting signaling-related genes in tissue-cultured stem cuttings with the application of auxin (0.2 mg L−1 IBA). Histological analysis was performed for AR formation at 0, 12, 36, 48, and 72 h after excision (HAE) of the cuttings. The first histological events were observed at 36 HAE in the dark-pretreated cuttings; however, no cellular activities were observed in the control cuttings. In addition, the present study aimed to uncover the role of differentially expressed (DE) microRNAs (miRNAs) and their targeted genes during adventitious root formation using the lower portion (1–1.5 cm) of tetraploid R. pseudoacacia L. micro-shoot cuttings. The samples were analyzed using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology for the identification of miRNAs at the mentioned time points. Seven DE miRNA libraries were constructed and sequenced. The DE number of 81, 162, 153, 154, 41, 9, and 77 miRNAs were upregulated, whereas 67, 98, 84, 116, 19, 16, and 93 miRNAs were downregulated in the following comparisons of the libraries: 0-vs-12, 0-vs-36, 0-vs-48, 0-vs-72, 12-vs-36, 36-vs-48, and 48-vs-72, respectively. Furthermore, we depicted an association between ten miRNAs (novel-m0778-3p, miR6135e.2-5p, miR477-3p, miR4416c-5p, miR946d, miR398b, miR389a-3p, novel m0068-5p, novel-m0650-3p, and novel-m0560-3p) and important target genes (auxin response factor-3, gretchen hagen-9, scarecrow-like-1, squamosa promoter-binding protein-like-12, small auxin upregulated RNA-70, binding protein-9, vacuolar invertase-1, starch synthase-3, sucrose synthase-3, probable starch synthase-3, cell wall invertase-4, and trehalose phosphatase synthase-5), all of which play a role in plant hormone signaling and starch and sucrose metabolism pathways. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate the relative expression of these miRNAs and their targeted genes. These results provide novel insights and a foundation for further studies to elucidate the molecular factors and processes controlling AR formation in woody plants.
Cannibalism and intraguild predation between endemic and introduced coccidophagous lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

The Chilocorini lady beetles Tenuisvalvae notata (Mulsant) and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant are important biological control agents being able to share their habitat and compete for their preferred prey, mealybugs. Whereas T. notata is native to South America, C. montrouzieri is an Australian species introduced in Brazil in a biological control program of mealybugs. This work investigated the cannibalism and intraguild predation between these species in the absence of prey. To test for intraguild predation, one individual larva (instars 1–4) from each species was confined for 24 h with another larva of the same instar or the next instar, in a total of 10 combinations. In addition, we measured predation of T. notata adults upon eggs, larvae, pre‐pupae and pupa of C. montrouzieri, and vice versa. Cannibalism within the species was also tested across adults, larvae and eggs. Results showed asymmetric interactions in favour of C. montrouzieri, which acted as intraguild predator more than 80% of the time when paired with larvae of T. notata either of the same or different instar. In addition, C. montrouzieri adults preyed more upon larvae and eggs of T. notata than the contrary. There was no intraguild predation upon pre‐pupae and pupae. Cannibalism was high upon eggs and first instar larvae of T. notata (89.5% and 65%) and C. montrouzieri (100% and 55%), respectively. Therefore, the exotic C. montrouzieri outcompeted the native T. notata and could become a threat to this endemic species in areas of simultaneous occurrence and under prey scarcity. Thus, the interactions between these lady beetles could affect the success of biological control of mealybugs.
Diversity Assessment and DNA-Based Fingerprinting of Sicilian Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Germplasm

The characterization of plant genetic resources is a precondition for genetic improvement and germplasm management. The increasing use of molecular markers for DNA-based genotype signature is crucial for variety identification and traceability in the food supply chain. We collected 75 Sicilian hazelnut accessions from private and public field collections, including widely grown varieties from the Nebrodi Mountains in north east Sicily (Italy). The germplasm was fingerprinted through nine standardized microsatellites (SSR) for hazelnut identification to evaluate the genetic diversity of the collected accessions, validating SSR discrimination power. We identified cases of homonymy and synonymy among acquisitions and the unique profiles. The genetic relationships illustrated by hierarchical clustering, structure, and discriminant analyses revealed a clear distinction between local and commercial varieties. The comparative genetic analysis also showed that the Nebrodi genotypes are significantly different from the Northern Italian, Iberian, and Turkish genotypes. These results highlight the need and urgency to preserve Nebrodi germplasm as a useful and valuable source for traits of interest employable for breeding. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of molecular marker analysis to select a reference germplasm collection of Sicilian hazelnut varieties and to implement certified plants’ production in the supply chain.
Spatiotemporal Patterns and Driving Force of Urbanization and Its Impact on Urban Ecology

Urbanization inevitably poses a threat to urban ecology by altering its external structure and internal attributes. Nighttime light (NTL) has become increasingly extensive and practical, offering a special perspective on the world in revealing urbanization. In this study, we applied the Normalized Impervious Surface Index (NISI) constructed by NTL and MODIS NDVI to examine the urbanization process in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). Geographical detectors combined with factors involving human and natural influences were utilized to investigate the drive mechanism. Urban ecology stress was evaluated based on changes in urban morphological patterns and fractional vegetation cover (FVC). The results showed that the NISI can largely overcome the obstacle of directly coupling NTL data in performing urbanization and has efficient applicability in the long-term pixel scale. Built-up areas in the YRD increased by 2.83 times during the past two decades, from 2053.5 to 7872.5 km2. Urbanization intensity has saturated the city center and is spilling over into the suburbs, which show a “cold to hot” spatial clustering distribution. Economic factors are the primary forces driving urbanization, and road network density is becoming essential as factor that reflects urban infrastructure. Urban geometry pattern changes in fractal dimension (FD) and compactness revealed the ecological stress from changing urban external structure, and internal ecological stress was clear from the negative effect on 63.4% FVC. This impact gradually increased in urban expanded area and synchronously decreased when urbanization saturated the core area. An analysis of ecological stress caused by urbanization from changing physical structure and social attributes can provide evidence for urban management and coordinated development.
A Study on Cognitive Transformation in the Process of Acquiring Movement Skills for Changing Running Direction

SUMMARY In ball games, acquiring skills to change the direction be- comes necessary. For revealing the mechanism of skill acquisition in terms of the relevant ﬁeld, it would be necessary to take an approach regarding players’ cognition as well as body movements measurable from outside. In the phase of change-of-direction performance that this study focuses on, cognitive factors including the prediction of opposite players’ movements and judgements of the situation have signiﬁcance. The purpose of this study was to reveal cognitive transformation in the skill acquisition process for change-of-direction performance. The survey was conducted for three months from August 29 to November 28, 2020, and those surveyed were seven university freshmen belonging to women’s basketball club of M University. The way to analyze verbal reports collected in order to explore the changes in the players’ cognition is described in Sect.2. In Sect.3, we made a plot graph showing temporal changes in respective factors based on coding outcomes for verbal reports. Consequently, as cogni- tive transformation in the skill acquisition process for change-of-direction performance, four items such as (1) goal setting for skill acquisition, (2) experience of change in running direction, (3) experience of speed and acceleration, and (4) experience of the movement of lower extremities such as legs and hip joints were suggested as common cognitive transformation. In addition, cognitive transformation varied by the degree of skill acquisi- tion for change-of-direction performance. It was indicated that paying too much attention to body feelings including the position of and shift in the center of gravity in the body posed an obstacle to the skill acquisition for change-of-direction performance.
Human Lactobacillus Biosurfactants as Natural Excipients for Nasal Drug Delivery of Hydrocortisone

The inclusion of a chemical permeation enhancer in a dosage form is considered an effective approach to improve absorption across the nasal mucosa. Herein we evaluated the possibility of exploiting biosurfactants (BS) produced by Lactobacillus gasseri BC9 as innovative natural excipients to improve nasal delivery of hydrocortisone (HC). BC9-BS ability to improve HC solubility and the BS mucoadhesive potential were investigated using the surfactant at a concentration below and above the critical micelle concentration (CMC). In vitro diffusion studies through the biomimetic membrane PermeaPad® and the same synthetic barrier functionalized with a mucin layer were assessed to determine BC9-BS absorption enhancing properties in the absence and presence of the mucus layer. Lastly, the diffusion study was performed across the sheep nasal mucosa using BC9-BS at a concentration below the CMC. Results showed that BC9-BS was able to interact with the main component of the nasal mucosa, and that it allowed for a greater solubilization and also permeation of the drug when it was employed at a low concentration. Overall, it seems that BC9-BS could be a promising alternative to chemical surfactants in the nasal drug delivery field.
Sustainability’s Indicators of sheep farming systems in the eastern steppe ecosystem of Algeria

Sheep farming systems in the steppe of M'sila eastern Algeria play a key role in the red meat production chain. The aim of this contribution is to assess the sustainability of sheep farms in relation to the current functioning of the breeding and to describe the strong and weak points limiting improvement of productivity in a perspective of sustainability. The method of indicators of sustainability of farms (IDEA) was used to evaluate sustainability. The typological results allowed us to distinguish two main types of livestock farming, namely agro pastoral and pastoral, which have different sustainability profiles. The agro pastoral type is characterized by sustainability scores of 69.4/100, 43.6/100 and 36.4/100 respectively for agro ecological, socio-territorial and economic sustainability. The pastoral type shows the same trend with superiority in the economic scale. The comparison of the sustainability scales in relation to the type of livestock showed that the two livestock systems are significantly different for agro-ecological and socio-territorial scale (P<0.05) in contrast to the economic scale. Consequently, each type requires particular improvements, according to its functioning and the threshold of the scores realized at the level of the global sustainability in order to guarantee a profitability of the breeding at the level of the Algerian steppe region.
Universal Microcarriers Based on Natural and Synthetic Polymers for Co-Delivery of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Compounds

Several variants of hybrid polyelectrolyte microcapsules (hPEMC) were designed and produced by modifying in situ gelation methods and layer-by-layer (LbL) techniques. All of the hPEMC designs tested in the study demonstrated high efficiency of the model hydrophilic compound loading into the carrier cavity. In addition, the microcarriers were characterized by high efficiency of incorporating the model hydrophobic compound rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RBITC) into the hydrophobic layer consisting of poly-(d,l)-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA), oligo-(l)-lactide (OLL), oligo-(d)-lactide (OLD) and chitosan/gelatin/poly-l-lactide copolymer (CGP). The obtained microcapsules exhibited high storage stability regardless of the composition and thickness of the polyelectrolyte shell. Study of the impact of hybrid polyelectrolyte microcapsules on viability of the adhesive L929 and suspension HL-60 cell lines revealed no apparent toxic effects of hPEMC of different architecture on live cells. Interaction of hPEMC with peritoneal macrophages for the course of 48 h resulted in partial deformation and degradation of microcapsules accompanied by release of the content of their hydrophilic (BSA–fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugate (BSA-FITC)) and hydrophobic (RBITC) layer. Our results demonstrate the functional efficiency of novel hybrid microcarriers and their potential for joint delivery of drugs with different physico-chemical properties in complex therapy.
CFD simulation and optimization on inflow pattern of diversion and intake pumping stations with side-inlets

The numerical simulation and flow analysis on the inflow patterns of the diversion and intake pumping stations with side-inlets are made herein with the realizable k-e turbulent model and SIMPLEC algorithm.The analysis shows that the inflows of these kinds of pumping stations have the behaviors of bend-flows,for which the numerical simulation result coincides with that from the theoretical analysis.Based on the inflow pattern behaviors of these pumping stations,the diversion grid is suggested to be taken as the way for the hydraulic optimization concerned.By taking the momentum distribution of the inflow cross-section of pumping station and the uniformity of the mean velocity at the corss-section of intake-sump as the evaluation bases,the numerical simulations on the effects from the hydraulic optimizations through various schemes of flow regulation with diversion grid are studied.The result shows that the diversion grid has a significant effect on the regulation of the momentum distribution at the diversion section of pumping station,and then the velocity distribution of the inflow cross-section is related to the uniformity of the momentum distribution at the diversion section.Generally,a diversion grid with appropriate dimension can effectively lower the impact from the circulation of inflow and make the longitudinal velocity to be more quickly recovered to the normal distribution after the direction-shift of the flow,and furthermore,increase the uniformity of the flow distribution in the intake sump of pumping station as well.
Facile Synthesis of 3D Printed Tailored Electrode for 3-Monochloropropane-1,2-Diol (3-MCPD) Sensing

Additive manufacturing (AM) has allowed enormous advancement in technology and material development; thus, it requires attention in developing functionalized printed materials. AM can assist in efficiently manufacturing complex tailored electrodes for electrochemical sensing in the food industry. Herein, we used a commercial fused deposition modeling (FDM) filament of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) for FDM 3D printing of a self-designed electrode with minimal time and cost compared to a commercial electrode. A graphene-based ABS conductive filament (ABS-G) was used to fabricate the conductive electrode in a dual-nozzle FDM 3D printer. The electrochemically conductive 3D printed electrode was characterized using cyclic voltammetry and tested against standard 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) with known concentrations using an amperometric detection method. Results showed a basis for promising application to detect and quantify 3-MCPD, a food contaminant known for its carcinogenic potential. The fabrication of functionalized 3D printed polymer electrodes paves way for the development of complete 3D printable electrochemical sensors. Under optimal conditions, this newly synthesized electrochemical sensor exhibited sensitivity with a linear response range from 6.61 × 10−4 to 2.30 × 10−3 µg/mL with an estimated limit of detection of 3.30 × 10−4 µg/mL against 3-MCPD.
Application of Artificial Intelligence Elements and Multimedia Technology in the Optimization and Innovation of Teaching Mode of Animation Sound Production

Nowadays, with the rapid development of multimedia technology and computer information processing, the data of multimedia information presents explosive growth. At present, the method of using artificial recognition of sound materials is inefficient, and an automatic recognition and classification system of sound materials is needed. To improve the accuracy of sound recognition, two algorithm models are established to identify and compare the sound materials, which are the hidden Markov model (HMM) and back propagation neural network (BPNN) model. Firstly, HMM is established, and the sound material is randomly selected as the test sample. The comparison between the expected classification and the actual is tested, and the recognition rate of each classification is got. The final average recognition rate is 61%. The anti-interference characteristics of the training HMM are tested, and the identification rate of the training model is selected in 6 types of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environments. The recognition rate of the training model has an obvious downward trend with the decrease of the SNR. Secondly, the BPNN model is built, and 200 BPNN training experiments are conducted. The training model with the highest average recognition rate is selected as the experimental model. The average recognition rate of the final model is higher than 90%. The expression ability and stability of the trained model are simulated after the new sample is introduced, and the anti-interference performance of the model is tested in different environments of SNR. The results of performance test are good, and only the recognition rate of complex types of some sound sources decreased. Finally, the accuracy of the HMM in the experiment is not as high as that obtained by BPNN. Therefore, the training method of BPNN has a greater advantage in both recognition accuracy and recognition efficiency for the studied sound. It provides a reference for automatic recognition of sound materials.