Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Programmed Cell Death Alterations Mediated by Synthetic Indole Chalcone Resulted in Cell Cycle Arrest, DNA Damage, Apoptosis and Signaling Pathway Modulations in Breast Cancer Model

Although new chemotherapy significantly increased the survival of breast cancer (BC) patients, the use of these drugs is often associated with serious toxicity. The discovery of novel anticancer agents for BC therapy is expected. This study was conducted to explore the antiproliferative effect of newly synthesized indole chalcone derivative ZK-CH-11d on human BC cell lines. MTT screening, flow cytometry, Western blot, and fluorescence microscopy were used to evaluate the mode of cell death. ZK-CH-11d significantly suppressed the proliferation of BC cells with minimal effect against non-cancer cells. This effect was associated with cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and apoptosis induction. Apoptosis was associated with cytochrome c release, increased activity of caspase 3 and caspase 7, PARP cleavage, reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, and activation of the DNA damage response system. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that ZK-CH-11d increased the AMPK phosphorylation with simultaneous inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway indicating autophagy initiation. However, chloroquine, an autophagy inhibitor, significantly potentiated the cytotoxic effect of ZK-CH-11d in MDA-MB-231 cells indicating that autophagy is not principally involved in the antiproliferative effect of ZK-CH-11d. Taking together the results from our experiments, we assume that autophagy was activated as a defense mechanism in treated cells trying to escape from chalcone-induced harmful effects.
Diagnostic utility of chest computerized tomography in the diagnosis of recurrence among sputum scarce and sputum negative previously treated pulmonary tuberculosis suspects

Objective: The objective was to study the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of various computed tomography (CT) chest findings in diagnosing recurrence among pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) suspects. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi. A total of 130 suspects with a past history of treatment for PTB, who presented with any of the symptoms suggestive of recurrence were included. Sputum-positive, HIV-positive patients, pregnant females, and patients aged <18 years were excluded. Patients underwent CT chest followed by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Results: A total of 62 patients were there in the final analysis. The median age of the patients with recurrent PTB was 27.5 years. Cough was the universal symptom in all these patients (>90%). Hemoptysis was the predominant symptom among patients with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (66.6%). Necrotic mediastinal lymph nodes had good diagnostic accuracy of 88.71% with area under the curve of 0.806, P < 0.001 in diagnosing recurrent TB. BAL GeneXpert and mycobacteria growth indicator tube had good sensitivity (83.33% and 84.62%, respectively), specificity (100% for both), and excellent diagnostic accuracy (95.16% and 96.36%, respectively) for diagnosing recurrence in sputum negative and sputum scarce patient, (P < 0.001) when compared with composite reference standard. For culture-positive cases, BAL GeneXpert MTB/RIF had 100% sensitivity and 97.73% specificity in diagnosing recurrent PTB patients. Conclusion: The presence of mediastinal necrotic lymph node is the most accurate CT finding that can differentiate recurrent TB from post-TB sequelae. No other single chest CT scan finding had reliable diagnostic accuracy in comparison to microbiological tools in diagnosing recurrence among sputum negative or scarce previously treated PTB suspects.
Clinical and Therapeutic characteristics of patients with abdominal hernias at the savalou Banté Hospital in Republic of Bénin

Background: Abdominal hernias are frequent conditions in African’s countries and mostly at Savalou-Bantè Hospital in the Republic of Benin. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of abdominal hernias at Savalou-Bantè Hospital in the Republic of Benin. Methods: This was a prospective study carried out from March 15, 2013 to August 31, 2018 including all patients with abdominal hernia. Results: Out of 146 procedures done in department of surgery at Savalou-Bantè Hospital, 77 were abdominal hernias repair either 56.84%. Inguinal hernia was the commonest (88.76% of cases). Strangulated hernia was the main complication in 17.98% of cases (16/77). Herniorrhaphy was done in all hernias and Bassini technique was used for all cases of inguinal hernia. Mortality was observed in 6.5% (5 patients / 77). The median of staying in hospital was of 4.60 days. We noted a case of recurrence (5.26%). Conclusion: there still a dire need in management of abdominal hernias and hernia repair using mesh is in need. Early consultation will avoid the arising of complications.
Nicotianagandarela (Solanaceae), a new species of ‘tobacco’ highly endangered from the Quadrilátero Ferrífero in Brazil

﻿Abstract Nicotianagandarela Augsten & Stehmann (Solanaceae), sp. nov., a small ’tobacco’ known only from one locality at Serra do Gandarela, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically characterized by its rosulate basal leaves, red corolla with a short tube not inflated at the apex, and the peculiar habitat, a shaded site under a rocky outcrop ledge along a forested stream. Phylogenetic analyses based on a combined dataset of nuclear (ITS) and plastid (ndhF, trnLF, and trnSG) DNA sequences revealed that the species belongs to the Nicotianasect.Alatae and is sister to the clade with the remaining species in the section. A key for the identification of Brazilian species of the section is given. The unusual habitat, the small population size, and the intense pressure of mining activities in the surroundings made the species assessed as Critically Endangered (CR), needing conservation efforts to avoid its extinction.
Poultry Litter and Inorganic Fertilization: Effects on Biomass Yield, Metal and Nutrient Concentration of Three Mixed-Season Perennial Forages

Poultry litter and fertilizers are normally added as soil amendments. The effects of poultry litter and inorganic fertilizers on three mixed-season perennial forages were studied for two years in the field to understand growth dynamics, metals, and nutrient uptake. The primary objective was to investigate the heavy metal and nutrient concentrations, biomass yield and forage potential of a cool-season forage, stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.), relative to warm-season forages, bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. ) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). Forage cuttings and soil samples were analyzed for heavy metals and nutrients using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Total biomass yield was higher by 66% and 50% in switchgrass and bermudagrass, respectively, compared with stinging nettle for the first year. While the warm-season forages yielded more biomass over the cool-season forage, metal concentrations were significantly higher for all elements in the cool-season forage. Stinging nettle showed greater macro-nutrient uptake with 103.20 kg ha−1, 0.87 kg ha−1, 27.49 kg ha−1 and 32.08 kg ha−1 for Ca, Fe, Mg, and P, except for K with 223.51 kg ha−1 compared with 267.29 kg ha−1 and 283.96 kg ha−1 for switchgrass and bermudagrass, respectively. Heavy metals were also higher in stinging nettle but were within the allowable limits for forages, indicating its potential as a resource for forages and nutrient cycling, particularly when double-cropped with warm-season forages.
Ultracool dwarfs identified using spectra in LAMOST DR7

In this work, we identify 734 ultracool dwarfs with a spectral type of M6 or later, including one L0. Of this sample, 625 were studied spectroscopically for the ﬁrst time. All of these ultracool dwarfs are within 360pc, with a Gaia G magnitude brighter than ∼ 19 . 2mag. By studying the spectra and checking their stellar parameters ( T e ﬀ , log g , and [M / H]) derived with the LAMOST pipeline, we found their cool red nature and their metallicity to be consistent with the nature of Galactic thin-disk objects. Furthermore, 77 of them show lithium absorption lines at 6708Å, further indicating their young ages and substellar nature. Kinematics obtained through LAMOST radial velocities, along with the proper motion and parallax data from Gaia EDR3, also suggest that the majority of our targets are thin-disk objects. Kinematic ages were estimated through the relationship between the velocity dispersion and the average age for a certain population. Moreover, we identiﬁed 35 binaries, with 6 of them reported as binaries for the ﬁrst time.
Impact of Sea Ice Production off Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica

Sea ice production is critical to ocean overturning. Brine released within Antarctic polynyas transforms surface water into denser Shelf Water (SW). In spite of the persistent Dalton Polynya, SW is absent off Sabrina Coast. To explain its passive role in‐situ and remote datasets for 2003–2015 are analyzed. Combined volume export near the shelf break and inshore volume change render an average sea ice production of 197.41 km3 per year (4.6 m/yr productivity), highly correlated (0.95) to divergent interior sea ice motion. Meltwater input of 157.5 Gt/yr is required to match the salinity of a prominent subsurface Thermostad measured in 2014–2015. SW formed during 2003–2008 but halted in 2009–2011, when summer sea ice divergence and export were at a minimum (<10 km3), significantly freshening the Thermostad (−5.07 ΔS per decade). Large sea ice export (>30 km3) increased its salinity (2.16 ΔS per decade) since 2012.
Challenges in the development of high-fidelity LWR core neutronics tools

Modern computing has made possible the solution of extremely large-scale reactor simulations, and the literature has numerous examples of high-resolution methods (often Monte Carlo) applied to full-core reactor problems. However, there are currently no examples in the literature of application of such 'High-Fidelity' or 'First Principles' methods to operating Light Water Reactor (LWR) analysis. This paper seeks to remind code developers, project managers, and analysts of the many important aspects of LWR simulation that must be incorporated to produce truly high-fidelity analysis tools. The authors offer a monetary prize to the first person (or group) that successfully solves a new two-cycle operational PWR depletion benchmark problem using high-fidelity tools and demonstrates acceptable accuracy by comparison with measured operational plant data (open source) provided to the reactor analysis community. (authors)
Polygenic Risk for Schizophrenia Has Sex-Specific Effects on Brain Activity during Memory Processing in Healthy Individuals

Genetic risk for schizophrenia has a negative impact on memory and other cognitive abilities in unaffected individuals, and it was recently shown that this effect is specific to males. Using functional MRI, we investigated the effect of a polygenic risk score (PRS) for schizophrenia on brain activation during working memory and episodic memory in 351 unaffected participants (167 males and 184 females, 25–95 years), and specifically tested if any effect of PRS on brain activation is sex-specific. Schizophrenia PRS was significantly associated with decreased brain activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during working-memory manipulation and in the bilateral superior parietal lobule (SPL) during episodic-memory encoding and retrieval. A significant interaction effect between sex and PRS was seen in the bilateral SPL during episodic-memory encoding and retrieval, and sex-stratified analyses showed that the effect of PRS on SPL activation was male-specific. These results confirm previous findings of DLPFC inefficiency in schizophrenia, and highlight the SPL as another important genetic intermediate phenotype of the disease. The observed sex differences suggest that the previously shown male-specific effect of schizophrenia PRS on cognition translates into an additional corresponding effect on brain functioning.
Manipulation of Meiotic Recombination to Hasten Crop Improvement

Simple Summary Harnessing the natural and induced diversity existing in plant genetic resources is fundamental for building future crops more sober in fertilizers, water, and pesticides that can cope with climate instability while yielding healthier and more nutritious products. The essence of plant breeding is to combine favorable traits in crossing parental varieties to select novel performing associations amongst the progenies. These associations are the product of recombination between the parental chromosomes occurring during meiosis, mainly by a reciprocal DNA exchange called Cross Over (CO). However, recombination does not occur randomly along the chromosomes, and COs are limited in number often hampering the desired associations of favorable traits. This review surveys the recent advances in methods for achieving a stimulation and/or a redistribution of meiotic COs along the parental chromosomes and targeting COs specifically at desired chromosomal sites. Abstract Reciprocal (cross-overs = COs) and non-reciprocal (gene conversion) DNA exchanges between the parental chromosomes (the homologs) during meiotic recombination are, together with mutation, the drivers for the evolution and adaptation of species. In plant breeding, recombination combines alleles from genetically diverse accessions to generate new haplotypes on which selection can act. In recent years, a spectacular progress has been accomplished in the understanding of the mechanisms underlying meiotic recombination in both model and crop plants as well as in the modulation of meiotic recombination using different strategies. The latter includes the stimulation and redistribution of COs by either modifying environmental conditions (e.g., T°), harnessing particular genomic situations (e.g., triploidy in Brassicaceae), or inactivating/over-expressing meiotic genes, notably some involved in the DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathways. These tools could be particularly useful for shuffling diversity in pre-breeding generations. Furthermore, thanks to the site-specific properties of genome editing technologies the targeting of meiotic recombination at specific chromosomal regions nowadays appears an attainable goal. Directing COs at desired chromosomal positions would allow breaking linkage situations existing between favorable and unfavorable alleles, the so-called linkage drag, and accelerate genetic gain. This review surveys the recent achievements in the manipulation of meiotic recombination in plants that could be integrated into breeding schemes to meet the challenges of deploying crops that are more resilient to climate instability, resistant to pathogens and pests, and sparing in their input requirements.
An Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy-Based Aptasensor for the Determination of SARS-CoV-2-RBD Using a Carbon Nanofiber–Gold Nanocomposite Modified Screen-Printed Electrode

Worldwide, human health is affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Hence, the fabrication of the biosensors to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 is critical. In this paper, we report an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)-based aptasensor for the determination of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (SARS-CoV-2-RBD). For this purpose, the carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were first decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Then, the surface of the carbon-based screen-printed electrode (CSPE) was modified with the CNF–AuNP nanocomposite (CSPE/CNF–AuNP). After that, the thiol-terminal aptamer probe was immobilized on the surface of the CSPE/CNF–AuNP. The surface coverage of the aptamer was calculated to be 52.8 pmol·cm−2. The CSPE/CNF–AuNP/Aptamer was then used for the measurement of SARS-CoV-2-RBD by using the EIS method. The obtained results indicate that the signal had a linear–logarithmic relationship in the range of 0.01–64 nM with a limit of detection of 7.0 pM. The proposed aptasensor had a good selectivity to SARS-CoV-2-RBD in the presence of human serum albumin; human immunoglobulins G, A, and M, hemagglutinin, and neuraminidase. The analytical performance of the aptasensor was studied in human saliva samples. The present study indicates a practical application of the CSPE/CNF-AuNP/Aptamer for the determination of SARS-CoV-2-RBD in human saliva samples with high sensitivity and accuracy.
Ultrasound-Assisted Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent Extraction and Bioactivities of Flavonoids in Ampelopsis grossedentata Leaves

We performed ultrasound-assisted extraction coupled with natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) to achieve the green and efficient preparation of flavonoid extract from Ampelopsis grossedentata leaves. We then evaluated its antioxidant and antiproliferative activities. A NADES consisting of choline chloride and glucose at a molar ratio of 4:1 with 20% water was determined to be the most suitable solvent. The optimal extraction conditions were: a liquid-to-solid ratio of 30 mL/g, an ultrasonication power of 490 W, and an ultrasonication time of 6.5 min. The actual flavonoid yield was 83.93%, which was close to the predicted yield. Further, 86.75% of the flavonoids were recovered by adding the same volume of phosphate buffer saline (100 mM, pH of 7.0) to the extract solution. Although the chemical antioxidant activities of the flavonoid extract were slightly inferior to those of dihydromyricetin, the flavonoid extract could still effectively inhibit the proliferation of human breast MDA-MB-231 cells by inducing cell apoptosis, retarding the cell cycle, changing the mitochondrial membrane potential and scavenging intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). The obtained results can provide a reference in the development of plant-derived functional foods.
Psychological factors and healthy sleep in a Portuguese sample of employees with regular working hours

ABSTRACT The aim of our study was to explore the contribution of psychological factors for healthy sleep within a sample of one hundred employees (M= 43.4 ± 9.91 years; 74% female) with regular working schedules. Participants completed a set of questionnaires about sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviours, sleep times, healthy sleep, insomnia, sleep hygiene behaviours, personality traits, work-related cognitions, mood and well-being. Descriptive, correlational and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Extraversion, perception that work effort was properly rewarded, job autonomy, satisfaction with working conditions, vigour-activity, friendship and well-being were positively associated with healthy sleep; arousal predisposition, neuroticism, can't stop thinking of work, rumination, worry, depression-dejection, tension-anxiety, confusion-bewilderment and fatigue-inertia were negatively associated. Multiple linear regression analyses identified four factors that mostly contributed to healthy sleep (41.3%): neuroticism (R2 = .245, p< .001), worry during sleep (R2 change= .094 p= .001), well-being (R2 change= .044, p= .016) and job autonomy (R2 change= .030, p= .041). Employees with lower levels of neuroticism, less worry during the night, better well-being and higher autonomy at work experienced healthier sleep. To promote healthy sleep among employees with regular/daytime working hours it might be important to consider personality traits, work-related cognitions and well-being.
Neural Models for Target-Based Computer-Assisted Musical Orchestration: A Preliminary Study

In this paper we will perform a preliminary exploration on how neural networks can be used for the task of target-based computer-assisted musical orchestration. We will show how it is possible to model this musical problem as a classification task and we will propose two deep learning models. We will show, first, how they perform as classifiers for musical instrument recognition by comparing them with specific baselines. We will then show how they perform, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in the task of computer-assisted orchestration by comparing them with state-of-the-art systems. Finally, we will highlight benefits and problems of neural approaches for assisted orchestration and we will propose possible future steps. This paper is an extended version of the paper "A Study on Neural Models for Target-Based Computer-Assisted Musical Orchestration" published in the proceedings of The 2020 Joint Conference on AI Music Creativity.
Graphene: Chemistry and Applications for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In the present era, different allotropes of carbon have been discovered, and graphene is the one among them that has contributed to many breakthroughs in research. It has been considered a promising candidate in the research and academic fields, as well as in industries, over the last decade. It has many properties to be explored, such as an enhanced specific surface area and beneficial thermal and electrical conductivities. Graphene is arranged as a 2D structure by organizing sp2 hybridized C with alternative single and double bonds, providing an extended conjugation combining hexagonal ring structures to form a honeycomb structure. The precious structure and outstanding characteristics are the major reason that modern industry relies heavily on graphene, and it is predominantly applied in electronic devices. Nowadays, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) foremostly utilize graphene as an anode or a cathode, and are combined with polymers to use them as polymer electrolytes. After three decades of commercialization of the lithium-ion battery, it still leads in consumer electronic society due to its higher energy density, wider operating voltages, low self-discharge, noble high-temperature performance, and fewer maintenance requirements. In this review, we aim to give a brief review of the domination of graphene and its applications in LIBs.