Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cruciform DNA Structures Act as Legible Templates for Accelerating Homologous Recombination in Transgenic Animals

Inverted repeat (IR) DNA sequences compose cruciform structures. Some genetic disorders are the result of genome inversion or translocation by cruciform DNA structures. The present study examined whether exogenous DNA integration into the chromosomes of transgenic animals was related to cruciform DNA structures. Large imperfect cruciform structures were frequently predicted around predestinated transgene integration sites in host genomes of microinjection-based transgenic (Tg) animals (αLA-LPH Tg goat, Akr1A1eGFP/eGFP Tg mouse, and NFκB-Luc Tg mouse) or CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing (GE) animals (αLA-AP1 GE mouse). Transgene cassettes were imperfectly matched with their predestinated sequences. According to the analyzed data, we proposed a putative model in which the flexible cruciform DNA structures acted as a legible template for DNA integration into linear DNAs or double-strand break (DSB) alleles. To demonstrate this model, artificial inverted repeat knock-in (KI) reporter plasmids were created to analyze the KI rate using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in NIH3T3 cells. Notably, the KI rate of the 5′ homologous arm inverted repeat donor plasmid (5′IR) with the ROSA gRNA group (31.5%) was significantly higher than the knock-in reporter donor plasmid (KIR) with the ROSA gRNA group (21.3%, p < 0.05). However, the KI rate of the 3′ inverted terminal repeat/inverted repeat donor plasmid (3′ITRIR) group was not different from the KIR group (23.0% vs. 22.0%). These results demonstrated that the legibility of the sequence with the cruciform DNA existing in the transgene promoted homologous recombination (HR) with a higher KI rate. Our findings suggest that flexible cruciform DNAs folded by IR sequences improve the legibility and accelerate DNA 3′-overhang integration into the host genome via homologous recombination machinery.
Pattern of resistance to second line anti-tuberculosis drugs and associated risk factors among multidrug-resistant patients of pulmonary tuberculosis from Agra region of Uttar Pradesh, North India

Present study was aimed to determine the status of second-line anti-TB drug resistance and risk factorsfor extensively drug-resistance (XDR)-tuberculosis among multi-drug resistant (MDR)-tuberculosis patients from Agra region of Uttar Pradesh, North India.A total of 279 MDR-Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from pulmonary tuberculosis patients of Agra region of Uttar Pradesh were analyzed for the resistance to second-line anti-TB drugs (SLDs). The demographic, behavioral, clinical and social information was compared with the results of drug susceptibility testing and analyzed statistically. Out of 279 MDR-isolates, 195 (69.89%) isolates were found resistant to at least one of the SLDs. The rates of general resistance to each of the drugs were as follows: kanamycin (42.29%), amikacin (17.92%), levofloxacin (40.14%) and ofloxacin (51.97%). Among the MDR-TB isolates, 53.76, 43.01 and 26.88% isolates were resistant to fluoroquinolone, second line injectable drugs and XDR, respectively. Among the demographic/ clinical variables, occupation, gender and number of family members were associated with the development of XDR-TB in MDR-TB patients of Agra region of Uttar Pradesh(P value: <0.05). Present study has provided baseline information about the risk factors associated with SLDs resistance and XDRamong MDR-TB patients which can be useful to strengthen the implementation of targeted interventions in order to minimize the cases of drug resistance tuberculosis in Uttar Pradesh, North India.
Utilization of Banana Pith Starch From Agricultural Waste As A Cationic Coagulant

The coagulation method is the most commonly used in water treatment. However, long-term use of chemical coagulants can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and neurotoxicity, in addition to harming organisms, lowering the pH of the water, corrosion of pipes, and the use of high doses of chlorine. The study synthesized banana pith starch from agricultural waste as a cationic coagulant for river water treatment. Banana pith starch was modified by grafting cations from GTA (3-Chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride) into the backbone structure of starch using microwave radiation. Performance tests were carried out on variations in dose (4), speed (3), and stirring time (3). Parameters tested were turbidity, TDS, and color, with four replications. The study found that the synthetic cationic coagulant could reduce turbidity up to 94.4%, while the color and TDS were 87.46% and 57.33%, respectively. The variety of treatments seemed to work on all test parameters (p<0.05). However, the most effective treatment was at a dose of 300 ppm, stirring speed of 200 rpm, for 5 minutes. Research has succeeded in proving that banana pith starch can be modified into an effective cationic coagulant to remove colloid compounds in water.
Modeling and Evaluation of Market Incentives for Battery Electric Vehicles

Electric mobility has great potential to help achieve global climate change mitigation goals. Within the domain of electric vehicles (EVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have the largest advantage over conventional internal combustion engine technology. However, their penetration depends on many factors. Several studies have investigated the different policy incentives supporting the EV market, but less analytical research has been conducted to evaluate the different incentives. This study investigates the wide range of incentives that were adopted across 15 countries between 2010 and 2018, and their effectiveness in the market amidst other factors, using a generalized linear model. The results of the statistical analysis identified the availability of local BEV production facility, income, accessibility to fast charging infrastructure, and value-added tax exemptions as positive and statistically significant factors to the market share of BEVs across the years, while positive significant correlations were not identified for the other factors and incentives investigated. This emphasizes the impact of economic performance, technological certainty, and the presence of charging infrastructure with fast charging solutions in BEV adoption decision making, and could be an indication to policymakers of the limited impact of other factors when considered over a length of time.
Overall High-Performance Near-Infrared Photodetector Based on CVD-Grown MoTe2 and Graphene Vertical vdWs Heterostructure

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), are highly appealing in the fields of electronics, optoelectronics, energy, etc. Graphene, with high conductivity and high carrier mobility, is an excellent candidate for transparent electrodes. TMDCs have remarkably strong light absorption in the range of visible to infrared wavelength. High-performance photodetectors are expected to achieve through the combination of graphene and TMDCs. Nowadays, near-infrared (NIR) photodetectors play significant roles in many areas. MoTe2 with bandgap energy of about 1.0 eV in its bulk form is a promising material for cost-saving NIR photodetectors. Thus far, only a few of the reported studies on NIR photodetectors built on MoTe2/graphene heterostructures have achieved high responsivity and short response time simultaneously in one device. In this study, we fabricate graphene–MoTe2–graphene vertical van der Waals heterostructure devices through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth, wet transfer method, and dry etching technique. Under 1064 nm laser illumination, we acquire responsivity of as high as 635 A/W and a response time of as short as 19 μs from the as-fabricated device. Moreover, we acquire higher responsivity of 1752 A/W and a shorter response time of 16 μs from the Al2O3-encapsulated device. Our research drives the application of 2D materials in the NIR wavelength range.
The Beneficial Effect of the COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose among Healthcare Workers in an Infectious Diseases Center

Introduction: Healthcare workers in Poland received a booster dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech, Manufacturer: Pfizer, Inc., and BioNTech; Moguncja, Germany) at the beginning of October 2021. Here, we report on the preliminary results of an ongoing clinical study into the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 of healthcare workers previously exposed to the virus, with or without evidence of past infection, in the Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Warsaw before and after the vaccine booster dose. Methods: Blood samples were collected on the day the vaccine booster dose was administered and again 14 days later. The levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies (against the n-protein, indicative of disease) and S-RBD (indicative of a response to vaccination) were measured. Results: One hundred and ten health care workers from the Hospital for Infectious Diseases were included in the study. The percentage of subjects with a positive test for anti-n-protein IgG antibodies at both time points remained unchanged (16, 14%), while a statistically significant increase in the percentage of subjects producing high levels of S-RBD antibodies (i.e., >433 BAU/mL) was observed (from 23, 21% to 109, 99%; p = 0.00001). Conclusions: The results of the study indicate that the booster dose of the vaccine significantly increases the percentage of people with high levels of S-RBD antibodies, regardless of previous contact with the virus, which may indicate greater protection against both the disease and a severe course of COVID-19.
The Mobile Mock Operating Room: Bringing Team Training to the Point of Care

Objectives: We examined the effectiveness of an innovative mobile mock operating room (MMOR) configuration to support realistic interdisciplinary operating room team training implemented at the point of care. Methods: The MMOR, created and used to support the System for Teamwork Effectiveness and Patient Safety (STEPS) training program, included a portable high-fidelity, computerized mannequin; an inanimate surgical procedure model; software for simulating mannequin responses; and a computer-based video recording system. Evaluation was based on direct experience with the MMOR and participants’ responses to a questionnaire. Results: Participants perceived the MMOR as a realistic training environment. Feasibility and effectiveness were further supported by the research team experiences. Conclusion: The MMOR contributes to quality training at the point of care. Results suggest that our MMOR model may be useful for supporting simulation-based training in other high-risk settings where effective team functioning is particularly important (e.g., emergency room, intensive care unit).
Natural Pollution Deposit Test of Polymeric Insulators Operated under DC Voltage

By use of self-built natural pollution test station, the experimental investigation of natural pollution deposit (NPD) features of polymeric insulators operated under DC voltage in northern China’s inland areas for two contaminated seasons is carried out. In this paper, the surface pollution deposit law of DC insulator shed, the influence of rainfall on pollution deposit (equivalent salt deposit density, ESDD) and non-soluble deposit density (NSDD), unevenness of pollution between top and bottom surface, dust to salt ratio of insulator surface, the orthogonal ratio of ESDD to NSDD and so on are analyzed. Research results show that not all rainfall achieves obvious purging efficiency on pollution deposited on insulator surface; both the amount of precipitation and rainfall intensity are important factors influencing purging effect; the maximum pollution degree of polymeric insulator occurs before rainy season in the summer, but not before spring rain. It is recommended that these features of pollution deposit should be adequately considered in the DC outdoor insulation design.
Association between Stress Hyperglycemia and Adverse Outcomes in Children Visiting the Pediatric Emergency Department

Stress hyperglycemia (SH) is often identified in patients visiting the pediatric emergency department (PED), and SH in adults has been associated with adverse outcomes, including mortality. In this retrospective study, we determined the adverse outcomes according to blood glucose (BG) levels of children visiting the PED of tertiary hospitals. Data were collected from the electronic medical records of children aged <18 years between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2020. A total of 44,905 visits were included in the analysis. SH was identified in 1506 patients, with an incidence rate of 3.4%. Compared to those without SH, patients with SH had significantly higher ward admission rates (52.6% vs. 35.9%, p < 0.001), intensive care unit admission rates (2.6% vs. 0.7%, p < 0.001), and mortality rates (2.7% vs. 0.3%, p < 0.001). Compared to the normoglycemic group of 45 ≤ BG < 150 mg/dL, the odds ratios (95% CI) for mortality were 5.61 (3.35–9.37), 27.96 (14.95–52.26), 44.22 (17.03–114.82), and 39.94 (16.31–97.81) for levels 150 ≤ BG < 200, 200 ≤ BG < 250, 250 ≤ BG < 300 and ≥300 mg/dL, respectively. This suggests that SH is common in children visiting the PED and is associated with higher adverse outcomes. Thus, there is a need to quickly identify its cause and take prompt intervention to resolve it.
أثر برنامج تدریبى عبر الإنترنت فى تطویر إتجاهات معلمى اللغة الإنجلیزیة بالمرحلة الثانویة نحو التقویم البدیل The Impact of a Web-Based Training Programme on Promoting Secondary School EFL Teachers’ Attitudes towards Alternative Assessment

Alternative assessment has been a huge buzzword in educational assessment over the past couple of decades. However, in Egypt, implementing alternative assessment is in its infancy and little is known about the Egyptian teachers’ it. Therefore, understanding teachers’ attitudes towards alternative assessment is of great significance because they are the agents of development as they are the ones who put reforms and changes into practice. Therefore, this study aims to develop secondary school EFL teachers’ attitudes towards alternative assessment through a web-based training programme. The study deployed a quasi-experimental one group pre-posttest design. Forty-three secondary school EFL teachers took part in the study. Findings reveal significant improvements in favour of post-application. That is, teachers’ attitudes towards alternative assessment have developed from a moderate level (3.64) to a high level (4.48). In the light of the study findings, such a training programme needs to be made available to secondary school EFL teachers to help them adopt positive attitudes towards alternative assessment and to conduct it more effectively.
Influence of physical training on intracellular and extracellular zinc concentrations

ABSTRACT Background Physical exercise affects zinc (Zn) homeostasis. This study aimed to analyze the influence of physical training on extracellular (serum, plasma, and urine) and intracellular (erythrocytes and platelets) concentrations of Zn. Methods Forty young men, divided into a training group (TG; n = 20; 18.15 ± 0.27 years; 68.59 ± 4.18 kg; 1.76 ± 0.04 m) and a control group (CG; n = 20; 19.25 ± 0.39 years; 73.45 ± 9.04 kg; 1.79 ± 0.06 m), participated in this study. The TG was formed by semiprofessional soccer players from a youth category with a regular training plan of 10 h/week. The CG was formed by healthy men who did not practice physical exercise and had not followed any specific training plan. Plasma, serum, urine, erythrocyte, and platelet samples of Zn were obtained and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Results The TG showed elevated plasma Zn concentrations (p < 0.01) despite similar intakes. However, TG showed reduced absolute (p < 0.01) and relative (p < 0.05) Zn concentrations in erythrocytes. Conclusions Athletes who underwent regular physical training showed elevated plasma and reduced erythrocyte Zn concentrations despite similar intakes to the CG.
Letter From the Editor

These articles together explore wilderness expeditions, service learning implementation, and educational responses to environmental crises. Several of the articles in this issue explore service learning educational implementation. This study analyzed course syllabi as well as quantitative measures of students' civic attitudes, collecting data from 55 students in 10 undergraduate courses with service learning components. [Extracted from the article] Copyright of Journal of Experiential Education is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
Inter-Comparison of UT1-UTC from 24-Hour, Intensives, and VGOS Sessions during CONT17

This work focuses on the assessment of UT1-UTC estimates from various types of sessions during the CONT17 campaign. We chose the CONT17 campaign as it provides 15 days of continuous, high-quality VLBI data from two legacy networks (S/X band), i.e., Legacy-1 (IVS) and Legacy-2 (VLBA) (having different network geometry and are non-overlapping), two types of Intensive sessions, i.e., IVS and Russian Intensives, and five days of new-generation, broadband VGOS sessions. This work also investigates different approaches to optimally compare dUT1 from Intensives with respect to the 24 h sessions given the different parameterization adopted for analyzing Intensives and different session lengths. One approach includes the estimation of dUT1 from pseudo Intensives, which are created from the 24 h sessions having their epochs synchronized with respect to the Intensive sessions. Besides, we assessed the quality of the dUT1 estimated from VGOS sessions at daily and sub-daily resolution. The study suggests that a different approach should be adopted when comparing the dUT1 from the Intensives, i.e., comparison of dUT1 value at the mean epoch of an Intensive session. The initial results regarding the VGOS sessions show that the dUT1 estimated from VGOS shows good agreement with the legacy network despite featuring fewer observations and stations. In the case of sub-daily dUT1 from VGOS sessions, we found that estimating dUT1 with 6 h resolution is superior to other sub-daily resolutions. Moreover, we introduced a new concept of sub-daily dUT1-tie to improve the estimation of dUT1 from the Intensive sessions. We observed an improvement of up to 20% with respect to the dUT1 from the 24 h sessions.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Diabetic Patients

Improving self-care in T2DM patients is critical so that patients can achieve targeted blood glucose levels to prevent complications and independently perform daily tasks to improve their quality of life and life satisfaction. Psychological intervention is believed to be able to change a person's behavior towards a better direction in disease control and prevention. This study measures the impact of cognitive – behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions on the self-care management of T2DM patients. This quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest with a control group design. The research subjects were divided into two groups, namely the intervention group (35 people) and the control group (35 people). The study was conducted at the Tello Primary Health Center in April 2021. The data were analyzed using the t-dependent test ( α =0.05). The results of the study showed that in the intervention group, there were differences in the self-care management of T2DM patients before and after being given CBT, which included eating patterns (p < 0.001; 95%CI -6.663-(-4.796)), physical activity (p <0.001 ;95%CI -5.344-(-4.370)), and attitude (p= <0.001; 95%CI -13.086-(-10.114)). In the control group, there was no difference in the self-care management of T2DM patients, which included eating patterns (p= 0.083; 95%CI -0.183-0.012), physical activity (p= 0.058; 95%CI -0.291-0.005), and T2DM patients attitudes (p= 0.094; 95%CI -0.225-0.003). This means that CBT is effective in improving the self-care management of T2DM patients.
Opaque or Transparent: Quality Disclosure Strategy for Accommodation-Sharing Platforms

Compared with the conventional hotel providing a standardized service, individual supply on an accommodation-sharing platform makes consumers uncertain about service quality, which is mainly caused by information asymmetry between the consumers and individual hosts. In this paper, we develop a game-theoretic model to study the accommodation-sharing platform’s optimal quality information disclosure and its determining factors with consideration of consumer uncertainty. We find that it is optimal to provide either opaque, i.e., completely uninformative, or transparent, i.e., fully informative, quality information. We also examine the impacts of the incumbent hotel and market heterogeneity on the platform’s quality disclosure. The results show that market heterogeneity and the hotel’s service cost jointly affect the platform’s information disclosure strategy. In general, the sharing platform provides opaque information when market heterogeneity is relatively low but provides transparent information when market heterogeneity is relatively high. However, when market heterogeneity is medium, the hotel’s service cost plays a key role in affecting its pricing strategy, hence the information disclosure strategy of the platform. Specifically, a sufficiently high price of the hotel prompts the platform to disclose transparent information. These findings provide guidance for sharing platforms to design their information disclosure systems.
Attitudes of Patients with Chronic Diseases toward Management eHealth Applications Systems in Post-COVID-19 Times

Introduction: There has been an increase in the adoption of eHealth technologies and applications by health consumers globally because of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the last two years. The sudden change in the users’ attitudes toward eHealth adoption needs to be critically evaluated and understood, as it can be the stepping stone toward rapid digitalization of healthcare operations in Saudi Arabia as a part of Vision 2030. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of the patients with chronic diseases toward eHealth applications in post-COVID times. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was adopted using the online questionnaire as a data collection instrument. All the health consumers using eHealth services aged above 18 years and living in Saudi Arabia were included in the survey. The survey was conducted for 3 weeks, resulting in a final sample of 234 participants. Results: Overall, 73.8% of the participants stated that they adopted eHealth only out of necessity, while 37.3% stated that they adopted it because no other services were available. Only 10.3% stated that they adopted eHealth out of interest. In relation to the future use of eHealth, 51.5% of the participants stated that they would definitely not use eHealth applications, and 33.6% stated that they would probably them once the pandemic ends. Only 4.4% of the participants stated that they would very much probably, and 10.5% stated they would probably not use eHealth applications once the pandemic ends. a significant difference in opinions in relation to the future adoption of eHealth applications was observed among the male and female participants, and also between the age groups of younger (age <35 years) and older (age ≥35 years) participants. Conclusions: For the change in attitudes (increased adoption of eHealth) to be sustained, policymakers need to develop relevant strategies promoting the use of eHealth in Saudi Arabia.