Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in attitudes towards food environment in Romania

Attitudes and knowledge regarding the food environment and purchasing behaviour are drivers or hindrances toward a healthier lifestyle. A questionnaire-based study on consumers’ knowledge about food and health and main drivers for food purchasing was applied to a group of Romanians and results were compared with those from a similar study carried about 10 years ago. Respondents seem to be more aware of some environmental and ecological problems (deforestation, global warming, etc), about the importance of bioproducts consumption, and regarding the link between food products and health. Still, the nutritional part of the food label is underused. The main reasons for selecting food are the same as in 2011, but with the greater interest paid to food related health aspects and taste. The perceived trust in food safety remains low. The consumers` amount of knowledge regarding food increased, food being perceived more as a useful adjuvant for health maintenance and an energy booster. Ten years after, some positive changes have been noticed in a group of Romanian citizens. Efforts have to continue in order to put a greater accent on the link between health, food, and purchasing behaviour. Education policies at local and European level have to guide consumers` choices so that the impact of food consumption becomes a sanogenic and sustainable one, both on people, and the environment.
Associations between Gene-Gene Interaction and Overweight/Obesity of 12-Month-Old Chinese Infants

Background Childhood overweight and obesity (OW/OB) is a worldwide public health problem, and its genetic risks remain unclear. Objectives To investigate risks of OW/OB associated with genetic variances in SEC16B rs543874 and rs10913469, BDNF rs11030104 and rs6265, NT5C2 rs11191580, PTBP2 rs11165675, ADCY9 rs2531995, FAM120A rs7869969, KCNQ1 rs2237892, and C4orf33 rs2968990 in Chinese infants at 12-month old. Methods We conducted a case-control study with 734 infants included at delivery and followed up to 12-month old. The classification and regression tree analysis were used to generate the structure of the gene-gene interactions, while the unconditional multivariate logistic regression models were applied to analyze the single SNP, gene-gene interactions, and cumulative effects of the genotypes on OW/OB, adjusted for potential confounders. Results There were 219 (29.84%) OW/OB infants. Rs543874 G allele and rs11030104 AA genotype increased the risk of OW/OB in 12-month-old infants (P < 0.05). Those carrying both rs11030104 AA genotype and rs10913469 C allele had 4.3 times greater OW/OB than those carrying rs11030104 G allele, rs11191580 C allele, rs11165675 A allele, and rs543874 AA genotype. Meanwhile, the risk of OW/OB increased with the number of the risk genotypes individuals harbored. Conclusions Rs543874, rs11030104, and rs11191580 were associated with OW/OB in 12-month-old Chinese infants, and the three SNPs together with rs10913469 and rs11165675 had a combined effect on OW/OB.
Idiopathic Ventricular Arrhythmias Originating from Different Portions of the Coronary Venous System: Prevalence, Electrocardiographic Characteristics, Catheter Ablation, and Complications

(1) Background: To determine the prevalence, electrocardiographic characteristics, mapping, and ablation of IVAs arising from the CVS. (2) Methods: Detailed activation and pace mapping of the CVS IVAs was performed before attempted radiofrequency ablation (RFCA). (3) Results: The IVAs originating from the vicinity of the CVS represented approximately 5.27% (164/3113) of all IVAs; 94.51% (155/164) cases were accessed at the earliest identified site and 83.54% (137/164) IVAs were successfully ablated. The main coronary vein group had a relatively short procedure time, short fluoroscopy time, fewer radiofrequency lesions prior to success, and less Swartz sheath support. IVAs originating from the CVS had distinct ECG characteristics: Rs, RS or rS (with s or S) wave in lead V1 indicate the Vas arising from the proximal portion of the anterior interventricular vein (AIV) and summit-CV; Rs (with s or S) wave in leads V5–V6 indicate the Vas arising from the adjacent regions of the distal great cardiac vein 1 (DGCV1); positive wave (R, Rs or r) In lead I indicate the VAs ori”inat’ng from Summit-CV and posterior wall subgroup (including middle cardiac vein [MCV], posterior lateral vein [PLV], coronary sinus [CS]). Compared with the IVAs originating from the endocardial mitral annulus, a PdW > 45 ms, an IDT > 74 ms, and an MDI > 0.50 indicate a CVS origin of the IVAs. The common peri-procedure complications were CV dissection (6.45%, 10/155), CV rupture (1.29%, 2/155), coronary artery spasm (1.29%, 2/155), coronary artery stenosis (0.65%, 1/155), pericardial effusion (0.65%, 1/155) and tamponade (1.29%, 2/155). Stenosis of coronary arteries was not observed at the adjacent ablation site in the CVS during follow-up. (4) Conclusions: vAs arising from the CVS are not a rare phenomenon. Several ECG and procedure characteristics could help regionalize, map, and ablate the origin of IVAs from different portions of the CVS. RFCA within the CVS was relatively effective and safe.
Retention and Fouling during Nanoparticle Filtration: Implications for Membrane Purification of Biotherapeutics

One major challenge in the development of nanoparticle-based therapeutics, including viral vectors for the delivery of gene therapies, is the development of cost-effective purification technologies. The objective of this study was to examine fouling and retention behaviors during the filtration of model nanoparticles through membranes of different pore sizes and the effect of solution conditions. Data were obtained with 30 nm fluorescently labeled polystyrene latex nanoparticles using both cellulosic and polyethersulfone membranes at a constant filtrate flux, and both pressure and nanoparticle transmission were evaluated as a function of cumulative filtrate volume. The addition of NaCl caused a delay in nanoparticle transmission and an increase in fouling. Nanoparticle transmission was also a function of particle hydrophobicity. These results provide important insights into the factors controlling transmission and fouling during nanoparticle filtration as well as a framework for the development of membrane processes for the purification of nanoparticle-based therapeutics.
Adolescents' Vulnerability to Fake News and to Racial Hoaxes: A Qualitative Analysis on Italian Sample

Following the Digital Revolution, we are witnessing an increase in the number of manipulated sources of information. For this reason, virtual environments can be a breeding ground for the proliferation of prejudices and stereotypes, resulting from the spread of racial fallacious news, known as ‘racial hoaxes’. Adolescents may be more susceptible due to the tense and complicated relationship between their experience with digital platforms and the development of their relatively limited critical thinking. In this landscape, in order to explore the features of disinformation in adolescence, the research involved 41 Italian adolescents between 13 and 16 years old, balanced by gender and school education. The teenagers took part in the focus group discussions on the topic of online information preferences, fake news and racial hoaxes, which were analyzed by means of content analysis. The answers given by participants show a so-called adolescents’ perception of ‘misinformation invulnerability’ that can influence their credulity in fake news, since they are aware of fake news but they are not so able to recognize or remember it.
Potential bioremediation of heavy metal ions, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and biofilms with South African hot spring bacteria

Abstract Hot spring bacteria, Bacillus and Bacillus-related spp. from South Africa were screened for biosorption and biosurfactant properties for bioremediation of toxic pollutants. Concentrations of heavy metal ions of copper, chromium, nickel and iron were determined spectrophotometrically. Biosorption resulted in reductions of chromium and copper with four isolates (7T, 9T, 30M, 83Li) but not for iron and nickel. The majority of 40 isolates were biosurfactant positive using paraffin oil. Twelve of which were further screened against petroleum and sunflower seed oil with only four showing positive in all assays tested (16S, 71T, 76S, 85Li). By LC-MS, two isolates (76S, 77S) were shown to produce biosurfactant, subtilisin. Nine biosurfactant-positive isolates were screened for their anti-biofilm properties. Brevibacillus sp. (16S) was able to disrupt a crystal violet stained biofilm of Bacillus subtilis (54T). Screening of bacterial isolates from hot springs reveals potential bacterial candidates with diverse biophysical properties that can be useful in bioremediation of hazardous polluted water.
Predicting dreissenid mussel abundance in nearshore waters using underwater imagery and deep learning

Accurate and cost‐effective dreissenid mussel abundance maps are vital to assess their ecological roles in aquatic systems. A deep neural network (DNN) modeling framework using semantic segmentation was developed to automatically assess the abundance distribution of two invasive mussel species: zebra and quagga. DNN models were trained on images captured in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario using an underwater color imaging technique. The accuracy of the method was assessed relative to manual laboratory counts of harvested mussels, their dry biomass, and percentage live coverage estimated from fixed‐size quadrats. Assessments performed on a test set collected from 2016 to 2018 show that DNN‐based mussel coverage predictions explain 79% of the variance in log biomass, and 71% for log abundance (N = 125). For reference, live coverage estimated by scuba divers was transformed and found to be a better predictor of biomass (93%) and abundance (91%) (N = 725), leaving room for improvement of our automated method. When identical images were presented to eight human analysts and the DNN, the agreement in live mussel coverage prediction was 85% (N = 189). Models generalize well to diverse underwater illuminations, camera orientations, and resolutions, but are adversely impacted by occluding vegetation and suspended sediment. DNN models are an efficient and accurate solution for mapping mussel abundances at a scale that was previously impossible. The method may be integrated with other studies to assess the mussels' impacts in a variety of aquatic ecosystems. Source code: https://github.com/AngusG/deep-learning-dreissenid and data https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/MZEBOJ for reproducing our method are publicly available.
Ecosystem Service Values in the Dongting Lake Eco-Economic Zone and the Synergistic Impact of Its Driving Factors

Ecosystem service values (ESVs) are crucial to ecological conservation and restoration, urban and rural planning, and sustainable development of land. Therefore, it is important to study ESVs and their driving factors in the Dongting Lake Eco-Economic Zone (Dongting Lake). This paper quantifies the changes in ESVs in the Dongting Lake using land use data from 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2018. The eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model is used to study the effects of individual driving factors and the synergistic effects of these driving factors on ESVs. Our analysis suggests that: (1) From 2000 to 2018, the largest dynamic degree values in the Dongting Lake are in unused land types, followed by construction lands and wetlands. The ESVs of the Dongting Lake show an increasing trend, with those of forestlands being the highest, accounting for approximately 44.65% of the total value. Among the ESVs functions, water containment, waste treatment, soil formation and protection, biodiversity conservation and climate regulation contribute the most to ESVs, with a combined contribution of 76.64% to 76.99%; (2) The integrated intensity of anthropogenic disturbance shows a U-shaped spatial distribution, decreasing from U1 to U3. The driving factors in descending order of importance are the human impact index, total primary productivity (GPP), slope, elevation, population, temperature, gross domestic product, precipitation and PM2.5; (3) When the GPP is low (GPP < 900), the SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanation) value of the high human impact index is greater than zero, indicating that an increase in GPP increases the ESVs in the Dongting Lake. This study can provide technical support and a theoretical basis for ecological environmental protection and ecosystem management in the Dongting Lake.
Mycotoxin Exposure during the First 1000 Days of Life and Its Impact on Children’s Health: A Clinical Overview

The first 1000 days of life are very sensitive to any event that alters health programming, and they represent a window for intervention to improve population health. Pregnant women, fetuses, and infants are particularly vulnerable to exposure to food contaminated with mycotoxins. This review aimed to gather data from the literature on mycotoxins exposure during intrauterine life and early childhood, and associated health risks, as assessed through human biomonitoring and mycotoxins occurrence in foods, in different continents. Maternal internal exposure to aflatoxins is associated with fetal growth restriction, while exposure to fumonisins increases the risk of offspring’s neural tube defects. Mycotoxin contamination of breast milk is reported worldwide, but data on adverse effects of the lactational transfer of mycotoxins on infant health are lacking. Young children are exposed to mycotoxins through contaminated infant formulas and baby foods. Both external and internal exposure to aflatoxins and fumonisins in children are reported to be associated with growth impairment. In low-income settings, where other co-factors can affect growth, this association should be interpreted with caution. Further studies on human biomonitoring of mother–infant pairs and young children are needed to guide management strategies aiming to minimize mycotoxin exposure at critical developmental stages.
Potential anti-osteoporotic effect of Allolobophora caliginosa extract in orchiectomized rats

Osteoporosis is defined as a universal skeletal disorder. The medicinal importance of earthworms has been known from time immemorial. The present investigation was designed to assess the antiosteoporotic efficacy of the earthworm, Allolobophora caliginosa extract (AcE) in bilaterally orchiectomized rats (OCX) to elicit the underlying in vivo mechanism. Twenty-eight male rats were divided into two groups. The first group (7 rats/group) represented sham-operated rats, while the second group (21 rats/group) underwent bilateral orchidectomy (OCX). The second group was randomly subdivided into three subgroups; OCX and A. caliginosa extract (AcE) (100 or 200 mg/kg body weight/day) treated subgroup. Administration of AcE to OCX rats increased femoral bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and calcitonin level, as compared to OCX rats. On the other hand, administration of AcE to OCX rats significantly decreased serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and parathyroid hormone (PTH) level compared to OCX rats. The present study showed that AcE is a beneficial novel natural antiresorptive agent. Its anti-osteoporotic effects may positively impact osteoblast differentiation, particularly bone mineralization, and higher osteoblast activity account for bone formation, preventing osteoporosis.
Disinfection by-products as environmental contaminants of emerging concern: a review on their occurrence, fate and removal in the urban water cycle

Abstract Disinfection by-products (DBPs), a kind of secondary pollutant derived from water disinfection treatment, are frequently detected in the urban water cycle and reported to show (eco)toxicological impacts on aquatic systems and human health. Thus, DBPs have become ubiquitous environmental contaminants of emerging concern. This article reviews DBP characteristics as well as DBP occurrence in different aqueous environments, namely reclaimed wastewater, surface water and drinking water. Furthermore, this review discusses research related to the fate and removal of wastewater-derived DBPs and drinking water DBPs in different components of the urban water cycle, including advanced water treatment facilities, natural water systems, drinking water treatment plants, drinking water distribution systems, plumbing systems as well as household water treatment processes. In general, the fate and removal of DBPs in the urban water cycle are under the influence of internal factors (i.e. physicochemical properties and other characteristics of individual DBP) and external factors (e.g., the composition of urban water cycle, treatment conditions of water treatment processes, and the characteristic of water quality). As for future research needs, the identification and monitoring of DBPs as well as the development of predictive models for DBP fate in the urban water cycle are of significance to effectively assess and mitigate the impact of DBPs on ecological safety and human health. Besides, in addition to aquatic system, future research should also pay attention to the occurrence and fate of DBPs in the air and in the terrestrial ecosystem. Graphical abstract
Evaluating COVID-19 Vaccine Willingness and Hesitancy among Parents of Children Aged 5–11 Years with Chronic Conditions in Italy

COVID-19 vaccination has been extended to include children aged 5–11 years. This cross-sectional survey evaluated parental COVID-19 vaccine willingness and hesitancy, and associated factors, for their children aged 5–11 years with chronic conditions. A telephone survey was conducted from 14 December 2021 to 4 January 2022. The questionnaire assessed participants’ socio-demographic and health-related information, attitudes towards COVID-19 infection, hesitancy, by using the PACV-5 (Parent Attitudes About Childhood Vaccines Survey Tool), and sources of information. A total of 430 answers were collected anonymously. Respondents with no cohabitant who had been infected by SARS-CoV-2 and having been vaccinated against COVID-19 had a higher concern about the severity of COVID-19. The parents’ perceived risk that the child could be infected by SARS-CoV-2 was higher in those more concerned about the severity of COVID-19, with an older child, and who had at least one cohabitant positive for COVID-19. Only 38.8% parents were willing to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Parents who did not need additional information, those with higher education, those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, those whose child was older, who had received information on this vaccination from physicians, with higher self-reported concern about the severity of COVID-19, and who had a higher perceived risk that their child could be infected by SARS-CoV-2, expressed a greater willingness to vaccinate their child. Overall, 26.3% were high-hesitant, with a PACV-5 score ≥ 7. Respondents who did not get the COVID-19 vaccine, were less educated, with a lower concern about severity of COVID-19, and with a lower perceived risk that their child could be infected by SARS-CoV-2, were more likely to be high-hesitant. New policies and educational programs regarding COVID-19 vaccination for children with chronic conditions are needed to reduce hesitancy and increase vaccination uptake.
Direct Seeded Rice: Strategies to Improve Crop Resilience and Food Security under Adverse Climatic Conditions

Direct seeded rice (DSR) systems have been considered a sustainable strategy for sustainable rice (Oryza sativa L.) production and resilience under adverse climatic conditions. Providing essential nutrition for more than 50% of the global population, there has been a significant decline in rice productivity due to climate change. The results suggest that an adoption of DSR options, without raising rice nursery, improved rice productivity and time saving. A rice field experiment in the kharif season of 2021 was examined to identify the best crop establishment method. A comparison study of the direct seeded rice crop establishment method and the mechanical transplanting of rice crop establishment method was investigated to improve rice productivity. The results show that significantly higher (+10%) rice productivity was registered in the DSR option compared with mechanically transplanted rice. In this case, growth attributes, effective tillers (+37%), panicle length (+8%), the number of grains per panicle (+21%), and 1000-grain weight (+2%) were significantly higher in the DSR option compared with mechanically transplanted rice. It was observed that, after the third extreme rainfall, 100% of the mechanically transplanted rice crop was lodged, compared with only 25% of the DSR option. Overall, the results suggest that an adoption of DSR options significantly improved rice productivity and rice resilience, while offering the additional benefit of advancing the seeding of succeeding crops by 15 days compared with the mechanically transplanted rice system. Our study suggests that the adoption of the DSR option would sustain food security and crop resilience under adverse climatic conditions.
Classical and Modern gain estimation approach of PID controller for the pitch control of the RCTA aircraft

In the current age of globalization, the development of autopilots is superficial as the standard of living is improved through aerial surveillance, defense applications, and door- to-door transportation. To design the PID controller, a mathematical model is created to address the system identification for estimating longitudinal derivatives and to study the handling qualities of aircraft in order to improve piloting performance. This paper exhibits a comparative assessment between the classical closed-loop PID tuning methods like ZN, Modified ZN, Tyreus-luyben, Astrom- Hagglund and the modern control techniques like pole placement, LQR for the pitch controller design. The simulation results are displayed in the time-domain, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach used to design a robust controller.
Fluoride Coatings on Magnesium Alloy Implants

After several years of research and development, it has been reported that magnesium alloys can be used as degradable metals in some medical device applications. Over the years, fluoride coatings have received increasing research attention for improving the corrosion resistance of magnesium. In this paper, different methods for preparing fluoride coatings and the characteristics of these coatings are reported for the first time. The influence of the preparation conditions of fluoride coatings, including the magnesium substrate, voltage, and electrolyte, on the coatings is discussed. Various properties of magnesium fluoride coatings are also summarized, with an emphasis on corrosion resistance, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility. We screened experiments and papers that planned the application of magnesium fluoride coatings in living organisms. We have selected the literature with the aim of enhancing the performance of in vivo implants for reading and further detailed classification. The authors searched PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and other databases for 688 relevant papers published between 2005 and 2021, citing 105 of them. The selected time range is the last 16 years. Furthermore, this paper systematically discusses future prospects and challenges related to the application of magnesium fluoride coatings to medical products.