Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcutaneous Administration of Dengue Vaccines

In the present study, we evaluated the immunological responses induced by dengue vaccines under experimental conditions after delivery via a transcutaneous (TC) route. Vaccines against type 2 Dengue virus particles (DENV2 New Guinea C (NGC) strain) combined with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) heat-labile toxin (LT) were administered to BALB/c mice in a three-dose immunization regimen via the TC route. As a control for the parenteral administration route, other mouse groups were immunized with the same vaccine formulation via the intradermic (ID) route. Our results showed that mice vaccinated either via the TC or ID routes developed similar protective immunity, as measured after lethal challenges with the DENV2 NGC strain. Notably, the vaccine delivered through the TC route induced lower serum antibody (IgG) responses with regard to ID-immunized mice, particularly after the third dose. The protective immunity elicited in TC-immunized mice was attributed to different antigen-specific antibody properties, such as epitope specificity and IgG subclass responses, and cellular immune responses, as determined by cytokine secretion profiles. Altogether, the results of the present study demonstrate the immunogenicity and protective properties of a dengue vaccine delivered through the TC route and offer perspectives for future clinical applications.
Interface Characteristics of Neat Melts and Binary Mixtures of Polyethylenes from Atomistic Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Molecular dynamics simulations of free-standing thin films of neat melts of polyethylene (PE) chains up to C150H302 and their binary mixtures with n-C13H28 are performed employing a united atom model. We estimate the surface tension values of PE melts from the atomic virial tensor over a range of temperatures, which are in good agreement with experimental results. Compared with short n-alkane systems, there is an enhanced surface segregation of methyl chain ends in longer PE chains. Moreover, the methyl groups become more segregated in the surface region with decreasing temperature, leading to the conclusion that the surface-segregation of methyl chain ends mainly arises from the enthalpic origin attributed to the lower cohesive energy density of terminal methyl groups. In the mixtures of two different chain lengths, the shorter chains are more likely to be found in the surface region, and this molecular segregation in moderately asymmetric mixtures in the chain length (C13H28 + C44H90) is dominated by the enthalpic effect of methyl chain ends. Such molecular segregation is further enhanced and dominated by the entropic effect of conformational constraints in the surface for the highly asymmetric mixtures containing long polymer chains (C13H28 + C150H3020). The estimated surface tension values of the mixtures are consistent with the observed molecular segregation characteristics. Despite this molecular segregation, the normalized density of methyl chain ends of the longer chain is more strongly enhanced, as compared with the all-segment density of the longer chain itself, in the surface region of melt mixtures. In addition, the molecular segregation results in higher order parameter of the shorter-chain segments at the surface and deeper persistence of surface-induced segmental order into the film for the longer chains, as compared with those in neat melt films.
Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance for a Chinese Version of a Psychological Need Thwarting Scale for Teachers

While teachers’ psychological needs have been evaluated in terms of need satisfaction, need thwarting of teachers is under-researched. This study developed a Chinese version of a Psychological Need Thwarting (PNT) scale for teachers and evaluated both its psychometric properties and measurement invariance across groups. Psychometric criteria for the scale were evaluated, with satisfactory levels of internal reliability, test–retest reliability, convergent and divergent validities, and model goodness-of-fit. One item translated from the original PNT scale was removed due to cross-loading. Criterion validity was established, with R2 = 0.54 for the factor of burnout (emotional exhaustion). Measurement invariance was established using confirmatory factor analysis for the factors of gender, grade of instruction, and position. The teachers evaluated demonstrated higher levels of competence thwarting, as compared to autonomy and relatedness thwarting, but overall higher levels of thwarting as compared to previous research. Males reported higher levels of autonomy and competence thwarting as compared to females and secondary school teachers reported higher levels of relatedness thwarting as compared to primary school teachers. The developed scale can serve as a valuable tool in evaluating the thwarting of teachers’ psychological needs, an issue which can profoundly impact teachers’ and students’ mental health and performance.
Phylogenetic Analysis and In Vitro Bifunctional Nuclease Assay of Arabidopsis BBD1 and BBD2

Nucleases are a very diverse group of enzymes that play important roles in many crucial physiological processes in plants. We previously reported that the highly conserved region (HCR), domain of unknown function 151 (DUF151) and UV responsive (UVR) domain-containing OmBBD is a novel nuclease that does not share homology with other well-studied plant nucleases. Here, we report that DUF151 domain-containing proteins are present in bacteria, archaea and only Viridiplantae kingdom of eukarya, but not in any other eukaryotes. Two Arabidopsis homologs of OmBBD, AtBBD1 and AtBBD2, shared 43.69% and 44.38% sequence identity and contained all three distinct domains of OmBBD. We confirmed that the recombinant MBP-AtBBD1 and MBP-AtBBD2 exhibited non-substrate-specific DNase and RNase activity, like OmBBD. We also found that a metal cofactor is not necessarily required for DNase activity of AtBBD1 and AtBBD2, but their activities were much enhanced in the presence of Mg2+ or Mn2+. Using a yeast two-hybrid assay, we found that AtBBD1 and AtBBD2 each form a homodimer but not a heterodimer and that the HCR domain is possibly crucial for dimerization.
Artificial Intelligence Based Methods for Asphaltenes Adsorption by Nanocomposites: Application of Group Method of Data Handling, Least Squares Support Vector Machine, and Artificial Neural Networks

Asphaltenes deposition is considered a serious production problem. The literature does not include enough comprehensive studies on adsorption phenomenon involved in asphaltenes deposition utilizing inhibitors. In addition, effective protocols on handling asphaltenes deposition are still lacking. In this study, three efficient artificial intelligent models including group method of data handling (GMDH), least squares support vector machine (LSSVM), and artificial neural network (ANN) are proposed for estimating asphaltenes adsorption onto NiO/SAPO-5, NiO/ZSM-5, and NiO/AlPO-5 nanocomposites based on a databank of 252 points. Variables influencing asphaltenes adsorption include pH, temperature, amount of nanocomposites over asphaltenes initial concentration (D/C0), and nanocomposites characteristics such as BET surface area and volume of micropores. The models are also optimized using nine optimization techniques, namely coupled simulated annealing (CSA), genetic algorithm (GA), Bayesian regularization (BR), scaled conjugate gradient (SCG), ant colony optimization (ACO), Levenberg–Marquardt (LM), imperialistic competitive algorithm (ICA), conjugate gradient with Fletcher-Reeves updates (CGF), and particle swarm optimization (PSO). According to the statistical analysis, the proposed RBF-ACO and LSSVM-CSA are the most accurate approaches that can predict asphaltenes adsorption with average absolute percent relative errors of 0.892% and 0.94%, respectively. The sensitivity analysis shows that temperature has the most impact on asphaltenes adsorption from model oil solutions.
Anti-Hypochlorite, Antioxidant, and Catalytic Activity of Three Polyphenol-Rich Super-Foods Investigated with the Use of Coumarin-Based Sensors

The anti-hypochlorite activity of açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), goji (Lycium barbarum L.) and schisandra (Schisandra chinensis) fruit extracts were assessed by determining the reactive chlorine species (RCS)-scavenging ability of these three “super-food” berries. In addition, the aqueous extracts obtained were employed as both the media and the catalyst in a green chemistry approach to the synthesis of a coumarin-based fluorescence turn-off sensor, which was then used for anti-hypochlorite activity testing. The aqueous extracts were also assessed for total phenolic content (TPC), using the Folin–Ciocalteu method, and the antioxidant activity using the ABTS+• assay. Moreover, the main water-soluble polyphenolic constituents of the extracts were identified by the HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS technique. Among the extracts tested, açaí demonstrated the highest anti-hypochlorite and antioxidant activities, while the highest TPC value was found for the goji extract. All extracts demonstrated modest catalytic activity as Knoevenagel condensation catalysts.
Factors Associated with Successful Aging among Community-Dwelling Older Adults Based on Ecological System Model

This study was conducted to identify the factors associated with successful aging in older adults based on the ecological system model. Data from the 2017 National Survey of the Living Conditions of Korean Elderly were used. Participants comprised 10,074 older adults. The three principal components in the successful aging model developed by Rowe and Kahn, “absence of disease and disease-related disability,” “maintenance of high mental and physical function,” and “continued engagement with life,” were used to determine successful aging. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared test, t-test, and logistic regression. The study results showed that the correlation factors were age, sex, educational level, economic status, heavy drinking, subjective health status, and health screening in the individual system; living arrangement, satisfaction with spouse, and frequency of contacting family, siblings, and relatives in the family system; and the frequency of contacting neighbors and friends, number of close neighbors and friends, and accessibility of neighborhood facilities in the community system. This study is significant because it confirms that individual characteristics and the environmental systems surrounding older adults should be considered for successful aging; it is necessary to develop and apply healthcare intervention programs that consider both of these aspects.
Infusion of Plasma from Exercised Mice Ameliorates Cognitive Dysfunction by Increasing Hippocampal Neuroplasticity and Mitochondrial Functions in 3xTg-AD Mice

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative brain disease causing dementia. It is characterized by slow onset and gradual worsening of memory and other cognitive functions. Recently, parabiosis and infusion of plasma from young mice have been proposed to have positive effects in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, this study examined whether infusion of plasma from exercised mice improved cognitive functions related to the hippocampus in a 3xTg-Alzheimer’s disease (AD) model. We collected plasma from young mice that had exercised for 3 months and injected 100 µL of plasma into the tail vein of 12-month-old 3xTg-AD mice 10 times at 3-day intervals. We then analyzed spatial learning and memory, long-term memory, hippocampal GSK3β/tau proteins, synaptic proteins, mitochondrial function, apoptosis, and neurogenesis. In the hippocampus of 3xTg-AD mice, infusion of plasma from exercised mice improved neuroplasticity and mitochondrial function and suppressed apoptosis, ultimately improving cognitive function. However, there was no improvement in tau hyperphosphorylation. This study showed that plasma from exercised mice could have a protective effect on cognitive dysfunction and neural circuits associated with AD via a tau-independent mechanism involving elevated brain-derived neurotrophic factor due to exercise.
An SEM study of developmental variation in oospore wall ornamentation of three Nitella species (Charophyta) in Australia

Abstract Oospore ornamentation in three species of Nitella (Charophyta) is investigated with reference to developmental stage. Australian populations of N. stuartii A. Braun possess characteristics identical to those reported for Indian material. Oospore characteristics of N. cristata A. Braun and N. pseudoflabellata A. Braun are described for the first time using SEM. Variation between oospores at different developmental stages on the same plant is greater than variation between mature oospores from different populations of the same species. The timing of development of the highly resistant oospore wall may be related to autecological similarities rather than to taxonomic affiliations. SEM may be used to confirm species determinations in spore-bank studies, as mature oospore wall characteristics were not significantly changed by residence in soil.
Temperature and Time Dependence of the Solvent-Induced Crystallization of Poly(l-lactide)

The role of organic solvents in governing the crystallization and morphology of semi-crystalline poly-l-lactide (PLLA) sheets was systematically investigated. Three different organic solvents; ethyl acetate (EA), o-dichlorobenzene (ODCB), and nitrobenzene (NB), with a solubility parameter analogous to PLLA and with a high capability of swelling, were chosen. It has been witnessed that the degree of crystallization and crystal morphology depends highly on the degree of swelling and evaporation rate of the solvent. Besides, the temperature and time of treatment played a significant role in the crystallization of polymers. The effect of different solvents and curing times are reflected by the measured X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks and the differences are best shown by the unit cell size. The largest variation is observed along the c-axis, indicating shorter bonds, thus, showing better conformation after NB and ODCB treatment. The percentage of crystallinity calculated using the classical relative crystallinity index of XRD shows closer values to those calculated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data, but a huge variation is observed while using the LeBail deconvolution method. The strong birefringence of polarised optical micrograph (POM) and the crystal morphology of scanning electron micrograph (SEM) also evidenced the orientation of polymer crystallites and increased crystallinity after solvent-supported heat treatment.
Influência da irrigação com água salina na cultura do girassol

This experiment was made to evaluate the influence of the irrigation with saline water on growth and production of sunflower (hibrido H251), besides monitoring the evolution of some chemical attributes of the soil along its cycle. The experimental design used was the randomized blocks with six treatments and five replications. The treatments consisted of six different irrigation strategies, five of them with use of saline water. The growth evaluations (plant height, stem diameter and leaf number) were made at 20; 40; 60; 80; 100 days after sowing (DAS). The harvest occurred at 100 DAS, then the capitulum diameter was measured and the weight of 1000 achenes, as well as its productivity, were determined. The soil samples were collected on the same dates of the growth evaluations at the layers of 0-0.10; 0.10-0.30; 0.30-0.50 m. The evaluated soil attributes were Na+, EC and pH, besides of the ratios Na+/Ca2+ and Na+/Mg2+. The sunflower appeared to be tolerant to the salinity of the irrigation water, what means it could be cultivated normally and still have a good production even when the water EC reaches up to 3.53 dS m-1. However, when using a medium/high EC water, it's needed to adopt some practices to control the salinization/sodification of the soil. The tolerance of the sunflower to salinity was not dependent of the development phase. Overall, the chemical attributes of the soil increased and stabilized from the middle of the cycle on.
Seasonal abundance of sucking insect pests on transgenic Bt cotton vis-à-vis weather parameters in Punjab, India

Among sucking insect pests, the incidence of a leafhopper [Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida)] and a whitefly [Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)] remained active through the cropping season in varying population density. Thrips [Thrips tabaci (Lindemann)] population was only observed in early stages of the crop growth. The leafhopper population attained its peak during 2nd half of July and was maximum (9.2 nymphs/3 leaves) in the year 2008. The population of whitefly adults was maximum (14.8 adults/3 leaves) in 2007 and it acquired its peak during end of July and again in end of September to early October. The incidence of thrips was maximum in June. The population of the A. biguttula showed significant positive correlation with minimum temperature (r=0.636; p=0.003), mean temperature (r=0.475; p=0.034), evening relative humidity (r=0.618; p=0.004) and rainfall (r=0.556; p=0.011). The correlation of B. tabaci population with minimum temperature was significantly positive (r=0.454; p=0.044). The multiple regression analysis revealed that all the weather parameters collectively accounted for variability in the A. biguttula and B. tabaci population with R2 values ranging from 0.67–0.80 and 0.50–0.69, respectively, during different years.
Cytosolic DNA sensor cGAS plays an essential pathogenetic role in pressure overload-induced heart failure.

BACKGROUND Growing evidence shows that activation of inflammation in the heart provokes left ventricular (LV) remodeling and dysfunction in humans and experimental animals with heart failure (HF). Moreover, recent studies found that cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS), serving as a cytosolic DNA sensor, was essential for activating innate immunity against infection and cellular damage by initiating the STING-IRFs-type I IFN signaling cascade, which played important roles in regulating the inflammatory response. However, the pathophysiological role of cGAS in pressure overload-induced HF is unclear. Methods：Wild-type C57BL/6J mice and cGAS inhibition mice were subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC) to induce HF or sham operation. Inhibition of cGAS in the murine heart was performed using adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9). Alterations of the cGAS/STING pathway were examined by qPCR and Western blotting. Cardiac remodeling was assessed by echocardiography as well as histological and molecular phenotyping. Results：Compared with sham-operated mice, the cGAS/STING pathway was activated in LV tissues in TAC mice. While TAC mice exhibited significant pathological cardiac remodeling and LV dysfunction, inhibition of cGAS improved early survival rates after TAC, preserved LV contractile function and blunted pathological remodeling, including cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis and apoptosis. Furthermore, downregulation of cGAS diminished early inflammatory cells infiltration and inflammatory cytokines expression in response to TAC. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrated that cGAS played an essential pathogenetic role in pressure overload-induced HF to promote pathological cardiac remodeling and dysfunction. Our results suggest that inhibition of cGAS may be a novel therapeutic approach for HF.
ZBED2 is an antagonist of interferon regulatory factor 1 and modifies cell identity in pancreatic cancer

Significance Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is one of the most lethal human malignancies, attributed in part to lineage infidelity downstream of deregulated lineage-specifying transcription factors (TFs). Here we define the biological effects of a poorly understood TF ZBED2 in the most aggressive subtype of PDA, defined by the expression of squamous lineage markers. Our study reveals two molecular functions of ZBED2 in PDA cells: An inhibitor of interferon response genes and a modifier of epithelial lineage programs. Both functions can be explained by the ability of ZBED2 to antagonize the functional output of interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1). Our study reinforces the concept of aberrant lineage identity in cancer and highlights an unexpected connection between interferon response pathways and squamous-subtype PDA. Lineage plasticity is a prominent feature of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) cells, which can occur via deregulation of lineage-specifying transcription factors. Here, we show that the zinc finger protein ZBED2 is aberrantly expressed in PDA and alters tumor cell identity in this disease. Unexpectedly, our epigenomic experiments reveal that ZBED2 is a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor of IFN-stimulated genes, which occurs through antagonism of IFN regulatory factor 1 (IRF1)-mediated transcriptional activation at cooccupied promoter elements. Consequently, ZBED2 attenuates the transcriptional output and growth arrest phenotypes downstream of IFN signaling in multiple PDA cell line models. We also found that ZBED2 is preferentially expressed in the squamous molecular subtype of human PDA, in association with inferior patient survival outcomes. Consistent with this observation, we show that ZBED2 can repress the pancreatic progenitor transcriptional program, enhance motility, and promote invasion in PDA cells. Collectively, our findings suggest that high ZBED2 expression is acquired during PDA progression to suppress the IFN response pathway and to promote lineage plasticity in this disease.
A High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry-Based Quantitative Metabolomic Workflow Highlights Defects in 5-Fluorouracil Metabolism in Cancer Cells with Acquired Chemoresistance

Currently, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based combination chemotherapy is the mainstay in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), which benefits approximately 50% of the patients. However, these tumors inevitably acquire chemoresistance resulting in treatment failure. The molecular mechanisms driving acquired chemotherapeutic drug resistance in CRC is fundamental for the development of novel strategies for circumventing resistance. However, the specific phenomenon that drives the cancer cells to acquire resistance is poorly understood. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate chemoresistance will uncover new avenues for the treatment of CRC. Among the various mechanisms of acquired chemoresistance, defects in the drug metabolism pathways could play a major role. In the case of 5-FU, it gets converted into various active metabolites, which, directly or indirectly, interferes with the replication and transcription of dividing cells causing DNA and RNA damage. In this project, we developed a high-resolution mass spectrometry-based method to effectively extract and quantify levels of the 5-FU metabolites in cell lysates and media of parental and 5-FU resistant LIM1215 CRC cells. The analysis highlighted that the levels of 5-FU metabolites are significantly reduced in 5-FU resistant cells. Specifically, the level of the nucleotide fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate (FdUMP) is reduced with treatment of 5-FU clarifying the compromised 5-FU metabolism in resistant cells. Corroborating the metabolomic analysis, treatment of the resistant cells with FdUMP, an active metabolite of 5-FU, resulted in effective killing of the resistant cells. Overall, in this study, an effective protocol was developed for comparative quantitation of polar metabolites and nucleotide analogues from the adherent cells efficiently. Furthermore, the utility of FdUMP as an alternative for CRC therapy is highlighted.