Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bioadhesive Polymers as a Platform for Drug Delivery: Possibilities and Future Trends

This paper aims to review the developments in the bioadhesive drug delivery systems to provide basic principles to the young scientists, which will be useful to circumvent the difficulties associated with the formulation design. Bioadhesion can be obtained by the building of either non-specific interactions with the mucosal surface, which are driven by the physicochemical properties of the particles and the surfaces, or specific interactions when a ligand attached to the particle is used for the recognition and attachment to a specific site at the mucosal surface. Starting with a review of the oral mucosa, mechanism of drug permeation, and characteristics of the desired polymers, this article then proceeds to cover the theories behind the adhesion of bioadhesive polymers to the mucosal epithelium. The primary goal of bioadhesive controlled drug delivery is to localize a delivery device within the body to enhance the drug absorption process in a site-specific manner. This article reviews desirable properties of bioadhesive polymers and the latest advancement in the field.
Ellagic Acid Alleviates Diquat-Induced Jejunum Oxidative Stress in C57BL/6 Mice through Activating Nrf2 Mediated Signaling Pathway

Ellagic acid (EA) is the main constituent found in pomegranate rind, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. However, whether EA can alleviate diquat-induced oxidative stress is still unknown. Here, the effects and mechanisms of EA on jejunum oxidative stress induced by diquat was investigated. Oxidative stress was induced in mice by administrating diquat (25 mg/kg body weight) followed by treatment with 100 mg/kg body weight EA for 5 days. Results showed that oral administration of EA significantly ameliorated diquat-induced weight loss and oxidative stress (p < 0.05) evidenced by reduced ROS production in the jejunum. Furthermore, EA up-regulated the mRNA expression of the antioxidant enzymes (Nrf2, GPX1 and HO-1) when mice were challenged with diquat, compared with the diquat group (p < 0.05). Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of Nrf2 by ML385 counteracted the EA-mediated alleviation of jejunum oxidative stress, as evidence by body weight and ROS production. Also, immunohistochemistry staining confirmed the markedly decreased jejunal Nrf2 expression. The up-regulated effect on NQO1 and HO-1 mRNA expression induced by EA was diminished in mice treated with ML385 (p < 0.05). Together, our results demonstrated that therapeutic and preventative EA treatment was effective in reducing weight loss and oxidative stress induced by diquat through the Nrf2 mediated signaling pathway.
The role of morphodynamics in predicting coastal flooding from storms on a dissipative beach with sea level rise conditions

Abstract. We investigate the role of morphodynamic changes in the flooding of a micro-tidal dissipative beach for both current and sea level rise scenarios. By considering beach morphodynamics and flood processes associated with highly energetic waves, the study allows one to evaluate threats to coastal zones. Coupling of SWAN and XBeach models is employed to propagate offshore wave conditions to the swash zone, estimating morphological changes and flooding associated with wave conditions during cold fronts and hurricanes that affected Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). The numerical models were calibrated from previous research in the study area. The results indicate that numerical modeling of flooding on microtidal dissipative beaches under extreme wave conditions should be approached by considering beach morphodynamics, because ignoring them can underestimate flooding by ∼ 15 %. Moreover, model results suggest that beach erosion and flooding are intensified by sea level rise, resulting in the most unfavorable condition when extreme events are contemporaneous with high tides. In this case, the increase in erosion and flooding is ∼ 69 % and ∼ 65 %, respectively, when compared with the present conditions of sea level.
Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field (PEMF) Effect on Bone Healing in Animal Models: A Review of Its Efficacy Related to Different Type of Damage

Simple Summary Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) are a type of biophysical stimulation that has been shown to be effective in improving bone regeneration and preventing bone loss. Their use dates back to the 1970s, but a gold standard treatment protocol has not yet been defined. PEMF efficacy relies on the generation of biopotentials, which activate several molecular pathways. There is currently no clear understanding of the effects on bone healing and, in addition, there are several animal models relevant to this issue. Therefore, drawing guidelines and conclusions from the analysis of the studies is difficult. In vivo investigations on PEMF stimulation are reviewed in this paper, focusing on molecular and morphological improvements in bone. Currently, there is little knowledge about the biological mechanism of PEMF and its effect on bone healing. This is due to the variability of crucial characteristics of electro-magnetic fields, such as amplitude and exposure frequency, which may influence the type of biological response. Furthermore, a different responsiveness of cells involved in the bone healing process is documented. Heterogeneous setting parameters and different outcome measures are considered in various animal models. Therefore, achieving comparable results is difficult. Abstract Biophysical energies are a versatile tool to stimulate tissues by generating biopotentials. In particular, pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) stimulation has intrigued researchers since the 1970s. To date, many investigations have been carried out in vivo, but a gold standard treatment protocol has not yet been defined. The main obstacles are represented by the complex setting of PEMF characteristics, the variety of animal models (including direct and indirect bone damage) and the lack of a complete understanding of the molecular pathways involved. In the present review the main studies about PEMF stimulation in animal models with bone impairment were reviewed. PEMF signal characteristics were investigated, as well as their effect on molecular pathways and osseous morphological features. We believe that this review might be a useful starting point for a prospective study in a clinical setting. Consistent evidence from the literature suggests a potential beneficial role of PEMF in clinical practice. Nevertheless, the wide variability of selected parameters (frequency, duration, and amplitude) and the heterogeneity of applied protocols make it difficult to draw certain conclusions about PEMF effectiveness in clinical implementation to promote bone healing. Deepening the knowledge regarding the most consistent results reported in literature to date, we believe that this review may be a useful starting point to propose standardized experimental guidelines. This might provide a solid base for further controlled trials, to investigate PEMF efficacy in bone damage conditions during routine clinical practice.
STUDENTS’ CHARACTERISTICS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF MARKETING MAJORS: Evidence from Ghana

ABSTRACT While there has been a significant amount of work involving marketing education, it is unclear as to which demographic and psychographic characteristics of marketing majors drive their behavior toward academic performance (AP). The core premise of this study is that a set of students’ demographic and psychographic characteristics underlie marketing majors’ behavior toward academic learning, and this could be explained through the lens of self-determination theory. The study relied on quantitative data gleaned through structured questionnaires, from marketing majors in higher education in a developing country context. The findings affirm that student motives, thoughts and perspectives, expectations, and ‘preparedness,’ are highly significant situational factors that explain the variation in overall marketing students’ AP. In addition, the income level of parents was significant in explaining AP. The authors envisage that the findings will help researchers to direct their studies toward experiential and emotional learning in other contexts, and thereby provide insights into other situational factors that predict marketing students’ AP. Moreover, the findings highlight key situational factors that will help educators to adapt pedagogical practices in marketing education to enhance AP, in context.
Associations between Patient-Reported and Clinician-Reported Outcome Measures in Patients after Traumatic Injuries of the Lower Limb

Both clinician-reported outcome measures (CROMs) measures and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are applied to evaluate outcomes in rehabilitation settings. The previous data show only a low to moderate correlation between these measures. Relationships between functional performance measures (Clinician-Reported Outcome Measures, CROMs) and Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) were analysed in rehabilitation patients with traumatic injuries of the lower limb. A cohort of 315 patients with 3 subgroups (127 hip, 101 knee and 87 ankle region) was analysed before and after 3 weeks of inpatient rehabilitation. All three groups showed significant improvements in PROMs with low to moderate effect sizes. Moderate to high effect sizes were found for CROMs. Correlation coefficients between CROMs and PROMs were low to moderate. The performance consistency between PROMs and CROMs ranged from 56.7% to 64.1%. In this cohort of rehabilitation patients with traumatic injuries, CROMs showed higher effect sizes than PROMs. When used in combination, patient-reported outcome and performance measures contribute to collecting complementary information, enabling the practitioner to make a more accurate clinical evaluation of the patient’s condition.
Increasing Functional Diversity in a Global Land Surface Model Illustrates Uncertainties Related to Parameter Simplification

Simulations of the land surface carbon cycle typically compress functional diversity into a small set of plant functional types (PFT), with parameters defined by the average value of measurements of functional traits. In most earth system models, all wild plant life is represented by between five and 14 PFTs and a typical grid cell (≈100 × 100 km) may contain a single PFT. Model logic applied to this coarse representation of ecological functional diversity provides a reasonable proxy for the carbon cycle, but does not capture the non‐linear influence of functional traits on productivity. Here we show through simulations using the Energy Exascale Land Surface Model in 15 diverse terrestrial landscapes, that better accounting for functional diversity markedly alters predicted total carbon uptake. The shift in carbon uptake is as great as 30% and 10% in boreal and tropical regions, respectively, when compared to a single PFT parameterized with the trait means. The traits that best predict gross primary production vary based on vegetation phenology, which broadly determines where traits fall within the global distribution. Carbon uptake is more closely associated with specific leaf area for evergreen PFTs and the leaf carbon to nitrogen ratio in deciduous PFTs.
Impact of Long-Term Manure and Mineral Fertilization on Accumulation of Non-Structural Carbohydrates in Lucerne Forage

Fertilization management affects both productivity and nutritive value of forage legumes. However, there are few studies about changes in lucerne non-structural carbohydrates under long-term fertilization. The aims of this study were to compare the effects of mineral fertilization and organic manure on lucerne plant parts (leaf, stem) starch and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) accumulation in association with canopy structure following 60 years of different fertilization management approaches. Treatments investigated were: two contrasting levels of mineral N, P2O5 and K2O application (0:0:0 and 91:71:175), each with and without farmyard manure. Changes were mainly reflected in WSC content where intensive mineral fertilization consistently reduced the stem and forage WSC in contrast to unfertilized control or manure alone. These changes could be associated with a dilution effect presented by the highest increase of maximal stem length at these treatments. Manure improved leaf and forage WSC despite the associated increase in maximal stem length and leaf weight ratio, probably as a result of improved soil environment together with the potentially increased presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Results showed that manure fertilization has potential for improvement of lucerne WSC, despite some negative relationships between lucerne canopy traits and sugar content.
The Relationship Between HIF1α and Clock Gene Expression in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Purpose In this study, we aimed to investigate the precise relationship between hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α), circadian clock genes, and OSA. Methods We recruited 21 patients with OSA and 22 age-matched controls who underwent polysomnography and had their peripheral blood collected on the evening before and the morning after sleep. OSA was defined as an apnea hypopnea index (AHI) ≥15 events/h. Patients in which T90 > 0 were defined as having nocturnal hypoxemia (NH) and were referred to as the NH group. The mRNA levels of HIF1α, HIF1β and several clock genes (Timeless, Clock, Bmal1, Per1, Per2, Per3, Cry1, Cry2, Ck1δ, Rorα, NR1D1, and NPAS2) were determined by RT-qPCR. The percentage difference in gene expression levels when compared between the morning and evening was then determined as referred to as morning-evening variation (MEV). Results The MEV for HIF1α mRNA expression in OSA patients increased significantly by 23% (P = 0.008) when compared to patients without OSA. The gene expression levels of Timeless (P = 0.038) and Cry2 (P = 0.012) decreased with AHI. The MEV of Bmal1, Rorα, and HIF1α mRNA levels were upregulated by 16% (P = 0.006), 14% (P = 0.027), and 25% (P = 0.005), respectively, in participants with NH when compared to those without NH. Furthermore, the MEV for HIF1α mRNA levels was positively correlated with the MEV of Bmal1, Cry1, and CK1δ mRNA levels (R = 0.638, P < 0.001; R = 0.327, P = 0.002; R = 0.332, P = 0.001, respectively) and negatively correlated with LSpO2 (R = −0.464, P =0.009) and Mean SpO2 (R = −0.500, P = 0.003). Conclusion Our data suggest that patients with OSA or NH tend to develop circadian rhythm disorders that may be induced by the hypoxia-mediated augmentation of HIF1α gene expression in OSA.
Comparison of Acetaminophen Degradation by Laccases Immobilized by Two Different Methods via a Continuous Flow Microreactor Process Scheme

The presence of micropollutants in wastewater is one of the most significant environmental challenges. Particularly, pollutants such as pharmaceutical residues present high stability and resistance to conventional physicochemical and biological degradation processes. Thus, we aimed at immobilizing a laccase enzyme by two different methods: the first one was based on producing alginate-laccase microcapsules through a droplet-based microfluidic system; the second one was based on covalent binding of the laccase molecules on aluminum oxide (Al2O3) pellets. Immobilization efficiencies approached 92.18% and 98.22%, respectively. Laccase immobilized by the two different methods were packed into continuous flow microreactors to evaluate the degradation efficiency of acetaminophen present in artificial wastewater. After cyclic operation, enzyme losses were found to be up to 75 µg/mL and 66 µg/mL per operation cycle, with a maximum acetaminophen removal of 72% and 15% and a retention time of 30 min, for the laccase-alginate microcapsules and laccase-Al2O3 pellets, respectively. The superior catalytic performance of laccase-alginate microcapsules was attributed to their higher porosity, which enhances retention and, consequently, increased the chances for more substrate–enzyme interactions. Finally, phytotoxicity of the treated water was lower than that of the untreated wastewater, especially when using laccase immobilized in alginate microcapsules. Future work will be dedicated to elucidating the routes for scaling-up and optimizing the process to assure profitability.
Inhibition of the phytopathogenic fungi Curvularia lunata BM and Ganoderma sp. TB4 by antifungal compounds produced by Bacillus siamensis LDR grown on hanjeli (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) starch

Bacillus siamensis LDR was tested for its potential as a biocontrol agent against the phytopathogenic fungi Curvularia lunata BM and Ganoderma sp. TB4. Fermentation of B. siamensis LDR for the production of antifungal compound was performed in modified Czapex-Dox broth using hanjeli (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) starch as carbon source. The Bacillus siamensis LDR inoculum was 105 CFU/ mL, and fermentation was conducted for up to 16 days. Antibiosis assay conducted to test the antifungal activity of filtrate medium. The results showed inhibition of C. lunata BM and Ganoderma sp. TB4 were 47.08% and 85.99%, respectively on 14th day of fermentation. Antifungal assay of the crude extract from filtrate medium revealed growth inhibition of C. lunata BM (60.70%) and Ganoderma sp. TB4 (65.25%). Thin layer chromatography of the crude extract revealed pink-colored spots indicative of lipopeptide compounds. Analysis of the crude extract by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was tentatively identified as iturin A, bacillomycin F, and surfactin.
On the Batchelor constant in decaying isotropic turbulence | NOVA. The University of Newcastle's Digital Repository

Direct numerical simulations of a passive scalar mixed in decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence indicate that, when the Schmidt number is close to or exceeds unity, the Batchelor constant is about 3. This is smaller by nearly a factor of 2 than that inferred from stationary turbulence simulations. In the present case, Batchelor’s spectrum approximates the present data well in the viscous-convective range while Kraichnan’s spectrum provides a very good fit at large wavenumbers.
Effects of Age at First Joining and Ewe Genotype on the Performance of Two-Tooth Ewes and That of Their Progeny to Slaughter

Simple Summary Ewe replacements are a major cost in prime-lamb production. Many producers do not join replacements at 7 months as they believe that it has a negative effect on two-tooth performance. The effect of age at first joining on the reproductive performance of two-tooth ewes, representing three genotypes, was evaluated as well as the performance of their progeny. Whilst joining at 7 months reduced ewe body weight when joined at 19 months and immediately post joining, body weight at the subsequent lambing was increased, and ewe productivity and progeny performance were unaffected. Ewe genotype significantly influenced litter size and the number of lambs reared per ewe joined but had no effect on progeny performance. The probability of rearing at least one lamb (PR1L) is an indicator of overall efficiency. In the current study, whilst there was no relationship between ewe body weight when joined at 19 months and PR1L, there was a positive relationship between body weight at 7 months and PR1L at 2 years. It is concluded that joining replacements at 7 months does not have a negative impact on the performance of two-tooth ewes. Abstract The effects of first-joining age (7 or 19 months) and genotype on ewe performance when joined to lamb at 2 years, and the performance of their progeny, were evaluated using 424 ewes, representing 3 genotypes: Belclare (Bel), Suffolk × Belclare (Suf × Bel) and Suffolk-type (≥75% Suffolk ancestry (Suf75)). Ewes were managed in a grass-based system. Ewes first joined at 7 months were lighter (p < 0.01) at 19 months and immediately post lambing; otherwise, age at first joining had no effects (p > 0.05) on ewes or their progeny and there were no important interactions with genotype. Bel and Suf × Bel had larger litters (p < 0.001) and reared more lambs per ewe joined (p < 0.01) than Suf75. Ewe genotype had no effect (p > 0.05) on proportion failing to lamb, incidence of lambing assistance, lamb mortality, ewe survival to 31 months, or progeny performance. Increasing the body weight of ewes at 7 months of age increased the probability (p < 0.02) of rearing 1 or more lambs at 2 years and there was no interaction with genotype. It is concluded that age at first joining had no negative impact on the performance of ewes or their progeny.
Age Diversity Climate Affecting Individual-Level Work-Related Outcomes

The present study answers the call for more studies to investigate the age diversity climate’s effect on individual-level outcomes. Building on the social identity approach and social exchange theory, we surveyed 110 Italian employees aged between 18 and 61 years old (M = 46.10, SD = 10.02) and investigated the role of age diversity climate in predicting intentions to quit (H1), job-related wellbeing (H2), and work engagement (H3). Our findings confirmed the hypotheses (H1 and H2), showing the added effect of age diversity climate over and above age, job tenure, role clarity, job demands, job control, perceived support, and perceived job and organizational fit. In fact, age diversity climate accounted for a significant increase in the variance explained for two of the three hypothesized models (i.e., intentions to quit and job-related wellbeing, but not work engagement). To conclude, this study contributes to the existing literature by showing the age diversity climate’s predictive value for turnover intentions and job-related wellbeing, and corroborating the importance of supporting age diversity through a variety of Human Resources Management strategies.
Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Bacterial Profile Modulate Infant Body Composition during Exclusive Breastfeeding

Human milk is a complex and variable ecosystem fundamental to the development of newborns. This study aimed to investigate relationships between human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) and human milk bacterial profiles and infant body composition. Human milk samples (n = 60) were collected at two months postpartum. Infant and maternal body composition was measured with bioimpedance spectroscopy. Human milk bacterial profiles were assessed using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing and 19 HMOs were quantitated using high-performance liquid chromatography. Relative abundance of human milk bacterial taxa were significantly associated with concentrations of several fucosylated and sialylated HMOs. Individual human milk bacteria and HMO intakes and concentrations were also significantly associated with infant anthropometry, fat-free mass, and adiposity. Furthermore, when data were stratified based on maternal secretor status, some of these relationships differed significantly among infants born to secretor vs non-secretor mothers. In conclusion, in this pilot study the human milk bacterial profile and HMO intakes and concentrations were significantly associated with infant body composition, with associations modified by secretor status. Future research designed to increase the understanding of the mechanisms by which HMO and human milk bacteria modulate infant body composition should include intakes in addition to concentrations.