Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Profoundly Disturbed Lipoproteins in Cirrhotic Patients: Role of Lipoprotein-Z, a Hepatotoxic LDL-like Lipoprotein

Detailed information regarding lipoprotein concentrations and subfractions in cirrhotic patients before and after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is lacking. Lipoprotein-Z (LP-Z) is a recently characterised abnormal, hepatotoxic free cholesterol-rich low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-like lipoprotein. We determined the lipoprotein profiles, including LP-Z, in cirrhotic patients and OLT recipients and assessed the prognostic significance of LP-Z on the OLT waiting list. We performed analyses in cirrhotic transplant candidates and non-cirrhotic OLT recipients. A population-based cohort was used as reference. The setting was a University hospital. Lipoprotein particle concentrations and subfractions were measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In the cirrhotic patients (N = 130), most measures of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRL), LDL, and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) were much lower compared to the OLT recipients (N = 372) and controls (N = 6027) (p < 0.01). In the OLT recipients, many lipoprotein variables were modestly lower, but HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and TRL and HDL size were greater vs. the control population. LP-Z was measurable in 40 cirrhotic patients and 3 OLT recipients (30.8% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.001). The cirrhotic patients with measurable LP-Z levels had profoundly lower HDL-cholesterol and particle concentrations (p < 0.001), and worse Child Pugh Turcotte classifications and MELD scores. The presence of LP-Z (adjusted for age, sex, and MELD score) predicted worse survival in cirrhotic patients (HR per 1 LnSD increment: 1.11, 95%CI 1.03–1.19, p = 0.003). In conclusion, cirrhotic patients have considerably lower plasma concentrations of all major lipoprotein classes with changes in lipoprotein subfraction distribution. After OLT, these lipoprotein abnormalities are in part reversed. LP-Z is associated with cirrhosis. Its presence may translate in disturbed HDL metabolism and worse survival.
Occurrence of trace elements in Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819) from an experimental pilot farm in the Calich Lagoon (Sardinia, Italy)

The present study aimed to determine trace elements in Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from an experimental pilot farm of the Calich Lagoon, a typical Sardinian brackish area (Italy). Two sampling sessions were scheduled in February and May 2019 and the occurrence of 24 metals (Hg, Ag, Al, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, In, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Sn, Ti, V, Zn) in bivalves was considered. Environmental conditions of water (temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll a) were also measured in situ. A high significant (P<0.001) difference was reported for temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen. Our results showed a significant sessional variation of Mo (P<0.001); Cd, V (P<0.01); Ni, Pb and Co (P<0.05) in examined M. galloprovincialis samples; as all values were higher in February than those for May session samples, meanwhile the highest levels were reported for Mg (mean±s.d. 1151±263 mg kg-1 wet weight), Al (mean±s.d. 341±192 mg kg-1 w.w.), and Fe (mean±s.d. 212 ±75 mg kg-1 w.w.) in February samples. The European Union uppermost values (EC Reg. 1881/2006) for Cd, Hg, and Pb were never overpassed. The results confirmed the role of M. galloprovincialis as one of the most appropriate biological indexes to track the presence of trace elements in brackish environments. It could be concluded that the current ecology of the Calich Lagoon suggests that compatibly with the transitional ecosystem, the classification as a bivalves’ production area and the implementation of extensive shellfish farming can improve its production capacities. The knowledge of the lagoon ecology is an essential tool for its sustainable exploitation, preserving biodiversity, and mitigating the effects of anthropogenic activities on public health.
Structural, elastic, electronic, and magnetic properties of ferromagnetic inverse-perovskite Pr3InO

ABSTRACT The investigations of structural, elastic, electronic and magnetic properties of ferromagnetic antiperovskite Pr3InO are carried out using the full-potential linearised augmented plane waves (FP-LAPW) method, in the framework of the density functional theory (DFT), within the Wien2k code. The exchange–correlation potential was treated by means of LSDA, GGA-PBE and GGA-PBEsol approximations. The calculated band structure and density of states with the GGA-PBE approximation reveal that Pr3InO alloy is metallic. The total magnetic moment is non-integer confirming the ferromagnetic metallic behaviour of Pr3InO alloy. Elastic parameters, performed within GGA-PBE and LSDA approximations, show that Pr3InO alloy is stable in the cubic structure with brittle nature. It is found that the investigated compound exhibits an anisotropic behaviour. There are no available theoretical or experimental studies devoted to this material. Thus, our results are pure prediction which can serve as reference for furthers works.
The Effect of Direct and Indirect Corrective Feedback on Students’ Writing Quality

Giving feedback both direct and indirect is believed to help students write better. This paper aims to investigate whether there is an effect of direct corrective feedback on students’ writing quality. There were 26 students as participants. Each student was exposed to two different types of feedback, they are direct and indirect feedback. After receiving each type of feedback, the students’ writings were analyzed. The individual score of the students were compared to know the effect of the given feedback. The stastical analysis showed that the students’ writings were better when they recieved direct feedback than the indirect one. Direct feedback helped students in revising their draft more accurate than when they received indirect feedback. It is suggested that the teachers apply direct corrective feedback to help students perform better in writings. Furthermore, future reasearchers intending to conduct similar study are recommended to use larger size of participants in order to confirm the effectiveness of different feedback types. A particular aspect of grammatical errors can be investigated further to know the effectiveness of each corrective feedback type.
The Significance of Height on Median and Ulnar Nerves Conduction Parameters in Male Subjects

BACKGROUND: Many physiological factors including body temperature, age, height, and gender of the subject affect the nerve conduction parameters (both sensory and motor nerves), so attention should be played for these factors during the evaluation of the nerve function to avoid the false results and later on the false diagnosis of the disease. AIM: The aim of the study was to observe the power of height on median and ulnar nerves conduction parameters (both motor and sensory fibers) in male subjects. METHODS: Seventy healthy males aging 18–60 years were incorporated in the study, for them, motor and sensory nerve conduction study of both ulnar nerve and median nerve was done using NIHON KHODEN machine. RESULTS: There was a significant positive correlation between height and the latency of ulnar sensory nerve (r = 0.29, p = 0.01, and odd’s ratio was 1.6). At the same time, there was significant negative power of height on median and ulnar sensory amplitude (r = −0.32, p = 0.007 and r = −0.28, p = 0.018, respectively). CONCLUSION: The consequence of height on median and ulnar nerve conduction parameters (motor and sensory) is crucial for interpretation the data and later on the diagnosis of the diseases.
Investigating information and communication technology‐enabled national development as a multi‐level social process

Are centralised or decentralised strategies more suitable to address a developing nation's socio‐economic challenges through information and communication technology (ICT)? We respond to this long‐standing question by conceptualising ICT‐enabled national development as a multi‐level social process and by drawing on empirical findings from a natural experiment set in the context of health information system projects in Indonesia. Our study demonstrates that successful ICT‐enabled national development is not contingent on pursuing one strategy or the other but on how micro‐level actors interpret, and subsequently respond to, these strategies and the local changes they trigger. Our findings indicate that centralisation and decentralisation are complementary rather than competing strategies to ICT‐enabled national development because, if integrated into a hybrid strategy, decentralisation enables local communities to achieve national development outcomes commonly attributed to centralisation. As such, our work provides empirical evidence, explanations and new theoretical insight into the wider ‘centralisation versus decentralisation’ debate, while also outlining avenues for future research and guidelines for policymakers.
Understanding Agile Innovation Management Adoption for SMEs

Research interest in agile innovation management (AIM) has increased due to its growing popularity. However, little is known about adaptability by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study examines the factors affecting intention to adopt AIM in SMEs. A conceptual framework is developed by combining internal and external environmental factors that influence adoption intention. Responses were received from 276 SMEs and analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM). The results confirmed that external environmental factors of mimetic isomorphism and normative isomorphism have a positive association with the intention to adopt AIM. Moreover, the internal environmental factors of top management championship, adhocracy culture, clan culture, and organizational readiness were confirmed to be positively associated with AIM adoption. This study provides one of the first empirical evidence of AIM for SMEs. In doing so, the study contributes both theoretically and practically toward understanding strategies that would enhance adoption by SMEs.
A Robust Approach for a Real-time Accurate Screening of ST Segment Anomalies

: Nowadays, Computerized Decision Support Systems (CDSS) play an important role in medical support and preventative care. In those scenarios, the monitoring of biomedical data, such as the ECG signal, is funda-mental. The ECG signal may reveal a variety of abnormalities or pathological conditions. Some examples are Ischemia and Myocardial Infarction (MI), with a signiﬁcant impact on the world’s population. Both these con-ditions can be diagnosed by observing changes in speciﬁc sections of the ECG, such as the ST segment and/or T-wave of heartbeats. Much effort was devoted by the scientiﬁc community to aim at automatically identifying ST anomalies. The main drawback of such approaches is often a trade-off between the accuracy in the classiﬁcation, the robustness to noise, and the real-time responsiveness. In this work, we present RAST, a robust approach for a R eal-time A ccurate screening of ST segment anomalies. RAST takes as input a sequence of 10 successive heartbeats extracted from an ECG recording and provides as output the classiﬁcation of the ST segment trend. We evaluated two versions of RAST, namely RAST-BINARY, and RAST-TERNARY: the ﬁrst capable of distinguishing only between an ST anomaly and Normal Sinus Rhythm and the second able to distinguishing between ST elevation, ST depression, and normal rhythm. Moreover, we conducted an extensive study by experiment also (i) the validation within the intra- and inter-patient strategies and (ii) the ideal number of successive heartbeats in which to observe an anomalous episode of change in the ST segment. As a result, both RAST-BINARY and RAST-TERNARY can achieve an F1 score of 0.94 with a window of 4 heartbeats in the inter-patient validation. For the intra-patient validation, both versions achieve an F1 score of 0.73 using a longer observation window.
Trichoderma Asperellum strains as potential biological control agents against Fusarium verticillioides and Ustilago maydis in maize

ABSTRACT Globally, corn is the most economically important crop, surpassing crops such as wheat, rice and barley. However, the presence of pathogenic fungi associated with corn, have favoured the appearance of diseases that cause economic loss. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to assess the efficacy of treatments in vitro and in vivo with Trichoderma asperellum in controlling the disease severity and the yield reduction in corn plants caused by Fusarium verticillioides and Ustilago maydis. In vitro confrontation experiments demonstrated the high antagonistic capacity of the T. asperellum strains, which is able to reduce the radial growth of the pathogen’s colonies from 88.71% up to 100%. In the field experiments treatments 6 and 7, where T. asperellum was confronted with F. verticillioides and U. maydis, showed a significant reduction in the average damage of the disease by 8.3 ± 6.7 and 9.5 ± 3.0, and an increase in their grain yield by 4.43 ± 0.33 and 4.11 ± 0.15 t/ha, respectively. Similarly, the percentage of good ears of 66.75 ± 5.4 and 70.37 ± 5.4, obtained in treatments 6 and 7, was higher than those values obtained in treatments 2 and 3 without Trichoderma confrontation. These results indicate that the selected Trichoderma strains isolated from Zea mays could effectively control these phytopathogenic fungi in field.
Systematic Comparison of Beetle Luciferase-Luciferin Pairs as Sources of Near-Infrared Light for In Vitro and In Vivo Applications

Luciferases catalyze light-emitting reactions that produce a rainbow of colors from their substrates (luciferins), molecular oxygen, and often additional cofactors. These bioluminescence (BL) systems have afforded an incredible variety of basic research and medical applications. Driven by the importance of BL-based non-invasive animal imaging (BLI) applications, especially in support of cancer research, new BL systems have been developed by engineering beetle luciferase (Luc) variants and synthetic substrate combinations to produce red to near-infrared (nIR) light to improve imaging sensitivity and resolution. To stimulate the application of BLI research and advance the development of improved reagents for BLI, we undertook a systematic comparison of the spectroscopic and BL properties of seven beetle Lucs with LH2 and nine substrates, which included two new quinoline ring-containing analogs. The results of these experiments with purified Luc enzymes in vitro and in live HEK293T cells transfected with luc genes have enabled us to identify Luc/analog combinations with improved properties compared to those previously reported and to provide live cell BL data that may be relevant to in vivo imaging applications. Additionally, we found strong candidate enzyme/substrate pairs for in vitro biomarker applications requiring nIR sources with minimal visible light components. Notably, one of our new substrates paired with a previously developed Luc variant was demonstrated to be an excellent in vitro source of nIR and a potentially useful BL system for improved resolution in BLI.
Using Illicit Drugs to Lose Weight among Recovering Female Drug Users in China: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

The population of female drug users has been growing in China, and these women have been found to care deeply about their weight. Against this backdrop, this study examines the relationship between Chinese women’s illicit drug use and their intentions to lose weight, keep fit, and maintain a slim body shape. The participants of this study were 29 women who all had experience with illicit drug use for weight control. These women were drawn from a female compulsory drug treatment center located in eastern China. Semi-structured interviews with these 29 participants were conducted between 2013 and 2016. Expectations of losing weight and pursuing their ideal slim body shape were found to be an important reason for the study participants’ initiation of drug use, its maintenance, and failures to achieve abstinence. These Chinese female drug users were generally satisfied with weight loss outcomes subsequent to drug consumption. A fuller appreciation of Chinese women’s weight-loss-related illicit drug use patterns is much needed to help devise strategies and policies to deal with this growing problem. These include changing the dominant aesthetic cultural preference for thinness, paying particular attention to the functional use of illicit drugs in drug treatment programs, and having special interventions for women who interact with drug users within their social networks.
Efficacy of Brimhana Nasya and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) root powder in primary insomnia in elderly male: A randomized open-label clinical study

Background: Decreased ability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep with daytime effects of sleep deprivation is identified as primary insomnia. Elderly due to the predominant Vata Dosha in the body are easily affected by this problem. Brimhana Nasya (nourishing nasal drop) with Ksheera Bala Taila and oral administration of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) root powder both are indicated in Ayurvedic classics for the management of insomnia. Aim: To determine the combined efficacy of oral administration of Ashwagandha root powder along with Brimhana Nasya with Ksheera Bala Taila in primary insomnia in geriatric. Materials and methods: This was randomized, open-label clinical study conducted at the hospital of Pt. Khushilal Sharma Government Ayurveda College and Institute Bhopal. Randomly selected 60 elderly patients with primary insomnia were randomly divided into two groups (30 in each group). Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to assess the symptoms of primary insomnia. Relief in the subjective symptoms was assessed in percentage. Then, the statistical significance of result within the group was assessed using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test and the comparative effect of therapy in both groups was assessed using Mann-Whitney test. Graph Pad InStat-3 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: On subjective sleep quality 86.66% relief with P < 0.0001, on sleep latency 60.02% improvement with P < 0.0001, improvement in sleep duration was reported in 89.15% of patients with P < 0.0001 and improvement in sleep efficiency was reported in 90.14% of patients with statistically extremely significant P < 0.0001 were observed in combined therapy group (Ksheera Bala Taila Brimhana Nasya along with oral administration of Ashwagandha root powder). While 38.66% improvement in sleep efficiency, 40.39% relief in sleep disturbances and 37.05% improvement on subjective sleep quality was reported in group B patients, i.e., Ashwagandha root powder group. Conclusion: In 30 days treatment combined therapy was found more effective in the management of primary insomnia in the elderly compared with Ashwagandha root powder alone.
Effectiveness of Breathing Exercises, Foot Reflexology and Massage (BRM) on Maternal and Newborn Outcomes Among Primigravidae in Saudi Arabia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Labor pain and anxiety are important concerns during labor, especially among the primigravidae. It may increase the duration of labor, increase stress hormones, and affect maternal and new-born related outcomes. This study examined the effectiveness of combined breathing exercises, foot reflexology, and massage (BRM) interventions on labor pain, anxiety, labor duration, stress hormone levels, maternal satisfaction, maternal vital signs, and the new-born’s APGAR scores. Participants and Methods This single-blind-parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted at the Maternity and Children Hospital (MCH), Makkah, Saudi Arabia, by recruiting primigravidae aged 20 to 35 years, without any medical complications, and who were block-randomized at six-centimeter cervical dilation and stratified by intramuscular pethidine. The intervention is BRM compared to standard care. The labor pain was measured via present behavioral intensity (PBI) and visual analogue scale (VAS), and the anxiety was measured via Anxiety Assessment Scale for Pregnant Women in Labor (AASPWL). The secondary outcomes were duration of labor, maternal stress hormone levels, maternal vital signs, maternal satisfaction, fetal heart rate, and APGAR scores. All outcomes were measured at multiple time-points during and after contraction at baseline, during BRM intervention, at 60, 120, and 180 minutes post-intervention. Generalized linear mixed models were used to estimate the intervention effects over time. Results A total of 225 participants were randomized for the control (n = 112) and intervention group (113). BRM lowered the labor pain intensity at 60 minutes after intervention during (1.3 vs 3.5, F = 102.5, p < 0.001) and after contraction (0.4 vs 2.4, F = 63.6, p < 0.001) and also lowered anxiety (2.9 vs 4.2, F = 80.4, p < 0.001). BRM correspondingly lowered adrenocorticotropic (ACTH) (133 vs 209 pg/mL, p < 0.001), cortisol (1231 vs 1360 nmol/mL, p = 0.003), and oxytocin (159 vs 121 pg/mL, p < 0.001). It also shortened the labor duration (165 vs 333 minutes, p < 0.001), improved vital signs, which resulted in higher APGAR scores, and increased maternal satisfaction. Conclusion The labor unit management could consider adopting BRM as one of the non-pharmacological analgesia for healthy women in labor. Trial Registration ISRCTN87414969, registered 3 May 2019.