Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anthropogenic remediation of heavy metals selects against natural microbial remediation

In an era of unprecedented environmental change, there have been increasing ecological and global public health concerns associated with exposure to anthropogenic pollutants. While there is a pressing need to remediate polluted ecosystems, human intervention strategies might unwittingly oppose selection for natural detoxification, which is primarily carried out by microbes. We test this possibility in the context of a ubiquitous chemical remediation strategy aimed at targeting toxic metal pollution: the addition of lime-containing materials. Here we show that raising pH by liming decreased the availability of toxic metals in acidic mine-degraded soils, but as a consequence selected against microbial taxa that naturally remediate soil through the production of metal-scavenging siderophores. Understanding the ecological and evolutionary consequences of human intervention on key traits is crucial for the engineering of evolutionary resilient microbial communities, having important implications for human health and biotechnology.
Effects of dietary supplementation of l-methionine vs. dl-methionine on performance, plasma concentrations of free amino acids and other metabolites, and myogenesis gene expression in young growing pigs

Abstract Methionine (Met), the second or third limiting amino acid (AA) in typical swine diets, plays important roles in promoting swine health and growth, especially, muscle growth. Whereas dl-Met products have been used in swine industry for many years, l-Met products have been developed recently. This research was conducted to study the effects of supplemental l-Met or dl-Met on nutrient metabolism, muscle gene expression, and growth performance of pigs. Twenty crossbred young barrows (initial body weight [BW] 21.2 ± 2.7 kg) were randomly assigned to 20 individual pens and two dietary treatments according to a completely randomized design with pigs serving as the experiment unit (n = 10). Two corn and soybean meal-based diets (diets 1 and 2) were formulated to meet or exceed the recommended requirements for energy, AA, and other nutrients (NRC. 2012. Nutrient requirements of swine, 11th ed. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; AMINODat 5.0). Crystalline l-Met and dl-Met were supplemented to diets 1 and 2 (both at 0.13%, as-fed basis), respectively. After 4 wk of an ad libitum feeding trial, BW and feed intake were measured to calculate average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and gain-to-feed ratio (G:F). Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein for analyses of plasma AA and metabolite concentrations. The longissimus dorsi muscle samples were collected for analysis of myogenesis gene expression. Data were analyzed using Student’s t-test. There were no differences (P = 0.56 to 0.94) in ADG, ADFI, or G:F between pigs fed the two experimental diets and no differences between diets were observed in plasma free AA concentrations. No differences were observed between pigs fed the two diets in expression of mRNA for eight myogenesis-related genes, which were myogenic differentiation 1, myogenin, myogenic factors 5, muscle regulatory factor 4 (a.k.a. myogenic factors 6), and myocyte enhancer factors 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D. In conclusion, results of this experiment indicate that the bioefficacy of l-Met is not different from that of dl-Met, which is likely because of an efficient conversion of d-Met to l-Met by pigs.
Thermal and Chemical Properties of Gelatin from Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Scale

ABSTRACT Gelatin from the scale of Nile tilapia was extracted and characterized chemically, thermally, and structurally. Scales of Nile tilapia were subjected to acid pretreatment and extraction with water at 60°C. The process yielded 12.1% (m/m) on a dry basis. The 6.67% gelatin solution had a gel strength of 233.5 ± 14g. The amino acid composition revealed that 20.02% was comprised of imino acids and glycine (34.49%) as the most abundant amino acids. The scale gelatin had α1, α2, and β subunits and was thermally stable up to 200ºC. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum showed absorption in the regions of amides A, I, II, and III. The characterization of tilapia scale gelatin showed that the obtained product was similar to commercial gelatin, thereby demonstrating its potential application.
Phytochemical, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity screening of ethanol extract of Acacia ehrenbergiana Hayne grown in Jazan Region of Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To explore the phytoconstituents of Acacia ehrenbergiana Hayne as well as its biological effects. Methods: Determination of phytoconstituents of ethanol extract of the plant was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. Antibacterial screening was conducted against the isolates of Gram-positive and Gram-negative microbes while the anti-carcinogenic properties of the ethanol extract on cancerous cells were investigated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay against breast MCF7, ovary cancer A2780 and colon cancer HT29 cells, respectively, in addition to normal MRC5 fibroblast cells. Results: GC-MS analysis identified 15 different phytochemicals in the ethanol extract. The extract exerted significant antimicrobial activity with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) in the range 1.56 - 6.25 and 3.12 – 12.5 mg/L, respectively, against all test bacterial strains. Cytotoxic activity, obtained by MTT assay, was 28.81 ± 0.99, 12.50 ± 2.50, 23.90 ± 0.74 and 50.58 ± 3.24 μg/mL, against the three cancer cell lines and normal fibroblast, respectively. MTT cytotoxicity results was further confirmed by clonogenic survival assay on MCF7 cells. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential interesting ethnopharmacological applications of Acacia ehrenbergiana Hayne to treat drug-resistant pathogens as standardized extract. Keywords: Acacia ehrenbergiana, Phytochemistry, Antimicrobial, Cytotoxicity
Resistance Mechanisms to Novel Therapies in Myeloma

The number of novel therapies for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) is rapidly increasing with proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory agents and monoclonal antibodies being the most well-known therapeutic classes whilst histone deacetylase inhibitors, selective inhibitors of nuclear export and CAR-T cells amongst others also being actively investigated. However, in parallel with the development and application of these novel myeloma therapies is the emergence of novel mechanisms of resistance, many of which remain elusive, particularly for more recently developed agents. Whilst resistance mecha- nisms have been best studied for proteasome inhibitors, particularly Bortezomib, class effects do not universally apply to all proteasome inhibitors, and within-class differences in efficacy, toxicity and resistance mechanisms have been observed. Immunomodulatory agents share the common cellular target cereblon and thus resistance patterns relate to cereblon expression and its pathway components. However, the cell surface antigens to which monoclonal antibodies are directed means these agents frequently exhibit unique within-class differences in clinical efficacy and resistance patterns. Despite the progres sive biological elucidation of resistance mechanisms to these novel therapies, attempts to specifically exploit these processes lag considerably behind and until such approaches become available, resistance to these therapies will remain a concern.
Physical activity interventions for major chronic disease: a matched-pair analysis of Cochrane and non-Cochrane systematic reviews

Objective To assess the degree of concordance between Cochrane and non-Cochrane systematic reviews with meta-analyses of physical activity interventions. Study Design and Setting We conducted a matched-pair analysis with individual meta-analyses as the unit of analysis, comparing Cochrane reviews of randomised controlled trials of physical activity interventions with non-Cochrane reviews. Meta-analyses were matched based on the intervention, condition, outcome and publication year. Matched pairs were contrasted statistically in terms of differences between effect estimates, their precision, and number of citations using Wilcoxon two-sample test and agreement using Bland-Altman plots. Results Our search yielded 24 matched meta-analyses. Matched pairs were similar in terms of the number of included studies, sample sizes and publication year but only half (51.7%) of 545 individual clinical trials were included in both the Cochrane and non-Cochrane paired reviews. Effect estimates from non-Cochrane reviews were larger for 15 (62.5%) pairs, smaller for 8 (33.3%) and equal to Cochrane reviews for one (4.2%) pair. On average, effect estimates from non-Cochrane reviews were 0.12 log units (or 13%) higher compared with matched Cochrane reviews (z-score −2.312, P=0.012). We observed discrepancies with regard to the statistical (n=6) and clinical interpretation (n=4) of effect estimates, with non-Cochrane reviews reporting more often a statistically significant result (4/6) and effect sizes favouring intervention of greater than a two-fold (4/4) compared with Cochrane matches. Non-Cochrane reviews were also more frequently cited irrespective of whether the results agree or disagree in their statistical conclusion but this finding did not reach statistical significance at the traditional 0.05 threshold. Conclusion On average, meta-analyses from non-Cochrane reviews reported higher effect estimates and were more likely to show significant effects favouring the intervention compared with meta-analyses from Cochrane reviews. Though differences were small, they were sufficient to result in important discrepancies in statistical and clinical interpretations between a number of reviews. What is new? Key findings: Findings demonstrate non-Cochrane reviews on average report larger effect estimates and have discrepancies in statistical and clinical interpretation more likely to favour physical activity interventions. Potential sources underpinning discrepant review findings are explored in an accompanying sister paper. What this adds to what was known? The first assessment of systematic differences between paired Cochrane and non-Cochrane meta-analyses examining the role of physical activity interventions for preventing and treating major chronic disease What is the implication and what should change now? Authors should be aware of the need of protocol registration to minimise unnecessary duplication and be mindful of potential discrepant findings depending on the source of review evidence.
Ecological priming of artificial aquaculture structures: kelp farms as an example

Abstract The continued development of the aquaculture industry is contributing to the proliferation of artificial structures in the marine environment. Observations of seaweed farms (infrastructure and biomass) suggest they act as a habitat for associated species. Seaweed farms differ from other forms of artificial infrastructure as the material deployed already has marine organisms (i.e. culture species) growing on it. This ‘priming’ of ropes with juvenile sporophytes may affect future development of communities by facilitating colonizing species or suppressing competitors. We call this process ‘ecological priming’: the provision of a biological platform that influences the successional development of specific communities. The communities that developed on ropes primed with Alaria esculenta individuals were compared with unprimed ropes to assess the ecological priming effect, at a commercial kelp farm in south-west Ireland. Species richness increased over two cultivation seasons and species composition was consistent between years, with distinct communities developing on primed and unprimed treatments. Timing of species occurrence on primed ropes was predictable with no predictable pattern occurring on unprimed ropes. Multivariate tests indicated distinct communities between treatments, with suppression of other algal species and potential facilitation of some species that have a particular association with A. esculenta on primed ropes. Communities from primed holdfasts contained a lower diversity of algal species compared with unprimed communities. Cultivated kelp holdfasts represent a habitat for distinct assemblages that reflect ecological priming of the substratum.
A High Mountain Moth Assemblage Quickly Recovers After Fire

Abstract Fire is a major disturbance in ecosystems that generally promotes secondary succession in forests. This study was conducted to track changes in a moth assemblage at a high elevation site before and after fire. A fire destroyed about 2 ha of the conifer and mixed deciduous forest and grassland of Sasa quelpaertensis Nakai, 1933 (Poales: Poaceae) on Mt. Hallasan, Jejudo Island, South Korea. I monitored the moth assemblages of the burned site and three neighboring sites across 5 yr (2011, 2013–2016) using an ultraviolet light trap. There was a decline in species richness and abundance, and increased dissimilarity at the burned site relative to the neighboring sites. However, the moth assemblage at the burned site recovered quickly, within 3 yr of the fire. I also identified three indicator species that characterized the moth assemblage of the burned site: Anaplectoides virens Butler, 1878 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Martania saxea Wileman, 1911 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), and Catocala dissimilis Bremer, 1861 (Lepidoptera, Erebidae). Host plant information regarding these three species coincided with the early succession of the forest following the fire. In addition, the disappearance of a once dominant species at the burned site, Hydrillodes morosa Butler, 1879 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), suggested that the fire and succession after the fire changed the interactions between plants and their herbivores. The fire impacted the moth assemblage through changes in species composition; however, the moth assemblage recovered quickly, even in an unfavorable habitats such as a high elevation site.
Quality of health worker and caregiver interaction during child vaccination sessions: A qualitative study from Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia

Introduction: Benishangul-Gumuz is one of nine regions in Ethiopia, located in the north-west of the country. The region has low immunization coverage, and a corresponding high risk to children from vaccine-preventable diseases. Adequate and clear communication during immunization sessions is a key factor that influences caregivers to adhere to the vaccination schedule and continue to bring children for vaccination. This study aims to explore the quality of interaction between health workers and caregivers during vaccination sessions, and to identify communication gaps that impact on the continued use of the vaccination service. Methods: This cross-sectional qualitative study was carried out using in-depth interviews with health workers who provide vaccination at health facilities, observation of the interactions between vaccinators and caregivers during vaccination sessions, and exit interviews of caregivers. Health workers who provided vaccinations in 12 health facilities based in central and remote parts of the region were interviewed. A total of 79 vaccination sessions in the 12 health facilities were observed and caregivers were interviewed on exit. Results: Health workers at the health facilities expressed that they enjoy the work they do to get children vaccinated, while caregivers who brought their children for vaccination described the vaccinators as friendly and supportive. Not all health workers explain the purpose of the immunization card to caregivers, hence caregivers do not give due attention to the importance of the card. Some caregivers forget to bring the immunization card with them to vaccination session. In some institutions, those who did not bring the immunization card were refused the service. Health workers write the date of the next vaccination on immunization cards. The majority of caregivers, however, cannot read, so do not the understand the return date, type of vaccine, or the purpose of the vaccine given. Caregivers agree that their children should get all vaccines recommended by health workers. Vaccination is scheduled twice weekly at health centers and once weekly at health posts. The BCG and measles vaccination is scheduled monthly. However, when there are uncertainties regarding the availability and/or transportation of vaccines for the scheduled day, health workers do not tell caregivers when the next vaccination date will be. Health workers work with community volunteers to pass on immunization messages house to house. Conclusions: Health workers do not communicate all key immunization messages to caregivers during vaccination sessions. Training health workers in health facilities on the essentials of immunization and interpersonal communication is important to ensure the continued use of the vaccination service by caregivers. [ Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2020; 34(2):122-128]
Strengths and Shortcomings of Short-Segment Pedicle Instrumentation for the Treatment Thoracolumbar Burst Fractures

fractures Strengths and Shortcomings of Short-Segment for the Treatment Abstract The incidence of thoracolumbar fracture has increased globally, most of these fractures occur at the thoracolumbar junction (Th11-L2). The traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures of the spine represent 50% of all thoracolumbar injuries, they associated with increased mortality, major morbidity, and cost for hospital care. To date, the AOSpine thoracolumbar spine injury severity system is widely adopted to the clinical practice; according to this classification the burst fractures are categorized to the incomplete burst fractures- AOSpine type A3, whereas the complete burst fractures- AOSpine type A4. To date, in management of thoracolumbar fractures remains a several controversial challenges. Therefore, the aim of this review to consider some recent publications to analyze the pros and cons of up-to-dated surgical approaches and techniques, which are implemented for the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures.
Scopolamine Antagonizes the Lethal Effects of O-isobutylS-2-(DIETHYLAMINO)ETHYL-methylphosphonothioatc (VR)

Abstract : O-isobutyl S-2. (DIETHYLAMINO)ETHYLmethylphosphonothioate (VR) causes cholinergic hyperfunctions, seizures, convulsions, cardiorespiratory failure, and death. This study evaluated the effectiveness of scopolamine in antagonizing VR-induced pathophysiology and lethality in guinea pigs chronically instrumented for concurrent recordings of electrocorticogram, diaphragm electromyogram, Lead II electrocardiogram and neck skeletal muscle electromyogram.
Skyhook-PID Control Strategy to Improve Performance of a Pneumatic Active Suspension System

The research applies a skyhook-PID control method for an active suspension system. The control strategy has three feedback control loops. They are the innermost loop for the force tracking of the pneumatic actuator, the intermediate loops applying skyhook strategy for the elimination of the disturbances, and the outermost loop using PID controller for the determination of the desired force. Some experiments were carried out on a physical test rig with a hardware-in-the-loops feature. The performance of the proposed control method was evaluated and benchmarked to examine the effectiveness of the system in suppressing the disturbance effect of the suspension system. It was found that the experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the active suspension system with Skyhook-PID scheme compared to the PID and passive suspension systems.
DNA Barcoding Analysis and Phylogenetic Relation of Mangroves in Guangdong Province, China

Mangroves are distributed in the transition zone between sea and land, mostly in tropical and subtropical areas. They provide important ecosystem services and are therefore economically valuable. DNA barcoding is a useful tool for species identification and phylogenetic reconstruction. To evaluate the effectiveness of DNA barcoding in identifying mangrove species, we sampled 135 individuals representing 23 species, 22 genera, and 17 families from Zhanjiang, Shenzhen, Huizhou, and Shantou in the Guangdong province, China. We tested the universality of four DNA barcodes, namely rbcL, matK, trnH-psbA, and the internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS), and examined their efficacy for species identification and the phylogenetic reconstruction of mangroves. The success rates for PCR amplification of rbcL, matK, trnH-psbA, and ITS were 100%, 80.29% ± 8.48%, 99.38% ± 1.25%, and 97.18% ± 3.25%, respectively, and the rates of DNA sequencing were 100%, 75.04% ± 6.26%, 94.57% ± 5.06%, and 83.35% ± 4.05%, respectively. These results suggest that both rbcL and trnH–psbA are universal in mangrove species from the Guangdong province. The highest success rate for species identification was 84.48% ± 12.09% with trnH-psbA, followed by rbcL (82.16% ± 9.68%), ITS (66.48% ± 5.97%), and matK (65.09% ± 6.00%), which increased to 91.25% ± 9.78% with the addition of rbcL. Additionally, the identification rate of mangroves was not significantly different between rbcL + trnH-psbA and other random fragment combinations. In conclusion, rbcL and trnH-psbA were the most suitable DNA barcode fragments for species identification in mangrove plants. When the phylogenetic relationships were constructed with random fragment combinations, the optimal evolutionary tree with high supporting values (86.33% ± 4.16%) was established using the combination of matK + rbcL + trnH-psbA + ITS in mangroves. In total, the 476 newly acquired sequences in this study lay the foundation for a DNA barcode database of mangroves.
Potential impact of global warming on seed bank, dormancy and germination of three succulent species from the Chihuahuan Desert

Abstract We assessed inter-seasonal dynamics of seed banks, dormancy and seed germination in three endemic Chihuahuan Desert succulent species, under simulated soil warming conditions. Hexagonal open top-chambers (OTCs) were used to increase soil temperature. Seeds of Echinocactus platyacanthus (Cactaceae), Yucca filifera and Agave striata (Asparagaceae) were collected and buried within and outside OTCs. During the course of one year, at the end of each season, seed batches were exhumed to test viability and germination. Soil temperature in OTCs was higher than in control plots. Yucca filifera seeds always had high germination independently of warming treatment and season. Agave striata seeds from OTCs had higher germination than those from control plots. Agave striata exhibited low germination in fresh seeds, but high germination in spring. Seeds from this species lost viability throughout the experimental timeframe, and had no viable seeds remaining in the soil. Echinocactus platyacanthus showed high germination in fresh seeds and displayed dormancy cycling, leading to high germination in spring, low germination in summer and autumn, and high germination in winter. Germination of this species was also higher in seeds from OTCs than those from control plots. Echinocactus platyacanthus formed soil seed banks and its cycle of inter-seasonal dormancy/germination could be an efficient physiological mechanism in a climate change scenario. Under global warming projections, our results suggest that future temperatures may still fall within the three studied species’ thermal germination range. However, higher germination for A. striata and E. platyacanthus at warmer temperatures may reduce the number of seeds retained in the seed bank, and this could be interpreted as limiting their ability to spread risk over time. This is the first experimental study projecting an increase in soil temperature to assess population traits of succulent plants under a climate change scenario for American deserts.