Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fish Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk: Meta-Analysis of Prospective Epidemiological Studies and Review of Evidence from Animal Studies

Simple Summary We meta-analyzed prospective epidemiological studies reporting on the association between fish consumption and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk among humans and reviewed preclinical studies that examined the link between fish components and colorectal carcinogenesis in animals. By pooling results from 25 studies (encompassing over 25,000 CRC cases) published up to November 2020, we found convincing evidence that increased fish consumption may protect from CRC development among humans. The review of animal studies allowed identifying several biological mechanisms able to explain the associations that have emerged in human populations. Dietary recommendations for cancer prevention should incorporate the evidence from this literature review and meta-analysis. Abstract Background: Epidemiological studies on the association between fish consumption and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk have yielded inconsistent results, despite evidence from preclinical studies that long-chain ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids inhibit colorectal carcinogenesis. We conducted a meta-analysis of prospective epidemiological studies investigating the association between fish consumption and CRC risk among humans and reviewed studies examining the link between fish components and colorectal carcinogenesis in animal models. Methods: We included studies published until November 2020. We calculated the summary risk ratio (SRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) through random effects meta-analysis models in order to summarize evidence from studies among humans. Results: Twenty-five prospective epidemiological studies encompassing 25,777 CRC cases were included. Individuals in the highest (vs. lowest) category of fish consumption had a significantly reduced risk of CRC (SRR 0.94, 95%CI 0.89–0.99). In dose–response meta-analysis, a 50-g increment in the daily consumption of fish was associated with a statistically significant 4% reduction in CRC risk (SRR 0.96, 95%CI 0.92–0.99). Preclinical studies (n = 25) identified multiple mechanisms of action of fish and fish components on colorectal carcinogenesis. Conclusions: Dietary recommendations for cancer prevention should take into account the evidence from epidemiological and preclinical studies that increasing fish consumption may be effective in preventing CRC.
Environmental Complexity: Additional Human Visual Contact Reduced Meat Chickens’ Fear of Humans and Physical Items Altered Pecking Behavior

Simple Summary Environmental complexity can improve chicken welfare. However, the outcome of such environmental changes will depend on the resources provided. We provided either various physical items that posed no biosecurity risk and were inexpensive (such as balls, chains, a perch and rope) to alter behavioral time budgets and interactions with the environment or provided additional visual contact with humans (10 min daily) with the aim to reduce fearfulness. Additional human contact reduced fear of humans at 35 days of age, but did not affect general fearfulness. Increased environmental complexity via the provision of physical items reduced some indicators of fear at 21 days, but not at 35 days of age. A woodblock and perch were the most favored physical items, but chickens preferred to sit underneath the perch rather than on top. When pecking items were not provided, chickens redirected their pecking to the wood shaving litter. Overall, there was little evidence that our physical items improved the chickens’ behavioral time budget, fear, physiological stress or production. The benefits of additional visual contact with humans should be investigated on larger groups to ensure that such effects are practical and effective to reduce fear of humans on farm. Abstract Increased environmental complexity can improve animal welfare, depending on the resources provided and use by the animal. We provided chickens either with physical items that posed no biosecurity risk and were inexpensive (balls, chains, perches and rope) (P; n = 36) or additional visual human contact (10 min daily) (HC; n = 36) compared to farm-like standard control groups (C; n = 36) with 3 pens per treatment. Additional human contact reduced fear of humans at 35 days of age, but not general fearfulness. P birds required more inductions to induce tonic immobility compared to HC and C birds at 21 days of age. However, other indicators of fear (open field test and plasma corticosterone concentration) did not significantly differ. P birds favored the woodblock for resting, and the perch but preferred to sit underneath the perch rather than on top. When pecking items were not provided, C and HC chickens redirected their pecking behavior toward the litter. Overall, there was little evidence that our physical items improved the chickens’ behavioral time budget, fear, physiological stress or production. Additional human contact should be investigated in large scale experiments to ensure its effectiveness to reduce fear of humans on farm.
Linear Combination Properties of the Phasor Space in Fluorescence Imaging

The phasor approach to fluorescence lifetime imaging, and more recently hyperspectral fluorescence imaging, has increased the use of these techniques, and improved the ease and intuitiveness of the data analysis. The fit-free nature of the phasor plots increases the speed of the analysis and reduces the dimensionality, optimization of data handling and storage. The reciprocity principle between the real and imaginary space—where the phasor and the pixel that the phasor originated from are linked and can be converted from one another—has helped the expansion of this method. The phasor coordinates calculated from a pixel, where multiple fluorescent species are present, depends on the phasor positions of those components. The relative positions are governed by the linear combination properties of the phasor space. According to this principle, the phasor position of a pixel with multiple components lies inside the polygon whose vertices are occupied by the phasor positions of these individual components and the distance between the image phasor to any of the vertices is inversely proportional to the fractional intensity contribution of that component to the total fluorescence from that image pixel. The higher the fractional intensity contribution of a vertex, the closer is the resultant phasor. The linear additivity in the phasor space can be exploited to obtain the fractional intensity contribution from multiple species and quantify their contribution. This review details the various mathematical models that can be used to obtain two/three/four components from phasor space with known phasor signatures and then how to obtain both the fractional intensities and phasor positions without any prior knowledge of either, assuming they are mono-exponential in nature. We note that other than for blind components, there are no restrictions on the type of the decay or their phasor positions for linear combinations to be valid—and they are applicable to complicated fluorescence lifetime decays from components with intensity decays described by multi-exponentials.
Effect of Cold Plasma Treatment on the Packaging Properties of Biopolymer-Based Films: A Review

Biopolymers, like polysaccharides and proteins, are sustainable and green materials with excellent film-forming potential. Bio-based films have gained a lot of attention and are believed to be an alternative to plastics in next-generation food packaging. Compared to conventional plastics, biopolymers inherently have certain limitations like hydrophilicity, poor thermo-mechanical, and barrier properties. Therefore, the modification of biopolymers or their films provide an opportunity to develop packaging materials with desired characteristics. Among different modification approaches, the application of cold plasma has been a very efficient technology to enhance the functionality and interfacial characteristics of biopolymers. Cold plasma is biocompatible, shows uniformity in treatment, and is suitable for heat-sensitive components. This review provides information on different plasma generating equipment used for the modification of films and critically analyses the impact of cold plasma on packaging properties of films prepared from protein, polysaccharides, and their combinations. Most studies to date have shown that plasma treatment effectively enhances surface characteristics, mechanical, and thermal properties, while its impact on the improvement of barrier properties is limited. Plasma treatment increases surface roughness that enables surface adhesion, ink printability, and reduces the contact angle. Plasma-treated films loaded with antimicrobial compounds demonstrate strong antimicrobial efficacy, mainly due to the increase in their diffusion rate and the non-thermal nature of cold plasma that protects the functionality of bioactive compounds. This review also elaborates on the existing challenges and future needs. Overall, it can be concluded that the application of cold plasma is an effective strategy to modify the inherent limitations of biopolymer-based packaging materials for food packaging applications.
Perioperative Management of a Patient With Cushing Disease

Abstract Patients with Cushing disease (CD) may present with both chronic and acute perioperative complications that necessitate multidisciplinary care. This review highlights several objectives for these patients before and after transsphenoidal surgery. Preoperative management includes treatment of electrolyte disturbances, cardiovascular comorbidities, prediabetes/diabetes, as well as prophylactic consideration(s) for thromboembolism and infection(s). Preoperative medical therapy (PMT) could prove beneficial in patients with severe hypercortisolism or in cases of delayed surgery. Some centers use PMT routinely, although the clinical benefit for all patients is controversial. In this setting, steroidogenesis inhibitors are preferred because of rapid and potent inhibition of cortisol secretion. If glucocorticoids (GCs) are not used perioperatively, an immediate remission assessment postoperatively is possible. However, perioperative GC replacement is sometimes necessary for clinically unstable or medically pretreated patients and for those patients with surgical complications. A nadir serum cortisol of less than 2 to 5µg/dL during 24 to 74 hours postoperatively is generally accepted as remission; higher values suggest nonremission, while a few patients may display delayed remission. If remission is not achieved, additional treatments are pursued. The early postoperative period necessitates multidisciplinary awareness for early diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency (AI) to avoid adrenal crisis, which may also be potentiated by acute postoperative complications. Preferred GC replacement is hydrocortisone, if available. Assessment of recovery from postoperative AI should be undertaken periodically. Other postoperative targets include decreasing antihypertensive/diabetic therapy if in remission, thromboprophylaxis, infection prevention/treatment, and management of electrolyte disturbances and/or potential pituitary deficiencies. Evaluation of recovery of thyroid, gonadal, and growth hormone deficiencies should also be performed during the following months postoperatively.
INCENTIVE MECHANISM FOR PERFORMANCE-BASED PAYMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE PPP PROJECTS: COUPLING OF REPUTATION AND RATCHET EFFECTS

The performance-based payment PPP model has been widely used in the infrastructure projects. However, the ratchet effect derived from performance-based reputation incentives has been largely overlooked. To overcome this shortcoming, ratchet effect is considered in the performance-based payment incentive process. A multi-period dynamic incentive mechanism is developed by coupling the reputation and ratchet effect. The main results show that: (1) Under the coupling of reputation and ratchet effects, the optimal incentive coefficient in the last performance assessment period is always greater than that of the first period. The bargaining power can replace part of the incentive effect; (2) Due to the ratchet effect, if the government improve performance targets through performance adjustment coefficients, it needs to increase incentives to overcome the decreasing effort of the private sector; (3) When the bargaining power and punishment coefficient are small, the reputation incentive is replacing the explicit incentive. The increasing incentive coefficient would make the ratchet effect dominant the reputation effect; (4) To prevent the incentive incompatibility derived from the ratchet effect, the government should increase the incentive while increasing the punishment to achieve the “penalties and rewards”. This study provides theoretical and methodological guidance to design incentive contracts for infrastructure PPP projects.
The correlation and role analysis of SLC30A1 and SLC30A10 in cervical carcinoma

Background: SLC30 family genes, also known as ZnT family genes, can keep cellular zinc levels within a physiological range by exporting zinc to extracellular space or by isolating zinc in the specific regions of cytoplasm when cellular zinc concentrations are elevated in human cells. There are growing evidences that dysregulated expression of SLC30 family genes can potentially influence tumorigenesis. However, the expression and prognostic value of SLC30 family genes in cervical carcinoma are poorly characterized. Methods: In this study, we used many tools such as UALCAN, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, cBioPortal, LinkedOmics, FunRich, Metascape, GeneMANIA, Open targets and TISIDB to perform bioinformatics analysis of SLC30 family genes in cervical carcinoma. Results: We found that the expression of SLC30A1/7/10 was significantly higher in cervical carcinoma than that in normal matched tissues, while SLC30A2/8 mRNA levels were decreased compared to normal tissues. For tumor stages, SLC30A1, SLC30A7 and SLC30A10 groups significantly varied. And a high expression of SLC30A1, SLC30A6, SLC30A8 and SLC30A10 was associated with worse overall survival in cervical carcinoma patients. Besides, we found that SLC30A1/10 may have a potential regulatory role in immune infiltration in cervical carcinoma. In addition, the results showed that the high expression of SLC30A1 was resistant to 79 drugs or small molecules; Two drugs (Neopeltolide and Tozasertib) can inhibit the high expression of SLC30A10 in cancers. Conclusion: SLC30A1 and SLC30A10 can be recognized as potential diagnostic indicators and therapeutic targets in cervical carcinoma.
Performance of exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) in detecting differential item functioning

The validity of a standardised test is questioned if an irrelevant construct is accounted for the performance of examinees, which is wrongly modeled as the ability in the construct (test items). A test must ensure precision in the examinee's ability irrespective of their sub-population in any demographic variables. This paper explored the potentials of gender and school location as major covariates on the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) mathematics items among examinees (N=2,866) using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). The results remarked that the test is multidimensional (six-factors) with compliance fix indices of (χ2 (940)=4882.024, p < 0.05, CFI=0.962, TLI=0.930, RMSEA=0.038, SRMR=0.030, 90 % CI=0.037-0.039, Akaike information criterion (AIC)=147290.577, Bayesian information criterion (BIC)=149585.436 and Sample-size adjusted BIC=148362.154) respectively. Also, there were 10 (20 %) significant DIF items in the WAEC to gender, while 3 (6 %) of the items indicated significant DIF to school location. Observed DIF items acquaint test developers; the existence of DIF may differentially affect the performance of examinees with the same ability level. The implications of the test are severe for the examinees. Hence, accurate and unbiased assessment should be the basic principles for any test item measurement, and test developers need to test the items to be free from biases psychometrically.
Organisational citizenship behaviours: Their influences on mineworkers’ turnover intention

We investigated organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) influences on employee turnover intention in a mining organisation. The participants were 371 mining employees (men = 74%; women = 26%; mean age = 37.2 years, SD = 8.21 years). The employees completed standardised OCB and the turnover intention scales. Logistic regression analysis findings indicated altruism and courtesy behaviours to predict higher turnover intention. Civic virtue and conscientiousness predicted lower intention to leave. These findings suggest altruism and courtesy predispositions differ from those for civic duty and conscientiousness in the mining industry context and in ways important to human resource management in that sector.
The Role of Vitamin D in Sleep Disorders of Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

This review investigates the association between vitamin D and sleep disorders. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient known to play an important role in the growth and bone health of the human body, but it also appears to play a role in sleep. The goal of our review is to examine the association between vitamin D and sleep disorders in children and adolescents. We summarize the evidence about the role and the mechanism of action of vitamin D in children and adolescents with sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), restless legs syndrome (RLS), and other sleep disorders. Systematic electronic database searches were conducted using Pubmed and Cochrane Library. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline was followed. The studies that met the established inclusion criteria were analyzed and compared. Results suggest a strict relationship between vitamin D deficiency in children and sleep disorders. There is evidence that vitamin D is implicated in the different neurochemical mechanisms involved in sleep regulation and mainly in the serotonergic and dopaminergic pathways. This might be responsible for the association of vitamin D deficiency and restless sleep, sleep hyperhidrosis, OSA, and RLS.
Spatial and Temporal Variability of the Floral Scent Emitted by Barlia robertiana (Loisel.) Greuter, a Mediterranean Food-Deceptive Orchid

This study on Barlia robertiana aims to: (1) assess whether scent is variable between populations; (2) evaluate whether scent composition may be related to geographical variables; (3) assess whether there are VOC differences during the flowering phase; and (4) assess whether there are yearly VOC variabilities. SPME sampling was used. Fourteen plants, collected along an ecological gradient, were analyzed. A multivariate analysis was performed through ordination and hierarchical cluster analysis. Compositions versus geographic distances were also analyzed using Mantel test. Seventy compounds were identified. Multivariate analyses and Mantel tests detected no correlations between VOC composition and both geographic and ecological variables. These results may suggest that there is no adaptation of floral scent to local environments. VOC compositions during the flowering phase showed a slight change but a strong variability between individuals. A huge difference was found in the pairwise comparison of the plants analyzed in different years. The high scent variability can be interpreted as a strategy of a non-rewarding but allogamous species to not allow the learning by pollinators. In fact, disrupting the association among floral scent signals with the lack of nectar may enhance the fruit set via a higher probability of being visited by insects.
The three-dimensional impacts of governance on economic growth: Panel data evidence from the emerging market

In a modern economy, good governance is considered a prominent factor for economic growth (Liu, Tang, Zhou, & Liang, 2018). However, Sub-Saharan Africa has a poor track record of good governance and economic growth (Fayissa & Nsiah, 2013). Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate the impact of governance on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Panel data that covers a period from 2005 to 2019 for 34 countries and the principal component analysis (PCA) method are employed to achieve the stated objective of the study. The selected fixed- and random-effect estimations showed that among the six-governance quality indicators control of corruption, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and rule of law positively affect real GDP per capita (economic growth) while political stability and absence of violence and voice and accountability are statistically insignificant to affect real GDP per capita. The estimations result of composite governance indicators confirmed that except for the political dimension of governance both the economic and institutional dimensions of governance, as well as overall composite governance indexes, positively affect the economic growth of the region. Besides, foreign direct investment, the government fixed capital formation and gross domestic product growth affect real GDP per capita positively in all models while government consumption expenditure and age dependency ratio negatively affect real GDP per capita. Therefore, in addition to the existing support in the improvement of the political activities in Sub-Saharan Africa, concerned bodies should also focus to enhance the economic and institutional dimensions of governance in the region