Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Attenuated Strain of Human Cytomegalovirus for the Establishment of a Subviral Particle Vaccine

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is associated with severe disease conditions either following congenital transmission of the virus or viral reactivation in immunosuppressed individuals. Consequently, the establishment of a protective vaccine is of high medical need. Several candidates have been tested in preclinical and clinical studies, yet no vaccine has been licensed. Subviral dense bodies (DB) are a promising vaccine candidate. We have recently provided a GMP-compliant protocol for the production of DB, based on a genetically modified version of the HCMV laboratory strain Towne, expressing the pentameric complex of envelope protein gH-gL-pUL128-131 (Towne-UL130rep). In this work, we genetically attenuated Towne-UL130rep by abrogating the expression of the tegument protein pUL25 and by fusing the destabilizing domain ddFKBP to the N-terminus of the IE1- and IE2-proteins of HCMV. The resulting strain, termed TR-VAC, produced high amounts of DB under IE1/IE2 repressive conditions and concomitant supplementation of the viral terminase inhibitor letermovir to the producer cell culture. TR-VAC DB retained the capacity to induce neutralizing antibodies. A complex pattern of host protein induction was observed by mass spectrometry following exposure of primary human monocytes with TR-VAC DB. Human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC) moderately increased the expression of activation markers and MHC molecules upon stimulation with TR-VAC DB. In a co-culture with autologous T cells, the TR-VAC DB-stimulated DC induced a robust HCMV-specific T cell-activation and –proliferation. Exposure of donor-derived monocytic cells to DB led to the activation of a rapid innate immune response. This comprehensive data set thus shows that TR-VAC is an optimal attenuated seed virus strain for the production of a DB vaccine to be tested in clinical studies.
Physical demands of soccer: Lessons from team USA and Ghana matches in the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Purpose: Distance covered and the intensity patterns of player movements using selected matches involving the national teams of United States of America and Ghana in the World Cup Soccer Tournament held in South Africa from June 11 th to July 11 th 2010. Methodology: A total of eight matches played by nine teams were used in the study. Team USA played against England, Slovenia, Algeria and Ghana. The national team of Ghana played against Germany, Australia, Serbia, USA and Uruguay. The eight matches comprised 12.5% of all matches played while the nine countries comprised 32% of all the tournament participating countries. Results: The results showed that soccer players on average covered 9.3 Kilometres to 13.476 per match. The United States of America players, on average, covered 10.76 km while those for Ghana covered 10.49km. Overall, the low activity movements dominated (84.1%), followed by high intensity (8.3%) and medium intensity (7.6%). However, the intensity patterns for United States of America’s players were 83.5%, 8.75% and 7.75% compared to the players from Ghana, who, were characterized by 85% low. 7.8% high and 7.2% low intensity movements respectively. Conclusions: It is apparent that soccer is an intermittent sport demanding high amounts of aerobic ability as well as anaerobic movements. Training must therefore target to develop both the aerobic as well as the anaerobic energy sources if players’ performance is not to diminish towards the end of the matches.
A Fast Data-Driven Tool for Flood Risk Assessment in Urban Areas

Post-disaster flood risk assessment is extremely difficult owing to the great uncertainties involved in all parts of the assessment exercise, e.g., the uncertainty of hydrologic–hydraulic models and depth–damage curves. In the present study, a robust and fast data-driven tool for residential flood risk assessment is introduced. The proposed tool can be used by scientists, practitioners and/or stakeholders as a first step for better understanding and quantifying flood risk in monetary terms. Another contribution of the present study is the fitting of an equation through depth–damage points provided by the Joint Research Center (JRC). The approach is based on hydrologic simulations for different return periods, employing a free and widely used software, HEC-HMS. Moreover, flood depths for the study area are estimated based on hydrodynamic simulations employing the HEC-RAS software and the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation method. Finally, flood risk, in monetary terms, is determined based on the flood depths derived by the coupling of hydrodynamic simulations and the IDW method, depth–damage curves reported in the literature, vulnerability of residential areas and the residential exposure derived by employing GIS tools. The proposed tool is applied in a highly urbanized and flood-prone area, Mandra city, in the Attica region of Greece. The results are maps of flood depths and flood risk maps for specific return periods. Overall, the results derived from the application of the proposed approach reveal that the tool can be highly effective for post-disaster flood risk management. However, it must be noted that additional information and post-disaster data are needed for the verification of the damages from floods. Additional information can result in better calibration, validation and overall performance of the proposed flood risk assessment tool.
Telephone, Internet, and Paper Data Collection Modes for the Census 2000 Short Form

This study examined the hypothesis that the response rate in the U.S. Census 2000 could be increased by explicitly offering respondents an alternative to using the paper form. A random sample of 10,494 households received special Census 2000 mailings. Half of these households were offered the alternative of responding via the web, while the other half were offered a telephone alternative. The offer of these alternative response modes boosted response rates by more than two percentage points over households that were not offered a response mode alternative. Half the mailings included an insert that held a telephone calling card incentive, which was activated if the household chose to use the web or telephone alternative. The insert holding the calling card greatly increased responding via the alternate response modes, but this increase was more than offset by decreased responding via the paper form. The implications of the results for future decennial censuses are discussed.
The Effectiveness of Plasma Rich in Growth Factors (PRGF) in the Treatment of Nerve Compression Syndromes of the Upper Extremity: A Retrospective Observational Clinical Study

Background: Nerve compression syndromes of the upper extremity are a common cause of neuropathic pain and functional impairment. Recently, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) infiltrations have emerged as an effective biological approach to the treatment of this type of injury. The objectives of this retrospective observational study were to assess clinical improvement in patients with median and ulnar nerve entrapment syndrome after undergoing biologically-assisted nerve release surgery with plasma-rich-in-growth-factors (PRGF) technology. Methods: Participants (n = 39) with moderate-to-severe nerve compression syndrome of the upper limb diagnosed by both electromyography and clinical examination, and who were treated with PRGF, were identified from the center’s medical records. The evaluation was based on patient-reported outcomes. Pre- and post-treatment differences in the Visual analog scale (VAS), the Boston carpal tunnel questionnaire (BCTQ), and the Quick-DASH score were assessed. Results: Three study groups were conducted: patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (n = 16), with recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome (n = 8), and with ulnar nerve entrapment (n = 15). The median follow-up was 12 months (interquartile range (IQR), 9–16). In comparison to pre-treatment values, all three study groups obtained statistically significant improvements for the three analyzed scales at the end of the follow-up, with p < 0.001 for all scales in the carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve entrapment groups and p < 0.01 for all scales in the recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome group. There were no serious adverse effects in the analyzed patients. Conclusion: PRGF-assisted open surgical nerve release treatment (intraneural and perineural liquid PRGF infiltrations and nerve wrapping with PRGF membrane) exerts long-term beneficial effects on pain reduction and functional improvement in the nerve and nerve–muscle unit in patients with upper extremity compression syndromes.
Substitution among hotels and P2P accommodation in the COVID era: a spatial dynamic panel data model at the listing level

ABSTRACT This paper analyses whether peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation substitutes traditional accommodation, taking into account dynamic and spatial spillover effects. We also analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis on the demand and substitution effect. To do this, we use a spatial dynamic panel data demand model for occupancy rates related to prices of P2P accommodation units, prices of competitors (hotels and apartments) and income. Its dynamic component allows estimation of the short- and long-term effects of prices and income on P2P accommodation demand. The model was applied to the P2P accommodation demand in the Canary Islands, Spain. The results indicate that, in the pre-pandemic period, occupancy rates were positively autocorrelated, demand was own-price elastic and substitution with hotels was significant in the short-term. This substitution effect and consumer sensitivity to prices and substitution increase in the long term. However, the irruption of COVID-19 largely distorted price and income-elasticities.
Prevalence and anatomical variations of maxillary sinus septa: A cone-beam computed tomography analysis

Background Detailed understanding the anatomy and variations of maxillary sinus septa is necessary. We aimed to investigate prevalence and various anatomical variations of maxillary sinus septa using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. Material and Methods In this retrospective cross-sectional study, CBCT scans of 809 patients referred to a specialist dental and maxillofacial radiology clinic in Babol, northern Iran, during 2014-2020 were evaluated. Location, morphology, height, and direction of septa in different planes were recorded. Results Sinus septa were observed in 37.9% (n=307) of the participants. There were 117 cases with septa only in left sinus, 83 cases with septa only in right sinus, and 107 cases with septa in both sinuses. Totally, 414 septa were seen in the subjects. Prevalence of partial septa was considerably higher than complete septa (77.5% versus 22.5%). Regarding septa location, middle area with a prevalence rate of 58.7% was found more prevalent than other sinus areas. The mean septum height on the left and right sinuses was 6.0±3.1 mm 5.7±3.9, respectively (p<0.001). Regarding left sinus, directions of vertical (63.8%), oblique (30.8%), and straight (63.8%) were the most prevalent compared with other directions in sagittal, frontal, and axial planes, respectively. In relation to right maxillary sinus, direction of vertical in sagittal and frontal planes (72.6% and 24.2%, respectively), and direction of straight in axial plane (58.4%) were the most prevalent directions compared with others in the same planes. Conclusions Septa prevalence in maxillary sinus was relatively high, with various directions, locations, heights, and shapes. It is recommended to use CBCT for a careful evaluation of toothless area prior to surgeries on the sinus (especially sinus lift) in three plans, in order to take careful measures and prevent postoperative complications in case septa exist. Key words:Maxillary sinus septa, anatomical variation, cone-beam computed tomography, dental implant.
Morphological study of the phrenic nerve to determine a reference value for the myelinated fiber density in elderly individuals

Phrenic nerves (PNs) play an important role in respiration; however, very few morphological studies have assessed them. This study aimed to provide control reference values, including the density of large and small myelinated PN fibers, for future pathological studies. We assessed a total of nine nerves from eight cases among consecutive autopsy cases registered to the Brain Bank for Aging Research between 2018 and 2019 (five men and three women, mean age 77.0 ± 7.0 years). The nerves were sampled distally, and their structures were analyzed using semi‐thin sections stained with toluidine blue. The mean and standard deviation of the density of each myelinated fiber of the PN was 6908 ± 1132 fibers/mm2 (total myelinated fiber), 4095 ± 586 fibers/mm2 (large diameter myelinated fiber; diameter ≥7 μm), and 2813 ± 629 fibers/mm2 (small diameter myelinated fiber; diameter <7 μm). There was no correlation between myelinated fiber density and age. This study provides the density measurement of the human PN myelinated fiber, and these findings can be used as reference values for the PN in elderly individuals.
Contextual Factors Impacting School and Pastoralist Family Communication in Rural Mongolia: A Partial Ecological Model

This study developed a partial ecological model of contextual factors impacting school and pastoralist family communication at the primary school level in rural Mongolia based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. To develop the model, we interviewed 10 classroom teachers and 10 pastoralist parents from two remote county schools in eastern Mongolia. During our interpretative phenomenological analysis based on semi-structured interviews, we found eight contextual factors impacting rural school and pastoralist family communication located at the exosystem and the macrosystem levels. The partial ecological model can be used in teacher education programs providing a greater insight into the contexts of school-family communication for pre-service and in-service teachers and for teacher educators and policy makers. The model could also be a foundational model for communication training in teacher education courses. In this respect, the current study may help inform researchers and education policy makers not only in Mongolia but also in other settings.
MAGED2 Is Required under Hypoxia for cAMP Signaling by Inhibiting MDM2-Dependent Endocytosis of G-Alpha-S

Mutations in MAGED2 cause transient Bartter syndrome characterized by severe renal salt wasting in fetuses and infants, which leads to massive polyhydramnios causing preterm labor, extreme prematurity and perinatal death. Notably, this condition resolves spontaneously in parallel with developmental increase in renal oxygenation. MAGED2 interacts with G-alpha-S (Gαs). Given the role of Gαs in activating adenylyl cyclase at the plasma membrane and consequently generating cAMP to promote renal salt reabsorption via protein kinase A (PKA), we hypothesized that MAGED2 is required for this signaling pathway under hypoxic conditions such as in fetuses. Consistent with that, under both physical and chemical hypoxia, knockdown of MAGED2 in renal (HEK293) and cancer (HeLa) cell culture models caused internalization of Gαs, which was fully reversible upon reoxygenation. In contrast to Gαs, cell surface expression of the β2-adrenergic receptor, which is coupled to Gαs, was not affected by MAGED2 depletion, demonstrating specific regulation of Gαs by MAGED2. Importantly, the internalization of Gαs due to MAGED2 deficiency significantly reduced cAMP generation and PKA activity. Interestingly, the internalization of Gαs was blocked by preventing its endocytosis with dynasore. Given the role of E3 ubiquitin ligases, which can be regulated by MAGE-proteins, in regulating endocytosis, we assessed the potential role of MDM2-dependent ubiquitination in MAGED2 deficiency-induced internalization of Gαs under hypoxia. Remarkably, MDM2 depletion or its chemical inhibition fully abolished Gαs-endocytosis following MAGED2 knockdown. Moreover, endocytosis of Gαs was also blocked by mutation of ubiquitin acceptor sites in Gαs. Thus, we reveal that MAGED2 is essential for the cAMP/PKA pathway under hypoxia to specifically regulate Gαs endocytosis by blocking MDM2-dependent ubiquitination of Gαs. This may explain, at least in part, the transient nature of Bartter syndrome caused by MAGED2 mutations and opens new avenues for therapy in these patients.
Chronic Invasive Aspergillosis with Fulminant Mucormycosis Sparing Palate in a Post-COVID-19 Patient - A Case Report

Rationale: COVID-19 patients, especially immunocompromised or severely ill, have a higher probability of suffering from invasive fungal infections. Patient Concerns: A 41-years-old male reported with pain and heaviness in the face for the past 20 days. Patient had tested COVID-19 positive 20 days back and was recently diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. On histopathological examination numerous hyphae resembling mucor and asper fungi were evident. Diagnosis: Chronic invasive aspergillosis with fulminant mucormycosis sparing palate. Treatment: Since the lesion was spreading very rapidly the patient was referred to an isolation facility for further management. Outcomes: We have postulated few hypothesis for the coinfection of aspergillosis and mucormycosis in our patient. Take-away Lessons: It is important for the clinicians to systematically screen post COVID-19 patients for fungal infections, especially in immunocompromised and severely ill patients.
Yeast Cell Factory-Platform for the Screening and the Industrial Production of Flavonoids and other Phenolic Compounds: PhD thesis by Beata Joanna Lehka

ii DANSK RESUME.iii List of publications and patents.vii Contribution summary.vii Summary and aim of the thesis.viii GENERAL INTRODUCTION.1 1. Flavonoids and stilbenoids.1 1.1 Chemical structure of selected phenylpropanoids.1 1.2 Occurrence, biosynthesis and function of flavonoids and stilbenoids in plants.2 1.2.1 Dietary sources.2 1.2.2 Biosynthesis.2 1.2. 3 Function in plants. 5 1.3 Industrial importance of flavonoids and stilbenoids.5 1.4 Health benefits of flavonoids and stilbenoids, with focus on naringenin.6 1.4. 1 Health benefits from flavonoids and stilbenoids consumption.6 1.4. 2 Health benefits of naringenin.7 1.4. 3 Interactions of naringenin with drugs.8 1.5 Current commercial production of phenylpropanoids.9 2. Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a yeast cell factory.9 2.1 Synthetic biology tools in yeast.10 2.1.1 Vectors and genomic insertions of heterologous DNA.10 2.1.2 Promoters.12 2.2 Case studies . 13 2.2.1 Biofuels.14 2.2.2 Bulk chemicals.15 2.2. 3 Fine chemicals.15 CHAPTER 1: Construction of a platform strain for the production of flavonoids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.18
HrreNet: semantic segmentation network for moderate and high-resolution satellite images

ABSTRACT Semantic segmentation is a commonly used intelligent interpretation method. However, semantic segmentation via deep learning usually faces several problems: resolution loss due to downsampling, difficulty in obtaining context information, and imprecise object boundaries. These problems lead to a poor performance when using satellite images instead of conventional images and limit the value of intelligent interpretation of satellite images in practical application. In this study, we construct a Qilian Ecological Resource Extraction Dataset (QERED) with multiple scene satellite images of Qilian after preprocessing via correction, fusion, mosaic, and annotation. We then propose a segmentation network, namely, High-resolution Resource Extracting Network (HrreNet), by using high-resolution feature representation, multi-scale context fusion, boundary refinement with relearning, and structural similarity loss. Experiments on QERED show that HrreNet greatly improves performance on small-size objects and slightly improves performance on larger-size objects. HrreNet achieves the best result of 73.36% mIoU on a moderate-resolution satellite dataset CCFD and 80.87% mIoU on a high-resolution satellite dataset Vaihingen.
NEIL3 promotes hepatoma epithelial–mesenchymal transition by activating the BRAF/MEK/ERK/TWIST signaling pathway

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the most prevalent visceral neoplasms. So far, reliable biomarkers for predicting HCC recurrence in patients undergoing surgery are far from adequate. In the aim of searching for genetic biomarkers involved in HCC development, we performed analyses of cDNA microarrays and found that the DNA repair gene NEIL3 was remarkably overexpressed in tumors. NEIL3 belongs to the Fpg/Nei protein superfamily, which contains DNA glycosylase activity required for the base excision repair for DNA lesions. Notably, the other Fpg/Nei family proteins NEIL1 and NEIL2, which have the same glycosylase activity as NEIL3, were not elevated in HCC; NEIL3 was specifically induced to participate in HCC development independently of its glycosylase activity. Using RNA‐seq and invasion/migration assays, we found that NEIL3 elevated the expression of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) factors, including the E/N‐cadherin switch and the transcription of MMP genes, and promoted the invasion, migration, and stemness phenotypes of HCC cells. Moreover, NEIL3 directly interacted with the key EMT player TWIST1 to enhance invasion and migration activities. In mouse orthotopic HCC studies, NEIL3 overexpression also caused a prominent E‐cadherin decrease, tumor volume increase, and lung metastasis, indicating that NEIL3 led to EMT and tumor metastasis in mice. We further found that NEIL3 induced the transcription of MDR1 (ABCB1) and BRAF genes through the canonical E‐box (CANNTG) promoter region, which the TWIST1 transcription factor recognizes and binds to, leading to the BRAF/MEK/ERK pathway‐mediated cell proliferation as well as anti‐cancer drug resistance, respectively. In the HCC cohort, the tumor NEIL3 level demonstrated a high positive correlation with disease‐free and overall survival after surgery. In conclusion, NEIL3 activated the BRAF/MEK/ERK/TWIST pathway‐mediated EMT and therapeutic resistances, leading to HCC progression. Targeted inhibition of NEIL3 in HCC individuals with NEIL3 induction is a promising therapeutic approach. © 2022 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Optimal Operation of WL-RC-QLMS and Luenberger Observer Based Disturbance Rejection Controlled Grid Integrated PV-DSTATCOM System

This article deals with a widely linear reduced-complexity quaternion least mean square (WL-RC-QLMS) controlled two-stage photovoltaic (PV) grid system. The WL-RC-QLMS-based current control method is developed, and the function of this control technique is to attenuate the higher order and suborder harmonic components from the distorted load currents, even when the load currents are nonlinear and/or unbalanced. Moreover, the Luenberger observer is used to control the dc-link voltage. The Luenberger observer is equipped with the cascaded state observers, which can reject the overshoot and undershoot at the dc bus voltage rapidly and precisely. The proposed WL-RC-QLMS controller is modeled and the controller is developed in a Simulink environment and validated on a laboratory prototype. The grid current condition measured in terms of total harmonics distortion is found under the restraint of IEEE 519 standard in different working conditions, which exhibits the efficacy of the implemented control.