Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
G.654.E optical fibers for high-data-rate terrestrial transmission systems with long reach

Data traffic demands continue to increase worldwide, driving requirements for higher spectral efficiency systems and higher individual channel capacities. To enable terrestrial transmission systems to keep up with demand, the ITU recently adopted the G.654. E standard for optical fiber with larger effective area for terrestrial use. To keep macrobend loss performance the same as for conventional G.652 fiber, the cable cutoff wavelength specification for the new fiber class was increased to the lower edge of the C-band. We examine here several aspects of G.654. E fiber in terrestrial systems including modeled and experimentally measured transmission reach, the use of Raman amplification with pump wavelengths below cable cutoff, and the transmission of optical supervisory channels (OSC) at wavelengths below cable cutoff. We demonstrate significant transmission reach increases for 200 Gb/s PM-16QAM channels of at least 55% compared to standard single-mode fiber in a re-circulating loop experimental configuration. Addressing the practical questions of OSC and Raman pumps propagating below cable cutoff, we demonstrate experimentally and through extensive modeling that negligible impact is expected and observed in both cases.
Different mechanisms in periventricular and deep white matter hyperintensities in old subjects

Objective Although multiple pieces of evidence have suggested that there are different mechanisms in periventricular white matter hyperintensities (PWMHs) and deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMHs), the exact mechanism remains uncertain. Methods We reviewed clinical and imaging data of old participants from a local She Ethnic group. We assessed the cerebral blood flow of white matter (WM-CBF) on arterial spin-labeling, deep medullary veins (DMVs) visual score on susceptibility-weighted imaging, and index for diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (ALPS index), indicating glymphatic function on diffusion tensor imaging. Furthermore, we investigated their relationships with volumes of PWMHs and DWMHs. Results A total of 152 subjects were included, with an average age of 63 ± 8 years old. We found that higher age and history of hypertension were independently related to higher volumes of both PWMHs and DWMHs (all p < 0.05). Lower ALPS index was independently associated with higher PWMHs volumes (β = 0.305, p < 0.001), and this relationship was accounted for by the indirect pathway via DMVs score (β = 0.176, p = 0.017). Both lower ALPS index and WM-CBF were independent risk factors for higher DWMHs volumes (β = −0.146, p = 0.041; β = −0.147, p = 0.036). Conclusions Our study indicated that there were different mechanisms in PWMHs and DWMHs. PWMHs were mainly attributed to the damage of veins due to the dysfunction of the glymphatic pathway, while DWMHs could be affected by both ischemia-hypoperfusion and dysfunction of the glymphatic pathway. Advances in knowledge The relationship between glymphatic dysfunction and PWMHs might be accounted for by the indirect pathway via venous abnormalities, a glymphatic dysfunction, and lower CBF in white matter were independent risk factors for DWMHs.
How a Successful Implementation and Sustainable Growth of e-Commerce can be Achieved in Developing Countries; a Pathway Towards Green Economy

Apart from the goal of the digital world and other benefits of e-commerce, it becomes the need of time during this COVID-19 pandemic. Successful implementation and sustainable growth of e-commerce in developing countries is a challenge. The goal of the digital world without the implementation and sustainable growth of e-commerce in developing countries is incomplete. Based on UTAUT theory, we have developed an integrated model to study the developing countries’ consumers’ adoption intentions towards e-commerce. We collected a valid useable sample of 796 respondents from a developing country, applied the SEM-ANN two-step hybrid approach to testing the proposed hypothesis, and ranked the antecedents according to their importance. Results revealed that Trust in e-commerce, Perceived risk of using e-commerce, Ease of use in e-commerce, Curiosity about e-commerce, Facilitating Conditions, and Awareness of e-commerce benefits influence the adoption intentions of developing countries’ consumers. Sensitivity analysis results revealed that Ease of use in e-commerce platforms and awareness of e-commerce benefits are the two most crucial factors behind the adoption intentions in developing countries. The study’s findings help authorities adopt sustainable e-commerce, multinational companies effectively market their goods online, and academics better understand how inhabitants of developing nations perceive e-commerce.
ACTH-Modulated Membrane Guanylate Cyclase Signaling System: Origin and Creation

The membrane guanylate cyclase (MGC) cellular signaling pathway consists of seven signaling pathways and is critical for the survival of prokaryotes eukaryotes, and highly complex vertebrate organisms. A sequel to the author's earlier comprehensive reviews, covering the field of MGC from its origin to its establishment to the year 2014, this article exclusively deals with the history of its development from the year 1963 to 1987. It narrates the efforts involved in building on small projects, brick by brick, and its emergence from the chasm of disbelief, through steady, continuous work. To make the presentation simple and chronologically continuous, the subject matters of the earlier reviews and publication of these authors have been freely borrowed with appropriate citations.
Assessing the toxicity of polystyrene beads and silica particles on the microconsumer Brachionus calyciflorus at different timescales

Environmental pollution by microplastics has become a severe problem in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and, according to actual prognoses, problems will further increase in the future. Therefore, assessing and quantifying the risk for the biota is crucial. Standardized short-term toxicological procedures as well as methods quantifying potential toxic effects over the whole life span of an animal are required. We studied the effect of the microplastic polystyrene on the survival and reproduction of a common freshwater invertebrate, the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, at different timescales. We used pristine polystyrene spheres of 1, 3, and 6 µm diameter and fed them to the animals together with food algae in different ratios ranging from 0 to 50% nonfood particles. As a particle control, we used silica to distinguish between a pure particle effect and a plastic effect. After 24 h, no toxic effect was found, neither with polystyrene nor with silica. After 96 h, a toxic effect was detectable for both particle types. The size of the particles played a negligible role. Studying the long-term effect by using life table experiments, we found a reduced reproduction when the animals were fed with 3 µm spheres together with similar-sized food algae. We conclude that the fitness reduction is mainly driven by the dilution of food by the nonfood particles rather than by a direct toxic effect.
Acute and chronic neuropsychiatric symptoms in novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients: A qualitative review

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11th, 2020. It has had unprecedented adverse effects on healthcare systems, economies, and societies globally. SARS-CoV-2 is not only a threat to physical health but has also been shown to have a severe impact on neuropsychiatric health. Many studies and case reports across countries have demonstrated insomnia, depressed mood, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and cognitive change in COVID-19 patients during the acute phase of the infection, as well as in apparently recovered COVID-19 patients. The goal of this narrative review is to synthesize and summarize the emerging literature detailing the neuropsychiatric manifestations of COVID-19 with special emphasis on the long-term implications of COVID-19.
A systematic review approach of mobile technology adoption in higher education

Many educators agree that mobile technology has great potential not only to improve our educational practices but also to change traditional learning platforms and classroom learning environments. There are also many advantages to integrating mobile technology into the 21st century classrooms to support teaching and learning. Mobile technology tools such as iPads, iPad mini, mobile applications, tablets, palm devices, e-readers and smartphones are becoming real-world tools that should be integrated into modern instructional practices to support digital learners and to promote meaningful learning. Educators are harnessing mobile devices within and beyond the classroom due to the flexibility, portability, affordability and popularity of those devices. This study explores the effectiveness of mobile technology adoption within 21st century classrooms processes and outcomes.
Comparing the perceptions and opinions of the 2007 and 2019 Canada's food guides among parents of young children

Background The Canada's Food Guide (CFG) is recognized as the most prominent authoritative guideline for healthy eating in Canada. In 2019, Health Canada released the latest iteration of the CFG with substantial changes to its messaging and format from the previous 2007 CFG. Objective This study compared the awareness, use, knowledge, and opinions of the 2007 and 2019 CFGs among parents with children aged 18 months to 5 years who are participants in a family-based intervention trial, the Guelph Family Health Study. Methods The sample consisted of 327 parents (59% women) who responded to questions about the 2007 CFG and 177 parents (60% women) who responded to questions about the 2019 CFG. Parents' awareness and knowledge of the 2007 and 2019 CFGs were compared using Pearson's Chi-Square, while parents' opinions of the two CFGs were compared using Wilcoxon Rank-Sum tests. To describe and provide context about how parents used the 2007 and 2019 CFG descriptive analysis was used. To analyze the open-answer comments parents provided for the 2007 and 2019 CFGs thematic coding was used. Results Awareness of the 2007 and 2019 CFGs was high with 94.5 and 90.4% of parents reported having heard about the 2007 and 2019 CFGs, respectively. Knowledge of the plate proportion recommendations in the 2019 CFG was significantly higher than knowledge of the recommended number of servings in the 2007 CFG with 93.4% of parents identifying the Vegetable and Fruit Plate Proportions in the 2019 CFG. Parents identified that the 2019 CFG was a helpful and trustworthy resource, and that it was easier to follow and understand, and more representative of their culture and traditional foods than the 2007 CFG. Conclusion Our results suggest that parents' knowledge of the 2019 CFG recommendations was higher than for the 2007 CFG recommendations. Parents also had more positive opinions about the 2019 CFG as compared to the 2007 CFG. Future research is needed to explore whether these higher levels knowledge of the 2019 CFG recommendation translate to healthier eating patterns among Canadian families.
Chemical constituents, antibacterial, acaricidal and anti-inflammatory activities of the essential oils from four Rhododendron species

As the ornamental plants and traditional medicines, Rhododendron przewalskii, R. anthopogonoides, R. thymifolium, and R. capitatum are widely distributed in western China. In this paper, the essential oils from these four species were extracted by supercritical extraction and the components were analyzed using headspace solid phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), the antibacterial, acaricidal and anti-inflammatory activities were investigated. Results showed that R. thymifolium (RTEO) contained the highest yield of 0.99% with 246 compounds, followed by R. capitatum (RCEO, 0.81%) with 290 chemicals, R. anthopogonoides (RAEO, 0.57%) with 302 compounds and R. przewalskii (RPEO, 0.30%) with 294 components. They also exhibited the safety at given doses and have the anti-inflammatory in vitro and in vivo tests via inhibiting the cytokines productions, the acaricidal and antibacterial activities also were found. 4-Hydroxy-3-methylacetophenone from RPEO, α-pinene and β-pinene from RAEO, β-farnesene and germacrone from RTEO, and benzylacetone from RCEO, as main and active components, inhibited the NO content in RAW 264.7 cells induced by LPS. These results indicated that four essential oils have certain medicinal value and laid the foundation for the development of these species as raw materials for the pharmaceutical and perfume industries.
CaSilico: A versatile CRISPR package for in silico CRISPR RNA designing for Cas12, Cas13, and Cas14

The efficiency of the CRISPR-Cas system is highly dependent on well-designed CRISPR RNA (crRNA). To facilitate the use of various types of CRISPR-Cas systems, there is a need for the development of computational tools to design crRNAs which cover different CRISPR-Cas systems with off-target analysis capability. Numerous crRNA design tools have been developed, but nearly all of them are dedicated to design crRNA for genome editing. Hence, we developed a tool matching the needs of both beginners and experts, named CaSilico, which was inspired by the limitations of the current crRNA design tools for designing crRNAs for Cas12, Cas13, and Cas14 CRISPR-Cas systems. This tool considers a comprehensive list of the principal rules that are not yet well described to design crRNA for these types. Using a list of important features such as mismatch tolerance rules, self-complementarity, GC content, frequency of cleaving base around the target site, target accessibility, and PFS (protospacer flanking site) or PAM (protospacer adjacent motif) requirement, CaSilico searches all potential crRNAs in a user-input sequence. Considering these features help users to rank all crRNAs for a sequence and make an informed decision about whether a crRNA is suited for an experiment or not. Our tool is sufficiently flexible to tune some key parameters governing the design of crRNA and identification of off-targets, which can lead to an increase in the chances of successful CRISPR-Cas experiments. CaSilico outperforms previous crRNA design tools in the following aspects: 1) supporting any reference genome/gene/transcriptome for which an FASTA file is available; 2) designing crRNAs that simultaneously target multiple sequences through conserved region detection among a set of sequences; 3) considering new CRISPR-Cas subtypes; and 4) reporting a list of different features for each candidate crRNA, which can help the user to select the best one. Given these capabilities, CaSilico addresses end-user concerns arising from the use of sophisticated bioinformatics algorithms and has a wide range of potential research applications in different areas, especially in the design of crRNA for pathogen diagnosis. CaSilico was successfully applied to design crRNAs for different genes in the SARS-CoV-2 genome, as some of the crRNAs have been experimentally tested in the previous studies.
Distribution and metabolism of daidzein and its benzene sulfonates in vivo (in mice) based on MALDI-TOF MSI

Daidzein (D1) has been proved to be of great benefit to human health. More and more attention was paid to the metabolic process of D1. Most studies focused on the metabolites of D1 and analogs were determined through the excretion of animals and humans by traditional HPLC-MS, while their in situ distribution and metabolism in organs in vivo has not been reported. In our group, novel daidzein sulfonate derivatives were synthesized and confirmed to have excellent pharmaceutical properties. They exhibited good anti-inflammatory, inhibitory activities on human vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and other bioactivities. Compared with traditional analytical methods, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-TOF MSI) can directly analyze the distribution of compounds in tissues and organs. In this study, we investigate the in situ distribution and metabolism of D1 and its derivatives (DD2, DD3) in the organs of mice based on MALDI-TOF MSI for the first time. Trace prototype compounds were detected in the plasma 4 h after the intravenous injection of D1, DD2, and DD3. Seven phase I metabolites and seven phase II metabolites were detected. D1 sulfates were found in the plasma and in organs except the heart. The presence of D1 and DD3 monosulfates in the brain indicated that they could penetrate the blood–brain barrier. DD2 and DD3 could be hydrolyzed into D1 and their metabolic pathways were similar to those of D1. In addition, a ligand-receptor docking of D1 and DD2 with mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 (JNK1) was performed because of their significant anti-inflammatory activities through the JNK signaling pathway. It showed that the binding energy of DD2 with JNK1 was obviously lower than that of D1 which was consistent with their anti-inflammatory activities. It provided a theoretical basis for further validation of their anti-inflammatory mechanism at the protein level. In summary, the research will provide beneficial guidance for further pharmacological, toxicological studies and the clinical-use research of these compounds.
Prenatal antibiotics exposure does not influence experimental allergic asthma in mice

Changes in microbiome (dysbiosis) contribute to severity of allergic asthma. Preexisting epidemiological studies in humans correlate perinatal dysbiosis with increased long-term asthma severity. However, these studies cannot discriminate between prenatal and postnatal effects of dysbiosis and suffer from a high variability of dysbiotic causes ranging from antibiotic treatment, delivery by caesarian section to early-life breastfeeding practices. Given that maternal antibiotic exposure in mice increases the risk of newborn bacterial pneumonia in offspring, we hypothesized that prenatal maternal antibiotic-induced dysbiosis induces long-term immunological effects in the offspring that also increase long-term asthma severity. Therefore, dams were exposed to antibiotics (gentamycin, ampicillin, vancomycin) from embryonic day 15 until birth. Six weeks later, asthma was induced in the offspring by repeated applications of house dust mite extract. Airway function, cytokine production, pulmonary cell composition and distribution were assessed. Our study revealed that prenatally induced dysbiosis in mice led to an increase in pulmonary Th17+ non-conventional T cells with limited functional effect on airway resistance, pro-asthmatic Th2/Th17 cytokine production, pulmonary localization and cell-cell contacts. These data indicate that dysbiosis-related immune-modulation with long-term effects on asthma development occurs to a lesser extent prenatally and will allow to focus future studies on more decisive postnatal timeframes.
Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity is mediated by neutrophils through release of neutrophil elastase

The mechanisms by which Doxorubicin (Dox) causes acute and late cardiotoxicity are not completely understood. One understudied area is the innate immune response, and in particular the role of neutrophils in Dox-induced cardiotoxicity. Here, using echocardiography, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence staining, we demonstrated increased infiltration of neutrophils that correlated with decreased heart function, disruption of vascular structures and increased collagen deposition in the heart after Dox treatment. Depleting neutrophils protected the heart from Dox-induced cardiotoxicity and changes in vascular structure. Furthermore, our data using neutrophil elastase (NE) knock-out mice and the NE inhibitor AZD9668 suggest that neutrophils cause this damage by releasing NE and that inhibiting NE can prevent Dox-induced cardiotoxicity. This work shows the role of neutrophils and NE in Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity for the first time and suggests a new possible therapeutic intervention.
Gut microbiota remodeling: A promising therapeutic strategy to confront hyperuricemia and gout

The incidence of hyperuricemia (HUA) and gout continuously increases and has become a major public health problem. The gut microbiota, which colonizes the human intestine, has a mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationship with the host and plays a vital role in the host’s metabolism and immune regulation. Structural changes or imbalance in the gut microbiota could cause metabolic disorders and participate in the synthesis of purine-metabolizing enzymes and the release of inflammatory cytokines, which is closely related to the occurrence and development of the metabolic immune disease HUA and gout. The gut microbiota as an entry point to explore the pathogenesis of HUA and gout has become a new research hotspot. This review summarizes the characteristics of the gut microbiota in patients with HUA and gout. Meanwhile, the influence of different dietary structures on the gut microbiota, the effect of the gut microbiota on purine and uric acid metabolism, and the internal relationship between the gut microbiota and metabolic endotoxemia/inflammatory factors are explored. Moreover, the intervention effects of probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbial transplantation on HUA and gout are also systematically reviewed to provide a gut flora solution for the prevention and treatment of related diseases.
Changing Trends of Consumers' Online Buying Behavior During COVID-19 Pandemic With Moderating Role of Payment Mode and Gender

It was not long ago when technological emergence fundamentally changed the landscape of global businesses. Following that, business operations started shifting away from traditional to advance digitalized processes. These digitalized processes gave a further boost to the e-commerce industry, making the online environment more competitive. Despite the growing trend, there has always been a consumer market that is not involved in online shopping, and this gap is huge when it comes to consumers from developing countries, specifically Pakistan. On contrary, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has brought drastic changes to the way consumers used to form their intention and behave toward digitalized solutions in pre COVID-19 times. Evidence shows that the global e-commerce industry has touched phenomenal growth during COVID-19, whereas Pakistan's e-commerce industry still holds a huge potential and has not fully boomed yet. These facts pave new avenues for marketers to cater to this consumer market for long-term growth. Hence, the study provides insights into how consumers' online buying behavior has transformed during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of Pakistan. The study presents a framework based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Furthermore, the moderating role of gender and payment mode has also been examined. For the analysis of variables, the partial least squares (PLS) method was used to conduct structural equation modeling (SEM) by collecting data from 266 respondents. The results show a significant and positive impact of perceived benefits, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and social influence on consumers' intention, but they also show an insignificant impact of gender and payment mode as a moderating variable on PEOU-BI and BI-AB, respectively. The results are of utmost significance for Pakistani businesses, marketers, and e-traders to streamline their business practices accordingly. Lastly, the proposed framework demonstrates new directions for future research to work upon.