Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do infants avoid a traversable slope leading into deep water?

Ramps used to access swimming pools are designed with a shallow slope that affords easy access for all including infants. Locomotor experience has been linked to infants' avoidance of falling into the water from drop-offs; however, the effect of such experience on infants' behavior when a slope is offered to access the water has not been addressed. Forty-three crawling infants (Mage = 10.63 ± 1.91 months; Mcrawling = 2.38 ± 1.77 months) and 34 walking infants (Mage = 14.90 ± 2.18 months; Mwalking = 2.59 ± 1.56 months) were tested on a new Water Slope paradigm, a sloped surface (10°) leading to deep water. No association between infants' avoidance of submersion and locomotor experience was found. Comparison with the results of infants' behavior on the water cliff revealed that a greater proportion of infants reached the submersion point on the water slope than fell into the water cliff. Collectively, these results indicate a high degree of specificity in which locomotor experience teaches infants about risky situations. Importantly, sloped access to deep water appears to increase the risk of infants moving into the water thereby making them more vulnerable to drowning.
Using implementation intentions to prevent relapse after remission from psychological treatment for depression: The SMArT intervention

Abstract Objective: To provide evidence of the effectiveness of a brief relapse prevention intervention using implementation intentions (Self-Management after Therapy, SMArT), following remission from depression and to identify effective relapse prevention strategies. Method: The SMArT intervention was provided to 107 patients who were recovered after psychological therapy for depression. Relapse events were calculated as reliable and clinically significant increases in PHQ-scores. Sixteen patients receiving the intervention and eight practitioners providing it were interviewed. Framework Analysis identified seven themes which highlighted effective relapse prevention strategies and effective implementation of the SMArT intervention. Results: Relapse rates at the final SMArT session (four months after the end of acute stage therapy) were 11%. Seven themes were identified that supported effective self-management: (1) Relationship with the practitioner—feeling supported; (2) Support networks; (3) Setting goals, implementing plans and routine; (4) Changing views of recovery; (5) The SMArT sessions—mode, content, timing, duration; (6) Suitability for the person; and (7) Suitability for the service. Conclusion: The study provides some support for the effectiveness of the SMArT intervention, although a randomized controlled trial is required; and identifies important relapse prevention strategies.
Vulnerability of European ecosystems to two compound dry and hot summers in 2018 and 2019

Abstract. In 2018 and 2019, central Europe was affected by two consecutive extreme dry and hot summers (DH18 and DH19). The DH18 event had severe impacts on ecosystems and likely affected vegetation activity in the subsequent year, for example through depletion of carbon reserves or damage from drought. Such legacies from drought and heat stress can further increase vegetation susceptibility to additional hazards. Temporally compound extremes such as DH18 and DH19 can, therefore, result in an amplification of impacts due to preconditioning effects of past disturbance legacies. Here, we evaluate how these two consecutive extreme summers impacted ecosystems in central Europe and how the vegetation responses to the first compound event (DH18) modulated the impacts of the second (DH19). To quantify changes in vegetation vulnerability to each compound event, we first train a set of statistical models for the period 2001–2017, which are then used to predict the impacts of DH18 and DH19 on enhanced vegetation index (EVI) anomalies from MODIS. These estimates correspond to expected EVI anomalies in DH18 and DH19 based on past sensitivity to climate. Large departures from the predicted values can indicate changes in vulnerability to dry and hot conditions and be used to identify modulating effects by vegetation activity and composition or other environmental factors on observed impacts. We find two regions in which the impacts of the two compound dry and hot (DH) events were significantly stronger than those expected based on previous climate–vegetation relationships. One region, largely dominated by grasslands and crops, showed much stronger impacts than expected in both DH events due to an amplification of their sensitivity to heat and drought, possibly linked to changing background CO2 and temperature conditions. A second region, dominated by forests and grasslands, showed browning from DH18 to DH19, even though dry and hot conditions were partly alleviated in 2019. This browning trajectory was mainly explained by the preconditioning role of DH18 on the impacts of DH19 due to interannual legacy effects and possibly by increased susceptibility to biotic disturbances, which are also promoted by warm conditions. Dry and hot summers are expected to become more frequent in the coming decades, posing a major threat to the stability of European forests. We show that state-of-the-art process-based models could not represent the decline in response to DH19 because they missed the interannual legacy effects from DH18 impacts. These gaps may result in an overestimation of the resilience and stability of temperate ecosystems in future model projections.
Comparison of the effect of ticagrelor combined with tirofiban versus clopidogrel combined with tirofiban on inflammation response and prognosis of patients with unstable angina pectoris in long term follow‐up

To investigate the effect of ticagrelor combined with tirofiban versus clopidogrel combined with tirofiban on inflammation response and prognosis of patients with unstable angina pectoris (UA). The present prospective study included a total of 291 patients who were diagnosed as unstable UA from January 2018 to December 2019. All UA patients were divided into two groups: ticagrelor combined with tirofiban group (n = 159) and clopidogrel combined with tirofiban group (n = 132). Serum levels of C‐reactive protein (CRP), interleukin‐1β, interleukin‐6, tumor necrosis factor‐α, and matrix metalloproteinase‐9 were measured using commercially available enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay kits. Kaplan–Meier (K‐M) curve was performed for analysis of cumulative incidences of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Both ticagrelor combined with tirofiban and clopidogrel combined with tirofiban significantly decreased the serum levels of inflammatory factors in UA patients. Compared to clopidogrel combined with the tirofiban group, ticagrelor combined with the tirofiban group had a lower platelet aggregation rate and improved cardiac function of UA patients. Besides, ticagrelor combined with tirofiban group had a better prognosis and the K‐M curve showed that UA patients treated by ticagrelor and tirofiban had lower incidences of MACEs in one‐year follow‐up. The treatment of ticagrelor combined with tirofiban significantly attenuated inflammation response and improved the prognosis of UA patients.
Controlling the Risk of Bacillus in Food Using Berries

Introduction: Increasing the shelf life of foods without the addition of synthetic additives is a demand from both producers and consumers. Spore-forming bacteria are a problem in the food industry. To reduce their impact, it is necessary to use complex technologies, as well as ingredients with antibacterial or antibiotic properties. The aim of this study was to develop initial symbiotic combinations between lactic acid bacteria and berries to control food quality. The relevant ability of lactic acid bacteria in the presence of berry additives to inhibit the growth of Bacillus strains that degrade bakery products and dairy products was investigated. The antibacterial effect of berries on the growth of Bacillus mesentericus was studied. Methods: In this study was used inhibition zone test, also called Kirby-Bauer Test. The growth rate of bacteria was based on the measurement of the optical density at 600 nm (OD600). The method of Thompson et al. has been used to research the development of ropiness disease in wheat bread samples. Results: The diameter of the Bacillus pumilus growth inhibition zones under the berries action was as follows: aronia −18.0 ± 0.6 mm; raspberry −16.0 ± 0.4 mm; strawberry −15.0 ± 0.5 mm. Lactic bacteria in the presence of berry additives showed a growth rate, measured by optical density (OD) at 600 from 0.073 to 0.651 (for aronia) from 0.071 to 0.609 (for raspberries), from 0.073 to 0.597 compared to the increase in environments without added fruit, which amounted to −0.050 to 0.410. In the yogurt with added fruit, a synergism was formed with Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus, Lactococcus lactis subsp Lactis biovar diacetilactis. The influence of fat-soluble extracts of sea buckthorn, rose-hip, and hawthorn fruits on the development of ropiness disease when storing wheat bread was investigated. The general Pearson coefficient (microbial count and pH) for all fruit yogurt samples is 0.95066. Conclusion: The combined use of lactic acid bacteria and berries (aronia, raspberry and strawberry) had a synergistic effect on the risk posed by Bacillus bacteria. 1% of fat-soluble extract from the vegetable matter How to cite this paper: Sandulachi, E. , Bulgaru, V. , Ghendov-Mosanu, A. and Sturza, R. (2021) Controlling the Risk of Bacillus in Food Using Berries. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 12, 557-577. https://doi.org/10.4236/fns.2021. 126042 Received: May 24, 2021 Accepted: June 18, 2021 Published: June 21, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access E. Sandulachi et al. DOI: 10.4236/fns.2021. 126042 558 Food and Nutrition Sciences reduced the risk of ropiness disease in wheat bread. This is due to the cumulative effect of the berries chemical composition (antioxidants, organic acids, etc.), increased acidity, lowered pH, and water activity of the food environment, below the development values of Bacillus.
Olfactory Learning Supports an Adaptive Sugar-Aversion Gustatory Phenotype in the German Cockroach

Simple Summary Toxic baits that contain an insecticide and phagosimulatory sugars, including glucose, are most effective in German cockroach control. However, cockroaches have evolved behavioral resistance, where they perceive glucose as a deterrent and avoid eating the bait (glucose-aversion, GA), resulting in failure to control infestations. We hypothesized that the GA phenotype may be extended by associative learning of specific odors with glucose. We demonstrated that GA cockroaches associated attractive food odors, such as vanilla and chocolate, with glucose (deterrent) and learned to avoid these odors. In contrast, wild type (WT) cockroaches that associated these odors with glucose (phagostimulant) increased their preference for the odors. The aversive and appetitive memories were retained for at least three days. Generally, when toxic baits are deployed, GA cockroaches are first attracted to the bait, and they repeatedly experience its aversive taste as they reject eating the deterrent bait. The recurring non-rewarding foraging experience may contribute to the formation of an aversive olfactory memory. Even if the baits are later reformulated without aversive tastants, GA cockroaches may avoid the new bait because they associate it with aversive olfactory stimuli. Our findings will guide the rational development of baits that consider the olfactory learning abilities of cockroaches. Abstract An association of food sources with odors prominently guides foraging behavior in animals. To understand the interaction of olfactory memory and food preferences, we used glucose-averse (GA) German cockroaches. Multiple populations of cockroaches evolved a gustatory polymorphism where glucose is perceived as a deterrent and enables GA cockroaches to avoid eating glucose-containing toxic baits. Comparative behavioral analysis using an operant conditioning paradigm revealed that learning and memory guide foraging decisions. Cockroaches learned to associate specific food odors with fructose (phagostimulant, reward) within only a 1 h conditioning session, and with caffeine (deterrent, punishment) after only three 1 h conditioning sessions. Glucose acted as reward in wild type (WT) cockroaches, but GA cockroaches learned to avoid an innately attractive odor that was associated with glucose. Olfactory memory was retained for at least 3 days after three 1 h conditioning sessions. Our results reveal that specific tastants can serve as potent reward or punishment in olfactory associative learning, which reinforces gustatory food preferences. Olfactory learning, therefore, reinforces behavioral resistance of GA cockroaches to sugar-containing toxic baits. Cockroaches may also generalize their olfactory learning to baits that contain the same or similar attractive odors even if they do not contain glucose.
Modifying emissions scenario projections to account for the effects of COVID-19: protocol for CovidMIP

Abstract. Lockdowns to avoid the spread of COVID-19 have created an unprecedented reduction in human emissions. While the country-level scale of emissions changes can be estimated in near real time, the more detailed, gridded emissions estimates that are required to run general circulation models (GCMs) of the climate will take longer to collect. In this paper we use recorded and projected country-and-sector activity levels to modify gridded predictions from the MESSAGE-GLOBIOM SSP2-4.5 scenario. We provide updated projections for concentrations of greenhouse gases, emissions fields for aerosols, and precursors and the ozone and optical properties that result from this. The code base to perform similar modifications to other scenarios is also provided. We outline the means by which these results may be used in a model intercomparison project (CovidMIP) to investigate the impact of national lockdown measures on climate, including regional temperature, precipitation, and circulation changes. This includes three strands: an assessment of short-term effects (5-year period) and of longer-term effects (30 years) and an investigation into the separate effects of changes in emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols. This last strand supports the possible attribution of observed changes in the climate system; hence these simulations will also form part of the Detection and Attribution Model Intercomparison Project (DAMIP).
Anisotropic ultrahigh hole mobility in two-dimensional penta-SiC2 by strain-engineering: electronic structure and chemical bonding analysis

Monolayer pentagonal silicon dicarbide is a 2D material composed entirely of pentagons, and it possesses novel electronic properties possibly leading to many potential applications. In this paper, using first-principles calculations, we have systematically investigated the electronic, mechanical and transport properties of monolayer penta-SiC2 by strain-engineering. By applying in-plane tensile or compressive strain, it is possible to modulate the physical properties of monolayer penta-SiC2, which subsequently changes the transport behaviour of the carriers. More interestingly, at room temperature, the uniaxial compressive strain of −8% along the a-direction can enhance the hole mobility of monolayer penta-SiC2 along the b-direction by almost three orders of magnitude up to 1.14 × 106 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is much larger than that of graphene, while similar strains have little influence on the electron mobility. The ultrahigh and strain-modulated carrier mobility in monolayer penta-SiC2 may lead to many novel applications in high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices.
Oleuropein-Rich Leaf Extract as a Broad Inhibitor of Tumour and Macrophage iNOS in an Apc Mutant Rat Model

Oleuropein, the major compound found in olive leaves, has been reported to exert numerous pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-cancer effects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, for the first time, the effect of oleuropein-rich leaf extracts (ORLE) in already-developed colon tumours arising in Apc (adenomatous polyposis coli) mutated PIRC rats (F344/NTac-Apcam1137). Here, we were able to investigate in parallel the anti-cancer effect of ORLE, both in vivo and in vitro, and its anti-inflammatory effect on macrophages, representing a critical and abundant population in most solid tumour microenvironment. We found that in vivo ORLE treatment promoted apoptosis and attenuated iNOS activity both in colon tumours as in peritoneal macrophages of PIRC rats. We this confirmed in vitro using primary RAW264.7 cells: ORLE reduced iNOS activity in parallel with COX-2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β, IL-6 and TGF-β. These findings suggest that ORLE possess a strong anti-inflammatory activity, which could be crucial for dampening the pro-tumourigenic activity elicited by a chronic inflammatory state generated by either tumour cells or tumour-associated macrophages.
Isolationand Characterization of Nanocrystal from Corncob Waste Using H2SO4 Hydrolysis Method

Corncob is one of the industrial waste has cellulose content of 39.1 wt%, which makes it has high potential to be a raw material in the production of cellulose nanocrystal. Corncob was delignificated with 3.5 wt% HNO3 and NaNO2 10 mg, precipitated process with 17.5 wt% NaOH, and bleached with 10 wt% H2O2. Cellulose nanocrystal was obtained by hydrolysis using 45 wt% H2SO4. Corncob and cellulose nanocrystal was characterized by Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) and showed that the absorption peak indicated the presence of cellulose clusters was obtained from corncob and cellulose nanocrystal has many similarities and there was no new bond formation. Cellulose nanocrystal particle size was observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and the result showed the size of cellulose nanocrystal was 9-29 nm. Crystallinity index of cellulose nanocrystal from corncob determined by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) was 70%. This showed the atomic structure of cellulose nanocrystal quite regular so obtained a high crystallinity index. doi: 10.5829/ije.2018. 31.04a. 03
Deep ensembles based on Stochastic Activations for Semantic Segmentation

Semantic segmentation is a very popular topic in modern computer vision and it has applications to many fields. Researchers proposed a variety of architectures over time, but the most common ones exploit an encoder-decoder structure that aims to capture the semantics of the image and it low level features. The encoder uses convolutional layers, in general with a stride larger than one, to extract the features, while the decoder recreates the image by upsampling an using skip connections with the first layers. In this work, we use DeepLab as architecture to test the effectiveness of creating an ensemble of networks by randomly changing the activation functions inside the network multiple times. We also use different backbone networks in our DeepLab to validate our findings. We manage to reach a dice coefficient of 0.888, and a mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) of 0.825, in the competitive Kvasir-SEG dataset. Results in skin detection also confirm the performance of the proposed ensemble, which is ranked first with respect to other state-of-the-art approaches (including HardNet) in a large set of testing datasets. The developed code will be available at https://github.com/LorisNanni.
Alterations in Brain Cannabinoid Receptor Levels Are Associated with HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders in the ART Era: Implications for Therapeutic Strategies Targeting the Endocannabinoid System

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) persist despite the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART), suggesting underlying systemic and central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory mechanisms. The endogenous cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2) modulate inflammatory gene expression and play an important role in maintaining neuronal homeostasis. Cannabis use is disproportionately high among people with HIV (PWH) and may provide a neuroprotective effect for those on ART due to its anti-inflammatory properties. However, expression profiles of CB1 and CB2 in the brains of PWH on ART with HAND have not been reported. In this study, biochemical and immunohistochemical analyses were performed to determine CB1 and CB2 expression in the brain specimens of HAND donors. Immunoblot revealed that CB1 and CB2 were differentially expressed in the frontal cortices of HAND brains compared to neurocognitively unimpaired (NUI) brains of PWH. CB1 expression levels negatively correlated with memory and information processing speed. CB1 was primarily localized to neuronal soma in HAND brains versus a more punctate distribution of neuronal processes in NUI brains. CB1 expression was increased in cells with glial morphology and showed increased colocalization with an astroglial marker. These results suggest that targeting the endocannabinoid system may be a potential therapeutic strategy for HAND.
Visitors’ Attitudes Toward Non-Human Primates in a Free-Roaming Multi-Species Sanctuary (Monkeyland, South Africa)

The aim of the present study is to investigate themes related to visitors’ perceptions of captive 10 wildlife in particular, attitudes towards non-human primates (henceforth, primates). This 11 research took place in free-roaming, multi-species primate sanctuary, Monkeyland (South 12 Africa), where 400 visitors were interviewed using an anonymous survey both before and after 13 attending a guided tour. The answers were divided into different categories, in order to 14 standardize the motivations behind tourists’ choices. The results of the survey demonstrated 15 that most visitors agree that a primate would not be a good companion animal. Visitors’ desire 16 to touch primates was found to be positively correlated with desire for companion primates and 17 inversely associated with visitor age. In response to: “would you like to touch a monkey? ”, the 18 majority of tourists who expressed this desire seemed aware that such interactions are not 19 appropriate, with concern for animal welfare and human health. Of the various primate species 20 present in the sanctuary, visitors preferred the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) and, generally 21 speaking, expressed appreciation for primates’ “cuteness”. Our results indicate a general 22 awareness by the visitors on the importance of animal welfare in the human interactions with 23 captive wildlife, in agreement with the “hands-off” policy of Monkeyland primate sanctuary. 24 We discuss the findings from a general to zooanthropological point of view, proposing some 25 reflections on the attitudes of visitors toward non-human primates. 26 27
Random Mobility Models for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks and their One-Dimensional Analysis

In the analysis of wireless ad hoc networks, mobility models that are general enough to capture the major characteristics of a realistic movement proﬁle, and yet are simple enough to mathematically formulate its long-run behavior, are highly desirable. In this paper, we propose a generalized random mobility model capable of capturing several mobility scenarios and give a mathematical framework for its exact analysis over one-dimensional mobility terrains. The model provides the ﬂexibility to capture hotspots where mobiles accumulate with higher probability and spend more time. The selection process of hotspots is random and correlations between the consecutive hotspot decisions can be successfully modeled. Additionally, the speed of movement can be a function of distance that is being traveled. Our solution framework formulates the model as a semi-Markov process using a special discretization technique. We provided long-run location and speed distributions by closed-form expressions for one-dimensional regions.