Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Hybrid of Amodiaquine and Primaquine Linked by Gold(I) Is a Multistage Antimalarial Agent Targeting Heme Detoxification and Thiol Redox Homeostasis

Hybrid-based drugs linked through a transition metal constitute an emerging concept for Plasmodium intervention. To advance the drug design concept and enhance the therapeutic potential of this class of drugs, we developed a novel hybrid composed of quinolinic ligands amodiaquine (AQ) and primaquine (PQ) linked by gold(I), named [AuAQPQ]PF6. This compound demonstrated potent and efficacious antiplasmodial activity against multiple stages of the Plasmodium life cycle. The source of this activity was thoroughly investigated by comparing parasite susceptibility to the hybrid’s components, the annotation of structure–activity relationships and studies of the mechanism of action. The activity of [AuAQPQ]PF6 for the parasite’s asexual blood stages was influenced by the presence of AQ, while its activity against gametocytes and pre-erythrocytic parasites was influenced by both quinolinic components. Moreover, the coordination of ligands to gold(I) was found to be essential for the enhancement of potency, as suggested by the observation that a combination of quinolinic ligands does not reproduce the antimalarial potency and efficacy as observed for the metallic hybrid. Our results indicate that this gold(I) hybrid compound presents a dual mechanism of action by inhibiting the beta-hematin formation and enzymatic activity of thioredoxin reductases. Overall, our findings support the potential of transition metals as a dual chemical linker and an antiplasmodial payload for the development of hybrid-based drugs.
Team AutoMinuters @ AutoMin 2021: Leveraging state-of-the-art Text Summarization model to Generate Minutes using Transfer Learning

This paper presents our submission for the first shared task of automatic minuting (AutoMin@Interspeech 2021). The shared task consists of one main task generate minutes from the given meeting transcript. For this challenge, we leveraged state-of-art text summarization models to generate minutes us-ing the transfer learning approach. We also provide an empirical analysis of our proposed method with other text summarization approaches. We evaluate our system submission quantitatively with 33% BERTscore and 11.6 % ROUGE L, which is relatively higher than the average submission in the shared task. Along with the qualitative evaluation, we also vouch for quantitative assessment, where we achieve (2.32, 2.64, 2.52) scores out of five for adequacy, grammatical correctness, and fluency. For the other two tasks, we use Jaccard and cosine text similarity metrics for a given transcript-minute pair corresponding to the same meeting (Task B) and if a given pair of meeting minutes belong to the same meeting (Task C). However, our simple approach yielded 94.8 % (task B) and 92.3% (task C), clearly outperforming most submissions in the challenge. We make our codebase release here https://github. com/mahajanparth19/Automin_Submission .
Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of the Urban Building Environment in Nablus, Palestine

ABSTRACT This article describes a specifically developed framework to produce a seismic physical vulnerability model of residential buildings in Nablus (Palestine) within the European project SASPARM2.0. Based on the structural taxonomy of the territory, two different forms were defined to collect geometrical and structural data of buildings by different stakeholders (citizens and practitioners). This data was then employed to produce fragility curves using the mechanics-based procedure SP-BELA. To estimate seismic risk, the developed fragility model was combined with a hazard curve for the corresponding location. The described procedure is implemented in a WebGIS platform that allows to georeference and assess the surveyed buildings and define retrofitting strategies. Finally, the article carries out a comparison between the fragility curves of buildings in Nablus and the ones calculated for similar building typologies within a UNDP Jordan project aiming at the integrated risk assessment in Wadi Musa and surroundings.
A Paternal Fish Oil Diet Preconception Modulates the Gut Microbiome and Attenuates Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Neonatal Mice

Epidemiology and animal studies suggest that a paternal history of toxicant exposure contributes to the developmental origins of health and disease. Using a mouse model, our laboratory previously reported that a paternal history of in utero exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) increased his offspring’s risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Additionally, our group and others have found that formula supplementation also increases the risk of NEC in both humans and mice. Our murine studies revealed that intervening with a paternal fish oil diet preconception eliminated the TCDD-associated outcomes that are risk factors for NEC (e.g., intrauterine growth restriction, delayed postnatal growth, and preterm birth). However, the efficacy of a paternal fish oil diet in eliminating the risk of disease development in his offspring was not investigated. Herein, reproductive-age male mice exposed to TCDD in utero were weaned to a standard or fish oil diet for one full cycle of spermatogenesis, then mated to age-matched unexposed females. Their offspring were randomized to a strict maternal milk diet or a supplemental formula diet from postnatal days 7–10. Offspring colon contents and intestines were collected to determine the onset of gut dysbiosis and NEC. We found that a paternal fish oil diet preconception reduced his offspring’s risk of toxicant-driven NEC, which was associated with a decrease in the relative abundance of the Firmicutes phylum, but an increase in the relative abundance of the Negativicutes class.
Large Language Models are not Models of Natural Language: they are Corpus Models.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) has become one of the leading application areas in the current Artificial Intelligence boom. Transfer learning has enabled large deep learning neural networks trained on the language modeling task to vastly improve performance in almost all language tasks. Interestingly, when the models are trained with data that includes software code, they demonstrate remarkable abilities in generating functioning computer code from natural language specifications. We argue that this creates a conundrum for claims that neural models provide an alternative theory to generative phrase structure grammarsin explaining how language works. Since the acceptable syntax of programming languages is determined by phrase structure grammars, successful neural models are apparently uninformative about the theoretical foundations of programming languages, and by extension, natural languages. We argue that the term language model is misleading because deep learning models are not theoretical models of language and propose the adoption of corpus model instead, which better reflects the genesis and contents of the model.
Green Technique for the Extraction of Acid Soluble Collagen from Basa Fish (Pangasianodon hypothalmus)

Basa fish (Pangasianodon hypopthalmus) is the top fifth most consumed fish in Thailand. The production of Basa fish generates a large number of by-products. Nowadays, most of these residues are recovered as animal feedstocks or fertilizer. However, it is interesting to explore another choice of waste management practice such as the recovery of valuable material. This study aimed to extract collagen from the skin and bone of Basa fish (Pangasianodon hypopthalmus) by using a green solvent. Two extraction methods were carried out. First, the conventional extraction was conducted by using acetic acid and compared with the physical extraction which employed water acidified with carbon dioxide. Conventional extraction was conducted using 0.75 M acetic acid at 4oC and solid-liquid ratio 1:40 (w/v). The physical extraction using water acidified by carbon dioxide was conducted at 37oC, 10 bars and solid-liquid ratio 1:40 (w/v). The extraction time of each technique was varied from 3 to 24 hours. The FTIR results confirmed the presence of amide A, amide B, amide I, amide II, and amide III of the extracted collagen obtained from these two techniques. When using fish skin and bone as raw material, the physical extraction technique increased the yield of dry weight collagen by 8 times and 7 times, respectively. Additionally, the physical extraction could shorten the processing time (from pretreatment until freeze-drying) by 56 hours.
Banking proximity and firm performance. The role of small businesses, community banks and the credit cycle

ABSTRACT This article analyses the link between banking geography and firm performance, i.e. whether the proximity within banks and between banks and borrowers has a positive impact on firms’ Returns on Assets (ROA). Using a unique dataset of Italian manufacturing firms and banks from 2006 to 2011 and an instrumental variable approach to account for endogeneity, we investigate whether this effect increases with the presence of community banks and small businesses and whether the relationship changes over the credit boom and bust, which preceded and followed the Lehman Brothers collapse.We show that geographical proximity matters for firm performance especially when the presence of community banks is high and when considering small (micro) firms. During the credit boom, both functional distance and operational proximity seem to matter, whereas, during the credit crunch, operational proximity has a more relevant role compared to functional distance in becoming an important driver to increase firm’s performance.
Comparison of Selenium-Enriched Lactobacillus paracasei, Selenium-Enriched Yeast, and Selenite for the Alleviation of DSS-Induced Colitis in Mice

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been found to have decreased immune function. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that is beneficial for human health, which has a significant stimulating effect on immune function. We compared the effects of different Se forms on the alleviation of colitis in DSS-induced mice. Moreover, we also aimed to determine whether Se-enriched Lactobacillus paracasei CCFM 1089 could be used as a new organic Se supplement. Different Se supplements (Se-enriched L. paracasei CCFM 1089, Se-enriched yeast and sodium selenite) were given to Se-deficient mice suffering from colitis. Se-enriched L. paracasei CCFM 1089, which is based on selenocysteine (SeCys), had similar effects in terms of reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting pro-inflammatory factors to Se-enriched yeast; however, selenase activity in the Se-enriched L. paracasei CCFM 1089-treated mice was higher than that in other treatment groups. In addition, Se-enriched L. paracasei CCFM 1089 could better protect the intestinal mucosa, which increased the expression of tight junction proteins (ZO-1 and occludin) in mice. Thus Se-enriched L. paracasei CCFM 1089 was shown to alleviate IBD, suggesting that it has potential as a good organic Se supplement.
Development of Olive Oil and α-Tocopherol Containing Emulsions Stabilized by FucoPol: Rheological and Textural Analyses

Biobased raw materials like natural polysaccharides are increasingly sought by the cosmetic industry for their valuable properties. Such biodegradable and usually non-cytotoxic biopolymers are commonly used in skin-care products as rheological modifiers, bioemulsifiers and/or bioactive ingredients. FucoPol is a natural polysaccharide with reported biocompatibility, emulsion-forming and stabilizing capacity, shear-thinning behavior and bioactivity (e.g., antioxidant capacity, wound healing ability) that potentiate its utilization in skin-care products. In this study, olive oil and α-tocopherol containing emulsions were stabilized with FucoPol. Although the presence of α-tocopherol negatively impacted the emulsions’ stability, it increased their emulsification index (EI). Moreover, FucoPol outperformed the commercial emulsifier Sepigel® 305, under the tested conditions, with higher EI and higher stability under storage for 30 days. The formulation of FucoPol-based emulsions with olive oil and α-tocopherol was studied by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) that allowed the definition of the ingredients’ content to attain high emulsification. The RSM model established that α-tocopherol concentration had no significant impact on the EI within the tested ranges, with optimal emulsification for FucoPol concentration in the range 0.7–1.2 wt. % and olive oil contents of 20–30 wt. %. Formulations with 25 wt. % olive oil and either 0.5 or 2.0 wt. % α-tocopherol were emulsified with 1.0 wt. % or 0.7 wt. % FucoPol, respectively, resulting in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. The emulsions had similar shear-thinning behavior, but the formulation with higher FucoPol content displayed higher apparent viscosity, higher consistency, as well as higher firmness, adhesiveness and cohesiveness, but lower spreadability. These findings show FucoPol’s high performance as an emulsifier for olive oil/α-tocopherol, which are supported by an effective impact on the physicochemical and structural characteristics of the emulsions. Hence, this natural polysaccharide is a potential alternative to other emulsifiers.
Characteristics of colloid silver solution based on changes in concentration and electric field using electrooptic equipment

Research on the characteristics of colloidal silver solutions based on changes in concentration and electric field using electrooptic devices has been carried out. The purposes of this study was to determine the characteristic of colloidal silver solution based on variations in concentration and electrooptic effects. Electrooptics work based on changes in the polarization angle of the sample. The sample used is a colloidal silver solution with various concentrations. The colloidal silver solution was obtained by laser ablation method and then dissolved in aquabidest. The light source used is a laser pointer with = 532 nm. The electric field applied to the sample is 0-9 kV. The results showed that colloidal silver solution at an angle of 0º showed active plasmon resonance at the peak of polarization with concentrations of 1.9 ppm, 2.28 ppm, and 3.8 ppm. An angle of 90º also shows active plasmon resonance at the peak of polarization with a concentration of 3.8 ppm. From the results, it can be concluded that the characteristics of colloidal silver solution on change in the polarization angle due to an electric field show non-linier properties with increasing concentration.
Lighting system design according to different standards in office building: A technical and economic evaluations

Lighting system is an important sub-system in office buildings. A good design can contribute energy saving and visual comfort to occupants. This paper presents a comparison of lighting system design according to different standards: European Standard EN12464-1 and Malaysian Standard MS1525 in terms of average illuminance level and illuminance uniformity. In the design, the illuminance measurement is according to the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and the European Standard EN12464-1. Three types of luminaires are considered which are: T8, T5 and light emitting diode (LED) lamps. The technical and economic evaluations are taken into account in this paper. The technical evaluations are considered the number of luminaires, average illuminance level and illuminance uniformity. The energy consumption (EC) and lighting energy numeric indicator (LENI) are considered according to the European Standard EN15193. Meanwhile, the economic evaluation involves billings and luminaires costs and billing savings. The case study is an office room and it is modelled and simulated using DIALux software. The results show that the design according to the European Standard EN12464-1 with uniformity based method that used T5 lamps had contributed to the highest number of luminaires and costs. Whereas, the design according to the Malaysian Standard MS1525 with illuminance level based method that used LED lamps had contributed to the lowest number of luminaires and costs. Thus it can provide the higher billing savings. It can be concluded the LED has great potential to replace T8 and T5 lamps.
Particle Agglomeration of Acid-Modified Tapioca Starches: Characterization and Use as Direct Compression Fillers in Tablets

Acid-modified tapioca starches (AMTSs) possessed good compressibility but showed poor particle flowability for preparing tablets by the direct compression method. The aims of this work were to prepare and characterize AMTS agglomerates using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as an agglomerating agent. The dilution potential and stability studies of the AMTS agglomerates were investigated. The results showed that particle enlargement of TS and AMTS could be achieved via agglomeration using PVP. The thermal behavior and molecular interaction of the agglomerates were revealed using DSC and FTIR spectroscopy, respectively. An increase in PVP concentrations resulted in greater particle strength of the TS agglomerates and a higher acid concentration for modification enhanced the strength of the AMTS agglomerates. All agglomerates presented good particle flowability. Moreover, the AMTS agglomerates provided higher compressibility hardness than the TS agglomerates. The addition of PVP could extend the disintegration time and slow drug dissolution from the agglomerate tablets. The humidity of the storage conditions influenced the thickness and hardness of the AMTS agglomerate tablets, and good physical and chemical stability of the tablets was obtained under ambient conditions and in the refrigerator. Furthermore, the AMTS agglomerates displayed good carrying capacity and possessed desirable characteristics for use in direct compression tablets.
Recent Advances in the Use of Molecular Methods for the Diagnosis of Bacterial Infections

Infections caused by bacteria have a major impact on public health-related morbidity and mortality. Despite major advances in the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections, the latter continue to represent a significant economic and social burden worldwide. The WHO compiled a list of six highly virulent multidrug-resistant bacteria named ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) responsible for life-threatening diseases. Taken together with Clostridioides difficile, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter spp. , (C. jejuni and C. coli), Legionella spp. , Salmonella spp. , and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, all of these microorganisms are the leading causes of nosocomial infections. The rapid and accurate detection of these pathogens is not only important for the early initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy, but also for resolving outbreaks and minimizing subsequent antimicrobial resistance. The need for ever-improving molecular diagnostic techniques is also of fundamental importance for improving epidemiological surveillance of bacterial infections. In this review, we aim to discuss the recent advances on the use of molecular techniques based on genomic and proteomic approaches for the diagnosis of bacterial infections. The advantages and limitations of each of the techniques considered are also discussed.
Scientific Evidence about the Risks of Micro and Nanoplastics (MNPLs) to Human Health and Their Exposure Routes through the Environment

Nowadays, a large amount and variety of plastic is being produced and consumed by human beings on an enormous scale. Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPLs) have become ubiquitous since they can be found in many ecosystem components. Plastic particles can be found in soil, water, and air. The routes of human exposure are numerous, mainly involving ingestion and inhalation. Once ingested, these particles interact with the gastrointestinal tract and digestive fluids. They can adsorb substances such as additives, heavy metals, proteins, or even microorganisms on their surface, which can cause toxicity. During inhalation, they can be inhaled according to their respective sizes. Studies have reported that exposure to MNPLs can cause damage to the respiratory tract, creating problems such as bronchitis, asthma, fibrosis, and pneumothorax. The reports of boards and committees indicate that there is little data published and available on the toxicity of MNPLs as well as the exposure levels in humans. Despite the well-established concept of MNPLs, their characteristics, and presence in the environment, little is known about their real effects on human health and the environment.
Viral paradox: The intersection of “me too” and #MeToo

Scholarship on #MeToo has examined the feminist underpinnings of the movement and affordances of digital platforms to create space for telling stories of sexual harassment and violence. This essay makes a different contribution, in that we seek to understand the impact of the viral version of #MeToo on the established primarily Black community developed by Tarana Burke. In this essay, we use the framework of intersectionality and organizational paradox to examine the differences in the social construction of the two versions of the movement. The framework of intersectionality allows us to examine how the viral version of #MeToo perpetuated by Alyssa Milano reified the social construction of inequalities and interlocking systems of oppression for Black and other women of color. The article examines the effects of Milano’s entrance into the “me too” space on the community built through Burke’s “me too” movement. We identify an illumination/occlusion paradox that creates the illusion of inclusivity, creates difficulty in community boundary management, and allows for outsider gaze into a previously safe space. We argue for moving beyond the considerations of assigning credit for the movement and instead consider the impacts of the paradox of the original community experiencing erasure through the abrupt and swift increased visibility of the hashtag.
Novel Magnetic Polymeric Filters with Laccase-Based Nanoparticles for Improving Congo Red Decolorization in Bioreactors

In this work, five different magnetic biofilters, containing magnetic nanoparticles (142 nm), immobilized laccase on nanoparticles (190 nm) and permanent magnetic elements, such as neodymium magnets and metallic meshes, were designed, manufactured and tested. The five types of filters were compared by measuring the decolorization of Congo Red dye inside bioreactors, the half-life of the filters and the amount of magnetic nanoparticle and enzyme lost during multiple cycles of operation. Filters containing laccase immobilized on magnetite (Laccase-magnetite), permanent magnets and metallic mesh presented the highest Congo Red decolorization (27%) and the largest half-life among all types of filters (seven cycles). The overall dye decolorization efficiencies were 5%, 13%, 17%, 23%, and 27% for the paper filter, paper filter with magnetite, paper filter with Laccase-magnetite, paper filter with Laccase-magnetite with magnets and paper filter with Laccase-magnetite with magnets and metallic mesh, respectively. Although the highest losses of magnetite occurred when using the filters containing magnets (57 mg), the use of permanent magnetic elements in the filters increased the half-life of the filter three-fold compared to the filters without enzymatic properties and two-fold compared to the filters with Laccase-magnetite. Results indicate that the novel use of permanent magnetic elements improved the nanoparticle retention in the filters and promoted the mass transfer between the dye and the biocatalyst to enhance wastewater treatment.