Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microglia-to-astrocyte communication modulates synaptic and cerebrovascular functions following traumatic brain injury

Activation of microglia and astrocytes contributes to synaptic remodeling, tissue repair and neuronal survival following traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the consequences of the interaction between both glial cell types in rewiring neuronal networks and repairing brain functions remains poorly understood. Here, we explored how microglia-induced astrocyte activation modified synapses and cerebrovascular integrity following TBI. Calcium imaging experiments from brain slices revealed increased number of active astrocytes responding with spontaneous Ca2+ events surrounding the injury at 1 d.a.i. These changes correlated with an increase in astrocytic GFAP-reactivity and microglia activation. Blocking microglia activation with the TLR4-blocker TAK242 reduced both the number of active and reactive astrocytes, suggesting a role for microglia in mediating astrocyte excitability. To determine the physiological consequences of microglia-induced astrocyte activation, we first quantified the number of synaptic puncta in TBI-mice treated with the TLR4-blocker. PSD-95/VGlut-1 staining showed that TAK-treatment reduced by half the synaptic loss observed in TBI-mice. Similar effects were also observed in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity, in which blockage of microglia decreased Evans Blue extravasation, an indicative of preserved BBB. The acute effects of microglia inhibition on synapses and BBB were not observed in IP3R2-/- mice, indicating that the microglial effects depend on the subsequent astrocyte activation. In addition, acute TBI increases the release of the astrocytic-protein thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) that seems to be necessary to modulate synaptic puncta in a sub-acute phase. Together, our data demonstrate that microglia-to-astrocyte communication plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of TBI and that its inhibition prevents the synaptic loss and BBB damage accelerating the recovery/repair of damaged tissue. Overall, our data indicates that targeting the microglia-astrocyte crosstalk might represent a therapeutic potential in CNS injuries and disorders.
SME Growth in a Recession: What Does a Growing Business Tell?

This article talks about growing small businesses in a recession and examines management strategies that made the company grow. Recessionary periods are accepted tough for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to survive and grow, yet some do. SME performance is discussed associating with different factors including barriers, business characteristics, owner-manager lifestyle and networks. Prior studies have a significant contribution in exploring aggregate SME growth phenomena, but there is a little understanding of how SMEs grow in the recessionary periods. This study used a pluralist methodology with the participant action research as a primary approach, case study as a design and mix-method strategy to collect and analyse data. The research is dominant by qualitative research where such data were collected from a series of informal interviews and observation. Similarly, quantitative data such as business records and financial information were gathered from primary and secondary sources. The case study firm implemented two management strategies: learning in the organisation and restructuring the organisation to achieve growth during the recession of 2008-2009. Even though the precise impact of these strategies is challenging to establish, both learning and restructuring strategies were making the firm grow in the recession of 2008-2009. Since SMEs operate in a context, any “ready-to-use” and “one-size-fits-all” strategies and advice do not help individual businesses grow. This paper will be of interest to all the people who are involved in making the SMEs grow in recessionary periods.
Specialty choice among dental students in Ibadan, Nigeria

Background. The unequal distribution of workforce across dental specialties in Nigeria poses a significant problem in the delivery of specialists’ oral healthcare to the Nigerian population. Objectives. To determine dental specialties preferences among dental students at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and to explore the factors that influence their choices. Methods. We obtained ethical approval to conduct this study. Only the dental students who rotated through all the dental specialties were selected to participate in this questionnaire-based study. Data were analysed using SPSS version 16 (SPSS Inc., USA). Results. The majority of dental students at the University of Ibadan preferred the oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) specialty above all other dental specialties, while prosthetic dentistry was least preferred. Of all the factors to take into consideration when choosing a dental specialty, personal interest was the only factor considered by nearly all respondents. Only male respondents considered prestige as an influencing factor in their choice of a specialty. Lifestyle and job description were factors considered by a higher proportion of the male respondents (10/13) than females (5/14). The mean age of the 27 respondents who participated in this study was 22.6 years, 52% of whom were females. Conclusion. OMS was the most preferred specialty among our respondents (n=8). Nearly all dental students chose residency training in the specialty that most appealed to them. The interest of dental students towards the least appealing dental specialties needs to be developed to solve the problem of skewed distribution of the dental workforce in Nigeria. Our findings suggest that this may be accomplished by changing dental students’ perceptions of certain specialties, building on male students’ interests in job security and private practice potential, and the female students’ interests in family-friendly specialties and increasing flexibility in dental residency programmes.
Organizational Issues in Olympic Games: a Systematic Review

The purpose of this study is to extend previous research on organizational issues of sport megaevents through the development of a framework for the Olympic Games. A three-step approach was taken. Firstly, a systematic literature review was conducted based on journal articles, academic books, and official reports published by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Games Organizing Committees (OGOC). Secondly, the issues identified within the media regarding the 2016 Olympic Games were analyzed. Lastly, semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 stakeholders to further examine the organizational issues of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. A new extended conceptual framework of organizational issues associated with the Olympic Games is then proposed. Issue categories faced by the organizing committee include politics, marketing, media and visibility, financial, planning, negotiation and ethics, operations, infrastructure, human resources, social, environmental, and legacy. These 12 dimensions of organizational issues account for a total of 76 specific issues. The article provides critical information to aid the IOC and OGOCs in understanding organizational issues that may arise in future of Olympic Games.
Homogenization of a locally periodic time-dependent domain

We consider the homogenization of a Robin boundary value problem in a locally periodic perforated domain which is also time-dependent. We aim at justifying the homogenization limit, that we derive through asymptotic expansion technique. More exactly, we obtain the so-called corrector homogenization estimate that specifies the convergence rate. The major challenge is that the media is not cylindrical and changes over time. We also show the existence and uniqueness of solutions of the microscopic problem.
The impact of baryonic astrophysics and intrinsic alignments on dark energy and neutrino constraints in cosmology

In the early 2020s, cosmology will enter an era of unprecedented precision when the next generation of large scale structure surveys begin receiving data. As a result, it is expected that stronger constraints on major features of cosmology like dark energy and massive neutrinos are forthcoming. The former could help to favour an explanation for the present accelerated expansion of the Universe, while the latter has the potential to enhance our understanding of a prominent intersection between particle physics and cosmology. However, there are many systematics that must be accounted for in parameter forecasts. One of the most prominent theoretical cases is the influence of baryonic astrophysics on large scale structure (e.g., AGN and supernova feedback, adiabatic contraction etc.) and the effect that marginalising over a limited theoretical understanding of the associated phenomena will have on forecasts. This question is one of the core concerns of this thesis. It will be applied respectively in Chapters 3, 4 and 5 to constraints on dynamical dark energy, the neutrino mass sum and a possible coupling between dark energy and dark matter. While forecasts are the primary focus here, much of this work has implications for parameter inference more broadly, and could be used to inform the direction that model building or simulation development should take in pursuit of the goal of more accurate parameter constraints. The key statistics used here to probe the growth of structure derive from the power spectrum of matter overdensities. This permits the use of both weak gravitational lensing of light from background sources by foreground objects, and galaxy clustering. The former requires accounting for the intrinsic alignments of ellipticities and shears, a systematic examined in depth for its impact on forecasts. This thesis presents Fisher analyses using weak lensing and galaxy clustering probes for parameter forecasts for a Euclid-like survey. The approach here to modelling the baryonic phenomena is to adopt a generic treatment of their global redistribution of the dark matter content in haloes, via energy transfer to their surroundings. Different baryonic effects are separated into three general but distinct categories: large scale adiabatic contraction caused by radiative cooling; high impact energy transfer from specific, localised sources; and small-scale effects that manifest as inner halo cores. I introduce the inner halo core through analytic modelling. A central tenet of this work is the use of analytic modelling, rather than numerical simulations, in capturing the relevant
Immunohistochemical Expression of p53 and Ki-67 Genes in Gastric Cancer and Precancerous Lesions in the Patients with Helicobacter pylori Infection

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is considered as a carcinogen for gastric mucosa. The mechanism by which H. pylori are involved in gastric carcinogenesis is still unclear. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the effects of H. pylori infection on immunohistochemical expression of p53 and Ki-67 genes in gastric specimens of patients with intestinal metaplasia (IM), dysplasia (DYS) and gastric cancer (GC). Methods: In the study, 42 cases with IM, 38 with DYS and 42 with GC were selected from pathology archive of Ali-ebne-Abitaleb hospital, Zahedan, Iran; p53 and Ki-67 immunohistochemical study was done, accordingly. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare the groups. Level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: In IM specimens, expression of p53 and Ki-67 was significantly higher in the cases with H. pylori infection than those not infected with H. pylori. In DYS specimens, in the group with H. pylori infection, the expression of p53 was significantly higher while expression of Ki-67 was significantly lower than the group without H. pylori infection. In GC specimens, the expression of p53 was significantly higher in the group with H. pylori infection compared to the group without H. pylori infection. Expression of Ki-67 in the specimens with H. pylori infection was not significantly different from those without H. pylori infection. Conclusions: The study results showed that p53 expression increased in IM, DYS and GC cases with H. pylori infection compared to those without H. pylori infection. The results also suggested that, Ki-67 expression was different in precancerous stages of gastric carcinogenesis, based on the infection with H. pylori.
A Population Modelling Approach to Studying Age-Related Effects on Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Human Cardiomyocytes

Ageing is the dominant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. A great body of experimental data has been gathered on cellular remodelling in the Ageing myocardium from animals. Very few experimental data are available on age-related changes in the human cardiomyocyte. We have used our combined electromechanical model of the human cardiomyocyte and the population modelling approach to investigate the variability in the response of cardiomyocytes to age-related changes in the model parameters. To generate the model population, we varied nine model parameters and excluded model samples with biomarkers falling outside of the physiological ranges. We evaluated the response to age-related changes in four electrophysiological model parameters reported in the literature: reduction in the density of the K+ transient outward current, maximal velocity of SERCA, and an increase in the density of NaCa exchange current and CaL-type current. The sensitivity of the action potential biomarkers to individual parameter variations was assessed. Each parameter modulation caused an increase in APD, while the sensitivity of the model to changes in GCaL and Vmax_up was much higher than to those in the effects of Gto and KNaCa. Then 60 age-related sets of the four parameters were randomly generated and each set was applied to every model in the control population. We calculated the frequency of model samples with repolarisation anomalies (RA) and the shortening of the electro-mechanical window in the ageing model populations as an arrhythmogenic ageing score. The linear dependence of the score on the deviation of the parameters showed a high determination coefficient with the most significant impact due to the age-related change in the CaL current. The population-based approach allowed us to classify models with low and high risk of age-related RA and to predict risks based on the control biomarkers.
A prognostic factor (PF) index for overall survival in a HER2-negative endocrine-resistant metastatic breast cancer (MBC) population: Analysis from the ATHENA trial.

555 Background: Chemotherapy is the standard of care for patients (pts) with HER2-negative endocrine-resistant MBC. The considerable variability in overall survival (OS) within this population relates essentially to prognostic factors (PF). Increasingly, large studies based on progression-free survival (PFS) as a primary endpoint are now being questioned. An accurate PF index may help in designing innovative trials with appropriate pts selection according to overall survival (OS) prognosis. Methods: The ATHENA trial assessed the safety of first-line bevacizumab combined with non-anthracycline-containing therapy in 2264 pts treated in 37 countries from 2006 to 2009. Pt characteristics, safety, and efficacy have been reported [Breast Cancer Res Treat 2011;130:133-43]. Sixty-one HER2-positive pts were excluded. A multivariate Cox regression model selected PF generating a simple PF index. Of note, skin, lymph node, ipsi-/contra- breast, or other soft tissue involvement was scored as a single organ. Results: A.
Tunable exceptional point and unidirectional zero reflection of a metabeam using shunted piezos

Exceptional point transmissions and similarly interesting phenomena have recently found broad interest in photonics and acoustics. This is mainly for parity-time symmetric systems, which mostly need external energy. Yet, some attention has been paid to the exceptional points (EPs) in passive beams, but the necessary loss is difficult to engineer. Here, we propose a resonator-based metabeam with shunted piezos that shows EPs and unidirectional zero reflection of flexural waves. For this system, the EPs are conveniently tuned using a shunting resistance and negative capacitance, the latter thought to be an impossibility until just recently. The proposed design can be quite useful in non-destructive testing and structural health monitoring where there is a need to control reflected flexural waves.
Foodservice employees' knowledge on healthy alternative meals

Century living and the nature of being extremely busy has led to individuals eating out more often than they used to. With this trend, a need for healthy balanced meals as well as low-kilojoule meals has also been observed. The objective of the study was to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of foodservice employees on low-kilojoule and healthy balanced meals as alternatives and also to evaluate to what extent food and beverage managers alter menus in order to acknowledge the need to offer healthy balanced meals as well as low-kilojoule meals. An empirical study was conducted which made use of both qualitative and quantitative methods. Self-administered questionnaires were issued to foodservice employees north of Johannesburg and interviews were conducted with their managers. The results of the study showed that restaurant managers were aware of the need and demand for healthy balanced and low kilojoule meals and were willing to alter their menus accordingly. However, it was evident that staff needed to be trained in this regard. It is evident from the study that there is a dire need for the availability of healthy balanced and low kilojoule meals in restaurants as consumer demand for these will continue to grow. Therefore it is recommended that restaurants yield to this drift in order to retain and attract more consumers.
Saline infusion sonography in evaluation of uterine cavity abnormalities in infertility: a comparative study -

Background: Infertility is defined as one year of unprotected intercourse without pregnancy. Female factor is responsible for 40-50% of cases of infertility. Uterine pathologies are the cause of infertility in as many as 15% of couples seeking treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of trans-vaginal sonography (TVS) and saline infusion sonography (SIS) for detection of uterine cavity abnormalities in patients of infertility taking hysteroscopy as gold standard. Methods: A prospective comparative study was done in 60 patients of infertility. Patients were selected from gynaecology OPD of a tertiary care hospital. Patient selected underwent TVS and SIS followed by hysteroscopy for presence of uterine cavity abnormalities. The presence of uterine cavity abnormality and its type (endometrial polyp, submucous myoma, intrauterine synechiae or any other) was noted. The results of TVS and SIS were compared with hysteroscopy. Results: In 60 infertile patients, hysteroscopy revealed intrauterine pathology in 22 patients (36.7%). Among them eight had endometrial polyp and another eight patients had intrauterine synechiae. Submucous myoma was detected in five patients and one patient had thin endometrium. SIS detected eight out of 22 uterine cavity abnormalities indicating sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 36.4%, 100%, 100% and 73.1% respectively. In comparison TVS showed abnormalities in six patients only and thus had sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of 27.35%, 100%, 100% and 70.4 % respectively. Sensitivity of SIS for specific lesion was least for intrauterine synechiae (12.5%) and maximum for submucous myoma (60%). Conclusions: The sensitivity of both TVS and SIS for detection of uterine cavity abnormalities in patients of infertility was low in the present study and they cannot be recommended as replacement for hysteroscopy.
Carotenoid translocation and protein evolution in cyanobacterial photoprotection

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic organisms capable of CO₂ conversion into organic compounds and production of O2 by using light energy. Nevertheless, high light intensities saturate the photosynthetic apparatus leading to production of reactive oxygen species, which are dangerous for the cell. To cope with this, the photoactive Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) induces thermal dissipation of the excess energy harvested by the antenna complex, the phycobilisome (PBS) to decrease the energy arriving at the photochemical centers. The OCP is composed of two domains connected by a flexible linker, the C-terminal domain (CTD) and the N-terminal domain (NTD). During photoactivation, the carotenoid is translocated to the NTD, the domains separate and the NTD is able to interact with the PBS. Three OCP families co-exist (OCPX, OCP1 and OCP2) in modern cyanobacteria. In addition to the OCP, many cyanobacteria also contain homologs of OCP domains, the CTDH and HCP. The HCPs are a family of carotenoid proteins with different photoprotective traits. Most of them are very good singlet oxygen quenchers, and one sub-clade is able to interact with the PBS and to induce thermal energy dissipation like OCP. The role of CTDH was unknown. The presence of these homologs in parallel to the OCP supported the general idea that the OCP has a modular evolutionary origin and that the CTDH and HCP can interact forming an OCP-like complex with similar characteristics and function than the OCP.In this thesis, I present the first characterization of the CTDH proteins. CTDHs are dimers binding a carotenoid molecule. The main role of the CTDH is to transfer its carotenoid to the HCP. In addition, CTDHs are able to uptake carotenoids from membranes but not HCPs. These results strongly suggested that the CTDHs are carotenoid carriers that ensure the proper carotenoid loading into HCPs. This novel carotenoid translocation mechanism could be multidirectional. The resolution of two tridimensional structures of the ApoCTDH from Anabaena showed that the C-terminal tail of the CTDH (CTT) can populate different conformations. Moreover, mutational analysis demonstrated that the CTT has an essential role in carotenoid translocation. Finally, I report a molecular characterization of the flexible linker connecting the domains of different modern OCPs and its role during the evolution of the OCP. First, I characterized OCPs from the three subclades, including the uncharacterized OCPX. OCPX and OCP2 present a fast deactivation compared with OCP1. While OCP1 and OCPX can dimerize, OCP2 is stable as monomer. Finally, I found that the linker is essential for the OCP deactivation and it regulates the photoactivation. In OCP1 and OCPX the linker slows down the photoactivation, while in OCP2 it increases the photoactivation rate. Bioinformatic analysis complements this characterization and provides a clear picture of the evolution of the OCP to respond efficiently to stress conditions.
Prediction of resin pocket geometry around rigid fiber inclusion in composite laminate by hot-pressing of prepregs

In this paper, two analytic methods are presented to predict the geometry of resin pockets formed around rigid fiber inclusions at the interlayer of unidirectional prepregs. The bending strain energy is calculated on fiber scale in one method, while it is calculated on layer scale in the other method. For the fiber scale method, several fibers in thickness direction are tied together to account for the bending stiffness increase caused by the interaction between fibers. And for the layer scale method, a single ply is divided into several sublayers to account for the bending stiffness decrease caused by the sliding between adjacent fibers. Both analytic methods can provide the closed-form solution for the resin pocket width, and the analytic results agree well with experimental results. The physical consistency of two methods is proved. It is found that the resin pocket size depends mainly on ply angles of the plies close to the inclusion, and the stacking sequence has some effect.