Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Photochemical Treatment of wastewaters

In the present work, chemical/photochemical processes, specifically, Fenton and Fenton-like reactions were employed to treat a leachate from the municipal solid waste landfill of Astana (Kazakhstan). Each experiment lasted 120 minutes, and the treatment efficiency was assessed through total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), total nitrogen (TN) and colour removal. An annular UV (254 nm) photoreactor operated in a batch recycle mode was used. The total volume of the solution was 250 mL, and the irradiated volume in the photoreactor was 56.8 mL. The effect of inorganic carbon, pH, initial H2O2 amount (0-9990 mg L), Fe(II) (200-600 ppm) and Fe(III) (300-700 ppm) concentrations on total carbon and colour removal was studied. The landfill leachate had initial carbon concentration equal to 5868 mg L and pH 8.16. The total carbon was by 40-45% inorganic, and nitrogen was 90% inorganic in the ammonium form. Preliminary experiments showed that inorganic carbon acting as hydroxyl radicals scavenger inhibited significantly the photo-Fenton treatment. Without the pretreatment steps only 7.7% TC removal was observed, while 29% TC (equal to TOC) removal was achieved when the inorganic carbon was removed at the pretreatment steps. Therefore, pretreatment process in two steps was applied: continuous air stripping for 24 hours at pH = 12 to remove ammonia and then pH adjustment to 5 to remove inorganic carbon. The pretreated leachate was further diluted with tap water in a ratio of 1/2.4 and sent for
The COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy in Brazil—A Case Study

Brazil is among the countries which have faced two devastating infection waves of COVID-19 in the past year. Despite the fact the country has one of the world’s leading immunization programs, Brazil only slowly established a national COVID-19 vaccination strategy and campaign. This case study is based on an integrative review of primary and secondary literature sources. Different search strategies on Medline and Google Scholar were performed for the case presentation, for the management and outcome of the COVID-19 outbreak and for the state of the COVID-19 vaccination program. Official documents from the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the website of the World Health Organization and pharmaceutical companies were also reviewed. Searches were limited to English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. This article describes the Brazilian COVID-19 vaccination campaign and the drivers and barriers to its implementation; and evaluates further investigations needed to have a conclusive overview over the constantly evolving situation. Healthcare inequalities, which were widened during the pandemic, a lack of coordination at the federal level, the absence of federal government support for scientific research and the lack of endorsement and commitment to the mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic set the country’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign off to a challenging start. However, Brazil had a well-developed primary care system and national vaccination program prior to the pandemic, which are both important facilitators. At the time of writing, six vaccines are currently available in the country, and the program is advancing. The scientific community needs to continue to investigate the country’s vaccination strategy and its implementation to make sure that maximum effort is undertaken for the health of the Brazilian population.
The Impact of HIV Spending on Health Outcomes in Thailand

Background: The Sustainable Development Goals commitment to Ending HIV/AIDS by 2030 requires sustained adequate investment. This study sought to examine the association between HIV/AIDS spending and outcomes in Thailand between 2008 and 2019. Methods: A quantitative secondary data analysis with time-series was conducted using a retrospective dataset of HIV spending and some selected outcomes including the number of people living with HIV (PLHIV), incidence and prevalence of HIV/AIDS, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and AIDS-related deaths. Data were obtained from a diverse set of sources. Descriptive statistics and univariate regression model were used to analyze HIV expenditure and outcomes. Results: HIV spending per PLHIV rose by two folds from $347 in 2008 to more than $600 in 2019, mostly financed by domestic sources. This increase of domestic resources per PLHIV was significantly associated with better HIV-related outcomes especially in the reduction of PLHIV and AIDS-related deaths through increased number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the spending per PLHIV varied across the three public health insurance schemes. Comparison of HIV expenditure and health outcomes across upper-middle-income countries shows Thailand is not highly ranked in terms of spending efficiency despite having made good progress. Conclusion: Domestic financing for HIV programs is indispensable for achieving the goal of ending AIDS. Despite significant improvement in HIV-related outcomes, challenges remain in achieving the 90-90-90 goal. The redesigning of payment methods should be considered to increase the efficiency of HIV financing. Other factors related to strengthening the health system should not be overlooked.
Ethanolic leaf extract of Ipomoea aquatica Forsk
abrogates cisplatin-induced kidney damage in albino rats

Introduction: The efficacy of cisplatin (CPT) is dose dependent, but the risk of nephrotoxicity hinders the use of higher doses to maximize its antineoplastic effect. Ipomoea aquatica Forsk (IA) is a medicinal plant used in folklore for the treatment of many ailments. Objectives: This study assessed the protective effect of the ethanolic leaf extract of I. aquatica (EEIA) against a rat model of CPT-induced kidney damage. Materials and Methods: Fifty-four adult albino rats used for this study were randomized into 9 groups of 6 rats each. Rats were orally pretreated with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of EEIA daily for 7 days and were administered with 6 mg/kg of CPT intraperitoneally (ip) on the fifth and seventh day. On the eighth day, rats were sacrificed, blood was collected, and kidneys were excised. Plasma was extracted from blood and evaluated for renal function indices while kidneys were evaluated for oxidative stress markers and histology. Results: The effects of CPT on the body and kidney weights were not significant (P>0.05) when compared to control. However, CPT-induced kidney damage showed significant (P<0.05) increases in creatinine, urea, uric acid, and malondialdehyde levels when compared to control. Furthermore, significant (P<0.05) decreases in superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, total protein, albumin, sodium, chloride, potassium and bicarbonate levels were obtained in CPT-treated rats when compared to control. The kidneys of CPTtreated rats were marked by extensive tubular necrosis. However, CPT-induced nephrotoxic effects were significantly (P<0.01; 0.05) and in a dose- dependent manner reversed in EEIA pretreated rats. Conclusion: The ethanolic leaf extract of I. aquatica Forsk contains essential constituents that can be used to treat CPT associated kidney injury.
Seasonal and subseasonal wind power characterization and forecasting for the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands: A systematic review

Renewable energy has a key role to play in the transition towards a low‐carbon society. Despite its importance, relatively little attention has been focused on the crucial impact of weather and climate on energy demand and supply, or the generation or operational planning of renewable technologies. In particular, to improve the operation and longer‐term planning of renewables, it is essential to consider seasonal and subseasonal weather forecasting. Unfortunately, reports that focus on these issues are not common in scientific literature. This paper presents a systematic review of the seasonal forecasting of wind and wind power for the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands, a region leading the world in the development of renewable energies (particularly wind) and thus an important illustration in global terms. To this end, we consider the scientific literature published over the last 13 years (2008–2021). An initial search of this literature produced 14,293 documents, but our review suggests that only around 0.2% are actually relevant to our purposes. The results show that the teleconnection patterns (North Atlantic Oscillation [NAO], East Atlantic [EA] and Scandinavian [SCAND]) and the stratosphere are important sources of predictability of winds in the Iberian Peninsula. We conclude that the existing literature in this crucial area is very limited, which points to the need for increased research efforts, that could lead to great returns. Moreover, the approach and methods developed here could be applied to other areas for which systematic reviews might be either useful or necessary.
Thromboembolism and Bleeding in COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by a coagulation dysfunction which has different underlying mechanisms and factors. Patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have an increased risk for thromboembolic and bleeding complications. Incidences are high, and mainly consist of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which significantly contributes to morbidity and mortality in affected patients. Thromboprophylaxis is recommended in all hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Therapeutic doses of antithrombotic agents are only beneficial in noncritically ill patients, and usual care thromboprophylaxis is sufficient in critically ill patients at the ICU. Regarding screening for VTE, high quality evidence is warranted to investigate the significance of asymptomatic DVT in the ICU setting and its influence on PE and mortality.
Reconstruction of the Transcriptional Regulatory Network in Arabidopsis thaliana Aliphatic Glucosinolate Biosynthetic Pathway

Aliphatic glucosinolate is an important secondary metabolite responsible in plant defense mechanism and carcinogenic activity. It plays a crucial role in plant adaptation towards changes in the environment such as salinity and drought. However, in many plant genomes, there are thousands of genes encoding proteins still with putative functions and incomplete annotations. Therefore, the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana was selected to be investigated further to identify any putative genes that are potentially involved in the aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthesis pathway, most of its gene are with incomplete annotation. Known genes for aliphatic glucosinolates were retrieved from KEGG and AraCyc databases. Three co-expression databases i.e., ATTED-II, GeneMANIA and STRING were used to perform the co-expression network analysis. The integrated co-expression network was then being clustered, annotated and visualized using Cytoscape plugin, MCODE and ClueGO. Then, the regulatory network of A. thaliana from AtRegNet was mapped onto the co-expression network to build the transcriptional regulatory network. This study showed that a total of 506 genes were co-expressed with the 61 aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthesis genes. Five transcription factors have been predicted to be involved in the biosynthetic pathway of aliphatic glucosinolate, namely SEPALLATA 3 (SEP3), PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 3-like 5 (AtbHLH15/PIL5), ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5), AGAMOUS-like 15 (AGL15) and GLABRA 3 (GL3). Meanwhile, three other genes with high potential to be involved in the aliphatic glucosinolates biosynthetic pathway were identified, i.e., methylthioalkylmalate-like synthase 4 (MAML-4) and aspartate aminotransferase (ASP1 and ASP4). These findings can be used to complete the aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthetic pathway in A. thaliana and to update the information on the glucosinolate-related pathways in public metabolic databases.
Experimental identification of the material standard linear solid model parameters by means of dynamical measurements

A procedure for the experimental identification of the material standard linear solid model parameters by means of dynamic mechanical analysis test instrument measurements is presented. Since the standard linear solid material stress–strain functional D(ω) relationship in the frequency domain formally depends on the standard linear solid material parameters, a procedure able to identify these parameters from test measurement estimates is proposed in this work. Nevertheless, a critical, nonlinear and non-parametric approach is to be followed since the number of the material standard linear solid block components is generally unknown, and the material D(ω) shows a highly nonlinear dependency on the unknown standard linear solid material parameters. For these reasons, measurement and test model noise is expected to strongly influence the accuracy of the identification results. A multi-step procedure is presented, consisting first in the non-parametric identification of a frequency dependent, two degrees of freedom model instrument frame by means of a polynomial rational function, where polynomial order and parameters, such as polynomial coefficients and pole-residue couples, are optimally identified by means of an algebraic numerical technique and of an iterative stabilization procedure. Another procedure able to identify the material D(ω) polynomial rational functional relationship in the frequency domain is also proposed, taking into account the dynamic contribution of the instrument frame, of the inertial contribution of the distributed mass of the beam and of the lumped mass of the instrument force measuring system. An effective procedure, able to identify the standard linear solid material model parameters in the time domain from the identified material physical poles, is finally proposed. Some application examples, concerning the identification of the standard linear solid model of a known material and of an unknown composite material, are shown and discussed as well.
Cite the Good Cite: Making Citations in Political Science More Transparent

ABSTRACT Political science research aims for greater transparency. Authors are increasingly expected to share their data and methodology so that readers and reviewers can follow their line of argument and replicate their findings. However, citations of books, articles, and other secondary sources in the discipline are still predominantly general, referring to entire works rather than specific parts of them. This article addresses the problem of the overuse of general citations as a disciplinary norm in political science. An analysis of articles published in five top-tier journals in 2019 reveals that only around 10% of the citations in these articles provide detailed source information (e.g., page numbers and location information) and identifies some of the causes for this scarcity. The article calls for more transparent citation norms in the discipline, suggests preliminary steps toward this goal, and proposes solutions for the challenges posed by the increasing use of digital sources.
Assessment of Egyptian Maize Hybrids for Their Capability of Plant Regeneration using Immature Embryo Culture

The aim of this research was to determine the regeneration capability of five maize hybrids (Syngenta hybrid, Three-way hybrid (324), Single cross hybrid P344 (Pioneer), Single cross hybrid 30N 11 (Pioneer) and Three-way hybrid (321)) using immature embryo explants with four medium protocols. The analysis of variance for in vitro culture traits of explant response indicated that callus induction, callus weight and embryogenic callus significantly responded to maize genotypes, medium protocols and their interaction. Also differences among maize hybrids were highly significant for shoot formation (%), while they were not significant for root formation (%). The four medium protocols indicated highly significant differences for root formation (%) and shoot formation (%). Three-way hybrid (324) and Single cross hybrid 30 N11(Pioneer) had the highest induction frequency of shoot formation on medium protocol D. Both maizehybrids on medium protocol D could be successfully utilized for the in vitro selection studies for maize improvement.
Oceanic Supply of Ice‐Nucleating Particles and Its Effect on Ice Cloud Formation: A Case Study in the Arctic Ocean During a Cold‐Air Outbreak in Early Winter

The relationship between cloud phase, ice‐nucleating particles (INPs), and ocean state is vital in climate system modeling. High wave conditions induced by the Arctic sea‐ice decline and intensified atmospheric forcing over the ice‐free ocean increase dynamical geochemical oceanic mixing and sea spray supply containing organic substances, which could act as INPs promoting formation of lower tropospheric ice‐containing clouds. Here, we show that the surface ocean state regulates INP concentration and ice cloud presence in the boundary layer. Arctic research cruise data from the marginal ice zone in the Chukchi Sea in November 2018 revealed high number concentrations of INPs active greater than −10 °C and ice‐containing clouds under high wave conditions. Chemical analysis revealed high contents of organic carbon and sea salt that coincided with the increased oceanic turbidity. The findings suggest that elevated levels of marine organics will contribute to modification of cloud phase from liquid droplets to ice crystals.
Physiological and biochemical attributes of Agave sisalana resilient adaptation to climatic and spatio-temporal conditions

Plant’s behavior varies physiologically and chemically in wake of its adaptation to environmental changes. Sisal (Agave sisalana Perrine) is less explored in climatic conditions of Pakistan. In the present work, physiological and biochemical responses of sisal plant under different natural environmental conditions in Punjab province of Pakistan‘s five districts having diverse climates from arid to semi-arid were selected. The selected districts included Chakwal, Khushab, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Layyah were studied through seasonal surveying during all four seasons and sampling of plant material were done for a period of two years 2017-2019. The data regarding total chlorophyll content, total soluble protein content, total soluble sugar content, total soluble phenolics, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, sub-stomatal CO2 concentration and water use efficiency were investigated. The spring season reflected highest value of photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and sub stomatal CO 2 concentration at Rawalpindi district during 2018-2019 as compared to other seasons. The maximum total soluble sugars and total soluble phenolics content were also recorded in Rawalpindi district during spring of 2018-2019. Total soluble protein content increased in the Chakwal district during winter season of both years. However, total chlorophyll contents were maximum in spring season and were reduced during summer and autumn seasons in district Chakwal during 20182019. Overall spatial and temporal heterogeneity was clearly seen for the physiological and biochemical attributes of Agave sisalana. Based on hardy growth habit, sisal cultivation in problem soils affected by extreme dearth of water, frost and extensive salinity have been suggested as future thrust.
Immunohistochemical Expression of MMP-2 in Pancreatic Carcinoma and Chronic Pancreatitis

Introduction: Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 is a member of MMPs family which is zinc-dependent endopeptidases that degrade all components of ECM and vascular basement membrane. MMPs are closely involved in tumor invasion and metastasis. Aim of the work: is to evaluate the immune-expression and clinical significance of MMPs molecule in patients with pancreatic carcinoma. Materials and Methods: A total of 25 pancreatic carcinomas were evaluated for expression of MMP-2 by immunohistochemical technique. The expression was evaluated. The study included 24/25 cases of PDAC and 1/25 acinar cell carcinoma. PDAC included 5/24 cases of well differentiated, 16/24 cases of moderately differentiated, 3/24 cases of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Results: Pancreatic carcinoma specimens showed positive cytoplasmic MMP-2 staining with high expression in 88% of studied specimens as their IRS ranged from 6/9 to 9/9 with high extent and intensity. There was a statistically significant relationship between MMP-2 expression and high grade in PDAC (p<0.024). Conclusion: MMP-2 was expressed in PDAC and not in pancreatitis cases. The expression of MMP-2 was correlated with high histological grade and poor prognosis in PDAC.
Antibacterial Effect of Black Pepper Petroleum Ether Extract against Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antibacterial effect of black pepper petroleum ether extract (BPPE) against Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115 and Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028. The results showed that the BPPE had a strong antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes and S. typhimurium, and 2-methylene-4,8,8-trimethyl-4-vinyl-bicyclo[5.2. 0]nonane (9.36%) and caryophyllene oxide (4.85%) were identified as the two primary components of BPPE. The ability of cells to break down hyperoxide was decreased, and the activities of POD and CAT were inhibited. The activities of key metabolic enzymes shed some light on the biochemical mechanism of aglycon cell growth inhibition, indicating that the energetic metabolism of L. monocytogenes and S. typhimurium was markedly influenced by the BPPE. The contents of key organic acids varied significantly, resulting in remarkable abnormalities in the energetic metabolism of L. monocytogenes and S. typhimurium. Thus, the consecution of energetic metabolism was destroyed by the BPPE, which contributed to metabolic dysfunction, the suppression of gene transcription, and cell death.
Defect Inspection using Gravitation Loss and Soft Labels

Defect inspection is a widely studied computer vision task with a vast range of applications. However, due to the great variety of defects and high difficulty of collecting ample abnormal images of rare occasions, such a task full of confusing noisy samples faces tremendous challenges of generalization. In this paper, we propose a practical framework for defect inspection to better discover and utilize the connections among these samples. Specifically, Gravitation Loss is proposed to enhance the discriminative power of embedding vectors learned by neural networks. Besides, Soft Loss is designed by introducing soft labels which provide more supervision for noisy samples to improve generalization. With joint supervision of Gravitation Loss, Soft Loss, and a regular classification loss, experimental results show that our method outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches on a newly-built resin plug-hole dataset.
Combining Microwave Pretreatment with Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Enhanced Biogas and Hydrogen Yield from Green Algae

The available energy can be effectively upgraded by adopting smart energy conversion measures. The biodegradability of biomass can be improved by employing pretreatment techniques; however, such methods result in reduced energy efficiency. In this study, microwave (MW) irradiation is used for green algae (Enteromorpha) pretreatment in combination with iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) which act as a heterogeneous catalyst during anaerobic digestion process for biogas enhancement. Batch-wise anaerobic digestion was carried out. The results showed that MW pretreatment and its combination with Fe3O4 NPs produced highest yields of biogas and hydrogen as compared to the individual ones and control. The biogas amount and hydrogen % v/v achieved by MW pretreatment + Fe3O4 NPs group were 328 mL and 51.5%, respectively. The energy analysis indicated that synergistic application of MW pretreatment with Fe3O4 NPs produced added energy while consuming less input energy than MW pretreatment alone. The kinetic parameters of the reaction were scientifically evaluated by using modified Gompertz and Logistic function model for each experimental case. MW pretreatment + Fe3O4 NPs group improved biogas production potential and maximum biogas production rate.