Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of some pyrazolyl benzenesulfonamide derivatives as dual anti-inflammatory antimicrobial agents

Four series of pyrazolylbenzenesulfonamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity using cotton pellet induced granuloma and carrageenan-induced rat paw edema bioassays. Moreover, COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitory activity, ulcerogenic effect and acute toxiCIT000y were also determined. Furthermore, the target compounds were screened for their in-vitro antimicrobial activity against Eischerichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Compounds 4-(3-Phenyl-4-cyano-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)benzenesulfonamide 9a and 4-(3-Tolyl-4-cyano-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)benzenesulfonamide 9b were not only found to be the most active dual anti-inflammatory antimicrobial agents in the present study with good safety margin and minimal ulcerogenic effect but also exhibited good selective inhibitory activity towards COX-2. A docking pose for 9a and 9b separately in the active site of the human COX-2 enzyme was also obtained. Therefore, these compounds would represent a fruitful matrix for the development of dual anti-inflammatory antimicrobial candidates with remarkable COX-2 selectivity.
Gray Matter Covariance Networks as Classifiers and Predictors of Cognitive Function in Alzheimer’s Disease

The study of shared variation in gray matter morphology may define neurodegenerative diseases beyond what can be detected from the isolated assessment of regional brain volumes. We, therefore, aimed to (1) identify SCNs (structural covariance networks) that discriminate between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and healthy controls (HC), (2) investigate their diagnostic accuracy in comparison and above established markers, and (3) determine if they are associated with cognitive abilities. We applied a random forest algorithm to identify discriminating networks from a set of 20 SCNs. The algorithm was trained on a main sample of 104 AD patients and 104 age-matched HC and was then validated in an independent sample of 28 AD patients and 28 controls from another center. Only two of the 20 SCNs contributed significantly to the discrimination between AD and controls. These were a temporal and a secondary somatosensory SCN. Their diagnostic accuracy was 74% in the original cohort and 80% in the independent samples. The diagnostic accuracy of SCNs was comparable with that of conventional volumetric MRI markers including whole brain volume and hippocampal volume. SCN did not significantly increase diagnostic accuracy beyond that of conventional MRI markers. We found the temporal SCN to be associated with verbal memory at baseline. No other associations with cognitive functions were seen. SCNs failed to predict the course of cognitive decline over an average of 18 months. We conclude that SCNs have diagnostic potential, but the diagnostic information gain beyond conventional MRI markers is limited.
Prevalence of Physical Inactivity and Sedentary Behavior Among Adults in Armenia

Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are risk factors for developing non-communicable diseases. This study analyzed current levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors among the adult population of Armenia. Data were collected through a national STEPS survey of non-communicable diseases risk factors on a nationally-representative sample of 2,380 participants aged 18–69 years in Armenia in 2016. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess physical activity levels. Two out of ten people (21.6%) in Armenia did not meet the minimum levels of physical activity recommended by WHO to protect health. 13.2% of population spent over 8 h per day sitting, 47.2% were inactive at work and 32.4% did not do any transport-related physical activity. Only 13.8% of participants were physically active during leisure time. Specific groups with relatively high levels of physical inactivity were older adults, residents of Yerevan, people with lower levels of education, the unemployed and people who were retired. Sedentary behavior was more common among men, students, people who were retired, unemployed, residents of Yerevan, and adults aged under 30 and over 45 years.
Nesting architecture and population structure of the fungus-growing ant Cyphomyrmex transversus (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini) in the Brazilian coastal zone of Ilhéus, Bahia

Abstract The present study provides valuable information about the nesting biology and demographics of Cyphomyrmex transversus (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini). This species has been observed nesting under and inside dry coconuts on the forest ground in the Brazilian coastal zone of Ilhéus, state of Bahia. To investigate the association between C. transversus and coconuts, we surveyed 153 coconuts. Of the surveyed ones, 62 (40.5%) exhibited associated colonies of Cyphomyrmex transversus (one colony per coconut): 53 (85.5%) of the 62 colonies nested under the coconut, and nine (14.5%) nested inside. Distributed among 57 of the coconuts, 17 other ant species were found. The ants most frequently found were Paratrechina longicornis and Camponotus atriceps. Nests of C. transversus were structurally simple, with one principal chamber with small depressions located on the base. Inside the nest cavities, yeast-like fungi formed in polygonal masses. More than one dealate queen was observed in several C. transversus colonies. The population of C. transversus individuals per colony increased according the coconut size. We conclude that the use by the ants of coconut pieces as a part of their nest structure and the occurrence of multiple dealate queens per colony show adaptive flexibility in C. transversus. It may confer a greater capacity for colonization and maintenance of competitive nest densities in the harsh environmental conditions of Brazilian coastal zones. Further studies should consider the social organization of all ant species that nest in coconuts and its effect on colony survival rates and competitive relationships.
Alternative reproductive tactics and courtship in the common goby

In the marine common goby Pomatoschistus microps, males either build nests and attract females to spawn or act as sneakers, forcing themselves into other males' nests during mating, to fertilize some of the eggs in the clutch. The reproductive tactics of small males were studied in the presence of surplus nest material and an excess of gravid females, while a larger, nestholding male spawned with a female. Of 24 small males, 13 only attempted to sneak, seven only courted females and/or spawned in their own nest, and four performed both behaviours. The small males who attracted females successfully were significantly larger than the ones who failed to do so. Females had been courting the small male more often when he subsequently spawned in his own nest, than when he did not get a female. The small males did not court the females very frequently, and their courtship rate did not depend on whether or not they attracted females. Instead, female courtship behaviour may be a cue for a male either to spawn as a nest holder or become a sneaker. The study pointed out the importance of female behaviour for male reproductive tactics, which could be more important in fish than is known currently.
A Polymorphism Within the MBP Gene Is Associated With a Higher Relapse Number in Male Patients of Multiple Sclerosis

Myelin basic protein (MBP) is thought to be one of the key autoantigens in multiple sclerosis (MS) development. A recent study described the association of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs12959006, within the MBP gene, with a higher risk of relapse and worse prognosis. We aim at studying potential associations of this SNP to MS in an independent population. Clinical data of the first 5 years of the disease were collected retrospectively from 291 MS confirmed patients. MBP polymorphism rs12959006 was genotyped in all patients. Associations with EDSS, number of relapses and serology for Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and Epstein Barr (EBV) viruses were studied. Lymphocyte activation measured by CD69 expression was also analyzed according to sex and rs12959006 genotype. The rs12959006 polymorphism contributed significantly to a higher number of relapses at 5 years after onset only in male patients (rs12959006∗TT β = 0.74 [0.36–1.09]; p = 7 × 10–5). Titers of anti-HHV6 IgG antibodies showed also a mild association with relapses, both in male and female patients (β = 0.01 [0.01–0.02]; p = 3.7 × 10–8). Both the genetic variation in MBP and HHV-6 infection aid in predicting a higher number of relapses during the first years of MS. The association described in MBP rs12959006∗T is exclusive to male patients.
Comparison of Fatty Acid Composition between Farmed and Wild Indian White Shrimps, Fnneropenaeus indicus

The aim of this study is comparison of fatty acid profile between wild and farmed Indian white shrimps. According to the score-plot produced by the principle component analysis the wild Indian white shrimp showed a fatty acid composition clearly different from the farmed Indian white shrimp. In both groups, palmitic acid (16:0) and oleic acid (18: 1n-9) were the main SFA and MUFA, respectively. Based on results, the wild shrimp contained a higher level (P < 0.05) of n-3 poly unsaturated fatty acids, whereas farmed shrimp contained a high level of n-6 poly unsaturated fatty (P < 0.05). Arachidonic acid (20: 4n-6), eicosapentaenoic acid (20: 5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22: 6n-3) were significantly higher in wild shrimps. The n-3/n-6 fatty acids ratio was significantly higher in wild shrimps (P < 0.05). The comparison demonstrated that the nutritional value of wild shrimps is better than farmed shrimp and fatty acid profile of commercial diets should be reformed in order to maintenance of farmed shrimps nutritional value.
Host Immunity to Malassezia in Health and Disease

The microbiota plays an integral role in shaping physical and functional aspects of the skin. While a healthy microbiota contributes to the maintenance of immune homeostasis, dysbiosis can result in the development of diverse skin pathologies. This dichotomous feature of the skin microbiota holds true not only for bacteria, but also for fungi that colonize the skin. As such, the yeast Malassezia, which is by far the most abundant component of the skin mycobiota, is associated with a variety of skin disorders, of which some can be chronic and severe and have a significant impact on the quality of life of those affected. Understanding the causative relationship between Malassezia and the development of such skin disorders requires in-depth knowledge of the mechanism by which the immune system interacts with and responds to the fungus. In this review, we will discuss recent advances in our understanding of the immune response to Malassezia and how the implicated cells and cytokine pathways prevent uncontrolled fungal growth to maintain commensalism in the mammalian skin. We also review how the antifungal response is currently thought to affect the development and severity of inflammatory disorders of the skin and at distant sites.
Validation of the RUDAS for the Identification of Dementia in Illiterate and Low-Educated Older Adults in Lima, Peru

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of the Peruvian version of the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS-PE) in discriminating between controls and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in an illiterate population with low-levels of education. Methods: We compared the cognitive performance of 187 elderly subjects who were illiterate (controls n = 60; MCI n = 64; dementia n = 63). Neuropsychological measures included the RUDAS-PE, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), INECO Frontal Screening (IFS), and Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire (PFAQ). The results were compared to a neuropsychological evaluation (gold standard), including use of Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scores. Results: We found a Cronbach's alpha was 0.65; Spearman's correlation coefficient was 0.79 (p < 0.01). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve for the RUDAS to discriminate dementia from MCI was 98.0% with an optimal cut-off <19 (sensitivity 95%, specificity 97%); whereas, to differentiate MCI and controls was 98.0% with an optimal cut-off <23 (sensitivity 89%, specificity 93%). Conclusions: Based on its excellent psychometric properties, we find the RUDAS-PE suitable to aid in the opportune detection of dementia in a geriatric illiterate population with low-levels of education.
Increased Weekly Mean PM2.5, and NO2 Are Associated With Increased Proportions of Lower Airway Granulocytes in Ontario Horses

Ambient pollution is associated with the development and exacerbation of human asthma, but whether air pollution exposure is associated with lower airway inflammation in horses has not been fully evaluated. The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is an online tool used by asthmatic Ontarians to modify their outdoor activity when ambient pollution is high. A single AQHI value, falling on a scale from 1 to 10+, is calculated from measurements of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3). Increased AQHI values predict an increased risk for presenting to a health care provider for assessment of asthma exacerbation, with a time lag of 0–9 days after an increase. Whether ambient air pollution is a risk factor for identifying increased lower airway inflammatory cells on cytologic evaluation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of horses has not yet been explored. To investigate this relationship, case data including BALF cytology preparations from horses across southern Ontario, Canada, were retrieved from the Guelph Animal Health Laboratory's archives. Spanning the years 2007–2017, 154 cases were identified within a 41- by 30-km area surrounding the cities of Guelph and Kitchener. In 78 of 154 cases, cytologic reevaluation identified increased proportions of one or a combination of BALF neutrophils (mean 5%, range 0–15%), eosinophils (mean 2%, range 0–31%), and mast cells (mean 4%, range 0–10%). To assess the effect of lagged pollutant and temperature exposures in these 78 cases, weekly mean values of AQHI, PM2.5, NO2, O3, and temperature were recorded for the 4 weeks prior to the date of the horse's presentation for respiratory tract evaluation. The relationship between ambient exposures and increased proportions of lower airway granulocytes was evaluated using a case-crossover design. Single unit increases in 2-, and 3-week lagged weekly mean PM2.5 and NO2, were associated, respectively, with an 11% (p = 0.04, 95% confidence interval, CI = 1.01–1.22), and 24% (p = 0.03, 95% CI = 1.08–1.43) greater risk of identifying increased lower airway granulocytes. These findings suggest that exposure to increased ambient pollutants is associated with lower airway inflammation in Guelph and Kitchener area horses.
Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition, Vascular Inflammation, and Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a chronic progressive disease characterized by vascular inflammation and growth of atherosclerotic plaque that eventually lead to compromise of blood flow. The disease has proven to be remarkably resistant to multiple attempts at meaningful reversal including recent strategies targeting selective inflammatory mediators. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) has emerged as a key driver of both vascular inflammation and plaque growth. A deeper understanding of EndMT provides new insights into the underlying biology of atherosclerosis, suggests likely molecular mechanism of atherosclerotic resistance, and identifies potential new therapeutic targets.
Mouse Cytomegalovirus M34 Encodes a Non-essential, Nuclear, Early-Late Expressed Protein Required for Efficient Viral Replication

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a prototypic betaherpesvirus which causes severe manifestations in individuals with impaired or immature immunity. To investigate cytomegalovirus-induced pathogenesis and virus-specific immune responses, mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infections in mice are employed as accepted small animal model. MCMV and HCMV share co-linear genomes and encode several homologous proteins. Due to the size and complexity of CMV genomes, the molecular functions of numerous cytomegaloviral gene products remain to be elucidated. While the essential nature of viral genes highlights their biological relevance, it renders functional studies particularly cumbersome by precluding experiments in the infection context. The HCMV-encoded protein pUL34 binds the HCMV genome and regulates viral gene expression (e.g., of US3). Several groups provided compelling evidence that UL34 is essential for HCMV replication. MCMV encodes the homologous protein pM34 (34% identical and 55% similar). Based on unsuccessful attempts to reconstitute M34-deficient virus from a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC), M34 was previously classified as essential for MCMV replication. To characterize pM34 during viral infection, we engineered and analyzed an MCMV mutant expressing an HA-epitope-tagged pM34 which was expressed with early-late kinetics and localized in the nucleus. Additionally, we generated an M34-deficient (“ΔM34”) MCMV-BAC by replacing the entire M34 coding sequence by a kanamycin resistance cassette. The deletion of M34 was confirmed by Southern blot and PCR. Unexpectedly, we could reconstitute replicating ΔM34-MCMV upon transfection of the BAC DNA into mouse embryonic fibroblasts. The absence of M34 from the genome of the replicating ΔM34-MCMV was also confirmed. Accordingly, a ΔM34-MCMV, in which the kanamycin cassette was excised by frt/Flp-mediated recombination, was also replication competent. In order to corroborate the absence of pM34 protein, the M34 deletion was recapitulated on the background of M34HA, which yielded replicating virus devoid of detectable pM34HA protein. The replication of MCMVs lacking M34 was found to be 10- to 100-fold reduced as compared to wt-MCMV which might explain previous unsuccessful reconstitution attempts conducted by others. Taken together, our findings reveal that MCMV remains replication competent despite the absence of M34, enabling functional studies in the infection context.
Efficient Communication in Distributed Simulations of Spiking Neuronal Networks With Gap Junctions

Investigating the dynamics and function of large-scale spiking neuronal networks with realistic numbers of synapses is made possible today by state-of-the-art simulation code that scales to the largest contemporary supercomputers. However, simulations that involve electrical interactions, also called gap junctions, besides chemical synapses scale only poorly due to a communication scheme that collects global data on each compute node. In comparison to chemical synapses, gap junctions are far less abundant. To improve scalability we exploit this sparsity by integrating an existing framework for continuous interactions with a recently proposed directed communication scheme for spikes. Using a reference implementation in the NEST simulator we demonstrate excellent scalability of the integrated framework, accelerating large-scale simulations with gap junctions by more than an order of magnitude. This allows, for the first time, the efficient exploration of the interactions of chemical and electrical coupling in large-scale neuronal networks models with natural synapse density distributed across thousands of compute nodes.
Desenvolvimento de juvenis de Piracanjuba (Brycon orbignyannus), Vallencienes (1849) (Teleostei: characidae) em tanques experimentais fertilizados com adubação orgânica

The objective of this paper was to study the development of Piracanjuba (Brycon orbignyanus ) in tanks under differents organic fertilizers. The experiment, entirely randomized, was accomplished in 16 tanks of 1000 liters, fertilized with manures of bovine (BOV), pigs (SUI), chickens (FRG) and others without fertilizer (SAO), using 15 fish/m 3 with an initial average weight and length of 10,87+0,31 g e 9,78+0,07 cm. After 30 days, the experiment showed a uniform development of the fish and high survival rate in the studied density. The treatments presented significant statistical differences (P Scenedesmus species, and the Cianophyta, with the Microcystis species, and among the zooplankton, the largest presence was of the rotifera from the species Brachionus and Keratella , followed by the copepods. The treatment fertilized with manure of chickens made possible a larger development of the plankton community, and better results of the development of the fish, demonstrating the importance of natural food in its diet.
Changes of Nutrient Concentrations in the Western Baltic Sea in the Transition Between Inner Coastal Waters and the Central Basins: Time Series From 1995 to 2016 With Source Analysis

Anthropogenic nitrogen input to the western Baltic Sea has continued to decline by about 30% since 1995, whereas phosphorus input, after a strong decrease of 25% from 1995 to 2000, remained almost on the same level. Despite this development, the Arkona Sea and Belt Sea apparently show no strong changes of nutrient concentrations in the last two decades. In this study, we investigate the concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP), as the substances of major concern in respect to the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. To link open-sea nutrient concentrations with nutrient supply by freshwater drain, we used nutrient vs. salinity linear fits, including data from coastal waters obtained during regular German monitoring campaigns. Therefore, the data set was grouped according to differently sized areas to identify regional differences and was subsequently analyzed for four time intervals: 1995–1999, 2000–2004, 2005–2009, and 2010–2016. By extrapolation to a salinity of “zero,” we obtained hypothetical freshwater end-members of the different N and P parameters. Most of these end-members indicated a decline during the four time intervals, supporting a reduction of freshwater-borne N and P supply to the western Baltic Sea. For the period 1995–1999, the freshwater end-members of TN were determined between 200 and 400 μM. This improved to a TN range between 150 and about 300 μM in 2010–2016. TP ranged from about 2.3 to 5.4 μM in 2010–2016, with previous values of slightly above 4 μM and up to almost 15 μM in the period 1995–1999. The end-members determined by our method would fulfill limnic–marine target values of the EU Water Framework Directive of TN = 186 μM and river-type-specific target values of TP between 3 and 5 μM for some areas of the western Baltic Sea in recent years, because the method includes removal processes in the transition zone. Finally, the end-member values were compared with area-specific averages of measured values at the limnic–marine transition point.
Phytohaemagglutinin injection has a long‐lasting effect on immune cells

Measurement of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-induced skin swelling is the most popular assay of immune function in avian studies. The mechanisms causing swelling have been relatively well studied; however, very little is known about the potential long term physiological effects of PHA. Here we show that injection of PHA into patagium of captive greenfinches Carduelis chloris increases the concentration of heterophils (phagocytic cells of the innate immune response) in the peripheral blood for at least 30 days. Such long-term consequences should be taken into account when using PHA skin test in studies monitoring changes in individual physiological condition and/or immune status.