Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility Model in the Secondary Education Curriculum: Implications in Psychological and Contextual Variables in Students

The aim was to implement a value-promoting programme (Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility, TPSR) and to assess its impact on psychological and contextual variables in students comparing the differences among one group that applied it in several subjects, another group only in Physical Education (PE), and a control group. Method: The programme was applied for eight months with 257 students from three secondary school centres (151 boys and 106 girls) with a mean age of 15.97 years (SD = 2.31). They were in three groups: one group with 67 students (control group), one group with 90 students receiving at least 60% of the total teaching time using the value-promoting programme (experimental group for global education, EG-GE), and one group with 100 students (experimental group for physical education only, EG-PE). The main improvements in the results were found in the EG-GE for responsibility, psychological mediator index, self-determination index, resilience, climate, and prosocial behaviour. In the EG-PE, improved results were observed in the self-determination index, classroom climate, and prosocial behaviour. Female and EG-GE students improved much more than male and EG-PE students. The outcomes in psychological variables can be higher if TPSR is applied to the whole subjects apart from physical education. These results are even more pronounced for female students in personal and social responsibility. It is worth highlighting the importance of coordinating educational institutions to facilitate the involvement of the greatest number of teachers.
ACPA Status Correlates with Differential Immune Profile in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive erosive autoimmune disease that affects 1% of the world population. Anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies (ACPA) are routinely used for the diagnosis of RA, however 20–30% of patients are ACPA negative. ACPA status is a delineator of RA disease endotypes with similar clinical manifestation but potentially different pathophysiology. Profiling of key peripheral blood and synovial tissue immune populations including B cells, T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and CD4 T cell proinflammatory cytokine responses could elucidate the underlying immunological mechanisms involved and inform a treat to target approach for both ACPA-positive and ACPA-negative RA. Detailed high dimensionality flow cytometric analysis with supervised and unsupervised algorithm analysis revealed unique RA patient peripheral blood B cell and Tfh cell profiles. Synovial tissue single cell analysis of B cell subpopulation distribution was similar between ACPA− and ACPA+ RA patients, highlighting a key role for specific B cell subsets in both disease endotypes. Interestingly, synovial tissue single cell analysis of CD4 T cell proinflammatory cytokine production was markedly different between ACPA− and APCA+ RA patients. RNAseq analysis of RA patient synovial tissue highlighted disease endotype specific gene signatures. ACPA status associates with unique immune profile signatures that reinforce the need for a treat to target approach for both endotypes of RA.
Partial conductivities in SrTiO3 : bulk polarization experiments, oxygen concentration cell measurements, and defect-chemical modeling

Knowledge of the exchange kinetics of O2 in SrTiO3 allows us to design appropriate strategies to separate the ionic and the electronic conductivity. In the low-temperature range, where the overall surface reaction is very slow compared to bulk diffusion and measuring time, electrochemical cells of the type Pt|SrTiO3|Pt are self-blocking and self-sealing and a Wagner–Hebb-type polarization succeeds without the necessity of using selectively blocking electrodes. In the present study the ionic conductivity data obtained for Feand Ni-doped SrTiO3 in this way are compared to data obtained from the analysis of the oxygen partial pressure dependence of the total conductivity as well as to defect chemical calculations. In complete contrast to the low temperature situation, at high temperatures, where the surface reaction is fast, the emf technique is conveniently applicable. Results are presented for Pt, O2|SrTiO3|O2, Pt cells. The conductivity behavior of SrTi(Fe)O3 as a function of temperature (20°–1000°C) is complex, due to partially frozen-in equilibria, but even details can be quantitatively understood in terms of a simple defect chemistry. The turnover of the diffusion-controlled regime to the surface reaction-controlled regime can be shifted to significantly lower temperatures by using YBa2Cu3O7–8 electrodes.
An Inside Look into Biological Miniatures: Molecular Mechanisms of Viroids

Viroids are tiny single-stranded circular RNA pathogens that infect plants. Viroids do not encode any proteins, yet cause an assortment of symptoms. The following review describes viroid classification, molecular biology and spread. The review also discusses viroid pathogenesis, host interactions and detection. The review concludes with a description of future prospects in viroid research.
Laser Ablation of Aluminum Near the Critical Regime: A Computational Gas-Dynamical Model with Temperature-Dependent Physical Parameters

The complexity of the phenomena simultaneously occurring, from the very first instants of high-power laser pulse interaction with the target up to the phase explosion, along with the strong changes in chemical-physical properties of matter, makes modeling laser ablation a hard task, especially near the thermodynamic critical regime. In this work, we report a computational model of an aluminum target irradiated in vacuum by a gaussian-shaped pulse of 20 ns duration, with a peak intensity of the order of GW/cm2. This continuum model covers laser energy deposition and temperature evolution in the irradiated target, along with the mass removal mechanism involved, and the vaporized material expansion. Aluminum was considered to be a case study due to the vast literature on the temperature dependence of its thermodynamic, optical, and transport properties that were used to estimate time-dependent values of surface-vapor quantities (vapor pressure, vapor density, vapor and surface temperature) and vapor gas-dynamical quantities (density, velocity, pressure) as it expands into vacuum. Very favorable agreement is reported with experimental data regarding: mass removal and crater depth due to vaporization, generated recoil momentum, and vapor flow velocity expansion.
The Effects of Crosslinking on the Rheology and Cellular Behavior of Polymer-Based 3D-Multilayered Scaffolds for Restoring Articular Cartilage

Polymer-based tri-layered (bone, intermediate and top layers) scaffolds used for the restoration of articular cartilage were prepared and characterized in this study to emulate the concentration gradient of cartilage. The scaffolds were physically or chemically crosslinked. In order to obtain adequate scaffolds for the intended application, the impact of the type of calcium phosphate used in the bone layer, the polymer used in the intermediate layer and the interlayer crosslinking process were analyzed. The correlation among SEM micrographs, physical-chemical characterization, swelling behavior, rheological measurements and cell studies were examined. Storage moduli at 1 Hz were 0.3–1.7 kPa for physically crosslinked scaffolds, and 4–5 kPa (EDC/NHS system) and 15–20 kPa (glutaraldehyde) for chemically crosslinked scaffolds. Intrinsic viscoelasticity and poroelasticity were considered in discussing the physical mechanism dominating in different time/frequency scales. Cell evaluation showed that all samples are available as alternatives to repair and/or substitute cartilage in articular osteoarthritis.
Yield and Selectivity Improvement in the Synthesis of Carbonated Linseed Oil by Catalytic Conversion of Carbon Dioxide

Carbonation of epoxidized linseed oil (CELO) containing five-membered cyclic carbonate (CC5) groups has been optimized to 95% by reacting epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) with carbon dioxide (CO2) and tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) as catalysts. The effect of reaction variables (temperature, CO2 pressure, and catalyst concentration) on the reaction parameters (conversion, carbonation and selectivity) in an autoclave system was investigated. The reactions were monitored, and the products were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopies. The results showed that when carrying out the reaction at high temperature (from 90 °C to 120 °C) and CO2 pressure (60–120 psi), the reaction’s conversion improves; however, the selectivity of the reaction decreases due to the promotion of side reactions. Regarding the catalyst, increasing the TBAB concentration from 2.0 to 5.0 w/w% favors selectivity. The presence of a secondary mechanism is based on the formation of a carboxylate ion, which was formed due to the interaction of CO2 with the catalyst and was demonstrated through 13C-NMR and FT-IR. The combination of these factors makes it possible to obtain the largest conversion (96%), carbonation (95%), and selectivity (99%) values reported until now, which are obtained at low temperature (90 °C), low pressure (60 psi) and high catalyst concentration (5.0% TBAB).
BOTANICAL AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PEAT USING MULTIVARIATE METHODS1

A total of 27 different peat types from Sweden were characterized. Botanical composition, particle-size distribution, elementary constituents, degree of decomposition, calorific value, and concentrations of monosaccharide, amino sugar, amino acid constituents, and bitumen were determined. Altogether 62 variables were recorded. The results were examined using principal component analysis (PCA) to probe any relationship between different peat properties and to group similar peat samples. The 41 samples separated into eight different groups. The main distinction between these peat samples could be explained by differences in the relative amounts of Carex and Sphagnum remains. Carex plants generally seem to be more chemically transformed through microbial decomposition than the Sphagnum fragments, which, in combination with differences in the original chemical compositions, causes chemical dissimilarities between the peat samples. Differences in the degradation pattern for Sphagnum and Carex peats were found when two separate PCAs on parts of the sample set were made.
High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Predicts Triglycerides Level in Three Distinct Phases of Blood Pressure

Atherosclerosis is also known as arteriosclerotic vascular disease. It is a condition when the arteries become narrowed and hardened due to the excessive of plaque which is made of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances. This study aims to examine the regulatory roles of triglycerides level in three distinct phases of blood pressure. One way ANOVA analysis is used to test the differences among the three distinct conditions, which is normal, borderline and hypertensive. The systolic blood pressure highly significant different ( F (2, 997) = 3.595, p = 0.028) across the three distinct phases. We also applied multiple linear regression (MLR) method in order to assess the associated factor of triglycerides level according to the three distinct phases as discussed in ANOVA analysis. The statistical analyses revealed that there are partially significant differences due to the different distinct phases of blood pressure. The associated factors of triglycerides were total of cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and proconvertin. All the variables were statistically significant across the three main conditions. These initial findings from three distinct phases denote that there a negative association between triglycerides level and HDL cholesterol. This finding shows that the factor of triglycerides level might be a valuable marker of atherosclerosis in three distinct phases of blood pressure.
Comparative Analysis of Within-Host Mutation Patterns and Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus Subtypes 1a, 1b, and 3a

Understanding within-host evolution is critical for predicting viral evolutionary outcomes, yet such studies are currently lacking due to difficulty involving human subjects. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an RNA virus with high mutation rates. Its complex evolutionary dynamics and extensive genetic diversity are demonstrated in over 67 known subtypes. In this study, we analyzed within-host mutation frequency patterns of three HCV subtypes, using a large number of samples obtained from treatment-naïve participants by next-generation sequencing. We report that overall mutation frequency patterns are similar among subtypes, yet subtype 3a consistently had lower mutation frequencies and nucleotide diversity, while subtype 1a had the highest. We found that about 50% of genomic sites are highly conserved across subtypes, which are likely under strong purifying selection. We also compared within-host and between-host selective pressures, which revealed that Hyper Variable Region 1 within hosts was under positive selection, but was under slightly negative selection between hosts, which indicates that many mutations created within hosts are removed during the transmission bottleneck. Examining the natural prevalence of known resistance-associated variants showed their consistent existence in the treatment-naïve participants. These results provide insights into the differences and similarities among HCV subtypes that may be used to develop and improve HCV therapies.
Angiogenesis Is Differentially Modulated by Platelet-Derived Products

Platelet-derived preparations are being used in clinic for their role in tissue repair and regenerative processes. The release of platelet-derived products such as autologous growth factors, cytokines and chemokines can trigger therapeutic angiogenesis. In this in vitro study, we evaluated and compared the ability of three platelet-derived preparations: platelet-rich-plasma (PRP), PRP-hyaluronic acid (PRP-HA) and platelet lysates (PL) at various concentrations (5–40%) to modulate human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) biological effects on metabolism, viability, senescence, angiogenic factors secretion and angiogenic capacities in 2D (endothelial tube formation assay or EFTA) and in 3D (fibrin bead assay or FBA). HUVEC exocytosis was stimulated with PRP and PRP-HA. Cell viability was strongly increased by PRP and PRP-HA but mildly by PL. The three preparations inhibit HUVEC tube formation on Matrigel, while PRP enhanced the complexity of the network. In the fibrin bead assay (FBA), PRP and PRP-HA stimulated all steps of the angiogenic process resulting in massive sprouting of a branched microvessel network, while PL showed a weaker angiogenic response. Secretome profiling revealed modulation of 26 human angiogenic proteins upon treatment with the platelet derived preparations. These in vitro experiments suggest that PRP and PRP-HA are effective biological therapeutic tools when sustained therapeutic angiogenesis is needed.
Poised for Change: University Students Are Positively Disposed toward Food Waste Diversion and Decrease Individual Food Waste after Programming

Eaters (consumers of food) are responsible for 60% of waste along the food cycle in developed countries. Programs that target individual and household food waste behavior change are essential to addressing such waste. School cafeterias worldwide offer an opportune microcosm in which to educate on food and nutrition skills and change related behavior. No Scrap Left Behind, a cafeteria food waste diversion program, was developed, piloted, and assessed based on measures of both direct and indirect food waste behavior, and attitudes, knowledge, and emotions related to food waste. Participants had positive attitudes towards food waste reduction, engaged in food waste diversion actions, had some knowledge of the impacts of wasted food, and considered their actions important to waste reduction generally. Food waste per student was decreased by 28% over the course of the first year of programming (p = 0.000967), and by 26% in the following year when measured a week before and a week after programming occurred (p = 0.0218). Results indicate that students were poised for food behavior change and that related programming did impact behavior in the short term. Programming may, therefore, help improve student attitudes and skills to develop long-term change as well, although future research should explore this specifically. In comparison with other research on cafeteria programming, results suggest that food waste diversion programming can positively impact students’ dispositions and behaviors, and may be more effective when tailored to the specific population.
CALINCA—A Novel Pipeline for the Identification of lncRNAs in Podocyte Disease

Diseases of the renal filtration unit—the glomerulus—are the most common cause of chronic kidney disease. Podocytes are the pivotal cell type for the function of this filter and focal-segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a classic example of a podocytopathy leading to proteinuria and glomerular scarring. Currently, no targeted treatment of FSGS is available. This lack of therapeutic strategies is explained by a limited understanding of the defects in podocyte cell biology leading to FSGS. To date, most studies in the field have focused on protein-coding genes and their gene products. However, more than 80% of all transcripts produced by mammalian cells are actually non-coding. Here, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a relatively novel class of transcripts and have not been systematically studied in FSGS to date. The appropriate tools to facilitate lncRNA research for the renal scientific community are urgently required due to a row of challenges compared to classical analysis pipelines optimized for coding RNA expression analysis. Here, we present the bioinformatic pipeline CALINCA as a solution for this problem. CALINCA automatically analyzes datasets from murine FSGS models and quantifies both annotated and de novo assembled lncRNAs. In addition, the tool provides in-depth information on podocyte specificity of these lncRNAs, as well as evolutionary conservation and expression in human datasets making this pipeline a crucial basis to lncRNA studies in FSGS.
Hypertension and Related Comorbidities as Potential Risk Factors for COVID-19 Hospitalization and Severity: A Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study

The independent role of hypertension for COVID-19 outcomes in the population remains unclear. We aimed to estimate the independent effect of hypertension and hypertension-related conditions, i.e., cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and chronic kidney diseases, as potential risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalization and severe COVID-19 (i.e., intensive care unit admission or death) in the population. The risk for severe COVID-19 among hospitalized patients was also evaluated. A Spanish population-based cohort of people aged 25–79 years was prospectively followed from March to May 2020 to identify hospitalizations for laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Poisson regression was used to estimate the adjusted relative risk (aRR) for COVID-19 hospitalization and severe COVID-19 among the whole cohort, and for severe COVID-19 among hospitalized patients. Of 424,784 people followed, 1106 were hospitalized by COVID-19 and 176 were severe cases. Hypertension was not independently associated with a higher risk of hospitalization (aRR 0.96, 95% CI 0.83–1.12) nor severe COVID-19 (aRR 1.12, 95% CI 0.80–1.56) in the population. Persons with cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and chronic kidney diseases were at higher risk for COVID-19 hospitalization (aRR 1.33, 95% CI 1.13–1.58; aRR 1.41, 95% CI 1.04–1.92; and aRR 1.52, 95% CI 1.21–1.91; respectively) and severe COVID-19 (aRR 1.61, 95% CI 1.13–2.30; aRR 1.91, 95% CI 1.13–3.25; and aRR 1.78, 95% CI 1.14–2.76; respectively). COVID-19 hospitalized patients with cerebrovascular diseases were at higher risk of mortality (aRR 1.80, 95% CI 1.00–3.23). The current study shows that, in the general population, persons with cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and chronic kidney diseases, but not those with hypertension only, should be considered as high-risk groups for COVID-19 hospitalization and severe COVID-19.
Recent Advances in Preclinical Research Using PAMAM Dendrimers for Cancer Gene Therapy

Carriers of genetic material are divided into vectors of viral and non-viral origin. Viral carriers are already successfully used in experimental gene therapies, but despite advantages such as their high transfection efficiency and the wide knowledge of their practical potential, the remaining disadvantages, namely, their low capacity and complex manufacturing process, based on biological systems, are major limitations prior to their broad implementation in the clinical setting. The application of non-viral carriers in gene therapy is one of the available approaches. Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers are repetitively branched, three-dimensional molecules, made of amide and amine subunits, possessing unique physiochemical properties. Surface and internal modifications improve their physicochemical properties, enabling the increase in cellular specificity and transfection efficiency and a reduction in cytotoxicity toward healthy cells. During the last 10 years of research on PAMAM dendrimers, three modification strategies have commonly been used: (1) surface modification with functional groups; (2) hybrid vector formation; (3) creation of supramolecular self-assemblies. This review describes and summarizes recent studies exploring the development of PAMAM dendrimers in anticancer gene therapies, evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of the modification approaches and the nanomedicine regulatory issues preventing their translation into the clinical setting, and highlighting important areas for further development and possible steps that seem promising in terms of development of PAMAM as a carrier of genetic material.
HKUST-1@IL-Li Solid-state Electrolyte with 3D Ionic Channels and Enhanced Fast Li+ Transport for Lithium Metal Batteries at High Temperature

The challenge of safety problems in lithium batteries caused by conventional electrolytes at high temperatures is addressed in this study. A novel solid electrolyte (HKUST-1@IL-Li) was fabricated by immobilizing ionic liquid ([EMIM][TFSI]) in the nanopores of a HKUST-1 metal–organic framework. 3D angstrom-level ionic channels of the metal–organic framework (MOF) host were used to restrict electrolyte anions and acted as “highways” for fast Li+ transport. In addition, lower interfacial resistance between HKUST-1@IL-Li and electrodes was achieved by a wetted contact through open tunnels at the atomic scale. Excellent high thermal stability up to 300 °C and electrochemical properties are observed, including ionic conductivities and Li+ transference numbers of 0.68 × 10−4 S·cm−1 and 0.46, respectively, at 25 °C, and 6.85 × 10−4 S·cm−1 and 0.68, respectively, at 100 °C. A stable Li metal plating/stripping process was observed at 100 °C, suggesting an effectively suppressed growth of Li dendrites. The as-fabricated LiFePO4/HKUST-1@IL-Li/Li solid-state battery exhibits remarkable performance at high temperature with an initial discharge capacity of 144 mAh·g−1 at 0.5 C and a high capacity retention of 92% after 100 cycles. Thus, the solid electrolyte in this study demonstrates promising applicability in lithium metal batteries with high performance under extreme thermal environmental conditions.