Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advanced Respiratory Models for Hazard Assessment of Nanomaterials—Performance of Mono-, Co- and Tricultures

Advanced in vitro models are needed to support next-generation risk assessment (NGRA), moving from hazard assessment based mainly on animal studies to the application of new alternative methods (NAMs). Advanced models must be tested for hazard assessment of nanomaterials (NMs). The aim of this study was to perform an interlaboratory trial across two laboratories to test the robustness of and optimize a 3D lung model of human epithelial A549 cells cultivated at the air–liquid interface (ALI). Potential change in sensitivity in hazard identification when adding complexity, going from monocultures to co- and tricultures, was tested by including human endothelial cells EA.hy926 and differentiated monocytes dTHP-1. All models were exposed to NM-300K in an aerosol exposure system (VITROCELL® cloud-chamber). Cyto- and genotoxicity were measured by AlamarBlue and comet assay. Cellular uptake was investigated with transmission electron microscopy. The models were characterized by confocal microscopy and barrier function tested. We demonstrated that this advanced lung model is applicable for hazard assessment of NMs. The results point to a change in sensitivity of the model by adding complexity and to the importance of detailed protocols for robustness and reproducibility of advanced in vitro models.
Bacteriophages Can Make a Difference in Water Quality: Evidence From a Community-Based Study From North India

Background and objectives Diarrhoea is a preventable and treatable faecal-oral disease. Despite significant inputs from the health and non-health sector in the treatment and prevention of diarrhoea, it remains a significant contributor to under-five-years children mortality and exerts profound effects on their growth and development. Bacteriophage has the potential to prevent diarrhoea. Bacteriophage status may influence the extent of diarrhoea. The objectives of the study were a) to assess the bacteriophage status and quality of water based on the Most Probable Number (MPN) count in the drinking water of under-five years children, and b) to find the association of the extent of diarrhoea with the bacteriophage status and quality of drinking water of under-five-years children in rural areas of Varanasi. Methods This is a community-based cross-sectional study done in the Chiraigaon community development block in a rural area of Varanasi. Water samples were collected and analysed in the Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Results The result of the study was that bacteriophage is present in 118 samples of water, whereas bacteriophage for Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella, and Vibrio were present in the drinking water of 81.1%, 53.8%, and 25.8% of under-five-years children, respectively. The water quality was highly satisfactory in 41.7% of samples and unsatisfactory in 15.2% of samples (p<0.004). All samples with highly satisfactory water quality had bacteriophages. Diarrhoea was present in 57.14% of samples without bacteriophage and 24.5% in samples with bacteriophage (p<0.01). The unadjusted odds ratio is 4.09. Interpretation and conclusions The odds of diarrhoea are four times higher in the water sample without bacteriophage than in the water sample in which bacteriophage is present. Bacteriophage study in preventing diarrhoea in children under five and health risk assessment call for focus.
Relationship between Parenting Styles, Assertiveness and Attitudes towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help among University Students

: Professional psychological help exists to assist a society in dealing with issues in daily life. However, the willingness of a society to accept these services is a concern that contributes to the effectiveness of the said services. The attitude of society towards these services reflects its personal values, and it is often based on personal experiences with its surroundings, such as family environments. The attitude mentioned also reflects assertiveness of people in interactions that may result in a different level of openness in accepting psychological help for handling personal issues. The purpose of this correlational study is to determine the relationships that may exist between parenting styles, assertiveness and attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help among university students. A total number of 303 respondents were involved in this study. Instruments used in the study include the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), the Assertion Inventory, as well as the Attitudes towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSPPHS). The study has found that there is negligible relationship between parenting styles and attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help; however, the authoritarian parenting style has a significant impact on attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help. There is a significant relationship between assertiveness level and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. This study implies that counsellors may need to take into consideration parenting styles and the assertiveness of their clients in promoting counselling services to build more positive attitudes towards the services rendered.
Employing PowerPoint in the Flipped-Learning-Based Classroom to Increase Students’ Understanding: Does It Help?

: Many studies show the effectiveness of using the Flipped Learning model to increase students’ understanding. However, there are scant research results that integrate PowerPoint in Flipped Learning to improve students' understanding. The present study aimed to describe the effectiveness of the PowerPoint-Based Flipped Learning model in increasing students' understanding. The recent study is an experimental study with 115 participants divided into a class with a PBFL model, a class with a Flipped Learning model, and a class with a conventional model. The sampling technique used was random cluster sampling, and the data collection was collected through documentation and test method. By using the One-Way ANOVA test, it was found that there was a difference in the mean between the three classes with a significant difference below 0.05. Therefore, a post-hoc test was carried out using the Scheeffe test. The results showed that integrating PowerPoint in the Flipped Learning model significantly increased students' understanding of the material being taught compared to the other classes. All in all, integrating PowerPoint is shown to help strengthen the Flipped Learning-based learning process to improve students' understanding. In addition, this research can still be expanded by broadening the range of research subjects.
Effect of Dietary Fiber (Oat Bran) Supplement in Heart Rate Lowering in Patients with Hypertension: A Randomized DASH-Diet-Controlled Clinical Trial

(1) Background: The management goal for patients with essential hypertension (HTN) is not only to lower blood pressure (BP), but also to control increased heart rate (HR). In a previous study, it was found that dietary fiber (DF) supplementation can effectively reduce BP in patients with HTN. The aim of this study was to determine whether a DF supplement can lower HR in patients with HTN. (2) Methods: Seventy patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly allocated into the control group (n = 34) and the intervention group (n = 36). The regular DASH dietary care was delivered to both groups of patients. In addition, one bag of oat bran (30 g/d, containing DF 8.9 g) was delivered to the intervention group. The 24 h ambulatory heart rate was measured at baseline and 3 months. (3) Results: At 3 months, the 24 h maximum heart rate (24h maxHR) in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in the control group. After the intervention, within-group comparisons in the intervention group revealed that there were significant reductions in the 24 h average heart rate (24h aveHR), 24h maxHR, average heart rate during day time (D-aveHR), minimum heart rate during day time (D-minHR), and maximum heart rate during day time (D-maxHR). Similar differences were not found in the control group. (4) Conclusions: Dietary fiber (oat bran) supplementation might be beneficial in lowering HR in patients with HTN.
Clinical and Epidemiological Approach to Delirium in an Acute Care Unit: A Cross-Sectional Study

During hospital admissions, the union of various factors, those related to acute pathology, dependency conditions, cognitive impairment, change of habitual environment, and others, can cause delirium. Acute delirium in the elderly (ADE) occurs in around a third of patients over 70 years of age. The syndrome generates serious complications that increase hospital morbidity and mortality and a high cost for the health administration. This study aimed to determine the clinical and epidemiological profile of ADE in an internal medicine unit. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using a convenience test. A total of 356 patients participated between September and November 2021. Sociodemographic variables, predisposing and precipitating factors of ADE, methods of action against ADE, and the impact on functional and cognitive deterioration were analyzed. A total of 35.1% of the patients developed ADE, mostly of the hyperactive type and of nocturnal appearance. ADE was mainly treated with psychoactive drugs and 22% required mechanical restraint, with non-pharmacological preventive strategies, support, and caregiver training being the main tools for controlling ADE during hospital admission.
Eigenvalue Distribution of Large Random Matrices

Random matrix theory is a wide and growing field with a variety of concepts, results, and techniques and a vast range of applications in mathematics and the related sciences. The book, written by well-known experts, offers beginners a fairly balanced collection of basic facts and methods (Part 1 on classical ensembles) and presents experts with an exposition of recent advances in the subject (Parts 2 and 3 on invariant ensembles and ensembles with independent entries). The text includes many of the authors' results and methods on several main aspects of the theory, thus allowing them to present a unique and personal perspective on the subject and to cover many topics using a unified approach essentially based on the Stieltjes transform and orthogonal polynomials. The exposition is supplemented by numerous comments, remarks, and problems. This results in a book that presents a detailed and self-contained treatment of the basic random matrix ensembles and asymptotic regimes. This book will be an important reference for researchers in a variety of areas of mathematics and mathematical physics. Various chapters of the book can be used for graduate courses; the main prerequisite is a basic knowledge of calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory.
The Coupling Coordination Evolutionary Analysis of Tourism-Ecological Environment-Public Service for the Yellow River Basin of China

In the context of the global pandemic, the development of tourism in the Yellow River Basin is constrained by the dual mechanisms of the decline in the quality of public service and the deterioration of the ecological environment. In order to promote the high-quality development of the ecological environment in the Yellow River Basin, this paper studies the coordinated development of tourism, the ecological environment and public service in the Yellow River Basin by treating tourism, the ecological environment and public service as a whole. Based on the coupling coordination function GM (1,1) grey prediction method and PVAR model, we discuss the characteristics of spatio-temporal differences, evolutionary trends and the interaction mechanism of the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of tourism-ecological environment-public service in nine provinces along the Yellow River Basin in China from 2008 to 2019. The results show that tourism and public service in the Yellow River Basin are closely related, and the protection of the ecological environment and tourism development are not contradictory. In terms of time, the overall trend is stable and upward from the perspective of the CCD of the three systems; in terms of space, Henan, Shandong, and Sichuan provinces have a relatively high level of CCD. While Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces have a lower level of CCD, which shows an upward trend from upstream to downstream in the space. The evolutionary trend of the CCD of the three systems in the basin will be upward in all provinces except for the Shandong province in the next five years. Tourism can promote both the ecological environment and public service from the perspective of the mutual influence mechanism.
Determinants of Sports Performance in Young National Level Swimmers: A Correlational Study between Anthropometric Variables, Muscle Strength, and Performance

This study aimed to verify how the anthropometric characteristics and muscle strength levels of young swimmers of both sexes can influence sport performance on 50 m and 400 m freestyle events; 184 swim- mers, aged between 13 and 16 years (mean±standard deviation: 14.64±0.80 years, 1.69±0.08 m height, 58.71±7.87 kg in body weight) participated in the study. The evaluation took place over two days. On Day 1, each subject was assessed with regard to anthropometric measures (i.e., body mass, height, wingspan); subsequently, the wingspan/height index and the body mass index, in addition to that, the strength of the lower and upper limbs were measured. On Day 2, swimming performances in 50m and 400m were evaluated, in the morning and afternoon, respectively. For the analysis of the results, the swimmers were divided into two groups, according to the competitive level (i.e., Group A and B). No anthropometric dif- ferences were found between male swimmers in the A and B Groups. However, female swimmers in Group A showed significant differences (p<0.05) in height and weight that positively affected performance. With regard to muscle strength, male Group A swimmers have a tendency towards higher values, with statistically significant differences in medicine ball throw. Differences in sports performance seem to be related to the biomechanical parameters of swimming, with higher values of the swimming index in male swimmers and gestural frequency in female swimmers. The performance level of young swimmers seems to be determined by anthropometric and muscle strength variables.
Lightweight and Compression-Resistant Carbon-Based Sandwich Honeycomb Absorber with Excellent Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

Honeycomb (HC) composites were fabricated by impregnating an aramid paper HC core with carbon nanotubes/carbon black/reduced graphene oxide (CNTs/CB/RGO) and polyurethane resin (PU). The sandwich HC (SHC) absorber containing HC composites with superior microwave-absorption properties were fabricated using the vacuum bagging method. Through the absorption performance of the SHC absorber, it can be concluded that the triple-layer SHC absorber has the best absorbing performance. The effective bandwidth (reflection loss < 10 dB) can be achieved in the entire frequency range of 2.2–18 GHz, and the minimum RL value is −35 dB. Furthermore, the compressive stress of the triple-layer SHC absorber reached 3.71 MPa, which is similar to the compressive stress of aluminum HC panels for aviation. Benefiting from the excellent integration of absorption and mechanical performance, the SHC has significant potential in the stealth-technology field.
The effectiveness of additional long-term use of bottle-positive expiratory pressure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A single-blind, randomized study

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the long-term use of bottle-positive expiratory pressure (PEP) in addition to breathing exercises as a home-based rehabilitation aid on exercise capacity, spirometric parameters, and quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Patients and methods From a total of 30 patients with stable moderate-to-severe COPD, 24 (22 males, 2 females; mean age: 62.4+7.2 years; range, 40 to 75 years) were included in the final study and randomized into two groups: the group that performed breath retaining techniques and the group that was instructed to use the bottle-PEP in addition to these techniques. Patients were evaluated with modified Medical Research Council scale, COPD assessment test (CAT), spirometry, St. George`s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and 6-min walk distance (6MWD) before, three months and six months after the initiation of the program. Results In the bottle-PEP group, patients` mean 6MWD increased from 380.6±67.6 to 444.1±22.0 m (p=0.002), the mean CAT score decreased from 17.8±36.8 to 12.9±6.2 (p=0.03), and the mean SGRQ total score significantly decreased from 57.1±23.1 to 47.6±21.9 (p<0.05) after three months. The improvement in 6MWD continued in six months but disappeared in SGRQ and CAT scores. In the exercise group, only the 6MWD improved, and there were no significant improvements in other parameters regardless of time. There were no significant differences between the groups in any of the parameters at any follow-up session. Conclusion While bottle-PEP does not significantly contribute when added to breathing exercises in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD in improving function and quality of life, it can be used as a safe choice in patients` home rehabilitation programs.
Spin- 1 ∕ 2 particles moving on a two-dimensional lattice with nearest-neighbor interactions can realize an autonomous quantum computer

What is the simplest Hamiltonian which can implement quantum computation without requiring any control operations during the computation process? In a previous paper we have constructed a 10-local finite-range interaction among qubits on a 2D lattice having this property. Here we show that pair-interactions among qutrits on a 2D lattice are sufficient, too, and can also implement an ergodic computer where the result can be read out from the time average state after some post-selection with high success probability. Two of the 3 qutrit states are given by the two levels of a spin-1/2 particle located at a specific lattice site, the third state is its absence. Usual hopping terms together with an attractive force among adjacent particles induce a coupled quantum walk where the particle spins are subjected to spatially inhomogeneous interactions implementing holonomic quantum computing. The holonomic method ensures that the implemented circuit does not depend on the time needed for the walk. Even though the implementation of the required type of spin-spin interactions is currently unclear, the model shows that quite simple Hamiltonians are powerful enough to allow for universal quantum computing in a closed physical system.
Pulsating Red Giants: New Results

We have (1) accumulated long-term (up to 15 years) photo electric photometry of 76 bright pulsating red giants (PRGs) and related stars, with V amplitudes of 0.04 to > 1 magnitude; (2) used a variety of techniques, including autocorrelation, to determine both "short" radial pulsation periods, and long secondary periods; (3) determined pulsation modes using the Q-value method; the modes range from fundamental to second overtone, independent of temperature; (4) tested wavelet analysis on small-amplitude PRGs; (5) made a special study of PRGs with V am plitudes less than 0.1 magnitude; and (6) called further attention to the problem of the long secondary periods of these stars. Our studies provide a "model" for the analysis and interpretation of larger, fainter surveys such as MACHO and OGLE.
A review of nutritional implications of bioactive compounds of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), their biological activities and nano-formulations

Ginger is a rhizome of the family Zingiberaceae and is one of the most commonly used spices in food and beverages worldwide. The pharmacological activities of ginger, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and protective effects against pain and gastrointestinal tract disorders, are primarily attributed to its phenolic compounds. However, knowledge about the mechanisms of toxicity, absorption, molecular targets, and dose–response relationship of ginger in human clinical studies is still elusive. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the current literature in the context of bioactive compounds and biological activities of ginger. Furthermore, recent findings regarding the absorption, tissue distribution, and nano-formulations of ginger bioactive compounds are discussed. The current in vitro and in vivo studies identified and validated ginger extracts and bioactive compounds, including gingerols, zingiberene, shogaols, and zingerone. Despite the data available regarding the pharmacological uses of ginger together with a deep mechanistic approach about the pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and dose-response studies in humans is yet to be provided. Studies on the absorption, bioavailability, adverse reactions, and safe doses of the bioactive compounds of ginger will additionally improve its therapeutic applications. Nonetheless, the use of nano-formulations of bioactive compounds of ginger will be a more effective strategy in drug delivery. These novel evidences may bring ginger to the forefront of nutraceuticals for the treatment and/or prevention of various human health disorders.
A case control study of needlescopic herniotomy versus open herniotomy in children

Introduction: Since the inception of laparoscopy, it has been explored in many fields of surgery, like in the abdomen, hernia, thorax, etc., Laparoscopic hernioplasty in adults is being practiced by many surgeons nowadays. However, the role of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in pediatric patients is not well-established, even though it is being explored as an alternative to open herniotomy procedure. In the present study, laparoscopic needlescopic hernia repair was compared with the conventional open herniotomy procedure. Material and Methods: The study was a case-control study conducted in a tertiary care hospital in northeast India during 2018–2021. A total of 25 patients underwent needlescopic hernia repair, the outcome of which was compared by collecting data of 25 more patients who earlier underwent open herniotomy repairs. Results: The laparoscopic needlescopic repair took a longer operative time as compared to the open technique with a smaller-sized incision. Conclusion: Laparoscopic needlescopic hernia repair is a safe and feasible procedure with a similar outcome to open herniotomy but with a smaller scar.