Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Holothurian Wall Hydrolysate Ameliorates Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunocompromised Mice via Regulating Immune Response and Improving Gut Microbiota

Some biologically active compounds isolated from sea cucumbers stimulate the body’s immune response by activating immune cells. Immune function is closely related to the integrity intestinal barrier and balanced gut microbiota. However, it is unknown whether the daily administration of holothurian wall hydrolysate (HWH) ameliorated intestinal dysbiosis and barrier injury induced by immunodeficiency. This study aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory effect and the underlying mechanism of HWH in cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunocompromised mice. BALB/c mice received CTX (80 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) once a day for 3 days to induce immunodeficiency, and then they received the oral administration of HWH (80 or 240 mg/kg) or levamisole hydrochloride (LH, 40 mg/kg, positive control), respectively, once a day for 7 days. We utilized 16S rRNA sequencing for microbial composition alterations, histopathological analysis for splenic and colonic morphology, Western blotting for expressions of tight junction proteins (TJs), and quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR for measurements of pro-inflammatory cytokines. HWH attenuated the immune organ damage induced by CTX, increased the secretions of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and promoted the recovery of goblet cells and the production of TJs (claudin-1, occludin, and ZO-1) in the colon of the immunocompromised mice. Moreover, HWH promoted the growth of beneficial microorganisms such as Lactobacillus, Lachnospiraceae, Christensenellaceae, and Bifidobacterium, while it suppressed the populations of Ruminococcus, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus. These results demonstrate that HWH elicits intestinal mucosal immunity, repairs the damage to intestinal mucosal integrity, and normalizes the imbalanced intestinal microbial profiles in immunocompromised mice. It may be helpful to identify the biological activities of HWH to support its potential use in new prebiotics, immunomodulatory agents, and medical additives for intestinal repair.
Modelling the volatility of the Ghana stock market: A comparative study

The Ghana stock market is considered attractive to both local and international investors, as it is a developing market with potential for growth. The volatility of stock returns is one of the crucial features of Ghana's stock market that should be carefully taken into account by any investor or policymaker. As a result, the GARCH, TGARCH, and EGARCH models were used in this study to analyze the volatility of the Ghanaian stock market. The models were assessed using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), RMSE and MAPE. The TGARCH (1,1) with generalized error distribution was the model that suited the data the best based on the AIC, RMSE, and MAPE values.
Changes in physical and technical match performance variables in football players promoted from the Spanish Second Division to the First Division

The aim of this study was to compare physical and technical match performance variables in football players who competed in the Spanish second division for one season and were promoted to the top (first) division in the following season. A total of 97 male outfield football players who were promoted from the second to the first division of the Spanish professional football league within the same team were analysed. Data were recorded using the TRACAB (ChyronHego, New York, USA) multicamera computerised optical tracking system during five seasons (2015–2016 to 2019–2020). A one-way ANOVA repeated measures analysis showed that players executed a greater number of high-intensity running (HIR) efforts (P < 0.001; ES: 0.258), as well as covering greater HIR distance (P < 0.010; ES: 0.106) and total running distance (TD) (P < 0.010; ES: 0.080), when they played in the first division compared with the second division. Moreover, players performed a lower number of passes (P < 0.01; ES = 0.116), short passes (P < 0.01; ES = 0.106), long passes (P < 0.05; ES = 0.067), dribbles (P < 0.001; ES = 0.146) and shots (P < 0.01; ES = 0.074) in the first division compared to the second division. No significant differences were found for any of the defensive variables evaluated. In conclusion, being promoted from the second to the first division of professional football requires players to adapt to greater physical demands and a reduced number of technical actions.
New developments in cognitive behavioral therapy as the first-line treatment of insomnia

: Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. Psychological, behavioral, and biological factors are implicated in the development and maintenance of insomnia as a disorder, although the etiology of insomnia remains under investigation, as it is still not fully understood. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) is a treatment for insomnia that is grounded in the science of behavior change, psychological theories, and the science of sleep. There is strong empirical evidence that CBTI is effective. Recognition of CBTI as the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia (National Institutes of Health consensus, British Medical Association) was based largely on evidence of its efficacy in primary insomnia. The aim of this article is to provide background information and review recent developments in CBTI, focusing on three domains: promising data on the use of CBTI when insomnia is experienced in the presence of comorbid conditions, new data on the use of CBTI as maintenance therapy, and emerging data on the delivery of CBTI through the use of technology and in primary care settings.
Traffic Safety in Organisations

At least thirty evaluations of interventions based in technological feedback have been published. However, most of them suffer from one or several deficits in methodology and/or reporting. The only well-conducted study would seem to be that of Wouters and Bos (2000) in the Netherlands. Featuring some 800 vehicles of different kinds, randomisation and matching procedures, several control groups and 1 year before and after time periods, the validity of the study would seem to be unrivalled. The results are also impressive with 20-30 percent reduction in crashes. This is even more so considering that there was no real feedback; the study was designed only to test whether surveillance as such would alter behaviour. Similar results for fuel consumption have been reported by Liimatainen (2011) and af Wåhlberg (2007).
Monkeypox Virus: A Comprehensive Overview of Viral Pathology, Immune Response, and Antiviral Strategies

Background: The years 2022–2023 witnessed a monkeypox virus (mpox) outbreak in some countries worldwide, where it exists in an endemic form. However, the number of infectious cases is continuously on the rise, and there has been an unexpected, drastic increase in cases that result from sustained transmission in non-endemic regions of the world. Under this scenario, it is pertinent for the world to be aware of healthcare threats to mpox infection. This review aimed to compile advanced data regarding the different aspects of mpox disease. Methods: A comprehensive strategy for the compilation of recent data was adopted to add data regarding mpox, biology, viral pathology, immune response, and brief details on the antiviral strategies under trial; the search was limited to 2016–2023. The aim is to make the scientific community aware of diverse aspects of mpox. Results: Consequently, detailed insights have been drawn with regard to the nature, epidemiology, etiology, and biological nature of mpox. Additionally, its host interaction and viral infectious cycle and immune interventions have been briefly elaborated. This comprehensively drawn literature review delivers brief insights into the biological nature, immune responses, and clinical developments in the form of therapeutics against mpox. This study will help scientists understand the biological nature and responses in hosts, which will further help clinicians with therapeutic handling, diagnosis, and treatment options. Conclusions: This study will provide updated information on mpox’s pathology, immune responses, and antiviral strategies. Moreover, it will also help the public to become educated on the healthcare-associated threat and take timely mitigation measures against expected mpox outbreaks in the future.
Reconfiguration of competencies from emerging country firms as a response to the emergence of disruptive new market : Evidence from the Indian pharmaceutical industry

This paper examines the response of Indian firms to the emergence of a new disruptive market segment resulting from evolving biosimilar regulation and saturation of existing generics markets. Using novel analytical tools such as a technology–market capability matrix and a capability creation model, we show technological trajectories and heterogeneity in firm strategies employed by incumbent firms to compete in the biosimilars market. Analysis reveals that entry into emerging country markets and R&D collaborations formed core elements of experimentation with strategy.
Comparison of percutaneous nephrolithotomy under spinal versus general anesthesia: a randomized clinical trial.

PURPOSE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of spinal anesthesia compared with general anesthesia in patients who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score <3 were randomly divided into two groups according to the type of anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia was performed using an injection of 0.25 mg/kg bupivacaine 0.5% in the intrathecal space; no opium (fentanyl) agent was used. All procedures were performed with the patient in the prone position. Stone access was made by using fluoroscopic guidance, and the tract was dilated using a single-stage technique. All patients received a solution including 1 mg/kg morphine in every 100 mL physiologic saline through the volumetric pump during the 3-hour post-PCNL period in the recovery room. Afterward, morphine (0.05 mg/kg) was injected only according to the verbal rating scale greater than 3 after discharge from the recovery room until 24 hours after surgery. RESULTS The two groups were matched by mean age, distribution of stone location, and stone burden. Mean operative time, hospital stay, stone-free rate and mean hemoglobin drop were comparable between the two groups. The rate of complications according to the Clavien grading system was nearly similar in both groups. Mean analgesic requirement during 24 hours after PCNL was 6.8 mg in the spinal group and 13.2 mg in the general group (P<0.001). CONCLUSION It seems that using spinal anesthesia by intrathecal injection of local anesthetic solutions vs general anesthesia has comparable surgical outcomes and reduces the requirement for analgesia after PCNL in the early postoperative period.
Approche institutionnelle de la santé animale : place des compétences, des territoires et des collectifs dans la gestion de la santé des bovins laitiers en France

Ce travail propose une analyse institutionnelle commonsienne de la gestion sanitaire des bovins en termes de competences collectives et individuelles. Un modele conceptuel institutionnel d'analyse de la sante animale est propose comme alternative possible au modele micro-economique neoclassique. La gestion de la sante est d'abord abordee a travers les competences et capacites de l'eleveur au sein de l'exploitation, en mobilisant les relations individus - collectifs inorganises. Le role des collectifs organises dans la sante animale est ensuite identifie, avec l'identification de collectifs productifs et de collectifs sanitaires. Les competences individuelles et collectives apparaissent territorialisees. Ce modele est ensuite valide a partir de donnees issues de la Base de Donnees Nationale d'Identification des bovins et du Controle Laitier, pour 2005 et 2006. La mortalite des bovins laitiers et la qualite cytologique du lait (cellules somatiques, temoins d'infection de la mamelle) de chaque exploitation sont respectivement analysees a l'aide de modeles lineaires et de panels statiques et dynamiques. Un effet global des competences de l'eleveur sur l'ensemble des troubles sanitaires de l'exploitation est observe. Les competences doivent etre au prealable revelees pour se traduire en capacites (actions). La spatialisation des modeles demontre enfin la dimension institutionnelle, souvent territorialisee, de la sante animale. L'analyse institutionnelle montre qu'une large part de la sante du troupeau repose sur les competences individuelles des eleveurs et sur des competences collectives. Ces competences peuvent etre revelees par un renforcement des interventions preventives et de la formation en elevage.
2 m temperatures along melting mid-latitude glaciers, and implications for the sensitivity of the mass balance to variations in temperature

Abstract In calculations of the variation in the 2 m temperature along glaciers, the lapse rate is generally assumed to be constant. This implies that the ratio of changes in the 2 m temperature above a glacier to changes in the temperature outside the thermal regime of that glacier (“climate sensitivity”) is equal to 1. However, data collected during the ablation season on several mid-latitude glaciers show that this sensitivity is smaller than 1. The lowest measured value (0.3) was obtained on the tongue of the Pasterze, a glacier in Austria. The measured temperature distribution along the Pasterze cannot be described by a constant lapse rate either. However, there is almost a linear relationship between potential temperature and the distance along die glacier. This paper introduces a simple, analytical, thermodynamic glacier-wind model which can be applied to melting glaciers and which explains the observed “climate sensitivities” and temperature distributions much better than calculations based on a constant lapse rate. This way of modelling the 2 m temperatures has implications for the sensitivity of the surface mass balance to atmospheric warming outside the thermal regime of the glacier. The magnitude of this sensitivity is computed with a surface energy-balance model applied to the Pasterze. When a constant lapse rate is used instead of the proposed glacier-wind model to compute changes in the 2 m temperature along the glacier, the negative change in mass balance due to 1°C warming is overestimated by 22%.
The Mauryan horizon : an archaeological analysis of early Buddhism and the Mauryan Empire at Lumbini, Nepal

The archaeology of Buddhism in South Asia is reliant on the art historical study of monumental remains, the identification of which is tied to the textual historical sources that dominate Buddhist scholarship. The development and spread of early Buddhism from the third century BCE has been intrinsically linked with the Mauryan Emperor Asoka, and is consequently reliant on the identification of ‘Mauryan’ remains in the archaeological record. The aim of this thesis is to test the scholarly and physical evidence for the ‘Mauryan horizon’ that has shaped archaeological methodology in South Asia, by demonstrating challenges in the interpretation of the relationship between the Mauryan Empire and the spread of early Buddhism. The typical ‘markers’ of early Buddhism and Mauryan occupation are defined based on a historical study of South Asian archaeology, and the presence of these markers is tested at Lumbini, Nepal, using the 2011-2013 Durham University/UNESCO excavation data, and compared to published case studies representing a sample of site types across South Asia. The results indicate a pattern of cultural, religious, and structural continuity through the so-called ‘Mauryan Horizon’, and analysis of Mauryan and Buddhist ‘markers’ proves that the use of these materials as indicators of either date or site type is flawed and unreliable. The continuations of practice and culture across the Mauryan horizon demonstrate flaws in the accepted account of Buddhism’s state-sponsored propagation in South Asia by the Emperor Asoka in the third century BCE, and that archaeological investigations of early Buddhist sites below the ‘brick horizon’ are necessary. The collated evidence demonstrates the viability of Monica Smith’s network model of Mauryan imperial infrastructure, but shows that alternative agents of Buddhist propagation should be considered. The conclusions highlight the methodological problems of unquestioning reliance on textual sources in archaeological and historical research in South Asia.
Vicious circles: accounts of stranger sexual assault reflect abusive variants of conventional interactions

This study investigates whether accounts of sexual assault, as reported to police officers by individuals who have been raped, reflect abusive variants of conventional interpersonal scripts. Previous studies on conventional interactions suggest that a circular ordering of interpersonal descriptors located around two principal axes, dominance-submission and co-operation-hostility, may represent such events. Using multivariate statistical analyses that geometrically represent the co-occurrence of the various actions described by the victims, 251 victim statements were examined. Study One ('series offences') examined serial stranger assault cases committed by 42 different offenders resulting in a total of 112 victim statements. Study Two ('single offences') examined victim statements involving 139 different offenders committing 1 offence each; all of these were also stranger attacks. Both studies employed statements taken in the UK. In both studies the resulting configuration of actions described evidenced an approximation to a circular order. The replication of this structure in this domain suggests that such accounts reflect a manipulative and abusive variant of more conventional interactional processes. Such a finding generates a number of hypotheses about potentially different responses that are contingent upon the type of interaction described. The implications of this are discussed.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Applying phylogenomics to understand the emergence of Shiga Toxin producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains causing severe human disease in the United Kingdom.

Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 is a recently emerged zoonotic pathogen with considerable mor-bidity. Since the emergence of this serotype in the 1980s, research has focussed on unravelling the evolutionary events from the E. coli O55:H7 ancestor to the contemporaneous globally dispersed strains observed today. In this study, the genomes of over 1000 isolates from both human clinical cases and cattle, spanning the history of STEC O157:H7 in the UK, were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the ancestry, key acquisition events and global context of the strains. Dated phylogenies estimated the time to evolution of the most recent common ancestor of the current circulating global clone to be 175 years ago. This event was followed by rapid diversiﬁcation. We show the acquisition of speciﬁc virulence determinates has occurred relatively recently and coincides with its recent detection in the human population. We used clinical outcome data from 493 cases of STEC O157:H7 to assess the relative risk of severe disease including haemolytic uraemic syndrome from each of the deﬁned clades in the population and show the dramatic effect Shiga toxin repertoire has on virulence. We describe two strain replacement events that have occurred in the cattle population in the UK over the last 30 years, one resulting in a highly virulent strain that has accounted for the majority of clinical cases in the UK over the last decade. There is a need to understand the selection pressures maintaining Shiga-toxin-encoding bacteriophages in the ruminant reservoir and the study afﬁrms the requirement for close surveillance of this pathogen in both ruminant and human populations.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Applying phylogenomics to understand the emergence of Shiga Toxin producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains causing severe human disease in the United Kingdom.

: Shiga Toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 is a recently emerged zoonotic pathogen with considerable morbidity. Since the serotype emerged in the 1980s, research has focussed on unravelling the evolutionary events from the E. coli O55:H7 ancestor to the contemporaneous globally dispersed strains. In this study the genomes of over 1000 isolates from human clinical cases and cattle, spanning the history of STEC O157:H7 in the United Kingdom were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis reveals the ancestry, key acquisition events and global context of the strains. Dated phylogenies estimate the time to the most recent common ancestor of the current circulating global clone to 175 years ago, followed by rapid diversification. We show the acquisition of specific virulence determinates occurred relatively recently and coincides with its recent detection in the human population. Using clinical outcome data from 493 cases of STEC O157:H7 we assess the relative risk of severe disease including HUS from each of the defined clades in the population and show the dramatic effect Shiga toxin complement has on virulence. We describe two strain replacement events that have occurred in the cattle population in the UK over the last 30 years; one resulting in a highly virulent strain that has accounted for the majority of clinical cases ABSTRACT Shiga Toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 is a recently emerged zoonotic pathogen with 26 considerable morbidity. Since the emergence of this serotype in the 1980s, research has focussed 27 on unravelling the evolutionary events from the E. coli O55:H7 ancestor to the contemporaneous 28 globally dispersed strains observed today. In this study the genomes of over one thousand isolates Shiga toxin and severe disease. With this analysis we show specific circulating 64 strains have >5 fold increase risk of severe disease than the ancestral STEC O157:H7 65 Finally we show that recent strain replacement has occurred in Great Britain shaping the diversity 66 STEC O157:H7 observed today and introducing a high virulence clone into the British 67
Landscape and Urban Planning

Research indicates a relationship between sensory perception of natural environments and human health. Our hypothesis is that people perceive green spaces in terms of certain dimensions, where some dimensions are more important and preferred than others with respect to restoring people from stress. The aims are to: identify and describe the perceived dimensions in nature; identify which dimensions people in general prefer; identify the dimensions people reporting stress prefer; and identify a combination of the dimensions people reporting stress prefer. A total of 953 randomly selected informants from nine Swedish cities (representative of the Swedish population) answered a postal questionnaire with pre-coded questions. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: personal data, preferences for natural qualities and self-estimations of health status. The data were analyzed using factor analysis and regression analyses. The results identify and describe eight perceived sensory dimensions. People in general prefer the dimension Serene, followed by Space, Nature, Rich in Species, Refuge, Culture, Prospect and Social. The dimensions Refuge and Nature are most strongly correlated with stress, indicating a need to find the most restorative environments. A combination of Refuge, Nature and Rich in Species, and a low or no presence of Social, could be interpreted as the most restorative environment for stressed individuals. From a city planning perspective, the results indicate how urban green spaces can be viewed as elements of importance to public mental health. However, before the dimensions can be used by practitioners as hroug tools to promote health t