Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selection of cereal-sourced lactic acid bacteria as candidate starters for the baking industry

The quality of sourdough bread mainly depends on metabolic activities of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by LAB affect positively the technological and nutritional properties of the bread, while phytases improve the bioavailability of the minerals by reducing its phytate content. In the present study, a pool of 152 cereal-sourced LAB were screened for production of phytases and EPS for potential use as sourdough starter cultures for the baking industry. There was large heterogeneity in the phytase activity observed among the screened isolates, with 95% showing the ability to degrade sodium phytate on plates containing Sourdough Simulation Medium (SSM). The isolates Lactobacillus brevis LD65 and Lactobacillus plantarum PB241 showed the highest enzymatic activity, while the isolates ascribed to Weissella confusa were characterized by low or no phytase activity. Only 18% of the screened LAB produced EPS, which were distinguished as ropy or mucoid phenotypes on SSM supplemented with sucrose. Almost all the EPS producers carried one or more genes (epsD/E and/or epsA) involved in the production of heteropolysaccharides (HePS), whereas the isolates ascribed to Leuconostoc citreum and W. confusa carried genes involved in the production of both HePS and homopolysaccharides (HoPS). Monosaccharide composition analysis of the EPS produced by a selected subset of isolates revealed that all the HePS included glucose, mannose, and galactose, though at different ratios. Furthermore, a few isolates ascribed to L. citreum and W. confusa and carrying the gtf gene produced β-glucans after fermentation in an ad hoc formulated barley flour medium. Based on the overall results collected, a subset of candidate sourdough starter cultures for the baking industry was selected, including Lb. brevis LD66 and L. citreum PB220, which showed high phytase activity and positive EPS production.
The Power of Dynamic Asset Allocation

This article re-assesses the evidence and practical relevance of asset returns’ long-horizon predictability, investigating whether practitioners can profitably exploit predictability patterns by using relatively simple, dynamic asset allocation strategies. The analysis shows forward-looking models that rely on steady-state equations for equities and initial yields to maturity for bonds are far better predictors of markets’ long-run direction than is the industry’s conventional approach, which involves extrapolating from historical averages. Using a long-term U.S. sample from 1926 to 2010, the authors find that predictability translates into significantly better risk-adjusted performance from dynamic asset allocation strategies that rely on forward-looking inputs.
Intraductal transplantation models of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma reveal progressive transition of molecular subtypes.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most lethal common malignancy, with little improvement in patient outcomes over the past decades. Recently, subtypes of pancreatic cancer with different prognoses have been elaborated, however the inability to model these subtypes has precluded mechanistic investigation of their origins. Here, we present a xenotransplantation model of PDAC in which neoplasms originate from patient-derived organoids injected directly into murine pancreatic ducts. Our model enables distinction of the two main PDAC subtypes: intraepithelial neoplasms from this model progress in an indolent or invasive manner representing the classical or basal-like subtypes of PDAC, respectively. Parameters that influence PDAC subtype specification in this intraductal model include cell plasticity and hyperactivation of the Ras pathway. Finally, through intratumoral dissection and the direct manipulation of RAS gene dosage, we identify a suite of RAS-regulated secreted and membrane bound proteins which may represent potential candidates for therapeutic intervention in PDAC patients.
White tree rings formed in trembling aspen saplings following experimental defoliation

Recent studies of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) in western Canada have shown a correlation between past insect defoliation events and the formation of narrow, abnormally pale-coloured ("white") tree rings. The objectives of this study were to test the hypothesis that defoliation causes the formation of white rings and to examine how defoliation affects ring width and density. We experimentally defoliated 7- to 18-year-old aspen in June, July, or August 1997 and subsequently found that white rings were formed the same year in all aspen that were severely defo- liated in early June. These white rings were much narrower than in adjacent trees left as controls, and mean xylem density of the white rings (0.27 g·cm -3 ) was significantly reduced relative to normal rings (0.35-0.40 g·cm -3 ). In the year following defoliation, the tree rings remained narrow, but their appearance and density had returned to normal. Aspen defoliated later in the season formed relatively normal rings in 1997, but ring widths were reduced in 1998. The results confirm that white rings in aspen can be a useful retrospective indicator of the severe, early season defoliation that is typical during major outbreaks of forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria Hbn.) and other insects. Resume : Des etudes recentes portant sur le peuplier faux-tremble (Populus tremuloides Michx.) de l'Ouest du Canada montrent qu'il y a une correlation entre les episodes passees de defoliation par les insectes et la formation de cernes annuels etroits et de couleur anormalement pâle (« blanc »). Cette etude avait comme objectifs de tester l'hypothese voulant que la defoliation entraine la formation des cernes pâles et egalement d'examiner comment la defoliation af- fecte la largeur et le poids specifique des cernes. Nous avons experimentalement defolie des peupliers âges d e7a1 8 ans en juin, juillet ou aout 1997 et nous avons observe par la suite que des cernes pâles avaient ete formes la meme annee chez tous les peupliers qui avaient ete defolies tot en juin. Ces cernes pâles etaient beaucoup plus etroits que ceux des arbres adjacents utilises comme temoins et leur poids specifique moyen (0,27 g·cm -3 ) etait significativement inferieur a celui des cernes normaux (0,35 a 0,40 g·cm -3 ). L'annee qui a suivi la defoliation, les cernes sont demeures etroits mais leur apparence et leur poids specifique etaient redevenus normaux. Les peupliers defolies plus tard dans la saison ont forme des cernes relativement normaux en 1997 mais ceux-ci etaient plus etroits en 1998. Les resultats confirment que les cernes pâles chez le peuplier faux-tremble peuvent retrospectivement servir d'indicateur de la defo- liation severe et hâtive qui est typique lors d'epidemies majeures de la livree des forets (Malacosoma disstria Hbn.) ou d'autres insectes. (Traduit par la Redaction)
T regulatory cells in renal tissue of patients with nephrotic syndrome

Eroglu FK et al. studied 31 kidney biopsies with minimal change disease (MCD) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). It has been shown that biopsy samples from steroidresistant FSGS patients with CD80+ expression had significantly lower number of Tregs compared to CD80 ( ) biopsies. Approximately 40 years ago, Shalhoub et al. suggested a hypothesis about possible participation of T cells in the developing of MCD and FSGS. However, the pathogenesis is still not fully understood. We also have studied FOXP3-positive cells in the renal interstitium (mm) of 65 adult patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN): 18 patients had FSGS, 16 membranous nephropathy (MN), 11 membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN), 20 IgA nephropathy (Table 1). We have also shown that the number of Treg cells in the interstitial compartment in the adult patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS) was significantly lower 2.0 [0.4–4.0] cells/1.5 mm than that in the CGN patients without NS 8.5 [3.0–16.0] cells/ 1.5 mm, P < 0.05. Moreover, we revealed a decrease in the number of Treg FoxP3-positive cells in the tubulointerstitial compartment in FSGS and MN compared with that in other histological variants of CGN (Fig. 1). Treg can suppress the activation of effector and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes either directly or indirectly by activating the production of anti-inflammatory IL-10. Moreover, Treg cells can influence immune cells in the infiltrate (macrophages, dendritic cells, B lymphocytes, and neutrophils) contributing to a switch from the proinflammatory phenotype to the anti-inflammatory phenotype. Eroglu et al. showed the disbalance in the number of Treg cells and CD-80 expression in kidney tissue of children with steroid-resistant FSGS. The possible role of integrins not only for podocytes but also for Tregs in nephrotic syndrome is discussed. Thus, a significant decrease in the number of Treg cells in the renal tissue revealed in patients with NS. The disturbance in regulatory anti-inflammatory mechanisms was more pronounced in steroid-resistant FSGS forms. This data can be of
Candida as Pathogens of Onychomycosis among Elderly Diabetic Patients

Onychomycosis is a common fungal infection affecting nails. The primary cause for onychomycosis is Non-dermatophytes, while Candida species have emerged as second-line pathogens. Onychomycosis due to Candida [candidal onychomycosis] is increasingly found in i patients with diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Diabetes can result in complications that affect all systems of the body. Of particular relevance to onychomycosis rates is the effect of (T2DM). on the lower extremities. (T2DM). can lead to lower extremity arterial disease; in turn this can predispose patients to onychomycosis of the toenails. Materials and methods: Incidence were determined in 116 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients over from September2013 to January 2014 included direct microscopy and repeated cultures. A higher incidence of onychomycosis. who were registered at the Sedee Hussein Polyclinic of Benghazi city. Results: The prevalence of onychomycosis among diabetics in our study was high, culture was positive in 84 of 116 patients [41%] patients with onychomycosis, laboratory culture identified yeasts as the pathogen in 22% of positive cases. Conclusion: Onychomycosis is an important cause of morbidity in diabetic patients, increasing their risks for limb amputation and local and systemic secondary bacterial infections. Because onychomycosis is more common in diabetic patients and can complicate the disease, clinicians must be vigilant in its diagnosis and complete in its treatment.
Bone Conduction Vibration Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (VEMP) Testing: Reliability in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults.

OBJECTIVES Bone conduction vibration (BCV) vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) are clinically desirable in children for multiple reasons. However, no accepted standard exists for stimulus type and the reliability of BCV devices has not been investigated in children. The objective of the current study was to determine which BCV VEMP method (B-71, impulse hammer, or Mini-shaker) yields the highest response rates and reliability in a group of adults, adolescents, and children. It was hypothesized that the Mini-shaker would yield the highest response rates and reliability because it provides frequency specificity, higher output levels without distortion, and the most consistent force output as compared to the impulse hammer and B-71. DESIGN Participants included 10 child (ages 5 to 10), 11 adolescent (ages 11 to 18), and 11 young adult (ages 23 to 39) normal controls. Cervical VEMP (cVEMP) and ocular VEMP (oVEMP) were measured in response to suprathreshold air-conducted, 500 Hz tone bursts and 3 types of BCV (B-71, impulse hammer, and Mini-shaker) across 2 test sessions to assess reliability. RESULTS For cVEMP, response rates were 100% for all methods in all groups with the exception of the adult group in response to the impulse hammer (95%). For oVEMP, response rates varied by group and BCV method. For cVEMP, reliability was highest in adults using the Mini-shaker, in adolescents using the impulse hammer, and in children using the B-71. For oVEMP, reliability was highest in adults using the Mini-shaker, in adolescents using the Mini-shaker or impulse hammer, and in children using the impulse hammer. Age positively correlated with air-conducted oVEMP amplitude, but not cVEMP amplitude or cVEMP corrected amplitude. Age negatively correlated with all BCV VEMP amplitudes with the exception of cVEMP corrected amplitude in response to the Mini-shaker. CONCLUSIONS All BCV methods resulted in consistent cVEMP responses (response rates 95 to 100%) with at least moderate reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥ 0.5) for all groups. Similarly, all BCV methods resulted in consistent oVEMP responses (89 to 100%) with at least moderate reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥ 0.5) except for the B-71 in adults.
Parenting style during childhood is associated with the development of chronic pain and a patient's need for psychosomatic treatment in adulthood

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between parenting style and chronic pain and the patients’ need for psychosomatic treatment in adulthood. We compared 4 combinations of 2 parenting style subscales, high and low care and overprotection, among the following 4 age- and sex-matched groups: community-dwelling subjects without chronic pain (n = 100), community-dwelling subjects with chronic pain (n = 100), outpatients with chronic pain (n = 50), and inpatients with chronic pain (n = 50). Parenting style was assessed for both the mother and father by use of the Parental Bonding Instrument questionnaire. The parenting style associated with the worst outcome was defined as both low care and high overprotection, as reported in previous studies. The frequency of reported adverse parenting style was significantly higher among chronic pain patients than community-dwelling subjects without chronic pain (all P < .05). The odds ratios for an adverse parenting style significantly increased through the categories after adjusting for demographic factors and the pain visual analog scale (P for trend <.01). These findings suggest that parental low care and high overprotection during childhood contribute to the future risk of chronic pain and the patients’ need for psychosomatic treatment in adulthood.
DCDIR: A Deep Cross-Domain Recommendation System for Cold Start Users in Insurance Domain

Internet insurance products are apparently different from traditional e-commerce goods for their complexity, low purchasing frequency, etc. So, cold start problem is even worse. In traditional e-commerce field, several cross-domain recommendation (CDR) methods have been studied to infer preferences of cold start users based on their preferences in other domains. However, these CDR methods couldn't be applied into insurance domain directly due to product complexity. In this paper, we propose a Deep Cross-Domain Insurance Recommendation System (DCDIR) for cold start users. Specifically, we first learn more effective user and item latent features in both domains. In target domain, given the complexity of insurance products, we design a meta-path based method over insurance product knowledge graph. In source domain, we employ GRU to model users' dynamic interests. Then we learn a feature mapping function by multi-layer perceptions. We apply DCDIR on our company's dataset, and show DCDIR significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art solutions.
A Multilingual Approach for Unsupervised Search Task Identification

Users convert their information needs to search queries, which are then run on available search engines. Query logs registered by search engines enable the automatic identification of the search tasks that users perform to fulfill their information needs. Search engine logs contain queries in multiple languages, but most existing methods for search task identification are not multilingual. Some methods rely on search context training of custom embeddings or external indexed collections that support a single language, making it challenging to support the multiple languages of queries run in search engines. Other methods depend on supervised components and user identifiers to model search tasks. The supervised components require labeled collections, which are difficult and costly to get in multiple languages. Also, the need for user identifiers renders these methods unfeasible in user agnostic scenarios. Hence, we propose an unsupervised multilingual approach for search task identification. The proposed approach is user agnostic, enabling its use in both user-independent and personalized scenarios. Furthermore, the multilingual query representation enables us to address the existing trade-off when mapping new queries to the identified search tasks.
Racial disparities in the incidence of colon cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background Studies have explored the relationship between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) [ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD)] and colon cancer (CC). Additionally, racial disparities in the incidence of CC is well known. However, the impact of racial disparity in IBD patients who develop CC remains unclear. The aim of this study is to address the knowledge gap in this particular group of patients. Methods A retrospective analysis was done using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2011. We included patients with IBD over age ≥18 years with a diagnosis of CC. Patients were stratified by race, gender, age, presence of IBD and CC. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the groups. Results A total of 57,542 patients were included (CD: 36,357, UC: 21,001). Of all patients with and without IBD, advanced age, Black and Asian race conferred an increased risk of developing CC, whereas female gender, Hispanic and Native American race conferred a protective effect. In patients with IBD, advanced age conferred an increased risk for developing CC while female gender conferred a protective effect. In this subset of patients, black race conferred a protective effect. Conclusions Racial disparity exists in the overall incidence of CC and among patients with IBD who develop CC. Interestingly, black race conferred a protective effect for patients with IBD, contrary to what is seen in the general population. These findings could be attributed to the environmental factors and genetic makeup between racial groups. Further studies are warranted to better understand these disparities.
Incidence of aerobic bacteria and Candida albicans in post-operative wound infections

The aim of the study was to isolate aerobic bacteria and Candida albicans from post-operative wounds, establish the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of isolated bacterial agents and proffer ways and means for the prevention of post-operative wound infections. A total of 350 swab specimens from post-operative wounds of consenting patients in Central Hospital, Benin City, were screened for the presence of aerobic pathogens and C. albicans using standard bacteriological methods. The samples were collected using sterile Evepon swab sticks and inoculated onto Blood Agar, MacConkey Agar and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar plates. The 348 specimens (96.4%) yielded pathogens in the following order:Staphylococcus aureus (35.0%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26.0%), Escherichia coli (13.0%), C. albicans (9.3%), Klebsiella aerogenes (7.4%), Proteus spp. (7.4%) and Streptococcus spp. (1.9%). The highest infection was seen in the age group 51 years and above, followed by 41 - 50, 21 - 30 and 11 - 20, while 0 - 10 years gave the lowest incidence. A gradual decline in resistance to infection among patients in the age group 51 and above could be responsible for the high prevalence rate (100%) observed in this study. The anti-microbial susceptibility test indicated that there were differences in the sensitivity and resistance patterns of the isolates. Key words: Aerobes, Candida albicans, post-operative wounds, infections.
Rehabilitation and Covid-19: the Cochrane Rehabilitation 2020 rapid living systematic review.

INTRODUCTION This paper improves the methodology of the first edition of the rapid living systematic review started in April 2020, with the aim to gather and present the current evidence informing rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19 and/or describing the consequences due to the disease and its treatment. METHODS The Cochrane methodology for a rapid living systematic review was applied. Primary research papers, published from January 1st to June 30th, 2020, reporting patients' data, with no limits of study design were included. Studies were categorized for study design, research question, COVID-19 phase, limitations of functioning (disability) of rehabilitation interest and type of rehabilitation service involved. Methodological quality assessment was based on the Cochrane Risk of Bias tools, and the level of evidence table (OCEBM 2011) for all the other studies. RESULTS Thirty-six, out of 3703 papers, were included. One paper was of level 2 (RCT), 7 were of level 3 (2 cohort studies, 2 cross-sectional studies and 3 case-control studies), and 28 papers of level 4 (descriptive studies); 61% of papers reported epidemiological data on clinical presentations, 5 investigated natural history/determining factors, 1 searched prevalence, 2 studies reported on intervention efficacy (though not on harms), and 5 studies looked at health service organization. DISCUSSION Main issues emerging from the review: it is advised to test for COVID-19 people with neurological disorders presenting with symptom changes; dysphagia is a frequent complication after oro-tracheal intubation in COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU; after discharge, COVID-19 survivors may report persistent restrictive ventilatory deficits regardless of disease severity; there is only sparse and low quality evidence concerning the efficacy of any rehabilitation intervention to promote functional recovery; a substantial increase in resource (staff and equipment) is needed for rehabilitation.
Jointly Non-Sampling Learning for Knowledge Graph Enhanced Recommendation

Knowledge graph (KG) contains well-structured external information and has shown to be effective for high-quality recommendation. However, existing KG enhanced recommendation methods have largely focused on exploring advanced neural network architectures to better investigate the structural information of KG. While for model learning, these methods mainly rely on Negative Sampling (NS) to optimize the models for both KG embedding task and recommendation task. Since NS is not robust (e.g., sampling a small fraction of negative instances may lose lots of useful information), it is reasonable to argue that these methods are insufficient to capture collaborative information among users, items, and entities. In this paper, we propose a novel Jointly Non-Sampling learning model for Knowledge graph enhanced Recommendation (JNSKR). Specifically, we first design a new efficient NS optimization algorithm for knowledge graph embedding learning. The subgraphs are then encoded by the proposed attentive neural network to better characterize user preference over items. Through novel designs of memorization strategies and joint learning framework, JNSKR not only models the fine-grained connections among users, items, and entities, but also efficiently learns model parameters from the whole training data (including all non-observed data) with a rather low time complexity. Experimental results on two public benchmarks show that JNSKR significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods like RippleNet and KGAT. Remarkably, JNSKR also shows significant advantages in training efficiency (about 20 times faster than KGAT), which makes it more applicable to real-world large-scale systems.