Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimizing the Timeframe to Produce Polychaetes (Hediste diversicolor) Enriched With Essential Fatty Acids Under Different Combinations of Temperature and Salinity

Polychaetes can be successfully employed to recover essential fatty acids (EFA) from wasted uneaten aquafeeds present in aquaculture effluents. The optimization of the timeframe required to produce premium ragworms (Hediste diversicolor) biomass rich in EFA is paramount to make available to the aquafeeds industry another alternative ingredient to fish meal and fish oil. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential enrichment of ragworms fatty acid (FA) profile when fed a commercial aquafeed during 10, 20, and 40 days (D10, D20, and D40) under different combinations of water temperature (20 and 25°C) and salinity (15, 20, and 25). Total FA incremented progressively overtime, with D40 polychaetes exhibiting average values ranging between 70 and 90 μg mg–1 DW. The average values of n-6 FA ranged between 13 and 17 μg mg–1 DW, while that of n-3 FA varied between 17 and 19 μg mg–1 DW at D40. No significant differences were found in the FA profile of H. diversicolor cultured under different combinations of temperature and salinity. The FA profile of cultured polychaetes exhibited between 28 and 31% dissimilarity from that of wild conspecifics and displayed a higher content of two essential n-3 FA: eicosapentaenoic (20:5 n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (22:6 n-3, DHA) (values ranging between 9.6–11.2% and 4.3–5.0% of total FA, respectively). A higher similarity in FA profile was recorded between D40 polychaetes and aquafeed than with initially stocked or wild specimens. Palmitic (16:0), oleic (18:1 n-9), linoleic (18:2 n-6), eicosadienoic (20:2 n-6), EPA (20:5 n-3), and DHA (22:6 n-3) were the FA whose concentration exhibited the highest increment. Evidence of de novo FA biosynthesis was observed through the formation of some FA that were neither present in the initially stocked biomass, nor in the aquafeed supplied, such as 5,11-eicosadienoate (Δ 5,1120:2), 7,13,16-docosatrienoate (Δ 7,13,1622:3), dihomo-gamma-linolenic (20:3 n-6), eicosatrienoic (20:3 n-3) and eicosatetraenoic (20:4 n-3) acids. A plateau of total FA, n-6, and n-3 FA was not reached over the study period. Overall, the present study highlights the potential of H. diversicolor as an extractive species for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) applications.
Intestinal Microbiota—A Promising Target for Antiviral Therapy?

The intestinal microbiota is thought to be an important biological barrier against enteric pathogens. Its depletion, however, also has curative effects against some viral infections, suggesting that different components of the intestinal microbiota can play both promoting and inhibitory roles depending on the type of viral infection. The two primary mechanisms by which the microbiota facilitates or inhibits viral invasion involve participation in the innate and adaptive immune responses and direct or indirect interaction with the virus, during which the abundance and composition of the intestinal microbiota might be changed by the virus. Oral administration of probiotics, faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and antibiotics are major therapeutic strategies for regulating intestinal microbiota balance. However, these three methods have shown limited curative effects in clinical trials. Therefore, the intestinal microbiota might represent a new and promising supplementary antiviral therapeutic target, and more efficient and safer methods for regulating the microbiota require deeper investigation. This review summarizes the latest research on the relationship among the intestinal microbiota, anti-viral immunity and viruses and the most commonly used methods for regulating the intestinal microbiota with the goal of providing new insight into the antiviral effects of the gut microbiota.
Differentiation and Application of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Derived Cardiovascular Cells for Treatment of Heart Diseases: Promises and Challenges

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are derived from human embryos (human embryonic stem cells) or reprogrammed from human somatic cells (human induced pluripotent stem cells). They can differentiate into cardiovascular cells, which have great potential as exogenous cell resources for restoring cardiac structure and function in patients with heart disease or heart failure. A variety of protocols have been developed to generate and expand cardiovascular cells derived from hPSCs in vitro. Precisely and spatiotemporally activating or inhibiting various pathways in hPSCs is required to obtain cardiovascular lineages with high differentiation efficiency. In this concise review, we summarize the protocols of differentiating hPSCs into cardiovascular cells, highlight their therapeutic application for treatment of cardiac diseases in large animal models, and discuss the challenges and limitations in the use of cardiac cells generated from hPSCs for a better clinical application of hPSC-based cardiac cell therapy.
Improving the Accuracy of Subseasonal Forecasting of China Precipitation With a Machine Learning Approach

Precipitation change, which is closely related to drought and flood disasters in China, affects billions of people every year, and the demand for subseasonal forecasting of precipitation is even more urgent. Subseasonal forecasting, which is more difficult than weather forecasting, however, has remained as a blank area in meteorological service for a long period of time. To improve the accuracy of subseasonal forecasting of China precipitation, this work introduces the machine learning method proposed by Hwang et al. in 2019 to predict the precipitation in China 2–6 weeks in advance. The authors used a non-linear regression model called local linear regression together with multitask feature election (MultiLLR) model and chosen 21 meteorological elements as candidate predictors to integrate diverse meteorological observation data. This method automatically eliminates irrelevant predictors so as to establish the forecast equations using multitask feature selection process. The experiments demonstrate that the pressure and Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) are the most important physical factors. The average prediction skill is 0.11 during 2011–2016, and there are seasonal differences in forecasting skills, evidenced by higher forecast skills of winter and spring seasons than summer and autumn seasons. The proposed method can provide effective and indicative guidance for the subseasonal prediction of precipitation in China. By adding another three factors, Arctic Oscillation (AO) index, Western North Pacific Monsoon (WNPM) index and Western North Pacific Subtropical High (WNPSH) index into the MultiLLR model, the authors find that AO can improve the forecast skill of China precipitation to the maximum extent from 0.11 to 0.13, followed by WNPSH. Moreover, the ensemble skill of our model and CFSv2 is 0.16. This work shows that our subseasonal prediction of China precipitation should be benefited from the MultiLLR model.
Gratitude and Social Media: A Pilot Experiment on the Benefits of Exposure to Others’ Grateful Interactions on Facebook

Facebook and other social networking sites allow observation of others’ interactions that in normal, offline life would simply be undetectable (e.g., a two-voice conversation viewable on the Facebook wall, from the perspective of a real, silent witness). Drawing on this specific property, the theory of social learning, and the most direct implications of emotional contagion, our pilot experiment (N = 49) aimed to test whether the exposure to others’ grateful interactions on Facebook enhances (a) users’ felt gratitude, (b) expressed gratitude, and (c) their subjective well-being. For the threefold purpose, we created ad hoc Facebook groups in which the exposure to some accomplices’ exchange of grateful messages for 2 weeks was experimentally manipulated and users’ felt/expressed gratitude and well-being were consequently assessed. Results partially supported both hypotheses. Observing others’ exchange of grateful posts/comments on Facebook appeared to enhance participants’ in-person expression of gratitude (i.e., self-reported gratitude expression within face-to-face interactions), but not their direct and subjective experiences of gratitude. Similarly, exposure to others’ grateful messages improved some components of subjective well-being, such as satisfaction with life, but not negative and positive affect. Taken together, however, our preliminary findings suggest for the first time that social networking sites may actually amplify the spreading of gratitude and its benefits. Implications of our results for professionals and future research in the field of health, education, and social media communication are discussed.
Impact of the Optimistic Perspective on the Intention to Create Social Enterprises: A Comparative Study Between Portugal and Spain

Social entrepreneurship (SE) enables business consolidation, combined with the production of positive impact and improvements in society. Aligned with 2030 Agenda for the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it is important to clarify the role of social entrepreneurs, as they are making visible the impact of their creative ideas in several areas, from civic engagement to the environment, health and learning. The main purpose of this study is to specify a model of social entrepreneurial intention (SEI) and explore it by country, based on the dimensions of the Theory of Planned Behavior and how these are mediated by spirituality and optimism. With a convenience sample of 1476 Portuguese and Spanish students, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used. For a deeply understanding, variables within the model were compared by country using t-rest, and multivariate analysis was done by each one separately. The mean comparison between countries, demonstrated that there are differences only between perceived behavioral control (PBC), Spirituality, Optimism and SEI, with Portuguese students scoring the highest values, in all variables except Optimism. A mediation path was carried out, and Spirituality mediate a significant effect between the three TPB dimensions in Portuguese students, but not in students from Spain. Finally, after discussing the results, theoretical and practical contributions are analyzed, with regard to the field of SE in Portugal and Spain, and alternatives are pointed out for a more social and sustainable entrepreneurial future.
Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule Regulates Osteoblastic Differentiation Through Wnt/β-Catenin and PI3K-Akt Signaling Pathways in MC3T3-E1 Cells

Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is involved in cell multi-directional differentiation, but its role in osteoblast differentiation is still poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated whether and how NCAM regulates osteoblastic differentiation. We found that NCAM silencing inhibited osteoblast differentiation in pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. The function of NCAM was further confirmed in NCAM-deficient mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which also had a phenotype with reduced osteoblastic potential. Moreover, NCAM silencing induced decrease of Wnt/β-catenin and Akt activation. The Wnt inhibitor blocked osteoblast differentiation, and the Wnt activator recovered osteoblast differentiation in NCAM-silenced MC3T3-E1 cells. We lastly demonstrated that osteoblast differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells was inhibited by the PI3K-Akt inhibitor. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that NCAM silencing inhibited osteoblastic differentiation through inactivation of Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways.
Conventional Type 1 Dendritic Cells (cDC1) in Human Kidney Diseases: Clinico-Pathological Correlations

Background cDC1 is a subset of conventional DCs, whose most recognized function is cross-presentation to CD8+ T cells. We conducted this study to investigate the number and location of cDC1s in various human kidney diseases as well as their correlation with clinico-pathological features and CD8+ T cells. Methods We analyzed 135 kidney biopsies samples. Kidney diseases included: acute tubular necrosis (ATN), acute interstitial nephritis (AIN), proliferative glomerulonephritis (GN) (IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, pauci-immune GN, anti-GBM disease), non-proliferative GN (minimal change disease, membranous nephropathy) and diabetic nephropathy. Indirect immunofluorescence staining was used to quantify cDC1s, CD1c+ DCs, and CD8+ T cells. Results cDC1s were rarely present in normal kidneys. Their number increased significantly in ATN and proliferative GN, proportionally much more than CD1c+ DCs. cDC1s were mainly found in the interstitium, except in lupus nephritis, pauci-immune GN and anti-GBM disease, where they were prominent in glomeruli and peri-glomerular regions. The number of cDC1s correlated with disease severity in ATN, number of crescents in pauci-immune GN, interstitial fibrosis in IgA nephropathy and lupus nephritis, as well as prognosis in IgA nephropathy. The number of CD8+ T cells also increased significantly in these conditions and cDC1 number correlated with CD8+ T cell number in lupus nephritis and pauci-immune GN, with many of them closely co-localized. Conclusions cDC1 number correlated with various clinic-pathological features and prognosis reflecting a possible role in these conditions. Their association with CD8+ T cells suggests a combined mechanism in keeping with the results in animal models.
A Putative Lipid-Associating Motif in the West Nile Virus NS4A Protein Is Required for Efficient Virus Replication

Flavivirus replication is intimately associated with re-organized cellular membranes. These virus-induced changes in membrane architecture form three distinct membranous “organelles” that have specific functions during the flavivirus life cycle. One of these structures is the replication complex in which the flaviviral RNA is replicated to produce progeny genomes. We have previously observed that this process is strictly dependent on cellular cholesterol. In this study we have identified a putative cholesterol recognition/interaction amino acid consensus (CRAC) motif within the West Nile virus strain Kunjin virus (WNVKUN) NS4A protein. Site-directed mutagenesis of this motif within a WNVKUN infectious clone severely attenuated virus replication and the capacity of the mutant viruses to form the replication complex. Replication of the mutant viruses also displayed reduced co-localization with cellular markers recruited to replication sites during wild-type virus replication. In addition, we observed that the mutant viruses were significantly impaired in their ability to remodel cytoplasmic membranes. However, after extensive analysis we are unable to conclusively reveal a role for the CRAC motif in direct cholesterol binding to NS4A, suggesting additional complex lipid-protein and protein-protein interactions. We believe this study highlights the crucial role for this region within NS4A protein in recruitment of cellular and viral proteins to specialized subdomains on membrane platforms to promote efficient virus replication.
Altered Neurovascular Coupling in Subcortical Ischemic Vascular Disease

Patients with subcortical ischemic vascular disease (SIVD) exhibit a high risk of cognitive impairment that might be caused by neurologic deficits and vascular injuries. However, the mechanism remains unknown. In current study, 24 normal controls (NC) and 54 SIVD patients, including 26 SIVD patients with no cognitive impairment (SIVD-NCI) and 28 SIVD patients with mild cognitive impairment (SIVD-MCI) underwent the resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and neuropsychological assessments. We combined regional homogeneity (ReHo) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) by using the global ReHo-CBF correlations coefficient and the ReHo/CBF ratio to detect the inner link between neuronal activity and vascular responses. Correlations between the ReHo/CBF ratio and neuropsychological assessments were explored in patients with SIVD. As a result, we identified significantly decreased global ReHo-CBF coupling in the SIVD-NCI group and SIVD- MCI group with respect to the NC. The SIVD-MCI group showed more serious decoupling of the global ReHo-CBF correlation. We also found a significantly abnormal ReHo/CBF ratio predominantly located in cognitive-related brain regions, including the left insula, right middle temporal gyrus, right precuneus, left precentral gyrus, and left inferior parietal lobule but not the supramarginal and angular gyri. The SIVD-MCI group showed more severe disorders of neurovascular coupling than the other two groups. Moreover, the ReHo/CBF ratio in the left precentral gyrus of the SIVD-NCI group exhibited a positive correlation with the MMSE scores. These findings suggested that patients with SIVD show abnormal neurovascular coupling at the early stage of the disease and during disease development. It might be associated with disease severity and cognitive impairment. Neurovascular decoupling in brain may be a possible neuropathological mechanism of SIVD.
Rituximab Associated Hypogammaglobulinemia in Autoimmune Disease

Objective To evaluate the characteristics of patients with autoimmune disease with hypogammaglobulinemia following rituximab (RTX) and describe their long-term outcomes, including those who commenced immunoglobulin replacement therapy. Methods Patients received RTX for autoimmune disease between 2003 and 2012 with immunoglobulin G (IgG) <7g/L were included in this retrospective series. Hypogammaglobulinemia was classified by nadir IgG subgroups of 5 to <7g/L (mild), 3 to <5g/L (moderate) and <3g/L (severe). Characteristics of patients were compared across subgroups and examined for factors associated with greater likelihood of long term hypogammaglobulinemia or immunoglobulin replacement. Results 142 patients were included; 101 (71%) had anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV), 18 (13%) systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 23 (16%) other conditions. Mean follow-up was 97.2 months from first RTX. Hypogammaglobulinemia continued to be identified during long-term follow-up. Median time to IgG <5g/L was 22.5 months. Greater likelihood of moderate hypogammaglobulinemia (IgG <5g/L) and/or use of immunoglobulin replacement therapy at 60 months was observed in patients with prior cyclophosphamide exposure (odds ratio (OR) 3.60 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03 – 12.53], glucocorticoid use at 12 months [OR 7.48 (95% CI 1.28 – 43.55], lower nadir IgG within 12 months of RTX commencement [OR 0.68 (95% CI 0.51 – 0.90)] and female sex [OR 8.57 (95% CI 2.07 – 35.43)]. Immunoglobulin replacement was commenced in 29/142 (20%) and associated with reduction in infection rates, but not severe infection rates. Conclusion Hypogammaglobulinemia continues to occur in long-term follow-up post-RTX. In patients with recurrent infections, immunoglobulin replacement reduced rates of non-severe infections.
The Nature of Employee-Organization Relationships at Polish Universities under Pandemic Conditions

(1) Background: The aim of this study is to describe manager–employee and employee–employee relations during the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on measures of the likely use of elements of remote teaching by university employees in the future. (2) Methods: The study used a descriptive-correlation research design with a survey as the primary instrument for data gathering. A total of 732 personnel took part in the survey, selected by a convenience sampling technique. The researchers used an adapted and modified instrument to gather data. The instrument underwent a reliability test. This study used structural equation modeling to confirm hypotheses. (3) Results: It was shown that manager–employee relations at Polish universities during the COVID-19 pandemic were of low quality. However, employee–employee relations were of above-average quality, and have a significant positive impact on intentions to use elements of remote working in the future. (4) Conclusions: Based on the results of the study, some general recommendations are presented for change management and relationship-building.
An Improved and Privacy-Preserving Mutual Authentication Scheme with Forward Secrecy in VANETs

Vehicular ad hoc network (VANETs) plays a major part in intelligent transportation to enhance traffic efficiency and safety. Security and privacy are the essential matters needed to be tackled due to the open communication channel. Most of the existing schemes only provide message authentication without identity authentication, especially the inability to support forward secrecy which is a major security goal of authentication schemes. In this article, we propose a privacy-preserving mutual authentication scheme with batch verification for VANETs which support both message authentication and identity authentication. More importantly, the proposed scheme achieves forward secrecy, which means the exposure of the shared key will not compromise the previous interaction. The security proof shows that our scheme can withstand various known security attacks, such as the impersonation attack and forgery attack. The experiment analysis results based on communication and computation cost demonstrate that our scheme is more efficient compared with the related schemes.
Significance of Non-Academic Parameters for Predicting Student Performance Using Ensemble Learning Techniques

The academic institutions are focusing more on improving the performance of students using various data mining techniques. Prediction models are designed to predict the performance of students at a very early stage so that preventive measures can be taken beforehand. Various parameters (academic as well as non-academic) are considered to predict the student performance using different classifiers. Normally, academic parameters are given more weightage in predicting the academic performance of a student. This paper compares the two models: one built using academic parameters only and another using both academic and non-academic (demographic) parameters. The primary data set of students has been taken from a technical college in India, which consists of data of 6,807 students containing attributes. Synthetic minority oversampling technique filter is applied to deal with the skewed data set. The models are built using eight classification algorithms that are then compared to find the parameters that help to give the most appropriate model to classify a student based on his performance.
Peculiarities of the slow ion flow movement in the near-anode region of a high-current vacuum arc

The purpose of the present work is to study the structure of the near-anode region of a high-current vacuum arc on the basis of a generalized mathematical model including the electron energy balance equation and continuity equations for atoms and slow ions, that allow for the processes of slow ion generation and atom disappearance due to electron ionization. The presented model allows to calculate kinetics of evaporated atom volume ionization and distribution of the main parameters characterizing each flow over the interelectrode gap.
The effect of various handling strategies on the welfare of dairy cattle

It is well recognised that lactating dairy cows are highly stressed animals in terms of their metabolic demand for a high plane of nutrition (McDonald et al, 2002). However, mental stress caused by aversive stimuli is relatively poorly recognised. This essay will address the issue of mental stress in dairy cattle by examining the results of three studies that have investigated the way in which cattle react to a variety of handling techniques.