Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gut microbiota is associated with dietary intake and metabolic markers in healthy individuals

Background Metabolic diseases have been related to gut microbiota, and new knowledge indicates that diet impacts host metabolism through the gut microbiota. Identifying specific gut bacteria associated with both diet and metabolic risk markers may be a potential strategy for future dietary disease prevention. However, studies investigating the association between the gut microbiota, diet, and metabolic markers in healthy individuals are scarce. Objective We explored the relationship between a panel of gut bacteria, dietary intake, and metabolic and anthropometric markers in healthy adults. Design Forty-nine volunteers were included in this cross-sectional study. Measures of glucose, serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood pressure (BP), and body mass index (BMI) were collected after an overnight fast, in addition to fecal samples for gut microbiota analyzes using a targeted approach with a panel of 48 bacterial DNA probes and assessment of dietary intake by a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Correlations between gut bacteria, dietary intake, and metabolic and anthropometric markers were assessed by Pearson’s correlation. Gut bacteria varying according to dietary intake and metabolic markers were assessed by a linear regression model and adjusted for age, sex, and BMI. Results Of the 48 gut bacteria measured, 24 and 16 bacteria correlated significantly with dietary intake and metabolic and/or anthropometric markers, respectively. Gut bacteria including Alistipes, Lactobacillus spp. , and Bacteroides stercoris differed according to the intake of the food components, fiber, sodium, saturated fatty acids, and dietary indices, and metabolic markers (BP and total cholesterol) after adjustments. Notably, Bacteroides stercoris correlated positively with the intake of fiber, grain products, and vegetables, and higher Bacteroides stercoris abundance was associated with higher adherence to Healthy Nordic Food Index (HNFI) and lower diastolic BP after adjustment. Conclusion Our findings highlight the relationship between the gut microbiota, diet, and metabolic markers in healthy individuals. Further investigations are needed to address whether these findings are causally linked and whether targeting these gut bacteria can prevent metabolic diseases.
Oxidative Stress in Chronic Hepatitis B—An Update

In recent years, the role of oxidative stress has been investigated in an increasing number of infections. There is a close link between the inflammation that accompanies infections and oxidative stress. Excessive reactive oxygen species induce harmful effects on cell components, including lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. A growing body of evidence attests to the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of viral liver infections, especially in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Regarding hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the data are limited, but important progress has been achieved in recent years. This review presents the latest advances pertaining to the role of the oxidative stress byproducts in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B, constituting a source of potential new markers for the evaluation and monitoring of patients with chronic hepatitis B.
Residual Level of Chlorpyrifos in Lettuces Grown on Chlorpyrifos-Treated Soils

This study was conducted to investigate the residual loss of chlorpyrifos and the amount transferred to lettuce from soil. Field trials on lettuce were conducted in two different greenhouses located in Yongin (field 1) and Gwangju (field 2) in Korea. Soil and lettuce samples were collected on different days after the treatment of chlorpyrifos at two different levels. The initial residue of chlorpyrifos (0.86 and 2.31 mg/kg) in soils decreased to 0.06 and 0.18 mg/kg, respectively, at 36 days after treatment (DAT) in field 1, and the initial residue with values of 11.10 and 22.59 mg/kg decreased to 1.20 and 3.04 mg/kg, respectively, at 43 DAT in field 2. In field 1, the half-lives of chlorpyrifos were approximately 8.4 and 9.0 days for soils treated with 0.86 and 2.31 mg/kg, respectively, while in field 2, the half-lives of chlorpyrifos were approximately 18.7 and 13.9 days for soils treated with 11.10 and 22.59 mg/kg, respectively. Residue levels of chlorpyrifos on lettuce were 0.66–5.98% and 2.71–13.26% compared to the initial concentration in the soil. Therefore, the management guideline of chlorpyrifos for lettuce-cultivating soils could be suggested to be 0.75 mg/kg with regards to the Positive List System level of chlorpyrifos on lettuce of 0.01 mg/kg.
A Review on Important Zoonotic Bacterial Tick-Borne Diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Background: Zoonotic diseases as health concerns worldwide account for more than half of the emerging infectious diseases. Arachnids are powerful vectors to transmit several diseases to humans. Additionally, these emerging zoonotic diseases have been a considerable health threat in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the WHO (EMRO) due to the large population living close to farms and international trade with nearby countries. Methods: This review study is based on the reported three tick-borne diseases, Lyme disease, Tularemia, and Q fever, from Iran and other EMRO countries. To this end, we searched PubMed central, ISI web of Science, and Google with the related keywords in English at any time. The reported data are then sorted by countries for each disease. Results: According to the published data, 15 countries in the region have one/more emerging infectious diseases. Q fever has been the most frequent infection in EMRO countries, while Lyme was less recorded. Furthermore, Iran is among the countries with documented history of all three investigated diseases. Conclusion: Tick-borne disease is popular among EMRO countries, indicating that they have natural conditions for infections in animals and humans. It appears necessary to develop a disease management strategy and control programs against tick-borne diseases (TBDs). Moreover, the disease-resistant animal could be bred instead of susceptible livestock. Therefore, research studies to control TBDs should be regarded as a top priority plan.
Hybrid Teaching: Conceptualization Through Practice for the Post COVID19 Pandemic Education

While a number of studies have previously conceptualized hybrid teaching, often used interchangeably with blended learning during the pre-COVID19 pandemic, hybrid teaching has been undertheorized and unexplored during and post-COVID19 pandemic when schools have slowly opened their classrooms for students. This paper explores the concept of hybrid teaching (also referred to as hybrid classroom instruction and hybrid learning) and how such teaching methodology is different from blended learning, fully online, and remote teaching by presenting a teacher’s practice during the COVID19 pandemic. Although our goal is to identify clearly what hybrid teaching is, we do not intend to offer a definite conceptualization and practice of hybrid teaching as teaching is context-dependent. However, we argue that hybrid teaching has the potential to be one of the teaching methodologies in the post COVID19 pandemic education, especially when schools and universities are in the transition back to residential classroom teaching.
THE POTENTIAL OF ACTIVATED CARBON FROM PEAT SOIL AS AN ABSORBENT FOR HYDROCARBON (HC) AND CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) EMISSIONS IN MOTOR VEHICLES

This research aims to establish the effects of the length of the activated carbon-based medium on exhaust gas emission and evaluate the engine's corresponding performance. The method utilizes peat soil as the source of activated carbon. The soil is dried and then passed through a 30-mesh sieve. It is further heated to 400°C for an hour, soaked in a 25-percent H2SO4 solution, and then maintained at 120°C in an oven. The resulting activated carbon is then packed into an absorbent tube with a diameter of 30 mm and a varying length of 60 mm, 70 mm, and 80 mm. The tube is appended to the leaving end of a Honda Supra 125 X's muffler. The result suggests that the lowest emission is achieved when the tube length is 80 mm and at 2000 rpm of engine speed, i.e., with CO level of 2.57 percent and HC of 228 ppm. On the other hand, the highest emission is given by the tube length of 60 mm, i.e., with an HC level of 1437 ppm. In conclusion, it shows that the tube length affects the absorbent ability in reducing emission, but it does not significantly affect the engine's performance.
Real Earnings Management And Firm Value: Examination Of Costs Of Real Earnings Management

The objective of this research is to find the evidence of (1) REM towards firm value and (2) the moderating role of costs of REM which are market share, financial health, and effective tax rate between REM and firm value. Research samples are manufacturing firms listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange 2018-2020. REM includes abnormal CFO, abnormal production, and abnormal discretionary expenses. Data analysis uses a white regression test. Based on data analysis, REM has a negative effect on firm value which indicates that REM reduces economic value. Market share and financial health weaken the negative effect of REM on firm value, indicating that REM is a signal where the firm has strong industry and financial advantages to increase firm value. The effective tax rate has no moderating effect between REM and firm value, indicating that low effective tax rate can be both efficient tax planning such as tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning such as tax evasion. Research contribution gives academics, financial statement users, and regulatory bodies an additional literature of REM as a signaling tool of industry and financial health advantages.
Truly invasive or simply non‐native? Insights from an artificial crested newt hybrid zone

Introductions of non‐native species can pose serious threats to native populations and ecosystems. However, the impact of introduced species depends on intrinsic characteristics, local habitat conditions, and the interaction with native species. Case‐specific management strategies may therefore be required. Using phenotypic characters and molecular markers for species identification, we provide insights into an artificial hybrid zone between two closely related newt species, the native Triturus cristatus and the introduced T. carnifex, near Tübingen, south‐west Germany. Our analyses revealed a central Italian origin of the non‐native T. carnifex and suggested their sustained presence in the study area for at least six years, probably much longer. In some ponds, extensive hybridization with native T. cristatus was detected. However, we found no evidence for a displacement of the native species by its non‐native congener. The gradient from pure T. carnifex to pure T. cristatus currently extends over 7 km. A future expansion of the hybrid zone and swamping of a neighboring T. cristatus meta‐population appears unlikely under the local configuration of breeding ponds. We propose to monitor the hybrid zone using genetic markers for evaluating the direction and speed of gene flow, complemented by capture‐recapture studies to reveal trends in species‐specific population sizes. To protect the native T. cristatus, we recommend practitioners to maintain their habitats, for example, by preventing illegal release of gold fish, by counteracting early drying of the breeding ponds, and by regularly cutting back trees and shrubs along the shoreline.
Insights from the relationship between urban form, social media, and edu-tourism

ABSTRACT Educational tourism and urban spaces are complex and interwoven phenomena of the contemporary globalized world. The extended windows of time that students of higher education institutes spend in the host cities makes them more than mere visitors; they become part of the everyday life of the urban context. Nevertheless, the interdisciplinary relationship between urban studies and edu-tourism remains understudied in contemporary literature, especially considering emerging types of data that can provide new insights. This paper draws on volunteered geographic information to explore interactions between higher education students and their host cities. Geotagged Twitter data was analysed in terms of both spatial density and content. The study was conducted in two coastal cities of Cyprus. The analysis indicates tendencies for student interactions with spaces outside the university campuses—with the majority of tweets associated with non-educational interaction types and venues with diverse spatial signatures. This study argues that edu-tourism is largely associated with urban tourism and it is essential to consider these interactions in decision-making and urban planning to improve both the tourism industry and the urban spaces.
Fever without Focus in Children Aged 1 to 36 Months- Aetiological Profile and Predictors of Specific Aetiology- A Prospective Observational Study

This study aimed to describe the aetiological profile of fever without focus (FWF) in children aged one to thirty-six months and to identify clinical and laboratory predictors of specific aetiologies, especially serious bacterial infection (SBI). Methods: Children in the age range of one to thirty-six months, who were hospitalised due to FWF were included in this study. This prospective study was done over a period of 20 months in a medical college hospital in southern India. CBC (complete blood count) and CRP (c-reactive protein) tests, urine microscopic examination, blood and urine culture, Dengue antigen testing, and chest X-ray test were done for all feverish children. For those with fever beyond 5 days, additional tests including serological tests for Dengue, scrub typhus, and leptospirosis as well as Widal test were done. The final diagnosis was recorded, and clinical and laboratory parameters were analysed. Findings: Among 141 children with FWF, 41 (29%) had SBI, and 21(14.9%) had Dengue fever (DF). Leucocytosis, neutrophilia, and raised CRP levels were good predictors of SBI. Thrombocytopenia was an excellent predictor of DF. High fever was significantly associated with SBI and Dengue ( p =.004), and fever beyond 3 days at presentation was significantly associated with SBI ( p =<.001). Pyuria had a high specificity (94.5%) for identifying urinary tract infection (UTI). About 50% of UTIs were caused by extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producing organisms. Conclusion: SBI and DF were the most common causes of FWF. High fever, fever beyond 3 days at presentation, leucocytosis, neutrophilia, and a positive CRP test were predictors of SBI. Pyuria suggests UTI. Empirical antibiotic therapy should cover ESBL producing organisms. High fever and thrombocytopenia suggest Dengue fever.
Stability Analysis of a Socially Inspired Adaptive Voter Model

In this letter, we study an instance of continuous-time voter model over directed graphs on social networks with a specific refinement: the agents can break or create new links in the graph. The edges of the graph thus co-evolve with the agents’ spin. Specifically, the agents may break their links with neighbours of different spin, and create links their 2-hop neighbours, provided they have same spin. We characterize the absorbing configurations and present a particular case that corresponds to a single agent facing two antagonistic ideologies. By asymptotic analysis, we observe two regimes depending on the parameters: in one regime, hesitation disappears rapidly, while when the link creation rate is high enough, slow extinction occurs. We compute the threshold value and illustrate these results with numerical simulations.
Sex Differences in the International Primary Care Airways Group Questionnaire for Screening of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Study

Background and Objective The International Primary Airways Group (IPAG) questionnaire is a useful tool for screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The cut-off score of the IPAG questionnaire is investigated in Japan. However, its validity has not been examined according to sex, which was the aim of this study. Methods We included 4364 participants aged 40 years or older, all current and ex-smokers and never-smokers, who completed the IPAG questionnaire and underwent spirometry. The IPAG questionnaire consists of eight items and the cut-off score is set to 17. We calculated the odds ratios of airflow limitation for each of the eight questions, by sex. We performed receiver operating characteristic analysis, calculating the area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity for each sex. Results For both men (n=2784) and women (n=1580), only three questions were independent risk factors of airflow limitation. The odds ratios for age (≥70 years), wheezing, and smoking history (≥50 pack-years) were 10.61, 3.50, and 2.40, respectively, for men (all p<0.001), and 4.30 (p<0.001), 2.32 (p=0.026), and 5.69 (p=0.014), respectively, for women. For men and women, the areas under the curve were 0.741 and 0.670, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity values, respectively, were as follows: 83.6% and 47.1% for men with a cut-off score of 17; 80.0% and 53.7% for men with a cut-off score of 18; 56.7%, and 65.9% for women with a cut-off score of 17; and 76.7% and 43.9% for women with a cut-off score of 15. Conclusion Regardless of sex, only three IPAG questions were deemed useful as screening for airflow limitation. The cut-off scores for men and women may be appropriately set at 18 and 15, respectively, in the Japanese population.
Investigating Fake and Reliable News Sources Using Complex Networks Analysis

The rise of disinformation in the last years has shed light on the presence of bad actors that produce and spread misleading content every day. Therefore, looking at the characteristics of these actors has become crucial for gaining better knowledge of the phenomenon of disinformation to fight it. This study seeks to understand how these actors, meant here as unreliable news websites, differ from reliable ones. With this aim, we investigated some well-known fake and reliable news sources and their relationships, using a network growth model based on the overlap of their audience. Then, we peered into the news sites’ sub-networks and their structure, finding that unreliable news sources’ sub-networks are overall disassortative and have a low–medium clustering coefficient, indicative of a higher fragmentation. The k-core decomposition allowed us to find the coreness value for each node in the network, identifying the most connectedness site communities and revealing the structural organization of the network, where the unreliable websites tend to populate the inner shells. By analyzing WHOIS information, it also emerged that unreliable websites generally have a newer registration date and shorter-term registrations compared to reliable websites. The results on the political leaning of the news sources show extremist news sources of any political leaning are generally mostly responsible for producing and spreading disinformation.
Investigation of the Effect of Soil Moisture Content, Contact Surface Material and Soil Texture on Soil Friction and Soil Adhesion Coefficients

Abstract Soil friction and soil adhesion increase the implement draft force and energy consumption particularly in the tools that have larger contact area with soil. The main ways of lowering the total draft force of the tillage tools include the use of proper materials in tools structures as well as application of the tools in appropriate soil moisture content condition. This paper investigates the effects of soil moisture content, contact surface material and soil texture on soil friction and soil adhesion coefficients. To measure the coefficients of soil friction and soil adhesion, a measurement system was developed at the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili. Experiments for each soil texture were performed at five levels of soil moisture content and four contact materials of steel, cast iron, rubber, and teflon with three replications. Results have shown that in all soil types, the effects of soil moisture content and contact materials had a significant effect on the coefficient of both soil friction and soil adhesion at the probability level of 1%. The coefficient of friction increased with soil moisture content increment and reached its maximum and then had a drop in the fluid phase. Results have shown that the mean values of soil friction and soil adhesion coefficients were significantly different from the studied soils.
Miniature In-Phase Wilkinson Power Divider with Pair of Parallel Transmission-Lines for Application in Wireless Microwave Systems

A novel miniature Wilkinson power divider (WPD) design is presented. This is achieved by substituting the quarter-wavelength transmission-lines constituting the WPD with an equivalent pair of parallel transmission-lines (PPTLs) that effectively reduce the circuit size of the WPD by 43% compared with a conventional design whose ground-plane is defected. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique is used to achieve size reduction. Meandering the transmission-lines further reduce the WPD size by 22%. The proposed WPD has overall dimensions of 9.38 × 11.51 mm2 or 0.11 λg × 0.14 λg , which is compatible with the requirements imposed by portable personal wireless systems. Coupling between the parallel transmission-lines is shown to extend the operational bandwidth of the power divider to 3.2 GHz (0.8–4 GHz) for a return-loss better than 10 dB.
A global review of seabird mortality caused by land-based artificial lights.

This three-year $320k fully funded by the European Union project has made an enormous contribution to our understanding of the effects of artificial lights on penguins and shearwaters. It has resulted in five scientific papers with strong management recommendations. While light pollution is a growing concern worldwide, we have been proactive to identify, quantify and suggest ways to minimise the negative effect of artificial lights on our penguins and shearwaters. This information could be the precursor to create a dark reserve to keep the natural night sky light conditions within the Nature Parks (see picture below) to preserve clear night skies for scientific, natural, educational, cultural, heritage and/or public enjoyment.
Sequence-Based Control Strategy With Current Limiting for the Fault Ride-Through of Inverter-Interfaced Distributed Generators

Three-phase three-leg inverters represent the majority of inverters that are integrated into low voltage power grids. They can develop positive- and negative-sequence components during unbalanced conditions including asymmetrical faults, but not zero-sequence components. This indicates that a sequence-based control strategy is required for comprehensive control of inverter currents and voltages. Positive- and negative-sequence components must be controlled separately with their own dedicated controllers in such a scheme. Given this critical need, a sequence-based control technique for grid-forming and grid-feeding inverter-interfaced distributed generators is proposed. As a necessary part of the fault ride-through capability of inverter-interfaced distributed generators, a current limiter is developed, which can limit inverter currents at a pre-defined threshold for both balanced and unbalanced faults. Whilst the current regulators work in the synchronous reference frame with simple PI controllers, the limiter works in the natural reference frame and thus treats each phase current separately, which results in current limiting at the threshold for all phases. The advantage of the proposed limiter is that it acts instantaneously such that the inverter current can be limited from the start of the disturbance. The simulation results in MATLAB/SIMULINK reveal promising performance of the proposed control strategy with the proposed current limiting.