Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
OXIDATIVE STRESS, DNA DAMAGE AND APOPTOSIS LEVELS IN THOSE WHO USE BORDERLINE HIGH LEVEL FLUORIDE CONTENT DRINKING WATER

Aim: Fluoride is necessary for tooth and bone development, but when exposed to excessive levels can cause oxidative stress, DNA damage, apoptosis, fluorosis and cancer. The aim of this study is to reveal the underlying mechanism of fluoride toxicity and to clarify, in part, the uncertainty of the fluoride level in the reference value ranges of drinking water. Material and Methods: Two groups were included in the study as exposure and control groups. Serum Total Oxidant Status and Total Antioxidant Status were measured with colorimetric; Urine 8-OHdG (8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine) (CUSABIO) levels as DNA damage biomarkers and serum M30 and M65 levels (PEVIVA) as apoptosis biomarkers were studied by ELISA method. In addition, all participants underwent a dental examination by the dentist. Results: Serum total antioxidant status (TAS) were lower in the exposure group compared to the control group (p <0.001); serum total oxidant status (TOS) (p <0.001), OSI (p <0.001), M30 (p <0.001) and M65 (p <0.001) levels and urine 8-OHdG (p = 0.011) levels were high. However, the M30 / M60 ratio was not statistically different between the two groups (p = 0.371). Dental fluorosis was detected in all participants in the exposure group. Conclusion: This study showed increased levels of oxidative stress, DNA damage and apoptosis biomarkers in drinking water users with borderline high level fluoride. Therefore, instead of the World Health Organization's reference value range (0.5-1.5 mg/L) for fluoride levels in drinking water, the US Public Health Service’s (0.7 mg/L) reference value range seems to be more appropriate to the precaution.
Electronic Ticketing: What Factors Make People Use this Technology?

In this fourth industry revolution era, there are so many technologies that enable people to do their activities easily. The aim of this research was to investigate factors that influenced people to use one of technology around us, electronic ticketing system. This research uses as the indicators from Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model which developed by Venkatesh et al (2003). The indicators used in this research were use behavior, behavioral intention, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions. This research used 5- Likert scale questionnaire and there are 218 respondents who are responds to this questionnaire. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS). The result of this research shows that performance expectancy influence behavioral intention on using electronic ticketing system. Effort expectancy also influences behavioral intention on using electronic ticketing system. Meanwhile, social influence indicator does not influence behavioral intention on using electronic ticketing system. Facilitating condition indicator influence use behavior on using electronic ticketing system, and behavioral intention itself does not influence use behavior on using electronic ticketing system. Keywords: behavioral intention, effort expectancy, facilitating condition, online ticketing, performance expectancy, social influence, use behavior, UTAUT
Seasonal Changes of the Euglenoid Species and the Biomass in the Kumgang River

To know the seasonal change of the species and the biomass of the local euglenoids, field survey was carried out from May, 1994 to September, 1996 in Napo and Jangam, Kumgang River. Water samples were collected using phytoplankton net for the species identification and using a sampling bottle of 1,000 ml for biomass, with measuring the surface water temperature at every collection. The change of surface water temperature showed a typical seasonality, that is related to the seasonal change of species number in Jangam, but not in Napo. The species number of euglenoids increased in Napo with year, while not in Jangam. The seasonal change of the euglenoid biomass, which was the maximum with 1,190-1,720 cells/ml in February and the minimum with 160-200 cells/ml in April, 1996, differs from the change of the water temperature. The biomass of Euglena caudata and E. viridis are shown to increase with year. Our results show that there have been no differences in the euglenoid species number and the biomass with year between Napo and Jangam, Kumgang.
Involvement of Apoptosis and Interferon-γ in Murine Toxoplasmosis

PURPOSE A murine toxoplasmosis model has been developed that results in central nervous system (CNS) and ocular inflammation characterized by encephalitis with numerous brain tissue cysts and milder inflammation with rare tissue cysts in the eye after 4 weeks of Toxoplasma gondii infection. In this model IFN gamma and inducible nitric oxide (iNO) are protective against T. gondii infection. In this study, the role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of toxoplasmosis was investigated. METHODS C57BL/6 (wild-type mice), B6MRL/lpr, and B6MRL/gld (defective Fas or FasL expression, respectively) mice were infected intraperitoneally with 20 to 30 tissue cysts of the ME-49 strain of T. gondii. Mice were killed at days 0, 14, or 28 after infection. The eyes and brains were harvested for histologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular studies. Analysis included immunostaining for Fas, FasL, Bcl-2, and Bax; in situ apoptosis detection (TUNEL assay); RT-PCR amplification for IFN gamma; and measurement of ocular nitrite levels. The control mice were naive mice of each strain that received no inoculation or injection. RESULTS Wild-type mice appeared to constitutively express apoptotic molecules at higher levels in the eye than in the brain. Consequently, during T. gondii infection, apoptosis was greater in the eyes than in the brain. Untreated naive lpr and gld mice showed no expression of Fas and FasL, respectively. After infection, a slightly higher number of tissue cysts (lpr, 11.8 +/- 2.4; gld, 10.3 +/- 3.4) were found in the brains of the mutants than in the control animals (8.8 +/- 2.9). However, no significant differences between the number of apoptotic cells, inflammatory scores, or number of tissue cysts were noted in the eyes. IFN gamma mRNA in control mice was detected at day 28 after infection, whereas in both mutants, mRNA production occurred earlier, at day 14. Ocular nitrite levels were higher in lpr and gld mice than in wild-type mice. CONCLUSIONS No significant difference in the degree of ocular inflammation and apoptosis was detected between the wild-type and Fas or FasL mutant mice. However, there was an earlier and subjectively greater expression of IFN gamma in the brain and eye and a higher level of nitrite in the ocular tissue of mutant strains than in the wild type. Multiple factors are likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of ocular toxoplasmosis.
Disease Resolution in Chikungunya—What Decides the Outcome?

Chikungunya disease (CHIKD) is a viral infection caused by an alphavirus, chikungunya virus (CHIKV), and triggers large outbreaks leading to epidemics. Despite the low mortality rate, it is a major public health concern owing to high morbidity in affected individuals. The complete spectrum of this disease can be divided into four phases based on its clinical presentation and immunopathology. When a susceptible individual is bitten by an infected mosquito, the bite triggers inflammatory responses attracting neutrophils and initiating a cascade of events, resulting in the entry of the virus into permissive cells. This phase is termed the pre-acute or the intrinsic incubation phase. The virus utilizes the cellular components of the innate immune system to enter into circulation and reach primary sites of infection such as the lymph nodes, spleen, and liver. Also, at this point, antigen-presenting cells (APCs) present the viral antigens to the T cells thereby activating and initiating adaptive immune responses. This phase is marked by the exhibition of clinical symptoms such as fever, rashes, arthralgia, and myalgia and is termed the acute phase of the disease. Viremia reaches its peak during this phase, thereby enhancing the antigen-specific host immune response. Simultaneously, T cell-mediated activation of B cells leads to the formation of CHIKV specific antibodies. Increase in titres of neutralizing IgG/IgM antibodies results in the clearance of virus from the bloodstream and marks the initiation of the post-acute phase. Immune responses mounted during this phase of the infection determine the degree of disease progression or its resolution. Some patients may progress to a chronic arthritic phase of the disease that may last from a few months to several years, owing to a compromised disease resolution. The present review discusses the immunopathology of CHIKD and the factors that dictate disease progression and its resolution.
Evidence that a highly unsaturated fatty acid limits Daphnia growth in nature

This study relates measured sestonic food parameters to growth rates of Daphnia galeata. Daphnia growth rates were obtained from standardized laboratory experiments feeding the animals natural lake seston. The experimental period spanned one season. Elemental (carbon, nitrogen, phosphate) and biochemical (fatty acids) food parameters of this natural food source were compared. The correlation between growth rates and sestonic phosphorus was very weak (r 2 = 0.08). The regressions with the nitrogen (r 2 = 0.42) and carbon (r 2 = 0.62) content were significantly better but still exhibited the usual considerable scatter around the regression line. In contrast, a very tight correlation (r 2 = 0,93) was found between Daphnia growth rates and the sestonic content of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5ω3), an essential, highly unsaturated fatty acid. This relationship exhibited a normal asymptotic curve with a distinct plateau above concentrations of 0.8 μg 20:5ω3/L. In contrast, a plateau was not observed for particulate organic carbon, nitrogen or phosphate. Carbon, nitrogen and other essential fatty acids were not only moderatly correlated to Daphnia's growth rates but also to 20:5ω3. Thus, the modest suitability of carbon and nitrogen as food parameters seems to be due to co-occurrence with 20:5ω3. This shows, that the sestonic 20:5ω3 content is a parameter for natural food quantity including its food quality. High 20:5ω3 concentrations within the plateau region occurred mostly during spring. These results suggest that Daphnia was limited by the 20:5ω3 concentration during most of the summer
Standing and attractiveness of vocational education and training in Finland: focus on learning environments

ABSTRACT This article discusses the standing and attractiveness of vocational education and training (VET) in Finland. We argue that learning environments, along with the expectations for and attitudes towards them, are related to the attractiveness of VET. The empirical part of the article describes a comprehensive view of learning environments based on our several interview data sets and previous findings. Four sets of existing interview data (N = 96) are combined to depict school–work connection from the viewpoints of VET providers and teachers (n = 23) and workplace actors, including employer representatives and learners’ workplace trainers and co-workers (n = 30), as well as from the perspective of VET learners (students and apprentices; n = 43). The article discusses the design rationale behind learning environments and the challenges these environments face in Finland. The article concludes that learning environment design is focused on alignment between school and work. However, based on the interview data, there are attitudes and practices that hinder the connectivity between education and work, and the responsibility to align various experiences is largely left to the learner.
Factors associated with prolonged viral shedding and impact of Lopinavir/Ritonavir treatment in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection

Background: The duration of viral shedding is central to guide decisions around isolation precautions and antiviral treatment. However, studies about risk factors associated with prolonged SARS-CoV-2 shedding and the potential impact of Lopinavir/Ritonavir (LPV/r) treatment remain scarce. Methods: In this retrospective study, data were collected from all SARS-CoV-2 infected patients who were admitted to isolation wards and had RT-PCR conversion at the NO.3 People's hospital of Hubei province between 31 January and 09 March 2020. We compared clinical features and SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding between patients with LPV/r treatment and those without. Logistic regression analysis was employed to evaluate risk factors associated with prolonged viral shedding. Results: Of 120 patients, the median age was 52 years, 54 (45%) were male and 78 (65%) received LPV/r treatment. The median duration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection from symptom onset was 23 days (IQR, 18-32 days). Older age (odd ratio [OR] 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00-1.05, p=0.03) and lack of LPV/r treatment (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.10-5.36, p=0.029) were independent risk factors for prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding in multivariate logistic regression analysis. The median duration of viral shedding was shorter in the LPV/r treatment group (n=78) than that in no LPV/r treatment group (n=42) (median, 22 days vs. 28.5 days, p=0.02). Only earlier administration of LPV/r treatment (≤10 days from symptom onset) could shorten the duration of viral shedding. Conclusions: Older age and lack of LPV/r treatment were independently associated with prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding in patients with COVID-19. Earlier administration of LPV/r treatment could shorten viral shedding.
Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) Mode-Reconfigurable Discrete Dielectric Lens Operating at 300 GHz

A novel three-dimensional printed discrete dielectric lens (DDL) antenna with orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode reconfigurability operating at 300 GHz is proposed in this article. The antenna consists of a stationary lower DDL and an upper in-plane rotatable DDL, fed by a stationary pyramidal horn. The DDL pair can transform the quasi-Gaussian beam from the feed source into vortex waves, and its OAM mode number, l, can be dynamically reconfigured among 0, ±1, and ±2 by a simple mechanical in-plane rotation of the upper DDL panel with specific angles relative to the stationary lower one. For the DDL design, the height of each dielectric post pixel element is tuned to realize the required transmission phase. The OAM mode-reconfigurability of the proposed terahertz (THz) antenna was validated by both simulations and measurements. The simulated OAM mode purity bandwidth of the design DDL antenna are 40%, 31.3%, and 25.8% for the OAM mode l = 0, +1, and +2, respectively. In addition, the THz line-of-sight link experiments show that acceptable mode isolations among different OAM channels can be achieved by the THz DDL antenna, validating its application for OAM mode diversity.
Talent management and organizational commitment: the partial mediating role of pay satisfaction

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to better understand the role of pay satisfaction and employee perception of talent management in business loyalty strategies, which implies considering both economic and non-economic variables in order to achieve organizational success.Design/methodology/approachResults from a survey of 198 workers were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) based on three constructs (confirmatory factor analysis, CFA). The scales used were: employee perception of talent management, pay satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Pay satisfaction acts as a mediating variable in the significant relationship between the perception of talent management and organizational commitment.FindingsThe partial mediating model hypothesised was supported by the SEM model, indicating that loyalty strategies require both good talent management and a good compensation system.Research limitations/implicationsThe article promotes the use of mediating variables as an explanation to better understand the strategies of loyalty in the management of talent, framed within the model of the resource-based view (RBV) theory.Practical implicationsThe implications are important for practitioners, who normally put every effort into strategies related to economic reinforcement, since the model suggests that they should also strive to correctly apply talent management.Social implicationsThe study suggests the need to understand better retributive systems with an application of talent management based on improvement and professional development.Originality/valueThe originality lies in the article stating that the application of good talent management must be complemented with adequate compensation systems in order to achieve efficient retention strategies for talented employees.
The Declining Middle: Occupational Change, Social Status, and the Populist Right

This article investigates the political consequences of occupational change in times of rapid technological advancement and sheds light on the economic and cultural roots of right-wing populism. A growing body of research shows that the disadvantages of a transforming employment structure are strongly concentrated among semiskilled routine workers in the lower middle class. I argue that individual employment trajectories and relative shifts in the social hierarchy are key to better understand recent political disruptions. A perception of relative economic decline among politically powerful groups—not their impoverishment—drives support for conservative and, especially, right-wing populist parties. Individual-level panel data from three postindustrial democracies and original survey data demonstrate this relationship. A possible interpretation of the findings is that traditional welfare policy might be an ineffective remedy against the ascent of right-wing populism.
Consumption and Conversion Efficiency of Food in New Elite Bivoltine Hybrid Silkworm, Bombyx mori L. under Restricted Feeding Levels

Food consumption and conversion efficiency of new bivoltine hybrids (CSR2CSR4 and CSR2CSR5) were studied under restricted feeding levels (10, 20 and 30% less quantity of mulberry leaves). The data were compared with a control fed with standard quantum of feed as per the recommendation. The nutritional indices parameters i. e. ingests, digesta, approximate digestibility (%) and reference ratio were recorded higher in control batches compared to less feed batches while nutritional efficiency parameters i. e. , ECI and ECD to cocoon and shell were recorded significantly higher in restricted feeding level batches. This increase is attributed due to the physiological adaptation under nutritional stress condition.
Energetics of maize C4 physiology under light limiting conditions

In the present experimental programme I have eliminated two leading possibilities explaining why the C4 pathway is maladapted for deep shade: susceptibility to low light and changing spectral quality. Firstly I showed leakiness does not constrain assimilation under low light intensities and maize has efficient mechanisms to acclimate leakiness in response to irradiance. Secondly I showed that light quality does not constrain assimilation and maize has efficient biochemical mechanisms to take advantage of any light quality.
REVISITING GENDER AND HOUSING: HOUSING AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF WOMEN IN SOCIAL RENTAL HOUSING IN GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA

This paper reports part of the findings of a bigger qualitative study which explored the role of social rental housing in housing delivery in South Africa. Through purposive sampling, the study selected three housing institutions from Gauteng and two from the Western Cape. From each, the study conducted a focus group discussion with beneficiaries. This paper is based on the findings from the two focus group discussions with women in Gauteng. Findings showed that housing is central to the wellbeing of women. The paper recommends gender-aware housing delivery processes to promote the rights of women and children.
Proposed drug interventions for SARS CoV 2 infection

As the pandemic has already taken lots of lives across the globe, there’s an urgent need for finding treatment options that might help in protection of infected people by either slowing or preventing the progression of the disease. It’s important to understand the structure of virus, the mechanism by which it enters the host cell, replicates and infects other cells causing progression of the disease. This article focuses on use of already available and approved drugs for treatment of corona virus based on their mechanism of action and the structure and the life cycle of the virus.
Predicting Gender Differences in School Achievement and Social Acceptance: The Role of Delay of Gratification

The study explored whether delay of gratification measured in 6-year old preschool children, incrementally predicts their subsequent academic achievement and social acceptance in elementary school above cognitive abilities. The role of gender in this relationship was also examined. The sample comprised 99 girls and 120 boys attending fourth, fifth and sixth grades. The study was longitudinal with two measurement points: measures of cognitive abilities and delay of gratification were taken at the age of 6, while measures of academic achievement (GPA, grade in Croatian language and math) and social acceptance, measured with the sociometric technique, were taken between the age of 10 and 12 years. It was confirmed that delay of gratification predicted both subsequent academic achievement and social acceptance in elementary school above cognitive abilities, but more strongly for boys than for girls. Also, delay of gratification mediated the relationship between gender and all four dependent variables. Gender differences in social acceptance, Croatian and math grades were partially explained and gender differences in GPA were fully explained by gender differences in delay of gratification measured at preschool age.
Constraining Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions From Urban Area Using OCO‐2 Observations of Total Column CO2

Satellite observations of the total column dry‐air CO2 (XCO2) are expected to support the quantification and monitoring of fossil fuel CO2 (ffCO2) emissions from urban areas. We evaluate the utility of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO‐2) XCO2 retrievals to optimize whole‐city emissions, using a Bayesian inversion system and high‐resolution transport modeling. The uncertainties of constrained emissions related to transport model, satellite measurements, and local biospheric fluxes are quantified. For the first two uncertainty sources, we examine cities of different landscapes: “plume city” located in relatively flat terrain, represented by Riyadh and Cairo; and “basin city” located in basin terrain, represented by Los Angeles (LA). The retrieved scaling factors of emissions and their uncertainties show prominent variabilities from track to track, due to the varying meteorological conditions and relative locations of the tracks transecting plumes. To explore the performance of multiple tracks in retrieving emissions, pseudo data experiments are carried out. The estimated least numbers of tracks required to constrain the total emissions for Riyadh (<10% uncertainty), Cairo (<10%), and LA (<5%) are 8, 5, and 7, respectively. Additionally, to evaluate the impact of biospheric fluxes on derivation of the ffXCO2 enhancements, we conduct simulations for Pearl River Delta metropolitan area. Significant fractions of local XCO2 enhancements associated with local biospheric XCO2 variations are shown, which potentially lead to biased estimates of ffCO2 emissions. We demonstrate that satellite measurements can be used to improve urban ffCO2 emissions with a sufficient amount of measurements and appropriate representations of the uncertainty components.