Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptogenic potential of Centella lujica supplement in sleep deprived mice

Background: Stress, whether internal or external, has been shown to play a role in the accumulation of oxidative free radicals which leads to cellular modification of normal organ or body function. Centella lujica (C. lujica) is a commonly cultivated herb with therapeutic benefits in various studies. This study aims to evaluate its beneficial effect on the brain and liver of mice exposed to sleep deprivation-induced stress.Methods: Albino mice were treated with distilled water (control), C. lujica (50 and 100 mg/kg) or astaxanthin (50 mg/kg) for seven days. All groups except control were then subjected to three-days of sleep deprivation using the grid suspended over water model beginning from day 4 of treatment. Behavioural assessments followed by biochemical assays and histological analysis were carried out thereafter.Results: Sleep deprivation caused an increase in blood glucose and triglycerides levels but reduced high density lipoproteins. Brain pro-oxidant levels were increased with a concomitant decrease in antioxidants, recognition memory was diminished while depressive-like symptoms were enhanced and neuronal viability of hippocampal CA1 as well as prefrontal cortex cells was reduced in sleep-deprived mice. However, supplementation with C. lujica reversed these effects as significantly as astaxanthin.Conclusions: C. lujica possesses antioxidant property that makes it an effective adaptogen against stress induced responses in mice.
Effect of White Willow Bark on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Following Resistance Training: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVES Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is discomfort that occurs within 8-24hrs following an unaccustomed bout of physical activity that peaks within 24-27hrs and slowly resolves on its own. White willow bark (WWB) is a nutritional supplement that is believed to have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties like aspirin but without the risk of GI adverse effects. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effectiveness of WWB on alleviating the symptoms of DOMS following exercise.METHODS Twenty-five individuals volunteered to participate and were randomly assigned to take WWB (798mg salicin) or placebo for 5 days following a lower body resistance training session which consisted of 5X10 lunges at 40% body weight (BW) and 3X fatigue leg press at 75%BW. Test procedures included visual analog scale (VAS), mid-thigh circumference and pressure pain threshold. VAS was measured pre, all five days of the supplementation period and day 6 (post-supplementation). All other variables were measured at pre, immediate, day 3(72hrs), and day 6 (post-supplementation). RESULTS No condition X time interaction was observed (p > 0.05) for any variable. However, VAS scores were lower in the WWB compared to the placebo for all time frames. There was a significant main effect of time for VAS scores indicating muscle soreness for hamstrings (p < 0.001), gluteal (p < 0.001), gastrocnemius (p < 0.001) and quadriceps (p < 0.001). In addition, there was a significant main effect of time for right midthigh pressure pain threshold (p = 0.02), mid-right (p < 0.001) and mid-left (p < 0.001) thigh circumference.CONCLUSIONS WWB may reduce subjective feelings of muscle soreness and appears to have analgesic properties.
Inflation Rate Forecasting using Extreme Learning Machine and Improved Particle Swarm Optimization

: Inflation is an important tool to assess the current condition of a nation economy. Uncontrolled inflation rate may have a lot of negative impacts on economic development. Forecasting can be used to control the inflation by making appropriate economic policies. However, uncertainty pattern of the inflation rate may make it hard to forecast. This study proposes an extreme learning machine (ELM) for the inflation rate forecasting. As part of the machine learning algorithm, the ELM has an ability to address uncertainty in data input pattern. However, ELM had weakness in determining initial weights that may produce inaccurate results. So, we propose particle swarm optimization (PSO) to determine good initial weights for the ELM. PSO is a metaheuristic method that gives good results in local searches but requires longer computation time to locate its particles on the global optimum point in the vast search space area. To overcome this problem, auto-speed acceleration algorithm is employed to drive particles of the PSO in searching of the global optimum with lower computation time. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated using root mean square error (RMSE). A series of computational experiments prove that the proposed approach achieves better results with the average RMSE of 0.01926. This result is better than RMSE of 0.02020 achieved by the original version of ELM.
Toward Understanding the Molecular Recognition of Fungal Chitin and Activation of the Plant Defense Mechanism in Horticultural Crops

Large volumes of fruit and vegetable production are lost during postharvest handling due to attacks by necrotrophic fungi. One of the promising alternatives proposed for the control of postharvest diseases is the induction of natural defense responses, which can be activated by recognizing molecules present in pathogens, such as chitin. Chitin is one of the most important components of the fungal cell wall and is recognized through plant membrane receptors. These receptors belong to the receptor-like kinase (RLK) family, which possesses a transmembrane domain and/or receptor-like protein (RLP) that requires binding to another RLK receptor to recognize chitin. In addition, these receptors have extracellular LysM motifs that participate in the perception of chitin oligosaccharides. These receptors have been widely studied in Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) and Oryza sativa (O. sativa); however, it is not clear how the molecular recognition and plant defense mechanisms of chitin oligosaccharides occur in other plant species or fruits. This review includes recent findings on the molecular recognition of chitin oligosaccharides and how they activate defense mechanisms in plants. In addition, we highlight some of the current advances in chitin perception in horticultural crops.
The Ribb-osome: Ribbon boosts ribosomal protein gene expression to coordinate organ form and function

Cell growth is well defined for the late (post-embryonic) stages of development, but evidence for early (embryonic) cell growth during post-mitotic morphogenesis is quite limited. Here, we identify early cell growth as a key characteristic of tubulogenesis in the Drosophila embryonic salivary gland (SG). A BTB/POZ domain nuclear factor, Ribbon (Rib), mediates this early cell growth. Rib binds the transcription start site of nearly every SG-expressed ribosomal protein gene (RPG) and is required for full expression of all RPGs tested. Rib binding to RPG promoters in vitro is weak and not sequence-specific, suggesting that specificity is achieved through co-factor interactions. Consistent with this hypothesis, we demonstrate Rib’s ability to physically interact with each of the three known contributors to RPG transcription. Surprisingly, Rib-dependent early cell growth in another tubular organ—the embryonic trachea—is not mediated by direct RPG transcription. These findings support a model of early cell growth sustained by transcriptional regulatory networks customized for organ form and function.
Secondary Consolidation Characteristics of Organic Soil Modified by Biological Enzymes Based on Gibson Model

In order to study the secondary consolidation characteristics of organic soil modified by enzyme, the secondary consolidation tests of organic soil modified by enzyme were carried out. Firstly, the consolidation coefficient Cv, secondary consolidation coefficient Ca and compression index Cc of modified organic soil under different levels of loads and different enzyme contents were obtained according to the analysis of experimental data. Then, the parameters of Gibson rheological model were fitted respectively according to the experimental results. Finally, the relationship between rheological model parameters, Ca/Cc, secondary consolidation coefficient Ca and loading was analyzed under different enzyme contents. The results show that: (1) The rheological model parameters of organic soil modified by enzyme are negatively correlated with the enzyme content, and positively correlated with the load value. When the enzyme content is 0.01%, some parameters reach the maximum value; (2) The secondary consolidation coefficient is related to the load. The secondary consolidation coefficient of samples with different enzyme contents shows a certain rule under all levels of load. With the increasing of load, the final secondary consolidation coefficient Ca approaches a stable value; (3) The Ca/Cc values of the samples of the modified organic soil with different enzyme contents are between 0.042 and 0.1 under different loads. The results show that the model is suitable for describing the secondary consolidation creep characteristics of organic soil, and can be used to guide the long-term deformation prediction of organic soil foundation.
Extreme Ultra-Trail Race Induces Muscular Damage, Risk for Acute Kidney Injury and Hyponatremia: A Case Report

A case study involving a healthy trained male athlete who completed a 786 km multi-stage ultra-trail race. Several markers were analyzed in blood and urine samples: creatinine (SCR) for kidney damage, sodium ([Na+]) for hyponatremia, creatine kinase (CK) for exertional rhabdomyolysis, as well as other hematological values. Samples were taken before and after the race and during the recovery period (days 2 and 9 after the race). Results showed: SCR = 1.13 mg/dl, [Na+] =139 mmol/l and CK = 1.099 UI/l. Criteria for the determination of acute kidney damage were not met, and [Na+] concentration was above 135 mEq/L, indicating the absence of hyponatremia. Exertional rhabdomyolysis was suffered by the athlete (baseline CK increased fivefold), though this situation was reverted after 9 days of recovery. Ultra-trail races cause biochemical changes in athletes, which should be known about by healthcare professionals.
Transcriptomic profiling of sex-specific olfactory neurons reveals subset-specific receptor expression in Caenorhabditis elegans

Summary The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans utilizes chemosensation to navigate an ever-changing environment for its survival. A class of secreted small-molecule pheromones, termed ascarosides, play an important role in olfactory perception by affecting biological functions ranging from development to behavior. The ascaroside ascr#8 mediates sex-specific behaviors, driving avoidance in hermaphrodites and attraction in males. Males sense ascr#8 via the ciliated male-specific cephalic sensory (CEM) neurons, which exhibit radial symmetry along dorsal-ventral and left-right axes. Calcium imaging studies suggest a complex neural coding mechanism that translates stochastic physiological responses in these neurons to reliable behavioral outputs. To test the hypothesis that neurophysiological complexity arises from differential expression of genes, we performed cell-specific transcriptomic profiling; this revealed between 18 and 62 genes with at least two-fold higher expression in a specific CEM neuron type versus both other CEM neurons and adult males. These included two G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) genes, srw-97 and dmsr-12, that were specifically expressed in non-overlapping subsets of CEM neurons and whose expression was confirmed by GFP reporter analysis. Single CRISPR-Cas9 knockouts of either srw-97 or dmsr-12 resulted in partial defects, while a double knockout of both srw-97 and dmsr-12 completely abolished the attractive response to ascr#8. Together, our results suggest that the evolutionarily distinct GPCRs SRW-97 and DMSR-12 act non-redundantly in discrete olfactory neurons to facilitate male-specific sensation of ascr#8.
Association of intestinal permeability with admission vitamin D deficiency in patients who are critically ill

Emerging data have led to the hypothesis that vitamin D plays a role in promoting epithelial barrier dysfunction. Therefore, intestinal permeability becomes a significant determiner in the future of patients hospitalized in intensive care unit (ICU). The relationship between vitamin D and intestinal permeability remains unclear in patients who are critically ill. The aim of the study is to document the relationship between the admission vitamin D deficiency and markers of intestinal permeability in the critical care setting. This was a single-center, observational, prospective study in the general ICU of a university-affiliated hospital. A sample of 144 ICU-hospitalized adult patients was recruited between January and May 2018. The admission serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured and categorized as <20 and ≥20 ng/dL, respectively. Moreover, the admission plasma endotoxin and zonulin concentrations as markers of intestinal permeability were determined in stringent conditions. The association between markers of intestinal permeability and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels was assessed adjusting for potential confounders through an estimation of a binary logistic regression model. Our results showed that median plasma endotoxin and zonulin decreased with increasing serum levels of vitamin D categories (p=0.001) in the overall study population. Multivariate binary logistic regression analyses showed a significant association between the plasma endotoxin (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.52) and zonulin (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.87 to 0.99) levels with serum levels of vitamin D categories in the overall population. Our finding suggests a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and early alterations in intestinal permeability. Thus, evaluating vitamin D levels in patients who are critically ill may be warranted.
The New Probiotic Lactobacillus Plantarum Strain Isolated from Traditional Dairy Showed The Synergistic Effect on Aflatoxin B1 Detoxification Along with Nanochitosan Particles

Background: Reduction of aflatoxin toxins in food products is of great importance. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of new Lactobacillus plantarum strain isolated from dairy products as well as chitosan nanoparticles were studied on reducing of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) toxicity in vitro.Methods: After collection and preparation yogurt, cheese, milk and whey products, lactic acid bacteria (LABs) were isolated and identified using biochemical and molecular methods. To measure probiotic activity, pH, bile and salt tolerance tests were used. Then, the antimicrobial activity of LABs against gastrointestinal pathogens was studied. Next, the cheese-separated strain (C1) was selected as the superior strain and antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed. Then, the effect of C1 isolate and chitosan nanoparticles on reducing aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in the medium was studied by measuring AFB1 using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: The results of biochemical evaluations indicated the separation of different strains of Lactobacillus plantarum. Antimicrobial activity test showed extensive antimicrobial activity of C1 isolate. The results showed that this strain has good probiotic activities. This strain was shown to be resistant to the antibiotics erythromycin, fusidic acid, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, neomycin, ofloxacin and vancomycin. C1 strain together with chitosan nanoparticles had the ability to reduce AFB1 in the medium and when both were used simultaneously, and synergistic effect in reducing AFB1 from the medium was seen.Conclusion: In general, it was concluded that the new C1 L. plantarum strains together with chitosan nanoparticles could have synergistic effects in reducing AFB1 toxin in food products.
Towards a digital syllable-based reading intervention: An interview study with second- graders

Reading is an essential ability and a cornerstone of education. However, learning to read can be challenging for children. To scaffold young learners, a number of reading interventions were developed, including a syllable-based approach in German, which has proven to be successful, but resource and time consuming through individual interaction by educators. To improve the reach of the reading intervention, we present the first step towards a digital intervention, following a humancentred design approach. In this contribution, we present the implementation of a digital prototype, developed with the feedback of expert evaluations, as well as an interview study with secondgraders. The results of interviews with children showed that the app is suitable to be applied in the target age group, that children had fun using it and were motivated to further do so. The study also provides design implications for transferring an analogue concept into a digital application.
Investigation of marginal explosibility of organic dusts in the 20-L and 1-m3 explosion chambers

xvi List of Abbreviations and Symbols Used . xvii Acknowledgement . xix INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Dust Explosion Incidents . 2 1.2 Scope of Study . 4 1.3 Motivation for Current Research . 4 1.4 Objectives of Study . 5 1.5 Thesis Overview . 6 LITERATURE REVIEW . 7 2.1 Overview of Explosions . 7 2.2 Dust Explosions . 8 2.3 Influence of Dust Properties on Ignitibility and Explosion Severity . 10 2.3. 1 Chemical composition . 11 2.3. 2 Particle size . 11 2.3. 3 Moisture content . 13 2.3. 4 Oxygen content . 14 2.3. 5 Initial pressure . 14 2.4 Dust Explosion Prevention and Mitigation . 15 2.5 Marginally Explosible Dusts. 16 2.6 Dust Flash Fires . 21 2.6. 1 Characteristics of dust flash fires . 21 2.6. 2 Control of dust flash fires . 22 2.6. 3 Application of inherent safety for dust explosion and fire control . 23 MATERIALS CHARACTERISTICS AND PRELIMINARY ANALYSES . 25
Analysis on Code-Switching in Pinoy Songs

Code-switching in songs is one of the recent techniques used by songwriters in bilingual and multilingual countries which has been proven to achieve commercial success within the market of popular music. The study which examined the types, functions, and pedagogical implications of code-switching in songs, utilized mixed methods in research and homogeneous purposive sampling in generating 15 select Filipino popular songs for content analysis. This study revealed the types of code-switching in songs which are classified into three groups which are the word structure, sentence structure, and song structure. The type of code-switching according to word structure is intra-word switching. According to sentence structure, the types of code-switching are inter-sentential switching, intra-sentential switching, and tag-switching. Moreover, according to song structure, the types of code-switching are intra-sectional switching and inter-sectional switching. Evidently, the seven functions of code-switching identified by Bloom and Gumperz are revealed in the study. It is, therefore, recommended that using code-switching in crafting songs may be taught to students. Furthermore, future research may be done for a more in-depth investigation of code-switching in songs. Language research teachers and linguistic scholars may use this study as a reference in studying the code-witching phenomenon in the languages and songs in their respective countries. A monograph on code-switching in songs may also be constructed.
Presence and Antibiotic Resistance of Salmonella spp. Isolated from Chicken Meat and Giblets Consumed in Konya, Turkey

Aim: The present study was on the detection of Salmonella spp. and two important Salmonella serotypes (S. Thyphimurium and S. Enteritidis) in chicken meat and giblets and also determination of antimicrobial resistance of the isolates. Materials and Methods: In this study, livers (n=40), gizzards (n=40), hearts (n=30), skins (n=30), drumsticks (n=10) and wings (n=20) were collected from supermarkets and butcher shops in Konya, Turkey. The samples were analyzed by Classical Cultural Technique. Molecular confirmation of the suspicious colonies was carried out using Inv-A ge-ne-based PCR. Flic-C and IE-1 primers were used by duplex PCR for S. Thyphimurium and S. Enteritidis respectively. Antibiotic resistance of the isolates was determined by the disk diffusion method. Results: Forty-three (25.29 %
Determinants of anemia among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, West Ethiopia: Unmatched case-control study

Background Anemia is a common clinical problem contributing to increased maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality during pregnancy. Anemia can be caused by different factors apart from known diseases. The main aim of this study was to identify determinants of anemia among pregnant women attending antenatal care at the public health facilities of Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, West Ethiopia, 2017. Methods Health facility-based unmatched case-control study was conducted among 191 anemic and 382 non-anemic pregnant women from September 7, 2017, to October 25, 2017, in Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, West Ethiopia. Data were collected using pre-tested questionnaires from nine health facilities. Hemoglobin level determination, hemo-parasite diagnosis, venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) test, and stool examination were done in the laboratories of the respective health centers. Cleaned and coded data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequency, proportion, mean and standard deviation were computed to summarize the data and presented by tables and bar graphs. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association of predictors and response variables at P ≤ 0.05. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI was used to show the strength of association between predictors and outcome variables. Results A total of 573 pregnant women were enrolled in this study. Monthly income < 500 Ethiopian birr (AOR = 9.16, 95% CI: 4.23, 19.82), heavy menstrual bleeding (AOR = 2.38, 95%CI: 1.38, 4.09), taking iron supplement irregularly (AOR = 2.87, 95%CI:1.41, 5.84), Mid-upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) < 23 cm (AOR = 3.42, 95%CI: 2.07, 5.63), low dietary diversity score (AOR = 12.30, 95%CI: 4.64, 32.72), medium dietary diversity score (AOR = 3.40, 95%CI:1.48, 7.84) and intestinal helminthic infections (AOR = 6.31, 95%CI: 3.44, 11.58) were significantly associated with anemia during pregnancy. Conclusion Average monthly income < 500 Ethiopian birr, heavy menstrual bleeding, low and medium dietary diversity score, taking of iron supplements irregularly, MUAC < 23 cm and intestinal helminthic infections were identified as independent determinants of anemia during pregnancy. Therefore, improving dietary diversity intake, routine deworming and empowering women on taking iron regularly are vital to prevent anemia during pregnancy.
Constructing a Precise Fuzzy Feedforward Neural Network Using an Independent Fuzzification Approach

This study discusses how to fuzzify a feedforward neural network (FNN) to generate a fuzzy forecast that contains the actual value, while minimizing the average range of fuzzy forecasts. This topic has rarely been investigated in past studies but is an essential step to constructing a precise fuzzy FNN (FFNN). Existing methods fuzzify all parameters at the same time, which results in a nonlinear programming (NLP) problem that is not easy to solve. In contrast, in this study, the parameters of a FNN are fuzzified independently. In this way, the optimal values of fuzzy parameters can be derived theoretically. An illustrative example is used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed methodology. According to experimental results, fuzzyifying some parameters may not guarantee that all fuzzy forecasts contain the corresponding actual values. In addition, fuzzifying parameters closer to the output node is more likely to achieve a 100% hit rate. The results lay a foundation for establishing a precise deep FFNN in the future.