Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
D-Amino Acid-Containing Lipopeptides Derived from the Lead Peptide BP100 with Activity against Plant Pathogens

From a previous collection of lipopeptides derived from BP100, we selected 18 sequences in order to improve their biological profile. In particular, analogues containing a D-amino acid at position 4 were designed, prepared, and tested against plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The biological activity of these sequences was compared with that of the corresponding parent lipopeptides with all L-amino acids. In addition, the influence of the length of the hydrophobic chain on the biological activity was evaluated. Interestingly, the incorporation of a D-amino acid into lipopeptides bearing a butanoyl or a hexanoyl chain led to less hemolytic sequences and, in general, that were as active or more active than the corresponding all L-lipopeptides. The best lipopeptides were BP475 and BP485, both incorporating a D-Phe at position 4 and a butanoyl group, with MIC values between 0.8 and 6.2 µM, low hemolysis (0 and 24% at 250 µM, respectively), and low phytotoxicity. Characterization by NMR of the secondary structure of BP475 revealed that the D-Phe at position 4 disrupts the α-helix and that residues 6 to 10 are able to fold in an α-helix. This secondary structure would be responsible for the high antimicrobial activity and low hemolysis of this lipopeptide.
Molecular Epidemiology of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase and AmpC Producing Enterobacteriaceae among Sepsis Patients in Ethiopia: A Prospective Multicenter Study

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and AmpC producing Enterobacteriaceae are public health threats. This study aims to characterize ESBL and AmpC producing Enterobacteriaceae isolated from sepsis patients. A multicenter study was conducted at four hospitals located in central (Tikur Anbessa and Yekatit 12), southern (Hawassa) and northern (Dessie) parts of Ethiopia. Blood culture was performed among 1416 sepsis patients. Enterobacteriaceae (n = 301) were confirmed using MALDI-TOF and subjected for whole genome sequencing using the Illumina (HiSeq 2500) system. The overall genotypic frequencies of ESBL and AmpC producing Enterobacteriaceae were 75.5% and 14%, respectively. The detection of ESBL producing Enterobacteriaceae at Hawassa, Yekatit 12, Tikur Anbessa and Dessie was 95%, 90%, 82% and 55.8%, respectively. The detection frequency of blaCTX-M, blaTEM and blaSHV genes was 73%, 63% and 33%, respectively. The most frequently detected ESBL gene was blaCTX-M-15 (70.4%). The common AmpC genes were blaACT (n = 22) and blaCMY (n = 13). Of Enterobacteriaceae that harbored AmpC (n = 42), 71% were ESBL co-producers. Both blaTEM-1B (61.5%) and blaSHV-187 (27.6%) were the most frequently detected variants of blaTEM and blaSHV, respectively. The molecular epidemiology of ESBL producing Enterobacteriaceae showed high frequencies and several variants of ESBL and AmpC genes. Good antimicrobial stewardship and standard bacteriological laboratory services are necessary for the effective treatment of ESBL producing Enterobacteriaceae.
Yes-associated protein contributes to magnesium alloy-derivedinflammation in endothelial cells

Abstract Magnesium alloy (Mg alloy) has attracted massive attention in the potential applications of cardiovascular stents because of its good biocompatibility and degradability. However, whether and how the Mg alloy induces inflammation in endothelial cells remains unclear. In the present work, we investigated the activation of Yes-associated protein (YAP) upon Mg alloy stimuli and unveiled the transcriptional function in Mg alloy-induced inflammation. Quantitative RT–PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescence staining showed that Mg alloy inhibited the Hippo pathway to facilitate nuclear shuttling and activation of YAP in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs). Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed sequencing was carried out to explore the transcriptional function of YAP in Mg alloy-derived inflammation. This led to the observation that nuclear YAP further bonded to the promoter region of inflammation transcription factors and co-transcription factors. This binding event activated their transcription and modified mRNA methylation of inflammation-related genes through regulating the expression of N6-methyladenosine modulators (METTL3, METTL14, FTO and WTAP). This then promoted inflammation-related gene expression and aggravated inflammation in HCAECs. In YAP deficiency cells, Mg alloy-induced inflammation was reduced. Collectively, our data suggest that YAP contributes to the Mg alloy-derived inflammation in HCAECs and may provide a potential therapeutic target that alleviates inflammation after Mg alloy stent implantation.
Application of Moringa Leaf Extract as a Seed Priming Agent Enhances Growth and Physiological Attributes of Rice Seedlings Cultivated under Water Deficit Regime

Population growth, food shortages, climate change and water scarcity are some of the frightening challenges being confronted in today’s world. Water deficit or drought stress has been considered a severe limitation for the productivity of rice, a widely popular nutritive cereal crop and the staple food of a large portion of the population. A key stage in crop growth is seed emergence, which is mostly constrained by abiotic elements such as high temperatures, soil crusting and low water potential, which are responsible for poor stand establishment. Seed priming is a pre-sowing treatment of seeds that primes them to a physiological state that allows them to emerge more proficiently. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of leaf extracts from local and exotic moringa landraces as seed priming agents in rice cultivated under water deficit (75% field capacity) and control conditions (100% field capacity). Rice seeds were placed in an aerated solution of moringa leaf extract (MLE) at 3% from three obtained landraces (Faisalabad, Multan and an exotic landrace of India). The results obtained from the experimentation show that the water deficit regime adversely affected the studied indicators including emergence and growth attributes as well as physiological parameters. Among the priming agents, MLE from the Faisalabad landrace significantly improved the speed and spread of emergence of rice seedlings (time to start emergence at 23%, emergence index at 75%, mean emergence time at 3.58% and final emergence percentage at 46%). All the priming agents enhanced the growth, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange parameters and antioxidant activities, particularly under the water deficit regime, but the maximum improvement was recorded by the MLE from the Faisalabad landrace. Therefore, the MLE of the Faisalabad landrace can be productively used to boost the seedling establishment and growth of rice grown under normal and water deficit conditions.
Microvascular Breakdown Due to Retinal Neurodegeneration in Ataxias

underwent annual/biannual neuropsychological testing and expert clinical consensus to determine clinical conversion to mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Therefore, because NfL cut-points may differ based on choice of cognitive outcome measure or cognitive “event,” it is uncertain how to compare findings. We note, moreover, that Buhmann et al quote a median value of 18 pmol/mL for serum NfL in their study. Because NfL has a molecular weight of 70 kD, 18 pmol is equivalent to 1260 ng, which would mean that their median serum NfL value is 1,260,000 pg/mL, extremely high compared to values reported by many groups, including our own. Despite differences, findings from both studies support the value of plasma/serum NfL in PD and underscore the importance of establishing absolute quantitation measures and more reliable cut-points for use across cohort studies. Given agerelated increases in NfL over time in both PD patients and healthy controls, we agree that age-adjusted NfL percentiles may provide more consistent results in predictive models. Further studies are needed to explore the use of age-adjusted NfL cut-points in predicting cognitive decline in PD.
PU-GAN: A One-Step 2-D InSAR Phase Unwrapping Based on Conditional Generative Adversarial Network

Two-dimensional phase unwrapping (PU) is a classical ill-posed problem in synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR). The traditional algorithmic model-based 2-D PU methods are limited by the Itoh condition, which is from the PU researchers’ experience and has critical challenges under strong phase noises or violent phase changes. Recently, advanced learning-based 2-D PU methods could break through the limitation of the Itoh condition owing to their data-driven frameworks, offering promising results in terms of both the speed and accuracy. The one-step learning-based PU method, as one of the representatives, retrieves the unwrapped phase directly from the wrapped phase through regression. However, the main disadvantage of one-step learning-based PU is that it usually blurs the output unwrapped phase due to its $L_{2}$ loss, that is, it cannot guarantee the congruency between the rewrapped interferometric fringes of the PU solution and the input interferogram. To solve this problem, we propose a one-step 2-D PU method based on the conditional generative adversarial network (referred to as PU-GAN), which treats 2-D PU as an image-to-image translation problem. The generator in PU-GAN can be trained to generate the unwrapped phase through minimizing a $L_{1}$ -norm loss based on a U-Net architecture, while simultaneously the corresponding discriminator can learn an adversarial loss by a structure of Patch-GAN that tries to classify if the output unwrapped phase image is real or fake. Both a theoretical analysis and the experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the representative algorithmic model-based and learning-based 2-D PU methods.
Associations of self-compassion with shame, guilt, and training motivation after sport-specific daily stress – a smartphone study

ABSTRACT By applying a diary study design, we investigated the role of self-compassion during sport-specific daily stress (SSDS) with regard to the negative self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt and training motivation. We hypothesised that self-compassion would protect athletes from certain self-conscious emotions, namely shame, after SSDS. We also predicted that self-compassion would either increase or decrease the relationship between stress and motivation. Ninety-six athletes (Mage = 22.14, SD = 5.92) reported their level of self-compassion and evaluated their trainings and/or competitions over three weeks in terms of experienced stress, guilt, shame and subsequent training motivation on their smartphones. Multilevel analyses showed that SSDS was associated with more negative self-conscious emotions and reduced training motivation. Moreover, self-compassion weakened the effect of SSDS on shame and was not correlated with training motivation. We discuss the results with regard to sport psychology practice and future research.
Performance of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) on six cotton varieties with varying degree of leaf pubescence

Abstract In this study, we investigated the effect of leaf hairiness, based on non-glandular trichome density, of six cotton varieties (Gloria, Lima, Carla, DP-396, Edessa and ST-468) on the development, reproduction and population parameters of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) under controlled conditions. According to trichome densities (mean number/cm2) on the abaxial surface of cotton leaves: Edessa (583.8) and ST-468 (569.9) were grouped as high density; DP-396 (394.9) and Carla (367.5), medium density; Lima (20.4) and Gloria (13.3), low density. As a result, total development periods of T. urticae in Gloria, Lima, Carla, DP-396, Edessa and ST-468 varieties were 9.7, 9.8, 10.6, 10.6, 11.9 and 11.8 days, respectively. The developmental periods of immature stages and total preadults increased significantly with increasing leaf trichome density. The longest oviposition period of T. urticae was detected in Gloria (27.5 days) and Lima (25.1 days) and the shortest was in Edessa (16.4 days) and ST-468 (17.4 days). The highest total fecundity was determined in Gloria (135.6 eggs) and Lima (131.4 eggs) varieties. The highest intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ) and net reproductive rate (R0) were obtained in Gloria, Lima, Carla and DP-396, the lowest in Edessa and ST-468 varieties. The longest mean generation time (T) was detected in Edessa (19.0 days) and ST-468 (18.6 days). The result of this study showed that cotton varieties with high trichome density negatively affected the development, reproduction and population parameters of T. urticae.
Slaughter value and quality of meat from Pomeranian lambs and crossbreds by Blackface and Charolaise rams

Selected indicators were compared of the slaughter value and quality of meat in 50-day-old pure Pomeranian lambs (P) and F1 lambs (P ewe x Blackface ram and P eve × Charolaise ram - PB and PCh crossbreds, respectively). The slaughter value was determined based on live body weight, intestinal fat weight, dressing percentage, loin eye length and area, thickness of fat cover over the ribs and loin, proportions of valuable cuts in a carcass, and tissue composition of the leg. Meat quality was evaluated based on the chemical composition as well as the physico-chemical and sensory properties of quadriceps femoris muscle. PB and PCh lambs, as compared with P lambs, had higher live weight, a higher dressing percentage, a higher proportion of valuable cuts in a carcass, as well as more desirable lean-to-bone and lean-to-fat ratios in the leg. The length and area of loin eye were also greater in PCh lambs. Meat from PCh lambs, as compared to meat from lambs P, contained more protein and less collagen, and was characterized by a better water holding capacity, a lighter color, a greater diameter of muscle fibers, as well as worse tenderness and juiciness. Meat from PB lambs showed a lower collagen content and a smaller diametre of muscle fibers than meat from P lambs, as well as a higher fat content, better tenderness and juiciness than meat from PCh lambs.
EVALUATION OF ENDOTOXEMIA, SOLUBLE CD14 AND IL-1Β IN DOGS WITH INTESTINAL DYSBIOSIS THAT WERE TREATED WITH PROBIOTICS: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

The aim of this study was to compare the serum endotoxin levels in correlation with soluble CD14 and IL-1β in dogs with intestinal dysbiosis that were treated with a probiotic product containing Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis and Pediococcus acidilactici. Levels of serum endotoxin, soluble CD14 and IL-1β were assessed before meal consumption, and 6 and 12 h after meal consumption, both prior to initiation of probiotic treatment and after completion of 30 days of treatment. Pre-meal serum endotoxin levels decreased by 25.89% and 6 h and 12 h post-meal levels decreased by 35.00% and 44.93%, respectively, when compared to the respective pre-treatment values which correlated with a decrease in serum soluble CD14 levels, while IL-1β remained approximatively constant.
THE EFFECT OF DRIBBLING ON KNEE LOADING WHEN FEMALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS PERFORM SIDE STEP CUTTING MANEUVERS

Knee injuries in females seem related to movements during sports specific, high risk activities such as cutting. Loading on knee when the players make side step cutting maneuvers has been considered to be a factor related to Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries. Our purpose was to examine differences in female players performing a side step cutting with and without dribbling. Using 10 elite female basketball players, three dimensional kinematic and kinetic data were assessed. Based on our investigation, elite female basketball players performing a side step cut with dribbling exhibited greater knee valgus angles and moments. Sport-specific neuromuscular training programs for basketball players could consider may adding ball control tasks.
Study on Milkability Traits of Kankrej Cows

The study was undertaken on 12 suckled Kankrej cows to investigate the effects of shift of milking, season and milker on milkability traits, namely let down time, total milking time, milk yield/milking and milk flow rate. The overall mean let down time, total milking time, milk yield/milking and milk flow rate were 67.99 s, 262.67 s, 3.32 kg and 0.77 kg/min, respectively. The differences between morning and evening milking were non-significant for let down time, total milking time and milk yield. However, milk flow rate showed significant (P<0.05) variation between morning and evening milkings. Significantly (P<0.01) higher let down time (76.66 s) and total milking time (317.61 s) were recorded in hot–humid season as compared to cold–dry season (63.36 and 234.90 s). However, average milk yield/milking showed reverse trend, wherein significantly higher (P<0.01) milk yield was recorded in hot–humid season (4.02 vs 2.97 kg). Milk flow rate was almost similar in both hot–humid and cold–dry seasons. Differences in let down time, total milking time and milk flow rate in cows milked by different milkers were non-significant. Milk let down time was significantly and positively correlated with total milking time (r=0.758). Milk yield had highly significant and positive (P<0.01) correlations with both let down time (r=0.844) and total milking time (r=0.963). However, milk flow rate was negatively correlated with milking time (r=–0.570).
Physical Effects of Distributed PV Generation on California's Distribution System

Deployment of high-penetration photovoltaic (PV) power is expected to have a range of effects -- both positive and negative -- on the distribution grid. The magnitude of these effects may vary greatly depending upon feeder topology, climate, PV penetration level, and other factors. In this paper we present a simulation study of eight representative distribution feeders in three California climates at PV penetration levels up to 100\%, supported by a unique database of distributed PV generation data that enables us to capture the impact of PV variability on feeder voltage and voltage regulating equipment. When comparing the influence of feeder location (i.e. climate) versus feeder type on outcomes, we find that location more strongly influences the incidence of reverse power flow, reductions in peak loading and the presence of voltage excursions. On the other hand, we find that feeder characteristics more strongly influence the magnitude of loss reduction and changes in voltage regulator operations. We find that secondary distribution transformer aging is negligibly affected in almost all scenarios.
Machine learning guided signal enrichment for ultrasensitive plasma tumor burden monitoring

In solid tumor oncology, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is poised to transform care through accurate assessment of minimal residual disease (MRD) and therapeutic response monitoring. To overcome the sparsity of ctDNA fragments in low tumor fraction (TF) settings and increase MRD sensitivity, we previously leveraged genome-wide mutational integration through plasma whole genome sequencing (WGS). We now introduce MRD-EDGE, a composite machine learning-guided WGS ctDNA single nucleotide variant (SNV) and copy number variant (CNV) detection platform designed to increase signal enrichment. MRD-EDGE uses deep learning and a ctDNA-specific feature space to increase SNV signal to noise enrichment in WGS by 300X compared to our previous noise suppression platform MRDetect. MRD-EDGE also reduces the degree of aneuploidy needed for ultrasensitive CNV detection through WGS from 1Gb to 200Mb, thereby expanding its applicability to a wider range of solid tumors. We harness the improved performance to track changes in tumor burden in response to neoadjuvant immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer and demonstrate ctDNA shedding in precancerous colorectal adenomas. Finally, the radical signal to noise enrichment in MRD-EDGE enables de novo mutation calling in melanoma without matched tumor, yielding clinically informative TF monitoring for patients on immune checkpoint inhibition.
What Is Childhood?

How do homeschooling parents understand who children are and what childhood is, and how do these understandings impact their decision to homeschool? This chapter examines two different critiques of gender and sexuality in American public schools that arose both in the author’s interviews with parents and in the homeschooling conferences she attended. First, some parents critique schools as overly sexual spaces that are a threat to the sexual innocence of children and see homeschooling as a way of protecting their children. Second, some parents argue that schools promote a narrow understanding of gender and sexuality that is heterosexual and traditionally gendered, and this understanding ends up constraining, and even hurting, children. The author argues that these two critiques correspond to two competing ideologies of childhood: one that views children as “in process,” or as developing toward selfhood, and the other that views children as already selves, capable of exercising agency and autonomy. These two ideologies of childhood result in different homeschooling practices, highlighting how the homeschooling experience can be very different for children depending on their parents’ ideological standpoint.
Effectiveness of a return to work intervention after occupational disability retirement due to depression and anxiety

ABSTRACT Depression and anxiety disorders are the most common cause for disability retirement among people of middle age. The following social disintegration can have an additional detrimental effect on subjects’ psychological well-being, which further reduces their chances for recovery. Long-term disability could be avoidable in many cases as depression and anxiety disorders don’t have an etiology that makes permanent loss of function inevitable. This prospective cohort study tests the long-term effects of an intervention addressed at these young disablement retirees. Forty-one subjects each in the experimental and control group were followed-up on over a period of 24 months. The intervention had positive effects on psychological well-being. More subjects returned to work than controls. The effects were still present at one year follow-up. These findings show that an individually tailored return-to-work intervention is a useful, sustainable and economically advantageous therapeutic tool to get out of disability retirement due to mental illness even after all other therapeutic tools have failed.
Analysis of Factors that Influence SOE'S Superior Performance with Cost Leadership as a Mediation Variable

This study aims to analyze the factors that affect the performance of State-Owned Enterprises or BUMN. The method of determining the sample using purposive sampling, and analyze the factors that affect the performance of State-Owned Enterprises. Research is finding that the variables that affect significantly the performance of state-owned enterprises are cost leadership, leverage, capital expenditure, growth, real earnings management activities, indicators of performance management, cash flow from operating, liquidity, taxes, size, contribution margin, and revenue. The originality of the research is, is the measurement of the variable cost leadership that is based on elasticity theory, and novelty in the measurement variable indicator of the performance of the management which is based on the criteria of the activity in judging the performance of SOEs. The implication of this research is to make it easier for SOE management to achieve performance targets by taking into account the magnitude of the coefficient of influence of key variables on the performance of SOEs.