Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metabolic Consequences of Developmental Exposure to Polystyrene Nanoplastics, the Flame Retardant BDE-47 and Their Combination in Zebrafish

Single-use plastic production is higher now than ever before. Much of this plastic is released into aquatic environments, where it is eventually weathered into smaller nanoscale plastics. In addition to potential direct biological effects, nanoplastics may also modulate the biological effects of hydrophobic persistent organic legacy contaminants (POPs) that absorb to their surfaces. In this study, we test the hypothesis that developmental exposure (0–7 dpf) of zebrafish to the emerging contaminant polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics (⌀100 nm; 2.5 or 25 ppb), or to environmental levels of the legacy contaminant and flame retardant 2,2′,4,4′-Tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47; 10 ppt), disrupt organismal energy metabolism. We also test the hypothesis that co-exposure leads to increased metabolic disruption. The uptake of nanoplastics in developing zebrafish was validated using fluorescence microscopy. To address metabolic consequences at the organismal and molecular level, metabolic phenotyping assays and metabolic gene expression analysis were used. Both PS and BDE-47 affected organismal metabolism alone and in combination. Individually, PS and BDE-47 exposure increased feeding and oxygen consumption rates. PS exposure also elicited complex effects on locomotor behaviour with increased long-distance and decreased short-distance movements. Co-exposure of PS and BDE-47 significantly increased feeding and oxygen consumption rates compared to control and individual compounds alone, suggesting additive or synergistic effects on energy balance, which was further supported by reduced neutral lipid reserves. Conversely, molecular gene expression data pointed to a negative interaction, as co-exposure of high PS generally abolished the induction of gene expression in response to BDE-47. Our results demonstrate that co-exposure to emerging nanoplastic contaminants and legacy contaminants results in cumulative metabolic disruption in early development in a fish model relevant to eco- and human toxicology.
Compact Urban Form and Human Development: Retest Based on Heterogeneous Effects

The Human Development Index does not follow a normal distribution. For skewed distributions, finite mixture models can provide better estimates than fixed-effects models. In this paper, the relationship between compact cities and human development is investigated by employing a finite mixture model using panel data of Chinese prefecture-level cities. In contrast to the majority of the literature, which focuses exclusively on economic density, this article examines the impact of economic and morphological density on the level of human development. The results show that the compact development model has a negative impact on the level of human development and that the intensity of the impact varies for cities with different characteristics.
Development of a Mouse Model to Explore CD4 T Cell Specificity, Phenotype, and Recruitment to the Lung after Influenza B Infection

The adaptive T cell response to influenza B virus is understudied, relative to influenza A virus, for which there has been considerable attention and progress for many decades. Here, we have developed and utilized the C57BL/6 mouse model of intranasal infection with influenza B (B/Brisbane/60/2008) virus and, using an iterative peptide discovery strategy, have identified a series of robustly elicited individual CD4 T cell peptide specificities. The CD4 T cell repertoire encompassed at least eleven major epitopes distributed across hemagglutinin, nucleoprotein, neuraminidase, and non-structural protein 1 and are readily detected in the draining lymph node, spleen, and lung. Within the lung, the CD4 T cells are localized to both lung vasculature and tissue but are highly enriched in the lung tissue after infection. When studied by flow cytometry and MHC class II: peptide tetramers, CD4 T cells express prototypical markers of tissue residency including CD69, CD103, and high surface levels of CD11a. Collectively, our studies will enable more sophisticated analyses of influenza B virus infection, where the fate and function of the influenza B-specific CD4 T cells elicited by infection and vaccination can be studied as well as the impact of anti-viral reagents and candidate vaccines on the abundance, functionality, and localization of the elicited CD4 T cells.
Selection for grain size and sieve yield in F3 common bean genotypes using linear mixed models

Grain size is an essential trait in common bean breeding as it determines the acceptance of a new cultivar by producers, consumers, and the industry. The objectives of this study were to identify the ideal traits for selecting common bean lines in the F3 generation to obtain an adequate sieve yield and to identify the best lines for sieve yield by applying early generation selection. Two trials were conducted in two locations during the 2016/2017 crop season. These trials were composed of 300 F3 populations and two parents (used as checks). The experimental design used was an augmented block design without repetition for the treatments (lineages). After harvest, the grain yield, yield components, and sieve yield (SY) were evaluated. In conclusion, selection in the F3 generation can be performed for sieve yield, considering the traits SY12+13, SY14, and relative grain yield, as they present the highest values of heritability and greatest correlation between genotype and performance in the evaluated environments. Additionally, the lines selected to continue in the breeding program are composed of the 15 best lineages for traits SY12+13, SY14, and relative grain yield. Preference should be given to lines that excel in more than one of these traits.
Ultralow Melting of Iron Nitrides and the Fe–N–C System at High Pressure

Iron nitrides and carbonitrides are the two primary hosts of deep nitrogen in the Earth’s interior; hence, the storage and circulation of deep nitrogen can be largely controlled by the melting behavior of iron nitrides and the Fe–N–C system. In this study, the melting temperatures of these minerals were determined individually and jointly using the new diagnostics of electrical resistance jump up to 80 GPa in laser‐heated diamond‐anvil cells. The solidus curves of these samples are extremely low at mantle pressures, and are marginally affected by the iron spin transition, nitrogen concentration, and carbon incorporation, suggesting that nitrogen‐rich metallic liquids likely exist at depths of <1,500 km in the present‐day mantle. Meanwhile, our Raman spectra are indicative of N2 degassing out of iron nitride liquids at <12 GPa. These results suggest that low‐pressure N2 degassing in the proto‐Earth coupled with nitrogen‐rich liquids hidden in present‐day lower mantle play important roles in the redistribution of deep nitrogen through geologic time and space.
COVID‐19 in a human T‐cell lymphotropic virus type‐1 carrier

This is the first report of COVID‐19 in a human T‐cell lymphotropic virus type‐1 (HTLV‐1) carrier. HTLV‐1 infection can cause immune dysfunction even in asymptomatic carriers. This case highlights the need for guidance on management of COVID‐19‐HTLV‐1 coinfection, specifically on the appropriate use of corticosteroid treatment while considering secondary infection.
Gambaran Pengetahuan, Masa Kerja Petugas Dan Waktu Tunggu Pasien Rawat Jalan Di Instalasi Farmasi Rsud Surakarta Tahun 2013

Instalasi farmasi merupakan bagian penting di sektor rumah sakit. Sumber daya manusia dapat mempengaruhi kualitas pelayanan farmasi. Pelayanan farmasi dituntut untuk memberikan kepuasan pasien. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui gambaran pengetahuan, masa kerja petugas dan waktu tunggu pasien rawat jalan di instalasi farmasi RSUD Surakarta. Metode penelitian adalah observasional dengan analisis deskriptif. Populasi penelitian ini adalah seluruh petugas farmasi berjumlah 10 responden dan resep untuk pasien rawat jalan berjumlah 2835 resep. Pengambilan sampel untuk petugas farmasi dengan exhaustive sampling sebanyak 10 responden dan pengambilan sampel untuk pasien dengan purposive sampling sebanyak 351 resep. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa 50% petugas farmasi berpengetahuan baik dan 50% petugas farmasi berpengetahuan kurang, 50% petugas dengan masa kerja ≤ 3,9 tahun dan 50% petugas dengan masa kerja > 3,9 tahun, 42,5% waktu tunggu ≤ 30 menit serta 57,5% waktu tunggu > 30 menit.
A study on job satisfaction among the employees of state bank of India in Coimbatore city

The banking sector has undergone a sea-change over the years, which has put new pressures and realities in front of the bank employees. Bank employees have perhaps felt the maximum heat. Bank employees form a delicate link between the management and the clerical staff. The success of the bank to a large extent depends upon the coordination, synchronization and cooperation of the Bank Officers with these two very divergent entities. Through this research study an attempt has been degree of overall job satisfaction prevailing among the Bank employees but also to bank employee's views on the different factors contributing to their job satisfaction, in the light of current realities. The aim of this study was to examine job satisfaction level of bank employees in Punjab Province. A structured questionnaire survey conducted. Five components of job satisfaction; work, pay, promotion, salary and recognition, were examined besides overall job satisfaction.
Building a framework for service design research

This paper outlines the evolution of Service Design from its origin within Interaction Design to its current state of development, which is strongly affected by the growing complexity and collaborative nature of service projects and social demands. The paper aims to provide a platform to ground the current state of the discipline, to offer a critique of what has been achieved to date, and to outline the main research questions that could drive Service Design Research in the near future. While Service Design is now recognised in much of the design community and service-design related initiatives, events and research projects are growing in number, any attempt to precisely define what Service Design is and what it does are more difficult tasks. Design practice is quickly evolving - stretching the borders and questioning the underlying bases of this emerging specialisation. This paper stresses the importance of, and provides a first platform to start a reflection on, Service Design. We need to understand where Service Design comes from, where we have been in the last two decades and where we are now to better drive future research directions and make them meaningful to the current challenges design is dealing with. Without any intent to be exhaustive, this paper outlines the evolution of Service Design from its original connection with the Interaction Design discipline and practice to its current state, which is strongly influenced by the growing of complexity and collaborative nature of service projects and society demands. The analogy between designing 'interactions' (user - device interface) and designing 'service interactions' or 'service encounters' (user - service interface) is at the core of Service Design's identity and practice. What has been gradually changing in the last decade is the context and nature of the interactions that Service Design has been dealing with: from one-to-one to many-to-many interactions; from sequential to open-ended interactions (Winhall, 2004); from within to amongst organisations. Buchanan (1994) talks about 'third order' and 'fourth order' design to represent this recent need to move where strategic decisions are made in order to be in a position to influence future directions.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Seismic site characterization in northeast India: a holistic GIS based approach

We, the Editors and Publisher of Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk have retracted the following article: Manik Das Adhikari, Woo-Young Jung, Ji-Myong Kim & Sang-Guk Yum, Seismic site characterization in northeast India: a holistic GIS based approach. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 13, 2022, 538–567 DOI: 10.1080/19475705.2022. 2029583 The authors acknowledge that the premise and some text and images published in this article were from work undertaken by others. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.
Environmental Entrepreneurship and Inclusive Growth: A Three-fold Approach to Analysis

: This article assesses the contribution of entrepreneurs to inclusive growth, and explores both the determinants and impact of environmental entrepreneurs on pollution emissions. Firstly, we use a dynamic linear panel model to quantify the impact of various types of entrepreneurship on inclusive growth proxied by real household expenditure growth. Though there is no significant direct effect on inclusive growth, entrepreneurship appears to be more important in developing countries. Secondly, using a random effects model, we consider entrepreneurs’ role in pollution-reduction efforts. We find that entrepreneurs have contributed positively to carbon dioxide emissions. This effect, however, decreases with the level of development, suggesting that improving institutional quality is the key to promoting environmental entrepreneurship capable of making a difference to climate change. Finally, we use a hierarchical probit model to identify the key determinants of environmental entrepreneurship for individual entrepreneurs. Surprisingly, we find that high environmental pressure is associated with a lower probability of becoming an environmental entrepreneur.
Do Children and Adolescents with Overweight or Obesity Adhere to the National Food-Based Dietary Guidelines in Greece?

Childhood obesity increases the risk for metabolic disorders, but is also related to nutritional deficiencies, such as anemia and hypovitaminosis D. Although children/adolescents with overweight/obesity may have higher energy intake, their diet quality and diversity may be low. The present study aimed to evaluate the consumption of foods against the national food-based dietary guidelines in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity in Greece. Sociodemographic, anthropometric and lifestyle data were collected from a sample of 1467 children 2–18 years old (962 obese, 505 overweight, 51.2% females) in 2014–2017. The results of this study show that the consumption of dairy products, fruit, vegetables, legumes and fish by children/adolescents with overweight or obesity was lower than the national recommendations (ranging from a minimum of 39.5% for fish, to a maximum of 75.5% for cereal/potato/rice). Only the consumption of meat/poultry was found to exceed the national recommendation (estimated coverage of 131.3%). Moreover, a large proportion of participants regularly consumed various unhealthy foods/beverages. The present findings indicate that the majority of children/adolescents with overweight/obesity do not comply with the national food-based dietary guidelines in Greece. The implementation of new strategies to promote healthy diets among children/adolescents with overweight/obesity are urgently required.
Perceptions and Factors Influencing Teaching and Learning in Kyela Secondary Schools in Tanzania

Understanding teachers' and students’ perceptions are very crucial in exploring the factors that influence teaching and learning in secondary schools. This study was conducted in Kyela and specifically, it intended to (1) assessed teachers’ perceptions of quality student learning environments and (2) examine the extent to which teaching and learning contexts influence student learning. The study adopted a mixed approach to research using a concurrent- triangulation design with a sample of 148 participants selected through purposive and simple random sampling procedures. The data collection involved the use of questionnaires, semi-structured interview schedules, and focus group discussions. The analysis of data involved the use of SPSS to generate frequencies and percentages for quantitative data, and the use of content analysis for qualitative data. The findings revealed that teachers had varying perceptions on quality learning environment and factors that influence student learning including committed teachers, availability of teaching and learning materials, and good leadership. The findings showed further than 83.2% and 58% of students and teachers respectively, had a belief that the main purpose of teaching and learning is to help a student to pass examinations, thus teachers should complete the contents stipulated in the syllabus before examinations. Similarly, the findings suggested that factors such as limited Inservice-training to teachers lead to ineffective student learning as most of the teachers remain conservative to teacher-centred approaches. It is concluded that students' learning can be affected by the contexts in which an idea is taught as well as by students' and teachers’ perceptions and attitudes on teaching and learning processes.
Salgado Paraense: an inventory of a forgotten coastal Amazonian avifauna

We report on the poorly-known, coastal avifauna of the Salgado Paraense (in the state of Pará, Brazil) east of the delta of the Amazonas river, combining data from recent surveys with an analysis of historical records. Three-hundred and twenty three species were recorded in the habitats inventoried: estuarine, beach and mangrove habitats, restinga, seasonally-flooded grasslands and secondary forest. Particularly noteworthy records included: the discovery of a disjunct population of Laterallus jamaicensis; a previously unrecorded staging ground for Stercorarius spp. ; the second documented Brazilian record of Calidris pugnax; the first documented records in Pará for a number of marine species, including the regionally-threatened Sterna dougallii, and the rediscovery of ‘Picumnus pallidus’, a taxon of uncertain validity, all documented by archived digital vouchers. Coastal habitats represent an important contribution to local avian species-richness in Amazonia and they are theoretically better-protected by existing conservation units than neighboring terra firme habitats, yet this region’s biodiversity remains threatened by habitat loss, hunting, and major infrastructure improvements.
Instagram-Assisted Learning of Collocations and Colligations: The Case of EFL Learners

Instagram, as a popular social networking platform, allows users to share photos and videos with other users. This research investigated the effect of Instagram-assisted instruction on the learning of collocations and colligations by Iranian EFL learners. Fifteen participants who were selected based on a language proficiency test took part in this research. The participants were first pre-tested on their collocational and colligational knowledge. The collocational and colligational items that were answered incorrectly by 50 percent or higher were selected for treatment. Afterwards, the researchers prepared nine videos, containing 41 collocational and colligational items, and posted them on Instagram during a five- week instruction period. The participants were asked to watch the videos, and carry out the related exercises in the caption section of the post, through the usage of the comments sections on Instagram. After posting all the videos, the pre-test was run again as a post-test. The results indicated a significant difference between the mean scores of the pre- and post-test, highlighting the fact that the treatment had been effective. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants in order to find out their attitudes towards language learning via Instagram. The learners indicated a positive attitude towards using Instagram for their language learning purposes. In conclusion, the research showed that Instagram-assisted instruction, when properly implemented and designed, can be beneficial to the development of second language learning.
Histomorphological Alterations of Placenta in Normal vs Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Subjects: A Case-control Study

Introduction: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) during pregnancy leads to gross and microscopic changes in the placenta. These abnormal changes in the placentas are responsible for the foetal hypoxia and increases perinatal morbidity and mortality. The study of placenta helps significantly in understanding the process of foetal development in response to various maternal conditions like GDM. Aim: To observe the gross and microscopic changes of placenta complicated by GDM and comparing the features with normal placenta. Materials and Methods: In this prospective case control study, performed from January 2012 to December 2015, 80 full term freshly delivered placentas were collected from the labour room with prior informed consent. Forty were from uncomplicated pregnancy (control group) and 40 were from pregnancies complicated by GDM (experimental group). Detailed gross and microscopic examinations were done on placentas from both the groups and the results were documented and associated statistically by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Results: On gross examination, of 80 placentas (40 from the control group and 40 from the experimental group), those from the experimental group showed significantly higher placental weight, diameter, volume, thickness, and lower foeto-placental ratio than the control group. The p-value for all these parameters was observed to be <0.0005. Similarly, on microscopic examination villous immaturity (p-value <0.0005), oedema (p-value <0.0005), fibrinoid degeneration (p-value<0.0005), chorangiosis (p-value 0.001) and nucleated foetal RBCs inside the capillaries (p-value <0.0005) were noted to be significantly higher in the experimental group. Conclusion: This study shows significant gross and microscopic changes in the GDM placentas, the most significant histological changes noted were the villous immaturity, thickened Basement Membrane (BM) and fibrinoid degeneration which may be attributed to impaired placental functioning and unfavourable perinatal outcomes.
Wideband resonator arrays for electromagnetic energy harvesting and wireless power transfer

This work demonstrates the viability of wideband Ground-backed Complementary Split-Ring Resonator (WG-CSRR) arrays with significant power conversion efficiency and bandwidth enhancement in comparison to the technology used in current electromagnetic energy harvesting systems. Through numerical full-wave analysis, we demonstrated the correlation between the topology of the WG-CSRR patch and the electric current distribution over the patch at different frequencies. A comparative study of power harvesting efficiency and frequency bandwidth through numerical analysis was presented where an array of WG-CSRRs is compared to an array of G-CSRRs and an array of microstrip patch antennas. A significant improvement in bandwidth is achieved in comparison to the G-CSRR array reported in earlier work.