Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimized ANFIS Model Using Hybrid Metaheuristic Algorithms for Parkinson’s Disease Prediction in IoT Environment

Throughout recent years, the progress of telemonitoring and telediagnostics devices for evaluating and tracking Parkinson’s (PD) disease has become increasingly important. The early detection of PD increases the consistency of the treatment of patients and ultimately allows it possible to achieve a rapid diagnostic decision from an experienced clinician. In this paper, a proposed fog-based ANFIS+PSOGWO model provided for Parkinson’s disease prediction. The proposed model exploits the advantages of the grey wolf optimization (GWO) and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) for adjusting the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) parameters with the use of chaotic tent map for the initialization. The fog processing utilized for gathering and analyzing the data at the edge of the gateways and notifying the local community instantly. Compared to other optimization methods, many evaluation metrics used like the root mean square error (RMSE), the mean square error (MSE), the standard deviation (SD), and the accuracy and five standard datasets from repository of UCI machine learning that demonstrated the superiority of the model proposed against the grey wolf optimization (GWO), the particle swarm optimization (PSO), the differential evolution (DE), the genetic algorithm (GA), the ant colony optimization (ACO), and the standard ANFIS model. Moreover, the proposed ANFIS+PSOGWO applied for Parkinson’s disease prediction and achieved an accuracy of 87.5%. The proposed ANFIS+PSOGWO compared in producing positive outcomes better than PSO, GWO, GA, ACO, DE, and some recent literature for Parkinson’s disease prediction. The proposed model produced accuracy for the Parkinson’s disease prediction has outperformed its closest competitors in all algorithms by 7.3%.
Characterisation of the Lactobacillus community in traditional Karst ewe's cheese

Ewe's cheese, produced in the Slovenian Karst region, was analysed for its lactobacilli population. Biochemical fingerprinting with PhenePlate™ LB grouped lactobacilli in 16 distinct PhP types. One representative from each PhP type was further analysed. Members of Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus curvatus, and Lactobacillus brevis species were determined phenotypically. The genus-specific DNA band was amplified with all PhP representatives, whereas species-specific polymerase chain reaction efficiently determined only L. paracasei and L. brevis. Lactobacilli were highly to moderate sensitive to six antibiotics, and resistant to vancomycin. From halo formation in the agar spot method, indicators exerted a promising level of sensitivity for antimicrobials, produced by test microorganisms. Lactobacilli from Karst ewe's cheese offer a remarkable reservoir of ‘natural’ microbes.
Learning to Align via Wasserstein for Person Re-Identification

Existing successful person re-identification (Re-ID) models often employ the part-level representation to extract the fine-grained information, but commonly use the loss that is particularly designed for global features, ignoring the relationship between semantic parts. In this paper, we present a novel triplet loss that emphasizes the salient parts and also takes the consideration of alignment. This loss is based on the crossing-bing matching metric that also known as Wasserstein Distance. It measures how much effort it would take to move the embeddings of local features to align two distributions, such that it is able to find an optimal transport matrix to re-weight the distance of different local parts. The distributions in support of local parts is produced via a new attention mechanism, which is calculated by the inner product between high-level global feature and local features, representing the importance of different semantic parts w.r. t. identification. We show that the obtained optimal transport matrix can not only distinguish the relevant and misleading parts, and hence assign different weights to them, but also rectify the original distance according to the learned distributions, resulting in an elegant solution for the mis-alignment issue. Besides, the proposed method is easily implemented in most Re-ID learning system with end-to-end training style, and can obviously improve their performance. Extensive experiments and comparisons with recent Re-ID methods manifest the competitive performance of our method.
Elevation, Topography, and Edge Effects Drive Functional Composition of Woody Plant Species in Tropical Montane Forests

Tropical montane forests comprise heterogeneous environments along natural gradients of topography and elevation. Human‐induced edge effects further increase the environmental heterogeneity in these forests. The simultaneous effects of natural and human‐induced gradients on the functional diversity of plant leaf traits are poorly understood. In a tropical montane forest in Bolivia, we studied environmental gradients associated with elevation (from 1900 m to 2500 m asl), topography (ridge and gorge), and edge effects (forest edge vs. forest interior), and their relationship with leaf traits and resource‐use strategies. First, we investigated associations of environmental conditions (soil properties and microclimate) with six leaf traits, measured on 119 woody plant species. Second, we evaluated changes in functional composition with community‐weighted means and functional structure with multidimensional functional diversity indices (FRic, FEve and FDiv). We found significant associations between leaf traits and soil properties in accordance with the trade‐off between acquisition and conservation of resources. Functional composition of leaf traits shifted from the dominance of acquisitive species in habitats at low altitudes, gorges, and forest interior to the dominance of conservative species in habitats at high altitudes, ridges, and forest edges. Functional structure was only weakly associated with the environmental gradients. Natural and human‐induced environmental gradients, especially soil properties, are important for driving leaf traits and resource‐use strategies of woody plants. Nevertheless, weak associations between functional structure and environmental gradients suggest a high redundancy of functional leaf traits in this tropical montane forest.
Risk and Secondary Prevention of Stroke Recurrence

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background and Purpose: With recent advances in secondary prevention management, stroke recurrence rates may have changed substantially. We aim to estimate risks and trends of stroke recurrence over the past 2 decades in a population-based cohort of patients with stroke. Methods: Patients with a first-ever stroke between 1995 and 2018 in South London, United Kingdom (n=6052) were collected and analyzed. Rates of recurrent stroke with 95% CIs were stratified by 5-year period of index stroke and etiologic TOAST (Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment) subtype. Cumulative incidences were estimated and multivariate Cox models applied to examine associations of recurrence and recurrence-free survival. Results: The rate of stroke recurrence at 5 years reduced from 18% (95% CI, 15%–21%) in those who had their stroke in 1995 to 1999 to 12% (10%–15%) in 2000 to 2005, and no improvement since. Recurrence-free survival has improved (35%, 1995–1999; 67%, 2010–2015). Risk of recurrence or death is lowest for small-vessel occlusion strokes and other ischemic causes (36% and 27% at 5 years, respectively). For cardioembolic and hemorrhagic index strokes around half of first recurrences are of the same type (54% and 51%, respectively). Over the whole study period a 54% increased risk of recurrence was observed among those who had atrial fibrillation before the index stroke (hazard ratio, 1.54 [1.09–2.17]). Conclusions: The rate of recurrence reduced until mid-2000s but has not changed over the last decade. The majority of cardioembolic or hemorrhagic strokes that have a recurrence are stroke of the same type indicating that the implementation of effective preventive strategies is still suboptimal in these stroke subtypes.
Changes in Prognosis of Heterotaxy Syndrome Over Time

In this large, single tertiary center, retrospective study, we found persistently high mortality in patients with HS with no improvement in the most contemporary birth era. BACKGROUND: Long-term outcomes in heterotaxy syndrome (HS) are poorly described. Some reports suggest improved survival in the recent era, whereas others do not. We sought to describe long-term outcomes and assess whether outcomes have changed over time. METHODS: Patients with HS born between 1985 and 2014 who had cardiac care (except initial palliation) at our institution were divided into 4 birth eras and survival over time was compared. Independent risk factors for mortality were identified by using Cox proportional hazards regression. In patients who underwent surgery, association between surgical pathway (univentricular versus biventricular repair) and mortality after adjusting for baseline confounders was evaluated. A risk stratification model was created by using classification and regression analysis. RESULTS: Among 264 patients, 118 (44.7%) had asplenia and 146 (55.3%) had polysplenia syndrome. Overall mortality was 40.2% (n = 106), with median follow-up of 10.2 years (longest 31.5 years). In multivariable analysis, pulmonary vein stenosis, coarctation, univentricular circulation, asplenia phenotype, and at least mild atrioventricular valve regurgitation at presentation were associated with mortality, whereas birth era was not. Among patients who underwent surgery, univentricular repair remained associated with mortality after adjustment. In classification and regression analysis, patients with biventricular circulation (especially those with polysplenia) had lower mortality than those with univentricular circulation. CONCLUSIONS: In this large retrospective study of HS, outcomes remain poor and have not improved since the early 1990s. We identified risks factors associated with earlier mortality and found that those with univentricular circulation and totally anomalous pulmonary venous connection had the worst prognosis. Survival was higher in those with biventricular circulation.
Conservation of tree seeds from tropical dry-lands

Imbibitional stress was imposed on neem (Azadirachta indica) seeds by letting them soak for 1 h in water at unfavourable, low temperatures before further incubation at 30°C. Sensitivity to low imbibition temperatures increased with a decrease in seed moisture content (MC). To investigate a possible involvement of seed age in the extent of imbibitional damage, initially high-quality seed lots that differed in storage history (10 weeks versus 10 months) were examined at 4 and 7% MC (fresh weight basis). After 10 months of storage, the 7% MC seeds had become sensitive to imbibitional stress. Further drying (1 week) to 4% MC affected aged seeds more than non-aged seeds. Barrier properties of cellular membranes in axes excised after 1 d of rehydration were estimated using a spin-probe technique. The proportion of cells with intact membranes increased with increasing imbibition temperature. For each temperature tested, there were more cells with leaky membranes after 10 months than after 10 weeks of dry storage. Localization of embryo cells displaying loss of turgor and abnormal cellular structure was accomplished using cryo-planing, followed by cryoscanning electron microscopy. Inspection of the cryo-planed surfaces confirmed that imbibitional damage was temperature dependent, occurring at the periphery. Ageing increased the number of imbibitionally damaged, peripheral cell layers. Germination was estimated to fail when less than 70% of axis cells were alive. We conclude that ageing increases the sensitivity to imbibitional stress. Both the fast ageing and the sensitivity to imbibitional stress might explain the apparent controversies about neem seed desiccation tolerance and storage behaviour.
Nutritive value of sun-dried grape pomace, incorporated at a low level in complete feed for the rabbit bred under Magrebian conditions

The nutritive value and potential use of sun-dried grape pomace (g/kg as fed: 140 of crude protein (CP), 529 of neutral detergent fi bre (NDF), 460 acid detergent fi bre , 293 acid detergent lignin) for fattening rabbits was studied by comparing 3 experimental diets containing a low but increasing incorporation rate of grape pomace (GP): 0% (control, GP0), 3% (GP3), and 6% (GP6) in substitution to the control diet (251 g NDF and 175 g CP/kg) formulated with raw materials available in the area of Tiaret (Algeria): barley, wheat bran and straw, soybean meal and faba bean. Three groups of 30 rabbits (individually caged) were fed ad libitum the three diets from weaning (35 d, mean weight 460±83 g) to 77 d of age. The dry matter digestibility was obtained from total and individual faecal collection on all animals (3 x 30), during four consecutive days each week from 42 to 77 d of age. Then, faeces from 10 rabbits per group were selected for nutrient analyses. Intake and weight gain were recorded twice a week during the whole fattening period. Incorporating 3 or 6% of GP in a low fi bre diet impaired from 35 to 77 d growth rate (-8.8% for GP3 and GP6 vs. GP0, P<0.01), feed conversion (+8.5% for GP6 vs. GP0, P<0.01), and dressing out percentage (-2.5% for GP3 and GP6 vs. GP0, P<0.001). The digestibility of organic matter was linearly reduced from 72.8 to 70.0% with the GP incorporation rate (P<0.01), while crude protein digestibility remained unaffected and averaged 78.7%. The predicted nutritive value of sun-dried GP calculated by regression was high but highly variable for digestible energy (9.33±2.01 MJ DE/Kg, raw basis), and particularly for the digestible protein content (81.8±77.2 g DCP/kg). Thus, the sun-dried whole grape pomace could be considered as an alternative fibre source for the rabbit feeding in Magrebian area.
Transcriptional response of Fusarium oxysporum and Neocosmospora solani challenged with amphotericin B or posaconazole

Some species of fusaria are well-known pathogens of humans, animals and plants. Fusarium oxysporum and Neocosmospora solani (formerly Fusarium solani) cause human infections that range from onychomycosis or keratitis to severe disseminated infections. In general, these infections are difficult to treat due to poor therapeutic responses in immunocompromised patients. Despite that, little is known about the molecular mechanisms and transcriptional changes responsible for the antifungal resistance in fusaria. To shed light on the transcriptional response to antifungals, we carried out the first reported high-throughput RNA-seq analysis for F. oxysporum and N. solani that had been exposed to amphotericin B (AMB) and posaconazole (PSC). We detected significant differences between the transcriptional profiles of the two species and we found that some oxidation-reduction, metabolic, cellular and transport processes were regulated differentially by both fungi. The same was found with several genes from the ergosterol synthesis, efflux pumps, oxidative stress response and membrane biosynthesis pathways. A significant up-regulation of the C-22 sterol desaturase (ERG5), the sterol 24-C-methyltransferase (ERG6) gene, the glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene and of several members of the major facilitator superfamily (MSF) was demonstrated in this study after treating F. oxysporum with AMB. These results offer a good overview of transcriptional changes after exposure to commonly used antifungals, highlights the genes that are related to resistance mechanisms of these fungi, which will be a valuable tool for identifying causes of failure of treatments.
Unique Spatial Immune Profiling in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma with Enrichment of Exhausted and Senescent T Cells and Diffused CD47-SIRPα Expression

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is resistant to single-agent immunotherapies. To understand the mechanisms leading to the poor response to this treatment, a better understanding of the PDAC immune landscape is required. The present work aims to study the immune profile in PDAC in relationship to spatial heterogeneity of the tissue microenvironment (TME) in intact tissues. Methods: Serial section and multiplex in situ analysis were performed in 42 PDAC samples to assess gene and protein expression at single-cell resolution in the: (a) tumor center (TC), (b) invasive front (IF), (c) normal parenchyma adjacent to the tumor, and (d) tumor positive and negative draining lymph nodes (LNs). Results: We observed: (a) enrichment of T cell subpopulations with exhausted and senescent phenotype in the TC, IF and tumor positive LNs; (b) a dominant type 2 immune response in the TME, which is more pronounced in the TC; (c) an emerging role of CD47-SIRPα axis; and (d) a similar immune cell topography independently of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion: This study reveals the existence of dysfunctional T lymphocytes with specific spatial distribution, thus opening a new dimension both conceptually and mechanistically in tumor-stroma interaction in PDAC with potential impact on the efficacy of immune-regulatory therapeutic modalities.
A Physically Triggered Cell Death via Transbarrier Cold Atmospheric Plasma Cancer Treatment.

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), is a near room temperature ionized gas composed of highly reactive species. CAP also generates thermal radiation, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and electromagnetic (EM) waves. So far, nearly all biological effects of CAP have relied on the chemical factors in CAP. Here, we first show that the EM emission from CAP can lead to the death of melanoma cells via a transbarrier contactless method. Compared with reactive species, the effect of the physical factors causes much stronger growth inhibition on a reactive species-resistant melanoma cell line B16F10. Such a physically-triggered growth inhibition is due to a new cell death type, characterized by the rapid leakage of bulk solutions from the cells, resulting in cytoplasm shrinkage and bubbling on the cell membrane. The physically-based CAP-triggered cell death can occur even there is a macroscale gap between the bulk CAP and cells, which includes an air gap (~ 8 mm) and a dielectric material of dish or plate (~ 1 mm). Either a too large or a too small gap will inhibit such cell death. The physically-triggered cellular pressure may cause the bubbling on cells, which can be inhibited in a hypotonic environment via the extracellular osmotic pressure. This study builds a foundation to use CAP as a physically-based non-invasive cancer treatment.
In the light of new greenhouse technologies: 2. Direct effects of artificial lighting on arthropods and integrated pest management in greenhouse crops

Novel lighting technology offers the possibility of improved arthropod integrated pest management (IPM) in artificially lighted crops. This review compiles the current knowledge on how greenhouse pest and beneficial arthropods are directly affected by light, with the focus on whiteflies. The effect of ultraviolet depletion on orientation and colour-coded phototaxis are to some extent studied and utilised for control of the flying adult stage of some pest species, but far less is known about the visual ecology of commercially used biological control agents and pollinators, and about how light affects arthropod biology in different life stages. Four approaches for utilisation of artificial light in IPM of whiteflies are suggested: (a) use of attractive visual stimuli incorporated into traps for monitoring and direct control, (b) use of visual stimuli that disrupt the host-detection process, (c) radiation with harmful or inhibitory wavelengths to kill or suppress pest populations and (d) use of time cues to manipulate daily rhythms and photoperiodic responses. Knowledge gaps are identified to design a road map for research on IPM in crops lighted with high-pressure sodium lamps, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photoselective films. LEDs are concluded to offer possibilities for behavioural manipulation of arthropods, but the extent of such possibilities depends in practice on which wavelength combinations are determined to be optimal for plant production. Furthermore, the direct effects of artificial lighting on IPM must be studied in the context of plant-mediated effects of artificial light on arthropods, as both types of manipulations are possible, particularly with LEDs.
Competition in Public Procurement in the Czech and Slovak Public Health Care Sectors

Sustainability of health financing is a critical issue for all countries, especially now in the COVID-19 period. The final level of achievements of critical public health goals is connected not only with the efforts of the people involved, but also with the availability of funding to cover the costs of the actions needed. One of the “internal sources” providing more resources to cover public health care costs is effective public procurement in the health care sector. According to existing scientific literature, a low rate of competition represents one important factor that has a direct negative impact on the efficiency of public procurement. The aim of our article is to examine the degree of competitiveness of public procurement in the Czech and Slovak health care systems and its impact on the final price of a contract. The research fully attested the findings of those studies carried out so far – the higher the number of tenderers, the lower the final price, even in the Czech and Slovak health sectors. However, the average number of tenderers is only around two and in the Czech Republic for more than half of the tenders only one bid was submitted.
Patterns of yolk enrichment with dietary carotenoids in gulls: the roles of pigment acquisition and utilization

Summary 1. Carotenoid pigments are deposited into egg yolk by female birds, but little is known of the ecological regulation of this process. In particular, the relative importance of pigment acquisition and utilization (i.e. physiological discrimination: differential uptake, transport, deposition or metabolic conversions) is poorly understood. 2. Carotenoids are antioxidants, capable of neutralizing reactive free radicals and thus preventing lipid peroxidation. But animals must ultimately obtain carotenoids in the diet, and metabolic conversion of carotenoids is inefficient and expends energy. It has therefore been suggested that carotenoid supply may be limiting to animals. 3. Prelaying, wild Lesser Black-Backed Gulls (Larus fuscus L.) were given supplementary feed with a cocktail of four carotenoids, or a carotenoid-free (control) supplement. The yolk carotenoid profile and susceptibility to lipid peroxidation were then compared in eggs that they laid. 4. In comparison with controls, there was an increase in the yolk concentrations of seven carotenoids, and also unidentified carotenoids in eggs produced by carotenoid-supplemented females. However, the relative proportions of five classes of carotenoid did not differ significantly, and consequently the percentage profile of yolk carotenoids was positively correlated, between feeding treatments, possibly indicating metabolic transformations and differential transfer of carotenoids from maternal diet to yolk. 5. Moreover, in control eggs relatively few possible correlations between carotenoid concentrations were significantly positive, and some correlations between carotenoid proportions were significantly negative, suggesting physiological discrimination. 6. Egg yolk produced by carotenoid-supplemented females was significantly less susceptible to lipid peroxidation in comparison with controls. 7. These results suggest that yolk enrichment with carotenoids involves physiological discrimination in gulls, highlighting a previously unstudied, potential cost of reproduction.