Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) for two spermatogenic cycles impairs testicular activity via down-regulating steroid receptors and inhibition of germ cell proliferation in a mice model

Abstract Although copper is an indispensable trace metal for biological functions, its excess exposure causes hazardous effects on health. Copper in the form of nanoparticles (CuNPs) is widely used at present and therefore, the living organism is at continuous risk of its adverse effect. The prolonged treatment of CuNPs has not been evaluated yet on the male reproductive system. To demonstrate the combined adverse effects and the mechanism of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs), three doses of CuNPs, 10, 100 and 200 mg/kg were orally given to mice for 70 days. The present study demonstrated that CuNPs decreased the sperm quality parameters, male circulating hormones, induces testicular damages, increased oxidative stress, apoptosis, decreases antioxidant enzymes, germ cell proliferation, and increases the expression of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase-1 (OGG1), apelin receptor (APJ) as well. CuNPs also down-regulated the expression of AR and Erα in the testis. These results suggest that CuNPs manifested their adverse effect on testis via modulating steroid and cytokine (apelin) receptors. The adverse effect of testis was most pronounced at the highest dose (200 mg/kg) of CuNPs, however, other doses show a less toxic effect on various parameters. In conclusion, results indicated that CuNPs may impair spermatogenesis via oxidative stress-mediated DNA damage and germ cell apoptosis at high doses.
MASSIVE RELIC GALAXIES CHALLENGE THE CO-EVOLUTION OF SUPER-MASSIVE BLACK HOLES AND THEIR HOST GALAXIES

We study a sample of eight massive galaxies that are extreme outliers (3–5σ) in the M • ? > − Mbulge local scaling relation. Two of these galaxies are confirmed to host extremely large super-massive black holes (SMBHs), whereas the virial mass estimates for the other six are also consistent with having abnormally large SMBHs. From the analysis of their star formation histories and their structural properties, we find that all of these extreme outliers can be considered to be relic galaxies from the early (z ∼ 2) universe: i.e., they are compact (R e < 2 ? > kpc) and have purely old stellar populations ( t ≳ 10 ? > Gyr). In order to explain the nature of such deviations from the local relations, we propose a scenario in which the hosts of these über-massive SMBHs are galaxies that have followed a different evolutionary path than the two-phase growth channel assumed for massive galaxies. Once the SMBH and the core of the galaxy are formed at z ∼ 2, the galaxy skips the second phase, remaining structurally untouched and without further mass and size increase. We show that if the outliers had followed the normal evolutionary path by growing in size via merger activity, the expected (mild) growth in mass would place them closer to the observed local relations. Our results suggest that the SMBH growth epoch for the most massive galaxies stopped ∼10 Gyr ago.
Consensus of the Brazilian Headache Society (SBCe) for prophylactic treatment of episodic migraine: part II

Background Migraine affects 1 billion people worldwide and > 30 million Brazilians; besides, it is an underdiagnosed and undertreated disorder. Objective The need to disseminate knowledge about the prophylactic treatment of migraine is known, so the Brazilian Headache Society (SBCe, in the Portuguese acronym) appointed a committee of authors with the objective of establishing a consensus with recommendations on the prophylactic treatment of episodic migraine based on articles from the world literature as well as from personal experience. Methods Meetings were held entirely online, with the participation of 12 groups that reviewed and wrote about the pharmacological categories of drugs and, at the end, met to read and finish the document. The drug classes studied in part II of this Consensus were: antihypertensives, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, other drugs, and rational polytherapy. Results From this list of drugs, only candesartan has been established as effective in controlling episodic migraine. Flunarizine, venlafaxine, duloxetine, and pizotifen were defined as likely to be effective, while lisinopril, enalapril, escitalopram, fluvoxamine, quetiapine, atorvastatin, simvastatin, cyproheptadine, and melatonin were possibly effective in prophylaxis of the disease. Conclusions Despite an effort by the scientific community to find really effective drugs in the treatment of migraine, given the large number of drugs tested for this purpose, we still have few therapeutic options.
Is there an association between hospital staffing levels and inpatient-COVID-19 mortality rates?

Objective This study aims to investigate the relationship between RNs and hospital-based medical specialties staffing levels with inpatient COVID-19 mortality rates. Methods We relied on data from AHA Annual Survey Database, Area Health Resource File, and UnitedHealth Group Clinical Discovery Database. In phase 1 of the analysis, we estimated the risk-standardized event rates (RSERs) based on 95,915 patients in the UnitedHealth Group Database 1,398 hospitals. We then used beta regression to analyze the association between hospital- and county- level factors with risk-standardized inpatient COVID-19 mortality rates from March 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Results Higher staffing levels of RNs and emergency medicine physicians were associated with lower COVID-19 mortality rates. Moreover, larger teaching hospitals located in urban settings had higher COVID-19 mortality rates. Finally, counties with greater social vulnerability, specifically in terms of housing type and transportation, and those with high infection rates had the worst patient mortality rates. Conclusion Higher staffing levels are associated with lower inpatient mortality rates for COVID-19 patients. More research is needed to determine appropriate staffing levels and how staffing levels interact with other factors such as teams, leadership, and culture to impact patient care during pandemics.
Modular robotic platform for precision neurosurgery with a bio-inspired needle: System overview and first in-vivo deployment

Over the past 10 years, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has shown significant benefits compared to conventional surgical techniques, with reduced trauma, shorter hospital stays, and shorter patient recovery times. In neurosurgical MIS procedures, inserting a straight tool (e.g. catheter) is common practice in applications ranging from biopsy and laser ablation, to drug delivery and fluid evacuation. How to handle tissue deformation, target migration and access to deep-seated anatomical structures remain an open challenge, affecting both the preoperative planning phase and eventual surgical intervention. Here, we present the first neurosurgical platform in the literature, able to deliver an implantable steerable needle for a range of diagnostic and therapeutic applications, with a short-term focus on localised drug delivery. This work presents the system’s architecture and first in vivo deployment with an optimised surgical workflow designed for pre-clinical trials with the ovine model, which demonstrate appropriate function and safe implantation.
TFIIH stabilization recovers the DNA repair and transcription dysfunctions in thermo‐sensitive trichothiodystrophy

Trichothiodystrophy (TTD) is a rare hereditary disease whose prominent feature is brittle hair. Additional clinical signs are physical and neurodevelopmental abnormalities and in about half of the cases hypersensitivity to UV radiation. The photosensitive form of TTD (PS‐TTD) is most commonly caused by mutations in the ERCC2/XPD gene encoding a subunit of the transcription/DNA repair complex TFIIH. Here we report novel ERCC2/XPD mutations affecting proper protein folding, which generate thermo‐labile forms of XPD associated with thermo‐sensitive phenotypes characterized by reversible aggravation of TTD clinical signs during episodes of fever. In patient cells, the newly identified XPD variants result in thermo‐instability of the whole TFIIH complex and consequent temperature‐dependent defects in DNA repair and transcription. Improving the protein folding process by exposing patient cells to low temperature or to the chemical chaperone glycerol allowed rescue of TFIIH thermo‐instability and a concomitant recovery of the complex activities. Besides providing a rationale for the peculiar thermo‐sensitive clinical features of these new cases, the present findings demonstrate how variations in the cellular concentration of mutated TFIIH impact the cellular functions of the complex and underlie how both quantitative and qualitative TFIIH alterations contribute to TTD clinical features.
A molecular characterization of marsupial filarioid nematodes of the genus Breinlia

Abstract Abstract Here we present the genetic relationships of 26 specimens of the genus Breinlia (Nematoda: Filarioidea) from a range of Australian marsupials using markers in the small subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) genes and compare them with morphological determinations. The molecular data support the validity of most of the morpho-species included in the study and provide provisional insights into the phylogeny of the genus in Australian mammals, with dasyuroid marsupials appearing to be the original hosts. The recent discovery of Breinlia annulipapillata in the eye of a human brings this genus of parasites into the group of emerging infectious parasitic diseases.
DISCRETENESS CRITERIA FOR ISOMETRY GROUPS OF NEGATIVE CURVATURE

In this paper, we study the discreteness of nonelementary isometry group of negative curvature and obtain a sufficient and necessary condition for a nonelementary subgroup to be discrete. 1.Introduction. A Hadamard manifold H is a complete simply connected Riemannian manifold with nonpositive curvature. A pinched Hadamard manifold X is a Hadamard manifold of pinched negative curvature; that is, all of the sectional curvatures K(X) satisfy −1 ≤ K(X) ≤ −a2, where the constant a = 0. The n-dimensional hyperbolic space H is a pinched Hadamard manifold with constant curvature K = −1. We write Isom(X) for the group of all isometrics on a pinched Hadamard manifold X . Throughout this paper, we adopt the same notations and definitions as in ([2], [5], [9]) such as Xc, XI , discrete groups, elementary subgroups and so on. For example, we define elementary groups as following: Definition 1.1. A subgroup G of Isom(X) is elementary either if fix(G) = Ø, or else if G preserves setwise some bi-infinite geodesic in Xc. Otherwise G is nonelementary. Let G be a subgroup of Isom(X). The limit set L(G) is defined as following: L(G) = {x ∈ XI | gm ∈ G with lim m→∞ gm(p) → x for some point p ∈ X} It is clear that the limit set L(G) is closed in XI and invariant under G. The limit set L(G) is defined independently of the choice of the point p ∈ X (see [5; p246]). For x ∈ X, z1, z2 ∈ Xc, x = z1, x = z2 we have [8] <) x(z1, z2) :=<) (ċ1(0), ċ2(0)) where ci(i = 1, 2) is the geodesics from x to zi and ci(0) = x. For x ∈ X, z ∈ XI , > 0, let Cx(z, ) = {y ∈ Xc|y = x, <) x(z, y) < }. The set Cx(z, ε) is called the cone of vertex x and angle . For g ∈ Isom(X), we define the rotation of g in x ∈ X as following [2]: rg(x) := max w∈TxX <) (w,Pg(x),x ◦ g∗xw) 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. primary 30F40,20H10; secondary 57M07.
The role of multi-dimensional women's empowerment in agriculture to improve the nutritional status of under-five children in rural cash crop producing, resource-limited settings of Ethiopia

Abstract Little is known about the relation between the women empowerment in agriculture index, and health and nutrition outcomes among under-five children in Ethiopia. The study's objective was to examine women's empowerment in agriculture and its association with the nutritional status of children (6–59 months) in rural, cash crop producing, and resource-limited settings of Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted employing 422 households; having women of reproductive age group and children under-five. Stratified simple random sampling was used to identify households; a simple random sampling was used to select villages and households. Women empowerment in agriculture was measured by the abbreviated women empowerment in agriculture index. Even if the overall multi-dimensional five domains of empowerment index (5DE) was not a significant predictor of nutritional status in children (P > 0⋅05), sub-indicators had a pivotal role in child nutritional status. Disempowerment in decisions about input into production [AOR = 8⋅85], empowerment on control of income [AOR = 0⋅35] and availability of livestock [AOR = 0⋅38] were predictors of child stunting, whereas women's disempowerment in production decisions seems beneficiary for wasting, disempowered women have 84 % less likely to have wasted child than empowered women [AOR = 0⋅16]. Dietary and agricultural diversity [particularly livestock farming], and women's empowerment in production decisions were predictors of better nutritional outcomes in children. Therefore, a concentrated effort is needed towards strengthening the multi-dimensional empowerment of women in agriculture emphasising women's input into production decisions, dietary and agricultural diversification, mainly livestock farming.
Tesseroids: Forward-modeling gravitational fields in spherical coordinates

ABSTRACTWe have developed the open-source software Tesseroids, a set of command-line programs to perform forward modeling of gravitational fields in spherical coordinates. The software is implemented in the C programming language and uses tesseroids (spherical prisms) for the discretization of the subsurface mass distribution. The gravitational fields of tesseroids are calculated numerically using the Gauss-Legendre quadrature (GLQ). We have improved upon an adaptive discretization algorithm to guarantee the accuracy of the GLQ integration. Our implementation of adaptive discretization uses a “stack-based” algorithm instead of recursion to achieve more control over execution errors and corner cases. The algorithm is controlled by a scalar value called the distance-size ratio (D) that determines the accuracy of the integration as well as the computation time. We have determined optimal values of D for the gravitational potential, gravitational acceleration, and gravity gradient tensor by comparing the comp.
Realistic Assessment of Transport Protocols Performance over LEO-based Communications

We study the performance exhibited by transport protocols, TCP and QUIC, over realistic satellite networks. We propose a novel methodology, which combines real implementation (exploiting virtualization techniques) and simulation, to carry out systematic and repetitive experiments. We modify the default operation of the ns-3 framework and we integrate the dynamism that characterizes links in satellite communications, particularly links to LEO satellites. We carry out a thorough assessment over different setups, changing the operating band and the buffer length. In addition, we ascertain the impact of using the multi-streaming feature that QUIC includes. The results show that QUIC yields lower delays than TCP, although in particular setups it might suffer from higher jitter. In addition, using multiple streams in QUIC does not yield a relevant gain. In any case, we can conclude that the behavior of transport protocols over non-terrestrial-networks might not be always optimum and that QUIC can bring benefits when compared to TCP.
RPL+: An Improved Parent Selection Strategy for RPL in Wireless Smart Grid Networks

Routing protocols play an important role in a Wireless Smart Grid Network (WSGN). The implementation of efficient routing strategies becomes paramount to guarantee the necessary interaction between utilities smart devices like smart meters, and the control centers. This research is focused on improving one of the well known routing protocols for WSGN, the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL). More specifically, this paper presents a new parent selection strategy designed to choose the best parent when two or more candidates have the same ranking. The goal is to make better forwarding decisions on the best next-hop node to transmit packets to the destination. The proposed method takes into account the most important routing metrics in this type of network determined by applying Machine Learning (ML) feature importance analysis using Random Forest. The performance evaluation of the proposed strategy shows a significant improvement in terms of Packet Delivery Ratio when comparing to RPL standard implementations.
Multi-scale Edge-guided Learning for 3D Reconstruction

Single-view three-dimensional (3D) object reconstruction has always been a long-term challenging task. Objects with complex topologies are hard to accurately reconstruct, which makes existing methods suffer from blurring of shape boundaries between multiple components in the object. Moreover, most of them cannot balance learning between global geometric structure information and local detail information. In this article, we propose a multi-scale edge-guided learning network (MEGLN) to utilize the global edge information guiding the network to better capture and recover local details. The goal is to exploit the multi-scale learning strategy to learn global edge information and local details, thus achieving robust 3D object reconstruction. We first design a multi-scale Gaussian difference block (MGDB) to extract global edge geometry features for input images of different scales and adopt the attention mechanism to aggregate the extracted global edge geometry features of different scales. Second, we design a multi-scale feature interaction block (MFIB) to learn local details, which utilizes the multi-scale feature interaction to capture the features of multiple objects or components at multiple scales. The MFIB can learn and capture better as much local detail information as possible under the guidance of global edge information. Finally, we dynamically fuse the predicted probabilities of the MGDB and MFIB to obtain the final predicted result, which makes our MEGLN able to recover 3D shapes with global complex topological structures and rich local details via the multi-scale learning strategy. Extensive qualitative and quantitative experimental results on the ShapeNet dataset demonstrate that our approach achieves competitive performance compared with state-of-the-art methods. Code is available at https://github.com/Ray-tju/MEGLN.
Evaluation methods in legal procedures concerning digital accessibility in Brazil: an analysis of cases investigated by the federal public ministry

Numerous research studies have reported accessibility problems in public and private-owned digital interactive applications. Recent studies have advocated for a policy-based approach to improving accessibility beyond technical aspects. The involvement of official surveillance bodies, such as the Federal Public Ministry (MPF - Ministério Público Federal) in Brazil, is essential to enacting legislation that safeguards people with disabilities rights. Appropriate evaluation methods are essential for adequately addressing the problems people with disabilities encounter in systems about which they make formal complaints. Despite the increase in legal procedures involving digital accessibility, there is little knowledge about the types of evaluation methods used to assess the accessibility of interactive systems during legal procedures. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of publicly-available concluded legal procedures processed by the Brazilian Federal Public Ministry and the evaluation methods used to subsidise the analyses and settlement of the cases. The analysis covered 46 complaints related to 26 legal cases related to public and private interactive systems. The results from the analysis revealed that in 16 cases, MPF ruled for archiving the cases without performing accessibility evaluations on the systems. Of the 11 cases in which MPF performed some accessibility evaluation, nine cases counted solely on a numerical result from an automated accessibility tool. Only one case had its ruling based on manual accessibility inspections with specialists, and one case counted on some user evaluation. The paper describes the arguments used by the accused parties and the MPF. The findings in the paper provide important implications for the employment of accessibility evaluation methods in legal procedures to improve the accessibility of digital applications for people with disabilities.
Literary Sketches in Information Systems Research: Conceptualization and Guidance for Using Vignettes as a Narrative Form

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the usage of vignettes as a narrative form in information systems (IS) research. A review of 48 papers from IS top journals with 119 vignettes exposes the versatile usage of vignettes as a narrative form and shows their usefulness in research communication. The paper conceptualizes vignette usage through a taxonomy and archetypes. To support the future dissemination of this useful narrative technique, it further derives recommendations and guidance for scholars.
Eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Tanzania calls for efforts to address factors associated with a low confirmatory test

Option B+ approach for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) has demonstrated the potential to eliminate pediatric HIV infections. Its success depends on early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV among the exposed infants within the first 6 weeks, and a subsequent confirmatory HIV test within 18 months. However, most mothers enrolling in option B+ in Tanzania do not come for such confirmatory tests. We examined factors associated with the turning-up of mother-baby pairs on the PMTCT program for a confirmatory HIV testing 18 months post-delivery in Tanzania. This study utilized longitudinal data collected between 2015 and 2017, from 751 mother-baby pairs enrolled in the PMTCT-option B+ approach in 79 health facilities from the 12 regions of Tanzania-mainland. Only 44.2% of 751 mother-baby records observed received the HIV confirmatory test by the 18th month. Mothers aged 25 years or above (adults’ mothers) were 1.44 more likely to turn up for confirmatory HIV testing than young mothers; mothers with partners tested for HIV were 1.74 more likely to have confirmatory HIV testing compared with partners not tested for HIV. Newly diagnosed HIV-positive mothers were 28% less likely to bring their babies for a confirmatory HIV-testing compared to known HIV-positive mothers. Mothers with treatment supporters were 1.58 more likely to receive confirmatory HIV-testing compared to mothers without one. Mother-baby pairs who collected DBS-PCR-1 were 3.61 more likely to have confirmatory HIV-testing than those who didn’t collect DBS-PCR-1. In conclusion, the confirmatory HIV testing within 18 months among mother-baby pairs enrolled in the Option B+ approach is still low in Tanzania. This is associated with low maternal age, having a male partner not tested for HIV, lack of experience with HIV services, lack of treatment supporters, and failure to take the DBS-PCR-1 HIV test within the first two months post-delivery.