Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Steady-State Cerebral Autoregulation in Older Adults with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Linear Mixed Model Analysis.

We examined whether steady-state cerebral autoregulation (CA) is impaired in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), a prodromal stage of clinical Alzheimer disease (AD). Forty-two patients with aMCI and 27 cognitively normal older adults (NC) of similar age, sex, and education underwent stepwise decreases and increases in mean arterial pressure (MAP) induced by intravenous infusion of sodium nitroprusside and phenylephrine, respectively. Changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) were measured in the internal carotid and vertebral artery. Linear mixed modelling, including random effects of both individual intercept and regression slope, was used to quantify the MAP-CBF relationship accounting for the non-independent CBF measures. Changes in end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2) associated with changes in MAP were also included in the model to account for their effects on CBF. Marginal mean values of MAP were reduced by 13-14 mmHg during sodium nitroprusside and increased by 20-24 mmHg during phenylephrine infusion in both groups with similar doses of drug infusion. A steeper slope of changes in CBF in response to changes in MAP was observed in aMCI relative to NC, indicating impaired CA (MAP*Group, P < 0.05). These findings indicate CA was impaired in older adults with aMCI, suggesting that cerebrovascular dysfunction may occur early in the development of AD.
Which theories on sleep ultradian cycling are favored by the positive links found between the number of cycles and REMS

Theories still compete nowadays to explain the sleep ultradian cycling between rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) and non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS), both in monophasic and polyphasic sleep organizations. Predictions on which of these theories is the most heuristic can be made on the basis of the relationships between the number of alternations and the respective durations of REMS and NREMS. Links having been found in humans and rodents between the number of cycles and REMS favor hypotheses that make this sleep state the central tenet of the ultradian cycling process. On the basis of these conclusions, a comprehensive hypothesis is proposed on how things could work. The proposal is then discussed at the light of most of the evidence available in the field.
In vitro antibacterial activity of crude ethanol, acetone and aqueous Garcinia kola seed extracts on selected clinical isolates

The study was conducted to screen for in vitro antibacterial activity of crude ethanol, acetone and aqueous seeds extract of Garcinia kola at different treatment regimes against some selected clinical bacterial isolates comprising of Gram positive and negative organisms namely; Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginos a and the major chemical groups responsible for the activity were determined. The agar well diffusion method was employed to determine the inhibitory effects of the seeds extract on the test microorganisms. The minimum inhibitory concentration exerted by the extracts against the bacterial isolates ranged between 3.125 and 25 mg/ml. The zones of inhibition exhibited by the extracts against the tested bacterial isolates ranged between 4.0 and 10.5 mm. The crude ethanol extract was found to exhibit more significant (P<0.01) inhibitory action against all the bacterial isolates at the various treatment regime. Also, compared to crude acetone and aqueous extracts, it was also notably found to exhibit significant (P<0.05) effects against the bacterial isolates. The preliminary phytochemical test revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, sterols and terpenes as the major chemical groups in the plant extracts. The results of this study revealed that the in vitro antibacterial activity exhibited by the seeds extract may be attributed to the presence of these phytochemical compounds. Key words : In vitro antibacterial activity, phytochemical, Garcinia kola seeds, bacterial isolates.
Is povidone iodine mouthwash effective against SARS‐CoV‐2? First in vivo tests

The detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has made this biological fluid relevant in terms of the diagnosis and transmission of the infection (To et al, 2020a; Azzi et al, 2020a). As a result, the dental clinic is considered an environment of risk for dental healthcare personnel and their patients, particularly due to the potential transmission of the virus through droplets and aerosols (Peng et al, 2020).
Utilization of shrimp-shell waste as a substrate for the activity of chitinases produced by microorganisms.

Chitinolytic microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, were isolated from the water and bottom sediments of Lake Chelmzynskie and the soil of its watershed. The impact of various forms of chitin on the chitinolytic activity of these microorganisms was investigated. Bacteria isolated from the analyzed environments exhibited the highest chitinolytic activity in the presence of colloidal chitin. High activity was also observed in a culture medium containing shrimp shells. The analysis of chitinolytic activity of actinomycetes demonstrated that strains isolated from the soil had considerably higher activity levels than those isolated from lacustrine water and bottom sediments. All soil actinomycetes exhibited the highest activity in a culture medium containing colloidal chitin and shrimp shells. Actinomycetes collected in water and bottom sediments were characterized by similar activity levels. Chitinolytic fungi exhibited the maximum activity also in a medium containing colloidal chitin. The presence of shrimp shells in a culture medium had the lowest impact on chitinolytic activity. Among the analyzed forms of chitin, the impact of chitin powder on the activity of chitinases was the least stimulating.
Chromosome evolution in lycosoid spiders (Araneomorphae): a scenario based on analysis of seven species of the families Lycosidae, Senoculidae and Trechaleidae

Abstract Within the araneomorph lineage Entelegynae, the “Higher lycosoids” (“True Lycosoids” or Lycosoidea s.s.) is one of the major clades varying in its composition based on several conflicting phylogenetic hypotheses. So far, only a few species have been studied cytogenetically. In this work, the chromosomes of a senoculid spider were investigated for the first time, along with a cytogenetic analysis of six species of the families Lycosidae and Trechaleidae. Mitotic metaphase cells of the lycosid species revealed 2n♂ = 18 + X0 in Hogna sternalis (Bertkau 1880) and Lycosa nordenskjoldi Tullgren 1905, and 2n♂ = 20 + X1X20 in Lycosa erythrognatha Lucas 1836 and Lycosa sericovittata Mello-Leitão 1939. Chromosomal analysis of the trechaleid and senoculid species showed 2n♀ = 22 in Neoctenus comosus Simon 1897 (Trechaleidae), and 2n♂ = 26 + X1X20 in Syntrechalea syntrechaloides (Mello-Leitão 1941) (Trechaleidae) and Senoculus sp. (Senoculidae). This latter karyotype is a shared feature in most species of Lycosoidea group. The mitotic and/or meiotic cells of certain individuals of Trechaleidae exhibited one extra chromosome, which could constitute a B chromosome or represent intraspecific variability in the type of sex chromosome system. The results obtained here add new information to the discussion of the main mechanisms of chromosome evolution within this group.
Winter application of low-biuret urea to the foliage of 'Washington' navel orange increased yield

The objective of this study was to test whether a single winter prebloom foliar application of low-biuret urea would increase the yield of 30-year-old 'Washington' navel orange trees ( Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) on Troyer citrange rootstock (C. sinensis 'Washington' x Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. ). All trees received a winter (November to January) soil application of urea (0.5 kg N/tree). Trees were maintained under irrigation or irrigation was withheld from 1 Oct. to 1 Mar. To determine the optimal time for foliar urea application, trees in both irrigation main plots received one application of low-biuret urea in mid-November, mid-December, mid-January, or mid-February applied at a rate of 0.16 kg N/tree. There was a set of control trees that only received the soil application of urea. Trees receiving foliar-applied urea in mid-January or mid-February, independent of irrigation treatment, had significantly greater yield and fruit number per tree each year than the control trees for 3 consecutive years. The number of fruit with diameters of 6.1 to 8.0 cm increased significantly as yield increased ( r 2 = 0.88). Withholding irrigation from 1 Oct. to 1 Mar. had a negative impact on yield. Annual winter application of low-biuret urea to the foliage did not significantly increase leaf total N at the end of 3 years.
BatchCrypt: Efficient Homomorphic Encryption for Cross-Silo Federated Learning

Cross-silo federated learning (FL) enables organizations (e.g., ﬁnancial or medical) to collaboratively train a machine learning model by aggregating local gradient updates from each client without sharing privacy-sensitive data. To ensure no update is revealed during aggregation, industrial FL frameworks allow clients to mask local gradient updates using ad-ditively homomorphic encryption (HE). However, this results in signiﬁcant cost in computation and communication . In our characterization, HE operations dominate the training time, while inﬂating the data transfer amount by two orders of magnitude. In this paper, we present BatchCrypt, a system solution for cross-silo FL that substantially reduces the encryption and communication overhead caused by HE. Instead of encrypting individual gradients with full precision, we encode a batch of quantized gradients into a long integer and encrypt it in one go. To allow gradient-wise aggregation to be performed on ciphertexts of the encoded batches, we develop new quantization and encoding schemes along with a novel gradient clipping technique. We implemented BatchCrypt as a plug-in module in FATE, an industrial cross-silo FL framework. Evaluations with EC2 clients in geo-distributed datacenters show that BatchCrypt achieves 23 × -93 × training speedup while reducing the communication overhead by 66 × -101 × . The accuracy loss due to quantization errors is less than 1%.
Fontes e níveis de salinidade na germinação de sementes de Crotalaria juncea L.

Objetivou-se avaliar o efeito dos sais cloreto de calcio (CaCl2), cloreto de sodio (NaCl) e cloreto de potassio (KCl) na germinacao de Crotalaria juncea L. As sementes foram acondicionadas em caixas tipo gerbox, forradas com duas folhas de papel-filtro e umedecidas com as solucoes-teste. Em cada tratamento foram utilizadas 200 sementes, dispostas em quatro repeticoes de 50 sementes. A inducao do estresse salino foi realizada com solucoes de NaCl, CaCl2 e KCl com potenciais osmoticos de 0; -0,4; -0,8; -1,2;-1,6 e -2,0 MPa. Foram realizadas avaliacoes de porcentagem de germinacao, fitotoxicidade, tamanho de plântulas, materia seca e IVG. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial (3x5)+1, composto pelas tres fontes salinas em cinco doses e uma solucao- teste. O aumento da concentracao de KCl provocou toxicidade, prejudicando o IVG, a porcentagem de germinacao e o crescimento de plântulas de C. juncea, enquanto as concentracoes de NaCl e o CaCl2 nao interferiram significativamente na germinacao das sementes e no vigor de plântulas.
Skeletochronology Validation from an Adult Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)

Abstract Skeletochronology of sea turtle humeral bones has been validated only for juvenile Caretta caretta. Our recovery of a sea turtle marked with oxytetracycline (OTC) and at large for eight years shows that annual growth marks continue to be deposited in adult C. caretta. In addition, the presence of a fluorescent mark eight years after injection shows that OTC can be used in long-term growth studies. Growth and OTC marks are not equally distinguishable around the entire edge of the humerus making the location of bone biopsies critical for determining growth and OTC marks. Although bone biopsy sections may be used with OTC to count growth marks, they cannot be used to measure radial growth or to make back calculations of age. Instead, whole humeral sections must be used.
Molecular Epidemiology of HIV in Canada

With over 35 million people currently infected, the World Health Organization considers HIV a global pandemic. HIV is characterized by a high mutation rate, which allows it to evade the host immune system and develop resistance to drugs. However, this extraordinary adaptive ability may also be the key to HIV’s demise. Through the field of phylodynamics, the evolutionary behavior of the virus is being studied in an attempt to control the epidemic. In this thesis, three papers are presented in which we analyze sequences generated through the Canadian HIV Strain and Drug Resistance Surveillance program. In chapter 2 we validate a classifier which distinguishes between recent and established infections based on the proportion of mixed bases observed in population-based pol sequences. Our results will help identify recent infections and improve incidence calculations. In chapter 3, we investigate immune-induced patterns in HIV that are shared by patients of the same ethnicity. An understanding of the forces shaping HIV evolution is instrumental to the development of a vaccine relevant to the Canadian epidemic. In chapter 4, we present preliminary results of a historical reconstruction of HIV across the provinces of Canada. This analysis will highlight strategies that have succeeded or failed in controlling the epidemic. Furthermore, our work will establish whether non-B subtypes of HIV are an increasing threat to Canadian public health. Overall, this thesis provides the first country-wide evolutionary and phylogenetic analysis of the HIV epidemic.
A new Neotropical species of spot-thoraxed Drosophila (Diptera, Drosophilidae)

Drosophila pauliceia sp. nov., a spot-thoraxed species closely related to Drosophila boraceia Vilela & Val, 2004, is described from flies collected in an urban remnant of the montane Atlantic Forest located at the Cidade Universitaria "Armando de Salles Oliveira", Sao Paulo city, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The two forest-dwelling species can be externally distinguished mainly by having a different pattern of thoracic spots. A new group of spotted flies (peruensis group) is proposed to include them, in addition to Drosophila peruensis Wheeler, 1959, from Urubamba River, Peru, and Drosophila atalaia Vilela & Sene, 1982, from Brazil and Argentina. To facilitate comparisons, illustrations of the male and female terminalia of the new species and of some unpublished views of those of D. atalaia are included. Additionally, a new group of unspotted species (named caponei group) is proposed to include Drosophila caponei Pavan & Cunha, 1947 and D. neochracea Wheeler, 1959, both previously considered to be related to D. atalaia.
Resting-state brain and spinal cord networks in humans are functionally integrated

In the absence of any task, both the brain and spinal cord exhibit spontaneous intrinsic activity organised in a set of functionally relevant neural networks. However, whether such resting-state networks (RSNs) are interconnected across the brain and spinal cord is unclear. Here, we used a unique scanning protocol to acquire functional images of both brain and cervical spinal cord (CSC) simultaneously and examined their spatiotemporal correspondence in humans. We show that the brain and spinal cord activities are strongly correlated during rest periods, and specific spinal cord regions are functionally linked to consistently reported brain sensorimotor RSNs. The functional organisation of these networks follows well-established anatomical principles, including the contralateral correspondence between the spinal hemicords and brain hemispheres as well as sensory versus motor segregation of neural pathways along the brain–spinal cord axis. Thus, our findings reveal a unified functional organisation of sensorimotor networks in the entire central nervous system (CNS) at rest.
Impact of land use and land cover change on groundwater recharge and quality in the southwestern US

Humans have exerted large‐scale changes on the terrestrial biosphere, primarily through agriculture; however, the impacts of such changes on the hydrologic cycle are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the conversion of natural rangeland ecosystems to agricultural ecosystems impacts the subsurface portion of the hydrologic cycle by changing groundwater recharge and flushing salts to underlying aquifers. The hypothesis was examined through point and areal studies investigating the effects of land use/land cover (LU/LC) changes on groundwater recharge and solute transport in the Amargosa Desert (AD) in Nevada and in the High Plains (HP) in Texas, US. Studies use the fact that matric (pore‐water‐pressure) potential and environmental‐tracer profiles in thick unsaturated zones archive past changes in recharging fluxes. Results show that recharge is related to LU/LC as follows: discharge through evapotranspiration (i.e., no recharge; upward fluxes <0.1 mm yr−1) in natural rangeland ecosystems (low matric potentials; high chloride and nitrate concentrations); moderate‐to‐high recharge in irrigated agricultural ecosystems (high matric potentials; low‐to‐moderate chloride and nitrate concentrations) (AD recharge: ∼130–640 mm yr−1); and moderate recharge in nonirrigated (dryland) agricultural ecosystems (high matric potentials; low chloride and nitrate concentrations, and increasing groundwater levels) (HP recharge: ∼9–32 mm yr−1). Replacement of rangeland with agriculture changed flow directions from upward (discharge) to downward (recharge). Recent replacement of rangeland with irrigated ecosystems was documented through downward displacement of chloride and nitrate fronts. Thick unsaturated zones contain a reservoir of salts that are readily mobilized under increased recharge related to LU/LC changes, potentially degrading groundwater quality. Sustainable land use requires quantitative knowledge of the linkages between ecosystem change, recharge, and groundwater quality.
Carbon accumulation at depth in Ferralsols under zero‐till subtropical agriculture

Conservation agriculture can provide a low‐cost competitive option to mitigate global warming with reduction or elimination of soil tillage and increase soil organic carbon (SOC). Most studies have evaluated the impact of zero till (ZT) only on surface soil layers (down to 30 cm), and few studies have been performed on the potential for C accumulation in deeper layers (0–100 cm) of tropical and subtropical soils. In order to determine whether the change from conventional tillage (CT) to ZT has induced a net gain in SOC, three long‐term experiments (15–26 years) on free‐draining Ferralsols in the subtropical region of South Brazil were sampled and the SOC stocks to 30 and 100 cm calculated on an equivalent soil mass basis. In rotations containing intercropped or cover‐crop legumes, there were significant accumulations of SOC in ZT soils varying from 5 to 8 Mg ha−1 in comparison with CT management, equivalent to annual soil C accumulation rates of between 0.04 and 0.88 Mg ha−1. However, the potential for soil C accumulation was considerably increased (varying from 0.48 to 1.53 Mg ha−1 yr−1) when considering the soil profile down to 100 cm depth. On average the estimate of soil C accumulation to 100 cm depth was 59% greater than that for soil C accumulated to 30 cm. These findings suggest that increasing sampling depth from 30 cm (as presently recommended by the IPCC) to 100 cm, may increase substantially the estimates of potential CO2 mitigation induced by the change from CT to ZT on the free‐draining Ferralsols of the tropics and subtropics. It was evident that that legumes which contributed a net input of biologically fixed N played an important role in promoting soil C accumulation in these soils under ZT, perhaps due to a slow‐release of N from decaying surface residues/roots which favored maize root growth.
Preparing Master of Social Work Students for Interprofessional Practice.

PURPOSE This study aims to measure growth in interprofessional knowledge, skills, and values in MSW students from three universities who participated in a Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training program focused on serving children, adolescents, and transition-age youth. METHODS Students participated in an interprofessional field placement and specialized educational sessions that addressed interprofessional team-based care, engaging at-risk youth and families, and working with vulnerable populations. The Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS) was administered pre- and post-experience. RESULTS Paired t-tests of the ISVS total score and each subscale showed statistically significant increases over time. Multiple regression models indicated only the pretest score was a significant predictor of the posttest score for the total or subscale of the ISVS. CONCLUSION Social work programs that create interprofessional education and training opportunities can achieve positive outcomes in student attitudes toward interprofessional practice.
Flux balance analysis to model microbial metabolism for electricity generation

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bioelectrochemcial devices that possess a similar design to a fuel cell, with an anode and a cathode connected through an electrical circuit. Unlike fuel cells, MFCs use microorganisms as biocatalysts to convert organic matter into electrons and protons, of which a portion can be transferred to electrode to generate electricity. Since all microorganisms transfer electrons during metabolism inside the cell, there could potentially be unlimited choices of biocatalyst candidates for MFCs for various applications. However, in reality, the application of MFCs is heavily restricted by their low current outputs. As the performance of an MFC is associated with various factors, MFC research devoted to improve energy output level is a very interdisciplinary field and demands knowledge from a diverse range of scientific areas including microbiology, environmental science and chemical engineering. Because the MFC current is fundamentally produced by the metabolic activity of the microorganisms, it would be desirable to elucidate the innate capacity of the microbial systems to sustain the energy extraction processes in MFCs, and pertinent metabolic pathways and burdens. However, due to the large number of cellular reactions (up to thousands for a eukaryote), no previous study has provided such information regarding the complete metabolic processes inside the cells during an MFC operation. Therefore, to understand the metabolic potential and behaviours at the whole-cell level and obviate the difficulties experienced in reductionist investigative methods, the present PhD thesis employed in silico metabolic engineering techniques to model the optimal metabolic states and flux adjustments of the four selected microbial species for electricity generation.