Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Supporting Domain Question Answering and Chit-Chat: A Chatbot Case Example

Various methods are adopted in the world presently to auto-mate repetitive tasks, which involve yielding the same output or giving similar responses to a particular input. The aim of this project is to build a chit-chat question and answering model that will be more engaging and fun to interact with as compared to visiting the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section of a website in order to source for information about a particular entity, thereby making it a restricted-domain Question Answering (QA) system. To this end, a model, capable of chit-chat and answering questions about African Masters of Machine Intelligence(AMMI) programme was trained using ParlAI and a novel test dataset was crowd-sourced for this task.
A History Cast in Stone: Geochemical Chert Sourcing Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (PXRF) in Southern Ontario by Jennifer Cullison

iii Acknowledgments . iv List of Figures . vi List of Tables . vii Chapter 1 . 1 Chapter 2 . 4 Introduction . 4 Background . 5 Methodology . 7 Results . 10 Discussion. 15 Conclusions . 17 Bibliography . 19 Appendix A: XRF Data . 22 Appendix B: Artifact Typology and Dating . 24 Appendix C: Artifact Photos . 25
THE CHALLENGES OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: THE EXPERIENCE OF PROCUREMENT PROFESSIONALS

This empirical research was conducted based on qualitative transcendental phenomenological approach. The in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 procurement professionals located in Malaysia. The emerging technologies related to procurement include electronic procurement, Internet of Things, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and 3D printing. These emerging technologies potentially enabling procurement professionals to be relevant, effective and efficient in their working activities. However, procurement professionals experience many challenges of adopting these emerging procurement technologies. This research revealed six challenges of emerging technologies as experienced by procurement managers. First, talent management is very crucial for adoption of emerging technologies. Second, difficulty to prioritize and integrate different types of emerging technologies. Third, lack of electronic data interchange to achieve full implementation of e-procurement. Fourth, data security and data quality of emerging technologies. Fifth, top management and headquarters are required for adoption of emerging technologies. Sixth, lack of financial justification to adopt emerging technologies.
Utilization of Computer Programs and Molecular Biology in Documentation of Egyptian clover

Egyptian clover varieties are part of a very important agricultural family, second only to cereals. In this paper, the materials under the present investigation consisted of three biological datasets, containing different protein characteristics annotated from interpro, prints and quick Godatabasesthey were selected and have been applied to data from XML flat files into a local database of size 10MB in oracle tool which is used throughout the experiments Shimaa A. Badawy(2013). Moreover, in the present study, a new program was designed and applied which showed high flexibility and efficient of mining the hierarchy (Molecular Biology data of T. alexandrinum L.). In addition describe protein characteristics including family of protein, finger print of protein of Trifoliumalexandrinum L.
SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in cancer patients on systemic antineoplastic treatment in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal

At the time of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic cancer patients were considered to be at high risk of serious illness and had a higher exposure risk since they needed frequent and non-deferrable hospital visits. Serologic tests were not routinely used and seroprevalence in this population was unknown. A single-center cross-sectional study was developed to determine the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (Abs) in cancer patients undergoing systemic antineoplastic treatment. One hundred patients were consecutively recruited in a two-week period (6th to 20th May, 2020) and serum samples were tested for the presence of IgM and IgG Abs directed against both spike and nucleocapsid SARS-CoV-2 proteins in two distinct timepoints (at recruitment and four to eight weeks later). IgG positive results were subject to confirmation, in the same serum sample, using two distinct assays. At the time of the first study visit, no patient had a previously confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, one reported previous contact with a COVID-19 patient and all had a baseline SARS-CoV-2 negative RT-PCR. Two patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG in the first study visit, which was not confirmed in either of the two confirmatory assays. Seventy-two patients were tested at the second study visit, all with negative IgG test. IgM was persistently positive at both study visits in one patient and was positive in another patient at the second study visit, both with negative RT-PCR and serum IgG. No patient tested RT-PCR positive within the study timeframe. No evidence of prior or acute SARS-CoV-2 infection was documented in this cohort of cancer patients undergoing systemic treatment and no additional exposure risk was documented compared to general population seroprevalence studies. The study was inconclusive regarding the role of SARS-CoV-2 serology in cancer patients in the early phase of the pandemic. This study did show that, with adherence to recommended preventive measures, it was safe to maintain systemic cancer therapy.
Trade-off between sex and growth in diatoms: Molecular mechanisms and demographic implications

Diatoms are fast-growing and winning competitors in aquatic environments, possibly due to optimized growth performance. However, their life cycles are complex, heteromorphic, and not fully understood. Here, we report on the fine control of cell growth and physiology during the sexual phase of the marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata. We found that mating, under nutrient replete conditions, induces a prolonged growth arrest in parental cells. Transcriptomic analyses revealed down-regulation of genes related to major metabolic functions from the early phases of mating. Single-cell photophysiology also pinpointed an inhibition of photosynthesis and storage lipids accumulated in the arrested population, especially in gametes and zygotes. Numerical simulations revealed that growth arrest affects the balance between parental cells and their siblings, possibly favoring the new generation. Thus, in addition to resources availability, life cycle traits contribute to shaping the species ecological niches and must be considered to describe and understand the structure of plankton communities.
A review of the common crab genus Macromedaeus Ward, 1942 (Brachyura, Xanthidae) from China Seas with description of a new species using integrative taxonomy methods

Macromedaeus is one of the most common xanthid genera in shallow waters of the Indo-West Pacific. In this study, we describe a new species, Macromedaeus hainanensis sp. nov., and report on two newly recorded species, M. quinquedentatus (Krauss, 1843) and M. orientalis (Takeda & Miyake, 1969) from Hainan Island, South China Sea. M. hainanensis is most related to M. distinguendus (De Haan, 1833-1850) and M. orientalis on the carapace shape and granular appearance, but can be distinguished by unique morphological characteristics especially its front, pereopods and male first gonopod. Taxonomic identities of the six Macromedaeus species recorded from China seas are discussed, and a phylogenetic analyzation is performed on Macromedaeus and related taxa based on three mitochondrial and two nuclear markers (12S, 16S, COI, H3, 18S). Integrated taxonomic evidence is used to support the taxonomic status of each species.
Insight into the symbiotic lifestyle of DPANN archaea revealed by cultivation and genome analyses

Significance The DPANN superphylum is a grouping of symbiotic microorganisms categorized based on their genomic contents and a few examples of cultivation experiments. Although the genome information of DPANN archaea is increasing year by year, most of them have remained uncultivated, limiting our knowledge of these organisms. Herein, a thermoacidophilic symbiotic archaeon (ARM-1) from the DPANN superphylum was successfully cultivated and characterized. We determined its physiological, morphological, and genomic characteristics in detail and obtained experimental evidence of the symbiotic lifestyle of this archaeon. Notably, ARM-1 is a symbiotic archaeal strain that showed dependence on a range of host species in a laboratory culture. The results significantly contribute to the true understanding of the physiology and ecology of DPANN archaea. Decades of culture-independent analyses have resulted in proposals of many tentative archaeal phyla with no cultivable representative. Members of DPANN (an acronym of the names of the first included phyla Diapherotrites, Parvarchaeota, Aenigmarchaeota, Nanohaloarchaeota, and Nanoarchaeota), an archaeal superphylum composed of at least 10 of these tentative phyla, are generally considered obligate symbionts dependent on other microorganisms. While many draft/complete genome sequences of DPANN archaea are available and their biological functions have been considerably predicted, only a few examples of their successful laboratory cultivation have been reported, limiting our knowledge of their symbiotic lifestyles. Here, we investigated physiology, morphology, and host specificity of an archaeon of the phylum “Candidatus Micrarchaeota” (ARM-1) belonging to the DPANN superphylum by cultivation. We constructed a stable coculture system composed of ARM-1 and its original host Metallosphaera sp. AS-7 belonging to the order Sulfolobales. Further host-switching experiments confirmed that ARM-1 grew on five different archaeal species from three genera—Metallosphaera, Acidianus, and Saccharolobus—originating from geologically distinct hot, acidic environments. The results suggested the existence of DPANN archaea that can grow by relying on a range of hosts. Genomic analyses showed inferred metabolic capabilities, common/unique genetic contents of ARM-1 among cultivated micrarchaeal representatives, and the possibility of horizontal gene transfer between ARM-1 and members of the order Sulfolobales. Our report sheds light on the symbiotic lifestyles of DPANN archaea and will contribute to the elucidation of their biological/ecological functions.
Empagliflozin Alleviates Left Ventricle Hypertrophy in High-Fat-Fed Mice by Modulating Renin Angiotensin Pathway

Aims. The cardiobenefits of empagliflozin are multidimensional, and some mechanisms are still unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of treatment with empagliflozin on biometric parameters and gene expression in the local cardiac RAS, oxidative stress, and endoplasmic reticulum pathways in a mouse model. Main Methods. Forty male C57BL/6 mice were fed with control (C) or high-fat (HF) diets for 10 weeks. After that, the groups were redistributed according to the treatment with empagliflozin—CE or HFE. The empagliflozin was administered via food for 5 weeks (10 mg/kg/day). We performed biochemical analyses, blood pressure monitoring, oral glucose tolerance test, left ventricle (LV) stereology, RT-qPCR for genes related to classical and counterregulatory local RAS, oxidative stress, and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Key Findings. In comparison to HF, HFE decreased body mass and improved glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. The cardiac parameters were enhanced after treatment as expressed by decrease in plasma cholesterol, plasma uric acid, and systolic blood pressure. In addition, LV analysis showed that empagliflozin reduces cardiomyocyte area and LV thickness. The local RAS had less activity of the classical pathway and positive effects on the counterregulatory pathway. Empagliflozin treatment also decreased oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes. Significance. Our results suggests that empagliflozin modulates the local RAS pathway towards alleviation of oxidative stress and ER stress in the LV, which may be a route to its effects on improved cardiac remodeling.
CD300a Receptor Blocking Enhances Early Clearance of Leishmania donovani From Its Mammalian Host Through Modulation of Effector Functions of Phagocytic and Antigen Experienced T Cells

The parasites of the genus Leishmania survive and proliferate in the host phagocytic cells by taking control over their microbicidal functions. The parasite also promotes differentiation of antigen-specific anti-inflammatory cytokines producing effector T cells, which eventually results in disease pathogenesis. The mechanisms that parasites employ to dominate host adaptive immunity are largely unknown. For the first time, we report that L. donovani, which causes visceral leishmaniasis in the Indian subcontinent, upregulates the expression of an immune inhibitory receptor i.e., CD300a on antigen presenting and phagocytic cells to dampen their effector functions. The blocking of CD300a signals in leishmania antigens activated macrophages and dendritic cells enhanced the production of nitric oxide, pro-inflammatory cytokines along with MHCI/II genes expression, and reduced parasitic uptake. Further, the abrogation of CD300a signals in Leishmania infected mice benefited antigen-experienced, i.e., CD4+CD44+ and CD8+CD44+ T cells to acquire more pro-inflammatory cytokines producing phenotypes and helped in the early clearance of parasites from their visceral organs. The CD300a receptor blocking also enhanced the conversion of CD4+ T effectors cells to their memory phenotypes i.e., CCR7high CD62Lhigh up to 1.6 and 1.9 fold after 14 and 21 days post-infection, respectively. These findings implicate that CD300a is an important determinant of host phagocytic cells functions and T cells differentiation against Leishmania antigens.
In vitro anti-Leishmania activity of 8-hydroxyquinoline and its synergistic effect with amphotericin B deoxycholate against Leishmania martiniquensis

Leishmania (Mundinia) martiniquensis is responsible for visceral leishmaniasis in patients with no known underlying immunodeficiency, and visceral or disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis in HIV-infected patients. The available anti-Leishmania drugs for treatment have limitations such as high toxicity and variable efficacy. To improve the therapeutic index of anti-Leishmania drugs, the search for a new drug or a new natural compound in combination therapy instead of using monotherapy to reduce drug side effect and have high efficacy is required. In this study, anti-Leishmania activity of 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQN) and its synergistic effect with amphotericin B (AmB) against L. martiniquensis were evaluated in vitro for the first time. These results showed that 8HQN presented anti-Leishmania activity against L. martiniquensis with IC50 1.60 ± 0.28 and 1.56 ± 0.02 µg/mL for promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes, respectively. The selectivity index (SI) value of 8HQN was 79.84 for promastigotes and 82.40 for intracellular amastigotes, which highlight promising results for the use of 8HQN in the treatment of L. martiniquensis-infected host cells. Interestingly, four combinations of 8HQN and AmB provided synergistic effects for intracellular amastigotes and showed no toxic effects to host cells. These results provided information of using a combination therapy in treating this Leishmania species leads to further development of therapy and can be considered as an alternative treatment for leishmaniasis.
Comparative analysis of magnetic induction based communication techniques for wireless underground sensor networks

A large range of applications have been identified based upon the communication of underground sensors deeply buried in the soil. The classical electromagnetic wave (EM) approach, which works well for terrestrial communication in air medium, when applied for this underground communication, suffers from significant challenges attributing to signal absorption by rocks, soil, or water contents, highly varying channel condition caused by soil characteristics, and requirement of big antennas. As a strong alternative of EM, various magnetic induction (MI) techniques have been introduced. These techniques basically depend upon the magnetic induction between two coupled coils associated with transceiver sensor nodes. This paper elaborates on three basic MI communication mechanisms i.e. direct MI transmission, MI waveguide transmission, and 3D coil MI communication with detailed discussion of their working mechanism, advantages and limitations. The comparative analysis of these MI techniques with each other as well as with EM wave method will facilitate the users in choosing the best method to offer enhanced transmission range (upto 250 m), reduced path loss (<100 dB), channel reliability, working bandwidth (1–2 kHz), & omni-directional coverage to realize the promising MI-based wireless underground sensor network (WUSN) applications.
Loss of IRF2BPL impairs neuronal maintenance through excess Wnt signaling

De novo truncations in Interferon Regulatory Factor 2 Binding Protein Like (IRF2BPL) lead to severe childhood-onset neurodegenerative disorders. To determine how loss of IRF2BPL causes neural dysfunction, we examined its function in Drosophila and zebrafish. Overexpression of either IRF2BPL or Pits, the Drosophila ortholog, represses Wnt transcription in flies. In contrast, neuronal depletion of Pits leads to increased wingless (wg) levels in the brain and is associated with axonal loss, whereas inhibition of Wg signaling is neuroprotective. Moreover, increased neuronal expression of wg in flies is sufficient to cause age-dependent axonal loss, similar to reduction of Pits. Loss of irf2bpl in zebrafish also causes neurological defects with an associated increase in wnt1 transcription and downstream signaling. WNT1 is also increased in patient-derived astrocytes, and pharmacological inhibition of Wnt suppresses the neurological phenotypes. Last, IRF2BPL and the Wnt antagonist, CKIα, physically and genetically interact, showing that IRF2BPL and CkIα antagonize Wnt transcription and signaling.
IL-35 inhibits cell pyroptosis and attenuates cell injury in TNF-α-induced bronchial epithelial cells via p38 MAPK signaling pathway

ABSTRACT Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, and IL-35 has been found to be involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases by mediating the inhibition of effector T cells. But the role of IL-35 on cell pyroptosis, which frequently occurs in inflammatory diseases, has not been elucidated. Therefore, the present study used a TNF-α-induced bronchial epithelial cell injury model to investigate the mechanism of IL-35 action on cell pyroptosis and asthma injury. The effects of IL-35 on cell activity, inflammatory factor levels, cell barrier damage and cell pyroptosis-related proteins were examined by CCK-8, ELISA, lucifer yellow permeability and Western blotting assay, respectively. Subsequently, following the activation of p38 MAPK signaling pathway by adding p38 agonist, the effect of IL-35 on TNF-α-induced bronchial epithelial cell injury was investigated. The results showed that IL-35 reduced TNF-α-induced cell injury, decreased inflammatory factors, improved cell permeability, and inhibited cell pyroptosis. More importantly, the effect of IL-35 on injured cells was reversed after p38 MAPK pathway was activated. In summary, IL-35 inhibited p38 MAPK pathway to suppress cell pyroptosis and thereby reduce asthma injury.
A Theory-Based, Multidisciplinary Approach to Cocreate a Patient-Centric Digital Solution to Enhance Perioperative Health Outcomes Among Colorectal Cancer Patients and Their Family Caregivers: Development and Evaluation Study

Background Elective colorectal cancer (CRC) surgeries offer enhanced surgical outcomes but demand high self-efficacy in prehabilitation and competency in self-care and disease management postsurgery. Conventional strategies to meet perioperative needs have not been pragmatic, and there remains a pressing need for novel technologies that could improve health outcomes. Objective The aim of this paper was to describe the development of a smartphone-based interactive CRC self-management enhancement psychosocial program (iCanManage) in order to improve health outcomes among patients who undergo elective CRC surgeries and their family caregivers. Methods A multidisciplinary international team comprising physicians, specialist nurses, a psychologist, software engineers, academic researchers, cancer survivors, patient ambassadors, and ostomy care medical equipment suppliers was formed to facilitate the development of this patient-centric digital solution. The process occurred in several stages: (1) review of current practice through clinic visits and on-site observations; (2) review of literature and findings from preliminary studies; (3) content development grounded in an underpinning theory; (4) integration of support services; and (5) optimizing user experience through improving interface aesthetics and customization. In our study, 5 participants with CRC performed preliminary assessments on the quality of the developed solution using the 20-item user version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (uMARS), which had good psychometric properties. Results Based on the collected uMARS data, the smartphone app was rated highly for functionality, aesthetics, information quality, and perceived impact, and moderately for engagement and subjective quality. Several limiting factors such as poor agility in the adoption of digital technology and low eHealth literacy were identified despite efforts to promote engagement and ensure ease of use of the mobile app. To overcome such barriers, additional app-training sessions, an instruction manual, and regular telephone calls will be incorporated into the iCanManage program during the trial period. Conclusions This form of multidisciplinary collaboration is advantageous as it can potentially streamline existing care paths and allow the delivery of more holistic care to the CRC population during the perioperative period. Should the program be found to be effective and sustainable, hospitals adopting this digital solution may achieve better resource allocation and reduce overall health care costs in the long run. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04159363; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04159363
KSD Aggregated Goodness-of-fit Test

We investigate properties of goodness-of-fit tests based on the Kernel Stein Discrepancy (KSD). We introduce a strategy to construct a test, called KSDAgg, which aggregates multiple tests with different kernels. KSDAgg avoids splitting the data to perform kernel selection (which leads to a loss in test power), and rather maximises the test power over a collection of kernels. We provide non-asymptotic guarantees on the power of KSDAgg: we show it achieves the smallest uniform separation rate of the collection, up to a logarithmic term. For compactly supported densities with bounded model score function, we derive the rate for KSDAgg over restricted Sobolev balls; this rate corresponds to the minimax optimal rate over unrestricted Sobolev balls, up to an iterated logarithmic term. KSDAgg can be computed exactly in practice as it relies either on a parametric bootstrap or on a wild bootstrap to estimate the quantiles and the level corrections. In particular, for the crucial choice of bandwidth of a fixed kernel, it avoids resorting to arbitrary heuristics (such as median or standard deviation) or to data splitting. We find on both synthetic and real-world data that KSDAgg outperforms other state-of-the-art quadratic-time adaptive KSD-based goodness-of-fit testing procedures.