Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fabry-Perot Interferometer Based on a Fiber-Tip Fixed-Supported Bridge for Fast Glucose Concentration Measurement

Blood glucose concentration is important for metabolic homeostasis in humans and animals. Many diabetic patients need to detect blood glucose daily which burdens community hospitals and family healthcare. Optical fiber sensors are widely used in biomedical detection because of their compact structure, fast response, high sensitivity, low cost, and ease of operation. In this work, we constructed a Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity biosensor for the fast detection of glucose concentration in serum. The femtosecond laser micromachining was applied to fabricate the FP cavity by printing the fiber-tip fixed-supported bridge at the end face of the optical fiber. An additional hemisphere was printed at the center of the outer surface of the bridge to avoid multi-beam interference. The results demonstrated that the proposed biosensor had high refractive index (RI) detection sensitivity, roughly 1039 nm/RIU at a wavelength of 1590 nm, and the detection sensitivity for glucose was around 0.185 nm/ (mg/mL) at a wavelength of 1590 nm. Due to its high sensitivity, compact structure, and fast response, the FP cavity biosensor has great potential to be applied in family healthcare for glucose concentration detection of diabetic patients.
The musician’s personality: Do personality traits vary according to ensemble membership?

Despite many decades’ worth of investigations into associations between music and personality, the empirical findings are quite scant and scattered. Perhaps, this is because musicians are a diverse group of people, with far-reaching musical interests and wide-ranging personalities. Little research, however, has investigated whether musicians’ choice of musical genre bears a relationship to their personalities. In this study, we explore the limited literature on the relationship between music ensemble membership and personality by investigating personality differences between jazz and classical ensemble musicians on the Big Five personality dimensions. Musicians (N = 221) were recruited from college music ensembles, an introductory psychology course, a Facebook page, and Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI), a validated self-report personality questionnaire, and analyses were conducted to compare the scores of jazz musicians to the scores of classical musicians. Significant differences emerged between jazz and classical musicians’ personalities, with gender playing a mediating role. These results may be beneficial for music educators and directors, as knowledge that specific personality traits predict music ensemble membership may help guide instruction techniques, communication, understanding between musicians of different musical genres, and general cooperation between music educators/directors and their ensembles.
The comparison between AgB-ELISA and a new method of Nano-ELISA for diagnosis of hydatidosis in sheep

Hydatidosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases, and it is transmitted via dogs to intermediate hosts such as humans and domestic animals including sheep and cattle. Epidemiological studies and genetic investigations indicate that the sheep strain is the most common species causing hydatid cysts in humans. The prevalence and incidence of this disease are increasing. According to surveys, economic losses due to this parasite in intermediate hosts are significant. In this survey, 25 serum samples were obtained from newborn lambs as negative control and obtained 25 serum samples from infected sheep to hydatidosis as the positive control. Antigen B isolated from hydatid cysts fluid was used for designing ELISA methods. Using Antigen B in ELISA design for hydatidosis diagnosis has attracted researchers in recent years. During this study, an Iranian native B antigen was used to design the specific detection of hydatidosis in sheep using a specific ELISA technique. The first method used the anti-Sheep conjugate (SIGMA, at 1:3000 dilution), and the second method used gold nanoparticles in combination with anti-sheep conjugate. According to the results, sensitivity and specificity in sheep of the AgB-ELISA method were both 92% and for the Nano-ELISA with Gold Nanoparticles 100% and 96%, respectively. Moreover, results indicated that using Antigen B in ELISA design is valuable but specificity and sensitivity will increase significantly, especially in lower titer, when gold nanoparticles with anti-sheep conjugate are used.
A New Liposomal Formulation of Hydrogenated Anacardic Acid to Improve Activities Against Cancer Stem Cells

Anacardic acid (AA) is a natural active ingredient that accounts for 65% of the liquid extract from the shell of the cashew nut. Due to the stronger cytotoxic activity of hydrogenated AA (HAA) against NTERA-2 cancer stem cells (CSCs) than AA itself, HAA was co-conjugated with CD133 monoclonal antibody (mAb^CD133) into nanoliposomal particles (AMC). This nanoliposomal complex is expected to improved HAA activities against CSCs based on the targeting capacity of mAb^CD133 toward CD133, a typical CSCs’ surface marker. AMC was manufactured with a mean size of 100.9 nm, a zeta potential of −40.7 mV, and a PDI of 0.283. We report a 100% encapsulation efficiency of HAA into liposomes and a 90.7% conjugation efficiency with mAb^CD133. The penetration of AMC into NTERA-2 CSCs after 2 h was 83.7%. The AMC complex inhibited NTERA-2 growth with an IC50 (inhibition concentration at 50%) value of 75.83 ± 6.70 µM, showing the targeting ability and lower toxicity (IC50 > 100 µM) on healthy cells. The AMC nanoparticles also demonstrated significant potential apoptotic induction by activating caspase 3 activity by up to 2.57 and 2.06 folds compared to that of the negative control at 20 and 4 µM, respectively. This induction was significant improvement in comparison with that of unconjugated HAA (P < .05). AMC presented a clear effect on the solid structure of NTERA-2 spheroids and significantly suppressed the proliferation of CSCs in the 3D tumorspheres with an IC50 = 64.25 ± 3.15 µM, compared to the free form with an IC50 = 82.22 ± 0.65 µM (P < .05). Therefore, this nanoliposomal complex exhibits promising capacities as an effective material against NTERA-2 CSCs.
Branch-price-and-cut for trucks and drones cooperative delivery

Abstract The truck and drone-based cooperative model of delivery can improve the efficiency of last mile delivery, and has thus increasingly attracted attention in academia and from practitioners. In this study, we examine a vehicle routing problem and apply a cooperative form of delivery involving trucks and drones. We propose a mixed-integer programming model and a branch-price-and-cut-based exact algorithm to address this problem. To reduce the computation time, we design several acceleration strategies, including a combination of dynamic programming and calculus-based approximation for the pricing problem, and various effective inequalities for the restricted master problem. Numerical experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed solution.
NUMTs Can Imitate Biparental Transmission of mtDNA—A Case in Drosophila melanogaster

mtDNA sequences can be incorporated into the nuclear genome and produce nuclear mitochondrial fragments (NUMTs), which resemble mtDNA in their sequence but are transmitted biparentally, like the nuclear genome. NUMTs can be mistaken as real mtDNA and may lead to the erroneous impression that mtDNA is biparentally transmitted. Here, we report a case of mtDNA heteroplasmy in a Drosophila melanogaster DGRP line, in which the one haplotype was biparentally transmitted in an autosomal manner. Given the sequence identity of this haplotype with the mtDNA, the crossing experiments led to uncertainty about whether heteroplasmy was real or an artifact due to a NUMT. More specific experiments revealed that there is a large NUMT insertion in the X chromosome of a specific DGRP line, imitating biparental inheritance of mtDNA. Our result suggests that studies on mtDNA heteroplasmy and on mtDNA inheritance should first exclude the possibility of NUMT interference in their data.
Ideological Conflict as a Marker of Change: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Naseem Hijazi's novel “The Last Fight”

This research paper aims to find out how the two main groups of the subcontinent namely: Hindus and Muslims, face a clash of ideologies at the same time, what were the effects of this clash of ideology on their social lifestyle values and code of conduct as depicted in Nasim Hijazi’s novel “The Last Flight”. How perception about religion and power imposing groups have changed through a chain of events. In this study, the “Last Fight” (translated version) has been keenly analyzed by keeping in mind the subcontinent's historical perspective and relating these ideologies with the present time. The framework of Van Dijk's ideology and discourse analysis (2006) with reference to social, cognitive, and discursive components is employed to investigate how language is used to understand and communicate ideologies and their impact on the thought processes of groups, systems of beliefs, values, cultural manifestations, and society altogether. This paper is significant in portraying the framework and implications of ideology and discourse analysis. However, the text under consideration can be analyzed and explained in other multiple dimensions.
Health Literacy, Socioeconomic Status and Vaccination Uptake: A Study on Influenza Vaccination in a Population-Based Sample

Background: Health Literacy (HL) has been recently hypothesized to affect the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and health conditions. However, to date no study has yet assessed the potential contribution of HL in the pathway through which SES affects influenza vaccination status. We aim to examine the relationships among HL, SES factors, and influenza vaccination uptake in Tuscan (Italy) residents belonging to different high-risk groups (HRGs) for influenza. Methods: The study was performed within the Tuscan population sample selected in the Italian Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in 2017–2018. HL was assessed using the Italian version of the 6-items European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q6). Mediation analyses were conducted using SES variables as independent variables, influenza vaccination status as dependent variable and HL as mediator variable. Results: A total of 3278 people belonged to HRGs for influenza. In the whole sample, 19.4% of the participants were vaccinated against influenza. Participants who were not employed or had a poor financial status were more likely to be vaccinated against influenza (OR 1.56, 95%CI 1.26–1.94, p < 0.001, and OR 1.21, 95%CI 1.00–1.48, p = 0.047 respectively). HL did not mediate the relationship of any of the independent variables with influenza vaccination status. Conclusions: Some SES determinants resulted to influence influenza vaccination uptake, while HL did not affect the likelihood of influenza vaccination uptake among HRGs. Universal health care systems, as in the case of Italy, offering influenza vaccination free of charge to HRGs help in reducing inequalities and mitigating HL demands.
Calcium intake in vegan and vegetarian diets: A systematic review and Meta-analysis

Abstract In recent years, plant-based diets have experienced increasing popularity. However, plant-based diets may not always ensure an adequate supply of micronutrients, in particular calcium. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of calcium intake in vegan and vegetarian diets as compared to omnivorous diets. We searched PubMed and Web of Science and identified 2,009 potentially relevant articles. Mean calcium intake values were pooled and standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed. We analyzed 74 studies, including 7,356 vegan, 51,940 vegetarian, and 107,581 omnivorous participants. Of these, dietary calcium intake was examined in 23 studies of vegans, 60 studies of vegetarians and 74 studies of omnivores. Vegans showed a substantially lower calcium intake than vegetarians (SMD = −0.57; 95%CI = −0.83 to −0.32; p = <0.0001) and omnivores (SMD = −0.70; 95%CI = −0.95 to −0.59; p < 0.0001), whereas no statistically significant difference in calcium intake was noted between vegetarians and omnivores (SMD = 0.07; 95%CI = −0.04 to 0.19; p = 0.1976). In conclusion, vegans show a lower calcium intake than vegetarians and omnivores. This finding emphasizes the need for vegans to monitor their calcium status. Graphic Abstract
WGCNA Analysis Identifies the Hub Genes Related to Heat Stress in Seedling of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Frequent high temperature weather affects the growth and development of rice, resulting in the decline of seed–setting rate, deterioration of rice quality and reduction of yield. Although some high temperature tolerance genes have been cloned, there is still little success in solving the effects of high temperature stress in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Based on the transcriptional data of seven time points, the weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) method was used to construct a co–expression network of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the rice genotypes IR64 (tolerant to heat stress) and Koshihikari (susceptible to heat stress). There were four modules in both genotypes that were highly correlated with the time points after heat stress in the seedling. We further identified candidate hub genes through clustering and analysis of protein interaction network with known–core genes. The results showed that the ribosome and protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum were the common pathways in response to heat stress between the two genotypes. The changes of starch and sucrose metabolism and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites pathways are possible reasons for the sensitivity to heat stress for Koshihikari. Our findings provide an important reference for the understanding of high temperature response mechanisms and the cultivation of high temperature resistant materials.
Unifying offline and online simulation for online decision-making

Abstract Stochastic simulation is typically deployed for offline system design and control; however, the time delay in executing simulation hinders its application in making online decisions. With the rapid growth of computing power, simulation-based online optimization has emerged as an attractive research topic. We consider a problem of ranking and selection via simulation in the context of online decision-making, in which there exists a short time (referred to as online budget) after observing online scenarios. The goal is to select the best alternative conditional on each scenario. We propose a Unified Offline and Online Learning (UOOL) paradigm that exploits offline simulation, online scenarios, and online simulation budget simultaneously. Specifically, we model the mean performance of each alternative as a function of scenarios and learn a predictive model based on offline data. Then, we develop a sequential sampling procedure to generate online simulation data. The predictive model is updated based on offline and online data. Our theoretical result shows that online budget should be allocated to the revealed online scenario. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the superior performance of the UOOL paradigm and the benefits of offline and online simulation.
Staphylococci and zoonotic potential : oral carriage and antibiotic susceptibility in stray dogs and cats in Algeria

This study aimed at identifying species of staphylococci isolated from the oral cavity of dogs and cats, in Algeria, and to determine their antibiotic susceptibility.Oral swabs were collected from 70 healthy animals (35dogs and 35cats) and were grown in Mannitol Salt Agar medium.Isolates were identified using API staph commercial kits and then confirmed with MALDI-TOF MS associated with SARAMIS software.Coagulase-positive staphylococci (CoPS) were tested for antibiotic susceptibility by disk diffusion method.On the 70 sampled animals, 59 were carriers of staphylococci in the oral cavity and more than one species was detected in 11 of them. Seventy (70) staphyloccoccal isolates were obtained belonging to 10 defferent species. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) were most prevalent (81.42% ),of which the dominant species was S. xylosus (40%). Other coagulase-negative species,such as S, simulans (14.28%), S ,sciuri (11.42%) , S. saprophyticus (10%),S. capitis (2.85%),S, cohnii subsp cohnii (1.42%), and S, epidermidis (1.42%) were also isolated.The remaining n.13 CoPS included : S. intermedius (2.85%),S . pseudintermedius (8.57%) and S. intermedius group (SIG) (4.28%). No strain of S. aureus was found.Results of antimicrobial resistance showed that 61.53% of CoPS isolates were resistant to at least two drugs.The highest rate of resistance was observed against penicillin,ampicillin and tetracycline (53.84% for each drug),while amoxicillin-clavulanate was active on most isolates.In Algeria,Stray dogs and cats are carriers of many staphylococci species in the oral cavity, including multidrug resistant CoPS, which could be transmitted to humans through bites.
Floral phenology of an Andean bellflower and pollination by buff‐tailed sicklebill hummingbird

Abstract The Andean bellflowers comprise an explosive radiation correlated with shifts to specialized pollination. One diverse clade has evolved with extremely curved floral tubes and is predicted to be pollinated exclusively by one of two parapatric species of sicklebill hummingbirds (Eutoxeres). In this study, we focused on the floral biology of Centropogon granulosus, a bellflower thought to be specialized for pollination by Eutoxeres condamini, in a montane cloud forest site in southeastern Peru. Using camera traps and a pollination exclusion experiment, we documented E. condamini as the sole pollinator of C. granulosus. Visitation by E. condamini was necessary for fruit development. Flowering rates were unequivocally linear and conformed to the “steady‐state” phenological type. Over the course of >1800 h of monitoring, we recorded 12 E. condamini visits totaling 42 s, indicating traplining behavior. As predicted by its curved flowers, C. granulosus is exclusively pollinated by buff‐tailed sicklebill within our study area. We present evidence for the congruence of phenology and visitation as a driver of specialization in this highly diverse clade of Andean bellflowers.
Microbiological mechanism underlying vegetation restoration across climatic gradients in a karst ecosystem

Bacteria, fungi, and protist are important in driving nutrient cycling. The microbiological mechanism underlying vegetation restoration during different temperature and precipitation gradients remains unclear. To determine the relationship between microbes and nutrients, we examined the changes in soil bacterial, fungal, and protist diversity and community composition under two different temperatures in a plantation forest and shrubland as well as reference cropland in a karst region. Bacterial and protist diversity in the warm and low‐altitude region of Guangxi (average temperature 20.9°C) was higher in cropland than in shrubland or plantation forest. By contrast, fungal richness was lower in cropland than in shrubland. A co‐occurrence network revealed higher numbers of correlated links among the bacterial, fungal, and protist taxa in the cool and high‐altitude region of Guizhou (average temperature 14.6°C) than in the warm and low‐altitude region of Guangxi. Stronger interactions were observed among microbial taxa under cropland than in vegetation restoration. The protist groups Cercozoa and Lobosa showed the highest numbers of links with the bacterial phyla Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria and with the fungal phylum Ascomycota. The numbers of Proteobacteria, Ascomycota, and Cercozoa were most correlated with soil nutrient levels of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Overall, microbial interactions were higher at low temperatures than at high temperatures, consequently intensifying the predation of bacteria and fungi by protists at a low‐temperature level. Furthermore, Proteobacteria, Ascomycota, and Cercozoa were the keystone taxa linked to nutrient availability; hence, effective monitoring of these dominant groups may be beneficial for increasing nutrient accumulation during vegetation restoration.
Impact of continuous learning on diagnostic breast MRI AI: evaluation on an independent clinical dataset

Abstract. Purpose: We demonstrate continuous learning and assess its impact on the performance of artificial intelligence of breast dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in the task of distinguishing malignant from benign lesions on an independent clinical test dataset. Approach: The study included 1979 patients with 1990 lesions who underwent breast MR imaging during 2015, 2016, and 2017, retrospectively collected under an IRB-approved protocol; there were 1494 malignant and 496 benign lesions based on histopathology. AI was conducted in the task of distinguishing malignant and benign lesions, and independent testing was performed to assess the effect of increasing the numbers of training cases. Five training sets mimicking clinical implementation of continuous AI learning included cases from (1) first quarter of 2015, (2) first half of 2015, (3) all 2015, (4) all 2015 and first half of 2016, and (5) all 2015 and 2016. All classifiers were evaluated on the 2017 independent test set. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) served as the performance metric and was calculated over all lesions in the test set, as well as only mass lesions and only non-mass enhancements. The Mann–Kendall test was used to determine if continuous learning resulted in a positive trend in classification performance. P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Over the continuous training period, the selected feature subsets tended to become more similar and stable. Performance of the five training conditions on the independent test dataset yielded AUCs of 0.86 (95% CI: [0.83,0.90]), 0.87 (95% CI: [0.83,0.90]), 0.88 (95% CI: [0.84,0.91]), 0.89 (95% CI: [0.85,0.92]), and 0.89 (95% CI: [0.86,0.92]). The Mann–Kendall test indicated a statistically significant positive trend (P = 0.0167) in classification performance with continuous learning. Conclusions: Improved diagnostic performance over time was observed when continuous learning of AI was implemented on an independent clinical test dataset.
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Bullying and Sexual and Racial Harassment in Healthcare Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Italy

Background: This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with workplace bullying, sexual harassment and racial harassment among Italian health workers. Methods: We recruited 3129 participants using an online Italian translation of the ‘Workplace Violence in the Health Sector Country Case Studies Research Instruments Survey’ (WVHS) questionnaire. Data were analyzed with univariate (chi-square) and multivariate (multiple logistic regression) analysis. Results: Univariate analysis shows that females are significantly more affected by bullying (16.4% vs. 12.3%) and sexual harassment (2.4% vs. 1.3%). On the other hand, males are significantly more affected by racial harassment (3.1% vs. 2.0%). Multivariate analysis shows higher odds of being affected by bullying (OR = 1.30; 95% CI (1.03, 1.64)) and sexual harassment (OR = 2.08; 95% CI (1.04, 4.00)) for females, and higher odds of undergoing racial harassment (OR = 1.55; 95% CI (0.95, 2.53)) for males. Conclusion: This analysis of work situations looks to identify those risk factors, existing or potential, that increase the probability of episodes of violence. A group of work or other subjects identified by direction will have to evaluate the vulnerability of workplaces and establish more effective preventive actions to be adopted.