Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Switching from face-to-face to an online teaching strategy: how anatomy and physiology teaching transformed post-COVID-19 for a university preprofessional program

The College of Science and Health Professions offers a university preprofessional program. Like most medical schools in Saudi Arabia, the teaching delivery strategy in the university preprofessional program is on campus and face-to-face. During the month of March 2020, teaching activities of the spring semester were proceeding as normal; however, the sudden emergence of COVID-19 disturbed routine activities and compelled authorities to switch all teaching activities from face-to-face to online. Training sessions and workshops for all stakeholders on online delivery methods were arranged. Blackboard and other online facilities were utilized. All teaching materials, including newly made video clips for anatomy and physiology practicals, were uploaded on Blackboard and discussed online with students. Students’ anxiety related to the exam was reassured by giving them the option of open book quizzes during summative continuous assessment. All scheduled teaching sessions, lectures, and practicals were conducted proficiently. Revision sessions and assessment quizzes were conducted with students’ satisfaction. At the end of the semester, a final exam was conducted online as an open book exam. Students with technical issues while attempting the exam were given an opportunity to make up for it. After a successful final exam, the cumulative block grades showed students secured higher grades in the open book exam. Following that, the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences has managed to conduct on-campus close book exams that abide by self-distancing and standard operating procedure policies.
Substance use is associated with worse mental health and altered resting state functional connectivity in female university athletes at baseline: A pilot study

University athletes are at high risk for both substance use and mental health problems. This study examined associations between substance use, mental health symptoms, and the resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) of key neural regions involved in self-monitoring and emotional regulation in a sample of female varsity athletes. 31 female university athletes completed measures of substance use, mental health symptoms, and underwent functional MRI scans during the pre-season. Athletes who were substance users had higher symptoms of depression than non-users (p = 0.04; Hedge’s g = 0.81). RsFC differences were observed between users and non-users in orbital frontal cortex (OFC) and bilateral hippocampal seeds, and negative associations between depression symptoms and rsFC in the left hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex were observed in cannabis users. In female athletes, substance use is associated with greater self-reported depression symptoms and altered rsFC in self-monitoring and emotional regulation regions of the brain.
Stages of embryonic development in the live‐bearing fish, Gambusia holbrooki

Divergent morphology and placentation of Poeciliids make them suitable model for investigating how evolutionary selection has altered and conserved the developmental mechanisms. However, there is limited description of their embryonic staging, despite representing a key evolutionary node that shares developmental strategy with placental vertebrates. Here, we describe the embryonic developmental stages of Gambusia holbrooki from zygote to parturition using freshly harvested embryos.
Composite Antidisturbance Control for Non-Gaussian Stochastic Systems via Information-Theoretic Learning Technique

In this article, a novel composite hierarchical antidisturbance control (CHADC) algorithm aided by the information-theoretic learning (ITL) technique is developed for non-Gaussian stochastic systems subject to dynamic disturbances. The whole control process consists of some time-domain intervals called batches. Within each batch, a CHADC scheme is applied to the system, where a disturbance observer (DO) is employed to estimate the dynamic disturbance and a composite control strategy integrating feedforward compensation and feedback control is adopted. The information-theoretic measure (entropy or information potential) is employed to quantify the randomness of the controlled system, based on which the gain matrices of DO and feedback controller are updated between two adjacent batches. In this way, the mean-square stability is guaranteed within each batch, and the system performance is improved along with the progress of batches. The proposed algorithm has enhanced disturbance rejection ability and good applicability to non-Gaussian noise environment, which contributes to extending CHADC theory to the general stochastic case. Finally, simulation examples are included to verify the effectiveness of theoretical results.
Audio-Visual Integration in Nonverbal or Minimally Verbal Young Autistic Children

Low integration of speech sounds with the mouth movements likely contributes to language acquisition disabilities that frequently characterize young autistic children. However, the existing empirical evi- dence either relies on complex verbal instructions or merely focuses on preferential gaze on in-synch videos. The former method is clearly unadapted for young, minimally, or nonverbal autistic children, while the latter has several biases, making it dif ﬁ cult to interpret the data. We designed a Reinforced Preferential Gaze paradigm that allows to test multimodal integration in young, nonverbal autistic children and overcomes several of the methodological challenges faced by previous studies. We show that autistic children have dif ﬁ culties in temporally binding the speech signal with the corresponding articulatory gestures. A condition with structurally similar nonsocial video stimuli suggests that atypical mul- timodal integration in autism is not limited to speech stimuli.
An improved lentiviral fluorescent genetic barcoding approach distinguishes hematopoietic stem cell properties in multiplexed in vivo experiments.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) represent a rare cell population of particular interest for biomedical research and regenerative medicine. Various marker combinations enable the isolation of HSCs but fail to reach purity in transplantation assays. To reduce animal consumption, we developed a multiplexing system based on lentiviral fluorescent genetic barcoding (FGB) to enable the parallel characterization of multiple HSC samples within single animals. While previous FGB-mediated HSC multiplexing experiments achieved high in vitro gene marking rates, in vivo persistence of transduced cells remained sub-optimal. Thus, we aimed to optimize vector design and gene transfer protocols to demonstrate the applicability of FGB for functional characterization of two highly similar HSC populations in a reduced number of mice. We developed a set of 6 new lentiviral FGB vectors, utilizing individual and combinatorial expression of Azami Green, mCherry, and YFP derivatives. Gene transfer rates were optimized by overnight transduction of pre-stimulated HSCs with titrated vector doses. Populations for competitive transplantation experiments were identified by immunophenotyping murine HSCs. This identified an LSK-SLAM- (Lin-Sca-1+cKit+CD48-CD150+EPCR-) cell subpopulation that lacks EPCR expression and exhibits prospectively reduced self-renewal potential compared with prototypical ESLAM (CD45+EPCR+CD48-CD150+) HSCs. We monitored 30 data points per HSC-subpopulation in two independent experiments (each n=5) after co-transplantation of 3 uniquely color-coded ESLAM and LSK-SLAM- samples per recipient. While the first experiment was hampered by data fluctuations, increasing cell numbers and exchange of the internal promoter in the second experiment led to 74.4% chimerism, with 87.1% of fluorescent cells derived from ESLAM HSCs. Furthermore, ESLAM-derived cells produced 88.1% of myeloid cells, which is indicative of their origin from long-term repopulating HSCs. This work verifies the importance of EPCR for long-term repopulating HSCs and demonstrates the applicability of our optimized FGB-driven multiplexing approach for the efficient characterization of blood cell populations in biomedical research.
Spray-Dried Inhalable Powder Formulations of Therapeutic Proteins and Peptides

Respiratory diseases are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Innovations in biochemical engineering and understanding of the pathophysiology of respiratory diseases resulted in the development of many therapeutic proteins and peptide drugs with high specificity and potency. Currently, protein and peptide drugs are mostly administered by injections due to their large molecular size, poor oral absorption, and labile physicochemical properties. However, parenteral administration has several limitations such as frequent dosing due to the short half-life of protein and peptide in blood, pain on administration, sterility requirement, and poor patient compliance. Among various noninvasive routes of administrations, the pulmonary route has received a great deal of attention and is a better alternative to deliver protein and peptide drugs for treating respiratory diseases and systemic diseases. Among the various aerosol dosage forms, dry powder inhaler (DPI) systems appear to be promising for inhalation delivery of proteins and peptides due to their improved stability in solid state. This review focuses on the development of DPI formulations of protein and peptide drugs using advanced spray drying. An overview of the challenges in maintaining protein stability during the drying process and stabilizing excipients used in spray drying of proteins and peptide drugs is discussed. Finally, a summary of spray-dried DPI formulations of protein and peptide drugs, their characterization, various DPI devices used to deliver protein and peptide drugs, and current clinical status are discussed.
DnaB helicase dynamics in bacterial DNA replication resolved by single-molecule studies

Abstract In Escherichia coli, the DnaB helicase forms the basis for the assembly of the DNA replication complex. The stability of DnaB at the replication fork is likely important for successful replication initiation and progression. Single-molecule experiments have significantly changed the classical model of highly stable replication machines by showing that components exchange with free molecules from the environment. However, due to technical limitations, accurate assessments of DnaB stability in the context of replication are lacking. Using in vitro fluorescence single-molecule imaging, we visualise DnaB loaded on forked DNA templates. That these helicases are highly stable at replication forks, indicated by their observed dwell time of ∼30 min. Addition of the remaining replication factors results in a single DnaB helicase integrated as part of an active replisome. In contrast to the dynamic behaviour of other replisome components, DnaB is maintained within the replisome for the entirety of the replication process. Interestingly, we observe a transient interaction of additional helicases with the replication fork. This interaction is dependent on the τ subunit of the clamp-loader complex. Collectively, our single-molecule observations solidify the role of the DnaB helicase as the stable anchor of the replisome, but also reveal its capacity for dynamic interactions.
Assessment of culture fisheries in village ponds: a study in District Hisar, Haryana, India.

Present communication deals with the study of four village fish culture ponds (two wild and two managed ponds) from district Hisar of Haryana, India was undertaken, to correlate the water quality and biological cycles in ponds with fish production. Studies have revealed that the ponds are in good trophic status. Chlorides, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), phosphates (o-PO 4 ) and ammonia were high whereas dissolved oxygen and fish growth/ yield was low in wild ponds in comparison to managed ponds. This may be due to high organic loads. The net primary productivity mg C L/d was high in the wild ponds in comparison to the managed ponds. And thus high fish growth /yield are not directly related with net primary productivity. The deterioration of water quality, as indicated by very high ammonia and BOD in wild ponds might have decreased the fish growth.On the other hand, grazing pressure might have decreased the Net Primary Productivity (NPP) but resulted in the high fish biomass. Thus, fish production appear to depend to lesser degree on the magnitude of primary production and therefore, universal relation between primary productivity and fish production could not be established and a variety of factors like organic load, ammonia production, nature/quantity of fertilizers influence such correlations. Management of water quality by managing the optimization of waste input in village ponds may help in enhancing the fish production through such small scale aquaculture.
Maternal Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity before and during Pregnancy and Maternal Glucose Tolerance: Does Timing Matter?

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. ABSTRACT Purpose To assess prospective associations between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from preconception through pregnancy and glucose metabolism. Methods The sample consisted of 2388 women from the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies—Singletons, which enrolled US pregnant women between 8 and 13 wk of gestation. Women recalled their MVPA in periconception (past 12 months, inclusive of first trimester), early-to-mid (13–20 wk of gestation), and mid-to-late second trimester (20–29 wk). These data were obtained at study visits that occurred at enrollment (8–13 wk) and at follow-up visits at 16 to 22 wk and 24 to 29 wk. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was recalled using the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire. Glucose challenge test and oral glucose tolerance test results and gestational diabetes diagnosis (defined by the Carpenter–Coustan criteria) were extracted from medical records. ANCOVA and Poisson regression with robust error variance were performed to estimate associations between MVPA and glucose concentrations and gestational diabetes risk, respectively, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and prepregnancy body mass index. Results Women achieving higher levels of MVPA (≥75th percentile; 760.5 MET·min·wk−1) in early-to-mid second trimester had lower glucose concentrations (β = −3.9 mg·dL−1, 95% CI, −7.4 to −0.5) compared with their least-active counterparts (≤25th percentile; ≤117.0 MET·min·wk−1). Women maintaining recommended levels of MVPA from preconception and first trimester through second trimester (early-to-mid: β = −3.0 mg·dL−1; −5.9 to −0.1; mid-to-late: β = −4.2 mg·dL−1; −8.4 to −0.1) or maintaining sufficient activity throughout second trimester exhibited lower glucose levels (β = −5.6 mg·dL−1; −9.8 to −1.4) compared with their inactive counterparts. No statistically significant associations with gestational diabetes were observed. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that achieving MVPA of at least 760.0 MET·min·wk−1 in early-to-mid second trimester or maintaining at least 500 MET·min·wk−1 from preconception through second trimester may be related to improved maternal glucose metabolism in the second trimester.
Recapitulating monocyte extravasation to the synovium in an organotypic microfluidic model of the articular joint

The synovium of osteoarthritis (OA) patients can be characterized by an abnormal accumulation of macrophages originating from extravasated monocytes. Since targeting monocyte extravasation may represent a promising therapeutic strategy, our aim was to develop an organotypic microfluidic model recapitulating this process. Synovium and cartilage were modeled by hydrogel-embedded OA synovial fibroblasts and articular chondrocytes separated by a synovial fluid channel. The synovium compartment included a perfusable endothelialized channel dedicated to monocyte injection. Monocyte extravasation in response to chemokines and OA synovial fluid was quantified. The efficacy of chemokine receptor antagonists, RS-504393 (CCR2 antagonist) and Cenicriviroc (CCR2/CCR5 antagonist) in inhibiting extravasation was tested pre-incubating monocytes with the antagonists before injection. After designing and fabricating the chip, culture conditions were optimized to achieve an organotypic model including synovial fibroblasts, articular chondrocytes, and a continuous endothelial monolayer expressing intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. A significantly higher number of monocytes extravasated in response to the chemokine mix (p < 0.01) and OA synovial fluid (p < 0.01), compared to a control condition. In both cases, endothelium pre-activation enhanced monocyte extravasation. The simultaneous blocking of CCR2 and CCR5 proved to be more effective (p < 0.001) in inhibiting monocyte extravasation in response to OA synovial fluid than blocking of CCR2 only (p < 0.01). The study of extravasation in the model provided direct evidence that OA synovial fluid induces monocytes to cross the endothelium and invade the synovial compartment. The model can be exploited either to test molecules antagonizing this process or to investigate the effect of extravasated monocytes on synovium and cartilage cells.
Prognostic value of small mother against decapentaplegic expression in human gastric cancer

Abstract Gastric cancer is the fifth most common malignancy in the world with alow 5-year survival rate. To date, no study has investigated the prognostic role of the small mother against decapentaplegic (SMAD) in gastric cancer. The association of SMADs with overall survival (OS) of gastric cancer was analyzed on the online Kaplan-Meier (KM) plotter database. Clinical data such as stage, differentiation, gender, treatment, and Her2 mutation status of gastric cancer patients were analyzed. The (E)-SIS3 was used to inhibit SMAD3 expression in gastric cancer cells, and the effects of SMAD3 on gastric cancer cells were analyzed via real-time cellular analysis (RTCA), flow cytometry, colony formation, and immunofluorescence assay. The results showed that the high expression of three members of SMADs (SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD4) was correlated with afavorable OS of gastric cancer patients. Meanwhile, SMAD3 expression level indicated highly differentiated cancer. We also observed that surgical treatment was associated with high expression level of SMAD1 and SMAD2. Besides, the effect of Her2 on gastric cancer was not noticeable. Moreover, (E)-SIS3 pharmacological assay revealed that inhibition of expression of SMAD3 suppressed the proliferation and migration ability of gastric cancer cells via inducing apoptosis. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the high expression level of three members of SMADs (SMAD1, SMAD2, and SMAD4) is significantly correlated with favorable OS of gastric cancer patients, which is opposite to SMAD3. Thus, SMADs regulate the differentiation of cancer and can be used to guide treatment decisions. ABSTRACT
Transcriptomic, proteomic and phosphoproteomic underpinnings of daily exercise performance and zeitgeber activity of training in mouse muscle

Maximal endurance performance is greater in the early daytime. Timed exercise differentially alters the muscle transcriptome and (phospho)‐proteome. Early daytime exercise triggers energy provisioning and tissue regeneration. Early night‐time exercise activates stress‐related and catabolic pathways. Scheduled training has limited effects on the muscle and liver circadian clocks.
Vision-Based Topological Mapping and Navigation With Self-Organizing Neural Networks

Spatial mapping and navigation are critical cognitive functions of autonomous agents, enabling one to learn an internal representation of an environment and move through space with real-time sensory inputs, such as visual observations. Existing models for vision-based mapping and navigation, however, suffer from memory requirements that increase linearly with exploration duration and indirect path following behaviors. This article presents <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${e}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-TM, a self-organizing neural network-based framework for incremental topological mapping and navigation. <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${e}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-TM models the exploration trajectories explicitly as episodic memory, wherein salient landmarks are sequentially extracted as “events” from streaming observations. A memory consolidation procedure then performs a playback mechanism and transfers the embedded knowledge of the environmental layout into spatial memory, encoding topological relations between landmarks. Fusion adaptive resonance theory (ART) networks, as the building block of the two memory modules, can generalize multiple input patterns into memory templates and, therefore, provide a compact spatial representation and support the discovery of novel shortcuts through inferences. For navigation, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${e}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-TM applies a transfer learning paradigm to integrate human demonstrations into a pretrained locomotion network for smoother movements. Experimental results based on VizDoom, a simulated 3-D environment, have shown that, compared to semiparametric topological memory (SPTM), a state-of-the-art model, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${e}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-TM reduces the time costs of navigation significantly while learning much sparser topological graphs.
Dissociation of O2 and its reactivity on O/S doped graphene

It is routinely believed that the oxidation of SO2 to SO3 dominates the removal rate of SO2 on carbon-based catalysts. Recently, both experiment and theoretical calculations evidence that SO2 is readily oxidized by epoxy groups on graphene oxides at room temperature. Based on this fact, we hypothesize in this study that the real rate-determining step for SO2 catalytic oxidation under O2 atmosphere could be the dissociation of molecular O2, which further forms oxygen functional groups on the graphene surface. Density functional theory corrected with dispersion was employed to investigate the dissociation of O2 on O or S doped graphene and then its reactivity for SO2 oxidation. The results showed that O/S doping greatly promotes the dissociation, which leads to the formation of epoxy and/or carbonyl groups on the graphene surface. However, a high oxidation barrier for the oxidation of SO2 by the carbonyl group was found, which implies that the carbonyl group is of low reactivity. Therefore, dopant screening or the design of doped structures should be carefully considered to avoid the formation of carbonyl during O2 dissociation.
Cell-derived biomimetic nanocarriers for targeted cancer therapy: cell membranes and extracellular vesicles

Abstract Nanotechnology provides synthetic carriers for cancer drug delivery that protect cargos from degradation, control drug release and increase local accumulation at tumors. However, these non-natural vehicles display poor tumor targeting and potential toxicity and are eliminated by the immune system. Recently, biomimetic nanocarriers have been widely developed based on the concept of ‘mimicking nature. ’ Among them, cell-derived biomimetic vehicles have become the focus of bionics research because of their multiple natural functions, such as low immunogenicity, long circulation time and targeting ability. Cell membrane-coated carriers and extracellular vesicles are two widely used cell-based biomimetic materials. Here, this review summarizes the latest progress in the application of these two biomimetic carriers in targeted cancer therapy. Their properties and performance are compared, and their future challenges and development prospects are discussed.