Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biochemical Characterization of Halotolerant Bacillus safensis PM22 and Its Potential to Enhance Growth of Maize under Salinity Stress

Salinity stress is one of the primary abiotic stresses limiting crop growth and yield. Plants respond to salinity stress with several morphophysiological, molecular, and biochemical mechanisms, however, these mechanisms need to be improved further to cope with salt stress effectively. In this regard, the use of plant growth-promoting (PGP) and halotolerant bacteria is thought to be very efficient for enhancing growth and salinity tolerance in plants. The current study aims to assess Bacillus safensis PM22 for its ability to promote plant growth and resistance to salt. The PM22 produced substantial amounts of exopolysaccharides, indole-3-acetic acid, siderophore, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase (ACC-deaminase) under saline conditions. Additionally, inoculation of the halotolerant bacteria PM22 reduced the severity of salinity stress in plants and increased root and shoot length at various salt concentrations (0, 180, 240, and 300 mM). Furthermore, PM22-inoculated plants showed markedly enhanced photosynthetic pigment, carotenoid, leaf relative water content, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity, salt tolerance index, total soluble sugar, total protein, and ascorbic acid contents compared to non-inoculated control maize plants. PM22 substantially increased antioxidant (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) activities in maize plants, including ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, total flavonoid, and phenol levels. Maize plants inoculated with PM22 also exhibited a significant reduction in electrolyte leakage, hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde, glycine betaine, and proline contents compared to non-inoculated control plants. These physiological appearances were further validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), which revealed the upregulation of expression in genes responsible for stress tolerance. In the current investigation, Bacillus safensis PM22 showed plant growth-promoting and salt tolerance attributes and can be utilized as a bio-inoculant to improve yield in salt stress affected areas.
Sample-Efficient Policy Adaptation for Exoskeletons Under Variations in the Users and the Environment

Controlling lower-limb exoskeletons is extremely challenging due to their direct physical interaction with users wearing them which imposes additional safety concerns. Furthermore, the control policy needs to adapt for different users and surfaces the robot is traversing. Hence, it is crucial to design a control framework that can perform robustly in the presence of these variations. In this paper, we propose a sample-efficient method based on Bayesian Optimization (BO) to adapt a model-based walking controller for a lower-limb exoskeleton, XoMotion. In order to mitigate safety risks, we use a set of dummy weights with realistic inertial distributions in the experiments with the robot to find optimal policies. An extensive set of experimental results shows that the proposed controller can successfully adapt for different users and different terrains, in less than 15 real-world trials.
Occult Hepatitis B Infection among Hemodialysis Patients in Tabriz, Northwest of Iran: Prevalence and Mutations within the S Region

Regardless of the extensive screening for the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hemodialysis (HD) patients are still severely at the risk of occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI), especially in developing countries. OBI is defined as the presence of HBV DNA with undetectable HBsAg in the liver and/or Serum. This study aims to determine the prevalence of OBI in HD patients in East Azerbaijan Province, northwest of Iran, and inquire about the mutations in the detected HBsAg. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, ELISA method assessed serum and plasma samples of 118 HBsAg-negative patients undergoing HD treatment for HBV serological markers (HBsAg and Anti-HBc). Specific primers by nested polymerase chain reaction have been utilized to examine HBV DNA; also, direct sequencing of surface genes was carried out to characterize the viral genotypes and S gene mutations. Finally, followed by real-time PCR, the quantity of viral load in OBI-positive patients was determined. A total of 118 HD patients were included (63.6% were male and 36.4% female), with an overall mean age of 60.8 ± 12.8 years old. The prevalence of antihepatitis B core antibody (Anti-HBc) in the study population was 26.3% (31/118). Five patients (4.2%) were positive for HBV DNA and labeled OBI-positive; their plasma HBV-DNA load was less than 100 IU/ml. Following the phylogenetic analysis, the samples with OBI roughly belonged to genotype D, subtype ayw2 and only two had mutations within the S 'gene's major hydrophilic region (MHR), including T123I, C124F, and P127T. This study reports the prevalence of OBI in the HBsAg-negative HD patients being at a rate of 4.2%, which can be a clinically vital consideration in this region. HBV serologic screening approaches need to be renewed to cover nucleic acid testing in the setting of hemodialysis and all the other high-risk groups associated with it (i.e., blood and organ donors).
Sex-Related Differences in the Pharmacological Treatment of Major Depression - Are Women and Men Treated Differently?

BACKGROUND In the last decade, sex-related medicine has become an increasingly important area of research as insights in this field can improve treatment strategies and recovery. The aim of this study was to investigate sex-related differences in the prescription and kinds of psychopharmacological treatment in individuals with unipolar affective disorder. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Data collected on 388 patients attending a psychiatric rehabilitation clinic (194 females, 194 males, mean age 52.3 years, standard deviation 7.8 years), who were matched by age and severity of depression, were analyzed. Depression severity and information on drug type and quantity were assessed at the beginning of the rehabilitation program and compared between women and men. RESULTS A significant difference between females and males was found in the frequency of prescribing bupropion (females: 3.61%, males: 12.89%; p=0.001) and mirtazapine (females: 5.15%, males: 13.40%; p=0.005). In terms of polypharmacy, the results showed that over 53% of the patients were taking two or more psychotropic substances as a long-term therapy and that 34% of them were taking three to five different substances. No sex-related differences were found concerning the number of psychotropic drugs taken by the patients. CONCLUSION The higher frequency of prescriptions for bupropion and mirtazapine in men might be explained by the adverse drug reactions of the drugs (e.g., fewer sexually adverse drug reactions, weight gain) and a known interaction with oral contraception. It remains unclear whether these aspects are taken into consideration for each patient in terms of their special needs and conditions or whether it is a decision based on the patient's sex. Given a similar severity of depression, men and women are prescribed a similar number of psychotropic substances. However, the high number of psychotropic drugs prescribed on average should be noted. Well-trained healthcare professionals should focus on regularly assessing and optimizing treatment regimens.
The Analysis of Coal Competitiveness and the Factors Affecting Indonesia’s Coal Exports to Main Destination Countries (A Case of 8 Destination Countries)

Indonesia is one of the largest coal producers globally, with coal as the main export commodity compared to other commodities in the mining sector. The more competitive the world coal market is, the Indonesian coal market share faces threats from other coal exporting countries. The increasing commitment of countries to reduce air pollution by cutting the use of coal for power plants at PLTU. This study analyzes the competitiveness and various factors that influence the competitiveness of Indonesian coal in 8 export destination countries. This study seeks to determine how the development of Indonesia’s coal competitiveness to the eight central destination countries and what factors affect Indonesia’s coal exports for the 2009-2020 period to the eight central destination countries using RCA analysis and panel data regression. Based on the analysis, results show that the competitiveness of Indonesia’s coal exports to 8 destination countries is excellent. It can be seen from the RCA value obtained by each country from 2009-to 2020, which is greater than 1. Meanwhile, based on the results of panel data, regression estimates with random models show that GDP per capita, population, and coal prices have a negative and significant impact on coal competitiveness in 8 Indonesian coal importing countries. The study results did not find the effect of exchange rates and CPO prices on coal competitiveness in 8 Indonesian coal importing countries.
Advanced Hydrogels With Nanoparticle Inclusion for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

Cartilage dysfunctions caused by congenital disease, trauma and osteoarthritis are still a serious threat to joint activity and quality of life, potentially leading to disability. The relatively well-established tissue engineering technology based on hydrogel is a promising strategy for cartilage defect repairing. However, several unmet challenges remain to be resolved before its wide application and clinical translation, such as weak mechanical property and compromised bioactivity. The development of nanomedicine has brought a new dawn to cartilage tissue engineering, and composite hydrogel containing nanoparticles can substantially mimic natural cartilage components with good histocompatibility, demonstrating unique biological effects. In this review, we summarize the different advanced nanoparticle hydrogels currently adopted in cartilage tissue engineering. In addition, we also discuss the various application scenarios including injection and fabrication strategies of nanocomposite hydrogel in the field of cartilage repair. Finally, the future application prospects and challenges of nanocomposite hydrogel are also highlighted.
Promoting Emotional Durability and Sustainable Fashion Consumption through Art Derivatives Design Methods

Abstract This research clarifies the impact of aesthetic emotions on consumers’ emotional durability of fashion products. Four design methods of fashion art derivatives were proposed, and 24 samples were selected for testing. The experiment was conducted in China, testing the relationship between respondents’ preferences and aesthetic emotions. Results suggested that the direct participation of artists in design could gain the favour of more respondents. A significant correlation was found between the developed period of derivatives and respondents’ preferences. Derivatives that experience time precipitation may be more popular with respondents. Different design methods could affect the aesthetic emotions of the public. Artists’ participation can evoke better Pleasant–Excited emotion, while most of the emotions of art institute derivatives belong to the Pleasant–Calm range. The emotions evoked by respondents’ preferred samples were mainly in-depth emotions, which indicated that collaborative design could distinguish fashion derivatives from common fashion products and obtain longer lifespans.
Allele and Haplotype Frequencies of HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 Genes in 3,750 Cord Blood Units From a Kinh Vietnamese Population

The frequencies and diversities of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and haplotypes are representative of ethnicities. Matching HLA alleles is essential for many clinical applications, including blood transfusion, stem cell transplantation, and tissue/organ transplantation. To date, the information about the frequencies and distributions of HLA alleles and haplotypes among the Kinh Vietnamese population is limited because of the small sample size. In this study, more than 3,750 cord blood units from individuals belonging to the Kinh Vietnamese population were genotyped using PCR sequence-specific oligonucleotide (PCR-SSO) for HLA testing. The results of the study demonstrated that the most frequently occurring HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 alleles were A*11:01 (25%), A*24:02 (12.3%), A*02:01 (11.2); A*03:03 (8.95%), A*02:03 (7.81%), A*29:01 (7.03%); B*15:02 (15.1%), B*46:01 (10.7%), B*58:01 (7.65%), B*38:02 (7.29%); C*08:01 (17.2), C*07:02 (16.2%), C*01:02 (15.2), C*03:02 (8.3%), C*15:05 (6.13); DRB1*12:02 (31.0%), DRB1*09:01 (10.47%), DRB1*15:02 (7.54%); DRB1*07:01 (6.68%), DRB1*10:01 (6.63%), respectively, with the highest allele diversity level observed in locus B (93 alleles). The most frequent haplotypes of two-locus combinations of HLA-A–B, HLA-A–C, HLA-A–DRB1, HLA-B–C, HLA-B–DRB1, and HLA-C–DRB1 haplotypes were A*11:01–B*15:02 (7.63%), A*11:01–C*08:01 (7.98%), A*11:01–DRB1*12:02 (10.56%), B*15:02–C*08:01 (14.0%), B*15:02–DRB1*12:02 (10.47%), and C*08:01–DRB1*12:02 (11.38%), respectively. In addition, the most frequent haplotypes of three- and four-locus sets of HLA-A–B–C, HLA-A–B–DRB1, HLA-A–C–DRB1, HLA-B–C–DRB1, and HLA-A–B–C–DRB1 were A*11:01–B*15:02–C*08:01 (7.57%), A*11:01–B*15:02–DRB1*12:02 (5.39%), A*11:01–C*08:01–DRB1*12:02 (5.54%), B*15:02–C*08:01–DRB1*12:02 (10.21%), and A*11:01–B*15:02–C*08:01–DRB1*12:02 (5.45%), respectively. This study provides critical information on the frequencies and distributions of HLA alleles and haplotypes in the Kinh Vietnamese population, accounting for more than 85% of Vietnamese citizens. It paves the way to establish an umbilical cord blood bank for cord blood transplantation programs in Vietnam.
A Seven-Level Inverter With Self-Balancing and Low-Voltage Stress

Based on the switched-capacitor (SC) principle, a seven-level inverter is proposed, which can synthesize seven levels containing a single dc source. Moreover, it can further generate more levels by a cascaded extension. Meanwhile, the proposed topology does not require any sensor due to the use of SC technology. Furthermore, the capacitor voltage is self-balanced without utilizing the complicated control strategy and additional control circuits. The phase disposition pulsewidth modulation is adopted to reduce the total harmonic distortion. The topology can generate different levels with a wide range of modulation index. In addition, the topology can also work in overmodulation. Compared with the traditional SC multilevel inverter, the absence of H-bridge makes low-voltage stress in proposed topology. The voltage stress of all switches is not more than the input voltage. Operational principles, modulation strategy, and voltage stress analysis are discussed. Simulation and experiment are conducted in low power to verify the feasibility of the proposed topology.
Parental consideration of children's experiences: A critical review of parenting constructs

The purpose of this paper is to bring together and highlight common conceptual elements and findings from constructs that involve parents ’ consideration of children ’ s viewpoints and experiences: parental sensitivity, empathy, perspective taking, responsiveness, autonomy support, and scaffolding. Research on each of these constructs suggests that consideration in the parenting role is associated with better child development, learning, and well-being. We examine definitions and measures of the constructs to address how parental consideration has been conceptualized. We also review positive child development indicators that have been associated with it, across various periods, contexts, and domains of development. By drawing attention to this common denominator and adopting an integrative perspective, we hope to contribute to future research and help transfer knowledge to parents about this key, facilitative parenting dimension.
Investigation of Bioavailability and Food-Processing Properties of Arthrospira platensis by Enzymatic Treatment and Micro-Encapsulation by Spray Drying

Due to its high-protein content of 60–70% on dry weight, Arthrospira platensis, has been considered as one of the most sought-after protein alternatives. However, the processing of Arthrospira platensis extract (spirulina, SP) in food is usually limited due to the strong green colour and taste, as well as the lack of bioavailability of plant proteins. Therefore, this study aimed to increase its use in food applications through technologies such as microencapsulation by spray drying and enzymatic treatment. The effect of different combinations of maltodextrin (MD) and gum arabic (GA) as coating material were tested in ratios of 1:2 and 1:4 for Arthrospira platensis, core to wall material, respectively. Additionally, enzymatic treatment was used to investigate whether digestibility, protein solubility and powder solubility can be improved. Thermal stability was examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and colour intensity was analysed over L* a* b* colour system. The sample SP-MD1:2 showed the highest heat stability with a denaturation peak at 67 °C, while the samples SP-MD1:4 and ESP-MD1:4 revealed the best brightening effects. The crude protein content stated by the manufacturer of 67% was confirmed. Encapsulation and enzymatic hydrolysis enhance the protein solubility, under which ESP-MD1:4 had the greatest solubility at around 83%. The protein digestibility peaks were around 99% with sample SP-MD1:2.
Chelation of Theranostic Copper Radioisotopes with S-Rich Macrocycles: From Radiolabelling of Copper-64 to In Vivo Investigation

Copper radioisotopes are generally employed for cancer imaging and therapy when firmly coordinated via a chelating agent coupled to a tumor-seeking vector. However, the biologically triggered Cu2+-Cu+ redox switching may constrain the in vivo integrity of the resulting complex, leading to demetallation processes. This unsought pathway is expected to be hindered by chelators bearing N, O, and S donors which appropriately complements the borderline-hard and soft nature of Cu2+ and Cu+. In this work, the labelling performances of a series of S-rich polyazamacrocyclic chelators with [64Cu]Cu2+ and the stability of the [64Cu]Cu-complexes thereof were evaluated. Among the chelators considered, the best results were obtained with 1,7-bis [2-(methylsulfanyl)ethyl]-4,10,diacetic acid-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (DO2A2S). DO2A2S was labelled at high molar activities in mild reaction conditions, and its [64Cu]Cu2+ complex showed excellent integrity in human serum over 24 h. Biodistribution studies in BALB/c nude mice performed with [64Cu][Cu(DO2A2S)] revealed a behavior similar to other [64Cu]Cu-labelled cyclen derivatives characterized by high liver and kidney uptake, which could either be ascribed to transchelation phenomena or metabolic processing of the intact complex.
Passivity-Based Motion and Force Tracking Control for Constrained Elastic Joint Robots

In the past, several motion and force controls were successfully implemented on rigid-joint robots with constraints. With the invention of mechanically compliant robots, the focus on designing controllers for elastic joint robots with constraints is increasing, especially involving the complexity of the joint elasticity in control. Aiming to bridge the gap between the control schemes of rigid- and elastic-joint robots, this letter presents a controller consisting of a PD+ task-space tracking and integral force control, while the intrinsic inertial and elastic properties of the system are fully preserved. We provide a passivity analysis and prove uniform asymptotic stability of the equilibrium. Simulations on a planar two-armed benchmark system with constraints validate the proposed control law.
Learning binary relations, total orders, and read-once formulas

We study learning problems under various models. We consider an on-line model in which the learner answers a sequence of yes/no questions with immediate feedback after each question. The complexity of the learning task depends on the agent selecting the sequence of questions. We present an extended mistake-bound model in which the sequence of questions is selected by a helpful teacher, by the learner, by an adversary, or at random. We study the problem of learning a relation between two sets of objects. If the relation has no structure, the learner cannot make good predictions. We impose structure by restricting one set of objects to have relatively few "types". We describe efficient algorithms to learn a binary relation for the various selection methods. Complementing these results are lower bounds, often proving that the algorithms perform optimally. We consider the problem of learning a total order on a set of elements. We restrict the predicate of the relation to be a total order. Both upper and lower bounds are provided for the different selection methods. We uncover an interesting relationship between learning theory and randomized approximation schemes. When a teacher selects the sequence of questions, we ask: what is the minimum number of examples a teacher must reveal to uniquely identify the target concept? It is a paradox that for many concept classes, the number of mistakes made with a helpful teacher may be worse than the number of mistakes made when the learner selects the sequence. When the learner chooses the sequence, the number of mistakes can be significantly smaller than the number of queries needed. We present a technique for exactly identifying read-once formulas from random examples. The method is based on sampling the input-output behavior of the target formula on a probability distribution which is determined by the fixed point of the formula's amplification function. Efficient algorithms exactly identify families of read-once formulas over various bases. We apply these results to prove the existence of polynomial-length universal identification sequences for large classes of formulas. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.) (Abstract shortened with permission of school.)
Are we ready to restore South Brazilian grasslands? Plant material and legal requirements for restoration and plant production

The need for grassland restoration in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, has become evident in the last two decades, when more than 1 million hectares were converted to other uses only in the Pampa region. Since then, studies have started to verify the most suitable ways to restore subtropical grasslands. Around the world, species introduction is one of the principal restoration techniques. We investigated the availability of seedlings and seeds of native grassland species in the local market and the legal framework regarding the restoration of grassland vegetation in RS. We found, in total, only seven companies that sold seedlings or seeds of nine native species from grasslands, a very limited number given the great biodiversity of South Brazilian grasslands. In addition to that, we found no criteria and procedures for grassland conversion or obligatory replacement established in legal norms for grasslands to Pampa region, as there are for forest vegetation. Without legal requirement, a market for seeds and seedlings likely will not develop and, without a market, there will be no producers, and restoration will remain limited. Our results support the need to create initiates and legislation with basic guidelines for the grassland conversion and restoration in RS.