Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Analysis of the Offensive Effectiveness in Winner and Losing Handball Teams

The purpose of this study was to determine differences related to the offensive process between winning and losing teams among teams participating in the European Handball Federation Champions League (EHFCL) in 55 matches across five seasons. The key indicators used in this study are the offensive actions, team possession type and the zones of the field, goals, and shooting effectiveness. A total of 34 indicators were analyzed and compared using Mann–Whitney U tests. Sixteen key indicators are identified to confirm differences both from the aspect of the collective game in terms of assists (9.10 ± 2.75 vs. 7.29 ± 2.65), goals of positional attack (21.38 ± 4.60 vs. 18.20 ± 3.62) and from the aspect of individual goals from 6 m (16.67 ± 3.98 vs. 13.64 ± 3.70), and the effectiveness of shots (68.19 ± 6.83 vs. 59.41 ± 6.33). Winning teams performed better regarding the variables that defined the effectiveness of offensive shots, especially successful positioned attacks and fast attacks. They also had a greater number of assists. The profiles of the most successful teams can help coaches and practitioners to achieve better performances adjusting the training process according the performance indicators that seem to lead more often to success.
The Involvement of the Chemokine RANTES in Regulating Luminal Acidification in Rat Epididymis

Background A complex interplay between different cell types in the epithelium leads to activation of the luminal acidifying capacity of the epididymis, a process that is crucial for sperm maturation and storage. Basal cells sense the luminal angiotensin II (ANG II) and stimulate proton secretion in clear cells through nitric oxide (NO). Our previous study has shown the chemokine regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) was expressed in the F4/80 positive macrophages of human epididymis. The objective of this study was to explore the involvement of RANTES in regulating the luminal acidification in the rat epididymis. Methods The role of RANTES was investigated by in vivo perfusion with recombinant RANTES, Met-RANTES, and PBS of different pH values. Furthermore, rats vasectomy was performed to alter the epididymal luminal pH. RIA was used to measure the tissue homogenate ANG II concentration. Real time-PCR and western blot were employed to examine the expression levels of AGTR2, RANTES, CCR1, CCR5, and iNOS in epididymis. Results RANTES was restricted to the basal macrophages of epididymal ducts and co-localized with its receptors CCR1 and CCR5. Both V-ATPase and iNOS were up-regulated in the cauda epididymis after perfused with recombinant RANTES, while the antagonist Met-RANTES perfusion led to a complete abrogation of the increased expression of V-ATPase in the apical membrane of clear cells and iNOS in macrophages. Upon alkaline perfusion, RANTES expression was significantly increased and the apical accumulation of V-ATPase in the clear cells was induced in the cauda epididymis. The luminal pH in the cauda epididymis increased after vasectomy. The concentration of the ANG II and the expression levels of AGTR2, RANTES, CCR1, CCR5, and iNOS dropped in the cauda epididymis following vasectomy. Conclusion Upon the activation of basal cells, RANTES might induce the NO release from macrophages by interacting with its receptors, which increases proton secretion by adjacent clear cells. Thus, RANTES is possible to participate in the crosstalk among basal cells, macrophages and clear cells for the fine control of an optimum acidic luminal environment that is critical for male fertility.
Prevalence of Enteropathogens and Virulence Traits in Brazilian Children With and Without Diarrhea

The use of molecular diagnostics for pathogen detection in epidemiological studies have allowed us to get a wider view of the pathogens associated with diarrhea, but the presence of enteropathogens in asymptomatic individuals has raised several challenges in understanding the etiology of diarrhea, and the use of these platforms in clinical diagnosis as well. To characterize the presence of the most relevant bacterial enteropathogens in diarrheal episodes, we evaluated here the prevalence of diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes, Salmonella spp. , and Yersinia enterocolitica in stool samples of children with and without diarrhea using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). We found that the presence of genetic markers associated with bacterial pathogens was significantly higher in stool samples from the diarrhea group compared to the control (P < 0.001). Bacterial loads in samples positive for eae and aggR markers were also determined. Compared to samples from asymptomatic children, a significantly higher number of copies of the eae gene were found in diarrhea samples. Also, the presence of genetic markers associated with STEC strains with clinical significance was evaluated in eae-positive samples by high-throughput real-time PCR. The data presented herein demonstrated that asymptomatic children of an urban area in Brazil might be enteropathogen reservoirs, especially for STEC.
Anti-SARS-CoV Natural Products With the Potential to Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), known to cause the disease COVID-19, was declared a pandemic in early 2020. The objective of this review was to collate information regarding the potential of plants and natural products to inhibit coronavirus and targets associated with infection in humans and to highlight known drugs, which may have potential activity against SARS-CoV-2. Due to the similarity in the RNA genome, main proteases, and primary host receptor between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, a review was conducted on plants and secondary metabolites, which have shown activity against SARS-CoV. Numerous scientific reports on the potential of plants and secondary metabolites against SARS-CoV infection were found, providing important information on their possible activity against SARS-CoV-2. Based on current literature, 83 compounds have been identified with the potential to inhibit COVID-19. The most prominent selectivity was found for the alkaloid, lycorine, the lignan, savinin, and the abietane terpenoid, 8-beta-hydroxyabieta-9(11),13-dien-12-one with selectivity index values greater than 945, 667, and 510, respectively. Plants and their secondary metabolites, with activity against targets associated with the SARS-CoV infection, could provide valuable leads for the development into drugs for the novel SARS-CoV-2. The prospects of using computational methods to screen secondary metabolites against SARS-CoV targets are briefly discussed, and the drawbacks have been highlighted. Finally, we discuss plants traditionally used in Southern Africa for symptoms associated with respiratory viral infections and influenza, such as coughs, fever, and colds. However, only a few of these plants have been screened against SARS-CoV. Natural products hold a prominent role in discovering novel therapeutics to mitigate the current COVID-19 pandemic; however, further investigations regarding in vitro, in vivo, pre-clinical, and clinical phases are still required.
Ultrasound-Based Radiomics Analysis for Preoperatively Predicting Different Histopathological Subtypes of Primary Liver Cancer

Background Preoperative identification of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), combined hepatocellular–cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-ICC), and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is essential for treatment decision making. We aimed to use ultrasound-based radiomics analysis to non-invasively distinguish histopathological subtypes of primary liver cancer (PLC) before surgery. Methods We retrospectively analyzed ultrasound images of 668 PLC patients, comprising 531 HCC patients, 48 cHCC-ICC patients, and 89 ICC patients. The boundary of a tumor was manually determined on the largest imaging slice of the ultrasound medicine image by ITK-SNAP software (version 3.8.0), and then, the high-throughput radiomics features were extracted from the obtained region of interest (ROI) of the tumor. The combination of different dimension-reduction technologies and machine learning approaches was used to identify important features and develop the moderate radiomics model. The comprehensive ability of the radiomics model can be evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results After digitally processing tumor ultrasound images, 5,234 high-throughput radiomics features were obtained. We used the Spearman + least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression method for feature selection and logistics regression for modeling to develop the HCC-vs-non-HCC radiomics model (composed of 16 features). The Spearman + statistical test + random forest methods were used for feature selection, and logistics regression was applied for modeling to develop the ICC-vs-cHCC-ICC radiomics model (composed of 19 features). The overall performance of the radiomics model in identifying different histopathological types of PLC was moderate, with AUC values of 0.854 (training cohort) and 0.775 (test cohort) in the HCC-vs-non-HCC radiomics model and 0.920 (training cohort) and 0.728 (test cohort) in the ICC-vs-cHCC-ICC radiomics model. Conclusion Ultrasound-based radiomics models can help distinguish histopathological subtypes of PLC and provide effective clinical decision making for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of PLC.
How to Cope with Dark Participation: Moderation Practices in German Newsrooms

Abstract Comments in designated sections of newspaper websites and on social media platforms are the most prominent form of user participation in journalism, offering the opportunity to connect to the audience. Yet, rising levels of dark participation in the form of hate speech, disinformation, and strategic attempts to influence public opinion, provide new challenges for media organizations and require moderators to ensure a minimum of discursive quality. Newsrooms employ a variety of moderation strategies. Based on computer assisted telephone interviews with German journalists working for online newspapers (N = 274), we identified explanatory factors for the implementation of discursive-interactive and authoritative-interactive moderation practices. The results suggest that left-leaning media tend to engage more in authoritative-interactive as well as discursive-interactive moderation than right-leaning media. If media organizations establish a participative communicative setting, moderators engage more with the audience although the prevalence of dark participation is higher.
An Introductory Overview of Image-Based Computational Modeling in Personalized Cardiovascular Medicine

Cardiovascular diseases account for the number one cause of deaths in the world. Part of the reason for such grim statistics is our limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms causing these devastating pathologies, which is made difficult by the invasiveness of the procedures associated with their diagnosis (e.g., inserting catheters into the coronal artery to measure blood flow to the heart). Likewise, it is also difficult to design and test assistive devices without implanting them in vivo. However, with the recent advancements made in biomedical scanning technologies and computer simulations, image-based modeling (IBM) has arisen as the next logical step in the evolution of non-invasive patient-specific cardiovascular medicine. Yet, due to its novelty, it is still relatively unknown outside of the niche field. Therefore, the goal of this manuscript is to review the current state-of-the-art and the limitations of the methods used in this area of research, as well as their applications to personalized cardiovascular investigations and treatments. Specifically, the modeling of three different physics – electrophysiology, biomechanics and hemodynamics – used in the cardiovascular IBM is discussed in the context of the physiology that each one of them describes and the mechanisms of the underlying cardiac diseases that they can provide insight into. Only the “bare-bones” of the modeling approaches are discussed in order to make this introductory material more accessible to an outside observer. Additionally, the imaging methods, the aspects of the unique cardiac anatomy derived from them, and their relation to the modeling algorithms are reviewed. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the future evolution of these methods and their potential toward revolutionizing the non-invasive diagnosis, virtual design of treatments/assistive devices, and increasing our understanding of these lethal cardiovascular diseases.
Enterococcus faecalis Isolated From Infant Feces Inhibits Toxigenic Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile

Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection is implicated as a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in hospitals worldwide. Probiotics, especially lactic acid bacteria, are the most frequently used alternative treatment. This study aims to identify potential probiotic enterococci strains that act against C. difficile strains and exert a protective effect on colon adenocarcinoma cells (HT-29 cells). To this end, nine Enterococcus strains isolated from the feces of breast-fed infants were investigated. They were identified as E. faecalis by 16s rRNA sequencing and MALDI-TOF. The probiotic properties including their viabilities in simulated gastrointestinal condition, cell adhesion ability, and their safety were evaluated. All strains exhibited more tolerance toward both pepsin and bile salts and adhered more tightly to HT-29 cells compared with the reference probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 14917. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results exhibited that six of nine strains carried at least one virulence determinant gene; however, none exhibited virulence phenotypes or carried transferable antibiotic resistance genes. These strains did not infect Galleria mellonella when compared to pathogenic E. faecalis strain (p < 0.05). Moreover, their antibacterial activities against C. difficile were examined using agar well-diffusion, spore production, and germination tests. The six safe strains inhibited spore germination (100 – 98.20% ± 2.17%) and sporulation, particularly in C. difficile ATCC 630 treated with E. faecalis PK 1302. Furthermore, immunofluorescence assay showed that the cytopathic effects of C. difficile of HT-29 cells were reduced by the treatment with the cell-free supernatant of E. faecalis strains. These strains prevented rounding of HT-29 cells and preserved the F-actin microstructure and tight junctions between adjacent cells, which indicated their ability to reduce the clostridial cytopathic effects. Thus, the study identified six E. faecalis isolates that have anti-C. difficile activity. These could be promising probiotics with potential applications in the prevention of C. difficile colonization and treatment of C. difficile infection.
Augmented Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasonography for Diagnosing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Using an Optimised Wrist Circumference-Dependent Cross-Sectional Area Equation

Introduction: In diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) there is no consensus about the upper limit of normal (ULN) of the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel inlet. A previous study showed wrist circumference is the most important independent predictor for the ULN. In this study we optimised a wrist circumference-dependent ULN equation for optimal diagnostic accuracy and compared it to the generally used fixed ULN of 11 mm2. Methods: CSA and wrist circumference were measured in a prospective cohort of 253 patients (clinically defined CTS) and 96 healthy controls. An equation for the ULN for CSA was developed by means of univariable regression analysis. We calculated z-scores for all patients and healthy controls, and analysed these scores in a ROC curve and a decision plot. Sensitivity and specificity were determined and compared to fixed ULN values. Results: We found augmented diagnostic accuracy of our newly developed equation y = 0.88 * x −4.0, where y = the ULN of the CSA and x = wrist circumference. This equation has a corresponding sensitivity and specificity of 75% compared to a sensitivity of 70% while using a fixed cut-off value of 11 mm2 (p = 0.015). Conclusion: Optimising the regression equation for wrist circumference-dependent ULN cross-sectional area of the median nerve at the wrist inlet might improve diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome and seems to be more accurate than using fixed cut-off values.
An 'All Terrain' Crack Detector Obtained by Deep Learning on Available Databases

We present a general deep learning method for detecting cracks on all sorts of surfaces. For making this method robust to diﬀerent types of cracks and acquisition procedures, we have trained our method on four datasets - Crack500, DeepCrack, SDNet2018 and CrackForest. We have also labelled a part of the SDNet2018 dataset so that it contains semantic labels, as it originally only proposed crack/non-crack classiﬁcations on the image level. To validate our approach, we perform a cross-dataset study where we train the model on a subset of the datasets and test it on another subset. Results of this study show that training the model on these various datasets makes it more robust to new images, outperforming existing classical and deep learning methods. In order to make our method even more robust to diﬀerent objects, scenes and illuminations, we have also added images from the Flickr website, leading to an important drop in false positives on extra dataset images. The network seems to function well on images not belonging to any of the datasets, and its publication in IPOL will allow users to enrich further training.
Psammocora albopicta sp. nov., a new species of Scleractinian Coral from the Indo-West Pacific (Scleractinia; Siderastreidae)

A new scleractinian coral species, Psammocora albopicta, is described. The species forms encrusting colonies which can attain large sizes and has very small corallites with a styliform columella. Calice and columella diameter, colline shape and corallite density on the skeleton surface are the morphological characters that separate the species from the other species in the genus. A high degree of variation in septa shape and ornamentation, as well as collines development can be found within the same specimen. Living colonies are dark brown to dark green and present white patterns on all, or part, of the surface. Type material was collected in the Arabian Gulf, additional specimens were collected in the Gulf of Aden, and the study of museum collections allows extension of the species distribution to the western Indo-Pacific.
Cross-Sectional Transcriptional Analysis of the Aging Murine Heart

Cardiovascular disease accounts for millions of deaths each year and is currently the leading cause of mortality worldwide. The aging process is clearly linked to cardiovascular disease, however, the exact relationship between aging and heart function is not fully understood. Furthermore, a holistic view of cardiac aging, linking features of early life development to changes observed in old age, has not been synthesized. Here, we re-purpose RNA-sequencing data previously-collected by our group, investigating gene expression differences between wild-type mice of different age groups that represent key developmental milestones in the murine lifespan. DESeq2's generalized linear model was applied with two hypothesis testing approaches to identify differentially-expressed (DE) genes, both between pairs of age groups and across mice of all ages. Pairwise comparisons identified genes associated with specific age transitions, while comparisons across all age groups identified a large set of genes associated with the aging process more broadly. An unsupervised machine learning approach was then applied to extract common expression patterns from this set of age-associated genes. Sets of genes with both linear and non-linear expression trajectories were identified, suggesting that aging not only involves the activation of gene expression programs unique to different age groups, but also the re-activation of gene expression programs from earlier ages. Overall, we present a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of cardiac gene expression patterns across the entirety of the murine lifespan.
European Discourse on Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation: Recontextualizations in Greece and Cyprus at Times of ‘Crisis’

Abstract European Higher Education (HE) systems have been undergoing reforms for quality assurance and accreditation (QAA) in response to the Bologna process. Through the comparative exploration of the recontexualizations of European policy discourse on HE QAA in the Republic of Cyprus and Greece, we illustrate the differentially centralized and increased governmental control over the two HE sectors as well as emerging changes in the relations between HE institutions and the state in the two countries.
Human resource management and circular economy: a critical perspective

While there is an increase in the number of organisations disclosing their commitment or intentions to embrace the circular economy for sustainable futures, the role of individuals found within these organisations and their management remains inconspicuous. Current disclosures on Human Resource (HR) and the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) at firm level Circular Economic (CE) transitions and practices are conceptual and few, which limits both academics and practitioners’ understanding regarding the practical implications of CE on organisations HR and how these could be managed. This research, therefore, addresses this gap and intends to provide critical, empirical evidence and interpretations of HR and the role of HRM within organisations CE pursuits – using six organisations (case studies). The case studies included in this paper forms about ten per cent of the cases to be analysed for the second part of the study. These six case studies are selected to facilitate a pilot study, to test the research approach/methods adopted to derive the research findings. Previous research findings on firm-level CE functional areas has predominantly focused on product and process design, supply chain, marketing and sales management; however, analysis of these case studies found that currently, HRM role as a functional area that includes training, recruitment/selection, performance and rewards management process are not captured in firmlevel CE transitions. Nonetheless, in terms of a critical perspective of HR and the role of HRM within CE organisations, the analysis of these case studies captured the broader social outcomes such as job creation, improvement in wellbeing and a change in organisational culture. But it remains to be seen if similar trends would be identified within a wider sample of business cases the researchers intend to examine to extend this research.