Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modified Polymer Surfaces: Thin Films of Silicate Composites via Polycaprolactone Melt Fusion

Polymer/layered silicate composites have gained huge attention in terms of research and industrial applications. Traditional nanocomposites contain particles regularly dispersed in a polymer matrix. In this work, a strategy for the formation of a composite thin film on the surface of a polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix was developed. In addition to the polymer, the composite layer was composed of the particles of saponite (Sap) modified with alkylammonium cations and functionalized with methylene blue. The connection between the phases of modified Sap and polymer was achieved by fusing the chains of molten polymer into the Sap film. The thickness of the film of several μm was confirmed using electron microscopy and X-ray tomography. Surfaces of precursors and composite materials were analyzed in terms of structure, composition, and surface properties. The penetration of polymer chains into the silicate, thus joining the phases, was confirmed by chemometric analysis of spectral data and changes in some properties upon PCL melting. Ultimately, this study was devoted to the spectral properties and photoactivity of methylene blue present in the ternary composite films. The results provide directions for future research aimed at the development of composite materials with photosensitizing, photodisinfection, and antimicrobial surfaces.
Detection of cryptosporidium parvum in cat by conventional methods and nested PCR in Al-Diwaniyah province

This study was conducted in Al-Diwaniyah province / Iraq during the period from September 2021 to the end of February 2022 to determine the Infection rate of Cryptosporidium spp parasites in cat to study the effect of some epidemiological factors such as age , gender, months and type of cat, as well as molecular determination of Cryptosporidium spp. by amplification of 18srRNA gene by N-PCR. fecal samples were collected from 100 domestic cats and stained by Ziehl-Neelsen stain. Microscopic examination results showed that 33% of 100 stool samples were infected by Cryptosporidium spp. the highest percentage was in September and October at 40% , and the infection rates was 40% in males compared to females at 30% and in young 42% while in adults 24%, and for domestic and stray cats about 40% compared with pet shop 22.5% where there was no significant difference at P<0.05. Genomic DNA was extracted From 100 fecal samples, the 18srRNA gene for C. parvum was amplified by N-PCR . The (N-PCR) technique showed that out of 100 stools 35% of the samples were positive for C.parvum.
Fecal microbiota transplantation can improve cognition in patients with cognitive decline and Clostridioides difficile infection

After fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to treat Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), cognitive improvement is noticeable, suggesting an essential association between the gut microbiome and neural function. Although the gut microbiome has been associated with cognitive function, it remains to be elucidated whether fecal microbiota transplantation can improve cognition in patients with cognitive decline. The study included 10 patients (age range, 63–90 years; female, 80%) with dementia and severe CDI who were receiving FMT. Also, 10 patients (age range, 62–91; female, 80%) with dementia and severe CDI who were not receiving FMT. They were evaluated using cognitive function tests (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE] and Clinical Dementia Rating scale Sum of Boxes [CDR-SB]) at 1 month before and after FMT or antibiotics treatment (control group). The patients’ fecal samples were analyzed to compare the composition of their gut microbiota before and 3 weeks after FMT or antibiotics treatment. Ten patients receiving FMT showed significantly improvements in clinical symptoms and cognitive functions compared to control group. The MMSE and CDR-SB of FMT group were improved compare to antibiotics treatment (MMSE: 16.00, median, 13.00–18.00 [IQR] vs. 10.0, median, 9.8–15.3 [IQR]); CDR-SB: 5.50, median, 4.00–8.00 [IQR]) vs. 8.0, median, 7.9–12.5, [IQR]). FMT led to changes in the recipient’s gut microbiota composition, with enrichment of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism pathways were also significantly different after FMT. This study revealed important interactions between the gut microbiome and cognitive function. Moreover, it suggested that FMT may effectively delay cognitive decline in patients with dementia.
Performance Analysis of Distance-Based D2D Matching Mechanism

The traditional cellular architecture where devices connect to their service base station (BS) may cause poor performance especially for edge users. Device-to-device (D2D) communication enables nearby user as a relay to help BS forward information, thereby improving the network coverage and quality of service (QoS) of edge users. This paper proposes a distance-based D2D matching mechanism for general cellular networks, where a relay user who successfully connects to its targeted BS can transmit data to its closest user for D2D communication. A link of BS to D2D pair contains two sublinks, which occur at different time phases in each cell. Assuming a nonsynchronous system, we consider that there exists cross-layer interference for D2D links. Based on the techniques of stochastic geometry, we develop the performance of coverage probability and ergodic rate of the D2D network. A key intermediate step in this analysis is the derivation of the interference expressions for D2D links caused by BSs and cochannel D2D users. Then, we derive the meta distribution of the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) to capture the performance changes of individual links. Simulation results demonstrate that our matching mechanism based on the appropriate time resource allocation favors the edge users with a higher probability of successful communication and transmission rate.
Role of perceptual integration in pitch discrimination at high frequencies

At very high frequencies, fundamental-frequency difference limens (F0DLs) for five-component harmonic complex tones can be better than predicted by optimal integration of information, assuming performance is limited by noise at the peripheral level, but are in line with predictions based on more central sources of noise. This study investigates whether there is a minimum number of harmonic components needed for such super-optimal integration effects and if harmonic range or inharmonicity affects this super-optimal integration. Results show super-optimal integration, even with two harmonic components and for most combinations of consecutive harmonic, but not inharmonic, components.
Identifikasi dimensi pengetahuan yang mendukung keterampilan berpikir tingkat tinggi siswa

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi dimensi pengetahuan terapan, dimensi proses berpikir tingkat tinggi yang dapat dicapai, dan dimensi pengetahuan yang mendukung kemampuan berpikir tingkat tinggi siswa dalam pembelajaran biologi materi bakteri. Dimensi pengetahuan yang diterapkan di sekolah adalah faktual,
Development of a Protocol for Biomechanical Gait Analysis in Asian Elephants Using the Triaxial Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)

Simple Summary In general practice, the veterinarian and caregiver usually detect lameness in elephants from observation of any discomforting characteristics when walking. Currently, motion analysis can offer an objective method to evaluate normal and abnormal gait accurately, thus identifying changes in some characteristics when walking. This report aimed to introduce a recent technology utilizing wireless sensors for quantitative analysis of joint angles during the gait cycle in Asian elephants. To enable three-dimensional limb segment motion, a triaxial inertial measurement unit (IMU) is equipped with three sensor types: an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer. Therefore, we hope that this portable sensor-based system can help clinicians in diagnosis, especially in the early stages of lameness. Moreover, with wireless signal transmission, the system is clinically applicable for use in all areas where electricity is available. Abstract Gait analysis is a method of gathering quantitative information to assist in determining the cause of abnormal gait for the purpose of making treatment decisions in veterinary medicine. Recent technology has offered the wearable wireless sensor of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for determining gait parameters. This study proposed the use of a triaxial IMU, comprising an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer, for detecting three-dimensional limb segment motion (XYZ axis) during the gait cycle in Asian elephants. A new algorithm was developed to estimate the kinematic parameter that represents each limb segment of the forelimbs and hindlimbs while walking at a comfortable speed. For future use, this study aimed to create a new prototype of the IMU with a configuration that is tailored to the elephant and apply machine learning in an effort to achieve greater precision.
The epitranscriptome of Vero cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 assessed by direct RNA sequencing reveals m6A pattern changes and DRACH motif biases in viral and cellular RNAs

The epitranscriptomics of the SARS-CoV-2 infected cell reveals its response to viral replication. Among various types of RNA nucleotide modifications, the m6A is the most common and is involved in several crucial processes of RNA intracellular location, maturation, half-life and translatability. This epitranscriptome contains a mixture of viral RNAs and cellular transcripts. In a previous study we presented the analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA m6A methylation based on direct RNA sequencing and characterized DRACH motif mutations in different viral lineages. Here we present the analysis of the m6A transcript methylation of Vero cells (derived from African Green Monkeys) and Calu-3 cells (human) upon infection by SARS-CoV-2 using direct RNA sequencing data. Analysis of these data by nonparametric statistics and two computational methods (m6anet and EpiNano) show that m6A levels are higher in RNAs of infected cells. Functional enrichment analysis reveals increased m6A methylation of transcripts involved in translation, peptide and amine metabolism. This analysis allowed the identification of differentially methylated transcripts and m6A unique sites in the infected cell transcripts. Results here presented indicate that the cell response to viral infection not only changes the levels of mRNAs, as previously shown, but also its epitranscriptional pattern. Also, transcriptome-wide analysis shows strong nucleotide biases in DRACH motifs of cellular transcripts, both in Vero and Calu-3 cells, which use the signature GGACU whereas in viral RNAs the signature is GAACU. We hypothesize that the differences of DRACH motif biases, might force the convergent evolution of the viral genome resulting in better adaptation to target sequence preferences of writer, reader and eraser enzymes. To our knowledge, this is the first report on m6A epitranscriptome of the SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero cells by direct RNA sequencing, which is the sensu stricto RNA-seq.
Determination of the Phenolic Profile, and Evaluation of Biological Activities of Hydroethanolic Extract from Aerial Parts of Origanum compactum from Morocco

Origanum compactum belonging to the family Lamiaceae is widely used in food and pharmaceutical fields due to its biologically active substances. We aimed to investigate the total phenol and flavonoid contents and the phenolic composition, and to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of hydroethanolic extract from of Origanum compactum. Total phenol and flavonoid contents were evaluated using gallic acid and quercetin as standards, respectively, and the phenolic profile was characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-PDA-ESI/MS). The antioxidant activity was determined by two methods: ferric reducing power (FRAP) assay and the phosphomolybdate method. The antibacterial effect was evaluated against four bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes) using the broth microdilution method. The findings show that the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 107.789 ± 5.39 mg GAE/g dm and 14,977 ± 0.79 mg QE/g dm, respectively. A total of sixteen phenolic compounds belonging to phenolic acids and flavonoids were detected. Furthermore, the extract showed strong antioxidant activity, and displayed a bacteriostatic effect against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimuriumn, and a bactericidal effect against Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes. Therefore, this study reveals that Origanum compactum extracts display potential as antibacterial and natural antioxidant agents for fighting against pathogenic bacteria and preventing oxidative stress.
Tracking Growth, Biochemical Responses, and Ion Uptake in Paronychia Argentea Micro Plants Grown in Vitro under Salinity Induced Environment

Paronychia argentea is a wild medicinal herbaceous herb that contains many secondary metabolites. It grows wild in Jordan under harsh high salinity soil conditions. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of salinity stress on growth, biochemical responses, and ion uptake of in vitro Paronychia argentea micro plants. Our results revealed a clear reduction in all growth parameters in response to an increase in salinity level used (0, 25, 50, 100, 200 mM). When the growth medium was supplemented with 200 mM NaCl; the fresh and dry weights were reduced by 40% compared with the control treatment. Moreover, micro plant uptake of phosphorus calcium and potassium ions decreased with increasing salinity levels. The Mg++ content was increased by 10% at the 25 mM level of NaCl compared with control, while it declined by 20% at 200 mM of NaCl. On the other hand, Na+ uptake increased with increasing salinity levels and reached a maximum value of (18328 ppm/D. W) at 200 mM NaCl. Moreover, proline content increased in response to salinity level to record maximum value (80.8 µmole/g) at 200 mM NaCl compared to (30.4 µmol/g) obtained in the control. Quercetins content in P. argentea micro plants was increased by 1.7-fold in concentration in response to salinity at 50 mM of NaCl, while an about 7-fold increase in the concentration of isorhamnetin content was obtained due to salinity at 100 mM.
Microcalorimetric Investigations of Reversible Staphylococcal Enterotoxin Unfolding

Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) is a common food-borne illness often associated with contamination during food handling. The genes for Staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) isoforms SEA and SEB are frequently detected in human nasal Staphylococcus aureus isolates and these toxins are commonly associated with SFP. Past studies described the resistance of preformed SE proteins to heat inactivation and their reactivation upon cooling in foods. Full thermodynamic analyses for these processes have not been reported, however. The thermal stabilities of SEA, SEB, and SEH and reversibility of unfolding in simple buffers were investigated at pH 4.5 and pH 6.8 using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). SEA and SEB unfolding was irreversible at pH 6.8 and at least partially reversible at pH 4.5 while SEH unfolding was irreversible at pH 4.5 and reversible at pH 6.8. Additional studies showed maximum refolding for SEB at pH 3.5–4.0 and diminished refolding at pH 4.5 with increasing ionic strength. SE-stimulated secretion of interferon-gamma by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells was used to assess residual SE biological activity following heat treatments using conditions matching those used for DSC studies. The biological activities of SEB and SEH exhibited greater resistance to heat inactivation than that of SEA. The residual activities of heat-treated SEB and SEH were measurable but diminished further in the presence of reconstituted nonfat dry milk adjusted to pH 4.5 or pH 6.8. To different extents, the pH and ionic strengths typical for foods influenced the thermal stabilities of SEA, SEB, and SEH and their potentials to renature spontaneously after heat treatments.
Labor Market Shocks and Monetary Policy

We develop a heterogeneous-agent New Keynesian model featuring a frictional labor market with on-the-job search to quantitatively study the role of job mobility dynamics on inflation and monetary policy. Motivated by our empirical finding that the historical negative correlation between the unemployment rate and the employer-to-employer (EE) transition rate up to the Great Recession disappeared during the recovery, we use the model to quantify the effect of EE transitions on inflation in this period. We find that inflation would have been around 0.25 percentage points higher between 2016 and 2019 if the EE rate increased commensurately with the decline in unemployment. We then decompose the channels through which fluctuations in EE transitions affect inflation. We show that an increase in the EE rate leads to an increase in the real marginal cost, but this direct effect is partially mitigated by the equilibrium decline in market tightness that exerts downward pressure on the marginal cost. Finally, we show that responding to fluctuations in EE rate explicitly when conducting monetary policy substantially reduces the welfare loss due to the fluctuations in unemployment and output and yields heterogeneous welfare gains across subpopulations.
Millennial‐ to centennial‐scale anti‐phase relationship between the Westerlies and the East Asian summer monsoon and its cultural response along the Silk Roads after a great earthquake in southern Altay ~ 3500 cal a BP

It is strongly debated whether the Westerlies and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) are in‐phase, anti‐phase or out‐of‐phase, and how hydroclimatic changes in the above two climate systems affected trans‐Eurasian cultural exchanges during the late Holocene. In this study, we establish a 3500‐a‐long paleoclimatic sequence based on high‐resolution analyses of sedimentological and geochemical data of a well‐dated sediment core from Yileimu Lake in southern Altay. High percentages of the >63‐µm fraction and high values of Zr/Rb and Rb/Sr ratios indicate strong transport of weakly weathered, coarse sediments into the depocenter of the lake caused by enhanced surface runoff and catchment erosion associated with a wet climate, and vice versa. High values of Ca and total inorganic carbon (TIC) contents imply increased precipitation of endogenic carbonates in the lake water under intense evaporation associated with a dry climate, and vice versa. This new record indicates two wet intervals at 3500–2300 and 600–100 cal a bp, interrupted by a severe and prolonged dry interval from 2300 to 1000 cal a bp, and a mild dry interval with occasionally wet conditions from 1000 to 600 cal a bp. These results are broadly consistent with other paleoclimatic records in Westerlies‐dominated Asia and are generally anti‐phase with those in the EASM region. We suggest that a strengthening/weakening and southward/northward migration of the Westerlies during a negative/positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) transported more/less water vapor into arid Asia. Meanwhile, a decreasing/increasing El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) superimposed on a southward/northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) triggered a weakening/strengthening and southward/northward movement of the West‐Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), resulting in decreasing/increasing EASM intensity. In addition, the wet climate from 3500 to 2300 cal a bp may have contributed to the development of nomadic herding in the eastern Eurasian Steppe and Altay region, and to the opening of the proto‐Silk Roads. Potentially, intense seismic activities in the Altay Mountains ~3500 cal a bp may have also promoted the opening of the proto‐Silk Roads by forcing the herdsmen to move to the inter‐mountainous basins. The strong EASM intensity from 2300 to 1000 cal a bp in eastern China may have contributed to the creation of the ancient Silk Roads by the Han Dynasty.
Development of Algorithm for Calculating Data Packet Transmission Delay in Software-Defined Networks

The relevance of this type of network is associated with the development and improvement of protocols, methods, and tools to verify routing policies and algorithmic models describing various aspects of SDN, which determined the purpose of this study. The main purpose of this work is to develop specialized methods to estimate the maximum end-to-end delay during packet transmission using SDN infrastructure. The methods of network calculus theory are used to build a model for estimating the maximum transmission delay of a data packet. The basis for this theory is obtaining deterministic evaluations by analyzing the best and worst-case scenarios for individual parts of the network and then optimally combining the best ones. It was found that the developed method of theoretical evaluation demonstrates high accuracy. Consequently, it is shown that the developed algorithm can estimate SND performance. It is possible to conclude the configuration optimality of elements in the network by comparing the different possible configurations. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm for calculating the upper estimate for packet transmission delay can reduce network maintenance costs by detecting inconsistencies between network equipment settings and requirements. The scientific novelty of these results is that it became possible to calculate the achievable upper data delay in polynomial time even in the case of arbitrary tree topologies, but not only when the network handlers are located in tandem. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-06-05-010 Full Text: PDF
COVID-19-Related Scientific Literature Exploration: Short Survey and Comparative Study

Simple Summary The COVID-19-related literature has known a surge since the beginning of the pandemic. This surge prompted the creation of multiple literature exploration systems to help automate the exploration of scientific articles. In this work, we survey multiple COVID-19 literature exploration systems by exploring their most discriminative characteristics, give general design principles for these systems, and describe some of their limitations. Abstract The urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a surge in the related scientific literature. This surge made the manual exploration of scientific articles time-consuming and inefficient. Therefore, a range of exploratory search applications have been created to facilitate access to the available literature. In this survey, we give a short description of certain efforts in this direction and explore the different approaches that they used.