Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 policy analysis: labour structure dictates lockdown mobility behaviour

Countries and cities around the world have resorted to unprecedented mobility restrictions to combat COVID-19 transmission. Here we exploit a natural experiment whereby Colombian cities implemented varied lockdown policies based on ID number and gender to analyse the impact of these policies on urban mobility. Using mobile phone data, we find that the restrictiveness of cities’ mobility quotas (the share of residents allowed out daily according to policy advice) does not correlate with mobility reduction. Instead, we find that larger, wealthier cities with more formalized and complex industrial structure experienced greater reductions in mobility. Within cities, wealthier residents are more likely to reduce mobility, and commuters are especially more likely to stay at home when their work is located in wealthy or commercially/industrially formalized neighbourhoods. Hence, our results indicate that cities’ employment characteristics and work-from-home capabilities are the primary determinants of mobility reduction. This finding underscores the need for mitigations aimed at lower income/informal workers, and sheds light on critical dependencies between socio-economic classes in Latin American cities.
Demystifying Privatization of Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do Poor Households Utilize Private Schooling because of Perceived Quality, Distance to School, or Low Fees?

This article examines why poor urban households utilize low-fee private schools despite the government’s pro-poor free primary education program in Kenya. Cross-sectional data collected in 2010 through a demographic surveillance survey is analyzed. Students’ parents responded to questions concerning their perceptions of the quality of schooling after the introduction of free primary education. In total, 6,660 students living in 4,220 households are included in the analysis. A structural equation model was estimated to investigate how perceived quality of schooling, direct schooling costs, and distance to school affected the household’s choice of school. Results show that poor households utilize low-fee private schools because of physical convenience, rather than quality of education and/or low-fees charged. We conclude that enhanced accessibility to government schools among poor urban households and provision of capitation grants targeting children from these households rather than the schools are urgently needed.
Evolutionary loss of a signalling colour is linked to increased response to conspecific chemicals

Behavioural responses to communicative signals combine input from multiple sensory modalities and signal compensation theory predicts that evolutionary shifts in one sensory modality could impact the response to signals in other sensory modalities. Here, we conducted two types of field experiments with 11 species spread across the lizard genus Sceloporus to test the hypothesis that the loss of visual signal elements affects behavioural responses to a chemical signal (conspecific scents) or to a predominantly visual signal (a conspecific lizard), both of which are used in intraspecific communication. We found that three species that have independently lost a visual signal trait, a colourful belly patch, responded to conspecific scents with increased chemosensory behaviour compared to a chemical control, while species with the belly patch did not. However, most species, with and without the belly patch, responded to live conspecifics with increased visual displays of similar magnitude. While aggressive responses to visual stimuli are taxonomically widespread in Sceloporus, our results suggest that increased chemosensory response behaviour is linked to colour patch loss. Thus, interactions across sensory modalities could constrain the evolution of complex signalling phenotypes, thereby influencing signal diversity.
Few and far apart: integrative taxonomy of Australian species of Gladiobela and Pagodibela (Conoidea : Raphitomidae) reveals patterns of wide distributions and low abundance

Abstract. The deep-sea malacofauna of temperate Australia remains comparatively poorly known. However, a recent influx of DNA-suitable material obtained from a series of deep-sea cruises has facilitated integrative taxonomic study on the Conoidea (Caenogastropoda : Neogastropoda). Building on a recent molecular phylogeny of the conoidean family Raphitomidae, this study focussed on the genera Gladiobela and Pagodibela (both Criscione, Hallan, Puillandre & Fedosov, 2020). We subjected a representative mtDNA cox1 dataset of deep-sea raphitomids to ABGD, which recognised 14 primary species hypotheses (PSHs), 9 of which were converted to secondary species hypotheses (SSHs). Following the additional examination of the shell and hypodermic radula features, as well as consideration of bathymetric and geographic data, seven of these SSHs were recognised as new to science and given full species rank. Subsequently, systematic descriptions are provided herein. Of these, five are attributed to Gladiobela (three of which are endemic to Australia and two more widely distributed) and two are placed in Pagodibela (one endemic to southern Australia and one widespread in the Pacific). The rarity of many ‘turrids’ reported in previous studies is confirmed herein, as particularly indicated by highly disjunct geographic records for two taxa. Additionally, several of the studied taxa exhibit wide Indo-Pacific distributions, suggesting that wide geographic ranges in deep-sea ‘turrids’ may be more common than previously assumed. Finally, impediments to deep-sea ‘turrid’ taxonomy in light of such comparative rarity and unexpectedly wide distributions are discussed.
A peptide of the N terminus of GRK5 attenuates pressure-overload hypertrophy and heart failure

GRK5 does not mediate pathological signaling in the heart if its nuclear translocation is disrupted. Blocking the nuclear option for GRK5 Pressure overload on the heart induces β-adrenergic signaling and the translocation of GRK5 to the nucleus, where it promotes changes in gene expression that lead to hypertrophy. Mice expressing a form of GRK5 that could not translocate to the nucleus are protected from cardiac hypertrophy after pressure overload. Coleman et al. investigated whether similar benefits were conferred by a peptide encompassing the N terminus of GRK5, which contains the sequence that required for nuclear translocation. Mice that expressed this peptide in cardiomyocytes developed less cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and dysfunction after pressure overload. These results suggest that delivering this peptide to the heart could suppress the pathological signaling of GRK5 after pressure overload. Aberrant changes in gene expression underlie the pathogenesis and progression of pressure-overload heart failure, leading to maladaptive cardiac hypertrophy, ventricular remodeling, and contractile dysfunction. Signaling through the G protein Gq triggers maladaptation and heart failure, in part through the activation of G protein–coupled receptor kinase 5 (GRK5). Hypertrophic stimuli induce the accumulation of GRK5 in the nuclei of cardiomyocytes, where it regulates pathological gene expression through multiple transcription factors including NFAT. The nuclear targeting of GRK5 is mediated by an amino-terminal (NT) domain that binds to calmodulin (CaM). Here, we sought to prevent GRK5-mediated pathology in pressure-overload maladaptation and heart failure by expressing in cardiomyocytes a peptide encoding the GRK5 NT (GRK5nt) that encompasses the CaM binding domain. In cultured cardiomyocytes, GRK5nt expression abrogated Gq-coupled receptor–mediated hypertrophy, including attenuation of pathological gene expression and the transcriptional activity of NFAT and NF-κB. We confirmed that GRK5nt bound to and blocked Ca2+-CaM from associating with endogenous GRK5, thereby preventing GRK5 nuclear accumulation after pressure overload. We generated mice that expressed GRKnt in a cardiac-specific fashion (TgGRK5nt mice), which exhibited reduced cardiac hypertrophy, ventricular dysfunction, pulmonary congestion, and cardiac fibrosis after chronic transverse aortic constriction. Together, our data support a role for GRK5nt as an inhibitor of pathological GRK5 signaling that prevents heart failure.
When Do Drivers Interact with In-Vehicle Well-being Interventions?

Recent developments of novel in-vehicle interventions show the potential to transform the otherwise routine and mundane task of commuting into opportunities to improve the drivers' health and well-being. Prior research has explored the effectiveness of various in-vehicle interventions and has identified moments in which drivers could be interruptible to interventions. All the previous studies, however, were conducted in either simulated or constrained real-world driving scenarios on a pre-determined route. In this paper, we take a step forward and evaluate when drivers interact with in-vehicle interventions in unconstrained free-living conditions. To this end, we conducted a two-month longitudinal study with 10 participants, in which each participant was provided with a study car for their daily driving needs. We delivered two in-vehicle interventions - each aimed at improving affective well-being - and simultaneously recorded the participants' driving behavior. In our analysis, we found that several pre-trip characteristics (like trip length, traffic flow, and vehicle occupancy) and the pre-trip affective state of the participants had significant associations with whether the participants started an intervention or canceled a started intervention. Next, we found that several in-the-moment driving characteristics (like current road type, past average speed, and future brake behavior) showed significant associations with drivers' responsiveness to the intervention. Further, we identified several driving behaviors that "negated" the effectiveness of interventions and highlight the potential of using such "negative" driving characteristics to better inform intervention delivery. Finally, we compared trips with and without intervention and found that both interventions employed in our study did not have a negative effect on driving behavior. Based on our analyses, we provide solid recommendations on how to deliver interventions to maximize responsiveness and effectiveness and minimize the burden on the drivers.
Crystallization and Resolution of cis‐Permethric Acid with Carbon Dioxide Antisolvent

The crystallization and resolution of cis-permethric acid (cPA) with (1R)-1-phenylethanamine (PhEA) as a resolving agent was investigated using the gas antisolvent (GAS) and supercritical antisolvent (SAS) methods. A significant pressure effect on both the yields and diastereomeric excesses of the crystallized cPA–PhEA salts was found in the 100–200 bar range. The pressure effect was found to be related to the structure and dissociation of the salts. Both methods yielded diastereomeric salts with excellent diastereoselectivity (85–95% compared to 74% reported in literature) and a fibrous structure of uniform fiber diameter (500–700 nm).
Assessment of viability of wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells encapsulated in alginate scaffold by WST-8 assay kit

Abstract Cell encapsulation utilizing biodegradable material has promising outcomes for tissue engineering. From a long time ago, alginate has been generally utilized for drug delivery, cell transplantation and as a scaffold in biomedical applications. The aim of this study was the comparison of cell viability in the presence of two polymerizing ions: Ba2+ and Ca2+ to improvement the quality of alginate scaffold. For this purpose, WJMSCs after three passage were encapsulated in alginate scaffold in the presence of Ba2+ and ca2+. Cell viability was evaluated by WST-8 assay kit after 24, 48 and 72 hours. The results showed that encapsulated cells in the presence of Ca2+ had more viability than Ba2+. It was also found that using the WST-8 assay kit is a convenient and fast method for evaluation the viability of cells. It can be claimed that Calcl2 polymerizing solution provides more favorable conditions for cell viability compared to Bacl2 solution. Running title: Assessing the viability of stem cells by WST-8 assay kit
A Study of Two‐Center Integrals Useful in Calculations on Molecular Structure. II. The Two‐Center Exchange Integrals

The problem of the two‐center exchange integrals is solved in the most general way for Slater‐type atomic orbitals with integral effective quantum numbers. No other restrictions are placed upon effective quantum numbers and effective nuclear charges, The integrals are expressed linearly in terms of certain auxiliary functions. A rule for finding the coefficients is given. The coefficients are explicitly computed for all cases involving orbitals with the quantum numbers 1, 2, and 3. The auxiliary functions are discussed in detail. The existing literature is reviewed, and a survey of present tables is made.
Reaction of arylidenehydrazono-4-aryl-2,3-dihydrothiazole-5-carbonitriles with diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate. Synthesis of (Z)-ethyl 2-[((Z)-2-(E)-arylidenehydrazono)-4-oxo-thiazolidine-5-ylidene]acetates. NMR investigation

(Z)-Ethyl 2-[((Z)-2-(E)-arylidenehydrazono)-4-oxo-thiazolidine-5-ylidene]acetates were synthesized by three different methods: (a) reaction of arylidenehydrazono-4-aryl-2,3-dihydrothiazole-5-carbonitriles with diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DEAD) in acetic acid with prolonged reflux, (b) reaction between thiosemicarbazones, 2-arylidenemalononitriles and DEAD under conventional conditions or microwave irradiation, (c) one-pot three-component reaction of thiosemicarbazone derivatives, ylidene and DEAD. The thiazolinone adducts were obtained in good to excellent yields. NMR of the obtained products was investigated. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Increased transcript expression levels of DNA methyltransferases type 1 and 3A during cardiac muscle long-term cell culture

Abstract Heart failure (HF) is one of the main causes of death worldwide. Recent studies reported altered DNA methylation in failing human hearts. This may suggest a role of DNA methylation, most frequently implicated in epigenetic control, in the development of heart failure. Here, employing RT-qPCR, we characterized transcript levels for main DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs), DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B, mediate DNA methylation, and they have different functions that complement each other during methylation. All analyzes were performed at different stages of porcine myocardial cell primary culture. In the present study we demonstrated increasing transcript expression levels for all analyzed genes during in vitro cultivation. The changes for DNMT1 and DNMT3A seem to be particularly important, where statistically significant changes were observed. Running title: DNMTs role in cardiac muscle cell culture
Identification and characterisation of single nucleotide polymorphisms in interferon regulatory factor-5 gene of Nigerian local chickens

Abstract The interferon regulatory factor gene family encodes transcription factors with multiple biological functions, which include reproduction, cell differentiation and immunity. Interferon regulatory factor-5 (IRF-5) gene is involved in immune defence against virus, stress response, activation of type I interferon genes, cell differentiation and growth. This experiment was conducted to identify and characterise single nucleotide polymorphisms in exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene in Nigerian local chickens. Exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene were amplified and sequenced. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present in exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene were identified and analysed using Clustal W, DnaSp and SNAP2 software packages. Four SNPs, rs317511101, rs312902332, rs315149141 and rs739389464, were identified in exon 3 of IRF-5 gene in all the three genotypes. Exon 4 of the gene was conserved while three of the SNPs (rs736423928, 170C>T and rs740736761) identified in exon 7 were shared among the three genotypes. Linkage disequilibrium of 1.00 existed between rs317511101 and rs315149141 polymorphisms identified in exon 3 of normal feathered and frizzle feathered chickens. Mutation rs740736761 identified in exon 7 had the highest polymorphism information content obtainable for any biallelic marker. Most of the SNPs identified in exons 3, 5 and 7 were synonymous and singletons which could not be used for association study. The study concluded that only haplotypes in exons 3 and 7 of IRF-5 gene can be used in marker-assisted selection when improving Nigerian local chickens.
Pro NDN : MCDM-Based Interest Forwarding and Cooperative Data Caching for Named Data Networking

Named data networking (NDN), as a specific architecture design of information-centric networking (ICN), has quickly became a promising candidate for future Internet architecture, where communications are driven by data names instead of IP addresses. To realize the NDN communication paradigm in the future Internet, two important features, stateful forwarding and in-network caching, have been proposed to cope with drawbacks of host-based communication protocols. The stateful forwarding is designed to maintain the state of pending Interest packets to guide Data packets back to requesting consumers, while the in-network caching is used to reduce both network traffic and data access delay to improve the overall performance of data access. However, the conventional stateful forwarding approach is not adaptive and responsive to diverse network conditions because it fails to consider multiple network metrics to make Interest forwarding decision. In addition, the default in-network caching strategy relies on storing each received Data packet regardless of various caching constraints and criteria, which causes the routers in the vicinity of data producers to suffer from excessive caching overhead. In this paper, we propose the Pro NDN , a novel stateful forwarding and in-network caching strategy for NDN networks. The Pro NDN consists of multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) based interest forwarding and cooperative data caching. The basic idea of the MCDM-based interest forwarding is to employ Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Idea Solution (TOPSIS) to dynamically evaluate outgoing interface alternatives based on multiple network metrics and objectively select an optimal outgoing interface to forward the Interest packet. In addition, the cooperative data caching consists of two schemes: CacheData, which caches the data, and CacheFace, which caches the outgoing interface. We conduct extensive simulation experiments for performance evaluation and comparison with prior schemes. The simulation results show that the Pro NDN can improve Interest satisfaction ratio and Interest satisfaction latency as well as reduce hop count and Content Store utilization ratio.
A Quantum Chemical Analysis of the Inactivation Rate Constant of the BoNT/A LC Neurotoxin by some 1,4-Benzoquinone and 1,4-Naphthoquinone derivatives.

An investigation of the relationships between the i nactivation rate constant of the BoNT/A LC neurotox in by several 1,4-benzoquinone and 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives was carried out. A statistically significant relationship was found (n=21, R= 0.97, F(7,13)=25.63 (p<0.000001), S D=0.20) involving local atomic reactivity indices o f two oxygen atoms and a carbon one. The conditions for a high rate are presented and discussed. The suggest ion that these molecules form a covalent bond with Cys-165 athe formation of the reversible ligand-site co mplex was tested through a docking study of all the molecules with the B monomer of the Clostridium botulinum ne urotoxin serotype A light chain. It is found that Cys-165 is very far for the site of the reversible ligand-site interaction. It is suggested that His-223 is a better candidate for a covalent bond formation.
Glycated Hemoglobin as a Marker for Predicting Outcomes of Patients With Stroke (Ischemic and Hemorrhagic): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has emerged as a useful biochemical marker reflecting the average glycemic control over the last 3 months, and the values are not affected by short-term transient changes in blood glucose levels. However, its prognostic value in the acute neurological conditions such as stroke is still not well-established. The present meta-analysis was conducted to assess the relationship of HbA1c with outcomes such as mortality, early neurological complications, and functional dependence in stroke patients. Methods: A systematic search was conducted for the PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. Studies, either retrospective or prospective in design that examined the relationship between HbA1c with outcomes of interest and presented the strength of association in the form of adjusted odds ratio/hazard ratios were included in the review. Statistical analysis was done using STATA version 13.0. Results: A total of 22 studies (15 studies on acute ischemic stroke and seven studies on hemorrhagic stroke) were included in the meta-analysis. For patients with acute ischemic stroke, each unit increase in HbA1c was found to be associated with an increased risk of mortality within 1 year, increased risk of poor functional outcome at 3 months, and an increased risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) within 24 h of admission. In those with HbA1c ≥ 6.5%, there was an increased risk of mortality within 1 year of admission, increased risk of poor functional outcomes at 3 and 12 months as well as an increased risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) within 24 h of admission. In patients with hemorrhagic stroke, each unit increase in HbA1c was found to be associated with increased risk of poor functional outcome within the first 3 months from the time of admission for stroke. In those with HbA1c ≥ 6.5%, there was an increased risk of poor functional outcome at 12 months. Conclusions: The findings indicate that glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) could serve as a useful marker to predict the outcomes in patients with stroke and aid in the implementation of adequate preventive management strategies at the earliest.