Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MANAGEMENT OF CHILD CAMPS: A STRUCTURED LITERATURE REVIEW AND NEW DIRECTIONS

: The study of child camps has grown over the last years. Still, the common use of different terminology and the dispersion of the information in literature regarding camps management, makes it difficult to clarify research and hinder the improvement of managerial practices. This study aims to synthetise existent knowledge in child camps’ management, identify inconsistencies and gaps in the literature, and set directions for future research and practice on child camps. A structured review of peer-reviewed articles published between 1950-2021 was conducted. Results indicate that half of the studies used the term “summer camp”; but other ten different terms were also used. Five different management areas were identified: safety, consumer behaviour, human resources, event planning and camp research. Gaps were also identified in the literature. These findings are important to set new research avenues and to improve practice.
Field-Induced Multipole States of Sm-Based Filled Skutterudites(Condensed matter: electronic structure and electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

We discuss microscopic aspects of multipole properties of Sm-based filled skutterudite compounds under a magnetic field by analyzing a seven-orbital Anderson model with the use of a numerical renormalization group method. In order to determine the multipole state, we evaluate the susceptibility for the multipole operator defined in the form of one-body spin-charge density by the Wigner–Eckart theorem. We show our numerical results on entropy, specific heat, and multipole susceptibility of the seven-orbital Anderson model for the case of five f electrons at an impurity site under an applied magnetic field. Here we consider three directions of the magnetic field as [0, 0, 1], [1, 1, 0], and [1, 1, 1]. For all directions, dipoles and higher-rank multipoles with the same Γ 4u symmetry are induced, but depending on the direction of the magnetic field, characteristic multipoles are found to be additionally induced. For the [1, 1, 1] direction, we observe that Γ 2u octupole moment is induced, while for [0, 0, 1].
Quiescent X-ray variability in the neutron star Be/X-ray transient GRO J1750−27

The Be/X-ray transient GRO J1750−27 exhibited a type-II (giant) outburst in 2015. After the source transited to quiescence, we triggered our multi-year Chandra monitoring programme to study its quiescent behaviour. The programme was designed to follow the cooling of a potentially heated neutron-star crust due to accretion of matter during the preceding outburst, similar to what we potentially have observed before in two other Be/X-ray transients, namely 4U 0115+63 and V 0332+53. However, unlike for these other two systems, we do not find any strong evidence that the neutron-star crust in GRO J1750−27 was indeed heated during the accretion phase. We detected the source at a rather low X-ray luminosity (∼1033 erg s−1) during only three of our five observations. When the source was not detected it had very low-luminosity upper limits (< 1032 erg s−1; depending on assumed spectral model). We interpret these detections and the variability observed as emission likely due to very low-level accretion onto the neutron star. We also discuss why the neutron-star crust in GRO J1750−27 might not have been heated while the ones in 4U 0115+63 and V 0332+53 possibly were.
Compression Density as an Alternative to Identify an Optimal Moisture Content for High Shear Wet Granulation as an Initial Step for Spheronisation

Pellet production is a multi-step manufacturing process comprising granulation, extrusion and spheronisation. The first step represents a critical control point, since the quality of the granule mass highly influences subsequent process steps and, consequently, the quality of final pellets. The most important parameter of wet granulation is the liquid requirement, which can often only be quantitatively evaluated after further process steps. To identify an alternative for optimal liquid requirements, experiments were conducted with a formulation based on lactose and microcrystalline cellulose. Granules were analyzed with a Powder Vertical Shear Rig. We identified the compression density (ρpress) as the said alternative, linking information from the powder material and the moisture content (R2 = 0.995). We used ρpress to successfully predict liquid requirements for unknown formulation compositions. By means of this prediction, pellets with high quality, regarding shape and size distribution, were produced by carrying out a multi-step manufacturing process. Furthermore, the applicability of ρpress as an alternative quality parameter to other placebo formulations and to formulations containing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) was demonstrated.
Comprehensive evaluation of the mechanism of Gastrodia elata Blume in ameliorating cerebral ischemia–reperfusion injury based on integrating fecal metabonomics and 16S rDNA sequencing

Gastrodia elata Blume was used to treat stroke and headaches caused by “Feng” for thousands of years. The present study has shown a significant effect of G. elata Blume in improving cerebral ischemia–reperfusion injury (CIRI). However, the mechanism of G. elata Blume in improving CIRI by regulating the intestinal flora has not been reported until now. This research aimed to comprehensively evaluate the mechanism of G. elata Blume in CIRI based on fecal metabolomics and 16S rDNA sequencing. The rat model with CIRI was created based on the Zea Longa method. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to monitor the inflammatory factors in rat serum. Damages of brain tissues were observed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Cerebral infarction was observed by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. The balance of intestinal flora in cecal contents of rats was evaluated by high-throughput sequencing. Changes of metabolites in the intestinal flora were evaluated by fecal metabolomics through Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-orbitrap exploris-mass spectrometer (UHPLC-OE-MS). The area of brain necrosis, cerebral infarction volume, and the contents of inflammatory factors in CIRI rats can be effectively reduced after oral administration of G. elata Blume. CIRI can cause disturbances in the intestinal flora and its associated metabolites. G. elata Blume can significantly regulate the composition of the intestinal microflora. It reversed CIRI-induced changes in the levels of multiple intestinal bacteria, including Prevotellaceae, Coriobacteriaceae; Prevotella, Gamma proteobacteria unclassified, Barnesiella, Escherichia, Shigella; uncultured Shigella sp. , Flavonifractor sp. , Escherichia sp. enrichment culture clone NBAR004, Veillonella sp. R-32, and Lactobacillus intestinalis. The levels of metabolites in cecal contents were disturbed in rats with CIRI, including amino acid, purine, and sphingolipid metabolism. The changes in the level of biomarkers in amino acid metabolism induced by CIRI were significantly reversed after treatment with G. elata Blume. Correlation studies show that Prevotellaceae was significantly positively correlated with interleukin (IL)-6, and L. intestinalis and L-phenylalanine were negatively interrelated to IL-1β. Beta-glycerophosphoric acid was significantly negatively interrelated to high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). There were significantly negative correlations between L-phenylalanine and L. intestinalis, beta-glycerophosphoric acid and Prevotellaceae. G. elata Blume protected against CIRI, which may be related to improved intestinal microflora composition and metabolism, resulting in decreased inflammation.
Optical formation and manipulation of particle and cell patterns using a tapered optical fiber

A method for optical formation and controllable manipulation of particle and cell patterns using a tapered optical fiber is demonstrated. With a laser beam at 980‐nm wavelength launched into the fiber, different sized silica particles were formed into particle patterns (both one‐dimensional chains and two‐dimensional arrays) with different particle numbers by optical binding. The formed particle patterns can be controllably manipulated in three dimensions. Using yeast cells as an example, it was demonstrated that the method is applicable for the formation of biological cell patterns, without damage to the yeast cell viability. This method provides a new facile way for biophotonic and biological researches with particles and cells in a highly organized manner.
Conformation-independent comparison of protein structures

The comparative analysis of protein structures is often performed in order to identify and explore similarities/dissimilarities present between target structures. Whilst many tools are available for structural comparison, the development of new tools providing different information is desirable. The work presented here concerns the development of ProSMART (Procrustes Structural Matching Alignment and Restraints Tool), a tool to aid the comparative analysis of protein structures. Primarily, the software is used for conformation-independent pairwise structural alignment, allowing identification of local similarities, and quantification of dissimilarities. Functionality also allows the identification and superposition of rigid substructures, providing output that allows visualisation of local dissimilarities by means of residue-based scoring. The ProSMART pairwise alignment method optimises the net agreement of local structures along the chain, using structural fragments. In order to maintain conformation-independence, the structure-based residue alignment does not enforce global rigidity of chains, nor domains. This feature makes the tool suited to the analysis of domain movement and other conformational changes, as well as for the identification of structural units conserved between seemingly different structures. Given an alignment, ProSMART can be used to generate external restraints on the distances between relatively close atoms, for use in the crystallographic refinement of macromolecules. Using one or more similar structures, the software generates restraints that are intended to help the target protein adopt a conformation that is more reasonable, whilst allowing global flexibility. Such restraints may stabilise refinement in some cases, especially at low resolution where experimental data alone may not be sufficient. We also present a method of Procrustes score normalisation, which allows the consideration of the significance of observed fragment scores. It is suggested that the resulting global scores for the overall pairwise agreement of protein structures may provide an interesting new way of viewing protein fold space.
Rituximab for the treatment of connective tissue disease–associated interstitial lung disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common pulmonary disease often associated with significant morbidity and mortality in patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD). Currently, no gold-standard therapies are available for CTD-ILD. Recently, several studies have proposed that rituximab (RTX) may be effective for the treatment of CTD-ILD. Objectives: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of RTX for the treatment of CTD-ILD. Methods: Studies were selected from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, up to 20 July 2022. Improvement and stable rates were extracted as the main outcomes and pooled using the weighted mean proportion with fixed or random-effects models, in case of significant heterogeneity (I 2 > 50%). Safety analysis was performed based on the adverse events reported in all of the studies. Results: Thirteen studies (312 patients) were included in the meta-analysis. The follow-up durations ranged from 6 to 36 months. The pooled improvement rate was 35.0% (95% CI: 0.277–0.442), while the pooled stable rate was 59.2% (95% CI: 0.534–0.656). Anti-synthetase syndrome associated with ILD [ASS-ILD, 48.1% (95% CI, 0.373–0.620)] and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies associated with ILD [IIM-ILD, non-ASS, 47.4% (95% CI, 0.266–0.846)] had higher improvement rates than the other types. A total of 106 adverse events associated with RTX or progressive ILD were reported among the 318 patients, 55.7% of which were mild. Among 19 deaths, 17 were due to ILD progression, one to severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, and one to Pneumocystis jirovecii infection. Conclusion: RTX, which exhibits a satisfactory safety profile, is an effective treatment option for CTD-ILD, even in patients who fail to respond to other therapies. Further randomized trials are needed to assess the efficacy of rituximab compared to other treatments for CTD-ILD. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO, identifier (CRD42022363403).
COVID-19-related knowledge influences mental health, self-care behaviors, and quality of life among elderly with non-communicable diseases in Northern Thailand

Background A growing body of research shows that individuals with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and heart disease, are more likely to suffer from severe COVID-19 and, subsequently, death. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of COVID-19-related knowledge on mental health, healthcare behaviors, and quality of life among the elderly with NCDs in Northern Thailand. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the participants were 450 elderly people with NCDs, living in the Chiang Rai province, Northern Thailand. Random sampling was applied to select the subjects. Data collection included demographic information, COVID-19-related knowledge, healthcare behaviors, the Suanprung Stress Test-20, the Thai General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) for the assessment of mental health, and the Thai version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF. Results Almost half of the participants (45.6%) had poor knowledge about COVID-19. More than half of the sample had high stress (52.0%) and a low score in healthcare behaviors (64.9%), while approximately one-third of the participants had mental health problems (34.0%). The overall quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic was moderate (70.7%). The score of COVID-19-related knowledge was significantly correlated with scores of stress (r = −0.85), mental health (r = −0.74), healthcare behaviors (r = 0.50), and quality of life (r = 0.33). Multiple linear regression found that history of COVID-19 detection and COVID-19-related knowledge were associated with scores of stress and quality of life (p < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression showed that history of COVID-19 detection (OR = 4.48, 95% CI = 1.45–13.84) and COVID-19-related knowledge (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.17–0.31) were associated with mental health problem (p < 0.05). Discussion The findings emphasize the importance of COVID-19-related knowledge concerning the improvement of self-care behaviors and quality of life in the elderly population with NCDs during the pandemic, especially due to the high rate of stress and mental health problems documented in our sample. Health education interventions for this vulnerable population should be organized.
Influence of acute and chronic intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic exposure prior to aerobic exercise on cardiovascular risk factors in geriatric patients—a randomized controlled trial

Background: Intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic exposure (IHHE) and aerobic training have been proposed as non-pharmacological interventions to reduce age-related risk factors. However, no study has yet examined the effects of IHHE before aerobic exercise on cardiovascular risk factors in the elderly. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the acute and chronic effects of IHHE prior to aerobic cycling exercise on blood lipid and lipoprotein concentrations as well as blood pressure in geriatric patients. Methods: In a randomized, controlled, and single-blinded trial, thirty geriatric patients (72–94 years) were assigned to two groups: intervention (IG; n = 16) and sham control group (CG; n = 14). Both groups completed 6 weeks of aerobic cycling training, 3 times a week for 20 min per day. The IG and CG were additionally exposed to IHHE or sham IHHE (i.e., normoxia) for 30 min prior to aerobic cycling. Blood samples were taken on three occasions: immediately before the first, ∼10 min after the first, and immediately before the last session. Blood samples were analyzed for total (tCh), high-density (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (Tgl) serum concentration. Resting systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was assessed within 1 week before, during (i.e., at week two and four), and after the interventions. Results: The baseline-adjusted ANCOVA revealed a higher LDL-C concentration in the IG compared to the CG after the first intervention session (ηp 2 = 0.12). For tCh, HDL-C, Tgl, and tCh/HDL-C ratio there were no differences in acute changes between the IG and the CG (ηp 2 ≤ 0.01). With regard to the chronic effects on lipids and lipoproteins, data analysis indicated no differences between groups (ηp 2 ≤ 0.03). The repeated measures ANOVA revealed an interaction effect for SBP (ηp 2 = 0.06) but not for DBP (ηp 2 ≤ 0.01). Within-group post-hoc analysis for the IG indicated a reduction in SBP at post-test (d = 0.05). Conclusion: Applying IHHE prior to aerobic cycling seems to be effective to reduce SBP in geriatric patients after 6 weeks of training. The present study suggests that IHHE prior to aerobic cycling can influence the acute exercise-related responses in LDL-C concentration but did not induce chronic changes in basal lipid or lipoprotein concentrations.
Crossing the street in front of an autonomous vehicle: An investigation of eye contact between drivengers and vulnerable road users

Communication between road users is a major key to coordinate movement and increase roadway safety. The aim of this work was to grasp how pedestrians (Experiment A), cyclists (Experiment B), and kick scooter users (Experiment C) sought to visually communicate with drivengers when they would face autonomous vehicles (AVs). In each experiment, participants (n = 462, n = 279, and n = 202, respectively) were asked to imagine themselves in described situations of encounters between a specific type of vulnerable road user (e.g., pedestrian) and a human driver in an approaching car. The human driver state and the communicative means of the approaching car through an external Human-Machine Interface (eHMI) were manipulated between the scenarios. The participants were prompted to rate from “never” to “always” (6-point Likert scale) the frequency with which they would seek eye contact with the human driver either in order to express their willingness to cross or to make their effective decision to cross. Our findings revealed that a passive human driver in an AV with no visual checking on the road triggered a decline in vulnerable road users’ desire to communicate by eye contact (Experiments A–C). Moreover, the results of Experiment C demonstrated that the speed screen, the text message screen, and the vibrating mobile app eHMI signals diminished kick scooter users’ desire to communicate visually with the human driver, with some age-based differences. This suggested a better comprehension of the approaching car’s intentions by the kick scooter users, driven by the features of the eHMI.
The transforming growth factor beta ligand TIG-2 modulates the function of neuromuscular junction and muscle energy metabolism in Caenorhabditis elegans

Deciphering the physiological function of TGF-β (the transforming growth factor beta) family ligands is import for understanding the role of TGF-β in animals’ development and aging. Here, we investigate the function of TIG-2, one of the ligands in Caenorhabditis elegans TGF-β family, in animals’ behavioral modulation. Our results show that a loss-of-function mutation in tig-2 gene result in slower locomotion speed in the early adulthood and an increased density of cholinergic synapses, but a decreased neurotransmitter release at neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). Further tissue-specific rescue results reveal that neuronal and intestinal TIG-2 are essential for the formation of cholinergic synapses at NMJs. Interestingly, tig-2(ok3416) mutant is characterized with reduced muscle mitochondria content and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, although the function of muscle acetylcholine receptors and the morphology muscle fibers in the mutant are comparable to that in wild-type animals. Our result suggests that TIG-2 from different neuron and intestine regulates worm locomotion by modulating synaptogenesis and neurotransmission at NMJs, as well as energy metabolism in postsynaptic muscle cells.
Bayesian multisource data integration for explainable brain-behavior analysis

Different data sources can provide complementary information. Moving from a simple approach based on using one data source at a time to a systems approach that integrates multiple data sources provides an opportunity to understand complex brain disorders or cognitive processes. We propose a data fusion method, called Bayesian Multisource Data Integration, to model the interactions among data sources and behavioral variables. The proposed method generates representations from data sources and uses Bayesian network modeling to associate representations with behavioral variables. The generated Bayesian network is transparent and easy to understand. Bayesian inference is used to understand how the perturbation of representation is related to behavioral changes. The proposed method was assessed on the simulated data and data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. For the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, we found diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were synergistic in understanding the fluid intelligence composite and the total score composite in healthy youth (9–11 years of age).
Chronic treatment with corticosterone increases the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing cells within specific nuclei of the brainstem reticular formation

Cushing's syndrome is due to increased glucocorticoid levels in the body, and it is characterized by several clinical alterations which concern both vegetative and behavioral functions. The anatomical correlates of these effects remain largely unknown. Apart from peripheral effects induced by corticosteroids as counter-insular hormones, only a few reports are available concerning the neurobiology of glucocorticoid-induced vegetative and behavioral alterations. In the present study, C57 Black mice were administered daily a chronic treatment with corticosterone in drinking water. This treatment produces a significant and selective increase of TH-positive neurons within two nuclei placed in the lateral column of the brainstem reticular formation. These alterations significantly correlate with selective domains of Cushing's syndrome. Specifically, the increase of TH neurons within area postrema significantly correlates with the development of glucose intolerance, which is in line with the selective control by area postrema of vagal neurons innervating the pancreas. The other nucleus corresponds to the retrorubral field, which is involved in the behavioral activity. In detail, the retrorubral field is likely to modulate anxiety and mood disorders, which frequently occur following chronic exposure to glucocorticoids. To our knowledge, this is the first study that provides the neuroanatomical basis underlying specific symptoms occurring in Cushing's syndrome.