Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Lung Resident Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by an aberrant repair response with uncontrolled turnover of extracellular matrix involving mesenchymal cell phenotypes, where lung resident mesenchymal stem cells (LRMSC) have been supposed to have an important role. However, the contribution of LRMSC in lung fibrosis is not fully understood, and the role of LRMSC in IPF remains to be elucidated. Here, we performed transcriptomic and functional analyses on LRMSC isolated from IPF and control patients (CON). Both over-representation and gene set enrichment analyses indicated that oxidative phosphorylation is the major dysregulated pathway in IPF LRMSC. The most relevant differences in biological processes included complement activation, mesenchyme development, and aerobic electron transport chain. Compared to CON LRMSC, IPF cells displayed impaired mitochondrial respiration, lower expression of genes involved in mitochondrial dynamics, and dysmorphic mitochondria. These changes were linked to an impaired autophagic response and a lower mRNA expression of pro-apoptotic genes. In addition, IPF TGFβ-exposed LRMSC presented different expression profiles of mitochondrial-related genes compared to CON TGFβ-treated cells, suggesting that TGFβ reinforces mitochondrial dysfunction. In conclusion, these results suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is a major event in LRMSC and that their occurrence might limit LRMSC function, thereby contributing to IPF development.
Development and Usability Testing of TurbeLab Serious Game: A Game for Executive Functions Development

Stimulating Executive Functions (EFs) is vital because they are part of the individual’s life. In this sense, this work aimed to create, develop and evaluate the usability of the TurbeLab serious game. Its creation was designed to assist in therapies for EFs development, more specifically working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, focusing on the greater engagement of children in Elementary School. The TurbeLab project had the stages of analyzing the target audience’s needs, game design and usability pilot study, where the System Usability Scale (SUS) and a questionnaire assembled by the team were applied, recording high scores, saying that the chosen methodology must work on future tests. An evaluation stage by the judges, and EFs experts, was also performed, obtaining an excellent content index. A future applicability study will be conducted with children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Graph Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Inverter-Based Active Voltage Control

Active voltage control (AVC) is a widely-used technique to improve voltage quality essential in the emerging active distribution networks (ADNs). However, the voltage fluctuation caused by intermittent renewable energy makes it difficult for traditional voltage control methods to deal with. In this paper, the voltage control problem is formulated as a decentralized partial observable Markov decision process (Dec-POMDP), and a multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) algorithm is developed considering each controllable device as an agent. The new formulation aims to adjust the strategies of agents to stabilize the voltage within the specified range and reduce the network loss. To better represent the mutual interaction between the agents, a graph convolutional network (GCN) is introduced. By aggregating the information of adjacent agents, complex latent features are effectively extracted by the GCN, hence promotes the generation of voltage control strategy for the agents. Meanwhile, a barrier function is applied in MARL to ensure the system voltage within a safe operation range. Comparative studies are conducted with traditional voltage control and other MARL methods on IEEE 33-bus and 141-bus systems, which demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach.
Selection of Tree Species and Soil Management for Simultaneous Fuelwood Production and Soil Rehabilitation in the Ethiopian Central Highlands

In the Ethiopian Central Highlands, a serious soil degradation occurs while fuelwood demand is high. This study consists of an evaluation of seven tree species for fuelwood and soil restoration under three soil management options: control, manure and manure + mulch, in degraded highlands of Ethiopia. The experimental design was a split‐plot, species as the main plot and treatment as subplot, with three replicates. Survival count, height and root collar diameter growth measurements were measured annually until 48 months. Biomass production for fuelwood was inferred at the end of the experiment. Before and after the experiment, soil parameters (pH, organic carbon, N, P, K and cation exchange capacity) were measured to test changes in soil condition because of species plantation. A mixed model and repeated analysis of variance was performed. Grevillea robusta A. Cunn. ex R. Br. showed maximum survival (100%), followed by H. abyssinica (Bruce) J.F. Gmel. (93·52%); while the lowest survival rate was recorded for A. decurrens Willd. (57·41%). Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J.F. Gmel. and Chamaecytisus palmensis (Christ.) Hutch showed the lowest growth rates but both species showed the highest soil condition improvement. E. globulus Labill. and Acacia species presented the highest growth rates and biomass although Eucalyptus depleted soil nitrogen. Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J.F. Gmel. is recommended for soil rehabilitation, whereas Grevillea robusta A. Cunn. ex R. Br. can be used for simultaneous fuelwood production and soil rehabilitation. An ecological based study on E. globulus’ Labill. effects in Central Highlands is recommended before recommendation for large scale fuelwood plantations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Internet Development and Green Total Factor Productivity: New Evidence of Mediation and Threshold Effects

The strategy of sustainable development is not only a long-term plan for the survival and development of the Chinese nation, but also an inevitable requirement for the coordinated economic and social development of all countries in the world. With the rapid development of new-generation information technology, the Internet may play an even more important role in the implementation of sustainable development strategies. Using China’s interprovincial panel data from 2011 to 2020, this paper examines the impact of internet development on green total factor productivity (GTFP) and its mechanism of action using a two-way fixed-effects panel model, a mediation effects model and a threshold effects model. The results show that, firstly, internet development can significantly promote the increase in GTFP, and this conclusion still holds after several robustness tests; secondly, internet development can indirectly promote GTFP through optimizing industrial structure, human capital structure and improving technological innovation; thirdly, based on a single threshold effect of advanced industrial structure, advanced human capital and internet development, the impact of the Internet on GTFP is found to be nonlinear. Finally, our study provides policy recommendations for the promotion of green total factor productivity in China.
Conditional Survival in Prostate Cancer in the Nordic Countries Elucidates the Timing of Improvements

Simple Summary Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common male cancer, and the numbers of new cases increased hugely when prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing became commonplace. The consequence was that the diagnostic age shifted toward younger men with less-advanced PC. Such changes are known to improve cancer survival, and in the Nordic countries, the 5-year survival for PC increased from about 60% to 90%; however, since testing stabilized, this improvement has slowed, and the 5-year survival had reached 95% by the year 2020. By analyzing survival in different periods after diagnosis, we observed that the most critical time for death was between years 1 and 5, assumably because of metastatic deaths. Some metastases are difficult to detect at diagnosis, and some arise later in the course of the disease. For continued survival, improvements in early diagnosis and more effective treatment will be required. Abstract Background: The incidence of prostate cancer (PC) increased vastly as a result of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. Survival in PC improved in the PSA-testing era, but changes in clinical presentation have hampered the interpretation of the underlying causes. Design: We analyzed survival trends in PC using data from the NORDCAN database for Denmark (DK), Finland (FI), Norway (NO) and Sweden (SE) by analyzing 1-, 5- and 10-year relative survival and conditional relative survival over the course of 50 years (1971–2020). Results: In the pre-PSA era, survival improved in FI and SE and improved marginally in NO but not in DK. PSA testing began toward the end of the 1980s; 5-year survival increased by approximately 30%, and 10-year survival improved even more. Conditional survival from years 6 to 10 (5 years) was better than conditional survival from years 2 to 5 (4 years), but by 2010, this difference disappeared in countries other than DK. Survival in the first year after diagnosis approached 100%; by year 5, it was 95%; and by year 10, it was 90% in the best countries, NO and SE. Conclusions: In spite of advances in diagnostics and treatment, further attention is required to improve PC survival.
Understanding care coordination for Veterans with complex care needs: protocol of a multiple-methods study to build evidence for an effectiveness and implementation study

Background For patients with complex health and social needs, care coordination is crucial for improving their access to care, clinical outcomes, care experiences, and controlling their healthcare costs. However, evidence is inconsistent regarding the core elements of care coordination interventions, and lack of standardized processes for assessing patients’ needs has made it challenging for providers to optimize care coordination based on patient needs and preferences. Further, ensuring providers have reliable and timely means of communicating about care plans, patients’ full spectrum of needs, and transitions in care is important for overcoming potential care fragmentation. In the Veterans Health Administration (VA), several initiatives are underway to implement care coordination processes and services. In this paper, we describe our study underway in the VA aimed at building evidence for designing and implementing care coordination practices that enhance care integration and improve health and care outcomes for Veterans with complex care needs. Methods In a prospective observational multiple methods study, for Aim 1 we will use existing data to identify Veterans with complex care needs who have and have not received care coordination services. We will examine the relationship between receipt of care coordination services and their health outcomes. In Aim 2, we will adapt the Patient Perceptions of Integrated Veteran Care questionnaire to survey a sample of Veterans about their experiences regarding coordination, integration, and the extent to which their care needs are being met. For Aim 3, we will interview providers and care teams about their perceptions of the innovation attributes of current care coordination needs assessment tools and processes, including their improvement over other approaches (relative advantage), fit with current practices (compatibility and innovation fit), complexity, and ability to visualize how the steps proceed to impact the right care at the right time (observability). The provider interviews will inform design and deployment of a widescale provider survey. Discussion Taken together, our study will inform development of an enhanced care coordination intervention that seeks to improve care and outcomes for Veterans with complex care needs.
Diverse soliton solutions and dynamical analysis of the discrete coupled mKdV equation with 4×4 Lax pair

Under consideration in this study is the discrete coupled modified Korteweg–de Vries (mKdV) equation with 4 × 4 Lax pair. Firstly, through using continuous limit technique, this discrete equation can be mapped to the coupled KdV and mKdV equations, which may depict the development of shallow water waves, the optical soliton propagation in cubic nonlinear media and the Alfven wave in a cold collision-free plasma. Secondly, the discrete generalized (r, N–r)-fold Darboux transformation is constructed and extended to solve this discrete coupled equation with the fourth-order linear spectral problem, from which diverse exact solutions including usual multi-soliton and semi-rational soliton solutions on the vanishing background, higher-order rational soliton and mixed hyperbolic-rational soliton solutions on the non-vanishing background are derived, and the limit states of some soliton and rational soliton solutions are analyzed by the asymptotic analysis technique. Finally, the numerical simulations are used to explore the dynamical behaviors of some exact soliton solutions. These results may be helpful for understanding some physical phenomena in fields of shallow water wave, optics, and plasma physics.
Bionomics of Hard Ticks and Risk Factors in Larkana Division, Sindh, Pakistan

Background: A study based on discovery of Ixodid ticks and allied risk factors was conducted in Larkana division, Sindh, Pakistan. The ticks (Acari:Ixodidae) being dangerous ectoparasites of animals have destruction on larger scale and are widely studied for their direct and indirect losses to livestock. Methods: During the study period from April 2021 to June 2022 randomly selected 3750 buffaloes were observed and only those were selected which were not treated with Acaricide and prevalence and intensity was noted alongside this seasonal variation and male and female tick infestation was also reported. Results: The collective infestation in buffaloes was 46.90% (n=1759) and its peak was reported during August and least infestation was in December, two species were discovered Hyalomma marginatum and Hyalomma truncatum. Conclusion: This study concludes that well-being of animal-handlers and livestock is on danger.
Impact on Diet Quality and Burden of Care in Sapropterin Dihydrochloride Use in Children with Phenylketonuria: A 6 Month Follow-Up Report

Introduction: In phenylketonuria (PKU) changes in dietary patterns and behaviors in sapropterin-responsive populations have not been widely reported. We aimed to assess changes in food quality, mental health and burden of care in a paediatric PKU sapropterin-responsive cohort. Methods: In an observational, longitudinal study, patient questionnaires on food frequency, neophobia, anxiety and depression, impact on family and burden of care were applied at baseline, 3 and 6-months post successful sapropterin-responsiveness testing (defined as a 30% reduction in blood phenylalanine levels). Results: 17 children (10.8 ± 4.2 years) completed 6-months follow-up. Patients body mass index (BMI) z-scores remained unchanged after sapropterin initiation. Blood phenylalanine was stable. Natural protein increased (p < 0.001) and protein substitute intake decreased (p = 0.002). There were increases in regular cow’s milk (p = 0.001), meat/fish, eggs (p = 0.005), bread (p = 0.01) and pasta (p = 0.011) intakes but special low-protein foods intake decreased. Anxiety (p = 0.016) and depression (p = 0.022) decreased in caregivers. The impact-on-family, familial-social impact (p = 0.002) and personal strain (p = 0.001) lessened. After sapropterin, caregivers spent less time on PKU tasks, the majority ate meals outside the home more regularly and fewer caregivers had to deny food choices to their children. Conclusion: There were significant positive changes in food patterns, behaviors and burden of care in children with PKU and their families after 6-months on sapropterin treatment.
Effects of Inflammatory Cell Death Caused by Catheter Ablation on Atrial Fibrillation

Abstract Atrial fibrillation (AF) poses a serious healthcare burden on society due to its high morbidity and the resulting serious complications such as thrombosis and heart failure. The principle of catheter ablation is to achieve electrical isolation by linear destruction of cardiac tissue, which makes AF a curable disease. Currently, catheter ablation does not have a high long-term success rate. The current academic consensus is that inflammation and fibrosis are central mechanisms in the progression of AF. However, artificially caused inflammatory cell death by catheter ablation may have a significant impact on structural and electrical remodeling, which may affect the long-term prognosis. This review first focused on the inflammatory response induced by apoptosis, necrosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis and their interaction with arrhythmia. Then, we compared the differences in cell death induced by radiofrequency ablation, cryoballoon ablation and pulsed-field ablation. Finally, we discussed the structural and electrical remodeling caused by inflammation and the association between inflammation and the recurrence of AF after catheter ablation. Collectively, pulsed-field ablation will be a revolutionary innovation with faster, safer, better tissue selectivity and less inflammatory response induced by apoptosis-dominated cell death.
Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements

In the present paper, a reaction–diffusion epidemic mathematical model is proposed for analysis of the transmission mechanism of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The mathematical model contains six-time and space-dependent classes, namely; Susceptible, Exposed, Asymptomatically infected, Symptomatic infected, Quarantine, and Recovered or Removed (SEQI a I s R). The threshold number R 0 is calculated by utilizing the next-generation matrix approach. In addition to the simple explicit procedure, the mathematical epidemiological model with diffusion is simulated through the operator splitting approach based on finite difference and meshless methods. Stability analysis of the disease free and endemic equilibrium points of the model is investigated. Simulation results of the model with and without diffusion are presented in detail. A comparison of the obtained numerical results of both the models is performed in the absence of an exact solution. The correctness of the solution is verified through mutual comparison and partly, via theoretical analysis as well.
Effect of Arsenate and p-Phenylenediamine on the Expression of Aquaporins in Cultured Human Urothelial Cells

Background: Exposure to arsenic (As) or p‑phenylenediamine (PPD) can lead to dysfunction, or even cancer, in various types of organs, including the urinary bladder, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Aquaporins (AQPs) are widely expressed small water channel proteins that provide the major route for the transport of water and other small molecules across plasma membranes in diverse cell types. Altered expression of AQPs has been associated with pathologies in all major organs, including the urinary bladder. Objective: The present in vitro study was performed as a first step towards exploring the possible involvement of AQPs in As- and PPD‑induced bladder diseases. Methods: An immortalized normal human urothelial cell line was employed. Cells were exposed to different concentrations of sodium arsenate (0‑20 μM) or PPD (0‑200 μM) for 48 h. Cell viability was subsequently assessed. The mRNA and protein expression levels of AQPs (specifically, AQP3, 4, 7, 9, and 11) were analyzed using reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses, respectively. Results: The viability of the cells was decreased in a concentration-dependent manner upon exposure to arsenate. The mRNA and protein expression levels of AQP3, 4, 7, and 9 were substantially reduced, whereas the expression of AQP11 was largely unchanged. As for the experiments with PPD, treatment with increasing concentrations of PPD induced a gradual decrease in cell viability. The mRNA and protein expression levels of AQP3, 4, and 11 were generally unaltered; however, a marked reduction in the expression levels of AQP7 was observed, contrasting with a gradual concentration-dependent decrease in the expression of AQP9. Conclusion: The importance of the differential expression profiles of the AQPs induced by arsenate and PPD requires further investigation; nevertheless, the findings of the present study suggest that AQPs have a role in As‑ and PPD‑induced bladder diseases.
Quantification of natural and technically-enhanced NAPL source depletion : analytical models vs numerical models

A predictive tool was developed to evaluate the performance of NAPL source remediation strategies within short computing times. Predictions on contaminant release and mass reduction over time are made using analytical models based on mass balance and one-dimensional source contaminant release, according to Raoult's law. Transient boundary conditions and simultaneous simulations of an unlimited number of compounds are supported. Results from simulating a large-scale tank experiment, in which natural and technically enhanced DNAPL release was monitored, were used to assess the performance of the developed tool against the numerical model MIN3P. By providing consistent predictions at reduced computing time, the proposed tool allows for a systematic consideration of specific remediation scenarios. Therefore, it can be used to support decision-making processes.
Vitamin E and Pioglitazone: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of Their Efficacy in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide, especially in people with obesity, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and metabolic syndrome. Weight loss and dietary modifications are established first-line treatments for NAFLD. Currently, there is no approved drug for NAFLD; however, pioglitazone and vitamin E have shown some beneficial effects. This systematic review covers the comparative efficacies of vitamin E, pioglitazone, and vitamin E plus pioglitazone. As of December 2022, the sources for prior literature review included PubMed, PubMed Central, and Medline. We included studies assessing the efficacy of pioglitazone, vitamin E, and vitamin E plus pioglitazone in improving liver histology, liver markers, and lipid profile when compared to other interventions in patients with NAFLD/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Review materials include randomized control trials (RCTs), traditional reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and observational studies on human participants published within the last five years in the English language. Studies on animals, pediatric populations, and with insufficient data were excluded from the review. Two authors scanned and filtered articles independently and later performed quality checks. A third reviewer resolved any conflicts. The risk of bias was assessed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines for systematic reviews, the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for RCTs, and the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles for Traditional Reviews. A total of 21 articles were shortlisted. The results showed that pioglitazone and vitamin E are effective in reducing steatosis, inflammation, and ballooning, reducing liver markers, but there seem to be conflicting data on fibrosis resolution. Pioglitazone decreases triglycerides and increases high-density lipoproteins. One study has suggested that pioglitazone has superior efficacy to vitamin E in fibrosis reduction and vitamin E plus pioglitazone has superior efficacy than pioglitazone alone for NASH resolution. However, these conclusions require further validation through extensive analysis and additional research. In conclusion, diabetic patients with NAFLD can be given pioglitazone, and non-diabetic patients with NAFLD can be given vitamin E.