Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An evolutionary insight into emerging Ebolavirus strains isolated in Africa

On July 19, 2019, the World Health Organization declared the current Ebolavirus (EBOV) outbreak in Congo Democratic Republic (COD) a public health emergency of international concern. To address the potential threat of EBOV evolution outpacing antibody treatment and vaccine efforts, a detailed evolutionary analysis of EBOV strains circulating in different African countries was performed. Genome composition of EBOV strains was studied using multivariate statistical analysis. To investigate the patterns of evolution of EBOV strains, a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach was used. Two different genetic lineages, with a distinct genome composition gave rise to the recent EBOV outbreaks in central and western Africa. Strains isolated in COD in 2018 fall into two different genetic clusters, according to their geographical location of isolation. Different amino acid substitutions among strains from these two clusters have been found, particularly in NP, GP, and L proteins. Significant differences in codon and amino acid usage among clusters were found. Strains isolated in COD in 2018 belong to two distinct genetic clusters, with distinct codon and amino acid usage. Geographical diversity plays an important role in shaping the molecular evolution of EBOV populations.
The association between sleep problems and academic performance in primary school-aged children: Findings from a Norwegian longitudinal population-based study

The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal association between concurrent, transitory and persistent difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS) on academic performance in children in a. longitudinal child-cohort (N = 3986) targeting school-aged children when they were 7–9 years (T1) and 11–13 years (T2) old, whilst controlling for mental health problems. DIMS were parent-reported at T1 and T2 and academic performance teacher-reported at T2. Mental health was based on child self-report at T2 using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). In all, 10.6% (n = 423) of the children had poor school performance at T2. These had more symptoms of externalizing and internalizing mental health problems (p. < 001) compared to their peers at T2. A logistic regression analysis showed that both concurrent DIMS (at T2, but not at T1) and persistent DIMS (at both T1 and T2) was associated with elevated risk of poor academic performance. After controlling for mental health problems, only persistent DIMS was associated with increased risk of poor academic performance. Transitory DIMS (DIMS at T1 but not at T2) did not increase the risk of later poor academic performance. A mediation analysis also revealed that the association between DIMS and poor school performance was mediated by mental health problems, in addition to an overall significant direct relative effect of DIMS on poor school performance in the persistent DIMS group. These findings support the notion that sleep problems in children are associated with impaired academic performance, and extends past findings demonstrating that sleep problems may not increase the risk of poor academic performance unless they persist over time. The negative effects of persistent sleep problems suggest that more emphasis should be put on preventive interventions of sleep problems in school-aged children.
A PD-Type Iterative Learning Algorithm for Semi-Linear Distributed Parameter Systems With Sensors/Actuators

In this paper, the control problem of semi-linear distributed parameter system (DPS) with sensors/actuators is considered using iterative learning control (ILC) method. During the learning process, the output signals of the system exist random data dropout which is described as a Bernoulli random variable. Then, a novel intermittent updating PD-type ILC algorithm is proposed on the basis of the available output information. In this kind ILC algorithm, the scheme only updates its control signal when the output signal is successfully transmitted. Hence, the intermittent updating PD-type ILC algorithm is presented for a semi-linear parabolic DPS based on single sensor and single actuator, and the convergence condition of the output error is obtained by using Bellman-Gronwall lemma and semigroup theory under some given assumptions. Secondly, this kind PD-type ILC law is extended to control the semi-linear DPS with multiple sensors and multiple actuators. Lastly, one example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Improved survival after offspring donor transplant compared with older aged‐matched siblings for older leukaemia patients

Donor selection for older leukaemia patients undergoing haematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) is not well defined: outcomes might be improved with a younger offspring donor rather than an older human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐matched sibling donor (MSD). We extended our multicentre dataset. A total of 185 acute leukaemia patients (≥ 50 years) transplanted in first complete remission who received HCT from offspring (n = 62) or MSD (n = 123) were included. A 1:1 ratio matched‐pair analysis was performed. We were able to match 54 offspring with 54 MSD patients. Outcomes were compared between the two matched‐pair groups. The cumulative incidence of grade II/IV acute graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) (26% vs. 35%; P = 0·23) and chronic GVHD (37% vs. 24%; P = 0·19) was comparable between groups (MSD vs. offspring). The lower three‐year transplant‐related mortality (9% vs. 26%; P = 0·023) and relapse incidence (6% vs. 17%; P = 0·066) resulted in higher overall survival (85% vs. 58%; P = 0·003) and leukaemia‐free survival (LFS) (85% vs. 56%; P = 0·001) in offspring HCT compared with that in MSD HCT. These data might favour a young offspring over an older MSD in patients >50 years. The current analyses confirm that non‐HLA donor characteristics, such as kinship and donor age, rather than HLA disparity, predominantly influence survival in older acute leukaemia patients.
Viable Alternatives to in vivo Tests for Evaluating the Toxicity of Engineered Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) stand at the frontier of nanotechnology and are destined to stimulate the next industrial revolution. Rapid increase in their production and use in the technology industry have led to concerns over the effects of CNT on human health and the environment. The prominent use of CNTs in biomedical applications also increases the possibility of human exposure, while properties such as their high aspect ratio (fiber-like shape) and large surface area raise safety concerns for human health if exposure does occur. It is crucial to develop viable alternatives to in vivo tests in order to evaluate the toxicity of engineered CNTs and develop validated experimental models capable of identifying CNTs’ toxic effects and predicting their level of toxicity in the human respiratory system. Human lung epithelial cells serve as a barrier at the interface between the surrounding air and lung tissues in response to exogenous particles such as air-pollutants, including CNTs. Monolayer culture of the key individual cell types has provided abundant fundamental information on the response of these cells to external perturbations. However, such systems are limited by the absence of cell-cell interactions and their dynamic nature, which are both present in vivo. In this review, we suggested two viable alternatives to in vivo tests to evaluate the health risk of human exposure to CNTs.
odium metabisulphite enhances energy utilisation in broiler hickens offered sorghum-based diets with five different rain varieties

The reducing agent, sodium metabisulphite, was included in sorghum-based broiler diets at 0.00, 1.75 and 3.50 g/kg from 7 to 28 days post-hatch. In Experiment 1 two sorghum varieties (MP, JM) were evaluated and three sorghums (HP, Tiger, HFQ) in Experiment 2; the two experiments were separate but very similar. The five sorghums were extensively characterised and all five diets contained 620 g/kg sorghum and were formulated to be nutritionally equivalent. In both studies, each dietary treatment was offered to six replicate cages (6 birds per cage) for a combined total of 540 male Ross 308 chicks. The effects of sodium metabisulphite on growth performance, nutrient utilisation, apparent digestibility coefficients of starch and protein (N) and starch and protein digestive dynamics were determined. Sodium metabisulphite significantly enhanced energy utilisation. Across both experiments, 3.50 g/kg sodium metabisulphite increased AME on a dry matter basis by 0.34 MJ from an average of 11.97–12.31 MJ/kg and similarly increased N-corrected AME by 0.42 MJ from 11.43 to 11.85 MJ/kg. Sorghum variety by sodium metabisulphite interactions were not observed for energy utilisation (AME, ME:GE ratios, AMEn) parameters but this was not always the case for other parameters, which indicates that diverse sorghums respond differently to sodium metabisulphite. Consideration is given to the basis for these variable responses to sodium metabisulphite because of its dual modes of action (reducing disulphide cross-linkages, depolymerising starch polysaccharides) and the possible relevance of RVA starch pasting profiles of grain sorghum to feed grain quality. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abbreviations: AIA, acid insoluble ash; AME, apparent metabolisable energy; AMEn, nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolisable energy; cP, centipoise; J, distal jejunum; DI, distal ileum; FCR, feed conversion ratio; ME:GE, metabolisable: gross energy ratios; N, nitrogen; PJ, proximal jejunum; PI, proximal leum; RVA, rapid visco analysis. ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: peter.selle@sydney.edu. au (P.H. Selle). http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci. 2016.06. 016 377-8401/© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). 160 H.H. Truong et al. / Animal Feed Science and Technology 219 (2016) 159–174
Psychosocial interventions for informal caregivers of lung cancer patients: A systematic review

Caregivers of patients with lung cancer often face physical, emotional, and financial distress, which not only negatively affects the caregivers' mental health and quality of life but may also impact patients' well‐being. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the content, delivery, and efficacy of psychosocial interventions targeting caregivers of lung cancer patients.
Environmental Taxation and Development: A Scoping Study

Developing countries face increasing environmental pressures across a range of dimensions. At the same time, the capacity of these governments to effectively pursue policy goals is often constrained by a lack of resources, with tax revenues in many countries being half of what is common in developed economies. For some, these are distinct issues that should be considered separately. For others, they can and should be dealt with together. This paper reviews the potential of one type of mechanism to address both goals simultaneously: environmental taxation. After distinguishing between different forms, the paper uses a Pigouvian framework to organise and analyse theoretical and empirical evidence on the impacts of environmental taxes in developing countries. Despite limited evidence it is possible to draw some conclusions. First, taxes that are carefully designed and reflect local conditions can be effective in achieving environmental goals, and may be the best instruments under some conditions. Second, while it is possible to raise significant revenues, there may be less potential than is often supposed: environmental goals are more likely to be achieved where tax revenues are used, in part, to further the same ends; it may also be necessary – and desirable – to use some revenue to offset regressive effects; also, support for environmental taxes is likely to be undermined if they are seen to be revenue raising tools. More broadly, limits to the effectiveness of environmental taxes become more severe as the number of policy goals increases: achieving "double-dividends" may be hard, and "triple-dividends" harder still. A more realistic aim, therefore, may be a "one and a half" dividend approach, with the environmental goal being the primary focus. Third, regardless of the quality of design, environmental taxes may fail without strong, high-level political support, particularly where they conflict with other policy goals that do have this support. In the light of this analysis, the penultimate section of the paper develops a decision-making framework, designed to help policy-makers weigh the merits of environmental taxes to achieve specified goals. The paper concludes with a comprehensive research agenda.
Gingival crevicular fluid levels of SLIT3 are increased in periodontal disease.

This study aims to investigate the levels of SLIT3 in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of healthy and periodontal disease subjects, and their correlations to periodontal disease. A total of 45 periodontal patients and 45 periodontally healthy volunteers were enrolled. The clinical parameters, radiographic bone loss and the levels of SLIT3, receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in GCF were measured. The prevalences of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola and Tannerella forsythia in subgingival plaque were also analyzed. The expression of SLIT3 and RANKL were detected in the periodontium of experimental periodontitis in rats and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mouse macrophage. The total amounts and concentrations of SLIT3 and RANKL were significantly higher in periodontitis than those in healthy, while the level of OPG was significantly lower (p<0.05). Significant positive correlations were observed between the level of GCF SLIT3 and clinical attachment level and radiographic bone loss (p<0.05). There existed a significant positive correlation between SLIT3 and RANKL (p<0.05). Increased expression of SLIT3 and RANKL was observed in the periodontium of periodontal rats. SLIT3 expression was induced by LPS-stimulation in macrophages. These results suggest that SLIT3 may act as a diagnostic indicator of periodontal disease and should be further investigated.
Determination of factors affecting expenditures on three major food groups in Al-Ain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

A cross-section random sample of 485 households residing in Al-Ain, UAE, comprised of 270 Emirati citizens, 116 Arabic-speaking residents, 43 English-speaking residents, and 56 Urdu-speaking residents, was elicited. The questionnaire directed to the heads of the households included two main sections on amounts consumed and expenditures made on each food item bought. The study utilized the procedure of estimating expenditure functions on three main food items/groups: rice, seafood, and meats. Some of the results indicated that (1) income and household size were always critical factors affecting the amount of money spent on the three examined food groups, and (2) the expenditure on the three examined food items/groups was not highly responsive to changes in households' incomes.
Downlink Achievable Rate Analysis for FDD Massive MIMO Systems

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems with large-scale transmit antenna arrays, often called massive MIMO, are a very promising direction for 5G due to their ability to increase capacity and enhance both spectrum and energy efficiency. To get the benefit of massive MIMO systems, accurate downlink channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) is essential for downlink beamforming and resource allocation. Conventional approaches to obtain CSIT for FDD massive MIMO systems require downlink training and CSI feedback. However, such training will cause a large overhead for massive MIMO systems because of the large dimensionality of the channel matrix. In this dissertation, we improve the performance of FDD massive MIMO networks in terms of downlink training overhead reduction, by designing an efficient downlink beamforming method and developing a new algorithm to estimate the channel state information based on compressive sensing techniques. First, we design an efficient downlink beamforming method based on partial CSI. By exploiting the relationship between uplink direction of arrivals (DoAs) and downlink direction of departures (DoDs), we derive an expression for estimated downlink DoDs, which will be used for downlink beamforming. Second, By exploiting the sparsity structure of downlink channel matrix, we develop an algorithm that selects the best features from the measurement matrix to obtain efficient CSIT acquisition that can reduce the iii downlink training overhead compared with conventional LS/MMSE estimators. In both cases, we compare the performance of our proposed beamforming method with traditional methods in terms of downlink achievable rate and simulation results show that our proposed method outperform the traditional beamforming methods.
STYK1 promotes autophagy through enhancing the assembly of autophagy-specific class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase complex I

ABSTRACT Macroautophagy/autophagy plays key roles in development, oncogenesis, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Autophagy-specific class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase complex I (PtdIns3K-C1) is essential for autophagosome formation. However, the regulation of this complex formation requires further investigation. Here, we discovered that STYK1 (serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase 1), a member of the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) family, is a new upstream regulator of autophagy. We discovered that STYK1 facilitated autophagosome formation in human cells and zebrafish, which was characterized by elevated LC3-II and lowered SQSTM1/p62 levels and increased puncta formation by several marker proteins, such as ATG14, WIPI1, and ZFYVE1. Moreover, we observed that STYK1 directly binds to the PtdIns3K-C1 complex as a homodimer. The binding with this complex was promoted by Tyr191 phosphorylation, by means of which the kinase activity of STYK1 was elevated. We also demonstrated that STYK1 elevated the serine phosphorylation of BECN1, thereby decreasing the interaction between BECN1 and BCL2. Furthermore, we found that STYK1 preferentially facilitated the assembly of the PtdIns3K-C1 complex and was required for PtdIns3K-C1 complex kinase activity. Taken together, our findings provide new insights into autophagy induction and reveal evidence of novel crosstalk between the components of RTK signaling and autophagy. Abbreviations: AICAR: 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide; AMPK: adenosine 5‘-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase; ATG: autophagy related; ATP: adenosine triphosphate; BCL2: BCL2 apoptosis regulator; BECN1: beclin 1; Bre A: brefeldin A; Co-IP: co-immunoprecipitation; CRISPR: clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats; DAPI: 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; EBSS: Earle’s balanced salt solution; GAPDH: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; GFP: green fluorescent protein; GSEA: gene set enrichment analysis; MAP1LC3/LC3, microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3; MAPK8/JNK1: mitogen-activated protein kinase 8; mRFP: monomeric red fluorescent protein; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; MTT: 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide; PIK3C3: phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit type 3; PIK3R4: phosphoinositide-3-kinase regulatory subunit 4; qRT-PCR: quantitative reverse transcription PCR; RACK1: receptor for activated C kinase 1; RUBCN: rubicon autophagy regulator; siRNA: small interfering RNA; SQSTM1: sequestosome 1; STYK1/NOK: serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase 1; TCGA: The Cancer Genome Atlas; Ub: ubiquitin; ULK1: unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1; UVRAG: UV radiation resistance associated; WIPI1: WD repeat domain, phosphoinositide interacting 1; ZFYVE1: zinc finger FYVE-type containing 1
Potential of Brassicaceae Burnett (Mustard family; Angiosperms) in Phytoremediation of Heavy Metals

Phytoremediation technology is using plants to clean up contaminated sites is a promising loom to restore the environment and ecosystem. Pollution of the environment with toxic organic and heavy metal pollutants is one of major problem facing developed and developing nations today. Heavy metals restrain biodegradation of chlorinated organics by interacting with enzymes directly concerned in biodegradation or those involved in common metabolism. Prophecy of heavy metal toxicity effects on organic pollutant biodegradation in co-contaminated soil is tricky since heavy metals may be present in a variety of chemical and physical forms. Even if much remains to be studied, phytoremediation will clearly play some role in the stabilization and remediation of many contaminated sites. The main factor driving the execution of phytoremediation projects are low costs with considerable improvements in site aesthetics and the potential for ecosystem restoration. In this review, the potential and various aspects of few Brassicaceae (Mustard family) members in phytoremediation have been discussed due to their well known natural tolerant against various environmental stresses including heavy metals.
Development and Biocompatibility of Collagen-Based Composites Enriched with Nanoparticles of Strontium Containing Mesoporous Glass

In the last years bone tissue engineering has been increasingly indicated as a valid solution to meet the challenging requirements for a healthy bone regeneration in case of bone loss or fracture. In such a context, bioactive glasses have already proved their great potential in promoting the regeneration of new bone tissue due to their high bioactivity. In addition, their composition and structure enable us to incorporate and subsequently release therapeutic ions such as strontium, enhancing the osteogenic properties of the material. The incorporation of these inorganic systems in polymeric matrices enables the formulation of composite systems suitable for the design of bone scaffolds or delivery platforms. Among the natural polymers, type I collagen represents the main organic phase of bone and thus is a good candidate to develop biomimetic bioactive systems for bone tissue regeneration. However, alongside the specific composition and structure, the key factor in the design of new biosystems is creating a suitable interaction with cells and the host tissue. In this scenario, the presented study aimed at combining nano-sized mesoporous bioactive glasses produced by means of a sol–gel route with type I collagen in order to develop a bioactive hybrid formulation suitable for bone tissue engineering applications. The designed system has been fully characterized in terms of physico-chemical and morphological analyses and the ability to release Sr2+ ions has been studied observing a more sustained profile in presence of the collagenous matrix. With the aim to improve the mechanical and thermal stability of the resulting hybrid system, a chemical crosslinking approach using 4-star poly (ethylene glycol) ether tetrasuccinimidyl glutarate (4-StarPEG) has been explored. The biocompatibility of both non-crosslinked and 4-StarPEG crosslinked systems was evaluated by in vitro tests with human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells. Collected results confirmed the high biocompatibility of composites, showing a good viability and adhesion of cells when cultured onto the biomaterial samples.