Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Geographic differences in the unpaid caregiver experience from the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC).

INTRODUCTION The objective of this cross-sectional, descriptive study was to identify unpaid caregiver differences in demographics, competing work responsibilities, support, health, caregiver burden, and interaction with healthcare professionals in US metropolitan and non-metropolitan settings. METHODS This study leveraged the nationally representative survey of older adults and their unpaid caregivers residing in the USA: the 2017 National Health and Aging Trends Study and National Study of Caregiving. Participants were unpaid caregivers for community-dwelling older adults. RESULTS A total of 2278 unique unpaid caregivers corresponding to 1431 care recipients were investigated for this study. Non-metropolitan caregivers had significantly lower income than their metropolitan counterparts, were more likely to be married or have a partner, missed less work, and, when traveling to provide care, traveled on average fewer minutes than metropolitan caregivers. However, there were no significant differences in relationship to caregiver, impact on primary work responsibilities, financial assistance, resource utilization or access, caregiver burden, relationship with primary care providers, or self-rated caregiver health. CONCLUSION Non-metropolitan caregivers experience lower income with possible greater familial support, but despite the financial disparities do not have higher caregiver burden, poorer self-rated health, or differences in other important measures. Additional studies that further divide the non-metropolitan cohort into more refined categories by population and with larger sample sizes are essential for designing policy and programs to learn from rural caregivers and build resilience among all care providers.
Root essential oil of Chrysopogon zizanioides relaxes rat isolated thoracic aorta – an ex vivo approach

Abstract Root of Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty has been used in Siddha system of medicine to treat hypertension. The present study was therefore to investigate the vasorelaxation effect of root essential oil of C. zizanioides using rat isolated thoracic aortic rings. Chemical characterization of root essential oil was carried out using Gas Chromatography–Flame Ionization Detector (GC–FID) and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS). Essential oil nanoemulsion (EONE) was prepared and characterized. Vasorelaxant effect of EONE in endothelium-intact aortic rings precontracted with phenylephrine (PE) (1 µM) or KCl (80 mM) was investigated. Role of Ca2+, nitric oxide and K+ channels in precontracted aortic rings were investigated to elucidate the mechanism of action of the essential oil. Further, the role of muscarinic and prostacyclin receptors in EONE induced relaxation was studied. The EONE significantly induced relaxation (Emax 77.1 ± 4.87%) in PE precontracted aortic rings. The nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase inhibitors and potassium channel blockers have not significantly inhibited the vasorelaxation induced by EONE. However, EONE induced relaxation in precontracted endothelium-intact aortic rings was significantly inhibited by muscarinic receptor and calcium channel. The root essential oil of C. zizanioides possesses vasorelaxant effect through muscarinic pathway as well as acts as calcium channel blocker.
The Importance of Ionic Liquids in the Modification of Starch and Processing of Starch-Based Materials

The main applications of ionic liquids in chemistry and material research on one of the most important natural polymers—starch—are presented in this review. A brief characterization of ionic liquids and the advantages and disadvantages of using them in the modification and processing of polysaccharides is presented. The latest reports on the use of various ionic liquids as solvents or co-solvents; as media for synthesizing starch derivatives in oxidation, etherification, esterification, and transesterification, with particular emphasis on biocatalyzed reactions; and as plasticizers or compatibilizers in the processing of starch-based polymers have been investigated. The current trends, possibilities, and limitations of using this type of compound for the production of functional starch-based materials are presented.
Serpentes, Dipsadidae, Echinantherini, Taeniophallus poecilopogon (Cope, 1863): rediscovery in Argentina

The colubrid snake genus Taeniophallus Cope, 1895 has a complex taxonomic history (Myers 1974; Di-Bernardo and Lema 1987; Myers and Cadle 1994; Cacivio et al. 1999; Schargel et al. 2005; Santos-Jr et al. 2008; Zaher et al. 2009) and currently two species are considered to occur in Argentina: Taeniophallus occipitalis and Taeniophallus poecilopogon (Koslowsky 1898; Serié 1936; Peters and Orejas-Miranda 1970; Myers 1974; Williams and Francini 1991; DiBernardo 1992; Cei 1993; Scrocchi et al. 2000; Cabrera 2001; Giraudo 2001; Giraudo and Scrocchi 2002).
Probiotic triangle of success; strain production, clinical studies and product development

ABSTRACT The successful development of probiotic foods and dietary supplements rests on three pillars; each with their specific challenges and opportunities. First, strain production; this depends on selecting the right strain with promising technological properties and safety profile. Further the manufacturing of the strain in a stable format at sufficiently high yield, following regulatory and customer requirements on culture media ingredients and other processing aids. The second pillar are the preclinical and clinical studies to document that the strain is a probiotic and exerts a health benefit on the host, the consumer. Especially when aiming for a regulator approved health claim, clinical studies need to be thoroughly performed; following appropriate ethical, scientific and regulatory guidelines. Finally, the probiotic will need to be incorporated in a product that can be brought to the consumer; a dietary supplement or a functional food. Because of the live nature of probiotics, specific challenges may need to be dealt with. Although experience from other strains is helpful in the process, the development is strain specific. Commercialisation and marketing of probiotics are strictly but differently regulated in most jurisdictions; defining what can and cannot be claimed.
Roughage to Concentrate Ratio and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Inclusion Could Modulate Feed Digestion and In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation

The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of the roughage-to-concentrate (R:C) ratio and the addition of live yeast (LY) on ruminal fermentation characteristics and methane (CH4) production. The experimental design was randomly allocated according to a completely randomized design in a 4 × 4 factorial arrangement. The first factor was four rations of R:C at 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80, and the second factor was an additional four doses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (live yeast; LY) at 0, 2.0 × 106, 4.0 × 106, and 6.0 × 106 colony-forming unit (cfu), respectively. For the in vitro method, during the incubation, the gas production was noted at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 18, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. The rumen solution mixture was collected at 0, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h of incubating after inoculation. Cumulative gas production at 96 h was highest in the R:C ratio, at 20:80, while the addition of LY improves the kinetics and accumulation of gas (p > 0.05). Maximum in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) at 24 h after incubation were achieved at the R:C ratio 20:80 and the addition of LY at 6 × 106 cfu, which were greater than the control by 13.7% and 12.4%, respectively. Ruminal pH at 8 h after incubation decreased with an increased proportion of concentrates in the diet, whereas it was lowest when the R:C ratio was at 20:80. Increasing the proportion of a concentrate diet increased total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) and propionic acid (C3), whereas the acetic acid (C2) and C2-to-C3 ratios decreased (p < 0.05). TVFA and C3 increased with the addition of LY at 6 × 106 cfu, which was greater than the control by 11.5% and 17.2%, respectively. No interaction effect was observed between the R:C ratio and LY on the CH4 concentration. The calculated ruminal CH4 production decreased with the increasing proportion of concentrates in the diet, particularly the R:C ratio at 20:80. The CH4 production for LY addition at 6 × 106 cfu was lower than the control treatment by 17.2%. Moreover, the greatest populations of bacteria, protozoa, and fungi at 8 h after incubation were found with the addition of LY at 6 × 106 cfu, which were higher than the control by 19.0%, 20.7%, and 40.4%, respectively. In conclusion, a high ratio of roughage and the concentrate and addition of LY at 6.0 × 106 cfu of the total dietary substrate could improve rumen fermentation, improve feed digestibility, and reduce the CH4 production.
Graphitic Carbon Nitride: A Highly Electroactive Nanomaterial for Environmental and Clinical Sensing

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is a two-dimensional conjugated polymer that has attracted the interest of researchers and industrial communities owing to its outstanding analytical merits such as low-cost synthesis, high stability, unique electronic properties, catalytic ability, high quantum yield, nontoxicity, metal-free, low bandgap energy, and electron-rich properties. Notably, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is the most stable allotrope of carbon nitrides. It has been explored in various analytical fields due to its excellent biocompatibility properties, including ease of surface functionalization and hydrogen-bonding. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) acts as a nanomediator and serves as an immobilization layer to detect various biomolecules. Numerous reports have been presented in the literature on applying graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) for the construction of electrochemical sensors and biosensors. Different electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, electrochemiluminescence, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, square wave anodic stripping voltammetry, and amperometry techniques have been extensively used for the detection of biologic molecules and heavy metals, with high sensitivity and good selectivity. For this reason, the leading drive of this review is to stress the importance of employing graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) for the fabrication of electrochemical sensors and biosensors.
Validity of Smartphone Heart Rate Variability Pre- and Post-Resistance Exercise

The aim was to examine the validity of heart rate variability (HRV) measurements from photoplethysmography (PPG) via a smartphone application pre- and post-resistance exercise (RE) and to examine the intraday and interday reliability of the smartphone PPG method. Thirty-one adults underwent two simultaneous ultrashort-term electrocardiograph (ECG) and PPG measurements followed by 1-repetition maximum testing for back squats, bench presses, and bent-over rows. The participants then performed RE, where simultaneous ultrashort-term ECG and PPG measurements were taken: two pre- and one post-exercise. The natural logarithm of the root mean square of successive normal-to-normal (R-R) differences (LnRMSSD) values were compared with paired-sample t-tests, Pearson product correlations, Cohen’s d effect sizes (ESs), and Bland–Altman analysis. Intra-class correlations (ICC) were determined between PPG LnRMSSDs. Significant, small–moderate differences were found for all measurements between ECG and PPG: BasePre1 (ES = 0.42), BasePre2 (0.30), REPre1 (0.26), REPre2 (0.36), and REPost (1.14). The correlations ranged from moderate to very large: BasePre1 (r = 0.59), BasePre2 (r = 0.63), REPre1 (r = 0.63), REPre2 (r = 0.76), and REPost (r = 0.41)—all p < 0.05. The agreement for all the measurements was “moderate” (0.10–0.16). The PPG LnRMSSD exhibited “nearly-perfect” intraday reliability (ICC = 0.91) and “very large” interday reliability (0.88). The smartphone PPG was comparable to the ECG for measuring HRV at rest, but with larger error after resistance exercise.
Wolbachia and Sirtuin-4 interaction is associated with alterations in host glucose metabolism and bacterial titer

Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterial symbiont of arthropods notorious for inducing many reproductive manipulations that foster its dissemination. Wolbachia affects many aspects of host biology, including metabolism, longevity and physiology, being described as a nutrient provisioning or metabolic parasite, depending on the host-microbe association. Sirtuins (SIRTs) are a family of NAD+-dependent post-translational regulatory enzymes known to affect many of the same processes altered by Wolbachia, including aging and metabolism, among others. Despite a clear overlap in control of host-derived pathways and physiology, no work has demonstrated a link between these two regulators. We used genetically tractable Drosophila melanogaster to explore the role of sirtuins in shaping signaling pathways in the context of a host-symbiont model. By using transcriptional profiling and metabolic assays in the context of genetic knockouts/over-expressions, we examined the effect of several Wolbachia strains on host sirtuin expression across distinct tissues and timepoints. We also quantified the downstream effects of the sirtuin x Wolbachia interaction on host glucose metabolism, and in turn, how it impacted Wolbachia titer. Our results indicate that the presence of Wolbachia is associated with (1) reduced sirt-4 expression in a strain-specific manner, and (2) alterations in host glutamate dehydrogenase expression and ATP levels, key components of glucose metabolism. We detected high glucose levels in Wolbachia-infected flies, which further increased when sirt-4 was over-expressed. However, under sirt-4 knockout, flies displayed a hypoglycemic state not rescued to normal levels in the presence of Wolbachia. Finally, whole body sirt-4 over-expression resulted in reduced Wolbachia ovarian titer. Our results expand knowledge of Wolbachia-host associations in the context of a yet unexplored class of host post-translational regulatory enzymes with implications for conserved host signaling pathways and bacterial titer, factors known to impact host biology and the symbiont’s ability to spread through populations.
Muscle Synergy Assessment During Single-Leg Stance

In the study of muscle synergies during the maintenance of single-leg stance there are several methodological issues that must be taken into account before muscle synergy extraction. In particular, it is important to distinguish between epochs of surface electromyography (sEMG) signals corresponding to “well-balanced” and “unbalanced” single-leg stance, since different motor control strategies could be used to maintain balance. The aim of this work is to present and define a robust procedure to distinguish between “well-balanced” and “unbalanced” single-leg stance to be chosen as input for the algorithm used to extract muscle synergies. Our results demonstrate that the proposed approach for the selection of sEMG epochs relative to “well-balanced” and “unbalanced” single-leg stance is robust with respect to the selection of the segmentation threshold, revealing a high consistency in the number of muscle synergies and high similarity among the weight vectors (correlation values range from 0.75 to 0.97). Moreover, differences in terms of average recruitment levels and balance control strategies were detected, suggesting a slightly different modular organization between “well-balanced” and “unbalanced” single-leg stance. In conclusion, this approach can be successfully used as a pre-processing step before muscle synergy extraction, allowing for a better assessment of motor control strategies during the single-leg stance task.
In-Practice Endocrine Surgery Fellowship: A Novel Training Model

Objective Endocrine surgery is an expanding field within otolaryngology. We hypothesized that a novel endocrine surgery fellowship model for in-practice otolaryngologists could result in expert-level training. Study Design Qualitative clinical study with chart review. Setting Urban community practice and academic medical center. Methods Two board-certified general otolaryngologists collaborated with a senior endocrine surgeon to increase their endocrine surgery expertise between March 2015 and December 2017. The senior surgeon provided intensive surgical training to both surgeons for all of their endocrine surgeries. Both parties collaborated with endocrinology to coordinate medical care and receive referrals. All patients undergoing endocrine surgery during this time frame were reviewed retrospectively. Results A total of 235 endocrine surgeries were performed. Of these, 198 thyroid surgeries were performed, including 98 total thyroidectomies (48%), 90 lobectomies (45%), and 10 completion thyroidectomies (5%). Sixty cases demonstrated papillary thyroid carcinoma, 11 follicular thyroid carcinoma, and 4 medullary thyroid carcinoma. Neck dissections were performed in 14 of the cases. Thirty-seven parathyroid explorations were performed. There were no reports of permanent hypoparathyroidism. Thirteen patients (5.5%) developed temporary hypoparathyroidism. Six patients (2.5%) developed postoperative seroma. Three patients (1.3%) developed postoperative hematomas requiring reoperation. One patient (0.4%) developed permanent vocal fold paralysis, and 3 patients (1.3%) had temporary dysphonia. Thirty-five of 37 (94.5%) parathyroid explorations resulted in biochemical resolution of the patient’s primary hyperparathyroidism. Conclusion This is the first description of a new fellowship paradigm where a senior surgeon provides fellowship training to attending surgeons already in practice.
Characterization of iRGD-Ligand Modified Arginine-Histidine-Rich Peptides for Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Delivery to αvβ3 Integrin-Expressing Cancer Cells

Efficient and specific delivery of nucleic acid (NA) therapeutics to tumor cells is extremely important for cancer gene therapy. Various therapeutic strategies include delivery of DNA-therapeutics such as immunostimulatory or suicide genes and delivery of siRNA-therapeutics able to silence expression of cancer-related genes. Peptides are a promising class of non-viral vehicles which are biodegradable and can efficiently condense, protect and specifically deliver NA to the cells. Here we designed arginine-histidine-rich peptide carriers consisting of an iRGD ligand to target αvβ3 integrins and studied them as vehicles for DNA and siRNA delivery to cancer cells. Combination of iRGD-modified and unmodified arginine–histidine-rich peptides during NA complexation resulted in carriers with different ligand contents. The NA-binding and protecting properties in vitro transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity of the DNA- and siRNA-polyplexes were studied and the most efficient carrier RGD1 was determined. The ability of the peptides to mediate specific intracellular uptake was confirmed inhuman cervical carcinoma (HeLa), human kidney (293T) and human pancreatic (PANC-1) cell lines with different αvβ3 integrins surface expression. By means of RGD1 carrier, efficient delivery of the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) thymidine kinase gene to PANC-1 cells was demonstrated. Subsequent ganciclovir treatment led to a reduction of PANC-1 cells’ viability by up to 54%. Efficient RNAi-mediated down-regulation of GFP and VEGFA gene expression was achieved in MDA-MB-231-GFP+ breast cancer and EA.hy926 endothelial cells, respectively, by means of RGD1/siRNA polyplexes. Here we demonstrated that the peptide carrier RGD1 can be considered as promising candidate for development of NA therapeutics delivery systems useful in cancer gene therapy.
Proteome Analysis of Walnut Bacterial Blight Disease

The interaction between the plant host, walnut (Juglans regia; Jr), and a deadly pathogen (Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis 417; Xaj) can lead to walnut bacterial blight (WB), which depletes walnut productivity by degrading the nut quality. Here, we dissect this pathosystem using tandem mass tag quantitative proteomics. Walnut hull tissues inoculated with Xaj were compared to mock-inoculated tissues, and 3972 proteins were identified, of which 3296 are from Jr and 676 from Xaj. Proteins with differential abundance include oxidoreductases, proteases, and enzymes involved in energy metabolism and amino acid interconversion pathways. Defense responses and plant hormone biosynthesis were also increased. Xaj proteins detected in infected tissues demonstrate its ability to adapt to the host microenvironment, limiting iron availability, coping with copper toxicity, and maintaining energy and intermediary metabolism. Secreted proteases and extracellular secretion apparatus such as type IV pilus for twitching motility and type III secretion effectors indicate putative factors recognized by the host. Taken together, these results suggest intense degradation processes, oxidative stress, and general arrest of the biosynthetic metabolism in infected nuts. Our results provide insights into molecular mechanisms and highlight potential molecular tools for early detection and disease control strategies.
Effect of the Anisotropy Mechanical Properties on LN Crystals Fixed-Abrasive Lapping

The anisotropy of lithium niobate (LN) single crystals in mechanical properties affects its material removal uniformity during lapping. The nano-indentation hardness (HI) and elastic modulus(E) of Z-cut wafer and X-cut wafer were measured by a nano-indentation tester. The nano-scratching tests were adopted to evaluate its critical cutting depth (dc) of brittle ductile transition along crucial orientations of Z-cut and X-cut, respectively. A series of fixed-abrasive lapping tests were carried out to explore the effect of anisotropy on the lapping process. The results indicated that the HI of Z-cut was slightly higher than that of X-cut, while the E of Z-cut was about 1.1 times of the latter. The dc value of each orientation varies greatly. The lapping tests showed that the material removal rate (MRR) of Z-cut was lower than that of X-cut, for its high HI and E. Meanwhile, the surface quality of Z-cut was better than that of X-cut, for the larger dc of Z-cut. The research of mechanical properties of LN has guiding significance for its lapping process.
Functionalized KIT-6/Polysulfone Mixed Matrix Membranes for Enhanced CO2/CH4 Gas Separation

The development of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for effective gas separation has been gaining popularity in recent years. The current study aimed at the fabrication of MMMs incorporated with various loadings (0–4 wt%) of functionalized KIT-6 (NH2KIT-6) [KIT: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology] for enhanced gas permeation and separation performance. NH2KIT-6 was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and N2 adsorption–desorption analysis. The fabricated membranes were subjected to FESEM and FTIR analyses. The effect of NH2KIT-6 loading on the CO2 permeability and ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity of the fabricated membranes were investigated in gas permeation and separation studies. The successfulness of (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) functionalization on KIT-6 was confirmed by FTIR analysis. As observed from FESEM images, MMMs with no voids in the matrix were successfully fabricated at a low NH2KIT-6 loading of 0 to 2 wt%. The CO2 permeability and ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity increased when NH2KIT-6 loading was increased from 0 to 2 wt%. However, a further increase in NH2KIT-6 loading beyond 2 wt% led to a drop in ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity. In the current study, a significant increase of about 47% in ideal CO2/CH4 selectivity was achieved by incorporating optimum 2 wt% NH2KIT-6 into the MMMs.