Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anti-cancer Evaluation of Depsides Isolated from Indonesian Folious Lichens: Physcia millegrana, Parmelia dilatata and Parmelia aurulenta

Cancer is a serious health burden on global societies. The discovery and development of new anti-cancer therapies remains a challenging objective. Although it has been shown that lichen secondary metabolites may be potent sources for new anti-cancer agents, the Indonesian- grown folious lichens, Physcia millegrana, Parmelia dilatata and Parmeila aurulenta, have not yet been explored. In this study exhaustive preparative high-performance liquid chromatography was employed to isolate the lichen constituents with spectroscopic and spectrometric protocols identifying nine depsides 9–17, including the new methyl 4-formyl-2,3-dihydroxy-6-methylbenzoate 13. The cytotoxicity of the depsides towards cancer cells was assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results indicated lowest toxicity of the depsides towards human A549 lung cancer cells. Importantly, the di-depsides (11, 12 and 17) showed greatest toxicity, indicating that these structures are biologically more active than the mono-depsides against the HepG2 liver cancer, A549 lung cancer and HL-60 leukemia cell lines.
Wearable Hearing Device Spectral Enhancement Driven by Non-Negative Sparse Coding-Based Residual Noise Reduction

This paper proposes a novel technique to improve a spectral statistical filter for speech enhancement, to be applied in wearable hearing devices such as hearing aids. The proposed method is implemented considering a 32-channel uniform polyphase discrete Fourier transform filter bank, for which the overall algorithm processing delay is 8 ms in accordance with the hearing device requirements. The proposed speech enhancement technique, which exploits the concepts of both non-negative sparse coding (NNSC) and spectral statistical filtering, provides an online unified framework to overcome the problem of residual noise in spectral statistical filters under noisy environments. First, the spectral gain attenuator of the statistical Wiener filter is obtained using the a priori signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimated through a decision-directed approach. Next, the spectrum estimated using the Wiener spectral gain attenuator is decomposed by applying the NNSC technique to the target speech and residual noise components. These components are used to develop an NNSC-based Wiener spectral gain attenuator to achieve enhanced speech. The performance of the proposed NNSC–Wiener filter was evaluated through a perceptual evaluation of the speech quality scores under various noise conditions with SNRs ranging from -5 to 20 dB. The results indicated that the proposed NNSC–Wiener filter can outperform the conventional Wiener filter and NNSC-based speech enhancement methods at all SNRs.
Isolation and Investigation of Potential Non-Saccharomyces Yeasts to Improve the Volatile Terpene Compounds in Korean Muscat Bailey A Wine

The Muscat Bailey A (MBA) grape, one of the most prominent grape cultivars in Korea, contains considerable amounts of monoterpene alcohols that have very low odor thresholds and significantly affect the perception of wine aroma. To develop a potential wine starter for Korean MBA wine, nine types of non-Saccharomyces yeasts were isolated from various Korean food materials, including nuruk, Sémillon grapes, persimmons, and Muscat Bailey A grapes, and their physiological, biochemical, and enzymatic properties were investigated and compared to the conventional wine fermentation strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae W-3. Through API ZYM analysis, Wickerhamomyces anomalus JK04, Hanseniaspora vineae S7, Hanseniaspora uvarum S8, Candida railenensis S18, and Metschnikowia pulcherrima S36 were revealed to have β-glucosidase activity. Their activities were quantified by culturing in growth medium composed of different carbon sources: 2% glucose, 1% glucose + 1% cellobiose, and 2% cellobiose. W. anomalus JK04 and M. pulcherrima S36 showed the highest β-glucosidase activities in all growth media; thus, they were selected and utilized for MBA wine fermentation. MBA wines co-fermented with non-Saccharomyces yeasts (W. anomalus JK04 or M. pulcherrima S36) and S. cerevisiae W-3 showed significantly increased levels of linalool, citronellol, and geraniol compared to MBA wine fermented with S. cerevisiae W-3 (control). In a sensory evaluation, the flavor, taste, and overall preference scores of the co-fermented wines were higher than those for the control wine, suggesting that W. anomalus JK04 and M. pulcherrima S36 are favorable wine starters for improving Korean MBA wine quality.
Maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring intellectual disability: sibling analysis in an intergenerational Danish cohort

Abstract Background Maternal smoking has known adverse effects on fetal development. However, research on the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring intellectual disability (ID) is limited, and whether any associations are due to a causal effect or residual confounding is unknown. Method Cohort study of all Danish births between 1995 and 2012 (1 066 989 persons from 658 335 families after exclusions), with prospectively recorded data for cohort members, parents and siblings. We assessed the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy (18.6% exposed, collected during prenatal visits) and offspring ID (8051 cases, measured using ICD-10 diagnosis codes F70–F79) using logistic generalised estimating equation regression models. Models were adjusted for confounders including measures of socio-economic status and parental psychiatric diagnoses and were adjusted for family averaged exposure between full siblings. Adjustment for a family averaged exposure allows calculation of the within-family effect of smoking on child outcomes which is robust against confounders that are shared between siblings. Results We found increased odds of ID among those exposed to maternal smoking in pregnancy after confounder adjustment (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.28–1.42) which attenuated to a null effect following adjustment for family averaged exposure (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.78–1.06). Conclusions Our findings are inconsistent with a causal effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on offspring ID risk. By estimating a within-family effect, our results suggest that prior associations were the result of unmeasured genetic or environmental characteristics of families in which the mother smokes during pregnancy.
Impact de la fonctionnalisation enzymatique de la pectine par des composés phénoliques sur la structure et les propriétés physicochimiques du polymère

Cette these porte sur la fonctionnalisation de la pectine de citron par des composes phenoliques. Une premiere strategie a consiste a greffer les produits issus de l’oxydation de l’acide ferulique (AF), en milieu aqueux (pH 7,5, 30 ° C), en presence de la laccase de Myceliophthora thermophila (obtention de pectine F). L’enjeu etait de demontrer le greffage covalent de composes phenoliques exogenes sur le polysaccharide, de recueillir des informations sur la structure et les proprietes du polymere fonctionnalise et de les comparer aux caracteristiques du polymere natif. Une deuxieme strategie de fonctionnalisation de la pectine a ete envisagee, basee sur l'adsorption des produits d'oxydation de l'AF sur la pectine (obtention de pectine POX). Quel que soit le mode de fonctionnalisation, des analyses biochimiques ont montre l'incorporation de composes phenoliques dans la pectine. La structure et les proprietes des pectines modifiees dependent du type de fonctionnalisation subie par le polysaccharide (greffage covalent ou adsorption). Des analyses structurales suggerent que le greffage covalent de phenols fait intervenir les fonctions carboxyles de la pectine (formation de liaisons ester) sur lesquelles des oligomeres d'acide ferulique viendraient se lier. Les proprietes des pectines fonctionnalisees (POX et F) et de la pectine native ont ete etudiees et comparees afin de mettre en evidence les changements apportes. L'etude des proprietes thermiques des differentes poudres de pectine suggerent une structure moins organisee et moins compacte pour les polymeres fonctionnalises par rapport a la pectine native. L’activite antioxydante des pectines fonctionnalisees est amelioree tandis que leur caractere hygroscopique est diminue en raison de l'incorporation de composes phenoliques hydrophobes. De meme que la pectine native, les pectines POX et F presentent un profil rheofluidifiant. Toutefois, la viscosite et la vitesse de gelification mesurees dans le cas de la pectine F sont significativement diminuees par rapport a celles obtenues pour la pectine native. La pectine POX presente un comportement intermediaire. Des resultats preliminaires d'assemblages ont montre qu'il est possible d'associer la pectine native ou modifiee a un autre polysaccharide, le chitosane. Les microparticules obtenues ont montre leur capacite a encapsuler un principe actif tel que la curcumine
Magnetic Field Gradient-Based EKF for Velocity Estimation in Indoor Navigation

This paper proposes an advanced solution to improve the inertial velocity estimation of a rigid body, for indoor navigation, through implementing a magnetic field gradient-based Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). The proposed estimation scheme considers a set of data from a triad of inertial sensors (accelerometer and gyroscope), as well as a determined arrangement of magnetometers array. The inputs for the estimation scheme are the spatial derivatives of the magnetic field, from the magnetometers array, and the attitude, from the inertial sensors. As shown in the literature, there is a strong relation between the velocity and the measured magnetic field gradient. However, the latter usually suffers from high noises. Then, the novelty of the proposed EKF is to develop a specific equation to describe the dynamics of the magnetic field gradient. This contribution helps to filter, first, the magnetic field and its gradient and second, to better estimate the inertial velocity. Some numerical simulations that are based on an open source database show the targeted improvements. At the end of the paper, this approach is extended to position estimation in the case of a foot-mounted application and the results are very promising.
Drug-Eluting Stents and Balloons—Materials, Structure Designs, and Coating Techniques: A Review

Controlled drug delivery is a matter of interest to numerous scientists from various domains, as well as an essential issue for society as a whole. In the treatment of many diseases, it is crucial to control the dosing of a drug for a long time and thus maintain its optimal concentration in the tissue. Heart diseases are particularly important in this aspect. One such disease is an obstructive arterial disease affecting millions of people around the world. In recent years, stents and balloon catheters have reached a significant position in the treatment of this condition. Balloon catheters are also successfully used to manage tear ducts, paranasal sinuses, or salivary glands disorders. Modern technology is continually striving to improve the results of previous generations of stents and balloon catheters by refining their design, structure, and constituent materials. These advances result in the development of both successive models of drug-eluting stents (DES) and drug-eluting balloons (DEB). This paper presents milestones in the development of DES and DEB, which are a significant option in the treatment of coronary artery diseases. This report reviews the works related to achievements in construction designs and materials, as well as preparation technologies, of DES and DEB. Special attention was paid to the polymeric biodegradable materials used in the production of the above-mentioned devices. Information was also collected on the various methods of producing drug release coatings and their effectiveness in releasing the active substance.
Clinical Radiographic Predictors of Response to Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Objective To determine if clinically acquired cephalometric measurements, specifically soft palate size, can predict hypoglossal nerve stimulation outcomes. Study Design Combined prospective cohort study and retrospective review. Setting US sleep otolaryngology training program. Methods Adults with obstructive sleep apnea and apneahypopnea index greater than 15 events/h who underwent hypoglossal nerve stimulation. Eligible subjects had diagnostic preoperative sleep studies and full-night efficacy postoperative studies for analysis. Lateral neck x-rays were obtained as part of routine clinical care and measured for key cephalometric variables by trained head and neck radiologists. Continuous variables were compared using the Student t test, while χ2 testing was used for categorical variables. Results Fifty-one patients met all study criteria. On average, patients were white, middle aged, and overweight. Following hypoglossal nerve stimulation, the overall cohort achieved a significant apnea-hypopnea index reduction from 36.7 events/h to 20.6 events/h (P < .01) and a response rate of 47% (defined as apnea-hypopnea index reduction >50% and apnea-hypopnea index <20 events/h). On average, therapy responders had significantly thinner soft palates than nonresponders (13.4 ± 3.8 mm vs 16.0 ± 3.4 mm, P = .045). Conclusions Patient-specific anatomic factors, specifically soft palate thickness, may help identify optimal candidates for hypoglossal nerve stimulation. A larger, prospective study including both anatomic and physiologic variables is required to validate these findings.
Computational Identification and Comparative Analysis of Conserved miRNAs and Their Putative Target Genes in the Juglans regia and J. microcarpa Genomes

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important factors for the post-transcriptional regulation of protein-coding genes in plants and animals. They are discovered either by sequencing small RNAs or computationally. We employed a sequence-homology-based computational approach to identify conserved miRNAs and their target genes in Persian (English) walnut, Juglans regia, and its North American wild relative, J. microcarpa. A total of 119 miRNA precursors (pre-miRNAs) were detected in the J. regia genome and 121 in the J. microcarpa genome and miRNA target genes were predicted and their functional annotations were performed in both genomes. In the J. regia genome, 325 different genes were targets; 87.08% were regulated by transcript cleavage and 12.92% by translation repression. In the J. microcarpa genome, 316 different genes were targets; 88.92% were regulated by transcript cleavage and 11.08% were regulated by translation repression. Totals of 1.3% and 2.0% of all resistance gene analogues (RGA) and 2.7% and 2.6% of all transcription factors (TFs) were regulated by miRNAs in the J. regia and J. microcarpa genomes, respectively. Juglans genomes evolved by a whole genome duplication (WGD) and consist of eight pairs of fractionated homoeologous chromosomes. Within each pair, the chromosome that has more genes with greater average transcription also harbors more pre-miRNAs and more target genes than its homoeologue. While only minor differences were detected in pre-miRNAs between the J. regia and J. microcarpa genomes, about one-third of the pre-miRNA loci were not conserved between homoeologous chromosome within each genome. Pre-miRNA and their corresponding target genes showed a tendency to be collocated within a subgenome.
The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in the breath of some infected dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius)

Abstract Dromedary camels remain the currently identified reservoir for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The virus is released in the secretions of the infected camels, especially the nasal tract. The virus shedding curve through the nasal secretions was studied. Although human transmission of the virus through the respiratory tract of close contact people with dromedary reported previously, the exact mechanism of transmission is still largely unknown. The main goal of this study was to check the possibility of MERS-CoV shedding in the exhaled air of the infected camels. To achieve this goal, we conducted a follow-up study in one of the dromedary camel herds, December 2018–April 2019. We tested nasal swabs, breath samples from animals within this herd by the real-time PCR. Our results showed that some of the tested nasal swabs and breath were positive from 24 March 2019 until 7 April 2019. The phylogenetic analysis of the obtained S and N gene sequences revealed the detected viruses are clustering together with some human and camel samples from the eastern region, especially from Al-Hufuf city, as well as some samples from Qatar and Jordon. These results are clearly showing the possibility of shedding of the virus in the breath of the infected camels. This could explain, at least in part, the mechanism of transmission of MERS-CoV from animals to humans. This study is confirming the shedding of MERS-CoV in the exhaled air of the infected camels. Further studies are needed for a better understanding of the MERS-CoV.
E-Cigarette Advocates on Twitter: Content Analysis of Vaping-Related Tweets

Background As the majority of Twitter content is publicly available, the platform has become a rich data source for public health surveillance, providing insights into emergent phenomena, such as vaping. Although there is a growing body of literature that has examined the content of vaping-related tweets, less is known about the people who generate and disseminate these messages and the role of e-cigarette advocates in the promotion of these devices. Objective This study aimed to identify key conversation trends and patterns over time, and discern the core voices, message frames, and sentiment surrounding e-cigarette discussions on Twitter. Methods A random sample of data were collected from Australian Twitter users who referenced at least one of 15 identified e-cigarette related keywords during 2012, 2014, 2016, or 2018. Data collection was facilitated by TrISMA (Tracking Infrastructure for Social Media Analysis) and analyzed by content analysis. Results A sample of 4432 vaping-related tweets posted and retweeted by Australian users was analyzed. Positive sentiment (3754/4432, 84.70%) dominated the discourse surrounding e-cigarettes, and vape retailers and manufacturers (1161/4432, 26.20%), the general public (1079/4432, 24.35%), and e-cigarette advocates (1038/4432, 23.42%) were the most prominent posters. Several tactics were used by e-cigarette advocates to communicate their beliefs, including attempts to frame e-cigarettes as safer than traditional cigarettes, imply that federal government agencies lack sufficient competence or evidence for the policies they endorse about vaping, and denounce as propaganda “gateway” claims of youth progressing from e-cigarettes to combustible tobacco. Some of the most common themes presented in tweets were advertising or promoting e-cigarette products (2040/4432, 46.03%), promoting e-cigarette use or intent to use (970/4432, 21.89%), and discussing the potential of e-cigarettes to be used as a smoking cessation aid or tobacco alternative (716/4432, 16.16%), as well as the perceived health and safety benefits and consequences of e-cigarette use (681/4432, 15.37%). Conclusions Australian Twitter content does not reflect the country’s current regulatory approach to e-cigarettes. Rather, the conversation on Twitter generally encourages e-cigarette use, promotes vaping as a socially acceptable practice, discredits scientific evidence of health risks, and rallies around the idea that e-cigarettes should largely be outside the bounds of health policy. The one-sided nature of the discussion is concerning, as is the lack of disclosure and transparency, especially among vaping enthusiasts who dominate the majority of e-cigarette discussions on Twitter, where it is unclear if comments are endorsed, sanctioned, or even supported by the industry.
Worth the Wait: Delayed Recall after 1 Week Predicts Cognitive and Medial Temporal Lobe Trajectories in Older Adults

Abstract Objective: We evaluated whether memory recall following an extended (1 week) delay predicts cognitive and brain structural trajectories in older adults Method: Clinically normal older adults (52–92 years old) were followed longitudinally for up to 8 years after completing a memory paradigm at baseline [Story Recall Test (SRT)] that assessed delayed recall at 30 min and 1 week. Subsets of the cohort underwent neuroimaging (N = 134, mean age = 75) and neuropsychological testing (N = 178–207, mean ages = 74–76) at annual study visits occurring approximately 15–18 months apart. Mixed-effects regression models evaluated if baseline SRT performance predicted longitudinal changes in gray matter volumes and cognitive composite scores, controlling for demographics. Results: Worse SRT 1-week recall was associated with more precipitous rates of longitudinal decline in medial temporal lobe volumes (p = .037), episodic memory (p = .003), and executive functioning (p = .011), but not occipital lobe or total gray matter volumes (demonstrating neuroanatomical specificity; p > .58). By contrast, SRT 30-min recall was only associated with longitudinal decline in executive functioning (p = .044). Conclusions: Memory paradigms that capture longer-term recall may be particularly sensitive to age-related medial temporal lobe changes and neurodegenerative disease trajectories. (JINS, 2020, xx, xx-xx)
Bisphenol A: an endocrine-disruptor compound that modulates the immune response to infections

1Departamento de Parasitologia, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, CP 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, 2Departamento de Farmacologia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, CP 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, 3Laboratorio de Genotoxicología y Mutagenesis Ambiental, Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Centro de Ciencias de la Atmosfera, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico CP 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, 4Unidad de Investigacion Medica en Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitarias, Centro Medico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, 06720, Cd de Mexico, Mexico. 5UIM en Inmunologìa, Hospital de Pediatrìa, CMN S XXI, IMSS, 06720, Cd de Mèxico, Mexico. 6Departamento de Inmunologìa, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas, Universidad Nacional Autònoma de Mèxico, 04510, Cd de Mexico, Mexico
Chemical communication in yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) and brown bear (Ursus arctos)

Contains 2 papers: Paper 1 Chemical composition of perioral, orbital and anal gland secretion of yellowbellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris): glandular differences and coding for sex; Paper 2 Do anal gland secretion and feces of brown bear (Ursus arctos) code for sex?
The Influence of Ozonated Olive Oil-Loaded and Copper-Doped Nanohydroxyapatites on Planktonic Forms of Microorganisms

The research has been carried out with a focus on the assessment of the antimicrobial efficacy of pure nanohydroxyapatite, Cu2+-doped nanohydroxyapatite, ozonated olive oil-loaded nanohydroxyapatite, and Cu2+-doped nanohydroxyapatite, respectively. Their potential antimicrobial activity was investigated against Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Candida albicans. Among all tested materials, the highest efficacy was observed in terms of ozonated olive oil. The studies were performed using an Ultraviolet–Visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), electron microscopy, and statistical methods, by determining the value of Colony-Forming Units (CFU/mL) and Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC).