Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from zoom-koom beverage and ice in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Pathogenic bacteria contaminate beverages and make consumers to have diarrhoeal diseases. This study was carried out to assess the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from “zoom-koom” beverages and ice from open markets of Ouagadougou. One hundred samples of both “zoom-koom” and ice were analyzed using standard microbiological methods. Identification of serotypes of E. coli was completed using specific antisera. Strains were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test using agar diffusion method. E. coli was isolated in 36% “zoom-koom” and 35% ice samples. Among the 71 E. coli strains of both samples, there was 16.8% enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), belonging to six serotypes: E. coli O26, E. coli O55, E. coli O86, E. coli O119, E. coli O126 and E. coli O128. Salmonella was also found in 1% “zoom-koom” and 2% ice samples. Antibiotic susceptibility revealed that E. coli isolates resist amoxicillin-clavulanate, ticarcillin, cephalothin, cefamandole, ceftriaxone, cefepime, aztreonam, gentamicin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin at different time. Meanwhile, Salmonella strains were sensitive to all tested antibiotics except tetracycline. The presence of EPEC and Salmonella spp. in the samples indicates that hygiene practices are being improved during processing to reduce the risk of having infection when they are consumed. Keys words: “Zoom-koom”; ice, Escherichia coli, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), Salmonella, antibiotics, Burkina Faso.
Spray Drying for the Encapsulation of Oils—A Review

The application of the spray drying technique in the food industry for the production of a broad range of ingredients has become highly desirable compared to other drying techniques. Recently, the spray drying technique has been applied extensively for the production of functional foods, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Encapsulation using spray drying is highly preferred due to economic advantages compared to other encapsulation methods. Encapsulation of oils using the spray drying technique is carried out in order to enhance the handling properties of the products and to improve oxidation stability by protecting the bioactive compounds. Encapsulation of oils involves several parameters—including inlet and outlet temperatures, total solids, and the type of wall materials—that significantly affect the quality of final product. Therefore, this review highlights the application and optimization of the spray drying process for the encapsulation of oils used as food ingredients.
Effect of Device Configuration and Patient's Body Composition on the RF Heating and Nonsusceptibility Artifact of Deep Brain Stimulation Implants During MRI at 1.5T and 3T

Patients with deep brain stimulation (DBS) implants have limited access to MRI due to safety concerns associated with RF‐induced heating. Currently, MRI in these patients is allowed in 1.5T horizontal bore scanners utilizing pulse sequences with reduced power. However, the use of 3T MRI in such patients is increasingly reported based on limited safety assessments. Here we present the results of comprehensive RF heating measurements for two commercially available DBS systems during MRI at 1.5T and 3T.
Nanotechnology and Osteoarthritis. Part 2: Opportunities for advanced devices and therapeutics

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease of the entire joint which afflicts 140 million individuals worldwide regardless of economic or social status. Current clinical treatments for OA primarily center on reducing pain and increasing mobility, and there are limited therapeutic interventions to restore degraded cartilage or slow disease pathogenesis. This second installment of a two‐part review on nanotechnology and OA focuses on novel treatment strategies. Specifically, Part 2 first discusses current surgical and nonsurgical treatments for OA and then summarizes recent advancements in nanotechnology‐based treatments, while Part 1 (10.1002/jor.24817) described advances in imaging and diagnostics. We review nano delivery systems for small molecule drugs, nucleic acids, and proteins followed by nano‐based scaffolds for neocartilage formation and osteochondral regeneration, and lastly nanoparticle lubricants. We conclude by identifying opportunities for nanomedicine advances, and prospects for OA treatments.
Comparison of chitin‐induced natural transformation in pandemic Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor strains

Summary The human pathogen Vibrio cholerae serves as a model organism for many important processes ranging from pathogenesis to natural transformation, which has been extensively studied in this bacterium. Previous work has deciphered important regulatory circuits involved in natural competence induction as well as mechanistic details related to its DNA acquisition and uptake potential. However, since competence was first reported for V. cholerae in 2005, many researchers have struggled with reproducibility in certain strains. In this study, we therefore compare prominent seventh pandemic V. cholerae isolates, namely strains A1552, N16961, C6706, C6709, E7946, P27459, and the close relative MO10, for their natural transformability and decipher underlying defects that mask the high degree of competence conservation. Through a combination of experimental approaches and comparative genomics based on new whole‐genome sequences and de novo assemblies, we identify several strain‐specific defects, mostly in genes that encode key players in quorum sensing. Moreover, we provide evidence that most of these deficiencies might have recently occurred through laboratory domestication events or through the acquisition of mobile genetic elements. Lastly, we highlight that differing experimental approaches between research groups might explain more of the variations than strain‐specific alterations.
Derlin-3 Is Required for Changes in ERAD Complex Formation under ER Stress

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated protein degradation (ERAD) is a quality control system that induces the degradation of ER terminally misfolded proteins. The ERAD system consists of complexes of multiple ER membrane-associated and luminal proteins that function cooperatively. We aimed to reveal the role of Derlin-3 in the ERAD system using the liver, pancreas, and kidney obtained from different mouse genotypes. We performed coimmunoprecipitation and sucrose density gradient centrifugation to unravel the dynamic nature of ERAD complexes. We observed that Derlin-3 is exclusively expressed in the pancreas, and its deficiency leads to the destabilization of Herp and accumulation of ERAD substrates. Under normal conditions, Complex-1a predominantly contains Herp, Derlin-2, HRD1, and SEL1L, and under ER stress, Complex-1b contains Herp, Derlin-3 (instead of Derlin-2), HRD1, and SEL1L. Complex-2 is upregulated under ER stress and contains Derlin-1, Derlin-2, p97, and VIMP. Derlin-3 deficiency suppresses the transition of Derlin-2 from Complex-1a to Complex-2 under ER stress. In the pancreas, Derlin-3 deficiency blocks Derlin-2 transition. In conclusion, the composition of ERAD complexes is tissue-specific and changes in response to ER stress in a Derlin-3-dependent manner. Derlin-3 may play a key role in changing ERAD complex compositions to overcome ER stress.
Annual Reproductive Patterns in Three Species of Marine Snakes from the Central Phillippines

Monthly samples of three tropical snakes, Acrochordus granulatus, Cerberus rhynchops and Laticauda colubrina from a limited collecting area where they are syntopic in the central Phillippines reveal pronounced diversity in reproductive seasonality. Both sexes of A. granulatus are highly seasonal and synchronized in their reproductive activity. Testis size, spermatogenic activity and plasma androgen levels declined precipitously in the non-breeding season to the same extent as observed in typical temperate species of snakes. Spermatogenesis and androgen secretion occur concomittantly and are prenuptial, coinciding with the appearance of enlarging yolked follicles in females. Gestation time (5-8 months) in this species may repesent one of the longest for a reptile, and females probably do not breed annually. C. rhynchops is also seasonal but to a lesser extent than Acrochordus. In males, testis weight, spermatogenesis and androgen secretion show a significant increase at certain times of year, but testis regression is only partial; there is some spermatogenic activity and epididymal sperm storage in all months. Gestation periods in this ovoviviparous species are probably much shorter (perhaps 3 months) than in Acrochordus, ovulation occurs over a broader season and females probably reproduce annually. In contrast, extensive evidence for male L. colubrina and limited observations on females indicate that this oviparous species is probably completely aseasonal in its reproductive biology. A review of reproductive data on other tropical marine snakes suggests that seasonality is probably the rule with the exception of L. colubrina (and some other species of Laticauda), the only oviparous species examined. Information on climatic conditions in the study area sugests that declining photoperiod and/or temperature may be responsible for testicular regression in Cerberus and Acrochordus. Data for plasma sex steroids (testosterone, estradiol and progesterone) suggest greater variability in ovarian function than previously reported for snakes.
It Takes Two to Tango: Endothelial TGFβ/BMP Signaling Crosstalk with Mechanobiology

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) superfamily of cytokines. While some ligand members are potent inducers of angiogenesis, others promote vascular homeostasis. However, the precise understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying these functions is still a growing research field. In bone, the tissue in which BMPs were first discovered, crosstalk of TGFβ/BMP signaling with mechanobiology is well understood. Likewise, the endothelium represents a tissue that is constantly exposed to multiple mechanical triggers, such as wall shear stress, elicited by blood flow or strain, and tension from the surrounding cells and to the extracellular matrix. To integrate mechanical stimuli, the cytoskeleton plays a pivotal role in the transduction of these forces in endothelial cells. Importantly, mechanical forces integrate on several levels of the TGFβ/BMP pathway, such as receptors and SMADs, but also global cell-architecture and nuclear chromatin re-organization. Here, we summarize the current literature on crosstalk mechanisms between biochemical cues elicited by TGFβ/BMP growth factors and mechanical cues, as shear stress or matrix stiffness that collectively orchestrate endothelial function. We focus on the different subcellular compartments in which the forces are sensed and integrated into the TGFβ/BMP growth factor signaling.
A PARADIGM SHIFT: GENERATION OF OPEN INNOVATION FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING INDUSTRY

The building industry has been recognized for its lack of innovation. It is either globally or contextually, especially in EU with an overall innovation and R/D expenditure performance or locally in Egypt where there is an absence of R/D. Although novel materials, new business models and new ways of designing built object are emerging, yet these tangible results of much innovative works remain hidden inside projects and fail to translate to other projects and diffuse more widely. Currently, many enterprises from a range of different industries are facing increasing levels of competition from enterprises producing products and services of similar quality but with lower costs. In the process of searching for ways to enhance their competitiveness, many enterprises are making use of a newly paradigm shift in innovation named by, open innovation. Literature in this area focuses on the building industry innovation framework mainly, does not develop an open framework yet. Although a building industry framework state of art as an output of a critical review concluded that collaboration is a critical factor to improve the innovation performance in building industry. This paper looks to develop those innovative framework antecedents following a design science method to synthesize it with the open innovation antecedents and innovative collaborative activities in the building sector towards developing a new global generation of open innovation framework for the building industry.
Trends on Leach Pad Liner Shear Strength: Textured Geomembrane and Soil Liner Classification

During the design of heap leach pads in mining industry is very common the use of liners composed by a geomembrane over a low permeability soil or soil liner as a lower interface, being the upper one the granular overliner placed on top of the geomembrane, which usually promotes the solution drainage, but it also prevents the damage from the liner that may be produced by the impact of the oversize ore, for instance ROM ore, or by the spreading equipment working on the leach pad. When the ore is less than 1,5 inches, then the overliner is not needed; in any case, the upper interface, geomembrane versus overliner or ore, will usually provide higher shear strength than the clayey soil used as a soil liner due to its granular nature. Therefore, in order to increase the shear strength of the lower interface, a single side textured geomembrane is used, where the textured side is placed in contact with the soil liner. This research is based on data obtained from textured geomembrane and soil liner interface which have been tested on a large scale direct shear device according to ASTM-D5321. The geomembrane for testing was obtained from manufacturers or casted in place geomembrane samples, while the clayey soil liner samples come from borrow areas used on many heap leach pads projected, constructed or under construction in several mines in Peru. The analysis of the information shows a direct influence on the shear strength variation based on normal stress, asperity height and soil liner classification, the latter mainly based on gravel, sand and fines content. The relationships obtained by the parameters that affect the liner shear strength will allow for taking better decisions during design and construction stages for selecting liner systems (geomembrane and soil liner) in heap leach pad projects, since it will allow predicting the shear strength behavior based on the data obtained and analyzed in this research. Therefore, the relationship obtained may solve common problems or accomplish better and more economical solutions to happen during design and construction stages, such as: variability of asperity height on geomembranes, changes of soil liner borrow area or soil properties to happen during design or construction, determination of a shear strength envelop
NONLINEAR DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF IN-PLAN IRREGULAR R.C. STRUCTURES RETROFITTED WITH HYSTERETIC DAMPED BRACES

The seismic retrofitting of unsymmetric plan reinforced concrete (r.c.) framed buildings can be carried out by the insertion of damped braces (DBs), which are made of steel braces connecting two consecutive storeys and incorporating energy dissipating devices. Yet most of the proposals to mitigate the seismic response of asymmetric framed buildings by DBs rest on the hypothesis of elastic (linear) structural behaviour. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of a Displacement-Based Design procedure of hysteretic damped braces (HYDBs) based on the nonlinear behaviour of the frame members. An expression of the biaxial viscous damping equivalent to the hysteretic energy dissipated by the damped braced frame is assumed under bidirectional seismic loads, where corrective factors are adopted as a function of design parameters of the HYDBs. Moreover, the extended N2 method considered by Eurocode 8, which combines the nonlinear static analysis along the principal in-plan directions of the structure with elastic modal analysis, is adopted to evaluate the higher mode torsional effects. To this end, the Town Hall of Spilinga (Italy), a reinforced concrete framed structure with an L-shaped plan built at the beginning of the 1960s, is supposed to be retrofitted with HYDBs to attain performance levels imposed by the Italian seismic code (NTC08) in a high-risk zone. Ten structural solutions are compared by considering two alternative in-plan distributions of the HYDBs, to eliminate (elastic) torsional effects, and different design values of the frame ductility combined with a constant design value of the damper ductility. Reinforced concrete (r.c.) structures with asymmetric plan may require the assessment of the critical incident angle of bidirectional ground motions. To this end, a computer code for the nonlinear dynamic analysis of r.c. spatial framed structures is adopted. Frame members are simulated with a lumped plasticity model, including flat surface modelling of the axial load-biaxial bending moment elastic domain, at the end sections of r.c. beams and columns where inelastic deformations generally occur, while a bilinear law is used to idealize the behaviour of a HYDB. Vulnerability index domains of r.c. frame members and HYDBs are adopted to estimate the directions of least seismic capacity, considering artificial ground motions whose response spectra match those adopted by NTC08 at serviceability and ultimate limit states.
A2.14 Human mast cells engulf and store exogenous IL-17A

Background The emerging role of IL-17A in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases urges characterisation of the cellular source. Numerous recent studies have described the presence of IL-17A-positive mast cells in inflamed target tissues. Since mouse studies have not indicated mast cells as IL-17A producers, we investigated the mechanism of IL-17A expression by human mast cells. Methods Quantitative PCR and Western blot analysis was performed on mast cells and CD4+ T-cells FACS-purified from human tonsils, ex vivoand after stimulation with PMA/ionomycin. Uptake of exogenous protein was analysed by microscopy, imaging-flowcytometry, live imaging and Western blot. DynaminII-inhibitor was used to block endocytosis. Results Strikingly, gene expression analysis of highly purified primary mast cells failed to detect both IL-17A, IL-17F and their transcription factor RAR-related orphan receptor C (RORC), even after stimulation. Although RORC was also absent on the protein level, IL-17A was abundantly detected, conflicting with the mRNA data. Subsequent analysis of subcellular location showed the presence of IL-17A in lysosomal storage granules and in early endosomes, suggesting a role for endocytosis. We investigated whether mast cells are capable of internalising exogenous IL-17A in vitro. Microscopy, imaging-flowcytometry and Western blot analysis indicated that LAD2 mast cell line as well as primary mast cells are able to engulf exogenous IL-17A, but not TNFa. Live imaging revealed further that internalisation of IL-17A is specific and can be halted by blocking clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Conclusion This data strongly suggest that human mast cells do not produce IL-17A, but rather engulf exogenous IL-17A from the inflamed milieu and store it in granules. Molecular mechanisms of IL-17A uptake and the contribution of this process to disease are currently under investigation.
Insights from Integrated Geo-Location Data for Pedestrian Crashes, Demographics, and Land Uses

This study investigates the effects of demographics and land uses on pedestrian crash frequency by integrating the contextual geo-location data. To address the issue of heterogeneity, three negative binomial models (with fixed parameters, with observed heterogeneity, and with both observed and unobserved heterogeneities) were examined. The best fit with the data was obtained by explicitly incorporating the observed and unobserved heterogeneity into the model. This highlights the need to accommodate both observed heterogeneity across neighborhood characteristics and unobserved heterogeneity in pedestrian crash frequency modeling. The marginal effect results imply that some land-use types (e.g., discount department stores and fast-food restaurants) could be candidate locations for the education campaigns to improve pedestrian safety. The observed heterogeneity of the area indicator suggests that priority should be given to more populated low-income areas for pedestrian safety, but attention is also needed for the higher-income areas with larger densities of bus stops and hotels. Moreover, three normally distributed random parameters (proportion of older adults, proportion of lower-speed roads, and density of convenience stores in the area) were identified as having random effects on the probability of pedestrian crash occurrences. Finally, the identification of pedestrian crash hot zone provides practitioners with prioritized neighborhoods (e.g., a list of areas) for developing effective pedestrian safety countermeasures.
Persistent N-cadherin Expression Induced by Extended Epidermal GrowthFactor Exposure Regulates Multicellular Aggregate Compaction andSensitivity to Cisplatin

Objective: In ovarian cancer, activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is associated with poor prognosis. The presence of EGFR activators in patient ascites fluid may cause constitutive EGFR activation thereby contributing to metastasis and/or resistance to therapy. Our goal was to identify alterations resulting from constitutive EGFR activation that influence cell behavior and drug sensitivity. Methods: We used an in vitro model (OVCA 433 cells) to evaluate changes in mesenchymal marker levels and multicellular aggregate (MCA) formation following long term epidermal growth factor (EGF) treatment. We determined sensitivity to cisplatin following EGF treatment and evaluated the role of the mesenchymal marker, N-cadherin, in aggregate formation and sensitivity using siRNA. Results: We found that EGFR activation led to phenotypic and functional changes in ovarian tumor cells that were retained after ligand was withdrawn (removal). Expression levels of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and vimentin were elevated in EGF treated and removal cells. This persistent increase in mesenchymal markers was associated with a significant increase in (MCA) compaction and cell spreading when MCAs were plated on collagen. N-cadherin silencing decreased MCA compaction and spreading in cells following extended exposure to EGF or in cells with high endogenous levels of N-cadherin. Furthermore, the compact MCA structure in EGF treated cells with increased N-cadherin expression conferred resistance to cisplatin and N-cadherin silencing largely restored cisplatin sensitivity. Conclusion: Our results indicate that prolonged EGFR activation causes a persistent change in mesenchymal marker expression, which regulates compaction and drug sensitivity. The findings implicate N-cadherin as a key regulator of the EGFR-dependent functional changes in MCAs such as compaction, spreading and sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapeutics. These findings suggest a mechanism by which persistent EGFR activation in the microenvironment may drive changes in ovarian cancer cells that contribute to the poor prognosis associated with EGFR activation.