Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Roughage Quality and Particle Size on Rumen Parameters and Fatty Acid Profiles of Longissimus Dorsi Fat of Lambs Fed Complete Feed

Simple Summary Roughage type and particle size may play an important role in rumen volatile fatty acid levels and consequently affect fatty acid profile in meat and quality. Two roughage sources and two particles were used in this trial for growing lambs to study the effect in volatile fatty acids levels and fatty acids profile of longissimus dorsi (LD) fat. The results of this trial supported the hypothesis by confirming the effect of roughage type and particle size on meat quality and human health. Abstract The fatty acid composition for the longissimus dorsi (LD) fat of carcass sheep is a crucial factor impacting meat quality. We performed a 90-day feeding trial of 25 Naemi lambs to investigate the effects of roughage sources (alfalfa or wheat straw) of two sizes (regular and 1 cm chopped) when fed with pelleted total mixed ration (TMR) on the growth performance, fermentation patterns, and fatty acid (FA) composition of longissimus dorsi (LD) fat. Lambs were randomly assigned to individual pens with five treatment diets, as follows: C, control group with TMR; T1, TMR and regular alfalfa hay; T2, TMR and alfalfa hay chopped to 1 cm; T3, TMR and regular wheat straw; and T4, TMR and wheat straw chopped to 1 cm. Four lambs were randomly selected from each treatment (20 total) and sacrificed. LD fat of the carcass was extracted and analyzed for FA using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Significantly increased feed intake was found in T1 and T2. The FA composition of LD fat in T2 had higher unsaturated fatty acid (UFA), omega-6 (n6), and omega-3 (n3) FA content. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and α-linoleic acid were highest in lambs fed T1 and T2. Feeding different types of roughage, especially alfalfa hay, either regular or chopped, with total pelleted mixed ration is crucial to improving feed intake and body weight gain, as it positively enhances the rumen microbial fermentation process by controlling rumen pH. The FA profiles of meat from lambs fed TMR with regular or 1 cm particle size alfalfa hay (T1 and T2) are recommended for human consumption as a source of healthy FAs.
Low rank approximation of positive semi-definite symmetric matrices using Gaussian elimination and volume sampling

Positive semi-definite matrices commonly occur as normal matrices of least squares problems in statistics or as kernel matrices in machine learning and approximation theory. They are typically large and dense. Thus algorithms to solve systems with such a matrix can be very costly. A core idea to reduce computational complexity is to approximate the matrix by one with a low rank. The optimal and well understood choice is based on the eigenvalue decomposition of the matrix. Unfortunately, this is computationally very expensive. Cheaper methods are based on Gaussian elimination but they require pivoting. We show how invariant matrix theory provides explicit error formulas for an averaged error based on volume sampling. The formula leads to ratios of elementary symmetric polynomials on the eigenvalues. We discuss several bounds for the expected norm of the approximation error and include examples where this expected error norm can be computed exactly. References A. Dax. “On extremum properties of orthogonal quotients matrices”. In: Lin. Alg. Appl. 432.5 (2010), pp. 1234–1257. doi: 10.1016/j.laa. 2009.10. 034. M. Dereziński and M. W. Mahoney. Determinantal Point Processes in Randomized Numerical Linear Algebra. 2020. url: https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.03185. A. Deshpande, L. Rademacher, S. Vempala, and G. Wang. “Matrix approximation and projective clustering via volume sampling”. In: Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithm. SODA ’06. Miami, Florida: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2006, pp. 1117–1126. url: https://dl.acm. org/doi/abs/10.5555/1109557.1109681. S. A. Goreinov, E. E. Tyrtyshnikov, and N. L. Zamarashkin. “A theory of pseudoskeleton approximations”. In: Lin. Alg. Appl. 261.1 (1997), pp. 1–21. doi: 10.1016/S0024-3795(96)00301-1. M. W. Mahoney and P. Drineas. “CUR matrix decompositions for improved data analysis”. In: Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 106.3 (Jan. 20, 2009), pp. 697–702. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0803205106. M. Marcus and L. Lopes. “Inequalities for symmetric functions and Hermitian matrices”. In: Can. J. Math. 9 (1957), pp. 305–312. doi: 10.4153/CJM-1957-037-9.
Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediator Resolvin E1 Mitigates the Progress of Diethylnitrosamine-Induced Liver Fibrosis in Sprague-Dawley Rats by Attenuating Fibrogenesis and Restricting Proliferation

Liver fibrosis is a complex process associated to most types of chronic liver disease, which is characterized by a disturbance of hepatic tissue architecture and the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix. Resolvin E1 (RvE1) is a representative member of the eicosapentaenoic omega-3 lipid derivatives, and is a drug candidate of the growing family of endogenous resolvins. Considering the aforementioned, the main objective of this study was to analyze the hepatoprotective effect of RvE1 in a rat model of liver fibrosis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received diethylnitrosamine (DEN, 70 mg/mg body weight intraperitoneally (i.p)) as an inductor of liver fibrosis once weekly and RvE1(100 ng/body weight i.p) twice weekly for four weeks. RvE1 suppressed the alterations induced by DEN, normalizing the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), albumin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and ameliorated DEN injury by decreasing the architecture distortion, inflammatory infiltration, necrotic areas, and microsteatosis. RvE1 also limited DEN-induced proliferation through a decrease in Ki67-positive cells and cyclin D1 protein expression, which is related to an increase of the levels of cleaved caspase-3. Interestingly, we found that RvE1 promotes higher nuclear translocation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)p65 than DEN. RvE1 also increased the levels of nuclear the nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2), but with no antioxidant effect, measured as an increase in glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and a decrease in the ratio of glutathione (GSH)/GSSG. Taken together, these results suggest that RvE1 modulates the fibrogenesis, steatosis, and cell proliferation in a model of DEN induced fibrosis.
Nerve-Sparing Systematic Lymph Node Dissection in Gynaecological Oncology: An Innovative Neuro-Anatomical and Surgical Protocol for Enhanced Functional Outcomes

Simple Summary One of the most frequent complications of the systematic lymph node dissection (SLND) is the injury of autonomic nervous system in the para-aortal region during the procedure. These injuries are supposed to be responsible for some of the postoperative bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunctions. The poor anatomical understanding of the sympathetic nerves within the boundaries of an infra-renal bilateral template has limited the promulgation of a precise nerve-sparing surgery during such SLND. Therefore, the principal goal of the present study was to provide the first ever-comprehensive exposition of the anatomy of the female aortic plexus and superior hypogastric plexus and their variations. This exposition was achieved by strategic dissection of 19 human female cadavers and extrapolating the findings to develop a precise surgical technique for more accurate navigation into these structures during nerve-sparing SLND in 15 cervical cancer patients and 48 ovarian cancer patients. Abstract Whilst systematic lymph node dissection has been less prevalent in gynaecological cancer cases in the last few years, there is still a good number of cases that mandate a systematic lymph node dissection for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. In all of these cases, it is crucial to perform the procedure as a nerve-sparing technique with utmost exactitude, which can be achieved optimally only by isolating and sparing all components of the aortic plexus and superior hypogastric plexus. To meet this purpose, it is essential to provide a comprehensive characterization of the specific anatomy of the human female aortic plexus and its variations. The anatomic dissections of two fresh and 17 formalin-fixed female cadavers were utilized to study, understand, and decipher the hitherto ambiguously annotated anatomy of the autonomic nervous system in the retroperitoneal para-aortic region. This study describes the precise anatomy of aortic and superior hypogastric plexus and provides the surgical maneuvers to dissect, highlight, and spare them during systematic lymph node dissection for gynaecological malignancies. The study also confirms the utility and feasibility of this surgery in gynaecological oncology.
Structure-Based Inhibitor Discovery of Class I Histone Deacetylases (HDACs)

Class I histone deacetylases (HDACs) are promising targets for epigenetic therapies for a range of diseases such as cancers, inflammations, infections and neurological diseases. Although six HDAC inhibitors are now licensed for clinical treatments, they are all pan-inhibitors with little or no HDAC isoform selectivity, exhibiting undesirable side effects. A major issue with the currently available HDAC inhibitors is that they have limited specificity and target multiple deacetylases. Except for HDAC8, Class I HDACs (1, 2 and 3) are recruited to large multiprotein complexes to function. Therefore, there are rising needs to develop new, hopefully, therapeutically efficacious HDAC inhibitors with isoform or complex selectivity. Here, upon the introduction of the structures of Class I HDACs and their complexes, we provide an up-to-date overview of the structure-based discovery of Class I HDAC inhibitors, including pan-, isoform-selective and complex-specific inhibitors, aiming to provide an insight into the discovery of additional HDAC inhibitors with greater selectivity, specificity and therapeutic utility.
Progress in the Applications of Smart Piezoelectric Materials for Medical Devices

Smart piezoelectric materials are of great interest due to their unique properties. Piezoelectric materials can transform mechanical energy into electricity and vice versa. There are mono and polycrystals (piezoceramics), polymers, and composites in the group of piezoelectric materials. Recent years show progress in the applications of piezoelectric materials in biomedical devices due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Medical devices such as actuators and sensors, energy harvesting devices, and active scaffolds for neural tissue engineering are continually explored. Sensors and actuators from piezoelectric materials can convert flow rate, pressure, etc., to generate energy or consume it. This paper consists of using smart materials to design medical devices and provide a greater understanding of the piezoelectric effect in the medical industry presently. A greater understanding of piezoelectricity is necessary regarding the future development and industry challenges.
Person Perception Biases Exposed: Revisiting the First Impressions Dataset

This work revisits the ChaLearn First Impressions database, annotated for personality perception using pairwise comparisons via crowdsourcing. We analyse for the first time the original pairwise annotations, and reveal existing person perception biases associated to perceived attributes like gender, ethnicity, age and face attractiveness. We show how person perception bias can influence data labelling of a subjective task, which has received little attention from the computer vision and machine learning communities by now. We further show that the mechanism used to convert pairwise annotations to continuous values may magnify the biases if no special treatment is considered. The findings of this study are relevant for the computer vision community that is still creating new datasets on subjective tasks, and using them for practical applications, ignoring these perceptual biases.
TGF-β1 Gene Polymorphism and Its Correlation with Serum Level of TGF-β1 in Psoriasis Vulgaris Among Iraqi People

Purpose Many cytokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, among these the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) can be endorsed by different mechanisms besides inhibiting keratinocytes proliferation. The role of genetic polymorphisms of TGF-β1 has been studied in various inflammatory diseases. Our aim is to study the correlation of TGF-β1 gene polymorphism at codon 10 and 25 with the expression of serum level of TGF-β1 in a sample of Iraqi psoriatic patients compared to the control group. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study involved 100 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 50 sex- and age-matched healthy volunteers as control group. Serum and genomic DNA were prepared from peripheral blood samples. Amplification refractory mutation system–polymerase chain reaction technique (ARMS-PCR) had been applied for genotyping TGF-β1 codon 10 [rs1982073] and codon 25 [rs1800471] genetic polymorphisms. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique (ELISA) based on the sandwich principle was used for quantification of serum TGF-β1 level. Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scoring was applied for determining the severity in psoriatic patients and classified accordingly to mild (PASI<7), moderate (PASI 7–12), severe (PASI>12) groups. Results Statistically significant difference was found in TGF-β1 gene polymorphism between psoriatic patients and control group at codon 10 (T869C) polymorphism (p=0.021) and codon 25 (G915C) polymorphism (p=0.040). No significant association was detected with the mean serum TGF-β1 level, severity of the disease, disease onset, gender, history of psoriatic arthritis, and smoking in both codons. Significant lower mean serum TGF-β1 level was found among psoriatic group (192.17 ± 531.12 ng/L) compared with controls (565.89 ± 1372.30 ng/L) (p = 0.018). Relation of mean serum TGF-β1 level with the onset of the disease was statistically significant (p = 0.004), early-onset disease group was lower (105.92 ± 68.02 ng/L) compared with the late-onset disease group (450.92 ±1027.79 ng/L). The mean serum TGF-β1 level showed no significant differences with the severity of psoriasis, gender, history of psoriatic arthritis, and smoking. Conclusion Iraqi population showed a significant association between TGF-β1 gene polymorphism at codon 10 and 25 were with psoriasis susceptibility, and a significantly lower mean serum TGF-β1 level was detected in psoriatic patients.
The Small GTPase RAC1B: A Potent Negative Regulator of-and Useful Tool to Study-TGFβ Signaling

Simple Summary Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) primarily through its non-canonical (non-Smad) signaling arms, including signaling by the small GTPase RAC1. The human RAC1 gene also encodes for another protein, designated RAC1B, but whether this isoform also interacts with TGFβ signaling has remained unknown. In a series of studies in PDAC-derived cells, we found that RAC1B also cross-talks with TGFβ signaling, but unlike RAC1 antagonizes TGFβ-induced responses, i.e., epithelial–mesenchymal transition, through multiple mechanisms. However, rather than being uniformly inhibitory, RAC1B selectively blocks tumor-promoting pathways, while concomitantly allowing tumor-suppressive pathways to proceed. In this review article, we discuss the specific interactions between RAC1B and TGFβ signaling, which occur at multiple levels and include various components of both the canonical Smad and non-Smad pathways. In addition to emerging as a novel tumor suppressor in PDAC, RAC1B turned out to be a useful tool to dissect TGFβ signaling. Abstract RAC1 and its alternatively spliced isoform, RAC1B, are members of the Rho family of GTPases. Both isoforms are involved in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton remodeling, cell motility, cell proliferation, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Compared to RAC1, RAC1B exhibits a number of distinctive features with respect to tissue distribution, downstream signaling and a role in disease conditions like inflammation and cancer. The subcellular locations and interaction partners of RAC1 and RAC1B vary depending on their activation state, which makes RAC1 and RAC1B ideal candidates to establish cross-talk with cancer-associated signaling pathways—for instance, interactions with signaling by transforming growth factor β (TGFβ), a known tumor promoter. Although RAC1 has been found to promote TGFβ-driven tumor progression, recent observations in pancreatic carcinoma cells surprisingly revealed that RAC1B confers anti-oncogenic properties, i.e., through inhibiting TGFβ-induced EMT. Since then, an unexpected array of mechanisms through which RAC1B cross-talks with TGFβ signaling has been demonstrated. However, rather than being uniformly inhibitory, RAC1B interacts with TGFβ signaling in a way that results in the selective blockade of tumor-promoting pathways, while concomitantly allowing tumor-suppressive pathways to proceed. In this review article, we are going to discuss the specific interactions between RAC1B and TGFβ signaling, which occur at multiple levels and include various components such as ligands, receptors, cytosolic mediators, transcription factors, and extracellular inhibitors of TGFβ ligands.
Polyphenolic and Methylxanthine Bioaccessibility of Cocoa Bean Shell Functional Biscuits: Metabolomics Approach and Intestinal Permeability through Caco-2 Cell Models

Cocoa bean shell (CBS), a by-product with considerable concentrations of bioactive compounds and proven biofunctional potential, has been demonstrated to be a suitable ingredient for high-fiber functional biscuits adapted to diabetic consumers. In this work, the in vitro bioaccessibility and intestinal absorption of polyphenols and methylxanthines contained in these biscuits were evaluated, and the effect of the food matrix was studied. Biscuits containing CBS and the CBS alone underwent in vitro digestion followed by an intestinal permeability study. The results confirmed that compounds were less bioavailable in the presence of a food matrix, although the digestion contributed to their release from this matrix, increasing the concentrations available at the intestinal level and making them capable of promoting antioxidant and antidiabetic activities. After digestion, CBS biscuits were shown to possess α-glucosidase inhibition capacity comparable to that of acarbose. Moreover, the presence of the food matrix improved the stability of polyphenols throughout the digestion process. Intestinal absorption of flavan-3-ols seemed to be limited to a maximum threshold and was therefore independent of the sample, while procyanidin was not absorbed. Methylxanthine absorption was high and was boosted by the presence of the food matrix. The results confirmed the biofunctional potential of CBS-based biscuits.
Ambient Air Pollution, Extreme Temperatures and Birth Outcomes: A Protocol for an Umbrella Review, Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and extreme temperatures are among the major risk factors of adverse birth outcomes and with potential long-term effects during the life course. Although low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are most vulnerable, there is limited synthesis of evidence in such settings. This document describes a protocol for both an umbrella review (Systematic Review 1) and a focused systematic review and meta-analysis of studies from LMICs (Systematic Review 2). We will search from start date of each database to present, six major academic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, MEDLINE/Ovid, EMBASE/Ovid and Web of Science Core Collection), systematic reviews repositories and references of eligible studies. Additional searches in grey literature will also be conducted. Eligibility criteria include studies of pregnant women exposed to ambient air pollutants and/or extreme temperatures during pregnancy with and without adverse birth outcomes. The umbrella review (Systematic Review 1) will include only previous systematic reviews while Systematic Review 2 will include quantitative observational studies in LMICs. Searches will be restricted to English language using comprehensive search terms to consecutively screen the titles, abstracts and full-texts to select eligible studies. Two independent authors will conduct the study screening and selection, risk of bias assessment and data extraction using JBI SUMARI web-based software. Narrative and semi-quantitative syntheses will be employed for the Systematic Review 1. For Systematic Review 2, we will perform meta-analysis with two alternative meta-analytical methods (quality effect and inverse variance heterogeneity) as well as the classic random effect model. If meta-analysis is infeasible, narrative synthesis will be presented. Confidence in cumulative evidence and the strength of the evidence will be assessed. This protocol is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020200387).
Evolution of Renewable Energy in BRI Countries: A Combined Econometric and Decomposition Approach

The development of renewable energy is an important cooperation theme among countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI countries). Through map description, we first explore the changes in renewable energy consumption in BRI countries. Then, β-convergence is employed to examine the development direction of renewable energy consumption in BRI countries. Finally, based on the expanded Kaya equation, we decompose the factors effecting renewable energy consumption into energy structure effect, energy intensity effect, low-carbon economic effect, carbon emission effect, population distribution effect and population effect. The Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) is utilized to calculate the contribution of each factor to renewable energy consumption in the expanded Kaya equation. Our research reaches the following conclusions: (1) β-convergence exists in renewable energy consumption among BRI countries, indicating that it will converge to a relatively stable level, and countries with low renewable energy consumption will increase their renewable energy consumption with a higher convergence rate to chase the countries with high renewable energy consumption. (2) Energy structure effect makes a positive impact on renewable energy consumption, and is the main contributor to renewable energy consumption. (3) The energy intensity effect makes a negative contribution to renewable energy consumption, and the negative impact has deepened in recent years. (4) Both the low-carbon economic effect and the carbon emission effect have positive impacts on renewable energy consumption. Our research not only provides a description of the experience of developing renewable energy for BRI countries, but also makes reference to other organizations.
PBW theory for quantum affine algebras

Let $U_q'(\mathfrak{g})$ be a quantum affine algebra of arbitrary type and let $\mathcal{C}_{\mathfrak{g}}$ be Hernandez-Leclerc's category. We can associate the quantum affine Schur-Weyl duality functor $F_D$ to a duality datum $D$ in $\mathcal{C}_{\mathfrak{g}}$. We introduce the notion of a strong (complete) duality datum $D$ and prove that, when $D$ is strong, the induced duality functor $F_D$ sends simple modules to simple modules and preserves the invariants $\Lambda$ and $\Lambda^\infty$ introduced by the authors. We next define the reflections $\mathcal{S}_k$ and $\mathcal{S}^{-1}_k$ acting on strong duality data $D$. We prove that if $D$ is a strong (resp.\ complete) duality datum, then $\mathcal{S}_k(D)$ and $\mathcal{S}_k^{-1}(D)$ are also strong (resp.\ complete ) duality data. We finally introduce the notion of affine cuspidal modules in $\mathcal{C}_{\mathfrak{g}}$ by using the duality functor $F_D$, and develop the cuspidal module theory for quantum affine algebras similarly to the quiver Hecke algebra case.