Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alterations in ion levels of freshwater fish Oreochromis niloticus following acute and chronic exposures to five heavy metals

Freshwater fish, Oreochromis niloticus, were individually exposed to 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 µg/mL of Cu2+, Cd2+, Cr6+, Ag+, and Zn2+ for 96 h (acute) and 0.05 µg/mL concentrations of the same metals for 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 days (chronic). Following each period, metal accumulation and ion levels (Na+, K+, Ca+2, and Mg+2) were measured in the gills, kidneys, and muscles. Except for Ag+, none of the metals killed the fish within 30 days. Silver killed all the fish within 16 days. With the exceptions of Ag+ and Cr6+, as their levels were below detection limits, metal accumulation occurred in the tissues following both acute and chronic exposures. Ion levels in the tissues were altered by metal exposure, the general tendency being a decrease in Na+ and K+ levels and an increase in Mg2+ and Ca2+ levels. Acute exposure to heavy metals seemed to be more effective in altering ion levels of the tissues than chronic exposure. Na+ was the most affected ion while Mg2+ was the least affected. Results of this study emphasize that ion levels in the tissues of O. niloticus can be altered by heavy metals, both in acute and chronic exposures. This suggests that heavy metals should be monitored carefully in ecotoxicological studies in the field due to their importance in fish physiology.
Aquatic macrophytes and macroinvertebrate predators affect densities of snail hosts and local production of schistosome cercariae that cause human schistosomiasis

Background Schistosomiasis is responsible for the second highest burden of disease among neglected tropical diseases globally, with over 90 percent of cases occurring in African regions where drugs to treat the disease are only sporadically available. Additionally, human re-infection after treatment can be a problem where there are high numbers of infected snails in the environment. Recent experiments indicate that aquatic factors, including plants, nutrients, or predators, can influence snail abundance and parasite production within infected snails, both components of human risk. This study investigated how snail host abundance and release of cercariae (the free swimming stage infective to humans) varies at water access sites in an endemic region in Senegal, a setting where human schistosomiasis prevalence is among the highest globally. Methods/Principal findings We collected snail intermediate hosts at 15 random points stratified by three habitat types at 36 water access sites, and counted cercarial production by each snail after transfer to the laboratory on the same day. We found that aquatic vegetation was positively associated with per-capita cercarial release by snails, probably because macrophytes harbor periphyton resources that snails feed upon, and well-fed snails tend to produce more parasites. In contrast, the abundance of aquatic macroinvertebrate snail predators was negatively associated with per-capita cercarial release by snails, probably because of several potential sublethal effects on snails or snail infection, despite a positive association between snail predators and total snail numbers at a site, possibly due to shared habitat usage or prey tracking by the predators. Thus, complex bottom-up and top-down ecological effects in this region plausibly influence the snail shedding rate and thus, total local density of schistosome cercariae. Conclusions/Significance Our study suggests that aquatic macrophytes and snail predators can influence per-capita cercarial production and total abundance of snails. Thus, snail control efforts might benefit by targeting specific snail habitats where parasite production is greatest. In conclusion, a better understanding of top-down and bottom-up ecological factors that regulate densities of cercarial release by snails, rather than solely snail densities or snail infection prevalence, might facilitate improved schistosomiasis control.
Fuzzy-Based Approach Using IoT Devices for Smart Home to Assist Blind People for Navigation

The demand of devices for safe mobility of blind people is increasing with advancement in wireless communication. Artificial intelligent devices with multiple input and output methods are used for reliable data estimation based on maximum probability. A model of a smart home for safe and robust mobility of blind people has been proposed. Fuzzy logic has been used for simulation. Outputs from the internet of things (IoT) devices comprising sensors and bluetooth are taken as input of the fuzzy controller. Rules have been developed based on the conditions and requirements of the blind person to generate decisions as output. These outputs are communicated through IoT devices to assist the blind person or user for safe movement. The proposed system provides the user with easy navigation and obstacle avoidance.
Ultra-Processed Foods and Health Outcomes: A Narrative Review

The nutrition literature and authoritative reports increasingly recognise the concept of ultra-processed foods (UPF), as a descriptor of unhealthy diets. UPFs are now prevalent in diets worldwide. This review aims to identify and appraise the studies on healthy participants that investigated associations between levels of UPF consumption and health outcomes. This involved a systematic search for extant literature; integration and interpretation of findings from diverse study types, populations, health outcomes and dietary assessments; and quality appraisal. Of 43 studies reviewed, 37 found dietary UPF exposure associated with at least one adverse health outcome. Among adults, these included overweight, obesity and cardio-metabolic risks; cancer, type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; irritable bowel syndrome, depression and frailty conditions; and all-cause mortality. Among children and adolescents, these included cardio-metabolic risks and asthma. No study reported an association between UPF and beneficial health outcomes. Most findings were derived from observational studies and evidence of plausible biological mechanisms to increase confidence in the veracity of these observed associations is steadily evolving. There is now a considerable body of evidence supporting the use of UPFs as a scientific concept to assess the ‘healthiness’ of foods within the context of dietary patterns and to help inform the development of dietary guidelines and nutrition policy actions.
Antiplatelet Antibodies Do Not Predict the Response to Intravenous Immunoglobulins during Immune Thrombocytopenia

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a rare autoimmune disease due to autoantibodies targeting platelet glycoproteins (GP). The mechanism of platelet destruction could differ depending on the specificity of antiplatelet antibodies: anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibodies lead to phagocytosis by splenic macrophages, in a Fcγ receptor (FcγR)-dependent manner while anti-GPIb/IX antibodies induce platelet desialylation leading to their destruction by hepatocytes after binding to the Ashwell–Morell receptor, in a FcγR-independent manner. Considering the FcγR-dependent mechanism of action of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg), we assumed that the response to IVIg could be less efficient in the presence of anti-GPIb/IX antibodies. We conducted a multicentric, retrospective study including all adult ITP patients treated with IVIg who had antiplatelet antibodies detected between January 2013 and October 2017. Among the 609 identified, 69 patients were included: 17 had anti-GPIb/IX antibodies and 33 had anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibodies. The response to IVIg was not different between the patients with or without anti-GPIb/IX (88.2% vs. 73.1%). The response to IVIg was better in the case of newly diagnosed ITP (odds ratio (OR) = 5.4 (1.2–24.7)) and in presence of anti-GPIIb/IIIa (OR = 4.82 (1.08–21.5)), while secondary ITP had a poor response (OR = 0.1 (0.02–0.64)). In clinical practice, the determination of antiplatelet antibodies is therefore of little value to predict the response to IVIg.
Stretchable Electrochemical Sensors for Cell and Tissue Detection.

Electrochemical sensing based on conventional rigid electrodes has large restriction on characterizing the biomolecules of deformed cells or soft tissues. The recent emergence of stretchable sensors allows them to conformally contact to curved surface and perfectly comply with the deformation of living cells and tissues. This provides a powerful strategy to monitor biomolecules from mechanically deformed cells, tissues and organisms in real time, and opens up new opportunities to explore the mechanotransduction process. In this minireview, we first summarize the fabrication of stretchable electrodes with emphasis on the nanomaterial-enabled strategies. We then describe representative applications of stretchable sensor in real-time monitoring of mechanically-sensitive cells and tissues. Finally, we present the future possibilities and challenges of stretchable electrochemical sensing in cell, tissue and in vivo detection.
The War against Tuberculosis: A Review of Natural Compounds and Their Derivatives

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the bacterial organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis, pose a major threat to public health, especially in middle and low-income countries. Worldwide in 2018, approximately 10 million new cases of TB were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). There are a limited number of medications available to treat TB; additionally, multi-drug resistant TB and extensively-drug resistant TB strains are becoming more prevalent. As a result of various factors, such as increased costs of developing new medications and adverse side effects from current medications, researchers continue to evaluate natural compounds for additional treatment options. These substances have the potential to target bacterial cell structures and may contribute to successful treatment. For example, a study reported that green and black tea, which contains epigallocatechin gallate (a phenolic antioxidant), may decrease the risk of contracting TB in experimental subjects; cumin (a seed from the parsley plant) has been demonstrated to improve the bioavailability of rifampicin, an important anti-TB medication, and propolis (a natural substance produced by honeybees) has been shown to improve the binding affinity of anti-TB medications to bacterial cell structures. In this article, we review the opportunistic pathogen M. tuberculosis, various potential therapeutic targets, available therapies, and natural compounds that may have anti-TB properties. In conclusion, different natural compounds alone as well as in combination with already approved medication regimens should continue to be investigated as treatment options for TB.
Preparation and Characterization of Furan–Matrix Composites Blended with Modified Hollow Glass Microsphere

In this study, a new class of thermal insulation composites was prepared by blending a modified hollow glass microsphere (HGM) with furan resin. The particle dispersion between the microparticles and resin matrix was improved using 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxy silane (KH-570). Furthermore, the structure and morphology of the modified HGM were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, the effects of the modified HGM on the thermal insulation, flame retardancy, and thermal properties of the composites were investigated. The thermal conductivity of the composites was lower than that of the native furan resin. The minimum thermal conductivity of the composites was 0.0274 W/m·K; the flame retardancy of the composites improved, and the limiting oxygen index become a maximum of 31.6%, reaching the refractory material level. Furthermore, the thermal analysis of the composites demonstrated enhanced thermal stability. This study demonstrates that the composite material exhibited good thermal insulation performance and flame retardancy and that it can be applied in the field of thermal insulation.
Accuracy of a Semi-Quantitative Ultrasound Method to Determine Liver Fat Infiltration in Early Adulthood

An inexpensive and simple method to determine non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the abdominal ultrasound, but there are still doubts about its accuracy. We assessed the precision of a semi-quantitative ultrasound method to determine liver fat infiltration, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) as the reference. The study was conducted in youths from an ongoing cohort study. Clinical validation was performed, using receiver operating characteristic analysis, in n = 60 participants (22.6y; 50% males). Abdominal ultrasound was carried out with liver brightness (score 0–3), diaphragm attenuation (0–2) and liver vessel blurring (0–1) scored by two observers. Liver fat was estimated using MRS. Then, analytical validation was conducted in the remaining participants (n = 555; 22.7y; 51% males) using effects size estimates. An ultrasound score ≥4.0 had the highest sensitivity (78%) and specificity (85%) for NAFLD diagnosis. An area under the curve of 86% denotes a good diagnostic performance of the test, whereas a Kappa of 0.63 suggests substantial agreement of ultrasound vs. MRS. The analytical validation showed that participants having NAFLD according to ultrasound had an unhealthier cardiometabolic profile than participants without the condition. Abdominal ultrasound, combined with a semi-quantitative score system, is a reliable method to determine liver fat infiltration in young adults and should be encouraged whenever MRS is unavailable.
Effect of plant residues incorporation on specific microbial groups and availability of some plant nutrients in soil.

In an incubation study, incorporation of the residues of Lantana camara tops, Ipomea cornea tops, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crasipes), karanj leaves (Pongamia glabra), subabul leaves (Leucaena leucocephala), lentil straw (Lens esculenta Moench), maize stover (Zea mays L.) and rice straw (Oryza sativa L.) in an acid clay loam soil (Alfisol) significantly increased the populations of aerobic non-symbiotic nitrogen fixing, phosphate solnbilizing and sulphur oxidising microorganisms. Incorporation of the organic wastes significantly increased pH and nutrient status of an acid soil. Decomposition of subabulleaves yielded highest amount of mineral nutrients in the soil.
Science Runs and the Debate Brakes: Somatic Gene-Editing as a New Tool for Gender-Specific Medicine in Alzheimer’s Disease

Gender-specific medicine is a discipline that studies the influence of sex and gender on physiology, pathophysiology, and diseases. One example in light of how a genetic-based disease among other diseases, that impact on sex, can be represented by the risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. The question that comes into focus is whether gene-editing can represent a new line of investigation to be explored in the development of personalized, gender-specific medicine that guarantees gender equity in health policies. This article aims to discuss the relevance of adopting a gender-specific focus on gene-editing research, considered as a way of contributing to the advance of medicine’s understanding, treatment, and prevention of dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. The development or improvement of cures could take advantage of the knowledge of the gender diversity in order to ascertain and develop differential interventions also at the genetic level between women and men, and this deserves special attention and deep ethical reflection.
Comparison of immunological, histological and oxidative effects of felbamate and levetiracetam in traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE We aimed to compare immunological, histological and oxidative effects of antiepileptic agents; felbamate and levetiracetam on head trauma in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, 32 Sprague-Dawley genus male rats were used. A closed head trauma mechanism was constituted in order to perform head trauma in rats. Rats were divided into 4 groups, and each group had 8 rats. Following head trauma, Group 1 (Control); normal saline was administered, Group 2; levetiracetam 50 mg/kg was administered, Group 3; felbamate 100 mg/kg was administered, and Group 4; levetiracetam 50 mg/kg and felbamate 100 mg/kg were administered with a combination. Injections were administered intraperitoneally once a day for 20 days. The rats were decapitated at the end of the 20th day. Blood and tissue samples were collected and analyzed for biochemical, immunohistochemical and histological parameters. RESULTS Serum cytokine levels in Group 2, 3 and 4 were lower when compared to the control group. In Group 4, in which combined therapy was performed, cytokine levels were found to be the lowest. In Groups 2 and 3, a significant decrease in vascular congestion, mononuclear cell infiltration, hemorrhage, and neural degeneration was noticed in the pia mater. In Group 2, a decrease in vascular congestion and Purkinje cell degeneration was obtained in the cerebellum. However, the best outcomes were determined in Group 4. CONCLUSIONS We determined that levetiracetam and felbamate alone are useful with respect to immunological, oxidative and histological alterations. However, their utility is better when used in a combination.
AFM-based High-Throughput Nanomechanical Screening of Single Extracellular Vesicles

We herein describe an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)-based experimental procedure which allows the simultaneous mechanical and morphological characterization of several hundred individual nanosized vesicles within the hour timescale. When deposited on a flat rigid surface from aqueous solution, vesicles are deformed by adhesion forces into oblate spheroids whose geometry is a direct consequence of their mechanical stiffness. AFM image analysis can be used to quantitatively measure the contact angle of individual vesicles, which is a size-independent descriptor of their deformation and, consequently, of their stiffness. The same geometrical measurements can be used to infer vesicle diameter in its original, spherical shape. We demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach to natural vesicles obtained from different sources, recovering their size and stiffness distributions by simple AFM imaging in liquid. We show how the combined EV stiffness/size readout is able to discriminate between subpopulations of vesicular and non-vesicular objects in the same sample, and between populations of vesicles with similar sizes but different mechanical characteristics. We also discuss a force spectroscopy calibration procedure to quantitatively link the stiffness of EVs to their average contact angle. Finally, we discuss expected extensions and applications of the methodology.
Potential Terrestrial Arthropod Indicators for Tallgrass Prairie Restoration in Iowa

species. New depressions may be scooped out and some of the existing depressions in the wetlands may be deepened so that they will continue to hold water longer into the summer drought period. This would benefit not only the endangered burhead, but also amphibian species that need more time to develop into adults.
Betavulgarin Isolated from Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris) Suppresses Breast Cancer Stem Cells through Stat3 Signaling

Breast cancer is a major health problem that affects lives worldwide. Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) are small subpopulations of cells with capacities for drug resistance, self-renewal, recurrence, metastasis, and differentiation. Herein, powder extracts of beetroot were subjected to silica gel, gel filtration, thin layer chromatography (TLC), and preparatory high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) for isolation of one compound, based on activity-guided purification using tumorsphere formation assays. The purified compound was identified as betavulgarin, using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry. Betavulgarin suppressed the proliferation, migration, colony formation, and mammosphere formation of breast cancer cells and reduced the size of the CD44+/CD24− subpopulation and the expression of the self-renewal-related genes, C-Myc, Nanog, and Oct4. This compound decreased the total level and phosphorylated nuclear level of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) and reduced the mRNA and protein levels of sex determining region Y (SRY)-box 2 (SOX2), in mammospheres. These data suggest that betavulgarin inhibit the Stat3/Sox2 signaling pathway and induces BCSC death, indicating betavulgarin might be an anticancer agent against breast cancer cells and BCSCs.
Energy-Efficient Cluster Management Using a Mobile Charger for Solar-Powered Wireless Sensor Networks

In solar-powered wireless sensor networks (SP-WSNs), sensor nodes can continuously harvest energy to relieve the energy constraint problem in battery-powered WSNs. With the advent of wireless power transmission (WPT) technology, the nodes can be charged remotely if the energy harvested is insufficient. However, even in SP-WSNs with WPT, an energy imbalance problem is observed, in which the energy consumption of the nodes around a sink node increases abnormally if the sink node is stationary. To solve this problem, recent studies have been conducted using a mobile sink node instead of a stationary one. Generally, a clustering scheme is used for the efficient utilization of a mobile sink. However, even in the case of mobile sinks, it is still necessary to minimize the energy burden of the cluster heads and their surrounding nodes. In this study, we propose a scheme that mitigates the energy imbalance problem of SP-WSNs by using a WPT-capable mobile sink and an efficient clustering scheme. In the proposed scheme, the energy imbalance is minimized by electing the cluster heads effectively after considering the energy state of the nodes, and by enabling the sink node to charge the energy of the cluster heads while collecting data from them. Consequently, this scheme allows the sink node to collect more data with fewer blackouts of the sensor nodes.
An integrated multi-objective optimization approach to determine the optimal feature processing sequence and cutting parameters for carbon emissions savings of CNC machining

ABSTRACT Carbon emissions caused by CNC machining attract increasing attentions. It has been proved that carbon emissions and processing time are jointly affected by process routes and cutting parameters. Cutting parameters and process routes optimization, however, are traditionally carried out separately and sequentially, limiting the potential of carbon emissions reduction. To further reduce carbon emissions, an integrated approach of features processing sequence and cutting parameters optimization is proposed to minimize the carbon emissions and processing time. Firstly, a multi-objective optimization model for minimizing carbon emissions and processing time is proposed. Secondly, an NAGS-II algorithm is designed to solve the proposed model. Then, case studies are conducted to verify the feasibility and validity of the proposed integrated optimization approach. Case studies and comparative analysis with other literature show that: i) integrated optimization of features processing sequence and cutting parameters can achieve more carbon emissions savings than features processing sequence optimization with preset cutting parameters; ii) the proposed multi-objective integrated optimization method can strike a trade-off between carbon emissions and processing time.