Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Anti biofilm and Antibiotic Potentiation Activities of Silver Nanoparticles Against some Nosocomial Pathogens

Nowadays silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used as antimicrobial due to its well known physical, chemical, and biological properties. A large collection of bacterial cells adhering to a surface is called bacterial biofilm. Exposure to silver nano particles (AgNPs) may prevent colonization of new bacteria onto the biofilm. In the present work, we have investigated whether the biofilm formation of some hospital isolates of pathogenic bacteria can be influenced by AgNPs. Also we examined the susceptibility of the isolates to some antibiotics in combination with AgNPs. Standard strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus, in addition to nine hospital isolates for each species were used. Tube double serial dilution method for determination of MIC of AgNPs against isolates was performed. Biofilm formation was evaluated by end smooth 96 cells micro titer plates. A disc diffusion method was used to assay the various antibiotics and combinations for bactericidal activity against the isolates. Mean MICs of AgNPs for Ps. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, E. faecalis and S. aureus were 3.125, 6.25, 6.25 and 12.5 ug/mL. respectively. AgNPs exhibited more than % 90 inhibitory effect on biofilm formation of the examined species. The results showed that AgNPs have strong anti bacterial and anti biofilm activity against the examined pathogens. Synergistic effects of AgNPs in combination with gentamicin, kanamycine, cephalosporin and penicillin were observed in different cases. Ps. aeruginosa and S. aureus showed more sensitivity (increase in fold) to examined antibiotics plus AgNPs compared to A. baumannii and E. faecalis. Our results demonstrated that AgNPs showing promising anti biofilm activity on hospital isolates of Ps. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, E. faecalis and S. aureus. The study also showed a possible combination of examined antibiotics with AgNPs which concluded as synergism.
Design and parameter optimization of two-dimensional waveguide coupler

This paper proposes a two-dimensional back-coupled grating waveguide coupler structure and its parameter optimization method. The WGC can split a part of the photons of the incident beam uniformly in four directions, and make the split photons back-coupled to the incident direction. The unique structure enables the WGC to be applied to an array laser light source that requires uniform back coupling of the beam in four directions. In addition, through the analysis of the parameter scanning results of the WGC, we found that although the coupling efficiency in two directions of the two-dimensional grating is affected by the combined impact of multiple directional parameters, but some of these effects are major and some are minor. Using this discovery, we have greatly reduced the amount of calculation required for parameter optimization for two-dimensional WGC, and provided a certain reference for later researchers.
Effect of Soybean (Glycine max) Seed Inoculation with Liquid and Carrier Based Rhizobium cultures and Phosphorus Levels on Productivity and Physico-Chemical Properties of Soil

Soybean (Glycine max), is an important legume crop in the world in terms of total production and international trade (Simmond et al., 1999). Soybean contains about 20% oil on dry matter basis with 30-50% of protein (Kwarteng and Towler, 1994). It also has superior amino acid profile and its protein has great potential as a major source of dietary protein and can play an important role to solve malnutrition problems (Ruhul et al., 2009).
Volumetric Reach-through Displays for Direct Manipulation of 3D Content

In my PhD, I aim at developing a reach-through volumetric display where points of light are emitted from each 3d position of the display volume, and yet it allows people to introduce theirs hands inside to directly interact with the rendered content. Here, I present TomoLit, an inverse tomographic display, where multiple emitters project rays of different intensities for each angle, rendering a target image in mid-air. We have analysed the effect on image quality of the number of emitters, their locations, the angular resolution and the levels of intensities. We have developed a simple emitter and we are in the process of putting together multiple of them. And what I plan to do next, e.g. moving from 2D to 3D and exploring interaction techniques. The feedback obtained in this symposium will clearly dissipate some of of my doubts and guide my research career.
Photosynthetic capacity, osmotic adjustment and antioxidant system in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in response to alkaline stress

Photosynthetic characteristics of sugar beet cultivars KWS0143 and Beta464 were studied under alkaline conditions, including 0 (A0, control), 25 (A1), 50 (A2), 75 (A3), and 100 mM of mixed alkali (Na2CO3:NaHCO3, 1:2). A2, A3, and A4 reduced net photosynthetic rate (PN), stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate, but rose intercellular CO2 concentration. Reduction in PN occurred probably due to nonstomatal limitation. The decrease in efficiency of photosynthetic electron transport might be the main reason for the decrease of PN. The concentrations of photosynthetic pigments were significantly reduced by high (A3 and A4) alkalinity. Changes in chloroplast ultrastructure are the reason for the decrease in chlorophyll content. Sugar beet could resist injury from alkali owing to osmotic substances and antioxidant enzymes if alkaline stress was at a lower level. The better performance of KWS0143 under alkalinity might be associated with its more efficient osmotic and antioxidant systems to resist injury of photosynthetic apparatus caused by alkalinity.
Chemical Composition of Different Varieties of Soybean (Glycine max) Straw

The samples of 9 varieties of soybean straw (JS-336, NRC 12, JS 90-41, NRC 7, NRC 2, Hardee, JS 80-21, NRC 37 and NRC 86-47) were collected from National Research Centre for Soybean, Indore, Madhya Pradesh for estimating chemical composition. The average values of DM, CP, EE, CF, NFE, total ash and acid insoluble ash were found to be 93.69±0.2, 5.66±0.18, 0.89±0.03, 42.07±0.79, 44.78±0.72, 6.30±0.21 and 0.40±0.05% on DM basis respectively. The average cell content, NDF, ADF, hemi-cellulose, cellulose and lignin were 31.72±0.94, 68.06±0.93, 51.79±0.68, 16.33±0.62, 8.92±0.52 and 44.95±0.75%, respectively. The concentration of Ca, P, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn and Co was 1.03±0.02%, 0.21±0.01%, 585.12±25.02 ppm,16.03±0.96 ppm, 26.78±10.27 ppm, 76.14±4.14 ppm and 1.07±0.56 ppm, respectively. Results indicated that lignin content was very high in all varieties of soybean straw, therefore, it may be used in very limited amount in the ration of dairy animals.
Population Abundance of Thrips tabaci Lindeman and its Associated Predators on Some Crops at Shendi, River Nile State, Sudan

Onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is a serious pest of onion and other crops in Sudan. Nevertheless, information about T. tabaci pertinent to different habitats in the country is incomplete, especially with regard to agro-ecological aspects. This research aimed to investigate the seasonality of T. tabaci and its main associated predators at Shendi area. These were fulfilled through field surveys on three major host plants (onion, rocket and tomato) during 2011/12 season at three locations, besides a field experiment on onion crop during 2012/13 season to validate surveys results. Moreover, the populations of T. tabaci adult and nymphs recorded from the field experiment were compared at monthly and seasonal levels. Accordingly, T. tabaci showed its peak levels on all crops (54-80% infested plants) during March, coinciding with an increase in temperature and a decrease in relative humidity at the end of winter season. Onion and rocket crops showed significantly higher percentages of infested plants than tomato. Adult thrips were significantly higher than nymphs equally at the first month (November) and through the second half (February-April) of the season. This proved that the peak reproduction period of the pest is highly confined to the succulent early stage of onion growth between November and January. Concerning predators, the green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea) was the most abundant species, followed by the 11-spotted ladybird (Coccinella undecimpunctata). They peaked late in winter season (March-April), synchronizing with that of onion thrips. Further studies are needed on cultural practices to escape T. tabaci attack, particularly during the first half of crop growth, and to enhance natural control of thrips.
Effets sous-létaux d'un mélange de contaminants d'intérêt émergent sur l'espèce modèle Daphnia magna

Ecotoxicological bioassays used to assess effects based on the measurements of endpoints such as mortality or reproduction may not be affected by environmentally relevant concentrations of trace organic contaminants such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Thus, sensitive evaluation tools are necessary to assess biological changes in aquatic organisms chronically exposed to low concentrations of contaminants. The present study aimed to use the quantification of the 20hydroxyecdysone (20E), an essential metabolite implicated in the molting and reproduction of crustaceans, to evaluate the effects of a mixtures of trace organic contaminants on the water flea Daphnia magna. While survival and reproduction endpoints did not show any significant difference (p> 0.05) after 21 days of exposure to two lipid-lowering compounds (i.e., clofibric acid, gemfibrozil) or a mixture of 19 trace organic contaminants, concentrations of 20E were affected. Chronic exposure (21 days) to the lipid-lowering compounds at a concentration of 1000 ng L-1 each, caused a significant (p< 0.01) decrease in 20E concentration compared to unexposed individuals. Exposure of D. magna to a mixture of 19 contaminants (including atrazine, carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen and triphenyl phosphate) at a concentration of 1000 ng L-1 caused an opposite effect
Risk factors for Coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia after admission outside Wuhan, China

Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide, causing significant stress on the medical system. We explored the risk factors for condition changes in COVID-19 pneumonia patients after admission. The patients diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia at 2 medical centers in Hunan Province were studied, and those whose conditions changed after admission were compared. Their clinical characteristics and experimental indicators were compared using SPSS software and R language to build a disease risk prediction model. Patients with condition changes after admission were older and had more blood cell abnormalities and impaired organ function (decreased albumin, elevated D-dimer) than normal patients. We found that age, neutrophil ratio, D-dimer, chest Computed tomograpgy (CT) changes, and glucocorticoid use were risk factors for COVID-19 pneumonia after admission. Elderly patients are more susceptible to disease changes after COVID-19 pneumonia; COVID-19 pneumonia patients who develop disease changes after admission have higher neutrophil ratios, increased D-dimer levels, chest imaging changes, and glucocorticoid usage. Additional research is needed.
Characteristics of blood glucose distribution in a health examination population in Sichuan (2009–2017)

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired fasting glucose is rapidly increasing in the recent years. Hyperglycemia associated atherosclerosis and other complications are posing a serious threat to human health. The present study aimed to analyze the blood glucose distribution characteristics within a large size of health examination population of Sichuan province, China. This was a retrospective study conducted in 878,019 subjects (483,914 males and 394,105 females) aged more than 18 years old from the Health Examination Center at West China Hospital, Sichuan University during 2009 to 2017. The blood glucose levels were compared in different age groups and different years. The blood glucose levels were significantly increased in recent years. The percentage of cases with high glucose levels was significantly higher in males than that in females since 2009 to 2017. Moreover, the blood glucose levels and the percentage of high glucose levels in aged population were significantly higher than those in younger population every year. The health examination population showed increased percentage of blood glucose levels, and so regular physical examination and glucose control are highly important in aged population.
Rethinking Social Networks in the Era of Computational Social Science

Recent work argued that researchers conceptualize “social ties” in four fundamentally different ways—as socially constructed role relations such as friendship or coauthorship, sentiments such as liking or hatred, interactions such as communication or sex, and access to resources or opportunities. We consider where ties (and nonties) are likely to correspond across these four concepts, and thus assess where we may apply theories based on one network concept (e.g. sentiment ties of liking and disliking) to data representing another (e.g. interaction as logs of phone calls). Then we discuss empirical lenses emerging from computational social science, such as location-aware devices, electronic calendars, wearable sensors, records of electronic messages, phone calls, or online transactions. We ask how these timestamped event series correspond to the aforementioned conventional network concepts and call for a new analytical approach: directly theorizing and analyzing the structural-temporal interdependencies of interaction events redirects our attention from structural patterns to social processes.
Quasi-3D Hyperbolic Shear Deformation Theory for the Free Vibration Study of Honeycomb Microplates with Graphene Nanoplatelets-Reinforced Epoxy Skins

A novel quasi-3D hyperbolic shear deformation theory (QHSDT) with five unknowns is here employed, together with the Hamilton’s principle and the modified couple stress theory (MCST) to analyze the vibrational behavior of rectangular micro-scale sandwich plates resting on a visco-Pasternak foundation. The sandwich structure features a Nomex or Glass phenolic honeycomb core, and two composite face sheets reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets (GPLs). The effective properties of both face sheets are evaluated by means of the Halpin-Tsai and extended rule of mixture (ERM) micromechanical schemes. The governing equations of the problem are derived by applying the Hamilton’s principle, whose solutions are determined theoretically according to a classical Navier-type procedure. A parametric study checks for the effect of different material properties, length-scale parameters, foundation parameters and geometrical properties of the honeycomb cells, and the reinforcing GPLs, on the vibration response of the layered structure, which can be of great interest for many modern engineering applications and their optimization design.
Extracellular Matrix acts as pressure detector in biological tissues

Imposed deformations play an important role in morphogenesis and tissue homeostasis, both in normal and pathological conditions 1–5. To perceive mechanical perturbations of different types and magnitudes, tissues need a range of appropriate detectors 6–8, with a compliance that has to match the perturbation amplitude. As a proxy of biological tissues, we use multicellular aggregates, a composite material made of cells, extracellular matrix and permeating fluid. We compare the effect of a selective compression of cells within the aggregate, leaving the extracellular matrix unstrained, to a global compression of the whole aggregate. We show that the global compression strongly reduces the aggregate volume 9–13, while the same amount of selective compression on cells has almost no effect 14,15. We support this finding with a theoretical model of an actively pre-stressed composite material, made of incompressible and impermeable cells and a poroelastic interstitial space. This description correctly predicts the emergent bulk modulus of the aggregate as well as the hydrodynamic diffusion coefficient of the percolating interstitial fluid under compression. We further show that, on a longer timescale, the extracellular matrix serves as a sensor that regulates cell proliferation and migration in a 3D environment through its permanent deformation and dehydration following the global compression.
Higher Peripheral Blood IFN-γ-/IL-4+ Th2 Lymphocytes Are Associated with Lower Rate of Relapse in Patients with Lymphoma

ABSTRACT Background The role of T-helper lymphocytes especially T helper 2 (Th2) subsets in lymphoid malignancies is debatable and unknown. Methods Herein, we evaluated the polarization of the IFN-γ+/IL-4− Th1 and IFN-γ−/IL-4+ Th2 lymphocytes in 95 lymphoma patients including 47 classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cHL) and 48 diffuse large B cell lymphoma patients (DLBCL) at different disease phases and its correlation with the clinical outcomes of patients using flow cytometry method. Results The proportion of IFN-γ+/IL-4− Th1 lymphocytes was significantly higher in cHL patients at remission compared to the newly diagnosed ones. Both cHL and DLBCL patients at remission phase had significantly more IFN-γ−/IL-4+ Th2 lymphocytes than those patients at relapse/refractory phase as well as newly diagnosed ones. Despite having higher frequency of IFN-γ+/IL-4− Th1 lymphocytes, the mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) of IFN-γ was lower in relapsed cHL patients, in those with high-risk IPI score, performance status (PS) ≥2 and B symptom-positive groups compared to their corresponding counterparts in newly diagnosed patients. Conclusion Taken together, higher peripheral blood IFN-γ−/IL-4+ Th2 lymphocytes might be associated with a favorable prognosis like lower rate of relapse in lymphoma patients.
Integrative cardiovascular control in women: Regulation of blood pressure, body temperature, and cerebrovascular responsiveness

Over the past several decades, it has become increasingly clear that women have distinct cardiovascular profiles compared to men. In this review, our goal is to provide an overview of the literature regarding the influences of female sex and reproductive hormones (primarily estradiol) on mechanisms of cardiovascular control relevant to regulation of blood pressure, body temperature, and cerebral blood flow. Young women tend to have lower resting blood pressure compared with men. This sex difference is reversed at menopause, when women develop higher sympathetic nerve activity and the risk of systemic hypertension increases sharply as postmenopausal women age. Vascular responses to thermal stress, including cutaneous vasodilation and vasoconstriction, are also affected by reproductive hormones in women, where estradiol appears to promote vasodilation and heat dissipation. The influence of reproductive hormones on cerebral blood flow and sex differences in the ability of the cerebral vasculature to increase its blood flow (cerebrovascular reactivity) are relatively new areas of investigation. Sex and hormonal influences on integrative blood flow regulation have further implications during challenges to physiological homeostasis, including exercise. We propose that increasing awareness of these sex‐specific mechanisms is important for optimizing health care and promotion of wellness in women across the life span.
Implications of Splicing Alterations in the Onset and Phenotypic Variability of a Family with Subclinical Manifestation of Peutz–Jeghers Syndrome: Bioinformatic and Molecular Evidence

Peutz–Jeghers Syndrome (PJS) is an autosomal dominant pre-cancerous disorder caused in 80–90% of cases by germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene STK11. We performed a genetic test of the STK11 gene in two Italian young sisters suspected of PJS, since they showed pathognomonic café au lait spots in absence of other symptoms and familiarity. Sequencing of all exons of STK11 gene and other 8 genes, suggested to be involved in hamartomatous syndromes, (PTEN, BMPR1A, SDHB, SDHD, SMAD4, AKT1, ENG, PIK3CA) led to the identification in both the probands of a novel germline silent mutation named c.597 G>A, hitting the last nucleotide of exon 4. Interestingly, genetic testing of the two probands’ parents showed that their unaffected father was carrier of this mutation. Moreover, he carried a second intronic substitution named c.465-51 T>C (rs2075606) which was not inherited by his daughters. We also observed that all the family members carrying the c.597 G>A mutation presented an aberrant splice variant of STK11 mRNA lacking exon 4. Furthermore, in silico analysis of c.465-51 T>C substitution showed that it may activate an Enhancer Splicing Element. Finally, qRT-PCR analysis of STK11 expression levels showed a slight downregulation of the wild type allele in the father and a 2-fold downregulation in the probands compared to the unaffected mother. Our results have led the hypothesis that the c.465-51 T>C intronic variant, which segregates with the wild type allele, could increase the splicing effectiveness of STK11 wild-type allele and compensate the side effect of the c.597 G>A splicing mutation, being responsible for the phenotypic variability observed within this family. This finding highlight the importance of RNA analysis in genetic testing, remarking that silent DNA variant can often be splicing variant involved in disease onset and progression. The identification of these variants has a crucial role to ensure an appropriate follow-up and cancer prevention in at-risk individuals.
Fully Automatic Quantification of Fibroglandular Tissue and Background Parenchymal Enhancement with Accurate Implementation for Axial and Sagittal Breast MRI Protocols.

PURPOSE To propose and evaluate a fully automated technique for quantification of fibroglandular tissue (FGT) and background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) in breast MRI. METHODS We propose a fully-automated method, where after preprocessing, FGT is segmented in T1-weighted, nonfat-saturated MRI. Incorporating an anatomy-driven prior probability for FGT and robust texture descriptors against intensity variations, our method effectively addresses major image processing challenges, including wide variations in breast anatomy and FGT appearance among individuals. Our frame-work then propagates this segmentation to dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE)-MRI to quantify BPE within the segmented FGT regions. Axial and sagittal image data from 40 cancer-unaffected women were used to evaluate our proposed method versus a manually-annotated reference standard. RESULTS High spatial correspondence was observed between the automatic and manual FGT segmentation (mean Dice similarity coefficient 81.14%). The FGT and BPE quantifications (denoted FGT% and BPE%) indicated high correlation (Pearson's r = 0:99 for both) between automatic and manual segmentations. Furthermore, the differences between the FGT% and BPE% quantified using automatic and manual segmentations were low (mean differences: -0:66±2:91% for FGT% and -0:17±1:03% for BPE%). When correlated with qualitative clinical BI-RADS ratings, the correlation coefficient for FGT% was still high (Spearman's ρ = 0:92), whereas that for BPE was lower (ρ = 0:65). Our proposed approach also performed significantly better than a previously validated method for sagittal breast MRI. CONCLUSIONS Our method demonstrated accurate fully-automated quantification of FGT and BPE in both sagittal and axial breast MRI. Our results also suggested the complexity of BPE assessment, demonstrating relatively low correlation between segmentation and clinical rating.