Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lactate: The Fallacy of Oversimplification

Almost a quarter of a millennium after the discovery of an acidic substance in sour milk by Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele and more than 100 years after the demonstration of a tight connection between this lactic acid and tissue hypoxia in shock, we are still surrounded by false beliefs and misunderstandings regarding this fascinating molecule. Common perceptions of lactate, the conjugate base of lactic acid, as a plain waste product of anaerobic metabolism and a marker of cellular distress could not be further from the truth. Lactate is formed and utilized continuously by our cells, even under fully aerobic conditions, in large quantities, and although marked hyperlactatemia is always a red flag in our patients, not all these conditions are life-threatening and vice versa—not all critically ill patients have hyperlactatemia. Lactate also does not promote acidosis by itself; it is not toxic, nor is it a metabolic renegade. On the contrary, it has many beneficial properties, and an interpretation of hyperlactatemia might be trickier than we tend to think. The aim of this article is to debunk some of the deeply rooted myths regarding this fascinating molecule.
Celecoxib/Cyclodextrin Eye Drop Microsuspensions: Evaluation of In Vitro Cytotoxicity and Anti-VEGF Efficacy for Retinal Diseases

Celecoxib (CCB), a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, is capable of reducing oxidative stress and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in retinal cells and has been shown to be effective in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. However, the ocular bioavailability of CCB is hampered due to its very low aqueous solubility. In a previous study, we developed 0.5% (w/v) aqueous CCB eye drop microsuspensions (MS) containing randomly methylated β-cyclodextrin (RMβCD) or γ-cyclodextrin (γCD) and hyaluronic acid (HA) as ternary CCB/CD/HA nanoaggregates. Both formulations exhibited good physicochemical properties. Therefore, we further investigated their cytotoxicity and efficacy in a human retina cell line in this study. At a CCB concentration of 1000 μg/mL, both CCB/RMβCD and CCB/γCD eye drop MS showed low hemolysis activity (11.1 ± 0.3% or 4.9 ± 0.2%, respectively). They revealed no signs of causing irritation and were nontoxic to retinal pigment epithelial cells. Moreover, the CCB eye drop MS exhibited significant anti-VEGF activity by reducing VEGF mRNA and protein levels compared to CCB suspended in phosphate buffer saline. The ex vivo transscleral diffusion demonstrated that a high quantity of CCB (112.47 ± 37.27 μg/mL) from CCB/γCD eye drop MS was deposited in the porcine sclera. Our new findings suggest that CCB/CD eye drop MS could be safely delivered to the ocular tissues and demonstrate promising eye drop formulations for retinal disease treatment.
Marketing Tourism In The Galapagos Islands: Ecotourism Or Greenwashing?

Tourism accounts for approximately 7.5% - 15% of the world’s total employment and is the world’s most important service industry. In heavily frequented tourist destinations such as the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, the importance is even higher. International travel is projected to double by 2020 with over 1.5 billion people traveling throughout the world. Within the tourism industry, ecotourism is the fastest growing sector, growing from 10 to 30 percent a year. While exact definitions of ecotourism vary, ecotourism is defined by the International Tourism Society (TIES) as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people. ” A subset of sustainable tourism, ecotourism has a natural area focus, which benefits the environment and communities visited, fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and awareness. Because there is no universally adopted certification program for ecotourism, tourism operators may market their operations as “ecotourism” while in reality they are “greenwashing. ” Greenwashers are dishonest tourism operators who embrace ecotourism as a new selling angle. To greenwash is to promote ecotourism while effectively doing the opposite. The Galapagos Islands is a popular destination for ecotourism. Beginning in the late 1960’s, the Galapagos tourism industry started with about 1,000 tourists per year and has boomed to 148,000 tourists in 2006. This has caused several problems: g rowing human population, introduction of alien and invasive species, and unwanted by-products from tourism. As a result, in 2007, the Galapagos Islands were placed on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. Because of the unique biodiversity of the Galapagos Islands, and the increase in tourism and its negative consequences, the Galapagos Islands presents an excellent example for a case study in marketing of ecotourism. Using the criteria established by the Mohonk Agreement for responsible ecotourism, this paper examines the websites of ecotourism operators in the Galapagos Islands to determine the extent to which they are “ecotours” or “greenwashed tours. ” The implications for conservation of the islands and responsible marketing are discussed.
The Correlation between the Gut Microbiota of Endoclita signifer (Lepidoptera, Hepialidae) Larvae and Their Host Preferences

Simple Summary Endoclita signifer (Lepidoptera, Hepialidae) poses a significant threat as a forestry pest to a diverse range of host plants. The gut microbiota of insects plays a pivotal role in establishing a symbiotic relationship with the host insect. Our research aims to scrutinize alterations in the gut microbiota and their correlation with distinct plant-feeding preferences, laying the groundwork for developing biological control strategies against E. signifer. We relocated E. signifer that had endured a period in Eucalyptus grandis × Eucalyptus urophylla to two different plant species, namely Mallotus apelta and Broussonetia papyrifera. Following a 4-week period, high-throughput sequencing was performed on the gut microbiota of moth larvae feeding on three plant species (E. grandis × E. urophylla, M. apelta, and B. papyrifera). The microbial composition in the E. signifer intestines exhibited similarities at the phylum level but disparities at the genus level. Concurrently, the E. signifer feeding preferences were predominantly linked to the nutritional composition of the plants. These findings imply that feeding preferences can impact the gut microbiota of E. signifer, with the nutritional composition of the plants emerging as a pivotal factor steering these preferences. This discovery introduces a novel perspective for the advancement of biological control techniques against E. signifer. Abstract Insects’ gut microbiota plays a crucial role in their host selection, adaptation, and plasticity. This study explored the impact of gut bacteria on the adaptation of host selection under different stresses (diverse feeding preferences and no feeding preferences). The seventh instar E. signifer larvae were artificially transferred from the most-selected host E. grandis × E. urophylla (Es) to more preferred hosts, M. apelta (Ma), as well as the non-preferred host, B. papyrifera (Bp). We then obtained the larval gut of three different feeding preference hosts. The gut bacterial DNA was sequenced and analyzed based on 16S rRNA. There were significant differences in the composition of dominant gut bacteria between Es with Ma and Bp, but without significant differences between Ma and Bp. In the process, Burkholderia and Microbacillus with degrading pesticides had significant changes, and Enterococcus with insect gut probiotics also had significant changes. The presence of enterococcus may be one of the main causes of intestinal microbiota changes before and after host transfer. Notably, when the feeding of E. signifer changes, the complex connections that exist between gut bacteria also change. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between the feeding preferences of E. signifer and the metabolic functions of their gut bacteria. This study provided a theoretical basis for the prediction and use of gut bacteria to interfere with the feeding of E. signifer.
Temperature Dependence Modeling of Grain Boundary Barrier Height in Macaroni MOSFETs

In this article, a physically based grain boundary (GB) barrier height (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\psi _{B}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) model with temperature (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) dependence is developed for poly-Si channel macaroni MOSFETs. Experimental data of 3-D NAND flash string current are employed to calibrate a computer aided design (TCAD) simulation tool. <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\psi _{B}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is then extracted from the macaroni MOSFETs with a single GB located at the center of the channel as a simulation structure, which is used to verify the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\psi _{B}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> model. In order to model the temperature dependence, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\psi _{B}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is derived without approximation of Fermi-Dirac distribution function. The <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\psi _{B}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> model is compared with simulated <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\psi _{B}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to validate the model over a wide temperature range as well as a gate bias (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {GS}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), and a good agreement between them is achieved. In addition, we investigate the contributions of the surface potential inside grain, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\psi _{S}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and the surface potential at GB, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\psi _{\text {GB}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, to the reduction of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\psi _{B}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> with increasing temperature.
ADDovenom: Thermostable Protein-Based ADDomer Nanoparticles as New Therapeutics for Snakebite Envenoming

Snakebite envenoming can be a life-threatening medical emergency that requires prompt medical intervention to neutralise the effects of venom toxins. Each year up to 138,000 people die from snakebites and threefold more victims suffer life-altering disabilities. The current treatment of snakebite relies solely on antivenom—polyclonal antibodies isolated from the plasma of hyperimmunised animals—which is associated with numerous deficiencies. The ADDovenom project seeks to deliver a novel snakebite therapy, through the use of an innovative protein-based scaffold as a next-generation antivenom. The ADDomer is a megadalton-sized, thermostable synthetic nanoparticle derived from the adenovirus penton base protein; it has 60 high-avidity binding sites to neutralise venom toxins. Here, we outline our experimental strategies to achieve this goal using state-of-the-art protein engineering, expression technology and mass spectrometry, as well as in vitro and in vivo venom neutralisation assays. We anticipate that the approaches described here will produce antivenom with unparalleled efficacy, safety and affordability.
Glacier Changes at the Head of Yurungkax River in the West Kunlun Mountains in the Past 32 Years

Recent studies indicate that widespread wastage of glaciers in western China has happened since the late 1970s, but diverse places under different climate settings have marked regional discrepancy as to the amplitude in glacier shrinkages. In the present study, we investigate the changes of glaciers at the head of Yurungkax river (centered at 35o40'N, 81oE) in the heavily glaciated West Kunlun Mts. by using aerial photos (1970), Landsat TM (1989) and ETM+ (2001) imageries. A comparative analysis performed for glacier length/area variations since 1970 in the West Kunlun Mts. shows that the prevailing characteristic of glacier variation is ice wastage, however, changes in glacier area are very small in this region. Results indicate that a small enlargement of ice extent during 1970-1989 was followed by a reduction of over 0.5% during 1989-2001. It concludes that the enlargement of glaciers during 1970-1989 might be caused by the decrease in air temperature and the increase in precipitation during the 1960s and that glacier shrinkage during 1989-2001 might be reaction to increase in air temperature, but abundant precipitation acts as a role of buffer in variations of surface mass balance of glaciers in the research region.
Associations between N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide, Body Fluid Imbalance and Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Cross-Sectional Study

Natriuretic peptides may be associated with the complex interaction between malnutrition and fluid overload. This study assessed the relationship between N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), body fluid composition, and quality of life (QOL) domains. A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted between 2019 and 2022. The QOL survey of 322 patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (227 men and 95 women; mean age, 65 ± 12 years) was conducted using the Kidney Disease QOL-Short Form v. 1.3. The patients in the higher NT-proBNP quartile group were older and had a longer dialysis vintage; lower body mass index, serum albumin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, sodium, uric acid, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and hemoglobin levels; lower geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), skeretal mascle mass index, and phase angle (PhA); and higher pre- and post-dialysis systolic blood pressure (BP), cardiothoracic index, and C-reactive protein (CRP) (p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that post-dialysis systolic BP, CRP, and GNRI or PhA were independently associated with NT-proBNP. The higher NT-proBNP group experienced muscle attenuation and/or inflammation and an enlarged left atrium. Consequently, the elevated NT-proBNP by such an imbalance in body fluid composition is associated with lower health-related QOL.
Damaging effects of UVA, blue light, and infrared radiation: in vitro assessment on a reconstructed full-thickness human skin

Introduction Exposure to solar radiation can cause a range of skin damage, including sunburn, erythema, skin carcinogenesis, the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammation, DNA damage, and photoaging. Other wavelengths beyond UVB, such as UVA, blue light, and infrared radiation, can also contribute to the harmful effects of solar radiation. Reconstructed full-thickness human skin has the potential to serve as effective predictive in vitro tools for evaluating the effects of solar radiation on the skin. The aim of this work was to evaluate the damaging effects of UVA, blue light, and infrared radiation in a full-thickness skin model in terms of viability, inflammation, photoaging, tissue damage, photocarcinogenesis. Methods Full thickness skin models were purchased from Henkel (Phenion FT; Düsseldorf, Germany), and irradiated with increasing doses of UVA, blue light, or infrared radiation. Different endpoints were analyzed on the tissues: Hematoxylin-eosin staining, inflammation mediators, photoaging-related dermal markers and oxidative stress marker GPX1, evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR, as well as photocarcinogenesis markers by Western Blot. Results and Discussion The results showed differential responses in cytokine release for each light source. In terms of photoaging biomarkers, collagen, metalloproteinases 1 and 9, elastin, and decorin were modulated by UVA and blue light exposure, while not all these markers were affected by infrared radiation. Furthermore, exposure to UVA and blue light induced loss of fibroblasts and modulation of the photocarcinogenesis markers p53 and p21. In conclusion, the presented results suggest that the various wavelengths of solar light have distinct and differential damaging effects on the skin. Understanding the differential effects of UVA, blue light, and infrared radiation can serve as a valuable tool to investigate the efficacy of photoprotective agents in full thickness skin models.
The gravity wave Doppler spread theory applied in a numerical spectral model of the middle atmosphere: 1. Model and global scale seasonal variations

Hines [1997a, b] has developed a Doppler spread parameterization (DSP) for the deposition of small-scale gravity wave (GW) momentum and energy in the middle atmosphere. We have incorporated this DSP into the two-dimensional (2-D) version of the numerical spectral model (NSM) of Chan et al [1994a, b] which is applied to the Earth's middle atmosphere. With a globally uniform flux of (quasi) isotropically propagating GW emanating from the troposphere, the NSM has been integrated for several model years to describe seasonal variations and equatorial oscillations. Here, after a review of the NSM and DSP, we discuss numerical results that describe the temperature and wind fields during solstice and equinox conditions, emphasizing the role played by the GW spectrum. That spectrum is filtered as it ascends through the stratosphere and provides, at the solstices, a highly anisotropic wave and momentum flux at mesospheric heights. Upon further filtering there, with attendant momentum deposition, the waves decelerate and then reverse the zonal circulation. In quasi-geostrophic balance latitudinally, this reversal is accompanied by a reversal of the latitudinal temperature gradient, one that leads to a temperature minimum in the summer polar mesopause region, as is observed. Corresponding results for equinox are obtained, and all are discussed. Our results differ only in detail from those of similar analyses that employ other GW parameterizations. They are presented here in part to exhibit the success of the DSP at this elementary level and in part to provide a point of departure against which future refinements may be judged. Our first extension of the modeling concerns the semiannual and quasi-biennial oscillations that are produced by the DSP in the NSM at equatorial latitudes with the same, constant and uniform, incident GW flux. Initial results are presented in the companion paper and are compared there with observations.
B ioinformatics R esearch

Bioinformatics is the intersection of computer science, statistics, molecular biology and genetics. It is one of the most important emerging research areas of the 21st century and has already attracted worldwide interest. It is clear that major initiatives are being undertaken which will establish Australia both as a vital link in the international bioinformatics community for research and development and also as an Asia-Pacific service for bioinformatics. This article briefly notes some groups carrying out bioinformatics research in Australia.
Simulation Evaluation of Outdoor Noise Environment in Buildings

Green campus design has become an essential strategy to enhance campus life and learning. However, noise pollution remains a troubling aspect that impacts teaching and learning processes, even causing harm to the health of students and teachers. Therefore, acoustic environment quality design is crucial. This article focuses on the expansion project of a school campus in Shenzhen. We simulated and analyzed the outdoor noise environment separately for the proposed teaching building, as well as the existing buildings like the dining hall, teaching building, and laboratory building. The results showed that the proposed teaching building was mainly affected by surrounding noise, with the worst outdoor noise being in classrooms adjacent to the teaching building in the south and the basketball court at the west of the classroom, with maximum noise values reaching 73 dB and 66 dB, respectively. In the future, these rooms should be renovated to achieve an excellent indoor soundproof environment.
Lived Experience in Lifestyle Modification of Patients with Old Myocardial Infarction at the University Hospital in Bangladesh

Realizing the advantages of lifestyle modification after myocardial infarction (MI) requires active lifestyle change. Sometimes patients find it difficult to follow the recommendations for lifestyle changes, which are crucial for all MI patients to implement in order to lower the risk of secondary attack. This study aimed to explore the real-world experiences of post-MI patients who had changed their lifestyles at a university hospital. This qualitative study was conducted among 20 purposively selected post-MI patients. The patients who had confirmed medical diagnosis as old MI, had been admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital for more than a week, and had been willing to participate in this study were considered as the study subjects. Data was collected through an open ended semi-structured questionnaire by face-to-face interview. Using qualitative content analysis, the interview transcripts were examined at the same time as the data was being gathered. Out of 20 study subjects, 55% were male and 60% were Muslim. Participants age was ranging from 36-70 years. Two themes, namely adjustment with modified life and maladjustment with normal life emerged as the lived experiences of lifestyle modification of patients with old Myocardial Infarction. It is concluded that patients with post-MI can have both good and bad experiences during the period of lifestyle modification.
Examining the Inclusivity of Extended Reality (XR) in Current Products

With Extended Reality (XR) moving more towards the general public there are many companies developing commercial devices for their customers. Little research has been done to examine how inclusive these devices are for diverse populations. Instead, the focus has been on how we can develop specialized XR technology to help those with disabilities, such as helping those who are blind navigate their environment. This article provides an investigation of some of the current XR devices on the market based on established best practices, standards, and developer kits for inclusive XR design through three case studies: head-mounted displays, mobile devices, and smart glasses.
A Novel Transceiver and an Asynchronous Mode for the Hybrid Multiple-Access HetNet Architecture

Multiuser gigantic-multiple-input multiple-output (MU-gMIMO) and nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) are jointly seen as important enabling technologies for sixth generation (6G) networks. They have many benefits, such as spatial multiplexing, spatial diversity, massive connectivity, and spectral efficiency (SE). However, gMIMO-NOMA suffers from many inherent challenges. In this paper, we propose an MU-gMIMO-hybrid multiple-access (HMA) heterogeneous network architecture to address the ‘nearly same channel gain’ issue. Then, an iterative minimal mean squared error (IMMSE) scheme is applied along with quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) for maximal ratio transmission in the proposed transceiver design to address the ‘residual error’ caused by imperfect successive interference cancellation (ISIC). Finally, to assess the performance of the proposed architecture for the ‘time offsets’ issue, we investigate the asynchronous mode with an MMSE detector matrix following imperfect channel state information (ICSI) to provide a new analysis for HMA transmission and formulate an optimization problem for energy efficiency (EE).