Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Health risk assessment in children by PM10 inhalation in Guadalajara metropolitan area over 2011–2018

Abstract The Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (GMA) has continuously presented atmospheric pollution problems due to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 micrometers (PM10). Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the risk of developing adverse health effects in children from 0 to 10 years old due to the inhalation of PM10 during 2011–2018 in the GMA. As part of the methodology, the daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual average concentrations were calculated using ten monitoring stations that conform to the Jalisco Atmospheric Monitoring System. Subsequently, the daily and annual concentrations were compared with the current national and international regulatory concentrations. Besides, the hazard index was estimated to know the number of times that the concentrations recorded in the GMA exceed the regulatory concentrations. Finally, the risk was characterized by age groups, calendar year, and seasons by estimating the hazard quotient (HQ). The total HQ results ranged from 1.94 to 4.18, indicating that children from 0 to 10 years old who live in GMA have been at high risk of developing adverse health effects from inhaling high concentrations of PM10 that each year exceeded the annual guideline levels established by the current national and international regulation levels.
Kraft lignin as a partial replacement for a traditional surfactant in thymol-based biocidal suspensions: physical and chemical features

Abstract Thymol is a renewable substance and has a high antimicrobial efficiency, which indicates that it could be used to produce sustainable biocides. In this study, we used kraft lignin as a partial replacement for a traditional surfactant in order to solubilize thymol in water. In this sense, this article reports an unprecedented method for using a kraft lignin solution to stabilize a thymol-based biocide with high fungicidal activity. The results showed that the lignin was crucial for stabilizing the suspensions. When the lignin was not added to the surfactant, there was a water-oil phase separation and the thymol crystallized after its rest for 30 days. Results obtained by in vitro experiments indicated that one of the studied lignin:thymol suspension (volume ratio of 1:0.1) presented an excellent fungal resistance. Furthermore, even the sample with the smallest thymol concentration (c.a. 0.5%) was able to inhibit the mycelial growth of the bracket fungus (Ganoderma applanatum), which is a promising feature for a biocidal application. HIGHLIGHTS This research addresses multidisciplinary concepts for obtaining sustainable products; Lignin is a good renewable stabilizer for thymol suspensions in water; Thymol and lignin, at three different mass ratios, were successfully applied for obtaining stable suspensions; Lignin-thymol suspensions seem to be promising biocides.
Evidence that feelings of energy and fatigue are associated differently with gait characteristics and balance: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT Balance and gait assessments are commonly implemented to screen for injury risks and function by clinicians. Recent evidence in older adults suggests that feelings of energy and fatigue influence gait and balance however, there is limited evidence on the influence of these moods on gait and balance in young adults. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of self-reported feelings of fatigue and energy on characteristics of gait and balance in healthy young adults. Participants (n = 97) completed the experimental procedure in a single testing session. Feelings of energy and fatigue were measured using the 30-item Profile of Mood States-Short Form. Participants were fitted with inertial sensors then completed a modified Clinical Test for Sensory Interaction and Balance to assess balance and walked for 2 minutes around a 6m track. Backwards multiple linear regression models were used to test associations between selfreported fatigue and energy with balance and gait characteristics. The backwards regression models with gait characteristic predicted 9.1% and 20.0% variance for fatigue and energy, respectively. Feelings of fatigue significantly impacted balance variables only when subjects stood on a firm surface with their eyes open however, feelings of energy significantly influenced balance variables when eyes were open both on firm and a foam surface. Neither mood influenced balance in either of the vision occluded conditions. Findings suggest that feelings of fatigue and energy uniquely impact gait characteristics and balance of healthy young adults, furthering our understanding of energy and fatigue as separate moods.
Landscape ecological risk assessment of farming-pastoral ecotone in China based on terrain gradients

Abstract Farming-pastoral Ecotones in China (FPEC) is one of the most fragile ecological area in China. Landscape ecological risk assessment of FPEC based on terrain gradients has important strategic significance for ensuring national ecological security and the sustainable development of social economy. Based on the 30 × 30 m land use data and DEM data of FPEC in 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020, this paper constructs a landscape ecological risk assessment model, and uses the methods of spatial autocorrelation analysis and terrain distribution index to appraise the dynamic change law and influential factors of FPEC landscape ecological risk on various terrain gradients. The results showed that: (1) In recent 40 years, land use/land cover changes (LUCC) has significantly changed, and the farmland area has increased continuously, mainly transferred from grassland, forest and bare land, particularly the bare land converted into grassland in recent 10 years, which leads to substantial increase in grassland area. (2) The overall ecological risk of the study area showed an upward trend, and the area of highest risk regions has increased more than twice during the study period, mainly distributed in the regions of "interference of human activities in low terrain" and "change of natural high terrain environment," these regions showed a high spatial concentration. (3) Ecological risk along with terrain gradient distribution is mainly limited by climate and terrain factors, the interference of human activities and natural environment change are the main influential factors of ecological risk increase in low and high terrain, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to adapt to local conditions, and low terrain should rationally develop and utilize natural resources to reduce the interference of unreasonable production and human activities. In order to promote the sustainable and healthy development of FPEC, the policy of closing hillsides to facilitate afforestation should be adopted in the high terrain to reduce the impact of natural environment changes.
Evaluation of Annona muricata (Graviola) leaves activity against experimental trichinellosis: in vitro and in vivo studies

Abstract Our work aimed to evaluate the possible effect of Annona muricata (Graviola) leaf extract on Trichinella spiralis in in vitro and in vivo studies. Trichinella spiralis worms were isolated from infected mice and transferred to three culture media – group I (with no drugs), group II (contained Graviola) and group III (contained albendazole) – then they were examined using the electron microscope. In the in vivo study, mice were divided into five groups: GI (infected untreated), GII (prophylactically treated with Graviola for seven days before infection), GIII (infected and treated with Graviola), GIV (infected and treated with albendazole) and GV (infected and treated with a combination of Graviola plus albendazole in half doses). Drug effects were assessed by adults and larvae load beside the histopathological small intestinal and muscular changes. A significant reduction of adult and larval counts occurred in treated groups in comparison to the control group. Histopathologically, marked improvement in the small intestinal and muscular changes was observed in treated groups. Also, massive destruction of the cultured adults’ cuticle was detected in both drugs. This study revealed that Graviola leaves have potential activity against trichinellosis, especially in combination with albendazole, and could serve as an adjuvant to anti-trichinellosis drug therapy.
Phylogenomic analyses clarify the pattern of evolution of Adephaga (Coleoptera) and highlight phylogenetic artefacts due to model misspecification and excessive data trimming

Adephaga is the second largest suborder of Coleoptera and contains aquatic and terrestrial groups that are sometimes classified as Hydradephaga and Geadephaga, respectively. The phylogenetic relationships of Adephaga have been studied intensively, but the relationships of the major subgroups of Geadephaga and the placement of Hygrobiidae within Dytiscoidea remain obscure. Here, we infer new DNA‐hybridization baits for exon‐capture phylogenomics and we combine new hybrid‐capture sequence data with transcriptomes to generate the largest phylogenomic taxon sampling within Adephaga presented to date. Our analyses show that the new baits are suitable to capture the target loci across different lineages of Adephaga. Phylogenetic analyses of moderately trimmed supermatrices confirm the hypothesis of paraphyletic ‘Hydradephaga’, with Gyrinidae placed as sister to all other families as in morphology‐based phylogenies, even though quartet‐concordance analyses did not support this result. All analyses conducted with site‐heterogeneous models suggest Trachypachidae as sister to a clade Carabidae + Cicindelidae in congruence with results from morphological studies. Haliplidae is inferred as sister to Dytiscoidea, while a clade of Noteridae (+ most likely Meruidae) is inferred as sister to all remaining Dytiscoidea. A strongly supported clade Hygrobiidae + (Amphizoidae + monophyletic Aspidytidae) is inferred in most analyses of moderately trimmed supermatrices when a site‐heterogeneous model is used. In general, we find that stringent trimming of supermatrices results in reduced deviation from model assumptions but also in reduction of phylogenetic information. We also find that site‐heterogeneous C60 models provide greater stability of phylogenetic relationships of Adephaga across analyses of different amino‐acid supermatrices than site‐homogeneous models. Thus, site‐heterogeneous C60 models can potentially reduce incongruence in phylogenomics. Lastly, we show that gene‐tree errors are prominent in the data, even after sub‐sampling genes to reduce these errors, but we also show that subsampling genes based on the likelihood mapping criterion in summary coalescent analyses results in higher topological congruence with the concatenation‐based tree. Overall, our analyses demonstrate that moderate alignment trimming strategies, application of site‐heterogeneous models and mitigation of gene‐tree errors should be routinely included in the phylogenomic pipeline in order to more accurately infer the phylogeny of species.
Subordinate Fish Mediate Aggressiveness Using Recent Contest Information

Memorizing dominance relationships can help animals avoid unwinnable subsequent contests. However, when competitive ability changes over time—for example, as a function of condition—it may be adaptive to “forget” these dominance relationships and for subordinates to once again enter contests with previously dominant individuals. Here, we examined the behavior of pairs of male cichlid fish, Julidochromis transcriptus, in repeated contests separated by different time intervals. We found that the time taken to reach resolution of dominance relationships influenced subsequent aggressive behavior of the subordinate toward the dominant, with longer initial contests leading to higher subsequent aggression. Longer time intervals between contests also increased aggression from the subordinate toward the dominant. These results are consistent with increasing uncertainty due to ambiguous contest outcomes and increasing time intervals. Our results also show that a longer time was necessary to resolve contests between larger pairs, suggesting a self-assessment strategy, but not a mutual assessment strategy. Taken together, larger individuals appear to adaptively lose or ignore previously gathered social information because they have a higher fighting ability and better body condition. Therefore, we conclude that losing or ignoring unreliable information may be an adaptive strategy in the context of dominance relationships.
Accounting for the SES-Math Achievement Gap at School Entry: Unique Mediation Paths via Executive Functioning and Behavioral Self-Regulation

Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is strongly predictive of math achievement in early childhood and beyond. In this study, we aimed to further our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the SES-achievement gap by examining whether two aspects of self-regulation—executive functions (EF) and behavioral self-regulation (BSR)—mediate between SES and math achievement. Using data from a longitudinal study in Singapore (n = 1,257, 49% males), we examined the predictive link from SES to math achievement at entry to formal education (age 7), and the role of EF (child-assessed) and BSR (child-assessed and teacher-rated) as mediators of the SES-math achievement relationship. After accounting for children’s non-verbal reasoning and prior math achievement, EF and BSR (both child-assessed) emerged as significant partial mediators between SES and math. A key contribution of our study is in demonstrating that both components of self-regulation play a small role in explaining SES disparities in math achievement. Our findings further suggest that a balanced focus on enhancing EF and BSR skills of children from low-SES families may help to attenuate the SES-math achievement gap. More generally, our research contributes new insights to the ongoing debate about the theoretical distinctions between EF and BSR.
MNSFβ Regulates TNFα Production by Interacting with RC3H1 in Human Macrophages, and Dysfunction of MNSFβ in Decidual Macrophages Is Associated With Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

Decidual macrophages (dMϕ) are the second largest population of leukocytes at the maternal–fetal interface and play critical roles in maintaining pregnancy. Our previous studies demonstrated the active involvement of monoclonal nonspecific suppressor factor-β (MNSFβ) in embryonic implantation and pregnancy success. MNSFβ is a ubiquitously expressed ubiquitin-like protein that also exhibits immune regulatory potential, but its function in human dMϕ remains unknown. Here, we observed that the proportion of CD11chigh (CD11cHI) dMϕ was significantly increased in dMϕ derived from patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL dMϕ) compared to those derived from normal pregnant women (Control dMϕ). The production of MNSFβ and TNFα by RPL dMϕ was also significantly increased compared to that by Control dMϕ. Conditioned medium from RPL dMϕ exerted an inhibitory effect on the invasiveness of human trophoblastic HTR8/SVneo cells, and this effect could be partially reversed by a neutralizing antibody against TNFα. Bioinformatics analysis indicated a potential interaction between MNSFβ and RC3H1, a suppressor of TNFα transcription. Immunoprecipitation experiments with human Mϕ differentiated from the human monocyte cell line Thp1 (Thp1-derived Mϕ) proved the binding of MNSFβ to RC3H1. Specific knockdown of MNSFβ in Thp1-derived Mϕ led to a marked decrease in TNFα production, which could be reversed by inhibiting RC3H1 expression. Interestingly, a significant decrease in the protein level of RC3H1 was observed in RPL dMϕ. Together, our findings indicate that aberrantly increased MNSFβ expression in dMϕ may promote TNFα production via its interaction with RC3H1, and these phenomena could result in the disruption of the immune balance at the maternal–fetal interface and thus pregnancy loss.
Green Extraction Strategies for Sea Urchin Waste Valorization

Commonly known as “purple sea urchin,” Paracentrotus lividus occurs in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. This species is a highly appreciated food resource and Italy is the main consumer among the European countries. Gonads are the edible part of the animal but they represent only a small fraction (10–30%) of the entire sea urchin mass, therefore, the majority ends up as waste. Recently, an innovative methodology was successfully developed to obtain high-value collagen from sea urchin by-products to be used for tissue engineering. However, tissues used for the collagen extraction are still a small portion of the sea urchin waste (<20%) and the remaining part, mainly the carbonate-rich test and spines, are discarded. Residual cell tissues, tests, and spines contain polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, and a class of small polyphenols, called polyhydroxynaphthoquinones (PHNQ). PHNQ, due to their polyhydroxylated quinonoid nature, show remarkable pharmacologic effects, and have high economic significance and widespread application in several cosmetic and pharmaceuticals applications. A green extraction strategy aimed to obtain compounds of interest from the wastes of sea urchins was developed. The core strategy was the supercritical CO2 technique, characterized by low environmental impacts. Fatty acids and carotenoids were successfully and selectively extracted and identified depending on the physical parameters of the supercritical CO2 extraction. Finally, the exhausted powder was extracted by solvent-based procedures to yield PHNQ. The presence of Spinochrome A and Spinochrome B was confirmed and extracts were characterized by a remarkably high antioxidant activity, measured through the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay. Overall, the selective and successive extraction methods were validated for the valorization of waste from sea urchins, demonstrating the feasibility of the techniques targeting added-value compounds.
Role of Fluid and Sodium Retention in Experimental Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury

Background: Ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) via respiratory mechanics is deeply interwoven with hemodynamic, kidney and fluid/electrolyte changes. We aimed to assess the role of positive fluid balance in the framework of ventilation-induced lung injury. Methods: Post-hoc analysis of seventy-eight pigs invasively ventilated for 48 h with mechanical power ranging from 18 to 137 J/min and divided into two groups: high vs. low pleural pressure (10.0 ± 2.8 vs. 4.4 ± 1.5 cmH2O; p < 0.01). Respiratory mechanics, hemodynamics, fluid, sodium and osmotic balances, were assessed at 0, 6, 12, 24, 48 h. Sodium distribution between intracellular, extracellular and non-osmotic sodium storage compartments was estimated assuming osmotic equilibrium. Lung weight, wet-to-dry ratios of lung, kidney, liver, bowel and muscle were measured at the end of the experiment. Results: High pleural pressure group had significant higher cardiac output (2.96 ± 0.92 vs. 3.41 ± 1.68 L/min; p < 0.01), use of norepinephrine/epinephrine (1.76 ± 3.31 vs. 5.79 ± 9.69 mcg/kg; p < 0.01) and total fluid infusions (3.06 ± 2.32 vs. 4.04 ± 3.04 L; p < 0.01). This hemodynamic status was associated with significantly increased sodium and fluid retention (at 48 h, respectively, 601.3 ± 334.7 vs. 1073.2 ± 525.9 mmol, p < 0.01; and 2.99 ± 2.54 vs. 6.66 ± 3.87 L, p < 0.01). Ten percent of the infused sodium was stored in an osmotically inactive compartment. Increasing fluid and sodium retention was positively associated with lung-weight (R2 = 0.43, p < 0.01; R2 = 0.48, p < 0.01) and with wet-to-dry ratio of the lungs (R2 = 0.14, p < 0.01; R2 = 0.18, p < 0.01) and kidneys (R2 = 0.11, p = 0.02; R2 = 0.12, p = 0.01). Conclusion: Increased mechanical power and pleural pressures dictated an increase in hemodynamic support resulting in proportionally increased sodium and fluid retention and pulmonary edema.
Left Atrial Dilatation and Reduced Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Are Associated With Cardioembolic Stroke

Objective: Left atrial (LA) dilatation and heart failure are independent risk factors for ischemic stroke. The goal of this study is to evaluate the association between LA dilatation and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) with cardioembolic stroke. Methods: Four hundred fifty-three patients with ischemic stroke admitted to the University of California, Irvine between 2016 and 2017 were included based on the following criteria: age >18 and availability of echocardiogram. Stroke was categorized into cardioembolic and non-cardioembolic. EF was categorized into normal: 52–72% (male), 54–74% (female), mildly abnormal: 41–51% (male), 41–53% (female), moderately abnormal: 30–40%, and severely abnormal: <30%. LA volume was categorized into normal (≤34 ml/m2) vs. enlarged (≥35 ml/m2). Other variables included gender, hypertension [systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90], and known history of atrial fibrillation (Afib). Results: Two hundred eighteen patients had cardioembolic, and 235 had non-cardioembolic stroke. Among patients with cardioembolic stroke, 49 (22.4%) and 142 (65%) had reduced EF and enlarged LA, respectively, as compared with 19 (8.1%) and 65 (27.7%) patients with non-cardioembolic stroke (p < 0.0001). The odds of cardioembolic stroke were 2.0 (95% CI: 0.1–6.0) and 8.8 times (95% CI: 1.9–42.3) higher in patients with moderately and severely reduced EF, respectively, than in patients with normal EF. The odds of cardioembolic stroke was 2.4 times (95% CI: 1.5–3.9) higher in patients with enlarged LA than in patients with normal LA size. Compared with patients with normal LA and EF, patients with combined enlarged LA and reduced EF had significantly higher rates of Afib (43.4 vs. 9.0%, p < 0.0001) and cardioembolic stroke (78.3 vs. 43.4%, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: LA dilatation along with reduced EF is a reliable predictor of Afib and cardioembolic stroke. Further studies are warranted to determine the benefit of anticoagulation for secondary stroke prevention in such patient population.
Evidence of Deep DOC Enrichment via Particle Export Beneath Subarctic and Northern Subtropical Fronts in the North Pacific

Here we provide compelling evidence that deep particle export enhanced dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations beneath the Pacific’s Subarctic Front (SA, ∼42°N) and Northern Subtropical Front (NST, ∼34°N). We report three main findings: First, deep export of subjectively small particles (128–512 μm) was apparent throughout the frontal zone in which the SA resides. However, export of large particles was specifically associated with the SA, rather than the entire frontal zone, and appeared to exclusively transfer DOC into the bathypelagic water column. Second, a similar DOC enrichment existed beneath the NST, though this signal was curiously not accompanied by observable particles (>128 μm). We conclude that export occurring previously in winter left this DOC behind as a residue, though the associated particles were no longer present by spring. Third, the presence of strong hydrographic fronts was not the only control on export that resulted in these unique DOC distributions. Deep export and DOC enrichment was also controlled by latitude-specific biogeochemical and hydrographic conditions, such as depth of the nutricline and seasonal mixed layer shoaling. Given these observations, the fronts within the transitional region of the North Pacific are clearly special locations for deep carbon sequestration and for providing uncommon DOC enrichment that ultimately supports the deep microbial community.