Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of the prevalence, serotype, and antibiotic resistance pattern of Salmonella enterica in integrated farming systems in the Maryland-DC area

Implementation of organic/pasture farming practices has been increasing in the USA regardless of official certification. These practices have created an increasingly growing demand for marketing safe products which are produced through these systems. Products from these farming systems have been reported to be at greater risk of transmitting foodborne pathogens because of current trends in their practices. Salmonella enterica (SE) is a ubiquitous foodborne pathogen that remains a public health issue given its prevalence in various food products, but also in the environment and as part of the microbial flora of many domestic animals. Monitoring antibiotic resistance and identifying potential sources contamination are increasingly important given the growing trend of organic/pasture markets. This study aimed to quantify prevalence of SE at the pre- and post-harvest levels of various integrated farms and sites in Maryland-Washington D.C. area, as well as identify the most prevalent serovars and antibiotic resistance patterns. Samples from various elements within the farm environment were collected and screened for SE through culture and molecular techniques, which served to identify and serotype SE, using species and serovar-specific primers, while antibiotic resistance was evaluated using an antibiogram assay. Results showed a prevalence of 7.80% of SE pre-harvest and 1.91% post-harvest. These results also showed the main sources of contamination to be soil (2.17%), grass (1.28%), feces (1.42%) and unprocessed produce (1.48%). The most commonly identified serovar was Typhimurium (11.32%) at the pre-harvest level, while the only identified serovar from post-harvest samples was Montevideo (4.35%). With respect to antibiotic resistance, out of the 13 clinically relevant antibiotics tested, gentamycin and kanamycin were the most effective, demonstrating 78.93 and 76.40% of isolates, respectively, to be susceptible. However, ampicillin, amoxicillin and cephradine had the lowest number of susceptible isolates with them being 10.95, 12.36, and 9.83%, respectively. These results help inform farms striving to implement organic practices on how to produce safer products by recognizing areas that pose greater risks as potential sources of contamination, in addition to identifying serotypes of interest, while also showcasing the current state of antibiotic efficacy and how this can influence antibiotic resistance trends in the future.
Immunomodulatory Gene-Splicing Dysregulation in Tumorigenesis: Unmasking the Complexity

Cancer is a global health concern with rising incidence, morbidity, and mortality. The interaction between the tumor and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment is facilitated by signaling pathways driven by immunomodulatory proteins. Alternative splicing regulates the production of multiple immunomodulatory proteins with diverse functionality from a single mRNA transcript. Splicing factors are pivotal in modulating alternative splicing processes but are also subject to regulation. The dysregulation of alternative splicing may result from splicing factor (SF) abnormal expression levels and mutations in the cis and trans-acting elements and small nuclear RNA (snRNA) molecules. Aberrant splicing may generate abnormal mRNA transcripts encoding isoforms with altered functions that contribute to tumorigenesis or cancer progression. This review uncovers the complexity of immunomodulatory genes splicing dysregulation in oncogenesis. Identifying specific immunomodulatory splicing isoforms that contribute to cancer could be utilized to improve current immunotherapeutic drugs or develop novel therapeutic interventions for cancer.
Uloga države u razvoju obnovljivih izvora energije

The paper analyses the current situation and perspectives of renewable energy sources with regards to current economic crisis, the rise in unemployment, global insecurity and resource wars, climate change and other phenomena and processes. A general review is given of the world and the EU, as well as the states that offer a possible path to a more sustainable relation towards energy. A special consideration is given to the situation in Croatia, especially to the analysis of the Energy Development Strategy as the key state document which determines the development of energy and therefore renewable energy sources. Regardless of whether it examines the world, the EU or Croatia, the paper looks at the ways in which the state performs its role with regards to renewable energy sources.
Carbon export and the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 in the Southern Ocean using stable carbon isotopes of dissolved inorganic carbon

The main objective of this research was to investigate and better understand carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. Measurements of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) and its stable carbon isotopes were used to quantify both carbon export and the accumulation and uptake of anthropogenic CO2 in the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean.
The Relationship Between Watching Mukbang (Eating Show), Eating Behaviors, and Anthropometric Parameters in Iranian Female Students

Background: With the increasing watching of programs such as Mukbang, the study of eating behaviors and anthropometric parameters and their relationship with Mukbang should be considered to prevent chronic diseases and eating disorders. This study investigated the relationship between watching Mukbang with eating behaviors and anthropometric parameters in female students at Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: In this study, 114 female students aged 18 to 31 years were selected using simple random sampling. General information, watching Mukbang status, and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) were administered to the participants online. Results: The prevalence of Mukbang watching in female students of the present study was 60.5%. Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between the frequency of Mukbang watching and emotional or restrained eating behavior (P > 0.05), while there was a significant relationship between external eating behavior and the frequency of watching Mukbang (P=0.0001). It was found that with increasing watching time, external eating also increased. According to the results of logistic regression analysis, the external eating chance was 27% lower in students who watch Mukbang rarely than those who have never watched such a show. However, this chance was 0.31 and 9.58 times higher in students who occasionally and always watch Mukbang, respectively. Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between external eating behaviors and watching Mukbang.
Toward a Historical Sociology of Canonization: Comparing the Development of Sociological Theory in the English-, German-, and French-Language Contexts since the 1950s

Abstract This paper adds to a vital international tradition of discussing the history of sociological theory by empirically investigating its structure, dynamics, and relationships. Our primary contribution to this tradition is to bring to the conversation a greater level of comparative and historical scope, a more systematic quantitative methodology, and a degree of reflexivity and synthesis. To do so, we examine some 670 editions of sociological-theory books geared toward students, published in English, German, and French between 1950 and 2020. Our empirical analysis highlights patterns, trends, and relationships among the theorists featured in these books, the narratives and approaches that define their visions of sociological theory, and the characteristics of the authors who wrote them. Our findings reveal some key intellectual as well as sociological factors associated with the changing composition of the canon.
As We Like It: Did the UK’s 2016 EU Referendum Reveal the “Will of the People?”

Rhetoric surrounding the United Kingdom’s 2016 referendum on continued European Union (EU) membership frequently has invoked the “will of the people. ” Addressing the House of Commons in March 2019, then–Prime Minster Theresa May stated that “my sense of responsibility and duty has meant that I have kept working to ensure that we deliver on the result and the will of the people” (March 27, 2019). 1 May’s successor, Boris Johnson, appealed to the same notion when suggesting in the Daily Telegraph (September 15, 2019) that opposition parties were “united in wanting to cancel the referendum result…and overturn the will of the people. ” On the other side of the debate, Caroline Lucas (currently the sole Member of Parliament for the UK’s Green Party) stated that “[e]very recent opinion poll shows that the will of the people has changed since [the referendum]” (December 4, 2018).
MWCNT-Coated Glass Fabric/Phenol Composite Heating Panel Fabricated by Resin Infusion Process

MWCNTs (multiwalled carbon nanotubes) were applied to fiber-reinforced composite materials with phenolic resin having flame retardance for the composite heating panels of railroad vehicles. Instead of dispersing MWCNTs in the matrix, the surface of a pristine plain-weave glass fiber fabric was coated with MWCNTs through a series of dip-coating and drying processes, followed by the resin infusion of the phenolic resin to make the composite heating panel. Before and after the resin infusion process, low percolation thresholds of 0.00216 wt%MWCNT (weight percent of MWCNTs) and 0.001 wt%MWCNT, respectively, were achieved, as were very high electrical conductivities of 47.5 S/m at 0.210 wt%MWCNT and 26.7 S/m at 0.116 wt%, respectively. The low threshold and high conductivity can be attributed to the formation of electrical pathways directly onto the glass fabrics. It was confirmed that mechanical properties such as modulus, strength, and maximum strain were at the same level as those of the pristine glass fabric composite. The heating performance with temperature uniformity, as well as the electrical and mechanical properties, indicates that the resin-infused glass fabric composite having MWCNTs directly coated onto the fabric surface can be a solution for lightweight structural composite heating panels for railway vehicles.
Results from IODP Leg 306: Long-term cooling trend in North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures during the last 5 Ma

In the early Pliocene global surface temperatures were several degrees warmer than today and ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere had a limited extent [e.g., Haywood et al., 2005; Zachos et al., 2001]. This changed during the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation (INHG) between 3.4 and 2.5 Ma (with a major step around 2.7 Ma), when global climate cooled and ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere became more extensive [e.g., Zachos et al., 2001].
The relation between change in blood pressure and death from cardiovascular disease

Background: It is well established that high blood pressure (BP) increase the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, most studies have focused on baseline BP, and relatively few have examined the effects of a change in BP over a period of time. Design: Population-based prospective cohort study with 11 years of follow-up. Methods: The study was carried out using data from the population-based Nord-Trondelag health study (HUNT) linked with the Cause of Death Registry at Statistics Norway. BP measurements from HUNT 1 (1984-96) and HUNT 2 (1995-97) were used to calculate individual change in BP between the surveys. A total of 25,187 women and 22,099 men were followed up on cause of death from baseline in HUNT 2. We used Cox regression to analyze the effect of both relative and absolute changes in BP, separately for men and women, and also stratified by physical activity level. Results: During follow-up, 2,084 men and 1,854 women had died from CVD. An absolute increase in Systolic BP of ≥40 mmHg was associated with an increase in risk ratio (RR) of 1.1 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.9-1.3 and 0.9-1.4) in both men and women, compared to having a stable BP (-4 to +4 mmHg). On the other hand, a decrease in Systolic BP of ≥20 mmHg was associated with an increase in RR of 1.8 (CI 1.5-2.2) and 1.9 (CI 1.5-2.2) for men and women respectively, compared to being stable. For diastolic BP, the largest increase (≥40 mmHg) was associated with a RR of 1.3 (CI 1.1-1.6 and 1.0-1.5) in both men and women compared to a stable BP. Relative changes in BP showed a similar pattern; the strongest effect was observed among people who reduced their BP between the surveys. However, having a high systolic BP (≥140 mmHg) at both surveys resulted in a RR of 1.4 (CI 1.2-1.7) in men and 2.0 in women (CI 1.6-2.5). There were no large differences in the estimated associations when comparing physically active to inactive, although active people who increased their systolic BP with ≥40 mmHg had a RR of 1.5 (CI 1.0-2.4), whereas this was not evident among the inactive. Conclusion: Overall, a reduced BP was associated with the highest of death, but the risk was also increased among people with the largest increase in BP, and among those who had a stable high blood pressure. There were marginal differences in the association between BP and risk of death being active and inactive persons.
Soil Temperature and Moisture Effects on Soil Respiration and Microbial Community Abundance

Abstract : Soil biological processes are influenced by dynamic soil descriptors, such as water potential and temperature, and more stable factors, including organic matter content and particle size distribution. To better understand how soil temperature and soil water potential influence microbial activity, we measured soil respiration in laboratory incubations of four different soils. Though three of the soils had the same soil texture, they varied considerably by pH and soil nutrient concentrations. We found that the soils varied in how their native soil microbes responded to a range of soil water potential and temperature values, with soil activity being highest at approximately 30 C and 33 kPa. Further, the peak respiration rate for the soil with the highest measured organic matter content was 329.8 mg C-CO2 m 2 day 1 and the rate for the soil with the lowest measured organic matter content was 14.7 mg C-CO2 m 2 day 1. Those soils with elevated organic matter content also contained the highest abundance of bacteria and archaea. Across all soils, if the moisture content was optimal but the temperature was around 5 C, the respiration rate was reduced. Therefore, microbial activity may depend more on temperature though moisture clearly had an effect on activity.
Role of Empagliflozin - A New Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitor as a Monotherapy for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

In 2010, around 4 million people worldwide lost their lives to diabetes-related causes. Inhibitors of SGLT2 are effective at controlling type 2 diabetes mellitus. By weakening the kidney's tubular barrier, empagliflozin lowers the amount of glucose excreted in urine. Empagliflozin was not related to increase in episodes of hypoglycemia as compared to placebo, with the exception of those taking a baseline sulfonylurea or insulin. The most common side effects of empagliflozin combinations were mild to moderate such as UTI, genital infection, and dysuria. Similar to the placebo, there was an equivalent rate of volume depletion in most cases. It is not suggested to be used during pregnancy or while lactating. It lowers cardiovascular disease mortality and heart failure hospitalizations in persons with type 2 diabetes. Key words: Chemistry, Pharmacology, SGLT2 Inhibitor, Treatment, Safety, Efficacy.
Ritual and Space: The Therapeutic Function of the Recitations of the Hexi Baojuan

In the region where the Precious Scrolls of Hexi (Hexi Baojuan) are recited, people often use the Precious Scrolls (Baojuan) as a tool to pray for peace and happiness, to prevent plagues and calamities, and to heal ailments. By creating a sacred healing field, the rituals of Hexi Baojuan materialize, symbolize, and sanctify the space to expel disasters and cure illnesses. Through the mechanism of imagination and symbolism, its functions of averting disasters and curing diseases become apparent.
Combining phylogenetic motif discovery and motif clustering to predict co-regulated genes

MOTIVATION We present a sequence-based framework and algorithm PHYLOCLUS for predicting co-regulated genes. In our approach, de novo discovery methods are used to find motifs conserved by evolution and then a Bayesian hierarchical clustering model is used to cluster these motifs, thereby grouping together genes that are putatively co-regulated. Our clustering procedure allows both the number of clusters and the motif width within each cluster to be unknown. RESULTS We use our framework to predict co-regulated genes in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis using six other closely related bacterial species. Our predicted motifs and gene clusters are validated using several external sources and significant clusters are examined in detail. An extension to the discovery and clustering of two-block motifs can be used for inference about synergistic binding relationships between transcription factors. AVAILABILITY Software and Supplementary Materials can be downloaded at http://stat.wharton.upenn.edu/~stjensen/research/phyloclus.html or http://www.fas. harvard.edu/~junliu/phyloclus.html CONTACT stjensen@wharton.upenn.edu.
Time to Treatment and Risk Factors for Unsuccessful Treatment Outcomes among People Who Started Second-Line Treatment for Rifampicin-Resistant or Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the Kyrgyz Republic, 2021

The Kyrgyz Republic is a high-burden country for rifampicin resistant/multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (RR/MDR-TB). TB control efforts rely on early diagnosis and initiation of people on effective regimens. We studied the interval from diagnosis of RR-TB to starting treatment and risk factors for unsuccessful outcomes among people who started RR/MDR-TB treatment in 2021. We conducted a cohort study using country-wide programme data and used binomial regression to determine associations between unsuccessful outcomes and predictor variables. Of the 535 people included in the study, three-quarters were in the age category 18–59 years, and 68% had past history of TB. The median (IQR) time from onset of TB symptoms to diagnosis was 30 (11–62) days, 1 (0–4) days from diagnosis to starting treatment, and 35 (24–65) days from starting treatment to receipt of second-line drug susceptibility test (SL-DST) results. Overall, 136 (25%) had unsuccessful outcomes. Risk factors for unsuccessful outcomes were being homeless, fluroquinolone resistance, having unknown HIV status, past TB treatment, male gender and being unemployed. Treatment outcomes and the interval from diagnosis to starting treatment were commendable. Further reductions in unsuccessful outcomes by be achieved through ensuring timely diagnosis and access to SL-DSTs and by reducing the proportion of people who are lost to follow-up.
Associations among Food Systems, Food Environments, Food Choices, Food Security, and Nutrition Transition in Limpopo Province, South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study

A cross-sectional study was applied to investigate the influence of food systems and food environments on food choices and nutrition transition of households in Limpopo province, South Africa. A sample of 429 households was systematically selected using a paper selection draw from three districts. This paper determines the association among food systems, food environments, food choices, and nutritional measurements of the respondents. A validated questionnaire was used. Most of the respondents responsible for food procurement were females (80.4%). There was a significant association (p < 0.001) between proximity to food stores and dietary diversity of the households. Staple foods such as bread, maize, rice, samp, and mealie rice were available in almost all surveyed households (95.6%). More than half of the households (59.8%) had home gardens in their yards. Almost half of the households (48.4%) had a low Dietary Diversity Score. The study further revealed that 46.0% of households were food secure. Over a third (36.2%) of the respondents were obese, and 32.5% were diabetic. The mean total blood cholesterol was 3.69 ± 0.74 mmol/L. A high percentage of both females (89.6%) and males (91.5%) had normal hemoglobin levels. Almost half of the respondents had normal systolic blood pressure levels (45.6%), and nearly a quarter had high diastolic levels (21.4%). The 25 coping strategies were applied during food shortage periods. Even though the food environments provided both obesogenic and protective foods, the consumption of unhealthy foods was high.
The Efficacy of Carvedilol in Comparison to Propranolol in Reducing the Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient and Decreasing the Risk of Variceal Bleeding in Adult Cirrhotic Patients: A Systematic Review

The most common cause of portal hypertension is liver cirrhosis. Portal hypertension causes many complications in cirrhotic patients; a significant complication is the formation of varices and the subsequent life-threatening variceal bleeding due to elevated portal venous pressures. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) is the gold standard for measuring portal hypertension and guides management. Pharmacological treatments lower the HVPG, preventing the progression of varices and subsequent variceal bleeding. The pharmacological treatments frequently used in primary and secondary prophylaxis of a variceal bleed are nonselective beta (β)-adrenergic blockers. Propranolol was the first nonselective β-adrenergic blocker used for lowering HVPG and has been well studied. However, in the past decade, clinical trials have shown that carvedilol has been more effective. This study aims to establish whether carvedilol is more effective than propranolol in reducing the hepatic venous pressure gradient and decreasing the risk of variceal bleeding in adult cirrhotic patients. A systematic review has been conducted to gather relevant clinical trials comparing drugs and their effects on HVPG. Four databases: PubMed (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE)), Google Scholar, the Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect, were analyzed, and records from January 1, 1999, to January 1, 2023, were chosen. There were a total of 1,235 potentially eligible records across the four databases. Using the eligibility criteria for this systematic review, seven studies of 533 patients were included. Across all seven clinical trials, it was found that carvedilol reduced HVPG more than propranolol and decreased the risk of variceal bleeding in adult cirrhotic patients.
Adversarial Learning of Distributional Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement learning (RL) has made significant advancements in artificial intelligence. However, its real-world applications are limited due to differences between simulated environments and the actual world. Consequently, it is crucial to systematically analyze how each component of the RL system can affect the final model performance. In this study, we propose an adversarial learning framework for distributional reinforcement learning, which adopts the concept of influence measure from the statistics community. This framework enables us to detect performance loss caused by either the internal policy structure or the ex-ternal state observation. The proposed influence measure is based on information geometry and has desirable properties of invariance. We demonstrate that the influence measure is useful for three diagnostic tasks: identifying fragile states in trajectories, determining the instability of the policy architecture, and pinpointing anomalously sensitive policy parameters.