Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ameliorative effects of the melatonin on some cytokine levels, NF-κB immunoreactivity, and apoptosis in rats with cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis

Objective(s): Investigating the ameliorative effects of melatonin on cytokine levels, apoptosis, and NF-κB immunoreactivity in rats with cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis. Materials and Methods: Thirthy-two Wistar Albino rats were divided into four groups: Control group which didn’t undergo acute pancreatitis induction and was left without treatment, pancreatitis group in which the acute pancreatitis was induced by 2 successive intraperitoneal doses of cerulein at a 2-hour interval (50 µg/kg and then 25 µg/kg), melatonin-treated pancreatitis group which was intraperitoneally administrated with 50 mg/kg of melatonin, 30 min before each cerulein injection, and melatonin group which was intraperitoneally administrated with 2 successive doses of melatonin (50 mg/kg each) at a 2-hour interval. Pancreatic tissue and blood samples were taken from animals of all groups. IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-10 levels were determined in blood samples. Apoptosis was determined by the TUNEL assay and the NF-κB was detected immunohistochemically in acinar cells of the exocrine pancreatic portion. Results: IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-10 levels in the acute pancreatitis group were significantly increased when compared to the control negative group. IL-1β and TNF-α levels in the melatonin-treated pancreatitis group were significantly lower than those of the acute pancreatitis group. While number of apoptotic cells and percentage of NF-κB immunopositive cells in the acute pancreatitis group were significantly increased compared to other groups and it was observed that these parameters were significantly reduced in the melatonin-treated pancreatitis group compared to the acute pancreatitis group. Conclusion: These findings suggest that melatonin administration can significantly reduce the severity of acute pancreatitis in rats.
Detecting potential cooperative network for tourist attractions in a destination using search data

This study addresses the critical need for regional tourism integration and sustainable development by identifying cooperation opportunities among tourist attractions within a region. We introduce a novel methodology that combines association rule mining with complex network analysis and utilizes search index data as a dynamic and contemporary data source to reveal cooperative patterns among tourist attractions. Our approach delineates a potential cooperative network within the destination ecosystem, categorizing tourist attractions into three distinct communities: core, intermediary, and periphery. These communities correspond to high, medium, and low tourist demand scales, respectively. The study uncovers a self-organizing network structure, driven by congruences in internal tourist demand and variances in external tourist experiences. Functionally, there is a directed continuum of cooperation prospects among these communities. The core community, characterized by significant tourist demand, acts as a catalyst, boosting demand for other attractions. The intermediary community, central in the network, links the core and periphery, enhancing cooperative ties and influence. Peripheral attractions, representing latent growth areas within the destination matrix, benefit from associations with the core and intermediary communities. Our findings provide vital insights into the dynamics, systemic characteristics, and fundamental mechanisms of potential cooperation networks among tourist attractions. They enable tourism management organizations to employ our analytical framework for real-time monitoring of tourism demand and flow trends. Additionally, the study guides the macro-control of tourism flows based on the tourism network, thereby improving the tourist experience and promoting coordinated development among inter-regional tourist attractions.
Measurement of the Association of Pain with Clinical Characteristics in Oral Cancer Patients at Diagnosis and Prior to Cancer Treatment

Aim Oral cancer patients suffer pain at the site of the cancer, which degrades quality of life (QoL). The University of California San Francisco Oral Cancer Pain Questionnaire (UCSFOCPQ), the only validated instrument specifically designed for measuring oral cancer pain, measures the intensity and nature of pain and the level of functional restriction due to pain. Purpose The aim of this study was to compare pain reported by untreated oral cancer patients on the UCSFOCPQ with pain they reported on the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), an instrument widely used to evaluate cancer and non-cancer pain. Patients and Methods The correlation between pain measured by the two instruments and clinical characteristics were analyzed. Thirty newly diagnosed oral cancer patients completed the UCSFOCPQ and the BPI. Results Pain severity measurements made by the UCSFOCPQ and BPI were concordant; however, the widely used BPI average pain over 24 hours score appeared less sensitive to detect association of oral cancer pain with clinical characteristics of patients prior to treatment (nodal status, depth of invasion, DOI). A BPI average score that includes responses to questions that measure both pain severity and interference with function performs similarly to the UCSFOCPQ in detection of associations with nodal status, pathologic T stage (pT stage), stage and depth of invasion (DOI). Conclusion Pain assessment instruments that measure sensory and interference dimensions of oral cancer pain correlate with biologic features and clinical behavior.
Osteogenically committed hUCMSCs-derived exosomes promote the recovery of critical-sized bone defects with enhanced osteogenic properties

Low viability of seed cells and the concern about biosafety restrict the application of cell-based tissue-engineered bone (TEB). Exosomes that bear similar bioactivities to donor cells display strong stability and low immunogenicity. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes (hUCMSCs-Exos) show therapeutic efficacy in various diseases. However, little is known whether hUCMSCs-Exos can be used to construct TEB to repair bone defects. Herein, PM-Exos and OM-Exos were separately harvested from hUCMSCs which were cultured in proliferation medium (PM) or osteogenic induction medium (OM). A series of in-vitro studies were performed to evaluate the bioactivities of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) when co-cultured with PM-Exos or OM-Exos. Differential microRNAs (miRNAs) between PM-Exos and OM-Exos were sequenced and analyzed. Furthermore, PM-Exos and OM-Exos were incorporated in 3D printed tricalcium phosphate scaffolds to build TEBs for the repair of critical-sized calvarial bone defects in rats. Results showed that PM-Exos and OM-Exos bore similar morphology and size. They expressed representative surface markers of exosomes and could be internalized by hBMSCs to promote cellular migration and proliferation. OM-Exos outweighed PM-Exos in accelerating the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs, which might be attributed to the differentially expressed miRNAs. Furthermore, OM-Exos sustainably released from the scaffolds, and the resultant TEB showed a better reparative outcome than that of the PM-Exos group. Our study found that exosomes isolated from osteogenically committed hUCMSCs prominently facilitated the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs. TEB grafts functionalized by OM-Exos bear a promising application potential for the repair of large bone defects.
SumoPred-PLM: human SUMOylation and SUMO2/3 sites Prediction using Pre-trained Protein Language Model

Abstract SUMOylation is an essential post-translational modification system with the ability to regulate nearly all aspects of cellular physiology. Three major paralogues SUMO1, SUMO2 and SUMO3 form a covalent bond between the small ubiquitin-like modifier with lysine residues at consensus sites in protein substrates. Biochemical studies continue to identify unique biological functions for protein targets conjugated to SUMO1 versus the highly homologous SUMO2 and SUMO3 paralogues. Yet, the field has failed to harness contemporary AI approaches including pre-trained protein language models to fully expand and/or recognize the SUMOylated proteome. Herein, we present a novel, deep learning-based approach called SumoPred-PLM for human SUMOylation prediction with sensitivity, specificity, Matthew's correlation coefficient, and accuracy of 74.64%, 73.36%, 0.48% and 74.00%, respectively, on the CPLM 4.0 independent test dataset. In addition, this novel platform uses contextualized embeddings obtained from a pre-trained protein language model, ProtT5-XL-UniRef50 to identify SUMO2/3-specific conjugation sites. The results demonstrate that SumoPred-PLM is a powerful and unique computational tool to predict SUMOylation sites in proteins and accelerate discovery.
Présence d'un chevauchement ductile majeur d'âge panafricain dans la partie centrale de la République Centrafricaine : résultats préliminaires

In Central African Republic, the Pan-African orogen is constituted by two main tectonic domains of E-W stretching. To the North, a gneissic domain made up by various orthogneisses, and by Pan-African granulites and migmatites. It forms a sheet thrusted to the South over an autochthon made up by micaschists and quartzites belonging to two orogens: one Archean, the other Lower Proterozoic, deformed again in Pan-African. This thrust is syn-metamorphic, and could have worked after the emplacement of granulito-charnockitic rocks of 640 Ma old, strongly deformed by the thrust; its minimum arrow might be at least of 350 km in the middle part of the country
A survey of children's views and factors on solving selected environmental problems in Webuye division, Bungoma district

1. Children's views and factors influencing the views on solving selected environmental problems were tested using a questionnaire. 2. A total of 261, standard six and eight pupils who were chosen from boarding, town and rural schools by cluster sampling reacted to the questionnaire. 3. The following conclusions were made: i) Pupils' views on solving the selected environmental problems were categorized into five categories as follows:(1) Personal (self-or family-centred) orientation. (2) P~llution is OK. (3) Compromise solves it. (4) Save the environment, Regardless. (5) Technology is the Key. ii) Sex of pupil, age of pupil, place of upbringing of the pupil and mass media were found to influence pupils views on solving some selected environmental problems but not others. Results for religion was not conclusive as the number of non-christians was too small compared to the number of those who were christians.
Assimilation of gridded terrestrial water storage observations from GRACE into a land surface model

Observations of terrestrial water storage (TWS) from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission have a coarse resolution in time (monthly) and space (roughly 150,000 km2 at midlatitudes) and vertically integrate all water storage components over land, including soil moisture and groundwater. Data assimilation can be used to horizontally downscale and vertically partition GRACE‐TWS observations. This work proposes a variant of existing ensemble‐based GRACE‐TWS data assimilation schemes. The new algorithm differs in how the analysis increments are computed and applied. Existing schemes correlate the uncertainty in the modeled monthly TWS estimates with errors in the soil moisture profile state variables at a single instant in the month and then apply the increment either at the end of the month or gradually throughout the month. The proposed new scheme first computes increments for each day of the month and then applies the average of those increments at the beginning of the month. The new scheme therefore better reflects submonthly variations in TWS errors. The new and existing schemes are investigated here using gridded GRACE‐TWS observations. The assimilation results are validated at the monthly time scale, using in situ measurements of groundwater depth and soil moisture across the U.S. The new assimilation scheme yields improved (although not in a statistically significant sense) skill metrics for groundwater compared to the open‐loop (no assimilation) simulations and compared to the existing assimilation schemes. A smaller impact is seen for surface and root‐zone soil moisture, which have a shorter memory and receive smaller increments from TWS assimilation than groundwater. These results motivate future efforts to combine GRACE‐TWS observations with observations that are more sensitive to surface soil moisture, such as L‐band brightness temperature observations from Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) or Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP). Finally, we demonstrate that the scaling parameters that are applied to the GRACE observations prior to assimilation should be consistent with the land surface model that is used within the assimilation system.
Integrated Plant Nutrient Management for Sandy Soil Using Chemical Fertilizers, Compost, Biochar and Biofertilizers

Sandy soils are low in nutrient content and water holding capacity leading to frequent application of both nutrients and water to meet crop requirements. One of the best ways to improve soil properties and prevent nutrient losses is to improve soil quality through the use of organic amendments and minimizing the use of fertilizers. In order to achieve this we conducted a green house experiment using ten treatments with three replicates setting up a randomized block design to investigate integrated effects of chemical fertilizer, compost, bio-fertilizer and biochar on maize crop productivity and improvement in nutrient availability. The study revealed that application of compost and biochar did not impair plant growth and showed no signs of stress or nutrient deficiency. The results showed 19 % increase in plant height and 29% increase in the fresh biomass when biochar was used with the chemical fertilizer (T8) compared to where only chemical fertilizer was applied (T3). It was also found that when half of the chemical fertilizer than was applied in combination with bio-fertilizer and biochar (T10), a similar increase (19.6 %) in plant height and fresh biomass was found compared to when chemical fertilizer was added alone (T3). Cation exchange capacity and organic carbon content increased by 48-52 % and 9-15% in T8 and T10 compared to T3 in the postharvest soil respectively
Resilience of aerobic methanotrophs in soils; spotlight on the methane sink under agriculture

Abstract Aerobic methanotrophs are a specialized microbial group, catalyzing the oxidation of methane. Disturbance-induced loss of methanotroph diversity/abundance, thus results in the loss of this biological methane sink. Here, we synthesized and conceptualized the resilience of the methanotrophs to sporadic, recurring, and compounded disturbances in soils. The methanotrophs showed remarkable resilience to sporadic disturbances, recovering in activity and population size. However, activity was severely compromised when disturbance persisted or reoccurred at increasing frequency, and was significantly impaired following change in land use. Next, we consolidated the impact of agricultural practices after land conversion on the soil methane sink. The effects of key interventions (tillage, organic matter input, and cover cropping) where much knowledge has been gathered were considered. Pairwise comparisons of these interventions to nontreated agricultural soils indicate that the agriculture-induced impact on the methane sink depends on the cropping system, which can be associated to the physiology of the methanotrophs. The impact of agriculture is more evident in upland soils, where the methanotrophs play a more prominent role than the methanogens in modulating overall methane flux. Although resilient to sporadic disturbances, the methanotrophs are vulnerable to compounded disturbances induced by anthropogenic activities, significantly affecting the methane sink function.
HIV-1 Gag, Pol, and Env diversified with limited adaptation since the 1980s

ABSTRACT Knowledge of HIV-1 global sequence diversity is critical for developing an effective prophylactic against HIV-1 infection. We developed the Hervé platform to analyze and visualize trends in HIV-1 diversification. Using Hervé, we analyzed 4,830 Env, 4,407 Gag, and 3,002 Pol publicly available independent sequences corresponding to subtypes A1, A6, B, C, D, F1, and G and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) 01_AE, 02_AG, and 07_BC; sequences were sampled between 1980 and 2020 from 82 countries. HIV-1 diversified with a median of 1.82 amino acid substitutions per year in Env, 0.297 in Gag, and 0.779 in Pol. Yet, Env subtype B diversification plateaued post-2000. Pairwise diversity within subtypes and CRFs increased by 41.82% (range = 24.85%–54.41%) in Env, 56.93% (15.38%–89.16%) in Gag, and 46.12% (11.70%–70.57%) in Pol. Consensus sequences based on sequences sampled in each decade remained relatively stable over time. Similarly, at antibody epitope sites, only 0–8 residues that were minority variants became consensus over time in any subtype/CRF and only one known drug resistance mutation site differed from the reference (subtype G). The apparent contradiction between the fast diversification of HIV-1 and its limited adaptation illustrates that HIV-1 evolution is not directional and its consensus is at the intersection of millions of within-host selective processes occurring in a star-like manner. While a consensus sequence is a better representation of HIV-1 diversity than any individual sequence, consensus sequences have progressively become more distant from the circulating sequences they represent. IMPORTANCE Global surveillance of HIV-1 sequences is critical for designing relevant prophylactic and therapeutic interventions to infection. We designed an open-source platform, Hervé, for analyzing and visualizing the diversification dynamics of HIV-1 protein sequences. We characterized the evolution of over 12,000 HIV-1 Env, Gag, and Pol protein sequences from 1980–2020 and found that, despite a steady increase in intra-subtype and circulating recombinant form diversity, the most frequent residue at each site, i.e., the consensus, has varied only moderately.
Study on Olive Oil Wastewater Treatment: Nanotechnology Impact

The olive mill wastewater (OMW) is generated from olive oil extraction in olive mills. It contains a very high organic load and considerable quantities of phytotoxicity compounds. Comprehensive articles with different methods have been published about the treatment of OMW. This paper reviews the recent reports on the variety methods of OMW treatment. Biological process, containing aerobic pre-treatment by using different cultures and anaerobic co-digestion with other sewage and also added external nutrient with optimum ratio attracted much attention in the treatment of OMW. However, advanced oxidation process (AOP) due to the high oxidation potential which causes destruction of organic pollutants, toxic and chlorinated compounds have been considered. Furthermore, membrane technologies consist of microfiltration, ultrafiltration and especially nanofiltrationin wastewater treatment are growing in recent years. They offer high efficiency and mediocre investments owing to novel membrane materials, membrane design technics, module figures and improvement of the skills. In addition, fouling reduces the membrane performances in time, which is a main problem of cost efficiency.
Overexpression of SPP1 is a prognostic indicator of immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma

Objective: The extracellular phosphoprotein, secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), plays a crucial role in various tumors and regulating the immune system. This study aimed to evaluate its prognostic value and relationship to immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Methods: In the TCGA and GEO datasets, the information on clinic and transcriptome analysis of SPP1 in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was examined accordingly. The association of SPP1 expression with overall survival and clinicopathologic characteristics was investigated by univariate and multivariate analysis. CancerSEA database was utilized to investigate the role of SPP1 at the cellular level by single-cell analysis. Additionally, the CIBERSORT algorithm was utilized to assess the correlation among the immune cells that infiltrated. Results: NSCLC tissues exhibited a notable rise in SPP1 expression compared with that of normal tissues. Furthermore, the overexpression of SPP1 was substantially associated with clinicopathological features and unfavorable survival outcomes in individuals with LUAD, whereas no such correlation was observed in lung squamous cell carcinoma. Immune cells that infiltrate tumors and their corresponding genes were associated with SPP1 expression levels in LUAD. Conclusions: SPP1 is a reliable indicator for assessing LUAD immune infiltration status and prognosis. With this approach, SPP1 can help earlier LUAD diagnosis and act as a possible immunotherapy target.
Pantala flavescens at the coast of the Baltic Sea (Odonata: Libellulidae)

A male Pantala flavescens was recorded in a bird net trap on the Courish Spit, Kaliningrad Oblast, western Russia (55°05'N, 20°44'E) on 29-v-2013. This is the northernmost record of this species in Europe and in the whole northern hemisphere. The record is discussed against the background of European records of P. flavescens .
Prevalência e distribuição espacial da leishmaniose visceral em cães do município de Juatuba, Minas Gerais, Brasil

ABSTRACT The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and spatial distribution of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs (VLD) at Juatuba city, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2010. A cross-sectional observational study was performed collecting blood samples from 957 dogs, de ﬁ ned randomly in all city districts. For the sorological diagnosis was used indirect immunoﬂ uorescence (IIF) and enzyme-linked immunos orbent assay (ELISA), recommended by the Ministry of Health. Geographical coordinates of properties that participated in the survey were marked in order to check the spatial distribution of canine cases. The VLD prevalence was estimated in 10.6%, ranging from 3% to 50.0%, distributed between 70.6% of city districts. Spatial distribution could be observed by scanning the clusters and according to the disease occurrences the demarcation of different risk areas could be obtained. There was an increase of 2.80 times more likely to acquire the VLD on the primary cluster. As of this research the prevention and control actions for VLD were made according to the speciﬁ city of each location to prevent the disease spread among dogs and new human cases.
Predicting Age of Independent Walking in Preterm Infants: A Longitudinal Study Using Neonatal Characteristics and Motor Development Variables

Objective : To formulate an equation estimating months to independent walking in moderate to late preterm infants based on neonatal characteristics and gross motor development from 7 months to independent walking. Methods Sixty infants born between 32 to 36 weeks were assessed using Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) for gross motor development. Neonatal characteristics were recorded at 7 months, and caregiver-reported independent walking onset. Pearson correlation analyzed age, AIMS scores, and neonatal factors. Multiple regression developed the prediction equation. Results The equation for independent walking onset, which included gestational age (GA) at birth, total AIMS score at 10 months of age (10th AIMS), and birth head circumference (BHC), exhibited a strong correlation (r=0.707) and had a predictive power of 50.0%. The equation is as follows: age onset of independent walking (months)=33.157, -0.296 (GA), -0.132 (10th AIMS), -0.196 (BHC), with an estimation error of 0.631 months. Conclusion Neonatal characteristics, such as GA, 10th AIMS, and BHC, are key determinants in estimating the onset of independent walking in moderate to late preterm infants.