Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From Foods to Chemotherapeutics: The Antioxidant Potential of Dietary Phytochemicals

Food plants have been recognized for their medicinal properties for millennia, a concept supported by epidemiological studies indicating long-term health benefits for people consuming greater amounts of fruits and vegetables. As our technology and instrumentation advance, researchers have the ability to identify promising phytochemicals, and examine their potential benefits, or detriments, to human health. While results from trials investigating single chemical supplementation have sometimes produced negative health results, studies investigating the synergistic action of phytochemicals—either within our diet or as an adjuvant to radiation or chemotherapy—appear promising. Utilizing phytochemicals as synergistic agents may lower the chemotherapeutic doses needed to incur physiological results, while also using chemicals with fewer toxic effects. This review investigates a variety of plant-produced chemicals humans typically ingest, their impacts on overall health patterns, molecular mechanisms associated with their health impacts, and the potential of their synergistic use for therapeutic purposes.
A systematic review on the use of remote sensing technologies in quantifying grasslands ecosystem services

ABSTRACT The last decade has seen considerable progress in scientific research on vegetation ecosystem services. While much research has focused on forests and wetlands, grasslands also provide a variety of different provisioning, supporting, cultural, and regulating services. With recent advances in remote sensing technology, there is a possibility that Earth observation data could contribute extensively to research on grassland ecosystem services. This study conducted a systematic review on progress, emerging gaps, and opportunities on the application of remote sensing technologies in quantifying all grassland ecosystem services including those that are related to water. The contribution of biomass, Leaf Area Index (LAI), and Canopy Storage Capacity (CSC) as water-related ecosystem services derived from grasslands was explored. Two hundred and twenty-two peer-reviewed articles from Web of Science, Scopus, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers were analyzed. About 39% of the studies were conducted in Asia with most of the contributions coming from China while a few studies were from the global south regions such as Southern Africa. Overall, forage provision, climate regulation, and primary production were the most researched grassland ecosystem services in the context of Earth observation data applications. About 39 Earth observation sensors were used in the literature to map grassland ecosystem services and MODIS had the highest utilization frequency. The most widely used vegetation indices for mapping general grassland ecosystem services in literature included the red and near-infrared sections of the electromagnetic spectrum. Remote sensing algorithms used within the retrieved literature include process-based models, machine learning algorithms, and multivariate techniques. For water-related grassland ecosystem services, biomass, CSC, and LAI were the most prominent proxies characterized by remotely sensed data for understanding evapotranspiration, infiltration, run-off, soil water availability, groundwater restoration and surface water balance. An understanding of such hydrological processes is crucial in providing insights on water redistribution and balance within grassland ecosystems which is important for water management.
Actors in forums: work input and different types of benefits

Abstract Forums provide venues where different actors from the public administration sector, the interest group sector, or the research sector jointly discuss an issue of common interest. This article analyses which types of benefits are related to actors’ investing working time to forums. Actors’ dedication and work are basic predicates for forums to be able to produce outputs. The analysis of members of eight forums dealing with habitat and natural hazard governance in Switzerland suggests that actors participating in forums attribute more importance to exchange benefits, corresponding to opportunities of interaction with other actors – than to policy benefits – corresponding to opportunities for actors to influence policy or practice. However, more working time is invested by actors that lend importance to individual benefits – as opposed to collective benefits. These findings are important for understanding why actors provide work for forums in collaborative and polycentric governance systems.
Managing Manganese: The Role of Manganese Homeostasis in Streptococcal Pathogenesis

Pathogenic streptococci require manganese for survival in the host. In response to invading pathogens, the host recruits nutritional immune effectors at infection sites to withhold manganese from the pathogens and control bacterial growth. The manganese scarcity impairs several streptococcal processes including oxidative stress defenses, de novo DNA synthesis, bacterial survival, and virulence. Emerging evidence suggests that pathogens also encounter manganese toxicity during infection and manganese excess impacts streptococcal virulence by manganese mismetallation of non-cognate molecular targets involved in bacterial antioxidant defenses and cell division. To counter host-imposed manganese stress, the streptococcal species employ a sophisticated sensory system that tightly coordinates manganese stress-specific molecular strategies to negate host induced manganese stress and proliferate in the host. Here we review the molecular details of host-streptococcal interactions in the battle for manganese during infection and the significance of streptococcal effectors involved to bacterial pathophysiology.
A Harmonic Suppression Energy Collection Metasurface Insensitive to Load and Input Power for Microwave Power Transmission

This article describes a high-efficiency harmonic suppression metasurface (HSMS) energy collector, which is insensitive to frequency, input power, and load. A method of integrating harmonic suppression function into energy collection metasurface (MS) to improve system conversion efficiency is proposed. Integrated RF synthesis channels in HSMS improve diode power availability and turn-on time. An <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$8\times 8$ </tex-math></inline-formula> finite element MS array was designed and fabricated, achieving a conversion efficiency<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{\mathrm {RF}-\mathrm {ac}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 96%. The measurement results show that the integrated harmonic suppression can improve the efficiency of ac–dc conversion by 2%–4%. In addition, we propose an impedance compression rectifier to reduce the input power and load requirements of the system. Since HSMS eliminates harmonic suppression networks, the rectifier structure is simple and compact. Finally, the system achieved an efficiency of 74.5% at 5.8 GHz with an input power of 18 dBm. Importantly, it shows that HSMS energy collectors can remain efficient over a wide range of power 6–25 dBm and loads of 500–<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2000~\Omega $ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The proposed concept is suitable for high-efficiency microwave power transmission (MPT) systems with different input power and load conditions.
Customers' Use of Products as Design Tools

Understanding the needs of those who use products is a core part of design research. This paper describes research suggesting the usual concept of 'user need' is overly restrictive. The research points to the widespread practices in which people use designed artefacts as 'tools' to design their own lives. This use of designed products as design tools can be more central to users perception of value than the more explicitly expressed 'needs' that are the main basis for a design brief. Extending the concept of user needs in this manner has significant implications for: the development of improved forms of design brief; understanding of user interaction with designed artefacts; designers education; data gathering processes; and the development of design methods and design theory. The research builds on a secondary analysis of the literature on design failure originally initiated in the field of Management Information Systems (MIS) at Edith Cowan University. The paper proposes a typology of 14 different classes of design tools used by both professional and non professionals in designing. The paper describes a variety of ways in which products are repurposed by people to act as design tools in everyday designing of their lives. The paper concludes with a brief overview of the implications for design theory, the modeling of design processes, design management
Nestling Altricial Rodents and Lagomorphs Are Not Ectotherms

Based on the synthesis of data on metabolic rates of 15 species investigated at moderate ambient temperatures, nestlings of most studied species of altricial rodents and lagomorphs exhibit thermoregulatory control of thermogenesis within 3 d after birth, signifying that they express physiological thermoregulation for 86%–100% of their time as nestlings. Classifying nestlings as ectotherms (or poikilotherms) is thus inappropriate and fosters misconceptions regarding their body temperatures (Tb’s), control of Tb-sensitive functions (e.g., cardiac output), and energetics of development. The fact that nestlings live as litters in nests means that their thermoregulatory capacities in their actual, natural lives often far exceed the capacities they exhibit as isolated individuals—pointing to a pressing need for improved understanding of the physiology of litters. Litters in nests are already known in two cases to exhibit true homeothermy at ages when individuals studied in isolation express only modest thermoregulatory abilities. Golden (Syrian) hamster nestlings are exceptional, requiring 2 wk to develop thermoregulatory thermogenesis. They are properly considered ectotherms at up to 2 wk of age, helping to clarify that most species—being dramatically different—are not.
A Tri-Port Current-Source Soft-Switching Medium-Voltage String Inverter for Large-Scale Solar-Plus-Storage Farms

This article presents a tri-port current-source soft-switching medium-voltage string inverter (TMVSI) to reduce the Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of large-scale solar-plus-storage (SPS) farms. Throughout this work, the topology, operating principle, circuit simulation, control, and hardware design of the TMVSI are introduced. In addition, three key challenges compromising the performance of the TMVSI are addressed in this article. First, a new feed-forward compensation for model predictive control of the TMVSI is proposed to compensate for sampling and computational delay and high dc-link ripple with low computational cost and high scalability. Second, the use of laminated permanent magnets is proposed to reduce the losses of the MV medium-frequency transformer (MFT) in the TMVSI while increasing its saturation current. Finally, an improved U-shape winding pattern is proposed to decrease the leakage inductance of the MV MFT and reduce the voltage stress across semiconductor switches without adding cost or complexity. The effectiveness of the TMVSI is validated by experiments at up to $20\,\mathrm{kW/500\,V}$ in different test cases with custom-built prototypes. The contributions of this work make the TMVSI a viable solution to SPS farms and unleash its potential for LCOE reduction.
Oblique versus Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion in Degenerative Spondylolisthesis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis compared transforaminal interbody fusion (TLIF) and oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) techniques for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. AIM: The aim is to evaluate Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Japanese Orthopedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire, visual analog scale improvement for back and leg pain, disc height, slipped percentage, blood loss, surgical time, and complication rates in both groups. METHODS: A systematic literature search was carried out to obtain a study that compared OLIF and TLIF for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. A literature search was performed using PubMed, Scopus, EuropePMC, and EBSCOHost. While the intervention was the OLIF technique, the control was the TLIF technique. The primary outcome was clinical outcome (ODI, Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire [JOABPEQ], visual analog scale [VAS] improvement for back, and leg pain). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of the studies. RESULTS: Total of 384 patients from four studies were included in this study. OLIF group was better than TLIF group in terms of disc height, slipped percentage, and blood loss. ODI, JOABPEQ, VAS improvement for back pain (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.06 [−0.18, 0.29], p = 0.63, I2 = 0%, p = 0.87) and leg pain (SMD 0.12 [−0.36, 0.60], p = 0.63, I2 = 74%, p = 0.02), surgical time, and complication rates were similar in both groups. CONCLUSION: OLIF technique was better than TLIF technique in terms of radiologic outcome and surgical blood loss. Both techniques showed similar outcomes in clinical outcome, complication, and surgical time.
Interleukin-10-Modified Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Prevent Hypertrophic Scar Formation via Regulating the Biological Characteristics of Fibroblasts and Inflammation

Hypertrophic scar causes serious functional and cosmetic problem, but no treatment method is known to achieve a satisfactory therapeutic effect. However, mesenchymal stem cells show a possible cure prospect. Here, we investigated the effect of interleukin-10-modified adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (IL-10-ADMSC) on the formation of hypertrophic scar. In vitro, IL-10-ADMSC could highly express IL-10 and exhibited stronger inhibition of hypertrophic scar fibroblasts (HSFs) proliferation, migration, and extracellular matrix synthesis (the expression of collagen I, collagen III, FN, and α-SMA protein) than ADMSC. In vivo, we found that IL-10-ADMSC speeded up wound healing time and reduced scar area and scar outstanding height. Same as in vitro, IL-10-ADMSC also exhibited stronger inhibition of extracellular matrix synthesis (the expression of collagen I, collagen III protein) in wound than ADMSC. In addition, we also found that IL-10-ADMSC is also a stronger inhibitory effect on inflammation in wound than ADMSC, and IL-10-ADMSC inhibited TGF-β/Smads and NF-κB pathway. In conclusion, IL-10-ADMSC demonstrated the ability to prevent hypertrophic scar formation. And its possible molecular mechanism might be related to IL-10-ADMSC inhibiting the proliferation and migration of the synthesis of extracellular matrix of HSFs, and IL-10-ADMSC inhibited the inflammation during the wound healing.
Influenza A in Wild Boars: Viral Circulation in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Northern Italy) between 2017 and 2022

Simple Summary Wild boars and feral pigs are underinvestigated hosts for influenza A viruses (IAVs). This study confirmed and evaluated viral circulation in the Emilia-Romagna wild boar population between 2017 and 2022. Samples were collected at post mortems and screened for IAVs; 0.37% of the tested animals provided positive results. Positive samples were subtyped, isolated, and genotyped via full-genome sequencing. The results highlight the co-circulation of the same viral genotypes in overlapping years in both pigs and wild boars in the same geographical area. Considering the role of domestic and wild Sus scrofa species in the IAVs’ ecology, surveillance against these viruses in the wild boar population needs to be implemented. Abstract A systematic surveillance against influenza A viruses (IAVs) in the Suidae population is essential, considering their role as IAV mixing vessels. However, the viral circulation in wild Sus scrofa species is poorly investigated in comparison to the knowledge of IAV infection dynamics in domestic pigs. This study investigated the circulation and the genetic diversity of wild boars’ IAVs detected in the Emilia-Romagna region (2017–2022). A total of 4605 lung samples were screened via an M gene real-time RT-PCR for SwIAV; positive samples were subtyped by multiplex RT-PCR, and viral isolation was attempted. Isolated strains (3 out of the 17 positives) were fully sequenced to evaluate viral genotypic diversity. H1N1 was the most frequently detected subtype, with identification of H1pdm09N1 and H1avN1. Whole-genome phylogenetic analysis revealed SwIAVs belonging to different genotypes, with different genetic combinations, and highlighted the simultaneous circulation of the same genotypes in both pigs and wild boars, supporting the hypothesis of SwIAV spillover events at the wildlife–livestock interface. This study represents an update on the wild boar SwIAV Italian situation, and the strains’ complete genome analysis showed an evolving and interesting situation that deserves further investigation.
2022 roadmap on neuromorphic devices and applications research in China

The data throughput in the von Neumann architecture-based computing system is limited by its separated processing and memory structure, and the mismatching speed between the two units. As a result, it is quite difficult to improve the energy efficiency in conventional computing system, especially for dealing with unstructured data. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence and robotics nowadays still behave poorly in autonomy, creativity, and sociality, which has been considered as the unimaginable computational requirement for sensorimotor skills. These two plights have urged the imitation and replication of the biological systems in terms of computing, sensing, and even motoring. Hence, the so-called neuromorphic system has drawn worldwide attention in recent decade, which is aimed at addressing the aforementioned needs from the mimicking of neural system. The recent developments on emerging memory devices, nanotechnologies, and materials science have provided an unprecedented opportunity for this aim.
A Novel Approach for Doherty PA Design Using a Compact L-C Combiner

In this brief, a new combiner analysis method for the design of Doherty Power Amplifiers (DPA) is proposed. A compact L-C combiner is used to validate the proposed method through both simulation and realization of a two-stage DPA in a 130nm RF-SOI process. Using a 2.3GHz CW signal, the PA achieves a measured peak PAE of 51% at 32dBm output power under 3.4V supply voltage. From 2.1GHz to 2.5GHz, the PA shows an average output power and PAE higher than 26.9dBm and 39% respectively at −35dBc E-UTRA ACLR when using a 10MHz-50RB QPSK LTE uplink signal with memoryless DPD. At 2.3GHz, the PA achieves a linear Pout and PAE of 28.85dBm and 42.8% respectively.
Anemia Etiology and the Response to a Gluten-Free Diet in Untreated Patients With Celiac Disease: A 2-Year Follow-Up

INTRODUCTION: Anemia and micronutrient deficiencies are common in newly diagnosed patients with celiac disease (CeD). We aim to determine the prevalence and etiology of anemia in a cohort of patients with CeD in the United States and examine the effect of a gluten-free diet (GFD) on the laboratory parameters related to anemia in CeD. METHODS: We analyzed a prospectively collected cohort of adults with biopsy-proven CeD followed in a specialized CeD center between January 2000 and June 2016. We used the level of hemoglobin (Hb) and micronutrients suggested by the World Health Organization to establish the diagnosis of anemia or deficiencies. Demographic data and laboratory parameters related to anemia and micronutrients were recorded at the time of diagnosis and on a GFD. A celiac expert nutritionist or gastroenterologist evaluated all patients. RESULTS: In 572 patients with laboratory evaluation before starting a GFD, approximately 25% presented with anemia at the time of diagnosis of CeD. Iron deficiency was present in 50.8% of the cohort and in 78.8% of the patients with anemia. Within the anemic population, 84.4% of female patients as compared with 58.3% of male patients (P = 0.02) showed iron deficiency. Folate deficiency (23.2%), vitamin B12 deficiency (11%), and anemia of chronic diseases (7.8%) were also part of both sexes' anemia etiology. Of the initially anemic patients, 81% and 89% normalized their Hb levels within 1 year and 2 years of beginning a GFD, respectively. All patients received appropriate supplementation when needed. DISCUSSION: Approximately 25% of individuals have anemia at CeD diagnosis. The anemia etiology included iron deficiency, vitamin deficiencies, and anemia of chronic diseases. Most of the patients will normalize their Hb levels and the anemia laboratory parameters 1 year after starting a strict GFD.
Adaptive neural tracking control for non‐affine switched systems with multiple time delays and actuator faults

In this article, an adaptive output feedback neural tracking control algorithm is studied for non‐affine switched systems with multiple time delays and actuator faults. First, an adaptive neural state observer, which only needs to update a parameter online, is presented to estimate the unmeasurable state, and Lipschitz condition is used to deal with delay fault so as to avoid complex delay assumption. Then, by using online estimation information and backstepping technique, a switched fault‐tolerant control mechanism is established for non‐affine switched systems, the designed controller of each subsystems can ensure that non‐affine switched systems output signal can track reference signal under switch signals with average dwell time and all closed‐loop signals are bounded in the presence of multiple time delays, actuator faults, and external disturbances. Finally, simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Klebsiella pneumoniae Klinik Suşlarında, 2012-2020 Yılları Arasında Karbapenem Direnç Oranlarındaki Değişimin ve Direnç Genlerinin Araştırılması

Objective: Infections due to carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae has been a serious problem in our country and the world. Carbapenem resistance occurs in several mechanism, where the most common one is the production of carbapenemase enzyme. The aim of this study is to investigate the changes in resistance ratio and resistance mechanism in our hospital between 2012 to 2020. Methods: Carbapenem resistant strains that has been detected in K. pneumoniae strains isolated from several clinical samples were included in this study. KPC, OXA-48, NDM, IMP and VIM resistance genes were investigated by polymerase chain reaction. Results: A total of 291 (7.5%) carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates were identified between 2012 and 2020. The distribution of the resistant genes of strains was as follows: strains with single genes: OXA-48, NDM-1, KPC and VIM were 113 (38.8%), 32 (11.0%), 7 (2.4%) and 5 (1.7%), respectively. Strains with multiple genes were identified as follows: OXA-48+NDM was 123 (42.3%), OXA-48+KPC was 2 and one strain of each for OXA-48+VIM, NDM+KPC, NDM+IMP. Conclusion: The ratio of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae strains was found to be elevated in our hospital. OXA-48 resistance gene was the most prevalent (38.8%) single gene, followed by NDM resistance genes. In addition, coexistence of OXA-48+NDM (42.3%) genes was the most prevalent resistance mechanism in our hospital. Therefore, continious screening of resistance in KDKp strains, and investigation of resistance mechanisms in local and national studies are highly important in the treatment of infections due to these bacteria and control of resistance.