Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biological Activity and NMR-Fingerprinting of Balkan Endemic Species Stachys thracica Davidov

Stachys thracica Davidov is a Balkan endemic species distributed in Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. In Bulgaria, it is classified as “rare” and is under the protection of the Bulgarian biodiversity law. The aim of our study was to develop an efficient protocol for ex situ conservation of S. thracica and to perform comparative NMR-based metabolite profiling and bioactivity assays of extracts from in situ grown, in vitro cultivated, and ex vitro acclimated plants. Micropropagation of S. thracica was achieved by in vitro cultivation of mono-nodal segments on basal MS medium. Ex vitro adaptation was accomplished in the experimental field with 83% survival while conserved genetic identity between in vitro and ex vitro plants as shown by the overall sequence-related amplified polymorphism marker patterns was established. Verbascoside, chlorogenic acid, and trigonelline appeared the main secondary metabolites in in situ, in vitro cultivated, and ex vitro acclimated S. thracica. High total phenolic and flavonoid content as well as antioxidant and radical scavenging activity were observed in in situ and ex vitro plants. Further, the anti-inflammatory activity of S. thracica was tested by hemolytic assay and a high inhibition of the complement system was observed. Initiated in vitro and ex vitro cultures offer an effective tool for the management and better exploitation of the Stachys secondary metabolism and the selection of lines with high content of bioactive molecules and nutraceuticals.
Tapered Waist Tensile Specimens for Evaluating Butt Fusion Joints of Polyethylene Pipes—Part 1: Development

The structural integrity of butt fusion (BF) joints in thermoplastic pressure piping systems is critical to their long-term safe use. The tapered waist tensile (TWT) specimen was developed to alleviate issues associated with ISO 13953 waisted tensile (WT) specimen for evaluating BF joints. Experimental and finite element analyses were performed to obtain optimum TWT specimen designs for the BF joint destructive test. For TWT specimens, depending on the pipe size, the displacement at onset necking was reduced by 30~100%, and the tested BF area increased by 60~80% compared to the WT specimen. In addition, the transverse specimen deflection was lower thus providing better experimental stability. Furthermore, it showed the same BF displacement at the maximum force local to the BF bead, indicating that the tapered waist geometry provides equivalent deformation constraint and BF failure mode designed for the BF joint in the WT specimens. Therefore, TWT specimens offer simplicity, adaptability, stability, and accuracy in specimen preparation, testing, and analysis compared to WT specimens.
Subgroup analysis for functional partial linear regression model

In a functional partial linear regression (FPLR) model, where the response variable is scalar while the explanatory variables involve both infinite‐dimensional functional predictors and finite‐dimensional scalar covariates, the relationships between the response and the explanatory variables are often assumed to be the same for all subjects. This article relaxes this assumption and considers a subgroup analysis for the FPLR model, which allows the intercepts to vary for different subgroups from a heterogeneous population. By projecting the functional predictors onto the corresponding eigenspace, the subgroup analysis based on the FPLR model can be simplified to a framework that is similar to the classical subgroup analysis problem. To automatically identify subgroups among observations and estimate the regression parameters of interest, we combine the functional principal component analysis with the concave pairwise penalized approach and develop an ADMM algorithm for functional subgroup analysis. We also establish the consistency of the proposed estimators under mild conditions. Simulation experiments demonstrate that the concave penalized subgroup approach could potentially achieve substantial gains over the ordinary FPLR model. The analysis of data from a creative achievement study is used to illustrate the practical performance of the subgroup analysis for the FPLR model.
Structured Fusion Attention Network for Image Super-Resolution Reconstruction

To improve the extraction ability of image features, reduce the complexity of model parameters, and enhance the reconstruction effect of image super-resolution (SR), a structured fusion attention network (SFAN) is proposed. Firstly, the deep convolution method is used to extract shallow features from low-resolution images, and different residual attention modules are considered to improve the structured residual of the encoder to extract more image features. Secondly, the features output by the encoder are refined, and the spatial attention module and the channel attention module are reorganized according to an improved fusion attention method to provide better input features for PixelShuffle, thus achieving the effect of reconstructing the decoder. Finally, through adding low-frequency inputs and network predictions, the input image is directly interpolated into the target, thereby accelerating the convergence of the network’s high-frequency residual and improving the image reconstruction effect. Under the condition of reconstruction magnification of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times 2$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times 3$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times 4$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, SFAN is compared with some of the most advanced SR networks in the public data sets of Set5, Set14, BSD100, Urban100 and Manga 109. The experimental results show that SFAN has the best PSNR and SSIM values with low model parameters, thus proving that SFAN can achieve a good balance between the performance of SR and the complexity of parameters.
Effectiveness of Ternary Blend Incorporating Rice Husk Ash, Silica Fume, and Cement in Preparing ASR Resilient Concrete

Although the disposal of waste ashes causes environmental hazards, recycling them helps in reducing their harmful impacts and improves the characteristics of building materials. The present study explores the possible use of locally available waste ashes including Rice husk ash (RHA)and Silica Fumes (SF) as a partial replacement for cement in concrete to counter the negative impact of alkali-silica reactions (ASRs). In the present study, ternary blends including RHA (0–30%), SF (5% and 10%) and Portland cement were investigated. The amorphous behavior of RHA and SF was confirmed by conducting an X-ray diffraction analysis. A petrography analysis was carried out to ensure the reactive nature of aggregates used to prepare the concrete specimen. Accelerated mortar bar tests were performed in accordance with ASTM C 1260 for up to 90 days. It was revealed that specimens incorporating a ternary blend of SF, RHA, and Portland cement exhibited less expansion compared to the control specimens without SF and RHA. The incorporation of 5% SF along with 20% RHA exhibited a 0.13% expansion at 28 days and 10% SF, along with 5% RHA which exhibited 0.18% expansion at 28 days which is within the range specified by ASTM C 1260, with the lowest compromise of the mechanical properties of concrete. Thus, the utilization of SF and RHA in the partial replacement of cement in concrete may be considered a practical approach to mitigate ASR effects as well as to reduce the environmental burden.
ANALISANDO A VIABILIDADE ECONÔMICA DO CARRO PRÓPRIO EM RELAÇÃO AO UBER

Os serviços de E-hailing estão em constante crescimento em todo mundo, por proporcionar praticidade, confiabilidade e atratividade econômica tanto para os usuários como para os motoristas. Neste contexto, o aplicativo de transportes Uber iniciou o seu funcionamento na cidade de Santa Maria no primeiro trimestre de 2018. A principal questão que motivou a realização deste trabalho é o problema de pesquisa: atualmente utilizar o Uber é economicamente mais atrativo do que ser proprietário de um automóvel na cidade de Santa Maria? Dessa forma, objetivo geral deste trabalho é realizar uma análise de viabilidade econômica do carro próprio em relação ao Uber na cidade de Santa Maria através de indicadores econômicos. Foram criados vinte e oito cenários de cálculo que alternaram entre o carro próprio, o Uber, diferentes quilometragens percorridas diariamente e diferentes Taxas Mínimas de Atratividade. Os métodos de análise utilizados para que o objetivo fosse alcançado foram VPL, TIR, Payback e Payback Descontado. Com base nos resultados encontrados, as principais conclusões foram que o empreendimento se mostrou viável, VPL positivo, para os cenários envolvendo o Uber para até 20 Km percorridos diariamente, além disso, tem-se que os cenários envolvendo o Uber se mostraram mais viáveis economicamente do que os cenários que abrangeram o carro próprio.
Publics’ Perceptions of Community Pharmacists and Satisfaction with Pharmacy Services in Al-Madinah City, Saudi Arabia: A Cross Sectional Study

Background and Objectives: Pharmacists play a major role in serving patients and delivering pharmaceutical services to the community. It is unclear whether the public fully appreciates what pharmacists can do as key health care providers. This study aims to examine public perceptions of community pharmacists and levels of satisfaction with pharmacy services. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a randomly selected sample population (n = 1000) in Saudi Arabia over a period of six months from January through June 2019. A 40-item, structured, self-administered questionnaire was used, comprised of questions on the demographics characteristics of the respondents and their satisfaction with pharmacy services. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: The response rate of the survey was 76.92%. Public opinions were influenced by pharmacists’ availability and knowledge, service promptness, and counseling services. Overall, 80.5% of respondents agreed that community pharmacists treat them with respect. Doctors were identified as the preferred source of drug therapy consultation by 58.7% and pharmacists by 41.29%. About 72.8% of respondents agreed that pharmacists provided them with clear instructions about medication use, and 70.2% trusted pharmacists’ opinions about medications. About 62.5% of respondents expressed satisfaction with pharmacists, and 64.8% with pharmacy services. Conclusions: Customers’ opinions were influenced by pharmacists’ availability and knowledge, pharmacy service promptness, pharmacy location, waiting area, medication knowledge, and counseling. However, the public was greatly satisfied with community pharmacists’ professionalism and pharmaceutical services. This positive perception provides an opportunity for pharmacists to extend their roles as healthcare professionals.
The mRubyFT Protein, Genetically Encoded Blue-to-Red Fluorescent Timer

Genetically encoded monomeric blue-to-red fluorescent timers (mFTs) change their fluorescent color over time. mCherry-derived mFTs were used for the tracking of the protein age, visualization of the protein trafficking, and labeling of engram cells. However, the brightness of the blue and red forms of mFTs are 2–3- and 5–7-fold dimmer compared to the brightness of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). To address this limitation, we developed a blue-to-red fluorescent timer, named mRubyFT, derived from the bright mRuby2 red fluorescent protein. The blue form of mRubyFT reached its maximum at 5.7 h and completely transformed into the red form that had a maturation half-time of 15 h. Blue and red forms of purified mRubyFT were 4.1-fold brighter and 1.3-fold dimmer than the respective forms of the mCherry-derived Fast-FT timer in vitro. When expressed in mammalian cells, both forms of mRubyFT were 1.3-fold brighter than the respective forms of Fast-FT. The violet light-induced blue-to-red photoconversion was 4.2-fold less efficient in the case of mRubyFT timer compared to the same photoconversion of the Fast-FT timer. The timer behavior of mRubyFT was confirmed in mammalian cells. The monomeric properties of mRubyFT allowed the labeling and confocal imaging of cytoskeleton proteins in live mammalian cells. The X-ray structure of the red form of mRubyFT at 1.5 Å resolution was obtained and analyzed. The role of the residues from the chromophore surrounding was studied using site-directed mutagenesis.
Modelling the Impact of Land Cover Changes on Carbon Storage and Sequestration in the Central Zagros Region, Iran Using Ecosystem Services Approach

Central Zagros region in Iran is a major hotspot of carbon storage and sequestration which has experienced severe land cover change in recent decades that has led to carbon emission. In this research, using temporal Landsat images, land cover maps were produced and used in Land Change Modeler to predict land cover changes in 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050 using Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network and Markov Chain techniques. Next, resultant maps were used as inputs to Ecosystem Services Modeler. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report data was used to extract carbon data. Results show that between 1989–2013 about half of forests have been destroyed. Prediction results show that by 2050 about 75% of existing forests will be lost and between 2013–2020 about 157,000 Mg carbon and by 2050 about 565,000 Mg carbon will be lost with more than US$1.9 million to 2020 and AU$3.2 million by 2050 economic compensation.
Anti-inflammatory effect of clearing-away-heat-promoting-diuresis and Wen-yang herbs on inflammatory signaling pathways in acute gout

Purpose: To investigate the regulatory effect of clearing away, heat-promoting diuresis and Wen yang herbs (CHPW) on acute gout IL-1β inflammatory signaling pathways in rats and cell lines. Methods: Thirty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into five groups: saline (SA group, SA-sodium urate (SA-SU) group, Colchicine-SU (Col-SU) group, CPHW-SU group, and clearing away heat-promoting diuresis-SU (CHP-SU) group. The cell line RAW264.7 groups were RAW264.7-A, RAW264.7-B, RAW264.7-C and RAW264.7-D. For the above cell groups, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the effects of drugs on macrophage proliferation, and levels of IL-1β and other inflammatory factors, while quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to assay NALP3 mRNA expression. The protein expressions of p-IRAK4, IRAK4, p-P65, P65, NALP3, and caspase-1 were measured using Western blot assay. Results: Compared with SA-SU group, CHPW reduced gout symptoms in the joint, and reduced levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and IL-1β (p < 0.05). Compared with the SA group, the relative expression of NALP3 increased significantly in the SA-SU group (p < 0.05). The relative expression of NALP3 in CHPW and CHP groups decreased significantly, relative to the SA-SU group (p < 0.05). However, the expressions of p-IRAK4, IRAK 4 and p65 was basically unchanged (p > 0.05). Protein expression levels of NALP3 and caspase-1 were higher in SA-SU group, but lower in CHPW and CHP groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: CHPW exerts a protective effect against acute gout by downregulating the IL-1β inflammatory signaling pathway and decreasing the expression levels of NALP3 and p-P65. Thus, CHPW has a potential for use as a new therapeutic agent for gout.
Machine learning for expert‐level image‐based identification of very similar species in the hyperdiverse plant bug family Miridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

Deep learning algorithms and particularly convolutional neural networks are very successful in pattern recognition from images and are increasingly employed in biology. The development of automated systems for rapid and reliable species identification is vital for insect systematics and may revolutionize this field soon. In this study, we demonstrate the ability of a convolutional neural network to identify species based on habitus photographs with expert‐level accuracy in a taxonomically challenging group where a human‐based identification would require notorious genitalia dissections. Using the economically important and polymorphic plant bug genus Adelphocoris Reuter (Heteroptera: Miridae) as a model group, we explore the variability in the performance of 11 convolutional neural models most commonly used for image classification, test the role of class‐imbalance on the model performance assessment and visualize areas of interest using three interpretation algorithms. Classification performance in our experiments with collection‐based habitus photographs is high enough to identify very similar species from a large group with an expert‐level accuracy. The accuracy is getting lower only in the experiments with an additional dataset of Adelphocoris and other live plant bugs photographs taken from the Web. Our article demonstrates the importance of comprehensive institutional insect collections for bringing deep learning algorithms into service for systematic entomology using affordable equipment and methods.
Internacionalização de aplicações Web: uma ferramenta para acelerar a tarefa de tradução em um ambiente de aplicação médica Internationalization of web applications: a tool to speed up translation in health care

Objetivos: Com base nesta necessidade, este trabalho teve como objetivo propor uma estrategia para facilitar a traducao de aplicacoes web com dominio especifico e valida-la atraves da construcao de um modulo de traducao agregado a aplicacao SacarWeb. Metodos: O modulo trabalha separadamente com as sentencas de dominios de conhecimento especificos, sendo papel dos usuarios com conhecimento nessas areas a traducao de sentencas, o que gera traducoes com maior fidelidade. Utilizou-se a linguagem de marcacao XML para definicao das sentencas em qualquer idioma. Resultados: Como resultado obteve-se um modulo de traducao integrado ao SacarWeb, que mostrou-se de facil utilizacao, reduziu o tempo de traducao das sentencas especificas da area da saude, e eliminou a necessidade de conhecimentos fora do escopo do idioma de traducao. Conclusao: A estrategia proposta pode ser facilmente adaptada para aplicacoes Web ainda em fase de projeto com outros dominios de conhecimento.
Source Properties of Hydraulic‐Fracturing‐Induced Earthquakes in the Kiskatinaw Area, British Columbia, Canada

This work presents a high resolution source property study of hydraulic fracturing induced earthquakes in the Montney Formation, a low‐permeability tight shale reservoir in the Kiskatinaw area, northeast British Columbia, Canada. We estimate source parameters, including focal mechanism solutions (FMSs), seismic moment, spectral corner frequency, and static stress drop values of earthquakes recorded between July 2017 and July 2020. Waveform‐similarity‐based event classification of 8,283 earthquakes yields 52 event families (clusters) and 1,014 isolated events (individuals). We calculate a total of 64 FMSs of events ML > 2.5 with high‐quality waveforms. Of the 64 solutions, 54 come from events within families, and are used to infer an additional 3,500 focal mechanisms of smaller‐magnitude events with similar waveforms. The other 10 are isolated events. The dominant faulting style inferred from FMSs highlights multiple cascading, shallow, strike‐slip events and generally isolated, larger‐magnitude reverse‐style events in close proximity to the Fort St. John Graben system. Inferred nodal planes of strike‐slip events are at low‐angles to regional SHmax, suggesting optimally oriented, left‐lateral faults. Reverse faulting nodal planes are roughly perpendicular to SHmax and have an orientation consistent with the reactivation of pre‐existing normal basement faults. Source spectral analysis using three approaches, including spectral‐ratio fitting, suggests a constant stress drop of 1–10 MPa and self‐similarity for induced events. Constant stress drop scaling breaks down at magnitudes smaller than ∼ML 2.0, likely due to observational bandwidth limitations.
Post-Irradiation Thymic Regeneration in B6C3F1 Mice Is Age Dependent and Modulated by Activation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR Pathway

Simple Summary Because children have a long life expectancy relative to adults and their tissues and organs are growing and developing rapidly, the risk of radiation carcinogenesis for children is considered higher than that for adults. However, the underlying mechanism(s) is unclear. To uncover the mechanism, we previously revealed that principal causative genes in mouse thymic lymphomas arising in irradiated infants or adults as Pten or Ikzf1, respectively, suggesting that cells with mutation in these genes might be the origin of lymphomas arising after irradiation depending on age at exposure. Here, we clarified the age-dependent differences in thymus-cell dynamics in mice during the initial post-irradiation period. Our results demonstrate that the dynamics of thymocytes during the post-irradiation period depends on the age at exposure. For irradiated infants in particular, the number of proliferating cells increase dramatically, and this correlate with activation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway. Thus, we conclude that the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway in infants contributed, at least in part, to thymus-cell dynamics through the modification of cell proliferation and survival after irradiation, which may be associated with the risk of Pten mutation-associated thymic lymphoma. Abstract The risk of radiation-induced carcinogenesis depends on age at exposure. We previously reported principal causative genes in lymphomas arising after infant or adult exposure to 4-fractionated irradiation as Pten or Ikzf1, respectively, suggesting that cells with mutation in these genes might be the origin of lymphomas arising after irradiation depending on age at exposure. Here, we clarified the age-dependent differences in thymus-cell dynamics in mice during the initial post-irradiation period. The thymocyte number initially decreased, followed by two regeneration phases. During the first regeneration, the proportion of phosphorylated-AKT-positive (p-AKT+) cells in cell-cycle phases S+G2/M of immature CD4−CD8− and CD4+CD8+ thymocytes and in phases G0/G1 of mature CD4+CD8− and CD4−CD8+ thymocytes was significantly greater in irradiated infants than in irradiated adults. During the second regeneration, the proportion of p-AKT+ thymocytes in phases G0/G1 increased in each of the three populations other than CD4−CD8− thymocytes more so than during the first regeneration. Finally, PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling in infants contributed, at least in part, to biphasic thymic regeneration through the modification of cell proliferation and survival after irradiation, which may be associated with the risk of Pten mutation-associated thymic lymphoma.
EFEITO DOS MECANISMOS DE REDUÇÃO DA ASSIMETRIA DA INFORMAÇÃO E DA INCERTEZA DA QUALIDADE NA ESTRUTURA DE GOVERNANÇA Effects of mechanisms to reduce asymmetry of information and quality uncertainty on governance structures

The occurrence of food contamination of higher severity associated with the more competitive business environment resulted in a higher attention regarding the quality and food safety as well as the adoption of public and private mechanisms to reduce information asymmetry and uncertainty on quality of food products. The predominance of attributes of experience and belief in food raise problems of asymmetric information between agents in a transaction and allow the selling of products with different qualities at similar prices, for example, thus hampering the market’s perception about real differences of product quality. Through literature review and secondary data, this paper presents the main mechanisms that have been adopted to minimize the mentioned problems, such as state intervention, trade mark, traceability, and certification. The adoption of these practices has caused changes in the forms of coordination of transactions between the agents of agri-food systems.