Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancing activity of antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus with Shuang-Huang-Lian

Staphylococcus aureus is a major pathogen in both hospitals and the community and can cause systemic infections such as pneumonia. Multi-drug resistant strains, such as Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) are particularly worrisome. Bacterial antibiotic resistance can be attributed to various mechanisms including antibiotic inactivation. In order to reduce the development of bacterial resistance, we hypothesized that two selected traditional Chinese medicines, Shuang-Huang-Lian (SHL) and Lan-Qin, would be effective against S. aureus. In this study, we carried out the zone of inhibition determination of five antibiotics including amoxicillin, gentamicin, penicillin, clarithromycin, cefazolin and the traditional Chinese medicines SHL and Lan-Qin. The preliminary screening results showed that all the drugs except Lan-Qin exhibited antibacterial effects. Then, we conducted quantitative determination experiments to further explore the bacteriostasis of different drugs. The results of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) determination indicated that penicillin had the best inhibitory effect on bacterial growth, and clarithromycin killed all the bacteria at the lowest concentration. Also, we tested the combined effect of SHL with different antibiotics against S. aureus and calculated the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) of the antibiotics. The results showed that SHL had a synergistic effect with gentamicin as well as additive effects with penicillin and cefazolin against S. aureus by decreasing MICs of antibiotics compared with using antibiotics alone. Our study provides a reference for the clinical treatment of S. aureus infection in combination with traditional Chinese medicines.
Températures marines et précipitations sur les littoraux de l'Afrique Tropicale.

L'observation revele qu'il n'y a pas de relation simple et directe entre les temperatures de la mer et les precipitations littorales. L'enchainement des processus qui conduisent a la precipitation montre par contre qu'il existe des equations pluviogeniques differentes dictees par des conditions structurales specifiquement tropicales.
The Impact of Age on Post-Concussive Symptoms: A Comparative Study of Symptoms Related and Not Related to the Default Mode Network

The Default Mode Network is a network of connected brain regions that are active when the brain is not focused on external tasks. Minor brain injuries, such as concussions, can affect this network and manifest symptoms. We measured the correlation between the symptoms people experienced after a concussion and their age at the time the concussion occurred. We hypothesized that some symptoms, including depression, anxiety, insomnia and other sleeping problems, have a higher correlation with age than other possible symptoms. Data were collected from 133 people who had experienced concussions, as well as data from 24 healthy controls. Investigation of healthy controls via regression analysis revealed no notable or significant patterns. In concussed individuals, the incidence of sleeping problems was not correlated with the maturity of the Default Mode Network; however, there was a higher percentage of people who had a concussion between the ages of 14–16 who experienced depression, anxiety, and insomnia, as compared to other age groups and symptoms. By comparing the regression analyses, we determined that the symptoms not related to the Default Mode Network were more linearly correlated with age than symptoms related to the Default Mode Network. This phenomenon is intriguing and deserving of further research.
Analysis of professional and amateur tennis serves using computer pose detection

Incorporating computer vision and machine learning into sports is an effective and efficient way to improve players’ skills. It is often quite challenging to know specifically where a player can fix their performance just by playing or looking at videos. Advances in computer vision allow one to convert generic video imagery of a person to generate limb coordinates as a function of time and apply that to analyze the tennis serves of professionals, semi-professionals, and amateur players. We hypothesized that the overall movement of different players’ serves is similar despite their skill level, but the key difference is the timing during the serve at which their racket makes contact with the ball. We analyzed video imagery of 23 different tennis players serving, with each player having 4 to 5 serves, and generated x-y coordinates of the players’ limbs throughout the duration of the serve. We then analyzed the full dynamics of each players’ serve and identified key differences between players of varying skill level. Based only on the different timing between skill levels, we were able to determine the skill level of players from a generic video. Identifying clear differences between professional and amateur athletes can greatly improve the focus of training and technique.
DİJİTAL SÜREÇLERİN DOĞAL VE KÜLTÜREL MİRAS TURİZMİNİN GELİŞİMİNE ETKİSİ

Turizm, dünya çapında doğal ve kültürel mirasın tanıtılması ve korunmasında önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Dijitalleşmenin gelişiyle birlikte turizm endüstrisi üzerinde dönüştürücü bir etki olmuştur. Bu makalede, doğal ve kültürel miras turizmi ile dijitalleşme arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırılmış ve beraberinde getirdiği fırsatları ve zorlukları vurgulanmıştır. Dijital teknolojilerin turizm deneyiminde nasıl devrim yarattığını, erişilebilirliği nasıl artırdığını ve koruma çabalarını nasıl kolaylaştırdığı incelenmiştir. Ayrıca, miras turizminin dijitalleştirilmesiyle ilgili potansiyel riskler ve etik hususlar araştırılmıştır. Bu makale, doğal ve kültürel miras turizmi ile dijitalleşme arasındaki kesişime kapsamlı bir genel bakış sunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Doğal ve kültürel miras alanları, farklı bölgelerin eşsiz manzaralarını, tarihi eserlerini ve geleneklerini keşfetmek ve deneyimlemek isteyen turistleri uzun süredir cezbetmektedir. Teknolojideki gelişmelerin yönlendirdiği dijitalleşmenin ortaya çıkışı, turizm de dâhil olmak üzere çeşitli sektörlerde devrim yaratmıştır. Dijitalleşme ile doğal ve kültürel miras turizmi üzerindeki etkisi incelenmiş, potansiyel faydaları, zorlukları ve sonuçları keşfedilmeye çalışılmıştır. ABSTRACT Tourism plays an important role in the promotion and protection of natural and cultural heritage worldwide. With digitalization, on the tourism industry; It has had a transformative effect in terms of visitor satisfaction, informed circulation, efficiency and process facilitation. Natural and cultural heritage sites have long attracted tourists who want to explore and experience the unique landscapes, historical monuments and traditions of different regions. The emergence of digitalization driven by developments in technology has revolutionized various industries, including tourism. In this article, the relationship between natural and cultural heritage tourism and digitalization has been explored and the opportunities and challenges it brings are highlighted. Successful practices are exemplified by examining how digital technologies revolutionize the tourism experience, increase accessibility, and facilitate conservation efforts. Different perspectives have been tried to be put forward, especially on issues such as sustainability, education, visitor experience, and local economy. In addition, the potential risks and ethical considerations associated with digitizing heritage tourism are explored. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the intersection between natural and cultural heritage tourism and digitalization and is expected to shed light on specific future studies.
Landscape archaeology and remote sensing in southern Madagascar

This paper demonstrates how remote sensing can be used to aid the general approach of landscape archaeology. The methodology and results of a project attempting to elucidate links and controls between environmental change and long-term social change in southern Madagascar are outlined. Multi-seasonal Landsat TM images, SPOT panchromatic and ERS-1 SAR images are used to produce a number of outputs. These include a general landcover map, a detailed map of forest extent and type (split into primary, secondary, and regenerative), field pattern maps, and predictions of archaeological site locations based on spectral properties of known sites. From these maps it has been possible to predict possible former settlements, archaeological sites, and forests of sacred significance.
ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst

Clustering is a fundamental tool for analyzing large data sets. A rich body of work has been devoted to designing data-stream algorithms for the relevant optimization problems such as k -center, k -median, and k -means. Such algorithms need to be both time and and space efficient. In this paper, we address the problem of correlation clustering in the dynamic data stream model. The stream consists of updates to the edge weights of a graph on n nodes and the goal is to find a node-partition such that the end-points of negative-weight edges are typically in different clusters whereas the end-points of positive-weight edges are typically in the same cluster. We present polynomial-time, O ( n ⋅ polylog n ) -space approximation algorithms for natural problems that arise. We first develop data structures based on linear sketches that allow the “quality” of a given node-partition to be measured. We then combine these data structures with convex programming and sampling techniques to solve the relevant approximation problem. Unfortunately, the standard LP and SDP formulations are not obviously solvable in O ( n ⋅ polylog n ) -space. Our work presents space-efficient algorithms for the convex programming required, as well as approaches to reduce the adaptivity of the sampling.
Quantitative Soil‐Landscape Modeling for Estimating the Areal Extent of Hydromorphic Soils

The spatial distribution of hydromorphic soils across the landscape affects soil survey, broad-scale wetland identification, and ecological studies. The change from upland to wetland is frequently difficult to delineate because it often occurs along a gradual continuum. We have developed a color index, the Profile Darkness Index (PDI), to assist in making these delineations. The PDI is well correlated with the duration of saturated and reducing conditions in specific Mollisol catenas in humid regions of the north-central USA. The objective of this research was to use soil-landscape modeling techniques to relate the variation of PDI to terrain attributes that describe the flow and accumulation of water on hillslopes. Regression models that quantify the relationships between terrain attributes and PDI on a hillslope in west-central Minnesota indicate that variability in slope gradient, profile curvature, and elevation above local depression explained up to 65% of the variability in PDI. These models may be used to estimate the areal extent of hydromorphic soils using terrain attributes derived from a high-resolution (10-m resolution) digital elevation model and to quantify relationships between spatial variability of terrain attributes and of PDI. Knowledge of the terrain attributes that are statistically important according to these models, and their relative effects on PDI (e.g., as slope gradient decreases, PDI increases) may be applied to field-scale delineations of hydric soils.
ORILAM‐SOA: A computationally efficient model for predicting secondary organic aerosols in three‐dimensional atmospheric models

[1] This paper describes the aerosol model Organic Inorganic Lognormal Aerosol Model including Secondary Organic Aerosol (ORILAM-SOA) which is an extension of the lognormal aerosol dynamics model ORILAM. ORILAM-SOA consists of the original aerosol dynamics routines, a photochemical scheme able to predict SOA precursors, and an equilibrium scheme able to predict partitioning of the precursors between the gas and aerosol phases. We show that ORILAM-SOA is computationally efficient enough to be run in three-dimensional (3-D) atmospheric models. ORILAM-SOA is based on existing models. We use a numerical reduction technique to reduce the Caltech Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (CACM) and a new, fast, convergent iteration technique to increase the speed of the Model to Predict the Multiphase Partitioning of Organics (MPMPO). We compare the ORILAM-SOA to its parent models in terms of gas concentrations, aerosol concentrations, and CPU time spent during the computations. For illustrative purposes we include a 3-D simulation of SOA over southern France.
Direct test of static stress versus dynamic stress triggering of aftershocks

Aftershocks observed over time scales of minutes to months following a main shock are plausibly triggered by the static stress change imparted by the main shock, dynamic shaking effects associated with passage of seismic waves from the main shock, or a combination of the two. We design a direct test of static versus dynamic triggering of aftershocks by comparing the near‐field temporal aftershock patterns generated by aseismic and impulsive events occurring in the same source area. The San Juan Bautista, California, area is ideally suited for this purpose because several events of both types of M ∼ 5 have occurred since 1974. We find that aftershock rates observed after impulsive events are much higher than those observed after aseismic events, and this pattern persists for several weeks after the event. This suggests that, at least in the near field, dynamic triggering is the dominant cause of aftershocks, and that it generates both immediate and delayed aftershock activity.
IMPACT OF RADIOACTIVITY ON MICROORGANISMS LIVING IN MINERAL SPRINGS

Although many studies have explored the responses of living organisms or ecosystems exposed to radioelements from human activities, very few studies have focused on the characterization of microbial biodiversity and the adaptations developed in environments characterized by natural, chronic and old radioactivity. Radioactive mineral springs are insulated ecosystems that have barely evolved in the last centuries. They therefore offer exceptional windows on the history of life on earth. Within the framework of the TIRAMISU project (biodiversiTy In RAdioactive MIneral Springs of the aUvergne region), biologists, ecologists, geologists, physicists, radiochemists and sociologists explore if and how natural ionizing radiation can be an “abiotic driver” impacting the diversity and structuring of microbial communities in food webs exposed to this radiation for long periods.
Spatial and Temporal Changes in Sedimentary Processes at Proglacial Bear Lake, Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada

Lacustrine sedimentary processes are identified on an intra-annual scale at proglacial Bear Lake, Devon Island. Stage recorders, recording thermistors, sediment traps, and underflow monitoring equipment were deployed during the 1999 melt season. Episodic proximal turbidity currents were measured as positive near-bottom temperature anomalies and currents. The timing of individual positive temperature anomalies was clearly associated with diurnal peaks of discharge into the lake. During the period of 23 to 25 July, continuous underflow occurred, which preceded a large discharge event by about 24 h. Sediment traps placed throughout the lake recorded sediment accumulation rates from 16 June to 4 August. An extremely large precipitation event occurred on 29 June, when coarse, carbonate-rich sediment was deposited in front of a secondary tributary by spatially limited turbidity currents. A niveo-eolian deposit was observed on the lake ice, and sediment traps were deployed under this area. Mass accumulation rates in these traps locally overwhelmed fluvially generated sedimentation. This sediment was dominantly sand, which quickly melted through the lake ice and hastened the date of localized break-up.
What’s Next? Advances and Challenges in Understanding How Environmental Predictability Shapes the Development of Cognitive Control

Forming predictions about what will happen next in the world happens early in development, without instruction, and across species. Some environments support more accurate predictions. These more predictable environments also support what appear to be positive developmental trajectories, including increases in cognitive control over thoughts and actions. Such consequences of predictable environments have broad-reaching implications for society and have been explained across ecological, psychological, computational, and neural frameworks. However, many challenges remain in understanding the effects of environmental predictability, including adaptive responses to unpredictable environments and the mechanisms underlying the effects of predictable environments on developmental trajectories. Future work addressing different dimensions of predictability—across timescales, locations, actions, people, and outcomes—and their interactions will advance the ability to understand, predict, and support developmental trajectories.
Reducing PMA-induced COX-2 expression using a herbal formulation in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is the inducible form of a group of enzymes that catalyze the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins. This isoform is often overexpressed in breast cancer cells. COX-2 overexpression correlates with an aggressive phenotype in breast cancer, including higher histological grade, larger tumor size, estrogen receptor (ER) negativity, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)/neu positivity. Another study, via molecular, animal, and human investigations, supported that COX-2 expression increases as cancer develops, getting progressively worse during the metastatic phase through the release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Traditional medicine or herbal compounds have been gaining increasing popularity for alternative treatment for cancer alone and in conjunction with treatments. Green tea and turmeric are famous for their numerous beneficial effects on the body, including anti-oxidative, chemo-preventive, chemo-protective, anti-inflammatory properties. COX-2 expression was induced using phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). This study tested the effect of the herbal formulation HF1 (mainly composed of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and curcumin) on the COX-2 mRNA levels in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. We hypothesized that PMA-induced overexpression of COX-2 in MCF7 cells would be eliminated after exposure to HF1. PMA increased COX-2 levels by 3-fold as compared to the untreated MCF-7 culture (no PMA, no HF1). However, when cells were treated with HF1 alongside PMA, we observed a 60% decrease in COX-2 levels.
Microlearning as an Alternative Teaching Model: Influence of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean

The article focuses on the use of Microlearning as an educational response during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. It highlights how Microlearning, which consists of breaking down educational content into small, easy-to-understand units, has become an important trend. During the confinement, education systems adapted traditional methods to provide educational content in Microlearning format. Social networks played a crucial role in the delivery of microcontent and collaboration among students. Teachers’ roles varied, but their ability to manage technology was essential. Digital infrastructure also influenced the success of Microlearning. The most relevant keywords are Microlearning, COVID-19, Distance education and social networks.
Antibacterial activity of Clove Syzygium aromaticum L. and synergism with antibiotics against multidrug-resistant uropathogenic E. coli

Relevance. Urinary tract infections pose a growing threat to humanity due to the rise of antibiotic resistance in uropathogens. Exploring natural sources for alternative treatments has become a prominent approach. The aim of the research was to investigate the antibacterial effects of clove (Syzygium aromaticum L.) against uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). Materials and Methods. The research was performed on three clinical multidrug-resistant uropathogenic E. coli isolates and E. coli ATCC 25922. Clove hydroalcoholic extract was obtained by cold maceration technique. To evaluate the antibacterial activity of the extract, agar well diffusion method was performed. Minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations of the extract were determined by microbroth dilution method. Light microscopy was used to investigate morphological changes in uropathogenic E. coli after exposure to clove extract. Checkerboard assay was used to assess synergism between clove extract and antibiotics. All obtained data were statistically processed. Results and Discussion. In well diffusion method, bacterial responses to clove extract were concentration-dependent with inhibition zone diameter of 7-10/10-15 mm for uropathogenic strains and E. coli ATCC 25922, respectively. Minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations of clove extract against uropathogenic strains were 25 mg/mL. The extract showed a lower minimum inhibitory concentration against E. coli ATCC 25922 (6.25 mg/ mL) with minimum bactericidal concentration being 25 mg/mL. Minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations ratio showed that clove extract tends to be bactericidal agent. Synergy test revealed that the combination of clove extract and nitrofurantoin or ciprofloxacin resulted in no interaction. However, minimum inhibitory concentrations of all tested agents in combinations exhibited varying degrees of decrease. Incubation of uropathogenic strains with the extract transformed them to unstable spherical L-form in percentage of 96-99 %. Conclusion. This study highlights clove as a potential natural antibacterial agent against multidrug-resistant uropathogenic E. coli, warranting further investigations into its antibacterial properties.
Unveiling the nongenomic actions of thyroid hormones in adult mammalian brain: The legacy of Mary B. Dratman

A comprehensive review was conducted to compile the contributions of Mary B. Dratman and studies by other researchers in the field of nongenomic actions of thyroid hormones in adult mammalian brain. Dratman and her collaborators authored roughly half of the papers in this area. It has been almost fifty years since Dratman introduced the novel concept of thyroid hormones as neurotransmitters for the first time. The characterization of unique brain-region specific accumulation of thyroid hormones within the nerve terminals in adult mammals was a remarkable contribution by Dratman. It suggested a neurotransmitter- or neuromodulator-like role of thyroid hormone and/or its derivative, 3-iodothyronamine within adrenergic systems in adult mammalian brain. Several studies by other researchers using synaptosomes as a model system, have contributed to the concept of direct nongenomic actions of thyroid hormones at synaptic regions by establishing that thyroid hormones or their derivatives can bind to synaptosomal membranes, alter membrane functions including enzymatic activities and ion transport, elicit Ca2+/NO-dependent signaling pathways and induce substrate-protein phosphorylation. Such findings can help to explain the physiological and pathophysiological roles of thyroid hormone in psychobehavioral control in adult mammalian brain. However, the exact mode of nongenomic actions of thyroid hormones at nerve terminals in adult mammalian brain awaits further study.