Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of aging and brine injection on meat quality characteristics of the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) longissimus muscle

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the effect of wet aging and brine injection on meat quality attributes of the one-humped camel. Both longissimus thoracis muscles of eight male camels were collected; the right muscle of each carcass was used for aging (A) only where no brine (B) injection applied, and the left muscle was brine-injected with 250 mM food-grade CaCl2 at 5% (wt/wt). The aged muscles were cut into steaks, vacuum-packaged, and stored at 2°C for 3, 7, or 10 days. The injected muscles were also treated as the aged muscles. Wet aging had significant effects (p < 0.05) on the ultimate pHu , drip loss (DL), water-holding capacity (WHC), shearing force, and myofibril fragmentation index (MFI). Brine injection also significantly affected (p < 0.05) the ultimate pHu , DL, WHC, and MFI. Therefore, wet aging and brine injection could be applied in a combination to enhance the quality attributes of camel meat.
A Mathematical Analysis of an In-vivo Ebola Virus Transmission Dynamics Model

Ebola virus (EBOV) infection is a hemorrhagic and hazardous disease, which is among the most shocking threats to human health causing a large number of deaths. Currently, there are no approved curative therapies for the disease. In this study, a mathematical model for in-vivo Ebola virus transmission dynamics was analyzed. The analysis of the model mainly focused on the sensitivity of basic reproductive number, pertaining to the model parameters. Particularly, the sensitivity indices of all parameters of were computed by using the forward normalized sensitivity index method. The results showed that a slight change in the infection rate immensely influences while the same change in the production rate of the virus has the least impact on . Thus, , being a determining factor of the disease progression, deliberate control measures targeting the infection rate, the most positively sensitive parameter, are required. This implies that reducing infection rate will redirect the disease to extinction. Keywords: Ebola virus infection, immune response, sensitivity index, mathematical model.
Novel Polyaniline–Silver–Sulfur Nanotube Composite as Cathode Material for Lithium–Sulfur Battery

The preparation and characterization of a polyaniline–silver–sulfur nanotube composite were reported in this paper. The polyaniline–silver nanotube composite was synthesized via an oxidation-reduction method in the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution. After being vulcanized, the polyaniline–silver–sulfur (Poly (AN–Ag–S)) nanotube composite was prepared as active cathode material and assembled into lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries with electrolyte and negative electrode materials. When the feed ratio of raw materials (aniline and AgNO3) was 2:1, the initial specific capacity of poly (AN–Ag–S) composite cells reached 1114 mAh/g. The specific capacity was kept at 573 mAh/g, and the capacity retention rate stayed above 51% after 100 cycles. The introduction of Ag into the composite cathode material can effectively solve the poor conductivity of sulfur and improve the Li–S battery performance.
Empatía y creencias irracionales en internos por delito contra la libertad sexual de un instituto penitenciario de Lima Este

La presente investigación consiste en analizar la relación entre las variables “empatía” y “creencias irracionales. ” Su diseño es no-experimental, de corte transversal y alcance correlacional. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 127 internos de un centro penitenciario de Lima Este, cuya edad supera los 18 años y se encuentran recluidos por delitos contra la libertad sexual. Los instrumentos utilizados para la recolección de datos fueron la Escala de Reactividad Interpersonal de Davis (1980) y el Registro de Opiniones de Davis, McKay y Eshelman (1987). Los resultados pusieron en evidencia que la relación significativa inversa entre empatía y creencias irracionales de competencia absoluta y continuidad de efectos (p<0.05). No obstante, no se halló relación significativa entre empatía y las creencias irracionales de afecto y aprobación, relatividad de los actos, expectativas sociales y control externo (p>0.05). En consecuencia, se afirma que la empatía está vinculada de manera inversa a la autosuficiencia generada por la creencia de ser absolutamente competente y el inadecuado afrontamiento de experiencias del pasado.
Method to Determine the Statistical Technical Variability of SUV Parameters

Background: Some of the parameters used for the quantification of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images are the Standardized Uptake Value (SUV)Max, SUVMean and SUVPeak. In order to assess the significance of an increasing or decreasing of these parameters for diagnostic purposes it is relevant to know their standard deviation. The sources of the standard deviation can be divided in biological and technical. In this study we present a method to determine the technical variation of the SUV in PET images.Results: This method was tested on images of a NEMA quality phantom with spheres of various diameters with full-length acquisition time of 150 s per bed position and foreground to background activity ratio of F18-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) of 10:1. Our method is based on dividing the full-length 150 s acquisition into subsets of shorter time length and reconstructing the images in the subsets. The SUVMax, Mean and Peak were calculated for each reconstructed image in a subset. The coefficient of deviation of the SUV parameters within each subset has then been used to estimate the expected standard deviation between images at 150 s reconstruction length. We report the largest technical variation of the SUV parameters for the smallest sphere, and the smallest variation for the largest sphere. The expected variation at 150 s reconstruction length does not exceed 6% for the smallest sphere and 2% for the largest sphere. Conclusions: With the presented method we are able to determine the technical variation of SUV. The method enables us to evaluate the effect of parameter selection and lesion size on the technical variation, and therefore to evaluate its relevance on the total variation of the SUV value between studies.
Association of red cell distribution width with mortality in cardiac arrest patients: a retrospective analysis based on the MIMIC-IV database

Background There is a scarcity of studies that covers the relationship between the red cell distribution width (RDW) and the prognosis of cardiac arrest (CA) patients. Moreover, the prognostic value of the changes in RDW during intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization for CA patients is not investigated. This study focuses on the correlation between RDW measures at ICU admission and RDW changes during ICU hospitalization and the prognosis of CA patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study is used to collect clinical characteristics of CA patients (>18years) that are on their first admission to ICU with RDW data measured from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV database. The primary outcomes are 30- and 90-day all-cause mortality. A multivariate Cox regression model is applied to test whether the RDW represents an independent risk factor that affects the all-cause mortality of these patients. Meanwhile, the dose-response relationship between the RDW and the mortality is described by the restricted cubic spine (RCS). Results A total of 1138 adult CA patients are included in this study. Compared to the survivor group, non-survivors show higher level of RDW. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve indicates that the cumulative survival rate of CA patients at 30 and 90 days decreases gradually as the RDW on ICU admission increases (log-rank test, χ 1 2 =46.460,χ 2 2 =47.210, both p-values<0.001), and rising RDW during ICU hospitalization (ΔRDW>=0.4%) is associated with decreased the 30 and 90 days cumulative survival rates (χ 1 2 =23.700,χ 2 2 =25.390, both p-values<0.001). The multivariate Cox regression analysis shows that increasing RDW at ICU admission (≥13.89%) and rising RDW during ICU hospitalization (ΔRDW>=0.4%) are independent risk factors for death at 30- and 90-day on CA patients. RCS illustrates that there is a non-linear relationship between the RDW on ICU admission and the increased risk of mortality of CA patients at 30 (χ 1 2 =11.990, p-value=0.007) and 90 days (χ 2 2 =12.340, p-value=0.006). Conclusions Elevated RDW levels on ICU admission and rising RDW during ICU hospitalization are powerful predictors of all-cause mortality for CA patients at 30 and 90 days, and they can be used as potential clinical biomarkers to predict the bad prognosis of these patients.
Prevention and management of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in haematopoietic cell transplantation

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates in haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) recipients. Factors like mucositis, neutropenia, prolonged hospital stay, and frequent use of prophylactic antimicrobials make HCT recipients especially susceptible to CRE infections. Low culture positivity rates, delay in microbiological diagnosis, and resistance to empirical antimicrobial therapy for febrile neutropenia are responsible for high mortality rates in HCT recipients infected with CRE. In this review we discuss the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of CRE infections with particular emphasis on patients undergoing HCT. We emphasise the need for preventive strategies like multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship, and pre-emptive screening for CRE colonisation in prospective HCT patients as measures to mitigate the adverse impact of CRE on HCT outcomes. Newer diagnostic tests like polymerase chain reaction and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) assay that enable earlier and better identification of CRE isolates are discussed. Antimicrobial agents available against CRE, including newer agents like ceftazidime-avibactam and meropenem-vaborbactam, have been reviewed. We also discuss the data on promising experimental treatments against CRE: phage therapy and healthy donor faecal microbiota transplant. Finally, this review puts forth recommendations as per existing literature on diagnosis and management of CRE infections in blood and marrow transplant (BMT) unit.
Trends of oesophageal carcinoma and increasing number of young patients with oesophageal carcinoma in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Background: Oesophageal cancer (OC) is a cancer that develops in the gastrointestinal tract and is caused by a variety of circumstances. It has quite an uneven geographic distribution with male predominance and squamous cell carcinoma being most frequent type of oesophageal carcinoma in developing countries. As Pakistan lacks any proper cancer registry this study was needed to have an idea of the OC statistics in South Punjab region. Objective was to determine the prevalence of OC in the general population and in young people of South Punjab, PakistanMethods: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Two hundred and twenty-three patients who presented to Multitest lab from 2014 to 2018 were included in the study.Results: The 186 patients were positive for OC. Sixty patients were below 40 years of age. Male to female ratio was 1.24:1. Most frequent symptom was dysphagia and squamous cell carcinoma was histological subtype.Conclusions: In our study based on South Punjab region, oesophageal carcinoma has become a common condition and is more prevalent in males. It commonly involves upper oesophagus and squamous cell carcinoma is the most frequent type. It can also be concluded that it is in increasing in young population of South Punjab.
Significance of Respiratory Supercomplexes for Mitochondrial Function & Related Diseases

Mitochondrion is a membrane-enclosed organelle which functions as the power house of the eukaryotic cells. The main pathway for energy production of eukaryotic cells, oxidative phosphorylation, takes place in the inner membrane of the mitochondria, especially in the cristae. Following the intake of food molecules, pyruvate and fatty acids are oxidized in the mitochondria; whereas, the electron carrier molecules, NAD and FAD are reduced into NADH and FADH2 through the citric acid cycle, respectively. Then, these carrier molecules transfer electrons to the electron transport chain (ETC), which is located in the inner membrane of the mitochondria (IMM). In the meantime, an electrochemical gradient is formed across the IMM, which will then be employed for ATP production by ATP synthase [1]. The ETC proteins and ATP synthase exist as protein complexes in the IMM and are named as mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation complexes. However, not all mitochondrial complexes exist as individual complexes. In fact, they form supercomplexes with each other or they exist as homodimers [2]. Various supercomplex combinations of complexes I, III, and IV have been detected so far in different organisms such as yeast, plants and humans [3]. Yet, any involvement of complex II in supercomplex formation has not been detected.
Therapeutic Potential of MRGPRX2 Inhibitors on Mast Cells

Mast cells (MCs) act as primary effectors in inflammatory and allergic reactions by releasing intracellularly-stored inflammatory mediators in diseases. The two major pathways for MC activation are known to be immunoglobulin E (IgE)-dependent and -independent. Although IgE-dependent signaling is the main pathway to MC activation, IgE-independent pathways have also been found to serve pivotal roles in the pathophysiology of various inflammatory conditions. Recent studies have shown that human and mouse MCs express several regulatory receptors such as toll-like receptors (TLRs), CD48, C300a, and GPCRs, including mas-related GPCR-X2 (MRGPRX2). MRGPRX2 has been reported as a novel GPCR that is expressed in MCs activated by basic secretagogues, neurokinin peptides, host defense antimicrobial peptides, and small molecule compounds (e.g., neuromuscular blocking agents) and leads to MC degranulation and eicosanoids release under in vitro experimental condition. Functional analyses of MRGPRX2 and Mrgprb2 (mouse ortholog) indicate that MRGPRX2 is involved in MC hypersensitivity reactions causing neuroinflammation such as postoperative pain, type 2 inflammation, non-histaminergic itch, and drug-induced anaphylactic-like reactions. In this review, we discuss the roles in innate immunity through functional studies on MRGPRX2-mediated IgE-independent MC activation and also the therapeutic potential of MRGPRX2 inhibitors on allergic and inflammatory diseases.
Speculation and Price Stability Once Again

W ;HETHER speculative transactions widen or narrow the range of movement in the spot price in commodity markets and in the foreign exchange market has been extensively discussed. ' Several attempts have been made to resolve this issue empirically, generally on the presumption that if speculators have earned profits, their transactions have been stabilizing. However, theoretical attempts to resolve whether profitable speculative transactions are stabilizing or destabilizing have proved inconclusive, partly because the different models rely on different assumptions about how speculators and non-speculators behave, and one set of assumptions appears as reasonable as a set which leads to the opposite conclusion.2 This note demonstrates a technique which can be used to infer whether speculative transactions have amplified or dampened the range of movement in the spot price. This technique is direct; it avoids reference to whether speculators have earned profits. Two steps are involved in the technique-the first is a method to infer from
One-Step Formation of Reduced Graphene Oxide from Insulating Polymers Induced by Laser Writing Method

Finding a low-cost and effective method at low temperatures for producing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been the focus of many efforts in the research community for almost two decades. Overall, rGO is a promising candidate for use in supercapacitors, batteries, biosensors, photovoltaic devices, corrosion inhibitors, and optical devices. Herein, we report the formation of rGO from two electrically insulating polymers, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and meta-polybenzimidazole fiber (m-PBI), using an excimer pulsed laser annealing (PLA) method. The results from X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirm the successful generation of rGO with the formation of a multilayered structure. We investigated the mechanisms for the transformation of PTFE and PBI into rGO. The PTFE transition occurs by both a photochemical mechanism and a photothermal mechanism. The transition of PBI is dominated by a photo-oxidation mechanism and stepwise thermal degradation. After degradation and degassing procedures, both the polymers leave behind free molten carbon with some oxygen and hydrogen content. The free molten carbon undergoes an undercooling process with a regrowth velocity (<4 m·s−1) that is necessary for the formation of rGO structures. This approach has the potential for use in creating future selective polymer-written electronics.
Antimicrobial activity of Amazonian plant species against the causative agents of secondary infection in snakebites

Riverine communities in the Brazilian Amazon region use a variety of plants to treat snakebites. These plants can be effective against secondary infections, one of the main complications of snakebites. The aim of this study was to determine whether plants traditionally used to treat snakebites in the Brazilian Amazon may also have antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, and if so, which classes of chemicals may be responsible for these activities. Aqueous extracts of nine plants were tested in microdilution assays and the more active were prepared using solvents (hexane, methanol and water) and decoction, and nine assays were performed. Assays to determine the antioxidant activity of the most active species were carried out, as well as phytochemistry studies to determine the active components of this species. Bellucia dichotoma exhibited the greatest antimicrobial potential, particularly the hexane, methanol and decoction extracts. In comparative TLC, extracts of this species showed characteristics of terpenoids, compounds with double bonds and flavonoids. In 1H NMR, characteristic signals of sterols such as β-sitosterol, stigmasterols or triterpenes were observed, as well as signals indicating the presence of aromatic hydrogens, characteristic of aromatic substances, and sugars. The methanol extracts and decoction were considered active in the antioxidant assay.
Bone Deformity due to Rickets and Osteomalacia in Children and Adolescents

Rickets is a worldwide bone disease that is associated with disorders of calcium and phosphate homeostasis and can lead to short stature and joint deformities. Osteomalacia is a major metabolic bone disease that results from a chronic and severe deficiency of vitamin D or phosphate from any cause after growth has stopped. A deficiency of vitamin D or phosphate leads to defective bone mineralization and generalized or localized vague bone pain in various parts of the skeleton and / or proximal muscle weakness. Rickets and osteomalacia are two different clinical diseases with impaired bone mineralization. Rickets occurs throughout the growing skeleton in infants and children, while osteomalacia occurs in adults after fusion of the growth plates. Rickets and osteomalacia are increasingly common in Saudi Arabia, with vitamin D deficiency being the most common etiological cause. Early skeletal deformities can occur in infants, such as soft, thin skull bones, a condition known as craniotabes. In adults, as a result of demineralization, the bones become less rigid (soft bone) with pathological fractures. The diagnosis of both diseases is based on the medical history and physical examination, radiological characteristics, and biochemical tests. Management depends on the underlying etiology.
Perception of Student Life as Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being. A Study of First-Year Students in a Norwegian University

In Norway, 300,000 people attend higher education. Elsewhere in Europe, student numbers are also high. In Great Britain, 1.9 million people attended higher education in the academic year 2018–2019. This is a substantial part of the population, and the mental health and well-being of students are of prime importance. The first year as a university student is a transitional period characterized by significant changes and constitutes an essential fundament for students in their student life and later. An increasing number of students report having mental health problems to various degrees. Identifying the variety of perceptions of what may promote mental health and wellbeing is therefore of importance. This study aims to explore whether first year students in higher education perceive student life as promoting their mental health and well-being. Twenty students were interviewed (n = 20). Phenomenographic analysis was used to reveal variation in the students’ perceptions. Two descriptive categories were constructed, “The need to belong” and “The need for support,” with five conceptions: the importance of the sponsorship week, small groups as a place to belong, being patient, a supportive environment and the university as a facilitator. How a sense of belonging and a sense of support was achieved varied among the participants, and the solution for how to achieve this lies in the students themselves, the way the university organizes the programmes and how the students are met by the administration, lecturers and fellow students.
Circulating Structurally Related (-)-Epicatechin Metabolite Species and Levels after Sustained Intake of a Cocoa Powder High in Polyphenols Are Comparable to Those Achieved after a Single Dose

Background: While the bioavailability of cocoa polyphenols, particularly of the monomer (-)-epicatechin, has been investigated after a single-dose intake, the effect of sustained cocoa consumption on the metabolic profile of the structurally related (-)-epicatechin metabolites (SREMs) has not been investigated. Methods: A randomized, controlled crossover clinical trial in healthy young adults (18–40 year) was conducted to evaluate SREMs after consumption of a single-dose and after daily consumption of 1.3 g of polyphenol-rich cocoa powder for 28 days. The circulating SREMs were measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Results: Twenty subjects (eleven males and nine females) were enrolled. The SREMs concentrations increased to 1741 ± 337 nM after a single-dose and to 1445 ± 270 nM after sustained supplementation. Sulfate conjugates showed higher levels in females (p < 0.05). The epicatechin-3′-glucuronide (E3′G) and epicatechin-3′-sulfate (E3′S) were the most abundant metabolites in all subjects. A high intra-individual correlation (r = 0.72, p < 0.001) between SREMs concentrations after single-dose and sustained supplementation was observed. The antioxidant capacity of plasma did not change in response to the intervention and was not correlated with any of the SREMs. Conclusion: The individual SREMs profile and concentrations after a 28-day supplementation are comparable to those after a single dose.