Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biomimetic electrospun nanofibrous scaffold for tissue engineering: preparation, optimization by design of experiments (DOE), in-vitro and in-vivo characterization

Electrospinning is a versatile method for fabrication of précised nanofibrous materials for various biomedical application including tissue engineering and drug delivery. This research is aimed to fabricate the PVP/PVA nanofiber scaffold by novel electrospinning technique and to investigate the impact of process parameters (flow rate, voltage and distance) and polymer concentration/solvent combinations influence on properties of electrospun nanofibers. The in-vitro and in-vivo degradation studies were performed to evaluate the potential of electrospun PVP/PVA as a tissue engineering scaffold. The solvents used for electrospinning of PVP/PVA nanofibers were ethanol and 90% acetic acid, optimized with central composite design via Design Expert software. NF-2 and NF-35 were selected as optimised nanofiber formulation in acetic acid and ethanol, and their characterization showed diameter of 150–400 nm, tensile strength of 18.3 and 13.1 MPa, respectively. XRD data revealed the amorphous nature, and exhibited hydrophilicity (contact angles: 67.89° and 58.31° for NF-2 and NF-35). Swelling and in-vitro degradability studies displayed extended water retention as well as delayed degradation. FTIR analysis confirmed solvent-independent interactions. Additionally, hemolysis and in-vitro cytotoxicity studies revealed the non-toxic nature of fabricated scaffolds on RBCs and L929 fibroblast cells. Subcutaneous rat implantation assessed tissue response, month-long biodegradation, and biocompatibility through histological analysis of surrounding tissue. Due to its excellent biocompatibility, this porous PVP/PVA nanofiber has great potential for biomedical applications.
Spinal anesthesia in elective lumbar spinal surgery

Spinal anesthesia (SA) is gaining recognition as a safe and efficacious regional alternative to general anesthesia for elective lumbar surgery. However, unfamiliarity with management issues related to its use has limited the adoption of awake spine surgery, despite its benefits. Few centers in the United States routinely offer SA for elective lumbar surgery, and a comprehensive workflow to standardize SA for lumbar surgery is lacking. In this article, we examine recent literature on the use of SA in lumbar surgery, review the experience of our institution with SA in lumbar surgery, and provide a cohesive outline to streamline the implementation of SA from the perspective of the anesthesiologist. We review the critical features of SA in contemporary lumbar surgery, including selection of patients, methods of SA, intraoperative sedation, and management of several important technical considerations. We aimed to flatten the learning curve to improve the availability and accessibility of the technique for eligible patients.
Development of an Evaluation Method of the Queen conch (Strombus gigas) Resources in Guadeloupe and Application to Eight Marine Sites in the Archipelago

The queen conch (Strombus gigas) is an intensively exploited species all over the Caribbeans and particularly in the Guadeloupian archipelago. Considering the local economical importance of this species and the threats on the regional stock, the Regional Fisheries Committee is initiating a study aiming to achieve a first assessment of the Guadeloupian stock variation. A simple methodology allowing the evaluation of the densities of the queen conch using an underwater towed camera was developed in order to be freed from logistical and financial diving constraints. This first step allowed us to operate the settlings of this method through a first estimation of stocks densities in eight sites, from the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin to Marie Galante. This protocol offers the advantage of sampling large surfaces in reasonable time and for a moderate cost. The experimental average density was estimated about 37.52 conches/ha, with a minimum of 12.9 conches/ha and a maximum of 65.1 conches/ha, for a total sampled surface of 47,700 m². The study reveals that large areas are needed to evaluate the state of this resource whose distribution is very dynamic and heterogeneous. This reliable and easily implemented method is strictly necessary to estimate the exploitable stock of Queen conches on a large scale and at every depth it could be found. This process will be applied to the evaluation of the stocks of Queen conches in the archipelago, and more broadly applied to the monitoring of other exploited resources. It was first applied for the determination of the initial state of a bay of Marie Galante, which will be the site of a future fishing reserve project.
Limnological Study of Asan Wetland in Relation to Water Quality in Doon Valley, Uttarakhand, India

Asan wetland is one of the biodiversity hotspot and ecologically sensitive habitat in Doon valley and this important Bird Area has been notified as an 'Asan Conservation Reserve' in Uttarakhand, India. Its water is used for drinking, irrigation, boating and recreation. In view of the above, an attempt was made to study certain limnological parameters to assess the nutrient status for its suitability from ecological point of view, drinking and irrigation purpose. The limnological parameters were seasonally examined following standard methods. Total 72 water samples were collected from eight sampling stations. Study revealed that most of the parameters were in the limit of standard except some parameters like BOD and COD (higher in monsoon season). NO 3 - and PO 4 3- were found higher which can cause eutrophication in the water body. The wetland water was found to be slightly alkaline (pH 7.6) except in monsoon season and moderately hard (122.4 mg/l). Physico-chemical parameters indicate prevalence of good quality of water except in monsoon season in Asan wetland.
Odor and odorous chemical emissions from animal buildings: Part 2. odor emissions

This study was an add-on project to the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS) and focused on comprehensive measurement of odor emissions considering variations in seasons, animal types, and olfactometry laboratories. Odor emissions from four of 14 NAEMS sites with nine barns/rooms (two dairy barns at the WI5B and IN5B sites, two pig finishing rooms at IN3B, and two sow gestation barns and a farrowing room at the IA4B site) were measured during four 13-week cycles. Odor emissions were reported per barn area (OU h-1 m-2), head (OU h-1 head-1), and animal unit (OU h-1 AU-1). The highest overall odor emission rates were measured in summer (1.2 × 105 OU h-1 m-2, 3.5 × 105 OU h-1 head-1, and 6.2 × 105 OU h-1 AU-1), and the lowest rates were measured in winter (2.5 × 104 OU h-1 m-2, 9.1 × 104 OU h-1 head-1, and 1.5 × 105 OU h-1 AU-1). The highest ambient odor concentrations and barn odor emissions were measured from the sow gestation barns of the IA4B site, which had unusually high H2S concentrations. The most intense odor and the least pleasant odor were also measured at this site. The overall odor emission rates of the pig finishing rooms at IN3B were lower than the emission rates of the IA4B sow gestation barns. The lowest overall barn odor emission rates were measured at the IN5B dairy barns. However, the lowest ambient odor concentrations were measured at the ventilation inlets of the WI5B dairy barns.
Diagnostic Potential of GeneXpert MTB/RIF Assay For Mycobacterium bovis Infection in Cattle

ycobacterium bovis ( M. bovis ) is a bacterium that causes bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle, and can infect humans. Accurate diagnosis of M. bovis infection is crucial for disease control in animals and in turn, protects people from getting the infection. This study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the so-called GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay in detecting M. bovis in the samples collected from cattle suspects. A retrospective study was conducted, including 50 dairy cows with a history of bTB. The GeneXpert technique, direct microscopy, and sample cultivation were carried out in parallel on all the samples to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of each. GeneXpert showed higher positivity rates compared to the culture. Out of the examined 50 cattle lymph nodes from different slaughtered animals, 30 were GeneXpert-positive, and culture-positive, while 20 were GeneXpert-negative, and culture-negative. The performance of GeneXpert on animal lymph node samples demonstrated reliable detection capabilities. The study highlights the diagnostic potential of GeneXpert in detecting M. bovis infection, and its usefulness in diagnosing and monitoring infections in animal populations. GeneXpert offers improved sensitivity compared to conventional methods, and can aid in the
Accurately identifying hemagglutinin using sequence information and machine learning methods

Introduction Hemagglutinin (HA) is responsible for facilitating viral entry and infection by promoting the fusion between the host membrane and the virus. Given its significance in the process of influenza virus infestation, HA has garnered attention as a target for influenza drug and vaccine development. Thus, accurately identifying HA is crucial for the development of targeted vaccine drugs. However, the identification of HA using in-silico methods is still lacking. This study aims to design a computational model to identify HA. Methods In this study, a benchmark dataset comprising 106 HA and 106 non-HA sequences were obtained from UniProt. Various sequence-based features were used to formulate samples. By perform feature optimization and inputting them four kinds of machine learning methods, we constructed an integrated classifier model using the stacking algorithm. Results and discussion The model achieved an accuracy of 95.85% and with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.9863 in the 5-fold cross-validation. In the independent test, the model exhibited an accuracy of 93.18% and with an area under the ROC curve of 0.9793. The code can be found from https://github.com/Zouxidan/HA_predict. git. The proposed model has excellent prediction performance. The model will provide convenience for biochemical scholars for the study of HA.
Human dimensions in Iberian wolf management in Portugal: attitudes and beliefs of interest groups and the public toward a fragmented wolf population

Most studies on wolves in Portugal have focused on biological issues although wolf management tends to be more socio-political in nature than biological. This is the first study of human dimensions in wolf management in Portugal. Understanding attitudes and knowledge about wolves and identifying the key issues of wolf management in the opinion of some interest groups (livestock owners, hunters, students, local residents, biologists, environmental NGOs, and members of the governmental Institute for the Conservation of Nature) that may have an important role in wolf management in Portugal were the main goals of this study. Attitudes of most groups are neutral but local residents are either negative or positive; knowledge is consistently low. All groups are willing to participate in wolf management decision-making, and they mention the presence of feral dogs, wolf poaching, poor wolf habitat, lack of environmental education programs, and lack of biological data as the most important issues. This study sets the direction for future public involvement processes at both the regional and national scale.
An epidemiological study of cryptosporidiosis at the wildlife/livestock/human interface in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

36 INTRODUCTION . 36 MATERIALS& METHODS . 39 STUDY AREA . 39 ETHICS STATEMENT . 40 SAMPLING . 41 QUESTIONNAIRE . 42 DNA EXTRACTION . 43 CRYPTOSPORIDIUM GENOTYPING AT THE 18s rRNA LOCUS . 43 SEQUENCE ANALYSIS. 43 RESULTS . 44 CONTACT BETWEEN CATTLE AND WILDLIFE . 44 CRYPTOSPORIDIUM GENOTYPING . 46 DISCUSSION . 47 © University of Pretoria ix CHAPTER 5: PREVALENCE, GENOTYPES AND RISK FACTORS OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM INFECTION IN CHILDREN AND CALVES AT THE LIVESTOCK AND HUMAN INTERFACE OF THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA . 52 ABSTRACT . 53 INTRODUCTION . 53 MATERIALS& METHODS . 56 STUDY SITE . 56 ETHICS STATEMENT . 57 SAMPLING COLLECTION . 57 LABORATORY ANALYSIS . 58 DNA EXTRACTION . 59 CRYPTOSPORIDIUM AMPLIFICATION AND GENOTYPING AT THE 18s rRNA LOCUS . 59 CRYPTOSPORIDIUM AMPLIFICATION AND SEQUENCING OF THE GP60 GENE . 59 STATISTAL ANALYSIS . 60 RESULTS . 60 CHILDREN . 60 CALVES . 63 DISCUSSION . 65 CHAPTER 6: GENERAL DISCUSSION . 69 PREVALENCE OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM INFECTION IN WILDLIFE, CATTLE AND HUMANS . 70 PREVALENCE IN WILDLIFE . 70 PREVALENCE IN CATTLE . 72 PREVALENCE IN HUMANS . 73 DIAGNOSTIC TESTS. 74 DIAGNOSTIC TESTS IN WILDLIFE . 75 DIAGNOSTIC TESTS IN CATTLE . 79 DIAGNOSTIC TESTS IN HUMANS . 80 SEASONALITY . 81 SEASONALITY IN HUMANS . 81 SEASONALITY IN ANIMALS . 81 © University of Pretoria x ZOONOTIC IMPORTANCE OF CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS . 83 POTENTIAL SOURCES OF INFECTION AND ROUTES OF TRANSMISSION AT THE WILDLIFE/LIVESTOCK/HUMAN INTERFACE . 84 CONCLUSION . 86 FINDINGS WITH RESPECT TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS . 87 LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY . 88 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH . 89 REFERENCES . 90 APPENDIX 1: ENTEROCYTOZOON BIENEUSI AT THE WILDLIFE/LIVESTOCK INTERFACE OF THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA . 100 © University of Pretoria
Determination of antimicrobial resistance profile of Salmonella enteritidis isolated from chicken and human in Indonesia

Salmonella enteritidis, a foodborne pathogen, can be transmitted to humans through direct contact with infected livestock or consumption of contaminated chicken food. The excessive use of antibiotic in both animals and humans can lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. The profile of antibiotic resistance was identified by this study. A total of 52 S. enteritidis isolates were tested for antibiotic susceptibility in the Research Center for Veterinary Science of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). These isolates were obtained from various source, including chickens (41 isolates), feed (2 isolates) farm water (2 isolates), and humans (7 isolates). The Antimicrobial Sensitivity Test (AST)was performed using the agar diffusion technique (Kirby-Bauer method). The results revealed that S. enteritidis exhibited resistance to 11 antibiotics. The highest resistance rates were observed for Colistine sulphate (75%), Meropenem (67.31%), and Nalidixic acid (67.31%). Other antibiotics to which resistance was observed included Cefotaxime (65.38%), Ampicillin (61.54%), Ceftazidime (50%), Streptomycin (26.92%), Gentamycin (15.38%), Tetracycline (9.62%), Chloramphenicol (5.77%), and Ciprofloxacin (1,92%). It was found that the S. enteritidis isolates were multi-drug resistant, with 73,08% of the isolates showing resistance to 1-5 antibiotics, and 26,92% displaying resistance to 6-10 antibiotics. These findings indicate that the local isolates of S. enteritidis obtained from chickens and humans in this study exhibited resistance to the tested antibiotics, potentially attributed to antibiotic therapy or the spread of resistant strains.
Forecasting Groundwater Level Based on WNM with GA

An improved wavelet network model (WNM) which combined with genetic algorithm (GA) to forecast groundwater level is proposed. GA is used to determine the weights and parameters of WNM, which can avoid encountering the curse of dimensionality and overcome the shortage in the responding speed and learning ability brought about by the traditional models. Compared to WNM, our results show that the GA-WNM predictor can reduce significantly both relative mean errors and root mean squared errors of predicted groundwater level. We demonstrate the feasibility of applying GA-WNM in groundwater level prediction and prove that GA-WNM is applicable and performs well for groundwater data analysis.
Quantification of β-asarone content in Acorus calamus L., an aromatic medicinal plant from the Western Ghats

Acorus calamus L. , is an aromatic medicinal plant, widely used in the traditional and modern system of medicine for the treatment of neurological and metabolic disorders. High occurrence of β-asarone in the rhizome of A. calamus limits its usage in medicinal preparations due to its toxic and carcinogenic properties. The objective of the study was to collect A. calamus accessions growing in the different agroclimatic conditions from the Western Ghats and quantify the β-asarone content. A total of 20 different accessions of A. calamus were collected from the Western Ghats and subjected to RP-HPLC analysis. Variations in the β-asarone content (1.35±0.00 mg/g to 71.54±0.00 mg/g) was observed in the collected accessions. The lowest β-asarone content (1.35±0.00 mg/g) was observed in the accession collected from Vattavada region (Idukki dist.) followed by the accession collected from Nelliyampathy region, Palakkad (5.54±0.00 mg/g). The highest β-asarone content (71.54±0.01 mg/g) was observed in the accession collected from Kalpetta. The present study identified an elite accession of A. calamus with less β-asarone content (1.35±0.00 mg/g) from Vattavada. It could be a most promising raw material that can impart standard quality for medicinal purposes and preparation of polyherbal formulations.
Regional high‐resolution cloud climatology based on MODIS cloud detection data

Most satellite cloud climatologies come in the form of global, low‐resolution datasets: so‐ called ‘gridded’ Level 3 products, resulting from the reprojection and spatio‐temporal aggregation of swath (Level 2) data. Their coarse resolution means that global datasets are of limited usefulness in regional studies. In this paper we develop and evaluate a new, regional cloud climatology over Poland and its neighbouring countries (∼10% of the area covered by Europe), based on observations performed with the state‐of‐the‐art cloud imager, the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS). In contrast to the operational, global MODIS cloud climatology, which is delivered as a Level 3 product at a spatial resolution of 1° × 1°, this regional climatology maintains the MODIS nadir spatial resolution of 1 km/pixel. The resulting high‐spatial‐resolution climatology is compared with AVHRR and SEVIRI datasets, and surface‐based (SYNOP) observations at the level of monthly and annual means. The results shows that the standard MODIS Level 2 cloud mask product MOD35/MYD35 can be successfully used to develop a regional, high‐resolution cloud climatology. MODIS provides reliable estimates of cloud amount at the national scale (annual mean: 64.0% or 70.8%, depending on the MODIS data interpretation scheme), and correctly reproduces the annual cloud amount cycle (correlation between monthly means with SEVIRI/AVHRR >0.98). A comparison with monthly mean surface observations reveals a bias ranging from −1.1% up to 5.9%, and a root mean square error of 4.2% − 6.6%. MODIS data also correctly indicates the spatial distribution of clouds. However, local anomalies were detected that were identified as artifacts of the MODIS cloud detection algorithm. Those artifacts covered 9% of the study area, but had no impact on spatially‐averaged metrics.
Approximate Optimal Robust Tracking Control Based on State Error and Derivative Without Initial Admissible Input

In this article, a robust tracking control (RTC) problem based on adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) is studied. A cost function based on the state error and derivative is used. A policy iteration (PI) algorithm that can converge is proposed to approximate the solution of the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) gradually, and the feasibility of the cost function is verified. Since there is no steady-state quadratic term $u^{T}\mathcal {R}u$ in the integrated part of the cost function, the boundedness of the cost function can be guaranteed without the discount factor. Unlike traditional ADP based on the discount cost function, it is theoretically proven that the error system can be asymptotically stable if the control input and cost function are iterated to optimal values. Because the error derivative is directly optimized, the excessive change of the error is suppressed. A critic neural network (NN) is used to approximate the optimal cost function. Considering the optimal gradient descent direction of the approximation error, an approximate optimal RTC algorithm without initial admissible input is derived. The difficulties of stability analysis caused by using the error derivative cost function are solved. The PI algorithm is proved to be converged and the error signal is proved to be uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB). Finally, the algorithm is verified to be effective via simulation.
A Three-link Gravity-balanced Mechanism for Operating Room Assistance

The compensation of gravity is not a new problem and gravity-balanced mechanisms have been extensively studied. Some of these studies present practical applications of the gravity-balanced mechanisms, while others focus on the theoretical modelling of the mechanism. In this study, a practical application, a gravity-balanced planar robotic manipulator for operating room assistance is presented. In this design, an auxiliary parallelogram with two linear springs is utilized to accomplish gravity compensation. As a passive gravity-balanced mechanism, it does not have any actuators. The novelty of the mechanism is the exchangeable end-effector and changeable spring attachment location accordingly. The simulation results show that the designed mechanism is gravity-balanced in all configurations. The presented mechanism in this study can also be extended to solve a multi-link gravity balance problem.
Determinantes sociodemográficos y nivel de actividad física en la población de la provincia de Jaén mayor de 18 años Sociodemographic determinants and level of physical activity in the population of the province of Jaen over 18 years old

The purpose of this study is to analyze the level of physical activity (PA) of adults in the province of Jaen. The participants were 281 men (age = 44.33 ± 19.31 years) and 350 women (age = 41.68 ± 19.61 years) who were divided into six age groups: 18-29 years old, 30-39 years old, 40- 49 years old, 50-59 years old, 60-69 years old and above 70 years old. Random sampling and clustering was performed considering sex and different regions of the province of Jaen. To analyze PA, the long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used and, also, a sociodemographic questionnaire designed ad hoc for this research. The percentage of low PA in the total sample was 69.4%. Men showed lower percentages of low PA and greater percentages of high PA. By age groups, the above 70 years group showed greater percentages of low PA and lower percentages of high PA, while the 50-59 years group manifested lower percentages of low PA and greater percentages of high PA. Subjects with university studies showed lower percentages of low PA and greater percentages of high PA. In conclusion, the residents of the province of Jaen have a high prevalence of low PA, women, people who do not practice any sport and people without university studies are particularly vulnerable.
Binaryware: A High-Performance Digital Hardware Accelerator for Binary Neural Networks

Binary neural networks (BNNs) largely reduce the memory footprint and computational complexity, so they are gaining interests on various mobile applications. In the BNNs, the first layer often accounts for the largest part of the entire computing time because the layer usually uses multi-bit multiplications. However, traditional hardware designed for BNN computing focuses primarily on the rest layers, resulting in significant performance degradation. In this brief, we introduce Binaryware architecture which achieves the high-performance computation on both the first and rest layers. Experimental results show that our Binaryware improves the throughput per compute area by 1.5– $13.3\times $ on various BNN workloads.