Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbial water quality and health risk assessment in karst springs from Apuseni Mountains, Romania

In Apuseni Mountains (North-Western Romania), many of the inhabitants live in rural communities with limited or no access to the centralized and controlled water supply. This study assesses the microbiological quality of six karst spring waters from Bihor County used by rural communities as drinking water sources. Twenty-four water samples collected in January, April, June, and November 2021 were analyzed for E. coli, total coliforms, intestinal enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and heterotrophic plate count at 37 and 22°C. Standard microbiological methods based on the membrane filter technique or pour plate method were used for the microbiological characterization of the spring waters. The study revealed that the karst springs from the studied area present microbiological contamination. The microbiological parameters for five out of the six studied spring waters exceeded the maximum limits allowed by the 98/83/EC Directive. Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment estimated the risk of gastrointestinal illness for both adults and children due to the enteropathogenic E. coli contamination. According to the health risk evaluation model, the risk of infection/day and the risk of infection/year were high, with the maximum values of 0.24 and 1.00, respectively. The probability of illness caused by E. coli contamination of water ranged between 0.09 and 0.35 for five out of six groundwater sources. The local communities using the contaminated springs are exposed to daily and accumulated health threats. Therefore, preventive measures accompanied by continuous monitoring are necessary mainly for those water sources that are critical drinking water sources for the rural communities.
Opium abuse and stroke in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Opium dependence is a significant health concern in low and middle-income countries, leading to a considerable number of deaths annually. Opium has several detrimental effects on its consumers. Data regarding the impact of opium on stroke are controversial. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between opium dependence and stroke. Methods I conducted a systematic search based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to evaluate the association between opium dependence and stroke. Following the extraction of qualitative findings from included studies, a meta-analysis was performed to assess the pooled estimate of odds ratios (ORs). Results Eight and four studies were included in qualitative and quantitative synthesis, respectively. Opium dependence increases the hazard of stroke mortality. Also, opium increases the odds of ischemic stroke by 127% (pooled OR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.47–3.07). Conclusion Opium not only merely increases the odds of being diagnosed with ischemic stroke but also leads to a notable increase in the mortality rate following stroke.
Neuroprotective and therapeutic effects of calcitriol in rotenone-induced Parkinson’s disease rat model

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Treatment of PD is challenging, as current treatment strategies are only symptomatic and do not stop disease development. Recent studies reported neuroprotective effects of calcitriol in PD through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The exact pathomechanisms of PD are not yet fully understood. So, investigation of different molecular pathways is challenging. Sirtuin-1 (Sirt1) modulates multiple physiological processes, including programmed cell death, DNA repair, and inflammation. Furthermore, defective autophagy is considered a key pathomechanism in PD as it eliminates protein aggregation and dysfunctional cell organelles. The present study investigated the involvement of autophagy and Sirt1/NF-κB molecular pathway in rotenone-induced PD and explored the protective and restorative effects of calcitriol through these mechanisms. Therefore, behavioral tests were used to test the effect of calcitriol on motor disability and equilibrium. Furthermore, the histological and neuronal architecture was assessed. The expression of genes encoding neuroinflammation and autophagy markers was determined by qPCR while their protein levels were determined by Western blot analysis and immune-histochemical staining. Our results indicate that behavioral impairments and dopaminergic neuron depletion in the rotenone-induced PD model were improved by calcitriol administration. Furthermore, calcitriol attenuated rotenone-induced neuroinflammation and autophagy dysfunction in PD rats through up-regulation of Sirt1 and LC3 and down-regulation of P62 and NF-κB expression levels. Thus, calcitriol could induce a neuro-protective and restorative effect in the rotenone-induced PD model by modulating autophagy and Sirt1/NF-κB pathway.
Herd level economic comparison between the shape of the lactation curve and 305 d milk production

Herd milk production performance is generally evaluated using the herd's average 305-day milk production (HM305). Economic comparisons between herds are also often made using HM305. Comparing herds is thus based on summarized milk production, and not on the form of the lactation curves of the cows within the herd. Cow lactation curve characteristics can be aggregated on a calendar year basis to herd lactation curve characteristics (HLCC) (herd magnitude, herd time to peak yield and herd persistency). Thus far, no literature has evaluated whether the shape of the lactation curve (described by HLCC) is better able to explain the economic variation of herds than summarized milk production such as HM305 does. This study aims to determine whether HM305 or HLCC is better able to explain the variation in economic performance between herds. To do so, we evaluated 8 years of Dutch longitudinal data on milk production and the financial accounts of 1,664 herds. Cow lactation curve characteristics were calculated through lactation curve modeling and aggregated to HLCC on a calendar year basis for two parity groups (primiparous cows and multiparous cows). Using income over feed cost per cow (IOFC-cow) or per 100 kg milk (IOFC-milk) as the dependent variable separately, we developed four linear mixed models. Two models were used to analyse the association between herd economic performance and HLCC; the other two models were used to analyse the association between herd economic performance and HM305. A Cox test and J test were used to compare two non-nested models to investigate whether HM305 or HLCC better explain IOFC. The average IOFC-cow was €2,305 (SD = 408) per year, while the average IOFC-milk was €32.1 (SD = 4.6). Results showed that HLCC and HM305 explain the same amount of variance of IOFC-cow or IOFC-milk. IOFC-cow was associated with HM305 and HLCC (except herd time to peak yield for primiparous cows). Herd magnitude was most strongly associated with IOFC-cow, followed by herd persistency and herd time to peak yield of multiparous cows. IOFC-milk was not associated with HM305 or HLCC (except for a weak negative association with herd persistency for primiparous cows). IOFC-cow and IOFC-milk were driven most by time effects. In conclusion, HLCC and HM305 explain the same amount of variance in IOFC-cow or IOFC-milk. HLCC is more computationally expensive, while HM305 is more readily available.
Transition Matrix, Poisson Bracket for gravitational solitons in the dressing formalism

The Hamiltonian methods of the theory of solitons are applied to gravisolitons in the dressing formalism. The Poisson bracket for the Lie-algebra valued one-form $A(\varsigma, \eta, \gamma)=\Psi_{,\gamma}\Psi^{-1}$, for gravisolitons in the dressing formalism, for a specific background solution, is defined and computed, agreeing with results previously obtained. A transition matrix ${\cal T}=A(\varsigma, \eta, \gamma) A^{-1}(\eta, \xi, -\gamma)$ for $A$ is defined relating $A$ at ingoing and outgoing light cones. It is proved that it satisfies equations familiar from integrable pde's with the role of time played by the null coordinate $\eta$. This is a new result mathematically, since there has not been a transition matrix for $A$ in the litterature, while physically it presents the possibility of obtaining integrals of motion (for appropriate boundary conditions), from the trace of the derivative with respect to the null coordinate $\eta$, of ${\cal T}$, in terms of classical relativity connections, since $A(\gamma = \pm 1)$ can be expressed in a simple way in terms of the classical Christoffel symbols. This may prove of use upon quantization since connections are fundamental variables of quantum gravity. The roles of $\eta$ and $\varsigma $ may be reversed to obtain integrals of motion for $\varsigma$, thus $\varsigma$ playing the role of time. This ties well with the two-time interpretation and approach already established before.
Dynamic functional connectivity estimation for neurofeedback emotion regulation paradigm with simultaneous EEG-fMRI analysis

Joint Analysis of EEG and fMRI datasets can bring new insight into brain mechanisms. In this paper, we employed the recently introduced Correlated Coupled Tensor Matrix Factorization (CCMTF) method for analysis of the emotion regulation paradigm based on EEG frontal asymmetry neurofeedback in the alpha frequency band with simultaneous fMRI. CCMTF method assumes that the co-variations of the common dimension (temporal dimension) between EEG and fMRI are correlated and not necessarily identical. The results of the CCMTF method suggested that EEG and fMRI had similar covariations during the transition of brain activities from resting states to task (view and upregulation) states and these covariations followed an increasing trend. The fMRI shared spatial component showed activations in the limbic system, DLPFC, OFC, and VLPC regions, which were consistent with the previous studies and were linked to EEG frequency patterns in the range of 1–15 Hz with a correlation value close to 0.75. The estimated regions from the CCMTF method were then used as the candidate nodes for dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) analysis, in which the changes in connectivity from view to upregulation states were examined. The results of the dFC analysis were compared with a Normalized Mutual information (NMI) based approach in two different frequency ranges (1–15 and 15–40 Hz) as the NMI method was applied to the vectors of dFC nodes of EEG and fMRI data. The results of the two methods illustrated that the relation between EEG and fMRI datasets was mostly in the frequency range of 1–15 Hz. These relations were both in the brain activations and the dFCs between the two modalities. This paper suggests that the CCMTF method is a capable approach for extracting the shared information between EEG and fMRI data and can reveal new information about brain functions and their connectivity without solving the EEG inverse problem or analyzing different frequency bands.
Lectures on bifurcations, dynamics and symmetry

Introduction & preliminaries Hyperoctahedral groups A zoo of bifurcations Stability and determinacy The invariant sphere theorem Hetroclinic cycles in equivariant bifurcations Symmetrically coupled cell systems An example of Z2-transversality in a system of four coupled oscillators Geometric methods Converse to the MISC (appendix) Hints and Solutions to selected exercises Bibliography Index
0 20 80 49 v 1 1 7 A ug 2 00 2 Practical speed meter designs for QND gravitational-wave interferometers

In the quest to develop viable designs for third-generation optical interferometric gravitationalwave detectors (e.g., LIGO-III and EURO), one strategy is to monitor the relative momentum or speed of the test-mass mirrors, rather than monitoring their relative position. A previous paper analyzed a straightforward but impractical design for a speed-meter interferometer that accomplishes this. This paper describes some practical variants of speed-meter interferometers. Like the original interferometric speed meter, these designs in principle can beat the gravitational-wave standard quantum limit (SQL) by an arbitrarily large amount, over an arbitrarily wide range of frequencies. These variants essentially consist of a Michelson interferometer plus an extra “sloshing” cavity that sends the signal back into the interferometer with opposite phase shift, thereby cancelling the position information and leaving a net phase shift proportional to the relative velocity. In practice, the sensitivity of these variants will be limited by the maximum light power Wcirc circulating in the arm cavities that the mirrors can support and by the leakage of vacuum into the optical train at dissipation points. In the absence of dissipation and with squeezed vacuum (power squeeze factor e ≃ 0.1) inserted into the output port so as to keep the circulating power down, the SQL can be beat by h/hSQL ∼ √ W SQL circ e /Wcirc at all frequencies below some chosen fopt ≃ 100 Hz. Here W SQL circ ≃ 800kW(fopt/100Hz) is the power required to reach the SQL in the absence of squeezing. [However, as the power increases in this expression, the speed meter becomes more narrow band; additional power and re-optimization of some parameters are required to maintain the wide band. See Sec. III B. ] Estimates are given of the amount by which vacuum leakage at dissipation points will debilitate this sensitivity (see Fig. 12); these losses are 10% or less over most of the frequency range of interest (f ∼ 10 Hz). The sensitivity can be improved, particularly at high freqencies, by using frequency-dependent homodyne detection, which unfortunately requires two 4-kilometer-long filter cavities (see Fig. 4).
Solving a Saddlepath Unstable Model with Complex-Valued Eigenvalues

This paper investigates the success of the well-known reverse-shooting and forward-shooting algorithms in finding stable solutions for linear macroeconomic models that both possess the particular property known as saddle-path instabiity and also have highly cyclic dynamic properties. It is anticipated that assessing how well these algorithms cope with solving highly cyclic models will also provide insights into how well they are likely to cope with solving non-linear models. In this paper, a perfect foresight version of the well-known Cagan (1956) model of the monetary dynamics of hyperinflation is augmented with a labour market. Additional eignevalues are then generated through sluggish adjustment mechanisms for wages and for the supply of labour. This process provides the simplest model with stable complex-valued eigenvalues and a saddlepath: a model with two stable complex-valued eigenvalues and one unstable real-valued eigenvalue. Using this model, it is possible to define an indexing parameter that, when varied, determines a range of values for the stable eignvalues: from (i) real-valued, to (ii) complex-valued with small absolute imaginary part, to (iii) complex-valued with large absolute imaginary part. This leads to corresponding stable time-paths for the model, which are (i) either humped or monotonic, (ii) cyclic but with infrequent cycles, and (iii) cyclic but with frequent cycles. This paper then compares the properties of solutions derived using the reverse-shooting and forward-shooting approaches as the magnitude of the indexing parameter (and hence of the cycles) is allowed to vary. In the highly oscillatory case, we show that the success of both approaches is crucially dependent on the choice of ODE solver and of parameters.
A Short Course in Discrete Mathematics

Section 1: Basic facts about numbers . 1 rational numbers, irrational numbers, prime, composite, odd, even, n divides m, prime factorization, infinitely many primes, perfect squares, irrationality of integral square roots, residue classes mod d, mod as binary operator, mod as equivalence relation, modular arithmetic, modular addition, modular multiplication.
A Strongly Exponential Separation of DNNFs from CNF Formulas

Decomposable Negation Normal Forms (DNNFs) are Boolean circuits in negation normal form where the subcircuits leading into each AND gate are defined on disjoint sets of variables. We prove a strongly exponential lower bound on the size of DNNFs for a class of CNF formulas built from expander graphs. As a corollary, we obtain a strongly exponential separation between DNNFs and CNF formulas in prime implicates form. This settles an open problem in the area of knowledge compilation (Darwiche and Marquis, 2002).
Do not open wide; accidentally swallowed dental mold causing bowel obstruction. A case report

Abstract Foreign body ingestion is a common condition in daily practice; fortunately, most cases do not require endoscopic or surgical treatment, as most foreign bodies pass through the intestine without injuring it. Although mainly seen in children, adults can also be affected, especially in accidental situations and suicide attempts. Therefore, the clinical history and the environment in which the event occurred are essential for a rapid diagnosis. This can be even more challenging as most adult patients are rarely aware of ingestion. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is necessary. Therapy will depend on the foreign body’s size, shape and material; treatment should not be delayed if complications are detected. We present a case of a 34-year-old man who accidentally swallowed the mold of his teeth while undergoing a dental procedure. Subsequently, he presented with an intestinal obstruction that required surgery. Fortunately, he made a full recovery.
United airway disease

Nose and lungs are considered as anatomic and functional unit, as they share morphological, pathophysiological and immunological basis. Allergic rhinitis and asthma often coexist in the same individual, and the treatment of one also improves the symptoms of the other (one airway, one disease). The aim of this review is to discuss the interaction between upper and lower airways, based on recent scientific evidence and, critically, analyze the important implications the new findings have for the future therapy and prevention of these common diseases. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Intermittent and mild persistent asthma: how therapy has changed

In the last few years much attention has been focused on research on severe asthma and the role of biologicals in its treatment, also in children. However, mild asthma is way more common in childhood and still causes as many as 30-40% of asthma exacerbations requiring emergency consultation. The management of “intermittent” and “mild persistent” asthma phenotypes is still a matter of debate, even if the role of inhaled corticosteroids, both continuous and intermittent, is a cornerstone in this field. Nevertheless, updates on the strategies to manage these patients are coming, since evidence emerged on the role of inflammation also in these asthma phenotypes as well as on the potential side effect and risks of short-acting beta 2 agonists overuse, which is common in patients for which they have been prescribed as the only as-needed treatment. Unsurprisingly, international guidelines, including GINA, are starting to recommend associating a corticos-teroid when using a reliver. In this paper we overview the (r)evolution regarding the management of intermittent and mild persistent asthma. We also focus on the importance of knowing the chemical and physical characteristics of drugs and inhaler devices in order to optimize the treatment and reach the distal airways, as well as of trying to achieve a good compliance to treatments, especially in adolescents, for which it is currently possible to rely also on new digital health technologies. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Atopic dermatitis and atopic march: which link?

There is a long standing debate on the atopic march in childhood. The natural progression of allergic manifestations may be considered as comorbidities, which occur more frequently in a specific evolutive age. On the other hand, the natural history of allergies in children may follow trajectories that may be heterogeneous. The effects of atopic march in clinical practice have also been reported. (www.actabiomedica.it)
“It’s Not Like Chasing Chanel:” Spending Time, Investing in the Self, and Pandemic Epiphanies

The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the labor market and given rise to the Great Resignation. Drawing on a mixed methods panel study of 199 precarious and gig-based workers, we analyze how a changing conception of free time during the Covid-19 pandemic led low-wage service workers to seek more fulfilling careers. Whereas most workers initially perceived free time in terms of opportunity costs, they later reconceived this time as enabling an investment in personal growth, moving from “spending time” making money to “investing time” in themselves. This shift in temporal experience is expressed through the adoption of a “work passion” logic and “pandemic epiphanies” that motivated respondents to seek self-affirming and potentially more lucrative work opportunities.
An innovative strategy to identify new targets for delivering antibodies to the brain has led to the exploration of the integrin family

Background Increasing brain exposure of biotherapeutics is key to success in central nervous system disease drug discovery. Accessing the brain parenchyma is especially difficult for large polar molecules such as biotherapeutics and antibodies because of the blood-brain barrier. We investigated a new immunization strategy to identify novel receptors mediating transcytosis across the blood-brain barrier. Method We immunized mice with primary non-human primate brain microvascular endothelial cells to obtain antibodies. These antibodies were screened for their capacity to bind and to be internalized by primary non-human primate brain microvascular endothelial cells and Human Cerebral Microvascular Endothelial Cell clone D3. They were further evaluated for their transcytosis capabilities in three in vitro blood-brain barrier models. In parallel, their targets were identified by two different methods and their pattern of binding to human tissue was investigated using immunohistochemistry. Results 12 antibodies with unique sequence and internalization capacities were selected amongst more than six hundred. Aside from one antibody targeting Activated Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule and one targeting Striatin3, most of the other antibodies recognized β1 integrin and its heterodimers. The antibody with the best transcytosis capabilities in all blood-brain barrier in vitro models and with the best binding capacity was an anti-αnβ1 integrin. In comparison, commercial anti-integrin antibodies performed poorly in transcytosis assays, emphasizing the originality of the antibodies derived here. Immunohistochemistry studies showed specific vascular staining on human and non-human primate tissues. Conclusions This transcytotic behavior has not previously been reported for anti-integrin antibodies. Further studies should be undertaken to validate this new mechanism in vivo and to evaluate its potential in brain delivery.
Formation tracking and attitude synchronization control of underactuated ships along closed orbits

This article considers the problem of directing a family of underactuated ships to formation tracking a set of closed orbits and achieve attitude synchronization. It shows that our previous concentric compression design can be extended to deal with a general kind of non‐convex, closed curves and the coordinated motion of underactuated ships. The condition of nonzero total linear speed of each ship is ensured by a potential function. Under the bidirectional communication topology, asymptotical stabilization is proved with the help of the invariance‐like theorem and the extension of Barbalat's lemma. Theoretical results are proved by the numerical examples. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.