Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biological Evaluation of Valeriana Extracts from Argentina with Potent Cholinesterase Inhibition for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders and Their Comorbidities—The Case of Valeriana carnosa Sm. (Caprifoliaceae) Studied in Mice

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder whose pathophysiology includes the abnormal accumulation of proteins (e.g., β-amyloid), oxidative stress, and alterations in neurotransmitter levels, mainly acetylcholine. Here we present a comparative study of the effect of extracts obtained from endemic Argentinian species of valerians, namely V. carnosa Sm. , V. clarionifolia Phil. and V. macrorhiza Poepp. ex DC from Patagonia and V. ferax (Griseb.) Höck and V. effusa Griseb. , on different AD-related biological targets. Of these anxiolytic, sedative and sleep-inducing valerians, V. carnosa proved the most promising and was assayed in vivo. All valerians inhibited acetylcholinesterase (IC50 between 1.08–12.69 mg/mL) and butyrylcholinesterase (IC50 between 0.0019–1.46 mg/mL). They also inhibited the aggregation of β-amyloid peptide, were able to chelate Fe2+ ions, and exhibited a direct relationship between antioxidant capacity and phenolic content. Moreover, V. carnosa was able to inhibit human monoamine oxidase A (IC50: 0.286 mg/mL (0.213–0.384)). A daily intake of aqueous V. carnosa extract by male Swiss mice (50 and 150 mg/kg/day) resulted in anxiolytic and antidepressant-like behavior and improved spatial memory. In addition, decreased AChE activity and oxidative stress markers were observed in treated mouse brains. Our studies contribute to the development of indigenous herbal medicines as therapeutic agents for AD.
Impacts and Responses to the 1995 Heat Wave: A Call to Action

The short but intense heat wave in mid-July 1995 caused 830 deaths nationally, with 525 of these deaths in Chicago. Many of the dead were elderly, and the event raised great concern over why it happened. Assessment of causes for the heat wave–related deaths in Chicago revealed many factors were at fault, including an inadequate local heat wave warning system, power failures, questionable death assessments, inadequate ambulance service and hospital facilities, the heat island, an aging population, and the inability of many persons to properly ventilate their residences due to fear of crime or a lack of resources for fans or air conditioning. Heat-related deaths appear to be on the increase in the United States. Heat-related deaths greatly exceed those caused by other life-threatening weather conditions. Analysis of the impacts and responses to this heat wave reveals a need to 1) define the heat island conditions during heat waves for all major cities as a means to improve forecasts of threatening condition.
Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Bread Wheat Germplasm from Türkiye Using iPBS-Retrotransposons-Based Markers

This study investigated the genetic diversity and population structure of 63 genotypes from Turkish bread wheat germplasm using iPBS-retrotransposons primers. The thirty-four iPBS primers produced a total of 1231 polymorphic bands, ranging from 8 (iPBS-2375) to 60 (iPBS-2381) alleles per marker, with an average number of 36.00 alleles. The polymorphism information content (PIC) per marker varied between 0.048 (iPBS 2087) and 0.303 (iPBS 2382), with an average of 0.175. The numbers of effective alleles (ne), genetic diversity of Nei (h), and Shannon’s information index (I) value were calculated as 1.157, 0.95, and 0.144, respectively. The greatest genetic distance (0.164) was between Eastern Anatolia Agricultural Research Institute genotypes and Çukurova Agricultural Research Institute genotypes. The unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) dendrogram placed the 63 wheat genotypes into three clusters. The percentage of genetic diversity explained by each of the three main coordinates of the basic coordinate analysis was determined to be 44.58, 12.08, and 3.44, respectively. AMOVA (Analysis of Molecular Variance) showed that the variation within populations was 99% and that between populations was 1%. The result of genetic structure analysis suggests that the greatest value of K was calculated as 3. The F-statistic (Fst) value was determined as 0.4005, 0.2374, and 0.3773 in the first to third subpopulations, respectively. Likewise, the expected heterozygosity values (He) were determined as 0.2203, 0.2599, and 0.2155 in the first, second, and third subpopulations, respectively. According to the information obtained in the study, the most genetically distant genotypes were the G1 (Aksel 2000) and G63 (Karasu 90) genotypes. This study provided a deep insight into genetic variations in Turkish bread wheat germplasm using the iPBS-retrotransposons marker system.
A Simplified Low-Dose 10-Day Quadruple Therapy with a Galenic Formulation of Bismuth Salicylate Is Highly Effective for Helicobacter pylori Eradication

Background: Earlier studies have shown that a modified low-dose bismuth quadruple therapy given for 10 to 14 days is highly effective for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection in Sardinia. However, bismuth is not universally available. Aim: We aimed to investigate the efficacy of a simplified low-dose 10-day quadruple therapy containing a galenic formulation of bismuth salicylate for H. pylori infection. Patients and Methods: Adult patients positive for H. pylori infection were assigned to a quadruple therapy containing a galenic formulation of bismuth salicylate (200 mg) plus tetracycline 500 mg, metronidazole 500 mg and rabeprazole 20 mg, given twice a day with the midday and evening meals for 10 days. A negative stool antigen test or 13C-Urea Breath Test defined successful eradication. Compliance and adverse events were recorded 30–40 days after the end of treatment. Results: In this open-label pilot study, 42 patients were enrolled (mean age 54.1 ± 12.0 years; 64% female). Among the study participants, 35 were naïve to H. pylori treatment. The treatment regimen was completed by 41 patients, with an overall success rate of 95.1%. More specifically, the eradication rate was 95.1% PP; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 86.6–100 and 92.9% by ITT; 95%CI = 85.1–100%, respectively. For naïve patients, the cure rate was 97.1%. Compliance was excellent. Side effects were absent or mild overall. Conclusions: The modified low-dose 10-day quadruple therapy provided high eradication rates of H. pylori infection, despite the replacement of colloidal bismuth subcitrate with bismuth salicylate. In regions where bismuth is unavailable in the market, the galenic formulation should be a valid option.
Evaluating the Thermal Performance and Environmental Impact of Agricultural Greenhouses Using Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger: An Experimental Study

The thermal performance and environmental impact of agricultural greenhouses (GH) connected to earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHE) systems depend on the ambient temperature, soil temperature, EAHE system, and greenhouse specifications. The impact of an EAHE system on the temperature and humidity of a GH microclimate, as well as its effects on CO2 emissions and heating energy consumption, are determined experimentally. Two scaled-down models of agricultural GHs (2 × 1.4 × 1.4 m3) were developed. Each GH was equipped with a heater. A spiral EAHE system was integrated into only one of the GHs. The temperature differences in the microclimate range from 3.5 °C to 7.5 °C, with the microclimates of GH + EAHE and GH being quite similar. In summary, the EAHE system helped to reduce the hourly energy consumption of the heating system by more than 40%. It also reduced emissions to the environment by more than 100 g (CO2)/hour. The EAHE coefficient of performance (COP) for the cooling mode has a higher average value than that for the heating mode. The closed-loop performed better in cooling mode, while the open-loop performed better in heating mode. When the difference between the set temperature in the heater and the air outlet temperature of the EAHE system is smaller, the heater performs better in reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the heater. The COPheating range is between 0 and 3.4 and the COPcooling range is between 0.5 and 7.3. The energy consumption ranges between 0 and 1.41 kWh and the CO2 emissions are between 0 and 359.55 g. Thus, using EAHE in agricultural greenhouses improves thermal performance and reduces environmental impact, providing an overall benefit in terms of energy consumption and environmental sustainability.
Metal-dielectric metamaterials for guided wave optics applications

We address the experimental validation of the technological feasibility and operation of the metamaterials in a guided wave configuration in the spectral domain around 1. 5μm. For our experiments we considered a 2D array of 200×50×50nm gold cut wires placed on the top of a 10μm wide and 200nm thick silicon waveguide. The transmission spectral measurements performed in the spectral range between 1.25 and 1. 64μm using an end-fire coupling setup, revealed a marked dip for TE polarized light, corresponding to the cut wires resonance frequency obtained by numerical modeling. No such a dip in transmission was observed for TM polarized light, i.e. when the electric filed is perpendicular to the layers interface and the orientation of the cut wires. The scanning near field optical microscopy experiments (SNOM), performed in the same spectral range, revealed for TE polarized light a strong enhancement of the electric field confined in the region between the ends of the adjacent cut wires. These results confirm the efficient excitation of the cut wires resonance in a guided wave configuration for the TE polarization. The ability for local engineering of the field interaction with the metamaterial layer and thus the control in such a way of the light flow in a guiding slab, paves the way to a novel class of photonic devices.
Instabilities in line-driven stellar winds. I - Dependence on perturbation wavelength

We investigate the stability of absorption-line-driven flows (e.g., as in the winds from hot stars) against small-amplitude velocity perturbations. Our work represents a generalization of previous linear stability analyses in that we assume neither that the flow perturbations are optically thin (as did MacGregor, Hartmann, and Raymond in 1979), nor that they satisfy the Sobolev approximation (as did Abbott in 1980), although we do retain the assumption that one may neglect the dynamical effect of any scattered radiation field. Given this assumption, we confirm that absorption-line--driven flows are indeed very unstable (typical growth times for hot-star windsroughly-equal100 s) to optically-thin perturbations with a wavelength lambda approximately equal to or less than the Sobolev length L (over which the mean flow velocity increases by a thermal speed), but that they become asymptotically stable to any perturbations with lambda>>L, for which Sobolev theory applies. We also show that the instability of the flow against perturbations with lambdaroughly-equalL apparently cannot be eliminated by the various forms of damping associated with the relaxation of temperature fluctuations (e.g., either by radiative losses or by thermal conduction). Finally, we show that, in addition to being unstable, the radiative-acoustic waves that result from such perturbations with lambdaroughly-equalLmore » can be highly dispersive, and so propagate in a way that is much more complicated than previously realized. « less
Video watermarking based on spread spectrum and wavelet decomposition

An original statistical approach making it possible to accurately model video sequences in the wavelet domain as Gaussian laws is presented. By partitioning the wavelet coefficients into classes with independent elements, we rigorously handle the dependency existing among the successive frames in the video sequence. Further on, four statistical tests are applied to each class in the partition, with the following purposes: (1) to check up the Gaussian law; (2) to validate the data partition and (3) to reveal a homogeneity behaviour among the classes in the partition. Finally, the obtained results are fusioned so as to provide a global information characterising the whole sequence. At the same time, an a posteriori proof concerning an ergodicity behaviour for video sequences is obtained. We integrated these results within a robust video watermarking scheme. The mark is generated according to a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) procedure, starting from a 64 bit message (a serial number, a logo, etc). The embedding procedure is a weighted addition of the watermark into the wavelet coefficients featuring the Gaussian behaviour. The detection procedure is based on matched filters, the optimality of which is ensured under the considered framework. The experiments feature firm results concerning all the requirements stated nowadays: obliviousness, transparency, robustness, and probability of false alarm.
Sosialisasi Cara Menciptakan Peluang Usaha dan Rebranding

A village-owned enterprise is a local business institution managed by the village government and has a legal entity. The impact of Covid-19, which appeared some time ago, has destabilized the economy of the village. As a result, almost all business units will be unable to operate. Insufficient awareness of business opportunities using social media, etc. Based on the priority challenges faced by our partners, the first solution offered is a socialization program that creates business opportunities and rebrands the company to make it more attractive. Based on observations of customers from different industries in Kalisat Village. Problems encountered in village businesses include the lack of development and exploitation of various existing business opportunities, the need to support existing human resources to improve the business, and marketing to make it attractive and innovative. There is such a thing as rebranding as an aid. Observation/Interview Socialization/Discussion The potential of the environment is introduced in an easy-to-understand manner using videos, and examples of business opportunities are introduced. We provide knowledge and understanding reading opportunities training for small businesses and creative industries on how to make the most of information technology as part of their business development to compete globally. Companies that need further development can proceed to the rebranding process. Based on the issues faced by partners, a socialization program is implemented as a learning proposition for his MSME actors to show them how to seize the opportunities around them and improve the quality of their product or brand. The socialization and counseling process can be carried out over several sessions to allow people to consistently develop their potential and environment.
The spatial effects of regional transportation roads and their role in activating the development potential using (GIS) techniques: Al Zubair district a case study

The research, through a scientific study of the Al-Zubair district, tried to focus on the importance of land transport roads in general and highway transport lines in particular, and their role in creating an integrated development process in the spatial domains that they penetrate. The developmental role of this important vital sector (main road networks) in reviving and activating the development potential characterizes the study area with the spatial extension of those roads in the establishment of urban communities and planning for the development of various human activities. The research focused on analysing the developmental relationship of the main transportation roads and their impact on the Al-Zubair district using the analytical method by relying on geographic information systems (GIS) techniques and using standard methods, including the inflexion factor method and the nearest neighbour in determining the effectiveness of regional roads, and the use of the questionnaire and the adoption of planning methods to show the efficiency of the roads, including the method (the inflexion coefficient). The research reached a set of results that prove the existence of a developmental interrelationship between the regional transport routes and the areas of spatial activities of the population in the study area.
Protein extraction from palm kernel meal

Palm Kernel Meal (PKM) is a byproduct of palm kernel oil industry. In the last few years, Malaysia produced over two million tons of PKM annually and the byproduct is available throughout the year. Palm kernel meal contains biomaterials such as protein, cellulose and organic acids. Generally, palm kernel meal contains about 20% protein. Palm kernel protein can be extracted and purified and used as animal feed supplement or as raw material for other processes. However, with the current trend of green processes and products, palm kernel protein can be utilized for the production of formaldehyde- free wood glue. Palm kernel protein based wood glue is non-toxic as compared to conventional wood glue which is based on melamine-urea-formaldehyde resin. The extraction and utilization of palm kernel protein will definitely enhance the current usage of palm kernel meal. In this study, palm kernel protein extraction and purification were studied. The extraction of palm kernel protein was conducted using saline and alkali treatment method. For saline treatment, the extraction of protein was done under various conditions such as variation of solvent to palm kernel meal ratio, pH and salt concentration. For alkaline treatment, variation of solvent to palm kernel ratio, extraction time and extraction temperature was applied. Central composite designs of response surface methodology were used for identification of the best condition and extraction yield optimization. Result shows that over 80% of palm kernel protein can be extracted. Alkaline treatment produces better extraction yield compared to saline treatment. Â© 2009 Asian Network for Scientific Information.
Synovial Monocytes Drive the Pathogenesis in Oligoarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis via IL-6/JAK/STAT Signalling and Cell-Cell Interactions

Objectives Synovial monocytes in oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (oJIA) are polarized, but little is known of how they contribute to disease and attain their pathogenic features. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of monocytes in the pathogenesis of oJIA. Methods The function of synovial monocytes was analysed by several assays believed to reflect key pathogenic events, such as T-cell activation-, efferocytosis- and cytokine production assays through flow cytometry in untreated oJIA patients (n=33). The effect of synovial fluid on healthy monocytes was investigated through mass spectrometry, broad-spectrum phosphorylation assays and functional assays. Additional effects on monocytes were studied through co-cultures with primary fibroblast-like synoviocytes. Results The results demonstrate that synovial monocytes display functional alterations, e.g., increased ability to induce T-cell activation, increased efferocytosis and resistance to cytokine production following activation with LPS. In vitro, synovial fluid induced regulatory features in healthy monocytes through an IL-6/JAK/STAT mechanism. The magnitude of synovial IL-6 driven activation in monocytes was reflected in circulating cytokine levels. An increased ability to induce T-cell activation and markers of antigen presentation could be induced by co-culture with fibroblast-like synoviocytes. Conclusions Synovial monocytes in oJIA are functionally affected, drive chronic inflammation, and promote adaptive immune responses. This phenotype can be replicated in vitro through a combination of synovial fluid (through IL-6/JAK/STAT) and cell-cell interactions. These data support a role of monocytes in the pathogenesis of oJIA and highlight a group of patients more likely to benefit from targeting the IL-6/JAK/STAT axis to restore synovial homeostasis.
Accuracy of Smartphone-based Vital Monitoring Using Remote Photoplethysmography Technology Enabled WellFie application

Background: Remote health monitoring technologies gained interest in the context of COVID-19 pandemic with potential for contactless monitoring of clinical patient status. Here, we examined whether vital parameters can be determined in a contactless manner using a novel smartphone-based technology called remote Photoplethysmography (rPPG) and compared with comparable certified medical devices. Methods: We enrolled a total of 150 normotensive adults in this comparative cross-sectional validation study. We used an advanced machine learning algorithm in the WellFie application to create computational models that predict reference systolic, diastolic blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and respiratory rate (RR) from facial blood flow data. This study compared the predictive accuracy of smartphone-based, rPPG-enabled WellFie application with comparable certified medical devices. Results: When compared with reference standards, on average our models predicted systolic blood pressure (BP) with an accuracy of 93.94%, diastolic BP with an accuracy of 92.95%, HR with an accuracy of 97.34%, RR with accuracy of 84.44%. For the WellFie application, the relative mean absolute percentage error (RMAPE) for HR was 2.66%, for RR was 15.66%, for systolic BP was 6.06%, and for diastolic BP was 7.05%. Conclusion: Our results on normotensive adults demonstrates that rPPG technology-enabled Welfie application can determine BP, HR, RR in normotensive participants with an accuracy that is comparable to clinical standards. The Wellfie application with its integrated advanced machine learning algorithm outperformed other approved wearable devices (such as Apple watch, Fitbit charge 2, and Microsoft Band) for HR estimation. WellFie smartphone application based on rPPG technology offers a convenient contactless video-based remote solution that could be used in any modern smartphone.