Additionally, the effects of bioactive compounds on the growth of individually PGPMs were tested in starvation conditions. The different combination products based on microbial and non-microbial biostimulants (BS) appear worth considering for greenhouse and open field trials to select those potentially adoptable in sustainable agriculture.This research reports a portable immunochip, based on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) for label-free, low-cost qualitative detection of zearalenone (ZEN) in food samples. The experimental parameters in the functionalization and working process were evaluated in detail, in order to achieve a high accuracy and sensitivity. Under optimal conditions, the ZEN concentration at an inhibition ratio of 50% and 15% of the proposed QCM immunochip achieved 3.41 µg L-1 and 0.37 µg L-1, respectively. This portable QCM immunochip also exhibited high specificity, no obvious cross-reaction to five structural analogs of ZEN, and showed other mycotoxins. It could finish the whole qualitative measurement within 30 min, showed good stability during the processes of preparation (SD 90% after being reused 6 times). The developed QCM immunochip obtained accurate and repeatable recovery results in ZEN analysis in the chosen food samples (corn, wheat flour, soy sauce, and milk), which had a high correlation (R2 = 0.9844) with that achieved by the HPLC-MS/MS method. In short, this work developed a portable, stable, and reproducible QCM immunochip that could be used for rapid, low-cost, and sensitively measurement of ZEN content in real food samples.Although understanding of the biomedical basis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is growing, the underlying pathological mechanisms remain uncertain. We recently reported a reduction in the proportion of basal oxygen consumption due to ATP synthesis by Complex V in ME/CFS patient-derived lymphoblast cell lines, suggesting mitochondrial respiratory inefficiency. This was accompanied by elevated respiratory capacity, elevated mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling activity and elevated expression of enzymes involved in the TCA cycle, fatty acid β-oxidation and mitochondrial transport. These and other observations led us to hypothesise the dysregulation of pathways providing the mitochondria with oxidisable substrates. In our current study, we aimed to revisit this hypothesis by applying a combination of whole-cell transcriptomics, proteomics and energy stress signaling activity measures using subsets of up to 34 ME/CFS and 31 healthy control lymphoblast cell lines from our growing library. While levels of glycolytic enzymes were unchanged in accordance with our previous observations of unaltered glycolytic rates, the whole-cell proteomes of ME/CFS lymphoblasts contained elevated levels of enzymes involved in the TCA cycle (p = 1.03 × 10-4), the pentose phosphate pathway (p = 0.034, G6PD p = 5.5 × 10-4), mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation (p = 9.2 × 10-3), and degradation of amino acids including glutamine/glutamate (GLS p = 0.034, GLUD1 p = 0.048, GOT2 p = 0.026), branched-chain amino acids (BCKDHA p = 0.028, BCKDHB p = 0.031) and essential amino acids (FAH p = 0.036, GCDH p = 0.006). The activity of the major cellular energy stress sensor, AMPK, was elevated but the increase did not reach statistical significance. The results suggest that ME/CFS metabolism is dysregulated such that alternatives to glycolysis are more heavily utilised than in controls to provide the mitochondria with oxidisable substrates.Positron emission tomography (PET) has unique characteristics for quantitative assessment of tumour biology in vivo. Accumulation of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) may reflect tumour characteristics based on its metabolic activity. Quantitative assessment of FDG uptake can often be applied for treatment monitoring after chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. Numerous studies indicated biochemical change assessed by FDG PET as a more sensitive marker than morphological change estimated by CT or MRI. In addition, those with complete metabolic response after therapy may show better disease-free survival and overall survival than those with other responses. Assessment of metabolic change may be performed using absolute FDG uptake in the tumour (standardized uptake value SUV). In addition, volumetric parameters such as metabolic tumour volume (MTV) have been introduced for quantitative assessment of FDG uptake in tumour. More recently, radiomics approaches that focus on image-based precision medicine have been applied to FDG PET, as well as other radiological imaging. Among these, texture analysis extracts intratumoral heterogeneity on a voxel-by-voxel basis. Combined with various machine learning techniques, these new quantitative parameters hold a promise for assessing tissue characterization and predicting treatment effect, and could also be used for future prognosis of various tumours, although multicentre clinical trials are needed before application in clinical settings.A reverse genetic system for avian paramyxovirus type-3 (APMV-3) strain Wisconsin was created and the infectious virus was recovered from a plasmid-based viral antigenomic cDNA. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene was cloned into the recombinant APMV-3 genome as a foreign gene. Stable expression of GFP by the recovered virus was confirmed for at least 10 consecutive passages. APMV-3 strain Wisconsin was evaluated against APMV-3 strain Netherlands and APMV-1 strain LaSota as a vaccine vector. The three viral vectors expressing GFP as a foreign protein were compared for level of GFP expression level, growth rate in chicken embryo fibroblast (DF-1) cells, and tissue distribution and immunogenicity in specific pathogen-free (SPF) day-old chickens. APMV-3 strain Netherlands showed highest growth rate and GFP expression level among the three APMV vectors in vitro. APMV-3 strain Wisconsin and APMV-1 strain LaSota vectors were mainly confined to the trachea after vaccination of day-old SPF chickens without any observable pathogenicity, whereas APMV-3 strain Netherlands showed wide tissue distribution in different body organs (brain, lungs, trachea, and spleen) with mild observable pathogenicity. In terms of immunogenicity, both APMV-3 strain-vaccinated groups showed HI titers two to three fold higher than that induced by APMV-1 strain LaSota vaccinated group. This study offers a novel paramyxovirus vector (APMV-3 strain Wisconsin) which can be used safely for vaccination of young chickens as an alternative for APMV-1 strain LaSota vector.The Free Energy Principle (FEP) is currently one of the most promising frameworks with which to address a unified explanation of life-related phenomena. With powerful formalism that embeds a small set of assumptions, it purports to deal with complex adaptive dynamics ranging from barely unicellular organisms to complex cultural manifestations. The FEP has received increased attention in disciplines that study life, including some critique regarding its overall explanatory power and its true potential as a grand unifying theory (GUT). Recently, FEP theorists presented a contribution with the main tenets of their framework, together with possible philosophical interpretations, which lean towards so-called Markovian Monism (MM). The present paper assumes some of the abovementioned critiques, rejects the arguments advanced to invalidate the FEP’s potential to be a GUT, and overcomes criticism thereof by reviewing FEP theorists’ newly minted metaphysical commitment, namely MM. Specifically, it shows that this philosophical interpretation of the FEP argues circularly and only delivers what it initially assumes, i.e., a dual information geometry that allegedly explains epistemic access to the world based on prior dual assumptions. The origin of this circularity can be traced back to a physical description contingent on relative system-environment separation. However, the FEP itself is not committed to MM, and as a scientific theory it delivers more than what it assumes, serving as a heuristic unification principle that provides epistemic advancement for the life sciences.There are three state estimation fusion methods for a class of strong nonlinear measurement systems, based on the characteristic function filter, namely the centralized filter, parallel filter, and sequential filter. Under ideal communication conditions, the centralized filter can obtain the best state estimation accuracy, and the parallel filter can simplify centralized calculation complexity and improve feasibility; in addition, the performance of the sequential filter is very close to that of the centralized filter and far better than that of the parallel filter. However, the sequential filter can tolerate non-ideal conditions, such as delay and packet loss, and the first two filters cannot operate normally online for delay and will be invalid for packet loss. The performance of the three designed fusion filters is illustrated by three typical cases, which are all better than that of the most popular Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) performance.The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is posing a threat to global health. This disease has different clinical manifestations and different outcomes. The immune response to the novel 2019 coronavirus is complex and involves both innate and adaptive immunity. In this context, cell-mediated immunity plays a vital role in effective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Significant differences have been observed when comparing severe and non-severe patients. Since these immunological characteristics have not been fully elucidated, we aimed to use cluster analysis to investigate the immune cell patterns in patients with COVID-19 who required hospitalization but not intensive care. We identified four clusters of different immunological patterns, the worst being characterized by total lymphocytes, T helper lymphocytes CD4+ (CD4+), T cytotoxic lymphocytes CD8+ (CD8+) and natural killer (NK) cells below the normal range, together with natural killer lymphocyte granzyme less then 50% (NK granzyme+) and antibody-secreting plasma cells (ASCs) equal to 0 with fatal outcomes. In the worst group, 50% of patients died in the intensive care unit. Moreover, a negative trend was found among four groups regarding total lymphocytes, CD4+, CD8+ and B lymphocytes (p less then 0.001, p less then 0.005, p less then 0.000, p less then 0.044, respectively). This detailed analysis of immune changes may have prognostic value. It may provide a new perspective for identifying subsets of COVID-19 patients and selecting novel prospective treatment strategies. Notwithstanding these results, this is a preliminary report with a small sample size, and our data may not be generalizable. Further cohort studies with larger samples are necessary to quantify the prognostic value’s weight, according to immunological changes in COVID-19 patients, for predicting prognoses and realizing improvements in clinical conditions.For patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, the pneumoperitoneum with a steep Trendelenburg position could worsen intraoperative respiratory mechanics and result in postoperative atelectasis. We investigated the effects of individualized positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on postoperative atelectasis, evaluated using lung ultrasonography. Sixty patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy were randomly allocated into two groups. Individualized groups (n = 30) received individualized PEEP determined by a decremental PEEP trial using 20 to 7 cm H2O, aiming at maximizing respiratory compliance, whereas standardized groups (n = 30) received a standardized PEEP of 7 cm H2O during the pneumoperitoneum. Ultrasound examination was performed on 12 sections of thorax, and the lung ultrasound score was measured as 0-3 by considering the number of B lines and the degree of subpleural consolidation. The primary outcome was the difference between the lung ultrasound scores measured beforeance (p = 0.145). The incidence of a composite of postoperative respiratory complications was comparable between the two groups. Individualized PEEP determined by maximal respiratory compliance during the pneumoperitoneum and steep Trendelenburg position significantly reduced postoperative atelectasis, as evaluated using lung ultrasonography. However, the clinical significance of this finding should be evaluated by a larger clinical trial.

Non-canonical mutations of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) genes have been described in about 20-25% and 5-12% of patients with WHO grade II and III gliomas, respectively. To date, the prognostic value of these rare mutations is still a topic of debate.

We selected patients with WHO grade II and III gliomas and IDH1 mutations with available tissue samples for next-generation sequencing. The clinical outcomes and baseline behaviors of patients with canonical IDH1 R132H and non-canonical IDH1 mutations were compared.

We evaluated 433 patients harboring IDH1 mutations. Three hundred and ninety patients (90.1%) had a canonical IDH1 R132H mutation while 43 patients (9.9%) had a non-canonical IDH1 mutation. Compared to those with the IDH1 canonical mutation, patients with non-canonical mutations were younger (

< 0.001) and less frequently presented the 1p19q codeletion (

= 0.017). Multivariate analysis confirmed that the extension of surgery (

= 0.003), the presence of the 1p19q codeletion (

= 0.001), and the presence of a non-canonical mutation (

= 0.041) were variables correlated with improved overall survival.

the presence of non-canonical IDH1 mutations could be associated with improved survival among patients with IDH1 mutated grade II-III glioma.

the presence of non-canonical IDH1 mutations could be associated with improved survival among patients with IDH1 mutated grade II-III glioma.Tick infestation is the most reported parasitological problem in cattle in Bhutan. In May and June 2019, we collected ticks from 240 cattle in two districts of Eastern Bhutan. Tick presence, diversity, and infestation prevalence were examined by morphological identification of 3600 live adult ticks. The relationships between cattle, geographic factors, and infestation prevalence were assessed using logistic regression analyses. Habitat suitability for the tick species identified was determined using MaxEnt. Four genera and six species of ticks were found. These were Rhipicephalus microplus (Canestrini) (70.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) 68.7-71.7)), Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides Supino (18.8% (95% CI 17.5-20.1)), Haemaphysalis bispinosa Neumann (8.2% (95% CI 7.3-9.1)), Haemaphysalis spinigera Neumann (2.5% (95% CI 2-3)), Amblyomma testudinarium Koch (0.19% (95% CI 0.07-0.4)), and a single unidentified Ixodes sp. Logistic regression indicated that the variables associated with infestation were longitude and cattle age for R. microplus; latitude for R. haemaphysaloides; and altitude and cattle breed for H. bispinosa and H. spinigera. MaxEnt models showed land cover to be an important predictor for the occurrence of all tick species examined. These findings provide information that can be used to initiate and plan enhanced tick surveillance and subsequent prevention and control programs for ticks and tick-borne diseases in cattle in Bhutan.Glycoside hydrolase (GH) represents a crucial category of enzymes for carbohydrate utilization in most organisms. A series of glycoside hydrolase families (GHFs) have been classified, with relevant information deposited in the CAZy database. Statistical analysis indicated that most GHFs (134 out of 154) were prone to exist in bacteria rather than archaea, in terms of both occurrence frequencies and average gene numbers. Co-occurrence analysis suggested the existence of strong or moderate-strong correlations among 63 GHFs. A combination of network analysis by Gephi and functional classification among these GHFs demonstrated the presence of 12 functional categories (from group A to L), with which the corresponding microbial collections were subsequently labeled, respectively. Interestingly, a progressive enrichment of particular GHFs was found among several types of microbes, and type-L as well as type-E microbes were deemed as functional intensified species which formed during the microbial evolution process toward efficient decomposition of lignocellulose as well as pectin, respectively. Overall, integrating network analysis and enzymatic functional classification, we were able to provide a new angle of view for GHs from known prokaryotic genomes, and thus this study is likely to guide the selection of GHs and microbes for efficient biomass utilization.Background and objectives Exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) has increased immensely over the past years, owing to diagnostic and therapeutic reasons. However, certain radiosensitive individuals show toxic enhanced reaction to IR, and it is necessary to specifically protect them from unwanted exposure. Although predicting radiosensitivity is the way forward in the field of personalised medicine, there is limited information on the potential biomarkers. The aim of this systematic review is to identify evidence from a range of literature in order to present the status quo of our knowledge of IR-induced changes in protein expression in normal tissues, which can be correlated to radiosensitivity. Methods Studies were searched in NCBI Pubmed and in ISI Web of Science databases and field experts were consulted for relevant studies. Primary peer-reviewed studies in English language within the time-frame of 2011 to 2020 were considered. Human non-tumour tissues and human-derived non-tumour model systems that have beclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A, CDKN2A), Interleukin-6, and Interleukin-1β, that were connected to radiosensitivity in normal tissue and were reported at least in two independent studies. Conclusions and implication of key findings A majority of studies used repair foci as a tool to predict radiosensitivity. However, its correlation to outcome parameters such as repair deficient cell lines and patients, as well as an association to moderate and severe clinical radiation reactions, still remain contradictory. When IR-induced proteins reported in at least two studies were considered, a protein network was discovered, which provides a direction for further studies to elucidate the mechanisms of radiosensitivity. Although the identification of only a few of the commonly reported proteins might raise a concern, this could be because (i) our eligibility criteria were strict and (ii) radiosensitivity is influenced by multiple factors. Registration PROSPERO (CRD42020220064).The pH-responsive membrane is a new wastewater treatment technology developed in recent years. In this paper, a novel film with intelligent pH-responsiveness was first prepared by blending functional gates comprised of hydrolyzed aramid nanofibers (HANFs) into aramid nanofiber (ANF) membranes via a vacuum filtration method. Those as-prepared membranes exhibited dual pH-responsive characteristics, which were featured with a negative pH-responsiveness in an acidic environment and a positive pH-responsiveness in basic media. These dual pH-responsive membranes also exhibited a high tensile strength which could still reach 55.74 MPa (even when the HANFs content was as high as 50 wt%), a high decomposition temperature at ~363 °C, and good solvent resistance. The membranes described herein may be promising candidates for a myriad of applications, such as the controlled release of drugs, sensors, sewage treatment, etc.Recently, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) have received much interest from both academia and industry due to their flexibility and cost-effectiveness in adjusting the phase and amplitude of wireless signals with low-cost passive reflecting elements. In particular, many RIS-aided techniques have been proposed to improve both data rate and energy efficiency for 6G wireless communication systems. In this paper, we propose a novel RIS-based channel randomization (RCR) technique for improving physical-layer security (PLS) for a time-division duplex (TDD) downlink cellular wire-tap network which consists of a single base station (BS) with multiple antennas, multiple legitimate pieces of user equipment (UE), multiple eavesdroppers (EVEs), and multiple RISs. We assume that only a line-of-sight (LOS) channel exists among the BS, the RISs, and the UE due to propagation characteristics of tera-hertz (THz) spectrum bands that may be used in 6G wireless communication systems. In the proposed technique, each RIS first pseudo-randomly generates multiple reflection matrices and utilizes them for both pilot signal duration (PSD) in uplink and data transmission duration (DTD) in downlink. Then, the BS estimates wireless channels of UE with reflection matrices of all RISs and selects the UE that has the best secrecy rate for each reflection matrix generated. It is shown herein that the proposed technique outperforms the conventional techniques in terms of achievable secrecy rates.Genetic diversity analysis and cultivar identification were performed using a core set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). For the genetic diversity study, 280 cucumber accessions collected from four continents (Asia, Europe, America, and Africa) by the National Agrobiodiversity Center of the Rural Development Administration in South Korea and 20 Korean commercial F1 hybrids were genotyped using 151 Fluidigm SNP assay sets. The heterozygosity of the SNP loci per accession ranged from 4.76 to 82.76%, with an average of 32.1%. Population genetics analysis was performed using population structure analysis and hierarchical clustering (HC), which indicated that these accessions were classified mainly into four subpopulations or clusters according to their geographical origins. The subpopulations for Asian and European accessions were clearly distinguished from each other (FST value = 0.47), while the subpopulations for Korean F1 hybrids and Asian accessions were closely related (FST = 0.34). The highest differentiation was observed between American and European accessions (FST = 0.41). Nei’s genetic distance among the 280 accessions was 0.414 on average. In addition, 95 commercial F1 hybrids of three cultivar groups (Baekdadagi-, Gasi-, and Nakhap-types) were genotyped using 82 Fluidigm SNP assay sets for cultivar identification. These 82 SNPs differentiated all cultivars, except seven. The heterozygosity of the SNP loci per cultivar ranged from 12.20 to 69.14%, with an average of 34.2%. Principal component analysis and HC demonstrated that most cultivars were clustered based on their cultivar groups. The Baekdadagi- and Gasi-types were clearly distinguished, while the Nakhap-type was closely related to the Baekdadagi-type. Our results obtained using core Fluidigm SNP assay sets provide useful information for germplasm assessment and cultivar identification, which are essential for breeding and intellectual right protection in cucumber.

The present study is aiming to evaluate patients’ awareness to participate in further diagnostics for osteoporosis and to find out if there are significant differences with regards to fracture site.

Patients at risk for underlying osteoporosis (female >60 and male >70 years) undergoing surgical treatment for a distal radius fracture (DRF) or a proximal femur fracture (PFF) were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing the awareness for underlying osteoporosis. Furthermore, dual-X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans were analyzed.

Overall, 150 patients (w = 122/m = 28, mean age 79.9 years (±8.6)) were included, of these, 36 patients suffered a DRF and 114 patients a PFF. Of these, 68 out of the 150 patients (45.3%) considered that an examination was necessary, whereas in PFF patients the awareness was higher than in the DRF Group (41% vs. 32%).

The patients’ willingness to undergo further diagnostics for osteoporosis was generally poor. DRFs are frequently accompanied by a lower limitation of quality of life compared to PFF, which might be causative for even poorer awareness in these patients. Especially younger patients (age 60-70 years) with a distal radius fracture seemed to underestimate osteoporosis.

The patients’ willingness to undergo further diagnostics for osteoporosis was generally poor. DRFs are frequently accompanied by a lower limitation of quality of life compared to PFF, which might be causative for even poorer awareness in these patients. Especially younger patients (age 60-70 years) with a distal radius fracture seemed to underestimate osteoporosis.Despite low levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, the secretome of human Wharton’s jelly (WJ) mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) effectively promoted proangiogenic responses in vitro, which were impaired upon the depletion of small (~140 nm) extracellular vesicles (EVs). The isolated EVs shared the low VEGF-A profile of the secretome and expressed five microRNAs, which were upregulated compared to fetal dermal MSC-derived EVs. These upregulated microRNAs exclusively targeted the VEGF-A gene within 54 Gene Ontology (GO) biological processes, 18 of which are associated with angiogenesis. Moreover, 15 microRNAs of WJ-MSC-derived EVs were highly expressed (Ct value ≤ 26) and exclusively targeted the thrombospondin 1 (THBS1) gene within 75 GO biological processes, 30 of which are associated with the regulation of tissue repair. The relationship between predicted microRNA target genes and WJ-MSC-derived EVs was shown by treating human umbilical-vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with appropriate doses of EVs. The exposure of HUVECs to EVs for 72 h significantly enhanced the release of VEGF-A and THBS1 protein expression compared to untreated control cells. Finally, WJ-MSC-derived EVs stimulated in vitro tube formation along with the migration and proliferation of HUVECs. Our findings can contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the proangiogenic responses induced by human umbilical cord-derived MSCs, suggesting a key regulatory role for microRNAs delivered by EVs.An 11-year-old female Hapalemur alaotrensis was evaluated following a history of dyspnea of 15 days’ duration. Thoracic radiography performed by the referring veterinarian revealed a large cardiac silhouette and dorsal deviation of the trachea. Heart sounds were muffled. Echocardiographic findings were indicative of severe pericardial effusion without cardiac tamponade. No pleural effusion was identified. A computed tomography (CT) exam confirmed the presence of severe pericardial effusion and allowed identification of a parenchymatous mediastinal lesion sited at the level of the left hemithorax. To delineate the thoracic duct, lymphoCT was also performed by injection of iodinated contrast medium in the perianal subcutaneous tissue. Pericardiocentesis yielded a considerable amount of effusion with chylous biochemical and cytological properties. A diagnosis of chylopericardium with absence of pleural effusion was made. Initially, the chylopericardium was managed conservatively with two centesis and oral treatment with prednisolone. Medical treatment did not result in complete resolution of effusion and clinical signs; therefore, subtotal pericardiectomy and thoracic duct ligation were recommended. After the second pericardiocentesis, the subject died and the pericardiectomy could not be performed. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of the development of chylopericardium in a Hapalemur alaotrensis.Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable tumor due to the high rate of relapse that still occurs. Acquired drug resistance represents the most challenging obstacle to the extension of survival and several studies have been conducted to understand the mechanisms of this phenomenon. Mitochondrial pathways have been extensively investigated, demonstrating that cancer cells become resistant to drugs by reprogramming their metabolic assessment. MM cells acquire resistance to proteasome inhibitors (PIs), activating protection programs, such as a reduction in oxidative stress, down-regulating pro-apoptotic, and up-regulating anti-apoptotic signals. Knowledge of the mechanisms through which tumor cells escape control of the immune system and acquire resistance to drugs has led to the creation of new compounds that can restore the response by leading to cell death. In this scenario, based on all literature data available, our review represents the first collection of anti-mitochondrial compounds able to overcome drug resistance in MM. Caspase-independent mechanisms, mainly based on increased oxidative stress, result from 2-methoxyestradiol, Artesunate, ascorbic acid, Dihydroartemisinin, Evodiamine, b-AP15, VLX1570, Erw-ASNase, and TAK-242. Other agents restore PIs’ efficacy through caspase-dependent tools, such as CDDO-Im, NOXA-inhibitors, FTY720, GCS-100, LBH589, a derivative of ellipticine, AT-101, KD5170, SMAC-mimetics, glutaminase-1 (GLS1)-inhibitors, and thenoyltrifluoroacetone. Each of these substances improved the efficacy rates when employed in combination with the most frequently used antimyeloma drugs.The three-dimensional (3D) characterization of antenna far field patterns at terahertz frequencies is addressed. This task is challenging, because the phase of the electric field is difficult to measure accurately and reliably. From the sub-millimeter wave range, the small wavelength indeed significantly increases the impact of mechanical and electrical errors. Models and procedures to estimate these errors are proposed to mitigate their effects. The 3D far field patterns of a circularly polarized horn measured at 300 GHz and a multibeam pillbox antenna at 270 GHz are shown. The agreement between the 3D measurements and the two-dimensional (2D) patterns of reference as well as the radiated pattern before and after correction demonstrates the interest of the proposed approach and experimentally validate the proposed error estimation procedures. The methodology can be applied to direct far field measurement facilities as well as compact antenna test ranges.Along with the excessive use of antibiotics, the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria has become a public health problem and a great challenge vis-à-vis the control and treatment of bacterial infections. As the natural predators of bacteria, phages have reattracted researchers’ attentions. Phage therapy is regarded as one of the most promising alternative strategies to fight pathogens in the post-antibiotic era. Recently, genetic and chemical engineering methods have been applied in phage modification. Among them, genetic engineering includes the expression of toxin proteins, modification of host recognition receptors, and interference of bacterial phage-resistant pathways. Chemical engineering, meanwhile, involves crosslinking phage coats with antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides, heavy metal ions, and photothermic matters. Those advances greatly expand the host range of phages and increase their bactericidal efficiency, which sheds light on the application of phage therapy in the control of multidrug-resistant pathogens. This review reports on engineered phages through genetic and chemical approaches. Further, we present the obstacles that this novel antimicrobial has incurred.Efforts to develop and pair novel oral β-lactamase inhibitors with existing β-lactam agents to treat extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales are gaining ground. Ceftibuten is an oral third-generation cephalosporin capable of achieving high urine concentrations; however, there are no robust data describing its pharmacodynamic profile. This study characterizes ceftibuten pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in a neutropenic murine thigh infection model. Enterobacterales isolates expressing no known clinically-relevant enzymatic resistance (n = 7) or harboring an ESBL (n = 2) were evaluated. The ceftibuten minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were 0.03-4 mg/L. Nine ceftibuten regimens, including a human-simulated regimen (HSR) equivalent to clinical ceftibuten doses of 300 mg taken orally every 8 h, were utilized to achieve various fT > MICs. A sigmoidal Emax model was fitted to fT > MIC vs. change in log10 CFU/thigh to determine the requirements for net stasis and 1-log10 CFU/thigh bacterial burden reduction. The growth of the 0 h and 24 h control groups was 5.97 ± 0.37 and 8.51 ± 0.84 log10 CFU/thigh, respectively. Ceftibuten HSR resulted in a -0.49 to -1.43 log10 CFU/thigh bacterial burden reduction at 24 h across the isolates. Stasis and 1-log10 CFU/thigh reduction were achieved with a fT > MIC of 39% and 67%, respectively. The fT > MIC targets identified can be used to guide ceftibuten dosage selection to optimize the likelihood of clinical efficacy.Underwater robots and vehicles have received great attention due to their potential applications in remote sensing and search and rescue. A challenge for micro aquatic robots is the lack of small motors needed for three-dimensional locomotion in water. Here, we show a simple diving and surfacing device fabricated from thermo-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) or a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-containing hydrogel. The poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-containing device exhibited fast and reversible diving/surfacing cycles in response to changing temperature. Modulation of the interaction between poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) chains and water molecules at temperatures above or below the lower critical solution temperature regulates the gel density through the swelling and de-swelling. The gel surfaced in water when heated and sank when cooled. We further showed reversible diving/surfacing cycles of the device when exposed to electrical and ultrasonic stimuli. Finally, a small electrically heated gel was incorporated into a miniature submarine and used to control the diving depth. These results suggest that the poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-containing device has good potential for underwater remote-controlled micro aquatic robots.Protein analysis can be used to efficiently detect the early stages of various diseases. However, conventional protein detection platforms require expensive or complex equipment, which has been a major obstacle to their widespread application. In addition, uncertain signals from non-specific adhesion interfere with the precise interpretation of the results. To overcome these problems, the development of a technique that can detect the proteins in a simple method is needed. In this study, a platform composed of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) was fabricated through a simple imprinting method for protein detection. The corrugated surface naturally formed by the nanoparticle assemblies simultaneously increases the efficiency of adhesion and binding with analytes and reduces undesired interactions. After forming the GNP micropatterns, post-functionalization with both cationic and neutral ligands was performed on the surface to manipulate their electrostatic interaction with proteins. Upon protein binding, the change in the electrical values of the micropatterns was recorded by using a resistance meter. The resistance of the positively charged micropatterns was found to increase due to the electrostatic interaction with proteins, while no significant change in resistance was observed for the neutral micropatterns after immersion in a protein solution. Additionally, the selective adsorption of fluorescent proteins onto the micropatterns was captured using confocal microscopy. These simply imprinted GNP micropatterns are sensitive platforms that can detect various analytes by measuring the electrical resistance with portable equipment.Inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing is considered to be the leading cause of high burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in resource-constrained lower- and middle-income countries. Under its global action plan, the World Health Organization has envisaged tackling the AMR threat through promotion of rational antibiotic use among prescribers. Given the lack of consensus definitions and other associated challenges, we sought to devise and validate an Antimicrobial Rationality Assessment Tool-AmRAT-for standardizing the assessment of appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing. A consensus algorithm was developed by a multidisciplinary team consisting of intensivists, internal medicine practitioners, clinical pharmacologists, and infectious disease experts. The tool was piloted by 10 raters belonging to three groups of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) personnel Master of Pharmacology (M.Sc.) (n = 3, group A), Doctor of Medicine (MD) residents (n = 3, group B), and DM residents in clinical pharmacology (n = antimicrobial prescriptions in resource-constrained healthcare environments.Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Stage IV CRC patients have poor prognosis with a five-year survival rate of 14%. Liver metastasis is the main cause of mortality in CRC patients. Since current screening tests have several drawbacks, effective stable non-invasive biomarkers such as microRNA (miRNA) are needed. We aim to investigate the expression of miRNA (miR-21, miR-19a, miR-23a, miR-29a, miR-145, miR-203, miR-155, miR-210, miR-31, and miR-345) in the plasma of 62 Lebanese Stage IV CRC patients and 44 healthy subjects using RT-qPCR, as well as to evaluate their potential for diagnosis of advanced CRC and its liver metastasis using the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve. miR-21, miR-145, miR-203, miR-155, miR-210, miR-31, and miR-345 were significantly upregulated in the plasma of surgery naïve CRC patients when compared to healthy individuals. We identified two panels of miRNA that could be used for diagnosis of Stage IV CRC (miR-21 and miR-210) with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.731 and diagnostic accuracy of 69% and liver metastasis (miR-210 and miR-203) with an AUC = 0.833 and diagnostic accuracy of 72%. Panels of specific circulating miRNA, which require further validation, could be potential non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for CRC and liver metastasis.Raising a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) has generated interest and debate in research and politics, but opposition persists. Up to now, the presentation of impacts focussed on effectiveness (i.e., intended impact); to our knowledge, no literature syntheses focussed on both intended and unintended impacts. A systematic scoping review was conducted in which a search strategy was developed iteratively and literature was obtained from experts in alcohol research and scientific and grey databases. Ninety-one studies were extracted and analysed using formative thematic content analysis. Intended impacts were reported in 119 units of information from the studies (68% positive), forming four paths implementation, primary and (two) on secondary societal harm and violence. Unintended developments were reported in 43 units of information (30% positive), forming five themes. Only eight studies reported on implementation. Furthermore, a division between primary and secondary paths and the use of a bridging variable (drinking patterns in analyses or methodology) was discovered. These results provide an insight into how well legislation works and can be used to discover or implement new means of curbing underage drinking and alcohol-related violence and harm. They also offer valuable starting points for future research and underline the importance of considering unintended developments.Deep learning is the mainstream paradigm in computer vision and machine learning, but performance is usually not as good as expected when used for applications in robot vision. The problem is that robot sensing is inherently active, and often, relevant data is scarce for many application domains. This calls for novel deep learning approaches that can offer a good performance at a lower data consumption cost. We address here monocular depth estimation in warehouse automation with new methods and three different deep architectures. Our results suggest that the incorporation of sensor models and prior knowledge relative to robotic active vision, can consistently improve the results and learning performance from fewer than usual training samples, as compared to standard data-driven deep learning.Background The first aim of this study is to achieve validation of the direct and meta-perspective versions of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire in the Arabic language, and the second aim of this study is to determine the quality of the coach-athlete relationship to athlete’ satisfaction with individual performance according to sport participation type, sport duration, and sport achievement. Methods A total of 259 athletes with a mean age of 22 years were recruited from various athletic clubs in Kuwait. Participants completed The Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire and The Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire. For this study, the factorial structure of the Arabic version of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q) was used in Kuwait and was prepared with both direct and meta perspectives. Results The results of this study show evidence of the validity of the direct and meta-perspective Arabic versions of the CART-Q. The fit indices of the data collected by direct-method were as follows (x2/df = 2.21; RMSEA = 0.06; CFI = 0.98; GFI = 0.95; AGFI = 0.91); data for the meta-method were as follows (x2/df = 2.32; RMSEA = 0.08; CFI = 0.99; GFI = 0.93; AGFI = 0.87). Female participants have obtained higher means than males from all questionnaires. Conclusions The results of the present study could help coaches and athletes from the Middle East to understand the reasons and methods that lead to a quality coach-athlete relationship.Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability understand that other people’s mental states may be different from one’s own. Psychometric models have shown that individual differences in ToM can largely be attributed to general intelligence (g) (Coyle et al. 2018). Most psychometric models specify g as a reflective latent variable, which is interpreted as a general ability that plays a causal role in a broad range of cognitive tasks, including ToM tasks. However, an alternative approach is to specify g as a formative latent variable, that is, an overall index of cognitive ability that does not represent a psychological attribute (Kovacs and Conway 2016). Here we consider a formative g approach to the relationship between ToM and intelligence. First, we conducted an SEM with reflective g to test the hypothesis that ToM is largely accounted for by a general ability. Next, we conducted a model with formative g to determine whether the relationship between ToM and intelligence is influenced by domain-specific tasks. Finally, we conducted a redundancy analysis to examine the contribution of each g variable. Results suggest that the relationship between ToM and intelligence in this study was influenced by language-based tasks, rather than solely a general ability.

(D. Don) is one of the endemic medicinal plants that is traditionally used to treat a number of diseases. Although the plant has been used to enhance memory, the investigational evidence supporting the nootropic effect was unsubstantial. Hence, the rationale for this study was to assess the potential beneficial effect of

seed extracts on learning and memory in mice.

The powdered plant samples (aerial parts) were subjected to extraction ad fractionation. Among the extracts, crude and ethyl acetate extracts were screened for major phytochemicals through HPLC analysis. All the extracts were evaluated for the in vitro anticholinesterase (AChE and BChE) and antioxidant potentials. Among the extracts the active fraction was further assessed for improving learning and memory in mice using behavioural tests like Y-maze and novel object recognition test (NORT) using standard protocols. After behavioural tests, all the animals were sacrificed and brains tissues were assessed for the ex vivo anticholinesterase aning abilities and reduced the memory impairment induced by scopolamine in mice model thus suggesting that these extracts could be effectively used for the management of oxidative stress, neurodegenerative diseases and memory loss.

The extracts more potently scavenged the tested free radicals, exhibited anticholinesterase activities, improved the learning abilities and reduced the memory impairment induced by scopolamine in mice model thus suggesting that these extracts could be effectively used for the management of oxidative stress, neurodegenerative diseases and memory loss.Butyric acid is known to possess anticarcinogenic and antioxidative properties. The local lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains Lactobacillus casei AP isolated from the digestive tract of healthy Indonesian infants and L. plantarum DR131 from indigenous fermented buffalo milk (dadih) can produce butyric acid in vitro. However, the genes and metabolic pathways involved in this process remain unknown. We sequenced and assembled the 2.95-Mb L. casei AP and 4.44-Mb L. plantarum DR131 draft genome sequences. We observed that 98% of the 2870 protein-coding genes of L. casei AP and 97% of the 3069 protein-coding genes of L. plantarum DR131 were similar to those of an L. casei strain isolated from infant stools and an L. plantarum strain in sheep milk, respectively. Comparison of the genome sequences of L. casei AP and L. plantarum DR131 led to the identification of genes encoding butyrate kinase (buk) and phosphotransbutyrylase (ptb), enzymes involved in butyric acid synthesis in L. casei AP. In contrast, a medium-chain thio-esterase and type 2 fatty acid synthase facilitated butyric acid synthesis in L. plantarum DR131. Our results provide new insights into the physiological behavior of the two LAB strains to facilitate their use as probiotics.People are living longer, not, as was previously the case, due to reduced child mortality, but because we are postponing the ill-health of old age […].This study was designed to determine the effects of dietary arginine on development and proliferation in rat mammary tissue through changes in miRNA profiles. Twelve pregnant Wistar rats were allocated randomly to two groups. A basal diet containing arginine or the control diet containing glutamate on an equal nitrogen basis as the arginine supplemented diet were used. The experiment included a pre-experimental period of four days before parturition and an experimental period of 17 days after parturition. Mammary tissue was collected for histology, RNA extraction and high-throughput sequencing analysis. The greater mammary acinar area indicated that arginine supplementation enhanced mammary tissue development (p less then 0.01). MicroRNA profiling indicated that seven miRNA (miR-206-3p, miR-133a-5p, miR-133b-3p, miR-1-3p, miR-133a-3p, miR-1b and miR-486) were differentially expressed in response to Arginine when compared with the glutamate-based control group. In silico gene ontology enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis revealed between 240 and 535 putative target genes among the miRNA. Further verification by qPCR revealed concordance with the differential expression from the sequencing results 17 of 28 target genes were differentially expressed (15 were highly expressed in arginine and 2 in control) and 11 target genes did not have significant difference in expression. In conclusion, our study suggests that arginine may potentially regulate the development of rat mammary glands through regulating miRNAs.Rickettsia are significant sources of tick-borne diseases in humans worldwide. In North America, two species in the spotted fever group of Rickettsia have been conclusively associated with disease of humans Rickettsia rickettsii, the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Rickettsia parkeri, the cause of R. parkeri rickettsiosis. Previous work in our lab demonstrated non-endothelial parasitism by another pathogenic SFG Rickettsia species, Rickettsia conorii, within THP-1-derived macrophages, and we have hypothesized that this growth characteristic may be an underappreciated aspect of rickettsial pathogenesis in mammalian hosts. In this work, we demonstrated that multiple other recognized human pathogenic species of Rickettsia, including R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, Rickettsia africae, and Rickettsiaakari can grow within target endothelial cells as well as within PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells. In contrast, Rickettsia bellii, a Rickettsia species not associated with disease of humans, and R. rickettsii strain Iowa, an avirulent derivative of pathogenic R. rickettsii, could invade both cell types but proliferate only within endothelial cells. Further analysis revealed that similar to previous studies on R. conorii, other recognized pathogenic Rickettsia species could grow within the cytosol of THP-1-derived macrophages and avoided localization with two different markers of lysosomal compartments; LAMP-2 and cathepsin D. R. bellii, on the other hand, demonstrated significant co-localization with lysosomal compartments. Collectively, these findings suggest that the ability of pathogenic rickettsial species to establish a niche within macrophage-like cells could be an important factor in their ability to cause disease in mammals. These findings also suggest that analysis of growth within mammalian phagocytic cells may be useful to predict the pathogenic potential of newly isolated and identified Rickettsia species.Dimethyl fumarate is a cytoprotective and immunomodulatory drug used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. We performed a bibliometric study examining the characteristics and trends of the top 100 cited articles that include dimethyl fumarate in the title. On 21 September 2020 we carried out an electronic search in the Web of Science (WOS), seeking articles that include the following terms within the title dimethyl fumarate, BG-12, or Tecfidera. To focus our investigation on original research, we refined the search to include only articles, early access, others, case report, and clinical trials. We obtained a total of 1115 items, which were cited 7169 times, had a citation density of 6.43 citations/item, and an h-index of 40. Around 2010, there was a jump in the number of published articles per year, rising from 5 articles/year up to 12 articles/year. We sorted all the items by the number of citations and selected the top 100 most cited (T100). The T100 had 4164 citations, with a density of 37 citations/yeaimethyl fumarate from a different perspective, which will allow the readership (expert or not) to understand the relevance of classic and recent literature on this topic.Aging-associated inflammation is characterized by senescent cell-mediated secretion of high levels of inflammatory mediators, such as microRNA (miR)-146a. Moreover, a rise of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is also related to systemic inflammation and frailty in the elderly. Exosome-mediated cell-to-cell communication is fundamental in cellular senescence and aging. The plasma changes in exercise-promoted miR-146a-5p, cfDNA, and exosome release could be the key to facilitate intercellular communication and systemic adaptations to exercise in aging. Thirty-eight elderly subjects (28 trained and 10 controls) volunteered in an 8-week resistance training protocol. The levels of plasma miR-146a-5p, cfDNA, and exosome markers (CD9, CD14, CD63, CD81, Flotillin [Flot]-1, and VDAC1) were measured prior to and following training. Results showed no changes in plasma miR-146a-5p and cfDNA levels with training. The levels of exosome markers (Flot-1, CD9, and CD81) as well as exosome-carried proteins (CD14 and VDAC1) remained unchanged, whereas an attenuated CD63 response was found in the trained group compared to the controls.