Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Individual-based and interactional resilience mechanisms in social and healthcare service NPOs during the COVID-19 pandemic: Handling a disruptive extreme context in Austria

While Austrian social and healthcare service nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are key performers in the COVID-19 pandemic, we also notice their vulnerability in terms of struggling with this disruptive extreme context. The particularity of disruptive extreme contexts is that organizations commonly can neither anticipate them, nor prepare specific countermeasures or specialized resources for fighting against them. Thus, we regard organizational resilience based on non-specialized resources as an appropriate approach for dealing with (the struggles of) disruptive extreme contexts. Organizational resilience refers to an organization's ability to resist disruptive extreme contexts while maintaining and adapting functionality and ultimately learning from these extreme contexts by mobilizing and accessing the required resources, behaviors and capabilities. Based on 33 expert interviews with NPO top and middle managers we aim to explore individual-based and interactional resilience mechanisms of NPOs in the pandemic. The qualitative content analysis yielded to following results: Individual personality traits (e.g., pragmatisms, flexibility) and attitudes (serenity and optimism) constitute individual-based resilience mechanisms. Moreover, a shared (crisis) understanding (e.g., common sense of direction), social connectedness (e.g., team cohesion) and managerial staff orientation (e.g., a caring attitude) as interactional resilience mechanisms helped to maintain and adapt NPOs' functioning. Overall, this study reinforces the multilevel nature of resilience in terms of the crucial combination of individual and interactional resilience mechanisms for facing adversity. Moreover, it emphasizes the evolving nature of resilience in terms of the required time for, e.g., building trust.
Walking exercise alters pedunculopontine nucleus connectivity in Parkinson’s disease in a dose-dependent manner

Background Gait disturbances are critical motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The mechanisms of gait impairment in PD are not entirely understood but likely involve changes in the Pedunculopontine Nucleus (PPN), a critical locomotion center, and its associated connections. Exercise is universally accepted as helpful in PD, but the extent and intensity of exercise required for plastic changes are unclear. Methods Twenty-seven PD subjects participated in a 3-month gait training intervention. Clinical assessments and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed at baseline and 3 months after exercise. Functional connectivity of PPN was assessed by combining the methods of partial least squares, conditional dependence and partial correlation. In addition, paired t-tests were used to examine the effect of exercise on PPN functional connectivity and clinical measures, and Pearson’s correlation was used to assess the association between altered PPN functional connectivity and clinical measures. Results Exercise significantly improved Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-III (UPDRS-III). A significant increase in right PPN functional connectivity was observed after exercise, which did not correlate with motor improvement. However, the decrease in left PPN functional connectivity significantly correlated with the improvement in UPDRS-III and was linearly related to both number of walks and the duration of walks. In addition, exercise induced a significant increase in the laterality of PPN connectivity strength, which correlated with motor improvement. Conclusion PPN functional connectivity is modifiable by walking exercise in both a dose-independent (right PPN and laterality of PPN connectivity strength) and dose-dependent (left PPN) manner. The PPN may contribute to pathological and compensatory processes in PD gait control. The observed gait improvement by walking exercise is most likely due to the reversal of the maladaptive compensatory mechanism. Altered PPN functional connectivity can be a marker for exercise-induced motor improvement in PD.
Evolved high aerobic capacity has context-specific effects on gut microbiota

Gut microbiota is expected to coevolve with the host's physiology and may play a role in adjusting the host's energy metabolism to suit the host's environment. To evaluate the effects of both evolved host metabolism and the environmental context in shaping the gut microbiota, we used a unique combination of (1) experimental evolution to create selection lines for a fast metabolism and (2) a laboratory-to-field translocation study. Mature bank voles Myodes glareolus from lines selected for high aerobic capacity (A lines) and from unselected control (C lines) were released into large (0.2 ha) outdoor enclosures for longitudinal monitoring. To examine whether the natural environment elicited a similar or more pronounced impact on the gut microbiota of the next generation, we also sampled the field-reared offspring. The gut microbiota were characterized using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of fecal samples. The artificial selection for fast metabolism had minimal impact on the gut microbiota in laboratory conditions but in field conditions, there were differences between the selection lines (A lines vs. C lines) in the diversity, community, and resilience of the gut microbiota. Notably, the selection lines differed in the less abundant bacteria throughout the experiment. The lab-to-field transition resulted in an increase in alpha diversity and an altered community composition in the gut microbiota, characterized by a significant increase in the relative abundance of Actinobacteria and a decrease of Patescibacteria. Also, the selection lines showed different temporal patterns in changes in microbiota composition, as the average gut microbiota alpha diversity of the C lines, but not A lines, was temporarily reduced during the initial transition to the field. In surviving young voles, the alpha diversity of gut microbiota was significantly higher in A-line than C-line voles. These results indicate that the association of host metabolism and gut microbiota is context-specific, likely mediated by behavioral or physiological modifications in response to the environment.
Data-Driven Network Dynamical Model of Rat Brains During Acute Ictogenesis

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders worldwide. Recent findings suggest that the brain is a complex system composed of a network of neurons, and seizure is considered an emergent property resulting from its interactions. Based on this perspective, network physiology has emerged as a promising approach to explore how brain areas coordinate, synchronize and integrate their dynamics, both under perfect health and critical illness conditions. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to present an application of (Dynamic) Bayesian Networks (DBN) to model Local Field Potentials (LFP) data on rats induced to epileptic seizures based on the number of arcs found using threshold analytics. Results showed that DBN analysis captured the dynamic nature of brain connectivity across ictogenesis and a significant correlation with neurobiology derived from pioneering studies employing techniques of pharmacological manipulation, lesion, and modern optogenetics. The arcs evaluated under the proposed approach achieved consistent results based on previous literature, in addition to demonstrating robustness regarding functional connectivity analysis. Moreover, it provided fascinating and novel insights, such as discontinuity between forelimb clonus and generalized tonic-clonic seizure (GTCS) dynamics. Thus, DBN coupled with threshold analytics may be an excellent tool for investigating brain circuitry and their dynamical interplay, both in homeostasis and dysfunction conditions.
Clinical Efficacy and In Vitro Drug Sensitivity Test Results of Azithromycin Combined With Other Antimicrobial Therapies in the Treatment of MDR P. aeruginosa Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

Objective: The aim of the research was to study the effect of azithromycin (AZM) in the treatment of MDR P. aeruginosa VAP combined with other antimicrobial therapies. Methods: The clinical outcomes were retrospectively collected and analyzed to elucidate the efficacy of different combinations involving azithromycin in the treatment of MDR-PA VAP. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of five drugs was measured by the agar dilution method against 27 isolates of MDR-PA, alone or in combination. Results: The incidence of VAP has increased approximately to 10.4% (961/9245) in 5 years and 18.4% (177/961) caused by P. aeruginosa ranking fourth. A total of 151 cases of MDR P. aeruginosa were included in the clinical retrospective study. Clinical efficacy results are as follows: meropenem + azithromycin (MEM + AZM) was 69.2% (9/13), cefoperazone/sulbactam + azithromycin (SCF + AZM) was 60% (6/10), and the combination of three drugs containing AZM was 69.2% (9/13). The curative effect of meropenem + amikacin (MEM + AMK) was better than that of the meropenem + levofloxacin (MEM + LEV) group, p = 0.029 (p < 0.05). The curative effect of cefoperazone/sulbactam + amikacin (SCF + AMK) was better than that of the cefoperazone/sulbactam + levofloxacin (SCF + LEV) group, p = 0.025 (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between combinations of two or three drugs containing AZM, p > 0.05 (p = 0.806). From the MIC results, the AMK single drug was already very sensitive to the selected strains. When MEM or SCF was combined with AZM, the sensitivity of them to strains can be significantly increased. When combined with MEM and AZM, the MIC50 and MIC90 of MEM decreased to 1 and 2 ug/mL from 8 to 32 ug/mL. When combined with SCF + AZM, the MIC50 of SCF decreased to 16 ug/mL, and the curve shifted obviously. However, for the combination of SCF + LEV + AZM, MIC50 and MIC90 could not achieve substantive changes. From the FIC index results, the main actions of MEM + AZM were additive effects, accounting for 72%; for the combination of SCF + AZM, the additive effect was 40%. The combination of AMK or LEV with AZM mainly showed unrelated effects, and the combination of three drugs could not improve the positive correlation between LEV and AZM. Conclusion: AZM may increase the effect of MEM or SCF against MDR P. aeruginosa VAP. Based on MEM or SCF combined with AMK or AZM, we can achieve a good effect in the treatment of MDR P. aeruginosa VAP.
High-throughput bioengineering of homogenous and functional human-induced pluripotent stem cells-derived liver organoids via micropatterning technique

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived liver organoids are emerging as more human-relevant in vitro models for studying liver diseases and hepatotoxicity than traditional hepatocyte cultures and animal models. The generation of liver organoids is based on the Matrigel dome method. However, the organoids constructed by this method display significant heterogeneity in their morphology, size, and maturity. Additionally, the formed organoid is randomly encapsulated in the Matrigel dome, which is not convenient for in situ staining and imaging. Here, we demonstrate an approach to generate a novel type of liver organoids via micropatterning technique. This approach enables the reproducible and high-throughput formation of bioengineered fetal liver organoids with uniform morphology and deterministic size and location in a multiwell plate. The liver organoids constructed by this technique closely recapitulate some critical features of human liver development at the fetal stage, including fetal liver-specific gene and protein expression, glycogen storage, lipid accumulation, and protein secretion. Additionally, the organoids allow whole-mount in-situ staining and imaging. Overall, this new type of liver organoids is compatible with the pharmaceutical industry’s widely-used preclinical drug discovery tools and will facilitate liver drug screening and hepatotoxic assessment.
Automated detection of coastal upwelling in the Western Indian Ocean: Towards an operational “Upwelling Watch” system

Coastal upwelling is an oceanographic process that brings cold, nutrient-rich waters to the ocean surface from depth. These nutrient-rich waters help drive primary productivity which forms the foundation of ecological systems and the fisheries dependent on them. Although coastal upwelling systems of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) are seasonal (i.e., only present for part of the year) with large variability driving strong fluctuations in fish catch, they sustain food security and livelihoods for millions of people via small-scale (subsistence and artisanal) fisheries. Due to the socio-economic importance of these systems, an "Upwelling Watch" analysis is proposed, for producing updates/alerts on upwelling presence and extremes. We propose a methodology for the detection of coastal upwelling using remotely-sensed daily chlorophyll-a and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data. An unsupervised machine learning approach, K-means clustering, is used to detect upwelling areas off the Somali coast (WIO), where the Somali upwelling – regarded as the largest in the WIO and the fifth most important upwelling system globally – takes place. This automatic detection approach successfully delineates the upwelling core and surrounds, as well as non-upwelling ocean regions. The technique is shown to be robust with accurate classification of out-of-sample data (i.e., data not used for training the detection model). Once upwelling regions have been identified, the classification of extreme upwelling events was performed using confidence intervals derived from the full remote sensing record. This work has shown promise within the Somali upwelling system with aims to expand it to the rest of the WIO upwellings. This upwelling detection and classification method can aid fisheries management and also provide broader scientific insights into the functioning of these important oceanographic features.
Psychological Distress and Its Mediating Effect on Experiences of Online Risk: The Case for Vulnerable Young People

There is strong evidence showing that vulnerable children and adolescents, such as children who are carers for their family, in care themselves, or who have a physical disability or special educational needs, are at greater risk of mental health problems and poor social wellbeing. Recent research indicates this heterogenous but vulnerable group is also disadvantaged online and may be at greater risk of harm. This study aimed to examine participants’ vulnerability (vulnerable vs. non-vulnerable), psychological distress, parental e-safety support, and online lives, specifically their experiences of online risk. The roles of psychological distress and parental e-safety support were explored as possible mediators and moderators, respectively, for the relationship between vulnerability and online risk. Survey data was collected from 15,278 participants (11–17 years old; M = 12.60, SD = 1.44), 46.6% identified as females, 46.6% identified as males and 6% identified as “other”. Participants were recruited from schools/colleges in different parts of England, of whom 3,242 were categorised as vulnerable. Using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) the results showed that, when compared to the non-vulnerable participants, the vulnerable groups (single or multiple vulnerabilities) experienced more psychological distress and online risks. They also received less e-safety support from parents or carers. Furthermore, mediation and moderated mediation analysis showed that the relationship between vulnerability and online risk was significantly and partially mediated by psychological distress. Parental e-safety support was found to moderate the relationship between psychological distress and online risk and between vulnerability and online risk. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that vulnerability offline is mirrored online. Psychological interventions and parental e-safety support are required to navigate the internet safely. Children’s services and practitioners should consider online risks in their assessments and interventions.
Understanding the serial mediating effects of career adaptability and career decision-making self-efficacy between parental autonomy support and academic engagement in Chinese secondary vocational students

This study investigated new avenues for understanding the association between parental autonomy support and academic engagement among Chinese secondary vocational students based on Self-Determination Theory and Career Construction Theory. We highlighted the mediator role of career adaptability and career decision-making self-efficacy in the relationship between parental autonomy support and academic engagement. Using self-reported data from 1,930 secondary vocational students in a city in Central China, we performed correlation analysis and mediation analysis by using SPSS and Mplus. The results revealed that parental autonomy support was positively associated with students’ academic engagement. Moreover, as an adaptability resource and adapting response, career adaptability and career decision-making self-efficacy played mediating roles between parental autonomy support and academic engagement. These findings offered crucial empirical evidence for understanding the association between parental support and academic engagement among Chinese secondary vocational students. Meanwhile, it also validated the application of Career Construction Theory in a sample of secondary vocational students in China and provided constructive insights for implementing diverse support measures to boost their academic and career development.
Vitamin D status and asthma, lung function, and hospitalization among British adults

Background Vitamin D has been known to be associated with asthma. However, the association between vitamin D status and asthma, lung function as well as hospitalization among adults remains unclear. Objective To investigate the role of serum vitamin D in asthma prevalence, lung function, and asthma control in adults. Methods Multivariable logistic regression was applied to assess the relationship between serum vitamin D and asthma prevalence, lung function (FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC), current wheeze, and asthma-linked hospitalizations in a cross-sectional study of 435,040 adults aged 37–73 years old from the UK Biobank. Results Compared to vitamin D deficiency, the odds of asthma were decreased by 6.4% [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.936; 95% CI: 0.911–0.962; p < 0.001] and 9.8% (aOR = 0. 0.902; 95% CI: 0.877–0. 0.927; p < 0.001) in individuals with insufficient and optimal vitamin D concentration, respectively, in the fully adjusted model. In total asthmatic patients, serum vitamin D was obviously and positively related with FEV1 (β = 1.328 ml, 95% CI = 0.575–2.080), FVC (β = 2.018 ml, 95% CI = 1.127–2.908), and FEV1/FVC (β = 0.006%, 95% CI = 0.002–0.010). Asthmatic patients whose vitamin D level was in the deficient category had 9.3–19.9% higher odds of current wheeze than insufficient categories (aOR = 0.907; 95% CI: 0.861–0.957; p < 0.001) and optimal categories (aOR = 0.801; 95% CI: 0.759–0.845; p < 0.001), but the relationship between vitamin D and asthma hospitalization was not significant. Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency was related to higher odds of asthma and current wheeze, and lower lung function in a large sample size study of British adults. Our results indicate a potential positive impact of serum vitamin D on asthma occurrence and disease control in adults.
Reproducing a decision-making network in a virtual visual discrimination task

We reproduced a decision-making network model using the neural simulator software neural simulation tool (NEST), and we embedded the spiking neural network in a virtual robotic agent performing a simulated behavioral task. The present work builds upon the concept of replicability in neuroscience, preserving most of the computational properties in the initial model although employing a different software tool. The proposed implementation successfully obtains equivalent results from the original study, reproducing the salient features of the neural processes underlying a binary decision. Furthermore, the resulting network is able to control a robot performing an in silico visual discrimination task, the implementation of which is openly available on the EBRAINS infrastructure through the neuro robotics platform (NRP).
Alleviating effects of gut micro-ecologically regulatory treatments on mice with constipation

Treatments targeted for gut microbial regulation are newly developed strategies in constipation management. In this study, the alleviating effects of gut micro-ecologically regulatory treatments on constipation in mice were investigated. Male BALB/c mice were treated with loperamide to induce constipation, and then the corresponding intervention was administered in each group, respectively. The results showed that administration of mixed probiotics (MP), a 5-fold dose of postbiotics (P5), both synbiotics (S and S2), as well as mixed probiotics and postbiotics (MPP) blend for 8 days shortened the time to the first black stool, raised fecal water content, promoted intestinal motility, and increased serum motilin level in loperamide-treated mice. Furthermore, these treatments altered gut microbial composition and metabolism of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Based on linear regression analysis, SCFA was positively correlated with serum motilin except for isobutyrate. It suggested gut microbial metabolites affected secretion of motilin to increase gastrointestinal movement and transportation function and thus improved pathological symptoms of mice with constipation. In conclusion, the alteration of gut micro-ecology is closely associated with gastrointestinal function, and it is an effective way to improve constipation via probiotic, prebiotic, and postbiotic treatment.
Downregulation of miRNA miR-1305 and upregulation of miRNA miR-6785-5p may be associated with psoriasis

Background: The role of serum extracellular vesicles (EVs) is less known in psoriasis. Objectives: To explore the transcriptomic profile of serum EVs and the potential biomarkers in psoriasis. Methods: EVs were isolated by differential ultracentrifugation and identified by transmission electron microscope. The diameters of EVs were detected using nanoparticle tracking analysis. Serum EVs-keratinocyte interaction was observed through confocal fluorescence microscopy. miRNA microarray and mRNA microarray were performed in serum EVs (n = 4) and skin lesions (n = 3), respectively. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization were used to detect the expression of miRNAs in serum EVs and skin lesions (n = 15). Bioinformatics analysis was performed to predict the potential target genes and functions of miR-1305 and miR-6785-5p. Western blot, CCK-8 and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to detect the EVs’ biomarkers, keratinocytes proliferation and cytokines secretion. Results: A total of 16 miRNAs and 1,725 mRNAs were significantly dysregulated in serum EVs and skin lesions, respectively. miR-1305 was down-regulated and miR-6785-5p was upregulated in both serum EVs and skin lesions. Serum EVs could be taken up by keratinocytes. miR-1305 was downregulated and miR-6785-5p were upregulated in keratinocytes after co-cultured with psoriasis serum EVs compared with controls. Psoriasis serum EVs promoted keratinocyte proliferation and the secretion of CCL20 and IL-8. Serum EVs miR-1305 and miR-6785-5p were associated with disease severity. Conclusion: Serum EVs might be involved in the activation of keratinocytes through loaded miRNAs in psoriasis. Serum EVs miR-1305 and miR-6785-5p may be associated with psoriasis.