Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in water color shift competition between phytoplankton species with contrasting light‐harvesting strategies

Abstract The color of many lakes and seas is changing, which is likely to affect the species composition of freshwater and marine phytoplankton communities. For example, cyanobacteria with phycobilisomes as light‐harvesting antennae can effectively utilize green or orange‐red light. However, recent studies show that they use blue light much less efficiently than phytoplankton species with chlorophyll‐based light‐harvesting complexes, even though both phytoplankton groups may absorb blue light to a similar extent. Can we advance ecological theory to predict how these differences in light‐harvesting strategy affect competition between phytoplankton species? Here, we develop a new resource competition model in which the absorption and utilization efficiency of different colors of light are varied independently. The model was parameterized using monoculture experiments with a freshwater cyanobacterium and green alga, as representatives of phytoplankton with phycobilisome‐based vs. chlorophyll‐based light‐harvesting antennae. The parameterized model was subsequently tested in a series of competition experiments. In agreement with the model predictions, the green alga won the competition in blue light whereas the cyanobacterium won in red light, irrespective of the initial relative abundances of the species. These results are in line with observed changes in phytoplankton community structure in response to lake brownification. Similarly, in marine waters, the model predicts dominance of Prochlorococcus with chlorophyll‐based light‐harvesting complexes in blue light but dominance of Synechococcus with phycobilisomes in green light, with a broad range of coexistence in between. These predictions agree well with the known biogeographical distributions of these two highly abundant marine taxa. Our results offer a novel trait‐based approach to understand and predict competition between phytoplankton species with different photosynthetic pigments and light‐harvesting strategies.
A New Approach to Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Improving Cognitive Motor Learning and Hand Function with the Nintendo Switch in Stroke Survivors

Background Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) technique designed to improve cognitive and physical function of stroke survivors. There are many studies being conducted in the search for an effective intervention of tDCS. This study focused on cognitive motor learning in relation to hand function of stroke survivors. Material/Methods We enrolled 30 subjects with cognitive and hand function disorders. The participants in each group were inpatients at a hospital in Korea and had undergone neurorehabilitation training (60 min). Groups 1 and 3 had tDCS applied for 20 min, while group 2 received sham tDCS for the same duration. Afterwards, groups 1 and 2 played Nintendo games for 20 min, but group 3 did not. The total intervention period was 40 min/day, 2 days/week, for 8 weeks. The cognitive and hand function of the subjects were assessed using the Trail Making Test (TMT-A, TMT-B), Grip strength, Box and Block Test (BBT), and the Manual Function Test (MFT) before and after intervention. Results The tDCS + Nintendo Switch game group showed significant differences in TMT-A, TMT-B, Grip strength, MFT, and BBT results compared to the other groups between before and after intervention (p<.05). Conclusions Our results suggest that inclusion of motor tasks with the application of tDCS may be effective in improving cognitive and hand function of stroke survivors.
Maternal surgery and anesthesia during pregnancy and risk of birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2011.

BACKGROUND There is little recent research on the teratogenicity of maternal anesthesia exposure. We used National Birth Defects Prevention Study data to describe surgical procedures conducted during pregnancy and to estimate the risk of birth defects associated with periconceptional anesthesia exposure. METHODS We used logistic regression to assess associations between general and local anesthesia for surgery during the periconceptional period and specific birth defects. We calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for 25 birth defects with at least five exposed cases (11,501 controls, 24,337 cases), adjusted for maternal race/ethnicity, age, body mass index, periconceptional exposure to X-ray, CT, or radionuclide scans, and study site. RESULTS The most commonly reported procedures were dental, dermatologic, and cervical cerclage procedures, regardless of gestational timing. Overall, 226 case and 73 control women reported periconceptional general anesthesia; 230 case and 89 control women reported periconceptional local anesthesia. Women who reported general or local anesthesia were disproportionately non-Hispanic white and were more likely to report periconceptional opioid use and at least one periconceptional X-ray/CT/radionuclide scan. Women who reported general anesthesia were also more likely to report periconceptional injury. We did not observe any significant associations between either type of anesthesia exposure and the birth defects studied. Odds ratios were generally close to null and imprecise. CONCLUSIONS Our study population reported a wide range of surgical procedures during pregnancy, requiring both general and local anesthesia. Our findings suggest that periconceptional anesthesia is not strongly associated with the birth defects assessed in this study.
Perceptions of Palliative Care Nurses Related to Death and Palliative Care Practices

This study has been conducted with the purpose of identifying the perceptions of palliative nurses about death and determining palliative care practices. We conducted qualitative interviews with 23 palliative care nurses in Turkey. Content analysis was used in the evaluation of the data. Three themes have been identified about perception of death. Furthermore, three themes have been identified about palliative care practices. It was concluded that the palliative nurses perceive death as a natural and inevitable process and that as long as their working period increases, they become desensitized. It was identified that the participants generally perform the following procedures in palliative care practices.
Beware of the LASP! A structure with thrombogenic potential

The left atrial septal pouch (LASP) is a recently identified anatomical variant of the interatrial septum. It is the result of the incomplete fusion of septum primum and septum secundum and defined as a recessus communicating with the left atrium without interatrial shunt. Such anatomical feature has been suspected representing a potential thrombogenic source, but its actual role as risk factor for cryptogenic stroke still remains unclear. In this case report, we show two distinct thrombotic masses emerging from the LASP and its related areas.
Children With ADHD Engage in Less Physical Activity

Background: Children with ADHD should engage in physical activity, given its known role as a treatment adjunct. Objective: The main objective of this study is to assess the relationship between ADHD diagnosis and physical activity among children in the United States. Methods: This retrospective population-based cross-sectional study used data from the 2016 caregiver reported, National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Results: In the adjusted binary model, children with an ADHD diagnosis had 21% lower odds of engaging in daily physical activity than their nondiagnosed counterparts. In the adjusted multinomial model, children with ADHD were increasingly unlikely to report additional days of physical activity as compared to those without a diagnosis. Conclusion: Given the known benefits of physical activity for those with ADHD, this study underscores the need for enhanced access to an important treatment adjunct for this population.
Genetic diversity and biocontrol efficacy of indigenous Trichoderma isolates against Fusarium wilt of pepper

Trichoderma species are recognized as biocontrol agents with great potential in inhibiting fungal pathogens that cause significant crop losses. In this study, 15 Trichoderma isolates were collected from various Egyptian locations. Internal transcribed spacer sequencing revealed four different Trichoderma species; Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma asperellum, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, and Trichoderma viride. The antagonistic activity of Trichoderma isolates against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. capsici was evaluated in vitro. The effect of Trichoderma isolates on pepper growth plants in the presence of F. oxysporum was studied in planta. The inhibition of pathogen mycelial growth in vitro ranged between 35.71% and 85.75%. The isolates Ta3 and Tl had the highest antagonistic ability in vitro against F. oxysporum f. sp. capsici. However, Th7 and Th6 of T. harzianum isolates showed the highest values of disease severity reduction under greenhouse conditions. The genetic diversity of the Trichoderma isolates (Ta1, Ta2, Th1, Th2, Th3, Th4, Th5, and Tv) was investigated on the basis of ISSR and SCoT markers. SCoT primers generated a total of 28 bands, out of which 14 (50%) were polymorphic. ISSR primers gave 32 bands, and 11 of these bands (34.37%) were polymorphic.
Characteristics of assessment and treatment in Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

QUESTION: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of dizziness presenting to specialist vestibular centres and accounts for approximately 20–30% of referrals to these clinics. In spite of the amount of clinical knowledge surrounding its diagnosis and management, the treatment of BPPV remains challenging for even the most experienced clinicians. This study outlines the incidence of BPPV in a specialised vestibular physiotherapy clinics and discusses the various nuances encountered during assessment and treatment of BPPV. DESIGN: Observational Study PARTICIPANTS: 314 patients with various forms of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) INTERVENTION: Canalith repositioning manoeuvres (CRP) for posterior canal (PC) or horizontal canal (HC) BPPV depending on the canal and variant of BPPV. OUTCOME MEASURES: Negative Dix-Hallpike (DHP) or Supine roll test (SRT) examination. RESULTS: In 91% of cases, PC BPPV was effectively treated in 2 manoeuvres or less. Similarly, 88% of HC BPPV presentations were effectively managed with 2 treatments. Bilateral PC, multiple canal or canal conversions required a greater number of treatments. There was no noticeable difference in treatment outcomes for patients who had nystagmus and symptoms during the Epley manoeuvre (EM) versus those who did not have nystagmus and symptoms throughout the EM. Nineteen percent of patients experienced post treatment down-beating nystagmus (DBN) and vertigo or “otolithic crisis” after the first or even the second consecutive EM. CONCLUSION: Based on the data collected, we make several clinical recommendations for assessment and treatment of BPPV. Firstly, repeated testing and treatment of BPPV within the same session is promoted as a safe and effective approach to the management of BPPV with a low risk of canal conversion. Secondly, vertigo and nystagmus throughout the EM is not indicative of treatment success. Thirdly, clinicians must remain vigilant and mindful of the possibility of post treatment otolithic crisis following the treatment of BPPV. This is to ensure patient safety and to prevent possible injurious falls. Our results challenge several clinical assumptions about the assessment and treatment of BPPV including the utility of certain markers of treatment success; hence influencing the current clinical guidelines and clinical practice and paving the way for future studies of the assessment and management of patients with BPPV.
Plant functional trait response to environmental drivers across European temperate forest understorey communities.

Plant functional traits respond to environmental drivers, hence evaluating trait-environment relationships across spatial environmental gradients can help to understand how multiple drivers influence plant communities. Global-change drivers such as changes in atmospheric nitrogen deposition occur worldwide, but they affect community trait distributions at the local scale, where resources (e.g. light availability) and conditions (e.g. soil pH) also influence plant communities. We investigate how multiple environmental drivers affect community trait responses related to resource acquisition (plant height, specific leaf area (SLA), woodiness, and mycorrhizal status) and regeneration (seed mass, lateral spread) of European temperate deciduous forest understoreys. We sampled forest understorey communities and derived trait responses across spatial gradients of global-change drivers (temperature, precipitation, nitrogen deposition, and past land use), while integrating in-situ plot measurements on resources and conditions (soil type, Olsen phosphorus (P), Ellenberg soil moisture, light, litter mass, and litter quality). Among the global-change drivers, mean annual temperature strongly influenced traits related to resource acquisition strategies in the plot understorey communities. Warmer temperatures were associated with on average taller understoreys producing leaves with lower SLA, and a higher proportional cover of woody and obligate mycorrhizal (OM) species. Communities in plots with higher Ellenberg soil moisture content had smaller seeds and lower proportional cover of woody and OM species. Finally, plots with thicker litter layers hosted taller understoreys with larger seeds and a higher proportional cover of OM species. Our findings suggest potential community shifts in temperate forest understoreys with (future) global warming, and highlight the importance of local resources and conditions as well as global-change drivers for community trait variation. We recommend that future studies investigating environmental (change) effects on understorey communities should consider the local environmental context when investigating global-change effects as well as evaluate interactive effects among the different environmental drivers.
Ternary solid dispersion to improve solubility and dissolution of meloxicam

Abstract Background Meloxicam (MLX) is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with poor solubility. Solid dispersion (SD) is an effective formulation strategy to improve the dissolution rate of poorly water-soluble compounds. Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) as an inert polymer carrier and nicotinic acid (NA) as disturbance can be used as a matrix of SD. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of MLX-HPMC-NA SD on the solubility and dissolution of MLX. Methods SD was prepared by the solvent evaporation technique with methanol being used as a solvent. Methanol was evaporated at room temperature. SD of MLX was prepared involving various matrix compositions at MLX:HPMC:NA ratios of 1:1:1 (SD1), 1:1:2 (SD2), 1:2:1 (SD3), and 1:2:2 (SD4). Results The solubility profile of MLX in SD3 (64.34 ppm) showed a higher improvement than the physical mixture (15.99 ppm) and pure MLX (6.89 ppm). This increase might be due to the formation of molecular dispersion of MLX in the polymer as hydrophilic matrix and NA have both donor-acceptor sites for hydrogen bonding interactions. The dissolution profile of SD3 also showed the highest improvement. The melting endotherm of SD3 was detected at 219.5 °C, in which case it originated from NA rather than from MLX, showing that MLX was molecularly dispersed and amorphous. Conclusions MLX solubility and dissolution profile could be improved by the SD technique with a matrix of HPMC and NA. The best result was given by SD3 with an MLX:HPMC:NA ratio of 1:2:1. Based on the characterization study, it is predicted that hydrophilic polymer and hydrogen bonding interactions play important roles in MLX solubility or dissolution rate improvement.
Physical workload, long-term sickness absence, and the role of social capital. Multi-level analysis of a large occupation cohort

Objectives This study determined the prospective relation between physical workload and long-term sickness absence (LTSA) and examined if work-unit social capital may buffer the effect of high physical workload on LTSA. Methods We included 28 925 participants from the Danish Well-being in HospitAL Employees (WHALE) cohort, and followed them for two years. Physical workload and social capital were self-reported and categorized into low, medium, and high. Physical workload was analyzed on the individual level, whereas social capital was analyzed on the work-unit level. LTSA data were obtained from the employers’ payroll system. We performed two-level logistic regression analyses: joint-effect and stratified analyses adjusted for baseline covariates. Results High versus low physical workload was associated with a higher risk of LTSA [odds ratio (OR) 1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.40–1.72]. There was a multiplicative interaction (P=0.007) and a tendency of sub-additive interaction [relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) -0.49, 95% CI -1.03–0.06] between physical workload and social capital. Doubly exposed employees had the highest risk of LTSA (OR 2.45; 95% CI 2.02–2.98), but this effect was smaller than expected from the sum of their main effects. Conclusions We found a prospective relation between physical workload and LTSA but no evidence of high social capital buffering the effect of high physical workload. High physical workload was a risk factor for LTSA at all levels of social capital and employees exposed to both exposures had the highest risk of LTSA. Interventions should aim at both improving social capital and reducing physical workload in order to efficiently prevent LTSA.
Assessing the growth and climate sensitivity of secondary forests in highly deforested Amazonian landscapes.

Tropical forests hold 30% of Earth's terrestrial carbon and at least 60% of its terrestrial biodiversity, but forest loss and degradation are jeopardizing these ecosystems. Although the regrowth of secondary forests has the potential to offset some of the losses of carbon and biodiversity, it remains unclear if secondary regeneration will be affected by climate changes such as higher temperatures and more frequent extreme droughts. We used a dataset of 10 repeated forest inventories spanning two decades (1999-2017) to investigate carbon and tree species recovery and how climate and landscape context influence carbon dynamics in an older secondary forest located in one of the oldest post-Columbian agricultural frontiers in the Brazilian Amazon. Carbon accumulation averaged 1.08 Mg ha-1 yr-1 , while species richness was effectively constant over the studied period. Moreover, we provide evidence that secondary forests are vulnerable to drought stress: carbon balance and growth rates were lower in drier periods. This contrasts with drought responses in primary forests, where changes in carbon dynamics are driven by increased stem mortality. These results highlight an important climate change-vegetation feedback, whereby the increasing dry-season lengths being observed across parts of Amazonia may reduce the effectiveness of secondary forests in sequestering carbon and mitigating climate change. In addition, the current rate of forest regrowth in this region was low compared with previous pan-tropical and Amazonian assessments - our secondary forests reached just 41.1% of the average carbon and 56% of the tree diversity in the nearest primary forests - suggesting that these areas are unlikely to return to their original levels on politically meaningful timescales.
RyR2 regulates Cx43 hemichannel intracellular Ca2+-dependent activation in cardiomyocytes.

AIMS Connexin-based gap junctions are crucial for electrical communication in the heart; they are each composed of two docked hemichannels, supplied as unpaired channels via the sarcolemma. When open, an unpaired hemichannel forms a large pore, high-conductance and Ca2+-permeable membrane shunt pathway that may disturb cardiomyocyte function. Hemichannels composed of connexin43, a major cardiac connexin, can be opened by electrical stimulation but only by very positive membrane potentials. Here, we investigated the activation of connexin43 hemichannels in murine ventricular cardiomyocytes voltage-clamped at -70 mV. METHODS AND RESULTS Using whole-cell patch clamp, Co-IP, Western blot analysis, immunocytochemistry, proximity ligation assays and protein docking studies, we found that stimulation of ryanodine receptors (RyRs) triggered unitary currents with a single-channel conductance of ∼220 pS, which were strongly reduced by connexin43 knock-down. Recordings under Ca2+-clamp conditions showed that both RyR activation and intracellular Ca2+ elevation were necessary for hemichannel opening. Proximity ligation studies indicated close connexin43-RyR2 apposition (<40 nm), and both proteins co-immunoprecipitated indicating physical interaction. Molecular modeling suggested a strongly conserved RyR-mimicking peptide sequence (RyRHCIp), which inhibited RyR/Ca2+ hemichannel activation but not voltage-triggered activation. The peptide also slowed down action potential repolarization. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that connexin43 hemichannels are intimately linked to RyRs, allowing them to open at negative diastolic membrane potential in response to RyR activation. TRANSLATIONAL PERSPECTIVE We here provide detailed evidence that Cx43 hemichannels can be opened by concomitant RyR activation and [Ca2+]i elevation, two fundamental players in cardiomyocyte excitation-contraction coupling. Recent work in a plakophillin-2 deficient mouse model for ARVC indicated RyR2-linked Ca2+ dysregulations that were suppressed by the Cx43 hemichannel inhibitor Gap19. Our present work delineates the necessary conditions to activate Cx43 hemichannels in RyR2- and Ca2+-dependent manners and provides a new peptide tool, RyRHCIp, that inhibits hemichannel opening by acting at this crucial RyR-hemichannel axis.
Bone turnover markers during the remission phase in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes

In rodents, osteocalcin (OCN) stimulates insulin production and insulin sensitivity, both important factors during partial remission in humans with type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, decreased OCN has been reported in both adult and pediatric T1D. This study aims at investigating bone turnover and partial remission in children and adolescents with recent onset T1D.