Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physiological Responses of Robinia pseudoacacia and Quercus acutissima Seedlings to Repeated Drought-Rewatering Under Different Planting Methods

Changing precipitation patterns have aggravated the existing uneven water distribution, leading to the alternation of drought and rewatering. Based on this variation, we studied species, namely, Robinia pseudoacacia and Quercus acutissima, with different root forms and water regulation strategy to determine physiological responses to repeated drought-rewatering under different planting methods. Growth, physiological, and hydraulic traits were measured using pure and mixed planting seedlings that were subjected to drought, repeated drought-rewatering (i.e., treatments), and well-irrigated seedlings (i.e., control). Drought had negative effects on plant functional traits, such as significantly decreased xylem water potential (Ψmd), net photosynthetic rate (AP), and then height and basal diameter growth were slowed down, while plant species could form stress imprint and adopt compensatory mechanism after repeated drought-rewatering. Mixed planting of the two tree species prolonged the desiccation time during drought, slowed down Ψmd and AP decreasing, and after rewatering, plant functional traits could recover faster than pure planting. Our results demonstrate that repeated drought-rewatering could make plant species form stress imprint and adopt compensatory mechanism, while mixed planting could weaken the inhibition of drought and finally improve the overall drought resistance; this mechanism may provide a theoretical basis for afforestation and vegetation restoration in the warm temperate zone under rising uneven spatiotemporal water distribution.
A Systematic Review of Thermosensation and Thermoregulation in Anxiety Disorders

Objectives: Sweating, hot flushes, and blushing are symptoms frequently reported by individuals with anxiety disorders. They represent important reinforcers of anxiogenic cognitions and behaviours. One system that may be involved in the manifestation of these symptoms is the thermosensory/thermoregulatory system. The aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent individuals with anxiety disorders are characterised by alterations in this system. Methods: PubMed and PsycINFO were systematically searched. Studies were eligible if they (i) assessed individuals with anxiety disorders, (ii) thermosensation or thermoregulatory effectors/outcomes, and (iii) used a case-control design. Results: N = 86 studies were identified. There was no evidence of altered thermosensation in individuals with anxiety disorders. Regarding thermoregulatory effectors, individuals with social anxiety disorder exhibited altered cutaneous vasodilation upon pharmacological challenge; individuals with specific phobia showed increased sweating upon confrontation with phobic stimuli; individuals with panic disorder showed increased daily sweating as well as increased sweating in response to non-phobic and phobic stimuli. Regarding thermoregulatory outcomes, there was evidence for altered skin temperature in all subtypes of anxiety. Conclusion: Whereas there was no evidence of altered thermoregulation in specific phobia, a subgroup of individuals with social anxiety and panic disorder appears to exhibit altered vasodilation and sweating, respectively. Longitudinal research is warranted to investigate whether this represents a vulnerability to anxiety/panic. Graphical Abstract This systematic review sought to summarise studies comparing thermosensory and thermoregulatory functioning between individuals with anxiety disorders and healthy controls. Its main findings are summarised on the right side.
The Identification and Prediction of Mesoscale Eddy Variation via Memory in Memory With Scheduled Sampling for Sea Level Anomaly

Ocean mesoscale eddies are ubiquitous in world ocean and account for 90% oceanic kinetic energy, which dominate the upper ocean flow field. Accurately predicting the variation of ocean mesoscale eddies is the key to understand the oceanic flow field and circulation system. In this article, we propose to make an initial attempt to explore spatio-temporal predictability of mesoscale eddies, employing deep learning architecture, which primarily establishes Memory In Memory (MIM) for sea level anomaly (SLA) prediction, combined with the existing mesoscale eddy detection. Oriented to the western Pacific ocean (125°−137.5°E and 15°−27.5°N), we quantitatively investigate the historic daily SLA variability at a 0.25° spatial resolution from 2000 to 2018, derived by satellite altimetry. We develop the enhanced MIM prediction strategies, equipped with Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) and spatial attention module, in a scheduled sampling manner, which overcomes the gradient vanishing and complements to strengthen spatio-temporal features for long-term dependencies. At the early stage, the real value SLA input guides the model training process for initialization, while the scheduled sampling intentionally feeds the newly predicted value, to resolve the distribution inconsistency of inference. It has been demonstrated in our experiment results that our proposed prediction scheme outperformed the state-of-art approaches for SLA time series, with MAPE, RMSE of the 14-day prediction duration, respectively, 5.1%, 0.023 m on average, even up to 4.6%, 0.018 m for the effective sub-regions, compared to 19.8%, 0.086 m in ConvLSTM and 8.3%, 0.040 m in original MIM, which greatly facilitated the mesoscale eddy prediction. This proposed scheme will be beneficial to understand of the underlying dynamical mechanism behind the predictability of mesoscale eddies in the future, and help the deployment of ARGO, glider, AUV and other observational platforms.
Longitudinal Cytokine Profile in Patients With Mild to Critical COVID-19

The cytokine release syndrome has been proposed as the driver of inflammation in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, studies on longitudinal cytokine profiles in patients across the whole severity spectrum of COVID-19 are lacking. In this prospective observational study on adult COVID-19 patients admitted to two Hong Kong public hospitals, cytokine profiling was performed on blood samples taken during early phase (within 7 days of symptom onset) and late phase (8 to 12 days of symptom onset). The primary objective was to evaluate the difference in early and late cytokine profiles among patient groups with different disease severity. The secondary objective was to assess the associations between cytokines and clinical endpoints in critically ill patients. A total of 40 adult patients (mild = 8, moderate = 15, severe/critical = 17) hospitalized with COVID-19 were included in this study. We found 22 cytokines which were correlated with disease severity, as proinflammatory Th1-related cytokines (interleukin (IL)-18, interferon-induced protein-10 (IP-10), monokine-induced by gamma interferon (MIG), and IL-10) and ARDS-associated cytokines (IL-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), and IL-8) were progressively elevated with increasing disease severity. Furthermore, 11 cytokines were consistently different in both early and late phases, including seven (growth-regulated oncogene-alpha (GRO-α), IL-1RA, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IP-10, and MIG) that increased and four (FGF-2, IL-5, macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC), and MIP-1α) that decreased from mild to severe/critical patients. IL-8, followed by IP-10 and MDC were the best performing early biomarkers to predict disease severity. Among critically ill patients, MCP-1 predicted the duration of mechanical ventilation, highest norepinephrine dose administered, and length of intensive care stay.
Altered Static and Dynamic Interhemispheric Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Patients With Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy

Purpose: Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is a debilitating and sight-threatening autoimmune disease that severely impairs patients’ quality of life. Besides the most common ophthalmic manifestations, the emotional and psychiatric disturbances are also usually observed in clinical settings. This study was to investigate the interhemispheric functional connectivity alterations in TAO patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Methods: Twenty-eight TAO patients and 22 healthy controls (HCs) underwent rs-fMRI scans. Static and dynamic voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) values were calculated and compared between the two groups. A linear support vector machine (SVM) classifier was used to examine the performance of static and dynamic VMHC differences in distinguishing TAOs from HCs. Results: Compared with HCs, TAOs showed decreased static VMHC in lingual gyrus (LG)/calcarine (CAL), middle occipital gyrus, postcentral gyrus, superior parietal lobule, inferior parietal lobule, and precuneus. Meanwhile, TAOs demonstrated increased dynamic VMHC in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). In TAOs, static VMHC in LG/CAL was positively correlated with visual acuity (r = 0.412, P = 0.036), whilst dynamic VMHC in OFC was positively correlated with Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) score (r = 0.397, P = 0.044) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score (r = 0.401, P = 0.042). The SVM model showed good performance in distinguishing TAOs from HCs (area under the curve, 0.971; average accuracy, 94%). Conclusion: TAO patients had altered static and dynamic VMHC in the occipital, parietal, and orbitofrontal areas, which could serve as neuroimaging prediction markers of TAO.
Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation for the Prevention of Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: No specific treatment is available for postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Recently, interest in the prevention of POCD during the perioperative period has increased. Although some studies suggest that transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may be beneficial, the relevant evidence remains uncertain. Objective: To evaluate the preventive effects of TEAS on POCD. Methods: Seven databases including PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), Wanfang Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) were electronically searched up to April 2021. Two reviewers independently selected the studies, collected data, and assessed the risks of bias and grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluations certainty of the evidence. A meta-analysis of the incidence of POCD, cognitive function score, pain, adverse reactions, and length of hospital stay after surgery was also performed. Results: Twenty-nine randomized controlled trials with 1,994 participants were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the TEAS group has a significantly lower incidence of POCD compared with the control group on postoperative days 1 [OR = 0.33 (95%CI: 0.23, 0.47); p < 0.001, I2 = 0%, moderate certainty], 3 [OR = 0.38 (95%CI: 0.29, 0.50); p < 0.001, I2 = 0%, low certainty], and 7 [OR = 0.51 (95%CI: 0.32, 0.81); p = 0.005, I2 = 0%, low certainty] but not on day 5 (p > 0.05, low certainty). Moreover, TEAS improved the Mini-Mental State Examination scores on postoperative days 1, 3, and 7 [MD = 2.44 (95%CI: 1.61, 3.27); p < 0.001, I2 = 93%, low certainty]; [MD = 2.07 (95%CI: 1.53, 2.62); p < 0.001, I2 = 87%, low certainty]; and [MD = 0.49 (95%CI: 0.18, 0.79); p = 0.002, I2 = 21%, low certainty], respectively, but not on day 5 (p > 0.05, very low certainty). TEAS promoted a postoperative analgesic effect within 24 h after surgery. Furthermore, patients receiving TEAS showed a lower incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting and a shorter hospital stay. Conclusions: Limited evidence suggests that the application of TEAS in the perioperative period is associated with a reduced POCD rate and a protected early postoperative cognitive function.
TNFα in MS and Its Animal Models: Implications for Chronic Pain in the Disease

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune disease often accompanied by severe chronic pain. The most common type of pain in MS, called neuropathic pain, arises from disease processes affecting the peripheral and central nervous systems. It is incredibly difficult to study these processes in patients, so animal models such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice are used to dissect the complex mechanisms of neuropathic pain in MS. The pleiotropic cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) is a critical factor mediating neuropathic pain identified by these animal studies. The TNF signaling pathway is complex, and can lead to cell death, inflammation, or survival. In complex diseases such as MS, signaling through the TNFR1 receptor tends to be pro-inflammation and death, whereas signaling through the TNFR2 receptor is pro-homeostatic. However, most TNFα-targeted therapies indiscriminately block both arms of the pathway, and thus are not therapeutic in MS. This review explores pain in MS, inflammatory TNF signaling, the link between the two, and how it could be exploited to develop more effective TNFα-targeting pain therapies.
Nutritional Status and Body Composition in Patients Suffering From Chronic Respiratory Diseases and Its Correlation With Pulmonary Rehabilitation

As part of an individualized intervention to improve the physical, emotional, and social functioning of patients with chronic respiratory diseases in general and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in particular, awareness of the presence and consequences of changes in body composition increased enormously during the last decades, and nutritional intervention is considered as an essential component in the comprehensive approach of these patients. This review describes the prevalence and the clinical impact of body composition changes and also provides an update of current intervention strategies. It is argued that body composition, preferentially a three-component evaluation of fat, lean, and bone mass, must become part of a thorough assessment of every patient, admitted for pulmonary rehabilitation.
Deciphering Evolutionary Dynamics of WRKY I Genes in Rosaceae Species

WRKY transcription factors participate in various regulation processes at different developmental stages in higher plants. Here, 98 WRKY I genes were identified in seven Rosaceae species. The WRKY I genes are highly enriched in some subgroups and are selectively expanded in Chinese pear [Pyrus bretschneideri (P. bretschneideri)] and apple [Malus domestica (M. domestica)]. By searching for intra-species gene microsynteny, we found the majority of chromosomal segments for WRKY I-containing segments in both P. bretschneideri and M. domestica genomes, while paired segments were hardly identified in the other five genomes. Furthermore, we analyzed the environmental selection pressure of duplicated WRKY I gene pairs, which indicated that the strong purifying selection for WRKY domains may contribute to the stability of its structure and function. The expression patterns of duplication PbWRKY genes revealed that functional redundancy for some of these genes was derived from common ancestry and neo-functionalization or sub-functionalization for some of them. This study traces the evolution of WRKY I genes in Rosaceae genomes and lays the foundation for functional studies of these genes in the future. Our results also show that the rates of gene loss and gain in different Rosaceae genomes are far from equilibrium.
Dynamic stability of geosynthetic-reinforced soil integral bridge

ABSTRACT: To evaluate the dynamic stability of different bridge types, the results from a series of shaking-table tests on small-scale models of the following bridge types were analysed within the framework of the single-degree-of-freedom theory: (1) a conventional bridge (CB), comprising a girder (i.e. deck) supported via a pair of movable and fixed bearings (i.e. shoes) by gravity-type abutments (without a pile foundation) having unreinforced backfill; (2) a GRS-RW bridge, comprising a girder supported via a pair of movable and fixed bearings by a pair of sill beams placed on the crest of a pair of geosynthetic-reinforced soil-retaining walls (GRS-RWs) having a stage-constructed full-height rigid facing; (3) an integral bridge (IB), comprising a girder integrated to a pair of abutments (without bearings) and unreinforced backfill; (4) a GRS integral bridge, comprising a girder integrated to the abutments (in the same way as the IB bridge) while the backfill is reinforced with geosynthetic layers connect.
Insights Into the Environmental Impact on Genetic Structure and Larval Dispersal of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish in the South China Sea

The coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS; Acanthaster spp.) play a major role in coral reef degradation in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the impacts of environmental factors on the phylogenetic and genetic characteristics of COTS in the northern Indo-Pacific convergence region remains unclear. We used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and microsatellite markers to analyze the phylogenetic relationship, demographic history, genetic diversity and genetic structure of COTS in the South China Sea (SCS) and explored the impact of environmental factors on historical population expansion, genetic differentiation and larval dispersal. There was a clear signature of a population expansion in the SCS using the mtDNA marker. According to microsatellite loci analysis, COTS have high genetic diversity in the SCS. STRUCTURE analysis indicated that COTS in the Pacific Ocean can be divided into four subgroups: the SCS, Western Pacific, Pacific equatorial current affected zone, and Pacific insular atolls populations in the Pacific Ocean. Fst-statistical analysis revealed positive correlations between the Fst values and geographic isolation for all sampling sites. Additionally, there were no clear associations between the Fst values and chlorophyll a concentrations among coral reefs in the SCS; however, there were significant positive associations between the Fst values and particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations within small geographic distances. These results suggest that COTS underwent historical population expansion after the Last Glacial Maximum, possibly followed by coral population expansion. The genetic structure of COTS populations may have been shaped by distinct nutrient concentrations, particularly those of POC, over small geographic distances. Moreover, ocean currents provide a potential dispersal mechanism for COTS larvae in the SCS. This study demonstrates that environmental and oceanographic factors play important roles in shaping the genetic characteristics and larval dispersal of COTS populations in the northern Indo-Pacific convergence region.
The High Level of Xylooligosaccharides Improves Growth Performance in Weaned Piglets by Increasing Antioxidant Activity, Enhancing Immune Function, and Modulating Gut Microbiota

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the high level of xylooligosaccharides (XOS) on growth performance, antioxidant capability, immune function, and fecal microbiota in weaning piglets. The results showed that 28 d body weight exhibited linear and quadratic increases (P < 0.05) with increasing dietary XOS level, as well as average daily feed intake (ADFI) on d 15–28, average daily gain (ADG) on d 15–28 and 1–28. There was a linear decrease (P < 0.05) between XOS levels and feed conversion rate (FCR) on d 1–14 and 1–28. Additionally, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) showed a linear increase (P < 0.05), while the malondialdehyde (MDA) level decreased linearly and quadratically (P < 0.05) with the increasing dietary level of XOS. Moreover, the XOS treatments markedly increased the levels of immunoglobulin A (Ig A) (linear, P < 0.05; quadratic, P < 0.05), IgM (quadratic, P < 0.05), IgG (linear, P < 0.05), and anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) (quadratic, P < 0.05) in serum, while the IL-1β (linear, P < 0.05; quadratic, P < 0.05) and IL-6 (linear, P < 0.05) decreased with increasing level of XOS. Microbiota analysis showed that dietary supplementation with 1.5% XOS decreased (P < 0.05) the α-diversity and enriched (P < 0.05) beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Fusicatenibacter at the genus level, compared with the control group. Importantly, linearly increasing responses (P < 0.05) to fecal acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were observed with increasing level of XOS. Spearman correlation analyses found that Lactobacillus abundance was positively correlated with ADG, acetate, propionate, and IgA (P < 0.05), but negatively correlated with IL-1β (P < 0.05). Bifidobacterium abundance was positively related with ADFI, total SCFAs, IgG, and IL-10 (P < 0.05), as well as g_Fusicatenibacter abundance with ADFI, total SCFAs, and IL-10. However, Bifidobacterium and Fusicatenibacter abundances were negatively associated with MDA levels (P < 0.05). In summary, dietary supplementation with XOS can improve the growth performance in weaning piglets by increasing antioxidant capability, enhancing immune function, and promoting beneficial bacteria counts.
Predictive Effect of Renal Function on Clinical Outcomes in Older Adults With Acute Myocardial Infarction: Results From an Observational Cohort Study in China

Background: The impact of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) on the risk of death and cardiovascular events in individuals with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is less well established, particularly in the old Chinese population. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of eGFR with clinical outcomes among older subjects with AMI. We further developed a nomogram for the prediction of 1- and 3-year survival in this population. Methods: A cohort of 2,366 AMI subjects aged over 60 years in 2013–2020 were enrolled in the Cardiovascular Center of Beijing Friendship Hospital Database (CBD) Bank. Outcomes including cardiovascular (CV) death, all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), non-fatal stroke, revascularization, and cardiac rehospitalization were collected overall and by eGFR category at baseline. eGFR was estimated by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation (CKD-EPI). Subjects were categorized into four groups according to quartiles of eGFR: ≤ 63.02, 63.03–78.45, 78.46–91.50, >91.51 ml/min/1.73 m2. Hazard ratios (HRs), corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as well as the nomogram were assessed using Cox regression models. Validation of the nomogram was estimated by discrimination and calibration. Results: Incidence rates and multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios of CV and all-cause death decreased significantly across quartiles of eGFR over a median follow-up time of 36.7 months. In adjusted analysis, compared with eGFR ≤ 63.02 ml/min/1.73 m2, patients with eGFR of 63.03–78.45, 78.46–91.50, >91.51 ml/min/1.73 m2 experienced decreased risks of CV death [respective HRs of 0.58 (95% CI, 0.38–0.90), 0.61 (95% CI, 0.38–0.99), and 0.48 (95% CI, 0.25–0.90); all p < 0.05] and all-cause death [respective HRs of 0.64 (95% CI, 0.47–0.88), 0.61 (95% CI, 0.42–0.88), and 0.54 (95% CI, 0.35–0.84); all p < 0.05]. Age, eGFR quartiles, BMI, glycated hemoglobin, LVEF, LM/multi-vessel disease, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) prescribed at discharge were associated with all-cause death. The developed model predicted 1- and 3-year probability of survival, which performed well in both discrimination and calibration. Conclusion: In older patients with AMI, early identification of eGFR reduced and cardiovascular risks management may prevent poor clinical outcomes.