Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Single-cell RNA transcriptomics reveals differences in the immune status of alcoholic and hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis

Background Alcoholic and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver cirrhosis has placed a tremendous burden on the healthcare system with limited treatment options. This study explored the differences in the immune status of alcoholic and HBV-related liver cirrhosis. Methods A total of 15 human liver samples from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, including five healthy controls (HC group), five alcoholic cirrhosis patients (ALC group), and five HBV-related cirrhosis patients (HBV group) were used. Of these, eight samples, including 3 HC group, 2 ALC group and 3 HBV group, were randomly collected to do single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). The degree of steatosis was assessed by H&E staining and the presence of intrahepatic immune cells was evaluated by immunochemistry (IHC). Results The immune status of alcoholic and HBV-related liver cirrhosis differed significantly. ScRNA-seq analysis identified a higher ratio of intrahepatic monocyte/macrophages and an obvious decreased ratio of T cells and B cells in the ALC group than in the HBV group. IHC staining of intrahepatic monocyte/macrophages, T and B cell exhibited similar results with scRNA-seq analysis. CD5L+ Kupffer cells, a cell type involved in lipid metabolism, were the major monocyte/macrophage subset in ALC liver tissue. H&E staining indicated that the level of steatosis was more severe in the ALC than in the HBV group. Ligand/receptor analysis showed that the T cell exhaustion observed in the ALC liver may be related to the expression of Galectin-9 on Kupffer cells. Fewer B cells were also found in the ALC group and most had higher lipid metabolism, reduced ribosomal activity, and a dysregulated mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system. Moreover, scRNA-seq showed a significantly lower ratio of plasma B cells, indicating that the humoral immune response in the ALC liver was similarly dysfunctional. Ligand/receptor analysis also discovered that Galectin-9 expressed on Kupffer cells may inhibit humoral immunity. Conclusion Patients with ALC have different immune characteristics than those with HBV-induced cirrhosis, including an increased ratio of intrahepatic monocyte/macrophages and a dysfunctional adaptive immune response in the liver. Galectin-9 could serve as a potential therapeutic target for ALC treatment.
The prevalence of anxiety and its key influencing factors among the elderly in China

Introduction With the rapid aging population, the mental health of older adults is paid more and more attention. Anxiety is a common mental health illness in older adults. Therefore, the study aimed to explore the current situation of anxiety and its factors among the elderly in China. Methods Based on the data from 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), a total of 10,982 respondents aged 60 and above were selected. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale was used to assess the anxiety. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to analyze the influencing factors of anxiety. Random forest was established to rank the importance of each influencing factors. Results The results showed that the prevalence of anxiety among the elderly was 11.24%. Anxiety was mainly associated with 14 factors from five aspects: sociodemographic characteristics, health status, psychological state, social trust and social participation, among which loneliness related to psychological status was the most important factor. Discussion The revelation of this study is that the present situation of anxiety among the elderly cannot be ignored, and it is necessary to take measures to prevent and control it from many aspects.
How do people with MND and caregivers experience a digital mental health intervention? A qualitative study

Objective We urgently need to develop and evaluate more psychological interventions to support people with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and caregivers. We used the person-based approach to develop a digital mental health intervention and conducted two studies to explore people’s experiences of using it. Methods In Study 1, we conducted think-aloud interviews with 9 people with MND and 8 caregivers, and used findings to refine the intervention. In Study 2, 18 people with MND and 9 caregivers used the intervention for 6 weeks after which in-depth interviews were conducted. Data from both studies were combined and analysed using thematic analysis. Results We developed 3 main themes around intervention acceptability, engagement, and usefulness. Participants highlighted the importance of accessibility and realistic presentation of information and support. Tailoring and timing intervention use to suit own needs, preferences, and disease stage was also important. Participants used the strategies presented to develop a positive outlook and regain some control. They also faced some challenges using these strategies in the context of dealing with progressive loss. Conclusion People with MND and caregivers can find digital mental health interventions useful. Intervention accessibility and flexibility are important for developing acceptable and engaging interventions for MND.
Personality assessment usage and mental health among Chinese adolescents: A sequential mediation model of the Barnum effect and ego identity

Introduction Adolescence is a crucial period for establishing ego identity and becoming a social individual. However, numerous adolescents suffer from mental health problems, especially after the conditions surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. Personality assessments are often used when adolescents look for psychological self-help services. However, the meaning and mechanism of these personality assessments remain unknown. Taking the increasingly popular MBTI personality assessment as an entry point, the current study examined the potential sequential mediation relationship of Barnum effect – ego identity on the link between personality assessment usage and mental health. Methods The current study surveyed 308 Chinese high school students, including 109 males and 199 females. MBTI use, Barnum effect, ego-identity, and mental health (subjective well-being, depression, and anxiety) were measured by seven questionnaires, respectively. Sequential mediation models were constructed to analyze the relationship. Results The results indicate that the Barnum effect and ego identity together function as a sequential mediation path between personality assessment use and teenagers’ mental health, including subjective well-being, depression, and anxiety. Specifically, a higher level of MBTI use triggers a stronger Barnum effect. The Barnum effect then promotes adolescents’ ego identity, ultimately increasing subjective well-being levels and reducing anxiety and depression. Discussion Our findings suggest that by properly using personality assessment and stimulating the Barnum effect, we can enhance adolescents’ mental health. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.
Nexus between environmental sustainability, good governance, financial inclusion, and tourism development in Bangladesh: Evidence from symmetric and asymmetric investigation

Over the past decade, tourism’s contribution to economic Section progress has emerged as an alternative avenue for socio-economic development, especially in the productive economy with natural beauty. On the other hand, the potential effects of tourism on the environment have also been unveiled in the literature, along with macroeconomic misbehavior due to erratic environmental changes. However, the study’s impetus is to inspect the reaction of tourism contribution to Bangladesh’s economy from 1991–2019 with ecological sustainability, good governance, and financial inclusion in the empirical assessment. With the implementation of both linear and non-linear frameworks, the present study has explored the elasticities of core explanatory variables on explained variables; for directional causality, the novel Fourier Toda and Yamamoto causality test has been executed. According to the combined cointegration test, Bangladesh has a long-run association between environmental sustainability, good governance, financial inclusion, and tourism development. Inferring from long-run symmetric and asymmetric cointegration, the test statistics revealed statistically significant at a 1% level, suggesting the long-run relations in the established empirical model. Considering the linear autoregressive disoriented lagged, the study established a negative and statistically significant linkage between environmental sustainably and tourism contribution, suggesting that the excessive inflows of carbon emission that environmental degradation dwindles the progress of tourism contribution. Whereas a positive and statistically significant influence runs from good governance and financial inclusion to tourism development, the suggestion of easy access to financial services and effective institutional activities prompts tourism activities, especially in the long-run. The asymmetric investigation established non-linearity in the empirical model for the long and short-run. In terms of asymmetric coefficients, the study unveiled the positive and negative shocks of environmental sustainability exposed negatively and statistically significant. In contrast, the asymmetric shocks of financial inclusion and good governance established positive and statistically substantial Bangladesh tourism development in the long and short-run. The directional causality assessment revealed bidirectional causality running between explanatory variables to tourism development.
Genome-wide identification of Mg2+ transporters and functional characteristics of DlMGT1 in Dimocarpus longan

Longan (Dimocarpus Longan) is one of the most important fruit crops in Southern China. Lack of available Mg in acidic soil conditions is a limitation to further increasing longan yield. Magnesium transporter (MGT/MRS2) mediates the uptake, transport, and redistribution of Mg2+ in higher plants. To understand the role of MGTs family members in longan Mg deficiency. We identified and analyzed the protein characteristics, phylogeny, expression changes, subcellular localization, and transcriptional regulation of DlMGTs members. The results showed that, twelve DlMGTs are localized in the cell membrane, chloroplast, and nucleus. The evolutionary differences in MGTs between herbaceous and woody species in different plants. The DlMGTs promoters contained many cis-acting elements and transcription factor binding sites related to the hormone, environmental, and stress response. Subcellular localization assays showed that DlMGT1 localizes in the cell membrane of Arabidopsis protoplasts. The candidate transcription factor DlGATA16, which may regulate the expression of DlMGT1, was localized in the nucleus of tobacco leaves. Dual luciferase analysis demonstrated that DlGATA16 is a potential factor regulating the transcriptional activity of DlMGT1. In this study, we identified and analyzed DlMGTs on a genome-wide scale and the subcellular localization and interaction of DlMGT1 and DlGATA16, which has important implications for further functional analysis studies of MGTs and the use of MGT for longan genetic improvement.
Approaches to demonstrating the effectiveness of filovirus vaccines: Lessons from Ebola and COVID-19

Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) and Marburg virus (MARV), are members of the Filoviridae family that can cause severe disease and death in humans and animals. The reemergence of Ebola, Sudan and Marburg virus disease highlight the need for continued availability of safe and effectives vaccines as well as development of new vaccines. While randomized controlled trials using disease endpoints provide the most robust assessment of vaccine effectiveness, challenges to this approach include the unpredictable size, location, occurrence and duration of filovirus disease outbreaks. Thus, other approaches to demonstrating vaccine effectiveness have been considered. These approaches are discussed using examples of preventive vaccines against other infectious diseases. In addition, this article proposes a clinical immunobridging strategy using licensed EBOV vaccines as comparators for demonstrating the effectiveness of filovirus vaccine candidates that are based on the same licensed vaccine platform technology.
Co-expression network of heat-response transcripts: A glimpse into how splicing factors impact rice basal thermotolerance

To identify novel solutions to improve rice yield under rising temperatures, molecular components of thermotolerance must be better understood. Alternative splicing (AS) is a major post-transcriptional mechanism impacting plant tolerance against stresses, including heat stress (HS). AS is largely regulated by splicing factors (SFs) and recent studies have shown their involvement in temperature response. However, little is known about the splicing networks between SFs and AS transcripts in the HS response. To expand this knowledge, we constructed a co-expression network based on a publicly available RNA-seq dataset that explored rice basal thermotolerance over a time-course. Our analyses suggest that the HS-dependent control of the abundance of specific transcripts coding for SFs might explain the widespread, coordinated, complex, and delicate AS regulation of critical genes during a plant’s inherent response to extreme temperatures. AS changes in these critical genes might affect many aspects of plant biology, from organellar functions to cell death, providing relevant regulatory candidates for future functional studies of basal thermotolerance.
S0021859622000569jra 483..492

The wild asparagus Asparagus acutifolius L. is common in the Mediterranean Basin. Wild asparagus spears are an important food source within their native range, and can be used as a sustainable nutrition source. In addition, interest has risen in wild relative species of Asparagus as a source of genetic improvement in Asparagus officinalis L. In this study, the quality traits (spear colour, total soluble solid content, dry matter content and chlorophyll and sugar fractions) and health-related compounds (total phenolics and antioxidant capacity) of fresh spears of wild and cultivated asparagus grown in Turkey were compared using the same three harvest periods for two consecutive years. The results of this study indicated that spears of wild asparagus contained a higher level of greenness (–a*), hue angle, total soluble solid, dry matter, chlorophyll, sugars, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity, compared to cultivated asparagus. Although there was no significant difference in the total soluble solid, glucose, sucrose and antioxidant activity in the contents of the spears of both species throughout the season, the colour, dry matter, chlorophyll, fructose, total sugar and total phenolic content were subject to seasonal variations. Colour, chlorophyll and total phenolic content showed some minor fluctuations over the course of the season, but the patterns of fructose and total sugar differed, which tended to increase throughout the harvest season. The present work suggests greater quality traits and biochemical compounds of the spears of A. acutifolius compared with those of commonly cultivated species.
A Formulation for Water Waves over Topography

Many interesting free‐surface flow problems involve a varying bottom. Examples of such flows include ocean waves propagating over topography, the breaking of waves on a beach, and the free surface of a uniform flow over a localized bump. We present here a formulation for such flows that is general and, from the outset, demonstrates the wave character of the free‐surface evolution. The evolution of the free surface is governed by a system of equations consisting of a nonlinear wave‐like partial differential equation coupled to a time‐independent linear integral equation. We assume that the free‐surface deformation is weakly nonlinear, but make no a priori assumption about the scale or amplitude of the topography. We also extend the formulation to include the effect of mean flows and surface tension. We show how this formulation gives some of the well‐known limits for such problems once assumptions about the amplitude and scale of the topography are made.
Size estimates of Titan's aerosols based on Voyager high-phase-angle images

Limits on the physical properties of the scattering haze near the top of Titan's atmosphere are derived from data obtained from seven high-phase-angle images from Voyager 1 and 2. From the ratio of the intensities observed at two different high phase angles, an estimate can be made of the forward scattering lobe of the single-scattering phase function. Comparing the forward scattering estimate with diffraction lobes from particles of different radii, we conclude that the average radius of the particles found in the upper few tenths of an optical depth exceeds 0.19 μm. Judging from data observed at four different phase angles, the haze particles probably have a refractive index near 1.6 and a mean size of ∼0.5 μm, if the widths of their diffraction peaks are close to those for equal volume spheres. However, the highly polarizing nature of the particles over a broad wavelength band pass [Tomasko and Smith, 1982; West et al. this issue] combined with their forward scattering behavior makes it very unlikely that the particles are spherical. The nonsphericity contributes to the uncertainty about the radii of the particles, but it is thought that the average radius is several tenths of a micron.
Superstructure of the closed class of polynomials modulo k

Let φΛ be the class of fc-valued functions represented by polynomials over the residue ring Z* and DUZ* the closed class of functions preserving all congruences of Z*. In this paper it is shown that the lattice of closed classes situated between ? k and 971* for fc = p? p^ps+i . ,p/, pi φ PJ, free from cubes of prime numbers, is isomorphic to the s-dimensional unit cube, while for k = pq, p > 1, q > 1, this lattice is infinite.
On the real and complex geometric phases

Some of the existing definitions of the real and complex geometric phases are unified and generalized. The relationship of the real to the complex geometric phase is discussed. It is shown why these two phases are in general completely independent. In particular, a simple explicit example is given which shows that the real geometric phase is not in general the real part of the complex geometric phase.
Alternating Groups Acting on Finite Linear Spaces

This is a contribution to the study of line‐transitive groups of automorphisms of finite linear spaces. Groups which are almost simple are of particular importance. In this paper almost simple line‐transitive groups whose socle is an alternating group are classified. It is proved that the only alternating groups to occur are those of degrees 7 and 8, and that only one linear space occurs, namely a well‐known space with 15 points and 35 lines. Although much of the proof exploits special properties of alternating groups, some general theory of groups acting line‐transitively on finite linear spaces is developed. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification 05B05, 20B25.
Generation of high-quality mega-electron volt proton beams with intense-laser-driven nanotube accelerator

An ion acceleration scheme using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is proposed, in which embedded fragments of low-Z materials are irradiated by an ultrashort intense laser to eject substantial numbers of electrons. Due to the resultant characteristic electrostatic field, the nanotube and embedded materials play the roles of the barrel and bullets of a gun, respectively, to produce highly collimated and quasimonoenergetic ion beams. Three-dimensional particle simulations, that take all the two-body Coulomb interactions into account, demonstrate generation of quasimonoenergetic MeV-order proton beams using nanometer-size CNT under a super-intense electrostatic field ∼1014 V m−1.
Effect of Plyometric Training on Long Jump Performance in Athletes

Study design: Experimental study design Objective: Study was designed to rule out the effect of the plyometric training on athletes. Summary of background: Goal of the long jumper has to develop the most efficient training technique to maximize performance. Resistance training improves strength but not speed. The plyometric exercises train the fast muscle fibers and the nerves that activate them as well as reflex and hence it is one of the primary tools which enhance both i.e. strength and speed. Purpose of this study: Find out the effect of PLYT on long jump performance in athletes. Methodology: 60 long jump players were randomly allocated to group-A (control group-30) and group-B (plyometric training group-30) for 6 week training program. Pre and post training measurements of standing long jump (SLJ) and horizontal long jump (HLT) were taken. Results: Group-A shows significant difference for pre and post SLJ (t= -10.579. p < 0.01). Group-B shows significant difference for pre and post SLJ (t = -11.989, p < 0.01). Inter group (post-A and post-B) result shows significant difference for SLJ (t=-7.934. p< 0.0001). Conclusion: Identification of PLYT program as more beneficial and effective than free mobility exercise training program and have positive effect on long jump performance.
Scintillation properties of non-circular flat-topped beams

The scintillation properties of a flat-topped (FT) beam of non-circular (rectangular or elliptical) symmetry propagating in a weak turbulent atmosphere are investigated. Explicit expressions for the on-axis scintillation index of rectangular and elliptical FT beams in a weak turbulent atmosphere are derived. It is found that the scintillation index value of a rectangular or elliptical FT beam can be smaller than that of a circular Gaussian beam under certain conditions. The scintillation properties of non-circular FT beams are closely related to the beam parameters.
DO TERRORISTS GET THE ATTENTION THEY WANT? COMPARING EFFECTS OF TERRORISM ACROSS EUROPE

Terrorists aim at influencing audiences beyond their immediate victims, but can only achieve this if an attack receives sufficient public attention. Previous research shows that terrorism can affect public opinion, but these studies are mainly based on emblematic single cases and relate to varying measures of influence, which are difficult to compare. This research focuses on the first-order effect of terrorism: attention. To analyze whether terrorists get attention, we combine a quasi-experimental approach for causal identification with a comparative design. We compile data from Eurobarometer surveys and contrast responses of more than 80,000 individuals surveyed before and after five diverse Islamist attacks in Europe in 2013–2019. Attention to terrorism increases in all targeted countries, regardless of attack size. Yet, while all incidents raise attention to terrorism, only larger attacks exert a meaningful impact across Europe.