Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tree Growth Under Climate Change: Evidence From Xylogenesis Timings and Kinetics

Tree growth is one of the most studied aspects of tree biology, particularly secondary growth. In the Mediterranean region, cambial activity is mostly determined by water availability. Climatic projections for the Mediterranean region predict more frequent and intense droughts, and longer periods without precipitation. To investigate tree growth under the predicted scenarios of climate change, a water manipulation experiment was conducted in a maritime pine stand (Pinus pinaster Aiton). In 2017, fifteen trees were divided into three groups: control, rain exclusion, and irrigation. Drought conditions were simulated by installing a continuous plastic sheet on the forest floor from March to September. Trees under irrigation treatment were watered twice a week in September. Cambial activity and xylem formation was monitored every 10 days from February 2017 until March 2018. Cell production was maximal around the spring equinox in all treatments. Trees under rain exclusion decreased cell production rates, xylogenesis duration, and latewood cell wall thickness. The extra irrigation in September did not produce noticeable differences in xylogenesis compared to trees in the control treatment. The synchronization of maximum cambial division rates around the vernal equinox (spring) could allow Mediterranean trees to mitigate the impact of summer drought. With the predicted increase in drought intensity and frequency, lower tree productivity, carbon sequestration, and wood biomass are expected.
Nutrient Fluxes Associated With Submarine Groundwater Discharge From Karstic Coastal Aquifers (Côte Bleue, French Mediterranean Coastline)

Determination of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) from karstic coastal aquifers is important to constrain hydrological and biogeochemical cycles. However, SGD quantification using commonly employed geochemical methods can be difficult to constrain under the presence of large riverine inputs, and is further complicated by the determination of the karstic groundwater endmember. Here, we investigated a coastal region where groundwater discharges from a karstic aquifer system using airborne thermal infrared mapping and geochemical sampling conducted along offshore transects. We report radium data (223Ra, 224Ra, 228Ra) that we used to derive fluxes (water, nutrients) associated with terrestrial groundwater discharge and/or seawater circulation through the nearshore permeable sediments and coastal aquifer. Field work was conducted at different periods of the year to study the temporal variability of the chemical fluxes. Offshore transects of 223Ra and 224Ra were used to derive horizontal eddy diffusivity coefficients that were subsequently combined with surface water nutrient gradients (NO2− + NO3−, DSi) to determine the net nutrient fluxes from SGD. The estimated DSi and (NO2− + NO3−) fluxes are 6.2 ± 5.0 *103 and 4.0 ± 2.0 *103 mol d−1 per km of coastline, respectively. We attempted to further constrain these SGD fluxes by combining horizontal eddy diffusivity and 228Ra gradients. However, SGD endmember selection in this area (terrestrial groundwater discharge vs. porewater) adds further uncertainty to the flux calculation and thus prevented us from calculating a reliable flux using this latter method. Additionally, the relatively long half-life of 228Ra (5.75 y) makes it sensitive to specific circulation patterns in this coastal region, including sporadic intrusions of Rhône river waters that impact both the 228Ra and nutrient surface water distributions. We show that SGD nutrient fluxes locally reach up to 20 times the nutrient fluxes from a small river (Huveaune River). On a regional scale, DSi fluxes driven by SGD vary between 0.1 and 1.4% of the DSi inputs of the Rhône River, while the (NO2− + NO3−) fluxes driven by SGD on this 22 km long coastline are between 0.1 and 0.3% of the Rhône River inputs, the largest river that discharges into the Mediterranean Sea. Interestingly, the nutrient fluxes reported here are similar in magnitude compared with the fluxes quantified along the sandy beach of La Franqui, in the western Gulf of Lions (Tamborski et al., 2018), despite the different lithology of the two areas (karst systems vs. unconsolidated sediment).
The Role of Multimodality Cardiovascular Imaging in Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

The burden of pregnancy-related heart disease has dramatically increased over the last decades due to the increasing age at first pregnancy and higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Pregnancy is associated with physiological changes in the cardiovascular system, including hemodynamic, metabolic, and hormonal adaptations to meet the increased metabolic demands of the mother and fetus. It has been postulated that pregnancy may act as a cardiovascular stress test to identify women at high risk for heart disease, where the inability to adequately adapt to the physiologic stress of pregnancy may reveal the presence of genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular disease or accelerate the phenotypic expression of both inherited and acquired heart diseases, such as peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). PPCM is a rare and incompletely understood clinical condition. Despite recent advances in the understanding of its pathogenesis, PPCM is not attributable to a well-defined pathological mechanism, and therefore, its diagnosis still relies on the exclusion of overlapping dilated phenotypes. Cardiac imaging plays a key role in any peripartum woman with signs and symptoms of heart failure in establishing the diagnosis, ruling out life-threatening complications, guiding therapy and conveying prognostic information. Echocardiography represents the first-line imaging technique, given its robust diagnostic yield and its favorable cost-effectiveness. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance is a biologically safe high-throughput modality that allows accurate morpho-functional assessment of the cardiovascular system in addition to the unique asset of myocardial tissue characterization as a pivotal piece of information in the pathophysiological puzzle of PPCM. In this review, we will highlight current evidence on the role of multimodality imaging in the differential diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and understanding of the pathophysiological basis of PPCM.
Pullout Behavior of Different Geosynthetics—Influence of Soil Density and Moisture Content

Geosynthetics have increasingly been used as reinforcement in permanent earth structures, such as road and railway embankments, steep slopes, retaining walls, and bridge abutments. The understanding of soil-geosynthetic interaction is of primary importance for the safe design of geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures, such as those included in transportation infrastructure projects. In this study, the pullout behavior of three different geosynthetics (geogrid, geocomposite reinforcement, and geotextile) embedded in a locally available granite residual soil is assessed through a series of large-scale pullout tests involving different soil moisture and density conditions. Test results show that soil density is a key factor affecting the reinforcement pullout resistance and the failure mode at the interface, regardless of geosynthetic type or soil moisture content. The soil moisture condition may considerably influence the pullout response of the geosynthetics, particularly when the soil is in medium dense state. The geogrid exhibited higher peak pullout resistance than the remaining geosynthetics, which is associated with the significant contribution of the passive resistance mobilized against the geogrid transverse members to the overall pullout capacity of the reinforcement.
The TLR5 Agonist Flagellin Shapes Phenotypical and Functional Activation of Lung Mucosal Antigen Presenting Cells in Neonatal Mice

Intranasal mucosal vaccines are an attractive approach to induce protective mucosal immune responses. Activation of lung antigen presenting cells (APCs), a phenotypically and functionally heterogeneous cell population located at distinct mucosal sites, may be key to the immunogenicity of such vaccines. Understanding responsiveness of newborn lung APCs to adjuvants may the inform design of efficacious intranasal vaccines for early life, when most infections occur. Here, we characterized and phenotyped APCs from neonatal (7 days of life) and adult (6–8 weeks of age) mice. Neonatal mice demonstrated a relatively high abundance of alveolar macrophages (AMs), with lower percentages of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), CD103+ (cDC1), and CD11b+ (cDC2) DCs. Furthermore, neonatal CD103+ and CD11b+ DC subsets demonstrated a significantly lower expression of maturation markers (CD40, CD80, and CD86) as compared to adult mice. Upon stimulation of lung APC subsets with a panel of pattern recognition receptor (PRR) agonists, including those engaging TLRs or STING, CD11c+ enriched cells from neonatal and adult mice lungs demonstrated distinct maturation profiles. Of the agonists tested, the TLR5 ligand, flagellin, was most effective at activating neonatal lung APCs, inducing significantly higher expression of maturation markers on CD103+ (cDC1) and CD11b+ (cDC2) subsets. Intranasal administration of flagellin induced a distinct migration of CD103+ and CD11b+ DC subsets to the mediastinal lymph nodes (mLNs) of neonatal mice. Overall, these findings highlight age-specific differences in the maturation and responsiveness of lung APC subsets to different PRR agonists. The unique efficacy of flagellin in enhancing lung APC activity suggests that it may serve as an effective adjuvant for early life mucosal vaccines.
Imaging Flow Cytometry Protocols for Examining Phagocytosis of Microplastics and Bioparticles by Immune Cells of Aquatic Animals

Imaging flow cytometry (IFC) is a powerful tool which combines flow cytometry with digital microscopy to generate quantitative high-throughput imaging data. Despite various advantages of IFC over standard flow cytometry, widespread adoption of this technology for studies in aquatic sciences is limited, probably due to the relatively high equipment cost, complexity of image analysis-based data interpretation and lack of core facilities with trained personnel. Here, we describe the application of IFC to examine phagocytosis of particles including microplastics by cells from aquatic animals. For this purpose, we studied (1) live/dead cell assays and identification of cell types, (2) phagocytosis of degradable and non-degradable particles by Atlantic salmon head kidney cells and (3) the effect of incubation temperature on phagocytosis of degradable particles in three aquatic animals–Atlantic salmon, Nile tilapia, and blue mussel. The usefulness of the developed method was assessed by evaluating the effect of incubation temperature on phagocytosis. Our studies demonstrate that IFC provides significant benefits over standard flow cytometry in phagocytosis measurement by allowing integration of morphometric parameters, especially while identifying cell populations and distinguishing between different types of fluorescent particles and detecting their localization.
Limitations of Standard Accessible Captioning of Sounds and Music for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People: An EEG Study

Captioning is the process of transcribing speech and acoustical information into text to help deaf and hard of hearing people accessing to the auditory track of audiovisual media. In addition to the verbal transcription, it includes information such as sound effects, speaker identification, or music tagging. However, it just takes into account a limited spectrum of the whole acoustic information available in the soundtrack, and hence, an important amount of emotional information is lost when attending just to the normative compliant captions. In this article, it is shown, by means of behavioral and EEG measurements, how emotional information related to sounds and music used by the creator in the audiovisual work is perceived differently by normal hearing group and hearing disabled group when applying standard captioning. Audio and captions activate similar processing areas, respectively, in each group, although not with the same intensity. Moreover, captions require higher activation of voluntary attentional circuits, as well as language-related areas. Captions transcribing musical information increase attentional activity, instead of emotional processing.
T Lymphocyte-Mediated Liver Immunopathology of Schistosomiasis

The parasitic worms, Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum, reside in the mesenteric veins, where they release eggs that induce a dramatic granulomatous response in the liver and intestines. Subsequently, infection may further develop into significant fibrosis and portal hypertension. Over the past several years, uncovering the mechanism of immunopathology in schistosomiasis has become a major research objective. It is known that T lymphocytes, especially CD4+ T cells, are essential for immune responses against Schistosoma species. However, obtaining a clear understanding of how T lymphocytes regulate the pathological process is proving to be a daunting challenge. To date, CD4+ T cell subsets have been classified into several distinct T helper (Th) phenotypes including Th1, Th2, Th17, T follicular helper cells (Tfh), Th9, and regulatory T cells (Tregs). In the case of schistosomiasis, the granulomatous inflammation and the chronic liver pathology are critically regulated by the Th1/Th2 responses. Animal studies suggest that there is a moderate Th1 response to parasite antigens during the acute stage, but then, egg-derived antigens induce a sustained and dominant Th2 response that mediates granuloma formation and liver fibrosis. In addition, the newly discovered Th17 cells also play a critical role in the hepatic immunopathology of schistosomiasis. Within the liver, Tregs are recruited to hepatic granulomas and exert an immunosuppressive role to limit the granulomatous inflammation and fibrosis. Moreover, recent studies have shown that Tfh and Th9 cells might also promote liver granulomas and fibrogenesis in the murine schistosomiasis. Thus, during infection, T-cell subsets undergo complicated cross-talk with antigen presenting cells that then defines their various roles in the local microenvironment for regulating the pathological progression of schistosomiasis. This current review summarizes a vast body of literature to elucidate the contribution of T lymphocytes and their associated cytokines in the immunopathology of schistosomiasis.
Dimeric Pimprinine Alkaloids From Soil-Derived Streptomyces sp. NEAU-C99

Six new pimprinine alkaloids (1–6), including four dimers, dipimprinines A–D (1–4), and two monomers, (±)-Pimprinol D (5), and pimprinone A (6), along with six known congeners (7–12), were isolated from a soil-derived actinomycete Streptomyces sp. NEAU-C99. Structures of the new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses, single-crystal X-ray diffractions, and ECD calculations. Dipimprinines A–D (1–4) showed weak cytotoxic activities against five tumor cell lines, including HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, MCF-7, and SW-480, with IC50 values ranging from 12.7 to 30.7 μM.
The Damaging Effects of Perceived Crocodile Tears for a Crier’s Image

Emotional tears are uniquely human and play an essential role in the communication of distress in adults. Several studies have shown that individuals are more willing to offer emotional support and help a person in tears. Preliminary evidence suggests that this greater willingness to provide support is mediated via perceived warmth and helplessness. Moreover, tearful individuals are regarded as more reliable and honest. In the current study, we examined whether people can reliably distinguish genuine and fake crying, and what the consequences for the further evaluation of the crier are. A total of 202 participants (73 men, 129 women) were exposed to brief movie clips of genuine and fake crying adults and were asked to assess the criers. Results show that women were slightly better at identifying fake and genuine crying. How the crying was perceived subsequently seemed to have a strong influence on the further evaluation of the “crier. ” Criers qualified as pretenders were perceived as significantly more manipulative, less reliable, less warm, and less competent. Further, the respondents felt less connected with the perceived pretenders, who also were less welcomed as friends, colleagues, neighbors, and babysitter. They were additionally qualified as significantly less fit for “reliable” professions (judge, teacher, police officer, scientist, and physician). In contrast, the ratings of their fitness for “unreliable” professions (banker, CEO, journalist, real estate salesman, and politician) yielded a significant difference in only one video clip (and contrary to expectations). Our findings thus indicate that the subjective labeling of crying as fake is associated with a significantly less positive perception of the “crying” person, regardless of whether the crying is actually fake or genuine. The qualification of tears as crocodile tears thus seems to affect the crier’s image strongly negatively.
Plasma Myokine Concentrations After Acute Exercise in Non-obese and Obese Sedentary Women

Exercise and physical activity levels influence myokine release from skeletal muscle and contribute to circulating concentrations. Indeed, many myokines, including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-15, secreted protein acidic rich in cysteine (SPARC), and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21 are higher in the circulation after an exercise bout. Since these peptides modulate muscle metabolism and can also be targeted toward other tissues to induce adaptations to energy demand, they are of great interest regarding metabolic diseases. Therefore, we set out to compare, in six women with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) and five healthy women (BMI 22–29.9 kg/m2), the effect of an acute bout of moderate-intensity, continuous cycling exercise (60 min, 60% VO2peak) on the release of myokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, IL-15, SPARC, and FGF21) in plasma for a 24-h time course. We found that plasma IL-8 and SPARC levels were reduced in the group of women with obesity, whereas plasma IL-13 concentrations were elevated in comparison to non-obese women both before and after the exercise bout. We also found that plasma FGF21 concentration during the 24 h following the bout of exercise was regulated differently in the non-obese in comparison to obese women. Plasma concentrations of FGF21, IL-6, IL-8, IL-15, and IL-18 were regulated by acute exercise. Our results confirm the results of others concerning exercise regulation of circulating myokines while providing insight into the time course of myokine release in circulation after an acute exercise bout and the differences in circulating myokines after exercise in women with or without obesity.
Southerners Are Wiser Than Northerners Regarding Interpersonal Conflicts in China

Initial evidence suggests that cultural differences have consequences for wise reasoning (perspective taking, consideration of change and alternatives, intellectual humility, search for compromise, and adopting an outsider’s vantage point), with more reports of wise reasoning about interpersonal conflicts among Japanese (as compared to American) young and middle-aged adults. Similarly, we found that people from the rice-farming area of southern China also exhibited greater wise reasoning when they encountered conflicts with a friend or in the workplace than those from the wheat-farming area of northern China (N = 487, 25 provinces). The relationship between rice farming and wise reasoning was mediated by loyalty/nepotism. This research advances study of the relationship between wisdom and culture. It also provides evidence for the influence of social-ecological factors on wisdom and culture.
Seasonal Patterns in Spectral Irradiance and Leaf UV-A Absorbance Under Forest Canopies

Plants commonly respond to UV radiation through the accumulation of flavonoids and related phenolic compounds which potentially ameliorate UV-damage to crucial internal structures. However, the seasonal dynamics of leaf flavonoids corresponding to epidermal UV absorbance is highly variable in nature, and it remains uncertain how environmental factors combine to govern flavonoid accumulation and degradation. We studied leaf UV-A absorbance of species composing the understorey plant community throughout two growing seasons under five adjacent tree canopies in southern Finland. We compared the relationship between leaf flavonol index (Iflav—repeatedly measured with an optical leaf clip Dualex) and measured spectral irradiance, understorey and canopy phenology, air temperature and snowpack variables, whole leaf flavonoid extracts, and leaf age. Strong seasonal patterns and stand-related differences were apparent in Iflav of both understorey plant communities and individual species, including divergent trends in Iflav during spring and autumn. Comparing the heterogeneity of the understorey light environment and its spectral composition in looking for potential drivers of seasonal changes in Iflav, we found that unweighted UV-A irradiance, or the effective UV dose calculated according to the biological spectral weighting function (BSWF) for plant growth (PG action spectrum), in understorey shade had a strong relationship with Iflav. Furthermore, understorey species seemed to adjust Iflav to low background diffuse irradiance rather than infrequent high direct-beam irradiance in sunflecks during summer, since leaves produced during or after canopy closure had low Iflav. In conclusion, we found the level of epidermal flavonoids in forest understorey species to be plastic, adjusting to climatic conditions, and differing according to species' leaf retention strategy and new leaf production, all of which contribute to the seasonal trends in leaf flavonoids found within forest stands.
Regulation of NK-Cell Function by HLA Class II

Natural Killer (NK) cells were initially described as part of the innate immune system and characterized by their ability to lyse malignant and virus-infected cells. The cytolytic function of NK cells is tightly controlled by activating and inhibitory receptors expressed on the cell surface. Ligands that interact with a variety of NK-cell receptors include the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules, and the regulation of NK-cell function by HLA class I molecules is well-established. Earlier studies also suggested a role of HLA class II molecules in regulating NK cell activity; yet, interactions between HLA class II molecules and NK cell receptors have not been well-characterized. We recently identified a subset of HLA-DP molecules that can serve as ligands for the natural cytotoxicity receptor NKp44 and activate NK cells. This novel receptor-ligand interaction provides a potential mechanism to explain the strong associations of HLA-DP molecules with HBV infection outcomes, graft-vs.-host disease and inflammatory bowel disease. Furthermore, it adds a new mechanism for NK-cell crosstalk with immune cells expressing HLA class II molecules. In this perspective article, we discuss the potential implications of NK cell receptor interactions with HLA class II molecules for the regulation of immune responses.