Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The use of theory of planned behavior to systemically study the integrative-qualitative intentional behavior in Romanian preschool education with network analysis

Predicting preschool teachers’ intention to adopt qualitative and inclusive early childhood intentional behaviors represents an important research field. The objective of this research is first to develop and validate a scale to assess the integrative-qualitative intentional behavior (IQIB-ECEC) of preschool teachers in order to achieve SDG4.2’s objective of ensuring that all children have access to high-quality pre-primary education and then to systemically analyze the relationship between variables with Network Analysis. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) describes key individual beliefs (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control) that affect people’s intentions to engage in a certain conduct and has previously been used with success in evaluating people’s intentions to adopt a certain behavior. This research represents one of the first Romanian attempts to use the theory of planned behavior to study the Integrative-Qualitative Intentional Behavior in Romanian Preschool Education and systemically analyze results with Network Analysis approach. This study used a randomized 300 Romanian preschool teachers enrolled in a National Training Program entitled Qualitative and Inclusive Early Childhood Education managed by the Romanian Educational Ministry. Data were collected via an online questionnaire. The scale validation followed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The fitting of the IQIB-ECEC 19-item scale showed that all coefficients CFI (0.942), TLI (0.920), SRMR (0.0452), and RMSEA (0.0451) bring strong evidence in the favor of the statistical validity of the scale. The final IQIB-ECEC 19 items and 8 factors scale obtained a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.77. The systemic Network Analysis approach was used in interpreting data. The centrality of the network model was further investigated and the clustering coefficients index were calculated. According to the results, perceived power/control beliefs and behavioral intention were detected as the most important dimensions, whereas behavioral beliefs were less important. These findings were discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical significance.
Discovery of an evodiamine derivative for PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway activation and AD pathology improvement in mouse models

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Evodiamine, a main component in Chinese medicine, was found to improve cognitive impairment in AD model mice based on several intensive studies. However, evodiamine has high cytotoxicity and poor bioactivity. In this study, several evodiamine derivatives were synthesized via heterocyclic substitution and amide introduction and screened for cytotoxicity and antioxidant capacity. Under the same concentrations, compound 4c was found to exhibit lower cytotoxicity and higher activity against H2O2 and amyloid β oligomers (AβOs) than evodiamine in vitro and significantly improve the working memory and spatial memory of 3 x Tg and APP/PS1 AD mice. Subsequent RNA sequencing and pathway enrichment analysis showed that 4c affected AD-related genes and the AMPK and insulin signaling pathways. Furthermore, we confirmed that 4c recovered PI3K/AKT/GSK3β/Tau dysfunction in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, 4c represents a potential lead compound for AD therapy based on the recovery of PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway dysfunction.
Determination of the ability of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry to identify high-biofilm-producing strains

Background The traditional method for assessing the capacity of a microorganism to produce biofilm is generally a static in vitro model in a multi-well plate using the crystal violet (CV) binding assay, which takes 96 h. Furthermore, while the method is simple to perform, its reproducibility is poor. Objective We evaluated whether matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) could make it possible to differentiate between high-and low-biofilm-producing microorganisms on 24-h cultures of Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Methods We included 157 strains of S. aureus and 91 strains of C. albicans obtained from the blood cultures of patients with bacteremia/candidemia. We tested biofilm production using the CV binding assay as the gold standard to classify strains as low or high biofilm producers. We then applied MALDI-TOF MS to create a machine learning–based predictive model using 40 strains of S. aureus and C. albicans, each with extreme absorbance values, and validated this approach with the remaining 117 and 51 strains using the random forest algorithm and the support vector machine algorithm, respectively. Results Overall, 81.2% of the S. aureus strains (95/117) and 74.5% of the C. albicans strains (38/51) used for validation were correctly categorized, respectively, as low and high-biofilm-producing. Conclusion Classification based on MALDI-TOF MS protein spectra enables us to predict acceptable information about the capacity of 24-h cultures of S. aureus and C. albicans to form biofilm.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus in vitro colonization on plastics influenced by temperature and strain variability

Marine bacteria often exist in biofilms as communities attached to surfaces, like plastic. Growing concerns exist regarding marine plastics acting as potential vectors of pathogenic Vibrio, especially in a changing climate. It has been generalized that Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus often attach to plastic surfaces. Different strains of these Vibrios exist having different growth and biofilm-forming properties. This study evaluated how temperature and strain variability affect V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus biofilm formation and characteristics on glass (GL), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). All strains of both species attached to GL and all plastics at 25, 30, and 35°C. As a species, V. vulnificus produced more biofilm on PS (p ≤ 0.05) compared to GL, and biofilm biomass was enhanced at 25°C compared to 30° (p ≤ 0.01) and 35°C (p ≤ 0.01). However, all individual strains’ biofilm biomass and cell densities varied greatly at all temperatures tested. Comparisons of biofilm-forming strains for each species revealed a positive correlation (r = 0.58) between their dry biomass weight and OD570 values from crystal violet staining, and total dry biofilm biomass for both species was greater (p ≤ 0.01) on plastics compared to GL. It was also found that extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) chemical characteristics were similar on all plastics of both species, with extracellular proteins mainly contributing to the composition of EPS. All strains were hydrophobic at 25, 30, and 35°C, further illustrating both species’ affinity for potential attachment to plastics. Taken together, this study suggests that different strains of V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus can rapidly form biofilms with high cell densities on different plastic types in vitro. However, the biofilm process is highly variable and is species-, strain-specific, and dependent on plastic type, especially under different temperatures.
A stochastic model related to the telegrapher's equation

We will consider a very simple stochastic model, a random walk. Unfortunately, this model is little known. It has very interesting features and leads not to a diffusion equation but to a hyperbolic one. The model first appeared in the literature in a paper by Sidney Goldstein, known to you mostly because of his work in fluid dynamics. The model had first been proposed by G. I. Taylor — I think in an abortive, or at least not very successful, attempt to treat turbulent diffusion. But the model itself proved to be very interesting. The problem is the following: Suppose you have a lattice of points. I mean discrete, equidistant points as in Figure 1.
Mapping knowledge landscapes and emerging trends of sonodynamic therapy: A bibliometric and visualized study

Background: Ultrasound-triggered sonodynamic therapy (SDT), as a non-invasive approach, has attracted considerable attention in a wide variety of malignant tumors and other diseases. Over the past 2 decades, the number of scientific publications on SDT has increased rapidly. However, there is still a lack of one comprehensive report that summarizes the global research trends and knowledge landscapes in the field of SDT in detail. Thus, we performed a bibliometric analysis on SDT from 2000 to 2021 to track the current hotspots and highlight future directions. Methods: We collected publications on SDT research from the Web of Science Core Collection database. The annual number of publications and citations, major contributors, popular journals, international collaborations, co-cited references and co-occurrence keywords were analyzed and visualized with CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and R-bibliometrix. Results: A total of 701 publications were included. The annual publication output increased from 5 in 2000 to 175 in 2021, and the average growth rate was 18.4%. China was the most productive country with 463 documents (66.05%), and Harbin Medical University was the most prolific institution (N = 73). Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology published the most papers related to SDT. Materials Science, and Chemistry were the research areas receiving the most interest. All the keywords were divided into four different clusters including studies on mechanisms, studies on drug delivery and nanoparticles, studies on cancer therapy, as well as studies on ultrasound and sonosensitizers. In addition to nanomaterials-related studies including nanoparticles, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, nanosheets, liposomes, microbubble and TiO2 nanoparticle, the following research directions such as immunogenic cell death, metal-organic framework, photothermal therapy, hypoxia, tumor microenvironment, chemodynamic therapy, combination therapy, tumor resistance, intensity focused ultrasound, drug delivery, and Staphylococcus aureus also deserve further attention and may continue to explode in the future. Conclusion: SDT has a bright future in the field of cancer treatment, and nanomaterials have increasingly influenced the SDT field with the development of nano-technology. Overall, this comprehensive bibliometric study was the first attempt to analyze the field of SDT, which could provide valuable references for later researchers to better understand the global research trends, hotspots and frontiers in this domain.
Incommensurate Structure of Phosphorus Phase IV

There are six known phases for phosphorus at room temperature under high pressure. Only the structure of phase IV, which exists from 107 GPa to 137 GPa, remains unsolved. We performed a powder x-ray diffraction experiment and a Rietveld analysis and successfully determined its structure to be an incommensurately modulated structure by only 1 site of atomic position. High-pressure phases of halogens and chalcogens have previously been shown to have a similar modulated structure; however, phosphorus phase IV is different from them and was shown to be the third case.
Hemorheological profiles and chronic inflammation markers in transfusion-dependent and non-transfusion- dependent thalassemia

The rheological properties of blood play an important role in regulating blood flow in micro and macro circulation. In thalassemia syndromes red blood cells exhibit altered hemodynamic properties that facilitate microcirculatory diseases: increased aggregation and reduced deformability, as well as a marked increase in adherence to the vascular endothelial cells. A personalized approach to treating thalassemia patients (transfusions, iron chelation, and splenectomy), has increased patients’ life expectancy, however they generally present many complications and several studies have demonstrated the presence of high incidence of thromboembolic events. In this study the hemorheological profiles of thalassemia patients have been characterized to point out new indices of vascular impairment in thalassemia. Plasma viscosity, blood viscosities at low and high shear rates (η1 and η200, respectively), erythrocyte aggregation index (η1/η200), and the erythrocyte viscoelastic profile (elastic modulus G', and viscous modulus G") have been studied in transfusion-dependent and non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients. Moreover, the levels of inflammation biomarkers in thalassemia have been evaluated to investigate a relationship between the biomarkers, the disease severity and the rheological parameters. The biomarkers studied are the main components of the immune and endothelial systems or are related to vascular inflammation: cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, TNF-alpha), chemokines (IL-8, MIP-1alpha), adipocytokines (leptin and adiponectin), growth factors (VEGF, angiopoietin-1), adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1, E-selectin, L-selectin), and a monocyte/macrophage activation marker (CD163). This study shows that transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients, both major and intermedia, have blood viscosities comparable to those of healthy subjects. Non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia intermedia patients show high blood viscosities at low shear rates (η1), corresponding to the flow conditions of the microcirculation, an increase in erythrocyte aggregation, and high values of the elastic G' and viscous G" modules that reflect a reduced erythrocyte deformability and an increase in blood viscosity. Levels of cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules are different in transfusion- and non-transfusion dependent patients and positive correlations between η1 or η1/η200 and the cytokines IL-6 and IL-10 have been observed. The evaluation of the hemorheological profiles in thalassemia can provide new indicators of vascular impairment and disease severity in thalassemia in order to prevent the onset of thromboembolic events.
Facts and Perspectives: Implications of tumor glycolysis on immunotherapy response in triple negative breast cancer

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive disease that is difficult to treat and portends a poor prognosis in many patients. Recent efforts to implement immune checkpoint inhibitors into the treatment landscape of TNBC have led to improved outcomes in a subset of patients both in the early stage and metastatic settings. However, a large portion of patients with TNBC remain resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitors and have limited treatment options beyond cytotoxic chemotherapy. The interplay between the anti-tumor immune response and tumor metabolism contributes to immunotherapy response in the preclinical setting, and likely in the clinical setting as well. Specifically, tumor glycolysis and lactate production influence the tumor immune microenvironment through creation of metabolic competition with infiltrating immune cells, which impacts response to immune checkpoint blockade. In this review, we will focus on how glucose metabolism within TNBC tumors influences the response to immune checkpoint blockade and potential ways of harnessing this information to improve clinical outcomes.
Molecular profiling of male breast cancer by multigene panel testing: Implications for precision oncology

Introduction Compared with breast cancer (BC) in women, BC in men is a rare disease with genetic and molecular peculiarities. Therapeutic approaches for male BC (MBC) are currently extrapolated from the clinical management of female BC, although the disease does not exactly overlap in males and females. Data on specific molecular biomarkers in MBC are lacking, cutting out male patients from more appropriate therapeutic strategies. Growing evidence indicates that Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) multigene panel testing can be used for the detection of predictive molecular biomarkers, including Tumor Mutational Burden (TMB) and Microsatellite Instability (MSI). Methods In this study, NGS multigene gene panel sequencing, targeting 1.94 Mb of the genome at 523 cancer-relevant genes (TruSight Oncology 500, Illumina), was used to identify and characterize somatic variants, Copy Number Variations (CNVs), TMB and MSI, in 15 Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) male breast cancer samples. Results and discussion A total of 40 pathogenic variants were detected in 24 genes. All MBC cases harbored at least one pathogenic variant. PIK3CA was the most frequently mutated gene, with six (40.0%) MBCs harboring targetable PIK3CA alterations. CNVs analysis showed copy number gains in 22 genes. No copy number losses were found. Specifically, 13 (86.7%) MBCs showed gene copy number gains. MYC was the most frequently amplified gene with eight (53.3%) MBCs showing a median fold-changes value of 1.9 (range 1.8-3.8). A median TMB value of 4.3 (range 0.8-12.3) mut/Mb was observed, with two (13%) MBCs showing high-TMB. The median percentage of MSI was 2.4% (range 0-17.6%), with two (13%) MBCs showing high-MSI. Overall, these results indicate that NGS multigene panel sequencing can provide a comprehensive molecular tumor profiling in MBC. The identification of targetable molecular alterations in more than 70% of MBCs suggests that the NGS approach may allow for the selection of MBC patients eligible for precision/targeted therapy.
Arbitrary Ca2+ regulation for endothelial nitric oxide, NFAT and NF-κB activities by an optogenetic approach

Modern western dietary habits and low physical activity cause metabolic abnormalities and abnormally elevated levels of metabolites such as low-density lipoprotein, which can lead to immune cell activation, and inflammatory reactions, and atherosclerosis. Appropriate stimulation of vascular endothelial cells can confer protective responses against inflammatory reactions and atherosclerotic conditions. This study aims to determine whether a designed optogenetic approach is capable of affecting functional changes in vascular endothelial cells and to evaluate its potential for therapeutic regulation of vascular inflammatory responses in vitro. We employed a genetically engineered, blue light-activated Ca2+ channel switch molecule that utilizes an endogenous store-operated calcium entry system and induces intracellular Ca2+ influx through blue light irradiation and observed an increase in intracellular Ca2+ in vascular endothelial cells. Ca2+-dependent activation of the nuclear factor of activated T cells and nitric oxide production were also detected. Microarray analysis of Ca2+-induced changes in vascular endothelial cells explored several genes involved in cellular contractility and inflammatory responses. Indeed, there was an increase in the gene expression of molecules related to anti-inflammatory and vasorelaxant effects. Thus, a combination of human blue light-activated Ca2+ channel switch 2 (hBACCS2) and blue light possibly attenuates TNFα-induced inflammatory NF-κB activity. We propose that extrinsic cellular Ca2+ regulation could be a novel approach against vascular inflammation.
Prognosis of bronchial asthma in children with different pulmonary function phenotypes: A real-world retrospective observational study

Objective To follow up on the changes in pulmonary function phenotypes in children with asthma in the first year after diagnosis, and explore the risk factors of poor control in children with good treatment compliance. Methods Children who were diagnosed with asthma in the Respiratory Department of Shanghai Children's Medical Center from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020 and were re-examined every 3 months after diagnosis for 1 year were continuously included, regardless of gender. We collected the clinical data, analyzed clinical characteristics of the different pulmonary function phenotypes at baseline and explored risk factors of poor asthma control after 1 year of standardized treatment. Results A total of 142 children with asthma were included in this study, including 54 (38.0%) with normal pulmonary function phenotype (NPF), 75 (52.8%) with ventilation dysfunction phenotype (VD), and 13 (9.2%) with small airway dysfunction phenotype (SAD) in the baseline. Among them, there were statistically significant differences in all spirometry parameters, age, and course of disease before diagnosis (P < 0.05), and a negative correlation between age (r2 = −0.33, P < 0.001), course of disease before diagnosis (r2 = −0.23, P = 0.006) and FEV1/FVC. After 1-year follow-up, large airway function parameters and small airway function parameters were increased, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) was decreased, the proportion of NPF was increased, the proportion of VD was decreased (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in the proportion of SAD. After 1 year of standardized treatment, 21 patients (14.8%) still had partly controlled or uncontrolled asthma. Our results showed that the more asthma attacks occurred within 1 year (OR = 6.249, 95% CI, 1.711–22.818, P = 0.006), the more times SAD presented at baseline and Assessment 1–4 (OR = 3.092, 95% CI, 1.222–7.825, P = 0.017), the higher the possibility of incomplete control of asthma. Conclusion About 15% of the children with good treatment compliance were still not completely controlled after 1 year of treatment, which is closely associated with persistent small airway dysfunction.
Research on elderly users' intentions to accept wearable devices based on the improved UTAUT model

Introduction As the proportion of the world's elderly population continues to increase, wearable devices can provide ideas for solving a series of problems caused by population aging. Therefore, it is of great significance for the development of intelligent elderly care and the improvement of the quality of elderly care services to explore the factors that influence the intention of elderly users to accept wearable devices. Methods An improved unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model is constructed from the perspective of elderly individuals, and new parameters are added, including four factors related to wearable devices, including performance expectancy, perceived cost, hedonic value and aesthetic appeal, and three factors related to elderly individuals, including personal physiological conditions, health anxiety and personal innovativeness in information technology. The data analysis was accomplished with the partial least square regression structural equation modeling. Results The findings of this study revealed that performance expectancy, perceived cost, hedonic value and aesthetic appeal all have significant impact on elderly users' intention to use wearable devices. Furthermore, personal innovativeness in information technology, personal physiological condition, and intention to use all have significant impact on elderly users' actual usage behavior of wearable devices. However, there is no obvious relationship between health anxiety and actual usage behavior. Discussion Elderly adults' attention to wearable devices plays an important role in the development of the wearable device-related industry chain, which provides management suggestions for stakeholders.