Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ultrafine Pt Nanoparticle‐Decorated Pyrite‐Type CoS2 Nanosheet Arrays Coated on Carbon Cloth as a Bifunctional Electrode for Overall Water Splitting

To improve the utilization efficiency of precious metals, metal‐supported materials provide a direction for fabricating highly active and stable heterogeneous catalysts. Herein, carbon cloth (CC)‐supported Earth‐abundant CoS2 nanosheet arrays (CoS2/CC) are presented as ideal substrates for ultrafine Pt deposition (Pt‐CoS2/CC) to achieve remarkable performance toward the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER) in alkaline solutions. Notably, the Pt‐CoS2/CC hybrid delivers an overpotential of 24 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a mass activity of 3.89 A Ptmg−1, which is 4.7 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C, at an overpotential of 130 mV for catalyzing the HER. An alkali‐electrolyzer using Pt‐CoS2/CC as a bifunctional electrode enables a water‐splitting current density of 10 mA cm−2 at a low voltage of 1.55 V and can sustain for more than 20 h, which is superior to that of the state‐of‐the‐art Pt/C+RuO2 catalyst. Further experimental and theoretical simulation studies demonstrate that strong electronic interaction between Pt and CoS2 synergistically optimize hydrogen adsorption/desorption behaviors and facilitate the in situ generation of OER active species, enhancing the overall water‐splitting performance. This work highlights the regulation of interfacial and electronic synergy in pursuit of highly efficient and durable supported catalysts for hydrogen and oxygen electrocatalytic applications.
Deep learning multimodal fNIRS and EEG signals for bimanual grip force decoding

Objective. Non-invasive brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) offer an alternative, safe and accessible way to interact with the environment. To enable meaningful and stable physical interactions, BMIs need to decode forces. Although previously addressed in the unimanual case, controlling forces from both hands would enable BMI-users to perform a greater range of interactions. We here investigate the decoding of hand-specific forces. Approach. We maximise cortical information by using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and developing a deep-learning architecture with attention and residual layers (cnnatt) to improve their fusion. Our task required participants to generate hand-specific force profiles on which we trained and tested our deep-learning and linear decoders. Main results. The use of EEG and fNIRS improved the decoding of bimanual force and the deep-learning models outperformed the linear model. In both cases, the greatest gain in performance was due to the detection of force generation. In particular, the detection of forces was hand-specific and better for the right dominant hand and cnnatt was better at fusing EEG and fNIRS. Consequently, the study of cnnatt revealed that forces from each hand were differently encoded at the cortical level. Cnnatt also revealed traces of the cortical activity being modulated by the level of force which was not previously found using linear models. Significance. Our results can be applied to avoid hand-cross talk during hand force decoding to improve the robustness of BMI robotic devices. In particular, we improve the fusion of EEG and fNIRS signals and offer hand-specific interpretability of the encoded forces which are valuable during motor rehabilitation assessment.
Own soul's warning: Moral injury, suicidal ideation, and meaning in life.

OBJECTIVE Moral injury (an inner conflict [or cognitive dissonance] used to describe psychological, ethical, and/or spiritual conflict experienced when an individual's basic sense of humanity is violated) has been associated with suicidal ideation among military populations. However, mechanisms linking moral injury to suicidal ideation, particularly variables that may protect against suicidal ideation, have received limited attention. This study examined whether two domains of meaning in life (presence of meaning in life and searching for meaning in life) mediated the links between self- and other-directed moral injury and suicidal ideation. METHOD Participants were a community sample of 269 predominantly recent-era former service members who completed an online, anonymous voluntary survey. RESULTS When examined in separate models, self-directed moral injury and other-directed moral injury were found to associate with higher suicidal ideation via a lower presence of meaning in life (no significant associations with searching for meaning in life). When examined in an exploratory combined model (i.e., both self-directed and other-directed moral injury entered in the same model), only the association between self-directed moral injury and suicidal ideation via the presence of meaning in life remained statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that the presence of meaning in life may serve as a protective factor for veterans experiencing moral injury (particularly self-directed moral injury) that is associated with suicidal ideation. It is possible that guiding veterans with moral injury symptoms to develop more meaning or purpose in their lives may reduce suicidal ideation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
High cholesterol diet activates ER stress mediated apoptosis in testes tissue: Role of α‐tocopherol

The seminiferous tubules where spermatogenesis occurs are enveloped and protected by the Sertoli cells to support germ cells undergoing meiosis to produce haploid gametes. Clearly, induction of apoptosis in seminiferous tubules leads to abnormalities in spermatogenesis and male infertility. Studies demonstrated that increased hyperlipidemia impairs male infertility and spermatogenesis by enhancing seminiferous tubules apoptosis. However, molecular mechanisms underlying high‐cholesterol‐mediated testicular damage remain poorly elucidated. In this scope, we established a rabbit model and investigated the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress on high cholesterol diet induced seminiferous tubule apoptosis. Histopatological examinations revealed increased seminifer tubule apoptosis in testes of rabbits fed high cholesterol diet. In addition, phosphorylated forms of IRE1 and PERK, two well‐identified markers of ER stress, were significantly induced in accordance with high cholesterol diet. High cholesterol diet also exhibited CHOP induction in testes, indicating increased ER stress related apoptosis. Supplementation of α‐tocopherol significantly attenuated cholesterol mediated ER stress, and restored seminiferous tubules apoptosis. Taken together, our findings suggest that α‐tocopherol might be capable to reduce testicular damage via ameliorating histopatological features and inhibiting seminiferous tubules apoptosis in hypercholesterolemic rabbits.
Rapid On-Site Evaluation by Endosonographer of Endoscopic Ultrasound Fine-Needle Aspiration of Solid Pancreatic Lesions

Objectives Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) by cytopathologists during endoscopic ultrasound–fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) of solid pancreatic lesions (SPLs) improves adequacy and diagnostic accuracy while reducing the number of needle passes. We evaluated the usefulness of ROSE performed by the endosonographer. Methods Patients with an SPL were randomly assigned to EUS-FNA with ROSE or non-ROSE. Procedure duration, number of needle passes, specimen adequacy, and adverse event rates were compared. Results Sixty-five patients were enrolled (33 in the ROSE vs 32 in the non-ROSE group). Both groups were similar in terms of age, sex, size, and location of the lesion. Specimen adequacy rates were high and similar between groups. Mean (standard deviation) procedure duration was shorter in the ROSE versus non-ROSE group (30.0 [11.3] vs 37.0 [7.2] minutes, P < 0.005), as well as the mean (standard deviation) number of needle passes (2.6 [0.8] vs 3.5 [0.8], P < 0.005). Accuracy parameters as sensitivity and accuracy of ROSE by the endosonographer for malignancy were 93% and 88%, respectively. Conclusions After specific training, the endosonographer can accurately evaluate samples during EUS-FNA of SPL, allowing for a shorter procedure duration and a lower number of needle passes.
Roxadustat Does Not Affect Platelet Production, Activation, and Thrombosis Formation

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Objective: Roxadustat is a new medication for the treatment of renal anemia. EPO (erythropoietin)—the current treatment standard—has been reported to enhance platelet activation and production. However, to date, the effect of roxadustat on platelets is unclear. To address this deficiency, herein, we have evaluated the effect of roxadustat on platelet production and function. Approach and Results: We performed several mouse platelet functional assays in the presence/absence of in vitro and in vivo roxadustat treatment. Both healthy and 5/6 nephrectomized mice were utilized. The effect of roxadustat on platelet function of healthy volunteers and chronic kidney disease patients was also evaluated. For platelet production, megakaryocyte maturation and proplatelet formation were assayed in vitro. Peripheral platelet and bone marrow megakaryocyte counts were also determined. We found that roxadustat could not stimulate washed platelets directly, and platelet aggregation, spreading, clot retraction, and P-selectin/JON/A exposure were similar with or without in vitro or in vivo roxadustat treatment among both healthy and 5/6 nephrectomized mice. In vivo mouse thrombosis models were additionally performed, and no differences were detected between the vehicle and roxadustat treatment groups. EPO, which was considered a positive control in the present study, promoted platelet function and production as reported previously. Megakaryocyte maturation and proplatelet formation were also not significantly different between control mice and those treated with roxadustat. After receiving roxadustat for 14 days, no difference in the peripheral platelet count was observed in the mice. Conclusions: Administration of roxadustat has no significant impact on platelet production and function.
Etiological Networks of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder during Childhood and Adolescence

ABSTRACT Objective The purpose of the current study was to use network analysis techniques to parse relations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom domains, domains of executive function, and temperament traits. Methods Participants were 420 children aged 6–17 years (55% boys). The majority of the participants were Caucasian (72.86%) and 50% of the sample met diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Both parents and teachers provided ratings of participants’ ADHD symptom severity. Parents completed questionnaires pertaining to participants’ temperament traits, and participants completed well-validated laboratory measures of executive function. Results Results suggested effortful control as demonstrating the strongest relations with ADHD, particularly the parent-reported inattentive symptom domain. Additionally, negative effects appeared to demonstrate weaker but still notable relations primarily with the parent-reported hyperactive/impulsive symptom domain. Measures of executive function did not appear to demonstrate relations with any measures of ADHD symptoms or temperament traits. The results were generally replicated in a distinct sample (n = 732, 7–13 years, 63% boys, 81% White), although differences emerged pertaining to the role of surgency (i.e., related to the hyperactive/impulsive symptom domain in the replication but not the primary sample). Conclusions Overall, findings provided support for the primary role of effortful control, as well as secondary roles for negative affect and surgency, as key risk markers for the characterization of ADHD. Additional exploration of the overlap between temperament and executive function, as pertaining to ADHD, may help clarify heterogeneity in phenotypes and suggest priorities for targeted interventions outside of traditional symptoms.
Vitexin mitigates myocardial ischemia reperfusion-induced damage by inhibiting excessive autophagy to suppress apoptosis via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling cascade

Myocardial ischemia reperfusion (MI/R) injury is reported to induce apoptosis and autophagy of myocardial cells and contribute to adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Vitexin, a flavonoids compound, exhibited anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and antitumor effects in various studies. Here, we investigated the cardioprotective effect and underlying mechanism of vitexin treatment in MI/R injury in vivo and in vitro. We found that vitexin decreased the high cell apoptosis rate caused by MI/R injury significantly in a dose-dependent manner. The expression of cleaved Caspase-3 and Bax was down-regulated and the expression of Bcl-2 was up-regulated by vitexin compared with MI/R model group, indicating that vitexin suppressed apoptosis of rat cardiomyocytes H9c2 cells in MI/R injury. The concentrations of LDH, CK and MDA were decreased while the concentration of SOD was increased by vitexin during MI/R injury. Moreover, vitexin also suppressed autophagy of H9c2 cells in MI/R injury by down-regulating the expression of Beclin1 and LC3I/II while up-regulating the expression of p62. Activation of autophagy by Rapa significantly increased cleaved Caspase-3, Bcl-2 expression and the concentration of LDH, CK, MDA while decreased the concentration of SOD, indicating that vitexin inhibited autophagy to suppress apoptosis of H9c2 cells in MI/R injury. The co-treatment of PI3K inhibitor LY294002 reversed the inhibition on apoptosis and autophagy by vitexin, suggesting that vitexin inhibited apoptosis and autophagy to ameliorate MI/R injury through activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. We also constructed MI/R animal model using C57BL/6 mice to investigate the cardioprotective effects of vitexin in vivo. We observed that vitexin mitigated MI/R injury by decreasing the concentrations of LDH, CK and MDA, increasing the concentration of SOD, and counteracting the irregular pathological changes induced by MI/R injury dose-dependently. Vitexin also suppressed apoptosis and autophagy in myocardium cells of C57BL/6 mice in MI/R injury via activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. In conclusion, vitexin mitigated MI/R injury by inhibiting apoptosis and excessive autophagy via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.
Activation of IRE1, PERK and salt-inducible kinases leads to Sec body formation in Drosophila S2 cells

ABSTRACT The phase separation of the non-membrane bound Sec bodies occurs in Drosophila S2 cells by coalescence of components of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) exit sites under the stress of amino acid starvation. Here, we address which signaling pathways cause Sec body formation and find that two pathways are critical. The first is the activation of the salt-inducible kinases (SIKs; SIK2 and SIK3) by Na+ stress, which, when it is strong, is sufficient. The second is activation of IRE1 and PERK (also known as PEK in flies) downstream of ER stress induced by the absence of amino acids, which needs to be combined with moderate salt stress to induce Sec body formation. SIK, and IRE1 and PERK activation appear to potentiate each other through the stimulation of the unfolded protein response, a key parameter in Sec body formation. This work shows the role of SIKs in phase transition and re-enforces the role of IRE1 and PERK as a metabolic sensor for the level of circulating amino acids and salt. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Vitamin D deficiency as a predictor of severity in patients with COVID-19 infection

Background: As an immune modulator, vitamin D has been implicated in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. This study aimed to investigate the association between vitamin D levels and the severity of COVID-19 infection. Methods: A cross-sectional study, which included 124 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and were selected from Ain Shams University Hospitals and assigned to two groups; mild and severe COVID-19. All patients underwent detailed history taking, clinical data, and different laboratory investigations as complete blood count, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, liver enzymes, C-reactive protein, D-dimer, ferritin and serum vitamin D concentration. In addition to findings of initial chest computed tomography (CT) were recorded. COVID-19 Reporting and Data System (CO-RADS) and CT chest severity scores (CT SS) were reported. Results: In this study of 124 COVID-19-positive individuals, a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was found (97.6%). Lower vitamin D levels were significantly associated with more severe COVID-19 cases (p-value < 0.001), higher blood levels of inflammatory markers including (D-dimer, CRP, and ferritin), a higher CT SS and longer disease duration. Serum vitamin D can be used as a predictor for the severity of COVID-19 infection with a specificity of 96.6%, and sensitivity of 45.5%. Conclusion: The high frequency of hypovitaminosis D in severe COVID-19 patients provides further evidence of a potential link to poor prognosis and severity of the disease, so vitamin D deficiency may be a marker of poor prognosis in these patients.
Channel Characterization of Magnetic Human Body Communication

Objective: The objective of this paper is to model and experimentally validate the path loss benefits of magnetic human body communication (mHBC) using small form-factor-accurate coils operating under realistic conditions. Methods: A radiating near-field coupling model and numerical simulations are presented to show that the magnetic-dominant near-field coupling between resonant coils offers low path loss across the body and exhibits extra robustness to antenna misalignment compared to far-field RF schemes. To overcome the pitfalls in conventional vector-network-analyzer-based measurement configurations, we propose a standardized setup applied to broadband channel loss measurement with portable instruments. Two types of PCB coils for mHBC communication, designed for large devices such as smartphones and small devices such as earbuds, respectively, are built and measured. Results: The mHBC link for the ear-to-ear non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path measures up to −23.1 dB and −31.2 dB with large and small coils, respectively, which is 50 dB more efficient than the conventional Bluetooth channels utilizing antennas of similar sizes. Ear-to-pocket and pocket-to-pocket channels also show at least 16 dB higher transmission than the Bluetooth channel. Conclusion: In terms of path loss, the mHBC approach offers compelling performance for short-range applications over the body region. For coils with dimensions of several centimeters, working between 100 MHz and 200 MHz minimizes the channel loss while keeping the bandwidth above 1 MHz. Significance: The extremely high efficiency of the proposed mHBC channel provides a solution to the energy problem for miniaturized wearables, potentially leading to new wearable device designs.
The rnc Gene Regulates the Microstructure of Exopolysaccharide in the Biofilm of Streptococcus mutans through the β-Monosaccharides

Streptococcus mutans is known as the crucial pathogen of human dental caries, owing to its contribution to the biofilm development via the capacity of synthesizing exopolysaccharide (EPS), which mainly compose of α-glycosidic bond and β-glycosidic bond. β-glycosidic bond is less flexible than α-glycosidic bond because of differences between their configurational properties. Previous studies have shown that the rnc gene is implicated in the EPS formation and the cariogenicity of S. mutans. However, the effects of rnc on the microstructure of EPS have been not well-understood yet. Here, we further investigated how the rnc gene worked to modulate microstructural properties of the extracellular polysaccharide of S. mutans using glycomics methods. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometer showed that the proportion of glucose was decreased in water-soluble EPS and galactose was absent in water-insoluble EPS from the S. mutans rnc-deficient strain (Smurnc), compared with the isogenic wild-type strain (UA159). The composition of functional groups and the displacement of hydrogen bond were analyzed by infrared radiation and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, respectively. In addition, phenotypic modulation of the biofilm matrix was assessed by microscopy. We found that the EPS of UA159 and the rnc overexpression strain (Smurnc+) mainly consisted of β-glycosidic bonds. Conversely, the EPS of Smurnc were made up of mostly α-glycosidic bonds, leading to the attenuation of biofilm biomass and bacterial adhesion. Furthermore, the existence of β-glycosidic bond was verified by enzyme digestion. Collectively, the rnc gene modulates the conversion of β-glycosidic bonds, which may play important roles in regulating the micromolecule structure of the EPS matrix, thus affecting the characteristics of S. mutans biofilm. These data illustrate that β-glycosidic bonds mediated by rnc may be potential targets for the prevention and treatment of dental caries.
Global forest restoration opportunities to foster coral reef conservation

Sediment runoff from disturbed coastal catchments is a major threat to marine ecosystems. Understanding where sediments are produced and where they are delivered enables managers to design more effective strategies for improving water quality. A management strategy is targeted restoration of degraded terrestrial areas, as it provides opportunities to reduce land‐based runoff from coastal areas and consequently foster coral reef conservation. To do this strategically, a systematic approach is needed to identify watersheds where restoration actions will provide the highest conservation benefits for coral reefs. Here, we develop a systematic approach for identifying global forest restoration opportunities that would also result in large decreases in the flux of sediments to coral reefs. We estimate how land‐use change affects sediment runoff globally using high‐resolution spatial data and determine the subsequent risk of sediment exposure on coral reefs using a diffusion‐based ocean transport model. Our results reveal that sediment export is a major issue affecting 41% of coral reefs globally. The main coastal watersheds with the highest sediment export are predominantly located in Southeast Asian countries, with Indonesia and the Philippines accounting for 52% of the sediment export in coastal areas near coral reefs. We show how restoring forest across multiple watersheds could help to reduce sediment export to 63,000 km2 of coral reefs. Although reforestation opportunities in areas that discharge onto coral reefs are relatively small across watersheds, it is possible to achieve large sediment reduction benefits by strategically targeting watersheds located in regions with a high density of corals near to the coast. Thus, reforestation benefits on coral reefs do not necessarily come from the watersheds that produce the highest sediment export. These analyses are key for generating informed action to support both international conservation policy and national restoration activities.