Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of low-level light therapy before and after cataract surgery for the prophylaxis of postoperative dry eye: a prospective randomised double-masked controlled clinical trial

Background Despite increasing evidence shows that optimising ocular surface before cataract surgery is fundamental in patients with pre-existing dry eye disease (DED) to achieve the desired postoperative outcomes, the prophylactic treatment of healthy patients undergoing surgery aiming at preventing iatrogenic DED is worth investigating. Methods This was a prospective, interventional, randomised, controlled, double-masked clinical trial. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive either low-level light therapy (LLLT) or sham treatment (LLLT with a power output <30%). Patients underwent two treatment sessions: 7±2 days before cataract surgery (T0) and 7±2 days after (T1). Outcome measures evaluated 30±4 days after surgery (T2) included Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, non-invasive break-up time (NIBUT), tear meniscus height, meibomian gland loss (MGL) and redness score. Results Out of 153 patients randomised to receive LLLT (n=73) or sham treatment (n=80), 131 (70 men, 61 women, mean age 73.53±7.29 years) completed regularly the study. Patients treated with LLLT had significantly lower OSDI scores compared with controls at T1 and T2 (respectively, 7.2±8.8 vs 14.8±13.0 and 9.0±9.0 vs 18.2±17.9; both p<0.001), higher NIBUT values at T2 (12.5±6.6 vs 9.0±7.8; p=0.007) and lower MGL Meiboscore values at T1 (1.59±0.70 vs 1.26±0.69; p=0.008). Unlike controls, patients treated with LLLT had significantly lower OSDI scores and higher NIBUT values at T2 compared with T0 (respectively, 9.0±9.0 vs 21.2±16.1; p<0.001 and 12.5±6.6 vs 9.7±7.2; p=0.007). Conclusion Two sessions of LLLT performed before and after cataract surgery were effective in ameliorating tear film stability and ocular discomfort symptoms. Trial registration number NCT05754437.
IL-20 controls resolution of experimental colitis by regulating epithelial IFN/STAT2 signalling

Objective We sought to investigate the role of interleukin (IL)-20 in IBD and experimental colitis. Design Experimental colitis was induced in mice deficient in components of the IL-20 and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)2 signalling pathways. In vivo imaging, high-resolution mini-endoscopy and histology were used to assess intestinal inflammation. We further used RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq), RNAScope and Gene Ontology analysis, western blot analysis and co-immunoprecipitation, confocal microscopy and intestinal epithelial cell (IEC)-derived three-dimensional organoids to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms. Results were validated using samples from patients with IBD and non-IBD control subjects by a combination of RNA-Seq, organoids and immunostainings. Results In IBD, IL20 levels were induced during remission and were significantly higher in antitumour necrosis factor responders versus non-responders. IL-20RA and IL-20RB were present on IECs from patients with IBD and IL-20-induced STAT3 and suppressed interferon (IFN)-STAT2 signalling in these cells. In IBD, experimental dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and mucosal healing, IECs were the main producers of IL-20. Compared with wildtype controls, Il20−/−, Il20ra−/− and Il20rb−/− mice were more susceptible to experimental DSS-induced colitis. IL-20 deficiency was associated with increased IFN/STAT2 activity in mice and IFN/STAT2-induced necroptotic cell death in IEC-derived organoids could be markedly blocked by IL-20. Moreover, newly generated Stat2ΔIEC mice, lacking STAT2 in IECs, were less susceptible to experimental colitis compared with wildtype controls and the administration of IL-20 suppressed colitis activity in wildtype animals. Conclusion IL-20 controls colitis and mucosal healing by interfering with the IFN/STAT2 death signalling pathway in IECs. These results indicate new directions for suppressing gut inflammation by modulating IL-20-controlled STAT2 signals.
Simulation of tornado over Brahmanbaria on 22 March 2013 using Doppler weather radar and WRF model

ABSTRACT A tornado occurred at Brahmanbaria in Bangladesh in the afternoon of 22 March 2013. The tornado event has been studied based on tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM) data, radar observations and model simulations. The maximum reflectivity and the vertical extent of the system have been recorded to be about 54.7 dBZ and 15 km, respectively, by the Doppler weather radar (DWR) at Agartala, India. The event has been simulated by using the WRF model at 3- and 1-km horizontal resolution nested domains based on six hourly final (FNL) re-analysis data and boundary conditions of National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Results show that, while there are differences of 40 minutes before the observed time of the storm, the distance between observed and simulated locations of the storms is 0.5°. The maximum amount of vorticity transferred by directional shear in the storm updraft (helicity) due to convective motion simulated by the model is found to be 1774 m2 s−2, and the highest value of bulk Richardson number shear that defines the region in which low-level mesocyclogenesis is more likely has been 457.3 m2 s−2, which is generally supposed to produce rotating storms according to the prescribed range. The highest vertical velocity simulated by the model is about −28 to 58 m s−1.
Does Soil Moisture Influence Climate Variability and Predictability over Australia

Abstract Interannual variations of Australian climate are strongly linked to the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. However, the impact of other mechanisms on prediction, such as atmosphere–land surface interactions, has been less frequently investigated. Here, the impact of soil moisture variability on interannual climate variability and predictability is examined using the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre atmospheric general circulation model. Two sets of experiments are run, each with five different initial conditions. In the first set of experiments, soil moisture is free to vary in response to atmospheric forcing in each experiment according to a set of simple prognostic equations. A potential predictability index is computed as the ratio of the model's internal variability to its external forced variability. This estimates the level of predictability obtained assuming perfect knowledge of future ocean surface temperatures. A second set of five experiments with prescribed soil moist.
Studies on nutrients of sea-surface microlayer and hipolayer at Daya Bay

Based on the survey data on five voyages sea-surface microlayer and hipolayer at Daya Bay in autumn (Oct.and Nov.) of 1998 and spring and autumn (Apr., May and Oct.) of 1999, the general enrichment situation of N, P, Si for sea-surface microlayer was analyzed and the relation between nutrients and environment factors was discussed. Results showed that there were sea-surface microlayer enrichment effects on N, P, Si and the effects varied with the different sea-conditions and seasons while the enrichment factor (EF) differed from other sea areas. No matter in summer or in autumn the NH 4-N was the main existing form of the inorganic nitrogen of sea-surface microlayer at Daya Bay and NO 3-N was the main existing form at other sea-layers. Results also showed that there was highly remarked positive relation between NH 4-N and BOD 5, COD of sea-surface microlayer and hipolayer while no relation between NH 4-N and PO 4-P, SiO 3-Si. This proved that the nitrogenous organic matter is richer than the phosphorous organic matters at Daya Bay.
Open-Source Instrumented Object to Study Dexterous Object Manipulation

Humans use tactile feedback to perform skillful manipulation. When tactile sensory feedback is unavailable, for instance, if the fingers are anesthetized, dexterity is severely impaired. Imaging the deformation of the finger pad skin when in contact with a transparent plate provides information about the tactile feedback received by the central nervous system. Indeed, skin deformations are transduced into neural signals by the mechanoreceptors of the finger pad skin. Understanding how this feedback is used for active object manipulation would improve our understanding of human dexterity. In this paper, we present a new device for imaging the skin of the finger pad of one finger during manipulation performed with a precision grip. The device’s weight (300 g) makes it easy to use during unconstrained dexterous manipulation. Using this device, we reproduced the experiment performed in Delhaye et al. 2021a. We extracted the strains aligned with the object’s movement, i.e., the vertical strains in the ulnar and radial parts of the fingerpad, to see how correlated they were with the grip force (GF) adaptation. Interestingly, parts of our results differed from those in Delhaye et al. 2021a due to weight and inertia differences between the devices, with average GF across participants differing significantly. Our results highlight a large variability in the behavior of the skin across participants, with generally low correlations between strain and GF adjustments, suggesting that skin deformations are not the primary driver of GF adaptation in this manipulation scenario. Significance statement In this paper, we introduce a new device weighing 300 g and capable of imaging the skin of the finger pad of one finger during manipulation performed with a precision grip. This object is also capable of recording the forces and accelerations applied to the object. We reproduced the experiment performed in Delhaye et al. 2021a using this device. We extracted the strains aligned with the object’s movement to analyze how correlated these strains were with GF adaptation. The behavior of the skin across participants presented a large variability, and we observed low correlations between strain and GF adjustments in most participants. Our results suggest that skin deformations are not the primary driver of GF adaptation in this manipulation scenario.
No evidence of “social immune memory” in Acorn ants (Temnothoax nylanderi)

Social organisms are predicted to experience higher rates of infectious disease, as the likelihood of transmission increases with higher spatial and temporal proximity of potential hosts. In social insects, this risk is counteracted through a social immune system, where altruistic and collective anti-pathogen behaviours reduce or eliminate the impact of disease at the colony, or ‘superorganism’, level. Superorganismal immune strategies are often analogous to immune responses in metazoan organisms, suggesting that disease may have played a crucial role in shaping multiple major evolutionary transitions. In this study, we investigated whether acorn ants use prior experience with a pathogen to perform more efficient social immunity behaviours upon pathogen reencounter, a potential parallel to metazoan immune memory that we term ‘social immune memory’. Using Temnothorax nylanderi ants, we created experience with the fungal pathogen Metarhizium brunneum both individually and in groups, to investigate the effect of prior experience when presented with the same pathogen. We further examined the effect of prior pathogen experience when groups of ants differ in their pathogen-experience levels. We found no evidence for social immune memory in our experiments, suggesting positive results in previous studies may be due to sublethal infections, rather than cognitive effects. Alternatively, ants may employ different immune defence strategies depending on context or species, with potential differences in immune system flexibility across major evolutionary scales.
Multiomics characterization of cell type repertoires for urine liquid biopsies

Urine is assayed alongside blood in medicine, yet current clinical diagnostic tests utilize only a small fraction of its total biomolecular repertoire, potentially foregoing high-resolution insights into human health and disease. In this work, we characterized the joint landscapes of transcriptomic and metabolomic signals in human urine. We also compared the urine transcriptome to plasma cell-free RNA, identifying a distinct cell type repertoire and enrichment for metabolic signal. Untargeted metabolomic measurements identified a complementary set of pathways to the transcriptomic analysis. Our findings suggest that urine is a promising biofluid yielding prognostic and detailed insights for hard-to-biopsy tissues with low representation in the blood, offering promise for a new generation of liquid biopsies.
Soil fungi remain active and invest in storage compounds during drought independent of future climate conditions

Microbial growth is central to soil carbon cycling. However, how microbial communities grow under climate change is still largely unexplored. In an experiment simulating future climate conditions (increased atmospheric CO2 and temperature) and drought, we traced 2H or 18O applied via water-vapor exchange into fatty acids or DNA, respectively, allowing to measure community- and group-level adjustments in soil microbial physiology (replication, storage product synthesis, and carbon use efficiency, CUE). We show, that while overall community-level growth decreased by half during drought, fungal growth remained stable demonstrating an astonishing resistance of fungal activity against soil moisture changes. In addition, fungal investment into storage triglycerides increased more than five-fold under drought. CUE (the balance between anabolism and catabolism) was unaffected by drought but decreased in future climate conditions. Our results highlight that accounting for different growth strategies can foster our understanding of soil microbial contribution to C cycling and feedback to climate change.
Molecular mechanism of α-synuclein aggregation on lipid membranes revealed

The central hallmark of Parkinson’s disease pathology is the aggregation of the α-synuclein protein, which, in its healthy form, is associated with lipid membranes. Purified monomeric α-synuclein is relatively stable in vitro, but its aggregation can be triggered by the presence of lipid vesicles. Despite this central importance of lipids in the context of α-synuclein aggregation, their mechanistic role in this process has not been established to date. Here, we use chemical kinetics to develop a detailed mechanistic model that is able to globally describe the aggregation behaviour of α-synuclein in the presence of DMPS lipid vesicles, across a range of lipid and protein concentrations. Through the application of our kinetic model to experimental data, we find that the reaction is a co-aggregation process involving both protein and lipids and that lipids promote aggregation predominantly by enabling the elongation process. Moreover, we find that the initial formation of aggregates, via primary nucleation, takes place not on the surface of lipid vesicles but at the interfaces present in vitro. Our model will enable mechanistic insights, also in other lipid-protein co-aggregation systems, which will be crucial in the rational design of drugs that inhibit aggregate formation and act at the key points in the α-synuclein aggregation cascade.
Social tension in the aftermath of public conflicts: an ethological analysis in humans

In social mammals, conflicts are stressful events for the individuals involved. In the post-conflict context, it is possible to detect the emotional state of the former opponents through the expression of displacement activities and aggressive behaviours, which indicate an increase of social tension. In humans, stressful events also induce a physiological response which leads to increased social tension behaviours. However, the variation of such behaviours in the post-conflict conflict, has never been investigated. By conducting a video analysis of street fights recorded by Close Circuit Television cameras, we assessed the variation of behaviours associated with anxiety, aggression related anger and other behaviours possibly related to both anxiety and anger (body postures and talking with gestures) in human opponents. We compared the expression of social tension behaviours before and after the eruption of the conflict and found that displacement activities (related to anxiety), aggressive behaviours (related to anger) and talking with gestures (possibly related to anxiety/anger), but not body postures, increased in post-conflict context. Moreover, displacement activities and aggressive patterns showed a temporal variation, decreasing in the 10 minutes following the conflict. Finally, different from anger-related behaviours, the level of anxiety-related behaviours was more sensitive to aggression intensity, indicating that different social tension behaviours rely on different responses that might be separated. With our study we were able to highlight the importance of the ethological approach for the study of post-conflict social tension in humans, which show a variation in its expression as observed in nonhuman primates. Following a similar comparative approach, we encourage further studies to explore the role of social tension in affecting post-conflict social dynamics.
Melting and subsolidus phase relations in the system Na2CO3-MgCO3±H2O at 6 GPa and the stability of Na2Mg(CO3)2 in the upper mantle

Abstract Phase relations in the Na2CO3-MgCO3 system have been studied in high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) multi-anvil experiments using graphite capsules at 6.0 ± 0.5 GPa pressures and 900-1400 °C temperatures. Sub-solidus assemblages are represented by Na2CO3+Na2Mg(CO3)2 and Na2Mg(CO3)2+MgCO3, with the transition boundary near 50 mol% MgCO3 in the system. The Na2CO3-Na2Mg(CO3)2 eutectic is established at 1200 °C and 29 mol% MgCO3. Melting of Na2CO3 occurs between 1350 and 1400 °C. We propose that Na2Mg(CO3)2 disappears between 1200 and 1250 °C via congruent melting. Magnesite remains as a liquidus phase above 1300 °C. Measurable amounts of Mg in Na2CO3 suggest an existence of MgCO3 solid-solutions in Na2CO3 at given experimental conditions. The maximum MgCO3solubility in Na-carbonate of about 9 mol% was established at 1100 and 1200 °C. The Na2CO3 and Na2Mg(CO3)2 compounds have been studied using in situ X‑ray coupled with a DIA-type multi-anvil apparatus. The studies showed that eitelite is a stable polymorph of Na2Mg(CO3)2 at least up to 6.6 GPa and 1000 °C. In contrast, natrite, γ-Na2CO3, is not stable at high pressure and is replaced by β-Na2CO3. The latter was found to be stable at pressures up to 11.7 GPa at 27 °C and up to 15.2 GPa at 1200 °C and temperatures at least up to 800 °C at 2.5 GPa and up to 1000 °C at 6.4 GPa. The X‑ray and Raman study of recovered samples showed that, under ambient conditions, β-Na2CO3 transforms back to γ-Na2CO3. Eitelite [Na2Mg(CO3)2] would be an important mineral controlling insipient melting in subducting slab and upwelling mantle. At 6 GPa, melting of the Na2Mg(CO3)2+MgCO3 assemblage can be initiated, either by heating to 1300 °C under “dry” conditions or at 900-1100 °C under hydrous conditions. Thus, the Na2Mg(CO3)2 could control the solidus temperature of the carbonated mantle under “dry” conditions and cause formation of the Na- and Mg-rich carbonatite melts similar to those found as inclusions in olivines from kimberlites and the deepest known mantle rock samples-sheared peridotite xenoliths (190-230 km depth).
Endothelial Cell Serum and Glucocorticoid Regulated Kinase 1 (SGK1) Mediates Vascular Stiffening

Background Excess dietary salt increases vascular stiffness in humans, especially in salt- sensitive populations. While we recently suggested that the endothelial sodium channel (EnNaC) contributes to salt-sensitivity related endothelial cell (EC) and arterial stiffening, mechanistic understanding is incomplete. This study thus aimed to explore the role of EC-serum and glucocorticoid regulated kinase 1 (SGK1), as a regulator of sodium channels, in EC and arterial stiffening. Methods and Results A mouse model of salt sensitivity-associated vascular stiffening was produced by subcutaneous implantation of slow-release deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) pellets, with salt (1% NaCl, 0.2% KCl) administered via drinking water. Preliminary data showed that global SGK1 deletion caused significantly decreased blood pressure, EnNaC activity and aortic endothelium stiffness as compared to control mice following DOCA-salt treatment. To probe EC signaling pathways, selective deletion of EC-SGK1 was performed by cross-breeding cadherin 5-Cre mice with sgk1flox/flox mice. DOCA-salt treated control mice had significantly increased blood pressure, EC and aortic stiffness in vivo and ex vivo, which were attenuated by EC-SGK1 deficiency. To demonstrate relevance to humans, human aortic ECs were cultured in the absence or presence of aldosterone and high salt with or without the SGK1 inhibitor, EMD638683 (10uM or 25uM). Treatment with aldosterone and high salt increased intrinsic stiffness of ECs, which was prevented by SGK1 inhibition. Further, the SGK1 inhibitor prevented aldosterone and high salt induced actin polymerization, a key mechanism in cellular stiffening. Conclusion EC-SGK1 mediates salt-sensitivity related EC and aortic stiffening by mechanisms appearing to involve regulation actin polymerization. Graphical Abstract
Seasonality of MODIS LST over Southern Italy and correlation with land cover, topography and solar radiation

Abstract Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a key variable in the interactions and energy fluxes between the Earth surface and the atmosphere. Satellite data provide consistent, continuous and spatially distributed information on the Earth's surface conditions among which LST. Ten years of NASA-MODIS day-time and night-time 1 km LST data over Southern Italy have been analyzed to quantify the influence of factors such as topography and the land cover on LST spatio-temporal variations. Results show that topography significantly influence LST variability as a function of the land cover and to a different extent for day-time and night-time data. Moreover, the relation between LST and the influential factors varies with the season during the year. This study contributes to a further understanding of the complex relationship between the spatio-temporal variability of the surface thermal conditions and its driving factors highlighting how these relationships might change within the year.
Draw2Edit: Mask-Free Sketch-Guided Image Manipulation

Sketch-based image modification is an interactive approach for image editing, where users indicate their intention of modifications in the images by drawing sketches on the input image and then the model generates the modified image based on the input sketch. Existing methods often necessitate specifying the region to be modified through a pixel-level mask, transforming the image modification process into a sketch-based inpainting task. Such approaches, however, present a limitation: the mask can cause loss of essential semantic information, compelling the model to perform restoration rather than editing the image. To address this challenge, we propose a novel mask-free image modification method, named Draw2Edit, which enables direct drawing of sketches and editing of images without pixel-level masks, simplifying the editing process. In addition, we employ the free-form deformation to generate structurally corresponding sketches and training images, effectively addressing the challenge of collecting paired sketches and images for training while enhancing the model's effectiveness for sketch-guided tasks. We evaluate our proposed method on commonly-used sketch-guided inpainting datasets, including CelebA-HQ and Places2, and demonstrate its state-of-the-art performance in both quantitative evaluation and user studies. Our code is available at https://github.com/YiwenXu/Draw2Edit.