Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brisket Disease Is Associated with Lower Volatile Fatty Acid Production and Altered Rumen Microbiome in Holstein Heifers

Simple Summary Development of the dairy industry in the high-altitude plateau environment through incorporation of Holstein cows is complicated by the risk of brisket disease. While the physiological effects of brisket disease are well-studied, its effects on rumen function and microbial community composition are not. There are clear shifts in volatile fatty acids production and rumen microbial community composition in Holstein heifers suffering from brisket disease. Observed shifts reveal key genera associated with healthy and disease states and suggest that bovine brisket disease is associated with impaired rumen functioning. This work supports further understanding of the roles of key rumen taxa in bovine brisket disease, with particular focus on candidate rumen biomarkers in healthy animals that may be able to reduce economic losses for farmers. Abstract Brisket disease is heritable but is also associated with non-genetic risk factors and effects of the disease on the rumen microbiome are unknown. Ten Holstein heifers were exposed to the plateau environment for three months and divided into two groups according to the index of brisket disease, the mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP): brisket disease group (BD, n = 5, mPAP > 63 mmHg) and healthy heifer group (HH, n = 5, mPAP < 41 mmHg). Rumen fluid was collected for analysis of the concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Extracted DNA from rumen contents was analyzed using Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA sequencing technology. The concentration of total VFA and alpha-diversity metrics were significantly lower in BD group (p < 0.05). Ruminococcus and Treponema were significantly decreased in BD heifers (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis indicated that 10 genera were related to the mPAP (p < 0.05). Genera of Anaerofustis, Campylobacter, and Catonella were negatively correlated with total VFA and acetic acid (R < −0.7, p < 0.05), while genera of Blautia, YRC22, Ruminococcus, and Treponema were positively related to total VFA and acetic acid (R > 0.7; p < 0.05). Our findings may be a useful biomarker in future brisket disease work.
In-flight transmission of SARS-CoV-2: a review of the attack rates and available data on the efficacy of face masks

Highlight The absence of large numbers of published in-flight transmissions of SARS-CoV-2 is not definitive evidence of safety. All peer-reviewed publications of flights with possible transmission are categorized by the quantity of transmission. Three mass transmission flights without masking are contrasted to 5 with strict masking and 58 cases with zero transmission.
HIF‐1α ameliorates tubular injury in diabetic nephropathy via HO‐1–mediated control of mitochondrial dynamics

In diabetic nephropathy (DN), hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α) activation in tubular cells plays an important protective role against kidney injury. The effects may occur via the target genes of HIF‐1α, such as haem oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1), but the exact mechanisms are incompletely understood.
Association Between Midlife Physical Activity and Incident Kidney Disease: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE Physical activity is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension, which have shared risk factor profiles with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, there are conflicting findings regarding the relationship between physical activity and CKD. The objective was to evaluate the association between physical activity and CKD development over long-term follow-up using the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. STUDY DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING & Participants: 14,537 participants aged 45 to 64 years old. PREDICTORS Baseline physical activity status was assessed by the modified Baecke Physical Activity Questionnaire at visit 1 (1987-1989) and categorized according to the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to group participants as inactive, insufficiently active, active, and highly active. OUTCOMES Incident CKD defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 at follow up and ≥25% decline in eGFR relative to baseline, CKD-related hospitalization or death, or end stage renal disease. ANALYTICAL APPROACH Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS At baseline, 37.8%, 24.2%, 22.7%, and 15.3% of participants were classified as inactive, insufficiently active, active, and highly active, respectively. During a median follow up of 24 years, 33.2% of participants developed CKD. After adjusting for age, sex, race-center, education, smoking status, diet quality, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, antihypertensive medication, body mass index, and baseline eGFR, higher categories of physical activity were associated with lower risk of CKD compared to the inactive group (HR for insufficiently active, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.88-1.02]; active, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.86-1.01]; highly active, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.81-0.97]; P for trend = 0.007). LIMITATIONS Observational design and self-reported physical activity that was based on leisure time activity only. Due to low numbers, non black and white participants were excluded. CONCLUSIONS Highly active participants had a lower risk of developing CKD compared to inactive participants. Index words (5 words): chronic kidney disease; physical activity; Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study; estimated glomerular filtration rate; cystatin C.
Role of microsurgery for treatment of posterior circulation aneurysms in the endovascular era

Objective Several studies have reported that the outcomes of endovascular treatment were superior to those of microsurgical treatment for posterior circulation aneurysms. Thus, this study compared outcomes of endovascular and microsurgical treatment for posterior circulation aneurysms and assess the usefulness of microsurgery in these patients. Methods Outcomes were retrospectively evaluated after endovascular and microsurgical treatment of 621 posterior circulation aneurysms. The 621 aneurysms included 187 treated by surgical clipping and 434 treated by endovascular coiling. Results In patients with unruptured aneurysms the rates of residual lesions and retreatment were significantly lower in those who underwent microsurgical than endovascular treatment. However immediate postoperative and 6 month follow-up Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) scores did not differ significantly in the two groups. In patients with ruptured aneurysms, the rates of residual lesions and retreatment were significantly lower in the microsurgery than in the endovascular treatment group. Even so immediate postoperative and 6 month follow-up GOS scores did not differ significantly in the two groups. Conclusions Endovascular treatment has increasingly become an alternative modality for microsurgery in posterior circulation aneurysm, whereas the indication for microsurgery is greatly reduced. However, the absolute number of microsurgery is maintained showing that it is a still valuable technique, as advances in endovascular or stent-assisted coiling have not solved many of the challenges inherent in the management of complex aneurysms. Hence, the advantages and limitations of both modalities must be carefully concerned in posterior circulation aneurysm to obtain favorable outcome.
Is There a Relationship Between Stool Consistency and Pain at First Defecation After Limited Half Hemorrhoidectomy? A Pilot Study

Purpose While the first defecation pain is a problem following hemorrhoidectomy, it is unknown whether the stool consistency has an influence on pain. This pilot study aimed to investigate whether the intensity of defecation pain varied according to stool consistency. Methods This prospective cohort study evaluated patients who underwent hemorrhoidectomy in combination with injection sclerotherapy for grade III or IV hemorrhoids. The pain intensity and stool form during the first postoperative defecation were self-recorded by the patients using a visual analogue scale (score of 0–10) and Bristol Stool Form Scale, respectively. The patients were classified into 3 groups according to stool consistency, and the intensity of defecation pain was compared among the groups using analysis of variance. Results A total of 61 patients were eligible for this study and were classified into the hard stool (n=15), normal stool (n=21), and soft stool groups (n=25). No significant intergroup differences were identified in the intensity of pain at defecation (P=0.29). Conclusion This pilot study demonstrated that there were no clear differences in pain intensity during the first defecation after surgery among the 3 groups with different levels of stool consistency.
Impact of Residual Carbon on Avalanche Voltage and Stability of Polarization-Induced Vertical GaN p-n Junction

We demonstrate that the residual carbon concentration in the drift region can have a significant impact on the reverse leakage, breakdown voltage, and breakdown stability of GaN-on-GaN vertical diodes. Two generations (Gen1, Gen2) of polarization-doped p-n junctions with different C concentrations were compared, in terms of avalanche voltage, avalanche instability, and deep-level concentration. The original results collected within this paper show that: 1) both generations of devices can safely reach the avalanche regime; diodes with a lower residual CN have a higher reverse leakage and a lower avalanche voltage, due to an uneven distribution of the electric field; 2) the presence of residual carbon can lead to breakdown walkout, i.e. a recoverable increase in breakdown voltage under reverse-bias stress. Specifically, devices with higher C concentration show a fully-recoverable breakdown walkout, whereas the breakdown voltage is stable in devices with lower C concentration; and 3) steady-state photocapacitance measurements confirm the presence of CN in both generations, and are used to assess the relative difference in concentration between Gen1 and Gen2, even for levels below secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) sensitivity. The results described in this paper indicate the existence of a trade-off between breakdown voltage (increasing by improving compensation) and breakdown stability (improving by reducing CN concentration) and are of fundamental importance for the optimization of GaN power devices.
Empirical Evaluation of V2G Round-trip Efficiency

The business case of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology and its potential to provide grid services is heavily dependent on the round-trip efficiency of this technology. Surprisingly, very little empirical research is conducted to determine the V2G round-trip efficiency of electric vehicles currently available in the market, resulting in a wide range of efficiency values used in V2G modelling studies. This study aims to create more insight in the current V2G round-trip efficiency to stimulate that more uniform and realistic efficiency values are used in other studies. A field experiment is executed to measure the round-trip energy efficiency of V2G for different dates, current rates and average state of charge. It was found that the average round-trip efficiency (i.e., combined inverter and battery efficiency) when charging between a state of charge 25% and 75% with 3x16 Ampere was 87.0%(±1%). However, various external factors could influence the measured efficiencies, which had a total range from 79.1% to 87.8%. Charging at lower ambient temperatures and lower current rates had a statistically significant adverse effect on the round-trip efficiency. Efficiency at high and low state of charge was found to be marginally lower than around medium state of charges. Two different electric vehicle + charging station models were tested, one with on-board AC/DC converter, which is a novel V2G setup, and one with external AC/DC converter, rendering no statistically different efficiency values.
COVID‐19 in people living with HIV: Clinical implications of dynamics of the immune response to SARS‐CoV‐2

Little evidence on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in people living with HIV (PLWH) is currently available. We reported clinical and viroimmunological data of all HIV‐positive patients admitted to our center with COVID‐19 from March 1 to May 12, 2020. Overall, five patients were included: all were virologically‐suppressed on antiretroviral therapy and CD4+ count was greater than 350 cell/mm3 in all but two patients. Although all patients had evidence of pneumonia on admission, only one developed respiratory failure. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) RNA was never detected from nasopharyngeal swabs in two patients, whereas in the others, viral clearance occurred within a maximum of 43 days. Immunoglobulin G production was elicited in all patients and neutralizing antibodies in all but one patient. Specific‐T‐cell response developed in all patients but was stronger in those with the more severe presentations. Similarly, the highest level of proinflammatory cytokines was found in the only patient experiencing respiratory failure. Despite a mild presentation, patients with more pronounced immunosuppression showed high degrees of both cytokines production and immune activation. Our study did not find an increased risk and severity of COVID‐19 in PLWH. Adaptative cellular immune response to SARS‐CoV‐2 appeared to correlate to disease severity. The mild clinical picture showed in advanced HIV patients, despite a significant T‐cell activation and inflammatory profile, suggests a potential role of HIV‐driven immunological dysregulation in avoiding immune‐pathogenetic processes. However, other possible explanations, as a protective role of certain antiretroviral drugs, should be considered. Further larger studies are needed to better clarify the impact of HIV infection on COVID‐19.
The origins of detritus in Georgia salt marsh estuaries

The current view that estuarine food chains are in large part supported by influx of plant detritus from bordering tidal wetlands may not be correct for all cases. In Georgia estuarine ecosystems, salt marshes dominated by the cordgrass, Spartina altaerniflora Loisel. , are thought to be the major source of particulate detritus in the estuarine waters. However, I present three lines of evidence which suggest that Spartina detritus may not form a significant fraction of the organic seston in Georgia estuaries: 1) For Spartina salt marshes, attempts to document the net loss of plant material to the estuary have yielded contradictory results. 2) The stable carbon isotopic composition of organic seston in Georgia coastal waters does not match the isotopic composition of Spartina carbon; however, the seston 1'C/12C ratios are compatible with phytoplankton or terrestrial detritus sources. 3) Estimates of potential input of organic materials to Georgia estuaries of 770 g m-2 yr-1 by phytoplankton and 600 g m-2 yr-1 by terrestrial plant matter are of the same magnitude as the hypothetical detritus input of 780 to 1660 g m-2 yr-1 from the Spartina salt marshes. A revision of the concepts about the role of salt marshes in estuarine production may be in order.
Characterization of essential domains in HSD17B13 for cellular localization and enzymatic activity

Human genetic studies recently identified an association of SNPs in the 17-β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 13 (HSD17B13) gene with alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease development. Mutant HSD17B13 variants devoid of enzymatic function have been demonstrated to be protective from cirrhosis and liver cancer, supporting the development of HSD17B13 as a promising therapeutic target. Previous studies have demonstrated that HSD17B13 is a lipid droplet (LD)-associated protein. However, the critical domains that drive LD targeting or determine the enzymatic activity have yet to be defined. Here we used mutagenesis to generate multiple truncated and point-mutated proteins and were able to demonstrate in vitro that the N-terminal hydrophobic domain, PAT-like domain, and a putative α-helix/β-sheet/α-helix domain in HSD17B13 are all critical for LD targeting. Similarly, we characterized the predicted catalytic, substrate-binding, and homodimer interaction sites and found them to be essential for the enzymatic activity of HSD17B13, in addition to our previous identification of amino acid P260 and cofactor binding site. In conclusion, we identified critical domains and amino acid sites that are essential for the LD localization and protein function of HSD17B13, which may facilitate understanding of its function and targeting of this protein to treat chronic liver diseases.
The Ecology of B-Chromosomes in Listera Ovata (L.) R. Br. (Orchidaceae)

SUMMARYThe standard B-chromosomes of Listera ovata are euchromatic, sub-metacentric and about half the size of the smallest autosomes. They are widespread in all populations throughout Europe. There are two derivative B-chromosomes, one sub-terminal type and a small telocentric type which are found sporadically in most populations. In Britain, the percentage of B-chromosomes per population varies from 89.12% to 62.82%. Populations found in wet habitats have about 14% more B-chromosomes than those found in normal habitats. There is a latitudinal bias in the percentage of B-chromosomes per population which range from an average of 21.81% for Central Italy, 42.85% for Switzerland, about 50% for Holland and 73.93% for Britain.
Design and Implementation of Student Programming Profile-based Teaching Aids Solution in Introductory Programming Course

Introductory course in programming is difficult for novice programmers. Instructors have done a lot of research on factors affecting students improvement of their programming ability. Leveraging the learning platform and Online Judge system, we design a set of specific questions to evaluate students programming ability and create the user profile in multiple dimensions. Then we communicate with students on individual user profile at several designed time points so that students can understand their own programming ability development trend and the up-to-date ranking in the class. Further, we recommend personalized questions to conduct weakness-oriented programming ability training, resulting in their programming skills improvement in multiple dimensions. The machine learning algorithm is also used to predict the students who are at risk in passing the final exam. We hope that our comprehensive teaching aids solution can serve as a reference on top of which instructors can build their own solution by adding proper issues on demand to help the students, issue warnings to at-risk students in the class.
Update: Characteristics of Health Care Personnel with COVID-19 — United States, February 12–July 16, 2020

As of September 21, 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had resulted in 6,786,352 cases and 199,024 deaths in the United States. * Health care personnel (HCP) are essential workers at risk for exposure to patients or infectious materials (1). The impact of COVID-19 on U.S. HCP was first described using national case surveillance data in April 2020 (2). Since then, the number of reported HCP with COVID-19 has increased tenfold. This update describes demographic characteristics, underlying medical conditions, hospitalizations, and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, stratified by vital status, among 100,570 HCP with COVID-19 reported to CDC during February 12-July 16, 2020. HCP occupation type and job setting are newly reported. HCP status was available for 571,708 (22%) of 2,633,585 cases reported to CDC. Most HCP with COVID-19 were female (79%), aged 16-44 years (57%), not hospitalized (92%), and lacked all 10 underlying medical conditions specified on the case report form† (56%). Of HCP with COVID-19, 641 died. Compared with nonfatal COVID-19 HCP cases, a higher percentage of fatal cases occurred in males (38% versus 22%), persons aged ≥65 years (44% versus 4%), non-Hispanic Asians (Asians) (20% versus 9%), non-Hispanic Blacks (Blacks) (32% versus 25%), and persons with any of the 10 underlying medical conditions specified on the case report form (92% versus 41%). From a subset of jurisdictions reporting occupation type or job setting for HCP with COVID-19, nurses were the most frequently identified single occupation type (30%), and nursing and residential care facilities were the most common job setting (67%). Ensuring access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and training, and practices such as universal use of face masks at work, wearing masks in the community, and observing social distancing remain critical strategies to protect HCP and those they serve.
Secondary insects and diseases contribute to sudden aspen decline in southwestern Colorado, USA

Reports of drought-associated forest mortality have increased around the world, but the mechanisms of mortality are rarely direct in nature. Biotic agents may kill trees that could otherwise recover and can perpetuate and expand mortality after the stress is relieved. Sudden aspen decline (SAD) has caused rapid, widespread branch dieback and mortality of quak- ing aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). We compared insects and diseases in 162 damaged and neighboring healthy plots to determine contributing factors and their ecological roles. Cytospora canker, bronze poplar borer, and aspen bark beetles were the most common agents in damaged plots and correlated with crown loss and other factors related to SAD. This was the first documented outbreak of Trypophloeus populi, an aspen bark beetle. As bark beetles and bronze poplar borer in- creased in damaged stands, they tended to attack trees with healthier crowns. Environmental stress may have directly af- fected the success of these agents by increasing host susceptibility followed by a density-dependent increase in the insects' invasive ability. In contrast, Cytospora canker had an identical relationship to crown loss in healthy versus damaged plots, suggesting that it was not limited by inoculum but responded to host susceptibility. Most other pathogens and insects con- tributed little to SAD and appear to be primary or weakening agents. The biotic agents of mortality in a decline differ greatly from primary agents and play complex and varied roles in healthy versus declining stands.
Agreement and repeatability of Icare ic100 tonometer

Purpose: To find the agreement and repeatability of Icare ic100 tonometer. Methods: We included 150 subjects above the age of 18 years for this cross-sectional, multicenter study with intraocular pressure (IOP) ≥7 mmHg. After the initial ophthalmic examination, two masked examiners took five IOP measurements using three different instruments; Icare ic100, Icare TA01i, and Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) in only one eye of the participants. Comparison of agreement of IOP using different instruments was quantified with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) using the two-way random effects models of absolute agreement and Cronbach's alpha. The test-retest variability of the instruments was assessed by deriving repeatability coefficient (RC) and coefficient of variation (CV). Results: Agreement between the tonometers across the different IOP groups had no statistically significant difference in their mean IOP. Icare ic100 was found to have good reliability across all IOP groups (ICC value >0.78) when compared with Icare TA01i. In comparison with GAT, Icare ic100 showed good reliability across all IOP groups (ICC >0.87) except >16 to <23 mmHg group where it showed moderate reliability (ICC = 0.52). Icare ic100 showed good repeatability with RC and CV of 2.67 and 4.89, respectively. Conclusion: Icare ic100 rebound tonometer can measure IOP with relatively small measurement error and can provide a reliable and repeatable reading in comparison with GAT across a wide pressure range without hampering corneal health.