Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preliminary Exploration of the Cause of Liver Disorders During Early Stages in COVID-19 Patients

Background: Abnormal liver function is a common indication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Two proposed mechanisms are liver injury mediated by angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and the involvement of the systemic immune response. We investigated the role played by these to determine the cause of liver abnormality in the early stages of COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Beijing Youan Hospital from January 21, 2020, to February 24, 2020. We compared clinical characteristics, viremia status, and cytokine profile on admission between patients with and without liver disorder. Results: Of the 44 COVID-19 patients analyzed, there were no differences in the clinical symptoms and signs, disease severity, or computed tomography (CT) image features between the two groups. Lymphopenia was more common in the liver disorder group. Further, C-reactive protein levels were much higher in the hepatic disorder group, with significantly higher concentrations of IL-6, IL-10, and M-CSF. Viremia was detected in only 7% of patients. Conclusions: Due to the infrequency of viremia, ACE2-mediated viral hepatitis does not seem to account for the commonly observed liver disorders in COVID-19 patients. By contrast, a dysregulated immune response may be a crucial pathogenic factor for liver disorder in the early stages of COVID-19.
Type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells Accumulate in the Brain After Hypoxia-Ischemia but Do Not Contribute to the Development of Preterm Brain Injury

Background The immune system of human and mouse neonates is relatively immature. However, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), commonly divided into the subsets ILC1, ILC2, and ILC3, are already present in the placenta and other fetal compartments and exhibit higher activity than what is seen in adulthood. Recent reports have suggested the potential role of ILCs, especially ILC2s, in spontaneous preterm labor, which is associated with brain damage and subsequent long-term neurodevelopmental deficits. Therefore, we hypothesized that ILCs, and especially ILC2s, play a role in preterm brain injury. Methods C57Bl/6J mice at postnatal day 6 were subjected to hypoxia-ischemia (HI) insult induced by left carotid artery ligation and subsequent exposure to 10% oxygen in nitrogen. The presence of ILCs and ILC2s in the brain was examined at different time points after HI. The contribution of ILC2s to HI-induced preterm brain damage was explored using a conditionally targeted ILC2-deficient mouse strain (Rorαfl/flIL7rCre), and gray and white-matter injury were evaluated at 7 days post-HI. The inflammatory response in the injured brain was assessed using immunoassays and immunochemistry staining. Results Significant increases in ILCs and ILC2s were observed at 24 h, 3 days, and 7 days post-HI in the injured brain hemisphere compared with the uninjured hemisphere in wild-type mice. ILC2s in the brain were predominantly located in the meninges of the injured ipsilateral hemispheres after HI but not in the brain parenchyma. Overall, we did not observe changes in cytokine/chemokine levels in the brains of Rorαfl/flIL7rCre mice compared with wild type animals apart from IL-13. Gray and white-matter tissue loss in the brain was not affected after HI in Rorαfl/flIL7rCre mice. Correspondingly, we did not find any differences in reactive microglia and astrocyte numbers in the brain in Rorαfl/flIL7rCre mice compared with wild-type mice following HI insult. Conclusion After HI, ILCs and ILC2s accumulate in the injured brain hemisphere. However, ILC2s do not contribute to the development of brain damage in this mouse model of preterm brain injury.
Who Should Sign a Professional Baseball Contract? Quantifying the Financial Opportunity Costs of Major League Draftees

Players selected in the annual Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft have a choice of whether to enter the system or pursue a career outside of professional baseball. As with any choice, there are opportunity costs associated with their decision. The purpose of this study was to analyze those opportunity costs by comparing draftees’ expected, non-signing-bonus income to the income of standard laborers. We estimated expected income over the first six seasons of players’ careers by combining minor and major league salary data with the probabilities obtained from C5.0 classification models that were applied to a large set of player-related data. Unlike traditional classification methods that produce the probabilities for landing in one of two classes, C5.0 classification models are able to produce the simultaneous probabilities of a player landing in several different classes, or out of professional baseball, in each season. The results show that, all else equal, college fielders drafted in the first 89–90 picks and college pitchers drafted in the first 32 picks (college graduates) or 171 picks (some college) should sign contracts. Pitchers drafted out of high school should sign contracts if they are picked in the first 78 picks, as should fielders selected in the top 118 picks. Beyond these ranges, signing bonuses or higher levels of performance are needed to limit the opportunity costs of pursuing professional baseball. Such findings are relevant to draftees making contract decisions and baseball stakeholders dealing with recent calls for improved wages and labor conditions in the minors.
Methods for automated analysis of macular OCT data

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is fast becoming one of the most important modalities for imaging the eye. It provides high resolution, cross-sectional images of the retina in three dimensions, distinctly showing its many layers. These layers are critical for normal eye function, and vision loss may occur when they are altered by disease. Specifically, the thickness of individual layers can change over time, thereby making the ability to accurately measure these thicknesses an important part of learning about how different diseases affect the eye. Since manual segmentation of the layers in OCT data is time consuming and tedious, automated methods are necessary to extract layer thicknesses. While a standard set of tools exist on the scanners to automatically segment the retina, the output is often limited, providing measurements restricted to only a few layers. Analysis of longitudinal data is also limited, with scans from the same subject often processed independently and registered using only a single landmark at the fovea. Quantification of other changes in the retina, including the accumulation of fluid, are also generally unavailable using the built-in software.
Using BERT and BART for Query Suggestion

Transformer networks have recently been successfully applied on a very large range of NLP tasks. Surprisingly, they have never been employed for query suggestion, although their sequence-to-sequence architecture makes them particularly appealing for this task. Query suggestion requires to model behaviors during complex search sessions to output useful next queries to help users to complete their intent. We show that pre-trained transformer networks exhibit a very good performance for query suggestion on a large corpus of search logs, that they are more robust to noise, and have a better understanding of complex queries.
One-Shot Rule Learning for Challenging Character Recognition

Unlike most of computer vision approaches which depend on hundreds or thousands of training images, humans can typically learn from a single visual example. Humans achieve this ability using background knowledge. Rule-based machine learning approaches such as Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) provide a framework for incorporating domain speciﬁc background knowledge. These approaches have the potential for human-like learning from small data or even one-shot learning, i.e. learning from a single positive example. By contrast, statistics based computer vision algorithms, including Deep Learning, have no general mechanisms for incorporating background knowledge. In this paper, we present an approach for one-shot rule learning called One-Shot Hypothesis Derivation (OSHD) which is based on using a logic program declarative bias. We apply this approach to the challenging task of Malayalam character recognition. This is a challenging task due to spherical and complex structure of Malayalam hand-written language. Unlike for other languages, there is currently no eﬃcient algorithm for Malayalam hand-written recognition. We compare our results with a state-of-the-art Deep Learning approach, called Siamese Network, which has been developed for one-shot learning. The results suggest that our approach can generate human-understandable rules and also outperforms the deep learning approach with a signiﬁcantly higher average predictive accuracy.
Impact of Reduced Dietary Crude Protein in the Starter Phase on Immune Development and Response of Broilers Throughout the Growth Period

Crude protein (CP) levels in commercial broiler (Gallus gallus) diets, optimized for maximum yield production vs. feed cost, have only begun to be assessed for impact on immune function. In order to study immune effects of dietary CP levels, different starter phase (day 1–14) diets were fed to 230 Ross 708 male broiler chicks randomly assigned at 1 day of age into two treatment groups. Group 1: Standard diet (STD) contained 3,000 kcal AMEn/kg energy and 23.78% CP; and Group 2: Reduced crude protein diet (RCP) contained 3,000 kcal AMEn/kg energy and 21.23% CP. From day 15–35 a common standard grower/finisher diet (3,150 kcal AMEn/kg energy and 22.18% CP) was allocated to both groups. Zymosan, a glycan derived from yeast cell walls that binds to TLR 2 and Dectin-1, was used for intra-abdominal challenge. Results demonstrated that a reduced crude protein starter diet (21.23 vs. 23.78% CP) between age 1–14, while maintaining the same levels of metabolizable energy and essential amino acids, did not affect broilers growth performance or lymphoid organ weights (P > 0.05). Interestingly, basal leukocyte levels in the RCP group significantly (P < 0.01) increased in the blood compartment at d35 in the unchallenged birds. Significant enhancements to leukocyte infiltration into the abdominal cavity were also detected post-immune challenge with zymosan (day 14 and day 35; P < 0.01). Post-challenge levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and CXCL8 gene expression cells collected from the abdominal cavity were not affected by the diets (P > 0.05). Moreover, dietary treatments did not influence percentage of ROS producing cells in the abdominal cavity (P > 0.05). To our best knowledge, this is the first study that reports the impacts of reduced crude protein diet on the innate immune response of poultry to an acute inflammation model in the abdominal cavity. Overall, our results highlight that reduced crude protein diets can be used without negatively impacting broiler performance and may enhance the capacity of broilers to recruit leukocytes upon infection.
Hydrogen Sulfide Sensitizes Acinetobacter baumannii to Killing by Antibiotics

The production of endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been shown to confer antibiotic tolerance in all bacteria studied to date. Therefore, this mediator has been speculated to be a universal defense mechanism against antibiotics in bacteria. This is assuming that all bacteria produce endogenous H2S. In this study, we established that the pathogenic bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii does not produce endogenous H2S, giving us the opportunity to test the effect of exogenous H2S on antibiotic tolerance in a bacterium that does not produce it. By using a H2S-releasing compound to modulate the sulfide content in A. baumannii, we demonstrated that instead of conferring antibiotic tolerance, exogenous H2S sensitized A. baumannii to multiple antibiotic classes, and was able to revert acquired resistance to gentamicin. Exogenous H2S triggered a perturbation of redox and energy homeostasis that translated into hypersensitivity to antibiotic killing. We propose that H2S could be used as an antibiotic-potentiator and resistance-reversion agent in bacteria that do not produce it.
At the Turn of the Tide: Space Use and Habitat Partitioning in Two Sympatric Shark Species Is Driven by Tidal Phase

Coexistence of ecologically similar species occupying the same geographic location (sympatry) poses questions regarding how their populations persist without leading to competitive exclusion. There is increasing evidence to show that micro-variations in habitat use may promote coexistence through minimizing direct competition for space and resources. We used two sympatric marine predators that show high fidelity to a small, remote coral atoll as a model to investigate how temporally dynamic partitioning of space use may promote coexistence. Using novel methods (difference network analysis and dynamic space occupancy analysis), we revealed that even though blacktip reef sharks Carcharhinus melanopterus and sicklefin lemon sharks Negaprion acutidens both show focused use of the same atoll habitats, the spatio-temporal dynamics of their use was partitioned such that they only shared the same microhabitats 26% of the time. Moreover, the degree of overlap was strongly influenced by the tidal cycle, peaking at ∼35% at higher tides as both species appear to target similar intertidal micro-habitats despite the increase in available space. Our work provides a rare example of how two marine predators with similar ecological roles and habitat preferences may coexist in the same place through dynamic segregation of habitat use in space and time, potentially reflecting adaptive behavioral traits for minimizing interactions. The strong influence of small tidal variation on species habitat use and partitioning also raises concerns over how atoll ecosystem dynamics may be influenced by sea level rises that could alter tidal dynamics.
The Demon in the Machine

Then there were these quotes: “Matter plus information equals life” and “Information pervades biology” and finally, “But to fully explain life, do we need a new law, one that couples information and matter at all levels of complexity? Schrödinger was prepared for it, and after many years of research I have come to agree. Biology demands a totally new kind of physical law, built on the theory of information. ” 3
Tree-climbing capabilities of Norway and ship rats

Abstract Norway and ship rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus) have invaded many habitats of conservation value worldwide, but Norway rats are widely assumed to be less of a threat to tree-nesting biota than are ship rats because they are less adept at climbing. We tested this assumption by measuring the capabilities of wild-caught captive rats of both species in reaching food rewards above ground, placed at fixed sites of increasingly difficult access. We confirmed that Norway rats were much slower and less agile than ship rats, but could in fact, given enough time, reach the same height above ground, run across the same thin ropes fixed at both ends and climb a real tree. However, they were more easily defeated by obstacles, more dependent on the availability of footholds, more vulnerable to falls, and those of >200 g body weight were significantly less likely to reach food rewards at the unsupported ends of small branches. We conclude that Norway rats seldom forage above ground, not because they cannot climb but because arboreal foraging is more risky and less likely to be rewarding for them.
Influence of Acetaldehyde, pH, and Temperature on Transformation of Procyanidins in Model Wine Solutions

Various natural procyanidins were extracted from grape seeds (itis vinifera L.) and fractionated by gel chromatography. Selected flavanols were isolated, purified, and identified, and their degradation kinetics in different conditions were studied in model wine solutions. Acetaldehyde, pH, and temperatures were tested independently. Degradation of the studied procyanidins in the presence of acetaldehyde followed apparent first-order kinetics, and the rate constants increased and the half-life times decreased with acetaldehyde content. Disappearance of the procyanidins with pH was also found to be a first-order apparent reaction. Degradative constant rates were higher and half-life times were lower at the lowest pH value (2.0) for all procyanidins studied, which seemed to be more stable at pH 3.2 than at higher or lower pH values. Procyanidin transformations were faster with increasing temperatures, presenting first-order constant rates depending on temperatures. Half-life times of all compounds increased with decreasing temperature. Comparing the different flavanols studied, trimer C1 and T2 reacted intensively in the presence of acetaldehyde, were more easily transformed at lower pH values, and presented higher degradative constant rates with temperature. When compared to the others, dimeric procyanidins B1, B2, and B3 were the most stable compounds at the different acetaldehyde, pH, and temperature conditions assayed. For the same degree of polymerization, the presence of (+)-catechin in the oligomer seemed to increase their stability, when compared to the same molecule without (+)-catechin. However, the strength of the interflavan bond within oligomeric structures seemed to be related to the length of the molecule rather than to the nature of the constitutive units.
P-Solubilizing Streptomyces roseocinereus MS1B15 With Multiple Plant Growth-Promoting Traits Enhance Barley Development and Regulate Rhizosphere Microbial Population

Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) have been reported to increase phosphate (P) content and plant growth. Their application in agricultural systems is an eco-friendly alternative strategy for limiting negative environmental impact of chemical fertilizers and increasing costs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to isolate and characterize new putative PSB to use as inoculum to enhance plant growth and increase P bioavailability in soil. Sixteen bacteria were isolated from Moroccan oat rhizosphere and were screened for their putative P-solubilization by semi-quantitative agar spot method. The two strains MS1B15 and MS1B13, identified as Streptomyces roseocinereus and Streptomyces natalensis, respectively, showed the maximum phosphate solubilization index (PSI = 1.75 and PSI = 1.63). After quantitative assay to determine phosphate solubilization activity, S. roseocinereus MS1B15 was selected for evaluating its putative plant growth promotion activities including production of siderophores, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and amino-cyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, nitrogen fixation and antimicrobial activity against soil-borne plant pathogens. Under greenhouse condition, barley plants inoculated with S. roseocinereus MS1B15 significantly increased shoot and ear length as well as available phosphorus in ears and leaves and P and N contents in the soil. Overall results showed that the selected strain S. roseocinereus MS1B15 could represent a potential candidate as biofertilizer to increase plant growth as well as P uptake.
Populism Against Europe in Social Media: The Eurosceptic Discourse on Twitter in Spain, Italy, France, and United Kingdom During the Campaign of the 2019 European Parliament Election

Since its inception, the European Union has been facing several challenges. The economic and refugee crises, along with the results of the British referendum, have shaped the future of Europe in the past decade. These challenges among others have encouraged the emergence of populist parties, which aim at disrupting the current status quo posing threats to democracy. In this context, the consolidation of digital media has played a key role in the circulation of populist messages to a large number of people. Such messages have questioned the political and legitimacy terms of the European Union, leading to the ideal scenario of Euroscepticism. This article examines the framing and communication strategies used by the European populist actors regarding the European Union and Euroscepticism. The aim is to identify if there are any significant ideological differences. The sample consists of the shared messages (n = 3,667) by the main European populist political parties of Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom during the European Parliament election campaign in 2019. The messages published on the Twitter accounts of Podemos, Vox, the 5 Star Movement, Lega, Rassemblement National, France Insoumise, The Brexit Party, and the UKIP have been analyzed. Results show that two types of Eurosceptic discourse were detected depending on the ideology. The right-wing populists pose a Euroscepticism exclusionary discourse, based on the loss of sovereignty and the distinction of “they”—“us,” excluding the out-groups whereas the left-wing populists present a Euroscepticism inclusive discourse, to maintain the foundational values of Europe, such as equality or solidarity between different people and countries. This research found that Eurosceptic discourse is used in the communicative strategy of populist political parties on Twitter and highlights the importance of the message frame which makes the difference about it.
Shape, size and density of daytime surface swarms of the euphausiid Meganyctiphanes norvegica in the Bay of Fundy

Daytime surface swarms of Meganyctiphanes norvegica in the Bay of Fundy were examined us- ing a variety of techniques to provide measurements of their shapes, sizes and densities. Shapes and sizes were determined from two aerial photographs; swarms were spherical, ribbon-like or amorphous, were up to 28 6 m long and ranged in area from 0.4 — 111 7 m2. Densities were measured by a bag-sampling device which gave figures of up to 41 000 animals m~3. by photographic methods which gave figures of up to 770 000 animals m~3 and by a plankton net which gave maximum values of six animals m~3. Using the photographic method, the maximum euphausiid biomass was estimated to be 154 kg m~ 3 within swarms and the largest swarm measured was estimated to contain up to 2 1 tonnes of M. norvegica. Mean patch biomass estimates for the two aerial photographs ranged from 77.8-778 g m~ 3 and 15 6- 155.6 g m" 3 which are similar to figures obtained by other authors using integrating sampling techniques at depth.
How Does Rice Defend Against Excess Iron?: Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms

Iron (Fe) is an essential nutrient for all living organisms but can lead to cytotoxicity when present in excess. Fe toxicity often occurs in rice grown in submerged paddy fields with low pH, leading dramatical increases in ferrous ion concentration, disrupting cell homeostasis and impairing growth and yield. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of Fe toxicity response and tolerance in plants are not well characterized yet. Microarray and genome-wide association analyses have shown that rice employs four defense systems to regulate Fe homeostasis under Fe excess. In defense 1, Fe excess tolerance is implemented by Fe exclusion as a result of suppression of genes involved in Fe uptake and translocation such as OsIRT1, OsYSL2, OsTOM1, OsYSL15, OsNRAMP1, OsNAS1, OsNAS2, OsNAAT1, OsDMAS1, and OsIRO2. The Fe-binding ubiquitin ligase, HRZ, is a key regulator that represses Fe uptake genes in response to Fe excess in rice. In defense 2, rice retains Fe in the root system rather than transporting it to shoots. In defense 3, rice compartmentalizes Fe in the shoot. In defense 2 and 3, the vacuolar Fe transporter OsVIT2, Fe storage protein ferritin, and the nicotinamine synthase OsNAS3 mediate the isolation or detoxification of excess Fe. In defense 4, rice detoxifies the ROS produced within the plant body in response to excess Fe. Some OsWRKY transcription factors, S-nitrosoglutathione-reductase variants, p450-family proteins, and OsNAC4, 5, and 6 are implicated in defense 4. These knowledge will facilitate the breeding of tolerant crops with increased productivity in low-pH, Fe-excess soils.