Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa High-Risk Clone ST233 Associated with an Outbreak in a Mexican Paediatric Hospital

Recent multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa has favoured the adaptation and dissemination of worldwide high-risk strains. In June 2018, 15 P. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients and a contaminated multi-dose meropenem vial were characterized to assess their association to an outbreak in a Mexican paediatric hospital. The strains were characterized by antibiotic susceptibility profiling, virulence factors’ production, and biofilm formation. The clonal relationship among isolates was determined with pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) sequencing. Repressor genes for the MexAB-OprM efflux pump were sequenced for haplotype identification. Of the strains, 60% were profiled as extensively drug-resistant (XDR), 33% as multidrug-resistant (MDR), and 6.6% were classified as sensitive (S). All strains presented intermediate resistance to colistin, and 80% were sensitive to aztreonam. Pyoverdine was the most produced virulence factor. The PFGE technique was performed for the identification of the outbreak, revealing eight strains with the same electrophoretic pattern. ST235 and ten new sequence types (STs) were identified, all closely related to ST233. ST3241 predominated in 26.66% of the strains. Twenty-five synonymous and seventeen nonsynonymous substitutions were identified in the regulatory genes of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump, and nalC was the most variable gene. Six different haplotypes were identified. Strains from the outbreak were metallo-β-lactamases and phylogenetically related to the high-risk clone ST233.
Vegetarian and Vegan Diets: Beliefs and Attitudes of General Practitioners and Pediatricians in France

Studies suggest a decreasing trend in the consumption of meat products and a growing interest in vegetarian diets. Medical support may be relevant, especially when switching to a vegan diet. Our objective was to describe the beliefs and attitudes of primary care physicians toward vegetarian diets. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among general practitioners and pediatricians thorough a questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics, specific care to vegetarians, and the risks and benefits of vegetarian diets according to physicians. Out of the 177 participating physicians, 104 (59%) have seen at least one vegetarian patient in consultation in the last three months. Half of the physicians declared that they would dissuade their patients from switching to a vegan diet (n = 88, 51%) and 14% (n = 24) from switching to an ovo-lacto-vegetarian (OLV) diet. Most physicians (n = 141, 88%) did not feel informed enough about these diets. Physicians thought that the most frequent deficiencies for OLV and vegan diets were iron (76% and 84%, respectively) and protein (45% and 79%, respectively). These results highlight the fact that French primary care physicians feel concerned by this subject and need more information on these diets. Specific recommendations would be useful to support their practice and relationship with vegetarians.
Sphingolipidomics of Bovine Pink Eye: A Pilot Study

Simple Summary The liquid tear film, which protects the eye from the environment, is a dynamic fluid containing a large number of complex lipids. Disruptions of these lipids by infections can result in damage to the eye and ultimately blindness. In this study we characterized various lipid subfamilies present in the tear film of the eye and the effect of pink eye infections in cattle. Our findings demonstrate that the pink eye infections dramatically decrease the levels of lipids in the tear film covering the eye and suggest that this is a major factor in the development of blindness in infected cattle. Abstract Sphingolipids are essential structural components of tear film that protect the surface of the eye from dehydration. A detailed analysis of the effects of pink eye infections on the sphingolipidome in cattle has not previously been undertaken. We recently published a new assay utilizing high-resolution mass spectrometric monitoring of the chloride adducts of sphingolipids that provides enhanced sensitivity and specificity. Utilizing this assay, we monitored decreases in the levels of tear film ceramides with short-chain fatty acids, hydroxy-ceramides, phytoceramides, and hydroxy-phytoceramides. Dihydroceramide levels were unaltered and increased levels of ceramides with long-chain fatty acids (24:0 and 24:1) were monitored in cattle with pink eye. The data from this pilot study (n = 8 controls and 8 pink eye) demonstrate a major disruption of the lipid tear film layer in pink eye disease, that can result in severe eye irritation and damage.
Social Exchange Approach and Happiness at Work: Exploring the Mediating Effect of Organizational Commitment

This article aims to determine the direct and indirect effects of social exchange relationships Leader Member Exchange and Team Member Exchange (LMX and TMX) on organizational commitment and happiness at work. Based on the literature review and relying on the Social Exchange Theory perspective, the authors constructed the hypothetical structure, including the four variables under study. The sample comprised 177 employees from Mexican firms, and the proposed hypotheses were under examination through a path analysis. Results show that LMX, TMX, and happiness at work have a direct effect on organizational commitment. We also found an organizational commitment to be a partial relationship mediator between LMX and happiness at work.
Rural Specificity as a Factor Influencing Energy Poverty in European Union Countries

This study focuses on the empirical verification of the influence of rural specificity on energy poverty across European Union countries, in the period 2010–2020. The research aimed at specifying the role of the agricultural character of a country, as well as economic disparities between rural and urban areas, in inducing problems of energy affordability. Based on the literature consensus about the most important determinants of energy poverty, namely income, energy prices, energy productivity, quality of dwellings, and climate conditions, a standard model was constructed concerning the role of the rural character of an economy, with its traditional features such as agricultural employment, and indices of rural–urban divide, in terms of median income and material poverty. Models for panel data with fixed effects were estimated. The results indicate agricultural employment as a factor increasing the subjective energy poverty of households. However, the scale of rural settlement cannot be specified as a factor determining energy poverty, neither concerning energy consumption nor self-reported difficulties. This suggests that only the traditional agricultural character of rural areas negatively influences energy poverty. The processes of gentrification of rural areas observable in many EU countries changes the typical pattern of the identification of villagers with the most excluded group.
The Expanded Theory of Planned Behavior in the Context of Environmental Protection Behaviors for Undergraduates: Roles of Moral Norms and University Class Standings

The expanded Theory of Planned Behavior (ETPB) was applied to examine undergraduates’ environmental protection behaviors. Moral norms were applied into the model as the predictor of attitude, social norms and perceived behavioral control. The effects of different class standings were also examined. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 380 responses underwent data analysis using structural equation modelling. According to Model ETPB, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms were strongly affected by moral norms, while attitude was moderately affected by moral norms. Environmental protection behaviors was moderately affected by environmental protection intention, while environmental protection intention was moderately affected by perceived behavioral control which was the strongest predictor, followed by attitude and subjective norms. Invoking moral emotions through posters or peers leading by examples, which over time might internalize into moral norms, played an important role in positively affecting perceived behavioral control and subjective norms. This could be followed by simple and convenient programs creating a positive self-perception of the abilities to carry out environmental protection behaviors. When separated by class standings, perceived behavioral control was the strongest predictor for the freshmen class, while subjective norms were non-significant. For the class standing of sophomores and above, attitude was the strongest predictor.
Scoping review of conceptions of literacy in middle school science

ABSTRACT Literacy skills are essential if students are to access knowledge and achieve academic success in middle school science. A key difficulty with interpreting literacy practices in any discipline is the problem of conceptualising what constitutes literacy. Our study contributes new understandings to the discipline of science where there are ongoing debates concerning the meaning of literacy and confusion regarding what constitutes essential literacies in the field. Our scoping review first identifies how literacy in middle school science is conceptualised in empirical studies published between 2006 and 2019 and, second, addresses a significant gap in understandings by identifying how dominant discourses inform practice. Specifically, our findings show the dominance of a narrow conception of literacy in the science classroom relating to skills-based pedagogic instruction. Based on our review, we conclude that the field of science requires a broadening of what constitutes literacy, and engagement with New Literacy Studies which focuses on literacy as a social practice closely interwoven with student identities.
Modified beam theories for bending properties of nanowires considering surface/intrinsic effects and axial extension effect

Several studies of the surface effect on bending properties of a nanowire (NW) have been conducted. However, these analyses are mainly based on theoretical predictions, and there is seldom integration study in combination between theoretical predictions and simulation results. Thus, based on the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and different modified beam theories, a comprehensive theoretical and numerical study for bending properties of nanowires considering surface/intrinsic stress effects and axial extension effect is conducted in this work. The discussion begins from the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and Timoshenko beam theory augmented with surface effect. It is found that when the NW possesses a relatively small cross-sectional size, these two theories cannot accurately interpret the true surface effect. The incorporation of axial extension effect into Euler-Bernoulli beam theory provides a nonlinear solution that agrees with the nonlinear-elastic experimental and MD results. However, it is still found inaccurate when the NW cross-sectional size is relatively small. Such inaccuracy is also observed for the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory augmented with both contributions from surface effect and axial extension effect. A comprehensive model for completely considering influences from surface stress, intrinsic stress, and axial extension is then proposed, which leads to good agreement with MD simulation results. It is thus concluded that, for NWs with a relatively small cross-sectional size, a simple consideration of surface stress effect is inappropriate, and a comprehensive consideration of the intrinsic stress effect is required.
Equivalences between multiple dependent state sampling, chain sampling, and control chart runs rules

Abstract Multiple dependent state sampling (MDSS) is a feature that was recently proposed for acceptance sampling plans. In addition, it is increasingly recommended to use this technique, and its generalization, with quality control charts. In our paper, we show that the MDSS feature is an extension of chain sampling in acceptance sampling applications. In addition, we show that use of the MDSS feature with control charts is equivalent to the use of standard supplementary runs rules. Analytical methods based on Markov chains for determining the performance of control charts with runs rules can also be applied to MDSS acceptance sampling applications. Additionally, we provide a derivation approach for some of the formulas for the performance measures for the MDSS charts and point out some incorrect derivations.
Evidence of the Fine Pseudogap at the Fermi Level in Al-based Quasicrystals(Condensed matter: electronic structure and electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Theoretical studies have predicted that quasicrystals (QCs) have conspicuously fine electronic structures near the Fermi level ( E F ); the density of states (DOS) consists of sharp peaks and deep valleys with several 10 meV intervals. These fine electronic structures are believed to explain the unusual sensitivity of the electrical conductivity to slight changes in the chemical composition of QCs. We have investigated the DOS around the E F on single grains of icosahedral ( i -)AlCuFe, i -AlPdMn, and decagonal ( d -)AlCuCo QCs by break-junction tunneling spectroscopy at 4.2 K. Well-defined and reproducible pseudogaps at the E F are observed for these alloys. This is a direct experimental result that confirms the fine electronic structure existing in the vicinity of the E F .
Situation-Aware Multivariate Time Series Anomaly Detection Through Active Learning and Contrast VAE-Based Models in Large Distributed Systems

The massive amounts of monitoring data in network applications bring an urgent need for intelligent operation in large distributed systems. The key problem is precisely detecting anomalies in multivariate time series (MTS) monitoring metrics with the awareness of different application scenarios. Unsupervised MTS anomaly detection methods aim at detecting data anomalies from historical MTS without considering the out-of-band information (including user feedback and background information like code deployment status), which leads to poor performance in practice. To take advantage of the out-of-band information, we propose ACVAE, an MTS anomaly detection algorithm through active learning and contrast VAE-based detection models, which simultaneously learns MTS data’s normal and anomalous patterns for anomaly detection. We also use a learnable prior to capture system status from the background information. Moreover, we propose a query model for VAE-based methods, which can learn to query labels of the most useful instances to train the detection model. We evaluate our algorithm on three different monitoring situations in eBay’s search back-end systems. ACVAE achieves a range F1 score of 0.68~0.96 with only 3% labels, significantly outperforming the best competing methods by 0.18~0.50, and even better than a supervised ensemble method designed by domain experts in eBay.
The salivary effector protein Sg2204 in the greenbug Schizaphis graminum suppresses wheat defence and is essential for enabling aphid feeding on host plants

Summary Aphids secrete diverse repertoires of salivary effectors into host plant cells to promote infestation by modulating plant defence. The greenbug Schizaphis graminum is an important cereal aphid worldwide. However, the secreted effectors of S. graminum are still uncharacterized. Here, 76 salivary proteins were identified from the watery saliva of S. graminum using transcriptome and proteome analyses. Among them, a putative salivary effector Sg2204 was significantly up‐regulated during aphid feeding stages, and transient overexpression of Sg2204 in Nicotiana benthamiana inhibited cell death induced by BAX or INF1. Delivering Sg2204 into wheat via the type III secretion system of Pseudomonas fluorescens EtAnH suppressed pattern‐triggered immunity (PTI)‐associated callose deposition. The transcript levels of jasmonic acid (JA)‐ and salicylic acid (SA)‐associated defence genes of wheat were significantly down‐regulated, and the contents of both JA and SA were also significantly decreased after delivery of Sg2204 into wheat leaves. Additionally, feeding on wheat expressing Sg2204 significantly increased the weight and fecundity of S. graminum and promoted aphid phloem feeding. Sg2204 was efficiently silenced via spray‐based application of the nanocarrier‐mediated transdermal dsRNA delivery system. Moreover, Sg2204‐silenced aphids induced a stronger wheat defence response and resulted in negative impacts on aphid feeding behaviour, survival and fecundity. Silencing of Sg2204 homologues from four aphid species using nanocarrier‐delivered dsRNA also significantly reduced aphid performance on host plants. Thus, our study characterized the salivary effector Sg2204 of S. graminum involved in promoting host susceptibility by suppressing wheat defence, which can also be regarded as a promising RNAi target for aphid control.
Effect of Stress Amplitude on Statistical Variability in Fatigue Life of 75S-T6 Aluminum Alloy

Recent studies indicate that most of the “scatter” observed in finite fatigue-life-testing of metals is an inherent characteristic of the material and does not necessarily indicate poorly adjusted machines or improper testing techniques. In the present study, groups of 17 to 57 specimens of 75S-T6 aluminum alloy were tested in rotating bending at six different stress levels. The smallest stress used was 30,000 psi and the greatest was 62,500 psi. A statistical analysis was made of fatigue-life data obtained at each of the six stresses. The distribution of the fatigue lifetimes, for each stress, was found to be approximately logarithmic-normal. The standard deviation (which is a measure of scatter in the fatigue life) was related to the stress amplitude and could be represented within the stress range investigated, by a simple exponential function. Constants of an S-N relation recently proposed by W. Weibull were evaluated for a probability of failure P = 0.50. Results of the study are summarized in two equations and in a composite S-N diagram showing lines of equal probability of failure.
Natural Language Processing Methods for Scoring Sustainability Reports—A Study of Nordic Listed Companies

This paper aims to evaluate the degree of affinity that Nordic companies’ reports published under the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) framework have. Several natural language processing and text-mining techniques were implemented and tested to achieve this goal. We extracted strings, corpus, and hybrid semantic similarities from the reports and evaluated the models through the intrinsic assessment methodology. A quantitative ranking score based on index matching was developed to complement the semantic valuation. The final results show that Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) and Global Vectors for word representation (GloVE) are the best methods for our study. Our findings will open the door to the automatic evaluation of sustainability reports which could have a substantial impact on the environment.
CD24: A Novel Target for Cancer Immunotherapy

Cluster of differentiation 24 (CD24) is a small, highly glycosylated cell adhesion protein that is normally expressed by immune as well as epithelial, neural, and muscle cells. Tumor CD24 expression has been linked with alterations in several oncogenic signaling pathways. In addition, the CD24/Siglec-10 interaction has been implicated in tumor immune evasion, inhibiting macrophage-mediated phagocytosis as well as natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity. CD24 blockade has shown promising results in preclinical studies. Although there are limited data on efficacy, monoclonal antibodies against CD24 have demonstrated clinical safety and tolerability in two clinical trials. Other treatment modalities evaluated in the preclinical setting include antibody–drug conjugates and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. In this review, we summarize current evidence and future perspectives on CD24 as a potential target for cancer immunotherapy.
Antarctic Sea Ice Trends: Insights from a Suite of Climate Models

Background: Antarctic sea ice concentration has been observed to increase from 1978 to 2015, in contrast with the decrease that most climate models show. Here, we aim to examine the respective roles of natural variability and anthropogenic forcing in shaping Antarctic sea ice trend. Method: To do so, we use the GFDL-CM2 coupled climate model with varying horizontal resolutions in the ocean (1°, 0.25° and 0.10°) that displays a range of behaviours in natural variability with the representation of Weddell Sea polynyas, and different intensities in the decrease of sea ice under climate change. Results: In the 0.10° model, a sea ice trend of similar sign and magnitude to that observed over the satellite record is found between two occurrences of the Weddell Sea polynya. In the 1° and 0.25° models, which do not simulate any polynya, no equivalent trend of what the satellite record shows is found. Under increasing CO2 forcing, all models show a surface cooling on a short time scale (years) south of 50°S, followed by a warming on a longer time scale (decades), consistent with the delayed warming mechanism of Ferreira et al. (2015). Of all models, the higher resolution model shows the strongest surface warming and decrease in sea ice, suggesting an important role for mesoscale eddies in the response of Antarctic sea ice to climate change. Conclusion: We conclude that the Weddell Sea polynya is key to the representation of the sea ice trend and that the disagreement between models and observations might partly arise from a desynchronization of the polynya cycles or a too weak natural variability of sea ice in models compared to observations.
Synchronized Cyclograms to Assess Inter-Limb Symmetry during Gait in Post-Stroke Patients

The aim of this study was to assess the inter-limb symmetry during gait in post-stroke patients using the synchronized cyclograms technique. In total, 41 individuals with stroke (21 left and 20 right hemiplegic patients; age: 57.9 ± 12.8 years; time stroke event 4.6 ± 1.8 years) and 48 age-, sex-, and height-matched individuals (control group: CG; age: 54.4 ± 12.5 years) were assessed via 3D gait analysis. Raw kinematic data were processed to compute spatio-temporal parameters (speed, stride length, cadence, stance, swing, and double support phases duration) and angle–angle diagrams (synchronized cyclograms), which were characterized in terms of area, orientation, and trend symmetry indices. The results reveal that all spatio-temporal parameters are characterized by abnormal values, with reduced speed, stride length, cadence, and swing phase duration and increased stance and double support phases duration. With respect to inter-limb symmetry, higher values were found in post-stroke individuals for all the considered parameters as patients generally exhibited a cyclogram characterized by larger areas, higher orientation, and trend symmetry parameters with respect to CG. The described alterations of gait asymmetry are important from a clinical point of view as the achievement of symmetry in gait represents a crucial objective in the rehabilitation of hemiplegic people.