Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pan-Cancer Analysis Revealed SRSF9 as a New Biomarker for Prognosis and Immunotherapy

Background Serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 9 (SRSF9) is one of the members of SRSF gene family and related to the tumorigenesis and the progression of tumor. However, whether SRSF9 has a crucial role across pan-cancer is still unknown. Methods In this study, we used public databases, such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE), and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), to analyze SRSF9 expression level among tumor and normal cells. Survival analysis, K-M plotter, and PrognoScan were used to analyze the prognosis value of SRSF9, regarding to overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), disease-free interval (DFI), and progression-free interval (PFI). Moreover, we performed the correlation between SRSF9 and clinical characteristics (including the outcome of prognosis), as well as molecular events of tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), immune checkpoint gene, tumor microenvironment (TME), immune infiltrating cells, mismatch repair (MMR) genes, m6A genes, DNA methyltransferases, and neoantigen with bioinformatics methods and TISIDB, TIMER, and Sangerbox websites. Results In general, SRSF9 expression was upregulated in most cancers, such as BLCA, CHOL, and UCEC, which SRSF9 was associated with short survival and severe progression. In COAD, STAD, and UCEC, SRSF9 expression was positively related to both TMB and MSI. In BRCA, BLCA, ESCA, GBM, HNSC, LUSC, LUAD, OV, PRAD, TGCT, THCA, and UCEC, both immune score and stomal score showed a negative relationship with SRSF9 expression. Immune score showed a positive relationship with SRSF9 expression in LGG. SRSF9 expression had a significant and positive correlation with six types of immune infiltration cells in LGG, KIRC, LIHC, PCPG, PRAD, SKCM, THCA, and THYM, except in LUSC. In LIHC, SRSF9 was highly significant correlated with most immune checkpoint genes. For neoantigens, correlation between SRSF9 and the quantity of neoantigens was significantly positive in some cancer types. SRSF9 was also correlated with MMR genes, m6A genes, and DNA methyltransferases. In the 33 cancer types, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) demonstrated that SRSF9 was correlated with multiple functions and signaling pathways. Conclusion These findings demonstrated that SRSF9 may be a new biomarker for the prognosis and immunotherapy in various cancers. As a result, it will be beneficial to provide new therapies for cancer patients, thereby improving the treatment and prognosis of cancer patients.
Factors influencing nurses’ intention to care for patients with COVID-19: Focusing on positive psychological capital and nursing professionalism

Purpose It is necessary to identify factors that influence nurses’ intention to care for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients to improve the quality of care during the pandemic. This study identifies factors that influence nurses’ intention to care for COVID-19 patients, focusing on positive psychological capital and nursing professionalism. Methods This study adopted a descriptive correlational design. Data were collected between August 16 and August 30, 2020, through self-administered questionnaires from 148 bedside nurses caring for COVID-19 patients, from four hospitals designated for COVID-19 treatment. Modified versions of the Nursing Intention Questionnaire for SARS Patient Care, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and Hall’s Professional Inventory were used. The collected data were analyzed using stepwise multiple regression. Results In total, 165 questionnaires were distributed, and 148 questionnaires (89.7%) were included in the final analysis. Factors influencing nurses’ intention to care were: age (30<: β = .18, p = .026; ≥50: β = .23, p = .005), department (ICU: β = -.26, p = .001), sufficient clinical experience and skills to care for COVID-19 patients (sufficient: β = .18, p = .019), and positive psychological capital (β = .22, p = .044). The model’s explanatory power (R2) was 48%. Conclusions Strategies to increase nurses’ positive psychological capital are necessary to improve nursing care quality by increasing intention to care when facing novel infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Furthermore, adequate education and training on managing novel infectious diseases should be implemented to provide nurses with relevant experience and skills regarding caring for patients infected with these diseases. Through various studies, strategies for improving nurses’ positive psychological capital need to be suggested to improve the quality of care by increasing the nurses’ intention to care during the emergence of a novel infectious disease, such as COVID-19. Additionally, adequate education and training on managing the novel infectious diseases, sufficient for the nurses to believe they have the experience and skills for caring for the infected patients, will be needed.
Impact of Alzheimer’s Dementia on Caregivers and Quality Improvement through Art and Music Therapy

Dementia is a general term for a series of medical conditions that affect the brain and evolve progressively. According to the literature, there are over 200 subtypes and causes of dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) being the most common in elderly people. AD is an irreversible progressive neurodegenerative condition that leads to a decline in mental function, enough to disrupt daily life. Thinking skills slowly deteriorate, which, in advanced stages, makes it impossible to perform simple tasks. Besides the change in the quality of life of AD patients and their families, there is a considerable alteration in the quality of life of their caregivers, whose health can be negatively affected by the development of mental and somatic disorders. This article reviews the literature in order to reveal the benefits of applying non-pharmacological interventions such as music and art therapy to improve quality of life. This article also aims to shed light on the impact of this disease on the caregiver’s life. Music and art therapy have produced reliable results in the treatment of patients with AD, and the best effects are related to increased socialization and the maintenance of social status.
Cryo-EM structure of a tetrameric photosystem I from Chroococcidiopsis TS-821, a thermophilic, unicellular, non-heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium

Photosystem I (PSI) is one of two photosystems involved in oxygenic photosynthesis. PSI of cyanobacteria exists inmonomeric, trimeric, and tetrameric forms, in contrast to the strictlymonomeric formof PSI in plants and algae. The tetrameric organization raises questions about its structural, physiological, and evolutionary significance.Herewe report the 3.72 Å resolutioncryo-electronmicroscopystructureof tetramericPSI from the thermophilic, unicellular cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis sp. TS-821. The structure resolves 44 subunits and 448 cofactor molecules. We conclude that the tetramer is arranged via two different interfaces resulting from a dimer-of-dimers organization. The localization of chlorophyll molecules permits an excitation energy pathwaywithin and between adjacentmonomers. Bioinformatics analysis reveals conserved regions in thePsaL subunit that correlatewith the oligomeric state. TetramericPSImay function as a key evolutionary step between the trimeric and monomeric forms of PSI organization in photosynthetic organisms.
Behavioral responses of blue-winged teal and northern shoveler to unmanned aerial vehicle surveys

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a popular wildlife survey tool. Most research has focused on detecting wildlife using UAVs with less known about behavioral responses. We compared the behavioral responses of breeding blue-winged teal (Spatula discors) (n = 151) and northern shovelers (Spatula clypeata) (n = 46) on wetlands flown over with a rotary DJI Matrice 200 quadcopter and control wetlands without flights. Using a GoPro camera affixed to a spotting scope, we conducted focal individual surveys and recorded duck behaviors for 30 minutes before, during, and 30 minutes after UAV flights to determine if ducks flushed or changed in specific activities. We also conducted scan surveys during flights to examine flushing and movement on the entire wetland. Between 24 April and 27 May 2020, we conducted 42 paired (control and flown) surveys. Both teal and shovelers increased proportion of time engaged in overhead vigilance on flown wetlands from pre-flight to during flight (0.008 to 0.020 and 0.006 to 0.032 of observation time, respectively). Both species left the wetland more frequently during flights than ducks on control wetlands. Despite similarities between species, we observed marked differences in time each species spent on active (e.g., feeding, courtship, swimming), resting, and vigilant behaviors during flights. Overall, teal became less active during flights (0.897 to 0.834 of time) while shovelers became more active during this period (0.724 to 0.906 of time). Based upon scan surveys, ducks flushed in 38.1% of surveys while control wetlands only had a single (2.4%) flush during the flight time. We found launch distance was the most important predictor of whether ducks swam for cover or away from the UAV which could result in inaccurate counts. Ducks appear aware of UAVs during flights, but minimal behavioral shifts suggest negative fitness consequences are unlikely.
Cough detection using a non-contact microphone: A nocturnal cough study

An automatic non-contact cough detector designed especially for night audio recordings that can distinguish coughs from snores and other sounds is presented. Two different classifiers were implemented and tested: a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and a Deep Neural Network (DNN). The detected coughs were analyzed and compared in different sleep stages and in terms of severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), along with age, Body Mass Index (BMI), and gender. The database was composed of nocturnal audio signals from 89 subjects recorded during a polysomnography study. The DNN-based system outperformed the GMM-based system, at 99.8% accuracy, with a sensitivity and specificity of 86.1% and 99.9%, respectively (Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of 78.4%). Cough events were significantly more frequent during wakefulness than in the sleep stages (p < 0.0001) and were significantly less frequent during deep sleep than in other sleep stages (p < 0.0001). A positive correlation was found between BMI and the number of nocturnal coughs (R = 0.232, p < 0.05), and between the number of nocturnal coughs and OSA severity in men (R = 0.278, p < 0.05). This non-contact cough detection system may thus be implemented to track the progression of respiratory illnesses and test reactions to different medications even at night when a contact sensor is uncomfortable or infeasible.
How foreign aid and remittances affect poverty in MENA countries?

Foreign aid and remittances augment the income of economies. The present study examines the relationship between economic growth, poverty, inequality, remittances, and foreign aid in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries using panel data methods from 1991 to 2019. The study focuses on the MENA region due to the rise in labor immigration and significant foreign aid. The empirical findings reveal that remittances, foreign aid, and economic growth play a significant role in bringing down the MENA region’s poverty levels. Besides, a rise in income share accruing to the lowest quintile is observed despite the negative income growth, which indicates that on average, the income increased more rapidly of the poor in comparison to the non-poor households. Thus, the study finds evidence supporting the hypothesis that remittances and foreign aid augment per capita income and income share in the MENA member countries.
Kernel Methods and Multi-layer Perceptrons Learn Linear Models in High Dimensions

Empirical observation of high dimensional phenomena, such as the double descent behaviour, has attracted a lot of interest in understanding classical techniques such as kernel methods, and their implications to explain generalization properties of neural networks. Many recent works analyze such models in a certain high-dimensional regime where the covariates are independent and the number of samples and the number of covariates grow at a fixed ratio (i.e. proportional asymptotics). In this work we show that for a large class of kernels, including the neural tangent kernel of fully connected networks, kernel methods can only perform as well as linear models in this regime. More surprisingly, when the data is generated by a kernel model where the relationship between input and the response could be very nonlinear, we show that linear models are in fact optimal, i.e. linear models achieve the minimum risk among all models, linear or nonlinear. These results suggest that more complex models for the data other than independent features are needed for high-dimensional analysis.
Galactinol synthase 1 improves cucumber performance under cold stress by enhancing assimilate translocation

Abstract Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) predominantly translocates raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) in the phloem and accumulates RFOs in leaves. Galactinol synthase (GolS) catalyzes the critical step of RFO biosynthesis, and determining the functional diversity of multiple GolS isoforms in cucumber is of scientific significance. In this study, we found that all four isoforms of CsGolS in the cucumber genome were upregulated by different abiotic stresses. β-Glucuronidase staining and tissue separation experiments suggested that CsGolS1 is expressed in vascular tissues, whereas the other three CsGolSs are located in mesophyll cells. Further investigation indicates that CsGolS1 plays double roles in both assimilate loading and stress response in minor veins, which could increase the RFO concentration in the phloem sap and then improve assimilate transport under adverse conditions. Cold-induced minor vein-specific overexpression of CsGolS1 enhanced the assimilate translocation efficiency and accelerated the growth rates of sink leaves, fruits, and whole plants under cold stress. Finally, our results demonstrate a previously unknown response to adverse environments and provide a potential biotechnological strategy to improve the stress resistance of cucumber.
Adverse renal effects of NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition by MCC950 in an interventional model of diabetic kidney disease

Abstract Activation of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome has been reported in diabetic complications including diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, it remains unknown if NLRP3 inhibition is renoprotective in a clinically relevant interventional approach with established DKD. We therefore examined the effect of the NLRP3-specific inhibitor MCC950 in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice to measure the impact of NLRP3 inhibition on renal inflammation and associated pathology in DKD. We identified an adverse effect of MCC950 on renal pathology in diabetic animals. Indeed, MCC950-treated diabetic animals showed increased renal inflammation and macrophage infiltration in association with enhanced oxidative stress as well as increased mesangial expansion and glomerulosclerosis when compared with vehicle-treated diabetic animals. Inhibition of the inflammasome by MCC950 in diabetic mice led to renal up-regulation of markers of inflammation (Il1β, Il18 and Mcp1), fibrosis (Col1, Col4, Fn1, α-SMA, Ctgf and Tgfβ1) and oxidative stress (Nox2, Nox4 and nitrotyrosine). In addition, enhanced glomerular accumulation of pro-inflammatory CD68 positive cells and pro-oxidant factor nitrotyrosine was identified in the MCC950-treated diabetic compared with vehicle-treated diabetic animals. Collectively, in this interventional model of established DKD, NLRP3 inhibition with MCC950 did not show renoprotective effects in diabetic mice. On the contrary, diabetic mice treated with MCC950 exhibited adverse renal effects particularly enhanced renal inflammation and injury including mesangial expansion and glomerulosclerosis.
Multidisciplinary Approach to Emergent Sexual Abuse in a Pediatric Emergency Department: A Simulated Child Advocacy Center Model of Care

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. ABSTRACT Introduction The purpose of this study was to compare child sexual abuse interview disclosures and judicial outcomes for cases of child and adolescent sexual abuse/assault seen in a pediatric emergency department (PED) before and after the implementation of a simulated child advocacy center (CAC) multidisciplinary model of care. Method A retrospective chart and legal records review was conducted from both the PED model of care group and the simulated CAC multidisciplinary model of care for judicial outcomes, child sexual abuse interview disclosures, and sexual abuse case characteristics. Results The simulated CAC multidisciplinary model of care did not result in increased indictments, pleas, trials, or disclosure of sexual abuse in the sexual abuse interview when compared with the PED model of care. The simulated CAC multidisciplinary model of care did result in a significantly higher rate of sexual abuse interview completion. Discussion Demographic risk factors for sexual abuse victimization as well as perpetration have been identified in the literature and were supported by this study. Law enforcement and child protective services were more frequently present in the PED under the simulated CAC multidisciplinary model allowing for improved protection of children.
Personality, Defense Mechanisms and Psychological Distress in Women with Fibromyalgia

Background: Previous studies have shown that many personality traits are associated with fibromyalgia (FM), worsening both the quality of life and psychological distress of patients. Despite the high comorbidity of psychopathological disorders in this syndrome and their association with immature defense styles, few studies have examined the defense mechanisms used by FM patients. The main aim of our study was to investigate personality traits and defense mechanisms in FM patients compared to in a healthy control group (HC). Moreover, we investigated the effect of personality traits and defense mechanisms on psychological distress in both FM and HC groups. Methods: A total of 54 women with FM and 54 healthy women completed the (1) Temperament and Character Inventory—Revised; (2) the Toronto Alexithymia Scale; (3) the Defense Style Questionnaire; and (4) the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results: The results indicated that FM patients display higher alexithymia, higher harm avoidance, lower self-directedness, lower persistence, and the higher use of a maladaptive defense style compared to HC. We found that alexithymia, harm avoidance, and maladaptive defense style are significant predictors of patients’ psychological distress. Moreover, harm avoidance and adaptive defense style significantly predicted psychological distress in the HC group. Conclusion: The present study is the first to explore the contribution of both defense mechanisms and personality characteristics on the psychological distress of FM patients. Our findings have important clinical implications and may help diagnose and treat FM patients more in depth.
The Identification and Validation of Hub Genes Associated with Acute Myocardial Infarction Using Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI), one of the most severe and fatal cardiovascular diseases, remains the main cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential biomarkers for AMI based on bioinformatics analysis. A total of 2102 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened out from the data obtained from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) explored the co-expression network of DEGs and determined the key module. The brown module was selected as the key one correlated with AMI. Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses demonstrated that genes in the brown module were mainly enriched in ‘ribosomal subunit’ and ‘Ribosome’. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis revealed that ‘TNFA_SIGNALING_VIA_NFKB’ was remarkably enriched in AMI. Based on the protein–protein interaction network, ribosomal protein L9 (RPL9) and ribosomal protein L26 (RPL26) were identified as the hub genes. Additionally, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results indicated that the expression levels of RPL9 and RPL26 were both downregulated in AMI patients compared with controls, in accordance with the bioinformatics analysis. In summary, the identified DEGs, modules, pathways, and hub genes provide clues and shed light on the potential molecular mechanisms of AMI.
Drug-Induced Phase Separation in Polyelectrolyte Microgels

Polyelectrolyte microgels may undergo volume phase transition upon loading and the release of amphiphilic molecules, a process important in drug delivery. The new phase is “born” in the outermost gel layers, whereby it grows inward as a shell with a sharp boundary to the “mother” phase (core). The swelling and collapse transitions have previously been studied with microgels in large solution volumes, where they go to completion. Our hypothesis is that the boundary between core and shell is stabilized by thermodynamic factors, and thus that collapsed and swollen phases should be able to also coexist at equilibrium. We investigated the interaction between sodium polyacrylate (PA) microgel networks (diameter: 400–850 µm) and the amphiphilic drug amitriptyline hydrochloride (AMT) in the presence of NaCl/phosphate buffer of ionic strength (I) 10 and 155 mM. We used a specially constructed microscopy cell and micromanipulators to study the size and internal morphology of single microgels equilibrated in small liquid volumes of AMT solution. To probe the distribution of AMT micelles we used the fluorescent probe rhodamine B. The amount of AMT in the microgel was determined by a spectrophotometric technique. In separate experiments we studied the binding of AMT and the distribution between different microgels in a suspension. We found that collapsed, AMT-rich, and swollen AMT-lean phases coexisted in equilibrium or as long-lived metastable states at intermediate drug loading levels. In single microgels at I = 10 mM, the collapsed phase formed after loading deviated from the core-shell configuration by forming either discrete domains near the gel boundary or a calotte shaped domain. At I = 155 mM, single microgels, initially fully collapsed, displayed a swollen shell and a collapsed core after partial release of the AMT load. Suspensions displayed a bimodal distribution of swollen and collapsed microgels. The results support the hypothesis that the boundary between collapsed and swollen phases in the same microgel is stabilized by thermodynamic factors.