Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical, Laboratory, and Radiographic Features Can Help Predict Mycoplasma pneumoniae Lower Respiratory Tract Infection in Children

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) is a common cause of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in children that is difficult to distinguish from LRTI of other etiologies. We aimed to determine if a combination of clinical, laboratory, and chest radiographic features can help identify patients at higher risk of Mp LRTI. We reviewed medical charts of children referred to our tertiary hospital with suspected acute mycoplasmal LRTI. Pharyngeal swabs obtained from patients were tested by Mp PCR. We compared epidemiological and clinical data of children with positive and negative Mp PCR results. In addition, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to predict Mp LRTI based on the patient’s age, duration of symptoms, presence of extrapulmonary manifestations, laboratory findings, and chest radiographic findings. We included 65 children with Mp PCR-negative and 49 with Mp PCR-positive LRTI and no viral co-detection. Children with Mp LRTI were older (median age 5.8 vs. 2.2 years, p < 0.001), had a longer duration of symptoms on referral (median 7 vs. 4 days, p < 0.001), and lower median WBC (9.9 vs. 12.7 × 109/L, p < 0.001). On chest radiograph, unilateral infiltrates were more frequently observed in the Mp PCR-positive group (57.5% vs. 24.1%, p = 0.001). Age, duration of symptoms, and chest radiographic findings had the highest predictive value for Mp LRTI in a multivariable logistic regression model. Our analysis suggests that a combination of clinical, laboratory, and chest radiographic features can be used to assess the likelihood of Mp LRTI and assist in decision-making for which children need further tests or macrolide antibiotic treatment.
The 100-Year Series of Weather-Related Fatalities in the Czech Republic: Interactions of Climate, Environment, and Society

The paper investigates weather-related fatalities over the territory of the Czech Republic in the 100-year period from 1921 to 2020. The unique database, created from documentary evidence (particularly newspapers), includes, for each deadly event, information about the weather event, the fatality itself, and related circumstances. A total of 2729 fatalities were detected during the 100-year period and were associated with various weather categories including frost (38%), convective storms (19%), floods (17%), fog (11%), snow and glaze ice (8%), windstorms (5%), and other inclement weather (2%). A detailed analysis was performed for each individual category. Fatalities occurred throughout the country, with a main maximum in winter (January) and a secondary maximum in summer (July), corresponding to the occurrence of extreme weather. Deaths were mainly interpreted as direct, caused by freezing to death/hypothermia or drowning, and occurred in the afternoon and at night in open countryside or on rivers and water bodies. Males outnumbered females, and adults outnumbered children and the elderly. Hazardous behavior was more frequent than non-hazardous behavior among victims. The information on fatalities and the structure of their characteristics strongly reflects historical milestones of the country, political and socioeconomic changes, as well as changes in lifestyle. Although important weather effects were observed on the deadliest events, the character of the data did not allow for clear evidence of the effects of long-term climate variability.
NONLINEAR THEORY AND EXPERIMENT OF PHOTOTHERMAL RADIOMETRY

Based on the nonlinear effect of photothermal radiometry(PTR), a theoretical model of nonlinear heat conduction along with boundary conditions is developed, from which the representations of the second-harmonic signal of PTR are derived. Furthermore, the general features of the second-harmonic signal are discussed, and all of these are well demonstrated by the experimental results. This nonlinear theory provides a theoretical basis for the applications of the nonlinear PTR technique.
Strategies for Countering Freezing in Police Operational Activities

: The term “freezing” refers to an innate defensive reaction characterized by the sudden cessation of all movements (Stote & Fanselow, 2004; Eilam, 2005). The freezing effect involving a police officer exposes him to a risk to himself and others. Materials and Methods: 400 anonymous questionnaires administered to law enforcement personnel in Switzerland were evaluated with the aim of testing their knowledge about the freezing phenomenon. In addition, semi-structured interviews involving police personnel were conducted. The authors also analyzed two cases of police officers who had experienced freezing. Results and Conclusions: From the results obtained, it emerges that freezing is not known to most of the police officers interviewed. Therefore, specific and innovative training seems to be necessary. The authors described the brain mechanisms that are involved in freezing. Innovative integrated training modules have been proposed by applying some neuroscientific knowledge, particularly using the potential of mirror neurons. The authors propose a strategy for supporting police officers who have experienced an episode of freezing. The ultimate goal is to provide more scientific tools to protect police officers and civilians.
Enhancement of maize seed viability after cold storage and induced senescence by priming with synthetic cytokinins

Maize ( Zea mays L.) plants were treated with synthetic cytokinins – 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 6-furfurylaminopurine, or kinetin (KIN) – during the grain filling stage in a field experiment performed in 2020 in Sadovo, central Bulgaria. The objective was to study their effect on plant productivity and seedling viability of maize after cold storage. The morpho-physiological parameters of the leaves assessed 15 days after cytokinin priming showed an increase in biosynthetic processes compared to control plants. Analysis of yield parameters at harvesting revealed improved productivity of cytokinin-treated plants, which was evidenced as 10 mg L −1 KIN, and BAP priming resulted in, respectively, 18% and 16% higher grain mass compared to untreated plants (control). The produced seeds were exposed to cold storage (−18°C) for 12 months and afterwards physiological parameters of 5-day-old seedlings were measured to evaluate exogenous cytokinins’ impact upon stress alleviation. The seedlings developed from cytokinin-treated plants accumulated significantly lower amounts of oxidative stress markers (hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde) after cold storage. In a laboratory experiment, maize seeds were subjected to artificially induced senescence (AIS) test for 72 h at 41°C temperature and were subsequently soaked in cytokinin solutions. Cytokinins had a positive effect on both physiological parameters of seedlings of field-grown plants after cold storage and improved the performance of seedlings after AIS test through increased oxidative stress protection and enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxification.
Assessing habitat enhancement by living shoreline restoration: exploring potential caveats of nekton community metrics

Living shorelines (LS) are a nature‐based restoration technique that aims to stabilize shorelines while enhancing multiple ecosystem services. In particular, LS are frequently promoted as beneficial for enhancing essential coastal habitats for fish and mobile crustaceans (nekton). In this study, we aimed to assess the effects of LS on nekton habitat across eight LS restoration sites in coastal Alabama, U.S.A. , by applying widely‐used community metrics. Nekton abundance, species richness, evenness, and diversity tended to be higher in LS and adjacent unrestored control sites than along nearby hardened shorelines. Community metrics showed no clear effect of LS compared to their adjacent controls, with substantial among‐site variation masking any restoration effect. While this may suggest an ecological equivalence between restored and control sites, there are other possible interpretations; that a lack of difference reflects sampling the same populations at nearby control and restored sites, that differences do exist but sampling effort was insufficient to detect them, or that community metrics may be too insensitive for comparing the effects of various restoration approaches on nekton habitat quality. Further exploration of individual‐based metrics such as growth and condition of key species is warranted, as these may be more sensitive for assessing restoration outcomes and guiding future project designs.
On Convergence and Stability of the Generalized Noor Iterations for a General Class of Operators

In this paper, we establish some strong convergence and stability results of multistep iterative scheme for a general class of operators introduced by Bosede and Rhoades [5] in a Banach space. As corollaries, some convergence and stability results for the Noor, Ishikawa, Mann and Picard iterative schemes are also established. Our convergence results generalize and extend the results of Berinde [3], Bosede [4], Olaleru [16], Rafiq [21, 22] among others, while our stability results are extensions and generalizations of multitude of results in the literature, including the results of Berinde [1], Bosede and Rhoades [5], Imoru and Olatinwo [9] and Osilike [18].
Characterization of the Liriodendron chinense Pentatricopeptide Repeat (PPR) Gene Family and Its Role in Osmotic Stress Response

The Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) superfamily is a large gene family in plants that regulates organelle RNA metabolism, which is important for plant growth and development. However, a genome-wide analysis of the PPR gene family and its response to abiotic stress has not been reported for the relict woody plant Liriodendron chinense. In this paper, we identified 650 PPR genes from the L. chinense genome. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the LcPPR genes could roughly be divided into the P and PLS subfamilies. We found that 598 LcPPR genes were widely distributed across 19 chromosomes. An intraspecies synteny analysis indicated that duplicated genes from segmental duplication contributed to the expansion of the LcPPR gene family in the L. chinense genome. In addition, we verified the relative expression of Lchi03277, Lchi06624, Lchi18566, and Lchi23489 in the roots, stems, and leaves and found that all four genes had the highest expression in the leaves. By simulating a drought treatment and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, we confirmed the drought-responsive transcriptional changes in four LcPPR genes, two of which responded to drought stress independent of endogenous ABA biosynthesis. Thus, our study provides a comprehensive analysis of the L. chinense PPR gene family. It contributes to research into their roles in this valuable tree species’ growth, development, and stress resistance.
A new torque control method of a switched reluctance motor using a torque-sharing function

A torque sharing function (TSF) method is one of the torque control methods that drives each phase of a switched reluctance motor so that the overall torque becomes a constant torque. The conventional TSF method defined the TSF only at a positive torque production region, which causes a poor torque-speed performance as the speed increases due to the delay of the current rising and falling time. This paper extends the definition region of the TSF to the negative torque region to have enough time to raise or decrease the current at the positive torque region. This extended TSF enables to increase the positive torque even in relatively high speed operation. Optimal determination of the TSF is investigated for various control objectives in mathematical and experimental ways.
Results of Liver Retransplantation After Rescue Hepatectomy: A Single-Center Study

Background Liver retransplantation (reLT) is a well-accepted treatment for liver graft failure in selected patients. A rescue hepatectomy (RH), on the contrary, is a rare and controversial procedure in which a deteriorating liver graft causing failure of other organ systems is removed to stabilize the patient’s condition before a new liver graft is available. Material/Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated the outcomes of the 104 patients who were listed for a first single-organ reLT in our center during the period 2000–2019, to compare the results after RH to other reLTs. Results In the study population, RH was performed on 8 patients, while 7 of these received a new graft (8% of all first time reLTs) and 1 died before reLT. All RHs were performed within 1 week after the first transplantation. The median anhepatic time after RH was 36 hours (range 14–99). The 1-year patient survival rate was 57% for reLTs with RH and 69% for acute reLTs without RH that were performed within 14 days after the first transplantation (P=0.66). The 5-year survival rate was 50% in the RH and 47% in the non-RH group (P=1.0). Conclusions The use of RH prior to reLT results in a similar outcome to reLTs without RH. Therefore, RH should be considered in patients with a severe clinical instability caused by a deteriorating liver graft. However, further studies are needed to establish guidelines based on objective parameters for when RH should be performed.
Evaluating the Efficacy of Different DEMs for Application in Flood Frequency and Risk Mapping of the Indian Coastal River Basin

Floods are among the most occurring natural hazards that cause severe damage to infrastructure and loss of life. In India, southern Gujarat is affected during the monsoon season, facing multiple flood events in the Damanganga basin. As the basin is one of the data-scarce regions, evaluating the globally available dataset for flood risk mitigation studies in the Damanganga basin is crucial. In the present study, we compared four open-source digital elevation models (DEMs) (SRTM, Cartosat-1, ALOS-PALSAR, and TanDEMX) for hydrodynamic (HD) modeling and flood risk mapping. The simulated HD models for multiple flood events using HEC-RAS v6.3 were calibrated by adopting different roughness coefficients based on land-use land cover, observed water levels at gauge sites, and peak flood depths in the flood plain. In contrast to the previous studies on the Purna river basin (the neighboring basin of Damanganga), the present study shows that Cartosat-1 DEM provides reliable results with the observed flood depth. Furthermore, the calibrated HD model was used to determine the flood risk corresponding to 10, 25, 50, and 100-year return period floods calculated using Gumbel’s extreme value (GEV) and log-Pearson type III (LP-III) distribution techniques. Comparing the obtained peak floods corresponding to different return periods with the observed peak floods revealed that the LP-III method gives more reliable estimates of flood peaks for lower return periods, while the GEV method gives comparatively more reliable estimates for higher return period floods. The study shows that evaluating different open-source data and techniques is crucial for developing reliable flood mitigation plans with practical implications.
Evaluation of Metarhizium brunneum- and Metarhizium-Derived VOCs as Dual-Active Biostimulants and Pest Repellents in a Wireworm-Infested Potato Field

Wireworm, the larval stages of click beetles, are a serious pest of tubers, brassicas and other important commercial crops throughout the northern hemisphere. No effective control agent has been developed specifically for them, and many of the pesticides marketed as having secondary application against them have been withdrawn from EU and Asian markets. Metarhizium brunneum, an effective entomopathogenic fungus, and its derived volatile metabolites are known to be effective plant biostimulants and plant protectants, although field efficacy has yet to be validated. Field validation of a combined M. brunneum and derived VOC treatments was conducted in Wales, UK, to assess the effects of each as a wireworm control agent and biostimulant. Plots were treated with Tri-Soil (Trichoderma atroviridae), M. brunneum, 1-octen-3-ol or 3-octanone, or combinations thereof. Treatments were applied subsurface during potato seeding (n = 52), and potatoes were harvested at the end of the growing season. Each potato was weighed individually and scored for levels of wireworm damage. Applications of both the VOCs and the M. brunneum individually were found to significantly decrease wireworm burden (p < 0.001). Combinations of M. brunneum and 3-octanone were also found to significantly decrease wireworm damage (p < 0.001), while no effect on yield was reported, resulting in an increased saleable mass over controls (p < 0.001). Herein, we present a novel ‘stimulate and deter’ wireworm control strategy that can be used to significantly enhance saleable potato yields and control wireworm populations, even under high pest pressure densities.
Self-Relevance Moderates the Relationship between Depressive Symptoms and Corrugator Activity during the Imagination of Personal Episodic Events

Accumulating evidence suggests depression is associated with blunted reactivity to positive and negative stimuli, known as emotion context insensitivity (ECI). However, ECI is not consistently observed in the literature, suggesting moderators that influence its presence. We propose self-relevance as one such moderator, with ECI most apparent when self-relevance is low. We examined this proposal by measuring self-report and facial electromyography (EMG) from the corrugator muscle while participants (n = 81) imagined hypothetical scenarios with varying self-relevance and recalled autobiographical memories. Increased depressive symptoms on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were associated with less differentiated arousal and self-relevance ratings between happy, neutral, and sad scenarios. EMG analyses further revealed that individuals with high depressive symptoms exhibited blunted corrugator reactivity (reduced differentiation) for sad, neutral, and happy scenarios with low self-relevance, while corrugator reactivity remained sensitive to valence for highly self-relevant scenarios. By comparison, in individuals with low depressive symptoms, corrugator activity differentiated valence regardless of stimulus self-relevance. Supporting a role for self-relevance in shaping ECI, we observed no depression-related differences in emotional reactivity when participants recalled highly self-relevant happy or sad autobiographical memories. Our findings suggest ECI is primarily associated with blunted reactivity towards material deemed low in self-relevance.
The Wage Phillips Curve under Labor Market Power

Using the near universe of online vacancy postings in the United States, we explore linkages between labor market power and the trade-off between unemployment and wages. We estimate the Phillips curve at the commuting zone level and find that the relationship between unemployment and wage inflation is weak in regions with high labor market power. These results help explain the flattening of the wage Phillips curve following the global financial crisis. In the context of rising interest rates, unemployment is likely to rise more in poorer US regions because labor market power is more prevalent there, thus leading to rising inequality.
Is there an asymmetric effect of exchange rate volatility on exports and imports in the Central, East and Southeast European countries?

ABSTRACT The main objective of this paper is to assess the asymmetric effect of exchange rate volatility on the exports and imports of 17 Central, East and Southeast European (CESEE) countries. For this purpose, the linear and non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and annual data for the 1995–2020 period were used. Empirical results of the assessment showed an asymmetric effect of exchange rate volatility on exports in nine countries and a symmetric effect on exports in four countries. Similarly, an asymmetric effect of exchange rate volatility on the imports of 10 countries and a symmetric effect on the imports of five countries were found. Research implications of this study are important to enable policy makers to understand that results obtained in earlier studies through the linear model may lead to incorrect views about the effect of exchange rate volatility on the exports and imports of CESEE countries.
Lipid Metabolism Reprogramming and Trastuzumab Resistance in Breast Cancer Cell Lines Overexpressing the ERBB2 Membrane Receptor

Trastuzumab (Tz), an antibody targeting ERBB2, has significantly improved the prognosis for breast cancer (BCa) patients with overexpression of the ERBB2 receptor. However, Tz resistance poses a challenge to patient outcomes. Numerous mechanisms have been suggested to contribute to Tz resistance, and this study aimed to uncover shared mechanisms in in vitro models of acquired BCa Tz resistance. Three widely used ERBB2+ BCa cell lines, adapted to grow in Tz, were examined. Despite investigating potential changes in phenotype, proliferation, and ERBB2 membrane expression in these Tz-resistant (Tz-R) cell lines compared to wild-type (wt) cells, no common alterations were discovered. Instead, high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis revealed a shared set of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in Tz-R versus wt cells. Bioinformatic analysis demonstrated that all three Tz-R cell models exhibited modulation of proteins associated with lipid metabolism, organophosphate biosynthesis, and macromolecule methylation. Ultrastructural examination corroborated the presence of altered lipid droplets in resistant cells. These findings strongly support the notion that intricate metabolic adaptations, including lipid metabolism, protein phosphorylation, and potentially chromatin remodeling, may contribute to Tz resistance. The detection of 10 common DEPs across all three Tz-resistant cell lines offers promising avenues for future therapeutic interventions, providing potential targets to overcome Tz resistance and potentially improve patient outcomes in ERBB2+ breast cancer.
Minimizing the variables of voiding spot assay for comparison between laboratories

The voiding spot assay (VSA) is increasingly being adopted as a standard method for assessing mouse urinary function. However, VSA outcomes are highly sensitive to housing environment and procedural parameters. Many variables exist among laboratories, including analytical software, type of daily housing cage, transportation, and the time of the day. Some of these variables, such as the time of VSA and analytical software, have been shown to result in inconsistency and incomparability of data. In this study, we evaluated whether the results of VSA can be compared across laboratories by minimizing these variables. We found that analytical tools between Fiji and MATLAB are in good agreement in the quantification of VSA parameters, especially primary voiding spot (PVS) parameters. Unexpectedly, we found that mice housed in different daily home cages did not alter voiding patterns in a standard VSA cage. Nonetheless, we still recommend acclimation when performing VSA in unfamiliar cages. Notably, mice are highly sensitive to transportation and the time in the morning versus afternoon, which can induce significant changes in voiding patterns. Therefore, a standardized period among laboratories and allowing 2–3 days of rest for mice acclimation after transportation are necessary for VSA. Finally, we performed VSA using identical procedural parameters in two laboratories from two geographical locations to compare the results of VSA and concluded that it is possible to generate limited comparable VSA data, such as PVS volume.