Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of constraint-induced movement therapy on activity and participation after a stroke: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Hemiparesis is the main sensorimotor deficit after stroke. It can result in limitations in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and social participation. Hemiparesis can be treated with behavioral techniques of intensive use of the affected arm, such as constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), however, it remains unclear whether motor improvement can lead to increases in the domains of activity and participation. Objective Identify whether CIMT is superior to usual techniques to enhance activity and participation outcomes in stroke survivors. Methods A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted, based on the PRISMA guidelines. Search databases were: PubMed, LILACS, Embase, SciELO, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Medline, and Web of Science, with no language restriction. Meta-analysis was performed with Review Manager (version 5.3), significance level p ≤ 0.05. Results A total of 21 articles were included for analysis. Superior effects were observed on motor function and performance in activities of daily living of individuals treated with CIMT. The outcomes measures utilized were: Fugl-Meyer Assessment (p = 0.00001); Wolf motor function test (p = 0.01); Modified Barthel Index (p = 0.00001); Motor Activity log (MAL) Amount of use (AOU) (p = 0.01); MAL Quality of movement (QOM) (p = 0.00001); Action Research Arm Test-ARAT (p = 0.00001); and FIM (p = 0.0007). Conclusion Our results show that CIMT results in more significant gains in the functional use of the upper limb in ADL and functional independence, demonstrating superior activity and participation results in stroke survivors when compared to conventional therapies.
Combining PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors with chemotherapy is a good strategy for the treatment of extensive small cell lung cancer: A retrospective analysis of clinical studies

Objectives To provide an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the efficacy and safety of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the treatment of extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). Methods PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Clinicaltrials and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched to extract RCTs concerning the efficacy and safety of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the treatment of ES-SCLC from the time of database inception to October 31, 2022. The literature was independently selected, information was extracted and the risk of bias of the RCTs was evaluated according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Stata14.0 was used for the meta-analysis. Results Six studies involving 2,600 patients were included in the analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the combination of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors significantly improved the OS (HR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.66-0.80; P<0.0001), prolonged PFS (HR: 0.66,95% CI: 0.55-0.79; P<0.0001) and did not increase overall incidence of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) (RR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.97-1.09; P=0.330) in ES-SCLC patients compared with chemotherapy alone. The subgroup analysis found that patients with negative PD-L1 expression (< 1%) benefited in OS, whereas patients with positive PD-L1 expression (≥1%) had no statistically significant difference in OS. There was a statistically significant difference in PFS between PD-L1-negative (< 1%) and PD-L1-positive (≥1%) patients. The addition of a PD-1 inhibitor or PD-L1 inhibitor to the chemotherapy regimen can improve OS and prolong PFS in patients with ES-SCLC. Conclusions PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors combination chemotherapy significantly improves PFS and OS in ES-SCLC patients without increasing the overall incidence of TRAEs.
A review on the role of miR-671 in human disorders

miR-671 is encoded by a gene on 7q36.1 and contributes to the pathogenesis of a variety of disorders, including diverse types of cancers, atherosclerosis, ischemic stroke, liver fibrosis, osteoarthritis, Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, acute myocardial infarction and Crohn’s disease. In the context of cancer, different studies have revealed opposite roles for this miRNA. In brief, it has been shown to be down-regulated in pancreatic ductal carcinoma, ovarian cancer, gastric cancer, osteosarcoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and myelodysplastic syndromes. Yet, miR-671 has been up-regulated in glioma, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. Studies in breast, lung and renal cell carcinoma have reported inconsistent results. The current review aims at summarization of the role of miR-671 in these disorders focusing on its target mRNA in each context and dysregulated signaling pathways. We also provide a summary of the role of this miRNA as a prognostic factor in malignancies.
Kidney injury associated with COVID-19 infection and vaccine: A narrative review

The respiratory tract is the main infection site for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), resulting in many admissions to intensive care centers in several countries. However, in addition to lung involvement, kidney injury caused by the novel coronavirus has proven to be a significant factor related to high morbidity and mortality, alarming experts worldwide. The number of deaths has drastically reduced with the advent of large-scale immunization, highlighting the importance of vaccination as the best way to combat the pandemic. Despite the undeniable efficacy of the vaccine, the renal side effects associated with its use deserve to be highlighted, especially the emergence or reactivation of glomerulopathies mentioned in some case reports. This study aimed to identify the main renal morphological findings correlated with COVID-19 infection and its vaccination, seeking to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms, main clinical features, and outcomes.
Decay processes in Salix psammophila sand barriers increase soil microbial element stoichiomery ratios

Salix psammophila sand barriers are a widely used engineering measure to control quicksand in northwest China. Thus, it is important to elucidate the influence of the sand barrier decay process on soil microbial ecological stoichiometric characteristics in desert environments. In the present study, field in situ sampling and laboratory index measurements were used to evaluate and compare the performance degradation, variation in soil physical and chemical properties, and soil microbial ecological stoichiometry of sand barriers during decay. The results showed that with the worsening of the decay degree, all indexes of the decay characteristics decreased significantly, among which the flexural strength of mechanical properties decreased the most, which directly led to collapse and damage. The cellulose and lignin contents of the chemical components also exhibited varying degrees of decomposition, and the soil physical and chemical properties showed a significant increase. The changes in the microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) contents were consistent with the trend of the soil properties, and both reached their peak at 7 years. With the aggravation of decay, the stoichiometric ratios of soil microbial elements C, N, and P increased continuously. However, there was no significant increase in MBC/MBP and MBN/MBP in the early period (≤3 years) of the sand barrier establishment, but there was a significant increase in the later period (≥5 years). These results indicated that S. psammophila sand barriers mainly played the role of windbreak and sand fixation in the early period, and made soil microorganisms susceptible to phosphorus limitation in the later period. Stepwise linear regression analysis showed that MBC/MBN, MBC/MBP, and MBN/MBP were mainly affected by basic density (BD). Therefore, the sand barrier changes soil properties by degrading its own chemical components during the decay process and the loss of basic density is the main driving factor for increasing the C:N:P stoichiometry of soil microbial biomass. It can still be further promoted and used in the resource utilization process of mechanical sand barriers in the future.
Impacts of huanglongbing on fruit yield and quality and on flushing dynamics of Sicilian lemon trees

Introduction The severe Asian form of huanglongbing (HLB), a vascular disease associated with the phloem-limited bacterium ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’, is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri. Disease impacts are known for sweet oranges and acid limes but not lemons. Methods In a five-year study (2017–2021) we compared yield and fruit quality between naturally-infected and healthy 5-yr-old trees of Sicilian lemon ‘Femminello’, and shoot phenology on both lemon and ‘Valencia’ orange, both grafted onto ‘Swingle’ citrumelo, grown in southeastern São Paulo State, Brazil. HLB severity (percentage of tree canopy area with HLB symptoms) was assessed every 3–4 months, fruit yield and quality in May (2017 to 2019) or June/July (2020-2021), and vegetative and reproductive shoots fortnightly on 50-cm-long branches. The development of ACP on one-year-old seedlings of five lemon varieties, ‘Tahiti’ acid lime, ‘Valencia’ orange, and orange jasmine was evaluated. Results Symptoms increased from 11% in 2017 to 64% in 2021, and a monomolecular model estimated 10 years for symptoms to occupy >90% of the tree canopy. On average, production of trees with symptom on 20%, 50% or 80% of the canopy respectively dropped by 18%, 38%, and 53% compared to healthy trees. Fruits of symptomatic branches of lemons were 4.22% lighter and the number of dropped fruits did not correlate with symptom severity. Flushing on symptomatic branches started earlier by 15 to 55 days as compared to the healthy branches of lemon and orange. On diseased trees, vegetative and reproductive shoots respectively increased by 24.5% and 17.5% on lemon and by 67.2% and 70.6% on sweet orange, but fruit set was reduced by 12.9% and 19.7% on lemon and orange trees, respectively. ACP reproduced similarly on all tested plants. Discussion The fast symptom progress, significant yield reduction, and earlier flushing on diseased trees, providing conditions highly favorable for the pathogen to spread, reinforce the need of prompt diseased tree removal and frequent ACP preventive control to manage HLB in lemons as in any other citrus crop.
Development and validation of a predictive model for diagnosing prostate cancer after transperineal prostate biopsy

Objective This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram to predict the probability of prostate cancer (PCa) after transperineal prostate biopsy by combining patient clinical information and biomarkers. Methods First, we retrospectively collected the clinicopathologic data from 475 patients who underwent prostate biopsy at our hospital between January 2019 to August 2021. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to select risk factors. Then, we established the nomogram prediction model based on the risk factors. The model performance was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration plots and the Hosmer–Lemeshow test. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was used to evaluate the net benefit of the model at different threshold probabilities. The model was validated in an independent cohort of 197 patients between September 2021 and June 2022. Results The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses based on the development cohort indicated that the model should include the following factors: age (OR = 1.056, p = 0.001), NEUT (OR = 0.787, p = 0.008), HPR (OR = 0.139, p < 0.001), free/total (f/T) PSA (OR = 0.013, p = 0.015), and PI-RADS (OR = 3.356, p < 0.001). The calibration curve revealed great agreement. The internal nomogram validation showed that the C-index was 0.851 (95% CI 0.809-0.894). Additionally, the AUC was 0.851 (95% CI 0.809-0.894), and the Hosmer–Lemeshow test result presented p = 0.143 > 0.05. Finally, according to decision curve analysis, the model was clinically beneficial. Conclusion Herein, we provided a nomogram combining patients’ clinical data with biomarkers to help diagnose prostate cancers.
Applied Potential Effect on ZnFe2O4-Fe2O3 Heterostructure for Generation of Photocurrents under Irradiation

In this study, the performance of ZnFe2O4-Fe2O3 heterostructure was tested for photocurrent generation via photoelectrochemical activity under irradiation. Additionally, the effect of heterostructure photoanode on the structural, optical properties, and charge kinetic behavior of the photoelectrode was investigated. A combination of ZnFe2O4-Fe2O3 nanostructures exhibited an enhanced ability of light absorption compared to that of pristine Fe2O3 and ZnFe2O4 samples. For ZnFe2O4-Fe2O3 nanostructures, an electron–hole transfer resistance of 9.41 kΩ was achieved in a 0.1 M KOH electrolyte under irradiation, which is much lower than that of achieved values of pure Fe2O3 and ZnFe2O4 nanostructures. The generation of photocurrent density of ZnFe2O4-Fe2O3 photoanode considerably increased in 0.1 M KOH electrolytes under irradiation compared to those of the other samples due to the greater active sites, electronic band structure, absorption capability of photoanode, and considerable improvements in the charge transfer resistance, limiting current density, exchange current density, and Tafel slope. Further, the applied potential showed a strong significant influence on the generation of photocurrent for the synthesized photoelectrodes. At 0.5 V applied potential, the heterostructure showed a maximum and enhanced current density compared to pristine samples. Thus, ZnFe2O4-Fe2O3 photoanodes were established to be beneficial and stable nanostructures for photoelectrochemical water splitting.
Aridification in the Asian Interior Recorded by Mineral Assemblages in Tarim Basin since the Late Miocene and Its Link to Global Cooling

Understanding climate change during the relatively warm Pliocene, as compared to the present, offers significant potential for understanding future global consequences of rising atmospheric CO2. Sensitivity differences among various climate proxies lead to divergent interpretations of the driving mechanisms of inland aridification. Minerals as a paleoclimatic indicator with high water-sensitivity can provide effective support for reconstructing climate evolution and clearly understanding driving mechanisms in extremely arid regions. Here we present results of mineral analyses from lacustrine–fluvial Neogene sediments in the eastern Tarim Basin. Evaporite minerals are composed principally of calcite, dolomite, and gypsum, with minor amounts of ankerite and celestite. Clay minerals are dominated by illite and chlorite. We find that evaporite minerals and illite reflect regional climate change through time, and specifically determine the following: (1) climate in the Tarim Basin during the late Miocene was relatively humid, with alternating dry and wet periods from 6.86~5.58 Ma; (2) immediately following that interval, aridification increased rapidly, with reduced regional precipitation that accelerated the shrinkage of the lake; (3) from 4.4 Ma to 3.62 Ma, regional precipitation increased slightly but afterwards, aridification resumed: the climate there has been extremely dry since about 2.7 Ma. Our results show that the climate in the Tarim Basin has followed a global cooling trend since the late Miocene, and suggest that the effect of uplift in the Tibetan Plateau is a secondary influence.
Inverse Models: A Necessary Next Step in Ground‐Water Modeling

Inverse models using, for example, nonlinear least‐squares regression, provide capabilities that help modelers take full advantage of the insight available from ground‐water models. However, lack of information about the requirements and benefits of inverse models is an obstacle to their widespread use. This paper presents a simple ground‐water flow problem to illustrate the requirements and benefits of the nonlinear least‐squares regression method of inverse modeling and discusses how these attributes apply to field problems. The benefits of inverse modeling include: (1) expedited determination of best fit parameter values; (2) quantification of the (a) quality of calibration, (b) data shortcomings and needs, and (c) confidence limits on parameter estimates and predictions; and (3) identification of issues that are easily overlooked during nonautomated calibration.
An Invariant Learning Characterization of Controlled Text Generation

Controlled generation refers to the problem of creating text that contains stylistic or semantic attributes of interest. Many approaches reduce this problem to training a predictor of the desired attribute. For example, researchers hoping to deploy a large language model to produce non-toxic content may use a toxicity classifier to filter generated text. In practice, the generated text to classify, which is determined by user prompts, may come from a wide range of distributions.In this paper, we show that the performance of controlled generation may be poor if the distributions of text in response to user prompts differ from the distribution the predictor was trained on. To address this problem, we cast controlled generation under distribution shift as an invariant learning problem: the most effective predictor should be invariant across multiple text environments. We then discuss a natural solution that arises from this characterization and propose heuristics for selecting natural environments.We study this characterization and the proposed method empirically using both synthetic and real data. Experiments demonstrate both the challenge of distribution shift in controlled generation and the potential of invariance methods in this setting.
Allopatric Lineage Divergence of the East Asian Endemic Herb Conandron ramondioides Inferred from Low-Copy Nuclear and Plastid Markers

The evolutionary histories of ornamental plants have been receiving only limited attention. We examined the origin and divergence processes of an East Asian endemic ornamental plant, Conandron ramondioides. C. ramondioides is an understory herb occurring in primary forests, which has been grouped into two varieties. We reconstructed the evolutionary and population demography history of C. ramondioides to infer its divergence process. Nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences were obtained from 21 Conandron populations on both sides of the East China Sea (ECS) to explore its genetic diversity, structure, and population differentiation. Interestingly, the reconstructed phylogeny indicated that the populations should be classified into three clades corresponding to geographical regions: the Japan (Honshu+Shikoku) clade, the Taiwan–Iriomote clade, and the Southeast China clade. Lineage divergence between the Japan clade and the Taiwan–Iriomote and Southeast China clades occured 1.14 MYA (95% HPD: 0.82–3.86), followed by divergence between the Taiwan–Iriomote and Southeast China clades approximately 0.75 MYA (95% HPD: 0.45–1.3). Furthermore, corolla traits (floral lobe length to tube length ratios) correlated with geographical distributions. Moreover, restricted gene flow was detected among clades. Lastly, the lack of potential dispersal routes across an exposed ECS seafloor during the last glacial maximum suggests that migration among the Conandron clades was unlikely. In summary, the extant Conandron exhibits a disjunct distribution pattern as a result of vicariance rather than long-distance dispersal. We propose that allopatric divergence has occurred in C. ramondioides since the Pleistocene. Our findings highlight the critical influence of species’ biological characteristics on shaping lineage diversification of East Asian relic herb species during climate oscillations since the Quaternary.
Pt-Based Nanostructures for Electrochemical Oxidation of CO: Unveiling the Effect of Shapes and Electrolytes

Direct alcohol fuel cells are deemed as green and sustainable energy resources; however, CO-poisoning of Pt-based catalysts is a critical barrier to their commercialization. Thus, investigation of the electrochemical CO oxidation activity (COOxid) of Pt-based catalyst over pH ranges as a function of Pt-shape is necessary and is not yet reported. Herein, porous Pt nanodendrites (Pt NDs) were synthesized via the ultrasonic irradiation method, and its CO oxidation performance was benchmarked in different electrolytes relative to 1-D Pt chains nanostructure (Pt NCs) and commercial Pt/C catalyst under the same condition. This is a trial to confirm the effect of the size and shape of Pt as well as the pH of electrolytes on the COOxid. The COOxid activity and durability of Pt NDs are substantially superior to Pt NCs and Pt/C in HClO4, KOH, and NaHCO3 electrolytes, respectively, owing to the porous branched structure with a high surface area, which maximizes Pt utilization. Notably, the COOxid performance of Pt NPs in HClO4 is higher than that in NaHCO3, and KOH under the same reaction conditions. This study may open the way for understanding the COOxid activities of Pt-based catalysts and avoiding CO-poisoning in fuel cells.
Premature Deindustrialization Risk: The Case of Thailand

This study investigates the possibility of premature deindustrialization risk in Thailand, where the pressure of globalization and uneven industrial policies remain. This study adopts the latecomer index to materialize premature deindustrialization risk, which is expressed as the downward shift of the manufacturing–income relationship at the earlier level of income. The results of our empirical analysis confirm the presence of premature deindustrialization risk in Thailand’s regions as a result of globalization pressure (represented by China’s entry into the World Trade Organization) and uneven industrial policies conducted by the Thai government. Thus, the current industrial policies of the Thai government should be reconsidered to overcome premature deindustrialization risk in remote regions.
From the W Boson Mass Anomaly to Little Higgs Model

With the recent announcement of a deviation in measuring the W boson mass MW from the Standard Model (SM) expected value carried out by CDF collaboration, many theories concentrating on Beyond Standard Model (BSM) mechanism are now available to testify their predictions. In this article, we introduce Little Higgs Model , which may imply and forecast new physics on multi-TeV scale, and perform fit with the recent results on W boson mass anomaly to test the compatibility. The results can give guidance to prospective phenomenology research and the construction of new colliders for High Energy Physics (HEP) discoveries.
Singular value decomposition methods for wave propagation analysis

We describe several newly developed methods for propagation analysis of electromagnetic plasma waves. We make use of singular value decomposition (SVD) technique and we determine the wave vector direction, ellipticity and directions of axes of the polarization ellipse, wave refractive index, transfer function of electric antennas, estimators of the planarity of polarization, and electromagnetic planarity. Simulations of Z‐mode waves, which simultaneously propagate with different wave vectors, indicate that the SVD methods give reasonable results even if the assumption on the presence of a single plane wave is invalid. Simulations of whistler mode waves show that these methods can be used to recognize cases when the waves simultaneously propagate with wave vectors in two opposite hemispheres. Finally, we show an example of analysis of natural whistler mode and Z‐mode emissions measured in the high‐altitude auroral region by the MEMO experiment onboard the INTERBALL spacecraft.