Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Intestinal Microbes in Chronic Liver Diseases

With the recent availability and upgrading of many emerging intestinal microbes sequencing technologies, our research on intestinal microbes is changing rapidly. A variety of investigations have found that intestinal microbes are essential for immune system regulation and energy metabolism homeostasis, which impacts many critical organs. The liver is the first organ to be traversed by the intestinal portal vein, and there is a strong bidirectional link between the liver and intestine. Many intestinal factors, such as intestinal microbes, bacterial composition, and intestinal bacterial metabolites, are deeply involved in liver homeostasis. Intestinal microbial dysbiosis and increased intestinal permeability are associated with the pathogenesis of many chronic liver diseases, such as alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC), autoimmune liver disease (AIH) and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Intestinal permeability and dysbacteriosis often lead to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and metabolites entering in serum. Then, Toll-like receptors activation in the liver induces the exposure of the intestine and liver to many small molecules with pro-inflammatory properties. And all of these eventually result in various liver diseases. In this paper, we have discussed the current evidence on the role of various intestinal microbes in different chronic liver diseases. As well as potential new therapeutic approaches are proposed in this review, such as antibiotics, probiotics, and prebiotics, which may have an improvement in liver diseases.
How Gaussian can our Universe be?

Gravity is a non-linear theory, and hence, barring cancellations, the initial super-horizon perturbations produced by inflation must contain some minimum amount of mode coupling, or primordial non-Gaussianity. In single-field slow-roll models, where this lower bound is saturated, non-Gaussianity is controlled by two observables: the tensor-to-scalar ratio, which is uncertain by more than fifty orders of magnitude; and the scalar spectral index, or tilt, which is relatively well measured. It is well known that to leading and next-to-leading order in derivatives, the contributions proportional to the tilt disappear from any local observable, and suspicion has been raised that this might happen to all orders, allowing for an arbitrarily low amount of primordial non-Gaussianity. Employing Conformal Fermi Coordinates, we show explicitly that this is not the case. Instead, a contribution of order the tilt appears in local observables. In summary, the floor of physical primordial non-Gaussianity in our Universe has a squeezed-limit scaling of kℓ2/ks2, similar to equilateral and orthogonal shapes, and a dimensionless amplitude of order 0.1 × (ns−1).
STRÖMGREN SURVEY FOR ASTEROSEISMOLOGY AND GALACTIC ARCHAEOLOGY: LET THE SAGA BEGIN

Asteroseismology has the capability of precisely determining stellar properties that would otherwise be inaccessible, such as radii, masses, and thus ages of stars. When coupling this information with classical determinations of stellar parameters, such as metallicities, effective temperatures, and angular diameters, powerful new diagnostics for Galactic studies can be obtained. The ongoing Strömgren survey for Asteroseismology and Galactic Archaeology has the goal of transforming the Kepler field into a new benchmark for Galactic studies, similar to the solar neighborhood. Here we present the first results from a stripe centered at a Galactic longitude of 74° and covering latitude from about 8° to 20°, which includes almost 1000 K giants with seismic information and the benchmark open cluster NGC 6819. We describe the coupling of classical and seismic parameters, the accuracy as well as the caveats of the derived effective temperatures, metallicities, distances, surface gravities, masses, and radii. Confidence in the achieved precision is corroborated by the detection of the first and secondary clumps in a population of field stars with a ratio of 2 to 1 and by the negligible scatter in the seismic distances among NGC 6819 member stars. An assessment of the reliability of stellar parameters in the Kepler Input Catalog is also performed, and the impact of our results for population studies in the Milky Way is discussed, along with the importance of an all-sky Strömgren survey.
Real-Time Visual Feedback in Singing Pedagogy: Current Trends and Future Directions

Singing pedagogy has increasingly adopted guide awareness through the use of meaningful real-time visual feedback. Technology typically used to study the voice can also be applied in a singing lesson, aiming at facilitating students’ awareness of the three subsystems involved in voice production—breathing, oscillatory and resonatory—and their underlying physiological, aerodynamical and acoustical mechanisms. Given the variety of real-time visual feedback tools, this article provides a comprehensive overview of such tools and their current and future pedagogical applications in the voice studio. The rationale for using real-time visual feedback is discussed, including both the theoretical and practical applications of visualizing physiological, aerodynamical and acoustical aspects of voice production. The monitorization of breathing patterns is presented, displaying lung volume as the sum of abdominal and ribcage movements signals. In addition, estimates of subglottal pressure are visually displayed using a subglottal pressure meter to assist with the shaping of musical phrases in singing. As to what concerns vibratory patterns of the vocal folds and phonatory airflow, the use of electroglottography and inverse filters is applied to monitor the phonation types, voice breaks, pitch and intensity range of singers of different music genres. These vocal features, together with intentional voice distortions and intonation adjustments, are also displayed using spectrographs. As the voice is invisible to the eye, the use of real-time visual feedback is proposed as a key pedagogical approach in current and future singing lessons. The use of such an approach corroborates the current trend of developing evidence-based practices in voice education.
Determinants of Attainment of High Class of the Degree of University Students; In the Sri Lankan Context

The academic performance of undergraduates in Sri Lanka is a noticeable aspect in the highereducation sector of the country. A high class in the degree is a common challenge for alluniversity students when talking about their academic phase. Therefore, the extant researchtries to identify the factors that affect the attainment of a high class in the degree of universitystudents in Sri Lanka. A high class is conclusively referred to as a first class degree and asecond class upper division degree. Data were collected from 148 fresh graduates of the year2021, through the convenience sampling method. The survey design was used and thus, astructured questionnaire was distributed in the form of Google forms to the graduates for datacollection. The Binary Logistic Regression was the statistical tool applied for the analysisprocess. Results of the study revealed that gender, A/L attempt to the university entrance,lecture attendance, time management, internet usage, and self-motivation were the significantdeterminants of achievement of a high class in the degree. The present study, therefore, broughtout recommendations to support undergraduates, university lecturers, and administration toenhance the academic performance of undergraduates for the attainment of high class in thedegree.
Running Velocity and Longitudinal Bending Stiffness Influence the Asymmetry of Kinematic Variables of the Lower Limb Joints

Running-related limb asymmetries suggest specific sports injuries and recovery circumstances. It is debatable if running speed affected asymmetry, and more research is required to determine how longitudinal bending stiffness (LBS) affected asymmetry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of running velocity and LBS on kinematic characteristics of the hip, knee, ankle, metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP) and the corresponding asymmetry. Kinematic (200 Hz) running stance phase data were collected bilaterally for 16 healthy male recreational runners (age: 23.13 ± 1.17, height: 175.2 ± 1.6 cm, body mass: 75.7 ± 3.6 kg, BMI: 24.7 ± 1.3 kg/m2) running on a force plate at three different velocities (10, 12 and 14 km/h) and three increasing-LBS shoes in a randomized order. The symmetry angle (SA) was calculated to quantify gait asymmetry magnitude at each running velocity and LBS. Changes in running velocity and LBS led to differences in kinematic variables between the hip, knee, ankle and MTP (p < 0.05). Significant changes in SA caused by running velocity were found in the knee flexion angle (p = 0.001) and flexion angle peak velocity (p < 0.001), ankle plantarflexion angle (p = 0.001) and plantarflexion angle peak velocity (p = 0.043) and MTP dorsiflexion angle (p = 0.001) and dorsiflexion angle peak velocity (p = 0.019). A significant change in the SA caused by LBS was found in the MTP dorsiflexion peak angle velocity (p = 0.014). There were interaction effects between running velocity and LBS on the MTP plantarflexion angle (p = 0.033) and plantarflexion angle peak velocity (p = 0.038). These findings indicate the existence of bilateral lower limb asymmetry. Meanwhile, it was proved that running velocity and LBS can influence the asymmetry of lower limb joints. Additionally, there was an interaction between running velocity and LBS on the asymmetry of the lower limb. These findings can provide some information for sports injuries, such as metatarsal stress fractures and anterior cruciate ligament injuries. They can also provide some useful information for running velocities and running shoes.
Finite-Time Stability and Instability of Nonlinear Impulsive Systems

In this paper, the ﬁnite-time stability and instability are studied for nonlinear impulsive systems. There are mainly four concerns. 1) For the system with stabilizing impulses, a Lyapunov theorem on global ﬁnite-time stability is presented. 2) When the system without impulsive effects is globally ﬁnite-time stable (GFTS) and the settling time is continuous at the origin, it is proved that it is still GFTS over any class of impulse sequences, if the mixed impulsive jumps satisfy some mild conditions. 3) For systems with destabilizing impulses, it is shown that to be ﬁnite-time stable, the destabilizing impulses should not occur too frequently, otherwise, the origin of the impulsive system is ﬁnite-time instable, which are formulated by average dwell time (ADT) conditions respectively. 4) A theorem on ﬁnite-time instability is provided for system with stabilizing impulses. For each GFTS theorem of impulsive systems con-sidered in this paper, the upper boundedness of settling time is given, which depends on the initial value and impulsive effects. Some numerical examples are given to illus-trate the theoretical analysis.
The Enzymatic Antioxidants Activities Changes in Water Plants Tissues Exposed to Chlorpyrifos Stress

Water pollution is an immense environmental problem, and plant protection products are part of it. The organophosphorus insecticides, chlorpyrifos as an example, were used for years, and their high concentration could negatively influence ecosystems. Some of the plants, such as macrophytes, were exposed to a variety of stress factors. To live on, the macrophytes developed an efficient antioxidative system consisting of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. The remediation process of polluted water ecosystems caused by plant protection products in our climate zone can be intensified if it is provided by autochthonic macrophytes. The results of our studies are part of the research that allows optimizing the phytoremediation process without irreversible effect on investigated species. The influence of various concentrations of chlorpyrifos on the enzymatic system in Canadian waterweed (Elodea canadensis Michx.), needle spikerush (Eleocharis acicularis L.), and water mint (Mentha aquatica L.) were studied. The differences in values of guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were determined in leaves and roots. Research indicated an increase in both enzyme activities in plants exposed to toxic compounds. The highest concentration of chlorpyrifos affected the highest activities of enzymes. The water mint roots responded with the highest value of glutathione S-transferase activity during cultivation in polluted environment. It was therefore concluded that an aqueous plant exposed to the toxic insecticide created a defensive mechanism by enzymatic antioxidant systems that correlated to the pollutant concentration and plant species.
Diabetic Macular Edema: Current Understanding, Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), with increasing incidence, is the major cause of vision loss and blindness worldwide in working-age adults. Diabetic macular edema (DME) remains the main cause of vision impairment in diabetic patients, with its pathogenesis still not completely elucidated. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of DR and DME. Currently, intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents remains as the first-line therapy in DME treatment due to the superior anatomic and functional outcomes. However, some patients do not respond satisfactorily to anti-VEGF injections. More than 30% patients still exist with persistent DME even after regular intravitreal injection for at least 4 injections within 24 weeks, suggesting other pathogenic factors, beyond VEGF, might contribute to the pathogenesis of DME. Recent advances showed nearly all the retinal cells are involved in DR and DME, including breakdown of blood-retinal barrier (BRB), drainage dysfunction of Müller glia and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), involvement of inflammation, oxidative stress, and neurodegeneration, all complicating the pathogenesis of DME. The profound understanding of the changes in proteomics and metabolomics helps improve the elucidation of the pathogenesis of DR and DME and leads to the identification of novel targets, biomarkers and potential therapeutic strategies for DME treatment. The present review aimed to summarize the current understanding of DME, the involved molecular mechanisms, and the changes in proteomics and metabolomics, thus to propose the potential therapeutic recommendations for personalized treatment of DME.
Optical spectroscopy of tungsten carbide for uncertainty analysis in electron electric-dipole-moment search

We perform laser induced fluorescence(LIF) spectroscopy on a pulsed supersonic beam of tungsten carbide(WC) molecules, which has been proposed as a candidate molecular system for a permanent Electric Dipole Moment(EDM) search of the electron in its rovibrational ground state of the X3Delta1 state. In particular, [20.6]Omega=2, v'=4 <- X3Delta1,v"=0 transition at 485nm was used for the detection. The hyperfine structure and the Omega-doublet of the transition are measured, which are essential for estimating the size of the potential systematic uncertainties for electron EDM measurement. For further suppression of the systematic uncertainty, an alternative electron EDM measurement scheme utilizing the g factor crossing point of the Omega-doublet levels is discussed. On the other hand, flux and internal temperature of the molecular beam are characterized, which sets the limit on the statistical uncertainty of the electron EDM experiment. With the given results, the prospect of electron EDM experiment with the X3Delta1 state of WC molecule is discussed.
The Benefit of Simultaneous Seven-filter Imaging: 10 Years of GROND Observations

A variety of scientific results have been achieved over the last 10 years with the GROND simultaneous 7-channel imager at the 2.2 m telescope of the Max-Planck Society at ESO/La Silla. While designed primarily for rapid observations of gamma-ray burst afterglows, the combination of simultaneous imaging in the Sloan g′r′i′z′ and near-infrared JHKs bands at a medium-sized (2.2 m) telescope and the very flexible scheduling possibility has resulted in an extensive use for many other astrophysical research topics, from exoplanets and accreting binaries to galaxies and quasars.
Chemical composition of planet building blocks as predicted by stellar population synthesis

Context. Future space missions (TESS, CHEOPS, PLATO, and the JWST) will considerably improve our understanding of the formation and history of planetary systems by providing accurate constraints on planetary radius, mass, and atmospheric composition. Currently, observations show that the presence of planetary companions is closely linked to the metallicity and the chemical abundances of the host stars. Aims. We aim to build an integrated tool for predicting the planet building blocks (PBBs) composition as a function of the stellar populations to interpret ongoing and future large surveys. The different stellar populations we observe in our Galaxy are characterized by different metallicities and α-element abundances. We here investigate the trends of the expected PBBs composition with the chemical abundance of the host star in different parts of the Galaxy. Methods. We synthesized stellar populations with the Besançon galaxy model, which includes stellar evolutionary tracks that are computed with the stellar evolution code STAREVOL. We integrated a previously published simple stoichiometric model into this code to determine the expected composition of the PBBs. Results. We determine the expected PBB composition around FGK stars for the four galactic populations (thin and thick disks, halo, and bulge) within the Milky Way. Our solar neighborhood simulations are in good agreement with the recent results obtained with the HARPS survey for firon, fw, and the heavy element mass fraction fZ. We present evidence of a clear dependence of firon and fw on the initial alpha abundances [α/Fe] of the host star. We find that the different initial [α/Fe] distributions in the different galactic populations lead to a bimodal distribution of PBB composition. Our simulations show an iron valley that separates PBBs with high and low iron mass fractions and a water valley that separates PBBs with high and low water mass fractions. Conclusions. We linked host star abundances and expected PBB composition in an integrated model of the Galaxy. The trends we derive are an important step for statistical analyses of expected planet properties. In particular, internal structure models may use these results to derive statistical trends of rocky planet properties, constrain habitability, and prepare an interpretation of ongoing and future large-scale surveys of exoplanets.
Identification of Metabolic Signature Associated with Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy Reveals Polyamine Pathway Alteration in Muscle Tissue

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) is hard to diagnose without a muscle biopsy. We aimed to identify a metabolite panel for IIM detection by metabolomics approach in serum samples and to explore the metabolomic signature in tissue samples from a mouse model. We obtained serum samples from IIM patients, ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients, healthy volunteers and muscle tissue samples from IIM murine model. All samples were subjected to a targeted metabolomic approach with various statistical analyses on serum and tissue samples to identify metabolic alterations. Three machine learning methods, such as logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF), were applied to build prediction models. A set of 7 predictive metabolites was calculated using backward stepwise selection, and the model was evaluated within 5-fold cross-validation by using three machine algorithms. The model produced an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values of 0.955 (LR), 0.908 (RF) and 0.918 (SVM). A total of 68 metabolites were significantly changed in mouse tissue. Notably, the most influential pathways contributing to the inflammation of muscle were the polyamine pathway and the beta-alanine pathway. Our metabolomic approach offers the potential biomarkers of IIM and reveals pathologically relevant metabolic pathways that are associated with IIM.
Full Endoscopic Decompression for a Misdiagnosed Far-Out Syndrome (L5/S1 Extraforaminal Stenosis) in an Elderly Patient with L5 Radiculopathy: Case Report

We present a case of a L5/S1 extraforaminal stenosis (EFS), also known as far-out syndrome, in which ineffective multiple previous fusion surgeries were performed because of misdiagnosis. An 83-year-old man, complaining of back and left sided leg pain along the L5 dermatome for 5 years visited our institute claiming persistent pain even after 2 fusion surgeries at another hospital. A new magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan with a half coronal T1-weighted sequence revealed left L5/S1 EFS and resultant L5 nerve root compression. Because of the patient’s old age, history of angina and anti-platelet medications, a minimally invasive full-endoscopic decompression was performed. Afterwards the patient experienced immediate relief of the radicular pain, satisfied with the surgery. Diagnosis of L5/S1 EFS can be challenging especially when only routine sagittal/axial MRI scans are provided. Half coronal plane T1-weighted image MRI can be extremely helpful in diagnosis of this distinct pathology. Through this case report, we would like to emphasize the significance of half coronal MRI in diagnosis of L5/S1 EFS and also show a representative successful full-endoscopic decompression for the disease.
FAM57A (Family with Sequence Similarity 57 Member A) Is a Cell-Density-Regulated Protein and Promotes the Proliferation and Migration of Cervical Cancer Cells

The FAM57A (family with sequence similarity 57 member A) gene is controversially discussed to possess pro- or anti-tumorigenic potential. Here, we analyze the regulation of cellular FAM57A protein levels and study the functional role of FAM57A in HPV-positive cervical cancer cells. We find that FAM57A protein expression strongly depends on cell density, with FAM57A being readily detectable at low cell density, but undetectable at high cell density. This regulation occurs post-transcriptionally and is not mirrored by corresponding changes at the RNA level. We further show that FAM57A protein levels are highly increased in cervical cancer cells cultivated at hypoxia compared to normoxia and provide evidence that FAM57A is a hypoxia-responsive gene under control of the α-subunit of the HIF-1 (hypoxia-inducible factor-1) transcription factor. Yet, the strong relative increase of FAM57A protein levels in hypoxic cells is predominantly cell-density-dependent and occurs post-transcriptionally. Other anti-proliferative effectors besides hypoxia, such as silencing of HPV E6/E7 oncogene expression in cervical cancer cells, also result in an increase of FAM57A levels compared to untreated cells. Functional analyses reveal that FAM57A repression leads to pronounced anti-proliferative as well as anti-migratory effects in cervical cancer cells. Taken together, these results provide insights into the regulation of FAM57A protein levels and reveal that they underlie a tight cell-density-dependent control. Moreover, they identify FAM57A as a critical determinant for the phenotype of cervical cancer cells, which promotes their proliferation and migration capacities.