Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Eocene sediments: precursor deposits to the Oligocene expansion of the South China Sea?

The stratigraphic record of Eocene in the Malaysian waters of the South China Sea is scarce; the few deep petroleum exploration wells and outcrops are located on the fringes of the SCS. Yet, despite the paucity of data we observe a variety of sediments that cover the range from fluviatile to (at least) neritic marine deposits. Whilst fluvial deposits dominate the Western Rim (Penyu, Malay basins), the Southern Rim (Sarawak) is characterized by deposits of a narrow and rapidly deepening shelf, with fluviatile, shallow marine clastics and carbonates passing seawards to outer shelf deposits. Possibly, the Eocene underlies additional areas of the SCS, but there is todate insufficient well data to confirm this. The Eocene marine carbonate facies, which occurs in several places in Sarawak is a strong indicator of subsidence. An association with an early phase of extensional and/or transpressional tectonism, could be related to the onset of rifting of the crust underlying the SCS.
Antibody binding and ACE2 binding inhibition is significantly reduced for the Omicron variant compared to all other variants of concern

The rapid emergence of the Omicron variant and its large number of mutations has led to its classification as a variant of concern (VOC) by the WHO. Initial studies on the neutralizing response towards this variant within convalescent and vaccinated individuals have identified substantial reductions. However many of these sample sets used in these studies were either small, uniform in nature, or were compared only to wild-type (WT) or, at most, a few other VOC. Here, we assessed IgG binding, (Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2) ACE2 binding inhibition, and antibody binding dynamics for the omicron variant compared to all other VOC and variants of interest (VOI), in a large cohort of infected, vaccinated, and infected and then vaccinated individuals. While omicron was capable of binding to ACE2 efficiently, antibodies elicited by infection or immunization showed reduced IgG binding and ACE2 binding inhibition compared to WT and all VOC. Among vaccinated samples, antibody binding responses towards omicron were only improved following administration of a third dose. Overall, our results identify that omicron can still bind ACE2 while pre-existing antibodies can bind omicron. The extent of the mutations appear to inhibit the development of a neutralizing response, and as a result, omicron remains capable of evading immune control.
DAVS-NET: Dense Aggregation Vessel Segmentation Network for retinal vasculature detection in fundus images

In this era, deep learning-based medical image analysis has become a reliable source in assisting medical practitioners for various retinal disease diagnosis like hypertension, diabetic retinopathy (DR), arteriosclerosis glaucoma, and macular edema etc. Among these retinal diseases, DR can lead to vision detachment in diabetic patients which cause swelling of these retinal blood vessels or even can create new vessels. This creation or the new vessels and swelling can be analyzed as biomarker for screening and analysis of DR. Deep learning-based semantic segmentation of these vessels can be an effective tool to detect changes in retinal vasculature for diagnostic purposes. This segmentation task becomes challenging because of the low-quality retinal images with different image acquisition conditions, and intensity variations. Existing retinal blood vessels segmentation methods require a large number of trainable parameters for training of their networks. This paper introduces a novel Dense Aggregation Vessel Segmentation Network (DAVS-Net), which can achieve high segmentation performance with only a few trainable parameters. For faster convergence, this network uses an encoder-decoder framework in which edge information is transferred from the first layers of the encoder to the last layer of the decoder. Performance of the proposed network is evaluated on publicly available retinal blood vessels datasets of DRIVE, CHASE_DB1, and STARE. Proposed method achieved state-of-the-art segmentation accuracy using a few number of trainable parameters.
Induced electron radiation effect on the performance of inter-satellite optical wireless communication

This paper provides the details of a study on the effects of electron radiation on the Performance of Inters-satellite Optical Wireless Communication (IsOWC). Academia and industry focus on solutions that can improve performance and reduce the cost of IsWOC systems. Spacecraft, space stations, satellites, and astronauts are exposed to an increased level of radiation when in space, so it is essential to evaluate the risks and performance effects associated with extended radiation exposures in missions and space travel in general. This investigation focuses on LEO, especially in the near-equatorial radiation environment. Radiation experiments supported with simulations have made it possible to obtain and evaluate the electron radiation impact on optoelectronics at the device level and system level performances. The electron radiation has induced a system degradation of 70%. This result demonstrates the importance of such an investigation to predict and take necessary and suitable reliable quality service for future space missions.
Exploring factors influencing patient mortality and loss to follow-up in two paediatric hospital wards in Zamfara, North-West Nigeria, 2016–2018

Introduction Child mortality has been linked to infectious diseases, malnutrition and lack of access to essential health services. We investigated possible predictors for death and patients lost to follow up (LTFU) for paediatric patients at the inpatient department (IPD) and inpatient therapeutic feeding centre (ITFC) of the Anka General Hospital (AGH), Zamfara State, Nigeria, to inform best practices at the hospital. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort review study using routinely collected data of all patient admissions to the IPD and ITFC with known hospital exit status between 2016 and 2018. Unadjusted and adjusted rate ratios (aRR) and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using Poisson regression to estimate the association between the exposure variables and mortality as well as LTFU. Results The mortality rate in IPD was 22% lower in 2018 compared to 2016 (aRR 0.78; 95% CI 0.66–0.93) and 70% lower for patients coming from lead-affected villages compared to patients from other villages (aRR 0.30; 95% CI 0.19–0.48). The mortality rate for ITFC patients was 41% higher during rainy season (aRR 1.41; 95% CI 1.2–1.6). LTFU rates in ITFC increased in 2017 and 2018 when compared to 2016 (aRR 1.6; 95% CI 1.2–2.0 and aRR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1–1.8) and patients in ITFC had 2.5 times higher LTFU rates when coming from a lead-affected village. Conclusions Our data contributes clearer understanding of the situation in the paediatric wards in AGH in Nigeria, but identifying specific predictors for the multifaceted nature of mortality and LTFU is challenging. Mortality in paediatric patients in IPD of AGH improved during the study period, which is likely linked to better awareness of the hospital, but still remains high. Access to healthcare due to seasonal restrictions contributes to mortalities due to late presentation. Increased awareness of and easier access to healthcare, such as for patients living in lead-affected villages, which are still benefiting from an MSF lead poisoning intervention, decreases mortalities, but increases LTFU. We recommend targeted case audits and qualitative studies to better understand the role of health-seeking behaviour, and social and traditional factors in the use of formal healthcare in this part of Nigeria and potentially similar settings in other countries.
Barriers and enablers to access childhood cataract services across India. A qualitative study using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) of behaviour change

Early presentation for childhood cataract surgery is an important first step in preventing related visual impairment and blindness. In the absence of neonatal eye screening programmes in developing countries, the early identification of childhood cataract remains a major challenge. The primary aim of this study was to identify potential barriers to accessing childhood cataract services from the perspective of parents and carers, as a critical step towards increasing the timely uptake of cataract surgery. In-depth interviews were conducted using a pre-designed topic guide developed for this study to seek the views of parents and carers in nine geographic locations across eight states in India regarding their perceived barriers and enablers to accessing childhood cataract services. A total of 35 in-depth interviews were conducted including 30 at the hospital premises and 5 in the participants’ homes. All interviews were conducted in the local language and audio taped for further transcription and analysis. Data were organised using NVivo 11 and a thematic analysis was conducted utilising the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), an integrative framework of behavioural theories. The themes identified from interviews related to 11 out of 12 TDF domains. TDF domains associated with barriers included: ‘Environmental context and resources’, ‘Beliefs about consequences’ and ‘Social influences’. Reported enablers were identified in three theoretical domains: ‘Social influences’, ‘Beliefs about consequences’ and ‘Motivations and goals’. This comprehensive TDF approach enabled us to understand parents’ perceived barriers and enablers to accessing childhood cataract services, which could be targeted in future interventions to improve timely uptake.
Magnolol additive improves growth performance of Linwu ducklings by modulating antioxidative status

Magnolol is a bioactive polyphenolic compound commonly found in Magnolia officinalis. The aim of this study is to clarify the contribution of the magnolol additive on the growth performance of Linwu ducklings aging from 7 to 28 d, comparing to the effects of antibiotic additive (colistin sulphate). A total of 325, 7-d-old ducklings were assigned to 5 groups. Each group had 5 cages with 13 ducklings in each cage. The ducklings in different groups were fed with diets supplemented with 0, 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg magnolol additive (MA) (Control, MA100, MA200 and MA300) and 30 mg/kg colistin sulphate (CS30) for 3 weeks, respectively. Parameters regarding to the growth performance, intestinal mucosal morphology, serum biochemical indices, antioxidant and peroxide biomarkers and the expression levels of antioxidant-related genes were evaluated by one way ANOVA analysis. The results showed that 30 mg/kg colistin sulphate, 200 and 300 mg/kg magnolol additive improved the average final weight (P = 0.045), average daily body weight gain (P = 0.038) and feed/gain ratios (P = 0.001) compared to the control group. 200 and 300 mg/kg magnolol additive significantly increased the villus height/crypt depth ratio of ileum, compared to the control and CS30 groups (P = 0.001). Increased serum level of glucose (P = 0.011) and total protein (P = 0.006) were found in MA200 or MA300 group. In addition, comparing to the control and CS30 groups, MA200 or MA300 significantly increased the levels of superoxide dismutase (P = 0.038), glutathione peroxidase (P = 0.048) and reduced glutathione (P = 0.039) in serum. Moreover, the serum and hepatic levels of 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (P = 0.043 and 0.007, respectively) were lower in all MA groups compared to those of the control and CS30 group. The hepatic mRNA expression levels of superoxide dismutase-1, catalase and nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2/erythroid-derived CNC-homology factor were also increased significantly in MA200 and MA300 groups (P < 0.05). Taken together, these data demonstrated that MA was an effective feed additive enhancing the growth performance of Linwu ducklings at 7 to 28 d by improving the antioxidant and intestinal mucosal status. It suggested that MA could be a potential ingredient to replace the colistin sulphate in diets.
Mangrove crab intestine and habitat sediment microbiomes cooperatively work on carbon and nitrogen cycling

Mangrove ecosystems, where litter and organic components are degraded and converted into detrital materials, support rich coastal fisheries resources. Sesarmid (Grapsidae) crabs, which feed on mangrove litter, play a crucial role in material flow in carbon-rich and nitrogen-limited mangrove ecosystems; however, the process of assimilation and conversion into detritus has not been well studied. In this study, we performed microbiome analyses of intestinal bacteria from three species of mangrove crab and five sediment positions in the mud lobster mounds, including the crab burrow wall, to study the interactive roles of crabs and sediment in metabolism. Metagenome analysis revealed species-dependent intestinal profiles, especially in Neosarmatium smithi, while the sediment microbiome was similar in all positions, albeit with some regional dependency. The microbiome profiles of crab intestines and sediments were significantly different in the MDS analysis based on OTU similarity; however, 579 OTUs (about 70% of reads in the crab intestinal microbiome) were identical between the intestinal and sediment bacteria. In the phenotype prediction, cellulose degradation was observed in the crab intestine. Cellulase activity was detected in both crab intestine and sediment. This could be mainly ascribed to Demequinaceae, which was predominantly found in the crab intestines and burrow walls. Nitrogen fixation was also enriched in both the crab intestines and sediments, and was supported by the nitrogenase assay. Similar to earlier reports, sulfur-related families were highly enriched in the sediment, presumably degrading organic compounds as terminal electron acceptors under anaerobic conditions. These results suggest that mangrove crabs and habitat sediment both contribute to carbon and nitrogen cycling in the mangrove ecosystem via these two key reactions.
Predicting speech discrimination scores from pure-tone thresholds—A machine learning-based approach using data from 12,697 subjects

Diagnostic tests for hearing impairment not only determines the presence (or absence) of hearing loss, but also evaluates its degree and type, and provides physicians with essential data for future treatment and rehabilitation. Therefore, accurately measuring hearing loss conditions is very important for proper patient understanding and treatment. In current-day practice, to quantify the level of hearing loss, physicians exploit specialized test scores such as the pure-tone audiometry (PTA) thresholds and speech discrimination scores (SDS) as quantitative metrics in examining a patient’s auditory function. However, given that these metrics can be easily affected by various human factors, which includes intentional (or accidental) patient intervention, there are needs to cross validate the accuracy of each metric. By understanding a “normal” relationship between the SDS and PTA, physicians can reveal the need for re-testing, additional testing in different dimensions, and also potential malingering cases. For this purpose, in this work, we propose a prediction model for estimating the SDS of a patient by using PTA thresholds via a Random Forest-based machine learning approach to overcome the limitations of the conventional statistical (or even manual) methods. For designing and evaluating the Random Forest-based prediction model, we collected a large-scale dataset from 12,697 subjects, and report a SDS level prediction accuracy of 95.05% and 96.64% for the left and right ears, respectively. We also present comparisons with other widely-used machine learning algorithms (e.g., Support Vector Machine, Multi-layer Perceptron) to show the effectiveness of our proposed Random Forest-based approach. Results obtained from this study provides implications and potential feasibility in providing a practically-applicable screening tool for identifying patient-intended malingering in hearing loss-related tests.
Accelerated and outdoor weathering of silver nanowire transparent conductors under electrical stress in pseudo-modules

In realistic applications, silver nanowires (AgNWs) are encapsulated in optoelectrical devices to function as transparent conductors and electrodes. Environmental stressors along with the essential electrical stress are inevitably harmful to the AgNWs inside the devices. Herein, to investigate the degradation behavior discrepancy between materials-level and device-level tests, we adopted pseudo-module to mimic the encapsulation. The pseudo-module allows the application of electrical stress and facilitates the interim specimen access for materials characterization through assembly-disassembly. Indoor accelerated and outdoor weathering tests with applied electrical stress to the pseudo-module encapsulated AgNW networks were performed. The impaired optoelectrical properties and morphological changes of AgNWs due to multiple or individual stressor(s) are investigated. Results indicate UVA exposure at elevated temperature coupled with electrical stress is responsible for the electrical failure of AgNW networks. Sulfidation that depresses optical transparency of AgNW networks is prone to occur at lower temperature. This work provides unambiguous degradation behaviors of AgNWs inside encapsulants, helping to improve the design of AgNWs related optoelectrical devices in the applications of solar irradiation environments.
Longitudinal amyloid cognitive composite in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease

Previous studies have developed several cognitive composites in preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD). However, more sensitive measures to track cognitive changes and therapeutic efficacy in preclinical AD are needed considering the diverse sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds. This study developed a composite score that can sensitively detect the amyloid‐β (Aβ)‐related cognitive trajectory of preclinical AD using Korean data.
Implementation, efficacy and cost effectiveness of the unified protocol in a blended format for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: a study protocol for a multicentre, randomised, superiority controlled trial in the Spanish National Health System

Introduction Emotional disorders (EDs) have become the most prevalent psychological disorders in the general population, which has boosted the economic burden associated with their management. Approximately half of the individuals do not receive adequate treatment. Consequently, finding solutions to deliver cost-effective treatments for EDs has become a key goal of today’s clinical psychology. Blended treatments, a combination of face-to-face and online interventions, have emerged as a potential solution to the previous. The Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of EDs (UP) might serve this purpose, as it can be applied to a variety of disorders simultaneously and its manualised format makes it suitable for blended interventions. Methods and analysis The study is a multicentre, randomised, superiority, clinical trial. Participants will be 310 individuals with a diagnosis of an ED. They will be randomised to a treatment as usual (individual cognitive behavioural therapy) or a UP condition in a blended format (face-to-face individual UP +online, app-based UP). Primary outcomes will be ED diagnostic criteria and depression and anxiety symptoms. Cost efficiency of the intervention, app usability, as well as opinion and confidence in the treatment will also be evaluated. Assessment points will include baseline and 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after UP treatment. Ethics and dissemination The study has received approvals by the Ethics Research Committee of Navarra, Castellón, Euskadi, Castilla y León, Extremadura, Lleida and Aragón. The study is currently under an approval process by the Ethics Research Committees of all the remaining collaborating centres. Outcomes will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at international conference meetings. Trial registration number NCT04304911.
Post–hematopoietic stem cell transplantation immune-mediated anemia: a literature review and novel therapeutics

Abstract Anemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can be immune or non–immune mediated. Auto- or alloimmunity resulting from blood group incompatibility remains an important cause in post-HSCT immune-mediated anemia. ABO incompatibility is commonly encountered in HSCT and may lead to serious clinical complications, including acute hemolysis, pure red cell aplasia, and passenger lymphocyte syndrome. It remains controversial whether ABO incompatibility may affect HSCT outcomes, such as relapse, nonrelapse mortality, graft-versus-host disease, and survival. Non-ABO incompatibility is less frequently encountered but can have similar complications to ABO incompatibility, causing adverse clinical outcomes. It is crucial to identify the driving etiology of post-HSCT anemia in order to prevent and treat this condition. This requires a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism of anemia in blood group–incompatible HSCT and the temporal association between HSCT and anemia. In this review, we summarize the literature on post-HSCT immune-mediated anemia with a focus on ABO and non-ABO blood group incompatibility, describe the underlying mechanism of anemia, and outline preventive and treatment approaches.
Considering Toxic Chemicals in the Etiology of Autism.

Merck (M.S.), the Passport Foundation (M.S.), Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation (M.S.), the Forsythia Foundation (M.S.) and the Ceres Trust (I.H.P.). POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Dr. Ritz is a consulting expert in litigation involving exposure to heavy metals in baby food and autism. The remaining authors have no con ﬂ icts of interest relevant to disclose.
Emerging rejuvenation strategies—Reducing the biological age

Several interventions have recently emerged that were proposed to reverse rather than just attenuate aging, but the criteria for what it takes to achieve rejuvenation remain controversial. Distinguishing potential rejuvenation therapies from other longevity interventions, such as those that slow down aging, is challenging, and these anti‐aging strategies are often referred to interchangeably. We suggest that the prerequisite for a rejuvenation intervention is a robust, sustained, and systemic reduction in biological age, which can be assessed by biomarkers of aging, such as epigenetic clocks. We discuss known and putative rejuvenation interventions and comparatively analyze them to explore underlying mechanisms.