Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do the Culturable Microbial Groups Present in Cutaway Bogs Change According to Temporal Variation? Pilot Study Based on the Midlands in the Republic of Ireland

Cutaway peatlands in the midlands of the Republic of Ireland are rarely the focus of scientific studies. The soil quality and related microenvironment have been severely impacted by peat extraction. Returning them to a ‘near-natural state’ would require greater insights into this ecological niche. The current research took the initiative to study the microbiology of vast cutaway sites in the midlands of Ireland. Peat was collected over two seasons in January, February and April. Homogenised peat was aseptically cultured on a range of specific and non-specific culture media. Microbial enumeration, Gram staining and other microscopic observations of morphologically distinct microorganisms were performed. The total viable bacterial and fungal numbers were highest in February (1.33 × 105 CFU ml−1 and 5.93 × 106 CFU ml−1, respectively) and were lowest in April (1.14 × 103 CFU ml−1 and 5.57 × 106 CFU ml−1). Penicillium spp. and Trichoderma spp. were common in all the sites. The highest values of phosphate solubilisation index were recorded in peat collected in April (SI = 3.167 & 3.000). Overall, there is a statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.0001) among the microbial numbers across the three months. This variation could be due to the temperature and pH differences across peat soil.
A meta-review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on outcomes of psychosocial interventions in heart failure

Introduction Chronic heart failure is a severe condition that influences not just the physical dimension but also the mental dimension in patients. Comorbidity of depression and anxiety are prevalent and the quality of life is reduced. Despite the psychological impact there are no recommendations in the guidelines for psychosocial interventions for people with heart failure. The aim of this meta-review is to synthesize results of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the outcomes of psychosocial interventions in heart failure. Methods Searches were conducted in PubMed, PsychInfo, Cinahl and the Cochrane Library. In total, seven articles were included after screening 259 studies for eligibility. Results The included reviews had, in total, 67 original studies included. The measured outcomes in the systematic reviews and meta-analyses were; depression, anxiety, quality of life, hospitalization, mortality, self-care and physical capacity. The results are inconsistent but show some short-term benefit of psychosocial interventions for reduced depression and anxiety and improved quality of life. However, the long-term effects were sparsely followed up. Discussion This meta-review appears to be the first in the field of the efficacy of psychosocial interventions in chronic heart failure. This meta-review identifies gaps in the current available evidence that need to be further explored, such as booster sessions, longer follow-up time for evaluation and incorporating clinical outcomes and measures of stress processes.
Evaporation of Interstellar Organic Materials in the Solar Nebula

A series of evaporation experiments was performed on interstellar organic analogs under high vacuum in order to study the distribution of interstellar organic materials in the solar nebula. Temperature dependences of the weight loss of the samples and the elemental composition of the evaporation residue were examined. The chemical composition of evaporated gases during heating was also investigated. It was found on the basis of the experimental results and the astrophysical model for the solar nebula that there would be molecular cloud and diffuse cloud organic materials at heliocentric distances larger than 2.7 and 2.1 AU, respectively, in the late evolution stage of the disk. Very reductive gas was evaporated at around 2.4 AU during the evaporation of diffuse cloud organic materials, and this causes very reduced condition in the solar nebula. We discuss a redox state of chondrites based on our experimental result and conclude that ordinary chondrites would form at heliocentric distances of less than 2.2 AU, enstatite chondrites at around 2.4 AU, and carbonaceous chondrites at heliocentric distances larger than 3.0 AU. From the comparison of carbon and nitrogen contents in evaporation residues of interstellar organic analogs with those in carbonaceous chondrites, it is concluded that the C and N contents in carbonaceous chondrites cannot be explained by the heating of interstellar organic dusts before accretion to parent bodies.
Spin-orbit angles: A probe to evolution

Abstract We will present our campaign to estimate the projected spin-orbit angle for transiting hot Jupiters, obtained via observations of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. Combining our results to those of other teams we show what the current distribution in projected spin-orbit angle is, quickly reminding what interpretation we make of it. Finally we will show early results from a campaign that we initiated, surveying the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect on transiting SB1 intended to provide a comparison sample to the transiting planet's results.
The importance of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria to increase air pollution tolerance index (APTI) in the plants of green belt to control dust hazards

Dust causes adverse effects on the physiological and biochemical characteristics of plants and limits their use in the development of the green belt. Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) is an important tool to screen out plants, based on their tolerance or sensitivity level to different air pollutants. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two plant growth-promoting bacterial strains (Zhihengliuella halotolerans SB and Bacillus pumilus HR) and their combination as a biological solution on APTI of three desert plant species of Seidlitzia rosmarinus, Haloxylon aphyllum and Nitraria schoberi under dust stress (0 and 1.5 g m-2 30 days-1). Dust caused a significant decrease of 21% and 19%, respectively, in the total chlorophyll of N. schoberi and S. rosmarinus, an 8% decrease in leaf relative water content, a 7% decrease in the APTI of N. schoberi, and a decrease of 26 and 17% in protein content of H. aphyllum and N. schoberi, respectively. However, Z. halotolerans SB increased the amount of total chlorophyll in H. aphyllum and S. rosmarinus by 236% and 21%, respectively, and the amount of ascorbic acid by 75% and 67% in H. aphyllum and N. schoberi, respectively. B. pumilus HR also increased the leaf relative water content in H. aphyllum and N. schoberi by 10% and 15%, respectively. The inoculation with B. pumilus HR, Z. halotolerans SB and the combination of these two isolates decreased the activity of peroxidase by 70%, 51%, and 36%, respectively, in N. schoberi, and 62%, 89%, and 25% in S. rosmarinus, respectively. These bacterial strains also increased the concentration of protein in all three desert plants. Under dust stress, H. aphyllum had a higher APTI than the other two species. Z. halotolerans SB, which had been isolated from S. rosmarinus, was more effective than B. pumilus HR in alleviating the effects of dust stress on this plant. Therefore, it was concluded that plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria can be effective at improving the mechanisms of plant tolerance to air pollution in the green belt.
Gut Microbes Meet Machine Learning: The Next Step towards Advancing Our Understanding of the Gut Microbiome in Health and Disease

The human gut microbiome plays a crucial role in human health and has been a focus of increasing research in recent years. Omics-based methods, such as metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics, are commonly used to study the gut microbiome because they provide high-throughput and high-resolution data. The vast amount of data generated by these methods has led to the development of computational methods for data processing and analysis, with machine learning becoming a powerful and widely used tool in this field. Despite the promising results of machine learning-based approaches for analyzing the association between microbiota and disease, there are several unmet challenges. Small sample sizes, disproportionate label distribution, inconsistent experimental protocols, or a lack of access to relevant metadata can all contribute to a lack of reproducibility and translational application into everyday clinical practice. These pitfalls can lead to false models, resulting in misinterpretation biases for microbe–disease correlations. Recent efforts to address these challenges include the construction of human gut microbiota data repositories, improved data transparency guidelines, and more accessible machine learning frameworks; implementation of these efforts has facilitated a shift in the field from observational association studies to experimental causal inference and clinical intervention.
Rate-independent Damage Processes in Nonlinearly Elastic Materials

This thesis is devoted to the analytical study of rate-independent damage and delamination processes in physically nonlinearly elastic materials. The analysis is done using their socalled energetic formulation, which characterizes the processes by an energy functional E and a dissipation potential R. The first comprises the stored elastic energy and the amount of energy generated by the external loadings. The dissipation potential describes the amount of energy dissipated when changing from a damage stage to a more proceeded one. The notion of solution in the framework of the energetic formulation is the so-called energetic solution which is defined by satisfying two conditions given in terms of E and R, namely the global stability condition and the global energy balance. The damage of a body Ω ⊂ R is modelled by the tools of continuum damage mechanics. Similarly to the treatment of plasticity an inner variable, the so-called damage variable z : [0, T ]×Ω → [0, 1] is incorporated into the constitutive law, where it reflects the changes of the elastic behavior due to the increase of damage. The delamination of a compound along an interface can be described analogously. The main results of this thesis are the following: • Existence of energetic solutions for partial, isotropic damage: The existence is analyzed both at small and finite strains. The results obtained here are a generalization of those in [MR06], where the existence of energetic solutions was proven under the assumption z ∈ W (Ω) with r > d. Using a new technique for the construction of joint recovery sequences it is possible to extend this existence result to all r ∈ (1,∞). • A delamination model as the Γ-limit of partial, isotropic damage models: For the limit passage a three-specimen-sandwich-structure is considered, where the middle constituent experiences partial damage. As the thickness of this middle layer tends to zero the interface between the two other components is formed, where delamination may occur. The limit model correctly captures the transmission conditions in nondelaminated regions of the interface as well as the noninterpenetration conditions at the crack lips. • Results on the temporal regularity of energetic solutions: These results state a generalization of those in [MT04] which ensure the temporal Lipschitz continuity of energetic solutions in the case of uniformly convex energy functionals. In the present work it is shown that nonquadratic energy functionals may satisfy more general uniform convexity inequalities as the one assumed in [MT04] and that these inequalities allow it to prove the temporal Hölder continuity of energetic solutions. Moreover it is explained how to improve the temporal regularity by an effective use of the underlying state spaces.
Electrocardiogram Heartbeat Classification for Arrhythmias and Myocardial Infarction

An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a basic and quick test for evaluating cardiac disorders and is crucial for remote patient monitoring equipment. An accurate ECG signal classification is critical for real-time measurement, analysis, archiving, and transmission of clinical data. Numerous studies have focused on accurate heartbeat classification, and deep neural networks have been suggested for better accuracy and simplicity. We investigated a new model for ECG heartbeat classification and found that it surpasses state-of-the-art models, achieving remarkable accuracy scores of 98.5% on the Physionet MIT-BIH dataset and 98.28% on the PTB database. Furthermore, our model achieves an impressive F1-score of approximately 86.71%, outperforming other models, such as MINA, CRNN, and EXpertRF on the PhysioNet Challenge 2017 dataset.
Administration of Beta-Nerve Growth Factor during the Preovulatory Stage Improves Endocrine and Luteal Function in Dairy Heifers

Simple Summary Certain proteins present in semen regulate the reproductive physiology of females. Beta-nerve growth factor (NGF), which is abundantly expressed in the semen of camelids, has a potent ovulatory and luteotrophic effect in llamas after systemic injection. Here, we investigated the effects of intramuscular NGF during the preovulatory stage on endocrine parameters and pregnancy rates after artificial insemination in dairy heifers. Heifers injected with NGF showed enhancement of hormones related to ovulation and gestation maintenance. We also detected the enhancement of genes related to uterine receptivity and higher pregnancy rates. We conclude that the improvement in reproductive hormones related to gestation is possibly linked to the higher pregnancy rate detected here. More research is needed to ensure the NGF effects remain on commercial exploitation farms. Abstract The neurotrophin beta-nerve growth factor (NGF), which is present in the semen of different mammals, elicits potent ovulatory and luteotrophic actions in llamas following systemic administration. Here, we determine if purified NGF given intramuscularly (IM) during the preovulatory stage affects the corpus luteum (CL), hormone production, endometrial gene expression, and pregnancy rate of dairy heifers. Holstein-Friesian heifers were estrus-synchronized using estradiol benzoate (EB) plus an intravaginal progesterone (P4) device (DIB). After eight days, the device was removed and cloprostenol was given IM; the next day (day 9), heifers received EB IM plus one of the following: (i) 1 mg of NGF (NGF D9 group), (ii) 1 mg of NGF 32 h after EB (NGF D10 group), or (iii) phosphate buffer saline (control group). To measure pregnancy rates, heifers were treated similarly, then artificially inseminated with sexed semen 48–52 h after DIB removal, then an ultrasound was conducted 30 days after insemination. The females given NGF along with EB (NGF D9) showed significantly higher luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations, larger CL vascular areas, and higher plasma P4 concentrations than the NGF D10 and control animals. Downregulation of the P4 receptor (PGR), and upregulation of both lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and Solute Carrier Family 6 member 14 (SLC6A14) endometrial genes, were detected in NGF D9 heifers. Furthermore, these heifers had a 10% higher pregnancy rate than the control group. We conclude that the higher P4 output, in response to the early NGF administration, led to the enhanced gene expression of transcripts related to uterine receptivity that may result in enhanced pregnancy rates.
Approximate Riemann Solver for the Electronic M1 Model Without Electric Field in the Diffusive Limit

ABSTRACT This work is devoted to the derivation of an approximate Riemannsolver for the electronic M1 model without electric field in the diffusive regime. The derivation of the scheme is based on an approximate Riemann solver, where the intermediate states are chosen consistent with the integral form of the approximate Riemann solver. This choice can be modified to enable the derivation of a numerical scheme which satisfies the admissible conditions and enjoys asymptotic-preserving properties recovering the correct diffusion equation. Numerical tests cases are presented and the asymptotic-preserving scheme is compared to the classical HLL (Harten et al., 1983) scheme usually used for the electronic M1 model.
Unitary input DEA model to identify beef cattle production systems typologies

The cow-calf beef production sector in Brazil has a wide variety of operating systems. This suggests the identification and the characterization of homogeneous regions of production, with consequent implementation of actions to achieve its sustainability. In this paper we attempted to measure the performance of 21 livestock modal production systems, in their cow-calf phase. We measured the performance of these systems, considering husbandry and production variables. The proposed approach is based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). We used unitary input DEA model, with apparent input orientation, together with the efficiency measurements generated by the inverted DEA frontier. We identified five modal production systems typologies, using the isoefficiency layers approach. The results showed that the knowledge and the processes management are the most important factors for improving the efficiency of beef cattle production systems.
Effects of Vanadium Microalloying and Intercritical Annealing on Yield Strength–Ductility Trade-Offs of Medium-Manganese Steels

In this paper, we investigate the effects of vanadium on the strength and ductility of medium-manganese steels by analyzing the microstructural evolution and strain hardening rates and performing quantitative calculations. Two significantly different contents of vanadium, 0.05 and 0.5 wt. %, were independently added to model steel (0.12C-10Mn) and annealed at different intercritical temperatures. The results show that higher vanadium addition increases the yield strength but decreases the ductility. The maximum yield strength can increase from 849 MPa to 1063 MPa at low temperatures. The model calculations reveal that this is due to a precipitation strengthening increment of up to 148 MPa and a dislocation strengthening increment of 50 MPa caused by a higher quantity of V4C3 precipitates. However, the high density of vanadium carbides leads them to easily segregate at grain boundaries or phase interfaces, which prevents strain from uniformly distributing throughout the phases. This results in stress concentrations which cause a high strain hardening rate in the early stages of loading and a delayed transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) effect. Additionally, the precipitates decrease the austenite proportion and its carbon concentrations, rendering the TRIP effect unsustainable. Accordingly, the ductility of high vanadium steels is relatively low.
Be Quiet! Effects of Competing Speakers and Individual Characteristics on Listening Comprehension for Primary School Students

Students learn in noisy classrooms, where the main sources of noise are their own voices. In this sound environment, students are not equally at risk from background noise interference during lessons, due to the moderation effect of the individual characteristics on the listening conditions. This study investigates the effect of the number of competing speakers on listening comprehension and whether this is modulated by selective attention skills, working memory, and noise sensitivity. Seventy-one primary school students aged 10 to 13 years completed a sentence comprehension task in three listening conditions: quiet, two competing speakers, and four competing speakers. Outcome measures were accuracy, listening effort (response times and self-reported), motivation, and confidence in completing the task. Individual characteristics were assessed in quiet. Results showed that the number of competing speakers has no direct effects on the task, whilst the individual characteristics were found to moderate the effect of the listening conditions. Selective attention moderated the effects on accuracy and response times, working memory on motivation, and noise sensitivity on both perceived effort and confidence. Students with low cognitive abilities and high noise sensitivity were found to be particularly at risk in the condition with two competing speakers.
The Estimation of Dynamic Bivariate Mixture Models

Watanabe estimated the dynamic bivariate mixture models introduced by Tauchen and Pitts and modified by Andersen using a Bayesian method via Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. Based on a maximum likelihood method via efficient importance sampling, Liesenfeld and Richard obtained estimates that are significantly different from those of Watanabe. This note corrects the error in the multimove sampler used by Watanabe and reproduces all analyses in the work of Watanabe using a corrected multimove sampler. The estimates using the correct multimove sampler are found to be close to those obtained by Liesenfeld and Richard.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease: An omics study

Pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease (PAH-CHD) is a severely progressive condition with uncertain physiological course. Hence, it has become increasingly relevant to clarify the specific mechanisms of molecular modification, which is crucial to identify more treatment strategies. With the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing, omics technology gives access to massive experimental data and advanced techniques for systems biology, permitting comprehensive assessment of disease occurrence and progression. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the study of PAH-CHD and omics. To provide a comprehensive description and promote further in-depth investigation of PAH-CHD, this review attempts to summarize the latest developments in genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and multi-omics integration.
News media exposure and life satisfaction in the COVID-19 pandemic: a moderated mediation model of COVID-19 fear and worries and gender

BACKGROUND Research has found that news media exposure may have both positive and negative consequences for well-being in times of crisis. However, the internal mechanisms underlying that relationship need further investigation. The purpose of the research presented in the paper was to explore the role of COVID-19 fear and worries and users’ gender in the relationship between news media exposure and life satisfaction. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE Three hundred seventy-one media users aged 19 to 65 (M = 28.88, SD = 10.25) were surveyed with news media exposure, COVID-19 fear and worries, and life satisfaction scales. Correlation analyses and moderated mediation analyses were performed. RESULTS The study demonstrated a significant positive association between news media exposure and life satisfaction, and an indirect effect of news exposure on life satisfaction via COVID-19 fear moderated by gender: elevated COVID-19 fear decreases the positive association between news exposure and life satisfaction, and this effect is stronger for women. CONCLUSIONS The present study expands our understanding of the role that news media can play in shaping the user’s well-being in a time of a health crisis. It demonstrates that the effects of exposure to news media during a crisis are twofold. On the one hand, the use of news media is associated with a more positive evaluation of one’s life, which may indicate that media use is a way to cope with a crisis. On the other hand, frequent use of news media leads to an elevated level of fear related to COVID-19, which, in turn, lowers the user’s well-being.