Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epstein–Barr Virus Epithelial Cancers—A Comprehensive Understanding to Drive Novel Therapies

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous oncovirus associated with specific epithelial and lymphoid cancers. Among the epithelial cancers, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC), and EBV-associated gastric cancers (EBVaGC) are the most common. The role of EBV in the pathogenesis of NPC and in the modulation of its tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) has been increasingly well described. Much less is known about the pathogenesis and tumour–microenvironment interactions in other EBV-associated epithelial cancers. Despite the expression of EBV-related viral oncoproteins and a generally immune-inflamed cancer subtype, EBV-associated epithelial cancers have limited systemic therapeutic options beyond conventional chemotherapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are effective only in a minority of these patients and even less efficacious with molecular targeting drugs. Here, we examine the key similarities and differences of NPC, LELC, and EBVaGC and comprehensively describe the clinical, pathological, and molecular characteristics of these cancers. A deeper comparative understanding of these EBV-driven cancers can potentially uncover targets in the tumour, TIME, and stroma, which may guide future drug development and cast light on resistance to immunotherapy.
Optical Coherence Tomography to Assess Neurodegeneration in Phenylalanine Hydroxylase Deficiency

In phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency, an easily feasible method to access the progression of neurodegeneration is warranted to contribute to current discussions on treatment indications and targets. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether optical coherence tomography (OCT) measures as markers of neurodegeneration differ between patients with PAH deficiency and healthy controls (HCs) according to phenotype and metabolic control. In this single-center cross-sectional study, 92 patients with different phenotypes of PAH deficiency [PAH deficiency not requiring treatment, early treated phenylketonuria (ETPKU), and late-diagnosed phenylketonuria (PKU)] compared with 76 HCs were examined using spectral-domain OCT. Indices of phenylalanine elevation and variability were correlated with OCT parameters. Late-diagnosed PKU patients showed reduced peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness and combined ganglion cell and inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) volume. Adult ETPKU patients were found to have lower GCIPL volume (p = 0.016), which correlated with the indices of phenylalanine control. In pediatric ETPKU patients with poor metabolic control, pRNFL was significantly reduced (p = 0.004). Patients with PAH deficiency not requiring treatment did not exhibit retinal degeneration. Inner nuclear layer (INL) was significantly increased in the pediatric ETPKU patients, driven by those with current poor metabolic control (p = 0.006). Our data provide evidence of retinal neuroaxonal degeneration and INL swelling, depending on the phenotype, current age, and metabolic control. These findings suggest that OCT is suitable to investigate neurodegeneration in PKU and we propose OCT as a sensitive, reliable, safe, low-burden, and low-cost examination for future multicenter studies.
Phasor Histone FLIM-FRET Microscopy Maps Nuclear-Wide Nanoscale Chromatin Architecture With Respect to Genetically Induced DNA Double-Strand Breaks

A DNA double-strand break (DSB) takes place in the context of chromatin, and there is increasing evidence for chromatin structure to play a functional role in DSB signaling and repair. Thus, there is an emerging need for quantitative microscopy methods that can directly measure chromatin network architecture and detect changes in this structural framework upon DSB induction within an intact nucleus. To address this demand, here we present the phasor approach to fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between fluorescently labeled histones in the DSB inducible via AsiSI cell system (DIvA), which has sufficient spatial resolution to map nuclear-wide chromatin compaction at the level of nucleosome proximity with respect to multiple site-specific DSBs. We also demonstrate that when phasor histone FLIM-FRET is coupled with immunofluorescence, this technology has the unique advantage of enabling exploration of any heterogeneity that exists in chromatin structure at the spatially distinct and genetically induced DSBs.
MEASURING DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF HARD REDWINTER WHEAT FROM 1 TO 350 MHZ WITH A FLOW-THROUGH COAXIAL SAMPLE HOLDER

A system for measuring the dielectric properties of cereal grains from 1 to 350 MHz with a coaxial sample holder is presented. Several polar alcohols were used to calibrate and verify permittivity measurements obtained with a signal-flow graph model from the full two-port S-parameter measurements. At the lowest frequencies (1-25 MHz), where the phase measurements are less accurate, a lumped parameter model was used for the dielectric loss factor measurements. The system was calibrated with measurements on air and decanol and verified with measurements on octanol, hexanol, and pentanol. The standard error for the polar alcohols used for verification was 2.3% for the dielectric constant and 7.6% for the dielectric loss factor. Although measurements were taken on static samples, the sample holder is designed to accommodate flowing grain. Dielectric properties measurements at 25°C were taken on four hard red winter wheat cultivars ranging in moisture content from about 9% to 21% with bulk densities varying from 0.66 to 0.83 g/cm3. Most of the data agreed with measurements reported in the literature.
Influence of a Post-dam Sediment Pulse and Post-fire Debris Flows on Steelhead Spawning Gravel in the Carmel River, California

Spawning gravel scarcity is a limiting factor for successful recovery of federally-threatened anadromous fish like steelhead of central California. A BACI-experimental design using bed particle counts from 2013 through 2021 shows that spawning-sized gravel (32–90 mm) diminished downstream of the former San Clemente Dam site in 2017, following dam removal in 2015. High flows in 2017 transported a pulse of sand and fine-gravel that filled pools and runs throughout the river below the dam. The bed material in the 3 km closest to the dam remained too coarse for redds in riffles and too fine in pools and runs. Time-series bathymetric data of the Los Padres Dam reservoir located in the upper Carmel watershed shows that nearly all bed material (including spawning gravel) in the upper Carmel River watershed was recruited during wet winters that immediately followed expansive wildfires. We studied that effect in detail following the Carmel Fire of August 2020, which preconditioned the slopes adjacent to the Carmel River for debris flows. Our analysis of several fire-mediated debris flows in 2021 show that they contained virtually no mud and held approximately 45% spawning-sized gravel. Although the debris flows contained abundant spawning gravel, and several flow snouts terminated in the Carmel River, the material was dispersed downstream rather than forming bars and patches that could be used for steelhead nest building. The generally small volume of material in the flows relative to the size of the river channel and impediments to debris flow runout limited the contribution of spawning-size gravel to the river.
Single-Cell RNA Sequencing of the Rat Carotid Arteries Uncovers Potential Cellular Targets of Neointimal Hyperplasia

Aims: In-stent restenosis (ISR) remains an Achilles heel of drug-eluting stents despite technical advances in devices and procedural techniques. Neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) is the most important pathophysiological process of ISR. The present study mapped normal arteries and stenotic arteries to uncover potential cellular targets of neointimal hyperplasia. Methods and Results: By comparing the left (control) and right (balloon injury) carotid arteries of rats, we mapped 11 clusters in normal arteries and 11 mutual clusters in both the control and experimental groups. Different clusters were categorized into 6 cell types, including vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), fibroblasts, endothelial cells (ECs), macrophages, unknown cells and others. An abnormal cell type expressing both VSMC and fibroblast markers at the same time was termed a transitional cell via pseudotime analysis. Due to the high proportion of VSMCs, we divided them into 6 clusters and analyzed their relationship with VSMC phenotype switching. Moreover, N-myristoyltransferase 1 (NMT1) was verified as a credible VSMC synthetic phenotype marker. Finally, we proposed several novel target genes by disease susceptibility gene analysis, such as Cyp7a1 and Cdk4, which should be validated in future studies. Conclusion: Maps of the heterogeneous cellular landscape in the carotid artery were defined by single-cell RNA sequencing and revealed several cell types with their internal relations in the ISR model. This study highlights the crucial role of VSMC phenotype switching in the progression of neointimal hyperplasia and provides clues regarding the underlying mechanism of NIH.
MILAD: Robust Anomaly Detection for Electric Vehicles with Label Noise

One of the bottlenecks restricting the development of electric vehicle industry is the safety problem. Although numerous of anomaly detection algorithms for electric vehicles have been proposed, most of them may perform poorly due to the complexity and unpredictability of real scenes. We consider that there may be a certain degree of potential safety hazard in the battery system of electric vehicles before, during and after the process of faults in the real scenes, that is, label noise. In order to solve this problem, we propose a Multi-Instance Learning based Anomaly Detection (MILAD) framework, to perform anomaly detection for electric vehicles with label noise problem. Extensive cross validation experiments fully verify that the framework can effectively detect the existence of abnormal conditions in the presence of label noise in multivariate time series data.
Piezoelectric ceramic assembly tubes for torsional actuators

The efforts described here are intended to provide a basis for the utilization of novel piezoelectric actuators in smart materials and structures. The actuator design developed in this study is a segmented, piezoelectric tube, with the individual segments driven in a d15 shear mode. The PZT-5A tubes were cut longitudinally in to an even number of equal slender segments. These slender segments were poled individually along their length using a continuous poling technique developed at NRL. The polarization of the poled segments alternates in direction between adjacent segments. The segments were reassembled with a conductive epoxy so that it serves as both joint and electrode. The assembled actuator tubes were evaluated by applying electric field normal to the polarization direction of the segments, demonstrating proof of concept. These solid state prototype devices were driven to precise angular displacement and torque output. Reliability test, including both fatigue and mechanical loading of the device, were conducted. In conjunction with this effort, numerical computation analyses were performed with respect to structural integrity versus segment joint thickness, and the relative effect of cylindrical versus polygonal configurations. These studies facilitated the successful production of prototypes. Projected actuator outputs based on electromechanical test results are also discussed in terms of requirements for noise and vibration control of helicopter rotor blades.
Gender stereotypes among women engineering and technology students in the UK: lessons from career choice narratives

In the UK, women remain under-represented in engineering and technology (E&T). Research has, therefore, investigated barriers and solutions to women's recruitment, retention and progression. Recruitment into the sector may be supported by exploring the career decisions of women and men who have chosen to study E&T. Triangulating quantitative and qualitative data from E&T students at a UK university, this paper examines the gendered nature of career choice narratives. It finds that women often maintain contradictory views; upholding gendered stereotypes about women's suitability for the so-called masculine work, yet also subscribing to ideals that the sector is accessible to all who wish to work in it. This is explained using an individualist framework in which women construct an autonomous sense of self, yet are also shaped by a gendered self. Women's discourse around career choice, therefore, reveals the problematic nature of gender norms for achieving gender equity in E&T.
Early Life Painful Procedures: Long-Term Consequences and Implications for Farm Animal Welfare

Farm animals routinely undergo painful husbandry procedures early in life, including disbudding and castration in calves and goat kids, tail docking and castration in piglets and lambs, and beak trimming in chicks. In rodents, inflammatory events soon after birth, when physiological systems are developing and sensitive to perturbation, can profoundly alter phenotypic outcomes later in life. This review summarizes the current state of research on long-term phenotypic consequences of neonatal painful procedures in rodents and farm animals, and discusses the implications for farm animal welfare. Rodents exposed to early life inflammation show a hypo-/hyper-responsive profile to pain-, fear-, and anxiety-inducing stimuli, manifesting as an initial attenuation in responses that transitions into hyperresponsivity with increasing age or cumulative stress. Neonatal inflammation also predisposes rodents to cognitive, social, and reproductive deficits, and there is some evidence that adverse effects may be passed to offspring. The outcomes of neonatal inflammation are modulated by injury etiology, age at the time of injury and time of testing, sex, pain management, and rearing environment. Equivalent research examining long-term phenotypic consequences of early life painful procedures in farm animals is greatly lacking, despite obvious implications for welfare and performance. Improved understanding of how these procedures shape phenotypes will inform efforts to mitigate negative outcomes through reduction, replacement, and refinement of current practices.
Cultural Management of Terror and Worry During the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Religiosity and a Dream of Human Solidarity Help the Polish People Cope

The COVID-19 pandemic, which involves the threat of contracting a potentially fatal disease, can be understood as a source of terror. According to terror management theory, people shield themselves from terror by adopting culturally specific worldviews and protecting self-esteem. The study investigates the protective role of worldviews that are culturally specific to Poles: religiosity and social solidarity. The hypothesis was that Poles who tend to worry, entertain these worldviews and are more likely to maintain high self-esteem and concentrate on the current moment (carpe diem), which theoretically allows them to reduce future-related anxiety. Path analysis confirmed that self-esteem, the centrality of religiosity, and expectation of solidarity due to the COVID-19 pandemic mediate the relationship between the worry trait and carpe diem.
Epidemiology, Clinical Features, and Prescribing Patterns of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Taiwan

Background: Understanding the prescribing patterns could better inform irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) management and health policy. However, there is no study on prescribing patterns of IBS in Taiwan. This study was conducted to evaluate the epidemiology, clinical features, and prescribing patterns of IBS in Taiwan. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study was performed by retrieving claim data from National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) between 2011 and 2018 in Taiwan. Patients who were diagnosed with IBS during 2012–2018 and more than 20 years old were included. The annual incidence and prevalence of IBS were estimated. The characteristics and prescribing pattern were evaluated among IBS population. The population with IBS were followed from index date until 1 year after or death. Results: A total of 1691596 patients diagnosed with IBS were identified from 2012 to 2018. The average annual incidence and prevalence of IBS in Taiwan were calculated as 106.54 and 181.75 per 10,000 population. The incidence and prevalence showed a decreasing trend from 2012 to 2018. Hypertension, dyslipidemia, chronic liver disease, peptic ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), anxiety, and sleep disorder were the prevalent comorbidities in IBS population. At 1 year after IBS diagnosis, the rates of peptic ulcer and GERD; the utilizations of abdominal ultrasonography, upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, and lower GI endoscopy; the prescribing rate of propulsives, simethicone, antacids, H2-blockers, and proton pump inhibitors significantly increased. Approximately 70% of participants received IBS-related treatment. Antispasmodics was the most frequently prescribed medication class, followed by laxatives and antidiarrheals. Only 48.58% of patients made return visit for IBS at 1 year after IBS diagnosis. Consequently, the proportion of consultation for IBS and the prescribing rates of all medications were decreased considerably after IBS diagnosis. Conclusion: The incidence and prevalence of IBS showed a decreasing trend from 2012 to 2018. More than two-third of patients received treatment for IBS. Antispasmodics was widely used for IBS management. However, patients may have a short symptom duration or receive a short course of IBS-related treatment in Taiwan. These findings provided the whole picture of the epidemiology and prescribing pattern of the IBS population in Taiwan.
Job Demands and Resources, Burnout, and Psychological Distress of Social Workers in China: Moderation Effects of Gender and Age

Social work is a fast-growing profession in China, with the workforce numbering approximately 1.2 million in 2018. Studies have shown, however, that social workers in China experience high burnout rates and significant psychological distress. Analyzing data collected from 897 social workers in Chengdu, China, we applied the job demands and resources (JD-R) theory to examine the effects of JD-R on burnout and psychological distress in social workers, as well as whether these relations are moderated by gender and age. Results supported a dual process by which JD-R affected both social workers’ burnout and psychological distress through health impairment and motivation processes. Job demands (JD) were associated with high burnout and psychological distress. Meanwhile, job resources (JR) were associated with reduced burnout and psychological distress. Results indicated that JR had greater effects on burnout and distress than did JD. Women and younger professionals appeared to be affected most by JD and psychological distress. The findings support a need for interventions that buffer the effects of JD-R on burnout and psychological distress in social workers in China, focusing on women and younger professionals.
Retinal Vessel Segmentation Algorithm Based on Residual Convolution Neural Network

Retinal vessels are the only deep micro vessels that can be observed in human body, the accurate identification of which has great significance on the diagnosis of hypertension, diabetes and other diseases. To this end, a retinal vessel segmentation algorithm based on residual convolution neural network is proposed according to the characteristics of the retinal vessels on fundus images. Improved residual attention module and deep supervision module are utilized, in which the low-level and high-level feature graphs are joined to construct the encoder-decoder network structure, and atrous convolution is introduced to the pyramid pooling. The experiments result on the fundus image data set DRIVE and STARE show that this algorithm can obtain complete retinal vessel segmentation as well as connected vessel stems and terminals. The average accuracy on DRIVE and STARE reaches 95.90 and 96.88%, and the average specificity is 98.85 and 97.85%, which shows superior performance compared to other methods. This algorithm is verified feasible and effective for retinal vessel segmentation of fundus images and has the ability to detect more capillaries.
Oral and Gut Microbial Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes Landscape in Health and Disease

Inter-individual variability in the microbial gene complement encoding for carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) can profoundly regulate how the host interacts with diverse carbohydrate sources thereby influencing host health. CAZy-typing, characterizing the microbiota-associated CAZyme-coding genes within a host individual, can be a useful tool to predict carbohydrate pools that the host can metabolize, or identify which CAZyme families are underrepresented requiring supplementation via microbiota transplantation or probiotics. CAZy-typing, moreover, provides a novel framework to search for disease biomarkers. As a proof of concept, we used publicly available metagenomes (935) representing 310 type strain bacterial genomes to establish the link between disease status and CAZymes in the oral and gut microbial ecosystem. The abundance and distribution of 220 recovered CAZyme families in saliva and stool samples from patients with colorectal cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes were compared with healthy subjects. Based on the multivariate discriminant analysis, the disease phenotype did not alter the CAZyme profile suggesting a functional conservation in carbohydrate metabolism in a disease state. When disease and healthy CAZyme profiles were contrasted in differential analysis, CAZyme markers that were underrepresented in type 1 diabetes (15), colorectal cancer (12), and rheumatoid arthritis (5) were identified. Of interest, are the glycosyltransferase which can catalyze the synthesis of glycoconjugates including lipopolysaccharides with the potential to trigger inflammation, a common feature in many diseases. Our analysis has also confirmed the expansive carbohydrate metabolism in the gut as evidenced by the overrepresentation of CAZyme families in the gut compared to the oral site. Nevertheless, each site exhibited specific CAZyme markers. Taken together, our analysis provides an insight into the CAZyme landscape in health and disease and has demonstrated the diversity in carbohydrate metabolism in host-microbiota which can be a sound basis for optimizing the selection of pre, pro, and syn-biotic candidate products.
A spatial density analysis technique for the automatic classification of 4/spl pi/ detector data

In nuclear physics at intermediate energies, the use of multidetector arrays consisting of thousands of detectors is customary. This paper presents a novel approach to the automatic classification of data collected by the 4/spl pi/ detector CHIMERA, constituted by 1192 telescopes of a thin silicon transparent detector coupled to a thick CsI(Tl) scintillator. The method is based on spatial density data processing and produces frequency distributions of the most significant physical parameters. These one-dimensional spectra can be more easily analyzed than the standard two-dimensional scatter plots. With respect to manual or semiautomatic procedures, presently used for data analysis, our method offers the advantages of drastic time reduction and unbiased criteria for cluster identification. The proposed method can be successfully used in both off-line data analysis and multidetector stability control.