Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Damselfishes alleviate the impacts of sediments on host corals

Mutualisms play a critical role in ecological communities; however, the importance and prevalence of mutualistic associations can be modified by external stressors. On coral reefs, elevated sediment deposition can be a major stressor reducing the health of corals and reef resilience. Here, we investigated the influence of severe sedimentation on the mutualistic relationship between small damselfishes (Pomacentrus moluccensis and Dascyllus aruanus) and their coral host (Pocillopora damicornis). In an aquarium experiment, corals were exposed to sedimentation rates of approximately 100 mg cm−2 d−1, with and without fishes present, to test whether: (i) fishes influence the accumulation of sediments on coral hosts, and (ii) fishes moderate partial colony mortality and/or coral tissue condition. Colonies with fishes accumulated much less sediment compared with colonies without fishes, and this effect was strongest for colonies with D. aruanus (fivefold less sediment than controls) as opposed to P. moluccensis (twofold less sediment than controls). Colonies with symbiont fishes also had up to 10-fold less sediment-induced partial mortality, as well as higher chlorophyll and protein concentrations. These results demonstrate that fish mutualisms vary in the strength of their benefits, and indicate that some mutualistic or facilitative interactions might become more important for species health and resilience at high-stress levels.
Clinal variation in carapace shape in the South American freshwater crab, Aegla uruguayana (Anomura: Aeglidae)

South America has been influenced by different geoclimatic events ever since its separation from Africa. The inland water fauna has evolved in response to the changing landscape. Currently, there are indications of variations in populations, occurring to different degrees that would indicate a clinal pattern in morphology. Among South America's fauna, the freshwater anomuran, Aegla, is an enigmatic group as a result of its endemicity and is composed of only one genus. Of all the species in this family, Aegla uruguayana has the broadest distribution. Its native habitats have been influenced by several marine transgressions during the Miocene–Quaternary Periods; thus, it is likely that their current distribution has been more recent. Its habitat spreads across a number of isolated basins and sub-basins that display distinct degrees of isolation/connection, making clinal variation patterns in the morphology of this species possible. The present study aimed to evaluate the pattern of carapace shape variation in A. uruguayana and how it relates to the isolation and/or connection of populations from different basins and sub-basins, allowing the determination of any extant clinal patterns. The specimens studied belong to 25 separate populations, representing all areas in which the species currently exists. A total of 523 crabs were analyzed. We identified 13 landmarks and four semi-landmarks in the carapace. The aeglids were divided into seven size intervals to avoid an allometry effect. In each size category, shape relationships analyzed by principal component analysis suggest a geographical pattern corresponding to the distribution of the populations studied. An evaluation of covariation between body shape and geographical coordinates reveals a strong pattern and shows that population distribution had a significant effect on species morphology. Additionally, according to covariance analysis, the variation in shape was not associated with the environmental variables studied. We observed a clinal pattern throughout the species distribution, which could be attributed to genetic drift. It is possible that this process is being amplified by the geographical isolation of the basins, differences in environmental characteristics, and low dispersal ability. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113, 914–930.
Microplastics disrupt hermit crab shell selection

Microplastics (plastics < 5 mm) are a potential threat to marine biodiversity. However, the effects of microplastic pollution on animal behaviour and cognition are poorly understood. We used shell selection in common European hermit crabs (Pagurus bernhardus) as a model to test whether microplastic exposure impacts the essential survival behaviours of contacting, investigating and entering an optimal shell. We kept 64 female hermit crabs in tanks containing either polyethylene spheres (n = 35) or no plastic (n = 29) for 5 days. We then transferred subjects into suboptimal shells and placed them in an observation tank with an optimal alternative shell. Plastic-exposed hermit crabs showed impaired shell selection: they were less likely than controls to contact optimal shells or enter them. They also took longer to contact and enter the optimal shell. Plastic exposure did not affect time spent investigating the optimal shell. These results indicate that microplastics impair cognition (information-gathering and processing), disrupting an essential survival behaviour in hermit crabs.
Pharmacokinetic bases of the hydroxychloroquine response in COVID-19: implications for therapy and prevention

Chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine has recently been the subject of intense debate in regard to its potential antiviral activity against SARS-Cov-2, the etiological agent of COVID-19. Some report possible curative effects, others do not. In order to shed some light on this rather controversial topic, we used mathematical modelling to simulate possible scenarios of response to hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients. Our computer-aided simulations show that hydroxychloroquine may have an impact on the amplitude of the viral load peak but that viral clearance is not significantly accelerated if the drug is not administered early enough (i.e. when viral loads range from 1 to 1,000 copies/mL). Although some authors had used the trough plasma concentrations or the theoretical drug distribution in the lung to model the effect of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19, the theoretical drug response based on the trough whole blood concentrations of the drug agreed well with the results of the clinical trials so far reported. Moreover, the effects of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine could be fully explained when taking into account also the capacity of this drug to raise cell-mediated responses against the productively SARS-Cov-2-infected cells. On the whole, the present study suggests that chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine has a narrow therapeutic window, which overlaps with the highest tolerated doses. These considerations may have implications for development of anti-COVID-19 combination therapies and prevention strategies.
Network-based assessment of HDAC6 activity is highly predictive of pre-clinical and clinical responses to the HDAC6 inhibitor ricolinostat

Despite the anticancer activity of pan-histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, their clinical use has been limited due to toxicity. However, the development of more specific inhibitors that selectively inhibit individual HDACs is emerging as a novel and well-tolerated alternative. Here, we present the results of the first clinical trial evaluating the activity of ricolinostat (the leading HDAC6 inhibitor) in breast cancer (BC) patients. We have developed a computational network-based algorithm to evaluate the activity of the HDAC6 protein, based on the enrichment of its transcriptional targets in differentially expressed genes (HDAC6 score). Through preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies, we confirmed that the HDAC6 score can stratify the sensitivity of BC cells to ricolinostat treatment and may thus have value as a predictive biomarker. Moreover, analysis of ~3,000 primary human breast cancers showed that ~30% of them present high HDAC6 scores. Based on these results, we designed a phase Ib clinical trial to evaluate the activity of ricolinostat plus nab-paclitaxel in metastatic BC patients. Study results showed that the two agents can be safely combined, that clinical activity is identified specifically in patients with HR+/HER2- disease, and that the HDAC6 score was predictive of response. Expansion of our analysis to other tumor types identified multiple cohorts enriched in high HDAC6 score samples. These results suggest that the HDAC6 score may provide an effective, CLIA certified predictive biomarker of ricolinostat sensitivity in multiple human cancers.
Effects of maize and lucerne particle size on ruminal passage rate, chewing activity of cows in midlactation

This study evaluated the effects of maize and lucerne particle size on ruminal passage rate and chewing activity in midlactation cows. Four multiparous Holstein cows with ruminal cannulas were assigned randomly to a 4 × 4 Latin square design. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design; two lucerne particle sizes: 2.54 mm (short) and 6.22 mm (long) were combined with concentrates based on either ground maize (711 μm) or cracked maize (1755 μm). Diets were fed as a total mixed ration with a ratio of concentrate to forage of 39:61. No signifi cant difference in dry matter intake, ruminal passage rate and chewing activity between ground maize and cracked maize were observed. Ruminal liquid passage rate increased from 11.3 to 12.1%/h (P=0.02) and ruminal solids passage rate tended to decrease from 6.4 and 6.0%/h when short lucerne was fed to cows. Cows fed long lucerne hay spent more time ruminating compared to cows fed short lucerne hay (P<0.001). Total time spent on chewing by cows increased from 505 to 574 min/d (P=0.002) for short lucerne and long lucerne, respectively.
Polyamines Participate in Mycorrhizal and Root Development of Citrus (Citrus tangerine) Seedlings

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of difluoromethylornithine (DFMO, an irreversible inhibitor of putrescine (Put) formation) alone or combination with Put on mycorrhizal and root development of Citrus tangerine seedlings inoculated with Glomus mosseae. DFMO significantly inhibited plant growth (plant height, stem diameter, leaf number per plant, shoot and root dry weights), mycorrhizal (root colonization and the number of entry point, vesicle and arbuscule) and root development (total length, total projected area, total surface area and total volume), chlorophyll content, photosynthesis (photosynthetic rates, transpiration rates and stomatal conductance) and soluble protein, whereas the inhibition was partly or completely reversed by Put application to DFMO treatment. DFMO applied to mycorrhizal seedlings showed the decrease of P contents of leaves and roots, the decrease of acid, neutral and alkaline phosphatase activities of rhizosphere and the increase of available P content of rhizosphere, whereas application of exogenous Put to DFMO treatment partly unchained the effects of DFMO. DFMO strongly inhibited the allocation of glucose to root but stimulated the allocation of sucrose to root and guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD) activity of root, but these effects were reversed to a certain extent when Put was included in DFMO treatment. This study thus indicates that endogenous polyamines regulate mycorrhizal development of citrus seedlings through altering the allocation of carbohydrates to root, and also participate in root development, which is negatively related to root G-POD and may be due to inducing new protein synthesis.
Instantaneous R calculation for COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil

COVID-19 pandemic represents a major challenge to health systems of all countries. Brazilian regions habe been showing marked di[ff]erences in onset and number of cases. Health authorities instituted widespread social distancing and lockdown measures but their implementation has also varied. The authors used data on con[fi]rmed cases of COVID-19 in Brazil and its states to calculate the value of instantaneous reproduction number at these regions. The results show a reduction of instantaneous reproduction number with time, probably due to social distancing measures put in place in the last weeks by brazillian authorities. It seems logical to maintain restrictions to social contact until the epidemic peak has occurred in Brazil.
COVID-19 containment policies through time may cost more lives at metapopulation level

The rapid and pandemic spread of COVID-19 has led to unprecedented containment policies in response to overloaded health care systems. Disease mitigation strategies require informed decision-making to ensure a balance between the protection of the vulnerable from disease and the maintenance of global economies. We show that temporally restricted containment efforts, that have the potential to flatten epidemic curves, can result in wider disease spread and larger epidemic sizes in metapopulations. Longer-term rewiring of metapopulation networks or the enforcement of feasible long-term measures that decrease disease transmissions appear to be more efficient than temporarily restricted intensive mitigation strategies (e.g. short-term mass quarantine). Our results may inform balanced containment strategies for short-term disease spread mitigation in response to overloaded health care systems and longer-term epidemiological sizes.
LONG-TERM MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE HUMAN CORNEA LAYERS

Purpose: To describe and compare the morphology of the corneal layers from adults and aging individuals. Methods: The study was conducted with normal corneas (n = 15) of predominantly male individuals grouped into two classes (group I: < 40 years; group II: [≥] 40 years). To describe and to compare the corneas, the thickness of the layers, the integrity of the stromal lamellae and the endothelial lesions, SEM images of the central and peripheral regions of each cornea were quantified. Results: The total thickness of the cornea was largest in the periphery only for group I. The Bowman, Descemet and endothelium layers of group I were thicker at the periphery of the corneas than their respective central regions, while for group II, this difference was observed only in the Bowman layer. Comparison between groups showed that the Bowman layer was thicker (central region), while the Descemet membrane and endothelium were thinner in group II; A greater number of endothelial lesions in both regions of the corneas was observed in group II, but no difference in the total number of interlamellar slits. Conclusions: The morphological changes observed in group II could be related to the reduction in the pool of stem cell of limbus and, despite the corneas being from healthy individuals, these changes could compromise the success of transplantation. Our results point to an update of corneal uptake protocols and they may aid in the refractive surgeries interventions in individuals from different age groups.
Assessing the community risk perception toward COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea: evidence from Google and NAVER relative search volume

This study aimed to explore the patterns of community health risk perception of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in South Korea using Internet search data. Google and NAVER relative search volume data were collected using COVID-19-related terms in Korean language. Online queries were compared with the number of new COVID-19 cases and tests. Time series trends and Spearmans rank correlation coefficients showed that the number of COVID-19-related queries in South Korea increased during the local and international events; higher in women, certain age groups; and higher in affected areas, which represented the community health risk perception. Greater correlations were found in mobile searches compared to that of desktop searches, indicating the changing behavior in searching health online information. The use of both Google and NAVER RSV to explore the patterns of community health risk perception could be beneficial for targeting risk communication in several perspectives including time, population characteristics, and location.
The values of coagulation function in COVID-19 patients

Objective: To investigate the blood coagulation function in COVID-19 patients, and the correlation between coagulopathy and disease severity. Methods: We retrospectively collected 147 clinically diagnosed COVID-19 patients at Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital of Hubei, China. We analyzed the coagulation function in COVID-19 patients through the data including thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), 2-plasmininhibitor-plasmin Complex (PIC), thrombomodulin (TM), t-PA/PAI-1 Complex (t-PAIC), prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB), thrombin time (TT), D-Dimer (DD), and platelet (PLT). Result: The levels of TAT, PIC, TM, t-PAIC, PT, INR, FIB, and DD in COVID-19 patients were higher than health controls (p<0.05), and also higher in the patients with thrombotic disease than without thrombotic disease (p<0.05). What's more, the patients with thrombotic disease had a higher case-fatality (p<0.05). TAT, PIC, TM, t-PAIC, PT, INR, APTT, FIB, DD, and PLT were also found correlated with disease severity. Meanwhile, we found that there were significant difference in TAT, TM, t-PAIC, PT, INR, APTT, DD, and PLT in the death and survival group. Further using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis also found that t-PAIC and DD were independent risk factors for death in patients and are excellent predicting the mortality risk of COVID-19. Conclusion: The coagulation systems in COVID-19 patients are inordinate, and dynamic monitoring of them, might be a key in the control of COVID-19 death.
Predictors of adherence to public health instructions during the COVID-19 pandemic

Importance Identifying risk factors for adherence to public health instructions for the COVID-19 pandemic may be crucial for controlling the rate of transmission and the pandemicprime or minutes health and economic impacts. Objective To determine sociodemographic, health-related, risk-related, and instruction-related factors that predict non-adherence to instructions for the COVID-19 pandemic. Design Crossminussectional survey in Israel collected between March 28 and April 10, 2020. Setting Population-based study. Participants A convenience sample completed an online survey. Exposures Sociodemographic, health-related, risk-related, and instruction-related characteristics of the participants that have been linked to adherence to medical instructions. Main Outcome and Measure Non-adherence to instructions defined by a mean score of less than 4 on a 1 to 5 adherence scale consisting of 19 instruction items. Results Among 654 participants (413 [64.8%] female, age 40.14 [15.23] years), 28.7% were defined as non-adherents. Non-adherence was associated with male gender [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.54, CI 1.03-2.31], having children [aOR = 1.73, 1.13-2.65], smoking [aOR = 2.27, CI 1.42-3.62], high levels of ADHD symptoms [aOR = 1.55, CI 1.07-. 25], high levels of past risk-taking behavior [aOR = 1.41, CI 1.10-1.81], as well as by current high psychological distress [aOR = 1.51, CI 1.14-2.01], low perceived risk of COVID-19 [aOR = 1.52, CI 1.22-1.89], low exposure to the instructions [aOR = 1.45, CI 1.14-1.82], and low perceived efficacy of the instructions [aOR = 1.47, CI 1.16-1.85]. Adjusted OR of age, economic status, physical health status, and exposure to media did not reach the significance level. Conclusions and Relevance People with the above characteristics may have increased risk for non-adherence to public health instructions. There appears to be a need for setting out and communicating instructions to specifically targeted at-risk populations.
Experimental human pneumococcal colonisation in older adults is feasible and safe, not immunogenic

Rationale: Pneumococcal colonisation is key to the pathogenesis of invasive disease, but is also immunogenic in young adults, protecting against re-colonisation. Colonisation is rarely detected in older adults, despite high rates of pneumococcal disease. Objectives: To establish experimental human pneumococcal colonisation in healthy adults aged 50-84 years, to measure the immune response to pneumococcal challenge, and to assess the protective effect of prior colonisation against autologous strain rechallenge. Methods: Sixty-four participants were inoculated with Streptococcus pneumoniae (serotype 6B, 80,000CFU in each nostril). Colonisation was determined by bacterial culture of nasal wash, serum anti-6B capsular IgG responses by ELISA, and anti-protein immune responses by multiplex electrochemiluminescence. Measurements and Main Results: Experimental colonisation was established in 39% of participants (25/64) with no adverse events. Colonisation occurred in 47% (9/19) of participants aged 50-59 compared with 21% (3/14) in those aged 70 years and older. Previous pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination did not protect against colonisation. Colonisation did not confer serotype-specific immune boosting: GMT (95% CI) 2.7ug/mL (1.9-3.8) pre-challenge versus 3.0 (1.9-4.7) four weeks post-colonisation (p = 0.53). Furthermore, pneumococcal challenge without colonisation led to a drop in specific antibody levels from 2.8ug/mL (2.0-3.9) to 2.2ug/mL (1.6-3.0) post-challenge (p = 0.006). Anti-protein antibody levels increased following successful colonisation. Rechallenge with the same strain after a median of 8.5 months (IQR 6.7-10.1) led to recolonisation in 5/16 (31%). Conclusions: In older adults, experimental pneumococcal colonisation is feasible and safe, but demonstrates different immunological outcomes compared with younger adults in previous studies.
Significantly Improved COVID-19 Outcomes in Countries with Higher BCG Vaccination Coverage: A Multivariable Analysis

COVID-19 started in Hubei province in China and has spread to 210 countries within 3 months. The statistic of COVID-19 across the world is reported daily, providing a dynamic perspective for each country. We tested the hypothesis that the vaccination against tuberculosis with BCG correlates with better outcomes for COVID-19 patients. To this end, we combined the information on demography, economy, major chronic diseases, and immunization policies with the COVID-19 outcomes. We filtered out at a fixed date all countries that were below a predetermined value for population size and number of COVID-19 deaths per million (DPM). Altogether, 55 countries, covering 62.9% of the world population, met our criteria and were analyzed. To allow a reliable comparison between countries, each was aligned to a critical alignment threshold date (0.5 DPM). We found that the years of BCG admission are negatively correlated with DPM at varying times post alignment. Results from multivariable regression tests with 22 quantitative properties of each country and its population substantiate the dominant contribution of BCG admission years to the COVID-19 outcomes. Analyzing countries according to an age group partition across several time-points, reveals that the strongest correlation is attributed to the coverage in BCG vaccination of the young population (<25 years), to a lesser degree the middle age group (25-64 years), while BCG coverage status of the elderly (>65 years) was insignificant. More specifically, the signal is attributed to recent immunizations (last 15 years) rather than past policies. We propose that BCG immunization coverage, especially among the most recently vaccinated, may contribute to attenuation of the COVID-19 spread and severity.