Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rural–urban variation in COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Aotearoa New Zealand: Examining the national roll-out

Abstract This study aimed to understand rural–urban differences in the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations during the peak period of the national vaccination roll-out in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). Using a linked national dataset of health service users aged 12+ years and COVID-19 immunization records, age-standardized rates of vaccination uptake were calculated at fortnightly intervals, between June and December 2021, by rurality, ethnicity, and region. Rate ratios were calculated for each rurality category with the most urban areas (U1) used as the reference. Overall, rural vaccination rates lagged behind urban rates, despite early rapid rural uptake. By December 2021, a rural–urban gradient developed, with age-standardized coverage for R3 areas (most rural) at 77%, R2 81%, R1 83%, U2 85%, and U1 (most urban) 89%. Age-based assessments illustrate the rural–urban vaccination uptake gap was widest for those aged 12–44 years, with older people (65+) having broadly consistent levels of uptake regardless of rurality. Variations from national trends are observable by ethnicity. Early in the roll-out, Indigenous Māori residing in R3 areas had a higher uptake than Māori in U1, and Pacific peoples in R1 had a higher uptake than those in U1. The extent of differences in rural–urban vaccine uptake also varied by region.
Arterial desaturation rate does not influence self‐selected knee extension force but alters ventilatory response to progressive hypoxia: A pilot study

The absolute magnitude and rate of arterial desaturation each independently impair whole‐body aerobic exercise. This study examined potential mechanisms underlying the rate‐dependent relationship. Utilizing an exercise protocol involving unilateral, intermittent, isometric knee extensions (UIIKE), we provided sufficient reperfusion time between contractions to reduce the accumulation of intramuscular metabolic by‐products that typically stimulate muscle afferents. The objective was to create a milieu conducive to accentuating any influence of arterial desaturation rate on muscular fatigue. Eight participants completed four UIIKE sessions, performing one 3 s contraction every 30s at a perceived intensity of 50% MVC for 25 min. Participants voluntarily adjusted their force generation to maintain perceptual effort at 50% MVC without feedback. Reductions in inspired oxygen fraction (FIO2) decreased arterial saturation from >98% to 70% with varying rates in three trials: FAST (5.3 ± 1.3 min), MED (11.8 ± 2.7 min), and SLOW (19.9 ± 3.7 min). FIO2 remained at 0.21 during the control trial. Force generation and muscle activation remained at baseline levels throughout UIIKE trials, unaffected by the magnitude or rate of desaturation. Minute ventilation increased with hypoxia (p < 0.05), and faster desaturation rates magnified this response. These findings demonstrate that arterial desaturation magnitude and rate independently affect ventilation, but do not influence fatigue development during UIIKE.
Pasteurized akkermansia muciniphila improves irritable bowel syndrome-like symptoms and related behavioral disorders in mice

ABSTRACT Gut – brain communications disorders in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are associated with intestinal microbiota composition, increased gut permeability, and psychosocial disturbances. Symptoms of IBS are difficult to medicate, and hence much research is being made into alternative approaches. This study assesses the potential of a treatment with pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila for alleviating IBS-like symptoms in two mouse models of IBS with different etiologies. Two clinically relevant animal models were used to mimic IBS-like symptoms in C57BL6/J mice: the neonatal maternal separation (NMS) paradigm and the Citrobacter rodentium infection model. In both models, gut permeability, colonic sensitivity, fecal microbiota composition and colonic IL-22 expression were evaluated. The cognitive performance and emotional state of the animals were also assessed by several tests in the C. rodentium infection model. The neuromodulation ability of pasteurized A. muciniphila was assessed on primary neuronal cells from mice dorsal root ganglia using a ratiometric calcium imaging approach. The administration of pasteurized A. muciniphila significantly reduced colonic hypersensitivity in both IBS mouse models, accompanied by a reinforcement of the intestinal barrier function. Beneficial effects of pasteurized A. muciniphila treatment have also been observed on anxiety-like behavior and memory defects in the C. rodentium infection model. Finally, a neuroinhibitory effect exerted by pasteurized A. muciniphila was observed on neuronal cells stimulated with two algogenic substances such as capsaicin and inflammatory soup. Our findings demonstrate novel anti-hyperalgesic and neuroinhibitory properties of pasteurized A. muciniphila, which therefore may have beneficial effects in relieving pain and anxiety in subjects with IBS.
Snow‐(N)AO relationship revisited over the whole twentieth century

Several studies suggest that the Siberian snow cover in fall is a source of predictability of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) in winter. Although a plausible dynamical mechanism was proposed, the robustness of this relationship was recently challenged. Here we use two atmospheric reanalyses to revisit the snow‐AO relationship and its modulation across the whole twentieth century. While our results support a stratospheric pathway mechanism, they show that the snow‐AO relationship has only emerged in the 1970s and should be rather analyzed as a contrasted multidecadal behavior of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Pacific North America pattern. They confirm that the quasi‐biennial oscillation is a plausible candidate for the modulation of the snow‐(N)AO relationship across the twentieth century, but they further show that this modulation might be a purely stochastic effect. Therefore, they emphasize the limitations of any empirical prediction of the (N)AO only based on snow and/or sea ice predictors.
Transcriptional determinants of lipid mobilization in human adipocytes

Defects in adipocyte lipolysis drive multiple aspects of cardiometabolic disease, but the transcriptional framework controlling this process has not been established. To address this, we performed a targeted perturbation screen in primary human adipocytes. Our analyses identified 37 transcriptional regulators of lipid mobilization, which we classified as (i) transcription factors, (ii) histone chaperones, and (iii) mRNA processing proteins. On the basis of its strong relationship with multiple readouts of lipolysis in patient samples, we performed mechanistic studies on one hit, ZNF189, which encodes the zinc finger protein 189. Using mass spectrometry and chromatin profiling techniques, we show that ZNF189 interacts with the tripartite motif family member TRIM28 and represses the transcription of an adipocyte-specific isoform of phosphodiesterase 1B (PDE1B2). The regulation of lipid mobilization by ZNF189 requires PDE1B2, and the overexpression of PDE1B2 is sufficient to attenuate hormone-stimulated lipolysis. Thus, our work identifies the ZNF189-PDE1B2 axis as a determinant of human adipocyte lipolysis and highlights a link between chromatin architecture and lipid mobilization.
Quasi-Lie bialgebroids, Dirac structures and deformations of Poisson quasi-Nijenhuis manifolds

We show how to deform a Poisson quasi-Nijenhuis manifold by means of a closed 2-form. Then we interpret this procedure in the context of quasi-Lie bialgebroids, as a particular case of the so called twisting of a quasi-Lie bialgebroid. Finally, we frame our result in the setting of Courant algebroids and Dirac structures.
Protective Role of MAVS Signaling for Murine Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Kidney Injury

Abstract Despite treatment advances, acute kidney injury (AKI)–related mortality rates are still high in hospitalized adults, often due to sepsis. Sepsis and AKI could synergistically worsen the outcomes of critically ill patients. TLR4 signaling and mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS) signaling are innate immune responses essential in kidney diseases, but their involvement in sepsis-associated AKI (SA-AKI) remains unclear. We studied the role of MAVS in kidney injury related to the TLR4 signaling pathway using a murine LPS-induced AKI model in wild-type and MAVS-knockout mice. We confirmed the importance of M1 macrophage in SA-AKI through in vivo assessment of inflammatory responses. The TLR4 signaling pathway was upregulated in activated bone marrow–derived macrophages, in which MAVS helped maintain the LPS-suppressed TLR4 mRNA level. MAVS regulated redox homeostasis via NADPH oxidase Nox2 and mitochondrial reverse electron transport in macrophages to alleviate the TLR4 signaling response to LPS. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and AP-1 were key regulators of TLR4 transcription and connected MAVS-dependent reactive oxygen species signaling with the TLR4 pathway. Inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase could partly reduce inflammation in LPS-treated bone marrow–derived macrophages without MAVS. These findings highlight the renoprotective role of MAVS in LPS-induced AKI by regulating reactive oxygen species generation-related genes and maintaining redox balance. Controlling redox homeostasis through MAVS signaling may be a promising therapy for SA-AKI.
Cell type-specific connectome predicts distributed working memory activity in the mouse brain

Recent advances in connectomics and neurophysiology make it possible to probe whole-brain mechanisms of cognition and behavior. We developed a large-scale model of the multiregional mouse brain for a cardinal cognitive function called working memory, the brain’s ability to internally hold and process information without sensory input. The model is built on mesoscopic connectome data for interareal cortical connections and endowed with a macroscopic gradient of measured parvalbumin-expressing interneuron density. We found that working memory coding is distributed yet exhibits modularity; the spatial pattern of mnemonic representation is determined by long-range cell type-specific targeting and density of cell classes. Cell type-specific graph measures predict the activity patterns and a core subnetwork for memory maintenance. The model shows numerous attractor states, which are self-sustained internal states (each engaging a distinct subset of areas). This work provides a framework to interpret large-scale recordings of brain activity during cognition, while highlighting the need for cell type-specific connectomics.
Effect of physiological and pharmacological stress on heart rate, blood pressure, and echocardiographic measurements in healthy Warmblood horses

Abstract Background Echocardiographic measurements are important prognostic indicators but might be influenced by heart rate and blood pressure. This is particularly important when comparing repeated examinations. Hypothesis To determine the effect of physiological stress at mildly increased heart rates and pharmacological challenge using IV administration of N‐butylscopolammonium bromide and metamizol sodium on heart rate, blood pressure, and echocardiographic measurements. Animals Twenty healthy Warmblood horses. Methods Randomized crossover study. Horses were examined echocardiographically by 2‐dimensional, M‐mode, pulsed wave (PW) Doppler, and PW tissue Doppler imaging with simultaneous ECG recording and noninvasive blood pressure measurements during rest, physiological stress, and pharmacological challenge. Cardiac dimensions and functions were measured by a blinded observer. Data were analyzed using repeated‐measures analysis of variance. Results Mean heart rate and arterial blood pressure were significantly higher during physiological stress (46 ± 2 bpm, 93 ± 16 mm Hg) and pharmacological challenge (62 ± 13 bpm, 107 ± 17 mm Hg) compared with rest (34 ± 3 bpm, 86 ± 12 mm Hg; P < .05). Compared with rest, physiological stress resulted in increased left atrial fractional area change (34.3 ± 7.5 vs 27.3 ± 5.1%; P = .01) and left ventricular late diastolic radial wall motion velocity (13 ± 3 vs 10 ± 2 cm/s; P = .01) but had no significant effect on most other echocardiographic variables. Compared with rest, pharmacological challenge led to significantly decreased left atrial and diastolic ventricular dimensions (left ventricular internal diameter: 10.3 ± 0.9 vs 10.7 ± 0.8 cm; P = .01), increased aortic and pulmonary diameters, and ventricular wall thickness. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Physiological stress at mildly increased heart rates significantly enhanced atrial pump function. Larger heart rate and blood pressure increases during pharmacological challenge resulted in altered cardiac dimensions. This should be taken into account when evaluating echocardiographic measurements at increased heart rates.
Comparing Self-Reported Running Distance and Pace With a Commercial Fitness Watch Data: Reliability Study

Background There is substantial evidence exploring the reliability of running distance self-reporting and GPS wearable technology, but there are currently no studies investigating the reliability of participant self-reporting in comparison to GPS wearable technology. There is also a critical sports science and medical research gap due to a paucity of reliability studies assessing self-reported running pace. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of weekly self-reported running distance and pace compared to a commercial GPS fitness watch, stratified by sex and age. These data will give clinicians and sports researchers insights into the reliability of runners’ self-reported pace, which may improve training designs and rehabilitation prescriptions. Methods A prospective study of recreational runners was performed. Weekly running distance and average running pace were captured through self-report and a fitness watch. Baseline characteristics collected included age and sex. Intraclass correlational coefficients were calculated for weekly running distance and running pace for self-report and watch data. Bland-Altman plots assessed any systemic measurement error. Analyses were then stratified by sex and age. Results Younger runners reported improved weekly distance reliability (median 0.93, IQR 0.92-0.94). All ages demonstrated similar running pace reliability. Results exhibited no discernable systematic bias. Conclusions Weekly self-report demonstrated good reliability for running distance and moderate reliability for running pace in comparison to the watch data. Similar reliability was observed for male and female participants. Younger runners demonstrated improved running distance reliability, but all age groups exhibited similar pace reliability. Running pace potentially should be monitored through technological means to increase precision.
Phylogenomics of Dengue Virus Isolates Causing Dengue Outbreak, São Tomé and Príncipe, 2022

We determined that the dengue outbreak in São Tomé and Príncipe during 2022 was caused by dengue virus serotype 3 genotype III. Phylogenomic analyses showed that the outbreak strain was closely related to the newly identified GIII-American-II lineage and that the virus probably was introduced from the Americas.
Formation and elimination of soluble fibrin and D-dimer in the bloodstream

Soluble fibrin is composed mainly of desA fibrin and fibrinogen oligomers consisting of fewer than 16 monomers partially cross-linked by factor XIIIa. Soluble fibrin cannot stimulate Glu-plasminogen activation by tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA); therefore, it may not be a direct predecessor of D-dimer. However, within the microcirculatory system, soluble fibrin oligomers may form microclots. Fibrin microclots stimulate Glu-plasminogen activation by t-PA, a process resulting in the formation of Glu-plasmin. Glu-plasmin dissolves the microclots, forming D-dimer. In normal and pathological blood plasma samples, soluble fibrin levels are substantially higher than those of D-dimer. Their concentrations in the plasma are also regulated by transendothelial transfer, absorption by blood macrophages, and binding and internalization with low-density lipoprotein receptors of the cells of the reticuloendothelial system. Therefore, the exact mechanisms of fibrin clots formation and elimination in normal and pathological conditions remain unclear. In this study, we reviewed findings on the molecular mechanisms of the formation and dissolution of fibrin clots, fibrin-dependent activation of Glu-plasminogen by t-PA, and blood plasma behavior in the microcirculatory system. Finally, we proposed a model that explains the relations of D-dimer and soluble fibrin underlying the common and separate mechanisms of their formation and elimination.
Effects of microzoning and foundations on damage ratios for domestic property in the magnitude 7.2 1968 Inangahua, New Zealand earthquake

In a recent study the present authors examined the damage ratios for houses and household contents in the Inangahua earthquake for intensities MM5-MM10, including the effects of chimney damage. The present study continues this work by examining the effects of ground class and construction type on damage levels. Houses from six towns are considered, i.e. Inangahua, Reefton, Westport, Greymouth, Runanga and Hokitika, covering a range of intensities from MM10.5 down to MM7.0. A range of ground classes is also considered, covering the three classes described in the New Zealand loadings standard. The structural types considered comprise two foundation types (piled vs. concrete perimeter wall footings), and number of storeys. Some complexities and difficulties of reliable microzoning are revealed and discussed.
Application of AOPs in the treatment of OSPAR chemicals and a comparative cost analysis

Abstract The OSPAR priority list entails a strategy, for monitoring the listed chemicals as well as prescribing cessation targets. However, not much is known about the best available technologies for dealing with cases of environmental pollution from these chemicals. On the other hand, Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) are among the most effective environmental treatment technologies. The scientific literature was reviewed for data regarding the application of selected AOPs in the treatment of the chemicals on the OSPAR list with emphasis on the efficacy and cost of the technologies. Remarkably, almost two decades since the OSPAR list was adopted, there are hardly any studies in which the cost applying any AOP to an “OSPAR chemical” related contamination has been explored. When the scope of the study was expanded beyond the OSPAR list and the initially selected AOPs, not much data was found either. It is clear from this study that the subject of the comparative cost evaluations of AOPs is one requiring more attention. The consequence is that some of the vital data required for evaluating the practical applicability of AOPs in real treatment applications is lacking. The review article seeks to draw attention to this gap in the scientific literature.
A bacterial pigment provides cross-species protection from H2O2- and neutrophil-mediated killing

Significance P. aeruginosa and S. aureus are two important human pathogens that often cause co-infections. Understanding their polymicrobial interactions is key to treating such infections. HQNO secreted by P. aeruginosa is known to antagonize the growth of S. aureus. However, we identified a role for sub-lethal levels of HQNO in inducing S. aureus STX production. This facilitates a cooperative behavior between the two pathogens, resulting in resistance to host ROS and increased bacterial burden during co-infections in vivo. Our findings contribute to the understanding of complex polymicrobial interactions and suggest a critical role for HQNO in controlling the balance between cooperative and competitive behaviors between P. aeruginosa and S. aureus.
Effects of yeast culture on broiler growth performance, nutrient digestibility and caecal microbiota

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of yeast culture (YC) supplementation on the growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility and caecal microflora of broiler chickens. A total of 360 one-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chickens were randomly assigned to six dietary treatments containing 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1% YC. The experiment lasted for 42 days. Diet and faecal samples were collected for analysis of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, calcium and phosphorus. Caecal microbiota on days 21 and 42 were measured using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and real-time PCR. Dietary supplementation with YC did not affect feed intake. On day 42, the 0.8% YC group showed optimal growth and feed efficiency, as well as higher levels of apparent digestibility of ether extract, calcium and phosphorus. On day 21, both 0.8% and 1% YC groups exhibited a significant increase in Ruminococcus , Propionibacterium clostridiales , and Bifidobacterium density. The density of Bacteroides in the YC groups was significantly higher than that of the control group. On day 42, the densities of Bacteroides , Sphingomonas and Bifidobacterium were higher in the 0.8% YC group, whereas a significant decrease was observed in the number of Enterobacteriaceae . These results serve as evidence that dietary supplementation with 0.8% YC not only moderately optimized the feed efficiency and the apparent digestibility of ether extract, calcium and phosphorus, but also positively influenced the caecal bacterial density and diversity in broiler chickens. Keywords: Arbor Acres broiler, caecal microflora, yeast culture supplementation
Time-resolved x-ray spectroscopy of nucleobases and their thionated analogs.

The photoinduced relaxation dynamics of nucleobases and their thionated analogs have been investigated extensively over the past decades motivated by their crucial role in organisms and their application in medical and biochemical research and treatment. Most of these studies focused on the spectroscopy of valence electrons and fragmentation. The advent of ultrashort x-ray laser sources such as free-electron lasers, however, opens new opportunities for studying the ultrafast molecular relaxation dynamics utilizing the site- and element-selectivity of x-rays. In this review, we want to summarize ultrafast experiments on thymine and 2-thiouracil performed at free-electron lasers. We performed time-resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the oxygen K-edge after UV excitation of thymine. In addition, we investigated the excited state dynamics of 2-tUra via x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at sulfur. For these methods, we show a strong sensitivity to the electronic state or charge distribution, respectively. We also performed time-resolved Auger-Meitner spectroscopy, which shows spectral shifts associated with internuclear distances close to the probed site. We discuss the complementary aspects of time-resolved x-ray spectroscopy techniques compared to optical and UV spectroscopy for the investigation of ultrafast relaxation processes.