Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extreme Temperature Events, Fine Particulate Matter, and Myocardial Infarction Mortality

BACKGROUND: Extreme temperature events (ETEs), including heat wave and cold spell, have been linked to myocardial infarction (MI) morbidity; however, their effects on MI mortality are less clear. Although ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is suggested to act synergistically with extreme temperatures on cardiovascular mortality, it remains unknown if and how ETEs and PM2.5 interact to trigger MI deaths. METHODS: A time-stratified case-crossover study of 202 678 MI deaths in Jiangsu province, China, from 2015 to 2020, was conducted to investigate the association of exposure to ETEs and PM2.5 with MI mortality and evaluate their interactive effects. On the basis of ambient apparent temperature, multiple temperature thresholds and durations were used to build 12 ETE definitions. Daily ETEs and PM2.5 exposures were assessed by extracting values from validated grid datasets at each subject’s geocoded residential address. Conditional logistic regression models were applied to perform exposure-response analyses and estimate relative excess odds due to interaction, proportion attributable to interaction, and synergy index. RESULTS: Under different ETE definitions, the odds ratio of MI mortality associated with heat wave and cold spell ranged from 1.18 (95% CI, 1.14–1.21) to 1.74 (1.66–1.83), and 1.04 (1.02–1.06) to 1.12 (1.07–1.18), respectively. Lag 01-day exposure to PM2.5 was significantly associated with an increased odds of MI mortality, which attenuated at higher exposures. We observed a significant synergistic interaction of heat wave and PM2.5 on MI mortality (relative excess odds due to interaction >0, proportion attributable to interaction >0, and synergy index >1), which was higher, in general, for heat wave with greater intensities and longer durations. We estimated that up to 2.8% of the MI deaths were attributable to exposure to ETEs and PM2.5 at levels exceeding the interim target 3 value (37.5 μg/m3) of World Health Organization air quality guidelines. Women and older adults were more vulnerable to ETEs and PM2.5. The interactive effects of ETEs or PM2.5 on MI mortality did not vary across sex, age, or socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides consistent evidence that exposure to both ETEs and PM2.5 is significantly associated with an increased odds of MI mortality, especially for women and older adults, and that heat wave interacts synergistically with PM2.5 to trigger MI deaths but cold spell does not. Our findings suggest that mitigating both ETE and PM2.5 exposures may bring health cobenefits in preventing premature deaths from MI.
Vereinigung der Pflanzenzüchter und Saatgutkaufleute Österreichs

In this study, heterogeneous winter wheat populations are compared to commercial pure line varieties in terms of performance and stability of yield and baking quality parameters. Comparative field trials were conducted in Germany and Switzerland under organic conditions over two years at four sites (trial 1) and over three years at 5-6 sites (trial 2). The test entries include heterogeneous winter wheat populations representing contrasting genetic backgrounds, among them officially registered populations within the temporary experiment 2014/150/EU. As reference varieties commercial cultivars of the highest German baking quality category ‘E’ suitable for organic production were used. Grain yield, wet gluten content and sedimentation value were measured in both trials and protein content in trial 2. The results of the trials indicate that two of the officially registered populations have a yield potential and baking quality characteristics comparable to the mean of the reference varieties. Other populations reached either lower yield and higher baking quality than the reference varieties or vice-versa. The stability analysis shows that the populations exhibited a distinctly higher dynamic as well as static stability for all baking quality parameters compared to the varieties. Averaged over all three quality parameters, the mean values of the stability measures for populations were 55% (dynamic) and 27% (static) lower than the means of the varieties. Notably, the two officially registered populations ranked first and second among the test entries for static stability for all quality parameters. The yield stability analysis indicated a tendency towards a higher dynamic stability in the populations.
Substance use disorders and COVID-19: reflections on international research and practice changes during the “poly-crisis”

Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately high toll on vulnerable populations, coinciding with increased prevalence of alcohol-and drug-related deaths and pre-existing societal issues such as rising income inequality and homelessness. This poly-crisis has posed unique challenges to service delivery for people with substance use disorders, and innovative approaches have emerged. In this Perspectives paper we reflect on the poly-crisis and the changes to research and practice for those experiencing substance use disorders, following work undertaken as part of the InterGLAM project (part of the 2022. Lisbon Addictions conference). The authors, who were part of an InterGLAM working group, identified a range of creative and novel responses by gathering information from conference attendees about COVID-19-related changes to substance use disorder treatment in their countries. In this paper we describe these responses across a range of countries, focusing on changes to telehealth, provision of medications for opioid use disorder and alcohol harm reduction, as well as changes to how research was conducted. Implications include better equity in access to technology and secure data systems; increased prescribed safer supply in countries where this currently does not exist; flexible provision of medication for opioid use disorder; scale up of alcohol harm reduction for people with alcohol use disorders; greater involvement of people with lived/living experience in research; and additional support for research in low- and middle-income countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the addictions field and there are lessons for ongoing and emerging crises.
The effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation technique in reducing cancer-related pain among palliative care patients: A randomized controlled trial

Purpose Cancer-related pain (CRP) is a common and distressing symptom experienced by many patients receiving palliative care. The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of the progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) technique in reducing CRP in patients receiving palliative care. Methods A total of 148 patients diagnosed with cancer and receiving palliative care were randomly allocated to either an intervention or control group. The intervention group received a 4-week daily course of PMR technique, while the control group received only usual care. Data was collected using a demographic and clinical characteristics form, as well as the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). Blind evaluations were conducted prior to the start of the intervention (T0), at the end of the 4-week PMR intervention (T1), and at 1-month follow-up (T2). Results The results of this trial demonstrated a significant decrease in pain intensity scores for the PMR group compared to the control group at both T1 and T2 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the PMR group also exhibited significant improvements in pain interference with general activity, mood, relations with others, sleep, and enjoyment of life scores compared to the control group at both T1 and T2 (p < 0.05). Conclusion The results of this trial suggest that the PMR technique may be an effective intervention for reducing pain intensity and improving pain interference with life activities in cancer patients receiving palliative care. However, further research is needed to provide more robust evidence for the effectiveness of this intervention. Clinical trial registration number: NCT04436705. Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov
Impact of xylan on field productivity and wood saccharification properties in aspen

Xylan that comprises roughly 25% of hardwood biomass is undesirable in biorefinery applications involving saccharification and fermentation. Efforts to reduce xylan levels have therefore been made in many species, usually resulting in improved saccharification. However, such modified plants have not yet been tested under field conditions. Here we evaluate the field performance of transgenic hybrid aspen lines with reduced xylan levels and assess their usefulness as short-rotation feedstocks for biorefineries. Three types of transgenic lines were tested in four-year field tests with RNAi constructs targeting either Populus GT43 clades B and C (GT43BC) corresponding to Arabidopsis clades IRX9 and IRX14, respectively, involved in xylan backbone biosynthesis, GATL1.1 corresponding to AtGALT1 involved in xylan reducing end sequence biosynthesis, or ASPR1 encoding an atypical aspartate protease. Their productivity, wood quality traits, and saccharification efficiency were analyzed. The only lines differing significantly from the wild type with respect to growth and biotic stress resistance were the ASPR1 lines, whose stems were roughly 10% shorter and narrower and leaves showed increased arthropod damage. GT43BC lines exhibited no growth advantage in the field despite their superior growth in greenhouse experiments. Wood from the ASPR1 and GT43BC lines had slightly reduced density due to thinner cell walls and, in the case of ASPR1, larger cell diameters. The xylan was less extractable by alkali but more hydrolysable by acid, had increased glucuronosylation, and its content was reduced in all three types of transgenic lines. The hemicellulose size distribution in the GALT1.1 and ASPR1 lines was skewed towards higher molecular mass compared to the wild type. These results provide experimental evidence that GATL1.1 functions in xylan biosynthesis and suggest that ASPR1 may regulate this process. In saccharification without pretreatment, lines of all three constructs provided 8-11% higher average glucose yields than wild-type plants. In saccharification with acid pretreatment, the GT43BC construct provided a 10% yield increase on average. The best transgenic lines of each construct are thus predicted to modestly outperform the wild type in terms of glucose yields per hectare. The field evaluation of transgenic xylan-reduced aspen represents an important step towards more productive feedstocks for biorefineries.
Bonding and charge transfer plasmons of conductively bridged nanoparticles: The effects of junction conductance and nanoparticle morphology

A detailed study of charge transfer plasmon properties of conductively bridged nanoparticles is essential for designing artificial molecules and developing plasmonic sensors. In this report, we demonstrate spectral tuning and control of local field responses of conductively bridged and compositionally homogeneous plasmonic nanoparticles of various shapes and sizes. The scattering spectral peaks of connected nanoparticles are tuned by controlling inter-particle feed-gap, junction conductance, and nanoparticle morphology. The far-field spectral responses are further tuned by increasing the number of nanoparticles from dimer to trimer, and a generalized expression for charge transfer plasmon peak shift with junction geometry is developed for various shapes of nanotrimers. The corresponding near-field distributions of the linked nanoparticles also exhibit remarkable features. Specifically, the local field profiles of dimer nanoparticles calculated at the charge transfer wavelengths show strong interaction between the nanoparticles. On the other hand, in the bridged symmetrical nanotrimers, the central nanoparticles act as a bridge and only the rest two of the nanoparticles show bright modes. These findings suggest that using conductively bridged nanoaggregates could play a significant role in tuning far-field spectral responses of plasmonic nanostructures for practical applications in molecular sensing.
Metacognitive effects of attitudinal (in)congruence on social media: relating processing fluency, subjective knowledge, and political participation

Introduction Encountering political disagreements in our daily lives can discourage us from participating in democratic processes. To date, research has mainly focused on social motives or attitudinal mechanisms to explain this phenomenon. In the present study, we adopt a different approach and highlight metacognitive effects of attitudinal (in)congruence on processing fluency (i.e., perceived ease of processing) and subjective knowledge as well as their relationship with behavioral outcomes such as the intention to politically participate. Methods In a pre-registered online experiment (N = 1,258), participants saw a political social media post with six opinionated user-generated comments. These comments either all matched (congruent condition) or contradicted (incongruent condition) participants’ personal opinions. Processing fluency, issue specific subjective knowledge, and intention to politically participate were then measured using established self-report scales. Results In line with our hypotheses, the congruent stimuli evoked a higher feeling of processing fluency than the incongruent ones (d = 0.21). Furthermore, participants in the congruent condition indicated a higher intention to politically participate (d = 0.23) and rated their own knowledge on the topic as higher (d = 0.22) than participants in the incongruent condition—even though the factual knowledge gain should be equal in both conditions. Finally, we observed positive relationships between processing fluency and subjective issue knowledge (β = 0.11) as well as between subjective issue knowledge and issue-specific political participation (β = 0.43). Discussion Our findings highlight the importance of considering metacognitive constructs such as subjective knowledge to explain political behaviors and suggest that attitudinal congruence influences the way we perceive our own knowledge and information processing.
SYNERGISTIC ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF APIS FLOREA BEE HONEY AND CIPROFLOXACIN ON PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

Honey is a natural gift to man from Mother Nature which is made available to us from the mysterious kingdom of the bees. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the synergistic antibacterial effect between the Apis honey and common antibiotic ciprofloxacin on multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria. Fifteen honey samples of Apis florea were harvested from various geographical areas of Coorg, Karnataka during 2020-2021. The honey samples and ciprofloxacin were subjected to Determination of antibacterial potency by Antibacterial disc diffusion assay separately against the test bacteria. Then followed Screening for synergistic activity and Data Analysis. The findings of the present study revealed that synergistic antibacterial sensitivity with inhibitory zones that were formed in the cultures against the selected bacterial strains showed significant variations. The highest antibacterial activity was recorded against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) with 19.26 ± 0.23 mm. However, the least sensitivity range was recorded for Erwinia nigrifluens (ATCC 21922) with 8.97± 0.48 mm. Bacillus cereus (ATCC 31443) showed mm, ZI of 13.74±0.37, Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 32441) with 12.99±0.27, Burkholderia glumae (ATCC 25813) with 11.87± 0.58, E.coli (ATCC 25891) with 14.95± 0.41 mm, Klebseilla sp. (ATCC 31482) with 12.11± 0.59, Pseudomonas aerugenosa (ATCC 287858) with 17.53± 0.72 mm. The research findings of the present study on the synergistic antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin and Apis florea honey on pathogenic bacteria showed potential usefulness of honey and antibiotics together in the clinical practice against the pathogenic effects of strains of bacteria.
Semiclassical Stark Broadening Parameters of Ar VII Spectral Lines

Using the semi-classical perturbation approach in the impact approximation, full width at half maximum and shift have been determined for eight spectral lines of Ar VII, for broadening by electron-, proton-, and He III-impacts. The results are provided for temperatures from 20,000 K to 500,000 K, and for an electron density of 10 18 cm − 3 . The obtained results will be included in the STARK-B database, which is also in the virtual atomic and molecular data center (VAMDC).
The Role of Laser Photocoagulation in Treating Diabetic Macular Edema in the Era of Intravitreal Drug Administration: A Descriptive Review

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to elucidate the role of laser photocoagulation therapy in the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, the first-line treatment, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature search to identify studies that evaluated the efficacy of laser photocoagulation therapy in the management of DME was performed. The relevant findings of the efficacy of focal/grid laser therapy from data in randomized, controlled trials were synthesized, and the potential of new laser technologies, such as navigated laser systems, pattern scan lasers, and subthreshold lasers, was explored. The usefulness of multimodal imaging-guided laser therapy was also evaluated, with a focus on the potential contribution to anti-VEGF therapy. Results: Focal laser photocoagulation targeting microaneurysms remains an effective therapeutic approach to chronic refractory edema, despite the widespread use of anti-VEGF therapy. To achieve the best possible treatment outcomes, precise identification of microaneurysms is essential. This requires the use of multimodal imaging-guided, highly accurate, minimally invasive coagulation techniques. Subthreshold laser therapy can also reduce the frequency of anti-VEGF injections and minimize treatment burden. Conclusions: Further studies are needed to determine the optimal timing and settings for laser photocoagulation therapy and the potential of new laser technologies in the management of DME. Nevertheless, laser photocoagulation therapy plays an important role in the management of DME, in conjunction with anti-VEGF therapy.
A numeric model for the imaging mechanism of metal oxide EUV resists

A numeric model is proposed describing the chemical and physical mechanisms governing image formation in metaloxide (MOx) EUV photoresist systems. Experimental measurements of physical and chemical properties are used to develop a quantitative representation of the chemical and physical state of the MOx resist film at each step in the lithographic process. The role of radiation-induced condensation to drive non-linear changes in development rate is elucidated. Lithographic performance parameters are predicted and compared with experimental results.
Study on Gas-solid Second-order Interaction Model in Fluidized Bed Reactors

Considering the fluctuating energy transfer between the SGS (Sub-Grid Scale, SGS) turbulent kinetic energy of gas and the second-order moment of particles, the gas-solid interaction model is present. The second-order term is studied, and the simulation results of second-order interaction are analyzed and compared with the simulation results by Koch. The effects of second-order interaction on concentration, velocity and second-order moment of particles and the SGS turbulent kinetic energy of gas are all researched.
Crustal Seismogenic Thickness and Thermal Structure of NW South America

The crustal seismogenic thickness (CST) has direct implications on the magnitude and occurrence of crustal earth-quakes, and therefore, on the seismic hazard of any region. Amongst other factors, the seismogenesis of rocks is affected by in-situ conditions (temperature and state of stress) and by the rocks’ heterogeneous composition. Diverse laboratory experiments have explored the frictional behavior of the most common materials forming the crust and uppermost mantle. However, it remains a matter of debate how to "up-scale" to the scale of the crust the conclusions derived from these studies. In this study 15 we propose a workflow to up-scale and validate these experiments to natural geological conditions of crustal and upper mantle rocks. We used NW South America as a case study to explore the three-dimensional spatial variation of the CST and the potential temperatures at which crustal earthquakes occur. The 3D steady-state thermal field was computed with a finite element scheme using the software GOLEM, taking into account the uppermost 75 km of a previously published 3D data-inte-grated lithospheric configuration and lithology-constrained thermal parameters. We found that the majority of events nucleate 20 at temperatures of less than 350°C, in general agreement with frictional experiments of crustal and mantle materials. A few outliers in the hypocentral temperatures showcase nucleation conditions consistent with the seismogenic window of olivine-rich rocks, and can be linked to uncertainties in the Moho depths and/or in the earthquake hypocenters, or to the presence of ultramafic rocks within the allochthonous crustal terranes accreted to this complex margin. Our results suggest that the two largest earthquakes recorded in the region ( Ms =6.8 and Ms =7.3, Murindó sequence, in 1992) nucleated at the calculated lower 25 boundary of the seismogenic crust, highlighting the importance of considering this transition when characterizing the seismo-genic source in hazard assessment studies. The approach presented in this study can be applied to other tectonic settings world-wide, and it could be further refined as new, high-quality heat flow and temperature observations became eventually available for testing and validating the thermal models.
What drives Fyw variations Towards a conceptualization of the hydrological processes behind changes of young water fraction with elevation in Alpine: a focus on mountainous alpine catchments?

What drives Fyw variations Towards a conceptualization of the hydrological processes behind changes of young water fraction with elevation in Alpine: a focus on mountainous alpine catchments? Alessio Gentile, Davide Canone, Natalie Ceperley, Davide Gisolo, Maurizio Previati, Giulia Zuecco, Bettina Schaefli, and Stefano Ferraris 5 1Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico and Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy 2Institute of Earth Surface Dynamic (IDYST), Faculty of Geosciences and Environment (FGSE), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland 3Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy 10 4Institute of Geography (GIUB) and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
and Scientific Endeavor: A Reflection on the Commitments Inherent in Generating and Possessing

In this essay, I reflect on the implications of intellectual virtues in scientific endeavor. To this end, I first offer a depiction of scientific endeavor by resorting to the notion of academic attitude, which involves aspects concerning the generation and possession of knowledge. Although there are differences between these activities, they have in common the engagement of diverse intellectual agents (scientists). In this sense, I analyze how intellectual virtues are linked to 1) scientific research tasks, such as theory appraisal, and 2) those tasks of vigilance and intervention in the uses of scientific knowledge. I conclude that intellectual virtues play a leading role in achieving higher quality scientific research and adequate foresight on the uses and impacts of scientific findings. In this order of ideas, I propose an agenda for further inquiries on these matters, highlighting the relevance of reflecting and empirically researching the relationship between intellectual virtues and science, as well as cultivating intellectual virtues in various stages of scientific training.