Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal associations between popularity, peer acceptance, and academic performance in adolescents

Longitudinal associations between popularity, peer acceptance, and academic performance were examined in Chinese 7th (n = 880; 400 girls; Mage = 13.33, SD = .64) and 10th grade (n = 646; 342 girls; Mage = 16.76, SD = .75) adolescents across three academic years. Growth curve analysis revealed parallel changes in popularity and academic performance in both middle- and high-school students whereas a positive association between the trajectories of peer acceptance and academic performance was found only in high school. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel analysis revealed that popular students increased their academic performance 1 year later, and that improved academic performance positively predicted subsequent popularity. Changes in peer acceptance were not associated with longitudinal changes in academic performance nor did baseline aggression moderate the effect of initial popularity on the trajectory of academic performance. The positive between-person associations of academic performance with popularity and peer acceptance were greater in middle- than in high-school adolescents. These results have implications for understanding the positive and negative effects of peer status on academic adjustment.
Emerging Role of Decoy Receptor-2 as a Cancer Risk Predictor in Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders

The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of the senescence markers, Decoy Receptor 2 (DcR2) and Differentiated Embryo-Chondrocyte expressed gen 1 (DEC1), in oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) to ascertain their possible association with oral cancer risk. The immunohistochemical analysis of DcR2 and DEC1 expression (along with p16 and Ki67 expression) was carried out in 60 patients with clinically diagnosed oral leukoplakia. Fifteen cases (25%) subsequently developed an invasive carcinoma. Correlations between protein marker expression, histological grade and oral cancer risk were assessed. DcR2, DEC1 and Ki67 protein expressions were found to correlate significantly with increased oral cancer risk, and also with an increased grade of dysplasia. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that DcR2 and Ki67 expression are independent predictors of oral cancer development. Our results evidence for the first time the potential of DcR2 as an early biomarker to assess oral cancer risk in patients with oral leukoplakia (HR = 59.7, p = 0.015), showing a superior predictive value to histology (HR = 4.225, p = 0.08). These findings reveal that the increased expression of DcR2 and DEC1 occurred frequently in OPMDs. In addition, DcR2 expression emerges as a powerful biomarker for oral cancer risk assessment in patients with oral leukoplakia.
Integrated Ichnology, sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Lower Falher member, Spirit River formation, northeastern British Columbia and central Alberta

The lower Falher Member comprises facies successions of waveand stormdominated delta complexes and strandplain settings. Both are characterized by interbedded, moderately burrowed mudstones and sandstones, passing into heterolithic intervals dominated by sporadically burrowed, stacked sandy tempestites. These pass upwards into current ripples and trough cross-stratification, capped by low-angle planarstratified sandstones, pebbly sandstones and conglomerates. Prodeltaic intervals contain syneresis cracks, organic-rich mudstone drapes of fluid-mud origin, current and combined flow ripples, soft-sediment deformation, and carbonaceous detritus. Trace fossil suites are typified by reduced diversities and abundances of ichnogenera, lowered bioturbation intensities (BI 0-2), and a paucity of suspension-feeding structures in the tempestites. Offshore deposits contain rare fluid-mud drapes, and greater bioturbation intensities (BI 0-5), increased ichnogenera diversities, and the presence of suspension-feeding structures in sandy tempestites. These facies characteristics may be useful in identifying other deposits in the Western Interior Seaway, which have been interpreted as waveand storm-dominated shorelines.
Advanced care planning in the early phase of COVID-19: a rapid review of the practice and policy lessons learned

Background The importance of advance care planning (ACP) has been highlighted by the advent of life-threatening COVID-19. Anecdotal evidence suggests changes in implementation of policies and procedures is needed to support uptake of ACPs. We investigated the barriers and enablers of ACP in the COVID-19 context and identify recommendations to facilitate ACP, to inform future policy and practice. Methods We adopted the WHO recommendation of using rapid reviews for the production of actionable evidence for this study. We searched PUBMED from January 2020 to April 2021. All study designs including commentaries were included that focused on ACPs during COVID-19. Preprints/unpublished papers and Non-English language articles were excluded. Titles and abstracts were screened, full-texts were reviewed, and discrepancies resolved by discussion until consensus. Results From amongst 343 papers screened, 123 underwent full-text review. In total, 74 papers were included, comprising commentaries (39) and primary research studies covering cohorts, reviews, case studies, and cross-sectional designs (35). The various study types and settings such as hospitals, outpatient services, aged care and community indicated widespread interest in accelerating ACP documentation to facilitate management decisions and care which is unwanted/not aligned with goals. Enablers of ACP included targeted public awareness, availability of telehealth, easy access to online tools and adopting person-centered approach, respectful of patient autonomy and values. The emerging barriers were uncertainty regarding clinical outcomes, cultural and communication difficulties, barriers associated with legal and ethical considerations, infection control restrictions, lack of time, and limited resources and support systems. Conclusion The pandemic has provided opportunities for rapid implementation of ACP in creative ways to circumvent social distancing restrictions and high demand for health services. This review suggests the pandemic has provided some impetus to drive adaptable ACP conversations at individual, local, and international levels, affording an opportunity for longer term improvements in ACP practice and patient care. The enablers of ACP and the accelerated adoption evident here will hopefully continue to be part of everyday practice, with or without the pandemic.
Strategies in activating lymphatic system on symptom distress and health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure: secondary analysis of a pilot randomized controlled trial

Background Abnormal interstitial fluid accumulation remains the major cause for patients with heart failure (HF) to endure a myriad of distressing symptoms and a decline in their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The lymphatic system is essential in regulating fluid balance within the interstitial compartment and has recently been recognized as an important target for the prevention and mitigation of congestion. This study aimed to investigate the effects of exercises in activating lymphatic system on symptom distress and HRQoL among patients with HF. Methods and results This was a pre-determined, secondary analysis of the TOLF-HF [The-Optimal-Lymph-Flow for Heart Failure (TOLF-HF)] study, a two-arm pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating the preliminary effects of the lymphatic exercise intervention in enhancing interstitial decongestion among patients with HF. Participants were randomized to receive either a four-week TOLF-HF program in addition to standard care or standard care alone. The Chinese version of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) was employed to measure symptom distress and HRQoL before and after the intervention. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, the independent sample t-test, Pearson’s chi-square test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and covariance analysis. Of the 66 patients enrolled, 60 completed the study. The study results exhibited that the TOLF-HF intervention were effective in alleviating both physical and psychological symptom distress. The intervention group yielded significantly lower MLHFQ total scores in comparison to the control group. The odd ratio of achieving meaningful improvement in HRQoL in TOLF-HF group was 2.157 times higher than those in the control group. Conclusions The TOLF-HF program focusing on activating lymphatic system was effective in alleviating physical and psychological symptom distress as well as improving HRQoL for patients with HF. The tolerability, feasibility, and effectiveness of the TOLF-HF intervention make it a promising intervention for patients to manage HF. Clinical Trial Registration http://www.chictr. org.cn/index.aspx, identifier (ChiCTR2000039121).
Reserve mobilization and secondary metabolites during seed germination and seedling establishment of the tree Erythrina velutina (Fabaceae)

Introduction: The lack of knowledge on seed germination and seedling establishment is a main constraint for the restoration of degraded areas, including the tropical dry forest known as Caatinga. Objective: To assess reserve and secondary metabolite mobilization during seed germination and seedling establishment in Erythina velutina. Methods: We scarified, disinfected, imbibed, sown between towel paper, and incubated seeds under controlled conditions. We hydroponically cultivated seedlings in a greenhouse. We harvested cotyledons at seed imbibition, radicle protrusion, hypocotyl emergence, apical hook formation and expansion of cordiform leaves, first trifoliate leaf, and second trifoliate leaf. Results: Seeds contained approximately 20 % starch, 14.5 storage proteins, 11.6 neutral lipids, and 5.7 % non-reducing sugars on a dry weight basis. Soluble sugars were mainly consumed from hypocotyl emergence to apical hook formation, while major reserves were mobilized from apical hook formation to expansion of first trifoliate leaf. Enzymatic activity increased from mid to late seedling establishment, causing the mobilization of starch, oils, and proteins. Terpenoid-derivatives, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and alkaloids were detected. Flavonoids and phenolic acids were present at almost all stages and terpenoid-derivatives disappeared at expansion of cordiform leaves. Conclusion: Soluble sugars support early seedling growth, while starch, oils and proteins are simultaneously mobilized from mid to late establishment by amylases, lipases, and acid proteases. The cotyledons contain secondary metabolites, which may act in seedling defense. High content of reserves and presence of secondary metabolites in the cotyledons could enable E. velutina seedlings endure stress, validating their use in the restoration of degraded areas.
Making sense of voting “habits”: Applying the process model of behavior change to a series of large-scale get-out-the-vote experiments

I apply a new theoretical framework to voting to more cohesively bridge the economic cost-benefit model of voting with the psychology-motivated voting-as-a-habit literature. This new theoretical frame gives greater clarity as to how a vote in one election might beget a vote in another election, while yielding testable predictions as to which circumstances are more favorable for developing turnout persistence. To test these predictions, I make use of a novel dataset consisting of nine large-N, door-to-door voter mobilization field experiments in various election contexts (with ∼1.8 million voters in total). Consistent with prior empirical research, my analysis finds that being nudged to vote in one election leads to increased turnout four years later. But the main contribution of this paper is that the theoretical framework’s predictions and the corresponding empirical results make sense of turnout persistence heterogeneities that have been detected in certain prior empirical studies but not others.
Stability of explosives in environmental water and soil samples

This report focuses on data generated for the purpose of establishing the stability of HMX, RDX, TNT, and DNT explosives in environmental water and soil samples. The study was carried out over a one year time frame and took into account as many variables as possible within the constraints of budget and time. The objectives of the study were: (1) to provide a data base which could be used to provide guidance on pre-analytical holding times for regulatory purposes; and (2) and to provide a basis for the evaluation of data which is generated outside of the currently allowable holding times for quality assurance purposes. The experimental design consisted of three water samples and three soil samples. The water samples were distilled-in-glass water, a ground water, and surface water. The soil samples were a US Army Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency soil, a Captina silt loam from Roane County, Tennessee, and a McLaurin sandy loam from Stone County, Mississippi. The analytes consisted of four explosives HMX, RDX, TNT and DNT. Several approaches were taken to estimate the MHTs for each explosive because a standard definition for MHT has not been adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). First, a proceduremore » recommended by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) was modified and applied to the data base. Secondly, a procedure developed by Environmental Science and Engineering (ESE) for the analysis of a similar data base was applied. This report is intended to summarize the findings of the study in such a way as to allow individual decisions to be made regarding the quality of environmental data. The use of the data base may well be different for analyses conducted under RCRA, for example, than for those conducted under NPDES permit requirements. For this reason, the summary statistics for each replicate analysis is presented in the appendices of this report. 18 refs., 4 figs., 14 tabs. « less
Anterior Fusion and Long-Term Cervical Mobility in Patients With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: An Observational Study

Objective This study aims to determine and quantify the impairment of cervical mobility and range of motion in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and subsequent cervical subaxial fusion surgery. Methods A total of 89 patients who underwent interbody fusion of the cervical spine and were admitted to the Spinal Cord Injury Center of the BG Klinikum Hamburg, Germany between 2003 and 2018 were examined after their in-facility rehabilitation was successfully completed. Reclination, inclination, tilt, and rotation of the cervical spine were examined and documented in addition to overall patient characteristics and fusion extent. Results We could identify fusion length and age to be independently negatively correlated with the cervical range of motion in different degrees of movement. We could also show a significant decrease in cervical mobility within our patients when compared to healthy adults. The ability to tilt and rotate the cervical spine was particularly impaired. Conclusions Patients with traumatic SCI and intervertebral fusion suffer from significant impairment of mobility in different degrees of movement. This knowledge can be used to evaluate the rehabilitative challenges and reintegrative needs of individuals after traumatic SCI. Rehabilitation should be adjusted accordingly.
Comparative study on deep-learning-based leather surface defect identification

Detecting leather surface defects has become an important subject in industrial inspections and attracted significant attention as a challenging task. Traditional image processing techniques struggle with the detection of leather surface defects with a variety of shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and noise. Deep learning is a promising solution to this problem. This work focuses on the comparative study of 26 classical deep learning models in the field of leather surface defect type recognition. That aims to lay a foundation for the design and development of new schemes for leather defect inspection. Based on tanned leather from an enterprise, eight types of leather surface defects (cavities, pinholes, scratches, rotten surfaces, growth lines, healing wounds, folds, and bacterial wounds) were collected using an ultra-high definition whole leather imaging device. Two challenging datasets with various shapes, sizes, and colours were constructed. Extensive experimental evaluations were conducted. The deep learning model can achieve more than 95% accuracy when the defect imaging is ideal and limited. In case that the shapes, sizes, and colour of the above eight defects keep diverse, Densenet169 performed the best with a recognition accuracy of 72.5%, and ShuffleNet model with the worst performance reached 64.3%. Systematic in-depth experimental evaluation shows that deep learning models are promising in the field of leather surface defect detection, however, challenges remain.
The Roles of Potassium and Calcium Currents in the Bistable Firing Transition

Healthy brains display a wide range of firing patterns, from synchronized oscillations during slow-wave sleep to desynchronized firing during movement. These physiological activities coexist with periods of pathological hyperactivity in the epileptic brain, where neurons can fire in synchronized bursts. Most cortical neurons are pyramidal regular spiking (RS) cells with frequency adaptation and do not exhibit bursts in current-clamp experiments (in vitro). In this work, we investigate the transition mechanism of spike-to-burst patterns due to slow potassium and calcium currents, considering a conductance-based model of a cortical RS cell. The joint influence of potassium and calcium ion channels on high synchronous patterns is investigated for different synaptic couplings (gsyn) and external current inputs (I). Our results suggest that slow potassium currents play an important role in the emergence of high-synchronous activities, as well as in the spike-to-burst firing pattern transitions. This transition is related to the bistable dynamics of the neuronal network, where physiological asynchronous states coexist with pathological burst synchronization. The hysteresis curve of the coefficient of variation of the inter-spike interval demonstrates that a burst can be initiated by firing states with neuronal synchronization. Furthermore, we notice that high-threshold (IL) and low-threshold (IT) ion channels play a role in increasing and decreasing the parameter conditions (gsyn and I) in which bistable dynamics occur, respectively. For high values of IL conductance, a synchronous burst appears when neurons are weakly coupled and receive more external input. On the other hand, when the conductance IT increases, higher coupling and lower I are necessary to produce burst synchronization. In light of our results, we suggest that channel subtype-specific pharmacological interactions can be useful to induce transitions from pathological high bursting states to healthy states.
Bromhead Ring Shear Test Procedure

Existing test procedures and a proposed modification for the Bromhead ring shear apparatus were found to yield drained residual strengths higher than values back-calculated from field case histories. A new test procedure is presented that yields drained residual strengths that are in excellent agreement with field case histories. The new test procedure utilizes the unmodified Bromhead ring shear apparatus and limits the settlement of the top porous stone, due to consolidation and/or soil extrusion during drained shear, to 0.75 mm. Since the specimen is confined radially by the specimen container, limiting the settlement of the top porous stone minimizes the wall friction that develops along the inner and outer circumferences of the specimen. The reduced wall friction results in the lowest measured residual strength and the best agreement with field case histories.
Unravelling the Mystery inside Cells by Using Single-Molecule Fluorescence Imaging

Live-cell imaging is a powerful technique to study the dynamics and mechanics of various biological molecules like proteins, organelles, DNA, and RNA. With the rapid evolution of optical microscopy, our understanding of how these molecules are implicated in the cells’ most critical physiological roles deepens. In this review, we focus on how spatiotemporal nanoscale live-cell imaging at the single molecule level allows for profound contributions towards new discoveries in life science. This review will start by summarizing how single-molecule tracking has been used to analyze membrane dynamics, receptor–ligand interactions, protein–protein interactions, inner- and extra-cellular transport, gene expression/transcription, and whole organelle tracking. We then move on to how current authors are trying to improve single-molecule tracking and overcome current limitations by offering new ways of labeling proteins of interest, multi-channel/color detection, improvements in time-lapse imaging, and new methods and programs to analyze the colocalization and movement of targets. We later discuss how single-molecule tracking can be a beneficial tool used for medical diagnosis. Finally, we wrap up with the limitations and future perspectives of single-molecule tracking and total internal reflection microscopy.
Methylome changes in Lolium perenne associated with long-term colonisation by the endophytic fungus Epichloë sp. LpTG-3 strain AR37

Epichloë spp. often form mutualistic interactions with cool-season grasses, such as Lolium perenne. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this interaction remain poorly understood. In this study, we employed reduced representation bisulfite sequencing method (epiGBS) to investigate the impact of the Epichloë sp. LpTG-3 strain AR37 on the methylome of L. perenne across multiple grass generations and under drought stress conditions. Our results showed that the presence of the endophyte leads to a decrease in DNA methylation across genomic features, with differentially methylated regions primarily located in intergenic regions and CHH contexts. The presence of the endophyte was consistently associated with hypomethylation in plants across generations. This research sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms governing the mutualistic interaction between Epichloë sp. LpTG-3 strain AR37 and L. perenne. It underscores the role of methylation changes associated with endophyte infection and suggests that the observed global DNA hypomethylation in L. perenne may be influenced by factors such as the duration of the endophyte-plant association and the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes over time.