Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modified Primers for the Identification of Nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Isolates That Have Biological Control Potential against Fusarium Wilt of Cucumber in Taiwan

Previous investigations demonstrated that Fusarium oxysporum (Fo), which is not pathogenic to cucumbers, could serve as a biological control agent for managing Fusarium wilt of cucumber caused by Fo f. sp. cucumerinum (Foc) in Taiwan. However, thus far it has not been possible to separate the populations of pathogenic Fo from the nonpathogenic isolates that have biological control potential through their morphological characteristics. Although these two populations can be distinguished from one another using a bioassay, the work is laborious and time-consuming. In this study, a fragment of the intergenic spacer (IGS) region of ribosomal DNA from an Fo biological control agent, Fo366, was PCR-amplified with published general primers, FIGS11/FIGS12 and sequenced. A new primer, NPIGS-R, which was designed based on the IGS sequence, was paired with the FIGS11 primer. These primers were then evaluated for their specificity to amplify DNA from nonpathogenic Fo isolates that have biological control potential. The results showed that the modified primer pair, FIGS11/NPIGS-R, amplified a 500-bp DNA fragment from five of seven nonpathogenic Fo isolates. These five Fo isolates delayed symptom development of cucumber Fusarium wilt in greenhouse bioassay tests. Seventy-seven Fo isolates were obtained from the soil and plant tissues and then subjected to amplification using the modified primer pair; six samples showed positive amplification. These six isolates did not cause symptoms on cucumber seedlings when grown in peat moss infested with the isolates and delayed disease development when the same plants were subsequently inoculated with a virulent isolate of Foc. Therefore, the modified primer pair may prove useful for the identification of Fo isolates that are nonpathogenic to cucumber which can potentially act as biocontrol agents for Fusarium wilt of cucumber.
Quantification of investor emotion in financial news by analyzing the stock price reaction

It is in our nature to measure the intensity of an unseen event by observing its impact on the affected entity. Since reaction of the trader crowd to a financial event in form of stock price movement very closely reflects the severity of that event, words used in the news to describe that event also exhibit similar degree of emotion. Thus, we can assign emotional valence rating to the most relevant words in the news using this reversed relationship of causality instead of assigning assumed emotional valence to words, like it has been the case in many previous works. We have gathered data for financial events of the past from stock exchange and have mathematically analyzed it to quantify the impact of those events. These results are then applied to assign ratings to more than 7000 PoS-tagged English stems extracted from financial news articles for the corresponding events using Natural Language Processing techniques. In this way, a domain-specific word-emotion lexicon has been created.
Non‐water‐suppressed short‐echo‐time magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging using a concentric ring k‐space trajectory

Water‐suppressed MRS acquisition techniques have been the standard MRS approach used in research and for clinical scanning to date. The acquisition of a non‐water‐suppressed MRS spectrum is used for artefact correction, reconstruction of phased‐array coil data and metabolite quantification. Here, a two‐scan metabolite‐cycling magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) scheme that does not use water suppression is demonstrated and evaluated. Specifically, the feasibility of acquiring and quantifying short‐echo (TE = 14 ms), two‐dimensional stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) MRSI spectra in the motor cortex is demonstrated on a 3 T MRI system. The increase in measurement time from the metabolite‐cycling is counterbalanced by a time‐efficient concentric ring k‐space trajectory. To validate the technique, water‐suppressed MRSI acquisitions were also performed for comparison. The proposed non‐water‐suppressed metabolite‐cycling MRSI technique was tested for detection and correction of resonance frequency drifts due to subject motion and/or hardware instability, and the feasibility of high‐resolution metabolic mapping over a whole brain slice was assessed. Our results show that the metabolite spectra and estimated concentrations are in agreement between non‐water‐suppressed and water‐suppressed techniques. The achieved spectral quality, signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) > 20 and linewidth <7 Hz allowed reliable metabolic mapping of five major brain metabolites in the motor cortex with an in‐plane resolution of 10 × 10 mm2 in 8 min and with a Cramér‐Rao lower bound of less than 20% using LCModel analysis. In addition, the high SNR of the water peak of the non‐water‐suppressed technique enabled voxel‐wise single‐scan frequency, phase and eddy current correction. These findings demonstrate that our non‐water‐suppressed metabolite‐cycling MRSI technique can perform robustly on 3 T MRI systems and within a clinically feasible acquisition time.
A Quorum Sensing-Regulated Protein Binds Cell Wall Components and Enhances Lysozyme Resistance in Streptococcus pyogenes

ABSTRACT The Rgg2/3 quorum sensing (QS) system is conserved among all sequenced isolates of group A Streptococcus (GAS; Streptococcus pyogenes). The molecular architecture of the system consists of a transcriptional activator (Rgg2) and a transcriptional repressor (Rgg3) under the control of autoinducing peptide pheromones (SHP2 and SHP3). Activation of the Rgg2/3 pathway leads to increases in biofilm formation and resistance to the bactericidal effects of the host factor lysozyme. In this work, we show that deletion of a small gene, spy49_0414c, abolished both phenotypes in response to pheromone signaling. The gene encodes a small, positively charged, secreted protein, referred to as StcA. Analysis of recombinant StcA showed that it can directly interact with GAS cell wall preparations containing phosphodiester-linked carbohydrate polymers but not with preparations devoid of them. Immunofluorescence microscopy detected antibody against StcA bound to the surface of paraformaldehyde-fixed wild-type cells. Expression of StcA in bacterial culture induced a shift in the electrostatic potential of the bacterial cell surface, which became more positively charged. These results suggest that StcA promotes phenotypes by way of ionic interactions with the GAS cell wall, most likely with negatively charged cell wall-associated polysaccharides. IMPORTANCE This study focuses on a small protein, StcA, that is expressed and secreted under induction of Rgg2/3 QS, ionically associating with negatively charged domains on the cell surface. These data present a novel mechanism of resistance to the host factor lysozyme by GAS and have implications in the relevance of this circuit in the interaction between the bacterium and the human host that is mediated by the bacterial cell surface.
Aging, Maturation and Growth of Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs as Deduced from Growth Curves Using Long Bone Histological Data: An Assessment of Methodological Constraints and Solutions

Information on aging, maturation, and growth is important for understanding life histories of organisms. In extinct dinosaurs, such information can be derived from the histological growth record preserved in the mid-shaft cortex of long bones. Here, we construct growth models to estimate ages at death, ages at sexual maturity, ages at which individuals were fully-grown, and maximum growth rates from the growth record preserved in long bones of six sauropod dinosaur individuals (one indeterminate mamenchisaurid, two Apatosaurus sp., two indeterminate diplodocids, and one Camarasaurus sp.) and one basal sauropodomorph dinosaur individual (Plateosaurus engelhardti). Using these estimates, we establish allometries between body mass and each of these traits and compare these to extant taxa. Growth models considered for each dinosaur individual were the von Bertalanffy model, the Gompertz model, and the logistic model (LGM), all of which have inherently fixed inflection points, and the Chapman-Richards model in which the point is not fixed. We use the arithmetic mean of the age at the inflection point and of the age at which 90% of asymptotic mass is reached to assess respectively the age at sexual maturity or the age at onset of reproduction, because unambiguous indicators of maturity in Sauropodomorpha are lacking. According to an AIC-based model selection process, the LGM was the best model for our sauropodomorph sample. Allometries established are consistent with literature data on other Sauropodomorpha. All Sauropodomorpha reached full size within a time span similar to scaled-up modern mammalian megaherbivores and had similar maximum growth rates to scaled-up modern megaherbivores and ratites, but growth rates of Sauropodomorpha were lower than of an average mammal. Sauropodomorph ages at death probably were lower than that of average scaled-up ratites and megaherbivores. Sauropodomorpha were older at maturation than scaled-up ratites and average mammals, but younger than scaled-up megaherbivores.
Adverse Effects of Intravenous Vancomycin-Based Prophylaxis during Therapy for Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia

ABSTRACT Children and adolescents with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at risk of life-threatening bacterial infections, especially with viridans group streptococci. Primary antibacterial prophylaxis with vancomycin-based regimens reduces this risk but might increase the risks of renal or liver toxicity or Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). A retrospective review of data for patients treated for newly diagnosed AML at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital between 2002 and 2008 was conducted. Nephrotoxicity was classified according to pediatric risk, injury, failure, loss, and end-stage renal disease (pRIFLE) criteria and hepatotoxicity according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) criteria. The risks of nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and CDI were compared between patients receiving vancomycin-based prophylaxis, no intravenous prophylaxis, or other prophylaxis. Generalized linear mixed models were used to address potential confounding. A total of 392 chemotherapy courses (108 with no intravenous prophylaxis, 218 with vancomycin-based prophylaxis, and 66 with other prophylaxis) for 111 patients were included. Development of pRIFLE risk, injury, and failure occurred in 190, 44, and 2 courses, respectively. Increases of at least one, two, and three grades for hepatotoxicity occurred in 189, 52, and 19 courses, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, vancomycin-based prophylaxis was not associated with nephrotoxicity or hepatotoxicity and reduced the risk of CDI, compared to no intravenous prophylaxis (0.9% versus 6.5%; P = 0.007) or other prophylactic regimens (0.9% versus 3.0%; P = 0.23). Despite concerns about vancomycin toxicity, vancomycin-based prophylaxis in pediatric patients with AML did not increase the risk of nephrotoxicity or hepatotoxicity and reduced the risk of CDI. Caution is advised to avoid contributing to antibiotic resistance.
Beyond correct and fast: Inspection Testing

Occasionally, developers need to ensure that the compiler treats their code in a specific way that is only visible by inspecting intermediate or final compilation artifacts. This is particularly common with carefully crafted compositional libraries, where certain usage patterns are expected to trigger an intricate sequence of compiler optimizations -- stream fusion is a well-known example. The developer of such a library has to manually inspect build artifacts and check for the expected properties. Because this is too tedious to do often, it will likely go unnoticed if the property is broken by a change to the library code, its dependencies or the compiler. The lack of automation has led to released versions of such libraries breaking their documented promises. This indicates that there is an unrecognized need for a new testing paradigm, inspection testing, where the programmer declaratively describes non-functional properties of an compilation artifact and the compiler checks these properties. We define inspection testing abstractly, implement it in the context of Haskell and show that it increases the quality of such libraries.
Age differences among older adults in the use of emotion regulation strategies. What happens among over 85s and centenarians?

Objective: Past research on emotion regulation strategies has concluded that older adults use more passive strategies than young adults. However, we found scarce research in this field focusing on the oldest old (i.e. those aged 85 and over). The aim of this study was to analyze whether or not differences exist in the way older adults aged 85 and over (centenarians included) use emotion regulation strategies, in comparison with younger age groups (65–74 and 75–84 years old). Method: Participants were 257 older adults from Spain, all aged between 65 and 104. The sample was divided into four age groups: 65–74; 75–84; 85–94; and 95–104 years old. Participants completed the Strategy Questionnaire after reading each of the vignettes designed to elicit feelings of either sadness or anger. The questionnaire measures four types of regulation strategies: Passive, Express, Solve and Seek. Results: The 85–94 age group and centenarians were found to use proactive (Express, Seek) and Solve strategies less in comparison with younger age groups when regulating sadness and anger. In contrast, an increased use of Passive strategies was observed in the regulation of both emotions in the 85–94 age group. Significant differences were also found between centenarians and younger age groups in the use of Passive strategies for sadness, although not for anger. Conclusion: Age differences were observed in the use of emotion regulation strategies, with older age groups using proactive strategies less and passive strategies more.
Role of the 5-HT2A Receptor in Self- and Other-Initiated Social Interaction in Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Induced States: A Pharmacological fMRI Study

Distortions of self-experience are critical symptoms of psychiatric disorders and have detrimental effects on social interactions. In light of the immense need for improved and targeted interventions for social impairments, it is important to better understand the neurochemical substrates of social interaction abilities. We therefore investigated the pharmacological and neural correlates of self- and other-initiated social interaction. In a double-blind, randomized, counterbalanced, crossover study 24 healthy human participants (18 males and 6 females) received either (1) placebo + placebo, (2) placebo + lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD; 100 μg, p.o.), or (3) ketanserin (40 mg, p.o.) + LSD (100 μg, p.o.) on three different occasions. Participants took part in an interactive task using eye-tracking and functional magnetic resonance imaging completing trials of self- and other-initiated joint and non-joint attention. Results demonstrate first, that LSD reduced activity in brain areas important for self-processing, but also social cognition; second, that change in brain activity was linked to subjective experience; and third, that LSD decreased the efficiency of establishing joint attention. Furthermore, LSD-induced effects were blocked by the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) antagonist ketanserin, indicating that effects of LSD are attributable to 5-HT2AR stimulation. The current results demonstrate that activity in areas of the “social brain” can be modulated via the 5-HT2AR thereby pointing toward this system as a potential target for the treatment of social impairments associated with psychiatric disorders. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Distortions of self-representation and, potentially related to this, dysfunctional social cognition are central hallmarks of various psychiatric disorders and critically impact disease development, progression, treatment, as well as real-world functioning. However, these deficits are insufficiently targeted by current treatment approaches. The administration of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging and real-time eye-tracking offers the unique opportunity to study alterations in self-experience, their relation to social cognition, and the underlying neuropharmacology. Results demonstrate that LSD alters self-experience as well as basic social cognition processing in areas of the “social brain”. Furthermore, these alterations are attributable to 5-HT2A receptor stimulation, thereby pinpointing toward this receptor system in the development of pharmacotherapies for sociocognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders.
The experimental study on mechanical property of steel fiber reinforced high-strength concrete after high temperature

Through the experimental study on the mechanical property of steel fiber reinforced high-strength concrete(SFHSC) and normal high-strength concrete(HSC) after high temperature,the influencing law of the compressive strength,splitting strength and rupture strength of SFHSC under different temperature were discussed.The influence mechanism of temperature to the mechanical property of SFHSC was analyzed.The results show that the compressive strength,splitting strength and rupture strength of SFHSC decreased while the temperature is rising.The falling-ranges of above strengths are less under 400℃ but rise apparently after 400℃. When the temperature is the same,the steel fiber improves the strength value of HSC after high temperature.
A comparison of visual working memory and episodic memory performance in younger and older adults

ABSTRACT Working memory and episodic memory decline with age. However, as they are typically studied separately, it is largely unknown whether age-associated differences are similar. A task design was developed in which visual working memory and episodic memory performances were measured using the same stimuli, with both tasks involving context binding. A 2-back working memory task was followed by a surprise subsequent recognition memory task that assessed incidental encoding of object locations of the 2-back task. The study compared performance of younger (N=30; Mage=23.5, SDage=2.9, range=20-29) and older adults (N=29; Mage=72.1, SDage=6.8, range=62-90). Older adults performed worse than younger adults, without an interaction effect. In younger, but not in older adults, performance on the two tasks was related. We conclude that although age differences (Young>Older) are similar in the working memory and incidental associative memory tasks, the relationship between the two memory systems differs as a function of age group.
Continuous nanofiber coated hybrid yarn produced by multi-nozzle air jet electrospinning

Abstract Multi-nozzle air-jet electrospinning was used to produce continuous viscose filament/polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) nanofiber hybrid yarns. The production of PVDF nanofibers using this method was based on the principle that the rupture of bubbles results in multiple jet flows. Nanofibers ejected from multiple nozzles were gathered and bundled by conjugate electrospinning and were then twisted on the surface of a filament yarn through the rotation of a metal funnel. The structures and properties of the hybrid yarn were characterized, and spinning mechanism of this novel method was analyzed. The experimental results obtained in this study showed that PVDF nanofibers were perfectly coated on the filament yarn surface with a good orientation and displayed uniform twist distribution with a twist angle of 24.3°, as well as PVDF nanofibers integrated with the core yarn well. After coating with twisted PVDF nanofibers, the mechanical properties of the yarn improved significantly. The stress and strain of the yarn at break increased from 19.39 MPa and 15.83% to 30.82 MPa and 19.81%, respectively. In addition, the hybrid yarn contact angle reached 150° after coating with the twisted PVDF nanofibers, indicating a transformation of the yarn from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The nanofiber-coated hybrid yarn produced herein can possibly be used as a self-cleaning fabric.
Restoration of the integrity of rat caeco-colonic mucosa by resistant starch, but not by fructo-oligosaccharides, in dextran sulfate sodium-induced experimental colitis

Butyrate is recognised as efficient in healing colonic inflammation, but cannot be used as a long-term treatment. Dietary fibre that produces a high-butyrate level when fermented represents a promising alternative. We hypothesised that different types of dietary fibre do not have the same efficiency of healing and that this could be correlated to their fermentation characteristics. We compared short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and type 3 resistant starch (RS) in a previously described dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model. Seventy-two Sprague–Dawley rats received water (control rats) or DSS (50g DSS/l for 7d then 30g DSS/l for 7 (day 7) or 14 (day 14) d). The rats were fed a basal diet (BD), or a FOS or RS diet creating six groups: BD-control, BD-DSS, FOS-control, FOS-DSS, RS-control and RS-DSS. Caeco-colonic inflammatory injuries were assessed macroscopically and histologically. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) were quantified in caeco-colon, portal vein and abdominal aorta. At days 7 and 14, caecal and distal macroscopic and histological observations were improved in RS-DSS compared with BD-DSS and also with FOS-DSS rats. Caeco-colonic SCFA were reduced in FOS-DSS and RS-DSS groups compared with healthy controls. The amount of butyrate was higher in the caecum of the RS-DSS rats than in the BD-DSS and FOS-DSS rats, whereas distal butyrate was higher in FOS-DSS rats. Partially explained by higher luminal levels of SCFA, especially butyrate, the healing effect of RS confirms the involvement of some types of dietary fibre in inflammatory bowel disease. Moreover, the ineffectiveness of FOS underlines the importance of the type of dietary substrate.
Identification of the necessary data elements to report AIDS: a systematic review

Background The main focus of the surveillance system of AIDS in Iran is on direct clinical care for HIV, and other supportive facilities and secondary programmes have been somewhat neglected. Creating templates for reporting AIDS in Iran that can fulfil the needs of all information stakeholders, is a necessity for the Public Health Information Exchange (PHIE) system. Objective The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive reporting template of the PHIE system for HIV/AIDS in Iran. Methods This study was performed in 2017. Through a systematic review of the Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed databases and Google Scholar search engine from 2000 to 2016, the necessary data elements are identified by the main keywords of the “Minimum Data Set” and HIV / AIDS collection. Results As many as 28 studies were enrolled in the research. The MDS was designed for the following categories: 1) administrative, managerial, and policy-makers (with 10 data classes and 90 data elements), 2) Clinical and medical (six data classes and 83 data elements), and 3) support services, counselling and subsidiary (three data classes and 32 data elements). Conclusion Iran stands in a fortunate position in terms of clinical and care programmes for AIDS treatment. A fundamental challenge is the insufficient attention to support and consulting programmes as well as the lack of information for accurate and efficient policy and decision-making. A reporting format has been designed to meet the needs of all information requirements of beneficiaries related to HIV/AIDS care and management.