Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mathematical modelling identifies the role of adaptive immunity as a key controller of respiratory syncytial virus in cotton rats

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common virus that can have varying effects ranging from mild cold-like symptoms to mortality depending on the age and immune status of the individual. We combined mathematical modelling using ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with measurement of RSV infection kinetics in primary well-differentiated human bronchial epithelial cultures in vitro and in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed cotton rats to glean mechanistic details that underlie RSV infection kinetics in the lung. Quantitative analysis of viral titre kinetics in our mathematical model showed that the elimination of infected cells by the adaptive immune response generates unique RSV titre kinetic features including a faster timescale of viral titre clearance than viral production, and a monotonic decrease in the peak RSV titre with decreasing inoculum dose. Parameter estimation in the ODE model using a nonlinear mixed effects approach revealed a very low rate (average single-cell lifetime > 10 days) of cell lysis by RSV before the adaptive immune response is initiated. Our model predicted negligible changes in the RSV titre kinetics at early times post-infection (less than 5 dpi) but a slower decay in RSV titre in immunosuppressed cotton rats compared to that in non-suppressed cotton rats at later times (greater than 5 dpi) in silico. These predictions were in excellent agreement with the experimental results. Our combined approach quantified the importance of the adaptive immune response in suppressing RSV infection in cotton rats, which could be useful in testing RSV vaccine candidates.
Australian songbird body size tracks climate variation: 82 species over 50 years

The observed variation in the body size responses of endotherms to climate change may be explained by two hypotheses: the size increases with climate variability (the starvation resistance hypothesis) and the size shrinks as mean temperatures rise (the heat exchange hypothesis). Across 82 Australian passerine species over 50 years, shrinking was associated with annual mean temperature rise exceeding 0.012°C driven by rising winter temperatures for arid and temperate zone species. We propose the warming winters hypothesis to explain this response. However, where average summer temperatures exceeded 34°C, species experiencing annual rise over 0.0116°C tended towards increasing size. Results suggest a broad-scale physiological response to changing climate, with size trends probably reflecting the relative strength of selection pressures across a climatic regime. Critically, a given amount of temperature change will have varying effects on phenotype depending on the season in which it occurs, masking the generality of size patterns associated with temperature change. Rather than phenotypic plasticity, and assuming body size is heritable, results suggest selective loss or gain of particular phenotypes could generate evolutionary change but may be difficult to detect with current warming rates.
Transcriptome profiling analysis reveals key genes of different coat color in sheep skin

Background To investigate the molecular mechanisms determining the coat color of native breed sheep in Xinjiang. Methods Bashibai sheep, Yemule white sheep and Tulufan black sheep were selected. Illumina HiSeq X Ten sequencing technology was used to detect the genes responsible for the white, light brown, black and cyan gray coat colors in sheep. Sequence analysis and functional gene annotation analysis were performed to analyze the results. The signal pathways and differentially expressed genes related to sheep hair color production regulation were screened and finally verified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results Functional annotation by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed significant differences in enrichment of immunity-related pathways as well as melanogenesis synthetic and tyrosine metabolism pathways. Our results showed that the DCT, TYR, TYRP1, PMEL, SLC45A2 and MLANA six genes may be associated with the regulation of coat color development and provide a theoretical basis for selecting natural coat colors of sheep.
Parents of Children Newly Diagnosed with T1DM: Experiences with Social Support and Family Management: A Dissertation

The purpose of this mixed-methods descriptive study with parents of children newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes was to explore their experiences with peer social support following the Social Support to Empower Parents (STEP) intervention and to examine the usefulness of the Family Management Measure (FaMM) in this population. The specific aims were to describe parents‟ experiences with the STEP social support intervention, describe parents‟ day-to-day diabetes management as measured by the FaMM, describe the relationship between parental management scores in the six FaMM dimensions and the social support intervention dose used, and explore FaMM scores in relationship to parent satisfaction with the STEP social support intervention. Identified themes of availability, practical tips, and common ground resonated throughout the interviews with parents and reflected Ireys‟ emotional, informational, and affirmational social support framework. Regardless of the intervention dose, number of parent mentor contacts, or scores on the FaMM scales, all parents interviewed when questioned, gave a 5/5 for satisfaction with the STEP RCT, qualitatively underscoring the positive effect of the
Icariin reduces high glucose-induced endothelial progenitor cell dysfunction via inhibiting the p38/CREB pathway and activating the Akt/eNOS/NO pathway

High glucose (HG) impairs endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) function. The activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and the inhibition of the Akt/eNOS/NO pathway serve central roles in this process. Icariin has protective effects in endothelial cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of icariin on HG-induced EPC dysfunction, including proliferation, migration and tube formation. Experiments were performed with EPCs isolated from the femurs and tibias of Sprague-Dawley rats in vitro. In a dose-dependent manner, icariin reversed the inhibition of EPC proliferation induced by HG treatment, and the maximal effective concentration of icariin was 1 µM [Fold change (FC):0.90±0.07, P=0.0124 vs. HG group]. The impaired EPC migration and tube formation induced by glucose was partially restored by 1 µM icariin treatment (FC: 0.81±0.08, P=0.0148 vs. HG group for migration; 0.82±0.03, P=0.0214 vs. HG group for tube formation). Furthermore, icariin significantly suppressed HG-induced p38 and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation in EPCs (FC: 1.84±0.21, P=0.0238 vs. HG group for p38; FC: 2.24±0.15, P=0.0068 vs. HG group for CREB). Increased Akt and endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) activation was also observed after icariin treatment (FC: 0.64±0.08, P=0.0047 vs. HG group for Akt; FC:0.53±0.05, P=0.0019 vs. HG group for eNOS), which was followed by increased NO production (FC: 0.69±0.06, P=0.0064 vs. HG group). In conclusion, icariin attenuated HG-induced EPC dysfunction, which may be partially attributed to the inhibition of the p38/CREB pathway and the activation of the Akt/eNOS/NO pathway. Icariin may be a therapeutic candidate for improving the function of EPC.
Community occupational therapy for people with dementia and their family carers: A national survey of United Kingdom occupational therapy practice

Introduction A national survey was conducted with United Kingdom (UK) occupational therapists to scope occupational therapy service provision for people with dementia and their family carers in the community. Method This was an online questionnaire with topics on occupational therapists’ roles, service provision, referral, assistive technology and assessment tools. Recruitment was through direct invitation, and promotion via occupational therapy networks, websites and newsletters. Results A total of 197 responded. Occupational therapy referrals most commonly came from the multidisciplinary team. Over half primarily undertook profession-specific work, with occupational therapy assessments the most common profession-specific task. Two-thirds of referrals for initial assessments were for people with mild-to-moderate dementia. A median of 2.5 hours for assessment/intervention was spent for each person with dementia. Almost two-thirds used the Model of Human Occupation Screening Tool. Most could prescribe personal activities of daily living equipment and Telecare, with few able to prescribe equipment for reminiscence or leisure. Conclusion This national survey increases knowledge of UK community occupational therapy practice and service provision for people with dementia and their family carers. It informs occupational therapists about national trends within this practice area, and development of the community occupational therapy intervention (COTiD-UK) as part of the Valuing Active Life in Dementia research programme.
Characterization of Blood Surrogate Immune-Methylation Biomarkers for Immune Cell Infiltration in Chronic Inflammaging Disorders

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and atherosclerosis are both chronic age- and inflammation-dependent diseases. In addition, atherosclerosis is frequently observed in AD patients indicating common involvement of vascular components in both disease etiologies. Recently, epigenome-wide association studies have identified epigenetic alterations, and in particularly DNA methylation changes for both disorders. We hypothesized the existence of a common DNA methylation profile in atherosclerosis and AD which may be valuable as a blood-based DNA methylation inflammaging biomarker. Using publicly available 450k Illumina methylation datasets, we identified a co-methylation network associated with both atherosclerosis and AD in whole blood samples. This methylation profile appeared to indicate shifts in blood immune cell type distribution. Remarkably, similar methylation changes were also detected in disease tissues, including AD brain tissues, atherosclerotic plaques, and tumors and were found to correlate with immune cell infiltration. In addition, this immune-related methylation profile could also be detected in other inflammaging diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and obesity, but not in multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, and osteoporosis. In conclusion, we identified a blood-based immune-related DNA methylation signature in multiple inflammaging diseases associated with changes in blood immune cell counts and predictive for immune cell infiltration in diseased tissues. In addition to epigenetic clock measurements, this immune-methylation signature may become a valuable blood-based biomarker to prevent chronic inflammatory disease development or monitor lifestyle intervention strategies which promote healthy aging.
Internal Subdivisions of the Marmoset Claustrum Complex: Identification by Myeloarchitectural Features and High Field Strength Imaging

There has been a surge of interest in the structure and function of the mammalian claustrum in recent years. However, most anatomical and physiological studies treat the claustrum as a relatively homogenous structure. Relatively little attention has been directed toward possible compartmentalization of the claustrum complex into anatomical subdivisions, and how this compartmentalization is reflected in claustrum connections with other brain structures. In this study, we examined the cyto- and myelo-architecture of the claustrum of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), to determine whether the claustrum contains internal anatomical structures or compartments, which could facilitate studies focused on understanding its role in brain function. NeuN, Nissl, calbindin, parvalbumin, and myelin-stained sections from eight adult marmosets were studied using light microscopy and serial reconstruction to identify potential internal compartments. Ultra high resolution (9.4T) post-mortem magnetic resonance imaging was employed to identify tractographic differences between identified claustrum subcompartments by diffusion-weighted tractography. Our results indicate that the classically defined marmoset claustrum includes at least two major subdivisions, which correspond to the dorsal endopiriform and insular claustrum nuclei, as described in other species, and that the dorsal endopiriform nucleus (DEnD) contains architecturally distinct compartments. Furthermore, the dorsal subdivision of the DEnD is tractographically distinguishable from the insular claustrum with respect to cortical connections.
Weaker Inter-hemispheric and Local Functional Connectivity of the Somatomotor Cortex During a Motor Skill Acquisition Is Associated With Better Learning

Recently, an increasing interest in investigating interactions between brain regions using functional connectivity (FC) methods has shifted the initial focus of cognitive neuroimaging research from localizing functional circuits based on task activation to mapping brain networks based on intrinsic FC dynamics. Leveraging the advantages of the latter approach, it has been shown that despite primarily invariant intrinsic organization of the large-scale functional networks, interactions between and within these networks significantly differ between various behavioral and cognitive states. These differences presumably indicate transient reconfiguration of functional connections—an instantaneous process that flexibly mediates and calibrates human behavior according to momentary demands of the environment. Nevertheless, the specificity of these reconfigured FC patterns to the task at hand and their relevance to adaptive processes during learning remain elusive. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated (1) to what extent FC within the somatomotor network is reconfigured during motor skill practice, and (2) how these changes are related to learning. We applied a seed-driven FC approach to data collected during a continuous task-free condition, so-called resting state, and during a motor sequence learning task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. During the task, participants repeatedly performed a short five-element sequence with their non-dominant (left) hand. As predicted, such unimanual sequence production was associated with lateralized activation of the right somatomotor cortex (SMC). Using this “active” region as a seed, here we show that unimanual performance of the motor sequence relies on functional segregation between the two SMC and selective integration between the “active” SMC and supplementary motor area. Whereas, greater segregation between the two SMC was associated with gains in performance rate, greater segregation within the “active” SMC itself was associated with more consistent performance by the end of training. Nether the resting-state FC patterns within the somatomotor network nor their relative modulation by the task state predicted these behavioral benefits of learning. Our results suggest that task-induced FC changes reflect reconfiguration of the connectivity patterns within the somatomotor network rather than a simple amplification or silencing of its intrinsic dynamics. Such reconfiguration not only supports motor behavior but may also predict learning.
Visualization of Brain Activity in a Neuropathic Pain Model Using Quantitative Activity-Dependent Manganese Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Human brain imaging studies have revealed several regions that are activated in patients with chronic pain. In rodent brains, functional changes due to chronic pain have not been fully elucidated, as brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (PET) require the use of anesthesia to suppress movement. Consequently, conclusions derived from existing imaging studies in rodents may not accurately reflect brain activity under awake conditions. In this study, we used quantitative activation-induced manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging to directly capture the previous brain activity of awake mice. We also observed and quantified the brain activity of the spared nerve injury (SNI) neuropathic pain model during awake conditions. SNI-operated mice exhibited a robust decrease of mechanical nociceptive threshold 14 days after nerve injury. Imaging on SNI-operated mice revealed increased neural activity in the limbic system and secondary somatosensory, sensory-motor, piriform, and insular cortex. We present the first study demonstrating a direct measurement of awake neural activity in a neuropathic pain mouse model.
Noggin Nodding: Head Movement Correlates With Increased Effort in Accelerating Speech Production Tasks

Movements of the head and speech articulators have been observed in tandem during an alternating word pair production task driven by an accelerating rate metronome. Word pairs contrasted either onset or coda dissimilarity with same word controls. Results show that as production effort increased, so did speaker head nodding, and that nodding increased abruptly following errors. More errors occurred under faster production rates, and in coda rather than onset alternations. The greatest entrainment between head and articulators was observed at the fastest rate under coda alternation. Neither jaw coupling nor imposed prosodic stress was observed to be a primary driver of head movement. In alternating pairs, nodding frequency tracked the slower alternation rate rather than the syllable rate, interpreted as recruitment of additional degrees of freedom to stabilize the alternation pattern under increasing production rate pressure.
Hypoallergen Peanut Lines Identified Through Large-Scale Phenotyping of Global Diversity Panel: Providing Hope Toward Addressing One of the Major Global Food Safety Concerns

Peanut allergy is one of the serious health concern and affects more than 1% of the world’s population mainly in Americas, Australia, and Europe. Peanut allergy is sometimes life-threatening and adversely affect the life quality of allergic individuals and their families. Consumption of hypoallergen peanuts is the best solution, however, not much effort has been made in this direction for identifying or developing hypoallergen peanut varieties. A highly diverse peanut germplasm panel was phenotyped using a recently developed monoclonal antibody-based ELISA protocol to quantify five major allergens. Results revealed a wide phenotypic variation for all the five allergens studied i.e., Ara h 1 (4–36,833 µg/g), Ara h 2 (41–77,041 µg/g), Ara h 3 (22–106,765 µg/g), Ara h 6 (829–103,892 µg/g), and Ara h 8 (0.01–70.12 µg/g). The hypoallergen peanut genotypes with low levels of allergen proteins for Ara h 1 (4 µg/g), Ara h 2 (41 µg/g), Ara h 3 (22 µg/g), Ara h 6 (829 µg/g), and Ara h 8 (0.01 µg/g) have paved the way for their use in breeding and genomics studies. In addition, these hypoallergen peanut genotypes are available for use in cultivation and industry, thus opened up new vistas for fighting against peanut allergy problem across the world.
Performance Changes Following Heat Acclimation and the Factors That Influence These Changes: Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression

Heat acclimation (HA) is the process of intentional and consistent exercise in the heat that results in positive physiological adaptations, which can improve exercise performance both in the heat and thermoneutral conditions. Previous research has indicated the many performance benefits of HA, however, a meta-analysis examining the magnitude of different types of performance improvement is absent. Additionally, there are several methodological discrepancies in the literature that could lead to increased variability in performance improvement following HA and no previous study has examined the impact of moderators on performance improvement following HA. Therefore, the aim of this study was two-fold; (1) to perform a meta-analysis to examine the magnitude of changes in performance following HA in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), time to exhaustion, time trial, mean power, and peak power tests; (2) to determine the impact of moderators on results of these performance tests. Thirty-five studies met the inclusion/exclusion criteria with 23 studies that assessed VO2max (n = 204), 24 studies that assessed time to exhaustion (n = 232), 10 studies that performed time trials (n = 101), 7 studies that assessed mean power (n = 67), and 10 papers that assessed peak power (n = 88). Data are reported as Hedge's g effect size (ES), and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Statistical significance was set to p < 0.05, a priori. The magnitude of change following HA was analyzed, with time to exhaustion demonstrating the largest performance enhancement (ES [95% CI], 0.86 [0.71, 1.01]), followed by time trial (0.49 [0.26, 0.71]), mean power (0.37 [0.05, 0.68]), VO2max (0.30 [0.07, 0.53]), and peak power (0.29 [0.09, 0.48]) (p < 0.05). When all of the covariates were analyzed as individual models, induction method, fitness level, heat index in time to exhaustion (coefficient [95% CI]; induction method, −0.69 [−1.01, −0.37], p < 0.001; fitness level, 0.04 [0.02, 0.06], p < 0.001; heat index, 0.04 [0.02, 0.07], p < 0.0001) and induction length in mean power (coefficient [95% CI]; induction length 0.15 [0.05, 0.25], p = 0.002) significantly impacted the magnitude of change. Sport scientists and researchers can use the findings from this meta-analysis to customize HA induction. For time to exhaustion improvements, HA implementation should focus on induction method and baseline fitness, while the training and recovery balance could lead to optimal time trial performance.
Ectopic Expression of PAP1 Leads to Anthocyanin Accumulation and Novel Floral Color in Genetically Engineered Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.)

Floral pigmentation is of major importance to the ornamental industry, which is constantly searching for cultivars with novel colors. Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) has monochromatic yellow carotenoid-containing flowers that cannot be modified using classical breeding approaches due to a limited gene pool. To generate Solidago with novel colors through metabolic engineering, we first developed a procedure for its regeneration and transformation. Applicability of different cytokinins for adventitious regeneration was examined in the commercial cv. Tara, with zeatin yielding higher efficiency than 6-benzylaminopurine or thidiazuron. A comparison of regeneration of commercial cvs. Tara, Golden Glory and Ivory Glory revealed Tara to be the most potent, with an efficiency of 86% (number of shoots per 100 leaf explants). Agrobacterium-based transformation efficiency was highest for cv. Golden Glory (5 independent transgenic shoots per 100 explants) based on kanamycin selection and the GUS reporter gene. In an attempt to promote anthocyanin biosynthesis, we generated transgenic Solidago expressing snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) Rosea1 and Delila, as well as Arabidopsis thaliana PRODUCTION OF ANTHOCYANIN PIGMENT 1 (PAP1) transcription factors. Transgenic cv. Golden Glory expressing cauliflower mosaic virus 35S-driven PAP1 generated red flowers that accumulated delphinidin and its methylated derivatives, as compared to control yellow flowers in the GUS-expressing plants. The protocol described here allows efficient engineering of Solidago for novel coloration and improved agricultural traits.