Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Continuum Models of Membrane Fusion: Evolution of the Theory

Starting from fertilization, through tissue growth, hormone secretion, synaptic transmission, and sometimes morbid events of carcinogenesis and viral infections, membrane fusion regulates the whole life of high organisms. Despite that, a lot of fusion processes still lack well-established models and even a list of main actors. A merger of membranes requires their topological rearrangements controlled by elastic properties of a lipid bilayer. That is why continuum models based on theories of membrane elasticity are actively applied for the construction of physical models of membrane fusion. Started from the view on the membrane as a structureless film with postulated geometry of fusion intermediates, they developed along with experimental and computational techniques to a powerful tool for prediction of the whole process with molecular accuracy. In the present review, focusing on fusion processes occurring in eukaryotic cells, we scrutinize the history of these models, their evolution and complication, as well as open questions and remaining theoretical problems. We show that modern approaches in this field allow continuum models of membrane fusion to stand shoulder to shoulder with molecular dynamics simulations, and provide the deepest understanding of this process in multiple biological systems.
COVID‐19: Finding silver linings for dental education

Dental education is long overdue for disruption. The three landmark reports—the 1926 Gies Report,1 the 1995 Dental Education at the Crossroads,2 and the 2017 the series of articles called “Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century”3—have provided deep analysis and careful recommendations to the dental education community about its core identity, values, financial models, and future directions. Some aspects of dentistry and dental education have changed drastically over the years; however, many of the ideas presented by Dr. Gies in 1926 are yet to be realized, such as professional identity equal to that of a physician, better integration with medical practice, improved application of biomedical sciences, and a focus on preventive therapeutics. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put extreme challenges on healthcare systems, educational institutions, and the global economy. People across the world are losing their jobs4,5 and employment benefits such as medical and dental insurance. The citizens of the world have had to postpone their weddings, give birth without the support of their families, and grieve the loss of their loved ones by themselves and from afar. Some are “sheltering in place” or “staying at home” in unsafe home environments, impacting their physical and mental wellbeing. Dental practices have closed or significantly reduced the treatment they are providing, impacting their own livelihood, the ability to continue employing their staff, and their ability to serve their patients. Similarly, dental schools around theworld are facing unprecedented challenges. For example, dental schools must reassign faculty and staff whose job duties do not lend themselves well to working from home, or who are unable to work from home due to limited computer or Internet access. Clinical revenue generation has slowed to a trickle. Uncertainty exists on the progression of current dental students and admission of new students into a program that has an unknown timeline for resuming clinical educational activities. Some faculty and staff have the added responsibility of homeschooling their children whose schools are closed indefinitely. This is truly an unprecedented and difficult time that is affecting everyone globally. However, this disruption has forced us to adapt quickly, creatively, and collaboratively. Our routines and norms have been interrupted so drastically that we have the option, and some would argue the necessity, to define new norms. Within our field, many long-held beliefs and traditions have been upended, catalyzing changes in the way we teach, assess, connect, and license dentists. While the pandemic is causing significant strain, it also brings with it some silver linings and opportunities to ensure the longterm viability and relevance of dental education.
Spatial Variation in Bacterioplankton Communities in the Pearl River, South China: Impacts of Land Use and Physicochemical Factors

River ecosystems are critical for human and environmental health, with bacterioplankton playing a vital role in biogeochemical cycles. Unveiling the spatial patterns of bacterioplankton communities in relation to environmental factors is important for understanding the processes of microbial variation and functional maintenance. However, our understanding of the correlations among bacterioplankton communities, physicochemical factors, and land use, especially in large rivers affected by intensive anthropogenic activities, remains relatively poor. Here, we investigated the bacterioplankton communities in July 2018 in three main tributaries of the Pearl River, i.e., Beijiang, Xijiang, and Pearl River Delta, based on 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that the most dominant phyla, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Planctomycetes accounted for 33.75%, 22.15%, 11.65%, and 10.48% of the total abundance, respectively. The bacterioplankton communities showed remarkable differences among the three tributaries in terms of composition, structure, diversity, and predictive functional profiles. Mantel and partial Mantel tests revealed that the bacterioplankton communities were affected by physicochemical variables (p < 0.01) and land use (p < 0.01). Redundancy analysis identified specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, agricultural land, ammonium, urban land, and water transparency as the dominant environmental factors influencing the bacterioplankton communities in the Pearl River. Variation partitioning analysis indicated that both physicochemical factors and land use had direct effects on the bacterioplankton community, and that land use may also shape bacterioplankton communities through indirect effects of physicochemical factors on riverine ecosystems. This study provides fundamental information on the diversity, spatial patterns, and influencing factors of bacterioplankton communities in the Pearl River, which should enhance our understanding of how such communities change in response to environmental gradients and anthropogenic activities.
Posttraumatic growth and death anxiety in caregivers of cancer patients: PHOENIX study

Background/aim Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is defined as positive psychological changes following a challenging or traumatic life event. The purpose of this study is to define the predictors of PTG and death anxiety (DAN) in caregivers of cancer patients and evaluate the impact of DAN on PTG. Materials and methods The caregivers of cancer patients were evaluated using structured questionnaires, including a validated PTG scale and Templer death anxiety scale. Results In 3 different cancer centers, 426 participants were evaluated. In multivariate analysis of factors associated with PTG, a high DAN score was the only parameter associated with high PTG scores [OR: 1.6, CI (95%) 1.02–2.5, P = 0.03]. In multivariate analysis of factors associated with DAN, female sex was the only risk factor for high DAN scores [OR: 1.6, CI (95%) 1.1–2.8, P = 0.049]. There was a positive correlation between PTG and DAN scores (r = 0.15, P = 0.001). Higher DAN scores were associated with positive impacts on self-perception (37.0 versus 35.0, P = 0.02), philosophy of life (16.0 versus 13.0, P = 0.035), and changes in relationship (16.0 versus 14.0, P = 0.01) Conclusions This is the first report regarding the association between DAN and PTG. We found a positive impact of death anxiety on psychological changes in caregivers of cancer patients.
Cacti–shrub interactions in the coastal desert of northern Sinaloa, Mexico

Abstract Spatial patterns and replacement in ten cacti were studied on an island of the coastal desert of Sinaloa, Mexico. Four platyopuntias had 74–92% of their individuals beneath shrub canopies, whereas three globose cacti, one columnar cactus and two cylindropuntias had similar or higher percentages of individuals in open spaces. This study advances the idea that open-space colonization is enhanced by less harsh physical and biotic conditions in coastal deserts, and by certain morphological and physiological adaptations of cacti. The absence of nurse-shrub replacement is understood as a result of induced co-existence by physical damage from cyclones in the coastal zone.
Effects of hydric stress on vibrational frequency patterns of Capsicum annuum plants

ABSTRACT Plants that experience a lack of sufficient irrigation undergo hydric stress, which causes the modification of their mechanical properties. These changes include a complex network of chemical and physical signals that interact between plant-plant and plant-environment systems in a mechanism that is still not well understood, and that differs among species. This mechanical response implies different levels of vibration when the plant experiences structural modifications from self-hydraulic adjustments of flux exchange at specific frequencies, with these carrying behavioral information. To measure these signals, highly sensitive instrumentation that allows the decoding of displacement velocity and displacement of plants, which is possible through calibrated equipment such as 3D scanning laser vibrometers, is necessary. Laser vibrometry technology allows for noninvasive measurements in real-time. Physiological changes could reasonably affect the biomechanical condition of plants in terms of the frequency (hertz) and intensity of the plant’s vibration. In this research, it is proposed that the frequency changes of a plant’s vibration are related to the plant’s hydric condition and that these frequency vibrations have the ecological potential to communicate water changes and levels of hydric stress. The peak of the velocity of plant displacements was found to vary from 0.079 to 1.74 mm/s, and natural frequencies (hertz) range is between 1.8 and 2.6 Hz for plants with low hydric stress (LHS), between 1.3 and 1.6 Hz for plants with medium hydric stress (MHS), and between 6.7 and 7.8 Hz for plants with high hydric stress. These values could act as preliminary references for water management using noninvasive techniques and, knowledge of the range of natural frequencies of hydric stress risk in chili pepper crops can be applied in precision agriculture practices.
LABORATORY LIFE HISTORY OF THE PALAEMONID SHRIMP MACROBRACHIUM AMAZONICUM (HELLER) (DECAPODA, PALAEMONIDAE)

[Macrobrachium amazonicum was reared in the laboratory to gather information on the life history of this species. One day old eggs were slightly elliptical (0.6 X 0.7 mm) and light green; fully matured embryos were 0.63 X 0.85 mm and dark grey. Incubation was 12-15 days at 30±1° C and 19-24 days at 24±2° C. An average of 565±238 larvae were produced by females of 76.3±4.4 mm TL and weighing 3.6±0.6 g. Larvae went through 8-9 stages in 23-26 days at 24±0.25° C before metamorphosis to postlarvae. Postlarval growth was rapid with M. amazonicum reaching sexual maturity in 168±2 days after hatching. Females which produced eggs the first time averaged 59.4±1.8 mm (TL), weighed 1.7±0.1 g, and produced 230±102 larvae. The length-weight relationship of M. amazonicum was similar to that reported for other Macrobrachium species. , Macrobrachium amazonicum was reared in the laboratory to gather information on the life history of this species. One day old eggs were slightly elliptical (0.6 X 0.7 mm) and light green; fully matured embryos were 0.63 X 0.85 mm and dark grey. Incubation was 12-15 days at 30±1° C and 19-24 days at 24±2° C. An average of 565±238 larvae were produced by females of 76.3±4.4 mm TL and weighing 3.6±0.6 g. Larvae went through 8-9 stages in 23-26 days at 24±0.25° C before metamorphosis to postlarvae. Postlarval growth was rapid with M. amazonicum reaching sexual maturity in 168±2 days after hatching. Females which produced eggs the first time averaged 59.4±1.8 mm (TL), weighed 1.7±0.1 g, and produced 230±102 larvae. The length-weight relationship of M. amazonicum was similar to that reported for other Macrobrachium species. ]
Network Analysis of Organizations Providing HIV Services in Chicago: Toward an Integrated Response to the HIV Epidemic

Context: The public health response to the HIV epidemic has increasingly centered on the uptake of and adherence to biomedical interventions (eg, pre-exposure prophylaxis [PrEP], treatment as prevention [TasP]). Traditionally, various community and health care organizations have worked to address different stages of PrEP or TasP care. Objective: To understand the importance of how HIV prevention organizations providing these services interact to provide the comprehensive care needed for successful HIV and PrEP continuum outcomes. Design: Utilizing an Organizational Network Survey, network ties were examined between formal and informal partnerships among community agencies. Setting: This study examined community agencies in the current HIV prevention system in Chicago. Participants: Seventy-two community agencies across the Chicago metropolitan area. Main Outcome Measures: Using network analysis, this study examined ties between community agencies and assessed perceptions of collaboration and competitiveness in the current HIV prevention system in Chicago. Results: Overall, respondents reported that the current environment of HIV prevention in Chicago was extremely (18.8%), moderately (37.5%), or somewhat collaborative (37.5%) and extremely (68.8%) or moderately competitive (25.0%). The majority of partnerships reported were informal, with less than a quarter being formalized. That said, those who reported formal partnerships reported being satisfied with those relationships. There was a significantly negative association between density and perceived collaboration—grantees experiencing a more collaborative also reported less dense networks. Conclusion: These findings indicate that, despite perceived competitiveness, agencies are willing to work together and create a cohesive HIV prevention and treatment system. However, more work should be done to foster an environment that can support the formation of partnerships, to improve a coordinated response to providing HIV care, and sustain mutually beneficial relationships.
Resistance or appropriation?: Uptake of exercise after a nurse-led intervention to promote self-management for osteoarthritis

The philosophical underpinning of trials of complex interventions is critiqued for not taking into account causal mechanisms that influence potential outcomes. In this article, we draw from in-depth interviews (with practice nurses and patients) and observations of practice meetings and consultations to investigate the outcomes of a complex intervention to promote self-management (in particular exercise) for osteoarthritis in primary care settings. We argue that nurses interpreted the intervention as underpinned by the need to educate rather than work with patients, and, drawing from Habermasian theory, we argue that expert medicalised knowledge (system) clashed with lay ‘lifeworld’ prerogatives in an uneven communicative arena (the consultation). In turn, the advice and instructions given to patients were not always commensurate with their ‘lifeworld’. Consequently, patients struggled to embed exercise routines into their daily lives for reasons of unsuitable locality, sense-making that ‘home’ was an inappropriate place to exercise and using embodied knowledge to test the efficacy of exercise on pain. We conclude by arguing that using Habermasian theory helped to understand reasons why the trial failed to increase exercise levels. Our findings suggest that communication styles influence the outcomes of self-management interventions, reinforce the utility of theoretically informed qualitative research embedded within trials to improve conduct and outcomes and indicate incorporating perspectives from human geography can enhance Habermas-informed research and theorising.
A Carotenoid-derived Yellow Eustoma Screened under Blue and Ultraviolet Lights

We developed easy, non-destructive methods to investigate the presence of carotenoid and flavonoids in petals by observing them under blue and ultraviolet lights, which are characteristically absorbed by yellow pigments. By using these methods we identified a Eustoma cultivar whose yellow petal coloration was attributed to its carotenoid content. The identification refutes the notion that yellow Eustoma cultivars lack carotenoids. Hence, deep yellow cultivars of this species may be bred in the future. Carotenoids in yellow petals of Eustoma were identified as all-E-neoxanthin, 9′-Z-neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin and β-carotene. Being different in green bud, most carotenoids occurred as conjugates in open petal, which suggests a stage-specific regulation of carotenoid metabolism. The qualitative and quantitative methods used in this report could be applied to identify other carotenoid-derived yellow flower cultivars in other horticultural species.
Distribution of Tetracycline Resistance Gene, tet(M), in Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria Isolated from Sediment and Seawater at a Coastal Aquaculture Site in Japan

We found increased numbers of oxytetracycline (OTC)-resistant bacteria in sediment and seawater around a marine aquaculture site after OTC therapy. Samples were collected at an aquaculture site along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan in 2004. In April, the percentage of bacteria resistant to 60 μg mL-1 OTC in the surface sediment was 6.8%-20.0%. The percentages increased during OTC therapy in the summer reaching 53.3%-60.7% in September. Ninety-two days after drug cessation, the percentages decreased to below 22.9%. Tet(M)-positive bacteria were detected in the sediment and seawater samples. Tet(M) was evident in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria from various genera, and was newly identified in Paenibacillus, Sporosarcina, Shewanella, and Pseudoalteromonas. The dominant tet(M)-positive isolates were strains of Vibrio suggesting that this genus is an important reservoir for tet(M) in the marine environment. Two different alleles were found, tet(M)-A and tet(M)-B, each in isolates from five genera. The data suggests drug therapy used in the aquaculture acted as a selective pressure promoting increased numbers of resistant bacteria.
Life History and Seasonal Stock-Specific Ocean Migration of Juvenile Chinook Salmon

Abstract The ocean feeding grounds of juvenile Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. range over several thousand kilometers in which ocean conditions, prey quality and abundance, and predator assemblages vary greatly. Therefore, the fate of individual stocks may depend on where they migrate and how much time they spend in different regions. Juvenile (n = 6,266) and immature (n = 659) Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha were collected from coastal Washington to Southeast Alaska in coastal trawl surveys from February to November 1998–2008, which allowed us to reconstruct changes in stock composition for seasons and regions by means of DNA stock identification techniques. Individuals were allocated to 12 regional stocks. The genetic stock assignments were directly validated by showing that 96% of the 339 known-origin, coded-wire-tagged fish were accurately allocated to their region of origin. Overall, the analyses performed in this study support the main findings of previous work based on tagging. However, gi.
Sex ratio effects on copulation, fecundity and progeny fitness for Agasicles hygrophila, a biological control agent of alligator weed

Determining the best ratio of females to males of an insect's natural enemy is important for maximising population increase and promoting population establishment of a natural enemy. In this study, copulation behaviour, fecundity, progeny fitness and rate of population increase for the flea beetle, Agasicles hygrophila Selman & Vogt (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), were compared at different female percentage treatments (i.e., 80%, 66.7%, 50%, 33.3% and 20% females). The results showed that the copulation frequency and duration in males decreased, whereas those in females increased as the number of males increased. At 20%, 33.3% and 66.7% females, the rates of population increase were 3.4-, 2.17- and 0.79-fold higher than that at 50% females. Females at 20% and 33.3% were found to be optimal for mass rearing of the beetle.
Reference Standardization for Quantification and Harmonization of Large-Scale Metabolomics.

Reference standardization was developed to address quantification and harmonization challenges for high-resolution metabolomics (HRM) data collected across different studies or analytical methods. Reference standardization relies on the concurrent analysis of calibrated pooled reference samples at pre-defined intervals and enables a single-step batch correction and quantification for high-throughput metabolomics. Here, we provide quantitative measures of approximately 200 metabolites for each of three pooled reference materials (220 metabolites for Qstd3, 211 metabolites for CHEAR, 204 metabolites for NIST1950) and show application of this approach for quantification supports harmonization of metabolomics data collected from 3,677 human samples in 17 separate studies analyzed by two complementary HRM methods over a 17-month period. The results establish reference standardization as a method suitable for harmonizing large-scale metabolomics data and extending capabilities to quantify large numbers of known and unidentified metabolites detected by high-resolution mass spectrometry methods.
Artificial intelligence and organ transplantation: challenges and expectations.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Classifiers based on artificial intelligence have emerged in all areas of medicine. Although very subtle, many decisions in organ transplantation can now be addressed in a more concisely manner with the support of these classifiers. RECENT FINDINGS Any aspect of organ transplantation (image processing, prediction of results, diagnostic proposals, therapeutic algorithms or precision treatments) consists of a set of input variables and a set of output variables. Artificial intelligence classifiers differ in the way they establish relationships between the input variables, how they select the data groups to train patterns and how they are able to predict the possible options of the output variables. There are hundreds of classifiers to achieve this goal. The most appropriate classifiers to address the different aspects of organ transplantation are Artificial Neural Networks, Decision Tree classifiers, Random Forest, and Naïve Bayes classification models. There are hundreds of examples of the usefulness of artificial intelligence in organ transplantation, especially in image processing, organ allocation, D-R matching, precision pathology, real-time immunosuppression, transplant oncology, and predictive analysis. SUMMARY In the coming years, clinical transplant experts will increasingly use Deep Learning-based models to support their decisions, specially in those cases where subjectivity is common.