Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel approach to screening and managing the urinary tract infections suspected sample in the general human population

Background Automated urine technology providing standard urinalysis data can be used to support clinicians in screening and managing a UTI-suspected sample. Fully automated urinalysis systems have expanded in laboratory practice. Commonly used were devices based on digital imaging with automatic particle recognition, which expresses urinary sediment results on an ordinal scale. There were introduced fluorescent flow cytometry analyzers reporting all parameters quantitatively. There is a need to harmonize the result and support comparing bacteria and WBC qualitative versus semiquantitative results. Methods A total of 1,131 urine samples were analyzed on both automated urinalysis systems. The chemical components of urinalysis (leukocyte esterase and nitrate reductase) and the sediment results (leukocytes and bacteria) were investigated as potential UTI indicators. Additionally, 106 specimens were analyzed on UF-5000 and compared with culture plating to establish cut-offs that can be suitable for standard urinalysis requirements and help to guide on how to interpret urinalysis results in the context of cultivation reflex. Results The medians of bacteria counts varies from 16.2 (absence), 43.0 (trace), 443.5 (few), 5,389.2 (moderate), 19,356.6 (many) to 32,545.2 (massive) for particular digital microscopic bacteriuria thresholds. For pyuria thresholds, the medians of WBC counts varies from 0.8 (absence), 2.0 (0-1), 7.7 (2-3), 21.3 (4-6), 38.9 (7-10), 61.3 (11-15) to 242.2 (>30). Comparing the culture and FFC data (bacterial and/or WBC counts) was performed. Satisfactory sensitivity (100%), specificity (83.7%), negative predictive value (100%), and positive predictive value (75%) were obtained using indicators with the following cut-off values: leukocytes ≥40/µl or bacteria ≥300/µl. Conclusions Accurate urinalysis gives information about the count of bacteria and leukocytes as useful indicators in UTIs, in general practice it can be a future tool to cross-link clinical and microbiology laboratories. However, the cut-off adjustments require individual optimization.
mHealth interventions to reduce maternal and child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia: A systematic literature review

Background Reducing maternal mortality, neonatal mortality and under 5-year mortality are important targets addressed by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Despite studies reported an improvement in maternal and child health indicators, the progress achieved is not uniform across regions. Due to the increasing availability of mobile phones in low and middle-income countries, mHealth could impact considerably on reducing maternal and child mortality and maximizing women's access to quality care, from the antenatal stage to the post-natal period. Methods A systematic literature review of mHealth interventions aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Primary outcomes were maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, and under-five mortality. Secondary outcomes were skilled birth attendance, antenatal care (ANC) and post-natal care (PNC) attendance, and vaccination/immunization coverage. We searched for articles published from January 2010 to December 2020 in Embase, Medline and Web of Science. Quantitative comparative studies were included. The protocol was developed according to the PRISMA Checklist and published in PROSPERO [CRD42019109434]. The Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies was used to assess the quality of the eligible studies. Results 23 studies were included in the review, 16 undertaken in Sub-Saharan Africa and 7 in Southern Asia. Most studies used SMS or voice message reminders for education purposes. Only two studies reported outcomes on neonatal mortality, with positive results. None of the studies reported results on maternal mortality or under-five mortality. Outcomes on skilled birth attendance, ANC attendance, PNC attendance, and vaccination coverage were reported in six, six, five, and eleven studies, respectively. Most of these studies showed a positive impact of mHealth interventions on the secondary outcomes. Conclusion Simple mHealth educational interventions based on SMS and voice message reminders are effective at supporting behavior change of pregnant women and training of health workers, thus improving ANC and PNC attendance, vaccination coverage and skilled birth attendance. Higher quality studies addressing the role of mHealth in reducing maternal and child mortality in resource-limited settings are needed, especially in Southern Asia. Systematic review registration https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/prospero/display_record. php? ID=CRD42019109434, identifier CRD42019109434.
How to support teachers to carry out educational robotics activities in school? The case of Roteco, the Swiss robotic teacher community

The development of 21st-century transversal competences such as communication, cooperation, and creativity as well as computational thinking and programming may be aided through educational robotics (ER). Different countries have inserted ER in their school curricula, however, to date ER activities are not carried out systematically in all schools and are more an initiative from single pioneer teachers. In Switzerland, to support all teachers to carry out ER activities and to foster the presence of ER in schools, a robotic teacher community (Roteco) has been created. Teachers may obtain assistance, share experiences, and access instructional resources through a digital platform, which will help them and spread the use of robotics in the classroom. For instance, the site enables educators to simply submit their activities, connect with other educators and professionals, choose and download didactic activities from their peers together with the relevant resources, and stay updated on the newest information, events, research, and further education courses in the field of ER. In the first years of the platform’s existence, already more than 1,400 teachers have joined it. The project and the findings of two surveys are presented in this publication. The first survey was carried out in 2020 with 87 teachers and the second one in 2021 with 48 teachers from the community. The findings highlight the community’s greatest accomplishments as well as the motivations for teachers’ recruitment into the Roteco community and their contributions to its expansion. The results of this project allow for discussion on how to support teachers to implement ER activities in schools in a systematic way.
Reconstructing the Historical Terrestrial Water Storage Variations in the Huang–Huai–Hai River Basin With Consideration of Water Withdrawals

The Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin in eastern China has suffered from severe water scarcity during recent decades due to the effects of climate change and human activities. Quantifying the changes in the amount of terrestrial freshwater available in this region and their driving factors is important for understanding hydrological processes and developing a sustainable water policy. This study proposed an ensemble learning model to reconstruct historical variations in the terrestrial water storage (TWS) of the Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin, China. The model was trained using the observations of the variations in TWS from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission (GRACE) satellites, climatic driving, and human withdrawal datasets produced on a monthly scale. The variations in the reconstructed TWS were compared with the results of several land surface and hydrological models with a variety of in situ measurements of the soil water content. The contributions of the climate and human activity to the ensemble learning model were also quantified. The results show that the proposed approach generally outperforms the land surface and hydrological models examined in this study, matches the patterns in the GRACE solutions, and reconstructs past changes in TWS, which are consistent with the GRACE observations. Climatic variables are the most important in the ensemble learning model, with precipitation over the prior month being a critical factor. The model that includes human intervention tends to perform better than without it. Irrigation, industry, and domestic water withdrawals contribute equally to the model. This study provides a flexible and easily implementable model that can bridge the gap between GRACE observations and past changes in TWS. The model is applicable in areas with intense human activities, and the results have the potential to be assimilated into and enhance hydrological models.
Depressive rumination and heart rate variability: A pilot study on the effect of biofeedback on rumination and its physiological concomitants

Objective Recent studies suggest that lower resting heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with elevated vulnerability to depressive rumination. In this study, we tested whether increases in HRV after HRV-biofeedback training are accompanied by reductions in rumination levels. Materials and methods Sixteen patients suffering from depression completed a 6-week HRV-biofeedback training and fourteen patients completed a control condition in which there was no intervention (waitlist). The training included five sessions per week at home using a smartphone application and an ECG belt. Depressive symptoms and autonomic function at rest and during induced rumination were assessed before and after each of the two conditions. We used a well-established rumination induction task to provoke a state of pervasive rumination while recording various physiological signals simultaneously. Changes in HRV, respiration rate, skin conductance, and pupil diameter were compared between conditions and time points. Results A significant correlation was found between resting HRV and rumination levels, both assessed at the first laboratory session (r = -0.43, p < 0.05). Induction of rumination led to an acceleration of heart rate and skin conductance increases. After biofeedback training, resting vagal HRV was increased (p < 0.01) and self-ratings of state anxiety (p < 0.05), rumination (p < 0.05), perceived stress (p < 0.05), and depressive symptoms (QIDS, BDI; both p < 0.05) were decreased. In the control condition, there were no changes in autonomic indices or depressive symptomatology. A significant interaction effect group x time on HRV was observed. Conclusion Our results indicate that a smartphone-based HRV-biofeedback intervention can be applied to improve cardiovagal function and to reduce depressive symptoms including self-rated rumination tendencies.
Meta-analysis of fungal plant pathogen Fusarium oxysporum infection-related gene profiles using transcriptome datasets

Fusarium oxysporum is a serious soil-borne fungal pathogen that affects the production of many economically important crops worldwide. Recent reports suggest that this fungus is becoming the dominant species in soil and could become the main infectious fungus in the future. However, the infection mechanisms employed by F. oxysporum are poorly understood. In the present study, using a network meta-analysis technique and public transcriptome datasets for different F. oxysporum and plant interactions, we aimed to explore the common molecular infection strategy used by this fungus and to identify vital genes involved in this process. Principle component analysis showed that all the fungal culture samples from different datasets were clustered together, and were clearly separated from the infection samples, suggesting the feasibility of an integrated analysis of heterogeneous datasets. A total of 335 common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified among these samples, of which 262 were upregulated and 73 were downregulated significantly across the datasets. The most enriched functional categories of the common DEGs were carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and lipid metabolism. Nine co-expression modules were identified, and two modules, the turquoise module and the blue module, correlated positively and negatively with all the infection processes, respectively. Co-expression networks were constructed for these two modules and hub genes were identified and validated. Our results comprise a cross fungal-host interaction resource, highlighting the use of a network biology approach to gain molecular insights.
A Multi-Center Study on the Negative Psychological Impact and Associated Factors in Chinese Healthcare Workers 1 Year After the COVID-19 Initial Outbreak

Objectives: The study aimed at analyzing the prevalence of five psychological outcomes (depression, anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation) among Chinese healthcare workers (HCWs), and measured the total possible negative psychological impact 1 year after the COVID-19 initial outbreak. Methods: A cross-sectional nationwide multi-center study was performed between November 2020 and March 2021 in China. A self-report questionnaire was applied, and three psychological scales were used. Binary logistic regression was performed to analyze the risk factors associated with each psychological outcome. Results: The findings demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative psychological impact on HCWs, which was still evident 1 year after the initial outbreak. Nurses showed higher depression and anxiety than other HCWs. Female gender, passive coping, long working hours, having a chronic disease, and experiencing violence, among other factors, were all risk factors for psychological impairment. Conclusion: Developing and promoting programs to improve mental health among HCWs, and identifying those who might need psychological support is still relevant 1 year after the initial outbreak.
Socioeconomic and substance use changes in emerging adults and their relationship with mood disorders in a population-based cohort

In this report, we aim to assess the interaction of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder with the evolution of social roles, economic classification, and substance misuse in emerging adults. This is a longitudinal population-based study (n = 231 at baseline), in which participants were reassessed at a mean of 5 years after baseline. A structured clinical interview was used to diagnose the participants with bipolar disorder and major depression; a control group without mood disorders was included. Men with mood disorders were less likely to be married in the beginning of the study and less likely to work in the follow-up. Women with major depression were less likely to study and more likely to be in a lower economic class at the beginning of the study. In comparison, women with bipolar disorder were less likely to live with their parents and more likely to live with their children in the first wave of the study. Substance misuse was more likely in people with mood disorders, especially in men, and women with bipolar disorder had the highest likelihood in the follow-up. Albeit longitudinal analyses were limited by a possibly insufficient sample size and mediating mechanisms for change, such as stigma, were not explored, the study suggests sex-related specificities regarding the change in social roles and substance use in people with mood disorders. Emerging adults, especially those with mood disorders, are in a period of change and instability and at a greater risk for substance use and abuse.
The association between peritraumatic distress, perceived stress, depression in pregnancy, and NR3C1 DNA methylation among Chinese pregnant women who experienced COVID-19 lockdown

Prenatal stress can affect pregnant women in an epigenetic way during the critical period of conception of their offspring. The study aims to investigate the relationship between peritraumatic distress, prenatal perceived stress, depression, and glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) DNA methylation among pregnant women who experienced COVID-19 lockdown in China. Study data were collected from 30 pregnant women in Wuhan and Huanggang, China. The Peritraumatic Distress Inventory was used to measure peritraumatic distress, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used to measure depressive symptoms, and the Perceived Stress Scale was used to measure perceived stress. DNA methylation in the exon 1F promoter region of NR3C1 gene from the venous blood mononuclear cell genome was characterized by bisulfite sequencing. Correlation and linear regression were used for data analysis. The mean level of peritraumatic distress, perceived stress, and depression was 6.30 (SD = 5.09), 6.50 (SD = 5.41), and 6.60 (SD = 4.85), respectively, with 23.33% of pregnant women being depressed. The mean NR3C1 methylation was 0.65 (SD = 0.22). Prenatal depression was positively correlated with the degree of methylation in venous blood from the mother (r = 0.59, p = 0.001), and depression predicted methylation of NR3C1 gene at the CpG 8 site (β = 0.05, p = 0.03). No association was found between peritraumatic distress as well as perceived stress and methylation of NR3C1. NR3C1 gene was susceptible to epigenetic modification of DNA methylation in the context of prenatal stress, and maternal depression was associated with increased NR3C1 methylation among women who experienced COVID-19 lockdown.
Exploring the Roles of Dispositional Mindfulness and Cognitive Reappraisal in the Relationship Between Neuroticism and Depression Among Postgraduate Students in China

Objectives: Previous studies revealed a positive association between neuroticism and depression. This study further extended the previous findings by exploring the psychological processes underlying this association among Chinese postgraduates. Guided by theoretical models and empirical research, we proposed a multiple mediation and moderated mediation model to investigate the roles of dispositional mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal in the relationship between neuroticism and depression. Methods: Using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, 1103 first-year postgraduates at a comprehensive university in China were surveyed. Path analysis was adopted to test the models. Results: The results showed that dispositional mindfulness mediated the association between neuroticism and depression. Further, this mediating effect was moderated by cognitive reappraisal, with this effect being stronger in individuals with low engagement in cognitive reappraisal. Conclusion: The results support interrelations among neuroticism, depression, dispositional mindfulness, and cognitive reappraisal as moderated mediation rather than multiple mediation. The results enhance our understanding of psychological mechanisms between neuroticism and depression and provide suggestions for interventions to prevent or reduce depression in highly neurotic postgraduates.
Untargeted metabolite profiling to elucidate rhizosphere and leaf metabolome changes of wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) treated with the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Paenibacillus alvei (T22) and Bacillus subtilis

The rhizosphere is a highly complex and biochemically diverse environment that facilitates plant–microbe and microbe–microbe interactions, and this region is found between plant roots and the bulk soil. Several studies have reported plant root exudation and metabolite secretion by rhizosphere-inhabiting microbes, suggesting that these metabolites play a vital role in plant–microbe interactions. However, the biochemical constellation of the rhizosphere soil is yet to be fully elucidated and thus remains extremely elusive. In this regard, the effects of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR)–plant interactions on the rhizosphere chemistry and above ground tissues are not fully understood. The current study applies an untargeted metabolomics approach to profile the rhizosphere exo-metabolome of wheat cultivars generated from seed inoculated (bio-primed) with Paenibacillus (T22) and Bacillus subtilis strains and to elucidate the effects of PGPR treatment on the metabolism of above-ground tissues. Chemometrics and molecular networking tools were used to process, mine and interpret the acquired mass spectrometry (MS) data. Global metabolome profiling of the rhizosphere soil of PGPR-bio-primed plants revealed differential accumulation of compounds from several classes of metabolites including phenylpropanoids, organic acids, lipids, organoheterocyclic compounds, and benzenoids. Of these, some have been reported to function in plant–microbe interactions, chemotaxis, biocontrol, and plant growth promotion. Metabolic perturbations associated with the primary and secondary metabolism were observed from the profiled leaf tissue of PGPR-bio-primed plants, suggesting a distal metabolic reprograming induced by PGPR seed bio-priming. These observations gave insights into the hypothetical framework which suggests that PGPR seed bio-priming can induce metabolic changes in plants leading to induced systemic response for adaptation to biotic and abiotic stress. Thus, this study contributes knowledge to ongoing efforts to decipher the rhizosphere metabolome and mechanistic nature of biochemical plant–microbe interactions, which could lead to metabolome engineering strategies for improved plant growth, priming for defense and sustainable agriculture.
Pathway to green growth: A panel-ARDL model of environmental upgrading, environmental regulations, and GVC participation for the Chinese manufacturing industry

Since the opening up of China, its manufacturing sector contributed significantly toward economic development on one hand and caused elevated environmental pollution and heavy resource consumption problems on the other hand. Green productivity is an essential means of addressing environmental problems and promoting sustainable environmental performance and long-term economic growth. When the factors affecting the green total factor energy productivity (GTFEP) are studied in recent years, the hitherto literature lacks the relationship between GTFEP, environmental regulations, and global value chain (GVC) participation. Using GTFEP as a proxy of environmental upgrading for the Chinese manufacturing industry, this study investigates the nexus between the GTFEP, environmental regulation index (ERI), and total production length index (TPLI). Based on panel data 18 industries from 2000 to 2014, the current study employed the panel pool mean group estimators for the auto-regressive distributed lag model (ARDL) and estimated the long-run relationship between variables. Findings revealed the positive effect of ERI and GVC participation (TPLI) on the GTFEP of the Chinese manufacturing industry. Furthermore, pairwise panel causativeness analysis indicated unidirectional causality between GTFEP and ERI, running from GTFEP to ERI. Based on research findings, some conclusions and policy implications are derived, such as strict enforcement of environmental regulations, industry-specific policies, promotion of clean energy resources, and acceleration of the country’s further opening-up and reforms. All of these will help promulgate the GTFEP and environmental upgrading of the Chinese manufacturing sector, thus leading to sustainable economic development decoupled from environmental pollution.