Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved of growth and phytostabilization potential of lead (Pb) in Glebionis coronaria L. under the effect of IAA and GA3 alone and in combination with EDTA by altering biochemical attributes of stressed plants

Abstract This study evaluated the effect of EDTA, IAA and GA3 alone and in combination in improving plant growth, Pb accumulation, and management of effective mechanisms associated with alleviation of Pb-induced adverse effect in Glebionis coronaria L. grown on industrial area in Alexandria. In this regards, 10-week-old plants were subjected to IAA and GA3 as a foliar spray and EDTA was supplied in two doses 50 and 200mgkg−1 soil. EDTA significantly reduced the plant growth and dry biomass, whereas GA3 and IAA foliar spray increased growth significantly when compared with control (uncontaminated soil). In combined treatments of EDTA + GA3 +IAA, the biomass was restored, which shows that GA3 and IAA did compensate the negative effect of EDTA on plant growth and increased the Pb uptake significantly into roots. There were high GSH contents parallel with the increase of glutathione-S-transferase activity and induction of the antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX, GR) as well as oxidized glutathione and ascorbic acid contents in leaves and roots when compared to control plants. This study suggests that G. coronaria is promising species for decontamination of Pb -contaminated soil and the application of EDTA together with IAA and GA3 could be a useful strategy for enhancing the phytostabilization capability of Glebionis coronaria L. to eliminate Pb from contaminated soils. Novelty statement: The objective of this paper is to investigate the physiological performance of Glebionis coronaria as a new native for phytoremediation by phytostabilization mechanism of Pb after treatment with EDTA and phytohormones. Chemical additives of EDTA and GA3 as well as IAA are promising alternatives to provide added benefits due to their individual credentials in improving the overall phytostabilization effectiveness and better immobilization efficiency in treating Pb contaminated soils by altering biochemical attributes of stressed plants. Currently these additives are not employed widely in large-scale field implementations, so field applications of these additives using Glebionis coronaria are essential for Phytoremediation of Pb-contaminated soils.
Quantification of progesterone in beef with marbling using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with stable isotope-labelled standards

ABSTRACT Progesterone (P4) is contained naturally in animal tissue, and it is also used as a veterinary drug in cattle for treatment purposes. To assess the risk from P4 residues in beef derived from treated cattle, it is essential to quantify the P4 contained naturally in cattle tissue (endogenous P4). Therefore, we performed a method validation for the quantification of endogenous P4 (method quantification limit = 0.06 ng g−1) by using isotope-labelled P4s, and investigated the P4 contents in Japanese beef (n= 112; 0.07 to 121 ng g−1). The P4 contents in cattle muscle ranged from 0.07 to 54.3 ng g−1 in males, and from 0.27 to 121 ng g−1 in females. Our investigation also indicated that the developed method using both 13 C- and deuterium-labelled P4 standards could be used to certify the recovery of P4 from cattle muscle containing various amounts of intramuscular fat, and enabled the determination of the P4 content in all Japanese beef samples that exceeded the method quantification limit.
Using machine learning techniques predicts prognosis of patients with Ewing sarcoma

Ewing sarcoma is one of the most common types of malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. However, to our limited knowledge, no study exists that uses machine learning to create algorithms for the prediction of survivorship for Ewing sarcoma. About 2332 patients with Ewing sarcoma between 1975 and 2016 in the United States were identified from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. All patients in the data set were randomly assigned into the training set and the testing set, at a 2:8 ratio. In the training set, boosted decision tree, support vector machine, nonparametric random forest method, and neural network models were developed to predict the 5‐year survivorship. The overall survival rate in 5‐year follow‐up of this patient cohort is 60.72%. With respect to the algorithms for both cancer specific survival and overall survival, there was slight superiority in our performance metrics favoring the random forest method over the other models for survival prediction, with 77/83% sensitivity and 91/94% specificity, respectively. The random forest method was incorporated into a freely available web‐based application. This application can be accessed through https://zryan.shinyapps. io/EwingSarcoma/. Clinical Significance: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first available predictive model for predicting survival in Ewing sarcoma based on machine‐learning algorithms. This study may provide orthopedic surgeons with an easily accessible prediction tool when dealing with patients suffering from Ewing sarcoma.
Sparse image reconstruction of intracerebral hemorrhage with electrical impedance tomography

Abstract. Purpose: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a common disease that is known for its high morbidity, high mortality, and high disability. The fast and accurate detection of ICH is essential for the acute care of patients. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) offers an alternative with which pathological tissues can be detected by reconstructing conductivity variation. Nevertheless, the sensitive field of EIT is greatly affected by medium distribution, which is referred to as soft-field effect. In addition, the image reconstruction is a severely ill-posed inverse problem. Furthermore, due to the low conductivity of skull, the sensitivity in the sensing area is extremely low. Therefore, the reconstruction of ICH with EIT is great challenge. Approach: A sparse image reconstruction method is proposed for EIT to visualize the conductivity variation caused by ICH. To reduce the impact of soft-field effect, the normalization of sensitivity distribution is conducted for monolayer and three-layer head model. In addition, a constrained sparse L1-norm minimization model is developed for the image reconstruction. Augmented Lagrangian multiplier method and alternating minimization scheme are adopted to solve the proposed model. Results: The results show that the sensitivity in the sensing area is largely enhanced. Numerical simulation based on monolayer head model and three-layer head model is respectively carried out. Both the reconstructed images and the quantitative evaluations show that image reconstructed by the proposed method is much better than that reconstructed by traditional Tikhonov method. The reconstructions evaluated under the impact of noise also show that the proposed method has superior anti-noise performance. Conclusions: With the proposed method, the quality of the reconstructed image would be greatly improved. It is an effective approach for imaging ICH with EIT technique.
Time-course effect of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles on intracellular iron metabolism and ferroptosis activation

Abstract Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death caused by excessive peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. It can be activated by iron-based nanoparticles as a potential cancer therapeutic target. However, the intracellular transformation of iron-based nanoparticles is still ambiguous and the subsequent ferroptosis mechanism is also obscure. Here, we identified the time-course metabolism of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (USPIO) in cells by using X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy. Also, the integrated quantitative transcriptome and proteome data obtained from the cells exposed to USPIO exhibited hallmark features of ferroptosis. With the chemical species of iron oxide transforming to ferritin, the intracellular GPX4 down-regulated, and lipid peroxide began to accumulate. These results provide evidence that the intracellular metabolism of USPIO induced ferroptosis in a time-dependent manner, and iron over-loaded in cytoplasm along with lipid peroxidation of the membrane are involved in the detailed mechanism of ferroptosis signaling activation.
DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF BILE ACIDS ON THE POST-PRANDIAL SECRETION OF GUT HORMONES: a randomised crossover study.

AIMS Bile acids (BA) regulate post-prandial metabolism directly and indirectly by affecting the secretion of gut hormones like glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). The post-prandial effects of BA on the secretion of other metabolically active hormones are not well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of oral ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) on post-prandial secretion of GLP-1, oxyntomodulin (OXM), peptide YY (PYY), glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), glucagon and ghrelin. METHODS Twelve healthy volunteers underwent a mixed meal test 60 minutes after ingestion of UDCA (12-16 mg/kg), CDCA (13-16 mg/kg) or no BA in a randomised cross-over study. Glucose, insulin, GLP-1, OXM, PYY, GIP, glucagon, ghrelin and fibroblast growth factor 19 were measured prior to BA administration at -60, 0 (just prior to mixed meal) and 15, 30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 minutes after the meal. RESULTS UDCA and CDCA provoked differential gut hormone responses: UDCA did not have any significant effects, but CDCA provoked significant increases in GLP-1 and OXM and a profound reduction in GIP. CDCA increased fasting GLP-1 and OXM secretion in parallel with an increase in insulin. On the other hand, CDCA reduced post-prandial secretion of GIP, with an associated reduction in post-prandial insulin secretion. CONCLUSIONS Exogenous CDCA can exert multiple salutary effects on the secretion of gut hormones; if these effects are confirmedin obesity and type 2 diabetes, CDCA may be a potential therapy for these conditions.
Extending Friedmann Equations Using Fractional Derivatives Using a Last Step Modification Technique: The Case of a Matter Dominated Accelerated Expanding Universe

We present a toy model for extending the Friedmann equations of relativistic cosmology using fractional derivatives. We do this by replacing the integer derivatives, in a few well-known cosmological results with fractional derivatives leaving their order as a free parameter. All this with the intention to explain the current observed acceleration of the Universe. We apply the Last Step Modification technique of fractional calculus to construct some useful fractional equations of cosmology. The fits of the unknown fractional derivative order and the fractional cosmographic parameters to SN Ia data shows that this simple construction can explain the current accelerated expansion of the Universe without the use of a dark energy component with a MOND-like behaviour using Milgrom’s acceleration constant which sheds light into to the non-necessity of a dark matter component as well.
Absorption by dissolved organic matter of the sea (yellow substance) in the UV and visible domains1

Spectral values of absorption of light by dissolved organic matter were measured in samples originating from diverse parts of the ocean, quite different with respect to pigment and particle content. The use of llO-cm cells and then of lo-cm cells, with a highly sensitive spectrophotometer, allowed measurement throughout the UV-visible range (200-700 nm) even for the low concentrations of yellow substance encountered in the open sea. The concentration appears influenced predominantly by natural and industrial land discharges. In oceanic waters, it remains low and seems to be related to the biological activity averaged over a long period rather than to the local and temporary phytoplankton content. However, even at such low concentrations, yellow substance in the open sea may have an effect on absorption and hence on ocean color similar to that of low or moderate algal biomass. The spectral dependence law of absorption appears to vary within a restricted range, and an average law can be considered representative of rapid measurements at one selected wavelength.
Learning Without Feedback: Fixed Random Learning Signals Allow for Feedforward Training of Deep Neural Networks

While the backpropagation of error algorithm enables deep neural network training, it implies (i) bidirectional synaptic weight transport and (ii) update locking until the forward and backward passes are completed. Not only do these constraints preclude biological plausibility, but they also hinder the development of low-cost adaptive smart sensors at the edge, as they severely constrain memory accesses and entail buffering overhead. In this work, we show that the one-hot-encoded labels provided in supervised classification problems, denoted as targets, can be viewed as a proxy for the error sign. Therefore, their fixed random projections enable a layerwise feedforward training of the hidden layers, thus solving the weight transport and update locking problems while relaxing the computational and memory requirements. Based on these observations, we propose the direct random target projection (DRTP) algorithm and demonstrate that it provides a tradeoff between accuracy and computational cost that is suitable for adaptive edge computing devices.
Micellar electrokinetic chromatographic separation and quantitative analysis of thorium, uranium, gold, and mercury from environmental ore samples

Summary A rapid and reliable analytical procedure has been developed for the separation and analysis of dioxouranium, thorium, gold, and mercury by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) using bis(acetylacetone)ethylenediamine (H2AA2en) as complexing reagent. Under the optimized conditions (64 mm borate buffer containing 12.25 mm SDS and 13% acetonitrile, pH 8.0, 25 kV, 311 nm as detection wavelength) the ions were separated within 5.0 min. Linear dynamic ranges were 1–5, 8–42, 10–50, and 2–40 μg mL−1, respectively, for gold, mercury, thorium, and uranium and the respective detection limits were 0.66, 3.33, 1.6, and 3.3 μg mL−1. The applicability of method has been evaluated by application to uranium and thorium from ore samples.
Capillary trapping in a vertically heterogeneous porous layer

Abstract The post-injection migration of a plume of CO$_{2}$ through an inclined, confined porous layer across which the permeability varies is studied theoretically. We derive a sharp-interface lubrication model which accounts for the capillary trapping of CO$_{2}$ at the receding edge of the plume. Eventually the CO$_{2}$ becomes entirely trapped in the pore throats, and the final run-out distance is a key quantity for determining storage security and efficiency. We deploy asymptotic approximations to show that when the CO$_{2}$ plume migrates a long distance relative to its initial length, the run-out distance is approximately proportional to the permeability at the top of the layer. The permeability structure away from the top boundary is important at early and intermediate times. Dissolution of the CO$_{2}$ and three-dimensional effects are incorporated, which demonstrate that the influence of heterogeneity is quite general. The initial distribution of the CO$_{2}$ at the end of the injection phase also influences the post-injection spreading and trapping. At low injection rates, the CO$_{2}$ remains near the top of the layer so that the end-of-injection plume shape has a small aspect ratio leading to a relatively large run-out length. At very high fluxes, the end-of-injection shape and hence the final run-out distance becomes nearly independent of the injection flux because the role of buoyancy becomes negligible during injection. Our results illustrate the strong control of reservoir heterogeneity on the sweep efficiency of a CO$_{2}$ plume and hence the storage capacity. In many situations, it may be possible to increase the storage volume by injecting at a higher rate.
Usefulness of Right Ventricular Longitudinal Shortening Fraction to Detect Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Acute Cor Pulmonale Related to COVID-19

Objective To compare 2D-speckle tracking echocardiographic parameters (2D-STE) and classical echocardiographic parameters of right ventricular (RV) systolic function in patients with COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome (CARDS) complicated or not by acute cor pulmonale (ACP). Design Prospective, between March 1st and April 15th, 2020. Setting Intensive care unit of Amiens university hospital (France). Participants Adult patients with moderate-to-severe CARDS under mechanical ventilation for less than 24 hours. Intervention None. Measurement and Mains results Tricuspid annular displacement (TAD) parameters (TAD-septal, TAD-lateral and RV longitudinal shortening fraction [RV-LSF]), RV global longitudinal strain (RV-GLS) and RV free wall longitudinal strain (RVFWLS) were measured using transesophageal echocardiography with a dedicated software and compared to classical RV systolic parameters (RV-FAC, S’ wave and TAPSE). RV systolic dysfunction was defined as RV-FAC <35%. Twenty-nine consecutive patients with moderate to severe CARDS were included. ACP was diagnosed in 12 patients (41%). 2D-STE parameters were markedly altered in the ACP group, while no significant difference was found between patients with and without ACP for classical RV parameters (RV-FAC, S’ wave and TAPSE). In the ACP group, RV-LSF (17[14-22]%) had the best correlation with RV-FAC (r=0.79,p<0.001 vs r=0.27, p=0.39 for RVGLS and r=0.28,p=0.39 for RVFWLS). A RV-LSF cut-off value of 17% had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 86% to identify RV systolic dysfunction. Conclusion Classical RV function parameters were not altered by ACP in patients with CARDS to the contrary to 2D-STE parameters. RV-LSF seems to be a valuable parameter to detect early RV systolic dysfunction in CARDS patients with ACP.
Electronic health record alerts for acute kidney injury: multicenter, randomized clinical trial

Abstract Objective To determine whether electronic health record alerts for acute kidney injury would improve patient outcomes of mortality, dialysis, and progression of acute kidney injury. Design Double blinded, multicenter, parallel, randomized controlled trial. Setting Six hospitals (four teaching and two non-teaching) in the Yale New Haven Health System in Connecticut and Rhode Island, US, ranging from small community hospitals to large tertiary care centers. Participants 6030 adult inpatients with acute kidney injury, as defined by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) creatinine criteria. Interventions An electronic health record based “pop-up” alert for acute kidney injury with an associated acute kidney injury order set upon provider opening of the patient’s medical record. Main outcome measures A composite of progression of acute kidney injury, receipt of dialysis, or death within 14 days of randomization. Prespecified secondary outcomes included outcomes at each hospital and frequency of various care practices for acute kidney injury. Results 6030 patients were randomized over 22 months. The primary outcome occurred in 653 (21.3%) of 3059 patients with an alert and in 622 (20.9%) of 2971 patients receiving usual care (relative risk 1.02, 95% confidence interval 0.93 to 1.13, P=0.67). Analysis by each hospital showed worse outcomes in the two non-teaching hospitals (n=765, 13%), where alerts were associated with a higher risk of the primary outcome (relative risk 1.49, 95% confidence interval 1.12 to 1.98, P=0.006). More deaths occurred at these centers (15.6% in the alert group v 8.6% in the usual care group, P=0.003). Certain acute kidney injury care practices were increased in the alert group but did not appear to mediate these outcomes. Conclusions Alerts did not reduce the risk of our primary outcome among patients in hospital with acute kidney injury. The heterogeneity of effect across clinical centers should lead to a re-evaluation of existing alerting systems for acute kidney injury. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02753751.
Effects of Multiconstituent Tides on a Subterranean Estuary With Fixed-Head Inland Boundary

While tides of multiple constituents are common in coastal areas, their effects on submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and salinity distributions in unconfined coastal aquifers are rarely examined, with the exception of a recent study that explored such effects on unconfined aquifers with fixed inland freshwater input. For a large proportion of the global coastline, the inland areas of coastal aquifers are topography-limited and controlled by constant heads. Based on numerical simulations, this article examines the variation of SGD and salinity distributions in coastal unconfined aquifers with fixed-head inland boundaries at different distances from the shoreline (i.e., 50, 100, 150, and 200 m). The results showed that the fluctuation intensity of freshwater input was enhanced as the inland aquifer extent decreased, e.g., the range of tide-induced fluctuations in freshwater input increased by around 5 times as the inland aquifer extent decreased from 200 to 50 m. The frequency spectra of the fluctuations of SGD and salinity distributions showed that the coastal aquifer of a shorter inland aquifer extent smoothed out fewer high-frequency tidal constituents but enhanced interaction among different tidal constituents. The interaction among tidal constituents generated new low-frequency signals in the freshwater input and salinity distributions. Regressions based on functional data analysis demonstrated that the inland freshwater input and salinity distributions at any given moment were related to the antecedent (previous) tidal conditions weighted using the probability density function of the Gamma distribution. The influence of the antecedent tidal conditions depended on the inland aquifer extent.
Standing on the shoulders of Hermann Staudinger: Post‐polymerization modification from past to present

With a span as long as the history of polymer science itself, post-polymerization modification represents a versatile platform for the preparation of diversely functionalized polymers from a single precursor. Starting with the initial efforts by Staudinger in the 1920s, many of the early developments in modern polymer science can be attributed to the utilization of post-polymerization modification reactions. The scope of post-polymerization modification has greatly expanded since the 1990s due to the development of functional group tolerant controlled/living polymerization techniques combined with the (re)discovery of highly efficient coupling chemistries that allow quantitative, chemoselective, and orthogonal functionalization of reactive polymer precursors. After some basic mechanistic considerations, this Highlight will provide an overview of the development and evolution of eight main classes of post-polymerization modification reactions. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013