Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Osa‐miR160a confers broad‐spectrum resistance to fungal and bacterial pathogens in rice

Summary Rice production is threatened by multiple pathogens. Breeding cultivars with broad‐spectrum disease resistance is necessary to maintain and improve crop production. Previously we found that overexpression of miR160a enhanced rice blast disease resistance. However, it is unclear whether miR160a also regulates resistance against other pathogens, and what the downstream signaling pathways are. Here, we demonstrate that miR160a positively regulates broad‐spectrum resistance against the causative agents of blast, leaf blight and sheath blight in rice. Mutations of miR160a‐targeted Auxin Response Factors result in different alteration of resistance conferred by miR160a. miR160a enhances disease resistance partially by suppressing ARF8, as mutation of ARF8 in MIM160 background partially restores the compromised resistance resulting from MIM160. ARF8 protein binds directly to the promoter and suppresses the expression of WRKY45, which acts as a positive regulator of rice immunity. Mutation of WRKY45 compromises the enhanced blast resistance and bacterial leaf blight resistance conferred by arf8 mutant. Overall, our results reveal that a microRNA coordinates rice broad‐spectrum disease resistance by suppressing multiple target genes that play different roles in disease resistance, and uncover a new regulatory pathway mediated by the miR160a‐ARF8 module. These findings provide new resources to potentially improve disease resistance for breeding in rice.
A Refined Blood Pressure Estimation Model Based on Single Channel Photoplethysmography

This study proposed a refined BP prediction strategy that using single-channel photoplethysmography (PPG) signals to stratify populations by cardiovascular status before BP estimation. Combining demographic characteristics (age, gender) and pulse wave morphological features, the random forest was applied to screen two kinds of typical cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), with an accuracy of 92.2%. A deep learning model (BiLSTM-At) was proposed to estimate the long-term BP trend for different CVD groups. Transfer learning technique was used for personalized modeling to reduce computational complexity while improving performance. The method was validated on 255 patients with different CVDs. The mean absolute errors (MAEs) of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) estimation were 2.815 mmHg and 1.876 mmHg for normal subjects, 3.024 mmHg and 1.334 mmHg for AF subjects, and 4.444 mmHg and 2.549 mmHg for CA subjects. The results met the American Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentations (AAMI) and British Hypertension Society (BHS) Class A criteria. This indicated that our strategy has good performance and can realize long-term monitoring of BP through a small batch samples, with the potential to implement real-time monitoring in healthy devices.
Effect of nutrition education on nutritional status and serum zinc level of HIV and AIDS clients: implication for care in resource-limited settings

Background: People living with HIV or AIDS in resource-limited settings are faced with challenges in their nutrition and micronutrient levels. This study aimed to determine the effect of nutrition education on the nutrition status and serum zinc level of HIV and AIDS clients, and its implication for HIV care in resource-limited settings. Methods: This intervention study was conducted among HIV clients at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital and Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, which served as the intervention and control groups respectively. A nutrition education programme was delivered to the intervention group. In both groups, before and after the intervention, the body mass index of participants was calculated using their height (m2) and weight (kg) while their serum zinc levels were analysed using spectrophotometry. Chi-square and McNemar chi-square tests were used in the analysis. Results: A total of 185 respondents was studied in each group, with the majority in the 30–39 and 40–49 age groups, respectively (65.4% of the study group and 64.4% of the control group). Larger proportions of respondents in both groups were females (72.4% vs 75.1% respectively). Three months after the intervention, the proportion of respondents with normal serum zinc levels improved significantly from 20.5% to 51.9% in the intervention group (χ 2 McNemar, p < 0.001), whereas the control group had no appreciable improvement (16.8% vs 22.7%) (χ 2 McNemar, p < 0.117). Furthermore, the post-intervention serum zinc level difference between the intervention and control groups was statistically significant (χ 2 = 33.699; p < 0.001). No statistically significant difference existed in the nutritional status between the groups (χ 2 = 3.469; p = 0.325). Conclusion: Nutrition education had a positive effect on the serum zinc levels of HIV clients. Integrating nutrition education programmes as a key component of HIV care in resource-limited settings will help improve the serum zinc level of people living with HIV, which ultimately improves their immune status and life expectancy.
Cadmium-induced preeclampsia-like phenotype in the rat is related to decreased progesterone synthesis in the placenta

Abstract Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic element, which is associated with preeclampsia (PE). We treated pregnant rats with cadmium chloride from gestational days (GDs) 9–12 to introduce the PE-like animal model. Maternal systolic blood pressures (SBPs) and body weights were measured on GDs 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20. Foetuses were delivered by Caesarean section on GD20. Then, the dams were sacrificed and the specimens were obtained. The morphological analysis of the placentae was carried out by haematoxylin and eosin staining examination and immunohistochemistry assay. Our study showed that Cd-treated rats developed PE-like phenotypes, such as hypertension, albuminuria, and foetal growth restriction. Moreover, Cd-injected rats displayed abnormal placental angiogenesis and lower progesterone (P4) levels. We further demonstrated that Cd also inhibited the mRNA and protein expressions of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, cytochrome P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (CYP11A1), and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (3β-HSD1), which are involved in P4 synthesis in the rat placenta. Our study demonstrates that maternal Cd exposure disrupts the local synthesis of P4 in the placenta, which contributes to the onset of PE in pregnant rats. Supplementing P4 at the early gestational stage may be a promising therapeutic strategy to prevent PE, which requires further investigation.
An uncertain time: Clinical nurses' first impressions during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic overwhelmed the US healthcare system and healthcare providers. Nurses, who comprise one of the most affected groups because they are the largest group of healthcare providers, were in a unique position to speak about their perspectives. As a result of the COVID‐19 pandemic, nurses have experienced ongoing physical and psychological challenges while displaying strength and perseverance during uncertain times. In this study, we explored the perceptions and experiences of nurses in clinical practice caring for patients diagnosed with COVID‐19 during the pandemic. Researchers conducted a qualitative descriptive study with 20 clinical nurses most of whom were enrolled in a graduate program while working in healthcare settings. Semi‐structured interviews conducted through Zoom occurred between August 2020 and December 2020. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcripts. Five themes emerged: navigating uncertainty, managing death and loss, acknowledging emotional responses, learning opportunities, and facing community undercurrents. Lack of clinical practice guidelines, and inconsistent access to personal protective equipment when providing care to patients with COVID‐19 caused emotional strain for nurses and highlighted future learning opportunities. Providing support to dying patients was devastating to nurses. Concern about community misunderstandings of the pandemic created challenges. Evolving teamwork provided invaluable support to study participants. Nurses shared essential information for revising and creating clinical practice guidelines. Nursing interventions and strategies were used to produce humane and positive patient outcomes and provide a foundation for nurse‐driven care in possible future pandemics.
Identification of a Glutamatergic Claustrum-Anterior Cingulate Cortex Circuit for Visceral Pain Processing

Chronic visceral pain is a major challenge for both patients and health providers. Although the central sensitization of the brain is thought to play an important role in the development of visceral pain, the detailed neural circuits remain largely unknown. Using a well-established chronic visceral hypersensitivity model induced by neonatal maternal deprivation (NMD) in male mice, we identified a distinct pathway whereby the claustrum (CL) glutamatergic neuron projecting to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is critical for visceral pain but not for CFA-evoked inflammatory pain. By a combination of in vivo circuit-dissecting extracellular electrophysiological approaches and visceral pain related electromyographic (EMG) recordings, we demonstrated that optogenetic inhibition of CL glutamatergic activity suppressed the ACC neural activity and visceral hypersensitivity of NMD mice whereas selective activation of CL glutamatergic activity enhanced the ACC neural activity and evoked visceral pain of control mice. Further, optogenetic studies demonstrate a causal link between such neuronal activity and visceral pain behaviors. Chemogenetic activation or inhibition of ACC neural activities reversed the effects of optogenetic manipulation of CL neural activities on visceral pain responses. Importantly, molecular detection showed that NMD significantly enhances the expression of NMDA receptors and activated CaMKIIα in the ACC postsynaptic density (PSD) region. Together, our data establish a functional role for CL→ACC glutamatergic neurons in gating visceral pain, thus providing a potential treatment strategy for visceral pain. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Studies have shown that sensitization of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays an important role in chronic pain. However, it is as yet unknown whether there is a specific brain region and a distinct neural circuit that helps the ACC to distinguish visceral and somatic pain. The present study demonstrates that claustrum (CL) glutamatergic neurons maybe responding to colorectal distention (CRD) rather than somatic stimulation and that a CL glutamatergic projection to ACC glutamatergic neuron regulates visceral pain in mice. Furthermore, excessive NMDA receptors and overactive CaMKIIα in the ACC postsynaptic density (PSD) region were observed in mice with chronic visceral pain. Together, these findings reveal a novel neural circuity underlying the central sensitization of chronic visceral pain.
Modeling Time‐Dependent Aquatic Toxicity of Hydrocarbons: Role of Organism Weight, Temperature, and Substance Hydrophobicity

Oil spill exposures are highly dynamic and are not comparable to laboratory exposures used in standard toxicity tests. Toxicokinetic–toxicodynamic (TKTD) models allow translation of effects observed in the laboratory to the field. To improve TKTD model calibration, new and previously published data from 148 tests were analyzed to estimate rates characterizing the time course of toxicity for 10 fish and 42 invertebrate species across 37 hydrocarbons. A key parameter in the TKTD model is the first‐order rate that incorporates passive elimination, biotransformation, and damage repair processes. The results indicated that temperature (4–26 °C), organism size (0.0001–10 g), and substance log octanol–water partition coefficient (2–6) had limited influence on this parameter, which exhibited a 5th to 95th percentile range of 0.2–2.5 day−1 (median 0.7 day−1). A species sensitivity distribution approach is proposed to quantify the variability of this parameter across taxa, with further studies needed for aliphatic hydrocarbons and plant species. Study findings allow existing oil spill models to be refined to improve effect predictions. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:3070–3083. © 2022 ExxonMobil Biomedical Science Inc. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS OF W-CYCLE MULTIGRID FOR PLANAR LINEAR ELASTICITY

In [3], Franca and Stenberg developed several Galerkin least squares methods for the solution of the problem of linear elasticity. That work concerned itself only with the error estimates of the method. It did not address the related problem of finding effective methods for the solution of the associated-linear systems. In this work, we present computational experiments of W-cycle multigrid method. Computational experiments show that the convergence is uniform as the parameter, , goes to 1/2.
Field-induced chiral soliton phase in the Kitaev spin chain

The bond-dependent Ising interaction present in the Kitaev model has attracted considerable attention. The appearance of an unexpected intermediate phase under a magnetic field is particularly intriguing, and one may wonder if a similar phase occurs in the Kitaev spin chain with alternating $x$- and $y$-bond Ising interactions. Previous studies have focused on a transverse field, $h_z$, and reported a direct transition to the polarized state. Here, we investigate phases with arbitrary angle of two longitudinal fields, $h_x$ and $h_y$. For a magnetic field applied along the diagonal, $h_x$=$h_y$, the chain remains gapless up to a critical field $h^{c_1}_{xy}$. Surprisingly, above $h^{c1}_{xy}$ it enters an unusual intermediate phase before reaching the polarized state at $h^{c_2}_{xy}$. This phase is characterized by a staggered vector chirality and for periodic boundary conditions, a two-fold degeneracy with a finite gap. For open boundary systems the ground-state exhibits a single soliton, lowering the energy, and gapless excitations. However, the corresponding anti-soliton raises the energy sufficiently that a gap appears for soliton and anti-soliton pairs in periodic systems. An intuitive variational picture is developed describing the soliton phase.
Drawing Causal Inferences About Performance Effects in NLP

This article emphasizes that NLP as a science seeks to make inferences about the performance effects that result from applying one method (compared to another method) in the processing of natural language. Yet NLP research in practice usually does not achieve this goal: In NLP research articles, typically only a few models are compared. Each model results from a specific procedural pipeline (here named processing system) that is composed of a specific collection of methods that are used in preprocessing, pretraining, hyperparameter tuning, and training on the target task. To make generalizing inferences about the performance effect that is caused by applying some method A vs. another method B, it is not sufficient to compare a few specific models that are produced by a few specific (probably incomparable) processing systems. Rather, the following procedure would allow drawing inferences about methods' performance effects: (1) A population of processing systems that researchers seek to infer to has to be defined. (2) A random sample of processing systems from this population is drawn. (The drawn processing systems in the sample will vary with regard to the methods they apply along their procedural pipelines and also will vary regarding the compositions of their training and test data sets used for training and evaluation.) (3) Each processing system is applied once with method A and once with method B. (4) Based on the sample of applied processing systems, the expected generalization errors of method A and method B are approximated. (5) The difference between the expected generalization errors of method A and method B is the estimated average treatment effect due to applying method A compared to method B in the population of processing systems.
Semantic Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping: A Survey

Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (vSLAM) has achieved great progress in the computer vision and robotics communities, and has been successfully used in many fields such as autonomous robot navigation and AR/VR. However, vSLAM cannot achieve good localization in dynamic and complex environments. Numerous publications have reported that, by combining with the semantic information with vSLAM, the semantic vSLAM systems have the capability of solving the above problems in recent years. Nevertheless, there is no comprehensive survey about semantic vSLAM. To fill the gap, this paper first reviews the development of semantic vSLAM, explicitly focusing on its strengths and differences. Secondly, we explore three main issues of semantic vSLAM: the extraction and association of semantic information, the application of semantic information, and the advantages of semantic vSLAM. Then, we collect and analyze the current state-of-the-art SLAM datasets which have been widely used in semantic vSLAM systems. Finally, we discuss future directions that will provide a blueprint for the future development of semantic vSLAM.
The effects of surface fossil magnetic fields on massive star evolution: IV. Grids of models at Solar, LMC, and SMC metallicities

Magnetic fields can drastically change predictions of evolutionary models of massive stars via mass-loss quenching, magnetic braking, and efficient angular momentum transport, which we aim to quantify in this work. We use the MESA software instrument to compute an extensive main-sequence grid of stellar structure and evolution models, as well as isochrones, accounting for the effects attributed to a surface fossil magnetic field. The grid is densely populated in initial mass (3-60 M$_\odot$), surface equatorial magnetic field strength (0-50 kG), and metallicity (representative of the Solar neighbourhood and the Magellanic Clouds). We use two magnetic braking and two chemical mixing schemes and compare the model predictions for slowly-rotating, nitrogen-enriched ("Group 2") stars with observations in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We quantify a range of initial field strengths that allow for producing Group 2 stars and find that typical values (up to a few kG) lead to solutions. Between the subgrids, we find notable departures in surface abundances and evolutionary paths. In our magnetic models, chemical mixing is always less efficient compared to non-magnetic models due to the rapid spin-down. We identify that quasi-chemically homogeneous main sequence evolution by efficient mixing could be prevented by fossil magnetic fields. We recommend comparing this grid of evolutionary models with spectropolarimetric and spectroscopic observations with the goals of i) revisiting the derived stellar parameters of known magnetic stars, and ii) observationally constraining the uncertain magnetic braking and chemical mixing schemes.
iSimLoc: Visual Global Localization for Previously Unseen Environments With Simulated Images

The camera is an attractive device for use in beyond visual line of sight drone operation since cameras are low in size, weight, power, and cost. However, state-of-the-art visual localization algorithms have trouble matching visual data that have significantly different appearances due to changes in illumination or viewpoint. This article presents iSimLoc, a learning-based global relocalization approach that is robust to appearance and viewpoint differences. The features learned by iSimLoc's place recognition network can be utilized to match query images to reference images of a different stylistic domain and viewpoint. In addition, our hierarchical global relocalization module searches in a coarse-to-fine manner, allowing iSimLoc to perform fast and accurate pose estimation. We evaluate our method on a dataset with appearance variations and a dataset that focuses on demonstrating large-scale matching over a long flight over complex terrain. iSimLoc achieves 88.7% and 83.8% successful retrieval rates on our two datasets, with 1.5 s inference time, compared to 45.8% and 39.7% using the next best method. These results demonstrate robust localization in a range of environments and conditions.
The treatment efficacy of three-layered functional polymer materials as drug carrier for orthotopic colon cancer

Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a worldwide disease posing serious threats to people’s life. Surgery and postsurgical chemotherapy are still the first choices to control the rapid progression of cancer. However, tumor recurrence and even distant metastasis are prone to occur. As a result, it is in urgent demand to find a new method to control CRC progression while inhibiting distant metastasis. On this basis, this study developed the three-layered functionalized hydrogel-fibrous membrane-hydrogel composite materials. The Chinese traditional drugs 20 (S)-ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) and chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) were loaded in the inner hydrogel and middle fibrous membrane and could be constantly released at the same time and space. The outer hydrogel was decorated with phenylboronic acid (PA) to interact with sialic acid expressed on the CRC cell surface. The composite materials possessed biocompatibility and showed no toxicity to normal human intestinal mucosa endothelial cells HIEC. According to the results, the cell viability of CT26 could be significantly decreased in vitro. The three-layered functionalized materials inhibited the original tumor progression and distant tumor metastasis to the liver in an orthotopic colon cancer mouse model by increasing the caspase3 expression and inhibiting the expressions of Bcl-2, Ki-67, and VEGF. In addition, the functions of major organs were not significantly damaged. Our study provides a safe and efficacious method of this three-layered functionalized hydrogel-fibrous membrane-hydrogel composite materials for CRC treatment.
Use of explicit priming to phenotype absolute pitch ability

Musicians with absolute pitch (AP) can name the pitch of a musical note in isolation. Expression of this unusual ability is thought to be influenced by heritability, early music training and current practice. However, our understanding of factors shaping its expression is hampered by testing and scoring methods that treat AP as dichotomous. These fail to capture the observed variability in pitch-naming accuracy among reported AP possessors. The aim of this study was to trial a novel explicit priming paradigm to explore phenotypic variability of AP. Thirty-five musically experienced individuals (Mage = 29 years, range 18–68; 14 males) with varying AP ability completed a standard AP task and the explicit priming AP task. Results showed: 1) phenotypic variability of AP ability, including high-accuracy AP, heterogeneous intermediate performers, and chance-level performers; 2) intermediate performance profiles that were either reliant on or independent of relative pitch strategies, as identified by the priming task; and 3) the emergence of a bimodal distribution of AP performance when adopting scoring criteria that assign credit to semitone errors. These findings show the importance of methods in studying behavioural traits, and are a key step towards identifying AP phenotypes. Replication of our results in larger samples will further establish the usefulness of this priming paradigm in AP research.