Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the influence of cell shape on dynamic reaction-diffusion polarization patterns

The distribution of signaling molecules following mechanical or chemical stimulation of a cell defines cell polarization, with regions of high active Cdc42 at the front and low active Cdc42 at the rear. As reaction-diffusion phenomena between signaling molecules, such as Rho GTPases, define the gradient dynamics, we hypothesize that the cell shape influences the maintenance of the “front-to-back” cell polarization patterns. We investigated the influence of cell shape on the Cdc42 patterns using an established computational polarization model. Our simulation results showed that not only cell shape but also Cdc42 and Rho-related (in)activation parameter values affected the distribution of active Cdc42. Despite an initial Cdc42 gradient, the in silico results showed that the maximal Cdc42 concentration shifts in the opposite direction, a phenomenon we propose to call “reverse polarization”. Additional in silico analyses indicated that “reverse polarization” only occurred in a particular parameter value space that resulted in a balance between inactivation and activation of Rho GTPases. Future work should focus on a mathematical description of the underpinnings of reverse polarization, in combination with experimental validation using, for example, dedicated FRET-probes to spatiotemporally track Rho GTPase patterns in migrating cells. In summary, the findings of this study enhance our understanding of the role of cell shape in intracellular signaling.
Preparation of aligned nanofibers using parallel inductive-plates assisted electrospinning

Electrospinning is a simple, cost-effective, and versatile technique for fabrication of nanofibers. However, nanofibers obtained from the conventional electrospinning are typically disordered, which seriously limits their application. In this work, we present a novel and facile technique to obtain aligned nanofibers with high efficiency by using parallel inductive-plates assisted electrospinning (PIES). In this new electrospinning setup, the electrostatic spinneret is contained in a pair of parallel inductive-plates, which can change the shape and direction of the electric field line during the electrospinning so as to control the flight trajectory and spatial alignment of the spinning nanofibers. This electrospinning setup can divide the electric field line into two parts which are respectively directed to the edge of the upper and lower inductive-plates. Then the nanofibers move along the electric field line, suspend and align between the parallel inductive-plates. Finally, the well aligned nanofibers could be easily transferred onto other substrates for further characterizations and applications. The aligned nanofibers with an average diameter of 469 ± 115 nm and a length as long as 140 mm were successfully achieved by using PIES technique. Moreover, nanofiber arrays with different cross angles and three-dimensional films formed by the aligned nanofibers were also facilely obtained. The novel PIES developed in this work has been proved to be a facile, cost-effective and promising approach to prepare aligned nanofibers for a wide range of applications.
Validity and reliability of the Dutch STarT MSK tool in patients with musculoskeletal pain in primary care physiotherapy

Objective To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Dutch STarT MSK tool in patients with musculoskeletal pain in primary care physiotherapy. Methods Physiotherapists included patients with musculoskeletal pain, aged 18 years or older. Patients completed a questionnaire at baseline and follow-up at 5 days and 3 months, respectively. Construct validity was assessed by comparing scores of STarT MSK items with reference questionnaires. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to test predefined hypotheses. Test-retest reliability was evaluated by calculating quadratic-weighted kappa coefficients for overall STarT MSK tool scores (range 0–12) and prognostic subgroups (low, medium and high risk). Predictive validity was assessed by calculating relative risk ratios for moderate risk and high risk, both compared with low risk, in their ability to predict persisting disability at 3 months. Results In total, 142 patients were included in the analysis. At baseline, 74 patients (52.1%) were categorised as low risk, 64 (45.1%) as medium risk and 4 (2.8%) as high risk. For construct validity, nine of the eleven predefined hypotheses were confirmed. For test-retest reliability, kappa coefficients for the overall tool scores and prognostic subgroups were 0.71 and 0.65, respectively. For predictive validity, relative risk ratios for persisting disability were 2.19 (95% CI: 1.10–4.38) for the medium-risk group and 7.30 (95% CI: 4.11–12.98) for the high-risk group. Conclusion The Dutch STarT MSK tool showed a sufficient to good validity and reliability in patients with musculoskeletal pain in primary care physiotherapy. The sample size for high-risk patients was small (n = 4), which may limit the generalisability of findings for this group. An external validation study with a larger sample of high-risk patients (≥50) is recommended.
Bright light therapy accelerates the antidepressant effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in treatment resistant depression: a pilot study

Abstract Objectives: We performed a randomized single-blinded study to assess the superiority of the combination strategy of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and Bright Light Therapy (BLT) over rTMS treatment alone in reducing depressive symptoms in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Methods: We enrolled 80 inpatients with a diagnosis of TRD. All patients were randomly assigned into two groups: group A was treated with rTMS, compared to group B treated with a combination of rTMS and BLT. Depressive symptoms were weekly assessed (T0, T1, T2, T3) through the 17-item Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS-17). Results: rANOVA (F=2.766, p=0.043) and post-hoc in HDRS-17 showed significant better scores in favour of group B every week (p<0.025, T1: 22.075 vs 17.200; T2: 16.100 vs 12.775; T3: 12.225 vs 8.900). Conclusions: The antidepressant effect of rTMS was enhanced and accelerated by its combination with BLT in treating resistant depression. KEYPOINTS Almost one third of depressed patients does not respond to antidepressants; emerging neuromodulation and chronobiological techniques are effective antidepressant augmentation treatments. The aim of this study was to assess the superiority of the combination strategy of Light Therapy and TMS over TMS treatment alone in a group of treatment resistant depressed patients. The implication of this study in clinical practice is that a safe, low risk and cost-effective treatment, as Light Therapy, improves and accelerates the antidepressant effect of TMS.
Changes in work schedule affect the prevalence of shift work disorder among Norwegian nurses – a two year follow-up study

ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore how changes in the work schedule would affect the prevalence of Shift Work Disorder (SWD) over time. Two-year follow-up data from 1076 nurses participating in the longitudinal SUrvey of Shift work, Sleep and Health among Norwegian nurses (SUSSH) were included in the study. The questionnaires included measures of work-related factors, i.e., work schedule and numbers of night shifts and quick returns (QRs) worked the last year, as well as questions related to SWD according to the ICSD-3 diagnostic criteria at both baseline and at 2-year follow-up. Data were analyzed with paired samples t-tests, chi-square tests, and logistic regression analyses adjusting for sex and age. Terminating night work was the strongest predictor for recovering from SWD from baseline to follow-up (OR 10.91, 95% CI 6.11–19.46). Additionally, changing the work schedule from day work to night work from baseline to follow-up was the strongest predictor for developing SWD in the same period (OR 4.75, 95% CI 2.39–9.47). Reductions in number of nights (more than 10) and QRs (more than 10) worked the last year were associated with recovering from SWD between baseline and follow-up. Nurses who recovered from SWD had significantly reduced the mean number of night shifts worked the last year from 32.3 at baseline to 20.4 at follow-up (p = .001). Furthermore, an increase of more than 10 nights or more than 10 QRs worked the last year between baseline and follow-up predicted developing SWD. Nurses developing SWD between baseline and follow-up had significantly increased the mean number of nights worked the last year from 25.8 at baseline to 31.0 at follow-up (p =-.043). Changes in night work exposure were the strongest predictors for both recovering from or developing SWD from baseline to follow-up. Reducing exposure to night work and QRs were associated with recovering from SWD and increasing exposure to night work and QRs were associated with developing SWD. The results imply that unfavorable work schedules play a role in the development of sleep problems among nurses. These results may be useful when designing healthy working schedules.
Review of Eye Tracking Metrics Involved in Emotional and Cognitive Processes

Eye behaviour provides valuable information revealing one’s higher cognitive functions and state of affect. Although eye tracking is gaining ground in the research community, it is not yet a popular approach for the detection of emotional and cognitive states. In this paper, we present a review of eye and pupil tracking related metrics (such as gaze, fixations, saccades, blinks, pupil size variation, etc.) utilized towards the detection of emotional and cognitive processes, focusing on visual attention, emotional arousal and cognitive workload. Besides, we investigate their involvement as well as the computational recognition methods employed for the reliable emotional and cognitive assessment. The publicly available datasets employed in relevant research efforts were collected and their specifications and other pertinent details are described. The multimodal approaches which combine eye-tracking features with other modalities (e.g. biosignals), along with artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques were also surveyed in terms of their recognition/classification accuracy. The limitations, current open research problems and prospective future research directions were discussed for the usage of eye-tracking as the primary sensor modality. This study aims to comprehensively present the most robust and significant eye/pupil metrics based on available literature towards the development of a robust emotional or cognitive computational model.
Calculation of thermal expansion and phonon frequency shift in deuterated naphthalene

A calculation of the implicit shift to the phonon energies for phonons in deuterated naphthalene at q = 0 is presented, the “explicit shift” having been already described in an earlier paper. With this the calculation of the shift in the phonon energies due to temperature becomes complete and consistent, ready for direct comparison with the measured results of the shift obtained by neutron scattering experiments. The results for the total calculated shift in the phonon energies, arising from both, the explicit anharmonic terms and the implicit (i.e. the volume dependent) shift are presented and compared with the experimental neutron scattering results. The calculations of thermal expansion, compressibility, and the Gruneisen constants which naturally enter the calculation of the implicit shift, are also described and a comparison with the experimental neutron scattering results of these also is made. All the results are very satisfactory, strengthening the faith in the assumption for the model of the molecular crystals. Eine Berechnung der impliziten Verschiebung zu den Phononenenergien in deuteriertem Naphtalen bei q = 0 wird durchgefuhrt die „explizite” Verschiebung wurde bereits in einer fruheren Arbeit beschrieben. Damit wird die Berechnung der Verschiebung in den Phononenenergien infolge der Temperatur vollstandig und konsistent und geeignet fur einen direkten Vergleich mit den gemessenen Ergebnissen der Verschiebung, die mit Neutronenstreuung erhalten werden. Die Ergebnisse fur die berechnete Gesamtverschiebung der Phononenenergien, die sowohl von den expliziten anharmonischen Termen als auch von der impliziten (d. h. der volumenabhangigen) Verschiebung herruhren, werden angegeben und mit experimentellen Neutronenstreuergebnissen verglichen. Die Berechnungen der thermischen Ausdehnung, der Kompressibilitat und der Gruneisenkonstanten, die in die Berechnung der impliziten Verschiebung eingehen, werden ebenfalls beschrieben und ein Vergleich mit experimentellen Neutronenstreuergebnissen durchgefuhrt. Alle Ergebnisse sind sehr befriedigend und bestatigen die Richtigkeit der Annahmen fur das Modell der Molekulkristalle.
Lanac profitno orijentisanih usluga

The main focus of this paper is to highlight the importance of the business model in service. The business model concentrates on creating and appropriating value from the business. It describes the basic strategy of an organisation to create economic value. It is a basic template for how an organization can compete in a market, as well as the way a company will generate projected profits, and how an organization handles internal and external stakeholders. Business models are a very important function in every organisation. In order for an organization to be as successful as possible, they need to be innovative so that they can respond to the organisation's given environment. The final part of the paper gives guidelines respectively.
Viscoelastic Properties of Clay-Containing Nanocomposites of Thermotropic Liquid-Crystal Polymer

The nanocomposites of liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) with two different weight per cents of clay were prepared via the melt extrusion method. To investigate the properties of the materials in the linear and non-linear viscoelastic regions, both oscillatory and rotational tests were carried out. The results showed that the nanocomposite with higher clay content exhibited an almost defectless partially cross-linked structure compared to the nanocomposite with lower clay content or the pure LCP. The linear stress relaxation measurements revealed that the pure LCP relaxed faster than nanocomposites after imposition of a constant strain for a specific time. During the step rate relaxation test, high shear rate modified the defects in the pure LCP very quickly and probably attained almost an equilibrium position while the nanocomposite samples showed strong shear thinning behaviour.
Resolving Structural Changes of Photoreceptors in Living Escherichia coli via In-cell Infrared Difference Spectroscopy.

Several in-cell spectroscopic techniques have been developed recently to investigate the structure and mechanism of proteins in their native environment. Conditions in vivo differ dramatically from those selected for in vitro experiments. Accordingly, the cellular environment can affect the protein mechanism for example by molecular crowding or binding of small molecules. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) difference spectroscopy is a well-suited method to study the light-induced structural responses of photoreceptors including changes in cofactor, side chains and secondary structure. Here, we describe a protocol to study the response of cofactor and protein in living E. coli cells via in-cell infrared difference (ICIRD) spectroscopy using the attenuated total reflection (ATR) configuration. Proteins are overexpressed in E. coli, the cells are transferred into saline solution and the copy number per cell is determined using fluorescence spectroscopy. The suspension is centrifuged and the concentrated cells transferred onto the ATR cell inside the FTIR spectrometer. The thermostatted cell is sealed and illuminated from the top with an LED. Intensity spectra are recorded before and after illumination to generate the difference spectrum of the receptor inside the living cell. With ICIRD spectroscopy, structural changes of soluble photoreceptors are resolved in a near-native environment. The approach works in H2O at ambient conditions, is label free, without any limitations in protein size and does not require any purification step. Graphic abstract: In-cell infrared difference spectroscopy on photoreceptors in living E. coli using attenuated total reflection.
Photocatalytic activity of transition-metal-loaded titanium(IV) oxide powders suspended in aqueous solutions: Correlation with electron hole recombination kinetics

Photocatalytic reactions by transition-metal (V, Cr, Fe, Co, Cu, Mo, or W) loaded TiO2 (M-TiO2) powders suspended in aqueous solutions of methanol, (S)-lysine (Lys), or acetic acid were investigated. The photoactivities of various samples were compared with the rate constant (kr) of recombination of photoexcited electrons and positive holes determined by femtosecond pump–probe diffuse reflection spectroscopy (PP-DRS). As a general trend, increased loading decreased the rate of formation of the main products (H2 , pipecolinic acid (PCA), and CO2) under UV (>300 nm) irradiation, and the effect became more intense on increasing the loading. In PP-DRS, these M-TiO2 gave similar decays of absorption at 620 nm arising from excitation by a 310 nm pulse (<100 fs). The second-order rate constant (kr) markedly increased with loading, even at a low level (0.3%) and further increased with an increase in loading up to 5%. The photocatalytic activity of platinized M-TiO2 for H2 and PCA production under deaerated conditions depended strongly on kr, but the relation between kr and the rate of CO2 production by unplatinized M-TiO2 under aerated conditions was ambiguous; other factor(s) might control the rate of the latter. These different kr dependences of photoactivity on the reaction kinetics governed by e−–h+ recombination were attributed to the presence of O2 and Pt deposits. A simple kinetic model to explain the overall rate of these photocatalytic reactions is proposed, and the effect of recombination kinetics on photoactivity is discussed.
Population diversity of cardiovascular outcome trials and real-world patients with diabetes in a Chinese tertiary hospital

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract Background: Recent cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) changed the therapeutic strategy of guidelines for type 2 diabetes. We compared the characteristics of patients from real-world hospital settings with those of participants in recent pragmatic randomized trials. Methods: This electronic medical record (EMR)-based retrospective observational study investigated the data of patients with diabetes from inpatient and outpatient settings in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 1, 2011, to June 30, 2019. We identified patients meeting the inclusion criteria of a pragmatic randomized trial (EMPA-REG OUTCOME) based on EMRs and compared their baseline characteristics with those of the trial participants. The cutoff for the clinical significance of each characteristic was set as its minimal clinically important difference based on expert consultation. Results: We included 48,257 inpatients and 36,857 outpatients with diabetes and found that 8389 (17.4%) inpatients and 2646 (7.2%) outpatients met the inclusion criteria for the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial. Compared with the trial population, the real-world inpatients meeting the eligibility criteria of the EMPA-REG OUTCOME had similar age, blood pressure, and lipid profiles but comprised of fewer males, metformin users, anti-hypertensive drug users, and aspirin users, and had a lower body mass index. The group of outpatients meeting the eligibility criteria had fewer males, similar age, fewer metformin users, fewer insulin users, fewer anti-hypertensive drug users, and fewer aspirin users compared with the trial population. Conclusions: The trial population in EMPA-REG OUTCOME represents only a small portion of patients with diabetes from the inpatient and outpatient departments of a Chinese tertiary medical center. Evidence localization in different clinical settings and validation are essential to enabling extrapolation of the results from CVOTs in patients with diabetes to Chinese clinical practice.
Rapid initiation of cell cycle reentry processes protects neurons from amyloid-β toxicity

Significance The FUCCI reporter system allows live monitoring of the cell cycle via temporal expression of fluorescence markers of G0/1 or S/G2/M cell cycle phases. We found transient FUCCI reporter activity in naive neurons but not cell division, suggesting that the postmitotic state of neurons is rather a dynamic process of suppressing the cell cycle than a definite G0 state. Exposing neurons to amyloid-β resulted in death of the majority of neurons without cell cycle contribution. A subset of neurons that entered early stages of cell cycle and maintained this state were protected from amyloid-β-induced cell death. Consistently, we found high FUCCI reporter activity in the brains of mice that form amyloid-β through transgenic expression of the amyloid-β precursor protein. Neurons are postmitotic cells. Reactivation of the cell cycle by neurons has been reported in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains and models. This gave rise to the hypothesis that reentering the cell cycle renders neurons vulnerable and thus contributes to AD pathogenesis. Here, we use the fluorescent ubiquitination-based cell cycle indicator (FUCCI) technology to monitor the cell cycle in live neurons. We found transient, self-limited cell cycle reentry activity in naive neurons, suggesting that their postmitotic state is a dynamic process. Furthermore, we observed a diverse response to oligomeric amyloid-β (oAβ) challenge; neurons without cell cycle reentry activity would undergo cell death without activating the FUCCI reporter, while neurons undergoing cell cycle reentry activity at the time of the oAβ challenge could maintain and increase FUCCI reporter signal and evade cell death. Accordingly, we observed marked neuronal FUCCI positivity in the brains of human mutant Aβ precursor protein transgenic (APP23) mice together with increased neuronal expression of the endogenous cell cycle control protein geminin in the brains of 3-mo-old APP23 mice and human AD brains. Taken together, our data challenge the current view on cell cycle in neurons and AD, suggesting that pathways active during early cell cycle reentry in neurons protect from Aβ toxicity.
Preparation and characterization of PbTiO3–epoxy resin compositionally graded thick films

The preparation and properties of compositionally graded PbTiO3 (PT)–epoxy resin (EPR) composite thick films are reported in this study. Various graded specimens were prepared using gravity casting method by embedding PT powders into the EPR matrix. The existence of a graded structure with two distinct phases, a good intermixing, some air pores, and different morphologies, was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy micrographs. The dielectric constants of these composites have values in the range 5–12 at the frequency of ∼104 Hz and about 3–13 at ∼5 × 108 Hz. The composites with permittivity gradient act as a natural impedance match system in the frequency range 2–4 GHz, resulting in very low reflections. Therefore, the compositionally graded PT–EPR composite thick films are suitable as adapting impedance materials for microwave applications.