Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetic Patterns of Extinction Risk in the Endemic Flora of a Mediterranean Hotspot as a Guiding Tool for Preemptive Conservation Actions

Climate change is a major driver of biodiversity decline with pervasive effects in biodiversity hotspots, where many endemic and threatened species thrive. However, the biological drivers of extinction susceptibility remain largely elusive, which hampers the implementation of effective conservation policies. Here, we advocate for the use of phylogenies as a complementary tool to inform policy makers. If we assume that the traits that determine extinction susceptibility are somewhat evolutionarily conserved, identifying the clades that accumulate a disproportionate amount of threatened species may help to mitigate potential increases in extinction risk among currently unthreatened species in these clades, even if the underlying biological drivers are unknown. We focused on the complete endemic angiosperm flora of a Mediterranean hotpot (Iberian Peninsula) to examine phylogenetic patterns in extinction risk expressed as IUCN categories (Least Concern “LC”, Near Threatened “NT”, Vulnerable “VU”, Endangered “EN” and Critically Endangered “CR”) using alpha and beta diversity metrics, comparative methods and a “hot node” approach. Phylogenetic diversity was significantly low for EN species and marginally significant for NT and CR, while LC and VU categories showed random pattern. Phylogenetic beta diversity (PBD) between IUCN categories was intermediate (0.40 – 0.61) and predominantly due to the “true” turnover component of PBD. Phylogenetic turnover was significantly low between NT – VU and VU – EN, suggesting that closely related species tend to show different threat status. In contrast, the comparisons involving the CR category sit toward the higher tail of the distribution, indicating a somewhat higher degree of clade specificity for CR species. In line with these patterns, phylogenetic signal in extinction risk was rather low (lambda = 0.23). Several of the “hot” clades that accumulated a significantly high number of species with the same threat status were specific to certain IUCN categories, yet few of them were observed across the categories. Most notably, the Caryophyllales stood out as the main threat-accumulating lineage, particularly within the Plumbaginaceae. All in all, our results indicate that few phylogenetic clades concentrate a great fraction of the extinction-risk gradient in the endemic flora of the western Mediterranean, and monitoring programs should pay particular attention to these extinction-prone lineages.
Broadly-targeted autoreactivity is common in severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Severe SARS-CoV-2 infection is linked to the presence of autoantibodies against multiple targets, including phospholipids and type-I interferons. We recently identified activation of an autoimmune-prone B cell response pathway as correlate of severe COVID-19, raising the possibility of de novo autoreactive antibody production during the antiviral response. Here, we identify autoreactive antibodies as a common feature of severe COVID-19, identifying biomarkers of tolerance breaks that may indicate aggressive immunomodulation.
Pluripotent Stem Cells to Model and Treat Huntington’s Disease

Stem cell therapies hold considerable promise for the treatment of neurodegenerative dis- eases. Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have been of particular clinical interest because of their ability to generate neuronal cells and to be used in animal models of neurodegenerative disease as well as for testing new drugs. Several PSCs isolated from humans and animals that carry the genotype of Huntington’s disease (HD) have been used in aforementioned studies. HD-PSCs obtained can produce in vitro neural progenitor cells (NPCs). These NPCs applied in HD models show several advantages: they engraft into the brain in ani- mal models and differentiate into neuronal cells, thus promoting behavioral recovery and motor impairment. Although progress has been made using PSCs, additional tests should be done to overcome several limitations as, for example, tumorigenicity, before their clini cal application. We focus this chapter on current knowledge regarding HD-PSC lines and their helpfulness as an in vitro model for basic research. Next, we discuss the advances of disease-free PSCs in preclinical HD models aiming to their potential application in patients. Additionally, we discuss their potential use as a test system for anti-HD drug screening by the pharmaceutical industry, especially considering HD patients’ welfare.
Integrating motives and usability to examine community crowdsourcing

Integrating the notions of public service and intrinsic motivations with usability factors, this study examined the motivational and usability factors influencing intention to help via a community crowdsourcing app. Hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated that creating an engaging and useful app that appeals to needs for commitment, and intrinsic needs to participate in valuable acts motivated users to use the community crowdsourcing app to help others.
TopoScope: Recover AS Relationships From Fragmentary Observations

Knowledge of the Internet topology and the business relationships between Autonomous Systems (ASes) is the basis for studying many aspects of the Internet. Despite the significant progress achieved by latest inference algorithms, their inference results still suffer from errors on some critical links due to limited data, thus hindering many applications that rely on the inferred relationships. We take an in-depth analysis on the challenges inherent in the data, especially the limited coverage and biased concentration of the vantage points (VPs). Some aspects of them have been largely overlooked but will become more exacerbated when the Internet further grows. Then we develop TopoScope, a framework for accurately recovering AS relationships from such fragmentary observations. TopoScope uses ensemble learning and Bayesian Network to mitigate the observation bias originating not only from a single VP, but also from the uneven distribution of available VPs. It also discovers the intrinsic similarities between groups of adjacent links, and infers the relationships on hidden links that are not directly observable. Compared to state-of-the-art inference algorithms, TopoScope reduces the inference error by up to 2.7-4 times, discovers the relationships for around 30,000 upper layer hidden AS links, and is still more accurate and stable under more incomplete or biased observations.
“HIIT” the ExerCube: Comparing the Effectiveness of Functional High-Intensity Interval Training in Conventional vs. Exergame-Based Training

Regular physical activity is crucial for a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle. Training methods such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) have become increasingly popular as they enable substantial training effects in little time. HIIT typically involves recurring short phases of close-to-maximal exercise intensity, interspersed with low-intensity recovery phases. Originally mainly practiced via uniformly repetitive movements, newer variations include varied functional and holistic exercises (fHIIT). While HIIT facilitates many health advantages, fHIIT is considered more beneficial since it activates more muscles, requires more coordination, strength and balance, and mimics more natural movements which transfer well to daily life. However, fHIIT is a very intense training approach; it requires strong focus and intrinsic motivation to frequently push beyond perceived physical and mental limits. This is a common barrier to exploiting the full potential of this efficient training method. Exergames may facilitate this kind of training due to their playful, immersive, motivating nature. Yet so far, few studies have investigated HIIT-exergames – no fHIIT-exergames. This is possibly because few exergames featured both (1) an effective training concept that is comparable to HIIT, and (2) an attractive and motivating game design. We believe that this lack of holistic integration of both aspects is partly why there is currently little evidence for long-term motivation and training effects in exergame-based training. Our work addresses this gap through the design of an adaptive fHIIT protocol for the ExerCube fitness game system, creating a HIIT-level functional exergame. We conducted a within-subjects study to compare objective and subjective training intensity induced by the ExerCube against a conventional fHIIT session with healthy young adults. Furthermore, we evaluated participants' subjective experience with regards to motivation, flow, and enjoyment during both conditions. Our results contribute empirical evidence that exergames can induce HIIT-level intensity. While perceived physical exertion was slightly lower in the ExerCube condition, it yielded significantly better results for flow, enjoyment, and motivation. Moreover, the ExerCube seemed to enable a dual-domain training (higher cognitive load). We discuss these results in the context of exergame design for fHIIT, and provide practical suggestions covering topics such as safety precautions and physical-cognitive load balancing.
Measuring the Emergence of Consent Management on the Web

Privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have pushed internet firms processing personal data to obtain user consent. Uncertainty around sanctions for non-compliance led many websites to embed a Consent Management Provider (CMP), which collects users' consent and shares it with third-party vendors and other websites. Our paper maps the formation of this ecosystem using longitudinal measurements. Primary and secondary data sources are used to measure each actor within the ecosystem. Using 161 million browser crawls, we estimate that CMP adoption doubled from June 2018 to June 2019 and then doubled again until June 2020. Sampling 4.2 million unique domains, we observe that CMP adoption is most prevalent among moderately popular websites (Tranco top 50-10k) but a long tail exists. Using APIs from the ad-tech industry, we quantify the purposes and lawful bases used to justify processing personal data. A controlled experiment on a public website provides novel insights into how the time-to-complete of two leading CMPs' consent dialogues varies with the preferences expressed, showing how privacy aware users incur a significant time cost.
Process of information engagement: Integrating information behavior and user engagement

User engagement is considered critical to technology interactions. The user engagement scale (UES) is a measurement tool for engagement based on self‐reported measures. However, UES does not emphasize interactions with information and focus solely on perception. This visual presentation describes a novel conceptual and measurement framework to systematically describe and evaluate information engagement (IE). Following a comprehensive literature review, we conceptualize The process of information engagement (PIE) which includes three dimensions: (a) Participation ‐ users' investment in the information interaction, including information retrieval and behavioral responses ‐ measured through information exchange (b) Perception ‐ users' relation to the information, the level of emotional involvement, interest and intent in the information (c) Perseverance – users' retention of the information, the quality of the integration and influence of the information. The findings provide foundation for future work to conceptualize and operationalize IE measurement across a range of situations.
Chemical composition and antifungal potential of medicinal plants against seedborne mycoflora of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.)

Abstract Antifungal activities of medicinal plants were observed against seedborne mycoflora of eggplant (Solanum melongena). The effect of ethanolic leaf extracts of Mangifera indica, Mentha spicata, Citrus limon, Eucalyptus camaldulensis against four isolated fungal species including Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus stolonifer and Penicillium digitatum was evaluated at various concentrations, by using the poisoned food technique. The impact of the extracts on seed germination and growth of eggplant was assessed by seed treatment and growth in a greenhouse experiment. Total flavonoids of E. camaldulensis were analyzed through spectrophotometer, using quercetin as a standard. Physico-chemical parameters were also determined. Antifungal activity showed that maximum inhibition percentage of P. digitatum (67.78%) and F. oxysporum (64.44%) was observed at the highest concentration (80%) of C. limon and E. camaldulensis extracts, respectively, followed by M. spicata extract against A. fl avus (63.33%) and R. stolonifer (52.22%). Least inhibition percentage of F. oxysporum, P. digitatum, R. stolonifer and A. flavus was 6.67, 7.78, 14.44 and 16.67%, respectively, at the lowest (20%) concentration of M. spicata. The greenhouse experiment showed variations in seedling germination and post-germination growth. E. camaldulensis extract showed an increase in percent germination (78.98%) over untreated control (62.83%), root and shoot length and fresh and dry weight of root and shoot with the consequent reduction in disease symptoms. Phytochemical analysis depicted the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins in all extracts while steroids and glycosides were absent. A fair amount (10.38 mg QE g-1DF) of flavonoid was present in leaf extract of E. camaldulensis. Physico-chemical analysis showed pH of 4.6, ash content of 0.41% and weight loss on drying of 8.14%.
Synthesis of Double-Shell Hollow TiO2@ZIF-8 Nanoparticles With Enhanced Photocatalytic Activities

Synthesis of semiconductor-MOF heterostructure photocatalysts has attracted considerable attention for their thermal stability, controllable crystallinity, and enhanced photocatalytic activity. In this work, the hollow nanostructure of anatase TiO2 was prepared by etching SiO2 from core–shell SiO2@TiO2 nanoparticles. ZIF-8, one of the metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), was hybrid synthesized on the surface of hollow TiO2 and formed double-shell hollow nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of the double-shell hollow TiO2@ZIF-8 nanoparticles toward methylene blue (MB) under UV light irradiation was processed, and the highest photocatalytic efficiency of 99.1% was shown compared with TiO2 and SiO2@TiO2 nanoparticles. This study suggests a promising approach to achieve an advanced photocatalytic performance toward dye degradation using MOFs for the surface engineering of semiconductors.
How Interpersonal Justice Shapes Legitimacy Perceptions: The Role of Interpersonal Justice Trajectories and Current Experience

Despite a growing body of research on the relationship between justice and perceptions of an authority’s legitimacy, few studies have addressed the effects of changes in justice on perceived legitimacy. In the present study, we tested a dynamic model emphasizing the interactive influences of both interpersonal justice trajectories and current experience predicting perceived legitimacy. We tested the trajectory of interpersonal justice over time as a predictor of perceived legitimacy (Study 1) and the current experience of justice as a moderator of this link (Study 2). In Study 1 participants were randomly assigned to receive either improving or declining feedback from an anonymous tutor over the course of four days. Results showed that participants with an improving trajectory perceived the authority to have higher legitimacy. In Study 2 participants rated the tutor’s fairness on 3 consecutive weeks, which were used to identify naturally interpersonal trajectories; we then manipulated the current interpersonal justice experience in the fourth week. Results showed that the trajectory effect was significant when the current experience was just, but not when it was unjust.
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in two regions of Estonia (KoroSero-EST-1)

Background: In Estonia, during the first wave of COVID-19 total number of cases confirmed by PCR was 13.3/10,000, similar in most regions, including capital Tallinn, but in the hotspot of Estonian epidemic, an island Saaremaa, the cumulative incidence was 166.1/10,000. Aim: We aimed to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in these two regions, symptoms associated with infection and factors associated with antibody concentrations. Methods: Participants were selected using stratified (formed by age decades) random sampling and recruited by general practitioners. IgG were determined from sera by four assays. Symptoms of acute respiratory illness associated with seropositivity were analyzed by multiple correspondence analysis, antibody concentrations by multiple linear regression. Results: Total of 3608 individual were invited and 1960 recruited From May 8 to July 31, 2020. Seroprevalence was 1.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9-2.5) and 6.3% (95% CI 5.0-7.9), infection fatality rate 0.1% (95% CI 0.0-0.2) and 1.3% (95% CI 0.4-2.1) in Tallinn and Saaremaa, respectively. Of seropositive subjects 19.2% (14/73) had acute respiratory illness. Fever, diarrhea and the absence of cough and runny nose were associated with seropositivity in individuals aged 50 or more years. IgG concentrations were higher if fever, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chest pain or diarrhea was present, or hospitalization required. Conclusion: Similarly to other European countries the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Estonia was low even in the hotspot region Saaremaa suggesting that majority of population is still susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. Focusing only on respiratory symptoms may delay accurate diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Influence of Sage (Salvia Officinalis L.) and Purslane (Portulaca Oleracea L.) on Weight Reduction and Some Biochemical Parameters in Rats Suffering from Obesity

The present work was conducted to study the effect of Sage (Salvia Officinalis L.) and Purslane (Portulaca Oleracea L.) on the nutritional parameters (including feed intake and body weight gain %), lipid parameters, glucose, liver enzymes and some hormones (total thyroxin 14 , triiodothyronine T3 and leptin ) of rats suffering from obesity. The rats (n=48) were divided into two main groups, the first main group (n=6 rats) fed on basal diet as a control negative group. The second main group(n=42 rats) received high fat diet for 6 weeks to induce obesity in rats. After these periods, the mean value of body weight gain% was estimated in the two main groups, also blood samples were collected from all rats to estimate the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, then the high fat diet group was divided into (7) subgroups (n=6 rats for each ), the first subgroup fed on high fat diet as a control positive group. Subgroups (2 and 3) were fed on high fat diet supplemented with 2% and 4% Sage, respectively. Subgroups (4 and 5) received high fat diet supplemented with 2% and 4% Purslane , respectively. Subgroup (6) fed on high fat diet supplemented with 2% mix (1% sage, 1% Purslane ). The last subgroup was received high fat diet supplemented with 4% mix (2% sage, 2% Purslane ). The results cleared that, addition of Sage (Salvia officinalis) or Purslane (Portulaca Oleracea) or mix of them at any tested levels (2% or 4%) to the high fat diet decreased the body weights, in addition to significant decrease in the mean values of serum cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-c), glucose, aspartate amino transferase (AST) and alanine amino transferase (ALT) in all treated groups, compared to the positive control groups, while high-density lipoprotein (HDLc) increased, also the mean values of T3, 14 and leptin hormones were improved. It was concluded that, the mix of sage and purslane at high level (4%) showed the best effect on body weights, lipid profile, liver functions, glucose level and hormones of obese rats fed on high fat diet.
A Novel Arthropod Host of Brucellosis in the Arid Steppe Ecosystem

Brucellosis is a severe public health problem in the Inner Mongolia regions of China. The recent prevalence of brucellosis outbreaks may be attributed to an increase in the activity of ticks and other air-borne vectors. Dermacentor nuttalli (D. nuttalli) is a native tick species of Inner Mongolia; similar to other tick species, D. nuttalli carries a variety of pathogens that can be transmitted to a wide range of animals. In this study, we have investigated the potential of D. nuttalli in transmitting brucellosis. From 2015 to 2019, 2,256 ticks were collected from 23 different pastoral areas of Hulun Buir. Brucellosis pathogen was detected using DNA extracted from different developmental stages of ticks. Salivary gland and midgut tissue samples were used as templates to amplify Brucella Bscp31 gene (Brucella genus-specific gene) by using TaqMan Real-Time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To detect the presence of Bscp31 protein, which is specific to Brucella spp. , in the midgut and salivary gland tissues of D. nuttalli, Western blotting and immunofluorescence were performed. Additionally, Brucella spp. were isolated using a culture medium. Tick samples were identified as D. nuttalli. Different percentages of Brucella genus-specific genes could be found in the tick samples. From 2015 to 2019, the positivity rate for the detection of Bscp31 gene in D. nuttalli ranged from 0.00 to 87.80%, with the highest rate of 89.00%. In addition, Brucella genus-specific genes were successfully detected in the samples isolated from all the developmental stages and anatomical regions of ticks. Bscp31 protein was present in the midgut and salivary gland of D. nuttalli. Further, B. melitensis biotype 3 was isolated from eggs and engorged adults of D. nuttalli. These findings demonstrate that D. nuttalli is a potent, long-term carrier of Brucella spp. that can exhibit transovarial transmission potential, presenting D. nuttalli as a novel arthropod host for Brucella spp. This study, therefore, indicates the potential risk of transmission of brucellosis via tick bites among animals as well as human beings.
Biomedical knowledge discovery based on Sentence‐BERT

In the advent of the big data era, the volume of biomedical information grows exponentially, which means that the researchers have to spend a large amount of time in biomedical information mining. Effective mining of biomedical information and building the knowledge graph in the biomedical field are of high importance for biomedical knowledge discovery. In this study, datasets were constructed by using the text similarity corpus of CDD. The average Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated by using the Sentence‐BERT model with sentence embeddings. Then a comparison was performed among the wordnet‐based similarity method (WBSM), UMLS‐based similarity method (UBSM), and the combination of these two methods. The results showed that the average Pearson correlation r calculated by the Sentence‐BERT model was the highest, the value of which is 74.37%. Triplets consisting of diseases, genes and proteins were extracted by using the Sentence‐BERT model. On this basis, the biomedical knowledge graph was constructed. It was found that this knowledge graph had a good effect on the testing dataset.
Review of faunistical data on Odonata in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

This paper deals with faunistical data and taxonomic notes on Odonata in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A database containing all available published, previously unpublished, and new data was made in order to create a review of the current knowledge of the country’s Odonata fauna and point out the priorities in future investigations. 57 Odonata species are listed as resident species in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Of that number, exact data on the occurrence of 6 species (Lestes parvidens, L. macrostigma, Erythromma viridulum, Aeshna grandis, Lindenia tetraphylla and Somatochlora flavomaculata) are presented and discussed here for the first time.