Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Deterioration of Agronomical Traits of the Continuous Cropping of Stevia Is Associated With the Dynamics of Soil Bacterial Community

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is grown worldwide as an important, natural sweetener resource plant. The yield of steviol glycosides (SVglys) is greatly influenced by continuous cropping. In this study, we collected the roots, rhizosphere soils, and bulk soils from 2 years of continuous cropping (Y2) and 8 years of continuous cropping (Y8). A high-throughput sequencing technology based on Illumina Hiseq 2500 platform was used to study the structure and diversity of bacterial communities in the roots and soils of stevia with different years of continuous cropping. The results demonstrated that although the content of a group of SVglys was significantly increased in stevia of long-term continuous cropping, it inhibited the growth of plants and lowered the leaf dry weight; as a result, the total amount of SVglys was significantly decreased. Meanwhile, continuous cropping changed the physicochemical properties and the bacterial composition communities of soil. The different sampling sources of the root, rhizosphere soil, and bulk soil had no impact on the richness of bacterial communities, while it exhibited obvious effects on the diversity of bacterial communities. Continuous cropping had a stronger effect on the bacterial community composition in rhizosphere soil than in root and bulk soil. Based on linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe), in the rhizosphere soil of Y8, the relative abundance of some beneficial bacterial genera of Sphingomonas, Devosia, Streptomyces, and Flavobacterium decreased significantly, while the relative abundance of Polycyclovorans, Haliangium, and Nitrospira greatly increased. Moreover, the soil pH and nutrient content, especially the soil organic matter, were correlated with the relative abundance of predominant bacteria at the genus level. This study provides a theoretical basis for uncovering the mechanism of obstacles in continuous stevia cropping and provides guidance for the sustainable development of stevia.
PON-All: Amino Acid Substitution Tolerance Predictor for All Organisms

Genetic variations are investigated in human and many other organisms for many purposes (e.g., to aid in clinical diagnosis). Interpretation of the identified variations can be challenging. Although some dedicated prediction methods have been developed and some tools for human variants can also be used for other organisms, the performance and species range have been limited. We developed a novel variant pathogenicity/tolerance predictor for amino acid substitutions in any organism. The method, PON-All, is a machine learning tool trained on human, animal, and plant variants. Two versions are provided, one with Gene Ontology (GO) annotations and another without these details. GO annotations are not available or are partial for many organisms of interest. The methods provide predictions for three classes: pathogenic, benign, and variants of unknown significance. On the blind test, when using GO annotations, accuracy was 0.913 and MCC 0.827. When GO features were not used, accuracy was 0.856 and MCC 0.712. The performance is the best for human and plant variants and somewhat lower for animal variants because the number of known disease-causing variants in animals is rather small. The method was compared to several other tools and was found to have superior performance. PON-All is freely available at http://structure.bmc. lu.se/PON-All and http://8.133. 174.28:8999/.
Friend or Foe? Defining the Role of Glutamate in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease

Aging is a naturally occurring decline of physiological processes and biological pathways that affects both the structural and functional integrity of the body and brain. These physiological changes reduce motor skills, executive function, memory recall, and processing speeds. Aging is also a major risk factor for multiple neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Identifying a biomarker, or biomarkers, that signals the transition from physiological to pathological aging would aid in earlier therapeutic options or interventional strategies. Considering the importance of glutamate signaling in synaptic plasticity, motor movement, and cognition, this neurotransmitter serves as a juncture between cognitive health and disease. This article discusses glutamatergic signaling during physiological aging and the pathological changes observed in AD patients. Findings from studies in mouse models of successful aging and AD are reviewed and provide a biological context for this transition. Finally, current techniques to monitor brain glutamate are highlighted. These techniques may aid in elucidating time-point specific therapeutic windows to modify disease outcome. Graphical Abstract
The complete mitochondrial genome of Leptomantella tonkinae (Hebard, 1920) (Mantodea: Leptomantellidae) and its phylogeny

Abstract The complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of Leptomantella tonkinae (Hebard, 1920) was 15,527 bp in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, two ribosomal RNAs, and one control region. The gene arrangement of mt genome of L. tonkinae was identical to the primitive mantis. The overall AT content of the mt genome was 74%. In ML and BI phylogenetic analyses, the monophyly of Leptomantellidae was robustly supported and the clade of Leptomantellidae is a sister clade to the group of (Gonypetidae+(Leptomantellidae+(Amorphoscelidae+Nanomantidae))).
Transcriptome Profiling of Transposon-Derived Long Non-coding RNAs Response to Hormone in Strawberry Fruit Development

Strawberry is an economically grown horticulture crop required for fruit consumption. The ripening of its fruit is a complex biological process regulated by various hormones. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a critical phytohormone involved in fruit ripening. However, little is known about the long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs), especially transposon-derived LncRNA (TE-lncRNA), response to hormones during fruit ripening in octoploid strawberry. In the study, the transcriptome data of developing strawberry fruits treated with ABA and its inhibitor Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NGDA) were analyzed to identify responsive LncRNAs and coding genes. A total of 14,552 LncRNAs were identified, including 8,617 transposon-derived LncRNAs (TE-LncRNAs), 412 LncRNAs (282 TE-LncRNAs), and 382 ABA-sensitive LncRNAs (231 TE-LncRNAs). Additionally, a weighted co-expression network analysis constructed 27 modules containing coding RNAs and LncRNAs. Seven modules, including “MEdarkorange” and “MElightyellow” were significantly correlated with ABA/NDGA treatments, resulting in 247 hub genes, including 21 transcription factors and 22 LncRNAs (15 TE-LncRNAs). Gene ontology enrichment analysis further revealed that ABA/NDGA-responsive modules, including LncRNAs, were associated with various metabolic pathways involved in strawberry fruit development and ripening, including lipid metabolism, organic acid metabolism, and phenylpropanoid metabolism. The current study identifies many high-confidence LncRNAs in strawberry, with a percentage of them being ABA pathway-specific and 22 hub-responsive LncRNAs, providing new insight into strawberry or other Rosaceae crop fruit ripening.
Clinical Features and Potential Mechanisms Relating Neuropathological Biomarkers and Blood-Brain Barrier in Patients With Alzheimer’s Disease and Hearing Loss

Background The aim of this study was to explore clinical features and potential mechanisms relating neuropathological biomarkers and blood-brain barrier (BBB) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and hearing loss (HL). Materials and Methods A total of 65 patients with AD were recruited and auditory function was assessed by threshold of pure tone audiometry (PTA). Patients were divided into AD with HL (AD-HL) and AD with no HL (AD-nHL) groups based on the standard of World Health Organization. Clinical symptoms were assessed by multiple rating scales. The levels of neuropathological biomarkers of β amyloid1-42 (Aβ1–42) and multiple phosphorylated tau (P-tau), and BBB factors of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), receptor of advanced glycation end products, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein 1 were measured. Results (1) Compared with AD-nHL group, AD-HL group had significantly impaired overall cognitive function and cognitive domains of memory, language, attention, execution, and activities of daily living (ADL) reflected by the scores of rating scales (P < 0.05). PTA threshold was significantly correlated with the impairments of overall cognitive function and cognitive domains of memory and language, and ADL in patients with AD (P < 0.05). (2) P-tau (S199) level was significantly increased in CSF from AD-HL group (P < 0.05), and was significantly and positively correlated with PTA threshold in patients with AD. (3) MMP-3 level was significantly elevated in CSF from AD-HL group (P < 0.05), and was significantly and positively correlated with PTA threshold in patients with AD (P < 0.05). (4) In AD-HL group, P-tau (S199) level was significantly and positively correlated with the levels of MMP-2 and MMP-3 in CSF (P < 0.05). Conclusion AD-HL patients have severely compromised overall cognitive function, multiple cognitive domains, and ADL. The potential mechanisms of AD-HL involve elevations of AD neuropathological biomarker of P-tau (S199) and BBB factor of MMP-3, and close correlations between P-tau (S199) and MMP-2/MMP-3 in CSF. Findings from this investigation highly suggest significance of early evaluation of HL for delaying AD progression, and indicate new directions of drug development by inhibiting neuropathological biomarkers of AD and protecting BBB.
Fuzzy logic based speed enhancement of electric vehicle

In the recent decade, an increasing number of electric cars have come on the global market as a means of addressing mobility issues in congested cities. The primary goal of this article is to construct a four-wheeled electric vehicle that can travel for long periods. This model is controlled by a fuzzy logic controller and an H-bridge controller and driven by a Permanent magnet brushless DC motor mounted on the back wheels. The car has an electronic differential system that offers stable vehicle control and allows each driving wheel to revolve at different rates. The suggested electric vehicle system controller is tested using the MATLAB Simulink environment.
Downward Revision of Investment Decisions after Corporate Tax Hikes

IZA DP No. 16056 APRIL 2023 Downward Revision of Investment Decisions after Corporate Tax Hikes* This paper estimates the causal effect of corporate tax hikes on firm investment based on more than 1,400 local tax changes. By observing planned and realized investment volumes in a representative sample of German manufacturing firms, we can study how tax hikes induce firms to revise their investment decisions. On average, the share of firms that invest less than previously planned increases by three percentage points after a tax hike. This effect is twice as large during recessions. JEL Classification: G11, H25, H32, H71, O16
Performance of Asphalt Rejuvenators in Hot-Mix Asphalt Containing Recycled Asphalt Shingles

The use of recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) in asphalt paving construction represents a sustainable approach to reduce virgin material consumption and negative environmental effects, as well as the cost of asphalt pavement. However, many challenges are yet to be addressed about the use of RAS in paving applications. This study evaluated the effect of the incorporation of postconsumer waste shingles and rejuvenators on the performance of hot-mix asphalt. Four asphalt rejuvenators—one bio-oil and three synthetic oils—were evaluated. A set of laboratory tests was conducted to characterize the performance of asphalt mixtures against permanent deformation and fatigue cracking. The addition of 5% RAS showed an improvement in permanent deformation when compared with a conventional mixture with no RAS. Yet the addition of asphalt rejuvenator products slightly decreased the performance against permanent deformation. On the basis of Hamburg wheel-tracking device test results, the addition of RAS did not adversely affect moisture resistance. Yet semicircular bending test results showed that the asphalt mixtures that contained asphalt rejuvenators had a lower critical strain energy release rate than the minimum threshold value (0.5 kJ/m2), which indicated a greater susceptibility to intermediate-temperature cracking.
Overheated behaviours and spread effects: an analysis of London’s housing market

ABSTRACT This paper takes the London housing market as an example to discuss whether housing markets with more significant overheating effects have a greater influence on other housing markets. The spillover effect of London’s housing market has been the subject of much literature, but the empirical results of the relevant literature are inconsistent. This paper proposed a new perspective to explain these inconsistent conclusions: Whether the housing market is overheated or not can affect the spread effect of a regional housing market. The paper estimated the indicators of real estate overheated behaviours and market connectedness. Further, it revealed that when real estate overheated behaviours became more severe, the irrationally high house prices resulted in spread effects. The empirical results also showed that when the overheating effect occurred in London’s housing market, the rental yield of its adjacent regions significantly increased; specifically, the rental yield of a region increased with its closeness to London. The results of this study provide an explanation for the variation in spread effects. This study also indicated that when studying the influence of the relatively booming housing markets on other regions, it is necessary to test the prosperity status of these housing markets to more accurately estimate the spread effects of these markets.
PSARE: A RL-based Online Participant Selection Scheme Incorporating Area Coverage Ratio and Degree in Mobile Crowdsensing

Mobile crowdsensing (MCS) is a cost-effective paradigm for gathering real-time and location-related urban sensing data. To complete MCS tasks, MCS platform needs to exploit the trajectory of participants (vehicles or individuals, etc.) for effectively choosing participants. On one hand, the existing works usually assume that platform has possessed the abundant historical movement trajectory for participant selection, or can accurately predict the movement of participant before selection, but this assumption is impractical for many MCS applications, for some candidates have just arrived without sufficient mobility profiles, so-called trajectory from-scratch, or cold-trajectory issue. On the other hand, most of works only considers the coverage ratio of the sensing area, while some hotspots should be sensed frequently, so-called coverage degree of hotspots. To solve the issue, this paper proposes a reinforcement learning (RL) based, i.e., an improved Q-learning based online participant selection scheme to incorporate both coverage ratio and degree, PSARE. First, to solve the explosion of state-value table in traditional tabular Q-learning, an improved two-level Q-learning method is proposed to select participants in online way so as to achieve high long-term return. Specifically, in each selection round, PSARE dynamically compresses all the real participants (RPs) into several virtual participants (VPs) using the available historical trajectories of RPs, and the VP-based state-value table is constructed and constantly updated (i.e., the first level). Then, after selecting the VP through looking up the table, PARSE chooses the RP with the largest expected reward in this VP using epsilon-greedy way to balance the effect of exploration and exploitation (i.e., the second level). Moreover, the reward function is designed to measure the MCS coverage quality, including both coverage degree of hotspots and coverage ratio of target area. Thorough experiments on real-world mobility data set demonstrate that PSARE outperforms than other RL based online participant selection schemes (including deep Q-learning network) and traditional offline selection methods.
Design of Narrowband Truncated Rectangular Antenna for Breast Cancer Detection

This work describes a microstrip patch antenna as a truncated rectangular shape. The antenna is built to be low-profile, low-cost, simple to fabricate, and have good isolation. This antenna's vertical and horizontal lengths are 34 mm and 36 mm, respectively, at radio frequencies of 2–12 GHz. The CST modelling technique is used to build the truncated rectangular shape antenna. For the frequency range of 2 GHz to 12 GHz, the antenna resonate at 7 GHz, and the reflection coefficient is less than −28. This antenna's substrate is made of FR4 with 4.3 permittivity. The length of 18 mm and width 11 mm of a rectangular patch antenna were used to find different parameters such as the S parameter, Gain, Directivity. This designed narrow band microstrip medical antenna can be used for application in medical field for breast cancer detection.
Fecal microbiota transplantation in the metabolic diseases: Current status and perspectives

With the development of microbiology and metabolomics, the relationship between the intestinal microbiome and intestinal diseases has been revealed. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), as a new treatment method, can affect the course of many chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, malignant tumor, autoimmune disease and nervous system disease. Although the mechanism of action of FMT is now well understood, there is some controversy in metabolic diseases, so its clinical application may be limited. Microflora transplantation is recommended by clinical medical guidelines and consensus for the treatment of recurrent or refractory Clostridium difficile infection, and has been gradually promoted for the treatment of other intestinal and extraintestinal diseases. However, the initial results are varied, suggesting that the heterogeneity of the donor stools may affect the efficacy of FMT. The success of FMT depends on the microbial diversity and composition of donor feces. Therefore, clinical trials may fail due to the selection of ineffective donors, and not to faulty indication selection for FMT. A new understanding is that FMT not only improves insulin sensitivity, but may also alter the natural course of type 1 diabetes by modulating autoimmunity. In this review, we focus on the main mechanisms and deficiencies of FMT, and explore the optimal design of FMT research, especially in the field of cardiometabolic diseases.
Packaging method and temperature characteristics of miniature e-field probe with fiber-lInBo3 evanescent coupler

The fiber-waveguide evanescent coupler (FWEC) is one of the most promising directions in optical fiber sensors for electric field measurement. FWEC has extraordinary measurement performance, including millimeter-level size, high spatial resolution, broad upper limit, and free of discrete optical elements. Therefore, it has a wide range of applications, especially for very fast transient overvoltage and high electric field measurement. However, like all kinds of optical electric field sensors, the output of FWEC also shifts with temperature. Besides, the mechanical stability of FWEC is weakened as most of the cladding of D-type single-mode fiber (D-SMF) has been removed. In this paper, the FWEC sensor with stable transmission spectra is fabricated by monitoring the real-time coupling state of D-SMF and Z-cut LiNbO3. A uniform package coating of about 150 μm is formed by precisely controlling the injected QLE 1101 silicon gel. The stability test shows that the spectral distortion of packaged FWEC is only about 1.7%, indicating that the impact of packaging on the measurement performance is negligible. Through theoretical analysis and experimental verification, the peak wavelength of FWEC shifts linearly with temperature with a sensitivity of 0.08 nm/˚C. Therefore, the peak wavelength shift can be selected as the characteristic index to correct the measurement result in practical application.
Analysis of Converter Topologies for Wind Energy Conversion Systems

The widely known Z-source DC-DC converter is described in this study as an LLC resonant and adjustable Z-source converter in bilateral shielding that employs not only a greater voltage output as well as a common grounded feature. Upon this basis of Z-source DC-DC converters, this converter integrates a few minor alterations and no extra components are needed. The high voltage gain is enabled by a modest change in the surrounding load end.
Efficacy of Quantitative Pupillary Light Reflex for Predicting Neurological Outcomes in Patients Treated with Targeted Temperature Management after Cardiac Arrest: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and objectives: This study aims to evaluate the usefulness of the quantitative pupillary light reflex as a prognostic tool for neurological outcomes in post-cardiac arrest patients treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). Material and Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (search date: 9 July 2021) for studies on post-cardiac arrest patients treated with TTM that had measured the percent constriction of pupillary light reflex (%PLR) with quantitative pupillometry as well as assessed the neurological outcome. For an assessment of the methodological quality of the included studies, two authors utilized the prognosis study tool independently. Results: A total of 618 patients from four studies were included in this study. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated to compare patients with good or poor neurological outcomes. A higher %PLR measured at 0–24 h after hospital admission was related to good neurological outcomes at 3 months in post-cardiac arrest patients treated with TTM (SMD 0.87; 95% confidence interval 0.70–1.05; I2 = 0%). A higher %PLR amplitude measured at 24–48 h after hospital admission was also associated with a good neurological outcome at 3 months in post-cardiac arrest patients treated with TTM, but with high heterogeneity (standardized mean difference 0.86; 95% confidence interval 0.40–1.32; I2 = 70%). The evidence supporting these findings was of poor quality. For poor neurological outcome, the prognosis accuracy of %PLR was 9.19 (pooled diagnostic odds ratio, I2 = 0%) and 0.75 (area under the curve). Conclusions: The present meta-analysis could not reveal that change of %PLR was an effective tool in predicting neurological outcomes for post-cardiac arrest patients treated with TTM owing to a paucity of included studies and the poor quality of the evidence.
Data-painting: Expressive free-form visualisation

: Data visualization can be powerful in enabling us to make sense of complex data. Expressive data representation – where individuals have control over the nature of the output – is hard to incorporate into existing frameworks and techniques for visualization. The power of informal, rough, expressive sketches in working out ideas is well documented. This points to an opportunity to better understand how expressivity can exist in data visualization creation. We explore the expressive potential of Data Painting through a study aimed at improving our understanding of what people need and make use of in creating novel examples of data expression. Participants use exact measures of paint for data-mapping and then explore the expressive possibilities of free-form data representation. Our intentions are to improve our understanding of expressivity in data visualization; to raise questions as to the creation and use of non-traditional data visualizations; and to suggest directions for expressivity in visualization.