Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decreased Plasma Levels of Growth Differentiation Factor 11 in Patients With Schizophrenia: Correlation With Psychopathology and Cognition

Schizophrenia is linked with abnormal neurodevelopment, on which growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF-11) has a great impact. However, a direct evidence linking GDF-11 to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia is still lacking. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between plasma GDF-11 levels and both psychopathological symptoms and cognitive function in schizophrenia. Eighty-seven schizophrenia patients and 76 healthy controls were enrolled in the present study. The symptomatology of schizophrenia was evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Cognitive function was assessed by Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) including twelve neurocognitive tests in five aspects of cognitive function. Plasma GDF-11 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We found that plasma levels of GDF-11 were significantly lower in schizophrenia patients relative to healthy controls. Correlation analysis showed significant negative correlations between the GDF-11 levels and the PANSS total score, the positive symptoms score, the negative symptoms score or the general score. Additionally, positive associations were observed between plasma GDF-11 levels and the visuospatial/constructional, attention, immediate memory, or delayed memory in patients. Partial correlation analysis showed that these correlations were still significant after adjusting for age, gender, education years, body mass index, duration of illness, and age of onset except for the visuospatial/constructional and attention index. Multiple regression analysis revealed that GDF-11 was an independent contributor to the immediate memory, delayed memory and RBANS total score in patients. Collectively, the correlations between plasma GDF-11 and psychopathological and cognitive symptoms suggest that abnormal GDF-11 signaling might contribute to schizophrenic psychopathology and cognitive impairments and GDF-11 could be a potential and promising biomarker for schizophrenia.
Molecular and Immune Characteristics for Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients With ERLIN2 Overexpression

Background Endoplasmic reticulum lipid raft-associated protein 2 (ERLIN2) is protein contained in the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. In lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the molecular function of ERLIN2 and the correlation between ERLIN2 and tumor-infiltrating immune cells have been unclear. The aim of our study was to determine the role of ERLIN2 in LUAD development to provide a better understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of this disease and identify new therapeutic targets for its treatment. Methods Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to detect protein and mRNA levels of ERLIN2 in LUAD and adjacent normal tissues. Using the A549, H1299 cell line, ERLIN2-short hairpin RNA was applied to silence ERLIN2 to determine its role in LUAD cell proliferation and invasion. Based on mRNA expression of ERLIN2 from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we identified ERLIN2-related protein-coding genes and analyzed the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway to explore its potential biological functions and determined the correlation between ERLIN2 and tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Results ERLIN2 was abnormally expressed in a variety of tumor tissues and is highly expressed in LUAD. This overexpression was associated with histological grade (P = 0.044), TNM stage (P = 0.01), and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.038). Patient overall survival was poorer with ERLIN2 overexpression. Downregulation of ERLIN2 inhibited LUAD cell proliferation and invasion in vitro. Based on mRNA expression of ERLIN2 from the TCGA database, 13 ERLIN2-related genes and 10 pathways were identified and showed a correlation between ERLIN2 and naive B cells and neutrophils. Conclusion ERLIN2 could serve as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for LUAD and has demonstrated to be correlated with immune infiltrates, which suggests that it may represent a new therapeutic target for LUAD.
Financial Impacts of Liver Fluke on Livestock Farms Under Climate Change–A Farm Level Assessment

Liver fluke infection (fascioliasis) is a parasitic disease which affects the health and welfare of ruminants. It is a concern for the livestock industry and is considered as a growing threat to the industry because changing climatic conditions are projected to be more favorable to increased frequency and intensity of liver fluke outbreaks. Recent reports highlighted that the incidence and geographic range of liver fluke has increased in the UK over the last decade and estimated to increase the average risk of liver fluke in the UK due to increasing temperature and rainfall. This paper explores financial impacts of the disease with and without climate change effects on Scottish livestock farms using a farm-level economic model. The model is based on farming system analysis and uses linear programming technique to maximize farm net profit within farm resources. Farm level data from a sample of 160 Scottish livestock farms is used under a no disease baseline scenario and two disease scenarios (with and without climate change). These two disease scenarios are compared with the baseline scenario to estimate the financial impact of the disease at farm levels. The results suggest a 12% reduction in net profit on an average dairy farm compared to 6% reduction on an average beef farm under standard disease conditions. The losses increase by 2-fold on a dairy farm and 6-fold on a beef farm when climate change effects are included with disease conditions on farms. There is a large variability within farm groups with profitable farms incurring relatively lesser economic losses than non-profitable farms. There is a substantial increase in number of vulnerable farms both in dairy (+20%) and beef farms (+27%) under the disease alongside climate change conditions.
Synthesis of carbon nanotubes by laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition

With recent advances in the aligned growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), there are great interests in CNT-based field-emission and electronic applications. In conventional thermal chemical vapor deposition, substrates as well as chambers need to be globally heated to a sufficiently-high reaction temperature. In this paper, we report a method for direct synthesis of CNTs on pre-defined electrodes using laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition. A CW CO2 laser (wavelength 10.6 μm, beam diameter 2 mm) was used to irradiate the pre-defined structures for CNT growth. The temperature of the substrate was measured by a pyrometer, ranging from 850-1000 °C. By varying catalysts and laser parameters, carbon nanostructures including carbon nanofiber, multi-walled and single-walled CNTs can be controllably synthesized.
Protein Residues and a Novel Motif Involved in the Cellular Localization of CheZ in Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571

Chemotaxis is essential for the competitiveness of motile bacteria in complex and harsh environments. The localization of chemotactic proteins in the cell is critical for coordinating a maximal response to chemotactic signals. One chemotaxis protein with a well-defined subcellular localization is the phosphatase CheZ. CheZ localizes to cell poles by binding with CheA in Escherichia coli and other enteric bacteria, or binding with a poorly understood protein called ChePep in epsilon-Proteobacteria. In alpha-Proteobacteria, CheZ lacks CheA-binding sites, and its cellular localization remains unknown. We therefore determined the localization of CheZ in the alpha-Proteobacteria Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571. A. caulinodans CheZ, also termed as CheZAC, was found to be located to cell poles independently of CheA, and we suspect that either the N-terminal helix or the four-helix bundle of CheZAC is sufficient to locate to cell poles. We also found a novel motif, AXXFQ, which is adjacent to the phosphatase active motif DXXXQ, which effects the monopolar localization of CheZAC. This novel motif consisting of AXXFQ is conserved in CheZ and widely distributed among Proteobacteria. Finally, we found that the substitution of phosphatase active site affects the polar localization of CheZAC. In total, this work characterized the localization pattern of CheZ containing a novel motif, and we mapped the regions of CheZAC that are critical for its polar localization.
Discovery of Novel Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Diversity From a Soil Metagenomic Library

Soil microorganisms historically have been a rich resource for natural product discovery, yet the majority of these microbes remain uncultivated and their biosynthetic capacity is left underexplored. To identify the biosynthetic potential of soil microorganisms using a culture-independent approach, we constructed a large-insert metagenomic library in Escherichia coli from a topsoil sampled from the Cullars Rotation (Auburn, AL, United States), a long-term crop rotation experiment. Library clones were screened for biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) using either PCR or a NGS (next generation sequencing) multiplexed pooling strategy, coupled with bioinformatic analysis to identify contigs associated with each metagenomic clone. A total of 1,015 BGCs were detected from 19,200 clones, identifying 223 clones (1.2%) that carry a polyketide synthase (PKS) and/or a non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) cluster, a dramatically improved hit rate compared to PCR screening that targeted type I polyketide ketosynthase (KS) domains. The NRPS and PKS clusters identified by NGS were distinct from known BGCs in the MIBiG database or those PKS clusters identified by PCR. Likewise, 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained by NGS of the library included many representatives that were not recovered by PCR, in concordance with the same bias observed in KS amplicon screening. This study provides novel resources for natural product discovery and circumvents amplification bias to allow annotation of a soil metagenomic library for a more complete picture of its functional and phylogenetic diversity.
Potential Role of Adjuvant Lenvatinib in Improving Disease-Free Survival for Patients With High-Risk Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Following Liver Transplantation: A Retrospective, Case Control Study

Background and Aim Although liver transplantation (LT) is one of the most effective treatments for the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the high-risk patients suffer from a high ratio of tumor recurrence after LT. Lenvatinib, as a novel targeted drug, has shown an excellent effect in the treatment of advanced HCC, but there is no study on its effect in preventing HCC recurrence in the patients undergoing transplantation. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the role of adjuvant lenvatinib in preventing recurrence of high-risk LT recipients with HBV-related HCC. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 23 high-risk patients consisting of lenvatinib group (n=14) and control group (n=9) with HBV-related HCC who underwent LT in our center. Disease-free survival (DFS) and HCC recurrence of the two groups were compared. The adverse events (AEs) and drug tolerance of lenvatinib were evaluated. Results The median DFS in lenvatinib group was 291 (95%CI 204–516) days, significantly longer than 182 (95%CI 56–537) days in control group (P=0.04). Three patients in lenvatinib group (21.4%) and five patients in control group (55.6%) had short-term HCC recurrence (P=0.11). All patients in lenvatinib group could tolerate oral lenvatinib for at least three cycles except six cases (42.9%) of dose reduction and 1 case of interruption (14.3%). Thirteen patients (92.9%) taking lenvatinib experienced AEs. The most common AEs were hypertension (64.3%) and proteinuria (42.9%), and the most serious AEs were Grade 3 for 4 cases (28.5%) according to common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE) version 5.0. Additionally, no influence of lenvatinib on the dosage and blood concentration of FK506 was observed. Conclusions Adjuvant lenvatinib had a potential benefit on prolonging the DFS and reducing the recurrence of high-risk HBV-related HCC patients following liver transplantation with an acceptable drug safety and patient tolerance.
A Review on Dual-Lens Fluorescence Microscopy for Three-Dimensional Imaging

Three-dimensional (3D) imaging using dual-lens fluorescence microscopies is popular in observing fluorescently labeled biological samples, such as mammalian/model animal cells, tissues, and embryos. Specifically, dual-lens super-resolution fluorescence microscopy methods using two opposing objective lenses allow significantly higher axial resolution and better signal to noise ratio than traditional single-lens counterparts, and thus distinguish more details in 3D images of fine intracellular structures. For 3D imaging of thick tissues and entire embryos, dual-lens light-sheet fluorescence microscopy methods using two objective lenses, either orthogonal or non-orthogonal, to achieve selective plane illumination, can meet the requirements, and thus can be used to observe embryo development and structures of interest in thick tissues. This review summarizes both dual-lens fluorescence microscopy methods, including their principles, configurations, and 3D imaging applications, providing a guideline for biological laboratories with different 3D imaging needs.
Ground‐state and finite‐temperature energetics and topologies of germanium microclusters

We have investigated the ground‐state and finite‐temperature properties of Ge microclusters (N=2 to 14) using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation along with the method of steepest‐descent quench (SDQ). The interaction potential adopted is the three‐body Stillinger–Weber potential as modified by Ding and Andersen for amorphous Ge. Our results indicate that the experimentally observed greater stability of certain cluster sizes can be explained by the topology and energetics of the clusters at finite temperature rather than by the binding energies of the ground‐state structures.
Extending Backward Compatibility of Probabilistic Testing via Coherent Resolutions

Testing equivalence for processes featuring both nondeter-minism and probabilities is not insensitive to the moment of occurrence of nondeterministic or probabilistic choices among identical actions. Therefore, it is only partially backward compatible with testing equivalences for fully nondeterministic processes and for fully probabilistic processes. We illustrate how its backward compatibility can be extended through the joint use of coherent resolutions of nondeterminism and additional decorations for transitions, to ensure the insensitivity to the aforementioned internal choices. We also show that full backward compatibility cannot be achieved by exhibiting a counterexample with external choices too, inspired by failure semantics for fully nondeterministic processes.
Left-sided carotid arteries have a higher prevalence of intraplaque hemorrhage than right-sided: An asymmetric conundrum

Purpose To assess whether an asymmetry exists in the prevalence of carotid artery intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) between right- and left-sided arteries. Materials and methods The records of all patients with atherosclerotic carotid artery disease that underwent neck magnetic resonance angiography imaging with high-resolution plaque sequences between 2017 and 2020 at our institution were retrospectively reviewed. The prevalence of stenosis and IPH was determined for all patients and compared between the left and right carotid arteries of those with unilateral anterior circulation ischemic strokes. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine potential independent associations of IPH laterality with ischemic strokes. Results A total of 368 patients were included overall and 241 were male (65.4%). There were a total of 125 asymptomatic patients and 211 patients with unilateral anterior circulation ischemic strokes. Of patients with ischemic strokes, 55.5% had left-sided strokes compared with 44.5% who had right-sided strokes (p = 0.03). Patients with left-sided strokes had a higher prevalence of ipsilateral IPH than those with right-sided strokes (64.1% versus 36.2%, p < 0.0001), despite similar degrees of stenosis. Both age (odds ratio (OR): 1.0; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0–1.1; p = 0.007) and the presence of left-sided IPH (OR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.5–6.8; p = 0.003) were independently associated with unilateral ischemic strokes. Conclusions Left-sided plaques more frequently have IPH and may be more likely to result in ipsilateral ischemic strokes compared with right-sided plaques. The underlying mechanism of asymmetric distribution of IPH between right and left carotids remains unclear.
International migratory agreements: the paradox of adverse interest

Abstract This article seeks to explain the contradiction between the promises of welfare gains derived from the economic models recommending the removal of immigration restrictions and the realities experienced by countries attempting to apply restrictions to immigration flows. A formal model is built in which the strategic reaction of countries considers not only the benefits derived from migration but also the (economic and non-economic) costs that migration can generate in the host country. Strategic reactions drive what may be called the “paradox of adverse interest”: the fewer potential gains associated with liberalization of migration, the easier it becomes for nations to reach an unrestrictive agreement. The existence of two asymmetries (between the bargaining power of receiving and sending countries, and between the private nature of most of migration’s benefits and the social nature of its main costs) can hinder the agreement when the countries involved exhibit a high wage differential. Results suggest that permissive international agreements on migration are easier to reach in regional contexts, among countries with proximate economic conditions and levels of income.
Impact of the European bark beetle Ips typographus on biochemical and growth properties of wood and needles in Siberian spruce Picea obovata

Abstract European spruce bark beetle Ips typographus is an important driver of ecological processes in spruce stands, with severe effects on forestry economies. To prevent bark beetle outbreaks, early detection of infestations is a crucial step in forest management. It is expected that bark beetle infestation modifies biochemical composition of wood and needles, alters physiological responses in the early stage of infestation, which results in the reduction of tree growth and ultimately a tree death. Therefore, we studied the differences in biochemical composition of wood, content of photosynthesis-related pigments, shoot morphology, and growth between the healthy Siberian spruce trees (Picea obovata) and trees which were infested by I. typographus. The study was performed in five experimental plots established in the south of the Udmurt Republic in the European part of the Russian Federation. Three infested and three non-infested trees were chosen on each plot. Our results showed no significant effect of bark beetle infestation on the content of main structural components of wood – holocellulose (cellulose and hemicellulose) and lignin. On the other hand, we found differences in the content of extractive substances in the wood. Specifically, we found a higher tannin content in the non-infested trees. The content of photosynthesis-related pigments differed between the non-infested and infested trees as well. Unexpectedly, bark beetle infestation caused the overproduction of both pigment types rather than their degradation. Moreover, we observed that a higher amount of total extractive substances positively affected the incremental growth, whereas tannins supported the growth of shoots and needles.
Improving flexural and dielectric properties of carbon fiber epoxy composite laminates reinforced with carbon nanotubes interlayer using electrospray deposition

Abstract The electrospray deposition method was used to deposit carbon nanotubes (CNT) onto the surfaces of woven carbon fiber (CF) to produce woven hybrid carbon fiber–carbon nanotubes (CF–CNT). Extreme high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (XHR-FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used to analyze the woven hybrid CF–CNT. The results demonstrated that CNT was successfully and homogenously distributed on the woven CF surface. Woven hybrid CF–CNT epoxy composite laminates were then prepared and compared with woven CF epoxy composite laminates in terms of their flexural and dielectric properties. The results indicated that the flexural strength, flexural modulus and dielectric constant of the woven hybrid CF–CNT epoxy composite laminates were improved up to 19, 27 and 25%, respectively, compared with the woven CF epoxy composite laminates.
Personalised neural networks for a driver intention prediction: communication as enabler for automated driving

Abstract In everyday traffic, pedestrians rely on informal communication with other road users. In case of automated vehicles, this communication can be replaced by light signals, which need to be learned beforehand. Prior to an extensive introduction of automated vehicles, a learning phase for these light signals can be set up in manual driving with help of a driver intention prediction. Therefore, a three-staged algorithm consisting of a neural network, a random forest and a conditional stage, is implemented. Using this algorithm, a true-positive rate (TPR) of 94.0% for a 5.0% false-positive rate (FPR) can be achieved. To improve this process, a personalization procedure is implemented, using driver-specific behaviours, resulting in TPRs ranging from 91.5 to 96.6% for a FPR of 5.0%. Transfer learning of neural networks improves the prediction accuracy of almost all drivers. In order to introduce the implemented algorithm in today’s traffic, especially the FPR has to be improved considerably.
Towards Effective Music Therapy for Mental Health Care Using Machine Learning Tools: Human Affective Reasoning and Music Genres

Abstract Music has the ability to evoke different emotions in people, which is reflected in their physiological signals. Advances in affective computing have introduced computational methods to analyse these signals and understand the relationship between music and emotion in greater detail. We analyse Electrodermal Activity (EDA), Blood Volume Pulse (BVP), Skin Temperature (ST) and Pupil Dilation (PD) collected from 24 participants while they listen to 12 pieces from 3 different genres of music. A set of 34 features were extracted from each signal and 6 different feature selection methods were applied to identify useful features. Empirical analysis shows that a neural network (NN) with a set of features extracted from the physiological signals can achieve 99.2% accuracy in differentiating among the 3 music genres. The model also reaches 98.5% accuracy in classification based on participants’ subjective rating of emotion. The paper also identifies some useful features to improve accuracy of the classification models. Furthermore, we introduce a new technique called ’Gingerbread Animation’ to visualise the physiological signals we record as a video, and to make these signals more comprehensible to the human eye, and also appropriate for computer vision techniques such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Our results overall provide a strong motivation to investigate the relationship between physiological signals and music, which can lead to improvements in music therapy for mental health care and musicogenic epilepsy reduction (our long term goal).