Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of L-band transmissivity and effective scattering albedo of boreal forests: a case study in northeast China

ABSTRACT Modeling of forest transmissivity (tF), or nadir optical depth (nF), and effective scattering albedo (ωF) of L-band radiometer, helps to reduce the uncertainty in retrieved forest soil parameters. To address this issue, the L-band downward brightness temperatures of boreal forests in Northeast China were observed. Forest tF (or nF) and ωF were derived from in-situ soil parameters and observed forest brightness temperature by combining the advanced integral equation model (AIEM), the zero-order radiative transfer model (τ-ω), and a genetic algorithm (GA). Some conclusions about forest radiative transfer properties are revealed here: 1) tF is nearly 0.3 higher in summer than in winter, and this seasonal difference in tF is bigger than was previously thought. Next to the difference in the amount of leaves present, air temperature might be an important factor influencing this seasonal variation in tF. 2) A moderate dependence of nF on polarization exists. 3) Dependence of nF on the incidence angle was only observed in winter. 4) Forest ωF is independent of polarization, incidence angle, woody volume and forest type, but the ωF value derived in this study is significantly higher than the default values of the SMOS and SMAP algorithms.
Cryptic functional diversity within a grass mycobiome

Eukaryotic hosts harbor tremendously diverse microbiomes that affect host fitness and response to environmental challenges. Fungal endophytes are prominent members of plant microbiomes, but we lack information on the diversity in functional traits affecting their interactions with their host and environment. We used two culturing approaches to isolate fungal endophytes associated with the widespread, dominant prairie grass Andropogon gerardii and characterized their taxonomic diversity using rDNA barcode sequencing. A randomly chosen subset of fungi representing the diversity of each leaf was then evaluated for their use of different carbon compound resources and growth on those resources. Applying community phylogenetic analyses, we discovered that these fungal endophyte communities are comprised of phylogenetically distinct assemblages of slow- and fast-growing fungi that differ in their use and growth on differing carbon substrates. Our results demonstrate previously undescribed and cryptic functional diversity in carbon resource use and growth in fungal endophyte communities of A. gerardii.
Effect of Aortic Cross-Clamping Time on Development of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Isolated CABG: A Single-Center Prospective Clinical Study

Introduction Many etiological factors affect the occurrence of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting. In this study, the relationship between cardiopulmonary bypass and cross-clamping times and the development of postoperative atrial fibrillation was examined. Methods All patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting with the same surgical team in our clinic between September 2018 and December 2019 were prospectively included in the study, and their perioperative data were recorded. Results One hundred and three patients who met the specified criteria were included in the study. The median age was 62 (interquartile range: 54-71) years, and 82 (79.6%) were male. The patients were divided into two groups: those who developed atrial fibrillation and those who did not. Atrial fibrillation developed in 25 of 103 patients (24.3%). All patients underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting under standard cardiopulmonary bypass. The median duration of cardiopulmonary bypass was 72 (interquartile range: 63-97) minutes in those with atrial fibrillation and 82 (61-98) minutes in those without it, and there was no statistical difference (P=0.717). The median cross-clamping time was 40 (32.5-48) minutes in those with atrial fibrillation and 39.5 (30-46) minutes in those without it. Statistically, the relationship between cross-clamping time and atrial fibrillation was not significant (P=0.625). Conclusion Our study found no significant relationship between cardiopulmonary bypass and cross-clamping times and the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation. However, we believe that there is a need for large-scale and multicenter clinical studies on the subject.
Evaluation of fecal occult blood testing for rapid diagnosis of invasive diarrhea in young children

Antimicrobials are only indicated in acute childhood diarrhea if it is invasive or persistent. Rapid screening for invasive diarrhea can therefore inform treatment decisions but pathogen identification by culture is slow, expensive and cumbersome. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic utility of stool microscopy and immunochromatographic fecal occult blood test (FOBT) kits for identifying invasive or potentially invasive diarrhea in Ibadan, Nigeria. Fecal specimens from 46 children under 5 years old with diarrhea, collected as part of ongoing case-control studies, were subjected to stool microscopy for erythrocytes and leucocytes, and FOBT using the innovator’s product and four locally procurable generic immunochromatographic kits, each according to manufacturers’ instructions. Stool specimens were cultured for enteric bacterial pathogens using standard procedures. Presumptive pathogen isolates were identified biochemically and by PCR, and then confirmed by whole genome sequencing. Shigella, enteroinvasive Escherichia coli and Yersinia, pathogens that invariably cause invasive diarrhea, were detected in five of 46 specimens. Occult blood detection by microscopy was 55.6% sensitive and 78.4% specific, while the innovator’s FOBT product was respectively 62.5% and 81.6% sensitive and specific compared to strict invasive pathogen recovery. Microscopy and FOBT testing were less sensitive in identifying specimens that contained pathogens that do not always elicit invasive diarrhea. Generic FOBT tests compared well with the innovator’s product. Microscopy and FOBT testing have some value for delineating likely invasive diarrheas. They could inform treatment and serve as early warning indicators for dysentery outbreaks in resource limited settings. Inexpensive, generic FOBT kits that are locally procurable in Nigeria performed as well as the innovator’s product.
Study protocol: How does cognitive flexibility relate to other executive functions and learning in healthy young adults?

Background Cognitive flexibility (CF) enables individuals to readily shift from one concept or mode of practice/thoughts to another in response to changes in the environment and feedback, making CF vital to optimise success in obtaining goals. However, how CF relates to other executive functions (e.g., working memory, response inhibition), mental abilities (e.g., creativity, literacy, numeracy, intelligence, structure learning), and social factors (e.g., multilingualism, tolerance of uncertainty, perceived social support, social decision-making) is less well understood. The current study aims to (1) establish the construct validity of CF in relation to other executive function skills and intelligence, and (2) elucidate specific relationships between CF, structure learning, creativity, career decision making and planning, and other life skills. Methods This study will recruit up to 400 healthy Singaporean young adults (age 18–30) to complete a wide range of cognitive tasks and social questionnaires/tasks. The richness of the task/questionnaire battery and within-participant administration enables us to use computational modelling and structural equation modelling to examine connections between the latent constructs of interest. Significance and Impact The current study is the first systematic investigation into the construct validity of CF and its interrelationship with other important cognitive skills such as learning and creativity, within an Asian context. The study will further explore the concept of CF as a non-unitary construct, a novel theoretical proposition in the field. The inclusion of a structure learning paradigm is intended to inform future development of a novel intervention paradigm to enhance CF. Finally, the results of the study will be useful for informing classroom pedagogy and the design of lifelong learning policies and curricula, as part of the wider remit of the Cambridge-NTU Centre for Lifelong Learning and Individualised Cognition (CLIC).
Predictors and outcomes of conversion to sternotomy in minimally invasive CABG

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Cite this article as: Babliak O. Predictors and outcomes of conversion to sternotomy in minimally invasive CABG. Turk Gogus Kalp Dama 2023;31(2):169-170. doi: 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi. 2023.98552. Dear Editor,
The effect of erector spinae plane block on arterial grafts in coronary artery bypass grafting

Background This study aims to evaluate the sympathectomy effects of erector spinae plane block on the diameters and cross-sectional areas of the left and right internal mammary arteries and of the radial arteries. Methods This prospective study included a total of 25 patients (14 males, 11 females; median age: 67 years; range, 23 to 75 years) who underwent erector spinae plane block categorized as the American Society of Anesthesiologists Class III and underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting between June 01, 2020 and March 01, 2021. The effects of erector spinae plane block on the diameters and cross-sectional areas of the left and right internal mammary arteries and radial arteries were assessed using ultrasonography images taken both before and 45 min after the procedure, from the third, fourth, and fifth intercostal spaces for the left and right internal mammary arteries and from 3 cm proximal to the wrist for the radial arteries. Results The diameters and cross-sectional areas of the left and right internal mammary arteries and radial arteries significantly increased compared to baseline values after the erector spinae plane block (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the pre- and post-procedural heart rate and mean arterial pressure values (p>0.05). Conclusion The bilateral erector spinae plane block, which was performed at the T5 level, provided vasodilatation of the left and right internal mammary arteries and radial arteries without causing any significant difference in the heart rate and mean arterial pressure. These findings indicate that the sympathetic block produced by the erector spinae plane block may facilitate better surgical conditions by preventing arterial spasms. Thus, bilateral erector spinae plane block may be a promising technique to achieve regional anesthesia for off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.
A critical evaluation of protein kinase regulation by activation loop autophosphorylation

Phosphorylation of proteins is a ubiquitous mechanism of regulating their function, localization, or activity. Protein kinases, enzymes that use ATP to phosphorylate protein substrates are, therefore, powerful signal transducers in eukaryotic cells. The mechanism of phosphoryl-transfer is universally conserved among protein kinases, which necessitates the tight regulation of kinase activity for the orchestration of cellular processes with high spatial and temporal fidelity. In response to a stimulus, many kinases enhance their own activity by autophosphorylating a conserved amino acid in their activation loop, but precisely how this reaction is performed is controversial. Classically, kinases that autophosphorylate their activation loop are thought to perform the reaction in trans, mediated by transient dimerization of their kinase domains. However, motivated by the recently discovered regulation mechanism of activation loop cis-autophosphorylation by a kinase that is autoinhibited in trans, we here review the various mechanisms of autoregulation that have been proposed. We provide a framework for critically evaluating biochemical, kinetic, and structural evidence for protein kinase dimerization and autophosphorylation, and share some thoughts on the implications of these mechanisms within physiological signaling networks.
In silico designing and immunoinformatics analysis of a novel peptide vaccine against metallo-beta-lactamase (VIM and IMP) variants

The rapid spread of acquired metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs) among gram negative pathogens is becoming a global concern. Improper use of broad-spectrum antibiotics can trigger the colonization and spread of resistant strains which lead to increased mortality and significant economic loss. In the present study, diverse immunoinformatic approaches are applied to design a potential epitope-based vaccine against VIM and IMP MBLs. The amino acid sequences of VIM and IMP variants were retrieved from the GenBank database. ABCpred and BCPred online Web servers were used to analyze linear B cell epitopes, while IEDB was used to determine the dominant T cell epitopes. Sequence validation, allergenicity, toxicity and physiochemical analysis were performed using web servers. Seven sequences were identified for linear B cell dominant epitopes and 4 sequences were considered as dominant CD4+ T cell epitopes, and the predicted epitopes were joined by KK and GPGPG linkers. Stabilized multi-epitope protein structure was obtained using molecular dynamics simulation. Molecular docking showed that the designed vaccine exhibited sustainable and strong binding interactions with Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Finally, codon adaptation and in silico cloning studies were performed to design an effective vaccine production strategy. Immune simulation significantly provided high levels of immunoglobulins, T helper cells, T-cytotoxic cells and INF-γ. Even though the introduced vaccine candidate demonstrates a very potent immunogenic potential, but wet-lab validation is required to further assessment of the effectiveness of this proposed vaccine candidate.
Monitoring the elasticity of travel demand with respect to changes in the transport network for better policy decisions during disasters

When a disaster occurs, disaster management goes through a number of phases, namely normal, emergency response, adaptation, and recovery. Being able to identify the transition between these phases would be useful for policymakers, for example, in order to shift their focus from meeting the travel needs of affected people during the emergency response phase, to meeting travel needs for adaptation and recovery activities. This study proposes a data-driven method which may be useful for assessing phase transitions for transport management during a disaster. Specifically, we argue that changes in elasticities of travel demand with respect to changes in the transport network can be a useful indicator of phase transition, since they depict changes in consumers’ tastes, i.e., changes in the degree of travel necessity during disaster. Two hypotheses are formulated to investigate the changes in elasticity during a disaster: 1) the elasticity of travel demand is more elastic soon after a disaster as travel becomes a luxury good, and 2) it becomes less elastic afterwards as travel goes back to being a necessity good. To empirically confirm the hypotheses, we develop a multilevel log-log linear model, where the transport network service level information varying over time during a disaster is used as an explanatory variable, and tested mobile phone location and transport network data captured during the heavy rain disaster in Japan in July 2018. We also utilized a change point detection algorithm to identify a structural change that occurred in these elasticities. We confirm that our empirical results support our hypotheses, i.e., in the affected areas, the elasticity was more elastic soon after the disaster, while the elasticity tended to go back to normal around one month later. These results suggest that the proposed method can be useful to judge the phase transition for disaster management.
Forbidden-Set Labeling on Graphs

We describe recent work on a variant of a distance labeling problem in graphs, called the forbidden-set labeling problem. Given a graph G = (V,E), we wish to assign labels L(x) to vertices and edges of G so that given {L(x) | x ∈ X} for any X ⊂ V ∪ E and L(u), L(v) for u, v ∈ V , we can decide if a property holds in the graph G \ X , or compute a value like the distance between u, v in G \ X . The problem is motivated by routing in networks where some nodes or edges may fail, or where nodes may decide to route on paths avoiding some ‘forbidden’ set of nodes or edges.
Linear epicardial cryoablation effects in a porcine model: Lesion characteristics and vascular risk

Cryoablation in open‐chest surgical interventions for ventricular arrhythmias has been reported with reasonable procedural outcomes. However, the characteristics of cryoablation lesions on the ventricular myocardium are not well defined. The purpose of the present study was to determine the tissue and vascular effects of a linear epicardial cryoablation probe in a porcine animal model.
Anisotropic excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on a metal film by a scattering-type scanning near-field microscope with a non-rotationally-symmetric probe tip

Abstract We investigated the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on gold films with the metallized probe tip of a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM). The emission of the polaritons from the tip, illuminated by near-infrared laser radiation, was found to be anisotropic and not circularly symmetric as expected on the basis of literature data. We furthermore identified an additional excitation channel via light that was reflected off the tip and excited the plasmon polaritons at the edge of the metal film. Our results, while obtained for a non-rotationally-symmetric type of probe tip and thus specific for this situation, indicate that when an s-SNOM is employed for the investigation of plasmonic structures, the unintentional excitation of surface waves and anisotropic surface wave propagation must be considered in order to correctly interpret the signatures of plasmon polariton generation and propagation.
Overcoming the Odds: Does Social Support Make a Difference for Young People With ADHD Symptoms?

Objectives: Young adults with ADHD symptoms have a risk of negative outcomes in cognitive development, emotional development, and social developmental problems. The research question is: Does social support make a difference for children with ADHD symptoms? Method: Children born in 1984 were interviewed at age 25. The survey then obtained a 67% response rate which measures up to 2,980 interviewed persons. Validated constructs were used to measure outcomes, mediator, and ADHD symptoms. Results: Young people with ADHD symptoms have an increased rate of low educational achievement, low self-esteem, loneliness, suicide considerations, PTSD symptoms, behavioral problems, criminal behavior, peer problems, and substance abuse. Social support is a partial mediator for the negative outcomes except for criminal behavior and substance abuse problems. Conclusions: Loss of social support partly explains the mentioned negative outcomes and we would suggest that future research also look for other mediators. These results indicate potential interventions.
Efficacy of combined targeted therapy with PI3K and CDK4/6 or PARP and WEE1 inhibitors in neuroblastoma cell lines

Neuroblastoma (NB), the most frequent solid extracranial tumor in children, is not always cured by current aggressive therapies that have notable adverse effects; therefore, novel treatments are necessary. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors exhibit synergistic effect in NB cell lines. In the present study, mono- and combination therapy of the United States Food and Drug Administration-approved PI3K, cyclin-dependent kinase-4/6 (CDK4/6), poly-ADP-ribose-polymerase (PARP) and WEE1 G2 checkpoint kinase (WEE1) inhibitors (BYL719, PD-0332991, BMN673 and MK-1775, respectively), were used to treat NB cell lines SK-N-AS, SK-N-BE(2)-C, SK-N-DZ, SK-N-FI and SK-N-SH and viability (assessed by WST-1 assay), proliferation (incucyte analysis) and cell cycle (FACS) changes were assessed. Treatments with all single drugs presented dose-dependent responses with decreased viability and proliferation and combining BYL719 with PD-0332991 or BMN673 with MK-1775 resulted in additive or synergistic effects in most cell lines. , except for SK-N-SH for the former and for SK-N-AS for the latter. Moreover, combining MK-1775 and BMN673 decreased the numbers of cells in S phase to a greater extent than either drug alone, while when combining PD-0332991 and BYL719 the observed effect was close to that of PD-0332991 alone. To summarize, PI3K and CDK4/6 or PARP and WEE1 exhibited synergistic anti-NB effects and lower doses of the inhibitors could be utilized, thereby potentially reducing adverse side effects.
Rate-Limiting Enzymes in Cardiometabolic Health and Aging in Humans

Introduction: Rate-limiting enzymes (RLEs) are innate slow points in metabolic pathways, and many function in bio-processes related to nutrient sensing. Many RLEs carry causal mutations relevant to inherited metabolic disorders. Because the activity of RLEs in cardiovascular health is poorly characterized, our objective was to assess their involvement in cardiometabolic health and disease and where altered biophysical and biochemical functions can promote disease. Methods: A dataset of 380 human RLEs was compared to protein and gene datasets for factors likely to contribute to cardiometabolic disease, including proteins showing significant age-related altered expression in blood and genetic loci with variants that associate with common cardiometabolic phenotypes. The biochemical reactions catalyzed by RLEs were evaluated for metabolites enriched in RLE subsets associating with various cardiometabolic phenotypes. Most significance tests were based on Z-score enrichment converted to p values with a normal distribution function. Results: Of 380 RLEs analyzed, 112 function in mitochondria, and 53 are assigned to inherited metabolic disorders. There was a depletion of RLE proteins known as aging biomarkers. At the gene level, RLEs were assessed for common genetic variants that associated with important cardiometabolic traits of LDL-cholesterol or any of the five outcomes pertinent to metabolic syndrome. This revealed several RLEs with links to cardiometabolic traits, from a minimum of 26 for HDL-cholesterol to a maximum of 45 for plasma glucose. Analysis of these GWAS-linked RLEs for enrichment of the molecular constituents of the catalyzed reactions disclosed a number of significant phenotype-metabolite links. These included blood pressure with acetate (p = 2.2 × 10−4) and NADP+ (p = 0.0091), plasma HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride with diacylglycerol (p = 2.6 × 10−5, 6.4 × 10−5, respectively) and diolein (p = 2.2 × 10−6, 5.9 × 10−6), and waist circumference with d-glucosamine-6-phosphate (p = 1.8 × 10−4). Conclusion: In the context of cardiometabolic health, aging, and disease, these results highlight key diet-derived metabolites that are central to specific rate-limited processes that are linked to cardiometabolic health. These metabolites include acetate and diacylglycerol, pertinent to blood pressure and triglycerides, respectively, as well as diacylglycerol and HDL-cholesterol.