Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Success in restoring native plant communities on kimberlite mining dumps in the Afro‐alpine Drakensberg region of Lesotho

Abstract Rehabilitation strategies for degraded mine dumps have generally seen limited success due to different complications associated with mining biophysical disturbance. In this study, we tested a combination of two methods to expedite revegetation of kimberlite tailings at Letseng Diamond Mine (i.e., in the Afro‐alpine areas of Lesotho). We ran trials on different growth media located on fine and coarse kimberlite tailings (i.e. sites) mixed with different substrate combinations and topsoil and sowing a seed mix comprised of native plant species. Overall, as predicted, fine kimberlite tailings displayed significantly higher plant abundance than coarse kimberlite tailings, and sown seeds performed significantly better than spontaneous colonisation by emerging species. Kimberlite tailings mixed with topsoil (100 mm) showed significantly greater plant abundance, and similarly, when coarse kimberlite tailings were introduced to fine tailings. Physicochemical analyses of growth media components suggested that topsoil provided additional nutrients and that plants could readily access available nutrients in the fine kimberlite tailings. We noted a gradual significant increase in plant abundance over 5 years, enhanced by new plant species emerging from the topsoil seed bank or by natural seed dispersal. Although plant abundance differed significantly, both fine and coarse kimberlite tailings displayed high plant species diversity (H = 3.4 and D = 0.95 and H = 3.5 and D = 0.95, respectively). Out of 36 emerging plant species, 15 species spontaneously colonised both growth media. The significant variation in abundance among plant species between treatments was mostly attributed to dominant forb species, namely Chrysocoma ciliata, Glumicalyx montanus, Oxalis obliquifolia, Senecio inaequidens and Trifolium burchellianum. We have identified suitable growth media for plant community restoration on kimberlite tailings in the Drakensberg alpine area using a seed mix of native plant species in combination with natural seed dispersal from the surrounding pristine environment. We provide evidence for using two complementary approaches to optimise native plant community development during restoration in the Drakensberg alpine area.
Manual versus machine: How accurately does the Medical Text Indexer (MTI) classify different document types into disease areas?

The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus is a controlled vocabulary developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) for classifying journal articles. It is increasingly used by researchers studying medical innovation to classify text into disease areas and other categories. Although this process was once manual, human indexers are now assisted by algorithms that automate some of the indexing process. NLM has made one of their algorithms, the Medical Text Indexer (MTI), available to researchers. MTI can be used to easily assign MeSH descriptors to arbitrary text, including from document types other than publications. However, the reliability of extending MTI to other document types has not been studied directly. To assess this, we collected text from grants, patents, and drug indications, and compared MTI’s classification to expert manual classification of the same documents. We examined MTI’s recall (how often correct terms were identified) and found that MTI identified 78% of expert-classified MeSH descriptors for grants, 78% for patents, and 86% for drug indications. This high recall could be driven merely by excess suggestions (at an extreme, all diseases being assigned to a piece of text); therefore, we also examined precision (how often identified terms were correct) and found that most MTI outputs were also identified by expert manual classification: precision was 53% for grant text, 73% for patent text, and 64% for drug indications. Additionally, we found that recall and precision could be improved by (i) utilizing ranking scores provided by MTI, (ii) excluding long documents, and (iii) aggregating to higher MeSH categories. For simply detecting the presence of any disease, MTI showed > 94% recall and > 87% precision. Our overall assessment is that MTI is a potentially useful tool for researchers wishing to classify texts from a variety of sources into disease areas.
Nonpathogenic leaf‐colonizing bacteria elicit pathogen‐like responses in a colonization density‐dependent manner

Abstract Leaves are colonized by a complex mix of microbes, termed the leaf microbiota. Even though the leaf microbiota is increasingly recognized as an integral part of plant life and health, our understanding of its interactions with the plant host is still limited. Here, mature, axenically grown Arabidopsis thaliana plants were spray inoculated with six diverse leaf‐colonizing bacteria. The transcriptomic changes in leaves were tracked over time and significant changes in ethylene marker (ARL2) expression were observed only 2–4 days after spray inoculation. Whole‐transcriptome sequencing revealed that 4 days after inoculation, leaf transcriptional changes to colonization by nonpathogenic and pathogenic bacteria differed in strength but not in the type of response. Inoculation of plants with different densities of the nonpathogenic bacterium Williamsia sp. Leaf354 showed that high bacterial titers resulted in disease phenotypes and led to severe transcriptional reprogramming with a strong focus on plant defense. An in silico epigenetic analysis of the data was congruent with the transcriptomic analysis. These findings suggest (1) that plant responses are not rapid after spray inoculation, (2) that plant responses only differ in strength, and (3) that plants respond to high titers of nonpathogenic bacteria with pathogen‐like responses.
Physiological specialization of the brain in bumble bee castes: Roles of dopamine in mating-related behaviors in female bumble bees

We aimed to investigate the roles of dopamine in regulating caste-specific behaviors in bumble bees and mating-related behaviors in bumble bee gynes. We examined caste differences in behaviors, biogenic amine levels, and expression levels of genes encoding dopamine receptors in the brains of bumble bees, and analyzed the effects of dopamine-related drugs on bumble bee behavior. Locomotor and flight activities were significantly higher in 8-day-old gynes and light avoidance was significantly lower in 4–8-day-old gynes than in same-aged workers. Brain levels of dopamine and octopamine were significantly higher in 8-day-old gynes than in same-aged workers, but tyramine and serotonin levels did not differ between the castes. Relative expression levels of the dopamine receptor gene BigDop1 were significantly lower in 8-day-old gynes than in same-aged workers, but expression levels of other dopamine receptor genes did not differ between castes. Dopamine significantly enhanced locomotor and flight activities in 7–9-day-old workers, whereas the dopamine receptor antagonist flupentixol inhibited flight activity and mating acceptance in same-aged gynes. These results suggest that dopamine plays important roles in gyne-specific behavior in bumble bees and has a common dopaminergic function in female eusocial bees.
Application of wearables for remote monitoring of oncology patients: A scoping review

Objective This review aims to systematically map and categorize the current state of wearable applications among oncology patients and to identify determinants impeding clinical implementation. Methods A Medline, Embase and clinicaltrials.gov search identified journal articles, conference abstracts, letters, reports, dissertations and registered studies on the use of wearables in patients with malignancies published up to 10 November 2021. Results Of 2509 records identified, 112 met the eligibility criteria. Of these, 9.8% (11/112) were RCTs and 47.3% (53/112) of publications were observational. Wearables were investigated pre-treatment (2.7%; 3/112), during treatment (34.8%; 39/112), post-treatment (17.9%; 20/112), in survivors (27.7%; 31/112) and in non-specified or multiple treatment phases (17.0%; 19/112). Medical-grade wearables were applied in 22.3% (25/112) of publications. Primary objectives ranged from technical feasibility (8.0%; 9/112), user feasibility (42.9%; 48/112) and correlational analysis (40.2%; 45/112) to outcome change analysis (8.9%; 10/112). Outcome change was mostly investigated regarding physical activity improvement (80.0%; 8/10). Most publications (42.9%; 48/112) and registered studies (39.3%; 24/61) featured multiple cancer types, with breast cancer as the most prevalent specific type (22.3% in publications, 16.4% in registered studies). Conclusions Most studies among oncology patients using wearables are focused on assessing the user feasibility of consumer-grade wearables, whereas rates of RCTs assessing clinical efficacy are low. Substantial improvements in clinically relevant endpoints by the use of wearables, such as morbidity and mortality are yet to be demonstrated.
Tobacco control knowledge and beliefs among healthcare workers in respiratory departments in Fujian Province, China: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION Smoking prevalence is high in China, and healthcare workers are important for tobacco control. This study aimed to determine the smoking status, cognition of tobacco hazards, and smoking cessation-related knowledge among respiratory healthcare workers, and to explore their ability to provide smoking cessation assistance. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021 among 1028 respiratory healthcare workers from 89 hospitals in Fujian Province, China. A self-designed electronic questionnaire was used to collect data on smoking status, knowledge of smoking hazards, and smoking cessation knowledge. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all questions. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between awareness of the tobacco control goals of Healthy China 2030 and demographic characteristics. RESULTS Among the healthcare workers surveyed, 3.4% were smokers, all of whom were male. Most respondents (99.4%) were aware of smoking as a cause of lung cancer, but awareness of smoking as a cause of non-respiratory cancer was lower. The awareness rate of smoking cessation support was high (>90%), but only 40.0% of participants were aware of the Healthy China 2030 tobacco control targets. Male (HR=2.16; 95% CI: 1.69–2.80) and participation in the cessation clinic (HR=1.47; 95% CI: 1.10–1.96) were associated with higher awareness of the targets. CONCLUSIONS Respiratory healthcare workers in Fujian Province demonstrated a high level of awareness regarding behavioral and pharmacotherapy support for smoking cessation. In order to enable healthcare workers to play a more active role in tobacco control, there is a need to increase public awareness of smoking cessation services in Fujian Province.
To live free or being a parasite: The optimal foraging behavior may favor the evolution of entomopathogenic nematodes

Facultative parasites can alternate between a free-living and a parasitic existence to complete their life cycle. Yet, it remains uncertain which lifestyle they prefer. The optimal foraging theory suggests that food preferences align with fitness benefits. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the facultative parasite nematode Rhabditis regina, assessing its host preference and the associated benefits. Two experiments were conducted using wild nematode populations collected from Phyllophaga polyphylla, their natural host. In the first experiment, we used a behavioral arena to assess host preference between the natural host and two experimental hosts: Spodoptera frugiperda which is an alternative host and dead Tenebrio molitor, which simulates a saprophytic environment. In the second experiment, we subjected wild nematodes to "experimental evolution" lasting 50 generations in S. frugiperda and 53 generations in T. molitor carcass. We then compared life history traits (the size, survival, number of larvae, and glycogen and triglycerides as energy reserves) of dauer larvae with those nematodes from P. polyphylla (control group). We found a significant preference for P. polyphylla, which correlated with higher values in the nematode’s life history traits. In contrast, the preference for S. frugiperda and the saprophytic environment was lower, resulting in less efficient life history traits. These findings align with the optimal foraging theory, as the nematode’s parasitic preferences are in line with maximizing fitness. This also indicates that R. regina exhibits specificity to P. polyphylla and is better adapted to a parasitic lifestyle than a free-living one, suggesting an evolutionary pathway towards parasitism.
Evaluating the decentralisation of the Spanish healthcare system: a data envelopment analysis approach

Objectives The aim of the study was to answer whether the central government has been more efficient than the regional governments or vice versa. Likewise, through the analysis of the data, the aim was to shed light on whether decentralisation has had a positive impact on the efficiency of the hospital sector or not. Design In this paper, we have used data envelopment analysis to analyse the evolution of efficiency in the last 10 Autonomous Regions to receive healthcare competences at the end of 2001. Participants For this study, we have taken into account the number of beds and full-time workers as inputs and the calculation of basic care units as outputs to measure the efficiency of the Spanish public sector, private sector and jointly in the years 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017 for the last Autonomous Regions receiving healthcare competences. Results Of the Autonomous Regions that received the transfers at the end of 2001, the following stand out for their higher efficiency growth: the Balearic Islands (81.44% improvement), the Madrid Autonomous Region, which practically reached absolute efficiency levels (having increased by 63.77%), and La Rioja which, together with the Balearic Islands which started from very low values, improved notably (46.13%). Conclusion In general, it can be observed that the transfer of responsibilities in the health sector has improved efficiency in the National Health Service. JEL classification C14; I18; H21.
SAQ training on sprint, change-of-direction speed, and agility in U-20 female football players

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of an 8-week speed, agility, and quickness (SAQ) training on performance changes in linear sprint speed, change-of-direction (COD) speed, and reactive agility of U-20 female football players. Nineteen female football players randomly served as either experimental (n = 9) or control groups (n = 10). The players were tested for physical fitness tests: linear sprint speed including both short and long distances (5- and 10-m sprints without a ball and 20- and 30-m sprints with and without dribbling), COD speed (arrowhead agility test with and without dribbling a ball, Southeast Missouri [SEMO] agility test, and 22-m repeated slalom dribbling test), and reactive agility. Significant group × time interactions were observed for sprint over long distances and COD speed but not for short sprint and reactive agility performances. Paired t-tests revealed considerable improvements in all performances from the pre-test to post-test for the SAQ group, except for the arrowhead agility (left; p = .07). The control group only exhibited significant improvements in 10-m sprint performance after general football training. Eight weeks of SAQ training were effective at enhancing acceleration, maximum sprint speed, and agility performances amongst highly trained U-20 female football players.
“The double-edged sword of inflated help”: Unravelling the motivation crowding in community question-answering platforms

The growth of digital platforms has led to the proliferation of Online Communities, providing individuals with opportunities to seek help and share knowledge. A key challenge of help-related platforms that address technical questions (i.e., utilitarian, rather than opinion or supportive) is to ensure the contributions address seekers’ specific information needs. Despite growing academic interest in such platforms, research has mainly focused on factors that influence the quantity of contributions, ignoring whether these contributions effectively helped the seekers. To fill this research gap, this study draws upon theories of self-determination and motivation crowding to examine contributing behaviors that result in successful helping. By analyzing a rich dataset collected from an online Q&A platform, we find that gains in a help provider’s past rewards positively influence the success of contribution. Further, while previous studies suggest that external rewards result in a high quantity of contribution, our findings show that an inflated frequency of contribution leads to a crowding-out effect. Specifically, the contribution frequency has a curvilinear relationship with the success of the contribution. Taken together, these findings demonstrate there is a need to revisit the gamification mechanism on help-related platforms to ensure the success of knowledge contribution. This is crucial for the sustainability of these platforms as low-quality answers can lead users to mistrust and eventually leave the platform.
The functional verification of EGFR-CAR T-cells targeted to hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Background: The aim of this study was to validate the antitumor function of EGFR-chimeric antigen T-cells (CART) targeted to FaDu cells, a hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma cell line, and to provide a preclinical basis for the application of CART cell technology in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: Detection of cytokine secretions of EGFR-CAR T and CART-controls in the presence of target cells and nontarget cells as an indicator of CART cell activation. Detection of the cytotoxic effects of EGFR-CAR T on specific tumors in the presence of target cells was evaluated by LDH release and CART cell proliferation. Results: The results showed that cytokine secretion increased significantly after EGFR-CAR T-cells were incubated with target cells, and EGFR-CAR T-cells has higher cytotoxic effect on target cells than the CART-control group. The target cell lysis rate was 52.66%. The proliferation of EGFR-CAR T-cells in the presence of target cells was not distinctly observed. Conclusion: In this study, we validated the antitumor function of EGFR-CAR T-cells targeted to the FaDu cell line and provided the foundation for application of the CART technique in the treatment of hypopharyngeal carcinoma.
Metal-organic frameworks with fine-tuned interlayer spacing for microwave absorption

Designing a functional, conductive metal-organic framework (cMOF) is highly desired. Substantial efforts have been dedicated to increasing the intralayer conjugation of the cMOFs, while less dedication has been made to tuning the interlayer charge transport of the metal-organic nanosheets for the controllable dielectric property. Here, we construct a series of conductive bimetallic organic frameworks of (ZnxCu3-x) (hexahydroxytriphenylene)2 (ZnCu-HHTP) to allow for fine-tuned interlayer spacing of two-dimensional frameworks, by adjusting the ratios of Zn and Cu metal ions. This approach for atomistic interlayer design allows for the finely control of the charge transport, band structure, and dielectric properties of the cMOF. As a result, Zn3Cu1-HHTP, with an optimal dielectric property, exhibits high-efficiency absorption in the gigahertz microwave range, achieving an ultra-strong reflection loss of −81.62 decibels. This study not only advances the understanding of the microstructure-function relationships in cMOFs but also offers a generic nanotechnology–based approach to achieving controllable interlayer spacing in MOFs for the targeted applications.
Laboratory Investigation Into the Formation and Dissociation Process of Gas Hydrate by Low‐Field NMR Technique

We monitored the gas hydrate through low‐field nuclear magnetic resonance measurement. An observed decrease of the relaxation time (T2) intensity corresponds to the formation process, whereas an increase of the intensity corresponds to the dissociation process. The right domain of the spectrum with T2 larger than 10 ms disappears gradually with the formation time, whereas the left domain with T2 smaller than 1 ms remains invariant, indicating the gas hydrate forms preferentially in larger pores. In addition, the right domain increases rapidly with the dissociation time, revealing that the gas hydrate preferentially decomposes in large pores. The spectrum distributions move toward the fast relaxation domain with the growth of gas hydrate, because the generated gas hydrate occupies the large pore and accelerate the relaxation rate. There is no obvious relationship between the gas hydrate saturation and the porosity, whereas the volume and preliminary dissociation ratio are strongly correlated with the porosity.
Cardiac Rehabilitation During the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Potential for Digital Technology to Support Physical Activity Maintenance: Qualitative Study

Background Social distancing from the COVID-19 pandemic may have decreased engagement in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and may have had possible consequences on post-CR exercise maintenance. The increased use of technology as an adaptation may benefit post-CR participants via wearables and social media. Thus, we sought to explore the possible relationships of both the pandemic and technology on post-CR exercise maintenance. Objective This study aimed to (1) understand CR participation during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) identify perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity after CR completion, and (3) assess willingness to use technology and social media to support physical activity needs among older adults with cardiovascular disease. Methods We recruited participants aged 55 years and older in 3 different CR programs offered at both public and private hospitals in Northern California. We conducted individual interviews on CR experiences, physical activity, and potential for using technology. We used thematic analysis to synthesize the data. Results In total, 22 participants (n=9, 41% female participants; mean age 73, SD 8 years) completed in-depth interviews. Themes from participants’ feedback included the following: (1) anxiety and frustration about the wait for CR caused by COVID-19 conditions, (2) positive and safe participant experience once in CR during the pandemic, (3) greater attention needed to patients after completion of CR, (4) notable demand for technology during the pandemic and after completion of CR, and (5) social media networking during the CR program considered valuable if training is provided. Conclusions Individuals who completed CR identified shared concerns about continuing physical activity despite having positive experiences during the CR program. There were significant challenges during the pandemic and heightened concerns for safety and health. The idea of providing support by leveraging digital technology (wearable devices and social media for social support) resonated as a potential solution to help bridge the gap from CR to more independent physical activity. More attention is needed to help individuals experience a tailored and safe transition to home to maintain physical activity among those who complete CR.