Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tau-PET imaging in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Pathological tau accumulates in the cerebral cortex of Parkinson's disease (PD), resulting in cognitive deterioration. Positron emission tomography (PET) can be used for in vivo imaging of tau protein. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of tau protein burden in PD cognitive impairment (PDCI), PD dementia (PDD), and other neurodegenerative diseases and explored the potential of the tau PET tracer as a biomarker for the diagnosis of PDCI. Methods PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched for studies published till 1 June 2022 that used PET imaging to detect tau burden in the brains of PD patients. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) of tau tracer uptake were calculated using random effects models. Subgroup analysis based on the type of tau tracers, meta-regression, and sensitivity analysis was conducted. Results A total of 15 eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. PDCI patients (n = 109) had a significantly higher tau tracer uptake in the inferior temporal lobe than healthy controls (HCs) (n = 237) and had a higher tau tracer uptake in the entorhinal region than PD with normal cognition (PDNC) patients (n = 61). Compared with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients (n = 215), PD patients (n = 178) had decreased tau tracer uptake in the midbrain, subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus, cerebellar deep white matter, thalamus, striatum, substantia nigra, dentate nucleus, red nucleus, putamen, and frontal lobe. Tau tracer uptake values of PD patients (n = 178) were lower than those of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 122) in the frontal lobe and occipital lobe and lower than those in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) (n = 55) in the occipital lobe and infratemporal lobe. Conclusion In vivo imaging studies with PET could reveal region-specific binding patterns of the tau tracer in PD patients and help in the differential diagnosis of PD from other neurodegenerative diseases. Systematic review registration https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/PROSPERO/.
Randomized controlled pilot study of an app-based intervention for improving social skills, face perception, and eye gaze among youth with autism spectrum disorder

Introduction This pilot study aimed to examine the effectiveness of an app-based intervention (Yface) in 53 children with autism spectrum disorder. Yface is a combined program that improves social skills, facial perception, and eye gaze. Methods Children were randomly assigned to one of the two training groups or a waitlist control group. One of the training groups completed the Yface training program lasting for 66 days, while the other training group used a similar app called Ycog, which focuses on cognitive rehabilitation. Questionnaires, computerized tasks, and semi-structured interviews were administered to children and their parents at pre- and post-training sessions. Results The Yface group showed improvements in face perception and some social skills compared to waitlist controls, and in eye gaze compared to the Ycog group. Discussion Our results suggest that this app-based intervention is effective in improving targeted social skills and face perception, although their relative effectiveness differs across skill domains.
Efficient Mn(II) removal mechanism by Serratia marcescens QZB-1 at high manganese concentration

Manganese (Mn(II)) pollution has recently increased and requires efficient remediation. In this study, Serratia marcescens QZB-1, isolated from acidic red soil, exhibited high tolerance against Mn(II) (up to 364 mM). Strain QZB-1 removed a total of 98.4% of 18 mM Mn(II), with an adsorption rate of 71.4% and oxidation rate of 28.6% after incubation for 48 h. The strain synthesized more protein (PN) to absorb Mn(II) when stimulated with Mn(II). The pH value of the cultural medium continuously increased during the Mn(II) removal process. The product crystal composition (mainly MnO2 and MnCO3), Mn-O functional group, and element-level fluctuations confirmed Mn oxidation. Overall, strain QZB-1 efficiently removed high concentration of Mn(II) mainly via adsorption and showed great potential for manganese wastewater removal.
Relationship between depression, anxiety, stress, and SARS-CoV-2 infection: a longitudinal study

Objectives We aimed to (1) describe the course of the emotional burden (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) in a general population sample during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and (2) explore the association between emotional burden and a serologically proven infection with SARS-CoV-2. Study design This longitudinal study involved a sample of community-dwelling persons aged ≥14 years from the general population of South Tyrol (Province of Bolzano-Bozen, Northern Italy). Data were collected at two stages over a 1-year period in 2020 and 2021. Methods Persons were invited to participate in a survey on socio-demographic, health-related and psychosocial variables (e.g., age, chronic diseases, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, DASS-21), as well as in the serological testing for of SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulins. Results In 2020, 855 (23.8%) out of 3,600 persons participated; in 2021, 305 (35.7%) out of 855 were tested again. We observed a statistically significant decrease in mean DASS-21 scores for depression, stress, and total scores between 2020 and 2021, yet not for anxiety. Persons with a confirmed SARS-CoV-2-infection between the first and second data collection exhibited increased emotional burden compared to those without SARS-CoV-2-infection. The odds of participants with a self-reported diagnosis of mental disorder for future infection with SARS-CoV-2 was almost four times higher than that of participants without mental disorders (OR:3.75; 95%CI:1.79-7.83). Conclusion Our findings support to the hypothesis of a psycho-neuroendocrine-immune interplay in COVID-19. Further research is necessary to explore the mechanisms underlying the interplay between mental health and SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Digital health technology to support care and improve outcomes of chronic kidney disease patients: as a case illustration, the Withings toolkit health sensing tools

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major burden in dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD5D) patients. Several factors contribute to this vulnerability including traditional risk factors such as age, gender, life style and comorbidities, and non-traditional ones as part of dialysis-induced systemic stress. In this context, it appears of utmost importance to bring a closer attention to CVD monitoring in caring for CKD5D patients to ensure early and appropriate intervention for improving their outcomes. Interestingly, new home-used, self-operated, connected medical devices offer convenient and new tools for monitoring in a fully automated and ambulatory mode CKD5D patients during the interdialytic period. Sensoring devices are installed with WiFi or Bluetooth. Some devices are also available in a cellular version such as the Withings Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) solution. These devices analyze the data and upload the results to Withings HDS (Hybrid data security) platform servers. Data visualization can be viewed by the patient using the Withings Health Mate application on a smartphone, or with a web interface. Health Care Professionals (HCP) can also visualize patient data via the Withings web-based RPM interface. In this narrative essay, we analyze the clinical potential of pervasive wearable sensors for monitoring ambulatory dialysis patients and provide an assessment of such toolkit digital medical health devices currently available on the market. These devices offer a fully automated, unobtrusive and remote monitoring of main vital functions in ambulatory subjects. These unique features provide a multidimensional assessment of ambulatory CKD5D patients covering most physiologic functionalities, detecting unexpected disorders (i.e., volume overload, arrhythmias, sleep disorders) and allowing physicians to judge patient’s response to treatment and recommendations. In the future, the wider availability of such pervasive health sensing and digital technology to monitor patients at an affordable cost price will improve the personalized management of CKD5D patients, so potentially resulting in improvements in patient quality of life and survival.
Copper-related genes predict prognosis and characteristics of breast cancer

Background The role of copper in cancer treatment is multifaceted, with copper homeostasis-related genes associated with both breast cancer prognosis and chemotherapy resistance. Interestingly, both elimination and overload of copper have been reported to have therapeutic potential in cancer treatment. Despite these findings, the exact relationship between copper homeostasis and cancer development remains unclear, and further investigation is needed to clarify this complexity. Methods The pan-cancer gene expression and immune infiltration analysis were performed using the Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA) dataset. The R software packages were employed to analyze the expression and mutation status of breast cancer samples. After constructing a prognosis model to separate breast cancer samples by LASSO-Cox regression, we examined the immune statement, survival status, drug sensitivity and metabolic characteristics of the high- and low-copper related genes scoring groups. We also studied the expression of the constructed genes using the human protein atlas database and analyzed their related pathways. Finally, copper staining was performed with the clinical sample to investigate the distribution of copper in breast cancer tissue and paracancerous tissue. Results Pan-cancer analysis showed that copper-related genes are associated with breast cancer, and the immune infiltration profile of breast cancer samples is significantly different from that of other cancers. The essential copper-related genes of LASSO-Cox regression were ATP7B (ATPase Copper Transporting Beta) and DLAT (Dihydrolipoamide S-Acetyltransferase), whose associated genes were enriched in the cell cycle pathway. The low-copper related genes scoring group presented higher levels of immune activation, better probabilities of survival, enrichment in pathways related to pyruvate metabolism and apoptosis, and higher sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs. Immunohistochemistry staining showed high protein expression of ATP7B and DLAT in breast cancer samples. The copper staining showed copper distribution in breast cancer tissue. Conclusion This study displayed the potential impacts of copper-related genes on the overall survival, immune infiltration, drug sensitivity and metabolic profile of breast cancer, which could predict patients’ survival and tumor statement. These findings may serve to support future research efforts aiming at improving the management of breast cancer.
The long-distance relationship between Dirofilaria and the UK: case report and literature review

Over the last two decades, vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) have changed their distribution across the globe as a consequence of a variety of environmental, socioeconomic and geopolitical factors. Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens are perfect exemplars of European VBPs of One Health concern that have undergone profound changes in their distribution, with new hotspots of infection appearing in previously non-endemic countries. Some areas, such as the United Kingdom, are still considered non-endemic. However, a combination of climate change and the potential spread of invasive mosquito species may change this scenario, exposing the country to the risk of outbreaks of filarial infections. Only a limited number of non-autochthonous cases have been recorded in the United Kingdom to date. These infections remain a diagnostic challenge for clinicians unfamiliar with these “exotic” parasites, which in turn complicates the approach to treatment and management. Therefore, this review aims to (i) describe the first case of D. repens infection in a dog currently resident in Scotland, (ii) summarise the available literature on Dirofilaria spp. infections in both humans and animals in the United Kingdom and (iii) assess the suitability of the United Kingdom for the establishment of these new VBPs.
Scaling Kinematic Chains in the Air -Identification of Floating Systems Using Dynamics Constraint of the Baselink without Force Measurement-

When the humanoid robot has no external re- action force through the interaction with the environment, the generalized force which actuates 6 DOFs of the base- link of the robot is always zero. This constraint is related to the conservation of angular momentum which means a nonholonomic constraint, thus the motion generated by the dynamics constraint contains properties of the dynamics in- formation of the system. In this paper, we propose an identi- fication method based on the floating-base dynamics, when the system has no external force. Using this method, inertial parameters can be identified without force measurement, only from motion data. This paper also shows the identi- fiability of the proposed method for floating open kinematic chain which can actuate all the joints and change the total inertia tensor around the center of total mass.
Contribution of adipocyte Na/K-ATPase α1/CD36 signaling induced exosome secretion in response to oxidized LDL

Introduction Adipose tissue constantly secretes adipokines and extracellular vesicles including exosomes to crosstalk with distinct tissues and organs for whole-body homeostasis. However, dysfunctional adipose tissue under chronic inflammatory conditions such as obesity, atherosclerosis, and diabetes shows pro-inflammatory phenotypes accompanied by oxidative stress and abnormal secretion. Nevertheless, molecular mechanisms of how adipocytes are stimulated to secrete exosomes under those conditions remain poorly understood. Methods Mouse and human in vitro cell culture models were used for performing various cellular and molecular studies on adipocytes and macrophages. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test (two-tailed, unpaired, and equal variance) for comparisons between two groups or ANOVA followed by Bonferroni's multiple comparison test for comparison among more than two groups. Results and discussion In this work, we report that CD36, a scavenger receptor for oxidized LDL, formed a signaling complex with another membrane signal transducer Na/K-ATPase in adipocytes. The atherogenic oxidized LDL induced a pro-inflammatory response in in vitro differentiated mouse and human adipocytes and also stimulated the cells to secrete more exosomes. This was largely blocked by either CD36 knockdown using siRNA or pNaKtide, a peptide inhibitor of Na/K-ATPase signaling. These results showed a critical role of the CD36/Na/K-ATPase signaling complex in oxidized LDL-induced adipocyte exosome secretion. Moreover, by co-incubation of adipocyte-derived exosomes with macrophages, we demonstrated that oxidized LDL-induced adipocyte-derived exosomes promoted pro-atherogenic phenotypes in macrophages, including CD36 upregulation, IL-6 secretion, metabolic switch to glycolysis, and mitochondrial ROS production. Altogether, we show here a novel mechanism through which adipocytes increase exosome secretion in response to oxidized LDL and that the secreted exosomes can crosstalk with macrophages, which may contribute to atherogenesis.
Solvent and solvation effects on reactivities and mechanisms of phospho group transfers from phosphate and phosphinate esters to nucleophiles

Organophosphorus esters fulfil many industrial, agricultural, and household roles. Nature has deployed phosphates and their related anhydrides as energy carriers and reservoirs, as constituents of genetic materials in the form of DNA and RNA, and as intermediates in key biochemical conversions. The transfer of the phosphoryl (PO3) group is thus a ubiquitous biological process that is involved in a variety of transformations at the cellular level such as bioenergy and signals transductions. Significant attention has been paid in the last seven decades to understanding the mechanisms of uncatalyzed (solution) chemistry of the phospho group transfer because of the notion that enzymes convert the dissociative transition state structures in the uncatalyzed reactions into associative ones in the biological processes. In this regard, it has also been proposed that the rate enhancements enacted by enzymes result from the desolvation of the ground state in the hydrophobic active site environments, although theoretical calculations seem to disagree with this position. As a result, some attention has been paid to the study of the effects of solvent change, from water to less polar solvents, in uncatalyzed phospho transfer reactions. Such changes have consequences on the stabilities of the ground and the transition states of reactions which affect reactivities and, sometimes, the mechanisms of reactions. This review seeks to collate and evaluate what is known about solvent effects in this domain, especially their effects on rates of reactions of different classes of organophosphorus esters. The outcome of this exercise shows that a systematized study of solvent effects needs to be undertaken to fully understand the physical organic chemistry of the transfer of phosphates and related molecules from aqueous to substantially hydrophobic environments, since significant knowledge gaps exist.
On the Readability of Misinformation in Comparison to the Truth

Psychological studies have demonstrated that much misinformation circulating on the Web tends to be more believable and memorable due to its ease of processing. The readability of a passage is a crucial factor in the ease of processing, as it indicates how easy or difficult it is to read and understand. According to some qualitative research, if online misinformation is easier to read, it becomes stickier and more memorable. In contrast, other studies showed that people are more likely to trust and believe misinformation when it appears to be more complex. As a result of such conflicting findings, it remains unclear how readability is associated with true or false content on the Web in general. This paper aims to gain a deeper understanding of readability through quantitative analysis by applying six readability formulas to four datasets containing both true and false content, as well as across multiple datasets. Our research shows that false claims are generally harder to read than true claims.
Combining Word Embedding Interactions and LETOR Feature Evidences for Supervised QPP

In information retrieval, query performance prediction aims to predict whether a search engine is likely to succeed in retrieving potentially relevant documents to a user’s query. This problem is usually cast into a regression problem where a machine should predict the effectiveness (in terms of an information retrieval measure) of the search engine on a given query. The solutions range from simple unsupervised approaches where a single source of information (e.g., the variance of the retrieval similarity scores in NQC), predicts the search engine effectiveness for a given query, to more involved ones that rely on supervised machine learning making use of several sources of information, e.g., the learning to rank (LETOR) features, word embedding similarities etc. In this paper, we investigate the combination of two different types of evidences into a single neural network model. While our first source of information corresponds to the semantic interaction between the terms in queries and their top-retrieved documents, our second source of information corresponds to that of LETOR features.
Spaced Effect Learning and Blunting the Forgetfulness Curve

Medical education requires learners to absorb, retain, and apply vast amounts of information at every level of training. This process is constrained by the limitations of human memory, which were described by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus as a “forgetfulness curve. ” As he explained, material encountered during a lecture or study session is typically lost rapidly over the ensuing days. Ebbinghaus’ solution to this problem—spaced repetition—involves revisiting studied content at multiple, specifically selected time intervals to reinforce learning and facilitate long-term retention. Using question-based repetition, as opposed to passive reading/listening modalities, can help optimize this process. Spaced learning has been used for training in multiple fields including finance, management and technology development. It has also been utilized by medical students preparing for exams and by select residency training programs. This article examines the range of ways spaced repetition has been employed in medical education, with a focus on applications in Otolaryngology training. It also discusses possible future avenues for use of this system to improve long-term retention in Otolaryngology residency and beyond.
Social Dynamics and the Evolution of Disciplines

We consider the long-term evolution of science and show how a ‘contagion of disrespect’ – an increasing dismissal of research in subfields associated with marginalized groups – can arise due to the dynamics of collaboration and reputation (versus, e.g., preconceived notions of the field’s worth). This has implications both for how we understand the history of science and for how we attempt to promote diverse scientific inquiry.
Design of High Selectivity Wide Stopband Waveguide Filter Based on Frequency-Dependent Coupling and Stepped-Impedance Resonator

Wide stopband and high selectivity waveguide filters based on frequency-dependent coupling and stepped-impedance resonators are designed in this paper. The wide stopband is realized by changing the height of a single resonator. The transmission zero is realized by frequency-dependent coupling element, which can not only provide the required coupling, but also generate a transmission zero and control its position. The effectiveness of the method is proved by a 5th order filter.
A Metasurface-based Circularly Polarized Frequency-operated Beam Scanning Antenna

Based on substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) and metasurface polarization converter, this paper presents a circularly polarized (CP) frequency-operated beam scanning antenna (FBSA). In this design, the linearly polarized scanning beam is brought by a serpentine distribution of SIW leaky-wave slotted antenna and then transformed into CP beam by a metasurface. Furthermore, the SIW leaky-wave slotted antenna reduces reflection loss by adding additional matching posts. The simulation results show that the proposed FBSA can obtain frequency-operated beam scanning angles from −26° to 38° with increasing frequency from 28.9 to 32 GHz and the axial ratio (AR) less than 3dB.
Frequency Tunable Decoupling Network for Full-duplex Antenna Pair

A frequency tunable decoupling network for two closely spaced antennas is presented in this paper. The network consists of a frequency tunable antenna pair, two phase shifters and a tunable filter. A prototype using microstrip folded monopole antenna is designed for demonstration purpose. Simulated results indicate that the decoupling frequency can be tuned with the antenna resonant frequency simultaneously, and about 40 dB isolation between two antenna ports can be achieved. The proposed concept provides a solution for full-duplex system with frequency tunable applications.
Bandpass NGD Design of Double Radial Coupled Loop Microstrip Circuit

In this paper, a new design of bandpass negative group delay (NGD) microstrip circuit with double radial arm and square shape loop or Vlo-shape structure is studied and presented. The bandpass NGD design method is described based on the geometrical parameters of microwave circuit. Then, simulation results illustrating the bandpass NGD behavior around 2.51 GHz is discussed. The well correlated simulation and experimentation results show that the Vlo-shape circuit indicates a NGD value of approximately -1.8 ns over 41 MHz NGD bandwidth.