Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two new corticioid species of Phanerochaetaceae (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) from Southwest China

Two new corticioid fungi in the family Phanerochaetaceae, Phanerochaete shenghuaii and Rhizochaete variegata, are described and illustrated from Southwest China based on morphological characteristics and molecular data. Phanerochaete shenghuaii is characterized by annual, effused, inseparable basidiocarps from substrate, ivory white to cream hymenial surface when juvenile, buff to yellowish brown with age, buff in KOH, a monomitic hyphal system, smooth cystidia, and ellipsoid basidiospores measuring 4.8–6 × 2.5–3.8 µm. Rhizochaete variegata is characterized by annual, effused, easily separable basidiocarps from substrate, buff-yellow to clay-pink fresh hymenial surface becoming cream to buff upon drying, violet in KOH, a monomitic hyphal system, encrusted cystidia, and ellipsoid basidiospores measuring 3–4 × 2.2–3 µm. The phylogenetic analyses based on ITS + nLSU rDNA sequences confirm the placement of the two new species, respectively, in the Phanerochaete clade and the Rhizochaete clade of Phanerochaetaceae. Phylogenetically related and morphologically similar species to these two new species are discussed.
Mechanisms of host manipulation by Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Neisseria gonorrhoeae (also known as gonococcus) has been causing gonorrhoea in humans since ancient Egyptian times. Today, global gonorrhoea infections are rising at an alarming rate, in concert with an increasing number of antimicrobial-resistant strains. The gonococcus has concurrently evolved several intricate mechanisms that promote pathogenesis by evading both host immunity and defeating common therapeutic interventions. Central to these adaptations is the ability of the gonococcus to manipulate various host microenvironments upon infection. For example, the gonococcus can survive within neutrophils through direct regulation of both the oxidative burst response and maturation of the phagosome; a concerning trait given the important role neutrophils have in defending against invading pathogens. Hence, a detailed understanding of how N. gonorrhoeae exploits the human host to establish and maintain infection is crucial for combating this pathogen. This review summarizes the mechanisms behind host manipulation, with a central focus on the exploitation of host epithelial cell signaling to promote colonization and invasion of the epithelial lining, the modulation of the host immune response to evade both innate and adaptive defenses, and the manipulation of host cell death pathways to both assist colonization and combat antimicrobial activities of innate immune cells. Collectively, these pathways act in concert to enable N. gonorrhoeae to colonize and invade a wide array of host tissues, both establishing and disseminating gonococcal infection.
Intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, laser photocoagulation, or combined therapy for diabetic macular edema: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Purpose To conduct a network meta-analysis (NMA) comparing the efficacy of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy alone versus laser photocoagulation (LP) therapy alone or anti-VEGF therapy combined with LP therapy for diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systematically searched for studies comparing anti-VEGF therapy alone versus LP therapy alone or anti-VEGF therapy combined with LP therapy for DME. Primary outcomes were mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT) change. Relevant data were collected and pooled using NMA. Results A total of 13 randomized controlled trials were included in our NMA. Anti-VEGF therapy significantly improved BCVA the most compared to the combined (mean difference [MD] = 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.084, 2.7) and LP (MD = 6.3; 95% CI: 5.1, 7.6) therapies at six months, while there was no difference in reducing CMT at six months between the anti-VEGF and combined therapies (MD = -16; 95% CI: -46, 13). At 12 months, no significant difference was found between the anti-VEGF and combined therapy in terms of BCVA (MD = 0.1; 95% CI: -1.7, 1.5) and CMT (MD = 21; 95% CI: -3.0, 44). Conclusion There was no significant difference between the anti-VEGF therapy and combined therapy. For the long-term treatment of patients with DME, combined therapy is recommended. Systematic review registration https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022376401.
Deep learning techniques for the localization and classification of liquid crystal phase transitions

Deep Learning techniques such as supervised learning with convolutional neural networks and inception models were applied to phase transitions of liquid crystals to identify transition temperatures and the respective phases involved. In this context achiral as well as chiral systems were studied involving the isotropic liquid, the nematic phase of solely orientational order, fluid smectic phases with one-dimensional positional order and hexatic phases with local two-dimensional positional, so-called bond-orientational order. Discontinuous phase transition of 1st order as well as continuous 2nd order transitions were investigated. It is demonstrated that simpler transitions, namely Iso-N, Iso-N*, and N-SmA can accurately be identified for all unseen test movies studied. For more subtle transitions, such as SmA*-SmC*, SmC*-SmI*, and SmI*-SmF*, proof-of-principle evidence is provided, demonstrating the capability of deep learning techniques to identify even those transitions, despite some incorrectly characterized test movies. Overall, we demonstrate that with the provision of a substantial and varied dataset of textures there is no principal reason why one could not develop generalizable deep learning techniques to automate the identification of liquid crystal phase sequences of novel compounds.
Akaike Information Criterion, Curve-fitting, and the Philosophical Problem of Simplicity

The philosophical significance of the procedure of applying Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) to curve-fitting problems is evaluated. The theoretical justification for using AIC (the so-called Akaike's theorem) is presented in a rigorous way, and its range of validity is assessed by presenting both instances in which it is valid and counter-examples in which it is invalid. The philosophical relevance of the justification that this result gives for making one particular choice between simple and complicated hypotheses is emphasized. In addition, recent claims that the methods based on Akaike's theorem are relevant to other philosophical problems associated with the notion of simplicity are presented and evaluated.
RNA sequencing provides insights into the effect of dietary ingestion of microplastics and cadmium in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Introduction Microplastics (MPs) and cadmium (Cd) are persistent pollutants in aquatic environments. Sea cucumbers are susceptible to MPs and Cd due to their feeding behavior. Methods This study, based on Illumina sequencing, compared the transcriptomes of A. japonicus before and after Cd and/or MPs exposure. Additionally, we detected the changes of catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in sea cucumbers. Results and Discussion High concentration of MPs caused the increase of SOD activity. High concentration combined treatment resulted in significant up regulation of these four indicators in A. japonicus and had the largest number of differential expression genes (DEGs) reaching 1,618 DEGs, consisting of 789 up regulated along with 829 down regulated DEGs. Transcriptome results showed that Cd induced up regulation of intestinal FAS associated death domain protein (FADD) expression, which may cause apoptosis and inflammation. The increase of intestinal putative heparan sulfate 2-O-sulfotransferase in cadmium treatment groups provided a mechanism for host defense. The imbalance of expression of the NOD-like receptor (NLR) family inflammatory bodies and caspase 6 in the microplastic treatment group also led to the inflammatory reaction in the intestine of sea cucumber. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that in the process of fatty acid metabolism, MPs and Cd showed antagonistic effects, mainly in the inconsistent expression of Stearoyl CoA Ddesaturase (SCD1) protein. The significant changes of Toll interacting protein (TOLLIP) and E-selectin (SELE) in all Cd and MPs treatment groups may indicate the key immune response genes of sea cucumber to Cd exposure and MPs exposure. These genes were involved in the immune defense of sea cucumber exposed to different levels of Cd and MPs. This study provided insights into the mechanism of dietary MPs and Cd intake in an economically and ecologically important invertebrate species.
Influence of Electric Field, Temperature and Pressure on Hydrostatic Piezoelectric Coefficient of x(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3–y(Bi0.5K0.5)TiO3–pBaTiO Lead-Free Ferroelectric Ceramics

Hysteretic loop measurements of hydrostatic piezoelectric coefficient as a function of temperature and pressure for the lead-free ferroelectric ceramic 0.79(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 – 0.14(Bi0.5K0.5)TiO3 – 0.07BaTiO3 (BNBK79), were realized. Curves of dh – E relation were obtained under applied electric field along polar axis up to temperature of 170°C and pressures in the range from 10 MPa up to 55 MPa. In addition, the temperature dependence of hydrostatic piezoelectric coefficient dh at zero field was studied.
Comprehensive analysis to identify the influences of SARS-CoV-2 infections to inflammatory bowel disease

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are both caused by a disordered immune response and have direct and profound impacts on health care services. In this study, we implemented transcriptomic and single-cell analysis to detect common molecular and cellular intersections between COVID-19 and IBD that help understand the linkage of COVID-19 to the IBD patients. Methods Four RNA-sequencing datasets (GSE147507, GSE126124, GSE9686 and GSE36807) from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database are extracted to detect mutual differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for IBD patients with the infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to find shared pathways, candidate drugs, hub genes and regulatory networks. Two single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-eq) datasets (GSE150728, PRJCA003980) are used to analyze the immune characteristics of hub genes and the proportion of immune cell types, so as to find common immune responses between COVID-19 and IBD. Results A total of 121 common DEGs were identified among four RNA-seq datasets, and were all involved in the functional enrichment analysis related to inflammation and immune response. Transcription factors-DEGs interactions, miRNAs-DEGs coregulatory networks, and protein-drug interactions were identified based on these datasets. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) was built and 59 hub genes were identified. Moreover, scRNA-seq of peripheral blood monocyte cells (PBMCs) from COVID-19 patients revealed a significant increase in the proportion of CD14+ monocytes, in which 38 of 59 hub genes were highly enriched. These genes, encoding inflammatory cytokines, were also highly expressed in inflammatory macrophages (IMacrophage) of intestinal tissues of IBD patients. Conclusions We conclude that COVID-19 may promote the progression of IBD through cytokine storms. The candidate drugs and DEGs-regulated networks may suggest effective therapeutic methods for both COVID-19 and IBD.
Current insights into the functional roles of ferroptosis in musculoskeletal diseases and therapeutic implications

Ferroptosis is a novel type of cell death associated with iron accumulation and excessive lipid peroxidation. Elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms of ferroptosis is intensively related to the development and treatment of multiple diseases, including musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo studies have shown the importance of oxidative stress in musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteosarcoma. Ferroptosis-derived clinical management of musculoskeletal diseases offers tremendous and attractive opportunities. Notably, ferroptosis agonists have been proven to enhance the sensitivity of osteosarcoma cells to conventional therapeutic strategies. In this review, we have mainly focused on the implications of ferroptosis regulation in the pathophysiology and therapeutic response of musculoskeletal disorders. Understanding roles of ferroptosis for controlling musculoskeletal diseases might provide directions for ferroptosis-driven therapies, which could be promising for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Ergodic transforms associated to general averages

Fil: Aimar, Hugo Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Matematica Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Matematica Aplicada del Litoral; Argentina
Teaching self-regulation through role modeling in K-12

For K-12 teachers to develop effective teaching skills, integration of role modeling strategies into teaching and learning process as a dimension of selfregulated learning is of the foremost value. Role modeling strategy training through a hybrid professional development model bears the potential to serve as a facilitating component in promoting K-12 teachers’ instructional competence. Conducted within the self-regulated learning framework, this study suggested findings of a teacher professional development training aimed at role modeling strategy implementation at K-12 level. Pursuing a mixed-method model, the current research was performed with 16 teachers who were trained and supervised to integrate role-modeling strategies into their teaching context. In this study, the data sources were role-modeling- integrated lesson plans, trainers’ feedback on these lesson plans, and online student products. The data collection methods included lesson plan evaluation through a role-modeling rubric in a quantitative fashion, whereas content analysis of trainer feedback on lesson plans, latterly revised lesson plans and online student products composed the qualitative aspect. Results revealed that this professional development training achieved significantly positive changes in teachers’ role modeling strategy implementation skills, particularly in terms of teachers’ role as agents in students’ self-regulated learning skills, promotion of student-centered learning and overall improvement in students’ self-regulated learning skills. Further, the integration of education technology tools into lessons was observed to have a positive impact on enhancing students’ self-regulated learning skills. This study could offer major contributions to designing teacher professional development training for researchers, practitioners, and teacher trainers, particularly in role modeling dimension of self-regulated learning.
Influencing factors of work stress of medical workers in clinical laboratory during COVID-19 pandemic: Working hours, compensatory leave, job satisfaction

Background The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose unprecedented threats and challenges to global public health. Hospital Clinical Laboratory and public health institutions have been playing an important role in case detection, epidemic research and decision-making, and epidemic prevention and control. Objective To explore the current situation and influencing factors of work stress of medical workers in hospital clinical laboratory in fighting against COVID-19. Methods A cluster random sampling method was used to select seven hospitals from 14 tertiary hospitals in Xiamen, and medical workers in the selected hospitals were investigated by self-administered questionnaire. A total of 150 medical workers inclinical laboratory participated in this survey, 138 valid questionnaires were collected, with a response rate of 92%. Results The work stress scores of the medical workers in the clinical laboratory of hospital in the COVID-19 epidemic were collected (55.22 ± 11.48); The top three dimensions of work stress score were work stress (work load), external environment and doctor-patient relationship. The results of multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the working hours per day, whether overtime and night shift can get compensatory leave and Job satisfaction with the work of the clinical laboratory were the main factors affecting the work stress level of medical workers in the clinical laboratory of hospital during COVID-19 epidemic. Conclusion The COVID-19 has caused great harm to the physical and mental health of the public. Medical staff are in the front line of prevention and control of the epidemic, so medical workers in hospital clinical laboratory exposed to a high level of stress at work. Laboratory leaders and hospital managers should take active and effective measures to reduce the working hours of the medical staff in clinical laboratory, optimize the arrangement of night shift and overtime working, strengthen the training of group and individual pressure management, reduce the work stress of the medical staff, improve the overall happiness of the medical staff in clinical laboratory, and stabilize the clinical laboratory team, improve the physical and mental health of medical workers in clinical laboratory.
A need for speed: Objectively identifying full-body kinematic and neuromuscular features associated with faster sprint velocities

Sprinting is multifactorial and dependent on a variety of kinematic, kinetic, and neuromuscular features. A key objective in sprinting is covering a set amount of distance in the shortest amount of time. To achieve this, sprinters are required to coordinate their entire body to achieve a fast sprint velocity. This suggests that a whole-body kinematic and neuromuscular coordinative strategy exists which is associated with improved sprint performance. The purpose of this study was to leverage inertial measurement units (IMUs) and wireless surface electromyography (sEMG) to find coordinative strategies associated with peak over-ground sprint velocity using machine learning. We recruited 40 healthy university age sprint-based athletes from a variety of athletic backgrounds. IMU and sEMG data were used as inputs into a principal components analysis (PCA) to observe major modes of variation (i.e., PC scores). PC scores were then used as inputs into a stepwise multivariate linear regression model to derive associations of each mode of variation with peak sprint velocity. Both the kinematic (R2 = 0.795) and sEMG data (R2 = 0.586) produced significant multivariate linear regression models. The PCs that were selected as inputs into the multivariate linear regression model were reconstructed using multi-component reconstruction to produce a representation of the whole-body movement pattern and changes in the sEMG waveform associated with faster sprint velocities. The findings of this work suggest that distinct features are associated with faster sprint velocity. These include the timing of the contralateral arm and leg swing, stance leg kinematics, dynamic trunk extension at toe-off, asymmetry between the right and left swing side leg and a phase shift feature of the posterior chain musculature. These results demonstrate the utility of data-driven frameworks in identifying different coordinative features that are associated with a movement outcome. Using our framework, coaches and biomechanists can make decisions based on objective movement information, which can ultimately improve an athlete's performance.
Changes in cortical activation during upright stance in individuals with chronic low back pain: An fNIRS study

Introduction Postural control deficits are a potential cause of persistent and recurrent pain in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). Although some studies have confirmed that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) contributes to pain regulation in CLBP, its role in the postural control of patients with CLBP remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the DLPFC activation of patients with CLBP and healthy controls under different upright stance task conditions. Methods Twenty patients with CLBP (26.50 ± 2.48 years) and 20 healthy controls (25.75 ± 3.57 years) performed upright stance tasks under three conditions: Task-1 was static balance with eyes open; Task-2 was static balance with eyes closed; Task-3 involved dynamic balance on an unstable surface with eyes open. A wireless functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) system measured cortical activity, including the bilateral DLPFC, pre-motor cortex (PMC) and supplementary motor area (SMA), the primary motor cortex (M1), the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), and a force platform measured balance parameters during upright stance. Results The two-way repeated measures ANOVA results showed significant interaction in bilateral PMC/SMA activation. Moreover, patients with CLBP had significantly increased right DLPFC activation and higher sway 32 area and velocity than healthy controls during upright stance. Discussion Our results imply that PMC/SMA and DLPFC maintain standing balance. The patients with CLBP have higher cortical activity and upright stance control deficits, which may indicate that the patients with CLBP have low neural efficiency and need more motor resources to maintain balance.
Very Low Dose Anti-Thymocyte Globulins Versus Basiliximab in Non-Immunized Kidney Transplant Recipients

The choice between Basiliximab (BSX) or Anti-Thymocyte Globulin (ATG) as induction therapy in non-immunized kidney transplant recipients remains uncertain. Whilst ATG may allow steroid withdrawal and a decrease in tacrolimus, it also increases infectious complications. We investigated outcomes in non-immunized patients receiving a very low dosage of ATG versus BSX as induction. Study outcomes were patient/graft survival, cumulative probabilities of biopsy proven acute rejection (BPAR), infectious episode including CMV and post-transplant diabetes (PTD). Cox, logistic or linear statistical models were used depending on the studied outcome and models were weighted on propensity scores. 100 patients received ATG (mean total dose of 2.0 mg/kg) and 83 received BSX. Maintenance therapy was comparable. Patient and graft survival did not differ between groups, nor did infectious complications. There was a trend for a higher occurrence of a first BPAR in the BSX group (HR at 1.92; 95%CI: [0.77; 4.78]; p = 0.15) with a significantly higher BPAR episodes (17% vs 7.3%, p = 0.01). PTD occurrence was significantly higher in the BSX group (HR at 2.44; 95%CI: [1.09; 5.46]; p = 0.03). Induction with a very low dose of ATG in non-immunized recipients was safe and associated with a lower rate of BPAR and PTD without increasing infectious complications. Graphical Abstract