Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphological and physiological response of Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) to an extreme cold spell in subtropical, coastal forests of China

Acute and extreme weather events can cause considerable damage to the tissues of trees, including stem death and branch or leaf distortion, which may limit their survival and reproduction. In January 2016, a rare cold spell impacted the coastal forests of subtropical China. Using post-hoc assessments, we evaluated the morphological and physiological response of Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera L.) to the extreme cold spell in two distinct ecoregions, one (Xiangshan, China) representing the cold spell impacted zone and the other (Taizhou, China) representing the non-affected zone. To determine if the extreme cold events impacted the vigor of Chinese tallow, we assessed differences in growth rate, leaf characteristics, and leaf gas exchange. As age may affect tree morphological and physiological response to stress, we grouped subject trees into three distinct cohorts, namely, seedlings (1–2 years old), young-aged (5–6 years old), and middle-aged (10–12 years old). Our results suggest that although tree height and diameter did not differ, leaf area expansion and leaf mass were reduced in the impacted zone. In seedling and young-aged trees, the cold spell significantly reduced leaf net photosynthetic (An), transpiration rates (Tr), stomatal conductance (Gs) and water use efficiency (WUE) while leaf intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), vapor pressure deficit (Vpd), and intercellular CO2 pressure (Ci-Pa) increased. In contrast, the middle-aged group was less responsive to the cold spell. Across all cohorts, the event did not affect leaf temperature (Tleaf), but the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) decreased. We also detected increases of leaf malondialdehyde (MDA) and free proline (Pro) contents in young-aged and middle-aged groups. Hence, the extreme cold spell caused remarkable negative effects on the morphological and physiological traits of Chinese tallow. Redundancy analysis revealed that the cold spell also impacted the subsequent recovery process of damaged Chinese tallow by reducing the ability of leaf to utilize microenvironmental resources (radiation, air humidity, and CO2) for gas exchange. Results from this study are important to strengthen our understanding of Chinese tallow responding to extreme cold stress within its native range, also be helpful to predict the distributions of Chinese tallow in its invasive range where it has devastating impacts to coastal ecosystems in the southeast US.
Machine learning models for predicting in-hospital mortality in patient with sepsis: Analysis of vital sign dynamics

Purpose To build machine learning models for predicting the risk of in-hospital death in patients with sepsis within 48 h, using only dynamic changes in the patient's vital signs. Methods This retrospective observational cohort study enrolled septic patients from five emergency departments (ED) in Taiwan. We adopted seven variables, i.e., age, sex, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature. Results Among all 353,253 visits, after excluding 159,607 visits (45%), the study group consisted of 193,646 ED visits. With a leading time of 6 h, the convolutional neural networks (CNNs), long short-term memory (LSTM), and random forest (RF) had accuracy rates of 0.905, 0.817, and 0.835, respectively, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.840, 0.761, and 0.770, respectively. With a leading time of 48 h, the CNN, LSTM, and RF achieved accuracy rates of 0.828, 0759, and 0.805, respectively, and an AUC of 0.811, 0.734, and 0.776, respectively. Conclusion By analyzing dynamic vital sign data, machine learning models can predict mortality in septic patients within 6 to 48 h of admission. The performance of the testing models is more accurate if the lead time is closer to the event.
RPC-based frequency control strategy of LCC-HVDC sending end power system with renewable energy

Long-distance transmission of renewable energy via DC is currently a more economical transmission scheme. As the proportion of renewable energy at the generation end continues to rise, the inertia and damping level of the system is reduced, causing serious frequency-related issues. This paper first analyzes the working principle and control method of the LCC-HVDC system, summarizes the frequency control methods of the sending end power grid and their existing problems, and proposes a frequency control scheme for the LCC-HVDC sending end system based on the concept of rapid power compensation (RPC). Finally, the LCC-HVDC system model integrated with the large-capacity wind farm and thermal power plant is built in MATLAB/Simulink. Under conditions of load power fluctuation and sudden wind speed change, the proposed strategy fully utilizes the spare capacity of the system, effectively improves the frequency indexes of the system, and improves the frequency characteristics of the renewable energy sending end grid.
Quantification of promoting efficiency and reducing toxicity of Traditional Chinese Medicine: A case study of the combination of Tripterygium wilfordii hook. f. and Lysimachia christinae hance in the treatment of lung cancer

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) usually acts in the form of compound prescriptions in the treatment of complex diseases. The herbs contained in each prescription have the dual nature of efficiency and toxicity due to their complex chemical component, and the principle of prescription is usually to increase efficiency and reduce toxicity. At present, the studies on prescriptions have mainly focused on the consideration of the material basis and possible mechanism of the action mode, but the quantitative research on the compatibility rule of increasing efficiency and reducing toxicity is still the tip of the iceberg. With the extensive application of computational pharmacology technology in the research of TCM prescriptions, it is possible to quantify the mechanism of synergism and toxicity reduction of the TCM formula. Currently, there are some classic drug pairs commonly used to treat complex diseases, such as Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. with Lysimachia christinae Hance for lung cancer, Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux with Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. in the treatment of coronary heart disease, but there is a lack of systematic quantitative analysis model and strategy to quantitatively study the compatibility rule and potential mechanism of synergism and toxicity reduction. To address this issue, we designed an integrated model which integrates matrix decomposition and shortest path propagation, taking into account both the crosstalk of the effective network and the propagation characteristics. With the integrated model strategy, we can quantitatively detect the possible mechanisms of synergism and attenuation of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. and Lysimachia christinae Hance in the treatment of lung cancer. The results showed the compatibility of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. and Lysimachia christinae Hance could increase the efficacy and decrease the toxicity of lung cancer treatment through MAPK pathway and PD-1 checkpoint pathway in lung cancer.
Antibody based conditioning for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a curative therapeutic option for many patients with hematological malignancies and nonmalignant hematopoietic disorders. To achieve stable engraftment of donor hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), recipient HSC deletion is needed to create space for incoming donor HSCs and donor HSCs must escape immune rejection by the recipient. Conventional allo-HSCT requires high dose of irradiation and/or chemotherapy to produce sufficient host stem cell and immune system ablation to permit donor HSC engraftment. However, these procedures also result in nonspecific tissue injury that can cause short- and long-term adverse effects as well as incite and amplify graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). The delivery of targeted radiotherapy to hematopoietic tissues with the use of a radioimmunoconjugate (ROIC) as a part of transplant preparative regimen has shown clinical benefits. ROIC clinical data provide evidence for decreased relapse without increased transplant-related mortality by delivering higher targeted radiation to sites of malignancy than when given in a nontargeted fashion. An alternative approach to allo-HSCT has been developed and tested in preclinical mouse models in which nonmyeloablative preconditioning with low dose of the alkylating agent (busulfan) or lower systemic dose of irradiation combined with co-stimulatory pathway blockade (CTLA4-Ig, anti-CD40L monoclonal antibody) and/or immunosuppressive drugs have been used. Under these conditions, mixed chimerism and transplantation tolerance to fully MHC mismatched donor marrow was observed. Recently, several novel proof-of-concept antibody-mediated preconditioning methods have been developed that can selectively target hematopoietic stem and immune cells with minimal overall toxicity. Antibody-drug-conjugate (ADC) combined with reduced intensity conditioning or high dose ADC as single dose monotherapy have shown promise for allo-HSCT in preclinical models. The purpose of the current review is to discuss the literature exploring antibody-based conditioning that includes native antibody, radiolabeled antibody conjugates, and ADC for allo-HSCT.
Coping with COVID-19: Exploring coping strategies, distress, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

Objective This study aimed to explore coping strategies, distress, and post-traumatic growth among Australians with and without a history of a mental health diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods Australians (N = 381) completed an online survey between 4-August 2020 and 25-October-2020. Coping strategies, distress, and post-traumatic growth were ascertained via the Brief COPE, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), respectively. Linear regression was conducted to examine the relationship between the Brief COPE, DASS-21, and PTGI, adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Models were conducted separately for those with/without a history of a mental health diagnosis. Results Higher distress was found among those with a history of a mental health diagnosis. Significant differences in the types of coping strategies associated with distress and post-traumatic growth were identified between the groups, however, behavioral disengagement and self-blame consistently predicted depression, anxiety, and stress. For those with a history of a mental health diagnosis, positive reframing decreased anxiety. Self-distraction was associated with post-traumatic growth across both groups. Conclusion There are important differences in the way people with and without a history of a mental health diagnosis cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Localizing targets for neuromodulation in drug-resistant epilepsy using intracranial EEG and computational model

Neuromodulation has emerged as a promising technique for the treatment of epilepsy. The target for neuromodulation is critical for the effectiveness of seizure control. About 30% of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) fail to achieve seizure freedom after surgical intervention. It is difficult to find effective brain targets for neuromodulation in these patients because brain regions are damaged during surgery. In this study, we propose a novel approach for localizing neuromodulatory targets, which uses intracranial EEG and multi-unit computational models to simulate the dynamic behavior of epileptic networks through external stimulation. First, we validate our method on a multivariate autoregressive model and compare nine different methods of constructing brain networks. Our results show that the directed transfer function with surrogate analysis achieves the best performance. Intracranial EEGs of 11 DRE patients are further analyzed. These patients all underwent surgery. In three seizure-free patients, the localized targets are concordant with the resected regions. For the eight patients without seizure-free outcome, the localized targets in three of them are outside the resected regions. Finally, we provide candidate targets for neuromodulation in these patients without seizure-free outcome based on virtual resected epileptic network. We demonstrate the ability of our approach to locate optimal targets for neuromodulation. We hope that our approach can provide a new tool for localizing patient-specific targets for neuromodulation therapy in DRE.
Development of ASIC1a ligand-gated ion channel drug screening assays across multiple automated patch clamp platforms

Human acid-sensing ion channels (ASIC) are ligand-gated ionotropic receptors expressed widely in peripheral tissues as well as sensory and central neurons and implicated in detection of inflammation, tissue injury, and hypoxia-induced acidosis. This makes ASIC channels promising targets for drug discovery in oncology, pain and ischemia, and several modulators have progressed into clinical trials. We describe the use of hASIC1a as a case study for the development and validation of low, medium and high throughput automated patch clamp (APC) assays suitable for the screening and mechanistic profiling of new ligands for this important class of ligand-gated ion channel. Initial efforts to expand on previous manual patch work describing an endogenous hASIC1a response in HEK cells were thwarted by low current expression and unusual pharmacology, so subsequent work utilized stable hASIC1a CHO cell lines. Ligand-gated application protocols and screening assays on the Patchliner, QPatch 48, and SyncroPatch 384 were optimized and validated based on pH activation and nM-μM potency of reference antagonists (e.g., Amiloride, Benzamil, Memantine, Mambalgin-3, A-317567, PcTx1). By optimizing single and stacked pipette tip applications available on each APC platform, stable pH-evoked currents during multiple ligand applications enabled cumulative EC50 and IC50 determinations with minimized receptor desensitization. Finally, we successfully demonstrated for the first time on an APC platform the ability to use current clamp to implement the historical technique of input resistance tracking to measure ligand-gated changes in membrane conductance on the Patchliner platform.
The psychological impact of esophageal cancer screening on anxiety and depression in China

Objective The psychological impact of screening is unclear and has been ignored. This study aimed to evaluate the psychological impact of esophageal cancer (EC) screening on anxiety and depression in China. Materials and methods A multicenter, population-based study in five high-risk regions of EC was conducted from 2019 to 2020. Residents were recruited and underwent endoscopic screening and then were diagnosed with normal, esophagitis, low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) and EC. Subjects who did not participate in the screening were referred to as the control group. We surveyed their anxiety and depression levels at baseline and after endoscopy and informed them of different pathological results to evaluate the psychological impact of the screening process. Results A total of 2,337 subjects completed all surveys in the screening process (normal: 355, esophagitis: 1,713, LGIN: 213, HGIN: 43 and EC: 13), with 63 controls. The levels of anxiety and depression of screeners were significantly higher than those of controls (P < 0.001). The fluctuation of anxiety and depression showed a “V” pattern in the screening process. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms at baseline, after endoscopy and after knowing the pathological results was 5.6, 0.3, and 3.2%, respectively (P < 0.001), and the corresponding prevalence of depression was 3.6, 0.2, and 2.1%, respectively (P < 0.001). With the aggravation of pathological results, the levels of anxiety and depression increased significantly (P < 0.001), especially in patients informed of HGIN (16.3 and 9.3%) and EC (23.1 and 30.8%). Conclusion Participation in endoscopic screening may bring short-term adverse psychological effects, especially at baseline and knowing the pathological results. More attention should be given to participants waiting for endoscopic screening. The method of informing the screening results of HGIN and EC should be improved. Further precise screening is needed to concentrate on high-risk groups to reduce the psychological impact of screening.
In vitro activities of licochalcone A against planktonic cells and biofilm of Enterococcus faecalis

This study aims to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities of licochalcone A on Enterococcus faecalis and to investigate the possible target genes of licochalcone A in E. faecalis. This study found that licochalcone A had antibacterial activities against E. faecalis, with the MIC50 and MIC90 were 25 μM. Licochalcone A (at 4 × MIC) indicated a rapid bactericidal effect on E. faecalis planktonic cells, and killed more E. faecalis planktonic cells (at least 3-log10 cfu/ml) than vancomycin, linezolid, or ampicillin at the 2, 4, and 6 h of the time-killing test. Licochalcone A (at 10 × MIC) significantly reduced the production of E. faecalis persister cells (at least 2-log10 cfu/ml) than vancomycin, linezolid, or ampicillin at the 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of the time-killing test. Licochalcone A (at 1/4 × MIC) significantly inhibited the biofilm formation of E. faecalis. The RNA levels of biofilm formation-related genes, agg, esp, and srtA, markedly decreased when the E. faecalis isolates were treated with licochalcone A at 1/4 × MIC for 6 h. To explore the possible target genes of licochalcone A in E. faecalis, the licochalcone A non-sensitive E. faecalis clones were selected in vitro by induction of wildtype strains for about 140 days under the pressure of licochalcone A, and mutations in the possible target genes were detected by whole-genome sequencing. This study found that there were 11 nucleotide mutations leading to nonsynonymous mutations of 8 amino acids, and among these amino acid mutations, there were 3 mutations located in transcriptional regulator genes (MarR family transcriptional regulator, TetR family transcriptional regulator, and MerR family transcriptional regulator). In conclusion, this study found that licochalcone A had an antibacterial effect on E. faecalis, and significantly inhibited the biofilm formation of E. faecalis at subinhibitory concentrations.
Co-fermented yellow wine lees by Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecium regulates growth performance and gut microbiota in finishing pigs

Fermented yellow wine lees (FYWL) are widely used to increase feed utilization and improve pig performance. Based on the preparation of co-FYWL using Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecalis, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of co-FYWL on growth performance, gut microbiota, meat quality, and immune status of finishing pigs. 75 pigs were randomized to 3 treatments (5 replicates/treatment), basal diet (Control), a basal diet supplemented with 4%FYWL, and a basal diet supplemented with 8%FYWL, for 50 days each. Results showed that the 8% FYWL group significantly reduced the F/G and increased the average daily weight gain of pigs compared to the control group. In addition, 8% FYWL improved the richness of Lactobacillus and B. subtilis in the gut, which correlated with growth performance, serum immune parameters, and meat quality. Furthermore, acetate and butyrate in the feces were improved in the FYWL group. Simultaneously, FYWL improved the volatile flavor substances of meat, increased the content of flavor amino acids, and played a positive role in the palatability of meat. In addition, FYWL increased serum IgA, IgM, IL-4 and IL-10 levels. Overall, the growth performance, the gut microbiota associated with fiber degradation, meat quality, and immune status were improved in the 8% FYWL group.
Attentional attenuation (rather than attentional boost) through task switching leads to a selective long-term memory decline

Allocating attention determines what we remember later. Attentional demands vary in a task-switching paradigm, with greater demands for switch than for repeat trials. This also results in lower subsequent memory performance for switch compared to repeat trials. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the consequences of task switching after a long study-test interval and to examine the contributions of the two memory components, recollection and familiarity. In the study phase, the participants performed a task-switching procedure in which they had to switch between two classifications tasks with pictures. After a short vs. a long study-test interval of a week, the participants performed a surprise memory test for the pictures and gave remember/know judgements. The results showed that recognition memory declined after 1 week and this was mainly due to a decrease in “remember” responses. The results also showed that the task-switching effect on memory was enduring. Whereas the results of the immediate test were mixed, the results of the delayed tests showed that the task-switching effect was based on recollection, expressed in more “remember” responses for repeat than for switch trials. As recollection is more sensitive to attention manipulations than familiarity, the results align with the notion that attentional requirements at study determine what we remember, in particular after a long study-test interval.
Promoting a culture of sharing the error: A qualitative study in resident physicians' process of coping and learning through self-disclosure after medical error

Purpose Most physicians, including residents, experience significant emotional distress after making medical 11 errors. As high reliability organizations (HROs), hospitals must not only support physicians' emotional recovery but also promote their learning from errors. Self-disclosure is a process of communication in which individuals reveal information about themselves to others. While many previous studies have focused on investigating the effectiveness of self-disclosure, little is known about the process itself. Therefore, this study aims to explore residents' processes of coping with their emotional distress and learning through self-disclosure after making errors. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 residents in their second year from two Japanese hospitals where informal error conferences guided by senior residents are implemented regularly. In the interview, four core questions were posed regarding the nature of the error/incident, their emotions and behavior after the error, ways of self-disclosure, and the results of error-sharing in the conference. Interview data were thematically analyzed, drawing upon disclosure decision model as the theoretical framework. Results Five phases emerged from the analysis: (1) emotional distress and reactions before self-disclosure; (2) self-disclosure to individuals to achieve social rewards; (3) emotional sublimation after self-disclosure to individuals; (4) sharing errors in groups for learning opportunities; and (5) transforming the perspectives on overcoming and learning from errors. Conclusion This is the study to demonstrate that various types of self-disclosure were embedded in the processes of residents' recovery and learning from medical errors. The study suggests that a better understanding of the processes of residents' coping with their distress and learning from their errors through self-disclosure is fundamental to the creation of a “culture of sharing errors” in hospitals as HROs.