Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Citizen neuroscience: Wearable technology and open software to study the human brain in its natural habitat.

Citizen science allows the public to participate in various stages of scientific research, including study design, data acquisition, and data analysis. Citizen science has a long history in several fields of the natural sciences, and with recent developments in wearable technology, neuroscience has also become more accessible to citizen scientists. This development was largely driven by the influx of minimal sensing systems in the consumer market, allowing more do-it-yourself (DIY) and quantified-self (QS) investigations of the human brain. While most subfields of neuroscience require sophisticated monitoring devices and laboratories, the study of sleep characteristics can be performed at home with relevant noninvasive consumer devices. The strong influence of sleep quality on waking life and the accessibility of devices to measure sleep are two primary reasons citizen scientists have widely embraced sleep research. Their involvement has evolved from solely contributing to data collection to engaging in more collaborative or autonomous approaches, such as instigating ideas, formulating research inquiries, designing research protocols and methodology, acting upon their findings, and disseminating results. In this article, we introduce the emerging field of citizen neuroscience, illustrating examples of such projects in sleep research. We then provide overviews of the wearable technologies for tracking human neurophysiology and various open-source software used to analyse them. Finally, we discuss the opportunities and challenges in citizen neuroscience projects and suggest how to improve the study of the human brain outside the laboratory.
Proposed tethered unmanned aerial system for the detection of pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay area

This paper is based on a proposed unmanned aerial system platform that is to be outfitted with high-resolution sensors. The proposed system is to be tethered to a moveable ground station, which may be a research vessel or some form of ground vehicle (e.g., car, truck, or rover). The sensors include, at a minimum: camera, infrared sensor, thermal, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) camera, global positioning system (GPS), and a light-based radar (LIDAR). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of existing methods for pollution detection of failing septic systems, and to introduce the proposed system. Future work will look at the high-resolution data from the sensors and integrating the data through a process called information fusion. Typically, this process is done using the popular and well-published Kalman filter (or its nonlinear formulations, such as the extended Kalman filter). However, future work will look at using a new type of strategy based on variable structure estimation for the information fusion portion of the data processing. It is hypothesized that fusing data from the thermal and NDVI sensors will be more accurate and reliable for a multitude of applications, including the detection of pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay area.
Study protocol for a prediction model for mild cognitive impairment in older adults with diabetes mellitus and construction of a nurse-led screening system: a prospective observational study

Introduction With an increasing number of older adults in China, the number of people with cognitive impairment is also increasing. To decrease the risk of dementia, it is necessary to timely detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is the preliminary stage of dementia. The prevalence of MCI is relatively high among older adults with diabetes mellitus (DM); however, no effective screening strategy has been designed for this population. This study will construct a nurse-led screening system to detect MCI in community-dwelling older adults with DM in a timely manner. Methods and analysis A total of 642 participants with DM will be recruited (n=449 for development, n=193 for validation). The participants will be divided into MCI and none-MCI groups. The candidate predictors will include demographic variables, lifestyle factors, history of diseases, physical examinations, laboratory tests and neuropsychological tests. Univariate analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression screening, and multivariate logistic regression analysis will be conducted to identify the outcome indicators. Based on the multivariate logistic regression equation, we will develop a traditional model as a comparison criterion for the machine learning models. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test and calibration curve will be used to evaluate the calibration. Sensitivity, specificity, area under the curves and clinical decision curve analysis will be performed for all models. We will report the sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve and decision curve analysis of the validation dataset. A prediction model with better performance will be adopted to form the nurse-led screening system. Ethics and dissemination This prospective study has received institutional approval of the Medical Ethics Committee of Qidong Hospital of TCM (QDSZYY-LL-20220621). Study results will be disseminated through conference presentations, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry and publication. Trial registration number ChiCTR2200062855.
The Interdependence of Scientists in the Era of Team Science: An Exploratory Study Using Temporal Network Analysis

How is the rise in team science and the emergence of the research group as the fundamental unit of organization of science affecting scientists’ opportunities to collaborate? Are the majority of scientists becoming dependent on a select subset of their peers to organize the intergroup collaborations that are becoming the norm in science? This dissertation set out to explore the evolving nature of scientists’ interdependence in team-based research environments. The research was motivated by the desire to reconcile emerging views on the organization of scientific collaboration with the theoretical and methodological tendencies to think about and study scientists as autonomous actors who negotiate collaboration in a dyadic manner. Complex Adaptive Social Systems served as the framework for understanding the dynamics involved in the formation of collaborative relationships. Temporal network analysis at the mesoscopic level was used to study the collaboration dynamics of a specific research community, in this case the genomic research community emerging around GenBank, the international nucleotide sequence databank. The investigation into the dynamics of the mesoscopic layer of a scientific collaboration networked revealed the following—(1) there is a prominent half-life to collaborative relationships; (2) the half-life can be used to construct weighted decay networks for extracting the group structure influencing collaboration; (3) scientists across all levels of status are becoming increasingly interdependent, with the qualification that interdependence is highly asymmetrical, and (4) the group structure is increasingly influential on the collaborative interactions of scientists. The results from this study advance theoretical and empirical understanding of scientific collaboration in team-based research environments and methodological approaches to studying temporal networks at the mesoscopic level. The findings also have implications for policy researchers interested in the career cycles of scientists and the maintenance and building of scientific capacity in research areas of national interest. The Interdependence of Scientists in the Era of Team Science: An Exploratory Study Using Temporal Network Analysis by Mark R. Costa B.A., University at Buffalo, State University of New York, 2002 M.L. S. , University at Buffalo, State University of New York, 2003 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy of Information Science and Technology Syracuse University May 2016 Copyright © Mark R. Costa 2016 All Rights Reserved
Relationship between extreme precipitation and acute gastrointestinal illness in Toronto, Ontario, 2012–2022

Extreme precipitation events are occurring more intensely in Canada. This can contaminate water sources with enteric pathogens, potentially increasing the risk of acute gastrointestinal illness. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between extreme precipitation and emergency department (ED) visits for acute gastrointestinal illness in Toronto from 2012 to 2022. Distributed lag non-linear models were constructed on ED visit counts with a Quasi Poisson distribution. Extreme precipitation was modelled as a 21-day lag variable, with a linear relationship assumed at levels ≧95th percentile. Separate models were also conducted on season-specific data sets. Daily precipitation and gastrointestinal illness ED visits ranged between 0 to 126 mm, and 12 to 180 visits respectively. Overall, a 10-mm increase in precipitation >95th percentile had no significant relationship with the risk of ED visits. However, stratification by seasons revealed significant relationships during spring (lags 1–19, peak at lag 14 RR = 1.04; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.06); the overall cumulative effect across the 21-day lag was also significant (RR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.47, 2.57). Extreme precipitation has a seasonal effect on gastrointestinal health outcomes in Toronto city, suggesting varying levels of enteric pathogen exposures through drinking water or other environmental pathway during different seasons.
Functional properties of measles virus proteins derived from a subacute sclerosing panencephalitis patient who received repeated remdesivir treatments

ABSTRACT Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare but fatal late neurological complication of measles, caused by persistent measles virus (MeV) infection of the central nervous system. There are no drugs approved for the treatment of SSPE. Here, we followed the clinical progression of a 5-year-old SSPE patient after treatment with the nucleoside analog remdesivir, conducted a post-mortem evaluation of the patient’s brain, and characterized the MeV detected in the brain. The quality of life of the patient transiently improved after the first two courses of remdesivir, but a third course had no further clinical effect, and the patient eventually succumbed to his condition. Post-mortem evaluation of the brain displayed histopathological changes including loss of neurons and demyelination paired with abundant presence of MeV RNA-positive cells throughout the brain. Next-generation sequencing of RNA isolated from the brain revealed a complete MeV genome with mutations that are typically detected in SSPE, characterized by a hypermutated M gene. Additional mutations were detected in the polymerase (L) gene, which were not associated with resistance to remdesivir. Functional characterization showed that mutations in the F gene led to a hyperfusogenic phenotype predominantly mediated by N465I. Additionally, recombinant wild-type-based MeV with the SSPE-F gene or the F gene with the N465I mutation was no longer lymphotropic but instead efficiently disseminated in neural cultures. Altogether, this case encourages further investigation of remdesivir as a potential treatment of SSPE and highlights the necessity to functionally understand SSPE-causing MeV. IMPORTANCE Measles virus (MeV) causes acute, systemic disease and remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. Despite the lack of known entry receptors in the brain, MeV can persistently infect the brain causing the rare but fatal neurological disorder subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). SSPE-causing MeVs are characterized by a hypermutated genome and a hyperfusogenic F protein that facilitates the rapid spread of MeV throughout the brain. No treatment against SSPE is available, but the nucleoside analog remdesivir was recently demonstrated to be effective against MeV in vitro. We show that treatment of an SSPE patient with remdesivir led to transient clinical improvement and did not induce viral escape mutants, encouraging the future use of remdesivir in SSPE patients. Functional characterization of the viral proteins sheds light on the shared properties of SSPE-causing MeVs and further contributes to understanding how those viruses cause disease.
Differential Protease Specificity by Collagenase as a Novel Approach to Serum Proteomics That Includes Identification of Extracellular Matrix Proteins without Enrichment

Circulating extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are serological biomarkers of interest due to their association with pathologies involving disease processes such as fibrosis and cancers. In this study, we investigate the potential for serum biomarker research using differential protease specificity (DPS), leveraging alternate protease specificity as a targeting mechanism to selectively digest circulating ECM protein serum proteins. A proof-of-concept study is presented using serum from patients with cirrhotic liver or hepatocellular carcinoma. The approach uses collagenase DPS for digestion of deglycosylated serum and liquid-chromatography-trapped ion mobility-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-TIMS-MS/MS) to enhance the detection of ECM proteins in serum. It requires no sample enrichment and minimizes the albumin average precursor intensity readout to less than 1.2%. We further demonstrate the capabilities for using the method as a high-throughput matrix-assisted laser/desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) assay coupled with reference library searching. A goal is to improve the depth and breadth of biofluid proteomics for noninvasive assays.
Positional Accuracy of Twitter and Instagram Images in Urban Environments

Twitter and Instagram are social networking services that allow users to share images. To some extent, both platforms provide means for the user to annotate images with geographic location information. Using a selection of images shared through these two platforms, this study compares the photographer’s position, which is manually estimated from the scene in the image, with the annotated location information associated with the image and the position of the object being photographed. This approach provides an initial insight into the Twitter user’s movement between the location where a picture is taken and the place from where it is uploaded to Twitter. Furthermore, the distance between the photographer’s position and the location of the object shown in a Twitter or Instagram photograph can be used to assess the visual prominence of a photographed urban object in relation to its surroundings. Finally, the dataset generated in the research allows us to assess the positional accuracy of location labels in Instagram through comparison of the label position and the true position of the referenced object. For each of the different analyses, this paper discusses sources that could potentially lead to positional errors of images in Twitter and Instagram, and provides a comprehensive set of illustrative examples from different cities.
The adaptation of bumblebees to extremely high elevation associated with their gut microbiota

ABSTRACT Bumblebees are among the most abundant and important pollinators for sub-alpine and alpine flowering plant species in the Northern Hemisphere, but little is known about their adaptations to high elevations. In this article, we focused on two bumblebee species, Bombus friseanus and Bombus prshewalskyi, and their respective gut microbiota. The two species, distributed through the Hengduan Mountains of southwestern China, show species replacement at different elevations. We performed genome sequencing based on 20 worker bee samples of each species. Applying evolutionary population genetics and metagenomic approaches, we detected genes under selection and analyzed functional pathways between bumblebees and their gut microbes. We found clear genetic differentiation between the two host species and significant differences in their microbiota. Species replacement occurred in both hosts and their bacteria (Snodgrassella) with an increase in elevation. These extremely high-elevation bumblebees show evidence of positive selection related to diverse biological processes. Positively selected genes involved in host immune systems probably contributed to gut microbiota changes, while the butyrate generated by gut microbiota may influence both host energy metabolism and immune systems. This suggests a close association between the genomes of the host species and their microbiomes based on some degree of natural selection. IMPORTANCE Two closely related and dominant bumblebee species, distributed at different elevations through the Hengduan Mountains of southwestern China, showed a clear genomic signature of adaptation to elevation at the molecular level and significant differences in their respective microbiota. Species replacement occurred in both hosts and their bacteria (Snodgrassella) with an increase in elevation. Bumblebees’ adaptations to higher elevations are closely associated with their gut microbiota through two biological processes: energy metabolism and immune response. Information allowing us to understand the adaptive mechanisms of species to extreme conditions is implicit if we are to conserve them as their environments change.
Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Abstract Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year‐on‐year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non‐vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its ‘Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles’, which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly.
Juntendo Medical Journal

Introduction: Nurses have always been in high demand in Japan due to the advancement of aging society with falling child birthrates and decline of population of people. A growing need for nursing workforce has brought about the increase in male nurses and foreign nurses, and the introduction of entrance examination systems for adults working in society. Hence, nursing teams currently comprise nurses with various backgrounds. In particular, the number of new graduates with previous work experience has increased. With an increment in nonfirst career nurses, they are attracting attention, and contributing teammedical care and the development of nurse organizations based on their diverse experiences. According to self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977) , selfefficacy and team efficacy are essential to develop closely-knit organization. In this study, we aimed to clarify the influence of previous work experiences on self-efficacy and team efficacy of nurses. Methods: To clarify the influence of previous work experience on self-/team efficacy from the viewpoint of age, gender, and job position, a self-reported questionnaire was distributed to 784 nurses at 18 hospitals less than 300 beds in 2016. Valid responses were obtained from 417 nurses (valid response rate: 53.2%), 37 of which were head nurses and the others were staff nurses. They were all female nurses. The mean age was 37.89 years old (SD = 9.31). The questionnaire consisted of two sections, the first of which was a face sheet. The second section was designed to assess the degree of self-/team efficacy using the scale developed by Takahashi et al. (2010) based on CEQS scale. Results and Future study: We hypothesized that staff nurses with previous work experience have high self-efficacy and head nurses with previous work have high team efficacy. However, contrary to our hypothesis, the results did not support this hypothesis (see Figure). In the field of sports research, it was found that high team effectiveness is positively correlated with team performance. However, for nurses with other professional experience, we think that there is a possibility that team performance cannot be fully achieved by high level of individual self-efficacy. In further endeavor, we need to proceed to research on factors enhancing the teamʼs effectiveness consisted of diverse background.
Epitranscriptomic regulation in fasting hearts: implications for cardiac health

ABSTRACT Cardiac tolerance to ischaemia can be increased by dietary interventions such as fasting, which is associated with significant changes in myocardial gene expression. Among the possible mechanisms of how gene expression may be altered are epigenetic modifications of RNA – epitranscriptomics. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) and N6,2’-O-dimethyladenosine (m6Am) are two of the most prevalent modifications in mRNA. These methylations are reversible and regulated by proteins called writers, erasers, readers, and m6A-repelled proteins. We analysed 33 of these epitranscriptomic regulators in rat hearts after cardioprotective 3-day fasting using RT-qPCR, Western blot, and targeted proteomic analysis. We found that the most of these regulators were changed on mRNA or protein levels in fasting hearts, including up-regulation of both demethylases – FTO and ALKBH5. In accordance, decreased methylation (m6A+m6Am) levels were detected in cardiac total RNA after fasting. We also identified altered methylation levels in Nox4 and Hdac1 transcripts, both of which play a role in the cytoprotective action of ketone bodies produced during fasting. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of inhibiting demethylases ALKBH5 and FTO in adult rat primary cardiomyocytes (AVCMs). Our findings indicate that inhibiting these demethylases reduced the hypoxic tolerance of AVCMs isolated from fasting rats. This study showed that the complex epitranscriptomic machinery around m6A and m6Am modifications is regulated in the fasting hearts and might play an important role in cardiac adaptation to fasting, a well-known cardioprotective intervention.