Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Affine Maps of the Polarization Vector for Quantum Systems of Arbitrary Dimension

The operator-sum decomposition (OS) of a mapping from one density matrix to another has many applications in quantum information science. To this mapping there corresponds an affine map which provides a geometric description of the density matrix in terms of the polarization vector representation. This has been thoroughly explored for qubits since the components of the polarization vector are measurable quantities (corresponding to expectation values of Hermitian operators) and also because it enables the description of map domains geometrically. Here we extend the OS-affine map correspondence to qudits, briefly discuss general properties of the map, the form for particular important cases, and provide several explicit results for qutrit maps. We use the affine map and a singular-value-like decomposition, to find positivity constraints that provide a symmetry for small polarization vector magnitudes (states which are closer to the maximally mixed state) which is broken as the polarization vector increases in magnitude (a state becomes more pure). The dependence of this symmetry on the magnitude of the polarization vector implies the polar decomposition of the map can not be used as it can for the qubit case. However, it still leads us to a connection between positivity and purity for general d-state systems.
Two Metalloproteases VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 from Verticillium dahliae Are Required for Fungal Pathogenicity, Stress Adaptation, and Activating Immune Response of Host

Verticillium wilt, caused by the notorious fungal pathogen V. dahliae, is one of the main limiting factors for agricultural production. Metalloproteases played an important role in the pathogenic mechanism of pathogens. ABSTRACT Verticillium dahliae is a soilborne fungus that causes destructive vascular wilt diseases in a wide range of plant hosts. In this study, we identified two M35 family metalloproteinases: VdM35-1 and VdASPF2, and investigated their function in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 were located in the cell membrane, as secreted proteins depended on signal peptide, and two histidine residues (H) induced cell death and activated plant immune response. VdM35-1 depended on membrane receptor proteins NbBAK1 and NbSOBIR1 in the process of inducing cell death, while VdASPF2 did not depend on them. The deletion of VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 led to the decrease of sporulation and the slow shortening of mycelial branch growth, and the spore morphology of VdM35-1-deficient strain became malformed. In addition, ΔVdM35-1 and ΔVdASPF2 showed more sensitive to osmotic stress, SDS, Congo red (CR), and high temperature. In terms of the utilization of carbon sources, the knockout mutants exhibited decreased utilization of carbon sources, and the growth rates on the medium containing sucrose, starch, and pectin were lower than the wild type strain, with significantly limited growth, especially on galactose-containing medium. Furthermore, ΔVdM35-1 and ΔVdASPF2 showed a significant reduction in pathogenicity. Collectively, these results suggested that VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 were important multifunction factors in the pathogenicity of V. dahliae and relative to stress adaptation and activated plant immune response. IMPORTANCE Verticillium wilt, caused by the notorious fungal pathogen V. dahliae, is one of the main limiting factors for agricultural production. Metalloproteases played an important role in the pathogenic mechanism of pathogens. Our research found that M35 family metalloproteases VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 played an important role in the development, adaptability, and pathogenicity of V. dahliae, providing a new perspective for further understanding the molecular mechanism of virulence of fungal pathogens.
Cellular distribution of the Fragile X mental retardation protein in the inner ear: a developmental and comparative study in the mouse, rat, gerbil, and chicken

The Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) is an mRNA binding protein that is essential for neural circuit assembly and synaptic plasticity. Loss of functional FMRP leads to Fragile X syndrome (FXS), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by sensory dysfunction including abnormal auditory processing. While the central mechanisms of FMRP regulation have been studied in the brain, whether FMRP is expressed in the auditory periphery and how it develops and functions remains unknown. In this study, we characterized the spatiotemporal distribution pattern of FMRP immunoreactivity in the inner ear of mice, rats, gerbils, and chickens. Across species, FMRP was expressed in hair cells and supporting cells, with a particularly high level in immature hair cells during the prehearing period. Interestingly, the distribution of cytoplasmic FMRP displayed an age‐dependent translocation in hair cells, and this feature was conserved across species. In the auditory ganglion (AG), FMRP immunoreactivity was detected in neuronal cell bodies as well as their peripheral and central processes. Distinct from hair cells, FMRP intensity in AG neurons was high both during development and after maturation. Additionally, FMRP was evident in mature glial cells surrounding AG neurons. Together, these observations demonstrate distinct developmental trajectories across cell types in the auditory periphery. Given the importance of peripheral inputs to the maturation of auditory circuits, these findings implicate involvement of FMRP in inner ear development as well as a potential contribution of periphery FMRP to the generation of auditory dysfunction in FXS.
New Pharmacophore Fingerprints and Weight‐matrix Learning for Virtual Screening. Application to Bcr‐Abl Data

In this work, we propose to analyze the potential of a new type of pharmacophoric descriptors coupled to a novel feature transformation technique, called Weight‐Matrix Learning (WML, based on a feed‐forward neural network). The application concerns virtual screening on a tyrosine kinase named BCR‐ABL. First, the compounds were described using three different families of descriptors: our new pharmacophoric descriptors, and two circular fingerprints, ECFP4 and FCFP4. Afterwards, each of these original molecular representations were transformed using either an unsupervised WML method or a supervised one. Finally, using these transformed representations, K‐Means clustering algorithm was applied to automatically partition the molecules. Combining our pharmacophoric descriptors with supervised Weight‐Matrix Learning (SWMLR) leads to clearly superior results in terms of several quality measures.
Racial Disparities in Charges, Length of Stay, and Complications Following Adult Inpatient Epistaxis Treatment

Background Although recent studies have identified an association between race and adverse outcomes in head and neck surgeries, there are limited data examining the impact of racial disparities on adult inpatient outcomes following epistaxis management procedures. Objective To analyze the association between race and adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients undergoing epistaxis treatment. Methods This retrospective cohort analysis utilized the 2003 to 2014 National Inpatient Sample. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes were used to identify cases with a primary diagnosis of epistaxis that underwent a procedure for epistaxis control. Cases with missing data were excluded. Higher total charges and prolonged length of stay (LOS) were indicated by values greater than the 75th percentile. Demographics, hospital characteristics, Elixhauser comorbidity score, and complications were compared among race cohorts using univariate chi-square analysis and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The independent effect of race on adverse outcomes was analyzed using multivariate binary logistic regression while adjusting for the aforementioned variables. Results Of the 83 356 cases of epistaxis included, 80.3% were White, 12.5% Black, and 7.2% Hispanic. Black patients had increased odds of urinary/renal complications (odds ratio [OR] 2.148, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.797-2.569, P < .001) compared to White patients. Additionally, Black patients experienced higher odds of prolonged LOS (OR 1.227, 95% CI 1.101-1.367, P < .001) and higher total charges (OR 1.257, 95% CI 1.109-1.426, P < .001) compared to White patients. Similarly, Hispanic patients were more likely to experience urinary/renal complications (OR 1.605, 95% CI 1.244-2.071, P < .001), higher total charges (OR 1.519, 95% CI 1.302-1.772, P < .001), and prolonged LOS (OR 1.157, 95% CI 1.007-1.331, P = .040) compared to White patients. Conclusion Race is an important factor associated with an increased incidence of complications in hospitalized patients treated for epistaxis.
The time-dependent coupled oscillator model for the motion of a charged particle in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field

The dynamics of the time-dependent coupled oscillator model for the motion of a charged particle subjected to a time-dependent external magnetic field is investigated. We use the canonical transformation approach for the classical treatment of the system, whereas the unitary transformation approach is used in managing the system in the framework of quantum mechanics. For both approaches, the original system is transformed into a much more simple system that is the sum of two independent harmonic oscillators with time-dependent frequencies. We therefore easily identify the wavefunctions in the transformed system with the help of an invariant operator of the system. The full wavefunctions in the original system are derived from the inverse unitary transformation of the wavefunctions associated with the transformed system.
Caring for COVID‐19 infected patients admitted to redesignated coronavirus ICUs: Impact on nurse stress and burnout

Abstract Objectives The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic globally impacted healthcare due to surges in infected patients and respiratory failure. The pandemic escalated nursing burnout syndrome (NBS) across the workforce, especially in critical care environments, potentially leading to long‐term negative impact on nurse retention and patient care. To compare self‐reported burnout scores of frontline nurses caring for COVID‐19 infected patients with burnout scores captured before the pandemic and in non‐COVID‐19 units from two prior studies. Methods The descriptive study was conducted using frontline nurses working in eight critical care units based on exposure to COVID‐19 infected patients. Nurses were surveyed in 2019 and in 2020 using Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Well Being Instrument, and Stress‐Arousal Adjective Checklist (SACL) instruments. Researchers explored relationships between survey scores and working in COVID‐19 units. Results Nurses working in COVID‐19 units experienced more emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP) than nurses working in non‐COVID units (p= .0001). Pre‐COVID nurse burnout scores across six critical care units (EE mean = 15.41; p= .59) were lower than burnout scores in the COVID‐19 intensive care units (EE mean = 10.29; p= .74). Clinical significance (p= .08) was noted by an EE subscale increase from low prepandemic to moderate during the pandemic. Conclusion Pinpointing associations between COVID‐19 infection and nurse burnout may lead to innovative strategies to mitigate burnout in those caring for the most critically ill individuals during future pandemics. Further research is required to establish causal relationships between sociodemographic and work‐related psychological predictors of NBS.
Effects of resistance training on C-reactive protein in menopausal and postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The benefits of resistance training for C-reactive protein and lipid profile in postmenopausal women with various comorbidities or risk factors are supported by low-quality evidence. In postmenopausal women, resistance training had little to no influence on waist circumference. Abstract Importance Menopause is a biological stage associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to changes in sex hormone levels. Objective This systematic review aimed to investigate the benefits and harms of RT in menopausal and postmenopausal women. Evidence Review We searched PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to 2021, and clinical trial registries. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) in menopausal and postmenopausal women that compared women undergoing RT programs with a control group were included. The primary outcomes were C-reactive protein level and adverse events; and, the secondary outcomes were lipid profile and waist circumference. Two reviewers independently selected the studies, extracted data, and assessed the completeness of RT programs, risk of bias, and quality of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach (GRADE). A random-effects model was used. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Findings Twelve RCTs published from 2012 to 2020 met the inclusion criteria (n = 482). Four follow-up periods were assessed. RT caused reductions in C-reactive protein levels compared to those in the control group in postmenopausal women in the short- to long-term follow-up (mean difference, −0.47 mg/dL; 95% confidence interval, −0.66 to −0.29; P < 0.00001). Furthermore, RT may reduce C-reactive protein levels even at moderate and moderate-to-high intensity (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0005, respectively). Similar findings were found for lipid profiles in the short- to long-term follow-up (P < 0.05). RT may have had little to no effect on waist circumference. The certainty of the body of evidence was assessed as very low and downgraded owing to serious study limitations, inconsistency, imprecision, and publication bias. Conclusions and Relevance There was very low-quality evidence supporting the benefits of RT compared with control for C-reactive protein levels and lipid profile. No benefits were found for the outcome of waist circumference in postmenopausal women with different comorbidities or risk factors. Safety data were scarce. We have little confidence in the results, and the true effect is likely to be substantially different. Further well-conducted and well-reported RCTs are warranted to strengthen the evidence. Protocol registration PROSPERO CRD42020213125.
Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma at baseline and 1 year after initiation of nucleos(t)ide analog therapy for chronic hepatitis B

Nucleos(t)ide analogs (NAs) cannot completely suppress the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). This study aimed to identify the risk factors for HCC development in naïve CHB patients treated with current NA. Patients receiving NA (n = 905) were recruited retrospectively from the 17 hospitals of the Japanese Red Cross Liver Study Group. All treatment‐naïve patients had been receiving current NA continuously for more than 1 year until the end of the follow‐up. We analyzed the accuracy of predictive risk score using the area under receiver operating characteristic curve. The albumin–bilirubin (ALBI) score was significantly improved by NA therapy (−0.171 ± 0.396; p < 0.001 at Week 48). A total of 72 (8.0%) patients developed HCC over a median follow‐up of 6.2 (1.03–15.7) years. An independent predictive factor of HCC development was older age, cirrhosis, lower platelet counts at baseline and ALBI score, and alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) at 1 year after NA therapy according to multivariate analysis. The accuracy was assessed using the PAGE‐B, mPAGE‐B, aMAP, APA‐B, and REAL‐B scores that included these factors. Discrimination was generally acceptable for these models. aMAP and REAL‐B demonstrated high discrimination with 0.866/0.862 and 0.833/0.859 for 3‐ and 5‐year prediction from the status of 1 year after NA therapy, respectively. Baseline age and platelet count, as well as ALBI and AFP one year after NA, were useful for stratifying carcinogenesis risk. The aMAP and REAL‐B scores were validated with high accuracy in Japanese CHB patients.
Transient and late time attractor tachyon dark energy: Can we distinguish it from quintessence?

The string inspired tachyon field can serve as a candidate of dark energy. Its equation of state parameter w varies from 0 to -1. In the case of tachyon field potential V({phi}){yields}0 slower (faster) than 1/{phi}{sup 2} at infinity, dark energy (dark matter) is a late time attractor. We investigate the tachyon dark energy models under the assumption that w is close to -1. We find that all the models exhibit unique behavior around the present epoch which is exactly the same as that of the thawing quintessence.
Detection and differentiation of semi-transparent materials simulating biological structures using optical coherence tomography: a phantom study

Abstract. Significance Lymphatic and peripheral nervous system imaging is of prime importance for monitoring various important pathologic processes including cancer development and metastasis, and response to therapy. Aim Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising approach for this imaging task but is challenged by the near-transparent nature of these structures. Our aim is to detect and differentiate semi-transparent materials using OCT texture analysis, toward label-free neurography and lymphography. Approach We have recently demonstrated an innovative OCT texture analysis-based approach that used speckle statistics to image lymphatics and nerves in-vivo that does not rely on negative contrast. However, these two near-transparent structures could not be easily differentiated from each other in the texture analysis parameter space. Here, we perform a rigorous follow-up study to improve upon this differentiation in controlled phantoms mimicking the optical properties of these tissues. Results The results of the three-parameter Rayleigh distribution fit to the OCT images of six types of tissue-mimicking materials varying in transparency and biophysical properties demonstrate clear differences between them, suggesting routes for improved lymphatics-nerves differentiation. Conclusions We demonstrate a novel OCT texture analysis-based lymphatics-nerves differentiation methodology in tissue-simulating phantoms. Future work will focus on longitudinal in-vivo lymphangiography and neurography in response to cancer therapeutics toward adaptive personalized medicine.
Molecular Epidemiology of HIV-1 Subtype B Infection across Florida Reveals Few Large Superclusters with Metropolitan Origin

The large number of missing phylogenetic linkages in rural Florida counties and among women and Black persons with HIV may impact timely detection of ongoing and emerging transmission clusters and ultimately hinder the success of epidemic elimination goals in Florida. ABSTRACT Florida is considered an epicenter of HIV in the United States. The U.S. federal plan for Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) within 10 years prioritizes seven of Florida’s 67 counties for intervention. We applied molecular epidemiology methods to characterize the HIV infection networks in the state and infer whether the results support the EHE. HIV sequences (N = 34,446) and associated clinical/demographic metadata of diagnosed people with HIV (PWH), during 2007 to 2017, were retrieved from the Florida Department of Health. HIV genetic networks were investigated using MicrobeTrace. Associates of clustering were identified through boosted logistic regression. Assortative trait mixing was also assessed. Bayesian phylogeographic methods were applied to evaluate evidence of imported HIV-1 lineages and illustrate spatiotemporal flows within Florida. We identified nine large clusters spanning all seven EHE counties but little evidence of external introductions, suggesting—in the absence of undersampling—an epidemic that evolved independently from the rest of the country or other external influences. Clusters were highly assortative by geography. Most of the sampled infections (82%) did not cluster with others in the state using standard molecular surveillance methods despite satisfactory sequence sampling in the state. The odds of being unclustered were higher among PWH in rural regions, and depending on demographics. A significant number of unclustered sequences were observed in counties omitted from EHE. The large number of missing sequence links may impact timely detection of emerging transmission clusters and ultimately hinder the success of EHE in Florida. Molecular epidemiology may help better understand infection dynamics at the population level and underlying disparities in disease transmission among subpopulations; however, there is also a continuous need to conduct ethical discussions to avoid possible harm of advanced methodologies to vulnerable groups, especially in the context of HIV stigmatization. IMPORTANCE The large number of missing phylogenetic linkages in rural Florida counties and among women and Black persons with HIV may impact timely detection of ongoing and emerging transmission clusters and ultimately hinder the success of epidemic elimination goals in Florida.
Ex vivo and in vivo T-cell depletion in allogeneic transplantation: towards less or non-cytotoxic conditioning regimens

ABSTRACT Introduction Although tremendous progress has been made since the introduction of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) decades ago, there are still many obstacles to overcome. A major obstacle is the presence of T-lymphocytes in the recipient and in the donor. Recipient-derived T-lymphocytes not eliminated by the conditioning regimen are a major barrier and can lead to mixed chimerism or to complete rejection of the graft. Donor-derived T-lymphocytes can induce severe acute and chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD). Areas covered Currently published strategies for in vivo depletion of recipient-derived T-lymphocytes are discussed including the increase of the intensity of the conditioning regimen, the addition of anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) or the anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody Campath. For the depletion or tolerization of the donor-derived T-lymphocytes, ex vivo-T-cell depletion methods, such as positive selection of CD34+ stem cells, negative depletion of CD3+ or TcRαβ+ T-lymphocytes or the use of post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) have been developed. Expert Commentary All these currently used approaches have their disadvantages and new approaches should be investigated. In this review, we discuss current and propose new possible strategies to overcome the HLA barrier by using more specific T-cell directed therapies and/or by the combinations of current methods.
Accuracy of photometric redshifts for future weak lensing surveys from space

Photometric redshifts are a key tool to extract as much information as possible from planned cosmic shear experiments. In this work we aim to test the performances that can be achieved with observations in the near-infrared from space and in the optical from the ground. This is done by performing realistic simulations of multi-band observations of a patch of the sky, and submitting these mock images to software usually applied to real images to extract the photometry and then a redshift estimate for each galaxy. In this way we mimic the most relevant sources of uncertainty present in real data analysis, including blending and light pollution between galaxies. As an example we adopt the infrared setup of the ESA-proposed Euclid mission, while we simulate dierent observations in the optical, modifying lters, exposure times and seeing values. Finally, we consider directly some future ground-based experiments, such as LSST, Pan-Starrs and DES. The results highlight the importance of u-band observations, especially to discriminate between low (z . 0.5) and high (z 3) redshifts, and the need for good observing sites, with seeing FWHM < 1. arcsec. The former of these indications clearly favours the LSST experiment as a counterpart for space observations, while for the other experiments we need to exclude at least 15 % of the galaxies to reach a precision in the photo-zs equal toh z 1+z i < 0:05.