Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A multidisciplinary approach to the comparison of three contrasting treatments on both lampenflora community and underlying rock surface

Abstract Removing lampenflora, phototrophic organisms developing on rock surfaces in tourist cavities due to the artificial lighting, is a challenge for sustainable and appropriate long-term management of caves. Photosynthetic-based biofilms usually cause rock biodeterioration and an ecological imbalance in cave ecosystems. In this work, a detailed investigation of the effects of the 3 most commonly used lampenflora cleaning operations (NaClO, H2O2 and UVC) was carried out in Pertosa-Auletta Cave (Italy). The application of NaClO showed good disinfection capability over extended periods of time without causing any appreciable rock deterioration. The H2O2 treatment showed to be corrosive for the rock surfaces covered with vermiculation deposits. The chemical alteration of organic and inorganic compounds by H2O2 did not remove biomass, favoring biofilm recovery after three months of treatment. Both NaClO and H2O2 treatments were effective at removing photoautotrophs, although the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes as well as Apicomplexa and Cercozoa among the Eukaryotes, were found to be resistant to these treatments. The UVC treatments did not show any noticeable effect on the biofilms.
Exploring the association between precipitation and hospital admission for mental disorders in Switzerland between 2009 and 2019

While several studies proved the relationship between increasing temperatures and poor mental health, limited evidence exists on the effect of other weather factors, such as precipitation. This study assessed the impact of precipitation on hospital admissions for mental disorders in Switzerland between 2009–2019. We defined different precipitation events based on the duration (daily precipitation ≥1mm for 2, 3, or 4 days; PP.2/PP.3/PP.4) and intensity (≥90th percentile for 2 consecutive days; PEP90.2). First, we conducted aggregated time-stratified case-crossover analysis in eight main Swiss cities with distributed lag models to assess the association up to 3 days after the exposure. Then, we pooled the estimates in each city using a multivariate random effects meta-analysis for all hospital admissions and by subgroups (sex, age, diagnosis). Evidence of an association between precipitation and hospital admission for mental disorders was not found in Switzerland (PP.2: 1.003[0.978–1.029]; PP.3: 1.005[0.985–1.026]; PP.4: 0.994[0.960–1.030]; PEP90.2: 1.000[0.953–1.050]). Although the results were highly uncertain, we found an indication of increasing risks of hospital admission with increasing intensity of precipitation in warmer seasons (PP.2: 1.001[0.971–1.032] vs PEP90.2: 1.014[0.955–1.078]), while the risks of hospital admission slightly increased by the duration in colder season (PP.2: 1.009[0.981–1.039]; PP.3: 1.008[0.980–1.036]; PP.4: 1.017[0.956–1.081]). Overall, risks tend to be higher in people aged < 65 years. Duration of the events may influence more than intensity in females, while opposite patterns were observed in males. Risks tended to be larger but still uncertain for schizophrenia, mood disorders, and adult personality disorders. An indication of a negative association was found in neurotic disorders and null risks in the remaining groups. Although our findings did not show a clear association between precipitation and mental disorders, further research is required to clarify the role of precipitation and the potential implications of climate change and extreme precipitation events on mental health.
Characterization of the pattern of expression of Gas1 in the kidney during postnatal development in the rat

Growth Arrest-Specific 1 (Gas1) is a pleiotropic protein with different functions, in the adult kidney Gas1 acts as an endogenous inhibitor of cell proliferation but it is also necessary for the maintenance and proliferation of Renal Progenitor Cells (RPC) during early development, thus it fulfills important functions in the adult kidney. However, it is not known whether or not Gas1 is expressed during postnatal development, a critical stage for renal maturation. For this reason, the main objective of this work was to characterize the expression pattern of Gas1 in the different regions of the kidney by immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis during the postnatal development of the rat. We found that Gas1 is present and has a differential expression pattern in the various regions of the nephron during postnatal development. We observed that the highest levels of expression of Gas1 occur in the adult, however, Gas1 is also expressed in RPC and interestingly, the expression of RPC markers such as the Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and Cluster of differentiation 24 (CD24) were found to have an inverse pattern of expression to Gas1 (decreases as the kidney matures) during postnatal renal maturation, this indicates a role for Gas1 in the regulation of renal cell proliferation at this stage of development.
Canonical Symbolic Analysis of Large Analog Circuits with Determinant Decision Diagrams

Symbolic analysis has many applications in the design of analog circuits. Existing approaches rely on two forms of symbolic-expression representation: expanded sum-of-product form and arbitrarily nested form. Expanded form suffers the problem that the number of product terms grows exponentially with the size of a circuit. Nested form is neither canonical nor amenable to symbolic manipulation. In this paper, we present a new approach to exact and canonical symbolic analysis by exploiting the sparsity and sharing of product terms. It consists of representing the symbolic determinant of a circuit matrix by a graph? -? called a determinant decision diagram (DDD)? -? and performing symbolic analysis by graph manipulations. We show that DDD construction, as well as many symbolic analysis algorithms, takes time almost linear in the number of DDD vertices. We describe an efficient DDD-vertex-ordering heuristic and prove that it is optimum for ladder-structured circuits. For practical analog circuits, the numbers of DDD vertices are several orders of magnitude less than the numbers of product terms. The algorithms have been implemented and compared respectively to symbolic analyzers ISAAC and Maple-V in generating the expanded sum-of-product expressions, and SCAPP in generating the nested sequences of expressions.
Consensus-building during the Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) initiative in Samoa: A qualitative content analysis

The Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) initiative provides countries with an evidence-based toolbox to improve the national breastfeeding environment by assessing and developing a plan to effectively scale up well-coordinated national policies and programs. BBF is carried out by a multi-institutional, intersectoral committee of experts, convening across five committee meetings designed to produce policy recommendations that can be implemented in the country’s context. Samoa successfully completed the BBF initiative in 2018, resulting in the institution of breastfeeding policy in hospitals and the establishment of lactation rooms within government ministries. An important step in informing the success of future breastfeeding scale-up initiatives is understanding how consensus is built. This study aimed to investigate how the BBF Samoa committee built consensus. We conducted a content analysis of audio recordings of three BBF Samoa meetings (meetings 1, 2 and 4), meeting minutes, and meeting notes using an a priori operational consensus-building framework. We used a combination of deductive and inductive approaches to: a) evaluate the data against existing, a priori criteria for consensus-building and b) identify emergent ways in which the BBF Samoa committee may have achieved consensus. We identified 6 themes, 2 meta-subthemes, and 16 subthemes. The 6 themes, largely defined by the a priori framework, represented key components of successful consensus-building. The 2 meta-subthemes described two overarching methods of consensus-building: “process-led” (i.e., inherent to the BBF process itself) and “organic” (unique/specific to the committee). Lastly, the 16 subthemes described more specific ways that the committee reached consensus. The detailed manualization of the BBF process, its reliance on data, and its transparent and engaged committee process were key for reaching consensus on BBF scores and recommendations in Samoa. Our study contributes to the understanding of how effective breastfeeding policy recommendations are made, using a methodology that can be applied beyond the topic of breastfeeding.
Advances in mechanical biomarkers

Mechanical biomarkers distinguish health conditions through quantitative mechanical measurements. The emergence and establishment of nanotechnology in the last decades have provided new tools to obtain mechanical biomarkers at the nanoscale. Mechanical measurements are reproducible, label‐free, start to be applied in vivo can be high throughput, and require small samples. Mechanical protocols in clinical practice at the macro scale like palpation or blood pressure measurement are routinely used by medical doctors. Nanotechnology brought mechanical sensing to the next scale, where cells, tissues, and proteins can be probed and linked to medical conditions. Mechanical changes in cells and tissues may be detected before other markers, such as protein expression, providing an important advantage as biomarkers. In the present review, we explore the biomarker's historical evolution, describe mechanical biomarkers on various diseases and novel discoveries in the nanomechanical field for their characterization. We conclude that mechanical biomarkers are establishing novel hallmarks in diseases, in several cases for early diagnostics of diseases and discovery of drug targets in the proteins involved in the mechanical changes, while advances in instrumentation are bringing commercial products into the clinical practice. Mechanical biomarkers along with clinical testing are establishing an important niche in the market, whose demand is increasing due to the expansion of personalized medicine and unmet needs in the clinics.
Specific Residues in the C-Terminal Domain of the Human Metapneumovirus Phosphoprotein Are Indispensable for Formation of Viral Replication Centers and Regulation of the Function of the Viral Polymerase Complex

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infects global populations, with severe respiratory tract infections occurring in infants, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. There are currently no FDA-approved therapeutics available to prevent or treat HMPV infection. ABSTRACT Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a negative-strand RNA virus that frequently causes respiratory tract infections in infants, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. A hallmark of HMPV infection is the formation of membraneless, liquid-like replication and transcription centers in the cytosol termed inclusion bodies (IBs). The HMPV phosphoprotein (P) and nucleoprotein (N) are the minimal viral proteins necessary to form IB-like structures, and both proteins are required for the viral polymerase to synthesize RNA during infection. HMPV P is a homotetramer with regions of intrinsic disorder and has several known and predicted phosphorylation sites of unknown function. In this study, we found that the P C-terminal intrinsically disordered domain (CTD) must be present to facilitate IB formation with HMPV N, while either the N-terminal intrinsically disordered domain or the central oligomerization domain was dispensable. Alanine substitution at a single tyrosine residue within the CTD abrogated IB formation and reduced coimmunoprecipitation with HMPV N. Mutations to C-terminal phosphorylation sites revealed a potential role for phosphorylation in regulating RNA synthesis and P binding partners within IBs. Phosphorylation mutations which reduced RNA synthesis in a reporter assay produced comparable results in a recombinant viral rescue system, measured as an inability to produce infectious viral particles with genomes containing these single P mutations. This work highlights the critical role HMPV P plays in facilitating a key step of the viral life cycle and reveals the potential role for phosphorylation in regulating the function of this significant viral protein. IMPORTANCE Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infects global populations, with severe respiratory tract infections occurring in infants, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. There are currently no FDA-approved therapeutics available to prevent or treat HMPV infection. Therefore, understanding how HMPV replicates is vital for the identification of novel targets for therapeutic development. During HMPV infection, viral RNA synthesis proteins localize to membraneless structures called inclusion bodies (IBs), which are sites of genome replication and transcription. The HMPV phosphoprotein (P) is necessary for IBs to form and for the virus to synthesize RNA, but it is not known how this protein contributes to IB formation or if it is capable of regulating viral replication. We show that the C-terminal domain of P is the location of a molecular interaction driving IB formation and contains potential phosphorylation sites where amino acid charge regulates the function of the viral polymerase complex.
Ultrasound Mid-Air Haptics for Hand Guidance in Virtual Reality

This paper presents and evaluates a set of mid-air ultrasound haptic strategies to provide 2-degree-of-freedom position and orientation guidance in Virtual Reality (VR). We devised four strategies for providing position guidance and two for providing orientation guidance. A human subject study evaluated the effectiveness of the proposed techniques in guiding users towards objectives in static and dynamic environments in VR, both in position and orientation. Results show that, compared to visual feedback of the virtual environment alone, the considered strategies significantly improve positioning performance in the static scenario. On the other hand, orientation guidance led to significant improvements only in the dynamic scenario.
Linearized oscillations of a vortex column: the singular eigenfunctions

Abstract In 1880 Lord Kelvin analysed the linearized inviscid oscillations of a Rankine vortex as part of a theory of vortex atoms. These eponymously named neutrally stable modes are, however, exceptional regular oscillations that make up the discrete spectrum of the Rankine vortex. In this paper, we examine the singular oscillations that make up the continuous spectrum (CS) and span the entire base state range of frequencies. In two dimensions, the CS eigenfunctions have a twin-vortex-sheet structure similar to that known from earlier investigations of parallel flows with piecewise linear velocity profiles. The vortex sheets are cylindrical, being threaded by axial lines, with one sheet at the edge of the core and the other at the critical radius in the irrotational exterior; the latter refers to the radial location at which the fluid co-rotates with the eigenmode. In three dimensions, the CS eigenfunctions have core vorticity and may be classified into two families based on the singularity at the critical radius. For the first family, the singularity is a cylindrical vortex sheet threaded by helical vortex lines, while for the second family it has a localized dipole structure with radial vorticity. The presence of perturbation vorticity in the otherwise irrotational exterior implies that the CS modes, unlike the Kelvin modes, offer a modal interpretation for the (linearized) interaction of the Rankine vortex with an external vortical disturbance. It is shown that an arbitrary initial distribution of perturbation vorticity, both in two and three dimensions, may be evolved as a superposition over the discrete and CS modes; this modal representation being equivalent to a solution of the corresponding initial value problem. For the restricted case of an initial axial vorticity distribution in two dimensions, the modal representation may be generalized to a smooth vortex. Finally, for the three-dimensional case, the analogy between rotational flows and stratified shear flows, and the known analytical solution for stratified Couette flow, are used to clarify the singular manner in which the modal superposition for a smooth vortex approaches the Rankine limit.
Bayesian inference for nonlinear stochastic SIR epidemic model

ABSTRACT Inference for epidemic parameters can be challenging, in part due to data that are intrinsically stochastic and tend to be observed by means of discrete-time sampling, which are limited in their completeness. The problem is particularly acute when the likelihood of the data is computationally intractable. Consequently, standard statistical techniques can become too complicated to implement effectively. In this work, we develop a powerful method for Bayesian paradigm for susceptible–infected–removed stochastic epidemic models via data-augmented Markov Chain Monte Carlo. This technique samples all missing values as well as the model parameters, where the missing values and parameters are treated as random variables. These routines are based on the approximation of the discrete-time epidemic by diffusion process. We illustrate our techniques using simulated epidemics and finally we apply them to the real data of Eyam plague.
Epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate in combination with corticosteroids mitigates heat stress‐induced acute kidney injury through modulating heat shock protein 70 and toll‐like receptor 4‐dependent pathways

Recently, recurrent heat stress (HS) and dehydration have been exhibited to give rise to kidney disease epidemic in hot regions. The current study was carried out to estimate a possible renoprotective effect of dexamethasone (Dexa) and epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG) as a heat shock protein (HSP)‐70 inhibitor on HS‐induced nephropathy. In total, five groups of rats were used: control group, HS group (exposed to heat for 40 min), Dexa+HS group (rats were injected with Dexa i.p.15 mg/kg/day for 3 days followed by HS), EGCG+HS group (rats received EGCG 100 mg/kg/day, orally, for 7 days followed by HS), and EGCG+ Dexa +HS group (rats received EGCG 100 mg/kg/day, orally, for 7 days and injected Dexa as described along the last 3 days followed by HS). Kidney sections were stained with H&E and scored for tubular injury. A marked increase in creatinine, urea, malondialdehyde (MDA), monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)‐1, HSP‐70, nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB), toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR‐4) and Caspase‐3 expression was observed after HS induction (p < 0.001). Treatment with EGCG combined with Dexa notably reduced tubular injury, MCP‐1, HSP‐70, NF‐κB, and TLR‐4 levels (p < 0.001). Moreover, it increased IL‐10, antioxidant capacity and Bcl‐2 expression levels in the kidney (p < 0.001). This renoprotective impact might be attributed to anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti‐apoptotic mechanisms besides interfering with TLR‐4‐mediated NF‐κB activation pathway.
Association between antenatal diagnosis of late fetal growth restriction and educational outcomes in mid-childhood: A UK prospective cohort study with long-term data linkage study

Background Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is associated with a suboptimal intrauterine environment, which may adversely impact fetal neurodevelopment. However, analysing neurodevelopmental outcomes by observed birthweight fails to differentiate between true FGR and constitutionally small infants and cannot account for iatrogenic intervention. This study aimed to determine the relationship between antenatal FGR and mid-childhood (age 5 to 7 years) educational outcomes. Methods and findings The Pregnancy Outcome Prediction Study (2008–2012) was a prospective birth cohort conducted in a single maternity hospital in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Clinicians were blinded to the antenatal diagnosis of FGR. FGR was defined as estimated fetal weight (EFW) <10th percentile at approximately 36 weeks of gestation, plus one or more indicators of placental dysfunction, including ultrasonic markers and maternal serum levels of placental biomarkers. A total of 2,754 children delivered at term were divided into 4 groups: FGR, appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) with markers of placental dysfunction, healthy small-for-gestational age (SGA), and healthy AGA (referent). Educational outcomes (assessed at 5 to 7 years using UK national standards) were assessed with respect to FGR status using regression models adjusted for relevant covariates, including maternal, pregnancy, and socioeconomic factors. Compared to healthy AGA (N = 1,429), children with FGR (N = 250) were at higher risk of “below national standard” educational performance at 6 years (18% versus 11%; aOR 1.68; 95% CI 1.12 to 2.48, p = 0.01). By age 7, children with FGR were more likely to perform below standard in reading (21% versus 15%; aOR 1.46; 95% CI 0.99 to 2.13, p = 0.05), writing (28% versus 23%; aOR 1.46; 95% CI 1.02 to 2.07, p = 0.04), and mathematics (24% versus 16%; aOR 1.49; 95% CI 1.02 to 2.15, p = 0.03). This was consistent whether FGR was defined by ultrasound or biochemical markers. The educational attainment of healthy SGA children (N = 126) was comparable to healthy AGA, although this comparison may be underpowered. Our study design relied on linkage of routinely collected educational data according to nationally standardised metrics; this design allowed a high percentage of eligible participants to be included in the analysis (75%) but excludes those children educated outside of government-funded schools in the UK. Our focus on pragmatic and validated measures of educational attainment does not exclude more subtle effects of the intrauterine environment on specific aspects of neurodevelopment. Conclusions Compared to children with normal fetal growth and no markers of placental dysfunction, FGR is associated with poorer educational attainment in mid-childhood.
THE ROLE OF ELECTRIC FIELDS AND MAGNETOSPHERIC ELECTRON PRECIPITATIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF THE EQUATORIAL TOTAL MASS DENSITY MINIMUM

The global theoretical Upper Atmosphere Model (UAM) shows a minimum of the thermospheric total mass density near the geomagnetic equator similar to that obtained by the accelerometer on board the CHAMP satellite. The empirical thermospheric model NRLMSISE-00 does not show this minimum. We have investigated the role of electric fields and magnetospheric electron precipitations for the formation of this daytime minimum by successive switching off the low and high latitude electric fields and the magnetospheric electron precipitations within the UAM calculations. We conclude that the high latitude magnetospheric heating is the likely reason of the daytime thermospheric density minimum near the equator.