Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Some Negative Effects of Heat Stress in Feedlot Heifers May Be Mitigated via Yeast Probiotic Supplementation

This study was designed to determine if supplementation of a combination live yeast and yeast cell wall product in feed could mitigate the negative impacts associated with heat stress (HS). Crossbred, phenotypically similar beef heifers (n = 32; BW = 385 ± 43 kg) were fed a standard finishing ration without (CON) or with a combination of a live yeast (1.5 g/hd/d) and yeast cell wall product (2.5 g/hd/d; YEAST; Phileo Lesaffre Animal Care, Milwaukee, WI). After 50 d of supplementation, heifers were transported to an environmentally-controlled facility and placed in individual bleeding stalls after indwelling jugular catheters and vaginal temperature (VT) loggers were inserted. Heifers were kept in thermoneutral (TN) conditions for 48 h [temperature-humidity index (THI) ~67; d 1–2] then were subjected to HS for 4 d (peak THI ~80; d 3–6). From d 2–6, hourly blood samples were collected for serum isolation from 1400 to 1800 h and again from 2200 to 0200 h which represented the daily targeted peak and nadir of THIs. A whole blood sample was collected twice daily at 1400 and 2200 h for complete blood counts (CBC). There was no difference in BW (P = 0.14) or ADG (P = 0.53) between the treatments during HS. Yeast-supplemented heifers exhibited reduced VT during HS compared to CON heifers (P < 0.01). There was no difference in water intake during the TN phase (P = 0.25); however, YEAST heifers consumed more water/h (P < 0.01) and had increased drinking bouts (P < 0.01) during HS compared to CON heifers. Respiration rates (RR) did not differ (P = 0.21) during TN, but YEAST heifers tended (P = 0.09) to have decreased RR during HS compared to CON heifers. There were no differences between treatments when evaluating CBC parameters (P ≥ 0.10). There was a tendency (P = 0.08) for greater cortisol in the CON than YEAST heifers during HS; however, glucose (P = 0.38) and NEFA (P = 0.70) concentrations did not differ. In summary, supplementation of live yeast and yeast cell wall products to feedlot heifers may mitigate some of the negative effects associated with HS in feedlot cattle as observed in decreased RR and VT and increased water intake.
The effect of sex on multiple sclerosis risk and disease progression

Sex differences in the incidence or severity of disease characterize many autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases. Multiple sclerosis is a complex disease with both autoimmune and neurodegenerative aspects and is characterized by sex differences in susceptibility and progression. Research in the study sex differences is a way to capitalize on a known clinical observation, mechanistically disentangle it at the laboratory bench, then translate basic research findings back to the clinic as a novel treatment trial tailored to optimally benefit each sex. This “Bedside to Bench to Bedside” approach based on sex differences in MS will be reviewed here, first for disease susceptibility then for disability progression.
In Vitro Evaluation of the Influence of Substrate Mechanics on Matrix-Assisted Human Chondrocyte Transplantation

Matrix-assisted chondrocyte transplantation (MACT) is of great interest for the treatment of patients with cartilage lesions. However, the roles of the matrix properties in modulating cartilage tissue integration during MACT recovery have not been fully understood. The objective of this study was to uncover the effects of substrate mechanics on the integration of implanted chondrocyte-laden hydrogels with native cartilage tissues. To this end, agarose hydrogels with Young’s moduli ranging from 0.49 kPa (0.5%, w/v) to 23.08 kPa (10%) were prepared and incorporated into an in vitro human cartilage explant model. The hydrogel-cartilage composites were cultivated for up to 12 weeks and harvested for evaluation via scanning electron microscopy, histology, and a push-through test. Our results demonstrated that integration strength at the hydrogel-cartilage interface in the 1.0% (0.93 kPa) and 2.5% (3.30 kPa) agarose groups significantly increased over time, whereas hydrogels with higher stiffness (>8.78 kPa) led to poor integration with articular cartilage. Extensive sprouting of extracellular matrix in the interfacial regions was only observed in the 0.5% to 2.5% agarose groups. Collectively, our findings suggest that while neocartilage development and its integration with native cartilage are modulated by substrate elasticity, an optimal Young’s modulus (3.30 kPa) possessed by agarose hydrogels is identified such that superior quality of tissue integration is achieved without compromising tissue properties of implanted constructs.
Multiclass Classification of Hepatic Anomalies with Dielectric Properties: From Phantom Materials to Rat Hepatic Tissues

Open-ended coaxial probes can be used as tissue characterization devices. However, the technique suffers from a high error rate. To improve this technology, there is a need to decrease the measurement error which is reported to be more than 30% for an in vivo measurement setting. This work investigates the machine learning (ML) algorithms’ ability to decrease the measurement error of open-ended coaxial probe techniques to enable tissue characterization devices. To explore the potential of this technique as a tissue characterization device, performances of multiclass ML algorithms on collected in vivo rat hepatic tissue and phantom dielectric property data were evaluated. Phantoms were used for investigating the potential of proliferating the data set due to difficulty of in vivo data collection from tissues. The dielectric property measurements were collected from 16 rats with hepatic anomalies, 8 rats with healthy hepatic tissues, and in house phantoms. Three ML algorithms, k-nearest neighbors (kNN), logistic regression (LR), and random forests (RF) were used to classify the collected data. The best performance for the classification of hepatic tissues was obtained with 76% accuracy using the LR algorithm. The LR algorithm performed classification with over 98% accuracy within the phantom data and the model generalized to in vivo dielectric property data with 48% accuracy. These findings indicate first, linear models, such as logistic regression, perform better on dielectric property data sets. Second, ML models fitted to the data collected from phantom materials can partly generalize to in vivo dielectric property data due to the discrepancy between dielectric property variability.
Petromurin C Induces Protective Autophagy and Apoptosis in FLT3-ITD-Positive AML: Synergy with Gilteritinib

Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains inefficient due to drug resistance and relapse, particularly in patients with FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3)-internal tandem duplication (ITD). Marine-derived natural products have recently been used for drug development against AML. We show in this study that petromurin C, which was isolated from the culture extract of the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus candidus KUFA0062, isolated from the marine sponge Epipolasis sp. , induces early autophagy followed by apoptotic cell death via activation of the intrinsic cell death pathway concomitant with mitochondrial stress and downregulation of Mcl-1 in FLT3-ITD mutated MV4-11 cells. Moreover, petromurin C synergized with the clinically-used FLT3 inhibitor gilteritinib at sub-toxic concentrations. Altogether, our results provide preliminary indications that petromurin C provides anti-leukemic effects alone or in combination with gilteritinib.
Modified Glasgow Prognostic Score is a novel predictor of clinical outcome in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Abstract Objectives. Although the modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) has been reported to have prognostic value in patients with various cancers, the association between mGPS and prognosis in patients with heart diseases have not been well studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of mGPS in outcomes of patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Design. We prospectively followed consecutive adult patients with HFpEF admitted to the cardiology outpatient unit. Echocardiographic and laboratory data were recorded at enrolment. mGPS was scored as 0, 1, or 2 based on C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin levels. Patients with both elevated CRP (>1 mg/dL) and hypoalbuminemia (<3.5 g/dL) are given mGPS of 2, patients with serum CRP ≤ 1 g/dL with or without hypoalbuminemia received scores of 0. Patients with only elevated CRP levels received mGPS of 1. The primary composite endpoint of the study was all-cause mortality or heart failure hospitalization through one year. Results. A total of 315 HFpEF outpatients were included, and 42 (13.3%) reached the primary endpoint at one year of follow-up. Compared to patients without mortality or heart failure-related hospitalization, patients who reached the primary endpoint during follow-up were older, were more likely be symptomatic, had higher N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and mGPS levels at study entry. Multivariate analysis showed that both NT-proBNP and mGPS were independent predictors of primary composite endpoint. Combining NT-proBNP with mGPS improved its prognostic value with an increase of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve from 0.759 to 0.822 (p = .001). Conclusion. This is the first study which demonstrates that mGPS is a predictor of outcomes in patients with HFpEF.
Rat IgG mediated circulatory cell depletion in mice requires mononuclear phagocyte system and is facilitated by complement

Application of exogenous Abs targeting cell surface Ags has been widely used as an experimental approach to induce cell depletion or to inhibit receptor functionality. Moreover, Ab therapy is emerging as one of the mainstream strategies for cancer treatment. Previous studies on the mechanisms of Ab‐mediated cell depletion mainly employed Abs from the same species as the research subject. However, there has been a recent trend toward using xenogeneic (cross‐species) Abs to achieve cell depletion or block receptor‐ligand interactions; with rat Abs used in mice being the most common approach. Considering the molecular differences in Abs from different species, the mechanism(s) of xenogeneic Ab‐mediated cell depletion is likely to be different than species‐matched Ab supplementation. The current work describes our efforts to identify the mechanism of rat anti‐mouse Ly6G (clone: 1A8) mAb mediated depletion of mouse neutrophils. The results showed that neutrophils circulating in the blood but not those in the bone marrow are depleted, and depletion depends on mononuclear phagocyte system, especially liver Kupffer cells that efficiently capture and phagocytize targeted cells. Interestingly, whereas species‐matched Ab depletion does not require complement functionality, we found that complement activation significantly facilitates cross‐species neutrophil depletion. Finally, we found that some rat mAbs (anti‐C5aR, anti‐CD11a, anti‐CD11b, and anti‐VLA4) used to block cell surface receptors also induce cell depletion. Thus, our work strongly recommends controlling for cell depletion effect when using these Abs for receptor blockade purposes.
Computational Fluid Simulation of Fibrinogen around Dental Implant Surfaces

Ultraviolet treatment of titanium implants makes their surfaces hydrophilic and enhances osseointegration. However, the mechanism is not fully understood. This study hypothesizes that the recruitment of fibrinogen, a critical molecule for blood clot formation and wound healing, is influenced by the degrees of hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of the implant surfaces. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) implant models were created for fluid flow simulation. The hydrophilicity level was expressed by the contact angle between the implant surface and blood plasma, ranging from 5° (superhydrophilic), 30° (hydrophilic) to 50° and 70° (hydrophobic), and 100° (hydrorepellent). The mass of fibrinogen flowing into the implant interfacial zone (fibrinogen infiltration) increased in a time dependent manner, with a steeper slope for surfaces with greater hydrophilicity. The mass of blood plasma absorbed into the interfacial zone (blood plasma infiltration) was also promoted by the hydrophilic surfaces but it was rapid and non-time-dependent. There was no linear correlation between the fibrinogen infiltration rate and the blood plasma infiltration rate. These results suggest that hydrophilic implant surfaces promote both fibrinogen and blood plasma infiltration to their interface. However, the infiltration of the two components were not proportional, implying a selectively enhanced recruitment of fibrinogen by hydrophilic implant surfaces.
Diatoms Are Selective Segregators in Global Ocean Planktonic Communities

Diatoms are key phytoplankton in the modern ocean that are involved in numerous biotic interactions, ranging from symbiosis to predation and viral infection, which have considerable effects on global biogeochemical cycles. However, despite recent large-scale studies of plankton, we are still lacking a comprehensive picture of the diversity of diatom biotic interactions in the marine microbial community. Through the ecological interpretation of both inferred microbial association networks and available knowledge on diatom interactions compiled in an open-access database, we propose an ecosystems approach for exploring diatom interactions in the ocean. ABSTRACT Diatoms are a major component of phytoplankton, believed to be responsible for around 20% of the annual primary production on Earth. As abundant and ubiquitous organisms, they are known to establish biotic interactions with many other members of plankton. Through analyses of cooccurrence networks derived from the Tara Oceans expedition that take into account both biotic and abiotic factors in shaping the spatial distributions of species, we show that only 13% of diatom pairwise associations are driven by environmental conditions; the vast majority are independent of abiotic factors. In contrast to most other plankton groups, on a global scale, diatoms display a much higher proportion of negative correlations with other organisms, particularly toward potential predators and parasites, suggesting that their biogeography is constrained by top-down pressure. Genus-level analyses indicate that abundant diatoms are not necessarily the most connected and that species-specific abundance distribution patterns lead to negative associations with other organisms. In order to move forward in the biological interpretation of cooccurrence networks, an open-access extensive literature survey of diatom biotic interactions was compiled, of which 18.5% were recovered in the computed network. This result reveals the extent of what likely remains to be discovered in the field of planktonic biotic interactions, even for one of the best-known organismal groups. IMPORTANCE Diatoms are key phytoplankton in the modern ocean that are involved in numerous biotic interactions, ranging from symbiosis to predation and viral infection, which have considerable effects on global biogeochemical cycles. However, despite recent large-scale studies of plankton, we are still lacking a comprehensive picture of the diversity of diatom biotic interactions in the marine microbial community. Through the ecological interpretation of both inferred microbial association networks and available knowledge on diatom interactions compiled in an open-access database, we propose an ecosystems approach for exploring diatom interactions in the ocean.
Evaluating the Trade-offs Men with Localised Prostate Cancer Make Between the Risks and Benefits of Treatments: The COMPARE Study.

PURPOSE COMPARE (COMparing treatment options for ProstAte cancer) aimed to evaluate and quantify the trade-offs patients make between different aspects of active surveillance and definitive therapy. METHODS A Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) tool was used to elicit patients' preferences for different treatment characteristics in 34 urology departments. Patients with localised prostate cancer completed the DCE within one week of being diagnosed and before they made treatment decisions. The DCE was pre-tested (N=5) and piloted (n=106) with patients. Patients chose their preferred treatment profile based on six characteristics: treatment type (active surveillance, focal therapy, radical therapy), return to normal activities, erectile function, urinary function, not needing more cancer treatment and 10-15 year cancer-specific survival. Different tools were designed for low-intermediate (n=468) and high-risk (n=166) patients. An error-components conditional logit model was used to estimate preferences and trade-offs between treatment characteristics. RESULTS Low-intermediate risk patients were willing to trade 6.99% absolute decrease in survival to have active surveillance over definitive therapy. They were willing to trade 0.75%, 0.46% and 0.19% absolute decrease in survival for a one-month reduction in time-to-return to normal activities, and 1% absolute improvements in urinary and sexual function, respectively. High-risk patients were willing to trade 3.10%, 1.04% and 0.41% absolute decrease in survival for a one-month reduction in time-to-return to normal activities and 1% absolute improvements in urinary and sexual function, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Patients with low-intermediate risk prostate cancer preferred active surveillance to definitive therapy. Patients of all risks were willing to trade-off cancer-specific survival for improved quality-of-life.Registration:clinicaltrials.gov Registration Identifier NCT01177865Funding:Medical Research Council (UK) (grant reference: G1002509).
Witnessing, Remembering, and Testifying: Why the Past Is Special for Human Beings

The past is undeniably special for human beings. To a large extent, both individuals and collectives define themselves through history. Moreover, humans seem to have a special way of cognitively representing the past: episodic memory. As opposed to other ways of representing knowledge, remembering the past in episodic memory brings with it the ability to become a witness. Episodic memory allows us to determine what of our knowledge about the past comes from our own experience and thereby what parts of the past we can give testimony about. In this article, we aim to give an account of the special status of the past by asking why humans have developed the ability to give testimony about it. We argue that the past is special for human beings because it is regularly, and often principally, the only thing that can determine present social realities such as commitments, entitlements, and obligations. Because the social effects of the past often do not leave physical traces behind, remembering the past and the ability to bear testimony it brings is necessary for coordinating social realities with other individuals.
Investigation on Epidemiology of Mental Health and Its Related Factors among 2474 High School Students in Dongguan of Guangdong

Objective To investigate epidemiology of mental health and its related factors among high school students in Dongguan of Guangdong.Methods By using Symptom Check List SCL-90,Check List of Parents' Methods of Bringing up Their Children(EMBU),Family Backgrounds Questionnaire,and High School Students' Related Issues Questionnaire,2474 on-campus high school students in three high schools of Dongguan of Guangdong were investigated.Results The main risk factors affecting mental health in high school students were as follows: family factors(number of family members,the structure of family,relation between parents,etc.);situations of students(gender,grade,only child,etc.);bad behaviors(having fun in net bars and pubs,unhealthy weight reduction,contacting pornography,gambling,running away from home,thought of suicide,taking hypnotic sedative agent,etc.). The above factors were significantlyly related to metal health(P0.05). Conclusion Mental health of high school students are not showing optimistic.Factors related to mental health among high school students are complicated and diversified.The whole society should pay much attention to mental health work in high school students.
Design and Implementation of a Smart Traffic Signal Control System for Smart City Applications

Infrastructure supporting vehicular network (V2X) capability is the key factor to the success of smart city because it enables many smart transportation services. In order to reduce the traffic congestion and improve the public transport efficiency, many intelligent transportation systems (ITS) need to be developed. In this paper, a smart traffic signal control (STSC) system is designed and implemented, it supports several smart city transportation applications including emergency vehicle signal preemption (EVSP), public transport signal priority (TSP), adaptive traffic signal control (ATSC), eco-driving supporting, and message broadcasting. The roadside unit (RSU) controller is the core of the proposed STSC system, where the system architecture, middleware, control algorithms, and peripheral modules are detailed discussed in this paper. It is compatible with existed traffic signal controller so that it can be fast and cost−effectively deployed. A new traffic signal scheme is specially designed for the EVSP scenario, it can inform all the drivers near the intersection regarding which direction the emergency vehicle (EV) is approaching, smoothing the traffic flow, and enhancing the safety. EVSP scenario and the related control algorithms are implemented in this work; integration test and field test are performed to demonstrate the STSC system.
Circadian Rhythm of Salivary Immunoglobulin A and Associations with Cortisol as A Stress Biomarker in Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)

Simple Summary Salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and cortisol concentrations were measured in Asian elephants to determine circadian rhythm effects and the relationship between both biomarkers. Saliva samples were collected every 4 h from 06:00 to 22:00 h for 3 consecutive days (n = 15 samples/elephant). We used enzyme immunoassays for quantification of sIgA and cortisol concentrations. Both sIgA and cortisol followed a circadian rhythm, although the patterns differed. For both, the highest concentrations were in the early morning hours when elephants began the work day; however, sIgA concentrations were more variable during the day. There was no correlation between the two indices because the pattern of sIgA was quartic, while that of cortisol was linear. We provide basic knowledge for further studies using sIgA as a welfare biomarker. Abstract Salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) has been proposed as a potential indicator of welfare for various species, including Asian elephants, and may be related to adrenal cortisol responses. This study aimed to distinguish circadian rhythm effects on sIgA in male and female Asian elephants and compare patterns to those of salivary cortisol, information that could potentially have welfare implications. Subjects were captive elephants at an elephant camp in Chiang Mai province, Thailand (n = 5 males, 5 females). Salivette® kits were used to collect saliva from each elephant every 4 h from 06:00 to 22:00 h for 3 consecutive days (n = 15 samples/elephant). Enzyme immunoassays were used to quantify concentrations of IgA and cortisol in unextracted saliva. Circadian rhythm patterns were determined using a generalized least-squares method. Both sIgA and cortisol followed a circadian rhythm, although the patterns differed. sIgA displayed a daily quartic trend, whereas cortisol concentrations demonstrated a decreasing linear trend in concentrations throughout the day. There was no clear relationship between patterns of sIgA and salivary cortisol, implying that mechanisms of control and secretion differ. Results demonstrate for the first time that circadian rhythms affect sIgA, and concentrations follow a daily quartic pattern in Asian elephants, so standardizing time of collection is necessary.