Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ecosystem response of pasture soil communities to fumigation-induced microbial diversity reductions: an examination of the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationship

A technique based on progressive fumigation was used to reduce soil microbial biodiversity, and the effects of such reductions upon the stability of key soil processes were measured. Mineral soil samples from a grassland were fumigated with chloroform for up to 24 h and then incubated for 5 months to allow recolonisation by surviving organisms. The diversity of cultivable and non-cultivable bacteria, protozoa and nematodes was progressively reduced by increasing fumigation times, as was the number of trophic groups, phyla within trophic groups, and taxa within phyla. Total microbial biomass was similar within fumigated soils, but lower than for unfumigated soil. There was no direct relationship between biodiversity and function. Some broad-scale functional parameters increased as biodiversity decreased, e.g. thymidine incorporation, growth on added nutrients, and the decomposition rate of plant residues. Other more specific parameters decreased as biodiversity decreased, e.g. nitrification, denitrification and methane oxidation. Thus specific functional parameters may be a more sensitive indicator of environmental change than general parameters. Although fumigation reduced soil microbial biodiversity, there was evidence to suggest that it selected for organisms with particular physiological characteristics. The consequences of this for interpreting biodiversity – function relationships are discussed. The stability of the resulting communities to perturbation was further examined by imposing a transient (brief heating to 40°C) or a persistent (addition of CuSO4) stress. Decomposition of grass residues was determined on three occasions after such perturbations. The soils clearly demonstrated resilience to the transient stress; decomposition rates were initially depressed by the stress and recovered over time. Resilience was reduced in the soils with decreasing biodiversity. Soils were not resilient to the persistent stress, there was no recovery in decomposition rate over time, but the soils with the highest biodiversity were more resistant to the stress than soils with impaired biodiversity. The study of functional stability under applied perturbation is a powerful means of examining the effects of biodiversity.
A Pilot Study and Ecological Model of Smoking Cues to Inform Mobile Health Strategies for Quitting Among Low-Income Smokers

One crucial factor that leads to disparities in smoking cessation between groups with higher and lower socioeconomic status is more prevalent socioenvironmental smoking cues in low-income communities. Little is known about how these cues influence socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers in real-world scenarios and how to design interventions, especially mobile phone–based interventions, to counteract the impacts of various types of smoking cues. We interviewed 15 current smokers living in low-income communities and scanned their neighborhoods to explore smoking-related experiences and identify multilevel cues that may trigger them to smoke. Findings suggest four major types of smoking cues influence low-income smokers—internal, habitual, social, and environmental. We propose an ecological model of smoking cues to inform the design of mobile health (mHealth) interventions for smoking cessation. We suggest that user-triggered strategies will be most useful to address internal cues; server-triggered strategies will be most suitable in changing perceived social norms of smoking and routine smoking activities to address social and habitual cues; and context-triggered strategies will be most effective for counteracting environmental cues. The pros and cons of each approach are discussed regarding their cost-effectiveness, the potential to provide personalized assistance, and scale.
Role of Sonoelastography in Differentiating Benign and Malignant Thyroid Nodules

Introduction: Thyroid nodules are a common medical problem seen in about 8.5% of the population. It is of clinical importance to diagnose malignant nodules from benign which do not require surgery and decide which patient should proceed to biopsy. Ultra sound elastography is a noninvasive technique to evaluate the tissue stiffness of the lesion . The present study aims to assess the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of Strain Elastography in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules by comparing with histo pathological analysis as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: This study was a diagnostic test evaluation study involving 107 study subjects with palpable thyroid nodules who underwent ultrasound Strain elastography examination in Department of Radiodiagnosis for one year and six months.Strain elastography was performed and the nodules were classified into different elasticity scores according to the elasticity score developed by Itoh and Ueno. Scores 1,2&3 taken as benign and scores 4&5 were taken as malignant. Patients were followed up and their histopathological results after surgery were compared with the elastography findings. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values were obtained. Also strain ratio was obtained for all lesions and a cut off value derived to aid in differentiating Malignant nodules from benign. Results & Conclusion: Ultrasound strain elastography had a sensitivity of 90%, specificity of 94.3%, positive predictive value of 78.3% and negative predictive value of 97.6%. Strain ratio cut off of 3.96 derived which showed good diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy to differentiate malignant and benign nodules. Thus ultrasound Strain elastography scoring system and strain ratio found to be highly accurate in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules.
Impact of age and sex on neural cardiovascular responsiveness to cold pressor test in humans.

Prior longitudinal work suggests that blood pressure (BP) reactivity to the cold pressor test (CPT) helps predict hypertension, yet the impact of age and sex on hemodynamic and neural responsiveness to CPT remain equivocal. Forty-three young (21±1yrs, mean±SEM) men (YM, n=20) and women (YW, n=23), and 16 older (60±1yrs) men (OM, n=9) and women (OW, n=7), participated in an experimental visit where continuous BP (finger plethysmography) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA; microneurography) were recorded during a 3-5min baseline and 2-min CPT. Baseline mean arterial pressure (MAP) was greater in older men compared with young men, (92±4 vs. 77±1mmHg, p<0.01), but similar in women (p=0.12). Baseline MSNA incidence was greater in OM (69±6bursts/100hb) compared with OW (44±7bursts/100hb, p=0.02), and lower in young adults (YM: 17±3 vs. YW: 16±2bursts/100hb, p<0.01), but similar across sexes (p=0.83). However, when exposed to the CPT, MSNA increased more rapidly in OW (Δ43±6bursts/100hb; group×time, p=0.01) compared with OM (Δ15±3bursts/100hb), but was not different between YW (Δ30±3bursts/100hb) and YM (Δ33±4 bursts/100hb, p=1.0). There were no differences in MAP with CPT between groups (group×time, p=0.33). These findings suggest that OW demonstrate a more rapid initial rise in MSNA responsiveness to a CPT compared with OM. This greater sympathetic reactivity in OW may be a contributing mechanism to the increased hypertension risk in postmenopausal women.
Roles of Kruppel-like factor 4 in normal homeostasis, cancer and stem cells

Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) is a zinc finger-type transcription factor expressed in a variety of tissues, including the epithelium of the intestine and the skin, and it plays an important role in differentiation and cell cycle arrest. Depending on the gene targeted, KLF4 can both activate and repress transcription. Moreover, in certain cellular contexts, KLF4 can function as a tumor suppressor or an oncogene. Finally, KLF4 is important in reprogramming differentiated fibroblasts into inducible pluripotent stem cells, which highly resemble embryonic stem cells. This review summarizes what is known about the diverse functions of KLF4 as well as their molecular mechanisms.
Grain Size and Phase Transformation Behavior of TiNi Shape-Memory-Alloy Thin Film under Different Deposition Conditions

TiNi shape-memory-alloy thin films can be used as small high-speed actuators or sensors because they exhibit a rapid response rate. In recent years, the transformation temperature of these films, manufactured via a magnetron sputtering method, was found to be lower than that of the bulk alloys owing to the small size of the grain. In this study, deposition conditions (growth rate, film thickness, and substrate temperature) affecting the grain size of thin films were investigated. The grain size of the thin film alloys was found to be most responsive to the substrate temperature.
Use of Legumes in Extrusion Cooking: A Review

The traditional perception that legumes would not be suitable for extrusion cooking is now completely outdated. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have been conducted to assess the behavior of various types of legume flours in extrusion cooking, proving that legumes have excellent potential for the production of extruded ready-to-eat foods by partially or totally replacing cereals. This review identifies the optimal processing conditions for legume-based and legume-added extruded foods, which allow the improvement of the expansion ratio and give the extrudates the spongy and crisp structure expected by consumers. In particular, the effect of the individual processing parameters on the physical-chemical and nutritional properties of the final product is highlighted. The extrusion cooking process, indeed, has a positive effect on nutritional characteristics, because it induces important modifications on starch and proteins, enhancing their digestibility, and reduces the content of trypsin inhibitors, lectins, phytic acid, and tannins, typically present in legumes. Therefore, the extrusion of legume flours is a viable strategy to improve their nutritional features while reducing home preparation time, so as to increase the consumption of these sustainable crops.
Altered expression of a quality control protease in E. coli reshapes the in vivo mutational landscape of a model enzyme

Protein mutational landscapes are shaped by the cellular environment, but key factors and their quantitative effects are often unknown. Here we show that Lon, a quality control protease naturally absent in common E. coli expression strains, drastically reshapes the mutational landscape of the metabolic enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). Selection under conditions that resolve highly active mutants reveals that 23.3% of all single point mutations in DHFR are advantageous in the absence of Lon, but advantageous mutations are largely suppressed when Lon is reintroduced. Protein stability measurements demonstrate extensive activity-stability tradeoffs for the advantageous mutants and provide a mechanistic explanation for Lon’s widespread impact. Our findings suggest possibilities for tuning mutational landscapes by modulating the cellular environment, with implications for protein design and combatting antibiotic resistance.
The Evidence for Geary’s Theory on the Role of Mitochondrial Functioning in Human Intelligence Is Not Entirely Convincing

Geary (2018, 2019) suggested that heritable and environmentally caused differences in mitochondrial functioning affect the integrity and efficiency of neurons and supporting glia cells and may thus contribute to individual differences in higher-order cognitive functioning and physical health. In our comment, we want to pose three questions aimed at different aspects of Geary’s theory that critically evaluate his theory in the light of evidence from neurocognitive, cognitive enhancement, and behavioral genetics research. We question (1) if Geary’s theory explains why certain cognitive processes show a stronger age-related decline than others; (2) if intervention studies in healthy younger adults support the claim that variation in mitochondrial functioning underlies variation in human intelligence; and (3) if predictions arising from the matrilineal heredity of mitochondrial DNA are supported by behavioral genetics research. We come to the conclusion that there are likely many more biological and social factors contributing to variation in human intelligence than mitochondrial functioning.
Temporal trends in sexual behaviours and their impacts on HIV incidence among South African women: 2002–2016

ABSTRACT South Africa has the highest number of HIV infected individuals in the world. The primary objective of the current study was to describe temporal changes in HIV incidence rates using the data from 9,948 women who enrolled in one of the six HIV prevention trials conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Characteristics of the study population were presented and compared across the four study periods: 2002–2004, 2005–2008, 2009–2011 and 2012–2016. HIV infection rates increased from 6.2 to 9.3 per 100 person-year over the 15 years. These rates were as high as 14 per 100 person-year among women younger than 20 years age. Being single/not cohabiting, using injectable contraceptives, having less than two children, and diagnosed with STI(s) were associated with increased risk of HIV infection. These four factors were associated with 71%, 75%, 80% and 88% of the HIV seroconversions in four study periods. As the research continues to find ways of controlling the spread of the infections, quantifying the temporal trends in risk factors and their population-level impacts on HIV infection may have significant implications. This information may assist in developing effective counselling and education programs by targeting the sexually active single women and delivering more realistic messages.
Two functionally distinct subsets of IL‐17 producing γδ T cells

The γδ T cells play an important role in both mice and humans as a source of the cytokine IL‐17, which is key for immune resistance to certain pathogens. In mice, most of these IL‐17 producers, termed γδT‐17 cells, actually comprise two distinct types: those expressing an invariant Vγ6Vδ1+ TCR and those expressing a Vγ4+ TCR. Murine γδT‐17 cells acquire an inherent bias to produce IL‐17 and other “type 17” cytokines during thymic development. The similarities and differences between the two mouse γδT‐17 types are reviewed here, and the potential implications of their differences are discussed. There is some evidence that two distinct TCR‐defined IL‐17‐producing γδ T cell subsets also exist in humans, but unlike the mouse γδT‐17 cells, these cells are probably not imprinted with an IL‐17 bias during thymic development, but rather acquire an IL‐17 bias in the periphery.
Carbon sequestration in temperate grassland ecosystems and the influence of management, climate and elevated CO2

Contents I. Introduction 2 II. Carbon in temperate grasslands 2 III. The process of carbon sequestration in soils 4 IV. Tracking carbon movement 9 V. Models of soil carbon dynamics 10 VI. Management effects on carbon sequestration 11 VII. Climate-change effects on carbon sequestration 12 VIII. Response to elevated CO2 13 IX. Conclusions 14 References 14 Summary The substantial stocks of carbon sequestered in temperate grassland ecosystems are located largely below ground in roots and soil. Organic C in the soil is located in discrete pools, but the characteristics of these pools are still uncertain. Carbon sequestration can be determined directly by measuring changes in C pools, indirectly by using 13C as a tracer, or by simulation modelling. All these methods have their limitations, but long-term estimates rely almost exclusively on modelling. Measured and modelled rates of C sequestration range from 0 to > 8 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. Management practices, climate and elevated CO2 strongly influence C sequestration rates and their influence on future C stocks in grassland soils is considered. Currently there is significant potential to increase C sequestration in temperate grassland systems by changes in management, but climate change and increasing CO2 concentrations in future will also have significant impacts. Global warming may negate any storage stimulated by changed management and elevated CO2, although there is increasing evidence that the reverse could be the case.
Hypoxia affects performance traits and body composition of juvenile hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis)

Performance traits and body composition of juvenile hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops 9 M. saxatilis) in response to hypoxia were evaluated in replicate tanks maintained at constant dissolved oxygen concentrations that averaged 23.0 2.3%, 39.7 3.0% and 105.5 9.5% dissolved oxygen saturation. Fish were fed a commercially formulated feed daily to apparent satiation. Total feed intake and fish growth and yield increased linearly in response to increased dissolved oxygen concentration. Nutrient utilization was reduced significantly only at the greatest level of hypoxia. With the exception of whole body protein content, whole body compositional indices and nutrient retention efficiencies were linearly related to dissolved oxygen concentration. Results demonstrate that as hypoxia becomes more severe, juvenile hybrid striped bass feed intake is reduced, which affects growth and nutrient retention.
Assessment of emotional intelligence in adults with down syndrome: Psychometric properties of the Emotional Quotient Inventory

Introduction The Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth version-EQ-i:YV was developed by Bar-On & Parker in 2000 and later translated and adapted for the general Spanish adolescent population by Ferrandiz et al. in 2012. The Spanish scale presents similar psychometric properties to the original version (54 items and five subdimensions). The Emotional Quotient Inventory assesses a set of personal, emotional, and social skills that influence adaptation to and coping with environmental demands and pressures. These factors can influence an adolescent’s success later in life, health, and psychological well-being. Traditionally, research in Down syndrome (DS) has focused on identifying cognitive deficits, relatively little is known about emotional intelligence (EI) and there are no scales that measure EI in people with DS adults. Objectives To validate and analyze the psychometric properties of the scale in the clinical population, specifically in Spanish adults with DS (EQ-i: SVDS). Methods A cross-sectional investigation was carried out in several stages. Descriptive, exploratory factorial (n = 345), confirmatory (n = 397), and scale reliability analyses were performed with better goodness-of-adjustment indices. Results A new scale named Emotional Quotient Inventory: Short Version for DS adults was obtained with a structure of four factors called mood, stress management, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. This new scale was reduced to 25 items. Goodness-of-fit indices were excellent (RMSEA [95% CI] = 02[.01; .03]; CFI = .99; TLI = .98; GFI = .87; AGFI = .89). The internal consistency of the four dimensions and the calculated total score (α = .91, ω = .93 and divided halves = .90) yielded high values in this clinical sample. Discussion The results recommend the use of the revised EQ-i: YV, the EQ-i: SVDS, to assess EI in adults with DS. The psychometric properties of this study are satisfactory but have four factors. The findings are discussed in terms of future research and practical implication to gain a more thorough understanding of how this population behaves on both a general and preventive level in order to teach EI properly. Conclusions This new version is a valid and reliable tool to evaluate emotional intelligence in people with intellectual disabilities and specifically in Spanish adults with DS.
What Type of Training Predicts Adherence to CBT-I Among Professionals Specializing in the Treatment of Insomnia?

This study explored the relationship between certain educational and professional variables that influence the adherence to empirically supported practices in cognitivebehavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). The variables of interest included the practitioner’s level of training as measured by the number of hours of advanced training in CBT-I, the total number of hours practicing CBT-I out of the total annual clinical practice hours, and the total number of years practicing CBT-I. The final variable of interest was treatment preference and practice knowledge. The study used a one-time, cross-sectional, web-based survey. The participants consisted of 165 mental health and medical professionals of various disciplines who were trained in CBT-I. The results suggested that individuals with more training were significantly more likely to apply CBT-I. Practitioners with more training had a higher percentage of CBT-I on their caseloads than those with less training. The total number of training hours did not significantly predict adherence, with all practitioners scoring similarly.
BH4 activates CaMKK2 and rescues the cardiomyopathic phenotype in rodent models of diabetes

This study reports that BH4 activates CaMKK2/PGC-1α; signaling pathway and has a therapeutic effect on diabetic cardiomyopathy. Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major cause of mortality/morbidity in diabetes mellitus patients. Although tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) shows therapeutic potential as an endogenous cardiovascular target, its effect on myocardial cells and mitochondria in DCM and the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we determined the involvement of BH4 deficiency in DCM and the therapeutic potential of BH4 supplementation in a rodent DCM model. We observed a decreased BH4:total biopterin ratio in heart and mitochondria accompanied by cardiac remodeling, lower cardiac contractility, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Prolonged BH4 supplementation improved cardiac function, corrected morphological abnormalities in cardiac muscle, and increased mitochondrial activity. Proteomics analysis revealed oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) as the BH4-targeted biological pathway in diabetic hearts as well as BH4-mediated rescue of down-regulated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α) signaling as a key modulator of OXPHOS and mitochondrial biogenesis. Mechanistically, BH4 bound to calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase 2 (CaMKK2) and activated downstream AMP-activated protein kinase/cAMP response element binding protein/PGC-1α signaling to rescue mitochondrial and cardiac dysfunction in DCM. These results suggest BH4 as a novel endogenous activator of CaMKK2.
The Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor Induces Physiological Heart Growth via the Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase(p110α) Pathway*

Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) was considered a potential candidate for the treatment of heart failure. However, some animal studies and clinical trials have questioned whether elevating IGF1 chronically is beneficial. Secondary effects of increased serum IGF1 levels on other tissues may explain these unfavorable results. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of IGF1 in cardiac myocytes in the absence of secondary effects, and to elucidate downstream signaling pathways and transcriptional regulatory effects of the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R). Transgenic mice overexpressing IGF1R in the heart displayed cardiac hypertrophy, which was the result of an increase in myocyte size, and there was no evidence of histopathology. IGF1R transgenics also displayed enhanced systolic function at 3 months of age, and this was maintained at 12-16 months of age. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt-p70S6K1 pathway was significantly activated in hearts from IGF1R transgenics. Cardiac hypertrophy induced by overexpression of IGF1R was completely blocked by a dominant negative PI3K(p110α) mutant, suggesting IGF1R promotes compensated cardiac hypertrophy in a PI3K(p110α)-dependent manner. This study suggests that targeting the cardiac IGF1R-PI3K(p110α) pathway could be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of heart failure.