Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prolonged/delayed cerebral hyperperfusion in adult patients with moyamoya disease with RNF213 gene polymorphism c.14576G>A (rs112735431) after superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery anastomosis.

OBJECTIVE Superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) anastomosis is the standard surgical management for moyamoya disease (MMD), whereas cerebral hyperperfusion (CHP) is one of the potential complications of this procedure that can result in delayed intracerebral hemorrhage and/or neurological deterioration. Recent advances in perioperative management in the early postoperative period have significantly reduced the risk of CHP syndrome, but delayed intracerebral hemorrhage and prolonged/delayed CHP are still major clinical issues. The clinical implication of RNF213 gene polymorphism c.14576G>A (rs112735431), a susceptibility variant for MMD, includes early disease onset and a more severe form of MMD, but its significance in perioperative pathology is unknown. Thus, the authors investigated the role of RNF213 polymorphism in perioperative hemodynamics after STA-MCA anastomosis for MMD. METHODS Among 96 consecutive adult patients with MMD comprising 105 hemispheres who underwent serial quantitative cerebral blood flow (CBF) analysis by N-isopropyl-p-[123I]iodoamphetamine SPECT after STA-MCA anastomosis, 66 patients consented to genetic analysis of RNF213. Patients were routinely maintained under strict blood pressure control during and after surgery. The local CBF values were quantified at the vascular territory supplied by the bypass on postoperative days (PODs) 1 and 7. The authors defined the radiological CHP phenomenon as a local CBF increase of more than 150% compared with the preoperative values, and then they investigated the correlation between RNF213 polymorphism and the development of CHP. RESULTS CHP at POD 1 was observed in 23 hemispheres (23/73 hemispheres [31.5%]), and its incidence was not statistically different between groups (15/41 [36.6%] in RNF213-mutant group vs 8/32 [25.0%] in RNF213-wild type (WT) group; p = 0.321). CHP on POD 7, which is a relatively late period of the CHP phenomenon in MMD, was evident in 9 patients (9/73 hemispheres [12.3%]) after STA-MCA anastomosis. This prolonged/delayed CHP was exclusively observed in the RNF213-mutant group (9/41 [22.0%] in the RNF213-mutant group vs 0/32 [0.0%] in the RNF213-WT group; p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis revealed that RNF213 polymorphism was significantly associated with CBF increase on POD 7 (OR 5.47, 95% CI 1.06-28.35; p = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS Prolonged/delayed CHP after revascularization surgery was exclusively found in the RNF213-mutant group. Although the exact mechanism underlying the contribution of RNF213 polymorphism to the prolonged/delayed CBF increase in patients with MMD is unclear, the current study suggests that genetic analysis of RNF213 is useful for predicting the perioperative pathology of patients with MMD.
Do chronic illnesses and poverty go hand in hand?

In the global context, the health and quality of life of people are adversely affected by either one or more types of chronic diseases. The chronic pain associated with diagnosed patients may include heavy medical expenditure along with the physical and mental suffering they undergo. Usually, unbearable amounts of medical expenses are incurred, to improve or sustain the health condition of the patient. Consequently, the heavy financial burden tends to push households from a comfortable or secure life, or even from bad to worse, towards the probability of becoming poor. Hence, this study is conducted to identify the impact chronic illnesses have on poverty using data from a national survey referred as the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), with data gathered by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) of Sri Lanka in 2016. As such, this study is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, declaring the originality of the study based on data collected from the local arena. Accordingly, the study discovered that married females who do not engage in any type of economic activity, in the age category of 40–65, having an educational level of tertiary level or below and living in the urban sector have a higher likelihood of suffering from chronic diseases. Moreover, it was inferred that, if a person is deprived from access to basic education in the level of education, lives in the rural or estate sector, or suffers from a brain disease, cancer, heart disease or kidney disease, he is highly likely to be poor. Some insights concluded from this Sri Lankan case study can also be applied in the context of other developing countries, to minimise chronic illnesses and thereby the probability of falling into poverty.
Genomic Breeding Value Estimation in countries without large-scale genotyping: merging two training populations to increase genomic reliabilities.

For countries without large-scale genotyping, it is a challenge to implement an effective genomic evaluation system. Breeding company CRV has merged its bull training population with two such countries to build a training population of significance, and provide genomic software. Results show 6-20 times increase in training population adding the CRV bulls. The b-factors of the model(s) improve for most traits for both countries, with an exception for Israeli calving traits. Finally, the added reliability of genomic information, measured as equivalent daughter contributions, is on average four times bigger in the training populations including the CRV bulls, as compared to using only bulls genotyped by the country itself. Validation success may depend on the heritability of the trait, the estimated between-country correlation for the trait, the kinship between the two populations, as well as between the training population and the validation population, and -implicit in that between-country kinship- the past selection criteria as reflected in the similarities in the total merit indices over time.
The development and validation of the Videogaming Motives Questionnaire (VMQ)

Gaming motives are important factors for explaining individual differences in videogame-related behaviors. The aim of the present study was to develop a new comprehensive but brief instrument–the Videogaming Motives Questionnaire (VMQ)–which embraces some of the most relevant gaming motives. In a first study, a pilot exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with data from 140 undergraduates was performed on items from twelve potential motives. This identified eight main factors: recreation, social interaction, coping, violent reward, fantasy, cognitive development, customization, and competition. In Studies 2 and 3, an EFA and a confirmatory factor analysis were performed on two independent samples of 407 adolescents and 260 young adults, respectively. The VMQ presented a robust eight-factor structure, with all scales showing adequate reliability indices. In reference to criterion validity, all motives presented specific associations with hours spent playing videogames, disordered gaming, and game genre preferences. More specifically, and in both adolescents and young adults, social interaction was the main motive related to time spent gaming, whereas disordered gaming was related to both coping and social interaction motives. Based on these findings, it is concluded that the VMQ is a brief and psychometrically appropriate tool for assessing the most relevant videogaming motives.
Asymmetric sensitivity of ecosystem carbon and water processes in response to precipitation change in a semi‐arid steppe

Summary 1.Semiarid ecosystems play an important role in regulating the dynamics of the global terrestrial CO2 sink. These dynamics are mainly driven by increasing inter-annual precipitation variability. However, how ecosystem carbon processes respond to changes in precipitation is not well understood, due to a lack of substantial experimental evidence that combines increased and decreased precipitation treatments. 2.This study, a 3-year field manipulation experiment with 5 precipitation levels conducted in a semiarid steppe, examined the impacts of increased and decreased precipitation on ecosystem CO2 (GEP: gross ecosystem photosynthesis; ER: ecosystem respiration; NEE: net ecosystem CO2 exchange), water exchange (ET: evapotranspiration), and resource use efficiency (CUE: carbon use efficiency; WUE: water use efficiency). 3.We found that decreased precipitation reduced ecosystem CO2, water exchange and resource use efficiency significantly, while increased precipitation did not cause significant influence on them. That is, they responded more sensitively to decreased precipitation. Soil water availability was the most important driver determining changes in GEP, ER and ET. Changes in NEE, CUE and WUE were predominately regulated by soil temperature. Photosynthesis at leaf and ecosystem levels showed significantly greater sensitivity to changed precipitation than respiration and ET, and therefore determined the trends of net carbon uptake and resource use efficiency. 4.This study highlighted an asymmetric response of ecosystem carbon and water processes to altered precipitation. This is potentially important for improving our understanding of how possible future changes in precipitation will affect the carbon cycle in this ecosystem. Taking this asymmetric response into consideration will inevitably reduce uncertainties in predicting the dynamics of the global carbon cycle. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Differential Short-Term Plasticity of PV and SST Neurons Accounts for Adaptation and Facilitation of Cortical Neurons to Auditory Tones

Cortical responses to sensory stimuli are strongly modulated by temporal context. One of the best studied examples of such modulation is sensory adaptation. We first show that in response to repeated tones pyramidal (Pyr) neurons in male mouse auditory cortex (A1) exhibit facilitating and stable responses, in addition to adapting responses. To examine the potential mechanisms underlying these distinct temporal profiles, we developed a reduced spiking model of sensory cortical circuits that incorporated the signature short-term synaptic plasticity (STP) profiles of the inhibitory parvalbumin (PV) and somatostatin (SST) interneurons. The model accounted for all three temporal response profiles as the result of dynamic changes in excitatory/inhibitory balance produced by STP, primarily through shifts in the relative latency of Pyr and inhibitory neurons. Transition between the three response profiles was possible by changing the strength of the inhibitory PV→Pyr and SST→Pyr synapses. The model predicted that a unit's latency would be related to its temporal profile. Consistent with this prediction, the latency of stable units was significantly shorter than that of adapting and facilitating units. Furthermore, because of the history-dependence of STP the model generated a paradoxical prediction: that inactivation of inhibitory neurons during one tone would decrease the response of A1 neurons to a subsequent tone. Indeed, we observed that optogenetic inactivation of PV neurons during one tone counterintuitively decreased the spiking of Pyr neurons to a subsequent tone 400 ms later. These results provide evidence that STP is critical to temporal context-dependent responses in the sensory cortex. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our perception of speech and music depends strongly on temporal context, i.e., the significance of a stimulus depends on the preceding stimuli. Complementary neural mechanisms are needed to sometimes ignore repetitive stimuli (e.g., the tic of a clock) or detect meaningful repetition (e.g., consecutive tones in Morse code). We modeled a neural circuit that accounts for diverse experimentally-observed response profiles in auditory cortex (A1) neurons, based on known forms of short-term synaptic plasticity (STP). Whether the simulated circuit reduced, maintained, or enhanced its response to repeated tones depended on the relative dominance of two different types of inhibitory cells. The model made novel predictions that were experimentally validated. Results define an important role for STP in temporal context-dependent perception.
Improving the taxonomy of fossil pollen using convolutional neural networks and superresolution microscopy

Significance We demonstrate that combining optical superresolution imaging with deep learning classification methods increases the speed and accuracy of assessing the biological affinities of fossil pollen taxa. We show that it is possible to taxonomically separate pollen grains that appear morphologically similar under standard light microscopy based on nanoscale variation in pollen shape, texture, and wall structure. Using a single pollen morphospecies, Striatopollis catatumbus, we show that nanoscale morphological variation within the fossil taxon coincides with paleobiogeographic distributions. This new approach improves the taxonomic resolution of fossil pollen identifications and greatly enhances the use of pollen data in ecological and evolutionary research. Taxonomic resolution is a major challenge in palynology, largely limiting the ecological and evolutionary interpretations possible with deep-time fossil pollen data. We present an approach for fossil pollen analysis that uses optical superresolution microscopy and machine learning to create a quantitative and higher throughput workflow for producing palynological identifications and hypotheses of biological affinity. We developed three convolutional neural network (CNN) classification models: maximum projection (MPM), multislice (MSM), and fused (FM). We trained the models on the pollen of 16 genera of the legume tribe Amherstieae, and then used these models to constrain the biological classifications of 48 fossil Striatopollis specimens from the Paleocene, Eocene, and Miocene of western Africa and northern South America. All models achieved average accuracies of 83 to 90% in the classification of the extant genera, and the majority of fossil identifications (86%) showed consensus among at least two of the three models. Our fossil identifications support the paleobiogeographic hypothesis that Amherstieae originated in Paleocene Africa and dispersed to South America during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (56 Ma). They also raise the possibility that at least three Amherstieae genera (Crudia, Berlinia, and Anthonotha) may have diverged earlier in the Cenozoic than predicted by molecular phylogenies.
Canonical correlations reveal adaptive loci and phenotypic responses to climate in perennial ryegrass

Germplasm from perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) natural populations is useful for breeding because of its adaptation to a wide range of climates. Climate‐adaptive genes can be detected from associations between genotype, phenotype and climate but an integrated framework for the analysis of these three sources of information is lacking. We used two approaches to identify adaptive loci in perennial ryegrass and their effect on phenotypic traits. First, we combined Genome‐Environment Association (GEA) and GWAS analyses. Then, we implemented a new test based on a Canonical Correlation Analysis (CANCOR) to detect adaptive loci. Furthermore, we improved the previous perennial ryegrass gene set by de novo gene prediction and functional annotation of 39,967 genes. GEA‐GWAS revealed eight outlier loci associated with both environmental variables and phenotypic traits. CANCOR retrieved 633 outlier loci associated with two climatic gradients, characterized by cold‐dry winter versus mild‐wet winter and long rainy season versus long summer, and pointed out traits putatively conferring adaptation at the extremes of these gradients. Our CANCOR test also revealed the presence of both polygenic and oligogenic climatic adaptations. Our gene annotation revealed that 374 of the CANCOR outlier loci were positioned within or close to a gene. Co‐association networks of outlier loci revealed a potential utility of CANCOR for investigating the interaction of genes involved in polygenic adaptations. The CANCOR test provides an integrated framework to analyse adaptive genomic diversity and phenotypic responses to environmental selection pressures that could be used to facilitate the adaptation of plant species to climate change.
Ecological features of feather microbiota in breeding common swifts

We provide the first-ever investigation of feather microbiota by high throughput DNA sequencing for any bird species by describing bacteria found on the innermost tertial feather of 22 adult common swifts (Apus apus). We found feather microbiomes with large abundance of Bacillales, Actinomycetales, Burkholderiales, Sphingobacteriales, Sphingomonadales, Rhizobiales, Pseudomonadales, Clostridiales, Rubrobacterales and Lactobacillales. Bacterial communities did not change with any feature of individual swifts. Network and cluster analysis of feather microbiomes disclosed three clusters, characterized by bacteria typical of seawater, plants and soil and unrelated to conditions at the breeding grounds. We hypothesize that feather microbiomes reflect, at least partly, airborne bacterial communities of the environments where individuals spent non-breeding periods, or of those that they crossed during migration, rather than breeding environment. If confirmed, this evidence may disclose the possibility to use feather bacteria as proxies for tracing non-breeding origin and routes of migratory birds.
Metal Nanoparticles Formation from Nickel Hydroxide

In this study, the mechanism of nickel nanoparticle formation from its hydroxide was analyzed. Metallic nickel nanoparticles were obtained through the hydroxide’s reduction under hydrogen. Nickel hydroxides were produced from nickel (II) nitrate hexahydrate and NaOH by deposition under various initial conditions. The influence of washing treatment on the dispersion of obtained nickel powders was studied. The washing procedure of precipitates was carried out by centrifugation, ultrasonic treatment, and decantation. X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy methods were used for nanoparticle characterization. Based on the resulting data, a model of the Ni(OH)2 aggregate structure after deposition was proposed. The number of nickel hydroxide particles required to form one nickel nanoparticle was estimated, and a model of its formation was proposed.
Age‐Specific Time Trends in Incidence Rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder Following Adaptation of DSM‐5 and Other ASD‐Related Regulatory Changes in Israel

We analyzed data on 879,029 children born in 1999–2017 from a large Israeli health fund to evaluate time‐trends in incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This included examining possible effects associated with the adaptation of the DSM‐5 criteria for ASD, and the implementation of regulatory changes affecting eligibility for ASD‐related stipends and services. ASD cases were ascertained based on electronic medical records review, with complete verification of ASD case status. Results indicated a substantial increase in ASD incidence rate (IR) over time that was overall not appreciably affected by the above changes. Cumulative incidence through age 8 rose from 0.46% (boys: 0.73; girls: 0.18) in 2007 to 1.30% (boys: 2.12; girls: 0.45) in 2018. Age‐specific analyzes indicated that the largest increase in IR occurred in toddlers and preschool children, with a more modest increase at older age groups. Results suggest that the rise in early diagnosed ASD does not stem from a downward shift in the distribution of ages at first diagnosis, but rather from early detection of cases not previously diagnosed. Findings highlight the need to expand research aimed at identifying exogenous factors that may underlie the rise in incidence, and to evaluate factors that may contribute to late diagnosis of some cases. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1893‐1901. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC
Characterization of type 1 interferon production during persistent lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection.

Type 1 interferons (B5N-a/ps), are innate cytokines possessing important immunomodulatory and effector roles in the innate and adaptive response. They are transiently induced to very high levels during the initial stages of many viral infections. However, regulation of EFN-a/p production during persistent viral infections is not well understood. This project aimed to address these issues using the murine lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection model. Initial objectives were to develop assays that would allow characterisation of the EFN-a/p response during chronic LCMV infection in vivo and in vitro. Cell-based reporter gene assays were developed to measure IFN-a/p activity, along with a series of real-time quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays to detect mRNA transcripts of IFN-a/p, and their utility was evaluated. Analysis of IFN-a/p production during acute and chronic LCMV infection indicated that there was an early burst of IFN production following infection, but only a low level of IFN-a/p production could be detected during the chronic phase of LCMV infection despite ongoing viral replication. Persistently-infected mice exhibited reduced numbers of splenic CD1 lc+ plasmacytoid dendritic cells (DC). These animals were able to produce IFN-a/p in response toll-like-receptor (TLR) stimuli. Inoculation of influenza virus elicited less IFN-a/p production than was observed in uninfected mice, but this may have been due to impairment of influenza virus replication in persistently-infected mice. In vitro LCMV infection of DC and fibroblast cell lines induced very little IFN-a/p production. Persistently-infected animals made normal IFN-a/p responses to TLR ligands but produced lower levels of IFN-a/p upon infection with Sendai virus than uninfected cells. There are several pathways by which IFN-a/p can be induced. These results suggest that the intracellular response to RNA viruses may be impaired in LCMV-infected cells, although persistently-infected cells still retain some capacity to respond to external TLR stimuli.
Innovative Hyperbranched Polybenzoxazine-Based Graphene Oxide—Poly(amidoamines) Nanomaterials

The covalent functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) surface with hyperbranched benzoxazine (BZ) structures has been achieved using poly(amidoamine) dendrimers (PAMAM) of different generations. By increasing the PAMAM generation, multiple benzoxazine rings were synthesized decorating the GO layers. The polymerization process and the exfoliation behavior were investigated. The novel BZ-functionalized GO hybrid materials were characterized by a combination of techniques such as FT-IR, XPS, and 1H-NMR for the confirmation of benzoxazine formation onto the GO layer surfaces. Raman and XRD investigation showed that the GO stacking layers are highly disintegrated upon functionalization with hyperbranched benzoxazine monomers, the exfoliation being more probably to occur when lower PAMAM generation (G) is involved for the synthesis of hybrid GO-BZ nanocomposites. The polymerization of BZ rings may occur either between the BZ units from the same dendrimer molecule or between BZ units from different dendrimer molecules, thus influencing the intercalation/exfoliation of GO. DSC data showed that the polymerization temperature strongly depends on the PAMAM generation and a significant decrease of this value occurred for PAMAM of higher generation, the polymerization temperature being reduced with ~10 °C in case of GO-PAMAM(G2)-BZ. Moreover, the nanoindentation measurements showed significant mechanical properties improvement in case of GO-PAMAM(G2)-BZ comparing to GO-PAMAM(G0)-BZ in terms of Young modulus (from 0.536 GPa to 1.418 GPa) and stiffness (from 3617 N/m to 9621 N/m).