Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insights into the Root Invasion by the Plant Pathogenic Bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum

The plant pathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum, causal agent of the devastating bacterial wilt disease, is a soil-borne microbe that infects host plants through their roots. The initial mutual recognition between host plants and bacteria and the ensuing invasion of root tissues by R. solanacearum are critical steps in the establishment of the infection, and can determine the outcome of the interaction between plant and pathogen. In this minireview, we will focus on the early stages of the bacterial invasion, offering an overview of the defence mechanisms deployed by the host plants, the manipulation exerted by the pathogen in order to promote virulence, and the alterations in root development concomitant to bacterial colonization.
Current Symptomatic and Disease-Modifying Treatments in Multiple System Atrophy

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare, severe, and rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder categorized as an atypical parkinsonian syndrome. With a mean life expectancy of 6–9 years after diagnosis, MSA is clinically characterized by parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia, autonomic failure, and poor l-Dopa responsiveness. Aside from limited symptomatic treatment, there is currently no disease-modifying therapy available. Consequently, distinct pharmacological targets have been explored and investigated in clinical studies based on MSA-related symptoms and pathomechanisms. Parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia, and autonomic failure are the most important symptoms targeted by symptomatic treatments in current clinical trials. The most prominent pathological hallmark is oligodendroglial cytoplasmic inclusions containing alpha-synuclein, thus classifying MSA as synucleinopathy. Additionally, myelin and neuronal loss accompanied by micro- and astrogliosis are further distinctive features of MSA-related neuropathology present in numerous brain regions. Besides summarizing current symptomatic treatment strategies in MSA, this review critically reflects upon potential cellular targets and disease-modifying approaches for MSA such as (I) targeting α-syn pathology, (II) intervening neuroinflammation, and (III) neuronal loss. Although these single compound trials are aiming to interfere with distinct pathogenetic steps in MSA, a combined approach may be necessary to slow down the rapid progression of the oligodendroglial associated synucleinopathy.
Is Continuous Heart Rate Monitoring of Livestock a Dream or Is It Realistic? A Review

For all homoeothermic living organisms, heart rate (HR) is a core variable to control the metabolic energy production in the body, which is crucial to realize essential bodily functions. Consequently, HR monitoring is becoming increasingly important in research of farm animals, not only for production efficiency, but also for animal welfare. Real-time HR monitoring for humans has become feasible though there are still shortcomings for continuously accurate measuring. This paper is an effort to estimate whether it is realistic to get a continuous HR sensor for livestock that can be used for long term monitoring. The review provides the reported techniques to monitor HR of living organisms by emphasizing their principles, advantages, and drawbacks. Various properties and capabilities of these techniques are compared to check the potential to transfer the mostly adequate sensor technology of humans to livestock in term of application. Based upon this review, we conclude that the photoplethysmographic (PPG) technique seems feasible for implementation in livestock. Therefore, we present the contributions to overcome challenges to evolve to better solutions. Our study indicates that it is realistic today to develop a PPG sensor able to be integrated into an ear tag for mid-sized and larger farm animals for continuously and accurately monitoring their HRs.
Should air travel be avoided shortly after an idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss?

Abstract Introduction: The effect of air travel on the recovery rate after idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) has not been established. The advice to avoid flights is essentially based upon conjecture. Objectives: To analyze the recovery rate of patients who traveled by air shortly after they were treated for ISSNHL. Materials and methods: The hospital records of 115 newly diagnosed adult patients with unilateral ISSNHL were retrospectively collected. Included were patients who traveled by air within 90 days since the ISSNHL occurrence. The treatment protocol included oral prednisone and intratympanic dexamethasone injection when indicated. Audiograms performed upon presentation and 90 days later were compared. Results: Twelve patients were included (median age 45.5 years). The median treatment delay was 3 days. The average time from the ISSNHL to air-travel was 37 days, and the average air-travel distance was 13,362 km. The degree of HL was moderate, moderately severe, and severe (4 patients each). Seven patients (58%) underwent full recovery. No patients experienced further deterioration of their audiometric results after air-travel. Conclusions: This study does not support the avoidance of air-travel after ISSNHL. Significance: This study is the first to investigate the effect of air-travel on ISSNHL recovery rates, a clinical question that rises commonly.
From a deep learning model back to the brain—Identifying regional predictors and their relation to aging

We present a Deep Learning framework for the prediction of chronological age from structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Previous findings associate increased brain age with neurodegenerative diseases and higher mortality rates. However, the importance of brain age prediction goes beyond serving as biomarkers for neurological disorders. Specifically, utilizing convolutional neural network (CNN) analysis to identify brain regions contributing to the prediction can shed light on the complex multivariate process of brain aging. Previous work examined methods to attribute pixel/voxel‐wise contributions to the prediction in a single image, resulting in “explanation maps” that were found noisy and unreliable. To address this problem, we developed an inference scheme for combining these maps across subjects, thus creating a population‐based, rather than a subject‐specific map. We applied this method to a CNN ensemble trained on predicting subjects' age from raw T1 brain images in a lifespan sample of 10,176 subjects. Evaluating the model on an untouched test set resulted in mean absolute error of 3.07 years and a correlation between chronological and predicted age of r = 0.98. Using the inference method, we revealed that cavities containing cerebrospinal fluid, previously found as general atrophy markers, had the highest contribution for age prediction. Comparing maps derived from different models within the ensemble allowed to assess differences and similarities in brain regions utilized by the model. We showed that this method substantially increased the replicability of explanation maps, converged with results from voxel‐based morphometry age studies and highlighted brain regions whose volumetric variability correlated the most with the prediction error.
Understanding the origins of child-teacher dependency: mother-child attachment security and temperamental inhibition as antecedents

ABSTRACT This study investigated the joint contribution of child-mother attachment quality and child temperamental inhibition to the development of child-teacher dependency. A sample of 237 kindergartners (M age = 60.2 months) and their teachers from 36 classrooms participated. Preschool child-mother attachment quality was assessed using the Attachment Q-set. Behavioral inhibition was rated by the preschool teacher. Dependency was assessed at three waves during kindergarten, using observer and teacher reports. In line with assumptions from attachment theory, less securely attached children were observed to be more overly reliant on their teacher in class. For behavioral inhibition, a divergent picture emerged depending on the assessment of dependency: Classroom observations yielded less (overt) indications of dependency among more inhibited children, whereas teachers reported more (covert) expressions of dependency. These results suggest that different measures may capture different aspects of the multifaceted construct of dependency, thus calling for more conceptual and empirical work.
Quantitative Evaluation of the Sarcomere Network of Human hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes Using Single-Molecule Localization Microscopy

The maturation of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes is still a critical point for their application in cardiovascular research as well as for their clinical use. Although multiple differentiation protocols have been established, researchers failed to generate fully mature cardiomyocytes in vitro possessing identical phenotype-related and functional properties as their native adult counterparts. Besides electrophysiological and metabolic changes, the establishment of a well structured sarcomere network is important for the development of a mature cardiac phenotype. Here, we present a super resolution-based approach to quantitatively evaluate the structural maturation of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. Fluorescence labelling of the α-actinin cytoskeleton and subsequent visualization by photoactivated localization microscopy allows the acquisition of highly resolved images for measuring sarcomere length and z-disc thickness. Our image analysis revealed that iPSC and neonatal cardiomyocyte share high similarity with respect to their sarcomere organization, however, contraction capacity was inferior in iPSC-derived cardiac cells, indicating an early maturation level. Moreover, we demonstrate that this imaging approach can be used as a tool to monitor cardiomyocyte integrity, helping to optimize iPSC differentiation as well as somatic cell direct-reprogramming strategies.
Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterization of Resistance to Macrolides and Lincosamides in Streptococcus agalactiae Isolated from Pregnant Women in Misiones, Argentina.

The aim of this work was to determine the susceptibility, molecular profile, and clonal relationship in Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus [GBS]) isolated from vaginal-rectal swab samples. We worked with 200 isolates collected from pregnant women between 35 and 37 weeks of gestation. The macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B (MLSB) resistance phenotypes were determined using the double-disc assay. Susceptibility to erythromycin (ERI) and clindamycin (CLI) was performed with the E-test. Resistance genes ermB and ermTR were detected by polymerase chain reaction. Clonal studies were performed using the random amplification of polymorphic DNA. Twelve (6%) of the isolates were resistant to ERI and 10 (5%) of them to CLI. Fifty percent of the resistant strains corresponded to serotype III, 25% to serotype V, and the remaining 25% to serotype Ia, II, and nontypeable strains. The cMLSB phenotype was detected in eight strains (66.67%) and the iMLSB phenotype in four (33.33%). The minimum inhibitory concentration values were between 1.5 and 16 μg/mL for ERI, and between 1 and 32 μg/mL for CLI. Out of the 25 strains susceptible to ERI and CLI, the presence of the ermB gene was detected in eight of them and the ermTR gene in one strain. The ermB gene was detected in the 12 strains that initially had some macrolide resistance phenotype. The ermTR gene was detected in three out of the four strains with the iMLSB phenotype. The resistance to macrolides in the province of Misiones is due to multiclonal spread. The phenotypic and genotypic characterization of macrolide resistance in GBS strains are crucial to contribute to the correct intrapartum prophylactic antibiotic therapy of allergic pregnant women and the epidemiological surveillance of these strains.
Influence of Firing Temperature on the Physical, Thermal and Microstructural Properties of Kankara Kaolin Clay: A Preliminary Investigation

In this study, natural deposits of Kankara kaolin clay were collected and investigated in order to determine physical, microstructural, thermal, and firing properties and assess clay’s suitability as starting material for various ceramic applications. Chemical analysis of the clay was performed using XRF. Mineralogical analysis and thermal analysis of the clay were conducted using XRD and thermogravimetric thermal analysis (TGA)/differential thermal analysis (DTA), respectively. In order to assess its ceramic behavior, the clay was fired at 900–1200 °C. Maturation characteristics of fired ceramics were assessed by measuring bulk density, apparent porosity, and shrinkage. It was found that main oxides in the clay are alumina, silica, and potassium oxide, while other oxides are present in trace quantities. Kaolinite, quartz, and illite are the phases found from the XRD results, while mullite ceramic phase formed at firing temperature above 1100 °C. Maturation tests showed that ceramic properties such as bulk density and shrinkage increase with temperature, while apparent porosity decreases with temperature. The results presented in this study prove that the clay is an appropriate material for producing traditional ceramics.
Preclinical safety studies of human embryonic stem cell‐derived retinal pigment epithelial cells for the treatment of age‐related macular degeneration

As pluripotent stem cell (PSC)‐based reparative cell therapies are reaching the bedside, there is a growing need for the standardization of studies concerning safety of the derived products. Clinical trials using these promising strategies are in development, and treatment for age‐related macular degeneration is one of the first that has reached patients. We have previously established a xeno‐free and defined differentiation protocol to generate functional human embryonic stem cells (hESCs)‐derived retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. In this study, we perform preclinical safety studies including karyotype and whole‐genome sequencing (WGS) to assess genome stability, single‐cell RNA sequencing to ensure cell purity, and biodistribution and tumorigenicity analysis to rule out potential migratory or tumorigenic properties of these cells. WGS analysis illustrates that existing germline variants load is higher than the introduced variants acquired through in vitro culture or differentiation, and enforces the importance to examine the genome integrity at a deeper level than just karyotype. Altogether, we provide a strategy for preclinical evaluation of PSC‐based therapies and the data support safety of the hESC‐RPE cells generated through our in vitro differentiation methodology.
E-Health Counsellor (EHC), a Smartphone Application to Fight Cervical Cancer

: Cervical cancer is one of the most deadly diseases for women. Based on data from the Health Ministry, cervical cancer is the highest disease among developing countries and the fifth in the world. In Indonesia, cervical cancer is the second of the ten most prevalent cancers. One of the causes of the high incidence of such cancer is the lack of knowledge about it. This writing aims to show how knowledge can be so important to increase degree of health and EHC is such a media can be used to access knowledge simply in digital era. This research focuses on literature review. EHC is a mobile phone application that focuses on cervical cancer disease and is available for all society, especially for women. EHC includes the definition and means of prevention of cervical cancer and is also integrated to health workers and health facilities to facilitate the public in enhancing their own health. EHC provides private counsellors who connect members of the public with an expert and the goal is that people know more about cervical cancer and how it can be eliminated. So, result is may EHC can facilitate society to prevent cervical cancer by increasing knowledge and having private councellor.
The effect of repolarization duration on the indices of the pump function of the heart ventricles in animals with different types of activation of the myocardium under ectopic excitation of ventricles

Background — The aim of the work was to study the influence of myocardial repolarization on the indices of the pump function in animals with different types of the myocardial activation (dog, amphibians) under ectopic excitation of the ventricles. Material and Methods — Intraventricular blood pressure in animals was measured using a hemodynamic Prucka MacLab 2000 system under basal and apical locations of the stimulating electrode on the ventricles of the heart. The activation-recovery intervals (ARIs) were determined from unipolar myocardial electrograms recorded in the intramural layers of apical and basal parts of the ventricles in dog (n=16) and amphibians (toads Bufo bufo, n=11; frogs Rana temporaria, n=23). Data are presented as median with lower and upper quartiles. Results — The pacing of the left ventricle apical area in dogs with more prolonged ARIs, as compared with the base, does not change the isovolumic indices of the left ventricle pump function. However, ARIs were longer at the ventricular base – 248 (206, 260) ms for dog’s right ventricle and 742 (680, 929) ms for froggy ventricle, as compared with the apex in the canine right ventricle – 238 (219, 249) ms, and the ventricle in the amphibians – 692 (637, 860) ms. Therefore, pacing of the right ventricle in the apical area in dog and ventricular apex in amphibians leads to a significant decrease of their pump function. Conclusion — In the animals with successive (amphibians) and flash-successive (dog) types of activation of the myocardium, parameters of the pump function of ventricles were better at pacing of the area with the longest repolarization at the baseline and worse at pacing of the shortest repolarization area.
Cannabinoid Control of Olfactory Processes: The Where Matters

Olfaction has a direct influence on behavior and cognitive processes. There are different neuromodulatory systems in olfactory circuits that control the sensory information flowing through the rest of the brain. The presence of the cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptor, (the main cannabinoid receptor in the brain), has been shown for more than 20 years in different brain olfactory areas. However, only over the last decade have we started to know the specific cellular mechanisms that link cannabinoid signaling to olfactory processing and the control of behavior. In this review, we aim to summarize and discuss our current knowledge about the presence of CB1 receptors, and the function of the endocannabinoid system in the regulation of different olfactory brain circuits and related behaviors.
Bilateral Renal Vein Thrombosis with Inutero Onset in a Preterm Newborn: A Case Report

Reno-vasküler tromboembolik komplikasyonlar çocukluk yaş grubunda nadir görünmekle birlikte ciddi bir klinik tablodur. Yenidoğan dönemi ise yaşamın daha sonraki dönemlerine göre tromboz hadiselerinin daha sık yaşandığı bir dönemdir (1). Kateterle ilişkisiz trombozlar içinde renal ven trombozu (RVT) %16-20 ile en fazla prevalansa sahiptir (2). Yenidoğanlarda renal kanlanmadaki azalma, doğal antikoagülan seviyelerinin düşük olması, artmış kan viskositesinin ve hiperosmolalitenin RVT’ye eğilimin temelinde rol oynayan faktörler olduğu düşünülmektedir. Risk faktörleri içinde maternal diabetes mellitus, perinatal asfiksi, prematürite, enfeksiyonlar, polisitemi ve siyanotik konjenital kalp hastalığı gibi nedenlerden bahsetmek mümkündür (3). Burada literatürde az rastlanan, ikizi sağlıklı olan prematür bir bebekte prenatal dönemde başlayan bilateral renal ven trombozu olgusu paylaşılmıştır.
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Location towards Sustainable Cities

Electric vehicles, a significant part of sustainable transport, are attracting increasing attention with the development of sustainable cities. However, as supporting facilities of electric vehicles, public charging stations are of great significance to the promotion of electric vehicles. This paper proposes an electric vehicle charging station location model to improve the resource utilization of electric vehicles for sustainable cities. In this model, reservation services, idle rates during off-peak periods, and waiting time during peak periods are considered. Finally, a case from Chengdu, China, is used to examine the effectiveness of the proposed model. Then, further analyses of reservation ratios and penetration rates are conducted. The results show that the introduction of a reservation service has a positive effect on reducing the total cost, which would provide further support for sustainable cities and have an even greater impact on healthier lives.
Kirkwood-Buff Integrals Using Molecular Simulation: Estimation of Surface Effects

Kirkwood-Buff (KB) integrals provide a connection between microscopic properties and thermodynamic properties of multicomponent fluids. The estimation of KB integrals using molecular simulations of finite systems requires accounting for finite size effects. In the small system method, properties of finite subvolumes with different sizes embedded in a larger volume can be used to extrapolate to macroscopic thermodynamic properties. KB integrals computed from small subvolumes scale with the inverse size of the system. This scaling was used to find KB integrals in the thermodynamic limit. To reduce numerical inaccuracies that arise from this extrapolation, alternative approaches were considered in this work. Three methods for computing KB integrals in the thermodynamic limit from information of radial distribution functions (RDFs) of finite systems were compared. These methods allowed for the computation of surface effects. KB integrals and surface terms in the thermodynamic limit were computed for Lennard–Jones (LJ) and Weeks–Chandler–Andersen (WCA) fluids. It was found that all three methods converge to the same value. The main differentiating factor was the speed of convergence with system size L. The method that required the smallest size was the one which exploited the scaling of the finite volume KB integral multiplied by L. The relationship between KB integrals and surface effects was studied for a range of densities.
Development of a Model System for Tasting Grain Varieties †

This study investigated suitable approaches and effective applications for the evaluation of grain flavor differences among cultivars. A model system that helps to facilitate the characterization of flavors in grain varieties was developed using sorghum grain as a tool. Five different applications were initially used, including cooked grain, porridge, cookies, muffins, and extruded puffed snacks. Six highly trained sensory panelists participated in the project. The effectiveness of each application was determined based on the results of the attribute generation process and from panelist feedback. The results indicate that the combination of a cooked whole grain procedure and the use of flour made into cookies provides an effective and potent model for flavor characterization in both their grain form and as finished products. Both the recipes for the cooked grain and cookie applications effectively brought out the flavor characteristics of the grains as well as differentiated the flavor differences between grain cultivars. The developed model can be applied for the flavor evaluation of multiple grain types and can help researchers understand the flavor differences among grain cultivars. As a result, such knowledge will help to facilitate the selection of suitable products with favorable characteristics for specific applications as well as for selective breeding purposes.