Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distribution of the Soil PAHs and Health Risk Influenced by Coal Usage Processes in Taiyuan City, Northern China

The quality of urban soil is closely related to the safety of public places and the guarantee of food quality. This study investigated the level, distribution, source, and carcinogenic risk of 16 U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban, agricultural, and montane soil in Taiyuan. The ∑16PAHs level varied from 104.78 to 6594.63 ng g−1 with a mean of 922.93 ng g−1, and 47.73% of the soil samples were severely contaminated, with a concentration higher than 600 ng g−1. PAHs with higher molecular weight (≥4 rings) were dominant in PAHs profiles accounting for 80.92%. In the spatial distribution of PAHs, hotspots of ∑16 PAHs were observed near the industries, indicating pollutants emitted by the industries directly affect the surrounding soil quality. The sources identified by positive matrix factorization (PMF) indicated: coal combustion (40.77%), vehicle exhausts (32.94%), biomass combustion (14.89%), and coking source (11.40%). Coal-related sources (coal and coking sources) were the major contributors (52.17%) to PAHs and carcinogenic risk (46.48%) assessed by BaP toxic equivalent concentration in total soils. Therefore, the extensive usage of coal was the leading factor for PAH pollution and health risk in Taiyuan soil.
Flowering Time in Watermelon Is Associated with a Major Quantitative Trait Locus on Chromosome 3

)productionisworth ’’ are dependent on reliable synchronized ﬂowering time of triploid cultivars and diploid pollenizers in their production ﬁelds. One aspect of this synchronization is time to ﬂowering, the change from the vegetative to reproductive phase of a plant. Flowering time has emerged as one of the key traits in horticultural and agronomic crops to breed for escape from biotic and abiotic stresses. However, very little is known about the control of ﬂowering time in watermelon. The number of genes involved, mode of inheritance, heritability, and the possible candidate genes are all unknown. In this study, quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with days to ﬁrst male ﬂower (DMF), days to ﬁrst female ﬂower (DFF), and the female-male ﬂower interval (FMI) were identiﬁed in a ‘Klondike Black Seeded’ · ‘New Hampshire Midget’ recombinant inbred line population over 2 years. Heritability for DMF, DFF, and FMI were 0.43, 0.23, and 0.10, respectively. Control of ﬂowering time was oligogenic with a major, stable, colocalized QTL on chromosome 3 responsible for ’ ’ 50% of the phenotypic variation observed for DMF and DFF. This region of the draft genome sequence contains 172 genes, including homologs of the ﬂowering locus T ( Cla009504) and tempranillo 1 ( Cla000855) genes associated with ﬂowering time in other species. Cla009504 and Cla000855 represent excellent candidate genes toward the development of a functional marker for marker-assistedselection ofﬂoweringtimeinwatermelon. In additiontothemajorQTL onchromosome3, twootherQTL were identiﬁed for DMF (chromosomes 2 and 3) and DFF (chromosomes 3 and 11) and one for FMI on chromosome 2. Understanding the genes involved in this trait and the ability to select efﬁciently for ﬂowering time phenotypes is expected to accelerate the development of new watermelon cultivars in changing environmental conditions.
Five-Year Analysis of Adjuvant Dabrafenib plus Trametinib in Stage III Melanoma.

BACKGROUND In the previously reported primary analysis of this phase 3 trial, 12 months of adjuvant dabrafenib plus trametinib resulted in significantly longer relapse-free survival than placebo in patients with resected stage III melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations. To confirm the stability of the relapse-free survival benefit, longer-term data were needed. METHODS We randomly assigned 870 patients who had resected stage III melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations to receive 12 months of oral dabrafenib (at a dose of 150 mg twice daily) plus trametinib (2 mg once daily) or two matched placebos. The primary end point was relapse-free survival. Here, we report 5-year results for relapse-free survival and survival without distant metastasis as the site of the first relapse. Overall survival was not analyzed, since the required number of events to trigger the final overall survival analysis had not been reached. RESULTS The minimum duration of follow-up was 59 months (median patient follow-up, 60 months for dabrafenib plus trametinib and 58 months for placebo). At 5 years, the percentage of patients who were alive without relapse was 52% (95% confidence interval [CI], 48 to 58) with dabrafenib plus trametinib and 36% (95% CI, 32 to 41) with placebo (hazard ratio for relapse or death, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.42 to 0.61). The percentage of patients who were alive without distant metastasis was 65% (95% CI, 61 to 71) with dabrafenib plus trametinib and 54% (95% CI, 49 to 60) with placebo (hazard ratio for distant metastasis or death, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.70). No clinically meaningful between-group difference in the incidence or severity of serious adverse events was reported during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS In the 5-year follow-up of a phase 3 trial involving patients who had resected stage III melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations, 12 months of adjuvant therapy with dabrafenib plus trametinib resulted in a longer duration of survival without relapse or distant metastasis than placebo with no apparent long-term toxic effects. (Funded by GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis; COMBI-AD ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01682083; EudraCT number, 2012-001266-15.).
Preliminary Research Case Study Summary Title: Assessing Influence of Confounding Variables in Low Dose Lead Dose Response

This research case study explores possible limitations of current regression models in extrapolation to the low dose region of the dose-response curve, using epidemiological data for lead as an example, due to the existence of unrecognized and uncontrolled confounding. As described by Wilson and Wilson (2016), such confounding may arise “when the measured association between an exposure variable and an outcome is distorted by an effect of a third variable (called a confounding variable or confounder)”. Wilson and Wilson (2016) report that uncontrolled confounding may be contributing to overestimation of the effects of lead reported by Lanphear et al. (2005), specifically identifying confounding by parental education, intelligence, or household management.
Photoperiod length and the estrus synchronization protocol used before AI affect the twin pregnancy rate in dairy cattle

This study addresses potential management risk factors affecting the incidence of twin pregnancies in high-producing dairy cows. Special attention was paid to the estrus synchronization protocol used before the AI resulting in pregnancy. Possible factors affecting the twin pregnancy rate were analyzed through binary logistic regression procedures on 2015 pregnant cows from July 2010 to July 2011. Twin pregnancy was recorded in 361 of the 2015 pregnancy diagnoses made (17.9%). Twin pregnancy rates differed among herds (P 0.001) and ranged from 12.4% to 23.9%. Based on the odds ratios, the risk of twin pregnancy was educed by factors of 0.65 or 0.71 when AI was performed during the warm season or an increasing photoperiod, respectively and ncreased by a factor of 1.11 for each unit increase in lactation number; by factors of 4.57 or 6.33 in cows that received a rogesterone-releasing intravaginal device (PRID) plus 500 or 750 IU of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) 28 days before the regnancy AI, respectively; by a factor of 2.39 in cows with an ovarian cyst diagnosed in the 14 days prior to AI and treated with rostaglandins (PG); by factors of 1.94 or 3.91 in cows that received two PG doses during the 14 days prior to AI or cows that ollowing failed PRID treatment had received PG started over the 28 days prior to AI, respectively; and by a factor of 2.58 in cows hat had previously delivered twins compared to cows delivering singletons. Our results indicate that cow factors, such as lactation umber and previous twining, as well as environmental factors, such as photoperiod and season and management related to ynchronization protocols affect significantly the incidence of twin pregnancies. 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Impact of use of Mobile Apps of Ola Cabs and Taxi for Sure on Yellow and Black Cabs

Taxi market in India is growing rapidly with a lot of new entrants who run private taxi companies apart from the existing public taxi market. The public taxi market consists of taxis that are too old with very little comfort and safety, while on the other hand the taxis in the private taxi market are modern along with features like GPS, more comfort and safety. Thus, to study the impact of the private taxi companies on the public taxi market, we have carried out this research by using specific variables that will explain the effect of the private taxi market on the public taxi market. These variables have been taken into account considering the usual factors that a customer might think of while thinking hiring a taxi. So according to the variables considered, a theoretical framework was developed containing the dependent and independent variables along with the null and alternate hypotheses that had to be proved true or false depending upon the data collection. A questionnaire was prepared with the help of which two sets of data were collected of the public taxi market and the private taxi market through a survey filled by people chose at random using the random probabilistic sampling technique. The data collected was analyzed using the SPSS software and Minitab software for which a set of analysis techniques were applied and the data was interpreted which helped in proving the corresponding null or alternate hypotheses true as per the requirement of the research.
Mucins in Intestinal Mucosal Defense and Inflammation: Learning From Clinical and Experimental Studies

Throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, a distinct mucus layer composed of highly glycosylated proteins called mucins plays an essential role in providing lubrication for the passage of food, participating in cell signaling pathways and protecting the host epithelium from commensal microorganisms and invading pathogens, as well as toxins and other environmental irritants. These mucins can be broadly classified into either secreted gel-forming mucins, those that provide the structural backbone for the mucus barrier, or transmembrane mucins, those that form the glycocalyx layer covering the underlying epithelial cells. Goblet cells dispersed among the intestinal epithelial cells are chiefly responsible for the synthesis and secretion of mucins within the gut and are heavily influenced by interactions with the immune system. Evidence from both clinical and animal studies have indicated that several GI conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colorectal cancer, and numerous enteric infections are accompanied by considerable changes in mucin quality and quantity. These changes include, but are not limited to, impaired goblet cell function, synthesis dysregulation, and altered post-translational modifications. The current review aims to highlight the structural and functional features as well as the production and immunological regulation of mucins and the impact these key elements have within the context of barrier function and host defense in intestinal inflammation.
Cytoskeletal Control of Planar Polarity in Root Hair Development

Polarity is at the core of plant development, as well as that of other multicellular organisms since polarization acts as a driving force to generate a variety of specialized cells. Therefore, unraveling how cells establish polarity is the most fundamental issue toward understanding the principles of plant morphogenesis. Cell polarity coordinated within the plane of a single tissue layer is particularly termed “planar polarity (also termed planar cell polarity),” which offers an experimentally accessible model system. Therefore, planar polarity is studied in various multicellular organisms. In the animal kingdom, polarized arrangement of ommatidia and bristles in Drosophila melanogaster and the orientation of hair follicles in mammalian skin are well-known examples of planar polarity.
Targeting Ca2 + Handling Proteins for the Treatment of Heart Failure and Arrhythmias

Diseases of the heart, such as heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias, are a growing socio-economic burden. Calcium (Ca2+) dysregulation is key hallmark of the failing myocardium and has long been touted as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of a variety of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In the heart, Ca2+ is essential for maintaining normal cardiac function through the generation of the cardiac action potential and its involvement in excitation contraction coupling. As such, the proteins which regulate Ca2+ cycling and signaling play a vital role in maintaining Ca2+ homeostasis. Changes to the expression levels and function of Ca2+-channels, pumps and associated intracellular handling proteins contribute to altered Ca2+ homeostasis in CVD. The remodeling of Ca2+-handling proteins therefore results in impaired Ca2+ cycling, Ca2+ leak from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and reduced Ca2+ clearance, all of which contributes to increased intracellular Ca2+. Currently, approved treatments for targeting Ca2+ handling dysfunction in CVD are focused on Ca2+ channel blockers. However, whilst Ca2+ channel blockers have been successful in the treatment of some arrhythmic disorders, they are not universally prescribed to heart failure patients owing to their ability to depress cardiac function. Despite the progress in CVD treatments, there remains a clear need for novel therapeutic approaches which are able to reverse pathophysiology associated with heart failure and arrhythmias. Given that heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias are closely associated with altered Ca2+ homeostasis, this review will address the molecular changes to proteins associated with both Ca2+-handling and -signaling; their potential as novel therapeutic targets will be discussed in the context of pre-clinical and, where available, clinical data.
Mitigating Coronavirus Induced Dysfunctional Immunity for At-Risk Populations in COVID-19: Trained Immunity, BCG and “New Old Friends”

The novel, highly contagious coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spreads rapidly throughout the world, leading to a deadly pandemic of a predominantly respiratory illness called COVID-19. Safe and effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are urgently needed. However, emerging immunological observations show hallmarks of significant immunopathological characteristics and dysfunctional immune responses in patients with COVID-19. Combined with existing knowledge about immune responses to other closely related and highly pathogenic coronaviruses, this could forebode significant challenges for vaccine development, including the risk of vaccine failure. Animal data from earlier coronavirus vaccine efforts indicate that elderly people, most at risk from severe COVID-19 disease, could be especially at risk from immunopathologic responses to novel coronavirus vaccines. Bacterial “new old friends” such as Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or Mycobacterium obuense have the ability to elevate basal systemic levels of type 1 cytokines and immune cells, correlating with increased protection against diverse and unrelated infectious agents, called “trained immunity. ” Here we describe dysfunctional immune responses induced by coronaviruses, representing potentially difficult to overcome obstacles to safe, effective vaccine development for COVID-19, and outline how trained immunity could help protect high risk populations through immunomodulation with BCG and other “new old friends. ”
Prognostic Role of Pretreatment De Ritis Ratio (Aspartate Transaminase/Alanine Transaminase Ratio) in Urological Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: To examine the potential prognostic significance of pretreatment De Ritis ratio (aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase ratio) in urological cancers, including upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), prostate cancer (PCa), bladder cancer (BCa). Methods: Potential literatures were searched with PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science in December 2019. Merged hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the associations. Results: Totally, 15 studies with 8,565 patients were included. Merged results showed that an elevated pretreatment De Ritis ratio was correlated with poorer OS (HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.61–2.01), CSS (HR 2.15, 95% CI 1.80–2.56), PFS (HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.34–1.85), BRFS (HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.11–2.53) for urological cancers. Subgroup analyses by cancer type for OS found that De Ritis ratio can be a predictor in UTUC (HR 1.91, 95% CI 1.57–2.33), RCC (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.47–2.07), and BCa (HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.43–2.27). Similar results could be found for CSS (UTUC: HR 2.46, 95% CI 1.93–3.13; RCC: HR 1.90, 95% CI 1.46-2.47; BCa: HR 2.71, 95% CI 1.39-5.31) and PFS (UTUC: HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.15–2.20; RCC: HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.26–1.83; BCa: HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.18–2.72). There was no publication bias among these included studies. Conclusions: Pretreatment De Ritis ratio was a significant predictor for OS, CSS, PFS and BRFS in urological cancers, indicating that it could be a promising prognostic factor during clinical practice.
Palliative Radiofrequency Ablation Accelerates the Residual Tumor Progression Through Increasing Tumor-Infiltrating MDSCs and Reducing T-Cell-Mediated Anti-Tumor Immune Responses in Animal Model

Previous studies showed that radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has a favorable treatment efficacy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or colorectal liver metastases (CRLMs). Palliative RFA (pRFA) resulting from larger HCC or multiple CRLMs further accelerated the progression of potential residual tumor, yet its mechanism was still unknown. This study investigated the influence of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) on T-cell immune responses and tumor recurrence after pRFA. CT26 tumor models were used. The percentage of MDSCs in peripheral blood was analyzed by flow cytometry after pRFA. The level of Th1 and Th2 cytokines were measured by ELISA through different treatments (n = 4/group). The tumor-infiltrating MDSCs, dendritic cells, and intracellular cytokines level were analyzed by IHC staining after different treatments. The functional CD8+ T cells were confirmed by the co-localization immunofluorescence staining. The long-term outcomes were also evaluated through CT26 and 4T1 tumor models. The results showed that tumor models treated with pRFA displayed significant increases in the percentage of MDSCs of peripheral blood and tumor infiltration. The expression level of TGF-β and IL-6 after pRFA was higher than that before pRFA by ELISA and IHC staining. After depleting MDSCs by combining with Abs, the pRFA + Abs group achieved a higher level of Th1 cytokines and greatly enhanced the percentage of tumor-infiltrating functional CD8+ T cells when compared with pRFA alone. The depletion of MDSCs through combination with Abs also resulted in tumor regression. In conclusion, pRFA accelerates the residual tumor progression through increasing tumor-infiltrating MDSCs and reducing T-cell-mediated anti-tumor immune responses, which could provide a potential approach for delaying tumor recurrence caused by pRFA.
Expanded Yet Restricted: A Mini Review of the Soft Skills Literature

There has been a progressively heightened preoccupation with soft skills among education stakeholders such as policymakers, educational psychologists, and researchers. Soft skill curricula have been considered these days and developed not only for graduates and as on-the-job training programs but also for students across all levels of education. However, different people mean different things when referring to soft skills. This review presents evidence to suggest that the use of the term “soft skills” has expanded to encompass a variety of qualities, traits, values, and attributes, as well as rather distinct constructs such as emotional labor and lookism. It is argued here that these infinite categories of things can be skills because soft skills research is primarily focused on what are the needs and requirements in the world of work. This approach is problematic because it assigns characteristics to soft skills, which in turn affect the design of the soft skills curricula. For example, soft skills are often construed as decontextualized behaviors, which can be acquired and transferred unproblematically. The paper proposes that an in-depth and embedded approach to studying soft skills should be pursued to reach a consensus on what they are and how to develop them because otherwise they will always be expanded before restricted (as they have become ambiguous) in their meaning and definition.
The Evolution and Maturation of Teams in Organizations: Convergent Trends in the New Dynamic Science of Teams

Teams play a central role in the most innovative (Ahmadpoor and Jones, 2019), safety critical (Salas et al., 2020), and economically impactful work (Duhigg, 2016). They pervademodern organizations and drive performance outcomes (LePine et al., 2008; Hughes et al., 2016) and worker well-being (Welp and Manser, 2016; Mathieu et al., 2017). Consequently, researchers across a broad array of disciplines have focused on teams as an object of inquiry. Understanding and improving team functioning is a complex multi-level scientific problem, and, over the decades, much has been learned (Salas et al., 2018). The science of teams comprises a broad and deep knowledge base of both theory and empirical evidence, including topics such as structural inputs to team performance (e.g., team member composition, organizational context, effects of technology) and team interaction processes and emergent states (e.g., leadership, communication, mutual trust, collective efficacy). However, while the science of teams is strong, much remains to be discovered–especially from a temporal perspective. Calls for dynamic views of teams are not new (Cronin et al., 2011), but the field is shifting in numerous theoretical and methodological ways. The confluence of driving forces magnifying in intensity (i.e., modern work becoming more collaborative) and restraining forces reducing in intensity (i.e., traditional, resource-intensive measurement methods giving way to new unobtrusive, embedded metrics) allows for the science of teams to explore new directions in the dynamics of teams. This new phase of team science is concerned with the temporality of teams: how teams evolve and mature, and how team dynamics play out over time. Accordingly, the purpose of this special issue is to offer current theory and research that describes the state of temporality in team science thus far, identifies future research needs, and highlight impactful insights for practice. The articles in this special issue represent work across the broad spectrum of research incorporating time in new ways. In this commentary, we identify eight themes in dynamic approaches to teams, and highlight how articles in this special issue exemplify these trends in the field (See Table 1). More specifically, we note that dynamics are impacting the fundamental theory and methods of the science of teams (Themes 1–4), the types of team phenomena being investigated (Themes 5–6), and application of team science in context (Theme 7) and to interventions that promote team effectiveness (Theme 8).