Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant Activity, Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Content of Berberis aristata DC. and Berberis thomsoniana C.K. Schneid. from Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal

Background: Medicinal plants are the major sources of the crude drugs and natural antioxidants. Berberis species have been used in the treatment of various ailments around the world including Nepal. However, systematic study on phytochemistry and pharmacology of Berberis species from Nepal is lacking. Objectives: To evaluate the antioxidant activity, total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Berberis aristata and Berberis thomsoniana from Sagarmatha National Park. Materials and Methods: Antioxidant activity was measured through 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl assay. Total phenolic and flavonoid content were estimated using Folin–Ciocalteau and aluminum chloride method respectively. Results: Samples showed dose-dependent radical scavenging activity. Radical scavenging activity of the methanolic extracts of different parts of B. aristata and B. thomsoniana ranged from 19.38 to 98.47%, with leaf extracts of B. thomsoniana showing the strongest activity. The total phenolic content of the samples varied from 11.04 to 65.30 mg GAE g-1 dry weight whereas total flavonoid content was in between 2.4 to 16.46 mg quercetin/g dry weight. Conclusion: Among the tested samples, leaf extracts of B. thomsoniana showed the strongest antioxidant activity and contained the highest amount of total phenolic and flavonoid content.
Application of neural network method to case II water

Concerning with the ocean color remote sensing, the algorithm based on the empirical method is hard to apply to coastal regions, so-called case II water, since the constitution of water is optically complex. On the other hand, an inverse modeling using a neural network has a potential to retrieve the concentration of water constituents, such as chlorophyll a, inorganic suspended matter and colored dissolved organic matter, in case Ii water from remotely sensed data. As a representative area of Asian Case II water, Yellow Sea, which is known as a region with high SS and CDOM supplied form the Yellow River, was analyzed using ADEOS/OCTS data observed on 31.5. 1997. Three different types of algorithm were examined: Alg. 1) Retrieval from nLw using 670 and 865nm for the atmospheric correction bands; Alg. 2) Retrieval from nLw using 765 and 865nm for the atmospheric correction bands; Alg. 3) Retrieval from atmosphere-ocean coupled simple radiative transfer model using all bands, where, nLw is the normalized water leaving radiance. Although the best result was obtained by Alg. 2), Alg. 3) seems to be promising for case II water since reliable atmospheric correction can be carried out.
KairoSight: Open-Source Software for the Analysis of Cardiac Optical Data Collected From Multiple Species

Cardiac optical mapping, also known as optocardiography, employs parameter-sensitive fluorescence dye(s) to image cardiac tissue and resolve the electrical and calcium oscillations that underly cardiac function. This technique is increasingly being used in conjunction with, or even as a replacement for, traditional electrocardiography. Over the last several decades, optical mapping has matured into a “gold standard” for cardiac research applications, yet the analysis of optical signals can be challenging. Despite the refinement of software tools and algorithms, significant programming expertise is often required to analyze large optical data sets, and data analysis can be laborious and time-consuming. To address this challenge, we developed an accessible, open-source software script that is untethered from any subscription-based programming language. The described software, written in python, is aptly named “KairoSight” in reference to the Greek word for “opportune time” (Kairos) and the ability to “see” voltage and calcium signals acquired from cardiac tissue. To demonstrate analysis features and highlight species differences, we employed experimental datasets collected from mammalian hearts (Langendorff-perfused rat, guinea pig, and swine) dyed with RH237 (transmembrane voltage) and Rhod-2, AM (intracellular calcium), as well as human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM) dyed with FluoVolt (membrane potential), and Fluo-4, AM (calcium indicator). We also demonstrate cardiac responsiveness to ryanodine (ryanodine receptor modulator) and isoproterenol (beta-adrenergic agonist) and highlight regional differences after an ablation injury. KairoSight can be employed by both basic and clinical scientists to analyze complex cardiac optical mapping datasets without requiring dedicated computer science expertise or proprietary software.
A Multi-Information Fusion Method for Gait Phase Classification in Lower Limb Rehabilitation Exoskeleton

Gait phase classification is important for rehabilitation training in patients with lower extremity motor dysfunction. Classification accuracy of the gait phase also directly affects the effect and rehabilitation training cycle. In this article, a multiple information (multi-information) fusion method for gait phase classification in lower limb rehabilitation exoskeleton is proposed to improve the classification accuracy. The advantage of this method is that a multi-information acquisition system is constructed, and a variety of information directly related to gait movement is synchronously collected. Multi-information includes the surface electromyography (sEMG) signals of the human lower limb during the gait movement, the angle information of the knee joints, and the plantar pressure information. The acquired multi-information is processed and input into a modified convolutional neural network (CNN) model to classify the gait phase. The experiment of gait phase classification with multi-information is carried out under different speed conditions, and the experiment is analyzed to obtain higher accuracy. At the same time, the gait phase classification results of multi-information and single information are compared. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of the multi-information fusion method. In addition, the delay time of each sensor and model classification time is measured, which shows that the system has tremendous real-time performance.
An OsKala3, R2R3 MYB TF, Is a Common Key Player for Black Rice Pericarp as Main Partner of an OsKala4, bHLH TF

Rice (Oryza sativa) pericarp exhibits various colors due to the accumulation of anthocyanins and/or proanthocyanidins. Previous work revealed that the two basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors OsKala4 and OsRc are key regulators for the black and red pericarp traits, respectively, and their inactivation results in rice with white pericarp. However, their pericarp-specific R2R3 MYB partner remained unknown. Here, we characterized the role of the R2R3 MYB gene OsKala3 in rice pericarp pigmentation through genetic and molecular approaches. A rice protoplast transfection assay showed that OsKala3 is a nuclear-localized protein. Furthermore, OsKala3 physically interacted with OsKala4 in a yeast two-hybrid analysis. Co-transfection assays in rice protoplasts revealed that OsKala3 and OsKala4 mediate the activation of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. Notably, the OsKala3 promoter region exhibited an insertion polymorphism specifically in rice cultivars with black pericarp, creating two tandem repeats while red and white varieties harbor only one. The number of repeats within the OsKala3 promoter correlated with increased transactivation by OsKala3, thus providing a rationale for the black pericarp characteristic of cultivars with two repeats. These results thus provide evidence for the molecular basis of anthocyanin biosynthesis in rice pericarp and may facilitate the introduction of this beneficial trait to other rice cultivars through marker-assisted breeding.
Differential Effects of a Nap on Motor Sequence Learning-Related Functional Connectivity Between Young and Older Adults

In older adults, motor sequence learning (MSL) is largely intact. However, consolidation of newly learned motor sequences is impaired compared to younger adults, and there is evidence that brain areas supporting enhanced consolidation via sleep degrade with age. It is known that brain activity in hippocampal–cortical–striatal areas is important for sleep-dependent, off-line consolidation of motor-sequences. Yet, the intricacies of how both age and sleep alter communication within this network of brain areas, which facilitate consolidation, are not known. In this study, 37 young (age 20–35) and 49 older individuals (age 55–75) underwent resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after training on a MSL task as well as after either a nap or a period of awake rest. Young participants who napped showed strengthening of functional connectivity (FC) between motor, striatal, and hippocampal areas, compared to older subjects regardless of sleep condition. Follow-up analyses revealed this effect was driven by younger participants who showed an increase in FC between striatum and motor cortices, as well as older participants who showed decreased FC between the hippocampus, striatum, and precuneus. Therefore, different effects of sleep were observed in younger vs. older participants, where young participants primarily showed increased communication in the striatal-motor areas, while older participants showed decreases in key nodes of the default mode network and striatum. Performance gains correlated with FC changes in young adults, and this association was much greater in participants who napped compared to those who stayed awake. Performance gains also correlated with FC changes in older adults, but only in those who napped. This study reveals that, while there is no evidence of time-dependent forgetting/deterioration of performance, older adults exhibit a completely different pattern of FC changes during consolidation compared to younger adults, and lose the benefit that sleep affords to memory consolidation.
Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex: The Psychoneurobiology of the Breastfeeding Experience

Breastfeeding, given its biochemical and physiological basis, is known for its many benefits for both the lactating mother and the infant. Among the many challenges new breastfeeding mothers experience is the feeling of aversion in response to their newborn's suckling which has been termed dysphoric milk-ejection reflex (D-MER). Characterized by intense feelings of dysphoria which may eventually interfere with the mother's ability to breastfeed regularly, evidence suggests both the neurobiological and psychological basis of D-MER in an attempt to explain its complexity. Biologically, breastfeeding is expressed by the intracerebral release of oxytocin, an increased expression of oxytocin receptors in specific brain regions, increased mesocorticolimbic reward region activation, the secretion of prolactin and possibly the inhibition of dopamine. Hence, different theories explain D-MER in terms of disrupted neurotransmitter and hormonal activity. Breastfeeding has also proven to influence mood and stress reactivity in nursing mothers with a potential link with postpartum depression. Psychological theories attempt to explain D-MER from a sociopsychosexual lense shedding light on the significance of mother-infant attachment, the sexualization of the female body and the motherhood experience as a developmental stage in a woman's lifespan. The aim of this review is to provide a literature update of D-MER incorporating both neurobiological and psychological theories calling for raising awareness about the complexity of breastfeeding and for the need for mother-centered interventions for the management of D-MER and other postpartum-specific conditions.
Contrast Adaptation in Face Perception Revealed Through EEG and Behavior

Exposure to a face can produce biases in the perception of subsequent faces. Typically, these face aftereffects are studied by adapting to an individual face or category (e.g., faces of a given gender) and can result in renormalization of perceptions such that the adapting face appears more neutral. These shifts are analogous to chromatic adaptation, where a renormalization for the average adapting color occurs. However, in color vision, adaptation can also adjust to the variance or range of colors in the distribution. We examined whether this variance or contrast adaptation also occurs for faces, using an objective EEG measure to assess response changes following adaptation. An average female face was contracted or expanded along the horizontal or vertical axis to form four images. Observers viewed a 20 s sequence of the four images presented in a fixed order at a rate of 6 Hz, while responses to the faces were recorded with EEG. A 6 Hz signal was observed over right occipito-temporal channels, indicating symmetric responses to the four images. This test sequence was repeated after 20 s adaptation to alternations between two of the faces (e.g., horizontal contracted and expanded). This adaptation resulted in an additional signal at 3 Hz, consistent with asymmetric responses to adapted and non-adapted test faces. Adapting pairs have the same mean (undistorted) as the test sequence and thus should not bias responses driven only by the mean. Instead, the results are consistent with selective adaptation to the distortion axis. A 3 Hz signal was also observed after adapting to face pairs selected to induce a mean bias (e.g., expanded vertical and expanded horizontal), and this signal was not significantly different from that observed following adaption to a single image that did not form part of the test sequence (e.g., a single image expanded both vertically and horizontally). In a further experiment, we found that this variance adaptation can also be observed behaviorally. Our results suggest that adaptation calibrates face perception not only for the average characteristics of the faces we experience but also for the gamut of faces to which we are exposed.
A Nanofiber Mat With Dual Bioactive Components and a Biomimetic Matrix Structure for Improving Osteogenesis Effect

The challenge of effectively regenerating bone tissue through tissue engineering technology is that most tissue engineering scaffolds cannot imitate the three-dimensional structure and function of the natural extracellular matrix. Herein, we have prepared the poly(L-lactic acid)–based dual bioactive component reinforced nanofiber mats which were named as poly(L-lactic acid)/bovine serum albumin/nanohydroxyapatite (PLLA/BSA/nHAp) with dual bioactive components by combining homogeneous blending and electrospinning technology. The results showed that these nanofiber mats had sufficient mechanical properties and a porous structure suitable for cell growth and migration. Furthermore, the results of cell experiments in vitro showed that PLLA/BSA/nHAp composite nanofiber mat could preferably stimulate the proliferation of mouse osteoblastic cells (MC3T3 cells) compared with pure PLLA nanofiber mats. Based on these results, the scaffolds developed in this study are considered to have a great potential to be adhibited as bone repair materials.
Predictability-Based Source Segregation and Sensory Deviance Detection in Auditory Aging

When multiple sound sources are present at the same time, auditory perception is often challenged with disentangling the resulting mixture and focusing attention on the target source. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that background (distractor) sound sources are easier to ignore when their spectrotemporal signature is predictable. Prior evidence suggests that this ability to exploit predictability for foreground-background segregation degrades with age. On a theoretical level, this has been related with an impairment in elderly adults’ capabilities to detect certain types of sensory deviance in unattended sound sequences. Yet the link between those two capacities, deviance detection and predictability-based sound source segregation, has not been empirically demonstrated. Here we report on a combined behavioral-EEG study investigating the ability of elderly listeners (60–75 years of age) to use predictability as a cue for sound source segregation, as well as their sensory deviance detection capacities. Listeners performed a detection task on a target stream that can only be solved when a concurrent distractor stream is successfully ignored. We contrast two conditions whose distractor streams differ in their predictability. The ability to benefit from predictability was operationalized as performance difference between the two conditions. Results show that elderly listeners can use predictability for sound source segregation at group level, yet with a high degree of inter-individual variation in this ability. In a further, passive-listening control condition, we measured correlates of deviance detection in the event-related brain potential (ERP) elicited by occasional deviations from the same spectrotemporal pattern as used for the predictable distractor sequence during the behavioral task. ERP results confirmed neural signatures of deviance detection in terms of mismatch negativity (MMN) at group level. Correlation analyses at single-subject level provide no evidence for the hypothesis that deviance detection ability (measured by MMN amplitude) is related to the ability to benefit from predictability for sound source segregation. These results are discussed in the frameworks of sensory deviance detection and predictive coding.
Tubular Cell Glucose Metabolism Shift During Acute and Chronic Injuries

Acute and chronic kidney disease are responsible for large healthcare costs worldwide. During injury, kidney metabolism undergoes profound modifications in order to adapt to oxygen and nutrient shortage. Several studies highlighted recently the importance of these metabolic adaptations in acute as well as in chronic phases of renal disease, with a potential deleterious effect on fibrosis progression. Until recently, glucose metabolism in the kidney has been poorly studied, even though the kidney has the capacity to use and produce glucose, depending on the segment of the nephron. During physiology, renal proximal tubular cells use the beta-oxidation of fatty acid to generate large amounts of energy, and can also produce glucose through gluconeogenesis. In acute kidney injury, proximal tubular cells metabolism undergo a metabolic shift, shifting away from beta-oxidation of fatty acids and gluconeogenesis toward glycolysis. In chronic kidney disease, the loss of fatty acid oxidation is also well-described, and data about glucose metabolism are emerging. We here review the modifications of proximal tubular cells glucose metabolism during acute and chronic kidney disease and their potential consequences, as well as the potential therapeutic implications.
Present and Future Therapeutic Approaches to Barrier Dysfunction

There is converging and increasing evidence, but also uncertainty, for the role of abnormal intestinal epithelial barrier function in the origin and development of a growing number of human gastrointestinal and extraintestinal inflammatory disorders, and their related complaints. Despite a vast literature addressing factors and mechanisms underlying changes in intestinal permeability in humans, and its connection to the appearance and severity of clinical symptoms, the ultimate link remains to be established in many cases. Accordingly, there are no directives or clinical guidelines related to the therapeutic management of intestinal permeability disorders that allow health professionals involved in the management of these patients to carry out a consensus treatment based on clinical evidence. Instead, there are multiple pseudoscientific approaches and commercial propaganda scattered on the internet that confuse those affected and health professionals and that often lack scientific rigor. Therefore, in this review we aim to shed light on the different therapeutic options, which include, among others, dietary management, nutraceuticals and medical devices, microbiota and drugs, and epigenetic and exosomes-manipulation, through an objective evaluation of the scientific publications in this field. Advances in the knowledge and management of intestinal permeability will sure enable better options of dealing with this group of common disorders to enhance quality of life of those affected.
The Risk of Severe Infections Following Rituximab Administration in Patients With Autoimmune Kidney Diseases: Austrian ABCDE Registry Analysis

Objective To characterize the incidence, type, and risk factors of severe infections (SI) in patients with autoimmune kidney diseases treated with rituximab (RTX). Methods We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of adult patients with immune-related kidney diseases treated with at least one course of RTX between 2015 and 2019. As a part of the ABCDE Registry, detailed data on RTX application and SI were collected. SI were defined by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v5.0 as infectious complications grade 3 and above. Patients were dichotomized between “nephrotic” and “nephritic” indications. The primary outcome was the incidence of SI within 12 months after the first RTX application. Results A total of 144 patients were included. Twenty-five patients (17.4%) presented with SI, mostly within the first 3 months after RTX administration. Most patients in the nephritic group had ANCA-associated vasculitis, while membranous nephropathy was the leading entity in the nephrotic group. Respiratory infections were the leading SI (n= 10, 40%), followed by urinary tract (n=3, 12%) and gastrointestinal infections (n=2, 8%). On multivariable analysis, body mass index (BMI, 24.6 kg/m2 versus 26.9 kg/m2, HR: 0.88; 95%CI: 0.79-0.99; p=0.039) and baseline creatinine (HR: 1.25; 95%CI: 1.04-1.49; p=0.017) were significantly associated with SI. All patients in the nephritic group (n=19; 100%) who experienced a SI received oral glucocorticoid (GC) treatment at the time of infection. Hypogammaglobulinemia was frequent (58.5%) but not associated with SI. Conclusions After RTX administration, impaired kidney function and lower BMI are independent risk factors for SI. Patients with nephritic glomerular diseases having concomitant GC treatment might be at higher risk of developing SI.
Saikosaponin A, a Triterpene Saponin, Suppresses Angiogenesis and Tumor Growth by Blocking VEGFR2-Mediated Signaling Pathway

Saikosaponin A (SSA), a main triterpenoid saponin component from Radix Bupleurum, has been revealed to have a variety of pharmacological activities. However, whether SSA can inhibit angiogenesis, a key step in solid tumor progression, remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that SSA could powerfully suppress the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. SSA also significantly inhibited angiogenesis in the models of the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane and Matrigel plugs. Moreover, SSA was found to inhibit tumor growth in both orthotopic 4T1 breast cancer and subcutaneous HCT-15 colorectal tumor by the inhibition of tumor angiogenesis. Western blot assay indicated the antiangiogenic mechanism of SSA in the suppression of the protein phosphorylation of VEGFR2 and the downstream protein kinase including PLCγ1, FAK, Src, and Akt. In summary, SSA can suppress angiogenesis and tumor growth by blocking the VEGFR2-mediated signaling pathway.