Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Restoration of Innate Immune Responses may be a Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection

HCV persistence results from inefficient innate and adaptive immune responses. We investigated whether an induction approach (IA) with natural (n) IFN-beta followed by Peg IFN-alpha and ribavirin (Standard of Care; SOC) (novel combination treatment; NCT) increased the virologic response and restored innate and adaptive immune responses in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with HCV genotype 1b and a high viral load. Seven CHC patients were treated with NCT. NCT overcame viral escape and breakthrough, resulting in persistent viral clearance. Early virologic responders (EAVR, n=5) with undetectable HCVRNA before the end of IA showed a sustained virologic response (SVR). Late VR (LAVR, n=2) with undetectable HCVRNA after the end of IA showed a transient VR. IL-15 was increased at the end of IA in both EAVR and LAVR. CXCL-8, CXCL-10, CCL-4, and CCL-11 levels were significantly decreased (p<0.05) in EAVR, but were not in LAVR during NCT. IL-12 increased significantly (p<0.05) and CXCL-8 decreased significantly (p<0.05) after the end of NCT in EAVR, but did not in LAVR. The present study suggested that the initial early virologic clearance induced by CPIT before the use of SOC induced the restoration of DC function and improvements in the activation of NK cells, as indicated by the up-regulation of IL-12 and IL-15 and down-regulation of CXCL-8, CXCL-10, CCL-4, CCL-11. Early virologic clearance by IA with nIFN-beta induced the restoration of innate immune responses linked to adaptive immune responses, which resulted in SVR. NCT (n=8) achieved a higher SVR rate than that of SOC (n=8) in difficultto-treat CHC patients. The results showed the safety of the nIFN-beta treatment and supported the use of nIFN-beta as a safe and alternative option. NCT is more effective and have less adverse effects than SOC in difficult-to-treat CHC patients with genotype 1b and a high viral load
Differential diagnoses and management strategies in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Successful treatment of psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, is complicated and is affected by a broad range of factors associated with the diagnosis, choice of treatment and social factors. In these patients, treatment management must focus on accurate and early diagnosis, to ensure that correct treatment is administered as soon as possible. In both disorders, the treatment of the disease in the acute phase must be maintained long term to provide continuous relief and normal function; the treatment choice in the early stages of the disease may impact on long-term outcomes. In schizophrenia, treatment non-compliance is an important issue, with up to 50% of patients discontinuing treatment for reasons as diverse as efficacy failure, social barriers, and more commonly, adverse events. Treatment non-compliance also remains an issue in bipolar disorder, as tolerability of mood stabilizers, especially lithium, is not always good, and combination treatments are frequent. In order to achieve an optimal outcome in which the patient continues with their medication life-long, treatment should be tailored to each individual, taking into account treatment and family history, and balancing efficacy with tolerability to maximize patient benefit and minimize the risk of discontinuation. These case studies illustrate how treatment should be monitored, tailored and often changed over time to meet these needs.
Target enrichment and extensive population sampling help untangle the recent, rapid radiation of Oenothera sect. Calylophus

Oenothera sect. Calylophus is a North American group of 13 recognized taxa in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae) with an evolutionary history that may include independent origins of bee pollination, edaphic endemism, and permanent translocation heterozygosity. Like other groups that radiated relatively recently and rapidly, taxon boundaries within Oenothera sect. Calylophus have remained challenging to circumscribe. In this study, we used target enrichment, flanking non-coding regions, summary coalescent methods, tests for gene flow modified for target-enrichment data, and morphometric analysis to reconstruct phylogenetic hypotheses, evaluate current taxon circumscriptions, and examine character evolution in Oenothera sect. Calylophus. Because sect. Calylophus comprises a clade with a relatively restricted geographic range, we were able to extensively sample across the range of geographic and morphological diversity in the group. We found that the combination of exons and flanking non-coding regions led to improved support for species relationships. We reconstructed potential hybrid origins of some accessions and note that if processes such as hybridization are not taken into account, the number of inferred evolutionary transitions may be artificially inflated. We recovered strong evidence for multiple origins of the evolution of bee pollination from ancestral hawkmoth pollination, the evolution of edaphic specialization on gypsum, and permanent translocation heterozygosity. This study applies newly emerging techniques alongside dense infraspecific sampling and morphological analyses to effectively address a relatively common but recalcitrant problem in evolutionary biology.
Assessment of irreducible aspects in developmental hip dysplasia by magnetic resonance imaging

Huihui Jia Children's Hospital of Soochow University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4115-0593 Liang Wang The A liated Suzhou Science& Technology Town Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Yan Chang Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology Yongrui Song Children's Hospital of Soochow University Yuqi Liu Children's Hospital of Soochow University Fuyong Zhang Children's Hospital of Soochow University Jie Feng Children's Hospital of Soochow University Xiaodong Yang Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology Mao Sheng (  shengmaosuzhou@163.com ) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3001-1865
Hillslope evolution by diffusive processes: The timescale for equilibrium adjustments

Diffusive processes such as creep, rain splash, and biogenic transport play a major role in controlling the development of convex hilltops on soil‐mantled landscapes. Although many diffusion‐based models have been proposed, little attention has been given to the effects of changing transport rates and boundary conditions. We use numerical and analytical solutions of the one‐dimensional diffusion equation to explore whether hilltop convexities can be in equilibrium with contemporary climate and local channel incision rates. The results show that the timescale of such morphological adjustments varies substantially depending on whether the hillslope is tending to increase or decrease its convexity through time. By comparing the relaxation times estimated here with the frequency of the climatic oscillations observed in the last few million years, we argue that most of the convex hilltops observed in the field today are likely to be far from time‐independent morphological features.
The effects of drinking goal on treatment outcome for alcoholism.

OBJECTIVE It is well known to clinicians and researchers in the field of alcoholism that patients vary with respect to drinking goal. The objective in this study was to elucidate the contribution of drinking goal to treatment outcome in the context of specific behavioral and pharmacological interventions. METHOD Participants were 1,226 alcohol-dependent individuals enrolled in a large, multisite trial of combined behavioral intervention, acamprosate, and naltrexone. Drinking goal was coded as follows: (a) controlled drinking, (b) conditional abstinence, and (c) complete abstinence. RESULTS Analysis revealed a main effect of drinking goal on percent days abstinent (p < .0001), days to relapse to heavy drinking (p < .0001), and global clinical outcome (p < .001). These results were such that a goal of complete abstinence was associated with the best outcomes, followed by conditional abstinence; controlled drinking was associated with the poorest outcomes. Conversely, a main effect of drinking goal was observed on drinks per drinking day (p < .01), such that controlled drinking was associated with fewer drinks per drinking day whereas complete abstinence was associated with the highest number of drinks per drinking day. Combined behavioral intervention performed better than medical management alone for participants whose drinking goal was not complete abstinence. CONCLUSION These results suggest that drinking goal represents a highly predictive clinical variable and should be an integral part of the clinical assessment of patients with alcohol dependence. Assessment of patients' drinking goals may also help match patients to interventions best suited to address their goals and clinical needs.
Imaging reveals the focal area of spreading depolarizations and a variety of hemodynamic responses in a rat microembolic stroke model

Spreading depolarizations (SD) occur in stroke, but the spatial association between SDs and corresponding hemodynamic changes is incompletely understood. We applied multimodal imaging to visualize the focal area of selected SDs, and hemodynamic responses with SDs propagating over the ischemic cortex. The intra-carotid infusion of polyethylene microspheres (d=45-53µm) produced multifocal ischemia in anesthetized rats (n=7). Synchronous image sequences captured through a cranial window above the frontoparietal cortex revealed: Changes in membrane potential (voltage sensitive dye method); cerebral blood flow (CBF; laser speckle contrast imaging); and hemoglobin (Hb) deoxygenation (red IOS at 620-640 nm). A total of 31 SD events were identified. The foci of 5 SDs were seen in the cranial window, originating where CBF was the lowest (56.9  9%), but without evident signs of infarcts. The hyperemic CBF responses to propagating SDs were coupled with 3 types of Hb saturation kinetics. More accentuated Hb desaturation was related to larger drop in CBF shortly after ischemia induction. Microsphere-induced embolization triggers SDs in the rat brain, relevant for small embolic infarcts in patients. SD occurrence during the early phase of ischemia is not tightly associated with immediate infarct evolution. Various kinetics of Hb saturation may determine the metabolic consequences of individual SDs.
Solar-cycle variation of zonal and meridional flow

We study the variation with the solar cycle of the zonal and meridional flows in the near-surface layers of the solar convection zone. We have analyzed MDI Dynamics-Program data with ring-diagram analysis covering the rising phase of cycle 23, while the analyzed GONG high-resolution data cover the maximum and declining phase of cycle 23. For the zonal flow, the migration with latitude of the flow pattern is apparent in the deeper layers, while for the meridional flow, a migration with latitude is apparent only in the layers close to the surface. The faster-than-average bands of the zonal flow associated with the new cycle are clearly visible. Similarly, a pattern related to the new cycle appears in the residual meridional flow. We also study the flow differences between the hemispheres during the course of the solar cycle. The difference pattern of the meridional flow is slanted in latitude straddling the faster-than-average band of the torsional oscillation pattern in the zonal flow. The difference pattern of the zonal flow, on the other hand, resembles the cycle variation of the meridional flow. In addition, the meridional flow during the minimum of cycle 23/24 appears to be slightly stronger than during the previous minimum of cycle 22/23.
Disentangling the Environment in Wildlife Microbiome – Behaviour Interactions: Response to Davidson et al.

farms, aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)] and polluted (e.g., by contaminants, noise, and light) [1–5]. Under this scenario, the global lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has represented a remarkable and unique experiment, recently named ‘anthropause’ (see Glossary). The pronounced reduction in human mobility and goods production, and particularly the decrease in fossil fuel use over even a short period, have reduced the impact of human activities on the airspace (e.g., aerial fragmentation and aerial pollution). Although the shortterm positive effects of the anthropause on aerial habitats have been well docuGlossary
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Perceptual cues in nonverbal vocal expressions of emotion

Work on facial expressions of emotions (Calder, Burton, Miller, Young, & Akamatsu, 2001) and emotionally inﬂected speech (Banse & Scherer, 1996) has successfully delineated some of the physical properties that underlie emotion recognition. To identify the acoustic cues used in the perception of nonverbal emotional expressions like laugher and screams, an investigation was conducted into vocal expressions of emotion, using nonverbal vocal analogues of the “basic” emotions (anger, fear, disgust, sadness, and surprise; Ekman & Friesen, 1971; Scott et al., 1997), and of positive affective states (Ekman, 1992, 2003; Sauter & Scott, 2007). First, the emotional stimuli were categorized and rated to establish that listeners could identify and rate the sounds reliably and to provide confusion matrices. A principal components analysis of the rating data yielded two underlying dimensions, correlating with the perceived valence and arousal of the sounds. Second, acoustic properties of the amplitude, pitch, and spectral proﬁle of the stimuli were measured. A discriminant analysis procedure established that these acoustic measures provided sufﬁcient discrimination between expressions of emotional categories to permit accurate statistical classiﬁcation. Multiple linear regressions with participants’ subjective ratings of the acoustic stimuli showed that all classes of emotional ratings could be predicted by some combination of acoustic measures and that most emotion ratings were predicted by different constellations of acoustic features. The results demonstrate that, similarly to affective signals in facial expressions and emotionally inﬂected speech, the perceived emotional character of affective vocalizations can be predicted on the basis of their physical features.
Clover residue effectiveness in reducing orthophosphate sorption on ferric hydroxide coated soil.

In many tropical soil systems, secondary minerals are coated with sesquioxides, resulting in inherently low P availability to plants due to P-fixation mechanisms. Research was conducted to determine the influence of hydroponically grown clover (Trifolium repens L.) residue pretreatment in reducing orthophosphate sorption on a fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic Typic Paleudult (Orangeburg series) that had been coated with synthetically prepared amorphous Fe(OH)₃. A 3 × 2 × 3 factorial experiment was conducted in split-split-plot design with P as the main plot, Fe(OH)₃ as the subplot, and clover as the sub-subplot. Throughout two cropping periods of 50 d each, to assess the initial and residual effect of clover pretreatment, corn (Zea mays L.) dry-matter yield, P uptake, and Bray 2 extractable P levels were superior with clover pretreatment prior to P fertilizer addition. When fertilizers, but not clover, were again applied to experimental units for a third cropping period, clover pretreatment did not influence plant dry-matter accumulation or P uptake. It did, however, substantially increase Bray 2 extractable P levels. Potentiometric titrations relating to surface charge were conducted on treatments with Fe(OH)₃ that had been amended with P, clover, and P plus clover after the first cropping period. Results suggest that organic acids from clover decomposition bind to Fe(OH)₃ surfaces and are able to complex Lewis acid cations to increase P availability. Contributed by the Inst. of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Univ. of Florida. Journal no. 9743.
Fission-track analysis unravels the denudation history of the Bonar Range in the footwall of the Alpine Fault, South Island, New Zealand

Abstract We apply fission-track thermochronology to shed new light on the tectonic history of Zealandia during Late Cretaceous continental extension and the onset of Late Tertiary mountain building in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. The Southern Alps are one of the fastest erosionally exhuming mountain belts on Earth. Exhumation of the Bonar Range in Westland just to the northwest of the Alpine Fault is orders of magnitude slower. We report apatite and zircon fission-track ages from samples that were collected along an ENE–WSW profile across the central Bonar Range, parallel to the tectonic transport direction of a prominent ductile fabric in the basement gneiss. Zircon fission-track (ZFT) ages show a large spread from 121.9 ± 12.1 Ma to 74.9 ± 7.2 Ma (1σ errors). The youngest ZFT ages of 78 to 75 Ma occur at low elevations on either side of the Bonar Range and become older towards the top of the range, thereby showing a symmetric pattern parallel to the ENE-trending profile across the range. Age–elevation relationships suggest an exhumation rate of 50–100 m Ma−1. We relate the ZFT ages to slow erosion of a tectonically inactive spot in the Late Cretaceous magmatic arc of Zealandia. Therefore, the first main significance of the paper is that it demonstrates that not all of 110–90 Ma Zealandia was necessarily participating in extreme core complex-related extension but that there were enclaves of lithosphere that underwent slow erosion. The apatite fission-track (AFT) ages range from 11.1 ± 1.9 Ma to 5.3 ± 1.0 Ma and age–elevation relationships suggest an exhumation rate of c. 200 m Ma−1. We relate the AFT ages to the inception of transpressive motion across the Alpine Fault and modest exhumation in its footwall in Late Miocene times. If so, the second significant point of this paper is that transpressive motion across the Alpine Fault was already under way by c. 11 Ma.
On the Origin of Hybrid Imaging

PET is fi rmly established as a valuable tool in clinical practice. There is no question that F-FDG PET imaging is the most sensitive method for staging of cancers. In addition, PET perfusion imaging is the most accurate method for selecting patients who will benefi t from a heart catheterization procedure. Finally, amyloid imaging is taking hold as a valuable tool in the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer disease, and new applications, such as the evaluation of infl ammatory processes in rheumatoid arthritis, are constantly emerging. The evolution of PET from a prototype physiologic measurement tool to its widespread use in diagnostic medicine is the result of several technologic innovations in combination with a constantly increasing armamentarium of PET tracers, enabling the assessment of an ever-increasing number of molecular processes. Although tracer development is important in the search for more selective diagnostic procedures, there is little doubt that the fi eld would not have survived without F-FDG. Having acknowledged the importance of radiochemical developments, this contribution will focus on technologic developments, with the key innovations summarized in Table 1. Clearly, none of the developments listed in Table 1 would have been possible without the initial construction of a working PET scanner. Although there had been earlier attempts, which in general Received Jul. 1, 2020; revision accepted Aug. 27, 2020. For correspondence or reprints contact: Adriaan A. Lammertsma, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location VUmc, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: aa.lammertsma@amsterdamumc.nl COPYRIGHT © 2020 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.120. 252841
Time-Dependent Dispersion of Nonergodic Plumes in Two-Dimensional Heterogeneous Aquifers

The time-dependent second spatial moment \hZ(\it)≡ –\hS(\i0) and the effective dispersivity \hγ(\it), defined as 1/2μ \id /\id\it, of nonergodic plumes are evaluated in two-dimensional (2D) statistically isotropic media under a uniform mean velocity μ, and the first-order approximation of the particle displacement, to study the effect of initial plume size on \hZ(\it) and γ(\it), where is the ensemble average of the second spatial moments, \hS(\it), of a solute plume about its center of mass, and \hS(\i0) is the initial value of \hS(\it). It is found that the aspect ratio ι\d/ι\d1 of an area source plays an important role in the dispersive behavior of a nonergodic plume, where ι\d2 and ι\d1 are the normalized lengths (with respect to the correlation scale of log-hydraulic conductivity) of the source normal and parallel to μ, respectively. When ι\d2/ι\d1 ≥ 1, both the longitudinal and transverse second spatial moments \iZ\d1\d1 and \iZ\d2\d2 increase at early time, and at large time \iZ\d1\d1 becomes proportional to time, or the effective longitudinal dispersivity γ\d1\d1 approaches a constant while \iZ\d2\d2 becomes constant or γ\d1\d1 approaches zero. When ι\d2/ι\d1<1, \iZ\d\ii\d\ii and γ\d\ii\d\ii (\ii=1,2) increase at early time. At late time, however, they behave in a fundamentally different manner: \iZ\d1\d1 increases monotonicly to approach a constant, or γ\d1\d1 decreases gradually to zero while \iZ\d2\d2 reaches a peak and then decreases to zero, or γ\d2\d2 falls below zero, i.e., becomes negative, and increases again to approach zero. Comparison of the first-order theoretical results with a Monte Carlo simulation shows good agreements for plumes with large initial sizes in less heterogeneous media.
Absence of a high time-integrated 3He/(U+Th) source in the mantle beneath continents

Volcanic rocks from ocean island and continental flood basalt provinces can exhibit 3He/4He ratios greatly in excess of those of mid-oceanic-ridge basalts (MORB). High 3He/4He ratios must indicate derivation from a mantle source with high time-integrated 3He/(U+Th) relative to depleted MORB-source mantle. The location of the high 3He/4He mantle reservoir is a poorly resolved but important issue because of the constraints it places upon the structure and convective style of Earth's mantle. It has been proposed that the high 3He/4He reservoir resides in the upper mantle, rather than the lower mantle, because Earth should be volatile poor and highly differentiated, with incompatible elements (such as He) concentrated in the upper mantle and crust. This hypothesis can be tested using continental intraplate alkaline volcanics (CIAV) that are generated at or near the boundary between the conducting lithospheric and convecting asthenospheric mantle. Olivine and clinopyroxene phenocrysts from Cretaceous to Miocene CIAV from Canada, South Africa, and Uganda have 3He/4He ratios more radiogenic than MORB, strongly arguing against a widespread high 3He/4He source in the continental lithosphere or the underlying convecting upper mantle. Combined with a global data set of CIAV and continental lithosphere mantle xenoliths, these results provide no evidence for high 3He/4He in any samples known to originate from this environment. Therefore, volcanic rocks with 3He/4He greater than MORB 3He/4He are likely to sample a mantle source with high time-integrated 3He/(U+Th) that cannot exist within or below the continents. This reservoir is also unlikely to exist within the upper mantle as defined by the 3He/4He distribution in MORB.