Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Magnetic Scaling for Heliotron/Torsatron-Type Reactors

Abstract A new empirical scaling of the magnetic field ratio (the maximum magnetic field on the coil to the toroidal field on the center of helical windings averaged over one field period) for heliotron/torsatron systems has been proposed. This new scaling was derived from the calculation result by using a finite-volume current element code over a wide range of coil engineering parameters. The scaling is described as a product of powers of 5 dimensionless parameters that relate to the coil geometry. This scaling can reproduce the magnetic field ratio within 3% error over the wide range of design parameters. By using this new scaling, we can estimate the magnetic field in the plasma confinement region by a fast calculation with engineering design parameters only. It will facilitate the design optimization through sensitivity analysis with parameter scan over a wide range in reactor design study of heliotron/torsatron reactors.
Astrocytic modulation of neuronal signalling

Neuronal signalling is a key element in neuronal communication and is essential for the proper functioning of the CNS. Astrocytes, the most prominent glia in the brain play a key role in modulating neuronal signalling at the molecular, synaptic, cellular, and network levels. Over the past few decades, our knowledge about astrocytes and their functioning has evolved from considering them as merely a brain glue that provides structural support to neurons, to key communication elements. Astrocytes can regulate the activity of neurons by controlling the concentrations of ions and neurotransmitters in the extracellular milieu, as well as releasing chemicals and gliotransmitters that modulate neuronal activity. The aim of this review is to summarise the main processes through which astrocytes are modulating brain function. We will systematically distinguish between direct and indirect pathways in which astrocytes affect neuronal signalling at all levels. Lastly, we will summarize pathological conditions that arise once these signalling pathways are impaired focusing on neurodegeneration.
ME/CFS and Long COVID share similar symptoms and biological abnormalities: road map to the literature

Some patients remain unwell for months after “recovering” from acute COVID-19. They develop persistent fatigue, cognitive problems, headaches, disrupted sleep, myalgias and arthralgias, post-exertional malaise, orthostatic intolerance and other symptoms that greatly interfere with their ability to function and that can leave some people housebound and disabled. The illness (Long COVID) is similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) as well as to persisting illnesses that can follow a wide variety of other infectious agents and following major traumatic injury. Together, these illnesses are projected to cost the U.S. trillions of dollars. In this review, we first compare the symptoms of ME/CFS and Long COVID, noting the considerable similarities and the few differences. We then compare in extensive detail the underlying pathophysiology of these two conditions, focusing on abnormalities of the central and autonomic nervous system, lungs, heart, vasculature, immune system, gut microbiome, energy metabolism and redox balance. This comparison highlights how strong the evidence is for each abnormality, in each illness, and helps to set priorities for future investigation. The review provides a current road map to the extensive literature on the underlying biology of both illnesses.
Classification of Parkinson's disease stages with a two-stage deep neural network

Introduction Parkinson's disease is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases. In the most advanced stages, PD produces motor dysfunction that impairs basic activities of daily living such as balance, gait, sitting, or standing. Early identification allows healthcare personnel to intervene more effectively in rehabilitation. Understanding the altered aspects and impact on the progression of the disease is important for improving the quality of life. This study proposes a two-stage neural network model for the classifying the initial stages of PD using data recorded with smartphone sensors during a modified Timed Up & Go test. Methods The proposed model consists on two stages: in the first stage, a semantic segmentation of the raw sensor signals classifies the activities included in the test and obtains biomechanical variables that are considered clinically relevant parameters for functional assessment. The second stage is a neural network with three input branches: one with the biomechanical variables, one with the spectrogram image of the sensor signals, and the third with the raw sensor signals. Results This stage employs convolutional layers and long short-term memory. The results show a mean accuracy of 99.64% for the stratified k-fold training/validation process and 100% success rate of participants in the test phase. Discussion The proposed model is capable of identifying the three initial stages of Parkinson's disease using a 2-min functional test. The test easy instrumentation requirements and short duration make it feasible for use feasible in the clinical context.
Cardiometabolic disease risk markers are increased following burn injury in children

Introduction Burn injury in children causes prolonged systemic effects on physiology and metabolism leading to increased morbidity and mortality, yet much remains undefined regarding the metabolic trajectory towards specific health outcomes. Methods A multi-platform strategy was implemented to evaluate the long-term immuno-metabolic consequences of burn injury combining metabolite, lipoprotein, and cytokine panels. Plasma samples from 36 children aged 4–8 years were collected 3 years after a burn injury together with 21 samples from non-injured age and sex matched controls. Three different 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopic experiments were applied to capture information on plasma low molecular weight metabolites, lipoproteins, and α-1-acid glycoprotein. Results Burn injury was characterized by underlying signatures of hyperglycaemia, hypermetabolism and inflammation, suggesting disruption of multiple pathways relating to glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acid metabolism and the urea cycle. In addition, very low-density lipoprotein sub-components were significantly reduced in participants with burn injury whereas small-dense low density lipoprotein particles were significantly elevated in the burn injured patient plasma compared to uninjured controls, potentially indicative of modified cardiometabolic risk after a burn. Weighted-node Metabolite Correlation Network Analysis was restricted to the significantly differential features (q <0.05) between the children with and without burn injury and demonstrated a striking disparity in the number of statistical correlations between cytokines, lipoproteins, and small molecular metabolites in the injured groups, with increased correlations between these groups. Discussion These findings suggest a ‘metabolic memory’ of burn defined by a signature of interlinked and perturbed immune and metabolic function. Burn injury is associated with a series of adverse metabolic changes that persist chronically and are independent of burn severity and this study demonstrates increased risk of cardiovascular disease in the long-term. These findings highlight a crucial need for improved longer term monitoring of cardiometabolic health in a vulnerable population of children that have undergone burn injury.
Novel gold(III)-dithiocarbamate complex targeting bacterial thioredoxin reductase: antimicrobial activity, synergy, toxicity, and mechanistic insights

Introduction Antimicrobial resistance is a pressing global concern that has led to the search for new antibacterial agents with novel targets or non-traditional approaches. Recently, organogold compounds have emerged as a promising class of antibacterial agents. In this study, we present and characterize a (C^S)-cyclometallated Au(III) dithiocarbamate complex as a potential drug candidate. Methods and results The Au(III) complex was found to be stable in the presence of effective biological reductants, and showed potent antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against a wide range of multidrug-resistant strains, particularly gram-positive strains, and gram-negative strains when used in combination with a permeabilizing antibiotic. No resistant mutants were detected after exposing bacterial cultures to strong selective pressure, indicating that the complex may have a low propensity for resistance development. Mechanistic studies indicate that the Au(III) complex exerts its antibacterial activity through a multimodal mechanism of action. Ultrastructural membrane damage and rapid bacterial uptake suggest direct interactions with the bacterial membrane, while transcriptomic analysis identified altered pathways related to energy metabolism and membrane stability including enzymes of the TCA cycle and fatty acid biosynthesis. Enzymatic studies further revealed a strong reversible inhibition of the bacterial thioredoxin reductase. Importantly, the Au(III) complex demonstrated low cytotoxicity at therapeutic concentrations in mammalian cell lines, and showed no acute in vivo toxicity in mice at the doses tested, with no signs of organ toxicity. Discussion Overall, these findings highlight the potential of the Au(III)-dithiocarbamate scaffold as a basis for developing novel antimicrobial agents, given its potent antibacterial activity, synergy, redox stability, inability to produce resistant mutants, low toxicity to mammalian cells both in vitro and in vivo, and non-conventional mechanism of action.
Fluorescein-guided surgery for high-grade glioma resection: a five-year-long retrospective study at our institute

Objective This study investigates the extent of resection, duration of surgery, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complications in patients with high-grade glioma who received surgery with or without sodium fluorescein guidance. Methods A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted on 112 patients who visited our department and underwent surgery between July 2017 and June 2022, with 61 in the fluorescein group and 51 in the non-fluorescein group. Baseline characteristics, intraoperative blood loss, surgery duration, resection extent, and postoperative complications were documented. Results The duration of surgery was significantly shorter in the fluorescein group than in the non-fluorescein group (P = 0.022), especially in patients with tumors in the occipital lobes (P = 0.013). More critically, the gross total resection (GTR) rate was significantly higher in the fluorescein group than in the non-fluorescein group (45.9% vs. 19.6%, P = 0.003). The postoperative residual tumor volume (PRTV) was also significantly lower in the fluorescein group than in the non-fluorescein group (0.40 [0.12-7.11] cm3 vs. 4.76 [0.44-11.00] cm3, P = 0.020). Particularly in patients with tumors located in the temporal and occipital lobes (temporal, GTR 47.1% vs. 8.3%, P = 0.026; PRTV 0.23 [0.12-8.97] cm3 vs. 8.35 [4.05-20.59] cm3, P = 0.027; occipital, GTR 75.0% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.005; PRTV 0.15 [0.13-1.50] cm3 vs. 6.58 [3.70-18.79] cm3, P = 0.005). However, the two groups had no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.407) or postoperative complications (P = 0.481). Conclusions Fluorescein-guided resection of high-grade gliomas using a special operating microscope is a feasible, safe, and convenient technique that significantly improves GTR rates and reduces postoperative residual tumor volume when compared to conventional white light surgery without fluorescein guidance. This technique is particularly advantageous for patients with tumors located in non-verbal, sensory, motor, and cognitive areas such as the temporal and occipital lobes, and does not increase the incidence of postoperative complications.
Coronary microvascular dysfunction in heart failure patients

Coronary microcirculation has multiple layers of autoregulatory function to maintain resting flow and augment hyperemic flow in response to myocardial demands. Functional or structural alterations in the coronary microvascular function are frequently observed in patients with heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction, which may lead to myocardial ischemic injury and resultant worsening of clinical outcomes. In this review, we describe our current understanding of coronary microvascular dysfunction in the pathogenesis of heart failure with preserved and reduced ejection fraction.
Association of family function and suicide risk in teenagers with a history of self-harm behaviors: mediating role of subjective wellbeing and depression

Background A history of self-harm behaviors is closely associated with subsequent suicide death. Although many factors associated with suicide have been identified, it remains unclear how these factors interact to influence suicide risk, especially among teenagers with a history of self-harm behaviors. Methods Data were collected from 913 teenagers with a history of self-harm behaviors through a cross-sectional study. The Family Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection, and Resolve index was used to assess teenagers' family function. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 were used to evaluate depression and anxiety in teenagers and their parents, respectively. The Delighted Terrible Faces Scale was used to assess teenagers' perception of subjective wellbeing. The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised was used to evaluate teenagers' suicide risk. Student's t-test, one-way ANOVA, multivariate linear regression, Pearson's correlation, and a structural equation model (SEM) were applied to data analysis. Results Overall, 78.6% of teenagers with a history of self-harm behaviors were at risk for possible suicide. Female gender, severity of teenagers' depression, family function, and subjective wellbeing were significantly associated with suicide risk. The results of SEM suggested that there was a significant chain mediation effect of subjective wellbeing and depression between family function and suicide risk. Conclusion Family function was closely associated with suicide risk in teenagers with a history of self-harm behaviors, and depression and subjective wellbeing were sequential mediators in the association between family function and suicide risk.
What factors should we modify to promote high functioning and prevent functional decline in people with schizophrenia?

Background Since research in schizophrenia mainly focuses on deficits and risk factors, we need studies searching for high-functioning protective factors. Thus, our objective was to identify protective (PFs) and risk factors (RFs) separately associated with high (HF) and low functioning (LF) in patients with schizophrenia. Methods We collected information (sociodemographic, clinical, psychopathological, cognitive, and functional) from 212 outpatients with schizophrenia. Patients were classified according to their functional level (PSP) as HF (PSP > 70, n = 30) and LF (PSP ≤ 50, n = 95). Statistical analysis consisted of Chi-square test, Student’s t-test, and logistic regression. Results HF model: variance explained: 38.4–68.8%; PF: years of education (OR = 1.227). RFs: receiving a mental disability benefit (OR = 0.062) and scores on positive (OR = 0.719), negative-expression (OR = 0.711), and negative-experiential symptoms (OR = 0.822), and verbal learning (OR = 0.866). LF model: variance explained: 42.0–56.2%; PF: none; RFs: not working (OR = 6.900), number of antipsychotics (OR = 1.910), and scores on depressive (OR = 1.212) and negative-experiential symptoms (OR = 1.167). Conclusion We identified specific protective and risk factors for high and low functioning in patients with schizophrenia and confirmed that high functioning factors are not necessarily the opposite of those associated with low functioning. Only negative experiential symptoms are a shared and inverse factor for high and low functioning. Mental health teams must be aware of protective and risk factors and try to enhance or reduce them, respectively, to help their patients improve or maintain their level of functioning.
Video elicited physiological signal dataset considering indoor temperature factors

Introduction Human emotions vary with temperature factors. However, most studies on emotion recognition based on physiological signals overlook the influence of temperature factors. This article proposes a video induced physiological signal dataset (VEPT) that considers indoor temperature factors to explore the impact of different indoor temperature factors on emotions. Methods This database contains skin current response (GSR) data obtained from 25 subjects at three different indoor temperatures. We selected 25 video clips and 3 temperatures (hot, comfortable, and cold) as motivational materials. Using SVM, LSTM, and ACRNN classification methods, sentiment classification is performed on data under three indoor temperatures to analyze the impact of different temperatures on sentiment. Results The recognition rate of emotion classification under three different indoor temperatures showed that anger and fear had the best recognition effect among the five emotions under hot temperatures, while joy had the worst recognition effect. At a comfortable temperature, joy and calmness have the best recognition effect among the five emotions, while fear and sadness have the worst recognition effect. In cold temperatures, sadness and fear have the best recognition effect among the five emotions, while anger and joy have the worst recognition effect. Discussion This article uses classification to recognize emotions from physiological signals under the three temperatures mentioned above. By comparing the recognition rates of different emotions at three different temperatures, it was found that positive emotions are enhanced at comfortable temperatures, while negative emotions are enhanced at hot and cold temperatures. The experimental results indicate that there is a certain correlation between indoor temperature and physiological emotions.
The supragenic organization of glycoside hydrolase encoding genes reveals distinct strategies for carbohydrate utilization in bacteria

Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) are carbohydrate-active enzymes essential for many environmental (e.g., carbon cycling) and biotechnological (e.g., biofuels) processes. The complete processing of carbohydrates by bacteria requires many enzymes acting synergistically. Here, I investigated the clustered or scattered distribution of 406,337 GH-genes and their association with transporter genes identified in 15,640 completely sequenced bacterial genomes. Different bacterial lineages displayed conserved levels of clustered or scattered GH-genes, but overall, the GH-genes clustering was generally higher than in randomized genomes. In lineages with highly clustered GH-genes (e.g., Bacteroides, Paenibacillus), clustered genes shared the same orientation. These codirectional gene clusters potentially facilitate the genes' co-expression by allowing transcriptional read-through and, at least in some cases, forming operons. In several taxa, the GH-genes clustered with distinct types of transporter genes. The type of transporter genes and the distribution of the so-called GH:TR-genes clusters were conserved in selected lineages. Globally, the phylogenetically conserved clustering of the GH-genes with transporter genes highlights the central function of carbohydrate processing across bacterial lineages. In addition, in bacteria with the most identified GH-genes, the genomic adaptations for carbohydrate processing also mirrored the broad environmental origin of the sequenced strains (e.g., soil and mammal gut) suggesting that a combination of evolutionary history and the environment selects for the specific supragenic organization of the GH-genes supporting the carbohydrate processing in bacterial genomes.
The evaluation of JAK inhibitors on effect and safety in alopecia areata: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 2018 patients

Background JAK inhibitors treat various autoimmune diseases, but an updated systematic review in treating alopecia areata is currently lacking. Objective Evaluate the specific efficacy and safety of JAK inhibitors in alopecia areata by systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods Eligible studies in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Clinical Trials up to May 30, 2022, were searched. We enrolled in randomized controlled trials and observational studies of applying JAK inhibitors in alopecia areata. Results 6 randomized controlled trials with 1455 patients exhibited SALT50 (odd ratio [OR], 5.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.49-7.38), SALT90 (OR, 7.40; 95% CI, 4.34-12.67) and change in SALT score (weighted mean difference [WSD], 5.55; 95% CI, 2.60-8.50) compared to the placebo. The proportion of 26 observational studies with 563 patients of SALT5 was 0.71(95% CI, 0.65-0.78), SALT50 was 0.54(95% CI 0.46-0.63), SALT90 was 0.33(95% CI, 0.24-0.42), and SALT score (WSD, -2.18; 95% CI, -3.12 to -1.23) compared with baseline. Any adverse effects occurred in 921 of 1508 patients; a total of 30 patients discontinued the trial owing to adverse reactions. Limitations Few randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria and insufficiency of eligible data. Conclusion JAK inhibitors are effective in alopecia areata, although associated with an increased risk.
Feeling with a robot—the role of anthropomorphism by design and the tendency to anthropomorphize in human-robot interaction

The implementation of anthropomorphic features in regard to appearance and framing is widely supposed to increase empathy towards robots. However, recent research used mainly tasks that are rather atypical for daily human-robot interactions like sacrificing or destroying robots. The scope of the current study was to investigate the influence of anthropomorphism by design on empathy and empathic behavior in a more realistic, collaborative scenario. In this online experiment, participants collaborated either with an anthropomorphic or a technical looking robot and received either an anthropomorphic or a technical description of the respective robot. After the task completion, we investigated situational empathy by displaying a choice-scenario in which participants needed to decide whether they wanted to act empathically towards the robot (sign a petition or a guestbook for the robot) or non empathically (leave the experiment). Subsequently, the perception of and empathy towards the robot was assessed. The results revealed no significant influence of anthropomorphism on empathy and participants’ empathic behavior. However, an exploratory follow-up analysis indicates that the individual tendency to anthropomorphize might be crucial for empathy. This result strongly supports the importance to consider individual difference in human-robot interaction. Based on the exploratory analysis, we propose six items to be further investigated as empathy questionnaire in HRI.
Trends and challenges of multi-drug resistance in childhood tuberculosis

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in children is a growing global health concern, This review provides an overview of the current epidemiology of childhood TB and DR-TB, including prevalence, incidence, and mortality. We discuss the challenges in diagnosing TB and DR-TB in children and the limitations of current diagnostic tools. We summarize the challenges associated with treating multi-drug resistance TB in childhood, including limitations of current treatment options, drug adverse effects, prolonged regimens, and managing and monitoring during treatment. We highlight the urgent need for improved diagnosis and treatment of DR-TB in children. The treatment of children with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis will be expanded to include the evaluation of new drugs or new combinations of drugs. Basic research is needed to support the technological development of biomarkers to assess the phase of therapy, as well as the urgent need for improved diagnostic and treatment options.