Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
iASPP overexpression is associated with clinical outcome in spinal chordoma and influences cellular proliferation, invasion, and sensitivity to cisplatin in vitro

The oncogenetic function of inhibitory member of the apoptosis stimulating protein of p53 family (iASPP) in chordoma is unclear and remains to elucidate. The expression of iASPP in chordoma tissues and cells, its correlation to clinicopathological parameters and the effect on the patients’ prognosis were evaluated. Cellular proliferation, invasion and cisplatin-response were observed after the iASPP knockdown or overexpression in vitro. Co-Immunoprecipitation assay was used to explore the interaction between iASPP and p53. The regulation of miRNA-124 on the expression and apoptotic function of iASPP was explored after transiently transfecting cells with miRNA-124 mimics or inhibitor. Results indicated that iASPP overexpressed in chordoma tissues and cells. Its overexpression was associated with tumor invasion and local recurrence, and was predictive of patients’ poor prognosis. Cells with iASPP-silence showed a decreased ability of proliferation and invasion, but an increasing sensitivity to cisplatin. Besides, iASPP could combine with p53 in either endogenous or exogenous detection. Post-transcriptionally, miRNA-124 negatively regulated the expression of iASPP, which further led to the changes of apoptosis-related proteins. Thus, iASPP overexpression is associated with the clinical outcome in spinal chordoma and influences cellular proliferation, invasion, and the sensitivity to cisplatin.
A Brain Storm Optimization With Multi-Information Interactions for Global Optimization Problems

The original brain storm optimization (BSO) fails to consider some potential information interactions in its individual update pattern, causing the premature convergence for complex problems. To address this problem, we propose a BSO algorithm with multi-information interactions (MIIBSO). First, a multi-information interaction (MII) strategy is developed, thoroughly considering various information interactions among individuals. Specially, this strategy contains three new MII patterns. The first two patterns aim to reinforce information interaction capability between individuals. The third pattern provides interactions between the corresponding dimensions of different individuals. The collaboration of the above three patterns is established by an individual stagnation feedback mechanism, contributing to preserve the diversity of the population and enhance the global search capability for MIIBSO. Second, a random grouping (RG) strategy is introduced to replace both the K-means algorithm and cluster center disruption of the original BSO algorithm, further enhancing the information interaction capability and reducing the computational cost of MIIBSO. Finally, a dynamic difference step-size (DDS), which can offer individual feedback information and improve search range, is designed to achieve an effective balance between global and local search capability for MIIBSO. By combining the MII strategy, RG, and DDS, MIIBSO achieves the effective improvement in the global search ability, convergence speed, and computational cost. MIIBSO is compared with 11 BSO algorithms and five other algorithms on the CEC2013 test suit. The results confirm that MIIBSO obtains the best global search capability and convergence speed amongst the 17 algorithms.
Variation potential propagation decreases heat-related damage of pea photosystem I by 2 different pathways

ABSTRACT Local burning is known to generate and propagate variation potential (VP) in plants. VP affects different physiological processes, including reducing heat-related damage to photosystem I (PSI). We investigated mechanisms of the process. Photosynthesis parameters were measured with Dual-PAM-100 and GFS-3000. VP was induced by burning the first mature leaf and then waiting 5, 10, 15, or 20 min to initiate heating of the second mature leaf. Photosystems activities in the second leaf were investigated at 15 and 135 min after heating. In the absence of VP induction, when incubation in hot water (5 min) was used for heating the intact second leaf, PSI and PSII activities decreased after incubation at both exposure temperatures (45°C and 50°C). When local burning of the first leaf induced VP propagation into the second leaf, reduced photosynthesis (PSI) was observed. Arrival of VP in the second leaf prior to hot water incubation at 50°C decreased heating-induced suppression of PSI activity when measured 15 and 135 min later. Dependence of PSI activity on the time interval (5, 10, 15, or 20 min) between VP induction and heating of the second leaf was dissimilar at 15 and 135 min. Heat-induced suppression of PSII activity in the second leaf was stimulated after VP induction. In contrast, the effect of VP on PSI and PSII damage was weak when leaf 2 was heated at 45°C. VP-induced decrease of PSI activity suppression at 15 min after heating was correlated with stimulation of PSII activity suppression, but increase of PSI activity at 135 min after heating was not related to PSII activity. Thus, our results suggest the possibility of 2 different pathways of VP-induced decrease of heat-related PSI damage.
Measurement of a growth-induced water potential gradient in tall fescue leaves

SUMMARY Spatial distribution of cell turgor pressure, cell osmotic pressure and relative elemental growth rate were measured in growing tall fescue leaves (Festuca arundinacea). Cell turgor pressure (measured with a pressure probe) was c. 0.55 MPa in expanding cells but increased steeply ( + 0.3 MPa) in cells where elongation had stopped. However, cell osmotic pressure (measured with a picolitre osmometer) was almost constant at 0.85 MPa throughout the leaf. The water potential difference between the growth zone and the mature zone (0.3 MPa) was interpreted as a growth-induced water potential gradient. This and further implications for the mechanism of growth control are discussed.
Systemic Treatment with Strontium Ranelate Accelerates the Filling of a Bone Defect and Improves the Material Level Properties of the Healing Bone

Rapid bone defect filling with normal bone is a challenge in orthopaedics and dentistry. Strontium ranelate (SrRan) has been shown to in vitro decrease bone resorption and increase bone formation, and represents a potential agent with the capacity to accelerate bone defect filling. In this study, bone tibial defects of 2.5 mm in diameter were created in 6-month-old female rats orally fed SrRan (625 mg/kg/d; 5/7 days) or vehicle for 4, 8, or 12 weeks (10 rats per group per time point) from the time of surgery. Tibias were removed. Micro-architecture was determined by micro-computed tomography (µCT) and material level properties by nanoindentation analysis. µCT analysis showed that SrRan administration significantly improved microarchitecture of trabecular bone growing into the defect after 8 and 12 weeks of treatment compared to vehicle. SrRan treatment also accelerated the growth of cortical bone over the defect, but with different kinetics compared to trabecular bone, as the effects were already significant after 4 weeks. Nanoindentation analysis demonstrated that SrRan treatment significantly increased material level properties of both trabecular bone and cortical bone filling the defect compared to vehicle. SrRan accelerates the filling of bone defect by improving cortical and trabecular bone microarchitecture both quantitatively and qualitatively.
The next generation: etravirine in the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults refractory to other antiretrovirals

Correspondence: Michelle D Liedtke 1110 N. Stonewall, CPB 229, Oklahoma City, OK 73117, USA Tel +1 405 271 6878 ext 47260 Fax +1 405 271 6430 email michelle-liedtke@ouhsc.edu Abstract: Etravirine is a second-generation nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) that is approved for the treatment of adult human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)infected patients with documented or suspected resistance to first-generation NNRTIs. Etravirine has a flexible molecular structure that allows it to retain its activity against mutant HIV strains that exhibit resistance to first-generation agents. It is evident that 3 or more etravirine resistance-associated mutations are typically necessary before clinical resistance to etravirine. Safety and efficacy of etravirine are established in antiretroviral treatment-experienced patients in combination with antiretroviral regimens that contain darunavir/ritonavir. In phase III studies, cutaneous reactions occurred in 19% of treated patients and are the most commonly observed adverse event. The typical manifestation is the development of a maculopapular rash within the first few weeks of etravirine therapy. Resolution commonly occurs within 1–2 weeks on continued therapy. Rare cases of severe skin reactions (,0.1%) have been reported. Etravirine is hepatically metabolized by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19. Drug interactions with some antiretrovirals (eg, unboosted protease inhibitors and fosamprenavir/ ritonavir) and medications for other comorbidities (eg, atorvastatin and clarithromycin) have been reported and may require dosage adjustment for the coadministered drug or selection of alternative therapy in some instances. Administration of etravirine with potent inducers of CYP450 is not recommended due to the potential for subtherapeutic etravirine concentrations. In this article, the pharmacology, efficacy, safety, and tolerability of etravirine in adult treatmentexperienced patients with HIV-1 infection are reviewed. Medical literature was identified by MEDLINE and EMBASE searches (1966 to February 2010) using the search terms “etravirine”, “TMC125”, and “NNRTI”.
Xylem sap flow as a major pathway for oxygen supply to the sapwood of birch (Betula pubescens Ehr.)

The role of xylem sap flow as an aqueous pathway for oxygen supply to the wood parenchyma of Betula pubescens saplings was investigated. Using micro-optode sensors the oxygen status of the sapwood was quantified in relation to mass flow of xylem sap. Sap flow was gradually reduced by an increasing oxygen depletion in the root space. The effect of sap flow on radial O 2 transport between stem and atmosphere was assessed by a stoichiometrical approach between respiratory CO 2 production and O 2 consumption. Restriction of sap flow set in 36.5 h after the onset of O 2 depletion, and was complete after 71 h. Interruption of sap flow drastically increased the O 2 deficit in the sapwood to 70%. Sap flow contributed about 60% to the total oxygen supply to the sapwood. Diurnal O 2 flow rates varied between 3 and 6.3 nmol O 2 m -2 leaf area (LA) s -1 during night- and daytime, respectively. Maximum O 2 flow rates of 20 nmol O 2 m -2 LA s -1 were reached at highest sap flow rates of 5.7 mmol H 2 O m -2 LA s -1 . Sap flow not only affected the oxygen status of the sapwood but also had an effect on radial O 2 transport between stem and atmosphere.
INDEL variation in the regulatory region of the major flowering time gene LanFTc1 is associated with vernalization response and flowering time in narrow‐leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.)

Abstract Narrow‐leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) cultivation was transformed by 2 dominant vernalization‐insensitive, early flowering time loci known as Ku and Julius (Jul), which allowed expansion into shorter season environments. However, reliance on these loci has limited genetic and phenotypic diversity for environmental adaptation in cultivated lupin. We recently predicted that a 1,423‐bp deletion in the cis‐regulatory region of LanFTc1, a FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) homologue, derepressed expression of LanFTc1 and was the underlying cause of the Ku phenotype. Here, we surveyed diverse germplasm for LanFTc1 cis‐regulatory variation and identified 2 further deletions of 1,208 and 5,162 bp in the 5' regulatory region, which overlap the 1,423‐bp deletion. Additionally, we confirmed that no other polymorphisms were perfectly associated with vernalization responsiveness. Phenotyping and gene expression analyses revealed that Jul accessions possessed the 5,162‐bp deletion and that the Jul and Ku deletions were equally capable of removing vernalization requirement and up‐regulating gene expression. The 1,208‐bp deletion was associated with intermediate phenology, vernalization responsiveness, and gene expression and therefore may be useful for expanding agronomic adaptation of lupin. This insertion/deletion series may also help resolve how the vernalization response is mediated at the molecular level in legumes.
Spacecraft Formation Flying Maneuvers Using Linear-Quadratic Regulation with No Radial Axis Inputs

Regarding multiple spacecraft formation flying, the observation has been made that control thrust need only be applied coplanar to the local horizon to achieve complete controllability of a two-satellite (leader-follower) formation. A formulation of orbital dynamics using the state of one satellite relative to another is used. Without the need for thrust along the radial (zenith-nadir) axis of the relative reference frame, propulsion system simplifications and weight reduction may be accomplished. This work focuses on the validation of this control system on its own merits, and in comparison to a related system which does provide thrust along the radial axis of the relative frame. Maneuver simulations are performed using commercial ODE solvers to propagate the Keplerian dynamics of a controlled satellite relative to an uncontrolled leader. These short maneuver simulations demonstrate the capacity of the controller to perform changes from one formation geometry to another. Control algorithm performance is evaluated based on measures such as the fuel required to complete a maneuver and the maximum acceleration required by the controller. Based on this evaluation, the exclusion of the radial axis of control still allows enough control authority to use Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) techniques to design a gain matrix of adequate performance over finite maneuvers. Additional simulations are conducted including perturbations and using no radial control inputs. A major conclusion presented is that control inputs along the three axes have significantly different relationships to the governing orbital dynamics that may be exploited using LQR.
Using Pb and Sr Isotopes to Assess Asian Aerosol Impacts in Urban and Interior California

We investigated the use of Pb and Sr isotopic measurements of PM2.5 to evaluate the impact of Asian (Chinese) sourced aerosols (including pollutants, and mineral dust) on air quality in California. Aerosols transported across the Pacific can raise local “background” pollutant burdens, limiting the amount of local emissions that can be permitted and still attain State and Federal Air Quality Standards. PM2.5 samples collected at Mt. Tamalpais and Chabot Space and Science Center in the Oakland Hills, archived ARB PM2.5 samples and samples from the Eastern Sierra were analyzed for Pb and Sr isotopes. The Mt. Tamalpais and Chabot samples were also analyzed for elemental composition. The Pb isotopic measurements demonstrated that the collected aerosols contain Pb that was a variable (with time and location) mixture of locally-derived and China-sourced Pb. Likewise, Sr isotopic measurements combined with elemental data show that the aerosols at Mt. Tamalpais contain a variable fraction of Chinese sourced mineral aerosol (“Loess”). These data clearly track Asian sourced transport events and demonstrate the utility of isotopic signatures for portioning the sources of PM2.5, particular elements, and perhaps ozone in California. For example, during the week of 7/21/08 about 45% of the PM2.5 mass at Chabot was sourced in Asia.
Toxicity and Poisoning Symptoms of selected Insecticides to Honey Bees (Apis mellifera mellifera L.)

Bees are potential pollinators of wide variety of crops. The European dark bee, Apis mellifera mellifera (L.) is widely used for crop pollination. However, pesticide usage in modern agriculture has threatened the plant-bee pollinator interaction. There is lack of data regarding lethal time, insecticide concentration and poisoning symptoms, especially for formulated insecticides that are widely used in insect management. This study shows that the intrinsic toxicity of insecticides (LC 50 ) to A. mellifera mellifera (L.) was in the following order: imidacloprid (0.0070) > fipronil (0.0125) > indoxacarb (0.0266)> cypermethrin (0.0370) > dimethoate (0.0385). The lethal time (LT 50 ) values (h) in the ascending order of toxicity of insecticides were as follows: fipronil (6.56), cypermethrin (6.69), dimethoate (8.00), imidacloprid (9.85) and indoxacarb (13.45). Distinct poisoning symptoms observed in A. mellifera mellifera were extended proboscis, expanded wings, unhooked wings, extended legs and twisted bodies, defecation on cage covers, sting in release-out position and anus with excreta. All the tested pesticides are harmful to the honey bee except azadirachtin. The tested pesticides exhibited different poisoning symptoms in bees, which could be useful for beekeepers in identifying the cause of colony mortality. In conclusion, the pesticide toxicological research on bees is an important safety aspect for beneficial organisms. This study reveals a realistic acute toxicity in the field of commonly used insecticides. The information is important for insecticide selection in order to minimize direct killing of foraging honey bees while maintaining effective management of crop pests. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS170131020P Received: January 31, 2017; Revised: April 26, 2017; Accepted: May 16, 2017; Published online: June 12, 2017 How to cite this article: Pashte VV, Patil CS. Toxicity and poisoning symptoms of selected insecticides to honey bees (Apis mellifera mellifera L.). Arch Biol Sci. 2018;70(1):5-12.
Retrospective Analysis of the Performance of a New-Generation Dual Pump Phaco System Using Two Sizes of Phaco Tips in Cases with Different Nuclear Hardness

Purpose: To evaluate the performance of a phacoemulsification system in terms of effective (EPT) and total phaco time (TPT) using 20G and 21G phaco tips. Methods: Retrospective comparative study including 143 consecutive cataractous eyes undergoing phacoemulsification cataract surgery with the Visalis 500 device. The 20G and 21G phaco tips were used in 46 and 97 eyes, respectively. The EPT and TPT values were evaluated. Results: Median TPT was 11.25 s and 17.50 s in the 20G and 21G groups, respectively (p = 0.0011). Median EPT values were 3.15 s and 5.00 s in the 20G and 21G groups, respectively (p = 0.0032). TPT and EPT were significantly lower in 3/3+ cataract eyes compared to 4/4+ using both tips (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The Visalis 500 allows cataract surgery with reduced TPT and EPT, even in hard cataracts. The use of the 20G phaco tip provides an additional benefit in terms of reduction of phaco time.
Modelling customer online behaviours with neural networks: applications to conversion prediction and advertising retargeting

In this paper, we apply neural networks into digital marketing world for the purpose of better targeting the potential customers. To do so, we model the customer online behaviours using dedicated neural network architectures. Starting from user searched keywords in a search engine to the landing page and different following pages, until the user left the site, we model the whole visited journey with a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), together with Convolution Neural Networks (CNN) that can take into account of the semantic meaning of user searched keywords and different visited page names. With such model, we use Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the conversion rates of each potential customer in the future visiting. We believe our concept and the preliminary promising results in this paper enable the use of largely available customer online behaviours data for advanced digital marketing analysis.
Revisiting Small Batch Training for Deep Neural Networks

Modern deep neural network training is typically based on mini-batch stochastic gradient optimization. While the use of large mini-batches increases the available computational parallelism, small batch training has been shown to provide improved generalization performance and allows a significantly smaller memory footprint, which might also be exploited to improve machine throughput. In this paper, we review common assumptions on learning rate scaling and training duration, as a basis for an experimental comparison of test performance for different mini-batch sizes. We adopt a learning rate that corresponds to a constant average weight update per gradient calculation (i.e., per unit cost of computation), and point out that this results in a variance of the weight updates that increases linearly with the mini-batch size $m$. The collected experimental results for the CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100 and ImageNet datasets show that increasing the mini-batch size progressively reduces the range of learning rates that provide stable convergence and acceptable test performance. On the other hand, small mini-batch sizes provide more up-to-date gradient calculations, which yields more stable and reliable training. The best performance has been consistently obtained for mini-batch sizes between $m = 2$ and $m = 32$, which contrasts with recent work advocating the use of mini-batch sizes in the thousands.
Structural disconnectivity in schizophrenia: a diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging study

Background There is growing evidence that schizophrenia is a disorder of cortical connectivity Specifically, frontotemporal and frontoparietal connections are thought to be functionally impaired. Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT–MRI) is a technique that has the potential to demonstrate structural disconnectivity in schizophrenia. Aims To investigate the structural integrity of frontotemporal and frontoparietal white matter tracts in schizophrenia. Method Thirty patients with DSM–IV schizophrenia and thirty matched control subjects underwent DT–MRI and structural MRI. Fractional anisotropy – an index of the integrity of white matter tracts – was determined in the uncinate fasciculus, the anterior cingulum and the arcuate fasciculus and analysed using voxel-based morphometry. Results There was reduced fractional anisotropy in the left uncinate fasciculus and left arcuate fasciculus in patients with schizophrenia compared with controls. Conclusions The findings of reduced white matter tract integrity in the left uncinate fasciculus and left arcuate fasciculus suggest that there is frontotemporal and frontoparietal structural disconnectivity in schizophrenia.
Time-differential encoding of sinusoidal model parameters for multiple successive segments

Sinusoidal coding is a key technique for low rate audio coding. In sinusoidal coding, the target signal is represented by perceptually relevant sinusoids; however, often the sinusoids are estimated without taking into account that the sinusoidal parameters are going to be differentially encoded. In this paper we present an algorithm for joint extraction and time-differential encoding of sinusoidal model parameters. For a pre-specified target bit rate, the algorithm extracts the set of sinusoids for a sequence of signal segments which lead to minimum distortion in the reconstructed signal. Furthermore, it determines which sinusoids in a given segment should be encoded time-differentially relative to which in the previous segment. Simulation experiments show that the proposed algorithm leads to a reduction of 3-5% in bit rate compared to a state-of-the-art time-differential sinusoidal coding system.