Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DeepEfference: Learning to predict the sensory consequences of action through deep correspondence

As the human eyeball saccades across the visual scene, humans maintain egocentric visual positional constancy despite retinal motion identical to an egocentric shift of the scene. Characterizing the underlying biological computations enabling visual constancy can inform methods of robotic localization by serving as a model for intelligently integrating complimentary, heterogeneous information. Here we present DeepEfference, a bio-inspired, unsupervised, deep sensorimotor network that learns to predict the sensory consequences of self-generated actions. DeepEfference computes dense image correspondences [1] at over 500 Hz and uses only a single monocular grayscale image and a low-dimensional extra-modal motion estimate as data inputs. Designed for robotic applications, DeepEfference employs multi-level fusion via two parallel pathways to learn dense, pixel-level predictions and correspondences between source and target images. We present quantitative and qualitative results from the SceneNet RGBD [2] and KITTI Odometry [3] datasets and demonstrate an approximate runtime decrease of over 20,000% with only a 12% increase in mean pixel matching error compared to DeepMatching [4] on KITTI Odometry.
Silk fibroin/amniotic membrane 3D bi-layered artificial skin

Burn injuries have been reported to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality and they are still considered as unmet clinical need. Although there is a myriad of effective stem cells that have been suggested for skin regeneration, there is no one ideal scaffold. The aim of this study was to develop a three-dimensional (3D) bi-layer scaffold made of biological decellularized human amniotic membrane (AM) with viscoelastic electrospun nanofibrous silk fibroin (ESF) spun on top. The fabricated 3D bi-layer AM/ESF scaffold was submerged in ethanol to induce β-sheet transformation as well as to get a tightly coated and inseparable bi-layer. The biomechanical and biological properties of the 3D bi-layer AM/ESF scaffold were investigated. The results indicate significantly improved mechanical properties of the AM/ESF compared with the AM alone. Both the AM and AM/ESF possess a variety of suitable adhesion cells without detectable cytotoxicity against adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs). The AT-MSCs show increased expression of two main pro-angiogenesis factors, vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor, when cultured on the AM/ESF for 7 days, when comparing with AM alone. The results suggest that the AM/ESF scaffold with autologous AT-MSCs has excellent cell adhesion and proliferation along with production of growth factors which serves as a possible application in a clinical setting for skin regeneration.
The Influence of Precipitation Regimes and Elevated CO2 on Photosynthesis and Biomass Accumulation and Partitioning in Seedlings of the Rhizomatous Perennial Grass Leymus chinensis

Leymus chinensis is a dominant, rhizomatous perennial C3 species in the grasslands of Songnen Plain of Northern China, and its productivity has decreased year by year. To determine how productivity of this species responds to different precipitation regimes, elevated CO2 and their interaction in future, we measured photosynthetic parameters, along with the accumulation and partitioning of biomass. Plants were subjected to combinations of three precipitation gradients (normal precipitation, versus normal ± 40%) and two CO2 levels (380±20 µmol mol-1,760±20 µmol mol-1) in controlled-environment chambers. The net photosynthetic rate, and above-ground and total biomass increased due to both elevated CO2 and increasing precipitation, but not significantly so when precipitation increased from the normal to high level under CO2 enrichment. Water use efficiency and the ratio of root: total biomass increased significantly when precipitation was low, but decreased when it was high under CO2 enrichment. Moreover, high precipitation at the elevated level of CO2 increased the ratio between stem biomass and total biomass. The effect of elevated CO2 on photosynthesis and biomass accumulation was higher at the low level of precipitation than with normal or high precipitation. The results suggest that at ambient CO2 levels, the net photosynthetic rate and biomass of L. chinensis increase with precipitation, but those measures are not further affected by additional precipitation when CO2 is elevated. Furthermore, CO2 may partly compensate for the negative effect of low precipitation on the growth and development of L. chinensis.
Nodule occupancy determination and Rhizobium strain quantification by immunoblot assay

96 for five rhizobial strains tested . Strain identification is a major problem in field experimentation with Rhizobium. Where legumes are regularly grown. soil invariably contain some rhizobia capable of nodulating the particular host. It becomes difficult to distinguish them since the inoculated rhizobia resemble the native rhizobia. Also. it is not possible to readily· determine which legume nodule is formed by which strain except in rare cases where rhizobial strains produce melanin'·2. Thus. to study inoculum establishment and survival. it is necessary to have a sensitive and reliable means of specifically detecting and quantifying the inoculated strains of Rhizobium.
Viral control in chronic HIV-1 subtype C infection is associated with enrichment of p24 IgG1 with Fc effector activity

Objective: Postinfection HIV viral control and immune correlates analysis of the RV144 vaccine trial indicate a potentially critical role for Fc receptor-mediated antibody functions. However, the influence of functional antibodies in clade C infection is largely unknown. Design: Plasma samples from 361 chronic subtype C-infected, antiretroviral therapy-naive participants were tested for their HIV-specific isotype and subclass distributions, along with their Fc receptor-mediated functional potential. Method: Total IgG, IgG subclasses and IgA binding to p24 clade B/C and gp120 consensus C proteins were assayed by multiplex. Antibody-dependent uptake of antigen-coated beads and Fc receptor-mediated natural killer cell degranulation were evaluated as surrogates for antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), respectively. Results: p24 IgG1 was the only subclass associated with viral control (P = 0.01), with higher p24-specific ADCP and ADCC responses detected in individuals with high p24 IgG1. Although p24 IgG1 levels were enriched in patients with elevated Gag-specific T-cell responses, these levels remained an independent predictor of low-viral loads (P = 0.04) and high CD4+ cell counts (P = 0.004) after adjusting for Gag-specific T-cell responses and for protective HLA class I alleles. Conclusion: p24 IgG1 levels independently predict viral control in HIV-1 clade C infection. Whether these responses contribute to direct antiviral control via the recruited killing of infected cells via the innate immune system or simply mark a qualitatively superior immune response to HIV, is uncertain, but highlights the role of p24-specific antibodies in control of clade C HIV-1 infection.
Impacts of rural electrification in Rwanda

Rural electrification is believed to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In this paper, we investigate electrification impacts on different indicators. We use household data that we collected in Rwanda in villages with and without electricity access. We account for self-selection and regional differences by using households from the electrified villages to estimate the probability to connect for all households – including those in the non-electrified villages. Based on these probabilities we identify counterfactual households and find robust evidence for positive effects on lighting usage. Effects on income and children's home studying become insignificant if regional differences are accounted for.
Linear and non-linear flow mode in Pb-Pb collisions at root sNN=2.76 TeV

The second and the third order anisotropic ﬂow, V 2 and V 3 , are mostly determined by the corresponding initial spatial anisotropy coeﬃcients, ε 2 and ε 3 , in the initial density distribution. In addition to their dependence on the same order initial anisotropy coeﬃcient, higher order anisotropic ﬂow, V n ( n > 3), can also have a signiﬁcant contribution from lower order initial anisotropy coeﬃcients, which leads to mode-coupling effects. In this Letter we investigate the linear and non-linear modes in higher order anisotropic ﬂow V n for n = 4, 5, 6 with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are done for particles in the pseudorapidity range | η | < 0 . 8 and the transverse momentum range 0 . 2 < p T < 5 . 0 GeV / c as a function of collision centrality. The results are compared with theoretical calculations and provide important constraints on the initial conditions, including initial spatial geometry and its ﬂuctuations, as well as the ratio of the shear viscosity to entropy density of the produced system.
Maternal Exposure to Aeroallergens and the Risk of Early Delivery

Background: Daily changes in aeroallergens during pregnancy could trigger early labor, but few investigations have evaluated this issue. This study aimed to investigate the association between exposure to aeroallergens during the week preceding birth and the risk of early delivery among preterm and term pregnancies. Methods: We identified data on 225,234 singleton births that occurred in six large cities in the province of Ontario, Canada, from 2004 to 2011 (April to October) from a birth registry. We obtained daily counts of pollen grains and fungal spores from fixed-site monitoring stations in each city and assigned them to pregnancy period of each birth. Associations between exposure to aeroallergens in the preceding week and risk of delivery among preterm (<37 gestational weeks), early-term (37–38 weeks), and full-term (≥39 weeks) pregnancies were evaluated with Cox regression models, adjusting for maternal characteristics, meteorologic parameters, and air pollution concentrations, and pooled across the six cities. Results: The risk of delivery increased by 3% per interquartile range width (IQRw = 22.1 grains/m3) increase in weed pollen the day before birth among early-term (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01, 1.05) and full-term pregnancies (HR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.04). Exposure to fungal spores cumulated over 0 to 2 lagged days was associated with increased risk of delivery among full-term pregnancies only (HR = 1.07; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.12). We observed no associations among preterm deliveries. Conclusions: Increasing concentrations of ambient weed pollen and fungal spores may be associated with earlier delivery among term births.
Gene set analysis of post-lactational mammary gland involution gene signatures in inflammatory and triple-negative breast cancer

Background Epidemiological studies have found that triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and TN inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) are associated with lower frequency and duration of breast-feeding compared to non-TNBC and non-TN IBC, respectively. Limited breast-feeding could reflect abrupt or premature involution and contribute to a “primed” stroma that is permissive to the migration of cancer cells typical of IBC. We hypothesized that gene expression related to abrupt mammary gland involution after forced weaning may be enriched in the tissues of IBC patients and, if so, provide a potential correlation between limited breast-feeding and the development of aggressive breast cancer. Methods We utilized the Short Time-series Expression Miner (STEM) program to cluster significant signatures from two independent studies that analyzed gene expression at multiple time-points of mouse mammary gland involution. Using 10 significant signatures, we performed gene ontology analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) on training and validation sets from human breast cancer gene expression data to identify specific genes that are enriched in IBC compared to non-IBC and in TN compared to non-TN in IBC and non-IBC groups. Results Examining the combined data, we identified 10 involution gene clusters (Inv1-10) that share time-dependent regulation after forced weaning. Inv5 was the only cluster significantly enriched in IBC in the training and validation set (nominal p-values <0.05) and only by unadjusted p-values (FDR q-values 0.26 and 0.46 respectively). Eight genes in Inv5 are upregulated in both the training and validation sets in IBC. Combining the training and validation sets, both Inv5 and Inv6 have nominal p-values <0.05 and q-values 0.39 and 0.20, respectively. The time course for both clusters includes genes that change within 12 hours after forced weaning. Conclusions Results from this in silico study suggest correlation between molecular events during abrupt involution and aggressive breast cancer. Specifically, candidate genes from Inv5 merit functional investigation regarding the role of limited breast-feeding in IBC development.
Fecal Enterobacteriales enrichment is associated with increased in vivo intestinal permeability in humans

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been linked with increased intestinal permeability, but the clinical significance of this phenomenon remains unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential link between glucose control, intestinal permeability, diet and intestinal microbiota in patients with T2D. Thirty‐two males with well‐controlled T2D and 30 age‐matched male controls without diabetes were enrolled in a case–control study. Metabolic parameters, inflammatory markers, endotoxemia, and intestinal microbiota in individuals subdivided into high (HP) and normal (LP) colonic permeability groups, were the main outcomes. In T2D, the HP group had significantly higher fasting glucose (P = 0.034) and plasma nonesterified fatty acid levels (P = 0.049) compared with the LP group. Increased colonic permeability was also linked with altered abundances of selected microbial taxa. The microbiota of both T2D and control HP groups was enriched with Enterobacteriales. In conclusion, high intestinal permeability was associated with poorer fasting glucose control in T2D patients and changes in some microbial taxa in both T2D patients and nondiabetic controls. Therefore, enrichment in the gram‐negative order Enterobacteriales may characterize impaired colonic permeability prior to/independently from a disruption in glucose tolerance.
Nurses’ objective knowledge regarding venous thromboembolism prophylaxis

Abstract Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common vascular disorder with high mortality and morbidity. Clinical nurses are a pivotal group that can serve as first-line health care providers. Lack of knowledge about VTE is an important barrier to effective nursing performance. This study aimed to determine nurses’ knowledge of VTE prophylaxis through a nationwide survey across China, to understand gaps between current knowledge, and guidelines, and to help improve clinical nursing. The survey included 5 topics with 68 items on VTE, including basic knowledge, risk assessment, basic prophylaxis, physical prophylaxis, and pharmacological prophylaxis. The survey was distributed to 106 AAA-grade hospitals throughout China; 5218 valid questionnaires were submitted for analysis. There were 5097 women and 121 men respondents, with average age 30.29 ± 8.60 years. The average rate of correct responses regarding VTE knowledge was 59.90 ± 15.63%; 77.81% of subjects answered more than half of the survey items correctly. Better knowledge about thromboprophylaxis was observed among nurses who were more highly educated, more experienced, had received continuing education, intensive care unit (ICU), and lead nurses. Correct response rates were 68.39 ± 17.03%, 60.35 ± 21.01%, 75.51 ± 22.85%, 41.72 ± 17.47%, and 46.01 ± 21.22% for basic knowledge, risk assessment, basic prophylaxis, physical prophylaxis, and pharmacological prophylaxis, respectively. Respondents showed satisfactory results regarding basic prophylaxis, basic knowledge, and risk assessment for VTE; respondents had poorer knowledge regarding physical and pharmacological prophylaxis. Better mastery of knowledge about thromboprophylaxis was observed among nurses who were more highly educated, more experienced, had received continuous education, ICU, and lead nurses. This study suggested that nurse trainers should develop comprehensive educational programs that focus on low correct rate aspects. Higher-level continuous education could improve nurses’ knowledge of thromboprophylaxis.
Critical role of the right VLPFC in emotional regulation of social exclusion: a tDCS study

Abstract There is abundant evidence suggesting that the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC) plays an important role in down-regulating the emotional response to social exclusion. However, a causal relationship between rVLPFC function and explicit emotional regulation is not clear in the context of social exclusion. This study employed anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to activate rVLPFC while participants used emotional regulation to reappraise pictures of social exclusion. Forty-four participants were randomly assigned to an active tDCS group or a sham group. Both groups viewed social exclusion images under two conditions: in the no-reappraisal condition, participants were instructed to passively view social exclusion images; in the reappraisal condition, they reappraised the images to down-regulate negative emotional responses. Compared to sham stimulation, anodal tDCS over the rVLPFC resulted in less negative emotion ratings, and produced significantly smaller pupil diameter in the reappraisal, compared to no-reappraisal block. The tDCS also led to longer fixation durations to rejectees and shorter fixation durations to rejecters. Taken together, these findings suggest a causal role for rVLPFC in down-regulation of negative emotions produced by social exclusion. This study has implications for clinical interventions targeting emotional regulation deficits.
Oxidant-induced autophagy and ferritin degradation contribute to epithelial–mesenchymal transition through lysosomal iron

Purpose Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 triggers epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) through autophagy, which is partly driven by reactive oxygen species (ROS). The aim of this study was to determine whether leaking lysosomes and enhanced degradation of H-ferritin could be involved in EMT and whether it could be possible to prevent EMT by iron chelation targeting of the lysosome. Materials and methods EMT, H-ferritin, and autophagy were evaluated in TGF-β1-stimulated A549 human lung epithelial cells cultured in vitro using Western blotting, with the additional morphological assessment of EMT. By using immunofluorescence and flow cytometry, lysosomes and ROS were assessed by acridine orange and 6-carboxy-2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein acetate assays, respectively. Results TGF-β1-stimulated cells demonstrated a loss of H-ferritin, which was prevented by the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and inhibitors of lysosomal degradation. TGF-β1 stimulation generated ROS and autophagosome formation and led to EMT, which was further promoted by the additional ROS-generating cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-α. Lysosomes of TGF-β1-stimulated cells were sensitized to oxidants but also completely protected by lysosomal loading with dextran-bound deferoxamine (DFO). Autophagy and EMT were prevented by NAC, DFO, and inhibitors of autophagy and lysosomal degradation. Conclusion The findings of this study support the role of enhanced autophagic degradation of H-ferritin as a mechanism for increasing the vulnerability of lysosomes to iron-driven oxidant injury that triggers further autophagy during EMT. This study proposes that lysosomal leakage is a novel pathway of TGF-β1-induced EMT that may be prevented by iron-chelating drugs that target the lysosome.
Hierarchical Type Stability Criteria for Delayed Neural Networks via Canonical Bessel–Legendre Inequalities

This paper is concerned with global asymptotic stability of delayed neural networks. Notice that a Bessel–Legendre inequality plays a key role in deriving less conservative stability criteria for delayed neural networks. However, this inequality is in the form of Legendre polynomials and the integral interval is fixed on <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${[{-}h,0]}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. As a result, the application scope of the Bessel–Legendre inequality is limited. This paper <italic>aims</italic> to develop the Bessel–Legendre inequality method so that less conservative stability criteria are expected. First, by introducing a canonical orthogonal polynomial sequel, a <italic>canonical</italic> Bessel–Legendre inequality and its affine version are established, which are not explicitly in the form of Legendre polynomials. Moreover, the integral interval is shifted to a general one <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ {[a,b]}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Second, by introducing a proper augmented Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional, which is tailored for the canonical Bessel–Legendre inequality, some sufficient conditions on global asymptotic stability are formulated for neural networks with constant delays and neural networks with time-varying delays, respectively. These conditions are proven to have a hierarchical feature: the higher level of hierarchy, the less conservatism of the stability criterion. Finally, three numerical examples are given to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed stability criteria.
Paracingulate Sulcus Morphology and Hallucinations in Clinical and Nonclinical Groups

Hallucinations are a characteristic symptom of psychotic mental health conditions that are also experienced by many individuals without a clinical diagnosis. Research has linked the experience of hallucinations in schizophrenia to differences in the length of the paracingulate sulcus (PCS), a structure in the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain which has previously been associated with the ability to differentiate perceived and imagined information. We investigated whether this notion of a specific morphological basis for hallucinations in the paracingulate cortex extends to individuals without a clinical diagnosis by testing the hypothesis that non-clinical individuals with hallucinations have shorter PCS than non-clinical individuals without hallucinations. Structural MRI scans were examined from three demographically matched groups of individuals: 50 patients with psychotic diagnoses who experienced auditory verbal hallucinations, 50 non-clinical individuals with auditory verbal hallucinations, and 50 healthy control subjects with no life-time history of hallucinations. Measurements of paracingulate sulcal length were compared between the groups and the results verified using automated data-driven gyrification analyses. Patients with hallucinations had shorter PCS than both healthy controls and non-clinical individuals with hallucinations, with no difference between non-clinical individuals with hallucinations and healthy controls. These findings suggest that the association of shorter PCS length with hallucinations is specific to patients with a psychotic disorder. This presents challenges for continuum models of psychosis and suggests possible differences in the mechanisms underlying hallucinations in clinical and non-clinical groups.