Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human stem cell aging: do mitochondrial DNA mutations have a causal role?

A decline in the replicative and regenerative capacity of adult stem cell populations is a major contributor to the aging process. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations clonally expand with age in human stem cell compartments including the colon, small intestine, and stomach, and result in respiratory chain deficiency. Studies in a mouse model with high levels of mtDNA mutations due to a defect in the proofreading domain of the mtDNA polymerase γ (mtDNA mutator mice) have established causal relationships between the accumulation of mtDNA point mutations, stem cell dysfunction, and premature aging. These mtDNA mutator mice have also highlighted that the consequences of mtDNA mutations upon stem cells vary depending on the tissue. In this review, we present evidence that these studies in mice are relevant to normal human stem cell aging and we explore different hypotheses to explain the tissue‐specific consequences of mtDNA mutations. In addition, we emphasize the need for a comprehensive analysis of mtDNA mutations and their effects on cellular function in different aging human stem cell populations.
Fine-grained traffic classification with netflow data

Nowadays Cisco Netflow is the de facto standard tool used by network operators and administrators for monitoring large edge and core networks. Implemented by all major vendors and recently a IETF standard, Netflow reports aggregated information about traffic traversing the routers in the form of flow-records. While this kind of data is already effectively used for accounting, monitoring and anomaly detection, the limited amount of information it conveys has until now hindered its employment for traffic classification purposes. In this paper, we present a behavioral algorithm which successfully exploits Netflow records for traffic classification. Since our classifier identifies an application by means of the simple counts of received packets and bytes, Netflow records contain all information required. We test our classification engine, based on a machine learning algorithm, over an extended set of traces containing a heterogeneous mix of applications ranging from P2P file-sharing and P2P live-streaming to traditional client-server services. Results show that our methodology correctly identifies the byte-wise traffic volume with an accuracy of 90% in the worst case, thus representing a first step towards the use of Netflow data for fine-grained classification of network traffic.
Deep observations of CO line emission from star-forming galaxies in a cluster candidate at z = 1.5

We report results from a deep Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) search for ^(12)CO J = 1–0 line emission from galaxies in a candidate galaxy cluster at z ∼ 1.55 in the COSMOS field. We target four galaxies with optical spectroscopic redshifts in the range z = 1.47–1.59, consistent with the likely redshift for the candidate galaxy cluster. Two of these four galaxies, ID 51613 and ID 51813, are nominally detected in CO 1–0 line emission at the 3–4σ level. We find CO luminosities of (2.42 ± 0.58) × 10^(10) K km s^(−1) pc^2 and (1.26 ± 0.38) × 10^(10) K km s^(−1) pc^2, respectively. Taking advantage from the clustering and expanded 2-GHz bandwidth of the JVLA, we perform a search for emission lines in the proximity of optical sources within the field of view of our observations (60 arcsec). We limit our search to galaxies with K_S 4σ) in the data cube, which we identify with the CO 1–0 line emission. To test the reliability of the line peaks found, we performed a parallel search for line peaks using a Bayesian inference method. Both CO line emitting candidates are identified with probabilities of 13 per cent and 72 per cent that there are line emitting sources in each case, respectively. Monte Carlo simulations show that such associations are statistically significant, with probabilities of chance association of 3.5 per cent and 10.7 per cent for ID 51207 and ID 51380, respectively. Modelling of their optical/IR spectral energy distributions indicates that the CO detected galaxies and candidates have stellar masses and star formation rates in the range (0.3–1.1) × 10^(11) M_⊙ and 60–160 M_⊙ yr^(−1), with star formation efficiencies comparable to that found in other star-forming galaxies at similar redshifts. By comparing the space density of CO emitters derived from our observations with the space density derived from previous CO detections at z ∼ 1.5, and with semi-analytic predictions for the CO luminosity function, we suggest that the latter tend to underestimate the number of CO galaxies detected at high redshift. Finally, we argue about the benefits of future searches for molecular gas line emission in clustered fields with upcoming submillimetre/radio facilities.
Evidence for Increased oxidative Damage in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

ABSTRACT: Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) may be more susceptible to oxidative cell injury than normal healthy children due to both the impaired absorption of antioxidant nutrients and the increased oxidative stress caused by chronic pulmonary infections. The purpose of this study was to examine whether markers of oxidative damage to lipids (malondialdehyde-like substances and lipid hydroperox-ides) and proteins (protein carbonyls) were present in the plasma of CF patients. Mean values (± SD) of thiobarbi-turic acid-reactive substances were significantly higher in patients (6.93 ± 1.47 μmol/L; n = 25) than in controls (5.84 ± 0.59 μmol/L; n = 10). FFA hydroperoxides were not detected in control subjects (the detection limit of the assay was 0.02 μmol/L), but in 11 of the 33 CF patients studied they were found in a range of 0.03–0.34 μmol/L. Plasma protein carbonyl concentrations did not differ significantly between the two groups (p = 0.076), although a much wider distribution was observed in the CF patients (range 0.17–5.64 nmol/mg protein) than in the control group (range 0.24–1.55 nmol/mg protein). No correlation was found between thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and FFA hydroperoxides or between either of these markers and protein carbonyl content. Concentrations of plasma vitamin E, vitamin C, and protein sulfhydryls were within the normal ranges in both control subjects and CF patients. The concentration of uric acid was significantly reduced (p < 0.01) in the CF group (204 ± 96.99 μmol/L) compared with that in control subjects (352 ± 81.11 μmol/L), but reduction in plasma levels of this antioxidant did not correlate with increased markers of free radical damage. These results indicate that certain CF patients are more susceptible to oxidative damage, even in the presence of relatively normal concentrations of the major plasma antioxidants; these patients may benefit from increased antioxidant consumption.
Improving Socialization through Sport: An Analytic Review of Literature on Aggression and Sportsmanship.

Socialization can take place through participation in sports since sports provide a microcosm for living and society. The structure of social relations in sports influences the participants’ development of social skills. Researchers have strived to answer whether sports provides a positive outlet for, or teaches and reinforces, aggression. This paper reviews and extends research on aggression and sportsmanship, examines how aggression is developed, and makes recommendations.
Rapid improvements in pain and quality of life are sustained after surgery for spinal metastases in a large prospective cohort

Abstract Introduction Metastatic spinal cancer is a common condition that may lead to spinal instability, pain and paralysis. In the 1980s, surgery was discouraged because results showed worse neurological outcomes and pain compared with radiotherapy alone. However, with the advent of modern imaging and spinal stabilisation techniques, the role of surgery has regained centre stage, though few studies have assessed quality of life and functional outcomes after surgery. Objective We investigated whether surgery provides sustained improvement in quality of life and pain relief for patients with symptomatic spinal metastases by analysing the largest reported surgical series of patients with epidural spinal metastases. Methods A prospective cohort study of 922 consecutive patients with spinal metastases who underwent surgery, from the Global Spine Tumour Study Group database. Pre- and post-operative EQ-5D quality of life, visual analogue pain score, Karnofsky physical functioning score, complication rates and survival were recorded. Results Quality of life (EQ-5D), VAS pain score and Karnofsky physical functioning score improved rapidly after surgery and these improvements were sustained in those patients who survived up to 2 years after surgery. In specialised spine centres, the technical intra-operative complication rate of surgery was low, however almost a quarter of patients experienced post-operative systemic adverse events. Conclusion Surgical treatment for spinal metastases produces rapid pain relief, maintains ambulation and improves good quality of life. However, as a group, patients with cancer are vulnerable to post-operative systemic complications, hence the importance of appropriate patient selection.
ACTION OF MICROÖRGANISMS ON HYDROCARBONS

Mineral requirements of hydrocarbons oxidizers. 3 Effect of oxygen tension. 4 Effect of organic matter. 6 Temperature requirements. & . 7 Dispersion of hydrocarbons in culture media. 7 Criteria of hydrocarbon utilization. 10 Oxidation products. 12 Kinds of hydrocarbons attacked. 15 Occurrence of hydrocarbon oxidizers in nature. 23 Microbial modification of petroleum. 25 Modification of petroleum products. 29 Action on rubber hydrocarbons. 31 Activities of hydrocarbon oxidizers in soil. 33 Micro6rganisms as indicators of oil deposits. 36 Bacteriostatic hydrocarbons and derivatives. 37 Summary and conclusions. 40 References. 41
Structural and Biochemical Studies on the Chromo-barrel Domain of Male Specific Lethal 3 (MSL3) Reveal a Binding Preference for Mono- or Dimethyllysine 20 on Histone H4*

We have determined the human male specific lethal 3 (hMSL3) chromo-barrel domain structure by x-ray crystallography to a resolution of 2.5 Å (r = 0.226, Rfree = 0.270). hMSL3 contains a canonical methyllysine binding pocket made up of residues Tyr-31, Phe-56, Trp-59, and Trp-63. A six-residue insertion between strands β1 and β2 of the hMSL3 chromo-barrel domain directs the side chain of Glu-21 into the methyllysine binding pocket where it hydrogen bonds to the NH group of a bound cyclohexylamino ethanesulfonate buffer molecule, likely mimicking interactions with a histone tail dimethyllysine residue. In vitro binding studies revealed that both the human and Drosophila MSL3 chromo-barrel domains bind preferentially to peptides representing the mono or dimethyl isoform of lysine 20 on the histone H4 N-terminal tail (H4K20Me1 or H4K20Me2). Mutation of Tyr-31 to Ala in the hMSL3 methyllysine-binding cage resulted in weaker in vitro binding to H4K20Me1. The same mutation in the msl3 gene compromised male survival in Drosophila. Combined mutation of Glu-21 and Pro-22 to Ala in hMSL3 resulted in slightly weaker in vitro binding to H4K20Me1, but the corresponding msl3 mutation had no effect on male survival in Drosophila. We propose MSL3 plays an important role in targeting the male specific lethal complex to chromatin in both humans and flies by binding to H4K20Me1. Binding studies on the related dMRG15 chromo-barrel domain revealed that MRG15 prefers binding to H4K20Me3.
Genetic assignment of recruits reveals short‐ and long‐distance larval dispersal in Pocillopora damicornis on the Great Barrier Reef

Understanding connectivity of coral populations among and within reefs over ecologically significant timescales is essential for developing evidence‐based management strategies, including the design of marineprotected areas. Here, we present the first assessment of contemporary connectivity among populations of two Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) of the brooding coral Pocillopora damicornis. We used individual‐based genetic assignment methods to identify the proportions of philopatric and migrant larval recruits, settling over 12 months at sites around Lizard Island (northern Great Barrier Reef [GBR]) and over 24 months at sites around the Palms Islands (central GBR). Overall, we found spatially and temporally variable rates of self‐recruitment and dispersal, demonstrating the importance of variation in local physical characteristics in driving dispersal processes. Recruitment patterns and inferred dispersal distances differed between the two P. damicornis MOTUs, with type α recruits exhibiting predominantly philopatric recruitment, while the majority of type β recruits were either migrants from identified putative source populations or assumed migrants based on genetic exclusion from all known populations. While P. damicornis invests much energy into brooding clonal larvae, we found that only 15% and 7% of type α and type β recruits, respectively, were clones of sampled adult colonies or other recruits, challenging the hypothesis that reproduction is predominantly asexual in this species on the GBR. We explain high rates of self‐recruitment and low rates of clonality in these MOTUs by suggesting that locally retained larvae originate predominantly from spawned gametes, while brooded larvae are mainly vagabonds.
Multi-Coloured Hamilton Cycles in Random Edge-Coloured Graphs

We define a space of random edge-coloured graphs [Gscr ]n,m,κ which correspond naturally to edge κ-colourings of Gn,m. We show that there exist constants K0, K1 [les ] 21 such that, provided m [ges ] K0n log n and κ [ges ] K1n, then a random edge-coloured graph contains a multi-coloured Hamilton cycle with probability tending to 1 as the number of vertices n tends to infinity.
Heart rate estimation using an EMG system integrated with a motion capture system

In electromyography (EMG) data, the electrocardiography (ECG) signal frequently is also present. In many papers this signal is treated as a distortion and the focus is on its removal. However, the ECG signal can be useful. For example, if an athlete is subject to a stress test exercise in a motion capture laboratory, his/her current heart rate synchronized with recorded motion may provide valuable additional information. In this paper we propose a method for computing an athlete's heart rate using the EMG signal. The method is not computationally expensive. Detected heart beats can be saved in a standard C3D file as an event. This makes further examination of the correlations between an athlete's movement and his/her heart rate much easier. A number of trials were conducted to verify the method. Data was recorded in a resting position (sitting on a chair), during walking and during exercise (lifting on one's hands). The goals of the trials were the verification of the method's correctness (resting test) and the checking of how much movement affects the accuracy of the measurements (witch special focus on other muscles near the heart). Measurements were made in parallel with the Vershold pulse meter and the 16-channel wireless EMG system from Myon, controlled by Vicon Nexus software. Unlike standard electrocardiographs, where multiple electrodes are used, only one voltage between two points was measured (due to the properties of the wireless EMG system used). For this reason, different electrode fixing variants were examined. In this way it could be determined how position affects the accuracy of measurement. The results show the advantage of our method for extracting ECG from EMG data over the pulse meter, which requires accurate positioning on the body. If it is not mounted properly the accuracy of the results obtained with it will drop significantly.
Sterility screening of platelet concentrates: questioning the optimal test strategy

Background Routine bacterial monitoring of apheresis platelet concentrates (APC) and pooled platelet concentrates (PPC) was introduced in two German blood services using culture and real‐time reverse transcriptase (RT)‐polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results of testing are reviewed and used to discuss different strategies for detection of bacterial contamination of PCs.
Early and Late Stage Mechanisms for Vocalization Processing in the Human Auditory System

Early and Late Stage Mechanisms for Vocalization Processing in the Human Auditory System William James Talkington The human auditory system is able to rapidly process incoming acoustic information, actively filtering, categorizing, or suppressing different elements of the incoming acoustic stream. Vocalizations produced by other humans (conspecifics) likely represent the most ethologically-relevant sounds encountered by hearing individuals. Subtle acoustic characteristics of these vocalizations aid in determining the identity, emotional state, health, intent, etc. of the producer. The ability to assess vocalizations is likely subserved by a specialized network of structures and functional connections that are optimized for this stimulus class. Early elements of this network would show sensitivity to the most basic acoustic features of these sounds; later elements may show categorically-selective response patterns that represent high-level semantic organization of different classes of vocalizations. A combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological studies were performed to investigate and describe some of the earlier and later stage mechanisms of conspecific vocalization processing in human auditory cortices. Using fMRI, cortical representations of harmonic signal content were found along the middle superior temporal gyri between primary auditory cortices along Heschl's gyri and the superior temporal sulci, higher-order auditory regions. Additionally, electrophysiological findings also demonstrated a parametric response profile to harmonic signal content. Utilizing a novel class of vocalizations, human-mimicked versions of animal vocalizations, we demonstrated the presence of a left-lateralized cortical vocalization processing hierarchy to conspecific vocalizations, contrary to previous findings describing similar bilateral networks. This hierarchy originated near primary auditory cortices and was further supported by auditory evoked potential data that suggests differential temporal processing dynamics of conspecific human vocalizations versus those produced by other species. Taken together, these results suggest that there are auditory cortical networks that are highly optimized for processing utterances produced by the human vocal tract. Understanding the function and structure of these networks will be critical for advancing the development of novel communicative therapies and the design of future assistive hearing devices.
Conservative Quantum Dynamical Semigroups for mean-field quantum diffusion models

We consider a class of evolution equations in Lindblad form, which model the dynamics of dissipative quantum mechanical systems with mean-field interaction. Particularly, this class includes the so-called Quantum Fokker-Planck-Poisson model. The existence and uniqueness of global, mass preserving solutions is proved, thus establishing the existence of a nonlinear conservative quantum dynamical semigroup.
MoodSwipe: A Soft Keyboard that Suggests MessageBased on User-Specified Emotions

We present MoodSwipe, a soft keyboard that suggests text messages given the user-specified emotions utilizing the real dialog data. The aim of MoodSwipe is to create a convenient user interface to enjoy the technology of emotion classification and text suggestion, and at the same time to collect labeled data automatically for developing more advanced technologies. While users select the MoodSwipe keyboard, they can type as usual but sense the emotion conveyed by their text and receive suggestions for their message as a benefit. In MoodSwipe, the detected emotions serve as the medium for suggested texts, where viewing the latter is the incentive to correcting the former. We conduct several experiments to show the superiority of the emotion classification models trained on the dialog data, and further to verify good emotion cues are important context for text suggestion.
Flow in deformable porous media. Part 2 Numerical analysis – the relationship between shock waves and solitary waves

Using numerical schemes, this paper demonstrates how viscous resistance to volume changes modifies the simplest shock wave solutions presented in Part 1. For an initial condition chosen to form a step-function shock, viscous resistance causes the shock to disperse into a rank-ordered wavetrain of solitary waves. Large obstructions in flux produce large-amplitude, slow-moving wavetrains while smaller shocks shed small-amplitude waves. While the viscous resistance term is initially important over a narrow boundary layer, information about obstructions in the flux can propagate over many compaction lengths through the formation of non-zero wavelength porosity waves. For large-amplitude shocks, information can actually propagate backwards relative to the matrix. The physics of dispersion is discussed and a physical argument is presented to parameterize the amplitude of the wavetrain as a function of the amplitude of the predicted shock. This quantitative relationship between the prediction of shocks and the development of solitary waves also holds when mass transfer between solid and liquid is included. Melting causes solitary waves to decrease in amplitude but the process is reversible and freezing can cause small perturbations in the fluid flux to amplify into large-amplitude waves. These model problems show that the equations governing volume changes of the matrix are inherently time dependent. Perturbations to steady-state solutions propagate as nonlinear waves and these problems demonstrate several initial conditions that do not relax to steady state. If these equations describe processes such as magma migration in the Earth, then these processes should be inherently episodic in space and time.
Psychomotor development in preschool children exposed to antiepileptic drugs in utero

The aim of this study was to assess psychomotor development with the Griffiths' test in preschool children exposed to antiepileptic drags (AED) in utero. The study sample consisted of 76 children exposed to AED in utero and 71 unexposed children. The children (exposed and unexposed) have since birth been included in a population‐based longitudinal follow‐up study of children born to women with meticulously treated epilepsy during pregnancy, initiated in 1985. In total, 67 exposed and 66 unexposed children were tested with the Griffiths' test, which consists of 6 subsets: locomotor function, personal and social behaviour, hearing and speech, eye and hand coordination, performance, and practical reasoning. There was no significant difference in the global scores of the Griffiths' test between the two groups of children. Children exposed to phenytoin in utero (n= 16) showed a significant but subtle reduction in the scores for locomotor development compared with the unexposed children (mean scores: 98 vs 106; 95% confidence interval for the difference in mean scores: −14.0 to −0.4). There was no such difference for the children exposed to carbamazepine in utero (n= 35). The exposed children had significantly fewer siblings (p < 0.01). A significant number of the mothers with AED treatment had no higher level of education than compulsory school (p < 0.01). No other differences in socioeconomic status were observed between the groups.