Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY ON THE BIOCHEMICAL AND ELEMENTAL STOICHIOMETRY IN THE FRESHWATER DIATOM STEPHANODISCUS MINUTULUS (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE)*

The objective of this study was to examine the differences in the biochemical and elemental stoichiometry of a freshwater centric diatom, Stephanodiscus minutulus (Grun.), under various nutrient regimes. Stephanodiscus minutulus was grown at μmax or 22% of μmax under limitation by silicon, nitrogen, or phosphorus. Cell sizes for nutrient‐limited cultures were significantly smaller than the non‐limited cell sizes, with N‐limited cells being significantly smaller than all other treatments. Compared with the nutrient‐replete treatment, both carbohydrates and lipids increased in Si‐ and P‐limited cells, whereas carbohydrates increased but proteins decreased in N‐limited cells. All of the growth‐limited cells showed an increase of carbohydrate and triglyceride, and a decrease of cell size and polar lipids as a percentage of total lipids. The non‐limited cells also had a significantly higher chl a concentration and galactolipids as a percentage of total lipids than any of the limited treatments, and the low‐Si and low‐P cells had significantly higher values than the low‐N cells. The particulate C concentrations showed significant differences between treatments, with the Si‐ and P‐limited treatments being significantly higher than the N‐ and non‐limited treatments. Particulate Si did not show a strong relationship with any of the parameters measured, and it was the only parameter with no differences between treatments. The low‐Si cells had a significantly higher P content (about two times more) than any other treatment, presumably owing to the luxury consumption of P, and a correspondingly high phospholipid concentration. The elemental data showed that S. minutulus had a high P demand with low optimum N:P (4) and Si:P (10) ratios and a C:N:P ratio of 109:16:2.3. The particulate C showed a positive relationship with POM (r = 0.93), dry weight (r = 0.88), lipid (r = 0.87) and protein (r = 0.84, all P < 0.0001). Particulate N showed a positive relationship with galactolipids (r = 0.95), protein (r = 0.90), dry weight (r = 0.78), lipid (r = 0.75), and cell volume (r = 0.64, all P < 0.0001). It is evident that nutrient limitation in the freshwater diatom S. minutulus has pronounced effects on its biochemical and elemental stoichiometry.
Treatments of traumatic neuropathic pain: a systematic review

Traumatic neuropathic pain caused by traumatic neuroma has long been bothering both doctors and patients, the mechanisms of traumatic neuropathic pain are widely discussed by researchers and the treatment is challenging. Clinical treatment of painful neuroma is unclear. Numerous treatment modalities have been introduced by experts in this field. However, there is still no single standard recognized treatment. Different forms of treatments have been tested in animals and humans, but pharmacotherapies (antidepressants, antiepileptics) remain the basis of traumatic neuropathic pain management. For intractable cases, nerve stump transpositions into a muscle, vein or bone are seen as traditional surgical procedures which provide a certain degree of efficacy. Novel surgical techniques have emerged in recent years, such as tube guided nerve capping, electrical stimulation and adipose autograft have substantially enriched the abundance of the treatment for traumatic neuropathic pain. Several treatments show advantages over the others in terms of pain relief and prevention of neuroma formation, making it difficult to pick out a single modality as the reference. An effective and standardized treatment for traumatic neuropathic pain would provide better choice for researchers and clinical workers. In this review, we summarized current knowledge on the treatment of traumatic neuropathic pain, and found a therapeutic strategy for this intractable pain. We tried to provide a useful guideline for choosing the right modality in management of traumatic neuropathic pain.
Microbial diversity on the Tatahouine meteorite

Abstract— Biological processes can alter the chemistry and mineralogy of meteorites in a very short time, even in cold or hot deserts. It is thus important to assess the diversity of microorganisms that colonize meteorites in order to better understand their physiological capabilities. Microscopy observations of Tatahouine meteorite fragments that were exposed for 70 years in the Sahara desert showed that they were colonized by morphologically diverse biomorphs. A molecular diversity study based on 16S rRNA gene amplification of DNA supported the conclusion that a huge taxonomic diversity of prokaryotes colonized the Tatahouine meteorite in less than 70 years in the Tatahouine sand. Eleven different bacterial divisions were evidenced, among which Cytophaga‐Flexibacter‐Bacteroides (CFB), Cyanobacteria, and Alpha‐Proteobacteria were dominantly represented. Crenarcheota were also detected. Most of the Tatahouine meteorite phylotypes were related to sequences identified in the surrounding Tatahouine more generally to sequences detected in soils. Some of them, in particular many of the archaeal phylotypes, were detected in arid regions in association with desert varnish. The results suggest that the diversity of the clone library generated from the meteorite fraction was reduced compared with that of the Tatahouine sand clone library, which can be explained as the result of partial colonization of the meteorite and/or a specific selection of colonizing bacteria by the substrate. We discuss the possibility that several groups detected in this study may play a prominent role in the various alteration processes detected at the surface of the Tatahouine meteorite.
Social cognitive determinants of physical activity in young adults: A prospective structural equation analysis

This study used a prospective design to test a model of the relation between social cognitive variables and physical activity in a sample of 277 university students. Social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-regulation were measured at baseline and used to predict physical activity 8 weeks later. Results of structural equation modeling indicated a good fit of the social cognitive model to the data. Within the model, self-efficacy had the greatest total effect on physical activity, mediated largely by self-regulation, which directly predicted physical activity. Social support indirectly predicted physical activity through its effect on self-efficacy. Outcome expectations had a small total effect on physical activity, which did not reach significance. The social cognitive model explained 55% of the variance observed in physical activity.
Transcriptomic Analysis Implicates the p53 Signaling Pathway in the Establishment of HIV-1 Latency in Central Memory CD4 T Cells in an In Vitro Model

The search for an HIV-1 cure has been greatly hindered by the presence of a viral reservoir that persists despite antiretroviral therapy (ART). Studies of HIV-1 latency in vivo are also complicated by the low proportion of latently infected cells in HIV-1 infected individuals. A number of models of HIV-1 latency have been developed to examine the signaling pathways and viral determinants of latency and reactivation. A primary cell model of HIV-1 latency, which incorporates the generation of primary central memory CD4 T cells (TCM), full-length virus infection (HIVNL4-3) and ART to suppress virus replication, was used to investigate the establishment of HIV latency using RNA-Seq. Initially, an investigation of host and viral gene expression in the resting and activated states of this model indicated that the resting condition was reflective of a latent state. Then, a comparison of the host transcriptome between the uninfected and latently infected conditions of this model identified 826 differentially expressed genes, many of which were related to p53 signaling. Inhibition of the transcriptional activity of p53 by pifithrin-α during HIV-1 infection reduced the ability of HIV-1 to be reactivated from its latent state by an unknown mechanism. In conclusion, this model may be used to screen latency reversing agents utilized in shock and kill approaches to cure HIV, to search for cellular markers of latency, and to understand the mechanisms by which HIV-1 establishes latency.
Improved Answer Selection with Pre-Trained Word Embeddings

This paper evaluates existing and newly proposed answer selection methods based on pre-trained word embeddings. Word embeddings are highly effective in various natural language processing tasks and their integration into traditional information retrieval (IR) systems allows for the capture of semantic relatedness between questions and answers. Empirical results on three publicly available data sets show significant gains over traditional term frequency based approaches in both supervised and unsupervised settings. We show that combining these word embedding features with traditional learning-to-rank techniques can achieve similar performance to state-of-the-art neural networks trained for the answer selection task.
Clinical Outcomes After Isolated Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction for Patellar Instability Among Patients With Trochlear Dysplasia

Background: Medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction has become one of the most common and widely used procedures to regain stability among patients with recurrent lateral patellar dislocation. While recent studies demonstrated low recurrence rates, improved patient-reported outcome measures, and a high rate of return to sports, limited literature explored its effectiveness as an isolated intervention in the context of trochlear dysplasia. Purpose: To determine the efficacy of isolated MPFL reconstruction in treating patellar instability in the setting of trochlear dysplasia. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: This was a retrospective review of consecutive patients who underwent uni- or bilateral medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction for patellofemoral instability with a minimum 2-year follow-up. No osteotomies were included. Pre- and postoperative assessment included ligamentous laxity, patellar crepitus, tilt, translation, apprehension, and radiographic features, including tibial tubercle-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance, Dejour classification, and Caton-Deschamps index. Results: A total of 121 MPFL reconstructions were included. Mean age at surgery was 23.8 years, and 4.4 dislocation events occurred before surgery. Mean follow-up was 44 months; 76% of patients were female. Mean preoperative TT-TG ratio was 13.5, and mean Caton-Deschamps ratio was 1.2; 92% of patients had Dejour B, C, or D trochlear dysplasia. Kujala score improved from 55.0 preoperatively to 90.0 (P < .001). Almost all patients (94.5%) were able to return to sports at 1 year, with 74% returning to the same or higher level of play. Only 3 patients reported a postoperative dislocation or subluxation event. Discussion: For patients without significantly elevated TT-TG distances or significant patella alta, isolated MPFL reconstruction provides a safe and effective treatment for patellofemoral instability, despite the presence of trochlear dysplasia. Most patients are able to return to sports by 1 year postoperatively at the same or higher level of play.
Power Up for Health—Participants’ Perspectives on an Adaptation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program to Engage Men

The National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) has been effectively translated to various community and clinical settings; however, regardless of setting, enrollment among men and lower-income populations is low. This study presents participant perspectives on Power Up for Health, a novel NDPP pilot adaption for men residing in low-income communities in New York City. We conducted nine interviews and one focus group with seven participants after the program ended. Interview and focus group participants had positive perceptions of the program and described the all-male aspect of the program and its reliance on male coaches as major strengths. Men felt the all-male adaptation allowed for more open, in-depth conversations on eating habits, weight loss, body image, and masculinity. Participants also reported increased knowledge and changes to their dietary and physical activity habits. Recommendations for improving the program included making the sessions more interactive by, for example, adding exercise or healthy cooking demonstrations. Overall, findings from the pilot suggest this NDPP adaptation was acceptable to men and facilitated behavior change and unique discussions that would likely not have occurred in a mixed-gender NDPP implementation.
Surface characteristics of thermally treated titanium surfaces

Purpose The characteristics of oxidized titanium (Ti) surfaces varied according to treatment conditions such as duration time and temperature. Thermal oxidation can change Ti surface characteristics, which affect many cellular responses such as cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the surface characteristics and cell response of thermally treated Ti surfaces. Methods The samples were divided into 4 groups. Control: machined smooth titanium (Ti-S) was untreated. Group I: Ti-S was treated in a furnace at 300℃ for 30 minutes. Group II: Ti-S was treated at 500℃ for 30 minutes. Group III: Ti-S was treated at 750℃ for 30 minutes. A scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, and X-ray diffraction were used to assess surface characteristics and chemical composition. The water contact angle and surface energy were measured to assess physical properties. Results The titanium dioxide (TiO2) thickness increased as the treatment temperature increased. Additional peaks belonging to rutile TiO2 were only found in group III. The contact angle in group III was significantly lower than any of the other groups. The surface energy significantly increased as the treatment temperature increased, especially in group III. In the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, after 24 hours of incubation, the assessment of cell viability showed that the optical density of the control had a higher tendency than any other group, but there was no significant difference. However, the alkaline phosphatase activity increased as the temperature increased, especially in group III. Conclusions Consequently, the surface characteristics and biocompatibility increased as the temperature increased. This indicates that surface modification by thermal treatment could be another useful method for medical and dental implants.
Investigating the predictive validity of implicit and explicit measures of motivation on condom use, physical activity and healthy eating

The literature on health-related behaviours and motivation is replete with research involving explicit processes and their relations with intentions and behaviour. Recently, interest has been focused on the impact of implicit processes and measures on health-related behaviours. Dual-systems models have been proposed to provide a framework for understanding the effects of explicit or deliberative and implicit or impulsive processes on health behaviours. Informed by a dual-systems approach and self-determination theory, the aim of this study was to test the effects of implicit and explicit motivation on three health-related behaviours in a sample of undergraduate students (N = 162). Implicit motives were hypothesised to predict behaviour independent of intentions while explicit motives would be mediated by intentions. Regression analyses indicated that implicit motivation predicted physical activity behaviour only. Across all behaviours, intention mediated the effects of explicit motivational variables from self-determination theory. This study provides limited support for dual-systems models and the role of implicit motivation in the prediction of health-related behaviour. Suggestions for future research into the role of implicit processes in motivation are outlined.
Using pedigree information to monitor genetic variability of endangered populations: the Xalda sheep breed of Asturias as an example

Summary The aim of this work is to highlight the need of monitoring small populations to conserve their genetic variability by using a set of parameters to characterize both the structure of populations and management practices. As a representative example we analyse the pedigree information of the endangered Xalda sheep breed of Asturias. The herdbook of Xalda sheep included a total of 805 animals and 62 herds. The number of founders was 329. Nowadays, there are 562 live animals and 26 active herds. The breed is in risk of losing genetic diversity because of the abusive use of certain individuals as parents. The effective number of founder animals is 81.1. The effective number of founder herds is 9.9. The average value of inbreeding in the whole Xalda population was 1.5%. The average relatedness (AR) coefficient reached 1.8% in the whole pedigree. The genetic representation of the lines of founders is unbalanced. Inbreeding trends and effective size do not provide realistic information concerning the risk of loss of diversity as a result of the shallowness of the genealogical information. We suggest the monitoring of the breed using AR to unbalance the genetic contributions of specific individuals, equalizing the genetic representation of the founders and lines in the population. In addition, AR can suggest the introduction of new, under-represented animals in herds showing high average AR values relative to the population. Our results can be useful to improve the development of conservation initiatives involving open herdbooks to avoid the risk of loss of genetic diversity caused by incorrect management practices.
De novo Transcriptome Assembly and SNP Discovery in the Wing Polymorphic Salt Marsh Beetle Pogonus chalceus (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

Background The salt marsh beetle Pogonus chalceus represents a unique opportunity to understand and study the origin and evolution of dispersal polymorphisms as remarkable inter-population divergence in dispersal related traits (e.g. wing development, body size and metabolism) has been shown to persist in face of strong homogenizing gene flow. Sequencing and assembling the transcriptome of P. chalceus is a first step in developing large scale genetic information that will allow us to further study the recurrent phenotypic evolution in dispersal traits in these natural populations. Methodology/Results We used the Illumina HiSeq2000 to sequence 37 Gbases of the transcriptome and performed de novo transcriptome assembly with the Trinity short read assembler. This resulted in 65,766 contigs, clustering into 39,393 unique transcripts (unigenes). A subset of 12,987 show similarity (BLAST) to known proteins in the NCBI database and 7,589 are assigned Gene Ontology (GO). Using homology searches we identified all reported genes involved in wing development, juvenile- and ecdysteroid hormone pathways in Tribolium castaneum. About half (56.7%) of the unique assembled genes are shared among three life stages (third-instar larva, pupa, and imago). We identified 38,141 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these unigenes. Of these SNPs, 26,823 (70.3%) were found in a predicted open reading frame (ORF) and 6,998 (18.3%) were nonsynonymous. Conclusions The assembled transcriptome and SNP data are essential genomic resources for further study of the developmental pathways, genetic mechanisms and metabolic consequences of adaptive divergence in dispersal power in natural populations.
A Finite Population Likelihood Ratio Test of the Sharp Null Hypothesis for Compliers

In a randomized experiment with noncompliance, scientific interest is often in testing whether the treatment exposure X has an effect on the final outcome Y. We propose a finite-population significance test of the sharp null hypothesis that X has no effect on Y, within the principal stratum of Compliers, using a generalized likelihood ratio test. We present a new algorithm that solves the corresponding integer programs.
Radiometric evaluation of the SNPP VIIRS reflective solar band sensor data records via inter-sensor comparison with Aqua MODIS

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) in the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite has been on orbit for nearly five years since its launch on 28 October 2011. The NOAA Ocean Color (OC) Team through the investigations of Sun and Wang has recently achieved robust calibration of the VIIRS reflective solar bands (RSBs) and generated its own version of the sensor data records (SDRs) with accuracy sufficient for ocean color applications. For the purpose of making a direct evaluation of the SDR performance, for both the OC version and the official Interface Processing Data Segment (IDPS) version, we utilize an inter-sensor radiometric comparison of SNPP VIIRS against the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua satellite for the spectrally matching RSBs. The VIIRS RSBs M1–M8, from 410 to 1238 nm in the spectral range, are tested. Except for the VIIRS M1 versus MODIS Band 8 result, the radiance comparison time series shows that the OC SDRs demonstrate good agreement with Aqua MODIS and overall better results than the IDPS SDRs, such as less variation, no large discrepancy at the beginning of the VIIRS mission, and no long-term drift. The VIIRS M1 versus MODIS Band 8 trend is the lone exception showing a drift in the OC SDR-based trends, but eventually a downward drift of 1% in Aqua MODIS Band 8 is identified to be the cause. It is readily concluded that the inter-comparison result directly demonstrates the OC SDRs to be correct within statistics, especially considering that the ocean color products derived from the OC SDRs have already matured and demonstrated good agreement with in situ data. On the other hand, the IDPS SDR results demonstrably expose the known inherent growing bias in RSB calibration that affects any versions of the SNPP VIIRS SDRs not using the correctly mitigated calibration baseline. The inter-comparison of two moderate resolution sensors is also an exercise in statistics, and we briefly discuss key points of the pixel-based analysis that establishes the precision and the reliability of the result
Multi‐target localization and circumnavigation by a single agent using bearing measurements

This paper considers the problem of localization and circumnavigation of a group of targets, which are either stationary or moving slowly with unknown speed, by a single agent. An estimator is proposed, initially for the stationary target case, to localize the targets and the center of mass of them as well as a control law that forces the agent to move on a circular trajectory around the center of mass of the targets such that both the estimator and the controller are exponentially stable. Then the case where the targets might experience slow but possibly steady movements is studied. The system inputs include the agent's position and the bearing angles to the targets. The performance of the proposed algorithms is verified through simulations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Update on Mechanical Design of a Cosθ 16-T Bending Dipole for the Future Circular Collider

After the large hadron collider (LHC), a higher energy range must be explored to address the open questions in particle physics. A new generation of colliders will be necessary, able to accelerate both leptons and hadrons to energy higher than previous machines. The EuroCirCol European collaboration, in the framework of the future circular collider (FCC) project, has the aim to provide a design for a hadron collider that is able to accelerate protons to 50 TeV in a 80–100 km circumference tunnel. One of the most challenging task is the design of the bending dipole, which must be able to produce magnetic field as high as 16 T. In this paper, the state of art of the cos θ option for the 16 T dipole for FCC is presented. In particular, the mechanical design will be described, showing that promising solutions have been found.