Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental studies on the accumulation of polonium‐210 by marine phytoplankton

Bioaccumulation of polonium‐210 (t1/2 = 138 d) in marine phytoplankton can introduce this naturally occurring radioisotope into food chains, where it accounts for most of the radiation dose to marine organisms and to human consumers of seafood. Moreover, this isotope could be useful as a tracer of the flux of organic matter in ocean surface waters. We performed laboratory experiments with eight algal species representing six algal divisions to quantify the uptake, cellular partitioning, and retention of 210Po by algae. Biological uptake was unaffected by temperature or light, and volume concentration factors (VCFs) for these algal species ranged between 0.5 and 3.0 × 104. Interspecific differences in VCFs could be explained by considering the surface area to volume ratios of the cells and cellular protein content. Once associated with the cells, between 30 and 60% of the total cellular 210Po was in the cytoplasm of the different species. 210Po was not irreversibly bound to the cells but displayed a biological half‐life of ~23 d. Because 210Po associates appreciably with organic matter inside cells, unlike other particlereactive nonessential metals, it could have promise as a tracer of sinking organic matter in the ocean.
Rosiglitazone Treatment of Type 2 Diabetic db/db Mice Attenuates Urinary Albumin and Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 Excretion

Alterations within the renal renin angiotensin system play a pivotal role in the development and progression of cardiovascular and renal disease. Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is highly expressed in renal tubules and has been shown to be renoprotective in diabetes. The protease, a disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) 17, is involved in the ectodomain shedding of several transmembrane proteins including ACE2. Renal ACE2 and ADAM17 were significantly increased in db/db mice compared to controls. We investigated the effect of the insulin sensitizer, rosiglitazone, on albuminuria, renal ADAM17 protein expression and ACE2 shedding in db/db diabetic mice. Rosiglitazone treatment of db/db mice normalized hyperglycemia, attenuated renal injury and decreased urinary ACE2 and renal ADAM17 protein expression. Urinary excreted ACE2 is enzymatically active. Western blot analysis of urinary ACE2 demonstrated two prominent immunoreactive bands at approximately 70 & 90 kDa. The predominant immunoreactive band is approximately 20 kDa shorter than the one demonstrated for kidney lysate, indicating possible ectodomain shedding of active renal ACE2 in the urine. Therefore, it is tempting to speculate that renoprotection of rosiglitazone could be partially mediated via downregulation of renal ADAM17 and ACE2 shedding. In addition, there was a positive correlation between blood glucose, urinary albumin, plasma glucagon, and triglyceride levels with urinary ACE2 excretion. In conclusion, urinary ACE2 could be used as a sensitive biomarker of diabetic nephropathy and for monitoring the effectiveness of renoprotective medication.
Strategic reduction of help before dispersal in a cooperative breeder

In cooperative breeders, sexually mature subordinates can either queue for chances to inherit the breeding position in their natal group, or disperse to reproduce independently. The choice of one or the other option may be flexible, as when individuals respond to attractive dispersal options, or they may reflect fixed life-history trajectories. Here, we show in a permanently marked, natural population of the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher that subordinate helpers reduce investment in territory defence shortly before dispersing. Such reduction of effort is not shown by subordinates who stay and inherit the breeding position. This difference suggests that subordinates ready to leave reduce their investment in the natal territory strategically in favour of future life-history perspectives. It seems to be part of a conditional choice of the dispersal tactic, as this reduction in effort appears only shortly before dispersal, whereas philopatric and dispersing helpers do not differ in defence effort earlier in life. Hence, cooperative territory defence is state-dependent and plastic rather than a consistent part of a fixed life-history trajectory.
Computer Assisted Composition with Recurrent Neural Networks

Sequence modeling with neural networks has lead to powerful models of symbolic music data. We address the problem of exploiting these models to reach creative musical goals, by combining with human input. To this end we generalise previous work, which sampled Markovian sequence models under the constraint that the sequence belong to the language of a given finite state machine provided by the human. We consider more expressive non-Markov models, thereby requiring approximate sampling which we provide in the form of an efficient sequential Monte Carlo method. In addition we provide and compare with a beam search strategy for conditional probability maximisation. Our algorithms are capable of convincingly re-harmonising famous musical works. To demonstrate this we provide visualisations, quantitative experiments, a human listening test and audio examples. We find both the sampling and optimisation procedures to be effective, yet complementary in character. For the case of highly permissive constraint sets, we find that sampling is to be preferred due to the overly regular nature of the optimisation based results. The generality of our algorithms permits countless other creative applications.
Dynamics of asymptotically hyperbolic manifolds

We prove a dynamical wave trace formula for asymptotically hyperbolic (n + 1)-dimensional manifolds with negative (but not necessarily constant) sectional curvatures; the formula equates the renormalized wave trace to the lengths of closed geodesics. This result generalizes the classical theorem of Duistermaat and Guillemin for compact manifolds and the results of Guillope and Zworski, Perry, and Guillarmou and Naud for hyperbolic manifolds with infinite volume. A corollary of this dynamical trace formula is a dynamical resonance-wave trace formula for compact perturbations of convex cocompact hyperbolic manifolds. We define a dynamical zeta function and prove its analyticity in a half plane. In our main result, we produce a prime orbit theorem for the geodesic flow. This is the first such result for manifolds that have neither constant curvature nor finite volume. As a corollary to the prime orbit theorem, using our dynamical resonance-wave trace formula, we show that the existence of pure point spectrum for the Laplacian on negatively curved compact perturbations of convex cocompact hyperbolic manifolds is related to the dynamics of the geodesic flow.
Detection of Pediatric Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Outbreaks from Free-Text Chief Complaints

We conducted a retrospective study to ascertain the potential of free-text chief complaints collected in pediatric emergency departments to serve as surveillance data for early detection of outbreaks. We determined that automatically coded chief complaint data provide a signal that reflects outbreaks in a population of children less than five years of age. Using the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) detection algorithm, we measured the timeliness, sensitivity, and specificity of free-text chief complaints for predicting outbreaks of pediatric respiratory and gastrointestinal illness. We found that time series of automatically coded free text-chief complaints in pediatric patients correlate well with hospital admissions and precede them by the mean of 10.3 days (95% CI -15.15, 35.5) for respiratory outbreaks and 29 days (95% CI 4.23, 53.7) for gastrointestinal outbreaks. We conclude that free-text chief complaints may play an important role as an early, sensitive and specific indicator of outbreaks of respiratory and gastrointestinal illness in children less than five years of age.
Optimum Spatio-Spectral Filtering Network for Brain–Computer Interface

This paper proposes a feature extraction method for motor imagery brain-computer interface (BCI) using electroencephalogram. We consider the primary neurophysiologic phenomenon of motor imagery, termed event-related desynchronization, and formulate the learning task for feature extraction as maximizing the mutual information between the spatio-spectral filtering parameters and the class labels. After introducing a nonparametric estimate of mutual information, a gradient-based learning algorithm is devised to efficiently optimize the spatial filters in conjunction with a band-pass filter. The proposed method is compared with two existing methods on real data: a BCI Competition IV dataset as well as our data collected from seven human subjects. The results indicate the superior performance of the method for motor imagery classification, as it produced higher classification accuracy with statistical significance (≥95% confidence level) in most cases.
Structure, Dynamics and Implied Gating Mechanism of a Human Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channel

Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) ion channels are nonselective cation channels, essential for visual and olfactory sensory transduction. Although the channels include voltage-sensor domains (VSDs), their conductance is thought to be independent of the membrane potential, and their gating regulated by cytosolic cyclic nucleotide–binding domains. Mutations in these channels result in severe, degenerative retinal diseases, which remain untreatable. The lack of structural information on CNG channels has prevented mechanistic understanding of disease-causing mutations, precluded structure-based drug design, and hampered in silico investigation of the gating mechanism. To address this, we built a 3D model of the cone tetrameric CNG channel, based on homology to two distinct templates with known structures: the transmembrane (TM) domain of a bacterial channel, and the cyclic nucleotide-binding domain of the mouse HCN2 channel. Since the TM-domain template had low sequence-similarity to the TM domains of the CNG channels, and to reconcile conflicts between the two templates, we developed a novel, hybrid approach, combining homology modeling with evolutionary coupling constraints. Next, we used elastic network analysis of the model structure to investigate global motions of the channel and to elucidate its gating mechanism. We found the following: (i) In the main mode of motion, the TM and cytosolic domains counter-rotated around the membrane normal. We related this motion to gating, a proposition that is supported by previous experimental data, and by comparison to the known gating mechanism of the bacterial KirBac channel. (ii) The VSDs could facilitate gating (supplementing the pore gate), explaining their presence in such ‘voltage-insensitive’ channels. (iii) Our elastic network model analysis of the CNGA3 channel supports a modular model of allosteric gating, according to which protein domains are quasi-independent: they can move independently, but are coupled to each other allosterically.
High-Efficiency Doherty Power Amplifiers: Historical Aspect and Modern Trends

In modern wireless communication systems, it is very important to realize simultaneously high-efficiency and linear operation of power amplifiers. This paper-overview describes the historical aspect of the Doherty approach to the power-amplifier design introduced in 1936 and modern trends in Doherty amplifier (DA) design techniques using multistage and asymmetric multiway architectures. To increase efficiency over the power backoff range, the switchmode class-E, conventional class-F, or inverse class-F operation mode by controlling the second and third harmonics can be used in the load network. The DA with a series-connected load, and inverted, push–pull, balanced, and parallel Doherty architectures are also described and discussed. Finally, examples of the lumped DA implemented in monolithic microwave integrated circuits, digitally driven Doherty technique, and broadband capability of the two-stage DA are given.
Placental thickness & its correlation to gestational age & foetal growth parameters- a cross sectional ultrasonographic study.

BACKGROUND The Gestational Age (GA) is frequently over or under estimated, as the conventional gestational estimation is based on the Last Menstrual Period (LMP) and on ultrasonography (USG). Many people are unaware of their LMP and irregular menstruations and USG is bound to have a bias, thereby posing difficulties in the GA estimation. AIM This study was aimed at estimating the (Placental Thickness) PT and at investigating the relationship between PT and the foetal growth parameters in normal singleton pregnancies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two hundred eleven pregnant women were recruited in a cross sectional prospective study. The pregnancies were between 11 to 40 weeks and they were not complicated by either maternal or foetal diseases. The Biparietal Diameter (BPD), the Abdominal Circumference (AC), the Head Circumference (HC), the Femur Length (FL) and the PT were measured by USG by using a 3.5 MHz transducer. RESULTS The maximum mean PT in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and the combined trimesters were 16.5 mm, 23.78 mm, 35.81 mm and 28.49 mm respectively. The correlation between PT and the other foetal parameters was investigated by Pearson's correlation analysis. The values were expressed as mean + standard deviation. The statistical tests were two-tailed, with a p value of < 0.01, which indicated the statistical significance. There was a strong positive correlation between PT and GA, with the correlation coefficient values for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters being r = 0.609, r = 0.812 and r = 0.814 respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between PT and BPD, AC, FL, ABC, HC and FW also. The mathematical relationships between PT and GA, BPD, AC, FL, ABC, HC, FW were derived by regression analysis. The regression equation which was derived was (x - 22.92) = (0.3604) (w-27.86446) + (1.0256)(y-1.1678) + (0.0015)(z-216.2841) + (0.1047) (t-43.1555) + (0.027) (u.192.79000) + (0.0042) (v-60.3725), where x = GA in weeks, w = PT in mm, y = FW in kg, z = HC in mm, t = FL in mm, u = AC in mm and v = BPD in mm. CONCLUSION We conclude that PT can be used as a predictor of the GA. The subnormal PT for the corresponding GA should be evaluated for any disease condition. So, the measurement of PT should therefore be carried out routinely during the obstetric USGs.
Expertise and processing distorted structure in chess

A classic finding in research on human expertise and knowledge is that of enhanced memory for stimuli in a domain of expertise as compared to either stimuli outside that domain, or within-domain stimuli that have been degraded or distorted in some way. However, we do not understand how experts process degradation or distortion of stimuli within the expert domain (e.g., a face with the eyes, nose, and mouth in the wrong positions, or a chessboard with pieces placed randomly). Focusing on the domain of chess, we present new fMRI evidence that when experts view such distorted/within-domain stimuli, they engage an active search for structure—a kind of exploratory chunking—that involves a component of a prefrontal-parietal network linked to consciousness, attention and working memory.
Random Feature Expansions for Deep Gaussian Processes

The composition of multiple Gaussian Processes as a Deep Gaussian Process (DGP) enables a deep probabilistic nonparametric approach to flexibly tackle complex machine learning problems with sound quantification of uncertainty. Existing inference approaches for DGP models have limited scalability and are notoriously cumbersome to construct. In this work we introduce a novel formulation of DGPs based on random feature expansions that we train using stochastic variational inference. This yields a practical learning framework which significantly advances the state-of-the-art in inference for DGPs, and enables accurate quantification of uncertainty. We extensively showcase the scalability and performance of our proposal on several datasets with up to 8 million observations, and various DGP architectures with up to 30 hidden layers.
Myogenic Potential of Canine Craniofacial Satellite Cells

The skeletal fibers have different embryological origin; the extraocular and jaw-closer muscles develop from prechordal mesoderm while the limb and trunk muscles from somites. These different origins characterize also the adult muscle stem cells, known as satellite cells (SCs) and responsible for the fiber growth and regeneration. The physiological properties of presomitic SCs and their epigenetics are poorly studied despite their peculiar characteristics to preserve muscle integrity during chronic muscle degeneration. Here, we isolated SCs from canine somitic [somite-derived muscle (SDM): vastus lateralis, rectus abdominis, gluteus superficialis, biceps femoris, psoas] and presomitic [pre-somite-derived muscle (PSDM): lateral rectus, temporalis, and retractor bulbi] muscles as myogenic progenitor cells from young and old animals. In addition, SDM and PSDM-SCs were obtained also from golden retrievers affected by muscular dystrophy (GRMD). We characterized the lifespan, the myogenic potential and functions, and oxidative stress of both somitic and presomitic SCs with the aim to reveal differences with aging and between healthy and dystrophic animals. The different proliferation rate was consistent with higher telomerase activity in PSDM-SCs compared to SDM-SCs, although restricted at early passages. SDM-SCs express early (Pax7, MyoD) and late (myosin heavy chain, myogenin) myogenic markers differently from PSDM-SCs resulting in a more efficient and faster cell differentiation. Taken together, our results showed that PSDM-SCs elicit a stronger stem cell phenotype compared to SDM ones. Finally, myomiR expression profile reveals a unique epigenetic signature in GRMD SCs and miR-206, highly expressed in dystrophic SCs, seems to play a critical role in muscle degeneration. Thus, miR-206 could represent a potential target for novel therapeutic approaches.
Development of a Systematic Approach to Identify Metabolites for Herbal homologues based on LC-IT-TOF/MS: Gender-related Difference in Metabolism of S chisandra Lignans in Rats

Metabolic research for herbal medicine (HM) is a formidable task, and still in its infancy due to complicated components in HM, complex metabolic pathways, lacking of authentic standards, and etc . The present work contributes to the development of a powerful technical platform to rapidly identify and cla ssify metabolites of herbal components based on a liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap tim e o f f light ma ss spectrometry (LC-IT-TOF/MS). Taking schisandra lignans e xtract (SLE) as an example, the metabolic studies were completed both in vitro and in vivo . In the in vitro study, metabolites for five representative Schisandra lignans were identified and structurally characterized. The major metabolic pathways were summed as demethylation, hydroxylation, and demethylation & hyd roxylation. In the in vivo study, 44 metabolites were detected in rat ur ine. These metabolites were identified and classified rapidly according to the metabolic rules obtained in the in vitro studies, a nd hydroxylation wa s c onfirmed as th e p rimacy metabolic p athway for lignans in rat ur ine. I n ad dition, ‘ relative cumulative excretion’ (RCE) f or the metabolites in female and in male rats were calculated according to their relative intensities in the urine samples collected at 0-12, 12-24 and 24-36 h. As a result, great gender related difference on REC was observed. For most metabolites, RCE in female rats was significantly lower than that in male rats. In c onclusion, the p resently d eveloped methodology and app roach o n m etabolic resea rch for Schisandra lignans will find its wide use in metabolic studies for herbal medicines.
Comparative Evaluation of Ungerminated and Germinated Co-Fermented Instant ‘Ogi’ From Blends of Maize (Zea mays) and Ground Bean (Kerstingiella geocarpa)

‘Ogi’ is a fermented maize food commonly consumed as a weaning and breakfast diet in sub-Saharan Africa. Instant ‘ogi’ production arises from the growing demand for fast foods among its urban populace. The study was carried out to determine the effect of different treatments on the proximate, mineral, anti-nutrient, microbial and sensory quality of 30% substituted Kerstingiella geocarpa ‘ogi’. Four samples of 30% Kerstingiella geocarpa ‘ogi’ were subjected to different treatments and coded USF, GSF, GPF, UPF. Sample USF (control) was ungerminated and spontaneously co-fermented while sample GSF was germinated and spontaneously co-fermented; Sample GPF was germinated and probiotic co-fermented while sample UPF was ungerminated and probiotic fermented. Results of analysis showed that the germinated samples (GPF, GSF) had higher protein, ash and crude fibre contents (P>0.05) but lesser fat content than their ungerminated co-fermented counterpart. Except for manganese content, the mineral contents (Ca, P, K, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu) of the germinated spontaneously co-fermented sample, GSF were higher than that of the germinated probiotic co-fermented sample, GPF. Trypsin inhibitor content ranged from 1.20-1.54mg/100g and was significantly lower in the germinated samples than their ungerminated counterpart. Results of sensory evaluation shows that sample USF (control) had the highest score of 8.78 for aroma while sample GPF scored highest for taste and overall acceptability. Therefore, germination and probiotic co-fermentation could be adopted as an improved treatment for commercial production of 30% Kerstingiella geocarpa -maize ‘ogi’.
Autocrine IL‐10 partially prevents differentiation of neonatal dendritic epidermal leukocytes into Langerhans cells

To test whether reduced immune responsiveness in early life may be related to the immaturity of neonatal antigen‐presenting cells, we comparatively assessed the phenotypic and functional characteristics of dendritic epidermal leukocytes (DEL) and epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) in newborn (NB) and adult mice, respectively. We report that purified, 3‐day‐culturedDEL do not acquire the morphology and phenotype typical of LC and are significantly weaker stimulators of naive, allogeneic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells than LC. Freshly isolated DEL are twice as efficient as LC in the uptake of fluorescein isothiocyanate‐conjugated tracers but are not able to present these to antigen‐specific T cell hybridomas. To clarify the underlying cause, cytokine expression of NB and adult epidermal cells (EC) was examined. We found that DEL express considerable amounts of interleukin (IL)‐10, that IL‐10 in NB EC supernatants partially inhibits LC maturation, and that DEL‐enriched EC from IL‐10−/− mice induce stronger primary T cell responses compared with those from IL‐10+/+ mice. We conclude that IL‐10 is one of the factors preventing maturation and differentiation of DEL into immunocompetent LC in intrauterine life and is at least partly responsible for the poor immune responsiveness of neonates.