Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The emergence of Pax7-expressing muscle stem cells during vertebrate head muscle development

Pax7 expressing muscle stem cells accompany all skeletal muscles in the body and in healthy individuals, efficiently repair muscle after injury. Currently, the in vitro manipulation and culture of these cells is still in its infancy, yet muscle stem cells may be the most promising route toward the therapy of muscle diseases such as muscular dystrophies. It is often overlooked that muscular dystrophies affect head and body skeletal muscle differently. Moreover, these muscles develop differently. Specifically, head muscle and its stem cells develop from the non-somitic head mesoderm which also has cardiac competence. To which extent head muscle stem cells retain properties of the early head mesoderm and might even be able to switch between a skeletal muscle and cardiac fate is not known. This is due to the fact that the timing and mechanisms underlying head muscle stem cell development are still obscure. Consequently, it is not clear at which time point one should compare the properties of head mesodermal cells and head muscle stem cells. To shed light on this, we traced the emergence of head muscle stem cells in the key vertebrate models for myogenesis, chicken, mouse, frog and zebrafish, using Pax7 as key marker. Our study reveals a common theme of head muscle stem cell development that is quite different from the trunk. Unlike trunk muscle stem cells, head muscle stem cells do not have a previous history of Pax7 expression, instead Pax7 expression emerges de-novo. The cells develop late, and well after the head mesoderm has committed to myogenesis. We propose that this unique mechanism of muscle stem cell development is a legacy of the evolutionary history of the chordate head mesoderm.
Gold nanoparticles induce heme oxygenase-1 expression through Nrf2 activation and Bach1 export in human vascular endothelial cells

It has been reported that increased levels and activity of the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) protein ameliorate tissue injuries. In the present study, we investigated the effects and mechanisms of action of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on HO-1 protein expression in human vascular endothelial cells (ECs). The AuNPs induced HO-1 protein and mRNA expression in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The induction was reduced by the thiol-containing antioxidants, including N-acetylcysteine and glutathione, but not by the non-thiol-containing antioxidants and inhibitors that block the enzymes for intracellular reactive oxygen species generation. The AuNPs enhanced Nrf2 protein levels but did not affect Nrf2 mRNA expression. In response to the AuNP treatment, the cytosolic Nrf2 translocated to the nucleus, and, concomitantly, Bach1 exited the nucleus and its tyrosine phosphorylation increased. The chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that the translocated Nrf2 bound to the antioxidant-response element located in the E2 enhancer region of the HO-1 gene promoter and acted as a transcription factor. Although N-acetylcysteine inhibited the AuNP-induced Nrf2 nuclear translocation, the AuNPs did not promote intracellular reactive oxygen species production or endoplasmic reticulum stress in the ECs. Knockdown of Nrf2 expression by RNA interference significantly inhibited AuNP-induced HO-1 expression at the protein and mRNA levels. In summary, AuNPs enhance the levels and nuclear translocation of the Nrf2 protein and Bach1 export/tyrosine phosphorylation, leading to Nrf2 binding to the HO-1 E2 enhancer promoter region to drive HO-1 expression in ECs. This study, together with our parallel findings, demonstrates that AuNPs can act as an HO-1 inducer, which may partially contribute to their anti-inflammatory bioactivity in human vascular ECs.
Load–frequency control : a GA-based multi-agent reinforcement learning

The load–frequency control (LFC) problem has been one of the major subjects in a power system. In practice, LFC systems use proportional–integral (PI) controllers. However since these controllers are designed using a linear model, the non-linearities of the system are not accounted for and they are incapable of gaining good dynamical performance for a wide range of operating conditions in a multi-area power system. A strategy for solving this problem because of the distributed nature of a multi-area power system is presented by using a multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) approach. It consists of two agents in each power area; the estimator agent provides the area control error (ACE) signal based on the frequency bias estimation and the controller agent uses reinforcement learning to control the power system in which genetic algorithm optimisation is used to tune its parameters. This method does not depend on any knowledge of the system and it admits considerable flexibility in defining the control objective. Also, by finding the ACE signal based on the frequency bias estimation the LFC performance is improved and by using the MARL parallel, computation is realised, leading to a high degree of scalability. Here, to illustrate the accuracy of the proposed approach, a three-area power system example is given with two scenarios.
Distributed Linearized Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers for Composite Convex Consensus Optimization

Given an undirected graph <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {G}=(\mathcal {N},\mathcal {E})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of agents <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {N}=\lbrace 1,\ldots,N\rbrace$</tex-math></inline-formula> connected with edges in <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $\mathcal {E}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, we study how to compute an optimal decision on which there is consensus among agents and that minimizes the sum of agent-specific private convex composite functions <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lbrace \Phi _i\rbrace _{i\in \mathcal {N}}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, where <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Phi _i\triangleq \xi _i + f_i$</tex-math></inline-formula> belongs to agent-<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$i$</tex-math></inline-formula>. Assuming only agents connected by an edge can communicate, we propose a distributed proximal gradient algorithm (DPGA) for consensus optimization over both unweighted and weighted static (undirected) communication networks. In one iteration, each agent-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$i$</tex-math></inline-formula> computes the prox map of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\xi _i$</tex-math></inline-formula> and gradient of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f_i$</tex-math></inline-formula>, and this is followed by local communication with neighboring agents. We also study its stochastic gradient variant, SDPGA, which can only access to noisy estimates of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\nabla f_i$</tex-math></inline-formula> at each agent-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$i$</tex-math></inline-formula>. This computational model abstracts a number of applications in distributed sensing, machine learning and statistical inference. We show ergodic convergence in both suboptimality error and consensus violation for the DPGA and SDPGA with rates <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(1/t)$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(1/\sqrt{t})$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, respectively.
Using Cue Phrases to Determine a Set of Rhetorical Relations

based' approaches to discourse analysis and text generation suuer from a common problem: there is considerable disagreement between researchers over the set of relations which is proposed. Few researchers use identical sets of relations, and many use relations not found in any other sets. This proliferation of relations has been pointed out before (eg Hovy 1]), and several methods for justifying a standard set of relations have been proposed: this paper reviews some of these, and presents a new method of justiication which overcomes some awkward problems. Descriptive Adequacy Clearly, a set of relations must havègood coverage'|it must be possible to analyse all the texts of the kind targeted using the speciied relations. At the same time, this cannot be the only requirement on a set of relations, because many diierent sets of relations can be used to describe the same set of texts. For instance, the level of detail of the description is not constrained: how do we decide whether or not to subdivide result into volitional result and non-volitional result? Again, diierent cuts through the space of relations are possible: why distinguish between volitional and non-volitional result, and not between, say, immediate and delayed result? In fact the notion of`descriptive adequacy' seems to make little sense in isolation: in addition, it is necessary to specify a purpose for which the proposed description is adequate. Psychological Reality One way that a purpose can be speciied is by stipulating that relations modeìcognitive' constructs|that is, constructs which people actually use when they create and interpret text. On this conception, a description of the relations in a text becomes part of a theory of how the text originated, and why it is the way it is. This stipulation gives relations real explanatory power in a theory of discourse coherence: we could argue that it is because a
Phthalates exposure indicators determined by urinary phthalate metabolites in healthy non-obese Czech adults: FANTOM study

ABSTRACT It is assumed that human exposure to phthalates may be associated with adverse health effects. The indicators of urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in healthy adults are limited. In this study, the phthalate metabolites concentrations were detected from 24-h urine collection in non-obese Czech adults (n = 201). Each participant filled in an 80-item questionnaire (FANTOM-SQ 2013) regarding the outdoor and indoor sources of phthalates, the use of personal care products and food intake sources. The concentrations of 15 phthalates metabolites were analysed following enzymatic cleavage of the glucuronide using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS). The indicators of chronic or acute exposure phthalate-containing materials were identified. It is shown that higher fruit consumption was positively and significantly associated with a higher level of total 15 urinary phthalates biomarkers (p < 0.001). Regular meat consumption showed a negative significant association with total 15 phthalates metabolites (p < 0.01). The use of personal care products was significantly and positively correlated with monoethyl phthalate urine concentrations (p < 0.05). The analysis of the dietary behaviour and personal care products use in the Czech non-obese population showed it to be a predictable tool in the level of phthalates exposure when high fruit consumption and personal care products use are linked to higher phthalate metabolite contents in the urine. However, this topic deserves more research.
Staged refresh timers for RSVP

The current resource reservation protocol (RSVP) design has no reliability mechanism for the delivery of control messages. Instead, RSVP relies on periodic refresh between routers to maintain reservation states. This approach has several problems in a congested network. End systems send PATH and RESV messages to set up RSVP connections. If the first PATH or RESV message from an end system is accidentally lost in the network, a copy of the message will not be retransmitted until the end of a refresh interval, causing a delay of 30 seconds or more until a reservation is established. If a congested link reuses a tear-down message (PATHTEAR or RESVTEAR) to be dropped, the corresponding reservation will not be removed from the routers until the RSVP cleanup timer expires. We present an RSVP enhancement called staged refresh timers to support fast and reliable message delivery that ensures hop-by-hop delivery of control messages without violating the soft-state design. The enhancement is backwards-compatible and can be easily added to current implementations. The new approach can speed up the delivery of trigger messages while reducing the amount of refresh messages. The approach is also applicable to other soft-state protocols.
Periodic organization of the contractile apparatus in smooth muscle revealed by the motion of dense bodies in single cells

To study the organization of the contractile apparatus in smooth muscle and its behavior during shortening, the movement of dense bodies in contracting saponin skinned, isolated cells was analyzed from digital images collected at fixed time intervals. These cells were optically lucent so that punctate structures, identified immunocytochemically as dense bodies, were visible in them with the phase contrast microscope. Methods were adapted and developed to track the bodies and to study their relative motion. Analysis of their tracks or trajectories indicated that the bodies did not move passively as cells shortened and that nearby bodies often had similar patterns of motion. Analysis of the relative motion of the bodies indicated that some bodies were structurally linked to one another or constrained so that the distance between them remained relatively constant during contraction. Such bodies tended to fall into laterally oriented, semirigid groups found at approximately 6-microns intervals along the cell axis. Other dense bodies moved rapidly toward one another axially during contraction. Such bodies were often members of separate semirigid groups. This suggests that the semirigid groups of dense bodies in smooth muscle cells may provide a framework for the attachment of the contractile structures to the cytoskeleton and the cell surface and indicates that smooth muscle may be more well-ordered than previously thought. The methods described here for the analysis of the motion of intracellular structures should be directly applicable to the study of motion in other cell types.
Characterization of the Cholesterol-Reducing Activity in a Cell-Free Supernatant of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 43121

This study characterizes the factors responsible for the cholesterol reduction by Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 43121. In addition, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and protein profiling was also used to study the response of ATCC 43121 at the proteome level in the presence of cholesterol. The results show that the cell-free supernatant (CFS) produced by ATCC 43121 in the presence of bile salts could also reduce the cholesterol in the broth, whereas all previous reports have suggested a mechanism by live cells. The active fraction was partially purified by 60% ammonium sulfate precipitation, and subsequent Sephacryl S-100 column chromatography. The molecular weight of the component with cholesterol-reducing activity was estimated to be approximately 12 kDa by SDS–PAGE. These results suggest that the novel protein isolated from CFS may be an important factor in the mechanism for cholesterol reduction by ATCC 43121. In addition, the proteins expressed by ATCC 43121 in the presence of cholesterol micelles were detected by 2-DE, five protein spots with at least a 2.5-fold increase in amounts being identified. The responsible proteins may be involved in the stress-response, translation, and metabolic processes. These results may suggest a new possibility for the mechanism underlying cholesterol reduction by lactic acid bacteria (LAB), differing from the conclusions of previous reports.
A tactile sensor for localizing transient events in manipulation

This paper presents a tactile sensor that provides transient event information at the finger-object interface. The multi-element stress rate sensor consists of piezoelectric polymer strips moulded into the surface of the rubber "skin" covering the robot finger tip. These piezoelectric elements provide localized information important to manipulation control. We provide experimental results confirming the sensor's ability to detect three parameters. Contact events have been detected for signaling transitions between position and force control. Detecting local skin curvature provided information regarding contact shape and area. Finally, incipient slip, which is generated by small micro slips prior to gross slip, has been detected. By sensing all of these parameters, the utility of the multi-element stress rate sensor seems promising. <<ETX>>
Bioavailability of Mycophenolate Mofetil and Enteric‐Coated Mycophenolate Sodium Is Differentially Affected by Pantoprazole in Healthy Volunteers

The influence of pantoprazole 40 mg twice daily on the bioavailability of a single dose of mycophenolate mofetil 1000 mg or enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium is investigated in healthy volunteers. The plasma concentrations of mycophenolic acid and of the inactive metabolite mycophenolic acid glucuronide are measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The pharmacokinetic parameters following sole administration are similar for mycophenolate mofetil and enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium except for the time to peak concentration, which is longer in the enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium group. Concomitant treatment with pantoprazole significantly (P < .001) lowers the mycophenolic acid exposure following administration of mycophenolate mofetil. The peak concentrations drop by 57%, and area under the curve decreases from 0 to 12 hours by 27%. In contrast, pantoprazole does not change the pharmacokinetics of enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium. Given that mycophenolic acid exposure correlates with the incidence of biopsy‐proven acute rejections in renal transplant recipients, these findings may have clinical implications. Administration of pantoprazole in combination with mycophenolate mofetil could possibly result in an insufficient mycophenolic acid exposure, increasing the risk of treatment failure.
Resting State EEG in Children With Learning Disabilities

In this study, the neurophysiological underpinnings of learning disabilities (LD) in children are examined using resting state EEG. We were particularly interested in the neurophysiological differences between children with learning disabilities not otherwise specified (LD-NOS), learning disabilities with verbal disabilities (LD-Verbal), and healthy control (HC) children. We applied 2 different approaches to examine the differences between the different groups. First, we calculated theta/beta and theta/alpha ratios in order to quantify the relationship between slow and fast EEG oscillations. Second, we used a recently developed method for analyzing spectral EEG, namely the group independent component analysis (gICA) model. Using these measures, we identified substantial differences between LD and HC children and between LD-NOS and LD-Verbal children in terms of their spectral EEG profiles. We obtained the following findings: (a) theta/beta and theta/alpha ratios were substantially larger in LD than in HC children, with no difference between LD-NOS and LD-Verbal children; (b) there was substantial slowing of EEG oscillations, especially for gICs located in frontal scalp positions, with LD-NOS children demonstrating the strongest slowing; (c) the estimated intracortical sources of these gICs were mostly located in brain areas involved in the control of executive functions, attention, planning, and language; and (d) the LD-Verbal children demonstrated substantial differences in EEG oscillations compared with LD-NOS children, and these differences were localized in language-related brain areas. The general pattern of atypical neurophysiological activation found in LD children suggests that they suffer from neurophysiological dysfunction in brain areas involved with the control of attention, executive functions, planning, and language functions. LD-Verbal children also demonstrate atypical activation, especially in language-related brain areas. These atypical neurophysiological activation patterns might provide a helpful guide for rehabilitation strategies to treat the deficiencies in these children with LD.
Learning to Poke by Poking: Experiential Learning of Intuitive Physics

We investigate an experiential learning paradigm for acquiring an internal model of intuitive physics. Our model is evaluated on a real-world robotic manipulation task that requires displacing objects to target locations by poking. The robot gathered over 400 hours of experience by executing more than 100K pokes on different objects. We propose a novel approach based on deep neural networks for modeling the dynamics of robot's interactions directly from images, by jointly estimating forward and inverse models of dynamics. The inverse model objective provides supervision to construct informative visual features, which the forward model can then predict and in turn regularize the feature space for the inverse model. The interplay between these two objectives creates useful, accurate models that can then be used for multi-step decision making. This formulation has the additional benefit that it is possible to learn forward models in an abstract feature space and thus alleviate the need of predicting pixels. Our experiments show that this joint modeling approach outperforms alternative methods.
Self-help Internet interventions for mental disorders

Purpose of review In recent years a considerable number of publications has appeared on various aspects of Internet interventions for mental health care. The purpose of the present article is to review the current scientific status of Internet interventions for the treatment of mental disorders. Recent findings Randomized controlled studies on the use Internet interventions for the treatment of mental disorders are still scarce. Most studies in the field have been on Internet interventions for the treatment of depressive disorders and anxiety disorders, using cognitive behavioural therapy. In addition, a few studies have been published on the use of Internet interventions in the treatment of substance use disorders (smoking, problem drinking), insomnia and tinnitus. Summary Recent studies provide provisional evidence that Internet interventions may be a promising tool for the treatment of some mental disorders.
The effect of ThermoWood method heat treatment on physical and mechanical properties of Sorbus torminalis

Heat treatment is a modification method that has gained importance since the 1990s as part of the trend for more rational use of wooden materials. Heat-treated wood products are becoming more popular and have an established place in the market. For this reason, it is important to research applications for various wood types after heat treatment. In this study, Sorbus torminalis panels were first heat treated by the ThermoWood® method. Then, some physical properties (i.e., oven-dry density, air-dry density, shrinkage, swelling, 24-h water thickness swelling, and water retention), and mechanical properties (i.e., parallel compressive strength to grain, bending strength, and modulus of elasticity in static bending) were examined in ThermoWood® Sorbus torminalis. The results indicated that the physical property values of the heat-treated samples were lower than those of the control samples. Reductions of 14.4%, 12.1%, 64.9%, 49.3%, and 51.7% were observed for the oven-dry density (ODD), air-dry density (ADD), water thickness swelling (WTS), shrinkage (β), and swelling (α), respectively. Among the mechanical properties, there was a reduction in the bending strength (MOR) value, while the compressive strength parallel to the grain (CS) value increased up to 23.6% compared to the control samples. In contrast, no significant weight changes or changes in the modulus of elasticity in static bending (MOE) were observed.