Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RAPA-ConvNets: Modified Convolutional Networks for Accelerated Training on Architectures With Analog Arrays

Analog arrays are a promising emerging hardware technology with the potential to drastically speed up deep learning. Their main advantage is that they employ analog circuitry to compute matrix-vector products in constant time, irrespective of the size of the matrix. However, ConvNets map very unfavorably onto analog arrays when done in a straight-forward manner, because kernel matrices are typically small and the constant time operation needs to be sequentially iterated a large number of times. Here, we propose to parallelize the training by replicating the kernel matrix of a convolution layer on distinct analog arrays, and randomly divide parts of the compute among them. With this modification, analog arrays execute ConvNets with a large acceleration factor that is proportional to the number of kernel matrices used per layer (here tested 16-1024). Despite having more free parameters, we show analytically and in numerical experiments that this new convolution architecture is self-regularizing and implicitly learns similar filters across arrays. We also report superior performance on a number of datasets and increased robustness to adversarial attacks. Our investigation suggests to revise the notion that emerging hardware architectures that feature analog arrays for fast matrix-vector multiplication are not suitable for ConvNets.
Economic Inequality and Masculinity–Femininity: The Prevailing Perceived Traits in Higher Unequal Contexts Are Masculine

Previous studies have shown that economic inequality influences psychological processes. In this article, we argue that economic inequality also makes masculine attributes more prototypical. In Study 1 (N = 106), using an experimental design, we showed that individuals belonging to a society characterized by a higher level of economic inequality are perceived as more masculine than feminine. Study 2 (N = 75) shows, also experimentally, that the upper social class is perceived mostly in terms of masculine traits, and that this effect is greater when economic inequality is relatively high. Conversely, the lower social class is more clearly perceived in terms of feminine traits. These results inform our understanding of the impact of economic inequality on social perception.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa Polynucleotide Phosphorylase Contributes to Ciprofloxacin Resistance by Regulating PrtR

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that causes various acute and chronic infections. It is intrinsically resistant to a variety of antibiotics. However, production of pyocins during SOS response sensitizes P. aeruginosa to quinolone antibiotics by inducing cell lysis. The polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) is a conserved phosphate-dependent 3′–5′ exonuclease that plays an important role in bacterial response to environmental stresses and pathogenesis by influencing mRNA and small RNA stabilities. Previously, we demonstrated that PNPase controls the type III and type VI secretion systems in P. aeruginosa. In this study, we found that mutation of the PNPase coding gene (pnp) increases the bacterial resistance to ciprofloxacin. Gene expression analyses revealed that the expression of pyocin biosynthesis genes is decreased in the pnp mutant. PrtR, a negative regulator of pyocin biosynthesis genes, is upregulated in the pnp mutant. We further demonstrated that PNPase represses the expression of PrtR on the post-transcriptional level. A fragment containing 43 nucleotides of the 5′ untranslated region was found to be involved in the PNPase mediated regulation of PrtR. Overall, our results reveled a novel layer of regulation on the pyocin biosynthesis by the PNPase in P. aeruginosa.
Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Are Regulated by Estradiol and Are a Predictive Marker for IVF Outcome

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is an effective means to treat infertility, but the pregnancy rate is still unsatisfactory and reliable markers to predict pregnancy outcome are ill-defined. Myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) are critically involved in decisions related to the acceptance or rejection of foreign fetal antigens by the maternal immune system. However, factors that regulate peripheral blood MDSC during pre-pregnancy are poorly defined. Thus, the goal of this study was to assess the relationships among serum estradiol (E2) and endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels, MDSC ratios, and pregnancy outcome associated with IVF. Patients undergoing IVF treatment (n = 54) were recruited from January to June 2018. Levels of E2 and VEGF were measured by ELISA, MDSC ratios among peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were detected by flow cytometry, and the crosstalk among these parameters was analyzed. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of MDSC levels was plotted to assess this measure as an independent predictive factor for pregnancy. In addition, we analyzed the possible involvement of molecular pathways by bioinformatics. When E2 levels were <4,000 pg/ml, MDSC proportion was positively correlated with serum E2 and VEGF levels. However, when E2 levels were >4,000 pg/ml, MDSC ratio and VEGF levels were negatively correlated with E2. A ROC curve revealed that the percentage of MDSC had better sensitivity and specificity at a concentration of 8.22% (0.875 and 0.75, respectively; area under the curve (AUC) = 0.859) to predict pregnancy success, based on multiple logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, we found 12 target genes of E2 and VEGF, and also functional genes related to MDSC, indicating potential protein–protein interactions underlying these associations. In summary, we showed that E2, depending on its concentration, might play a dichotomous role in influencing the MDSC proportion by regulating VEGF. In IVF patients, an increased MDSC ratio among PBMC was highly correlated with elevated pregnancy rates, independent of the effects of E2, which might provide new insight into immune-related miscarriage and IVF failure.
Alpine Ski Coaches’ and Athletes’ Perceptions of Factors Influencing Adaptation to Stress in the Classroom and on the Slopes

Research examining the student-athlete experience proposes a number of factors that can be both sources of stress and/or support. The dual career pathway offers a number of potential positive outcomes including psychological, social, and financial benefits; however, challenges including time management, fatigue, and restricted social activities are well documented. In consideration of the multidimensional student-athlete experience and the numerous factors that influence the complexity of potential stress, a mixed methods research study design was used in the study. First, data collected from surveys completed by 173 elite junior alpine skiers were analyzed to identify the degree to which athletes report experiencing stress associated with specific aspects pertaining to training, life, and organizational factors. These factors were then explored through semi-structured interviews with six coaches at the associated national elite sport schools. Taken collectively, athletes’ reports of psychophysiological training stress on the Multidimensional Training Distress Scale were low. Scores on the college student-athletes’ life stress scale revealed very low levels of general life stress; although the subscales associated with “performance demand” and “academic requirements” scored marginally higher. Scores on the Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers indicated low levels of organizational stress. The interviews with coaches elucidated the underlying factors potentially influencing athletes’ positive adaptations to stress as they reported programming a number of strategies to reduce negative outcomes. Coaches aimed to teach athletes self-awareness and regulation strategies through the use of the training diaries and ongoing communication to promote positive adaptation to stress. A number of coaches also worked with sport psychology consultants to optimize athletes’ training and study situations. Traditionally, research has noted high levels of stress in student-athletes due to co-occurring demands (school & sport); however, the data in the present study suggests that optimizing support mechanisms across domains can promote positive adaptations to potential sources of stress.
Clarity and Confusion in the Development of Youth Aerobic Fitness

Peak oxygen uptake (V˙O2) is internationally recognized as the criterion measure of youth aerobic fitness, but flawed laboratory assessments and fallacious interpretations of peak V˙O2 in ratio with body mass have confused our understanding of the development of aerobic fitness. Moreover, the recent emergence of specious predictions of peak V˙O2 from performance tests and the promotion of spurious “clinical red flags” and cardiometabolic cut-points have confused our understanding of the relationship between youth aerobic fitness and health. Recent longitudinal studies of 10–18-year-olds using multilevel allometric modeling have empirically demonstrated that peak V˙O2 increases in accord with sex-specific, concurrent changes in age- and maturity status-driven morphological covariates with the timing and tempo of changes specific to individuals. During both cycle ergometry and treadmill running age- and maturity status- driven changes in fat free mass have been revealed as the most powerful morphological influences on the development of youth aerobic fitness. To bring some clarity to current confusion, this paper argues that future studies must be founded on rigorous assessment and interpretation of peak V˙O2 and ensure that they address the development of youth aerobic fitness and its relationship with present and future health in relation to appropriate sex-specific morphological covariates governed by individual biological clocks.
Waterlogging Tolerance at Germination in Field Pea: Variability, Genetic Control, and Indirect Selection

In the Eastern Gangetic Plain of South Asia field pea (Pisum sativum L.) is often grown as a relay crop where soil waterlogging (WL) causes germination failure. To assess if selection for WL tolerance is feasible, we studied the response to WL stress at germination stage in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population from a bi-parental cross between WL-contrasting parents and in a diversity panel to identify extreme phenotypes, understand the genetics of WL tolerance and find traits for possible use in indirect selection. The RIL population and the diversity panel were screened to test the ability of germination under both waterlogged and drained soils. A total of 50, most WL tolerant and sensitive, genotypes from each of both the RIL and the diversity panel were further evaluated to assay testa integrity/leakage in CaSO4 solution. Morphological characterization of both populations was undertaken. A wide range of variation in the ability to germination in waterlogged soil was observed in the RIL population (6–93%) and the diversity panel (5–100%) with a high broad-sense heritability (H2 > 85%). The variation was continuously distributed indicating polygenic control. Most genotypes with a dark colored testa (90%) were WL tolerant, whereas those with a light colored testa were all WL sensitive in both the RIL population and diversity panel. Testa integrity, measured by electrical conductivity of the leakage solute, was strongly associated with WL tolerance in the RIL population (rG = −1.00) and the diversity panel (rG = −0.90). Therefore, testa integrity can be effectively used in indirect selection for WL tolerance. Response to selection for WL tolerance at germination is confidently predicted enabling the adaptation of the ancient model pea to extreme precipitation events at germination.
COX-2 Inhibition by Diclofenac Is Associated With Decreased Apoptosis and Lesion Area After Experimental Focal Penetrating Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is followed by a secondary inflammation in the brain. The inflammatory response includes prostanoid synthesis by the inducible enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Inhibition of COX-2 is associated with improved functional outcome in experimental TBI models, although central nervous system-specific effects are not fully understood. Animal studies report better outcomes in females than males. The exact mechanisms for this gender dichotomy remain unknown. In an initial study we reported increased COX-2 expression in male rats, compared to female, following experimental TBI. It is possible that COX-2 induction is directly associated with increased cell death after TBI. Therefore, we designed a sequential study to investigate the blocking of COX-2 specifically, using the established COX-2 inhibitor diclofenac. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 250 and 350 g were exposed to focal penetrating TBI and randomly selected for diclofenac treatment (5 μg intralesionally, immediately following TBI) (n = 8), controls (n = 8), sham operation (n = 8), and normal (no manipulation) (n = 4). After 24 h, brains were removed, fresh frozen, cut into 14 μm coronal sections and subjected to COX-2 immunofluorescence, Fluoro Jade, TUNEL, and lesion area analyses. Diclofenac treatment decreased TUNEL staining indicative of apoptosis with a mean change of 54% (p < 0.05) and lesion area with a mean change of 55% (p < 0.005). Neuronal degeneration measured by Fluoro Jade and COX-2 protein expression levels were not affected. In conclusion, COX-2 inhibition by diclofenac was associated with decreased apoptosis and lesion area after focal penetrating TBI and may be of interest for further studies of clinical applications.
Comparison of the Molecular Responses of Tolerant, Susceptible and Highly Susceptible Grapevine Cultivars During Interaction With the Pathogenic Fungus Eutypa lata

Eutypa lata is the causal agent of eutypa dieback, one of the most destructive grapevine trunk disease that causes severe economic losses in vineyards worldwide. This fungus causes brown sectorial necrosis in wood which affect the vegetative growth. Despite intense research efforts made in the past years, no cure currently exists for this disease. Host responses to eutypa dieback are difficult to address because E. lata is a wood pathogen that causes foliar symptoms several years after infection. With the aim to classify the level of susceptibility of grapevine cultivars to the foliar symptoms caused by E. lata, artificial inoculations of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Ugni Blanc were conducted over 3 years. Merlot was the most tolerant cultivar, whereas Ugni Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon exhibited higher and differential levels of susceptibility. We took advantage of their contrasting phenotypes to explore their defense responses, including the activation of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes, oxylipin and phenylpropanoid pathways and the accumulation of stilbenes. These analyses were carried out using the millicell system that enables the molecular dialogue between E. lata mycelium and grapevine leaves to take place without physical contact. Merlot responded to E. lata by inducing the expression of a large number of defense-related genes. On the contrary, Ugni Blanc failed to activate such defense responses despite being able to perceive the fungus. To gain insight into the role of carbon partitioning in E. lata infected grapevine, we monitored the expression of plant genes involved in sugar transport and cleavage, and measured invertase activities. Our results evidence a coordinated up-regulation of VvHT5 and VvcwINV genes, and a stimulation of the cell wall invertase activity in leaves of Merlot elicited by E. lata, but not in Ugni Blanc. Altogether, this study indicates that the degree of cultivar susceptibility is associated with the activation of host defense responses, including extracellular sucrolytic machinery and hexose uptake during the grapevine/E. lata interaction. Given the role of these activities in governing carbon allocation through the plant, we postulate that the availability of sugar resources for either the host or the fungus is crucial for the outcome of the interaction.
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery for Breast Reconstruction: Pooled Meta-Analysis of 10 Observational Studies Involving 1,838 Patients

Purpose: This study aims to explore the effectiveness and safety of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol vs. traditional perioperative care programs for breast reconstruction. Methods: Three electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library) were searched for observational studies comparing an ERAS program with a traditional perioperative care program from database inception to 5 May 2018. Two reviewers independently screened the literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted the data, and evaluated study quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed. The outcomes included the length of hospital stay (LOS), complication rates, pain control, costs, emergency department visits, hospital readmission, and unplanned reoperation. Results: Ten studies were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with a conventional program, ERAS was associated with significantly decreased LOS, morphine administration (including postoperative patient-controlled analgesia usage rate and duration; intravenous morphine administration on postoperative day [POD] 0, 1, 2, and 4; total intravenous morphine administration on POD 0–3; oral morphine consumption on POD 0–4; and total postoperative oral morphine consumption), and pain scores (postoperative pain score on POD 0 and total pain score on POD 0–3). The other variables did not differ significantly. Conclusion: Our results suggest that ERAS protocols can decrease LOS and morphine equivalent dosing; therefore, further larger, and better-quality studies that report on bleeding amount and patient satisfaction are needed to validate our findings.
Cross-Frequency Interactions During Information Flow in Complex Brain Networks Are Facilitated by Scale-Free Properties

We studied the interactions between different temporal scales of the information flow in complex networks and found them to be stronger in scale-free (SF) than in Erdos-Renyi (ER) networks, especially for the case of phase-amplitude coupling (PAC)— the phenomenon where the phase of an oscillatory mode modulates the amplitude of another oscillation. We found that SF networks facilitate PAC between slow and fast frequency components of the information flow, whereas ER networks enable PAC between slow-frequency components. Nodes contributing the most to the generation of PAC in SF networks were non-hubs that connected with high probability to hubs. Additionally, brain networks from healthy controls (HC) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients presented a weaker PAC between slow and fast frequencies than SF, but higher than ER. We found that PAC decreased in AD compared to HC and was more strongly correlated to the scores of two different cognitive tests than what the strength of functional connectivity was, suggesting a link between cognitive impairment and multi-scale information flow in the brain.
Happy Catastrophe: Recent Progress in Analysis and Exploitation of Elastic Instability

A synthesis of recent progress is presented on a topic that lies at the heart of both structural engineering and nonlinear science. The emphasis is on thin elastic structures that lose stability subcritically --- without a nearby stable post-buckled state --- a canonical example being a uniformly axially-loaded cylindrical shell. Such structures are hard to design and certify because imperfections or shocks trigger buckling at loads well below the threshold of linear stability. A resurgence of interest in structural instability phenomena suggests practical stability assessments require stochastic approaches and imperfection maps. This article surveys a different philosophy; the buckling process and ultimate post-buckled state are well described by the perfect problem. The significance of the Maxwell load is emphasised, where energy of the unbuckled and fully-developed buckle patterns are equal, as is the energetic preference of localised states, stable and unstable versions of which connect in a snaking load-deflection path. The state of the art is presented on analytical, numerical and experimental methods. Pseudo-arclength continuation (path-following) of a finite-element approximation computes families of complex localised states. Numerical implementation of a mountain-pass energy method then predicts the energy barrier through which the buckling process occurs. Recent developments also indicate how such procedures can be replicated experimentally; unstable states being accessed by careful control of constraints, and stability margins assessed by shock sensitivity experiments. Finally, the fact that subcritical instabilities can be robust, not being undone by reversal of the loading path, opens up potential for technological exploitation. Several examples at different length scales are discussed; a cable-stayed prestressed column, two examples of adaptive structures inspired by morphing aeroelastic surfaces, and a model for a functional auxetic material.
A Decoy-Receptor Approach Using Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Mimics Reveals Their Potential as Novel Therapeutics Against Neurotoxic Snakebite

Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease that causes 138,000 deaths each year. Neurotoxic snake venoms contain small neurotoxins, including three-finger toxins (3FTxs), which can cause rapid paralysis in snakebite victims by blocking postsynaptic transmission via nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). These toxins are typically weakly immunogenic and thus are often not effectively targeted by current polyclonal antivenom therapies. We investigated whether nAChR mimics, also known as acetylcholine binding proteins (AChBPs), could effectively capture 3FTxs and therefore be developed as a novel class of snake-generic therapeutics for combatting neurotoxic envenoming. First, we identified the binding specificities of 3FTx from various medically important elapid snake venoms to nAChR using two recombinant nAChR mimics: the AChBP from Lymnaea stagnalis and a humanized neuronal α7 version (α7-AChBP). We next characterized these AChBP-bound and unbound fractions using SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry. Interestingly, both mimics effectively captured long-chain 3FTxs from multiple snake species but largely failed to capture the highly related short-chain 3FTxs, suggesting a high level of binding specificity. We next investigated whether nAChR mimics could be used as snakebite therapeutics. We showed that while α7-AChBP alone did not protect against Naja haje (Egyptian cobra) venom lethality in vivo, it significantly prolonged survival times when coadministered with a nonprotective dose of antivenom. Thus, nAChR mimics are capable of neutralizing specific venom toxins and may be useful adjunct therapeutics for improving the safety and affordability of existing snakebite treatments by reducing therapeutic doses. Our findings justify exploring the future development of AChBPs as potential snakebite treatments.