Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bile Salt Hydrolase and S‐Layer Protein are the Key Factors Affecting the Hypocholesterolemic Activity of Lactobacillus casei‐Fermented Milk in Hamsters

SCOPE Lactobacillus casei F0822-fermented milk has exhibited significant hypocholesterolemic activity in hamsters in the previous study. Under this premise, the objective of this study is to further explore whether bile salt hydrolase (BSH) and S-layer protein (SLP) of the strain have a significant influence on hypocholesterolemic activity of the fermented milk. METHODS AND RESULTS Independent and double interposon mutants of BSH and SLP genes are constructed from wild-type L. casei F0822 via chromosomal insertion of chloramphenicol or/and erythromycin resistance genes based on double-crossover homologous recombination. The mutants- and the wild-type strain-fermented milk is prepared (viable counts of approximately 8.0 × 108 colony-forming units mL-1 each) and intragastrically administered to high-cholesterol-fed hamsters once daily at a dose of 1.25 mL d-1 for 28 d, respectively. Both the BSH-deficient mutant- and the SLP-deficient mutant-fermented milk significantly (p < 0.05) increase serum total and LDL-cholesterol levels in hamsters compared with the wild-type strain-fermented milk. However, only the BSH-deficient mutant-fermented milk could significantly (p < 0.05) increase hepatic total and esterified cholesterol levels in hamsters. CONCLUSION Both BSH and SLP have a significant influence on the hypocholesterolemic activity of L. casei F0822-fermented milk in hamsters. Nevertheless, the BSH is greater than the SLP in this regard.
Content-Aware Bilateral Filtering

The edge-preserving bilateral filter (BF) has been widely used in real time applications (e.g., image denoising) for its low computational cost. The main drawback of BF lies in its sensitiveness to varying noise levels. To improve the robustness, non-local means (NLM) filter extends the pixel-based similarity distance to patch-based one. However, the standard NLM has high computational cost, which greatly limits its applications in practice. In order to keep the efficiency of BF, we propose a simple yet effective content-aware bilateral filter (CABF), consisting of a new range kernel. Specifically, the new range kernel is derived from surrogate for noise-free pixels, and exploits the local similarities of residual image, i.e., the difference between the noisy image and its denoised version. To further improve the robustness, the range parameter is automatically determined based on the salient geometric features (e.g., edges), which can be measured according to singular value decomposition of local image gradient matrix. Experimental results show that our CABF significantly outperforms BF, and even obtains competitive results over the computationally heavy NLM filter.
MsCGAN: Multi-scale Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks for Person Image Generation

To synthesize high-quality person images with arbitrary poses is challenging. In this paper, we propose a novel Multi-scale Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (MsCGAN), aiming to convert the input conditional person image to a synthetic image of any given target pose, whose appearance and the texture are consistent with the input image. MsCGAN is a multi-scale adversarial network consisting of two generators and two discriminators. One generator transforms the conditional person image into a coarse image of the target pose globally, and the other is to enhance the detailed quality of the synthetic person image through a local reinforcement network. The outputs of the two generators are then merged into a synthetic, discriminant and high-resolution image. On the other hand, the synthetic image is downsampled to multiple resolutions as the input to multi-scale discriminator networks. The proposed multi-scale generators and discriminators handling different levels of visual features can benefit to synthesizing high-resolution person images with realistic appearance and texture. Experiments are conducted on the Market-1501 and DeepFashion datasets to evaluate the proposed model, and both qualitative and quantitative results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed MsCGAN.
Göç, Kültürleşme ve Uyum

Goc alan cok uluslu ulkelerde, azinlik ve ana akim topluma uye bireylerin beraber yasamalarini ve birbirlerine uyum saglamalarini kolaylastiracak yontemler kullanmalari gerekmektedir. Bu insanlarin bir arada yasamayi ve birbirlerine uyum saglamayi ogrenirlerken gectikleri degisimlerin kulturlesme basligi altinda incelendigi gorulmektedir. Bu makalenin amaci, okuru psikoloji alaninda yapilan goc calismalarinin one cikan degiskenlerinden olan kulturlesme ve uyum degiskenleri hakkinda bilgilen-dirmektir. Bu amacla ilk olarak kulturlesme, kulturlesme modelleri ve Berry’nin kulturlesme yonelim-lerinden soz edilmis, ardindan Berry’nin kulturlesme yonelimlerine getirilen elestirilere deginilerek, sosyokulturel uyum ve psikolojik uyum degiskenleri ve kulturlesmeyi ve uyum surecini etkileyen etmenler ele alinmistir.
BabyAI: First Steps Towards Grounded Language Learning With a Human In the Loop

Allowing humans to interactively train artificial agents to understand language instructions is desirable for both practical and scientific reasons, but given the poor data efficiency of the current learning methods, this goal may require substantial research efforts. Here, we introduce the BabyAI research platform to support investigations towards including humans in the loop for grounded language learning. The BabyAI platform comprises an extensible suite of 19 levels of increasing difficulty. The levels gradually lead the agent towards acquiring a combinatorially rich synthetic language which is a proper subset of English. The platform also provides a heuristic expert agent for the purpose of simulating a human teacher. We report baseline results and estimate the amount of human involvement that would be required to train a neural network-based agent on some of the BabyAI levels. We put forward strong evidence that current deep learning methods are not yet sufficiently sample efficient when it comes to learning a language with compositional properties.
Increased circulating follicular regulatory T cells in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

Abstract Objective: Follicular T helper (Tfh) cells are involved in the pathogenesis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), while follicular T regulatory (Tfr) cells inhibit Tfh cells, which mediate B cell responses. However, the role of Tfr cells in HT remains unclear. Methods: Forty-six healthy controls (HCs) and 84 HT patients were enrolled in the study. The percentage of Treg cells, CXCR5− Treg cells, and Tfr cells; the Tfr/Tfh ratio; and the percentage of ICOS, PD-1, CTLA-4, CXCR3 and CCR6 in Tfr cells were investigated; furthermore, the associations between the percentage of Tfr cells or the Tfr/Tfh ratio and the autoantibody indices were investigated. Results: Compared with that in the HCs, the percentage of Treg cells in the HT patients was not significantly changed, but the percentage of CXCR5− Tfr cells was decreased. In contrast, both the percentage of Tfr cells and the Tfr/Tfh ratio were significantly increased in the HT patients. Among the Tfr cells, the percentage of Th2-like Tfr cells was increased in the HT patients, while the percentage of Th17-like Tfr cells was decreased. Moreover, the percentages of ICOS and PD-1 on Tfr cells were significantly increased in the HT patients, while the percentage of CTLA-4 on Tfr cells was significantly decreased. However, the percentage of ICOS, PD-1 and CTLA-4 on Treg or CXCR5− Treg cells was not significantly changed. Last, no association was found between either the percentage of Tfr cells or the Tfr/Tfh ratio and the antithyroglobulin and antithyroid peroxidase antibody levels in the HT patients. Conclusions: In the HT patients, the circulating Tfr cell percentage and Tfr/Tfh ratio were significantly increased, but the humoral immune function of Tfr cells might be impaired.
Gene Co-expression Network Reveals Potential New Genes Related to Sugarcane Bagasse Degradation in Trichoderma reesei RUT-30

The biomass-degrading fungus Trichoderma reesei has been considered a model for cellulose degradation, and it is the primary source of the industrial enzymatic cocktails used in second-generation (2G) ethanol production. However, although various studies and advances have been conducted to understand the cellulolytic system and the transcriptional regulation of T. reesei, the whole set of genes related to lignocellulose degradation has not been completely elucidated. In this study, we inferred a weighted gene co-expression network analysis based on the transcriptome dataset of the T. reesei RUT-C30 strain aiming to identify new target genes involved in sugarcane bagasse breakdown. In total, ~70% of all the differentially expressed genes were found in 28 highly connected gene modules. Several cellulases, sugar transporters, and hypothetical proteins coding genes upregulated in bagasse were grouped into the same modules. Among them, a single module contained the most representative core of cellulolytic enzymes (cellobiohydrolase, endoglucanase, β-glucosidase, and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase). In addition, functional analysis using Gene Ontology (GO) revealed various classes of hydrolytic activity, cellulase activity, carbohydrate binding and cation:sugar symporter activity enriched in these modules. Several modules also showed GO enrichment for transcription factor activity, indicating the presence of transcriptional regulators along with the genes involved in cellulose breakdown and sugar transport as well as other genes encoding proteins with unknown functions. Highly connected genes (hubs) were also identified within each module, such as predicted transcription factors and genes encoding hypothetical proteins. In addition, various hubs contained at least one DNA binding site for the master activator Xyr1 according to our in silico analysis. The prediction of Xyr1 binding sites and the co-expression with genes encoding carbohydrate active enzymes and sugar transporters suggest a putative role of these hubs in bagasse cell wall deconstruction. Our results demonstrate a vast range of new promising targets that merit additional studies to improve the cellulolytic potential of T. reesei strains and to decrease the production costs of 2G ethanol.
Sustained vigilance is negatively affected by mild and acute sleep loss reflected by reduced capacity for decision making, motor preparation, and execution

Study Objectives The behavioral and cognitive consequences of severe sleep deprivation are well understood. Surprisingly, relatively little is known about the neural correlates of mild and acute sleep restriction on tasks that require sustained vigilance for prolonged periods of time during the day. Methods and Results Event-related potential (ERP) paradigms can reveal insight into the neural correlates underlying visual processing and behavioral responding that is impaired with reduced alertness, as a consequence of sleep loss. Here, we investigated the impact of reduced vigilance following at-home mild sleep restriction to better understand the associated behavioral consequences and changes in information processing revealed by ERPs. As expected, vigilance was reduced (e.g. increased lapses and response slowing) that increased over the course of the experiment in the "sleep restricted" (5 hr sleep) compared with the "sleep-extension" (9 hr sleep) condition. Corresponding to these lapses, we found decreased positivity of visually evoked potentials in the Sleep Restriction vs. Sleep Extension condition emerging from 316 to 449 ms, maximal over parietal/occipital cortex. We also investigated electrophysiological signs of motor-related processing by comparing lateralized readiness potentials (LRPs) and found reduced positivity of LRPs in the Sleep Restriction vs. Sleep Extension condition at 70-40 ms before, and 115-158 ms after a response was made. Conclusions These results suggest that even a single night of mild sleep restriction can negatively affect vigilance, reflected by reduced processing capacity for decision making, and dulls motor preparation and execution.
Association between diet quality and sleep apnea in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Rationale Although short sleep duration has been linked to unhealthy dietary patterns, little is known about the association of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder characterized by sleep fragmentation and diet. Study Objectives Investigate associations between diet quality and OSA in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and assess whether reductions in slow-wave sleep (stage N3) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep are potential mediators for these associations. Methods A diverse population (N = 1813) completed a food frequency questionnaire and underwent Type 2 in-home polysomnography, which included measurement of N3 and REM sleep and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Moderate-to-more severe OSA was defined as having an AHI > 15 events/hr. Results Participants were 53.9% female with a mean age of 68.3 (SD 9.1) years. Approximately 33.8% were categorized as having moderate-to-more severe OSA. In adjusted analyses, OSA was associated with lower intakes of whole grains, (β = -0.200, SE = 0.072, p < 0.01), higher intakes of red/processed meat, (β = -0.440, SE = 0.136, p < 0.01), and lower overall diet quality (β = -1.286, SE = 0.535, p = 0.02). Stage N3 sleep partially explained the associations between red/processed meat and overall diet quality score with OSA. Conclusions Moderate-to-more severe OSA is associated with a less healthy dietary profile that is partially explained by reduced N3 sleep. These findings suggest the opportunity to target sleep quality in interventions aimed at improving cardio-metabolic risk factors in patients with OSA.
Probiotic Treatment in Individuals with Euthymic Bipolar Disorder: A Pilot-Study on Clinical Changes and Compliance

The importance of the microbiome for psychological well-being has gained rising interest in the last decade. A strategy to examine the role of the microbiome in different diseases is the intake of supplements that modulate the gut microbiome. Despite promising results in animal studies, research in humans is sparse to date and especially in individuals with psychiatric disorders almost missing. The current report of the ProbioBIP-one pilot study aims at describing general effects of the intake of the probiotic OMNi-BiOTiC Stress repair® on psychological parameters as well as gastrointestinal symptoms and general compliance in a cohort of euthymic individuals with bipolar disorder (BD), receiving daily probiotic treatment over a time period of 3 months. Twenty-seven individuals with BD took part in the present study (mean age = 50.7 years, SD = 12.2; females 40.7%). In sum, there was a high compliance rate with 81.5% of the study participants completing all 3 study visits and 85% of planned probiotic ingestions taken. Gastrointestinal problems were prevalent in more than half of the patients at the time of inclusion (t1). Expectedly, in the whole cohort, a high proportion of study participants experienced changes concerning digestion during probiotic treatment, around one third reported positive changes (reduced flatulence and easier and more frequent bowel movements) after 1 month (t2) and further after 3 months (t3). In contrast, a smaller part of study participants reported gastrointestinal discomfort after 1 and after 3 months (mainly flatulence and obstipation). We found a significantly reduced cognitive reactivity to sad mood between t2 and t3 indicating that participants under probiotic supplementation perceived themselves to be less distracted by ruminative thoughts. Further changes in psychiatric symptoms were small due to the euthymic state and already low scoring at the time of inclusion. Nevertheless, we found a significant symptom reduction in the rating scales measuring manic symptoms. From a clinical point of view, probiotic supplementation might provide a well-tolerated tool to positively influence gastrointestinal quality of life as well as mental and somatic health, cognition and immune response and potentially have effects on psychiatric symptoms.
Bacterial Microbiota and Metabolic Character of Traditional Sour Cream and Butter in Buryatia, Russia

Traditional sour cream and butter are widely popular fermented dairy products in Russia for their flavor and nutrition, and contain rich microbial biodiversity, particularly in terms of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). However, few studies have described the microbial communities and metabolic character of traditional sour cream and butter. The objective of this study was to determine the bacterial microbiota and metabolic character of eight samples collected from herdsmen in Buryatia, Russia. Using single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing techniques, we identified a total of 294 species and/or subspecies in 169 bacterial genera, belonging to 14 phyla. The dominant phylum was Firmicutes (81.47%) and the dominant genus was Lactococcus (59.28%). There were differences between the bacterial compositions of the sour cream and butter samples. The relative abundances of Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus raffinolactis, and Acetobacter cibinongensis were significantly higher in sour cream than in butter, and the abundance of Streptococcus thermophilus was significantly lower in sour cream than in butter. Using a pure culture method, 48 strains were isolated and identified to represent seven genera and 15 species and/or subspecies. Among these isolates, Lactococccus lactis subsp. lactis (22.50%) was the dominant LAB species. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole–time of flight mass spectrometry at elevated energy was used in combination with statistical methods to detect metabolite differences between traditional sour cream and butter. A total of 27,822 metabolites were detected in all samples, and Lys-Lys, isohexanal, palmitic acid, Leu-Val, and 2′-deoxycytidine were the most dominant metabolites found in all samples. In addition, 27 significantly different metabolites were detected between the sour cream and butter samples, including short peptides, organic acids, and amino acids. Based on correlation analyses between the most prevalent bacterial species and the main metabolites in sour cream, we conclude that there may be a connection between the dominant LAB species and these metabolites. This study combined omics techniques to analyze the bacterial diversity and metabolic character of traditional sour cream and butter, and we hope that our findings will enrich species resource libraries and provide valuable resources for further research on dairy product flavor.
The impact of autism spectrum disorder symptoms on gesture use in fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome

Background & aims This study compared gesture rate and purpose in participants with Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome, and the impact of autism spectrum disorder symptoms on each syndrome. Methods Twenty individuals with fragile X syndrome and 20 individuals with Down syndrome between nine and 22 years of age participated in this study. We coded gesture rate and purpose from an autism spectrum disorder evaluation, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – Second Edition. Results We did not find between-group differences (Down syndrome compared to fragile X syndrome) in gesture rate or purpose. Notably, as autism spectrum disorder symptoms increased, the group with Down syndrome produced a lower rate of gestures, but used gestures for the same purpose. Gesture rate did not change based on autism spectrum disorder symptoms in the participants with fragile X syndrome, but as autism spectrum disorder symptoms increased, the participants with fragile X syndrome produced a larger proportion of gestures to regulate behavior and a smaller proportion for joint attention/social interaction. Conclusions Overall, the amount or purpose of gestures did not differentiate individuals with Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome. However, the presence of autism spectrum disorder symptoms had a significant and unique impact on these genetic disorders. In individuals with Down syndrome, the presence of more autism spectrum disorder symptoms resulted in a reduction in the rate of gesturing, but did not change the purpose. However, in fragile X syndrome, the rate of gestures remained the same, but the purpose of those gestures changed based on autism spectrum disorder symptoms. Implications Autism spectrum disorder symptoms differentially impact gestures in Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome. Individuals with Down syndrome and more autism spectrum disorder symptoms are using gestures less frequently. Therefore, clinicians may need to consider children with Down syndrome demonstrating symptoms of autism spectrum disorder as distinctly different from children with Down syndrome and few to no symptoms of autism spectrum disorder when implementing interventions or therapy techniques. Severity of autism spectrum disorder symptoms in fragile X syndrome affects qualitative gesture use and motivation to communicate through social gestures, which may be an appropriate goal to target in children with fragile X syndrome and heightened autism spectrum disorder symptoms.
Online Balanced Motion Generation for Humanoid Robots

Reducing the complexity of higher order problems can enable solving them in analytical ways. In this paper, we propose an analytic whole body motion generator for humanoid robots. Our approach targets inexpensive platforms that possess position controlled joints and have limited feedback capabilities. By analysing the mass distribution in a humanoid-like body, we find relations between limb movement and their respective CoM positions. A full pose of a humanoid robot is then described with five point-masses, with one attached to the trunk and the remaining four assigned to each limb. The weighted sum of these masses in combination with a contact point form an inverted pendulum. We then generate statically stable poses by specifying a desired upright pendulum orientation, and any desired trunk orientation. Limb and trunk placement strategies are utilised to meet the reference CoM position. A set of these poses is interpolated to achieve stable whole body motions. The approach is evaluated by performing several motions with an igus®Humanoid Open Platform robot. We demonstrate the extendability of the approach by applying basic feedback mechanisms for disturbance rejection and tracking error minimisation.