Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In a Rat Model of Night Work, Activity during the Normal Resting Phase Produces Desynchrony in the Hypothalamus

Internal synchrony among external cycles and internal oscillators allows adaptation of physiology to cyclic demands for homeostasis. Night work and shift work lead to a disrupted phase relationship between external time cues and internal rhythms, also losing internal coherence among oscillations. This process results in internal desynchrony (ID) in which behavioral, hormonal, and metabolic variables cycle out of phase. It is still not clear whether ID originates at a peripheral or at a central level. In order to determine the possible role of hypothalamic oscillators in ID, we explored with a rat model of “night work” daily rhythms of activity and clock gene expression in the hypothalamus. This study provides evidence that wakefulness and activity during the normal resting phase lead to a shift in the diurnal rhythms of c-Fos and induce a rhythm of PER1 in the arcuate and dorsomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, both associated with metabolism and regulation of the sleep/wake cycle. Moreover, the number of orexin (ORX)—positive neurons and c-Fos in the perifornical area increased during the working period, suggesting a relevant switch of activity in this brain region induced by the scheduled activity; however, the colocalization of c-Fos in ORX-positive cells was not increased. In contrast, the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the paraventricular nucleus remained locked to the light/dark cycle, resulting in ID in the hypothalamus. Present data suggest that ID occurs already at the level of the first output projections from the SCN, relaying nuclei that transmit temporal signals to other brain areas and to the periphery.
Valproic Acid Phase Shifts the Rhythmic Expression of PERIOD2::LUCIFERASE

Valproic acid (VPA) is an anticonvulsant used to treat bipolar disorder, a psychiatric disease associated with disturbances in circadian rhythmicity. Little is known about how VPA affects circadian rhythms. The authors cultured tissues containing the master brain pacemaker for circadian rhythmicity, the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), and skin fibroblasts from transgenic PERIOD2::LUCIFERASE (PER2::LUC) mice and studied the effect of VPA on the circadian PER2::LUC rhythm by measuring bioluminescence. VPA (1 mM) significantly phase advanced the PER2::LUC rhythm when applied at a time point corresponding to the lowest (trough, ~ZT 0) PER2::LUC expression but phase delayed the PER2::LUC rhythm when the drug was administered at the time of highest (peak, ~ZT 12) protein expression. In addition, it significantly increased the overall amplitude of PER2::LUC oscillations at time points at or close to ZT 12 but had no effect on period. Real-time PCR analyses on mouse and human fibroblasts revealed that expressions of other clock genes were increased after 2 h treatment with VPA. Because VPA is known to inhibit histone deacetylation, the authors treated cultures with an established histone deacetylation inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA; 20 ng/mL), to compare the effect of VPA and TSA on molecular rhythmicity. They found that TSA had similar effects on the PER2::LUC rhythm as VPA. Furthermore, VPA and TSA significantly increased acetylation on histone H3 but in comparison little on histone H4. Lithium is another commonly used treatment for bipolar disorder. Therefore, the authors also studied the impact of lithium chloride (LiCl; 10 mM) on the PER2::LUC rhythm. LiCl delayed the phase, but in contrast to VPA and TSA, LiCl lengthened the PER2::LUC period and had no effect on histone acetylation. These results demonstrate that VPA can delay or advance the phase, as well as increase the amplitude, of the PERIOD2::LUCIFERASE rhythm depending on the circadian time of application. Furthermore, the authors show that LiCl delays the phase and lengthens the period of the PER2::LUC rhythm, confirming previous reports on circadian lithium effects. These different molecular effects may underlie differential chronotherapeutic effects of VPA and lithium.
Phase-Shifting the Fruit Fly Clock without Cryptochrome

The blue light photopigment cryptochrome (CRY) is thought to be the main circadian photoreceptor of Drosophila melanogaster. Nevertheless, entrainment to light-dark cycles is possible without functional CRY. Here, we monitored phase response curves of cry01 mutants and control flies to 1-hour 1000-lux light pulses. We found that cry01 mutants phase-shift their activity rhythm in the subjective early morning and late evening, although with reduced magnitude. This phase-shifting capability is sufficient for the slowed entrainment of the mutants, indicating that the eyes contribute to the clock’s light sensitivity around dawn and dusk. With longer light pulses (3 hours and 6 hours), wild-type flies show greatly enhanced magnitude of phase shift, but CRY-less flies seem impaired in the ability to integrate duration of the light pulse in a wild-type manner: Only 6-hour light pulses at circadian time 21 significantly increased the magnitude of phase advances in cry01 mutants. At circadian time 15, the mutants exhibited phase advances instead of the expected delays. These complex results are discussed.
RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF COMPLETENESS AND LEGIBILITY OF PRESCRIPTION ORDERS AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Background: Medication errors contribute significantly to adverse drug events. These errors can occur at any step from prescribing to administering drug. While most of the prescribing errors can be prevented, administering errors seldom can be intercepted. Aims & Objective: Prime objective was to analyze the quality of prescription writing, as a part of a continuous quality improvement program with emphasis on Completeness & legibility of prescriptions. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted including 225 prescriptions. All prescriptions were evaluated for doctors’ information: Name, address, specialty and signature, patient information: name, sex, weight, age, date and medication details: strength, quantity, frequency, dosage form and instructions for use. Results: Doctors Name, specialty, sign were present in 17.77%, 90.22%, 91.11% prescriptions respectively. The symbol Rx was present in 99% while the patient's name and age was present in 100% cases. No prescription contained the patient's address while Sex and weight mentioned only in 42.66% and 3.11% respectively. Date was mentioned in 100% cases. Generic names were used in 58.49% cases. Strength, frequency of administration and quantity were present on 59.37%, 99.55% and 88.15% respectively. Instructions were mentioned in 8.44% of prescriptions. Conclusion: There is a need to address the legibility of prescription, correct spelling with the correct strength and frequency, authorized abbreviations as well as all other information on a prescription concerned with patient, prescriber and drugs to minimize the occurrence of medication errors.
timeless Is an Essential Component of the Circadian Clock in a Primitive Insect, the Firebrat Thermobia domestica

Recent studies show that the timeless (tim) gene is not an essential component of the circadian clock in some insects. In the present study, we have investigated whether the tim gene was originally involved in the insect clock or acquired as a clock component later during the course of evolution using an apterygote insect, Thermobia domestica. A cDNA of the clock gene tim (Td’tim) was cloned, and its structural analysis showed that Td’TIM includes 4 defined functional domains, that is, 2 regions for dimerization with PERIOD (PER-1, PER-2), nuclear localization signal (NLS), and cytoplasmic localization domain (CLD), like Drosophila TIM. Td’tim exhibited rhythmic expression in its mRNA levels with a peak during late day to early night in LD, and the rhythm persisted in DD. A single injection of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) of Td’tim (dstim) into the abdomen of adult firebrats effectively knocked down mRNA levels of Td’tim and abolished its rhythmic expression. Most dsRNA-injected firebrats lost their circadian locomotor rhythm in DD up to 30 days after injection. DsRNA of cycle (cyc) and Clock genes also abolished the rhythmic expression of Td’tim mRNA by knocking down Td’tim mRNA to its basal level of intact firebrats, suggesting that the underlying molecular clock of firebrats resembles that of Drosophila. Interestingly, however, dstim also reduced cyc mRNA to its basal level of intact animals and eliminated its rhythmic expression, suggesting the involvement of Td’tim in the regulation of cyc expression. These results suggest that tim is an essential component of the circadian clock of the primitive insect T. domestica; thus, it might have been involved in the clock machinery from a very early stage of insect evolution, but its role might be different from that in Drosophila.
Social Media and the Elections

Manipulation of social media affects perceptions of candidates and compromises decision-making. In the United States, social media sites—such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—are currently being used by two out of three people (1), and search engines are used daily (2). Monitoring what users share or search for in social media and on the Web has led to greater insights into what people care about or pay attention to at any moment in time. Furthermore, it is also helping segments of the world population to be informed, to organize, and to react rapidly. However, social media and search results can be readily manipulated, which is something that has been underappreciated by the press and the general public.
Electroadhesive robots—wall climbing robots enabled by a novel, robust, and electrically controllable adhesion technology

This paper describes a novel clamping technology called compliant electroadhesion, as well as the first application of this technology to wall climbing robots. As the name implies, electroadhesion is an electrically controllable adhesion technology. It involves inducing electrostatic charges on a wall substrate using a power supply connected to compliant pads situated on the moving robot. High clamping forces (0.2-1.4 Newton supported by 1 square centimeter of clamp area, depending on substrate) have been demonstrated on a wide variety of common building substrates, both rough and smooth as well as both electrically conductive and insulating. Unlike conventional adhesives or dry adhesives, the electroadhesion can be modulated or turned off for mobility or cleaning. The technology uses a very small amount of power (on the order of 20 microwatts/Newton weight held) and shows the ability to repeatably clamp to wall substrates that are heavily covered in dust or other debris. Using this technology, SRI International has demonstrated a variety of wall climbing robots including tracked and legged robots.
Nonlinear modeling of low cost force sensors

In this paper, nonlinear modeling of low cost force sensors is considered for force control applications in robotic or biomechanical applications. Commercial force sensors are often expensive, with a limited use in severe conditions such as the presence of a strong magnetic field. On the contrary, thin film piezoresistive sensors such as the Tekscan Flexiforce and the Interlink FSR sensors are of low cost and can be considered in such an environment. Only a few information is however available on their dynamic properties. We therefore provide an experimental study of their dynamic behavior, showing nonlinear properties. Identification is then achieved, and a compensation model is proposed. A force control experiment is finally presented to evaluate the compensation scheme.
Effects of Caffeine on Skin and Core Temperatures, Alertness, and Recovery Sleep During Circadian Misalignment

Caffeine promotes wakefulness during night shift work, although it also disturbs subsequent daytime sleep. Increased alertness by caffeine is associated with a higher core body temperature (CBT). A lower CBT and a narrow distal-to-proximal skin temperature gradient (DPG) have been reported to be associated with improved sleep, yet whether caffeine influences the DPG is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that the use caffeine during nighttime total sleep deprivation would reduce the DPG, increase CBT and alertness, and disturb subsequent daytime recovery sleep. We also expected that a greater widening of the DPG prior to sleep would be associated with a greater degree of sleep disturbance. Thirty healthy adults (9 females) aged 21.6 ± 3.5 years participated in a double-blind, 28-h modified constant routine protocol. At 23 h of wakefulness, participants in the treatment condition (n = 10) were given 2.9 mg/kg caffeine, equivalent to ~200 mg (or 2 espressos) for a 70-kg adult, 5 h before a daytime recovery sleep episode. Throughout the protocol, core and skin body temperatures, DPG, sleep architecture, and subjective alertness and mood were measured. Prior to sleep, caffeine significantly widened the DPG and increased CBT, alertness, and clear-headedness (p < 0.05). Caffeine also disturbed daytime recovery sleep (p < 0.05). Increased CBT and a wider DPG prior to sleep were associated with a longer latency to sleep, and a wider DPG was associated with disturbed recovery sleep (i.e., increased wakefulness after sleep onset, increased stage 1 sleep, decreased sleep efficiency, and decreased slow wave sleep) (p < 0.05). A widening of the DPG following nighttime caffeine may represent a component of the integrated physiological response by which caffeine improves alertness and disturbs subsequent daytime recovery sleep. Furthermore, our findings highlight that sleep disturbances associated with caffeine consumed near the circadian trough of alertness are still present when daytime recovery sleep occurs 5 h or approximately 1 half-life later.
Ultrafast Tryptophan-to-Heme Electron Transfer in Myoglobins Revealed by UV 2D Spectroscopy

Fretting About Electrons The FRET technique (Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer) is widely used to probe structural dynamics in large macromolecules such as proteins. Essentially, the technique relies on photoexciting a donor chromophore and then watching for signs of energy transfer to an acceptor chromophore elsewhere in the framework. Consani et al. (p. 1586, published online 7 February; see the Perspective by Winkler) now show, using a sophisticated type of broadband time-resolved ultraviolet spectroscopy, that in myoglobin, an excited tryptophan residue relaxes by electron, rather than energy, transfer. The distinction is generally difficult to observe but has strong bearing on the applicability of FRET in this and analogous systems. Relaxation in a photoexcited protein by electron transfer may limit the generality of a common energy transfer–based probe. [Also see Perspective by Winkler] Tryptophan is commonly used to study protein structure and dynamics, such as protein folding, as a donor in fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET) studies. By using ultra-broadband ultrafast two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy in the ultraviolet (UV) and transient absorption in the visible range, we have disentangled the excited state decay pathways of the tryptophan amino acid residues in ferric myoglobins (MbCN and metMb). Whereas the more distant tryptophan (Trp7) relaxes by energy transfer to the heme, Trp14 excitation predominantly decays by electron transfer to the heme. The excited Trp14→heme electron transfer occurs in <40 picoseconds with a quantum yield of more than 60%, over an edge-to-edge distance below ~10 angstroms, outcompeting the FRET process. Our results raise the question of whether such electron transfer pathways occur in a larger class of proteins.
A Clock Directly Linking Time to a Particle's Mass

Linking Mass and Time The precision of atomic clocks is based on the transitions between two well-defined energy levels—the frequency of oscillation. We know from relativity that mass and energy are equivalent and from quantum mechanics that energy relates to frequency. Therefore, the ticking of a clock can be related, in principle, to the mass of a particle. The oscillation frequency of a particle is known as its Compton frequency and, because of the high frequency involved and stability of atoms, it has been argued that a clock linking mass and time would offer very high precision. Ordinarily, the Compton frequency is extremely high and not accessible to direct excitation. Lan et al. (p. 554, published online 10 January; see the Perspective by Debs et al.) demonstrate the operation of a Compton clock exploiting a related parameter, the phase accumulation rate of cold cesium atoms. Using an atom interferometer and an optical frequency comb to bring the Compton frequency into an experimentally accessible regime, mass and time could be directly linked. A clock is demonstrated wherein the ticks are related to the mass of a cesium atom. [Also see Perspective by Debs et al.] Historically, time measurements have been based on oscillation frequencies in systems of particles, from the motion of celestial bodies to atomic transitions. Relativity and quantum mechanics show that even a single particle of mass m determines a Compton frequency ω0 = mc2/ℏ, where c is the speed of light and ℏ is Planck's constant h divided by 2π. A clock referenced to ω0 would enable high-precision mass measurements and a fundamental definition of the second. We demonstrate such a clock using an optical frequency comb to self-reference a Ramsey-Bordé atom interferometer and synchronize an oscillator at a subharmonic of ω0. This directly demonstrates the connection between time and mass. It allows measurement of microscopic masses with 4 × 10−9 accuracy in the proposed revision to SI units. Together with the Avogadro project, it yields calibrated kilograms.
Topology-Driven Magnetic Quantum Phase Transition in Topological Insulators

Simultaneous topological and magnetic quantum phase transitions are observed in thin films of Bi2(SexTe1-x)3 doped with chromium Topological insulators owe their exotic properties to the peculiarities of their band structure, and one can induce a transition between a topologically trivial and nontrivial material by chemical doping. Now, J. Zhang et al. (p. 1582) have gone a step further—simultaneously observing that a magnetic quantum transition as the ratio of Se and Te is varied in Bi2(SexTe1-x)3 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy and doped with magnetic Cr. Photoemission and transport experiments, as well as density functional calculations, imply that the topological transition induces magnetism The breaking of time reversal symmetry in topological insulators may create previously unknown quantum effects. We observed a magnetic quantum phase transition in Cr-doped Bi2(SexTe1-x)3 topological insulator films grown by means of molecular beam epitaxy. Across the critical point, a topological quantum phase transition is revealed through both angle-resolved photoemission measurements and density functional theory calculations. We present strong evidence that the bulk band topology is the fundamental driving force for the magnetic quantum phase transition. The tunable topological and magnetic properties in this system are well suited for realizing the exotic topological quantum phenomena in magnetic topological insulators.
Global Decline in Large Old Trees

The loss of large old trees in many ecosystems around the world poses a threat to ecosystem integrity. Large old trees are among the biggest organisms on Earth. They are keystone structures in forests, woodlands, savannas, agricultural landscapes, and urban areas, playing unique ecological roles not provided by younger, smaller trees. However, populations of large old trees are rapidly declining in many parts of the world, with serious implications for ecosystem integrity and biodiversity.
Stallion Mate Choice and Mare Sexual Behaviour in a Herd of Sorraia Horses (Equus caballus)

We examined the relationship between male mate choice, female sexual behaviour, and individual factors in a managed group of Sorraia horses. The herd comprised 9–11 adult mares and their foals. Two stallions were introduced into the mare group in different years for pasture breeding. Mare receptivity during oestrus was poorly correlated with individual factors. Stallions did not prefer to mate with mares that showed the greatest behavioural receptivity during oestrus. The older and more experienced stallion preferred to mate with the older, higher-ranking, or barren oestrous mares. The younger stallion preferred to mate with the more genetically related mares and showed higher oestrus discrimination of mares to who he kept proximity during oestrus. Mate choice was not associated with probability of foaling in the following year. The differential influence of individual factors on mate choice between the stallions could stem from differences in breeding experience and familiarity with the mares.
The QuadHelix-Drive - An improved rope actuator for robotic applications

For the constantly growing service robotic market there is a demand for new energy-efficient and economically priced actuation-concepts. This paper describes the QuadHelix-Drive, a novel rope actuator of high power density with a simple working principle. It highlights the technical challenges, which evolved while examining the DoHelix-Muscle-Concept. A strategy to overcome these challenges and a prototypic mechanical realization of this new actuator concept are illustrated. The integration of the QuadHelix-Drive into the Fraunhofer IPA testing facility is described and at the end possible robotic application scenarios are outlined.
[Protocolized cognitive-behavioural group therapy for inflammatory bowel disease].

INTRODUCTION patients affected by inflammatory bowel disease have a high rate of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. OBJECTIVE the main goal of this study was to design, to put into practice, and to validate a protocolized psychological treatment program based on the coping model, and a psycho-educational methodology in which the following intervention modules were included- illness information, coping model, problem solving techniques, relaxation, social skill training, distraction, and cognitive restructuring techniques. All these techniques were adapted to the characteristic features of inflammatory bowel disease. METHOD the sample included 57 patients with inflammatory bowel disease from the Spanish Crohn s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Association. The sample was randomly assigned to one of the two experimental groups -33 were assigned to the treatment group, and 24 were assigned to the waiting list control group. RESULTS the results reflected a significant clinical and statistical improvement in anxiety (p < 0.001) and depression (p < 0.001) variables when compared to the waiting list control group. Likewise, improvement was sustained at 3, 6, and 12 months during follow-up. CONCLUSION the protocolized psychological treatment program, administered in group sessions, is effective in reducing emotional symptoms arising as a result of inflammatory bowel disease.