Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interlobar Collaterals are related to radiological heterogeneity in severe emphysema

Study Objective: We sought to assess the prevalence of interlobar collateral ventilation in patients with severe emphysema who underwent lung transplantation to identify factors that may help predict patients with significant collateral ventilation. Methods: Between April 2002 and August 2003, ex vivo assessment of the lungs of consecutive 17 patients with smoking related severe emphysema was performed. To assess collateral flow, all lobes of explanted specimens were selectively intubated using a wedged cuffed microlaryngeal intubation tube and then manually ventilated using a bagging circuit. Interlobar collateral ventilation was defined as the ability to easily inflate a non-intubated lobe at physiological pressures. Pre-transplant demographic, physiologic data, radiological results and explant histology were assessed for retrospective relationships with the degree of explanted lung interlobar collateral ventilation. Results: A total of 23 lungs were evaluated in this study. Fifteen (66%) lung specimens demonstrated significant collateral interlobar airflow. Eight (34%) lung specimens demonstrated no-collateral ventilation between adjacent lobes. There were no significant differences in any demographic, physiologic or pathologic variables between patients with collateral and no-collateral ventilation. However, there was a significant relationship between the presence of interlobar collateral ventilation and radiological scores (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that interlobar collateral ventilation occurred to a much greater extent in those with radiologically homogeneous emphysema than in those with heterogeneous emphysema. Heterogeneity of emphysema may predict patients with significantly less risk of interlobar collateral ventilation.
Social Factors in Heat Survival: Multiqueen Desert Ant Colonies Have Higher and More Uniform Heat Tolerance

Investigations of thermally adaptive behavioral phenotypes are critical for both understanding climate as a selective force and predicting global species distributions under climate change conditions. Cooperative nest founding is a common strategy in harsh environments for many species and can enhance growth and competitive advantage, but whether this social strategy has direct effects on thermal tolerance was previously unknown. We examined the effects of alternative social strategies on thermal tolerance in a facultatively polygynous (multiqueen) desert ant, Pogonomyrmex californicus, asking whether and how queen number affects worker thermal tolerances. We established and reared lab colonies with one to four queens, then quantified all colony member heat tolerances (maximum critical temperature [CTmax]). Workers from colonies with more queens had higher and less variant CTmax. Our findings resemble weak link patterns, in which colony group thermal performance is improved by reducing frequencies of the most temperature-vulnerable individuals. Using ambient temperatures from our collection site, we show that multiqueen colonies have thermal tolerance distributions that enable increased midday foraging in hot desert environments. Our results suggest advantages to polygyny under climate change scenarios and raise the question of whether improved thermal tolerance is a factor that has enabled the success of polygyne species in other climatically extreme environments.
Indole Sensing Regulator (IsrR) Promotes Virulence Gene Expression in Enteric Pathogens

Enteric pathogens sense the complex intestinal chemistry to find a suitable colonization niche. The microbiota plays an important part in shaping this chemistry. ABSTRACT Enteric pathogens such as enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) and its surrogate murine model Citrobacter rodentium sense indole levels within the gut to navigate its biogeography and modulate virulence gene expression. Indole is a microbiota-derived signal that is more abundant in the intestinal lumen, with its concentration decreasing at the epithelial lining where it is absorbed. E. coli, but not C. rodentium, produces endogenous indole because it harbors the tnaA gene. Microbiota-derived exogenous indole is sensed by the CpxAR two-component system, where CpxA is a membrane-bound histidine-sensor-kinase (HK) and CpxR is a response regulator (RR). Indole inhibits CpxAR function leading to decreased expression of the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island, which is essential for these pathogens to form lesions on enterocytes. In our transcriptome studies comparing wild-type (WT) EHEC and ΔtnaA ± indole, one of the most upregulated genes by indole is ygeV, which is a predicted orphan RR. Because of the role YgeV plays in the indole signaling cascade, we renamed this gene indole sensing regulator (isrR). In the absence of endogenous indole, IsrR activates LEE gene expression. IsrR only responds to endogenous indole, with exogenous indole still blocking virulence gene expression independently from IsrR. Notably, a C. rodentium isrR mutant is attenuated for murine infection, depicting delayed death, lower intestinal colonization, and LEE gene expression. IsrR aids in discriminating between microbiota-derived (exogenous) and endogenous self-produced indole in fine-tuning virulence gene expression by enteric pathogens in the intestine. IMPORTANCE Enteric pathogens sense the complex intestinal chemistry to find a suitable colonization niche. The microbiota plays an important part in shaping this chemistry. Here we show that the abundant microbiota-derived exogenous signal indole impacts host-pathogen interactions by allowing enteric pathogens to discriminate between the luminal environment, where expression of virulence genes is an unnecessary energy burden, from the epithelial surface, where this gene expression is needed for host colonization. We describe a new signaling node through the regulator IsrR that allows for this shift. These findings establish a mechanism through which pathogens discriminate from self- and microbiota-derived signaling to establish infection.
Dose Attenuation in Innovative Shielding Materials for Radiation Protection in Space: Measurements and Simulations

Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) are among the main deterrents to manned space exploration. Currently, the most realistic way to reduce the dangers caused by GCR to acceptable levels is passive shielding. Light materials guarantee the strongest dose attenuation per unit mass. High-density polyethylene is considered the gold standard for radiation protection in space. Nevertheless, accelerator-based experimental campaigns already showed the advantages of more hydrogen-rich innovative shielding materials such as lithium hydride. The experimental campaigns of this work focused on the absorbed dose attenuation properties of lithium-based hydrides chemically stabilized with a paraffin matrix. Such materials were compared to pure lithium-based hydrides, polyethylene, structural materials such as spacecraft aluminum alloys and lithium batteries, and in situ shielding materials such as Moon regolith and its main components silicon and silicon dioxide. The experimental results were compared to simulations performed with PHITS, FLUKA, and Geant4, which are among the most used Monte Carlo codes for radiation protection in space. The simulations showed systematic differences and highlighted the pressing need for reliable nuclear cross-section models.
COAT COLOR OF WESTERN LONG-EARED BATS (MYOTIS EVOTIS) LIVING IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS: A TEST OF GLOGER'S RULE

Abstract Gloger's rule is an ecogeographical pattern observed in many vertebrates whereby populations in more humid environments have darker pigmentation than populations in more arid environments. The coat color for several species of temperate bats exhibits this pattern, including the Western Long-eared Bat (Myotis evotis) in coastal versus interior populations. We tested Gloger's rule by comparing the coat of M. evotis in the mountains and prairies of Alberta, areas with similar humidity. We predicted that both sets of bats would have similar pigmentation if humidity is the main factor driving variation in coat coloration. Discriminant function analysis of color attributes readily separated M. evotis in the mountains from those in the prairies. Individuals were darker in the mountains, violating Gloger's rule. Differential selection by nocturnal predators against conspicuous coat may explain the color differences we found, and perhaps in other species of temperate bats.
Student Understanding of The First Law of Thermodynamics

We report on an investigation of student understanding of the first law of thermodynamics. The students involved were drawn from first-year university physics courses and a second-year thermal physics course. The emphasis was on the ability of the students to relate the first law to the adiabatic compression of an ideal gas. Although they had studied the first law, few students recognized its relevance. Fewer still were able to apply the concept of work to account for a change in temperature in an adiabatic process. Instead most of the students based their predictions and explanations on a misinterpretation of the ideal gas law. Even when ideas of energy and work were suggested, many students were unable to give a correct analysis. They frequently failed to differentiate the concepts of heat, temperature, work, and internal energy. Some of the difficulties that students had in applying the concept of work in a thermal process seemed to be related to difficulties with mechanics. Our findings also suggest t.
On the approximate stochastic realisation problem

The approximate stochastic realization problem is considered. This is to find a linear discrete time model, driven by white noise, whose output has a covariance which is approximately equal to a given covariance sequence and the error lies within some specified bounds. A parameterization of the covariance of an ARMA (autoregressive moving average) process in terms of the poles and the residues of the partial fraction expansion of the model transfer function is presented. Applying the Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm for nonlinear optimization, the above parameters are estimated in such a way that the error between the model output covariance and the given sequence satisfies the tolerance requirements. <<ETX>>
Automatic analysis of architectural floor plans based on deep learning and morphology

In the context of construction engineering, the classification and calculation of the amount of decoration has become the main problem. The structure of engineering drawings is complex and the drawing standards are not unified. This paper proposed a structure extraction algorithm to filter interference lines, extract wall structures and divide spatial regions through image morphology processing based on the image features of floor plan. Based on the target detection algorithm, the drawing scale detection and recognition are realized, and the spatial area calculation is completed through the coordinate system transformation. The results are evaluated by the evaluation standard of graph recognition performance and annotation verification set. The algorithm proposed in this paper is superior to other algorithms in spatial structure analysis, and can effectively analyze and calculate the spatial structure of floor plan in architectural engineering scenes.
Functional Neural Correlates of the Block Design Test in Older Adult with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer ’ s disease

Background: Block design test (BDT) have been widely used in both research and clinical setting as a measure of cognitive decline in the aging population and lesion patients. However, the neural substrates underlying BDT performance has not been widely studied. Furthermore, it has not yet been examined whether the neural substrates of BDT performance reflect the cortical regions associated with cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s Diseases (AD). This study aims to identify functional neural correlates of BDT performance using the 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in cognitive impaired population. Method: The current study includes 213 cognitively impaired middle and old-aged adults. All participants underwent comprehensive clinical and neuropsychological assessments and FDG-PET scan. performance was assessed using the Wechsler Adult intelligence scale-IV Korean version. Voxel-wise analyses of FDG-Pet images were used to investigate the correlation between regional cerebral glucose metabolism and BDT performance. The same analyses were conducted in the subgroup that was dived by using clinical dementia rating sum of box score in order to reexamine the effects of severity of AD. Results: The study sample consisted of 213 participants of which had a mean age of 73.1 ( SD = 7.4) years, mean years of education of 9.8 ( SD = 4.9), mean BDT score of 20.9 ( SD = 9.1), and 67.1% were female. Significant positive correlations between BDT performance and regional cerebral glucose metabolism was found bilaterally in the inferior parietal lobule and thalamus and the right superior temporal gyrus and left occipital precuneus. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the neural mechanism of BDT performance is related to both hemispheres, suggesting not only the visuospatial function but also involving somatosensory, motor, executive functions are equally essential in cognitively-impaired patients with AD.
A SEARCH FOR PLANETARY NEBULAE WITH THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY: THE OUTER REGIONS OF M31

We have developed a method to identify planetary nebula (PN) candidates in imaging data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). This method exploits the SDSS's five-band sampling of emission lines in PN spectra, which results in a color signature distinct from that of other sources. Selection criteria based on this signature can be applied to nearby galaxies in which PNe appear as point sources. We applied these criteria to the whole area of M31 as scanned by the SDSS, selecting 167 PN candidates that are located in the outer regions of M31. The spectra of 80 selected candidates were then observed with the 2.2 m telescope at Calar Alto Observatory. These observations and cross-checks with literature data show that our method has a selection rate efficiency of about 90%, but the efficiency is different for the different groups of PN candidates. In the outer regions of M31, PNe trace different well-known morphological features like the Northern Spur, the NGC 205 Loop, the G1 Clump, etc. In general, the distribution of PNe in the outer region 8 < R < 20 kpc along the minor axis shows the “extended disk”—a rotationally supported low surface brightness structure with an exponential scale length of 3.21 ± 0.14 kpc and a total mass of ∼1010 M☉, which is equivalent to the mass of M33. We report the discovery of three PN candidates with projected locations in the center of Andromeda NE, a very low surface brightness giant stellar structure in the outer halo of M31. Two of the PNe were spectroscopically confirmed as genuine PNe. These two PNe are located at projected distances along the major axis of ∼48 Kpc and ∼41 Kpc from the center of M31 and are the most distant PNe in M31 found up to now. With the new PN data at hand we see the obvious kinematic connection between the continuation of the Giant Stream and the Northern Spur. We suggest that 20%–30% of the stars in the Northern Spur area may belong to the Giant Stream. In our data we also see a possible kinematic connection between the Giant Stream and PNe in Andromeda NE, suggesting that Andromeda NE could be the core or remnant of the Giant Stream. Using PN data we estimate the total mass of the Giant Stream progenitor to be ≈109 M☉. About 90% of its stars appear to have been lost during the interaction with M31.
IL-17a Prompts Human Tumor Cells Migration and Akt, Erk, P38 Phosphorylation in Vitro

Changes of interleukin levels have been associated with advanced stages of several cancer types. Increased levels of cytokines induce tumorigenesis, being a poor prognostic marker for malignant disease. Chronic inflammation is a pathological feature of cancer and interleukin-17 (IL-17A) is an inflammatory cytokine with diverse functions in host defense. This study aimed to clarify the direct role of IL-17 on tumor cells. Several human tumors cells from glioma, bladder and esophagus were first analyzed for IL-17 receptor (IL-17RA) expression through qRT-PCR. The cells were then treated with different concentrations of IL-17, ranging from 10 pg/mL to 100 ng/mL, and evaluated for IL-17 ability to modify tumor cell proliferation and viability through cell counting and MTT assay. Cell migration capacity and intracellular signaling pathways activated by IL-17 were assessed by wound healing assay and flow cytometry, respectively. IL-17RA mRNA expression was detected on the cell lines tested, but the incubation of IL-17 did not alter tumor cell viability or proliferation. However, the incubation of IL-17 was able to promote tumor cell migration and AKT, ERK and P38 phosphorylation in vitro. Our data show, for the first time, the ability of IL-17RA/IL-17 to induce migration of human tumor cell lines in vitro, possibly via activation of MAP kinases and AKT.
Combined large-scale phenotyping and transcriptomics in maize reveals a 10 robust growth regulatory network 11 12

12 Joke Baute (jobau@psb.vib-ugent.be), Dorota Herman (doher@psb.vib-ugent.be), 13 Frederik Coppens (frcop@psb.vib-ugent.be), Jolien De Block (joblo@psb.vib-ugent.be), 14 Bram Slabbinck (brsla@psb.vib-ugent.be), Matteo Dell’Acqua (m.dellacqua@sssup.it) 15 Mario Enrico Pè (m.pe@sssup.it), Steven Maere (stmae@psb.vib-ugent.be), Hilde 16 Nelissen (hinel@psb.vib-ugent.be), Dirk Inzé (diinz@psb.vib-ugent.be) 17 18 Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, 19 Technologiepark 927, 9052, Gent, Belgium 20 Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 21 927, 9052, Gent, Belgium 22 Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 23 Pisa, Italy 24 25 Combining in-depth phenotyping with transcript profiling in maize recombinant inbred lines 26 allows to untangle the genetic control of complex traits. 27 Plant Physiology Preview. Published on January 11, 2016, as DOI:10.1104/pp.15. 01883
The Admittance of Cylindrical Antennas Driven From a Coaxial Line

The situation in which the internal conductor of a coaxial transmission line projects through a ground-plane without any change in diameter is analyzed with reference to the infinite antenna and the parallel-plate antenna. An experimentally meaningful value of the admittance which takes into account the geometry of the antenna-to-coaxial line junction is obtained. This is achieved by utilizing a mathematical model in which an annular aperture or “gap” is represented by a frill of of magnetic current. The field distribution in the aperture is assumed to be of the same form as the TEM mode alone in the coaxial line. It is shown that the effect on the admittance of neglecting the TM modes in the line at the aperture, is very small. In the case of the parallel-plate antenna, the theoretical results are shown to agree remarkably well with experiment. It is also shown how the theory may be applied to the problem of finite length cylindrical antennas.
Equivariant virtual Betti numbers

_ On definit une caracteristique d'Euler generalisee pour les ensembles symetriques par arcs equipes d'une action de groupe. Elle coincide avec la serie de Poincare en homologie equivariante pour les ensembles compacts et non singuliers, niais reste differente en general. On met l'accent sur le cas de Z/22 et on donne une application a l'etude des singularites des germes de fonctions de Nash avec un analogue des fonctions zeta motiviques de Denef et Loeser.
Recurrence risk stratification and treatment strategies of patients with stage IVa‐b hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Optimal treatment strategies for patients with stage IVa‐b hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) remain controversial. This study aimed to examine the high‐risk factors of postoperative tumor recurrence after surgical resection of HSCC and devise individualized postoperative adjuvant treatment (POAT).
Effects of vertical wind shear on intensities of mesoscale convective systems over West and Central Africa

Vertical wind shear is known to play a key role in the organization and intensity of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) in West and Central Africa. A decadal increase in vertical wind shear has recently been linked to a decadal increase in intense MCSs over the Sahel. Here, the effects of vertical wind shear on MCSs over West and Central Africa have been investigated using a 10‐year (1998–2007) MCS dataset. Strong vertical shear is associated with long‐lived, moderate speed, moderate size and cold (deep) storms with high rain rates. The observed cloud top heights of storms over the oceans are closer to their level of neutral buoyancies (LNBs) compared to their land counterparts on the same latitudes. We hypothesize that this is due to greater entrainment dilution over land compared to storms over the ocean. Vertical shear allows storm anvils to reach higher altitudes relative to their LNB, this is consistent with the colder top storms over the Sahel (a region with a high vertical shear) compared to the Congo, despite a higher LNB in the Congo. It is not possible to diagnose the exact mechanisms for this impact of vertical shear from the data, but it is consistent with recent work showing that shear reduces entrainment dilution of squall‐line updrafts. We conclude that modelling impacts of vertical shear, which are normally missed in convection parameterizations, are not only important for predictions of high impact weather, but also for modelling the mean distribution of storm heights across Africa.
VASCULAR BIOLOGY Critical role of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2 (S1PR2) in acute vascular in ﬂ ammation

The endothelium, as the interface between blood and all tissues, plays a critical role in inflammation. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive sphingolipid, highly abun-dant in plasma, that potently regulates endothelial responses through interaction with its receptors (S1PRs). Here, we studied the roleof S1PR2 inthe regulation of the proadhesion and proinflammatory phenotype of the endothelium. By using genetic approaches and a S1PR2-specific antagonist (JTE013), we found that S1PR2 plays a key role in the permeability and inflammatory responses of the vascular endothelium during endotox-emia.Experimentswithbonemarrowchimeras( S1pr2 1 / 1 → S1pr2 1 / 1 , S1pr2 1 / 1 → S1pr2 2 / 2 , and S1pr2 2 / 2 → S1pr2 1 / 1 ) indicate the critical role of S1PR2 in the stromal compartment, in the regulation of vascular permeability and vascular inflammation. In vitro, JTE013 potently inhibited tumor necrosis factor a –induced endothelial inflammation. Finally, we provide detailed mechanisms on the downstream signaling of S1PR2 in vascular inflammation that include the activation of the stress-activated protein kinase pathway that, together with the Rho-kinase nuclear factor kappa B pathway (NF-kB), are required for S1PR2-mediated endothelial inflammatoryresponses. Taken together, our dataindicatethatS1PR2isakeyregulator of theproinflammatoryphenotypeof the endothelium and identify S1PR2 as a novel therapeutic target for vascular disorders. ( Blood . 2013;122(3):443-455)
Impact of flavor-changing neutral current top quark interactions on BR(t -> bW)

We study the effect that flavor-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark will have on the branching ratio of charged decays of the top quark. We have performed an integrated analysis using Tevatron and B-factories data and with just the further assumption that the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix is unitary, we can obtain very restrictive bounds on the strong and electroweak flavor-changing neutral current branching ratios Br(t{yields}qX)<4.0x10{sup -4}, where X is any vector boson and a sum in q=u, c is implied.