Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Moonstruck sleep: Synchronization of Human Sleep with the Moon Cycle under Natural Conditions

As humans transitioned from hunter-gatherer to agricultural to highly urbanized post-industrial communities they progressively created environments that isolated sleep from its ancestral regulators, including the natural light-dark cycle. A prominent feature of this isolation is the availability of artificial light during the night, which delays the onset of sleep and shortens its duration. Before artificial light, moonlight was the only source of natural light sufficient to stimulate activity during the night; still, evidence for the modulation of sleep timing by lunar phases under natural conditions is controversial. Here we use data collected with wrist actimeters that measure daily sleep to show a clear synchronization of nocturnal sleep timing with the lunar cycle in participants who live in environments that range from a rural setting without access to electricity to a highly urbanized post-industrial one. The onset of sleep is delayed and sleep duration shortened as much as 1.5 hours on nights that precede the full moon night. Our data suggests that moonlight may have exerted selective pressure for nocturnal activity and sleep inhibition and that access to artificial evening light may emulate the ancestral effect of early-night moonlight.
Learning to Synchronize: Midfrontal Theta Dynamics during Rule Switching

In recent years, several hierarchical extensions of well-known learning algorithms have been proposed. For example, when stimulus-action mappings vary across time or context, the brain may learn two or more stimulus-action mappings in separate modules, and additionally (at a hierarchically higher level) learn to appropriately switch between those modules. However, how the brain mechanistically coordinates neural communication to implement such hierarchical learning remains unknown. Therefore, the current study tests a recent computational model that proposed how midfrontal theta oscillations implement such hierarchical learning via the principle of binding by synchrony (Sync model). More specifically, the Sync model uses bursts at theta frequency to flexibly bind appropriate task modules by synchrony. The 64-channel EEG signal was recorded while 27 human subjects (female: 21, male: 6) performed a probabilistic reversal learning task. In line with the Sync model, postfeedback theta power showed a linear relationship with negative prediction errors, but not with positive prediction errors. This relationship was especially pronounced for subjects with better behavioral fit (measured via Akaike information criterion) of the Sync model. Also consistent with Sync model simulations, theta phase-coupling between midfrontal electrodes and temporoparietal electrodes was stronger after negative feedback. Our data suggest that the brain uses theta power and synchronization for flexibly switching between task rule modules, as is useful, for example, when multiple stimulus-action mappings must be retained and used. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Everyday life requires flexibility in switching between several rules. A key question in understanding this ability is how the brain mechanistically coordinates such switches. The current study tests a recent computational framework (Sync model) that proposed how midfrontal theta oscillations coordinate activity in hierarchically lower task-related areas. In line with predictions of this Sync model, midfrontal theta power was stronger when rule switches were most likely (strong negative prediction error), especially in subjects who obtained a better model fit. Additionally, also theta phase connectivity between midfrontal and task-related areas was increased after negative feedback. Thus, the data provided support for the hypothesis that the brain uses theta power and synchronization for flexibly switching between rules.
Evaluation of a large-scale flow manipulation to the upper San Francisco Estuary: Response of habitat conditions for an endangered native fish

While flow is known to be a major driver of estuarine ecosystems, targeted flow manipulations are rare because tidal systems are extremely variable in space and time, and because the necessary infrastructure is rarely available. In summer 2018 we used a unique water control structure in the San Francisco Estuary (SFE) to direct a managed flow pulse into Suisun Marsh, one of the largest contiguous tidal marshes on the west coast of the United States. The action was designed to increase habitat suitability for the endangered Delta Smelt Hypomesus transpacificus, a small osmerid fish endemic to the upper SFE. The approach was to operate the Suisun Marsh Salinity Control Gates (SMSCG) in conjunction with increased Sacramento River tributary inflow to direct an estimated 160 × 106 m3 pulse of low salinity water into Suisun Marsh during August, a critical time period for juvenile Delta Smelt rearing. Three-dimensional modeling showed that directing additional low salinity water into Suisun Marsh (“Flow Action”) substantially increased the area of low salinity habitat for Delta Smelt that persisted beyond the period of SMSCG operations. Field monitoring showed that turbidity and chlorophyll were at higher levels in Suisun Marsh, representing better habitat conditions, than the upstream Sacramento River region throughout the study period. The Flow Action had no substantial effects on zooplankton abundance, nor did Suisun Marsh show enhanced levels of these prey species in comparison to the Sacramento River. Fish monitoring data suggested that small numbers of Delta Smelt colonized Suisun Marsh from the Sacramento River during the Flow Action, further supporting our hypothesis that the Flow Action would benefit this rare species. Our study provides insight into both the potential use of targeted flow manipulations to support endangered fishes such as Delta Smelt, and into the general response of estuarine habitat to flow management.
Complement factor C4a does not activate protease activated receptor 1 (PAR1) or PAR4 on human platelets

Background Protease activated receptor 1 (PAR1) and PAR4 are key thrombin signal mediators for human platelet activation and aggregation in response to vascular injury. They are primarily activated by thrombin cleavage of the N-terminus to expose a tethered ligand. In addition to the canonical activation by thrombin, a growing panel of proteases can also elicit PAR1- or PAR4-mediate signal transduction. Recently, complement factor C4a was reported as the first endogenous agonist for both PAR1 and PAR4. Further, it is the first endogenous non-tethered ligand that activates PAR1 and PAR4. These studies were conducted with human microvascular cells; the impact of C4a on platelet PARs is unknown. Objectives The goal of this study was to interrogate PAR1 and PAR4 activation by C4a on human platelets. Methods Platelet rich plasma (PRP) were isolated from healthy donors. PRP was stimulated with C4a and the platelet aggregation was measured. HEK293 Flp-In T-rex cells were used to further test if C4a stimulation can initiate PAR1- or PAR4-mediated Gαq signaling, which was measured by intracellular calcium mobilization. Results C4a failed to elicit platelet aggregation via PAR1- or PAR4-mediated manner. In addition, no PAR1- or PAR4-mediated calcium mobilization was observed upon C4a stimulation on HEK293 cells. Conclusions Complement factor C4a does not activate PAR1 or PAR4 on human platelets. These data show that PAR1 and PAR4 activation by C4a on microvascular cells likely requires a cofactor, which re-enforces the concept of cell-type specific regulation of protease signaling. Essentials C4a is an agonist for both PAR1 and PAR4 on human microvascular cells. We sought to determine if C4a activates human platelets through PAR1 or PAR4. C4a does not activate PAR1 and PAR4 on human platelets. This re-enforces the concept of cell-type specific regulation of PAR signaling.
Body Composition in Homozygous β‐Thalassemia

Homozygous β-thalassemia (Cooley’s anemia) is a severe hereditary disorder characterized by decreased synthesis of the β-globin chain of hemoglobin, leading to the development of a hypochromic microcytic anemia, that provokes a compensatory hyperplasia of the red bone marrow. Therefore, from a very early age, patients with homozygous β-thalassemia (major) require regular transfusion along with iron chelation therapy to suppress the expansion of the red marrow. Several studies showed that many patients with β-thalassemia major have a smaller final stature than normal,1 but there has been little research on the elemental and chemical composition of their bodies. In the present study, we used whole body counting of 40K radioactivity and bioelectric impedance spectroscopy (BIS) to assess in adult patients the total body cell mass, total body water, and intracellular and extracellular fluid volumes (TBW, ICF, and ECF). The amount of phosphorus in the bones of the hands (HBP) and bone mineral content in the forearm (fBMC) were measured by neutron activation analysis and single-photon absorptiometry, respectively. Moreover, spinal trabecular bone and cortical spinal bone mineral density (tBMD and cBMD, respectively), and bone marrow composition were assessed by single-energy-spectrum quantitative computed tomography (SES-QCT) and MRI.
Behavioural diversity of bonobo prey preference as a potential cultural trait

The importance of cultural processes to behavioural diversity, especially in our closest living relatives, is central for revealing the evolutionary origins of human culture. Whereas potential cultural traits are extensively investigated in chimpanzees, our other closest living relative, the bonobo, is often overlooked as a candidate model. Further, a prominent critique to many examples of proposed animal cultures is premature exclusions of environmental confounds known to shape behavioural phenotypes. We addressed these gaps by investigating variation in prey preference expression between neighbouring bonobo groups that associate and share largely overlapping home ranges. We find specific group preference for duiker or anomalure hunting that are otherwise unexplained by variation in spatial usage of hunt locations, seasonality or sizes of hunting parties. Our findings demonstrate that group-specific behaviours emerge independently of the local ecology, indicating that hunting techniques in bonobos may be culturally transmitted. We suggest that the tolerant intergroup relations of bonobos offer an ideal context to explore drivers of behavioural phenotypes, the essential investigations for phylogenetic constructs of the evolutionary origins of culture.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS OF TRADITIONAL TARHANA HAVING DIFFERENT FORMULATIONS

Cereal-based fermented foods play an important role in the diets of many people in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and some parts of Europe. Containing cereal and animal-based nutrients, richer with fermentation products, produced with yeast and lactic acid bacteria, tarhana is a type of soup having a delicious and desired taste. It is a good source of protein and vitamins and therefore is used largely for feeding children and the elderly. Because there is no standard production method, the nutritional properties of tarhana strictly depend on ingredients and their ratios in the formulation. In this research, the compositions of 21 tarhana samples collected from different locations in Turkey were examined. Moisture, ash, salt, protein, crude fat, acidity degree and reducing sugar values of the samples changed between 9.35 and 66.4, 1.36 and 9.40, 0.62 and 9.01, 6.77 and 28.55, 0.43 and 15.78, 1.7 and 40.7, and 0.22 and 1.85%, respectively. The nutritional importance of tarhana is the improvement of the basic cereal protein diet by adding dairy protein in a highly accepted form. Like tarhana, indigenous fermented foods that enhance health properties should receive much more attention that they deserve.
Growth assessment of juvenile oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) intercropped with fruit vegetables in a rainforest zone of Nigeria

Many farmers spend a lot of money in the control of weeds during the long juvenile phase of oil palm. Intercropping is a popular practice employed by farmers to increase productivity of wide alley and overcome weed problem. However, improper intercropping of Elaeis guineensis with other crops has impaired the growth and development of the oil palm due to competition for environmental resources. The study was conducted to investigate the impact of intercropping on the growth of juvenile oil palm for 2 years. The research commenced during the rainy season of 2016 at an established juvenile oil palm plantation in Ala, Akure-North Local Government of Ondo State. Four fruit vegetables were intercropped separately within the alley of the plantation at 1, 2 or 3 m away from the oil palms in a randomized complete block design. Growth parameters of intercropped and non-intercropped juvenile oils were compared. Results of the study revealed that at 16 weeks after intercropping (WAI), the intercropped oil palm recorded better growth performance with higher values of canopy spread, number of frond, number of leaflets and trunk height (218.20, 37.00, 87.48 and 38.17 cm) respectively, than the sole oil palms (214.67, 32.83, 72.89 and 31.67) respectively. There was no significant difference in all the growth parameter examined except canopy height at (P<0.05) level of significance. Juvenile oil palm cultivated in rainforest agroecological zone of Nigeria can be intercropped with fruit vegetables without any deleterious effect when intercropped at minimum of 1 m away from the oil palms.
Target tracking behaviour of the praying mantis Sphrodromantis lineola (Linnaeus) is driven by looming-type motion-detectors

We designed visual stimuli to characterise the motion-detectors that underlie target tracking behaviour in the mantis. The first was a small, moving, stripy, bug-like target, made by opening a moving, Gabor-filtered window onto an extended, moving, sinewave pattern. The mantis tracked this bug-like target, but the likelihood of tracking the bug depended only on the temporal frequency of its motion. In contrast, optomotor responses to the extended moving sinewave pattern alone depended on both spatial and temporal frequency of the pattern, as expected from classical, correlation-based motion-detectors. In another experiment, we used small moving objects that were made up of chequerboard patterns of randomly arranged dark squares, and found objects with smaller sized chequers were tracked relatively less. Response suppression like this, when the internal detail of an object increases, suggests the presence of lateral inhibition between inputs to the motion-detectors for target tracking. Finally, wide-field motion of a chequerboard background near the target, balanced so no optomotor responses were evoked, suppressed tracking proportionally both to the nearness of the background to the target and to the size its dark chequered squares. Backgrounds with smaller sized squares produced more suppression. This effect has been used as a demonstration of lateral inhibition in detectors for looming-motion and makes their response greatest to an expanding outer edge, an image produced by an approaching object. Our findings point to a new role for a looming-type motion-detector in mantis target tracking. We also discuss the suitability of several large lobula-complex neurons for this role. Summary Statement Lateral inhibition shown by motion-detectors underlying target tracking by the praying mantis Sphrodromantis lineola (Linnaeus).
Assessing the re-introduction of Aedes aegypti in Europe. Will the Yellow Fever Mosquito colonize the Old World?

Aedes aegypti are feared invasive mosquitoes as they transmit pathogens which cause debilitating diseases in humans. Although mainland Europe has not yet witnessed re-establishment and diffusion of Ae. aegypti populations, several urban areas along coastlines represent suitable habitats for the species. In addition, European coastal areas are characterized by a high exotic species propagule pressure, due to the dense international ship traffic. Here, we applied a process-based population dynamical model to simulate both the life cycle and dispersal of Ae. aegypti at the local scale after its introduction through ship traffic. We selected five European ports along a gradient of latitude by considering both environmental conditions and the economical importance of ports: Algeciras and Barcelona in Spain; Venice and Genoa in Italy and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The model was informed using parameters relevant for Ae. aegypti biology, fine-scale temperature time-series, urban structures and road networks. According to model results, the introduction of small quantities of Ae. aegypti eggs, from 10 to 1000, has the potential to cause species establishment, high local densities and slow initial dispersal in the two southernmost study areas, Algeciras and Barcelona, whereas Genoa may be considered only close to suitability. Barcelona had the highest simulated mosquito densities (584 females/ha), whereas Algeciras densities were never more than 32 females/ha, but remained higher during winter. The spatial spread of the species varied between a few hundred meters to 2 km/year and was affected by the structure of the road network, topography and urban sprawl along the coast in the surrounding of the port of introduction. The study areas of Genoa, Venice and Rotterdam were found not suitable for establishment of this mosquito species, however climate change could create conditions for Ae. aegypti invasion in these regions in the next decades. It is commonly accepted that targeted monitoring and early control actions are the most effective methods to hinder the establishment of invasive species in new areas. Our findings and model framework may support surveillance initiatives for those European coastal urban areas which have a known high propagule pressure and a high modelled probability of Ae. aegypti establishment. Highlights European coasts present favourable conditions for Aedes aegypti establishment We assess the species introduction and establishment using a process-based model We selected five ports: Algeciras, Barcelona, Venice, Genoa and Rotterdam Algeciras and Barcelona were the most suitable areas for the species establishment Climate change could make more suitable the northernmost study areas
Neutralizing Effects of Small Molecule Inhibitors and Metal Chelators on Coagulopathic Viperinae Snake Venom Toxins

Animal-derived antivenoms are the only specific therapies currently available for the treatment of snake envenoming, but these products have a number of limitations associated with their efficacy, safety and affordability for use in tropical snakebite victims. Small molecule drugs and drug candidates are regarded as promising alternatives for filling the critical therapeutic gap between snake envenoming and effective treatment. In this study, by using an advanced analytical technique that combines chromatography, mass spectrometry and bioassaying, we investigated the effect of several small molecule inhibitors that target phospholipase A2 (varespladib) and snake venom metalloproteinase (marimastat, dimercaprol and DMPS) toxin families on inhibiting the activities of coagulopathic toxins found in Viperinae snake venoms. The venoms of Echis carinatus, Echis ocellatus, Daboia russelii and Bitis arietans, which are known for their potent coagulopathic toxicities, were fractionated in high resolution onto 384-well plates using liquid chromatography followed by coagulopathic bioassaying of the obtained fractions. Bioassay activities were correlated to parallel recorded mass spectrometric and proteomics data to assign the venom toxins responsible for coagulopathic activity and assess which of these toxins could be neutralized by the inhibitors under investigation. Our results showed that the phospholipase A2-inhibitor varespladib neutralized the vast majority of anticoagulation activities found across all of the tested snake venoms. Of the snake venom metalloproteinase inhibitors, marimastat demonstrated impressive neutralization of the procoagulation activities detected in all of the tested venoms, whereas dimercaprol and DMPS could only partially neutralize these activities at the doses tested. Our results provide additional support for the concept that combination of small molecules, particularly the combination of varespladib with marimastat, serve as a drug-repurposing opportunity to develop new broad-spectrum inhibitor-based therapies for snakebite envenoming.
ZFP982 confers mouse embryonic stem cell characteristics by regulating expression of Nanog, Zfp42 and Dppa3

We here used multi-omics analyses to identify and characterize zinc finger protein 982 (Zfp982) that confers stemness characteristics by regulating expression of Nanog, Zfp42 and Dppa3 in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC). Network-based expression analyses comparing the transcriptional profiles of mESC and differentiated cells revealed high expression of Zfp982 in stem cells. Moreover, Zfp982 showed transcriptional overlap with Yap1, the major co-activator of the Hippo pathway. Quantitative proteomics and co-immunoprecipitation revealed interaction of ZFP982 with YAP1. ZFP982 used a GCAGAGKC motif to bind to chromatin, for example near the stemness conferring genes Nanog, Zfp42 and Dppa3 as shown by ChIP-seq. Loss-of-function experiments in mESC established that expression of Zfp982 is necessary to maintain stem cell characteristics. Zfp982 expression decreased with progressive differentiation, and knockdown of Zfp982 resulted in neural differentiation of mESC. ZFP982 localized to the nucleus in mESC and translocated to the cytoplasm upon neuronal differentiation. Similarly, YAP1 localized to the cytoplasm upon differentiation, but in mESC YAP1 was present in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Graphical Abstract ZFP982 is a regulator of stemness of mouse embryonic stem cells and acts as transcription factor by activating expression of stem cell genes including Nanog, Dppa3 and Zfp42. Highlights Zfp982 is a new mouse stem cell defining marker gene. Zfp982 is co-expressed with Yap1 and stem cell marker genes in mESC. ZFP982 binds to DNA and induces expression of master genes of stemness in mESC. Expression of Zfp982 gene prevents neural differentiation and maintains stem cell characteristics. ZFP982 and YAP1 interact in mESC and translocate to the cytoplasm upon neural differentiation.
Evaluation of nitrosulf and elemental sulphur on growth and yield of rapeseed (Brassica campestris L.) in India

Field experiments were conducted at the farmer's field in Adhata village, Amdanga block, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India, during the dry season of 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 in an inceptisol (pH 6.8) to evaluate the nitrosulf and elemental sulphur on the growth and yield of rapeseed (cv. B 9). Indeed, there are only four rates of nitrosulf and two rates of elemental S which were applied to the soil. The total S content in dry matter of rapeseed gradually increased up to 80 days of crop growth when S was applied either as nitrosulf or elemental S, being greater with nitrosulf compared to elemental S application. The highest mean S uptake by rapeseed and straw was 286 and 190% increase over that of the control, respectively, in the treatment T5 (0.2% S as nitrosulf). The mean plant height, number of siliqua plant−1, number of seeds siliqua−1 and thousand seed weight were highest in treatment T5 with 20, 34.8, 42.9 and 18.9% increase over that of the control, respectively. The yield of seed and stover recorded highest percentage increase of 66 and 71.6%, respectively, in the treatment T5 over that of the control during both the years.