Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A preliminary study of comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics in Chinese children with chronic tic disorder or Tourette syndrome

Objective To investigate the adaptability of Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) for a Chinese population, and evaluate the efficacy of combined CBIT and pharmacotherapy (CBIT + PT) compared to CBIT or pharmacotherapy (PT) alone for reducing tics and for improving the quality of life (QoL) in a sample of Chinese children with chronic tic disorders (CTD) and Tourette syndrome (TS). Materials and methods In this 10-week randomized controlled pilot trial, 37 outpatients aged between 6 and 16 years affected by TS and CTD were randomly assigned to receive CBIT (n = 22) or PT alone (n = 15). Considering the feasibility, the patients allocated to the CBIT treatment group could further choose whether to simultaneously take medicine voluntarily, resulting in a CBIT alone group (n = 12) and a CBIT + PT group (n = 10). Results At baseline, no significant difference was found between the three groups in the demographic and clinical characteristics (p > 0.05). All three groups showed a significant reduction in tic severity after treatment assessed by the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) severity score [F(2,33) = 35.05, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.51], the score of the Clinical Global Impression scale for Improvement (CGI-I) [F(1,34) = 13.87, p = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.29], and YGTSS impairment score [F(2,33) = 31.71, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.48]. Significant interactions were found between the time-point and group in emotional functioning [F(2,29) = 4.39, p = 0.02, ηp2 = 0.23], psychosocial functioning [F(2,29) = 5.93, p = 0.007, ηp2 = 0.29], and total QoL score [F(1,34) = 3.72, p = 0.04, ηp2 = 0.20] of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL 4.0) for children suggesting a significantly larger improvement in emotional functioning, psychosocial functioning, and total QoL score of the life quality in the CBIT group for children self-report. PedsQL for proxy report only showed a significant main effect of time-point in physical functioning [F(1,33) = 8.35, p = 0.01, ηp2 = 0.2], emotional functioning [F(1,33) = 10.75, p = 0.002, ηp2 = 0.25], psychosocial functioning [F(1,34) = 11.38, p = 0.002, ηp2 = 0.26], and total Qol score [F(1,34) = 13.21, p = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.29]. Conclusion CBIT is probably effective in reducing tic severity in Chinese children with tic disorders. CBIT + PT may not be superior to CBIT alone in reducing tic severity and improving quality of life. CBIT alone showed advantages in improving quality of life over CBIT + PT and PT alone. CBIT might be an appropriate treatment option for patients with tic disorder in Chinese mainland.
Diversity and temporal dynamics of breast milk microbiome and its influencing factors in Chinese women during the first 6 months postpartum

Human breast milk (HBM) plays an important role in providing nutrients, beneficial microorganisms and bioactive components for infants, helping maturation of their immune system and gastrointestinal development. Here, we present a study aiming to investigate the diversity and temporal dynamics of the milk microbiome across the first 6 month postpartum in Chinese healthy breastfeeding women, and to investigate to what extent other variables (e.g., sampling location, infant sex, and mode of delivery) might also be related to variations in the human milk microbiome, and the association with maternal diet and nutrients. Fifty-three healthy pregnant women from four cities were recruited from a China Maternal and Infant Health Cohort Study and breast milk samples were collected and analyzed using 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing. We illustrated the diversity and temporal dynamics during lactation (Adonis p-value = 3e–04). Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla, and Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Serratia, and Corynebacterium were the core genera. Partitioning around medoids clustering identified two major internal clusters of breast milk microbiota. Cluster 1 was dominated by Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas, while Cluster 2 was dominated by Streptococcus and Staphylococcus. Among other environmental variables, sampling location showed significant influence on breast milk microbiome (Adonis p-value = 4e–04), while infant sex (Adonis p-value = 0.33) and mode of delivery (Adonis p-value = 0.19) were less related to variations in the human milk microbiome. Maternal diet such as tuber was significantly correlated with the relative abundance of Neisseria (rho = 0.34, adjusted p-value = 0.01) and Cutibacterium (rho = −0.35, adjusted p-value = 0.01), and nutrients such as carbohydrates were significantly correlated with the relative abundance of Aquabacterium (rho = −0.39, adjusted p-value = 0.0027), and vitamin B12 was significantly correlated with the relative abundance of Coprococcus (rho = 0.40, adjusted p-value = 0.0018), etc. These results illustrated the dynamic changes of composition and diversity during the lactation phases of the Chinese breast milk microbiome and addressed the importance of geographic location on milk microbiota, and associations with maternal diet consumption, which have potential benefits on the establishment and future health of breastfeeding infants.
Regulation of neural stem cell proliferation and survival by protein arginine methyltransferase 1

Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1), a major type I arginine methyltransferase in mammals, methylates histone and non-histone proteins to regulate various cellular functions, such as transcription, DNA damage response, and signal transduction. PRMT1 is highly expressed in neural stem cells (NSCs) and embryonic brains, suggesting that PRMT1 is essential for early brain development. Although our previous reports have shown that PRMT1 positively regulates oligodendrocyte development, it has not been studied whether PRMT1 regulates NSC proliferation and its survival during development. To examine the role of PRMT1 in NSC activity, we cultured NSCs prepared from embryonic mouse forebrains deficient in PRMT1 specific for NSCs and performed neurosphere assays. We found that the primary neurospheres of PRMT1-deficient NSCs were small and the number of spheres was decreased, compared to those of control NSCs. Primary neurospheres deficient in PRMT1 expressed an increased level of cleaved caspase-3, suggesting that PRMT1 deficiency-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, p53 protein was significantly accumulated in PRMT1-deficient NSCs. In parallel, p53-responsive pro-apoptotic genes including Pmaip1 and Perp were upregulated in PRMT1-deficient NSCs. p53-target p21 mRNA and its protein levels were shown to be upregulated in PRMT1-deficient NSCs. Moreover, the 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation assay showed that the loss of PRMT1 led to cell cycle defects in the embryonic NSCs. In contrast to the above in vitro observations, NSCs normally proliferated and survived in the fetal brains of NSC-specific PRMT1-deficient mice. We also found that Lama1, which encodes the laminin subunit α1, was significantly upregulated in the embryonic brains of PRMT1-deficient mice. These data implicate that extracellular factors provided by neighboring cells in the microenvironment gave a trophic support to NSCs in the PRMT1-deficient brain and recovered NSC activity to maintain brain homeostasis. Our study implies that PRMT1 plays a cell-autonomous role in the survival and proliferation of embryonic NSCs.
Applicability of Milne-Eddington inversions to high spatial resolution observations of the quiet sun

Context. The physical conditions of the solar photosphere change on very small spatial scales both horizontally and vertically. Such a complexity may pose a serious obstacle to the accurate determination of solar magnetic fields. Aims. We examine the applicability of Milne-Eddington (ME) inversions to high spatial resolution observations of the quiet Sun. Our aim is to understand the connection between the ME inferences and the actual stratifications of the atmospheric parameters. Methods. We use magnetoconvection simulations of the solar surface to synthesize asymmetric Stokes profiles such as those observed in the quiet Sun. We then invert the profiles with the ME approximation. We perform an empirical analysis of the heights of formation of ME measurements and analyze the uncertainties brought about by the ME approximation. We also investigate the quality of the fits and their relationship with the model stratifications. Results. The atmospheric parameters derived from ME inversions of high-spatial resolution profiles are reasonably accurate and can be used for statistical analyses of solar magnetic fields, even if the fit is not always good. We also show that the ME inferences cannot be assigned to a specific atmospheric layer: different parameters sample different ranges of optical depths, and even the same parameter may trace different layers depending on the physical conditions of the atmosphere. Despite this variability, ME inversions tend to probe deeper layers in granules than in intergranular lanes.
PHOTOMETRIC REVERBERATION MAPPING OF THE BROAD EMISSION LINE REGION IN QUASARS

A method is proposed for measuring the size of the broad emission line region (BLR) in quasars using broadband photometric data. A feasibility study, based on numerical simulations, points to the advantages and pitfalls associated with this approach. The method is applied to a subset of the Palomar-Green quasar sample for which independent BLR size measurements are available. An agreement is found between the results of the photometric method and the spectroscopic reverberation mapping technique. Implications for the measurement of BLR sizes and black hole masses for numerous quasars in the era of large surveys are discussed.
Inflammatory caspases and their substrates

Inflammasomes are protein complexes comprised of a sensor, an adaptor, and a pro-caspase, activation of which leads to the cleavage and activation of Gasdermin D and the inflammatory cytokine IL-1β, resulting in the inflammatory form of cell death known as pyroptosis. Inflammasomes have been linked to a multitude of different conditions, including cancers and inflammatory diseases such as sepsis. Inflammasomes are divided into two categories, the canonical inflammasome that is activated through the detection of various detrimental stimuli, and the non-canonical inflammasome which is activated by LPS from Gram-negative bacteria. The aim of this project was to study the canonical and non-canonical inflammasomes in more detail though the use of various inhibitors, and then to identify novel inflammatory caspase substrates and study their role within the body. Through the use of proteomic analysis, several potential novel inflammatory caspase substrates were identified. After further analysis, IL-F3 was highlighted as a target for further study and validated in epithelial cell lines. This work provides the foundations for further study into the role of inflammatory caspases in the activation of this RNA-binding protein. LDH release was inhibited in LPS transfected cells when with the VX-765 caspase inhibitor in all cell types. As previously shown, MCC950 had no inhibitory effect in cells transfected with LPS. The 100% bars refer to the cells lysed with triton X-100 used as a control. The LDH results mirror those seen in the Western blot.
Probing satellite haloes with weak gravitational lensing

We demonstrate the possibility of detecting tidal stripping of dark matter subhalos within galaxy groups using weak gravitational lensing. We have run ray-tracing simulations on galaxy catalogues from the Millennium Simulation to generate mock shape catalogues. The ray-tracing catalogues assume a halo model for galaxies and groups, using various models with different distributions of mass between galaxy and group halos to simulate different stages of group evolution. Using these mock catalogues, we forecast the lensing signals that will be detected around galaxy groups and satellite galaxies, as well as test two different methods for isolating the satellites' lensing signals. A key challenge is to determine the accuracy to which group centres can be identified. We show that with current and ongoing surveys, it will possible to detect stripping in groups of mass 10^12--10^15 Msun.
The number of progenitors in the core-degenerate scenario for Type Ia supernovae

We calculate the expected number of Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) in the core-degenerate (CD) scenario and find it to match observations within the uncertainties of the code. In the CD scenario, the super-Chandrasekhar mass white dwarf (WD) is formed at the termination of the common envelope phase from a merger of a WD companion with the hot core of a massive asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. We use a simple population synthesis code that avoids the large uncertainties involved in estimating the final orbital separation of the common envelope evolution. Instead, we assume that systems where the core of the secondary AGB star is more massive than the WD remnant of the primary star merge at the termination of the common envelope phase. We also use a simple prescription to count systems that have strong interaction during the AGB phase, but not during the earlier red giant branch (RGB) phase. The fact that a very simple population synthesis code that uses the basics of stellar evolution ingredients can match the observed rate of SN Ia might suggest that the CD-scenario plays a major role in forming SN Ia.
Implementing and comparing sink particles in AMR and SPH

Abstract We implemented sink particles in the Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) code FLASH to model the gravitational collapse and accretion in turbulent molecular clouds and cores. Sink particles are frequently used to measure properties of star formation in numerical simulations, such as the star formation rate and efficiency, and the mass distribution of stars. We show that only using a density threshold for sink particle creation is insufficient in case of supersonic flows, because the density can exceed the threshold in strong shocks that do not necessarily lead to local collapse. Additional physical collapse indicators have to be considered. We apply our AMR sink particle module to the formation of a star cluster, and compare it to a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code with sink particles. Our comparison shows encouraging agreement of gas and sink particle properties between the AMR and SPH code.
Heat kernels and zeta functions on fractals

On fractals, spectral functions such as heat kernels and zeta functions exhibit novel features, very different from their behaviour on regular smooth manifolds, and these can have important physical consequences for both classical and quantum physics in systems having fractal properties. This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical in honour of Stuart Dowker's 75th birthday devoted to ‘Applications of zeta functions and other spectral functions in mathematics and physics’.
A Galactic origin for the fast radio burst FRB010621

The recent detection of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) has generated strong interest in identifying the origin of these bright, non-repeating, highly dispersed pulses. The principal limitation in understanding the origin of these bursts is the lack of reliable distance estimates; their high dispersion measures imply that they may be at cosmological distances ($0.1 < z < 1.0$). Here we discuss new distance constraints to the FRB010621 (a.k.a J1852$-$08) first reported by Keane. We use velocity resolved $H\alpha$ and $H\beta$ observations of diffuse ionised gas toward the burst to calculate an extinction-corrected emission measure along the line of sight. We combine this emission measure with models of Galactic rotation and of electron distribution to derive a 90% probability of the pulse residing in the Galaxy. However, we cannot differentiate between the two Galactic interpretations of Keane: a neutron star with unusual pulse amplitude distribution or Galactic black hole annihilation.
PLD Signaling as a Phosphoprotein and Its Interaction with Tyrosine Kinases

PA, and their binding partners. This paucity of intersection indicates that indeed, PLD is an enzyme that cannot be confined to the sole actions derived from its enzymatic activity and, as I will discuss later, the protein-protein interactions involving the whole PLD or parts of the PLD molecular are central to PLD signaling, particularly in cell migration. A further interest in this PA-PLD topic has become highlighted by the discovery of PLD2 as a GEF that makes more challenging a demarcation between lipase-mediated and/or GEF-mediated functions of PLD2 (9). However, the finding that PA regulates the GEF activity of PLD2 adds a further level of sophistication in the regulation of this enzyme that is necessary considering the key role it has in cellular functions FIGURE 1. Classifications of PLDs. A, phospholipase D enzymes with HKD domains and intact lipase activity. B, phospholipase D enzymes with HKD domains that lack lipase activity. C, phospholipase D enzymes that lack HKD domains but are dependent on divalent cations for action. Parts of this panel are based on Ref. 99. Abbreviations: Phospholipase D activity, lipid phosphodiesterase toward PC (also phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and cardiolipin) releasing PA and polar head; Ce, Caenorhabditis elegans; Dm, Drosophila melanogaster; Dr, Danio rerio; MLS, mitochondrial localization signal; mPLD5, mouse PLD5; sc, Streptomyces chromofuscus; GPI, glycosyl phosphatidyl inositol. Red boxes marked with TM, transmembrane domains; black boxes, HKD motifs (HXKX4DX6GSXN); yellow box, C2 domain. MINIREVIEW: Phospholipase D in Cell Signaling
Evidence of a Sub-Saturn around EPIC 211945201

We report here strong evidence for a sub-Saturn around EPIC 211945201 and confirm its planetary nature. EPIC 211945201b was found to be a planetary candidate from K2 photometry in Campaigns 5 and 16, transiting a bright star (Vmag = 10.15, G0 spectral type) in a 19.492 day orbit. However, the photometric data combined with false positive probability calculations using VESPA was not sufficient to confirm the planetary scenario. Here, we present high-resolution spectroscopic follow up of the target using the PARAS spectrograph (19 radial velocity observations) over a time baseline of 420 days. We conclusively rule out the possibility of an eclipsing binary system and confirm the 2σ detection of a sub-Saturn planet. The confirmed planet has a radius of 6.12 ± 0.1 R⊕, and a mass of . We also place an upper limit on the mass (within the 3σ confidence interval) at 42 M⊕ above the nominal value. This results in the Saturn-like density of . Based on the mass and radius, we provide a preliminary model-dependent estimate that the heavy element content is 60%–70% of the total mass. This detection is important as it adds to a sparse catalog of confirmed exoplanets with masses between 10 and 70 M⊕ and radii between 4 and 8 R⊕, whose masses and radii are measured to a precision of 50% or better (only 23 including this work).
TRACING THE ORIGIN OF THE AQUARIUS STREAM. I

We present an abundance analysis of six member stars of the recently discovered Aquarius stream, in an attempt to ascertain whether this halo stream is real and, if so, to understand its origin. The mean metallicities of the six stars have a dispersion of only 0.10 dex, indicating that they are part of a chemically coherent structure. We then investigate whether the stream represents the debris of a disrupted dwarf galaxy or a disrupted globular cluster. The [Ni/Fe]–[Na/Fe] plane provides a good diagnostic: globular cluster stars and dwarf spheroidal galaxy stars are well separated in this plane, and the Aquarius stream stars lie unambiguously in the globular cluster region. The Aquarius stream stars also lie on the distinct [Na/Fe]–[O/Fe] and [Mg/Fe]–[Al/Fe] relations delineated by Galactic globular cluster stars. Spectroscopic parameters for the six Aquarius stars show that they are tightly confined to a 12 Gyr, [Fe/H] =−1.0, α-enhanced isochrone, consistent with their identification as globular cluster debris. We present evidence that the Aquarius stream may continue through the disk and out into the northern halo. Our results indicate a globular cluster origin for the Aquarius stream and demonstrate the potential for chemical tagging to identify the origins of Galactic substructures.
Tugging at time : the role of temporal processing in the organization of string-pulling

TUGGING AT TIME: THE ROLE OF TEMPORAL PROCESSING IN THE ORGANIZATION OF STRING-PULLING Ashley Andrea Blackwell, M.A. Department of Psychology Northern Illinois University, 2018 Douglas G. Wallace, Director Time perception is one of the most influential cognitive capacities shared across animal species. Interval timing, occurring in the range of seconds to minutes, dictates actions to events experienced in the environment. Operant conditioning techniques have traditionally been used to assess interval timing which relies heavily on extensive training. There may be alternative techniques to investigate processing of temporal information, including exploring the organization of an animal’s repertoire of spontaneously occurring behaviors. String-pulling behavior in rats may be an alternative way to provide a novel approach to investigate time perception in rodents. The current set of studies evaluates the effects of manipulating temporal and motivational factors on the organization of string-pulling behavior. The first study revealed that short and long strings elicited different behavioral responses during string-pulling behavior. The second study demonstrated that high and low reinforcement rates differentially influenced the organization of string-pulling behavior. The third study provided evidence that string odor/length pairing elicited an odor discrimination. The results of this work provide a basis for string-pulling behavior as a novel behavioral assessment of interval timing. NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DEKALB, ILLINOIS
DYNAMICAL VERSUS STELLAR MASSES IN COMPACT EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES: FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR SYSTEMATIC VARIATION IN THE STELLAR INITIAL MASS FUNCTION

Several independent lines of evidence suggest that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in early-type galaxies becomes increasingly “bottom-heavy” with increasing galaxy mass and/or velocity dispersion, σ. Here we consider evidence for IMF variation in a sample of relatively compact early-type galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. These galaxies are of sufficiently high stellar density that a dark halo likely makes a minor contribution to the total dynamical mass, Mdyn, within one effective radius. We fit our detailed stellar population synthesis models to the stacked absorption line spectra of these galaxies in bins of σ and find evidence from IMF-sensitive spectral features for a bottom-heavy IMF at high σ. We also apply simple “mass-follows-light” dynamical models to the same data and find that Mdyn is significantly higher than what would be expected if these galaxies were stellar dominated and had a universal Milky Way IMF. Adopting Mdyn ≈ M* therefore implies that the IMF is “heavier” at high σ. Most importantly, the quantitative amount of inferred IMF variation is very similar between the two techniques, agreeing to within ≲ 0.1 dex in mass. The agreement between two independent techniques, when applied to the same data, provides compelling evidence for systematic variation in the IMF as a function of early-type galaxy velocity dispersion. Any alternative explanations must reproduce both the results from dynamical and stellar population-based techniques.