Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deterministic Nature of Cellular Position Noise During C. elegans Embryogenesis

Individuals with identical genotypes exhibit great phenotypic variability known as biological noise, which has broad implications. While molecular-level noise has been extensively studied, in-depth analysis of cellular-level noise is challenging. Here, we present a systems-level quantitative and functional analysis of noise in cellular position during embryogenesis, an important phenotype indicating differentiation and morphogenesis. We show that cellular position noise is deterministic, stringently regulated by intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. The noise level is determined by cell lineage identity and is coupled to developmental properties including embryonic localization, cell contact, and left-right symmetry. Cells follow a concordant low-high-low pattern of noise dynamics, and fate specification triggers a global down-regulation of noise that provide a noise-buffering strategy. Noise is stringently regulated throughout embryogenesis, especially during cell division and cell adhesion and gap junctions function to restrict noise. Collectively, our study reveals system properties and regulatory mechanisms of cellular noise control during development.
Nutritional Composition of Staple Food Bananas of Three Cultivars in India

Banana (Musa spp.) is an important ingredient of several dishes and its nutritional and other biochemical composition at different stages is yet to be scientifically studied. In the present study the most popularly cultivated species of Nendran, Nijali poovan and Robusta banana in Southern India are selected. Variations in the nutritional and biochemical compositions associated with ripened and unripened stages of banana fruits were studied. Proximate composition, mineral and phytochemical compositions of ripened and unripened banana flours were analyzed and the total soluble sugars in unripened banana range from 1.70 to 2.15 mg/100g of the samples and that of ripened banana range from 37.5 to 43.8 mg/100g of the samples. Mineral compositions show that they are rich sources of calcium, phosphorus and iron. In addition to this they are rich sources of antioxidant potential phytochemicals such as polyphenols, flavanoids, vitamin C and lesser in quantity of anti nutritional factors such as phytates and oxalates. The current study revealed the variations of biochemical compositions of three varieties in unripened and ripened stages. This will be useful for the exploitation of these crops to obtain and formulate the value added products.
Comparative analysis of crystallization behavior induced by different mineral fillers in polypropylene nanocomposites

A comparative analysis of crystallization behavior induced by several mineral fillers in polypropylene nanocomposites was performed. Morphological changes and thermal properties of nanocomposites were evaluated, considering the influence of shape, crystalline morphology, and concentration of mineral particles. For this study, hydrated magnesium silicates with different particle morphologies, such as platelets (talc) and fibers (sepiolite), were used for nanocomposites. In addition, to analyze the effect of mineral crystallinity on nanocomposites, talc and sepiolite from different origin and genesis were selected. Nanocomposites were compounded and injection molded, using different filler concentration (0, 1, and 3% w/w) for each mineral particle. To evaluate the particle influence on nanocomposite crystallinity, X-ray diffraction was used to determine crystalline phases and crystal orientation, meanwhile differential scanning calorimetry was performed to obtain thermal properties. Main results revealed that talc has a higher nucleating effect on polypropylene matrix than sepiolite fibers, regardless of their origin and genesis. Meanwhile, a transcrystalline layer that surrounds the fiber surface is observed for nanocomposite containing sepiolite. Moreover, Argentinean talc induces different crystalline phases in nanocomposite with respect to Australian one, which partly influences on mechanical properties.
Adaptive Fuzzy Nonsingular Fixed-Time Control for Nonstrict-Feedback Constrained Nonlinear Multiagent Systems With Input Saturation

This article investigates the fault-tolerant fixed-time cooperative control problem for nonstrict-feedback nonlinear multiagent systems subject to error constraints and input saturation. Fuzzy logic systems are employed to deal with unknown nonlinear dynamics. By using adaptive technique and power integration technique, two barrier-function-based fixed-time control strategies are projected. In the first scheme, a novel adaptive fault-tolerant distributed fixed-time control protocol is developed. Besides, a new real-time compensation mechanism is proposed, where the compensation signal is provided if and only if there exists input saturation. Compared with the mechanisms for always compensating signals in existing results, the proposed real-time compensation mechanism may reduce energy consumption. In the second scheme, an adaptive fault-tolerant priority-based fixed-time control protocol is proposed, which may reduce the computational complexity arising from numerous neighbors’ variables. Both of the proposed two strategies can avoid the singular problem by constructing high-order derivable continuous functions. Besides, the developed control protocols can ensure the errors in MASs are practical fixed-time stable, meanwhile, the error constraints will not be violated in operation. Stability analysis and simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategies.
Measurement of several qualitative traits and body size of Lombok Muscovy Ducks (Cairina moshcata) in semi-intensive rearing

The study was conducted to identify phenotypic characteristics of Lombok Muscovy ducks. A total of 100 adult male and 100 adult female Muscovy ducks. The research location was determined by purposive random sampling, while the determination of farmers and Muscovy ducks was done incidentally. Observations were made on each Muscovy duck by observing the color, body weight and size of body parts. The body size data were tabulated, averaged, and then analyzed descriptively; meanwhile, the plumage color data were calculated in frequency. To find the relation between size of body parts and body weight, data were analyzed using simple regression. The study found that the male Muscovy ducks had two plumage characteristics, consisting of white and black-white, both shared the same frequencies, while in the female Muscovy ducks, white color was more dominant compared to the black-white color. The colors of the beak were divided into two i.e., black with a white color in the middle and reddish-white with pink colors in the middle. The size of Lombok Muscovy ducks was rather small in comparison with the other Muscovy ducks. The size of male duck was larger than that of the female.
Targeted RNA NextGenSeq profiling in oncology using single molecule molecular inversion probes

Hundreds of biology-based precision drugs are available that neutralize aberrant molecular pathways in cancer. Molecular heterogeneity and the lack of reliable companion diagnostic biomarkers for many drugs makes targeted treatment of cancer inaccurate for many individuals, leading to futile overtreatment. To acquire a comprehensive insight in aberrant actionable biological pathways in individual cancers we applied a cost-effective targeted RNA next generation sequencing (NGS) technique. The test allows NGS-based measurement of transcript levels and splice variants of hundreds of genes with established roles in the biological behavior in many cancer types. We here present proof of concept that the technique generates a correct molecular diagnosis and a prognosis for glioma patients. The test not only confirmed known brain cancer-associated molecular aberrations but also identified aberrant expression levels of actionable genes and mutations that are associated with other cancer types. Targeted RNA-NGS is therefore a highly attractive method to guide precision therapy for the individual patient based on pathway analysis.
Landscape Characteristics Related to Use of Artificial Roosts by Northern Long-Eared Bats in North-Central West Virginia

Abstract In the eastern US, research is needed on the establishment and evaluation of conservation measures for forest-dwelling bats, in general, and for the newly listed Myotis septentrionalis (Northern Long-Eared Bat), in particular. Our objectives were to evaluate the overall use of 3 artificial roosting structures—rocket box, nursery box, and artificial bark—by bats and to relate this use to local landscape characteristics in north-central West Virginia. We monitored 306 structures during summer 2016 and detected use (i.e., presence of guano, visual identification, capture of bats) at 132 (43%) roosts, of which 55 (42%) were confirmed, through capture or visual identification, to contain Northern Long-eared Bats. Nursery boxes were used more than expected based on availability (60%), but rocket boxes accounted for 40 (73%) of the roosts confirmed to be occupied by Northern Long-eared Bats, with 70% being used by maternity colonies of this species. We utilized binomial generalized linear models and an information theoretic approach to examine use of artificial roosts by maternity colonies of Northern Long-eared Bats. Our best-supported model differentiating structures occupied by maternity colonies from those that housed individual bats showed relationships to elevation, slope, area solar radiation, and distance to streams and large (>200 ha) forests. Our study provides initial guidance for land and wildlife managers on implementing an effective conservation and management technique for bats within this region.
When things go wrong with you, it hurts me too: The effects of partner’s employment status on health in comparative perspective

The effects of changes in employment status on health within couples have attracted increasing attention. This paper contributes to this emerging research by investigating whether the impact of a partner’s employment status on individual self-rated health varies systematically across countries with varying decommodification levels. We use longitudinal data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and hybrid models. We find that a change in an individual’s employment status may affect the health not just of the person who experiences this transition, but that of his or her partner. The likelihood that such a spillover will occur varies across countries with different decommodification levels. The negative effects of a partner’s employment status on self-rated health are observed when the generosity of welfare state support is limited. The moderating effects of financial support from the state are not very strong, though. They are not robust across all our models and do not extend to all the dimensions of the generosity of welfare state support.
Low‐temperature storage of Exorista larvarum puparia as a tool for assisting parasitoid production

Tachinid parasitoids deserve to be better exploited as natural enemies of insect pests. The development of efficient mass‐rearing techniques for these entomophagous insects may encourage their use in biological control programs. Exorista larvarum (L.) (Diptera: Tachinidae) is a Palearctic species, which has been introduced in northern America for the control of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.). The potential use of this polyphagous parasitoid of Lepidoptera against other forest and agricultural pests encourages research aimed at the improvement of techniques for its rearing, including protocols for storage at low temperature. This technology allows a certain degree of control over the speed of development of the stored insects and assists mass‐rearing facilities that have to match production with demand, especially during field outbreaks of pests. With the aim of developing storage protocols for E. larvarum, we investigated the effects of storage for 1–4 weeks of 1‐day‐old puparia at 15 °C. Lower temperatures (5 and 10 °C) and longer storage periods were excluded following the outcome of preliminary experiments. Parasitoid emergence and quality control parameters of the female flies obtained from the stored puparia were evaluated. In addition, female lipid body reserves were measured. The temperature of 15 °C proved to be suitable for all the durations tested, although some detrimental effects were observed following storage (e.g., lower longevity and fecundity). Our findings may prove useful to increase the flexibility of E. larvarum colony management.
Health of Elderly Parents, Their Children's Labor Supply, and the Role of Migrant Care Workers

We estimate the impact of parental health on adult children's labor market outcomes. We focus on health shocks which increase care dependency abruptly. Our estimation strategy exploits the variation in the timing of shocks across treated families. Empirical results based on Austrian administrative data show a significant negative impact on labor market activities of children. This effect is more pronounced for daughters and for children who live close to their parents. Further analyses suggest informal caregiving as the most likely mechanism. The effect is muted after a liberalization of the formal care market, which sharply increased the supply of foreign care workers.
Development of Smartphone-Based Lateral Flow Device for the Quantification of LH and E3G Hormones

Hormone levels of urinary luteinizing hormone (LH) and Estrone-3-gluconoride (E3G) are key indicators to control reproductive health conditions of women. An “Inito” device is developed for the lateral flow measurement and is coupled to a smartphone to predict the fertile window by providing a precise estimation of the concentration of these hormones. The image acquisition and data analysis software has been developed on android platform. Lateral flow-based test strips are inserted into the Inito device and their images are captured and processed using smartphone yielding optical densities representing the concentrations of analytes. A multi-scale algorithm was developed to detect the device and eliminate the variations in resolution and aspect ratio due to smartphone variability. It also provides automatic focus point and appropriate exposure adjustment. Concentration of LH and E3G were quantified by locating and segmenting the respective hormonal lines. The study was validated using a standard clinical lateral flow assay reader. The Inito reader yielded a linear correlation of R2 > 0.99 suggesting a high degree of agreement with the gold standard. In addition, inter-phone repeatability of the Inito yielded very good correlation. The proposed Inito device can be very useful in point of care (PoC) settings.
Ultralow noise pre-amplified receiver for free-space optical communications

The demand for high data rate in space communication links is increasing due to the growth of space exploration missions inter-satellite, and satellite-to-Earth data transmission. Optical communication systems capable of handling hundreds of Gigabits per second data transmission with a single light carrier and are suitable for such space links. In addition, light offers smaller beam divergence in space due to the shorter wavelength compared to radio frequency beams (RF), resulting in smaller link loss and smaller size receiver apertures required. The receiver sensitivity is one of the key factors that determines the capacity and reach for such long haul communication links. Currently, there is a search for the optimal modulation format and receiver implementation combination to achieve the best sensitivity for error-free transmission. In this thesis, we discuss and implement the best possible combination of these, both theoretically and experimentally. Phase sensitive parametric optical amplifier (PSA) can amplify optical signals ideally without adding any excess noise, limited only by quantum fluctuations. Employing these as preamplifiers in free-space receivers can thus improve the sensitivity compared to erbium doped fiber amplifiers. We implement a two-mode PSA with a noise figure of 1.2 dB, which can amplify both quadratures of a signal, being used as a pre-amplifier in coherent receiver setup. We experimentally demonstrate a record black-box sensitivity of 1 photon-per-bit using PSA receiver for quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation format at 10.5 Gbps with 100 % overhead forward error correction code. This sensitivity also includes ultra-low pump power (-72 dBm) which is recovered using pre-amplified injection locking. We also investigate the most power efficient modulation formats, where a combination of m-(pulse-position modulation) PPM+QPSK with higher m-values provides best sensitivity at relatively high received SNR-per-bit, while QPSK outperforms all formats investigated at very low SNR-per-bit, which is ideal for space communications.
Awareness of diabetic patients regarding diabetic neuropathy in Saudi Arabia

Background: Diabetic neuropathy is a significant cause of morbidity and is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in type 2 diabetic patients. There is definite evidence that the risks of nephropathy and other diabetic complications could be lowered by strict control of hyperglycemia. However, diabetic awareness is lacking among patients across Asia. This survey analysis aims to determine the level of awareness of diabetic neuropathy among diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: A self-administered structured questionnaire was distributed in the Al-Ahsa region, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including questions on diabetic neuropathy symptoms and manifestations, in addition to sociodemographic data. The data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program version 22. Results: A total of 259 patients responded to this questionnaire. The average knowledge score for the whole cohort was 3.83 ± 2.893. The maximum knowledge score was 11, whereas the minimum score was zero. Patients aged between 16 and 25 years old had a significantly higher (p-value < 0.001) mean knowledge score (4.83 ± 3.119) compared to other age groups. Furthermore, patients who had a university degree showed a significantly higher (p-value = 0.008) mean knowledge score (4.24 ± 2.813) compared to other educational levels. Conclusion: The level of knowledge of the Saudi population toward diabetic neuropathy symptoms was found unsatisfactory. Further studies are needed to find the correlations between the incidence of diabetic neuropathy and the level of knowledge of patients toward diabetic neuropathy.
Banks and Sovereigns: Did Adversity Bring Them Closer?

We analyse the stability of the cross-market shock transmission mechanism between banks and sovereign bonds during the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis for crisis-hit periphery countries and Germany. We also examine the shock propagation of banking shocks and sovereign bond shocks between domestic and external markets. Using a Markov-switching framework, we find strong evidence of bilateral contagion between banks and sovereign bonds and also between domestic and external banking sectors. Sovereign bond markets are different. An external shock only produces contagious effects in Greece, who were largely dependent on external aid. For all the others, external shocks lead to decoupling as investors became increasingly discerning in their perception of the debt instruments issued by different Eurozone states.
Serum biochemical profile of two broiler strains supplemented with vitamin E, raw ginger (Zingiber officinale) and L-carnitine under high ambient temperatures

In this study, the authors evaluated the comparative effects of dietary supplementation of ginger ( Zingiber officinale ), vitamin E and L-carnitine on certain blood parameters of two strains of broilers in summer. A total of 320 broiler chicks (Hubbard and Cobb) were divided into two groups. The two groups were subdivided into four subgroups with four replicates with 10 chicks per replicate. In each strain subgroup was kept as control while other subgroups were provided with ginger (2%), L-carnitine (500 mg/kg) or vitamin E (250 mg/kg) in the basal diet up to 42 days old. Supplementation of the diet with vitamin E, ginger and L-carnitine significantly decreased mean cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glucose, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein (LDL), and increased high density lipoprotein (HDL) and serum protein concentrations. The results of vitamin E were comparatively better than those of the other two feed additives. The blood biochemical parameters did not vary between the broiler strains. From the findings of the current study, it was concluded that high ambient temperature had a negative effect on broiler hepatic and lipid profiles, and the supplementation of diets with vitamin E, ginger and L-carnitine improved broiler blood biochemical parameters. Keywords: Cholesterol, glucose, liver health, antioxidants, heat stress
Do mechanical strain magnitude and rate drive bone adaptation in adult women? A 12-month prospective study

Although there is strong evidence that certain activities can increase bone density and structure in some individuals, it is not clear what specific mechanical factors govern the response. Animal in vivo loading models have demonstrated that mechanical signals related to strain rate and strain magnitude regulate bone adaptation. However, the degree to which these parameters govern bone adaptation in humans has never been prospectively tested. Here, we quantified the degree to which bone strain influences bone adaptation in the upper extremity of healthy adult women during a twelve month prospective study period. One hundred and two women age 21-40 participated in one of two experiments. Experiment 1: low (n=21) and high (n=24) strain magnitude. Experiment 2: low (n=21) and high (n=20) strain rate. Control group (n=16): no intervention. Strains were assigned using CT-derived subject-specific finite element (FE) models. Load cycles were recorded digitally, and analyzed for magnitude and rate characteristics. The primary outcome was change in ultradistal integral bone mineral content (iBMC), assessed with quantitative CT. Interim timepoints and secondary outcomes were assessed with high resolution peripheral quantitative CT (HRpQCT). Sixty subjects completed all 12-months of the intervention, and interim timepoint data were analyzed for 77 subjects. Both the low and high strain rate groups had significant 12-month increases to ultradistal iBMC (percent change in control: −1.3±2.7%, low strain rate: 2.9±2.0%, high strain rate: 3.6±2.3%), total iBMC, and other measures. A “loading dose” measure consisting of Strain_MagRate = mean(Peak-to-Peak Strain Magnitude)*mean(Strain Rate)*(#bouts) was significantly and positively related to 12-month change ultradistal integral BMC, and 3 or 9-month changes to total BMD, cortical thickness and inner trabecular BMD. Subjects who gained the most bone had, on average, completed 130 loading bouts of (mean strain) 550 με at 1805 με/s, over a period of 12 months. Those with the greatest gains had the highest Strain_MagRate loading dose. We conclude that signals related to strain magnitude, strain rate, and number of loading bouts collectively contribute to bone adaptation in healthy adult women.
Towards High Data Rates in Dynamic Environments Using Hybrid Cell-Free Massive MIMO/Small-Cell System

We propose a hybrid cell-free (CF) massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO)/small-cell (SC) system that can reap the capabilities of CF mMIMO and SC systems in providing static and moving users with high data rates. A certain association criterion and system operation are proposed. Then, the achievable downlink (DL) rates of moving and static users are derived accordingly assuming Rician fading channels. The performance of the proposed system is compared with that of CF mMIMO and SC systems. Results reveal that, unlike CF mMIMO and SC systems, the proposed hybrid system can provide high DL rates to users with different velocities simultaneously.