Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Late Positivity Does Not Meet the Criteria to be Considered a Proper Neural Correlate of Perceptual Awareness

Contrastive analysis has been widely employed in the search for the electrophysiological neural correlates of consciousness. However, despite its clear logic, it has been argued that it may not succeed in isolating neural processes solely involved in the emergence of perceptual awareness. In fact, data from contrastive analysis would be contaminated by potential confounding factors reflecting distinct, though related, processes either preceding or following the conscious perception. At present, the ERP components representing the proper correlates of perceptual awareness still remain to be identified among those correlating with awareness (i.e., Visual Awareness Negativity, VAN and Late Positivity, LP). In order to dissociate visual awareness from post-perceptual confounds specifically related to decision making, we manipulated the response criterion, which affects how a percept is translated into a decision. In particular, while performing an orientation discrimination task, participants were asked to shift their response criterion across sessions. As a consequence, the resulting modulation should concern the ERP component(s) not exclusively reflecting mechanisms regulating the subjective conscious experience itself but rather the processes accompanying it. Electrophysiological results showed that N1 and P3 were sensitive to the response criterion adopted by participants. Additionally, the more the participants shifted their response criterion, the bigger the ERP modulation was; this was consequently indicative of the critical role of these components in the decision-making processes regardless of awareness level. When considering data independently from the response criterion, the aware vs. unaware contrast showed that both VAN and LP were significant. Crucially, the LP component was also modulated by the interaction of awareness and response criterion, while VAN results to be unaffected. In agreement with previous literature, these findings provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that VAN tracks the emergence of visual awareness by encoding the conscious percept, whereas LP reflects the contribution from post-perceptual processes related to response requirements. This excludes a direct functional role of this later component in giving rise to perceptual awareness.
Sorbitol dehydrogenase gene expression and enzyme activity in apple: tissue specificity during bud development and response to rootstock vigor and growth manipulation.

Sorbitol is the primary photosynthate and translocated carbohydrate in apple (Malus ·domestica), and most of it is converted to fructose by sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) in sink tissues. We studied the expression of nine SDH genes, SDH activity, and sorbitol content of apple 1) in buds and floral tissues from dormancy to bloom, 2) in leaves and shoot tips of trees on two rootstocks, the moderately vigorous 'Malling Merton 111' (MM.111) and the dwarfing 'Malling 9' (M.9), and 3) in shoot tips in response to application of prohexadione-Ca to suppress shoot growth and defoliation and girdling (D/G) to deprive the shoot tip of sorbitol. In mature, orchard-grown trees, sorbitol was the main soluble carbohydrate in expressed xylem sap from dormancy to bloom at levels over 3- to 6-fold those of glucose and fructose, the other major sugars present. Sorbitol levels there increased from dormancy to its highest concentration at the half inch green stage and declined by bloom, while those of the other sugars increased. SDH activity per milligram of protein increased over 4-fold from dormancy to flowering. Three of the nine known SDH genes (SDH1, SDH2, and SDH3) were expressed in immature and mature leaves and all buds from dormancy to bloom, as well as in all floral organs, except that only SDH3 transcript was found in stamen tissue. Two genes, SDH6 and SDH9, were floral-tissue specific; SDH6 transcript was detected in all floral organs except stamens at full bloom, and SDH9 was only expressed in anthers with pollen. In buds and leaves of young, container-grown trees, SDH1 and SDH2 generally accounted for the majority of total SDH expression. There were generally no effects of rootstock on SDH expression, SDH activity, or sorbitol concentration in leaves, while apical shoot tips on M.9 rootstock exhibited greater SDH activity than those on MM.111 or lateral shoot tips on either rootstock, though SDH expression of apical and lateral shoot tips on M.9 was lower than on MM.111. Prohexadione-Ca reduced apical but not lateral shoot growth, increased apical but not lateral shoot tip sorbitol content, had no effect on SDH activity, and increased SDH1 expression of all shoot tips. D/G treatment reduced shoot growth, sorbitol content, and SDH activity, but increased SDH1 expression of apical shoot tips only and SDH2 expression of lateral shoot tips only. This work indicates that sorbitol and other sugars are abundantly available from dormancy to bloom, that SDH activity increased during this period, and that SDH expression is at least in part developmentally regulated within the individual floral and leaf tissues. In shoot tips and leaves of young trees, SDH transcript level was not correlated with sorbitol availability or SDH activity, suggesting that other factors have significant regulatory effects after SDH expression on SDH activity.
Platygastrid parasites of willow gall midges in Japan (Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea).

Five new species of the family Platygastridae, Platygaster stimulator, P. riparia, P. urnicola, Synopeas yanagi and S. Juminale, which are parasitic on the willow g a l l midges, are described from Japan. Additionally, their host-parasite relationships and life-histories are discussed. This is the first report of Japanese platygastrid wasps (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae) parasitic on the willow gall midges (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae), based on my studies conducted since 1975. Special attention has been paid to the midge genus Rhnbdophaga, which makes various galls primarily on the salix species. Interesting informations on the host-parasite relationships, biologies of the platygastrid wasps and the larval characters of the latter were obtained. The midge galls were collected from various willow species in April, June, August and October of 1975, mainly in Sapporo (Hokkaido), Morioka, Ojiya, Wakayama (Honshu), and Fukuoka (Kyushu) in respective seasons. The salix species were identified based primarily on the characters ‘of their catkins and leaves, in collaboration with Mr. K. Senuma. Shortly after collecting of galls in April, many adults of platygastrid wasps and of gall midges emerged from these galls. No more insect emerged from these galls thereafter. Many larvae of host midges were taken out from the galls in summer and autumn, and they were dissected in the Ringer’s solution to get the platygastrid larvae. When the latter was found out in the host larval bodies, they were immediately transferred using a glass micropipette to the Ringer’s solution mixed with albumen on a hole slide, then they were examined under a microscope in order to clarify larval characters. As a result, five species of the platygastrid wasps were reared from three * Contribution from the Entomological La sity, Fukuoka (Ser. 3, No. 82). boratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu Univer-
Blood Pressure Control among Hypertensive Diabetic Patients on Follow-Up at Chronic Clinic of Nekemte Referral Hospital in West Ethiopia

Background Hypertension is a prevalent comorbid condition in diabetes, affecting ∼20–60% of patients with diabetes, depending on obesity, ethnicity, and age. Adults with diabetes historically have two or three times higher rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than adults without diabetes. Objective The aim of this study was to assess blood pressure (BP) control and its predictors among hypertensive diabetic patients on follow-up at the chronic clinic of Nekemte Referral Hospital (NRH) in West Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among hypertensive adult patients comorbid with diabetes taking antihypertensive drugs for at least one year in NRH. Both bivariable and multivariable analyses were done. The odds ratio, along with 95% confidence level, was estimated to identify factors associated with uncontrolled BP by using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The level of statistical significance was declared at p value <0.05 levels. The patient's written informed consent was obtained after explaining the purpose and procedures of the study. Results A total of 186 study participants were included in this study. The mean age of the participants was 51.2 ± 12.2 years. Blood pressure and blood glucose were controlled in 104 (55.9%) and 106 (57.0%) study participants, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, age ≥60 years (AOR = 4.537, 95% CI = 1.142–18.024, p=0.032), duration with hypertension ≥5 years (AOR = 3.534, 95% CI = 1.062–11.760, p=0.040), cigarette smoking (AOR = 7.697, 95% CI = 2.356–25.146, p=0.001), nonadherence (AOR = 6.584, 95% CI = 2.337–18.553, p < 0.001), and uncontrolled glycaemia (AOR = 21.630, 95% CI = 8.057–58.070, p < 0.001) were independent predictors of uncontrolled blood pressure. Conclusion Compared to the previous studies, BP was better controlled among hypertensive diabetic patients in the present study. Older age, longer duration with hypertension, cigarette smoking, nonadherence, and uncontrolled glycaemia were predictors of uncontrolled BP. Thus, interventions on modifiable factors should be done to improve BP control of patients' comorbid with diabetes.
Circulating Cortisol in a Cohort of Depressive Patients

It has long been suspected that the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis plays a role in the pathophysiology of depression. Whether this association exists or not, and if it does, the degree of its significance, remain highly disputed. The issue is further complicated as no consensus currently exists on cortisol sampling timepoints or methods. Our study aimed to evaluate HPA functionality by evaluating plasma cortisol levels in a cohort of patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). We enrolled 96 subjects admitted for a major depressive episode and tested serum cortisol levels for 80 of them. We found that only 15 (12%) had values that were outside the normal reference range, with 14 of these being below the normal threshold. We also interviewed the patients and obtained self-reported information regarding previous depressive episodes, treatment administration, anxiety, suicidal ideas and suicidal gestures. Our study did not find a significant association between cortisol levels and the number of previous depressive episodes, the presence of feelings of anxiety, suicidal ideas or suicidal gestures. While our cohort did not find an association between cortisol levels and depression other authors have reported significantly different results and as such, more research is needed in order to establish or infirm this hypothesis.
Automatic identification of soil and water conservation measures from centimeter-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle imagery

The emergence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has resulted in a new era of remote sensing, especially for applications requiring accurate image classification. This paper describes an automatic method for identifying soil and water conservation (SWC) measures from the centimeter-resolution imagery of UAVs using an object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach and machine learning models, and a support vector machine (SVM) model. The study area is located in Yitong County of Jilin Province, in the black soil region of northeast China. There are four frequently used SWC measures, including ecologically restored forests, ecologically restored grasslands, contour ridges, and ridge belts. A block of red, green, and blue (RGB) images was obtained on May 26, 2018, from the study area, and the images were processed to generate a high-resolution detailed orthomosaic image (5 cm). Several features were derived from the UAV image, including color indices, terrain, texture, shape, and edge information, which were incorporated in the OBIA method. Three color indices were selected to derive vegetation information from the study area, including excess green, normalized green-red difference index, and excess green minus excess red. Then a number of samples were selected to improve the classification results using the SVM model. The results showed that the overall accuracy and kappa coefficient were 91.20% and 0.87, respectively. Thus the OBIA method was effective in identifying, classifying, and describing detailed SWC measures. However, some objects, such as the stages and furrows in the contour ridge measures, were not identified in some regions using the OBIA method, but the machine-learning model SVM resolved this problem. This study shows the substantial benefits of centimeter-scale UAV imagery over satellite and airborne remote sensing and demonstrates the potential of low-cost RGB cameras for the accurate identification of different SWC measures and the detailed derivation of the shape parameters of linear SWC measures.
Trispecific natural killer cell nanoengagers for targeted chemoimmunotherapy

A trispecific natural killer cell engager platform has been successfully engineered for EGFR-targeted chemoimmunotherapy. Activation of the innate immune system and natural killer (NK) cells has been a key effort in cancer immunotherapy research. Here, we report a nanoparticle-based trispecific NK cell engager (nano-TriNKE) platform that can target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)–overexpressing tumors and promote the recruitment and activation of NK cells to eradicate these cancer cells. Moreover, the nanoengagers can deliver cytotoxic chemotherapeutics to further improve their therapeutic efficacy. We have demonstrated that effective NK cell activation can be achieved by the spatiotemporal coactivation of CD16 and 4-1BB stimulatory molecules on NK cells with nanoengagers, and the nanoengagers are more effective than free antibodies. We also show that biological targeting, either through radiotherapy or EGFR, is critical to the therapeutic effects of nanoengagers. Last, EGFR-targeted nanoengagers can augment both NK-activating agents and chemotherapy (epirubicin) as highly effective anticancer agents, providing robust chemoimmunotherapy.
Important effect of the X chromosome in genomic evaluations of reproductive traits in beef cattle

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of inclusion and the prediction ability of the X chromosome for reproductive (occurrence of early pregnancy – P16 and age at first calving - AFC) and andrological traits (scrotal circumference -SC) in a herd of Nellore beef cattle herd. 3,263 genotypes of females and males were used. Genomic prediction for SC, AFC and P16 was carried out considering two scenarios: 1) only autosomal markers or 2) autosomal + X chromosome markers. To evaluate the effect of inclusion of the X chromosome on selection, the responses to the selection performed were compared including or not the X chromosome in the evaluation of the traits. Higher heritability estimates were obtained for SC (0.40 and 0.31), AFC (0.11 and 0.09) and P16 (0.43 and 0.38) for the analyses including the X chromosome compared to those without. The percent reduction on mean genomic breeding values when selection was based on the results of analysis that did not include the X chromosome to 1, 5 and 10% of the top males, was for SC slightly more than 7% of the mean genomic breeding value of the selected animals. For P16, the loss can reach more than 4%, while this loss does not seem to be as important for AFC. Average predictive correlation of 0.79, 0.98 and 0.84 for SC, AFC and P16 was obtained, respectively. These estimates demonstrate that inclusion of the X chromosome in the analysis can improve the prediction of genomic breeding values, especially for SC.
Recurrent training rejuvenates and enhances transcriptome and methylome responses in young and older human muscle

Background The interaction between the muscle methylome and transcriptome is understudied during ageing and periods of resistance training in young, but especially older adults. In addition, more information is needed on the role of retained methylome training adaptations in muscle memory to understand muscle phenotypical and molecular restoration after inactivity or disuse. Methods We measured CpG methylation (microarray) and RNA expression (RNA sequencing) in young (n = 5; age = 22 ± 2 yrs) and older (n = 6; age = 65 ± 5 yrs) vastus lateralis muscle samples, taken at baseline, after 12 weeks of resistance training, after training interruption (2 weeks of leg immobilization in young men, 12 weeks of detraining in older men) and after 12 weeks of retraining to identify muscle memory-related adaptations and rejuvenating effects of training. Results We report that of the 427 differentially expressed genes with advanced age, 71 % contained differentially methylated (dm)CpGs in older versus young muscle. The more dmCpGs within a gene, the clearer the inverse methylation-expression relationship. Around 73 % of the age-related dmCpGs approached younger methylation levels when older muscle was trained for 12 weeks. A second resistance training period after training cessation increased the number of hypomethylated CpGs and upregulated genes in both young and older muscle. We found indication for an epi-memory within pro-proliferating AMOTL1 in young muscle and mechanosensing-related VCL in older muscle. For the first time, we integrate muscle methylome and transcriptome data in relation to both ageing and training/inactivity-induced responses and identify focal adhesion as an important pathway herein. Conclusion Previously trained muscle is more responsive to training than untrained muscle at methylome and transcriptome level and recurrent resistance training can partially restore ageing-induced methylome alterations.
Inhibition of coliform bacteria by lactic cultures

Etude comparative de l'activite antibiotique de souches isolees et melangees de Streptococcus, Leuconostoc et Lactobacillus contre des Bacteries coliformes (E. coli, E. aerogenes, K. sp). Effet de l'inhibition constatee par comptage des colonies de coliformes. Les causes les plus importantes d'inhibition sont les pH bas et les acides organiques. Quelquefois, la production d'H202 est un important facteur
UPS19 modulates cancer cell migration and invasion and acts as a novel prognostic marker in patients with early breast cancer

Tumor cell dissemination in cancer patients is associated with a significant reduction in their survival and quality of life. The Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS) plays a fundamental role in the maintenance of protein homeostasis both in normal and stressed conditions and its dysregulation has been associated with malignant transformation and invasive potential of tumor cells, thus highlighting its value as a potential therapeutic target. In order to identify novel molecular targets of tumor cell migration and invasion we performed a genetic screen with an shRNA library against UPS-related genes. To this end, we set up a protocol to specifically enrich positive migration regulator candidates. We identified the deubiquitinase USP19 and demonstrated that its silencing reduces the migratory and invasive potential of highly aggressive breast cancer cell lines. We extended our investigation in vivo and confirmed that mice injected with USP19 depleted cells display increased tumor-free survival, as well as a delay in the onset of the tumor formation and a significant reduction in the appearance of metastatic foci, indicating that tumor cell invasion and dissemination is impaired. In contrast, overexpression of USP19 increased cell invasiveness both in vitro and in vivo, further validating our findings. More importantly, we demonstrated that USP19 catalytic activity is important for the control of tumor cell migration and invasion. Finally, we showed that USP19 overexpression is a surrogate prognostic marker of distant relapse in patients with early breast cancer. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that USP19 might represent a novel therapeutic target in breast cancer.
Guide RNA Categorization Enables Target Site Choice in Tn7-CRISPR-Cas Transposons

CRISPR-Cas defense systems have been coopted multiple times in nature for guide RNA-directed transposition by Tn7-like elements. Prototypic Tn7 uses dedicated proteins for two targeting pathways, one targeting a neutral and conserved attachment site in the chromosome and a second directing transposition into mobile plasmids facilitating cell-to-cell transfer. We show that Tn7-CRISPR-Cas elements evolved a system of guide RNA categorization to accomplish the same two-pathway lifestyle. Selective regulation of specialized guide RNAs allows long-term memory for access to chromosomal sites upon entry into a new host, while conventional CRISPR features maintain the ability to continually acquire guide RNAs to new plasmid and phage targets. Transposon-encoded guide RNAs are also privatized to be recognized only by the transposon-adapted system working with selective regulation to guard against toxic self-targeting by endogenous CRISPR-Cas defense systems. This information reveals new avenues to engineer guide RNAs for enhanced CRISPR-Cas functionality for genome modification.
Passage of transmissible cancers in the Tasmanian devil is due to a dominant, shared peptide motif and a limited repertoire of MHC-I allotypes

Transmissible cancers are spread via the passage of malignant cells. The survival of the Tasmanian devil, the largest marsupial carnivore, is threatened by two independent transmissible cancers, devil facial tumour (DFT) 1 and devil facial tumour 2 (DFT2). To aid the development of a peptide vaccine and to interrogate how histocompatibility barriers can be overcome, we analysed the peptides bound to Major Histocompatibility Complex class I molecules from the Tasmanian devil and its transmissible tumours. Comparison of the peptidomes from DFT1+IFNγ, DFT2 and host fibroblast cells demonstrates a shared motif, despite differences in MHC-I allotypes between the cell lines. Importantly, DFT1+IFNγ and DFT2 share the presentation of peptides derived from neural proteins, reflecting a common cellular origin that should be exploited for vaccine design. These results suggest that some polymorphisms between tumours and host are ‘hidden’ by a common peptide motif, providing the potential for permissive passage of infectious cells.