Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urinary Tract Infections Impair Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis

Simple Summary Urinary tract infections are associated with features of cognitive decline and memory deficits, where the underlying correlation or mechanism is still not clear. In this study, we investigate the effect of urinary tract infections on cognitive functions in rodents and whether it is associated with adult hippocampal neurogenesis, a process that is detrimental for memory formation. We have shown that urinary tract infection affects the time spent exploring a novel arm in the Y-maze test. This was accompanied with a decrease in the proliferation of neural stem cells at an early time point post infection and a persistent decrease in neurogenesis at a later time point (34 days). We also detected decreased levels of neurotrophic factors important for neurogenesis and an elevated expression of interleukin 1β in the hippocampus. Treatment with either anti-inflammatory drugs or anti-biotics does not recover proliferation of neural stem cells. Here, we present hippocampal neurogenesis as a possible contributor to cognitive changes associated with urinary tract infections. Given the significant increase in urinary tract infection occurrence, it is important to address some of the detrimental effects that such an infection can have at the level of the brain. Abstract Previous studies have suggested a link between urinary tract infections (UTIs) and cognitive impairment. One possible contributing factor for UTI-induced cognitive changes that has not yet been investigated is a potential alteration in hippocampal neurogenesis. In this study, we aim to investigate the effect of UTI on brain plasticity by specifically examining alterations in neurogenesis. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats received an intra-urethral injection of an Escherichia coli (E. coli) clinical isolate (108 CFU/mL). We found that rats with a UTI (CFU/mL ≥ 105) had reduced proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs) at an early time point post infection (day 4) and neurogenesis at a later time point (day 34). This was associated with the decreased expression in mRNA of BDNF, NGF, and FGF2, and elevated expression of IL-1β in the hippocampus at 6 h post infection, but with no changes in optical intensity of the microglia and astrocytes. In addition, infected rats spent less time exploring a novel arm in the Y-maze test. Treatment with an anti-inflammatory drug did not revert the effect on NSCs, while treatment with antibiotics further decreased the basal level of their proliferation. This study presents novel findings on the impact of urinary tract infections on hippocampal neurogenesis that could be correlated with cognitive impairment.
Optimizing the Management of Multireservoir Systems Under Shifting Flow Regimes

Over the past few decades, significant research efforts have been devoted to the development of tools and techniques to improve the operational effectiveness of multireservoir systems. One of those efforts focuses on the incorporation of relevant hydrologic information into reservoir operation models. This effort is particularly relevant in regions characterized by low‐frequency climate signals, where time series of river discharges exhibit regime‐like behavior. Failure to properly capture such regime‐like behavior yields suboptimal operating policies, especially in systems characterized by large storage capacity such as large multireservoir systems. Hidden Markov Modeling is a class of hydrological models that can accommodate both overdispersion and serial dependence in time series, two essential hydrological properties that must be captured when modeling a system where the climate is switching between different states (e.g., dry, normal, and wet). In terms of reservoir operation, Stochastic Dual Dynamic Programming (SDDP) is one of the few optimization techniques that can accommodate both system and hydrologic complexity, that is, a large number of reservoirs and diverse hydrologic information. However, current SDDP formulations are unable to capture the long‐term persistence of the streamflow process found in some regions. In this paper, we present an extension of the SDDP algorithm that can handle the long‐term persistence and provide reservoir operating policies that explicitly capture regime shifts. Using the Senegal River Basin as a case study, we illustrate the potential gain associated with reservoir operating policies tailored to climate states.
Structural concepts for application of UHPFRC in construction practice: sustainable precast park deck systems

Highly relevant and promising research has been carried out in the domain of Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC). However, except for some pilot projects UHPFRC has not yet arrived in German’s construction practice. In order to push forward this efficient technology and bring it to practice, two R&D projects have been launched in cooperation with several industrial partners. Main focus is on the one hand side to develop structures that uses the high performance of UHPFRC in an appropriate way and on the other hand side to enable simple design and production. In this paper is presented the general approach of the ongoing R&D project as well as first results of the analysis of UHPFRC park deck elements. The slender UHPFRC decks of only 3.5 cm depth show highly efficient structural behaviour. Their flexural failure mode is assessed with experimental investigations and could be well represented in FEM analysis.
Stress Echocardiographic Results Predict Risk of Reinfarction Early After Uncomplicated Acute Myocardial Infarction: Large-Scale Multicenter Study

Objectives. This study sought to assess the value of dipyridamole echocardiography in predicting reinfarction in patients evaluated early after uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction. Background. The identification of future nonfatal reinfarction seems an elusive target for physiologic testing. However, a large sample population is needed to detect minor differences in phenomena with a low event rate. Methods. We assessed the value of dipyridamole echocardiography in predicting reinfarction in 1,080 patients (mean [-+SD] age 56 -+ 9 years; 926 men, 154 women) evaluated early (10 -+ 5 days) after uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction and followed up for 14 -+ l0 months. Results. Submaximai studies due to limiting side effects occurred in 14 patients (1.3%); these test results were included in the analysis. Results of dipyridamole echocardiography were positive in 475 patients (44%). During follow-up, there were 50 reinfarctions: 45 nonfatal, 5 fatal (followed by cardiac death <4 days after reinfarctiou). Reinfarction (either nonfatal or fatal) occurred in 30 patients with positive and 20 with negative results (6.3% vs. 3.3%, p < 0.01). Nonfatal reinfarction occurred in 25 patients with positive and 20 with negative results (5% vs. 3.3%, p < 0.05). Reinfarction was fatal in 5 of 30 patients with positive and in none of 20 with negative results (16.6% vs. 0%, p = 0.07). The relative risk of reinfarction was 1.9. Conclusions. Dipyridamole echocardiographic positivity identifies patients evaluated early after uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction at higher risk of reinfarction, especially fatal reinfarction. (J Am Coil Cardiol 1995;26.'908-13)
Refractive and Visual Outcomes After Implantation of a Secondary Sulcus Intraocular Lens with an Extended Depth of Focus

Purpose To evaluate the range of vision, visual function, and quality of vision after implantation of a secondary extended depth of focus intraocular lens (EDOF IOL) implanted in the sulcus. Setting One clinical practice in Haugesund, Norway. Design Prospective single arm non-interventional study. Methods Eligible subjects presenting for surgery, or who had previous successful primary cataract or refractive lens exchange surgery in both eyes were subsequently implanted with the AddOn® secondary EDOF IOL in the sulcus. Manifest refraction and visual acuity at distance, intermediate and near were measured 3 months after surgery, along with the monocular defocus curve. Subjects also completed a visual function and a quality of vision questionnaire. Results The study included 32 eyes of 16 subjects. At 3 months postoperative, the mean refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE) was −0.16 ± 0.30 D, with a residual cylinder of 0.29 ± 0.27 D. The mean monocular uncorrected VA was 0.1 logMAR (20/25) or better at all test distances. The monocular defocus curves showed a depth of focus of 2.0 D. For every category except reading fine print, all but one subject (94%) had no difficulty or little difficulty with near tasks. Glare and halos were the most common visual disturbances, with no reports of starbursts. There was no evidence of any intralenticular opacification in any of the eyes, and no evidence of iris chafing/depigmentation. Conclusion This secondary EDOF IOL provided excellent distance and intermediate vision, and very good near vision to subjects. Subject reported near visual function was also very good and visual disturbances were limited. This lens appears to be a good option for patients who would like to improve their range of vision. Results appear as good or better than those reported for primary EDOF lenses.
Molecular Basis of Irisin Regulating the Effects of Exercise on Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is recognized as one major feature of metabolic syndrome, and frequently emerges as a difficult problem encountered during long-term pharmacological treatment of diabetes. Insulin resistance often causes organs or tissues, such as skeletal muscle, adipose, and liver, to become less responsive or resistant to insulin. Exercise can promote the physiological function of those organs and tissues and benefits insulin action via increasing insulin receptor sensitivity, glucose uptake, and mitochondrial function. This is done by decreasing adipose tissue deposition, inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative stress. However, understanding the mechanism that regulates the interaction between exercise and insulin function becomes a challenging task. As a novel myokine, irisin is activated by exercise, released from the muscle, and affects multi-organ functions. Recent evidence indicates that it can promote glucose uptake, improve mitochondrial function, alleviate obesity, and decrease inflammation, as a result leading to the improvement of insulin action. We here will review the current evidence concerning the signaling pathways by which irisin regulates the effect of exercise on the up-regulation of insulin action in humans and animals.
Ground-based validation of the MetOp-A and MetOp-B GOME-2 OClO measurements

Abstract. This paper reports on ground-based validation of the atmospheric OClO data record produced within the framework of EUMETSAT's Satellite Application Facility on Atmospheric Chemistry Monitoring (AC SAF) using the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME)-2A and GOME-2B instrument measurements, covering the 2007–2016 and 2013–2016 periods, respectively. OClO slant column densities are compared to correlative measurements collected from nine Zenith-Scattered-Light Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (ZSL-DOAS) instruments from the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) distributed in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Sensitivity tests are performed on the ground-based data to estimate the impact of the different OClO DOAS analysis settings. On this basis, we infer systematic uncertainties of about 25 % (i.e., about 3.75×1013 molec. cm−2) between the different ground-based data analyses, reaching total uncertainties ranging from about 26 % to 33 % for the different stations (i.e., around 4 to 5×1013 molec. cm−2). Time series at the different sites show good agreement between satellite and ground-based data for both the inter-annual variability and the overall OClO seasonal behavior. GOME-2A results are found to be noisier than those of GOME-2B, especially after 2011, probably due to instrumental degradation effects. Daily linear regression analysis for OClO-activated periods yield correlation coefficients of 0.8 for GOME-2A and 0.87 for GOME-2B, with slopes with respect to the ground-based data ensemble of 0.64 and 0.72, respectively. Satellite minus ground-based offsets are within 8×1013 molec. cm−2, with some differences between GOME-2A and GOME-2B depending on the station. Overall, considering all the stations, a median offset of about -2.2×1013 molec. cm−2 is found for both GOME-2 instruments.
Numerical Analyses of a Piled Raft Foundation with Grid-Form DMWs under Large-Scale Earthquakes

Nonlinear seismic response analyses are conducted to evaluate seismic performance of a piled raft foundation with gridform deep mixing walls (DMWs) subjected to dynamic load during large-scale earthquakes. Based on the previous study on a 12-story building under the middle-scale earthquake, the seismic response analyses are carried out using a detailed 3D FE model with the nonlinear soil model in which both tensile and shear criteria for the stabilized soil are considered. Consequently, it was found that the grid-form DMWs are quite effective in reducing the sectional force of piles to an acceptable level, even if the induced stress in the DMWs partially fails during the large-scale earthquakes.
Modelling Impact of Topography Gradient on Signal Path Loss Along the Road Way for 5G

Prediction of outdoor path loss, PL , model is crucial for the design and planning of fifth generation (5G) wireless communication systems. Different propagation models have been proposed to approximate cellular network’s coverage for diverse surroundings including for along the road way setting. In Malaysia, Road ways are not entirely on flat terrain with several segments of the roads commonly experience topography elevation. This paper presents simulation studies on the impact of topography gradient towards PL for different millimeter wave frequency bands based on available outdoor PL models. Three outdoor PL models were compared, namely close-in (CI) free space reference distance model, floating intercept model (FI), as well as alpha-beta-gamma (ABG) model. Five millimeter frequency bands at 28, 32, 38, 46 and 73 GHz with different gradients and line-of-sight (LOS) scenarios were investigated in the simulation. PL computation using the selected models indicated that topography elevation along roadways may contribute to deviation of no more than 2 dB relative to computation for flat terrain. However, selection of model used may results in different precision in PL modeling.
An energy‐aware and lightweight routing algorithm using clustering and mobile sinks in wireless sensor networks

A wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of a number of small sensors which are powered by low‐cost irreplaceable batteries. Therefore, one of the main issues in WSN design is to prolong the battery life of the individual sensors. Clustering and utilization of mobile sinks in collaboration with base station (BS) are two common solutions to address energy consumption challenge. Based on these solutions, a new algorithm in name “Energy‐aware Routing algorithm using Clustering and Mobile Sinks (ERCMS)” is proposed in this article. The distinguishing features of ERCMS are as follows: (1) a geometric pattern is applied to divide entire network area into some parts and make cluster in each part. This pattern adjusts the cluster size based on the distance from the sink. Thus, hotspot problem is expected to be reduced, (2) computational load is distributed over sensors, (3) length of messages are controlled and each message is defined in the format with minimum required information, (4) simple mathematics approaches those impose lightweight computations are adopted, and (5) accuracy of mobile sink dispatching procedure is improved in critical conditions of the network. The simulation results show that ERCMS outperforms DFCR, MDFCR, and TEO‐MCRP in terms of consumed energy, delivery ratio, delay, routing overhead, and throughput.
Convolutional Transformer: An Enhanced Attention Mechanism Architecture for Remaining Useful Life Estimation of Bearings

Nowadays, deep learning (DL) methods for prognostic and health management (PHM) have vastly broadened the scope of applications in this field. Numerous approaches based on deep neural networks have been presented and applied to the remaining useful life (RUL) estimation of bearings. However, few of these methods are yet fully competent for the task of extracting degradation-related information from raw signals both locally and globally. To fill this research gap, we proposed a novel convolutional Transformer (CoT) that combines the global context capturing of attention mechanism with the local dependencies modeling of convolutional operation. Specifically, we designed a multiscale convolutional (MSC) module with Swish activation for Transformer architecture to embed local feature learning into global sequence modeling. Our CoT fuses intratoken convolution and intertoken self-attention operations to enable the simultaneous extraction of local dependencies and global interactions from the raw temporal signal into a trainable class token. Then, an end-to-end RUL estimation framework based on CoT is presented, which provides a mapping from raw vibration signals to estimated RULs. Finally, comprehensive case studies, including comparative studies and ablation experiments, fully validate the effectiveness and advancements of our CoT-based RUL estimation method.
Acute Sleep Deprivation Impairs Motor Inhibition in Table Tennis Athletes: An ERP Study

Excellent response inhibition is the basis for outstanding competitive athletic performance, and sleep may be an important factor affecting athletes’ response inhibition. This study investigates the effect of sleep deprivation on athletes’ response inhibition, and its differentiating effect on non-athlete controls’ performance, with the aim of helping athletes effectively improve their response inhibition ability through sleep pattern manipulation. Behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) data were collected from 36 participants (16 table tennis athletes and 20 general college students) after 36 h of sleep deprivation using ERP techniques and a stop-signal task. Sleep deprivation’s different effects on response inhibition in the two groups were explored through repeated-measures ANOVA. Behavioral data showed that in a baseline state, stop-signal response time was significantly faster in table tennis athletes than in non-athlete controls, and appeared significantly longer after sleep deprivation in both groups. ERP results showed that at baseline state, N2, ERN, and P3 amplitudes were lower in table tennis athletes than in non-athlete controls, and corresponding significant decreases were observed in non-athlete controls after 36 h of sleep deprivation. Table tennis athletes showed a decrease in P3 amplitude and no significant difference in N2 and ERN amplitudes, after 36 h of sleep deprivation compared to the baseline state. Compared to non-athlete controls, table tennis athletes had better response inhibition, and the adverse effects of sleep deprivation on response inhibition occurred mainly in the later top-down motor inhibition process rather than in earlier automated conflict detection and monitoring.
Delimiting continuity: Comparison of target enrichment and double digest restriction‐site associated DNA sequencing for delineating admixing parapatric Melitaea butterflies

Parapatrically distributed taxa pose a challenge for species delimitation due to the presence of gene flow and inherent arbitrariness of exactly defining the species boundaries in such systems. We tackled the problem of species delimitation in a parapatric species pair of Melitaea butterflies using two popular genomic methods—double digest restriction‐site associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD) and target enrichment. We compared newly generated target enrichment dataset with 1733 loci to the already available ddRAD data from a previous study on the same set of specimens using a suite of phylogenetic, population genetic, and species delimitation methods. We recovered consistent phylogenetic relationships across the datasets, both demonstrating the presence of a genetically distinct Balkan lineage and paraphyly of Melitaea athalia with respect to Melitaea celadussa. Population genetic STRUCTURE analyses supported the presence of two species when using ddRAD data, but three species when using target enrichment, while a Bayes factor delimitation analysis found both two and three species scenarios equally decisive in both datasets. As the results obtained from both methods were largely congruent, we discuss some practical considerations and benefits of target enrichment over RAD sequencing. We conclude that the choice of method of genomic data collection does not influence the results of phylogenetic analyses at alpha taxonomic level, given a sufficient number of loci. Finally, we recommend a solution for delineating species in parapatric scenarios by proposing that parapatric taxa be consistently classified as subspecies or complete species, but not both, to promote taxonomic stability.
Towards intersectional and transcultural analysis in the examination of players and game fandoms

ABSTRACT This paper argues for transculturality in critical examinations of diversity in player communities. Transculturality enriches discussions on intersectionality in games and fandom by challenging its default male whiteness and Eurocentricity, and acknowledging the presence of non-normative players who have always existed in game communities. Intersectional game studies is transcultural game studies.
Time-Cost Tradeoffs in Product Development Processes

The underlying thesis investigates the time-cost tradeoff problem for cyclic product development (PD) processes. It is of great practical relevance since PD processes may involve an enormous amount of costly resources employed over a long period of time. Despite its thorough study in past decades, previous research and insights were based on unrealistic and strongly limiting assumptions. For instance, PD processes were merely modeled as acyclic networks and for analysis fundamental process parameters were rather treated separately than conjointly. Therefore, we introduce a new model for PD processes which overcomes the limitations of previous models and propose a time-cost simulation for it as well as an optimization strategy capable of detecting all best time-cost tradeoff solutions. Tests based on artificial and real-world PD processes demonstrate the need for our new approach and allow us to derive numerous managerial insights.
Between center-periphery and left-right: A comparison of traditional and new regionalist parties’ strategies in Galicia during the Great Recession

This article explains the rise, success, and subsequent failure of new challenger formations in the Galician party system during the Great Recession. For that, it focuses on the multidimensional electoral strategies developed by Alternativa Galega de Esquerda (AGE) and En Marea, comparing them to that of the traditional Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG). Our analysis shows the different strategies displayed by the BNG and new challengers (AGE, and later En Marea), examining both the electoral supply (framing and party programmatic positions) and demand (voter positions). We find a new subsuming strategy developed by AGE and En Marea, which prioritized left-wing anti-austerity policies over core pro-periphery ones. The paper demonstrates the potential of this new strategy during the Great Recession but also its limitations, linking its demise to the organizational weakness that prevented electoral realignment, and ultimately allowed the BNG to regain its leading role in the territorial dimension of competition.