Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Psyllids of America North of Mexico (Psyllidae: Homoptera)

GENERAL DISCUSSION Morphology . 446 Biology . 447 Collecting and Preserving . 448 Explanation of Terms and Methods . : . 449 Synonymy and Bibliography . 450 Illustrations . 450 Location of Types . 451
Deep learning based Sequential model for malware analysis using Windows exe API Calls

Malware development has seen diversity in terms of architecture and features. This advancement in the competencies of malware poses a severe threat and opens new research dimensions in malware detection. This study is focused on metamorphic malware, which is the most advanced member of the malware family. It is quite impossible for anti-virus applications using traditional signature-based methods to detect metamorphic malware, which makes it difficult to classify this type of malware accordingly. Recent research literature about malware detection and classification discusses this issue related to malware behavior. The main goal of this paper is to develop a classification method according to malware types by taking into consideration the behavior of malware. We started this research by developing a new dataset containing API calls made on the windows operating system, which represents the behavior of malicious software. The types of malicious malware included in the dataset are Adware, Backdoor, Downloader, Dropper, spyware, Trojan, Virus, and Worm. The classification method used in this study is LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory), which is a widely used classification method in sequential data. The results obtained by the classifier demonstrate accuracy up to 95% with 0.83 $F_1$-score, which is quite satisfactory. We also run our experiments with binary and multi-class malware datasets to show the classification performance of the LSTM model. Another significant contribution of this research paper is the development of a new dataset for Windows operating systems based on API calls. To the best of our knowledge, there is no such dataset available before our research. The availability of our dataset on GitHub facilitates the research community in the domain of malware detection to benefit and make a further contribution to this domain.
Human Movement Representation on Multivariate Time Series for Recognition of Professional Gestures and Forecasting Their Trajectories

Human-centered artificial intelligence is increasingly deployed in professional workplaces in Industry 4.0 to address various challenges related to the collaboration between the operators and the machines, the augmentation of their capabilities, or the improvement of the quality of their work and life in general. Intelligent systems and autonomous machines need to continuously recognize and follow the professional actions and gestures of the operators in order to collaborate with them and anticipate their trajectories for avoiding potential collisions and accidents. Nevertheless, the recognition of patterns of professional gestures is a very challenging task for both research and the industry. There are various types of human movements that the intelligent systems need to perceive, for example, gestural commands to machines and professional actions with or without the use of tools. Moreover, the interclass and intraclass spatiotemporal variances together with the very limited access to annotated human motion data constitute a major research challenge. In this paper, we introduce the gesture operational model, which describes how gestures are performed based on assumptions that focus on the dynamic association of body entities, their synergies, and their serial and non-serial mediations, as well as their transitioning over time from one state to another. Then, the assumptions of the gesture operational model are translated into a simultaneous equation system for each body entity through state-space modeling. The coefficients of the equation are computed using the maximum likelihood estimation method. The simulation of the model generates a confidence-bounding box for every entity that describes the tolerance of its spatial variance over time. The contribution of our approach is demonstrated for both recognizing gestures and forecasting human motion trajectories. In recognition, it is combined with continuous hidden Markov models to boost the recognition accuracy when the likelihoods are not confident. In forecasting, a motion trajectory can be estimated by taking as minimum input two observations only. The performance of the algorithm has been evaluated using four industrial datasets that contain gestures and actions from a TV assembly line: the glassblowing industry, the gestural commands to automated guided vehicles as well as the human–robot collaboration in the automotive assembly lines. The hybrid approach State-Space and HMMs outperforms standard continuous HMMs and a 3DCNN-based end-to-end deep architecture.
The Matrix of Gendered Islamophobia: Muslim Women’s Repression and Resistance

Drawing on 75 semi-structured qualitative interviews with Arab, South Asian, and Black Muslim women social justice activists, ages 18–30 years, organizing in the United States and the United Kingdom, I theorize their experiences as the basis of the matrix of gendered Islamophobia. Building upon Jasmine Zine’s concept of gendered Islamophobia, I synthesize this concept with Patricia Hill Collins’s theory of the matrix of domination to give a more in-depth and nuanced structure of how gendered Islamophobia operates and is resisted by Muslim women activists. This article identifies the overlapping configurations of power that affect Muslim women’s lives through structural, disciplinary, hegemonic, and interpersonal domains, countering reductionist accounts of Islamophobia as a universalized, unvariegated social force impacting all Muslims in similar ways (thereby privileging Muslim men’s experiences and subjectivities while contributing to the erasure of Muslim women’s agency). Instead, the matrix of gendered Islamophobia locates Islamophobia within shifting axes of oppression that are simultaneously structured along the lines of gender, race, class, sexuality, and citizenship. The findings of this research reveal a dialectical relationship between Muslim women’s oppression and simultaneous contestation of gendered Islamophobia via their collective remaking of alternative ideas, politics, discourses, and organizing practices.
Initial Growth of Some Crops Grown in Amino Acid as Nitrogen Source under Aseptic Condition

有機態窒素の作物生育に与える影響を解明するために，単一窒素源としてタンパク質を構成する20種類のアミノ酸を用いて5種類の作物を無菌栽培し，各アミノ酸に対する作物毎の生育への影響を検討した．作物別の比較をすると，イネ，チンゲンサイでは，アミノ酸間の生育差が大きく，コムギ，キュウリはイネ,チンゲンサイよりアミノ酸間の生育差は小さかった．ダイズでは，アミノ酸間の生育差はほとんどみられなかった．アミノ酸別の比較をすると，アスパラギン，グルタミンでは，無窒素区より地上部乾物重，地上部窒素含量の増加がみられ，一方，システイン，メチオニン，ロイシン，バリンでは地上部乾物重や地上部窒素含量が無窒素区より低下した．そこで，アミノ酸濃度を変えた時の影響を調べるため，生育への影響が異なる5種類のアミノ酸を単一窒素源に選び，イネ幼植物に対する影響について検討した．その結果，グルタミンで生育したイネは窒素濃度増加に伴い地上部乾物重，地上部窒素含量は増大した．セリン，バリンで生育したイネは，低濃度から生育阻害がみられた．グルタミンは無機態窒素を代謝する際に最初に同化されるアミノ酸でもあるので，植物体内で濃度が高くても障害をおこさず，窒素源として効率的に利用されていると考えられた．セリン，バリンはグルタミンに比べてアミノ酸生成経路の末端で生成されるアミノ酸であるため，植物に吸収されても代謝されず植物体内で濃度が上がり，生育を阻害したものと考えられた．
Rofecoxib Attenuates the Pathogenesis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis by Alleviating Cyclooxygenase-2-Mediated Mechanisms

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is reported to be activated during the course of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) development and progression. However, the roles of COX-2 in aggravating ALS and the underlying mechanism have been largely overlooked. To reveal the mechanisms, the canonical SOD1G93A mouse model was used as an experimental model for ALS in the current study. In addition, a specific inhibitor of COX-2 activity, rofecoxib, was orally administered to SOD1G93A mice. With this in vivo approach, we revealed that COX-2 proinflammatory signaling cascades were inhibited by rofecoxib in SOD1G93A mice. Specifically, the protein levels of COX-2, interleukin (IL)-1β, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were elevated as a result of activation of astrocytes and microglia during the course of ALS development and progression. These proinflammatory reactions may contribute to the death of neurons by triggering the movement of astrocytes and microglia to neurons in the context of ALS. Treatment with rofecoxib alleviated this close association between glial cells and neurons and significantly decreased the density of inflammatory cells, which helped to restore the number of motor neurons in SOD1G93A mice. Mechanistically, rofecoxib treatment decreased the expression of COX-2 and its downstream signaling targets, including IL-1β and TNF-α, by deactivating glial cells, which in turn ameliorated the progression of SOD1G93A mice by postponing disease onset and modestly prolonging survival. Collectively, these results provide novel insights into the mechanisms of ALS and aid in the development of new drugs to improve the clinical treatment of ALS.
Interleukin 15 Pharmacokinetics and Consumption by a Dynamic Cytokine Sink

Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is crucial for the proliferation and survival of NK and CD8+ T memory cells, and of significant interest in immuno-oncology. Immune cell expansion requires continuous IL-15 exposure above a threshold concentration for an extended period. However, the short t1/2 of IL-15 makes this impossible to achieve after a single injection without a high Cmax and toxicities. The most effective way to deliver IL-15 is continuous intra-venous infusion, but this administration mode is impractical. Efforts have been devoted to developing IL-15 agonists which after a single injection maintain the cytokine in a narrow therapeutic window for a long period. Enigmatically, although the half-life extension technologies used often extend the half-life of a protein to 1 or more weeks, the modified IL-15 agonists studied usually have systemic elimination half-lives of only a few hours and rarely much longer than 1 day. These short half-lives—common to all circulating IL-15 agonists thus far reported—can be explained by a dynamic increase in clearance of the agonists that accompanies target immune cell proliferation. What is needed is an IL-15 agonist that is as effective as continuous intravenous infusion, but with the convenience and acceptance of single injections at 1-week or longer intervals.
Azole-Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus Among Danish Cystic Fibrosis Patients: Increasing Prevalence and Dominance of TR34/L98H

Azole-resistant (azole-R) Aspergillus is an increasing challenge worldwide. Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are at risk of Aspergillus colonization and disease due to a favorable lung environment for microorganisms. We performed a nationwide study in 2018 of azole-non-susceptible Aspergillus in CF patients and compared with data from two prior studies. All airway samples with mold isolates from patients monitored at the two CF centers in Denmark (RH, Jan–Sept and AUH, Jan–Jun) were included. Classical species identification (morphology and thermo-tolerance) was performed and MALDI-TOF/β-tubulin sequencing was performed if needed. Susceptibility was determined using EUCAST E.Def 10.1, and E.Def 9.3. 2. cyp51A sequencing and STRAf genotyping were performed for azole-non-susceptible isolates and relevant sequential isolates. In total, 340 mold isolates from 159 CF patients were obtained. The most frequent species were Aspergillus fumigatus (266/340, 78.2%) and Aspergillus terreus (26/340, 7.6%). Azole-R A. fumigatus was cultured from 7.3% (10/137) of patients, including 9.5% (9/95) of patients at RH and 2.4% at AUH (1/42), respectively. In a 10-year perspective, azole-non-susceptibility increased numerically among patients at RH (10.5% in 2018 vs 4.5% in 2007–2009). Cyp51A resistance mechanisms were found in nine azole-R A. fumigatus from eight CF patients. Five were of environmental origin (TR34/L98H), three were human medicine-driven (two M220K and one M220R), and one was novel (TR343/L98H) and found in a patient who also harbored a TR34/L98H isolate. STRAf genotyping identified 27 unique genotypes among 45 isolates and ≥2 genotypes in 8 of 12 patients. This included one patient carrying two unique TR34/L98H isolates, a rare phenomenon. Genotyping of sequential TR343/L98H and TR34/L98H isolates from the same patient showed only minor differences in 1/9 markers. Finally, azole-R A. terreus was found in three patients including two with Cyp51A alterations (M217I and G51A, respectively). Azole-R A. fumigatus is increasing among CF patients in Denmark with the environmentally associated resistance TR34/L98H mechanism being dominant. Mixed infections (wildtype/non-wildtype and several non-wildtypes) and a case of potential additional tandem repeat acquisition in vivo were found. However, similar genotypes were identified from another patient (and outside this study), potentially suggesting a predominant TR34/L98H clone in DK. These findings suggest an increasing prevalence and complexity of azole resistance in A. fumigatus.
A Regenerative Approach to Canine Osteoarthritis Using Allogeneic, Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Safety Results of a Long-Term Follow-Up

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are emerging as an effective therapeutic tool in treating canine osteoarthritis (OA). In this report, we focused on the questions of whether MSC transplantation has long-term beneficial effects for the improvement in motion and also evaluated the safety of MSC injection. Visceral adipose tissue, a surgical waste obtained during routine ovariectomy served as a source of allogeneic MSCs and used to treat OA. Altogether, fifty-eight dogs were transplanted in the study suffering from OA in the elbow (42 animals), hip (5), knee (8), ankle (2), and hock (1). The effect of MSC transplantation was evaluated by the degree of lameness at a 4-5-years follow-up period based on the owners' subjective observations. The results showed that 83% of the OA patients improved or retained improvement in lameness. Clinical safety of the treatment was assessed by evaluating the coincidence of tumors or other diseases and other adverse reactions (such as local inflammation) after MSC cell therapy. Two incidences of local inflammation for <1 week at the site of injection were reported. No other adverse reactions were detected post-treatment. Sixteen dogs died during the study, 4 due to cancer and 12 due to other diseases, diagnosed by veterinarians. Overall, our survey suggests that MSC transplantation has long-term beneficial effects in reducing lameness. Moreover, no enrichment in a specific cause of death was observed in the transplanted animals, compared to reported literature. Our data suggest that MSC treatment could be an effective and safe long-term therapy for canine OA.
Global Epidemiology of First 90 Days into COVID-19 Pandemic: Disease Incidence, Prevalence, Case Fatality Rate and Their Association with Population Density, Urbanisation and Elderly Population

As the COVID-19 pandemic marches exponentially, epidemiological data is of high importance to analyse the current situation and guide intervention strategies. This study analyses the epidemiological data of COVID-19 from 17 countries, representing 85 per cent of the total cases within first 90 days of lockdown in Wuhan, China. It follows a population-level observational study design and includes countries with 20,000 cases (or higher) as of 21 April 2020. We sourced the data for these 17 countries from worldometers. info, a digital platform being used by several media and reputed academic institutions worldwide. We calculated the prevalence, incidence, case fatality rate and trends in the epidemiology of COVID-19, and its correlation with population density, urbanisation and elderly population. The analysis represents 85 per cent (N = 2,183,661) of all cases within the first 90 days of the pandemic. Across the analysed period, the burden of the pandemic primarily focused on high- and middle-income countries of Asia, Europe and North America. While the total number of cases and deaths are highest in USA, the prevalence, incidence and case fatality rates are higher in the European countries. The prevalence and incidence vary widely among countries included in the analysis, and the number of cases per million and the case fatality rate are correlated with the proportion of the elderly population and to a lesser extent with the proportion of the urban population.
Ploidy Diversity and the Production of Balanced Gametes in Male Twist-Necked Turtles (Platemys platycephala)

The twist-necked turtle Platemys platycephala (Pleurodira) is remarkable for its diversity of ploidy levels. Viable diploids, triploids, diploid-triploid mosaics, and triploid-tetraploid mosaics are found in natural populations. In contrast with other species of polyploid reptiles, which are all female and parthenogenetic, both male and female polyploids are found in the twist-necked turtle, and reproduction occurs ostensibly by a sexual mode. In this study, flow cytometric and cytological analyses demonstrate that, regardless of somatic ploidy constitution, males have diploid testicular cell populations and produce balanced gametes. Normal fertility is inferred for polyploid males of this species.
The Aging Slopes of Brain Structures Vary by Ethnicity and Sex: Evidence From a Large Magnetic Resonance Imaging Dataset From a Single Scanner of Cognitively Healthy Elderly People in Korea

The aging of the brain is a well-investigated topic, but existing analyses have mainly focused on Caucasian samples. To investigate brain aging in East Asians, we measured cortical and subcortical volumes from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 1,008 cognitively normal elderly Koreans from the Gwangju Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia cohort and 342 Caucasians from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database. To determine whether the aging effect varies with ethnicity and sex, beta coefficients of age and confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated in each ethnicity–sex group using a bootstrap method and a regression analysis using the relative volume to intracranial volume as predicted. The betas or aging slopes largely were not significantly different between ethnicity and sex groups in most types of brain structures. However, ethnic differences between the two female groups were found in the brain, most cortical regions, and a few subcortical regions. Ethnic differences in brain aging are likely due in large part to genetic factors; thus, we compared carriers and non-carriers of a gene relevant to longevity and neurodegenerative diseases, such as apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4. The regions with ethnic differences in women also showed significant differences between Korean APOE ε4 non-carriers and Caucasian APOE ε4 carriers. Furthermore, Caucasian women showed significant APOE ε4 effects in the largest number of regions. These results illustrate that much of the ethnic differences in females may be explained by synergistic effects of ethnic background and APOE ε4 carrier status. Our results suggest that sex-dependent differences of aging between ethnic backgrounds may be due to ethnicity-dependent effects of genetic risk factors, such as APOE ε4. We also presented the normative information on volume estimates of the brain structures of the elderly Korean people in the subdivided age groups. This normative information of the aging brain stratified by ethnicity provides the age-related reference ranges quantified to replace visual judgment and facilitate precise clinical decision-making.
Activity, Temperature, Age, Size and Reproduction in the Parthenogenetic Whiptail Lizard Cnemidophorus dixoni in the Chinati Mountains in Trans-Pecos Texas

-Parthenogenetic Cnemidophorus dixoni, consisting of color pattern classes A and B, is limited to a small area in the Chinati Mountains in southwestern Presidio Co., Texas, and a disjunct area in Hidalgo Co., New Mexico. In Presidio County lizards emerged from winter inactivity in April. Thereafter, adult lizards remained active into late August or early September; postneonates remained active until late October. Activity in C. dixoni A and/or B was observed on one or more occasions during every 15-min interval between 1020 h and 1930 h CDT during a 46-day field study between June 1989 and June 1990. No differences in mean cloacal body temperature were observed between juvenile and adult C. dixoni A or B, or among monthly samples. Mean cloacal body temperature for all individuals was 39.89 C ? 0.15 (n = 113). Neonatal Cnemidophorus dixoni A and B hatched in July and August; they grew rapidly, became inactive for about 5 mo (November-March) and matured early in their 2nd summer at 67-73 mm snout-vent length. The life expectancy of C. dixoni appeared to involve parts of three activity cycles, or about 2 calendar yr. Clutch size varied from 1-5 with a mean of 2.90 ? 0.08 for 94 clutches; snout-vent lengths of preserved gravid females varied from 6797 mm with a mean of 82.12 ? 0.57. Larger females had significantly larger clutches than smaller females; the model for the relationship is egg count = 0.09SVL 4.51.
Variability in Recommendations for Cervical Lymph Node Pathology for Staging of Canine Oral Neoplasia: A Survey Study

There is no clear guideline regarding the indication for routine lymph node extirpation and pathologic evaluation during staging of canine oral tumors, despite a relatively high reported nodal metastatic rate for select tumor types. It is particularly unclear if clinicians recommend removal of lymph nodes only when there is confirmation of metastasis, defined as the N+ neck, or if elective neck dissection (END) is routinely recommended to confirm the true pathologic metastatic status of lymph nodes in the clinical N0 neck (no evidence of metastasis on clinical staging with diagnostic imaging or cytology). When clinicians are recommending END as a staging tool to confirm nodal status, there is also ambiguity regarding the surgical extent for subsequent histopathologic evaluation. The objective of this cross-sectional survey study was to determine the current recommendations given by practicing specialists regarding lymph node removal for dogs with oral tumors. Overall, 87 responses were obtained from 49 private practices (56%) and 38 academic institutions (44%). Respondents identified as oncologists (44%, N = 38), soft tissue surgeons (40%, N = 35), and dentists (16%, N = 14). Regardless of tumor type and stage, extirpation and histopathology were most commonly recommended in the clinical N+ neck only. The recommendation to routinely perform END in the N0 neck was significantly associated with tumor type. Bilateral removal of the mandibular and retropharyngeal lymph nodes was recommended more often for oral malignant melanoma (OMM) than for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC; p ≤ 0.0039) or for oral fibrosarcoma (OFSA; p ≤ 0.0007). The likelihood of recommending END increased with increasing tumor size. Academic clinicians were significantly (p < 0.01) more likely to recommend END compared to private practitioners for canine T1–T3 OMM, T3 OSCC, T2 OFSA, and MCT. This study highlights the variability in recommendations for lymph node pathology for dogs with oral tumors. While tumor type and size influenced the decision to pursue END, it was not routinely recommended, even for tumor types with a known propensity for metastasis. Prospective studies are warranted to determine the potential diagnostic and therapeutic value of END in the N0 neck in veterinary patients such that a consensus approach can be made.