Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional genomics of calcium channels in human melanoma cells

Ca2+‐signaling of human melanoma is in the focus of intensive research since the identification of the role of WNT‐signaling in melanomagenesis. Genomic and functional studies pointed to the important role of various Ca2+ channels in melanoma, but these data were contradictory. In the present study we clearly demonstrate, in a number of different ways including microarray analysis, DNA sequencing and immunocytochemistry, that various human melanoma cell lines and melanoma tissues overexpress ryanodine receptor type 2 (RyR2) and express P2X7 channel proteins as compared to melanocytes. These channels, although retain some of their usual characteristics and pharmacological properties, display unique features in melanoma cells, including a functional interaction between the two molecules. Unlike P2X7, RyR2 does not function as a calcium channel. On the other hand, the P2X7 receptor has an antiapoptotic function in melanoma cells, since ATP‐activation suppresses induced apoptosis, while knock down of the gene expression significantly enhances that. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Spatial variability of soil acidity attributes and the spatialization of liming requirement for corn

In Brazil, technicians, in most cases, ignore the aspects related to the spatial variability of the soil acidity attributes when liming requirement is calculated. The objective of this study was to validate the liming practice, evaluating the presence of spatial variability of the soil acidity attributes and the existence of areas with differentiated liming requirement, which were calculated by different methods. The experiment was carried out in an area cultivated with corn under conventional management and irrigation. The soil (0-0.2 m) was sampled in a conventional way (composite soil sample) and in a systematic scheme, by use of a grid sampling. In sequence to the soil fertility attributes analysis, it was calculated the liming requirement, according to the methods of SMP pH, aluminum neutralization and elevation of soil Ca and Mg levels, and increase of the soil base saturation. After the descriptive analysis of the data set was accomplished, the semivariograms were calculated and the maps were obtained through the kriging technique. Absence of spatial dependence, as well as the non necessity of limestone application, was observed for the Al neutralization calculation method. Spatial dependence was only verified for the soil acidity attributes and to the liming requirement calculated by the base saturation and SMP pH methods; for these two methods, the semivariogram ranges obtained varied from 35.7 to 200.5 m. The results have highlighted the existence of differentiated liming requirement zones when the variability of the soil acidity attributes was considered in the calculation of the dose and type of limestone to be used for corn soil acidity correction.
Working with Real Companies, Making a Real Impact: Student Perspectives on the Google Online Marketing Challenge.

The Google Online Marketing Challenge is a global student competition in which teams are given $250 to develop and run an online advertising campaign for a business or non-profit organization over a three-week period. Despite the fact that 50,000 students have competed in the Challenge since its inception in 2008, relatively little is known about the students’ experience in the Challenge. To address this shortcoming, this paper provides an overview of how the Challenge was implemented in an undergraduate Computer Information Systems class and then answers the following research questions: What do students like about the Challenge? What do students learn in the Challenge? How can the students’ experience in the Challenge be improved? This research addresses these questions using quantitative and qualitative responses to a student survey. Results suggest that students enjoy working on a real project, seeing cause and effect in action, and gaining marketable skills. The key learning outcome of the Challenge is being able to explain core concepts in online marketing (such as click-through rate, landing page experience, and return on investment). Students like having the choice between finding a client on their own or being assigned a client by the professor. Also, according to the students, a four-member team is the ideal size for the Challenge. Furthermore, students would like to work on additional case studies relating to online marketing. Lastly, students recommend pre-selecting clients based on their willingness to use Google Analytics, as this would significantly improve students’ ability to optimize campaign performance.
Attempts to produce hypomagnesaemia in dry non-pregnant sheep.

Summary Dosing urea or ammonium acetate (up to 11 g ammonium nitrogen equivalent) failed to lower serum magnesium or calcium in wethers fed a ration of dried grass. This level of dosing raised blood non-protein nitrogen by 4–14 mg%, and was sufficient to cause inappetance within several days. Serum magnesium of three groups of sheep which had been fed in sheltered pens on fresh grass, dried grass, and dried grass plus ammonium acetate respectively fell within one day after the sheep were turned out to spring pasture, but were normal on the fourth day of grazing. When sheep that had been free grazing were starved in sheltered pens, serum magnesium rose within one day but had returned to the original level after four days. Serum calcium showed successive falls during this time. Linear falls in serum magnesium and calcium were produced when sheep, both in lean and in fat condition, were starved for several days in a pen exposed to the weather. When the sheep were let out to pasture again, serum calcium retur.
The life experiences of adolescent sexual offenders: Factors that contribute to offending behaviours

This study, based on the case studies of 25 adolescent sex offenders, was designed to understand those factors that contribute to adolescent sexual offending. Although the focus is primarily on the micro level, we acknowledge the impacts of mezzo- and macro-level factors on family and individual functioning. External structural factors such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, societal values regarding sexuality, lack of support systems and violence penetrate the lives of individuals and families to manifest in a range of problems that human service professionals such as psychiatrists, social workers and psychologists deal with on a daily basis.
Role of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Uptake of Phosphorus and Nitrogen From Soil

AbstractColonization of plant roots by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can greatly increase the plant uptake of phosphorus and nitrogen. The most prominent contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to plant growth is due to uptake of nutrients by extraradical mycorrhizal hyphae. Quantification of hyphal nutrient uptake has become possible by the use of soil boxes with separated growing zones for roots and hyphae. Many (but not all) tested fungal isolates increased phosphorus and nitrogen uptake of the plant by absorbing phosphate, ammonium, and nitrate from soil. However, compared with the nutrient demand of the plant for growth, the contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to plant phosphorus uptake is usually much larger than the contribution to plant nitrogen uptake. The utilization of soil nutrients may depend more on efficient uptake of phosphate, nitrate, and ammonium from the soil solution even at low supply concentrations than on mobilization processes in the hyphosphere. In contrast to ectomy.
To Decide to Ride and Bide: Information Processing Among Bus Riders

This paper develops a model and uses data from a natural setting to test the hypothesis that a traveler is more likely to wait at the bus stop the more people she sees already waiting at the bus stop. We model a traveler, who arrives at a bus stop and is faced with the choice of walking to her destination, or waiting for and then riding the bus. We show that optimal decision making implies that the traveler is more likely to wait at the bus stop the more people she sees already waiting at the bus stop. Our work differs from previous work by developing a formal game theoretic model and relatively simple testable implications. Data taken from observing travelers' behavior on The Ohio State University's Columbus campus then support the model.
Influence of stage of lactation on the chemical composition and physical properties of sheep milk

The aim of research was to determine the influence of stages of lactation on the chemical composition and physical properties of sheep milk. The analysis involved a total of 202 milk samples in various stages of lactation (beginning, midpoint, end). Milk analyses included determination of the contents of dry matter, fat, protein, lactose, solids-non-fat, degree of acidity, pH values and freezing point. Data was statistically processed in accordance with the SAS statistics package (1996). Sheep milk contained on average 19.11% total solids, 7.52% fat, 5.90% protein, 4.55% lactose, 11.45% solids-non-fat. Titratable acidity of milk amounted to 9.30oSH, ionometric 6.78, and freezing point was -0.566oC. In the middle and at the end of the lactation period the contents of total solids, fat, protein, and pH value were significantly higher ( P < 0.01) than at the beginning. In the same period lactose content and titratable acidity values were significantly lower ( P < 0.01).
Investigation of Calcium and Available Phosphorus Requirements for Laying Hens by Response Surface Methodology

Abstract A 3 × 3 factorial experiment with 324 laying hens was conducted for 280 days to examine the effect of calcium and available phosphorus on biological responses associated with egg production. Calcium levels were 2.50, 3.75, and 5.00% and available phosphorus levels were . 35, . 50, and . 65%. The data were analyzed quantitatively using response surface methodology. Results showed that within the range of the experimental design, there were no significant effects of the two minerals on hen-day egg production, final body weight, or average egg weight. A trend was shown for improvement in feed conversion at the 2.5 and 3.75% calcium as the available phosphorus percent was reduced. This trend was not evident at the 5% calcium level. Cumulative mortality was related to low dietary levels of calcium. Eggshell percentage was significantly affected by calcium and available phosphorus levels. A second order equation was found to describe the mineral and percent eggshell relationship with an R2 value of . 77. Optimal levels of calcium and available phosphorus for the percent eggshell were calculated to be 4.73 and . 48, respectively. A confidence area and interval were described for the predicted optimal response. The high calcium and available phosphorus were postulated to be associated with the strain of hen used in the experiment.
MEMS First-Order Bessel Beam Acoustic Transducer for Particle Trapping And Controllable Rotating

This paper reports a novel and easy-to-fabricate MEMS first-order Bessel beam acoustic transducer (BBAT) for particle trapping and electrically controllable rotating, in terms of the design, fabrication, characterization, and experiments. The BBAT is primarily composed of a bulk lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane, bonded by SU-8 photoresist. The transducer encloses customized air-cavities in order to generate Archimedes’ spiral acoustic source. We prototyped a 2.32 MHz BBAT with the design, which was capable of firmly trapping polystyrene (PS) particles as large as 800 μm diameter under 18 Vpp, and precisely steering the rotating velocity by controlling the driving voltage. A linear relationship between the rotating velocity and driving volage square was observed, which can reach as high as 138 rpm under 150 Vpp.
CEO Duality and Firm Performance: Evidence from an Exogenous Shock to the Competitive Environment

Regulators and governance activists are pressuring firms to abolish CEO duality (the Chief Executive Officer is also the Chairman of the Board). However, the literature provides mixed evidence on the relation between CEO duality and firm performance. Using the exogenous shock of the 1989 Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement, we find that duality firms outperform non-duality firms by 3–4% when their competitive environments change. Further, the performance difference is larger for firms with higher information costs and better corporate governance. Our results underscore the benefits of CEO duality in saving information costs and making speedy decisions.
Effects of supplemental humic acid on ruminal fermentation and blood variables in rams

In this study, we particularly aimed to research the effect of supplemental humic acid on ruminal fermentation and blood variables in rams. A trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of humic acid (HA) on protozoa count, percentages of different protozoa types and blood parameters. Three male Kivircik rams with ruminal cannula were used in a Latin square design, during 22 days periods (15 days for adaptation, 7 days for collection). They received 0 control group (CG), 5 g/day or 10 g/day of HA (HA5, HA10, assay groups). HA were added to the ration with grain diet. Ration was consisted of 5% grain diet and 95% alfalfa hay. Rumen contents collected before and, 3h and 6h after morning feeding on days 1 and 7 in each collection period were analyzed. Blood samples were also collected the same days. No significant difference in biochemical and hematological parameters (except eosinophils levels, P<0.05), variables of ruminal fluid (except sodium levels before feeding) and species of rumen protozoa organism (except the percentage Epidinium spp.) were evidenced with the addition of HA. In conclusion, we think that they might have been true the widely use in animal food of humates which don’t have any negative effect on biochemical and hematological parameters in particular.
Interpretable representation learning for visual intelligence

Recent progress of deep neural networks in computer vision and machine learning has enabled transformative applications across robotics, healthcare, and security. However, despite the superior performance of the deep neural networks, it remains challenging to understand their inner workings and explain their output predictions. This thesis investigates several novel approaches for opening up the “black box” of neural networks used in visual recognition tasks and understanding their inner working mechanism. I first show that objects and other meaningful concepts emerge as a consequence of recognizing scenes. A network dissection approach is further introduced to automatically identify the internal units as the emergent concept detectors and quantify their interpretability. Then I describe an approach that can efficiently explain the output prediction for any given image. It sheds light on the decision-making process of the networks and why the predictions succeed or fail. Finally, I show some ongoing efforts toward learning efficient and interpretable deep representations for video event understanding and some future directions. Thesis Supervisor: Antonio Torralba Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
On the use of an articulatory talking head for second language pronunciation training: the case of Chinese learners of French

This study investigates the usefulness of a French Articulatory Talking Head (ATH) to train Mandarin Chinese speakers to produce French vowels that do not exist in their phonetic repertoire. Two groups of Mandarin Chinese speakers were trained using either auditory or audiovisual stimuli displayed with the ATH, based on a speech shadowing task of immediate repetition of vowels and VCV sequences. We found that the F1 and F2 formants of vowels improved for both groups and that the audiovisual group (AVG) improved more than the auditory group (AG), which tends to validate the interest of the vision of articulators for the pronunciation training.
A new species of cyanobacterial symbiont from the marine sponge Chondrilla nucula

Partial 16s rDNA sequencing results indicate that the unicellular cyanobacterial symbionts of the sponge species Chondrilla nucula, from the Mediterranean Sea, and C. australiensis, from Australia, are the same, and comprise a unique species. This cyanobacterium belongs to the genus Synechococcus, and occurs in the surface tissues of these sponges, as demonstrated with Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) using a sequence-specific DNA probe, and with Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). We propose the name Candidatus Synechococcus spongiarum sp. nov. for this symbiont. The cyanobacterial symbiont Aphanocapsa feldmannii (Fremy), hosted by the marine sponge Petrosia fιciformis from the Mediterranean Sea, is a separate, but closely related, species also belonging to the genus Synechococcus.
Monitoring in a complex world — seeking slow variables, a scaled focus, and speedier learning

Recent developments from complex systems theorists provide new insights into our understanding and, hence, monitoring of rangelands. Designing monitoring systems around the slow variables should lead to the generation of information that could greatly improve decision making in an adaptive management context. Monitoring can also be far better focused on supporting faster development of local environmental knowledge when traditional experiential learning modes cannot always keep up with the increasingly rapid pace of change in rangelands. After casting the design and purpose of monitoring systems in theoretical terms, the authors draw on applications from southern Africa to confront these conceptual approaches with real world practice. Using two cases, one from a community based agro-pastoral system and the other from a conservation area, the authors examine how the theory and practice inform monitoring systems design. Does theory really guide us in developing useful monitoring systems when faced with the real world of complex trade-offs among different users, different ecosystem services and a hierarchy of different scales? How can practice improve theory?
The prevalence, profile and outcomes of traumatic optic nerve injury in the neurosurgical patients admitted to a tertiary care centre in south India in one year

Objectives: To find the prevalence of traumatic optic nerve injury in neurosurgical patients admitted to this rural tertiary care hospital and to assess the clinical profile and visual outcomes in these patients. Materials and Methods: This case series of the prevalence, profile and outcomes of patients with Traumatic optic nerve injury (TONI) admitted to the neurosurgical department of this rural teaching hospital during the year 2014 received the approval of the Institutional Review Board and the Institutional Ethics Committee. Data was accessed from the medical records of these patients for one year. Results: Of the 3466 neurosurgical admissions, 15 were found to have traumatic optic nerve injury making the prevalence of TONI in this institution 0.43%. Of the 15 patients with TONI, 14 (93%) were males and the mean age was 33 years and more than half were over the age of 30 years. Road Traffic Accidents remained the main cause for TONI (93%). Ten of these patients (66.7%) presented with fracture skull or orbit and 5 (33.3%) had no fractures. Most of the bony injuries were lateral orbital wall fractures accounting for 7 (70%). None of the patients had evidence of optic nerve compression. Fourteen of the 15 patients with TONI (93%), received intravenous and oral corticosteroids and one patient was treated conservatively. Twelve patients showed improved visual acuity on discharge while three did not improve. Conclusion: Traumatic optic nerve injury is a vision-endangering condition which is a comorbidity of blunt head trauma. Most of the patients with optic nerve injury presented with periorbital edema, subconjunctival haemorrhage and orbital wall fracture, lateral orbital wall fracture being the commonest. Patients treated with intravenous corticosteroids followed by oral route of the same were found to have good visual outcomes. There is a great need to develop clinical databases for better understanding of the natural history and management of this condition.
Real-World Utility of an Amplicon-Based Next-Generation Sequencing Liquid Biopsy for Broad Molecular Profiling in Patients With Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

PURPOSE To assess the feasibility and utility of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) by amplicon-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis in the daily clinical setting in a cohort of patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as an alternative approach to tissue molecular profiling. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this single-center prospective study, treatment-naïve and previously treated patients with advanced NSCLC were enrolled. Clinical validation of ctDNA using amplicon-based NGS analysis (with a 36-gene panel) was performed against standard-of-care tissue molecular analysis in treatment-naïve patients. The feasibility, utility, and prognostic value of ctDNA as a dynamic marker of treatment efficacy was evaluated. Results of tissue molecular profile were blinded during ctDNA analysis. RESULTS Of 214 patients with advanced NSCLC who were recruited, 156 were treatment-naïve patients and 58 were pretreated patients with unknown tissue molecular profile. ctDNA screening was successfully performed for 91% (n = 194) of all patients, and mutations were detected in 77% of these patients. Tissue molecular analysis was available for 111 patients (52%), and tissue somatic mutations were found for 78% (n = 87) of patients. For clinically relevant variants, concordance agreement between ctDNA and tumor tissue analysis was 95% among 94 treatment-naïve patients who had concurrent liquid and tumor biopsy molecular profiles. Sensitivity and specificity were 81% and 97%, respectively. Of the 103 patients with no tissue available, ctDNA detected potential actionable mutations in 17% of patients; of these, 10% received personalized treatment. ctDNA kinetics correlated with response rate and progression-free survival in 31 patients treated with first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. CONCLUSION These real-world data from a prospective study endorse ctDNA molecular profile by amplicon-based NGS as an accurate and reliable tool to detect and monitor clinically relevant molecular alterations in patients with advanced NSCLC.
Subepithelial connective tissue graft with purified rhPDGF-BB for the treatment of mandibular recession defects: a consecutive case series.

Abstract Anatomical characteristics, such as shallow vestibular depth, high frenum attachments, and thin labial bone tend to make treatment of mandibular gingival recession defects particularly challenging. Even though a number of recent systematic reviews have identified the connective tissue graft (CTG) in combination with coronally advanced flaps (CAF) as the most consistently effective treatment procedure for Miller Class I and II defects, they did not separate maxillary vs mandibular outcomes, reporting instead aggregate results. In this prospective consecutive case series, recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB (rhPDGF-BB) was combined with CTGs for the treatment of Miller Class I or II mandibular gingival recession defects in 11 healthy patients. Changes for both mean recession depth and width from baseline to week 24 were statistically significant, with mean recession depth decreasing from 3.4 ± 0.5 mm to 0.8 ± 0.8 mm and mean recession width decreasing from 3.1 ± 0.7 mm to 1.7 ± 1.3 mm. As a result of the improvement in recession depth, the mean percent root coverage seen in this mandibular prospective consecutive case series at 6 months was 79.6%. Despite treatment results that were comparable to historical norms, the outcomes, especially percent root coverage at 24 weeks, were somewhat less favorable, emphasizing the anatomical challenges of mandibular recession defects.