Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex differences in the acute ethanol effects on object recognition memory: influence of estrous cycle

Effects of acute ethanol (EtOH) on memory depend on several factors, including type of behavioral task. Sex differences in EtOH effects have been reported in humans and animals, and recognition memory can be influenced by circulating sex hormones. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of sex and estrous cycle in the acute effects of EtOH on novel object recognition memory in rats. Male and female Wistar rats were part of one of the groups: control, 0.6-g/kg EtOH and 1.8-g/kg EtOH (administered intraperitoneally before the training session). The estrous cycle was evaluated by vaginal smear. The task was conducted in an open field arena. During training, animals were exposed to two identical objects, and test sessions were performed 1 h (short-term) and 24 h (long-term) later. One of the objects was changed in each test. Increased novel object exploration was shown by male and female controls in the short- and long-term tests, respectively. In the short-term test, females did not show preference for the novel object, and EtOH 1.8 g/kg impaired performance in males. In the long-term test, both sexes showed object discrimination, and 1.8-g/kg EtOH reduced preference for the new object in male rats. The phase of the cycle, the performance on proestrus was worse compared with other phases, and EtOH failed to impair performance mainly on estrous. In conclusion, while male rats displayed ethanol-induced recognition memory deficit, female rats were unaffected by EtOH impairing effects. In addition, the performance of female rats was influenced by the estrous cycle phases.
Glyphosate, AMPA, and metsulfuron-methyl retention in the main horizons of a Typic Argiudoll

Abstract Retention is one of the processes controlling the behavior and fate of pesticides in soil. The objective of this work was to evaluate the adsorption and desorption of glyphosate, AMPA, and metsulfuron-methyl in the main horizons of a Typic Argiudoll destined for agricultural use. For this purpose, the batch equilibrium method was used at a range of concentrations for each compound. Desorption was performed in three consecutive steps after the adsorption experiment. The results obtained showed strong adsorption of glyphosate and AMPA in the three horizons, following the trend B > A > C, with weak desorption. Metsulfuron-methyl, on the other hand, showed weak adsorption in the three horizons, following the trend A > B > C, with relevant desorption. Our results allow us to identify metsulfuron-methyl as the compound that poses the greatest environmental risk in terms of the potential contamination of other areas and groundwater. However, despite their strong adsorption and weak desorption, glyphosate and AMPA also represent potential contaminants of other environmental matrices.
Molecular modeling of lactoferrin for food and nutraceutical applications: insights from in silico techniques

Abstract Lactoferrin is a protein, primarily found in milk that has attracted the interest of the food industries due to its health properties. Nevertheless, the instability of lactoferrin has limited its commercial application. Recent studies have focused on encapsulation to enhance the stability of lactoferrin. However, the molecular insights underlying the changes of structural properties of lactoferrin and the interaction with protectants remain poorly understood. Computational approaches have proven useful in understanding the structural properties of molecules and the key binding with other constituents. In this review, comprehensive information on the structure and function of lactoferrin and the binding with various molecules for food purposes are reviewed, with a special emphasis on the use of molecular dynamics simulations. The results demonstrate the application of modeling and simulations to determine key residues of lactoferrin responsible for its stability and interactions with other biomolecular components under various conditions, which are also associated with its functional benefits. These have also been extended into the potential creation of enhanced lactoferrin for commercial purposes. This review provides valuable strategies in designing novel nutraceuticals for food science practitioners and those who have interests in acquiring familiarity with the application of computational modeling for food and health purposes.
Invisible influence: New forms of cooling out in community colleges

Exploring students’ experiences navigating community college is important for understanding the relevance of community college procedures and personnel as students make decisions about their day-to-day actions and continued enrollment. Data exists about the multiple obligations many community college students have, which may complicate their college enrollment. Yet, little is known about how those outside obligations influence students as they interact within the community college environment to implement their college-going choices. Furthermore, little data exists about the continued educational choices students make during their enrollment and what role college procedures and personnel may play. Choices for students do not end after choosing a college to attend. Rather, decision-making is an on-going process. Ironically, the on-going educational choices of students are missing from college choice, integration, and persistence models. This study used a qualitative approach to examine how students experienced the institution through the lens of these micro-decisions. A combination of the model of student success, rational action theory, and cooling out provided the framework to understand how community college students made sense of their interactions with college personnel, and in what ways the community college might contribute to cooling out. Overall, findings demonstrate the community college’s procedures constrain students’ available choices. Rather than simplifying procedural requirements, community college personnel often contributed to students’ confusion and difficulty in carrying out a microdecision. Furthermore, findings suggest the community college continues to play a cooling out function in higher education.
Predictive Value of Resting Fractional Flow Reserve and Atherogenic Index of Plasma for Evaluation of Physiologically Significant Coronary Artery Lesions

This study aimed to assess the relationship between the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and resting distal-to-aortic pressure ratio (Pd/Pa) in patients with intermediate coronary artery stenosis. This retrospective study included 802 chronic coronary syndrome patients with intermediate coronary artery stenosis who underwent fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement. The resting Pd/Pa showed a significant negative correlation with AIP (rho= −.205, p < .001). When final FFR was divided into three tertiles (≤80, 81–89, ≥90), resting Pd/Pa was significantly lower, and AIP was markedly higher in the lower final FFR tertiles (both AIP and resting Pd/Pa differed significantly across the all three tertiles, p < .001). Furthermore, functionally significant stenosis independent predictors in multivariate analyses were AIP and resting Pd/Pa (p = .010 and p < .001, respectively). We observed for the first time an increase in AIP levels in the presence of functionally significant stenoses that may help better planning and identification of those patients with the functionally substantial atherosclerotic burden.
ADAMTS9-AS2 regulates PPP1R12B by adsorbing miR-196b-5p and affects cell cycle-related signaling pathways inhibiting the malignant process of esophageal cancer

ABSTRACT This study explored the mechanism that ADAMTS9-AS2/miR-196b-5p/PPP1R12B/cell cycle pathway axis in inhibiting the malignant progression of esophageal cancer (EC), providing a new idea for targeted molecular therapy of EC. The expression data of EC tissue were acquired from TCGA database. The target lncRNA, downstream miRNA and its target gene were determined by bioinformatics analysis. ADAMTS9-AS2, miR-196b-5p and PPP1R12B levels in EC tissue and cells were assayed through qRT-PCR. Western blot was applied to assess protein level of PPP1R12B in cells and tissues, as well as protein expression of CDK1, cyclin A2, cyclin B1 and Plk1 in EC cells. Cell proliferation was assayed via CCK-8 assay. Cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry. Cell migratory and invasive abilities were measured through scratch healing and transwell assays. Pearson correlation analysis was utilized to analyze relationship among ADAMTS9-AS2, miR-196b-5p and PPP1R12B. RIP was introduced to assess binding among the three. Dual-luciferase assay was utilized to verify targeted binding sites. The tumor formation in nude mice assay was utilized to detect tumorigenesis of EC cells in vivo. ADAMTS9-AS2 was significantly lowly expressed while miR-196b-5p was increased in EC tissue and cells. ADAMTS9-AS2 bound to miR-196b-5p and constrained its expression. Overexpressed ADAMTS9-AS2 inhibited EC cell malignant progression via downregulating miR-196b-5p, while overexpressed miR-196b-5p reversed this inhibitory effect. ADAMTS9-AS2 modulated PPP1R12B level by competitively inhibiting miR-196b-5p. PPP1R12B played a modulatory role in EC by inhibiting cell cycle pathway. Overexpressed ADAMTS9-AS2 regulated the tumor-forming ability of EC cells in vivo through miR-196b-5p/PPP1R12B/cell cycle signaling pathway axis. ADAMTS9-AS2 downregulated PPP1R12B by adsorbing miR-196b-5p, so as to regulate the cell cycle signaling pathway to inhibit EC malignant progression.
Probing lubricated sliding wear properties of HDPE/UHMWPE hybrid bionanocomposite

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and its derivatives have been clinically used as an acetabular liner material in total hip joint replacement (THR) over last six decades. Despite significant efforts, the longevity of UHMWPE implants is still impaired due to their compromised tribological performance, leading to osteolysis and aseptic loosening. The present study aims to critically evaluate and analyze the tribological performance, of the next generation acetabular liner material, that is, a chemically modified graphene oxide (GO) reinforced HDPE/UHMWPE (HU) bionanocomposite (HUmGO), against stainless steel (SS 316L) counterface in lubricated conditions. This work also provides a performance comparative assessment of HUmGO with respect to medical grades, UHMWPE (UC) and crosslinked UHMWPE (XL-UC). Significant attempts have been made to correlate the tribological properties (frictional behavior, wear rate, wear debris shape and size, wear mechanism) with the physicomechanical conditions (contact stresses) at sliding contact and the variation in molecular architecture of different UHMWPE materials. Additionally, an emphasis is put forward to critically anlyze the nature of lubrication regime based on the bearing characterstic parameters. HUmGO exhibited a lower COF (0.07) and specific wear rate (2.86 × 10−8 mm3/Nm) than UC and XL-UC under identical sliding conditions. The worn surfaces on HUmGO revealed the signatures of less abrasive wear and limited deformation. Based on the estimated lambda (λ) ratio and Sommerfield number, all the investigated sliding contacts exhibited boundary lubrication. Taken together, the modified GO reinforced HDPE/UHMWPE bionanocomposite can be considered as a new generation biomaterial for the fabrication of acetabular liner for hip-joint prosthesis.
Inhibitors of the ubiquitin proteasome system block myofibril assembly in cardiomyocytes derived from chick embryos and human pluripotent stem cells

Details of sarcomeric protein assembly during de novo myofibril formation closely resemble myofibrillogenesis in skeletal and cardiac myocytes in birds, rodents, and zebrafish. The arrangement of proteins during myofibrillogenesis follows a three‐step process: beginning with premyofibrils, followed by nascent myofibrils, and concluding with mature myofibrils (reviewed in Sanger et al., 2017). Assembly and maintenance of myofibrils in living muscle cells. In: Handbook of experimental pharmacology, 2017 [pp. 39–75]. Our aim is to determine if the same pathway is followed in human cardiomyocytes derived from human inducible pluripotent stem cells. We found that the human cardiomyocytes developed patterns of protein organization identical to the three‐step series seen in the model organisms cited above. Further experiments showed that myofibril assembly can be blocked at the nascent myofibril by five different inhibitors of the Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS) stage in both avian and human cardiomyocytes. With the exception of Carfilzomib, removal of the UPS inhibitors allows nascent myofibrils to proceed to mature myofibrils. Some proteasomal inhibitors, such as Bortezomib and Carfilzomib, used to treat multiple myeloma patients, have off‐target effects of damage to hearts in three to 6 % of these patients. These cardiovascular adverse events may result from prevention of mature myofibril formation in the cardiomyocytes. In summary, our results support a common three‐step model for the formation of myofibrils ranging from avian to human cardiomyocytes. The Ubiquitin Proteasome System is required for progression from nascent myofibrils to mature myofibrils. Our experiments suggest a possible explanation for the cardiac and skeletal muscle off‐target effects reported in multiple myeloma patients treated with proteasome inhibitors.
Joint Sparse Collaborative Regression on Imaging Genetics Study of Schizophrenia

The imaging genetics approach generates large amount of high dimensional and multi-modal data, providing complementary information for comprehensive study of Schizophrenia, a complex mental disease. However, at the same time, the variety of these data in structures, resolutions, and formats makes their integrative study a forbidding task. In this paper, we propose a novel model called Joint Sparse Collaborative Regression (JSCoReg), which can extract class-specific features from different health conditions/disease classes. We first evaluate the performance of feature selection in terms of Receiver operating characteristic curve and the area under the ROC curve in the simulation experiment. We demonstrate that the JSCoReg model can achieve higher accuracy compared with similar models including Joint Sparse Canonical Correlation Analysis and Sparse Collaborative Regression. We then applied the JSCoReg model to the analysis of schizophrenia dataset collected from the Mind Clinical Imaging Consortium. The JSCoReg enables us to better identify biomarkers associated with schizophrenia, which are verified to be both biologically and statistically significant.
NAFLD polygenic risk score and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in an East Asian population

It is difficult to identify people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who are at high risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A polygenic risk score (PRS) for hepatic fat (HFC‐PRS) derived from non‐Asians has been reported to be associated with HCC risk in European populations. However, population‐level data of this risk in Asian populations are lacking. Utilizing resources from 24,333 participants of the Singapore Chinese Health Study (SCHS), we examined the relationship between the HFC‐PRS and HCC risk. In addition, we constructed and evaluated a NAFLD‐related PRS (NAFLD‐PRS) with HCC risk in the SCHS. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of HCC incidence with both HFC‐PRS and NAFLD‐PRS. The HFC‐PRS and NAFLD‐PRS were highly correlated (Spearman r = 0.79, p < 0.001). The highest quartiles of both the HFC‐PRS and the NAFLD‐PRS were associated with significantly increased risk of HCC with HR of 2.39 (95% CI 1.51, 3.78) and 1.77 (95% CI 1.15, 2.73), respectively, compared with their respective lowest quartile. Conclusion: The PRS for hepatic fat content or NAFLD may be useful for assessing HCC risk in both Asian and European populations. The findings of this and prior studies support a potential causal role of genetically determined NAFLD in HCC development.
b/Surf: Interactive Bzier Splines on Surface Meshes

We present a practical framework to port Bzier curves to surfaces. We support the interactive drawing and editing of Bzier splines on manifold meshes with millions of triangles, by relying on just repeated manifold averages. We show that direct extensions of the de Casteljau and Bernstein evaluation algorithms to the manifold setting are fragile, and prone to discontinuities when control polygons become large. Conversely, approaches based on subdivision are robust and can be implemented efficiently. We implement manifold extensions of the recursive de Casteljau bisection, and an open-uniform Lane-Riesenfeld subdivision scheme. For both schemes, we present algorithms for curve tracing, point evaluation, and approximated point insertion. We run bulk experiments to test our algorithms for robustness and performance, and we compare them with other methods at the state of the art, always achieving correct results and superior performance. For interactive editing, we port all the basic user interface interactions found in 2D tools directly to the mesh. We also support mapping complex SVG drawings to the mesh and their interactive editing.
Toxicological effects of the Morinda citrifolia L. fruit extract on maternal reproduction and fetal development in rats

Abstract Morinda citrifolia L. , also known as Noni, is widely used plant in folk medicine for various therapeutic purposes. However, reports on its effects during pregnancy are limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the M. citrifolia fruit extract on maternal performance and fetal development during pregnancy in rats. Pregnant Wistar rats (n = 12/group) were treated from gestational days (GD) 0–21 with water (control group) or the aqueous extract of M. citrifolia fruit at doses of 200, 400, or 750 mg/kg, orally. During pregnancy, clinical signs of toxicity, maternal weight, feed intake, and water consumption were noted. On GD 21, the rats were anesthetized and blood was collected to evaluate various biochemical parameters. During laparotomy, reproductive performance parameters were recorded, and fetuses were weighed and the anomalies analyzed. Reduced placental efficiency and fetal growth restriction were observed in the group treated with 400 mg/kg of M. citrifolia extract. The highest dose (750 mg/kg) augmented aspartate aminotransferase concentration and preimplantation losses, while reducing the number of live fetuses. Furthermore, both doses (400 and 750 mg/kg) of the plant extract caused fetal anomalies. In conclusion, consumption of high doses of the M. citrifolia aqueous extrac during pregnancy leads to maternal hepatotoxicity, anti-implantation effects, intrauterine growth restriction and fetal abnormalities, indicating that the plant fruit extract can be harmful to both the mother and the fetus. Graphical Abstract
Bacteria and Bellicosity: Photoperiodic Shifts in Gut Microbiota Drive Seasonal Aggressive Behavior in Male Siberian Hamsters

The existence of a microbiome-gut-brain axis has been established wherein gut microbiota significantly impacts host behavior and physiology, with increasing evidence suggesting a role for the gut microbiota in maintaining host homeostasis. Communication between the gut microbiota and the host is bidirectional, and shifts in the composition of the gut microbiota are dependent on both internal and external cues (host-derived signals, such as stress and immunity, and endocrine and environmental signals, such as photoperiod). Although there is host-driven seasonal variation in the composition of the microbiota, the mechanisms linking photoperiod, gut microbiota, and host behavior have not been characterized. The results of the present study suggest that seasonal changes in the gut microbiota drive seasonal changes in aggression. Implanting short-day Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) with fecal microbiota from long-day hamsters resulted in a reversal of seasonal aggression, whereby short-day hamsters displayed aggression levels typical of long-day hamsters. In addition, there are correlations between aggressive behavior and several bacterial taxa. These results implicate the gut microbiota as part of the photoperiodic mechanism regulating seasonal host behavior and contribute toward a more comprehensive understanding of the relationships between the microbiota, host, and environment.
Learning Economic Indicators by Aggregating Multi-Level Geospatial Information

High-resolution daytime satellite imagery has become a promising source to study economic activities. These images display detailed terrain over large areas and allow zooming into smaller neighborhoods. Existing methods, however, have utilized images only in a single-level geographical unit. This research presents a deep learning model to predict economic indicators via aggregating traits observed from multiple levels of geographical units. The model first measures hyperlocal economy over small communities via ordinal regression. The next step extracts district-level features by summarizing interconnection among hyperlocal economies. In the final step, the model estimates economic indicators of districts via aggregating the hyperlocal and district information. Our new multi-level learning model substantially outperforms strong baselines in predicting key indicators such as population, purchasing power, and energy consumption. The model is also robust against data shortage; the trained features from one country can generalize to other countries when evaluated with data gathered from Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. We discuss the multi-level model's implications for measuring inequality, which is the essential first step in policy and social science research on inequality and poverty.
Data Determines Distributional Robustness in Contrastive Language Image Pre-training (CLIP)

Contrastively trained language-image models such as CLIP, ALIGN, and BASIC have demonstrated unprecedented robustness to multiple challenging natural distribution shifts. Since these language-image models differ from previous training approaches in several ways, an important question is what causes the large robustness gains. We answer this question via a systematic experimental investigation. Concretely, we study five different possible causes for the robustness gains: (i) the training set size, (ii) the training distribution, (iii) language supervision at training time, (iv) language supervision at test time, and (v) the contrastive loss function. Our experiments show that the more diverse training distribution is the main cause for the robustness gains, with the other factors contributing little to no robustness. Beyond our experimental results, we also introduce ImageNet-Captions, a version of ImageNet with original text annotations from Flickr, to enable further controlled experiments of language-image training.
Mechanism for sequestering magnetic energy at large scales in shear-flow turbulence

Straining of magnetic fields by large-scale shear flow, which is generally assumed to lead to intensification and generation of small scales, is reexamined in light of the persistent observation of large-scale magnetic fields in astrophysics. It is shown that, in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, unstable shear flows have the unexpected effect of sequestering magnetic energy at large scales due to counteracting straining motion of nonlinearly excited large-scale stable eigenmodes. This effect is quantified via dissipation rates, energy transfer rates, and visualizations of magnetic field evolution by artificially removing the stable modes. These analyses show that predictions based upon physics of the linear instability alone miss substantial dynamics, including those of magnetic fluctuations.