Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Repeated eccentric contractions positively regulate muscle oxidative metabolism and protein synthesis during cancer cachexia in mice.

Cancer-induced wasting is accompanied by disruptions to muscle oxidative metabolism and protein turnover that have been associated with systemic inflammation, whereas exercise and stimulated muscle contractions can positively regulate muscle protein synthesis and mitochondrial homeostasis. In preclinical cancer cachexia models a single bout of eccentric contractions (ECC) can induce protein synthesis while repeated ECC bouts prevent myofiber atrophy. The cellular mechanisms providing this protection from atrophy have not been resolved. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if repeated stimulated eccentric contraction bouts effect basal muscle oxidative metabolism and protein synthesis during cancer cachexia, and if these changes were associated with plasma IL-6 levels. Male ApcMin/+ (MIN; N=10) mice initiating cachexia and healthy C57BL/6 (B6; N=11) controls performed repeated ECC bouts over 2 weeks. MIN mice exhibited body weight loss and elevated plasma IL-6 prior to and during repeated ECC bouts. Control MIN muscle demonstrated disrupted signaling related to inflammation, oxidative capacity and protein synthesis regulation, which were all improved by repeated ECC bouts. With cachexia plasma IL-6 levels were negatively correlated with myofiber cross-sectional area, oxidative capacity and protein synthesis. Interestingly, ECC improvements in these outcomes were positively correlated with plasma IL-6 levels in MIN mice. There was also a positive relationship between muscle oxidative capacity and protein synthesis following repeated ECC bouts in MIN mice. Collectively, repeated ECC bouts altered the cachectic muscle phenotype independent to systemic wasting, and there was a strong association between muscle oxidative capacity and protein synthesis in this adaptive response.
Construction of an Onion (Allium cepa L.) Genetic Linkage Map Using Genotyping-by-Sequencing Analysis with a Reference Gene Set and Identification of QTLs Controlling Anthocyanin Synthesis and Content

Anthocyanins, the pigmented flavonoids responsible for red and blue colors in horticultural products, promote human health by preventing cancers and lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. Red onions contain several cyanidin- and peonidin-based anthocyanins. In this study, we constructed a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based genetic linkage map in an F2 segregating population derived from a cross between the inbred line ‘SP3B’ (yellow bulb) and the doubled haploid line ‘H6′ (red bulb) to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for total anthocyanin content of onion bulbs using a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) analysis based on a reference gene set. A total of 101.9 Gbp of raw sequences were generated using an Illumina HiSeq 2500 system and a total of 1625 SNP loci were identified with the criteria of three minimum depths, lower than 30% missing rate, and more than 5% minor allele frequency. As a result, an onion genetic linkage map consisting of 319 GBS-based SNP loci and 34 high-resolution melting (HRM) markers was constructed with eight linkage groups and a total genetic distance of 881.4 cM. In addition, the linkage groups were assigned to corresponding chromosomes by comparison with the reference genetic map OH1×5225 through marker development based on common transcripts. The analysis revealed one major QTL, qAS7.1, for anthocyanin synthesis and two significant QTLs, qAC4.1 and qAC4.2, for anthocyanin content. The QTL qAS7.1, located on chromosome 7 with a phenotypic variation of 87.61%, may be a dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) gene that determines whether the bulb color is red or yellow. The QTLs qAC4.1 and qAC4.2 are separately positioned on chromosome 4 with R2 values of 19.43% and 26.28%, respectively. This map and QTL information will contribute to marker development and breeding for high anthocyanin content in bulb onion.
Effects of diet quality and dietary calcium on reproductive performance in Archachatina ventricosa (Gould 1850), Achatinidae, under indoor rearing conditions

Ten month old Archachatina ventricosa (Gould 1850) snails with an average body weight of 53.37 g and 68.50 mm shell length were fed two vegetable (R 1 and R 2) and four concentrated diets (R T, R 3, R 4 and R 5) with variable calcium content (0.83%; 4.65%; 06.84%; 12.01%; 14.02% and 16.01%, respectively) in order to determine the effects of diets and dietary calcium on reproductive performances. Concentrated diets stimulated reproduction while these events were reduced by vegetable diets. The results showed that the characteristics of the eggs (mean weight, largest diameters and smallest diameters of eggs) increased with the dietary calcium increment. In general, reproductive parameters decreased with dietary calcium increment excepted diet R 5. However, the best reproductive performance was obtained with a mixture of a pilot diet (R T) and a calcium rich, concentrated flour diet (R 5).
Review of MDA registers for Lymphatic Filariasis: Findings, and potential uses in addressing the endgame elimination challenges

Background Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is endemic in Ghana, and the country has implemented the GPELF strategy since 2000 with significant progress made in the control of the disease. However, after several years of mass drug administration (MDA) implementation, there is persistent transmission in 17 of the 98 endemic districts in the country. Current approaches to surveillance are clearly unable to target untreated individuals and new strategies are required to address the endgame challenges to enhance LF elimination as a public health problem in endemic countries. Community registers are used during MDAs to enumerate community members, their age, gender, house numbers, and records of their participation in MDAs. These MDA registers represent an untapped opportunity to identify and characterize non-compliance and inform appropriate programmatic actions. In this study, we analyzed the data presented in the registers to assess the coverage and individuals’ compliance in MDA. Methods The information in the MDA registers were assessed to verify the reported coverages obtained from the district. The community registers were obtained from the district health offices and the data from each individual record was entered into a database. A simple questionnaire was used to cross-check the participation of study participants in the 2017 MDA. The questionnaire solicited data on: participation in the 2017 MDA, reasons for not taking part in the MDA, adverse events experienced, what was done for the adverse events, and willingness to participate in subsequent MDAs. Results We found that 40.1% of the population in the registers missed at least one MDA in 3 years (2016–2018) and the majority of them were between 10–30 years of age. The results of the questionnaire assessment indicated that 13.8% of the respondents did not receive treatment in 2017 for various reasons, the most prominent among them being “absence/travel” (37.1%). Data in the registers were used to verify the treatment coverage for the years 2017 and 2018, and reviewed against the reported coverage obtained from the district. Significant differences between the reported and verified coverages were only observed in four communities. However, the assessment also revealed that the reported coverage was only accurate in 33.3% of cases. Conclusions The MDA registers allow for the identification of eligible individuals who were not reached during any MDA round. Thus, the MDA registers could be utilized at the community and programme levels to identify missing and untreated individuals, appropriately address their non-compliance to MDA, and thereby improve MDA coverage in each implementation unit and monitor the progress towards elimination of LF. The challenges observed through the review of the registers also offer opportunities to improve the training given to the community drug distributors.
Studies in ovine infertility in agricultural regions in Western Australia: analysis of reproductive wastage

Data on reproductive losses in 55 flocks involving 25,571 ewes in south Western Australia are presented. The important source of reproductive wastage was that associated with ewes that mated but failed to lamb. The magnitude of the loss (28-30 per cent) did not vary significantly among flocks joined at different times of the breeding season (November-March), or between maiden and older ewes. Losses from birth to tailing were only about 50 per cent of those associated with dry ewes. Failure to mate was not a major source of loss. Two methods of detecting dry ewes were assessed, the doppler technique and the use of vasectomised rams after fertile mating. The accuracy of detection was 82-88 per cent for the doppler technique and 90 per cent for the vasectomised rams. It was concluded that the use of vasectomised rams is the cheaper and more efficient technique.
Estimating the effect of inbreeding on survival

Conservation biologists need to be able to estimate reliably the effects of inbreeding on survival, and need to be able to do so with a range of different data types. Kalinowski and Hedrick described a non‐linear maximum likelihood estimation procedure for modelling relationships between survivorship and inbreeding. Although their method is useful for illustrating the concepts involved in modelling such relationships, it is only applicable to simple datasets. We illustrate that the parameter estimates generated by Kalinowski and Hedrick's method are easily obtained using generalized linear modelling procedures available in standard statistical packages, and that these offer several advantages even with simple datasets. We suggest procedures that can be used for modelling relationships between survival and inbreeding with more complex data types, including datasets with multiple and ragged encounters, uncertain detection and random effects.
Survival and HIV-Free Survival Among Children Aged ≤3 Years — Eight Sub-Saharan African Countries, 2015–2017

Although mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is preventable through antiretroviral treatment (ART) during pregnancy and postpartum, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that 160,000 new HIV infections occurred among children in 2018 (1). Child survival and HIV-free survival rates* are standard measures of progress toward eliminating MTCT† (2). Nationally representative Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA)§ survey data, pooled from eight sub-Saharan African countries¶ were used to calculate survival probability among children aged ≤3 years by maternal HIV status during pregnancy and HIV-free survival probability among children aged ≤3 years born to women with HIV infection, stratified by maternal ART** status during pregnancy. Survival probability was significantly lower among children born to women with HIV infection (94.7%) than among those born to women without HIV infection (97.6%). HIV-free survival probability of children born to women with HIV infection differed significantly by the timing of initiation of maternal ART: 93.0% among children whose mothers received ART before pregnancy, 87.8% among those whose mothers initiated ART during pregnancy, and 53.4% among children whose mothers did not receive ART during pregnancy. Focusing on prevention of HIV acquisition and, among women of reproductive age with HIV infection, on early diagnosis of HIV infection and ART initiation when applicable, especially before pregnancy, can improve child survival and HIV-free survival.
Impacts of Cropping Systems and Long-Term Tillage on Soil Microbial Population Levels and Community Composition in Dryland Agricultural Setting

Few studies have used molecular methods to correlate the abundance of specific microbial taxonomic groups with changes in soil properties impacted by long-term agriculture. Community qPCR with 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine the effects of long-term crop-management practices (no-till vs. conventional tillage, and continuous wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) vs. sorghum-wheat-soybean rotation (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench-Triticum aestivum L.-Glycine max L. Merr) on bacterial and fungal relative abundances and identify the dominant members of the soil microbial community. The qPCR assays revealed that crop rotation decreased bacterial copy numbers, but no-till practices did not significantly alter bacteria or fungi relative to conventional tillage. Cyanobacteria were more abundant while Actinobacteria were less numerous under continuous wheat. Acidobacteria and Planctomycetes were positively correlated with soil microbial biomass C and N. This study highlights ways cropping systems affect microbial communities and aids the development of sustainable agriculture.
Development of Rat Embryos at the 1- and 2-Cell Stage in Modified HECM-1 Medium after Exposure to a Medium that Contained Phosphate

The development of rat embryos after exposure to a medium that contained phosphate was examined. After exposure to a medium that contained phosphate, embryos were washed 10 times in watch glasses with 1 ml of modified HECM-1. Then they were rinsed 8 times with 100-μl droplets of the same medium in an attempt to bring the concentration of phosphate after washing below 1.0 fM. After exposure for 0, 10 and 20 min to Ca2+-Mg2+ and substrate-free Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline (D-PBS (-)), the development rates of 1-cell embryos to the blastocyst stage were 44%, 39% and 52%, respectively, and the mean numbers of blastomeres in the blastocysts were 20.0 17.7 and 19.4, respectively. After exposure for 0, 30 and 60 min to mHECM-1 supplemented with 1.19 mM KH2PO4, the development rates to the blastocyst stage from the 1-cell stage were 47%, 60% and 55%, respectively, and mean numbers of blastomeres in the blastocysts were 16.3, 16.6 and 15.5, respectively. By contrast, 93% to 100% of 2-cell embryos developed to the blastocyst stage. In each six experiments, the development of embryos after breif exposure to phosphate was not significantly different from the group witout exposure. When 2-cell embryos were exposed to phosphate for 15 h and 18 h, the rate of development to blastocysts decreased markedly to 60% and 22%, respectively. Embryonic development was completely inhibited by exposure to phosphate for more than 21 h.
Effects of Salt Stress on Some Physiological and Photosynthetic Parameters at Three Different Temperatures in Six Soya Bean (Glycine max L. Merr.) Cultivars

The effect of NaCl (-0.1, -0.4 and -0.7 MPa) on some physiological parameters in six 23-day-old soya bean cultivars (Glycine max L. Merr. namely A 3935, CX-415, Mitchell, Nazhcan, SA 88 and Turksoy) at 25, 30 and 35 °C was investigated. Salt stress treatments caused a decline in the K + /Na + ratio, plant height, fresh and dry biomass of the shoot and an increase in the relative leakage ratio and the contents of proline and Na + at all temperatures. Effects of salt stress and temperature on Chl content, Chl a/b ratio (antenna size) and qN (heat dissipation in the antenna) varied greatly between cultivars and treatments; however, in all cases approximately the same qP value was observed. It indicates that the plants were able to maintain the balance between excitation pressure and electron transport activity. Pigment content and the quantum efficiency of photosystem II exhibited significant differences that depended on the cultivar, the salt concentration and temperature. The cultivars were relatively insensitive to salt stress at 30 °C however they were very sensitive both at 25 and 35 °C. Of the cultivars tested CX-415 and SA 88 were the best performers at 25 °C compared with SA 88 and Tiirksoy at 35 °C.
Modelling the relationship between bird population variables and hedgerow, and other field margin attributes. II. Abundance of individual species and of groups of similar species

1. An earlier paper related bird species richness to hedgerows and other field boundary attributes including adjacent land use. The study was over several years (winter and summer) at two sites, Huntingdon and Swavesey, in East Anglia UK. 2. The present paper deals with similar relationships, but the bird variables used are the abundance of individual species, of groups of species (all finches, all raptors, etc.) and of all birds, as well as Simpson's index of diversity. This required extensive modelling - 105 models for Huntingdon and 174 for Swavesey. 3. The results of all 279 models are presented in a condensed form, highlighting the importance of given field boundary attributes to particular species or groups of species. 4. Like bird species richness in the earlier paper, the abundance of many species was strongly influenced by the land use, and by the main vegetation variables (tree height and number, hedgerow length, height and width). Land use was important to a larger majority of species, the exceptions being carrion crow, pheasant, reed bunting and wren. 5. Verge width appeared important for small insectivores (blue tit) and was particularly important for seed eating birds, e.g. most finches and buntings, red-legged partridge in summer, and carrion crow and skylark in winter. 6. Ditch dimensions were associated with the abundance of some seed eaters (linnet, reed bunting and goldfinch) and insectivores (blackbird, great tit, skylark, song thrush and wren). Kestrel and the groups raptors, corvids, waders and aquatics were associated with large ditches. 7. Though the general management prescriptions to benefit the majority of farmland birds were found to be similar to those in the earlier paper, the detailed species specific modelling made it possible to examine the habitat requirements of particular species. 8. Ecological evaluation of the results from the two studies are presented in a form considered to be of value for practical management. Bird species and groups of birds are categorised with respect to their likely requirements of particular attributes of the field boundaries.
Folliculotropic mycosis fungoides: Clinical characteristics, treatments, and long‐term outcomes of 53 patients in a tertiary hospital

Folliculotropic mycosis fungoides (FMF) is characterized by a broad clinical spectrum and worse prognosis compared to classical MF. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities and long‐term outcome and risk factors for progression and survival of FMF patients. We conducted a single‐center retrospective study and reviewed 53 patients diagnosed with FMF between 1990 to 2019 in a referral center at Ankara University, Turkey. Regarding to stage at diagnosis, 24 patients (45.3%) had advanced‐stage disease (≥IIB). Follicular papules was observed in 66% and alopecia in 49.1% of the cases. Forty‐three patients (81.1%) suffered from pruritus. The majority of the patients (92.4%) had at least one systemic therapy. Complete remission was achieved in 24.5% of the patients. The median time of overall survival (OS) was 50 months (range 9‐324 months) and 5‐year and 10‐year OS was 83% and 69%, respectively. Twenty‐eight (52.3%) patients progressed to more advanced stages and seven (13.2%) patients died due to MF during the follow‐up period. FMF is associated with a progressive course and in most patients, skin‐directed therapies were found to be inefficient to control the disease and multiple systemic therapeutic agents were required to control the disease.
Separable Reversible Data Hiding Scheme in Homomorphic Encrypted Domain Based on NTRU

NTRU (Number Theory Research Unit) has the characteristics of resistance to quantum computing attacks, fast encryption and decryption, and high security. It is very suitable for wireless confidential data networks and authentication systems. Combined with reversible data hiding technology, a separable reversible data hiding scheme in homomorphic encrypted domain based on NTRU is proposed. The image owner directly divides the cover-image into groups of a reference pixel and $T$ adjacent pixels. Then, the grouped image is encrypted by NTRU. Finally, the encrypted image is uploaded to the data hider. The encrypted image is divided into groups by the same grouping method as the image owner. After that, the data hider calculates $T$ absolute differences of adjacent pixels in each group to obtain histogram of the absolute differences. The additional data can be embedded into the encrypted image by shifting histogram of the absolute differences. After receiving the encrypted image with hidden data, the receiver can either use the data hiding key to directly extract the additional data from encrypted domain to obtain the encrypted image, or use the private key and data hiding key to extract the additional data from plaintext domain to get the cover-image. Experimental results show that our scheme has higher security and better embedding performance comparing with other state-of-the-art works.
Recent Trends in Modelling and Simulation with Machine Learning

In recent years, the increased accessibility of large computing power, together with the availability of big data and the relevant progress in algorithms, led to an exponential increment of Machine Learning (ML) applications to predictive tasks concerning complex systems. In general, ML automatically builds a model of the system under study by exploiting an available large dataset of input features coupled to the corresponding expected outputs. While automatically learning models from data is an extremely powerful approach, in the case of complex systems’ dynamics the generalization ability of ML models can easily be limited, that is, the predictions can be inaccurate once the model is applied beyond the bounds of previously observed data. On the other hand, a traditional field that deals with predicting the dynamics of complex systems is represented by Modelling and Simulation (M&S), in which, thanks to the knowledge of sufficient details concerning interactions and processes within the system under study, an abstract representation of it is developed and used for artificially reproducing its behaviour. Compared to ML models, when the M&S approach can be based on a sound theory about the functioning of the system, it can enable, in the line of principle, a more reliable forecasting of the system’s dynamics beyond the bound defined by the observed historical behaviour. In spite of the outlined conceptual distance between the ML and M&S approaches, a recent and promising research trend encompasses their synergic combination for producing better data-driven simulation models. On the basis of an analysis of the relevant and recent scientific literature, the paper discusses new ideas and directions concerning M&S approaches based on advanced ML techniques.