Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Achieving lively, creative and successful university environments

ABSTRACT With the advent of the knowledge era, academia has begun to play new roles in society. As a result, requirements for the design of universities may also change. Milieus of lively and flourishing urban life that foster encounters and unforeseen collaborations within academia – as well as between academia and society at large – have been called for. In this research, a GIS analysis of Swedish register data shows that such mixed environments are limited to the university facilities situated within city centres. However, both new and abandoned locations are more mixed than average. Based on a literature review, we argue that university planners need a clear priority ranking of their objectives, as different objectives may call for different kinds of design. Moreover, the review reveals that other environmental qualities have also been ascribed importance to success. In general, the existing literature provides limited guidance to designers, due to a lack of consensus and because the actual effects of specific measures are less researched than stated perceptions. Thus, so far, the contemporary direction in university design has limited expressions in Sweden, has unclear – and potentially conflicting – objectives and is based on insufficient empirical knowledge.
Dissecting the role of glutamine in seeding peptide aggregation

Poly glutamine and glutamine-rich peptides play a central role in a plethora of pathological aggregation events. However, biophysical characterization of soluble oligomers —the most toxic species involved in these processes— remains elusive due to their structural heterogeneity and dynamical nature. Here, we exploit the high spatio-temporal resolution of simulations as a computational microscope to characterize the aggregation propensity and morphology of a series of polyglutamine and glutamine-rich peptides. Comparative analysis of ab-initio aggregation pinpointed a double role for glutamines. In the first phase, glutamines mediate seeding by pairing monomeric peptides, which serve as primers for higher-order nucleation. According to the glutamine content, these low molecular-weight oligomers may then proceed to create larger aggregates. Once within the aggregates, buried glutamines continue to play a role in their maturation by optimizing solvent-protected hydrogen bonds networks. TOC / Abstract Figure
The significance of prey avoidance behavior for the maintenance of a predator color polymorphism

&NA; The existence of conspicuous color polymorphisms in animals provides an ideal opportunity to examine the mechanisms which determine genetic and phenotypic variation in populations. It is well known that directional and negative frequency‐dependent selection by predators can influence the persistence of color polymorphisms in their prey, but much less attention has been paid to the idea that prey behavior could generate selection on predator color morphs. In this study, we examine the role that avoidance behavior by honeybees might play in selection on a color‐polymorphic sit‐and‐wait predator, the crab spider Synema globosum. In 2 field experiments, we offered flowers harboring spiders of different color morphs to foraging honeybees. In the first, we tested for a preexisting propensity in honeybees to avoid one spider morph over another, and whether this behavior is influenced by the flower species on which spiders hunt. In the second, we tested the ability of bees to learn to avoid spider morphs associated with a previous simulated attack. Our results suggest that honeybees do not impose strong directional selection on spider morphs in our study population, and that avoidance behavior is not influenced by flower species. However, we find evidence that honeybees learn to avoid spiders of a color morph that has previously been associated with a simulated attack. These findings are the first empirical evidence for a mechanism by which prey behavior might generate negative frequency‐dependent selection on predator color morphs, and hence potentially influence the long‐term persistence of genetic and phenotypic diversity in predator populations.
Iron can be microbially extracted from Lunar and Martian regolith simulants and 3D printed into tough structural materials

In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is increasingly acknowledged as an essential requirement for the construction of sustainable extra-terrestrial colonies. Even with decreasing launch costs, the ultimate goal of establishing colonies must be the usage of resources found at the destination of interest. Typical approaches towards ISRU are often constrained by the mass and energy requirements of transporting processing machineries, such as rovers and massive reactors, and the vast amount of consumables needed. Application of self-reproducing bacteria for the extraction of resources is a promising approach to avoid these pitfalls. In this work, the bacterium Shewanella oneidensis was used to reduce three different types of Lunar and Martian regolith simulants, allowing for the magnetic extraction of iron-rich materials. The quantity of bacterially extracted material was up to 5.8 times higher and the total iron concentration was up to 43.6% higher in comparison to untreated material. The materials were 3D printed into cylinders and the mechanical properties were tested, resulting in a 396 ± 115% improvement in compressive strength in the bacterially treated samples. This work demonstrates a proof of concept for the on-demand production of construction and replacement parts in space exploration.
Dynamic Domain Specificity In Human Ventral Temporal Cortex

An enduring neuroscientific debate concerns the extent to which neural representation is restricted to networks of patches specialized for particular domains of perceptual input (Kaniwsher et al., 1997; Livingstone et al., 2019), or distributed outside of these patches to broad areas of cortex as well (Haxby et al., 2001; Op de Beeck, 2008). A critical level for this debate is the localization of the neural representation of the identity of individual images, (Spiridon & Kanwisher, 2002) such as individual-level face or written word recognition. To address this debate, intracranial recordings from 489 electrodes throughout ventral temporal cortex across 17 human subjects were used to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics of individual word and face processing within and outside cortical patches strongly selective for these categories of visual information. Individual faces and words were first represented primarily only in strongly selective patches and then represented in both strongly and weakly selective areas approximately 170 milliseconds later. Strongly and weakly selective areas contributed non-redundant information to the representation of individual images. These results can reconcile previous results endorsing disparate poles of the domain specificity debate by highlighting the temporally segregated contributions of different functionally defined cortical areas to individual level representations. Taken together, this work supports a dynamic model of neural representation characterized by successive domain-specific and distributed processing stages. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The visual processing system performs dynamic computations to differentiate visually similar forms, such as identifying individual words and faces. Previous models have localized these computations to 1) circumscribed, specialized portions of the brain, or 2) more distributed aspects of the brain. The current work combines machine learning analyses with human intracranial recordings to determine the neurodynamics of individual face and word processing in and outside of brain regions selective for these visual categories. The results suggest that individuation involves computations that occur first in primarily highly selective parts of the visual processing system, then later recruits highly and non-highly selective regions. These results mediate between extant models of neural specialization by suggesting a dynamic domain specificity model of visual processing.
A model of egocentric to allocentric understanding in mammalian brains

In the mammalian brain, allocentric representations support efficient self-location and flexible navigation. A number of distinct populations of these spatial responses have been identified but no unified function has been shown to account for their emergence. Here we developed a network, trained with a simple predictive objective, that was capable of mapping egocentric information into an allocentric spatial reference frame. The prediction of visual inputs was sufficient to drive the appearance of spatial representations resembling those observed in rodents: head direction, boundary vector, and place cells, along with the recently discovered egocentric boundary cells, suggesting predictive coding as a principle for their emergence in animals. Strikingly, the network learned a solution for head direction tracking and stabilisation convergent with known biological connectivity. Moreover, like mammalian representations, responses were robust to environmental manipulations, including exposure to novel settings. In contrast to existing reinforcement learning approaches, agents equipped with this network were able to flexibly reuse learnt behaviours —adapting rapidly to unfamiliar environments. Thus, our results indicate that these representations, derived from a simple egocentric predictive framework, form an efficient basis-set for cognitive mapping.
Linking biotic homogenisation with large-scale changes of species associations

Aim The impact of global change on biodiversity is commonly assessed in terms of changes in species distributions, species richness and species composition across communities. Whether and how much interactions between species are also changing is much less documented and mostly limited to local studies of ecological networks. Moreover, we largely ignore how biotic homogenisation (i.e. the replacement of a set of diverse and mainly specialist species by a few generalists) is affecting or being affected by changes in the structure of species interactions. Here, we approximate species interactions with species associations based on the correlation in species spatial co-occurrence to understand the spatio-temporal changes of species interactions and their relationship to biotic homogenisation. Location France. Time period 2001-2017. Major taxa studied Common breeding birds. Methods We use network approaches to build three community-aggregated indices to characterise species associations and we compare them to changes in species composition in communities. We evaluate the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of these indices in a dataset of bird co-abundances of more than 100 species monitored for 17 years (2001-2017) from 1,969 sites across France. We finally test whether spatial and temporal changes of species associations are related to species homogenisation estimated as the spatio-temporal dynamics of β-diversity. Results We document a non-random spatial distribution of both structure and temporal changes in species association networks. We also report a directional change in species associations linked to β-diversity modifications in space and time, suggesting that biotic homogenisation affects not only species composition but also species associations. Main Conclusions Our study highlights the importance of evaluating changes of species association networks, in addition to species turnover when studying biodiversity responses to global change.
A Theory for the Emergence of Neocortical Network Architecture

Developmental programs that guide neurons and their neurites into specific subvolumes of the mammalian neocortex give rise to lifelong constraints for the formation of synaptic connections. To what degree do these constraints affect cortical wiring diagrams? Here we introduce an inverse modeling approach to show how cortical networks would appear if they were solely due to the spatial distributions of neurons and neurites. We find that neurite packing density and morphological diversity will inevitably translate into non-random pairwise and higher-order connectivity statistics. More importantly, we show that these non-random wiring properties are not arbitrary, but instead reflect the specific structural organization of the underlying neuropil. Our predictions are consistent with the empirically observed wiring specificity from subcellular to network scales. Thus, independent from learning and genetically encoded wiring rules, many of the properties that define the neocortex' characteristic network architecture may emerge as a result of neuron and neurite development.
Rarely Occurring Defects on Tinplates

This paper deals with rarely occurring defect on the surface of the tinplates produced in the conditions of U. S. Steel Košice, s.r. o. at the cleaning section of the continuous annealing line (CAL), which was caused by burnt. Random occurrence of such surface imperfections was observed within the short period of time (two months) for various continuous annealed tinplate grades, i.e. TH415, TH435 or TH550 with the thickness of the materials in the interval of 0.172 – 0.240 mm. Surface defects caused by burnt (thermal attack) manifested in different ways. Their appearance on the sheet surface was spot with regular or irregular circle shape, as well as line with the length of up to 2 mm oriented not directly in the rolling direction. By observing of the imperfections in scanning electron microscope (SEM) it was found that the surface of the steel substrate was always compact in the defective areas with clearly visible rolling lines. Foreign material, EDS analysis of which revealed that its chemical composition was on the basis of Fe and Cr, was deposited on the surface of the base material. The appearance of the foreign material shape indicated that it was in the liquid state at the time of incidence on the steel substrate surface. Metallographic analysis from the longitudinal metallographic sections through the defective areas revealed that the substrate under the spot defect with regular circle shape had thermally influenced microstructure. Similar manifestations of the microstructure influence were observed for the line defects. In the case of the spot defect with irregular shape, the microstructure of the material was not influenced, what indicated that the particle of liquid metal was solidified at the time of incidence on the plate surface. After revising technical conditions of the cleaning section of CAL, this type of imperfection was suppressed.
Cascade rule of phase shift of multi-stage interleavers to obtain the demultiplexer with multichannel output

Abstract. We propose to introduce a phase shift in each ring of the multi-stage interleavers based on add-drop resonator Mach–Zehnder interferometer to quantitatively measure the wavelength offset of each interleaver, thus a demultiplexer with uniformly segmented multi-channel output can be obtained. It is found that the additional phase of a certain interleaver is equal to the offset value of this stage plus the accumulated offset value of all previous stages. Following this rule, the quantitative cascade rule can be summarized, and theoretically an infinite-channel demultiplexer will be obtained. Combining fine-tuning and thermal tuning machining method, this cascade rule can guide the fabrication of stable and tunable demultiplexers in the integrated silicon photonics technology. Our method will provide a potential application for the fabrication of dense wavelength-division multiplexing systems with ultra-large capacity.
Allometry, Morphometry, and Soil Characterization of Giant Cane (Arundinaria gigantea) Stands

For nearly a decade, researchers have been investigating the utility of Arundinaria gigantea (giant cane), native to the southeastern U.S., as a riparian buffer species. Research has shown that A. gigantea is extremely effective at attenuating sediment and nutrients from surface and ground water. However, A. gigantea is difficult to establish and the relation between aboveground and belowground plant’s characteristics is not known. There are no data available that can predict the area required for excavation based on the aboveground plant parameters to get enough viable rhizomes of A. gigantea that can be used as planting stock. Previous research has found that successful propagation of A. gigantea was dependent on rhizome length, the number of internodes, and rhizome buds present, but no data exist on quantifying the yield of rhizomes. Therefore, to address these concerns, we developed allometry equations for predicting belowground propagule numbers based on aboveground plant characteristics. Additionally, we analyzed soils under cane stands to determine if chemical and physical soil properties can be related to plant characteristics. Multiple regression models developed in this study indicate that total culms and average total culm diameter can predict rhizome internodes and rhizome length, and total culms and average total culm height can predict the number of rhizome buds. Significant correlations were found between soil calcium and total and dead culms; soil phosphorus and leaf to root ratio; and cation exchange capacity and rhizome internodes, suggesting an interaction between A. gigantea growth and the underlying soil. Results from this research improve our understanding of the dynamics of A. gigantea and supplement existing information to help guide ecological restoration efforts.
In Vitro Characterization of Polyurethane-Carbon Nanotube Drug Eluting Composite Scaffold for Dental Tissue Engineering Application

Tooth loss due to periodontal disease, dental caries, trauma or a variety of genetic disorders causes an adverse inability in adult’s lives. It is proved that biodegradable composite scaffolds in dental tissue engineering could play crucial role. To inhibit bacterial colonization in dental structure noticeable research concerning the drug delivery approach has been administrated. Nanostructures retain and release drug molecules more efficiently and continuously than other microstructure. In the present research, composite electrospun nanofibers of polyurethane-Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) by the different mass ratios of metronidazole benzoate were prepared. Physico-chemical characterization of scaffolds including Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), uniaxial tensile testing and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy analysis was operated. Culture of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) to evaluate cells behavior was carried out. The role of nanofiber diameters and drug content on releasing profile of the scaffolds was investigated. The median diameter of the nanofibrous scaffold was reduced from 330 ± 4 to 120 ± 4 nm. Ultimate stress and Young modulus of the scaffolds by enhancement of drug content increased from 0.28 ± 0.05 up to the 1.8 ± 0.05 MPa and 0.87 ± 0.05 up to the 4.4 ± 0.05 Mpa respectively. According to the result, prolonged and continuous releasing profile of the drug molecules was achieved. As the content of the drug increased, the drug was released continuously. It means that two parameters of fiber's diameter and drug ratio affected the releasing behavior of composite structures. Polyurethane-SWNT scaffolds contained metronidazole benzoate presented appropriate support of DPSCs adhesion and proliferation and biomimetic architecture like the structure of dental ECM.
Cartilage Particles can Promote Chondrogenesis of Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells on Poly(ε-Caprolactone)/Fibrin Hybrid Constructs Prepared via Sandwich Model

Electrospun fibers have demonstrated a remarkable potential as a framework structure in the fabrication of cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) scaffolds. Various extracellular matrices have been incorporated into electrospun scaffolds to mimic and simulate the extracellular environment. The objective of this study was to fabricate hybrid constructs using composite electrospun scaffolds based on poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and cartilage-derived matrix (CDM) and fibrin hydrogel to improve the viability and differentiation of human adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) for CTE applications.Initially, PCL and PCL-CDM electrospun mats were fabricated. Fibrin/ ADSCs hydrogel were seeded on PCL- CDM mats and arranged layer-by-layer using sandwich technique. This method has been employed to increase cell seeding and infiltration efficiency through the entire mass of the scaffold. Real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR), were performed to examine the expression of collagen types II and X, SOX9 and aggrecan. The production of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) was also tested in vitro by Toluidine blue stain and biochemical assay in the cultured scaffolds.The findings demonstrated that incorporation of CDM in PCL fibers results in improved cell viability. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed that the sandwich method resulted in homogenous cell seeding within the scaffold. Overall, the RT- PCR, biochemical and histological results, showed that incorporation of the CDM into PCL/fibrin sandwich scaffolds stimulated ADSCs chondrogenesis and produced the products which increased expression of chondrogenic genes. It also, enhanced GAG synthesis compared to PCL/fibrin scaffolds.These findings suggest PCL-CDM/fibrin can be considered as an appropriate hybrid scaffold for CTE applications.
HDAC and MAPK/ERK inhibitors cooperate to reduce viability and stemness phenotype in medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma (MB), which originates from embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs) or neural precursors in the developing cerebellum, is the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood. Recurrent and metastatic disease is the principal cause of death and may be related to resistance within cancer stem cells (CSCs). Chromatin state is involved in maintaining signaling pathways related to stemness, and inhibition of histone deacetylase enzymes (HDAC) has emerged as a therapeutic tool to target this cell population. Here, we observed changes in the stemness phenotype induced by HDAC inhibition in MB. Analyses of MB tumor samples showed that the stemness markers BMI1 and CD133 are expressed in all molecular subgroups of MB. We then treated human MB cells with the HDAC inhibitor (HDACi) sodium butyrate (NaB). Increased acetylation mediated by NaB reduced cell viability and expression of BMI1 and CD133. Activation of extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling was also decreased after treatment with NaB. Enrichment analysis of genes associated with CD133 or BMI1 expression showed mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/ERK signaling and related pathways as the most enriched processes. We went on to use the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor U0126 to explore the role of MAPK/ERK pathway. MEK inhibition reduced expression of the stemness markers, hindered MB neurosphere formation, and its antiproliferative effect was enhanced by combination with NaB. These results suggest that combining HDAC and MAPK/ERK inhibitors may be more effective in reducing MB proliferation than single-drug treatments, through modulation of the stemness phenotype of MB cells.