Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Male-specific features of C. elegans neuronal aging

Aging is a complex biological process, with sexually dimorphic aspects. For example, men and women differ in their vulnerabilities in cognitive decline, suggesting biological sex may contribute to the heterogeneous nature of aging. Although we know a great deal about the cognitive aging of hermaphrodites of the model system C. elegans, less is known about cognitive decline in males. Through behavioral analyses, we found that the cognitive aging process has both sex-shared and sex-dimorphic characteristics. Through neuron-specific sequencing, we identified neuronal age-associated sex-differential targets. In addition to sex-shared neuronal aging genes, males differentially downregulate mitochondrial metabolic genes and upregulate GPCR genes with age. In addition, the X chromosome exhibits increased gene expression in hermaphrodites and altered dosage compensation complex expression with age, indicating possible X-chromosomal dysregulation that contributes to sexual dimorphism in cognitive aging. Finally, we found that the sex-differentially expressed gene hrg-7, which encodes an aspartic-type endopeptidase, regulates male behavior during cognitive aging but does not affect hermaphrodites’ behaviors. Overall, these results suggest that males and hermaphrodites exhibit different age-related neuronal changes. This study will strengthen our understanding of sex-specific vulnerability and resilience and help identify new pathways to target with novel treatments that could benefit both sexes.
Mechanics limit ecological diversity and promote heterogeneity in confined bacterial communities

Multi-species bacterial populations often inhabit confined and densely packed environments where spatial competition determines the ecological diversity of the community. However, the role of mechanical interactions in shaping the ecology is still poorly understood. Here we study a model system consisting of two populations of non-motile E. coli bacteria competing within open, monolayer micro-channels. The competitive dynamics is observed to be bi-phasic: after seeding, either one strain rapidly fixates or both strains orient into spatially stratified, stable communities. We find that mechanical interactions with other cells and local spatial constraints influence the resulting community ecology in unexpected ways, severely limiting the overall diversity of the communities while simultaneously allowing for the establishment of stable, heterogeneous populations of bacteria displaying disparate growth rates. Surprisingly, the populations have a high probability of coexisting even when one strain has a significant growth advantage. A more coccus morphology is shown to provide a selective advantage, but agent based simulations indicate this is due to hydrodynamic and adhesion effects within the microchannel and not from breaking of the nematic ordering. Our observations are qualitatively reproduced by a simple Pólya urn model, which suggests the generality of our findings for confined population dynamics and highlights the importance of early colonization conditions on the resulting diversity and ecology of bacterial communities. These results provide fundamental insights into the determinants of community diversity in dense confined ecosystems where spatial exclusion is central to competition as in organized biofilms or intestinal crypts.
Phase diversity-based wavefront sensing for fluorescence microscopy

Fluorescence microscopy is an invaluable tool in biology, yet its performance is compromised when the wavefront of light is distorted due to optical imperfections or the refractile nature of the sample. Such optical aberrations can dramatically lower the information content of images by degrading image contrast, resolution, and signal. Adaptive optics (AO) methods can sense and subsequently cancel the aberrated wavefront, but are too complex, inefficient, slow, or expensive for routine adoption by most labs. Here we introduce a rapid, sensitive, and robust wavefront sensing scheme based on phase diversity, a method successfully deployed in astronomy but underused in microscopy. Our method enables accurate wavefront sensing to less than λ/35 root mean square (RMS) error with few measurements, and AO with no additional hardware besides a corrective element. After validating the method with simulations, we demonstrate calibration of a deformable mirror > 100-fold faster than comparable methods (corresponding to wavefront sensing on the ~100 ms scale), and sensing and subsequent correction of severe aberrations (RMS wavefront distortion exceeding λ/2), restoring diffraction-limited imaging on extended biological samples.
c-fos induction in the choroid plexus, tanycytes and pars tuberalis is an early indicator of spontaneous arousal from torpor in a deep hibernator

Hibernation is an extreme state of seasonal energy conservation, reducing metabolic rate to as little as 1% of the active state. During the hibernation season, many species of hibernating mammals cycle repeatedly between the active (aroused) and hibernating (torpid) states (T-A cycling), using brown adipose tissue (BAT) to drive cyclical rewarming. The regulatory mechanisms controlling this process remain undefined but are presumed to involve thermoregulatory centres in the hypothalamus. Here, we use the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), and high-resolution monitoring of BAT, core body temperature (Tb), and ventilation rate, to sample at precisely defined phases of the T-A cycle. Using c-fos as a marker of cellular activity we show that although the dorso-medial hypothalamus (DMH) is active during torpor entry, neither it nor the pre-optic area (POA) show any significant changes during the earliest stages of spontaneous arousal. Contrastingly, in 3 non-neuronal sites previously linked to control of metabolic physiology over seasonal and daily timescales, the choroid plexus (CP), pars tuberalis (PT) and third ventricle tanycytes, peak c-fos expression is seen at arousal initiation. We suggest that through their sensitivity to factors in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), these sites may mediate metabolic feedback-based initiation of the spontaneous arousal process.
Antibiotic treatment modestly reduces protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis reinfection in macaques

Concomitant immunity is generally defined as an ongoing infection providing protection against reinfection1. Its role in prevention of tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is supported by epidemiological evidence in humans as well as experimental evidence in mice and non-human primates (NHPs). Whether the presence of live Mtb, rather than simply persistent antigen, is necessary for concomitant immunity in TB is still unclear. Here, we investigated whether live Mtb plays a measurable role in control of secondary Mtb infection. Using cynomolgus macaques, molecularly barcoded Mtb libraries, PET-CT imaging, flow cytometry and cytokine profiling we evaluated the effect of antibiotic treatment after primary infection on immunological response and bacterial establishment, dissemination, and burden post-secondary infection. Our data provide evidence that, in this experimental model, treatment with antibiotics after primary infection reduced inflammation in the lung but was not associated with a significant change in bacterial establishment, dissemination or burden in the lung or lymph nodes. Nonetheless, treatment of the prior infection with antibiotics did result in a modest reduction in protection against reinfection: none of the 7 antibiotic treated animals demonstrated sterilizing immunity against reinfection while 4 of the 7 non-treated macaques were completely protected against reinfection. These findings support that antibiotic-treated animals were still able to restrict bacterial establishment and dissemination after rechallenge compared to naïve macaques, but not to the full extent of non-antibiotic treated macaques.
Re-thinking wing-flashing in Mimidae, with new reports from Paraguay

Wing-flashing is a frequently-cited behavior reported in multiple species of the genus Mimus sensu lato (Passeriformes Mimidae), including Grey catbird Dumetella carolinensis (Batts 1962; Michael 1970), Northern mockingbird M. polyglottus (Gander 1931; Sutton 1946; Tomkins 1950), Tropical mockingbird M. gilvus (Haverschmidt 1953; Whitaker 1957), Bahama mockingbird M. gundlachii (Aldridge 1984), Longtailed mockingbird M. longicaudatus (Bowman & Carter 1971), Chalk-browed mockingbird M. saturninus (Halle 1948), Galapagos mockingbirds (Nesomimus spp.) (Hundley 1963; Bowman & Carter 1971; Burtt et al. 1994), Socorro mockingbird Mimodes graysoni (Curry & Martínez-González, pers. comm. in Burtt et al. 1994), and Brown thrasher Toxostoma rufum (Laskey in Sutton 1946; Tomkins 1950; Thomas in Whitaker 1957; Michael 1970). Though the behaviour is clearly widespread in the family it remains poorly described in most neotropical species (Burtt et al. 1994) and its function is still debated. Previous works have associated wing-flashing with defensive behaviour (Hicks 1955; Sazima 2015), wariness (Sutton 1946) foraging (Gander 1931; Allen 1947) and breeding activities (Dhondt & Kemink 2008). Wingflashing as currently understood occurs in both sexes and even immature individuals (Horwich 1965). However there is much confusion as to what actually constitutes wing-flashing and a lack of clarity may well be adding to the misunderstanding (Hailman 1960). In this contribution we describe, illustrate and discuss observations of wing flashing in the two mockingbird species known to occur in Paraguay: Chalk-browed mockingbird Mimus saturninus and White-banded mockingbird Mimus triurus. Such behaviour is reported for the latter species for the first time. We also provide some additional comments on the contexts of the behaviour, the need for proper documentation of the observed behaviours and suggest some overlooked concepts that future researchers should bear in mind when developing their observation methodologies.
Towards Real-time Co-speech Gesture Generation in Online Interaction in Social XR

Extended Reality (XR) has a potential to allow social interaction for people that are distant from one another, in educational, clinical or co-working applications, as well as for scientific studies. However, a full-blown embodied social presence and interaction via avatars in XR requires motion tracking hardware that many users do not have. At the same time, modern machine learning approaches enable the synthesis of natural and life-like nonverbal behavior, but only in offline settings and with considerable lag. We evaluate the applicability of current gesture generation systems for online interaction in social XR. We define a set of requirements for real-time-capable gesture generation and propose an approach to employ a state-of-the-art model in a real-time XR interaction pipeline. To test the model under conditions of online interaction, we divide an input audio stream into chunks of different lengths and stitch the resulting gesture animations together to form continuous motion. We evaluate the quality of the resulting multimodal avatar behavior in a user study. Our results show a significant trade-off between real-time generation capabilities and gesture quality. Suggestions for future improvement to retain model performance during online interaction in Social XR are made. A project page with videos of the generated gestures is available at https://nkrome.github. io/CAGE.html.
A Century of JMCQ Legal Issues in Media: Scholarly Commitment to Free Press, Free Speech, and More

This systematic review of more than 300 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (JMCQ) articles on media law since 1924 documents what a vital scholarly outlet the journal has been and continues to be for research on freedom of the press and speech. While defamation law remains a popular topic, journalism and mass communication scholars have expanded their focus to a wider range of media law issues, including privacy, copyright, student speech, journalistic privilege, free press v. fair trial, advertising, and issues involving other media. JMCQ has been refreshingly open to international and comparative law, moving away from a U.S.-centric approach to media freedom. The review highlights a decline in the number of media law articles published in recent years, possibly due to competition from alternative journals, manuscript length limitations, and the APA-style requirement. Nevertheless, media law scholarship remains essential, offering invaluable insights into the evolving legal landscape of media.
France: the historic victory of the Front National

France went to the polls on Sunday, May 25.1 France elected 74 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) (two more than in 2009) using a proportional system with a 5% electoral threshold and closed lists.2 Political parties establish the order of candidates on the lists; voters can only cast a vote for the list and not for individual candidates. Seats are thus attributed according to the order in which the candidates are presented on the list. The national territory is divided up into eight constituencies (including one for all of the overseas territories).
In vitro evaluation of native entomopathogenic fungi and neem (Azadiractha indica) extracts on Spodoptera frugiperda

1 Postgraduate Studies and Research Division, Autonomous University of Tamaulipas, School of Engineering and Sciences.Centro Universitario Adolfo López Mateos, Cd. Victoria, Tamaulipas, C.P. 87000, México. 2 Center for Research in Food and Development, A. C. Cuauhtémoc Unit. Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology, Plant Pathology and Biological Control.Av. Rio Conchos s/n Industrial Park, Cd. Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, C.P. 31570, México. 3 School of Chemistry, Autonomous University of Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza y José Cárdenas s/n, Saltillo, Coahuila, C.P. 25000, México. Address correspondence to: E Osorio-Hernández; e-mail:eosorio@docentes.uat. edu.mx Abstract. The control of Spodoptera frugiperda is based on synthetic insecticides, so some alternatives are the use of entomopathogenic fungi (EF) and neem extract. The objective of the study was to evaluate in vitro effectiveness of native EF and neem extracts on S. frugiperda larvae. Six EF were identified by DNA sequencing of ITS regions from three EF (Fusarium solani, Metarrhizium robertsii, Nigrospora spherica and Penicillium citrinum). They were evaluated in concentrations of 1 × 108 spores/ mL. In addition, a second bioassay was carried out evaluating only F. solani, M. robertsii and N. sphaerica and the addition of vegetable oil. On the other hand, extraction of secondary metabolites from neem seed (Azadirachta indica) was carried out by performing, mass (g) and solvent volume (mL ethanol and water) combinations, which were subjected to microwaves and ultrasound. Subsequently, these extracts were evaluated in concentrations of 3%, 4% and 5%. A survival analysis was performed for each of the bioassays. With respect to the results of the first bioassay, F. solani obtained a probability of survival of 0.476 on the seventh day, while in the second bioassay, M. robertsii obtained 0.488 survival probability. This suggests that the expected percentage of larvae that stay alive on the sixth day is 48.8%. However, in the evaluation of the neem extract the combination 1:12/70% to 4% caused 84% mortality of larvae. The use of native HE and neem extracts has potential for the control of S. frugiperda.
Exploring the Effects of Ecological Parameters on the Spatial Structure of Genealogies

Geographic space is a fundamental dimension of evolutionary change, determining how individuals disperse and interact with each other. Consequently, space has an important influence on the structure of genealogies and the distribution of genetic variants over time. Recently, the development of highly flexible simulation tools and computational methods for genealogical inference has greatly increased the potential for incorporating space into models of population genetic variation. It is now possible to explore how spatial ecological parameters can influence the distribution of genetic variation among individuals in unprecedented detail. In this study, we explore the effects of three specific parameters (the dispersal distance, competition distance and mate choice distance) on the spatial structure of genealogies. We carry out a series of in silico experiments using forwards-in-time simulations to determine how these parameters influence the distance between closely- and distantly-related individuals. We also assess the accuracy of the maximum likelihood estimation of the dispersal distance in a Gaussian model of dispersal from tree-sequence data, and highlight how it is affected by realistic factors such as finite habitat size and limited data. We find overall that the scale of mate choice in particular has marked patterns on short and long terms patterns of dispersal, as well as on the positions of individuals within a habitat. Our results showcase the potential for linking phylogeography, population genetics and ecology, in order to answer fundamental questions about the nature of spatial interactions across a landscape.
Illusion, musicality, and evanescence

ABSTRACT I explore some similarities between experiences of music and of analytic sessions. I focus on qualities of evanescence, the way that music – in contrast to many other arts – in one perspective only lasts as long as it is actually being played. Then it’s over. The analyst-patient discussion in a session is similar. Yet the psychic reverberations of some transient, fugitive moments may last a lifetime. And even when no verbally profound understanding is occurring, nevertheless the patient-analyst encounter is emotionally significant. I illustrate this with a clinical example. I explore transference as illusion, and the relationship between truth and illusion in terms of Bion’s O. I end with thoughts about the paradoxical value of the illusoriness of aesthetics and nature as considered by Freud in his short paper “On Transience” (1916), and the grin of Lewis Carol’s Cheshire Cat, left hanging in the air.
XPath satisfiability in the presence of DTDs

We study the satisfiability problem associated with XPath in the presence of DTDs. This is the problem of determining, given a query p in an XPath fragment and a DTD D, whether or not there exists an XML document T such that T conforms to D and the answer of p on T is nonempty. We consider a variety of XPath fragments widely used in practice, and investigate the impact of different XPath operators on satisfiability analysis. We first study the problem for negation-free XPath fragments with and without upward axes, recursion and data-value joins, identifying which factors lead to tractability and which to NP-completeness. We then turn to fragments with negation but without data values, establishing lower and upper bounds in the absence and in the presence of upward modalities and recursion. We show that with negation the complexity ranges from PSPACE to EXPTIME. Moreover, when both data values and negation are in place, we find that the complexity ranges from NEXPTIME to undecidable. Finally, we give a finer analysis of the problem for particular classes of DTDs, exploring the impact of various DTD constructs, identifying tractable cases, as well as providing the complexity in the query size alone.
The Fine Classification of Conjunctive Queries and Parameterized Logarithmic Space

We perform a fundamental investigation of the complexity of conjunctive query evaluation from the perspective of parameterized complexity. We classify sets of Boolean conjunctive queries according to the complexity of this problem. Previous work showed that a set of conjunctive queries is fixed-parameter tractable precisely when the set is equivalent to a set of queries having bounded treewidth. We present a fine classification of query sets up to parameterized logarithmic space reduction. We show that, in the bounded treewidth regime, there are three complexity degrees and that the properties that determine the degree of a query set are bounded pathwidth and bounded tree depth. We also engage in a study of the two higher degrees via logarithmic space machine characterizations and complete problems. Our work yields a significantly richer perspective on the complexity of conjunctive queries and, at the same time, suggests new avenues of research in parameterized complexity.
Management of Energy Technology for Sustainability : How to Fund Energy Technology R & D ( Authors ’ names blinded for peer review )

Operations management methods have been applied profitably to a wide range of technology portfolio management problems, but have been slow to be adopted by governments and policy makers. We develop a framework that allows us to apply such techniques to a large and important public policy problem: energy technology R&D portfolio management under climate change. We apply a multi-model approach, implementing probabilistic data derived from expert elicitations into a novel stochastic programming version of a dynamic integrated assessment model. We find that the optimal technology portfolio for the set of projects considered is fairly robust to different specifications of climate uncertainty, to different policy environments, and to assumptions about the opportunity cost of investing. We also conclude that policy makers would do better to over-invest in R&D rather than under-invest. Finally, we show that R&D can play different roles in different types of policy environments, sometimes leading primarily to cost reduction, other times leading to better environmental outcomes.
The Agreement of the Nomogram Tool and Ultrasound Biomicroscopy Images in Calculating Ultrasound Cycloplasty Probe Model in Chinese Patients

Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare and explore the agreement between the nomogram tool and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) images method to calculate the ultrasound cycloplasty (UCP) probe model in Chinese glaucoma patients. Methods: Retrospective analysis of Chinese glaucoma patients who visited Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center in Guangzhou from January to December 2019 and were eligible for UCP surgery. Visual acuity, intraocular pressure (IOP), ocular axial length (AL), and horizontal corneal diameter (white to white [WTW]) were measured. UBM images with clear ciliary body imaging and AL and WTW data were sent to trained personnel for probe model measurements. The data calculated by both methods were analyzed using unweighted and weighted κ statistics. The level of agreement refers to Landis and Koch’s guideline for the strength of agreement indicated with weighted κ values. Results: 1,061 eyes of 642 patients were involved, with a mean age of 61.66 ± 11.66 years. Their best-corrected visual acuity converted to logarithm of minimal-angle-of-resolution (logMAR) scores of −0.18–3.00 with a mean value of 0.69 ± 0.77. IOP was 22.0–60.0 mm Hg with a mean of 27.97 ± 5.66 mm Hg. The mean AL and WTW were 22.88 ± 1.33 (19.15–32.14) mm and 11.52 ± 0.49 (10.00–12.90) mm, respectively. The agreement between the two methods was fair (weighted κ = 0.299), matching in 62.86% of eyes (weighted κ = 0.299, κ = 0.264). The agreement in primary open angle glaucoma, acute primary angle-closure glaucoma, chronic primary angle-closure glaucoma, and secondary glaucoma patients was 60.85% (weighted κ = 0.336, κ = 0.301), 65.06% (weighted κ = 0.146, κ = 0.127), 62.26% (weighted κ = 0.204, κ = 0.184), and 57.97% (weighted κ = 0.332, κ = 0.280) of eyes, respectively. Conclusion: The agreement between UBM images and the nomogram tool to calculate the UCP probe model of Chinese patients is at a fair level. The nomogram tool prefers to use larger probes. Improvements to the nomogram tool, such as including data from more ethnic groups and being able to calculate separately for different types of glaucoma, are needed to improve accuracy. The inclusion of parameters or images from more directions of the eye may help measure probe models more accurately for both the nomogram tool and the UBM image measurement.