Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Change in Long Non-Coding RNA Expression Profile Related to the Antagonistic Effect of Clostridium perfringens Type C on Piglet Spleen

Simple Summary Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) type C is a spore-forming pathogenic bacterium characterized by the secretion of fatal toxins, which are absorbed into the body, causing diarrhea. Diarrhea has already brought about tremendous economic losses in pig farms worldwide. However, the understanding of lncRNAs’ regulatory mechanisms of the spleen in piglets challenged by C. perfringens type C is still limited. This paper aimed to identify antagonistic lncRNAs associated with the spleen in piglets challenged by C. perfringens type C. The study found that four lncRNAs are involved in immune-/inflammation-related pathways to regulate cytokine genes against C. perfringens type C infection. Abstract LncRNAs play important roles in resisting bacterial infection via host immune and inflammation responses. Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) type C is one of the main bacteria causing piglet diarrhea diseases, leading to major economic losses in the pig industry worldwide. In our previous studies, piglets resistant (SR) and susceptible (SS) to C. perfringens type C were identified based on differences in host immune capacity and total diarrhea scores. In this paper, the RNA-Seq data of the spleen were comprehensively reanalyzed to investigate antagonistic lncRNAs. Thus, 14 lncRNAs and 89 mRNAs were differentially expressed (DE) between the SR and SS groups compared to the control (SC) group. GO term enrichment, KEGG pathway enrichment and lncRNA-mRNA interactions were analyzed to identify four key lncRNA targeted genes via MAPK and NF-κB pathways to regulate cytokine genes (such as TNF-α and IL-6) against C. perfringens type C infection. The RT-qPCR results for six selected DE lncRNAs and mRNAs are consistent with the RNA-Seq data. This study analyzed the expression profiling of lncRNAs in the spleen of antagonistic and sensitive piglets and found four key lncRNAs against C. perfringens type C infection. The identification of antagonistic lncRNAs can facilitate investigations into the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to diarrhea in piglets.
Locked, Stocked, and Charmin: Sources of White Americans’ Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented number of people purchasing firearms/ammunition. However, this was not the only way Americans responded to the pandemic: large swaths of the public also stayed at home and stockpiled goods. Twelve months later, as the pandemic raged, these coping mechanisms were still present as Americans continued to buy guns/ammunition, limit social interactions, and hoard supplies. Using two nationwide surveys conducted one year apart, we examine the extent and sources of gun/ammunition purchasing compared to staying home and panic buying during this unique moment in American history. Results from both surveys indicate that the factors that led to these divergent coping mechanisms vary. Both at the beginning of the pandemic and one year later, the likelihood of purchasing a firearm/ammunition was associated low self-control and White nationalism. Conversely, fear of the virus was associated with people staying home and amassing supplies.
Effects of alloying additions in the CrMo underlayer on the grain size and magnetic properties of CoCrPt longitudinal media

The alloy doping effects of the CrMo underlayer were investigated on the texture, grain size, and magnetic properties of CoCrPt longitudinal media. 5% Mn dissolving into CrMo lattices enhanced the texture of the recording layer and significantly raised the coercivity from 2200 (on the CrMo underlayer) to 3200 Oe. Further increases in the Mn content resulted in the grain growth of the recording layer, and less enhanced coercivity. The doped Zr, Ag, and Nb atoms into CrMo underlayers were segregated and led to reduction of grain size. Among them, Zr doping exhibited the most pronounced effects.
Adaptive Neural Preassigned-Time Control for Macro–Micro Composite Positioning Stage With Displacement Constraints

This article considers the rapid vibration reduction problem of macro–micro composite positioning stage (MMCPS) using an adaptive neural preassigned-time control strategy. Based on Newton's second law, the MMCPS is modeled as an interconnected system with unknown perturbations, and for the first time, the vibration reduction problem of MMCPS is transformed into a displacement constraint problem. Through adaptive neural network approximation and backstepping control, a preassigned-time controller with a novel performance function-related term is developed, which not only significantly improves the positioning accuracy and reduces the vibration amplitude but also ensures that the displacements of the voice coil motor axis and the stage are constrained to a predefined region in a finite time. Another distinguished feature of the proposed controller lies in the fact that the settling time of the displacement signals can be set as an arbitrary positive value. Moreover, all signals of the closed-loop system are proved to be semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded. Finally, the feasibility of the designed control strategy is demonstrated via a simulation experiment.
Pupil-initiated or teacher-guided? Learnings from pupil-centred approaches during COVID-19

ABSTRACT This study investigates the relationship between primary school pupils’ experiences with pupil-centred learning approaches, socio-emotional experiences and self-efficacy. Our findings suggest that teacher guidance is important to support students and self-efficacy in working with pupil-centred learning approaches. We discuss the findings in relation to the increased attention that pupil-centred learning approaches are receiving worldwide as part of a tendency to move away from traditional teacher-centred approaches of transmitting and memorising information, and the ongoing discussion on how much teachers should guide pupils learning. We focus on how these learnings from COVID-19 can be used to reimagine education in the post-pandemic school.
CNN-based models for color vision and visual illusions

Cellular neural/nonlinear network (CNN) models are introduced to analyze and explain human early vision color perception and some of the visual illusions. A CNN model of Horn's algorithm is shown and a new lightness-determination method is introduced. CNN models for the brightness, the Mach-band, the Zollner, the cafe-wall, and the Poggendorff illusions are also introduced.
‘Listen, learn, help’: Parental views on specialist vision impairment provision in the United Kingdom

The presence of childhood vision impairment has cascading effects on educational provision and global development across cognitive, physical, and mental health domains. Effective, appropriate, and targeted support in education is legislated across the United Kingdom, influenced by the ‘access to learning, learning to access’ model. Despite reasonable adjustment and specialist provision legislature, anecdotal parental reports suggest inconsistent and insufficient provision culminating in poor physical and mental health outcomes for school-aged children and young people with vision impairment in the United Kingdom. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of provisional arrangement/specialist support from a parental viewpoint. We examined the questionnaire responses of parents/caregivers of children and young people with vision impairment to harness their views regarding provisional entitlement. An online questionnaire was developed in collaboration with parents/caregivers of children with vision impairment who identified a distinct need for research in this field. Forty-six parents/caregivers completed the questionnaire. Most parents reported their child accessing specialised provision; however, frequency of provision and qualification of staff administering provision was inconsistent. Parents reported that available provision more negatively impacted their child’s mental health, and resultingly, most parents lacked confidence in the arrangements their child received. We concluded that parental perception of provisional arrangements is seemingly influenced by the quality of the team supporting their child in educational domains. Future work triangulating parental views with that of the children receiving the support, and support staff, is needed for corroboration.
Quantification of primary mitral regurgitation by echocardiography: A practical appraisal

The accurate quantification of primary mitral regurgitation (MR) and its consequences on cardiac remodeling is of paramount importance to determine the best timing for surgery in these patients. The recommended echocardiographic grading of primary MR severity relies on an integrated multiparametric approach. It is expected that the large number of echocardiographic parameters collected would offer the possibility to check the measured values regarding their congruence in order to conclude reliably on MR severity. However, the use of multiple parameters to grade MR can result in potential discrepancies between one or more of them. Importantly, many factors beyond MR severity impact the values obtained for these parameters including technical settings, anatomic and hemodynamic considerations, patient's characteristics and echocardiographer' skills. Hence, clinicians involved in valvular diseases should be well aware of the respective strengths and pitfalls of each of MR grading methods by echocardiography. Recent literature highlighted the need for a reappraisal of the severity of primary MR from a hemodynamic perspective. The estimation of MR regurgitation fraction by indirect quantitative methods, whenever possible, should be central when grading the severity of these patients. The assessment of the MR effective regurgitant orifice area by the proximal flow convergence method should be used in a semi-quantitative manner. Furthermore, it is crucial to acknowledge specific clinical situations in MR at risk of misevaluation when grading severity such as late-systolic MR, bi-leaflet prolapse with multiple jets or extensive leak, wall-constrained eccentric jet or in older patients with complex MR mechanism. Finally, it is debatable whether the 4-grades classification of MR severity would be still relevant nowadays, since the indication for mitral valve (MV) surgery is discussed in clinical practice for patients with 3+ and 4+ primary MR based on symptoms, specific markers of adverse outcome and MV repair probability. Primary MR grading should be seen as a continuum integrating both quantification of MR and its consequences, even for patients with presumed “moderate” MR.
The Effect of Belantamab Mafodotin on Primary Myeloma–Stroma Co-Cultures: Asymmetrical Mitochondrial Transfer between Myeloma Cells and Autologous Bone Marrow Stromal Cells

Belantamab mafodotin (belamaf) is an afucosylated monoclonal antibody conjugated to the microtubule disrupter monomethyl auristatin-F (MMAF) that targets B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) on the surface of malignant plasma cells. Belamaf can eliminate myeloma cells (MMs) through several mechanisms. On the one hand, in addition to inhibiting BCMA-receptor signaling and cell survival, intracellularly released MMAF disrupts tubulin polymerization and causes cell cycle arrest. On the other hand, belamaf induces effector cell-mediated tumor cell lysis via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis. In our in vitro co-culture model, the consequences of the first mentioned mechanism can be investigated: belamaf binds to BCMA, reduces the proliferation and survival of MMs, and then enters the lysosomes of malignant cells, where MMAF is released. The MMAF payload causes a cell cycle arrest at the DNA damage checkpoint between the G2 and M phases, resulting in caspase-3-dependent apoptosis. Here, we show that primary MMs isolated from different patients can vary widely in terms of BCMA expression level, and inadequate expression is associated with extremely high resistance to belamaf according to our cytotoxicity assay. We also reveal that primary MMs respond to increasing concentrations of belamaf by enhancing the incorporation of mitochondria from autologous bone marrow stromal cells (BM-MSCs), and as a consequence, MMs become more resistant to belamaf in this way, which is similar to other medications we have analyzed previously in this regard, such as proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib or the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax. The remarkable resistance against belamaf observed in the case of certain primary myeloma cell cultures is a cause for concern and points towards the use of combination therapies to overcome the risk of antigen escape.
Estimating the Urban Heat Island in Residential Areas in the Netherlands Using Observations by Weather Amateurs

AbstractA better quantification of the urban heat islands (UHIs) in the Netherlands is urgently needed given the heat stress–related problems in the recent past combined with the expected temperature rise for the coming decades. Professional temperature observations in Dutch urban areas are scarce, however. Therefore, this research explores the use of observations from weather stations that were installed and maintained by weather amateurs. From a set of over 200 stations, suitable and representative data have been selected from 20 stations, using a set of objective selection criteria that are based on metadata. One year of data (January–December 2010) was considered. From these data, estimates have been obtained of the magnitude of the UHI in Dutch low-rise residential areas. A positive relation (linear model with r2 ≈ 0.7) was derived between the summer-averaged UHI and the (neighborhood scale) population density around the observational sites. It was found that the UHI in summer is strongest in nightti.
Characterization of Mechanical Properties and Grain Size of Stainless Steel 316L via Metal Powder Injection Molding

The metal powder injection molding process is completed by mixing a metal powder and a binder, performing an injection molding and degreasing process, and then performing a sintering process for high density. The disadvantage of metal powder injection molding is that defects occurring during the process affect mechanical properties, which are worse in mechanical properties than in products manufactured by cold-rolling. In this study, the mechanical properties and microstructure of stainless steel 316L manufactured by the metal powder injection molding process were analyzed. Mechanical properties such as density, tensile strength, and fatigue life were analyzed. The density was measured using Archimedes’ principle, and a relative density of 94.62% was achieved compared to the theoretical density. The tensile strength was approximately 539.42 MPa and the elongation to fracture was approximately 92%. The fatigue test was performed at 80% of maximum tensile strength and a stress ratio of R = 0.1. The fatigue life was found in 55% (297 MPa) of maximum tensile strength that achieved 106 cycles. The microstructure was observed through scanning electron microscope after etching, and as a result, the average grain size was 88.51 μm. Using electron backscatter diffraction, inverse pole figure map, image quality map, and kernel average misorientation map of the specimen were observed in three different areas which were undeformed, uniformly deformed, and deformed. Based on these results, it is expected that research is needed to apply the metal powder injection molding process to the manufacture of agricultural machinery parts with complex shapes.
Atmospheres and Ionospheres of the Outer Planets and Their Satellites [Book Review]

The Pioneer and Voyager missions to the outer solar system have resulted in a quantum jump in our knowledge of the aeronomy of the Jovian planets and their satellites. There is an urgent need for a monograph that summarizes the extensive data base and provides some interpretation. This little book accomplishes the first task admirably well, and the second task reasonably well.
Effects of metal fences on the scan performance of an infinite dipole array

A theoretical method is presented to investigate the scan characteristics of a dipole array in the presence of thin metal fences along the H-plane. The basic idea of the analysis is to determine the current distribution on the dipole which interacts with the metal fence in the unit cell, so that the active impedance of the element can be computed. This was accomplished by using the moment method and imposing the boundary conditions on the tangential electric fields along the dipole and the metal fence. Since the scan performance in the H-plane is not affected by the fences, the discussion is concentrated on the E-plane behavior. It was found that for a given element spacing and dipole geometry there is an optimum fence height at which the E-plane performance can be most improved. For a typical dipole array geometry the optimum fence height is about 0.4 lambda . It was thought that when the fences are to high and the beam is scanned too far from broadside, transverse magnetic (TM) surface waves propagating in the E-plane direction near the corrugated plane would be excited. However, no such sensitive cases were encountered in the study. >
Novel texture synthesis methods and their application to image prediction and image inpainting. (Nouvelles méthodes de synthèse de texture ; application à la prédiction et à l'inpainting d'images)

This thesis presents novel exemplar-based texture synthesis methods for image prediction (i.e., predictive coding) and image inpainting problems. The main contributions of this study can also be seen as extensions to simple template matching, however the texture synthesis problem here is well-formulated in an optimization framework with different constraints. The image prediction problem has first been put into sparse representations framework by approximating the template with a sparsity constraint. The proposed sparse prediction method with locally and adaptive dictionaries has been shown to give better performance when compared to static waveform (such as DCT) dictionaries, and also to the template matching method. The image prediction problem has later been placed into an online dictionary learning framework by adapting conventional dictionary learning approaches for image prediction. The experimental observations show a better performance when compared to H.264/AVC intra and sparse prediction. Finally a neighbor embedding framework has been proposed for image prediction using two data dimensionality reductions methods: non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) and locally linear embedding (LLE). This framework has then been extended to the image inpainting problem. The experimental evaluations demonstrate the effectiveness of the underlying ideas in both image prediction and inpainting applications.
Real-Time Observability-Aware Inertia Parameter Estimation for Quadrotors

This study focuses on the system identification of a quadrotor under an unknown payload with a time-optimal trajectory. A model-based control scheme should be utilized for a quadrotor, which does not necessarily guarantee robustness to model uncertainty. Thus, accurate system identification is required during flight. However, inertia parameter identification for the control scheme is vulnerable to sensor noise without a trajectory that produces rich data. We utilized Kalman filter (KF), which estimates the angular velocity, to reduce noise. In the process model of KF, the variance attributed to model uncertainty is derived, and the derived variance plays a pivotal role in adjusting Kalman gain. Recursive least squares (RLS) was utilized to identify the inertia parameter. However, all inertia parameters cannot always be observed with a time-optimal trajectory. Thus, this study proposes a criterion that distinguishes between observable and unobservable parameters and the correction law depending on the criteria. The correction law prevents RLS from correcting the unobservable parameters. We call this method the observability-aware RLS with KF. This study compared RLS, RLS with a low-pass filter (LPF), and observability-aware RLS with KF. While RLS with LPF shows a sharp increase or decrease in moment of inertia (MOI), center of mass (COM) offset, and sensor location, ours does not. RLS without any filtering has an inaccurate estimation of MOI and the height of the sensor location. However, our approach is sufficiently accurate to be applied to model-based control.
Alterations in white matter integrity and network topological properties are associated with a decrease in global motion perception in older adults

Previous studies have mainly explored the effects of structural and functional aging of cortical regions on global motion sensitivity in older adults, but none have explored the structural white matter (WM) substrates underlying the age-related decrease in global motion perception (GMP). In this study, random dot kinematogram and diffusion tensor imaging were used to investigate the effects of age-related reductions in WM fiber integrity and connectivity across various regions on GMP. We recruited 106 younger adults and 94 older adults and utilized both tract-based spatial statistics analysis and graph theoretical analysis to comprehensively investigate group differences in WM microstructural and network connections between older and younger adults at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. Moreover, partial correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between alterations in WM and the age-related decrease in GMP. The results showed that decreased GMP in older adults was related to decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) of the inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, anterior thalamic radiation, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and cingulum cingulate gyrus. Decreased global efficiency of the WM structural network and increased characteristic path length were closely associated with decreased global motion sensitivity. These results suggest that the reduced GMP in older adults may stem from reduced WM integrity in specific regions of WM fiber tracts as well as decreased efficiency of information integration and communication between distant cortical regions, supporting the “disconnection hypothesis” of cognitive aging.
Time Trends in Income-related Differences in Food Group Intakes: The National Health and Nutrition Survey, Japan in 2010, 2014, and 2018

Background We aimed to clarify whether differences in food group intake according to household income have changed over the last decade in Japanese people aged 20 years or older. Methods This cross-sectional study was based on the 2010, 2014, and 2018 National Health and Nutrition Surveys in Japan. Food intake was assessed using a 1-day semi-weighed household dietary record. The participants were categorized into three groups based on their income. The mean of each food intake according to the income group was estimated by adjusting for age, occupation, and number of participants from the same household. The significance of the interaction terms between income and survey year was evaluated to assess the change in income-related differences in food intake over time. Results Cereal intake was lower in the middle- and the highest-income groups than in the lowest-income group, regardless of sex, and the interaction between income and year was nonsignificant for cereal intake. In the former two surveys, vegetable intake was higher among the highest-income women, while in the 2018 survey, the vegetable intake decreased in the women in the middle- and the highest-income groups. The interaction between income and year was significant for vegetable intake among the women. For other foods, the differences in intake among the income groups did not significantly change over time. Conclusion The tendency for lower cereal intake in the higher-income groups was consistent over time in both the sexes, and the tendency for higher vegetable intake in the highest income women disappeared over time.