Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hypersensitivity to DNA damage in plant stem cell niches

The growing apices of plants contain stem cells that continually produce tissues, which, in the shoot, include the germline. These stem cell populations remain active throughout the plant's life, which can last for centuries, and are particularly exposed to environmental hazards that cause DNA damage and mutations. It is not known whether plants have mechanisms to safeguard the genome specifically in these crucial cell populations. Here, we show that root and shoot stem cells and their early descendants are selectively killed by mild treatment with radiomimetic drugs, x-rays, or mutations that disrupt DNA repair by nonhomologous end-joining. Stem cell death required transduction of DNA damage signals by the ATAXIA-TELANGIECTASIA MUTATED (ATM) kinase and, specifically in the root, also the ATM/RAD3-RELATED (ATR) kinase. Consistent with the absence of p53 and the core apoptotic machinery in plants, death of the stem cells did not show apoptotic but autolytic features as seen in other cases of plant developmentally programmed cell death. We propose that plants have independently evolved selective death as a stringent mechanism to safeguard genome integrity in their stem cell populations.
Performance evaluation of converter topologies for high speed Starter/Generator in aircraft applications

This paper deals with the performance assessment of different permanent magnet motor drives topologies for Starter/Generator systems in aircraft applications. The comparison focuses on power electronics topologies, evaluating, by means of simulations performed with Matlab/Simulink and Plexim Plecs, some relevant key points such as efficiency, losses and motor current harmonic distortion. For all the topologies, simulations have been carried out considering both 2-Levels and 3-Levels converter structures, and different machine arrangements. All the power electronics systems data are obtained from off-the-shelf power modules characteristics, both Silicon and Silicon Carbide technology based.
MDM2 309 T/ G Polymorphism Is Associated With Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Meta- Analysis

Objective:The 309 T/G polymorphism of murine double minute 2 (MDM2) gene is associated with acute myeloid leukemia, but conflicting results have been reported. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to estimate the association between MDM2 309 T/G polymorphism and acute myeloid leukemia risk. Methods: Electronic search of PubMed was conducted to select case-control studies that contain available genotype frequencies of the MDM2 309 T/G polymorphism. Pooled Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was used to assess the strength of the association. Results: Six case-control studies, which consist of 1121 cases and 3974 controls, were identified. After pooling all the eligible studies in the meta-analysis, we found that the MDM2 309 T/G polymorphism was significantly associated with risk of acute myeloid leukemia (Recessive model G/G versus T-carriers: OR=1.738, 95% CI: 1.424 – 2.122, p= 0.000; additive model G versus T: OR = 1.298, 95% CI: 1.159– 1.453, p= 0.000). Symmetrical funnel plot derived from Egger’s test (P=0.970) and Begg’s test (P=0.851) indicated the lack of publication bias. Discussion: This meta-analysis suggests that individuals with T/G or G/G genotype of MDM2 SNP309 were significantly associated with increased acute myeloid leukemia risk. To draw comprehensive and true conclusions, well-designed studies with large sample sizes and representing different ethnicities are required.
Validation of a nomogram for predicting regression from impaired fasting glucose to normoglycaemia to facilitate clinical decision making.

BACKGROUND In Hong Kong, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) is the most popular screening test for diabetes mellitus (DM) in primary care. Individuals with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) are commonly encountered. OBJECTIVES To explore the determinants of regression to normoglycaemia among primary care patients with IFG based on non-invasive variables and to establish a nomogram for the prediction of regression from IFG. METHODS This cohort study consisted of 1197 primary care patients with IFG. These subjects were invited to repeat a FPG test and 75-g 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (2h-OGTT) to determine the glycaemia change. Normoglycaemia was defined as FPG <5.6 mmol/L and 2h-OGTT <7.8 mmol/L. Stepwise logistic regression model was developed to predict the regression to normoglycaemia with non-invasive variables, using a randomly selected training dataset (810 subjects). The model was validated on the remaining testing dataset (387 subjects). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and Hosmer-Lemeshow test were used to evaluate discrimination and calibration of the model. A nomogram was constructed based on the model. RESULTS After a mean follow-up period of 6.1 months, 180 subjects (15.0%) had normoglycaemia based on the repeated FPG and 2h-OGTT results at follow-up. Subjects without central obesity or hypertension, with moderate-to-high-level physical activity and a lower baseline FPG level, were more likely to regress to normoglycaemia. The prediction model had acceptable discrimination (AUC = 0.705) and calibration (P = 0.840). CONCLUSION The simple-to-use nomogram could facilitate identification of subjects with low risk of progression to DM and thus aid in clinical decision making and resource prioritization in the primary care setting.
Impact of Long-Range Transported African Dust on Cloud Water Chemistry at a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest in Northeastern Puerto Rico

Bulk and drop size fractionated cloud water was collected at a Caribbean tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) in northeastern Puerto Rico in the summer months of 2010-2012 and winter months of 2011 as part of the Puerto Rico African Dust and Cloud Study (PRADACS). We studied how cloud water chemistry in a Caribbean TMCF was affected by long-range transported African dust (LRTAD). Using HYSPLIT trajectories and enrichment factor analysis, the air masses influencing clouds at Pico del Este were identified as dust, marine, and dust with anthropogenic influence. Samples were analyzed for pH, conductivity, water-soluble ions, and metals. Na+ and Cl- comprised the main water-soluble ions (60- 80%) suggesting a strong marine influence. A 0.1-10% contribution of anthropogenic (nss-SO_4 ^(2-)) and 0.2-13% contribution of mineral dust (nss-Ca^(2+)) sources to the cloud chemical composition was observed. Primary aerosols (i.e., mineral dust and sea-salt) were enriched in large cloud water droplets (LCWD) and secondary aerosols (i.e., anthropogenic particles) were enriched in small cloud water droplets (SCWD). As a result, pH was found to be higher in LCWD due to the neutralizing capacity of nss-Ca^(2+)) and lower in SCWD due to the presence of acidifying species (nss-SO_4 ^(2-), NO_3 ^-, and organic acids). Fe and Al, indicators for mineral dust were similarly distributed across the cloud droplet size spectrum. Our results show that LRTAD events modulate bulk and size-fractionated cloud water chemistry, potentially influencing cloud microphysical properties and processes.
Layered electro-thermal model of high-end integrated power electronics modules with IGBTs

Integrated Power Electronics Modules (IPEMs) have been developed to relieve the converter manufacturers of the burden of several discrete power devices integration. With respect to generic assemblies, modern high-end IPEMs guarantee several advantages such as high power density, low profiles and an optimal management of the wasted heat. An available model able to reproduce both electrical and thermal behavior is helpful to save designers' time and to avoid the application failure due to overheating. In this paper, a layered-approach methodology aimed at generating an IPEM model featuring six IGBT devices connected in a three-phase bridge topology is described. The approach relies on a strategy that implies the definition of an electrical and thermal layer in a segregate way and has as main objective the generation of a full-PSpice model of the IPEM able to take into account both the electrical and thermal behavior. The layers are then linked together by an IGBT self-heating model. The thermal layer, which poses many difficulties for its implementation, is automatically synthetized by using a custom Electric Design Automation (EDA) flow developed within the context of this work. A series of comparison between FEM simulations and the final PSpice model demonstrates the validity of the proposed approach.
Worst-case robust masked beamforming for secure broadcasting

This paper studies masked beamforming schemes for secure communication in broadcast multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems with a passive multiple-antenna eavesdropper. Assuming no information about the eavesdropper is available at the transmitter, we aim to maximize the transmit power of the artificial noise while meeting mean square error (MSE) constraints at the legitimate receivers and the total power constraint at the transmitter. Based on imperfect channel state information (CSI) of the legitimate receivers at the transmitter, we present a worst-case robust masked beamforming algorithm. By exploiting alternating iterative optimization, the proposed algorithm recasts the non-convex optimization problem as two semidefinite program (SDP) based subproblems, which are solvable with interior-point methods. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the secrecy performance of the proposed algorithm.
Empirical Analysis of a Self-Service Check-In Implementation in Singapore Changi Airport

The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical analysis an airport passenger operation and to improve its efficiency. An investigation was conducted to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative efficiency of the self-service check-in booth in Singapore Changi Airport. Through Arena simulation software, this investigation gives an estimation of how much processing time and queuing time the self-service check-in booths have been reduced, providing a quantitative analysis of the self-service check-in booth. A modified technology acceptance model featuring a prediction of how well passengers accept this new concept has also been used in this investigation. The results show that the self-service check-in booth's operation is generally efficient based on quantitative and qualitative analysis, providing a recommendable service to customers.
Primary and heterotrophic productivity relate to multikingdom diversity in a hypersaline mat

ABSTRACT Benthic microbial ecosystems are widespread yet knowledge gaps still remain on the relationships between the diversity of species across kingdoms and productivity. Here, we ask two fundamental questions: (i) How does species diversity relate to the rates of primary and heterotrophic productivity? (ii) How do diel variations in light‐energy inputs influence productivity and microbiome diversity? To answer these questions, microbial mats from a magnesium sulfate hypersaline lake were used to establish microcosms. Both the number and relatedness between bacterial and eukaryotic taxa in the microbiome were assayed via amplicon‐based sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA genes over two diel cycles. These results correlated with biomass productivity obtained from substrate‐specific 13C stable isotope tracers that enabled comparisons between primary and heterotrophic productivity. Both bacterial and eukaryotic species richness and evenness were related only to the rates of 13C‐labeled glucose and acetate biomass incorporation. Interestingly, measures of these heterotrophic relationships changed from positive and negative correlations depending on carbon derived from glucose or acetate, respectively. The bacterial and eukaryotic diversity of this ecosystem is also controlled, in part, from energy constraints imposed by changing irradiance over a diel cycle.
The impact of reproductive life on breast cancer risk in women with family history or BRCA mutation

Reproductive history and exogenous hormonal exposures are acknowledged risk factors for breast cancer in the general population. In women at increased breast cancer risk for genetic predisposition or positive family history, data regarding these risk factors are limited or conflicting, and recommendations for these categories are unclear. We evaluated the characteristics of reproductive life in 2522 women at increased genetic or familial breast cancer risk attending our Family Cancer Center. Breast cancers in BRCA mutation carriers were more likely to be hormone receptor negative, diagnosed at 35 years or before and multiple during the lifetime than tumors in women at increased familial risk, while the distribution of invasive cancers and HER2 positive tumors was similar in the different risk groups. At least one full-term pregnancy (HR 0.27; 95% CI 0.12–0.58; p = 0.001), breastfeeding either less (HR 0.24; 95% CI 0.09–0.66; p = 0.005) or more (HR 0.25; 95% IC 0.08–0.82; p = 0.022) than one year and late age at menopause (HR 0.10; 95% CI 0.01–0.82; p = 0.033) showed to be protective factors in BRCA mutation carriers, while in women at increased familial risk early age at first full-term pregnancy (HR 0.62; 95% IC 0.38–0.99; p = 0.048) and late menarche (HR 0.61; 95% CI 0.42–0.85; p = 0.004) showed to be the main protective factors. Finally, for the entire population, combined hormonal contraceptives demonstrated to do not increase breast cancer risk. The results of our study suggest that women at high familial risk and mutation carries develop tumors with different clinical-pathological characteristics and, consequently, are influenced by different protective and risk factors.
Mood As Cumulative Expectation Mismatch: A Test of Theory Based on Data from Non-verbal Cognitive Bias Tests

Affective states are known to influence behavior and cognitive processes. To assess mood (moderately long-term affective states), the cognitive judgment bias test was developed and has been widely used in various animal species. However, little is known about how mood changes, how mood can be experimentally manipulated, and how mood then feeds back into cognitive judgment. A recent theory argues that mood reflects the cumulative impact of differences between obtained outcomes and expectations. Here expectations refer to an established context. Situations in which an established context fails to match an outcome are then perceived as mismatches of expectation and outcome. We take advantage of the large number of studies published on non-verbal cognitive bias tests in recent years (95 studies with a total of 162 independent tests) to test whether cumulative mismatch could indeed have led to the observed mood changes. Based on a criteria list, we assessed whether mismatch had occurred with the experimental procedure used to induce mood (mood induction mismatch), or in the context of the non-verbal cognitive bias procedure (testing mismatch). For the mood induction mismatch, we scored the mismatch between the subjects’ potential expectations and the manipulations conducted for inducing mood whereas, for the testing mismatch, we scored mismatches that may have occurred during the actual testing. We then investigated whether these two types of mismatch can predict the actual outcome of the cognitive bias study. The present evaluation shows that mood induction mismatch cannot well predict the success of a cognitive bias test. On the other hand, testing mismatch can modulate or even inverse the expected outcome. We think, cognitive bias studies should more specifically aim at creating expectation mismatch while inducing mood states to test the cumulative mismatch theory more properly. Furthermore, testing mismatch should be avoided as much as possible because it can reverse the affective state of animals as measured in a cognitive judgment bias paradigm.
Dance practice and well-being correlates in young women

ABSTRACT Clinical research has shown the mental health benefits of dance practice. This has become a significant subject of inquiry in psychotherapeutic settings for the elderly and adolescents. However, the relationship between dance practice and correlates of psychological well-being, such as mindfulness and life satisfaction (LS)—two relevant indicators of mental health, has been explored relatively little in young women. The present study contrasted mindfulness and LS in young women (n = 81) who practiced dance regularly in three modern dance schools in the Province of Barcelona with a control group of non-practitioners (n = 120) studying at a university in Barcelona. The data were collected during the first semester of 2015, and the total sample had an average age of 20.88 ± 3.36 years. Analyses of covariance showed higher levels of both mindfulness and LS in the dance practitioners, while a multiple regression analysis showed that, after controlling for age, dance was the factor most strongly associated with LS, explaining 28% of the variance in LS. These results are discussed in terms of the embodiment theory, and conclusions suggest that dance may be an effective gender-focused practice to enhance well-being and promote mental health in young women.
Design and measurement of a passive thrust magnetic bearing for a bearingless motor

The design and construction of a permanent magnet thrust bearing for a bearingless motor is presented and a measurement technique is proposed to characterize the bearing. Optimal design of a bearingless motor requires the machine designer to be aware of the axial bearing's performance under simultaneous axial and radial displacement. A simple, low-cost test setup which requires only two single-axis load cells is proposed and evaluated to make these measurements on the magnetic bearing stator. The measurement data are found to be in reasonable agreement with finite element calculations and to satisfy Earnshaw's theorem, where the sum of stiffnesses in the three axes must be zero. The measurement technique displayed good test-retest reliability, with repeated radial force data having an average standard deviation of 2.1% for radial displacements greater than 0.5 mm and axial force data having a typical error of 0.9%.
Relationships among muscle fiber type composition, fiber diameter and MRF gene expression in different skeletal muscles of naturally grazing Wuzhumuqin sheep during postnatal development

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the relationships among muscle fiber‐type composition, fiber diameter, and myogenic regulatory factor (MRF) gene expression in different skeletal muscles during development in naturally grazing Wuzhumuqin sheep. Three major muscles (i.e. the Longissimus dorsi (LD), Biceps femoris (BF) and Triceps brachii (TB)) were obtained from 20 Wuzhumuqin sheep and 20 castrated rams at each of the following ages: 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months. Muscle fiber‐type composition and fiber diameter were measured using histochemistry and morphological analysis, and MRF gene expression levels were determined using real‐time PCR. In the LD muscle, changes in the proportion of each of different types of fiber (I, IIA and IIB) were relatively small. In the BF muscle, a higher proportion of type I and a 6.19‐fold lower proportion of type IIA fibers were observed (P < 0.05). In addition, the compositions of type I and IIA fibers continuously changed in the TB muscle (P < 0.05). Moreover, muscle diameter gradually increased throughout development (P < 0.05). Almost no significant difference was found in MRF gene expression patterns, which appeared to be relatively stable. These results suggest that changes in fiber‐type composition and increases in fiber size may be mutually interacting processes during muscle development.
Erector spinae plane block an effective block for post-operative analgesia in modified radical mastectomy

148 Indian Journal of Anaesthesia | Volume 62 | Issue 2 | February 2018 Monitors do not replace eternal vigilance offered by anaesthesiologists and may not prevent all adverse incidents and accidents; however, they give an early warning that the condition of patient is deteriorating. Capnography in our patient helped in averting a catastrophic event. Clinical examination of respiratory movements during anaesthesia may not be always feasible since the patient is draped, covered with warmer and screen is placed. In a patient on oxygen therapy, hypoxia may occur late. In our patient, that could be the reason for the oxygen saturation being maintained. Simultaneous administration of oxygen with capnometry leads to dilution of carbon dioxide by oxygen. A discrepancy of EtCO2 and PaCO2 can occur, although a flow rate ≥6 lpm through nasal cannula does not interfere with the accuracy of EtCO2 measurement. [6] The exact value of EtCO2 may not be reliable at lower flow rates, but the trend and graph provide adequate information. [7] In our case, continuous monitoring of capnography showing sudden disappearance raised a suspicion, and on clinical examination, the patient was found to be apnoeic. There are recommendations that capnometry be done in patients under regional anaesthesia if sedation is given. [2] During spinal anaesthesia, dreaded complications though rare do occur and assessment of ventilation using capnography may enhance patient’s safety. Thus, we suggest end-tidal CO2 monitoring as a simple, practical and cost-effective equipment which may be used for all surgeries under spinal anaesthesia.
Timestamped whole program path representation and its applications

A whole program path (WPP) is a complete control flow trace of a program's execution. Recently Larus [18] showed that although WPP is expected to be very large (100's of MBytes), it can be greatly compressed (to 10's of MBytes) and therefore saved for future analysis. While the compression algorithm proposed by Larus is highly effective, the compression is accompanied with a loss in the ease with which subsets of information can be accessed. In particular, path traces pertaining to a particular function cannot generally be obtained without examining the entire compressed WPP representation. To solve this problem we advocate the application of compaction techniques aimed at providing easy access to path traces on a per function basis. We present a WPP compaction algorithm in which the WPP is broken in to path traces corresponding to individual function calls. All of the path traces for a given function are stored together as a block. Ability to construct the complete WPP from individual path traces is preserved by maintaining a dynamic call graph. The compaction is achieved by eliminating redundant path traces that result from different calls to a function and by replacing a sequence of static basic block ids that correspond to a dynamic basic block by a single id. We transform a compacted WPP representation into a timestamped WPP (TWPP) representation in which the path traces are organized from the perspective of dynamic basic blocks. TWPP representation also offers additional opportunities for compaction. Experiments show that our algorithm compacts the WPPs by factors ranging from 7 to 64. At the same time information is organized in a highly accessible form which speeds up the responses to queries requesting the path traces of a given function by over 3 orders of magnitude.