Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growing Membranes In Vitro by Continuous Phospholipid Biosynthesis from Free Fatty Acids

One of the key aspects that defines a cell as a living entity is its ability to self-reproduce. In this process, membrane biogenesis is an essential element. Here, we developed an in vitro phospholipid biosynthesis pathway based on a cascade of eight enzymes, starting from simple fatty acid building blocks and glycerol 3-phosphate. The reconstituted system yields multiple phospholipid species that vary in acyl-chain and polar headgroup compositions. Due to the high fidelity and versatility, complete conversion of the fatty acid substrates into multiple phospholipid species is achieved simultaneously, leading to membrane expansion as a first step toward a synthetic minimal cell.
Perceptions of Cancer Risk, Cause, and Needs in Participants from Low Socioeconomic Background at Risk for Hereditary Cancer

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of cancer risk, cause, and needs in participants from a low socioeconomic background at risk for hereditary cancer. We surveyed 307 individuals with the Cancer Awareness and Needs survey and received 128 responses (41.6% response rate). Family history, genetics, and tobacco use were selected most frequently as a cause of cancer; 36% (n = 46) selected fate and/or God's will. A total of 87.5% (n = 112) understood that having a close family member with breast cancer could increase personal risk; however responses were varied when asked if this was related to risk for other cancers. Most participants had undergone cancer screening, half reported undergoing breast magnetic resonance imaging, which was associated with personal (p < 0.01) and family cancer history (p = 0.03). An additional 76.6% (n = 98) felt informed about cancer screening and most received information from health care providers and family or friends. Ensuring that patients and clinicians are educated about hereditary cancer risk, detection, and prevention should be priorities for future research.
Spider Movement, UV Reflectance and Size, but Not Spider Crypsis, Affect the Response of Honeybees to Australian Crab Spiders

According to the crypsis hypothesis, the ability of female crab spiders to change body colour and match the colour of flowers has been selected because flower visitors are less likely to detect spiders that match the colour of the flowers used as hunting platform. However, recent findings suggest that spider crypsis plays a minor role in predator detection and some studies even showed that pollinators can become attracted to flowers harbouring Australian crab spider when the UV contrast between spider and flower increases. Here we studied the response of Apis mellifera honeybees to the presence of white or yellow Thomisus spectabilis Australian crab spiders sitting on Bidens alba inflorescences and also the response of honeybees to crab spiders that we made easily detectable painting blue their forelimbs or abdomen. To account for the visual systems of crab spider's prey, we measured the reflectance properties of the spiders and inflorescences used for the experiments. We found that honeybees did not respond to the degree of matching between spiders and inflorescences (either chromatic or achromatic contrast): they responded similarly to white and yellow spiders, to control and painted spiders. However spider UV reflection, spider size and spider movement determined honeybee behaviour: the probability that honeybees landed on spider-harbouring inflorescences was greatest when the spiders were large and had high UV reflectance or when spiders were small and reflected little UV, and honeybees were more likely to reject inflorescences if spiders moved as the bee approached the inflorescence. Our study suggests that only the large, but not the small Australian crab spiders deceive their preys by reflecting UV light, and highlights the importance of other cues that elicited an anti-predator response in honeybees.
Correlation filter based fisheye video target tracking with adaptive weighted feature integration

Tracking target in fisheye camera is getting increasing interest and wide applications. However, due to the special imaging principle of the fisheye lens, videos shoot by fisheye cameras have serious distortion, which brings great interference to the target tracking. In recent years, correlation filters have gained wide attention with its fast and robust characteristics, and have gradually become a type of important method in the field of target tracking. The proposal of the kernelized correlation filter makes a large number of target features available for tracking enhancements. In order to meet the real-time, this paper creatively employs correlation filters for target tracking on fisheye videos. Aiming at the distortion handling, this paper proposes a feature integration with adaptive weight updating and incorporates this feature into the kernelized correlation filtering method. Moreover, this paper makeups a fisheye video data set for evaluating tracking performance. The evaluation results validate that the proposed approach can greatly reduce the impact of deformation on tracking on the basis of the real-time, and also obtain good tracking performance.
Application of Regenerative Treatment for Tympanic Membrane Perforation With Cholesteatoma, Tumor, or Severe Calcification.

OBJECTIVE To apply regenerative treatment for tympanic membrane (TM) perforation to patients with severe calcification of the TM, cholesteatomas, or tumors localized to the tympanic cavity. STUDY DESIGN Controlled clinical pilot study. SETTING General hospitals. PATIENTS Forty-five patients (age: 8-85; M = 19, F = 26) were selected from patients with or without TM perforation for the regenerative treatment. Twenty-five patients had cholesteatomas, 3 had tumors, and 17 had severe TM calcification. Patients were classified into three groups based on TM perforation size: less than 1/3 of the TM as Grade I (n = 5), 1/3 to 2/3 as Grade II (n = 19), and over 2/3 as Grade III (n = 21). Twenty patients who underwent standard tympanoplasty type I were selected as historical controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials for the TM repair included gelatin sponge with basic fibroblast growth factor and fibrin glue. After lesions were removed through the TM perforation, gelatin sponge immersed in basic fibroblast growth factor was placed over the perforation. Fibrin glue was then dripped onto the sponge. Treatment efficacy was evaluated 6 months posttreatment. RESULTS Complete closure of the TM perforation was achieved in 91% (n = 41/45) of the patients in this regenerative treatment. Improvement in average hearing levels and air-bone gap were much better with this treatment than in the historical control group. CONCLUSION This new regenerative therapy is useful not only for patients with simple TM perforations but also for those with cholesteatomas, tumors, or severe calcification without requiring conventional surgical procedures. This regenerative therapy is an easy, safe, cost-effective, and minimally-invasive treatment.
Do same‐sex mounts function as dominance assertion in male golden snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana)?

It has been hypothesized that same‐sex mounts can reflect the hierarchical relationship in a mounting dyad and it is widely deemed that mounting and being mounted are demonstrations of dominant and subordinate status, respectively. In this research, we aimed to test whether same‐sex mounts function as dominance assertion in male golden snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana). We investigated this behavior in eight‐individuals, captive all‐male unit (AMU) in Shanghai wild animal park, China. Behavioral observations were conducted with a total of 1,855 mounts recorded from November, 2014 to June, 2015, during which the alpha male was replaced in the beginning of April. In support to the dominance assertion hypothesis, we found that during the entire study period the higher‐ranking male was more likely to be the mounter than the lower‐ranking one, except the mounts that happened among juveniles in peaceful and playful social contexts. Our study indicates that the hierarchical relationship of a mounting dyad can be influenced by the age‐class of the participants and the social context where mounting occurs. We suggest that same‐sex mounts might have different functions in different age groups and be multifunctional in a species.
Root Secreted Metabolites and Proteins Are Involved in the Early Events of Plant-Plant Recognition Prior to Competition

The mechanism whereby organisms interact and differentiate between others has been at the forefront of scientific inquiry, particularly in humans and certain animals. It is widely accepted that plants also interact, but the degree of this interaction has been constricted to competition for space, nutrients, water and light. Here, we analyzed the root secreted metabolites and proteins involved in early plant neighbor recognition by using Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 ecotype (Col) as our focal plant co-cultured in vitro with different neighbors [A. thaliana Ler ecotype (Ler) or Capsella rubella (Cap)]. Principal component and cluster analyses revealed that both root secreted secondary metabolites and proteins clustered separately between the plants grown individually (Col-0, Ler and Cap grown alone) and the plants co-cultured with two homozygous individuals (Col-Col, Ler-Ler and Cap-Cap) or with different individuals (Col-Ler and Col-Cap). In particularly, we observed that a greater number of defense- and stress- related proteins were secreted when our control plant, Col, was grown alone as compared to when it was co-cultured with another homozygous individual (Col-Col) or with a different individual (Col-Ler and Col-Cap). However, the total amount of defense proteins in the exudates of the co-cultures was higher than in the plant alone. The opposite pattern of expression was identified for stress-related proteins. These data suggest that plants can sense and respond to the presence of different plant neighbors and that the level of relatedness is perceived upon initial interaction. Furthermore, the role of secondary metabolites and defense- and stress-related proteins widely involved in plant-microbe associations and abiotic responses warrants reassessment for plant-plant interactions.
A Linear Algebraic Approach to Subfield Subcodes of GRS Codes

The problem of finding subfield subcodes of generalized Reed-Solomon (GRS) codes (i.e., alternant codes) is considered. A pure linear algebraic approach is taken in order to derive message constraints that generalize the well known conjugacy constraints for cyclic GRS codes and their Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) subfield subcodes. It is shown that the presented technique can be used for finding nested subfield subcodes with increasing design distance.
Complete mitochondrial genome of Siniperca roulei (Perciformes: Sinipercidae)

Abstract Siniperca roulei is an endemic species of the eastern part of China. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of S. roulei was determined. The circular genome is 16,493 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and a control region. The overall nucleotide composition was 25.9% T, 29.3% C, 28.4% A, and 16.4% G, with an A + T bias of 54.3%. The gene composition and the arrangement of the S. roulei mitogenome were identical to most of the other vertebrates. The molecular data here we presented could play a useful role to study the evolutionary relationships and population genetics of Sinipercidae fish.
A novel key partitioning schema for efficient execution of MapReduce applications

MapReduce and its open source implementation, Hadoop, are the prevailing platforms for big data processing. MapReduce is a simple programming model for performing large computational problems in large-scale distributed systems. This model consists of two major phases: Map and Reduce. Between these two main phases, partitioner part is embedded which distributes produced keys by Map tasks among Reduce tasks. When the amount of keys and their associated values, which are called intermediate data, is huge, this part has significant impact on execution time of Reduce tasks, and consequently, completion time of jobs. In this paper, we present a network and resource aware key partitioner to decrease the execution time of MapReduce jobs. Using sampling, our algorithm finds the distribution of keys in intermediate data. Then, considering aforementioned distribution, the amount of each key on each machine, the placement of Reduce tasks on machines and the network bandwidth between machines, our algorithm assigns keys to Reduce tasks to decrease the total execution time of job. Our experiments show that our approach can improve completion time of Reduce phase and job execution time by up to 52% and 31% respectively compared with Hadoop default partitioner and can find the solution within 8% of ideal partitioner.
Biogeosciences Availability of phosphate for phytoplankton and bacteria and of glucose for bacteria at different p CO 2 levels in a mesocosm study

Availability of phosphate for phytoplankton and bacteria and of glucose for bacteria at different pCO2 levels were studied in a mesocosm experiment (PeECE III). Using nutrient-depleted SW Norwegian fjord waters, three different levels ofpCO2 (350μatm: 1×CO2; 700μatm: 2×CO2; 1050μatm: 3×CO2) were set up, and nitrate and phosphate were added at the start of the experiment in order to induce a phytoplankton bloom. Despite similar responses of total particulate P concentration and phosphate turnover time at the three different pCO2 levels, the size distribution of particulate P andPO4 uptake suggested that phosphate transferred to the>10μm fraction was greater in the 3 ×CO2 mesocosm during the first 6–10 days when phosphate concentration was high. During the period of phosphate depletion (after Day 12), specific phosphate affinity and specific alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) suggested a P-deficiency (i.e. suboptimal phosphate supply) rather than a P-limitation for the phytoplankton and bacterial community at the three different pCO2 levels. Specific phosphate affinity and specific APA tended to be higher in the 3 ×CO2 than in the 2×CO2 and 1×CO2 mesocosms during the phosphate depletion period, although no statistical differences were found. Glucose turnover time was correlated significantly and negatively with bacterial abundance and production but not with the bulk DOC concentration. This suggests that even though constituting a small fraction of the bulk DOC, glucose was an important component of labile DOC for bacteria. Specific Correspondence to: T. Tanaka (tsuneo.tanaka@univmed.fr) glucose affinity of bacteria behaved similarly at the three differentpCO2 levels with measured specific glucose affinities being consistently much lower than the theoretical maximum predicted from the diffusion-limited model. This suggests that bacterial growth was not severely limited by the glucose availability. Hence, it seems that the lower availability of inorganic nutrients after the phytoplankton bloom reduced the bacterial capacity to consume labile DOC in the upper mixed layer of the stratified mesocosms.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Cosmoscarata bispecularis (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha, Cercopoidea, Cercopidae)

Abstract To characterize froghopper mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) features, in this study, the mitochondrial genome of Cosmoscarata bispecularis (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha, Cercopoidea, Cercopidae) was sequenced and annotated. The complete genome is 15,426 bp in length. It contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and a control region (A + T-rich region). All the PCGs initiate with the standard start codons ATN and all the tRNAs can be folded into typical cloverleaf secondary structures except tRNASer(GCT), which only formed a simple loop. The control region is consisted of 861 bp bases located between the srRNA gene and the tRNAlle–tRNAGln–tRNAMet(IQM) gene cluster. The measure of complete mitogenome sequence of C. bispecularis will provide fundamental data for the phylogenetic and biogeographic studies of the Cercopoidea and Hemiptera.
Towards a mechanistic understanding of pathological anxiety: the dorsal medial prefrontal-amygdala 'aversive amplification' circuit in unmedicated generalized and social anxiety disorders.

BACKGROUND We have delineated, across four prior studies, the role of positive dorsal medial prefrontal/anterior cingulate cortex (dmPFC/ACC)-amygdala circuit coupling during aversive processing in healthy individuals under stress. This translational circuit, termed the 'aversive amplification circuit', is thought to drive adaptive, harm-avoidant behavior in threatening environments. Here, in a natural progression of this prior work, we confirm that this circuit also plays a role in the pathological manifestation of anxiety disorders. METHODS Forty-five unmedicated participants (N=22 generalized and social anxiety disorder/N=23 controls) recruited from Washington DC metropolitan area completed a simple emotion identification task during functional magnetic resonance imaging at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. FINDINGS As predicted, a diagnosis by valence interaction was seen in whole-brain amygdala connectivity within the dmPFC/ACC clusters identified in our prior study; driven by significantly greater circuit coupling during fearful versus happy face processing in anxious, but not healthy, participants. Critically, and in accordance with contemporary theoretical approaches to psychiatry, circuit coupling correlated positively with self-reported anxious symptoms, providing evidence of a continuous circuit-subjective symptomatology relationship. INTERPRETATION We track the functional role of a single neural circuit from its involvement in adaptive threat-biases under stress, to its chronic engagement in anxiety disorders in the absence of experimentally induced stress. Thus, we uniquely map a mood and anxiety related circuit across its adaptive and maladaptive stages. Clinically, this may provide a step towards a more mechanistic spectrum-based approach to anxiety disorder diagnosis and may ultimately lead to more targeted treatments.
Ultrasonography for Preoperative Diagnosis of Retroperitoneal Fibrosis

Abstract This study aimed to assess the application of ultrasonography for preoperative diagnosis of retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF). A total of 51 patients with clinically suspected RPF underwent transabdominal ultrasonography and ultrasound-guided histopathologic biopsy (tAU-UGHB). Retroperitoneal fibrosis was diagnosed in 35 patients; of these, 31 cases (88.6%) received a diagnosis using tAU-UGHB. The ultrasonographic images mainly showed solid, irregular isoechoic masses, which were present behind the retroperitoneum and surrounded the abdominal aorta, inferior vena cava, and ureters and had clear borders with the encapsulated structures. Compared with other retroperitoneal lesions, RPF lesions were mainly located below the initial level of the renal artery, and their internal flow signals were not rich (P < 0.05). Retroperitoneal fibrosis had characteristic ultrasonographic features, and color Doppler ultrasound-guided biopsy could be positioned accurately, safely, and efficiently; therefore, tAU-UGHB can be used as an effective modality for preoperative diagnosis of RPF.
Effect of short carbon fiber surface treatment on composite properties

The effects of whiskerized carbon fibers (WCF) embedded as filler into polymer matrix were investigated. In this respect, composites consisting of pure polypropylene and also carbon fiber (CF)/polypropylene (PP) was fabricated and compared. Polypropylene matrix was reinforced with 2% concentration of WCF and prepared by a melt-mixing method. The tensile test indicated that the addition of 2% WCF enhanced the tensile strength and Young’s modulus by 38.1% and 28.2%, respectively. Besides that, the elongation was decreased for that sample. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed an increase of 39.2% in the stiffness of the WCF/PP composite and an improvement in the storage modulus. The tan δ for the sample was also smaller than unfilled PP and CF/PP composites. Furthermore, thermogravimetric analyses in an inert atmosphere showed a shift of temperature to the higher temperature with the addition of fillers.
A concise review of fast bilateral filtering

During last couple of decades, bilateral filtering has been an important research topic in the computer vision and image processing community. The filter is widely used for non-destructive image enhancement. The novelty of the filter is that the processing is performed jointly in the spatial and range (photometric) domain. This, for example, ensures edge-preservation during noise cleaning and the enhancement of psycho-visual appearance of an image without the appearance of phantom colors. Unfortunately, the spatio-range processing renders the filter non-linear and computation intensive. In this paper, we present a concise review of the various fast algorithms proposed by researchers for speeding up the filtering without compromising the visual quality. In particular, we explain how these proposals can be clubbed under various broad categories from an approximation-theoretic perspective. We also present simulation results to compare the accuracy-timing trade-offs achieved by some of the state-of-the-art methods.
Effective Waterline detection for unmanned surface vehicles in inland water

In the maritime environment, real-time and accurate water line detection can help unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for autonomous navigation. Special features such as cloud clutter, water reflection, water surface glint and background texture in optical images make it very difficult for USV to detect the water line accurately. To address this problem, a novel water line detection approach is proposed for a practical USV system in the inland water. In this paper, land-water and sky-water line are taken into consideration as part of the water line. To minimize the influence of background texture, the local variation method is introduced to smooth the image and remain the background structure, such as the water line. Regarding the linear characteristic, these water line points are constrained near a line by the RANSAC algorithm. The experimental results are given in the end and show that the proposed approach is effective and can be applied to different environments.
University of Birmingham Dual-Polarized Filtering Antenna With Printed Jerusalem-Cross Radiator

This paper presents a design of dual-polarized antenna with embedded ﬁltering circuits by using a printed Jerusalem-cross radiator and a ring slot-coupled feed structure. A square ring slot has been adopted to implement the coupling mechanism. It is excited by two orthogonal microstrip feedlines to achieve dual polarizations. Meanwhile, the slot-coupled feed network and printed Jerusalem-cross radiator form a coupled-resonator circuit that realizes a second-order bandpass ﬁltering performance. Consequently, a dual-polarized antenna with a ﬁltering performance is obtained without using extra ﬁltering circuits. To demonstrate the idea, an antenna prototype operating at LTE bands 42 and 43 (3.4–3.8 GHz) is designed, fabricated, and measured. Measured results show that the proposed antenna provides good ﬁltering and dual-polarized radiation performances. Furthermore, a four-element dual-polarized linear array is designed for high-gain applications.