Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling the effects of land‐use/land‐cover changes on the near‐surface atmosphere in southern South America

A fully coupled atmospheric‐biospheric regional climate model, GEMRAMS, was used to evaluate potential effects of land‐use/land‐cover changes (LULCC) on near‐surface atmosphere over a southern South American domain at seasonal time scales. In GEMRAMS, leaf area index and canopy conductance are computed based on modelled temperature, solar radiation, and the water status of the soil and air, allowing a two‐way interaction between canopy and atmosphere. Several austral spring‐early summer simulations were conducted using land cover representing current (i.e. agricultural landscape), natural (i.e. before European settlement), and afforestation scenarios for three periods associated with El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions. The shift to agriculture resulted in a generalized increase in albedo, reducing the available energy at the near‐surface. (Correction added on 21 September 2011 after original online publication: in the preceding sentence the word ‘decrease’ was corrected to ‘increase’.) The energy partitioning between latent and sensible heat fluxes changed, leading to distinct temperature responses. A shift from grass to agriculture led to cooler and wetter near‐surface atmospheric conditions. Warmer temperatures resulted from the conversion of wooded grasslands or forest to agriculture. The LULCC‐induced signal was spatially heterogeneous and with a seasonal component associated with vegetation phenology. A significant decrease in maximum temperatures in the southern and central Pampas led to a decrease in the diurnal temperature range. Basing on some observational studies in this region our results suggest a potential strong influence of LULCC on the maximum temperatures in central Argentina in summer. Afforestation resulted overall in cooler temperatures. For both LULCC scenarios the direction of the energy fluxes and temperature changes remained in general the same in two extreme ENSO years, although for some vegetation conversions the signal reversed direction. Overall, the impacts were enhanced during a dry year, but the response also depended on the vegetation types involved in the conversion. The effects on precipitation were insignificant in the agriculture‐conversion scenario and a general increase was found in the afforested scenario. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Direct amidation of non-activated phenylacetic acid and benzylamine derivatives catalysed by NiCl2

This paper describes an eco-friendly and efficient direct amidation of benzylamine and phenylacetic acid derivatives in the presence of 10 mol% NiCl2 as catalyst without any drying agent. For the different phenylacetic acid and benzylamine derivatives, the direct catalysed amidation gave moderate-to-excellent yields in toluene. The steric and electronic effects of substituent groups on the phenyl ring of acid were crucial to the yields of the direct amidation. The catalyst NiCl2 can be recycled three times without loss of activity.
Molecular and Functional Properties of Regional Astrocytes in the Adult Brain

The molecular signature and functional properties of astroglial subtypes in the adult CNS remain largely undefined. By using translational ribosome affinity purification followed by RNA-Seq, we profiled astroglial ribosome-associated (presumably translating) mRNAs in major cortical and subcortical brain regions (cortex, hippocampus, caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens, thalamus, and hypothalamus) of BAC aldh1l1-translational ribosome affinity purification (TRAP) mice (both sexes). We found that the expression of astroglial translating mRNAs closely follows the dorsoventral axis, especially from cortex/hippocampus to thalamus/hypothalamus posteriorly. This region-specific expression pattern of genes, such as synaptogenic modulator sparc and transcriptional factors (emx2, lhx2, and hopx), was validated by qRT-PCR and immunostaining in brain sections. Interestingly, cortical or subcortical astrocytes selectively promote neurite growth and synaptic activity of neurons only from the same region in mismatched cocultures, exhibiting region-matched astrocyte to neuron communication. Overall, these results generated new molecular signature of astrocyte types in the adult CNS, providing insights into their origin and functional diversity. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We investigated the in vivo molecular and functional heterogeneity of astrocytes inter-regionally from adult brain. Our results showed that the expression pattern of ribosome-associated mRNA profiles in astrocytes closely follows the dorsoventral axis, especially posteriorly from cortex/hippocampus to thalamus/hypothalamus. In line with this, our functional results further demonstrated region-selective roles of cortical and subcortical astrocytes in regulating cortical or subcortical neuronal synaptogenesis and maturation. These in vivo studies provide a previously uncharacterized and important molecular atlas for exploring region-specific astroglial functions.
Numerical Simulation of Nanoscale Materials by Discrete Dipole Approximation

In this paper, the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) is applied to calculate the scattering property of optical materials in nanoscale. First of all, the scattering electric field of golden nanosphere is calculated to validate the DDA. Then the DDA is used to calculate the reflectance spectrum of a photonic crystal, an artificial material with periodic nanostructure. At last the DDA is used for the electromagnetic cloaking structure of infinite 3D cylinder-shaped anisotropic metamaterial. The results are in accordance with the MIE theory, FDTD, FEM method and predicted physical phenomenon.
Mandarin accent adaptation based on context-independent/context-dependent pronunciation modeling

An accent adaptation approach using pronunciation variation modeling technology for the Mandarin accent was proposed in this paper. As the Chinese language is monosyllabic, the syllable pronunciation variation dictionary (SPVD) was built to depict the characteristics of accent. Firstly, the pronunciation modeling technology was utilized to get the context-independent and context-dependent accent-specific syllable confusion matrix according to the acoustic recognition results (pin-yin stream). Then the accent-specific Chinese SPVD was constructed from this confusion matrix. Finally, N-Best acoustic recognition candidates were re-scored with the help of SPVD. The proposed method was experimented on INTEL Shanghai-Accent Mandarin Corpus and the 863 standard Mandarin acoustic recognizer. The syllable recognition error rate was reduced 15% by context-independent SPVD, and 20% by context-dependent SPVD.
Biomarker for nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Anti-glycopeptidolipid core antigen immunoglobulin A antibodies

Abstract Objective: Nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) pulmonary disease is occasionally associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), influencing the therapeutic strategy of RA. Since chronic lung diseases are frequently associated with RA, the diagnosis of NTM pulmonary disease is quite difficult in RA patients. Recently, a serological diagnostic test detecting serum immunoglobulin A against the glycopeptidolipid (GPL) core antigen was developed. We investigated the serum levels of anti-GPL antibodies in RA patients to determine the usefulness for detecting NTM pulmonary disease. Methods: Anti-GPL antibodies were detected in the sera from RA patients with or without NTM pulmonary disease. Results: The positivity of anti-GPL antibodies in RA patients with NTM pulmonary disease was higher than in RA without (p = 1.76 × 10−14, odds ratio 70.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] 22.28–221.83). Anti-GPL Ab titers were increased in RA with NTM pulmonary disease (mean titer ± standard deviation [U/ml], RA with NTM pulmonary disease: 4.1 ± 7.0, RA without NTM pulmonary disease: 0.4 ± 1.6, p = 1.51 × 10−10). The area under the curve (AUC) value of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for anti-GPL antibodies was 0.917 (95%CI 0.860–0.974, p = 3.32 × 10−47). Conclusions: Serum anti-GPL antibodies are useful for detecting NTM pulmonary disease in RA patients.
Circadian variation of ticagrelor-induced platelet inhibition in healthy adulty

Aims The circadian variation of platelet aggregation is well demonstrated. However, whether this has an impact on antiplatelet inhibition therapy is poorly documented. We aimed to observe whether ticagrelor-induced platelet inhibition follows a circadian rhythm. Methods and results The study included 25 healthy volunteers (11 female; 14 male). Blood samples were collected every 4 h. Ticagrelor was added in vitro at a concentration that provided 50% inhibition of the maximum response using the VerifyNow System Platelet Reactivity Test® thus avoiding any bias induced by circadian gastrointestinal absorption. Platelet aggregation testing was subsequently performed using the VerifyNow. Circadian changes in total platelet count, percentage of platelets inhibition, Von Willebrand activity, and volunteers' physiological parameters were analysed by fitting individuals' data to a sine curve with a 24-h period. Volunteers' physiological parameters [heart rate (b.p.m.), systolic/diastolic blood pressure (mmHg), and body temperature (Celsius)] followed a significant mean circadian pattern of 6 b.p.m. (P < 0.001), 5 mmHg/7 mmHg (P < 0.002), and 0.3°C (P < 0.001), respectively. Ticagrelor-induced platelet inhibition was significantly lower at 13:00 (38.4%) than at any other time (45.2%) (P = 0.018). Percentage of inhibited platelets plotted against time followed a circadian rhythm (P < 0.001), with mean minimum/maximum values at 13:00/02:00, respectively. Von Willebrand activity also followed a circadian pattern (P < 0.001), with an amplitude of 12.24% and a maximum activity at 12:00. Conclusion Ticagrelor-induced platelet inhibition follows a circadian rhythm, with the lowest mean values achieved at 13:00. These results deserve further studies in patients with coronary artery disease.
Effect of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Hamstring Tightness in Healthy Subjects: A Pilot Study

Purpose To assess the effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for healthy participants with hamstring tightness. Materials and Methods This study was performed at a university rehabilitation hospital. Twenty nine healthy adults with hamstring tightness were enrolled and randomly allocated into four groups (ESWT, stretching exercise, ESWT with stretching exercise, and control). The effects of individual treatments were compared by the finger-to-floor test and popliteal angle. Results The ESWT group, stretching exercise group and ESWT with stretching exercise group had decreased finger-to-floor distances and right popliteal angles immediately after intervention, compared with the control group (p<0.05). At 4 weeks after completion of the interventions, finger-to-floor distances and the right popliteal angle in only the ESWT with stretching exercise group showed a significant improvement, compared with the control group (p=0.008 and 0.023). Conclusion While ESWT and stretching both reduced hamstring tightness immediately after interventions, only ESWT with stretching exercise maintained the significantly improved relief of hamstring tightness significantly after 4 weeks.
Effects of Design Features of Explicit Values Clarification Methods

Background. Diverse values clarification methods exist. It is important to understand which, if any, of their design features help people clarify values relevant to a health decision. Purpose. To explore the effects of design features of explicit values clarification methods on outcomes including decisional conflict, values congruence, and decisional regret. Data Sources. MEDLINE, all EBM Reviews, CINAHL, EMBASE, Google Scholar, manual search of reference lists, and expert contacts. Study Selection. Articles were included if they described the evaluation of 1 or more explicit values clarification methods. Data Extraction. We extracted details about the evaluation, whether it was conducted in the context of actual or hypothetical decisions, and the results of the evaluation. We combined these data with data from a previous review about each values clarification method’s design features. Data Synthesis. We identified 20 evaluations of values clarification methods within 19 articles. Reported outcomes were heterogeneous. Few studies reported values congruence or postdecision outcomes. The most promising design feature identified was explicitly showing people the implications of their values, for example, by displaying the extent to which each of their decision options aligns with what matters to them. Limitations. Because of the heterogeneity of outcomes, we were unable to perform a meta-analysis. Results should be interpreted with caution. Conclusions. Few values clarification methods have been evaluated experimentally. More research is needed to determine effects of different design features of values clarification methods and to establish best practices in values clarification. When feasible, evaluations should assess values congruence and postdecision measures of longer-term outcomes.
Mixture of Attractors: A Novel Movement Primitive Representation for Learning Motor Skills From Demonstrations

In this letter, we introduce Mixture of Attractors, a novel movement primitive representation that allows for learning complex object-relative movements. The movement primitive representation inherently supports multiple coordinate frames, enabling the system to generalize a skill to unseen object positions and orientations. In contrast to most other approaches, a skill is learned by solving a convex optimization problem. Therefore, the quality of the skill does not depend on a good initial estimate of parameters. The resulting movements are automatically smooth and can be of arbitrary shape. The approach is evaluated and compared to other movement primitive representations on data from the Omniglot handwriting dataset and on real demonstrations of a handwriting task. The evaluations show that the presented approach outperforms other state-of-the-art concepts in terms of generalization capabilities and accuracy.
Ex vivo cell labeling with 64Cu–pyruvaldehyde-bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) for imaging cell trafficking in mice with positron-emission tomography

We have used copper-64-pyruvaldehyde-bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (64Cu–PTSM) to radiolabel cells ex vivo for in vivo positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging studies of cell trafficking in mice and for eventual application in patients. 2-[18F]-Fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) cell labeling also was evaluated for comparison. 64Cu–PTSM uptake by C6 rat glioma (C6) cells increased for 180 min and then stabilized. The labeling efficiency was directly proportional to 64Cu–PTSM concentration and influenced negatively by serum. Label uptake per cell was greater with 64Cu–PTSM than with FDG. However, both 64Cu–PTSM- and FDG-labeled cells showed efflux of cell activity into supernatant. The 64Cu–PTSM labeling procedure did not interfere significantly with C6 cell viability and proliferation rate. MicroPET images of living mice indicate that tail-vein-injected labeled C6 cells traffic to the lungs and liver. In addition, transient splenic accumulation of radioactivity was clearly detectable in a mouse scanned at 3.33 h postinfusion of 64Cu–PTSM-labeled lymphocytes. In contrast, the liver was the principal organ of tracer localization after tail-vein administration of 64Cu–PTSM alone. These results indicate that in vivo imaging of cell trafficking is possible with 64Cu–PTSM-labeled cells. Given the longer t1/2 of 64Cu (12.7 h) relative to 18F (110 min), longer cell-tracking periods (up to 24–36 h) should be possible now with PET.
Microglia contributes to plaque growth by cell death due to uptake of amyloid β in the brain of Alzheimer's disease mouse model

Pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include extracellularly accumulated amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Activated microglia, brain‐resident macrophages, are also found surrounding Aβ plaques. The study of the brain of AD mouse models revealed that Aβ plaque formation is completed by the consolidation of newly generated plaque clusters in vicinity of existed plaques. However, the dynamics of Aβ plaque formation, growth and the mechanisms by which microglia contribute to Aβ plaque formation are unknown. In the present study, we confirmed how microglia are involved in Aβ plaque formation and their growth in the brain of 5XFAD mice, the Aβ‐overexpressing AD transgenic mouse model, and performed serial intravital two‐photon microscopy (TPM) imaging of the brains of 5XFAD mice crossed with macrophage/microglia‐specific GFP‐expressing CX3CR1GFP/GFP mice. We found that activated microglia surrounding Aβ plaques take up Aβ, which are clusters developed inside activated microglia in vivo and this was followed by microglial cell death. These dying microglia release the accumulated Aβ into the extracellular space, which contributes to Aβ plaque growth. This process was confirmed by live TPM in vivo imaging and flow cytometry. These results suggest that activated microglia can contribute to formation and growth of Aβ plaques by causing microglial cell death in the brain. GLIA 2016;64:2274–2290
Evaluation of tenascin-C by tenatumomab in T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas identifies a new target for radioimmunotherapy

The clinical outcome of T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is poor and innovative treatments are needed. Tenascin-C is a large extracellular glycoprotein not expressed under physiological conditions, but overexpressed in cancer. Aim of the study was to evaluate tenascin-C expression within pathologic tissue of T-cell NHL and determine its clinical significance. We used an immunohistochemistry approach using the anti-tenascin-C monoclonal antibody Tenatumomab in 75 systemic T-cell NHL (including 72 mature and 3 precursor T-cell NHL), and 25 primary cutaneous T-cell NHL. Data were analyzed in terms of staining intensity, proportion of involved areas and histologic pattern, and results were correlated with clinical characteristics and outcome. Ninety-three percent of the cases were tenascin-C positive and 59% of systemic diseases were characterized by a predominant involvement (>50%). Stromal expression was detected in all the cases while vascular and vascular plus cytoplasmic expression was present in 49% and 23%. The constant overexpression of the tenascin-C gene was observed in two independent publicly available T-cell NHL gene expression datasets. In conclusions, tenascin-C represents an attractive target that sets the rationale to investigate the therapeutic activity of radiolabeled Tenatumomab in T-cell NHL.
Experimental Approaches to Study Endothelial Responses to Shear Stress.

SIGNIFICANCE Shear stress controls multiple physiological processes in endothelial cells (ECs). RECENT ADVANCES The response of ECs to shear has been studied using a range of in vitro and in vivo models. CRITICAL ISSUES This article describes some of the experimental techniques that can be used to study endothelial responses to shear stress. It includes an appraisal of large animal, rodent, and zebrafish models of vascular mechanoresponsiveness. It also describes several bioreactors to apply flow to cells and physical methods to separate mechanoresponses from mass transport mechanisms. FUTURE DIRECTIONS We conclude that combining in vitro and in vivo approaches can provide a detailed mechanistic view of vascular responses to force and that high-throughput systems are required for unbiased assessment of the function of shear-induced molecules. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 25, 389-400.
Fatty acid binding protein 4/aP2-dependent BLT1R expression and signaling

Previous studies have shown that reduced levels of the adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (FABP)4 (AFABP/aP2), result in metabolic improvement including potentiated insulin sensitivity and attenuated atherosclerosis. Mechanistically, pharmacologic or genetic inhibition of FABP4 in macrophages upregulates UCP2, attenuates reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, polarizes cells toward the anti-inflammatory M2 state, and reduces leukotriene (LT) secretion. At the protein level, FABP4 stabilizes LTA4 toward chemical hydrolysis, thereby potentiating inflammatory LTC4 synthesis. Herein, we extend the FABP4-LT axis and demonstrate that genetic knockout of FABP4 reduces expression of the major macrophage LT receptor, LTB4 receptor 1 (BLT1R), via a ROS-dependent mechanism. Consistent with inflammation driving BLT1R expression, M1 polarized macrophages express increased levels of BLT1R relative to M2 polarized macrophages and treatment with proinflammatory lipopolysaccharide increased BLT1R mRNA and protein expression. In FABP4 knockout macrophages, silencing of UCP2, increased ROS levels and led to increased expression of BLT1R mRNA. Similarly, addition of exogenous H2O2 upregulated BLT1R expression, whereas the addition of a ROS scavenger, N-acetyl cysteine, decreased BLT1R levels. As compared with WT macrophages, LTB4-BLT1R-dependent JAK2-phosphorylation was reduced in FABP4 knockout macrophages. In summary, these results indicate that FABP4 regulates the expression of BLT1R and its downstream signaling via control of oxidative stress in macrophages.
SPECIES AND SEX-BIASED PREDATION ON HATCHLING GREEN TURTLES BY FRIGATEBIRDS ON EUROPA ISLAND, WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN

Abstract Europa Island is a major breeding place for green turtles (Chelonia mydas; 0.7 to 2.4 million juvenile turtles hatch there annually), Great Frigatebirds (Fregata minor; 700 to 1100 breeding pairs), and Lesser Frigatebirds (Fregata ariel; 1000 to 1200 pairs). By visual observation, we quantified the proportions of males, females, and juveniles of both frigatebird species prospecting over the hatching sites and preying on hatchling turtles. Of 1828 juveniles observed hatching at daytime (35 separate turtle emergences), 1632 were immediately eaten by male Great Frigatebirds. Only 10 hatchlings were preyed upon by female Great Frigatebirds; the remaining 186 were captured by juvenile Great Frigatebirds. Such feeding behavior was not observed in Lesser Frigatebirds. We suggest that the sexual and species differences in hatchling turtle predation are due to size differences between the two species and between male and female Great Frigatebirds.