Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New directions in the rational design of electrical and magnetic seizure therapies: individualized Low Amplitude Seizure Therapy (iLAST) and Magnetic Seizure Therapy (MST)

Abstract Electroconvulsive therapy remains a key treatment option for severe cases of depression, but undesirable side-effects continue to limit its use. Innovations in the design of novel seizure therapies seek to improve its risk benefit ratio through enhanced control of the focality of stimulation. The design of seizure therapies with increased spatial precision is motivated by avoiding stimulation of deep brain structures implicated in memory retention, including the hippocampus. The development of two innovations in seizure therapy—individualized low-amplitude seizure therapy (iLAST) and magnetic seizure therapy (MST), are detailed. iLAST is a method of seizure titration involving reducing current spread in the brain by titrating current amplitude from the traditional fixed amplitudes. MST, which can be used in conjunction with iLAST dosing methods, involves the use of magnetic stimulation to reduce shunting and spreading of current by the scalp occurring during electrical stimulation. Evidence is presented on the rationale for increasing the focality of ECT in hopes of preserving its effectiveness, while reducing cognitive side-effects. Finally, the value of electric field and neural modelling is illustrated to explain observed clinical effects of modifications to ECT technique, and their utility in the rational design of the next generation of seizure therapies.
Polysulfone and polyacrylate-based zwitterionic coatings for the prevention and easy removal of marine biofouling

A series of polysulfone and polyacrylate-based zwitterionic coatings were prepared on epoxy-primed aluminum substrata and characterized for their antifouling (AF) and fouling-release (FR) properties towards marine bacteria, microalgae and barnacles. The zwitterionic polymer coatings provided minimal resistance against bacterial biofilm retention and microalgal cell attachment, but facilitated good removal of attached microbial biomass by exposure to water-jet apparatus generated hydrodynamic shearing forces. Increasing the ion content of the coatings improved the AF properties, but required a stronger adhesive bond to the epoxy-primed aluminum substratum to prevent coating swelling and dissolution. Grafted poly(sulfobetaine) (gpSBMA), the most promising zwitterionic coating identified from microfouling evaluations, enabled the removal of four out of five barnacles reattached to its surface without incurring damage to their baseplates. This significant result indicated that gpSBMA relied predominately on its surface chemistry for its FR properties since it was very thin (~1–2 µm) relative to commercial coating standards (>200 µm).
Graph cuts with shape priors for segmentation

This paper investigates segmentation of images and videos using graph cuts and shape priors. Graph cuts is used to find the global optimum of a cost function based on the region and boundary properties of the image or video. The region and boundary properties are estimated using certain pixels marked by the user. A shape prior term is added to this cost function to bias the solution towards a known shape. In this work, a circular shape prior defined by center and radius parameters is used. Powell’s minimization algorithm is used to align the shape prior with the object to be segmented. The average location of the user-marked pixels is used as a starting point to initialize Powell’s method. Accurate image and video segmentations are achieved with minimal user input. The results obtained when including shape priors are compared to those using just the region and boundary properties in the graph cut. Although only a circular prior is used in this work, the concepts can be extended to any parametric shape prior that determines the shape of the desired object. In this paper, graph cuts and shape priors are used to segment faces from images and videos.
Re-Arrangements in the Cytoplasmic Distribution of Small RNAs Following the Maternal-to-Zygotic Transition in Drosophila Embryos

Small RNAs are known to regulate gene expression during early development. However, the dynamics of interaction between small RNAs and polysomes during this process is largely unknown. 0-1h and 7-8h Drosophila embryos were fractionated on sucrose density gradients into four fractions based on A254 reading (1) translationally inactive messengerribonucleoprotein (mRNP); (2) 60S; (3) monosome; and (4) polysome. Comparative analysis of deep-sequencing reads from fractionated and un-fractionated 0-1h and 8-h embryos revealed development-specific co-sedimentation pattern of small RNAs with the cellular translation machinery. Although most miRNAs did not have a specific preference for any state of the translational machinery, we detected fraction-specific enrichment of some miRNAs such as miR-1-3p, -184-39, 5-5p and 263-5p. More interestingly, we observed dysregulation of a subset of miRNAs in fractionated embryos despite no measurable difference in their amount in unfractionated embryos. Transposon-derived endosiRNAs are over-expressed in 7-8h embryos and are associated mainly with the mRNP fraction. However, transposon-derived piRNAs, which are more abundant in 0-1h embryos, co-sediment primarily with the polysome fractions. These results suggest that there appears to be a complex interplay among the small RNAs with respect to their polysome-cosedimention pattern during early development in Drosophila.
Influence of essential oils in diet and life-stage on gut microbiota and fillet quality of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Abstract Developing fish farming to meet the demands of food security and sustainability in the 21st century will require new farming systems and improved feeds. Diet and microbe interactions in the gut is an important variable with the potential to make a significant impact on future fish farming diets and production systems. It was monitored the gut microbiota of farmed rainbow trout using 16S rRNA profiling over 51 weeks during standard rearing conditions and feeding diet with supplementation of an essential oils (MixOil) mixture from plants (at a concentration in diet of 200 mg/kg). Gut microbiota 16S rRNA profiling indicated that the fish gut was dominated by Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Although the dietary supplementation with MixOil had no impact on either the composition or architecture of gut microbiota, significant changes in alpha and beta diversity and relative abundance of groups of gut bacteria were evident during growth stages on test feeds, especially upon prolonged growth on finishing feed. Fish fillet quality to guarantee palatability and safety for human consumption was also evaluated. Significant differences within the gut microbiota of juvenile and adult trout under the same rearing conditions were observed, The addition of essential oil blend affected some physicochemical characteristics of trout fillets, including their resistance to oxidative damage and their weight loss (as liquid loss and water holding capacity) during the first period of storage, that are two important parameters related to product shelf life and susceptibility to spoilage. The results highlighted the need for further studies concern dietary microbiome modulation at different life stages and its influence on animal health, growth performance and final product quality.
Integrated Processing: Quality Assurance Procedure of the Surface Layer of Machine Parts during the Manufacturing Step "Diamond Smoothing"

The present study has found that during the integrated processing after the diamond smoothing, in the surface-hardened sample a cold-worked layer 0.01 . 0.02 mm in thickness, the microhardness value of which reaches 868 HV, is formed. The intensity of compressive stresses on the part surface increases to στ = -678 MPa. The analysis of the experimental data has shown the relationship between the parameter Ra and the processing modes that can be used during diamond smoothing, based on the high performance and the desired surface roughness. It has been found that the minimum value of roughness Ra = 0.18±0.08 μm is reliably achieved by smoothing processing when the smoothing force Py ranges from 100 N to 150 N.
Urinary Lipocalin Protein in a Female Rodent with Correlation to Phases in the Estrous Cycle: An Experimental Study Accompanied by In Silico Analysis

Male urinary lipocalin family proteins, practically odorant-binding proteins but also could be pheromones by themselves, in rodents act as a shuttle for chemosignal communication and facilitate delivery of the signals for access to congeners. However, presence of this protein in urine of female rodents has not yet been reported. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to find if lipocalin family protein is present in the urine of female house rat and, if so, to find whether its expression differs between the phases in the estrous cycle. The rat urinary protein was separated in single dimensional gel electrophoresis. A 14.5 kDa lipocalin protein appeared in the urine prominently during the estrus and metestrus phases compared to proestrus and diestrus phases. The expression of this protein in the urine was very low in ovariectomized rats. MALDI-TOF/MS analysis affirmed the 14.5 kDa protein as a lipocalin family protein. Analysis adopting bio-informatics tools further proved the protein as a lipocalin family member. Thus, this study for the first time demonstrated the presence of a lipocalin family protein in the urine of a female rodent and it was highly expressed during estrus phase. This lipocalin protein in female rat urine may facilitate a chemosignal function independently of a pheromone or in association with a specific pheromone.
Computational Statistics and Data Analysis Analysis of generalized semiparametric regression models for cumulative incidence functions with missing covariates

The cumulative incidence function quantifies the probability of failure over time due to a specific cause for competing risks data. The generalized semiparametric regression models for the cumulative incidence functions with missing covariates are investigated. Theeffectsofsomecovariatesaremodeledasnonparametricfunctionsoftimewhileothers are modeled as parametric functions of time. Different link functions can be selected to add flexibility in modeling the cumulative incidence functions. The estimation procedures based on the direct binomial regression and the inverse probability weighting of complete cases are developed. This approach modifies the full data weighted least squares equations by weighting the contributions of observed members through the inverses of estimated sampling probabilities which depend on the censoring status and the event types among other subject characteristics. The asymptotic properties of the proposed estimators are established. The finite-sample performances of the proposed estimators and their relative efficiencies under different two-phase sampling designs are examined in simulations. The methods are applied to analyze data from the RV144 vaccine efficacy trial to investigate the associations of immune response biomarkers with the cumulative incidence of HIV-1 infection. partial to examine probability of
Advances in umbilical cord blood cell therapy: the present and the future

ABSTRACT Introduction: Umbilical cord blood (UCB), previously seen as medical waste, is increasingly recognized as a valuable source of cells for therapeutic use. The best-known application is in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), where UCB has become an increasingly important graft source in the 28 years since the first umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) was performed. Recently, UCB has been increasingly investigated as a putative source for adoptive cell therapy. Areas covered: This review covers the advances in umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) to overcome the limitation regarding cellular dose, immunological naivety and additional cell doses such as DLI. It also provides an overview regarding the progress in adoptive cellular therapy using UCB. Expert opinion: UCB has been established as an important source of stem cells for HSCT. Successful strategies to overcome the limitations of UCBT, such as the limited cell numbers and naivety of the cells, are being developed, including novel methods to perform in vitro expansion of progenitor cells, and to improve their homing to the bone marrow. Promising early clinical trials of adoptive therapies with UCB cells, including non-immunological cells, are currently performed for viral infections, malignant diseases and in regenerative medicine.
Proper Motions of the Stars

MISS CLERKE, in her very interesting article (NATURE, vol. xliv. p. 572) on the motion of the sun in space, seems to think that we have only the two alternatives of supposing that the brightness of a star is independent of its distance, or that the motions of the stars increase with their distance. I suspect that, when the proper motions of all stars down to the 9th magnitude have been tabulated, the necessity of adopting either alternative will disappear. My object in writing this letter, however, is to call the attention of spectroscopists to the question thus raised. The spectroscope, when used in connection with a powerful telescope, ought to be able to show whether the fainter stars as a rule move more rapidly in the line of sight than the brighter ones; for if the average motion in the line of sight is the same in both cases, astronomers will be slow to accept an explanation of phenomena which supposes a different average velocity on the whole. But even instruments incapable of deciding this question may throw light on the subject. It now appears certain that if a Sirian and a solar star of the same mass were placed at the same distance from us, the Sirian star would appear more than one magnitude brighter. Hence, before we can use magnitudes as in any sense a test of distance, we must ascertain the relative proportion of Sirian and solar stars in the groups which we are comparing. It would also be very desirable that the magnitudes of the stars employed by Profs. Eastman, Boss, and Stumpe, should be photometrically determined. The photometer has at all events the advantage over the eye that its results are in all cases (allowing for errors of observation) comparable.
Balance of mechanical and electrical performance in polyimide/nano titanium dioxide prepared by an in-sol method

Hybrid polyimide (PI)/titanium dioxide (TiO2) films were prepared by in situ polymerization and sol–gel and in-sol methods (where in-sol method indicates that in situ polymerization and the sol–gel method were used in the same samples). The mechanical and electrical properties were found to be sensitive to the processing methods and the dispersion of nano titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2) in the PI matrix. For the PI/TiO2 films prepared by the in situ polymerization method, their tensile strength increased with increasing TiO2-insitu (“TiO2-in situ” is “the TiO2 nano-particles prepared by in-situ polymerization method”) concentration. However, the optimal corona lifetime of the PI/TiO2 films was 15 min at 20 kHz and 2 kV because of poor dispersion. For the PI/TiO2 films prepared by the sol–gel method, the corona lifetime reached 113 min because of superior dispersion and a tensile strength of about 19.63 MPa. A balance of mechanical and electrical performances was achieved with the in-sol method. The corona-resistant life of the PI/TiO2 films was 43 min, which was about six times longer than that of the neat PI. Their tensile strength was 83.5 MPa; these films showed no decrease in this value compared with the pure PI films. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 134, 44666.
Brood Ball-Mediated Transmission of Microbiome Members in the Dung Beetle, Onthophagus taurus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Insects feeding on plant sap, blood, and other nutritionally incomplete diets are typically associated with mutualistic bacteria that supplement missing nutrients. Herbivorous mammal dung contains more than 86% cellulose and lacks amino acids essential for insect development and reproduction. Yet one of the most ecologically necessary and evolutionarily successful groups of beetles, the dung beetles (Scarabaeinae) feeds primarily, or exclusively, on dung. These associations suggest that dung beetles may benefit from mutualistic bacteria that provide nutrients missing from dung. The nesting behaviors of the female parent and the feeding behaviors of the larvae suggest that a microbiome could be vertically transmitted from the parental female to her offspring through the brood ball. Using sterile rearing and a combination of molecular and culture-based techniques, we examine transmission of the microbiome in the bull-headed dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus. Beetles were reared on autoclaved dung and the microbiome was characterized across development. A ~1425 bp region of the 16S rRNA identified Pseudomonadaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Comamonadaceae as the most common bacterial families across all life stages and populations, including cultured isolates from the 3rd instar digestive system. Finer level phylotyping analyses based on lepA and gyrB amplicons of cultured isolates placed the isolates closest to Enterobacter cloacae, Providencia stuartii, Pusillimonas sp. , Pedobacter heparinus, and Lysinibacillus sphaericus. Scanning electron micrographs of brood balls constructed from sterile dung reveals secretions and microbes only in the chamber the female prepares for the egg. The use of autoclaved dung for rearing, the presence of microbes in the brood ball and offspring, and identical 16S rRNA sequences in both parent and offspring suggests that the O. taurus female parent transmits specific microbiome members to her offspring through the brood chamber. The transmission of the dung beetle microbiome highlights the maintenance and likely importance of this newly-characterized bacterial community.
Simplified T-junction Composite Waveguides

Various versions of T-junction composite waveguides with reduced-number cylinders are investigated by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method in this work. The original structure comprises a T-junction ridge waveguide and three layers of square-lattice dielectric cylinders around the intersection region. And the simplified designs are obtained by deleting some less useful cylinders in the both sides of the input guide. And FDTD simulation results describe the output efficiencies of some simplified T-junction composite waveguides may be as good as that of the original one.
Mobile Sensor Relocation for Nonuniform and Dynamic Coverage Requirements

Wireless sensor networks are being used in many disasterrelated applications. Certain types of disasters are studied and modeled with different and dynamic risk estimations in different areas, hence requiring different levels of monitoring. Such nonuniform and dynamic coverage requirements pose a challenge to a sensor coverage problem. This work proposes the Mobile sensor Relocation using Delaunay triangulation And Shifting on Hill climbing (MR-DASH) approach, which calculates an appropriate location for each mobile sensor as an attempt to maximize coverage ratio. Based on a probabilistic sensing model, it constructs a Delaunay triangulation from static sensors’ locations and vertices of interesting regions. The resulting triangles are then prioritized based on their sizes and corresponding levels of requirement so that mobile sensors can be relocated accordingly. The proposed method was both compared with an existing previous work and demonstrated with real-world disaster scenarios by simulation. The result showed that MR-DASH gives appropriate target locations that significantly improve the coverage ratio with relatively low total sensors’ moving distance, while properly adapting to variations in coverage requirements. key words: wireless sensor networks, probabilistic coverage, mobile sensor relocation, disaster monitoring, nonuniform coverage
Evaluating Vasopressor Discontinuation Strategies in Patients With Septic Shock on Concomitant Norepinephrine and Vasopressin Infusions

Background: There is little data guiding clinicians on how to discontinue vasopressors among septic shock patients on concomitant norepinephrine (NE) and vasopressin (VP). Objective: To determine the incidence of hypotension within 24 hours of discontinuing NE (NE DC first) versus VP (VP DC first) first in septic shock patients. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated septic shock patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) and surgical ICU (SICU) receiving concomitant NE and VP. Receipt of additional vasopressors, mixed shock states, expired or care withdrawn, and NE and VP discontinued simultaneously were exclusion criteria. The primary outcome was incidence of hypotension within 24 hours of first vasopressor discontinuation. Secondary outcomes included time to hypotension, hospital length of stay (LOS), ICU LOS, and ICU mortality. Results: A total of 80 patients were included (NE DC first [n = 35]; VP DC first [n = 45]), with a median age of 73 years and median modified Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores of 21 and 7, respectively. More patients in the NE DC first group were in the SICU (42.9% vs 20.0%; P = 0.048) with more intra-abdominal infections (40.0% vs 15.6%; P = 0.021) and fewer appropriate empirical antibiotics (62.9% vs 86.7%; P = 0.018). Hypotension within 24 hours of first agent discontinuation was higher in the VP DC first group (28.6% vs 62.2%; P = 0.004), with similar hospital LOS and ICU mortality. Multivariate analysis identified VP DC first as an independent predictor of hypotension (odds ratio = 7.2; CI = 2.3-22.7). Conclusion: Among septic shock patients on concomitant NE and VP, discontinuation of VP first was associated with an increased incidence of hypotension; future prospective control trials are warranted.
Surface De-PEGylation Controls Nanoparticle-Mediated siRNA Delivery In Vitro and In Vivo

The present work proposes a unique de-PEGylation strategy for controllable delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) using a robust lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticle (NP) platform. The self-assembled hybrid NPs are composed of a lipid-poly(ethylene glycol) (lipid-PEG) shell and a polymer/cationic lipid solid core, wherein the lipid-PEG molecules can gradually dissociate from NP surface in the presence of serum albumin. The de-PEGylation kinetics of a series of different lipid-PEGs is measured with their respective NPs, and the NP performance is comprehensively investigated in vitro and in vivo. This systematic study reveals that the lipophilic tails of lipid-PEG dictate its dissociation rate from NP surface, determining the uptake by tumor cells and macrophages, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and gene silencing efficacy of these hybrid siRNA NPs. Based on our observations, we here propose that lipid-PEGs with long and saturated lipophilic tails might be required for effective siRNA delivery to tumor cells and gene silencing of the lipid-polymer hybrid NPs after systemic administration.