Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lactate Effectively Covers Energy Demands during Neuronal Network Activity in Neonatal Hippocampal Slices

Although numerous experimental data indicate that lactate is efficiently used for energy by the mature brain, the direct measurements of energy metabolism parameters during neuronal network activity in early postnatal development have not been performed. Therefore, the role of lactate in the energy metabolism of neurons at this age remains unclear. In this study, we monitored field potentials and contents of oxygen and NAD(P)H in correlation with oxidative metabolism during intense network activity in the CA1 hippocampal region of neonatal brain slices. We show that in the presence of glucose, lactate is effectively utilized as an energy substrate, causing an augmentation of oxidative metabolism. Moreover, in the absence of glucose lactate is fully capable of maintaining synaptic function. Therefore, during network activity in neonatal slices, lactate can be an efficient energy substrate capable of sustaining and enhancing aerobic energy metabolism.
New southern blue compact dwarf galaxies in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey

Aims. Aiming to find new extremely metal-deficient star-forming galaxies we extracted from the Two-Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) 100 K Data Release 14 emission-line galaxies with relatively strong [O iii] λ 4363 emission. Methods. Spectroscopic and photometric studies of this sample and, in addition, of 7 Tololo and 2 UM galaxies were performed on the basis of observations with the ESO 3.6 m telescope. Results. All sample galaxies qualify with respect to their photometric and spectroscopic properties as blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies. Additionally, they show a good overlap with a comparison sample of ~100 well-studied emission-line galaxies on the $12+\log{\rm (O/H)}$ vs. log(Ne/O), log(Ar/O) and log(Fe/O) planes. From the analysis of the 2dFGRS subsample we report the discovery of two new extremely metal-deficient BCDs with an oxygen abundance $12+\log{\rm (O/H)}$ ≤ 7.6 and of another seven galaxies with $12+\log{\rm (O/H)}$ $\la$ 7.8. Furthermore, we confirm previous oxygen abundance determinations for the BCDs Tol 1304-353, Tol 2146-391, UM 559 and UM 570 to be $12+\log{\rm (O/H)}$ ≤ 7.8.
Subjective well-being and significant life-events across the life-span

We tested the structure of adults' subjective well-being, its age related variations, and the effects of significant life-events upon well-being. 280 subjects ranging in age between 20 and 94 years answered the Berne Questionnaire of Subjective Well-Being (adult form). They identified those life-events which they perceived as having long lasting effects on their Life. (1) The factor pattern of subjective well-being across the life span was comparable with the factor structure across adolescence. (2) The subjects' age did not influence the degree of reported life satisfaction. (3) Some life-events correlated with specific ages, whereas other life-events were not related to the subjects' age. (4) The number of significant life-events decreased with age. (5) There were specific negative life-events which decreased subjective well-being. (6) In general, the subjects reported a lower well-being, the more negative life-events they experienced.
Evaluating evaluation metrics based on the bootstrap

This paper describes how the Bootstrap approach to statistics can be applied to the evaluation of IR effectiveness metrics. First, we argue that Bootstrap Hypothesis Tests deserve more attention from the IR community, as they are based on fewer assumptions than traditional statistical significance tests. We then describe straightforward methods for comparing the sensitivity of IR metrics based on Bootstrap Hypothesis Tests. Unlike the heuristics-based "swap" method proposed by Voorhees and Buckley, our method estimates the performance difference required to achieve a given significance level directly from Bootstrap Hypothesis Test results. In addition, we describe a simple way of examining the accuracy of rank correlation between two metrics based on the Bootstrap Estimate of Standard Error. We demonstrate the usefulness of our methods using test collections and runs from the NTCIR CLIR track for comparing seven IR metrics, including those that can handle graded relevance and those based on the Geometric Mean.
X‐ray and Sunyaev–Zel'dovich scaling relations in galaxy clusters

We present an analysis of the scaling relations between X-ray properties and SunyaevZel'dovich (SZ) parameters for a sample of 24 X-ray luminous galaxy clusters observed with Chandra and with measured SZ effect. These objects are in the redshift range 0.14-0.82 and have X-ray bolometric luminosity L ≥ 10 45 erg s -1 , with at least 4000 net counts collected for each source. We perform a spatially resolved spectral analysis and recover the density, temperature T and pressure profiles of the intracluster medium (ICM), just relying on the spherical symmetry of the cluster and the hydrostatic equilibrium hypothesis. The combined analysis of the SZ and X-ray scaling relations is a powerful tool to investigate the physical properties of the clusters and their evolution in redshift, by tracing out their thermodynamical history. We observe that the correlations among X-ray quantities only are in agreement with previous results obtained for samples of high-z X-ray luminous galaxy clusters. On the relations involving SZ quantities, we obtain that they correlate with the gas temperature with a logarithmic slope significantly larger than the predicted value from the self-similar model. The measured scatter indicates, however, that the central Compton parameter y 0 is a proxy of the gas temperature at the same level of other X-ray quantities like luminosity. Our results on the X-ray and SZ scaling relations show a tension between the quantities more related to the global energy of the system (e.g. gas temperature, gravitating mass) and the indicators of the structure of the ICM (e.g. gas density profile, central Compton parameter y 0 ). Indeed, by using a robust fitting technique, the most significant deviations from the values of the slope predicted from the self-similar model are measured in the L-T, L-M tot , M gas -T, y 0 -T relations. When the slope is fixed to the self-similar value, these relations consistently show a negative evolution suggesting a scenario in which the ICM at higher redshift has lower both X-ray luminosity and pressure in the central regions than the expectations from self-similar model. These effects are more evident in relaxed clusters in the redshift range 0.14-0.45, where a more defined core is present and the assumed hypotheses on the state of the ICM are more reliable.
A Markovian scheme for joint retrieval of classification and height map from urban interferometric SAR images

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry enables to compute an height map of the scene which is useful for many applications. Yet the complexity of high resolution SAR images and of urban areas prevents from computing an accurate DSM easily and a high level processing chain is thus required. In this article, we propose a Markovian fusion scheme to retrieve jointly the height map and the classification. The original data (amplitude, interferogram and coherence) are first processed in order to get new entries. They represent advanced information on the scene, extracted with different approaches (filtering, object recognition or global classification). These features are then merged in a Markovian framework to recover an improved classification and height map. The method is illustrated on real data.
Social Skills as a Predictor of Postsecondary Outcomes for Individuals Who Are Deaf

Social skills function as a vehicle by which we negotiate important relationships and navigate the transition from childhood into the educational and professional experiences of early adulthood. Yet, for individuals who are deaf, access to these opportunities may vary depending on their preferred language modality, family language use, and educational contexts. Drawing upon available data in the National Longitudinal Transition Survey 2 (NLTS2) and controlling for demographic covariates, we examine the predictive role of social skills in high school on postsecondary education, employment, independent living, and self-beliefs. Parents’ ratings of social skills in their children who are deaf (from the first wave, when students were in high school) strongly positively predicted graduation from postsecondary settings up to ten years later, but did not predict employment or independent living outcomes.
The validation of a scale to measure school principals' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular schools

This paper describes the validation of a 30-item affective instrument designed initially to measure the attitudes of school principals in government schools in Queensland toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular schools. The original response pool consisted of 644 returns. The data validation demonstrated that this was a reliable and valid scale. Subsequent factor analyses yielded a six-factor solution. An examination of the item metrics and an interpretation of the factor items resulted in a decision to delete six items and one factor. The final scale of 24 items and five factors has very acceptable construct validity and psychometric properties and should be valuable in further investigations of attitudes toward inclusive education.
Goal-oriented treatment and combination therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Combination therapy may improve outcome in patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PAH patients were treated according to a goal-oriented therapeutic strategy. Patients who did not reach the treatment goals with monotherapy received combination treatment according to a predefined strategy, including bosentan, sildenafil and inhaled iloprost. Intravenous iloprost and lung transplantation were reserved for treatment failures. End points were overall survival, transplantation-free survival, and survival free from transplantation and intravenous prostanoid treatment. Between January 2002 and December 2004, 123 consecutive patients with PAH were treated according to the novel approach. Survival at 1, 2 and 3 yrs was 93.0, 83.1 and 79.9%, respectively, which was significantly better than the survival of a historical control group, as well as the expected survival. Compared to the historical control group, the use of combination treatment also significantly improved the combined end point of death, lung transplantation and need for intravenous iloprost treatment. In conclusion, a therapeutic approach utilising combinations of bosentan, sildenafil and inhaled iloprost in conjunction with a goal-oriented treatment strategy provides acceptable long-term results in patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, and reduces the need for intravenous prostaglandin treatment and lung transplantation.
SCALE RESPONSE OF SUMMER URBAN HEAT ISLAND TO BUILDING PLOT RATIO AND ITS WARNING PARAMETER

Original scientific paper Plot ratio is an important indicator of architectural layout that affects urban heat island (UHI). Previous studies focus on street height/weight ratio, building density, and other indicators related to plot ratio but fail to effectively describe the time-space relationship between plot ratio and UHI and accurately guide the planning and design to reduce the UHI in the effective scale. The scale sensitivity method was proposed to study the time-space response of UHI to plot ratio to control the UHI intensity (UHII) caused by plot ratio during planning and design in a reasonable scale. The sensitivity of plot ratios in different space scales to UHI in the daytime was repeatedly calculated on 3S technology, MATLAB, SPSS, and other data analysis platforms based on the scale theory of landscape ecology and the method of geo-statistics analysis. The change curve of the response of plot ratio on UHI in the most sensitive space scale was discussed. The prevention and control standard of summer UHI was then constructed in accordance with the temperature in dog days of summer, human physiological reaction under high temperature, and relevant national regulations. The warning control was taken on the parameters of plot ratio on the basis of the temperature rise of UHI caused by plot ratio. Results show that scale sensitivity exists between plot ratio and UHI. In the daytime, the relationship between core plot ratio and summer UHI shifts from negative correlation to positive correlation. The temperaturerising effect in the afternoon is greater than the cooling effect in the morning. Core plot ratio has a linear relationship with summer UHII. The increase in the average core plot ratio reduces the UHII by 0,76 °C in the morning and increases it by 0,97 °C in the afternoon. The optimal sensitive radius of the core plot ratio on summer UHI is 230 m. The response mechanism of plot ratio on UHI is mainly due to heat storage volume and block to radiation heat. The study conclusion can provide scientific theoretical parameter support for architectural design and urban planning and design.
Improvement in Fatigue Performance of Aluminium Alloy Welded Joints by Laser Shock Peening in a Dynamic Strain Aging Temperature Regime

As a new treatment process after welding, the process parameters of laser shock peening (LSP) in dynamic strain aging (DSA) temperature regimes can be precisely controlled, and the process is a non-contact one. The effects of LSP at elevated temperatures on the distribution of the surface residual stress of AA6061-T6 welded joints were investigated by using X-ray diffraction technology with the sin2ϕ method and Abaqus software. The fatigue life of the welded joints was estimated by performing tensile fatigue tests. The microstructural evolution in surface and fatigue fractures of the welded joints was presented by means of surface integrity and fracture surface testing. In the DSA temperature regime of AA6061-T6 welded joints, the residual compressive stress was distributed more stably than that of LSP at room temperature. The thermal corrosion resistance and fatigue properties of the welded joints were also improved. The experimental results and numerical analysis were in mutual agreement.
Formal performance appraisal interviews: Can they really be objective, and are they useful anyway?

This paper reports on a qualitative field study conducted in Australia which examined what is occurring in formal performance appraisal interviews in relation to their objectivity and resultant outcomes. Supervisors and subordinates who had recently been involved in performance appraisals were interviewed about their experiences of the process. Perceptions of the utility of, and satisfaction with the interview process were examined. Further, the effect of the relationship between the participants on objectivity was investigated. Results indicated that formal appraisal interviews were not perceived to be of great utility, and that the relationship of the participants influenced the interview.
Characterization of a hypercontraction-induced myopathy in Drosophila caused by mutations in Mhc

The Myosin heavy chain (Mhc) locus encodes the muscle-specific motor mediating contraction in Drosophila. In a screen for temperature-sensitive behavioral mutants, we have identified two dominant Mhc alleles that lead to a hypercontraction-induced myopathy. These mutants are caused by single point mutations in the ATP binding/hydrolysis domain of Mhc and lead to degeneration of the flight muscles. Electrophysiological analysis in the adult giant fiber flight circuit demonstrates temperature-dependent seizure activity that requires neuronal input, as genetic blockage of neuronal activity suppresses the electrophysiological seizure defects. Intracellular recordings at the third instar neuromuscular junction show spontaneous muscle movements in the absence of neuronal stimulation and extracellular Ca2+, suggesting a dysregulation of intracellular calcium homeostasis within the muscle or an alteration of the Ca2+ dependence of contraction. Characterization of these new Mhc alleles suggests that hypercontraction occurs via a mechanism, which is molecularly distinct from mutants identified previously in troponin I and troponin T.
Use cases in task modeling and user interface design

Use cases are increasingly recognized as a particularly versatile form of task model. Use cases are related to scenarios, which have a long history of application to computer-human interaction [2], but may offer distinct advantages. A use case comprises a single case of use of a system that is complete, well-defined, and meaningful from the perspective of an external user [5,8]. Concrete instances of multiple use cases can be combined into plausible sequences to form the narrative vignettes usually associated with scenario-based design, but because use cases are a finer-grained formal construct at a higher level of abstraction, they lend themselves to more rigorous definition and more systematic and structured expression. The structured narratives of use cases can be interrelated through formally defined constructs [6,8] to form a comprehensive model of the tasks to be supported by a system under design.
Glutaraldehyde-polymerized hemoglobin and tempol (PolyHb-tempol) has superoxide dismutase activity that can attenuate oxidative stress on endothelial cells induced by superoxide anion

Abstract A Tempol compound with an amine group (4-amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl, NH2-Tempol) was cross-linked to hemoglobin in a one-step polymerization reaction to produce a novel hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) designated PolyHb-Tempol. The reaction parameters, including the reaction time, pH, temperature, and ratio of reactants, were optimized, and the physiochemical properties of the resulting product were characterized. PolyHb-Tempol didn’t show any toxicity towards endothelial cells. Furthermore, from observations of cell morphology and viability, PolyHb-Tempol showed a significant ability to inhibit or eliminate oxidative stress induced by superoxide free radicals. These results suggest that PolyHb-Tempol may potentially be suitable as an HBOC.
A role for Jag2 in promoting uveal melanoma dissemination and growth.

PURPOSE Controlling the spread of uveal melanoma is key to improving survival of patients with this common intraocular malignancy. The Notch ligand Jag2 has been shown to be upregulated in primary tumors that metastasize, and we therefore investigated its role in promoting invasion and clonogenic growth of uveal melanoma cells. METHODS mRNA and protein expression of Notch pathway components were measured using qPCR and Western blot in uveal melanoma cell lines. Expression of Jag2 ligand was upregulated using Jag2-GFP-MSCV constructs or downregulated by sh-Jag2 in the uveal melanoma cell lines Mel285, Mel290, 92.1, and OMM1, and the effects on growth and invasion were assessed. RESULTS Jag2 was introduced into Mel285 and Mel290 cells, which have low baseline levels of both this ligand and Notch activity. Overall growth of the Jag2-expressing cultures increased somewhat, and a significant 3-fold increase in clonogenic growth in soft agar was also noted. Introduction of Jag2 increased motility in both wound-healing and transwell invasion assays. We also observed a significant increase in Jag2 and Hes1 mRNA in invasive OMM1 cells that had passed through a Matrigel-coated filter in the transwell assay when compared with noninvading cells. Loss-of-function studies performed in 92.1 and OMM1 lines using Jag2 shRNAs showed that downregulation of the ligand significantly suppressed cellular growth, invasion, and migration. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that Jag2 may play an important role in promoting Notch activity, growth, and metastasis in uveal melanoma.
Mapping structural variants to rare disease genes using long-read whole genome sequencing and trait-relevant polygenic scores

Recent studies have revealed the pervasive landscape of rare structural variants (rSVs) present in human genomes. rSVs can have extreme effects on the expression of proximal genes and, in a rare disease context, have been implicated in patient cases where no diagnostic single nucleotide variant (SNV) was found. Approaches for integrating rSVs to date have focused on targeted approaches in known Mendelian rare disease genes. This approach is intractable for rare diseases with many causal loci or patients with complex, multi-phenotype syndromes. We hypothesized that integrating trait-relevant polygenic scores (PGS) would provide a substantial reduction in the number of candidate disease genes in which to assess rSV effects. We further implemented a method for ranking PGS genes to define a set of core/key genes where a rSV has the potential to exert relatively larger effects on disease risk. Among a subset of patients enrolled in the Genomic Answers for Kids (GA4K) rare disease program (N=497), we used PacBio HiFi long-read whole genome sequencing (lrWGS) to identify rSVs intersecting genes in trait-relevant PGSs. Illustrating our approach in Autism (N=54 cases), we identified 1,827 deletions, 158 duplications, 619 insertions, and 14 inversions overlapping putative core/key PGS genes. Additionally, by integrating genomic constraint annotations from gnomAD, we observed that rare duplications overlapping putative core/key PGS genes were frequently in higher constraint regions compared to controls (P = 2x10-04). This difference was not observed in the lowest-ranked gene set (P = 0.18). Overall, our study provides a framework for the annotation of long-read rSVs from lrWGS data and prioritization of disease-linked genomic regions for downstream functional validation of rSV impacts. To enable reuse by other researchers, we have made SV allele frequencies and gene associations freely available.
On approximate graph colouring and MAX-k-CUT algorithms based on the theta-function

The problem of colouring a k -colourable graph is well-known to be NP-complete, for k ≥ 3. The MAX- k -CUT approach to approximate k -colouring is to assign k colours to all of the vertices in polynomial time such that the fraction of ‘defect edges’ (with endpoints of the same colour) is provably small. The best known approximation was obtained by Frieze and Jerrum (1997), using a semideﬁnite programming (SDP) relaxation whichisrelatedtotheLov´asz ϑ -function.Inarelatedwork,Kargeretal. (1998)devisedapproximationalgorithms for colouring k -colourable graphs exactly in polynomial time with as few colours as possible. They also used an SDP relaxation related to the ϑ -function. In this paper we further explore semideﬁnite programming relaxations where graph colouring is viewed as a satisﬁability problem, as considered in De Klerk et al. (2000). We ﬁrst show that the approximation to the chromatic number suggested in De Klerk et al. (2000) is bounded from above by the Lov´asz ϑ -function. The underlying semideﬁnite programming relaxation in De Klerk et al. (2000) involves a lifting of the approximation space, which in turn suggests a provably good MAX- k -CUT algorithm. We show that of our algorithm is closely related to that of Frieze and Jerrum; thus we can sharpen their approximation guarantees for MAX- k -CUT for small ﬁxed values of k . For example, if k = 3 we can improve their bound from 0 . 832718 to 0 . 836008, and for k = 4 from 0 . 850301 to 0 . 857487. We also give a new asymptotic analysis of the Frieze-Jerrum rounding scheme, that provides a unifying proof of the main results of both Frieze and Jerrum (1997) and Karger et al. (1998) for k (cid:3) 0.