Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the BCI Performance between the Semitransparent Face Pattern and the Traditional Face Pattern

Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems allow users to communicate with the external world by recognizing the brain activity without the assistance of the peripheral motor nervous system. P300-based BCI is one of the most common used BCI systems that can obtain high classification accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR). Face stimuli can result in large event-related potentials and improve the performance of P300-based BCI. However, previous studies on face stimuli focused mainly on the effect of various face types (i.e., face expression, face familiarity, and multifaces) on the BCI performance. Studies on the influence of face transparency differences are scarce. Therefore, we investigated the effect of semitransparent face pattern (STF-P) (the subject could see the target character when the stimuli were flashed) and traditional face pattern (F-P) (the subject could not see the target character when the stimuli were flashed) on the BCI performance from the transparency perspective. Results showed that STF-P obtained significantly higher classification accuracy and ITR than those of F-P (p < 0.05).
Cost-effectiveness analysis of dapagliflozin versus glimepiride as monotherapy in a Chinese population with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of dapagliflozin (a novel sodium–glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor) versus glimepiride (a widely used sulfonylurea), when applied as monotherapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China. Methods: Literature screening, meta-analysis and indirect comparison were used to compare efficacy and safety between dapagliflozin and glimepiride. Direct medication costs and medical expenditure on treating diabetes related comorbidities were calculated based on published and local sources and reported in 2015 Chinese Renminbi (RMB). A discount rate of 3% was applied to both costs and health effects. The Cardiff model, an economic model designed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of comparator therapies in diabetes, was used to generate outputs including macrovascular and microvascular complications, diabetes-specific mortality, costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) over a time horizon of 40 years from the health provider perspective. Univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to assess uncertainty in the model results. Results: Compared with glimepiride, patients on dapagliflozin gained 1.01 QALYs, at a cost saving of RMB 49,065 in our simulated cohort. This resulted in a cost saving of RMB 48,585 per QALY gained with dapagliflozin. The cost-effectiveness results were robust to various sensitivity analyses including probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA). Conclusions: Compared with glimepiride, dapagliflozin as monotherapy for T2DM is a more cost-effective treatment for T2DM patients on monotherapy in China. The weight control has been identified as the major contributor for the higher cost-effectiveness of dapagliflozin.
Prognostic significance of ZEB1 and ZEB2 in digestive cancers: a cohort-based analysis and secondary analysis

Background Digestive cancers are common malignancies worldwide, however there are few effective prognostic markers available. In this study we comprehensively investigated the prognostic significance of ZEB1 and ZEB2 in digestive cancers. Methods Electronic databases were searched and studies met the selection criteria were included. Study information was recorded and quality assessment was performed according to the REMARK guideline. Hazard ratios and its corresponding 95% confidence intervals were extracted and pooled. Sensitivity analyses, subgroup analyses, cumulative meta-analyses and secondary analyses were also performed to increase the stability and reliability of our results. Results 24 cohort studies were included in the study. High ZEB1 and ZEB2 levels predicted poor overall survival, meanwhile high ZEB2 levels predicted poor disease free survival for digestive cancer patients. From subgroup analyses we observed ZEB1 was found to be significantly associated with poor overall survival for patients with pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer and colorectal cancer, while ZEB2 was found to be significantly associated with poor overall survival for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and gastric cancer. Furthermore, by conducting secondary analyses we confirmed both ZEB1 and ZEB2 played important roles in gastric cancer prediction. In addition, we found high ZEB1 and ZEB2 expression were significantly associated with depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage in digestive cancer patients. Conclusions The present study validated the prognostic value and clinicopathological association of ZEB1 and ZEB2 in digestive cancers, especially in gastric cancer.
Discrete Tomography of Ga and InGa Particles from HREM Image Simulation and Exit Wave Reconstruction.

Abstract Low-resolution tomography requires recording images every few degrees. As a consequence, the sample is often degraded after such a procedure. However the required input can be reduced drastically by using knowledge about the position and the number of atoms in each atomic column. This concept has been tested in the present investigation where HREM image simulation (MacTempas) together with exit wave reconstruction (FEI Trueimage) have been performed. A cubeoctahedral nanoparticle is used for the simulation with different compositions i.e., pure solid Ga and In-Ga particles. Six different zone axes ([111], [1 1 1 ], [001], [110], [ 1 10 ], [011]) have been used and the parameters of an aberration corrected microscope (200kV, Cs = 0 mm, resolution = 0.5A). The discrete grid data were determined by constructing a channeling map from the reconstructed exit wave images. In this special case only three projections [001], [110], [110] were sufficient to find a unique volumetric reconstruction, illustrating the potential of the method. The other projections were used for checking the solution. The comparison between the projected potentials (simulated input) and the final result shows that discrete tomography reconstructs the exact position of all 309 atoms and the three-dimensional shape of the nanocrystal.
XRF analysis of lignite ash using partial least square calibration model

Introduction XRF is a very suitable method for the industrial analysis of calcium and iron in raw materials [1-3]. The same approach is proposed for the determination of these elements in the samples of lignite ash. However, one of the main problems connected with the application of XRF technique for the analysis of Fe and Ca is a strong matrix effect [1]. Moreover, when an Ar proportional counter is used for the detection of X-rays excited in the sample, the K Fe escape peak in argon and K Ca peak are overlapped. Both the factors, if not considered, can influence the accuracy of analysis, but it is possible to diminish their impact using multivariate calibration methods [4]. In the considered case, the calibration model was computed using partial least square regression (PLS) [4-6]. Samples
Impaired gastric acid secretion in gastrin-deficient mice.

To further understand the role of the peptide hormone gastrin in the development and function of the stomach, we have generated gastrin-deficient mice by gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. Mutant mice were viable and fertile, without obvious visible abnormalities. However, gastric function was severely affected by the loss of gastrin. Basal gastric acid secretion was abolished and could not be induced by histamine, carbachol, or gastrin. Histological analysis revealed alterations in the two cell types primarily involved in acid secretion, parietal and enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells. Parietal cells were reduced in number with an accumulation of immature cells lacking H+-K+-adenosinetriphosphatase (H+-K+-ATPase). ECL cells were positioned closer to the base of the gastric glands, with markedly lower expression of histidine decarboxylase. Gastrin administration for 6 days reversed the effects of the gastrin deficiency, leading to an increase in the number of mature, H+-K+-ATPase-positive parietal cells and a partial restoration of acid secretion. The results show that gastrin is critically important for the function of the acid secretory system.
Antiviral activity of bovine uterus and placenta induced by Newcastle disease virus

The antiviral activity profile of the uterus and fetal membranes from bovine placenta, induced by the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) throughout gestation, was investigated. Explants of the endometrium and caruncles were collected from the uterus, and amniochorion, allantochorion and cotyledons, from fetal placenta. Tissue cultures were induced with ~6.0 hemagglutinating units (HU) of NDV. Supernatants were concentrated 20 fold, filtered in 100kDa cut-off membranes and antiviral activity was titrated in MDBK x VSV system. Tissues of the uterus did not exhibit antiviral activity, while allantochorion and amniochorion produced antiviral factors throughout gestation. Antiviral factors were not related with IFN-α, γ, τ or TNF-α. The antiviral activity pattern observed showed to be related with the development of fetal membranes and increased at the end of pregnancy. Such data suggest that IFN genes inducible by virus are present in fetal membranes of the cow placenta and their expression is dependent on the age of gestation.
Reliable and high quality adhesive bonding for microfluidic devices

Some issues, such as the removing of air bubbles from bonding interface, microchannel clogging by adhesive, the methods to increase bonding efficiency, as well as the adhesive bonding of a multilayer chip, still limit the use of adhesive bonding in the mass fabrication of microfluidic devices. In this work, an automatic adhesive bonding machine is developed which can obviously increase bonding efficiency and quality as compared with the traditional manually methods. A bonding method which uses a soft pressing head to extrude the air bubbles from bonding interface is presented. The relationship between the adhesive film thickness and the channel clogging is investigated. The adhesive bonding of three types of two-layer microfluidic devices and a five-layer microfluidic device are studied. Results have shown that the uses of the soft pressing head can effectively removing the air bubbles from the bonding interface. The bonding ratios of all devices are above 95%. The channel residual depth, which is the channel depth excluding the protrusion height of the adhesive film within the channel, will increase to follow the increase in microchannel width and adhesive film thickness.
Tumor suppressor microRNA-613 inhibits glioma cell proliferation, invasion and angiogenesis by targeting vascular endothelial growth factor A

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs which can serve as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in glioma. The present study aimed to investigate the expression of miR-613 in glioma. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect miR-613 in glioma cells and tissues and the relationship between miR-613 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A was assessed using a luciferase reporter assay. In addition, glioma cells were transfected with miR-613 mimics and the mRNA and protein expression of VEGFA was detected using RT-qPCR and western blot analysis, respectively. The proliferative, invasive and tube formation capabilities of transfected cells were also assessed in vitro. Furthermore, a nude mouse tumor xenograft model was used to investigate the effects of miR-613 on tumor growth in vivo. The results of the present study demonstrated that the expression of miR-613 was decreased in glioma cell lines, and was associated with the grade of glioma. Ectopic expression of miR-613 markedly suppressed glioma cell proliferation and angiogenesis. Furthermore, the upregulation of miR-613 inhibited tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth in xenografted nude mice in vivo. VEGFA was demonstrated as a direct target of miR-613, as detected by western blot and luciferase reporter assays, and mediated miR-613 induced glioma cell proliferation and angiogenesis inhibition.
Improving the Validity of Lifelogging Physical Activity Measures in an Internet of Things Environment

Recently, the popular use of wearable devices and mobile apps makes the effectively capture of lifelogging physical activity data in an Internet of Things (IoT) environment possible. The effective collection of measures of physical activity in the long term is beneficial to interdisciplinary healthcare research and collaboration from clinicians, researchers to patients. However, due to heterogeneity of connected devices and rapid change of diverse life patterns in an IoT environment, lifelogging physical activity information captured by mobile devices usually contains much uncertainty. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of existing life-logging physical activity measurement devices, and identify regular and irregular uncertainties of these activity measures in an IoT environment. We then project the distribution of irregular uncertainty by defining a walking speed related score named as Daily Activity in Physical Space (DAPS). Finally, we present an ellipse fitting model based validity improvement method for reducing uncertainties of life-logging physical activity measures in an IoT environment. The experimental results reflect that the proposed method effectively improves the validity of physical activity measures in a healthcare platform.
An Improved Procedure for Testing the Effects of Key Innovations on Rate of Speciation

The effect of key innovations (e.g., phytophagy in insects,Mitter et al. 1988; viviparity in ﬁshes, Slowinski and Guyer1993) on speciation rates has been a major focus of ev-olutionary biology in recent years (Sanderson and Don-oghue 1996). Much of the apparent variability in speciesnumber might be consistent with simple stochastic modelsof phylogenesis, since all degrees of species diversity areequally likely under a null model of random speciationand extinction (Farris 1976; Slowinski and Guyer 1993;but see Losos and Adler 1995). Therefore, invoking a keyinnovation to explain the diversity of one single grouppossessing the innovation against a sister group not pos-sessing it is not tenable. However, if several to many sistergroups are considered, tests of positive association betweenthe possession of the trait and species number can bedesigned (Slowinski and Guyer 1993). The ﬁrst to follow this path were Mitter et al. (1988),who found a signiﬁcant positive association between phy-tophagy and number of insect species. To test the asso-ciation, they used a sign test. Slowinski and Guyer (1993)suggested an improved, less conservative method, basedon a null model of random extinction and speciation.Under this model, the probability (
Effect of milrinone on small mesenteric artery vasoconstriction: role of K+channels.

We examined whether milrinone-mediated attenuation of small mesenteric artery vasoconstriction results predominantly from the activation of vascular smooth muscle K+ channels. Resistance arteries (∼150 μm) were dissected from rat mesentery and were mounted on a wire myograph. Isometric force development in response to increasing concentrations of norepinephrine (NE) was monitored before and after treatment with the type 3 phosphodiesterase inhibitor milrinone. Milrinone significantly reduced NE-induced vasoconstriction, attenuating both NE sensitivity and maximal tension generation. Inhibition of ATP-sensitive K+channels or voltage-gated K+channels did not prevent the milrinone-induced attenuation of NE responses. Blockade of inwardly rectifying K+ channels or Ca2+-sensitive K+ channels prevented the milrinone-mediated reduction in NE sensitivity, but this effect was apparently due to direct enhancement of vasoconstrictor responsiveness rather than interference with the mechanism of milrinone action. In addition, milrinone elicited substantial relaxation in vessels preconstricted with 100 mM KCl. This effect was mimicked by the adenylyl cyclase activator forskolin and was reversed by the Rp diastereomer of cAMP, which is a cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) inhibitor. Our results indicate that cAMP/PKA-mediated impairment of vasoconstriction may occur without the contribution of K+ channel regulation.
Human Interaction with Recommendation Systems

Many recommendation algorithms rely on user data to generate recommendations. However, these recommendations also affect the data obtained from future users. This work aims to understand the effects of this dynamic interaction. We propose a simple model where users with heterogeneous preferences arrive over time. Based on this model, we prove that naive estimators, i.e. those which ignore this feedback loop, are not consistent. We show that consistent estimators are efficient in the presence of myopic agents. Our results are validated using extensive simulations.
Spatial separation between replisome‐ and template‐induced replication stress signaling

Polymerase‐blocking DNA lesions are thought to elicit a checkpoint response via accumulation of single‐stranded DNA at stalled replication forks. However, as an alternative to persistent fork stalling, re‐priming downstream of lesions can give rise to daughter‐strand gaps behind replication forks. We show here that the processing of such structures by an exonuclease, Exo1, is required for timely checkpoint activation, which in turn prevents further gap erosion in S phase. This Rad9‐dependent mechanism of damage signaling is distinct from the Mrc1‐dependent, fork‐associated response to replication stress induced by conditions such as nucleotide depletion or replisome‐inherent problems, but reminiscent of replication‐independent checkpoint activation by single‐stranded DNA. Our results indicate that while replisome stalling triggers a checkpoint response directly at the stalled replication fork, the response to replication stress elicited by polymerase‐blocking lesions mainly emanates from Exo1‐processed, postreplicative daughter‐strand gaps, thus offering a mechanistic explanation for the dichotomy between replisome‐ versus template‐induced checkpoint signaling.
Regulation of c-ret expression by retinoic acid in rat metanephros: implication in nephron mass control.

Vitamin A and its derivatives have been shown to promote kidney development in vitro in a dose-dependent fashion. To address the molecular mechanisms by which all- trans-retinoic acid (RA) may regulate the nephron mass, rat kidneys were removed on embryonic day 14( E14) and grown in organ culture under standard or RA-stimulated conditions. By using RT-PCR, we studied the expression of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), its cell surface receptor-α (GDNFR-α), and the receptor tyrosine kinase c-ret, known to play a major role in renal organogenesis. Expression of GDNF and GDNFR-α transcripts was high at the time of explantation and remained unaffected in culture with or without RA. In contrast, c-ret mRNA level, which was low in E14 metanephros and dropped rapidly in vitro, was increased by RA in a dose-dependent manner. The same is true at the protein level. Exogenous GDNF barely promotes additional nephron formation in vitro. Thus the present data establish c-ret as a key target of retinoids during kidney organogenesis.
Novel ultraviolet-curable methacrylate nanocomposite as coatings for cultural heritage applications

The aim of the research was to develop, optimize and characterize photopolymerizable siloxane-modified methacrylic-based nanosystems, expressly designed for the preservation and protection of materials for cultural heritage (wood, natural stone, etc.). A methacrylate-based ultraviolet-curable resin was chosen since it is characterized by a high reactivity, even at room temperature, when compared to commercial thermosetting products thermally polymerized in situ. Moreover, the ultraviolet cure process allows to solve environmental problems related to the use of polymers in solution since it drastically reduces volatile solvent emission. The nanostructured ultraviolet-cured products, obtained with the inclusion of organically modified boehmite, are expected to lead to protective films with high final performance in terms of surface properties and hydrophobicity. The experimental formulations were deeply investigated, in both the liquid and the solid states. The dimensions of the nanoparticles in the ultraviolet-curable liquid formulations were first estimated by dynamic light scattering analysis. Photocalorimetric analysis was employed to analyze the ultraviolet-induced radical photopolymerization reaction mechanisms. The viscosity of the formulations produced was analyzed, using a plate and plate rheometer, as a function of the shear rate. The formulations were photocured on a glass substrate, using a medium-pressure Hg ultraviolet lamp, and the following properties were measured: transparency, scratch and surface hardness, glass transition temperature and contact angle with water.
Highly coherent octave-spanning supercontinuum generation in CS2-filled photonic crystal fiber with strong slow nonlinearity

In this paper, the supercontinuum (SC) generation in a carbon disulfide (CS2)-filled photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with strong slow nonlinearity is investigated. When the PCF is pumped at 1.55 μm in the anomalous dispersion region, we obtain highly coherent SC spanning from 0.99 to 2.32 μm, at -40 dB level. Moreover, the influences of the slow nonlinearity, the input pulse width, the pulse peak power, the fiber length, and the temperature on the supercontinuum generation (SCG) are studied. The role of the slow nonlinearity in enhancing the coherence of SC is proved. To our best knowledge, this is the first demonstration on generating the octave-spanning SC with high coherence using the slow nonlinearity of CS2. CS2 is a material that has high nonlinearity coefficient and well transparency in infrared. What’s more, the slow nonlinearity is very strong in this material.
Genome size and ploidy influence angiosperm species' biomass under nitrogen and phosphorus limitation

Summary Angiosperm genome sizes (GS) range c. 2400‐fold, and as nucleic acids are amongst the most phosphorus‐ (P) and nitrogen (N)‐demanding cellular biomolecules, we test the hypothesis that a key influence on plant biomass and species composition is the interaction between N and P availability and plant GS. We analysed the impact of different nutrient regimes on above‐ground biomass of angiosperm species with different GS, ploidy level and Grime's C‐S‐R (competitive, stress‐tolerant, ruderal) plant strategies growing at the Park Grass Experiment (Rothamsted, UK), established in 1856. The biomass‐weighted mean GS of species growing on plots with the addition of both N and P fertilizer were significantly higher than that of plants growing on control plots and plots with either N or P. The plants on these N + P plots are dominated by polyploids with large GS and a competitive plant strategy. The results are consistent with our hypothesis that large genomes are costly to build and maintain under N and P limitation. Hence GS and ploidy are significant traits affecting biomass growth under different nutrient regimes, influencing plant community composition and ecosystem dynamics. We propose that GS is a critical factor needed in models that bridge the knowledge gap between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.