Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hypocholesterolemic Effect of Long-Term Continuous Administration of 2-Methoxyestriol in Dietary Hypercholesterolemic Rats

To compare the hypocholesterolemic effect and other biological activities of 2-methoxyestriol (2-MeOE3) and estradiol-17β (E2-17β), osmotic minipumps (transporting rate at 37°C, 0.5μl propylene glycol/h) containing these hormone solutions at either of 2 concentrations, 3mg/ml (36μg/day administration, “low dose”) and 30mg/ml (360μg/day administration, “high dose”) were implanted subcutaneously into previously oophorectomized female rats which were fed a diet containing 1% cholesterol. Blood sampling and measurement of body weight were carried out at one-week intervals for 4 weeks after the minipump implantation. Following the last blood sampling all animals were killed. The serum cholesterol was determined by an enzymatic method.Unlike E2-17β, 2-MeOE3 exerted little uterotrophic effect and had no effect on body weight even at a high dose. The serum total cholesterol level in low- and high-dose 2-MeOE3 groups exhibited 35.8-46.8% and 47.1-72.2% reductions, respectively, compared with the corresponding control values (administered vehicle alone), while the respective reductions in the E2-17β groups were 5.7-45.1% and 26.0-79.1%. The serum HDL-cholesterol level in the low dose E2-17β group showed significantly higher levels in the 1st and 3rd weeks, and the high-dose E2-17β group, in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd weeks, compared with the corresponding control values. The high-dose 2-MeOE3 group also exhibited a significantly higher level in the 1st week. These results suggest that 2-MeOE3 lowers serum cholesterol by enhancing not only its catabolism and excretion in the liver, but also by lipoprotein synthesis, and that, unlike the case for E2-17β, the mechanism of action of this hormone involves no estrogen receptors.
Synthesis of nanosize tetratitanium heptoxide and its anomalous phase transition

ABSTRACT Tetratitanium heptoxide, Ti4O7, is known to exhibit a two-step phase transition from the charge-delocalized to charge-localized phase and the charge-disordered to charge-ordered phase around 150 K and 130 K, respectively. Herein, a nanoscopic effect of the Ti4O7 phase transition is studied. A one-step phase transition from the charge-delocalized to charge-localized phase is realized in Ti4O7 nanocrystals where the transition from the charge-disordered to charge-ordered phase is suppressed. Perturbation to the free energy by the surface energy can explain this anomalous phase transition. The present nanoscopic effect, which can control cooperativity in phase transitions, should contribute to develop advanced switching materials. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT IMPACT STATEMENT Ti4O7 nanocrystal exhibits a one-step phase transition from a charge-delocalized to a charge-localized phase. This anomalous phase transition can be understood by the nanoscopic effect contributed by the surface energy.
Effects of fluorescent lighting on in vitro micropropagation of Lemna minor

The vegetative in vitro propagation of Lemna minor stain SING-4 exposed to two different types of fluorescent light sources, Philips TLD 36W/54 and Toshiba FL40T8BRF/36, was studied. The liquid culture medium contained 4.43gl-1 phytohormone-free full-strength Murashige & Skoog (MS) basal medium with vitamins, 30gl-1 sucrose, and 1gl-1 MES. The results showed that both plant cultures had undergone normal asexual reproduction with an exponential increase trend. Cultures exposed to Toshiba FL40T8BRF/36 reproduced at a slightly faster rate while expressing significantly greener foliage (leaf color chart shade No.8), which indicates the presence of more chlorophyll, than cultures exposed to Philips TLD 36W/54 (leaf color chart shade No.4). The data obtained from our experiment reveals that light emitted from Toshiba FL40T8BRF/36 produces healthier and higher quality cultures.
Formation of self‐assembly nanotemplates in vitro by native SslA protein and its truncation analysis

S‐layer proteins are an issue of arising interest due to their ability to form periodical self‐assembly nanopore structures. In this work we analyze the self‐assembly potential of the recently characterized SslA S‐layer protein of Sporosarcina ureae and of truncated SslA derivatives. The SslA protein with an estimated molecular weight of 116 kDa is shown to self‐assemble in vitro into the periodic lattices with parameters identical to those of native S‐layers formed on the surface of bacterial cells. Recombinant SslA proteins with truncation of N‐, C‐, or both N‐ and C‐terminal parts were successfully overexpressed in E. coli and showed an aggregation behavior in vitro. A HisXXXHis motif in the central protein part is likely to contribute to self‐assembly through the coordination of adjacent SslA monomers by binding the procurable divalent metal ions. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Improved Parallel Genetic Algorithm Based on Resetting Strategy and Hash Table

In the process of parallel genetic algorithm (PGA) convergence, the probability of generating repeated individuals in a new generation is gradually increasing, which leads to repetitive computations of fitness values. In order to improve the time-efficiency and quality of solutions, an improved algorithm based on resetting strategy and hash table (RHPGA) is proposed. On the one hand, RHPGA takes advantage of the low time complexity of hash table lookup to reduce fitness values’ calculation of repeated individuals. On the other hand, RHPGA uses a resetting strategy to improve the optimal solution searching ability. By solving a set covering problem, PGA and RHPGA are compared. The experiment proves that RHPGA can almost increase the time-efficiency by 300% and quality of solutions by 15%.
Sex Identification in Chickens by Means of the Presence of the W Chromosome-Specific Repetitive DNA Units

The W chromosome specific repetitive DNA units were detected easily by the XhoI digestion of genomic DNA, purified from a female whole blood sample, but could not be detected in male. Since the red blood cells of the chicken are nucleated, it is possible to obtain enough amounts of DNA preparation from a small volume of whole blood without sacrificing the animal. The detection of the female-specific repetitive DNA units is simple, reliable and efficient. By applying this technique, the identification of the sex in chickens was easily achived.
The Effect of Sponge City Construction for Reducing Directly Connected Impervious Areas on Hydrological Responses at the Urban Catchment Scale

Low-impact development (LID) has been widely used at both site-specific and local scales to try and mitigate the impact of urban stormwater runoff caused by increasing impervious urban areas. Recently, the concept of a “sponge city” was proposed by the Chinese government, which includes LID controls at the source, a pipe drainage system midway, and a drainage system for excess stormwater at the terminal. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of sponge city construction at the large urban catchment scale, particularly with different spatial distributions of LIDs that reduce directly connected impervious areas (DCIAs). In this paper, the performances of five design scenarios with different spatial distributions but same sizes of LID controls at the urban catchment scale were analyzed using a geographic information system (GIS) of the United States Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)—based Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and MIKE 11 of Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) in Xining City, China. Results confirmed the effectiveness of sponge city construction in reducing the urban stormwater runoff. The hydrological performance reduction was positively correlated and linearly dependent on DCIA reduction. Peak flow reduction was most sensitive to DCIA reduction, followed by runoff volume and peak time. As rainfall intensity increased, the hydrological performance was more sensitive to rainfall intensity than DCIA reduction. Results of this study provide new insights for stormwater managers to implement LID more effectively at the urban catchment scale.
Strong Ground Motion Simulation of the 2017 Sefid-Sang Earthquake in Khorasan-Razavi, NE Iran

On April 5, 2017, an earthquake with moment magnitude of 6.1 occurred Sefid-Sang area about 80 km southeast of Mashhad city in Khorasan-e-Razavi province. In this study, to estimate source parameters and rupture characteristics of the earthquake, the Empirical Green Function (EGF) method and the stochastic finite-fault (SFF) technique were used for strong ground motion simulation. Then the observed records and the simulated graphs by these two methods, were compared. To simulate the earthquake by EGF method, an aftershock with moment magnitude of 4.8 was used as the empirical Green function. The size of the main fault caused by the event was about 10 km in length and 8 km in width. The duration of the rupture in this event was about 18 seconds. The estimated fault plane solution shows reverse mechanism with strike-slip component. Strike, dip and rake of causative fault of the earthquake were determined as 311, 55 and 117 degrees. In addition, the stress drop in this event was calculated to be about 8 bars.
Pooling Method On PCNN in Convolutional Neural Network

The pooling method aggregates the points in the neighborhood in Convolutional Neural Network(CNN). It can not only reduce the dimension, but also improve the results, so that the results are not easy to over-fit. However, the common pooling methods have the problems of single feature and lack of self-adaptability. In order to solve this problem, the Pulse Coupled Neural Network (PCNN) is introduced and a pooling method based on PCNN is proposed. The algorithm learns the weights of each eigenvalue from the convoluted neighborhood sub-region by PCNN and fuses them to get the final pooling result. The experimental results on image recognition datasets MNIST, CIFAR-100 show that the proposed PCNN-based pooling method has better recognition effect and improves the performance of CNN compared with the existing pooling methods.
Surgical Phase Recognition with Wearable Video Camera for Computer-aided Orthopaedic Surgery-AI Navigation System

: The procedure of orthopaedic surgery is quite complicated, and many kinds of equipment have been used. Operating room nurses who deliver surgical instruments to surgeon are supposed to be forced to incur a heavy burden. This study aims to offer a computer-aided orthopaedic surgery (CAOS)-AI navigation system, which assists operating room nurses by suggesting the current progress of the procedure and expected surgical instruments. This paper proposes a method for recognizing the current phase of orthopaedic procedures from surgeon-wearable video camera images. The method plays the fundamental role of CAOS-AI navigation system. The proposed method is based on a convolutional-long short-term memory (LSTM) network. We also investigate the efficient CNN model in some competitive models such as VGG16, DenseNet, and ResNet to improve the recognition accuracy. Experimental results in unicomapartmenatal knee arthroplasty (UKA) surgeries showed that the proposed method achieved a phase recognition accuracy with 48.2%, 41.2%, and 53.6% using VGG16, DenseNet, and ResNet, respectively.
Functional cooperativity between the trigger factor chaperone and the ClpXP proteolytic complex

A functional association was uncovered between the ribosome‐associated trigger factor (TF) chaperone and the ClpXP degradation complex in bacteria. Bioinformatic analyses demonstrated conservation of the close proximity of tig, gene coding for TF, and genes coding for ClpXP suggesting a functional association. Effect of TF on ClpXP‐dependent degradation varied based on the nature of substrate. While degradation of some substrates was slowed down or unaffected by TF, surprisingly, TF increased the degradation rate for a third class of substrates. These include λ phage replication protein λO, master regulator of stationary phase RpoS, and SsrA‐tagged proteins. Globally, TF enhances the degradation of about 2% of newly synthesized proteins. TF was found to interact through multiple sites with ClpX in a highly dynamic fashion to promote protein degradation. This chaperone‐protease cooperation constitutes a unique and likely ancestral aspect of cellular protein homeostasis in which TF acts as an adaptor for ClpXP.
A new car logo extraction method based on license plate detection

Nowadays, intelligent transportation system is becoming the new trend because of the development of modern traffic, which serves to help gather traffic data, control traffic and improve road safety. One big challenge within intelligent transportation system is car model detection, which provides important information for traffic monitoring and planning. Currently, most car model extraction focus more on one-pass solution, which directly finds out the car logo region. In this paper, a new hybrid car logo extraction method based on license plate detection is proposed. First, a text detection is applied on car images to locate the license plate. Then, within a region of interest above license plate, a sub region is extracted to locate the car logo based on edge information. The fundamental concept is that using the relative location information between the license plate and car logo can take the most advantage of existing state-of-the-art license plates detection methods which is practically accurate, robust and efficient. Experimental results on OpenALPR dataset demonstrate its good performance in extracting car logos.
Differences in plant growth and leaf sesamin content of the lignan-rich sesame variety ‘Gomazou’ under continuous light of different wavelengths

Sesamin is a major lignan constituent of sesame seeds and beneficial to human health. We previously reported that sesamin is contained in leaves as well as seeds of sesame and proposed that sesame leaves could be a new sesamin source. Growth and constituents of plants are affected by light wavelength. In this study, growth and leaf sesamin content of sesame variety 'Gomazou' were investigated in plants grown under continuous white fluorescent and monochromatic red or blue light emitting diode (LED) light. Under red LED light, plants developed pale-green, epinastic leaves. Compared with white fluorescent light, red LED light promoted stem elongation 1-3 weeks after sowing but retarded it 3-5 weeks after sowing. Under blue LED light, plants exhibited interveinal necrosis in the leaf blades and excessive stem elongation occurred irrespective of plant age. Leaf yields were lower in plants grown under red and blue LED lights relative to those under white fluorescent light. Blue LED light increased leaf sesamin content by 2.0 and 4.5 times compared with white fluorescent and red LED lights, respectively. From these results, we concluded that blue (LED) light may be effective at producing sesamin-rich leaves if the unfavorable morphological changes and reduction in growth can be prevented.
Study of Some Key Elements of Design and Selection of an Educational Video Game Conducive to the Moroccan Secondary School Learners: The Motivational Profile and Pedagogical Coherence

Educational video games are being used increasingly in teaching physics. They offer learners a fun and convivial learning environment. However, the use of an educational video game genre that is ill-suited to a type of learning situation or inconsistent with the learners' motivational profile influences the effectiveness of its use in the classroom. In this context, this article deals, on the one hand, with the coherence between the genre of video games and the type of learning situation found in the context of the competency-based approach. On the other hand, it presents the results of a survey to describe the Moroccan learners' motivational profile in video games. The results show that the games should be adapted to each type of learning situation, designed and chosen to meet the learners' interest and avoided when learners are not interested in the genre of the games. It is also pointed out that most of learners prefer to use video games at the level of the explanation of the lessons and the exercises. In light of this research, we have made a number of recommendations for choosing and designing an educational video game.
Models of red grouse cycles. A family affair

The lack of parameterised models showing how intrinsic factors might affect population dynamics has contributed to the belief that they are unlikely to explain population cycles. In this paper we use mathematical models to show how a social process, differential territorial behaviour between kin and non-kin, might drive red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) population cycles. We develop a simple age-structured population model which has space as a limiting resource and examine two versions of it. The first contains no kin effect and is incapable of cyclic behaviour. The second, containing a modification to reflect the effect of kinship on recruitment, shows oscillatory behaviour over most of the parameter space and produces realistic output (period, amplitude, age structure, recruitment), while its quasi-cyclic behaviour is shown to be robust under random parameter variations. Further parameterisation with field data from two study sites in north-east Scotland yields output which resembles the course of observed population cycles. The model predicts that a young cock present in autumn will have a greater probability of recruitment into the territorial population during the increase than during the decline phase of the cycle. This is consistent with field data. The model further predicts that such fluctuations in the probability of recruitment will be synchronous with fluctuations in the size of kin-clusters.
MagnetoSuture: Tetherless Manipulation of Suture Needles

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of ligation and tissue penetration for surgical suturing tasks using magnetically actuated suture needles. Manipulation of suture needles in minimally invasive surgery involves using articulated manual/robotic tools for needle steering and controlling needle-tissue or thread-tissue interactions. The large footprints of conventional articulated surgical tools significantly increase surgical invasiveness, potentially leading to longer recovery times, tissue damage, scarring, or associated infections. Aiming to address these issues, we investigate the feasibility of using magnetic fields to tetherlessly steer suture needles. The primary challenge of such a concept is to provide sufficient force for tissue penetration and ligation. In this work, we demonstrate proof-of-concept capabilities using the MagnetoSuture system, performing tissue penetration and ligation tasks using ex vivo tissues, customized NdFeB suture needles with attached threads, and remote-controlled magnetic fields. To evaluate the system performance, we conducted experiments demonstrating tetherless recreation of a purse string suture pattern, ligation of an excised segment of a rat intestine, and penetration of rat intestines.
An AUV-Assisted Data Gathering Scheme Based on Clustering and Matrix Completion for Smart Ocean

The oceans cover more than 71% of the Earth’s surface and have a surging amount of data. It is of great significance to seek energy-effective and ultrareliable communication and transmission mechanism for effectively gathering abundant maritime data. In this article, we propose an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)-assisted data gathering scheme based on clustering and matrix completion (ACMC) to improve the data gathering efficiency in the underwater wireless sensor network (UWSN). Specifically, we first improve the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-means algorithm by adopting the Elbow method to determine the optimal <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and setting a distance threshold to select the separate initial cluster centers. Then, we introduce a two-phase AUV trajectory optimization mechanism to effectively reduce the trajectory length of the AUV. In the first phase, the optimized trajectory of the AUV is planned by adopting the greedy algorithm. In the second phase, the ordinary nodes close to the AUV trajectory are selected as secondary cluster heads to share the workload of cluster heads. Finally, we present an in-cluster data collection mechanism based on matrix completion. An extensive experiment validates the effectiveness of our proposed scheme in terms of energy and data collection delay.
A Parallel Computer Numerical Simulation Method Based on Coincident Coefficients

Analyze the coefficients relationship of 3rd order Runge-Kutta method and 4th order Runge-Kutta method, a parallel 4th order Runge-Kutta method based on consistent coefficient is proposed, the new parallel method can simultaneously satisfy the coefficients relationship both the 3rd order Runge-Kutta method and 4th order Runge-Kutta method with absolute stability region, it can be further parallel to lower order Runge-Kutta method. The method can be implemented in the multi-process MPI framework based on clusters. The method is applied to the numerical integral simulation of spacecraft orbit prediction, and the results of STK software are used asreference. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the parallel method is consistent with the serial method, and the computation speed is significantly higher than the serial method.
Survival rates of wild turkey hens in loblolly pine plantations in Mississippi.

Information on survival rates of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hens in the Southeast is limited particularly on areas dominated by pine (Pinus spp.) plantations. Because wildlife managers are concerned about the effect of increasing pine plantation acreage in the Southeast and the implications of autumn either- sex harvests on turkey populations, we determined annual and seasonal survival rates of 111 transmitter- equipped hens from 1 January 1987 until 31 December 1990 in Kemper County, Mississippi. Annual survival averaged 68.3% and ranged from 49.9 to 81.0%. Seasonal survival averaged 92.5 (SE = 0.24), 81.4 (SE = 0.37), 96.7 (SE = 0.18), and 93.8% (SE = 0.27) for winter (Jan-Mar), spring (Apr-Jun), summer (Jul-Sep), and autumn (Oct-Dec), respectively
Pursuing collaborative advantage in Swedish care for older people: stakeholders' views on trust

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore stakeholder views on the policy of integrated health and social care for older people with complex needs in Sweden and the issue of trust in implementing the policy.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a qualitative interview design and interviews with nine strategically selected stakeholders. A thematic analysis focused on trust, as defined in the theory of collaborative advantage, was used.FindingsThis study of health and social care exposed a lack of trust on political, strategic and inter-professional levels. Two opposing lines of argument were identified in the interviews. One advocated a single government authority for health and social care. The other was in accordance with recently implemented national policies, which entailed more collaboration between local government authorities, obliging them to make joint local agreements. The Swedish experience is discussed in an international context, examining the need for collaboration in integrated care services for older people.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the findings are important for the current adjustment in health and social care for older people, the number of interviewees are limited. Future studies will include more regions and longitudinal studies.Originality/valueSweden is currently undergoing an extensive adjustment in line with recent national government policy which involves more primary health care and a corresponding reduction in the number of hospital beds. The restructuring of the care system for older people with complex needs is a paradox, as it simultaneously increases the need for centralisation while also increasing coordination and collaboration on a local basis.