Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Very short delays prior to escape from potential predators may function efficiently as adaptive risk-assessment periods

Periods between predator detection and an escape response (escape delays) by prey upon attack by a predator often arise because animals trade-off the benefits such a delay gives for assessing risk accurately with the costs of not escaping as quickly as possible. We tested whether freezing behaviour (complete immobility in a previously foraging bird) observed in chaffinches before escaping from an approaching potential threat functions as a period of risk-assessment, and whether information on predator identity is gained even when time available is very short. We flew either a model of a sparrowhawk (predator) or a woodpigeon (no threat) at single chaffinches. Escape delays were significantly shorter with the hawk, except when a model first appeared close to the chaffinch. Chaffinches were significantly more vigilant when they resumed feeding after exposure to the sparrowhawk compared to the woodpigeon showing that they were able to distinguish between threats, and this applied even when time available for assessment was short (an average of 0.29 s). Our results show freezing in chaffinches functions as an effective economic risk assessment period, and that threat information is gained even when very short periods of time are available during an attack.
Comparison of Body-Image Dissatisfaction Among Chinese Children and Adolescents at Different Pubertal Development Stages

Background Body-image dissatisfaction among children and adolescent has become increasingly serious, and may be the result of staged differences in the puberty-development process. The aim of this study was to compare differences in body-image dissatisfaction among children and adolescents at different pubertal stages. Methods A total of 574 students aged 8–15 years were recruited from two nine-year schools via stratified cluster sampling, their secondary sex characteristics and external genital development examined, and body-image cognition surveyed using the teenage body-image annoyance questionnaire. This questionnaire covers body-shape, gender, sexual organ, and appearance dissatisfaction. Lower scores indicate a more negative body image. Results Total, gender, and appearance-dissatisfaction scores in girls were significantly lower than in boys (P<0.05); however, sexual organ–dissatisfaction scores in girls were significantly higher than in boys (P<0.05). Girls’ gender-dissatisfaction scores before breast development Tanner II were higher than those after menarche (P<0.05); however, girls’ sexual organ–dissatisfaction scores before breast development Tanner II were significantly higher than those after menarche (P<0.05). Conclusion The girls were more dissatisfied with their gender and appearance than the boys, and the boys were more dissatisfied with their sexual organs than the girls. The girls were more dissatisfied with their sexual organs before breast development Tanner II and more dissatisfied with their gender after menarche.
The Summit Score Stratifies Mortality and Morbidity in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Introduction Tobacco use and other cardiovascular risk factors often accompany chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study derived and validated the Summit Score to predict mortality in people with COPD and cardiovascular risks. Methods SUMMIT trial subjects (N=16,485) ages 40–80 years with COPD were randomly assigned 50%/50% to derivation (N=8181) and internal validation (N=8304). Three external COPD validations from Intermountain Healthcare included outpatients with cardiovascular risks (N=9251), outpatients without cardiovascular risks (N=8551), and inpatients (N=26,170). Cox regression evaluated 40 predictors of all-cause mortality. SUMMIT treatments including combined fluticasone furoate (FF) 100μg/vilanterol 25μg (VI) were not included in the score. Results Mortality predictors were FEV1, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, age, smoking pack-years, prior COPD hospitalizations, myocardial infarction, heart failure, diabetes, anti-thrombotics, anti-arrhythmics, and xanthines. Combined in the Summit Score (derivation: c=0.668), quartile 4 vs 1 had HR=4.43 in SUMMIT validation (p<0.001, 95% CI=3.27, 6.01, c=0.662) and HR=8.15 in Intermountain cardiovascular risk COPD outpatients (p<0.001, 95% CI=5.86, 11.34, c=0.736), and strongly predicted mortality in the other Intermountain COPD populations. Among all SUMMIT subjects with scores 14–19, FF 100μg/VI 25μg vs placebo had HR=0.76 (p=0.0158, 95% CI=0.61, 0.95), but FF 100μg/VI 25μg was not different from placebo for scores <14 or >19. Conclusion In this post hoc analysis of SUMMIT trial data, the Summit Score was derived and validated in multiple Intermountain COPD populations. The score was used to identify a subpopulation in which mortality risk was lower for FF 100μg/VI 25μg treatment. Trial Registration The SUMMIT trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as number NCT01313676.
Optical coherence tomography angiography findings of choroidal neovascularization secondary to decalcified choroidal osteoma treated with intravitreal aflibercept

Abstract Introduction: Choroidal osteoma (CO) is a rare benign ocular tumor characterized by ossifying choroid lesions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed report to describe the optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) findings of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) complicated by a rare decalcified CO following intravitreal aflibercept injection. Patient concerns: A 26-year-old woman presented with a spontaneous but painless reduction in visual acuity in her left eye that had commenced 5 days prior. Diagnosis: Clinical manifestations and multimodal imaging, including OCTA, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, fundus fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography, indicated decalcified CO with CNV. Interventions: After receiving an appropriately detailed explanation of the procedure, the patient was treated via intravitreal aflibercept(2.0 mg) injection once. Outcomes: One month after the therapy, OCTA revealed that the flow areas of CNV were narrowed, the best-corrected visual acuity was improved to 20/30, however, 2 months follow-up OCTA revealed that the CNV reoccurred, the best-corrected visual acuity was dropped to 20/50. Conclusion: Intravitreal aflibercept injection was an effective treatment for CO with CNV, but the effects may not last long. The OCTA findings provide a better appreciation of evaluating the effects of intravitreal aflibercept injection for CO complicating CNV.
Climatic constraints on trait‐based forest assembly

1. Climatic constraints on plant distributions are well known, but predicting community composition through knowledge of trait‐based environmental filtering remains an important empirical challenge. Here, we evaluate the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model of trait‐based community assembly using forest communities occurring along a 12 °C gradient of mean annual temperature (MAT). We use independent cross‐validation to evaluate model predictions from sites where trait constraints are predicted from environmental conditions. We also test whether orthogonal axes of trait variation can be used as predictors to improve model parsimony and explore MaxEnt forecasts of species distributions in a warmer climate.
The dimorphic queens of Polyrhachis australis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The formicine weaver ant Polyrhachis australis Mayr is one among many species of ants that have queens of two more or less distinct sizes, usually referred to as microgynes and macrogynes. The current consensus explains this phenomenon in terms of alternative strategies of dispersal and reproduction: microgynes typically walk to found new nests locally, macrogynes typically fly to found new nests farther afield. This study addressed four questions bearing on that interpretation: is the dimorphism complete (without intermediate sizes) or continuous in P. australis? Does the proportion of macrogynes correlate with the number of queens in the nest? Does the microgyne/macrogyne proportion vary over time? And are brachypterous individuals always microgynes? The implications of these questions concern the fitness status of the intermediate size individuals, the relative fitnesses of the two main morphs as the number of queens diminishes, the influence of habitat conditions on the production of the morphs, and the dispersal behaviour of microgynes. The size distribution of P. australis queens was incompletely bimodal, with some individuals of intermediate size. The proportion of macrogynes in nests increased with decreasing numbers of queens in nests, suggesting that macrogynes do better in whatever contests take place between queens during the ergonomic stage. Between 2009 and 2014, the proportion of macrogynes in nests fell from about 1 in 3 or 4, to less than 1 in 11, perhaps reflecting a differential production of queen morphs in saturated and unsaturated habitats: it profits a colony to produce more microgynes and fewer macrogynes when local conditions favour the easy founding of new nests by walking. Brachyptery was centred on the smallest microgynes, consistent with their assumed mode of dispersal for which wings are not needed.
Increase in the Lipopolysaccharide Activity and Accumulation of Gram-Negative Bacteria in the Stomach With Low Acidity

INTRODUCTION: Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) of Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) are highly toxic and induce inflammation. Therefore, we investigated both the LPS activity and composition of GNB in the gastric fluid (GF) to assess the potential toxicity of them accumulated in the stomach. METHODS: GF and saliva samples were obtained from 158 outpatients who were undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and 36 volunteers using a nasogastric tube. The LPS activity was measured by assay kits including recombinant Factor C or Limulus amebocyte lysate. To assess the bacterial composition in the samples, a 16S ribosomal DNA-based operational taxonomic unit analysis was performed. We focused on the genera representing >0.1% of the whole microbiota. RESULTS: We found a high LPS activity in the GF samples with weak acidity (approximately > pH 4), whereas little/no activity in those with strong acidity (approximately < pH 2). Spearman test also demonstrated a close correlation between pH and LPS in those samples (r = 0.872). The relative abundance of GNB in the saliva showed no significant difference between the subject groups with weak- and strong-acidity GF. In addition, in the subjects whose GF acidity was weak, the GNB abundance in the GF was almost the same as that in the saliva. By contrast, in the subjects whose GF acidity was strong, the GNB abundance in the GF was significantly lower than that in the saliva. DISCUSSION: GNB that have recently moved from the oral cavity might account for the prominent LPS activity in a stomach with weak acidity.
Higher stress protein levels are associated with lower humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in Pied Flycatcher females

Summary 1The proper functioning of immune defences may be traded-off against protecting the organism from physiological stress through the induction of stress protein (HSP) synthesis. Immune function could also be negatively affected by haemoparasite infections. 2We studied whether two induced immune responses (the humoral response to a tetanus vaccine and the T-cell-mediated response to phytohaemaglutinin (PHA) injection) were associated with the levels of two stress proteins (HSP60, HSP70), with haemoparasite infection and with condition in Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca Pallas, females. HSP levels, haemoparasite infection and condition were assessed on days 1 and 11 of nestling age, prior to tetanus and PHA challenges, respectively. 3Females with higher HSP60 levels prior to tetanus challenge mounted lower humoral responses. Females parasitized by Haemoproteus showed lower humoral responses, when controlling for HSP60 levels. No association was detected for HSP70 levels. 4Females with higher HSP60 and HSP70 levels prior to PHA challenge, independently of Haemoproteus infection, showed lower cell-mediated responses, when correcting for laying date. Female condition was not associated with immune responses. 5These results suggest that synthesizing more HSPs to mitigate stress may be traded-off against mounting humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, and agree with immune defences being costly.
A retrospective observational study

Biliary atresia (BA) is a devastating cholestatic disorder of infants that presents during the first several months after birth due to an idiopathic obstruction to the bile flow. Without prompt diagnosis, Kasai portoenterostomy, and deliberate follow-ups, the resulting cholestasis leads to progressive hepatic failure. Oxidative stress is an abnormal phenomenon inside cells or tissues caused by a disturbance in the reactive oxygen species (ROS). We aimed to measure perioperative ROS in BA patients. Data are presented as median (25th, 75th percentiles). We evaluated 15 BA patients (age 55 [48, 69] days) and measured ROS; serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2a (8-iso-PGF2a) and 8-hydroxy-20-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) preoperatively and 30 days later to compare values with serum liver function tests and histologic grades of liver cholestasis. For compared BA patients, 4 normal subjects as control group (age 55 [27, 75] days) measured ROS and serum liver function tests. In BA patients, the preoperative serum SOD was 6.1 IU/mL (4.7, 7.2), urinary 8-iso-PGF2awas 1969pg/mg Cre (1697, 2374), and urinary 8-OHdG was 37.1ng/mg Cre (33.1, 53.7). At the postoperative day 30, the serum SOD was 5.2 IU/mL (4.2, 6.7), urinary 8iso-PGF2a was 1761pg/mg Cre (1256, 3036), and urinary 8-OHdG was 42.1ng/mg Cre (29.65, 72.64). In ROS, there were no significant differences between the 2 periods. In control group, urinary 8-iso-PGF2a was significantly lower than that in preoperative BA patient group. However, other ROS were not significant differences between control group and BA patient group. The concentration of urinary 8-iso-PGF2awas positively correlated with total bilirubin and direct bilirubin levels (preoperatively: r=0.6921, P= .0042 and r=0.6639, P= .007, postoperatively: r=0.6036, P= .0172 and r=0.6464, P= .0092, respectively). The preoperative ROS were not correlated with histologic grades of liver cholestasis. Various factors such as liver inflammation, lipid malabsorption, and tissue disorders due to jaundice might affect the antioxidant activity and elevated urinary 8-iso-PGF2a. However, at least until 30 days later, urinary 8-OHdG as oxidative DNA damage might persist after the operation whether the cholestasis improved or not. Abbreviations: Alb = albumin, ALP = alkaline phosphatase, ALT = alanine aminotransferase, AST = aspartate transaminase, BA = biliary atresia, D-Bil = direct bilirubin, GGT = gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, 8-iso-PGF2a = 8-iso prostagrandin F2a, 8-OHdG = 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine, ROS = reactive oxygen species, SOD = serum superoxide dismutase, T-Bil = total bilirubin, TP = total protein.
Méthodes de résolution pour un problème de gestion de projet multi-compétence

This document deals with the multi-skill project scheduling problem: a project has to be scheduled in order to minimize the makespan. The resources may master several skills among all those needed by activities. First of all, we introduce the problem by a formal definition, and a linear program. Then, according to differences with other classical project scheduling problems, we develop specific methods. Several lower bounds are introduced. Then, we define some heuristic methods based on: serial schedule scheme or parallel schedule scheme, which use a priority list. Those methods are followed by a linear programming formulation, and some meta-heuristic method: a tabu search and two genetic algorithms. Finally, we introduce a branch-and-bound procedure to build optimal solutions. The branching scheme is based on time-windows of activities. So, each time a leaf node is reached, a fixed job scheduling problem with multiple skills has to be solved. We use some methods to optimally solve this problem, which are detailed in this document.
C-terminal binding protein-2 is a prognostic marker for lung adenocarcinomas

Abstract C-terminal binding protein-2 (CtBP2) a transcriptional corepressor, has been reported to involve in tumorigenesis and progression and predict a poor prognosis in several human cancers. However, few studies on CtBP2 in lung cancer tissues have been performed. In the present study, we first explored the CtBP2 gene expression profile from the the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) datasets, then western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry were performed to investigate and verified whether lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) tissues exhibit deregulated CtBP2 expression. We evaluated the correlations between CtBP2 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics, and Kaplan–Meier survival analyses were performed to estimate the effect of CtBP2 expression on prognosis of LUAD patients. The results revealed that CtBP2 expression was significantly upregulated in LUAD tissues compared with normal lung tissues. Furthermore, increasing CtBP2 expression in LUAD was significantly associated with tumor differentiation (P = .028), tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage (P = .042). CtBP2 expression was significantly correlated with LUAD patients’ survival (P = .028). In conclusion, the present study revealed that CtBP2 protein is a novel prognostic marker for LUAD. A further large-scale study is needed to confirm the present results.
Associations between the White Sea colonial hydroid Dynamena pumila and microorganisms

Marine sessile invertebrates with outer skeleton constitute additional substrate for a diverse group of epibiotic organisms. Colonial hydroids are no exception. Large numbers of motile and sessile organisms use hydroid colonies covered with chitinous perisarc for permanent or temporal attachment. Such epibiotic associations between colonial hydroids and microorganisms are poorly studied and mostly known for subtropical regions. There are no data about the development of such epibiotic association and type of its specificity yet. The present paper for the first time describes the epibiotic association of the colonial thecate hydroid Dynamena pumila from the high latitude sea. We reconstruct the spatial and temporal development of such epibiotic community and analyse the organization of the multicomponent biofilm covering the hydroid colony. Comparison of the epibiotic community in different seasons indicates for holding out of the basal features and components of the community during the whole year. Ultrastructural investigations revealed that components of the biofilm affect the outer skeleton of the hydroid colony that results in penetration of the microorganisms into the skeleton and even soft tissues. Our data allow supposing that association of hydroid D. pumila with a microorganism community has features of a symbiotic system.
A Guide to Constructing and Understanding Synonymies for Mammalian Species

Introduction . 1 Format for Listings in Generic Synonymy . 2 Format for Listings in Species Synonymy . 2 Citation Information 2 Understanding, Researching, and Constructing Synonymies 2 I. Scientific Names and Nomenclature 3 1.
XRCC1 promotes replication restart, nascent fork degradation and mutagenic DNA repair in BRCA2-deficient cells

Abstract Homologous recombination/end joining (HR/HEJ)-deficient cancers with BRCA mutations utilize alternative DNA double-strand break repair pathways, particularly alternative non-homologous end joining or microhomology-mediated end joining (alt-EJ/MMEJ) during S and G2 cell cycle phases. Depletion of alt-EJ factors, including XRCC1, PARP1 and POLQ, is synthetically lethal with BRCA2 deficiency; yet, XRCC1 roles in HR-deficient cancers and replication stress are enigmatic. Here, we show that after replication stress, XRCC1 forms an active repair complex with POLQ and MRE11 that supports alt-EJ activity in vitro. BRCA2 limits XRCC1 recruitment and repair complex formation to suppress alt-EJ at stalled forks. Without BRCA2 fork protection, XRCC1 enables cells to complete DNA replication at the expense of increased genome instability by promoting MRE11-dependent fork resection and restart. High XRCC1 and MRE11 gene expression negatively impacts Kaplan–Meier survival curves and hazard ratios for HR-deficient breast cancer patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas. The additive effects of depleting both BRCA2 and XRCC1 indicate distinct pathways for replication restart. Our collective data show that XRCC1-mediated processing contributes to replication fork degradation, replication restart and chromosome aberrations in BRCA2-deficient cells, uncovering new roles of XRCC1 and microhomology-mediated repair mechanisms in HR-deficient cancers, with implications for chemotherapeutic strategies targeting POLQ and PARP activities.
Sedimentary Thickness in the Paraná Basin using High-Frequency Receiver Function: Estimated Depth of a Buried Graben in the MS/GO border.

Receiver Functions (RF) in the frequency range 0.1 to 1 Hz have been extensively used to estimate crustal thicknesses. Here we show that high frequency RF (1 to 5 Hz) can be used to determine the thickness of sedimentary basins. However, the non-uniqueness of the RF inversion requires other information to be added in the inversion scheme. For example, different velocity profiles of the shallow (<100m) layers have a large effect in the inversion results for the deeper layers. We used a shallow seismic refraction survey to constrain the seismic velocities in the first 30m. Surface-wave group-velocity dispersion was used to constrain the average crustal S-wave velocity. Long-period RF was jointly inverted with high-frequency RF to estimate both the deep crustal and the sedimentary structure. Station CDSB is located in the northern part of the Parana Basin, in the middle of a low-gravity anomaly, which has been attributed to a buried graben. Our inversion of the RFs suggests the graben could be about 7-8 km deep, consistent with gravity modeling, but has a thick basalt flood layer, perhaps related to the graben evolution.
Polyphenol-Conjugated Bimetallic Au@AgNPs for Improved Wound Healing

Background Polyphenols possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties and have been used in the treatment of skin wounds and burns. We previously showed that tannic acid-modified AgNPs sized >26 nm promote wound healing, while tannic acid-modified AgNPs sized 13 nm can elicit strong local inflammatory response. In this study, we tested bimetallic Au@AgNPs sized 30 nm modified with selected flavonoid and non-flavonoid compounds for wound healing applications. Methods Bimetallic Au@AgNPs were obtained by growing an Ag layer on AuNPs and further modified with selected polyphenols. After toxicity tests and in vitro scratch assay in HaCaT cells, modified lymph node assay as well as the mouse splint wound model were further used to access the wound healing potential of selected non-toxic modifications. Results Tannic acid, gallic acid, polydatin, resveratrol, catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate and procyanidin B2 used to modify Au@AgNPs exhibited good toxicological profiles in HaCaT cells. Au@AgNPs modified with 15 μM tannic acid, 200 μM resveratrol, 200 μM epicatechin gallate, 1000 μM gallic acid and 200 μM procyanidin B2 induced wound healing in vivo and did not lead to the local irritation or inflammation. Tannic acid-modified Au@AgNPs induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) – like re-epithelialization, while other polyphenol modifications of Au@AgNPs acted through proliferation and wound closure. Conclusion Bimetallic Au@AgNPs can be used as a basis for modification with selected polyphenols for topical uses. In addition, we have demonstrated that particular polyphenols used to modify bimetallic nanoparticles may show different effects upon different stages of wound healing.