Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intracranial recordings from human auditory cortex reveal a neural population selective for song

How are neural representations of music organized in the human brain? While neuroimaging has suggested some segregation between responses to music and other sounds, it remains unclear whether finer-grained organization exists within the domain of music. To address this question, we measured cortical responses to natural sounds using intracranial recordings from human patients and inferred canonical response components using a data-driven decomposition algorithm. The inferred components replicated many prior findings including distinct neural selectivity for speech and music. Our key novel finding is that one component responded nearly exclusively to music with singing. Song selectivity was not explainable by standard acoustic features and was co-located with speech- and music-selective responses in the middle and anterior superior temporal gyrus. These results suggest that neural representations of music are fractionated into subpopulations selective for different types of music, at least one of which is specialized for the analysis of song.
PERFIL FITOQUÍMICO E AVALIAÇÃO DA ATIVIDADE ANTIFÚNGICA DA FRAÇÃO HEXÂNICA DE Mitracarpus baturitensis (RUBIACEAE)

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo determinar o perfil fitoquimico e a atividade antifungica da fracao hexânica de M. baturitensis contra especies de Candida spp. Inicialmente, realizou-se o teste fitoquimico com reacoes quimicas para deteccao das principais classes de metabolitos secundarios e na sequencia foi realizado o teste antifungico por meio da tecnica de microdiluicao em caldo contra duas especies de Candida. A fracao hexânica de M. baturitensis apresentou fenois, taninos, flavonoides, saponinas e esteroides em sua composicao, sendo verificada tambem atividade antifungica frente as leveduras estudadas. Estes resultados corroboram outros achados na literatura que verificaram metabolitos secundarios para outras especies pertencentes ao genero Mitracarpus, bem como atividade antimicrobiana, revelando, desta forma, potencialidade para esta especie e evidenciando a importância de estudos futuros sobre os seus aspectos quimicos e biologicos.
Optimized Bioinformatic Strategy for the Analysis of Clinical Proteomic Data of the Endometrium in Chronic Endometritis

The aim of the study is to analyze the entire set of proteins (proteome) expressed in the endometrial tissue and to identify protein markers specific for carcinogenesis. according to trypsin standard Obtained tryptic peptides analyzed and identified by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry.The Human Protein Atlas and Tissue-Specific Gene Expression and Regulation databases were used to analyze the tissue-specific protein expression. on their potential involvement in carcinogenesis. The obtained data can serve as the starting point for further in-depth studies of the endometrium using the proteomic approach, as well as other OMICS technologies. Subsequent application of bioinformatic tools will allow revealing of molecular mechanisms of relationship between inflammation and endometrium tissue malignant transformation.
Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 Protects Intestinal Barrier Function by Inhibiting NF-κB-Mediated Activation of the MLCK-P-MLC Signaling Pathway

Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN), a kind of probiotic, has been reported to have a protective effect on the intestinal barrier function and can ameliorate certain gastrointestinal disorders. In this study, the potential protective effect of EcN on the intestinal barrier function in a septic mouse model induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) operation was investigated. FITC-Dextran 4,000 Da (FD-4) flux and the expression levels of tight junction (TJ) proteins were measured to evaluate the protective effect of EcN on the intestinal barrier function. Then, Caco-2 monolayers were utilized to further investigate the protective effect of the EcN supernatant (EcNsup) on the barrier dysfunction induced by TNF-α and IFN-γ in vitro; the plasma level of both the cytokines increased significantly during sepsis. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and FD-4 transmembrane flux were measured, and the localization of ZO-1 and Occludin was investigated by immunofluorescence. The expression of MLCK and the phosphorylation of MLC were detected by western blot. The activation of NF-κB was explored by immunofluorescence, and CHIP assays were performed to investigate the conjunction of NF-κB with the promoter of MLCK. The results indicated that EcN protected the intestinal barrier function in sepsis by ameliorating the altered expression and localization of TJ proteins and inhibiting the NF-κB-mediated activation of the MLCK-P-MLC signaling pathway which might be one of the mechanisms underlying the effect of EcN.
PROGNOSTIC POWER OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE SCORING SYSTEMS IN PERIAMPULLARY PANCREATIC CANCER: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Introduction: Assessment of systemic inflammatory response forms the basis of several scoring systems that attempt to prognosticate patients with periampullary pancreatic carcinoma (PPC). We assessed the validity of three of these scoring systems for patients’ prognosis following intervention for PPC: Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) and its modified version (mGPS), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Methods: EMBASE and MEDLINE databases were searched for all published studies until September 2018 using comprehensive text word and MeSH terms. Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology guidelines was followed. All identified studies were analysed and relevant studies were included in the review.Results: Three studies which assessed the role of GPS, four studies that evaluated the use of NLR and three that assessed the role of PLR in patients with PPC were identified. None of these studies demonstrated any value in the pre-operative assessment of patients with PPC. The limited number of studies available precluded further statistical analysis.Conclusions: Based on available evidence, GPS, NLR and PLR do not appear to be useful scoring systems to predict prognosis of patients with PPC. Larger studies are warranted before the application of inflammatory scoring systems could be recommended in patients with PPC.Key words: Periampullary cancer, Glasgow prognostic score, modified Glasgow prognostic score, platelet-lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio
Adsorption of Anionic-Azo Dye from Aqueous Solution by Lignocellulose-Biomass Jute Fiber: Equilibrium, Kinetics, and Thermodynamics Study

The present investigation describes the evaluation of feasibility of lignocellulosic-biomass jute fiber (JF) toward adsorptive removal of anionic-azo dye from aqueous solution. Batch studies illustrated that dye uptake was highly dependent on different process variables, pH, initial dye concentration of solution, adsorbent dosage, and temperature. Further, an attempt has been taken to correlate these process variables with dye absorption and was optimized through a full-factorial central composite design (CCD) in response surface methodology (RSM). Maximum adsorption capacity (29.697 mg/g) under optimum conditions of variables (pH 3.91, adsorbent dose 2.04 g/L, adsorbate concentration 244.05 mg/L, and temperature 30 °C), as predicted by RSM, was found to be very close to the experimentally determined value (28.940 mg/g). Exothermic and spontaneous nature of adsorption was revealed from thermodynamic study. Equilibrium adsorption data were highly consistent with Langmuir isotherm yielding R2 = 0.999. Kinet.
Polymorphisms of Growth Differentiation Factor 9 (GDF 9)and Bone Morphogenetic Protein 15 (BMP15) Genes in Barki and Rahmani Sheep Breeds

Blood samples from 100 ewes (Barki and Rhmani breeds, 50 each) were collected from a private farm at Giza Governorate for determination of polymorphisms of bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) and the growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) genes in the two breeds using PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing.Restriction analysis of 712 bpGDF9 gene (amplicon of exon I) using HhaI enzyme revealed 120, 254 and 338 fragments without any differences between the two breeds being tested. GDF9 gene exon II amplicon(713 bp) showed similar pattern of restriction in the two tested breeds with 4 bands (54, 62, 137 and 460bp) using HinfI enzyme. The restriction enzymes, HinfI, SpeI and XbaI, failed to digest the amplicons of exons I and II(500 bp, each) of BMP15 gene in all tested animals of both breeds suggesting absence of polymorphism. This study concluded that there was no polymorphism in the four exons between Barki and Rahmani sheep and the two breeds have the wild genotype with absence of any mutation.
Program Analysis on Evolving Software

Static analysis is well-suited for continuous verification during the software development stage since it only works on the source code and does not require a running system for testing. However, applying the program analysis during software development means that the analysis has to cope with evolving software and evolving analyzer configurations, especially in a model-based development process. In this article we present a unique history-aware concept for program analysis that has been developed for the static analyzer Astree. It not only provides the ability to backtrack and access previous versions of the analysis configuration, it can also automatically determine the differences between two analysis configurations and relate them to the correct source code versions. Users can explicitly create a revision, i.e. a snapshot of the analysis project; changes of the source code, analysis options, analysis directives and results in different revisions are automatically detected and highlighted. The analyzer provides automatic correctness checks for all specified analysis directives, e.g., to tune the precision of the analyzer or provide information about the environment. This makes software verification applicable during the implementation stage, significantly reduces the effort to adapt the analyzer configuration to new source code versions, and makes analysis results on previous software versions easily reproducible.
Performance of Nellore females in tropical pastures during the rainy season when supplemented with molasses blocks

The objective of this study was to measure the effect of supplementation with molasses blocks compared with conventional mineral supplementation (with specific formulations for the rainy and dry season) in 92 7-month-old Nellore heifers (Experiment 1) and 40 primiparous 31-month-old Nellore cows (Experiment 2) in Marandu grazing areas. The following measurements were obtained: weight, supplement intake, blood urea and glucose in heifers (Experiment 1), supplement intake, cow weight, body score, calf weight and ruminal temperature and drinking events in primiparous females (Experiment 2). The average molasses block intake was 242 g day-1 per heifer, with an average weight gain of 0.290 kg day-1; the heifers who consumed the molasses blocks were heavier during the rainy season (P < 0.05; Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, molasses block intake varied from 77 to 821 g day-1 per primiparous female, and the average intake in the control group was between 100 and 370 g day-1. The primiparous females given molasses blocks displayed lower weight loss due to calving (P < 0.05) and retained higher body scores at 150 days postpartum (P < 0.05). Ruminal temperature (P < 0.05) and drinking events (P < 0.05) were higher in primiparous Nellore females given molasses blocks. Overall, molasses blocks effectively increased Nellore female performance during the rainy season in Marandu grass pastures.
Atypical Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Responses to Topographic Modifications of Titanium Biomaterials Indicate Cytoskeletal- and Genetic Plasticity-Based Heterogeneity of Cells

Titanium (Ti) is widely used as a biomaterial for endosseous implants due to its relatively inert surface oxide layer that enables implanted devices the ability of assembling tissue reparative components that culminate in osseointegration. Topographic modifications in the form of micro- and nanoscaled structures significantly promote osseointegration and enhance the osteogenic differentiation of adult mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). While the biological mechanisms central to the differential responses of tissues and cells to Ti surface modifications remain unknown, adhesion and morphological adaptation are amongst the earliest events at the cell-biomaterial interface that are highly influenced by surface topography and profoundly impact the regulation of stem cell fate determination. This study correlated the effects of Ti topographic modifications on adhesion and morphological adaptation of human MSCs with phenotypic change. The results showed that modified Ti topographies precluded the adhesion of a subset of MSCs while incurring distinct morphological constraints on adherent cells. These effects anomalously corresponded with a differential expression of stem cell pluripotency and Wnt signalling-associated markers on both modified surfaces while additionally differing between hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface modifications—though extent of osteogenic differentiation induced by both modified topographies yielded similarly significant higher levels of cellular mineralisation in contrast to polished Ti. These results suggest that in the absence of deposited proteins and soluble factors, both modified topographies incur the selective adhesion of a subpopulation of progenitors with relatively higher cytoskeletal plasticity. While the presence of deposited proteins and soluble factors does not significantly affect adherence of cells, nanotopographic modifications enhance expression of pluripotency markers in proliferative conditions, which are conversely overridden by both modified topographies in osteogenic inductive conditions. Further deciphering the mechanisms underlying cellular selectivity and Ti topographic responsiveness will improve our understanding of stem cell heterogeneity and advance the potential of MSCs in regenerative medicine.
Phylogeny of the subgenus Eumitria in Tanzania

ABSTRACT Several Usnea species in subgenus Eumitria (Parmeliaceae, lichenized Ascomycota) have been described from East Africa in the past decades. These have been based on morphology and chemistry data while molecular studies remain very limited. In this paper we are for the first time publishing phylogenetic analyses along with morphological and chemical data for Eumitria. ‬A total of 62 new sequences of Eumitria (26 ITS, 20 nuLSU, 6 MCM7, 10 RPB1) were generated in this study. nuLSU, MCM7 and RPB1 sequences are here for the first time reported for U. baileyi. A phylogeny of subgenus Eumitria from Tanzania based on Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of a concatenated four-loci data set is presented, confirming the monophyly of Eumitria. Further, secondary chemistry and variation in characters, such as the pigmentation of the central axis and branch shape were investigated.
Slow cortico-cortical connectivity (2-5Hz) is a new robust signature of conscious states

While long-range cortico-cortical functional connectivity has been reported by several studies as a necessary condition of conscious state, precise empirical evidence is still scarce. In the present work we provide such a direct and conclusive evidence in a set of three experiments. In the two first experiments intracranial-EEG was recorded during four distinct states in the same individuals: conscious wakefulness (CW), rapid-eye-movement sleep (REM), stable periods of slow-wave sleep (SWS) and deep propofol anaesthesia (PA). We discovered that long-range FC, computed by the weighted Symbolic-Mutual-Information (wSMI) in the 2-5Hz frequency band was a specific marker of conscious states that could discriminate CW and REM from SWS and PA. In the third experiment, we generalized this original finding on a large cohort of brain-injured patients by revealing that wSMI in the 2-5 Hz range was also able to accurately discriminate patients in the vegetative state (or unresponsive wakefulness syndrome) from patients in the minimally conscious state. Taken together the present results suggest that 2-5Hz FC is a new and robust signature of conscious states.
Toxicological activity of four plant oils against Aedes caspius and Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae)

The toxicological activity of four plant oils, Matricaria chamomilla, Origanum majorana, Carum petroselinum and Salvia officinalis were evaluated against all larval instars and pupae of Aedes caspius and Culex pipiens. The plant oils were tested at different concentrations of 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600 ppm at different time intervals (24, 48 and 72hrs). The obtained results showed that, all tested plant oils had prominent mosquitocidal activity against A. caspius and C. pipiens. Mortality increased by increasing concentration and time of exposure. M. chamomilla showed highest larvicidal activity after 24 hrs. for all larval instars of A. caspius and C. pipiens. Higher mortality was observed in 1 instar larvae than all other immature life stages with all oils. The developmental periods were extremely prolonged after treatment with the lowest concentration of all used oils. Adult emergence was completely stopped at 800 ppm of M. chamomilla and C. petroselinum against A. caspius. It was concluded that, the used oils have toxic effects against larvae and pupae of A. caspius and C. Pipiens, altered developmental periods, pupal rate and adult emergence with superiority of M. chamomilla and C. petroselinum. It was recommended that, M. chamomilla and C. petroselinum have the potential to be used for larval and pupal control of A. caspius and C. pipiens.
Evaluation of niche adaptation features by genome data mining approach of Escherichia coli urinary and gastrointestinal strains

Background. Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are among most common infections in humans. The vast majority are caused by Escherichia coli, occasionally responsible for severe clinical manifestations. Although the species frequently adheres and colonizes the bladder mucosa, its reservoir is the host gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the study was designed to evaluate genomic features for niche adaptation of urinary and gastrointestinal strains of E. coli by data mining approach. Results. In the E. coli strains, the repertoire of genes was higher than those found in previous studies, and the majority of genes associated to primary metabolism did not depend of bacteria niche, with exception of cell cycle-division, cell motility and secondary metabolite metabolism. Urinary tract isolates of E. coli had great density of virulence and resistance genes carried by prophages. Conclusion. The urinary and gastrointestinal strains of E. coli evaluated in the study presented an open pan-genome, with groups of functional annotation genes associated to specific niches. In addition, gastrointestinal isolates of E. coli were demonstrated as important reservoir of resistance genes.
Does A Virtual Reality-Based Dance Training Paradigm Increase BalanceControl in Chronic Stroke Survivors? A Preliminary Study

Background Purpose: To examine the feasibility and effect of a virtual reality - based dance training paradigm in improving balance control and physical activity levels. Method: Community-dwelling individuals with hemiparetic stroke (N=11) received a virtual reality - based dance paradigm for 6-weeks using the commercially available Kinect dance video game “Just Dance 3”. The change in balance control was evaluated by the Limits of Stability test (Neurocom Inc.). The post-training changes in self-initiated center of pressure response time (RT), the movement velocity (MV), the maximum excursion (MXE) were examined. Changes in physical activity during dance training were assessed using Omran HJ-321 Tri-Axis Pedometer. The gaming scores were recorded from the Kinect software after each game (during training). Result: Post-training the RT was significantly reduced (pre vs. post, p<0.05). Similarly, post-training, MV and MXE were significantly higher (p<0.05). Number of steps during dance intervention significantly increased from the 1st to the 20th session (p<0.05). Conclusion: Results validate the feasibility of this short duration high-intensity protocol for improving balance control and physical activity in chronic stroke survivors.
Regulation of terminal hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation in Prmt5 mutant mice modeling infantile idiopathic scoliosis

ABSTRACT Idiopathic scoliosis (IS) is the most common type of musculoskeletal defect affecting children worldwide, and is classified by age of onset, location and degree of spine curvature. Although rare, IS with onset during infancy is the more severe and rapidly progressive form of the disease, associated with increased mortality due to significant respiratory compromise. The pathophysiology of IS, in particular for infantile IS, remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate the role of PRMT5 in the infantile IS phenotype in mouse. Conditional genetic ablation of PRMT5 in osteochondral progenitors results in impaired terminal hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation and asymmetric defects of endochondral bone formation in the perinatal spine. Analysis of these several markers of endochondral ossification revealed increased type X collagen (COLX) and Ihh expression, coupled with a dramatic reduction in Mmp13 and RUNX2 expression, in the vertebral growth plate and in regions of the intervertebral disc in the Prmt5 conditional mutant mice. We also demonstrate that PRMT5 has a continuous role in the intervertebral disc and vertebral growth plate in adult mice. Altogether, our results establish PRMT5 as a critical promoter of terminal hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation and endochondral bone formation during spine development and homeostasis. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. Summary: Loss of Prmt5 in osteochondral progenitors impairs terminal hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation, leading to defects in endochondral bone formation and models infantile idiopathic scoliosis in mouse.
Fertilizer-Nitrogen Absorption Determined by the 15N Isotopic and Difference Methods

Reported values of percent fertilizer-N absorption (PNA) by crops grown in the fields are somewhere in between 30 and 70%, although there are many extremes. In some crops, such as rice, winter wheat, pearl millet and sugarbeet, the PNA values based on the difference method are generally larger than those on the 15N method, while, in other crops such as spring wheat, maize and sorghum, the trend is opposite. In the other group of crops, such as potato and sudangrass, the PNA shows little difference between those two methods. Among various causes, root-development characteristics, being specific to each crop species, seems to play an important role on the PNA difference by the two methods, since the PNAs are often larger in the pot tests than in the field experiments. There are, however, great variations among the crops in the relative contributions of root development and growth characteristics to the PNA as well as in their N responses. It is concluded that in pursuing the PNA difference caused by those two methods, the following matters will have to be further studied: (a) identification of all aspects of the fertilizer-N distribution in fields, including plant absorption, demineralization and losses through gases and leaching; and (b) concurrent influences of environmental conditions. Discipline: Soils, fertilizers and plant nutrition Additional key words: field crops, percent fertilizer-N absorption, residual fertilizer-N, soil-N