Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional Connectivity Network Disruption Underlies Domain-Specific Attention Impairments in Attention for Children Born Very Preterm.

Attention problems are common in school-age children born very preterm (VPT; < 32 weeks gestational age), but the contribution of aberrant functional brain connectivity to these problems is not known. As part of a prospective longitudinal study, brain functional connectivity (fc) was assessed alongside behavioral measures of selective, sustained, and executive attention in 58 VPT and 65 full-term (FT) born children at corrected-age 12 years. VPT children had poorer sustained, shifting, and divided attention than FT children. Within the VPT group, poorer attention scores were associated with between-network connectivity in ventral attention, visual, and subcortical networks, whereas between-network connectivity in the frontoparietal, cingulo-opercular, dorsal attention, salience and motor networks was associated with attention functioning in FT children. Network-level differences were also evident between VPT and FT children in specific attention domains. Findings contribute to our understanding of fc networks that potentially underlie typical attention development and suggest an alternative network architecture may help support attention in VPT children.
Evaluation of Longitudinal Pain Study in Sickle Cell Disease (ELIPSIS) by Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes, Actigraphy, and Biomarkers.

Clinical trials in sickle cell disease (SCD) often focus on health care utilization for painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOC). However, no objective, quantifiable pain biomarkers exist, pain is not specific to VOCs, health care utilization varies between patients, unreported at-home VOCs likely contribute to long-term outcomes, and patient-reported outcomes are seldom considered. This non-interventional, longitudinal, 6-month study aimed to develop tools to identify VOCs in SCD patients with or without health care utilization. Participants wore an actigraph device, tracking sleep and activity. SCD patients used an electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) tool collecting pain, medication, fatigue, and daily function. Patients self-reported when they experienced VOC pain (VOC day). Biomarkers were collected every 3 weeks (non-VOC). Self-reported VOCs triggered at-home or in-hospital blood collection. The study enrolled 37 participants with SCD; 35 completed the study. Participants reported 114 VOC events and 346 VOC days, of which 62.3% and 78.3%, respectively, were self-treated at home. The ePRO and actigraphy captured endpoints of pain, functionality, fatigue, activity, and sleep; each was significantly altered on VOC days compared with non-VOC days. Biomarkers collected at home or in hospital on VOC days were significantly altered compared with non-VOC baseline values, including leukocyte-platelet aggregates, microfluidic-based blood cell adhesion, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, interleukin-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and thrombin-antithrombin. ELIPSIS: demonstrates the feasibility of accurately monitoring out-of-hospital pain, using patient-reported VOC days as potential endpoints for clinical trials in SCD; showed changes in biomarkers and activity measured by actigraphy that may enable improved identification and assessment of VOCs.
Intrinsic DNA damage repair deficiency results in progressive microglia loss and replacement

The DNA excision repair protein Ercc1 is important for nucleotide excision, double strand DNA break, and interstrand DNA crosslink repair. In constitutive Ercc1‐knockout mice, microglia display increased phagocytosis, proliferation and an enhanced responsiveness to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced peripheral inflammation. However, the intrinsic effects of Ercc1‐deficiency on microglia are unclear. In this study, Ercc1 was specifically deleted from Cx3cr1‐expressing cells and changes in microglia morphology and immune responses at different times after deletion were determined. Microglia numbers were reduced with approximately 50% at 2–12 months after Ercc1 deletion. Larger and more ramified microglia were observed following Ercc1 deletion both in vivo and in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. Ercc1‐deficient microglia were progressively lost, and during this period, microglia proliferation was transiently increased. Ercc1‐deficient microglia were gradually replaced by nondeficient microglia carrying a functional Ercc1 allele. In contrast to constitutive Ercc1‐deficient mice, microglia‐specific deletion of Ercc1 did not induce microglia activation or increase their responsiveness to a systemic LPS challenge. Gene expression analysis suggested that Ercc1 deletion in microglia induced a transient aging signature, which was different from a priming or disease‐associated microglia gene expression profile.
Defining Wnt activity and Nkd1 function in mammalian cell lines IEC-18 and HEK293

DEFINING WNT ACTIVITY AND FUNCTION OF NKD1 IN MAMMALIAN CELL LINES IEC-18 AND HEK293 Alexander Weiss University of Guelph, 2016 Advisor: Professor Terry Van Raay Wnt signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway involved in many aspects of development and stem cell homeostasis. Activating mutations within the Wnt pathway are key in the initiation of colorectal cancers. Nkd1 is a negative feedback regulator of Wnt signaling with a unique method of antagonism that could potentially block the effect of the activating mutations. However, our understanding of the molecular function of Nkd1 has been derived mainly through zebrafish studies. To ultimately better understand the role of Nkd1 in human disease, I first employed the Intestinal Epithelial Cells line 18 (IEC-18) and Human Embryonic Kidney cells (HEK293) as mammalian models for the investigation of Nkd1 function. Using these two cell lines, I characterized the biochemical and genetic status of Wnt signaling in IEC-18 and HEK293 cells, followed by an analysis of Nkd1 function as it relates to previous work performed in zebrafish. My results indicate that while both cells respond biochemically and genetically to Wnt signaling, there are significant differences in the level of response at both levels that are not congruent with the current dogma. In addition, I found that while Nkd1 activity in these mammalian cell types shares some similarities with our previous findings in zebrafish, there exists cell-dependent differences in Nkd1 function.
Exploiting differences in the energy budget among C4 subtypes to improve crop productivity

Summary C4 crops of agricultural importance all belong to the NADP‐malic enzyme (ME) subtype, and this subtype has been the template for C4 introductions into C3 crops, like rice, to improve their productivity. However, the ATP cost for the C4 cycle in both NADP‐ME and NAD‐ME subtypes accounts for > 40% of the total ATP requirement for CO2 assimilation. These high ATP costs, and the associated need for intense cyclic electron transport and low intrinsic quantum yield ΦCO2, are major constraints in realizing strong improvements of canopy photosynthesis and crop productivity. Based on mathematical modelling, we propose a C4 ideotype that utilizes low chloroplastic ATP requirements present in the nondomesticated phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEP‐CK) subtype. The ideotype is a mixed form of NAD(P)‐ME and PEP‐CK types, requires no cyclic electron transport under low irradiances, and its theoretical ΦCO2 is c. 25% higher than that of a C4 crop type. Its cell‐type‐specific ATP and NADPH requirements can be fulfilled by local energy production. The ideotype is projected to have c. 10% yield advantage over NADP‐ME‐type crops and > 50% advantage over C3 counterparts. The ideotype provides a unique (theoretical) case where ΦCO2 could be improved, thereby paving a new avenue for improving photosynthesis in both C3 and C4 crops.
Effects of Alstonia boonei Aqueuous Extract in Isolated Intestinal and Diaphragm Glucose Uptake in vitro

We previously reported that stem bark of Alstonia boonei De Wild. (Apocynaceae) aqueous extract significantly prevented the rise in blood glucose in the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). This result suggest that Alstonia boonei aqueous extract possesses antihyperglycemic properties. In the present study, we will examine whether or not Alstonia boonei stem bark aqueous extract inhibits intestinal glucose uptake or/and inhibits the intestinal alpha-glucosidases by using everted jejunum sacs from normal rats. We will also examine if the aqueous extract increases the uptake of glucose by the isolated diaphragm glucose uptake from normal and diabetic rats. The extract was tested at the concentrations of 2 mg/mL and 5 mg/mL, sodium fluoride (2 mol/dL) and insulin (10 UI/mL) were used as a positive control. Glucose and maltose were used respectively to evaluate inhibition of glucose absorption and alpha-glucosidase inhibition. The results showed that the extract at concentrations of 2 and 5 mg/mL caused a reduction of intestinal glucose uptake (respectively 26.01 ± 3.00 and 42.99 ± 0.91 %) and inhibited alpha-glucosidase (respectively 33.19 ± 1.25 and 49.88 ± 1.21 %) in a dose response manner. The results also showed that the aqueous extract of Alstonia boonei favors the entry and storage of glucose in the cell, this by activating the glucose transporters namely GLUT4. This study suggests that the aqueous extract of stem bark of Alstonia boonei inhibits the intestinal glucose uptake as well as digestive enzymes including alpha-glucosidases and favors the entry and storage of glucose in the cell.
Serotonin Transporter and Plasma Membrane Monoamine Transporter Are Necessary for the Antidepressant-Like Effects of Ketamine in Mice

Major depressive disorder is typically treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), however, SSRIs take approximately six weeks to produce therapeutic effects, if any. Not surprisingly, there has been great interest in findings that low doses of ketamine, a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, produce rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects. Preclinical studies show that the antidepressant-like effects of ketamine are dependent upon availability of serotonin, and that ketamine increases extracellular serotonin, yet the mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. Here we examined the role of the high-affinity, low-capacity serotonin transporter (SERT), and the plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT), a low-affinity, high-capacity transporter for serotonin, as mechanisms contributing to ketamine’s ability to increase extracellular serotonin and produce antidepressant-like effects. Using high-speed chronoamperometry to measure real-time clearance of serotonin from CA3 region of hippocampus in vivo, we found ketamine robustly inhibited serotonin clearance in wild-type mice, an effect that was lost in mice constitutively lacking SERT or PMAT. As expected, in wild-type mice, ketamine produced antidepressant-like effects in the forced swim test. Mapping onto our neurochemical findings, the antidepressant-like effects of ketamine were lost in mice lacking SERT or PMAT. Future research is needed to understand how constitutive loss of either SERT or PMAT, and compensation that occurs in other systems, is sufficient to void ketamine of its ability to inhibit serotonin clearance and produce antidepressant-like effects. Taken together with existing literature, a critical role for serotonin, and its inhibition of uptake via SERT and PMAT, cannot be ruled out as important contributing factors to ketamine’s antidepressant mechanism of action. Combined with what is already known about ketamine’s action at NMDA receptors, these studies help lead the way to the development of drugs that lack ketamine’s abuse potential but have superior efficacy in treating depression.
Ontogenetic feeding migration of the euphausiid Euphausia pacifica in the East Sea (Japan Sea) in autumn: a stable isotope approach

We investigated the ontogenetic feeding migration of Euphausia paci ﬁ ca within the epipelagic zone (0 – 200 m depth) in the East Sea ( Japan Sea) during the autumn using stable isotope analysis (SIA). SIA indicated that the ontogenetic stages of E. paci ﬁ ca from egg to adulthood were closely related to the vertical pro ﬁ le of three cell-sized fractions of particulate organic matter (POM): pico- ( < 2 μ m), nano- (2 – 20 μ m) and microPOM (20 – 200 μ m). From nauplius to metanauplius, the δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of larvae were slightly lower than those of eggs, indicating the consumption of yolk reserves in the eggs. From calyptopis I, the ﬁ rst feeding stage to furcilia I, larvae mainly distributed in the surface layer and fed mainly on surface layer picoPOM. During developmental progress from CI to adulthood, the residence depth range deepened from the surface to deeper layers with the exception of juveniles, which stayed in the surface layer. The ontogenetic feeding migration pattern of E. paci ﬁ ca may reduce intraspeci ﬁ c competition for food items, resulting in coexistence of the ontogenetic stages in the East Sea during the autumn.
Biodegradation of Microcystins by Bacterial Consortia

Increases in frequency and intensity of freshwater cyanobacterial blooms (cyanoHABs) place significant challenges to drinking water plants for human health protection from exposure to algal toxins. Specifically, microcystins (MC), the hepatotoxin produced by cyanobacteria, is not effectively removed by the current water treatment processes. The goal of this study is to isolate and characterize bacteria that are capable of degrading MC in order to develop biofilters that can effectively remove the toxin. Water and sediment samples from a drinking water reservoir and a freshwater pond were collected and enriched for MC degrading bacteria. Among nearly 100 fast growing bacterial isolates were obtained from the enrichment culture and identified by gene sequencing, none were MC degraders due to the carryover of the trace amount of ethanol in the MC stock that were used by fast growing non-degraders. On the contrary, the bacterial consortia obtained from enrichment cultures can efficiently degrade MC. Although both consortia enriched in the presence or absence of ethanol can perform MC degradation, the degradation rates were improved for most of the consortia when the ethanol was removed from the enrichment culture in spite of lower cell growth rate. This indicates that the fast growing bacteria in the enrichment culture are not the key players in the degradation of MC. Bacterial community analysis also confirmed the higher diversity in consortia associated with ethanol. However, there is not a clear separation of bacterial diversity between the MC degrading and non-degrading consortia, indicating the complexity of consortia in MC degradation.
RUTTING PARAMETERS OF MODIFIED ASPHALT BINDER WITH MICRO AND NANO-SIZE OF METAKAOLIN POWDER

This research studies the feasibility of using micro and Nano-size of Metakaolin powder to develop the characteristics of the asphalt binder by three contents (1 %, 3 %, and 5 %) of asphalt weight with high shear mixer for a 60 min.set at 4000 rpm to prepare a homogeneous composite. Rheological properties were studied by the rotational viscosity value, penetration test, softening point temperature, penetration index, and ductility test. Rutting characteristics were determined also by the dynamic shear rheometer test on the control and the modified binder. Overall, the addition of Metakaolin has a helpful influence on the rheological properties of the modified asphalt binder. The greater percentages of improve the viscosity and softening point values at 6 % content of Nano (nMK) and micro (mMK) of Metakaolin were about (77, 40) % and (14, 9) %, respectively. Besides greater percentages of decrease in ductility and penetration values at 6 % content of Nano (nMK) and micro (mMK) of Metakaolin were approximately (18, 11) % and (30,16) %, respectively. Also, the complex shear modulus values increased and phase angle value reduced, attributable to the addition the micro (mMK) and Nano (nMK) of Metakaolin contents. The greater value of the complex shear modulus was detected at 5 % of the micro and Nano size of Metakaolin content. Furthermore, the results exhibited the greater values of complex shear modulus were at PG 76, PG 64 and PG 58 for types of Nano Metakaolin, micro Metakaolin, and control asphalt binder, respectively. It is an indication of improves the rutting performance as well as become appropriate for building the flexible pavements of the highways in hot weather circumstances.
Characterization and Film-Forming Properties of Gelatins from Whitemouth Croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) Skin and Bones

ABSTRACT The Whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri), due to its abundance, is considered one of the most traditional and important species fished in the coastal waters and estuaries of South America. The aim of this work was to produce biopolymeric films of gelatins obtained from skin and bones of Whitemouth croaker. The fish gelatins were characterized through the yield, chemical composition, physiochemical, and rheological properties. The films were characterized by tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EAB), water vapor permeability (WVP), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and optical properties. The values of protein yield, hydroxyproline content, gel strength, melting temperature, gelling temperature, and viscosity of the skin gelatin were higher than the values of the bone gelatin. The films obtained of skin gelatin showed all properties and thermal analysis superior in relation to the films of bone gelatin; this can be justified by the best physicochemical and rheological characteristics of the skin gelatin.
Evaluation of statistical methods and sampling designs for the assessment of microhabitat selection based on point data

Information on resource selection by a species is essential for understanding the species’ ecology, distribution and requirements for survival. Research on habitat selection frequently relies on animal detection at point locations to determine which resource units are used. A variety of approaches and statistical tools can be employed for assessing selection based on habitat variables measured in those units. The aim of this work was to evaluate the reliability of common sampling designs and statistical methods in detecting habitat selection at fine scales based on point data We reviewed literature on microhabitat selection to determine characteristics of typical studies and analysed simulated small‐mammal live‐trapping data as a case study. We considered various scenarios differing in the number of sampled units and sampling duration. For each scenario, a set of simulated surveys was analysed through two univariate tests (Welch's t‐ and Mann–Whitney U‐test), generalized linear models (GLMs), mixed‐effect models (GLMMs) and occupancy models (OMs). Analysis of simulated data revealed that overall performance of all statistical methods improved with increased trapping effort. Univariate tests were especially sensitive to the number of sampling units, while modelling methods took also advantage of longer trapping sessions. Univariate tests and GLMs provided partially correct information in most cases, whereas GLMMs and OMs offered higher probabilities of fully describing simulated habitat preferences. With typical sampling efforts, appropriate statistical analysis of point data is able to provide a moderately accurate description of habitat selection at small scales, in spite of the violation of closure and independence assumptions of applied models. Modelling approaches are proliferating; we encourage using models that can deal with multiple sources of variability, such as GLMMs and OMs, when data are hierarchically structured. There is no a priori best survey design; it should be chosen according to the scope and goals of the study, environment heterogeneity, species characteristics and practical constraints. Researchers should realize that sampling design and statistical methods likely affect conclusions regarding habitat selection.
Trait variation and integration across scales: is the leaf economic spectrum present at local scales?

Trait-based approaches have taken an increasingly dominant role in community ecology. Although trait-based strategy dimensions such as the leaf economic spectrum (LES) have been identified primarily at global-scales, trait variation at the community scale is often interpreted in this context. Here we argue from several lines of evidence that a research priority should be to determine whether global-scale trait relationships hold at more local scales. We review recent literature assessing trait variation at smaller scales, and then present a case study exploring the relationship between the correlation strength of leaf traits and their similarity in variation structure across ecological scales. We find that the correlation strength between pairs of leaf traits does not predict whether the traits respond similarly to different drivers of variation. Instead, correlation strength only sets an upper bound to the dissimilarity in trait variation structure. With moderate correlation strengths, LES traits largely retain the ability to respond independently to different drivers of phenotypic variation at different scales. Recent literature and our results suggest that LES relationships may not hold at local scales. Clarifying under what conditions and at which scales the LES is consistently expressed is necessary for us to make the most of the emerging trait toolbox.
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SUPPORTING TAIL LATENCY SLOS IN CEPH

When optimizing the performance of a storage system, people often focus on reducing the average latency. Nevertheless, when the behavior of a workload exhibits burstiness, a traditional server that optimizes the average latency potentially generates a high tail latency (i.e., the time the server takes to serve some of the slowest requests). To ensure a consistent performance across almost all users, companies often desire a low and bounded tail latency. The objective of the thesis is to design a new system for meeting tail latency performance goals, known as Service Level Objectives (SLOs), in the context of distributed storage. Prior work has demonstrated that analytical modeling approaches can help in configuring systems to meet tail latency SLOs in networks, hard drives, and SSDs, but these approaches have not been applied yet in distributed storage. These approaches are hard to implement in distributed storage because clients communicate with many servers, which leads to unpredictable interference patterns. This thesis takes a first step in analytically modeling distributed storage for meeting tail latency SLOs. To evaluate our distributed storage model, we use Ceph, an open-source distributed system, as the proving ground. Our preliminary results show that our model can integrate with prior work to meet tail latency SLOs in distributed storage while efficiently using the storage resources.
Low-Power, Low-Noise, FM MEMS Gyroscope: 3-Axis Sensor and Integrated Electronics Design

This paper reports the developments towards an integrated, triaxial, frequency-modulated, consumergrade, MEMS gyroscope. A custom low-power (160 μA), low-phase-noise integrated circuit is designed specifically for frequency-modulated operation. Both yawand pitchrate sensing systems are demonstrated, by coupling the circuit with two novel micromachined structures fabricated with a 24-μm-thick industrial process. In operation, both gyroscopes show a repeatable and stable scale factor, with less than 0.55% of part-to-part variability, obtained without any calibration, and 35 ppm/◦ C of variability over a 25◦ to 70◦ C temperature range.