Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wnt signalling in prostate cancer stem-like cells

The work reported in this thesis describes the characterisation of cell derived colonies from cancer cell lines and mechanisms of a key signalling pathway within these. PC3 cells were cultured at clonal density and resultant colony formation objectively described. Wnt signalling was investigated in colony types using a live [Ca2+]i assay. Exploratory work regarding ion channel gene and protein expression in 3 prostate cancer cell lines was performed. Preliminary investigation on the effects of MPRC (membrane potential regulating compounds) was performed using a cell proliferation assay. PC3 prostate cancer cells form distinct colonies with different morphologies. These different colony types can be characterised using quantitative parameters such as cell density and percentage cellularity, unlike previously employed visual only characteristics. PC3 cells form two types of colonies from a single cell. In this thesis these are termed holo/meroclones and paraclones. Cells within both colony types respond to Wnt activation, demonstrated by a response in free intracellular calcium [Ca2+]i . In addition, there is a suggestion of increased expression of, and translocation into the nucleus of the transcription factor co- activator β-catenin again in response to both Wnt 5A and Wnt 9B in both colony types. The characteristics of Wnt induced calcium release vary between different types of colonies. This is the first report of Wnt mediated [Ca2+]i release in response to both Wnt 5A and Wnt 9B in different PC3 colony types and the first report suggestive of β-catenin translocation following Wnt activation in colonies derived from stem-like cells.
Network controllability: viruses are driver agents in dynamic molecular systems

In recent years control theory has been applied to biological systems with the aim of identifying the minimum set of molecular interactions that can drive the network to a required state. However in an intra-cellular network it is unclear what ‘control’ means. To address this limitation we use viral infection, specifically HIV-1 and HCV, as a paradigm to model control of an infected cell. Using a large human signalling network comprised of over 6000 human proteins and more than 34000 directed interactions, we compared two dynamic states: normal/uninfected and infected. Our network controllability analysis demonstrates how a virus efficiently brings the dynamic host system into its control by mostly targeting existing critical control nodes, requiring fewer nodes than in the uninfected network. The driver nodes used by the virus are distributed throughout the pathways in specific locations enabling effective control of the cell via the high ‘control centrality’ of the viral and targeted host nodes. Furthermore, this viral infection of the human system permits discrimination between available network-control models, and demonstrates the minimum-dominating set (MDS) method better accounts for how biological information and signals are transferred than the maximum matching (MM) method as it identified most of the HIV-1 proteins as critical driver nodes and goes beyond identifying receptors as the only critical driver nodes. This is because MDS, unlike MM, accounts for the inherent non-linearity of signalling pathways. Our results demonstrate control-theory gives a more complete and dynamic understanding of the viral hijack mechanism when compared with previous analyses limited to static single-state networks.
DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS BASED METAMODELING FOR MULTI OBJECTIVE SIMULATION OPTIMIZATION IN A MANUFACTURING LINE

To adapt changing market conditions, firms must make quick decisions and response them as fast as possible. Simulation is a powerful tool to analyze the effects of changes in an industrial or service system on a virtual environment and usage of simulation models have become widespread with the developments in computers. Simulation isn’t adequate to optimize the system parameters and additional methods are needed to integrate with simulation for optimization. In this study, a multi-objective optimization of a production system is considered. In this system, management aims to decide the optimal combination of workers in considered workstations. To cope with the problem a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) based metamodel is obtained and this metamodel is used as the objective function of the mathematical model with relevant constraints. In metamodeling stage two level factorial design is used.
The Preservation of Façades for Pre-Hispanic and Historical Buildings in Mexico

The use of plaster and colored render on buildings with sculptural carvings was integral to traditional Mexican buildings in pre-Hispanic and colonial times. Currently it is uncommon to find pre-Hispanic or viceregal structures that visibly retain these original decorative layers, making their investigation crucial from both the aesthetic and functional perspectives. A brief account is given here of the use and later loss of polychromy in Europe and Mesoamerica, and how these transformations have impacted on aesthetics and the conservation of Mexican buildings. Also, a discussion of whether new protective layers should be colored or not is introduced. In ancient cultures the use of coatings and color in monuments and buildings is widely documented (Rivas López 2008). These finishes have been found on buildings made from different materials including brick, limestone, and marble; many had bright colors and pictorial effects to accentuate the characteristics of the architectural carvings, making the decoration more important than the building material itself (La Spina 2014). In Spain, the widespread use of polychromy developed from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, with the main influences being French and Islamic aesthetics (Rivas López 2008). Likewise, Mesoamerican cultures used colored renders for its symbolism, and as protection for monuments and buildings. Today most buildings have lost these colored renders due to deterioration arising from weathering and past archaeological exploration methods (López Luján et al. 2005). Throughout the pre-Hispanic and Spanish periods, viceregal construction tradition in Mexico involved relief and color, including wall paintings and polychrome façades, as part of the architectural concept: they were an integral part of both civil and ecclesiastical buildings, and were intimately related to the iconography of the carvings (Artigas 1995). The main reason for the loss of this tradition of color was the change in taste that began with the discovery of Greco-Roman ruins during the Renaissance, when the form of sculptures was imitated, but their color was ignored (Rivas López 2008). Consequently, in Europe and eventually in Latin America, not only were new buildings given natural stone façades (in Mexico, Porfirian architecture evidences this new aesthetic), but also a new trend arose whereby old buildings were deprived of their original finishes, thus destroying the material evidence for polychromy (García de Miguel 2002) and with it, global perception of the aesthetics associated with Gothic, Baroque and pre-Hispanic buildings.
COLLECTIVE MODEL BASED OBJECTIVE RETRIEVAL WITH MULTI SCALE TOP MODELS

Predicting students’ performance turns out to be all the more troublesome as a result of the tremendous volume of data in informational databases. The nonattendance of existing structure to separate and screen the understudy headway and execution is unquestionably not being tended to. There are two essential reasons of why this is happening. To begin with, the examination on existing gauge methodologies is as yet missing to perceive the most sensible systems for foreseeing the execution of understudy in associations. Second is a result of the nonappearance of examinations on the factors affecting understudy' achievements particularly course. In this way, a deliberately composing review on envisioning understudy execution by using data mining systems is proposed to upgrade understudy achievements. The essential focus of this paper is to give an outline on the data mining frameworks that have been used to anticipate student performance. This paper moreover focuses on how the conjecture computation can be used to recognize the most imperative attributes in an student data. We could truly upgrade understudy achievement and accomplishment more reasonably capably using educational data mining strategies. It could pass on the points of interest and impacts to understudy, educators and insightful foundations.
Pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength in myasthenia gravis

Introduction: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular autoimmune disease of unknown etiology, characterized by generalized muscle weakness and fatigue, especially after repetitive physical activities, with consequent improvement after rest. The MG follows a slowly progressive course, which can be fatal failure of the ventilatory muscles. The manifestations of the respiratory system are generally attributed to the weakness of the diaphragm and also accessory muscles of ventilation. Objetive: The objective was to evaluate the volumes and lung capacities and maximum pressure ventilation in patients with clinically stable MG. Methods: This is an observational study involving 15 patients (2 men) with MG. Subjects were recruited consecutively and screened for eligibility using the standardized protocol. Results: Spirometry, only two patients showed abnormalities of respiratory pattern, being a moderate restrictive pattern (50-60% predicted), and another patient with the congenital form showed a severe restrictive pattern. Not obstructive patterns were observed. Our results of spirometry showed an average value of FVC: 3.15 ± 0.77 and FEV1: 2.64 ± 0.65. Regarding the maximum pressure generated by the ventilatory muscles, the average value for the MIP was 45.5 cmH2O among women and the value of 56 cmH2O for men was observed. To MEP it was observed the average value of 45 cmH2O for women and 55 cmH2O for men. Conclusion: We conclude that patients with MG have lower values of maximal inspiratory and expiratory ventilatory associated with normal lung function values.
Does Distanced Self-Talk Facilitate Emotion Regulation Across a Range of Emotionally Intense Experiences?

Research indicates that a subtle shift in language—silently referring to oneself using one’s own name and non–first-person-singular pronouns (i.e., distanced self-talk)—promotes emotion regulation. Yet it remains unclear whether the efficacy of distanced self-talk depends on the intensity of the negative experience reflected on and whether the benefits extend to emotionally vulnerable individuals. Two high-powered experiments addressed these issues. Distanced as opposed to immersed self-talk reduced emotional reactivity when people reflected on negative experiences that varied in their emotional intensity. These findings held when participants focused on future and past autobiographical events and when they scored high on individual difference measures of emotional vulnerability. The results also generalized across various types of negative events. These findings illuminate the functionality of language for allowing people to regulate their emotions when reflecting on negative experiences across the spectrum of emotional intensity and highlight the need for future research to examine the clinical implications of this technique.
Cardiovascular bioimaging of nitric oxide: Achievements, challenges, and the future

Nitric oxide (NO) is a ubiquitous, volatile, cellular signaling molecule that operates across a wide physiological concentration range (pM–µM) in different tissues. It is a highly diffusible messenger and intermediate in various metabolic pathways. NO plays a pivotal role in maintaining optimum cardiovascular function, particularly by regulating vascular tone and blood flow. This review highlights the need for accurate, real‐time bioimaging of NO in clinical diagnostic, therapeutic, monitoring, and theranostic applications within the cardiovascular system. We summarize electrochemical, optical, and nanoscale sensors that allow measurement and imaging of NO, both directly and indirectly via surrogate measurements. The physical properties of NO render it difficult to accurately measure in tissues using direct methods. There are also significant limitations associated with the NO metabolites used as surrogates to indirectly estimate NO levels. All these factors added to significant variability in the measurement of NO using available methodology have led to a lack of sensors and imaging techniques of clinical applicability in relevant vascular pathologies such as atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease. Challenges in applying current methods to biomedical and clinical translational research, including the wide physiological range of NO and limitations due to the characteristics and toxicity of the sensors are discussed, as are potential targets and modifications for future studies. The development of biocompatible nanoscale sensors for use in combination with existing clinical imaging modalities provides a feasible opportunity for bioimaging NO within the cardiovascular system.
The Effect of Prior ACEI/ARB Treatment on COVID-19 Susceptibility and Outcome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract There have been arguments on whether angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) treatment alters the risk of COVID-19 susceptibility and disease severity. We identified a total of 102 eligible studies for systematic review, in which 49 studies adjusting for confounders were included in the meta-analysis. We found no association between prior ACEI/ARB use and risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in general population (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.00, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.94-1.05). The risk of mortality (aOR 0.87, 95%CI 0.66-1.04) and severe outcomes (aOR 0.95, 95%CI 0.73-1.24) are also unchanged among COVID-19 patients taking ACEI/ARB. These findings remain consistent in subgroup analyses stratified by populations, drug exposures and in other secondary outcomes. This systematic review provides evidence-based support to current medical guidelines and position statements that ACEI/ARB should not be discontinued. Additionally, there has been no evidence for initiating ACEI/ARB regimen as prevention or treatment of COVID-19.
Photosynthetic responses to photosynthetically active radiation and temperature including chilling‐light stress on the heteromorphic life history stages of a brown alga, Cladosiphon okamuranus (Chordariaceae) from Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Photosynthetic responses to temperature and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were investigated on the heteromorphic life history stages (macroscopic and microscopic stages) of an edible Japanese brown alga, Cladosiphon okamuranus from the Ryukyu Islands. Measurements were carried out by using optical dissolved oxygen sensors and a pulse‐amplitude modulated fluorometer. Maximum net photosynthetic rates and other parameters of the Photosynthesis – PAR curves at 28°C were somewhat similar in both life history stages, without characteristic photoinhibition at 1000 μmol photons m−2 s−1. Results of oxygenic gross photosynthesis and dark respiration experiments over a temperature range of 8–40°C revealed similar temperature optima for both stages (29.7°C, macroscopic stage; 30.3°C, microscopic stage), which support their observed occurrences in the habitat during summer. Maximum quantum yields of photosystem II (PSII) (F v/F m) were relatively stable at low temperatures with the highest at 15.1°C for the macroscopic stage and at 16.5°C for the microscopic stage; but dropped at higher temperatures especially above 28°C. Continuous exposures (6 h) to 200 and 1000 μmol photons m−2 s−1 at 8, 16, and 28°C revealed greater depressions in effective quantum yields of PSII (Φ PSII) of the microscopic stage at 8°C, as well as its F v/F m that barely increased after 6 h of dark acclimation. Whereas post‐dark acclimation F v/F m of both stages exposed to low PAR fairly recovered at 28°C, suggesting their photosynthetic tolerance to such high temperature. Under natural conditions, both heteromorphic stages of C. okamuranus may persist throughout the year in this region. Beyond its northern limit of distribution, the microscopic stage of this species may suffer from photodamage, as enhanced by low winter temperatures; hence, its restricted occurrence.
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis: Cultivation, Storage, and Methods for Introducing DNA

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis has been studied for many decades, and research on this microbe has taught us a great deal about host‐pathogen interactions, bacterial manipulation of host cells, virulence factors, and the evolution of pathogens. This microbe should not be cultivated at 37°C because this is a trigger that the bacterium uses to sense its presence within a mammalian host and results in expression of genes necessary to colonize a mammalian host. Prolonged growth at this temperature can result in accumulation of mutations that reduce the virulence of the strain, so all protocols need to be modified for growth at room temperature, or 26°C. This article describes protocols for cultivating this microbe and for its long‐term storage and its genetic manipulation by transformation and conjugation. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Transcripción, indexación y análisis automático de declaraciones judiciales a partir de representaciones fonéticas y técnicas de lingüística forense

espanolRecientes avances tecnologicos han permitido mejorar los procesos judiciales para la busqueda de informacion en los expedientes judiciales asociados a un caso. Sin embargo, cuando tecnicos y peritos deben revisar pruebas almacenadas en videos y fragmentos de audio, se ven obligados a realizar una busqueda manual en el documento multimedia para localizar la parte que desean revisar, lo cual es una tarea tediosa y que consume bastante tiempo. Para poder facilitar el desempeno de los tecnicos, el presente proyecto consiste en un sistema que permite la transcripcion e indexacion automatica de contenido multimedia basado en tecnologias de deep-learning en entornos de ruido y con multiples interlocutores, asi como la posibilidad de realizar analisis de linguistica forense sobre los datos para ayudar a los peritos a analizar los testimonios de modo que se aporten evidencias sobre la veracidad del mismo. EnglishRecent technological advances have made it possible to improve the search for information in the judicial files of the Ministry of Justice associated with a trial. However, when judicial experts examine evidence in multimedia files, such as videos or audio fragments, they must manually search the document to locate the fragment at issue, which is a tedious and time-consuming task. In order to ease this task, we propose a system that allows automatic transcription and indexing of multimedia content based on deep-learning technologies in noise environments and with multiple speakers, as well as the possibility of applying forensic linguistics techniques to enable the analysis of witness statements so that evidence on its veracity is provided.
Acceleration of plague outbreaks in the second pandemic

Significance Epidemics of plague devastated Europe’s population throughout the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Genetic studies of modest numbers of skeletal remains indicate that the causative agent of all these epidemics was the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but such analyses cannot identify overall patterns of transmission dynamics. Analysis of thousands of archival records from London, United Kingdom, reveals that plague epidemics spread much faster in the 17th century than in the 14th century. Historical records reveal the temporal patterns of a sequence of plague epidemics in London, United Kingdom, from the 14th to 17th centuries. Analysis of these records shows that later epidemics spread significantly faster (“accelerated”). Between the Black Death of 1348 and the later epidemics that culminated with the Great Plague of 1665, we estimate that the epidemic growth rate increased fourfold. Currently available data do not provide enough information to infer the mode of plague transmission in any given epidemic; nevertheless, order-of-magnitude estimates of epidemic parameters suggest that the observed slow growth rates in the 14th century are inconsistent with direct (pneumonic) transmission. We discuss the potential roles of demographic and ecological factors, such as climate change or human or rat population density, in driving the observed acceleration.
Accessory muscle scars, an aid to protobranch orientation

Presence of both prosogyrous and opisthogyrous forms among primitive pelecypods leads to confusion in orientation of extinct species. Because the protobranch foot protrudes from the anterior portion of the shell, the muscles controlling foot movement bear direct relation to shell orientation. Accessory muscle scars in Missississippian species of extinct genera Ctenodonta and Nuculopsis are analogous to those in many living genera, but differ from Ordovician Ctenodonta. It is suggested that pedal muscle scars have been reduced in number throughout the history of taxodont protobranchs. --V.M. J
MINTZAI: Sistemas de Aprendizaje Profundo E2E para Traducción Automática del Habla

espanolLa traduccion automatica del habla consiste en traducir el habla de un idioma origen en texto o habla de un idioma destino. Sistemas de este tipo tienen multiples aplicaciones y son de especial interes en comunidades multilingues como la Union Europea. El enfoque estandar en el ambito se basa en componentes principales distintos que encadenan el reconocimiento del habla, la traduccion automatica, y la sintesis del habla. Con los avances obtenidos mediante redes neuronales artificiales y aprendizaje profundo, la posibilidad de desarrollar sistemas de traduccion del habla extremo a extremo (end-to-end), sin descomposicion en etapas intermedias, esta dando lugar a una fuerte actividad en investigacion y desarrollo. En este articulo, se hace un repaso del estado del arte en este area y se presenta el proyecto mintzai, que se esta realizando en el ambito. EnglishSpeech Translation consists in translating speech in one language into text or speech in a different language. These systems have numerous applications, particularly in multilingual communities such as the European Union. The standard approach in the field involves the chaining of separate components for speech recognition, machine translation and speech synthesis. With the advances made possible by artificial neural networks and Deep Learning, training end-to-end speech translation systems has given rise to intense research and development activities in recent times. In this paper, we review the state of the art and describe project mintzai, which is being carried out in this field.
Tailoring Particle-enzyme Nanoconjugates for Biocatalysis at the Organic-organic Interface.

Nonaqueous Pickering emulsions (PEs) are a powerful platform for catalysis design, offering both a large interface contact and a preferable environment for water-sensitive synthesis. However, up to now, little progress has been made to incorporate insoluble enzymes into the nonaqueous system for biotransformation. Herein, we present biocatalytically active nonaqueous PEs, stabilized by particle-enzyme nanoconjugates, for the fast transesterification and esterification, and eventually for biodiesel synthesis. Our nanoconjugates are the hybrid biocatalysts tailor-made by loading hydrophilic Candida antarctica lipase B onto hydrophobic silica nanoparticles, resulting in not only catalytically active but highly amphiphilic particles for stabilization of a methanol-decane emulsion. The enzyme activity in these PEs is significantly enhanced, ca. 375-time higher than in the nonaqueous biphasic control. Moreover, the PEs can be multiply reused without significant loss of enzyme performance. With this proof-of-concept, we reasonably expect that our system can be expanded for many advanced syntheses using different enzymes in the future.