Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurophysiological Responses to Rest and Fatiguing Exercise in Severe Hypoxia in Healthy Humans

The central nervous system is highly sensitive to reductions in oxygen availability but the neurophysiological responses in healthy human lowlanders are not well understood. In severe hypoxia, whole-body exercise tolerance is impaired and neuromuscular fatigue, defined as any exercise-induced reduction in the ability of a muscle to generate force or power, reversible by rest, may be largely due to cerebral perturbations. The primary aim of this thesis was to determine the mechanisms of exercise-induced neuromuscular fatigue and the related neurophysiological responses to acute, chronic and intermittent severe hypoxia in healthy humans. In acute severe hypoxia (AH), exercise tolerance was, in part, mediated by a hypoxia-sensitive source of central fatigue, measured as a decrease in voluntary activation (VA) of the knee extensors (Study 1 – 4). This coincided with a significant challenge to systemic (arterial oxygen saturation [SpO2] ≈ 70%, Study 1 - 4) and cerebral oxygen availability at end-exercise (Study 3 - 4). The rate of development of peripheral locomotor muscle fatigue was blunted at task failure in AH in comparison to normoxia (Study 1 – 2). Corticospinal excitability and the neuromuscular mechanisms of fatigue were measured after a prolonged (two-week) exposure to high altitude in Study 3 (5260 m above sea level, Mount Chacaltaya, Bolivia). This was the first study to show that acclimatisation to chronic severe hypoxia (CH) alleviates the development of supraspinal fatigue induced by whole-body exercise in AH. This occurred in parallel to an improved cerebral oxygen delivery and cerebral oxygenation. Interestingly, the neurophysiological responses at rest in CH were characterised by an increased corticospinal and muscle membrane excitability. The peripheral contribution to neuromuscular fatigue was not attenuated following acclimatisation to high altitude. In study 4, a two-week protocol of intermittent hypoxia (IH) attenuated exercise-induced supraspinal fatigue measured in AH and substantially improved constant-power cycling in severe hypoxia. Total haemoglobin mass was unaltered by IH, but arterial oxygen content was improved due to an increase in SpO2, secondary to an enhanced ventilatory response to exercise. Peripheral locomotor muscle fatigue was lower following IH, which may be related to exercise training in hypoxia. Although corticospinal excitability was unchanged following a single 2-h exposure to severe hypoxia, repeated exposures of IH resulted in a transient increase in motor cortex excitability without changes in intracortical inhibition. (Study 5). In conclusion, in acute severe hypoxia, whole-body exercise tolerance is impaired through oxygensensitive mechanisms which exacerbate central fatigue. The acute response can be alleviated following both chronic and intermittent severe hypoxia.
Dissipation and risk assessment of combi product of mancozeb and carbendazim on apple at different locations in north India

In supervised field trials conducted jointly at five locations of North India to evaluate the dissipation pattern and risk assessment of combi product SAAF (carbendazim12%and mancozeb 63%) on apple fruits following foliar application of mixed formulation (carbendazim 120 and mancozeb 630 g ai ha−1) fungicide at recommended and double the recommended (240 +1260 g a.i. ha−1) doses, the residues of the two fungicides dissipated to reach below the detection limits at 15 and 25 days respectively. Average initial deposits ranged from 1.161 to 1.319 and 2.078 to 2.245 mg kg−1for carbendazim and 3.074 to 3.434 and 5.430 to 6.073 mg kg−1for mancozeb at the respective doses. No residues were not detected in mature fruits at all the five locations. Dissipation followed concentration dependent first order kinetics. The half life of mancozeb and carbendazim varied between 2.82–3.15 and 1.88–2.38 days, respectively. TMRC values were below the MPI in apple fruit and hence, the fungicide will not cause any adverse effect on consumption of fruits.
Proceedings of the Fifth Workshop on Syntax, Semantics and Structure in Statistical Translation

The Fifth Workshop on Syntax, Semantics and Structure in Statistical Translation (SSST-5) was held on 23 June 2011 following the ACL HLT 2011 conference in Portland, Oregon. Like the first four SSST workshops in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, it aimed to bring together researchers from different communities working in the rapidly growing field of structured statistical models of natural language translation.
Posterior chain muscle endurance and arm paddling peak power in amateur female surfers

Title: Posterior chain muscle endurance and arm paddling peak power in amateur female surfers Objectives: Thesis is dedicated to female surfing, particularly paddling, as this is an undiscovered area of research. Very few studies have been carried out, which would focus on muscle activity in surfing. None of the studies focused on posterior chain or muscle activity of female surfers while paddling. Not only that the level of competitive surfing is increasing rapidly, as it will be part of Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, but the recreational surfers are also becoming more literate about surf science and willing to improve their surfing performance by dry land surf specific trainings. Surfing industry represents a worldwide business, where big companies offer sponsorship, which is reasonable motivation for young athletes (M. MendezVillanueva & Bishop, 2005). As the number of recreational and competitive female surfers is raising as well, the level of competitive female surfing is increasing (Booth, 2001) and professional female surfers are becoming equal in regards to getting the same amount of prize money in competitions, more research should be dedicated to female surfing. The aim of this thesis was to study association between posterior chain endurance and other variables such as frequency of surfing sessions, surfing load and arm paddling peak power in recreational female surfers. This thesis also deals with chronic surfing injuries that may be caused prolonged isometric back extension in long period of arm paddling. Methods: Fourteen recreational female surfers were assessed for weight, posterior chain endurance and paddling peak power. Pearson correlation analysis was used for determination the significant correlations between variables. Posterior chain endurance was correlated with basal peak power, peak power after posteriorchain-fatiguing exercise, procentual difference between basal and post-fatiguing-exercise peak power, relative basal peak power, surfing experience in years, frequency of surfing in summer and winter and frequency of surfing and upper body strength training in summer and winter. Results: Very weak correlation was found between posterior chain endurance and paddling peak power. However, strong correlation was found between frequency of surfing and posterior chain endurance. There was association between frequency and load of surfing between paddling peak power. Practical applications: This study can be used by sport coaches to design training program for surfers. It can be also used as foundation for further research in surfing injuries and EMG activity of the muscles of posterior chain in arm paddling.
An immunome perturbation is present in juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients who are in remission and will relapse upon anti-TNFα withdrawal

Objectives Biologics treatment with anti-TNFα is efficacious in juvenile idiopathic arthritic (JIA) patients. Despite displaying clinical inactivity during treatment, many patients will flare upon cessation of therapy. The inability to definitively discriminate patients who will relapse or continue to remain in remission after therapy withdrawal is currently a major unmet medical need. CD4 T cells have been implicated in active disease, yet how they contribute to disease persistence despite treatment is unknown. Methods We interrogated the circulatory reservoir of CD4+ immune subsets at the single cell resolution with mass cytometry (CyToF) of JIA patients (n=20) who displayed continuous clinical inactivity for at least 6 months with anti-TNFα, and were subsequently withdrawn from therapy for 8 months, and scored as relapse or remission. These patients were examined prior to therapy withdrawal for putative subsets that could discriminate relapse from remission. We verified on a separate JIA cohort (n=16), the continued dysregulation of these circulatory subsets 8 months into therapy withdrawal. The immunological transcriptomic signature of CD4 memory in relapse/remission patients was examined with Nanostring. Results An inflammatory memory subset of CD3+CD4+CD45RA−TNFα+ T cells deficient in immune checkpoints (PD1−CD152−) was present in relapse patients prior to therapy withdrawal. Transcriptomic profiling reveals divergence between relapse and remission patients in disease centric pathways involving (a) TCR activation, (b) apoptosis, (c) TNFα, (d) NF-kB and (e) MAPK signalling. Conclusions A unique discriminatory immunomic and transcriptomic signature is associated with relapse patients and may explain how relapse occurs.
Reinforcement learning in continuous time: advantage updating

A new algorithm for reinforcement learning, advantage updating, is described. Advantage updating is a direct learning technique; it does not require a model to be given or learned. It is incremental, requiring only a constant amount of calculation per time step, independent of the number of possible actions, possible outcomes from a given action, or number of states. Analysis and simulation indicate that advantage updating is applicable to reinforcement learning systems working in continuous time (or discrete time with small time steps) for which standard algorithms such as Q-learning are not applicable. Simulation results are presented indicating that for a simple linear quadratic regulator (LQR) problem, advantage updating learns more quickly than Q-learning by a factor of 100,000 when the time step is small. Even for large time steps, advantage updating is never slower than Q-learning, and advantage updating is more resistant to noise than is Q-learning. Convergence properties are discussed. It is proved that the learning rule for advantage updating converges to the optimal policy with probability one. <<ETX>>
PAM recognition by miniature CRISPR-Cas14 triggers programmable double-stranded DNA cleavage

Small and robust CRISPR-Cas nucleases are highly desirable for genome editing applications. Being guided by a RNA to cleave targets near a short sequence termed a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM), Cas9 and Cas12 offer unprecedented flexibility, however, smaller more compact versions would simplify delivery and extend application. Recently, a new class 2 system encoding a miniature (529 amino acids) effector, Cas14a1, has been shown to exclusively function as a PAM-independent single stranded DNA nuclease. Using biochemical methods, we show that a T-rich PAM sequence triggers Cas14 proteins to also cut double-stranded DNA generating staggered ends. Finally, we demonstrate the ability of Cas14a1 to target and cleave cellular human chromosomal DNA paving the way for genome editing applications with Cas14s.
Regulations of DNA Damage Response via Gene Copy Number Variations

Both endogenous and exogenous factors may damage DNA. DNA damage response genes work together in different pathways are responsible for the repair of the damaged genome. DNA damage deficiency is one of the most important reasons for cancer initiation and progression. To date, studies have demonstrated that gain of function alteration of DNA damage genes and pathways could cause therapeutic resistance to the genome-instability drugs. In the first section, based on TCGA and GDSC database, the landscape of the copy number alterations of the DDR genes was first depicted and we demonstrated that their overexpression is mainly driven by the copy number amplification. Then we delineated reduced mutation burdens/signatures and poorer survival correlate with the amplification of DDR genes. At last, we showed the landscape of the correlation between cell line genome-instability drug response and DDR gene copy number. This study gave us confidence that DDR gene amplification could serve as a biomarker for the clinical outcome and possible mechanism of chemotherapy resistance. In the second section, focusing on one DNA damage response gene, TP53, and a specific cancer type, colorectal cancer, we performed a genome-wide correlation analysis to identify p53 protein regulating gene. Multi-omics data including TCGA gene expression, copy number variations, and RPPA protein level were integrated into this analysis. After identifying several candidate genes in 8q24.21, in vitro study and clinical relevance analysis further demonstrated a p53 protein inhibiting lncRNA, named PiHL.
Current Evidence about Neem Extracts, the Molecules and Physiological Mechanisms Their Nutritional Components Interact with

Plant-based alternative medicine is normally grounded on empiric cultural perception, as the main objective, these practices intent to either maintain good health or to provide a route to turn-the-tide on a specific disease or ailment. Amongst the thousands of plants that have been used and studied, Neem (Azadirachta indica) seems to have a very interesting tale to tell, since its properties to ward-off certain diseases have overtime, and in a rigorous way, been proven. The preceding concise review is a collection of some of the most relevant studies today, not only focusing on the health benefits obtained by its use, but digging into the molecular mechanisms of how the properties come about. In particular, we take a look over antioxidant properties and how these mediate and mitigate important molecules such as IL-6 and TNF-, leading the way in reducing systematic damage by oxidative stress. Further, we relate this oxidative reduction to other systemic diseases such as cancer and diabetes, as these are currently becoming the most rampant killers. As of yet not all is known about the different ways of extracting or the total composition of an extract, as these may be from different parts of the plant. Therefore, we also allude to an important cautionary view where toxicological effects and conflicting outcomes arise. Overall, presented results show a great potential for the different extracts of Neem as their antioxidant activity can be taken advantage off, and potentially used in modern medicine.
Mechanism of Cement-based Materials in Chloride Environment

The physical and chemical effects of steel corrosion, freeze-thaw damage and erosion environment are the main causes of concrete failure, among which steel corrosion is the first; and chloride ion is an important cause of steel corrosion in concrete, and the cement-based materials are deeply studied. The mechanism in the chloride salt environment, mastering the penetration and diffusion of chloride ions in cement-based materials, is of great significance for guiding the optimization design of concrete materials and improving the durability of concrete. In this paper, electrochemical methods, SEM-EDS analysis and mercury intrusion method were used to study the chloride ion of high performance cement-based materials under the synergistic action of chloride salt + stress, chloride salt freeze-thaw and chloride salt + stress + freeze-thaw. Permeability and steel corrosion and its mechanism; using gray theory, chemical analysis, microscopic test and other theories and methods to systematically study the properties and mechanism of cement-based materials for solidification and external ion chloride ion. The paper focuses on the mineral composition of cement and minerals, The type and amount of the agent, the relationship between the service environment and the performance of the solidified chloride ion and its mechanism.
Pneumococcal Carriage, Serotype Distribution, and Risk Factors in Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia, 5 Years After Introduction of the 10-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Ethiopia

Abstract Background There is a scarcity of data on pneumococcal serotypes carried by children in Ethiopia. We studied pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage rate, serotypes, and risk factors among children with community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods A prospective observational cohort study was performed in children with CAP, aged 0–15 years, in 2 pediatric emergency departments in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Nasopharyngeal swabs were cultured, and serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae were determined by sequencing the cpsB gene and by the Quellung reaction. Risk factors were analyzed by using binary logistic regression. Results Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 362 children with CAP. Pneumococcal carriage rate was 21.5% (78 of 362). The most common serotypes were 19A (27%), 16F (8.5%), and 6A (4.9%). In addition, 8.5% of the pneumococcal isolates were nontypeable. In bivariate analysis, children with a parent that smokes were more likely to carry pneumococci (crude odds ratio, 3.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2–12.3; P = .023) than those with parents that do not smoke. In multivariable analysis, living in a house with ≥2 rooms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.48; 95% CI, 0.28–0.82; P = .007) and vaccination with ≥2 doses of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) (AOR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.15–0.92; P = .033) were protective of pneumococcal carriage. Conclusions Five years after introduction of PCV10 in Ethiopia, the vaccine-related serotype 19A was predominant in the nasopharynx of children with CAP. Continued evaluation of the direct and indirect impact of PCV10 on pneumococcal serotype distribution in Ethiopia is warranted.
An extensible framework for synthesizing efficient, verified parsers

Parsers have a long history in computer science. This thesis proposes a novel approach to synthesizing efficient, verified parsers by refinement, and presents a demonstration of this approach in the Fiat framework by synthesizing a parser for arithmetic expressions. The benefits of this framework may include more flexibility in the parsers that can be described, more control over the low-level details when necessary for performance, and automatic or mostly automatic correctness proofs. Thesis Supervisor: Adam Chlipala Title: Associate Professor without Tenure of Computer Science
GSEA-InContext Explorer: An interactive visualization tool for putting gene set enrichment analysis results into biological context

Summary GSEA-InContext Explorer is a Shiny app that allows users to perform two methods of gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The first, GSEAPreranked, applies the GSEA algorithm in which statistical significance is estimated from a null distribution of enrichment scores generated for randomly permuted gene sets. The second, GSEA-InContext, incorporates a user-defined set of background experiments to define the null distribution and calculate statistical significance. GSEA-InContext Explorer allows the user to build custom background sets from a compendium of over 5,700 curated experiments, run both GSEAPreranked and GSEA-InContext on their own uploaded experiment, and explore the results using an interactive interface. This tool will allow researchers to visualize gene sets that are commonly enriched across experiments and identify gene sets that are uniquely significant in their experiment, thus complementing current methods for interpreting gene set enrichment results. Availability and implementation The code for GSEA-InContext Explorer is available at: https://github.com/CostelloLab/GSEA-InContext_Explorer and the interactive tool is at: http://gsea-incontext_explorer. ngrok.io
Comparison of sperm selection techniques in donkeys: motile subpopulations from a practical point of view

Abstract The aim of this study was to compare the post-thaw distribution of motile sperm subpopulations, following simple or colloid centrifugation. A new analysis was used to evaluate the available number of sperm from each subpopulation after each centrifugation protocol. Frozen/thawed semen samples were divided into the following after-thawing treatments: uncentrifuged control (UDC), sperm washing (SW) and two colloid centrifugation procedures (Equipure, SLC-E, and Androcoll, SLC-A). Percentage of total and progressive motility (TM and PM), as well as sperm motility kinematics, distribution of motile sperm subpopulations, and recovery rates, were statistically compared among treatments. The SLC treatments showed higher (P < 0.001) TM and PM than UDC and SW. Following each SLC procedure, different percentages of the subpopulation with the most vigorous and progressive sperm (sP4) were obtained. SLC-A recovered a larger number of sperm belonging to sP4 than SLC-E, but not significantly higher than SW. From a practical point of view, sperm washing, the standard centrifugation procedure for equine semen processing, recovered the same amount of fast and progressive sperm as colloid centrifugation, apparently the best treatment according to traditional analysis. In conclusion, samples processed by SLC have higher motility percentages than SW and UDC but, after combining the available number of sperm, SLC and SW techniques are equally efficient in recovering sperm from the most vigorous, fast and progressive motile subpopulation (sP4).
Wireless communications in the twenty-first century: a perspective

Wireless communications are expected to be the dominant mode of access technology in the next century. Besides voice, a new range of services such as multimedia, high-speed data, etc. are being offered for delivery over wireless networks. Mobility will be seamless, realizing the concept of persons being in contact anywhere, at any time. Two developments are likely to have a substantial impact on the mobile communications systems deployed in the twenty-first century: the adoption of International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 and wireless asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). They are two different but cooperative approaches to providing high-speed wireless access. The limitations of the radio-frequency spectrum and radio channel propagation impose special constraints on the technologies of systems to be deployed. To make future mobile systems globally acceptable, standardization efforts are underway in the International Telecommunications Union and the ATM Forum. This paper reviews the international standardization efforts, the challenges to the technologies imposed by the radio spectrum limitations, radio channel propagation-induced distortions, and possible solutions. Evolution, migration, and architecture issues also are discussed.