Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Milk Somatic Cells During Lactation Between Two Intensively Reared Dairy Sheep Breeds

In dairy sheep industry, milk production dictates the value of a ewe. Milk production is directly related to the morphology and physiology of the mammary gland; both being designated targets of breeding strategies. Although within a flock breeding parameters are mutual, large differences in milk production among individual ewes are usually observed. In this work, we tested two of the most productive dairy sheep breeds reared intensively in Greece, one local the Chios breed and one foreign the Lacaune breed. We used transcriptome sequencing to reveal molecular mechanisms that render the mammary gland highly productive or not. While highly expressed genes (caseins and major whey protein genes) were common among breeds, differences were observed in differentially expressed genes. ENSOARG00000008077, as a member of ribosomal protein 14 family, together with LPCAT2, CCR3, GPSM2, ZNF131, and ASIP were among the genes significantly differentiating mammary gland’s productivity in high yielding ewes. Gene ontology terms were mainly linked to the inherent transcriptional activity of the mammary gland (GO:0005524, GO:0030552, GO:0016740, GO:0004842), lipid transfer activity (GO:0005319) and innate immunity (GO:0002376, GO:0075528, GO:0002520). In addition, clusters of genes affecting zinc and iron trafficking into mitochondria were highlighted for high yielding ewes (GO:0071294, GO:0010043). Our analyses provide insights into the molecular pathways involved in lactation between ewes of different performances. Results revealed management issues that should be addressed by breeders in order to move toward increased milk yields through selection of the desired phenotypes. Our results will also contribute toward the selection of the most resilient and productive ewes, thus, will strengthen the existing breeding systems against a spectrum of environmental threats.
Biodegradation of Deoxynivalenol by Nocardioides sp. ZHH-013: 3-keto-Deoxynivalenol and 3-epi-Deoxynivalenol as Intermediate Products

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most devastating and notorious contaminants in food and animal feed worldwide. A novel DON-degrading strain, Nocardioides sp. ZHH-013, which exhibited complete mineralization of DON, was isolated from soil samples. The intermediate products of DON generated by this strain were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analyses. It was shown that, on an experimental level, 3-keto-DON was a necessary intermediate product during the conversion from DON to 3-epi-DON. Furthermore, the ZHH-013 strain could also utilize 3-epi-DON. This DON degradation pathway is a safety concern for food and feed. The mechanism of DON and 3-epi-DON elimination will be further studied, so that new enzymes for DON degradation can be identified.
Probabilistic Abstract Interpretation: Sound Inference and Application to Privacy

: Bayesian probability models uncertain knowledge and learning from observations. As a deﬁning feature of optimal adversarial behaviour, Bayesian reasoning forms the basis of safety properties in contexts such as privacy and fairness. Probabilistic programming is a convenient implementation of Bayesian reasoning but the adversarial setting imposes obstacles to its use: approximate inference can underestimate adversary knowledge and exact inference is impractical in cases covering large state spaces. By abstracting distributions, the semantics of a probabilistic language, and inference, jointly termed probabilistic abstract interpretation , we demonstrate adversary models both approximate and sound. We apply the techniques to build a privacy protecting monitor and describe how to trade oﬀ the precision and computational cost in its implementation all the while remaining sound with respect to privacy risk bounds.
Influence of straw-returning on rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) growth,soil temperature and moisture

This research consisted of a pot and a field experiment.The effects of different straw-returning methods and straw-returning rates on emergence and growth at seedling stage of rapeseed(Brassica napus L.) were studied using the pot experiment,while the growth,nutrients absorption and yield of rapeseed and the condition of soil temperature and moisture under different straw-mulching rates were studied by the field experiment.The results of the pot experiment showed that both mulching and turnover inhibited the emergence of rapeseed,but the inhibition effect of mulching was more severe.The effect of straw-mulching on growth of rapeseed at seedling stage was very limited,while the effect of turnover was more pronounced.Field experiment results showed that mulching could enhance significantly dry matter accumulation and nutrients absorbed rate of rapeseed at seedling stage,but had no effect from bud period to pod period compared to no straw-mulching treatment(CK). Compared with CK treatment,mulching could increase significantly rapeseed yield by 18.1% on average,while mulching rates had no effect on rapeseed yield.The results of the field experiment also indicated that compared with CK treatment,mulching could increase soil water content significantly,and lower the variation of soil temperature.
Photosensitive epilepsy is associated with abnormal excitability of alpha rhythm generating networks

Photosensitivity is a condition in which lights induce epileptiform activities. This abnormal EEG response has been associated with hyperexcitability of the visuo-motor system. In the present work, we evaluate if an intrinsic dysfunction of this network is present during brain activity at rest, independently of any stimulus and of any EEG paroxysmal activity. To address this issue, we investigated the hemodynamic correlates of the spontaneous alpha rhythm, which is considered the hallmark of the brain resting state, in photosensitive patients and in people without photosensitivity. Secondly, we evaluated the whole-brain functional connectivity of the visual thalamic nuclei in the various populations of subjects under investigation. Forty-four patients with epilepsy and 16 healthy controls underwent an electroencephalography correlated functional magnetic resonance imaging study, during an eyes-closed condition. The following patients’ groups were included: (a) Genetic Generalized Epilepsy (GGE) with photosensitivity (GGE PS+); 16 subjects (mean age 25±10 years); (b) GGE without photosensitivity (GGE PS-), 13 patients (mean age 25±11 years); (c) Focal Epilepsy, 15 patients (mean age 25±9 years). For each subject, the posterior alpha power variations were convolved with the standard hemodynamic response function and used as a regressor in a general linear model. Within and between groups second level analyses were performed. Whole brain functional connectivity was evaluated for two thalamic regions of interest based on the BOLD findings that included the posterior thalamus (pulvinar) and the medio-dorsal thalamic nuclei. GGE PS+ demonstrated a significant greater mean alpha-power with respect controls and other epilepsy groups. In photosensitive epilepsy, alpha-related BOLD signal changes demonstrated lower BOLD deactivation relative to all other groups at the occipital, sensory-motor, anterior cingulate and supplementary motor cortex. Coherently, the same brain regions demonstrated an abnormal connectivity with the visual thalamus only in GGE PS+. As predicted, our findings indicate that the cortical-subcortical network generating the alpha oscillation at rest is different in people with epilepsy and visual sensitivity. Such difference consists of a decreased alpha-related inhibition of the visual cortex and sensory-motor networks at rest. These findings represent the substrate of the clinical manifestations (i.e. myoclonus) of the photoparoxysmal response. Moreover, our results provide the first evidence on the existence of a functional link between the circuits that trigger the visual sensitivity phenomenon and the posterior alpha rhythm generation.
S1366728921000298jra 1..13

Simultaneous bilingual children sometimes display crosslinguistic influence (CLI), widely attested in the domain of morphosyntax. It remains less clear whether CLI affects bilinguals’ event construal, what motivates its occurrence and directionality, and how developmentally persistent it is. The present study tested predictions generated by the structural overlap hypothesis and the co-activation account in the motion event domain. 96 English–French bilingual children of two age groups and 96 age-matched monolingual English and French controls were asked to describe animated videos displaying voluntary motion events. Semantic encoding in main verbs showed bidirectional CLI. Unidirectional CLI affected French path encoding in the verbal periphery and was predicted by the presence of boundary-crossing, despite the absence of structural overlap. Furthermore, CLI increased developmentally in the French data. It is argued that these findings reflect highly dynamic coactivation patterns sensitive to the requirements of the task and to language-specific challenges in the online production process.
Temporal Aspect of the Terrestrial Invertebrate Response to Moisture Dynamic in Technosols formed after Reclamation at a Post-Mining Site in Ukrainian Steppe Drylands

Abstract Different approaches were applied to assess soil moisture optima and tolerance of the ecological niche temporal projection of terrestrial invertebrates within an experimental polygon created to investigate the reclamation processes after deep underground hard-rock mining in the Ukrainian steppe drylands. Sampling was carried out in 2013–2015 on a variant of artificial soil (technosols). To investigate the spatiotemporal variation in the abundance, species richness and species composition of invertebrate assemblages the animals were sampled using pitfall traps. The readily available water for plants, precipitation, wind speed, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric humidity, and atmospheric pressure were used as environmental predictors. The two-dimension geographic coordinates of the sampling locations were used to generate a set of orthogonal eigenvector-based spatial variables. Time series of sampling dates were used to generate a set of orthogonal eigenvector-based temporal variables. Weighted averaging, generalized linear mixed models, Huisman-Olff-Fresco models expanded by Jansen-Oksanen, correspondence analysis, and constrained correspondence analysis were used to estimate soil moisture species optima and tolerance. The moisture content in the technosols was revealed to be the most important factor determining the temporal dynamics of terrestrial invertebrate community in conditions of semi-arid climate and the ecosystem which formed as a result of the reclamation process. The species response to the soil water content is affected not only by the soil water content but also by the complex of the other environmental, temporal, and spatial factors. The effect of other factors on the species response must be extracted previously to find real estimations of the species optima and tolerance.
EVALUATION OF TECHNICAL AND ECONOMICAL VIABILITY OF THE INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION OF ALUMINUM PROCESSING AND CEMENT INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION OF THE SOLUTION

Secondary aluminum processing produces considerable amounts of dross, which cannot be directly exploited for aluminum recovery. The objective of this study is to examine the possibility of industrial co-operation between the aluminum and cement industries. It is shown that it is possible to use dross stemming from secondary aluminum processing to substitute raw materials in the raw meal with aluminum oxides, such as bauxite and kaolin. Experimental measurements were carried out in order to characterize aluminum dross, the raw meal and clinker produced with the use of aluminum waste. Cement was industrially produced and issues relating to the industrial production are considered. The work examines the situation in Greece regarding environmental, legislative and economical issues. The solution appears to be economically viable and could solve a large problem for the Greek aluminum industry.
Formulation and in Vitro Evaluation of Mouth Dissolving Tablet of Olanzapine Using Solid Dispersion Technique

In the present investigation solid dispersion of olanzapine has been prepared to improve its solubility. Further, using solid dispersion, mouth dissolving tablet was prepared to overcome the problem of swallowing. A Simplex Lattice design was applied using three factors, i.e. superdisintegrants like croscarmellose sodium(X 1 ) crospovidone(X 2 ), and sodium starch glycolate(X 3 ) in tablet formulation. Disintegration time and T 50 (Time required to 50% drug release) taken as responses. Solid dispersion showed significant enhancement in solubility of olanzapine. For mouth dissolving tablet, batch containing 5% croscarmellose sodium alone had minimum disintegration time (44 sec.) and faster drug release (T 50 : 40 sec) compared to other batches.
In-situ Raman spectroscopic study of sulfur speciation in oxidized magmatic-hydrothermal fluids

Abstract The sulfur compounds released by volcanic eruptions, generally believed to be in the form of SO2 and H2S, may cause global cooling of the atmosphere. However, several recent field and experimental studies suggested that under moderately oxidized conditions hexavalent sulfur species may coexist with SO2 in magmatic fluids and may later be directly emitted at volcanic vents, which contradicts some thermodynamic predictions. We have investigated sulfur speciation in magmatic-hydrothermal fluids by loading different amounts of dilute sulfuric acid into a hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell and performing in situ Raman spectroscopy at temperatures up to 700 °C. Upon heating SO2-4 disappeared beyond 100 °C, and SO2 formed at >250 °C probably due to reduction by the rhenium or iridium gasket. With high-fluid densities (such as >0.9 g/mL), the initial acid and air bubble homogenized into the liquid phase and most sulfur was present in the form of either HSO-4 or H2SO4 (the rest being SO2) within investigated T-P conditions (with pressures up to 10 kb). With low-fluid densities (such as <0.2 g/mL), the system homogenized into the vapor phase and molecular H2SO4 appeared to dominate (with pressures less than 1 kb). These observations strongly suggest that hexavalent sulfur is stabilized by hydration in magmatic fluids.
Effects of arsenite and variation of microbial community on continuous bio-hydrogen production from molasses using a sequence batch reactor (SBR)

This study investigated the effects of various arsenite concentrations on bio-hydrogen production from molasses using a sequence batch reactor (SBR) operated in a series of three batch cycles. In the first batch cycle, hydrogen production was stimulated at arsenite concentrations lower than 2.0 mg/L, while inhibition occurred at arsenite concentration higher than 2.0 mg/L compared to the control. Hydrogen production decreased substantially during the second batch cycle, while no hydrogen was produced during the third batch cycle at all tested concentrations. The toxic density increased with respect to the increase in arsenite concentrations (6.0 > 1.6 > 1.0 > 0.5 mg/L) and operation cycles (third cycle > second cycle > first cycle). The presence of microorganisms such as Clostridium sp. MSTE9, Uncultured Dysgonomonas sp. clone MEC-4, Pseudomonas parafulva FS04, and Uncultured bacterium clone 584CL3e9 resulted in active stimulation of hydrogen production, however, it was unlikely that Enterobacter sp. sed221 was not related to hydrogen production. The tolerance of arsenite in hydrogen producing microorganisms decreased with the increase in induction time, which resulted in severing the inhibition of continuous hydrogen production.
On the Detection of Dendritic Currents Using FunctionalMagnetic resonance Imaging

The currents associated with neuronal activity generate their own magnetic fields which potentially cause a measurable phase change in a magnetic resonance (MR) signal. The feasibility of directly measuring neuronal currents is still under debate. In this paper we model individual dendrites as magnetic current dipoles on a variable lattice structure in order to calculate the magnetic fields and phase shifts generated by active neuronal tissue. Our results show the field produced by an ensemble of simultaneously active dendrites may produce effects measurable using current MRI technology.
Preparation and characterization of single-walled carbon nanotube/nylon 6, 6 nanocomposites

ABSTRACT Morphological, thermal, mechanical, and solvent uptake was characterized for neat nylon 6, 6 and functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube/nylon 6, 6. Single-walled carbon nanotubes were functionalized by acid which introduced carboxyl groups on the nanotubes. Scanning electron micrographs of the fractured surfaces of the nanocomposites suggested that the functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes were dispersed and embedded within the nylon 6, 6 polymer matrix. Polarized optical micrographs showed that the size of spherulites of the nanocomposites decreased, which may be due to nucleation of the carbon nanotubes. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the stability of the functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes/nylon 6, 6 nanocomposites was higher by 28–35°C than neat nylon 6, 6. The uptake of solvent by the functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube/nylon 6, 6 was lower than the neat nylon 6, 6, which may be due to the hydrophobic nature of functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes and their interaction with the polymer.
Molecular dynamics simulation of complex molecules at interfaces: dendritic surfactants in clay and amyloid peptides near lipid bilayers

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Complex Molecules at Interfaces: Dendritic Surfactants in Clay and Amyloid Peptides near Lipid Bilayers. (August 2006) Kunwoo Han, B.S.; M.S, Pohang University of Science and Technology Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. David M. Ford We apply a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technique to complex molecules at interfaces. Partitioning of dendritic surfactants into clay gallery and Aβ protein behavior near hydrated lipids are chosen for the purpose. Using a full atomistic model of dendritic surfactants, the confinement force profiles featuring oscillatory fashion at moderate layer separation of 10 to 25 A were observed. Integration of the confinement forces led to free energy profiles, which, in turn, were used to determine the final morphology of the nanocomposite. From the free energy profiles, smaller and linear surfactants (G1 and G2L) are expected to intercalate into the clay comfortably, while larger surfactants (G2 and G3) are expected to form frustrated intercalated structures due to the location and depth of the free energy minima. This would agree with the previous observations. As primary steps to understand the Aβ protein behavior under biological conditions, simulations of bulk water and hydrated lipids were performed and the results were compared with the literature. Hydrated lipids were simulated using a full atomistic model of lipids (dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine) and water with a cvff force-field and it was found that structural properties such as the molecular head group area and membrane thickness were accurately produced with MD simulation. Systems of the protein Aβ(1-42) in bulk water were simulated and some secondary structural change, with loss of part of the α-helical structure, occurred during the 1 ns of simulation time at 323K. The fragment Aβ(31-42) with β-sheet conformation was also simulated in bulk water, and the extended β-sheet structure became a bent structure. Simulations of Aβ(142) or Aβ(31-42) near lipid bilayers have been performed to investigate the structural
Fast accurate multi-key weight measurement

We consider an industrial problem brought to the Mathematics in Industry New Zealand study group in 2016, where items pass briefly over load cells resulting in a noisy oscillatory signal, from which the mass of the item is to be computed. We compare results obtained using a single load cell for one piece of fruit, with results from passing over two load cells in tandem or in succession with fruit on multiple keys. We develop mathematical models to assist with the computation of total load mass, considering both deterministic and statistical approaches. The fitting of simple harmonic motion plus a step function exhibits the possibility of rapid estimates of load mass. We find that using multiple keys to measure the weight of a fruit provides more accurate results than using the single-key method. References minz-2004, Case Study Compac. http://www.minz. org.nz/assets/downloads/Case-Study-Compac.pdf Kesilmis, Z. , and Baran, T. (2016). A Geometric Approach to Beam Type Load Cell Response for Fast Weighing. doi:10.1007/s12647-016-0168-2 K. Levenberg, A method for the solution of certain non-linear problems in least squares. Quarterly of applied mathematics , 2(1944), pp. 164–168. http://www.jstor. org/stable/43633451 D. W. Marquardt, An algorithm for least-squares estimation of nonlinear parameters. Journal of the society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics , 11(1963), pp. 431–441. doi:10.1137/0111030
Enhanced Soft X-Ray Emission in a Dense Plasma Focus with Additional High Z Gas Puff

A plasma focus device with a fast acting valve is designed for additional high z gas puff and is successfully operated to produce intense soft X-rays. Using the fast acting valve, high z gas is injected to the pinch region just before the discharge to decouple the initial phase for the current sheath formation from the pinch formation phase. Quantitative measurement of soft X-ray intensity and the observation of the plasma behavior were simultaneously carried out for the additional gas puff discharge and the conventional gas-filled discharge. Experimental results show the enhancement of the soft X-ray emission in two order of the intensity.
Production and Growth Mechanisms of Pd Nanoclusters

Size-selected palladium nanoclusters have been produced by dc sputtering and inert gas condensation technique using mixtures of argon and helium gases. By controlling the source parameters, it was possible to produce Pd nanoclusters with size in the range of 2-10 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images were used to confirm the produced sizes of nanocluster. It was found that increas- ing the percentage of helium to argon have two main effects: i) decreases the nanocluster size as a result of the high drift velocity of he- lium, and ii) decreases the number of measured nanoclusters due to the low sputtering yield of helium. Since He gas is primarily respon- sible for the cluster-condensation process, its partial pressure can be used to control the nanoclusters growth. The source parameters and their effects on the size and number of nanoclusters are of great importance in understanding the Pd nanoclusters growth mechanism.