Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How fast can raptors see?

ABSTRACT Birds, and especially raptors, are highly visual animals. Some of them have the highest spatial resolving power known in the animal kingdom, allowing prey detection at distance. While many raptors visually track fast-moving and manoeuvrable prey, requiring high temporal resolution, this aspect of their visual system has never been studied before. In this study, we estimated how fast raptors can see, by measuring the flicker fusion frequency of three species with different lifestyles. We found that flicker fusion frequency differed among species, being at least 129 Hz in the peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus, 102 Hz in the saker falcon, Falco cherrug, and 81 Hz in the Harris's hawk, Parabuteo unicinctus. We suggest a potential link between fast vision and hunting strategy, with high temporal resolution in the fast-flying falcons that chase fast-moving, manoeuvrable prey and a lower resolution in the Harris's hawk, which flies more slowly and targets slower prey. Highlighted Article: The temporal resolution of vision differs between raptor species, with falcons having higher flicker fusion frequency than hawks.
Examination of new parameters for sex determination of mandible using japanese computer tomography data.

OBJECTIVE In the field of forensic science, sex discrimination of skeletons is an important identification item for personal identification. The individual sex discrimination method using skeletons includes a determination method using measurement values and a macroscopic form observation method. Both methods have advantage and disadvantage. In this study, we used the homologous model technique and principal component analysis to determine gender difference from morphology of the mandible. METHODS AND MATERIALS Forty-five patients (23 males and 22 females) of CT imaging for tooth extraction from January 2018 to March 2019 at Department of oral surgery, Osaka Medical College. The mean age was 43.1 ± 14.6. Patients with less than 14 remaining teeth were excluded because the number of remaining teeth may affect the shape of the mandible. 3D images were constructed, and 20 landmarks plotting on the 3D model surfaces. We generated template models of the mandible consisting of approximately 8434 polygons. The template model automatically fitted into the individually scanned point cloud of the mandible by minimizing external and internal energy functions. As described above, the mandibles were constructed for each sample by using the Homologous Body Modeling software (HBM, Digital Human Technology, Inc.) and the HBM-Rugle (Medic Engineering Corporation). The mandibles were analyzed using the PCA. RESULTS The contribution of the most important principal component was found to be 27.2%. Twelve principal components explained over 75% of the total variance (Table 1). That is, it was able to express 75% or more of the mandible expression with twelve principal components. A significant difference between male and female was observed in the first principal components (Wilcoxon test, p < 0.05) (). Visualizing the result of the first principal component showed that the mandibular branch of male was larger than that of female, and the mandible angle was overhanging outside. CONCLUSION This method is a combination of the determination method using the previous measurement values and the determination using macroscopic observation, and is considered to be innovative method.
Natural History of Acromegaly: Incidences, Re-operations, Cancers, and Mortality Rates in a National Cohort

Background: Acromegaly is so rare that its natural history, including incidence, risk of cancers, and mortality rates, remains elusive. This natural study utilized a nationwide database to provide a better understanding of acromegaly’s disease course. Methods: A cohort of 1,195 acromegaly patients were identified and followed-up from 1997 to 2013. Incidence, operation, and re-operation rates were calculated. Excessive mortality and cancer risk related to acromegaly were estimated by standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and standardized incidence ratio (SIR). Results: The incidence was 2.78 per million-person-years, with little gender predominance (female vs. male, 49.5 vs. 50.5%, respectively). There was female predominance only among 50 and 60 year-olds (incidence rate ratio: 1.37 and 1.43, p < 0.001 and p = 0.002). Among them, 673 (56.3%) had hypophysectomy surgery, and the young-onset (<40 years) patients had more re-operations (15.5%, p = 0.01). The overall mortality rate was 22.3 per 1,000 person-years, with a median survival of 4.67 years (with no gender differences, p = 0.38). The overall SMR of acromegaly patients was 1.41, and the onset-age-specific SMRs of the early- and middle-onset patients were higher than for those with late-onset. There were 87 newly diagnosed cancers in the cohort, with an incidence rate of 10.6 per 1,000 person-years (median 5.4 years). The overall SIR of cancers was 1.91, and there were no differences among gender, onset-age, and disease duration (all SIR >1, approximately 2). Conclusion: Acromegaly is associated with an excessive risk of mortality and two-fold higher risk of cancers. Patients with acromegaly should be managed appropriately after the diagnosis.
Reactivation of Epstein–Barr virus by a dual-responsive fluorescent EBNA1-targeting agent with Zn2+-chelating function

Significance EBNA1 is the only Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) latent protein responsible for viral genome maintenance and is expressed in all EBV-infected cells. Zn2+ is essential for oligomerization of the functional EBNA1. We constructed an EBNA1 binding peptide with a Zn2+ chelator to create an EBNA1-specific inhibitor (ZRL5P4). ZRL5P4 by itself is sufficient to reactivate EBV from its latent infection. ZRL5P4 is able to emit unique responsive fluorescent signals once it binds with EBNA1 and a Zn2+ ion. ZRL5P4 can selectively disrupt the EBNA1 oligomerization and cause nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumor shrinkage, possibly due to EBV lytic induction. Dicer1 seems essential for this lytic reactivation. As can been seen, EBNA1 is likely to maintain NPC cell survival by suppressing viral reactivation. Epstein–Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) plays a vital role in the maintenance of the viral genome and is the only viral protein expressed in nearly all forms of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) latency and EBV-associated diseases, including numerous cancer types. To our knowledge, no specific agent against EBV genes or proteins has been established to target EBV lytic reactivation. Here we report an EBNA1- and Zn2+-responsive probe (ZRL5P4) which alone could reactivate the EBV lytic cycle through specific disruption of EBNA1. We have utilized the Zn2+ chelator to further interfere with the higher order of EBNA1 self-association. The bioprobe ZRL5P4 can respond independently to its interactions with Zn2+ and EBNA1 with different fluorescence changes. It can selectively enter the nuclei of EBV-positive cells and disrupt the oligomerization and oriP-enhanced transactivation of EBNA1. ZRL5P4 can also specifically enhance Dicer1 and PML expression, molecular events which had been reported to occur after the depletion of EBNA1 expression. Importantly, we found that treatment with ZRL5P4 alone could reactivate EBV lytic induction by expressing the early and late EBV lytic genes/proteins. Lytic induction is likely mediated by disruption of EBNA1 oligomerization and the subsequent change of Dicer1 expression. Our probe ZRL5P4 is an EBV protein-specific agent that potently reactivates EBV from latency, leading to the shrinkage of EBV-positive tumors, and our study also suggests the association of EBNA1 oligomerization with the maintenance of EBV latency.
Microtubule binding kinetics of membrane-bound kinesin-1 predicts high motor copy numbers on intracellular cargo

Significance Long-distance transport of membrane-coated vesicles involves coordination of multiple motors such that at least one motor is bound to the microtubule at all times. Microtubule attachment of a membrane-bound motor comprises 2 steps: diffusing through the lipid bilayer to a binding zone near the microtubule, followed by binding. Using a 2-dimensional (2D) supported lipid bilayer system, we show that membrane diffusion is not the limiting factor for motor attachment. This result suggests that in cells kinesin-1 binding kinetics is not altered by the membrane composition of vesicle cargos. The intrinsically slow binding properties of kinesin-1 suggest that divergent motor binding kinetics and motor clustering regulate long-range vesicle transport. Bidirectional vesicle transport along microtubules is necessary for cell viability and function, particularly in neurons. When multiple motors are attached to a vesicle, the distance a vesicle travels before dissociating is determined by the race between detachment of the bound motors and attachment of the unbound motors. Motor detachment rate constants (koff) can be measured via single-molecule experiments, but motor reattachment rate constants (kon) are generally unknown, as they involve diffusion through the bilayer, geometrical considerations of the motor tether length, and the intrinsic microtubule binding rate of the motor. To understand the attachment dynamics of motors bound to fluid lipid bilayers, we quantified the microtubule accumulation rate of fluorescently labeled kinesin-1 motors in a 2-dimensional (2D) system where motors were linked to a supported lipid bilayer. From the first-order accumulation rate at varying motor densities, we extrapolated a koff that matched single-molecule measurements and measured a 2D kon for membrane-bound kinesin-1 motors binding to the microtubule. This kon is consistent with kinesin-1 being able to reach roughly 20 tubulin subunits when attaching to a microtubule. By incorporating cholesterol to reduce membrane diffusivity, we demonstrate that this kon is not limited by the motor diffusion rate, but instead is determined by the intrinsic motor binding rate. For intracellular vesicle trafficking, this 2D kon predicts that long-range transport of 100-nm-diameter vesicles requires 35 kinesin-1 motors, suggesting that teamwork between different motor classes and motor clustering may play significant roles in long-range vesicle transport.
Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validation of the Italian version of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society - MetaTarsoPhalangeal-InterPhalangeal Scale (AOFAS-MTP-IP) for the hallux

Background and Aim of the work: An incorrect interpretation or patients’ misunderstanding of evaluation scales can induce a mistake; therefore the real applicability of an evaluation scale should be determined by procedures that take care of cultural adaptability and not only of scientific validity. Our purpose was to translate and culturally adapt into Italian the AOFAS-MTP-IP scale for hallux, and to check its reproducibility and validity. Methods: The AOFAS-MTP-IP scale was processed for translation and checked for medical part coherence. The scale was submitted to 10 patients to verify a correct cultural adaptation. Then, the scale was submitted to 50 randomized patients operated at their hallux. Intra and inter-observer reproducibility was checked by two interviewers and a repeated interview. Short-Form-36-questionnaire for Quality of Life and Visual-Analogue-Scale for pain were also administered to perform validation analysis. The Pearson’s-Correlation-Coefficient and the Intra-Class-Correlation coefficient were calculated to analyse the scale reproducibility and validation. Results: Cultural adaptation of the translated version of the scale resulted good in terms of understandability by patients. An optimal correlation of the inter and intra-observer reproducibility was obtained. The correlation with well-known validated scales as SF-36 and VAS has shown good correlation indicating success in the validation process. Conclusions: Validation of the Italian version of the AOFAS-MTP-IP evaluation scale for hallux has been performed successfully. Therefore its use can be considered appropriate and suggested in Italian clinical practice. (www.actabiomedica.it)
A selfish genetic element linked to increased lifespan impacts metabolism in female house mice

ABSTRACT Gene drive systems can lead to the evolution of traits that further enhance the transmission of the driving element. In gene drive, one allele is transmitted to offspring at a higher frequency than the homologous allele. This has a range of consequences, which generally include a reduction in fitness of the carrier of the driving allele, making such systems ‘selfish’. The t haplotype is one such driver, found in house mice. It is linked to a reduction in litter size in matings among heterozygous animals, but also to increased lifespan in wild females that carry it. Here, we tested whether carrying the t haplotype was associated with altered resting metabolic rate (RMR). We show that females carrying the t haplotype decrease RMR as they increase in size, compared with wild-type females or males of either genotype. Our study elucidates a plausible mechanism by which a selfish genetic element increases lifespan. Summary: Female mice carrying a selfish genetic element have a longer lifespan; these females have lower metabolic rates as they increase in size, which may arise through gene expression differences in the liver.
Roles of Organizational Support as a Moderator Relationship between Personality and Employers’ Performance: A Case of Customer Service in Banking Industry of Kupang City- Indonesia

This study is aimed at analyzing the influence of personality towards performance, organizational support towards performance, as well as organizational support as a moderator of the relationship between personality and employers’ performance in the banking industry in Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The research sample was 92 respondents from a total of 124 customer service (CS). The analysis was conducted using moderation regression (MRA) with SPSS Version 20. The results showed that (1) personality has got a significant effect on performance, (2) organizational support has got a positive and significant effect on performance, and (3) organizational support has got a significant positive effect in moderating the relationship between personality and employers performance
Legionella pneumophila regulates the activity of UBE2N by deamidase‐mediated deubiquitination

The Legionella pneumophila effector MavC induces ubiquitination of the E2 ubiquitin‐conjugating enzyme UBE2N by transglutamination, thereby abolishing its function in the synthesis of K63‐type polyubiquitin chains. The inhibition of UBE2N activity creates a conundrum because this E2 enzyme is important in multiple signaling pathways, including some that are important for intracellular L. pneumophila replication. Here, we show that prolonged inhibition of UBE2N activity by MavC restricts intracellular bacterial replication and that the activity of UBE2N is restored by MvcA, an ortholog of MavC (50% identity) with ubiquitin deamidase activity. MvcA functions to deubiquitinate UBE2N‐Ub using the same catalytic triad required for its deamidase activity. Structural analysis of the MvcA‐UBE2N‐Ub complex reveals a crucial role of the insertion domain in MvcA in substrate recognition. Our study establishes a deubiquitination mechanism catalyzed by a deamidase, which, together with MavC, imposes temporal regulation of the activity of UBE2N during L. pneumophila infection.
Lp-PLA2 and dual antiplatelet agents in intracranial arterial stenosis

Objective To evaluate the interaction effect of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) activity on the efficacy and safety of dual/single antiplatelet therapy in patients with and without intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) by the Clopidogrel in High-Risk Patients with Acute Non-disabling Cerebrovascular Events trial. Methods Patients with both MRI analysis and Lp-PLA2 testing results were included in the current subanalysis. The interaction of Lp-PLA2 activity with the effects of dual and single antiplatelet therapy were analyzed through Cox proportional hazards regressions model. Results Among the 797 patients, the mean age was 63.1 ± 10.8 years, 518 (65%) were men, 356 (44.7%) had ICAS, and 441 (55.3%) did not. There were significantly more patients with elevated Lp-PLA2 activity in the ICAS group than in the non-ICAS group (43.8% vs 35.4%, p = 0.02). There was significant interaction between Lp-PLA2 activity levels and the 2 antiplatelet therapies for prevention of stroke recurrences and combined vascular events even after adjustment for confounding factors exclusively for patients with ICAS (p = 0.017, 0.017, respectively), but not for those without (p = 0.332, 0.674, respectively). Compared with aspirin alone, dual antiplatelet therapy significantly reduced the risk of stroke recurrences and combined vascular events (adjusted hazard ratio 0.33 [0.12–0.89], p = 0.028; 0.33 [0.12–0.89], p = 0.028, respectively) for patients with ICAS and nonelevated Lp-PLA2 activity. Conclusions Presence of both ICAS and nonelevated Lp-PLA2 activity may predict better response to dual antiplatelet therapy in prevention of recurrent strokes and combined vascular events for patients with minor stroke or high-risk TIA. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00979589.
Schistosomal extracellular vesicle‐enclosed miRNAs modulate host T helper cell differentiation

During the chronic stage of Schistosoma infection, the female lays fertile eggs, triggering a strong anti‐parasitic type 2 helper T‐cell (Th2) immune response. It is unclear how this Th2 response gradually declines even though the worms live for years and continue to produce eggs. Here, we show that Schistosoma mansoni downregulates Th2 differentiation in an antigen‐presenting cell‐independent manner, by modulating the Th2‐specific transcriptional program. Adult schistosomes secrete miRNA‐harboring extracellular vesicles that are internalized by Th cells in vitro. Schistosomal miRNAs are found also in T helper cells isolated from Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes of infected mice. In T helper cells, the schistosomal miR‐10 targets MAP3K7 and consequently downmodulates NF‐κB activity, a critical transcription factor for Th2 differentiation and function. Our results explain, at least partially, how schistosomes tune down the Th2 response, and provide further insight into the reciprocal geographic distribution between high prevalence of parasitic infections and immune disorders such as allergy. Furthermore, this worm‐host crosstalk mechanism can be harnessed to develop diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for human schistosomiasis and Th2‐associated diseases.
Combined Targeting of G9a and Checkpoint Kinase 1 Synergistically Inhibits Pancreatic Cancer Cell Growth by Replication Fork Collapse

Because of its dismal outcome, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a therapeutic challenge making the testing of new pharmacologic tools a goal of paramount importance. Here, we developed a rational approach for inhibiting PDAC growth based on leveraging cell-cycle arrest of malignant cells at a phase that shows increased sensitivity to distinct epigenomic inhibitors. Specifically, we simultaneously inhibited checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) by prexasertib and the G9a histone methyltransferase with BRD4770, thereby targeting two key pathways for replication fork stability. Methodologically, the antitumor effects and molecular mechanisms of the combination were assessed by an extensive battery of assays, utilizing cell lines and patient-derived cells as well as 3D spheroids and xenografts. We find that the prexasertib–BRD4770 combination displays a synergistic effect on replication-associated phenomena, including cell growth, DNA synthesis, cell-cycle progression at S phase, and DNA damage signaling, ultimately leading to a highly efficient induction of cell death. Moreover, cellular and molecular data reveal that the synergistic effect of these pathways can be explained, at least in large part, by the convergence of both Chk1 and G9a functions at the level of the ATR–RPA–checkpoint pathway, which is operational during replication stress. Thus, targeting the epigenetic regulator G9a, which is necessary for replication fork stability, combined with inhibition of the DNA damage checkpoint, offers a novel approach for controlling PDAC growth through replication catastrophe. Implications: This study offers an improved, context-dependent, paradigm for the use of epigenomic inhibitors and provides mechanistic insight into their potential therapeutic use against PDAC.
Tweaking Nickel with Minimal Silver in a Heterogeneous Alloy of Decahedral Geometry to Deliver Platinum-like Hydrogen Evolution Activity.

Hydrogen is one of the most favoured choices to replace the non-renewable fossil fuel and its generation by electrochemical water splitting provides one of the cleanest methods. Although a volume of research has been devoted to enhance the efficiency of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by earth-abundant catalysts, the success in achieving a 'platinum-like' activity has been elusive. Here we report the five-fold intertwined Ag x Ni 1-x (x = 0.01-0.25) heterogeneous alloy nanocrystal (NC) catalysts, prepared through unique reagent combinations. With only ~5 at% Ag (AgNi-5), Pt-like activity has been achieved at pH 14. To reach a current density of 10 mAcm -2 the extremely stable AgNi-5 requires an overpotential of 24.0 ± 1.2 mV as compared to 20.1 ± 0.8 mV for 20% Pt/C, both with equal catalyst loading of 1.32 mgcm -2 . The turnover frequency (TOF) is found to be as high as 2.1 H 2 s -1 at 50 mV (versus RHE). Site-specific elemental analyses show the Ag:Ni compositional variation, where the apex and edges of the decahedra are Ag-rich thereby exposing Ni onto the faces to achieve maximum charge transport for an exceptional pH universal HER activity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate the relative H-atom adsorption capability of the Ni centers as a function of their proximity to Ag atom.