Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mining transition rules of cellular automata for simulating urban expansion by using the deep learning techniques

ABSTRACT Along with the gradually accelerated urbanization process, simulating and predicting the future pattern of the city is of great importance to the prediction and prevention of some environmental, economic and urban issues. Previous studies have generally integrated traditional machine learning with cellular automaton (CA) models to simulate urban development. Nevertheless, difficulties still exist in the process of obtaining more accurate results with CA models; such difficulties are mainly due to the insufficient consideration of neighborhood effects during urban transition rule mining. In this paper, we used an effective deep learning method, named convolution neural network for united mining (UMCNN), to solve the problem. UMCNN has substantial potential to get neighborhood information from its receptive field. Thus, a novel CA model coupled with UMCNN and Markov chain was designed to improve the performance of simulating urban expansion processes. Choosing the Pearl River Delta of China as the study area, we excavate the driving factors and the transformational relations revealed by the urban land-use patterns in 2000, 2005 and 2010 and further simulate the urban expansion status in 2020 and 2030. Additionally, three traditional machine-learning-based CA models (LR, ANN and RFA) are built to attest the practicality of the proposed model. In the comparison, the proposed method reaches the highest simulation accuracy and landscape index similarity. The predicted urban expansion results reveal that the economy will continue to be the primary factor in the study area from 2010 to 2030. The proposed model can serve as guidance in urban planning and government decision-making.
ER‐to‐lysosome‐associated degradation of proteasome‐resistant ATZ polymers occurs via receptor‐mediated vesicular transport

Maintenance of cellular proteostasis relies on efficient clearance of defective gene products. For misfolded secretory proteins, this involves dislocation from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) into the cytosol followed by proteasomal degradation. However, polypeptide aggregation prevents cytosolic dislocation and instead activates ill‐defined lysosomal catabolic pathways. Here, we describe an ER‐to‐lysosome‐associated degradation pathway (ERLAD) for proteasome‐resistant polymers of alpha1‐antitrypsin Z (ATZ). ERLAD involves the ER‐chaperone calnexin (CNX) and the engagement of the LC3 lipidation machinery by the ER‐resident ER‐phagy receptor FAM134B, echoing the initiation of starvation‐induced, receptor‐mediated ER‐phagy. However, in striking contrast to ER‐phagy, ATZ polymer delivery from the ER lumen to LAMP1/RAB7‐positive endolysosomes for clearance does not require ER capture within autophagosomes. Rather, it relies on vesicular transport where single‐membrane, ER‐derived, ATZ‐containing vesicles release their luminal content within endolysosomes upon membrane:membrane fusion events mediated by the ER‐resident SNARE STX17 and the endolysosomal SNARE VAMP8. These results may help explain the lack of benefits of pharmacologic macroautophagy enhancement that has been reported for some luminal aggregopathies.
Anesthetics Have Different Effects on the Electrocorticographic Spectra of Wild-type and Mitochondrial Mutant Mice

What We Already Know about This Topic In genetically engineered mice that lack a specific protein (Ndufs4) in complex I of the electron transport chain in mitochondria of glutamatergic neurons, sensitivity to volatile anesthetics is markedly increased; by contrast, these mice are resistant to the anesthetic action of ketamine Whether the differing sensitivity to volatile anesthetics and to ketamine in the Ndufs4 knockout mice is reflected in cortical electrical activity, measured by electrocorticography, was determined What This Article Tells Us That Is New While isoflurane and halothane suppressed electrocor ticography in all frequency bands in control mice, in Ndufs4 knockout mice, both agents decreased power in the higher frequency bands (beta, gamma), whereas activity in the lower bands (delta, theta, and alpha) was maintained Ketamine also decreased power in the Ndufs4 knockout mice in the beta and gamma frequency bands only The data indicate that in Ndufs4 knockout mice, an energetic state in glutamatergic neurons impacts anesthetic sensitivity, and this sensitivity is reflected in cortical electrical activity Background: Knockout of the mitochondrial protein Ndufs4 (Ndufs4[KO]) in mice causes hypersensitivity to volatile anesthetics but resistance to ketamine. The authors hypothesized that electrocorticographic changes underlying the responses of Ndufs4(KO) to volatile anesthetics and to ketamine would be similar in mutant and control mice. Methods: Electrocorticographic recordings at equipotent volatile anesthetic concentrations were compared between genotypes. In separate studies, control and cell type-specific Ndufs4(KO) mice were anesthetized with intraperitoneal ketamine to determine their ED50s. Results: Ndufs4 (KO) did not differ from controls in baseline electrocorticography (N = 5). Compared to baseline, controls exposed to isoflurane (EC50) lost power (expressed as mean baseline [µV2/Hz]; mean isoflurane [µV2/Hz]) in delta (2.45; 0.50), theta (1.41; 0.16), alpha (0.23; 0.05), beta (0.066; 0.016), and gamma (0.020; 0.005) frequency bands (N = 5). Compared to baseline, at their isoflurane EC50, Ndufs4(KO) maintained power in delta (1.08; 1.38), theta (0.36; 0.26), and alpha (0.09; 0.069) frequency bands but decreased in beta (0.041; 0.023) and gamma (0.020; 0.0068) frequency bands (N = 5). Similar results were seen for both genotypes in halothane. Vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2)-specific Ndufs4(KO) mice were markedly resistant to ketamine (ED50; 125 mg/kg) compared to control mice (ED50; 75 mg/kg; N = 6). At their respective ED95s for ketamine, mutant (N = 5) electrocorticography spectra showed a decrease in power in the beta (0.040; 0.020) and gamma (0.035; 0.015) frequency bands not seen in controls (N = 7). Conclusions: Significant differences exist between the electrocorticographies of mutant and control mice at equipotent doses for volatile anesthetics and ketamine. The energetic state specifically of excitatory neurons determines the behavioral response to ketamine.
Personal hygiene among college students in Kuwait: A Health promotion perspective

BACKGROUND: Most infectious diseases result from a lack of knowledge and poor personal hygiene. Hand hygiene, in particular, is one of the most common means by which pathogens are transmitted. The aim of this study was to determine college student's knowledge and awareness of personal hygiene in Kuwait. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multi-dimensional health assessment approach was followed using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed among students of two colleges (the College of Nursing and the College of Health Sciences). Item analysis was conducted on 33 items of the questionnaire and measure five types of hygiene practices: hand hygiene, body hygiene, special hair application, oral care, and clothes hygiene. The data collected in the questionnaires and results were analyzed using statistical software SPSS version 23. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and Student's t-test. Internal consistency, reliability was good, with an overall Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.749. RESULTS: Most respondents were female with 64%, while 80% of the college students were in the age of <20-year-old. Twelve items were underhand hygiene practices, and four items under body hygiene. Nine items were under oral care; three, items were under hair application. Three were under clothes hygiene. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that female students had a better knowledge and were more hygienic in hand hygiene, hair application, and body hygiene whereas, male students showed a better oral hygiene practice. Nevertheless, this study shows that the hygiene questionnaire is an acceptable and reliable measure of awareness and practice among college students.
The establishment of clonally derived chicken embryonic fibroblast cell line (CSC) with high transfection efficiency and ability as a feeder cell

This study established a single cloned chicken embryonic fibroblast (CEF) cell line. It solves the main problem of the instability of a cultured primary cell and its impact on the experiment. In this study, CEF pass through this crisis and formed a continuous cell line after subculture. We isolated single postcrisis CEF by a mouth pipette under a convert microscope then established a single cloned cell line named CSC‐1‐5 which passaged continuously from 96‐well plates to 60 mm culture plates. CSC has a normal chicken diploid karyotype, no tumorigenicity, and a high G2/M phase cell ratio. We found that Fugene could mediate the transfection of CSCs efficiently; it was significantly improved compared with the primary cells. It could also promote the proliferation of chicken embryonic stem cell as a feeder layer.
Separating Lock-Freedom from Wait-Freedom

A long-standing open question has been whether lock-freedom and wait-freedom are fundamentally different progress conditions, namely, can the former be provided in situations where the latter cannot? This paper answers the question in the affirmative, by proving that there are objects with lock-free implementations, but without wait-free implementations-using objects of any finite power. We precisely define an object called n-process long-lived approximate agreement (n-LLAA), in which two sets of processes associated with two sides, 0 or 1, need to decide on a sequence of increasingly closer outputs. We prove that 2-LLAA has a lock-free implementation using reads and writes only, while n-LLAA has a lock-free implementation using reads, writes and (n - 1)-process consensus objects. In contrast, we prove that there is no wait-free implementation of the n-LLAA object using reads, writes and specific (n - 1)-process consensus objects, called (n - 1)-window registers.
Fuzzy techniques for IPO underpricing prediction

Initial public offerings often show abnormal ﬁst-day returns. These, usually referred to as underpricing, are difﬁcult to predict. Among the main obstacles, we could mention challenges like the fact that not all relevant variables have been identiﬁed yet; the mix of weak and strong indicators or the prevalence of outliers. In this context, we suggest that adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems and fuzzy rule-based system with genetic optimization have a lot to bring to the table. We test the predictive performance of these on a sample of 866 US IPOs and we benchmark them against six fuzzy algorithms and a set of eight classic machine learning alternatives. We conclude that both fuzzy systems, especially the former should be seriously considered in this domain
Estrogen Regulation of GRK2 Inactivates Kappa Opioid Receptor Signaling Mediating Analgesia, But Not Aversion

Activation of κ opioid receptors (KORs) produces analgesia and aversion via distinct intracellular signaling pathways, but whether G protein-biased KOR agonists can be designed to have clinical utility will depend on a better understanding of the signaling mechanisms involved. We found that KOR activation produced conditioned place aversion and potentiated CPP for cocaine in male and female C57BL/6N mice. Consistent with this, males and females both showed arrestin-mediated increases in phospho-p38 MAPK following KOR activation. Unlike in males, however, KOR activation had inconsistent analgesic effects in females and KOR increased Gβγ-mediated ERK phosphorylation in males, but not females. KOR desensitization was not responsible for the lack of response in females because neither Grk3 nor Pdyn gene knock-out enhanced analgesia. Instead, responsiveness was estrous cycle dependent because KOR analgesia was evident during low estrogen phases of the cycle and in ovariectomized (OVX) females. Estradiol treatment of OVX females suppressed KOR-mediated analgesia, demonstrating that estradiol was sufficient to blunt Gβγ-mediated KOR signals. G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) is known to regulate ERK activation, and we found that the inhibitory, phosphorylated form of GRK2 was significantly higher in intact females. GRK2/3 inhibition by CMPD101 increased KOR stimulation of phospho-ERK in females, decreased sex differences in KOR-mediated inhibition of dopamine release, and enhanced mu opioid receptor and KOR-mediated analgesia in females. In OVX females, estradiol increased the association between GRK2 and Gβγ. These studies suggest that estradiol, through increased phosphorylation of GRK2 and possible sequestration of Gβγ by GRK2, blunts G protein-mediated signals. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Chronic pain disorders are more prevalent in females than males, but opioid receptor agonists show inconsistent analgesic efficacy in females. κ opioid receptor (KOR) agonists have been tested in clinical trials for treating pain disorders based on their analgesic properties and low addictive potential. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying sex differences in KOR actions were previously unknown. Our studies identify an intracellular mechanism involving estradiol regulation of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 that is responsible for sexually dimorphic analgesic responses following opioid receptor activation. Understanding this mechanism will be critical for developing effective nonaddictive opioid analgesics for use in women and characterizing sexually dimorphic effects in other inhibitory G protein-coupled receptor signaling responses.
Peering through zebrafish to understand inherited bone marrow failure syndromes

Inherited bone marrow failure syndromes are experiments of nature characterized by impaired hematopoiesis with cancer and leukemia predisposition. The mutations associated with inherited bone marrow failure syndromes affect fundamental cellular pathways, such as DNA repair, telomere maintenance, or proteostasis. How these disturbed pathways fail to produce sufficient blood cells and lead to leukemogenesis are not understood. The rarity of inherited cytopenias, the paucity of affected primary human hematopoietic cells, and the sometime inadequacy of murine or induced pluripotential stem cell models mean it is difficult to acquire a greater understanding of them. Zebrafish offer a model organism to study gene functions. As vertebrates, zebrafish share with humans many orthologous genes involved in blood disorders. As a model organism, zebrafish provide advantages that include rapid development of transparent embryos, high fecundity (providing large numbers of mutant and normal siblings), and a large collection of mutant and transgenic lines useful for investigating the blood system and other tissues during development. Importantly, recent advances in genomic editing in zebrafish can speedily validate the new genes or novel variants discovered in clinical investigation as causes for marrow failure. Here we review zebrafish as a model organism that phenocopies Fanconi anemia, Diamond-Blackfan anemia, dyskeratosis congenita, Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia, and severe congenital neutropenia. Two important insights, provided by modeling inherited cytopenias in zebrafish, widen understanding of ribosome biogenesis and TP53 in mediating marrow failure and non-hematologic defects. They suggest that TP53-independent pathways contribute to marrow failure. In addition, zebrafish provide an attractive model organism for drug development.
Comparative effectiveness of pharmacological treatments for patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome

Background: Several pharmacological treatments are recommended by guidelines with moderate to high evidence for the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D), but the comparative effectiveness and safety among these treatments are unknown. The review is to assess the comparative effectiveness and safety of pharmacological treatments for IBS-D using network meta-analysis. Methods: We will search Ovid Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compare guideline-recommended pharmacological treatments with placebo or one of the treatments. We will include RCTs that recruit patients with IBS-D, RCTs that assess the improvement in IBS-D global symptoms, abdominal pain, stool frequency, or stool consistency, and RCTs that assess the responder rate and adverse event rate. We will use standardized mean difference to synthesize continuous variables and use odds ratio to synthesize categorical variables. Traditional meta-analysis will be performed to assess the comparative effectiveness of the pharmacological treatments in direct evidence, and network meta-analysis will be performed to combine both direct and indirect evidence. Transitivity of the evidence in the network will be assessed by using a generalized Cochrane Q statistic and net-heat plot. Conclusions: The result of the review will inform clinical decisions for clinicians, patients, and police makers in the treatment of IBS-D. Results: Ethical approval and informed consent are not required for this systematic review. We will disseminate the result through a peer-reviewed journal and conference abstracts. PROSPERO registration number: PROSPERO CDR42018099294.
Soft Robots Manufacturing: A Review

The growing interest in soft robots comes from the new possibilities offered by these systems to cope with problems that cannot be addressed by robots built from rigid bodies. Many innovative solutions have been developed in recent years to design soft components and systems. They all demonstrate how soft robotics development is closely dependent on advanced manufacturing processes. This review aims at giving an insight on the current state of the art in soft robotics manufacturing. It first puts in light the elementary components that can be used to develop soft actuators, whether they use fluids, shape memory alloys, electro-active polymers or stimuli-responsive materials. Other types of elementary components, such as soft smart structures or soft-rigid hybrid systems, are then presented. The second part of this review deals with the manufacturing methods used to build complete soft structures. It includes molding, with possibly reinforcements and inclusions, additive manufacturing, thin-film manufacturing, shape deposition manufacturing, and bonding. The paper conclusions sums up the pros and cons of the presented techniques, and open to developing topics such as design methods for soft robotics and sensing technologies.
Exploring Deployment Strategies for the Tor Network

In response to upcoming performance and security challenges of anonymity networks like Tor, it will be of crucial importance to be able to develop and deploy performance improvements and state-of-the-art countermeasures. In this paper, we therefore explore different deployment strategies and review their applicability, impact, and risks to the Tor network. In a simulation-based evaluation, which leverages historical data of Tor, we show that the deployment strategies can practically be applied to realize significant protocol changes in Tor. Our results, however, also indicate that during the transitional phase a certain degradation of anonymity is unavoidable.
Viral escape from endosomes and host detection at a glance

ABSTRACT In order to replicate, most pathogens need to enter their target cells. Many viruses enter the host cell through an endocytic pathway and hijack endosomes for their journey towards sites of replication. For delivery of their genome to the host cell cytoplasm and to avoid degradation, viruses have to escape this endosomal compartment without host detection. Viruses have developed complex mechanisms to penetrate the endosomal membrane and have evolved to co-opt several host factors to facilitate endosomal escape. Conversely, there is an extensive variety of cellular mechanisms to counteract or impede viral replication. At the level of cell entry, there are cellular defense mechanisms that recognize endosomal membrane damage caused by virus-induced membrane fusion and pore formation, as well as restriction factors that block these processes. In this Cell Science at a Glance article and accompanying poster, we describe the different mechanisms that viruses have evolved to escape the endosomal compartment, as well as the counteracting cellular protection mechanisms. We provide examples for enveloped and non-enveloped viruses, for which we discuss some unique and unexpected cellular responses to virus-entry-induced membrane damage. Summary: In this Cell Science at a Glance article we summarize the current knowledge on the escape of viruses from the endosomal compartment and the cellular detection mechanisms that counteract it.
In Vitro Cellular Division of Trypanosoma abeli Reveals Two Pathways for Organelle Replication

Since the observation of the great pleomorphism of fish trypanosomes, in vitro culture has become an important tool to support taxonomic studies investigating the biology of cultured parasites, such as their structure, growth dynamics, and cellular cycle. Relative to their biology, ex vivo and in vitro studies have shown that these parasites, during the multiplication process, duplicate and segregate the kinetoplast before nucleus replication and division. However, the inverse sequence (the nucleus divides before the kinetoplast) has only been documented for a species of marine fish trypanosomes on a single occasion. Now, this previously rare event was observed in Trypanosoma abeli, a freshwater fish trypanosome. Specifically, from 376 cultured parasites in the multiplication process, we determined the sequence of organelle division for 111 forms; 39% exhibited nucleus duplication prior to kinetoplast replication. Thus, our results suggest that nucleus division before the kinetoplast may not represent an accidental or erroneous event occurring in the main pathway of parasite reproduction, but instead could be a species‐specific process of cell biology in trypanosomes, such as previously noticed for Leishmania. This “alternative” pathway for organelle replication is a new field to be explored concerning the biology of marine and freshwater fish trypanosomes.
Special Section – New Models in Drug Metabolism and Transport — Minireview Emerging Kidney Models to Investigate Metabolism , Transport , and Toxicity of Drugs and Xenobiotics

The kidney is amajor clearance organ of the body and is responsible for the elimination of many xenobiotics and prescription drugs. With its multitude of uptake and efflux transporters and metabolizing enzymes, the proximal tubule cell (PTC) in the nephron plays a key role in the disposition of xenobiotics and is also a primary site for toxicity. In this minireview, we first provide an overview of the major transporters and metabolizing enzymes in the PTCs responsible for biotransformation and disposition of drugs. Next, we discuss different cell sources that have been used to model PTCs in vitro, their pros and cons, and their characterization. As current technology is inadequate to evaluate reliably drug disposition and toxicity in the kidney, we then discuss recent advancements in kidney microphysiological systems (MPS) and the need to develop robust in vitro platforms that could be routinely used by pharmaceutical companies to screen compounds. Finally, we discuss the new and exciting field of stem cell–derived kidneymodels as potential cell sources for future kidney MPS. Given the push from both regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies to usemore predictive “human-like” in vitro systems in the early stages of drug development to reduce attrition, these emerging models have the potential to be a game changer and may revolutionize how renal disposition and kidney toxicity in drug discovery are evaluated in the future.