Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in isoprenoid-mediated energy dissipation pathways between coastal and interior Douglas-fir seedlings in response to drought.

Plants have evolved energy dissipation pathways to reduce photooxidative damage under drought, when photosynthesis is hampered. Non-volatile and volatile isoprenoids are involved in non-photochemical quenching of excess light energy and scavenging of reactive oxygen species. A better understanding of trees' ability to cope with and withstand drought stress will contribute to mitigate the negative effects of prolonged drought periods expected under future climate conditions. Therefore we investigated, if Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) provenances from habitats with contrasting water availability reveal intraspecific variation in isoprenoid-mediated energy dissipation pathways. In a controlled drought experiment with one-year-old seedlings of an interior and a coastal Douglas-fir provenance, we assessed the photosynthetic capacity, pool sizes of non-volatile isoprenoids associated with the photosynthetic apparatus as well as pool sizes and emission of volatile isoprenoids. We observed variation in the amount and composition of non-volatile and volatile isoprenoids among provenances, which could be linked to variation in photosynthetic capacity under drought. The coastal provenance exhibited an enhanced biosynthesis and emission of volatile isoprenoids, which is likely sustained by generally higher assimilation rates under drought. In contrast, the interior provenance showed an enhanced photoprotection of the photosynthetic apparatus by generally higher amounts of non-volatile isoprenoids and increased amounts of xanthophyll cycle pigments under drought. Our results demonstrate that there is intraspecific variation in isoprenoid-mediated energy dissipation pathways among Douglas-fir provenances, which may be important traits to select provenances suitable to grow under future climate conditions.
Association of Hidradenitis Suppurativa With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are inflammatory diseases that share common genetic susceptibility and immunologic features. However, the link between HS and IBD has been largely unclear. Objective To conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the association between HS and IBD. Data Sources A search of the MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Embase databases yielded 397 relevant studies from inception to June 10, 2018. Two additional studies were supplied by one of the investigators. Study Selection Case-control, cross-sectional, or cohort studies that examined the odds or risk of IBD in patients with HS were included. No geographic or language limitations were imposed. Data Extraction and Synthesis The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the risk of bias of included studies. Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis were analyzed separately, and a random-effects model meta-analysis was conducted. Main Outcomes and Measures The odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) of IBD, Crohn disease, and ulcerative colitis in association with HS. Results Five case-control studies, 2 cross-sectional studies, and 1 cohort study with a total of 93 601 unique participants were included. The meta-analysis of case-control and cross-sectional studies showed significant associations of HS with Crohn disease (pooled OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.46-3.08) and ulcerative colitis (pooled OR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.25-1.82). Two case-control studies found significant association of HS with IBD (ORs, 2.16 [95% CI, 1.40-3.34] and 10.00 [95% CI, 1.94-51.50]). One cohort study found an increased risk of IBD in patients with HS (HR, 5.6; 95% CI not reported; P < .002). Conclusions and Relevance The evidence to date supports an association of HS with IBD. These results suggest that consultation with gastroenterologists should be sought when patients with HS present with recurrent abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, bloody stool, and body weight loss.
FREQUENT PATTERN MINING FOR EFFICIENT LIBRARY MANAGEMENT

Data mining is used to extract meaningful information and to develop significant relationships among variables stored in large data sets involving methods from statistics and artificial intelligence but also management. In this paper data mining technique named association technique is applied to analyze the patterns which depicts the relationship between more frequently taken books by the students. The student's record of library data was studied based on many factors such as their subject requirements, number of books issued, and duration for each book. It is recommended that all these correlated information should be conveyed to the library department such that it helps them to improve the issue performance by avoiding the delay, maintain more number of highly required books according to the current subjects of the different streams of students.
SIFSpec: Measuring Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence Observations for Remote Sensing of Photosynthesis

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is regarded as a proxy for photosynthesis in terrestrial vegetation. Tower-based long-term observations of SIF are very important for gaining further insight into the ecosystem-specific seasonal dynamics of photosynthetic activity, including gross primary production (GPP). Here, we present the design and operation of the tower-based automated SIF measurement (SIFSpec) system. This system was developed with the aim of obtaining synchronous SIF observations and flux measurements across different terrestrial ecosystems, as well as to validate the increasing number of satellite SIF products using in situ measurements. Details of the system components, instrument installation, calibration, data collection, and processing are introduced. Atmospheric correction is also included in the data processing chain, which is important, but usually ignored for tower-based SIF measurements. Continuous measurements made across two growing cycles over maize at a Daman (DM) flux site (in Gansu province, China) demonstrate the reliable performance of SIF as an indicator for tracking the diurnal variations in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and seasonal variations in GPP. For the O2–A band in particular, a high correlation coefficient value of 0.81 is found between the SIF and seasonal variations of GPP. It is thus concluded that, in coordination with continuous eddy covariance (EC) flux measurements, automated and continuous SIF observations can provide a reliable approach for understanding the photosynthetic activity of the terrestrial ecosystem, and are also able to bridge the link between ground-based optical measurements and airborne or satellite remote sensing data.
Lower limb rehabilitation using multimodal measurement of sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit task

Abstract Purpose Assistive and rehabilitation devices are dependent upon detecting the user intent through physiological and kinematics changes. Rising from a chair and vice-versa have been less investigated for the purpose of rehabilitation-aids. This study investigates the muscle activation along with trunk and knee biomechanics in sagittal plane during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transfer. Method Nine healthy participants (age 25.67 ± 3.27 years) were measured for flexion/extension of knee and trunk, and for surface electromyography (EMG) of vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps femoris (BF) of both the legs at a speed of 100 beats per minute while performing sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit task. Results The knee flexion angles at peak EMG-RMS (root mean square envelope of EMG) were significantly different for the two tasks (p = 0.002). Also, for each muscle, EMG-RMS peak was obtained at significantly different knee angle within the same task (p = 0.046). EMG work done (WD) was also found to be significantly different for the intervened muscles (p = 0.002). Conclusions Trunk flexion together with VL showed an earlier onset in sit-to-stand task, which might form an important modality for detecting human intention to perform the activity. However, for stand-to-sit task, some other muscle group in conjunction to BF may be useful for detecting the human intention. The understanding from the study could be used as a first step in devising multimodal control for assistive devices aiding sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transfers. That would be a novel approach to fuse the data of postural deviation into the EMG signal to achieve lower limb rehabilitation or in prosthetic control. Implications for rehabilitation Multi-modal sensor fusion can be used for realtime monitoring of patient biomechanics. Development of control algorithms for assistive devices aiding sit-stand transfers. Sensor fusion will help in achieving greater robotic compliance rehabilitation.
Transcriptome Profiling of Primary Skin Fibroblasts Reveal Distinct Molecular Features Between PLOD1- and FKBP14-Kyphoscoliotic Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome

Kyphoscoliotic Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome (kEDS) is a rare genetic heterogeneous disease clinically characterized by congenital muscle hypotonia, kyphoscoliosis, and joint hypermobility. kEDS is caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in either PLOD1 or FKBP14. PLOD1 encodes the lysyl hydroxylase 1 enzyme responsible for hydroxylating lysyl residues in the collagen helix, which undergo glycosylation and form crosslinks in the extracellular matrix thus contributing to collagen fibril strength. FKBP14 encodes a peptidyl-prolyl cis–trans isomerase that catalyzes collagen folding and acts as a chaperone for types III, VI, and X collagen. Despite genetic heterogeneity, affected patients with mutations in either PLOD1 or FKBP14 are clinically indistinguishable. We aim to better understand the pathomechanism of kEDS to characterize distinguishing and overlapping molecular features underlying PLOD1-kEDS and FKBP14-kEDS, and to identify novel molecular targets that may expand treatment strategies. Transcriptome profiling by RNA sequencing of patient-derived skin fibroblasts revealed differential expression of genes encoding extracellular matrix components that are unique between PLOD1-kEDS and FKBP14-kEDS. Furthermore, we identified genes involved in inner ear development, vascular remodeling, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and protein trafficking that were differentially expressed in patient fibroblasts compared to controls. Overall, our study presents the first transcriptomics data in kEDS revealing distinct molecular features between PLOD1-kEDS and FKBP14-kEDS, and serves as a tool to better understand the disease.
Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring during Microvascular Decompression Surgery for Hemifacial Spasm

Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is due to the vascular compression of the facial nerve at its root exit zone (REZ). Microvascular decompression (MVD) of the facial nerve near the REZ is an effective treatment for HFS. In MVD for HFS, intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (INM) has two purposes. The first purpose is to prevent injury to neural structures such as the vestibulocochlear nerve and facial nerve during MVD surgery, which is possible through INM of brainstem auditory evoked potential and facial nerve electromyography (EMG). The second purpose is the unique feature of MVD for HFS, which is to assess and optimize the effectiveness of the vascular decompression. The purpose is achieved mainly through monitoring of abnormal facial nerve EMG that is called as lateral spread response (LSR) and is also partially possible through Z-L response, facial F-wave, and facial motor evoked potentials. Based on the information regarding INM mentioned above, MVD for HFS can be considered as a more safe and effective treatment.
Development of a at-column dilution modulator for flexible and precise control of dilution factors to overcome mobile phase incompatibility in comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography.

With the combination of different mechanisms, two-dimensional liquid chromatography has brought revolutionary changes compared to the traditional one-dimensional separation, which dramatically improves the peak capacity in separation and meets the ever-increasing demand for the analysis of complex sample in different researching field, such as chemistry, medicine, etc. However, the incompatibilities between two columns due to the transport of the large sample volume and the solvent effect always limit the wide use of two-dimensional liquid chromatography. In order to resolve this problem a at-column dilution (ACD) modulator was established to overcome the solvent incompatibility in the orthogonal combination within the comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography. This interface is modified from normal two-dimensional interfaces by an additional transfer pump, which realize the at-column dilution without a flow split during the transportation. Moreover, with the control of the transfer flow and the second-dimensional gradient flow, it is able to precisely regulate the at-column dilution factor and conveniently optimize the separation conditions in both dimensions. In this work, a systematic research has been done between the setups with/without the at-column interface in the combination of RPLC × HILIC and HILIC × RPLC, which proved that the at-column interface is able to resolve the solvent conflicting problem very well. Furthermore, the red ginseng was chosen as a real sample, to investigate the applicability of the at-column dilution modulator for comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography with high orthogonality.
Continuous tracking of startled Drosophila as an alternative to the negative geotaxis climbing assay

Abstract The fruit fly, Drosophila, is commonly used to study late-onset neurodegenerative diseases due to the combination of powerful genetic tools, cheap and simple husbandry and short lifespan. One widely-used measure of disease progression is the age-dependent decline in motor performance that manifests in most Drosophila neurodegeneration models. This is usually quantified using a simple climbing assay. However, the standard climbing assay lacks sensitivity and suffers from high variability meaning large numbers of flies are needed or bespoke apparatus and software solutions. Here, we present a modification of the open-source, MATLAB-based, DART software to measure the decline in “startle response” with age. We demonstrate that the DART setup is more sensitive to the motor performance decline induced by adult-onset neuronal expression of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides than a traditional climbing assay despite using smaller cohorts of flies. DART also has the potential to generate multiple metrics of motor behaviour during the startle response. The software requires no coding skills to operate and the required apparatus can be purchased commercially. Therefore, DART is a more useful method than the climbing assay for longitudinal assays of motor performance and will enable higher-throughput screen for genetic and pharmacological modifiers of neurodegeneration. In our proof-of-concept screen for modifiers of Aβ-dependent phenotypes, we identified that in vivo knock-down of p53 in adult neurons is neuroprotective. This supports recent work targeting p53 in vitro and demonstrates the potential for DART to be used to screen for targets that ameliorate neurodegeneration.
Reproducing oil paint gloss in print for the purpose of creating reproductions of Old Masters

In the field of Fine Art reproduction, 3D scanning plus 3D printing, combined with dedicated software, now allows to capture and reproduce the color and texture of oil paintings. However, for life-like reproduction of the material appearance of such paintings, the typical gloss and translucency must also be included, which is currently not the case. The aim of this paper is to elaborate on the challenges and results of capturing and reproducing oil paint gloss (next to texture and color) using a scanning and printing system. A sample was hand-made using oil paint and acrylic varnish, and its gloss was then reproduced. A gloss map of the painted sample was acquired using a high end DLSR camera and a simple acquisition protocol. Next, Océ High Resolution 3D printing technology was used to create samples with spatially varying gloss. For this, two different strategies were combined: (1) multilevel half-toning of the colors was used to reproduce matte color layers, and (2) varnish was half-toned on top in increasing coverage to recreate increasing gloss levels. This paper presents an overview of the state-of-the-art literature in gloss reproduction and perception, our process of reproduction as well as the visual evaluation of the quality of the created reproduction.
Mouse pulmonary response to dust from sawing Corian®, a solid-surface composite material

ABSTRACT Corian®, a solid-surface composite (SSC), is composed of alumina trihydrate and acrylic polymer. The aim of the present study was to examine the pulmonary toxicity attributed to exposure to SSC sawing dust. Male mice were exposed to either phosphate buffer saline (PBS, control), 62.5, 125, 250, 500, or 1000 µg of SSC dust, or 1000 µg silica (positive control) via oropharyngeal aspiration. Body weights were measured for the duration of the study. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and tissues were collected for analysis at 1 and 14 days post-exposure. Enhanced-darkfield and histopathologic analysis was performed to assess particle distribution and inflammatory responses. BALF cells and inflammatory cytokines were measured. The geometric mean diameter of SSC sawing dust following suspension in PBS was 1.25 µm. BALF analysis indicated that lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, inflammatory cells, and pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in the 500 and 1000 µg SSC exposure groups at days 1 and 14, suggesting that exposure to these concentrations of SSC induced inflammatory responses, in some cases to a greater degree than the silica positive control. Histopathology indicated the presence of acute alveolitis at all doses at day 1, which was largely resolved by day 14. Alveolar particle deposition and granulomatous mass formation were observed in all exposure groups at day 14. The SSC particles were poorly cleared, with 81% remaining at the end of the observation period. These findings demonstrate that SSC sawing dust exposure induces pulmonary inflammation and damage that warrants further investigation. Abbreviations: ANOVA: Analysis of Variance; ATH: Alumina Trihydrate; BALF: Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; Dpg: Geometric Mean Diameter; FE-SEM: Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy; IACUC: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; IFN-γ: Interferon Gamma; IL-1 Β: Interleukin-1 Beta; IL-10: Interleukin-10; IL-12: Interleukin-12; IL-2: Interleukin-2; IL-4: Interleukin-4; IL-5: Interleukin-5; IL-6: Interleukin-6; KC/GRO: Neutrophil-Activating Protein 3; MMAD: Mass Median Aerodynamic Diameter; PBS: Phosphate-Buffered Saline; PEL: Permissible Exposure Limit; PM: Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes; PNOR: Particles Not Otherwise Regulated; SEM/EDX: Scanning Electron Microscope/Energy-Dispersive X-Ray; SSA: Specific Surface Area; SSC: Solid Surface Composite; TNFα: Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha; VOC: Volatile Organic Compounds; σg: Geometric Standard Deviation.
Assessing Perceived Success in Valued Living in Individuals With Long-Term Physical Health Conditions

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of a brief measure of successful aging in a sample of adults with long-term health conditions. Method: The brief (eight-item) version of the valued living scale (VLS) and measures of pain intensity, pain interference, and depression were administered to 1,457 adults aging with one of four long-term health conditions. Results: Analyses indicated that the VLS items assessed two types of valued living domains: (a) a social and relational domain and (b) a health and productivity domain. The findings also supported the construct validity for the VLS items, in that both domains were associated significantly (and negatively) with the measures of pain intensity, pain interference, and depression. Discussion: The results provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the VLS items for assessing two important domains of successful aging in individuals with long-term health conditions.
Smartphone-supported Positive Adjustment Coping Intervention (PACI) for couples undergoing fertility treatment: a randomised controlled trial protocol

Introduction Infertility generally counts as a profound crisis in the lives of couples and as an emotionally stressful experience. For couples undergoing fertility treatment, this is especially true of the waiting period following embryo transfer, which couples say is the most stressful period during treatment. However, at this specific phase, psychosocial counselling is not always available on the spot. The aim of this randomised controlled trial (RCT) study was to test the Positive Adjustment Coping Intervention (PACI), a low-dose, smartphone-supported psychological intervention for women and men undergoing fertility treatment. Methods and analysis The effectiveness of PACI is tested by means of a prospective two-arm RCT. During the 14-day waiting period between oocyte puncture/oocyte thawing and pregnancy test, participants are randomly assigned to one of the two groups, and both women and men receive daily text messages on their smartphones. One group receives text messages with statements reflecting positive-adjustment coping attitudes, the other group messages containing cognitive distractions. The primary outcome of this study is the reduction of psychosocial burden during the waiting period of reproductive treatment. Furthermore, we want to assess whether there are differences between the interventions in a pre-post assessment. The secondary outcomes are information on perceived effectiveness and practicability of the intervention one month after the waiting period. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from the Ethics Committee of Heidelberg University Faculty of Medicine (S-074/2017). Study findings are planned for dissemination via peer-reviewed journal articles and at national and international conferences. Trial registration number NCT03118219; Pre-results. Protocol version Version 2.0 dated 18/02/2019.
Hierarchical Basis sets for the Calculation of NMR Spin-Spin Coupling Constants Involving either Selenium or Tellurium Nuclei.

New basis sets acvXz-J (X = 2, 3, 4) were designed for tellurium and selenium atoms for the calculation of indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling constants involving selenium or tellurium nuclei. Saturation of angular spaces was performed in even-tempered manner, till the achieving of the convergence of spin-spin coupling constants under consideration. High-accuracy correlated SOPPA(CCSD) method was employed in this procedure. Saturated basis sets were contracted by about 30%, using the coefficients, obtained from the atomic Self-Consistent Field (SCF) closed-shell calculations of selenium and tellurium anions, Se2- and Te2-. Final basis sets acvXz-J showed sufficiently high accuracy in comparison with previous special basis sets.