Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modulation of TASK-1/3 channels at the hypoglossal motoneuron pool and effects on tongue motor output and responses to excitatory inputs in vivo: implications for strategies for obstructive sleep apnea pharmacotherapy

Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs exclusively during sleep due to reduced tongue motor activity. Withdrawal of excitatory inputs to the hypoglossal motor nucleus (HMN) from wake to sleep contributes to this reduced activity. Several awake–active neurotransmitters with inputs to the HMN (e.g. serotonin [5-HT]) inhibit K+ leak mediated by TASK-1/3 channels on hypoglossal motoneurons, leading to increased neuronal activity in vitro. We hypothesize that TASK channel inhibition at the HMN will increase tongue muscle activity in vivo and modulate responses to 5-HT. We first microperfused the HMN of anesthetized rats with TASK channel inhibitors: doxapram (75 μM, n = 9), A1899 (25 μM, n = 9), ML365 (25 μM, n = 9), acidified artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF, pH = 6.25, n = 9); and a TASK channel activator terbinafine (50 μM, n = 9); all with and without co-applied 5-HT (10 mM). 5-HT alone at the HMN increased tongue motor activity (202.8% ± 45.9%, p < 0.001). However, neither the TASK channel inhibitors, nor activator, at the HMN changed baseline tongue activity (p > 0.716) or responses to 5-HT (p > 0.127). Tonic tongue motor responses to 5-HT at the HMN were also not different (p > 0.05) between ChAT-Cre:TASKf/f mice (n = 8) lacking TASK-1/3 channels on cholinergic neurons versus controls (n = 10). In freely behaving rats (n = 9), microperfusion of A1899 into the HMN increased within-breath phasic tongue motor activity in wakefulness only (p = 0.005) but not sleep, with no effects on tonic activity across all sleep–wake states. Together, the findings suggest robust maintenance of tongue motor activity despite various strategies for TASK channel manipulation targeting the HMN in vivo, and thus currently do not support this target and direction for potential OSA pharmacotherapy.
Home sweet home? Adjustments in the ecology, behaviour and vocalisations of Amazonian squirrel monkeys inhabiting an Atlantic forest fragment

Inadvertent or intentional introductions of species in non-native habitats are forcing them to adapt quickly, resulting in evolutionarily significant changes in their ecology and social organisation. Understanding how these species are adapting in non-native areas will elucidate evolutionary aspects of migration and adaptation skills of exotic species in general. Thus, we investigated how Amazonian squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) have adjusted their behavioural ecology and call propagation in an Atlantic forest fragment in north-eastern Brazil. Behavioural ecology data were obtained via instantaneous scan and ad libitum sampling methods. Call propagation data were obtained through playback experiments conducted in the Atlantic and Amazon forests. Atlantic forest squirrel monkey diet was found to be composed, primarily, of fruits considered “exotic” to the region. There was no variation between dry and wet months in food-resource exploitation except for flowers. Squirrel monkeys spent most of their time engaged in locomotion and foraging activities and had a preference for the Atlantic forest mid-strata. Nevertheless, resting, locomotion and social activities were most frequently demonstrated in the dry months, whereas foraging behaviours were mostly performed in the wet months. We found no variation between dry and wet months in the vertical use of the stratum, daily path length or home range size. The propagation of squirrel monkey isolation calls was more efficient in the Amazon compared with the Atlantic forest, with call acoustic parameters degrading faster in the Atlantic forest. Our results indicate that exotic squirrel monkeys have adjusted their activity pattern and diet in the Atlantic forest, resulting in behavioural variations consistent with the existing resources. Vocalisations, however, despite not being fully adapted for propagation in the Atlantic forest, do not appear to interfere in the occupation success of the species in the Atlantic forest.
Calibration and Evaluation of DSSAT-CERES Model for Kharif Sorghum Genotypes

Background: Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is one of the world’s most important nutritional cereal crops and also the major staple food and fodder crop of millions of people in semiarid tropics. It is considered as the ‘King of millets’ and extensively grown in Africa, China, USA, Mexico and India, but sorghum productivity is highly influenced by chosen genotype, climatic factors of a given location and management practices followed, thus requires testing new genotypes as and when released for the yielding potential and response to management. Aims: The current generation of crop models requires calibration as and when new genotype (cultivar) was introduced into the model vis-à-vis cultivar specific coefficients. Therefore, present study calibrated and evaluated the DSSAT-CERES-Sorghum model for four new genotypes introduced. Study Design: The data from field experiment with four genotypes and three dates of sowing conducted during Kharif seasons of 2011 and 2012 under All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Sorghum at Main Agricultural Research Station, Dharwad, Karnataka, India was used for model calibration (2011 data) and evaluation (2012 data). The borrowed data included phenology, biomass and yield components. Original Research Article Sannagoudar et al.; JEAI, 30(3): 1-8, 2019; Article no.JEAI. 46975 2 Results and Discussion: Calibration process showed anthesis, physiological maturity and yield were perfectly matched using 2011 data which achieved RMSE value of 0.0, 1.41 and 97.17 for anthesis, maturity and grain yield, respectively, and when 2012 data was used for evaluation the calibrated model could simulate with high accuracy as shown by minimum RMSE values of 2.94, 1.29 and 51.76 for anthesis, maturity and grain yield, respectively. Conclusion: This exercise of calibration of crop specific parameters of four kharif sorghum genotypes using DSSAT-CERES-Sorghum model followed by evaluation of model using another independent set of data showed that DSSAT-CERES-Sorghum performed well and the model could be used as decision support tool for all those optimized four genotypes for various applications viz., optimizing dates of sowing, population, spacing and inputs.
Industry-Friendly Hydroethanolic Extraction Protocols for Grateloupia turuturu UV-Shielding and Antioxidant Compounds

Grateloupia turuturu is an invasive macroalga on the Iberian coast, known to produce bioactive compounds with different cosmeceutical bioactivities, namely UV shielding and antioxidants. The goal of this study was to optimize the extraction procedure of main bioactivities of this species with cosmetic potential, using Response Surface Methodology. Two Box–Behnken designs were used to evaluate the effect of ethanol concentration (0–50%), liquid-solid ratio, time, pH, and temperature on yield, UV absorbance, and antioxidant activity. Both optimizations showed a similar trend: aqueous extracts have higher yields and extracts performed with ethanol as part of the solvent have higher activities concerning UV absorbance and antioxidant activity. For all the extracts an absorption peak between 320 and 340 nm was observed. This data now allows further studies by narrowing the extracts worthful of characterization. The development of industry-friendly extraction methods allows the valorization of this invasive species, contributing for the potential creation of natural and eco-friendly products by the cosmetic industry while contributing to the restoration of affected environments.
An Overview of Content Poisoning in NDN: Attacks, Countermeasures, and Direction

With a huge demand for replicated content on the Internet, a new networking paradigm called information-centric networking (ICN) has been introduced for efficient content dissemination. In ICN, named content is distributed over the network cache and it is accessed by name instead of a location identifier. These aspects allow users to retrieve content from any of the nodes having replicas, and consequently 1) network resources are more efficiently utilized by avoiding redundant transmission and 2) more scalable services are provided by distributing server loads. However, in-network caching in ICN brings about a new type of security issues, called content poisoning attacks, where fabricated content is located in the network cache and interferes with the normal behavior of the system. In this paper, we look into the problems of content poisoning in ICN and discuss security architectures against them. In particular, we reconsider the state-of-the-art schemes from the perspective of feasibility, and propose a practical security architecture.
Road Damaged Analysis (RODA) using Built-in Accelerometer Sensor in Smartphone

Road damage produces serious problems for the driver such as travel efficiency, vehicle value, and even driver safety. In some cases, road damage causes accidents and ends in death. Currently, road damage detection research extends to grow and present various approaches such as the implementation of an accelerometer sensor. However, the implementations face lacks of accuracy since unable to work in real-time and poor implementation. In the end, the system inadequate to identify damaged roads effectively. Therefore, a comprehensive study was proposed. Firstly, data collection is conducted by applying a low-pass filter to obtain accurate data. The next step is estimating the range value of the accelerometer graph. In the final step, the classification is performed to identify road conditions into smooth, medium and poor. Based on some experiments that have been done, the proposed method accurately recognizes road conditions by 86.67%.
When Does Corporate Social Responsibility Backfire in Acquisitions? Signal Incongruence and Acquirer Returns

This study examines whether an acquirer’s pre-announcement corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement can provide an insurance-like effect to preserve acquirer returns during the announcement of an acquisition event. Drawing on stakeholder theory and signaling theory, we posit that CSR engagement accrues positive moral capital for an acquirer and sends a positive signal indicating the acquirer’s altruism, both of which temper stakeholders’ negative responses and prevent a reduction in market returns around the announcement of an acquisition. However, high-CSR engagement could backfire when the acquirer makes a hostile takeover announcement. Incongruent signals between high-CSR engagement and the hostile practice are a sign of hypocrisy in the eyes of stakeholders, which can worry investors and hurt acquirer returns. By analysing 1310 acquisition transactions from 2002 to 2012, the results of our event study show that high-CSR acquirers generally enjoy positive acquirer returns during their acquisition announcements, but negative returns when the acquisitions are hostile. These findings support the idea that CSR engagement can provide insurance-like benefits during an event that is often seen as “negative”, while also identifying signal incongruence as an important boundary condition.
Induction of flavonoid biosynthesis by in vitro cultivation of Astragalus glycyphyllos L.

Establishment of in vitro cultures from Astragalus glycyphyllos, determination of biomass and analysis of total flavonoids, rutin and camelliaside A were performed. To increase flavonoid production various combinations of plant hormones and light/dark regimen were investigated. Suspension cultures with exogenous quercetin were evaluated for possible increase in flavonoid production. Shoots, calli and suspensions were successfully established. Rutin and camelliaside A were proved in highest amount in shoots. Calli, cultivated on modified G48 medium, with double amount of Ca2+ and Mg2+, achieved higher total flavonoid content (2.37 and 2.03 mg/g DW). Suspensions cultures, cultivated on modified G48 medium with 10, 20 and 30 mg/mL quercetin achieved higher total flavonoid content (0.09, 0.10 and 0.13 mg/mg DW). Biotransformation of quercetin to isoquercitrin was achieved. The highest concentration of isoquercitrin (56.73 ng/mg DW) was observed on suspensions cultures cultivated on modified G48 medium, with 20 mg/mL quercetin.
Populations of Biomphalaria spp. Snails Isolates in Kenya Show Variable Resistance to Schistosome Infection

Fresh water snails of genus Biomphlaria, Bulinus and Ocomelinia are important vectors for human schistosomiasis. Human contact patterns with water infested with cercaria are important factors in transmission of schistosomiasis and these conditions are associated with tropical climate wetlands. However, some snail strains within the genera that transmit cercaria are resistant to infection, providing means where these traits can be harnessed for biological control. PCR rDNA probes were used to determine miracidia/cercaria infected Biomphalaria snail isolates within Kenya. The derived sequences together with similar Genbank datasets were applied in phylogenetic analysis. PCR results showed that susceptibility/resistance trait occurs in proportion of the field sampled snails and also those maintained in laboratory culture. Phylogenetic analysis of sampled snails in this study together with composite dataset of similar rDNA sequences across Africa showed that Biomphalaria spp population structure is composed of distinct monophyla lineages and clusters of closely related isolates or clones. Further, the analysis indicated that nomenclature of Biomphalaria spp. classification needs revision. This provides evidence for resistance to cercaria transmission in some isolates of Biomphalaria spp. within Kenya but the trait does not cluster together in phylogenetics that is based on rDNA gene.
Validity and Reliability of the Oxford Shoulder Instability Score Translated into Arabic

Background: The Oxford Shoulder Instability Score, abbre-viated OSIS, is a brief, outcome measure self-reported by the patient suffering shoulder instability. Objectives: Our objective was to translate OSIS into Arabic and validate its psychometric properties via test of the reliability, internal consistency, floor and ceiling effects, and validity. Material & Methods: Fifty-five patients were involved in this survey at the baseline and follow-up (14 days after the baseline). We performed the internal consistency test using Cronbach’s α. We calculated Standard Response Mean (SRM) and Pearson’s Correlation to estimate the construct validity and responsiveness of the Arabic OSIS in comparison to Disability of the Arm and Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Score. Results: The Arabic OSIS had a baseline Cronbach’s α of 0.815 and a follow-up value of 0.860. In addition, Intra-class correlation (ICC) of 0.897; (0.813-0.942) indicated high reliability. Arabic versions of OSIS had a strong correlation with DASH score (r = 0.77, p = 0.003) which suggested a good construct validity. Also, moderately correlated changes of baseline to follow-up in OSIS indicated moderate responsiveness. We did not observe any relevant floor and ceiling effect among the responses. Conclusion: Overall, the Arabic version of OSIS proved to be a good and reliable diagnostic tool for patients with shoulder instability.
Differential Expression Analysis of ZIKV Infected Human RNA Sequence Reveals Potential Biomarkers

Zika virus (ZIKV) is considered to be an emerging viral outbreak due to its link to diseases like microcephaly, Guillain-Barre Syndrome in human. In this paper, we identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using RNA-seq data. In this study, we adopted the RNA-seq analysis pipeline to quantify RNA-seq data into read counts. Our analysis uncovers the significant DEGs which may be involved in the altered biological process somehow. Here, we report the list of significant DEGs, out of which three genes are found to be highly differentially expressed. In addition, our analysis also predicts other moderate DEGs, low DEGs whose differential expression was induced due to ZIKV infections.
Road elevation map estimation based on affine transformation and stereo matching

This paper presents a road elevation map estimation method based on affine transformation. A geometric model of reference plane and stereo rig is proposed. The model showed that the height of 3-D points relative to the reference plane can be described by the proposed disparity relative to the reference plane. The reference plane is implicitly established by performing an affine transformation on target image. A local based stereo matching is applied to estimate subpixel disparity map. The elevation map can be easily estimated from subpixel disparity map using proposed elevation computation model. The experimental results on real-word road scenes show that the proposed method can provide accurate road elevation estimation.
Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Lycium barbarum (Solanales: Solanaceae), a unique economic plant to China

Abstract Lycium barbarum (Solanaceae) is a unique economic plant to China. The complete chloroplast (cp)genome was sequenced and assembled by using Illumina paired-end reads data. The circular cp genome is 155,656 bp in size, including a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,451 bp, a large single copy (LSC) region of 86,554 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,200 bp. Besides, 15 genes possess a single intron, while another three genes (clpP, rps12 and ycf3) have a couple of introns. The GC content of entire L. barbarum cp genome, LSC, SSC and IR regions are 37.8%, 35.9%, 32.3%, and 43.2%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis based on the concatenated coding sequences of cp PCGs showed that L. barbarum and Atropa belladonna are closely related with each other within the family Solanaceae.
Building a Resilient Climate Regulatory Ecosystem for Nigeria

Abstract Terrestrial ecosystems, which store more carbon than the atmosphere, are vital in influencing carbon dioxide-driven climate change. Climate and land-use change are critical and interlinked components of the Carbon budget in human-dominated landscape, using the InVEST model, maps of land use and stocks in four Carbon pools (aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, soil, dead organic matter) are used to estimate the amount of Carbon currently stored in the landscape and the amount of carbon sequestered over time. This was integrated with remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques in building a resilience climate regulatory terrestrial ecosystem for Nigeria based on REDD policy. The result reveals that there is a drastic reduction in forest land by 68% in 1984, 52% in 2003, and 48% in 2035. The total carbon stored was estimated to 887,287,616 Mg ha-1yr-1 in 1984, 1,599,485,568 Mg ha-1yr-1 in 2003 and 766,186,368 Mg ha-1yr-1 in 2035. And total carbon sequestered decrease from 4,856,430,592 Mg ha-1yr-1 in 1984, 2,018,537,728 Mg ha-1yr-1 in 2003 and 826,727.99 Mgha-1yr-1 for 2035. The REDD project scenario was designed to increase carbon storage credits in all land use /land cover through sustained forest protection and enhancement of forest Carbon stocks and the following can be achieved, 5,343.96 Mg ha-1yr-1 of Carbon can be stored for 2003 and 2035. And for carbon sequestered, 1,707.79 Mg ha-1yr-1 was stored between 1984 and 2003, while between 2003 and 2035; 912.85 Mg ha-1yr-1 was stored. And a greater resilient is achieved by adopting the REDD policy because carbon stored can cut down emission by 89 and 87% in 2003 and 2035, while sequestered carbon by 33% between 1984-2003 and 2003-2035 unconditionally under the Business-As-Usually (BAU) scenario. Keywords: Carbon Stored; Carbon Sequestered; InVEST model; REDD Policy; Nigeria. Cite this Article Ibeabuchi Uwadiegwu. Building A Resilient Climate Regulatory Ecosystem for Nigeria. Journal of Alternate Energy Sources & Technologies. 2020; 11(2): 46–62p.
What drives at‐risk species richness? Environmental factors are more influential than anthropogenic factors or biological traits

Species at risk of extinction are not uniformly distributed in space. Concentrations of threatened species may occur where threatening processes are intense, in refuges from those processes, or in areas of high species diversity. However, there have been few attempts to identify the processes that explain the distribution of at‐risk species. Here, we identified the relative importance of biological traits, environmental factors, and anthropogenic stressors in driving the spatial patterns of both total and at‐risk species richness of North American mammals and birds. Environmental factors are the predominant drivers of both total and at‐risk species richness. Strikingly, the directions of variable relationships differ substantially between models of total and at‐risk species richness. Understanding how environmental gradients differentially drive variation in total and at‐risk species richness can inform conservation action. Moreover, our approach can predict shifts in at‐risk species concentrations in response to projected environmental change and anthropogenic stressors.
Luenberger Position Observer Based on Deadbeat-Current Predictive Control for Sensorless PMSM

Two problems can cause control performance degradation on permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) systems, namely, fluctuation of PMSM parameters and the time delay between current sampling and command value update. In order to reduce the influence of these problems, a new current-predictive control strategy is proposed in this article for medium- and high-speed PMSM. This strategy is based on the discrete mathematical model of PMSM. This new control strategy consists of two main steps: First, an integrator is applied to calculate current compensation value; second, the predictive current value is obtained through deadbeat-current predictive method. The stability of predictive control system is also proved in the article. With this deadbeat-current predictive control scheme, the real current can reach the desired value within one control-step. Based on this new current control method, Luenberger observer and phase-locked loop position tracker is applied in this article. Experimental results for 0.4 kW surface-mounted PMSM confirm the validity and excellent performance for parameters fluctuation of new current predictive control.
Biological Relationships between miRNAs used for Colorectal Cancer Screening

MicroRNAs have been proposed to function as biomarkers in several disorders including cancer. Particularly, those present in plasma samples have been validated for colon cancer screening purposes. However, mechanisms underlying miRNA regulating CRC development have not been fully investigated yet. The aim of this study was to perform a biological contextualization of a particular 6 miRNAs signature (Hsa-miR-15b-5p, Hsa-miR-18a-5p, Hsa-miR-29a-3p, Hsa-miR335-5p, Hsa-miR-19a-3p and Hsa-miR-19b-3p) already described as CRC screening tool in terms of its downstream targets and associated pathways, to understand how this set of miRNAs could be regulating colon cancer development. Our results demonstrated that Hsa-miR-15b-5p, Hsa-miR-18a-5p and HsamiR-29a-3p are the best contributors to the diagnostic value of the signature by regulating epithelial to mesenchymal transformation though a gained balance of inhibiting tumoral suppressors genes such as ETS2, TP53, TLE3, ACVR2A.