Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The evolution and specificity of RNA splicing

The majority of human genes are not encoded in contiguous segments in the genome but are rather punctuated by long interruptions known as introns. These introns are copied from generation to generation, and even from cell to cell as a person grows from an embryo into an adult. Each time a gene is activated, the cell must first accurately excise all the introns in a process known as splicing. This excision is determined by the sequence of the gene, but in a complicated way that is not fully understood. By analyzing gene sequences we can learn about how cells decide which sequences to splice. We have developed two new mathematical models, one for the end of introns, and another for long distance interactions between different parts of genes, that expose previously unknown elements potentially involved in the splicing reaction. However their boundaries are determined, introns are very ancient: although they are absent from bacteria they are found in almost all protists, fungi, plants and animals. It is therefore of great interest to explain their evolutionary origins. We have developed a probabilistic model for the evolution of introns and used it to perform a genome-wide analysis of the patterns of intron conservation in four euascomycete fungi, establishing that intron gain and loss are constantly reshaping the distribution of introns in genes. Thesis Supervisor: Christopher B. Burge Title: Associate Professor of Biology, Department of Biology
Students’ self-regulation and achievement in basic reading and math skills: the role of student–teacher relationships in middle childhood

In this study, we explored both direct and indirect contributions of students’ perceptions of the student–teacher relationship quality (i.e., closeness and conflict) to domains of self-regulation (i.e., task-orientation and metacognition) and basic reading and math skills (i.e., timed word reading and math performance) in middle childhood. Participants were 370 third-to-fifth graders from different regular elementary classrooms across the Netherlands. Using structural equation modelling, evidence was found for positive direct associations between studentperceived closeness and both domains of self-regulation, and a negative direct association between student-perceived conflict and task-orientation. However, indirect associations of closeness and conflict with students’ achievement in basic math and reading skills, through task-orientation and metacognition, could not be established. These results suggest that students’ perceptions of the relationship quality, and closeness in particular, may be especially important for their ability to regulate motivational and cognitive aspects of their own learning. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 10 December 2015; Accepted 28 May 2016
Algorithm or Representation? An empirical study on how SAPIENZ achieves coverage

Testing is a very important and expensive part of developing Android applications. Several tools for automatically testing Android applications have been proposed. In particular, Sapienz is a search-based tool that has been recently deployed in an industrial setting. Although it has been shown that Sapienz outperforms several state-of-the-art tools, it is still to be seen what features of Sapienz impact the most on its effectiveness.We conducted an extensive empirical study where we compare the impact of the search algorithm and the usage of motif genes, a more compact representation of individuals. Our empirical study shows that the usage of motif genes improves statement coverage both for evolutionary algorithms and random approaches. In particular, our study shows that although the evolutionary algorithm used by Sapienz (i.e., NSGA-II) outperforms other search algorithms, it is not statistically distinguishable from Random Search. These facts cast doubts about the use of evolutionary algorithms in the context of Android test generation and suggest that motif genes have a great impact on the overall effectiveness.
Early and noninvasive diagnosis using serological antigen biomarkers in chronic invasive fungal rhinosinusitis

Background: Chronic invasive form of fungal rhinosinusitis (FRS) is characterized by the invasion of fungal organisms into the sinonasal mucosa in the background of diabetes mellitus and corticosteroid treatment. Although the histopathology has traditionally been used to make a proven diagnosis of invasive fungal infections, the dependence on tissue samples and the slow turnaround time hamper the early confirmation of such infections. Methodology: This is a retrospective case series conducted over 6 years. All patients with a chronic course and immunosuppressive background of FRS diagnosed by radiologic imaging and treated with endoscopic sinus surgery were eligible for inclusion. Data were collected through medical records, including basic characteristics, symptoms and signs, imaging findings, laboratory investigations, pathology, treatment, and outcomes. Results: Fifteen patients with chronic course and immunosuppressive background of FRS diagnosed by radiologic imaging were identified. High values of 1,3-b-D-glucan (BDG) assay were recognized in 5 patients, whereas the other 10 patients with negative findings in the BDG assay showed sinus mycetomas. All the 5 patients showing significant elevations of serum BDG showed positive findings in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but only 2 patients were positive in the histopathology. The findings of the BDG assay were consistent with those of the PCR method, which was superior in sensitivity to the histopathology. Conclusion: We first applied BDG assay as a diagnostic tool for chronic invasive FRS. The BDG assay may be useful to distinguish chronic invasive FRS, including its early stage, from noninvasive mycetoma, contributing to timely treatment.
Antimicrobial Effect of Ear Wax (Cerumen auris)on Some Animal Pathogens

One of the basic issues in the clinical world including veterinary medicine is spreading of bacterial resistance against antibiotics, so one of the most significant strides in microbiological is to locate another antimicrobial agent with minimal side effects. Earwax, alluded to as Cerumen auris, is a defensive typical emission from the outside sound-related waterway external third cartilaginous skin organ. It is a blend of primarily 60% desquamated, 12 20% soaked and unsaturated long-chain unsaturated fat and 6 9% cholesterol. It greases up the outer sound-related channel. It additionally traps dust with other little particles and creepy crawlies, subsequently keeping them from coming to and harming the eardrum. It likewise protects from tainting specialists, for example, bacteria and fungi. So, the aim of this study is to explore the antimicrobial effect of Earwax (Cerumen auris) on some clinically significant animal pathogen. Ear wax suspension was assessed for their antimicrobial action against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus, Salmonella, Klebsiella and Pseudomonas isolated from animals by agar well diffusion method. The results have demonstrated that the antimicrobial impact of ear wax suspension revealed exceptionally huge against Bacillus followed by Salmonella and Klebsiella with similarly impact while there is no antimicrobial effect of the suspension on both Staph and Pseudomonas. So, it very well may be presumed that other than being a physical obstruction, cerumen works like defensive covering over the outside sound-related trench because of its antibacterial properties.
In ̄uence of dietary composition on growth and energy reserves in tench

The eects of dierent protein, lipid and carbohydrate diets on growth and energy storage in tench, Tinca tinca L. , were studied. Over a 2-month period ®sh were fed four dierent diets: control, protein-enriched, carbohydrate-enriched and lipidenriched. The best growth rates were obtained with the control and protein-enriched diets; the carbohydrate diet produced the worst results (lowest speci®c growth rate, weight gain, nutritional index and hepatosomatic index). These results suggest that it is not advisable to reduce dietary ®sh protein below 35%, and that it is not possible to obtain a protein-sparing eect of either lipids or carbohydrates, at least in our experimental conditions. The high-protein diet resulted in the storage of energy excess as muscle proteins and hepatic glycogen. Tench fed the high-carbohydrate diet stored carbohydrates as muscle glycogen and reduced plasma triglycerides. Finally, both liver and muscle lipid content were in positive correlation to dietary lipid.
A Holistic Antenna Design Paradigm for the 5G Wireless Communication System

The 5G wireless communication system covers a broad set of applications operating in a wide frequency spectrum, starting from the sub-GHz range to millimeterwave frequencies. The heterogeneity in requirements, which depend on the specific use case, and the pertinent radiowave propagation conditions at the operating frequency pose important challenges in terms of antenna design. Given the strict link budget margins, highly efficient antenna systems are required, of ten consisting of multiple antennas and tightly integrated with active transceiver hardware. In this contribution, we propose a holistic paradigm for the design of such active antenna systems, based on a full-wave/circuit co-optimization strategy. Highly efficient and autonomous solutions are obtained by directly co-designing the antenna with the transceiver circuitry that is integrated onto the antenna feed plane and the energy harvesters that are deployed on the antenna plane. The methodology is illustrated by two representative examples: a wearable wireless sensor node with integrated solar cell and a downlink remote antenna unit with integrated opto-electronic conversion circuit.
An analysis of FGF-regulated genes during Xenopus neural development

FGF signalling is pivotal in early vertebrate development and is involved in cell movements, germ layer induction and organogenesis. There is also evidence of an important role of FGF signalling in the specification and patterning of posterior neural tissues. Transcriptional targets of FGF signalling during germ layer specification have been identified recently by previous lab members. However, less is known about FGF targets active during neural development. The aim of this project was to investigate proximal downstream targets of FGF signalling in the context of early neural development by using drug-inducible forms of Xenopus FGF receptors, iFGFRs 1-4. The effect of iFGFR 1-4 induction in Xenopus laevis during gastrulation was initially investigated through analysis of a microarray dataset. This, and investigation of phenotypes of embryos expressing iFGFRs, found that each iFGFR had distinct effects upon the Xenopus transcriptome and embryonic development. An RNA-seq based screen was performed to investigate proximal changes to the Xenopus laevis transcriptome in the context of neural development, as a result of iFGFR1 or iFGFR4 activation during a period of early neural specification. After filtering the data, 188 genes were found to be affected by iFGFR1 and 274 genes affected by iFGFR4. As well as genes known to regulate posterior neural development, a number of genes regulating laterality, cell cycle and anterior neural development were also identified as being regulated by both receptors. Functional characterisation of a few novel FGF targets identified from the microarray and/or RNA-seq screens was performed using genome editing approaches. TALEN-mediated knockout of one of these targets, Nek6, was shown to affect the expression of mesodermal and neuroectodermal genes, as well as affecting FGF signalling itself. This work shows that FGFR1 and FGFR4 have distinct signalling outputs during neural development, but cooperate to specify and pattern the developing Xenopus CNS.
A Keyword-Based Big Data Analysis for Individualized Health Activity: Focusing on Methodological Approach

possible to solve some of the major issues in our society and economy with the emerging Big Data used across 21st century global digital economy. One of the main areas where big data can be quite useful is the medical and health area. IT technology is being used extensively in this area and expected to expand its application field further. However, there is still room for improvement in the usage of Big Data as it is difficult to search unstructured data contained in Big Data and collect statistics for them. This limits wider application of Big Data. Depending on data collection and analysis method, the results from a Big Data can be varied. Some of them could be positive or negative so that it is essential that Big Data should be handled adequately and appropriately adapting to a purpose. Therefore, a Big Data has been constructed in this study to applying Crawling technique for data mining and analyzed with R. Also, the data were visualized for easier recognition and this was effective in developing an individualized health plan from different angles.
Body-Centric LoRa Networks Based on System-Integrated Textile SIW Antennas

Building on recent innovations in wireless technology and antenna development, this paper presents several recent contributions investigating the performance of body-centric LoRa networks using a compact, wearable LoRa system with integrated textile substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) antennas. Measurements were gathered in indoor and outdoor propagation environments, and for body-tobody and body-to-base-station link configurations. For each application environment, considerable range improvements were observed when compared to more traditional wireless technologies used for body-centric communication.
RF and microwave channelizers based on microcombs

We demonstrate broadband RF channelizers based on microcombs with 49 GHz and 200 GHz FSRs. Up to 92 parallel channels and an instantaneous bandwidth of up to 8.08 GHz are achieved, together with high-resolution RF spectral channelization and shaping. This approach is promising for high-performance integrated photonic RF receivers and processors.
How is Chinese English Learners’ L2 Metaphoric Competence Related to That of L1? An E-Prime-Based Multi-Dimensional Study

Even though transfer from L1 to L2 has been repeatedly tested and confirmed, there is little literature and consensus on how and to what extent the L1 metaphoric competence could be related to that of L2. Based on the metaphor acceptability and response time of E-Prime experiments and two written tests of comprehension and production of metaphors on 94 intermediate Chinese-speaking university students of English, this study compares Chinese English learners’ similarities and differences in four dimensions (metaphor acceptability, identification speed, metaphor comprehension, and metaphor production) of metaphoric competence between L1 and L2 (here is Chinese and English). The results demonstrate that: Chinese English learners’ L1 metaphoric competence is significantly better than that of L2; their L2 metaphoric competence is significantly correlated to that of L1, and the regression analysis shows that L1 metaphoric competence has a significant prediction of that of L2. These findings enlighten us to greatly cultivate metaphoric competence in foreign language teaching and help students create connection between L1 and L2 metaphoric competence. This study also provides statistical support for the claim that metaphoric competence is a general trans-language cognitive ability for Chinese English learners.
Prévention de l’inflammation du tissu adipeux blanc par les adipocytes brites

Objectives. Numerous studies have shown that the recruitment and activation of thermogenic adipocytes, which are brown and beige/brite, reduces the mass of adipose tissue and normalizes abnormal glycaemia and lipidaemia. However, the impact of these adipocytes on the inflammatory state of adipose tissue is still not well understood, especially in response to endotoxaemia, which is a major aspect of obesity and metabolic diseases. Methods. First, we analysed the phenotype and metabolic function of white and brite primary adipocytes in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment in vitro. Then, 8-week-old male BALB/c mice were treated for one week with a β3-adrenergic receptor agonist (CL316,243, 1 mg/kg/day) to induce recruitment and activation of brown and brite adipocytes and were subsequently injected with LPS (E. coli lipopolysaccharide, i.p., 100 μg/mouse) to generate acute endotoxaemia. The metabolic and inflammatory parameters of the mice were analysed 6 hours later. Results. Our results showed that in response to LPS, thermogenic activity promoted a local antiinflammatory environment with high secretion of IL-1RA without affecting other antior proinflammatory cytokines. Interestingly, activation of brite adipocytes reduced the LPS-induced secretion of leptin. However, thermogenic activity and adipocyte function were not altered by LPS treatment in vitro or by acute endotoxaemia in vivo. Conclusion. In conclusion, these results suggest an IL-1RA-mediated immunomodulatory activity of thermogenic adipocytes specifically in response to endotoxaemia. This encourages potential therapy involving brown and brite adipocytes for the treatment of obesity and associated metabolic diseases.
Comparative study of the bioactive and chemical properties of three different Solanum spp. from Ghana

The family Solanaceae represent one of the most economically, nutritionally and medicinally important families of angiosperms. The genus Solanum is a hyper-diverse taxon of this family. There are about 2300 species of Solanum in the world that are mainly distributed in the tropical and sub-tropical areas, with a small number in the temperate areas. Solanum torvum has been extensively explored for its chemical constituents. To determine and compare the phytoconstituents of the fruits/berries of three different species of Solanum (torvum, erianthum, and macrocarpon) at different maturity stages. Fruits of Solanum (torvum, erianthum, and macrocarpon) were harvested at different maturity stages from local farms and around households in the Volta region and kept in sterile sample bags. Phytochemical and mineral analysis of the fruits was carried out according to the method of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC), to determine the mineral composition of the fruits. Total phenolic content was determined by the Folin Ciocalteau method, Flavonoids content was determined by the Aluminum Chloride method. Antioxidant activity was determined by three assays; DPPH, FRAP, and ABTS. The elemental mineral analysis was done using the flame photometer according to methods by AOAC. The present study revealed that the levels of antioxidants, total phenolics, and flavonoids contents were significantly affected by both the physiological maturity stage and extraction solvents. Total phenolic content ranged between 16.97±0.03 - 40.62±0.00 µL GAE/10 µL. Flavonoids contents ranged from 52.33±0.36 - 434.00±0.31 µL CE/10 µL. Antioxidants activity values ranged between 37.79±036 - 878.34±4.36, 16.66±7.40 - 47.49±15.27 and 0.075±0.00-0.257±0.00 for DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays respectively. Elemental mineral values recorded ranged between 4.87±0.03 - 11.55±0.05 mg/kg for Fe, 23.23±0.04 - 32.46±0.04 mg/kg for Mg and 34.317±0.03 - 15.3309±0.001 mg/kg for Na. This study revealed that the levels of antioxidants, total phenolics and flavonoids are significantly affected by both the physiological maturity stage and extraction solvents. It was clear that all methanolic extract showed significant variations with high values in antioxidants which included the DPPH scavenging activity, the ABTS• + scavenging activity, the Ferric reduction power assay, the total phenolics, and the flavonoid content.
Linked data for smart homes: comparing RDF and labeled property graphs

The need to integrate siloed data in the built environment led to a gaining interest in semantic web technologies in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector. Especially for smart home developments, the integration of information about the building, users and Internet of Things (IoT) devices could be valuable. The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is the standard model for the semantic web, however, labeled property graphs (LPG) also proved to be effective in linking data. This research used the Open Smart Home Dataset and a dataset representing a kitchen to compare the two graph models both qualitatively and quantitatively. The comparison shows that native labeled property graphs are less complex and outperform the atomic RDF in complex graph traversals. However, RDF shows qualitative advantages for multi-domain and multi-stakeholder environments, such as the use of ontologies and HTTP URIs, making it a more stable interoperability format.
Estimating up-limits of eccentricities for the binary black holes in the LIGO-Virgo catalog GWTC-1

In the first Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalogue of LIGO and Virgo, all events are announced having zero eccentricity. In the present paper, we investigate the performance of SEOBNRE, which is a spin-aligned eccentric waveform model in time-domain. By comparing with all the eccentric waveforms in SXS library, we find that the SEOBNRE coincides perfectly with numerical relativity data. Employing the SEOBNRE, we re-estimate the eccentricities of all black hole merger events. We find that most of these events allow a possibility for existence of initial eccentricities at 10 Hz band, but are totally circularized at the observed frequency (≳ 20 Hz). The upcoming update of LIGO and the next generation detector like Einstein Telescope will observe the gravitational waves starting at 10 Hz or even lower. If the eccentricity exists at the lower frequency, then it may significantly support the dynamical formation mechanism taking place in globular clusters.
The Forgotten Side of DNS: Orphan and Abandoned Records

DNS zone administration is a complex task involving manual work and several entities and can therefore result in misconfigurations. Orphan records are one of these misconfigurations, in which a glue record for a delegation that does not exist anymore is forgotten in the zone file. Orphan records are a security hazard to third-party domains that have these records in their delegation, as an attacker may easily hijack such domains by registering the domain associated with the orphan. The goal of this paper is to quantify this misconfiguration, extending previous work by Kalafut et al., by identifying a new type of glue record misconfiguration – which we refer to as abandoned records – and by performing a broader characterization. Our results highlight how the situation has changed, not always for the better, compared to a decade-old study.
Low Mutual Coupling Dual-port Dual-band MIMO Antenna Array for Mobile Terminal

A dual-port dual-band multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna array comprises of two printed circular monopole antennas is presented. Based on simulated data, the -10 dB impedance bandwidth of the antenna is noted from 2.3 GHz to 2.8 GHz and 3.37 GHz to 3.72 GHz. The isolation between the antenna elements is enhanced by connecting antennas through a microstrip neutralisation line along with a stub in the ground plane. Mutual coupling is found to be below -15 dB with an inter-element spacing of 0.092 times the free-space wavelength at 2.3 GHz. The maximum gain of the antenna is noted to be 3.66 dBi with an envelope correlation coefficient ≤ 0.06211 in its entire bandwidth.