Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of the Fission Machinery Mitigates OPA1 Impairment in Adult Skeletal Muscles

The maintenance of muscle mass and its ability to function relies on a bioenergetic efficient mitochondrial network. This network is highly impacted by fusion and fission events. We have recently shown that the acute deletion of the fusion protein Opa1 induces muscle atrophy, systemic inflammatory response, precocious epithelial senescence, and premature death that are caused by muscle-dependent secretion of FGF21. However, both fusion and fission machinery are suppressed in aging sarcopenia, cancer cachexia, and chemotherapy-induced muscle wasting. We generated inducible muscle-specific Opa1 and Drp1 double-knockout mice to address the physiological relevance of the concomitant impairment of fusion and fission machinery in skeletal muscle. Here we show that acute ablation of Opa1 and Drp1 in adult muscle causes the accumulation of abnormal and dysfunctional mitochondria, as well as the inhibition of autophagy and mitophagy pathways. This ultimately results in ER stress, muscle loss, and the reduction of force generation. However, the simultaneous inhibition of the fission protein Drp1 when Opa1 is absent alleviates FGF21 induction, oxidative stress, denervation, and inflammation rescuing the lethal phenotype of Opa1 knockout mice, despite the presence of any muscle weakness. Thus, the simultaneous inhibition of fusion and fission processes mitigates the detrimental effects of unbalanced mitochondrial fusion and prevents the secretion of pro-senescence factors.
Vasodilatory Effects and Mechanisms of Action of Bacopa monnieri Active Compounds on Rat Mesenteric Arteries

B. monnieri extract (BME) is an abundant source of bioactive compounds, including saponins and flavonoids known to produce vasodilation. However, it is unclear which components are the more effective vasodilators. The aim of this research was to investigate the vasorelaxant effects and mechanisms of action of saponins and flavonoids on rat isolated mesenteric arteries using the organ bath technique. The vasorelaxant mechanisms, including endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) pathway and calcium flux were examined. Saponins (bacoside A and bacopaside I), and flavonoids (luteolin and apigenin) at 0.1–100 µM caused vasorelaxation in a concentration-dependent manner. Luteolin and apigenin produced vasorelaxation in endothelial intact vessels with more efficacy (Emax 99.4 ± 0.7 and 95.3 ± 2.6%) and potency (EC50 4.35 ± 1.31 and 8.93 ± 3.33 µM) than bacoside A and bacopaside I (Emax 83.6 ± 2.9 and 79.9 ± 8.2%; EC50 10.8 ± 5.9 and 14.6 ± 5.4 µM). Pretreatment of endothelial intact rings, with L-NAME (100 µM); an eNOS inhibitor, or removal of the endothelium reduced the relaxant effects of all compounds. In K+-depolarised vessels suspended in Ca2+-free solution, these active compounds inhibited CaCl2-induced contraction in endothelial denuded arterial rings. Moreover, the active compounds attenuated transient contractions induced by 10 µM phenylephrine in Ca2+-free medium containing EGTA (1 mM). Thus, relaxant effects occurred in both endothelial intact and denuded vessels which signify actions through both endothelium and vascular smooth muscle cells. In conclusion, the flavonoids have about twice the potency of saponins as vasodilators. However, in the BME, there is ~20 × the amount of vaso-reactive saponins and thus are more effective.
Low hemoglobin and hematoma expansion after intracerebral hemorrhage

Objective Studies have independently shown associations of lower hemoglobin levels with larger admission intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) volumes and worse outcomes. We investigated whether lower admission hemoglobin levels are associated with more hematoma expansion (HE) after ICH and whether this mediates lower hemoglobin levels' association with worse outcomes. Methods Consecutive patients enrolled between 2009 and 2016 to a single-center prospective ICH cohort study with admission hemoglobin and neuroimaging data to calculate HE (>33% or >6 mL) were evaluated. The association of admission hemoglobin levels with HE and poor clinical outcomes using modified Rankin Scale (mRS 4–6) were assessed using separate multivariable logistic regression models. Mediation analysis investigated causal associations among hemoglobin, HE, and outcome. Results Of 256 patients with ICH meeting inclusion criteria, 63 (25%) had HE. Lower hemoglobin levels were associated with increased odds of HE (odds ratio [OR] 0.80 per 1.0 g/dL change of hemoglobin; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67–0.97) after adjusting for previously identified covariates of HE (admission hematoma volume, antithrombotic medication use, symptom onset to admission CT time) and hemoglobin (age, sex). Lower hemoglobin was also associated with worse 3-month outcomes (OR 0.76 per 1.0 g/dL change of hemoglobin; 95% CI 0.62–0.94) after adjusting for ICH score. Mediation analysis revealed that associations of lower hemoglobin with poor outcomes were mediated by HE (p = 0.01). Conclusions Further work is required to replicate the associations of lower admission hemoglobin levels with increased odds of HE mediating worse outcomes after ICH. If confirmed, an investigation into whether hemoglobin levels can be a modifiable target of treatment to improve ICH outcomes may be warranted.
A Database of Head-Related Transfer Functions and Morphological Measurements

A database of head-related transfer function (HRTF) and morphological measurements of human subjects and mannequins is presented. Data-driven HRTF estimation techniques require large datasets of measured HRTFs and morphological data, but only a few such databases are freely available. This paper describes an on-going project to measure HRTFs and corresponding 3D morphological scans. For a given subject, 648 HRTFs are measured at a distance of 0.76 m in an anechoic chamber and 3D scans of the subject’s head and upper torso are acquired using structured-light scanners. The HRTF data are stored in the standardized “SOFA format” (spatially-oriented format for acoustics) while scans are stored in the Polygon File Format. The database is freely available online.
SPRINKLER IRRIGATION UNIFORMITY AND CROP WATER PRODUCTIVITY OF BARLEY IN ARID REGION

An investigation has been organized to study the effect of the sprinkler irrigation system design on irrigation uniformity and its impact on barley crop yield and crop water productivity (CWP). The spring irrigation operating pressures (P) were 200 kPa (P1), 250 kPa (P2) and 300 kPa (P3). The sprinkler riser heights were 100 cm (H1), 125 cm (H2) and 150 cm (H3) from the ground. The results demonstrated that the maximum values of coefficient of uniformity (CU) and distribution uniformity (DU) (91.37 % and 0.85, respectively) were obtained at P3H3, while the minimum values (78.21 % and 0.71, respectively) were obtained at P1H1.Under P3H3 treatment, the highest values of 5.50 t ha-1 and 63.49 cm of grain yield (GY) and barely plant height (PH), respectively were recorded. The highest CWP value (0.75 kg m-3) was obtained when the P3H3 treatment was applied, while the lowest yield (0.36 kg m-3) was recorded under P1H1 treatment. According to the results of this experiment, under Sebha environmental conditions and similar regions, it is recommended to operate the solid set sprinkler irrigation system at P3H3 to obtain the highest CU and DU and consequently the highest GY, PH and CWP.
in situ crOSSlinKaBle hYDrOGelS fOr enGineereD cellular

СШиВАеМЫе in situ ГидрОГели длЯ СОЗдАНиЯ КлетОчНОГО МиКрООКрУЖеНиЯ Кун Мин Парк, Ки Донг Парк, В. И. Севастьянов, Е. А. Немец, В. Н. Василец 1 Отделение биоинженерии, Колледж наук о жизни и биоинженерии, Национальный университет Инчеона, Инчеон, 22012, Республика Корея 2 Факультет молекулярной науки и технологии, Университет Ажон, Сувон 443-749, Республика Корея 3 ФГБУ «Национальный медицинский исследовательский центр трансплантологии и искусственных органов имени академика В. И. Шумакова» Минздрава России, Москва, Российская Федерация
Customer Relationship Management in the era of Network Competition

Competitive pressure has forced companies to carefully examine customer relationships in the search for more valuable deployment of their assets and implementations of retention building programs. Due to the rise of value networks customer information has become a decisive asset influencing the strategic position of a company. In this article we develop a framework for the value based approach to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) process. This contribution outlines a process framework conducive to maximization of the incremental value generated in the course of the customer-company interaction. We discuss an integration of relevant value measures enabling a company to manage its portfolio of customer relationships conducive to dynamic value creation resulting from the interaction of customer needs and company’s resource allocation. Two core processes are identified which enable a company to add value by its customer interactions in terms of relationship quality, business opportunity and the orchestration of the customer portfolio. An integration of the current state of CRM research is presented. This is a critical step to the evolution of CRM from a domain of research to a coherent marketing discipline improving marketing productivity and strategic leverage of customer relationships. Despite the large body of research the majority of contributions to network competition resides on the building of core competencies. The relationship portfolio is conceived as the strategic asset conducive to value maximization in a network context. A process framework is developed which supports the identification of business opportunities and implementation of dynamic programs which is not reflected in most of the core competency focused research.
Detection and Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Pinnatoxins in Shellfish from the Atlantic and Cantabrian Coasts of Spain

For the first time, pinnatoxins have been detected in shellfish from the Atlantic and Cantabrian coasts of Spain. High sensitivity LC-MS/MS systems were used to monitor all the currently known pinnatoxins (A–H). Pinnatoxin G (PnTX G) was the most prevalent toxin of the group, but its metabolite PnTX A has also been found at much lower levels. No trend in PnTX G concentration was found in the area, but a hotspot in the Ría de Camariñas has been identified. The maximum concentrations found did not exceed 15 µg·kg−1, being, in most cases, below 3 µg·kg−1. The highest concentrations were found in wild (intertidal) populations of mussels which attained much higher levels than raft-cultured ones, suggesting that the toxin-producer organisms preferentially develop in shallow areas. Other bivalve species had, in general, lower concentrations. The incidence of PnTX G followed a seasonal pattern in which the maximum concentrations took place in winter months. PnTX G was found to be partially esterified but the esterification percentage was not high (lower than 30%).
Deleterious de novo variants of X‐linked ZC4H2 in females cause a variable phenotype with neurogenic arthrogryposis multiplex congenita

Pathogenic variants in the X‐linked gene ZC4H2, which encodes a zinc‐finger protein, cause an infrequently described syndromic form of arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) with central and peripheral nervous system involvement. We present genetic and detailed phenotypic information on 23 newly identified families and simplex cases that include 19 affected females from 18 families and 14 affected males from nine families. Of note, the 15 females with deleterious de novo ZC4H2 variants presented with phenotypes ranging from mild to severe, and their clinical features overlapped with those seen in affected males. By contrast, of the nine carrier females with inherited ZC4H2 missense variants that were deleterious in affected male relatives, four were symptomatic. We also compared clinical phenotypes with previously published cases of both sexes and provide an overview on 48 males and 57 females from 42 families. The spectrum of ZC4H2 defects comprises novel and recurrent mostly inherited missense variants in affected males, and de novo splicing, frameshift, nonsense, and partial ZC4H2 deletions in affected females. Pathogenicity of two newly identified missense variants was further supported by studies in zebrafish. We propose ZC4H2 as a good candidate for early genetic testing of males and females with a clinical suspicion of fetal hypo‐/akinesia and/or (neurogenic) AMC.
Welfare Magnets, Taxation and the Location Decisions of Migrants to the EU

Migrants are among the groups most vulnerable to economic fluctuations. As predicted by the "welfare magnet" hypothesis, migrants can therefore be expected to – ceteris paribus – prefer countries with more generous welfare provisions to insure themselves against labour market risks. This paper analyses the role of the welfare magnet hypothesis for migrants to the EU 15 at the regional level. The empirical analysis based on a random parameters logit model shows that the regional location decisions of migrants are mostly governed by income opportunities, labour market conditions, ethnic networks and a common language. There is no strong evidence for the welfare magnet hypothesis in the EU, but the empirical model shows that the income tax system has a large and consistent effect on locational choice.
Opioid Toxidrome Following Grapefruit Juice Consumption in the Setting of Methadone Maintenance.

BACKGROUND Methadone is a synthetic mu-opioid receptor agonist used in the treatment of chronic pain and opioid dependence. Methadone is metabolized by several cytochrome P450 isoenzymes; primarily CYP3A4, CYP2B6, and CYP2D6 before renal and fecal elimination. Exposure to substances like grapefruit juice, that inhibit these isoenzymes may result in increased blood levels of methadone, and thus may manifest clinically as unexpected opioid toxicity. CASE A 51-year-old male was found unresponsive. He was hypoxic and bradypneic with pinpoint pupils. Multiple boluses followed by infusion of naloxone were required before improvement of respiratory status. Upon awakening, the patient reported participating in an opioid treatment program where he is administered 90 mg of oral methadone daily and denied any other substance use. On further questioning, he admitted to drinking grapefruit juice (estimated to be approximately 500 mL/day) every day for 3 consecutive days before presentation. The patient was discharged home after being counseled to stop drinking grapefruit juice. DISCUSSION Grapefruit juice is known to be an inhibitor of the CYP3A4 isoenzyme. Various studies demonstrate that through CYP3A4 inhibition, grapefruit juice increases serum levels of opioids, such as methadone, though no clinically significant effects have been reported. CONCLUSIONS Grapefruit juice inhibits the metabolism of methadone, raising its serum levels. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case in which the interaction between grapefruit juice and methadone was significant enough to cause an opioid toxidrome. It is, therefore, recommended that opioid treatment programs (OTPs) advise patients about this interaction before administering methadone.
Changing seasonality in North Atlantic coastal sea level from the analysis of long tide gauge records

Sea level is a key variable in the context of global climate change. Climate-induced variability is expected to affect not only the mean sea level but also the amplitude and phase of its seasonal cycle. This study addresses the changes in the amplitude and phase of the annual cycle of coastal sea level in the extra-tropical North Atlantic. The physical causes of these variations are explored by analysing the association between fluctuations in the annual amplitude of sea level and in ancillary parameters [atmospheric pressure, sea-surface temperature and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) winter index]. The annual cycle is extracted through autoregressive decomposition, in order to be able to separate variations in seasonality from long-term interannual variations in the mean. The changes detected in the annual sea level cycle are regionally coherent, and related to changes in the analysed forcing parameters. At the northern sites, fluctuations in the annual amplitude of sea level are associated with concurrent changes in temperature, while atmospheric pressure is the dominant influence for most of the sites on the western boundary. The state of the NAO influences the annual variability in the Southern Bight, possibly through NAO-related changes in wind stress and ocean circulation.
Distribution and population structure of North Atlantic harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina )

A review of the known geographical distribution and current knowledge on the genetic population structure of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) in the North Atlantic is presented. Based on a synthesis of the results fromfive different studies of neutral geneticmarkers (mtDNAand nuclear microsatellites, mainly) twelve genetically distinct populations were identified in the North Atlantic: USA/Canada, Iceland, west coast of Norway, Ireland-Scotland, English east coast, Channel area, Wadden Sea, Limfjord, Skagerrak, Kattegat, West Baltic, and East Baltic. Most of the studies addressed the population structure at the regional level, while only a few addressed the structuring at a local level, i.e. within countries. Due to the limited number of studies conducted, the identified population units were considered preliminary andmore detailed, local studies would probably reveal structuring on a finer scale. The choice of genetic markers, their properties, resolution in time and applicability in population structure studies is shortly discussed and compared to ecological methods used to delineate populations.
Derivatives pricing under beta stochastic volatility model using ADI schemes

We consider Alternating Direction Implicit finite difference schemes for the numerical solution of initial boundary value problems for convection diffusion equations type with mixed derivatives and non-constant coefficients, as they arise from a beta stochastic volatility model in option pricing. We present various numerical examples with realistic data sets from the literature, where we consider European call options. The tested numerical methods provide an accurate and fast way of calculating option prices under a beta stochastic volatility model. Mathematics Subject Classification: 35K51, 65M06, 91G80
Effect of smoke on subcanopy shaded light, canopy temperature, and carbon dioxide uptake in an Amazon rainforest

Daytime Net Ecosystem CO2 uptake (NEE) in an Amazon forest has been shown to increase significantly during smoky periods associated with biomass burning. We investigated whether the increase in CO2 uptake is caused by increased irradiance in the lower canopy, which results from increased above‐canopy diffuse light, or by decreased canopy temperature, which results from decreased above‐canopy net radiation. We used Sun photometers measuring aerosol optical depth to find nonsmoky (Aerosol Optical Depth (AOT) < 0.35), smoky (AOT > 0.5) and very smoky (AOT > 0.7) periods for the Tapajos region in the Amazon. Using a network of subcanopy photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) sensors, we detected a ∼4 μmol m−2 s−1 increase in subcanopy diffuse light during smoky periods relative to nonsmoky periods. Using a pyrgeometer to measure upwelling longwave radiation and, hence, canopy surface temperature, we found a ∼0.5°C cooling relative to air temperature during smoky periods. We modeled subcanopy irradiance based on the subcanopy PPFD sensors and combined this with subcanopy leaf photosynthesis measurements to determine how the increased lower canopy light affected NEE. We used the relationship between temperature and NEE measured by eddy covariance to determine the effect of decreased canopy temperature on canopy CO2 uptake. We found that the increase in CO2 uptake at high aerosol optical depths is primarily a result of increased shaded light in the subcanopy (accounting for ∼80%) and to a lesser extent the effect of decreased canopy temperature (accounting for ∼20%).
Factors affecting the impact of professional development programs on teachers' knowledge, practice, student outcomes & efficacy.

This report examines effects of structural and process features of professional development programs on teachers' knowledge, practice and efficacy. It is based on four recent (2002-2003) studies undertaken through the Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme, designed to enhance teacher quality. The total data set for the survey study includes 3,250 teachers who had participated in eighty individual professional development1 activities within these studies. Teachers were surveyed at least three months after participating in an activity, which provided them with the opportunity to gauge the impact of programs on their practice. To investigate factors affecting impact, a theoretical model was developed based on recent research into the characteristics of effective professional development and tested using blockwise regression analysis. The model included contextual factors (e.g., school support), structural features of programs (e.g. ,length), process features (e.g., emphasis on content; active learning; examination of student work; feedback; follow-up), a mediating variable (level of professional community generated), and four outcome measures (knowledge; practice; student learning and efficacy). Consistent significant direct effects were found across the four studies for the impact of content focus, active learning, and follow-up on knowledge and professional community. Feedback was rarely incorporated into program design. Impact on efficacy was strongly related to the perceived impact of activities on teachers' practice and student learning outcomes.
The non-convex geometry of low-rank matrix optimization

This work considers two popular minimization problems: (i) the minimization of a general convex function f(X) with the domain being positive semi-definite matrices, and (ii) the minimization of a general convex function f(X) regularized by the matrix nuclear norm $\|X\|_{*}$ with the domain being general matrices. Despite their optimal statistical performance in the literature, these two optimization problems have a high computational complexity even when solved using tailored fast convex solvers. To develop faster and more scalable algorithms, we follow the proposal of Burer and Monteiro to factor the low-rank variable $X = UU^{\top } $ (for semi-definite matrices) or $X=UV^{\top } $ (for general matrices) and also replace the nuclear norm $\|X\|_{*}$ with $\big(\|U\|_{F}^{2}+\|V\|_{F}^{2}\big)/2$. In spite of the non-convexity of the resulting factored formulations, we prove that each critical point either corresponds to the global optimum of the original convex problems or is a strict saddle where the Hessian matrix has a strictly negative eigenvalue. Such a nice geometric structure of the factored formulations allows many local-search algorithms to find a global optimizer even with random initializations.
A Study on Extracting Ideas from Documents and Webpages in the Field of Idea Mining

The ideas and quasi-ideas useful for human"s creation were drawn out from documents and webpages with extraction methods used m idea mining, opinion mining, and topic signal mining. The extraction methods comprised (1) decisive cue phrases, (2) cue figures and sounds, (3) contextual signals, and (4) discourse segmentations. They tested on the idea samples, such as thoughts, plans, opinions, writings, figures, sounds, and formulas. Methods (1), (3), and (4) received largely positive evaluation, judging the efficiency of 4 methods by F measure, a mixture of recall and precision ratio. In particular, decisive cue phrase method was effective to search idea and contextual signal method was effective to detect quasi-idea.