Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overexpressed Pseudogene HLA-DPB2 Promotes Tumor Immune Infiltrates by Regulating HLA-DPB1 and Indicates a Better Prognosis in Breast Cancer

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been successfully used for treating melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. However, many patients with breast cancer (BC) show low response to ICIs due to the paucity of infiltrating immune cells. Pseudogenes, as a particular kind of long-chain noncoding RNA, play vital roles in tumorigenesis, but their potential roles in tumor immunology remain unclear. In this study that used data from online databases, the novel pseudogene HLA-DPB2 and its parental gene HLA-DPB1 were overexpressed and correlated with better prognosis in BC. Mechanistically, our results revealed that HLA-DPB2 might serve as an endogenous RNA to increase HLA-DPB1 expression by competitively binding with has-miR-370-3p. Functionally, gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis indicated that the HLA-DPB2/HLA-DPB1 axis was strongly relevant to immune-related biological functions. Further analysis demonstrated that high expression levels of the HLA-DPB2 and HLA-DPB1 were significantly associated with high immune infiltration abundance of CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, Tfh, Th1, and NK cells and with high expression of majority biomarkers of monocytes, NK cell, T cell, CD8+ T cell, and Th1 in BC and its subtype, indicating that HLA-DPB2 can increase the abundance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in the BC microenvironment. Also, the HLA-DPB2 and HLA-DPB1 expression levels positively correlated with the expression levels of programmed cell death protein 1, programmed cell death ligand 1, and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4. Our findings suggest that pseudogene HLA-DPB2 can upregulate HLA-DPB1 through sponging has-miR-370-3p, thus exerting its antitumor effect by recruiting tumor-infiltrating immune cells into the breast tumor microenvironment, and that targeting the HLA-DPB2/HLA-DPB1 axis with ICIs may optimize the current immunotherapy for BC.
Weighted blankets for insomnia in affective disorder and ADHD – a clinical follow up study

Introduction: Weighted blankets are used for the treatment of insomnia in patients with affective disorders and ADHD, despite the lack of scientific support. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical use of weighted blankets for insomnia in patients with affective disorder and ADHD. Methods: 199 psychiatric patients with affective and ADHD diagnoses and co-occurring insomnia were included consecutively and treated with weighted blankets as a part of a clinical routine. They were evaluated before and after four weeks use of the blanket concerning time to sleep onset and ten sleep-related symptoms, using a self-rating scale, and after one year by a telephone interview.Results: The use of weighted blankets reduced the median time to fall asleep from 70 to 30 minutes (p<0.001) and led to a significant improvement of ten other sleep-related symptoms at the follow up after four weeks. After one year the positive effects on sleep were still maintained.Conclusions: The favourable results the results of this open clinical study should be interpreted with caution. Studies with a controlled design are warranted.
Role of DNA Methylation in the Resistance to Therapy in Solid Tumors

Despite the recent advances in chemotherapeutic treatments against cancer, some types of highly aggressive and invasive cancer develop drug resistance against conventional therapies, which continues to be a major problem in the fight against cancer. In recent years, studies of alterations of DNA methylome have given us a better understanding of the role of DNA methylation in the development of tumors. DNA methylation (DNAm) is an epigenetic change that promotes the covalent transfer of methyl groups to DNA. This process suppresses gene expression through the modulation of the transcription machinery access to the chromatin or through the recruitment of methyl binding proteins. DNAm is regulated mainly by DNA methyltransferases. Aberrant DNAm contributes to tumor progression, metastasis, and resistance to current anti-tumoral therapies. Aberrant DNAm may occur through hypermethylation in the promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes, which leads to their silencing, while hypomethylation in the promoter regions of oncogenes can activate them. In this review, we discuss the impact of dysregulated methylation in certain genes, which impact signaling pathways associated with apoptosis avoidance, metastasis, and resistance to therapy. The analysis of methylome has revealed patterns of global methylation, which regulate important signaling pathways involved in therapy resistance in different cancer types, such as breast, colon, and lung cancer, among other solid tumors. This analysis has provided gene-expression signatures of methylated region-specific DNA that can be used to predict the treatment outcome in response to anti-cancer therapy. Additionally, changes in cancer methylome have been associated with the acquisition of drug resistance. We also review treatments with demethylating agents that, in combination with standard therapies, seem to be encouraging, as tumors that are in early stages can be successfully treated. On the other hand, tumors that are in advanced stages can be treated with these combination schemes, which could sensitize tumor cells that are resistant to the therapy. We propose that rational strategies, which combine specific demethylating agents with conventional treatment, may improve overall survival in cancer patients.
Dispersal of Schinus fasciculatus seeds by the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex striatus in a shrubland of the dry Chaco, Argentina

Ants are important agents of seed dispersal and they can play a fundamental role in the establishment and survival of plants (Beattie 1985). Leaf-cutting or fungus-growing ants (Myrmicinae: Attini) are dominant elements of the ant fauna throughout the neotropics. They collect different types of vegetative and reproductive plant material that serve as substrate for underground fungus gardens,which are the only food source for their larvae (Stradling 1991).
Sexual size and shape evolution in European newts (Amphibia: Caudata: Salamandridae) on the Balkan Peninsula

We used a phylogenetic perspective in an examination of the direction and extent of sexual dimorphism in body size and body shape in European newts from the Balkan Peninsula (alpine newts, Mesotriton alpestris; crested newts, Triturus cristatus superspecies; smooth newts, Lissotriton vulgaris). We found a strong, female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in the analysed clades of alpine newt, whereas within crested newts we found a less stringent female-biased SSD in Triturus carnifex, Triturus macedonicus and Triturus karelinii, and no significant SSD in T. cristatus or Triturus dobrogicus. Among the smooth newts, we found male-biased SSD in Lissotriton vulgaris vularis and Lissotriton vulgaris greacus and no SSD in Lissotriton vulgaris meridionalis. Most of these newts also exhibit a significant sexual dimorphism in body shape, which varied more randomly than body size, regardless of SSD level. Female and male body size as well as the degree of SSD displayed statistically significant phylogenetic signal, while sexual dimorphism in body shape was phylogenetically independent. The relationship between independent contrast data for female size and male size indicated that SSD in European newts could be driven by a disproportionate increase in female size as increase in female size was not accompanied by a proportional increase in male size.
Speed, precision and grip force analysis of human manual operations with and without direct visual input

Perceptual system of a surgeon must adapt to conditions of multisensorial constrains regard to planning, control, and execution of the image-guided surgical operations. Three experimental setups are designed to explore these visual and haptic constraints in the image-guided training. Results show that subjects are faster and more precise with direct vision compared to image guidance. Stereoscopic 3D viewing does not represent a performance advantage for complete beginners. In virtual reality, variation in object length, width, position, and complexity affect the motor performance. Applied grip force on a surgical robot system depends on the user experience level. In conclusion, both time and precision matter critically, but trainee gets as precise as possible before getting faster should be a priority. Study group homogeneity and background play key role in surgical training research. The findings have direct implications for individual skill monitoring for image-guided applications.
Aspect-based Active Learning for User Preference Elicitation in Recommender Systems

Recommender systems require interactions from users to infer personal preferences about new items. Active learning techniques aim to identify those items that allow eliciting a target user’s preferences more efficiently. Most of the existing techniques base their decisions on properties of the items themselves, for example according to their popularity or in terms of their influence on reducing information variance or entropy within the system. Differently to previous work, in this paper we explore a novel active learning approach focused on opinions about item aspects extracted from user reviews. We thus incorporate textual information so as to decide which items should be considered next in the user preference elicitation process. Experiments on a real-world dataset provide positive results with respect to competitive state of the art methods.
Effect of rate and time of nitrogen fertilizer application on Striga hermonthica infestation in field-grown maize

The effects of urea and sulphate of ammonia applied at 0, 90, 120, 150 and 180 kg N ha-1 (from 1989 to 1992) and the time and rate of N application (1992) on the severity of Striga hermonthica infestation and maize yield were studied in order to compare the two sources of N fertilizer, commonly available to farmers in Ghana, in reducing S. hermonthica infestation, and to determine the rate and time of application that would minimise the deleterious effect of Striga on maize. The experiments were carried out under natural field infestations on farmers' fields (6-10 locations each year) in the Guinea Savanna zone of Ghana and replicated three times at each location on plots 5 m long and 3.6 m wide. In 1989 and 1992, higher S. hermonthica population density was recorded when urea was applied compared to sulphate of ammonia. However, there were no differences in Striga population density between the two sources of nitrogen from 1990 to 1991. Applying N at either 4 or 6 weeks after planting (WAP) maize did not affect the number of emerged Striga shoots. The rate of nitrogen applied did not influence the emergence of Striga from 1989 to 1991 as compared to 1992 when Striga population declined with increased rate of nitrogen fertilizer. Maize grain yield was unaffected by the source of nitrogen applied from 1989 to 1991. Similarly, applying N fertilizer at 4 or 6 WAP did not affect maize grain yield in 1992. However, the application of sulphate of ammonia resulted in higher maize yield compared to urea in 1992. Maize grain yield increased with increased nitrogen rate up to 90 kg ha-1 beyond which no appreciable increase was observed. A minimum of 90 kg N ha-1 is therefore required for any meaningful reduction in the deleterious effects of Striga on maize. In addition, to reduce the population of Striga in maize, it is essential to apply N fertilizers early. Ghana Jnl agric. Sci. Vol.30(2) 1997: 127-133
Twitter Data Classification using Multinomial Naive Bayes for Tropical Diseases Mapping in Indonesia

Tropical diseases are diseases commonly found in tropical and sub-tropical regions. The goal of this research is to map the tropical diseases based on data from Twitter to help policymakers take essential steps regarding health condition in Indonesia. Tweets classification was conducted in two phases, both using Multinomial Naive Bayes. The first phase is to filter non-Indonesian tweets, and the second phase is to classify the tweets containing diseases information. The result shows the type of the diseases and location with high accuracy supported by map visualization.
Callus induction from barley microspores. The role of sucrose and auxin in a barley anther culture medium

A medium and replenishment technique for the production of large numbers of calli from anthers of the barley cultivar Elrose is described. The barley anther culture basal medium supplemented with 8 mg/L 2,4-D and 9% sucrose and replenished at 10-day intervals with basal medium containing 1 mg/L indole acetic acid and 3% sucrose was optimal for anther response (21.0%) and productivity (67 calli per 100 anthers plated).
Cerebral Arterial Pulsatility and Global White Matter Microstructure Impact Spatial Working Memory in Older Adults With and Without Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Aging is associated with an increased prevalence of vascular health conditions that are linked to a disruption in the cerebral vasculature and white matter microstructural organization. In people with cardiovascular risk factors, increased cerebral arterial pulsatility is associated with poorer white matter microstructural organization and cognitive functioning. This study examines the relationship among arterial pulsatility, white matter microstructural organization, and cognitive ability in a healthy adult lifespan sample. One hundred and eighty-nine adults were divided into a younger adult (<50 years, n = 97) and older adult (>50 years, n = 92). The latter were further subdivided into two subgroups with (CV+, n = 25) and without (CV−, n = 67) cardiovascular risk factors. Arterial pulsatility was measured using cardiac-gated phase-contrast flow quantification sequence and three indexes of whole-brain white matter microstructural organization [i.e., fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RaD), mean diffusivity (MD)] were derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Cognitive ability was assessed using global cognitive functioning (MoCA) and a measure of working memory [sensitivity (d′) from a 2-back task]. Neither the whole group analysis nor the younger adult group showed an association between measures of arterial pulsatility, global white matter microstructural organization, and cognition. In older adults, higher MD and RaD were associated with increased arterial pulsatility and poorer working memory performance. The indirect pathway from arterial pulsatility to working memory performance via both MD and RaD measures was significant in this group. Interestingly, a comparison of CV+ and CV− subgroups showed that this mediating relationship was only evident in older adults with at least one CV risk factor. These findings are consistent with cardiovascular risk factors as underlying arterial, white matter, and cognitive decline in cognitively normal older adults.
Understanding brand loyalty - The case of the eSports consumer from a relationship quality perspective

Recently, the market of eSports continues to grow in popularity and value. Due to its rapid development a better understanding of the consumers’ side of the eSports markets is important to meet its changing demands. In that context, it is especially important to gain a better understanding of loyalty towards eSports brands. Based on assumptions of the relationship quality perspective, we attempt to improve the understanding of loyalty towards an eSports brand using relationship quality (i.e., trust, identification, reputation, affect) and its antecedents (i.e., age, consumer similarity, attractiveness). Accordingly, we collected a sample with 216 eSports consumers to explain consumer loyalty using a structural equation modelling approach. Results show support for the postulated meaningfulness of relationship quality and attractiveness of the brand as predictors of consumer loyalty. Additionally, we reveal that consumer similarity and attractiveness have the potential to explain relationship quality in a positive fashion, contrary to age.
Cell wall polysaccharides from Australian red algae of the family Solieriaceae (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta): iota/kappa/beta-carrageenans from Melanema dumosum

The cell wall galactan from Melanema abumosurn (Harvey) Min-Thein et Womersley collected from south-eastern Australia was extracted (46% w/w yield) and analysed by chemical and physical methods. The preparation has a high sulphate ester content (26.9% w/w as SO3Na) and the dominant constituent sugars of the sample are galactose and 3,6-anhydrogalactose in approximately equimolar proportions. Small amounts of xylose and glucose are also present. No mono-O-methylgalactose or pyruvate was detected. Evidence from infrared and C-13-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicates that the polysaccharide is a hybrid or mixture of iota (iota)-, kappa (kappa)- and beta (beta)-carrageenans. The chemistry of the polysaccharide from M. dumosum is compared with that of polysaccharides from species of the Solieriaceae and the Caulacanthaceae. We conclude from the polysaccharide data that, although Melanema dumosum may not be closely allied to the genera Areschougia, Rhabdonia and Erythroclonium, it can be retained provisionally in the family Solieriaceae, although its possible inclusion in the Caulacanthaceae cannot be dismissed.
Intelligent Multirobot Navigation and Arrival-Time Control Using a Scalable PSO-Optimized Hierarchical Controller

We present a hierarchical fuzzy logic system for precision coordination of multiple mobile agents such that they achieve simultaneous arrival at their destination positions in a cluttered urban environment. We assume that each agent is equipped with a 2D scanning Lidar to make movement decisions based on local distance and bearing information. Two solution approaches are considered and compared. Both of them are structured around a hierarchical arrangement of control modules to enable synchronization of the agents' arrival times while avoiding collision with obstacles. The proposed control module controls both moving speeds and directions of the robots to achieve the simultaneous target-reaching task. The control system consists of two levels: the lower-level individual navigation control for obstacle avoidance and the higher-level coordination control to ensure the same time of arrival for all robots at their target. The first approach is based on cascading fuzzy logic controllers, and the second approach considers the use of a Long Short-Term Memory recurrent neural network module alongside fuzzy logic controllers. The parameters of all the controllers are optimized using the particle swarm optimization algorithm. To increase the scalability of the proposed control modules, an interpolation method is introduced to determine the velocity scaling factors and the searching directions of the robots. A physics-based simulator, Webots, is used as a training and testing environment for the two learning models to facilitate the deployment of codes to hardware, which will be conducted in the next phase of our research.
EyeCerts

In this paper, we propose EyeCerts, a biometric system for the identification of people which achieves offline verification of certified, cryptographically secure documents. An EyeCert is a printed document which certifies the association of content on the document with a biometric feature-a compressed version of a human iris in this work. The system is highly cost-effective since it does not require high complexity, hard-to-replicate printing technologies. Further, the device used to verify an EyeCert is inexpensive, estimated to have approximately the same cost as an off-the-shelf iris-scanning camera. As a central component of the EyeCert system, we present an iris analysis technique that aims to extract and compress the unique features of a given iris with a discrimination criterion using limited storage. The compressed features should be at maximal distance with respect to a reference iris image database. The iris analysis algorithm performs several steps in three main phases: 1) the algorithm detects the human iris by using a new model which is able to compensate for the noise introduced by the surrounding eyelashes and eyelids, 2) it converts the isolated iris using a modified Fourier-Mellin transform into a standard domain where the common radial patterns of the human iris are concisely represented, and 3) it optimally selects, aligns, and near-optimally compresses the most distinctive transform coefficients for each individual user. Using a low-quality imaging system (sub-U.S.$100), a /spl chi//sup 2/ error distribution model, and assuming a fixed false negatives rate of 5%, EyeCert caused false positives at rates better than 10/sup -5/ and as low as 10/sup -30/ for certain users.
Rapid regeneration of Enicostemma littorale Blume from leaf and stem cultures

Abstract A high frequency and rapid regeneration protocol was developed from leaf and nodal explants of Enicostemma littorale Blume on MS medium supplemented with 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP; 3 mg/l) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA; 1 mg/l). Maximum number of shoots was obtained on medium containing BAP. The regenerated shoots were further elongated on the medium having GA3. In vitro shoots were then excised and transferred to rooting medium containing IAA or IBA (0.5–1.0 mg/l). The rooted plantlets were hardened in polycups containing sterile soil and vermiculite (1:1). Plantlets, thus obtained were finally transferred to a greenhouse. The plantlets showed high survival rate (80%) in the soil.
Maximum Security

From the Publisher: Maximum Security, Third Edition provides comprehensive, platform-by-platform coverage of security issues and includes clear, to the point descriptions of the most common techniques hackers use to penetrate systems. In one book, security managers and others interested in computer and network security can learn everything the hackers already know, and then take steps to protect their systems.
Evaluation of Cactus Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) as Forage in a High Concentrate Total Mixed Ration on Finishing Lambs

Abstract Pinos-Rodríguez, J.M. , Velásquez-Bianco, J.C. , González-Muñoz, S.S. , García-López, J.C. , Aguirre-Rivera, J.R. and Bárcena, R. 2007. Evaluation of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) as forage in a high concentrate total mixed ration on finishing lambs. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 32: 161–164. A study was conducted to compare two total mixed rations with similar level of NDF using cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) or alfalfa as forages, in a high level concentrate rations on (i) growth performance in finishing lambs, (ii) nutrients in vivo digestibility and N and energy balance and (iii) ruminal pH and volatile fatty acid (VFA). The high moisture level of cactus pear limited its incorporation in the ration, which was less than 2% of DM, compared to 12% of alfalfa hay. Average daily gain, dry matter intake, N, energy balance and ruminal pH in lambs fed on a ration containing cactus pear were lower than those fed on alfalfa hay as forage. The inclusion of 1.6% (DM basis) of cactus pear in the ration was not an appropriate level to consider the cactus pear as sole forage source for lambs.