Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Virulence status, viral accommodation and structural protein profiles of white spot syndrome virus isolates in farmed Penaeus monodon from the southeast coast of India

The objective of this study was to investigate the reason for variation in the virulence of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) from diierent shrimp farms in the Southeast coast of India. Six isolates of WSSV from farms experiencing outbreaks (virulent WSSV; vWSSV) and three isolates of WSSV from farms that had infected shrimps but no outbreaks (non-virulent WSSV; nvWSSV) were collected from diierent farms in the Southeast coast of India. The sampled animals were all positive for WSSV by ¢rst-step PCR. The viral isolates were compared using histopathology, electron microscopy, SDS-PAGE analysis of viral structural proteins, an in vivo infectivity experiment and sequence comparison of major structural protein VP28; there were no diierences between isolates in these analyses. A signi¢cant observation was that the haemolymph protein pro¢le of nvWSSV-infected shrimps showed three extra polypeptide bands at 41, 33 and 24 kDa that were not found in the haemolymph protein pro¢le of vWSSV-infected shrimps. The data obtained in this study suggest that the observed diierence in the virulence of WSSV may not be due to any change in the virus, rather it could be due to the shrimp defence system producing certain factors that help it to accommodate the virus without causing any mortality.
Epigenome-wide cross-tissue correlation of human bone and blood DNA methylation – can blood be used as a surrogate for bone?

ABSTRACT Difficulty in obtaining bone tissue is an obstacle to studying epigenetics to understand gene–environment interactions, and their role in disease pathogenesis. Blood is an obvious alternative and in this proof of principle study, our aim was to systematically investigate whether blood is a viable surrogate for bone. We measured epigenome-wide DNA methylation at 850 K CpG sites in matched trabecular bone and peripheral blood collected from the same patients at the same time-point (n = 12 women; 66–85y), to investigate the between-tissue correspondence. What constituted a CpG site with corresponding methylation in both tissues was stringently defined. Only sites highly correlated (r2 > 0.74; FDR q-value <0.05) and at least 80% similarity in methylation level (Δβ <0.2) between paired samples were retained. In total, 28,549 CpG sites were similarly methylated in bone and blood. Between 33% and 49% of loci associated with bone phenotypes through GWAS were represented among these sites, and major pathways relevant to bone regulation were enriched. The results from this study indicate that blood can mirror the bone methylome and capture sites related to bone regulation. This study shows that in principal, peripheral blood is a feasible surrogate for bone tissue in DNA methylation investigations. As the first step, this will provide a platform for future studies in bone epigenetics, and possibly for larger-scale epidemiological studies.
Divergência genética e índice de seleção via BLUP em acessos de algodoeiro para características tecnológicas da fibra

Technological cotton fiber traits are essential for the quality and remuneration of its products. This study aimed to estimate the genetic divergence among cotton accessions and assort the best ones, based in a selection index combining all the important traits. A total of 248 cotton accessions were evaluated using multivariate analysis (Mahalanobis distance and Tocher grouping) and a selection index based in average rank via mixed models (REML/BLUP). The Tocher grouping analysis enabled the structuring of the accessions population by allocating them into 14 divergent groups. Selective accuracies were high for all traits, ranging from 0.89 to 0.94, indicating a favorable scenario for selection. Genetic correlations among the six traits were moderate to low, making impossible the breeding of a trait, via indirect selection, in another. The simultaneous selection for fiber traits, concerning the Mulamba and Mock selection index, showed to be promising. The best accessions for the six traits were simultaneously the 4S180, C96480, Giza75, 196Lasani11, Brown Egyptian, Early Fluff 316, C268-80 and 207MG-82607.
Different eGFR Decline Thresholds and Renal Effects of Canagliflozin: Data from the CANVAS Program.

BACKGROUND Traditionally, clinical trials evaluating effects of a new therapy with creatinine-based renal end points use doubling of serum creatinine (equivalent to a 57% eGFR reduction), requiring large sample sizes. METHODS To assess whether eGFR declines <57% could detect canagliflozin's effects on renal outcomes, we conducted a post hoc study comparing effects of canagliflozin versus placebo on composite renal outcomes using sustained 57%, 50%, 40%, or 30% eGFR reductions in conjunction with ESKD and renal death. Because canagliflozin causes an acute reversible hemodynamic decline in eGFR, we made estimates using all eGFR values as well as estimates that excluded early measures of eGFR influenced by the acute hemodynamic effect. RESULTS Among the 10,142 participants, 93 (0.9%), 161 (1.6%), 352 (3.5%), and 800 (7.9%) participants recorded renal outcomes on the basis of 57%, 50%, 40%, or 30% eGFR reduction, respectively, during a mean follow-up of 188 weeks. Compared with a 57% eGFR reduction (risk ratio [RR], 0.51; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.34 to 0.77), the effect sizes were progressively attenuated when using 50% (RR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.83), 40% (RR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.86), or 30% (RR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.93) eGFR reductions. In analyses that controlled for the acute hemodynamic fall in eGFR, effect sizes were comparable, regardless of whether a 57%, 50%, 40%, or 30% eGFR reduction was used. Estimated sample sizes for studies on the basis of lesser eGFR reductions were much reduced by controlling for this early hemodynamic effect. CONCLUSIONS Declines in eGFR <57% may provide robust estimates of canagliflozin's effects on renal outcomes if the analysis controls for the drug's acute hemodynamic effect. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY NAME AND REGISTRATION NUMBER CANagliflozin cardioVascular Assessment Study (CANVAS), NCT01032629 and CANVAS-R, NCT01989754.
Wideband direction finding method of passive radar seeker based on circular array phase interferometer

In a wideband passive radar seeker(PRS) system,there exists angle ambiguity when a phase interferometer is used for direction finding.The ambiguity resolution method based on multi-baseline is restricted by less antenna array volume and large antenna cell dimension.In order to solve this problem,a fast wideband ambiguity resolution method based on circular array phase interferometer is proposed,which chooses a pair of reference baselines according to the incident signal to assure omnidirectional high measurement precision.Simulation results show the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Duloxetine improves cancer-associated pain in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer via stimulation of noradrenaline pathway and its antitumor effects.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis. Patients with inoperative PDAC require effective chemotherapy and pain control to increase their quality of life. We investigated whether duloxetine, a serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, improves quality of life in a KPPC (LSL-Kras;Trp53;Pdx1-cre) mouse model of PDAC. Six-week-old KPPC mice were orally administered 4 mg/kg/day duloxetine (n=12); 4 mg/kg/day duloxetine with 0.15 mg/kg/day atipamezole, a synthetic α2 adrenergic receptor antagonist (n=9); or vehicle water (n=11). Body weight and food intake were measured daily, and cancer pain was evaluated by the hunching score and mouse grimace scale (MGS). At the endpoint, the tumor status, angiogenesis, and immunoinflammatory condition were analyzed. The pain level using the hunching and MGS scores improved by duloxetine in KPPC mice (P<0.01), whereas the scores that had been reduced by duloxetine were elevated by administration of atipamezole. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that duloxetine-treated mice had significantly prolonged survival (P<0.05) with delayed appetite loss, cachexia, and body weight loss. Duloxetine inhibited the proliferation of PDAC cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts in vivo with a shift into an antitumor immunoinflammatory condition and the corresponding plasma cytokine levels. The migrative/invasive potentials of PDAC were inhibited by duloxetine in vitro. Meanwhile, atipamezole did not inhibit the antitumor effects of duloxetine in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, our results indicate that duloxetine mainly improves cancer-associated pain by enhancement of the noradrenergic pathway rather than the serotoninergic pathway, while duloxetine modulates antitumor effects on PDAC without involvement of the noradrenergic pathway.
THE LOWER CAMBRIAN EODISCOID TRILOBITE CALODISCUS LOBATUS FROM SWEDEN: MORPHOLOGY, ONTOGENY AND DISTRIBUTION

Abstract: Several thousand disarticulated remains together with a few complete enrolled specimens of the lower Cambrian eodiscoid trilobite Calodiscus lobatus ( Hall, 1847 ) have been collected at two outcrop areas in Sweden. The material reveals new details of morphology and morphogenesis during ontogenetic development. Size‐frequency analyses show that the material from the Fånån rivulet in Jämtland, central Sweden, represents a natural population dominated by juveniles, whereas the material from Gislövshammar in Scania, southern Sweden, has been sorted during postmortem transport. Three stages of protaspid development can be traced and defined as well as all subsequent ontogenetic stages for the cephalon, hypostome and pygidium. The early meraspid pygidium has a pronounced larval notch, which persists, though becoming progressively less distinct in later meraspides. The number of axial rings in the transitory pygidium increases throughout meraspid development until a third and final thoracic segment is liberated. During ontogeny the articulating half‐rings are strongly developed, and both meraspides and holaspides were capable of full sphaeroidal enrollment and outstretched postures. The hypostome undergoes some dramatic modifications; in M0 the anterior margin is axe‐shaped, by M1 the area of attachment greatly decreases and the hypostome becomes more elongated and pear‐shaped, before attaining its adult form, which has an overall resemblance to that of polymerid trilobites. During ontogeny, the hypostome changes from a conterminant attachment to a natant condition, thereby mirroring hypostomal evolution within trilobites generally. The morphology, ontogeny, enrollment, hypostomal development and the presence of calcified protaspides suggest polymerid rather than agnostoid affinities of the eodiscoids.
The advantages and disadvantages faced by housewife English teachers in the cottage industry Eikaiwa business

The eikaiwa [conversation] business in Japan is a multi-billion dollar industry, and yet very little empirical research has been conducted on its teachers or its students. An online survey focusing on the pedagogical and personal issues of one group of eikaiwa teachers (foreign women who are married to Japanese men) was constructed and distributed. Results from the 31 respondents indicate an ongoing overlapping struggle with their teaching in balancing their families’ personal and financial needs, their relationships with their students, and the gendered constraints imposed upon them by Japanese society. The paper ends with a call for more research of all eikaiwa teachers in more eikaiwa contexts.
Computational Cytology: Lessons Learned from Pap Test Computer-Assisted Screening

Background: In the face of rapid technological advances in computational cytology including artificial intelligence (AI), optimization of its application to clinical practice would benefit from reflection on the lessons learned from the decades-long journey in the development of computer-assisted Pap test screening. Summary: The initial driving force for automated screening in cytology was the overwhelming number of Pap tests requiring manual screening, leading to workflow backlogs and incorrect diagnoses. Several companies invested resources to address these concerns utilizing different specimen processing techniques and imaging systems. However, not all companies were commercially prosperous. Successful implementation of this new technology required viable use cases, improved clinical outcomes, and an acceptable means of integration into the daily workflow of cytopathology laboratories. Several factors including supply and demand, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight, reimbursement, overcoming learning curves and workflow changes associated with the adoption of new technology, and cytologist apprehension, played a significant role in either promoting or preventing the widespread adoption of automated screening technologies. Key Messages: Any change in health care, particularly those involving new technology that impacts clinical workflow, is bound to have its successes and failures. However, perseverance through learning curves, optimizing workflow processes, improvements in diagnostic accuracy, and regulatory and financial approval can facilitate widespread adoption of these technologies. Given their history with successfully implementing automated Pap test screening, cytologists are uniquely positioned to not only help with the development of AI technology for other areas of pathology, but also to guide how they are utilized, regulated, and managed.
Optimization strategy for air traffic flow in multi-airport network

To avoid the airport congestion and reduce flight delays, the paper studied the airport traffic balance from a system perspective at the strategic level. By considering the single-airport approach and departure as well as the correlation between the multi-airport connecting flights, the paper proposed network system on traffic flow which is open and has a direction in multi-airport; the paper set up multiairport open network assignment model which was based on constraint capacity and multiple connecting flights and which minimized the total delay of all flights in the network within the target. The model was simulated which combined on the three major airports’ actual flight data in domestic. Simulation results show that: the proposed model can coordinate and optimize the matching of multiairport network traffic and capacity. It also can minimize the system’s delayed flights based on using of system capacity; the paper can deploy optimization strategy in traffic flow for air traffic control sector and provide supporting decision-making basis for the civil aviation department of the flight plan.
Scaling Bayesian inference: theoretical foundations and practical methods

Bayesian statistical modeling and inference allow scientists, engineers, and companies to learn from data while incorporating prior knowledge, sharing power across experiments via hierarchical models, quantifying their uncertainty about what they have learned, and making predictions about an uncertain future. While Bayesian inference is conceptually straightforward, in practice calculating expectations with respect to the posterior can rarely be done in closed form. Hence, users of Bayesian models must turn to approximate inference methods. But modern statistical applications create many challenges: the latent parameter is often high-dimensional, the models can be complex, and there are large amounts of data that may only be available as a stream or distributed across many computers. Existing algorithm have so far remained unsatisfactory because they either (1) fail to scale to large data sets, (2) provide limited approximation quality, or (3) fail to provide guarantees on the quality of inference. To simultaneously overcome these three possible limitations, I leverage the critical insight that in the large-scale setting, much of the data is redundant. Therefore, it is possible to compress data into a form that admits more efficient inference. I develop two approaches to compressing data for improved scalability. The first is to construct a coreset : a small, weighted subset of our data that is representative of the complete dataset. The second, which I call PASS-GLM, is to construct an exponential family model that approximates the original model. The data is compressed by calculating the finite-dimensional sufficient statistics of the data under the exponential family. An advantage of the compression approach to approximate inference is that an approximate likelihood substitutes for the original likelihood. I show how such approximate likelihoods lend them themselves to a priori analysis and develop general tools for proving when an approximate likelihood will lead to a high-quality approximate posterior. I apply these tools to obtain a priori guarantees on the approximate posteriors produced by PASS-GLM. Finally, for cases when users must rely on algorithms that do not have a priori accuracy guarantees, I develop a method for comparing the quality of the inferences produced by competing algorithms. The method comes equipped with provable guarantees while also being computationally efficient. Thesis Supervisor: Tamara Broderick Title: ITT Career Development Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and
Two Kinds of Exploratory Models

I analyze the exploratory function of two main modeling practices: targetless fictional models and hypothetical perspectival models. In both cases, I argue, modelers invite us to imagine or conceive something about the target system, which is known to be either nonexistent (fictional models) or just hypothetical (in perspectival models). I clarify the kind of imagining or conceiving involved in each modeling practice, and I show how each—in its own right—delivers important modal knowledge. I illustrate these two kinds of exploratory models with Maxwell’s ether model and supersymmetric particle models at the Large Hadron Collider.
Review Label-free detection with high-Q microcavities: a review of biosensing mechanisms for integrated devices

Abstract Optical microcavities that confine light in high-Q resonance promise all of the capabilities required for a successful next-generation microsystem biodetection technology. Label-free detection down to single molecules as well as operation in aqueous environments can be integrated cost-effectively on microchips, together with other photonic components, as well as electronic ones. We provide a comprehensive review of the sensing mechanisms utilized in this emerging field, their physics, engineering and material science aspects, and their application to nanoparticle analysis and biomolecular detection. We survey the most recent developments such as the use of mode splitting for self-referenced measurements, plasmonic nanoantennas for signal enhancements, the use of optical force for nanoparticle manipulation as well as the design of active devices for ultra-sensitive detection. Furthermore, we provide an outlook on the exciting capabilities of functionalized high-Q microcavities in the life sciences.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Alcohol and Drug Misuse Among IPV-Victimized Women: Exploring the Role of Difficulties Regulating Positive Emotions

Alcohol and drug misuse is prevalent and problematic among women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV). Emotional dysfunction has been identified as a key mechanism in the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of alcohol and drug misuse. However, existing research has not considered the role of race/ethnicity in the relations between emotional dysfunction and alcohol and drug misuse. Furthermore, past research in this area has focused almost exclusively on emotional dysfunction stemming from negative (vs. positive) emotions. The goals of the current study were as follows: (a) to explore whether levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions differ among Latina, African American, and White IPV-victimized women, and (b) to examine the moderating role of race/ethnicity in the relations between difficulties regulating positive emotions and alcohol and drug misuse. Participants were 197 IPV-victimized women recruited through the criminal justice system (Mage = 36.14; 51.8% African American, 31.5% White, and 16.8% Latina). Difficulties regulating positive emotions did not differ as a function of race/ethnicity. However, relations among difficulties regulating positive emotions and alcohol and drug misuse were significant for Latina and White but not African American IPV-victimized women. Moreover, race/ethnicity moderated an association between difficulties regulating positive emotions and drug misuse; this relation was significant and positive for White (compared with African American) IPV-victimized women. While preliminary, these results may inform culturally sensitive interventions for alcohol and drug misuse that are tailored to the unique needs of Latina, African American, and White IPV-victimized women.
Patterns of ichthyofaunal diversity and distribution across Jebba Hydro-Electric Power (HEP) dam, Jebba, north-central Nigeria.

The ichthyofauna diversity of the Jebba Hydroelectric Power (HEP) Dam, Jebba, North-central Nigeria was studied. Fishes were sampled for 24 months using gill net, hook and line, and cast net. Individuals were identified using morphological and molecular (mitochondrial Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I) data. A total of 9605 freshwater fishes were recorded during the sampling period. The use of an integrative taxonomic approach enabled the identification of 83 species belonging to 42 genera. Additionally, the study recorded three unidentified species - Ctenopoma sp, Malapterurus sp. , and Protopterus sp. Analyses showed that individuals belonging to families Cichlidae and Mochokidae dominated the dam. The diversity analyses revealed relatively high fish diversity during the rainy season at the downstream section of Jebba HEP dam compared to the upstream section. The study, therefore, showed the presence of a diverse fish community comprising high species richness and diversity across the Jebba HEP dam. Finally, we recommend proper biodiversity monitoring and assessment of freshwater fish diversity across Nigeria. In addition, the use of an integrated taxonomic approach is recommended for appropriate species' identification and studies of freshwater fishes from Nigeria.
Apartheid education legacies and new directions in post-apartheid South Africa

Questo saggio prende in considerazione i retaggi della educazione dell’apartheid e le nuove direttive entrate in vigore dal 1994, innanzitutto problematizzando il concetto di retaggio dell’apartheid e poi esaminandolo all’interno del piu vasto contesto storico che vede l’emergere di un sistema di scolarizzazione di massa differenziato su base razziale, nelle particolari condizioni politiche ed economiche del Novecento. I principali retaggi che la nuova politica del periodo post-apartheid si proponeva di affrontare comprendevano: 1) i finanziamenti, l’organizzazione e le risorse diseguali riservati alle diverse razze; 2) la scarsa qualita dell’istruzione per la popolazione nera; 3) l’alto livello di disoccupazione giovanile; 4) i bassi livelli di partecipazione all’educazione degli adulti e all’istruzione tecnica e superiore. Il saggio mostra come le nuove iniziative per la riorganizzazione dell’istruzione, la politica sul personale docente, il curriculum, lo sviluppo delle compe- tenze e l’istruzione superiore siano state prese in condizioni economiche e politiche particolari e dimostra che non hanno modificato marcate diseguaglianze e non hanno segnato una discontinuita rispetto ai risultati dell’apprendimento. Contrariamente alle posizioni di chi nega l’apartheid, questa contraddizione e spiegata in rapporto alla forte presenza del passato nel presente, alla contraddizione fra intenti educativi e risultati, e al ruolo subordinato dell’istruzione in qualunque ordine sociale.