Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global Neural Activities Changes under Human Inhibitory Control Using Translational Scenario

This study presents a new approach to exploring human inhibition in a realistic scenario. In previous inhibition studies, the stimulus design of go/no-go task generally used a simple symbol for the go and stop signals. We can understand the neural activity of inhibition through simple symbol scenario. In the real world, situations of human inhibition are more complex than performing an experiment in the laboratory scale. How to explore the neural activities of inhibition in a realistic environment is more complex. Consequently, we designed a battlefield scenario to investigate the neural activities of inhibition in a more realistic environmental setting. The battlefield scenario provides stronger emotion, motivation and real-world experiences for participants during inhibition. In the battlefield scenario, the signs of fixation, go and stop were replaced by images of a sniper scope, a target and a non-target. The battlefield scenario is a shooting game between the enemy and the soldiers. In battlefield scenario participants played the role of the soldiers for shooting target and to stop shooting when a non-target appeared. Electroencephalography (EEG) signals from twenty participants were acquired and analyzed using independent component analysis (ICA) and dipole source localization method. The results of event-related potential (ERP) showed a significant modulation of the peaks N1, N2 and P3 in the frontal and cingulate cortices under inhibitory control. The partially overlapping ERP N2 and P3 waves were associated with inhibition in the frontal cortex. The ERP N2, N1 and P3 waves in the cingulate cortex are related to sustained attention, motivation, emotion and inhibitory control. In addition, the event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) results shows that the powers of the delta and theta bands increased significantly in the frontal and cingulate cortices under human inhibitory control. The EEG-ERP waves and power spectra in the frontal and cingulate cortices were found more increased than in the parietal, occipital, left and right motor cortices after successful stop. These findings provide new insights to understand the global neural activities changes during human inhibitory control with realistic environmental scenario.
Effect of vascularized periosteum on revitalization of massive bone isografts: An experimental study in a rabbit model

In the last years, limb salvage has become the gold standard treatment over amputation. Today, 90% of extremity osteogenic sarcomas can be treated with limb salvage surgery. However, these reconstructions are not exempt from complications. Massive allografts have been associated to high risk of nonunion (12–57%), fracture (7–30%) and infection (5–21%). Association of vascularized periosteum flap to a massive bone allograft (MBA) has shown to halve the average time of allograft union in clinical series, even compared to vascularized fibular flap. Creeping substitution process has been reported in massive allograft when periosteum flap was associated. However, we have little data about whether it results into allograft revitalization. We hypothesize that the association of a periosteum flap to a bone isograft promotes isograft revitalization, defined as the colonization of the devitalized bone by new‐form vessels and viable osteocytes, turning it vital.
Pose-Guided Person Image Synthesis in the Non-Iconic Views

Generating realistic images with the guidance of reference images and human poses is challenging. Despite the success of previous works on synthesizing person images in the iconic views, no efforts are made towards the task of pose-guided image synthesis in the non-iconic views. Particularly, we find that previous models cannot handle such a complex task, where the person images are captured in the non-iconic views by commercially-available digital cameras. To this end, we propose a new framework – Multi-branch Refinement Network (MR-Net), which utilizes several visual cues, including target person poses, foreground person body and scene images parsed. Furthermore, a novel Region of Interest (RoI) perceptual loss is proposed to optimize the MR-Net. Extensive experiments on two non-iconic datasets, Penn Action and BBC-Pose, as well as an iconic dataset – Market-1501, show the efficacy of the proposed model that can tackle the problem of pose-guided person image generation from the non-iconic views. The data, models, and codes are downloadable from https://github.com/loadder/MR-Net.
Seeing into the future: The role of future-oriented coping and daily stress appraisal in relation to a future stressor.

Recent research has identified the value of distinguishing between employee's appraisals of their work-based challenge, hindrance, and threat job demands, and of how employee's future-oriented coping is associated with key occupational outcomes. The current study extends this research by assessing the extent to which employee's proactive and preventive coping techniques each directly and indirectly predicted challenge, hindrance, and threat appraisals. Utilising a daily diary design, 89 undergraduate students completed five daily surveys focused on a common future stressor. Results suggested daily appraisals do not change as much as expected, with only challenge appraisals reducing across the five-day period. However, both proactive and preventive coping moderated daily stress appraisals, such that when proactive coping was high, challenge appraisals increased, and hindrance appraisals decreased. Similarly, preventive coping appeared to reduce both hindrance and threat appraisals. Theoretical and practical implications of the multi-level and dynamic nature of appraisals and future-oriented coping are discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Human Adenovirus B7d–Associated Urethritis after Suspected Sexual Transmission, Japan

Outbreaks of acute respiratory disease associated with human adenovirus (HAdV) B7d have been reported, including fatal cases in the United States. In 2018, we detected HAdV-B7d in a patient with urethritis, probably transmitted through sexual contact. Infectious HAdV-B7d was excreted in urine and gargle for >10 days after the disappearance of symptoms.
Assessing impacts of human-elephant conflict on human wellbeing: An empirical analysis of communities living with elephants around Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya

Human-elephant conflict is an often intractable problem that threatens the contribution of conservation interventions to human wellbeing and securing livelihoods in Africa and Asia. Local human populations living in key elephant ranges are among the world’s most poor and vulnerable people. In efforts to address this problem, previous studies have mainly focused on the direct impacts of conflict and applied standard regression models based on the assumption of individual-level homogeneity. More recently, human-elephant conflict has been seen to extend well beyond the physical, to the psychological and social sides of wellbeing. However, the impacts on human wellbeing have not been robustly explored, especially for local communities co-existing with elephants. We evaluated the impacts of conflicts on the wellbeing of local communities around the world-famous Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. We conducted 18 focus group discussions with 120 community members in different locations and administered a questionnaire survey to 367 sampled households from 26 sub-locations in Trans Mara. We used descriptive statistics with appropriate statistical tests, including propensity score matching, to evaluate the impacts of conflict on human wellbeing. Before matching, the results of the descriptive statistics showed differences between households experiencing conflicts and those without in terms of gender, age, education level, household size, benefiting from elephant conservation, main occupation and number of income sources. Our matching results indicate the existence of a significant negative and positive impacts on four and one of our eight wellbeing indicators for households that experienced conflicts, respectively. Better conflict mitigation approaches and conservation policies need to be adopted to realize the harmonious and concurrent development of ecological and wellbeing objectives.
Sex-determining region Y-box 2-positive alveolar cells are responsive to bleomycin-induced lung injury

As an important barrier, the pulmonary alveolar epithelium plays an important role in lung gas exchange and host defense. The alveolar epithelium is mainly comprised of alveolar type I (AT1) and type II (AT2) cells that are tightly connected to maintain the integrity of the alveolar epithelium. There are several kinds of stem/progenitor cells capable of repairing the adult alveolar epithelium in response to various injuries. Kim and colleagues identified bronchioalveolar stem cells (BASCs) that are capable of differentiating into alveolar cells and airway cells. In addition, a subset of alveolar cells expressing the laminin receptor a6b4 but not surfactant protein C (SPC) was able to regenerate into AT2 cells upon bleomycin-induced lung injury. Rare keratin 5-positive basal cells give rise to alveolar epithelial lineages after influenza infection. Sex-determining region Y-box 2 (Sox2) is a transcription factor that maintains and regulates self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic stem cells. The functional roles of Sox2 in the repair of alveolar epithelium injuries remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether the alveolar cells expressing Sox2 are involved in alveolar epithelial repair.
Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke

Objectives: Concise “synthetic” review of the state of the art of management of acute ischemic stroke. Data Sources: Available literature on PubMed. Study Selection: We selected landmark studies, recent clinical trials, observational studies, and professional guidelines on the management of stroke including the last 10 years. Data Extraction: Eligible studies were identified and results leading to guideline recommendations were summarized. Data Synthesis: Stroke mortality has been declining over the past 6 decades, and as a result, stroke has fallen from the second to the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. This trend may follow recent advances in the management of stroke, which highlight the importance of early recognition and early revascularization. Recent studies have shown that early recognition, emergency interventional treatment of acute ischemic stroke, and treatment in dedicated stroke centers can significantly reduce stroke-related morbidity and mortality. However, stroke remains the second leading cause of death worldwide and the number one cause for acquired long-term disability, resulting in a global annual economic burden. Conclusions: Appropriate treatment of ischemic stroke is essential in the reduction of mortality and morbidity. Management of stroke involves a multidisciplinary approach that starts and extends beyond hospital admission.
Rubisco activase requires residues in the large subunit N terminus to remodel inhibited plant Rubisco

The photosynthetic CO2 fixing enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) forms dead-end inhibited complexes while binding multiple sugar phosphates, including its substrate ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate. Rubisco can be rescued from this inhibited form by molecular chaperones belonging to the ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA+ proteins) termed Rubisco activases (Rcas). The mechanism of green-type Rca found in higher plants has proved elusive, in part because until recently higher-plant Rubiscos could not be expressed recombinantly. Identifying the interaction sites between Rubisco and Rca is critical to formulate mechanistic hypotheses. Toward that end here we purify and characterize a suite of 33 Arabidopsis Rubisco mutants for their ability to be activated by Rca. Mutation of 17 surface-exposed large subunit residues did not yield variants that were perturbed in their interaction with Rca. In contrast, we find that Rca activity is highly sensitive to truncations and mutations in the conserved N terminus of the Rubisco large subunit. Large subunits lacking residues 1–4 are functional Rubiscos but cannot be activated. Both T5A and T7A substitutions result in functional carboxylases that are poorly activated by Rca, indicating the side chains of these residues form a critical interaction with the chaperone. Many other AAA+ proteins function by threading macromolecules through a central pore of a disc-shaped hexamer. Our results are consistent with a model in which Rca transiently threads the Rubisco large subunit N terminus through the axial pore of the AAA+ hexamer.
Variational Bayesian Pansharpening with Super-Gaussian Sparse Image Priors

Pansharpening is a technique that fuses a low spatial resolution multispectral image and a high spatial resolution panchromatic one to obtain a multispectral image with the spatial resolution of the latter while preserving the spectral information of the multispectral image. In this paper we propose a variational Bayesian methodology for pansharpening. The proposed methodology uses the sensor characteristics to model the observation process and Super-Gaussian sparse image priors on the expected characteristics of the pansharpened image. The pansharpened image, as well as all model and variational parameters, are estimated within the proposed methodology. Using real and synthetic data, the quality of the pansharpened images is assessed both visually and quantitatively and compared with other pansharpening methods. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness, efficiency, and flexibility of the proposed formulation.
Solution NMR structure of Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface lipoprotein BBP28, a member of the mlp protein family

Lyme disease is the most widespread vector‐transmitted disease in North America and Europe, caused by infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex spirochetes. We report the solution NMR structure of the B. burgdorferi outer surface lipoprotein BBP28, a member of the multicopy lipoprotein (mlp) family. The structure comprises a tether peptide, five α‐helices and an extended C‐terminal loop. The fold is similar to that of Borrelia turicatae outer surface protein BTA121, which is known to bind lipids. These results contribute to the understanding of Lyme disease pathogenesis by revealing the molecular structure of a protein from the widely found mlp family.
HeadJoystick: Improving Flying in VR Using a Novel Leaning-Based Interface

Flying in virtual reality (VR) using standard handheld controllers can be cumbersome and contribute to unwanted side effects such as motion sickness and disorientation. This article investigates a novel hands-free flying interface—HeadJoystick, where the user moves their head similar to a joystick handle toward the target direction to control virtual translation velocity. The user sits on a regular office swivel chair and rotates it physically to control virtual rotation using 1:1 mapping. We evaluated short-term (Study 1) and extended usage effects through repeated usage (Study 2) of the HeadJoystick versus handheld interfaces in two within-subject studies, where participants flew through a sequence of increasingly difficult tunnels in the sky. Using the HeadJoystick instead of handheld interfaces improved both user experience and performance, in terms of accuracy, precision, ease of learning, ease of use, usability, long-term use, presence, immersion, sensation of self-motion, workload, and enjoyment in both studies. These findings demonstrate the benefits of using leaning-based interfaces for VR flying and potentially similar telepresence applications such as remote flight with quadcopter drones. From a theoretical perspective, we also show how leaning-based motion cueing interacts with full physical rotation to improve user experience and performance compared to the gamepad.
Gastric Juice Expression of Th-17 and T-Reg Related Cytokines in Scleroderma Esophageal Involvement

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder which key feature is a fibrotic process. The role of Endothelin-1 (ET-1) and T-helper (Th)-1 cells in lung and skin fibrosis is well known, although Th17- and Treg-cells were found to be involved. However, no studies analyzed cytokines expression in gastric-juice of SSc patients. Our study aimed to evaluate proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines in gastric-juice of SSc patients and to investigate their correlations with esophageal dysmotility. Methods: Patients performed upper-gastrointestinal-endoscopy with gastric-juice collection, esophageal manometry and thoracic CT-scan. GM-CSF, ET-1, Th-1 (IFN-γ, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6, IL-9), Th-17 (IL-17, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23) and T-reg (IL-10, TGF-β) related cytokines were measured in 29 SSc-patients and 20 healthy-controls. Results: Patients showed significant lower levels of IL-6, IL-17, IL-22 and ET-1 (p < 0.005) compared with controls. Patients with atrophic gastritis presented significant lower levels of IL-2, IL-9, IL-6, TGF-β, GM-CSF, IL-17 and ET-1 (p < 0.005) compared to patients without gastritis. Increased values of IL-2, IL-9, IL-1β, IL-17, ET-1 and GM-CSF (p < 0.005) were observed in patients with esophageal impairment. This is the first report of cytokines measurement in gastric juice of patients with SSc. The high IL-17 concentrations in gastric-juice of scleroderma patients with esophageal dysmotility support the signature of Th-17 cells in scleroderma esophageal fibrosis.
Detrital food web contributes to aquatic ecosystem productivity and rapid salmon growth in a managed floodplain

Similar to many large river valleys globally, the Sacramento River Valley has been extensively drained and leveed, hydrologically divorcing river channels from most floodplains. Today, the former floodplain is extensively managed for agriculture. Lack of access to inundated floodplains is recognized as a significant contributing factor in the decline of native Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). We observed differences in salmon growth rate, invertebrate density, and carbon source in food webs from three aquatic habitat types—leveed river channels, perennial drainage canals in the floodplain, and agricultural floodplain wetlands. Over 23 days (17 February to 11 March, 2016) food web structure and juvenile Chinook Salmon growth rates were studied within the three aquatic habitat types. Zooplankton densities on the floodplain wetland were 53x more abundant, on average, than in the river. Juvenile Chinook Salmon raised on the floodplain wetland grew at 0.92 mm/day, 5x faster than fish raised in the adjacent river habitat (0.18 mm/day). Two aquatic-ecosystem modeling methods were used to partition the sources of carbon (detrital or photosynthetic) within the different habitats. Both modeling approaches found that carbon in the floodplain wetland food web was sourced primarily from detrital sources through heterotrophic pathways, while carbon in the river was primarily photosynthetic and sourced from in situ autotrophic production. Hydrologic conditions typifying the ephemerally inundated floodplain—shallower depths, warmer water, longer water residence times and predominantly detrital carbon sources compared to deeper, colder, swifter water and a predominantly algal-based carbon source in the adjacent river channel—appear to facilitate the dramatically higher rates of food web production observed in the floodplain. These results suggest that hydrologic patterns associated with seasonal flooding facilitate river food webs to access floodplain carbon sources that contribute to highly productive heterotrophic energy pathways important to the production of fisheries resources.
Effect of Extrusion Screw Speed and Plasticizer Proportions on the Rheological, Thermal, Mechanical, Morphological and Superficial Properties of PLA

One of the critical processing parameters—the speed of the extrusion process for plasticized poly (lactic acid) (PLA)—was investigated in the presence of acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC) as plasticizer. The mixtures were obtained by varying the content of plasticizer (ATBC, 10–30% by weight), using a twin screw extruder as a processing medium for which a temperature profile with peak was established that ended at 160 °C, two mixing zones and different screw rotation speeds (60 and 150 rpm). To evaluate the thermo-mechanical properties of the blend and hydrophilicity, the miscibility of the plasticizing and PLA matrix, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), oscillatory rheological analysis, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), mechanical analysis, as well as the contact angle were tested. The results derived from the oscillatory rheological analysis had a viscous behavior in the PLA samples with the presence of ATBC; the lower process speed promotes the transitions from viscous to elastic as well as higher values of loss modulus, storage modulus and complex viscosity, which means less loss of molecular weight and lower residual energy in the transition from the viscous state to the elastic state. The mechanical and thermal performance was optimized considering a greater capacity in the energy absorption and integration of the components.
Time to exploit phenotypic plasticity

This article comments on: Diouf I, Derivot L, Koussevitzky S, Carretero Y, Bitton F, Moreau L, Causse M. 2020. Genetic basis of phenotypic plasticity and genotype×environment interaction in a multi-parental tomato population. Journal of Experimental Botany 71, 5365–5376.
Template Synthesis of Porous Ceria-Based Catalysts for Environmental Application

Porous oxide materials are widely used in environmental catalysis owing to their outstanding properties such as high specific surface area, enhanced mass transport and diffusion, and accessibility of active sites. Oxides of metals with variable oxidation state such as ceria and double oxides based on ceria also provide high oxygen storage capacity which is important in a huge number of oxidation processes. The outstanding progress in the development of hierarchically organized porous oxide catalysts relates to the use of template synthetic methods. Single and mixed oxides with enhanced porous structure can serve both as supports for the catalysts of different nature and active components for catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds, soot particles and other environmentally dangerous components of exhaust gases, in hydrocarbons reforming, water gas shift reaction and photocatalytic transformations. This review highlights the recent progress in synthetic strategies using different types of templates (artificial and biological, hard and soft), including combined ones, in the preparation of single and mixed oxide catalysts based on ceria, and provides examples of their application in the main areas of environmental catalysis.
Macrolide-Resistant Bordetella pertussis, Vietnam, 2016−2017

Macrolide-resistant Bordetella pertussis emerged in Vietnam during 2016−2017. Direct analyses of swab samples from 10 patients with pertussis revealed a macrolide-resistant mutation, A2047G, in the 23S rRNA. We identified the MT104 genotype of macrolide-resistant B. pertussis (which is prevalent in mainland China) and its variants in these patients.