Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mixed Fortunes: Ancient Expansion and Recent Decline in Population Size of a Subtropical Montane Primate, the Arunachal Macaque Macaca munzala

Quaternary glacial oscillations are known to have caused population size fluctuations in many temperate species. Species from subtropical and tropical regions are, however, considerably less studied, despite representing most of the biodiversity hotspots in the world including many highly threatened by anthropogenic activities such as hunting. These regions, consequently, pose a significant knowledge gap in terms of how their fauna have typically responded to past climatic changes. We studied an endangered primate, the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala, from the subtropical southern edge of the Tibetan plateau, a part of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, also known to be highly threatened due to rampant hunting. We employed a 534 bp-long mitochondrial DNA sequence and 22 autosomal microsatellite loci to investigate the factors that have potentially shaped the demographic history of the species. Analysing the genetic data with traditional statistical methods and advance Bayesian inferential approaches, we demonstrate a limited effect of past glacial fluctuations on the demographic history of the species before the last glacial maximum, approximately 20,000 years ago. This was, however, immediately followed by a significant population expansion possibly due to warmer climatic conditions, approximately 15,000 years ago. These changes may thus represent an apparent balance between that displayed by the relatively climatically stable tropics and those of the more severe, temperate environments of the past. This study also draws attention to the possibility that a cold-tolerant species like the Arunachal macaque, which could withstand historical climate fluctuations and grow once the climate became conducive, may actually be extremely vulnerable to anthropogenic exploitation, as is perhaps indicated by its Holocene ca. 30-fold population decline, approximately 3,500 years ago. Our study thus provides a quantitative appraisal of these demographically important events, emphasising the ability to potentially infer the occurrence of two separate historical events from contemporary genetic data.
Kaempferol protects ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in mice via pro-inflammatory cytokines and NO

Gastric ulcers (GUs) are common pathologies that affect many people around the world. Excessive alcohol consumption is one of the main causes of GUs; however, there are still lack of effective drugs for the prevention or therapy of GUs. In this study, we evaluated the protective effects and possible mechanisms of kaempferol (KAE) against acute ethanol-induced lesions to the gastric mucosa in mice. Fasted mice were orally given vehicle (0.9% saline), omeprazole (20 mg/kg), or KAE (40, 80, or 160 mg/kg) for 1 h in different experimental sets prior to the establishment of the GU model by challenge with absolute ethanol (10 ml/kg). Animals were euthanized 1 h after ethanol intake, and their plasma and stomach tissues were subject to further examination. Macroscopic and microscopic lesions, and immunological and biochemical parameters were observed. The effects of inflammation were investigated using the following indicators: tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, myeloperoxidase (MPO), and nitric oxide (NO). Results showed that KAE significantly decreased the ulcer index, increased the preventive index, completely protected the mucosa from lesions, and preserved gastric mucosal glycoprotein. KAE decreased MPO activity and pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, and IL-1β) levels, and improved NO levels. The gastroprotective activity of KAE might be attributed to the preservation of gastric mucous glycoproteins levels, thus by inhibiting neutrophil accumulation and MPO activity, adjusting the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and improving NO production.
Right ventricular-vascular coupling in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and pre- vs. post-capillary pulmonary hypertension

Aims Many patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) develop post-capillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to increased left-sided filling pressures. However, a subset of patients develops combined post- and pre-capillary PH. We studied the value of echocardiographic right-sided characterization for the discrimination between pre- vs. post-capillary PH in HFpEF, using invasive haemodynamics as gold standard. Methods and results 102 consecutive HFpEF patients with simultaneous right heart catheterization and echocardiography were identified. Patients were divided into: 'no PH', 'isolated post-capillary PH', and 'post- and pre-capillary PH'. Systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (SPAP), tricuspid valve annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), right ventricular-vascular coupling (TAPSE/SPAP), and VO2-max were assessed. Primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. A total of 97 patients were included: 22% no PH, 47% isolated post-capillary PH, and 31% post- and pre-capillary PH. Patients with post- and pre-capillary PH had more often diabetes mellitus (47 vs. 24%, P = 0.04), had more heart failure hospitalizations (57 vs. 26%, P = 0.007) and lower VO2-max (10 vs. 13 mL/min/kg, P = 0.008), compared with those with isolated post-capillary PH. Patients with post- and pre-capillary PH also had more reduced TAPSE (17 vs. 21 mm, P = 0.001) and TAPSE/SPAP (0.3 vs. 0.5, P < 0.001). TAPSE/SPAP ratio <0.36 had a good accuracy to identify patients with additional pre-capillary PH (C-statistic 0.86, sensitivity 86% and specificity 79%). TAPSE/SPAP ratio was associated with increased mortality (HR 2.51 [95% CI 1.25-5.01], P = 0.009). Conclusion Abnormal right ventricular-vascular coupling identifies patients with HFpEF and additional pre-capillary PH, and predicts poor outcome in HFpEF.
Multi-Phase Convex Lens Array for Directional Backlights to Improve Luminance Distribution of Autostereoscopic Display

SUMMARY We realize homogenous luminance of the directional backlight for the time-division multiplexing autostereoscopic display using a convex lens array with the elemental lenses whose phase of placement in each row differs from one another. The validity of the proposed optical With the recent advances of LCD technologies, LCD panels that attain short response time have been developed, which has enabled commercialization of 3D LCD TV sets. The ad- vanced LCD technologies with high refresh rates can also be applied to autostereoscopic displays with high resolutions. Most of the conventional autostereoscopic display sys- tems are based either on parallax barrier technology or on lenticular lens technology, both of which display stereo- scopic images with lower resolutions than those of the dis- play panels. Time-division multiplexing technique with a fast response panel has enabled presentation of a stereo- scopic image with the same resolution as that of the display panel.
Alternation Blindness in the Representation of Binary Sequences

Binary information is prevalent in the environment and contains 2 distinct outcomes. Binary sequences consist of a mixture of alternation and repetition. Understanding how people perceive such sequences would contribute to a general theory of information processing. In this study, we examined how people process alternation and repetition in binary sequences. Across 4 paradigms involving estimation, working memory, change detection, and visual search, we found that the number of alternations is underestimated compared with repetitions (Experiment 1). Moreover, recall for binary sequences deteriorates as the sequence alternates more (Experiment 2). Changes in bits are also harder to detect as the sequence alternates more (Experiment 3). Finally, visual targets superimposed on bits of a binary sequence take longer to process as alternation increases (Experiment 4). Overall, our results indicate that compared with repetition, alternation in a binary sequence is less salient in the sense of requiring more attention for successful encoding. The current study thus reveals the cognitive constraints in the representation of alternation and provides a new explanation for the overalternation bias in randomness perception.
Urinary Metabolomic Profiling in Chronic Hepatitis B Viral Infection Using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The metabolomic profiling has been shown to be associated with pathogenic mechanisms in many medical conditions including CHB. The purpose of this study was to investigate the urine metabolomic profiles in CHB patients by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Methods: Urine samples were collected from CHB patients (n = 20) and normal control subjects (n = 20). Metabolite profiles were assessed using GC/MS in conjunction with multivariate statistical analysis, in order to identify biomarker metabolites. Pathway analysis was performed by MetaboAnalyst 3.0 and KEGG database. Results: Twelve out of 377 metabolites were shown to be significantly different between the CHB and normal control groups (p < 0.05). These include palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, benzoic acid, butanoic acid, cholesterol, glycine, 3-heptanone, 4-heptanone, hexanal, 1-tetradecanol and naphthalene. Multivariate statistical analysis constructed using these expressed metabolites showed CHB patients can be discriminated from healthy controls with high sensitivity (95%) and specificity (85%). All the metabolic perturbations in this disease are associated with pathways of fatty acid, amino acid, bile acid and gut microbial metabolism. Conclusion: CHB patients have a specific urinary metabolomic profile. The abnormalities of fatty acid, amino acid, bile acid, and gut microbial metabolism lead to the development of disease progression. GC/MS-based assay is a promising tool for the metabolomic study in CHB.
Genomic analysis reveals major determinants of cis-regulatory variation in Capsella grandiflora

Significance Despite long-standing interest in the contribution of cis-regulatory changes to adaptation, we still have a limited understanding of the selective importance and genomic determinants of cis-regulatory variation in natural populations. We use a combination of analyses of allele-specific expression and population genomic analyses to investigate the selective forces and genomic determinants of cis-regulatory variation in the outcrossing plant species Capsella grandiflora. We conclude that gene-specific functional constraints shape cis-regulatory variation and that genes with cis-regulatory variation are under relaxed purifying selection compared with other genes. Finally, we identify a link between gene body methylation and the extent of cis-regulatory constraint in natural populations. Understanding the causes of cis-regulatory variation is a long-standing aim in evolutionary biology. Although cis-regulatory variation has long been considered important for adaptation, we still have a limited understanding of the selective importance and genomic determinants of standing cis-regulatory variation. To address these questions, we studied the prevalence, genomic determinants, and selective forces shaping cis-regulatory variation in the outcrossing plant Capsella grandiflora. We first identified a set of 1,010 genes with common cis-regulatory variation using analyses of allele-specific expression (ASE). Population genomic analyses of whole-genome sequences from 32 individuals showed that genes with common cis-regulatory variation (i) are under weaker purifying selection and (ii) undergo less frequent positive selection than other genes. We further identified genomic determinants of cis-regulatory variation. Gene body methylation (gbM) was a major factor constraining cis-regulatory variation, whereas presence of nearby transposable elements (TEs) and tissue specificity of expression increased the odds of ASE. Our results suggest that most common cis-regulatory variation in C. grandiflora is under weak purifying selection, and that gene-specific functional constraints are more important for the maintenance of cis-regulatory variation than genome-scale variation in the intensity of selection. Our results agree with previous findings that suggest TE silencing affects nearby gene expression, and provide evidence for a link between gbM and cis-regulatory constraint, possibly reflecting greater dosage sensitivity of body-methylated genes. Given the extensive conservation of gbM in flowering plants, this suggests that gbM could be an important predictor of cis-regulatory variation in a wide range of plant species.
How Pairwise Coevolutionary Models Capture the Collective Residue Variability in Proteins?

Abstract Global coevolutionary models of homologous protein families, as constructed by direct coupling analysis (DCA), have recently gained popularity in particular due to their capacity to accurately predict residue‐residue contacts from sequence information alone, and thereby to facilitate tertiary and quaternary protein structure prediction. More recently, they have also been used to predict fitness effects of amino‐acid substitutions in proteins, and to predict evolutionary conserved protein‐protein interactions. These models are based on two currently unjustified hypotheses: 1) correlations in the amino‐acid usage of different positions are resulting collectively from networks of direct couplings; and 2) pairwise couplings are sufficient to capture the amino‐acid variability. Here, we propose a highly precise inference scheme based on Boltzmann‐machine learning, which allows us to systematically address these hypotheses. We show how correlations are built up in a highly collective way by a large number of coupling paths, which are based on the proteins three‐dimensional structure. We further find that pairwise coevolutionary models capture the collective residue variability across homologous proteins even for quantities which are not imposed by the inference procedure, like three‐residue correlations, the clustered structure of protein families in sequence space or the sequence distances between homologs. These findings strongly suggest that pairwise coevolutionary models are actually sufficient to accurately capture the residue variability in homologous protein families.
The regulation of aldosterone secretion by leptin: implications in obesity-related cardiovascular disease

Purpose of review Although it has been known for some time that increases in body mass enhance aldosterone secretion, particularly in women, the origin of this elevation in aldosterone production is not well defined. Adipocyte-derived factors have emerged as potential candidates to increase aldosterone production in obesity. Recent findings Emerging evidence suggests the presence of a mechanistic link in which the adipocyte-derived hormone leptin stimulates aldosterone production in obesity, thereby creating a positive feedback loop for obesity-associated cardiovascular disease. In addition, recent reports give credence to the concept that this leptin–aldosterone stimulation pathway in obesity is an underlying mechanism for sex-discrepancies in obesity-associated cardiovascular disease. Summary Leptin appears as a new direct regulator of adrenal aldosterone production and leptin-mediated aldosterone production is a novel candidate mechanism underlying obesity-associated hypertension, particularly in females.
The Occurrence, Biosynthesis, and Molecular Structure of Proanthocyanidins and Their Effects on Legume Forage Protein Precipitation, Digestion and Absorption in the Ruminant Digestive Tract

Forages grown in temperate regions, such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and white clover (Trefolium repens L.), typically have a high nutritional value when fed to ruminants. Their high protein content and degradation rate result, however, in poor utilization of protein from the forage resulting in excessive excretion of nitrogen into the environment by the animal. Proanthocyanindins (also known as condensed tannins) found in some forage legumes such as birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), bind to dietary protein and can improve protein utilization in the animal. This review will focus on (1) the occurrence of proanthocyanidins; (2) biosynthesis and structure of proanthocyanidins; (3) effects of proanthocyanidins on protein metabolism; (4) protein precipitating capacity of proanthocyanidins and their effects on true intestinal protein adsorption by ruminants; and (5) effect on animal health, animal performance and environmental emissions.
Crack Formation on a Drying Droplet in the Presence of Static Electric Field

The formation of crack patterns in a drying droplet of Laponite is studied under a DC (direct current) field. Though in the absence of a field, the droplet produces no crack on drying, it gives remarkable and reproducible results in the presence of a radial field. Cracks always appear from positive electrode and propagate towards the negative electrode and water seeps out from the negative electrode. When the centre electrode is negative, small cracks appear from outer periphery and the central portion remains almost free of crack. The behavior of cracks depends on the strength, direction and duration of application of field. The patterns show a typical memory effect different from 'Nakahara effect'. We name this as 'persistence memory'. From SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) images, it is seen that there are some striation marks left on the cracked surface, similar to cracks in larger systems.
EFFECT OF MOISTURE CONTENT ON PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BAMBOO

Bamboo is a giant grass and not a tree. Bamboo completes its growth within some months and matures at the age of around three years, there is no secondary growth. Moisture content of bamboo varies along its height location and with seasoning period, which affects all physical and mechanical properties. It is one of the important factors in deciding the life of bamboo. This paper presents results of experimental investigations made to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of the bamboo species Dendrocalamus strictus and its utilization potential as building material may be as whole or in the split form. In the present study moisture content, specific gravity, water absorption, dimensional changes, tensile and compressive strength at different height location are worked out. The moisture content varies along the height for green bamboo or at any time after harvesting. The top portions had consistently lower moisture content than the middle or basal at all stages of seasoning. Specific gravity on oven dry mass basis decreases from top to bottom and is independent of moisture content. Water absorption is inversely proportional while dimensional changes, tensile and compressive strength are directly proportionate to moisture content.
Management of pain in patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD): challenges and solutions

Thanks to advances in neuroscience, biopsychosocial models for diagnostics and treatment (including physical, psychological, and pharmacological therapies) currently have more clinical support and scientific growth. At present, a conservative treatment approach prevails over surgery, given it is less aggressive and usually results in satisfactory clinical outcomes in mild–moderate temporomandibular disorder (TMD). The aim of this review is to evaluate the recent evidence, identify challenges, and propose solutions from a clinical point of view for patients with craniofacial pain and TMD. The treatment we propose is structured in a multi-modal approach based on a biobehavioral approach that includes medical, physiotherapeutic, psychological, and dental treatments. We also propose a new biobehavioral model regarding pain perception and motor behavior for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with painful TMD.
Priority Right Auction for Komi Setting

We develop an auction system that determines a fair number of komi for holding black stones in a GO game between two players of equal strength, and hence the right to the first move. It is modeled as a priority right pricing problem that demands for budget-balanced and egalitarian conditions, where a negative utility is associated with the losers. We establish results involved with the incentive compatible properties for this problem under both deterministic and randomized protocols.
PRIS at TREC 2010: Related Entity Finding Task of Entity Track

This paper reports the approaches to the task of Entity Track applied by PRIS lab of BUPT in TREC 2010. We used Document-Centered Model (DCM) and Entity-Centered Model (ECM) for the task. BM25 method was introduced into ECM besides indri retrieval model. Another improvement aimed at entity extraction. Special web page, NER tool and entity list generated by some rules were all taken into account. Also, some external resources such as Google and CMU search engine were applied.
1 . 1 WEATHER AND CLIMATE ENGINEERING

I prepared a position paper on “Weather and Climate Engineering” for a workshop on “Perturbed Clouds in the Climate System” organized by the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) held in Frankfurt, Germany in March 2008. The position paper will eventually be a chapter in a book. I think it is appropriate to share with the weather modification community the main points of this position paper. The position paper highlights the areas of greatest progress in weather modification research noting the major successes and failures. In this paper I will only mention the topics I covered and will focus on the lessons learned from cloud seeding that are relevant to climate engineering. I will mainly focus here on climate engineering which I define as a subset of the overall scheme of geoengineering dealing specifically with modifying the climate of Earth. I will conclude with recommendations and concerns I have about implementing climate engineering strategies.
REST: Real-to-Synthetic Transform for Illumination Invariant Camera Localization

Accurate camera localization is an essential part of tracking systems. However, localization results are greatly affected by illumination. Including data collected under various lighting conditions can improve the robustness of the localization algorithm to lighting variation. However, this is very tedious and time consuming. By using synthesized images it is possible to easily accumulate a large variety of views under varying illumination and weather conditions. Despite continuously improving processing power and rendering algorithms, synthesized images do not perfectly match real images of the same scene, i.e. there exists a gap between real and synthesized images that also affects the accuracy of camera localization. To reduce the impact of this gap, we introduce "REal-to-Synthetic Transform (REST). " REST is an autoencoder-like network that converts real features to their synthetic counterpart. The converted features can then be matched against the accumulated database for robust camera localization. In our experiments REST improved feature matching accuracy under variable lighting conditions by approximately 30%. Moreover, our system outperforms state of the art CNN-based camera localization methods trained with synthetic images. We believe our method could be used to initialize local tracking and to simplify data accumulation for lighting robust localization.