Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new alvarezsaurid dinosaur (Theropoda, Alvarezsauria) from the Upper Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia provides insights for bird-like sleeping behavior in non-avian dinosaurs

Alvarezsauria is a group of early-branching maniraptoran theropods that are distributed globally from the Late Jurassic to the latest Cretaceous. Despite recent increases in the fossil record of this group, the scarcity of complete specimens still restricts interpreting their detailed anatomy, ecology, and evolution. Here, we report a new taxon of derived alvarezsaur, Jaculinykus yaruui gen. et sp. nov., from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia, which represents a nearly complete and articulated skeleton. Our phylogenetic analysis reveals that Jaculinykus belongs to the sub-clade of Alvarezsauridae, Parvicursorinae, and forms a mononphyletic group with Mononykus and Shuvuuia. Its well-preserved manus has only two fingers, composed of a hypertrophied digit I and greatly reduced digit II, which implies an intermediate condition between the tridactyl manus of Shuvuuia and monodactyl manus of Linhenykus. This highlights a previously unrecognized variation in specialization of alvarezsaurid manus. Notably, the preserved posture of the specimen exhibits a stereotypical avian-like sleeping position seen in the troodontids Mei and Sinornithoides. Evidence of this behavior in the alvarezsaur Jaculinykus suggests that stereotypically avian sleeping postures are a maniraptoran synapomorphy, providing more evidence of bird-like traits being distributed broadly among avian ancestors.
The matrix metalloproteinase ADAM10 supports hepatitis C virus entry and cell-to-cell spread via its sheddase activity

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) exploits the four entry factors CD81, scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI, also known as SCARB1), occludin, and claudin-1 as well as the co-factor epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) to infect human hepatocytes. Here, we report that the disintegrin and matrix metalloproteinase 10 (ADAM10) associates with CD81, SR-BI, and EGFR and acts as HCV host factor. Pharmacological inhibition, siRNA-mediated silencing and genetic ablation of ADAM10 reduced HCV infection. ADAM10 was dispensable for HCV replication but supported HCV entry and cell-to-cell spread. Substrates of the ADAM10 sheddase including epidermal growth factor (EGF) and E-cadherin, which activate EGFR family members, rescued HCV infection of ADAM10 knockout cells. ADAM10 did not influence infection with other enveloped RNA viruses such as alphaviruses and a common cold coronavirus. Collectively, our study reveals a critical role for the sheddase ADAM10 as a HCV host factor, contributing to EGFR family member transactivation and as a consequence to HCV uptake.
A modified mental state assessment tool for impact analysis of virtual reality-based therapeutic interventions in patients with cognitive impairment

Objectives This work has developed a modified mental state assessment tool for impact analysis of therapeutic interventions for patients with cognitive impairment. This work includes a pilot study to validate the proposed tool and assess the impact of virtual reality-based interventions on patient well-being, which includes assessment of cognitive ability and mood. Methods The suggested tool’s robustness and reliability are assessed in care home facilities with elderly residents over the age of 55. Because of the repetitive nature of the pilot study, test-retest strategy for Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is employed to validate the internal consistency of the proposed tool over time. Qualitative and quantitative analyses are performed on the collected data to draw inferences on the impact of virtual reality-based interventions on patients with cognitive impairments. Results The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value shows that the proposed tool’s resilience is comparable to that of its pre-intervention counterparts. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient values are determined for Pre-virtual reality and Post-virtual reality interventions, which include 116 virtual reality sessions for 52-participant, and three cohorts of virtual reality sessions for 21 participants. These values for a majority of the interventions remained within the acceptable range of 0.6–0.8. Conclusions The proposed modified mental state assessment tool is observed to be a reliable tool for investigating the impact of virtual reality-based interventions on patients with cognitive impairments. One of the notable significance of the proposed tool is that this allows for resource allocation for such interventions to be tailored to the needs of the patient, leading to greater therapeutic efficacy and resource efficiency.
MYB insufficiency disrupts proteostasis in hematopoietic stem cells leading to age-related neoplasia

1Institute of Cancer & Genomic Sciences, College of Medical & Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT; 2Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway; 3Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway (NCMM), Nordic EMBL Partnership, University of Oslo, 0318 Oslo, Norway; 4CRUK Birmingham Centre and Centre for Computational Biology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT
The chronology of Gezer from the end of the late bronze age to iron age II: A meeting point for radiocarbon, archaeology egyptology and the Bible

The ancient southern Levantine city of Gezer is well-known from Egyptian, Biblical and Assyrian sources, associated with power struggles, conquests, and intriguing tales involving figures such as Milkilu and Amenhotep III, Merneptah, the Philistines, Solomon and his unidentified pharaonic father-in-law, and Shishak / Sheshonq I. Since the identity of Gezer with “Tell Jezer” is quite literally ‘set in stone’ by some dozen boundary inscriptions, along with impressive Bronze and Iron Age remains, research at this site provides a unique opportunity to compare text and archaeology, as well as bring to light the undocumented everyday lives of the city’s inhabitants. In this endeavour, independent scientific dating is crucial for anchoring the remains chronologically. This paper presents the first substantial radiocarbon dataset and Bayesian chronological analysis for Gezer spanning the last part of the Late Bronze Age (LBA; LB IIB) through Iron Age II. The dataset derives from an essentially continuous stratigraphic sequence exposed in recent years by the Tandy expedition along the central-southern edge of the site. The results allow us for the first time to independently determine the site chronology, test the viability (from a chronological perspective) of proposed historical correlations, and contribute to debates on Philistine and Iron Age chronology.
Giant omphalocele: A novel approach for primary repair in the neonatal period using botulinum toxin

ABSTRACT Introduction: Giant omphalocele (GO) is a complex condition for which many surgical treatments have been developed; however, no consensus on its treatment has been reached. The benefits and efficacy of botulinum toxin A (BTA) in the repair of large abdominal wall defects in adults has been proven, and its reported use in children has recently grown. The goal of this study is to describe a novel technique for primary repair of GO using BTA during the neonatal period and report our initial experience. Methods: patients were followed from August 2020 to July 2022. BTA was applied to the lateral abdominal wall in the first days of life followed by surgical repair of the abdominal defect. Results: while awaiting surgery, patients had minimal manipulation, without requiring mechanical ventilation, were on full enteral feeding, and in contact with their parents. The midline was approximated without tension and without the need for additional techniques or the use of a prosthesis. Patients were discharged with repaired defects. Conclusion: this approach represents a middle ground between staged and the nonoperative delayed repairs. It does not require aggressive interventions early in life, allowing maintenance of mother-child bonding and discharge of the patient with a repaired defect without the need for additional techniques or the use of a prosthesis. We believe that this technique should be considered as a new possible asset when managing this complex condition.
Window into the mind: Advanced handheld spectroscopic eye-safe technology for point-of-care neurodiagnostic

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, is hard to diagnose at the point of care with patients often exhibiting no clinical symptoms. There is an urgent need for rapid point-of-care diagnostics to enable timely intervention. We have developed a technology for rapid acquisition of molecular fingerprints of TBI biochemistry to safely measure proxies for cerebral injury through the eye, providing a path toward noninvasive point-of-care neurodiagnostics using simultaneous Raman spectroscopy and fundus imaging of the neuroretina. Detection of endogenous neuromarkers in porcine eyes’ posterior revealed enhancement of high–wave number bands, clearly distinguishing TBI and healthy cohorts, classified via artificial neural network algorithm for automated data interpretation. Clinically, translating into reduced specialist support, this markedly improves the speed of diagnosis. Designed as a hand-held cost-effective technology, it can allow clinicians to rapidly assess TBI at the point of care and identify long-term changes in brain biochemistry in acute or chronic neurodiseases.
Repeatability and heritability of inhibitory control performance in wild toutouwai (Petroica longipes)

Despite increasing interest in the evolution of inhibitory control, few studies have examined the validity of widespread testing paradigms, the long-term repeatability and the heritability of this cognitive ability in the wild. We investigated these aspects in the inhibitory control performance of wild toutouwai (North Island robin; Petroica longipes), using detour and reversal learning tasks. We assessed convergent validity by testing whether individual performance correlated across detour and reversal learning tasks. We then further evaluated task validity by examining whether individual performance was confounded by non-cognitive factors. We tested a subset of subjects twice in each task to estimate the repeatability of performance across a 1-year period. Finally, we used a population pedigree to estimate the heritability of task performance. Individual performance was unrelated across detour and reversal learning tasks, indicating that these measured different cognitive abilities. Task performance was not influenced by body condition, boldness or prior experience, and showed moderate between-year repeatability. Yet despite this individual consistency, we found no evidence that task performance was heritable. Our findings suggest that detour and reversal learning tasks measure consistent individual differences in distinct forms of inhibitory control in toutouwai, but this variation may be environmentally determined rather than genetic.
Construction of the metabolism-related models for predicting prognosis and infiltrating immune phenotype in lung squamous cell carcinoma

Purpose: Cancers often display disorder metabolism, which closely related to the poor outcome of patients. We aimed to establish prognostic models using metabolism-associated genes, and identify the key factor involved in metabolism in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Materials and Methods: R package 'TCGA biolinks' was used to download the mRNA sequencing data of LUSC from TCGA. The clusterProfiler package was performed to analyze biological pathways. The online tool GEPIA2 and cox regression method were applied to identify the two gene lists associated with metabolism and prognosis of LUSC. The lasso modeling was conducted to establish prognostic models. The quantiseq method was used to identify the cellular abundance of expression matrix in TCGA-LUSC dataset. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting were done to evaluate the STXBP1 expression in LUSC samples. Lactate assay and ATP detection were performed to assess metabolic effect, and CCK8 assay was done to test cell proliferation in the LUSC cells with overexpression and suppression of STXBP1. Results: Two lists of survival-metabolism-associated genes (11 and 28 genes) were identified and applied in the prognostic model 1 and model 2 construction from TCGA-LUSC dataset. High-risk LUSC patients associated with poor survival in the training cohort and the test cohort of both model 1 and model 2. Higher ROC values for 10- year survival was shown in model 2 than in model 1. In addition, macrophage M1, macrophage M2, neutrophil, and T regulatory cell were enriched in the high-risk group of model 2. STXBP1 was the only optimized gene in both model 1 and model 2, and related to the poor outcome of LUSC patients. Furthermore, STXBP1 associated with infiltrating immune cells, and increased lactate, ATP levels, and cell proliferation. Conclusion: Our finding provides the metabolism-associated models to predict prognosis of LUSC patients. STXBP1, as the key optimized gene in the model, promotes metabolic progress to increase lactate and ATP levels in LUSC cells.
Plane Parallel Albedo Biases from Satellite Observations. Part II: Parameterizations for Bias Removal.

Abstract Using the same satellite observations as in Part I of this paper, the authors explore ways to remove the cloud albedo bias (or plane parallel albedo bias), the difference between the plane parallel homogeneous albedo and the average albedo of independent pixels, in regions similar in size to climate model grid boxes. Scaling regional mean optical depths with the reduction factor of R. F. Cahalan et al. provides albedos close to the independent pixel values. Computed albedos approach the independent pixel values within 0.01 for ∼40% of the regions tested and give standard deviations ∼0.02–0.04. Fitting lognormal distributions to the observed optical depth distributions gives albedos within 0.01 of the independent pixel values more than 70% of the time, with standard deviations ∼0.02–0.06. Gamma distributions are less successful than lognormal distributions, giving acceptable results (average bias ∼0.01–0.02, standard deviation ∼0.05–0.08) only when their parameters are estimated from the maximum l.
The Neutron Activation Analysis of Halaf and ‘Ubaid Pottery from Tell Arpachiyah and Tepe Gawra

Tell Arpachiyah and Tepe Gawra, two sites located in the Mosul region of Iraq, together provide the basis for much of Northern Mesopotamian prehistory. Excavations by Sir Max Mallowan at Tell Arpachiyah in 1933 and by the University of Pennsylvania at Tepe Gawra between 1932 and 1938 produced the key ceramic sequences for the Halaf and northern ‘Ubaid cultures in particular. Halaf and ‘Ubaid pottery subsequently excavated at other sites in northern Iraq and in Syria and Turkey as well has, as a general rule, been interpreted in terms of Arpachiyah and Gawra ceramic sequences. It therefore seems worthwhile to re-examine the early pottery of these two important sites using the recently developed technique of neutron activation analysis. A carefully designed programme of neutron activation analyses would provide a new perspective on the Tell Arpachiyah and Tepe Gawra pottery and could perhaps answer some important questions about the Halaf and ‘Ubaid cultures in the Mosul region and beyond. Firstly, activation analysis offers a method for correlating more directly the Arpachiyah and Gawra prehistoric sequences on the basis of pottery imports. The analysis of Halaf potsherds from sites in the Khabur headwaters region has already demonstrated that painted pottery was being traded there on a considerable scale by the latter part of the Halaf period. It seems likely that pottery could also have been traded between Tell Arpachiyah and Tepe Gawra from quite early on since the two mounds are separated by a distance of only twenty-five kilometres. If the pottery exported from one of these sites could be identified by neutron activation analysis at the other site, then the degree of temporal overlap between the prehistoric occupations of the mounds could be better assessed.
Exsolution of H2O, CO2, and S during eruptive episodes at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

A model for the exsolution of H2O, CO2, and S from Kilauea magma as it rises from a shallow crustal reservoir predicts that vigorous exsolution occurs only after magma has ascended to shallow depths (≲ 150 m lithostatic) where pressures are <3 MPa (30 bars). Exsolved vapor at saturation (30–100 MPa) is CO2-rich (70 vol %, maximum), but H2O increases and ultimately predominates in the vapor as pressure drops. The model indicates that most H2O remains dissolved, however, down to pressures as low as 2–3 MPa (20–30 bars) rather than being exsolved abundantly below 8 MPa (80 bars) as is commonly assumed. Most CO2 is exsolved above 10 MPa, whereas most S, like H2O, is exsolved below 2–3 MPa (<100–150 m lithostatic). The critical condition for major outgassing and disruption of magma into spray is reached at 1.0–0.6 MPa (∼40–25 m lithostatic). Gas exsolution apparently continues after disruption. The total quantity of exsolved volatiles as predicted by the exsolution model agrees with that predicted by models of fire fountain dynamics. At 0.3–0.4 MPa (≲20 m lithostatic), the exsolved gases resemble volcanic gases of east rift zone eruptions and coexist with melts containing volatiles at concentrations similar to those observed in fountain spatter. Exsolution from coalesced spatter of previously disrupted melt produces residual gases that are H2O-rich and sharply depleted in CO2. The low pressures and shallow depths required for extensive exsolution imply that magma must be transported nearly to the surface before disruption, outgassing, and fountaining are possible. Therefore eruption forecasting techniques based on detection of volatiles outgassed from ascending magma may not provide useful advance warning at Kilauea and other tholeiite basalt systems.
Factors determining the structure of fish assemblages in an Amazonian river near to oil and gas exploration areas in the Amazon basin (Brazil): establishing the baseline for environmental evaluation

Determining the significance of biotic and abiotic factors in the structuring of fish assemblages in freshwater environments is an important question in ecology, particularly in view of environmental changes caused by man. In this paper we sought to identify the factors responsible for the composition and abundance of fish species collected with gill nets in six locations near ports in forest clearance areas opened up for oil and natural gas exploration (Petrobras Pedro Moura Base) in the Urucu River, during drought and flood cycles. In all, 923 individuals from 23 families and 82 species were collected, totalling a biomass of 182,244 g. The most abundant species during the flood season were Bryconops alburnoides (Kner, 1858) and Dianema urostriatum (Miranda Ribeiro, 1912); in the drought season, the predominant species were Osteoglossum bicirrhosum (Cuvier, 1829) and Serrasalmus rhombeus (Linnaeus, 1766). The species with the greatest biomass during the flood season were Pellona castelnaeana (Valenciennes, 1847), S. rhombeus and Pellona flavipinis (Valenciennes, 1847). During the drought season, the predominant species was O. bicirrhosum. When both periods were analysed together, electrical conductivity, water transparency and dissolved oxygen were the most important factors. The species Hemisorubim platyrhynchos (Valenciennes, 1840), O. bicirrhosum, Chaetobranchus flavenscens Heckel, 1840, Geophagus proximus (Castelnau, 1855) were strongly related to high values of conductivity, pH and water current velocity during the drought season, as well as Serrasalmus altispinis Merckx, Jegu & Santos, 2000, Triportheus albus Cope, 1872, Triportheus angulatus (Spix & Agassiz, 1829) and Brycon melanopterus (Cope, 1872) that were associated with less depth and width in the drought season whereas P. castelnaeana, D. urostriatum, Rhytiodus argenteofuscus Kner, 1858 and Sorubim lima (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) were mainly associated with high transparency and dissolved oxygen during the flood season.
AVHRR temporal analysis of a savanna site in Brazil

This work investigated the temporal monitoring of savanna ('cerrado') vegetation phenology in the Emas National Park of Brazil utilizing 1.1 km full resolution daily images of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on-board the NOAA-11 satellite. For a period of 18 months studied in 1992-93, only 26 images had useful data. Digital analysis of individual images concentrated on five sub-areas of up to 30 km2 each. Channels used were 1 (0.6-0.7 mu m), 2 (0.7-1.1 mu m) and 3 (3.5-3.9 mu m), as well as the Vegetation Index (NDVI) which combines channels 1 and 2. A high resolution Thematic Mapper (TM) Landsat image and field work provided ground data to identify the vegetation types. Channel 3 and NDVI showed the strongest temporal response to phenological changes of the vegetation, while channels 1 and 2 presented high dependence on the off-nadir scan angle. The results indicated large variations in the daily AVHRR signal of channels 1 and 2 for the same area, regardless of vegetation changes. Re.
The activity of engrailed imaginal disc enhancers is modulated epigenetically by chromatin and autoregulation

engrailed (en) encodes a homeodomain transcription factor crucial for the proper development of Drosophila embryos and adults. Like many developmental transcription factors, en expression is regulated by many enhancers, some of overlapping function, that drive expression in spatially and temporally restricted patterns. The en embryonic enhancers are located in discrete DNA fragments that can function correctly in small reporter transgenes. In contrast, the en imaginal disc enhancers (IDEs) do not function correctly in small reporter transgenes. En is expressed in the posterior compartment of wing imaginal discs; in contrast, small IDE-reporter transgenes are expressed mainly in the anterior compartment. We found that En binds to the IDEs and suggest that it may directly repress IDE function and modulate En expression levels. We identified two en IDEs, O and S. Deletion of either of these IDEs from a 79kb HA-en rescue transgene (HAen79) caused a loss-of-function en phenotype when the HAen79 transgene was the sole source of En. In contrast, flies with a deletion of the same IDEs from an endogenous en gene had no phenotype, suggesting a resiliency not seen in the HAen79 rescue transgene. Inserting a gypsy insulator in HAen79 between en regulatory DNA and flanking sequences strengthened the activity of HAen79, giving better function in both the ON and OFF transcriptional states. Altogether our data suggest that the en IDEs stimulate expression in the entire imaginal disc, and that the ON/OFF state is set by epigenetic memory set by the embryonic enhancers. This epigenetic regulation is similar to that of the Ultrabithorax IDEs and we suggest that the activity of late-acting enhancers in other genes may be similarly regulated.