Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Establishing Zebrafish as a Novel Exercise Model: Swimming Economy, Swimming-Enhanced Growth and Muscle Growth Marker Gene Expression

Background Zebrafish has been largely accepted as a vertebrate multidisciplinary model but its usefulness as a model for exercise physiology has been hampered by the scarce knowledge on its swimming economy, optimal swimming speeds and cost of transport. Therefore, we have performed individual and group-wise swimming experiments to quantify swimming economy and to demonstrate the exercise effects on growth in adult zebrafish. Methodology/Principal Findings Individual zebrafish (n = 10) were able to swim at a critical swimming speed (Ucrit) of 0.548±0.007 m s−1 or 18.0 standard body lengths (BL) s−1. The optimal swimming speed (Uopt) at which energetic efficiency is highest was 0.396±0.019 m s−1 (13.0 BL s−1) corresponding to 72.26±0.29% of Ucrit. The cost of transport at optimal swimming speed (COTopt) was 25.23±4.03 µmol g−1 m−1. A group-wise experiment was conducted with zebrafish (n = 83) swimming at Uopt for 6 h day−1 for 5 days week−1 for 4 weeks vs. zebrafish (n = 84) that rested during this period. Swimming zebrafish increased their total body length by 5.6% and body weight by 41.1% as compared to resting fish. For the first time, a highly significant exercise-induced growth is demonstrated in adult zebrafish. Expression analysis of a set of muscle growth marker genes revealed clear regulatory roles in relation to swimming-enhanced growth for genes such as growth hormone receptor b (ghrb), insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor a (igf1ra), troponin C (stnnc), slow myosin heavy chain 1 (smyhc1), troponin I2 (tnni2), myosin heavy polypeptide 2 (myhz2) and myostatin (mstnb). Conclusions/Significance From the results of our study we can conclude that zebrafish can be used as an exercise model for enhanced growth, with implications in basic, biomedical and applied sciences, such as aquaculture.
Contingency Management in the Classroom.

Why do students go to school? Why do they behave themselves in class? Why do they study and learn and remember? These are important questions, but they are seldom asked ‐ possibly because we are not proud of the answers. Whether we like it or not, most students still come to school, behave themselves, and study in order to avoid the consequences of not doing so. True, most teachers have abandoned the birch rod (though its return is called for in some quarters), but there are many ingenious, less violent replacements. Violent or not, punitive methods have serious consequences, among them truancy, apathy, resentment, vandalism, and ultimately an anti-intellectualism which includes an unwillingness to support education. These are the great problems of the educational establishment, and they can be traced in large part to the techniques of the establishment itself.
Experimental identification and validation of an electrochemical model of a lithium-ion battery

In this work an experimental parameter identification and validation for an electrochemical lithium-ion battery model is illustrated. The model was presented in [2] where, aimed at estimating the battery State Of Charge (SOC), the model was also averaged and an extended Kalman filter based on the average model was designed. The identification procedure is based on experimental data collected from a 6.8 Ah lithium-ion battery during charge and discharge processes. Experimental data are then compared with battery model output for validation purpose. A procedure for SOC calculation is also shown at the end of the article.
Effect of home environment control on children with atopic or non-atopic asthma.

BACKGROUND Although allergen avoidance is known to be important for treating atopic diseases, there is a very limited amount of time for clinical education of patients on this topic. METHODS We compared the effect of the thorough home visit counseling (>60 minutes per visit) for avoiding house dust mites (HDMs) with that of regular guidance in our clinics (10 minutes per patient). We enrolled 36 children with asthma (7 years of age or younger; mean, 3.8) in this study under an informed consent. After enrolling the 24 patients for the home visit, 12 families were enrolled as controls for the regular clinical guidance. Between June 1995 and June 1996, we visited the homes of 24 children with asthma enrolled in this study every month and performed a thorough HDM-avoidance counseling of more than 60 minutes (home visit counsel) at each visit. We compared the effects of this counseling with those of the regular clinical guidance given (10 minutes per patient) to the remaining 12 children with asthma. We also evaluated the effect of home visit counseling on children of two subgroups, i.e., an atopic (with positive IgE antibody against HDM) and a non-atopic (without detectable IgE antibodies against 8 common allergens) subgroup. RESULTS Home visit counseling markedly reduced the frequencies of asthma attacks (p < 0.000001), the required theophylline dosages (p < 0.0005), and the levels of HDM allergens (p < 0.0005) in the atopic subgroups, whereas the effect of regular counseling on these 3 items was relatively less (p < 0.05 or not significant). Surprisingly, home visit counseling also markedly reduced the asthma attacks (p < 0.00001) and theophylline dosages (p < 0.00001) of children with non-atopic asthma. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that thorough allergen avoidance counseling is effective for children with non-atopic asthma as well as atopic asthma.
New OprM structure highlighting the nature of the N-terminal anchor

Among the different mechanisms used by bacteria to resist antibiotics, active eﬄux plays a major role. In Gram-negative bacteria, active eﬄux is carried out by tripartite eﬄux pumps that form a macromolecular assembly spanning both membranes of the cellular wall. At the outer membrane level, a well-conserved outer membrane factor (OMF) protein acts as an exit duct, but its sequence varies greatly among different species. The OMFs share a similar tri-dimensional structure that includes a beta-barrel pore domain that stabilizes the channel within the membrane. In addition, OMFs are often subjected to different N-terminal post-translational modifications (PTMs), such as an acylation with a lipid. The role of additional N-terminal anchors is all the more intriguing since it is not always required among the OMFs family. Understanding this optional PTM could open new research lines in the field of antibiotics resistance. In Escherichia coli, it has been shown that CusC is modified with a tri-acylated lipid, whereas TolC does not show any modification. In the case of OprM from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the N-terminal modification remains a matter of debate, therefore, we used several approaches to investigate this issue. As definitive evidence, we present a new X-ray structure at 3.8 Å resolution that was solved in a new space group, making it possible to model the N-terminal residue as a palmitoylated cysteine.
Antibody Multispecificity Mediated by Conformational Diversity

A single antibody was shown to adopt different binding-site conformations and thereby bind unrelated antigens. Analysis by both x-ray crystallography and pre–steady-state kinetics revealed an equilibrium between different preexisting isomers, one of which possessed a promiscuous, low-affinity binding site for aromatic ligands, including the immunizing hapten. A subsequent induced-fit isomerization led to high-affinity complexes with a deep and narrow binding site. A protein antigen identified by repertoire selection made use of an unrelated antibody isomer with a wide, shallow binding site. Conformational diversity, whereby one sequence adopts multiple structures and multiple functions, can increase the effective size of the antibody repertoire but may also lead to autoimmunity and allergy.
Une approche néo-institutionnelle de la fourniture de services environnementaux : le cas du service d’épandage agricole des boues d’épuration et ses formes d’organisation territoriale

The PhD thesis develops a neo-institutional approach of the supply in environmental services and of the role played by authorities. The idea puts forward is the plurality of contractual arrangements likely to be efficient to supervise the supply of these services such as spot contracts, long-term contracts and administrated contracts. This thesis raises the question of the compared efficiency of these arrangements. Then, it develops a framework inspired from the transaction costs theory and confronts it with the empirical analysis of the following case: sewage sludge spreading service by farmers. The studied case shows the importance of the administered contract considering the service characteristics which are as follows: multiplicity of concerned stakeholders and difficulties in measuring sludge quality. Besides, it shows the interest of taking into account micro-institutional factors in the analysis.
Prediction of phosphorylation sites based on Krawtchouk image moments

Protein phosphorylation is one of the most pervasive post‐translational modifications and regulates diverse cellular processes in organisms. Under the catalysis of protein kinases, protein phosphorylation usually occurred in the residues serine (S), threonine (T), or tyrosine (Y). In this contribution, we proposed a novel scheme (named KMPhos) for the theoretical prediction of protein phosphorylation sites. First, the numerical matrix was obtained from a protein sequence fragment by replacing the characters of the residues with the chemical descriptors of amino acid molecules to approximately describe the chemical environment of the protein fragment, which was turned to the grayscale image. Then the Krawtchouk image moments were calculated and used to establish the support vector machine models. The accuracies of 10‐fold cross validation for the obtained models on the training set are up to 89.7%, 88.6%, and 90.1% for the residues S, Y, and T, respectively. For the independent test set, the prediction accuracies are up to 90.7% (S), 87.8% (T), and 89.3% (Y). The results of ROC and other evaluations are also satisfactory. Compared with several specialized prediction tools, KMPhos provided the higher accuracy and reliability. An available KMPhos package is provided and can be used directly for phosphorylation sites prediction.
Local genetic effects on gene expression across 44 human tissues

Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping provides a powerful means to identify functional variants influencing gene expression and disease pathogenesis. We report the identification of cis-eQTLs from 7,051 post-mortem samples representing 44 tissues and 449 individuals as part of the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project. We find a cis-eQTL for 88% of all annotated protein-coding genes, with one-third having multiple independent effects. We identify numerous tissue-specific cis-eQTLs, highlighting the unique functional impact of regulatory variation in diverse tissues. By integrating large-scale functional genomics data and state-of-the-art fine-mapping algorithms, we identify multiple features predictive of tissue-specific and shared regulatory effects. We improve estimates of cis-eQTL sharing and effect sizes using allele specific expression across tissues. Finally, we demonstrate the utility of this large compendium of cis-eQTLs for understanding the tissue-specific etiology of complex traits, including coronary artery disease. The GTEx project provides an exceptional resource that has improved our understanding of gene regulation across tissues and the role of regulatory variation in human genetic diseases.
Counseling Internationally Adopted Children.

I am writing in response to the article by Rick Myer and Richard K. James that appeared in the April 1989 Idea Exchange (Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, Volume 23, pp. 324-328). I was pleased to see that the issue of counseling internationally adopted children (IACs) in the school setting is being addressed in this publication. From my perspective as a social work professional as well as the parent of children adopted internationally (during the decade that I resided in Latin America), I offer some comments about that article.
Sharp curve lane boundaries projective model and detection

An effective lane boundaries projective model (LBPM) and improved detection method in the images captured with a vehicle-mounted monocular camera in complex environments, especially for sharp circular curve lane, is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a lane boundaries projective model is deduced. This lane model can not only express straight-line lane boundaries, but also describe the actual sharp circular curve lane boundaries very well. Secondly, the lane posterior probability function is derived by employing the lane model, the gradient direction feature, the lane likelihood function, and the lane prior information. And then the lane maximum posteriori probability is found out by using the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm. Further the lane boundaries is positioned, and the lane geometric structure, such as the lane left and right boundaries curve radiuses, can be calculated accurately through the lane model. The experimental results show that the proposed lane boundaries projective model and the improved detection method are more effective and accurate for sharp curve lane detection.
Rendezvous Planning in Mobility-Assisted Wireless Sensor Networks

Research shows that significant energy saving can be achieved in wireless sensor networks by using mobile elements (MEs) capable of carrying data mechanically. However, the low movement speed of MEs hinders their use in data-intensive sensing applications with temporal constraints. To address this issue, we propose a rendezvous-based approach in which a subset of nodes serve as the rendezvous points (RPs) that buffer data originated from sources and transfer to MEs when they arrive. RPs enable MEs to collect a large volume of data at a time without traveling long distances, which can achieve a desirable balance between network energy saving and data collection delay. We develop two rendezvous planning algorithms, RP-CP and RP-UG. RP-CP finds the optimal RPs when MEs move along the data routing tree while RP-UG greedily chooses the RPs with maximum energy saving to travel distance ratios. We design the rendezvous-based data collection protocol that facilitates reliable data transfers from RPs to MEs in presence of significant unexpected delays in ME movement and network communication. Our approach is validated through extensive simulations.
Lack of benefit of maintenance paclitaxel in first-line chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE This randomized study compared maintenance paclitaxel with control in metastatic breast cancer patients not experiencing progression after first-line anthracycline/paclitaxel combination chemotherapy. METHODS Between April 1998 and October 2003, 459 metastatic breast cancer patients received first-line combination chemotherapy with epirubicin or doxorubicin plus paclitaxel. Of these, 255 who had a response or stable disease were then randomly assigned onto the Maintenance Paclitaxel 1 (MANTA1) study, comparing eight courses of maintenance paclitaxel versus control (ie, no additional chemotherapy administration). The primary end point was progression-free survival. RESULTS The study was prematurely concluded after a futility analysis, which was performed on 215 of the 238 patients randomly assigned within December 2002. Of these, 109 patients were assigned to maintenance paclitaxel and 106 were assigned to stopping chemotherapy. No significant difference in median progression-free survival was observed (8.0 months for maintenance paclitaxel and 9.0 months for control). There was no significant difference in median survival time (28.0 v 29.0 months). When the Bayesian method for monitoring clinical trials was applied to these data, even under an enthusiastic prior distribution, in the posterior distribution there was only an 8.6% chance of observing a 3-month improvement in median progression-free survival in the group receiving maintenance paclitaxel. After these results study accrual was closed. CONCLUSION Compared with control, the administration of additional courses of paclitaxel in patients who achieve disease control after six to eight courses of first-line anthracycline plus paclitaxel combination chemotherapy does not improve progression-free survival.
Subjective and objective learning effects dissociate in space and in time

Perceptual learning not only improves sensitivity, but it also changes our subjective experience. However, the question of how these two learning effects relate is largely unexplored. Here we investigate how subjects learn to see initially indiscriminable metacontrast-masked shapes. We find that sensitivity and subjective awareness increase with training. However, sensitivity and subjective awareness dissociate in space: Learning effects on performance are lost when the task is performed at an untrained location in another quadrant, whereas learning effects on subjective awareness are maintained. This finding indicates that improvements in shape sensitivity involve visual areas up to V4, whereas changes in subjective awareness involve other brain regions. Furthermore, subjective awareness dissociates from sensitivity in time: In an early phase of perceptual learning, subjects perform above chance on trials that they rate as subjectively invisible. Later, this phenomenon disappears. Subjective awareness is thus neither necessary nor sufficient for achieving above-chance objective performance.
au Trust-based Cluster head Selection Algorithm for Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) consist of a large number of relatively low-powered mobile nodes communicating in a network using radio signals. Clustering is one of the techniques used to manage data exchange amongst interacting nodes. Each group of nodes has one or more elected Cluster head(s), where all Cluster heads are interconnected for forming a communication backbone to transmit data. Moreover, Cluster heads should be capable of sustaining communication with limited energy sources for longer period of time. Misbehaving nodes and cluster heads can drain energy rapidly and reduce the total life span of the network. In this context, selection of best cluster heads with trusted information becomes critical for the overall performance. In this paper, we propose Cluster head(s) selection algorithm based on an efficient trust model. This algorithm aims to elect trustworthy stable cluster head(s) that can provide secure communication via cooperative nodes. Simulations were conducted to evaluate trusted Cluster head(s) in terms of clusters stability, longevity and throughput.
Smartphone-Assisted Mobility in Urban Environments for Visually Impaired Users through Computer Vision and Sensor Fusion

For visually impaired users one of the major challenges is unassisted orientation and way-finding, especially in unexplored and potentially dangerous environments. The following work analyzes the issues stemmed from this problem and summarizes the merits and flaws of solutions available in literature. Afterwards, the research methodology is briefly described and the already achieved results are listed. Finally, a roadmap for the future contributions is proposed.
Factors affecting vasectomy acceptability in Tanzania.

CONTEXT Calls for increased inclusion of men in matters of reproductive health emphasize the need for research into vasectomy acceptability and decision making. Vasectomy is a safe, simple and effective method of contraception, but is underused worldwide. METHODS Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with potential and actual sterilization clients and their partners in the Kigoma Region of Tanzania. Content analysis was used to search for emergent themes related to vasectomy decision making. RESULTS Six themes emerged as overarching factors contributing to the vasectomy decision-making process: economics, spousal influence, religion, provider reputation and availability, uncertainty about the future, and poor vasectomy knowledge and understanding. There was substantial communication between partners regarding the vasectomy decision, and wives had a strong influence on the outcome; however, men and women agreed that husbands would resist vasectomy if wives initially raised the topic. Vasectomy acceptance is limited by the scarcity of skilled vasectomy providers and by the fact that men and women hold many of the same misunderstandings about vasectomy, including a fear of decreased sexual performance as a result of the procedure. CONCLUSIONS Spousal discussions are important in the decision to get a vasectomy, but these discussions should be initiated by the male partner. Programs need to educate men about contraceptive options, including vasectomies. Detailed, culturally relevant knowledge of the barriers and facilitators individuals experience during their decision- making process will enable vasectomy promotion programs to more successfully target appropriate populations.
Matrix Metalloproteinase Induction by Relaxin Causes Cartilage Matrix Degradation in Target Synovial Joints

Our long‐term goal is to understand the mechanisms by which relaxin and estrogen potentially contribute to joint diseases, particularly those afflicting the fibrocartilaginous temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Previously, we showed that relaxin produces a dose‐dependent induction of tissue‐degrading enzymes of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family, specifically MMP‐1 (collagenase‐1), MMP‐3 (stromelysin‐1), MMP‐9 (92‐kDa gelatinase), and MMP‐13 (collagenase‐3) in cell isolates and tissue explants from TMJ fibrocartilage. The induction of these MMPs is accompanied by loss of collagen and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which was blocked by a pan‐MMP inhibitor. We also found the targeted in vivo loss of collagen and GAGs in TMJ discs of ovariectomized rabbits treated with β‐estradiol, relaxin, or both hormones together. Progesterone attenuated the induction of MMPs and matrix loss by relaxin and estrogen. The modulation of matrix composition in TMJ fibrocartilage by these hormones was similar to that observed in the pubic symphysis and differed from that of the knee meniscus. The two target tissues showing the greatest modulation of MMPs and matrix loss, namely, the TMJ disc and pubic symphysis, had similar expression profiles of the estrogen receptors α and β, relaxin‐1 receptor (RXFP1, LGR7), and insulin‐like peptide 3 receptor (RXFP2, LGR8) and these profiles differed from those in cells from the knee meniscus. These findings suggest a novel model for targeted tissue turnover of cartilage of specific joints through hormone‐mediated induction of select MMPs.