Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards Modular Engineering of Cell Signalling: Topographically-Textured Microparticles Induce Osteogenesis via Activation of Canonical Hedgehog Signalling

Polymer microparticles possess great potential as functional building blocks for advanced bottom-up engineering of complex tissues. Tailoring the three-dimensional architectural features of culture substrates has been shown to induce osteogenesis in mesenchymal stem cells in vitro, but the molecular mechanisms underpinning this remain unclear. This study proposes a mechanism linking the activation of Hedgehog signalling to the osteoinductive effect of surface-engineered, topographically-textured polymeric microparticles. In this study, mesenchymal progenitor C3H10T1/2 cells were cultured on smooth and dimpled poly(D,L-lactide) microparticles to assess differences in viability, cellular morphology, proliferation, and expression of a range of Hedgehog signalling components and osteogenesis-related genes. Dimpled microparticles induced osteogenesis and activated the Hedgehog signalling pathway relative to smooth microparticles and 2D-cultured controls without the addition of exogenous biochemical factors. We observed upregulation of the osteogenesis markers Runt-related transcription factor2 (Runx2) and bone gamma-carboxyglutamate protein 2 (Bglap2), as well as the Hedgehog signalling components, glioma associated oncogene homolog 1 (Gli1), Patched1 (Ptch1), and Smoothened (Smo). Treatment with the Smo antagonist KAAD-cyclopamine confirmed the involvement of Smo in Gli1 target gene activation, with a significant reduction in the expression of Gli1, Runx2 and Bglap2 (p≤0.001) following KAAD-cyclopamine treatment. Overall, our study demonstrates the role of the topographical microenvironment in the modulation of Hedgehog signalling, highlighting the potential for tailoring substrate topographical design to offer cell-instructive 3D microenvironments. Topographically-textured microparticles allow the modulation of Hedgehog signalling in vitro without adding exogenous biochemical agonists, thereby eliminating potential confounding artefacts in high-throughput drug screening applications. Graphical Abstract
The reciprocal regulation between mitochondrial-associated membranes and Notch signaling in skeletal muscle atrophy

Skeletal muscle atrophy and the inhibition of muscle regeneration are known to occur as a natural consequence of aging, yet the underlying mechanisms that lead to these processes in atrophic myofibers remain largely unclear. Our research has revealed that the maintenance of proper mitochondrial-associated endoplasmic reticulum membranes (MAM) is vital for preventing skeletal muscle atrophy in microgravity environments. We discovered that the deletion of the mitochondrial fusion protein Mitofusin2 (MFN2), which serves as a tether for MAM, in human iPS cells or the reduction of MAM in differentiated myotubes caused by microgravity interfered with myogenic differentiation process and an increased susceptibility to muscle atrophy, as well as the activation of the Notch signaling pathway. The atrophic phenotype of differentiated myotubes in microgravity and the regenerative capacity of Mfn2-deficient muscle stem cells in dystrophic mice were both ameliorated by treatment with the gamma-secretase inhibitor DAPT. Our findings demonstrate how the orchestration of mitochondrial morphology in differentiated myotubes and regenerating muscle stem cells plays a crucial role in regulating Notch signaling through the interaction of MAM. digest This study investigated the link between Mfn2 and Notch signaling in skeletal muscle atrophy. We used a microgravity system to induce muscle atrophy and found that the loss of Mfn2 leads to decreased numbers of MAM and activation of Notch signaling and that treating MFN2-deficient human iPS cells with a gamma-secretase inhibitor DAPT improved their mitochondrial morphology and function. Additionally, Mfn2-deficient muscle stem cells in mice have a lower capacity to regenerate dystrophic muscles and DAPT treatment improves the regeneration of these cells. The study suggests that targeting the Notch signaling pathway with a gamma-secretase inhibitor could be a therapeutic option for skeletal muscle atrophy caused by defects in Mfn2.
Influence of RNA circularity on Target RNA-Directed MicroRNA Degradation

A subset of circular RNAs (circRNAs) and linear RNAs have been proposed to “sponge” or block microRNA activity. Additionally, certain RNAs induce microRNA destruction through the process of Target RNA-Directed MicroRNA Degradation (TDMD), but whether both linear and circular transcripts are equivalent in driving TDMD is unknown. Here we study whether circular/linear topology of endogenous and artificial RNA targets affects TDMD. Consistent with previous knowledge that Cdr1as (ciRS-7) circular RNA protects miR-7 from Cyrano-mediated TDMD, we demonstrate that depletion of Cdr1as reduces miR-7 abundance. In contrast, overexpression of an artificial linear version of Cdr1as drives miR-7 degradation. Using plasmids that express a circRNA with minimal co-expressed cognate linear RNA, we show differential effects on TDMD that cannot be attributed to the nucleotide sequence, as the TDMD properties of a sequence often differ between its circular and linear forms. By analysing RNA sequencing data of a neuron differentiation system, we further detect potential effects of circRNAs on microRNA stability. Our results support the view that RNA circularity influences TDMD, either enhancing or inhibiting it on specific microRNAs.
Measured Lamb wave radiation patterns from ⟨011⟩ Mn-PMN-PZT relaxor ferroelectric disks on an isotropic plate

Three-dimensional laser Doppler vibrometry is used to quantify the modal composition of the guided plate waves generated by relaxor ferroelectric disk actuators of a ⟨011⟩ poled Mn-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-lead zirconate titanate (PZT) single crystal and ⟨100⟩ poled piezoelectric PZT, bonded to an isotropic plate. Disk actuators are excited using a 5.5 cycle Hann-windowed voltage tone-burst at centre frequencies of 100, 200, and 300 kHz. Measured wave fields are processed using a two-dimensional fast Fourier transform to determine the radiation pattern of each contributing mode. For the same applied electric field strength, the single crystal actuators are shown to produce significantly larger wave amplitudes and one additional wave mode, the shear horizontal, as compared with PZT actuators. The wave-mode radiation patterns are shown to be anisotropic, suggesting that the classical theory describing guided-wave modal excitability may need to be revised for these materials.Three-dimensional laser Doppler vibrometry is used to quantify the modal composition of the guided plate waves generated by relaxor ferroelectric disk actuators of a ⟨011⟩ poled Mn-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-lead zirconate titanate (PZT) single crystal and ⟨100⟩ poled piezoelectric PZT, bonded to an isotropic plate. Disk actuators are excited using a 5.5 cycle Hann-windowed voltage tone-burst at centre frequencies of 100, 200, and 300 kHz. Measured wave fields are processed using a two-dimensional fast Fourier transform to determine the radiation pattern of each contributing mode. For the same applied electric field strength, the single crystal actuators are shown to produce significantly larger wave amplitudes and one additional wave mode, the shear horizontal, as compared with PZT actuators. The wave-mode radiation patterns are shown to be anisotropic, suggesting that the classical theory describing guided-wave modal excitability may need to be revised for these materials.
The Relationship between Paternal Age and Early Mortality of Triplets in the United States

We sought to determine the impact of advanced paternal age on the birth outcomes of triplets in a retrospective cohort study on 15,156 triplets born in the United States from 1995 to 1997. The study group comprised fathers aged 5 40 years. Two control groups consisting of mature (30 to 39 years) and younger (20 to 29 years) fathers were constructed for comparison of main end points. We applied the generalized estimating equation framework to obtain relative risk estimates after capturing the effect of sibling correlations within triplet clusters. Stillbirths were 35% and 26% higher among triplets of mature and older men, respectively, whereas neonatal mortality was 28% and 23% lower among infants of mature and older fathers, respectively, using younger fathers as the referent category. Although only the relative risk for neonatal mortality comparing triplets of mature and younger fathers was statistically signiﬁcant, these results constitute high indices that represent an important burden of excess early mortality at the population level. Our ﬁndings demonstrate a ‘‘shifting phenomenon’’ whereby a higher level of intrauterine demise was compensated by a higher rate of extrauterine survival among triplets born to older fathers.
Structure Learning of Contextual Markov Networks using Marginal Pseudo‐likelihood

Markov networks are popular models for discrete multivariate systems where the dependence structure of the variables is specified by an undirected graph. To allow for more expressive dependence structures, several generalizations of Markov networks have been proposed. Here, we consider the class of contextual Markov networks which takes into account possible context‐specific independences among pairs of variables. Structure learning of contextual Markov networks is very challenging due to the extremely large number of possible structures. One of the main challenges has been to design a score, by which a structure can be assessed in terms of model fit related to complexity, without assuming chordality. Here, we introduce the marginal pseudo‐likelihood as an analytically tractable criterion for general contextual Markov networks. Our criterion is shown to yield a consistent structure estimator. Experiments demonstrate the favourable properties of our method in terms of predictive accuracy of the inferred models.
Spatial precision and recall indices to assess the performance of instance segmentation algorithms

Since it is essential for Computer Vision systems to reliably perform in safety-critical applications such as autonomous vehicles, there is a need to evaluate their robustness to naturally occurring image perturbations. More specifically, the performance of Computer Vision systems needs to be linked to the image quality, which hasn’t received much research attention so far. In fact, aberrations of a camera system are always spatially variable over the Field of View, which may influence the performance of Computer Vision systems dependent on the degree of local aberrations. Therefore, the goal is to evaluate the performance of Computer Vision systems under effects of defocus by taking into account the spatial domain. Large-scale Autonomous Driving datasets are degraded by a parameterized optical model to simulate driving scenes under physically realistic effects of defocus. Using standard evaluation metrics, the Spatial Recall Index (SRI) and the new Spatial Precision Index (SPI), the performance of Computer Visions systems on these degraded datasets are compared with the optical performance of the applied optical model. A correlation could be observed between the spatially varying optical performance and the spatial performance of Instance Segmentation systems.
Cytomegalovirus Seroprevalence among Women of Childbearing Age during a 10-Year Period

The incidence of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease is dependent on the rate of virus acquisition by susceptible women in temporal proximity to pregnancy. Information about serostatus may help to identify high-risk groups and target interventions. Each year from 1991 to 2000, cord blood specimens (surrogates for maternal serum) from 100 consecutive deliveries were obtained at three hospitals. The presence of CMV immunoglobulin G antibody was correlated with demographic data. Overall, 58% of 2992 women were seropositive. After stratiﬁcation by socioeconomic status (SES), nonwhite race was strongly associated with seropositivity (odds ratio, 3.0; 95% conﬁdence interval [CI], 2.5 to 3.8), and after stratiﬁcation by race, lower SES also was associated (odds ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.7 to 2.3). There were no trends in seroprevalence over time in any demographic group. However, among white women 21 to 29 years of age, a signiﬁcant association was found with later birth cohort. Seropositivity ranged from 40% among older, white primigravidas of upper SES to 89% among older, nonwhite, multigravid women of lower SES. These data suggest high rates of CMV transmission among nonwhite women of lower SES. Because these women tended to deliver infants at younger ages, delaying pregnancy even a few years might reduce the incidence of congenital disease. In contrast, most white, upper SES women remain susceptible to primary infection during their childbearing years. Such women born after 1975 may be more likely to reach the childbearing years with CMV immunity as compared with women born before then.
Evaluation of Interface and Cohesion Shear Strength of Mechanical Lap-Joint Between HTS Coated Conductors Intended for Segmented HTS Magnet

Abstract This study evaluates the mechanical strength, failure mechanism and change in electrical resistance under shear stress of a mechanical lap joint of Rare-Earth Barium Copper Oxide high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes using indium as bonding material, which has been proposed for “remountable” (demountable) or segmented HTS magnet in future fusion reactors. Results from tensile shear tests using reinforced REBCO tapes along with an analysis on the failure mode demonstrated that contact conductivity is the critical parameter that defines joint’s shear strength rather than joint pressure. Additionally, it was concluded that change in joint resistance when failure occur is not abrupt and its behavior as joint displaces depends on the failure mode of the joint.
A Simulation Study of Global Evapotranspiration Components Using the Community Land Model

The Qian atmospheric forcing dataset is used to drive the Community Land Model, version 4.0 and 4.5 (CLM4 and CLM4.5) in off-line simulation tests. Based on flux network (FLUXNET) data and reanalysis data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), the simulation results of CLM4.5 on the global evaporation of intercepted water from the vegetation canopy (Ec), vegetation transpiration (Et), evaporation of soil (Es) and latent heat flux are evaluated. Subsequently, the improvement in the simulation results of CLM4.5 compared with CLM4.0 is tested and analyzed. The results show that the simulated spatial distribution of Ec, Et and latent heat flux in CLM4.5 are closer to the reanalysis data than Es. The simulated annual means of Et, Es and latent heat flux in CLM4.5 are larger than the reanalysis data, but Ec is smaller. The spatial distribution of the simulation bias of latent heat flux in CLM4.5 is mainly determined by the bias distribution of Es. There is a significant difference in the simulation of Et, Es and latent heat flux between CLM4.5 and CLM4.0. These differences are mainly present near the equator and in the middle and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. In general, compared with CLM4.0, the simulation bias of Et, Es, and latent heat flux have been reduced in CLM4.5, and the simulated means are more consistent with the reanalysis data. Although there is a significant improvement in the simulation of the spatial distribution of Et and Es in CLM4.5 compared with CLM4.0, the ability of CLM4.5 to simulate the spatial distribution of global latent heat flux shows little improvement relative to CLM4.0.
Remote Sensing Monitoring and Analysis of Spatiotemporal Changes in China's Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions Based on XCO2 Data

The monitoring and analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution of anthropogenic carbon emissions is an important part of realizing China’s regional “dual carbon” goals; that is, the aim is for carbon emissions to peak in 2030 an to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, as well as achieving sustainable development of the ecological environment. The column-averaged CO2 dry air mole fraction (XCO2) of greenhouse gas remote sensing satellites has been widely used to monitor anthropogenic carbon emissions. However, selecting a reasonable background region to eliminate the influence of uncertainty factors is still an important challenge to monitor anthropogenic carbon emissions by using XCO2. Aiming at the problems of the imprecise selection of background regions, this study proposes to enhance the anthropogenic carbon emission signal in the XCO2 by using the regional comparison method based on the idea of zoning. First, this study determines the background region based on the Open-Data Inventory for Anthropogenic Carbon dioxide (ODIAC) dataset and potential temperature data. Second, the average value of the XCO2 in the background area was extracted and taken as the XCO2 background. On this basis, the XCO2 anomaly (XCO2ano) was obtained by regional comparison method. Finally, the spatiotemporal variation characteristics and trends of XCO2ano were analyzed, and the correlations between the number of residential areas and fossil fuel emissions were calculated. The results of the satellite observation data experiments over China from 2010 to 2020 show that the XCO2ano and anthropogenic carbon emissions have similar spatial distribution patterns. The XCO2ano in China changed significantly and was in a positive growth trend as a whole. The XCO2ano values have a certain positive correlation with the number of residential areas and observations of fossil fuel emissions. The purpose of this research is to enhance the anthropogenic carbon emission signals in satellite observation XCO2 data by combining ODIAC data and potential temperature data, achieve the remote sensing monitoring and analysis of spatiotemporal changes in anthropogenic carbon emissions over China, and provide technical support for the policies and paths of regional carbon emission reductions and ecological environmental protection.
Construction of the Global Reference Atmospheric Profile Database

: Atmospheric proﬁles are important input parameters for atmospheric radiative transfer models and atmospheric parameter inversions. The construction of regionally representative reference atmospheric proﬁles can provide basic data for global atmospheric and environmental research. Most reference atmospheric proﬁle databases commonly used lag behind in updating frequency. These databases usually have limited spatial and temporal resolution and differ greatly from the real atmospheric state. To present the real atmospheric state, this article constructs the Global Reference Atmospheric Proﬁle Database (GRAP) based on ACE-FTS satellite products of 2021 and 2022, AIRS satellite products and ERA5 reanalysis data of 2022 u6sing a random forest regression model and a hierarchical mean algorithm. The radiance spectrum of FY-3E HIRAS-II using different proﬁle databases was simulated and compared with the measured spectrum. The results show that GRAP spectral simulations ﬁt better with the measured HIRAS-II spectrum. Comparing the CO 2 , CH 4 , O 3 and N 2 O proﬁles of GRAP, AFGL, MIPAS, RTTOV and NDACC ground station proﬁles in equatorial, mid-latitude summer and polar winter, the results show that GRAP has high spatial and temporal resolution and better ﬁts the current real atmospheric state. Comparing the temperature proﬁles of eight regions in China, the results illustrate that GRAP is a better representation of the state of the atmosphere in the Chinese region. GRAP can provide fundamental atmospheric data for radiative transfer studies and atmospheric parameter inversions.
Detecting Small for Gestational Age Infants: The Development of a Population-Based Reference for Washington State

Small for gestational age (SGA) infants are at increased risk for morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to develop a birthweight for gestational age reference that more accurately represents the Washington state population, focusing on SGA. Washington state birth certiﬁcate ﬁles of singleton births in 1989 to 1998 were used to develop the 3rd, 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of birthweight for gestational age for males and females. The Washington state 10th percentile curve most closely approximates a nationally representative reference, whereas an earlier but widely used California-based reference had the lowest centiles across gestational age with few exceptions. Using the Washington reference, 8.4% of Washington births would be classiﬁed as SGA ( < 10th percentile), compared with 5.5 and 7.4% using the California and national reference, respectively. The new reference may be helpful in assessing local regional data, and other areas with similar demographics, and provide more relevant clinical guidance.
Design of broadband anti-reflective metasurfaces based on an effective medium approach

In this paper we show how to systematically design anti-reflective metasurfaces for the mid-infrared wavelength range. To do so, we have utilized a multilayer arrangement involving a judiciously nano-perforated surface, having air holes, arranged in a hexagonal fashion. By exploiting an effective medium approach, we optimized the dimensions of the surface features in our design. Here, we report a broadband reflectivity 3.5 − 5.5 μm that is below 10% over a broad range of incident angles 00 ≤ θ𝑖 ≤ 700 , irrespective of the incident polarization (TE, TM). Our experimental results are in excellent agreement with full-wave finite element simulations. This systematic approach can be used to design a wide variety of patterned metasurfaces, capable of controlling the phase of the incident optical field.
Convergence Theorems of Iterative Methods for System of Strongly Nonlinear Nonconvex Variational Inequalities

Now we known that many authors studied and introduce the resultof nonconvex variational inequalities. By relying on the prox-regularity notion,we introduce and establish the convergence of modified algorithm of system ofstrongly nonlinear nonconvex variational inequalities problems. Then we obtainas a particular case some known results in this field.
Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn: Is Labor Prior to Cesarean Delivery Protective?

Transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) is a common respiratory problem in newborns. This study aims to determine if cesarean delivery (CD) is a risk factor for TTN, and if labor prior to CD decreases this risk. A linked data set consisting of Arizona birth certiﬁcates (1994 to 1998) and infants enrolled in a high-risk perinatal program provided 800 TTN cases and 800 controls, stratiﬁed by year. The relationships of CD and labor to TTN were examined using logistic regression. CD was associated with an increased risk of TTN, whether it was accompanied by labor (odds ratio [OR] 2.68; 95% conﬁdence interval [CI] 1.62 to 4.45) or not accompanied by labor (OR 2.88; 95% CI 2.01 to 4.13), even after adjusting for confounding variables. Labor did not affect the development of TTN, nor did it modify the association of CD with increased risk for TTN. CD is a risk factor for TTN. Labor prior to CD is not protective for TTN.