Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vax1 plays an indirect role in the aetiology of murine cleft palate

Cleft lip with or without palate (CLP) or isolated cleft palate (CP) are common human developmental malformations with a complex aetiology that reflects a failure of normal facial development. VAX1 encodes a homeobox-containing transcription factor identified as a candidate gene for CLP in human populations, with targeted deletion in mice associated with multiple anomalies, including disruption of the visual apparatus and basal forebrain, lobar holoprosencephaly and CP. We have investigated Vax1 function during murine palatogenesis but find no evidence for a direct role in this process. Vax1 is not expressed in the developing palate and mutant palatal shelves elevate above the tongue, demonstrating morphology and proliferation indices indistinguishable from wild type. However, mutant mice did have a large midline cavity originating from the embryonic forebrain situated beneath the floor of the hypothalamus and extending through the nasal cavity to expand this region and prevent approximation of the palatal shelves. Interestingly, despite strong expression of Vax1 in ectoderm of the medial nasal processes, the upper lip remained intact in mutant mice. We found further evidence of disrupted craniofacial morphology in Vax1 mutants, including truncation of the midface associated with reduced cell proliferation in forebrain neuroectoderm and frontonasal mesenchyme. Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signal transduction was downregulated in the mutant forebrain consistent with a role for Vax1 in mediating transduction of this pathway. However, Shh was also reduced in this region, suggestive of an Shh-Vax1 feedback loop during early development of the forebrain and a likely mechanism for the underlying lobar HPE. Despite significant associations between VAX1 and human forms of CLP we find no evidence of a direct role for this transcription factor in development of this region in a mutant mouse model.
Crossing the Great Divide:

This article addresses perceived difference in temporal pace within nature and considers how epistemological debate is conditioned by such difference, drawing on the work of Norbert Elias. The first part of the article debates the equivalence of `natural time' and `social time'. The acceleration of human social pace is also explored, along with the human capacity for plasticity and change, and the contrast which such plasticity presents in relation to the seeming longevity of many natural processes. The epistemological implications of these arguments are considered in the second part of the article, focusing on the difficulties which human plasticity creates for current social theory (with particular attention to critical realism). In the final part of the article, the foregoing discussion is used to re-evaluate sociologies of nature through reference to the sociology of the body.
Leveraging Google Earth Engine (GEE) for determining land use and land cover changes around Tasik Chini Malaysia.

This study explores the capability of Google Earth Engine in determining land use and land cover changes around Tasik Chini Malaysia which is one of the tourism areas severely affected by landscape changes. Two Landsat satellite composite data spanning ten years of difference and Machine Learning Approach algorithm namely Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector machine (SVM) are used to create landuse land cover changes (LULCC) map of the area. GEE is capable of processing time series data as well as performing temporal aggregation. In our case median metrics is used in creating many different alternatives of image composites for creating the LULC map with ease but accurate result. It is an excellent alternative for geospatial and big data analysts for both advance and novice users in processing long term EO dataset especially in dealing with many imageries. The best classification accuracy with the highest Overall Accuracy (OA) is by using Random Forest classifier with 81.58% for the year 2010 and 83.59% for 2020. The Kappa coefficient of both years are 0.75 and 0.78. It is found using this technique, Tasik Chini lost about 6600 hectares of forest area and an increase of bareland and develop area especially around the Tasik Chini lake due to the reported increase of mining activities for the past few years.
Assessing the removal of organic micro-pollutants from anaerobic membrane 1 bioreactor effluent by fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis 2 3

22 In this study, the behavior of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) transport including 23 membrane fouling was assessed in fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) during 24 treatment of the anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) effluent. The flux decline was 25 negligible when the FO membrane was oriented with active layer facing feed solution (AL26 FS) while severe flux decline was observed with active layer facing draw solution (AL-DS) 27 with di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer as DS due to struvite scaling inside the 28 membrane support layer. DAP DS however exhibited the lowest OMPs forward flux or 29 higher OMPs rejection rate compared to other two fertilizers (i.e., mono-ammonium 30 phosphate (MAP) and KCl). MAP and KCl fertilizer DS had higher water fluxes that 31 induced higher external concentration polarization (ECP) and enhanced OMPs flux through 32 the FO membrane. Under the AL-DS mode of membrane orientation, OMPs transport was 33 further increased with MAP and KCl as DS due to enhanced concentrative internal 34 concentration polarization while with DAP the internal scaling enhanced mass transfer 35 resistance thereby lowering OMPs flux. Physical or hydraulic cleaning could successfully 36 recover water flux for FO membranes operated under the AL-FS mode but only partial flux 37 recovery was observed for membranes operated under AL-DS mode because of internal 38 scaling and fouling in the support layer. Osmotic backwashing could however significantly 39 improve the cleaning efficiency. 40
Controlling light with metadevices

xxvii 1 Overview . 1 1.1 Background . 1 1.2 Problem statement . 4 1.3 Research objectives . 10 2 Towards 3D bulk photonic metamaterials . 17 2.
Conversion of cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase into a starch hydrolase by directed evolution

: Cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase) preferably catalyzes transglycosylation reactions, whereas many other R -amylase family enzymes are hydrolases. Despite the availability of three-dimensional structures of several transglycosylases and hydrolases of this family, the factors that determine the hydrolysis and transglycosylation specificity are far from understood. To identify the amino acid residues that are critical for the transglycosylation reaction specificity, we carried out error-prone PCR mutagenesis and screened for Bacillus circulans strain 251 CGTase mutants with increased hydrolytic activity. After three rounds of mutagenesis the hydrolytic activity had increased 90-fold, reaching the highest hydrolytic activity ever reported for a CGTase. The single mutation with the largest effect (A230V) occurred in a residue not studied before. The structure of this A230V mutant suggests that the larger valine side chain hinders substrate binding at acceptor subsite + 1, although not to the extent that catalysis is impossible. The much higher hydrolytic than transglycosylation activity of this mutant indicates that the use of sugar acceptors is hindered especially. This observation is in favor of a proposed induced-fit mechanism, in which sugar acceptor binding at
in a real-world social interaction: A dual eye-tracking study

People communicate using verbal and non-verbal cues, including gaze cues. Gaze allocation can be inﬂuenced by social factors, however most research on gaze cueing has not considered these factors. The presence of social roles was manipulated in a natural, everyday collaborative task whilst eye movements were measured. In pairs, participants worked together to make a cake. Half of the pairs were given roles (“Chef” or “Gath-erer”) and the other half were not. Across all participants we found, contrary to the results of static image experiments, that participants spent very little time looking at each other, challenging the generalisability of the conclusions from lab-based paradigms. However, participants were more likely than not to look at their partner when receiving an instruction, highlighting the typical coordination of gaze cues and verbal communication in natural interactions. The mean duration of instances in which the partners looked at each other (partner gaze) was longer in the roles condition, and these participants were quicker to align their gaze with their partners (shared gaze). In addition, we found some indication that when hearing spoken instructions, listeners in the roles condition looked at the speaker more than listeners in the no roles condition. We conclude that social context can aﬀect our gaze behaviour during a social interaction.
University of Birmingham Rapid reduction versus abrupt quitting for smokers who want to stop soon: a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial

Background: The standard way to stop smoking is to stop abruptly on a quit day with no prior reduction in consumption of cigarettes. Many smokers feel that reduction is natural and if reduction programmes were offered, many more might take up treatment. Few trials of reduction versus abrupt cessation have been completed. Most are small, do not use pharmacotherapy, and do not meet the standards necessary to obtain a marketing authorisation for a pharmacotherapy. Design/Methods: We will conduct a non-inferiority randomised trial of rapid reduction versus standard abrupt cessation among smokers who want to stop smoking. In the reduction arm, participants will be advised to reduce smoking consumption by half in the first week and to 25% of baseline in the second, leading up to a quit day
Import Competition and the Great US Employment Sag of the 2000s

Even before the Great Recession, US employment growth was unimpressive. Between 2000 and 2007, the economy gave back the considerable employment gains achieved during the 1990s, with a historic contraction in manufacturing employment being a prime contributor to the slump. We estimate that import competition from China, which surged after 2000, was a major force behind both recent reductions in US manufacturing employment and—through input-output linkages and other general equilibrium channels—weak overall US job growth. Our central estimates suggest job losses from rising Chinese import competition over 1999–2011 in the range of 2.0–2.4 million.
Analyzing the Extent and Influence of Occupational Licensing on the Labor Market

This study examines occupational licensing in the United States using a specially designed national labor force survey. Estimates from the survey indicated that 35% of employees were either licensed or certified by the government and that 29% were licensed. Another 3% stated that all who worked in their job would eventually be required to be certified or licensed, bringing the total that are or eventually must be licensed or certified by government to 38%. We find that licensing is associated with about 18% higher wages but that the effect of governmental certification on pay is much smaller.
Tofacitinib blocks IFN-regulated biomarker genes in skin fibroblasts and keratinocytes in a systemic sclerosis trial

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune, connective tissue disease characterized by vasculopathy and fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. We randomized 15 participants with early diffuse cutaneous SSc to tofacitinib 5 mg twice a day or matching placebo in a phase I/II double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The primary outcome measure was safety and tolerability at or before week 24. To understand the changes in gene expression associated with tofacitinib treatment in each skin cell population, we compared single-cell gene expression in punch skin biopsies obtained at baseline and 6 weeks following the initiation of treatment. Tofacitinib was well tolerated; no participants experienced grade 3 or higher adverse events before or at week 24. Trends in efficacy outcome measures favored tofacitnib. Baseline gene expression in fibroblast and keratinocyte subpopulations indicated IFN-activated gene expression. Tofacitinib inhibited IFN-regulated gene expression in SFRP2/DPP4 fibroblasts (progenitors of myofibroblasts) and in MYOC/CCL19, representing adventitial fibroblasts ( P < 0.05), as well as in the basal and keratinized layers of the epidermis. Gene expression in macrophages and DCs indicated inhibition of STAT3 by tofacitinib ( P < 0.05). No clinically meaningful inhibition of T cells and endothelial cells […] epidermis A subset of ubiquitin pathway genes, HSPA8, PSMB9, PSMB10, PSME2, and UBD, correlated with baseline mRSS and changed consistently with tofacitinib.
Sustainability change management in inter-organizational innovation networks

Managing sustainability-oriented organizational changes has received increasing attention in the international literature from the perspectives of corporations and universities. Nevertheless, researching sustainability change management (SCM) from the perspective of the cooperation of corporations and universities, especially the underlying factors of the cooperation, remained overlooked until now. Based on the change management (CM) literature, this research focuses on an international inter-organizational network with universities and corporations, and empirically studies their autonomous SCM characteristics and the collaborative planning dynamics of a sustainability-led innovation (SLI) project. Results show that SLIs cannot only come from SCM strategies, but emerging opportunities within inter-organizational networks could also induce them. Important contextual factors of CM, i.e., regarding strategy, structure, and capabilities, however, could and should be interpreted during SCM and SLI project planning, as these underlying factors force cooperation partners to compromise with each other in project scope. The results suggest that compromises could not undertake autonomous strategy alignment or capability building, only minor changes in the project scope which will still allow leveraging existing capabilities or require a few additional structural coordination mechanisms. The findings contribute to the literature by highlighting empirical examples of inter-organizational SLI challenges, deriving from autonomous balancing needs during SCM.
Stratigraphie du site des Peyrugues (Lot), une coupe de référence pour le dernier pléniglaciaire en Aquitaine

L’abri-sous-roche des Peyrugues, situe en bordure de la vallee du Cele (Lot, France) a livre une importante stratigraphie couvrant les 25 derniers millenaires. Cette stratigraphie permet de proposer un canevas chronologique detaille pour la dynamique de versant et les paleoenvironnements au cours du Pleniglaciaire superieur en Aquitaine. Elle montre que pendant le maximum de froid, entre 25 et 20 ka BP environ, la dynamique etait caracterisee par des coulees de solifluxion a front pierreux comparables a celles que l’on observe actuellement dans les milieux periglaciaires peu vegetalises d’altitude, avec des temperatures moyennes annuelles inferieures a -1 ou -2°C. Cette dynamique a mis en place des depots de pente stratifies. Deux niveaux plus organiques, interpretes comme des paleosols humiferes deformes sur la pente, sont interstratifies dans ces depots et datent d’environ 25 et 19-21 ka BP. Ces horizons, qui marquent de courtes phases de pedogenese en liaison avec un climat plus humide et/ou moins froid, peuvent etre correles respectivement avec les interstades Dansgaard-Oeschger 3/4 et 2. Pendant la periode comprise entre ~ 19 et ~ 16 ka BP, la solifluxion reste active, mais probablement associee a un couvert vegetal herbace plus ou moins continu. Les depots prennent l’aspect d’un diamicton massif legerement organique. L’accumulation detritique s’acheve avec la chute catastrophique d’un grand volume de roche pendant l’intervalle 16-13 ka BP. Une comparaison avec les stratigraphies decrites dans les sites du Perigord indique que plusieurs phenomenes reconnus aux Peyrugues ont une valeur regionale.
Estimation of HPV prevalence in young women in Scotland ; monitoring of future vaccine impact

Estimation of HPV prevalence in young women in Scotland; monitoring of future vaccine impact BMC Infectious Diseases 2013, 13:519 doi:10.1186/1471-2334-13-519 Kimberley Kavanagh (kim.kavanagh@strath.ac.uk) Katy Sinka (Katy.Sinka@phe.gov.uk) Kate Cuschieri (Kate.Cuschieri@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk) John Love (john.love@nhs.net) Alison Potts (alison.potts@nhs.net) Kevin GJ Pollock (kevin.pollock@nhs.net) Heather Cubie (Heather.Cubie@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk) Martin Donaghy (martin.donaghy@nhs.net) Chris Robertson (chris.robertson@strath.ac.uk)
The impacts of forest management practices and climate change on soil fungal communities

Soil fungi perform many vital functions in forest ecosystems, including decomposition, mineralisation and plant fungal mutualism. Through these processes, soil fungi play important roles in carbon and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. Despite their importance in forest soils, there is currently little information regarding the influence of environmental disturbances on soil fungal communities in forest ecosystems. Work described in this thesis thus investigated the effects of forest management practices (i.e. forest conversion and prescribed burning for forest regeneration) and climate change on soil fungal communities. The influence of conversion of mixed native forest to monoculture plantations of native tree species on soil fungal communities was investigated using adjacent native rainforest and ca 80 yr old monoculture plantations of native Araucariaceae species (Araucaria cunninghamii, Araucaria bidwillii and Agathis robusta) at Gadgarra State Forest, Queensland, Australia. Prior to sampling, preliminary analysis was carried out to investigate A. bidwillii rhizosphere and bulk soil fungal communities in a native rainforest at Mt Lewis Forest Reserve, Queensland, Australia. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and cloning was used to show that fungal communities did not differ between A. bidwillii rhizosphere and adjacent bulk soil. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis revealed that soil fungal communities differed between the four forest types at Gadgarra State Forest. The most abundant ITS sequences in clone assemblages from the four forest types were Ascomycota, followed by Basidiomycota, Zygomycota and Chitridomycota, however, their relative importance varied in individual forest types.
Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by measurement of S100 protein in serum: prospective case-control study

Abstract Abstract Objective: To analyse serum concentrations of brain specific S100 protein in patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and in controls. Design: Prospective case-control study. Setting: National Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance unit. Subjects: 224 patients referred to the surveillance unit with suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and 35 control patients without dementia. Main outcome measure: Serum concentration of S100 protein in patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, in patients with other diseases causing dementia, and in the control group. Results: Of the 224 patients with suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, 65 were classed as definitely having the disease after neuropathological verification, an additional 6 were classed as definitely having the disease as a result of a genetic mutation, 43 as probably having the disease, 36 as possibly having the disease, and 74 patients were classed as having other disease. In the 108 patients classed as definitely or probably having Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease the median serum concentration of S100 was 395 pg/ml (SD 387 pg/ml). This was significantly higher than concentrations found in the 74 patients classed as having other diseases (median 109 pg/ml; SD 177 pg/ml; P=0.0001). At a cut off point of 213 pg/ml sensitivity for the diagnosis of the disease was 77.8% (95% confidence interval 68.8% to 85.2%) and specificity was 81.1% (70.3% to 89.3%). There was a significant difference in survival at different concentrations of S100 in Kaplan-Meier curves (P=0.023). Conclusion: Measurement of serum concentrations of S100 is a valuable tool which can be used more easily than tests on cerebrospinal fluid in the differential diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. More studies are needed to determine whether serial testing of serum S100 improves diagnostic accuracy. Key messages Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare, fatal neurodegenerative disease. Diagnosis is made clinically and neuropathologically There is no serum test which allows the diagnosis to be made while the patient is alive In this study raised serum concentrations of S100 protein were found in patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease Serum concentrations of S100 could be used with a sensitivity of 77.8% and a specificity of 81.1% to confirm Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the differential diagnosis of diseases that cause dementia Serial measurement of S100 concentrations will enhance diagnostic accuracy
Some Cross-Linguistic Evidence for Modulation of Implicational Universals by Language-Specific Frequency Effects in Phonological Development

Although broad-focus comparisons of consonant inventories across children acquiring different languages can suggest that phonological development follows a universal sequence, finer-grained statistical comparisons can reveal systematic differences. This cross-linguistic study of word-initial lingual obstruents examined some effects of language-specific frequencies on consonant mastery. Repetitions of real words were elicited from 2- and 3-year-old children who were monolingual speakers of English, Cantonese, Greek, or Japanese. The repetitions were recorded and transcribed by an adult native speaker for each language. Results found support for both language-universal effects in phonological acquisition and for language-specific influences related to phoneme and phoneme sequence frequency. These results suggest that acquisition patterns that are common across languages arise in two ways. One influence is direct, via the universal constraints imposed by the physiology and physics of speech production and perception, and how these predict which contrasts will be easy and which will be difficult for the child to learn to control. The other influence is indirect, via the way universal principles of ease of perception and production tend to influence the lexicons of many languages through commonly attested sound changes.
Association between Chest CT–defined Emphysema and Lung Cancer

Background: Given the different methods of assessing emphysema, controversy exists as to whether it is associated with lung cancer. Purpose: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between chest CT–defined emphysema and the presence of lung cancer. Materials and Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched up to July 15
Journal of Agrometeorology

Jute crop cultivated in Cooch Behar suffers a substantial amount of physical and economical loss every year due to several major insect pest infestation such as Yellow Mite ( Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks) and Jute Semilooper ( Anomis sabulifera Guen). Constructed seasonal plots reveal that for Yellow Mite pest incidence is maximum at 55 DAS, while for Jute Semi Looper it is at 45 DAS. Correlation analysis indicate that the weather parameters such as minimum temperature at current week, maximum RH at one week lag, minimum temperature, minimum and maximum RH at two-week lag are significantly correlated with the incidence of Yellow Mite, while in case of Jute Semilooper maximum temperature, minimum and maximum RH at two-week lag are significantly correlated. Different forecasting models like ARIMA, ARIMAX, SARIMA, SARIMAX and SVR have been fitted and validated using RMSE and RMdSE values. While ARIMAX and SARIMAX are found to be the best fitted model for Yellow Mite and Jute Semilooper respectively, following successful model validation, forecasting is done for the year 2022.