Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Erosive and Mechanical Tooth Wear in Viking Age Icelanders

(1) Background: The importance of the Icelandic Sagas as a source of information about diet habits in medieval Iceland, and possibly other Nordic countries, is obvious. Extensive tooth wear in archaeological material worldwide has revealed that the main cause of this wear is believed to have been a coarse diet. Near the volcano Hekla, 66 skeletons dated from before 1104 were excavated, and 49 skulls could be evaluated for tooth wear. The purpose of this study was to determine the main causes of tooth wear in light of diet and beverage consumption described in the Sagas; (2) Materials and methods: Two methods were used to evaluate tooth wear and seven for age estimation; (3) Results: Extensive tooth wear was seen in all of the groups, increasing with age. The first molars had the highest score, with no difference between sexes. These had all the similarities seen in wear from a coarse diet, but also presented with characteristics that are seen in erosion in modern Icelanders, through consuming excessive amounts of soft drinks. According to the Sagas, acidic whey was a daily drink and was used for the preservation of food in Iceland, until fairly recently; (4) Conclusions: It is postulated that the consumption of acidic drinks and food, in addition to a coarse and rough diet, played a significant role in the dental wear seen in ancient Icelanders.
Spoofing faces using makeup: An investigative study

Makeup can be used to alter the facial appearance of a person. Previous studies have established the potential of using makeup to obfuscate the identity of an individual with respect to an automated face matcher. In this work, we analyze the potential of using makeup for spoofing an identity, where an individual attempts to impersonate another person's facial appearance. In this regard, we first assemble a set of face images downloaded from the internet where individuals use facial cosmetics to impersonate celebrities. We next determine the impact of this alteration on two different face matchers. Experiments suggest that automated face matchers are vulnerable to makeup-induced spoofing and that the success of spoofing is impacted by the appearance of the impersonator's face and the target face being spoofed. Further, an identification experiment is conducted to show that the spoofed faces are successfully matched at better ranks after the application of makeup. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that systematically studies the impact of makeup-induced face spoofing on automated face recognition.
Fabrication and thermal properties of self-assembled silver multilayer films on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate

This article uses the layer-by-layer self-assembly method to fabricate multilayer film on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate. The hydrolization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) film was primarily performed with sodium hydroxide aqueous solution to produce a carboxyl-enriched surface. The multilayer films were fabricated by the alternate adsorption of the oppositely charged poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and silver nanoparticles on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate. The assembly process was monitored by UV–VIS spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma. The surface topography and chemical composition of the self-assembly films was characterized by atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The images indicated that the silver nanoparticles were successfully assembled and well distributed on the substrate. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the presence of metallic silver on the poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate. The thermal properties of the multilayer films were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and dynamic mechanical analyser. The results revealed that the storage modulus of ten-bilayer films decreases with temperature increasing and the glass transition temperature of ten-bilayer films have been found to be 99.3°C, whereas it is 94.8°C for the original poly(ethylene terephthalate) film.
Time-Delayed Mutual Information of the Phase as a Measure of Functional Connectivity

We propose a time-delayed mutual information of the phase for detecting nonlinear synchronization in electrophysiological data such as MEG. Palus already introduced the mutual information as a measure of synchronization [1]. To obtain estimates on small data-sets as reliably as possible, we adopt the numerical implementation as proposed by Kraskov and colleagues [2]. An embedding with a parametric time-delay allows a reconstruction of arbitrary nonstationary connective structures – so-called connectivity patterns – in a wide class of systems such as coupled oscillatory or even purely stochastic driven processes [3]. By using this method we do not need to make any assumptions about coupling directions, delay times, temporal dynamics, nonlinearities or underlying mechanisms. For verifying and refining the methods we generate synthetic data-sets by a mutual amplitude coupled network of Rössler oscillators with an a-priori known connective structure. This network is modified in such a way, that the power-spectrum forms a power law, which is also observed in electrophysiological recordings. The functional connectivity measure is tested on robustness to additive uncorrelated noise and in discrimination of linear mixed input data. For the latter issue a suitable de-correlation technique is applied. Furthermore, the compatibility to inverse methods for a source reconstruction in MEG such as beamforming techniques is controlled by dedicated dipole simulations. Finally, the method is applied on an experimental MEG recording.
Cultured Subventricular Zone Progenitor Cells Transduced with Neurogenin-2 Become Mature Glutamatergic Neurons and Integrate into the Dentate Gyrus

We have previously shown that transplantation of immature DCX+/NeuN+/Prox1+ neurons (found in the neonatal DG), but not undifferentiated neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) from ventral subventricular zone (SVZ), results in neuronal maturation in vivo within the dentate niche. Here we investigated whether we could enhance the integration of SVZ NPCs by forced expression of the proneural gene Neurogenin 2 (NEUROG2). NPCs cultured from neonatal GFP-transgenic rat SVZ for 7 days in a non-differentiating medium were transduced with a retrovirus encoding NEUROG2 and DsRed or the DsRed reporter gene alone (control). By 3 days post-transduction, the NEUROG2-transduced cells maintained in culture contained mostly immature neurons (91% DCX+; 76% NeuN+), whereas the control virus-transduced cells remained largely undifferentiated (30% DCX+; <1% NeuN+). At 6 weeks following transplantation into the DG of adult male rats, there were no neurons among the transplanted cells treated with the control virus but the majority of the NEUROG2-transduced DsRed+ SVZ cells became mature neurons (92% NeuN+; DCX-negative). Although the NEUROG2-transduced SVZ cells did not express the dentate granule neuron marker Prox1, most of the NEUROG2-transduced SVZ cells (78%) expressed the glutamatergic marker Tbr1, suggesting the acquisition of a glutamatergic phenotype. Moreover, some neurons extended dendrites into the molecular layer, grew axons containing Ankyrin G+ axonal initial segments, and projected into the CA3 region, thus resembling mature DG granule neurons. A proportion of NEUROG2 transduced cells also expressed c-Fos and P-CREB, two markers of neuronal activation. We conclude that NEUROG2-transduction is sufficient to promote neuronal maturation and integration of transplanted NPCs from SVZ into the DG.
Circulating neutrophil transcriptome may reveal intracranial aneurysm signature

Background Unruptured intracranial aneurysms (IAs) are typically asymptomatic and undetected except for incidental discovery on imaging. Blood-based diagnostic biomarkers could lead to improvements in IA management. This exploratory study examined circulating neutrophils to determine whether they carry RNA expression signatures of IAs. Methods Blood samples were collected from patients receiving cerebral angiography. Eleven samples were collected from patients with IAs and 11 from patients without IAs as controls. Samples from the two groups were paired based on demographics and comorbidities. RNA was extracted from isolated neutrophils and subjected to next-generation RNA sequencing to obtain differential expressions for identification of an IA-associated signature. Bioinformatics analyses, including gene set enrichment analysis and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, were used to investigate the biological function of all differentially expressed transcripts. Results Transcriptome profiling identified 258 differentially expressed transcripts in patients with and without IAs. Expression differences were consistent with peripheral neutrophil activation. An IA-associated RNA expression signature was identified in 82 transcripts (p<0.05, fold-change ≥2). This signature was able to separate patients with and without IAs on hierarchical clustering. Furthermore, in an independent, unpaired, replication cohort of patients with IAs (n = 5) and controls (n = 5), the 82 transcripts separated 9 of 10 patients into their respective groups. Conclusion Preliminary findings show that RNA expression from circulating neutrophils carries an IA-associated signature. These findings highlight a potential to use predictive biomarkers from peripheral blood samples to identify patients with IAs.
ExpanStor: Multiple Cloud Storage with Dynamic Data Distribution

ExpanStor is proposed to provide high security and reliability in multi-cloud storage. Compared with the existing multi-cloud storages, expanStor have the following distinctive features and advantages. Firstly, expanStor uses client-server architecture to realize multiple-devices, multiple-user use case. The combination of local database and remote database storing the metadata of the files avoids the single point of failure. Secondly, expanStor supports LDPC codes to provide high level of security and reliability with high efficiency. Thirdly, a dynamic distributor is proposed to place the data dynamically so that higher reliability and even distribution can be achieved when there are more available Cloud Storage Providers.
What are the Newer Applications for Therapeutic Apheresis in Nephrology?

Therapeutic apheresis includes plasma exchange (PE), light-density-lipoprotein apheresis (LDL-A), plasma absorption, direct hemoperfusion, immunoabsorption, or cytapheresis. Apheresis allows the removal of various toxic substances, including autoantibodies, immune complexes, exogenous toxins, overdosed drugs, abnormal proteins, cholesterol, and even cells, from the circulation. In addition, plasma exchange enables the supplementation of deficient substances, coagulation factors, and albumin, from the replacement fluid. Therapeutic apheresis, particularly PE, is used as the first-line or adjunctive therapy for renal diseases and benefits affected patients who are refractory to conventional therapies (1,2). Clinical guidelines from Japanese academic societies recommend therapeutic apheresis for several renal diseases—thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)/hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), antiglomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease, ANCA (antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody)—associated vasculitis (AAV), refractory nephrotic syndrome (NS), myeloma, desensitization, and acute allograft rejection in kidney transplantation, most of which are covered with the national care system in Japan (Table 1). Herein, we review the clinical application of therapeutic apheresis in nephrology and its status in Japan.
The Internal Anticipation of Sensory Action Effects: When Action Induces FFA and PPA Activity

Voluntary action – in particular the ability to produce desired effects in the environment – is fundamental to human existence. According to ideomotor theory we can achieve goals in the environment by means of anticipating their outcomes. We aimed at providing neurophysiological evidence for the assumption that performing actions calls for the activation of brain areas associated with the sensory effects usually evoked by the actions. We conducted an fMRI study in which right and left button presses lead to the presentation of face and house pictures. We compared a baseline phase with the same phase after participants experienced the association between button presses and pictures. We found an increase in the parahippocampal place area (PPA) for the response that has been associated with house pictures and fusiform face area (FFA) for the response that has been coupled with face pictures. This observation constitutes support for ideomotor theory.
Modification of the kinetic stability of immunoglobulin G by solvent additives

ABSTRACT Biophysical properties of antibody-based biopharmaceuticals are a critical part of their release criteria. In this context, finding the appropriate formulation is equally important as optimizing their intrinsic biophysical properties through protein engineering, and both are mutually dependent. Most previous studies have empirically tested the impact of additives on measures of colloidal stability, while mechanistic aspects have usually been limited to only the thermodynamic stability of the protein. Here we emphasize the kinetic impact of additives on the irreversible denaturation steps of immunoglobulins G (IgG) and their antigen-binding fragments (Fabs), as these are the key committed steps preceding aggregation, and thus especially informative in elucidating the molecular parameters of activity loss. We examined the effects of ten additives on the conformational kinetic stability by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), using a recently developed three-step model containing both reversible and irreversible steps. The data highlight and help to rationalize different effects of the additives on the properties of full-length IgG, analyzed by onset and aggregation temperatures as well as by kinetic parameters derived from our model. Our results further help to explain the observation that stabilizing mutations in the antigen-binding fragment (Fab) significantly affect the kinetic parameters of its thermal denaturation, but not the aggregation properties of the full-length IgGs. We show that the proper analysis of DSC scans for full-length IgGs and their corresponding Fabs not only helps in ranking their stability in different formats and formulations, but provides important mechanistic insights for improving the conformational kinetic stability of IgGs.
Vertical Integration of TTP/A Fieldbus Systems Using Web Services

This paper presents a generic technique to expose data and control of fieldbus systems to applications located at the level of operational management. To provide a high degree of interoperability between the operational level and different fieldbus systems we utilize standardized techniques such as XML, HTTP, and Web services which can be deployed independently of the platform. The proposed service is based on the interface file system for TTP/A smart transducers. The defined interface provides high level abstractions appropriate for the integration into business applications and considers the latency introduced by the internet protocols.
Lane-level vehicle self-localization in under-bridge environments based on multi-level sensor fusion

Vehicle self-localization in complex scenarios is a critical problem for autonomous driving system. Current localization techniques perform well in open-sky areas, while in closed-sky areas, localization accuracy is rapidly degenerated due to unfavorable factors as denied satellite signal, accumulated error and traffic congestion. Therefore, we proposed a novel system in this work, which is able to achieve lane-level vehicle self-localization in special roads under bridges or viaducts without the help of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). In the system, all data is collected by stereo camera and inertial sensors, and fused in three different levels for reducing the uncertainty of data and acquiring a more accurate localization result. The proposed system is proved to be effective and robust through experiments conducted in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
The Influence of Interleukin Gene Polymorphism on Expression of Interleukin-1β and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α in Periodontal Tissue and Gingival Crevicular Fluid.

BACKGROUND A specific composite genotype of the polymorphic interleukin-1 (IL-1) gene cluster has recently been associated with severe periodontitis. One polymorphism of the composite periodontitis-associated genotype (PAG) has been functionally linked with expression of high levels of IL-1. The purpose of this study was to test whether gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) levels of IL-1ß and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), and gingival tissue levels of IL- 1α, IL-1β, and TNFα correlate with PAG, and to examine the effec; of conservative periodontal therapy on these levels. METHODS Twenty-two adults with moderate to advanced periodontal disease were enrolled. Polymerase chain reaction amplification and restriction enzymes were used to identify specific polymorphisms from peripheral blood samples. GCF samples were collected at baseline and 3 weeks following conservative treatment and analyzed by ELISA for IL-1ß and TNFα. An interproximal gingival biopsy was collected at baseline and follow-up and analyzed for IL-1α, IL-1β, and TNFα by ELISA. RESULTS The genotyping identified 7 as PAG(+) and 15 as PAG(-). The 2 groups were comparable in terms of existing periodontitis and age. In shallow sites (<4 mm), total IL-1ß in GCF was 2.5 times higher for PAG(+) patients prior to treatment (P = 0.03), and 2.2 times higher after treatment (P = 0.04), while differences were less apparent in deeper sites. Following treatment, a reduction in IL-1β concentration in GCF was seen for PAG(-) but not for PAG(+) patients. While not statistically significant, a trend was observed in mean tissue levels of IL-1β which were 3.6 times higher in PAG(+) versus PAG(-) patients (P = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that PAG(+) patients may demonstrate phenotypic differences as indicated by elevated levels of IL-1ß in GCF. J Periodontol 1999;70:567-573.
Design and extensive hardware performance analysis of an efficient pairwise key generation scheme for Smart Grid

Generating pairwise shared keys among different entities of Smart Grid is of great significance because it provides the possibility of subsequent fast and secure communications by means of symmetric key algorithms. Due to the constrained resources of the measurement devices or the smart meters, the shared key generation scheme must not only provide the security features but also put the least possible burden on the measurement devices. Several key generation schemes have been presented thus far. However, many require time and resource consuming operations, some are not suitable for hierarchical data collection in the honest‐but‐curious model, some rely on a third trusted party, and last but not least, most of them have not considered suitable hardware that can be employed for each entity of Smart Grid. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a key generation scheme that not only is free from the aforementioned issues but is also efficient in both communication and computational costs. Additionally, and more importantly, we have implemented the cryptographic elements on (a) an ARM Cortex‐M3 microcontroller, which is a proper candidate for the measurement devices; (b) an Intel Core i7‐4702MQ processor, which can be employed for either the data collectors or the power operator; and (c) 4 ARM processors, three 32‐bit and one 64‐bit. Eventually, we have evaluated the feasibility of using the ARM processors to be employed for the data collectors. We hope that the achieved results be useful for other researches in this field.
Early-life origins of schizotypal traits in adulthood

Background Although schizotypal traits, such as anhedonia and aberrant perceptions, may increase the risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, little is known about early-life characteristics that predict more pronounced schizotypal traits. Aims To examine whether birth size or several other early-life factors that have been previously linked with schizophrenia predict schizotypal traits in adulthood. Method Participants of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study (n = 4976) completed a questionnaire on positive and negative schizotypal traits at the age of 31 years. Results Lower placental weight, lower birth weight and smaller head circumference at 12 months predicted elevated positive schizotypal traits in women after adjusting for several confounders (P<0.02). Moreover, higher gestational age, lower childhood family socioeconomic status, undesirability of pregnancy, winter/autumn birth, higher birth order and maternal smoking during pregnancy predicted some augmented schizotypal traits in women, some in men and some in both genders. Conclusions The results point to similarities in the aetiology of schitzotypal traits and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.
Structural basis for dynamic regulation of the human 26S proteasome

Significance The proteasome holoenzyme is an ATP-dependent protease in eukaryotes that degrades ubiquitylated substrates. It is involved in numerous important biological processes, such as cell division, differentiation, innate immunity, adaptive immunity, regulation of gene expression, and response to proteotoxic stress. Using cryoelectron microscopy, we have examined multiple conformational states of the human proteasome at medium to high resolution. Our results reveal that the substrate-conducting channel in the core particle is transiently opened and accompanied by dynamic changes in structure of the particle. These observations provide new insights into how the proteasome recognizes ubiquitylated substrates and translocates them through a channel and gate to degradation sites in the core particle. The proteasome is the major engine of protein degradation in all eukaryotic cells. At the heart of this machine is a heterohexameric ring of AAA (ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities) proteins that unfolds ubiquitylated target proteins that are concurrently translocated into a proteolytic chamber and degraded into peptides. Using cryoelectron microscopy, we determined a near–atomic-resolution structure of the 2.5-MDa human proteasome in its ground state, as well as subnanometer-resolution structures of the holoenzyme in three alternative conformational states. The substrate-unfolding AAA-ATPase channel is narrowed by 10 inward-facing pore loops arranged into two helices that run in parallel with each other, one hydrophobic in character and the other highly charged. The gate of the core particle was unexpectedly found closed in the ground state and open in only one of the alternative states. Coordinated, stepwise conformational changes of the regulatory particle couple ATP hydrolysis to substrate translocation and regulate gating of the core particle, leading to processive degradation.