Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance and robustness analysis reveals phenotypic trade-offs in yeast

This study combines phenotypic data from yeast cultivations with quantification of robustness over a defined perturbation space, revealing trade-offs between performance and robustness. To design strains that can function efficiently in complex industrial settings, it is crucial to consider their robustness, that is, the stability of their performance when faced with perturbations. In the present study, we cultivated 24 Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains under conditions that simulated perturbations encountered during lignocellulosic bioethanol production, and assessed the performance and robustness of multiple phenotypes simultaneously. The observed negative correlations confirmed a trade-off between performance and robustness of ethanol yield, biomass yield, and cell dry weight. Conversely, the specific growth rate performance positively correlated with the robustness, presumably because of evolutionary selection for robust, fast-growing cells. The Ethanol Red strain exhibited both high performance and robustness, making it a good candidate for bioproduction in the tested perturbation space. Our results experimentally map the robustness–performance trade-offs, previously demonstrated mainly by single-phenotype and computational studies. Graphical Abstract
Impact of the Madden-Julian Oscillation on Pre-flood Season Precipitation in South China

Impact of the Madden-Julian Oscillation(MJO) on pre-flood season precipitation in South China is investigated based on a real-time MJO index and observed daily rainfall from gauge stations.It is shown that the rainfall patterns change from enhanced to suppressed in South China at intraseasonal timescales as the MJO moves from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific.The most significant positive and negative anomalies are found in phase 4 and phase 7,respectively.The maximum positive and negative anomalies of regional mean rainfall are 17% and 11% relative to the climatological regional mean,respectively.Such different rainfall regimes are associated with the corresponding changes in large-scale background fields such as the western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH),moisture,and vertical motion.In phase 4,when the MJO is mainly over the Indian Ocean,the WPSH shifts farther westward,the moisture and upward motion in South China are increased,such environment is in favor of rainfall enhancement.In contrast,in phase 7,when the MJO enters the western Pacific,the WPSH retreats eastward,the moisture and upward motion in South China are decreased,such environment is in favor of rainfall suppression.
Household Food Security in the United States, 2006

Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2006, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (10.9 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the year. About one-third of food insecure households (4.0 percent of all U.S. households) had very low food security—meaning that the food intake of one or more adults was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources for food. Prevalence rates of food insecurity and very low food security were essentially unchanged from those in 2005. The typical food-secure household spent 31 percent more on food than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and household composition. Just over half of all food-insecure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food and nutrition assistance programs during the month prior to USDA’s annual Food Security Survey.
Biogéographie, écologie et valeur patrimoniale des forêts de pin sylvestre (Pinus sylvestris L.) en région méditerranéenne

Ce travail a pour objectif de synthetiser une partie des informations disponibles concernant les forets mediterraneennes de pin sylvestre (Pinus sylvestris L.) en examinant : (i) l'origine et l'histoire de ce resineux, (ii) la variabilite et l'originalite des peuplements actuels, (iii) la situation ecologique des pineraies mediterraneennes et leur dynamique en fonction du cycle de vie de l'espece, (iv) la valeur patrimoniale de ces forets, et (v) les operations de gestion a favoriser. Le triple gradient latitudinal, longitudinal et altitudinal rend compte de l'extreme variabilite morphologique et genetique de ce taxon et de la grande diversite des habitats qu'il occupe. Nombre de ses populations mediterraneennes, souvent relictuelles, presentent de profondes originalites ecophysiologiques et genetiques qui conferent a ces peuplements un interet certain dans le cadre de la conservation des ressources sylvigenetiques. Espece plastique et pionniere, plutot bien adaptee aux perturbations, le pin sylvestre est une essence expansionniste et les pineraies sylvestres progressent nettement dans les moyennes montagnes du nord-ouest mediterraneen, en raison de l'effondrement des pratiques agro-pastorales. Toutefois, l'etude synthetique des phases critiques du cycle vital du pin sylvestre montre, qu'en depit d'une pollinisation anemophile et d'une production annuelle de graines tres importante, certaines caracteristiques biologiques limitent en partie son expansion.
Meta-analytical methods to identify who benefits most from treatments: daft, deluded, or deft approach?

Identifying which individuals benefit most from particular treatments or other interventions underpins so-called personalised or stratified medicine. However, single trials are typically underpowered for exploring whether participant characteristics, such as age or disease severity, determine an individual’s response to treatment. A meta-analysis of multiple trials, particularly one where individual participant data (IPD) are available, provides greater power to investigate interactions between participant characteristics (covariates) and treatment effects. We use a published IPD meta-analysis to illustrate three broad approaches used for testing such interactions. Based on another systematic review of recently published IPD meta-analyses, we also show that all three approaches can be applied to aggregate data as well as IPD. We also summarise which methods of analysing and presenting interactions are in current use, and describe their advantages and disadvantages. We recommend that testing for interactions using within-trials information alone (the deft approach) becomes standard practice, alongside graphical presentation that directly visualises this.
Integration of circulating microRNAs and transcriptome signatures identifies early‐pregnancy biomarkers of preeclampsia

Abstract Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the pathobiology of preeclampsia, a common hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. In a nested matched case‐control cohort within the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART), we previously identified peripheral blood mRNA signatures related to preeclampsia and vitamin D status (≤30 ng/mL) during gestation from 10 to 18 weeks, using differential expression analysis. Methods Using quantitative PCR arrays, we conducted profiling of circulating miRNAs at 10–18 weeks of gestation in the same VDAART cohort to identify differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs associated with preeclampsia and vitamin D status. For the validation of the expression of circulating miRNA signatures in the placenta, the HTR‐8/SVneo trophoblast cell line was used. Targets of circulating miRNA signatures in the preeclampsia mRNA signatures were identified by consensus ranking of miRNA‐target prediction scores from four sources. The connected component of target signatures was identified by mapping to the protein‐protein interaction (PPI) network and hub targets were determined. As experimental validation, we examined the gene and protein expression of IGF1R, one of the key hub genes, as a target of the DE miRNA, miR‐182‐5p, in response to a miR‐182‐5p mimic in HTR‐8/SVneo cells. Results Pregnant women with preeclampsia had 16 circulating DE miRNAs relative to normal pregnancy controls that were also DE under vitamin D insufficiency (9/16 = 56% upregulated, FDR < .05). Thirteen miRNAs (13/16 = 81.3%) were detected in HTR‐8/SVneo cells. Overall, 16 DE miRNAs had 122 targets, of which 87 were unique. Network analysis demonstrated that the 32 targets of DE miRNA signatures created a connected subnetwork in the preeclampsia module with CXCL8, CXCL10, CD274, MMP9 and IGF1R having the highest connectivity and centrality degree. In an in vitro validation experiment, the introduction of an hsa‐miR‐182‐5p mimic resulted in significant reduction of its target IGF1R gene and protein expression within HTR‐8/SVneo cells. Conclusions The integration of the circulating DE miRNA and mRNA signatures associated preeclampsia added additional insights into the subclinical molecular signature of preeclampsia. Our systems and network biology approach revealed several biological pathways, including IGF‐1, that may play a role in the early pathophysiology of preeclampsia. These pathways and signatures also denote potential biomarkers for the early stages of preeclampsia and suggest possible preventive measures.
Designing Worthy Waiting Spaces: A Cross-Cultural Study of Waiting Room Features and Their Impact on Women’s Affective States

Objective: This study examines the impact of ambulatory waiting room characteristics on patients’ emotional states and investigates whether these states are universally experienced or influenced by social and cultural factors among women aged 18–35 from the three largest demographic groups in the United States: Black, Hispanic/Latina, and White. Background: Patients typically spend more time waiting for routine medical appointments than receiving care, and evidence suggests that waiting can reinforces power dynamics that benefit privileged groups, leading to different experiences for minority women seeking preventative care. Still, literature addressing the impact of waiting areas is largely limited to universal measures, and little is known about how different ethnic/race groups respond to waiting spaces. Methods: This inquiry used a questionnaire assessing 15 waiting room characteristics and testing four variables (furniture arrangement, room-scale, color saturation, and quantity of positive distractions) in a 2 × 3 quasiexperiment using a fractional randomized block design with 24 waiting room images. Findings: Responses from 1,114 participants revealed mutual preferences for sociopetal seating, positive distractions, neutral colors, and welcoming and calming environments. Yet, Black participants indicated significantly greater importance in seeing ethnically/racially similar patients and healthcare providers and strategies that promote transparency, including image-based provider directories and views into the clinic. Conclusion: By investigating the impact of the waiting room environment on patient affect and comparing perceptions across three demographic groups of women, this study offers insights into potential strategies for improving access to preventative care services by creating more welcoming ambulatory care waiting environments.
Energy and Economic Analysis of Canola Production in Iran a Case Study: Khuzestan Province

The aim of this research was to determine energy use and economic analysis of canola production in Khuzestn province of Iran. The energy use pattern and economic item values were determined by a survey including 57 farms (34 for irrigated farming and 23 for dry farming) using a face to face questionnaire. The farms were chosen by random sampling method. Energy and economic variables were calculated using standard equations. The survey studies indicated that the most important energy inputs were fertilizers and diesel fuel. The output-input energy ratio for irrigated farming and dry farming was estimated to be 1.28 and 0.81, respectively. Economic analysis showed that benefit-cost ratio for irrigated farming and dry farming was 1.11 and 0.58, respectively. Net returns calculated were 85.55 and -240.31 in the farms investigated.
MIR938 rs2505901 T>C polymorphism is associated with increased neuroblastoma risk in Chinese children

Abstract Neuroblastoma (NB) is a kind of childhood cancer that is a prevailing and deadly solid neoplasm among pediatric malignancies. The transcriptional output of MIR938 is capable of participating in the posttranscriptional modulation of gene expression, whereby it exerts its regulatory effect by modulating both the stability and translation of target mRNAs. Previous studies showed that MIR938 was associated with many cancers. Hence, functional genetic variants in the MIR938 can be attributed to NB risk. We recruited 402 neuroblastoma patients and 473 controls from the Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University and genotyped one MIR938 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs2505901 T>C). There were significant associations between the rs2505901 T>C and NB risk [CC vs. TT: adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02–3.55, P=0.045; CC vs. TT/TC: adjusted OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.09–3.75, P=0.026]. This analysis of genotypes revealed that T>C increased the risk of NB. Some borderline significant different relationships were observed in the stratified analyses: age ≤ 18 months (adjusted OR = 2.95, 95% CI = 0.92–9.51, P=0.070), male sex (adjusted OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 0.95–5.08, P=0.067), and clinical stage III+IV (adjusted OR = 2.12, 95% CI = 0.98–4.56, P=0.055). The present study revealed that the MIR938 rs2505901 T>C polymorphism may be a potential risk factor for neuroblastoma in Chinese children. In the long term, conducting large and diverse sample studies from different ethnicities will indeed be crucial in determining the role of MIR938 polymorphisms in NB risk. By including individuals from various ethnic backgrounds, researchers can account for potential genetic variations that may exist between populations.
Developing the first pan-Canadian acute care patient experiences survey

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) in partnership with stakeholders sought to develop the first panCanadian patient experiences survey for inpatient care (CPES-IC). The goal was to provide a national survey standard for comparative patient experience measures to facilitate benchmarking for quality improvement. A cognitive and pilot testing study design was performed using survey data from adult inpatient care settings. Participants included the interjurisdictional members (IJ), survey subject matter experts and CIHI (The Group). Cognitive testing of the survey took place in three Canadian jurisdictions in English and French languages. Thirty-nine individuals participated in one-on-one interviews. During pilot testing, twenty-six percent of surveys were completed over a five-month survey period. The main outcome measure was the development of new survey dimensions and Canadian survey questions. Survey dimensions of care important to patients including internal coordination of care, patient-centred care, discharge and transition processes were identified to develop the Canadian survey questions. Following cognitive testing, changes were made to better align the English and French survey questions. In pilot testing, several updates were applied including the adjustment of response categories, reformatting of skipped pattern questions and the omission of five questions due to high response rate of the “not applicable” category and survey questions perceived to be too “vague” by respondents. The Group recommended the implementation of the survey. Consultations using a consensus building approach and rigorous methodology led to the successful implementation of the CPES-IC, which is the first Canadian standardized patient experiences survey for hospital based inpatient care.
SIMULATION OF REGIONAL CLIMATE OVER EASTERN CHINA WITH DIFFERENT REGIONAL CLIMATE MODELS

Three regional climate models (MM4,RegCM2 and P σ incorporated coordinate model)have been used to simulate the regional climate over eastern China in July . It is found that these three models have different performances in simulating different climate elements such as 500 hPa geopotential high field ,temperature fields,sea level pressure and rainy belt location.The results are important for developing regional climate model system which is suitable for eastern China and improving the simulation and forecast results.
Determination of fracture energy of concrete using wedge-splitting test on compact tension specimens

The wedge-splitting test with compact specimens is carried out to experimentally investigate the method for determining the fracture energy of concete and probable scale effect.The 36 specimens are divided into 6 sets with different dimensions.According to the principle of work-of-fracture the fracture energy of every specimen is calculated from the curve of P-CMOD with the contribution of tail section of the curve is taken into account.The result shows that the contributions of the tail section of the P-CMOD curve obtained from power function fitting are different from that obtained from exponential function fitting.The calculated fracture energy of specimen with height of 200mm is slightly lower than those of other specimens.However,in the range from 300mm to 1000mm,the fracture energy does not vary with the height of specimen.It may conclude that no size effect exists if the proposed test method for determining the fracture energy is adopted.
Understanding the Barriers to Preventive Pharmacological Therapy Use in Older Patients With Urinary Stone Disease

Abstract Introduction: Despite compelling clinical trial evidence and professional society guideline recommendations, prescription rates of preventative pharmacological therapy (PPT) for urinary stone disease are low. We sought to understand how patient- and clinician-level factors contribute to the decision to prescribe PPT after an index stone event. Methods: We identified Medicare beneficiaries with urinary stone disease who had a 24-hour urine collection processed by a central laboratory. Among the subset with a urine chemistry abnormality (ie, hypercalciuria, hypocitraturia, hyperuricosuria, or low urine pH), we determined whether PPT was prescribed within 6 months of their collection. After assigning patients to the clinicians who ordered their collection, we fit multilevel models to determine how much of the variation in PPT prescription was attributable to patient vs clinician factors. Results: Of the 11,563 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 33.6% were prescribed PPT. There was nearly sevenfold variation between the treating clinician with the lowest prescription rate (11%) and the one with the highest (75%). Nineteen percent of this variation was attributable to clinician factors. After accounting for measured patient differences and clinician volume, patients had twice the odds of being prescribed PPT if they were treated by a nephrologist (odds ratio [OR], 2.15; 95% CI, 1.79-2.57) or a primary care physician (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.22-2.58) compared to being treated by a urologist. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the type of clinician whom a patient sees for his stone care determines, to a large extent, whether PPT will be prescribed.
A Histogram Kernel Density Estimation Based Similarity Approach for Uncertain Time Series

With the development of information science and the study of uncertainty, the research of traditional time series has met new challenges. This paper chooses the similarity computation of uncertain time series as research target. Firstly, the uncertainty of the time series is studied systematically, and the reasons for the uncertainty are discussed. Then, based on kernel density estimation, the author attempts to put forward an algorithm for computing the similarity of uncertain time series, which is essentially a sequential pattern discovery and matching process. The density of the uncertain time series is estimated, and then the density function is clustered by using the mining method. By then the uncertain time series is transformed into a state sequence, and the similarity between sequences is calculated by a matching method. Finally, this approach we proposed and other uncertain time similarity calculation method were compared. The results show that this method has better performance, density distribution in reality has a certain regularity, but worse than completely random density distribution.
A Review:Theories,Methods and Development on Soil Moistur e Monitoring by Remote Sensing

In this paper, the national/international developments, as well as the theories and methods of soil moisture monitoring by remote sensing are simply s ummarized. A review on the study keys and development directions in the field of drought monitoring by remote sensing is carried out. The results showed that th e methods on soil moisture monitoring by remote sensing, which are mainly stood for by improved thermal inertia and CWSI, are becoming mature and they can be us ed in daily operation. Microwave remote sensing is one of the most promise ways with the costs reduce.
Geodynamic model of the northwestern Caribbean: scaled reconstruction of Late Cretaceous to Late Eocene plate boundary relocation in Cuba

Reviewing the local geological data of Cuba, its structural relations to Hispaniola and Jamaica as well as a comparison of prevalent plate tectonic models, allow for a refined Late Creta- ceous to Miocene tectonic reconstruction. The Cuban orogenic belt records subduction, volcanic arc formation and accretion along the pre-Eocene northwestern leading edge of the Caribbean plate. Geologic evidence points to a two-stage development with change in subduction polarity from a south- and southwest-dipping Cretaceous to a north-dipping Paleocene to Early Eocene subduction zone. During the Late Campanian, the Cretaceous arc collided with the North American continental margin. Ophiolites and parts of the Cretaceous volcanic arc are thrust onto the North American continental margin until the Late Eocene. After the initial Campanian collision, the Caribbean plate continued its relative northward movement. As a consequence, oceanic lithosphere of the back-arc area was emplaced on the top of the southern extension of the inactive arc. During the Danian, a new north-dipping subduction zone was established that consumed oceanic lithosphere of the Caribbean plate until the Middle Eocene. The arrival of thickened oceanic crust of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province stopped the subduction and the relative northward movement of the Caribbean plate. Subsequently, in the Middle Eocene the east-west striking Oriente transform fault system was formed which since then represents the northern boundary of the Caribbean plate.
Hepatic conversion of acetyl-CoA to acetate plays crucial roles in energy stresses

Accumulating evidences indicate that acetate is increased in energy stresses such as diabetes mellitus and prolonged starvation. However, it is largely unknown how and where acetate is produced and what is its biological significance. We observed overproduction of acetate in an amount comparable to ketone bodies in patients and mice with diabetes or starvation. Mechanistically, ACOT 12&8 are dramatically upregulated in liver to convert FFA-derived acetyl-CoA to acetate and CoA. This conversion not only provides large amount of acetate which fuels brain preferentially rather than muscle, but also recycles CoA which is required for sustained fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis. Taken together, we suggest that acetate is an emerging novel “ketone body” and may be used as a parameter to evaluate the progression of energy stress in the future.