Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Providencia rettgeri pathogenicity against laboratory Mediterranean fruit fly strain (Ceratitis capitata)

The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is often referred to as the most severe agricultural pest. Its biological control is mainly through the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). Colonization, mass-rearing conditions and the irradiation process impact the competitiveness of sterile males and disrupt symbiotic associations by favoring some bacterial species and suppressing others. Levels of Providencia species have been shown to fluctuate considerably in the gut of the medfly laboratory strain Vienna 8 under irradiation, increasing by up to 22%. This study aimed to determine the pathogenicity of Providencia rettgeri isolated from the gut of laboratory Vienna 8 medfly strains by examining the effects of 1) two different treatment doses on egg-hatching and development and 2) two infection methodologies (ingestion and injection) of male and female adults according to their mating status. Treatment of eggs with P. rettgeri (2%) significantly decreased the mean egg to pupae recovery rate. Our data showed significant high mortality in flies with both injection and ingestion after 24 hours without any effect of sex. Microbial counts demonstrated that the bacteria could proliferate and replicate in adult flies. There was a significant sex-dependent effect after infection, with mortality decreasing significantly for males more than females. Providencia rettgeri can be considered as a potential pathogen of C. capitata. Mating protected males and females against infection by P. rettgeri by triggering an immune response leading to double the levels of Cecropin being secreted compared to infected virgin adults, thus reducing the virulence of the bacteria.
Acute toxicity of pharmaceutical and personal care products on freshwater crustacean ( Thamnocephalus platyurus Oryzias latipes )

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) enter aquatic environments via sewage treatment facilities and their potentially toxic effects on biota, particularly aquatic organisms, are of considerable concern. In this study, we investigated the acute toxicity of selected PPCPs on a freshwater crustacean (Thamnocephalus platyurus) and a Oryzias latipes). The 24-hr median lethal concentration (LC50) values of ibuprofen, mefenamic acid, indometacin, carbamazepine, propranolol, ifenprodil, clarithromycin and triclosan for T. platyurus were estimated to be 19.59, 3.95, 16.14, > 100, 10.31, 4.43, 94.23 and 0.47 mg/l respectively. Conversely, the 96-hr LC50 values for these PPCPs were estimated at > 100, 8.04, 81.92, 45.87, 11.40, 8.71, > 100 and 0.60 mg/l for O. latipes, respectively. The toxic sensitivity of T. platyurus to these PPCPs, except for carbamazepine, was therefore higher than for O. latipes. No acute toxicity effects were associated with PPCPs, such as atenolol, disopyramide, famotidine, assess the growth and reproduction of these compounds on aquatic biota.
Commensal Escherichia coli strains in Guiana reveal a high genetic diversity with host-dependant population structure.

We undertook a large-scale epidemiological survey of commensal Escherichia coli in Trois-Sauts, an isolated village located in the south of French Guiana where human population exchanges are restricted and source of antibiotics controlled. Stools from 162 Wayampi Amerindians and rectal swabs from 33 human associated and 198 wild animals were collected in the close proximity of the village. The prevalence of E. coli was decreasing from humans (100%) to human associated (64%) and wild (45%) animals. A clear genetic structure between these three E. coli populations was observed with human strains belonging very rarely to B2 phylogroup (3.7%), exhibiting few virulence genes and bacteriocins but being antibiotic resistant whereas wild animal strains were characterized by 46.1% of B2 phylogroup belonging, with very unique and infrequent sequence types, numerous extraintestinal genes and bacteriocins but no antibiotic resistance; the human-associated animal strains being intermediate. Furthermore, an unexpected genetic diversity was observed among the strains, as the housekeeping gene nucleotide diversity per site of the Trois-Sauts's strains was higher than the one of reference strains representative of the known species diversity. The existence of such E. coli structured phylogenetic diversity within various hosts of a single localization has never been reported.
Precise detection of de novo single nucleotide variants in human genomes

Significance The precise location of variants in the human genome is of utmost importance. We present a unique approach, coverage-based single nucleotide variant (SNV) identification (COBASI), which uses only perfect matches between the reads of a sequence project and a reference genome to detect and accurately identify de novo SNVs. From the perfect matches, a representation of the read coverage per nucleotide along the genome, the variation landscape, is generated. SNVs are then pinpointed as significant changes in coverage and de novo SNVs can be identified with high precision. The performance of COBASI was analyzed using simulations and experimentally validated by sequencing de novo SNVs identified from a parent–offspring trio. We propose this pipeline as a useful tool for different genomic applications. The precise determination of de novo genetic variants has enormous implications across different fields of biology and medicine, particularly personalized medicine. Currently, de novo variations are identified by mapping sample reads from a parent–offspring trio to a reference genome, allowing for a certain degree of differences. While widely used, this approach often introduces false-positive (FP) results due to misaligned reads and mischaracterized sequencing errors. In a previous study, we developed an alternative approach to accurately identify single nucleotide variants (SNVs) using only perfect matches. However, this approach could be applied only to haploid regions of the genome and was computationally intensive. In this study, we present a unique approach, coverage-based single nucleotide variant identification (COBASI), which allows the exploration of the entire genome using second-generation short sequence reads without extensive computing requirements. COBASI identifies SNVs using changes in coverage of exactly matching unique substrings, and is particularly suited for pinpointing de novo SNVs. Unlike other approaches that require population frequencies across hundreds of samples to filter out any methodological biases, COBASI can be applied to detect de novo SNVs within isolated families. We demonstrate this capability through extensive simulation studies and by studying a parent–offspring trio we sequenced using short reads. Experimental validation of all 58 candidate de novo SNVs and a selection of non-de novo SNVs found in the trio confirmed zero FP calls. COBASI is available as open source at https://github.com/Laura-Gomez/COBASI for any researcher to use.
Insulin resistance and sex hormone‐binding globulin are independently correlated with low free testosterone levels in obese males

Male obesity is associated with decreased testosterone levels but the pathophysiological mechanisms behind this association are not completely understood. This study aimed to investigate the impact of hyperglycaemia/insulin resistance and sex hormone‐binding globulin (SHBG) levels on testosterone levels in a population of obese men. We investigated the impact of several clinical, anthropometric and analytic measures on testosterone levels in 150 obese males. Testosterone deficiency was present in 52.0% of the enrolled patients. This percentage dropped to 17.6% when only calculated free testosterone (FT) was accounted, as SHBG levels were correlated negatively with body mass index (r = −.20; p < .05). Older age (p < .05) and higher homoeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) (p < .01) and lower SHBG levels (p < .05) were independently correlated with lower FT. Weight and fasting plasma glucose lost their statistical significance after multivariate adjustment. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and pre‐diabetes had lower FT than those with normal glucose tolerance (p < .05 and p < .01 respectively). Insulin resistance, and not hyperglycaemia and weight per se, seems to be the main determinant of low testosterone levels in obese males. Low SHBG levels are correlated with low FT even after HOMA‐IR adjustment. This suggests that SHBG can be associated with testosterone deficiency beyond the influence of insulin resistance unlike previously reported.
The “Insider” Principal: Perceptions of the Leadership Effectiveness of an Internal Successor

The current study builds on earlier leader succession research, focusing on a school where the “insider”—who was believed to be strong before being hired as the formal school leader—drew sharp criticism after assuming the principalship. Interviews with staff members who worked with the insider leader in her role as teacher and principal were analyzed to examine changes in their perceptions of her. Results suggest that the leader did not change; rather, perceptions of her leadership effectiveness changed once she assumed the role of principal. The staff believed that the insider would continue to act like a peer, and when she did not, their perceptions of her effectiveness as a leader were negatively affected.
The accuracy, fairness, and limits of predicting recidivism

Should we trust computers to make life-altering decisions in the criminal justice system? Algorithms for predicting recidivism are commonly used to assess a criminal defendant’s likelihood of committing a crime. These predictions are used in pretrial, parole, and sentencing decisions. Proponents of these systems argue that big data and advanced machine learning make these analyses more accurate and less biased than humans. We show, however, that the widely used commercial risk assessment software COMPAS is no more accurate or fair than predictions made by people with little or no criminal justice expertise. In addition, despite COMPAS’s collection of 137 features, the same accuracy can be achieved with a simple linear classifier with only two features.
SRR Superstrate for Gain and Bandwidth Enhancement of Microstrip Patch Antenna Array

This article presents a microstrip fed patch antenna array, loaded with metamaterial superstrate. An unloaded antenna array resonates at IEEE 802.16a 5.8 GHz Wi-MAX band with gain of 4.3 dBi and bandwidth of 425 MHz. However, when the same array is loaded with a metamaterial superstrate, composed of a pair of Split Ring Resonators (SRR), there is simultaneous gain and bandwidth improvement to 8 dBi and 680 MHz, respectively, which corresponds to gain improvement by 86% and bandwidth enhancement of 60%. The fabrication of this proposed antenna array is done, and its simulated and measured results are compared. Equivalent circuit model of this composite structure has been developed and analyzed. The electrical dimension of the patch is 0. 23λ × 0. 3λ.
Are web users really Markovian?

User modeling on the Web has rested on the fundamental assumption of Markovian behavior --- a user's next action depends only on her current state, and not the history leading up to the current state. This forms the underpinning of PageRank web ranking, as well as a number of techniques for targeting advertising to users. In this work we examine the validity of this assumption, using data from a number of Web settings. Our main result invokes statistical order estimation tests for Markov chains to establish that Web users are not, in fact, Markovian. We study the extent to which the Markovian assumption is invalid, and derive a number of avenues for further research.
Cooperative Control of Multiple Agents With Unknown High-Frequency Gain Signs Under Unbalanced and Switching Topologies

Existing results on cooperative control of multiagent systems with unknown control directions require that the underlying topology is either fixed with a strongly connected graph or switching between different strongly connected graphs. Furthermore, in most cases the graph is assumed to be balanced. This paper proposes a new class of nonlinear proportional-integral (PI) based algorithms to relax these requirements and allow for unbalanced and switching topologies having a jointly strongly connected basis. This is made possible for single-integrator (SI) and double-integrator (DI) agents with nonidentical unknown control directions by a suitable selection of the distributed nonlinear PI functions. Moreover, as a special case, the proposed algorithms are applied to strongly connected and fixed graphs. Finally, simulation examples are given to show the validity of our theoretical results.
DGSAC: Density Guided Sampling and Consensus

In this paper, we present an automatic multi-model fitting pipeline that can robustly fit multiple geometric models present in the corrupted and noisy data. Our approach can handle large data corruption and requires no user input, unlike most state-of-the-art approaches. The pipeline can be used as an independent block in many geometric vision applications like 3D reconstruction, motion and planar segmentation. We use residual density as the primary tool to guide hypothesis generation, estimate the fraction of inliers, and perform model selection. We show results for a diverse set of geometric models like planar homographies, fundamental matrices and vanishing points, which often arise in various computer vision applications. Despite being fully automatic, our approach achieves competitive performance compared to state-of-the-art approaches in terms of accuracy and computational time.
cPKCγ-Modulated Sequential Reactivation of mTOR Inhibited Autophagic Flux in Neurons Exposed to Oxygen Glucose Deprivation/Reperfusion

We have reported that conventional protein kinase Cγ (cPKCγ)-modulated neuron-specific autophagy improved the neurological outcome of mice following ischemic stroke through the Akt-mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. However, its detailed molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, primary cortical neurons from postnatal one-day-old C57BL/6J cPKCγ wild-type (cPKCγ+/+) and knockout (cPKCγ−/−) mice suffering oxygen glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) were used to simulate ischemia/reperfusion injury in vitro. A block of autophagic flux was observed in cPKCγ+/+ neurons under OGD/R exposure, characterized by accumulation of p62. Immunofluorescent results showed a decrease in colocalization between LC3 and Atg14 or Stx17 in cPKCγ+/+ neurons when compared with cPKCγ−/− neurons after OGD/R. However, the colocalization between LC3 and Lamp2 was barely decreased, indicating the presence of autolysosomes. The larger lysotracker-positive structures were also significantly increased. These results suggest that cPKCγ-induced inhibition of autophagy occurred at the stages of autophagosome formation, Stx17 anchoring, and the degradation of autolysosomes in particular. In addition, cPKCγ-modulated phosphorylation of mTOR at Ser 2481 was dependent on the site of Ser 2448, which may have blocked autophagic flux. cPKCγ-modulated sequential reactivation of mTOR inhibited autophagic flux in neurons exposed to OGD/R, which may provide endogenous interventional strategies for stroke, especially ischemia/reperfusion injury.
The Art and Science of Personality Development

Prologue I. Becoming an Actor 1. In the Beginning . 2. The Actor Takes the Stage: How We Perform Emotion 3. The Problem of Self-Regulation 4. The Actor Grows Up: How Traits Develop into Adulthood II. Becoming an Agent 5. The Age 5-7 Shift 6. The Motivational Agenda: What Agents Want 7. How Values Shape Agency: Morality, Religion, and Politics III. Becoming an Author 8. The Stories We Live By 9. Generative Lives, Redemptive Life Stories 10. The Sense of an Ending
MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF BICIPITAL GROOVE IN SOUTH INDIAN POPULATION AND ITS CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Address for Correspondence: Dr. Arunkumar KR, Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College & Hospital, Siruvachur, Perambalur 621 113. Tamil Nadu, India. E-Mail: drarunb4u@gmail.com Background: The bicipital groove (BG) or intertubercular sulcus lies between the greater and lesser tubercles on the proximal end of humerus. This groove acts as a useful landmark for proper placement of lateral fin of a prosthesis in shoulder replacement surgery. The variations of BG may lead to various pathologies of biceps tendon which is one of the common causes of shoulder pain. Hence this study is undertaken to examine the various morphometric parameters of BG in South Indian population. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 98 dry human humeri (48 right side and 50 left side) belonging to south Indian race. The length, depth and width of BG were measured with digital vernier calliper. The opening and medial wall angles of BG were measured with help of scale and goniometer. Results: The mean length of medial wall, lateral wall, width and depth of BG were 23 ± 4 mm, 31 ± 4 mm, 8.4 ± 01 mm and 5 ± 1 mm respectively. The average medial wall angle and opening angles of BG were 48.72 ± 9.37° and 82.9 ± 20.5° respectively. The supratubercular ridge of Meyer was observed in 26.5 % of humerus. Conclusion: We hope that this study will be an important reference for anthropologists, clinical anatomists and for scientific research.
Renal papillary tip extract stimulates BNP production and excretion from cardiomyocytes

Background Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is an important biomarker for patients with cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure, hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy. It is also known that BNP levels are relatively higher in patients with chronic kidney disease and no heart disease; however, the mechanism remains unclear. Methods and results We developed a BNP reporter mouse and occasionally found that this promoter was activated specifically in the papillary tip of the kidneys, and its activation was not accompanied by BNP mRNA expression. No evidence was found to support the existence of BNP isoforms or other nucleotide expression apart from BNP and tdTomato. The pBNP-tdTomato-positive cells were interstitial cells and were not proliferative. Unexpectedly, both the expression and secretion of BNP increased in primary cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes after their treatment with an extract of the renal papillary tip. Intraperitoneal injection of the extract of the papillary tips reduced blood pressure from 210 mmHg to 165 mmHg, the decrease being accompanied by an increase in serum BNP and urinary cGMP production in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive (SHR-SP) rats. Furthermore the induction of BNP by the papillary extract from rats with heart failure due to myocardial infarction was increased in cardiomyocytes. Conclusions These results suggested that the papillary tip express a substance that can stimulate BNP production and secretion from cardiomyocytes.
Relationship between Growth Pattern and Head Dimensions in Nigerian Children (5-15 Years)

The aim of this study is to establish pattern of head dimensions of Nigerian children 5-15 years. The subjects of this study were 377 Nigerian children, boys (n = 173) and girls (n = 204) with mean age 9.87 + 3.22 and 10.11 + 302 respectively. Head dimensions traits measured were head length, head breadth and head circumference while cephalic index was calculated. Subjects height and weight were also measured all measurement were conducted following standard protocols. Student t-test was used to show significant difference while Pearson correlation was used to establish relationship between the variables considered. Of all the parameters considered only head length and cephalic index showed significant difference with P<0.001. The mean head length of boys was found to be greater than those of girls while cephalic index in girls was statistically different (P <0.001) than those of boys. Head breadth, head circumference, height and weight statistically showed no significant difference though the mean values in girls are slightly greater than those in boys. Head length was observed to increase unsteadily from 5-15 years for both sexes. Cephalic index also increased down the age classes with mean value greater in girls than in boys. The correlation matrix showed that all the head dimensions correlates significantly with height and weight in boys and girls (P <0.05, P <0.001) but cephalic index showed no correlation with boys' height and weight but it correlates with girls weight and not their height. This study shows gradual increase in the growth of head dimensions with difference between boys and girls in head length, head circumference and cephalic index. Although cephalic index showed occurrence of brachycephalic head form, mesocephalic head form is more predominant. Sexual dimorphism is clearly demonstrated between boys and girls in head length and cephalic index.
Clonally‐related primary ALK rearranged adenocarcinoma and associated metastatic lesions

ALK rearrangement is a driver gene in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ALK‐positive tumors are sensitive to ALK‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). The detection of key driver genes is crucial to enable personalized treatment. Different histomorphological patterns have different driver genes. Herein, we report the case of a 42‐year‐old male patient diagnosed with adenocarcinoma with different histomorphologies in the primary lung site (mucinous type) and lymph node metastasis (solid type), of the same genotype, both presenting with ALK rearrangement but negative for EGFR mutation. This histological heterogeneity did not necessarily indicate a genomic difference. Genomic analysis may be a supplement to the histological features of ALK‐rearranged tumors. These gene alterations could aid the choice of an appropriate TKI and predict therapeutic response.
Faecal Escherichia coli as biological indicator of spatial interaction between domestic pigs and wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Corsica

On the Mediterranean island of Corsica, cohabitation between sympatric domestic pigs and Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) is common and widespread and can facilitate the maintenance and dissemination of several pathogens detrimental for the pig industry or human health. In this study, we monitored a population of free-ranging domestic pigs reared in extensive conditions within a 800-ha property located in Central Corsica which was frequently visited by a sympatric population of wild boar between 2013 and 2015. We used GPS collars to assess evidence of a spatially shared environment. Subsequently, we analysed by PFGE of XbaI-restricted DNA if those populations shared faecal Escherichia coli clones that would indicate contact and compared these results with those collected in a distant (separated by at least 50 km) population of wild boar used as control. Results showed that one of eight wild boars sampled in the study area shed E. coli XbaI clones identical to clones isolated from domestic pig sounders from the farm, while wild boar populations sampled in distant parts of the study area shared no identical clone with the domestic pigs monitored. Interestingly, within the sampled pigs, two identical clones were found in 2013 and in 2015, indicating a long-time persisting colonization type. Although the method of isolation of E. coli and PFGE typing of the isolates requires intensive laboratory work, it is applicable under field conditions to monitor potential infectious contacts. It also provides evidence of exchange of microorganisms between sympatric domestic pigs and wild boar populations.