Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Selection Practices in Three Lines of Beef Cattle

Selection practices in three synthetic lines of beef cattle were evaluated based on data collected over 12 to 13 years. Sires from the Jersey, Angus and Simmental breeds were mated to three lines of foundation crossbred dams to produce first generation progeny. Subsequent calves were produced mating crossbred parents of the same generation. Crossbred sires were selected based on an index that included hip height and weight at weaning. At Rhodes, a total of 2.84 to 3.07 generations of selection have been carried out. This provided a mean generation interval of 4.33, 4.23 and 4.58 years in small, medium and large lines, respectively. At McNay, the corresponding generation interval values were 4.15 years for small and medium lines and 5.29 years for the large. The mean weighted sire selection differential for the index in the small line was 1.28 σ/generation. In the medium cattle these values were -. 57 σ/generation (Rhodes) and -. 36 σ/generation (McNay). For the large synthetic cattle the index differential ranged from . 71 σ/generation at McNay to . 92 σ/generation at Rhodes. Of the total mean parental selection differential, sire contribution ranged from 86% to 95%. Selection differential values for components of the index indicated that the index equations often favored weaning weight, and this was very pronounced in the medium line. Regardless of the line, selection criteria have been strictly followed. However, all the maximum potential sires have not been utilized.
Co-Evolution of Multi-Typed Objects in Dynamic Star Networks

Mining network evolution has emerged as an intriguing research topic in many domains such as data mining, social networks, and machine learning. While a bulk of research has focused on mining evolutionary patterns of homogeneous networks (e.g., networks of friends), however, most real-world networks are heterogeneous, containing objects of different types, such as authors, papers, venues, and terms in a bibliographic network. Modeling co-evolution of multityped objects can capture richer information than that on single-typed objects alone. For example, studying co-evolution of authors, venues, and terms in a bibliographic network can tell better the evolution of research areas than just examining co-author network or term network alone. In this paper, we study mining co-evolution of multityped objects in a special type of heterogeneous networks, called star networks, and examine how the multityped objects influence each other in the network evolution. A hierarchical Dirichlet process mixture model-based evolution model is proposed, which detects the co-evolution of multityped objects in the form of multityped cluster evolution in dynamic star networks. An efficient inference algorithm is provided to learn the proposed model. Experiments on several real networks (DBLP, Twitter, and Delicious) validate the effectiveness of the model and the scalability of the algorithm.
Dietary behaviours and sociocultural demographics in Northern Ireland

Subjects aged 16–64 years (592; 258 men and 334 women), randomly selected from the population of Northern Ireland, kept a 7 d weighed record of all food and drink consumed. Social, personal and anthropometric data were also collected. From the weighed records food consumption was described in terms of forty-one food groups. Using principal components analysis, four distinct dietary patterns were generated which were identified as a traditional diet, a cosmopolitan diet, a convenience diet and a ‘meat and two veg’ diet. These dietary patterns were then correlated with sociocultural, lifestyle and anthropometric variables. It is clear that dietary behaviour is influenced by a number of inter-related sociocultural demographics and that identifiable population groups in Northern Ireland have different dietary behaviours.
Role of MicroRNAs in Cardiovascular Calcification

With a growing older population, cardiovascular diseases are becoming an increasing economic and social burden in Western societies. Cardiovascular calcification is a major characteristic of chronic inflammatory disorders — such as chronic renal disease (CRD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), atherosclerosis and calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) — that associate with significant morbidity and mortality. Cardiovascular calcification also associates with osteoporosis in humans and animal models [1, 2] — the so-called “calcifica‐ tion paradox” [3]. The concept that similar pathways control both bone remodeling and vascular calcification is currently widely accepted, but the precise mechanisms of calcifica‐ tion remain largely unknown. Osteogenic transition of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs), valvular interstitial cells (VIC) or stem cells is induced by bone morphogenetic proteins, inflammation, oxidative stress, or high phosphate levels, and leads to a unique molecular pattern marked by osteogenic transcription factors [4]. Loss of mineralization inhibitors, such as matrix γ-carboxyglutamic acid Gla protein (MGP) and fetuin-A also contribute to cardiovascular calcification. The physiological balance between induction and inhibition of calcification becomes dysregulated in CRD, T2D, atherosclerosis, and CAVD. Consequently, calcification may occur at several sites in the cardiovascular system, including the intima and media of vessels and cardiac valves [3].
A Novel Multifunctional C-23 Oxidase, CYP714E19, is Involved in Asiaticoside Biosynthesis

Centella asiatica is widely used as a medicinal plant due to accumulation of the ursane-type triterpene saponins asiaticoside and madecassoside. The molecular structure of both compounds suggests that they are biosynthesized from α-amyrin via three hydroxylations, and the respective Cyt P450-dependent monooxygenases (P450 enzymes) oxidizing the C-28 and C-2α positions have been reported. However, a third enzyme hydroxylating C-23 remained elusive. We previously identified 40,064 unique sequences in the transcriptome of C. asiatica elicited by methyl jasmonate, and among them we have now found 149 unigenes encoding putative P450 enzymes. In this set, 23 full-length cDNAs were recognized, 13 of which belonged to P450 subfamilies previously implicated in secondary metabolism. Four of these genes were highly expressed in response to jasmonate treatment, especially in leaves, in accordance with the accumulation patterns of asiaticoside. The functions of these candidate genes were tested using heterologous expression in yeast cells. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that yeast expressing only the oxidosqualene synthase CaDDS produced the asiaticoside precursor α-amyrin (along with its isomer β-amyrin), while yeast co-expressing CaDDS and CYP716A83 also contained ursolic acid along with oleanolic acid. This P450 enzyme thus acts as a multifunctional triterpenoid C-28 oxidase converting amyrins into corresponding triterpenoid acids. Finally, yeast strains co-expressing CaDDS, CYP716A83 and CYP714E19 produced hederagenin and 23-hydroxyursolic acid, showing that CYP714E19 is a multifunctional triterpenoid oxidase catalyzing the C-23 hydroxylation of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid. Overall, our results demonstrate that CaDDS, CYP716A83 and CYP714E19 are C. asiatica enzymes catalyzing consecutive steps in asiaticoside biosynthesis.
Size-miniaturized half-mode substrate integrated waveguide bandpass filter incorporating E-shaped defected ground structure for wideband communication and radar applications

In this paper, a size-miniaturized bandpass filter based on the half-mode substrate integrated waveguide (HM-SIW) and embedded E-shaped detected ground structure (DGS) is presented. Two pairs of embedded E-shaped DGSs are face-to-face configured and loaded into the conventional HMSIW section to constitute a HMSIW-DGS unit cell. First of all, the HMSIW is with inherent highpass characteristic, while the embedded E-shaped DGS is with bandgap function. By integrating these two characteristics together, the proposed HMSIW-DGS unit cell will exhibit bandpass transmission response, as the cutoff frequency of the HMSIW is lower than the resonant bandgap frequency of the DGS. Utilizing HMSIW instead of SIW can help to reduce size of the unit cell. Meanwhile, the electrically small DGS is also useful for the size miniaturization. Subsequently, the stepped-impedance structure is introduced into the E-shaped DGS to decrease its electrical size, which will effectively improve the tuning flexibility of the unit cell, and can consequently make the DGS with same physical size operate lower bandgap frequency. That is to say, the stepped-impedance structure can contribute to further size reduction of the DGS. Thirdly, the proposed unit cell is systematically investigated by using the theory of guided waves, with its propagation constant and dispersion characteristic being studied in detail, from which the bandpass transmission response can be captured obviously. To verify the transmission properties of the proposed unit cell, a bandpass filter with three cascading unit cells is implemented. The fabricated prototype achieves a central frequency of 10GHz, a fractional bandwidth of 23%, an insertion loss of 1.2dB and a return loss of 20dB. As compared with some reported SIW filters, the proposed one is with smaller size and similar performance, which illustrates its suitability for the wideband communication and radar applications.
NONLINEAR EXCITATIONS IN CARBON NANOTUBE

The possibility of realization of both the cubic and the other power-mode and polynomial types of non-linearity in the Shroedinger equation that describes the quantum excitations for n-dimensional media is shown. This problem is first considered in detail for such system as the single-walled carbon nanotube. The stable solitons are obtained analyt ically.
Discovery of novel potent nuclear factor kappa‐B inhibitors (IKK‐β) via extensive ligand‐based modeling and virtual screening

Inhibitor kappa‐B kinase‐beta (IKK‐β) controls the activation of nuclear transcription factor kappa‐B and has been linked to inflammation and cancer. Therefore, inhibitors of this kinase should have potent anti‐inflammatory and anticancer properties. Accordingly, we explored the pharmacophoric space of 218 IKK‐β inhibitors to identify high‐quality binding models. Subsequently, genetic algorithm‐based quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) analysis was employed to select the best possible combination of pharmacophoric models and physicochemical descriptors that explain bioactivity variation among training compounds. Three successful pharmacophores emerged in 2 optimal QSAR equations (r12175 = 0.733, r12LOO = 0.52, F1 = 65.62, r12PRESS against 43 test inhibitors = 0.63 and r22175 = 0.683, r22LOO = 0.52, F2 = 72.66, r22PRESS against 43 test inhibitors = 0.65). Two pharmacophores were merged in a single binding model. Receiver operating characteristic curve validation proved the excellent qualities of this model. The merged pharmacophore and the associated QSAR equations were applied to screen the National Cancer Institute list of compounds. Ten hits were found to exhibit potent anti‐IKK‐β bioactivity, out of which, one illustrates IC50 of 11.0nM.
The Role of Occupational Identification During Post-Merger Integration

Integration processes after mergers are fraught with difficulties, and constitute a main cause of merger failure. This study focuses on the human aspect of post-merger integration, and in particular, on the role of occupational identification. We theorize and empirically demonstrate by means of a survey design that employees’ identification with their occupation is positively related to their willingness to cooperate in the post-merger integration process, over and above the effect of organization members’ organizational identification. This positive effect of occupational identification is stronger for uniformed personnel but attenuates in the course of the integration process. Qualitative interviews further explore and interpret the results from our statistical analysis. Together, these findings have important practical implications and suggest future research directions.
Shared pathological pathways of Alzheimer's disease with specific comorbidities: current perspectives and interventions

Alzheimer's disease (AD) belongs to one of the most multifactorial, complex and heterogeneous morbidity‐leading disorders. Despite the extensive research in the field, AD pathogenesis is still at some extend obscure. Mechanisms linking AD with certain comorbidities, namely diabetes mellitus, obesity and dyslipidemia, are increasingly gaining importance, mainly because of their potential role in promoting AD development and exacerbation. Their exact cognitive impairment trajectories, however, remain to be fully elucidated. The current review aims to offer a clear and comprehensive description of the state‐of‐the‐art approaches focused on generating in‐depth knowledge regarding the overlapping pathology of AD and its concomitant ailments. Thorough understanding of associated alterations on a number of molecular, metabolic and hormonal pathways, will contribute to the further development of novel and integrated theranostics, as well as targeted interventions that may be beneficial for individuals with age‐related cognitive decline.
Antibody-based techniques for detection of Lyme disease: a challenging issue

Serologic assays detecting antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi are useful in the routine diagnosis of Lyme disease. Despite the presence of new and improved assays, current laboratory diagnosis still requires optimization. The variety of genospecies and their different geographic distributions are the reasons why standards and recommendations are not the same for all of the main geographic regions, ie, USA, Asia, and Europe. Moreover, the variety and variability of antigens represents a significant challenge in assay design. This is due to the various antigens among the genospecies responsible for Lyme borreliosis; the changing antigens presented during infection; and the variability of single antigens. This review article discusses the immunologic response in Lyme disease over time, and the advantages and disadvantages of existing serological tests. Two tier testing is also introduced. Antigens useful for diagnosis, the properties of individual antigens and their appearance in infection especially the antigens appearing during mammalian infection, so-called “in vivo” antigens are introduced. To determine antibodies confirming infection in the nervous system, the same restrictions with regard to interpretation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results in serum apply to cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, concentrations of antibodies in the two compartments, ie, blood and cerebrospinal fluid, are variable depending on compartmentalization (anatomic sequestration) and immunologic phenomena at immunologically privileged sites, such as the intrathecal space. To confirm neuroborreliosis, synthesis of antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid, should be measured in the form of a so-called antibody index. Further studies should focus on detecting the lowest concentration of antibodies and looking for useful new antigens, and the relationship between composition of such antigens and the patient’s clinical status.
The accumulation of mature RNA for the Xenopus laevis ribosomal protein L1 is controlled at the level of splicing and turnover of the precursor RNA.

A specific control regulates, at the level of RNA splicing, the expression of the L1 ribosomal protein gene in Xenopus laevis. Under particular conditions, which can be summarized as an excess of free L1 protein, a precursor RNA which still contains two of the nine introns of the L1 gene accumulates. In addition to the splicing block the two intron regions undergo specific endonucleolytic cleavages which produce abortive truncated molecules. The accumulation of mature L1 RNA therefore results from the regulation of the nuclear stability of its precursor RNA. We propose that a block to splicing can permit the attack of specific intron regions by nucleases which destabilize the pre‐mRNA in the nucleus. Therefore the efficiency of splicing could indirectly control the stability of the pre‐mRNA.
Opioid analgesics-related pharmacokinetic drug interactions: from the perspectives of evidence based on randomized controlled trials and clinical risk management

Background Multimorbidity results in complex polypharmacy which may bear a risk of drug interactions. A better understanding of opioid analgesics combination therapy used for pain management could help warrant medication safety, efficacy, and economic relevance. Until now there has been no review summarizing the opioid analgesics-related pharmacokinetic drug interactions from the perspective of evidence based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Method A literature search was performed using PubMed, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library, using a PRISMA flowchart. Results Fifty-two RCTs were included for data interpretation. Forty-two RCTs (80.8%) were conducted in healthy volunteers, whereas 10 RCTs (19.2%) enrolled true patients. None of the opioid–drug/herb pairs was listed as contraindications of opioids involved in this review. Circumstances in which opioid is comedicated as a precipitant drug include morphine–P2Y12 inhibitors, morphine–gabapentin, and methadone–zidovudine. Circumstances in which opioid is comedicated as an object drug include rifampin–opioids (morphine, tramadol, oxycodone, methadone), quinidine–opioids (morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, codeine, dihydrocodeine, methadone), antimycotics–opioids (buprenorphine, fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone, methadone, tilidine, tramadol), protease inhibitors–opioids (ritonavir, ritonavir/lopinavir–oxycodone, ritonavir–fentanyl, ritonavir–tilidine), grapefruit juice–opioids (oxycodone, fentanyl, methadone), antidepressants–opioids (paroxetine–tramadol, paroxetine–hydrocodone, paroxetine–oxycodone, escitalopram–tramadol), metoclopramide–morphine, amantadine–morphine, sumatriptan–butorphanol nasal sprays, ticlopidine–tramadol, St John’s wort–oxycodone, macrolides/ketolides–oxycodone, and levomepromazine–codeine. RCTs investigating the same combination, almost unanimously, drew consistent conclusions, except two RCTs on amantadine–intravenous morphine combination where a different amantadine dose was used and two RCTs on morphine–ticagrelor combination where healthy volunteers and true patients were enrolled, respectively. RCTs investigating in true patients may reflect a realistic clinical scenario and overcome the limitation of RCTs performed in healthy volunteers under standardized conditions. Further research opportunities are also presented in this review. Conclusion Effective and safe combination therapy of opioids can be achieved by promoting the awareness of potential changes in therapeutic efficacy and toxicities, prescribing alternatives or changing administration strategy, tailoring dose, reviewing the appropriateness of orders, and paying attention to medication monitoring.
Estimation of Reward Function Maximizing Learning Efficiency in Inverse Reinforcement Learning

Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL) is a promising framework for estimating a reward function given the behavior of an expert.However, the IRL problem is ill-posed because infinitely many reward functions can be consistent with the expert’s observed behavior. To resolve this issue, IRL algorithms have been proposed to determine alternative choices of the reward function that reproduce the behavior of the expert, but these algorithms do not consider the learning efficiency. In this paper, we propose a new formulation and algorithm for IRL to estimate the reward function that maximizes the learning efficiency. This new formulation is an extension of an existing IRL algorithm, and we introduce a genetic algorithm approach to solve the new reward function. We show the effectiveness of our approach by comparing the performance of our proposed method against existing algorithms.
Programs from proofs of predicated dataflow analyses

"Programs from Proofs" is a generic method which generates new programs out of correctness proofs of given programs. The technique ensures that the new and given program are behaviorally equivalent and that the new program is easily verifiable, thus serving as an alternative to proof-carrying code concepts. So far, this generic method has one instantiation that verifies type-state properties of programs. In this paper, we present a whole range of new instantiations, all based on dataflow analyses. More precisely, we show how an imprecise but fast dataflow analysis can be enhanced with a predicate analysis as to yield a precise but expensive analysis. Out of the safety proofs of this analysis, we generate new programs, again behaviorally equivalent to the given ones, which are "easily verifiable" in the sense that now the dataflow analysis alone can yield precise results. An experimental evaluation practically supports our claim of easy verification.
Effects of some processing techniques on the functional properties of winged bean seed flours

The functional properties; bulk density, water and oil absorption capacities, emulsion capacity and stability, foam capacity and stability including protein solubility of raw, boiled, roasted and autoclaved winged bean flours were determined. The results revealed that both the raw and processed flours were generally similar in bulk density and water/oil absorption capacities. Wettability was highest in the roasted winged bean flour (80.0 sec.), while the effect was minimal in others (12.0, 25.0 and 10.0 sec. respectively for raw, boiled and autoclaved flours). Emulsion capacity was highly reduced in the processed flours compared with the raw ones. The values were 4.02, 0.90, 2.17 and 2.06 ml/g respectively for raw, boiled, autoclaved and roasted flour. Foam capacity and stability were also lower in the processed samples. The results proved the usefulness of raw and processed winged bean flours as functional agents in food formations such as bakery products, whipped toppings, weaning foods, vegetable milk, etc.
$\mathcal{O}(k)$-robust spanners in one dimension

A geometric $t$-spanner on a set of points in Euclidean space is a graph containing for every pair of points a path of length at most $t$ times the Euclidean distance between the points. Informally, a spanner is $\mathcal{O}(k)$-robust if deleting $k$ vertices only harms $\mathcal{O}(k)$ other vertices. We show that on any one-dimensional set of $n$ points, for any $\varepsilon>0$, there exists an $\mathcal{O}(k)$-robust $1$-spanner with $\mathcal{O}(n^{1+\varepsilon})$ edges. Previously it was only known that $\mathcal{O}(k)$-robust spanners with $\mathcal{O}(n^2)$ edges exists and that there are point sets on which any $\mathcal{O}(k)$-robust spanner has $\Omega(n\log{n})$ edges.