Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improvement of wheat quality in cultivars released in Serbia during the 20th century.

Twenty wheat varieties were analyzed to assess the contribution of 40-year breeding process to the advancement of wheat technological quality. A trial using a randomized block design with three replications was carried out during five growing seasons (2001–2005) that varied in temperature and rainfall conditions. Changes of quality were analyzed in the varieties from different breeding periods using linear regression analysis. Changes of quality indicators were expressed by regression coefficients. The studied varieties were released at 3–4-year intervals. The annual changes in genetic potentials were as follows: protein content — −0.03%, wet gluten — −0.14%, farinograph absorption — 0.04%, dough energy — 1.53 cm 2 , loaf volume — 2.94 ml, and baking score — 0.07. The decreases in the protein and wet gluten contents were compensated for by an improvement in protein quality. The increase in gluten structure stability and appropriate combinations of high molecular weight glutenin subunits have contributed t.
Effects of the 7DL.7Ag translocation from lophopyrum elongatum on wheat yield and related morphophysiological traits under different environments

The 7DL.7Ag translocation from Lophopyrum elongatum that carries Lr19, a leaf rust resistance gene, was found to be associated with a significant increase in grain yield under irrigated, disease-free conditions, but a generally lower yield under moisture stress conditions. These studies, however, involved a limited number of genetic recipients and environments, and the effect of the translocation on physiological traits was not considered. We examined the translocation effect in six different recipient genotypes and under five environmental conditions, including drought and heat stress. The increase in grain yield under irrigated conditions was associated with a higher rate of biomass production in the 7DL.7Ag lines and may be attributed to higher sink strength. Effect of the translocation on physiological traits was noted only under heat stress and was not associated with difference in yield. Under moisture stress conditions, 7DL.7Ag lines yielded less than their corresponding recipients, possibly because of a longer growing cycle. It is concluded that the effect of the 7DL. 7Ag translocation may very much depend on the phenological adaptation of the recipient genotype and the translocation may be useful for enhancing yield, mainly under favourable conditions.
HyCloud: Tweaking Hybrid Cloud Storage Services for Cost-Efficient Filesystem Hosting

Today’s cloud storage infrastructures typically provide two distinct types of services for hosting files: object storage like Amazon S3 and filesystem storage like Amazon EFS. The former supports simple, flat object operations with a low unit storage price, while the latter supports complex, hierarchical filesystem operations with a high unit storage price. In practice, however, a cloud storage user often desires the advantages of both—efficient filesystem operations with a low unit storage price. An intuitive approach to achieving this goal is to combine the two types of services, e.g., by hosting large files in S3 and small files together with directory structures in EFS. Unfortunately, our benchmark experiments indicate that the clients’ download performance for large files becomes a severe system bottleneck. In this paper, we attempt to address the bottleneck with little overhead by carefully tweaking the usages of S3 and EFS. This attempt is enabled by two key observations. First, since S3 and EFS have the same unit network-traffic price and the data transfer between S3 and EFS is free of charge, we can employ EFS as a relay for the clients’ quickly downloading large files. Second, noticing that significant similarity exists between the files hosted at the cloud and its users, in most times we can convert large-size file downloads into small-size file synchronizations (through delta encoding and data compression). Guided by the observations, we design and implement an open-source system called HyCloud. It automatically invokes the data APIs of S3 and EFS on behalf of users, and handles the data transfer among S3, EFS and the clients. Real-world evaluations demonstrate that the unit storage price of HyCloud is close to that of S3, and the filesystem operations are executed as quickly as in EFS in most times (sometimes even more quickly than in EFS).
Threatened bird species on two little-known mountains (Chiperone and Mabu) in northern Mozambique

The montane forests of northern Mozambique and southern Malawi support several bird species of global conservation concern, and particularly in Malawi are seriously threatened by deforestation. However, the status of these in northern Mozambique remains poorly known. We report that some 1 600 ha of mid-altitude and montane evergreen forest still exists on Mt Chiperone, and that two globally threatened bird species last reported from this locality in 1950, Thyolo Alethe Alethe choloensis (IUCN status Endangered) and White-winged Apalis Apalis chariessa (Vulnerable), still occur there. Mt Mabu, which to the best of our knowledge was previously biologically undescribed, also has extensive evergreen forest (possibly >5000 ha) and also supports two globally threatened bird species, Thyolo Alethe and East Coast Akalat Sheppardia gunningi (Vulnerable). Range extensions of several forest bird taxa of lesser conservation concern are also reported. The evergreen forests on both mountains appear not to have suffered from any substantial human encroachment and do not seem to be under imminent threat, although more extensive surveys are needed. Our records of Thyolo Alethe suggest that its global population is substantially larger than previously thought and that uplisting to Critically Endangered might not be warranted.
The relationship between expectation and hypnotic susceptibility: a literature review

ABSTRACT Researchers do not completely understand how hypnosis functions or what variables can predict an individual to have a high or low hypnotic susceptibility. Expectation is a variable that has been studied, but researchers disagree on the effect it has on hypnotic susceptibility. The purpose of this paper is to obtain a comprehensive understanding of how personal expectations affect hypnotic susceptibility. To this end, a critical literature review was conducted on studies dating from 1964 to 2017 examining the relationship between expectation and hypnotic susceptibility of college students. To be included in this review, all studies were required to measure both the participants’ expectations of being hypnotized and their hypnotizability with a hypnotic susceptibility scale. An exhaustive search of the PsycINFO database identified 19 studies satisfying the listed and other requirements. Results indicated that expectancies of being hypnotized and hypnotic susceptibility have a very small correlation. Expectations assessed after the induction procedure tended to obtain higher correlations with hypnotic susceptibility than expectations assessed before the induction. Additionally, studies that assessed expectation by providing participants with a detailed written description of each suggestion tended to obtain higher correlations with hypnotic susceptibility than studies that did not give participants any information about the suggestions. When all is considered, expectation does not appear to be highly correlated with hypnotic susceptibility; however the modest correlation observed remains worthy of study as it is higher than other tested variables.
Maze test score time adjustments when using nondominant hand in fitness-to-drive assessments

Drivers with medical conditions may need to demonstrate their fitness by participating in clinical and on-road assessments. Scores from the clinic-based occupational therapy-drive home maze test (OT-DHMT) can contribute to fitness-to-drive recommendations. The OT-DHMT is a short, timed test that has previously been shown to be valid and reliable, and norms are available for completion with a driver’s dominant hand. Following stroke or trauma, many drivers need to complete assessments and resume driving using their nondominant hand. The validity of a person’s OT-DHMT score when completed with a nondominant hand is unknown. This study investigated if a person’s OT-DHMT score time requires adjustment when completed with a nondominant hand. The OT-DHMT was administered with a convenience sample of 148 community-dwelling participants, aged 21–81 years (M = 48.6, SD = 19.38) using both their dominant and nondominant hands, in a random order. OT-DHMT score times were significantly faster when using dominant (M = 15.73) compared with nondominant (M = 17.64) hand, d = 1.91 [confidence interval (CI) 1.13, 2.69], t = 4.84, P < 0.01. Employing a generalized weighted least squares regression model indicated that multiplying a driver’s nondominant hand time by 0.833 s for drivers aged ≤60, and by 0.929 s for drivers aged 61+ can approximate dominant hand completion times. The OT-DHMT has been validated for use with people using their nondominant hand. Time adjustments are required for people using their nondominant hand when completing the OT-DHMT, and a larger adjustment is required for people aged ≤60 reinforcing previous findings that younger people have faster OT-DHMT completion times.
Health and health service usage outcomes of case management for patients with long-term conditions: a review of reviews

Abstract Objective: There have been plenty of articles published in recent decades on patient care in the form of case management (CM), but conclusions regarding health outcomes and costs have often been discordant. The objective of this study was to examine previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses with a view to assessing and pooling the overwhelming amount of data available on CM-based health outcomes and resource usage. Methods: We conducted a review of reviews of secondary studies (meta-analyses and systematic reviews) addressing the effectiveness of CM compared with usual care (or other organizational models) in adult (18+) with long-term conditions. PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) were searched from 2000 to the end of December 2017. The outcomes of interest are related to process of care, health measures, and resource usage. Results: Twenty-two articles were ultimately considered: 4 meta-analyses and 18 systematic reviews. There is strong evidence of CM increasing adherence to treatment guidelines and improving patient satisfaction, but none of the secondary studies considered demonstrated any effect on patient survival. Based on the available literature, there is contrasting evidence regarding all the other health outcomes, such as quality of life (QOL), clinical outcomes, and functional status. Good-quality secondary studies consistently found nothing to indicate that CM prompts any reduction in the use of hospital resources. Conclusion: The source of variability in the literature on the consistency of the evidence for most outcomes is unclear. It may stem from the heterogeneity of CM programs in terms of what their intervention entails, the populations targeted, and the tools used to measure the results. That said, there was consistently strong evidence of CM being associated with a greater adherence to treatment guidelines and higher patient satisfaction, but not with a longer survival or better use of hospital resources.
Recent advances in user-friendly computational tools to engineer protein function

Abstract Progress in technology and algorithms throughout the past decade has transformed the field of protein design and engineering. Computational approaches have become well-engrained in the processes of tailoring proteins for various biotechnological applications. Many tools and methods are developed and upgraded each year to satisfy the increasing demands and challenges of protein engineering. To help protein engineers and bioinformaticians navigate this emerging wave of dedicated software, we have critically evaluated recent additions to the toolbox regarding their application for semi-rational and rational protein engineering. These newly developed tools identify and prioritize hotspots and analyze the effects of mutations for a variety of properties, comprising ligand binding, protein–protein and protein–nucleic acid interactions, and electrostatic potential. We also discuss notable progress to target elusive protein dynamics and associated properties like ligand-transport processes and allosteric communication. Finally, we discuss several challenges these tools face and provide our perspectives on the further development of readily applicable methods to guide protein engineering efforts.
Revision on the Strict Positive Realness

In this paper, the necessary and sufficient conditions for strict positive realness of the real rational transfer functions are studied directly from basic definitions in the frequency domain. This paper deals with a new frequency domain approach to check if a real rational transfer function is a strictly positive real or not. This approach is based on the Taylor expansion and the Maximum Modulus Principle which are the fundamental tools in the complex analysis. Four related predominant statements in the strict positive realness area which is appeared in the control literature are discussed; the weaknesses and the drawbacks of these predominant statements are analyzed through some counter examples. Then a new necessary condition for strict positive realness are extracted via high frequency behavior of the Nyquist diagram. Finally the most simplified and completed conditions for strict positive realness are presented based on the complex analysis. Index Terms — Strict positive realness, frequency domain definitions, Taylor expansion approach, high frequency behavior, Maximum Modulus Principle.
The effects of various diets on chitinase and ß-glucosidase activities and the condition of cod, Gadus morhua (L.)

Groups of cod, Gadus morhua (L.), were fed exclusively on fish, crustaceans, or crustacean shells for a period of 3 weeks. Chitinase and s-glucosidase activities were measured in enzyme extracts of stomach contents, stomach tissue, pyloric caeca, intestinal contents, and intestine tissue, and compared to the enzyme activities of control fish starved over the same period. Fulton's condition factor K, liver lipid content and liver water content were determined to estimate the effects of the diets on the condition of cod. general, the highest chitinase activities were measured in samples of cod that had been fed on whole crustaceans. In this feeding group, there was also a remarkable increase of activity by a factor of four to eight in the pyloric caeca, compared to the group fed on fish and the control group, respectively. Measurements of s-glucosidase activity revealed no similar dependence on food quality, s-glucosidase occurrence seemed to be mainly restricted to the pyloric caeca and the intestine of cod.
Transforming growth factors type β1 and β2 are equipotent growth inhibitors of human breast cancer cell lines

At least one member of the TGF‐β family, TGF‐β1, has been previously shown to inhibit the anchorage‐independent growth of some human breast cancer cell lines (Knabbe et al., 1987; Arteaga et al., 1988). Members of the TGF‐β family might, therefore, provide new strategies for breast cancer therapy. We have studied the inhibitory effects of TGF‐β1 and TGF‐β2 on the anchorage‐independent growth of the estrogen receptor‐negative cell lines MDA‐MB‐231, SK‐BR‐3, Hs578T, MDA‐MB‐468, and MDA‐MB‐468‐S4 (an MDA‐MB‐468 clone not growth inhibited by EGF) and the estrogen receptor‐positive cell lines MCF7, ZR‐75‐1, T‐47D. TGF‐β1 and TGF‐β2 caused a 75–90% growth inhibition of MDA‐MB‐231, SK‐BR‐3, Hs578T, and MDA‐MB‐468 cells and a 50% growth inhibition of ZR‐75‐1 and early passage (< 100) MCF7 cells. T‐47D cells responded to TGF‐β only in serum‐free conditions in the presence of IGF‐1 or EGF. The growth of MDA‐MB‐468‐S4 cells and late passage (> 500) MCF7 cells was not inhibited by TGF‐β1 or TGF‐β2. TGF‐β‐sensitive MCF7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cells did not respond to Muellerian inhibiting substance (MIS), a TGF‐β‐related polypeptide. TGF‐β1 and TGF‐β2 were mutually competitive for receptor binding with a similar affinity (Kd 25‐130 pM, 1,000‐13,000 sites per cell). To determine the time course of the TGF‐β effect, an anchorage‐dependent growth assay was carried out using MDA‐MB‐231 cells. Growth inhibition occurred at 6 days, and cell‐cycle changes were seen 12 hr after the addition of TGF‐β. Cells accumulated in the G1 phase and were thus inhibited from entering the S‐phase. These data indicate that TGF‐β is a potent growth inhibitor in most breast cancer cell lines and provide a basis for studying TGF‐β effects in vivo.
A non intrusive OSA severity estimation for CPAP therapy screening based on snoring acoustical analysis

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is characterized by repeated episodes of partial (hypopnea) or complete (apnea) obstruction of the upper airway during sleep. The clinical effects of OSA are related to the cumulative effects of exposure to periodic asphyxia and sleep fragmentation caused by apneas and hypopneas, such as an increased risk of hypertension, nocturnal dysrhythmias, ventricular failure, myocardial infarction, and stroke. The current gold standard for diagnosing OSA is the overnight Polysomnography (PSG), which requires a full-night sleep laboratory stay, attached to different biological sensors and under the supervision of a technician. Besides the discomfort caused by the invasive sensors, the necessity of a clinical setting and highly specialized infrastructure results in a long waiting list in sleep laboratories and high costs, thus restricting the access to diagnosis and treatment. To improve monitoring of OSA evolution, access to diagnosis and treatment follow up, we propose a Mobile Health (mHealth) solution to take advantage of the smartphone capabilities to deploy a non-invasive OSA severity estimation. We make use of the audio recorded through a smartphone to automatically detect snoring events throughout the night and through the analysis of such events estimate patient’s necessity for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy. For that, we have divided our solution into two phases: (i) a completely unsupervised solution to automatically detect the snoring events in an uncontrolled environment and (ii) the analysis of acoustical features of the snoring events for OSA severity estimation. In the first phase, we can prove the viability of recording the audio and detect the snoring events using a smartphone under an environment susceptible to random noises. In the second phase, we show that a set of global acoustical features from the snoring events can predict the patient’s need for the CPAP therapy. Our proposed solution was evaluated in an uncontrolled (patient’s home) and controlled (sleep laboratory center) environment, reaching satisfactory results in snoring events detection and patient’s classification according to the need for CPAP therapy.
Preventive and therapeutic effectiveness of Sanfu acupoint herbal patching for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at stable stages: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the preventive and therapeutic effects of Sanfu acupoint herbal patching (SAHP) in adjuvant treatment in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS We had searched eight electronic databases and six major trial registries from their inception to July 2017 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We utilized RevMan 5.3 to evaluate the methodological quality and to perform data analyses. RESULTS A total of 28 RCTs involving 1615 records were included in the descriptive analysis, and 25 RCTs were performed for Meta-analysis. Lung function such as forced vital capacity rate of one second FEV1/predicted%, forced vital capacity (FVC) % found no significant difference. The results of Meta-analysis showed that SAHP plus conventional therapy (CT) in the treatment of stable COPD were better than CT, in second sessions' data of FEV1, in third sessions' data of FEV1/FVC, in three sessions' data of SGRQ, in third session's data of Modified Medical Research Council and 6MWT. The symptoms of SAHP's adverse reactions seem to be mild and the incidence of that seems to be low. Descriptive analysis shows that SAHP with CT seems to improve clinical effective rate and had a certain preventive effect on acute exacerbation of COPD, which the curative effect may be better with the increase of treatment course. CONCLUSION SAHP with CT appears to be more effective than CT or CT plus placebo only on improving the quality of life, but the effect on lung function is not obvious. Improve clinical effective rate and preventive effect is uncertainty. SAHP with CT may be used in any Grade to safely treat patients with stable COPD. The more exactly clinical effect still needs to be proved by more high-quality, large sampling, multilingual RCTs.
Bivalent binding on cells varies between anti-CD20 antibodies and is dose-dependent

ABSTRACT Based on their mechanism of action, two types of anti-CD20 antibodies are distinguished: Type I, which efficiently mediate complement-dependent cytotoxicity, and Type II, which instead are more efficient in inducing direct cell death. Several molecular characteristics of these antibodies have been suggested to underlie these different biological functions, one of these being the manner of binding to CD20 expressed on malignant B cells. However, the exact binding model on cells is unclear. In this study, the binding mechanism of the Type I therapeutic antibodies rituximab (RTX) and ofatumumab (OFA) and the Type II antibody obinutuzumab (OBI) were established by real-time interaction analysis on live cells. It was found that the degree of bivalent stabilization differed for the antibodies: OFA was stabilized the most, followed by RTX and then OBI, which had the least amount of bivalent stabilization. Bivalency inversely correlated with binding dynamics for the antibodies, with OBI displaying the most dynamic binding pattern, followed by RTX and OFA. For RTX and OBI, bivalency and binding dynamics were concentration dependent; at higher concentrations the interactions were more dynamic, whereas the percentage of antibodies that bound bivalent was less, resulting in concentration-dependent apparent affinities. This was barely noticeable for OFA, as almost all molecules bound bivalently at the tested concentrations. We conclude that the degree of bivalent binding positively correlates with the complement recruiting capacity of the investigated CD20 antibodies.