Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Population dynamics of freshwater gastropods and epidemiology of their helminth infections with emphasis on larval paramphistomes in northern India

Abstract Natural populations of the freshwater gastropods Bithynia tentaculata, Gyraulus convexiusculus, Helicorbis coenosus, Indoplanorbis exustus, Lymnaea acuminata, L. luteola and Vivipara bengalensis, were examined from October 1985 to September 1986 at seven transmission sites for paramphistomiasis, fascioliasis and other gastropod-borne infections in Aligarh, northern India. Gastropod diversity and the type and abundance of vegetation were highest at sites containing permanent water bodies. The distributions of H. coenosus and L. acuminata were positively correlated with the type and abundance of vegetation at these sites. Ephemeral water bodies contained B. tentaculata, I. exustus and L. luteola which were resistant to desiccation during the hot season. Aestivation in these gastropods preceded pronounced breeding activity which began with the onset of the monsoon season. Multivariate analysis (by principal components) was used to investigate relationships between each species of gastropod, their site of occurrence and levels of infection with larval helminths. Seasonal variations in numbers and size class structure in these gastropods were found to influence their prevalences of infection with larval helminths. Metacercarial and cysticercoid infections were more prevalent in smaller size classes of B. tentaculata and V. bengalensis, whereas larval paramphistomes were more prevalent in larger size classes of G. convexiusculus, I. exustus and L. luteola. Attempts were made to equate these findings with seasonality in egg shedding by certain species of adult paramphistomes occurring in domestic ruminants.
Selective activation of resting human γδ T lymphocytes by interleukin‐2

In rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases we and others have found that γδ T cells express activation antigens, suggesting that they are involved in the pathogenesis of these disorders. In this study we have stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal donors with recombinant interleukin‐2 (rIL‐2) to see whether such a stimulus alone could activate γδ T cells. Short‐term exposure (24‐96 h) to rIL‐2 selectively stimulated the γδ but not the αβ T cells to express activation antigens (CD69, CD25 and HLA‐DR). Long‐term culture (2 weeks) in rIL‐2‐containing medium caused a selective increase in the proportion of the γδ T cells and a corresponding reduction of the fraction of αβ T cells. Limiting dilution analysis revealed that approximately 1/60 of the γδ T cells responded to IL‐2 in contrast to only 1/250 of the αβ T cells. Comparison of the expression of the IL‐2 receptor (IL‐2R) a and P chains showed that there was a similar expression of the α chain on γδ and αβ T cells whereas the relative density of the β chain was more than twice as high on γδ T cells. Both the IL‐2‐induced proliferation of γδ T cells and the expression of activation antigens on these cells could be inhibited by an anti‐IL‐2Rβ monoclonal antibody (mAb) but not by an anti‐IL‐2Rα mAb. Expression of CD69 on γδ T cells was dependent neither on the presence of B cells, monocytes, nor αβ T cells. Finally, we found that the IL‐2‐induced expression of CD69 was inhibited by activation of cAMP‐dependent protein kinase and by inhibition of the Src‐family of the tyrosine protein kinase, but not by inhibition of protein kinase C or by activation of the CD45 associated tyrosine phosphatase. The ability of γδ T cells to be activated by IL‐2 is a feature which they have in common with natural killer cells. Moreover, it may be possible that the expression of activation antigens on γδ T cells in inflammatory diseases is an epiphenomenon secondary to IL‐2 produced by activated αβ T cells.
NPY and sbGnRH gene expression in juvenile and adult male Brazilian flounder Paralichthys orbignyanus

The objective of this study was to evaluate neuropeptide Y (NPY) and sea bream gonadotropin-release hormone (sbGnRH) gene expression in juvenile and adult males of Brazilian flounder. Hypothalamuses from fish were sampled for total RNA extraction. After cDNA synthesis, real-time PCR was used to measure gene expression. NPY showed approximately 2-fold increases in their mRNA levels while sbGnRH showed 3-fold increases in adult fish. These results suggest that these peptides could be involved on hypothalamic regulation of Brazilian flounder sexual maturation.
Towards Generalization and Data Efficient Learning of Deep Robotic Grasping

Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has been proven to be a powerful paradigm for learning complex control policy autonomously. Numerous recent applications of DRL in robotic grasping have successfully trained DRL robotic agents end-to-end, mapping visual inputs into control instructions directly, but the amount of training data required may hinder these applications in practice. In this paper, we propose a DRL based robotic visual grasping framework, in which visual perception and control policy are trained separately rather than end-to-end. The visual perception produces physical descriptions of grasped objects and the policy takes use of them to decide optimal actions based on DRL. Benefiting from the explicit representation of objects, the policy is expected to be endowed with more generalization power over new objects and environments. In addition, the policy can be trained in simulation and transferred in real robotic system without any further training. We evaluate our framework in a real world robotic system on a number of robotic grasping tasks, such as semantic grasping, clustered object grasping, moving object grasping. The results show impressive robustness and generalization of our system.
4D spatio-temporal convolutional networks for object position estimation in OCT volumes

Abstract Tracking and localizing objects is a central problem in computer-assisted surgery. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can be employed as an optical tracking system, due to its high spatial and temporal resolution. Recently, 3D convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown promising performance for pose estimation of a marker object using single volumetric OCT images. While this approach relied on spatial information only, OCT allows for a temporal stream of OCT image volumes capturing the motion of an object at high volumes rates. In this work, we systematically extend 3D CNNs to 4D spatio-temporal CNNs to evaluate the impact of additional temporal information for marker object tracking. Across various architectures, our results demonstrate that using a stream of OCT volumes and employing 4D spatio-temporal convolutions leads to a 30% lower mean absolute error compared to single volume processing with 3D CNNs.
Identification of a G2 Arrest Domain in the E1∧E4 Protein of Human Papillomavirus Type 16

ABSTRACT Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) is the most common cause of cervical carcinoma. Cervical cancer develops from low-grade lesions that support the productive stages of the virus life cycle. The 16E1∧E4 protein is abundantly expressed in such lesions and can be detected in cells supporting vegetative viral genome amplification. Using an inducible mammalian expression system, we have shown that 16E1∧E4 arrests HeLa cervical epithelial cells in G2. 16E1∧E4 also caused a G2 arrest in SiHa, Saos-2 and Saccharomyces pombe cells and, as with HeLa cells, was found in the cytoplasm. However, whereas 16E1∧E4 is found on the keratin networks in HeLa and SiHa cells, in Saos-2 and S. pombe cells that lack keratins, 16E1∧E4 had a punctate distribution. Mutagenesis studies revealed a proline-rich region between amino acids 17 and 45 of 16E1∧E4 to be important for arrest. This region, which we have termed the “arrest domain,” contains a putative nuclear localization signal, a cyclin-binding motif, and a single cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) phosphorylation site. A single point mutation in the putative Cdk phosphorylation site (T23A) abolished 16E1∧E4-mediated G2 arrest. Arrest did not involve proteins regulating the phosphorylation state of Cdc2 and does not appear to involve the activation of the DNA damage or incomplete replication checkpoint. G2 arrest was also mediated by the E1∧E4 protein of HPV11, a low-risk mucosal HPV type that also causes cervical lesions. The E1∧E4 protein of HPV1, which is more distantly related to that of HPV16, did not cause G2 arrest. We conclude that, like other papillomavirus proteins, 16E1∧E4 affects cell cycle progression and that it targets a conserved component of the cell cycle machinery.
EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE, pH AND NaCl ON NISIN ACTIVITY AGAINST LACTOBACILLUS FRUCTIVORANS

The aim of this work was to determine the influence of pH, sodium chloride concentration and the combination of different temperatures and periods of exposure on the antimicrobial activity against Lactobacillus fructivorans. Turbidity of the different system conditions was monitored in order to establish the microorganism growth. The effect of temperatures ranging from 60 to 120oC during periods of 10 to 60 minutes
Genetic screening for in vivo modifiers of Arp-like35E allele phenotype from Drosophila melanogaster.

According to the two-hybrid–based protein-interaction map of the fruit fly proteome the principal interactor of ARP-like is endophilinA. Taking advantage of two different transgenic strains having in the lab, which contain differently loss-of-function lethal (LoF) mutations of these genes, ARP-like35E and respectively, endoAEP927, it was generated a new stock bearing recombinant chromosomes carrying both LoF mutations. The goal was to test if the assumed interaction between both wild-type alleles is also taken place between their LoF alleles but in Drosophila not in yeast, in vivo, in the context of an intact organism. Preliminary comparative analyzes of the GFP and non-GFP larvae have shown that the phenotype of the double-mutant combination, ARP-like35E_endoAEP927 was aggravated. The double-mutants died earlier than the single mutants taken separately, which suggested that some interaction could have been really taken place between the allele’s products. Due to the fact that both of the considered genes are orthologous to human genes implicated in different pathologies, in fact, this study represents a valuable source of novel protein-protein interaction with relevance to human diseases.
Hen performance, egg quality, and the sensory evaluation of eggs from SCWL hens fed dietary flax

Two hundred and twenty-five 19-wk-old Single Comb White Leghorn pullets of a commercial strain were fed diets containing either 0, 10 or 20% ground flax seed. Birds fed 20% dietary flax were smaller and ate more feed (P < 0.01). Hen performance in terms of egg production and egg-shell deformation was unaffected by dietary flax throughout the trial. Egg weight followed this trend until period 12, when control-fed hens laid significantly larger eggs (P < 0.01). The metabolizable energy of diets containing 10 and 20% ground flax was significantly less than that of the control corn-soybean diet (P < 0.01). Malondialdehyde levels in the liver of birds fed 20% dietary flax were moderately elevated, although this was not indicative of serious lipid peroxidation. Percentage liver fat was significantly lower in birds fed all levels of dietary flax (P < 0.05). There was a significant increase of N-3 fatty acids, and particularly linolenic acid, in the livers of birds fed all levels of dietary flax. The data from ta.
Leveraging Passage Retrieval with Generative Models for Open Domain Question Answering

Generative models for open domain question answering have proven to be competitive, without resorting to external knowledge. While promising, this approach requires to use models with billions of parameters, which are expensive to train and query. In this paper, we investigate how much these models can benefit from retrieving text passages, potentially containing evidence. We obtain state-of-the-art results on the Natural Questions and TriviaQA open benchmarks. Interestingly, we observe that the performance of this method significantly improves when increasing the number of retrieved passages. This is evidence that sequence-to-sequence models offers a flexible framework to efficiently aggregate and combine evidence from multiple passages.
Impact of CO2 enrichment on organic matter dynamics during nutrient induced coastal phytoplankton blooms

A mesocosm experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of rising fCO2 on the build-up and decline of organic matter during coastal phytoplankton blooms. Five mesocosms (∼38 m³ each) were deployed in the Baltic Sea during spring (2009) and enriched with CO2 to yield a gradient of 355–862 µatm. Mesocosms were nutrient fertilized initially to induce phytoplankton bloom development. Changes in particulate and dissolved organic matter concentrations, including dissolved high-molecular weight (>1 kDa) combined carbohydrates, dissolved free and combined amino acids as well as transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), were monitored over 21 days together with bacterial abundance, and hydrolytic extracellular enzyme activities. Overall, organic matter followed well-known bloom dynamics in all CO2 treatments alike. At high fCO2, higher ΔPOC:ΔPON during bloom rise, and higher TEP concentrations during bloom peak, suggested preferential accumulation of carbon-rich components. TEP concentration at bloom peak was significantly related to subsequent sedimentation of particulate organic matter. Bacterial abundance increased during the bloom and was highest at high fCO2. We conclude that increasing fCO2 supports production and exudation of carbon-rich components, enhancing particle aggregation and settling, but also providing substrate and attachment sites for bacteria. More labile organic carbon and higher bacterial abundance can increase rates of oxygen consumption and may intensify the already high risk of oxygen depletion in coastal seas in the future.
How does photorespiration modulate leaf amino acid contents? A dual approach through modelling and metabolite analysis

The aim of this work was to establish the quantitative impact of photorespiration on leaf amino acid contents. Attached leaves of wheat and potato were incubated for 30-40 min under defined conditions in which net CO2 uptake (A ) was manipulated by irradiance, ambient CO2 or ambient O-2 . The incubated portion of the leaf was sampled by a rapid-quench method and photorespiratory flux (v (o) ) was modelled from the measured rate of net CO2 uptake. In both wheat and potato, the ratio between glycine and serine showed a strong positive correlation with v (o) . Aspartate and alanine correlated negatively with v (o) but glutamate and glutamine showed less clear relationships. In potato, glutamate and glutamine did not correlate clearly with either A or v (o) . In wheat, glutamine showed a general increase with A but no relationship with v (o) , whereas 2-oxoglutarate contents correlated positively with v (o) and negatively with A . As a result, glutamine : glutamate and glutamine : 2-oxoglutarate increased with net CO2 uptake in wheat, observations that are attributed primarily to imperfect and variable coupling between the supply of NH3 in primary nitrogen assimilation and the associated delivery of 2-oxoglutarate to the chloroplast. A simple theoretical analysis is used to illustrate the potentially marked impact of primary nitrogen assimilation on leaf glutamine, even against a background of high rates of photorespiratory ammonia recycling.
Sexual transfer of prostaglandin precursor in the field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus

ABSTRACT. When injected into the haemolymph of newly emerged adult males of the field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus (Walker), [3H]arachidonic acid is incorporated into tissue phospholipids. Two reproductive tissues, testes and accessory glands, incorporate and preserve the labelled arachidonic acid for at least 49 days. With onset of circadian rhythm‐controlled spermatophore production, radioactive arachidonic acid is incorporated into spermatophore phospholipids. After mating with untreated females, radioactivity was detected in spermathecae and in haemolymph from females. Some of the transferred radioactive arachidonic acid is subsequently converted into prostaglandins. Hence, males of T. commodus transfer prostaglandin synthetase activity and substrate by way of spermatophores during mating
Using Mimikatz’ driver, Mimidrv, to disable Windows Defender in Windows

—We show that, using Mimikatz’ signed driver, Mimidrv, we can kill the process that runs Windows Defender after removing the process protection. We show how we overwrite callback locations within Windows Defender’s driver, WdFilter, to immediately return from the routines. This would allow for malicious actions to go unnoticed by the antivirus program, but we were not able to prove this conclusively. We theorise that the latter can be done through Input/Output Control messages available in Mimidrv. This could be extrapolated to legitimate, signed, drivers that contain memory read/write vulnerabilities, similar to Mimidrv’s functionalities.
ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF MATERNAL LITERACY ON CHILD HEALTH:

This presentation provides a summary of the study entitled ‘assessing the effect of maternal health literacy on child health: a case study of Mpongwe district. The purpose of the study was to assess the effects of maternal health literacy on child health in Mpongwe district. The study had a main objective which was to assess the effects of maternal literacy on child health. The specific objectives were: to investigate the literacy levels of mothers in the community, to ascertain the obstacles to maternal literacy; and to assess the areas of intervention that can help improve maternal literacy.
The environmental potential for polygyny and sexual selection in the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus

How nest size and temporal availability of females affects sexual selection was tested experimentally in the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus, a small fish with paternal brood care. The distribution of matings depended on both nest size and female arrival pattern, supporting the model for mating system evolution presented by Emlen & Oring (1977). Polygyny and the opportunity for sexual selection was greatest when nests were large and females arrived asynchronously. In these replicates a single male frequently spawned with all four females. The total number of females spawning was the same for each treatment. Male size was important for mating success in the large nest treatment, whereas female arrival pattern did not affect the size difference between mated and unmated males. This study demonstrates that sexual selection can depend on resource distribution even if all individuals can obtain similar quality resources, a situation where resource monopolization per se should not differentially affect access to mates.
Seenomaly: Vision-Based Linting of GUI Animation Effects Against Design-Don't Guidelines

GUI animations, such as card movement, menu slide in/out, snack-bar display, provide appealing user experience and enhance the usability of mobile applications. These GUI animations should not violate the platform's UI design guidelines (referred to as design-don't guideline in this work) regarding component motion and interaction, content appearing and disappearing, and elevation and shadow changes. However, none of existing static code analysis, functional GUI testing and GUI image comparison techniques can “see” the GUI animations on the scree, and thus they cannot support the linting of GUI animations against design-don't guidelines. In this work, we formulate this GUI animation linting problem as a multi-class screencast classification task, but we do not have sufficient labeled GUI animations to train the classifier. Instead, we propose an unsupervised, computer-vision based adversarial autoencoder to solve this linting problem. Our autoencoder learns to group similar GUI animations by “seeing” lots of unlabeled real-application GUI animations and learning to generate them. As the first work of its kind, we build the datasets of synthetic and realworld GUI animations. Through experiments on these datasets, we systematically investigate the learning capability of our model and its effectiveness and practicality for linting GUI animations, and identify the challenges in this linting problem for future work.
Differential Rotation of the Halo Traced by K-giant Stars

We use K-giant stars selected from the LAMOST DR5 to study the variation of the rotational velocity of the Galactic halo at different space positions. Modeling the rotational velocity distribution with both the halo and disk components, we find that the rotational velocity of the halo population decreases almost linearly with increasing vertical distance to the Galactic disk plane, Z, at fixed galactocentric radius, R. The samples are separated into two parts with and . We derive that the decreasing rates along Z for the two subsamples are −3.07 ± 0.63 and −1.89 ± 0.37 km s−1 kpc−1, respectively. Comparing with the TNG simulations, we suggest that this trend is caused by the interaction between the disk and halo. The results from the simulations show that only an oblate halo can provide a decreasing rotational velocity with increasing Z. This indicates that the Galactic halo is oblate with galactocentric radius . On the other hand, the flaring of the disk component (mainly the thick disk) is clearly traced by this study; with R between 12 and 20 kpc, the disk can vertically extend to above the disk plane. What is more interesting is that we find the Gaia–Enceladus–Sausage component has a significant contribution only in the halo with , i.e., a fraction of 23%–47%, while in the outer subsample, the contribution is too low to be well constrained.
Compounds of symmetric informationally complete measurements and their application in quantum key distribution

Symmetric informationally complete measurements (SICs) are elegant, celebrated and broadly useful discrete structures in Hilbert space. We introduce a more sophisticated discrete structure compounded by several SICs. A SIC-compound is defined to be a collection of $d^3$ vectors in $d$-dimensional Hilbert space that can be partitioned in two different ways: into $d$ SICs and into $d^2$ orthonormal bases. While a priori their existence may appear unlikely when $d>2$, we surprisingly answer it in the positive through an explicit construction for $d=4$. Remarkably this SIC-compound admits a close relation to mutually unbiased bases, as is revealed through quantum state discrimination. Going beyond fundamental considerations, we leverage these exotic properties to construct a protocol for quantum key distribution and analyze its security under general eavesdropping attacks. We show that SIC-compounds enable secure key generation in the presence of errors that are large enough to prevent the success of the generalisation of the six-state protocol.