Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Studies on the Character of Hypothalamic GnRH Neurons and Kisspeptin Neurons Using Hypothalamic Cell Models

The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis controls the hormonal network responsible for reproductive functions. In the past, hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons have been positioned at the highest level in the HPG axis. After the discovery of the indispensable roles of hypothalamic kisspeptin in GnRH neurons, our ­understanding­of­the­neuroendocrine­regulation­of­the­HPG­axis­was­reconfirmed,­and­it­is­ now recognized that hypothalamic kisspeptin neurons are positioned at the summit of the HPG axis. Accumulating evidence shows that kisspeptin neurons are responsible for the onset of puberty and sex steroid feedback mechanisms by modulating the activity of GnRH neurons. ­Furthermore,­the­identification­of­kisspeptin­in­the­hypophyseal­portal­circulation­ suggests that this peptide has some direct roles in the pituitary gland. The detailed mechanisms underlying the regulation of GnRH by kisspeptin and the regulatory control of kisspeptin neurons are still largely unknown because of the limitations of the experimental models. The establishment of GnRH-expressing and kisspeptin-expressing cell models has enabled us to examine the character of these neuronal cells. In this chapter, we describe our in vivo studies examining the character of GnRH neurons and kisspeptin neurons in the hypothalamus using hypothalamic GnRHand/or kisspeptin-expressing cell models.
The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Styrax zhejiangensis, a species with an extremely small population

Abstract Styrax zhejiangensis is an endemic species to China and is only distributed in Jiande, Zhejiang Province. The species is on the verge of extinction. The chloroplast genome of S. zhejiangensis was determined from Illumina pair-end sequencing data. The sequence was 157,387 bp and consisted of one large (LSC, 87,193 bp) and one small (SSC, 18,286 bp) single-copy region region, separated by a pair of inverted repeat (IR, 25,954 bp) regions. The sequence included 116 genes, including 82 protein-coding genes, 19 rRNAs and 15 tRNAs. The overall GC content was 37.0%. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis showed that Styracaceae was more closely related to Symplocaceae than to Ebenaceae.
Effets pléiotropes et perspectives thérapeutiques des statines dans le domaine cardiovasculaire

Les statines sont des inhibiteurs de l'HMG-CoA reductase, enzyme qui catalyse la transformation de l'HMG-CoA en mevalonate, controlant de ce fait une etape cle de la synthese du cholesterol. Le succes des statines dans les grandes etudes de prevention primaire et secondaire a amene les chercheurs a s'interroger sur l'existence d'une autre voie par laquelle ces molecules exerceraient leurs effets protecteurs sur la morbimortalitecardiovasculaire.De nombreux arguments plaident en faveur de l'existence d'effets independants de la baisse du cholesterol, qualifies de pleiotropes. Les effets pleiotropes des statines s'exercent par le biais de nombreux mediateurs et se manifestent par de multiples actions, notamment sur la fonction endotheliale, l'angiogenese, l'hemostase et l'inflammation.Toutefois, l'importance de ces effets et le benefice clinique qu'ils conferent sont pour le moins debattus.Les statines s'averent benefiques dans l'atherosclerose, notamment par l'amelioration de la fonction endotheliale et la stabilisation de la plaque d'atherome. En outre, les statines administrees a haute dose ralentissent la progression de l'atherosclerose et pourraient meme conduire a sa regression. Elles presentent egalement des effets physiologiques favorables dans les cardiopathies coronaires, en particulier dans les suites d'un syndromecoronarien aigu. Ainsi, les recommandations actuelles encouragent la prescription d'une statine a haute dose, chez les patients hospitalises pour syndrome coronarien aigu, et ce le plus tot possible et quel que soit le taux de LDL-cholesterol. L'atorvastatine et la rosuvastatine sont egalement recommandees en prevention primaire chez les sujets a haut risque cardiovasculaire. Dans l'insuffisance cardiaque et les troubles du rythme cardiaque, les resultats des etudes menees sur les statines sont mitiges. Des essais controles randomises complementaires sont necessaires, afin de clarifier leur benefice, s'il existe, a l'egard de ces pathologies.
The Relations between Stabilization Policies and Economic Growth in the Economies of Central Asia and Caucasia

In the early 1990s, with the fall of communism and the dissolution of USSR, the so-called transition economies have emerged in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. Within this transition period from planned to market economies, fiscal and monetary discipline has not been adequately emphasized while the crucial aim of these economies is to realize price liberalization, privatization and economic stabilization. Hence, the problems of income distribution and growth have not been able to be solved. In this paper, we analyze the relations between economic growth and fiscal and monetary discipline in the economies of Central Asia and Caucasia since their independence. We use WDI-2010 data of the World Bank in order to develop a model including fiscal and monetary variables, which aims to represent the growth experiences of the aforementioned countries. JEL codes: E52, E62, R11
Reproductive life history of snakes in temperate regions: what are the differences between oviparous and viviparous species?

Studying life history (LH) allows a broader understanding of organisms and populations’ responses to their environments. Snakes display an immense diversity in terms of reproductive traits, which is reflected in LH traits. The aim of this study is to compare reproductive biology and morphological variables in viviparous and oviparous snakes of a temperate South American community. We studied nearly 1000 specimens of eight oviparous and seven viviparous species pertaining to the four taxonomic families that inhabit the Paraná basin floodplain. Dimorphic variables did not show a different tendency between oviparous and viviparous species. Our results showed that the reproductive mode determined some reproductive traits of a snake’s LH, such as reproductive frequency and reproductive potential. Oviparous snakes reproduce annually, while viviparous snakes reproduce biannually or multi-annually. All species showed seasonal reproductive cycles and no correlation between clutch size (fecundity) and maternal body size. The reproductive strategy of both oviparous and viviparous species of the Paraná River floodplain was to adjust their reproductive cycles to both hydrological cycle of the river and temperature regime. The reproductive traits under study are suggested to have been influenced by environmental factors as well as by genetic characteristics. The studied assemblage is the result of an admixture of evolutionarily distinct clades, each contributing a set of species with different reproductive traits. Although we do not ignore this fact, we emphasize the importance of studying reproductive LH as raw material for an integrative analysis.
Unique unfoldase/aggregase activity of a molecular chaperone that dysregulates a translational elongation factor

The various chaperone activities of heat shock proteins contribute to ensuring cellular proteostasis. Here, we demonstrate the non-canonical unfoldase activity as an inherent functionality of the prokaryotic molecular chaperone Hsp33. The holding-inactive, reduced form of Hsp33 (RHsp33) strongly bound to the translational elongation factor, EF-Tu, and catalyzed the EF-Tu aggregation via evoking its aberrant folding, resulting in its susceptibility to proteolytic degradation by Lon. This interaction was critically mediated by the redox-switch domain of RHsp33 and the guanine nucleotide-binding domain of EF-Tu. The RHsp33-induced in vivo aggregation of EF-Tu upon heat shock was evident in a Lon-deficient strain and inhibited cell growth. Unlike wild-type Escherichia coli, the strain lacking both Hsp33 and Lon showed a non-reduced level of EF-Tu and diminished capability of counteracting heat shock. These findings suggest that the unique unfoldase/aggregase activity of Hsp33 potentially involved in protein turnover confers a cellular survival advantage under heat-stressed conditions.
A review of pulsar timing array gravitational wave research

A pulsar timing array (PTA) refers to a program of regular, high-precision timing observations of a widely distributed array of millisecond pulsars. Here we review the status of the three primary PTA projects and the joint International Pulsar Timing Array project. We discuss current results related to ultra-low-frequency gravitational wave searches and highlight opportunities for the near future.
A revolution in star cluster research: setting the scene

Star clusters and their stellar populations play a significant role in the context of galaxy evolution, across space (from local to high redshift) and time (from currently forming to fossil remnants). We are now within reach of answering a number of fundamental questions that will have a significant impact on our understanding of key open issues in contemporary astrophysics, ranging from the formation, assembly and evolution of galaxies to the details of the star-formation process. Our improved understanding of the physics driving star cluster formation and evolution has led to the emergence of crucial new open questions that will most probably be tackled in a systematic way in the next decade.
Relationship between maternal thyroid function during the 1st and 2nd gestational trimester and child brain and neural development

Objective To observe the thyroid status of pregnant women during the 1st and 2nd trimester of gestation,and its role in brain and neural development of their offspring's.Methods From 2008 to 2009,pregnant women from nine townships of two counties in Wushi and Baicheng in Aksu prefecture of Xinjiang were selected as research subjects according to the survey standard.After informed consent signed,their urinary iodine,serum thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH) and free thyroxin(FT4) were analyzed.The value of thyroid hormone of normal pregnant women was used in diagnosis of subclinical hypothyroidism and hypothyroxinemia in pregnant women.From 2010 to 2011, The brain and neural development status among offspring born by those pregnant women were evaluated with DDST.In accordance with the results of Denver Development Screen Test (DDST) screening,pregnant women were classified into survey and control groups,and the survey group was the suspicious and abnormal of the result of DDST screening(delay),the control group was normal of the result.According to gestational age,pregnant women were divided into 4 gestation groups:G1(6 to 13 weeks),G2(14 to 18 weeks),G3 ( 19 to 23 weeks) and G4(24 to 28 weeks). Results A total of 396 cases of pregnant women during the 1st and 2nd trimester of gestation were investigated(survey group 102 cases,control group 294 cases). The median value of urinary iodine concentration among pregnant women in survey group was 152.4 μg/L The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism and hypothyroxinemia among pregnant women was 10.78％(11/102) and 3.93％(4/102),respectively.In control group,the median value of urinary iodine concentration was 180.0 μg/L The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism and hypothyroxinemia among pregnant women was 7.48％ (22/294) and 4.42％ (13/294),respectively.During the pregnant period from G1 to G3,the median serum TSH of pregnant women in DDST survey group (2.24,3.49,2.85 mU/L) was higher than that of DDST control group( 1.59,2.70,2.28 mU/L). Especially,the difference of TSH between the two groups during the period of G3 was statistically significant (t =4.906,P ＜ 0.05 ). Conclusions Hypothyroidism tendency of pregnant women during the period from gestation week 19th to 23rd may be an important factor in the development of brain abnormalities of their offsprings. Key words: Pregnancy; Women; Hypothyroidism; Thyroid hormones
Características florais e suas síndromes de polinização associadas no sub-bosque de terra firme na floresta nacional de Tefé, Alvarães, Am

A Floresta Amazonica ainda e um local que falta pesquisas sobre sua biodiversidade e ecossistema, especialmente trabalhos sobre polinizacao. Este trabalho tem por objetivo identificar as sindromes de polinizacao e caracteristicas florais ocorrentes no sub-bosque da Floresta Nacional de Tefe, em uma area de floresta de Terra-firme. Realizou-se coletas bimestrais, nos meses de novembro/2013 a setembro/2014. Foram coletadas plantas de sub-bosque com flores ou frutos, desta foram identificadas as especies e as provaveis sindromes de polinizacao, com base em caracteristicas morfologicas. Ao total foram identificadas 95 morfo-especies, pertencentes a 31 familias. As familias mais representativas foram Rubiaceae com 14.7% (N=14 especies), Melastomataceae 13,7% (N=13), Piperaceae com 9,5% (N=9) e Araceae 8,4% (N=6). Quanto as sindromes de polinizacao, as mais frequentes foram sindromes entomofilas com 63,8%. A melitofilia ocorreu em 33% (N=40) das especies, “pequenos insetos” ocorreu em 15,8% (N=15), ornitofilia em 8,4% (N=8), anemofilia em 5,3% (N=5), cantarofilia/miiofilia em4% (N=7), miiofilia em 2,1%(N=2), psicofilia em 2,1% (N=2) e melitofilia/psicofilia, ornitofilia/psicofilia, quiropterofilia ocorreram em 1,1% (N=1), cada. Quanto as caracteristicas florais a cor predominante foi flores esverdeadas (incluindo creme e bege) com 25,3% (N=24), seguida pelo branco em 18,9% (N=18). Flores actinomorfas foram encontradas na maioria das especies 64,2% (N=61), enquanto 24,2% (N= 23) apresentaram flores zigomorfas. A unidade de polinizacao individual foi mais frequente com 52,6 (N=50), enquanto que a coletiva ocorreu em 24,2 (N=23) das especies. Corolas anomalas, tubulosas e rosaceas apresentaram maior frequencia, contudo foi o observado um amplo espectro de formas de corola. O sub-bosque apresentou uma alta variedade de caracteristicas florais e de sindromes de polinizacao associadas a elas, demonstrando uma alta diversidade da flora e dos polinizadores.
Estradiol activates AMPK through interaction with extrogen receptor beta (15.4)

The susceptibility and progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases in post‐menopausal women. AMP‐kinase (AMPK) has emerged as prominent player as a cellular energetic regulator that is known to modify both metabolic and contractile function in the heart. Our on‐going studies indicate that AMPK activation is down‐regulated during menopause and that this may play a role in the increased risk of CVD in post‐menopausal women. The aim of this study is to determine the mechanistic link between estrogen (Estradiol) and AMPK activation. We show that Estradiol (E2) increases AMPK activity in c2c12 myotubes, as well as in human ductal breast epithelial tumor cells (T47D). Further, AMPK activity is potentiated by chemical as well as siRNA inhibition of the individual Estrogen Receptors (ERα or ERβ), suggesting an antagonistic effect of the two Estrogen Receptors (ER) on AMPK activation. Next, we hypothesized that E2 regulates AMPK through a direct interaction of ER and AMPK. Using co‐immunoprecipitation in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and female mice hearts, we show a direct interaction of ERβ with AMPK and MO25, a component of the upstream AMPK activation complex. We conclude that E2 can activate the AMPK through a direct interaction of ERβ with members of the AMPK kinase complex.
Deep Demixing: Reconstructing the Evolution of Epidemics using Graph Neural Networks

We study the temporal reconstruction of epidemics evolving over networks. Given partial or aggregated temporal information of the epidemic, our goal is to estimate the complete evolution of the spread leveraging the topology of the network but being agnostic to the precise epidemic model. We overcome this lack of model awareness through a data-driven solution to the inverse problem at hand. In particular, we propose DDmix, a graph conditional variational autoencoder that can be trained from past epidemic spreads and whose latent space seeks to capture key aspects of the underlying (unknown) spreading dynamics. We illustrate the accuracy and generalizability of DDmix and compare it with non-graph-aware learning algorithms through numerical experiments on epidemic spreads simulated on synthetic and real-world networks.
Towards mmWave V2X in 5G and Beyond to Support Automated Driving

Millimeter wave provides high data rates for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications. This paper motivates millimeter wave to support automated driving and begins by explaining V2X use cases that support automated driving with references to several standardi-zation bodies. The paper gives a classification of existing V2X stand-ards: IEEE802.11p and LTE V2X, along with the status of their com-mercial deployment. Then, the paper provides a detailed assessment on how millimeter wave V2X enables the use case of cooperative perception. The explanations provide detailed rate calculations for this use case and show that millimeter wave is the only technology able to achieve the requirements. Furthermore, specific challenges related to millimeter wave for V2X are described, including cover-age enhancement and beam alignment. The paper concludes with some results from three studies, i.e. IEEE802.11ad (WiGig) based V2X, extension of 5G NR (New Radio) toward mmWave V2X, and prototypes of intelligent street with mmWave V2X.
Contextual Stochastic Block Model: Sharp Thresholds and Contiguity

We study community detection in the contextual stochastic block model arXiv:1807.09596 [cs.SI], arXiv:1607.02675 [stat.ME]. In arXiv:1807.09596 [cs.SI], the second author studied this problem in the setting of sparse graphs with high-dimensional node-covariates. Using the non-rigorous cavity method from statistical physics, they conjectured the sharp limits for community detection in this setting. Further, the information theoretic threshold was verified, assuming that the average degree of the observed graph is large. It is expected that the conjecture holds as soon as the average degree exceeds one, so that the graph has a giant component. We establish this conjecture, and characterize the sharp threshold for detection and weak recovery.
Sharp bounds for variance of treatment effect estimators in the finite population in the presence of covariates

In the completely randomized experiment, the variances of treatment effect estimators in the finite population are usually not identifiable and hence not estimable. Although some estimable bounds of the variances have been established in the literature, few of them are derived in the presence of covariates. In this paper, the difference-in-means estimator and the Wald estimator are considered in the completely randomized experiment with perfect compliance and noncompliance, respectively. Sharp bounds for the variances of these two estimators are established when covariates are available. Furthermore, consistent estimators for such bounds are obtained, which can be used to shorten the confidence intervals and improve power of tests. Simulations were conducted to evaluate the proposed methods. The proposed methods are also illustrated with two real data analyses.
Could dark matter be a natural consequence of a dynamical universe

We construct the gravitating mass of an isolated composite system on asymptotically-flat spacetimes within conventional general relativity and investigate when this quantity is well defined. For stationary spacetimes, this quantity is known to exactly equal the physical (ADM) mass. However, it remains an open question whether these two masses are equal in the absence of a timelike Killing vector. This is especially apropos since our universe has an `origin' and hence no such Killing vector. Further, if these masses failed to agree then composite systems could behave as if they had a `dark component,' whose gravitating mass would not equal the physical mass-energy present. The existence of such an apparent discrepancy is indeed ubiquitous in galaxies and galaxy clusters, though currently it is attributed to the presence of dark matter. We conclude that the theoretical question of the relation between these masses for dynamical spacetimes is ripe for attention.
Multi-Modal Subjective Context Modelling and Recognition

Applications like personal assistants need to be aware ofthe user's context, e.g., where they are, what they are doing, and with whom. Context information is usually inferred from sensor data, like GPS sensors and accelerometers on the user's smartphone. This prediction task is known as context recognition. A well-defined context model is fundamental for successful recognition. Existing models, however, have two major limitations. First, they focus on few aspects, like location or activity, meaning that recognition methods based onthem can only compute and leverage few inter-aspect correlations. Second, existing models typically assume that context is objective, whereas in most applications context is best viewed from the user's perspective. Neglecting these factors limits the usefulness of the context model and hinders recognition. We present a novel ontological context model that captures five dimensions, namely time, location, activity, social relations and object. Moreover, our model defines three levels of description(objective context, machine context and subjective context) that naturally support subjective annotations and this http URL initial context recognition experiment on real-world data hints at the promise of our model.
Neuro-Symbolic Representations for Video Captioning: A Case for Leveraging Inductive Biases for Vision and Language

Neuro-symbolic representations have proved effective in learning structure information in vision and language. In this paper, we propose a new model architecture for learning multi-modal neuro-symbolic representations for video captioning. Our approach uses a dictionary learning-based method of learning relations between videos and their paired text descriptions. We refer to these relations as relative roles and leverage them to make each token role-aware using attention. This results in a more structured and interpretable architecture that incorporates modality-specific inductive biases for the captioning task. Intuitively, the model is able to learn spatial, temporal, and cross-modal relations in a given pair of video and text. The disentanglement achieved by our proposal gives the model more capacity to capture multi-modal structures which result in captions with higher quality for videos. Our experiments on two established video captioning datasets verifies the effectiveness of the proposed approach based on automatic metrics. We further conduct a human evaluation to measure the grounding and relevance of the generated captions and observe consistent improvement for the proposed model. The codes and trained models can be found at this https URL