Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reconstruction accuracy of an automated serial cross-sectional preparation technique for morphological human temporal bone imaging

Abstract Detailed knowledge about the three-dimensional morphology of the human cochlea and its intra-cochlear bony and soft-tissue structures is essential for development of new cochlear implant electrode carriers. A manual cross-sectional preparation and imaging technique, hereinafter referred to as “microgrinding”, uses human temporal bone samples embedded in epoxy resin. This process was automated to shorten the time needed for preparation and to increase reproducibility. In this study, reconstruction accuracy of the automated microgrinding technique was determined. Four assemblies of LEGO® bricks were used as artificial samples to analyze the resulting reconstruction accuracy of the whole procedure including embedding, preparation and image registration. The outer surfaces of the samples were measured using a portable coordinate measuring machine by manually choosing points on each surface. After embedding the samples in epoxy resin, following the protocol for human temporal bone samples, preparation using the automated microgrinding was performed with a slice thickness of 50μm. Pixel-spacing within an image was 11. 5μm/px. The samples were identified within the dataset using threshold segmentation. Subsequently, points were manually chosen on each surface of the segmented samples. Planes, angles between planes and distances between corners were calculated for the physical and the digital samples. Deviation of the digitally derived measures compared to the physically derived ones describe the reconstruction accuracy of the automated microgrinding process. Parallel planes had a deviation of 0.5° ± 0.5° (range: 0 - 2.9°). Orthogonal planes, whose line of intersection is parallel to the direction of milled abrasion, had a deviation of 0.8 ° ± 0.5 ° (range: 0 - 2.1°), whereas such orthogonal planes whose line of intersection is parallel to the documented sample surface had a deviation of 0.4° ± 0.3 ° (range: 0 - 1.7 °). Distances between corners had an absolute deviation of 0.1 mm ± 0.1mm (range: 0 - 0.6mm), which corresponds to a relative deviation of 1% ± 1% (range: 0 - 6.5%). This study shows a highly accurate sample preparation using an automated microgrinding technique as an essential prerequisite for three-dimensional morphological imaging.
Real-Time Pricing of Smart Grid Based on Piece-Wise Linear Functions

Abstract In a power grid system, utility is a measure of the satisfaction of users’ electricity consumption; cost is a monetary value of electricity generated by the supplier. The utility and cost functions represent the satisfaction of different users and the supplier. Quadratic utility, logarithmic utility, and quadratic cost functions are widely used in social welfare maximization models of real-time pricing. These functions are not universal; they have to be discussed in detail for individual models. To overcome this problem, a piece-wise linear utility function and a piece-wise linear cost function with general properties are proposed in this paper. By smoothing the piece-wise linear utility and cost functions, a social welfare maximization model can be transformed into a differentiable convex optimization problem. A dual optimization method is used to solve the smoothed model. Through mathematical deduction and numerical simulations, the rationality of the model and the validity of the algorithm are verified as long as the elastic and cost coefficients take appropriate values. Thus, different user types and the supplier can be determined by selecting different elastic and cost coefficients.
Strategic SCM’s Mediating Effect on the Sustainable Operations: Multinational Perspective

Abstract Background and Purpose: The comparative cross-sectional study examines the strategic supply chain management’s mediating effect on the sustainable operations through environmental and social sustainability within the businesses operating in Canada, Iran and Turkey to attain global perspective. Methodology: Over 200 small businesses in each country are included through combining purposive sampling, referrals, networking, and connections. For quantitative data analysis, the Smart partial least square structural equation modeling (SmartPLS-SEM) is employed. Results: Results showed that there is statistically significant positive mediating role of strategic supply chain on the sustainable operations (environmental and social sustainable) performances in all three selected economies. Findings further confirmed that within the multinational perspective, the SCM factors have higher significant positive impact within Canada in contrast to Iran and Turkey. Conclusion: This study offers a new theoretical contribution by examining the mediating role of strategic supply chain from multinational perspective to enhance existing body of knowledge. Furthermore, it offers a practical contribution by providing the strategic research framework to facilitate managers in improving the small businesses’ performance in sustaining operations.
OmniPD: One-Step Person Detection in Top-View Omnidirectional Indoor Scenes

Abstract We propose a one-step person detector for topview omnidirectional indoor scenes based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). While state of the art person detectors reach competitive results on perspective images, missing CNN architectures as well as training data that follows the distortion of omnidirectional images makes current approaches not applicable to our data. The method predicts bounding boxes of multiple persons directly in omnidirectional images without perspective transformation, which reduces overhead of pre- and post-processing and enables realtime performance. The basic idea is to utilize transfer learning to fine-tune CNNs trained on perspective images with data augmentation techniques for detection in omnidirectional images. We fine-tune two variants of Single Shot MultiBox detectors (SSDs). The first one uses Mobilenet v1 FPN as feature extractor (moSSD). The second one uses ResNet50 v1 FPN (resSSD). Both models are pre-trained on Microsoft Common Objects in Context (COCO) dataset. We fine-tune both models on PASCAL VOC07 and VOC12 datasets, specifically on class person. Random 90-degree rotation and random vertical flipping are used for data augmentation in addition to the methods proposed by original SSD. We reach an average precision (AP) of 67.3%with moSSD and 74.9%with resSSD on the evaluation dataset. To enhance the fine-tuning process, we add a subset of HDA Person dataset and a subset of PIROPO database and reduce the number of perspective images to PASCAL VOC07. The AP rises to 83.2% for moSSD and 86.3% for resSSD, respectively. The average inference speed is 28 ms per image for moSSD and 38 ms per image for resSSD using Nvidia Quadro P6000. Our method is applicable to other CNN-based object detectors and can potentially generalize for detecting other objects in omnidirectional images.
An efficient ECG Denoising method using Discrete Wavelet with Savitzky-Golay filter

Abstract Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a widely used tool for the early diagnosis and evaluation of cardiac disorders. The ECG signal is usually distorted during recording by different types of noise which may lead to incorrect diagnosis. Therefore, clear ECG signals are required to support good cardiac disorder diagnosing. In this paper, an efficient ECG denoising method using combined discrete wavelet with Savitzky-Golay (S-G) filter is proposed. The performance of S-G filter is studied in terms of polynomial degree and frame size, i.e. signal section. In addition, the performance of denoising wavelet is studied in term of mother wavelet type and wavelet order. The advantage of S-G filter is combined with discrete wavelet denoising method to get better denoising performance. The performance of denoising ECG are evaluated using signal to noise ratio (SNR) and percentage root mean square difference (PRD). For this we used simulated and gaussian white noise surrogated ECG signals. Our results show that combined S-G and wavelet filter denoising is noticeable better than the respective individual procedures. In addition, we found that the selection of frame size, order of the S-G filter and the wavelet type and order should be done carefully in order to get optimal results. It also holds true for the new filter that the optimal choice of filter parameters is a compromise between noise reduction and distortion.
Teaching semantics and skills for human-robot collaboration

Abstract Recent advances in robotics allow for collaboration between humans and machines in performing tasks at home or in industrial settings without harming the life of the user. While humans can easily adapt to each other and work in team, it is not as trivial for robots. In their case, interaction skills typically come at the cost of extensive programming and teaching. Besides, understanding the semantics of a task is necessary to work efficiently and react to changes in the task execution process. As a result, in order to achieve seamless collaboration, appropriate reasoning, learning skills and interaction capabilities are needed. For us humans, a cornerstone of our communication is language that we use to teach, coordinate and communicate. In this paper we thus propose a system allowing (i) to teach new action semantics based on the already available knowledge and (ii) to use natural language communication to resolve ambiguities that could arise while giving commands to the robot. Reasoning then allows new skills to be performed either autonomously or in collaboration with a human. Teaching occurs through a web application and motions are learned with physical demonstration of the robotic arm. We demonstrate the utility of our system in two scenarios and reflect upon the challenges that it introduces.
The internal interaction in RBBP5 regulates assembly and activity of MLL1 methyltransferase complex

Abstract The Mixed Lineage Leukemia protein 1 (MLL1) plays an essential role in the maintenance of the histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methylation status for gene expression during differentiation and development. The methyltransferase activity of MLL1 is regulated by three conserved core subunits, WDR5, RBBP5 and ASH2L. Here, we determined the structure of human RBBP5 and demonstrated its role in the assembly and regulation of the MLL1 complex. We identified an internal interaction between the WD40 propeller and the C-terminal distal region in RBBP5, which assisted the maintenance of the compact conformation of the MLL1 complex. We also discovered a vertebrate-specific motif in the C-terminal distal region of RBBP5 that contributed to nucleosome recognition and methylation of nucleosomes by the MLL1 complex. Our results provide new insights into functional conservation and evolutionary plasticity of the scaffold protein RBBP5 in the regulation of KMT2-family methyltransferase complexes.
Different maternal lineages revealed by ancient mitochondrial genome of Camelus bactrianus from China

Abstract Domestic Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) used to be one of the most important livestock species in Chinese history, as well as the major transport carrier on the ancient Silk Road. However, archeological studies on Chinese C. bactrianus are still limited, and molecular biology research on this species is mainly focused on modern specimens. In this study, we retrieved the complete mitochondrial genome from a C. bactrianus specimen, which was excavated from northwestern China and dated at 1290–1180 cal. years before present (yBP). Phylogenetic analyses using 18 mitochondrial genomes indicated that the C. bactrianus clade was divided into two maternal lineages. The majority of samples originating from Iran to Japan and Mongolia belong to subclade A1, while our sample together with two Mongolian individuals formed the much smaller subclade A2. Furthermore, the divergence time of these two maternal lineages was estimated as 165 Kya (95% credibility interval 117–222 Kya), this might indicate that several different evolutionary lineages were incorporated into the domestic gene pool during the initial domestication process. Bayesian skyline plot (BSP) analysis suggest a slow increase in female effective population size of C. bactrianus from 5000 years ago, which corresponds to the beginning of domestication of C. bactrianus. The present study also revealed that there were extensive exchanges of genetic information among C. bactrianus populations in regions along the Silk Road.
Multisectoral community development in Nepal has greater effects on child growth and diet than nutrition education alone

Abstract Objective: To compare the impact on child diet and growth of a multisectoral community intervention v. nutrition education and livestock management training alone. Design: Longitudinal community-based randomized trial involving three groups of villages assigned to receive: (i) Full Package community development activities, delivered via women’s groups; (ii) livestock training and nutrition education alone (Partial Package); or (iii) no intervention (Control). Household surveys, child growth monitoring, child and household diet quality measures (diet diversity (DD), animal-source food (ASF) consumption) were collected at five visits over 36 months. Mixed-effect linear regression and Poisson models used survey round, treatment group and group-by-round interaction to predict outcomes of interest, adjusted for household- and child-specific characteristics. Setting: Banke, Nepal. Participants: Households (n 974) with children aged 1–60 months (n 1333). Results: Children in Full Package households had better endline anthropometry (weight-for-age, weight-for-height, mid-upper-arm-circumference Z-scores), DD, and more consumption of ASF, after adjusting for household- and child-specific characteristics. By endline, compared with Partial Package or Control groups, Full Package households demonstrated preferential child feeding practices and had significantly more improvement in household wealth and hygiene habits. Conclusions: In this longitudinal study, a comprehensive multisectoral intervention was more successful in improving key growth indicators as well as diet quality in young children. Provision of training in livestock management and nutrition education alone had limited effect on these outcomes. Although more time-consuming and costly to administer, incorporating nutrition training with community social capital development was associated with better child growth and nutrition outcomes than isolated training programmes alone.
A review of the hydrothermal treatments impact on starch based systems properties

Abstract The physicochemical properties of starch can be modified by hydrothermal treatments, inducing changes of dough and final product properties. The effect of these treatments depends on the temperature, the starch-moisture ratio and the exposure time. The most used hydrothermal treatments applied on cereals and pseudocereals starches and flours are heat moisture treatment (HMT) and annealing (ANN). The differences between HMT and ANN consist of working temperatures and moisture content. In HMT the treatment temperature is above the gelatinization temperature, while in ANN it is comprised between the gelatinization temperature and the glass transition. This paper aims to summarize the influence of these thermal treatments on the starches (crystallinity, swelling and water absorption, thermal, gelatinization, pasting, retrogradation, and digestibility properties) and the impact on the rheological and textural characteristics of dough and final product. This review highlights the possibility to use modified starches and treated flours in food products development and to evaluate the effects of hydrothermal treatments on starch and flour functionality.
High expression of IQGAP3 indicates poor prognosis in colorectal cancer patients

Background: The oncogene IQ motif-containing GTPase activating protein 3 (IQGAP3) is ubiquitously overexpressed in several human cancers. This study was designed to explore the expression and role of IQGAP3 in colorectal cancer. Methods: We first assessed the IQGAP3 expression level in colorectal cancer. The correlation of IQGAP3 expression with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis was then assessed. At last, we investigated the function of IQGAP3 in colorectal cancer by knocking down its expression in colorectal cancer cell lines. Results: Consistent with the conclusions drawn from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, IQGAP3 was upregulated in colorectal cancer at the tissue level and cellular level. Based on immunohistochemistry results of the tissue microarrays, we demonstrated that higher expression of IQGAP3 was associated with higher tumor node metastasis stage (P = 0.005), higher incidence of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.004), and shorter overall survival (P = 0.022). Knockdown of IQGAP3 in colorectal cancer cell lines remarkably decreased their proliferation and migration abilities. Conclusion: Our data provide evidence that IQGAP3 significantly promote malignant progression of colorectal cancer and could serve as a potential therapeutic target.
Relevance of working memory for reinforcement learning in older adults varies with timescale of learning

ABSTRACT In young adults, individual differences in working memory (WM) contribute to reinforcement learning (RL). Age-related RL changes, however, are mostly attributed to decreased reward prediction-error (RPE) signaling. Here, we investigated the contribution of WM to RL in young (18-35) and older (≥65) adults. Because WM supports maintenance across a limited timescale, we only expected a relation between RL and WM with short delays between stimulus repetitions. Our results demonstrated better learning with short than long delays. A week later, however, long-delay associations were remembered better. Computational modeling corroborated that during learning, WM was more engaged by young adults in the short-delay condition than in any other age-condition combination. Crucially, both model-derived and neuropsychological assessments of WM predicted short-delay learning in older adults, who further benefitted from using self-conceived learning strategies. Thus, depending on the timescale of learning, age-related RL changes may not only reflect decreased RPE signaling but also WM decline.
Prognostic significance of minichromosome maintenance mRNA expression in human lung adenocarcinoma

The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) gene family plays an essential role in DNA replication and cell cycle progression. However, MCM gene expression has not been well-studied in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). In the present study, the expression, prognostic value and functions of MCMs in LUAD were investigated using several databases and bioinformatic tools, including Oncomine, GEPIA, cBioPortal, CancerSEA and Kaplan-Meier plotter. It was demonstrated that the mRNA expression of MCM2, MCM4 and MCM10 were significantly increased in patients with LUAD. High mRNA expression of MCM2-5, MCM8 and MCM10 were associated with poor overall survival and progression-free survival. High MCM4 expression was associated with adverse post-progression survival. In addition, the Human Protein Atlas database showed that MCM protein expression was consistent with the mRNA expression. These results demonstrate that MCM2, MCM4 and MCM10 are potential prognostic markers and therapeutic targets for LUAD.
Affinity Chromatography: An Enabling Technology for Large‐Scale Bioprocessing

Affinity chromatography (AC) has been used in large‐scale bioprocessing for almost 40 years and is considered the preferred method for primary capture in downstream processing of various types of biopharmaceuticals. The objective of this mini‐review is to provide an overview of a) the history of bioprocess AC, b) the current state of platform processes based on affinity capture steps, c) the maturing field of custom developed bioprocess affinity resins, d) the advantages of affinity capture‐based downstream processing in comparison to other forms of chromatography, and e) the future direction for bioprocess scale AC. The use of AC can result in economic advantages by enabling the standardization of process development and the manufacturing processes and the use of continuous operations in flexible multiproduct production suites. These concepts are discussed from a growing field of custom affinity bioprocess resin perspective. The custom affinity resins not only address the need for a capture resin for non‐platformable processes, but also can be employed in polishing applications, where they are used to define and control drug substance composition by separating specific product variants from the desired product form.
Enrichment of transplantable germ cells in salmonids using a novel monoclonal antibody by magnetic‐activated cell sorting

In the fish germ cell transplantation system, only type A spermatogonia (ASGs) and oogonia are known to be incorporated into the recipient genital ridges, where they undergo gametogenesis. Therefore, high colonization efficiency can be achieved by enriching undifferentiated germ cells out of whole testicular cells. In this study, we used magnetic‐activated cell sorting (MACS) for enriching undifferentiated germ cells of rainbow trout using a monoclonal antibody that recognizes a specific antigen located on the germ cell membrane. We screened the antibodies to be used for MACS by performing immunohistochemistry on rainbow trout gonads. Two antibodies, nos. 172 and 189, showed strong signals for ASGs and oogonia. Next, we performed MACS with antibody no. 172 using gonadal cells isolated from vasa‐gfp rainbow trout showing GFP in undifferentiated germ cells. We found that GFP‐positive cells are highly enriched in antibody no. 172‐positive fractions. Finally, to examine the transplantability of MACS‐enriched cells, we intraperitoneally transplanted sorted or unsorted cells into recipient larvae. We observed that transplantability of sorted cells, particularly ovarian cells, were significantly higher than that of unsorted cells. Therefore, MACS with antibody no. 172 could enrich ASGs and oogonia and become a powerful tool to improve transplantation efficiency in salmonids.
The effects of growth factors on proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells from Guangxi Bama mini-pig.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different growth factors on the proliferation of Bama mini-pig spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in vitro. The growth factors glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF), GDNF family receptor alpha-1 (GFRα1), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were investigated. The SSCs were seeded on SIM mouse embryo derived thioguanine- and ouabain-resistant (STO) feeder layers. Cultivation of the cells were subjected to a factorial design of the growth factors GDNF + bFGF, GDNF + bFGF +GFRα1, LIF + bFGF, and LIF + bFGF +GFRα1. The SSCs could propagate for 25 passages in the medium adding GDNF + bFGF +GFRα1, 22 passages in the medium adding GDNF + bFGF, 6 passages in the medium adding LIF + bFGF, or LIF + bFGF +GFRα1. qRT-PCR analysis showed that the highest mRNA expression levels of NANOG, POU5F, DDX4, GFRα1, and UCHL1 were detected in the group adding GDNF + bFGF +GFRα1. The SSCs from the group adding GDNF + bFGF +GFRα1 also showed UCHL1-, DBA-, and CDH1-positive staining. Moreover, Stra8 and Scp3 expression, and haploid peak were detected after induction of the SSCs from the group adding GDNF + bFGF +GFRα1. In conclusion, pig SSCs could be maintained for long-term in the presence of GDNF, bFGF, and GFRα1.