Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Apprenticeship Learning for a Predictive State Representation of Anesthesia

Objective: In this paper, we present an original decision support algorithm to assist the anesthesiologists delivery of drugs to maintain the optimal Depth of Anesthesia (DoA). Methods: Derived from a Transform Predictive State Representation algorithm (TPSR), our model learned by observing anesthesiologists in practice. This framework, known as apprenticeship learning, is particularly useful in the medical field as it is not based on an exploratory process – a prohibitive behavior in healthcare. The model only relied on the four commonly monitored variables: Heart Rate (HR), the Mean Blood Pressure (MBP), the Respiratory Rate (RR) and the concentration of anesthetic drug (AAFi). Results: Thirty-one patients have been included. The performances of the model is analyzed with metrics derived from the Hamming distance and cross entropy. They demonstrated that low rank dynamical system had the best performances on both predictions and simulations. Then, a confrontation of our agent to a panel of six real anesthesiologists demonstrated that $\boldsymbol{95.7}$% of the actions were valid. Conclusion: These results strongly support the hypothesis that TPSR based models convincingly embed the behavior of anesthesiologists including only four variables that are commonly assessed to predict the DoA. Significance: The proposed novel approach could be of great help for clinicians by improving the fine tuning of the DoA. Furthermore, the possibility to predict the evolutions of the variables would help preventing side effects such as low blood pressure. A tool that could autonomously help the anesthesiologist would thus improve safety-level in the surgical room.
Exposure of Mactra corallina to acute doses of lead: effects on redox status, fatty acid composition and histomorphological aspect

Abstract The aim of this study is to elucidate the toxicity induced by PbCl2, administered in graded doses (1; 2.5; 5 mg/L), in the redox state, in the fatty acid composition and in the histological structure of Mactra corallina digestive glands. Our findings showed a progressive accumulation of Pb in the M. corallina digestive glands in all treated groups. After 5 days of treatment with PbCl2, an increase in H2O2, MDA, PCO, GSH, NPSH and MT levels was observed in the digestive glands of treated groups. Moreover, activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as GPx and CAT, increased while SOD activity decreased in all treated groups, indicating a failure of the antioxidant defense system. Furthermore, the cholinergic function was evaluated by assessing the acetylcholinesterase activity, which was inhibited in all the treated digestive glands compared to the control group. In our experiment, the levels of n-3 (Omega-3) and n-6 (Omega-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids were greatly altered in the groups treated with 5 mg/L of PbCl2 (p < 0.001). Indeed, DHA and EPA decreased significantly in the digestive glands treated with 2.5 and 5 mg/L of PbCl2, respectively. On the other hand, under exposure to the medium and high doses (2.5 and 5 mg/L), arachidonic acid (ARA) and linoleic acid (LA) significantly increased (p < 0.001). These changes in PUFA were confirmed by significant modifications in the polyene and peroxidation indices. The histological findings confirmed the biochemical results. Highlights Integrated parameters were used to explore the toxic effect of PbCl2 graded doses in Mactra corallina digestive gland. Metals accumulation in digestive glands of M. corallina was greatly dependent to dose of PbCl2. Metabolic and macromolecules damaging of clams digestive glands were more sensitive at higher PbCl2 doses. Fatty acids composition especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and essentials fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in clams digestive glands were intensively altered at higher PbCl2 doses. Inflammation responses revealed in studied tissue.
Protein:Protein interactions in the cytoplasmic membrane apparently influencing sugar transport and phosphorylation activities of the e. coli phosphotransferase system

The multicomponent phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)-dependent sugar-transporting phosphotransferase system (PTS) in Escherichia coli takes up sugar substrates from the medium and concomitantly phosphorylates them, releasing sugar phosphates into the cytoplasm. We have recently provided evidence that many of the integral membrane PTS permeases interact with the fructose PTS (FruA/FruB) [1]. However, the biochemical and physiological significance of this finding was not known. We have carried out molecular genetic/biochemical/physiological studies that show that interactions of the fructose PTS often enhance, but sometimes inhibit the activities of other PTS transporters many fold, depending on the target PTS system under study. Thus, the glucose (Glc), mannose (Man), mannitol (Mtl) and N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) permeases exhibit enhanced in vivo sugar transport and sometimes in vitro PEP-dependent sugar phosphorylation activities while the galactitol (Gat) and trehalose (Tre) systems show inhibited activities. This is observed when the fructose system is induced to high levels and prevented when the fruA/fruB genes are deleted. Overexpression of the fruA and/or fruB genes in the absence of fructose induction during growth also enhances the rates of uptake of other hexoses. The β-galactosidase activities of man, mtl, and gat-lacZ transcriptional fusions and the sugar-specific transphosphorylation activities of these enzyme transporters were not affected either by frustose induction or by fruAB overexpression, showing that the rates of synthesis of the target PTS permeases were not altered. We thus suggest that specific protein-protein interactions within the cytoplasmic membrane regulate transport in vivo (and sometimes the PEP-dependent phosphorylation activities in vitro) of PTS permeases in a physiologically meaningful way that may help to provide a hierarchy of preferred PTS sugars. These observations appear to be applicable in principle to other types of transport systems as well.
Strain Controls Charge Carrier Lifetimes in Monolayer WSe2: Ab Initio Time Domain Analysis.

Mono- and few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are among the most appealing candidates for electronic and optoelectronic devices, due to their atomic-size thickness, and advanced chemical and physical properties. During synthesis, TMDs actively interact with substrates, which induce notable strain and influence significantly charge carriers in TMDs. By performing time-domain ab initio simulations on monolayer WSe2, we demonstrate that charge carrier lifetimes vary by a factor of 3 within a typical 1% strain range, the bandgap changes by 0.2 eV, and electron-phonon interactions vary by 60%. Fortuitously, the most common tensile strain extends the lifetimes. The changes arise due to modifications in interatomic interactions. Further, compared to the optimized structure, at ambient temperature the bandgap drops by 0.1 eV and fluctuates by 0.1 eV. WSe2 obeys linear response within 1% strain, however, further strain leads to non-linear qualitative changes in WSe2 electronic properties. Conduction band is affected more strongly than valence band. Charges couple to phonons within a 100-400 cm-1 frequency range, with the strongest coupling to in-plane and out-of-plane modes at 250 cm-1. The reported findings agree with the available experiments and should be generic to other 2D materials. The strain effects need to be considered during TMD synthesis, and provide means to control and tune TMD properties for 2D device applications.
Deep Guided Learning for Fast Multi-Exposure Image Fusion

We propose a fast multi-exposure image fusion (MEF) method, namely MEF-Net, for static image sequences of arbitrary spatial resolution and exposure number. We first feed a low-resolution version of the input sequence to a fully convolutional network for weight map prediction. We then jointly upsample the weight maps using a guided filter. The final image is computed by a weighted fusion. Unlike conventional MEF methods, MEF-Net is trained end-to-end by optimizing the perceptually calibrated MEF structural similarity (MEF-SSIM) index over a database of training sequences at full resolution. Across an independent set of test sequences, we find that the optimized MEF-Net achieves consistent improvement in visual quality for most sequences, and runs 10 to 1000 times faster than state-of-the-art methods. The code is made publicly available at https://github.com/makedede/MEFNet.
Right-to-left shunts in lowlanders with COPD traveling to altitude - A randomized controlled trial with dexamethasone.

BACKGROUND Right-to-left shunts (RLS) are prevalent in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and might exaggerate oxygen desaturation, especially at altitude. AIM To study the prevalence of RLS in patients with COPD traveling to altitude and the effect of preventive dexamethasone. METHODS Lowlanders with COPD, GOLD 1-2, oxygen saturation (SpO2) >92%, were randomized to dexamethasone (4 mg, bid) or placebo, starting 24 h before ascent from 760 m and while staying at 3,100 m for 48 h. Saline contrast echocardiography was performed at 760 m and after the first night at altitude. RESULTS Of 87 patients (81 men, mean ±SD age 57 ±9 y, FEV1 89 ±22 % pred, SpO2 95 ±2 %) 39 were assigned to placebo, 48 to dexamethasone. In the placebo group, 19 patients (49%) had RLS, of which 13 intracardiac. In the dexamethasone group 23 patients (48%) had RLS, of which 11 intracardiac (p=1.0 vs. dexamethasone). 11 patients receiving placebo and 13 dexamethasone developed new RLS at altitude (p=0.011 both changes, p=0.411 between groups). RLS prevalence at 3,100 m was 30 (77%) in the placebo and 36 (75%) in the dexamethasone group (p=ns). Development of RLS at altitude could be predicted at lowland by a higher resting pulmonary artery pressure, a lower paO2 and a greater oxygen desaturation during exercise but not by treatment allocation. CONCLUSION Almost half of lowlanders with COPD revealed RLS near sea level and this proportion significantly increased to about 3/4 when traveling to 3,100 m irrespective of dexamethasone prophylaxis.
Cold-Stress Response of Probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum K25 by iTRAQ Proteomic Analysis

To understand the molecular mechanism involved in the survivability of cold-tolerant lactic acid bacteria was of great significance in food processing, since these bacteria play a key role in a variety of low-temperature fermented foods. In this study, the cold-stress response of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum K25 isolated from Tibetan kefir grains was analyzed by iTRAQ proteomic method. By comparing differentially expressed (DE) protein profiles of the strain incubated at 10°C and 37°C, 506 DE proteins were identified. The DE proteins involved in carbohydrate, amino acid and fatty acid biosynthesis and metabolism were significantly down-regulated, leading to a specific energy conservation survival mode. The DE proteins related to DNA repair, transcription and translation were up-regulated, implicating change of gene expression and more protein biosynthesis needed in response to cold stress. In addition, two-component system, quorum sensing and ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporters also participated in cell cold-adaptation process. These findings provide novel insight into the cold-resistance mechanism in L. plantarum with potential application in low temperature fermented or preserved foods.
Phenazine-1-Carboxylic Acid-Producing Bacteria Enhance the Reactivity of Iron Minerals in Dryland and Irrigated Wheat Rhizospheres.

Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic produced by rhizobacteria in dryland wheat fields of the Columbia Plateau. PCA and other phenazines reductively dissolve Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides in bacterial culture systems, but the impact of PCA upon Fe and Mn cycling in the rhizosphere is unknown. Here, concentrations of dithionite-extractable and poorly crystalline Fe were approximately 10% and 30-40% higher, respectively, in dryland and irrigated rhizospheres inoculated with the PCA-producing (PCA+) strain Pseudomonas synxantha 2-79 than in rhizospheres inoculated with a PCA-deficient mutant. However, rhizosphere concentrations of Fe(II) and Mn did not differ significantly, indicating that PCA-mediated redox transformations of Fe and Mn were transient or were masked by competing processes. Total Fe and Mn uptake into wheat biomass also did not differ significantly, but the PCA+ strain significantly altered Fe translocation into shoots. X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy revealed an abundance of Fe-bearing oxyhydroxides and phyllosilicates in all rhizospheres. These results indicate that the PCA+ strain enhanced the reactivity and mobility of Fe derived from soil minerals without producing parallel changes in plant Fe uptake. This is the first report that directly links significant alterations of Fe-bearing minerals in the rhizosphere to a single bacterial trait.
Reliability of measurement of active trunk movement in wheelchair basketball players

The study aim was to assess the reliability to active trunk movements measurement in four sitting positions in wheelchair basketball players and to check their trunk movements in these positions. Eighteen volunteer wheelchair basketball athletes, with a minimum of five years’ training experience, were asked to perform the maximum range of active trunk movement in three planes in four sitting positions (in a sports wheelchair with straps, without straps, on a table with feet on the floor, on a table without foot support). The range of movement was measured by the Kinect for Windows V2 sensor twice (with one-week interval). To assess the reliability, different statistical methods were used for each movement: significance of differences between the results (p-value), interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and minimal detectable change (MDC). The limits of agreement analysis (LOA) were calculated. Differences between trunk movements in four positions were checked by the MANOVA (Wilk’s Lambda and ETA2 were calculated if data were normally distributed). The significance level was set at α < . 05. Friedman ANOVA and non-parametric Wilcoxon test with the Bonferroni correction were applied when data were not normally distributed. The significance level after Bonferroni correction was set at α < . 013 (α = p/k, where p = .05, k–number of positions = 4). The measurement of active trunk movement in each plane was reliable (p > .05, no differences between the results, “very good”ICC, between .96-.99). In the position with straps, the trunk movement was significantly bigger than in other positions (p < .05), except for the position without straps (p > .05). The Kinect for Windows V2 sensor measured active trunk movement in a reliable manner and it can be recommended as a reliable tool for measuring trunk function. Utilizing straps by wheelchair basketball players increases their trunk movement.
The G Protein-Coupled Bile Acid Receptor TGR5 (Gpbar1) Modulates Endothelin-1 Signaling in Liver

TGR5 (Gpbar1) is a G protein-coupled receptor responsive to bile acids (BAs), which is expressed in different non-parenchymal cells of the liver, including biliary epithelial cells, liver-resident macrophages, sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), and activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Mice with targeted deletion of TGR5 are more susceptible towards cholestatic liver injury induced by cholic acid-feeding and bile duct ligation, resulting in a reduced proliferative response and increased liver injury. Conjugated lithocholic acid (LCA) represents the most potent TGR5 BA ligand and LCA-feeding has been used as a model to rapidly induce severe cholestatic liver injury in mice. Thus, TGR5 knockout (KO) mice and wildtype (WT) littermates were fed a diet supplemented with 1% LCA for 84 h. Liver injury and gene expression changes induced by the LCA diet revealed an enrichment of pathways associated with inflammation, proliferation, and matrix remodeling. Knockout of TGR5 in mice caused upregulation of endothelin-1 (ET-1) expression in the livers. Analysis of TGR5-dependent ET-1 signaling in isolated LSECs and HSCs demonstrated that TGR5 activation reduces ET-1 expression and secretion from LSECs and triggers internalization of the ET-1 receptor in HSCs, dampening ET-1 responsiveness. Thus, we identified two independent mechanisms by which TGR5 inhibits ET-1 signaling and modulates portal pressure.
Redox Regulation and Oxidative Stress: The Particular Case of the Stallion Spermatozoa

Redox regulation and oxidative stress have become areas of major interest in spermatology. Alteration of redox homeostasis is recognized as a significant cause of male factor infertility and is behind the damage that spermatozoa experience after freezing and thawing or conservation in a liquid state. While for a long time, oxidative stress was just considered an overproduction of reactive oxygen species, nowadays it is considered as a consequence of redox deregulation. Many essential aspects of spermatozoa functionality are redox regulated, with reversible oxidation of thiols in cysteine residues of key proteins acting as an “on–off” switch controlling sperm function. However, if deregulation occurs, these residues may experience irreversible oxidation and oxidative stress, leading to malfunction and ultimately death of the spermatozoa. Stallion spermatozoa are “professional producers” of reactive oxygen species due to their intense mitochondrial activity, and thus sophisticated systems to control redox homeostasis are also characteristic of the spermatozoa in the horse. As a result, and combined with the fact that embryos can easily be collected in this species, horses are a good model for the study of redox biology in the spermatozoa and its impact on the embryo.
Design of High-Throughput Screening of Natural Extracts to Identify Molecules Bypassing Primary Coenzyme Q Deficiency in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) deficiency syndrome is a rare disease included in the family of mitochondrial diseases, which is a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders characterized by defective energy production. CoQ10 biosynthesis in humans requires at least 11 gene products acting in a multiprotein complex within mitochondria. The high-throughput screening (HTS) method based on the stabilization of the CoQ biosynthesis complex (Q-synthome) produced by the COQ8 gene overexpression is proven here to be a successful method for identifying new molecules from natural extracts that are able to bypass the CoQ6 deficiency in yeast mutant cells. The main features of the new approach are the combination of two yeast targets defective in genes with different functions on CoQ6 biosynthesis to secure the versatility of the molecule identified, the use of glycerol as a nonfermentable carbon source providing a wide growth window, and the stringent conditions required to mark an extract as positive. The application of this pilot approach to a representative subset of 1200 samples of the Library of Natural Products of Fundación MEDINA resulted in the finding of nine positive extracts. The fractionation of three of the nine extracts allowed the identification of five molecules; two of them are present in molecule databases of natural extracts and three are nondescribed molecules. The use of this screening method opens the possibility of discovering molecules with CoQ10-bypassing action useful as therapeutic agents to fight against mitochondrial diseases in human patients.
Apoptotic Potential and Chemical Composition of Jordanian Propolis Extract against Different Cancer Cell Lines

Propolis is a resinous substance that is collected by Apis mellifera from plant sources and is used in traditional medicine. To study the phytochemical constituents and apoptotic potential of Jordanian propolis extract against different cancer cell lines, propolis was extracted using methanol, hexane, and ethyl acetate and was fractionated using chromatographic methods. Cytotoxicity was assessed using MTT and LDH assays. The apoptotic potential was investigated using florescence microscopy, multicaspase assay, Annexin-V and dead cell assay, and cell cycle assay. The phytochemical constituents were analyzed using GC-MS. The methanol extract of propolis exhibited cytotoxic potential against all cell lines tested. The IC50 values of the methanol extract were 47.4, 77.8, 91.2, and 145.0 μg/ml for HepG2, LoVo, MDAMB231, and MCF7 cell lines, respectively. The IC50 values of the F1 fraction were 31.6 (MDAMB231), 38.9 (HepG2), 36.7 (LoVo) and 75.5 (MCF7) μg/ml. On further purification using thin-layer chromatography, the IC50 values of the F1-3 fraction were found to be 84.31(HepG2), 79.2 (MCF7), 70.4 (LoVo), and 68.9 (MDAMB231) μg/ml, respectively. The anticancer potential of the F1 fraction was confirmed through the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. The GC-MS analysis of the F1 fraction revealed the presence of 3-methyl-4- isopropylphenol (29.44%) as a major constituent. These findings indicate the potential of propolis extract as a cancer therapy. However, further investigation is required to assess the acute and subacute toxicity of the most active fraction.
Draft Genome Sequence of the Panton-Valentine Leucocidin-Producing Staphylococcus aureus Sequence Type 154 Strain NRL 08/001, Isolated from a Fatal Case of Necrotizing Pneumonia

Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL)-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains cause life-threatening diseases. We present a draft genome sequence of PVL-positive MRSA sequence type 154 (ST154) strain NRL 08/001, isolated from a fatal case of necrotizing pneumonia. The genome consists of 2.9 Mb over 39 contigs and harbors novel composite island staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec element (SCCmec)-mercury composite type 2B&5. ABSTRACT Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL)-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains cause life-threatening diseases. We present a draft genome sequence of PVL-positive MRSA sequence type 154 (ST154) strain NRL 08/001, isolated from a fatal case of necrotizing pneumonia. The genome consists of 2.9 Mb over 39 contigs and harbors novel composite island staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec element (SCCmec)-mercury composite type 2B&5.
Disparate kinetics of change in responses to electrical stimulation at the thoracic and lumbar level during fatiguing isometric knee extension.

The present study compared the fatigue-induced change of matched-amplitude thoracic evoked potential (TMEP) and lumbar evoked potential (LEP) following electrical stimulation. Ten participants performed a 3 × 3 min isometric knee extension contraction separated by 4 min recovery at the level of EMG required to produce 50% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force at baseline. The TMEP and LEP were evoked during the on-going contraction at baseline and every minute into the fatiguing protocol and during recovery. Both responses were also assessed during a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) evoked silent period to elicit a TMS-TMEP and TMS-LEP in order to assess responses without the confounding influence of descending drive. The results displayed disparate kinetics of the TMS-TMEP and TMS-LEP throughout the fatiguing protocol. The TMS-TMEP was reduced at all time-points during exercise (P < 0.001), whereas the TMS-LEP was reduced at 2 min into set 1, and 1 min into sets 2 and 3 (P ≤ 0.04). TMS-LEPs were higher than the TMS-TMEPs at most time-points (P ≤ 0.04). No change was observed in the TMEP or LEP. When evoked during the silent period, the reduction in TMEP is greater than the LEP during fatiguing isometric exercise. The disparate kinetics of change suggest that differential mechanisms are responsible for evoked responses to thoracic and lumbar stimulation. More research is required to identify the mechanisms responsible for the TMEP and LEP before precise inferences can be made on what fatigue-induced changes in these variables reflect.