Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hyperconnectivity of the default mode network in multiorgan dysfunction syndrome

Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome (MODS) is a systemic physiological disorder affecting two or more body organs triggered after an insult complication. Beyond the systemic failure, patients who survive MODS present cognitive and neurological impairments that remain stable even several years after Intensive Care Unit (ICU) discharge. Here, we focus on the specific situation of MODS patients with no apparent brain damage (NABD), where the mechanisms driving cognitive impairment at long term are not well-understood. We recruit N1 = 13 MODS patients with NABD at 6 months after ICU discharge, together with N2 = 13 healthy controls (matched by age, sex and years of education), and acquire functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest to find that, as compared to control, MODS patients with NABD present an overall increase of the functional connectivity (FC) at rest. In particular, we find that the default mode network (DMN) hyperconnects (increasing the node strength of the FC matrix) to three classes of networks: primary sensory (such as auditory, sensory-motor and visual), multimodal integration (such as dorsal attention and salience) and higher order cognition networks (such as fronto-parietal, language and executive control). Therefore, although these patients do not have an apparent structural damage after MODS, at the functional level, we found brain network alterations coexisting with hyperconnectivity of the DMN, that similar to what happens at the onset of other pathologies, might indicate a possible mechanism for brain compensation occurring after MODS.
Strip Intercropping of Rye–Vetch Mixtures: Effects on Weed Growth and Competition in Strip-Tilled Sweet Corn

Abstract Strip-intercropping of functionally diverse cover crop mixtures including cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) is one mechanism by which nitrogen (N) banding can be applied to an organic, strip-tilled system to increase crop competitiveness over weeds. We hypothesized that by targeting hairy vetch, a low C:N legume, to the tilled strip directly in row with future crop establishment, and cereal rye, a high C:N grass, to the untilled strip directly between future crop rows, that N would be preferentially available to the crop.We conducted a field study between 2011 to 2013 in southwest Michigan to examine the effects of rye–vetch mixture spatial arrangement (strip intercropping vs. full-width mixture) on (1) soil inorganic N; (2) weed biomass; and (3) sweet corn (Zea mays L.) biomass, yield, and competitiveness against weeds. We found that as the proportion of vetch biomass in the crop row (in-row, IR) increased, we also saw increasing levels of IR soil inorganic N and greater early sweet corn N uptake and growth relative to weeds. However, sweet corn yield and final biomass were more responsive to vetch biomass across the whole plot (WP) and did not respond to rye and vetch segregation into strips. Increasing vetch WP biomass increased sweet corn final biomass across both years, but only increased corn competitiveness against weeds in 1 out of 2 years and decreased sweet corn competitiveness in the other year. Strip-intercropping of cereal rye and hairy vetch has potential to increase soil N availability to the crop, thereby increasing early crop competitiveness, which may lower weed management costs.
Synergistic effect of curcumin, piperine and resveratrol in MCF-7 and MDA MB-231 breast cancer cells.

Breast cancer is the type of cancer that kills more women in the world and the conventional cancer treatment has high costs and many side effects. The bioactive compounds from diet alone or in combination with others substances may be a potential source for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. The aim was to investigate the effect of curcumin, piperine and resveratrol alone and associated in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells culture. Curcumin, piperine and resveratrol showed cytotoxicity for MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells with IC50 values of 24.50 μM, 94.50 μM and 131.00 μM, and 23.30 μM, 276.00 μM and 306.00 μM, respectively. The combination of curcumin+piperine, curcumin+resveratrol, piperine+resveratrol showed synergy in MCF-7 cells, and piperine+resveratrol in MDA-MB-231 cells. We conclude that the combination of bioactive compounds presents in diet as curcumin, piperine and resveratrol is better than used in isolated forms, and these results may be useful in future clinical trials with breast cancer.
A Low Power, Low Noise, Single-Ended to Differential TIA for Ultrasound Imaging Probes

This brief presents a low power low noise amplifier (LNA) in TSMC <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.18~{\mu }\text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS technology for ultrasound imaging probes. The proposed LNA is based on a trans-impedance amplifier (TIA). Single-ended to differential conversion is realized using a common-gate and a common-source (CG-CS) based structure. Resistive feedback is exploited to provide a noise canceling scheme for the CS transistor. Unlike the conventional CG-CS structure that can only eliminate the noise of the CG transistor, the proposed structure eliminates the noise of both CG and CS transistors as well as the CG stage load resistor. Furthermore, by using negative feedback in the CG stage and current reuse technique in both stages, power consumption is reduced. Post-layout simulation results show a trans-impedance gain of 82 dB<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Omega }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> with a −3 dB bandwidth of 77 MHz, while input impedance is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$731~{\Omega }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The second harmonic distortion (HD2) is lower than −48.5 dB and the equivalent input referred noise is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.95~{pA/\sqrt {Hz}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> at 5 MHz. The circuit occupies an active area of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$312~{\mu m^{2}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and consumes 47 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol {\mu }\text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> from a 1.2 V supply.
Estimation of the light interception of a cultivated tomato crop canopy under different furrow distances in a greenhouse using the ray tracing

We constructed 3D models of the greenhouse (168 m2) and tomato plants (plant height: 150 cm). The point cloud data of tomato plants was acquired by a 3D scanner and converted to the 3D model, which was constructed using polygons. The canopy 3D model was installed in the greenhouse 3D model. In addition, the date, time, latitude, longitude, global solar radiation, and optical properties of objects, such as plants and covering material, were used as input values to estimate the amount of solar radiation received by canopy models using the ray tracing. The amount of solar radiation received by the canopy models at different layers under different furrow distances (60-160 cm) was calculated every 1 h. The lower layer and the middle layer of tomato plants were saturated with solar radiation at furrow distances of 120 cm and 100 cm, respectively. However, the radiation received by the upper layer of tomato plants did not change across the range (60-160 cm) of investigated furrow distances. This investigation has provided a visual demonstration of the relationship between the arrangement of cultivated fruit and vegetable plants, such as tomato, in the greenhouse and the amount of solar radiation received.
Hybridisation complicates the conservation of Natrix snakes in the Netherlands

1) Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands 2) Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands 3) Reptile, Amphibian and Fish Conservation Netherlands (RAVON), P.O. Box 1413, 6501 BK Nijmegen, The Netherlands 4) Hogeschool Leiden, P.O. Box 382, 2300 AJ Leiden, The Netherlands 5) Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
"Islamische Grabschparty in Schorndorf!": Die Bundestagswahl 2017 und das Phänomen »Fake News«

Die vorliegende Studie liefert empirische Erkenntnisse zum Phänomen »Fake News« vor und während der Bundestagswahlen von 2017 in Deutschland. So wurden die Verbreitungswege, Verursacher*innen und Wirkung von zehn verschiedenen Fällen der Desinformation anhand einer qualitativen und quantitativen Analyse herausgearbeitet. Die Resultate sind differenziert zu betrachten: »Fake News« 2 sind vor allem eine doppelte Kommunikationsstrategie der Rechtspopulist*innen, die »Fake News« sowohl als Kampfbegriff gegen Medien und Journalist*innen verwenden, als auch zur Mobilisierung ihrer Wähler*innen – vor allem, aber nicht nur, in den sozialen Netzwerken. Auch sind »Fake News« ein Symptom des Struk-turwandels der Öffentlichkeit ins Digitale, in dem die Gleichzeitigkeit von Medienrealität und Realität genauso herausfordernd ist, wie die noch of-fene Frage der Finanzierung von digitalem Qualitätsjournalismus.
Comparison of Bioinspired Computation and Optimization Techniques

In this article we focus on the bioinspired algorithms and their computational classification. The basic ideas and various techniques developed recently are described. The research outcomes in the computational area of solution optimization are presented for different problems, i.e. mathematical, combinatorial, exact approximation and multiple objective optimization. Moreover, evolutionary, stochastic and swarm optimization algorithms are discussed. All these areas have principles of extracting natural concepts in the form of mathematics and algorithms. Nature-inspired algorithms can help explore new dimensions to solve many problems with optimal cost and time. This review shows that bioinspired computing can provide innovative optimal computational algorithms.
Helicopter Emergency Medical Services in East Azerbaijan province: Assessment of patients' outcome.

BACKGROUND In this study, we aimed to evaluate the outcomes of patients transported by Helicopter Emergency Medical Services in East Azerbaijan Province. METHODS This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on patients transported by the HEMS centre of Tabriz from August 2014 to March 2017. Records of the centre were used to collect data. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS software version 20; the statistical significance level was considered below 0.05. RESULTS In this study, 268 patients were transferred to Tabriz hospitals by 167 missions performed. The mean age of patients was 34.26±19.43, and 173 (65%) patients were male. The most common reason for call-out was the need for professional care (91.4%). The target of the majority of missions was on countryside routes. The mean distance of destinations was about 99.13±35.9 Kms, with a mean transference time of 54.68±14.17 minutes, while the mean estimated ground route time was 86.38±26.26 minutes. The most prevalent diagnosis was trauma; The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and vital signs of the majority of patients were above 13 and stable, respectively. About 98 percent of patients received fluid therapy, and 71 percent were immobilized, and only 6 percent needed intubation. Also, 28 percent of patients needed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 56 percent of whom passed away later. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that Tabriz HEMS missions have reduced the patient transport time and also made the mortality rate closer to international standards.
Chromulinavorax destructans, a pathogenic TM6 bacterium with an unusual replication strategy targeting protist mitochondrion

Most of the diversity of microbial life is not available in culture, and as such we lack even a fundamental understanding of the biological diversity of several branches on the tree of life. One branch that is highly underrepresented is the candidate phylum TM6, also known as the Dependentiae. Their biology is known only from reduced genomes recovered from metagenomes around the world and two isolates infecting amoebae, all suggest that they live highly host-associated lifestyles as parasites or symbionts. Chromulinavorax destructans is an isolate from the TM6/Dependentiae that infects and lyses the abundant heterotrophic flagellate, Spumella elongata. Chromulinavorax destructans is characterized by a high degree of reduction and specialization for infection, so much so it was discovered in a screen for giant viruses. Its 1.2 Mb genome shows no metabolic potential and C. destructans instead relies on extensive transporter system to import nutrients, and even energy in the form of ATP from the host. Accordingly, it replicates in a viral-like fashion, while extensively reorganizing and expanding the host mitochondrion. 44% of proteins contain signal sequences for secretion, which includes many proteins of unknown function as well as 98 copies of ankyrin-repeat domain proteins, known effectors of host modulation, suggesting the presence of an extensive host-manipulation apparatus.
Modelling the spatial distribution and dynamics of a xylene-degrading microbial population in a membrane-bound biofilm

In a stirred laboratory reactor a biofilm was grown on a gas-permeable silicone membrane, Xylene was added to the bulk fluid as the only carbon source and oxygen was supplied through the membrane. For 66 days the reactor was operated under varying experimental conditions. The concentrations of five components in the reactor effluent and of two in the gas outlet were measured almost daily, the biofilm thickness was determined several times. The measured time series were used to calibrate a mathematical model which calculates pH, aerobic degradation of xylene, and microbial growth, decay and conversion to inert particulate material. The calibrated model was then used to analyze the spatial distribution and dynamics of the xylene-degrading heterotrophic population in the biofilm. The analysis revealed that as long as oxygen was supplied as air heterotrophic cells only grew within a thin zone of about two hundred micrometers near the membrane. Upon the change from air to pure oxygen this zone shifted instantaneously by half of the biofilm thickness of about two millimeters towards the biofilm surface. The immediate ability of the biofilm to convert xylene in a zone which so far had been strictly anaerobic, indicates the presence of a heterotrophic population in this zone. The conclusion is that this population had been transported from the aerobic to the anaerobic zone and that transport and growth of microbial cells are processes which are equally important in biofilms.
Adsorption of terbium ion on Fc/dymethylacrylamide: application of Monte Carlo simulation

Abstract The crosslinking of the Fc fragment (IgG antibody) on a polymer matrix about of dimethylacrylamide (DMA), melamide group (MG) and n-acryloxy succinimide (NAS) was analyzed through Monte Carlo simulation at 277.15K and pH 7, in where Gibs free energy and the dipole moment indicated the spontaneity of the reaction through van der Waals interactions. In addition, the QSAR properties determinated that both the surface area and the volume allow to carry out the physical adsorption of the Fc fragment that was verified through the electronic distribution of the electrostatic potential maps (MESP) where the nucleophilic zones (blue color) and electrophilic (red color) were observed, while the partition coefficient (Log P) indicated the solubility of the process. Subsequently, the analysis of the adsorption of the terbium ion (Tb+3) at 277.15K and a pH 7 in Fc/polymeric matrix was carried out, observing that the Fc fragment presented a flat-on optimization geometry attributed to the Tb+3 that generates electronic repulsions, as well as van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds derived from the Cys aminoacids formed a polar structure and that was corroborated by the Log P negative. Finally, the surface area and volume determined that Tb+3 adsorption showed an increase in surface area and volume with temperature.
Integrating co-expression networks with GWAS detects genes 2 driving elemental accumulation in maize seeds 3

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of loci linked to hundreds of 23 traits in many different species. However, for most loci, the causal genes and the cellular processes 24 they contribute to remain unknown. This problem is especially pronounced in species where 25 functional annotations are sparse. Given little information about a gene, patterns of expression 26 are a powerful tool for inferring biological function. Here, we developed a computational 27 framework called Camoco that integrates loci identified by GWAS with functional information 28 derived from gene co-expression networks. We built co-expression networks from three distinct 29 biological contexts and establish the precision of our method with simulated GWAS data. We 30 applied Camoco to prioritize candidate genes from a large-scale GWAS examining the 31 accumulation of 17 different elements in maize seeds, demonstrating the need to match GWAS 32 datasets with co-expression networks derived from the appropriate biological context. 33 Furthermore, our results show that simply taking the genes closest to significant GWAS loci will 34 often lead to spurious results, indicating the need for proper functional modeling and a reliable 35 null distribution when integrating these high-throughput data types. We performed functional 36 validation on a gene identified by our approach using mutants and annotate other high-priority 37 candidates with ontological enrichment and curated literature support, resulting in a targeted set 38 of candidate genes that drive elemental accumulation in maize grain. However, the D8-mpl allele did recapitulate the accumulation effect, and our data demonstrate that both D8 and D9 have broad effects on other ionomic phenotypes.
Burn severity controls on postfire Araucaria‐Nothofagus regeneration in the Andean Cordillera

The aim of the study was to investigate postfire regeneration patterns of Araucaria‐Nothofagus forests on the west slope of the Andes; to evaluate the relationship between remotely sensed burn severity and forest mortality; and to assess controls of burn severity on forest response at local spatio‐temporal scales.
Mergers between Multi-Product Firms with Endogenous Variety: Theory and an Application to the Ready-To-Eat Cereal Industry

When multi-product firms endogenously choose their product variety, mergers can have welfare effects that go well beyond their immediate impact through prices. The structural models needed to quantify these effects, however, quickly become computationally intractable as the number of products grows. In this paper, I propose a dynamic structural model of multi-product firms and endogenous product variety that bypasses this dimensionality problem. I show that, under a nested logit demand assumption, firms introduce/remove products in a pre-determined order. As a result, the number of products each firm supplies is a sufficient statistic for the identity of the products themselves and, therefore, for all market outcomes and firms’ continuation strategies. I use this result to argue that the strategies and states that need to be considered to solve the model are a small fraction of the whole strategy set and state space, making it possible to estimate the model using standard techniques in structural econometrics. I apply the model to the Ready-To-Eat Cereal Industry and use it to simulate a hypothetical merger between two large players. Results show that ignoring endogenous product variety leads to a 30% overestimation of the post-merger number of products and a 19% underestimation of consumer welfare loss. INDEX WORDS: Product Variety, Dynamic Discrete Games, Mergers
Producer Anonymity Based on Onion Routing in Named Data Networking

Named Data Networking (NDN) is one of promising next generation Internet architectures that aim to realize efficient content distribution. However, in terms of producer anonymity, NDN has a serious problem that adversaries can easily learn who publishes what content due to its feature that content is inherently tied to the producer by the content name and the signature. In this article, we first define producer anonymity rigorously in terms of content-producer unlinkability, and then design a system to achieve it. Our design is based on hidden service, which is an onion routing-based system in IP, however, we improve it to take full advantage of NDN. We demonstrate that our system provides a level of anonymity comparable to hidden service with lower overhead through analysis and experiment.
Effects of prebiotics on intestinal histo-morphometry and gut microflora status of broiler chickens

A feeding trial was conducted to assess the effect of prebiotics on intestinal histo-morphometry and gut health status of broiler chickens. A total number of 240 day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to six dietary treatment groups having five replicates each with eight birds per replicate for six weeks. A basal corn-soybean diet was formulated that served as control (T1). The rest five test dietary treatments were prepared by adding antibiotic (bacitracin methylene di-salicylate-BMD at 0.002% of diet (T2), prebiotics i.e., mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) at 0.1% or 0.2% (T3 and T4) and fructo oligosaccharides (FOS) at 0.1% or 0.2% (T5, T6 respectively) with basal diet. Total anaerobes counts were significantly (P LESS THAN 0.05) reduced at 21 and 42 d at ileum in T2, T3 and T4 groups whereas, coliforms count were reduced (P LESS THAN 0.05) in T2 and T3 groups. However, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count were significantly (P Less than 0.05) increased in T3 and T4 groups but lactobacillus count were increased (P less than 0.05) in only T3 group at 21 and 42 d in ileum. Villus height (VH) and width (VW) were significantly increased (P less than 0.05) at 21d and 42 d in T3 and T4 groups, whereas, at 21 d, crypt depth (CD) were increased (P less than 0.05) in T3 and T4 groups but at 42 d, CD were significantly improved in T3 and T4 or T5 and T6 groups. No significant (P>0.05) differences were observed in ratio between VH and CD at 21d or 42 d. Thus, it might he concluded that 0.1% or 0.2% MOS inclusion in basal diet improved intestinal histo-morphometry and gut health in broiler chickens and it is a better alternate feed additive to replacement of antibiotic growth promoter.
Effects of FLOWERING LOCUS T on FD during the transition to flowering at the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana

The transition to flowering is a crucial step in the plant life cycle that is controlled by multiple endogenous and environmental cues, including hormones, sugars, temperature, and photoperiod. Permissive photoperiod induces FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) in the phloem companion cells of leaves. The FT protein then acts as a florigen that is transported to the shoot apical meristem (SAM) where it physically interacts with the bZIP transcription factor FD and 14-3-3 proteins. However, despite the importance of FD for promoting flowering, its direct transcriptional targets are largely unknown. Here we combined ChIP-seq and RNA-seq to identify targets of FD at the genome-wide scale and assess the contribution of FT to binding DNA. We further investigated the ability of FD to form protein complexes with FT and TFL1 through the interaction with 14-3-3 proteins. Importantly, we observe direct binding of FD to targets involved in several aspects of the plant development not directly related to the regulation of flowering time. Our results confirm FD as central regulator of the floral transition at the shoot meristem and provides evidence for crosstalk between the regulation of flowering and other signaling pathways. Material Distribution The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.cell.com/molecular-plant/authors): Markus Schmid (markus.schmid@umu.se). Contact Information Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Dept. of Plant Physiology Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, SWEDEN