Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aquatic macrophytes mediated remediation of toxic metals from moderately contaminated industrial effluent

ABSTRACT The present study assessed Zn, Cr, Cd, and Pb removal efficiency of Colocasia esculenta, Hydrilla verticillata, Phragmitis australis, Typha latifolia, and Spirodella polyrhiza from sewage-mixed industrial effluent. The fresh/dry weight and relative growth rate of each macrophyte decreased with increasing effluent concentration. H. verticillata and C. esculenta exhibited better growth at 50% effluent over control. The maximum Zn, Cd, and Pb accumulation (1008.23, 28.03, and 483.55 mg/kg dry wt., respectively) was recorded in C. esculenta, whereas Cr (114.48 mg/kg dry wt.) in H. verticillata at 100% effluent. Metal accumulation in roots of all plants species was higher (≥50%) initially with increasing effluent concentration and later transferred to shoots. All plants exhibited BCF >1.0 for all heavy metals, highest being for Zn (91.2) and Cd (75.2) in H. verticillata, for Cr (97.9) and Pb (103) in C. esculenta. Except S. polyrhhiza, all other plants exhibited TF <1.0. Maximum removal efficiency of Zn was 82.8% by H. verticillata, whilst that of Cr, Cd, and Pb by C. esculenta at 50% effluent, demonstrating wide applicability of H. verticillata and C. esculenta for treatment of mixed industrial effluent having heavy metals.
Safety of HTX-019 (intravenous aprepitant) and fosaprepitant in healthy subjects.

AIM Evaluate safety of HTX-019, a novel polysorbate 80- and synthetic surfactant-free intravenous formulation of neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist aprepitant for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. METHODS Two open-label, randomized, two-way crossover studies evaluated treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in 200 healthy subjects. Subjects received HTX-019 130 mg (30-min infusion) and fosaprepitant 150 mg (20- or 30-min infusion), with ≥7-day washout between doses. RESULTS Less than or equal to 30 min after start of infusion, TEAEs occurred in 5 (3%) HTX-019 and 30 (15%) fosaprepitant recipients. No HTX-019 recipients had infusion-site adverse events, versus 15 (8%) fosaprepitant recipients. Treatment-related dyspnea occurred in one HTX-019 and six fosaprepitant recipients. No severe/serious TEAEs occurred; all TEAEs resolved. CONCLUSION HTX-019 may provide a safer aprepitant formulation than fosaprepitant for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting prevention.
Rethinking Human-Machine Learning in Industry 4 . 0 : How Does the Paradigm Shift Treat the Role of Human Learning ?

Under the concept of "Industry 4.0", production processes will be pushed to be increasingly interconnected, information based on a real time basis and, necessarily, much more efficient. In this context, capacity optimization goes beyond the traditional aim of capacity maximization, contributing also for organization’s profitability and value. Indeed, lean management and continuous improvement approaches suggest capacity optimization instead of maximization. The study of capacity optimization and costing models is an important research topic that deserves contributions from both the practical and theoretical perspectives. This paper presents and discusses a mathematical model for capacity management based on different costing models (ABC and TDABC). A generic model has been developed and it was used to analyze idle capacity and to design strategies towards the maximization of organization’s value. The trade-off capacity maximization vs operational efficiency is highlighted and it is shown that capacity optimization might hide operational inefficiency. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference 2017.
Bill size variation in northern cardinals associated with anthropogenic drivers across North America

Abstract Allen's rule predicts that homeotherms inhabiting cooler climates will have smaller appendages, while those inhabiting warmer climates will have larger appendages relative to body size. Birds’ bills tend to be larger at lower latitudes, but few studies have tested whether modern climate change and urbanization affect bill size. Our study explored whether bill size in a wide‐ranging bird would be larger in warmer, drier regions and increase with rising temperatures. Furthermore, we predicted that bill size would be larger in densely populated areas, due to urban heat island effects and the higher concentration of supplementary foods. Using measurements from 605 museum specimens, we explored the effects of climate and housing density on northern cardinal bill size over an 85‐year period across the Linnaean subspecies’ range. We quantified the geographic relationships between bill surface area, housing density, and minimum temperature using linear mixed effect models and geographically weighted regression. We then tested whether bill surface area changed due to housing density and temperature in three subregions (Chicago, IL., Washington, D.C., and Ithaca, NY). Across North America, cardinals occupying drier regions had larger bills, a pattern strongest in males. This relationship was mediated by temperature such that birds in warm, dry areas had larger bills than those in cool, dry areas. Over time, female cardinals’ bill size increased with warming temperatures in Washington, D.C., and Ithaca. Bill size was smaller in developed areas of Chicago, but larger in Washington, D.C., while there was no pattern in Ithaca, NY. We found that climate and urbanization were strongly associated with bill size for a wide‐ranging bird. These biogeographic relationships were characterized by sex‐specific differences, varying relationships with housing density, and geographic variability. It is likely that anthropogenic pressures will continue to influence species, potentially promoting microevolutionary changes over space and time.
Distributed Hypothesis Testing with Privacy Constraints

We revisit the hypothesis testing with communication constraints problem, also called distributed hypothesis testing, from the viewpoint of privacy. Instead of observing the raw data directly, the transmitter observes a sanitized or randomized version of it. We impose an upper bound on the mutual information between the raw and randomized data. Under this scenario, the decoder, which is also provided with side information, is required to make a decision on whether the null or alternative hypothesis is in effect. First, we provide a general lower bound on the type-II exponent for arbitrary hypotheses, privacy mechanism, rates, and leakage parameters. Second, we consider the testing against independence scenario in which the distribution under the alternative hypothesis is the product of the marginals of the distribution under the null hypothesis. In this setup, we show that the exponent is known exactly and the strong converse property holds. Finally, the trade-offs between the exponent, compression rate, and leakage parameter are illustrated through a binary example.
STK3 is a therapeutic target for a subset of acute myeloid leukemias

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and accumulation of immature myeloblasts, which impair normal hematopoiesis. While this definition categorizes the disease into a distinctive group, the large number of different genetic and epigenetic alterations actually suggests that AML is not a single disease, but a plethora of malignancies. Still, most AML patients are not treated with targeted medication but rather by uniform approaches such as chemotherapy. The identification of novel treatment options likely requires the identification of cancer cell vulnerabilities that take into account the different genetic and epigenetic make-up of the individual tumors. Here we show that STK3 depletion by knock-down, knock-out or chemical inhibition results in apoptotic cells death in some but not all AML cell lines and primary cells tested. This effect is mediated by a premature activation of cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) in presence of elevated cyclin B1 levels. The anti-leukemic effects seen in both bulk and progenitor AML cells suggests that STK3 might be a promising target in a subset of AML patients.
Sex differences in respiratory function

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. John Gray used this provocative title for his book to describe the fundamental psychological differences between the sexes. Many other controlled studies and brain scans demonstrate that men and women are physically and mentally different. The purpose of this physiology masterclass is to illustrate how sex-related differences are present in respiratory function and their possible clinical implications. An overview of sex-related differences in respiratory function and their possible clinical implications http://ow.ly/106m30jqOSW
Do broilers prefer to eat from a certain type of feeder

This study compared three types of feeders for broilers: Fenix, Tube and Automatic feeders. Bird's feeding behavior and preference were considered in this the evaluation. Preference was assessed by examining birds' behavioral activities, such as eating, standing and lying around the equipments, and meal duration as function of the environmental variables. Data on the behavioral activities and meal size were collected in a broiler commercial farm using a portable video camera, and the direct footages were analyzed. The time spent in each activity, feeding bout duration and time spent near the trough were statistically analyzed using the test of means and medians. Pearson's correlation test was used to evaluate the relationship between ambient environmental data and the time of feeding. A prospective scenario was established and data were pair wised compared to it. There were interactions between environmental characteristics and feeding and lying down activities during the experiment. Eating behavior was more frequent in the area around the Tube feeder. The duration of feeding time was higher when the birds used the Tube feeder (214 ± 28s), followed by the use of the Fenix feeder (123 ± 17s) and the Automatic feeder (77 ± 29s). Birds preferred eating from the Tube feeder probably due to the absence of the partition grid above the feeder plate.
Creating Coordinative Paths from admission to discharge: The role of lightweight IT in hospital digital process innovation

In this paper, we examine the role of IT in process innovations related to patient flow from emergency care admission, through subsequent patient transfers, and discharge. In particular, we explore how digital technology helps create and improve coordinative paths. We find that the interplay between traditional “heavyweight IT” (resilient, secure and stable) and “lightweight IT” (mobile, context-aware and flexible) enable process innovation in complex health care settings. Drawing on Zuboffs “informate” perspective, we highlight the strength of digital information technology as a process innovation enabler. We provide two contributions. First, we shed light on the innovative capacity of lightweight IT as a flexible, dynamic and distributed technology for process innovation. Second, using Garud and Kumaraswamys framework of vicious and virtuous circles, we identify and discuss potential positive and negative outcomes of process innovation.
Activation of p62/SQSTM1–Keap1–Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Related Factor 2 Pathway in Cancer

Autophagy and the Keap1–Nrf2 system are major cellular defense mechanisms against metabolic and oxidative stress. These two systems are linked via phosphorylation of the ubiquitin binding autophagy receptor protein p62/SQSTM1 in the p62–Keap1–Nrf2 pathway. The p62–Keap1–Nrf2 pathway plays a protective role in normal cells; however, recent studies indicate that this pathway induces tumorigenesis of pre-malignant cells, and promotes the growth and drug resistance of tumor cells via metabolic reprogramming mediated by Nrf2 activation. These findings suggest that impairment of autophagy is involved in the acquisition of malignancy and maintenance of tumors, and furthermore, that p62/SQSTM1 could be a potential target for chemotherapy in cancers that harbor excess p62.
Dual Effects of Human Placenta-Derived Neural Cells on Neuroprotection and the Inhibition of Neuroinflammation in a Rodent Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease in the elderly and the patients suffer from uncontrolled movement disorders due to loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons on substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). We previously reported that transplantation of human fetal midbrain-derived neural precursor cells restored the functional deficits of a 6-hydroxy dopamine (6-OHDA)-treated rodent model of PD but its low viability and ethical issues still remain to be solved. Albeit immune privilege and neural differentiation potentials suggest mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from various tissues including human placenta MSCs (hpMSCs) for an alternative source, our understanding of their therapeutic mechanisms is still limited. To expand our knowledge on the MSC-mediated PD treatment, we here investigated the therapeutic mechanism of hpMSCs and hpMSC-derived neural phenotype cells (hpNPCs) using a PD rat model. Whereas both hpMSCs and hpNPCs protected DA neurons in the SNpc at comparable levels, the hpNPC transplantation into 6-OHDA treated rats exhibited longer lasting recovery in motor deficits than either the saline or the hpMSC treated rats. The injected hpNPCs induced delta-like ligand (DLL)1 and neurotrophic factors, and influenced environments prone to neuroprotection. Compared with hpMSCs, co-cultured hpNPCs more efficiently protected primary neural precursor cells from midbrain against 6-OHDA as well as induced their differentiation into DA neurons. Further experiments with conditioned media from hpNPCs revealed that the secreted factors from hpNPCs modulated immune responses and neural protection. Taken together, both DLL1-mediated contact signals and paracrine factors play critical roles in hpNPC-mediated improvement. First showing here that hpMSCs and their neural derivative hpNPCs were able to restore the PD-associated deficits via dual mechanisms, neuroprotection and immunosuppression, this study expanded our knowledge of therapeutic mechanisms in PD and other age-related diseases.
Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals Ancestral Lack of Seventeen Different tRNAs and Clade-Specific Loss of tRNA-CNNs in Archaea

Transfer RNA (tRNA) is a category of RNAs that specifically decode messenger RNAs (mRNAs) into proteins by recognizing a set of 61 codons commonly adopted by different life domains. The composition and abundance of tRNAs play critical roles in shaping codon usage and pairing bias, which subsequently modulate mRNA translation efficiency and accuracy. Over the past few decades, effort has been concentrated on evaluating the specificity and redundancy of different tRNA families. However, the mechanism and processes underlying tRNA evolution have only rarely been investigated. In this study, by surveying tRNA genes in 167 completely sequenced genomes, we systematically investigated the composition and evolution of tRNAs in Archaea from a phylogenetic perspective. Our data revealed that archaeal genomes are compact in both tRNA types and copy number. Generally, no more than 44 different types of tRNA are present in archaeal genomes to decode the 61 canonical codons, and most of them have only one gene copy per genome. Among them, tRNA-Met was significantly overrepresented, with an average of three copies per genome. In contrast, the tRNA-UAU and 16 tRNAs with A-starting anticodons (tRNA-ANNs) were rarely detected in all archaeal genomes. The conspicuous absence of these tRNAs across the archaeal phylogeny suggests they might have not been evolved in the common ancestor of Archaea, rather than have lost independently from different clades. Furthermore, widespread absence of tRNA-CNNs in the Methanococcales and Methanobacteriales genomes indicates convergent loss of these tRNAs in the two clades. This clade-specific tRNA loss may be attributing to the reductive evolution of their genomes. Our data suggest that the current tRNA profiles in Archaea are contributed not only by the ancestral tRNA composition, but also by differential maintenance and loss of redundant tRNAs.
Absent 99mTc-MIBI Uptake in the Thyroid Gland during Early Phase of Parathyroid Scintigraphy in Patients with Primary and Secondary Hyperparathyroidism

BACKGROUND: Thyroid uptake of technetium-99m methoxyisobutylisonitrile (99mTc-MIBI) during parathyroid scintigraphy can be affected by various conditions. AIM: To evaluate the frequency of absent 99mTc-MIBI uptake by the thyroid gland in the early phase of dual-phase parathyroid scintigraphy. METHODS: The early planar images of dual phase Tc99m MIBI parathyroid scintigraphy from 217 patients performed between 2014 and 2017 were retrospectively analysed. Patients were divided into two groups. The first group included 147 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and the second group included 70 patients with chronic renal failure. Patient records, laboratory and ultrasonographic data were analysed in all patients. Descriptive statistic was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Out of all patients in the first group, 18 patients (12.24%) showed absent thyroid uptake. Thyroidectomy was performed in 44.4% of these patients, and the rest of them had some thyroid disease. Only one patient had no thyroid or another chronic disease. In the second group, 8 patients (11.42%) presented with absent thyroid uptake of MIBI. Among them, 5 patients had no history of thyroid disease and had been on hemodialysis programme, and 3 patients had hypothyroidism. CONCLUSION: Absent 99mTc-MIBI uptake in the thyroid during the early phase of parathyroid scintigraphy is most frequently related to thyroid disease. A small proportion of patients with chronic renal failure can present with absent 99mTc-MIBI uptake in the thyroid as well. The mechanism for this alteration is still unclear and needs further investigation.
Mapping of S56(t) responsible for interspecific hybrid sterility between Oryza sativa and Oryza glumaepatula

Oryza glumaepatula originates from South America continent and contains many valuable traits, such as tolerance to abiotic stress, high yield and good cooking qualities. However, hybrid sterility severely hindered the utilization of favorable genes of O. glumaepatula by interspecific hybridization. In order to further understand the nature of hybrid sterility between O. sativa and O. glumaepatula, a near isogenic line (NIL) was developed using a japonica variety Dianjingyou 1 as the recurrent parent and an accession of O. glumaepatula as the donor parent. A novel gene S56(t) for pollen sterility was mapped into the region between RM20797 and RM1093 on the short arm of chromosome 7, the physical distance between the two markers was about 469 kb. The genetic behavior of S56(t) followed one-locus allelic interaction model, the male gametes carrying the alleles of O. sativa in the heterozygotes were aborted completely. These results would help us clone S56(t) gene and understand the role of S56(t) in interspecific sterility.
Deep Algorithms: designs for networks

A new design methodology for neural networks that is guided by traditional algorithm design is presented. To prove our point, we present two heuristics and demonstrate an algorithmic technique for incorporating additional weights in their signal-flow graphs. We show that with training the performance of these networks can not only exceed the performance of the initial network, but can match the performance of more-traditional neural network architectures. A key feature of our approach is that these networks are initialized with parameters that provide a known performance threshold for the architecture on a given task.
Expanded benefits of curing the extrahepatic manifestations of HCV infection

HCV infection is a major global health threat. HCV is estimated to infect ~71.1 million persons worldwide and to cause approximately 400 000 deaths annually.1 Although HCV-related mortality is reportedly due to the end-stage complications of chronic hepatitis C (decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma), the above official figures do not take into consideration the mortality attributable to the multifaceted extrahepatic disorders caused by this pathogen.2 3 The list of such extrahepatic manifestations (EHM) is long and includes—but is not limited to—the cryoglobulinaemia-associated syndrome (characterised by fatigue, arthralgia, skin vasculitis, glomerulonephritis and cerebritis, among others), some subtypes of non-Hodgkin’s B cell lymphoma, insulin resistance (which may progress to type 2 diabetes and its cardiovascular sequelae) and various neurological conditions, such as cognitive dysfunction. The causal link between most of these EHM and HCV infection has been established, thanks to a wealth of epidemiological and clinical data, and especially based on the repeated observation that treatment-induced viral clearance is associated with clinical improvement.2 Their pathogenesis encompasses direct and indirect mechanisms, and may involve autoimmune reactions. Incidentally, for the latter reason, some EHMs have been for long time considered a contraindication to interferon (IFN)-α therapy. The recent advent …
Transcriptomic and functional analyses unveil the role of long non-coding RNAs in anthocyanin biosynthesis during sea buckthorn fruit ripening

Abstract Fruit ripening is a developmental process regulated by a complex network of endogenous and exogenous cues. Sea buckthorn is an excellent material for fruit ripening studies due to its dramatic ripening process and high contents of nutritional and anti-oxidant compounds in berries. Here, the whole transcriptome of sea buckthorn fruit at three development stages were analysed using multiple high-throughput sequencings. We assembled and annotated 9,008 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in sea buckthorn fruits, and identified 118 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE-lncRNAs) and 32 differentially expressed microRNAs in fruit developmental process. In addition, we predicted 1,061 cis-regulated and 782 trans-regulated targets of DE-lncRNAs, and these DE-lncRNAs are specifically enriched in the biosynthesis of ascorbic acid, carotenoids and flavonoids. Moreover, the silencing of two lncRNAs (LNC1 and LNC2) in vivo and expression analysis revealed that LNC1 and LNC2 can act as endogenous target mimics of miR156a and miR828a to reduce SPL9 and induce MYB114 expression, respectively, which lead to increased and decreased anthocyanin content as revealed by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. Our results present the first global functional analysis of lncRNA in sea buckthorn and provide two essential regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis, which provides new insights into the regulation of fruit quality.
Application of the Flask Architecture to the X Window System Server

This paper will outline the progress that has been made on extending the coverage of Security-Enhanced Linux access controls to the X Window System server, a major component of the Linux desktop. This has been accomplished by applying the Flask architecture to the X server and extending the reach of SELinux policy to cover X server objects. Modifications have been made to both SELinux library and the X.Org X server implementation in support of this goal. In the SELinux library, improved capabilities for obtaining policy decisions from the kernel were added. In the X server, a set of general security hooks was added, followed by a Flask module which makes use of them. This module extends the enforcement of kernel-based security policy to the X server in userspace, providing fine-grained access and information flow control to this vital desktop component using the existing SELinux policy store and toolchain.