Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum parameters, diet and body mass index in acne vulgaris: a mini review

Skin as an outer layer of body and a main connection between the body and the environment is a way that pathogens can access the body; Therefore, it has a crucial protecting role for the body because of obstacle functioning and micobiota. Factors that seem to commonly contribute to the disease are follicular hyperkeratinization, propionibacterium acnes, sebum production, and inflammation; however, pathogenesis of acne vulgaris as an inflammatory skin disorder is still poorly understood. Google Scholar and PubMed databases were searched for all related articles, using the key words of zinc, diet, vitamin D, BMI, and acne vulgaris.
Acelerando Convoluções em Dispositivos Reprogramáveis

Resumo. As Redes Neurais Convolucionais (RNC) executam tarefas como classificação e detecção de objetos, exigindo alto poder de processamento. Este trabalho descreve duas arquiteturas para dispositivos FPGA para aceleração da inferência das RNC, otimizando os acessos aos pixels nas convoluções. A versão com paralelismo apresenta ganho em latência proporcional ao número de unidades de operação utilizadas com baixo custo em área do dispositivo.
OPTIMIZATION OF AN OPTOGENETICALLY ACTIVATED INITIATOR OF APOPTOSIS

3 Introduction . 4 Methodology i. Creation of constructs . 6 ii. Western blot analysis . 7 iii. Midiprep DNA . 7 iv. HeLa Transfections . 8 v. Background cell death . 8 vi. Photocycle length . 9 vii. Light vs. Dark . 12 viii. LED Device . 13 ix. Proof of Apoptosis . 15 Conclusions . 18 Acknowledgements . 19 References . 20
Scarless whole-body regeneration in the absence of a blastema requires cell division in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi.

It has been known for well over 50 years that ctenophores have the capacity to regenerate but the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this ability are unknown. We have studied wound healing and adult regeneration in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi and show that cell proliferation is activated at the wound site and is indispensable for whole-body regeneration. Wound healing occurs normally in the absence of cell proliferation forming a scar-less wound epithelium. No blastema is generated, rather undifferentiated cells assume the correct location of missing structures and differentiate in place. Proliferative cells from the uncut tissue migrate to the wound site and contribute to the formation of new structures. Surprisingly, the ability to regenerate is recovered when exposure to cell-proliferation blocking treatment ends, suggesting that the onset of regeneration is constantly ready to be triggered and it is somehow independent of the wound healing process.
ΔSCOPE: A new method to quantify 3D biological structures and identify differences in zebrafish forebrain development

Research in the life sciences has traditionally relied on the analysis of clear morphological phenotypes, which are often revealed using increasingly powerful microscopy techniques analyzed as maximum intensity projections (MIPs). However, as biology turns towards the analysis of more subtle phenotypes, MIPs and qualitative approaches are failing to adequately describe these phenotypes. To address these limitations and quantitatively analyze the three-dimensional (3D) spatial relationships of biological structures, we developed the computational method and program called ΔSCOPE (Changes in Spatial Cylindrical Coordinate Orientation using PCA Examination). Our approach uses the fluorescent signal distribution within a 3D data set and reorients the fluorescent signal to a relative biological reference structure. This approach enables quantification and statistical analysis of spatial relationships and signal density in 3D multichannel signals that are positioned around a well-defined structure contained in a reference channel. We validated the application of ΔSCOPE by analyzing normal axon and glial cell guidance in the zebrafish forebrain and by quantifying the commissural phenotypes associated with abnormal Slit guidance cue expression in the forebrain. Despite commissural phenotypes which display disruptions to the reference structure, ΔSCOPE was able to detect subtle, previously uncharacterized changes in zebrafish forebrain midline crossing axons and glia. This method has been developed as a user-friendly, open source program. We propose that ΔSCOPE is an innovative approach to advancing the state of image quantification in the field of high resolution microscopy, and that the techniques presented here are of broad applications to the life science field.
Paternal knockdown of tRNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase (Dnmt2) increases offspring susceptibility to infection in red flour beetles

Intergenerational effects from fathers to offspring are increasingly reported from diverse organisms, but the underlying mechanisms remain speculative. Paternal trans-generational immune priming (TGIP) was demonstrated in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum: non-infectious bacterial exposure of fathers protects their offspring against an infectious challenge for at least two generations. Epigenetic processes, such as cytosine methylation of nucleic acids, have been proposed to enable transfer of information from fathers to offspring. Here we studied a potential role in TGIP of the Dnmt2 gene (renamed as Trdmt1 in humans), which encodes a highly conserved enzyme that methylates different RNAs, including specific cytosines of a set of tRNAs. Dnmt2 has previously been reported to be involved in intergenerational epigenetic inheritance in mice and protection against viruses in fruit flies. We first studied gene expression and found that Dnmt2 is expressed in various life history stages and tissues of T. castaneum, with high expression in the reproductive organs. RNAi-mediated knockdown of Dnmt2 in fathers was systemic, slowed down offspring larval development and increased mortality of the adult offspring upon bacterial infection. However, these effects were independent of bacterial exposure of the fathers. In conclusion, our results point towards a role of Dnmt2 for paternal effects, while elucidation of the mechanisms behind paternal TGIP needs further studies.
Resensitizing Multidrug Resistant Bacteria to Antibiotics by Targeting Bacterial Response Regulators

Many of the currently available antibiotics target a narrow spectrum of metabolic processes required for cellular growth. The rate at which bacteria are developing resistance leads to traditional approaches no longer offering long‐term protection. Bacteria often avoid antibiotics through the use of biofilms. Biofilms act as a protective barrier against harsh environments and leave bacteria resistant to antibiotic treatments. As such, understanding how biofilms are formed and developing small molecule therapies are vital steps in combating antibiotic resistance. Formation of biofilms is controlled in part by transcription factors known as response regulators. Response regulators are part of two‐component systems which allow the cell to detect and respond to changes in its environment and are used to trigger quorum sensing and virulence factors. Response regulators have been highly sought after as drug targets. Knocking out function with drug therapies would likely inhibit pathogenic behavior, making response regulators a potent new approach that has not yet been exploited. The dynamic nature of response regulators makes structure based drug design challenging. Fortunately, a class of 2‐aminoimidazole (2‐AI) compounds can bind bacterial response regulators, inhibiting biofilm formation and resensitize multidrug resistant bacteria to antibiotics. This work highlights the interactions between 2‐AIs and the biofilm response regulators BfmR from Acinetobacter baumannii and QseB from Francisella tularensis. These studies have led to a model for response regulator inhibition by 2‐AIs. Understanding the impact of 2AIs on response regulators and their mechanism of interaction will lead to the development of more potent compounds that will serve as adjuvant therapies with broad‐range antibiotics.
Physical Activity Dimensions and Its Association with Risk of Diabetes in Middle and Older Aged Chinese People

Background: Diabetes and physical inactivity are prevalent worldwide. Risk of diabetes is known to be related with insufficient physical activity (PA), but associations with the respective dimensions of PA is unclear. Objective: To describe the patterns of physical activity among Chinese middle- and older-aged individuals and figure out their associations with diabetes risk in different dimensions. Methods: Extracting self-reported data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2015), this study included 6196 participants. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to determine the association between diabetes risk and PA dimensions such as intensity, frequency, duration, and volume. Results: Concerning frequency, lower diabetes risk was associated with performing vigorous PA at any frequency overall. For duration, smaller odds of diabetes were observed in performing vigorous PA 2–4 h/day (OR 0.46, 95%CI 0.30 to 0.71), moderate PA ≥4 h/day (OR 0.59, 95%CI 0.42 to 0.82) and light PA ≥4 h/day (OR 0.59, 95%CI 0.41 to 0.85) overall. For volume, lower diabetes risk was associated with performing moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) ≥2250 METs/week (OR 0.58, 95%CI 0.42 to 0.81) in middle-aged group (45–64 years), whereas no significant associations between MVPA and diabetes risk were found in older aged group (≥65 years). Conclusions: Our results revealed that physical inactivity is prevalent in China, with a greater proportion in the diabetes group. Lower risk of diabetes was associated with higher frequency, longer duration and longer volume of PA at higher intensity in middle-aged respondents and similar associations at lower intensity for the older adults. Additionally, further well-designed prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Milk Quality Characteristics of Native Southern Yellow and South Anatolian Red between Early and Late lactation

South Anatolian Red (SAR) and Native Southern Yellow (NSY) cattle are commonly reared in the southern region of Turkey. Although physical characteristics of these significant races that are under protection are similar, it is determined in various studies that they have different racial characteristics. The goal of this study is to evaluate lactation characteristics of two different breeds in the same region. It is observed that NSY milk has higher dry matter (%), fat (%), protein (%), lactose (%), total saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (g 100g-1) ratios than SAR milk. In the study, eight volatiles (indoles, ketones, terpenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, alcohols) of the cattle types are researched and analyzed and they are compared during lactation periods. At the end of lactation, esters and carboxylic acids increased in NSY milk, while ketones and aldehydes in SAR milk increased. It is seen that alcohols are the most abundant volatile components found in milk of cattle. On the other hand, it is observed that lactation stages, forage type and botanical diversity affect milk flavor and quality.
First Record of Dendrolimus pini Outbreak on Aleppo Pine in Croatia and Severe Case of Population Collapse Caused by Entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana

Background and Purpose: The pine-tree lappet moth, Dendrolimus pini, is a widely distributed pest in Europe that can cause serious needle defoliation on pines, with outbreaks occurring over large geographical areas. In Croatia the presence of D. pini was recorded only in the continental part, but not in a high level of abundance, and the outbreak of the population has never been recorded so far. Materials and Methods: In autumn 2014 an unexpected and complete defoliation on Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) occurred in the vicinity of Skradin, near Šibenik, and was followed by defoliation in summer and autumn 2017 in Telašćica Nature Park, Dugi otok. Infested areas were inspected and overwintering larvae in soil surface were counted in order to estimate the population and assess whether the critical number of the population has been exceeded. Specimens were collected and transferred to the Laboratory for Entomological Analysis in the Croatian Forest Research Institute for further laboratory analysis. Results: Since more than 10 larvae per m2 of soil surface were found, it was concluded that an outbreak occurred at both localities. In both cases natural antagonists played an important role in lowering the pest population. In Skradin, entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana that occurred on the overwintering larvae broke the pest population, and in Dugi otok it was recorded, but to a much lesser extent and in combination with Drino inconspicua parasitoid. In both cases pines recovered very well in the following spring, with some bark beetle attacks mostly at the edge of the forest. Conclusions: The outbreaks of D. pini resulting with a total defoliation of Aleppo pine stands, and the fact that they occurred in the Mediterranean region which is not an optimal area for its appearance, makes these events unusual. Also, this is the first record of D. pini population breakdown by some antagonist.
Coupled in situ reactors using Fe0 and activated carbon for the remediation of complex contaminant mixtures in groundwater

The use of a combination of Fe° and granular activated carbon as fillings for reactive permeable barriers was investigated for the remediation of complex contaminant mixtures. Column tests carried out with the same concentration of the two model contaminants, trichloroethene (TCE) and monochlorbenzene (MCB), showed an increased life-time of the activated carbon by a factor of 4 in combination with Fe° and no substantial limitations in the use of activated carbon by Fe 0 . Keeping the two materials separate yielded better results than mixing them presumably due to precipitate build-up in the activated carbon in the mixed svstem.
LiTaO3 Directional Coupler Switch with Enhanced Extinction Ratio and Low Insertion Loss

A novel design of optical directional coupler switch with S-bend waveguides on LiTaO3 platform has been designed with R-Soft CAD tool and the same is simulated by Beam propagation method (BPM) for light propagation analysis. The simulation results of the optical directional coupler (ODC) switch is reported. We observed that the directional coupler (DC) switch has lower insertion losses and higher extinction ratios for a certain values that are discussed in the paper. This was studied by variation in waveguide parameters such as, wavelength, waveguide gap, and length of the device. Simulation results designate that the switching efficiency for TE and TM modes with extinction ratio about 3dB when the waveguide gap is 3. 5μm for both the polarization modes and insertion loss is 13dB with same waveguide gap in TE mode and 16dB in TM mode at 1550nm wavelength.
Changes in social groups across reintroductions and effects on post-release survival

Reintroductions are essential to many conservation programmes, and thus much research has focussed on understanding what determines the success of these translocation interventions. However, while reintroductions disrupt both the abiotic and social environments, there has been less focus on the consequences of social disruption. Therefore, here we investigate if moving familiar social groups may help animals (particularly naïve juveniles) adjust to their new environment and increase the chances of population establishment. We used social network analysis to study changes in group composition and individual sociality across a reintroduction of 40 juvenile hihi (Notiomystis cincta), a threatened New Zealand passerine. We collected observations of groups before a translocation to explore whether social behaviour before the reintroduction predicted associations after, and whether reintroduction influenced individual sociality (degree). We also assessed whether grouping familiar birds during temporary captivity in aviaries maintained group structure and individual sociality, compared to our normal translocation method (aviaries of random familiarity). Following release, we measured if survival depended on how individual sociality had changed. By comparing these analyses with birds that remained at the source site, we found that translocation lead to re-assortment of groups: non-translocated birds maintained their groups, but translocated juveniles formed groups with both familiar and unfamiliar birds. Aviary holding did not improve group cohesion; instead, juveniles were less likely to associate with aviary-mates. Finally, we found that translocated juveniles that lost the most associates experienced a small but significant tendency for higher mortality. This suggests sociality loss may have represented a disruption that affected their ability to adapt to a new site.
Slow Looking at Slow Art: The Work of Pierre Bonnard

Abstract Slow looking is an increasingly prevalent strategy for enhancing visitor engagement in the gallery, yet there is little research to show why looking at artworks for longer should be beneficial. The curator of a recent exhibition of Pierre Bonnard at the Tate Gallery in London encouraged viewers to look slowly in order to enrich their experience of Bonnard’s paintings. This article explores some of the reasons why Bonnard’s work, in particular, rewards the viewer who spends more time studying it. The authors draw on various scientific studies of the ways in which observers process color contrasts, spatial configuration and figure-ground segregation in artworks and in everyday vision. They propose that prolonged interactions with works of art can facilitate perceptual learning, and they suggest ways in which these effects could be empirically studied using psychological methods.
Does the shape of forelimb long bones co-vary with grasping behaviour in strepsirrhine primates?

Fine prehensile activities are often thought to have been associated with the evolution of the human hand. However, there has been no holistic approach establishing the link between the morphology of the forelimb and grasping ability in living primates. The present study investigated the possible relationships between grasping behaviour and the morphology of the forelimb in strepsirrhines in a phylogenetic context. To do so, grasping behaviour during feeding and the shape of the long bones of the forelimb were analysed for 22 species of strepsirrhines. The data obtained show that there is a phylogenetic signal in forelimb morphology in primates in relation to grasping behaviour, but also that there is a marked co-evolution between grasping behaviour and the shape of the humerus and radius. This latter finding suggests a functional association between grasping and forelimb shape, which in turn suggests that bone shape constrains or facilitates behaviour. This result may permit future inferences to be made regarding this behaviour in extinct species and deserves further examination in more detail.
Formation of Stöber silica supported gold nanoparticles : mechanism and application

Supported gold nanoparticles have been focused on due to their high efficiency in the catalysis field. In this work, Stober silica consisted by globules were synthesized and used as support for gold nanoparticles. The gold colloids with homogeneous and small nanoparticles (about 3 nm) were applied as gold precursor. The prepared materials with further metal addition were used to active the CO oxidation and another very special reaction- selective oxidation of H2S.The results suggested that by using the gold colloid as precursor the sizes of nanoparticles could be controlled before loading onto silica under the help of its optical properties. The results for catalytic reactions indicated that the interaction between Au-support is another essential factor impacting the activity beyond the size effect. The additions of metal largely enhance the activity of gold materials. The gold and copper (oxide) particles go through reassembling during the reactions. In the CO oxidation, small amounts of partially oxidized gold species were generated and “glued” strongly by the new formed Cu2+ species to the support. While in the selective H2S oxidation, it was found that the material is sulfur-resistant during long time reaction. The Stober silica is proved to be a very promising support, which is non-porous but beneficial to expose active sites of gold nanoparticles to the reactants, lower the pressure drop, and facilitate the heat transformation. It was proved even can be matched with the well-know mesoporous materials that is claimed to be indispensable for the high activity.
Efectos de la adición de microesferas huecas de vidrio en concreto hidráulico

En esta investigacion se estudio el efecto de microesferas huecas de vidrio(HGM por sus siglas en ingles)como reemplazo parcial de cemento, en una proporcion de 5% en peso de material cementante, en concreto autocompactante(SCC por sus siglas en ingles), analizando algunas propiedades en estado fresco y en estado endurecido. Para tal proposito se analizouna mezcla control (sin reemplazo) y una mezcla con el correspondiente reemplazo de cemento por microesferas.Inicialmente, se caracterizaronlos materiales empleados, se selecciono como metodologia de diseno de mezcla el metododel ACI-237, se calibro el diseno de mezclayposteriormentese realizaron paraelestado fresco los ensayos de escurrimiento, anillo japones, caja en L, esfuerzo de fluenciaestatico y dinamicoempleando elreometro ICAR 5000 y columna de segregacion. Para el estado endurecido por su parte,se ejecutaron los ensayos deresistencia a la compresion, a la traccion, a la flexion y resistencia a la penetracion de ion cloruro (Nordtest NT Build 492)El resultadoobtenido indicaque el reemplazo de cemento por HGMgenero una mejora en las propiedades reologicasestudiadas, proporcionando mayor fluidez al material. En cuanto a las propiedades en estado endurecido, se produjo una leve reduccion (inferior al 15%)con respecto a las obtenidas en la muestra control. De acuerdo con esto, las HGMpueden proyectarse como un buen reemplazo de cemento en una proporcion del 5% en peso del material cementante, ya que generan un comportamiento similar al obtenidoen la muestrasin reemplazo.
The Hedonic House Price Model in a Development Context – Evidence from the National Capital Region of the Philippines, 2000 - 2010

The paper analyses the housing market of the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines, alongside contiguous provinces, using the hedonic house price model. Although we do not have precise house price data, we use rental values as a proxy for housing values, and look at a plethora of internal and external characteristics of houses, from the types of toilet facilities households use, to air quality data, as measured by nitrogen dioxide levels from satellites. Using the Philippine Statistical Authority’s (PSA) ‘Census for Population and Housing’, we manually constructed a panel dataset for the years 2000 and 2010, and then use a range of spatial autoregressive models to empirically test the data, whilst simultaneously accounting for spatial autocorrelation. We then use panel data specifications, such as spatial autoregressive random effects regressions, of which we continue to obtain some robust and statistically significant results. Overall, we confirm that fuel for lighting, toilet facilities, and population density are significant determinants of monthly rental values in and around the cities of the NCR. Nonetheless, due to innumerable endogeneity issues, in addition to the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), we treat our findings as being purely suggestive, in hopes to introduce a future literature on housing inequality in the Philippines.