Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is biodiversity good for your health?

Disease incidence is often lower in more diverse communities of plants and animals On a floodplain of the River Saale near Jena, Germany, grassland plants are naturally bombarded by spores of pathogenic fungi. But whether or not those fungi cause infection turns out to be largely about the neighborhood: Plants on highly diverse experimental plots have much lower levels of infection than plants grown in monoculture (1) (see the photos). The pathogens, it appears, are less likely to encounter their optimal host on the more diverse plots, which reduces disease prevalence and incidence. This protective effect of diversity has been found in many studies, not just for plants but also for diseases afflicting humans and wildlife. It has remained unclear, however, whether this observation holds generally (2, 3). In a recent paper, Civitello et al. addressed this question in a rigorous meta-analysis of diversity-disease relationships (4).
Management of genital manifestations of lymphatic filariasis

Genital lymphedema secondary to filariasis is a common problem in most of the filarial endemic regions of the world. Repeated filarial attacks lead to obstruction of lymph flow resulting in various types of genital manifestations in both males and females. Currently there is no cure for lymphedema. As yet no operative procedure has restored normal lymphatic function, and significant swelling recurs after all of the currently available approaches. Progress has been made by micro-lymphatic operations combined with conservative measures to relieve many of these patients of much of their swelling without resort to lifetime use of conservative measures.
Mobile metallic domain walls in an all-in-all-out magnetic insulator

Visualizing conducting domain walls When a metal undergoes a phase transition and becomes insulating, it sometimes also becomes magnetically ordered. It is possible that some metallicity survives along the boundaries of magnetic domains, the so-called domain walls, but the question is difficult to address directly in experiments. Ma et al. did just that by mapping out the conductance of the material Nd2Ir2O7 in its low-temperature magnetic insulating phase, using microwave impedance microscopy. The magnetic domain walls showed up clearly in the images as regions of high conductance. Science, this issue p. 538 Microwave impedance microscopy is used to visualize conducting magnetic domain walls in the insulating phase of Nd2Ir2O7. Magnetic domain walls are boundaries between regions with different configurations of the same magnetic order. In a magnetic insulator, where the magnetic order is tied to its bulk insulating property, it has been postulated that electrical properties are drastically different along the domain walls, where the order is inevitably disturbed. Here we report the discovery of highly conductive magnetic domain walls in a magnetic insulator, Nd2Ir2O7, that has an unusual all-in-all-out magnetic order, via transport and spatially resolved microwave impedance microscopy. The domain walls have a virtually temperature-independent sheet resistance of ~1 kilohm per square, show smooth morphology with no preferred orientation, are free from pinning by disorders, and have strong thermal and magnetic field responses that agree with expectations for all-in-all-out magnetic order.
Co-circulation of three camel coronavirus species and recombination of MERS-CoVs in Saudi Arabia

Coronaviruses in the Middle East Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes severe acute respiratory illness and kills about a third of people infected. The virus is common in dromedary camels, which can be a source of human infections. In a survey for MERSCoV in over 1300 Saudi Arabian camels, Sabir et al. found that dromedaries share three coronavirus species with humans. Diverse MERS lineages in camels have caused human infections, which suggests that transfer among host species occurs quite easily. Haagmans et al. made a MERS-CoV vaccine for use in camels, using poxvirus as a vehicle. The vaccine significantly reduced virus excretion, which should help reduce the potential for transmission to humans, and conferred cross-immunity to camelpox infections. Science, this issue p. 81, p. 77 Several camel coronaviruses occur in the Middle East, and a recombinant lineage is linked to the recent human outbreaks of MERS. Outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) raise questions about the prevalence and evolution of the MERS coronavirus (CoV) in its animal reservoir. Our surveillance in Saudi Arabia in 2014 and 2015 showed that viruses of the MERS-CoV species and a human CoV 229E–related lineage co-circulated at high prevalence, with frequent co-infections in the upper respiratory tract of dromedary camels. viruses of the betacoronavirus 1 species, we found that dromedary camels share three CoV species with humans. Several MERS-CoV lineages were present in camels, including a recombinant lineage that has been dominant since December 2014 and that subsequently led to the human outbreaks in 2015. Camels therefore serve as an important reservoir for the maintenance and diversification of the MERS-CoVs and are the source of human infections with this virus.
Segmentation, reconstruction and visualization of the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary vein from anatomical images of the visible human project

We describe the extraction of pulmonary artery (PA) and the pulmonary vein (PV) from the lungs of the male subject from the visible human project (VHP), using the color images of crio-anatomical slices. We examine the characteristics of the VHP database concerning the lungs, the general approaches for vessel segmentation found in the literature and the extraction methods we propose, using state-of-the-art techniques and some contributions for their enhancement. In particular, we introduced a non-linear homogenization of the color images, based on an auto-regressive model of inter-slice differences, in order to constitute a volume suitable for 3D-segmentation methods. The segmentation itself uses a regional-based approach (3D-region growing) combined with a boundary-based approach and 3D mathematical morphology, to enhance segmentation. We also present the visualization of the 3D reconstructions from anatomical color images of the VHP database.
Protected areas and global conservation of migratory birds

Not enough protection for migrating birds Animals that migrate pass through a varying number of regions. Each of these regions contributes to a different component of their life cycles. Runge et al. looked at the degree of protection migratory birds receive, globally, across their breeding and wintering ranges. A remarkably low percentage of migratory birds receive adequate protection across their entire ranges. Given that over half the world's migratory bird populations are declining, these results emphasize the urgency with which we must act to protect birds across their entire migratory cycle. Science, this issue p. 1255 Few migratory birds are protected across their entire range. Migratory species depend on a suite of interconnected sites. Threats to unprotected links in these chains of sites are driving rapid population declines of migrants around the world, yet the extent to which different parts of the annual cycle are protected remains unknown. We show that just 9% of 1451 migratory birds are adequately covered by protected areas across all stages of their annual cycle, in comparison with 45% of nonmigratory birds. This discrepancy is driven by protected area placement that does not cover the full annual cycle of migratory species, indicating that global efforts toward coordinated conservation planning for migrants are yet to bear fruit. Better-targeted investment and enhanced coordination among countries are needed to conserve migratory species throughout their migratory cycle.
Has there been a hiatus?

Internal climate variability masks climate-warming trends Every decade since the 1960s has been warmer than the one before, with 2000 to 2009 by far the warmest decade on record (see the figure). However, the role of human-induced climate change has been discounted by some, owing to a markedly reduced increase in global mean surface temperature (GMST) from 1998 through 2013, known as the hiatus (1–3). The upward trend has resumed in 2014, now the warmest year on record, with 2015 temperatures on course for another record-hot year. Although Earth's climate is undoubtedly warming, weather-related and internal natural climate variability can temporarily overwhelm global warming in any given year or even decade, especially locally.
A Simple Dual-Mode Limited Feedback Multiuser Downlink System

Generally limited feedback systems that multiplex multiple user signals are noise power limited in the low signal-tonoise- ratio (SNR) regime and interference power limited in the high SNR regime. If the amount of feedback does not grow with SNR, then there is a sum rate ceiling that increasing the transmit power alone cannot surpass. This paper proposes a simple dual mode system where the base station serves either one user or as many users as the number of transmit antennas. The switching mechanism is smooth and is based on instantaneous system conditions. The mobile determines its preferred transmission mode by using a very simple signal-to-interference-and-noiseratio (SINR) threshold. Based on the mobiles' feedback, the base station chooses the method of signalling accordingly. With a finite number of feedback bits per mobile, it is shown that the proposed system achieves close to the maximum of the sum-rate for single user and multiuser modes. We identify the preferrable mode for an asymptotically large number of users and/or SNR. This proposed architecture is suitable for systems with moderate coherence time, a moderate to large number of users, and a moderate SNR that cannot afford complex processing at the base station or at the mobile.
Fostering Scientific Workflow Preservation through Discovery of Substitute Services

Scientific workflows are increasingly gaining momentum as the new paradigm for modeling and enacting scientific experiments. The value of a workflow specification does not end once it is enacted. Indeed, workflow specifications encapsulate knowledge that documents scientific experiments, and are, therefore, worth preserving. Our experience suggests that workflow preservation is frequently hampered by the volatility of the constituent service operations when these operations are supplied by third-party providers. To deal with this issue, we propose a heuristic for locating substitutes that are able to replace unavailable service operations within workflows. The proposed method uses the data links connecting inputs and outputs of service operations in existing workflow specifications to locate operations with parameters compatible with those of the missing operations. Furthermore, it exploits provenance traces collected from past executions of workflows to ensure that candidate substitutes perform tasks similar to those of the missing operations. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been empirically assessed.
A class of quasi-cyclic LDPC codes over GF(2m)

Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes over GF(2m,)are an extension of binary LDPC codes. Performances of GF(2m,) LDPC codes have been shown to be higher than binary LDPC codes, but the complexity of the encoders/decoders increases. Hence there is a substantial lack of implementations for LDPC codes over GF(2m,)codes. This paper presents a class of quasi-cyclic LDPC codes over GF(2m,). These codes can alleviate the encoding/decoding complexity without excessive loss of performances. It is shown how, from a performance point of view, such codes are better than m times bigger binary codes and as good as (2m,)longer binary codes.
Shape Analysis Using the Spectral Graph Wavelet Transform

The present work describes a framework for morphological characterization of galaxies based on the Spectral Graph Wavelet Transform. A galaxy image is sampled with a number of points randomly chosen, whose Delaunay triangulation results in an arbitrary graph. The average intensity value in a 5 × 5 vicinity of a pixel related to a graph vertex is assigned to the corresponding graph vertex. A weight inversely proportional to the photometric distance between each pair of vertices is assigned to the respective graph edge. The Spectral Graph Wavelet Transform is computed from this weighted graph with real-valued vertices yielding a high-dimensional feature vector, which is reduced to a two dimensional vector through Principal Component Analysis. The proposed framework has been assessed through two case studies, namely, the case study of analyzing (i) 2D binary images from shapes and preliminary results of (ii) 2D gray tone images from galaxies. The obtained results imply the suitability of this framework for the characterization of galaxies images.
A construction of 1-to-2 shared optical buffer queue with switched delay lines

Optical buffering is fundamental to contention resolution in optical networks. The current works on this line mainly focus on the emulation of dedicated input/output buffer queue by using switched fiber delay lines (SDL). It is notable that the shared buffer queue, where a common buffer pool is shared by all the input/output ports of a switch, has the potential to significantly reduce the overall buffer capacity requirement. As far as we know, however, no related work is available yet on the exact emulation of a shared optical buffer queue with SDLs. In this paper, we focus on the design of first in first out (FIFO) shared optical buffer queue based on the optical feedback SDL construction. The construction considered consists of an (M + 2) x (M + 2) switch fabric and M fiber delay lines FDL1, . , FDLM, where FDLi connects the ith output of the switch fabric with its ith input. We show that by setting the length of FDL1 as min(M + 1 - i, i), i = 1, . , M, such a construction can actually work as an 1-to-2 shared buffer queue. We then extend this emulation to the more general N-to-2 case.
How safe are nanomaterials?

There is still no consensus on the toxicity of nanomaterials Engineered nanomaterials are widely used in consumer products such as cosmetics, paints, fabrics, and electronics. Because of their small size (diameter <100 nm), they often have unusual properties. Once released into the human body or the environment, they are also fiendishly difficult to find again. In 2006, Nel et al. described possible mechanisms by which engineered nanomaterials interact with biological entities and the toxicological responses that may be triggered (1). Despite much research since then, mechanistic understanding remains limited. Evidence for acute toxicity from nanomaterials at realistic doses is limited; there also is no simple correlation between toxic responses and nanoparticle size or other predictable pattern of toxicity. For answers to emerge, the nanosafety community must embrace recent technical advances and build consensus on testing methodologies.
Active sites of nitrogen-doped carbon materials for oxygen reduction reaction clarified using model catalysts

The right kind of dopant The oxygen reduction reaction is an important step in fuel cells and other electrochemical processes but is still largely dependent on precious metal-containing catalysts. Recently explored alternatives include carbon materials that are doped with different, preferably non-precious metal, atoms. Guo et al. studied model graphite catalysts to try to understand the role of nitrogen doping and to elucidate the active catalytic sites. A nitrogen atom bound to two carbons formed an active catalyst site with an activity rivaling that of N-doped graphene catalysts. Science, this issue p. 361 Nitrogen-doped graphite is used to identify the location and specific bonding of active catalyst sites. Nitrogen (N)–doped carbon materials exhibit high electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which is essential for several renewable energy systems. However, the ORR active site (or sites) is unclear, which retards further developments of high-performance catalysts. Here, we characterized the ORR active site by using newly designed graphite (highly oriented pyrolitic graphite) model catalysts with well-defined π conjugation and well-controlled doping of N species. The ORR active site is created by pyridinic N. Carbon dioxide adsorption experiments indicated that pyridinic N also creates Lewis basic sites. The specific activities per pyridinic N in the HOPG model catalysts are comparable with those of N-doped graphene powder catalysts. Thus, the ORR active sites in N-doped carbon materials are carbon atoms with Lewis basicity next to pyridinic N.
Sperm calcineurin inhibition prevents mouse fertility with implications for male contraceptive

Mouse work may lead to male contraceptive Unintended pregnancies are a major health issue worldwide. Although oral contraceptives were developed decades ago for use in women, there are no male oral contraceptives. Miyata et al. show that genetic deletion or drug inhibition of sperm-specific calcineurin enzymes in mice cause male sterility (see the Perspective by Castaneda and Matzuk). Although calcineurin inhibitors resulted in male infertility within 2 weeks, fertility recovered 1 week after halting drug administration. Because the sperm-specific calcineuin complex is also found in humans, its inhibition may be a strategy for developing reversible male contraceptives. Science, this issue p. 442, see also p. 385 Inhibiting the function of a protein involved in sperm maturation may help in the development of future male contraceptives. [Also see Perspective by Castaneda and Matzuk] Calcineurin inhibitors, such as cyclosporine A and FK506, are used as immunosuppressant drugs, but their adverse effects on male reproductive function remain unclear. The testis expresses somatic calcineurin and a sperm-specific isoform that contains a catalytic subunit (PPP3CC) and a regulatory subunit (PPP3R2). We demonstrate herein that male mice lacking Ppp3cc or Ppp3r2 genes (knockout mice) are infertile, with reduced sperm motility owing to an inflexible midpiece. Treatment of mice with cyclosporine A or FK506 creates phenocopies of the sperm motility and morphological defects. These defects appear within 4 to 5 days of treatment, which indicates that sperm-specific calcineurin confers midpiece flexibility during epididymal transit. Male mouse fertility recovered a week after we discontinued treatment. Because human spermatozoa contain PPP3CC and PPP3R2 as a form of calcineurin, inhibition of this sperm-specific calcineurin may lead to the development of a reversible male contraceptive that would target spermatozoa in the epididymis.
Blockage of Cortical Spreading Depression by Picrotoxin Foci of Paroxysmal Activity

1% Picrotoxin placed on cortex of rat caused paroxysmal ECoG discharges with concomitant increase in [Ke+]from 3 to 6.7 mM with oscillations corresponding to ictal (maximum) and interictal (minimum) spiking. Invasion of the epileptogenic focus by spreading depression was blocked when the amplitude of oscillations of [Ke+] reached 2.6 mM. Epileptogenic activity induced by topical 10% Pentazol caused a less marked increase in [Ke+] (4.6 mM) and did not prevent depression from invading the focal area, but did diminish [Ke+] from the normal of 60 to 70 mM to 39 mM. It is concluded that seizure‐induced depolarization of neural elements in deep cortical layers, though inadequate to trigger spreading depression, does prevent it from spreading, in part by activating the sodium pump.
A recursive algorithm for bandwidth partitioning

We consider complete partitioning of bandwidth among multiple services. When class bandwidth is an integer multiple of the next lower class and total bandwidth is an integer multiple of the largest class bandwidth, we develop a recursive algorithm that determines the optimal complete partitioning policy with a significantly lower complexity than that of known dynamic programming or mixed integer programming approaches.
TULAREMIC MENINGITIS: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND REPORT OF A CASE WITH POSTMORTEM OBSERVATIONS

Tularemia has been accepted generally as a systemic disease which frequently presents manifestations that may be interpreted as being septicemic in nature. It is logical, therefore, to suspect in case of a septicemic disease such as tularemia that almost every tissue of the body at some stage of the illness may be infected. Although evidence of meningeal irritation and involvement of the central nervous system are occasionally observed in cases of tularemia which terminate fatally, instances in which the existence of tularemic meningitis has been proved, either during life or by postmortem studies, are unusually rare, especially when one considers the frequency with which the lungs, liver, spleen and lymph nodes are involved in fatal cases of tularemia. Because invasion of the meninges by Bacterium tularense (Pasteurella tularensis) has been observed so infrequently, we have considered it worth while to report this case, which came to our attention in a
Mortality in current and former users of clozapine.

Clozapine (Clozaril®), a tricyclic dibenzodiazepine, causes fewer extrapyramidal side effects than do other antipsychotic drugs. Because it can induce agranulocytosis, however, clozapine is indicated only for schizophrenia that is not responsive to other therapies. To describe the drug's effects on
Mouse oocytes differentiate through organelle enrichment from sister cyst germ cells

Mouse oocytes receive sister cell factors Mammalian mature oocytes, the largest cells in the body, are capable of programming and reprogramming embryogenesis. Only about 20% of developing mouse germ cells become oocytes. Lei and Spradling show that organelles and the cytoplasm move through intercellular connections between sister germ cells in mouse fetal ovaries to enrich oocyte cytoplasm just before oocytes arrest to form the ovarian reserve (see the Perspective by Pepling). Similar transfers occur during oogenesis in many invertebrate and lower vertebrate species, possibly providing oocytes their special properties for programming embryo development. Science, this issue p. 95; see also p. 35 Sister germ cells provide organelles and cytoplasm to oocytes to augment their developmental potential. [Also see Perspective by Pepling] Oocytes differentiate in diverse species by receiving organelles and cytoplasm from sister germ cells while joined in germline cysts or syncytia. Mouse primordial germ cells form germline cysts, but the role of cysts in oogenesis is unknown. We find that mouse germ cells receive organelles from neighboring cyst cells and build a Balbiani body to become oocytes, whereas nurselike germ cells die. Organelle movement, Balbiani body formation, and oocyte fate determination are selectively blocked by low levels of microtubule-dependent transport inhibitors. Membrane breakdown within the cyst and an apoptosis-like process are associated with organelle transfer into the oocyte, events reminiscent of nurse cell dumping in Drosophila. We propose that cytoplasmic and organelle transport plays an evolutionarily conserved and functionally important role in mammalian oocyte differentiation.