Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interpretation of Fiber Supplementation on Offspring Testicular Development in a Pregnant Sow Model from a Proteomics Perspective

To study the effects of maternal fiber supplementation during pregnancy on the testicular development of male offspring and its possible mechanisms, 36 sows (Landrace × Yorkshire) were allocated to either a control diet (n = 18) or a fiber diet (the control diet supplemented with 22.60 g/kg inulin and 181.60 g/kg cellulosic; n = 18) during pregnancy. The body and testes weight of the offspring, 7-day-old piglets, was recorded. Testes were collected for further analyses. Results showed that the testicular organ index and the number of spermatogonia in single seminiferous tubule were higher in piglets from the fiber group than from the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, a significant increase in the concentration of glucose, lactate, and lipids in the testes was found in the fiber group (p < 0.05). Proteomic analysis suggested that there were notable differences in glucolipid transport and metabolism, oxidation, and male reproduction-related proteins expression between the two groups (p < 0.05). Results revealed that the most enriched signaling pathways in the fiber group testes included starch and sucrose metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and the renin-angiotensin system. mRNA expression analyzes further confirmed the importance of some signaling pathways in maternal fiber nutrition regulating offspring testicular development. Our results shed new light on the underlying molecular mechanisms of maternal fiber nutrition on offspring testicular development and provided a valuable insight for future explorations of the effect of maternal fiber nutrition on man reproduction.
Is Anticoagulation Necessary for Severely Disabled Cardioembolic Stroke Survivors?

Background and Objectives: Oral anticoagulants are the hallmark of cardioembolic stroke prevention, but they are frequently underused, especially in elderly patients and patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. In our paper, we analyzed the long-term outcome of severely disabled cardioembolic stroke survivors depending on the prescribed antithrombotic secondary prevention medication. Materials and Methods: In our study, we retrospectively collected data for ischemic stroke (IS) patients treated in P. Stradins Clinical University hospital, Riga, Latvia, from 2014 until 2017. Patients’ clinical data were collected using local stroke registry, including patients’ demographic data, vascular risk factors, clinical findings, and laboratory results. Severely disabled stroke survivors were followed up by phone at 30/90/180/365 days after discharge. Patients’ functional outcomes were assessed using the adapted version of The Rankin Focused Assessment–Ambulation. The collected data were compared in 4 groups according to prescribed secondary prevention medication. Results: A total of 682 (91.42%) patients were followed up and included in data analysis. The median age of patients was 80 (IQR = 75–85) years. Of these patients, 231 (31%) were males and 515 (69%) were females. One-year probability of survival of patients not taking any preventive medication was 53% (IQR = 29–76), while in patients taking antiplatelet agents it was 57% (IQR = 37–78), 78% (IQR = 68–88) of patients on Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) and 81% (IQR = 72–90) in patients on direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). One year after discharge 73 (31%) had mRS 0–2, 50 (20.9%), 29 (12.1%) were still severely disabled, and 87 (36.4%) had died. Conclusions: Anticoagulant use in secondary prevention predicts better functional outcome and higher survival rate in patients with severe cardioembolic stroke due to non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), therefore severe neurological deficit must not be a reason of restriction of anticoagulation.
Investigating the Current and Future Co-Occurrence of Ambrosia artemisiifolia and Ophraella communa in Europe through Ecological Modelling and Remote Sensing Data Analysis

The common ragweed Ambrosia artemisiifolia has spread throughout Europe since the 1800s, infesting croplands and causing severe allergic reactions. Recently, the ragweed leaf beetle Ophraella communa was found in Italy and Switzerland; considering that it feeds primarily on A. artemisiifolia in its invaded ranges, some projects started biological control of this invasive plant through the adventive beetle. In this context of a ‘double’ invasion, we assessed the influence of climate change on the spread of these alien species through ecological niche modelling. Considering that A. artemisiifolia mainly lives in agricultural and urbanized areas, we refined the models using satellite remote-sensing data; we also assessed the co-occurrence of the two species in these patches. A. artemisiifolia is predicted to expand more than O. communa in the future, with the medium and high classes of suitability of the former increasing more than the latter, resulting in lower efficacy for O. communa to potentially control A. artemisiifolia in agricultural and urbanized patches. Although a future assessment was performed through the 2018 land-cover data, the predictions we propose are intended to be a starting point for future assessments, considering that the possibility of a shrinkage of target patches is unlikely to occur.
Real-Time Vehicle-Detection Method in Bird-View Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicle Imagery

Vehicle detection is an important research area that provides background information for the diversity of unmanned-aerial-vehicle (UAV) applications. In this paper, we propose a vehicle-detection method using a convolutional-neural-network (CNN)-based object detector. We design our method, DRFBNet300, with a Deeper Receptive Field Block (DRFB) module that enhances the expressiveness of feature maps to detect small objects in the UAV imagery. We also propose the UAV-cars dataset that includes the composition and angular distortion of vehicles in UAV imagery to train our DRFBNet300. Lastly, we propose a Split Image Processing (SIP) method to improve the accuracy of the detection model. Our DRFBNet300 achieves 21 mAP with 45 FPS in the MS COCO metric, which is the highest score compared to other lightweight single-stage methods running in real time. In addition, DRFBNet300, trained on the UAV-cars dataset, obtains the highest AP score at altitudes of 20–50 m. The gap of accuracy improvement by applying the SIP method became larger when the altitude increases. The DRFBNet300 trained on the UAV-cars dataset with SIP method operates at 33 FPS, enabling real-time vehicle detection.
The Epigenetics of Aging in Invertebrates

Aging is an unstoppable process coupled to the loss of physiological function and increased susceptibility to diseases. Epigenetic alteration is one of the hallmarks of aging, which involves changes in DNA methylation patterns, post-translational modification of histones, chromatin remodeling and non-coding RNA interference. Invertebrate model organisms, such as Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, have been used to investigate the biological mechanisms of aging because they show, evolutionarily, the conservation of many aspects of aging. In this review, we focus on recent advances in the epigenetic changes of aging with invertebrate models, providing insight into the relationship between epigenetic dynamics and aging.
The Contribution of Efflux Pumps in Mycobacterium abscessus Complex Resistance to Clarithromycin

The basis of drug resistance in Mycobacterium abscessus is still poorly understood. Nevertheless, as seen in other microorganisms, the efflux of antimicrobials may also play a role in M. abscessus drug resistance. Here, we investigated the role of efflux pumps in clarithromycin resistance using nine clinical isolates of M. abscessus complex belonging to the T28 erm(41) sequevar responsible for the inducible resistance to clarithromycin. The strains were characterized by drug susceptibility testing in the presence/absence of the efflux inhibitor verapamil and by genetic analysis of drug-resistance-associated genes. Efflux activity was quantified by real-time fluorometry. Efflux pump gene expression was studied by RT-qPCR upon exposure to clarithromycin. Verapamil increased the susceptibility to clarithromycin from 4- to ≥64-fold. The efflux pump genes MAB_3142 and MAB_1409 were found consistently overexpressed. The results obtained demonstrate that the T28 erm(41) polymorphism is not the sole cause of the inducible clarithromycin resistance in M. abscessus subsp. abscessus or bolletii with efflux activity providing a strong contribution to clarithromycin resistance. These data highlight the need for further studies on M. abscessus efflux response to antimicrobial stress in order to implement more effective therapeutic regimens and guidance in the development of new drugs against these bacteria.
Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Loaded with Glucocorticoids Protect Auditory Cells from Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity

Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic agent that causes the irreversible death of auditory sensory cells, leading to hearing loss. Local administration of cytoprotective drugs is a potentially better option co-therapy for cisplatin, but there are strong limitations due to the difficulty of accessing the inner ear. The use of nanocarriers for the efficient delivery of drugs to auditory cells is a novel approach for this problem. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are biodegradable and biocompatible nanocarriers with low solubility in aqueous media. We show here that stearic acid-based SLNs have the adequate particle size, polydispersity index and ζ-potential, to be considered optimal nanocarriers for drug delivery. Stearic acid-based SLNs were loaded with the fluorescent probe rhodamine to show that they are efficiently incorporated by auditory HEI-OC1 (House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1) cells. SLNs were not ototoxic over a wide dose range. Glucocorticoids are used to decrease cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. Therefore, to test SLNs’ drug delivery efficiency, dexamethasone and hydrocortisone were tested either alone or loaded into SLNs and tested in a cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in vitro assay. Our results indicate that the encapsulation in SLNs increases the protective effect of low doses of hydrocortisone and lengthens the survival of HEI-OC1 cells treated with cisplatin.
The highly diverged trypanosomal MICOS complex is organized in a nonessential integral membrane and an essential peripheral module

The mitochondrial contact site and cristae organization system (MICOS) mediates the formation of cristae, invaginations in the mitochondrial inner membrane. The highly diverged MICOS complex of the parasitic protist Trypanosoma brucei consists of nine subunits. Except for two Mic10‐like and a Mic60‐like protein, all subunits are specific for kinetoplastids. Here, we determined on a proteome‐wide scale how ablation of individual MICOS subunits affects the levels of the other subunits. The results reveal co‐regulation of TbMic10‐1, TbMic10‐2, TbMic16 and TbMic60, suggesting that these nonessential, integral inner membrane proteins form an interdependent network. Moreover, the ablation of TbMic34 and TbMic32 reveals another network consisting of the essential, intermembrane space‐localized TbMic20, TbMic32, TbMic34 and TbMic40, all of which are peripherally associated with the inner membrane. The downregulation of TbMic20, TbMic32 and TbMic34 also interferes with mitochondrial protein import and reduces the size of the TbMic10‐containing complexes. Thus, the diverged MICOS of trypanosomes contains two subcomplexes: a nonessential membrane‐integrated one, organized around the conserved Mic10 and Mic60, that mediates cristae formation, and an essential membrane‐peripheral one consisting of four kinetoplastid‐specific subunits, that is required for import of intermembrane space proteins.
Structuring a Supportive Environment for Women in Higher Education.

After participating on a search committee for an academic leader, the authors conduct an empirical and philosophical analysis of factors that influence the work and productivity of women in higher education. The authors query--how can women achieve more balance in educational institutions so they can pursue careers that reflect the complexity and creativity of their lives? Findings from their data suggest that many women perceive that the academic environment can be more supportive. A review of the literature suggests that these perceptions are widespread in higher education. The authors conclude that there is a need for transforming the academic environment so that it produces more productive and less stressed, scholars and leaders who are women. Women in the academy must share the responsibility for articulating and shedding light on their issues.
Hunting for low-surface brightness features in nearby galaxy groups

On the scale of dwarf galaxies, several tensions between observations and the theory of structure formation have been identified in the Local Group of galaxies. One of them, the plane-of-satellite problem describes the distribution and motion of dwarf galaxies around their hosts being planar and co-moving. To extend these studies, we have surveyed the nearby Centaurus group and found again evidence for co-rotation within a planar structure of dwarf galaxies, posing a challenge to the current LambdaCDM paradigm. To further study the distribution of satellite systems around other galaxy groups, we have tested MTO - a program to detect astronomical sources - and found that it works well in combination with surface brightness fluctuation distance measurements to get a complete sample of dwarf galaxies. Such an approach will improve the census of dwarf galaxies in nearby galaxy groups, bringing the study of the small-scale problems to a solid statistical foundation.
Searching for a dusty cometary belt around TRAPPIST-1 with ALMA

Low-mass stars might offer today the best opportunities to detect and characterize planetary systems, especially those harbouring close-in low-mass temperate planets. Among those stars, TRAPPIST-1 is exceptional since it has seven Earth-sized planets, of which three could sustain liquid water on their surfaces. Here we present new and deep ALMA observations of TRAPPIST-1 to look for an exo-Kuiper belt which can provide clues about the formation and architecture of this system. Our observations at 0.88 mm did not detect dust emission, but can place an upper limit of 23 µJy if the belt is smaller than 4 au, and 0.15 mJy if resolved and 100 au in radius. These limits correspond to low dust masses of ∼10−5 to 10−2 M⊕, which are expected after 8 Gyr of collisional evolution unless the system was born with a >20 M⊕ belt of 100 km-sized planetesimals beyond 40 au or suffered a dynamical instability. This 20 M⊕ mass upper limit is comparable to the combined mass in TRAPPIST-1 planets, thus it is possible that most of the available solid mass in this system was used to form the known planets. A similar analysis of the ALMA data on Proxima Cen leads us to conclude that a belt born with a mass ≳1 M⊕ in 100 km-sized planetesimals could explain its putative outer belt at 30 au. We recommend that future characterizations of debris discs around low-mass stars should focus on nearby and young systems if possible.
Extraordinary high room-temperature carrier mobility in graphene-WSe$_2$ heterostructures

High carrier mobilities play a fundamental role for high-frequency electronics, integrated optoelectronics as well as for sensor and spintronic applications, where device performance is directly linked to the magnitude of the carrier mobility. Van der Waals heterostructures formed by graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) already outperform all known materials in terms of room temperature mobility. Here, we show that the mobility of today's best graphene/hBN devices can be surpassed by more than a factor of three by heterostructures formed by tungsten diselenide (WSe$_2$), graphene and hBN, which can have mobilities as high as 350,000 cm$^2$/(Vs) at room temperature, and resistivities as low as 15 Ohm. The resistivity of these devices shows a much weaker temperature dependence than the one of graphene on any other known substrate. The origin of this behaviour points to modified acoustic phonon bands in graphene and questions our understanding of electron-phonon scattering in van der Waals heterostructures.
Street Crossing Aid Using Light-Weight CNNs for the Visually Impaired

In this paper, we address an issue that the visually impaired commonly face while crossing intersections and propose a solution that takes form as a mobile application. The application utilizes a deep learning convolutional neural network model, LytNetV2, to output necessary information that the visually impaired may lack when without human companions or guide-dogs. A prototype of the application runs on iOS devices of versions 11 or above. It is designed for comprehensiveness, concision, accuracy, and computational efficiency through delivering the two most important pieces of information, pedestrian traffic light color and direction, required to cross the road in real-time. Furthermore, it is specifically aimed to support those facing financial burden as the solution takes the form of a free mobile application. Through the modification and utilization of key principles in MobileNetV3 such as depthwise seperable convolutions and squeeze-excite layers, the deep neural network model achieves a classification accuracy of 96% and average angle error of 6.15 degree, while running at a frame rate of 16.34 frames per second. Additionally, the model is trained as an image classifier, allowing for a faster and more accurate model. The network is able to outperform other methods such as object detection and non-deep learning algorithms in both accuracy and thoroughness. The information is delivered through both auditory signals and vibrations, and it has been tested on seven visually impaired and has received above satisfactory responses.
An Empirical Exploration of Deep Recurrent Connections and Memory Cells Using Neuro-Evolution

Neuro-evolution and neural architecture search algorithms have gained increasing interest due to the challenges involved in designing optimal artificial neural networks (ANNs). While these algorithms have been shown to possess the potential to outperform the best human crafted architectures, a less common use of them is as a tool for analysis of ANN structural components and connectivity structures. In this work, we focus on this particular use-case to develop a rigorous examination and comparison framework for analyzing recurrent neural networks (RNNs) applied to time series prediction using the novel neuro-evolutionary process known as Evolutionary eXploration of Augmenting Memory Models (EXAMM). Specifically, we use our EXAMM-based analysis to investigate the capabilities of recurrent memory cells and the generalization ability afforded by various complex recurrent connectivity patterns that span one or more steps in time, i.e., deep recurrent connections. EXAMM, in this study, was used to train over 10.56 million RNNs in 5,280 repeated experiments with varying components. While many modern, often hand-crafted RNNs rely on complex memory cells (which have internal recurrent connections that only span a single time step) operating under the assumption that these sufficiently latch information and handle long term dependencies, our results show that networks evolved with deep recurrent connections perform significantly better than those without. More importantly, in some cases, the best performing RNNs consisted of only simple neurons and deep time skip connections, without any memory cells. These results strongly suggest that utilizing deep time skip connections in RNNs for time series data prediction not only deserves further, dedicated study, but also demonstrate the potential of neuro-evolution as a means to better study, understand, and train effective RNNs.
Silhouette of M87*: A new window to peek into the world of hidden dimensions

The recent observation of the shadow of the supermassive black hole M87*, located at the centre of the M87 galaxy, by the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has opened up a new window to probe the strong gravity regime. In this letter, we explicitly demonstrate the consequences of this observation on brane world black holes, characterized by existence of a negative tidal charge. Our results based on three observables associated with the shadow, namely, angular diameter, deviation from circularity and axis ratio reveal that the existence of a negative tidal charge is more favoured, possibly marking a deviation from general relativity.
Optical Spectroscopic Monitoring Observations of a T Tauri Star V409 Tau

We report the results of optical spectroscopic monitoring observations of a T Tauri star, V409 Tau. A previous photometric study indicated that this star experienced dimming events due to the obscuration of light from the central star with a distorted circumstellar disk. We conducted medium-resolution (R ~10,000) spectroscopic observations with 2-m Nayuta telescope at Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory. Spectra were obtained in 18 nights between November 2015 and March 2016. Several absorption lines such as Ca I and Li, and the Hα emission line were confirmed in the spectra. The Ic-band magnitudes of V409 Tau changed by approximately 1 magnitude during the observation epoch. The equivalent widths of the five absorption lines are roughly constant despite changes in the Ic-band magnitudes. We conclude that the light variation of the star is caused by the obscuration of light from the central star with a distorted circumstellar disk, based on the relationship between the equivalent widths of the absorption lines and the Ic-band magnitudes. The blue component of the Hα emission line was dominant during the observation epoch, and an inverse P Cygni profile was observed in eight of the spectra. The time-variable inverse P Cygni profile of the Hα emission line indicates unsteady mass accretion from the circumstellar disk to the central star.
A simple discriminative training method for machine translation with large-scale features

Margin infused relaxed algorithms (MIRAs) dominate model tuning in statistical machine translation in the case of large scale features, but also they are famous for the complexity in implementation. We introduce a new method, which regards an N-best list as a permutation and minimizes the Plackett-Luce loss of ground-truth permutations. Experiments with large-scale features demonstrate that, the new method is more robust than MERT; though it is only matchable with MIRAs, it has a comparatively advantage, easier to implement.