Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gene Expression in the Supporting Cells at the Onset of Meiosis in Rabbit Gonads

Subsequent to somatic gonadal sexual differentiation, germ cells enter meiosis or mitotic arrest in the ovary or testis, respectively. Among mice, these processes occur almost synchronically in fetal gonads and depend, among other factors, on the levels of retinoic acid (RA). In contrast to those in mice, rabbit germ cells enter meiosis or mitotic arrest after birth and coexist with proliferating germ cells. Here, we studied the somatic cell context in which germ cells enter meiosis or mitotic arrest in the rabbit. Using confocal immunofluorescence and real-time PCR, we studied the expression profiles of ALDH1A1 and ALDH1A2 and, comprising 2 genes required for RA synthesis, 2 meiosis markers STRA8 and SYCP3 as well as 2 genes involved in meiosis inhibition, CYP26B1 and NANOS2. We found that although both meiosis and mitotic arrest initiate after birth, these 2 processes are regulated in a way similar to the human fetal gonad. Current results reinforce the value of the neonatal rabbit gonad as an alternative experimental model for analyzing the direct effect of environmental factors during critical stages of germ cell establishment.
Similar regeneration of articular cartilage defects with autologous & allogenic chondrocytes in a rabbit model

Background & objectives: Articular cartilage defects in the knee have a very poor capacity for repair due to avascularity. Autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) is an established treatment for articular cartilage defects. Animal studies have shown promising results with allogenic chondrocyte transplantation since articular cartilage is non-immunogenic. In addition to being economical, allogenic transplantation has less morbidity compared to ACT. This study was undertaken to compare ACT with allogenic chondrocyte transplantation in the treatment of experimentally created articular cartilage defects in rabbit knee joints. Methods: Cartilage was harvested from the left knee joints of six New Zealand white rabbits (R1-R6). The harvested chondrocytes were cultured to confluence and transplanted onto a 3.5 mm chondral defect in the right knees of 12 rabbits [autologous in 6 rabbits (R1-R6) and allogenic in 6 rabbits (R7-R12)]. After 12 wk, the rabbits were euthanized and histological evaluation of the right knee joints were done with hematoxylin and eosin and safranin O staining. Quality of the repair tissue was assessed by the modified Wakitani histological grading scale. Results: Both autologous and allogenic chondrocyte transplantation resulted in the regeneration of hyaline/mixed hyaline cartilage. The total histological scores between the two groups showed no significant difference. Interpretation & conclusions: Allogenic chondrocyte transplantation seems to be as effective as ACT in cartilage regeneration, with the added advantages of increased cell availability and reduced morbidity of a single surgery.
PreservCyt Is an Optimal Fixative that Permits Cytologic and Molecular Analyses of Vitreoretinal Lymphoma Biopsies

ABSTRACT Purpose: Vitreoretinal lymphoma (VRL) is a potentially fatal intraocular malignancy. Diagnosis is hampered by poor preservation of morphology and DNA/RNA integrity, which precludes adjunctive molecular analysis. We aimed to determine the optimum fixative protocol for VRL biopsies that permits cytology, IHC/flow cytometry and molecular analyses. Methods: Six fixatives were compared on cultured Pfeiffer cells used as a cellular model. Cells were fixed and evaluated on cellular morphology, antibody staining, DNA/RNA amount and integrity. VRL clinical cases were used as validation and proof-of-concept. Results: PreservCyt was the best fixative for preserving cellular morphology and high-quality RNA/DNA from vitreous fluid biopsies. Cells from clinical VRL cases fixed with PreservCyt showed adequate cellular morphology and IHC positivity. Sufficient DNA was obtained for IgH clonality and MYD88 mutation detection using remnant cytological fluid. Conclusions: PreservCyt maintains good morphology and RNA/DNA integrity suggesting that it is a suitable fixative for VRL diagnosis and molecular analysis.
Efficacy of dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to local wound infiltration anaesthesia in abdominal surgery: A meta‐analysis of randomised controlled trials

To assess the efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine (DEX) as an adjuvant to local wound infiltration anaesthesia in abdominal surgery, we conducted this meta‐analysis. First, the systematic search strategy was performed on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library and five randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving 294 patients were included. Then, the outcome data were extracted from the studies and their effect sizes were calculated using Review Manager 5. As a result, the addition of DEX significantly reduced visual analogy scores at 6 hours after surgery (mean difference = −0.53[−0.82, −0.25], P < .001), 12 hours after surgery (mean difference = −0.39 [−0.73, −0.05]; P = .03), and 24 hours after surgery (mean difference = −0.20 [−0.29, −0.11], P < .001) and reduced total analgesic consumption within 24 hours after surgery (mean difference = −4.92 [−9.00, −0.84]; P = .02) compared with placebo groups. However, there was no difference in the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (risk ratio = 0.68 [0.41, 1.14]; P = .14). In summary, DEX as a local anaesthetic adjuvant added for local wound infiltration anaesthesia in abdominal surgery could reduce visual analogy scores and postoperative analgesic consumption without changing incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
IFFS strategy 2017 and beyond

Fertility rates are falling internationally. In contrast, infertility is one of themost common conditions in the world leading tomoderate or severe disability. The International Federation of Fertility Societies, as a global actor in reproductive health, has as its core mission increasing knowledge in this field, particularly in developing and middle income countries. This commentary sets out the IFFS strategy for delivering this mission and its interdependencies with other organizations with a similar focus and the World Health Organisation.
International Federation of Fertility Societies’ Surveillance (IFFS) 2019: Global Trends in Reproductive Policy and Practice, 8th Edition

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IFFS concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The editorial board members and survey respondents are responsible for the views and comments, respectively, expressed in this publication and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy, or views of the IFFS.
Scrum : an Iterative and Incremental method from Agile Family

Scrum, an Agile method has been a topic of much discussion among today‟s software industry people and professionals . Unlike many other software development and management processes, Scrum is a framework that favors an iterative and incremental approach. Scrum methods were broken by keeping changing requirements of the clients in mind, and so Scrum has not only supported the adaptation of late requirements in software development but also supports selforganizing manner of work. As scrum seems so fruitful, in this paper authors done a review on Scrum for finding out the current working and adaptations in Scrum implementation and this paper will be an add on literature for other professionals interested in Scrum and agile methods development. General Terms Software Engineering, Survey, Review.
WP / 16 / 145 Sovereign Risk and Deposit Dynamics : Evidence from Europe by

The unprecedented expansion of sovereign balance sheets since the global financial crisis has given a new meaning to the term sovereign risk. Developments in Europe since early 2010 presented new challenges for the functioning of private banks in an environment of heightened sovereign risk. This paper uses an innovative way of measuring the perception of sovereign risk and its impact on deposit dynamics during 2006–11. Using an extension of a common market discipline framework, it shows that exposure to sovereign risk may have limited the ability of banks in Europe to attract deposits. The results are robust to inclusion of conventional measures of bank performance and the sector-wide holdings of foreign sovereign debt. JEL Classification Numbers: E44, G21, and G28
Improved Implementation of Sprott ’ s Chaotic Oscillators Based on Current-Feedback Op Amps

Improved implementation of Sprott’s chaotic oscillators based on current-feedback op amps (CFOAs) is proposed. A Sprott’s jerk function and four different types of nonlinear components are implemented using the attractively high-frequency features of the CFOAs operating in both voltage and current modes. Four trajectories of the chaotic attractors are demonstrated. The chaotic spectrums are easily scaled and extended to higher frequencies by a factor of 277 to 380
Combining genetic algorithm and swarm intelligence for task allocation in a real time strategy game

Real time strategy games are complex scenarios where multiple agents must be coordinated in a dynamic, partially observable environment. In this work, we model coordination as a task allocation problem, in which specific tasks must be properly assigned to agents. We employ a task allocation algorithm based on swarm intelligence and adjust its parameters using a genetic algorithm. A fitness estimation method is employed to accelerate execution of the genetic algorithm. To evaluate this approach, we implement this coordination mechanism in the AI of a popular video game: StarCraft: BroodWar. Experiment results show that the genetic algorithm successfully adjusts task allocation parameters. Besides, we assess the trade-off between solution quality and execution time of the genetic algorithm with fitness estimation.
Functional Neuroimaging Studies of Obesity : Linking Neuroscience to Health Behavior

he theme of this year’s Merrill Retreat was “Behavioral and Social Sciences as Key Components in National Research Initiatives. ” I was invited to participate as a Research Faculty panel member. In this role, I presented a short overview of our research efforts aimed at understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying overeating and obesity and how we are moving these advances in neuroscience into the realm of clinical and behavioral intervention. I believe our efforts from the KUMC Center for Health Behavior Neuroscience provide good examples of the fundamental importance of behavioral and social sciences to advancing national research initiatives on the obesity epidemic. In this paper, I will overview the obesity problem and our research efforts aimed at defining brain function differences between obese and healthy weight groups, and then linking brain function to success or failure in diet and exercise interventions.
Design und Implementierung eines Business Process Modeling Recommender Systems auf Basis probalistischer

The goal of this thesis is to create a recommender system (RS) for business processes, based on the existing ProM plugin RegPFA. To accomplish this task, firstly an interface must be created that sets up and expands a database receiving probabilistic finite automata (PFA) created by RegPFA in tsml format as input. Secondly, a Java program must be designed that uses said database to recommend the process elements that are most likely to follow a given sequence of process elements.
International Trade, Technology Change and Chinese Regional Wage Inequality-Based on Quantile Regression Method

The paper analyzes the panel data in China during the period 1997-2015 with quantile regression method to confirm the determinants of regional wage inequality. The results show that international trade in terms of import and export is the main factor responsible for the increasing wage inequality, while the technology change measured by the expense of RD has various influences on different Chinese regions, it’s found that in relation to the study of wage inequality and technology change, wage level in the regions of the most and the least expense of RD are relatively more sensible to technology change, when combined with the other variables considered, it’s inferred that regional wage inequality is negatively related to technology change. In the last part, some economic policy suggestions are proposed.
Protocol An Integrated Approach to Control Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis , Schistosomiasis , Intestinal Protozoa Infection , and Diarrhea : Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Trial

Background: The global strategy to control helminthiases (schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis) emphasizes preventive chemotherapy. However, in the absence of access to clean water, improved sanitation, and adequate hygiene, reinfection after treatment can occur rapidly. Integrated approaches might be necessary to sustain the benefits of preventive chemotherapy and make progress toward interruption of helminthiases transmission. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess and quantify the effect of an integrated control package that consists of preventive chemotherapy, community-led total sanitation, and health education on soil-transmitted helminthiasis, schistosomiasis, intestinal protozoa infection, and diarrhea in rural Côte d’Ivoire. Methods: In a first step, a community health education program was developed that includes an animated cartoon to promote improved hygiene and health targeting school-aged children, coupled with a health education theater for the entire community. In a second step, a cluster randomized trial was implemented in 56 communities of south-central Côte d’Ivoire with 4 intervention arms: (1) preventive chemotherapy; (2) preventive chemotherapy plus community-led total sanitation; (3) preventive chemotherapy plus health education; and (4) all 3 interventions combined. Before implementation of the aforementioned interventions, a baseline parasitologic, anthropometric, and hygiene-related knowledge, attitudes, practices, and beliefs survey was conducted. These surveys were repeated 18 and 39 months after the baseline cross-sectional survey to determine the effect of different interventions on helminth and intestinal protozoa infection, nutritional indicators, and knowledge, attitudes, practices, and beliefs. Monitoring of diarrhea was done over a 24-month period at 2-week intervals, starting right after the baseline survey. JMIR Res Protoc 2018 | vol. 7 | iss. 6 | e145 | p.1 http://www.researchprotocols. org/2018/6/e145/ (page number not for citation purposes) Raso et al JMIR RESEARCH PROTOCOLS
Ultraviolet-B radiation ( 280-315 nm ) invoked antioxidant defence systems in Vigna unguiculata ( L . ) Walp . and Crotalaria juncea

A crop legume Vigna unguiculata L. (Walp.) and a wild legume Crotalaria juncea L. were evaluated for their relative responses to the oxidative stress injury induced by various doses of UV-B radiation (UV-B, 280–315 nm; 0, 1.0, 1.4, 4.7, and 6.0 kJ m d). A dose-dependent damage in lipid peroxidation was determined as an index of membrane injury caused by UV-B. The impact was significantly higher in V. unguiculata than in C. juncea. The specific activities of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, and dehydroascorbate reductase increased directly proportional to UV-B doses. However, the activities of these enzymes were significantly higher in V. unguiculata than in C. juncea indicating that V. unguiculata was inflicted with more severe oxidative stress injury under UV-B. In C. juncea the glutathione reductase and ascorbate oxidase activities were 35 and 40 % greater than in V. unguiculata, respectively. Further, the non-enzymatic antioxidants ascorbate and glutathione, and their reduced/ oxidizes ratios in C. juncea were much greater than V. unguiculata indicating C. juncea has an inherently greater antioxidative potential than V. unguiculata. Thus C. juncea is better adapted to oxidative stress than V. unguiculata by means of efficient cellular antioxidant mechanisms helping to combat the photooxidative stress injury elicited by UV-B. Additional key words: ascorbate-glutathione cycle; ascorbate oxidase and peroxidase; catalase; dehydroascorbate reductase; glutathione transferase; monodehydroascorbate reductase; oxidative stress; peroxidase; superoxide dismutase.
ParacrineMolecules of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Niche

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are both adult stem cells residing in the bone marrow. MSCs interact with HSCs, they stimulate and enhance the proliferation of HSCs by secreting regulatory molecules and cytokines, providing a specialized microenvironment for controlling the process of hematopoiesis. In this paper we discuss how MSCs contribute to HSC niche, maintain the stemness and proliferation of HSCs, and support HSC transplantation.
The demographic challenge facing Scottish higher education institutions: a computable general equilibrium analysis

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are generally regarded as important actors in regional economic development. A large literature exists on their demand side impacts as employers and as purchasers of intermediate inputs and, more recently, work has been undertaken to explore their impacts on the supply side, for example, through labour market and knowledge transfer effects. A growing evidence base suggests that HEIs have a positive impact upon the development of their host regions. However the HEI sector faces a challenge that might have significant impact on the fortunes of its host regions and has hitherto received limited attention. The populations of most developed countries are ageing and the age cohort from which university students are traditionally drawn is expected to shrink. This paper uses an HEIs-disaggregated Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate the economic impacts of a shrinking student population upon Scotland. In the analysis we use scenarios presented in a recent Universities UK report. This paper is an output of our project entitled The Overall Impact of HEIs on Regional Economies (ESRC, RES-171-25-0032). This project is one of nine that are funded under the joint UK Higher Education Funding Councils and ESRC Initiative on The Impact of HEIs on Regional Economies. (All UK funding councils are involved: Scottish Funding Council, Higher Education Funding Council for England and Wales, and the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland. We also acknowledge supplementary funding from the Centre for Public Policy for Regions (funded by SFC).
Chapter 12 Nanoplasmonic and Microfluidic Devices for Biological Sensing

In this chapter we report about recent advances on the development and application of 2D and 3D plasmonic nanostructures used for sensing of biological samples by Raman spectroscopy at unprecedented resolution of analysis. Besides, we explain how the integration of these nanodevices in a microfluidic apparatus can simplify the analysis of biological samples. In the first part we introduce and motivate the convenience of using nanoplasmonic enhancers and Raman spectroscopy for biological sensing, describing the phenomena and the current approaches to fabricate nanoplasmonic structures. In the second part, we explain how specific multi-element devices produce the optimal enhancement of the Raman scattering. We report cases where biological sensing of DNA was performed at few molecules level with nanometer spatial resolutions. Finally, we show an example of microfluidic device integrating plasmonic nanodevices to sort and drive biological samples, like living cells, towards the optical probe in order to obtain optimal conditions of analysis.
Octave bandwidth Sand C-band GaN-HEMT power amplifiers for future 5 G communication

In this contribution, a design methodology for octave-bandwidth power amplifiers (PA) for 5G communication systems using surface mount dual-flat-no-lead packaged gallium-nitride high-electron-mobility transistor devices is presented. Systematic sourceand load-pull simulations have been used to find the optimum impedances across 75% fractional bandwidth for S(1.9–4.2 GHz) and C-band (3.8–8.4 GHz) PAs. The harmonic impact is considered to improve the output power and efficiency of the PAs. Utilizing the characteristic behavior of the transistors leads to modified optimum fundamental load impedances for the low-frequency range, which have higher gain compared with high-frequency range, and minimize the influence of the higher harmonics. Continuous wave large-signal measurements of the realized S-Band PA show a power added efficiency (PAE) of more than 40% from 1.9–4.2 GHz and a flat power gain of 11 dB while achieving a saturated output power of 10 W. The measured performance of the C-Band PA demonstrates a delivered power between 3.5 and 5 W across the frequency range of 3.8–8.4 GHz. A flat power gain of around 9 ± 0.5 dB with 26–40% PAE is achieved.
ROBUST ADAPTIVE CONTROL USING REINFORCEMENT LEARNING FOR NONLINEAR SYSTEM WITH INPUT CONSTRAINTS

This paper proposes a novel approach to design a controller in discrete time for the class of uncertain nonlinear systems in the presence of magnitude constrains of control signal which are treated as the saturation nonlinearity. A associative law between reinforcement learning algorithm based on adaptive NRBF neural networks and the theory of robust control H is set up in a novel control structure, in which the proposed controller allows learning and control on-line to compensate multiple uncertain nonlinearities as well as minimizing both the H tracking performance index function and the unknown nonlinear dynamic approximation errors. The novel theorem of robust stabilization of the closed-loop system is declared and proved. Simulation results verify the theoretical analysis. ∞
E ! ect of sampling time and air humidity on the bioe $ ciency of " lter samplers for bioaerosol collection

The e! ect of sampling time on the biological collection e$ciency of viable airborne microorganisms was studied with two personal "lter samplers (the Button Inhalable Aerosol Sampler and the 37-mm cassette) under relative humidities (RH) of 30 and 85%. Polycarbonate "lters mounted in the samplers were challenged with "ve aerosolized microorganisms (fungal spores, endospores, and bacterial vegetative cells) and air was drawn through the samplers for a period of time ranging from 2 min to 8 h. The microorganisms were extracted from the "lters at extraction e$ciency of 96}98% by vortexing and ultrasonic agitation. The suspension of extracted microorganisms was analyzed by cultivation and by epi#uorescence microscopic counting. Most of the tests did not indicate statistically signi"cant di! erences in the bioe$ciency of the two samplers. The culturability of Penicillium melinii and Aspergillus versicolor fungal spores at low and high RH values of 30 and 85% decreased during the "rst few minutes, but remained approximately the same for sampling times ranging from 30 min to 8 h. The relative culturability of Bacillus subtilis endospores decreased with sampling time, and was )17% at RH"30% and )32% at RH"85%. Pseudomonas yuorescens and Serratia marcescens vegetative cells were culturable only if sampled for 10 min or less. This concluded that the bioe$ciency of "lter samplers not only depends on the microbial species, but also on the sampling time and relative humidity. 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.