Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of Numb in honeybee ovary activation

Environmental signals in utero are throught to induce plastic changes to metabolism and gene regulation, causing diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes. For example, fetal undernutrition is associated with obesity, hyperglycemia, and high circulating lipids. These multifactorial responses are challenging to study in humans, so we need a better model of phenotypic plasticity than humans to understand the fundamental mechanisms underpinning these diseases. Honeybees are an ideal model for phenotypic plasticity, as they have a manipulable response to a defined stimulus, queen mandibular pheromone (QMP): when QMP exposure is lost, worker honeybees become fertile. One molecular mechanism underpinning this response is Notch signalling: when Notch cell signalling is active, the worker ovary is repressed, while a loss of Notch signalling causes ovary activation. Notch signalling is active in the honeybee germarium, the region of the ovary where oocytes are specified and produced, but its function there is unknown. Changes in expression of Numb, a known inhibitor of Notch, coincides spatially and temporally with Notch activation. Therefore Numb is hypothesised to regulate Notch signalling. To investigate the regulation of Numb in honeybee ovary activation, I predicted a cis-regulatory element within the Numb gene. This drove expression in the gut of Drosophila, and may be QMP-responsive, suggesting Notch signalling may mediate the Drosophila response to QMP in the gut. In addition, to investigate the role of Notch signalling in the honeybee ovary, I performed hybridization chain reaction (HCR) to visualize expression of Numb and the germ-cell marker vasa. HCR in this context was very successful, revealing a new expression domain of vasa, and when quantified, gave results similar to other studies. HCR is, therefore, a powerful
Mode Splitting in ITO-Nanocoated Tilted Fiber Bragg Gratings for Vector Twist Measurement

We proposed and demonstrated a method to improve the birefringence of tilted fiber Bragg gratings (TFBGs) via high-refractive-index indium tin oxide (ITO) coatings. Firstly, we find the mode splitting phenomenon in an ITO film-coated TFBG. Numerical results show that the ITO coating can modulate the wavelength separations between two adjacent p- and s-polarized resonances. A cyclic dependency between the resonance separation and the thickness of the ITO film has been discovered. With proper film thickness selection, two groups of well-separated orthogonally polarized resonances can be achieved. Then we investigated the twist angle sensing capability of such a sensor with an optimal film thickness of 270 nm. The experimental results show that the intensity of the split resonances present reverse responses to applied torsion, which can be used for vector twist measurement. By monitoring the peak-to-peak differential intensity of these two orthogonally polarized resonances, the proposed sensor shows a twist sensitivity of ∼0.27 dB/deg and a linear response of 99.8% for the torsion angle range from -45° to 45°, together with the capability of orientation recognization. We believe that this configuration with improved birefringence opens research directions for vector physical parameter measurements such as vibration, bending, and pressure.
2-D Learned Proximal Gradient Algorithm for Fast Sparse Matrix Recovery

Many real-world problems can be modeled as sparse matrix recovery from two-dimensional (2D) measurements, which is recognized as one of the most important topics in signal processing community. Benefited from the roaring success of compressed sensing, many classical iterative algorithms can be directly applied or reinvented for matrix recovery, though they are computationally expensive. To alleviate this, we propose a neural network named 2D learned proximal gradient algorithm (2D-LPGA), which aims to quickly reconstruct the target matrix. Theoretical analysis reveals that if the parameters of the network satisfy certain conditions, it can reconstruct the sparse signal with linear convergence rate. Moreover, numerical experiments demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over other classical schemes.
Leveraging EM Side-Channels for Recognizing Components on a Motherboard

This article proposes leveraging EM side-channels to recognize/authenticate electronic components integrated onto a motherboard. By focusing on components on a motherboard, our method provides an opportunity to authenticate devices assembled by third parties. This method identifies components based on the modulated signals emanated while they are excited in a controlled manner. When testing an unknown component, the spectrum is compared to previously recorded training signatures. To improve efficiency, the size of the spectrum is reduced by projecting it into a vector space generated from training signatures. The identity of the tested component is then determined using a k-nearest neighbors algorithm. This method successfully classified memory, processor, and Ethernet transceiver components integrated on seven types of Internet-of-Things devices. Since manufacturers commonly use the same components in multiple designs, cross-type testing of motherboards is conducted. Collecting the training signatures on one motherboard and testing components from different motherboards speeds up the process and decreases the cost. Using measurements taken while exciting the components for 1 s, our method achieves a classification accuracy greater than 96$\%$ across all components tested. These results demonstrate that this method can recognize components based on their emanations, even if the components are integrated onto completely different motherboards.
Fortification of Iranian Traditional Cookies with Spirulina platensis

Background: Nowadays, there is a great interest towards medical and nutritional properties of Spirulina platensis due to its beneficial compounds. The purpose of this study was to incorporate Iranian traditional cookies with S. platensis biomass as a supplement ingredient. Materials and Methods: The wheat flour was replaced with microalga powder at 0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5% w/w and the impacts of incorporation on physical, nutritional, antioxidant, antistaling and organoleptic characteristics of cookies were evaluated. Results: Results showed that iron, protein and γ-linolenic acid content of fortified cookies increased as a result of S. platensis incorporation, coupled antioxidant properties. According to organoleptic evaluation by hedonic tests, samples containing 1-1.5% S. platensis received highest scores after control. Original Research Article Shahbazizadeh et al.; ARRB, 7(3): 144-154, 2015; Article no.ARRB. 2015.117 145 Conclusion: It was possible to produce fortified cookies with suitable nutritional and organoleptic properties by addition of S. platensis.
Effect of Iron Nanoparticles on the Development of Fish Farm Feeds

Two hundred and seventy monosex males Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with an average body weight of 16.65±0.2 g/fish were used to investigate the effect of dietary replacement of inorganic iron by different levels of Fe-NPs on growth performance, body composition and health status of A. hydrophila challenged Nile tilapia fish. Fish maintained on 30% protein level, Six different experimental diets supplemented with 0.0 (T1), 85.0 mg inorganic Fe/kg (T2) and 85.0, 63.75, 42.5 and 21.25mg Fe-NPs/kg (T3-T5) were fed to triplicates groups of fish. It was found that the final body weight, weight gain, SGR, FCR and PER were significantly improved in the fish fed on the iron-supplemented diets compared to those fed on the iron-deficient diet (T1). Blood pictures and serum biochemical were significantly increased before and after A. hydrophila infection in the iron-supplemented groups compared to the iron-deficient diet group. The dietary administration of iron NPs improved the antioxidant enzymatic activities (CAT and TAC) irrespective of the different iron sources in the basal diet. Moreover, it was observed that the diets containing 63.75 and 42.5 mg/kg of Fe-NPs exhibited the best survival rate compared to the other groups.
Nonlinear optics in high refractive index contrast periodic structures

This paper reviews recent work regarding the nonlinear optical properties of high refractive index contrast (HRIC) periodic structures; photonic crystals formed in semiconductor hosts. After summarizing the generic impact of HRIC periodic texture on nonlinear optical responses, examples are provided from recent theoretical and experimental works on second harmonic generation and optical bistability in semiconductor-based planar photonic crystals and photonic crystal microcavities coupled to single-mode waveguides.
STRAINS OF Paraburkholderia ORIGINATED FROM RUPESTRIAN FIELDS PROMOTE THE GROWTH OF Mimosa foliolosa

ABSTRACT Mimosa foliolosa is a promising native species of rupestrian fields for revegetation of degraded areas in this ecosystem. The symbiosis between leguminous plants and N2-fixing bacteria may play an important role in the recovery of these areas, since these plants have better development and are more resistant to the attack of pathogens. In addition to the biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), these bacteria can promote plant growth through other processes, such as phosphate solubilization and siderophore production. We studied the cultural and genetic characteristics of 11 bacterial strains, isolated from rupestrian field soils using Mimosa tenuiflora as “trap” plant. We evaluated these strains considering their symbiotic characteristics such as nodulation, and growth-promotion of Mimosa foliolosa, as well as their ability for siderophore production and phosphate solubilization. Native N2-fixing bacterial strains belonging to the Paraburkholderia genus (UFLA01-750, UFLA01-728, UFLA01-725, and UFLA01-757), showed high symbiotic efficiency with M. foliolosa. These strains also solubilized calcium phosphate and produced siderophores, exhibiting high functional diversity and potential for use in revegetation projects.
Valorisation of Virgin Coconut Oil Application in Mayonnaise Production as Functional Ingredient

Mayonnaise is favourable by large number of consumers due to the pleasant taste that can enhance the appetite. However, several commercial mayonnaises are produced by using high concentrations of oil that may cause high threats of developing several diseases due to the link to health issues. On the other hand, oils known for health promoting properties such as virgin coconut oil are underutilized even though having high potential as plant-based alternative healthy oil that can be used in mayonnaise production. In this study, virgin coconut oil was used to partially and/or fully replace soybean oil that is commonly used in mayonnaise production. Three mayonnaise samples were prepared by using three oil combinations including 100% virgin coconut oil, 50%:50% soybean oil:virgin coconut oil and 100% soybean oil. The antioxidant activity, physiochemical properties, lipid profile and sensory evaluation of the mayonnaise samples were determined by using standard methods. The results showed significantly higher antioxidant activity for the mayonnaise sample prepared with 100% virgin coconut oil in comparison to other two samples. No significant differences were observed for the physical properties including pH and colour. However, 100% virgin coconut oil mayonnaise sample had the largest droplet size, lowest texture firmness and lowest viscosity among the samples. The sensory evaluation demonstrated higher preference to the 100% soybean oil mayonnaise that scored total of 7.050, while the 100% virgin coconut oil mayonnaise scored 5.57 for overall acceptability. The findings of this study demonstrated high potential for using virgin coconut oil in mayonnaise production to improve the quality and the biological functions of the product while maintaining the organoleptic properties.
Impacts of Human Resource Management on the Financial Performance of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade

The aim of this paper is to investigate impacts of human resource management on financial performance of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank). The study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods for analysis. Qualitative method is used to finalize the questionnaire while quantitative method is used to test the research hypotheses via measurement scales, descriptive analysis, EFA analysis, correlation coefficients, and linear regression model. The data is collected from 250 employees working at different branches of VietinBank in Vietnam. The results show that these 7 factors: selection, training, job description, performance appraisal, compensation system, career planning, employee participation have significant impacts on the financial performance of VietinBank.
The glucocorticoid receptor ligand-binding domain confers drug-gated protein regulation in C. elegans

Controlling protein activity and localization is a key tool in modern biology. Mammalian steroid receptor ligand-binding domains (LBDs) fusions have been used in a range of organisms and cell-types to inactivate proteins of interest until the cognate steroid ligand is applied. Here, we demonstrate that the glucocorticoid receptor LBD confers ligand-gated control of a heterologous gene expression system (Q system) and the DAF-16 transcription factor in C. elegans. These experiments demonstrate provide a powerful tool for temporal control of protein activity, and will bolster existing tools used to modulate gene expression and protein activity in this animal.
Chromosome Counts of Six Korean Carex Species (Cyperaceae)

Summary The meiotic chromosome numbers of six Carex species in three sections are counted; C. miyabei Franch. ( n =42 II ) in sect. Carex , C. breviculmis R. Br. ( n =31 II , 32 II , 33 II ), C. polyschoena H. Lév. & Vaniot ( n =36 II , 37 II ), C. sabynensis Less. ex Kunth ( n =27 II , 28 II ) in sect. Mitratae Kük. , and C. heterolepis Bunge ( n =37 II , 38 II , 40 II ) and C. forﬁcula Franch. & Sav. ( n =25 II , 27 II ) in sect. Phacocystis Dumort. The chromosome counts for C. miyabei, C. heterolepis , and C. forﬁcula from Korean populations are veriﬁed for the ﬁrst time. Considered with previous reports, all the species exhibit variations in chromosome number from n =4 to n =36. Contiguous variation in chromosome numbers and non-constricted meiotic chromosomes with holocentromeric nature suggest that aneuploidy and/or agmatoploidy and/or symploidy should have played an important role in the sections.
Comparison of the parameters of the lactation curve between normal and difficult calvings in Iranian Holstein cows

To evaluate effect of dystocia on the lactation curve characteristics for milk yield and composition in Holstein cows, six non-linear models (Brody, Wood, Sikka, Nelder, Dijkstra and Rook) were fitted on 5,917,677 test day records for milk yield (MY), fat (FP) and protein (PP) percentages, fat to protein ratio (FPR) and somatic cell score (SCS) of 643,625 first lactation Holstein cows with normal calving or dystocia from 3146 herds which were collected by the Animal Breeding Center of Iran. The models were tested for goodness of fit using adjusted coefficient of determination, root means square error, Akaike’s information criterion and Bayesian information criterion. Rook model provided the best fit of the lactation curve for MY and SCS in normal and difficult calvers and dairy cows with dystocia for FP. Dijkstra model provided the best fit of the lactation curve for PP and FPR in normal and difficult calvers and dairy cows with normal calving for FP. Dairy cows with dystocia had generally lower 100-d, 200-d and 305-d cumulative milk yield compared with normal calvers. Time to the peak milk yield was observed later for difficult calvers (89 days in milk vs. 79 days in milk) with lower peak milk yield (31.45 kg vs. 31.88 kg) compared with normal calvers. Evaluation of the different non-linear models indicated that dystocia had important negative effects on milk yield and lactation curve characteristics in dairy cows and it should be reduced as much as possible in dairy herds.
The usefulness of detection of sex chromatin in babies with uncertain sex in resource limited settings

Ambiguous genitalia in a new born baby is a major problem to the health care worker as well as the family of the affected (1). To minimize psychosocial problems that may arise in the families of affected babies, early detection and quick determination of the sex of the individual is essential (1, 2). The gold standard for such cases in karyotyping, and this may pose a problem since access to chromosomal analysis is not readily available to all institutions. Identification of sex chromatin is a simple first line investigation that can be used in resource limited settings. The term 'sex chromatin' is used to describe two structures namely the Barr body, present in epithelial and other tissue cells and the drumstick chromosome of the polymorphonuclear leucocytes (3,4,5). The Barr body was described by Dr. Murray Barr in 1949 and is produced by the inactivation of the X chromosome as explained in the Lyon h y p o t h e s i s ( 3 , 6 ) . D r u m s t i c k chromosome is also produced by the same inactivation mechanism but is seen in 3 out of 100 circulating neutrophils in the blood of normal females (4). The Barr body examination in a buccal smear a n d i d e n t i f y i n g t h e d r u m s t i c k chromosome in a peripheral blood smear are relatively simple and inexpensive tests and can give the clinician an idea about the chromosomal sex of the baby when karyotyping is unavailable.
Most of transcriptional alterations in glioma result from DNA-methylation independent mechanisms

Background Aberrant DNA methylation is a cancer cell feature that is commonly associated with transcriptional alterations. However, the primary role of this defect in the genome-wide cancer-associated gene deregulation is not clear. Here, we evaluated the relative contribution of DNA methylation-dependent and -independent mechanisms to transcriptional alterations at CpG-island/promoter-associated genes in samples of adult glioma, a widespread type of brain tumor. Results Extensive molecular analyses of glioma samples with wild type IDH (IDHwt) and mutated IDH (IDHmut) found DNA hypermethylation only in a minority of genes showing loss or gain of expression. Specifically, in IDHwt samples, more than 75% of aberrantly repressed genes did not display DNA methylation defects at their CpG-island promoter. Conversely, altered H3K27me3 was the predominant molecular defect at deregulated genes. Moreover, the presence of a bivalent chromatin signature at CpG-island promoters in stem cells might not only predispose to hypermethylation, as widely documented, but more generally to all types of transcriptional alterations in transformed cells. In addition, the gene expression strength in healthy brain cells influences the choice between DNA methylation- and H3K27me3-associated silencing in glioma. Our findings support a model whereby the altered control of H3K27me3 dynamics, more specifically defects in the interplay between polycomb protein complexes and the brain-specific transcriptional machinery, is the main cause of transcriptional alteration in glioma cells. Conclusions Our study provides a comprehensive and updated description of the epigenetic deregulations in glioma that could be useful for the design of drugs to target cancer-related epigenetic defects.
DC Current and Voltage Droop Control Method of Hybrid HVDC Systems for an Offshore Wind Farm Connection to Enhance AC Voltage Stability

A new DC current-voltage droop control method for a hybrid high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) system featuring a voltage-sourced converter (VSC) rectifier and a line-commutated converter (LCC) inverter is presented. The proposed method utilizes DC voltage droop control to reduce the AC voltage fluctuation at the inverter side, to exploit the hybrid HVDC system for connecting offshore wind farms to weak grids without necessitating continuous reactive power compensation facilities. Additionally, an optimal droop coefficient calculation method is proposed to keep the AC voltage constant for wind power fluctuations. To evaluate the stability of the proposed method, a small-signal state-space (SS) model of the target system is derived and the root locus analysis is given. Simulation case studies are performed using an electromagnetic transient model in PSCAD and an SS model in MATLAB. The results demonstrate that a hybrid HVDC system with the proposed method successfully integrates offshore wind energy and weak grids without additional facilities because the AC voltage can be maintained at a near constant during wind fluctuations.
Design Method for Tunable Planar Bandpass Filters With Single-Bias Control and Wide Tunable Frequency Range

A design method for a frequency-tunable planar bandpass filter is demonstrated. With the method, all reasonators can be designed with identical capacitances, allowing the filter to be tuned with identical varactors using a single bias control. This allows not only low-cost fabrication, but also a simple structure and design procedure. Moreover, the filter is based on miniaturized transmission lines. Therefore, a wide tuning range is achieved with a small size and outstanding out-of-band response. Most importantly, the method facilitates the design of a filter to vary the fractional bandwidth in a predetermined way as the center frequency is tuned. Thus, a tunable filter can be designed not only to maintain the fractional bandwidth, but also to expand or to reduce the bandwidth as the frequency is tuned. The experimental results of a compact third-order bandpass filter based on CPW lines with a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.11\lambda _{g}\times 0.8\lambda _{g}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> size show a very wide frequency tuning range of 62.8% with a 3-dB fraction bandwidth that remains within 28.65± 1.55% and an outstanding spurious suppression of under −40 dB up to as high as <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3f_{0}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>.
Helminthes of mouse-like rodents in the Belogorye State Nature Reserve (Russia)

The study was conducted in 2016–2017 on three sites in the Belogorye State Nature Reserve (Russia) located in the forest-steppe zone. These sites are 1) «Les na Vorskle», upland oak ( Quercus robur ) forest; 2) «Ostrasyevy Yary», ravine oak forest, grass-meadow steppe; 3) «Yamskaya Step’», Sury valley, shrublands and forb meadow steppe, Eremkin Log valley, upland oak forest, forb meadow steppe. The small mammals investigated in this present parasitological study were caught using snap traps. These traps were established in lines of 50 or 100 traps per line. In addition, single traps and cone-shape pitfall traps (average length of 30 m) were used. The caught rodents (118 specimens) concern five species: Myodes glareolus , Microtus arvalis , Sylvaemus flavicollis , Sylvaemus uralensis , and Apodemus agrarius . The total prevalence by helminthes was 72%. About 91% of the Muridae animals were infected, while the prevalence of infestation was 55.6% among the Cricetidae specimens. We registered 20 helminth taxa belonging to three classes, six orders, and 12 families. Among the trematodes only eurixenous species were found. Among the cestodes, eurixenous species predominated. Among the nematodes, eurixenous and stenoxenous species were present in almost equal proportion. Dominant species are characterised by maximal values of prevalence of infestation. There were Hymenolepis sp. (17%) among Plathelminthes, species of Syphacia (35.6%) and Heligmosomoides (27.1%) among Nematoda, including Syphacia stroma (17%) and Heligmosomoides polygyrus (14.4%). The other helminth species registered in the present study were either small in number (with prevalence of invasion from 2% to 14%) or rare (with prevalence of invasion less than 2%). Platynosomum muris (Trematoda, Dicrocoeliidae) and Pterothominx sadovskoi (Nematoda, Capillariidae) were reported for the first time in the Central Chernozem Region of Russia.