Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recombinant interferon-ß blocks proliferation but enhances interleukin-10 secretion by activated human T cells

Results from recent clinical trials have indicated that recombinant interferon-/} (rIFN-/}) is a promising drug for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a disease of supposed autoimmune etiology. To gain insight into the immunoregulatory properties of this cytokine, we analyzed effects of interferon-ß (IFN-/3) on T-cell functions in vitro. Interferon-/} inhibited T-cell proliferation, as well as T-cell-dependent immunoglobulin secretion, in a dose-dependent manner. IFN-/3 did not inhibit upregulation of CD40L on activated T-cells, but blocked induction of CD25 on stimulated Tand B-lymphocytes. Secretion of interferon-gamma (IFN-y), tumour necrosis alpha (TNF-a) and IL-13 was inhibited by the addition of IFN-/}, whereas IL-4 secretion was unaffected. Interestingly, IFN-/} enhanced secretion of IL-2 about two-fold and secretion of IL-10 nearly four-fold. In summary, these findings suggest that IFN-/} may exert direct effects on Tand B-cell function in vivo. In addition, enhanced secretion of IL-10 by activated T-cells may interfere with newly initiated and ongoing inflammatory immune reactions.
Delineation of Novel Compound Heterozygous Variants in LTBP2 Associated with Juvenile Open Angle Glaucoma

Juvenile open angle glaucoma (JOAG), which is an uncommon form of primary open angle glaucoma, is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder. We report on a family with a recessively inherited form of JOAG. The proband has a superior and an inferior never fiber layer thinning in both the eyes and the nasal visual field (VF) defects in the left eye, which are clinical findings consistent with glaucomatous optic neuropathy. Whole exome sequencing revealed two novel compound heterozygous variants [c.2966C>G, p.(Pro989Arg); c.5235T>G, p.(Asn1745Lys)] in latent transforming growth factor-beta-binding protein 2 (LTBP2) segregating with the phenotype. Both these variants are predicted to replace evolutionary conserved amino acids, have a pathogenic effect on the encode protein, and have very low frequencies in the control databases. Mutations in LTBP2 are known to cause the Weill-Marchesani syndrome and a Weill-Marchesani-like syndrome, which include glaucoma in their clinical presentation. However, to our knowledge, this is the first published case of a JOAG subject associated with recessively inherited variants of LTPB2 and, thus, expands the repertoire of the known genetic causes of JOAG and the phenotypic spectrum of LTBP2 alleles.
Clasificación de polaridad mono y transdominio utilizando string kernels

The polarity classification task, also known as sentiment classification task, has as objective to automatically deciding whether a subjective text is positive or negative. The classic approach, called single-domain polarity classification, contemplates the classification of texts in the same domain to which the texts used in the training phase belong to. In contrast, in the cross-domain polarity classification approach, the texts to be classified belong to a different domain from those used in the training phase. The study of this last approach has special interest, since it allows the classification of texts on domains in which there are no labeled samples. In general, this has been tackled using classical domain adaptation methods. These methods employ texts from both the source and target domains to detect pivot features. In this thesis the state of the art in the single and cross-domain polarity classification tasks is described. We also propose a method that does not require the aforementioned domain adaptation techniques and, therefore, texts from the target domain in the training phase are not necessary. This method, which is based on the use of String Kernels functions, detects the lexical characteristics that define the polarity in a text and map them onto a domain independent space by means of Kernel Discriminant Analysis algorithm. Throughout this work, its behavior is studied to solve the problem of single and cross-domain polarity classification in different languages and alphabets. Experimental results obtained are very promising and show the strong potential of the String Kernels independently from the language.
Characterization of Occupational Exposures to Respirable Silica and Dust in Demolition, Crushing, and Chipping Activities

Objectives Exposures to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) and respirable dust (RD) were investigated during demolition, crushing, and chipping at several Massachusetts construction sites. Methods Personal breathing zone samples (n = 51) were collected on operating engineers working at demolition and crushing sites, laborers performing miscellaneous tasks at demolition sites, crushing machine tenders at crushing sites, and chipping workers at substructure bridge repair sites. Area samples (n = 33) were collected at the perimeter of demolition and crushing sites to assess potential bystanders' exposures. Exposures 'with' and 'without' the use of dust suppression methods were compared when possible. RD samples were analyzed for crystalline silica content with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry (FT-IR) according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Method 7602. Statistical analyses of the exposure data were performed in SAS version 9.4. Results Chipping workers had the highest exposure levels [the geometric mean (GM) time-weighted average (TWA) for RCS was 527 µg/m3 and the GM for RD was 4750 µg/m3]. The next highest exposures were among crushing machine tenders (RCS GM of 93.3 µg/m3 and RD GM of 737.6 µg/m3), while laborers and operating engineers had the lowest exposures (RCS GM of 17.0 and 6.2 µg/m3, respectively). Personal 8-h TWA RCS exposures were higher than the new OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 µg/m3 for 80% of samples collected on chipping workers (n = 31) and 50% of samples collected on crushing machine tenders (n = 8). Operating engineers (n = 9) and laborers (n = 3) had RCS exposures lower than OSHA PEL. The highest concentrations measured would have exceeded the PEL within 15 min chipping and within 2 h of crushing with no further exposure. Chipping workers' RCS exposures were higher than OSHA PEL even when they were adjusted to account for the assigned protection factor of the half-face N95 cartridge respirators used during chipping. Exposures of crushing tenders were reduced to levels under the OSHA PEL when a water spraying system in crushing machines was utilized, but not when a water cannon machine was used. Area samples at demolition and crushing sites indicate overall lower exposures than the PEL, however, bystander workers at crushing sites could be exposed to higher levels compared to demolition sites. Real-time dust monitoring during demolition indicate very high short-term peak exposures. Conclusions Controlling or reducing crystalline silica exposures to levels under the new OSHA PEL of 50 µg/m3 remains challenging for chipping workers and crushing machine tenders. Even with the use of dust suppression controls, respiratory protection may be required for various tasks.
Implementación de metodologías participativas en la formulación de proyectos entre Academia, Estado y Comunidad

The proper use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can contribute to improve the level of citizen participation and popular power in society. However, there is still a percentage of the population that is digitally illiterate, aggravating the problem in rural areas. The present work aims to implement participative methodological tools, through links between the Academy, the State and Civil Society, to design projects with a socialeducational approach aimed at addressing the socio-territorial exclusion phenomenon known as the "Digital Divide". The results suggest that the application of participatory methodologies in the formulation of projects contributes to strengthen the commitment of those involved and to plan the activities taking into account the needs of the beneficiaries.
Lek behaviour in captive sage grouse Centrocercus urophasianus


Abstract Abstract. Lek display and female choice of males was studied in captive sage grouse. Individual males showed significant repeatability in display frequency between years. Variation in female association with males in artificial arenas was largely attributable to variation in the display frequency of individual males and that of males in adjacent positions in the arena. In addition, males were shown to possess 'inherent attractiveness' which was correlated with the length of their keel. Females showed significant consistency in their choice of males, and there was no evidence of copying behaviour in their selection of males.
Big and brave: size selection affects foraging under risk of predation in juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss


Abstract Abstract. In this study, the hypothesis that selection for large body size under relaxed predation pressure will increase the tendency of juvenile rainbow trout to forage under threat of predation was tested. In eight replicate groups of juvenile hatchery trout, the behaviour of the six largest (by weight) and the six smallest juveniles was compared. Based on a series of feeding competition trials, large trout had significantly higher mean dominance ranks than small trout. In a second experiment the willingness to forage under exposure to a live predator (an adult rainbow trout) was compared between the two size classes of trout. Larger trout were significantly more willing to risk exposure to a live predatory rainbow trout in order to get access to food than were small trout. However, similar-sized dominant and subordinate trout were equally willing to forage under threat of predation. Finally, to determine whether large and small juveniles were taking equivalent risk, their susceptibility to the predator was compared. Standardized encounters between the predator and individual juveniles revealed no significant difference in predation susceptibility between large and small trout. It is suggested that selection for large body size under reduced predation pressure will shift the optimal trade-off between energetic gain and mortality risk in the favour of 'high gain-high risk' phenotypes. This may cause directional selection on the genetic basis of feeding behaviour.
Jejunal Metabolic Responses to Escherichia coli Infection in Piglets

This study aimed to investigate the jejunal metabolic variations in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)-infected piglets. Piglets were infected with 1 × 1010 CFUs (colony-forming units) of ETEC W25K and assigned into diarrheal, recovered, control, and resistant groups. Jejunal samples were harvested at day 6 and metabolic profiles were analyzed via gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC/TOFMS). The results showed that 33 metabolites in the jejunum were identified in ETEC-induced diarrhea, including amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, and organic acids. Compared with the control, resistant, and recovered piglets, diarrheal piglets showed higher concentrations of 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine in the jejunum. Compared with the control and resistant piglets, six metabolites were markedly decreased in diarrheal piglets, including ornithine, asparagine, glutamine, citric acid, citrulline, and lysine. Collectively, this study provides insights into jejunal metabolic response to ETEC infection and ETEC induced diarrhea in piglets.
Paternal effort and its relation to mating success in the European ground squirrel

The necessity for parental care is a driving force for determining mating systems and social organization. The European ground squirrel, Spermophilus citellus, is a polygynous, gregarious species in which male parental behaviour would not be expected. We had observed males digging in litter burrows that were later occupied by females and their offspring. Males never stayed overnight within these burrows. To determine whether this was some kind of paternal effort we tested the following hypotheses: (1) that male burrowing behaviour was directed towards the male's own offspring or towards the pregnant or lactating mother of the male's offspring; (2) that this behaviour had costs in terms of condition, decreased survival or fecundity; and (3) that it benefited offspring condition or survival. All three assumptions were met. Males worked on the litter burrow of their copulatory partners. Thus, this behaviour was directed towards the male's potential offspring. Male burrowing costs were seen in decreased foraging time and increased body mass loss. Offspring benefits were evident in increased mass at natal emergence. We conclude that male digging at litter burrows can be considered as paternal effort. Lastly, we considered the effects of polygyny on this male parental effort by comparing mating effort, mating success and paternal effort. High mating success was associated with high mating effort and low paternal effort. Moderate to low mating success was associated with lower mating effort and higher paternal effort, indicating a trade-off between the two.
Measurement Equivalence of PROMIS Depression in Spain and the United States

In this study, we assessed the psychometric properties of the Spanish Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Depression in an adult population-representative sample from Spain (n = 1,503). We tested unidimensionality and local independence item response theory (IRT) assumptions with confirmatory factor and bifactor models under the exploratory structural equations modeling framework. We evaluated item monotonicity assumption with Mokken scaling analysis. We calibrated the items with an IRT-graded response model and assessed score reliability and test information, and evidence of validity with regard to scores on external measures. To examine differential item functioning by age, sex, education, and country (United States vs. Spain, N = 2,271), we used ordinal logistic regression. Results support compliance with IRT assumptions. We found few signs of differential item functioning: Only one item showed country differential functioning between the United States (n = 768) and Spain, with minimal impact on the overall score. Information values were equivalent to reliabilities over 0.90 from −1 (low depression) to +4 SD (high depression) around the population score mean. Evidence of validity in relation to concurrent measures was supported by the expected correlation pattern with external variables of depression, but higher than expected correlations with anxiety were found. Results indicate that the Spanish version of PROMIS Depression is adequate for assessing and monitoring depression levels in the general population and that PROMIS Depression is especially suitable for cross-national comparisons.
Vigilance in relation to brood size and predator abundance in the barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis


Abstract Abstract. Vigilance in parental barnacle geese was recorded during the first 2-3 weeks of life of goslings. Most mortality of the young occurred during this period. The mortality of young differed between two brood-rearing sites, probably to a large part depending on different abundance of predators, mainly gulls Larus spp. Parents on the high predation site had a higher intensity of vigilance than parents on the low predation site. This may be explained in terms of optimal decisions about the amount of parental input in relation to the costs and benefits of vigilance. The intensity of vigilance was positively related to brood size in males, females and pairs, and also to the maximum observed distance between parents and young. The intensity of vigilance was probably directly dependent on brood size, rather than the other way around, because parents immediately decreased their vigilance when brood size decreased. The correlation between vigilance and brood size may have arisen because young in larger broods face a higher risk of predation. The results are contrary to the prediction that vigilance should be unrelated to brood size in nidifugous bird species which do not feed their young. If costs for parental care are related to brood size, they may be important for the determination of clutch size in the barnacle goose.
Sex differences in parental response to begging nestlings in superb fairy-wrens

Abstract Descriptive studies of provisioning in cooperatively breeding superb fairy-wrens, Malurus cyaneus , show that females are responsive to the needs of the brood, increasing nest visits with brood size and age. Both dominant and helper males provision at a constant rate regardless of brood size and age, but dominant males reduce provisioning as the number of helpers increases. This reduction could reflect load lightening or reduced relatedness, as dominants are more likely to be cuckolded by extragroup males when they have helpers. To distinguish between these alternatives we conducted playback experiments that augmented the natural begging of 6-day-old nestlings with the calls of 4-day-old nestlings (control) or the much louder calls of 10-day-old nestlings (experimental treatment). We presented playbacks to the female alone, all birds, or males alone. We predicted that females would always respond to increased begging, helper males would not respond, and dominant males would always respond (load-lightening hypothesis) or respond when they had paternity in the brood (relatedness hypothesis). Contrary to these predictions, males always responded and females did not. Females may require additional stimulation or alternative cues in order to respond. Dominant males spend less time at the nest, and may judge nestling need on the basis of simpler cues. They may always feed as little as possible to minimize their commitment to nestlings to which they are unlikely to be related. However, they may increase their response when they lack helpers, or females are unable to meet the demands of the brood. Copyright 2002 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .
Massive MIMO Forward Link Analysis for Cellular Networks

This paper presents analytical expressions for the signal-to-interference ratio and the spectral efficiency in macrocellular networks with massive MIMO conjugate beamforming, both with a uniform and a channel-dependent power allocation. These expressions, which apply to very general network geometries, are asymptotic in the strength of the shadowing. Through Monte–Carlo simulation, we verify their accuracy for relevant network topologies and shadowing strengths. Also, since the analysis does not include pilot contamination, we further gauge through Monte–Carlo simulation, the deviation that this phenomenon causes with respect to our results, and hence the scope of the analysis.
Seed Heteromorphism: An Important Adaptation of Halophytes for Habitat Heterogeneity

Seed germination is a very critical and important step for seedling establishment under saline environments, as high level of salinity in the soil can prevent seed germination. However halophytes exhibit an interesting mechanism to cope with salt stress. Many halophytes produce heteromorphic seeds, which have different dormancy and germination behavior under saline conditions. This characteristic is related to the structural and physiological differences among heteromorphic seeds. It was unclear that how heteromorphic seeds differently accumulate organic and inorganic substances under saline conditions, and what are the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in the production of heteromorphic seeds, and in the development of transgenerational plasticity in heteromorphic seeds. In the current brief review, dormancy and germination and the possible role of seed coat and storage compounds in this process of heteromorphic seeds development have been discussed. Moreover, the role of maternal effects on heteromorphic seeds production under saline environments and growth and reproduction capability of the descendants from them have been highlighted.
Happy Ever After: Temporally Attributed Description Logics

Knowledge graphs are based on graph models enriched with (sets of) attribute-value pairs, called annotations, attached to vertices and edges. Many application scenarios of knowledge graphs crucially rely on the frequent use of annotations related to time. Based on recently proposed attributed logics, we design description logics enriched with temporal annotations whose values are interpreted over discrete time. Investigating the complexity of reasoning in this new formalism, it turns out that reasoning in our temporally attributed description logic ALCH@ is highly undecidable; thus we establish restrictions where it becomes decidable, and even tractable.
Identification of Candidate Proteins Binding to Prion Protein

Abstract Prion diseases are disorders of protein conformation that produce neurodegeneration in humans and animals. Studies of transgenic (Tg) mice indicate that a factor designated protein X is involved in the conversion of the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) into the scrapie isoform (PrPSc); protein X appears to interact with PrPCbut not with PrPSc. To search for PrPCbinding proteins, we fused PrP with alkaline phosphatase (AP) to produce a soluble, secreted probe. PrP–AP was used to screen a λgt11 mouse brain cDNA library, and six clones were isolated. Four cDNAs are novel while two clones are fragments of Nrf2 (NF-E2 related factor 2) transcription factor and Aplp1 (amyloid precursor-like protein 1). The observation that PrP binds to a member of the APP (amyloid precursor protein) gene family is intriguing, in light of possible relevance to Alzheimer's disease. Four of the isolated clones are expressed preferentially in the mouse brain and encode a similar motif.
High mortality in aquatic predators of mosquito larvae caused by exposure to insect repellent

In the face of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks, effective mosquito control is a primary goal for public health. Insect repellents, containing active compounds such as DEET and picaridin, are a first defence against biting insects. Owing to widespread use and incomplete sewage treatment, these compounds are frequently detected in surface waters, but their effects on aquatic taxa such as mosquito larvae or their naturally occurring aquatic predators are poorly understood. We investigated the effects of environmentally realistic concentrations of commercial products containing DEET and picaridin on survivorship of mosquito larvae, and their potential indirect effects on survival of larval salamanders, a major predator of mosquito larvae. Larval mosquitos were not affected by exposure to repellents containing DEET or picaridin. We found no larval salamander mortality in control and DEET treatments, but mortality rates in picaridin treatments ranged from 45 to 65% after 25 days of exposure. Salamander larvae exposed to repellents containing picaridin began to display tail deformities and impaired development four days after the experiment began. Our findings suggest the possibility that environmentally realistic concentrations of picaridin-containing repellents in surface waters may increase the abundance of adult mosquitos owing to decreased predation pressure.