Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of heat stress on poultry production

SUMMARY The ever-increasing demand for meat and egg has placed the poultry sector as a priority farming avenue for both small-scale backyard farming by rural farmers and commercial enterprises. The elevated temperature over the years has been affecting poultry production systems through reduced growth and egg production all over the world. At a time when heat stress is perceived as a universal issue, and with climate change predicted to have a further significant impact on global temperature increase, the adverse impact on the poultry sector is expected to intensify further. An extensive review is made to discuss the impact of such heat stress on feed intake and feed conversion efficiency, poultry growth and production, egg production, physiology, reproduction, immunity and disease incidence. Advanced biotechnology tools can be used to identify suitable molecular markers and design worthy breeding programmes, which may lead to the development of heat tolerance strains in poultry. Further, suitable mitigation strategies have also been suggested for reducing the impact of such stress conditions on the poultry for minimising the economic loss of poultry growers.
A HIGH FREQUENCY ISLAND DETECTION APPROACH APPLIED IN SINGLE-PHASE GRID-CONNECTED PV GENERATION SYSTEM

Island detection is a necessary feature of the photovoltaic (PV) generation system. Both passive and active anti-island methods exist. Typically, active methods modify a given parameter, which also affect the shape and quality of the injected current. A new active anti-island approach is proposed in this paper, which is suitable for single-phase grid-connected PV system. First, the output voltage of grid-connected inverter spectrum is investigated to prove feasibility. Second, the equivalent model of grid is proposed, and the frequency response of the voltage of PCC point is also investigated. Then, 1kHz perturbation component current is selected to be injected into the grid current and the diagram of island detection method is also proposed, which mainly consists of a phase detector and magnitude detector. From the experimental results, compared to the low frequency injection, it can be seen that the proposed high frequency injection achieves the goal of anti-island detection and reduce the current distortion to the minimum as well. As a result, this technique has good industrial application prospect.
Oriented Split Straw Board – A New Era In Building Products

While the utilisation of agricultural residues in panel products has been conducted in many parts of the world for a long time, this application has only been considered commercially viable in North America only recently. To date, the various North American operations have been making non-structural straw panels with a mixed degree of success. Raw material and binder costs plus various technical challenges are making it difficult to achieve commercial viability. A more attractive area for straw-based panels to enter is the structural panel market. Here, the resin costs are equivalent to wood based panels and the raw material is more cost competitive with round wood. Making straw-based oriented strand board has proven to be a daunting task however. Creating an “open” strand, or split tubule, with any degree of length is difficult; a necessary task to produce structural panels from straw. The Alberta Research Council’s Forest Products business unit (ARC) has developed a technique whereby a straw tubule can be sheared longitudinally while maintaining a relatively long “strand”. The result of this technology is an “opening up” of the straw tube to allow even distribution of the binder on all strand surfaces. The long strand allows for the development of a high strength to stiffness ratio. This makes the straw based panel comparable to wood-based oriented strand board (OSB) in physical properties at comparable densities. This paper will outline the technique of straw splitting and present physical data on straw-based OSB panels and straw-wood mixed OSB panels. A comparison in performance to wood-based OSB will also be conducted.
Dihydropyrimidinones Against Multiresistant Bacteria

The increase in bacterial resistance to antimicrobials has led to high morbidity and mortality rates, posing a major public health problem, requiring the discovery of novel antimicrobial substances. The biological samples were identified as the Gram-negative bacilli Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Morganella morgannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens and the Gram-positive cocci Enterococcus faecium, and Staphylococcus aureus, all of them resistant to at least three classes of antimicrobials. The antibacterial activity of the compounds was checked in vitro by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) by the broth microdilution method and plating in brain heart infusion (BHI) agar, respectively. The chemical characterization of the compounds was performed by measuring the melting point and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) on a Shimadzu GC–MS-QP system 2010SE. Synthetic compounds showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive cocci at MIC concentrations 0.16–80 μg/ml and Gram-negative bacilli at MIC concentrations 23.2–80 μg/ml. Enterococcus faecium and S. aureus had the best MIC values. The results of the cytotoxicity test indicated that the synthetic compounds showed no significant difference in three concentrations tested (5, 20, and 80 μg/ml), allowing cell viability not different from that assigned to the control, without the tested compounds. In this context, the development of DHPM derivatives brings an alternative and perspective on effectiveness of drugs as potential future antimicrobial agents.
Recommender systems under European AI regulations

Framework for AI), the EC aims at introducing the first comprehensive legal framework on AI, which will identify specific risks for AI, provide a collection of high-risk application domains, propose specific requirements that AI systems should meet when used in such domains, and define obligations for users and providers (U.S. regulatory development relating to AIc). What clearly emerges from these efforts is the need for an AI that behaves in a responsible way. A clear and globally accepted definition of responsibility for AI systems is still under development, but will likely include notions such as fairness, security and privacy, explainability, safety, and reproducibility. Although safety and reproducibility are fundamental issues in AI research and its industrial application, we will not
Claudin5 protects the peripheral endothelial barrier in an organ and vessel-type-specific manner

The pathogenesis of numerous diseases is characterised by disruption of the junctions that form the endothelial cell (EC) barrier, the composition of which may differ greatly between organs. However, the expression level variability and precise contribution of different junctional proteins is poorly understood. Here, we focus on organs with continuous endothelium to identify structural and functional in vivo characteristics of the EC barrier. Assembly of multiple single-cell RNAseq datasets into a single integrated database revealed the variability in EC barrier patterning. Across tissues Claudin5 exhibited diminishing expression along the arteriovenous axis, which correlates with EC barrier integrity. Functional analysis identified tissue-specific differences in leakage patterning and response to agonist-induced leakage. We uncover that Claudin5 loss enhances agonist-induced leakage in an organotypic, vessel type-specific and size-selective manner in an inducible, EC-specific, knock-out mouse. Mechanistically, Claudin5 loss induces no change in junction ultrastructure but alters composition, with concomitant loss of zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) expression and upregulation of VE-Cadherin. These findings uncover the organ-specific organisation of the EC barrier and distinct importance of Claudin5 in different vascular beds and will aid our ability to modify EC barrier stability in a targeted, organ-specific manner.
An integrated single-cell atlas of the skeleton from development through adulthood

The recent growth of single-cell transcriptomics has turned single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) into a near-routine experiment. Breakthroughs in improving scalability have led to the creation of organism-wide transcriptomic datasets, aiming to comprehensively profile the cell types and states within an organism throughout its lifecycle. To date however, the skeleton remains a majorly underrepresented organ system in organism-wide atlases. Considering how the skeleton not only serves as the central framework of the vertebrate body but is also the home of the hematopoietic niche and a central player in major metabolic and homeostatic processes, this presents a major deficit in current reference atlas projects. To address this issue, we integrated seven separate scRNA-seq datasets containing skeletal cells and their developmental precursors, generating an atlas of over 800,000 cells. This skeletal cell atlas describes cells across the mesenchymal lineage from the induction of the limb field to adult bone, encompassing 50 different cell states. In addition, the original datasets were reannotated, enabling the discovery of novel, highly specific marker genes, some of which we have validated in vivo by whole-mount in situ hybridization. Furthermore, expanding the repertoire of available time points and cell types within a single dataset allowed for more complete analyses of cell-cell communication or in silico perturbation studies. Taken together, we present a missing piece in the current atlas mapping efforts, which will be of value to researchers in the fields of skeletal biology, hematopoiesis, metabolism and regenerative medicine.
Genetic interactions drive heterogeneity in causal variant effect sizes for gene expression and complex traits

Despite the growing number of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), it remains unclear to what extent gene-by-gene and gene-by-environment interactions influence complex traits in humans. The magnitude of genetic interactions in complex traits has been difficult to quantify because GWAS are generally underpowered to detect individual interactions of small effect. Here, we develop a method to test for genetic interactions that aggregates information across all trait-associated loci. Specifically, we test whether SNPs in regions of European ancestry shared between European American and admixed African American individuals have the same causal effect sizes. We hypothesize that in African Americans, the presence of genetic interactions will drive the causal effect sizes of SNPs in regions of European ancestry to be more similar to those of SNPs in regions of African ancestry. We apply our method to two traits: gene expression in 296 African Americans and 482 European Americans in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in 74K African Americans and 296K European Americans in the Million Veteran Program (MVP). We find significant evidence for genetic interactions in our analysis of gene expression; for LDL-C, we observe a similar point estimate although this is not significant, likely due to lower statistical power. These results suggest that gene-by-gene or gene-by-environment interactions modify the effect sizes of causal variants in human complex traits.
In Depth Exploration of the Alternative Proteome of Drosophila melanogaster

Recent studies have shown that hundreds of small proteins were occulted when protein coding genes were annotated. These proteins, called alternative proteins, have failed to be annotated notably due to the short length of their open reading frame (less than 100 codons) or the enforced rule establishing that messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are monocystronic. Several alternative proteins were shown to be biologically active molecules and seem to be involved in a wide range of biological functions. However, genome wide exploration of the alternative proteome is still limited to a few species. In the present article we describe a deep peptidomics workflow which enabled the identification of 401 alternative proteins in Drosophila melanogaster. Subcellular localization, protein domains and short linear motifs were predicted for 235 of the alternative proteins identified and point towards specific functions of these small proteins. Several alternative proteins had approximated abundances higher than their canonical counterparts, suggesting that these alternative proteins are actually the main products of their corresponding genes. Finally, we observed fourteen alternative proteins with developmentally regulated expression patterns and ten induced upon heat shock treatment of embryos, demonstrating stage or stress specific production of alternative proteins.
Proportional intracranial volume correction differentially biases behavioral predictions across neuroanatomical features and populations

Individual differences in brain anatomy can be used to predict variability in cognitive function. Most studies to date have focused on broad population-level trends, but the extent to which the observed predictive features are shared across sexes and age groups remains to be established. While it is standard practice to account for intracranial volume (ICV) using proportion correction in both regional and whole-brain morphometric analyses, in the context of brain-behavior predictions the possible differential impact of ICV correction on anatomical features and subgroups within the population has yet to be systematically investigated. In this work, we evaluate the effect of proportional ICV correction on sex-independent and sex-specific predictive models of individual cognitive abilities across multiple anatomical properties (surface area, gray matter volume, and cortical thickness) in healthy young adults (Human Connectome Project; n=1013, 548 females) and typically developing children (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study; n=1823, 979 females). We demonstrate that ICV correction generally reduces predictive accuracies derived from surface area and gray matter volume, while increasing predictive accuracies based on cortical thickness in both adults and children. Furthermore, the extent to which predictive models generalize across sexes and age groups depends on ICV correction: models based on surface area and gray matter volume are more generalizable without ICV correction, while models based on cortical thickness are more generalizable with ICV correction. Finally, the observed neuroanatomical features predictive of cognitive abilities are unique across age groups regardless of ICV correction, but whether they are shared or unique across sexes (within age groups) depends on ICV correction. These findings highlight the importance of considering individual differences in ICV, and show that proportional ICV correction does not remove the effects of cranium volumes from anatomical measurements and can introduce ICV bias where previously there was none. ICV correction choices affect not just the strength of the relationships captured, but also the conclusions drawn regarding the neuroanatomical features that underlie those relationships.
Gill developmental program in the teleost mandibular arch

Whereas no known living vertebrate possesses gills derived from the jaw-forming mandibular arch, it has been proposed that the jaw arose through modifications of an ancestral mandibular gill. Here we show that the zebrafish pseudobranch, which regulates blood pressure in the eye, develops from mandibular arch mesenchyme and first pouch epithelia and shares gene expression, enhancer utilization, and developmental gata3 dependence with the gills. Combined with work in chondrichthyans, our findings in a teleost fish point to the presence of a mandibular pseudobranch with serial homology to gills in the last common ancestor of jawed vertebrates, consistent with a gill origin of vertebrate jaws.
Validation Results of Airport Total Operations Planner CLOU

Holistic planning systems and information sharing has become a major field of research for the ATM research community. First concepts and prototypes have been developed to understand and handle the complexity. Of course, there are expectations in such systems, and they have to be evaluated and validated: does a holistic planning system improve punctuality and resource use at airports? This paper will answer this question for the cooperative local resource planner CLOU, a prototype of a total operations planner that was designed and implemented as a decision support tool. CLOU generates target times for each arriving and departing aircraft within the next hours and uses target functions, given by the stakeholders airline, ATC and airport to meet their wishes. To understand the presented results, the planning process is outlined; the validation scenarios described and special validation results are discussed.
Differential expression of Nanog 3UTR and coding region mRNA components defines an embryonic stem cell niche

The known molecular heterogeneity among pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in culture may be maladaptive or a beneficial determinant of normal biology. In other systems such as hair and intestine, normal and dynamic heterogeneity among stem cells is necessary for balancing stem cell division and quiescence in order to maintain the stem cell pool. In ESCs, Sox2, Oct4 and Nanog (the SON genes) critically regulate pluripotency but their role in stem cell heterogeneity or pool maintenance is not clear. We previously reported an additional level of gene expression, the unexpected differential expression of mRNA coding region (CDS) and cognate 3′untranslated region (3UTR) components, often revealing novel developmental patterns. Here we show dramatic, patterned, concentric, differential expression of pluripotent gene 3UTR and CDS mRNA components in both undifferentiated ESCs in culture and in developing human and mouse embryos. This differential expression reveals robust pluripotent ESC heterogeneity that provides the underpinnings of a previously unrecognized ESC cell niche structure. A hallmark of the niche is the presence of cells expressing high levels of Nanog 3UTR but only low or no Nanog CDS at structure perimeters, We used a novel bioinformatic approach combining the 3UTR to CDS ratio and gene expression, and identified unique ESC clusters. High Nanog 3UTR cells have lower cell cycle activity and higher quiescence than other ESCs and express a distinct complement of cellular histone marks. These quiescent perimeter cells exchange with interior domains, opening the possibility that they act as cell replenishment reservoirs in the niche or the embryo. Functionally, the Nanog 3UTR, independent of its CDS, is critical, as its selective deletion decreases ESC cell division while increasing trophectoderm markers. Lastly, self-organization of ESCs according to pluripotent gene differential 3UTR and CDS expression is modified by activin signaling, indicating extrinsic modulation of the niche structure. Pluripotent embryonic stem cells, actively display regulated, dynamic differential expression of SON gene mRNA components, allowing the formation of a heterogenous, ordered, stem cell niche bordered by quiescent hub stem cells, thus illuminating the role of SON genes in pluripotent embryonic stem cell pool maintenance. More generally this suggests that differential mRNA component expression may widely define cell types that exist in non-permanent, different states in either development or disease.
Probabilistic Brain Extraction in MR Images via Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks

Brain extraction, which refers to the task of segmenting brain tissue in an MR image of a subject, forms an essential first step for many quantitative neuroimaging applications. These include quantifying grey and white matter volumes, monitoring neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer’s disease, and estimating brain atrophy. Over the years several algorithms that automate brain extraction have been proposed. More recently, novel image-to-image deep learning methods have been implemented for this task, and have demonstrated significant gains in accuracy and robustness. However, to our knowledge, none of these algorithms account for the uncertainty that is inherent in brain extraction. Motivated by this, we propose a novel, probabilistic deep learning algorithm for brain extraction that recasts this task as a Bayesian inference problem, and then utilizes a conditional generative adversarial network (cGAN) to solve it. The input to the generator network is an MR image of the head and the output is a collection of images of the brain that are drawn from a probability density conditioned on the input image. These images are used to generate a pixel-wise mean image, which serves as the best guess for an image of the brain, and a pixel-wise standard deviation image, which quantifies the uncertainty in the prediction. We test this algorithm on head MR images of fifty subjects and demonstrate that it is more accurate than a commonly used brain extraction tool, and that its performance compares well with the current state of the art in deep learning algorithms. We also demonstrate the utility of the estimates of uncertainty generated by the algorithm.
Enhancing SRAM performance of common gate FinFET by using controllable independent double gate

This project is focus on the research and evaluation on the characteristic of independent controllable gate FinFET structure in static random access memory (SRAM) circuitry. BSIM-CMG model for common gate FinFET is chosen in this research. The independent controllable gate FinFET is constructed using two parallel connection of common gate FinFET except the gate terminal, thus it has the independent controllable gate capability. SRAM 6T scheme is being chosen in this study and benchmarking with the conventional common gate FinFET SRAM. Netlist for device NMOS and PMOS, and the SRAM circuitry are being constructed and simulated with HSPICE tool. From the device perspective, through the dynamic gate voltage adjustment capability, the IV characteristic of this proposed structure has better drive currents with 1.1X for NMOS and 1.3X for PMOS compare to conventional common gate FinFET. Besides that, there is a significant reduction of leakage current in this proposed structure compare to the conventional common gate FinFET, the reduction leakage for NMOS and PMOS is up to 3 order magnitude. The results of the SRAM circuitry constructed by this proposed independent controllable gate FinFET structure has shown that the read and write margin are higher than the conventional common gate FinFET SRAM design. Besides that, the proposed structure in SRAM design is beneficial to low power application design as it has lower standby current. Furthermore, different back gate bias scheme for this structure is explored, and the optimum back gate scheme is proposed which having the reverse biased on Pull Down device and Pull Up device, with the dynamic gate voltage control on the Pass Gate device.