Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
piRNAs in sperm function and embryo viability.

Unique to animals, PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) defend organisms against threats to germline integrity evoked by transposons, retroviruses, and inappropriate expression of protein-coding genes. Characterization of mouse piRNAs and studies of more than a dozen piRNA pathway protein mutants detailed in the past 15 years have firmly established an essential role for piRNAs in male fertility. Despite their vital function in spermatogenesis, mammalian piRNAs were thought to be dispensable beyond gamete formation because all piRNA pathway protein mouse mutants are invariably sterile and do not produce sperm. In contrast to the specialized purpose of piRNAs in gamete formation, tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) have been the focus of research in RNA-mediated paternal contribution, providing additional examples of the versatility of non-coding RNAs. In recent years, direct elimination of mouse piRNAs using CRISPR/Cas revealed their extended function in post-testicular sperm maturation. An intergenerational contribution from paternal piRNAs has also been proposed. Together with insights into piRNAs in oocytes and early embryos in mice and other mammals, these newly proposed functions of mammalian piRNAs invite further investigations of piRNA dynamics during sperm maturation and fertilization as well as their roles in reproduction beyond gametogenesis.
A topological approach to a conjecture of Rhodes

The “type II conjecture”, proposed by J. Rhodes, gives an algorithm to compute the kernel of a given finite semigroup. We show that this conjecture is a consequence of another conjecture, of a topological nature. This new conjecture gives a simple and effective characterisation of the recognisable subsets of a free monoid that are closed in the finite group topology for the free monoid.
Parser-grammar transparency and the development of syntactic dependencies

ABSTRACT A fundamental question in psycholinguistics concerns how grammatical structure contributes to real-time sentence parsing and understanding. While many argue that grammatical structure is only loosely related to on-line parsing, others hold the view that the two are tightly linked. Here, I use the incremental growth of grammatical structure in developmental time to demonstrate that as new grammatical knowledge becomes available to children, they use that knowledge in their incremental parsing decisions. Given the tight link between the acquisition of new knowledge and the use of that knowledge in recognizing sentence structure, I argue in favor of a tight link between grammatical structure and parsing mechanics.
A Feasible Experiment Contrary to the 2 nd Postulate of SR

Assuming the light as composed of longitudinal-extended elastic (and massive) particles emitted during an emission time T at speed c (=u) (with u the escape speed from all the masses, toward the infinity), it is shown that c is invariant (under the Newtonian mechanics laws), for an Observer fixed to the initial emission point Ep (the point where the emission starts), in spite of any motion of the source (of light) with respect to Ep. On the contrary, an Observer, in motion from Ep during the emission, will state (indirectly) a Galilean variation of c which can be proved and evaluated by an appropriate feasible experiment described here.
Role of certain growth factors and hormones in folliculogenesis

Folliculogenesis is an inextricable process associated with female fertility and infertility cases. This process involves many events at cellular and molecular level in a highly orchestrated fashion which culminates with ovulation. Various factors like hormonal factors, growth factors, role of ovarian micro environment, diseases of reproductive tract etc. influence the process of folliculogenesis in systematic manner. The function and mechano-biology of these growth factors and hormones have been studied by many researchers. This review discusses about those hormonal and growth factors which are involved in folliculogenesis process.
Assessment of lipid profile and acute phase protein in Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infected and healthy goats

Present study is based on 24 goats that were located in goat herds endemically infected with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection. Objective of the study was to access the variations in the lipid profile and acute phase proteins in the serum samples driven from non-infected (negative and physically healthy) and infected (positive and physically weak) goats with MAP infection, cause of incurable Johneâ€™s disease (JD) in domestic livestock. Infected goats had significantly higher cholesterol and albumin levels and significantly â€˜reduced levelâ€™ of high density lipoprotein (HDL) and â€˜reduced levelâ€™ of the density of lipoproteins (LDL) in comparison to non-infected goats. Lipid profile and acute phase proteins could be further explored for their significance in pathogenesis and diagnosis of JD in domestic livestock including goats.
Correlation between D-dimer and HRCT in Covid-19

Background: To retrospectively determine the correlation between CT severity score & D-dimer. Methodology: This is a retrospective original research of 227 patients (IPD & OPD) during April 1 to May 31, 2021 for Covid-19. Patients CT severity scores, HRCT Thorax findings, D-dimer, Platelet count and Demographic variables were recorded. The correlation between CT severity score & D-dimer were determined. Results: Between the mentioned dates, 227 patients are taken into study which includes 146 Males & 81 Females. Mean of CT severity score was 6.7, D-dimer was 0.46mg/l. Higher CT score is seen in males (mean -7.1) as compare to females (mean -6.12). D-dimer are seen higher in males (mean =0.52mg/l) as compare to females (median=0.37mg/l). The study of 227 patients has shown positive correlation between CT score & D-dimer (r=0.38, p<0.05). Males showed relatively stronger positive correlation(r=0.4, p<0 .05) than females(r=0.3, p<0.05). Patients with age less than equal to 45 has shown relatively stronger positive correlation between CT score & D-dimer (r=0.4, p<0.05) than patients with age more than 45 (r=0.35, p<0.05). Conclusion: Pulmonary lesion induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with raised inflammatory response, impairment in exchange of gases, and end organ damage. In study, we can conclude that lung lesion may exert important role in COVID-19 pathogenesis & clinical presentation.
Wideband and high-dimensional chaos generation using optically pumped spin-VCSELs.

We propose and numerically demonstrate wideband and high-dimensional chaos signal generation based on optically pumped spin-polarized vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (spin-VCSELs). Here, we focus on the chaotic characteristics of spin-VCSELs under two scenarios: one is a spin-VCSEL with optical feedback and the other is optical heterodyning the outputs of two free-running spin-VCSELs. Specifically, we systematically investigate the influence of some key parameters on the chaotic properties, i.e., bandwidth, spectral flatness (SF), time delay signature (TDS), correlation dimension (CD), and permutation entropy (PE), and reveal the route to enhance these properties simultaneously. Our simulation results demonstrate for the first time that spin-VCSELs with simple auxiliary configurations allow for chaos generation with desired properties, including effective bandwidth up to 30 GHz and above, no TDS of greater than 0.2, the flatness of 0.75 and above, and the high complexity/dimensionality over a wide range of parameters under both schemes. Therefore, our study may pave the way for potential applications requiring wideband and high-dimensional chaos.
Analysis of response of second‐order sliding mode controllers to external inputs in frequency domain

Response of systems with the second‐order sliding‐mode (SOSM) control algorithms to an external harmonic excitation is analysed in the frequency domain. The analysis is done via application of the concept of the equivalent gain of a nonlinear function. The equivalent gain is used as a model of propagation of averaged values of signals through nonlinear elements of the system. Two SOSM algorithms: twisting and super‐twisting are analysed. The results are presented in the format of the conventional amplitude and phase frequency response. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Indigenous Knowledge on Utilization Aspects of Selected Edible Wild Fruits from Zambia

In recent years, the potential role of edible wild fruits has been recognized in the reduction of poverty and improving human health and nutrition. Edible wild fruits are an important source of household food security for the poor in both rural and urban communities. Edible wild fruits tend to be overlooked by policy-makers despite their significant contribution to food security, nutrition and health. The aim of this study was to establish indigenous knowledge on utilization aspects of selected edible wild fruits Masuku (Uapaca kirkiana), Impundu (Parinari curatellifolia), Intungulu (Afromomum africanum) and Imfungo (Anisophyllea Boehimii). A survey was used to establish indigenous knowledge based on utilization, nutritional and food safety aspects of the selected fruits. Detailed questionnaires and focused group discussions were used to collect data on these aspects. Data from the survey were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 22). The findings from this study revealed that Masuku, Impundu, Intungulu and Imfungo are mainly consumed unprocessed. The reasons for consuming these fruits include satisfying hunger, snacking, sweetness, and sour taste. Processing of products such as jams, juices and fermented beverages was reported in isolated cases. The wild fruits under investigation were reported to have medicinal uses that included blocking diarrhoea, boosting the immune system, increasing blood levels and boosting appetite of the sick. Food safety concerns were reported for Intungulu and Masuku when consumed in excess. The Intungulu fruit was reported to cause stomach pain due to its high acidic nature while its seeds cause intestinal obstruction when consumed in excess. Excessive consumption of Masuku fruit was reported to cause stomach bloating and sores on the upper pallet of the mouth. Indigenous knowledge revealed valuable data on utilization, nutritional, medicinal and food safety aspects of the fruits.
Effective Early Treatment of Microcystis Exponential Growth and Microcystin Production with Hydrogen Peroxide and Hydroxyapatite

Mitigating cyanotoxin production is essential to protecting aquatic ecosystems and public health. However, current harmful cyanobacterial bloom (HCB) control strategies have significant shortcomings. Because predicting HCBs is difficult, current HCB control strategies are employed when heavy HCBs have already occurred. Our pilot study developed an effective HCB prediction approach that is employed before exponential cyanobacterial growth and massive cyanotoxin production can occur. We used a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay targeting the toxin-encoding gene mcyA to signal the timing of treatment. When control measures were applied at an early growth stage or one week before the exponential growth of Microcystis aeruginosa (predicted by qPCR signals), both hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the adsorbent hydroxyapatite (HAP) effectively stopped M. aeruginosa growth and microcystin (MC) production. Treatment with either H2O2 (10 mg·L−1) or HAP (40 µm particles at 2.5 g·L−1) significantly reduced both mcyA gene copies and MC levels compared with the control in a dose-dependent manner. While both treatments reduced MC levels similarly, HAP showed a greater ability to reduce mcyA gene abundance. Under laboratory culture conditions, H2O2 and HAP also prevented MC production when applied at the early stages of the bloom when mcyA gene abundance was below 105 copies·mL−1.
Learning Person-Specific Cognition From Facial Reactions for Automatic Personality Recognition

This article proposes to recognise the true (self-reported) personality traits from the target subject's cognition simulated from facial reactions. This approach builds on the following two findings in cognitive science: (i) human cognition partially determines expressed behaviour and is directly linked to true personality traits; and (ii) in dyadic interactions, individuals’ nonverbal behaviours are influenced by their conversational partner's behaviours. In this context, we hypothesise that during a dyadic interaction, a target subject's facial reactions are driven by two main factors: their internal (person-specific) cognitive process, and the externalised nonverbal behaviours of their conversational partner. Consequently, we propose to represent the target subject's (defined as the listener) person-specific cognition in the form of a person-specific CNN architecture that has unique architectural parameters and depth, which takes audio-visual non-verbal cues displayed by the conversational partner (defined as the speaker) as input, and is able to reproduce the target subject's facial reactions. Each person-specific CNN is explored by the Neural Architecture Search (NAS) and a novel adaptive loss function, which is then represented as a graph representation for recognising the target subject's true personality. Experimental results not only show that the produced graph representations are well associated with target subjects’ personality traits in both human-human and human-machine interaction scenarios, and outperform the existing approaches with significant advantages, but also demonstrate that the proposed novel strategies help in learning more reliable personality representations.
X-ray photoionized accretion discs: UV and X-ray continuum spectra and polarization

We calculate the UV and X-ray continuum spectrum and polarization from an accretion disc centrally illuminated by X-rays. The calculation of the ionization structure of the disc is performed by using the numerical code described by Ross & Fabian, while the inclination effects and the polarization are calculated by solving the transfer equation for polarized radiation. The general relativistic effects in the Schwarzschild metric are also taken into account. The spectra we obtain can explain the X-ray observation for some active galactic nuclei and several Galactic black hole candidates, for which both the iron-line intensity and the shape of the reflection continuum appear to be inconsistent with reprocessing from neutral matter
Interventions to reduce loss to follow up in common retinal pathology: A systematic review

Purpose Loss to follow-up or fragmented follow-up episodes (LTFU) may contribute to suboptimal clinical outcomes, especially when comparing real world data to clinical trials. This systemic review gathers available evidence around interventions meant to decrease the LTFU in AMD, RVO, and DME patients Patients and methods PubMed was queried using a literature search strategy and reviewed by the authors. Studies with interventions aimed at reducing lost to follow up were included. Results Ten studies were extracted from 89 candidate publications. Discussion Telephone interventions featuring assistance in scheduling in improving LTFU in urban, African American populations over 50 years old with diabetic retinopathy. The same interventions have shown promise in glaucoma, but remain understudied in AMD, RVO, and other geographic, ethnic, and socioeconomic demographics. Conclusion No sole intervention with efficacy in improving LTFU has been developed. A standardized definition of LTFU, as well as testing interventions across broad age, geography, ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic lines. Longitudinal data would also add credence to the efficacy of purported interventions. Other No sources of funding for this article.
Magnetohydrodynamic waves and gravitational/centrifugal instability in rotating systems

Interchange motions of magnetic flux tubes are customarily regarded as one of the main contributors to radial plasma transport in planetary magnetospheres, particularly in those magnetospheres, like the Jovian and Saturnian ones, where the centrifugal force is known to play an important role. However, so far, interchange motions have been treated only under a variety of simplifying assumptions which are not always justified. In this paper, we present a rigorous treatment of the interchange instability within the broader context of magnetohydrodynamic waves. After reviewing the existing work on the magnetospheric interchange instability, we derive the full wave equation for magnetohydrodynamic perturbations in the presence of external forces, magnetic field curvature, and overall rotation, and we proceed to a detailed examination of their dispersion relation and stability condition in the one-dimensional case when the equilibrium parameters vary in a single direction normal to the magnetic field. We then focus on the so-called “quasi-interchange” modes, which, by definition, represent all the modes driven by gravitational or magnetic buoyancy (or a combination of both), including, in particular, the interchange mode. We demonstrate that they leave the total pressure virtually unchanged, slightly perturb the plasma density and the magnetic field, and generally give rise to motions both perpendicular and parallel to the background field lines.
Characterizations of multi-segment DFB laser

Tunable semiconductor laser has various applications including Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), optical switching in Local Area Networks (LAN) and Chemical Sensing, or Spectroscopy. There are different approaches for tunable semiconductor lasers. Large wavelength tuning range is required for communication applications, such as WDM. Whereas a frequency modulation (FM) requires small but fast frequency shifts. Two-Segment laser is one of the methods to realize continuous optical tuning. The device consists of two coupled cavities having a series of well-defined modes. The modes are equally spaced within a cavity but the mode spacing between the two cavities is slightly different. Characterization results of such lasers are very important. In this paper we will present the characterization results of two segment InGaAs/InP distributed feed back (DFB) tunable lasers.
AIR FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER IN VENTILATED DISC BRAKE ROTORS WITH DIAMOND AND TEAR-DROP PILLARS

This study is part of an ongoing research project investigating the airflow and heat transfer of different disc brake rotors. This article reports on three geometries: straight radial vane (SRV) rotor; SRV rotor with rounded vanes (SRV-R); and a rotor with diamond and teardrop pillars (DTDP) instead of vanes. The total heat transfer from the SRV-R and DTDP passages is up to 20% greater than that for the SRV rotor. As much as 35% more heat is lost from the free side friction surface than the hub side friction surface. Flow development through the DTDP rotor passages is also noted.
Temperature-dependent electronic structure: from heavy fermion behaviour to phase stability

The temperature (T)-dependent density functional approach and some methods for calculating bands in structurally disordered systems are described. The band results are used for determining thermodynamic properties. The methods are applied to determine T-dependent properties in systems which are sensitive to temperature as the result of special density-of-state features at the Fermi energy. Such systems include heavy fermion Ce-compounds, FeSi, and fcc Ce, and the properties are specific heat enhancements, large magnetic susceptibility, and the - transition, respectively. The phase stability of transition metals at high T are studied with the purpose of separating the electronic and vibrational effects. T-dependent effects in copper oxides leading to nonlinear electron - phonon coupling are discussed. Finally, calculations of momentum densities are shown to give a sensitive indication of thermal disorder in alkali metals. It is found that the effects of disorder are often similar to the effects of strong correlation.
Top-of-Atmosphere Radiative Fluxes: Validation of ERBE Scanner Inversion Algorithm Using Nimbus-7 ERB Data

Abstract To derive top-of-atmosphere radiative fluxes from measurements of the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scanning radiometers, it is necessary to convert radiance observations to fluxes. Two key steps of the ERBE radiance-to-flux conversion are the identification of the scene being viewed and the application of an angular model for the particular scene. In this study, the ERBE algorithm is applied to the Nimbus-7 earth radiation budget (ERB) scanner data for June 1979 to analyze the performance of this inversion method in deriving top-of-atmosphere albedos and longwave radiative fluxes. The performance is assessed by comparing ERBE algorithm results with appropriate results derived using the sorting-by-angular-bins (SAB) method, the ERB MATRIX algorithm, and the “new-cloud ERB” (NCLE) algorithm. Comparisons are made for top-of-atmosphere albedos, longwave fluxes, viewing zenith-angle dependence of derived albedos and longwave fluxes, and cloud fractional coverage. Using the SAB method as a .
SBCDetector: a hybrid approach to detect second-order similarity or change

Software Configuration Management (SCM) involves tracking similarities/changes during software evolution. Efficient comparison for tracking requires two perspectives—Granularity: comparing the entities at file level, class level, and method level. Second, Robustness should be prominent to detect renaming and shifting that occur as a part of restructuring. Even GIT repository, which is widely used, allows such comparison with renaming and shifting details but is limited to file level only, along with its own limitation of default similarity criteria of above 50%. In this study, the proposed technique named SBCDetector detects similarity/change status with both perspectives that is lacking in the existing literature. Result shows that one-fourth of entities have been found renamed/shifted at three granularities for eight subject systems improving tracking, understandability, and onboarding. Hybrid technique involving fuzzy logic derives classification model with . 99 f-score to detect first- and second-order similarity/change.
ENSO Impact on Kelvin Waves and Associated Tropical Convection

AbstractThe impact of El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on atmospheric Kelvin waves and associated tropical convection is investigated using the ECMWF Re-Analysis, NOAA outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), and the analysis technique introduced in a previous study. It is found that the phase of ENSO has a substantial impact on Kelvin waves and associated convection over the equatorial central-eastern Pacific. El Nino (La Nina) events enhance (suppress) variability of the upper-tropospheric Kelvin wave and the associated convection there, in both extended boreal winter and summer.The mechanism of the impact is through changes in the ENSO-related thermal conditions and the ambient flow. In El Nino years, because of SST increase in the equatorial central-eastern Pacific, variability of eastward-moving convection, which is mainly associated with Kelvin waves, intensifies in the region. In addition, owing to the weakening of the equatorial eastern Pacific westerly duct in the upper troposphere in El Nino years,.