Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anti-Leukaemic Activity of Rilpivirine Is Mediated by Aurora A Kinase Inhibition

Simple Summary Rilpivirine is an anti-viral drug used for treating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients. In a recent study, we demonstrated that rilpivirine inhibited Aurora A, a protein kinase that mainly regulates the mitotic events of the cell-division cycle. Importantly, Aurora A kinase is aberrantly expressed in multiple cancer types, including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). In the current report, we have shown that rilpivirine suppressed the growth of all AML cells investigated, consistent with its Aurora A kinase inhibition. These findings open the way for exploring this anti-viral drug as a candidate for an anti-cancer drug against AML in further pre-clinical studies. Abstract Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) affects predominantly elderly people and has an incidence of 1% of all cancers and 2% of all cancer deaths. Despite using intensive chemotherapy and allogeneic stem cell transplantation, the treatment options for AML remain open for innovation. Thus, there is a need to explore alternative therapies such as less toxic targeted therapies in AML. Aurora A kinase is a well-established target for the treatment of various cancers, including AML. This kinase plays a pivotal role in the cell-division cycle, particularly in different stages of mitosis, and is also involved in many other cellular regulatory processes. In a previous study, we demonstrated that the anti-viral drug rilpivirine is an Aurora A kinase inhibitor. In the current study, we have further explored the selectivity of rilpivirine for Aurora A kinase inhibition by testing this drug against a panel of 429 kinases. Concurrently, we demonstrated that rilpivirine significantly inhibited the proliferation of AML cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner that was preceded by G2/M cell-cycle arrest leading to the induction of apoptosis. Consistent with its kinase inhibitory role, rilpivirine modulated the expression of critical proteins in the Aurora A kinase-signalling pathway. Importantly, orally administered rilpivirine significantly inhibited tumour growth in an HL-60 xenograft model without showing body weight changes or other clinical signs of toxicity. Furthermore, rilpivirine enhanced the anti-proliferative efficacy of the conventional anti-leukaemic chemotherapeutic agent cytarabine. Collectively, these findings provide the stimulus to explore further the anti-leukaemic activity of the anti-viral drug rilpivirine.
Some contributions to particle Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms

Hidden Markov models (HMMs) [13] and discrete time stopped Markov processes [23, Section 2.2. 3] are used to model phenomena in a wide range of fields. However, as practitioners develop more intricate models, analytical Bayesian inference becomes very difficult. In light of this issue, this work focuses on sampling from the posteriors of HMMs and stopped Markov processes using sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) ([29], [28], [43]) and, more importantly, particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC) [2]. The thesis consists of three major contributions, which enhance the performance of PMCMC. The first work focuses on HMMs, and it begins by introducing a new SMC smoothing ([10], [36]) estimate of the HMM’s normalising constant; we prove the estimate’s unbiasedness and a central limit theorem. We use this estimate to develop new PMCMC algorithms that, under certain algorithmic settings, require less computational time than the algorithms of [2]. Our new estimate also leads to the discovery of an optimal setting for the smoothers of [10] and [36]. As this setting is not available for the general class of HMMs, we develop three algorithms for approximating it. The second major work builds from [51] and [91] to develop new SMC and PMCMC algorithms that draw from HMMs whose observations have intractable density functions. While these types of algorithms have appeared before (see [51], [52] and [67]), this work uses twisted proposals as in [91] to reduce the variance of SMC estimates of the normalising constant to improve the convergence of PMCMC in some scenarios. Finally, the third project is concerned with inferring the unknown parameters of stopped Markov processes that are only observed upon reaching their terminal sets. Bayesian inference has not been attempted on this class of problems before. The parameters are inferred through two new adaptive and non-adaptive PMCMC algorithms.
The study of the vibrations of crystal lattices by far infra-red spectroscopy

Abstract A survey is made of those aspects of the theory of lattice vibrations relevant to their spectral behaviour, and the roles of ‘effective charges’, critical points and anharmonicity are considered. The experimental investigations by far infra-red spectroscopy are reviewed, results for ionic, covalent, molecular and monatomic solids being presented. Defect-induced spectra and their use as sources of information on otherwise inactive vibrations are discussed.
Variational Bayesian Network with Information Interpretability Filtering for Air Quality Forecasting

Air quality plays a vital role in people’s health, and air quality forecasting can assist in decision making for government planning and sustainable development. In contrast, it is challenging to multi-step forecast accurately due to its complex and nonlinear caused by both temporal and spatial dimensions. Deep models, with their ability to model strong nonlinearities, have become the primary methods for air quality forecasting. However, because of the lack of mechanism-based analysis, uninterpretability forecasting makes decisions risky, especially when the government makes decisions. This paper proposes an interpretable variational Bayesian deep learning model with information self-screening for PM2.5 forecasting. Firstly, based on factors related to PM2.5 concentration, e.g., temperature, humidity, wind speed, spatial distribution, etc., an interpretable multivariate data screening structure for PM2.5 forecasting was established to catch as much helpful information as possible. Secondly, the self-screening layer was implanted in the deep learning network to optimize the selection of input variables. Further, following implantation of the screening layer, a variational Bayesian gated recurrent unit (GRU) network was constructed to overcome the complex distribution of PM2.5 and achieve accurate multi-step forecasting. The high accuracy of the proposed method is verified by PM2.5 data in Beijing, China, which provides an effective way, with multiple factors for PM2.5 forecasting determined using deep learning technology.
Partially coherent sources whose coherent modes are spatiotemporal optical vortex beams

We analyze three non-stationary partially coherent sources whose coherent modes are spatiotemporal optical vortex (STOV) beams. Using spatiotemporal (ST) Bessel–Gauss and Laguerre–Gauss beams (STOV-carrying solutions to the space-time paraxial wave equation) as eigenfunctions in the coherent-modes representation of the mutual coherence function, we derive the ST versions of J 0-Bessel-correlated, I n -Bessel-correlated, and twisted Gaussian Schell-model beams. We model, in simulation, these ST random beams via their coherent-modes expansions, compare and contrast the simulated results to theory, and analyze/discuss their free-space propagation characteristics. The work presented in this paper will be useful for simulating or physically generating these ST beams for use in applications or future studies.
Wide-Stopband Diplexer With Small Frequency Ratio Based on SIW Dual-Mode Resonators for Millimeter-Wave Applications

A substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) diplexer has been designed based on the dual-mode resonator operating with TE301 and TE103 modes in this letter. Techniques of harmonic interleaving, negative excitation and planar coupling structure, orthogonal transmission, and slot lines etched on the ground plane are exploited synthetically to extend the range of the out-of-band rejection. The diplexer with lower and upper channels centered at 34.95 and 36.44 GHz is fabricated and measured to verify the proposed concept, which exhibits a wide stopband better than 20 dB up to 82.92 GHz and a high isolation better than 28.9 dB over the whole band with three transmission zeros (TZs) nearby two passbands. Measurements accord well with the simulation results.
Bispectrum analysis for speaker identification in a noisy environment with Karhunen-Loeve transformation technique

The work described in this paper addresses the problem for extracting bispectrum feature of speech data. Very often the bispectrum feature extraction and data reduction are complicated due to some limiting constraints, i.e., no prior knowledge of feature's distribution and higher dimensionality of bispectrum data. In this article we developed an adaptive feature extraction mechanism based on cascade neural network in conjunction with feature's dimensionality reduction based on Karhunen-Loeve transformation technique. An adaptive codebook generation algorithm which is a cascade configuration of SOFM (Self Organizing Feature Map) and LVQ (Learning Vector Quantization) was used before the K-L transformation. The transformation was experimentally shown as an effective procedure for orthogonalization and dimensionality reduction of spectrum feature. Performance of our speaker identification system was perceived to be significantly increased even though using limited number of channels in noisy environment. We also tried to improve the capability of adaptive codebook generation algorithm by applying simplified differential competitive learning network.
Homoclinic explosions and implosions

In this paper we study the interaction of local saddle node and Hopf bifurcations with global recurrent orbits. We consider a four-parameter family of three-dimensional vector fields which are small perturbations of an integrable system possessing a line of degenerate saddle points connected by a manifold of homoclinic loops. Our most striking finding is that homoclinic bifurcations occur in which a unique connecting orbit is replaced by a countable infinity of such orbits (an ‘explosion’) and in which a countable infinity collapses to a unique orbit (an ‘implosion’). We also discover a rich variety of heteroclinic connections among fixed points and periodic orbits. The family we study was motivated by the search for travelling ‘structures’ such as fronts and domain walls in the complex Ginzburg Landau partial differential equation which models weakly nonlinear wave interactions near the onset of instability, and which leads to a special case of our more general unfolding.
Enhancing the expression of a key mitochondrial enzyme at the inception of ischemia-reperfusion injury can boost recovery and halt the progression of acute kidney injury

Hydrodynamic fluid delivery has shown promise in influencing renal function in disease models. This technique provided pre-conditioned protection in acute injury models by upregulating the mitochondrial adaptation, while hydrodynamic injections of saline alone have improved microvascular perfusion. Accordingly, hydrodynamic mitochondrial gene delivery was applied to investigate the ability to halt progressive or persistent renal function impairment following episodes of ischemia-reperfusion injuries known to induce acute kidney injury (AKI). The rate of transgene expression was approximately 33% and 30% in rats with prerenal AKI that received treatments 1 (T1hr) and 24 (T24hr) hours after the injury was established, respectively. The resulting mitochondrial adaptation via exogenous IDH2 (isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (NADP+) and mitochondrial) significantly blunted the effects of injury within 24 h of administration: decreased serum creatinine (≈60%, p < 0.05 at T1hr; ≈50%, p < 0.05 at T24hr) and blood urea nitrogen (≈50%, p < 0.05 at T1hr; ≈35%, p < 0.05 at T24hr) levels, and increased urine output (≈40%, p < 0.05 at T1hr; ≈26%, p < 0.05 at T24hr) and mitochondrial membrane potential, Δψm, (≈ by a factor of 13, p < 0.001 at T1hr; ≈ by a factor of 11, p < 0.001 at T24hr), despite elevated histology injury score (26%, p < 0.05 at T1hr; 47%, p < 0.05 at T24hr). Therefore, this study identifies an approach that can boost recovery and halt the progression of AKI at its inception.
On the thermodynamic stability of clathrate hydrates

The thermodynamic stability of clathrate hydrates is investigated by theoretically examining the free energy of formation of clathrate hydrates encaging propane and argon. The total free energy is divided into several contributions: the interaction between water and guest molecules, the entropic contribution arising from the combinations of cage occupancy, and the free energy due to intermolecular vibrations. The method introduced here removes some of the assumptions of the van der Waals and Platteeuw theory. It is shown that the shift of the vibrational frequency of the host lattice destabilizes the clathrate hydrates thermodynamically. PACS No.: 61.50Ah
Fractional-Order Fourier Analysis of Human DNA

Abstract This paper studies the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) code in the perspective of system dynamics and Fractional Calculus (FC). DNA includes the history of evolution towards the particular species and the instructions for the growth of each individual during its lifetime. In this study are associated logical and mathematical concepts namely, alphabet coding, Fourier transform and FC for the analysis of the DNA data of different chromosomes. The results reveal important characteristics motivating further research with the formalisms of system dynamics.
Cetaceans in the Maldives: a review

The cetaceans of the Maldives were poorly known until relatively recently, but have received increased attention over the past decade. Twentythree species of cetacean have now been recorded. A number of sightings surveys, and one acoustic survey, have been completed. The species most frequently seen is the spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris). A national system for reporting cetacean strandings has been in place since 2000, although some earlier strandings were also reported; approximately 160 strandings of 16 species have been recorded to date. The species most commonly reported stranding is the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Ambergris has been exported from the Maldives since ancient times; recent export statistics are reviewed. All cetaceans are protected by law within Maldivian waters. More significantly, most forms of net-fishing, including gill-netting and purse-seining are banned in the Maldives to protect the traditional pole and line tuna fishery. Cetacean-watching is becoming increasingly popular, with spinner dolphins being the main attraction, although other species are also sought after on specialist trips.
Selenium, Iodine and Iron–Essential Trace Elements for Thyroid Hormone Synthesis and Metabolism

The adequate availability and metabolism of three essential trace elements, iodine, selenium and iron, provide the basic requirements for the function and action of the thyroid hormone system in humans, vertebrate animals and their evolutionary precursors. Selenocysteine-containing proteins convey both cellular protection along with H2O2-dependent biosynthesis and the deiodinase-mediated (in-)activation of thyroid hormones, which is critical for their receptor-mediated mechanism of cellular action. Disbalances between the thyroidal content of these elements challenge the negative feedback regulation of the hypothalamus–pituitary–thyroid periphery axis, causing or facilitating common diseases related to disturbed thyroid hormone status such as autoimmune thyroid disease and metabolic disorders. Iodide is accumulated by the sodium-iodide-symporter NIS, and oxidized and incorporated into thyroglobulin by the hemoprotein thyroperoxidase, which requires local H2O2 as cofactor. The latter is generated by the dual oxidase system organized as ‘thyroxisome’ at the surface of the apical membrane facing the colloidal lumen of the thyroid follicles. Various selenoproteins expressed in thyrocytes defend the follicular structure and function against life-long exposure to H2O2 and reactive oxygen species derived therefrom. The pituitary hormone thyrotropin (TSH) stimulates all processes required for thyroid hormone synthesis and secretion and regulates thyrocyte growth, differentiation and function. Worldwide deficiencies of nutritional iodine, selenium and iron supply and the resulting endemic diseases are preventable with educational, societal and political measures.
ATP-Dependent Chromatin Remodellers in Inner Ear Development

During transcription, DNA replication and repair, chromatin structure is constantly modified to reveal specific genetic regions and allow access to DNA-interacting enzymes. ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling complexes use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to modify chromatin architecture by repositioning and rearranging nucleosomes. These complexes are defined by a conserved SNF2-like, catalytic ATPase subunit and are divided into four families: CHD, SWI/SNF, ISWI and INO80. ATP-dependent chromatin remodellers are crucial in regulating development and stem cell biology in numerous organs, including the inner ear. In addition, mutations in genes coding for proteins that are part of chromatin remodellers have been implicated in numerous cases of neurosensory deafness. In this review, we describe the composition, structure and functional activity of these complexes and discuss how they contribute to hearing and neurosensory deafness.
The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation in the Northern Hemisphere Lower Stratosphere

Monthly mean Northern Hemisphere geopotential heights and temperatures on the 10, 30, 50, 100, and 300mb surfaces for a 16 year period (1962-1977) are composited with respect to the phase of the equatorial quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) at 50mb for the winter months (November-March). T ecomposited fields how zonally symmetric seesaw oscillations in both heights and temperatures with negative (positive) anomalies in polar regions and positive (negative) anomalies in midlatitudes during the westerly (easterly) phase of the equatorial QBO. Latitude-height cross sections of the zonal mean geostrophic wind for the 10-300mb layer indicate that during the westerly (easterly) phase of the equatiorial QBO at 500mb the polar night jet is stronger (weaker) than normal and the ttopospheric midlatitude j t is slightly weaker (stronger) than normal. Similar composites for zonalwavenumbers 1 and 2 and composites of the Eliassen-Palm flux show some indication of a QBO in stratospheric planetary waves, but the signal is surprisingly small considering the large amplitude QBO in the polar night jet.
Color image enhancement using evolutionary principles and the Retinex theory of color constancy

The paper investigates the use of Evolutionary Computation (EC) to automate the process of color image enhancement, for a large category of color images taken with different illuminants. Our approach employs the model of Multi-Scale Retinex with Color Restoration (MSRCR) for which the parameters of the model are adapted to each given image with a Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm (GA). Results on a diverse set of images show the efficiency of our approach compared to other classical enhancement methods.
Simultaneous Update of High-Resolution Land-Cover Mapping Attempt: Wuhan and the Surrounding Satellite Cities Cartography Using L2HNet

Land-cover mapping is important for urban planning and management, and current land-cover mapping products are unable to meet the needs of cities due to frequent land surface changes. In this study, based on the low-to-high network (L2HNet) network, we generate a high-resolution land-cover mapping product for Wuhan and its surrounding areas. In this article, we adopt a simplified L2HNet by removing the confident area selection and the L2H loss module to shorten the cycle time of the entire mapping process. The mapping process used ESA LandCover (2021) as low-resolution labels and Google Maps as high-resolution remote sensing images. In the course of the experiment, we also calculate the four indicators mean intersection over union (MIoU), overall accuracy (OA), frequency weighted intersection over union (FWIoU), and Kappa, evaluate the accuracy of our product in predicting fine feature structure using a point-based test method, and compare it with six mainstream land-cover mapping products. The product achieves a 1m-resolution land-cover product in study areas while maintaining an over 75.21% MIoU. OA, FWIoU, and Kappa all maintain values above 85.00%, showing excellent prediction results. In quantitative analysis, compared to ESA LandCover(2021), the L2HNet product has a significant improvement in mapping accuracy for build-up and permanent water, including an exciting 21.08% improvement in permanent water accuracy and an amazing improvement in build-up. The comparison with mainstream products also shows the credibility and practicality of the product. The end result of this research fills a gap in Wuhan and its surrounding areas' 1m-resolution land-cover mapping product. While significantly improving the product's resolution, L2HNet makes time- and labor-saving periodic mapping a reality.
Gradient index devices for terahertz waves and terahertz surface waves

We demonstrate a variety of gradient index (GRIN) devices for both freely propagating terahertz waves and terahertz surface waves. As a specific example of a static GRIN optics we experimentally investigated and measured the optical properties of a GRIN beam deflector. We measured a maximum deflection angle of 6 deg. The thickness of the beam deflector was only about 100 μm which is sub-wavelength at a frequency of 1.3 THz. Furthermore, we specifically designed meta-surfaces that support strongly confined terahertz surface waves. We show that the surface waves can be deliberately guided within the plane of propagation by use of GRIN structures. For example, we evidenced the focusing behavior of a meta-surface GRIN lens by near-field mapping of the terahertz field.
The Genetic Mechanism of the Immune Response to the Rice False Smut (RFS) Fungus Ustilaginoidea virens

Rice false smut (RFS), which is caused by Ustilaginoidea virens (U. virens), has become one of the most devastating diseases in rice-growing regions worldwide. The disease results in a significant yield loss and poses health threats to humans and animals due to producing mycotoxins. In this review, we update the understanding of the symptoms and resistance genes of RFS, as well as the genomics and effectors in U. virens. We also highlight the genetic mechanism of the immune response to RFS. Finally, we analyse and explore the identification method for RFS, breeding for resistance against the disease, and interactions between the effector proteins and resistance (R) proteins, which would be involved in the development of rice disease resistance materials for breeding programmes.
Progress in heat watch-warning system technology

Abstract Among all atmospheric hazards, heat is the most deadly. With such recent notable heat events as the Chicago Heat Wave of 1995, much effort has gone into redeveloping both the methods by which it is determined whether a day will be “oppressive,” as well as the mitigation plans that are implemented when an oppressive day is forecast to occur. This article describes the techniques that have been implemented in the development of new synoptic-based heat watch–warning systems. These systems are presently running for over two dozen locations worldwide, including Chicago, Illinois; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Rome, Italy; and Shanghai, China; with plans for continued expansion. Compared to traditional systems based on arbitrary thresholds of one or two meteorological variables, these new systems account for the local human response by focusing upon the identification of the weather conditions most strongly associated with historical increases in mortality. These systems must be constructed based on the pr.