Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Amino Acid Substitution within Seven-Octapeptide Repeat Insertions in the Prion Protein Gene Associated with Short-Term Course

The majority of seven-octapeptide repeat insertion (7-OPRI) carriers exhibit relatively early onset and a slowly progressive course. We have presented three cases of 7-OPRI, including two that are rapidly progressing, and compared the clinical and ancillary characteristics of the short-term and long-term disease course, as well as factors that influence disease course. The clinical and ancillary features of three new 7-OPRI patients in a Chinese pedigree were analyzed. Global data on 7-OPRI cases were then collected by reviewing the literature, and the cases were grouped according to clinical duration as per the WHO sCJD criteria, with a two-year cut-off. A Chinese pedigree has a glycine-to-glutamate substitution within the 7-OPRI insertion, which enhances the hydrophilicity of the prion protein. Two cases in this pedigree had a short disease course (consistent with the typical clinical and ancillary features of sCJD). In addition, the members of this pedigree had a later onset (p < 0.001) and shorter disease course (p < 0.001) compared to previously reported 7-OPRI cases with 129 cis-M and a similar age of onset and disease course to that of cases with 129 cis-V. The 7-OPRI cases with a shorter clinical course (n = 4) had a later onset (p = 0.021), higher rate of hyperintensity on MRI (p = 0.029) and higher frequency of 129 cis-V (p = 0.066) compared to those with a longer clinical course (n = 13). The clinical presentation of 7-OPRI is significantly heterogeneous. Codon 129 cis-V and amino acid substitution within repeat insertions are possible contributors to the short-term disease course of 7-OPRI.
Neglected Trichalophus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): DNA barcode and phylogeography of high-altitude flightless weevils rediscovered in Southwest China

Trichalophus LeConte weevils are rediscovered in Southwest China (Yunnan and Sichuan) after last being col- lected in 1915. Populations are all found at high altitudes (3704–4158 m) and are attributed to three species: T. caudiculatus (Fairmaire, 1886) (= compressicauda Fairmaire, 1887, syn. n.), T. scylla sp. n. and T. tibetanus (Suvorov, 1915). Type specimens of all four species-group names are illustrated. A DNA barcode library of five Trichalophus species (29 sequences) is presented at doi: dx.doi. org/10.5883/DS-TRICHAL. All examined species of Trichalophus are flightless. Phylogenetic relationships of Southwest China Trichalophus based on Maximum Likelihood and Maximum Parsimony analyses suggest their monophyletic origin and monophyly of each species. Results of the temporal analysis are consis- tent with the basic Quaternary expansion-contraction model of altitudinal range change. The warm period following the Last Glacial Maximum (26,000–19,000 years before present) is linked to the present day high altitude Trichalophus refugium in Southwest China, but not for the lineage diversifications, which are much older (8.08–5.17 Mya). An illustrated overview of ten extant Alophini genera is provided.
Réponses du D r C. Vélot aux allégations du Pr Fischer suite à l’expertise du D r Vélot concernant les risques sur les vaccins de nouvelle génération contre la Covid-19 sur le génie GÉNétique

Tout d’abord les cellules qui reçoivent le matériel vaccinant sont essentiellement des cellules musculaires (injection intramusculaire), voire des cellules dermiques ou des cellules du tissu conjonctif (tissu qui enveloppe nos organes et notamment nos faisceaux musculaires), mais certainement pas nos cellules immunitaires. Ce sont donc les cellules précitées qui vont prendre en charge le matériel génétique viral injecté et fabriquer la protéine Spike (protéine de surface du virus Sars-Cov2), et c’est cette production de protéine virale (antigène) par les cellules musculaires notamment qui va engendrer la réponse immunitaire. Et heureusement d’ailleurs que ce ne sont pas les cellules immunitaires qui captent le matériel génétique viral pour produire elles-mêmes la protéine Spike, car cela conduirait sans aucun doute à une maladie auto-immune. Les cellules immunitaires fabriquent les anticorps dirigés contre les antigènes, mais bien sûr pas les antigènes eux-mêmes.
A Reconfigurable Parallel Robot for On-Structure Machining of Large Structures

This paper presents a novel walking hybrid-kinematics robot that can be reconfigured to have three, five, and six degrees of freedom (DOFs) for adsorption machining of large structures. A symmetric 3PRPR or 3PRRR parallel mechanism with three translational (3T) DOFs is used to perform three-axis machining tasks. Three attachment pads connected to passive spherical joints are used to attach the robot to the surface of a large structure. Two or three rotational degrees of freedom can be added to the robot to adapt to a large structure’s irregular surface geometry and perform five- or six-axis machining tasks. This is achieved through modular reassembly or joint locking that reconfigures the robot from a three-DOF robot to a five- or six-DOF robot. A serial module providing two rotational DOFs can be added to the 3T parallel mechanism to provide five DOFs. A parallel module, namely 3SPR or 3SU mechanism, can be added to the 3T parallel mechanism to provide six DOFs. The mobility, pose kinematics, differential kinematics, singularities, and workspace of the 3SPR and 3SU parallel mechanisms alone and combined with the 3T mechanism are discussed in this paper. It is shown that the singularities of the mechanism can be easily avoided by making the moving platform of the 3SPR or 3SU mechanism smaller than the base, limiting the range of some joints, and having an appropriate length of the links. Furthermore, a method to optimize the workspace of the mechanism was also discussed.
Pair production treatments for deterministic pulse-height distribution simulations

approved: Todd S. Palmer This thesis presents methods for treating annihilation photon pairs in deterministic pulse height distribution (PHD) simulations. The methods are applied in PHD simulations for monoenergtic sources of 1.6 and 2.6 MeV photons incident on 5 and 10 cm 1-D slabs of germanium, sodium iodide, and lead and the results are compared with PHD simulations generated using MCNP5. Comparisons show good agreement between the peak area estimates of the deterministic and Monte Carlo codes. Average relative error in peak area estimates compared to the MCNP5 benchmark was 7%. A new treatment for the distribution of energy deposition resulting from group-to-group transfer is introduced that provides limited improvement in resolution when compared to treatments used in previous work [1]. An iteration parameter study is also conducted on slab geometry systems composed of carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, lead, and lead sodium iodide of various thickness. The results indicate a maximum of approximately seven iterations required to converge transport solutions (>95% of escaping boundary current) for spatially uniform distributions of 0.511 MeV photons in 5 cm thick slabs. c ©Copyright by Michael R. MacQuigg July 26, 2011 All Rights Reserved Pair Production Treatments for Deterministic Pulse-Height Distribution Simulations
Research Article Functionalization of Carbon Electrodes with Nanotitania by Atomic Layer Deposition

Carbon fibers are materials with a very high surface area and are interesting for applications such as filters, fire-resistant heat insulation, photocatalysis, and capacitor electrodes. Moreover, thermal burnout can easily remove these fibers, making them ideal templates for high-precision coatings or keeping them within the coated structure, generating nanostructured composites. In this work, two different substrates, carbon felt and bacterial nanocellulose were coated by TiO 2 with atomic layer deposition (ALD). After deposition, the templates were pyrolyzed or further removed by burnout in the air. The microstructure evolution of the 3D interlocked-fibers structures was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption surface area after each step. Stable anatase was present as a single TiO 2 phase even after heat treatment at 800 ° C. Moreover, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and constant current charge-discharge were employed to investigate the electrochemical properties of the samples. Our results show that all samples display a uniform layer after ALD and that the surface area decreases with an increasing number of ALD cycles. After burnout, the 3D structures presented a straw-like appearance to the shells. Nonetheless, both samples presented a power density comparable to a porous NiO/C, with the pyrolyzed bacterial nanocellulose sample displaying a higher pseudocapacitance performance than the carbon-felt samples.
Optimal mixed payment system and medical liability. A laboratory study

In a controlled laboratory environment, we test the role of medical malpractice liability on physicians’ service provision under fee-for-service, capitation, and mixed payment. We find that the introduction of medical liability causes a significant deviation from patient-optimal treatment that it is not mitigated by the use of a standard mixed payment system. Specifically, we find that the presence of medical liability pressure involves a proper optimal calibration of mixed payment system. Our findings have relevant policy implications for the correct calibration and implementation of the mixed payment system.
Toda tau functions with quantum torus symmetries

The quantum torus algebra plays an important role in a special class of solutions of the Toda hierarchy. Typical examples are the solutions related to the melting crystal model of topological strings and 5D SUSY gauge theories. The quantum torus algebra is realized by a 2D complex free fermion system that underlies the Toda hierarchy, and exhibits mysterious "shift symmetries". This article is based on collaboration with Toshio Nakatsu.
UTFPR at SemEval-2019 Task 5: Hate Speech Identification with Recurrent Neural Networks

In this paper we revisit the problem of automatically identifying hate speech in posts from social media. We approach the task using a system based on minimalistic compositional Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN). We tested our approach on the SemEval-2019 Task 5: Multilingual Detection of Hate Speech Against Immigrants and Women in Twitter (HatEval) shared task dataset. The dataset made available by the HatEval organizers contained English and Spanish posts retrieved from Twitter annotated with respect to the presence of hateful content and its target. In this paper we present the results obtained by our system in comparison to the other entries in the shared task. Our system achieved competitive performance ranking 7th in sub-task A out of 62 systems in the English track.
Calcium Signaling in Plant-Insect Interactions

In plant–insect interactions, calcium (Ca2+) variations are among the earliest events associated with the plant perception of biotic stress. Upon herbivory, Ca2+ waves travel long distances to transmit and convert the local signal to a systemic defense program. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), Ca2+ and electrical signaling are interlinked to form a network supporting rapid signal transmission, whereas the Ca2+ message is decoded and relayed by Ca2+-binding proteins (including calmodulin, Ca2+-dependent protein kinases, annexins and calcineurin B-like proteins). Monitoring the generation of Ca2+ signals at the whole plant or cell level and their long-distance propagation during biotic interactions requires innovative imaging techniques based on sensitive sensors and using genetically encoded indicators. This review summarizes the recent advances in Ca2+ signaling upon herbivory and reviews the most recent Ca2+ imaging techniques and methods.
Emancipatory agroecologies: social and political principles

ABSTRACT We examine how the policies of governments and the projects of international agencies and many NGOs strip agroecology of its emancipatory potential. Adhering to the conventional logic of development, they reinforce or create dependencies, individualize communities, convert use values into exchange values, incorporate peoples into hierarchical structures of domination, promote the belief that peoples must be saved from poverty through the intervention of a benefactor, and teach to act based on capitalist economic rationality. Emancipatory agroecologies, on the other hand, are radically transformative processes which we summarize in seven principles.
Research on trading strategies based on time series - taking gold and bitcoin as examples

In response to the problem of how to optimally invest in gold and bitcoin, this paper establishes a daily trading strategy model, and uses a large amount of price data to conduct in-depth research on how to conduct optimal transactions to obtain maximum value. Based on the daily prices of gold and bitcoin within 5 years, we first build an ARIMA time series forecast model, and use MATLAB programming to solve the forecast results to get the next day's gold and bitcoin prices. Using this prediction result, we established a daily trading strategy model, and used recursion to find the daily trading strategy and the gains obtained in turn. The application of the model will help financial practitioners to analyze and guide the investment of related products.
Association Between Nutritional Knowledge, Dietary Regimen, and Excess Body Weight in Primary School Teachers

Introduction Peru is one of the developing countries with the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity in Latin America and Caribbean region. Primary school teachers are identified as a high-risk group for overweight and obesity. However, studies conducted in this population group are limited. This study evaluated the association between nutritional knowledge, dietary regimen, and excess body weight in primary school teachers. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that included 151 teachers from two state schools in the eastern region of Lima, Peru. The level of nutritional knowledge was assessed using a validated questionnaire. Dietary regimen was also determined. The body mass index (BMI) was determined through self-reported weight and height. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between possible risk factors with excess body weight among teachers. Results Inadequate nutritional knowledge level (AOR = 5.21, 95% CI: 1.31–20.93), being male teachers (AOR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.13–4.45), and being married (AOR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.17–5.30) were the significant predictors of excess body weight. In contrast, vegetarian teachers were less likely to have excess body weight (AOR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.47–0.97). Conclusion Future intervention programs should include improving nutritional knowledge with greater attention to male and married teachers to decrease the risk of excess body weight.
Typical-Medium Theory of Mott-Anderson Localization

The Mott and the Anderson routes to localization have long been recognized as the two basic processes that can drive the metal-insulator transition (MIT). Theories separately describing each of these mechanisms were discussed long ago, but an accepted approach that can include both has remained elusive. The lack of any obvious static symmetry distinguishing the metal from the insulator poses another fundamental problem, since an appropriate static order parameter cannot be easily found. More recent work, however, has revisited the original arguments of Anderson and Mott, which stressed that the key diference between the metal end the insulator lies in the dynamics of the electron. This physical picture has suggested that the "typical" (geometrically averaged) escape rate from a given lattice site should be regarded as the proper dynamical order parameter for the MIT, one that can naturally describe both the Anderson and the Mott mechanism for localization. This article provides an overview of the recent results obtained from the corresponding Typical-Medium Theory, which provided new insight into the the two-fluid character of the Mott-Anderson transition.
Pre-Feasibility Study of Carbon Sequestration Potential of Land Clearing Stumps Buried Underground

Stump harvesting for energy has decreased in Finland, and many heat and power plants no longer accept stumps in their fuel portfolio due to fuel quality problems. However Finland is a forested country, and land clearing stumps need to be extracted, e.g. in infrastructure construction projects. If stumps cannot be used for energy production, they are dumped in landfills, where they start to decay and release CO2 into the atmosphere. One option to avoid CO2 emissions would be the burying of stumps underground so that the decaying process of wood would be inhibited in anaerobic conditions. The aim of this study was to define the carbon sequestration potential of stump burying logistics and calculate their CO2-eq emissions to compare them with the emissions of decaying stumps in piles. The analysis was performed as a spreadsheet-based system analysis at a worksite level as a function of time and size of extracted stumps. As a result of the analysis, the emission effiency of the logistics chain based on stumps stored below the ground was good. The net carbon stock varied between 743.7 and 775.0 kg CO2-eq/m3 as a function of stump diameter, when the emissions of the stump burying logistics chain were 49.0 and 17.7 kg CO2-eq/m3 respectively. In the case of a Finnish municipality with an annual accumulation of 1000 m3 of land clearing stumps, the carbon sequestration potential of stumps buried underground is equivalent to the emissions of between 280,000 and 290,000 liters of diesel fuel consumption, depending on the diameter of the extracted stumps and the diesel fuel emission factors for different engine and diesel fuel types.
Advances in Hybrid Composites for Photocatalytic Applications: A Review

Heterogeneous photocatalysts have garnered extensive attention as a sustainable way for environmental remediation and energy storage process. Water splitting, solar energy conversion, and pollutant degradation are examples of nowadays applications where semiconductor-based photocatalysts represent a potentially disruptive technology. The exploitation of solar radiation for photocatalysis could generate a strong impact by decreasing the energy demand and simultaneously mitigating the impact of anthropogenic pollutants. However, most of the actual photocatalysts work only on energy radiation in the Near-UV region (<400 nm), and the studies and development of new photocatalysts with high efficiency in the visible range of the spectrum are required. In this regard, hybrid organic/inorganic photocatalysts have emerged as highly potential materials to drastically improve visible photocatalytic efficiency. In this review, we will analyze the state-of-art and the developments of hybrid photocatalysts for energy storage and energy conversion process as well as their application in pollutant degradation and water treatments.
EX VIVO TERAHERTZ IMAGING REFLECTION OF MALIGNANT AND BENIGN HUMAN BREAST TUMORS

This study evaluated the effectiveness of spectroscopy and imaging tools, using a previously-unexplored (0.2- 1.4) terahertz range, for investigating tumors in human tissue and distinguishing between malignant and benign cancer cells. One advantage of this technique is that terahertz radiation in this frequency range passes through human tissue without causing ionization or any negative effects To assess the effectiveness of this band of frequencies, THz data were collected from 10 different fresh breast tissue samples, extracted directly after excision. The optical properties were investigated at a range of low frequencies and THz imaging revealed good contrast between the different types of fresh tissue. Observations indicated that the optical and electrical properties in the low-frequency (0.3-0.5) range provided accurate information about breast cancer tissue. These results demonstrated the effectiveness of the technique up to 0.5 THz for ex vivo studies in medical applications.
GROWING WHITE DWARFS TO THE CHANDRASEKHAR LIMIT: THE PARAMETER SPACE OF THE SINGLE DEGENERATE SN Ia CHANNEL

Can a white dwarf (WD), accreting hydrogen-rich matter from a non-degenerate companion star, ever exceed the Chandrasekhar mass and explode as a SN Ia? We explore the range of accretion rates that allow a WD to secularly grow in mass, and derive limits on the accretion rate and on the initial mass that will allow it to reach 1.4M⊙—the Chandrasekhar mass. We follow the evolution through a long series of hydrogen flashes, during which a thick helium shell accumulates. This determines the effective helium mass accretion rate for long-term, self-consistent evolutionary runs with helium flashes. We find that net mass accumulation always occurs despite helium flashes. Although the amount of mass lost during the first few helium shell flashes is a significant fraction of that accumulated prior to the flash, that fraction decreases with repeated helium shell flashes. Eventually no mass is ejected at all during subsequent flashes. This unexpected result occurs because of continual heating of the WD interior by the helium shell flashes near its surface. The effect of heating is to lower the electron degeneracy throughout the WD, especially in the outer layers. This key result yields helium burning that is quasi-steady state, instead of explosive. We thus find a remarkably large parameter space within which long-term, self-consistent simulations show that a WD can grow in mass and reach the Chandrasekhar limit, despite its helium flashes.
A comparative study of four-year and community college students' subjective experiences of emerging adulthood, belonging needs, and well-being [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]

Background: Research on the core features of emerging adulthood has disproportionately focused on students from four-year universities. Methods: Using data from the EAMMi2 project (Grahe et al ., 2018), we assess whether the core features of emerging adulthood (as the age of possibilities, instability, identity explorations, and feeling in-between) vary between four-year university and community college students. We also explore how emerging adults compare on the need to belong and subjective well-being. Results: Four-year university students (N = 1,221) identified more strongly with the negativity/instability and feeling in-between dimensions of emerging adulthood than community college students (N = 300). Community college students, however, were higher on identity exploration, with no differences between the groups in identification with the experimentation/possibilities feature of emerging adulthood. Four-year students reported higher well-being and higher belonging needs compared to their counterparts at community colleges. Regardless of school type, experimentation/possibilities and feeling in-between predicted higher well-being whereas negativity/instability predicted lower well-being and higher belonging needs. Conclusion: These findings highlight nuance in the experiences of emerging adulthood, as evidenced by both some shared experiences and group-level differences.