Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complex larval connectivity patterns among marine invertebrate populations

Based on the belief that marine larvae, which can spend days to months in the planktonic stage, could be transported considerable distances by ocean currents, it has long been assumed that populations of coastal species with a planktonic larval stage are demographically open and highly “connected. ” Such assumptions about the connectivity of coastal populations govern approaches to managing marine resources and shape our fundamental understanding of population dynamics and evolution, yet are rarely tested directly due to the small size and high mortality of marine larvae in a physically complex environment. Here, we document a successful application of elemental fingerprinting as a tracking tool to determine sources of settled invertebrates and show that coastal mussel larvae, previously thought to be highly dispersed, can be retained within 20–30 km of their natal origin. We compare two closely related and co-occurring species, Mytilus californianus and Mytilus galloprovincialis, and determine that, despite expected similarities, they exhibit substantially different connectivity patterns. Our use of an in situ larval culturing technique overcomes the previous challenge of applying microchemical tracking methods to species with completely planktonic development. The exchange of larvae and resulting connectivities among marine populations have fundamental consequences for the evolution and ecology of species and for the management of coastal resources.
Dietary Calcium and Phosphorus Ratio Regulates Bone Mineralization and Turnover in Vitamin D Receptor Knockout Mice by Affecting Intestinal Calcium and Phosphorus Absorption

The effects of the dietary Ca and P ratio, independent of any vitamin D effects, on bone mineralization and turnover was examined in 60 VDRKO mice fed different Ca/P ratio diets. High dietary Ca/P ratio promoted bone mineralization and turnover with adequate intestinal Ca and P transports in VDRKO mice.
Transvascular and interstitial transport of a 19 kDa linear molecule in human melanoma xenografts measured by contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging

Cancer therapy involving blood‐borne macromolecular therapeutic agents often fails, owing to inadequate macromolecule uptake in malignant tissue. The transvascular and interstitial transport of a 19 kDa linear molecule (NC22181 or poly‐[Gd‐DTPA]‐co‐[1,6‐diaminohexane]) was studied in the present work in an attempt to identify transport barriers limiting the delivery of macromolecules to tumors. Tumors of four human melanoma xenograft lines were included in the study. The uptake of NC22181 was measured by spoiled gradient recalled magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The effective microvascular permeability constant and the interstitial influx constant of NC22181 were calculated from NC22181 uptake curves by using a three‐compartment tissue model. The uptake of NC22181 was limited by the interstitial transport and not by thetransvascular transport in all xenograft lines. If the melanoma xenografts used in this study are representative models of human cancer, our results suggest that strategies for increasing the delivery of macromolecular therapeutic agents to tumors should focus on improving the transport conditions in the interstitium, rather than enhancing the permeability of the microvascular wall. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;14:608–616. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Zebrafish Egg Infection Model for Studying Candida albicans Adhesion Factors

Disseminated candidiasis is associated with 30–40% mortality in severely immunocompromised patients. Among the causal agents, Candida albicans is the dominant one. Various animal models have been developed for investigating gene functions in C. albicans. Zebrafish injection models have increasingly been applied in elucidating C. albicans pathogenesis because of the conserved immunity, prolific fecundity of the zebrafish and the low costs of care systems. In this study, we established a simple, noninvasive zebrafish egg bath infection model, defined its optimal conditions, and evaluated the model with various C. albicans mutant strains. The deletion of SAP6 did not have significant effect on the virulence. By contrast, the deletion of BCR1, CPH1, EFG1, or TEC1 significantly reduced the virulence under current conditions. Furthermore, all embryos survived when co-incubated with bcr1/bcr1, cph1/cph1 efg1/efg1, efg1/efg1, or tec1/tec1 mutant cells. The results indicated that our novel zebrafish model is time-saving and cost effective.
Women managers and organizational power/Женщины-менеджеры и организационная власть

The absence of women from top management was long attributed to the traditional "ball and chain" of family responsibilities. The fundamental reason for women's slow progress in the realms of power may lie elsewhere. Recent research has sought to identify the elements which constitute an invisible barrier - or glass ceiling - which continues to keep women from top positions. How far does the organization, as an institution, contribute through its culture to this exclusion? In this paper a comparative study of two firms will suggest to what extent the organizational culture models the professional identity of women and their subsequent relationship with power.
Root Zone Sensors for Irrigation Management in Intensive Agriculture

Crop irrigation uses more than 70% of the world’s water, and thus, improving irrigation efficiency is decisive to sustain the food demand from a fast-growing world population. This objective may be accomplished by cultivating more water-efficient crop species and/or through the application of efficient irrigation systems, which includes the implementation of a suitable method for precise scheduling. At the farm level, irrigation is generally scheduled based on the grower’s experience or on the determination of soil water balance (weather-based method). An alternative approach entails the measurement of soil water status. Expensive and sophisticated root zone sensors (RZS), such as neutron probes, are available for the use of soil and plant scientists, while cheap and practical devices are needed for irrigation management in commercial crops. The paper illustrates the main features of RZS’ (for both soil moisture and salinity) marketed for the irrigation industry and discusses how such sensors may be integrated in a wireless network for computer-controlled irrigation and used for innovative irrigation strategies, such as deficit or dual-water irrigation. The paper also consider the main results of recent or current research works conducted by the authors in Tuscany (Italy) on the irrigation management of container-grown ornamental plants, which is an important agricultural sector in Italy.
PadPrints: graphical multiscale Web histories

We have implemented a browser companion called PadPrints that dynamically builds a graphical history-map of visited web pages. PadPrints relies on Pad++, a zooming user interface (ZUI) development substrate, to display the history-map. PadPrints functions in conjunction with a traditional web browser but without requiring any browser modifications.
Relationships of metabolic profiles to milk production and feeding in dairy cows.

The aim of this study was to assess the practicality of the metabolic profile test (MPT) for feeding evaluation in dairy cattle. Stepwise regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationships of MPT to feeding and milk production of 4,679 cows in 343 commercial dairy herds. Significant explanatory variables were determined by forward set-up selection, among the deviated values from the reference values of 10 blood metabolites and body condition score, to predict dependent variables, i.e., milk production and the rate of feeding to nutrient requirements, in each or all lactation stages and the dry period. The milk production model of the all-lactation stage showed the greatest goodness-of-fit (adjusted R(2)=0.214, p<0.0001) with high positive regression coefficients for serum cholesterol, magnesium, urea nitrogen and albumin, and negative for glucose and calcium. In the feeding models, goodness-of-fit of crude protein was relatively high (R(2)=0.072, p<0.0001) with a positive relationship to blood urea nitrogen. Although the other feeding models were low in goodness-of-fit, several significant explanatory variables to feeding were found. All feeding models in the late lactation stage and the dry period, in which the feeding was stable, had greater goodness-of-fit than those in the early lactation stage in which milk production varied. It was concluded that the values which deviated from the reference values for the MPT components could assess milk production and feeding, and the MPT is a practical tool for auxiliary feeding evaluation.
Diminished insulin secretory response to glucose but normal insulin and glucagon secretory responses to arginine in a family with maternally inherited diabetes and deafness caused by mitochondrial tRNA(LEU(UUR)) gene mutation.

OBJECTIVE The effects of glucose, arginine, and glucagon on beta-cell function as well as alpha-cell response to arginine were studied in a family with mitochondrial diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The function of alpha- and beta-cells was assessed in all five siblings carrying the mitochondrial tRNA Leu(UUR) gene mutation at position 3243 and compared with six sex-, age-, and weight-matched control subjects. Insulin and C-peptide responses were evaluated by intravenous glucagon application, intravenous arginine stimulation test, and intravenous glucose tolerance test. Glucagon secretion was assessed during the arginine stimulation test. RESULTS The glucose disappearance constant (K(g)) value (mean +/- SEM 0.61 +/- 0.04 vs. 1.1 +/- 0.04, P = 0.0002) as well as the acute insulin response to glucose (area under the curve [AUC] 0-10 min, 77.7 +/- 50.7 vs. 1,352.3 +/- 191.5 pmol/l, P = 0.0004) were decreased in all patients. Similarly, glucagon-stimulated C-peptide response was also impaired (728 +/- 111.4 vs. 1,526.7 +/- 157.7 pmol/l, P = 0.005), whereas the insulin response to arginine (AUC) was normal (1,346.9 +/- 710.8 vs. 1,083.2 +/- 132.5 pmol/l, P = 0.699). Acute glucagon response to arginine (AUC) was normal but tended to be higher in the patients than in the control subjects (181.7 +/- 47.5 vs. 90.0 +/- 21.1 pmol/l, P = 0.099). CONCLUSIONS This study shows impaired insulin and C-peptide secretion in response to a glucose challenge and to glucagon stimulation in diabetic patients with mitochondrial tRNA Leu(UUR) gene mutation, although insulin and glucagon secretory responses to arginine were normal.
In Vitro Antiretroviral Activity and In Vitro Toxicity Profile of SPD754, a New Deoxycytidine Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor for Treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

ABSTRACT SPD754 (AVX754) is a deoxycytidine analogue nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) in clinical development. These studies characterized the in vitro activity of SPD754 against NRTI-resistant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and non-clade B HIV-1 isolates, its activity in combination with other antiretrovirals, and its potential myelotoxicity and mitochondrial toxicity. SPD754 was tested against 50 clinical HIV-1 isolates (5 wild-type isolates and 45 NRTI-resistant isolates) in MT-4 cells using the Antivirogram assay. SPD754 susceptibility was reduced 1.2- to 2.2-fold against isolates resistant to zidovudine (M41L, T215Y/F, plus a median of three additional nucleoside analogue mutations [NAMs]) and/or lamivudine (M184V) and was reduced 1.3- to 2.8-fold against isolates resistant to abacavir (L74V, Y115F, and M184V plus one other NAM) or stavudine (V75T/M, M41L, T215F/Y, and four other NAMs). Insertions at amino acid position 69 and Q151M mutations (with or without M184V) reduced SPD754 susceptibility 5.2-fold and 14- to 16-fold, respectively (these changes gave values comparable to or less than the corresponding values for zidovudine, lamivudine, abacavir, and didanosine). SPD754 showed similar activity against isolates of group M HIV-1 clades, including A/G, B, C, D, A(E), D/F, F, and H. SPD754 showed additive effects in combination with other NRTIs, tenofovir, nevirapine, or saquinavir. SPD754 had no significant effects on cell viability or mitochondrial DNA in HepG2 or MT-4 cells during 28-day exposure at concentrations up to 200 μM. SPD754 showed a low potential for myelotoxicity against human bone marrow. In vitro, SPD754 retained activity against most NRTI-resistant HIV-1 clinical isolates and showed a low propensity to cause myelotoxicity and mitochondrial toxicity.
The Nuclear DNA Sensor IFI16 Acts as a Restriction Factor for Human Papillomavirus Replication through Epigenetic Modifications of the Viral Promoters

ABSTRACT The human interferon-inducible IFI16 protein, an innate immune sensor of intracellular DNA, was recently demonstrated to act as a restriction factor for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection by inhibiting both viral-DNA replication and transcription. Through the use of two distinct cellular models, this study provides strong evidence in support of the notion that IFI16 can also restrict human papillomavirus 18 (HPV18) replication. In the first model, an immortalized keratinocyte cell line (NIKS) was used, in which the IFI16 protein was knocked down through the use of small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology and overexpressed following transduction with the adenovirus IFI16 (AdVIFI16) vector. The second model consisted of U2OS cells transfected by electroporation with HPV18 minicircles. In differentiated IFI16-silenced NIKS-HPV18 cells, viral-load values were significantly increased compared with differentiated control cells. Consistent with this, IFI16 overexpression severely impaired HPV18 replication in both NIKS and U2OS cells, thus confirming its antiviral restriction activity. In addition to the inhibition of viral replication, IFI16 was also able to reduce viral transcription, as demonstrated by viral-gene expression analysis in U2OS cells carrying episomal HPV18 minicircles and HeLa cells. We also provide evidence that IFI16 promotes the addition of heterochromatin marks and the reduction of euchromatin marks on viral chromatin at both early and late promoters, thus reducing both viral replication and transcription. Altogether, these results argue that IFI16 restricts chromatinized HPV DNA through epigenetic modifications and plays a broad surveillance role against viral DNA in the nucleus that is not restricted to herpesviruses. IMPORTANCE Intrinsic immunity is mediated by cellular restriction factors that are constitutively expressed and active even before a pathogen enters the cell. The host nuclear factor IFI16 acts as a sensor of foreign DNA and an antiviral restriction factor, as recently demonstrated by our group for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). Here, we provide the first evidence that IFI16 inhibits HPV18 replication by repressing viral-gene expression and replication. This antiviral restriction activity was observed in immortalized keratinocytes transfected with the religated genomes and in U2OS cells transfected with HPV18 minicircles, suggesting that it is not cell type specific. We also show that IFI16 promotes the assembly of heterochromatin on HPV DNA. These changes in viral chromatin structure lead to the generation of a repressive state at both early and late HPV18 promoters, thus implicating the protein in the epigenetic regulation of HPV gene expression and replication.
Spatially Resolved Ultraviolet Spectra of the High-Velocity Nuclear Outflow of NGC 1068

We present ultraviolet emission-line maps of the narrow-line region (NLR) of NGC 1068. The maps span 115-318 nm, the biconical ionization cone, and several posited jet-ISM interactions, and the compact knots whose optical spectra we reported previously resemble kinematically the quasar associated absorption line systems. Across the NLR, we find that ultraviolet flux ratios are consistent with photoionization, not shock excitation, even for gas blueshifted abruptly to 3000 km s-1 relative to galaxy systemic velocity or for gas projected near the radio jet. The knots may be radiatively accelerated, photoablated fragments of molecular clouds.
LOCAL CHROMATIC NUMBER AND DISTINGUISHING THE STRENGTH OF TOPOLOGICAL OBSTRUCTIONS

The local chromatic number of a graph G is the number of colors appearing in the most colorful closed neighborhood of a vertex minimized over all proper colorings of G. We show that two specific topological obstructions that have the same implications for the chromatic number have different implications for the local chromatic number. These two obstructions can be formulated in terms of the homomorphism complex Hom(K 2 , G) and its suspension, respectively. These investigations follow the line of research initiated by Matousek and Ziegler who recognized a hierarchy of the different topological expressions that can serve as lower bounds for the chromatic number of a graph. Our results imply that the local chromatic number of 4-chromatic Kneser, Schrijver, Borsuk, and generalized Mycielski graphs is 4, and more generally, that 2r-chromatic versions of these graphs have local chromatic number at least r + 2. This lower bound is tight in several cases by results of the first two authors.
Olfactory Deficit and Hippocampal Volume Loss for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease: A Pilot Study

Background:The aim of this pilot study was to verify the role of olfactory test and volumetric magnetic resonance imaging measure of hippocampus to predict conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer disease (AD). Materials and Methods:Eighteen patients with amnesic mild cognitive impairment, broadly defined, were followed at 12 months. Hypothesized baseline predictors for follow-up conversion to AD were olfactory deficit and hippocampal volumes loss. Results:In the 1-year follow-up, 5 patients converted to AD. The 2 clinical predictors olfactory test and hippocampal volume loss showed the same sensitivity of 92.3% but the olfactory test showed a higher specificity than the hippocampal volume loss (75% vs. 60%). Conclusions:Our findings suggest the potential utility of olfactory test and hippocampal volume loss for early detection of AD.
Automatic Context-Specific Subnetwork Discovery from Large Interaction Networks

Genes act in concert via specific networks to drive various biological processes, including progression of diseases such as cancer. Under different phenotypes, different subsets of the gene members of a network participate in a biological process. Single gene analyses are less effective in identifying such core gene members (subnetworks) within a gene set/network, as compared to gene set/network-based analyses. Hence, it is useful to identify a discriminative classifier by focusing on the subnetworks that correspond to different phenotypes. Here we present a novel algorithm to automatically discover the important subnetworks of closely interacting molecules to differentiate between two phenotypes (context) using gene expression profiles. We name it COSSY (COntext-Specific Subnetwork discoverY). It is a non-greedy algorithm and thus unlikely to have local optima problems. COSSY works for any interaction network regardless of the network topology. One added benefit of COSSY is that it can also be used as a highly accurate classification platform which can produce a set of interpretable features.
Active Ageing among Older Adults with Lifelong Intellectual Disabilities: The Role of Familial and Nonfamilial Social Networks

Little research has examined the extent to which active ageing is facilitated by family and nonfamilial support persons of older adults with intellectual disabilities. This study explores the role played by key unpaid carers/support persons of older adults with lifelong intellectual disabilities in facilitating “active ageing. ” All key social network members conceived active ageing to mean ongoing activity. Family and extended family members were found to play a crucial role in facilitating independent living and providing opportunities for recreational pursuits for those living in group homes. Members of religious organizations and group home staff provided the same types of opportunities where family support was absent. The findings suggest the need for improvements in resource provision, staff training, and group home policy and building design.
Optimizing Talbot's Contours for the Inversion of the Laplace Transform

Talbot’s method for the numerical inversion of the Laplace transform consists of numerically integrating the Bromwich integral on a special contour by means of the trapezoidal or midpoint rules. In this paper we address the issue of parameter selection in the method, for the particular situation when parabolic PDEs are solved. In the process the well-known subgeometric convergence rate $O(\exp(-c \sqrt{N}))$ of this method is improved to the geometric rate $O(\exp(-c N))$, with $N$ the number of nodes in the integration rule. The value of the maximum decay rate $c$ is explicitly determined. Numerical results for two versions of the heat equation are presented. With the choice of parameters derived here, the rule of thumb is that to achieve an accuracy of $10^{-\ell}$ at any given time, the associated elliptic problem has to be solved no more than $\ell$ times.
Cotinine analytical workshop report: consideration of analytical methods for determining cotinine in human body fluids as a measure of passive exposure to tobacco smoke.

A two-day technical workshop was convened November 10-11, 1986, to discuss analytical approaches for determining trace amounts of cotinine in human body fluids resulting from passive exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). The workshop, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control, was attended by scientists with expertise in cotinine analytical methodology and/or conduct of human monitoring studies related to ETS. The workshop format included technical presentations, separate panel discussions on chromatography and immunoassay analytical approaches, and group discussions related to the quality assurance/quality control aspects of future monitoring programs. This report presents a consensus of opinion on general issues before the workshop panel participants and also a detailed comparison of several analytical approaches being used by the various represented laboratories. The salient features of the chromatography and immunoassay analytical methods are discussed separately.
Dislocation Processes and Deformation Twinning in Nanocrystalline

Using a recently developed, massively parallel molecular-dynamics (MD) code for the simulation of polycrystal plasticity, we analyze for the case of nanocrystalline Al the complex interplay among various dislocation and grain-boundary processes during lowtemperature deformation. A unique aspect of this work, arising from our ability to deform to rather large plastic strains and to consider a rather large grain size, is the observation of deformation under very high grain-boundary and dislocation densities, i.e., in a deformation regime where they compete on an equal footing. We are thus able to identify the intraand intergranular dislocation and grain-boundary processes responsible for the extensive deformation twinning observed in our simulations. This illustrates the ability of this type of simulations to capture novel atomic-level insights into the underlying deformation mechanisms not presently possible experimentally.