Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biased Allele Expression and Aggression in Hybrid Honeybees may be Influenced by Inappropriate Nuclear-Cytoplasmic Signaling

Hybrid effects are often exhibited asymmetrically between reciprocal families. One way this could happen is if silencing of one parent’s allele occurs in one lineage but not the other, which could affect the phenotypes of the hybrids asymmetrically by silencing that allele in only one of the hybrid families. We have previously tested for allele-specific expression biases in hybrids of European and Africanized honeybees and we found that there was an asymmetric overabundance of genes showing a maternal bias in the family with a European mother. Here, we further analyze allelic bias in these hybrids to ascertain whether they may underlie previously described asymmetries in metabolism and aggression in similar hybrid families and we speculate on what mechanisms may produce this biased allele usage. We find that there are over 500 genes that have some form of biased allele usage and over 200 of these are biased toward the maternal allele but only in the family with European maternity, mirroring the pattern observed for aggression and metabolic rate. This asymmetrically biased set is enriched for genes in loci associated with aggressive behavior and also for mitochondrial-localizing proteins. It contains many genes that play important roles in metabolic regulation. Moreover we find genes relating to the piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, which is involved in chromatin modifications and epigenetic regulation and may help explain the mechanism underlying this asymmetric allele use. Based on these findings and previous work investigating aggression and metabolism in bees, we propose a novel hypothesis; that the asymmetric pattern of biased allele usage in these hybrids is a result of inappropriate use of piRNA-mediated nuclear-cytoplasmic signaling that is normally used to modulate aggression in honeybees. This is the first report of widespread asymmetric effects on allelic expression in hybrids and may represent a novel mechanism for gene regulation.
Using Syllables As Indexing Terms in Full-Text Information Retrieval

This paper describes empirical results of information retrieval in 13 languages of the Cross Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF) collection augmented with results of Turkish using syllables as a means to manage morphological variation in the languages. This kind of approach has been used in speech retrieval [1], but for some reason it has not been much tried out in text-based IR, although it has many clear advantages. Firstly, a quite well working version of it can be implemented with a very simple syllabification algorithm, consisting of only variants of one syllable structure rule, CV, consonant vowel. Secondly, although syllable-based word form variation management resembles n-gramming [2], it has the advantage, that the number of grams with syllables is more restricted which keeps the size of the text index smaller and retrieval faster. Thirdly, syllable-based approach makes possible to use different types of syllabification procedures, which can be either very fine grained, i.e. language specific or very coarse, i.e. more language independent. Fourthly, syllable based methods work for both speech and text retrieval. Our results show, that the two different CV syllabification procedures produced good results with four morphologically complex languages of the CLEF collection. For Turkish they produced also good results. For three of the languages that got good results with the CV syllabification (De, Fi and Tu), we tried also language specific, accurate syllabification procedures. Accurate syllabification was not able to produce as good IR results as CV procedures, but it was not far behind in performance.
Anatomical variations of the position of the aortic bifurcation, iliocava junction and iliac veins in relation to the lumbar vertebra.

OBJECTIVE To determine the position of the aortic bifurcation and the iliocava junction in relation to the lumbar vertebra, aortic bifurcation angle, interiliac angle, and anatomical variation of the iliac veins anterior to the lumbar vertebra of Thai people. MATERIAL AND METHOD The present study was done on 65 cadavers. The mean ages of the cadavers were 73 +/- 10 years (range from 50 to 90 years). The dissections were performed by anterior approach to the lumbar vertebra. The position of the aortic bifurcation and the iliocava junction, aortic bifurcation angle and interiliac angle were measured in relation to the lumbar vertebra. Anatomical variations of the iliac veins were observed anterior to the lumbar vertebra. RESULTS The aortic bifurcation was between L3 and L5, most often at the L4 vertebral body level (63%), at the middle third in vertical plane of vertebra (31%) and at the median third in horizontal plane of vertebra (57%). The iliocava junction was between L4 and L5-S1 disc, most often at the L5 vertebral body level (69%), at the upper third of vertebra (28%) and at the right lateral third in horizontal plane of vertebra (60%). The mean aortic bifurcation angle was 54 degrees (male 55 degrees, female 53 degrees. No significant difference in the mean aortic bifurcation angle was observed between male and female at p > 0.05 and the mean interiliac angle was 71 degrees (male 73 degrees, female 68 degrees). A significant difference in the mean interiliac angle was observed between male and female at p < 0.05. In the abdomen, variation of common iliac vein was found on the left side connecting IVC with left external iliac vein. CONCLUSION The anatomical variations of the position of the aortic bifurcation, iliocava junction, and common iliac veins at the anterior of lumbar vertebra can be found in a normal population and cause trouble to vertebral surgery during the operation. Therefore, precaution and full investigation of the anatomical position of the vessels might be required before surgery is performed.
Regional Registration for Expression Resistant 3-D Face Recognition

Biometric identification from three-dimensional (3-D) facial surface characteristics has become popular, especially in high security applications. In this paper, we propose a fully automatic expression insensitive 3-D face recognition system. Surface deformations due to facial expressions are a major problem in 3-D face recognition. The proposed approach deals with such challenging conditions in several aspects. First, we employ a fast and accurate region-based registration scheme that uses common region models. These common models make it possible to establish correspondence to all the gallery samples in a single registration pass. Second, we utilize curvature-based 3-D shape descriptors. Last, we apply statistical feature extraction methods. Since all the 3-D facial features are regionally registered to the same generic facial component, subspace construction techniques may be employed. We show that linear discriminant analysis significantly boosts the identification accuracy. We demonstrate the recognition ability of our system using the multiexpression Bosphorus and the most commonly used 3-D face database, Face Recognition Grand Challenge (FRGCv2). Our experimental results show that in both databases we obtain comparable performance to the best rank-1 correct classification rates reported in the literature so far: 98.19% for the Bosphorus and 97.51% for the FRGCv2 database. We have also carried out the standard receiver operating characteristics (ROC III) experiment for the FRGCv2 database. At an FAR of 0.1%, the verification performance was 86.09%. This shows that model-based registration is beneficial in identification scenarios where speed-up is important, whereas for verification one-to-one registration can be more beneficial.
Agent assisted mobility and load aware fast handoff scheme in wireless mesh networks

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have emerged as a leading technology for providing various cost effective services to the end users in recent times. In this paper, we propose a new agent assisted mobility and load aware fast handoff (AMLFH) scheme in WMNs. As mesh clients (MCs) cross different boundaries, the respective agent in that domain calculates the load on mesh gateways (MGs) and guides the incoming MCs to the suitable MGs for handoff. This mechanism reduces the handoff latency. Agents exchange the gateway load index (GLI) and handoff latency values (HLV) in their respective regions before starting the handoff procedure. The performance of the proposed AMLFH scheme is evaluated by extensive simulation using various metrics. The results obtained show that the proposed scheme is quite effective than the existing schemes with respect to the metrics defined above.
Crop Water Use Responses of Upland Rice to Differential Water Distribution under Sprinkler Irrigation System

Rice is a staple food cultivated and consumed in Nigeria. Several research efforts on the crop had centered on the agronomic, soil and disease behavioural pattern with little work on its water use pattern. The study was aimed at estimating irrigation water requirements and establishing crop water use with its attendant effect on the rice crop. A two-year dry season experiment was conducted at the research farm of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA Ibadan, Nigeria. Two upland rice varieties (NERICA 2 and NERICA 4) were planted on a 5m X 5m plot in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Four treatments based on different water distribution levels were adopted. Daily meteorological data were used to determine reference evapotranspiration (ET) and other supporting information relating to crop water use were also obtained. The results were subjected to statistical analysis. Total irrigation water applied were 3047mm, 2656mm, 2223mm and 1789mm while reference ET were 236.5mm, 260.6mm, 283.9mm and 310.9mm in treatments A, B, C and D respectively for NERICA 2. There were no significant differences in these parameters for NERICA 4 variety. Total irrigation water applied were 3054 mm, 2649 mm, 2220 mm and 1792 mm while total reference ET were 238.6 mm, 258.8 mm, 285.9 mm and 308.8 mm in A, B, C and D respectively for NERICA 4. The total average weekly crop ET used were 31.6mm, 36.8mm, 39.9mm and 42.9mm in all the four treatments while the highest weekly crop water use was observed during ripening stage at 8 WAP in all the treatments; 3.18mm/day (A), 3.66mm/day (B), 3.94mm/day (C) and 4.24mm/day (D). The minimum consumptive water use of 1.16mm/day was observed in 13 WAP in A. The water use efficiency (WUE) decreased in line with water distribution pattern in all the treatments. In NERICA 2, it decreased from 0.0165 t/ha/mm (A) to 0.0152 t/ha/mm (B) to 0.0099 t/ha/mm (C) and 0.0044 t/ha/mm (D). Similar pattern were observed in NERICA 4 variety. 0.0175 t/ha/mm (A), 0.0154 t/ha/mm (B), 0.0110 t/ha/mm (C) and 0.0087 t/ha/mm (D). The behaviour of rice crop in extracting water varied with the phenological stages with the highest quantity of water extraction taking place at the mid season/ripening stage during which increased metabolic activities lead to grain formation. Increasing irrigation water application does not imply increased but decreased crop water use.
Primary Role for Endoplasmic Reticulum-bound Ribosomes in Cellular Translation Identified by Ribosome Profiling*

Background: mRNA translation is compartmentalized between cytosolic and ER-bound ribosomes. Results: Genomic ribosome profiling demonstrates that the mRNA transcriptome is preferentially translated on ER membrane-bound ribosomes. Conclusion: The endoplasmic reticulum serves a global role in mRNA transcriptome expression. Significance: Partitioning of mRNAs between the cytosol and endoplasmic reticulum may represent a novel means of post-transcriptional gene regulation. In eukaryotic cells, the spatial regulation of protein expression is frequently conferred through the coupling of mRNA localization and the local control of translation. mRNA localization to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a prominent example of such regulation and serves a ubiquitous role in segregating the synthesis of secretory and integral membrane proteins to the ER. Recent genomic and biochemical studies have now expanded this view to suggest a more substantial role for the ER cellular protein synthesis. We have utilized cell fractionation and ribosome profiling to obtain a genomic survey of the subcellular organization of mRNA translation and report that ribosomal loading of mRNAs, a proxy for mRNA translation, is biased to the ER. Notably, ER-associated mRNAs encoding both cytosolic and topogenic signal-encoding proteins display similar ribosome loading densities, suggesting that ER-associated ribosomes serve a global role in mRNA translation. We propose that the partitioning of mRNAs and their translation between the cytosol and ER compartments may represent a novel mechanism for the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression.
A Comparison of Cooperative and Competitive Visualizations for Co-located Collaboration

We present a study that investigates the influence of different types of visualizations on collaboration. The visualizations present the group's performance either in a more cooperative or more competitive way. Decades of research suggest that cooperation leads to greater productivity than competition. However, most of the existing group mirror visualizations achieve an increase in productivity and better self-regulation by enabling a direct comparison of performance within the group. We conducted a repeated measures study with 12 groups that were supported by visualizations that displayed the number of ideas of a brainstorming session (1) per person (competitive condition) (2) per group (cooperative condition), (3) per person and per group (mixed condition) and (4) without visualization (baseline). Results indicate that groups that see a combination of individual and group performance (mixed condition) are more productive, more satisfied with their results and participate in a more balanced way.
Of goals and habits: age-related and individual differences in goal-directed decision-making

In this study we investigated age-related and individual differences in habitual (model-free) and goal-directed (model-based) decision-making. Specifically, we were interested in three questions. First, does age affect the balance between model-based and model-free decision mechanisms? Second, are these age-related changes due to age differences in working memory (WM) capacity? Third, can model-based behavior be affected by manipulating the distinctiveness of the reward value of choice options? To answer these questions we used a two-stage Markov decision task in in combination with computational modeling to dissociate model-based and model-free decision mechanisms. To affect model-based behavior in this task we manipulated the distinctiveness of reward probabilities of choice options. The results show age-related deficits in model-based decision-making, which are particularly pronounced if unexpected reward indicates the need for a shift in decision strategy. In this situation younger adults explore the task structure, whereas older adults show perseverative behavior. Consistent with previous findings, these results indicate that older adults have deficits in the representation and updating of expected reward value. We also observed substantial individual differences in model-based behavior. In younger adults high WM capacity is associated with greater model-based behavior and this effect is further elevated when reward probabilities are more distinct. However, in older adults we found no effect of WM capacity. Moreover, age differences in model-based behavior remained statistically significant, even after controlling for WM capacity. Thus, factors other than decline in WM, such as deficits in the in the integration of expected reward value into strategic decisions may contribute to the observed impairments in model-based behavior in older adults.
Multiple effects of calcium antagonists on plateau currents in cardiac Purkinje fibers

We studied the influence of Mn, La, and D600 on action potentials and plateau currents in cardiac Purkinje fibers. The Ca antagonists each abolished the second inward current, but they failed to act selectively. Voltage clamp experiments revealed two additional effects: decrease of slow outward current (iotachi) activation, and increase of net outward time-independent plateau current. These effects occurred at inhibitor concentrations used in earlier studies, and were essential to the reconstruction of observed Ca antagonist effects on electrical activity. The inhibitory influence of Mn, La, and D600 on iotachi suggested that iotachi activation might depend upon prior Ca entry. This hypothesis was not supported, however, when [Ca]omicron was varied: elevating [Ca]omicron enhanced Ca entry, but iotachi was nevertheless depressed. Thus, the results suggested instead that Ca antagonists and Ca ions have rather similar effects on iotachi, possibly mediated by changes in membrane surface charge.
Cannulated Screw Fixation of Jones Fractures

Background Traditional nonsurgical treatment of Jones fractures has high rates of delayed union, nonunion, and refracture. Internal fixation has become the treatment of choice in athletes and active patients. Purpose The purpose of this study was (1) to review the short- and long-term clinical results of cannulated screw fixation of Jones fractures and (2) to perform a biomechanical evaluation of fatigue failure characteristics of several types of screws used in the fixation of Jones fractures. Study Design Retrospective case series and in vitro biomechanical study. Methods Ten male and 5 female patients with Jones fractures fixed with cannulated screws ranging from 4 mm to 6.5 mm in diameter were evaluated by chart review, review of radiographs, and telephone interview. Mean follow-up from surgery to phone survey was 34 months. Screws ranging in size from 2.7 mm to 7.3 mm, both cannulated and noncannulated, stainless steel and titanium, were tested in the laboratory by cyclic loading to 250 N up to a maximum of 200 000 cycles. Results Mean time to healing as shown on radiographs and by full activity after surgery were 7.3 and 7.9 weeks, respectively. All patients were able to return to their previous levels of activity. Screw fatigue data showed that the number of cycles to failure increased with increasing screw diameter. For 4-mm screws, mean number of cycles to failure was 4308 for cannulated titanium screws, 22 012 for cannulated stainless steel screws, and 44 523 for noncannulated stainless steel screws. Conclusions In our patients, cannulated screw fixation of Jones fractures was a procedure that was reliable, had low morbidity, and afforded athletes a quick return to activity. Clinical Relevance The laboratory study suggests that the largest screw possible should be used for surgical fixation of these fractures and that screws less than 4 mm in diameter should be used with caution.
How Methodologic Differences Affect Results of Economic Analyses: A Systematic Review of Interferon Gamma Release Assays for the Diagnosis of LTBI

Introduction Cost effectiveness analyses (CEA) can provide useful information on how to invest limited funds, however they are less useful if different analysis of the same intervention provide unclear or contradictory results. The objective of our study was to conduct a systematic review of methodologic aspects of CEA that evaluate Interferon Gamma Release Assays (IGRA) for the detection of Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI), in order to understand how differences affect study results. Methods A systematic review of studies was conducted with particular focus on study quality and the variability in inputs used in models used to assess cost-effectiveness. A common decision analysis model of the IGRA versus Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) screening strategy was developed and used to quantify the impact on predicted results of observed differences of model inputs taken from the studies identified. Results Thirteen studies were ultimately included in the review. Several specific methodologic issues were identified across studies, including how study inputs were selected, inconsistencies in the costing approach, the utility of the QALY (Quality Adjusted Life Year) as the effectiveness outcome, and how authors choose to present and interpret study results. When the IGRA versus TST test strategies were compared using our common decision analysis model predicted effectiveness largely overlapped. Implications Many methodologic issues that contribute to inconsistent results and reduced study quality were identified in studies that assessed the cost-effectiveness of the IGRA test. More specific and relevant guidelines are needed in order to help authors standardize modelling approaches, inputs, assumptions and how results are presented and interpreted.
Bottle‐to‐bottle recycling of PET via nanostructure formation by melt intercalation in twin screw compounder: Improved thermal, barrier, and microbiological properties

Attempts have been made to modify the properties of the injection processing-scraped PET (denoted as RPET) via intercalation with different levels of organically modified nanoclay (montmorillonite) by melt blending in a corotating twin screw compounder. The clay platelets dispersion state has been qualitatively correlated with the melt linear viscoelastic as well as tensile and barrier properties of the prepared nanocomposites. Oxygen permeation of the nanocomposite PET films showed significant reduction compared with the pristine PET polymer. All the PET/nanoclay composites exhibited no bacterial growth, with no potentiality to generate acetaldehyde, as measured by GC/Mass analyzer. X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy performed on the scraped PET/organoclay nanocomposite samples showed increase in d001 spacing of the clay layers and their dispersion throughout the PET matrix. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed higher crystallization temperature as well as crystallization enthalpy (ΔHc) for the nanocomposite samples, compared with the unprocessed virgin PET. The RPET nanocomposite samples composed of 3 and 5% of nanoclay exhibited enhanced melt elastic modulus and pseudosolid-like behavior at low shear frequencies measured by rheomechanical spectroscopy than the unfilled pristine-scraped PET, indicating the formation of nanoscopic network structure by the clay platelets, which leads to the development of nanostructured resin. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007
Spirituality and Religion in Pain and Pain Management

Pain relief is a management problem for many patients, their families, and the medical professionals caring for them. Although everyone experiences pain to some degree, responses to it vary from one person to another. Recognizing and specifying someone else’s pain is clinically a well know challenge. Research on the biology and neurobiology of pain has given us a relationship between spirituality and pain. There is growing recognition that persistent pain is a complex and multidimensional experience stemming from the interrelations among biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. Patients with pain use a number of cognitive and behavioral strategies to cope with their pain, including religious/spiritual factors, such as prayers, and seeking spiritual support to manage their pain. This article provides an overview of the complex phenomenon of pain, with a focus on spiritual and religious issues in pain management.