Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
P elements and P-M characteristics in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster in the southernmost islands of Japan and in Taiwan

In order to study P element dynamics in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster, 126 isofemale lines were examined from seven of the southernmost islands of Japan (the Sakishima Islands) and from Taiwan. Gonadal dysgenesis (GD) tests showed large divergences in the P-M phenotypes (P inducing and P repressing abilities) between the island populations. The P-M characteristics of each population, however, had not greatly changed in the past 15 years. Their genomic P element profiles are highly similar, consisting mostly of full-size P and of KP elements. We found no clear relationship between phenotype and genomic P element composition.
“In Case You Didn't Hear Me the First Time”

This study explores how employees express dissent to management about the same issue on multiple occasions across time (i.e., how they practice repetition). Employees completed a survey instrument reporting how often they used varying upward dissent tactics, how often and for how long they raised the same issue, and how they perceived their supervisors responded to their concerns. Results indicate that employees relied predominantly on competent upward dissent tactics but that they adopted less competent and more face-threatening tactics as repetition progressed. In addition, employees' perceptions of their supervisors' responses to repetition related to the overall duration of repetition but not to the frequency with which employees raised issues or the amount of time that elapsed between dissent episodes.
β-catenin is a central mediator of pro-fibrotic Wnt signaling in systemic sclerosis

Objectives Pathologic fibroblast activation drives fibrosis of the skin and internal organs in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). β-catenin is an integral part of adherens junctions and a central component of canonical Wnt signaling. Here, the authors addressed the role of β-catenin in fibroblasts for the development of SSc dermal fibrosis. Methods Nuclear accumulation of β-catenin in fibroblasts was assessed by triple staining for β-catenin, prolyl-4-hydroxylase-β and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). The expression of Wnt proteins in the skin was analysed by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Mice with fibroblast-specific stabilisation or fibroblast-specific depletion were used to evaluate the role of β-catenin in fibrosis. Results The auhors found significantly increased nuclear levels of β-catenin in fibroblasts in SSc skin compared to fibroblasts in the skin of healthy individuals. The accumulation of β-catenin resulted from increased expression of Wnt-1 and Wnt-10b in SSc. The authors further showed that the nuclear accumulation of β-catenin has direct implications for the development of fibrosis: Mice with fibroblast-specific stabilisation of β-catenin rapidly developed fibrosis within 2 weeks with dermal thickening, accumulation of collagen and differentiation of resting fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. By contrast, fibroblast-specific deletion of β-catenin significantly reduced bleomycin-induced dermal fibrosis. Conclusions The present study findings identify β-catenin as a key player of fibroblast activation and tissue fibrosis in SSc. Although further translational studies are necessary to test the efficacy and tolerability of β-catenin/Wnt inhibition in SSc, the present findings may have clinical implications, because selective inhibitors of β-catenin/Wnt signaling have recently entered clinical trials.
Contribution of a non‐inactivating potassium current to the resting membrane potential of fusion‐competent human myoblasts.

1. Using the patch‐clamp technique, a new non‐inactivating voltage‐gated potassium current, IK(ni), was studied in cultured fusion‐competent human myoblasts. 2. IK(ni) is activated at voltages above ‐50 mV and its conductance reaches its maximum around +50 mV. Once activated, the current remains at a steady level for minutes. 3. Reversal potential measurements at various extracellular potassium concentrations indicate that potassium ions are the major charge carriers of IK(ni). 4. IK(ni) is insensitive to potassium channel blockers such as charybdotoxin, dendrotoxins, mast cell degranulating (MCD) peptide, 4‐aminopyridine (4‐AP), 3,4‐diaminopyridine (3,4‐DAP) and apamin, but can be blocked by high concentrations of TEA and by Ba2+. 5. A potassium channel of small conductance (8.4 pS at +40 mV) with potential dependence and pharmacological properties corresponding to those of IK(ni) in whole‐cell recording is described. 6. IK(ni) participates in the control of the resting potential of fusion‐competent myoblasts, suggesting that it may play a key role in the process of myoblast fusion.
Sickle cell anaemia and malaria in Uganda

W malaria accounts for 800,000 deaths annually. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) bears the brunt of malaria burden with 91% of fatalities. In SSA it is one of the primary causes of morbidity and mortality in children below five years and pregnant women. In Uganda 70,000 to 100,000 child deaths are registered annually; a large majority of these deaths are due to malaria. Likewise the majority of children worldwide who have sickle cell disease (SCD) live in SSA. Studies estimate that more than 300 000 children are born annually with SCD. Sickle cell anaemia (SCA), the most severe form of SCD, accounts for 80% of these births, of which 200,000 occurs SSA with 10,000 to 15,000 babies with SCA born annually in Uganda. The co-endemic existence of malaria and SCA in Uganda poses a significant public health problem. 70-80% of children with SCA die before the age of five years and malaria is a major contributor to these deaths. Also, malaria in SCA is associated with vaso-occlussive and hyper-haemolytic episodes. In 2002 Kizito et el, found a 15% prevalence of malaria among febrile SCA children less than 12 years old. In 2005 Kamugisha et al demonstrated 41.7% malaria prevalence among children with SCA and aplastic crisis. However the exact burden of malaria in SCA at the present time is not well-documented and the effect of prevention measures such as insecticide-treated bednets and chemoprophylaxis has not been well-studied in SCA patients. However it is probable that malaria in SCA remains a significant contributor to under five mortality in Uganda and hence an important factor in the effort to achieve MDG 4. Christopher M. Ndugwa, J Blood Disord Transfus 2013, 4:5 http://dx.doi. org/10.4172/2155-9864.S1. 004
Porosity and permeability estimation by integration of production and time-lapse near and far offset seismic data

This study presents a method based on the Gauss–Newton optimization technique for continuous reservoir model updating with respect to production history and time-lapse seismic data in the form of zero offset amplitudes and amplitude versus offset (AVO) gradients. The main objective of the study is to test the feasibility of using these integrated data as input to reservoir parameter estimation problems. Using only production data or zero offset time-lapse seismic amplitudes as observation data in the parameter estimation process cannot properly limit the solution space. The emphasis of this work is to use the integrated data combined with empirical knowledge about rock types from laboratory measurements, to further constrain the inversion process. The algorithm written for this study consists of three parts: the reservoir simulator, the rock physics petro-elastic model and the optimization algorithm. The Gauss–Newton inversion is tested at a 2D semi-synthetic model inspired by real field data from offshore Norway. The algorithm reduces the misfit between the observed and simulated data which make it possible to estimate porosity and permeability distributions. The Gauss–Newton optimization technique is an efficient parameter estimation technique. However, the numerical estimation of the gradient is time consuming, and it can be prohibitive for practical applications. This method is suitable for distributed computing which considerably reduces the total optimization time. The amount of reduction depends mainly on the number of available processors.
Engagement and learning through social software in finance: a retrospective on the Trading Room experience

The introduction of a social software blog space called the Trading Room in an undergraduate finance unit generated a great deal of activity to support student learning. A subsequent evaluation of this innovation, viewed through the lens of Activity Theory, demonstrated that students perceived high value in the opportunity it provided for them to reaffirm theories, obtain individualised feedback and benchmark their work against others. While assessment is generally seen as the carrot and the stick of learning; students in the study reported that they would still participate in reading and posting to the Trading Room even if there was no assessment requirement. Students did not see any value in the environment as a purely social space, reporting that they saw it primarily as a professional educational community. It would appear that just as there are different communities in the real world social space, there are also different types of communities in the online space.
Photogrammetric bridging of GPS outages in mobile mapping

A photogrammetric strategy for the orientation of image sequences acquired by Mobile Mapping Vehicles (MMV) is presented. The motivations for this are twofold: to allow image georeferencing in short GPS outages for a MMV under development at the University of Parma, currently without an IMU; to improve the consistency of image georeferencing between asynchronous frames. The method may also contribute to limit the drift errors of low-cost integrated IMU/GPS systems in GPS outages. Drawing on techniques developed for Structure and Motion (S&M) reconstruction from image sequences and accounting for the specific conditions of the MMV imaging geometry, highly reliable multi-image matches are found, refining image orientation with a final bundle adjustment. Dealing with scenes containing poor image texture, the automation of the convergence of the bundle to the solution is still a problem. After a successful orientation of an image sequences of ca 70 m, the accuracy of the orientation and reconstruction process was checked in a test field by means of GPS observations and check points. Although not all constraints between synchronous image pairs are yet enforced, the accuracy degradation along the sequence was found to be still well within the specifications for the MMV.
The African Sexual System: Reply to Le Blanc et al.

This Caldwell et al. response to the Le Blanc et al. criticism of methodological flaws and ethnographic omissions focuses on 4 issues: 1) the theoretical generalizations which Le Blanc considers to be deficient in evidence 2) ethnographic omissions that distort 3) methodological flaws and 4) an interpretation of the debate. It is stated that Le Blanc is behaving as if African society needs to be protected from the charge that there is insufficient patriarchal surveillance and that African Eurasianness has been underestimated. The authors are in agreement with Le Blanc et al. that sexual practices are not the only factors associated with AIDS and cite their inclusion in the original article to improve health services which have a much clearer connection to AIDS prevention than Le Blancs generalization about education and improved living conditions. In response to the charge of ethnographic selectivity it is pointed out that the disputed article was only one of many on the same subject and the World Bank Technical Note had the most complete bibliography; however the conclusions were the same. As for the omitted literature the authors cite additional sources supporting their position about the lack in premarital virginity and assert that the Le Blanc evidence from dissenting authorities hardly describes societies that resembled the Eurasian heartland. In response to the Molnos collection (28 social scientists writing on sexuality) as a primary source and unrepresentativeness the authors assert that only 25% were based on the collection and that eminent African scholars contributed to the collection even though their specialities were not sexuality per se i.e. they had conducted field research and had expertise about specific ethnic groups and a professional interest in family life. It is considered that the ethnological flaw argument is really an attack on anthropological research with ethnographic methods and participant observation and this literature is noticeably vague in defining population groups and subgroups in quantitative sociological terms. The authors see the debate as a misinterpretation and refute that the African sexual system described was in absence of moral and institutional limitations on sexual practices particularly concerning women. Work is now underway for needed supplementation. The purpose of the original essay was not to be encyclopedic but there were 2 problems: insufficient attention was paid by critics to the need for nonmarital male sexual outlets and there was underrepresentation of middle southern and east Africa which led to later articles. The authors view the anthropological problem as inadequate information. The authors do not believe that permissiveness is the cause of AIDS in Africa but the objective was to explore the social context of AIDS in a historical context.
Acute Coronary Syndromes A Randomized Comparison of Direct Stenting With Conventional Stent Implantation in Selected Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

OBJECTIVES We sought to determine whether direct stenting might prevent the adverse events associated with stent implantation during primary angioplasty and to compare it with conventional stent implantation in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). BACKGROUND No trial has demonstrated that stents favorably influence mortality rate. Recent studies have even suggested a negative impact of stents on coronary blood flow and clinical outcome. METHODS Of 409 patients treated by primary angioplasty with stent implantation in our center, 206 (50%) were enrolled in this randomized, single-center trial and allocated to direct stent implantation (n 102) or stent implantation after balloon pre-dilation (n 104). The study end points included angiographic results (final corrected Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction [TIMI] frame count and a composite end point of slow and no-reflow or distal embolization), an electrocardiogram marker of myocardial reperfusion assessment (STsegment resolution) and in-hospital clinical outcome (death and recurrent infarction). RESULTS Direct stent implantation failed in eight patients but succeeded after pre-dilation in all. A non-significant increase in TIMI flow grade 3 was achieved after direct stenting (95.1% vs. 93.3%, p 0.74) without significant difference in the corrected TIMI frame count (31.5 17 and 35.2 20 frames after direct and conventional stent, respectively, p 0.42). The composite angiographic end point was significantly reduced by direct stent implantation (11.7% vs. 26.9%, p 0.01). ST-segment resolution was also significantly improved after direct stent (no ST-segment resolution in 20.2% vs. 38.1% after direct and conventional stent, respectively, p 0.01). Death and/or recurrent infarction occurred in six patients after conventional stent implantation and in two patients after direct stenting (p 0.28). CONCLUSIONS In selected patients with AMI, direct stenting can be applied safely and effectively. This strategy may result in a significant reduction of microvascular injury, as suggested by improved ST-segment resolution after reperfusion with major potential clinical consequences. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2002;39:15–21) © 2002 by the American College of Cardiology
Role of the extracellular matrix in variations of invasive pathways in lung cancers

Among the most common features of highly invasive tumors, such as lung adenocarcinomas (AD) and squamous cell carcinomas (SqCC), is the massive degradation of the extracellular matrix. The remarkable qualitative and quantitative modifications of hyaluronidases (HAases), hyaluronan synthases (HAS), E-cadherin adhesion molecules, and the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) may favor invasion, cellular motility, and proliferation. We examined HAase proteins (Hyal), HAS, E-cadherin, and TGF-β profiles in lung AD subtypes and SqCC obtained from smokers and non-smokers. Fifty-six patients, median age 64 years, who underwent lobectomy for AD (N = 31) and SqCC (N = 25) were included in the study. HAS-1, -2 and -3, and Hyal-1 and -3 were significantly more expressed by tumor cells than normal and stroma cells (P < 0.01). When stratified according to histologic types, HAS-3 and Hyal-1 immunoreactivity was significantly increased in tumor cells of AD (P = 0.01) and stroma of SqCC (P = 0.002), respectively. Tobacco history in patients with AD was significantly associated with increased HAS-3 immunoreactivity in tumor cells (P < 0.01). Stroma cells of SqCC from non-smokers presented a significant association with HAS-3 (P < 0.01). Hyal, HAS, E-cadherin, and TGF-β modulate a different tumor-induced invasive pathway in lung AD subgroups and SqCC. HAases in resected AD and SqCC were strongly related to the prognosis. Therefore, our findings suggest that strategies aimed at preventing high HAS-3 and Hyal-1 synthesis, or local responses to low TGF-β and E-cadherin, may have a greater impact in lung cancer prognosis.
Opioid Regulation of Pair Bonding in the Socially Monogamous Prairie Vole.

The socially monogamous prairie vole is an excellent animal model for studies of the neurobiology of selective social attachment. Here, we have demonstrated that monogamous bonds are formed and maintained by a balance between mu- and kappa-opioid receptor activation within motivational circuitry. We first show that the formation of a pair bond requires the activation of mu-opioid receptors that mediate both motivational and positive hedonic aspects of reward processing. We hypothesize that these two populations of mu-opioid receptors work in parallel to motivate social interactions with a potential mating partner and subsequently encode these interactions as rewarding through the induction of a positive hedonic state. In contrast to pair bond formation, which is associated with affiliative social encounters generally categorized as positive, the maintenance of a pair bond is associated with aversive social encounters, such as the aggressive rejection of novel conspecifics, that acts to both guard the mate and prevent the formation of a subsequent alternate bond. In the present body of work, we demonstrate that selective aggression, an established behavioral indicator of pair bond maintenance, is mediated by interactions between D1-like dopamine receptors and kappa-opioid receptors within the nucleus accumbens shell and that direct activation of kappa-opioid receptors within this region encodes social aversion. These data suggest that the encoding of social stimuli besides the mating partner as aversive and subsequently aggressively rejecting this stimulus is important for the maintenance of the original pair bond. Additionally, we show that the establishment of a pair bond is associated with a dramatic reorganization of the dopamine and kappa-opioid receptor systems, which likely acts to mediate the transition from generally affiliative to selectively aggressive. Together, these data suggest that interactions between valence coding opioid receptors and motivational circuitry are critical for guiding the direction of socially motivated behaviors, such as the motivation to form and maintain bonds. Importantly, an increased understanding of neural mechanisms that mediate social attachment behavior of prairie voles may provide insight into neural mechanisms that regulate attachment behavior in our own species.
Aerosol infection of monkeys with Rickettsia rickettsii

There are many infectious diseases which are not transmitted via the air-borne route. Such is the case with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Studies in both man and animals have clearly established that transmission occurs through the bite of an infected tick and less frequently through abrasions in the skin contaminated with infected tick feces or tissue juices. Recent studies indicate that aerosols of arthropod organisms, under certain conditions, can lead to disease (10, 20, 21, 24, 25). To our knowledge, human infection due to aerosol exposure to Rickettsia rickettsii has not been documented. Rocky Mountain spotted fever of man has characteristic features which are remarkably similar to those of monkeys injected with infectious material (1, 27). It remained for experimental studies to determine whether the portal of entry of the infectious agent alters the characteristics of the disease, its pathology, and the response to prophylactic and therapeutic measures. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the results observed in monkeys challenged with R. rickettsii by the respiratory route.
Age-related differences in work motivation

This paper examines age-related differences in work motivation in two samples of 9,388 and 2,512 individuals who completed a comprehensive motivation questionnaire for selection or development purposes. In the first sample, age differences were examined by controlling for gender and investigating whether relationships between age and motivation were non-linear. Statistically significant relationships between motivation and age were found for most motivation scales, explaining up to 12% of the variance in specific scales. The second sample was used to confirm these results and to determine whether differences on these motivation scales could be explained by additional demographic variables, which were not available in the first sample. When controlling for demographic variables, such as gender, managerial experience, and university education, the pattern of results was similar in the second data set although effects were smaller. Results generally support propositions from the literature, which suggest a shift in people's motives rather than a general decline in motivation with age: older employees were less motivated by extrinsically but more by intrinsically rewarding job features. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.
Agreement and Disagreement in Group Deliberation: Effects on Deliberation Satisfaction, Future Engagement, and Decision Legitimacy

While research on democratic deliberation has burgeoned, little systematic work has been done on the effects of the communication content of deliberations. We examine how expressions of agreement and disagreement during online deliberation affect participants' evaluations of their experience, including satisfaction, reevaluation of opinions, and expected future participation. The effects of these evaluations on perceived legitimacy and opinion ambivalence also are considered. Several alternative hypotheses are entertained, including avoidance, in which high disagreement reduces evaluations; reevaluation, in which high disagreement enhances evaluations; sociability, in which high agreement enhances evaluations; balance, which suggests that a balance of agreement and disagreement would enhance evaluations; and disequilibrium, which indicates that high agreement and low disagreement and the reverse yield good evaluations. The hypotheses are tested with survey data and a discussion content analysis of a representative sample of 179 individuals who participated in a deliberation experiment. Findings indicate that deliberation evaluations are important for decision legitimacy and ambivalence. Also, the sociability hypothesis is strongly confirmed for satisfaction. The disequilibrium hypothesis is confirmed for future engagement. The avoidance hypothesis is not supported, contesting the prevalent view that people seek to avoid political disagreements.