Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ethics in Behavioral Genetics Research

As research in behavioral genetics uncovers the genetic contribution to human behavior, it will undoubtedly further our understanding of normal human variation in many behavioral traits, such as personality, intelligence, and sexuality. This research also shows great potential for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illnesses. Recent findings underscore this potential and document the increasing validity of research methods-methods that in the past have led to mistaken inferences about genes "for" violent behavior and homosexuality. Although all research with human subjects requires adequate attention to its ethical aspects, certain ethical issues involved with behavioral genetics are particularly acute and deserve careful attention. This article reviews these selected major ethical issues arising in (1) the conduct of behavioral genetics research; and (2) the application of its research findings. While some of the ethical concerns in the latter category are likely to be of substantial importance and animate considerable popular concern, they currently fall outside the realm of traditional research review. Determining how to deal with these concerns should be a focus of future scholarly work.
RIC-3 Exclusively Enhances the Surface Expression of Human Homomeric 5-Hydroxytryptamine Type 3A (5-HT3A) Receptors Despite Direct Interactions with 5-HT3A, -C, -D, and -E Subunits

Although five 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT3) subunits (A–E) have been cloned, knowledge on the regulation of their assembly is limited. RIC-3 has been identified as a chaperone specific for the pentameric ligand-gated nicotinic acetylcholine and 5-HT3 receptors. Therefore, we examined the impact of RIC-3 on differently composed 5-HT3 receptors with the focus on 5-HT3C, -D, and -E subunits. The influence of RIC-3 on these receptor subtypes is supported by the presence of RIC3 mRNA in tissues expressing at least one of the subunits 5-HT3C, -D, and -E. Furthermore, immunocytochemical studies on transfected mammalian cells revealed co-localization in the endoplasmic reticulum and direct interaction of RIC-3 with 5-HT3A, -C, -D, and -E. Functional and pharmacological characterization was performed using HEK293 cells expressing 5-HT3A or 5-HT3A + 5-HT3B (or -C, -D, or -E) in the presence or absence of RIC-3. Ca2+ influx analyses revealed that RIC-3 does not influence the 5-HT concentration-response relationship on 5-HT3A receptors but leads to differential increases of 5-HT-induced maximum response (Emax) on cells expressing different subunits. Increases of Emax were due to analogously enhanced Bmax values for binding of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist [3H]GR65630. The observed enhanced cell surface expression of the tested 5-HT3 subunit combinations correlated with the increased surface expression of 5-HT3A as determined by flow cytometry. In conclusion, we showed that RIC-3 can interact with 5-HT3A, -C, -D, and -E subunits and predominantly enhances the surface expression of homomeric 5-HT3A receptors in HEK293 cells. These data implicate a possible role of RIC-3 in determining 5-HT3 receptor composition in vivo.
Albumin correlates with all-cause mortality in elderly patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

AIMS Albumin is a marker of frailty. Scarce data are available on correlations between frailty-related parameters and outcomes in patients undergoing TAVI. This study sought to evaluate the relation between albumin and mortality in TAVI candidates. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 150 patients (mean age 81±6 years) undergoing TAVI were included in the study. Patients with pre-procedural albumin >4 g/dl (>40 g/L) (n=71) were compared to those ≤4 g/dl (≤40 g/L) (n=79). The cut-off value of 4 g/dl (40 g/L) was based on the mean value of albumin in the patients included in the study. During a mean follow-up of 2.1 years the survival rate was 72%. Patients in both groups had similar baseline characteristics. The 2.1-year mortality was higher in the low albumin group compared with the normal albumin group (35% vs. 19%, p=0.01). Multivariate analysis indicated that low pre-procedural albumin was independently associated with a more than twofold increase in 2.1-year all-cause mortality (p=0.01, HR=2.28; 95% CI: 1.17-4.44). Low post-procedural serum albumin remained a strong parameter correlated with all-cause mortality (HR=2.47; 95% CI: 1.28-4.78; p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Baseline albumin can be used as a simple tool that correlates with survival after TAVI. Low albumin is an important parameter associated with all-cause mortality after the procedure.
High Impact of Oatp1a/1b Transporters on In Vivo Disposition of the Hydrophobic Anticancer Drug Paclitaxel

Purpose: Organic anion-transporting polypeptides (OATP) mediate the cellular uptake of a broad range of drugs. The hydrophobic anticancer drug, paclitaxel (PTX), was recently identified as a substrate for OATP1B3 in vitro. We investigated the role of Oatp1a/1b transporters in the pharmacokinetics of PTX in vivo, as well as their impact at different dose levels of PTX and methotrexate (MTX). Experimental Design: Recently generated Slco1a/1b−/− (lacking all Oatp1a/1b transporters) and wild-type mice were intravenously dosed with 2, 10, or 50 mg/kg of PTX, or with 10, 50, or 500 mg/kg of MTX, and plasma and tissue drug concentrations were measured. Results: In spite of its hydrophobicity, PTX systemic exposure (at 10 mg/kg) was increased by greater than 2-fold in Slco1a/1b−/− mice compared with wild-type, whereas PTX liver uptake was reduced by about 2-fold. Oatp1a/1b transporters displayed a high impact on PTX and MTX pharmacokinetics over a broad dose range. For MTX, even at 500 mg/kg, saturation of Oatp1a/1b was not observed, with a 3.4-fold increase in plasma and 30-fold decrease in liver levels in Slco1a/1b−/− mice compared with wild-type. Although beginning saturation of Oatp1a/1b was observed at the highest dose of PTX, plasma levels in Slco1a/1b−/− mice were still 1.7-fold increased and liver levels 1.5-fold decreased compared with wild-type. Conclusion: Oatp1a/1b transporters play a pronounced role in determining plasma levels and tissue distribution of MTX and PTX, thus affecting even highly hydrophobic drugs. Variation in OATP1A/1B transporter activity, due to genetic variation, inhibition, and/or tumor expression might affect toxicity and therapeutic efficacy of these anticancer drugs. Clin Cancer Res; 17(2); 294–301. ©2010 AACR. Clin Cancer Res; 17(2); 294–301. ©2010 AACR.
Fracture of particulate filled polymers

The addition of particulate mineral fillers to polymers confers certain mechanical property improvements automatically. Stiffness increases, creep diminishes and distortion at elevated temperatures is often reduced. However, the fracture energy of a polymer, as measured in impact, cracking or tearing tests, may vary quite unpredictably when filler is incorporated. In some special cases the fracture energy increases when small amounts of filler are added although it falls away again at higher volume loadings. This enhancement of polymer toughness by filler is an example of reinforcement. More generally the addition of filler causes a continuous and drastic reduction in fracture energy, resulting in a brittle, weak product. This paper seeks to explain the common degrading effect of filler on polymer fracture energy by considering the progress of a crack through the composite material. The crack travels through regions of polymer and also along the interfaces between polymer and filler. Experiment demonstrates that, although fracture of the polymer regions absorbs considerable energy, fracture of the interfaces usually requires very little. These weak interfaces do not resist cracking and are the cause of brittleness in particulate filled systems. This idea was quantified for thermoplastics such as low density polyethylene and poly (methylmethacrylate) filled with colloidal silica by twin-roll milling. Where the interfacial adhesive energy was much smaller than the polymer fracture energy, the composite toughness dropped as predicted when filler was added. The particle size, the nature or dispersion of the filler, and the crystallinity of the polymer used, had little influence on this phenomenon, as pointed out theoretically. The crucial parameters influencing the fracture energy of the filled polymer were found to be the volume fraction of filler and the interfacial adhesion between polymer and filler. By chemical treatments the adhesive energy between filler and polymer was raised until the interface was almost as tough as the polymer itself. In this case the filled polymer showed good fracture toughness, lending further support to the theory.
Is Pictorial Perception Robust? The Effect of the Observer Vantage Point on the Perceived Depth Structure of Linear-Perspective Images

Every image of a scene produced in accord with the rules of linear perspective has an associated projection centre. Only if observed from that position does the image provide the stimulus which is equivalent to the one provided by the original scene. According to the perspective-transformation hypothesis, observing the image from other vantage points should result in specific transformations of the structure of the conveyed scene, whereas according to the vantage-point compensation hypothesis it should have little effect. Geometrical analyses illustrating the transformation theory are presented. An experiment is reported to confront the two theories. The results provide little support for the compensation theory and are generally in accord with the transformation theory, but also show systematic deviations from it, possibly due to cue conflict and asymmetry of visual angles.
Comments on double scaled "little string theory"

We study little string theory in a weak coupling limit deﬁned in [1]. ( W is a Landau-Ginzburg N SCFT of n + chiral superﬁelds z a with superpotential Oﬀ-shell physical observables in LST correspond to on-shell observables in string theory on (1.3). Oﬀ-shell Green’s functions in LST correspond to on-shell correlation functions in the dual string theory.
Flexibility of Steiner trees in uniform orientation metrics

We present some fundamental flexibility properties for minimum length networks (known as Steiner minimum trees) interconnecting a given set of points in an environment in which edge segments are restricted to λ uniformly oriented directions. These networks are referred to as λ‐SMTs. They promise to play an increasingly important role in the future of optimal wire routing in VLSI physical design, particularly for the next generation of VLSI circuits. In this article we develop the concept of a flexibility polygon for a λ‐SMT, which is a region representing the union of all λ‐SMTs with the same topology on a given set of points. We show that this polygon can be constructed, for a given point set and given topology, in linear time. We discuss some of the future applications of this polygon, which can be thought of as a geometric representation of the amount of flexibility inherent in a given λ‐SMT. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, Vol. 46(3), 142–153 2005
Taeniid and other parasite ova in the faeces of working sheepdogs in south-west England

Several taeniid cestode (tapeworm) parasites of dogs cause cysts in sheep, which act as intermediate hosts. Cysts of Taenia hydatigena and T ovis infections are usually clinically silent,1 and unlike Echinococcus granulosus , do not pose public health risks. Infected sheep carcases and offal, however, are condemned and discarded due to their poor cosmetic appearance,2 leading to economic losses. High levels of cysticercosis were previously reported in south-west England,3 with one outbreak leading to condemnation of 7 per cent of carcases.4 This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of taeniid ova in the faeces of dogs on sheep farms in south-west England. Twenty-four commercial farms participating in preventive veterinary flock health planning (FHP) were invited to submit faecal samples from working and pet dogs on the holding; non-responders were visited and fresh faeces were collected from the kennel floor. Sampled dogs had not received anti-tapeworm treatment for four weeks prior to sampling. Faeces were examined using the FLOTAC method (analytical sensitivity=1 epg)5 and the occurrence of taeniid and other parasite ova was noted. Face-to-face producer interviews captured data on feeding and deworming of dogs, …
The lagrange inversion formula on non--Archimedean fields, non--analytical form of differential and finite difference equations

The classical Lagrange inversion formula is extended to analytic and non--analytic inversion problems on non--Archimedean fields. We give some applications to the field of formal Laurent series in $n$ variables, where the non--analytic inversion formula gives explicit formal solutions of general semilinear differential and $q$--difference equations. We will be interested in linearization problems for germs of diffeomorphisms (Siegel center problem) and vector fields. In addition to analytic results, we give sufficient condition for the linearization to belong to some Classes of ultradifferentiable germs, closed under composition and derivation, including Gevrey Classes. We prove that Bruno's condition is sufficient for the linearization to belong to the same Class of the germ, whereas new conditions weaker than Bruno's one are introduced if one allows the linearization to be less regular than the germ. This generalizes to dimension $n> 1$ some results of [6]. Our formulation of the Lagrange inversion formula by mean of trees, allows us to point out the strong similarities existing between the two linearization problems, formulated (essentially) with the same functional equation. For analytic vector fields of $\mathbb C^2$ we prove a quantitative estimate of a previous qualitative result of [25] and we compare it with a result of [26].
Ten novel HMGCL mutations in 24 patients of different origin with 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methyl‐glutaric aciduria

3‐Hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaric aciduria is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder that affects ketogenesis and L‐leucine catabolism. The clinical acute symptoms include vomiting, convulsions, metabolic acidosis, hypoketotic hypoglycaemia and lethargy. To date, 33 mutations in 100 patients have been reported in the HMGCL gene. In this study 10 new mutations in 24 patients are described. They include: 5 missense mutations: c.109G>A, c.425C>T, c.521G>A, c.575T>C and c.598A>T, 2 nonsense mutations: c.242G>A and c.559G>T, one small deletion: c.853delC, and 2 mutations in intron regions: c.497+4A>G and c.750+1G>A. Two prevalent mutations were detected, 109G>T (E37X) in 38% of disease alleles analyzed and c. 504_505delCT in 10% of them. Although patients are mainly of European origin (71%) and mostly Spanish (54%), the group is ethnically diverse and includes, for the first time, patients from Pakistan, Palestine and Ecuador. We also present a simple, efficient method to express the enzyme and we analyze the possible functional effects of missense mutations. The finding that all identified missense mutations cause a >95% decrease in the enzyme activity, indicates that the disease appears only in very severe genotypes. ” © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Early life adversity potentiates the effects of later life stress on cumulative physiological dysregulation

Background and Objectives: Previous research indicates that early life adversity may heighten stress reactivity and impair mechanisms for adaptive coping, suggesting that experience of stress in early life may also potentiate adults' physiological vulnerability to stress in later life. The study tested this hypothesis by investigating whether the experience of stressful events and circumstances (SEC) in childhood or adolescence amplified the effect of adulthood SEC on physiological dysregulation (allostatic load, AL) in later midlife. Design: Observational data were used in the present study. Physiological functioning was measured in later midlife (participants' age ranged from 49 to 63 years). Both childhood/adolescence and adulthood SEC were reported retrospectively on the same occasion. Methods: Participants were 5309 Danish men and women from Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB). SEC included socioeconomic and family factors. The AL index was based on nine cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune biomarkers. Results: Experience of SEC in both early life and adulthood independently predicted higher AL. In men, experience of SEC in early life also potentiated the effect of SEC in adulthood on AL. Conclusions: The results provide further insight into the mechanisms behind the “biological embedding” of childhood stress.
Engineering Properties of Recycled Materials for Unbound Applications

This report consists of several task reports prepared at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Task Reports include: 1. Literature Search and Report on Recycled Asphalt Pavement and Recycled Concrete Aggregate; 2. The Usage, Storage and Testing of Recycled Materials – Results of Survey; 3. Relationship Between Resilient Modulus and Composition of RCA or RAP; 4. Scaling and Equivalency of Bench-Scale Tests to Field-Scale Conditions; 5. Climate Effects (Freeze-Thaw Cycles); 6. Climate Effects (Hydraulic Properties of Recycled Asphalt Pavement and Recycled Concrete Aggregate); 7. Compaction Level and Assessment; 8. Field Performance: Falling Weight Deflectometer Data Analysis; 9. Materials Control; and 10. Leaching Characteristics: pH-dependent Leaching of Trace Elements from Recycled Concrete Aggregate.
Efficient spherical harmonic transforms aimed at pseudospectral numerical simulations

In this paper, we report on very efficient algorithms for spherical harmonic transform (SHT). Explicitly vectorized variations of the algorithm based on the Gauss‐Legendre quadrature are discussed and implemented in the SHTns library, which includes scalar and vector transforms. The main breakthrough is to achieve very efficient on‐the‐fly computations of the Legendre‐associated functions, even for very high resolutions, by taking advantage of the specific properties of the SHT and the advanced capabilities of current and future computers. This allows us to simultaneously and significantly reduce memory usage and computation time of the SHT. We measure the performance and accuracy of our algorithms. Although the complexity of the algorithms implemented in SHTns are in ON3 (where N is the maximum harmonic degree of the transform), they perform much better than any third‐party implementation, including lower‐complexity algorithms, even for truncations as high as N = 1023. SHTns is available at https://bitbucket.org/nschaeff/shtns as open source software.
In-field metagenome and 16S rRNA gene amplicon nanopore sequencing robustly characterize glacier microbiota

In the field of observation, chance favours only the prepared mind (Pasteur). Impressive developments in genomics have led microbiology to its third “Golden Age”. However, conventional metagenomics strategies necessitate retrograde transfer of samples from extreme or remote environments for later analysis, rendering the powerful insights gained retrospective in nature, striking a contrast with Pasteur’s dictum. Here we implement highly portable USB-based nanopore DNA sequencing platforms coupled with field-adapted environmental DNA extraction, rapid sequence library generation and off-line analyses of shotgun metagenome and 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon profiles to characterize microbiota dwelling within cryoconite holes upon Svalbard glaciers, the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Austrian Alps. We show in-field nanopore sequencing of metagenomes captures taxonomic composition of supraglacial microbiota, while 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing resolves bacterial community responses to habitat changes. We benchmark the capability of in-field microbiome sequencing to characterize microbial communities by comparison of nanopore data with prior Illumina metagenomic data and 16S rRNA gene V1-V3 pyrosequencing from the same samples, demonstrating a high level of coherence between profiles obtained from nanopore sequencing and laboratory based sequencing approaches. Ultimately, in-field sequencing potentiated by nanopore devices raises the prospect of enhanced agility in exploring Earth’s most remote microbiomes.
University of Birmingham Urban organic aerosols measured by single particle mass spectrometry in the megacity of London

During the month of October 2006, as part of the REPARTEE-I experiment (Regent’s Park and Tower Environmental Experiment) an Aerosol Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS) was deployed at an urban background location in the city of London, UK. Fifteen particle types were classified, some of which were already discussed (Dall’Osto et al., 2009a,b; Harrison et al., 2012). In this manuscript the origins and properties of four unreported particle types postulated to be due to locally generated aerosols, independent of the air mass type advected into London, are examined. One particle type, originating from lubricating oil (referred to as Ca-EC), was associated with morning rush hour traffic emissions. A second particle type, composed of both inorganic and organic species (called Na-EC-OC), was found enhanced in particle number concentration during evening time periods, and is likely to originate from a source operating at this time of day, or more probably from condensation of semi-volatile species. A third class, internally mixed with organic carbon and sulphate (called OC), was found to spike both in the morning and evenings although it could not unambiguously associated with a specific source or atmospheric process. The fourth class (Secondary Organic Aerosols – Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon; SOA-PAH) exhibited maximum frequency during the warmest part of the day, and a number of factors point towards secondary aerosol production from traffic-related volatile aromatic compounds. Single particle mass spectra of this particle type showed an oxidized polycyclic aromatic compound signature. A comparison of ATOFMS particle class data is then made with factors obtained by Positive Matrix Factorization and PAH signatures obtained from Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) data (Allan et al., 2010). Both the Ca-EC and OC particle types correlate with primary Hydrocarbon-like Organic Aerosol (HOA, R2 = 0.65 and 0.50 respectively), and NaEC-OC correlates weakly with the AMS secondary Oxygenated Organic Aerosol (OOA), ( R2 = 0.35). Cluster SOAPAH was found not to correlate with any AMS signal. A detailed analysis was conducted to identify ATOFMS particle type(s) representative of the AMS cooking aerosol factor (COA), but no convincing associations were found. The combined ATOFMS and AMS results of this REPARTEE study do not always provide an entirely coherent interpretation.
ForgetMeNot: Memory-Aware Forensic Facial Sketch Matching

We investigate whether it is possible to improve the performance of automated facial forensic sketch matching by learning from examples of facial forgetting over time. Forensic facial sketch recognition is a key capability for law enforcement, but remains an unsolved problem. It is extremely challenging because there are three distinct contributors to the domain gap between forensic sketches and photos: The well-studied sketch-photo modality gap, and the less studied gaps due to (i) the forgetting process of the eye-witness and (ii) their inability to elucidate their memory. In this paper, we address the memory problem head on by introducing a database of 400 forensic sketches created at different time-delays. Based on this database we build a model to reverse the forgetting process. Surprisingly, we show that it is possible to systematically "un-forget" facial details. Moreover, it is possible to apply this model to dramatically improve forensic sketch recognition in practice: we achieve the state of the art results when matching 195 benchmark forensic sketches against corresponding photos and a 10,030 mugshot database.