Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HOW LIZARDS TURN INTO SNAKES: A PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF BODY‐FORM EVOLUTION IN ANGUID LIZARDS

Abstract One of the most striking morphological transformations in vertebrate evolution is the transition from a lizardlike body form to an elongate, limbless (snakelike) body form. Despite its dramatic nature, this transition has occurred repeatedly among closely related species (especially in squamate reptiles), making it an excellent system for studying macroevolutionary transformations in body plan. In this paper, we examine the evolution of body form in the lizard family Anguidae, a clade in which multiple independent losses of limbs have occurred. We combine a molecular phylogeny for 27 species, our morphometric data, and phylogenetic comparative methods to provide the first statistical phylogenetic tests of several long‐standing hypotheses for the evolution of snakelike body form. Our results confirm the hypothesized relationships between body elongation and limb reduction and between limb reduction and digit reduction. However, we find no support for the hypothesized sequence going from body elongation to limb reduction to digit loss, and we show that a burrowing lifestyle is not a necessary correlate of limb loss. We also show that similar degrees of overall body elongation are achieved in two different ways in anguids, that these different modes of elongation are associated with different habitat preferences, and that this dichotomy in body plan and ecology is widespread in limb‐reduced squamates. Finally, a recent developmental study has proposed that the transition from lizardlike to snakelike body form involves changes in the expression domains of midbody Hox genes, changes that would link elongation and limb loss and might cause sudden transformations in body form. Our results reject this developmental model and suggest that this transition involves gradual changes occurring over relatively long time scales.
Generation of Distinct Types of Periglomerular Olfactory Bulb Interneurons during Development and in Adult Mice: Implication for Intrinsic Properties of the Subventricular Zone Progenitor Population

The subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricle develops from residual progenitors of the embryonic lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE) and maintains neurogenic activity throughout life. Precursors from LGE/SVZ migrate to the olfactory bulb (OB) where they differentiate into local interneurons, principally in the granule layer and glomerular layer (GL). By in situ dye labeling, we show that neonatal and adult SVZ progenitors differentially contribute to neurochemically distinct types of periglomerular interneurons in the GL. Namely, calbindin-positive periglomerular cells are preferentially generated during early life, whereas calretinin- and tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing neurons are mainly produced at later ages. Furthermore, homochronic/heterochronic transplantation demonstrates that progenitor cells isolated from the LGE or SVZ at different stages (embryonic day 15 and postnatal days 2 and 30) engraft into the SVZ of neonatal or adult mice, migrate to the OB, and differentiate into local interneurons, including granule and periglomerular cells as well as other types of interneurons. The total number of integrated cells and the relative proportion of granule or periglomerular neurons change, according to the donor age, whereas they are weakly influenced by the recipient age. Analysis of the neurochemical phenotypes acquired by transplanted cells in the GL shows that donor cells of different ages also differentiate according to their origin, regardless of the host age. This suggests that progenitor cells at different ontogenetic stages are intrinsically directed toward specific lineages. Neurogenic processes occurring during development and in adult OB are not equivalent and produce different types of periglomerular interneurons as a consequence of intrinsic properties of the SVZ progenitors.
Causes of Admission for Raptors to the Tafira Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Gran Canaria Island, Spain: 2003–13

Abstract We report the causes of morbidity of 2,458 free-living raptors admitted to the Tafira Wildlife Rehabilitation Center on Gran Canaria Island, Spain, during 2003–13. The seasonal cumulative incidences were investigated while considering estimates of the wild populations in the region. These methods were used as a more accurate approach to assess the potential ecologic impact of different causes of morbidity. The most frequently admitted species were the Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus; 53.0%), the Eurasian Long-eared Owl (Asio otus canariensis; 28.1%), the Canary Islands Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo insularum; 8.0%), and the Eurasian Barn Owl (Tyto alba; 4.4%). The most frequent causes of admission were trauma (33.8%), orphaned-young birds (21.7%), unknown (18.4%), and metabolic/nutritional disease (11.1%). Local morbidity caused by glue trapping and entanglement in burr bristlegrass (Setaria adhaerens) had prevalences of 5.0% and 1.8%, respectively. The highest number of admissions during the breeding and nonbreeding seasons was observed for the Eurasian Barn Owl and the Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides), respectively, mainly due to trauma of unknown origin.
Comparison of Airborne LiDAR and Satellite Hyperspectral Remote Sensing to Estimate Vascular Plant Richness in Deciduous Mediterranean Forests of Central Chile

The Andes foothills of central Chile are characterized by high levels of floristic diversity in a scenario, which offers little protection by public protected areas. Knowledge of the spatial distribution of this diversity must be gained in order to aid in conservation management. Heterogeneous environmental conditions involve an important number of niches closely related to species richness. Remote sensing information derived from satellite hyperspectral and airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data can be used as proxies to generate a spatial prediction of vascular plant richness. This study aimed to estimate the spatial distribution of plant species richness using remote sensing in the Andes foothills of the Maule Region, Chile. This region has a secondary deciduous forest dominated by Nothofagus obliqua mixed with sclerophyll species. Floristic measurements were performed using a nested plot design with 60 plots of 225 m2 each. Multiple predictors were evaluated: 30 topographical and vegetation structure indexes from LiDAR data, and 32 spectral indexes and band transformations from the EO1-Hyperion sensor. A random forest algorithm was used to identify relevant variables in richness prediction, and these variables were used in turn to obtain a final multiple linear regression predictive model (Adjusted R2 = 0.651; RSE = 3.69). An independent validation survey was performed with significant results (Adjusted R2 = 0.571, RMSE = 5.05). Selected variables were statistically significant: catchment slope, altitude, standard deviation of slope, average slope, Multiresolution Ridge Top Flatness index (MrRTF) and Digital Crown Height Model (DCM). The information provided by LiDAR delivered the best predictors, whereas hyperspectral data were discarded due to their low predictive power.
Chinese L2 Learners' Use of Structural and Lexical Information in Processing English Subject and Object Relative Clauses

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a significant difference in the use of syntactic and semantic information, or the combination of both in Chinese learners' processing strategies of English subject and object relative clauses. It also aims at determining whether a relationship exists in Chinese speakers' L1 and L2 processing strategies. Thirty three advanced and 27 less advanced Chinese learners of English participated in a complex-rating task where they rated the complexity of both English and Chinese subject and object relative clauses based on a five-point scale. The results of this study indicated that like the control group, the advanced Chinese learners of English were able to use both syntactic and semantic information. However, in processing English subject and object relative clauses, the less advanced Chinese learners of English relied more on semantic information than syntactic cues.
Automated termination proofs for haskell by term rewriting

There are many powerful techniques for automated termination analysis of term rewriting. However, up to now they have hardly been used for real programming languages. We present a new approach which permits the application of existing techniques from term rewriting to prove termination of most functions defined in Haskell programs. In particular, we show how termination techniques for ordinary rewriting can be used to handle those features of Haskell which are missing in term rewriting (e.g., lazy evaluation, polymorphic types, and higher-order functions). We implemented our results in the termination prover AProVE and successfully evaluated them on existing Haskell libraries.
Adiponectin and Long-Term Mortality in Coronary Artery Disease Participants and Controls

Objective—Despite cardioprotective properties, studies investigating adiponectin as a cardiovascular disease marker led to conflicting results. We investigated in participants with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and controls whether serum adiponectin was associated with long-term mortality, considering varying degrees of CAD severity. Methods and Results—A case–control design with prospective median follow-up of 8.1 years was used. Survival rates among 715 CAD men (aged 45–74 years) in increasing quartiles of serum adiponectin values were 87.5%, 85.6%, 76.4%, and 67.6%, respectively (P<0.001). Survival rates in 782 controls with adiponectin <9.1 µg/mL and ≥9.1 µg/mL (third quartile) were 95.3% and 91.0%, respectively (P=0.035). Adiponectin concentration above the highest quartile was associated with an increased risk of total and cardiovascular disease mortality in CAD patients (P=0.001 and P=0.001) and controls (P=0.02 and P=0.004). The associations among high adiponectin, total mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality remained significant after multivariate adjustments for metabolic, cardiac, and CAD severity variables. No significant interaction was found among CAD patients, controls, and the relationship of adiponectin with mortality. Conclusion—High serum adiponectin is a predictor of mortality, particularly from cardiovascular disease. This prognostic value remains significant whatever the severity of the CAD and the metabolic status and is not different among people with and without CAD.
A staging system for brain stem gliomas

Intrinsic brain stem neoplasms are almost invariably malignant, and irrespective of radiation treatment and chemotherapy, are associated with a very abbreviated survival. It is possible that occasional long‐term survival is the result of a radiation‐sensitive low‐grade astrocytoma. It is suggested that a primary staging system may separate poor‐risk and good‐risk patient populations and that this classification may be important in assessing future therapeutic options. Cancer 56: 1804‐1806, 1985.
Plastic neo-vaginal construction in Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome: an expert opinion paper on the decision-making treatment process

Vaginal agenesis is a congenital anomaly that affects the life of one of each four thousand women around the world. There is a trend that patients request immediate surgical correction, instead of passive vaginal dilatation. Therefore a differentiated counselling should be provided. We present a comparative chart, based on published evidence, with aspect to the available techniques, which will facilitate the decision-making process in the clinical practice. From our point of view, the best results are achieved with techniques that combine the advantages of the minimal-invasive surgery with those derived of the use of peritoneum as covering tissue of the neovagina. Nevertheless there is a lack on interdisciplinary consensus about the best option to restore the physical and sexual quality of life.
Expression of CYP2A6, CYP2D6 and CYP4A11 Polymorphisms in COS7 Mammalian Cell Line

The cytochrome P450 (P450, CYP) are the superfamily of heme-containing monooxygenase enzymes, found throughout all nature including mammals, plants, and microorganisms. Mammalian P450 enzymes are involved in oxidative metabolism of a wide range of endo- and exogenous chemicals. Especially P450s involved in drug metabolisms are important for drug efficacy and polymorphisms of P450s in individuals reflect differences of drug responses between people. To study the functional differences of CYP2A6, CYP2D6, and CYP4A11 variants, we cloned the four CYP2A6, three CYP2D6, and three CYP4A11 variants, which were found in Korean populations, in mammalian expression vector pcDNA by PCR and examined their expressions in COS-7 mammalian cells using immunoblots using P450 specific polyclonal antibodies. Three of four CYP2A6, two of three CYP4A11, and two of three CYP2D6 variants showed expressions in COS-7 cells but the relative levels of expressions are remarkably different in those of each variants. Our findings may help to study and explain the differences between functions of CYP variants and drug responses in Korean populations.
Reconciling two competing views on contrastiveness

Speakers may use pitch accents as pointers to new information, or as signals of a contrast relation between the accented item and a limited set of alternatives. Some people claim that contrastive accents are more emphatic than newness accents and have a different melodic shape. Others, however, maintain that contrastiveness can only be determined by looking at how accents are distributed in an utterance. In this paper it is argued that these two competing views can be reconciled by showing that they apply on different levels. To this end, accent patterns were obtained in a (semi-)spontaneous way via a dialogue game (Dutch) in which two participants had to describe coloured figures in consecutive turns. By varying the sequential order, target descriptions (“blue square”) were collected in four contexts: no contrast (all new), contrast in the adjective, contrast in the noun, all contrast. A distributional analysis revealed that both all new and all contrast situations correspond with double accents, whereas single accents on the adjective or the noun are used when these are contrastive. Single contrastive accents on the adjective are acoustically different from newness accents in the same syntactic position. The former have the shape of a ‘nuclear’ accent, whereas the newness accents on the adjective are ‘prenuclear’. Contrastive accents stand out as perceptually more prominent than newness accents. This difference in salience tends to disappear if the accented word is heard in isolation.
Using Area Hierarchy for Multi-Resolution Storage and Search in Large Wireless Sensor Networks

We consider multi-resolution storage, a technique for providing scalable adaptive data fidelity, necessary for many applications of large wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Although the previously proposed design of multi-resolution storage, based on quad trees and geographic routing, is conceptually simple, it exhibits inherent problems if applied to real-world WSNs. To address these problems, we revisit some of the networking assumptions and propose an alternative design that employs an overlay combining area and landmark hierarchies. Simulations and initial experiments with a prototype embedded implementation indicate that our solution can be scalable and can work on real hardware, which motivates further research.
Towards a biologically inspired small-scale water jumping robot

This paper describes the locomotion of a water jumping robot which emulates the ability of the water strider and the fishing spider to jump on the water surface. While previous studies of the robots mimicking aquatic arthropods were focused on recreating their horizontal skating motions, here we aim to achieve a vertical jumping motion. The robot jumps by pushing the water surface with rapidly released legs which were initially bent. The motion is triggered with a latch driven by the shape memory alloy actuator. The robot is capable of jumping to the maximum height of 26 mm. Jumping efficiency, defined as the ratio of the maximum jumping height on water to that on rigid ground, of a currently developed model is 0.26. This work represents a first step toward robots that can locomote on water with superior versatility including skating and jumping.
DNA Hypermethylation in Drosophila melanogaster Causes Irregular Chromosome Condensation and Dysregulation of Epigenetic Histone Modifications

ABSTRACT The level of genomic DNA methylation plays an important role in development and disease. In order to establish an experimental system for the functional analysis of genome-wide hypermethylation, we overexpressed the mouse de novo methyltransferase Dnmt3a in Drosophila melanogaster. These flies showed severe developmental defects that could be linked to reduced rates of cell cycle progression and irregular chromosome condensation. In addition, hypermethylated chromosomes revealed elevated rates of histone H3-K9 methylation and a more restricted pattern of H3-S10 phosphorylation. The developmental and chromosomal defects induced by DNA hypermethylation could be rescued by mutant alleles of the histone H3-K9 methyltransferase gene Su(var)3-9. This mutation also resulted in a significantly decreased level of genomic DNA methylation. Our results thus uncover the molecular consequences of genomic hypermethylation and demonstrate a mutual interaction between DNA methylation and histone methylation.
Associations of government health expenditures, the supply of health care professionals, and country literacy with prenatal care use in ten West African countries

ABSTRACT Social and health care context may influence prenatal care use. We studied associations of government health expenditures, supply of health care professionals, and country literacy rates with prenatal care use in ten West African countries, controlling for individual factors. We used data from Demographic and Health Surveys (n = 58,512) and random effect logistic regression models to estimate the likelihood of having any prenatal care and adequate prenatal care. Each percentage increase in the literacy rate was associated with 4% higher odds of having adequate prenatal care (p = .029). Higher literacy rates among women may help to promote adequate prenatal care.
Food Quality:: Control, Analysis and Consumer Concerns

Preface Metals & Metalloids in Foods: Essentiality, Toxicity, Applicability Food Analysis of Ochratoxin A & Fumonisins B1 & B2: State-of-the-Art Applications of Near Infrafred Spectroscopy (NIRS) in Food Quality Evaluation Chesnut Wood: A Sustainable Alternative for the Aging of Wine Brandies Occurrence of Antibiotic Residues in Portuguese Foodstuffs of Animal Origin Wild Legume Canavalia Cathartica: An Overview on Nutritional & Bioactive Potential Antioxidants from Lamiaceae Herbs Food Safety Assessment at the Molecular Level: Merits & Pitfalls Low Temperature High Velocity Drying (LTHV) Applications in Muscle Foods Polydiacetylene: A Versatile Macromolecular Sensor Methods for Assessing the Quality of the Workplace in the Dairy Sector Characterization of Phage Receptors in Lactic Acid Bacteria Plasticisers in Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Gasket Seals & in Food Matrixes: Food Safety Implications & Analytical Solutions by Mass Spectrometry Irradiation as a Method to Assure Food Quality & Safety.
Ecdysteroids, Juvenile Hormone and Vitellogenesis in the Cockroach Leucophaea maderae.

Abstract Topical application of 400µg of the juvenile hormone analog, methoprene, to females of the penultimate instar of Leucophaea maderae failed to induce vitellogenin synthesis. However, last instar females showed an increasing response level in making vitellogenin as they aged during the first half of the instar. In the second half of the last instar the response to methoprene declined to nearly zero when the prothoracic glands have become highly active. Then, a few days before the metamorphic molt the responsiveness reached maximal levels, i.e., comparable to adult females. These data suggest that the fat body develops competency to produce vitellogenin during the last nymphal instar, but increasing titers of ecdysone then interfere with the action of methoprene and consequently production of vitellogenin is curtailed. When prothoracic glands from the second half of the last instar were implanted into adult females, the normal activation of the corpora allata, or their accelerated activation induced by mating, did not occur. Likewise, an activation of the corpora allata due to the severance of the NCCI was not observed when prothoracic glands had been implanted prior to such operations. Thus, ecdysone released by the prothoracic glands appeared to directly inhibit the isolated corpora allata in vivo i.e. without the mediation by the brain. Methoprene applied to allatectomized adult females induced vitellogenin synthesis in a dose dependent manner. This induction was, however, quantitatively reduced by implanted active prothoracic glands, particularly when low doses of methoprene had been applied. Methoprene higher than 5µg overcame the inhibitory potency of the implanted prothoracic glands. The effect of the prothoracic glands, i.e. ecdysone, appears to signal an interference with the action of methoprene at the target tissues, the fat body. The exposure of the fat body to a given juvenile hormone/ecdysone ratio dictates the apparent effectiveness of ecdysone. The precise mode of the interaction of juvenile hormone and ecdysone on the adult fat body is not known. These data show that ecdysone inhibits vitellogenesis by two independent mechanisms: 1) inhibition of the corpora allata resulting in the inhibition of juvenile hormone production and 2) inhibition of vitellogenin synthesis by the fat body. Both of these mechanisms appear to be operative in immature and mature animals. However, the action of ecdysones on the fat body is only seen after it had acquired competency to make vitellogenin during the last nymphal instar.
The Application of the Small Punch Tensile Test to Evaluate the Ductile to Brittle Transition of a Thermally Sprayed CoNiCrAlY Coating

Thermally sprayed MCrAlY bond coats are important elements of thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems which are applied to the surface of gas turbine components to protect them in high temperature environments. Knowledge of their mechanical properties is essential in preventing TBC failure which can have catastrophic consequences. However, limited data on modulus, strength and ductility are available for such coatings. In this work, the ductile to brittle transition behaviour of a CoNiCrAlY coating has been investigated via the small punch tensile test (SPTT). Displacement controlled tests were carried out on free standing coatings at room temperature (RT) and between 400-750 °C at a rate of 1 μms-1. At low temperatures there was evidence of elastic-brittle behaviour and at high temperatures there was clear evidence of yielding and plastic deformation. The ductile to brittle transition temperature was found to be between 500-750 °C. The yield stress ranged from 1000-1500 MPa below 600 °C to less than 500 MPa above 650 °C. The elastic modulus was found to be approximately 200-230 GPa at 500 °C and 55 GPa above 700 °C. At room temperature the fracture surface showed flat, smooth features indicating brittle failure whereas at 700 °C there was evidence of ductile tearing.