Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Folic Acid Remodels Chromatin on Hes1 and Neurog2 Promoters during Caudal Neural Tube Development*

The mechanism(s) behind folate rescue of neural tube closure are not well understood. In this study we show that maternal intake of folate prior to conception reverses the proliferation potential of neural crest stem cells in homozygous Splotch embryos (Sp−/−) via epigenetic mechanisms. It is also shown that the pattern of differentiation seen in these cells is similar to wild-type (WT). Cells from open caudal neural tubes of Sp−/− embryos exhibit increased H3K27 methylation and decreased expression of KDM6B possibly due to up-regulation of KDM6B targeting micro-RNAs such as miR-138, miR-148a, miR-185, and miR-339-5p. In our model, folate reversed these epigenetic marks in folate-rescued Sp−/− embryos. Using tissue from caudal neural tubes of murine embryos we also examined H3K27me2 and KDM6B association with Hes1 and Neurog2 promoters at embryonic day E10.5, the proliferative stage, and E12.5, when neural differentiation begins. In Sp−/− embryos compared with WT, levels of H3K27me2 associated with the Hes1 promoter were increased at E10.5, and levels associated with the Neurog2 promoter were increased at E12.5. KDM6B association with Hes1 and Neurog2 promoters was inversely related to H3K27me2 levels. These epigenetic changes were reversed in folate-rescued Sp−/− embryos. Thus, one of the mechanisms by which folate may rescue the Sp−/− phenotype is by increasing the expression of KDM6B, which in turn decreases H3K27 methylation marks on Hes1 and Neurog2 promoters thereby affecting gene transcription.
Evaluation of putative reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR normalization in Lilium regale during development and under stress

Normalization to reference genes is the most common method to avoid bias in real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), which has been widely used for quantification of gene expression. Despite several studies on gene expression, Lilium, and particularly L. regale, has not been fully investigated regarding the evaluation of reference genes suitable for normalization. In this study, nine putative reference genes, namely 18S rRNA, ACT, BHLH, CLA, CYP, EF1, GAPDH, SAND and TIP41, were analyzed for accurate quantitative PCR normalization at different developmental stages and under different stress conditions, including biotic (Botrytis elliptica), drought, salinity, cold and heat stress. All these genes showed a wide variation in their Cq (quantification Cycle) values, and their stabilities were calculated by geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper. In a combination of the results from the three algorithms, BHLH was superior to the other candidates when all the experimental treatments were analyzed together; CLA and EF1 were also recommended by two of the three algorithms. As for specific conditions, EF1 under various developmental stages, SAND under biotic stress, CYP/GAPDH under drought stress, and TIP41 under salinity stress were generally considered suitable. All the algorithms agreed on the stability of SAND and GAPDH under cold stress, while only CYP was selected under heat stress by all of them. Additionally, the selection of optimal reference genes under biotic stress was further verified by analyzing the expression level of LrLOX in leaves inoculated with B. elliptica. Our study would be beneficial for future studies on gene expression and molecular breeding of Lilium.
Deductive, rather than inductive, instruction leads to more rapid initial learning of a novel morpheme by school-age children with language impairment

Allocation: The participants were assigned to one of two treatment groups using random assignment based on the order in which children were identified as meeting the criteria for LI. Post-hoc testing confirmed that the two groups were well matched on a variety of potentially confounding variables, including gender, ethnicity, age, caregiver education, standardized language test scores, and nonverbal IQ.
On the Importance of Efficient Transition Modeling for Speaker Diarization

In recent years speaker diarization becomes an important issue. In previous works, we presented the Hidden Distorsion Model (HDM) approach, in order to overcome the limitations of traditional HMMs in terms of emission and transition modeling. In this work, we show that HDM allows to build more efficient speaker diarization systems both in terms of diarization error rated and in terms of memory footprint. The best diarization performance is obtained using smaller than usual emission models which constitutes potentially a key advantage for embedded applications with limited memory resources and computational power. A significant memory size reduction was observed using LDC CALLHOME (American) for both SOMand GMM-based emission probability models.
Dynamic shifts in brain network activation during supracapacity working memory task performance

Despite significant advances in understanding how brain networks support working memory (WM) and cognitive control, relatively little is known about how these networks respond when cognitive capabilities are overtaxed. We used a fine‐grained manipulation of memory load within a single trial to exceed WM capacity during functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how these networks respond to support task performance when WM capacity is exceeded. Analyzing correct trials only, we observed a nonmonotonic (inverted‐U) response to WM load throughout the classic WM network (including bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, and presupplementary motor areas) that peaked later in individuals with greater WM capacity. We also observed a relative increase in activity in medial anterior prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate/precuneus, and lateral temporal and parietal regions at the highest WM loads, and a set of predominantly subcortical and prefrontal regions whose activation was greatest at the lowest WM loads. At the individual subject level, the inverted‐U pattern was associated with poorer performance while expression of the early and late activating patterns was predictive of better performance. In addition, greater activation in bilateral fusiform gyrus and right occipital lobe at the highest WM loads predicted better performance. These results demonstrate dynamic and behaviorally relevant changes in the level of activation of multiple brain networks in response to increasing WM load that are not well accounted for by present models of how the brain subserves the cognitive ability to hold and manipulate information on‐line. Hum Brain Mapp 36:1245–1264, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Fat Body Transcriptomes of the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti, Pre- and Post- Blood Meal

Background The fat body is the main organ of intermediary metabolism in insects and the principal source of hemolymph proteins. As part of our ongoing efforts to understand mosquito fat body physiology and to identify novel targets for insect control, we have conducted a transcriptome analysis of the fat body of Aedes aegypti before and in response to blood feeding. Results We created two fat body non-normalized EST libraries, one from mosquito fat bodies non-blood fed (NBF) and another from mosquitoes 24 hrs post-blood meal (PBM). 454 pyrosequencing of the non-normalized libraries resulted in 204,578 useable reads from the NBF sample and 323,474 useable reads from the PBM sample. Alignment of reads to the existing reference Ae. aegypti transcript libraries for analysis of differential expression between NBF and PBM samples revealed 116,912 and 115,051 matches, respectively. De novo assembly of the reads from the NBF sample resulted in 15,456 contigs, and assembly of the reads from the PBM sample resulted in 15,010 contigs. Collectively, 123 novel transcripts were identified within these contigs. Prominently expressed transcripts in the NBF fat body library were represented by transcripts encoding ribosomal proteins. Thirty-five point four percent of all reads in the PBM library were represented by transcripts that encode yolk proteins. The most highly expressed were transcripts encoding members of the cathepsin b, vitellogenin, vitellogenic carboxypeptidase, and vitelline membrane protein families. Conclusion The two fat body transcriptomes were considerably different from each other in terms of transcript expression in terms of abundances of transcripts and genes expressed. They reflect the physiological shift of the pre-feeding fat body from a resting state to vitellogenic gene expression after feeding.
Culture and Computer-Mediated Communication: Toward New Understandings

This collection of articles was originally inspired by several presentations at CATaC'041 and subsequent critical discussion of their use of the frameworks for cultural analyses developed by Edward T. Hall (1966, 1976) and Gert Hofstede (e.g., 1980, 1991). In response to these presentations and discussion, we developed this special thematic section for the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
IGF-I instructs multipotent adult neural progenitor cells to become oligodendrocytes

Adult multipotent neural progenitor cells can differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes in the mammalian central nervous system, but the molecular mechanisms that control their differentiation are not yet well understood. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) can promote the differentiation of cells already committed to an oligodendroglial lineage during development. However, it is unclear whether IGF-I affects multipotent neural progenitor cells. Here, we show that IGF-I stimulates the differentiation of multipotent adult rat hippocampus-derived neural progenitor cells into oligodendrocytes. Modeling analysis indicates that the actions of IGF-I are instructive. Oligodendrocyte differentiation by IGF-I appears to be mediated through an inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein signaling. Furthermore, overexpression of IGF-I in the hippocampus leads to an increase in oligodendrocyte markers. These data demonstrate the existence of a single molecule, IGF-I, that can influence the fate choice of multipotent adult neural progenitor cells to an oligodendroglial lineage.
Effect of Nucleoside Transport Blockade on the Interstitial Adenosine Level Characterized by a Novel Method in Guinea Pig Atria

Several accepted methods are available to estimate the adenosine (Ado) concentration of interstitial fluid ([Ado]ISF) in functioning heart, providing results spanning over nano- to micromolar concentrations. This extremely large range points to the necessity of novel approaches for estimating [Ado]ISF or at least the alteration from basal [Ado]ISF. In the present study, the change in [Ado]ISF was characterized following nucleoside transport (NT) blockade elicited by 10 μmol/L dipyridamole or 10 μmol/L nitrobenzylthioinosine in isolated guinea pig atria, by means of our novel procedure referred to as receptorial responsiveness method (RRM). The RRM provided an index of the change in [Ado]ISF under NT blockade, namely the concentration of N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA; a relatively stable A1 Ado receptor agonist), which is equieffective with the change in [Ado]ISF regarding the contractility. Our results show that dipyridamole or nitrobenzylthioinosine produced an elevation in [Ado]ISF at the cardiomyocyte A1 Ado receptors equivalent to about 16 or 20 nmol/l CPA, respectively. In addition, nitrobenzylthioinosine was found more appropriate for selective NT blockade than dipyridamole.
Millimeter Wave Receiver Efficiency: A Comprehensive Comparison of Beamforming Schemes With Low Resolution ADCs

In this paper, we study the achievable rate and the energy efficiency of analog, hybrid, and digital combining (AC, HC, and DC) for millimeter wave (mmW) receivers. We take into account the power consumption of all receiver components, not just analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), determine some practical limitations of beamforming in each architecture, and develop performance analysis charts that enable comparison of different receivers simultaneously in terms of two metrics, namely, spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE). We present a multi-objective utility optimization interpretation to find the best SE-EE weighted tradeoff among AC, DC, and HC schemes. We consider an additive quantization noise model to evaluate the achievable rates with low resolution ADCs. Our analysis shows that AC is only advantageous if the channel rank is strictly one, the link has very low SNR, or there is a very stringent low power constraint at the receiver. Otherwise, we show that the usual claim that DC requires the highest power is not universally valid. Rather, either DC or HC alternatively results in the better SE versus EE tradeoff depending strongly on the considered power consumption characteristic values for each component of the mmW receiver.
Teachers’ perceptions of examining students’ thinking: Changing mathematics instructional practice

Abstract This paper seeks to illuminate teachers’ perceptions of the challenges and benefits of systematically examining students’ thinking as part of a professional development program in elementary mathematics education. Using a framework of models of conceptual change and principles of discomfort, three elementary teachers’ perceptions of their experiences with reform-oriented mathematics instruction and systematically examining students’ thinking were analyzed. Analysis of interview data yielded five organizing themes. Findings offer insight into understanding the efficacy of examining students’ thinking as a professional development strategy.
Gendering institutions: the political recruitment of women in post-devolution Scotland

IX DECLARATION XI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS XII CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Gender, Politics and Institutions: New Approaches and Directions 4 Why Political Recruitment? 6 Why Scotland? 7 Structure of Text 9 CHAPTER TWO: GENDER AND THE INSTITUTIONS OF POLITICAL RECRUITMENT 13 I: The Comparative Literature on Political Recruitment 14 II: The Supply and Demand Model 16 The Dynamics of Supply and Demand 19 A Critique of Supply-Side Explanations 21 The Limiting Power of Demand 25 Theorizing Institutional Interconnections 26 III: Taking the Model Forward: An Institutionalist Approach 28
Acute relational stress and willingness to help: The influence of stress on pro-social outcomes

OF THE THESIS Acute Relational Stress and Willingness to Help: The Influence of Stress on Pro-Social Outcomes by Ryan M. Maliski Master of Arts in Communication San Diego State University, 2013 Humans are a species that can thirst for and turn towards social relationships in times of stress. The need to belong perspective suggests that loneliness should promote an individual to seek social connections and thus enhance pro-social behavior. In contradiction, some research supports the social exclusion hypothesis, showing increased loneliness will decrease pro-social behavior. Furthermore, tend and befriend theory suggests enhanced prosocial behavior as a result of a stressor, specifically for women. Tend and befriend is also challenged by recent research finding pro-social behavior to manifest in men as a response to a stressor. The aim of the present study was to understand the influence of a relational stressor on pro-social behavior. Additionally, this study re-tested the suggestion that women would be more willing to act pro-socially in response to a stressor than men. The study took place across two discrete rounds of data collection: one in the laboratory and one out-oflaboratory. Results provided mix support for a sex difference in performance of a pro-social behavior. Furthermore, this study revealed mild support for the social exclusion hypothesis. Future research should seek to integrate a writing intervention focused on a personal experience with feeling lonely.
Quantitative Trait Loci Affecting Phenotypic Plasticity and the Allometric Relationship of Ovariole Number and Thorax Length in Drosophila melanogaster

Environmental factors during juvenile growth such as temperature and nutrition have major effects on adult morphology and life-history traits. In Drosophila melanogaster, ovary size, measured as ovariole number, and body size, measured as thorax length, are developmentally plastic traits with respect to larval nutrition. Herein we investigated the genetic basis for plasticity of ovariole number and body size, as well the genetic basis for their allometric relationship using recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a natural population in Winters, California. We reared 196 RILs in four yeast concentrations and measured ovariole number and body size. The genetic correlation between ovariole number and thorax length was positive, but the strength of this correlation decreased with increasing yeast concentration. Genetic variation and genotype-by-environment (G × E) interactions were observed for both traits. We identified quantitative trait loci (QTL), epistatic, QTL-by-environment, and epistatic-by-environment interactions for both traits and their scaling relationships. The results are discussed in the context of multivariate trait evolution.
The Influence of Dermatologist and Primary Care Physician Visits on Melanoma Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries

Background: Ambulatory visits to dermatologists and primary care physicians (PCPs) may improve melanoma outcomes through early detection. We sought to measure the effect of dermatologist and PCP visits on melanoma stage at diagnosis and mortality. Methods: We used data from the database linking Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) and Medicare data (1994 to 2005) to examine patterns of dermatologist and PCP ambulatory visits before diagnosis for 18,884 Medicare beneficiaries with invasive melanoma or unknown stage at diagnosis. Visits were assessed during the 2-year time interval before the month of diagnosis. We examined whether dermatologist and PCP visits were associated with diagnosis of thinner melanomas (defined as local stage tumors having Breslow thickness <1 mm) and lower melanoma mortality. Results: Medicare beneficiaries visiting both a dermatologist and PCP before diagnosis had greater odds of diagnosis of a thin melanoma (adjusted odds ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.12–1.41) and lower melanoma mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 0.66, 95% confidence interval, 0.57–0.76) compared with those without such visits. The mortality findings were attenuated once stage at diagnosis was adjusted for in the multivariable model. Conclusion: Improved melanoma outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries may depend on adequate access and use of dermatologist and PCP services.
Women's Life History Attributes are Associated with Preferences in Mating Relationships

Life history theory (LHT) is a powerful framework for examining relationship choices and other behavioral strategies which integrates evolutionary, ecological, and socio-developmental perspectives. We examine the relationship between psychological and behavioral indicators of women's life history attributes and hypothetical relationship choices with characters representing short-term and long-term male sexual strategies. We demonstrate that psychological indicators of women's life history strategies are related to predicted and actual behaviors in mating relationships. Women with insecure attachment styles, especially those with negative evaluations of both themselves and others (fearful attachment), were more likely to consider men with attributes indicating short-term mating strategies for short-term and long-term relationships than women with a secure attachment style. Women with relatively unrestricted sociosexuality were more likely to predict they would have sexual affairs with men in general, with the tendency being generally stronger when considering men with attributes indicating short-term mating strategies. Those who scored high on self-monitoring were also more likely to predict having sexual affairs and short-term relationships with these men. These and other findings demonstrate the usefulness of a life history approach for understanding women's relationship choices.
The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory as a Predictor of Feelings and Communication Satisfaction toward Parents among Learning Disabled, Emotionally Disturbed, and Normal Adolescents

This study examined (1) the predictive validity of the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory (CSI) relative to each of the criterion measures representing communication satisfaction toward each parent as measured by Bienvenu's Adolescent Communication Inventory and feelings toward each parent as measured by Low-man's Inventory of Family Feelings and (2) the differential validity of the self-esteem, communication satisfaction, and feelings toward each parent measures serving as predictor variables of the nominal criterion measure of learning disabled (LD), emotionally disturbed (ED), and normal (N) adolescents. The sample included 60 adolescents with 20 in each of the three groups (LD, ED, or N). In fulfilling the first purpose, Pearson correlation coefficients were determined which revealed that the self-esteem measure was significantly correlated with the mother communication satisfaction measure (r = .74, p <.01) and the feelings toward mothers measure (r = .56, p <.01). Relative to the second purpose, discriminant analysis procedures revealed significant results for one function (Canonical correlation = .74, X 2 = 46.30, Wilk's Lambda = .42, df = 14, p <.001). The self-esteem, mother communication satisfaction, and feelings toward mother measures were significant discriminators (all p <.01) between the LD and N and the ED and N groups. No significant differences were apparant between the LD and ED groups. The results provided some support for the validity of the CSI. It was recommended that replication and cross-validation studies be conducted.
Conceptual and methodological concerns in the theory of perceptual load

The present paper provides a short critical review of the theory of perceptual load. It closely examines the basic tenets and assumptions of the theory and identifies major conceptual and methodological problems that have been largely ignored in the literature. The discussion focuses on problems in the definition of the concept of perceptual load, on the circularity in the characterization and manipulation of perceptual load and the confusion between the concept of perceptual load and its operationalization. The paper also selectively reviews evidence supporting the theory as well as inconsistent evidence which proposed alternative dominant factors influencing the efficacy of attentional selection.