Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the Origin of Species by Natural and Sexual Selection

Local Selection of Magic Traits Ecological interactions can favor specialization, and sexual selection can induce reproductive isolation; however, these processes are insufficient by themselves to create new species. They must act in concert and on the same set of genes. Van Doorn et al. (p. 1704, published online 26 November; see the Perspective by Mank) present a theoretical model that shows that within a larger population the evolution of mating preferences will favor sexual ornaments that indicate the degree of adaptation to the local ecological conditions, for example, the abundant song of a male bird that can obtain food easily because it has the right bill size for the seeds in that locale. Once mate choice evolves on the basis of a signal of local adaptation, natural and sexual selection will mutually enforce each other, ultimately leading to speciation. Modeling demonstrates how speciation occurs due to sexual selection. Ecological speciation is considered an adaptive response to selection for local adaptation. However, besides suitable ecological conditions, the process requires assortative mating to protect the nascent species from homogenization by gene flow. By means of a simple model, we demonstrate that disruptive ecological selection favors the evolution of sexual preferences for ornaments that signal local adaptation. Such preferences induce assortative mating with respect to ecological characters and enhance the strength of disruptive selection. Natural and sexual selection thus work in concert to achieve local adaptation and reproductive isolation, even in the presence of substantial gene flow. The resulting speciation process ensues without the divergence of mating preferences, avoiding problems that have plagued previous models of speciation by sexual selection.
Orthopedic infections in equine long bone fractures and arthrodeses treated by internal fixation: 192 cases (1990-2006).

OBJECTIVE To determine the rate of postoperative infection (POI) for internal fixation repaired equine long bone fractures and arthrodeses and identify associated risk factors. STUDY DESIGN Case series. ANIMALS Horses (n=192) with fracture repair of the third metacarpal and metatarsal bones, radius, ulna, humerus, tibia, and femur, or arthrodesis with internal fixation. METHODS Medical records (1990-2006) were reviewed for signalment, anatomic location, fracture classification and method of repair, technique and surgical duration, bacterial species isolated, postoperative care, onset of POI, and outcome. RESULTS Of 192 horses (171 [89%] closed, 21 [11%] open fractures), 157 (82%) were discharged from the hospital. Infection occurred in 53 (28% horses), of which 31 (59%) were discharged. Repairs without POI were 7.25 times more likely to be discharged from the hospital. Closed fractures were 4.23 times more likely to remain uninfected and 4.59 times more likely to be discharged from the hospital compared with open fractures. Closed reduction and internal fixation was associated with a 2.5-fold reduction in rate of POI and a 5.9 times greater chance for discharge from the hospital compared with open reduction and internal fixation. Females had a strong trend for increased POI when compared with colts and stallion but not geldings. CONCLUSIONS Overall rate of POI was 28%. Fracture classification, method of repair, gender, and surgical duration were significant risk factors.
Language and reading abilities of children with autism spectrum disorders and specific language impairment and their first‐degree relatives

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) are developmental disorders exhibiting language deficits, but it is unclear whether they arise from similar etiologies. Language impairments have been described in family members of children with ASD and SLI, but few studies have quantified them. In this study, we examined IQ, language, and reading abilities of ASD and SLI children and their first‐degree relatives to address whether the language difficulties observed in some children with ASD are familial and to better understand the degree of overlap between these disorders and their broader phenotypes. Participants were 52 autistic children, 36 children with SLI, their siblings, and their parents. The ASD group was divided into those with (ALI, n=32) and without (ALN, n=20) language impairment. Relationships between ASD severity and language performance were also examined in the ASD probands. ALI and SLI probands performed similarly on most measures while ALN probands scored higher. ALN and ALI probands' language scores were not related to Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule algorithm scores. SLI relatives scored lowest on all measures, and while scores were not in the impaired range, relatives of ALI children scored lower than relatives of ALN children on some measures, though not those showing highest heritability in SLI. Given that ALI relatives performed better than SLI relatives across the language measures, the hypothesis that ALI and SLI families share similar genetic loading for language is not strongly supported.
The natural history of treated and untreated primary hyperparathyroidism: the parathyroid epidemiology and audit research study.

BACKGROUND Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine disorder with the majority of cases being mild and untreated. AIM To provide an update on the natural history of treated and untreated PHPT. DESIGN Retrospective population-based observational study. METHODS From 1997 to 2006, a well-defined cohort of PHPT patients was established in Tayside, Scotland. Subsequent cohorts of 'mild untreated' and 'surgically treated' PHPT patients were selected for the present study. Their serum calcium (S-Ca) and PTH concentrations were followed until September 2009. Surgical outcomes were evaluated using hospital admission data. RESULTS A total of 904 'mild untreated' patients were identified (median follow-up=4.7 years), with a baseline median S-Ca of 2.62 mmol/l. A general decreased trend was observed in the S-Ca concentration for up to 12 years but an increasing trend in PTH (P<0.001 in both instances). Disease progression, defined as an increase in S-Ca concentration, was observed in 121 patients (13.4%). Twenty-six (2.9%) patients had undergone surgery during the subsequent follow-up period. Baseline age and PTH concentration were the only significant risk factors for disease progression. In comparison, there were 200 'surgically treated' patients (median follow-up=5.8 years). S-Ca was normalised after surgery, in 196 patients (98%). Hospital admissions for renal complications were reduced after surgery. In conclusion, most untreated patients with mild PHPT had no progression of S-Ca but approximately 15% did show some evidence of progression. Parathyroidectomy, with a high success rate, normalized the S-Ca in patients with PHPT.
The Mitochondrial Protein TCAIM Regulates Activation of T Cells and Thereby Promotes Tolerance Induction of Allogeneic Transplants

Primary T cell activation and effector cell differentiation is required for rejection of allogeneic grafts in naïve recipients. It has become evident, that mitochondria play an important role for T cell activation. Expression of several mitochondrial proteins such as TCAIM (T cell activation inhibitor, mitochondrial) is down‐regulated upon T cell receptor triggering. Here we report that TCAIM inhibited spontaneous development of memory and effector T cells. CD4+ T cells from Tcaim knock‐in (KI) mice showed reduced activation, cytokine secretion and proliferation in vitro. Tcaim KI T cells tolerated allogeneic skin grafts upon transfer into Rag‐1 KO mice. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from these mice did not infiltrate skin grafts and kept a naïve or central memory phenotype, respectively. They were unable to acquire effector phenotype and functions. TCAIM altered T cell activation‐induced mitochondrial distribution and reduced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) production. Thus, TCAIM controls T cell activation and promotes tolerance induction probably by regulating TCR‐mediated mitochondrial distribution and mROS production.
American marten (Martes americana) in the Pacific Northwest: population differentiation across a landscape fragmented in time and space

American marten (Martes americana) have a close association with mature temperate forests, a habitat that expanded throughout the Pacific Northwest as glaciers receded at the end of the Pleistocene. Similar to several other forest‐associated mammals in North America (e.g. black bear), genetic analysis of the marten shows a deep phylogeographical subdivision that reflects populations with distinctive evolutionary histories. Using a suite of 14 microsatellite markers, we explored the genetic structure of marten populations in two reciprocally monophyletic clades in the Pacific Northwest identified previously as M. caurina and M. americana by mitochondrial haplotypes and morphology. Microsatellite phylogeographical patterns were congruent with mitochondrial analyses. These independent data sets shed light upon hybridization patterns, population structure and evolutionary histories. Hybridization between M. caurina and M. americana individuals was documented in two regions of sympatry (Kuiu Island in southeastern Alaska and southern Montana). Northern insular populations of M. caurina exhibited higher differentiation and lower variability relative to northern populations of M. americana. Greater divergence among M. caurina populations may reflect longer isolation and persistence in coastal forest habitat that was fragmented by rising sea level in the early Holocene. Lower differentiation among northern M. americana populations and close relationship to other continental M. americana populations may reflect more recent expansion into the Pacific Northwest and/or continued gene flow among populations. Differentiation among M. caurina populations was attributed to habitat fragmentation (i.e. rising sea level), as opposed to isolation‐by‐distance; oceanic straits pose significant barriers to gene flow among M. caurina populations and between populations of M. caurina and M. americana.
The effect of music on auditory perception in cochlear-implant users and normal-hearing

Cochlear implants (CIs) are auditory prostheses that restore hearing via electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. Compared to normal acoustic hearing, sounds transmitted through the CI are spectro-temporally degraded, causing difficulties in challenging listening tasks such as speech intelligibility in noise and perception of music. In normal hearing (NH), musicians have been shown to better perform than non-musicians in auditory processing and perception, especially for challenging listening tasks. This ‘musician effect’ was attributed to better processing of pitch cues, as well as better overall auditory cognitive functioning in musicians. Does the musician effect persist when pitch cues are degraded, as it would be in signals transmitted through a CI? To answer this question, NH musicians and non-musicians were tested while listening to unprocessed signals or to signals processed by an acoustic CI simulation. The task increasingly depended on pitch perception: 1) speech intelligibility (words and sentences) in quiet or in noise, 2) vocal emotion identification, and 3) melodic contour identification. For speech perception, there was no musician effect with the unprocessed stimuli, and a small musician effect only for word identification in one noise condition, in the CI simulation. For emotion identification, there was a small musician effect for both. For melodic contour identification, there was a large musician effect for both. Overall, the effect was stronger as the importance of pitch in the listening task increased. This suggests that the musician effect may be more rooted in pitch perception, rather than in a global advantage in cognitive processing (in which musicians would have performed better in all tasks). The results further suggest that musical training before (and possibly after) implantation might offer some advantage in pitch processing that could partially benefit speech perception, and more strongly emotion and music perception.
Semicircular bow-tie antenna-integrated double waveguide 1.55 µm mushroom photodetectors for cw photonic millimeter wave transmitter modules

In this work, we report on planar antenna-integrated double waveguide 1.55 μm mushroom photodetectors for integration in continuous-wave photonic millimeter wave transmitter modules operating in the complete 30-300 GHz range. For achieving a wide-frequency tuning range, the active photodetector section consisting of a partially p-doped, partially nid-InGaAs absorbing layer is located in a mushroom type optical waveguide for overcoming the compromise between junction capacitance and series resistance. For efficient fiber-chip coupling, a shallow-ridge type passive optical waveguide is used. The photodetector is further monolithically embedded in the applied semicircular bow-tie antenna structure. Thus, an extremely flat frequency response is achieved.
Lodging Managers' Perceptions of Work and Personal Life: Balanced or Imbalanced?

ABSTRACT This study serves two main purposes: (1) to assess lodging managers' perceptions of difficulties and success in balancing their personal and work lives, and (2) to investigate if lodging managers' work interferes with or is enhanced by their personal lives, or vice versa. The results indicate that most lodging managers believe that they have struck a satisfactory balance between their work and personal lives. This study identifies the respective bidirectional effects of the interaction between work and personal life. Personal life boundaries are more permeable to work demands than work boundaries are to personal life demands.
New‐generation multicistronic expression platform: pTRIDENT vectors containing size‐optimized IRES elements enable homing endonuclease‐based cistron swapping into lentiviral expression vectors

Capitalizing on a proven multicistronic expression vector platform we have designed novel pTRIDENT vectors which (1) enable coordinated expression of three desired transgenes, (2) are size‐optimized, (3) take advantage of small highly efficient internal ribosome entry sites of the GTX or Rbm3 type, (4) harbor various sites specific for homing endonucleases facilitating promoter/multicistronic expression unit/polyadenylation site swapping as well as (5) straightforward integration into human HIV‐l‐based lentiviral expression vectors tailored to contain compatible homing endonucleases. Multicistronic expression profiles of novel pTRIDENT vectors engineered for different tricistronic expression configurations encoding human low‐molecular‐weight urokinase‐type plasminogen activator (u‐PALMW) or Bacillus stearothermophilus‐derived α‐amylase (SAMY), human vascular endothelial growth factor (hVEGF), and human placental secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) have been quantified in Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO‐K1), mouse fibroblasts (NIH/3T3), and/or human fibrosarcoma (HT‐1080) cells. In addition, a pTRIDENT‐derived SAMY‐VEGF‐SEAP expression cassette transferred into a compatible lentiviral expression vector enabled simultaneous high‐level transgene expression following transduction of transgenic lentiviral particles into primary human chondrocytes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Eight weeks of non-nightly use of zolpidem for primary insomnia.

CONTEXT Intermittent use (i.e., a few nights per week) of hypnotic medication is often recommended for the treatment of chronic insomnia despite an absence of efficacy and safety data using this regimen. STUDY OBJECTIVES To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of intermittent pharmacotherapy for chronic insomnia. DESIGN AND SETTING Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel groups, clinical trial at six sleep research sites. PATIENTS One hundred-sixty-three (115 women, 48 men; mean age 44.1+ SE. 0.9 years), DSM-IV-defined primary insomnia patients were randomized, 134 patients completed the study. INTERVENTIONS Eight weeks of treatment with either zolpidem 10 mg or placebo. Patients were instructed to take medication when they felt they needed it, but at least three and no more than five times per week. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Investigator and Patient Global Ratings were the primary outcome variables. Secondary measures from daily questionnaires to assess efficacy, rebound insomnia and drug taking behavior. RESULTS The Investigator's Global Rating indicated that intermittent use of zolpidem produced a significantly better therapeutic effect and significantly reduced insomnia severity throughout the 8-week study relative to placebo. Zolpidem was found to be effective in initiating and maintaining sleep on nights taken, as compared to placebo, based upon the Patient's Global Ratings and all subjective sleep variables. No evidence of rebound insomnia was found on nights that zolpidem was not taken. The number of nights a pill was taken did not differ between groups, nor did frequency of pill taking change in either group across the duration of the study. There were no significant effects of treatment upon quality of life or neurocognitive measures. CONCLUSIONS Zolpidem 10 mg is effective in treating insomnia when used intermittently, without evidence of discontinuation effects or increased frequency of pill taking.
Efficient Clustering-based Algorithm for Predicting File Size and Structural Similarity of Transcoded JPEG Images

The problem of adapting JPEG images to satisfy constraints such as file size and resolution arises in a number of applications, from universal media access to multimedia messaging services. Visually optimized adaptation, however, commands a non-negligible computational cost which we aim to minimize using predictors. In previous works, we presented predictors and systems to achieve low-cost near-optimal adaptation of JPEG images. In this work, we propose a new approach to file size and quality prediction resulting from the Transco ding of a JPEG image subject to changes in quality factor and resolution. We show that the new predictor significantly outperforms the previously proposed solutions in accuracy.
Distribution, Surface Density, and Membrane Area of Diadic Junctional Contacts between Plasma Membrane and Terminal Cisterns in Mammalian Ventricle

The surface density of diadic junctional complexes (DJC) between plasmalemma and terminal cisternal membrane, as well as the areas of plasmalemmal and cistemal membrane involved in DJC, have been determined morphometrically in external plasmalemmal envelope and T-system of rabbit, rat, and mouse ventricular heart muscle. In all three species, both the surface density and the plasmalemmal area of DJC are 4- to 6-fold greater in the T-system than in the external plasmalemmal envelope. The surface density and DJC membrane area per unit cell volume and per unit myofibrillar volume increase in the order rabbit < rat - mouse and are not related simply to basal heart rate or intraventricular pressure. The results show that if Ca2+ release is a function of terminal cisterns, then, in ventricular heart muscle, most of the Ca2+ thus released for myofibrillar activation must originate from cisterns associated with the T-system. They make it necessary to consider the possibility that the 20-50% of plasmalemma in the T-system that is involved in excitation-contraction coupling may be unavailable for other processes; and they show that interspecies differences in surface density and membrane area of DJC/unit cellular and myofibrillar volume correlate with differences in Ca2+-activated Ca1+ release in skinned fibers and with differences in rate of tension development described for intact rat and rabbit ventricular muscle. Ore Res 45:260-267, 1979
Creating the Lifetime Reading Habit in Social Studies.

■ When was the last time a former student said "I'm reading a historical book for pleasure"? What a fantastic feeling to know that something the social studies teacher did in class motivated the lifetime reading habit. Unfortunately, students commenting on their longterm love of historical books are a rarity. Social studies teachers and their content area colleagues must share the blame for this negative outcome because many of them still believe that using class time to encourage reading for pleasure is not their responsibility. To the contrary, social studies teachers must share a role in promoting longterm literacy. Many language activities occur during social studies lessons, including reading textbooks, discussing ideas, making speeches, writing essays, and studying notes. These activities represent a natural literacy context for supporting pleasurable reading. Positive efforts by social studies teachers may not only encourage students to read for pleasure but also challenge content area colleagues to use class time for attaining this important goal. The ultimate thrust is to create schoolwide efforts so that virtually all teachers are motivating students' independent reading (Sanacore, 1988). What, then, can social studies teachers do to promote the lifetime reading habit? The following suggestions are not comprehensive, but they do provide instructional direction.
Personalization and Evaluation of a Real-Time Depth-Based Full Body Tracker

Reconstructing a three-dimensional representation of human motion in real-time constitutes an important research topic with applications in sports sciences, human-computer-interaction, and the movie industry. In this paper, we contribute with a robust algorithm for estimating a personalized human body model from just two sequentially captured depth images that is more accurate and runs an order of magnitude faster than the current state-of-the-art procedure. Then, we employ the estimated body model to track the pose in real-time from a stream of depth images using a tracking algorithm that combines local pose optimization and a stabilizing dataBase look-up. Together, this enables accurate pose tracking that is more accurate than previous approaches. As a further contribution, we evaluate and compare our algorithm to previous work on a comprehensive benchmark dataset containing more than 15 minutes of challenging motions. This dataset comprises calibrated marker-Based motion capture data, depth data, as well as ground truth tracking results and is publicly available for research purposes.
Spontaneous Incidence of Oncocytic Proliferative Lesions in Control Rat Kidney

The spontaneous incidence of foci of oncocytic proliferation (oncocytic hyperplasia and oncocytoma) was assessed in a histopathological reevaluation of the kidneys of 2,391 male and female Fischer 344 (F344) groups of control rats from long-term carcinogenicity studies (involving 24 chemicals) that had been conducted by the National Toxicology Program. The overall incidence of oncocytic proliferation was 0.3%, with a male preponderance over females at 0.5% (6/1,236) versus 0.09% (1/1,155), respectively. In males, there appeared to be an association of oncocytic proliferation with advanced spontaneous chronic progressive nephropathy. Oncocytoma or oncocytic hyperplasia appear to be rare lesions in F344 rats, and observations from these carcinogenicity studies suggest that they are slow growing and tend to occur late in a rodent’s life span.
Dimension and structure of the speech space

Presents evidence to support the claim that the space of trajectories of speech exists and may be approximated by a four-dimensional manifold which is nonlinearly embedded in both a space of LPC coefficients and also in a filter bank space. The authors also investigate the possibility that there are different dimensions for different phonetic categories, but find no evidence to support this hypothesis. The dimension is of interest since it is the smallest number of independent parameters needed to specify speech.