Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Self-Superparasitism and Host Age on Fitness-Correlated Traits in the Solitary Endoparasitoid Wasp Meteorus pulchricornis

Abstract The domed fitness functions are suggested to describe developmental patterns of progeny parasitoids in relation to host age at oviposition in solitary koinobint parasitoids that are engaged in single parasitism, but few studies have investigated the applicability of the functions as related to superparasitism. The present study was designed to compare fitness functions between single parasitism and superparasitism by examining developmental patterns of Meteorus pulchricornis (Wesmael) (Hymneoptera: Braconidae) progeny in relation to the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), either singly parasitized or self-superparasitized as second—fifth instar larvae. Self-superparasitism caused deleterious effects on the fitness-related traits of parasitoid progeny, as demonstrated by a prolonged egg-to-adult emergence time, a smaller body size, and shorter longevity of the emerging adults, and decreased survival to adult emergence. While the domed fitness function was detected for development time, survival, adult body size, and longevity in relation to host larvae that were singly parasitized, the function was observed only for progeny survival in relation to host larvae that were self-superparasitized. This study suggests that developmental fitness functions with self-superparasitism can deviate from those with single parasitism in solitary koinobiont parasitoids.
Knowledge on tuberculosis among the members of a rural community in Myanmar

Background: Myanmar, one of the high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries, is in serious need of research work to develop strategies aiming to tackle the problem. Conducting a study on the knowledge of the population will help understand the flaws in the National TB Control Program (NTP), and how to correct them, and further strategic planning to reach the goals of Sustainable Development Goals. Aims: The aim of the study was to access sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, and behavioral practice of TB among the community members in Ngar Syu Taung Village, Hlegu Township. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The number of defined person was 200. Methods: Nonprobability convenience sampling method was used. Data collection method used was face-to-face interviewing method using questionnaires. They were collected by house officers as a part of the community medicine training program. Results: Less than half of the respondents were not aware of TB meningitis (41%) and TB osteomyelitis (49%) and they are not aware that diabetic patients are one of the commonly infected people (41.5%). Furthermore, less than one-third of the patients know that TB can infect the gut (23%) and cause bowel obstruction (30.5%). Conclusions: Wrong ideas should be tackled, and lacking knowledge should be enlightened. Nationwide studies using stronger study designs are also urgently needed. Implementing these evidence into NTP is necessary for Myanmar, to escape from being a TB high-burden country.
Arousal-Induced Hypocapnia Does Not Reduce Genioglossus Activity in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Study Objectives To determine whether arousals that terminate obstructive events in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) (1) induce hypocapnia and (2) subsequently reduce genioglossus muscle activity following the return to sleep. Methods Thirty-one untreated patients with OSA slept instrumented with sleep staging electrodes, nasal mask and pneumotachograph, end-tidal CO2 monitoring, and intramuscular genioglossus electrodes. End-tidal CO2 was monitored, and respiratory arousals were assigned an end-arousal CO2 change value (PETCO2 on the last arousal breath minus each individual's wakefulness PETCO2). This change value, in conjunction with the normal sleep related increase in PETCO2, was used to determine whether arousals induced hypocapnia and whether the end-arousal CO2 change was associated with genioglossus muscle activity on the breaths following the return to sleep. Results Twenty-four participants provided 1137 usable arousals. Mean ± SD end-arousal CO2 change was -0.2 ± 2.4 mm Hg (below wakefulness) indicating hypocapnia typically developed during arousal. Following the return to sleep, genioglossus muscle activity did not fall below prearousal levels and was elevated for the first two breaths. End-arousal CO2 change and genioglossus muscle activity were negatively associated such that a 1 mm Hg decrease in end-arousal CO2 was associated with an ~2% increase in peak and tonic genioglossus muscle activity on the breaths following the return to sleep. Conclusions Arousal-induced hypocapnia did not result in reduced dilator muscle activity following return to sleep, and thus hypocapnia may not contribute to further obstructions via this mechanism. Elevated dilator muscle activity postarousal is likely driven by non-CO2-related stimuli.
Sex Differences in Sympathetic Vasoconstrictor Responsiveness and Sympatholysis

Sympathetic nervous system control of blood pressure and skeletal muscle vascular resistance appears to differ between males and females. The mechanism(s) responsible for sex differences in neurovascular control have not been fully elucidated. Nitric Oxide (NO) has been shown to inhibit sympathetic vasoconstriction in resting and contracting skeletal muscle and estrogen appears to modulate NO synthase (NOS) expression and NO bioavailability. The relative abundance of estrogen in females compared to males suggests that NO‐mediated inhibition of sympathetic vasoconstriction may be augmented in females relative to males. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the hypothesis that compared to males, females would have blunted sympathetic vasoconstrictor responsiveness and augmented NO‐mediated inhibition of sympathetic vasoconstriction at rest and during exercise. Male (n=8) and Female (n=10) Sprague‐Dawley rats were anesthetized and surgically instrumented for measurement of arterial blood pressure and femoral artery vascular conductance (FVC) and stimulation of the lumbar sympathetic chain. The percentage change of FVC (%FVC) in response to sympathetic chain stimulation delivered at 2 and 5 Hz was determined at rest and during triceps surae muscle contraction before (control) and after NOS‐blockade (L‐NAME; 10 mg·kg−1 IV). At rest, vasoconstrictor responsiveness to sympathetic stimulation delivered at 2Hz was augmented (p<0.05) in females (−33 ± 8%) compared to males (−26 ± 6%), whereas vasoconstrictor responsiveness to sympathetic stimulation delivered at 5Hz was not different (p>0.05) between females (−55 ± 7%) and males (−47 ± 7%). Muscle contraction blunted (p<0.05) sympathetic vasoconstrictor responsiveness in both female and male rats; however the magnitude of sympatholysis was greater (p<0.05) in female (2Hz: 22 ± 8%; 5Hz: 30 ± 7%) compared to male (2Hz: 12 ± 6%; 5Hz: 13 ± 8%) rats. NOS blockade did not alter (p>0.05) sympatholysis of responses evoked at 2Hz in females or males; however L‐NAME reduced (p<0.05) sympatholysis of responses evoked at 5Hz in female rats. These data demonstrate that resting sympathetic vasoconstrictor responsiveness was augmented in female rats compared to male rats in a stimulation frequency‐dependent manner. Furthermore, sympatholysis was enhanced in female compared to male rats and this was partly attributable to augmented NO‐mediated inhibition of sympathetic vasoconstriction.
FGF Signaling Prevents the Terminal Differentiation of Odontoblasts

Members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family play essential and important roles in primary and reparative dentinogenesis, with conflicting results regarding their effects on odontoblast differentiation. Our recent studies showed that the effects of FGF2 on cells in odontoblast lineage were stage-specific and depended on the stage of cell maturity. Continuous exposure of pulp cells to FGF2 inhibited odontoblast differentiation, whereas early and limited exposure of pulp cells to FGF2 resulted in marked increases in odontoblast differentiation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating the inhibitory effects of FGF2 on odontoblast differentiation. To do so, we examined the effects of the addition of FGF2 during the differentiation/mineralization phase of the in vitro growth of pulp cultures derived from a series of green fluorescent protein reporter transgenic mice that display stage-specific activation of transgenes during odontoblast differentiation. Our results showed that this treatment first stimulated the differentiation of remaining progenitors in pulp cultures into functional odontoblasts but prevented their differentiation into mature odontoblasts. In addition, this treatment inhibited expression of markers of osteogenesis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the inhibitory effects of FGF2 on odontoblast differentiation were mediated through activation of FGFR/MEK/Erk1/2 signaling and downregulation of bone morphogenetic protein signaling, with negative and positive roles in the expression of Dmp1 and Dspp, respectively, during the advanced stage of odontoblast differentiation.
Relationship Among Viremia/Viral Infection, Alloimmunity, and Nutritional Parameters in the First Year After Pediatric Kidney Transplantation

The Immune Development in Pediatric Transplantation (IMPACT) study was conducted to evaluate relationships among alloimmunity, protective immunity, immune development, physical parameters, and clinical outcome in children undergoing kidney transplantation. We prospectively evaluated biopsy‐proven acute rejection (BPAR), de novo donor‐specific antibody (dnDSA) formation, viremia, viral infection, T cell immunophenotyping, and body mass index (BMI)/weight Z scores in the first year posttransplantation in 106 pediatric kidney transplant recipients. Outcomes were excellent with no deaths and 98% graft survival. Rejection and dnDSAs occurred in 24% and 22%, respectively. Pretransplant cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) serologies and subsequent viremia were unrelated to BPAR or dnDSA. Viremia occurred in 73% of children (EBV, 34%; CMV, 23%; BMK viremia, 23%; and JC virus, 21%). Memory lymphocyte phenotype at baseline was not predictive of alloimmune complications. Patients who developed viral infection had lower weight (−2.1) (p = 0.028) and BMI (−1.2) (p = 0.048) Z scores at transplantation. The weight difference persisted to 12 months compared with patients without infection (p = 0.038). These data indicate that there is a high prevalence of viral disease after pediatric kidney transplantation, and underweight status at transplantation appears to be a risk factor for subsequent viral infection. The occurrence of viremia/viral infection is not associated with alloimmune events.
Self-harm in nurses: prevalence and correlates.

AIMS The aim of this study was to examine the weighed prevalence of self-harm and its correlates among Hong Kong nurses. BACKGROUND Recent epidemiological data suggest that the weighted prevalence of past-year suicidality among Hong Kong nurses was found to be 14·9%. Deliberate self-harm was a significant correlate of suicidality. Nonetheless, there are few population-based studies exploring the prevalence of self-harm and its correlates among medical occupational groups in Asia. DESIGN The study uses a cross-sectional survey design. METHOD Data were collected in Hong Kong over a four-week period from October-November 2013. Statistical methods, including binary and multivariate logistic regression models, were used to examine the weighted prevalence of self-harm and its associated factors in nurses. RESULTS A total of 850 nurses participated in the study. Seventy-nine participants (9·3%) reported self-harm in the past year. Nurses aged between 25-44 were at especially high risk of self-harm. Female nurses reported self-harm more than male nurses. The most common forms of self-harm were self-cutting, striking oneself and poisoning oneself. Clinical experience, chronic illness, relationship crises with family members, a family history of self-harm, smoking, symptoms of stress and psychiatric disorder were significantly associated with nurses' self-harm. The positive correlation between psychiatric disorder and self-harm was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS There is a need for a raft of self-harm prevention strategies, including a continuous monitoring system in the healthcare setting detecting and managing the risks of self-harm in nurses as part of the ordinary provision for their well-being.
Genome analysis of clinical multilocus sequence Type 11 Klebsiella pneumoniae from China

The increasing prevalence of KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strains in clinical settings has been largely attributed to dissemination of organisms of specific multilocus sequence types, such as ST258 and ST11. Compared with the ST258 clone, which is prevalent in North America and Europe, ST11 is common in China but information regarding its genetic features remains scarce. In this study, we performed detailed genetic characterization of ST11 K. pneumoniae strains by analyzing whole-genome sequences of 58 clinical strains collected from diverse geographic locations in China. The ST11 genomes were found to be highly heterogeneous and clustered into at least three major lineages based on the patterns of single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Exhibiting five different capsular types, these ST11 strains were found to harbor multiple resistance and virulence determinants such as the blaKPC-2 gene, which encodes carbapenemase, and the yersiniabactin-associated virulence genes irp, ybt and fyu. Moreover, genes encoding the virulence factor aerobactin and the regulator of the mucoid phenotype (rmpA) were detectable in six genomes, whereas genes encoding salmochelin were found in three genomes. In conclusion, our data indicated that carriage of a wide range of resistance and virulence genes constitutes the underlying basis of the high level of prevalence of ST11 in clinical settings. Such findings provide insight into the development of novel strategies for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of K. pneumoniae infections.
Mechanical Properties and Fracture Behavior of Indirect Squeeze-Cast A354 Alloy Using Local Pressurization

The effect of local pressurization on mechanical properties and fracture behavior of indirect squeeze-cast A354 alloy has been investigated. As compared to conventional process, the porosity and shrinkage cavity for heavy sectioned squeeze castings were improved by the indirect squeeze casting, while its tensile properties were inferior to other parts of the casting. That is mainly due to that inhomogeneous eutectic Si particles within strip, angular and fragment shapes distribute in bulky α-Al cells, which is caused by slower solidification rate. After T6 treatment, the fragmentation and spheroidization of the eutectic silicon happened. Under this situation, the effect of fragmentation on α-Al matrix reduced. Tensile properties of the casting (both local pressurization part and non-local pressurization part) were enhanced greatly, by 36.8% and 25.4%, respectively. Fracture analysis results show that the type of fracture morphology is changed from mixed mode of brittle cleavage and ductile to ductile mode after T6-treatment.
Genetic Basis and Selection for Life-History Trait Plasticity on Alternative Host Plants for the Cereal Aphid Sitobion avenae

Sitobion avenae (F.) can survive on various plants in the Poaceae, which may select for highly plastic genotypes. But phenotypic plasticity was often thought to be non-genetic, and of little evolutionary significance historically, and many problems related to adaptive plasticity, its genetic basis and natural selection for plasticity have not been well documented. To address these questions, clones of S. avenae were collected from three plants, and their phenotypic plasticity under alternative environments was evaluated. Our results demonstrated that nearly all tested life-history traits showed significant plastic changes for certain S. avenae clones with the total developmental time of nymphs and fecundity tending to have relatively higher plasticity for most clones. Overall, the level of plasticity for S. avenae clones’ life-history traits was unexpectedly low. The factor ‘clone’ alone explained 27.7–62.3% of the total variance for trait plasticities. The heritability of plasticity was shown to be significant in nearly all the cases. Many significant genetic correlations were found between trait plasticities with a majority of them being positive. Therefore, it is evident that life-history trait plasticity involved was genetically based. There was a high degree of variation in selection coefficients for life-history trait plasticity of different S. avenae clones. Phenotypic plasticity for barley clones, but not for oat or wheat clones, was frequently found to be under significant selection. The directional selection of alternative environments appeared to act to decrease the plasticity of S. avenae clones in most cases. G-matrix comparisons showed significant differences between S. avenae clones, as well as quite a few negative covariances (i.e., trade-offs) between trait plasticities. Genetic basis and evolutionary significance of life-history trait plasticity were discussed.
Effect of negative and positive emotions on EEG spectral asymmetry

The aim of the study was to evaluate the applicability of electroencephalogram (EEG) spectral asymmetry index (SASI) for discrimination of the effect of negative and positive emotions on human brain bioelectrical activity. SASI has been previously proposed as a method to detect depression based on the balance of EEG theta and beta frequency band powers. Emotions were evoked on 22 healthy subjects using emotional pictures portraying humans from International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and late response to stimuli was examined (1700-2200 ms). Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in 30 channels divided into 10 brain regions: left frontal, right frontal, left temporal, right temporal, frontal, frontocentral, central, centroparietal, parietal and occipital. Negative stimuli, compared to neutral stimuli, significantly increased SASI in frontocentral, central, centroparietal, parietal and occipital areas. Positive stimuli, compared to neutral stimuli, significantly decreased SASI in left temporal, centroparietal, parietal and occipital areas. The results indicate that SASI provides a good discrimination between the effects of negative, neutral and positive emotions on human EEG.
Effects of grazing, phosphorus and light on the growth rates of major bacterioplankton taxa in the coastal NW Mediterranean

Estimation of growth rates is crucial to understand the ecological role of prokaryotes and their contribution to marine biogeochemical cycling. However, there are only a few estimates for individual taxa. Two top-down (grazing) and bottom-up (phosphorus (P) availability) manipulation experiments were conducted under different light regimes in the NW Mediterranean Sea. Growth rate of different phylogenetic groups, including the Bacteroidetes, Rhodobacteraceae, SAR11, Gammaproteobacteria and its subgroups Alteromonadaceae and the NOR5/OM60 clade, were estimated from changes in cell numbers. Maximal growth rates were achieved in the P-amended treatments but when comparing values between treatments (response ratios), the response to predation removal was in general larger than to P-amendment. The Alteromonadaceae displayed the highest rates in both experiments followed by the Rhodobacteraceae, but all groups largely responded to filtration and P-amendment, even the SAR11 which presented low growth rates. Comparing light and dark treatments, growth rates were on average equal or higher in the dark than in the light for all groups, except for the Rhodobacteraceae and particularly the NOR5 clade, groups that contain photoheterotrophic species. These results are useful to evaluate the potential contributions of different bacterial types to biogeochemical processes under changing environmental conditions.
Micro- and Macro-Geographic Scale Effect on the Molecular Imprint of Selection and Adaptation in Norway Spruce

Forest tree species of temperate and boreal regions have undergone a long history of demographic changes and evolutionary adaptations. The main objective of this study was to detect signals of selection in Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst), at different sampling-scales and to investigate, accounting for population structure, the effect of environment on species genetic diversity. A total of 384 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) representing 290 genes were genotyped at two geographic scales: across 12 populations distributed along two altitudinal-transects in the Alps (micro-geographic scale), and across 27 populations belonging to the range of Norway spruce in central and south-east Europe (macro-geographic scale). At the macrogeographic scale, principal component analysis combined with Bayesian clustering revealed three major clusters, corresponding to the main areas of southern spruce occurrence, i.e. the Alps, Carpathians, and Hercynia. The populations along the altitudinal transects were not differentiated. To assess the role of selection in structuring genetic variation, we applied a Bayesian and coalescent-based F ST-outlier method and tested for correlations between allele frequencies and climatic variables using regression analyses. At the macro-geographic scale, the F ST-outlier methods detected together 11 F ST-outliers. Six outliers were detected when the same analyses were carried out taking into account the genetic structure. Regression analyses with population structure correction resulted in the identification of two (micro-geographic scale) and 38 SNPs (macro-geographic scale) significantly correlated with temperature and/or precipitation. Six of these loci overlapped with F ST-outliers, among them two loci encoding an enzyme involved in riboflavin biosynthesis and a sucrose synthase. The results of this study indicate a strong relationship between genetic and environmental variation at both geographic scales. It also suggests that an integrative approach combining different outlier detection methods and population sampling at different geographic scales is useful to identify loci potentially involved in adaptation.
Transvaginal sonography in the diagnosis of deep infiltrating endometriosis: A review

This review summarizes the current evidence regarding the diagnostic accuracy of sonography (US) in women with deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). It is well known that transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) can detect ovarian endometriomas with a high degree of sensitivity. In recent years, US has also been used to detect DIE. In the hands of an experienced sonologist, the sensitivity and specificity of TVUS in the detection of DIE is comparable to those of MRI. TVUS can eliminate the need for an MRI in the majority of patients and reduce the need for diagnostic laparoscopy, proving to be an important tool in preoperative planning. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 45:313–318, 2017;