Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Myosin isoforms, muscle fiber types, and transitions

Skeletal muscle is an extremely heterogeneous tissue composed of a variety of fast and slow fiber types and subtypes. Moreover, muscle fibers are versatile entities capable of adjusting their phenotypic properties in response to altered functional demands. Major differences between muscle fiber types relate to their myosin complement, i.e., isoforms of myosin light and heavy chains. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms appear to represent the most appropriate markers for fiber type delineation. On this basis, pure fiber types are characterized by the expression of a single MHC isoform, whereas hybrid fiber type express two or more MHC isoforms. Hybrid fibers bridge the gap between the pure fiber types. The fiber population of skeletal muscles, thus, encompasses a continuum of pure and hybrid fiber types. Under certain conditions, changes can be induced in MHC isoform expression heading in the direction of either fast‐to‐slow or slow‐to‐fast. Increased neuromuscular activity, mechanical loading, and hypothyroidism are conditions that induce fast‐to‐slow transitions, whereas reduced neuromuscular activity, mechanical unloading, and hyperthyroidism cause transitions in the slow‐to‐fast direction. Microsc. Res. Tech. 50:500–509, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Book Review: “Management Consulting - A Guide to the Profession”

tlw super-powers and the need for intellectual freedom which he sees as necessary and essential to human society. The twin issues of survival and freedom he regards as interlinked, and by implication criticizes not only his own society, but also what he regards as its mirror-image in the West. He sets out a four stage plan for co-operation in the development of mankind, and foresees a convergence between social systems, in order to allow the Soviet Union and the United States "having overcome their alienation, (to) solve the problem of saving the poorer half of the world", he foresees that in this period running up to the late 1980's that disarmament will proceed. In the fourth stage he foresees that "the Sociatist convergence Mil reduce differences in social structure, promote intellectual freedom, science and economic progress and lead to the creation of a world government and the smoothing of national contradictions" by the year 2000. Although this volume is rather slim, it is nonetheless interesting to read at first hand the observations of a man woo is particularly and vitally concerned with the relationship betw~en human values and social organization. His ability to survive while criticizing his own society so trenchantly, no doubt hinges on his achievements as the father CYf the Soviet hydrogen-bomb, his pre-eminence amongst the scientific community in his country, and of course his visibility vis-! -vis public opinion in the West. His analysis is probably not as directly relevant as those described in the volumes reviewed above, but IWnetheless his refteotions are worth comparing with the others as he is, as they are, an articulate spokesman for dissent, and one who has an original concept CYf social architecture which may temper the explosive forces that threaten humanity with literal extinction. MALCOLM WARNER
Early Science with the Large Millimeter Telescope: Detection of Dust Emission in Multiple Images of a Normal Galaxy at z > 4 Lensed by a Frontier Fields Cluster

We directly detect dust emission in an optically detected, multiply imaged galaxy lensed by the Frontier Fields cluster MACSJ0717.5+3745. We detect two images of the same galaxy at 1.1 mm with the AzTEC camera on the Large Millimeter Telescope leaving no ambiguity in the counterpart identification. This galaxy, MACS0717_Az9, is at z > 4 and the strong lensing model (μ = 7.5) allows us to calculate an intrinsic IR luminosity of 9.7 × 1010 L⊙ and an obscured star formation rate of 14.6 ± 4.5 M⊙ yr−1. The unobscured star formation rate from the UV is only 4.1 ± 0.3 M⊙ yr−1, which means the total star formation rate (18.7 ± 4.5 M⊙ yr−1) is dominated (75%–80%) by the obscured component. With an intrinsic stellar mass of only 6.9 × 109 M⊙, MACS0717_Az9 is one of only a handful of z > 4 galaxies at these lower masses that is detected in dust emission. This galaxy lies close to the estimated star formation sequence at this epoch. However, it does not lie on the dust obscuration relation (IRX-β) for local starburst galaxies and is instead consistent with the Small Magellanic Cloud attenuation law. This remarkable lower mass galaxy, showing signs of both low metallicity and high dust content, may challenge our picture of dust production in the early universe.
Gene limiting cadmium accumulation in rice

Intake of toxic cadmium (Cd) from rice caused Itai-itai disease in the past and it is still a threat for human health. Therefore, control of the accumulation of Cd from soil is an important food-safety issue, but the molecular mechanism for the control is unknown. Herein, we report a gene (OsHMA3) responsible for low Cd accumulation in rice that was isolated from a mapping population derived from a cross between a high and low Cd-accumulating cultivar. The gene encodes a transporter belonging to the P1B-type ATPase family, but shares low similarity with other members. Heterologous expression in yeast showed that the transporter from the low-Cd cultivar is functional, but the transporter from the high-Cd cultivar had lost its function, probably because of the single amino acid mutation. The transporter is mainly expressed in the tonoplast of root cells at a similar level in both the low and high Cd-accumulating cultivars. Overexpression of the functional gene from the low Cd-accumulating cultivar selectively decreased accumulation of Cd, but not other micronutrients in the grain. Our results indicated that OsHMA3 from the low Cd-accumulating cultivar limits translocation of Cd from the roots to the above-ground tissues by selectively sequestrating Cd into the root vacuoles.
Responses of Grassland Production to Single and Multiple Global Environmental Changes

In this century, increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are expected to cause warmer surface temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns. At the same time, reactive nitrogen is entering natural systems at unprecedented rates. These global environmental changes have consequences for the functioning of natural ecosystems, and responses of these systems may feed back to affect climate and atmospheric composition. Here, we report plant growth responses of an ecosystem exposed to factorial combinations of four expected global environmental changes. We exposed California grassland to elevated CO2, temperature, precipitation, and nitrogen deposition for five years. Root and shoot production did not respond to elevated CO2 or modest warming. Supplemental precipitation led to increases in shoot production and offsetting decreases in root production. Supplemental nitrate deposition increased total production by an average of 26%, primarily by stimulating shoot growth. Interactions among the main treatments were rare. Together, these results suggest that production in this grassland will respond minimally to changes in CO2 and winter precipitation, and to small amounts of warming. Increased nitrate deposition would have stronger effects on the grassland. Aside from this nitrate response, expectations that a changing atmosphere and climate would promote carbon storage by increasing plant growth appear unlikely to be realized in this system.
Membrane Topology of Hedgehog Acyltransferase*

Background: Hedgehog acyltransferase (Hhat) transfers palmitate onto Sonic Hedgehog, which is required for efficient signaling. Results: Hhat membrane topology was determined using in silico and empirical methods. Conclusion: Hhat contains 10 transmembrane domains and 2 re-entrant loops. Significance: This analysis provides a framework for understanding the mechanism of action of Hhat and other membrane bound O-acyltransferase enzymes with protein substrates. Hedgehog acyltransferase (Hhat) is a multipass transmembrane enzyme that mediates the covalent attachment of the 16-carbon fatty acid palmitate to the N-terminal cysteine of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh). Palmitoylation of Shh by Hhat is critical for short and long range signaling. Knowledge of the topological organization of Hhat transmembrane helices would enhance our understanding of Hhat-mediated Shh palmitoylation. Bioinformatics analysis of transmembrane domains within human Hhat using 10 different algorithms resulted in highly consistent predictions in the C-terminal, but not in the N-terminal, region of Hhat. To empirically determine the topology of Hhat, we designed and exploited Hhat constructs containing either terminal or 12 different internal epitope tags. We used selective permeabilization coupled with immunofluorescence as well as a protease protection assay to demonstrate that Hhat contains 10 transmembrane domains and 2 re-entrant loops. The invariant His and highly conserved Asp residues within the membrane-bound O-acyltransferase (MBOAT) homology domain are segregated on opposite sides of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. The localization of His-379 on the lumenal membrane surface is consistent with a role for this invariant residue in catalysis. Analysis of the activity and stability of the Hhat constructs revealed that the C-terminal MBOAT domain is especially sensitive to manipulation. Moreover, there was remarkable similarity in the overall topological organization of Hhat and ghrelin O-acyltransferase, another MBOAT family member. Knowledge of the topological organization of Hhat could serve as an important tool for further design of selective Hhat inhibitors.
Potential Negative Ecological Effects of Corridors

Despite many studies showing that landscape corridors increase dispersal and species richness for disparate taxa, concerns persist that corridors can have unintended negative effects. In particular, some of the same mechanisms that underlie positive effects of corridors on species of conservation interest may also increase the spread and impact of antagonistic species (e.g., predators and pathogens), foster negative effects of edges, increase invasion by exotic species, increase the spread of unwanted disturbances such as fire, or increase population synchrony and thus reduce persistence. We conducted a literature review and meta‐analysis to evaluate the prevalence of each of these negative effects. We found no evidence that corridors increase unwanted disturbance or non‐native species invasion; however, these have not been well‐studied concerns (1 and 6 studies, respectively). Other effects of corridors were more often studied and yielded inconsistent results; mean effect sizes were indistinguishable from zero. The effect of edges on abundances of target species was as likely to be positive as negative. Corridors were as likely to have no effect on antagonists or population synchrony as they were to increase those negative effects. We found 3 deficiencies in the literature. First, despite studies on how corridors affect predators, there are few studies of related consequences for prey population size and persistence. Second, properly designed studies of negative corridor effects are needed in natural corridors at scales larger than those achievable in experimental systems. Third, studies are needed to test more targeted hypotheses about when corridor‐mediated effects on invasive species or disturbance may be negative for species of management concern. Overall, we found no overarching support for concerns that construction and maintenance of habitat corridors may result in unintended negative consequences. Negative edge effects may be mitigated by widening corridors or softening edges between corridors and the matrix. Other negative effects are relatively small and manageable compared with the large positive effects of facilitating dispersal and increasing diversity of native species.
Three-dimensional analysis of chloroplast structures associated with virus 1 infection

Three-dimensional analysis of chloroplast structures associated with virus 1 infection 2 3 Xuejiao Jin, Zhihao Jiang, Kun Zhang, Pengfei Wang, Xiuling Cao, Ning Yue, 4 Xueting Wang, Xuan Zhang, Yunqin Li, Dawei Li, Byung-Ho Kang, and Yongliang 5 Zhang 6 7 State Key Laboratory of Agro-Biotechnology and Ministry of Agriculture Key 8 Laboratory of Soil Microbiology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural 9 University, Beijing 100193, P. R. China (X.J., Z.J., K.Z., X.C., N.Y., X.W., X.Z., D.L., 10 Y.Z.); School of Life Sciences, Center for Cell and Developmental Biology and State 11 Key Laboratory of Agro-biotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong 12 Kong, P. R. China (P.W., B-H.K.); Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, 13 Hangzhou, P. R. China (Y.L.) 14 15 * Corresponding authors: Yongliang Zhang, Ph. D and Associate Professor, China 16 Agricultural University 17 Phone: +86-10-62733190, Fax: +86-10-62732012, E-mail: cauzhangyl@cau.edu. cn 18 19 Running Title: 3D architecture of chloroplast during viral attack. 20 21 One sentence summary: Three-dimensional visualization identifies structural 22 remodelling in chloroplasts during barley stripe mosaic virus infection 23 24 25 Author contributions: Y.Z. , X.J., K.Z. , and D.L. conceived and designed the study. 26 X.J., Y.Z. , Z.J., K.Z. , P.W. , X.C. , N.Y. , X.W. , X.Z. , and Y.L. performed the 27 experiments. Y.Z. , X.J., K.Z. , P.W. , D.L. , and B-H.K. analyzed the data. X.J., Y.Z. , 28 B-H.K. , and D.L. wrote the article. 29 30 Plant Physiology Preview. Published on August 18, 2017, as DOI:10.1104/pp.17. 00871
Development and Evaluation of a PC-based Attention Maintenance Training Program

This study included the development and evaluation of a PC-based attention maintenance assessment program and the development and evaluation of PC-based training aimed at improving attention maintenance skills. The results of Study 1 showed that the assessment program was able to differentiate between the attention maintenance skills of novice and experienced drivers with results similar to those found in prior field and simulator studies. The Focused Concentration and Attention Learning (FOCAL) program was created to teach novice drivers how to reduce their glance durations to under two seconds while still performing an in-vehicle task accurately. For the post-training test in Study 2, the participants trained with FOCAL showed statistically significant reductions in the percentage of glances greater than all specified time intervals compared to participants trained with a control program. Moreover, the distribution of glances did not change for the control group before and after training. In a separate analysis, the total time that the FOCAL group spent on the map task after training did not differ from the total time that the control group spent on the map task after training, although the total time for all participants was reduced from pretest to posttest. The results of Study 1 suggest that a PC-based assessment program is a potentially valid means to measure attention maintenance problems. The results of Study 2 suggest that a PC-based training program can change young driver behaviors, at least as measured by the PC-based assessment program. Together these studies provide a strong basis for further research into the effectiveness of computerized training and assessment for improving driver safety.
Postpartum Practices of Parturient Women in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Background: Postpartum period is an important and interesting period in the life of the nursing mothers. It is a medically neglected period that receives relatively less attention than pregnancy and delivery. Aim: To describe the postpartum practices of women in Enugu, South East Nigeria. Subject and Methods: This was a cross sectional study of women attending the postnatal care clinic at the UNTH, Enugu. Data was abstracted and analyzed with statistical software for social sciences version 12.0. The results were presented by percentages. Binomial logistic regression was used to determine the association between some socio-demographic variables and resumption of coitus. P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of the 420 mothers, 68.9% (289/420) resumed coitus within 6 weeks of delivery. Only 14.7% (62/420) used contraception before resumption of coitus. There was no significant association when the model was adjusted for age (OR, 1.132, 95% CI (0.691-1.867), P = 0.612. ), Parity (OR, 1.273, 95% CI (0.812-1.996), P = 0.292) and education (OR, 0.713, 95% CI (0.433-1.173), P = 0.183). Twenty five percent [25.2% (106/420)] of the women drank various forms of alcoholic beverages to induce lactation while 80.2% (337/420) of the women applied hot compresses on the lower abdomen to aid lochia drainage and involution of the uterus, 75% (315/420) of the women sat in hot water salt (Nacl) solution (sitz bath) in the immediate postpartum to aid lochia drainage, aid perineal wound healing and improve vaginal tone. Conclusion: There is need for medical attention and education on beneficial postpartum practices among women in Enugu, South East Nigeria. Thus, to reduce the associated maternal morbidities in the postpartum period.
The Role of Lipid Membranes in Life’s Origin

At some point in early evolution, life became cellular. Assuming that this step was required for the origin of life, there would necessarily be a pre-existing source of amphihilic compounds capable of assembling into membranous compartments. It is possible to make informed guesses about the properties of such compounds and the conditions most conducive to their self-assembly into boundary structures. The membranes were likely to incorporate mixtures of hydrocarbon derivatives between 10 and 20 carbons in length with carboxylate or hydroxyl head groups. Such compounds can be synthesized by chemical reactions and small amounts were almost certainly present in the prebiotic environment. Membrane assembly occurs most readily in low ionic strength solutions with minimal content of salt and divalent cations, which suggests that cellular life began in fresh water pools associated with volcanic islands rather than submarine hydrothermal vents.
Activity of Hexokinase Is Increased by Its Interaction with Hepatitis C Virus Protein NS5A

ABSTRACT The study of cellular central carbon metabolism modulations induced by viruses is an emerging field. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been shown recently to reprogram cell metabolism to support their replication. During HCV infection the global glucidolipidic metabolism of hepatocytes is highly impacted. It was suggested that HCV might modify glucose uptake and glycolysis to increase fatty acids synthesis, but underlying mechanisms have not been completely elucidated. We thus investigated how HCV may modulate glycolysis. We observed that in infected Huh7.5 cells and in subgenomic replicon-positive Huh9.13 cells, glucose consumption as well as lactate secretion was increased. Using protein complementation assays and coimmunoprecipitation, we identified a direct interaction between the HCV NS5A protein and cellular hexokinase 2 (HK2), the first rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis. NS5A expression was sufficient to enhance glucose consumption and lactate secretion in Huh7.5 cells. Moreover, determination of HK activity in cell homogenates revealed that addition of exogenous NS5A protein, either the full-length protein or its D2 or D3, but not D1, domain, was sufficient to increase enzyme activity. Finally, determination of recombinant HK2 catalytic parameters (V max and Km ) in the presence of NS5A identified this viral protein as an activator of the enzyme. In summary, this study describes a direct interaction between HCV NS5A protein and cellular HK2 which is accompanied by an increase in HK2 activity that might contribute to an increased glycolysis rate during HCV infection. IMPORTANCE Substantial evidence indicates that viruses reprogram the central carbon metabolism of the cell to support their replication. Nevertheless, precise underlying mechanisms are poorly described. Metabolic pathways are structured as connected enzymatic cascades providing elemental biomolecular blocks necessary for cell life and viral replication. In this study, we observed an increase in glucose consumption and lactate secretion in HCV-infected cells, revealing higher glycolytic activity. We also identified an interaction between the HCV NS5A nonstructural protein and cellular hexokinase 2, the first rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis. This interaction results in an enhancement of catalytic parameters of the enzyme, which might explain, at least in part, the aerobic glycolysis shift observed in HCV-infected cells.
Novel serum proteomic signatures in a non-human primate model of retinal injury

Purpose To identify candidate protein biomarkers in sera indicative of acute retinal injury. Methods We used laser photocoagulation as a model of acute retinal injury in Rhesus macaques. In a paired-control study design, we collected serum from each animal (n=6) at 4 h, 1 day, and 3 days following a mock procedure and then again following retinal laser treatment that produced mild lesions. Samples were fractionated by isoelectric focusing, digested with trypsin, and analyzed by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Spectral counting was used to determine relative protein abundances and identify proteins with statistically significant differences between control and treated sera. Results Mild retinal injury was confirmed by fundus photography and histological examination. The average number of total proteins detected by LC-MS/MS was 908±82 among samples from all three time points. Following statistical analysis and employing stringent filtering criteria, a total of 19 proteins were identified as being significantly more abundant in sera following laser-induced retinal injury, relative to control sera. Many of the proteins detected were unique to one time point. However, four proteins (phosphoglycerate kinase 1, keratin 18, Lewis alpha-3-fucosyltransferase, and ephrin receptor A2) showed differences that were significant at both 4 h and 1 day after laser treatment, followed by a decrease to baseline levels by day 3. Conclusions A serum biomarker response to mild retinal laser injury was demonstrated in a primate model. Among the proteins detected with highest significant differences, most are upregulated within 24 h, and their appearance in the serum is transient. It is conceivable that a panel of these proteins could provide a means for detecting the acute-phase response to retinal injury. Further investigation of these candidate biomarkers and their correlation to retinal damage is warranted.