Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Masculinization of gene expression is associated with male quality in Drosophila melanogaster

The signature of sexual selection has been revealed through the study of differences in patterns of genome‐wide gene expression, both between the sexes and between alternative reproductive morphs within a single sex. What remains unclear, however, is whether differences in gene expression patterns between individuals of a given sex consistently map to variation in individual quality. Such a pattern, particularly if found in males, would provide unambiguous evidence that the phenotypic response to sexual selection is shaped through sex‐specific alterations to the transcriptome. To redress this knowledge gap, we explored whether patterns of sex‐biased gene expression are associated with variation in male reproductive quality in Drosophila melanogaster. We measured two male reproductive phenotypes, and their association with sex‐biased gene expression, across a selection of inbred lines from the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel. Genotypes with higher expression of male‐biased genes produced males exhibiting shorter latencies to copulation, and higher capacity to inseminate females. Conversely, female‐biased genes tended to show negative associations with these male reproductive traits across genotypes. We uncovered similar patterns, by reanalyzing a published dataset from a second D. melanogaster population. Our results reveal the footprint of sexual selection in masculinising the male transcriptome.
Host species preferences by bitterling, Rhodeus sericeus, spawning in freshwater mussels and consequences for offspring survival

Two hypotheses have been advanced to explain the evolution of host responses to parasites: the arms race–evolutionary lag and equilibrium hypotheses. We investigated predictions from these hypotheses based on interspecies host preferences and adaptations in an obligate spawning relationship between a freshwater fish, the European bitterling (Cyprinidae) and four species of freshwater mussels (Unionidae), which the fish use as hosts for their eggs. We found a significant trend in preference by the fish for mussels in the following order: Unio pictorum, U. tumidus, Anodonta anatina and A. cygnea. Male and female bitterling both showed this ranking and the clutch sizes deposited into each species also followed this trend. These host preferences proved to be adaptive in terms of egg ejection, which was lowest in the most preferred species (U. pictorum). Furthermore, these hierarchical host preferences were flexible, as females switched species when individuals of the preferred species ejected a greater number of eggs. The similarity in mussel defences between the U.K. population and a European population of ancient sympatry suggests that the absence of a defence in some mussel species may not be due to evolutionary lag. Mussel ejection behaviour may have reached an evolutionary equilibrium in each host species, or alternatively the fish may have evolved adaptive preferences that coincide with generalized mussel responses to foreign objects in their gills.
Sectional Anatomy and Three‐Dimensional Visualization of the Posterolateral Complex of the Knee Joint Based on Undeformed High‐Resolution Sectional Anatomical Images

The anatomy of the posterolateral complex (PLC) of the knee is usually studied by dissection and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, which is still controversial. We aim to study it based on the images and an interactive 3D‐PDF from the Chinese Visible Human (CVH) datasets. CVH datasets (six transverse and one coronal) of the PLC and its adjacent structures were segmented and three‐dimensionally reconstructed. Histological sections images were used to establish criteria for the segmentation. MR images were studied in comparison with CVH images. The PLC was mainly composed of the fibular collateral ligament (FCL), popliteofibular ligament (PFL), arcuate popliteal ligament (APL), popliteus tendon (PT), fabellofibular ligament (FFL) and biceps femoris tendon (BT). These structures had origins or insertions located close to each other and collectively maintained the stability of the PLC. The origins of the PT and the FCL were located on the lateral condyle of the femur. The APL was “Y” shaped and had a 100% occurrence in our study. Its lateral and medial heads originated, respectively, from the posterolateral part and medial‐inferior part of fibrous capsule close to the lateral femoral condyle. The FCL, BT, main trunk of the APL, PFL and FFL had adjacent insertions on the posterolateral fibular head. CVH high‐resolution sectional anatomical images and a 3D‐pdf provided detailed morphological data for the PLC, and improved the identification and diagnostic accuracy for the PLC in MRI. We speculate that APL has a strong biological and mechanistic significance in the PLC. Anat Rec, 301:1764–1773, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Microfluidic-Based Technique for Measuring RBC Aggregation and Blood Viscosity in a Continuous and Simultaneous Fashion

Hemorheological properties such as viscosity, deformability, and aggregation have been employed to monitor or screen patients with cardiovascular diseases. To effectively evaluate blood circulating within an in vitro closed circuit, it is important to quantify its hemorheological properties consistently and accurately. A simple method for measuring red blood cell (RBC) aggregation and blood viscosity is proposed for analyzing blood flow in a microfluidic device, especially in a continuous and simultaneous fashion. To measure RBC aggregation, blood flows through three channels: the left wide channel, the narrow channel and the right wide channel sequentially. After quantifying the image intensity of RBCs aggregated in the left channel () and the RBCs disaggregated in the right channel (), the RBC aggregation index (AIPM) is obtained by dividing by . Simultaneously, based on a modified parallel flow method, blood viscosity is obtained by detecting the interface between two fluids in the right wide channel. RBC aggregation and blood viscosity were first evaluated under constant and pulsatile blood flows. AIPM varies significantly with respect to blood flow rate (for both its amplitude and period) and the concentration of the dextran solution used. According to our quantitative comparison between the proposed aggregation index (AIPM) and the conventional aggregation index (AICM), it is found that AIPM provides consistent results. Finally, the suggested method is employed to obtain the RBC aggregation and blood viscosity of blood circulating within an in vitro fluidic circuit. The experimental results lead to the conclusion that the proposed method can be successfully used to measure RBC aggregation and blood viscosity, especially in a continuous and simultaneous fashion.
Psychological mechanisms and the Marginal Value Theorem: dynamics of scalar memory for travel time

Abstract Abstract. The relation between memory for travel time and foraging decisions was studied experimentally. The temporal properties of two environments with patchily distributed food were simulated in the laboratory using pigeons, Columba livia, as subjects. The two environments differed in mean travel time, while the coefficient of variation of travel time and the decelerated function relating cumulative food gain to time in the patch were held constant within and between environments. Each environment contained a uniform mixture of five travel times experienced in a random order. Two of the five travel times were common in both environments. Effects of travel time were studied by comparing prey collected per patch visit (PPV) after various travel times within each environment, and by comparing patch exploitation after equal travel times between environments. Within the environment with long mean travel time (LMT) PPV was positively correlated with the last and the penultimate travel times but not with travel times before that. The increase in PPV per second of last travel time was six times greater than the increase per second of penultimate travel time, implying very steep memory discounting. In the environment with short mean travel time (SMT), there was no correlation between PPV and previous travel times. However, comparisons between environments of visits following travel times common to both environments (thus removing the effect of the last travel time) showed that substantially more prey were taken after equal travel times in the LMT than in the SMT environment. This difference cannot be accounted for by the within-environment effect of penultimate travel time, implying that there is a different, less steeply devalued, effect of the mixture of travel times. A model of information processing based on combining Scalar Expectancy Theory with the predictions of rate maximization under the Marginal Value Theorem is presented. The model can approximate the results obtained in this and previous experiments and provides a framework for further analysis of memory mechanisms of foraging behaviour.
Creencias de autoeficacia y desempeño docente de profesores universitarios

Beliefs of self-efficacy and teaching performance of university professors Resumen La investigacion tuvo como objetivo explorar las relaciones que se establecen entre las creencias de autoeficacia y el desempeno docente en una muestra de los profesores de la universidad Sancti Spiritus. Se utilizo una metodologia cuantitativa con un diseno no experimental transeccional. Participaron 250 profesores que fueron seleccionados al azar. Se utilizo el Cuestionario de Autoeficacia docente del profesorado universitario asi como la entrevista estructurada y la observacion. Los datos se procesaron mediante el paquete estadistico SPSS version 20.0. Los resultados mostraron la validez y confiabilidad del instrumento adaptado, con un indice de fiabilidad de α= . 95. Se constato que la mayoria de los profesores se sienten capaces de utilizar las diversas estrategias de ensenanza y que las utilizan casi siempre en las areas mas representativas de la docencia universitaria: la planificacion del proceso ensenanza-aprendizaje; la implicacion de los alumnos en dicho proceso; la interaccion y creacion de un clima positivo en el aula; la evaluacion de los aprendizajes de los alumnos y la autoevaluacion de la funcion docente . La relacion que se manifiesta entre las creencias de autoeficacia docente de los profesores universitarios y su desempeno varia de unas dimensiones a otras. Palabras claves : creencias de autoeficacia docente, desempeno docente, profesores universitarios, adaptacion de instrumento.
Effect of genotype but not of age or caste on olfactory learning performance in the honey bee, Apis mellifera


Abstract Abstract. The ability to change expression of a behaviour through experience with contingencies among important stimuli can enhance the survival and fitness of animals under certain ecological conditions. It would seem paradoxical if strong variability in learning performance persists even when those conditions are met. In the honey bee, learning about the relationship between floral odours and the rewards offered by flowers is important for colony survival. Yet several studies have identified a significant amount of inter-individual variability in olfactory learning performance among workers within colonies. This variability could be due to changes in learning performance due to age, to caste-specific alteration of motivational state, or to genotypic variability among paternal lines within colonies. Experiments reported herein were designed to establish the contribution of all three variables under controlled environmental conditions within which significant variability in a measure of learning performance exists. The results indicate that, at least under these conditions and when genotype is not manipulated, neither age nor caste had an effect on motivational state or learning performance. Genotype was the only variable that could account for a substantial portion of the variability within colonies of honey bees. Therefore, manipulation of genotype will be necessary in future studies designed to establish the reasons underlying variability in learning performance in natural populations.
Maternal-fetal transmission and adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnant women infected with Zika virus: prospective cohort study in French Guiana

Abstract Objectives To estimate the rates of maternal-fetal transmission of Zika virus, adverse fetal/neonatal outcomes, and subsequent rates of asymptomatic/symptomatic congenital Zika virus infections up to the first week of life. Design Cohort study with prospective data collection and subsequent review of fetal/neonatal outcomes. Settings Referral centre for prenatal diagnosis of the French Guiana Western Hospital. Participants Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy with a laboratory confirmed symptomatic or asymptomatic Zika virus infection during the epidemic period in western French Guiana. The cohort enrolled 300 participants and prospectively followed their 305 fetuses/newborns. Main outcome measures Rate of maternal-fetal transmission of Zika virus (amniotic fluid, fetal and neonatal blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and placentas); clinical, biological, and radiological outcomes (blindly reviewed); and adverse outcomes defined as moderate signs potentially related to congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), severe complications compatible with CZS, or fetal loss. Associations between a laboratory confirmed congenital Zika virus infection and adverse fetal/neonatal outcomes were evaluated. Results Maternal-fetal transmission was documented in 26% (76/291) of fetuses/newborns with complete data. Among the Zika virus positive fetuses/newborns, 45% (34/76) presented with no signs/complications at birth, 20% (15/76) with moderate signs potentially related to CZS, 21% (16/76) with severe complications compatible with CZS, and 14% (11/76) with fetal loss. Compared with the Zika virus positive fetuses/neonates, those that were identified as negative for Zika virus (215/291) were less likely to present with severe complications (5%; 10/215) or fetal loss (0.5%; 1/215; relative risk 6.9, 95% confidence interval 3.6 to 13.3). Association between a positive Zika virus test and any adverse fetal/neonatal outcome was also significant (relative risk 4.4, 2.9 to 6.6). The population attributable fraction estimates that a confirmed congenital Zika virus infection contributes to 47% of adverse outcomes and 61% of severe adverse outcomes observed. Conclusion In cases of a known maternal Zika virus infection, approximately a quarter of fetuses will become congenitally infected, of which a third will have severe complications at birth or fetal loss. The burden of CZS might be lower than initially described in South America and may not differ from other congenital infections.
Out of the Box: Reasoning with Graph Convolution Nets for Factual Visual Question Answering

Accurately answering a question about a given image requires combining observations with general knowledge. While this is effortless for humans, reasoning with general knowledge remains an algorithmic challenge. To advance research in this direction a novel `fact-based' visual question answering (FVQA) task has been introduced recently along with a large set of curated facts which link two entities, i.e., two possible answers, via a relation. Given a question-image pair, deep network techniques have been employed to successively reduce the large set of facts until one of the two entities of the final remaining fact is predicted as the answer. We observe that a successive process which considers one fact at a time to form a local decision is sub-optimal. Instead, we develop an entity graph and use a graph convolutional network to `reason' about the correct answer by jointly considering all entities. We show on the challenging FVQA dataset that this leads to an improvement in accuracy of around 7% compared to the state of the art.
Are human female preferences for symmetrical male faces enhanced when conception is likely?

Human females show a preference for the scent of symmetrical male bodies and appearance of masculine male faces only when conception is likely. These traits are thought to be signs of male quality. We examined whether females show an enhanced visual preference for another putative sign of mate quality, facial symmetry, when conception is likely. Twenty-nine females not taking oral contraceptives (nonpill users) rated the attractiveness of male faces varying in symmetry level (low, normal, high and perfect) for a short-term sexual partner at two phases of the menstrual cycle (low and high conception risk). They also rated the attractiveness of male faces for a long-term sexual partner and female faces for general attractiveness. We also tested a control group of 27 pill users. An overall preference for symmetry was found in all participants. However, the hypothesized enhanced cyclic preference for symmetrical male faces in nonpill users was not found. Nor was there an effect of relationship context. These results may be more consistent with a direct benefit or sensory bias model for preference evolution than with an indirect genetic benefit model.
Age-dependent effects of song exposure: song crystallization sets a boundary between fast and delayed vocal imitation

Abstract Song crystallization is a prominent developmental phase of oscine birds in which there is a transition from a production of plastic vocal material to a performance of elaborated song patterns that are typical for adult birds. Here we show that crystallization can be related to a marked change in memory properties involved in supplementary learning of song occurring during this phase. We studied nightingales, Luscinia megarhynchos , a species renowned for its large repertoire of song types. After a period of early tutoring as fledglings, hand-reared subjects ( N =8) were exposed to a set of temporally distributed training experiences as juveniles and young adults. Analyses of the birds' singing yielded clear evidence for late song learning and also a striking phase-related shift in their memory properties. New songs heard shortly before crystallization (at an age of 40–42 weeks) were imitated within a few days and their structural and syntactical ‘quality’ seemed not to be inferior to imitations developed from songs heard earlier. In contrast, none of the songs experienced soon after song crystallization (at 45–47 weeks) appeared as imitations in the repertoires of the young adults (at 48–55 weeks). However, birds had clearly memorized these songs, as they produced imitations of them in their second spring. Our findings show that auditory song acquisition in nightingales extends well into the phase of vocal production. At the same time, however, the boundary between an immediate and a delayed form of vocal imitation suggests that song crystallization reflects a marked change in memory properties. That is, song crystallization seems to constrain the ability to develop motor programs for song patterns that are heard even though these are committed to memory. Copyright 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Palliative Care Consultation Trends Among Hospitalized Patients With Advanced Cancer in the United States, 2005 to 2014

Background: Although palliative care services are increasing in the United States, disparities exist in access and utilization. Hence, we explored these factors in hospitalized patients with advanced cancers using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS). Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of NIS data, 2005 to 2014, and included patients ≥18 years with advanced cancers with and without palliative care consultations. Both χ2 and independent t tests were used for categorical and continuous variables. Multivariate logistic regressions were used for identifying factors associated with palliative care consultations. Results: Palliative care consultations were recorded in 9.9% of 4 732 172 weighted advanced cancer hospitalizations and increased from 3.0% to 15.5% during 2005 to 2014 (relative increase, 172.2%, P trend < .01). Factors associated with higher palliative care consultations were increasing age, ≥80 years (odds ratio [OR]: 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.38-1.56); black race (OR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.14-1.28); private insurance coverage (OR: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.02-1.18); West region (OR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.01-1.33); large hospitals (OR: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.02-1.34); high income (OR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.08-1.17); do-not-resuscitate (dying patients) status (OR: 10.55; 95% CI: 10.14-10.99); and in-hospital radiotherapy (OR: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.06-1.21). Palliative care consultations were lower in patients with chemotherapy (OR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.60-0.84). Conclusion: Many demographic, socioeconomic, health-care, and geographic disparities were identified in palliative care consultations. Additionally, palliative care resources were underutilized by hospitalized patients with advanced cancers and commonly utilized by patients who are dying. Health-care providers and policy makers should focus on these disparities in order to improve palliative care use.
Admittance of Atomic and Molecular Junctions and Their Signal Transmission

Atom-sized contacts of metals are usually characterized by their direct current (DC) conductance. However, when atom-sized contacts are used as device interconnects and transmit high frequency signals or fast pulses, the most critical parameter is not their DC conductance but their admittance Y(ω), in particular its imaginary part ImY(ω). In this article, I will present a brief survey of theoretical and experimental results on the magnitude of Y(ω) for atom-sized contacts of metals. Theoretical contact models are first described and followed by numerical evaluation of ImY(ω) based on these models. As for experiments on Y(ω), previous experiments conducted under time-varying biases are surveyed, and then the results of direct signal transmission through atom-sized contacts are discussed. Both theoretical and experimental results indicate that ImY(ω) is negligibly small for typical atom-sized contacts for signal frequencies up to 1 GHz.
Predictability and chaos in bird vigilant behaviour

While foraging, many animals alternate between feeding and scanning. Spectral analyses of sequences of successive scan and inter-scan durations suggest the existence of a significant non-random, periodic component in the scanning dynamics of some birds. Evidence for cyclic vigilance remains controversial, however. Here data obtained from a purple sandpiper, Calidris maritima, two Barbary doves, Streptopelia risoria, and two choughs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax were re-analysed by making use of statistical methods from non-linear dynamics. Predictability portraits obtained by subjecting the data to non-linear forecasting support the view that the vigilant behaviour of the two choughs is periodic with superimposed noise. By contrast, the hypothesis of periodic scanning is rejected for the sandpiper and doves, as well as that of pure randomness. Instead, the vigilant behaviour of the sandpiper and doves bears the signature of deterministic chaos: high, short-term, decaying predictability of scan and inter-scan durations. The sequential structure of the data sets makes them well suited for reliable computation of the rate at which predictability declines; results support the conclusion of chaotic patterns. Finally, a mathematical model is developed to investigate some possible functional benefits of periodicity and chaos in vigilant behaviour, compared with random scanning, in terms of the optimization of corporate vigilance of birds foraging in flocks. If individual vigilance is chaotic, then even loose coordination, based on predictions only one foraging bout ahead, can dramatically reduce individual predictability and enhance the level of group surveillance.