Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A stromal region of cytochrome b6f subunit IV is involved in the activation of the Stt7 kinase in Chlamydomonas

Significance Sunlight is a powerful but fluctuating energy source used by photosynthetic organisms as a substrate for biochemistry. To optimize photosynthetic efficiency, the distribution of energy input between the two photosystems is regulated through state transitions. This mechanism is common to all organisms of the green lineage and depends on the concerted response of the cytochrome b6f complex and the Stt7 kinase to changing redox conditions along the electron transport chain. The identification of a cytochrome b6f stromal motif involved in state transitions gives insight into the mechanism of Stt7 kinase activation. The cytochrome (cyt) b6f complex and Stt7 kinase regulate the antenna sizes of photosystems I and II through state transitions, which are mediated by a reversible phosphorylation of light harvesting complexes II, depending on the redox state of the plastoquinone pool. When the pool is reduced, the cyt b6f activates the Stt7 kinase through a mechanism that is still poorly understood. After random mutagenesis of the chloroplast petD gene, coding for subunit IV of the cyt b6f complex, and complementation of a ΔpetD host strain by chloroplast transformation, we screened for impaired state transitions in vivo by chlorophyll fluorescence imaging. We show that residues Asn122, Tyr124, and Arg125 in the stromal loop linking helices F and G of cyt b6f subunit IV are crucial for state transitions. In vitro reconstitution experiments with purified cyt b6f and recombinant Stt7 kinase domain show that cyt b6f enhances Stt7 autophosphorylation and that the Arg125 residue is directly involved in this process. The peripheral stromal structure of the cyt b6f complex had, until now, no reported function. Evidence is now provided of a direct interaction with Stt7 on the stromal side of the membrane.
Gestation, Thermoregulation, and Metabolism in a Viviparous Snake, Vipera aspis: Evidence for Fecundity‐Independent Costs

Oxygen consumption of gestating Aspic vipers, Vipera aspis (L.), was strongly dependent on body temperature and mass. Temperature‐controlled, mass‐independent oxygen consumption did not differ between pregnant and nonpregnant females. Maternal metabolism was not influenced during early gestation by the number of embryos carried but was weakly influenced during late gestation. These results differ from previous investigations that show an increase in mass‐independent oxygen consumption in reproductive females relative to nonreproductive females and a positive relationship between metabolism and litter size. These data also conflict with published field data on V. aspis that show a strong metabolic cost associated with reproduction. We propose that, under controlled conditions (i.e., females exposed to precise ambient temperatures), following the mobilisation of resources to create follicles (i.e., vitellogenesis), early gestation per se may not be an energetically expensive period in reproduction. However, under natural conditions, the metabolic rate of reproductive females is strongly increased by a shift in thermal ecology (higher body temperature and longer basking periods), enabling pregnant females to accelerate the process of gestation. Combining both laboratory and field investigation in a viviparous snake, we suggest that reproduction entails discrete changes in the thermal ecology of females to provide optimal temperatures to the embryos, whatever their number. This results in the counterintuitive notion that metabolism may well be largely independent of fecundity during gestation, at least in an ectothermic reptile.
Cryptorchidism at birth in Nice area (France) is associated with higher prenatal exposure to PCBs and DDE, as assessed by colostrum concentrations.

BACKGROUND Since fetal exposure to anti-androgenic and/or estrogenic compounds has adverse effect on animal reproduction, such exposure could be harmful to human fetus. Data are scarce on cryptorchidism and human exposure to endocrine disruptors. METHODS We performed a prospective case-control study to assess the incidence of cryptorchidism and fetal exposure to selected chemicals in the Nice area. One hundred and fifty-one cord bloods (67 cryptorchid, 84 tightly matched controls) and 125 colostrums (56 for cryptorchid and 69 for controls) were screened for xenobiotics, including anti-androgenic dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethylene (DDE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dibutylphthalate (and metabolite monobutylphthalate, mBP). RESULTS Median concentrations in colostrum were higher, although not statistically significantly, in cryptorchid versus controls. Cryptorchid boys were more likely to be classified in the most contaminated groups in colostrum for DDE, Sigma PCBs and the composite score PCB + DDE. The same trend, but again not statistically significantly was observed for mBP. Odds ratio for cryptorchidism was increased for the highest score of Sigma PCB, with a trend only for DDE and Sigma PCB + DDE versus the lowest score of those components. CONCLUSIONS Our results support an association between congenital cryptorchidism and fetal exposure to PCBs and possibly DDE. Higher concentrations in milk could be a marker of higher exposure or for an impaired detoxification pattern in genetically predisposed individuals.
How to innervate a simple gut: Familiar themes and unique aspects in the formation of the insect enteric nervous system

Like the vertebrate enteric nervous system (ENS), the insect ENS consists of interconnected ganglia and nerve plexuses that control gut motility. However, the insect ENS lies superficially on the gut musculature, and its component cells can be individually imaged and manipulated within cultured embryos. Enteric neurons and glial precursors arise via epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transitions that resemble the generation of neural crest cells and sensory placodes in vertebrates; most cells then migrate extensive distances before differentiating. A balance of proneural and neurogenic genes regulates the morphogenetic programs that produce distinct structures within the insect ENS. In vivo studies have also begun to decipher the mechanisms by which enteric neurons integrate multiple guidance cues to select their pathways. Despite important differences between the ENS of vertebrates and invertebrates, common features in their programs of neurogenesis, migration, and differentiation suggest that these relatively simple preparations may provide insights into similar developmental processes in more complex systems. Deveopmental Dynamics 236:1841–1864, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
DOES EFFICIENCY PROMOTE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY?

This paper contributes to the existing literature by examining the efficiency and competitiveness of the Takaful insurance. We employ the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to compute the efficiency of Takaful operators, while Panzar-Rosse (P-R) H-statistic method is used to evaluate the degree of competition. The findings indicate that the inefficiency in Takaful’s operations is affected by the scale of operations but not by inefficiency in managerial practice. Actuaries need to pay attention to estimating provisions for outstanding claims, as this factor is negatively influencing the efficiency of Takaful insurance. Additionally, the managers are cautioned not to overspend on commissions paid to the agents because this will reduce the profit of the Takaful operators. The findings to a very large extent indicate that improvement in efficiency will increase the entry of a more viable competitor to participate in the Takaful industry. The regulators need to implement prudent monitoring of the operations of Takaful insurers because improvements in efficiency will make Takaful operators more competitive. The implications further shed light on the motivation for insurance firms to improve efficiency that enable them to charge lower price to enhance competition which may benefit both the firms and customers.
Gender, Academic Qualification And Subject Discipline Differentials Of Nigerian Teachers’ Ict Literacy

The world is seemingly experiencing a third wave of social and technological transformation as thesociety is becoming more oriented to the Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ICT is oneof the various factors that are drastically influencing occupational success especially in the educationalsector. Adamu (2004) sees ICT as a set of technological tools and resources used to communicateand create, disseminate, to store and manage information. The information dissemination is easilypossible through computer technologies. Markauskaite (2006) opines that the introduction of computertechnology into teaching and learning is a giant stride towards improving the quality of education.Globally in the recent time, a new type of literacy that is more widely discussed is computer literacy. Infact, ICT (computer) literacy has been a subject of educational research ever since the integration oftechnology into education system either as tools for self-study or as a teaching device.
Preempting the Second Contradiction: Solar Geoengineering as Spatiotemporal Fix

Climate change is increasingly understood as a potential crisis for global financial stability and thus liberal-capitalist hegemony. The primary crisis management strategy is “green capitalism”—renewable energy, carbon markets, natural capital, and so on—that aims to ameliorate the climate crisis while opening new realms of commodification and accumulation. A central obstacle facing this ad hoc strategy is the temporal disjuncture between its decades-long instantiation, the increasing rate of climatic change, and potential for vast climate-driven costs and losses. In this context, I examine solar geoengineering—specifically stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI)—as an emergent tactic. Previously considered an “emergency Plan B” should mitigation efforts fail, leading centers of geoengineering research increasingly frame SAI as a mechanism capable of slowing the rate of climatic change. Examining research at Harvard University, which suggests that—paired with substantial emissions cuts—SAI can potentially “buy time” for mitigation and adaptation, I argue that SAI should be understood as a preemptive spatiotemporal fix for the second contradiction of capitalism. Second contradiction theory contends that capitalist-driven environmental degradation can engender systemic crisis, and climate change is currently its most expressed manifestation. In modifying planetary albedo to expand the atmospheric waste sink and thus decrease the rate of change, SAI can potentially preempt the emergence of the second contradiction. This framework expands connections between spatiotemporal fixes and socioecological crises by focusing on systemic underproduction and argues that SAI should be understood not as an aberrant “emergency” measure but as an increasingly normalized tactic emerging within existing forms of hegemony.
Age at onset predicts good seizure outcome in sporadic non-lesional and mesial temporal sclerosis based temporal lobe epilepsy

Purpose To study prognosis and prognostic predictors of sporadic non-lesional temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Method 474 patients with TLE were consecutively seen from April 1987 to April 2004. 190 had a sporadic non-lesional TLE and a follow-up longer than 2 years. 284 patients were excluded because of family history for TLE, incomplete history, poor compliance with treatment, psychogenic seizures, no brain MRI study, presence of intracranial lesions except for scattered T2 hyperintense spots on hemispheric white matter or mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS). The following prognostic predictors were considered: age at onset of epilepsy, gender, family history of non-TLE or febrile seizures, perinatal factors, history of febrile seizures, ictal phenomena, MTS and interictal EEG. The end point was time to 24 month seizure freedom after treatment onset. The χ2 test, Student's t test, Kaplan–Meier survival curves with log rank test (univariate analysis) and Cox proportional hazards regression models (multivariate analysis) were used to assess seizure prognosis and prognostic predictors. Results At univariate analysis, patients achieving 24 month seizure freedom had a significantly older age at onset of epilepsy (33.5 ±19.9 vs 17.2 ±14.4 years), and lower occurrence of febrile seizures (11.0% vs 24.4%) and MTS (19.0% vs 35.6%). The chance of remission was directly correlated to age at onset of seizures and inversely correlated to a history of febrile seizures and to the presence of MTS. At multivariate analysis, age at onset of epilepsy was the only significant prognostic predictor. Conclusion Older age at onset predicts better prognosis in sporadic non-lesional TLE.
Rural Poverty and Artisanal Mining in Sub-Saharan Africa

Attempts to discuss small-scale artisanal mining (ASM) within the lenses of environment–poverty paradox have had two contending schools of thought. The first lens is the most dominant and holds that a single factor, ‘poverty’, drives people into ASM. The second lens contends that multiples of complex factors better explain who and why rural populations elect to enter employment in ASM. The literature appears to have largely focused on the single perspective, while the multi-complex web of factors has been largely ignored or at best just mentioned in passing. Employing the multi-complex perspective, this article provides a novel framework for unpacking the multiple factors that drive rural people into ASM in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We argue that a single factor (‘poverty’) is inadequate to explain why rural people choose ASM as an alternative livelihood source and any policy intervention based on such perspective may rarely succeed. Our discussion highlights that institutional failure, including foreign/external takeover, poor politico-regulatory environment and unfavourable climate have sanctioned rural people to engage in such arduous and unsafe livelihood support activity which degrades the environment. Both theoretical and empirical studies from SSA have been used to support the argument.
Translational regulation of mRNAs for ribosomal proteins during early Drosophila development.

In Drosophila, the vast majority of mRNAs that are polysome associated during oogenesis are also polysome associated during early embryogenesis. We have previously identified an exceptional mRNA that appears to be depleted from early-embryo polysomes [Fruscoloni, P., Al-Atia, G. R. , & Jacobs-Lorena, M. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 3359-3363]. This mRNA has been subsequently identified as coding for a ribosomal protein (r-protein) [Kay, M. , & Jacobs-Lorena, M. (1985) Mol. Cell. Biol. (in press)]. Changes in association with polysomes of two r-protein mRNAs during early Drosophila development were investigated for this report. Hybridization of cloned DNA probes to blots of RNA obtained from sucrose gradient fractions reveals that r-protein mRNAs are substantially associated with polysomes during oogenesis, depleted from polysomes during early embryogenesis, and again polysome associated during late embryogenesis. Thus, translation of r-protein mRNAs parallels transcription of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) during this time of development. By contrast, no such differences were observed when actin and histone probes were used as controls and hybridized to the same blots. The abundance of mRNAs for r-proteins as a function of development was also measured. Abundance was relatively high and constant during oogenesis and embryogenesis (when translational regulation is apparent), somewhat decreased in larval and pupal stages, and low in adult nonovarian tissues. Coordination between r-protein and rRNA synthesis appears to be achieved by regulating translation of r-protein mRNAs in early embryos and by decreasing their abundance in adult tissues.
Quantification of age-related and per diopter accommodative changes of the lens and ciliary muscle in the emmetropic human eye.

PURPOSE To calculate age-related and per diopter (D) accommodative changes in crystalline lens and ciliary muscle dimensions in vivo in a single cohort of emmetropic human adults ages 30 to 50 years. METHODS The right eyes of 26 emmetropic adults were examined using ultrasonography, phakometry, anterior segment optical coherence tomography, and high resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Accommodation was measured both subjectively and objectively. RESULTS In agreement with previous research, older age was linearly correlated with a thicker lens, steeper anterior lens curvature, shallower anterior chamber, and lower lens equivalent refractive index (all P < 0.01). Age was not related to ciliary muscle ring diameter (CMRD) or lens equatorial diameter (LED). With accommodation, lens thickness increased (+0.064 mm/D, P < 0.001), LED decreased (-0.075 mm/D, P < 0.001), CMRD decreased (-0.105 mm/D, P < 0.001), and the ciliary muscle thickened anteriorly (+0.013 to +0.026 mm/D, P < 0.001) and thinned posteriorly (-0.011 to -0.015, P < 0.01). The changes per diopter of accommodation in LED, CMRD, and ciliary muscle thickness were not related to subject age. CONCLUSIONS The per diopter ciliary muscle contraction is age independent, even as total accommodative amplitude declines. Quantifying normal biometric dimensions of the accommodative structures and changes with age and accommodative effort will further the development of new IOLs designed to harness ciliary muscle forces.
Genetic overlap between P300, P50, and duration mismatch negativity

Mismatch Negativity (MMN), P300, and P50 suppression event‐related potential (ERP) components measure intermediate stages of information processing but little is known of how they relate to each other genetically. The present study used multivariate genetic model fitting analytic techniques in 46 monozygotic and 32 dizygotic twin pairs. P300, P50 suppression, and MMN were recorded using a 19‐channel electroencephalograph (EEG). Zygosity was determined using DNA genotyping. Little evidence for either genetic or environmental association between each of the three ERP paradigms was found. This result suggests that P300, MMN, and P50 suppression serve to evaluate different brain information processing functions that may be mediated by distinct neurobiological mechanisms which in turn are influenced by different sets of genes. Within paradigm, P300 amplitude and latency shared about half of their genetic effects. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Rabbit Epididymal Secretory Proteins. II. Immunolocalization and Sperm Association of REP381

Abstract Polyclonal antibody was used to partially characterize REP38, a major rabbit epididymal secretory protein. Western blot analyses and immunohistochemistry indicated that REP38 is only expressed in regions 5 and 6 of the epididymis (corpus epididy-midis) and is localized in the supranuclear region and microvilli of the principal cells in these regions. It was not expressed in other tissues of the body. In region 8 (cauda epididymidis), REP38 was detected in the luminal border and cytoplasm of scattered principal cells, indicating that it may be reabsorbed in this region. This protein accumulated on the sperm plasma membrane downstream of region 5 and was localized predominantly over the acrosomal and postacrosomal regions of the head and the middle piece. Although tightly bound to epididymal sperm, REP38 migrated to the equatorial segment under conditions in vivo that would promote capacitation. When tested in vitro, anti-REP38 IgG reduced the percentage of ova fertilized in a concentration-dependent manner, apparently by blocking sperm-egg fusion.
Impacts of the 2013 CAP reform on the EU farming sector: An assessment using a microeconomic farm model

This paper analyses the impact of the new direct payments (DPs) system introduced by the 2013 CAP reform on EU farming sector. We apply the EU-wide individual farm level model (IFM-CAP) which allows capturing farm specific implementation of DPs and assessing their distributional effects. Simulation results show that although the 2013 CAP reform succeeded to partially harmonize DPs between MS, relatively strong differences in DPs still remain in place. An important result of the 2013 CAP reform is also internal convergence of DPs within MS. The 2013 CAP reform reduced inequality of DPs as measured by the Gini coefficient from 0.581 to 0.561. The farm income decreases by around 1.3% at EU level due to the introduction of the new DPs. Around 60% of farms loose, whereas the remaining 40% of farms gain from the reform in EU-27. Small farms benefit, while large farms lose from the 2013 CAP reform.
Anchorage of titanium implants with different surface characteristics: an experimental study in rabbits.

PURPOSE To compare the anchorage of titanium implants with different surface roughness and topography and to examine histologically the peri-implant bone after implant removal. MATERIALS AND METHODS Screw implants with five different surface topographies were examined: (1) turned ("machined"), (2) TiO2-blasted with particles of grain size 10 to 53 microns; (3) TiO2-blasted, grain size 63 to 90 microns; (4) TiO2-blasted, grain size 90 to 125 microns; (5) titanium plasma-sprayed (TPS). The surface topography was determined by the use of an optical instrument. Twelve rabbits, divided into two groups, had a total of 120 implants inserted in the tibiae. One implant from each of the five surface categories was placed within the left tibia of each rabbit. By a second operation, implants were installed in the right tibia, after 2 weeks in group A and after 3 weeks in group B. Fluorochrome labeling was performed after 1 and 3 weeks. Removal torque (RMT) tests of the implants were performed 4 weeks after the second surgery in group A and 9 weeks after the second surgery in group B. Thus, in group A, two healing groups were created, representing 4 and 6 weeks, respectively. The corresponding healing groups in group B were 9 and 12 weeks. The tibiae were removed, and each implant site was dissected, fixed, and embedded in light-curing resin. Ground sections were made, and the peri-implant bone was analyzed using fluorescence and light microscopy. RESULTS The turned implants had the lowest Sa and Sy values, whereas the highest scores were recorded for the TPS implants. The corresponding Sa and Sy values for the TiO2-blasted implants were higher when a larger size of grain particles had been used for blasting. At all four observation intervals, the TPS implants had the highest and the turned implants the lowest RMT scores. The differences between the various TiO2-blasted implants were, in general, small, but the screws with the largest Sa value had higher RMT scores at 6, 9, and 12 weeks than implants with lower Sa values. The histologic analysis of the sections representing 6, 9, and 12 weeks revealed that fractures or ruptures were present in the marginal, cortical peri-implant bone. In such sections representing the TPS and TiO2-blasted implant categories, ruptures were frequently found in the zone between the old bone and the newly formed bone, as well as within the newly formed bone. CONCLUSIONS The present study demonstrated that a clear relation exists between surface roughness, described in Sa values, and implant anchorage assessed by RMT measurements. The anchorage appeared to increase with the maturation of bone tissue during healing.
Stock Price Synchronicity and Information Environment

This study investigates the relationship between Stock Price Synchronicity and information environment variables in Pakistani equity market by using data of 133 stocks for the period of June 2002 to June 2016. The results indicate that liquidity, book to market ratio, percentage of zero volume days and size have significant impact on stock price synchronicity. The findings of the study suggest that low R-squared stocks are smaller, have less turnover rate and infrequent trading, which makes them less profitable. During global financial crisis, the stocks are more synchronized with the market. This study further suggests that low-stock-price synchronicity is a result of firm-specific variables.