Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Large-Scale Analysis of Putative Soybean Regulatory Gene Expression Identifies a Myb Gene Involved in Soybean Nodule Development 1 [ W ] [ OA ]

Nodulation is the result of a symbiosis between legumes and rhizobial bacteria in soil. This symbiosis is mutually beneficial, with the bacteria providing a source of nitrogen to the host while the plant supplies carbon to the symbiont. Nodule development is a complex process that is tightly regulated in the host plant cell through networks of gene expression. In order to examine this regulation in detail, a library of quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction primer sets was developed for a large number of soybean (Glycine max) putative regulatory genes available in the current expressed sequence tag collection. This library contained primers specific to soybean transcription factor genes as well as genes involved in chromatin modification and translational regulation. Using this library, we analyzed the expression of this gene set during nodule development. A large number of genes were found to be differentially expressed, especially at the later stages of nodule development when active nitrogen fixation was occurring. Expression of these putative regulatory genes was also analyzed in response to the addition of nitrate as a nitrogen source. This comparative analysis identified genes that may be specifically involved in nitrogen assimilation, metabolism, and the maintenance of active nodules. To address this possibility, the expression of one such candidate was studied in more detail by expressing in soybean roots promoter b-glucuronidase and green fluorescent protein fusions. This gene, named Control of Nodule Development (CND), encoded a Myb transcription factor gene. When the CND gene was silenced, nodulation was reduced. These results, associated with a strong expression of the CND gene in the vascular tissues, suggest a role for CND in controlling soybean nodulation.
An exploratory study on cooccurrence of design patterns and bad smells using software metrics

A design pattern is a general reusable solution to commonly recurring problems in software projects. Bad smells are symptoms existing in the source code that possibly indicate the presence of a structural problem that requires code refactoring. Although design pattern and bad smells be different concepts, literature has shown that they may be related and cooccur during the evolution of a software system. This paper presents an empirical study that investigates cooccurrences of design patterns and bad smells as well as identifies the main factors that contribute to the emergence of the relationship between them. We carried out a case study with five Java systems to: (1) investigate if the use of design pattern reduces bad smell occurrence, (2) identify cooccurrences of design patterns and bad smells, and (3) identify situations that contribute for the cooccurrence emergence. As the main result, we found that the application of design pattern not necessarily avoid bad smell occurrences. The results also show that some design patterns such as composite, factory method, and singleton, are intrinsically modular and might be useful in creating high‐quality systems. However, other design patterns such as adapter‐command, proxy, and state‐strategy, have presented high cooccurrence frequency with bad smells; therefore, they require attention in their implementation. Finally, via manual inspection in the components with cooccurrence, we found that the identified cooccurrences appeared due to poor planning and inadequate application of design patterns.
Psychometric Properties of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire: Factor Structure, Reliability, Construct, and Incremental Validity in a French-Speaking Population

In this research, we investigated the psychometrical properties of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue, Petrides & Furnham, 2003) in a French-speaking population. In summary, we found that (a) TEIQue scores were globally normally distributed and reliable; (b) the United Kingdom four-factor structure (well-being, self-control, emotionality, sociability) replicated in our data; (c) TEIQue scores were dependent on gender but relatively independent of age; (d) there was preliminary evidence of convergent/discriminant validity, with TEIQue scores being independent of nonverbal reasoning (Raven's [1976] matrices) but positively related to some personality dimensions (optimism, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness) as well as inversely related to others (alexithymia, neuroticism); (e) there was also preliminary evidence of criterion validity, with TEIQue scores predicting depression, anxiety, and social support as well as future state affectivity and emotional reactivity in neutral and stressful situations; (f) TEIQue scores were susceptible to socially desirable responding; however, (g) TEIQue scores had incremental validity to predict emotional reactivity over and above social desirability, alexithymia, and the Five-factor model of personality. Such results constitute encouraging preliminary findings in favor of the use of the TEIQue.
Learning to Forecast Rationally

This chapter was originally published in the book Handbook of Experimental Economics Results. The copy attached is provided by Elsevier for the author’s benefit and for the benefit of the author’s institution, for noncommercial research, and educational use. This includes without limitation use in instruction at your institution, distribution to specific colleagues, and providing a copy to your institution’s administrator.
Influence of prosthetic and implant therapy on satisfaction and quality of life: a systematic literature review. Part 1--Characteristics of the studies.

PURPOSE This study systematically searched the dental literature to identify and classify articles on the influence of prosthodontic and dental implant treatment on patient satisfaction and oral health-related quality of life according to their level of evidence. MATERIALS AND METHODS A literature search was carried out for articles published between 1960 and February 2003 using an electronic key word search complemented by hand searching. The retrieved articles were subjected to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Only experimental studies were included; articles that did not focus on the effect of therapy on the patient were excluded from further processing. The levels of evidence of the articles were classified following the guidelines of the US Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. RESULTS A total of 207 publications were identified, of which 114 reports investigating 24,863 patients met the inclusion criteria. Data from the studies were analyzed using SPSS 9.0. Two thirds of the publications showed a low evidence level of III; most were conducted in patients who were edentulous or restored with complete dentures (59% of all studies). Mostly, nonstandardized, custom-made questionnaires (80%) were used. On average, 9 (SD 4.2) outcome variables were used within each trial, but clinical criteria were more often used than psychosocial criteria. The most frequently used questions concerned "chewing function" (86%), esthetics (77%), speech (68%), and general satisfaction (67%). Validated instruments, such as the Oral Health Impact Profile, were increasingly used in recent studies, which were also methodically more sufficient. CONCLUSION Few studies with high levels of evidence were found. Research in this field is still in a phase of development.
How to Make Water Run Uphill

A surface having a spatial gradient in its surface free energy was capable of causing drops of water placed on it to move uphill. This motion was the result of an imbalance in the forces due to surface tension acting on the liquid-solid contact line on the two opposite sides ("uphill" or "downhill") of the drop. The required gradient in surface free energy was generated on the surface of a polished silicon wafer by exposing it to the diffusing front of a vapor of decyltrichlorosilane, Cl3Si(CH2)9CH3. The resulting surface displayed a gradient of hydrophobicity (with the contact angle of water changing from 97� to 25�) over a distance of 1 centimeter. When the wafer was tilted from the horizontal plane by 15�, with the hydrophobic end lower than the hydrophilic, and a drop of water (1 to 2 microliters) was placed at the hydrophobic end, the drop moved toward the hydrophilic end with an average velocity of ∼1 to 2 millimeters per second. In order for the drop to move, the hysteresis in contact angle on the surface had to be low (≤10�).
Predictive biomarker discovery and validation for the targeted chemotherapeutic ixabepilone.

3011 Background: Ixabepilone is a microtubule stabilizing agent with significant therapeutic value in breast cancer (BC) patients. To identify predictive biomarkers capable of identifying patients likely to receive optimal benefit from ixabepilone treatment, preclinical and clinical studies were carried out. Several biomarkers discovered using preclinical models were validated in a neoadjuvant BC clinical study ( CA163080 ) and one, estrogen receptor 1 (ER), was shown to double the pathological complete response (pCR) rate in patients treated with ixabepilone. To identify candidate sets of biomarkers that could further increase the pCR rate we have performed post-hoc analyses of the preclinical and clinical data. METHODS Eighteen BC cell lines were classified as sensitive or resistant (S/R) based on the IC50 values for ixabepilone treatment. Gene expression profiling of the BC cell lines was conducted and genes correlated with the S/R classification were identified using a k-Nearest Neighbors algorithm. Patients in clinical study CA163080 underwent a pretreatment core needle biopsy from which RNA was isolated and gene expression profiles generated (data available on 134 patients). Analyses using the preclinical and clinical markers were conducted using various statistical tools. RESULTS Several markers used in combination with ER were found to be capable of tripling the pCR to ixabepilone in CA163080. In addition to ER other predictive markers were identified that were as predictive as ER, including several genes whose expression is anti-correlated with ER and are part of the ER pathway. Finally, various sub-group analyses were performed and manifested the importance of clinical sample variation that needs to be considered for the analysis. CONCLUSIONS Several single biomarkers identified from preclinical studies were validated in the clinical study CA163080 , demonstrating the utility of this approach. Such markers can be used in combination to better identify patients likely to respond to ixabepilone in future clinical trials. Furthermore, molecular response markers that can be tied to the mechanism of drug resistance can be used for further developing chemotherapy in drug development. [Table: see text].
Sex-Specific Substance Abuse Treatment for Female Healthcare Professionals: Implications

Objectives Gender plays a significant role in the development and treatment of substance abuse disorders. Sex-specific treatment for girls and women has recurrently proven more effective, with better outcomes than traditional treatment. Research on impaired healthcare professionals (HCPs) has largely focused on men, garnering little attention for women and sex differences. With the increasing numbers of female HCPs, it is imperative to identify potential sex differences that may have implications for treatment. Our study compared a convenience sample of male and female HCPs with substance abuse disorders treated in an outpatient program to identify sex differences that may have implications for treatment. Methods Our sample consisted of 96 HCPs (54 men, 42 women) and 17 non–healthcare professional (N-HCP) women. All of the participants were evaluated using the program’s clinical interview and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Chart review data contained categorical variables, qualitative variables, diagnoses, and psychological test scores. A second analysis was conducted through two separate comparisons: the PAI results of comparing impaired female HCPs with impaired male HCPs and the PAI results of comparing impaired female HCPs with impaired female N-HCPs. Results Statistically significant differences indicated more male participants received prior treatment and more intensive treatment than female participants. More female subjects reported being diagnosed as having a comorbid psychiatric condition and taking psychotropic medications. Several statistically significant differences in the PAI scores were found. Among female HCPs, elevations were found in anxiety, depression, paranoia, and borderline personality disorder. Substantive differences, although not statistically significant, were elevations in somatic complaints and anxiety disorders in female HCPs. In the comparison of female HCPs and N-HCPs, the only statistically significant difference was the significantly higher anxiety score of N-HCPs. Conclusions The results indicate greater differences between female HCPs and male HCPs than between female HCPs and N-HCPs.
Sex Differences on Exercise Dependence for Men and Women in a Marathon Road Race

Considerable research has documented a tendency towards exercise dependence among habitual exercisers; however, little research on possible differences in exercise dependence among men and women has been done. This question seems worthy of study given associations between exercise dependence and eating behavior problems and a greater incidence of eating disorders among women than men. Subjects, 18 men and 14 women competing in a marathon road race, completed an exercise dependence survey developed by Hailey and Bailey in 1982. There are 14 equally weighted items which focus exclusively on psychological rather than physiological aspects of exercise dependence. Analysis of variance indicated the women reported significantly higher scores (3.9±1.7) than men (3.7±1.2, p<.05) While the design does not allow assessment of mechanisms underlying the result, one may express concern about the motives for participation in athletic competition.
An Implementation of the UTAUT Model for Understanding Students' Perceptions of Learning Management Systems: A Study Within Tertiary Institutions in Saudi Arabia

The rapid growth of e-learning around the globe is inspiring various academic institutions to adopt it. Uptake is motivated by convincing benefits such as flexibility, accessibility and the management of course delivery. In fact, academic institutions place great emphasis on e-learning and are investing significantly in information technology infrastructures. However, in spite of this effort and investment, it seems that instructors and students do not always fully benefit from the learning technology and more often learning management systems (LMSs) remain underutilized. Thus, this study adopts the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to study how people accept and use the Blackboard system. The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) techniques to test the hypothesized research model. The empirical results found that technical support is fundamental in determining the acceptance and use of e-learning systems. The findings of the study may help to provide insights into a better approach to promote e-learning acceptance.
Depressive Symptoms, a Time-Dependent Risk Factor for Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in Middle-Aged Men: The PRIME Study

Background and Purpose— To date, the association between depressive symptoms and the risk of cardiovascular diseases remains controversial. We investigated prospectively, within the same population, the time course of the association between baseline depressive symptoms and first stroke or coronary heart disease event. Methods— In the Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction (PRIME) Study, a multicenter, observational, prospective cohort, 9601 men from France and Northern Ireland were surveyed for the occurrence of first coronary heart disease (n=647) and stroke events (n=136) over 10 years. At baseline, the fourth quartile of a 13-item modified Center for Epidemiological Studies questionnaire was used to define the presence of depressive symptoms. We sought the best time-dependent function to assess the association between depressive symptoms and outcomes. Thus, the hazard ratios were estimated by a Cox proportional hazard model after splitting the follow-up before and after 5 years of follow-up time periods. Results— Depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with coronary heart disease in the first 5 years of follow-up (hazard ratio, 1.43; 1.10–1.87) and with stroke in the second 5 years of follow up (hazard ratio, 1.96; 1.21–3.19) after adjustment for age, study centers, baseline socioeconomic factors, traditional vascular risk factors, and antidepressant treatment. The association was even stronger for ischemic stroke (n=108; hazard ratio, 2.48; 1.45–4.25). Conclusions— The current study suggests that in healthy, European, middle-aged men, baseline depressive symptoms are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease in the short-term, and for stroke in the long-term.
Comment on ‘Market discipline and monetary policy’ by Carl Walsh

This paper aims at correcting flaws in the way expectations are set in a paper by Walsh (2000) in order to assess with precision the impact of complex market rigidities and market expectations in the optimal choices of inflation in a monetary game between society and central bankers. After setting the expectations right, one of the results achieved indicates that the optimal inflation under any type of central banker is higher than that obtained in the original paper, suggesting that the time inconsistency phenomenon plays a more important role in explaining an inflationary bias than originally interpreted by Walsh (2000). However, if society organizes itself towards shorter tenure wage contracts, inflation will be lower. The results obtained for the output gap of the economy also differ from those achieved by Walsh in the sense that a central banker who is highly committed to previously announced inflation targets will have more opportunities to generate output growth above equilibrium rates and still commit. Finally, the stability of the premises regarding the contractual structure of the economy proposed by Walsh is tested under a game theoretic approach. The outcome of the test is that stability can be guaranteed only under strong assumptions and high symmetry in the sectoral distribution of firms. By using a social welfare function in which price surprises in any direction lead to welfare loss, the results indicate that society is better off by choosing longer tenure wage contracts, moving away from shorter tenure ones, at the cost of higher inflation.
MiR199a is implicated in embryo implantation by regulating Grb10 in rat.

MiR199a was found to be differentially expressed in rat uteri between the prereceptive and receptive phase via microRNA (miRNA) microarray analysis in our previous study. However, the role of miR199a in rat embryo implantation remained unknown. In the study, northern blot results showed that the expression levels of miR199a were higher on gestation days 5 and 6 (g.d.5-6) in rat uteri than on g.d. 3-4 and g.d. 7-8. In situ localization of miR199a in rat uteri showed that miR199a was mainly localized in the stroma or decidua. The expression of miR199a was not significantly different in the uteri of pseudopregnant rats and evidently increased in the uteri of rats subjected to activation of delayed implantation and experimentally induced decidualization. Treatment with 17β-estradiol or both 17β-estradiol and progesterone significantly diminished miR199a levels. Gain of function of miR199a in endometrial stromal cells isolated from rat uteri inhibited cell proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis. Loss of function of miR199a displayed opposite roles on cell proliferation and apoptosis. Further investigation uncovered a significant inverse association between the expression of miR199a and growth factor receptor-bound protein 10 (Grb10), an imprinted gene, and miR199a could bind to the 3'UTR of Grb10 to inhibit Grb10 translation. In addition, in vivo analysis found that the immunostaining of GRB10 was attenuated in the stroma or decidua from g.d. 4 to 6, contrary to the enhancement of miR199a. Collectively, upregulation of miR199a in rat uterus during the receptive phase is regulated by blastocyst activation and uterine decidualization. Enforced miR199a expression suppresses cell proliferation partially through targeting Grb10.
Rain events decrease boreal peatland net CO2 uptake through reduced light availability

Boreal peatlands store large amounts of carbon, reflecting their important role in the global carbon cycle. The short‐term exchange and the long‐term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in these ecosystems are closely associated with the permanently wet surface conditions and are susceptible to drought. Especially, the single most important peat forming plant genus, Sphagnum, depends heavily on surface wetness for its primary production. Changes in rainfall patterns are expected to affect surface wetness, but how this transient rewetting affects net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE) remains unknown. This study explores how the timing and characteristics of rain events during photosynthetic active periods, that is daytime, affect peatland NEE and whether rain event associated changes in environmental conditions modify this response (e.g. water table, radiation, vapour pressure deficit, temperature). We analysed an 11‐year time series of half‐hourly eddy covariance and meteorological measurements from Degerö Stormyr, a boreal peatland in northern Sweden. Our results show that daytime rain events systematically decreased the sink strength of peatlands for atmospheric CO2. The decrease was best explained by rain associated reduction in light, rather than by rain characteristics or drought length. An average daytime growing season rain event reduced net ecosystem CO2 uptake by 0.23–0.54 gC m−2. On an annual basis, this reduction of net CO2 uptake corresponds to 24% of the annual net CO2 uptake (NEE) of the study site, equivalent to a 4.4% reduction of gross primary production (GPP) during the growing season. We conclude that reduced light availability associated with rain events is more important in explaining the NEE response to rain events than rain characteristics and changes in water availability. This suggests that peatland CO2 uptake is highly sensitive to changes in cloud cover formation and to altered rainfall regimes, a process hitherto largely ignored.