Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potassium channel regulators are differentially expressed in hippocampi of Ts65Dn and Tc1 Down syndrome mouse models

Background: Down syndrome remains the main genetic cause of intellectual disability, with an incidence rate of about 1 in 700 live births. The Ts65Dn mouse strain, with an extra murine chromosome that includes genes from chromosomes 10, 16 and 17 of the mouse and the Tc1 strain with an extra human chromosome 21, are currently accepted as informative and well-studied models for Down Syndrome. Using whole cell patch clamp we recently showed changes in several types of transmembrane currents in hippocampal neuronal cultures of Ts65Dn and Tc1 embryos. The associated genetic changes responsible for these changes in physiology were yet to be studied. Methods: We used qPCR to measure RNA expression level of a few of the channel genes that we suspect are implicated in the previously reported changes of measured currents, and performed statistical analysis using Matlab procedures for the standard t-test and ANOVA and for calculating correlations between the RNA expression levels of several channel genes. Results: We present differential gene expression levels measured using qPCR of the potassium channel regulators KCNE1 and KCNE2 in both Ts65Dn and Tc1 embryos and pups compared to controls. In Tc1, the human genes KCNJ6 and KCNJ15 are expressed in addition to a statistically insignificant increase of expression in the mouse genes KCNJ6 and KCNJ15. All channel genes that we have measured with large replication, have the same up-regulation or down-regulation in both mouse models, indicating that the transcription mechanism acts similarly in these two mouse models. The large dataset furthermore allows us to observe correlations between different channel genes. We find that, despite the significant changes in expression levels, channels that are known to interact have a high and significant correlation in expression both in controls and in the Down syndrome mouse model. Conclusions: We suggest the differential expression of KCNE1 and KCNE2 as a possible cause for our previously reported changes in potassium currents. We report a KCNJ6 and KCNJ15 overexpression, which plays a role in the increased input conductance and the reduced cell excitability that we previously reported in the Tc1 mouse model. The large and significant positive (KCNQ2-KCNQ3, KCNE1-KCNE2, KCNQ3-KCNE1, KCNQ2-KCNE1, KCNQ2-KCNE2, KCNQ3-KCNE2) and negative correlations (KCNE1-KCNJ15, KCNE2-KCNJ15) that we find between channel genes indicate that these genes probably work in a cooperative or in a mutually exclusive manner.
Impact of environmental factors in predicting daily severity scores of atopic dermatitis

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects almost 20% of the paediatric population worldwide. Although environmental factors such as weather and air pollutants have been shown to be associated with AD symptoms, the time-dependent nature of the relationship between the environmental factors and subsequent AD symptoms has not been adequately investigated. Here we aimed to assess the short-term impact of weather and air pollutants on AD severity scores. Methods: Using longitudinal data from a published panel study of 177 paediatric patients followed up for 17 months, we developed statistical machine learning models to predict daily AD severity scores for individual study participants. Exposures consisted of daily meteorological variables and concentrations of air pollutants and outcomes were daily recordings of AD severity scores. We developed a mixed effect autoregressive ordinal logistic regression model, validated it in a forward-chaining setting, and evaluated the effects of the environmental factors on the predictive performance. Results: Our model outperformed benchmark (historical or uniform) models for daily prediction of the AD severity scores. The predictive performance of AD severity scores was not improved by the addition of measured environmental factors. Any potential short-term influence of environmental exposures on AD severity scores was outweighed by the underlying persistence of the scores. Conclusion: This data does not offer enough evidence to support a claim that AD symptoms are associated with weather or air pollutants on a short-term basis. Inferences about the magnitude of the effect of environmental factors require consideration of the time-dependence of the AD severity scores.
Testing the Distraction Hypothesis: Do extrafloral nectaries reduce ant‐pollinator conflict?

Ant guards protect plants from herbivores, but can also hinder pollination by damaging reproductive structures and/or repelling pollinators. Natural selection should favour the evolution of plant traits that deter ants from visiting flowers during anthesis, without waiving their defensive services. The Distraction Hypothesis posits that rewarding ants with extrafloral nectar could reduce their visitation of flowers, reducing ant‐pollinator conflict while retaining protection of other structures. We characterised the proportion of flowers occupied by ants and the number of ants per flower in a Mexican ant‐plant, Turnera velutina. We clogged extrafloral nectaries on field plants and observed the effects on patrolling ants, pollinators and ants inside flowers, and quantified the effects on plant fitness. Based on the Distraction Hypothesis, we predicted that preventing extrafloral nectar secretion should result in fewer ants active at extrafloral nectaries, more ants inside flowers and a higher proportion of flowers occupied by ants, leading to ant‐pollinator conflict, with reduced pollinator visitation and reduced plant fitness. Overall ant activity inside flowers was low. Preventing extrafloral nectar secretion through clogging reduced the number of ants patrolling extrafloral nectaries, significantly increased the proportion of flowers occupied by ants from 6.1% to 9.7%, and reduced plant reproductive output through a 12% increase in the probability of fruit abortion. No change in the numbers of ants or pollinators inside flowers was observed. This is the first support for the Distraction Hypothesis obtained under field conditions, showing ecological and plant fitness benefits of the distracting function of extrafloral nectar during anthesis. Synthesis. Our study provides the first field experimental support for the Distraction Hypothesis, suggesting that extrafloral nectaries located close to flowers may bribe ants away from reproductive structures during the crucial pollination period, reducing the probability of ant occupation of flowers, reducing ant‐pollinator conflict and increasing plant reproductive success.
Next-generation sequencing of root fungal communities in continuous cropping soybean

Soybean root rot is a major disease of soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) under continuous cropping, which leads to dramatic variations in the rhizosphere microflora. Soybean was sown in a different field after year zero, and continuous cropping was applied for 1 or 2 yr. The objectives were to investigate the variation in fungal populations present or inhabiting soybean roots during 3 yr of monocropping using next-generation sequencing to compare the three sets of root samples and provide a theoretical basis for the following inoculation study of the different pathogens involved in root rot disease in soybean, variation in fungal populations, and incidence of root rot. Results showed that operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of the three samples were divided into 19 phyla, 169 families, and 235 genera. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the dominant phyla in the continuous cropping root samples. Continuous cropping could increase the relative abundance of some fungi, namely Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, and Thelebolus, which are associated with soybean root rot for 2 and 3 yr of cropping. Continuous cropping could also increase the abundance of Gymnoascus, Chrysosporium, Ctenomyces, Aphanoascus, and Aspergillus, which are soil pathogenic fungi that can cause other plant diseases.
Selection Strategies for Grain Quality in Upland Rice Lines

The grain quality in rice is extremely important for breeding programs, in order to select lines that meet the standards demanded by the market. The quality attribute is composed by several characteristics, which can make difficult the work for breeder. Thus, the objective in this study was to verify the efficiency of the selection indexes in order to select upland rice lines that meet the grain quality standards. Fourteen lines of the Cultivation and Use Value test (CUV) of the upland rice breeding program of the Federal University of Lavras were evaluated. The experiments were conducted in the municipalities of Lavras-MG and Lambari-MG in the seasons of 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. The experimental was a randomized block design with three replications. The following characteristics were evaluated to compose the indexes: grain yield, minimum cooking time, water absorption index, grain chalkiness, integer grain percentage, grain length and width, apparent amylose content and gelatinization temperature. The following selection indexes were compared: Base index of Willians, Sum of “Ranks” of Mulamb and Mock, and Index Sum of Standardized Variables (Z Index) and also was held direct selection through grain yield. It was observed that the Base index obtained good gains with the selection for grain yield, but it was inefficient for the quality characteristics, results when used direct selection. The Ranks and Z index obtained superior and balanced gains for the characteristics, showing up more efficient in the selection of upland rice lines aiming at the quality of grains.
Amino acids profiles of six dinoflagellate species belonging to diverse families: possible use as animal feeds in aquaculture

Copyright © 2018 The Korean Society of Phycology 279 http://e-algae.org pISSN: 1226-2617 eISSN: 2093-0860 Amino acids profiles of six dinoflagellate species belonging to diverse families: possible use as animal feeds in aquaculture An Suk Lim, Hae Jin Jeong*, So Jin Kim and Jin Hee Ok School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea Brain Korea 21 plus program, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Suwon 16229, Korea
Post-Breeding Migration and Habitat of Unisexual Salamanders in Maine, USA

Abstract The behavioral phenotypes of hybrids vary in degree of similarity to their parent species. Unisexual salamanders (Ambystoma laterale sp.), the result of ancient hybridization, contain nuclear DNA of multiple sperm-host species whose habitat preferences differ from one another. We radio tracked unisexual salamanders from four vernal pools to quantify migration distances and post-breeding habitat selection and compared these to published accounts for Blue-Spotted Salamanders (A. laterale) and Jefferson Salamanders (Ambystoma jeffersonianum). Unisexual salamanders used sites with higher numbers of small mammal burrows, lower substrate temperatures, and lower cover by forest floor vegetation than available sites, similar to the sperm-hosts. Unisexual salamanders also migrated distances within the range reported for these sperm-hosts. Even so, individual migration distances were context specific. We implore managers to use caution when designating management zones around breeding pools by considering that some populations may move farther than those reported in published accounts.
Observational study of parental opinion of deferred consent for neonatal research

Objective To evaluate the opinions of parents of newborns following their infant’s enrolment into a neonatal research study through the process of deferred consent. Design Mixed-methods, observational study, interviewing 100 parents recently approached for deferred consent. Setting Tertiary-level neonatal intensive care unit, Melbourne, Australia. Results All 100 parents interviewed had consented to the study/studies using deferred consent; 62% had also experienced a prospective neonatal consent process. Eighty-nine per cent were ‘satisfied’ with the deferred consent process. The most common reason given for consenting was ‘to help future babies’. Negative comments regarding deferred consent mostly related to the timing of the consent approach, and some related to a perceived loss of parental rights. A deferred approach was preferred by 51%, 24% preferred a prospective approach and 25% were unsure. Those who thought prospective consent would not have been preferable cited impaired decision-making, inappropriate timing of an approach before birth and their preference for removal of the decision-making burden via deferred consent. Seventy-seven per cent thought they would have given the same response if approached prospectively; those who would have declined reported that a prospective approach under stressful conditions was unwelcome and too overwhelming. Conclusion In our sample, 89% of parents of infants enrolled in neonatal research using deferred consent considered it acceptable and half would not have preferred prospective consent. The ability to make a more considered decision under less stressful circumstances was key to the acceptability of deferred consent.
COMSOL Thermal Model for a Heated Neural Micro-Probe

This project utilizes the heat transfer module of the COMSOL Multiphysics environment to model the effects that an ohmic heating probe will have on neural tissue. The model quantifies the thermal impact of active components embedded on a neural micro probe by solving the Penne's bioheat equation with an external MATLAB function to determine the heat generation along the length of the probe. The resulting model can be used as design tool for developing novel neural probes that include light and heat sources and active cooling. In order to demonstrate this utility an ohmic heating probe is designed for a particular temperature excursion. The ohmic heating probe will be fabricated and used in subsequent experiments to validate the computational model.
PPARα and PPARβ/δ are negatively correlated with proinflammatory markers in leukocytes of an obese pediatric population

Background Obesity configures a pathophysiological profile that predisposes the development of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, critically impacting public health. The chronic dysregulation of immuno-metabolic components triggered by pediatric obesity is a common but scarcely understood aspect of the disease. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a group of transcription factors essential for energy and immune homeostasis of different tissues. Besides, the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) activation influences insulin secretion, but also regulates the cytokine profile possibly mediated through a PPAR isotype. However, the role of PPARs and GLP-1R in leukocytes from obese pediatric patients remains unclear. Therefore, we examined the expression of PPARs isotypes and GLP-1R in leukocytes, and its correlation with metabolic, hormonal, inflammatory, and anthropometric markers in an obese pediatric population. Results Obese children and adolescents presented a significant increase in anthropometric and body composition parameters, TG, VLDL, TG/HDL, android fat (%)/gynoid fat (%) (A/G%) index, and HOMA score when compared with the control group. Obese participants exhibited a pro-inflammatory profile with an augment of IL-8 ( p = 0,0081), IL-6 ( p = 0,0005), TNF-α ( p = 0,0004), IFN-γ ( p = 0,0110), MCP-1 ( p = 0,0452), and adipsin ( p = 0,0397), whereas displayed a reduction of adiponectin ( p = 0,0452). The expression of PPARα and GLP-1R was lower in the leukocytes from obese participants than in lean subjects. Furthermore, PPARα correlates negatively with TNF-α ( p = 0,0383), while GLP-1R did not show correlation with any inflammatory variable. However, both receptors correlate negatively with the abdominal skinfold. Although PPARβ/δ expression was similar between groups, it was negatively associated with IL-8 levels ( p = 0,0085). Conclusions PPARα and PPARβ/δ expression are negatively correlated with the proinflammatory markers TNF-α and IL-8, respectively, suggesting participation in the regulation of inflammation which was observed to be altered in pediatric obesity. Furthermore, PPARα and GLP-1R are downregulated in leukocytes from obese participants. The low expression of both receptors is correlated with an increase in abdominal skinfold, suggesting a role in fat distribution that could indirectly affect cytokine secretion from different immune and adipose cells, likely triggering an inflammatory profile as a consequence of obesity. Altogether, these findings may impact the understanding and implementation of PPARα or GLP-1R agonists in the clinic.
One-step Production of Superhydrophobic Surfaces Using Laser-based Variothermal Injection Moulding

A new process for the production of water-repellent surfaces by injection moulding makes targeted use of the stretching of microstructures in the demoulding process. The microstructures themselves are shaped in a variothermal injection moulding process. Measurements show that the surfaces have contact angles of up to 165° towards water. The process is capable of producing superhydrophobic plastics surfaces in a single process step.
Self-categorization as a basis of behavioural mimicry: Experiments in The Hive

Introduction Do we always do what others do, and, if not, when and under what conditions do we do so? In this paper we test the hypothesis that mimicry is moderated by the mere knowledge of whether the source is a member of the same social category as ourselves. Methods We investigated group influence on mimicry using three tasks on a software platform which interfaces with mobile computing devices to allow the controlled study of collective behaviour in an everyday environment. Results Overall, participants (N = 965) were influenced by the movements of confederates (represented as dots on a screen) who belonged to their own category in both purposive and incidental tasks. Conclusion Our results are compatible with collective level explanations of social influence premised on shared social identification. This includes both a heuristic of unintended mimicry (the acts of group members are diagnostic of how one should act), and communication of affiliation (based on a desire to make one’s group cohesive). The results are incompatible with traditional ‘contagion’ accounts which suggest mimicry is automatic and inevitable. The results have practical implications for designing behavioural interventions which can harness the power of copying behaviour, for example in emergency evacuations.
Determinants of replication protein A subunit interactions revealed using a phosphomimetic peptide

Replication protein A (RPA) is a eukaryotic ssDNA-binding protein and contains three subunits: RPA70, RPA32, and RPA14. Phosphorylation of the N-terminal region of the RPA32 subunit plays an essential role in DNA metabolism in processes such as replication and damage response. Phosphorylated RPA32 (pRPA32) binds to RPA70 and possibly regulates the transient RPA70-Bloom syndrome helicase (BLM) interaction to inhibit DNA resection. However, the structural details and determinants of the phosphorylated RPA32–RPA70 interaction are still unknown. In this study, we provide molecular details of the interaction between RPA70 and a mimic of phosphorylated RPA32 (pmRPA32) using fluorescence polarization and NMR analysis. We show that the N-terminal domain of RPA70 (RPA70N) specifically participates in pmRPA32 binding, whereas the unphosphorylated RPA32 does not bind to RPA70N. Our NMR data revealed that RPA70N binds pmRPA32 using a basic cleft region. We also show that at least 6 negatively charged residues of pmRPA32 are required for RPA70N binding. By introducing alanine mutations into hydrophobic positions of pmRPA32, we found potential points of contact between RPA70N and the N-terminal half of pmRPA32. We used this information to guide docking simulations that suggest the orientation of pmRPA32 in complex with RPA70N. Our study demonstrates detailed features of the domain-domain interaction between RPA70 and RPA32 upon phosphorylation. This result provides insight into how phosphorylation tunes transient bindings between RPA and its partners in DNA resection.
Chronotype and psychological distress among Chinese rural population: A moderated mediation model of sleep quality and age

Purposes Evidence suggests evening-type individuals have a higher risk of reporting psychological distress than morning-type individuals. However, less is known regarding the underlying processes that might mediate or moderate this association among Chinese rural population. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of psychological distress, investigate whether sleep quality would mediate the association between chronotype and psychological distress and explore whether age would moderate the direct or indirect effect of the mediation model. Methods The cross-sectional study utilized a sample of 884 rural residents from rural regions in Anqing City, Anhui Province, China. Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) were used to measure chronotype, sleep quality and psychological distress, respectively. MacKinnon’s four-step procedure was employed to examine the mediation effect, while Hayes PROCESS macro (model 59) was used to perform the moderated mediation analysis. Results The prevalence of psychological distress among Chinese rural population was 33.4%. The association between chronotype and psychological distress was partially mediated by sleep quality (indirect effect = - 0.05, 95% CI = [-0.08, -0.03]). In addition, age moderated the first stage (sleep quality–psychological distress) of the indirect effect, with the indirect effect being attenuated for older rural residents. As suggested by Johnson-Neyman technique, the association between sleep quality and psychological distress was only significant when the age of the participant was lower than 48.59. Conclusions The incidence of psychological distress among Chinese rural residents cannot be neglected. Interventions for the enhancement of sleep quality to prevent and reduce psychological distress should be prioritized to rural residents who are prone to eveningness, especially those who are younger.