Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Pattern of Genetic Variability in Apomictic Clones of Taraxacum officinale Indicates the Alternation of Asexual and Sexual Histories of Apomicts

Dandelions (genus Taraxacum) comprise a group of sexual diploids and apomictic polyploids with a complicated reticular evolution. Apomixis (clonal reproduction through seeds) in this genus is considered to be obligate, and therefore represent a good model for studying the role of asexual reproduction in microevolutionary processes of apomictic genera. In our study, a total of 187 apomictic individuals composing a set of nine microspecies (sampled across wide geographic area in Europe) were genotyped for six microsatellite loci and for 162 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Our results indicated that significant genetic similarity existed within accessions with low numbers of genotypes. Genotypic variability was high among accessions but low within accessions. Clustering methods discriminated individuals into nine groups corresponding to their phenotypes. Furthermore, two groups of apomictic genotypes were observed, which suggests that they had different asexual histories. A matrix compatibility test suggests that most of the variability within accession groups was mutational in origin. However, the presence of recombination was also detected. The accumulation of mutations in asexual clones leads to the establishment of a network of clone mates. However, this study suggests that the clones primarily originated from the hybridisation between sexual and apomicts.
Molecular imaging of endothelial progenitor cell engraftment using contrast-enhanced ultrasound and targeted microbubbles.

AIMS Imaging methods to track the fate of progenitor cells after their delivery would be useful in assessing the efficacy of cell-based therapies. We hypothesized that contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) using microbubbles targeted to a genetically engineered cell-surface marker on endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) would allow the targeted imaging of vascular engraftment. METHODS AND RESULTS Rodent bone marrow-derived EPCs were isolated, cultured, and transfected to express the marker protein, H-2Kk, on the cell surface. Non-transfected EPCs and EPCs transfected with either null plasmid or Firefly luciferase served as controls. Control microbubbles (MB(C)) and microbubbles targeted to H-2Kk expressed on EPCs (MB(H-2Kk)) were constructed. Binding of targeted microbubbles to EPCs was assessed in vitro using a parallel plate flow chamber system. CEU imaging of EPC-targeted microbubbles was assessed in vivo using subcutaneously implanted EPC-supplemented Matrigel plugs in rats. In flow chamber experiments, there was minimal attachment of microbubbles to plated control EPCs. Although numbers of adhered MB(C) were also low, there was greater and more diffuse attachment of MB(H-2Kk) to plated H-2Kk-transfected EPCs. Targeted CEU demonstrated marked contrast enhancement at the periphery of the H-2Kk-transfected EPC-supplemented Matrigel plug for MB(H-2Kk,) whereas contrast enhancement was low for MB(C). Contrast enhancement was also low for both microbubbles within control mock-transfected EPC plugs. The signal intensity within the H-2Kk-transfected EPC plug was significantly greater for MB(H-2Kk) when compared with MB(C). CONCLUSION Microbubbles targeted to a genetically engineered cell-surface marker on EPCs exhibit specific binding to EPCs in vitro. These targeted microbubbles bind to engrafted EPCs in vivo within Matrigel plugs and can be detected by their enhancement on CEU imaging.
The noncosmopolitanism paradigm of freshwater zooplankton: insights from the global phylogeography of the predatory cladoceran Polyphemus pediculus (Linnaeus, 1761) (Crustacea, Onychopoda)

A major question in our understanding of eukaryotic biodiversity is whether small bodied taxa have cosmopolitan distributions or consist of geographically localized cryptic taxa. Here, we explore the global phylogeography of the freshwater cladoceran Polyphemus pediculus (Linnaeus, 1761) (Crustacea, Onychopoda) using two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16s ribosomal RNA, and one nuclear marker, 18s ribosomal RNA. The results of neighbour‐joining and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses reveal an exceptionally pronounced genetic structure at both inter‐ and intra‐continental scales. The presence of well‐supported, deeply divergent phylogroups across the Holarctic suggests that P. pediculus represents an assemblage of at least nine, largely allopatric cryptic species. Interestingly, all phylogenetic analyses support the reciprocal paraphyly of Nearctic and Palaearctic clades. Bayesian inference of ancestral distributions suggests that P. pediculus originated in North America or East Asia and that European lineages of Polyphemus were established by subsequent intercontinental dispersal events from North America. Japan and the Russian Far East harbour exceptionally high levels of genetic diversity at both regional and local scales. In contrast, little genetic subdivision is apparent across the formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America, areas that historical demographic analyses suggest that were recolonized just 5500–24 000 years ago.
Enhancing off-line biometric signature verification using a fingerprint assessment approach

A method designed for matching biometric fingerprint images is applied to the static/image-based ”off-line” human signature modality. Using a publically available signature dataset, the verification performance is compared against three existing static methods. Furthermore, verification is assessed using all four methods within a multi-classifier system. The results show the application of the fingerprint method leads to a comparable performance with existing methods and a significant improvement is achieved within a multi-classifier configuration.
International Journal of Biological & Medical Research Relationship of Waist to Hip Ratio and Academic Performance of First Year Medical College Students

Academic performance Medical student Obesity Physical activity Psychosocial behaviour Waist to hip ratio. Original Article During education main concern of the students and their parents is academic performance. Overweight/obesity in children and adolescent is growing problem in developed as well as in developing countries. The present study was carried out to find the relationship of waist to hip ratio (WHR) with the academic performance in first year medical college students during their academic year. The study included 100 healthy students, 60 males and 40 females. Considering cutoff value of WHR for Asian Indian adults they were divided in to two study groups, Group I with higher WHR (Males > 0.88 and Females > 0.81) and Group II with lesser WHR (Males < 0.88 and Females < 0.81). Rounded up internal assessment marks were compared between Males (30 with higher and 30 with lesser WHR), Females (20 with higher and 20 with lesser WHR) and total students (50 with higher and 50 with lesser WHR). Student's unpaired t test was applied for statistical analysis. The outcomes were presented as a mean (SD) and 'p' value of less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Our study concluded that academic performance of Group I students was significantly less than Group II when total and only male students were compared. But difference was not significant in females. Psychosocial behaviour and less mental processing due to poor physical activity in group I students may be the cause of significant findings. More research work is needed to obtain precise relationship between WHR and academic performance.
Microstructure and Properties of the Composite on the Basis of Copper and Diamond

The paper presents the experimental material on obtaining and researching of three-dimensional composite heat-conducting copper-diamond materials in the system of spark plasma sintering. Earlier [1-5], it was established that in order to achieve the effect of the increased heat conductivity of a composite it is necessary to create the conditions hindering the movement of heat flux on the interface boundary. In this work we have attempted to obtain the material with heat conductivity higher than that of pure copper due to addition of diamond powder and synthesis of the composite in the system of spark plasma sintering. For comparison, we have considered copper and diamond compositions in the ratios of 50/50 and 40/60 correspondingly. The results of the heat conductivity analysis have not exceeded the indices of pure copper; however, according to SEM data, it has been found that at SPS-sintering local domains with enhanced adhesion form on the surfaces of diamonds.
Finger knuckle image based personal authentication using DeepMatching

Recently under the lights of mega Indian Aadhaar [2] project, Indian government has been trying to initiate a robust linkage between several financial inclusion schemes (such as NREGA and MNREGA) and biometric based personal authentication mechanism. This will ensure a corruption free realization and management of such policies. Among commonly used biometric traits, fingerprint is the most accepted mode of identification. However, fingerprints are found monotonous in case of laborers and workers due to rough usages of hand in variety of day-to-day works. This will seriously affect any such initiation adversely, especially in India, which is primarily a rural country. On the contrary, quality of finger dorsal patterns remain better under such situations. In this work, we are proposing a novel finger-knuckle based biometric system to check the escapes that are present in transfer of payments through the various levels of bureaucracy financial inclusion projects. The method is based on finger knuckle local features that has been preprocessed by using ROI extraction, enhancement and proposed feature transformation schemes. In the classification process, a novel Deep-matching technique has been used to match the non-rigid regions between finger knuckle images. The experimental evaluation of proposed system has been carried out using publicly available PolyU finger-knuckle-print database of 8000 images collected from 165 subjects. Our results demonstrate the discriminative ability of transformed knuckle features (CRR-99.10%, and EER-0.98%) in improving the performance of traditional FKI biometric system.
Lack or Inhibition of Dopaminergic Stimulation Induces a Development Increase of Striatal Tyrosine Hydroxylase-Positive Interneurons

We examined the role of endogenous dopamine (DA) in regulating the number of intrinsic tyrosine hydroxylase-positive (TH+) striatal neurons using mice at postnatal day (PND) 4 to 8, a period that corresponds to the developmental peak in the number of these neurons. We adopted the strategy of depleting endogenous DA by a 2-day treatment with α-methyl-p-tyrosine (αMpT, 150 mg/kg, i.p.). This treatment markedly increased the number of striatal TH+ neurons, assessed by stereological counting, and the increase was highly correlated to the extent of DA loss. Interestingly, TH+ neurons were found closer to the clusters of DA fibers after DA depletion, indicating that the concentration gradient of extracellular DA critically regulates the distribution of striatal TH+ neurons. A single i.p. injection of the D1 receptor antagonist, SCH23390 (0.1 mg/kg), the D2/D3 receptor antagonist, raclopride (0.1 mg/kg), or the D4 receptor antagonist, L-745,870 (5 mg/kg) in mice at PND4 also increased the number of TH+ neurons after 4 days. Treatment with the D1-like receptor agonist SKF38393 (10 mg/kg) or with the D2-like receptor agonist, quinpirole (1 mg/kg) did not change the number of TH+ neurons. At least the effects of SCH23390 were prevented by a combined treatment with SKF38393. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that striatal TH+ neurons expressed D2 and D4 receptors, but not D1 receptors. Moreover, treatment with the α4β2 receptor antagonist dihydro-β-erythroidine (DHβE) (3.2 mg/kg) also increased the number of TH+ neurons. The evidence that DHβE mimicked the action of SCH23390 in increasing the number of TH+ neurons supports the hypothesis that activation of D1 receptors controls the number of striatal TH+ neurons by enhancing the release of acetylcholine. These data demonstrate for the first time that endogenous DA negatively regulates the number of striatal TH+ neurons by direct and indirect mechanisms mediated by multiple DA receptor subtypes.
Variation in Growth Drives the Duration of Parental Care: A Test of Ydenberg’s Model

The duration of parental care in animals varies widely, from none to lifelong. Such variation is typically thought to represent a trade-off between growth and safety. Seabirds show wide variation in the age at which offspring leave the nest, making them ideal to test the idea that a trade-off between high energy gain at sea and high safety at the nest drives variation in departure age (Ydenberg’s model). To directly test the model assumptions, we attached time-depth recorders to murre parents (fathers [which do all parental care at sea] and mothers; N=14 of each). Except for the initial mortality experienced by chicks departing from the colony, the mortality rate at sea was similar to the mortality rate at the colony. However, energy gained by the chick per day was ∼2.1 times as high at sea compared with at the colony because the father spent more time foraging, since he no longer needed to spend time commuting to and from the colony. Compared with the mother, the father spent ∼2.6 times as much time diving per day and dived in lower-quality foraging patches. We provide a simple model for optimal departure date based on only (1) the difference in growth rate at sea relative to the colony and (2) the assumption that transition mortality from one life-history stage to the other is size dependent. Apparently, large variation in the duration of parental care can arise simply as a result of variation in energy gain without any trade-off with safety.
A Missense Mutation A384P Associated with Human Hyperekplexia Reveals a Desensitization Site of Glycine Receptors

Hyperekplexia, an inherited neuronal disorder characterized by exaggerated startle responses with unexpected sensory stimuli, is caused by dysfunction of glycinergic inhibitory transmission. From analysis of newly identified human hyperekplexia mutations in the glycine receptor (GlyR) α1 subunit, we found that an alanine-to-proline missense mutation (A384P) resulted in substantially higher desensitization level and lower agonist sensitivity of homomeric α1 GlyRs when expressed in HEK cells. The incorporation of the β subunit fully reversed the reduction in agonist sensitivity and partially reversed the desensitization of α1A384P. The heteromeric α1A384Pβ GlyRs showed enhanced desensitization but unchanged agonist-induced maximum responses, surface expression, main channel conductance, and voltage dependence compared with that of the wild-type α1β (α1WTβ) GlyRs. Coexpression of the R392H and A384P mutant α1 subunits, which mimic the expression of the compound heterozygous mutation in a hyperekplexia patient, resulted in channel properties similar to those with α1A384P subunit expression alone. In comparison, another human hyperekplexia mutation α1P250T, which was previously reported to enhance desensitization, caused a strong reduction in maximum currents in addition to the altered desensitization. These results were further confirmed by overexpression of α1P250T or α1A384P subunits in cultured neurons isolated from SD rats of either sex. Moreover, the IPSC-like responses of cells expressing α1A384Pβ induced by repeated glycine pulses showed a stronger frequency-dependent reduction than those expressing α1WTβ. Together, our findings demonstrate that A384 is associated with the desensitization site of the α1 subunit and its proline mutation produced enhanced desensitization of GlyRs, which contributes to the pathogenesis of human hyperekplexia. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human startle disease is caused by impaired synaptic inhibition in the brainstem and spinal cord, which is due to either direct loss of GlyR channel function or reduced number of synaptic GlyRs. Considering that fast decay kinetics of GlyR-mediated inhibitory synaptic responses, the question was raised whether altered desensitization of GlyRs will cause dysfunction of glycine transmission and disease phenotypes. Here, we found that the α1 subunit mutation A384P, identified from startle disease patients, results in enhanced desensitization and leads to rapidly decreasing responses in the mutant GlyRs when they are activated repeatedly by the synaptic-like simulation. These observations suggest that the enhanced desensitization of postsynaptic GlyRs could be the primary pathogenic mechanism of human startle disease.
Randomized Assessment of the Safety and Efficacy of Intra-Arterial Infusion of Autologous Stem Cells in Subacute Ischemic Stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke is a debilitating illness for which treatment window is limited. Most patients present to the healthcare facility beyond that window. Autologous stem cells have shown some promise for this group of patients. This study was performed to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of intra-arterial infusion of bone marrow–derived mononuclear cells in patients with middle cerebral artery ischemic stroke. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded–end point study was performed from July 2015 to June 2016. Of 229 patients with acute stroke who presented to the hospital during this period, 20 patients who satisfied the inclusion/exclusion criteria were included and randomized into the control and intervention groups. Intra-arterial stem cell infusion into the ipsilateral MCA was performed in the patients in the intervention group at 8–15 days post-stroke ictus. Final analysis at 6 months was performed for primary (safety) and secondary outcomes (efficacy). RESULTS: When we compared the primary end point of the study, no procedure-related mortality, complication, new infarct, or symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was seen in the intervention group. When we compared the secondary end point of good clinical outcome, 8 (80%) patients in the intervention group showed good clinical outcome (modified Rankin Scale score < 2) with 4 (40%) patients in the control group achieving this (95% confidence interval for good outcome in patients with stem cell infusion, 49.03–94.3, and without stem cell infusion, 16.82–68.73; P = .068). CONCLUSIONS: Intra-arterial infusion of stem cells can be carried out safely in the subacute stage of ischemic stroke. Improved clinical outcomes were observed with intra-arterial stem cell therapy; however, studies with larger cohorts are needed to validate the results.
Development and characterization of a xenograft material from New Zealand sourced bovine cancellous bone.

A xenograft (bovine hydroxyapatite [BHA]) was developed from New Zealand sourced bovine cancellous bone by a successful defatting and deproteinizing procedure. The BHA was chemically, compositionally and structurally characterized. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the removal of organic matter from the bone matrix and the presence of carbonate ( CO32-), hydroxyl (OH- ), and phosphate ( PO43-) functional groups. X-ray diffraction analysis suggested that the processed bone corresponds characteristically to hydroxyapatite (HA). SEM analysis showed that the BHA has an interconnected porous architecture with a pore diameter ranging from 100 to 700 μm while µCT analysis calculated the total porosity as 73.46% ± 1.08. Furthermore, the BHA was stable up to 1000°C and lost only 1.8% of its weight. The Ca/P molar ratio of the BHA was 1.58, which is comparable with commercially available natural HA-Endobon® . After 28 days of incubation in simulated body fluid (SBF), the pH value only fluctuated between 7.1 and 7.5 and the BHA scaffold did not degrade significantly by weight indicating the scaffold had excellent chemical and structural stability. In vitro studies showed the BHA was cytocompatible and supported the proliferative growth of Saos-2 osteoblast cells. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1054-1062, 2017.
Can Lay Community Advisors Improve the Clarity of Research Participant Recruitment Materials and Increase the Likelihood of Participation?

Despite decades of effort, lower income people and ethnic minorities continue to be underrepresented as participants in health research. A group of racially and ethnically diverse, lower income community members (Community Advisors on Research Design and Strategies: CARDS®) was trained to review study designs and procedures and provide recommendations to researchers for increasing participation and making research materials more understandable to members of underrepresented communities. In this mixed methods study, one participant group (n = 55) was shown research materials (recruitment documents and a consent form) developed by a research team and approved by the local IRB. A second group (n = 45) was shown the same materials after they had also been reviewed and revised by CARDS. Interviews, which included both fixed-response and open-ended questions, were used to assess reactions of participants in both groups to the materials, including their hypothetical willingness to volunteer for the research described. Group differences were examined using the Chi-square distribution test. Proportional difference effect sizes were estimated using arcsine transformation. The qualitative data were subjected to conventional content analysis. Participants in the group shown the recruitment materials revised by CARDS were more likely to say they understood the documents, more likely to ask for more information about the study, and more likely to say they would participate in the research. Results of content analysis suggested a four-phase sequential process for deciding whether to participate in the research. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Optimally efficient estimation of the statistics of rare events in queueing networks

Because of their rarity, the estimation of the statistics of buffer overflows in networks of queues by direct simulation is very costly. An asymptotically optimal (as the overflow recurrence time becomes large) scheme has been proposed by others, using importance sampling. Two aspects of this scheme are addressed. First, in the existing approach, a numerical minimization is required to generate the simulation network. An equivalent analytic minimization is described. A simple procedure for constructing the optimal simulation network is included. Second, it is shown that the average behaviour of the simulation system is the same as the average behavior of the original network in the period leading up to a buffer overflow. For a sufficiently large buffer size, the optimal simulation system depends only on the statistics of the service rate of one queue (that of the least serviced buffer) and the arrival process, assuming that no two service rates are actually equal, and does not depend in any way on the statistics of the service rates of buffers other than the one dominating the overflow statics. >