Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic Variation of Beet Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Populations Detected Using Microsatellite Markers in Iran

Abstract In order to understand the population genetic diversity and structure of Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a serious pest of sugar beet in Iran and the world, we genotyped 133 individuals from seven regions in Iran using four microsatellite loci. Significant difference was seen between the observed and expected heterozygosity in all loci. A lower observed heterozygosity than expected heterozygosity indicated a low heterozygosity in these populations. The value of F showed a high genetic differentiation, so that the mean of Fst was 0.21. Molecular analysis variance showed significant differences within and among populations with group variance accounted for 71 and 21%, respectively. No correlation was found between pair-wise Fst and geographic distance by Mantel test. Bayesian clustering analysis grouped all regions to two clusters. These data suggested that a combination of different factors, such as geographic distance, environmental condition, and physiological behavior in addition to genetic factors, could play an important role in forming variation within and between S. exigua populations.
Now DNA-barcoded: the butterflies and larger moths of Germany (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera, Macroheterocera)

This study provides a DNA barcode library for 1264 of the 1338 species of butterflies and larger moths (Rhopalocera and Macroheterocera) of Germany. These results arise from a research program established by the State of Bavaria which is constructing a DNA barcode library for all animal species within its territorial boundaries. Open access is provided to a data set that includes records for 3467 specimens (957 species) from Germany. An additional 307 species of the German fauna are represented by barcode data specimens collected in other European nations. Most (99 %) of the 957 species from the study area were found to possess diagnostic barcode sequences. A few taxa which apparently share DNA barcodes are discussed in detail. Deep intraspecific sequence divergences (> 2 %) were detected in 32 traditionally recognized species which are undergoing more detailed analysis to ascertain whether they represent cases of cryptic diversity. The study reinforces the effectiveness of DNA barcoding as a tool for monitoring biodiversity and for other applications reliant on species identification.
Body composition and eating behaviours in relation to dieting involvement in a sample of urban Greek adolescents from the TEENAGE (TEENs of Attica: Genes & Environment) study

Abstract Objective To document the prevalence of dieting and to compare body composition markers, dietary intakes and eating behaviours across dieting categories. Design Prospective, cross-sectional study. Setting Twenty-four randomly selected secondary public schools located in Attica, Greece. Subjects Anthropometric, medical and dietary information was obtained from 857 (54·9 % females) adolescents (mean age 13·4 (sd 0·9) years). Meal patterns, eating behaviours and eating style score, reflecting conditions around eating, were assessed. Adolescents were asked about their dieting involvement and were categorised as ‘never dieters’, ‘current dieters’ or ‘past dieters’. Results Overall, 20·1 % of the adolescents were currently dieting and 15·2 % reported past dieting. Mean BMI and body fat percentage of never dieters were significantly lower than those of both groups of dieters (P < 0·001). Breakfast skipping (χ 2 = 10·92, P = 0·004) and eating large quantities of food (χ 2 = 7·18, P = 0·028) differed significantly across dieting groups in females. Significant differences in dinner skipping were observed in both males (χ 2 = 10·55, P = 0·005) and females (χ 2 = 20·91, P < 0·001). Female past dieters had significantly higher eating style scores than never dieters (P = 0·010) and current dieters (P = 0·042), indicating less well-structured feeding practices and food intake for reasons other than hunger. Conclusions The present study showed a high prevalence of dieting among adolescents. Current dieters and past dieters had higher BMI and body fat percentage than never dieters. Eating behaviours differed significantly depending on dieting involvement, especially in females; while an apparently healthier, ordered eating style adopted by dieters during the dieting period seemed not to be maintained in the long term.
Multivariate characterisation of morphological traits in Assaf ( Assaf . E ) sheep

Seventeen body measurements in a total of 341 adult individuals (61 males and 280 females) in addition to eight udder scores collected during the period of maximum levels of lactation in the 280 females were used to morphologically characterize the Assaf.E breed both in magnitude and variability. Sampling included the two main environmental areas to check if the native dairy sheep breeds, namely Churra and Manchega, leaded to differences in the male-mediated absorption. Standard morphology of the Assaf.E breed was assessed with a live weight of 110.47 ± 12.51 kg and 75.74 ± 11.23 kg respectively for males and females. The sexual dimorphism (m/f) was 1.13 as expected, with males being 46% heavier than females. The coefficient of variation of all traits ranged from 3.73% to 15.00%, showing high uniformity. Canonical analyses and Mahalanobis distances showed that differences in body measurements between regions existed but they were small as expected in a unique breed. The breed has shown itself to be slightly longer than others with deeper udders and more angled teat placement. Some peripheral traits such as ear and tail size, usually considered important in the breed definition, have been shown to have a low, or null, relationship with other morphological traits. Even when homogeneity is found in the breed, there are still some small differences found between geographical areas as a consequence of the short history of the breed in Spain. However, after a 30 year history in Spain, the homogeneity of the Assaf.E breed allows this population to be defined as an authentic breed. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Martian Clouds Observed by Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera from Ls 135 to 310

We have made daily global maps that cover both polar and equatorial regions of Mars for Ls 135°–360° and 0°–111° using the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red and blue wide-angle swaths taken from May 1999 to January 2001. We study the seasonal distribution of condensate clouds and dust clouds during roughly 1 Martian year using these daily global maps. We present the development and decay of the tropical cloud belt and the polar hoods, the spatial and temporal distributions of lee waves and spiral clouds, and an unusual “aster” cloud above the volcanoes, consisting of rays around a central disk, like the flower. The tropical cloud belt contains mostly fibrous clouds during northern spring/early summer and convective clouds during middle/late northern summer. The detailed development and decay of the tropical cloud belt is nonuniform in longitude. Two distinct stormy periods in late summer precede the formation of the north and south circumpolar hoods. The north polar storms in late summer resemble baroclinic frontal systems on Earth but contain both dust and condensate clouds. Spiral clouds occur only in the northern high latitudes and only during northern spring and summer. The north polar hood displays a stationary wave number two structure during the fall and winter. The south polar hood has fewer streak clouds and lee wave clouds than the north polar hood. During this particular year the lee wave cloud abundance in the south had two peaks (in early fall and late winter), and the lee wave cloud abundance in the north had one peak (in early fall).
A Motivational Model of Performance-Enhancing Substance Use in Elite Athletes

Very little research has been done so far on the psychological determinants of performance-enhancing substance use in sports. The purpose of this study was to propose and test a motivational model of performance-enhancing substance use with elite athletes (N = 1,201). The model posits that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation toward sport predict, respectively, positive and negative sportspersonship orientations, which in turn negatively predict the use of performance-enhancing substances. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation toward sport, sportspersonship orientations, and performance-enhancing substance use in the last 12 months. Findings supported the motivational model. The present findings support the role of intrinsic motivation and sportspersonship orientations in preventing athletes from engaging in unethical behavior such as the use of performance-enhancing substances. Future research should seek to replicate this model with professional and Olympic at.
Template ageing and quality analysis in time-span separated fingerprint data

We confirm earlier findings on the existence of significant fingerprint template ageing on a dataset acquired with commercial off-the-shelf optical fingerprint sensors exhibiting a time-span of 4 years using two different minutiae-based recognition schemes. A subsequent analysis of the quality of imprints involved in false matches (type 1 and type 2 errors, respectively) does not give clear evidence that reduced quality of time-separated data can be made responsible for the observed template ageing effects. Thus, the cause for the observed template ageing remains unclear and is subject to further investigation.
Robust mislabel logistic regression without modeling mislabel probabilities

Logistic regression is among the most widely used statistical methods for linear discriminant analysis. In many applications, we only observe possibly mislabeled responses. Fitting a conventional logistic regression can then lead to biased estimation. One common resolution is to fit a mislabel logistic regression model, which takes into consideration of mislabeled responses. Another common method is to adopt a robust M‐estimation by down‐weighting suspected instances. In this work, we propose a new robust mislabel logistic regression based on γ ‐divergence. Our proposal possesses two advantageous features: (1) It does not need to model the mislabel probabilities. (2) The minimum γ ‐divergence estimation leads to a weighted estimating equation without the need to include any bias correction term, that is, it is automatically bias‐corrected. These features make the proposed γ ‐logistic regression more robust in model fitting and more intuitive for model interpretation through a simple weighting scheme. Our method is also easy to implement, and two types of algorithms are included. Simulation studies and the Pima data application are presented to demonstrate the performance of γ ‐logistic regression.
Whole Exon Deletion in the GFAP Gene Is a Novel Molecular Mechanism Causing Alexander Disease

Abstract Alexander disease (AD) is a leukodystrophy caused by heterozygous mutations in the gene encoding the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Currently, de novo heterozygous missense mutations in the GFAP gene are identified in over 95% of patients with AD. However, patients with biopsy-proven AD have been reported in whom no GFAP mutation has been identified. We report identical twin boys presenting in infancy with seizures and developmental delay in whom MR appearances were suggestive of AD with the exception of an unusual, bilateral, arc of calcification at the frontal white–gray junction. Initial mutation screening of the GFAP gene did not identify a mutation. Whole exome sequencing in both brothers revealed a de novo heterozygous in-frame deletion of the whole of exon 5 of the GFAP gene. Mutations in the GFAP gene are thought to result in a toxic effect of mutant GFAP disrupting the formation of the normal intermediate filament network and resulting in Rosenthal fiber formation, which has hitherto not been linked to exonic scale copy number variants in GFAP. Further studies on mutation negative AD patients are warranted to determine whether a similar mechanism underlies their disease.
Evidence for Pipecolate Oxidase in Mediating Protection Against Hydrogen Peroxide Stress

Pipecolate, an intermediate of the lysine catabolic pathway, is oxidized to Δ1‐piperideine‐6‐carboxylate (P6C) by the flavoenzyme l‐pipecolate oxidase (PIPOX). P6C spontaneously hydrolyzes to generate α‐aminoadipate semialdehyde, which is then converted into α‐aminoadipate acid by α‐aminoadipatesemialdehyde dehydrogenase. l‐pipecolate was previously reported to protect mammalian cells against oxidative stress. Here, we examined whether PIPOX is involved in the mechanism of pipecolate stress protection. Knockdown of PIPOX by small interference RNA abolished pipecolate protection against hydrogen peroxide‐induced cell death in HEK293 cells suggesting a critical role for PIPOX. Subcellular fractionation analysis showed that PIPOX is localized in the mitochondria of HEK293 cells consistent with its role in lysine catabolism. Signaling pathways potentially involved in pipecolate protection were explored by treating cells with small molecule inhibitors. Inhibition of both mTORC1 and mTORC2 kinase complexes or inhibition of Akt kinase alone blocked pipecolate protection suggesting the involvement of these signaling pathways. Phosphorylation of the Akt downstream target, forkhead transcription factor O3 (FoxO3), was also significantly increased in cells treated with pipecolate, further implicating Akt in the protective mechanism and revealing FoxO3 inhibition as a potentially key step. The results presented here demonstrate that pipecolate metabolism can influence cell signaling during oxidative stress to promote cell survival and suggest that the mechanism of pipecolate protection parallels that of proline, which is also metabolized in the mitochondria. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 1678–1688, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Feasibility of Compliant Flooring in Long-Term Care: Results from a Stakeholder Symposium

RÉSUMÉ Le revêtement de sol compliant vise à prévenir les blessures causées par les chutes chez les personnes âgées à risque en soins de longue durée, mais l’utilisation de ce type de revêtement dans ces milieux est encore limitée. Nous avons organisé un symposium d’une journée réunissant les parties prenantes afin d’identifier les avantages et les désavantages de l’installation d’un revêtement de sol compliant en soins de longue durée, ainsi que les questions de recherche future les plus pressantes selon les perspectives des parties prenantes clés. Vingt-trois parties prenantes du domaine de la santé, de l’industrie et de la recherche ont assisté au symposium. Les participants considéraient que les avantages les plus importants de ce revêtement étaient la réduction des blessures pour les résidents qui ont chuté auparavant, les avantages potentiels pour le personnel soignant, et la possibilité d’amélioration de la qualité de vie des résidents. Les désavantages perçus comprenaient des considérations financières, le manque de résultats de recherche concernant ce revêtement et les défis associés à l’installation. Les participants ont indiqué que davantage de recherches étaient nécessaires pour montrer le rapport coût-efficacité et l’efficacité clinique du revêtement de sol compliant. Les parties prenantes ont ainsi perçu que ce revêtement procurait une valeur ajoutée en soins de longue durée, mais ont aussi mis en évidence certaines barrières informationnelles et financières significatives liées à son adoption. ABSTRACT Compliant flooring aims to prevent fall-related injuries among high-risk older adults in long-term care, but uptake of compliant flooring in this setting is limited. We hosted a one-day stakeholder symposium to identify advantages and disadvantages of implementing compliant flooring in long-term care and the most pressing directions for future research from the perspective of key stakeholders. Twenty-three stakeholders representing health care, industry, and research attended the symposium. Attendees believed the most important advantages of compliant flooring were reducing injuries in residents who have fallen, potential benefits to care staff, and potential increases in quality of life for residents. Attendees perceived the most significant disadvantages of compliant flooring were financial considerations, lack of research evidence, and challenges with installation. Attendees indicated a need for additional research on cost-effectiveness and clinical effectiveness. While stakeholders perceived compliant flooring to add value to long-term care, there are significant informational and financial barriers to uptake.
A study on surface treatments of woods for prevention from water penetration

木材は軽くて強く,断熱性に優れ,調湿性があり,工作しやすい特徴を有している。 これらの特徴を活かして木材は古来より建材,家具,道具などに広く用いられてきた。 しかし,木材は水が浸透しやすいという性質を有する。 そこで本研究では吸水性ポリマーを含むゾル・ゲル反応液を用いて木材の表面処理を行って木材への水の浸透を防止する検討を行った。 吸水性ポリマーを含むゾル・ゲル反応液で表面処理した木材は未表面処理木材と比較して水の浸透性が小さく,水を滴下した際の接触角が大きいことが認められた。 また,吸水性ポリマーと酸化チタン微粒子とを含むゾル・ゲル反応液で表面処理した木材は湿度上昇に伴う重量増加率が未処理木材とほぼ同等であることが明らかとなった。 SEM-EDX分析の結果から,表面処理木材には少なくとも表面から深さ0. 5mmまでゾル・ゲル反応液が浸入してシロキサン重合体が形成されているものと推測した。 形成されたシロキサン重合体には疎水性の部分が存在し,それが表面処理木材の水浸透防止性などの特性発現に結びついているものと推測した。
From Single Molecule Fluctuations to Muscle Contraction: A Brownian Model of A.F. Huxley's Hypotheses

Muscular force generation in response to external stimuli is the result of thermally fluctuating, cyclical interactions between myosin and actin, which together form the actomyosin complex. Normally, these fluctuations are modelled using transition rate functions that are based on muscle fiber behaviour, in a phenomenological fashion. However, such a basis reduces the predictive power of these models. As an alternative, we propose a model which uses direct single molecule observations of actomyosin fluctuations reported in the literature. We precisely estimate the actomyosin potential bias and use diffusion theory to obtain a Brownian ratchet model that reproduces the complete cross-bridge cycle. The model is validated by simulating several macroscopic experimental conditions, while its interpretation is compatible with two different force-generating scenarios.
Evolving Strategies, Opportunistic Implementation: HIV Risk Reduction in Tanzania in the Context of an Incentive-Based HIV Prevention Intervention

Background Behavior change communication (BCC) interventions, while still a necessary component of HIV prevention, have not on their own been shown to be sufficient to stem the tide of the epidemic. The shortcomings of BCC interventions are partly due to barriers arising from structural or economic constraints. Arguments are being made for combination prevention packages that include behavior change, biomedical, and structural interventions to address the complex set of risk factors that may lead to HIV infection. Methods In 2009/2010 we conducted 216 in-depth interviews with a subset of study participants enrolled in the RESPECT study - an HIV prevention trial in Tanzania that used cash awards to incentivize safer sexual behaviors. We analyzed community diaries to understand how the study was perceived in the community. We drew on these data to enhance our understanding of how the intervention influenced strategies for risk reduction. Results We found that certain situations provide increased leverage for sexual negotiation, and these situations facilitated opportunistic implementation of risk reduction strategies. Opportunities enabled by the RESPECT intervention included leveraging conditional cash awards, but participants also emphasized the importance of exploiting new health status knowledge from regular STI testing. Risk reduction strategies included condom use within partnerships and/or with other partners, and an unexpected emphasis on temporary abstinence. Conclusions Our results highlight the importance of increasing opportunities for implementing risk reduction strategies. We found that an incentive-based intervention could be effective in part by creating such opportunities, particularly among groups such as women with limited sexual agency. The results provide new evidence that expanding regular testing of STIs is another important mechanism for providing opportunities for negotiating behavior change, beyond the direct benefits of testing. Exploiting the latent demand for STI testing should receive renewed attention as part of innovative new combination interventions for HIV prevention.
Use of rbcl gene sequence of plastid region as a tool in taxonomic authentication and phylogeny of Medicinal Plants

The Western Ghats of India are known to be a major biological hotspot that supports the plant diversity and endemism. The Euphorbia fusiformis representative species of Euphorbiaceae is famous for its use as medicinal herbs. The tuber and latex is used in various ayurvedic medicines. Taxonomic identification of tubers and powders is becoming a great challenge as per classical plant taxonomy. The present study deals with generation of rbcl gene sequences from Euphorbia fusiformis and its phylogenetic relationship with other species of the genus Euphorbia.
Calmodulin Regulated Spectrin Associated Protein 1 mRNA is Directly Regulated by miR‐126 in Primary Human Osteoblasts

Vascularization is essential for bone development, fracture healing, and bone tissue engineering. We have previously described that coculture of primary human osteoblasts (hOBs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) improves differentiation of both cell types. Investigating the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in this system, we found that miR‐126 is highly upregulated in hOBs following coculturing with HUVECs. In this study we performed miR‐126 gain‐of‐function and loss‐of‐function experiments in hOBs followed by microarray analysis in order to identify targets of miR‐126. The transcript cluster IDs were sieved by applying cut‐off criteria and by selecting transcripts which were upregulated following miR‐126 downregulation and vice versa. The calmodulin regulated spectrin associated protein 1 (CAMSAP1) mRNA was confirmed to be differentially regulated by miR‐126. Using the luciferase reporter assay it was demonstrated that CAMSAP1 is directly targeted by miR‐126. In this study, we show that miR‐126 and CAMSAP1 directly interact in hOBs. This finding has potential implications for tissue engineering applications. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 1756–1763, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.