Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interlocked feedback loops contribute to the robustness of the Neurospora circadian clock

Interlocked feedback loops may represent a common feature among the regulatory systems controlling circadian rhythms. The Neurospora circadian feedback loops involve white collar-1 (wc-1), wc-2, and frequency (frq) genes. We show that WC-1 and WC-2 proteins activate the transcription of frq gene, whereas FRQ protein plays dual roles: repressing its own transcription, probably by interacting with the WC-1/WC-2 complex, and activating the expression of both WC proteins. Thus, they form two interlocked feedback loops: one negative and one positive. We establish the physiological significance of the interlocked positive feedback loops by showing that the levels of WC-1 and WC-2 determine the robustness and stability of the clock. Our data demonstrate that with WC-1 being the limiting factor in the WC-1/WC-2 complex, the greater the levels of WC-1 and WC-2, the higher the level of the FRQ oscillation and the more robust the overt rhythms. Our data also show that, despite considerable changes in the levels of WC-1, WC-2, and FRQ, the period of the clock has been limited to a small range, suggesting that the interlocked circadian feedback loops are also important for determining the circadian period length of the clock.
Support for Redistribution in an Age of Rising Inequality: New Stylized Facts and Some Tentative Explanations

Despite the large increases in economic inequality since 1970, American survey respondents exhibit no increase in support for redistribution, contrary to the predictions from standard theories of redistributive preferences. We replicate these results but further demonstrate substantial heterogeneity by demographic group. In particular, the two groups that have most moved against income redistribution are the elderly and African Americans. We find little evidence that these subgroup trends are explained by relative economic gains or growing cultural conservatism, two common explanations. We further show that the trend among the elderly is uniquely American, at least relative to other developed countries with comparable survey data. While we are unable to provide definitive evidence on the cause of these two groups’ declining redistributive support, we provide additional correlations that may offer fruitful directions for future research on the topic. One story consistent with the data on elderly trends is that older Americans worry that redistribution will come at their expense, in particular through cuts to Medicare. We find that the elderly have grown increasingly opposed to government provision of health insurance and that controlling for this tendency explains about 40 percent of their declining support for redistribution. For blacks, controlling for their declining support for race-targeted aid explains nearly 45 percent of their differential decline in redistributive preferences, which raises a further question: Why has support for race-targeted aid fallen during a period when black economic catch-up to whites has stalled?
Patients' recovery after critical illness at early follow-up.

AIM To determine the quality of life, particularly physical function, of intensive care survivors during the early recovery process. BACKGROUND Survivors of critical illness face ongoing challenges after discharge from the intensive care unit and on returning home. Knowledge about health issues during early phases of recovery after hospital discharge is emerging, yet still limited. DESIGN Descriptive study where the former critically ill patients completed instruments on general health and quality of life (SF-36) in the first six months of recovery. METHODS Participants responded to the SF-36 questionnaire and questions about problems, one to six months after intensive care, either face-to-face or by telephone. RESULTS Thirty-nine participants had a mean age of 60 years; of them, 59% were men and had been in intensive care for 1-69 days (median = 5). Most participants (69%) rated their health as good or fair, but 54% rated general health as worse than a year ago. Mean quality of life scores for all scales ranged from 25-65.5%, with particularly low scores for Role-Physical (25) and Pain (45.1). Half the participants reported difficulty with mobility, sleep and concentration, and 72% that their responsibilities at home had changed. No relationships were found between SF-36 scores and admission diagnosis, gender, age or length of intensive care stay. CONCLUSIONS These survivors of critical illness and hospitalisation in an intensive care unit perceive their general health to be good despite experiencing significant physical limitations and disturbed sleep during recovery. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Knowledge of issues in these early phases of recovery and discussion and resolution of patient problems could normalise the experience for the patient and help to facilitate better quality of life.
Cold water immersion recovery after simulated collision sport exercise.

PURPOSE This investigation examined the effects of cold water immersion (CWI) recovery after simulated collision sport exercise. METHODS Ten male rugby athletes performed three sessions consisting of a 2 × 30-min intermittent-sprint exercise (ISE) protocol with either tackling (T) or no tackling (CONT), followed by a 20-min CWI intervention (TCWI) or passive recovery (TPASS and CONT) in a randomized order. The ISE consisted of a 15-m sprint every minute separated by self-paced bouts of hard running, jogging, and walking for the remainder of the minute. Every sixth rotation, participants performed 5 × 10-m runs, receiving a shoulder-led tackle to the lower body on each effort. Sprint time and distance covered during ISE were recorded, with voluntary (maximal voluntary contraction; MVC) and evoked neuromuscular function (voluntary activation; VA), electromyogram (root mean square (RMS)), ratings of perceived muscle soreness (MS), capillary and venous blood markers for metabolites and muscle damage, respectively measured before and after exercise, immediately after recovery, and 2 and 24 h after recovery. RESULTS Total distance covered during exercise was significantly greater in CONT (P = 0.01), without differences between TPASS and TCWI (P > 0.05). TCWI resulted in increased MVC, VA, and RMS immediately after recovery (P < 0.05). M-wave amplitude and peak twitch were significantly increased after recovery and 2 h after recovery, respectively, in TCWI (P < 0.05). Although TCWI had no effect on the elevation in blood markers for muscle damage (P > 0.05), lactate was significantly reduced after recovery compared with TPASS (P = 0.04). CWI also resulted in reduced MS 2 h after recovery compared with TPASS (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The introduction of body contact reduces exercise performance, whereas the use of CWI results in a faster recovery of MVC, VA, and RMS and improves muscle contractile properties and perceptions of soreness after collision-based exercise.
Association of Satellites with a Mastrevirus in Natural Infection: Complexity of Wheat Dwarf India Virus Disease

ABSTRACT In contrast to begomoviruses, mastreviruses have not previously been shown to interact with satellites. This study reports the first identification of the association of satellites with a mastrevirus in field-grown plants. Two alphasatellite species were detected in different field samples of wheat infected with Wheat Dwarf India Virus (WDIV), a Cotton leaf curl Multan alphasatellite (CLCuMA) and a Guar leaf curl alphasatellite (GLCuA). In addition to the alphasatellites, a betasatellite, Ageratum yellow leaf curl betasatellite (AYLCB), was also identified in the wheat samples. No begomovirus was detected in the wheat samples, thus establishing association of the above-named satellites with WDIV. Agrobacterium-mediated inoculation of WDIV in wheat, in the presence of either of the alphasatellites or the betasatellite, resulted in infections inducing more severe symptoms. WDIV efficiently maintained each of the alphasatellites and the betasatellite in wheat. The satellites enhanced the level of WDIV DNA in wheat. Inoculation of the satellites isolated from wheat with various begomoviruses into Nicotiana tabacum demonstrated that these remain capable of interacting with the viruses with which they were first identified. Virus-specific small RNAs accumulated in wheat upon infection with WDIV but were lower in abundance in plants coinfected with the satellites, suggesting that both the alphasatellites and the betasatellite suppress RNA silencing. These results suggest that the selective advantage for the maintenance of the alphasatellites and the betasatellite by WDIV in the field is in overcoming RNA silencing-mediated host defense. IMPORTANCE Wheat is the most widely cultivated cereal crop in the world. A number of viruses are important pathogens of wheat, including the viruses of the genus Mastrevirus, family Geminiviridae. This study reports the association of subgenomic components, called satellites (alpha- and betasatellites), with a mastrevirus, Wheat Dwarf India Virus (WDIV), isolated from two distant locations in India. This study reports the first identification of the satellites in a monocot plant. The satellites enhanced accumulation of WDIV and severity of disease symptoms. The satellites lowered the concentration of virus-specific small RNAs in wheat plants, indicating their silencing suppressor activity. The involvement of the satellites in symptom severity of the mastrevirus can have implications in the form of economic impact of the virus on crop yield. Understanding the role of the satellites in disease severity is important for developing disease management strategies.
TDMA-based cooperative sensing using SDR platform for cognitive radio

The current trend and demand of wireless services requires more efficient spectrum usage. With Cognitive Radio (CR) technology, spectrum efficiency will be increased by exploiting unused licensed or primary users spectrum. Spectrum sensing mechanism is one of the main cores in CR system. To combat the problems of shadowing, multipath fading, and hidden nodes, cooperative spectrum sensing has been proposed. Testbed prototyping for sensing is a challenging task. The demand for cooperative sensing to solve the above mentioned problems leads to proposals of PHY and MAC layer solutions. Therefore, in this paper, we demonstrate an experimental platform using USRP board that can facilitate the development of PHY and MAC layers functionality for cooperative spectrum sensing. In this paper, TDMA-based MAC protocol for cooperative sensing mechanism is proposed. The observation of the preliminary experimental measurement shows significant performance in term of feasibility of cooperative decision mechanism in wireless condition.
Structural analysis of social behavior.

A brief review of the literature on structural analysis of interpersonal behavior is followed by a proposal which draws heavily from prior models, especially those of Schaefer and of Leary. The proposed model goes beyond previous ones in that it has a highly explicit structure which defines behavioral opposites, complements, and antidotes. Built on two axes named affiliation and interdependence, the model describes dyadic social interactions in terms of complementary proportions of those underlying dimensions. Opposite behaviors appear at 180° angles whereas complementary behaviors appear at topologically similar positions on two separate planes. Antidotes are defined as opposites of complements. Using the questionnaire method, the proposed structure has been tested by the responses of normal as well as psychiatric subjects. Analysis of these data by the techniques of autocorrelation, circumplex analysis, and factor analysis supports the model.
Thin slices of expressive behavior as predictors of interpersonal consequences: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was conducted on the accuracy of predictions of various objective outcomes in the areas of social and clinical psychology from short observations of expressive behavior (under 5 min). The overall effect size (/) for the accuracy of predictions for 38 different results was . 39. Studies using longer periods of behavioral observation did not yield greater predictive accuracy; predictions based on observations under Vi min in length did not differ significantly from predictions based on 4- and 5-min observations. The type of behavioral channel (such as the face, speech, the body, tone of voice) on which the ratings were based was not related to the accuracy of predictions. Accuracy did not vary significantly between behaviors manipulated in a laboratory and more naturally occurring behavior. Last, effect sizes did not differ significantly for predictions in the areas of clinical psychology, social psychology, and the accuracy of detecting deception. The way in which people move, talk, and gesture—their facial expressions, posture, and speech—all contribute to the formation of impressions about them. Many of the judgments we make about others in our everyday lives are based on cues from these expressive behaviors. Gordon Allport (1937) believed that expressive behaviors were important indicators of personality and that impressions from brief interactions were often verified upon further acquaintance. Allport and Vernon (1933) demonstrated that people's expressive styles were quite consistent across a variety of situations. They then began to investigate the accuracy of perceivers' impressions that were based on observations of these expressive styles. For reasons that have been discussed elsewhere, this issue—like other issues concerning the accuracy of interpersonal and social perception— was neglected for a long time (Funder, 1987; Kenny & Albright, 1987). Recently, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in the accuracy of social and interpersonal perception and judgment (Funder, 1987; Kenny & Albright, 1987; Kruglanski, 1989; Swann, 1984) and in the study of expressive behavior (Lippa, 1983; Riggio & Friedman, 1986). Recent work confirms earlier findings (Passini & Norman, 1966) that the ratings of strangers converge surprisingly well with self-ratings of personality by targets (Albright, Kenny, & Malloy, 1988; Funder & Cohan, 1988; Watson, 1989). This correspondence seems to confirm Gordon Allport's observation that there is something in the nature of individuals that
Composition of Overlapping Protein-Protein and Protein-Ligand Interfaces

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play a major role in many biological processes and they represent an important class of targets for therapeutic intervention. However, targeting PPIs is challenging because often no convenient natural substrates are available as starting point for small-molecule design. Here, we explored the characteristics of protein interfaces in five non-redundant datasets of 174 protein-protein (PP) complexes, and 161 protein-ligand (PL) complexes from the ABC database, 436 PP complexes, and 196 PL complexes from the PIBASE database and a dataset of 89 PL complexes from the Timbal database. In all cases, the small molecule ligands must bind at the respective PP interface. We observed similar amino acid frequencies in all three datasets. Remarkably, also the characteristics of PP contacts and overlapping PL contacts are highly similar.
Multiple hypopigmented macules on the face

© 2016 Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprology | Published by Wolters Kluwer Medknow A 48-year-old man presented with a 10-year history of asymptomatic, hypopigmented lesions on the face which were initially small and gradually increased in number and size. Physical examination revealed approximately twenty, similarly sized, round to angulated, hypopigmented macules on the beard area and neck [Figure 1a and b]. The clinical differential diagnoses included pityriasis versicolor, pityriasis alba, idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis, progressive macular hypomelanosis and epidermodysplasia verruciformis. Skin biopsy from one of the lesions revealed dilated follicular infundibula connected to each other and the overlying epidermis by a broad plate-like proliferation of cells that resembled isthmic epithelium with pale pink cytoplasm [Figures 2 and 3].
Seeing group members eating a familiar food enhances the acceptance of novel foods in capuchin monkeys

In primates, social context is one of the factors that increases the acceptance of novel foods. Previous experiments showed that tufted capuchins, Cebus apella, eat significantly more of novel foods when in the presence of group members eating the same novel foods. Several processes may have led to these results. The mere presence of group members may reduce the individual's stress of being alone, or its neophobic response and, consequently, may increase its food consumption. The individual may be influenced by what group members do, and local/stimulus enhancement and/or social facilitation may occur. To investigate the above processes, we assessed whether an individual capuchin monkey's consumption of novel foods is lower when (1) the individual is alone with nobody in the nearby cage than when (2) group members are present in the nearby cage with no food or when (3) they are present and eating a familiar food. We tested 15 subjects with three novel foods, each presented in one condition. In both social conditions, the more group members there were by the food box the more the experimental subject ate. In addition, when group members were present and eating food, there was a significant increase in the acceptance of the three foods, regardless of what group members were eating. We argue that social facilitation of eating is a quicker way to overcome neophobia and only social facilitation of eating what the others are eating can be considered a safe way to learn about a safe diet. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Ionizing radiation‐induced long‐term expression of senescence markers in mice is independent of p53 and immune status

Exposure to IR has been shown to induce the formation of senescence markers, a phenotype that coincides with lifelong delayed repair and regeneration of irradiated tissues. We hypothesized that IR‐induced senescence markers could persist long‐term in vivo, possibly contributing to the permanent reduction in tissue functionality. Here, we show that mouse tissues exposed to a sublethal dose of IR display persistent (up to 45 weeks, the maximum time analyzed) DNA damage foci and increased p16INK4a expression, two hallmarks of cellular senescence and aging. BrdU‐labeling experiments revealed that IR‐induced damaged cells are preferentially eliminated, at least partially, in a tissue‐dependent manner. Unexpectedly, the accumulation of damaged cells was found to occur independent from the DNA damage response modulator p53, and from an intact immune system, as their levels were similar in wild‐type and Rag2−/− γC−/− mice, the latter being deficient in T, B, and NK cells. Together, our results provide compelling evidence that exposure to IR induces long‐term expression of senescence markers in vivo, an effect that may contribute to the reduced tissue functionality observed in cancer survivors.
Sequences at the Interface of the Fifth Immunoglobulin Domain and First Fibronectin Type III Repeat of the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule Are Critical for Its Polysialylation*

Polysialic acid is an anti-adhesive glycan that modifies a select group of mammalian proteins. The primary substrate of the polysialyltransferases (polySTs) is the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). Polysialic acid negatively regulates cell adhesion, is required for proper brain development, and is expressed in specific areas of the adult brain where it promotes on-going cell migration and synaptic plasticity. The first fibronectin type III repeat (FN1) of NCAM is required for polysialylation of the N-glycans on the adjacent immunoglobulin-like domain (Ig5), and acidic residues on the surface of FN1 play a role in polyST recognition. Recent work demonstrated that the FN1 domain from the unpolysialylated olfactory cell adhesion molecule (OCAM) was able to partially replace NCAM FN1 (Foley, D. A., Swartzentruber, K. G., Thompson, M. G., Mendiratta, S. S., and Colley, K. J. (2010) J. Biol. Chem. 285, 35056–35067). Here we demonstrate that individually replacing three identical regions shared by NCAM and OCAM FN1, 500PSSP503 (PSSP), 526GGVPI530 (GGVPI), and 580NGKG583 (NGKG), dramatically reduces NCAM polysialylation. In addition, we show that the polyST, ST8SiaIV/PST, specifically binds NCAM and that this binding requires the FN1 domain. Replacing the FN1 PSSP sequences and the acidic patch residues decreases NCAM-polyST binding, whereas replacing the GGVPI and NGKG sequences has no effect. The location of GGVPI and NGKG in loops that flank the Ig5-FN1 linker and the proximity of PSSP to this linker suggest that GGVPI and NGKG sequences may be critical for stabilizing the Ig5-FN1 linker, whereas PSSP may play a dual role maintaining the Ig5-FN1 interface and a polyST recognition site.
Novel growth factor supporting survival of murine primordial germ cells: evidence from conditioned medium of ter fetal gonadal somatic cells

The ter (teratoma, chromosome 18) mutation causes a deficiency of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in ter/ter embryos from the ter congenic mouse strain at 8.0 days post coitum (dpc). In order to analyse the function of the ter gene, here we examined effects of conditioned medium (CM) from 14.5 dpc testicular and ovarian somatic cells of +/+, +/ter, or ter/ter genotype on mouse PGCs “mixed‐cultured” with own somatic cells on feeder cells. The results showed that +/+ and +/ter CM supported survival in 9.5 and 11.5 dpc ICR PGCs but ter/ter CM did not rescue TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP nick‐end labeling)‐positive apoptosis in the PGCs though it did not affect 5‐bromo‐2‐deoxyuridine incorporation in PGCs. This supportive substance in +/+ CM, not ter/ter CM, was characterized as soluble, heat labile, and larger than 30 kDa. We also found that several known growth factors for PGCs and their receptors were expressed in ter/ter testes as well as +/+ testes, suggesting the ter function is independent. Thus, it was concluded that fetal gonadal somatic cells express a novel PGC growth factor (designated as TER Factor) supporting survival of PGCs not somatic cells and that the PGC deficiency in ter/ter testes is caused by a loss of this factor. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 60:384‐396, © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Alterations of emotional reactivity following righttemporal lobectomy

ABSTRACT To learn if a right temporal lobectomy altered a patient’s autonomic and cognitive responses to aversive and appetitive pictures, we investigated a man whose right anterior temporal lobe and amygdala had been resected to remove an arteriovenous malformation. This patient revealed unusually low self-reports of arousal with a lack of heightened skin conductance responses to aversive pictures. For pleasant pictures, his self-reports of arousal and his physiological responses were similar to healthy men. This patient’s responses are consistent with a bivalent model of emotional processing, with a right temporal lobectomy compromising the activation of his defensive action response system.
Experiments on the Role of the Question Under Discussion for Ambiguity Resolution and Implicature Computation in Adults

The starting point of this paper is an experiment by Hulsey et al. (2004), in which they show that children are sensitive to the context when they are interpreting a sentence containing a scope ambiguity. The contextual property they take into account is the question that was raised in the context, usually referred to as the