Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A rare case of a natural contact zone in Morocco between an autopolyploid and an allopolyploid of Centaurea aspera with sterile tetraploid hybrids.

A new contact zone between Centaurea aspera and Centaurea seridis was found in Morocco. Chromosome counts and flow cytometry showed that both taxa were tetraploid (4x = 44). A literature review and morphometric analysis established that C. aspera corresponds to the autopolyploid C. aspera subsp. gentilii and C. seridis corresponds to the allopolyploid C. seridis var. auriculata. This contact area was compared with the homologous contact zones in Spain formed by the diploid C. aspera subsp. stenophylla and the tetraploid C. seridis subsp. maritima. Natural hybrids between parental species were frequent in both areas. In Spain, hybrids were triploid (from reduced gametes A and gamete AB), highly sterile and exerted a 'triploid block'. In Morocco, cytometry showed that hybrids were tetraploid and, therefore, probably fertile, but all the capitula lacked achenes. It is likely that the resulting genome of the new tetraploid hybrid (AAAB), through the fusion of reduced gametes AA (from subsp. gentilii) and AB (from var. auriculata), could explain irregularities in meiosis through formation of aneuploid gametes and, therefore, infertility of the hybrid. Moroccan sterile tetraploid hybrids develop, but have the identical irregularities to Spanish triploids, probably due to the odd number of homologous chromosomes. The new hybrid is first described as C. x subdecurrens nothosubsp. paucispinus. In addition, distribution and ecological traits are analysed.
Neurobehavioral effects of HIV-1 infection in China and the United States: A pilot study

The HIV epidemic in China has been increasing exponentially, yet there have been no studies of the neurobehavioral effects of HIV infection in that country. Most neuroAIDS research has been conducted in Western countries using Western neuropsychological (NP) methods, and it is unclear whether these testing methods are appropriate for use in China. Twenty-eight HIV seropositive (HIV+) and twenty-three HIV seronegative (HIV−) individuals with comparable gender, age, and education distributions were recruited in Beijing and the rural Anhui province in China. Thirty-nine HIV+ and thirty-one HIV− individuals were selected from a larger U.S. cohort recruited at the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, in San Diego, to be matched to the Chinese sample for age, disease status, and treatment variables. The NP test battery used with the U.S. and China cohorts included instruments widely used to study HIV infection in the United States. It consisted of 14 individual test measures, each assigned to one of seven ability areas thought to be especially vulnerable to effects of HIV on the brain (i.e., verbal fluency, abstraction/executive function, speed of information processing, working memory, learning, delayed recall, and motor function). To explore the cross-cultural equivalence and validity of the NP measures, we compared our Chinese and U.S. samples on the individual tests, as well as mean scaled scores for the total battery and seven ability domains. On each NP test measure, the mean of the Chinese HIV+ group was worse than that of the HIV− group. A series of 2 × 2 analyses of variance involving HIV+ and HIV− groups from both countries revealed highly significant HIV effects on the Global and all Domain mean scaled scores. Country effects appeared on two of the individual ability areas, at least partly due to education differences between the two countries. Importantly, the absence of HIV-by-Country interactions suggests that the NP effects of HIV are similar in the two countries. The NP test battery that was chosen and adapted for use in this study of HIV in China appears to have good cross-cultural equivalence, but appropriate Chinese norms will be needed to identify disease-related impairment in individual Chinese people. To inform the development of such norms, a much larger study of demographic effects will be needed, especially considering the wide range of education in that country. (JINS, 2007, 13, 781–790.)
Hypertension-causing Mutations in Cullin3 Protein Impair RhoA Protein Ubiquitination and Augment the Association with Substrate Adaptors*

Background: Cullin3 ubiquitin ligase regulates protein turnover by promoting the ubiquitination of substrates. Results: Ubiquitination of RhoA is impaired by mutations in Cullin3. Conclusion: Disease-causing Cullin3 mutations impair the turnover of RhoA protein and may sequester substrates adaptors. Significance: Mutations in Cullin3 cause reduced ubiquitination and elevation of RhoA levels, which may enhance RhoA and Rho kinase signaling in a variety of cell types and could potentially contribute to hypertension. Cullin-Ring ubiquitin ligases regulate protein turnover by promoting the ubiquitination of substrate proteins, targeting them for proteasomal degradation. It has been shown previously that mutations in Cullin3 (Cul3) causing deletion of 57 amino acids encoded by exon 9 (Cul3Δ9) cause hypertension. Moreover, RhoA activity contributes to vascular constriction and hypertension. We show that ubiquitination and degradation of RhoA is dependent on Cul3 in HEK293T cells in which Cul3 expression is ablated by either siRNA or by CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. The latter was used to generate a Cul3-null cell line (HEK293TCul3KO). When expressed in these cells, Cul3Δ9 supported reduced ubiquitin ligase activity toward RhoA compared with equivalent levels of wild-type Cul3 (Cul3WT). Consistent with its reduced activity, binding of Cul3Δ9 to the E3 ubiquitin ligase Rbx1 and neddylation of Cul3Δ9 were impaired significantly compared with Cul3WT. Conversely, Cul3Δ9 bound to substrate adaptor proteins more efficiently than Cul3WT. Cul3Δ9 also forms unstable dimers with Cul3WT, disrupting dimers of Cul3WT complexes that are required for efficient ubiquitination of some substrates. Indeed, coexpression of Cul3WT and Cul3Δ9 in HEK293TCul3KO cells resulted in a decrease in the active form of Cul3WT. We conclude that Cul3Δ9-associated ubiquitin ligase activity toward RhoA is impaired and suggest that Cul3Δ9 mutations may act dominantly by sequestering substrate adaptors and disrupting Cul3WT complexes.
Sequence analysis of the hepatitis C virus genome recovered from serum, liver, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of infected chimpanzees

Of 13 different strains of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the inoculum used, only 1 persisted in human lymphocyte cell lines infected in vitro (N. Nakajima, M. Hijikata, H. Yoshikura, and Y. K. Shimizu, J. Virol. 70:3325-3329, 1996). To determine whether that particular strain (designated H1-2) has a tropism for lymphocytes in vivo, we sequenced hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of the genome of HCV recovered from the sera, livers, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of chimpanzees infected with plasma H77, the same inoculum used for the in vitro studies. In the PBMC collected from two chimpanzees during the early phase of infection, H1-2 was detected as the only or predominant HVR1 sequence. H1-2 was also detected in PBMC obtained during persistent infection from a chimpanzee that had been treated with immunosuppressants. From the livers of these chimpanzees, two to six different strains were recovered but H1-2 was not detected. Thus, H1-2 appeared to have an affinity for lymphocytes not only in vitro but also in vivo. In samples collected from a chimpanzee after 6 years of infection, however, such tissue compartmentalization of the HCV genome was not observed; a single strain became predominant in the serum, liver, and PBMC. An HCV strain capable of replicating in both the liver and PBMC probably emerged during in vivo replication and persisted.
Monocrotaline pyrrole targets proteins with and without cysteine residues in the cytosol and membranes of human pulmonary artery endothelial cells

A single injection of monocrotaline produces a pulmonary insult in rats with a phenotype similar to human primary pulmonary hypertension. Although extensively used as a model, the mechanism(s) by which this chemical insult mimics a condition with genetic and environmental links remains an enigma, although formation of protein adducts has been implicated. Monocrotaline (MCT) is non‐toxic and must undergo hepatic dehydrogenation to the soft electrophile monocrotaline pyrrole as prerequisite to damaging endothelial cells lining arterioles at remote pulmonary sites. In this report we extend our earlier investigation (J. Biol. Chem. 2000, 275, 29091–29099) by examining protein adducts to lower abundance adducts, a pI range not covered before, and subcellular localization of adduct‐forming proteins associated with plasma membranes. Human pulmonary artery endothelial cells were exposed to [14C]MCT pyrrole (MCTP) and protein targets were identified using 2‐DE with IPG 4–11. Adducted proteins were identified by pI, apparent molecular weight, and PMF using MALDI‐TOF MS. Results of this study show that the majority of adducts form on proteins that contain reactive thiols in a CXXC motif, such as protein disulfide isomerase A3 (ERp57), protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), and endothelial PDI. These same proteins were the major adduct‐forming proteins associated with the plasma membrane. Other proteins found to be targets were thioredoxin, galectin‐1, reticulocalbin 1 and 3, cytoskeletal tropomyosin, mitochondrial ATP synthase β‐chain, annexin A2 and cofilin‐1. For the first time, MCTP adducts were observed on proteins not known to contain cysteine residues. However, known reactive proteins including nucleophosmin did not form detectable adducts, potentially indicating that MCTP did not reach the interior of nucleus to the same extent as other cellular sites. These findings suggest that molecular events underlying MCTP toxicity are initiated at the plasma membrane or readily accessible subcellular regions including the cytosol and membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria.
Transforming gate misalignment into a unique opportunity to facilitate steep switching in junctionless nanotransistors

In this work, we examine the feasibility of triggering impact ionisation at sub-bandgap voltages through optimal utilisation of structural non-ideality induced electric field redistribution in the semiconductor film for an energy efficient steep switching junctionless (JL) transistor. While misalignment between front and back gates is often considered as a disadvantage due to loss of gate controllability, the work highlights its usefulness and applicability in nanoscale devices to engineer the electric field to enhance the product of current density (J) and electric field (E) and activate impact ionisation at sub-bandgap applied voltages. Results show that intentionally misaligned gates in silicon and germanium based JL devices exhibit an inclined conduction channel and achieve a nearly ideal value of steep subthreshold swing (∼ 1 mV decade−1) at room temperature. The work provides new viewpoints to realise energy efficient JL devices through the sharp increase of drain current from off-state to on-state achieved due to intentional misalignment between front and back gates.
Comparative Study of Lossy Transmission Line Simulation Models for Eye-Diagram Estimation

The aim of this study is to investigate and compare two simulation models of lossy transmission lines (TLs) for signal integrity analysis by an eye-diagram evaluation. The first one is a SPICE model obtained by applying the vector fitting technique, and consists of a cascade of ZY-TL unit cells, where Z and Y take into account the frequency-dependent losses, and TL is an ideal transmission line. The second simulation model is based on the behavioral modeling technique and the time-domain convolution. The lossy interconnect is described by S -parameters as response of a step function. The numerical solution of the convolution integrals can be directly implemented in a mathematical tool or either used to derive a digital wave network that can be processed by digital signal processing techniques. A comparative study of the two simulation models with full-wave and experimental results is provided considering a realistic test case such as traces in a printed circuit board. The advantages and disadvantages of the two models are finally highlighted.
Low-dose decitabine promotes megakaryocyte maturation and platelet production in healthy controls and immune thrombocytopenia

Summary Impaired megakaryocyte maturation and insufficient platelet production have been shown to participate in the pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Our previous study demonstrated that low expression of tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in megakaryocytes contributed to impaired platelet production in ITP. Decitabine (DAC), a demethylating agent, is known to promote cell differentiation and maturation at low doses. However, whether decitabine is potential in promoting megakaryocyte maturation and platelet release in ITP is unclear. In this study, we evaluated the effect of DAC on megakaryocyte maturation and platelet release in the presence of ITP plasma that has been shown to cause impaired megakaryocyte maturation and platelet production. We observed that low-dose DAC (10 nM) could significantly increase the number of mature polyploid (≥ 4N) megakaryocytes in cultures with plasma from healthy controls and more than one-half of ITP patients in vitro. Furthermore, the number of platelets released from these megakaryocytes significantly increased compared with those untreated with DAC. In these megakaryocytes, DAC significantly enhanced TRAIL expression via decreasing its promoter methylation status. These findings demonstrate that low-dose DAC can promote megakaryocyte maturation and platelet production and enhance TRAIL expression in megakaryocytes in healthy controls and ITP. The potential therapeutic role of low-dose DAC may be beneficial for thrombocytopenic disorders. H. Z. and Y. H. contributed equally to this work.
Automatic tongue image matting for remote medical diagnosis

With the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets, more and more remote medical diagnostic applications have mushroomed. Tongue Diagnosis (TD) is a kind of noninvasive diagnostic technique, which offers significant information for health conditions. However, it is rather tough to extract the tongue from a high-quality image, in which there is a definite large area of the tongue, to say nothing of extracting the tongue from a digital image captured by photographers who often lack the necessary skills using different mobile front facing cameras. Fundamentally, automatic tongue image segmentation is difficult due to two special factors: the particularity of the tongue and the diversity of the image. Our paper first addresses these problems by proposing a new end-to-end iterative network for tongue image matting, which directly learns the alpha matte from the input image by correcting misunderstanding in intermediate steps. Neither user interaction nor initialization is required. In addition, we create a large-scale tongue image matting dataset including 7,0680 training images. Compared with other high-performance algorithms, our algorithm achieves the true sense of the pixel-wise automatic tongue segmentation.
Renewable energy innovations and sustainability transition: How relevant are spatial spillovers?

In the societal challenge to switch to renewable energy, innovation has become an everâ€ increasing critical determinant. However, while sustainability transition is a global challenge, diffusion and adoption of innovation tends to be uneven in space and unequal access may cause substantial heterogeneity in energy transition. This research analyzes how domestic and foreign innovation activities in the renewable energy sector influence energy transition over time. Empirical testing shows that a country's domestic innovation activity impacts renewable electricity generation capacity sooner than foreign technological innovations. I document that there are substantial barriers to substitute foreign technologies for domestic innovation efforts in the short run but also observe that foreign technologies have a stronger impact after some years. These findings have implications for crossâ€ border coordination of governmental innovation support and complementary policy instruments that aim at increasing adoption speed across borders.
A Conceptual Framework

Theories such as rational adaptation and transformational change have particular relevance for organizational change. A conceptual model includes organizational problems and conditions; change goals; strategy; change tactics such as demonstrating urgency, clarifying the change vision, providing a plan, developing communication processes, and providing for staff participation. Structures include action systems consisting of change sponsors, change champions, and action teams. Processes including ongoing communication, team building, and conflict management are all necessary. Implementation methods and technologies can include traditional organization development tools such as employee surveys, process consultation, and team building, as well as specific interventions, including quality improvement models; implementation science processes; organization culture change; and addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. Change content, process, and context all need to be considered in planning a change intervention. Changes must be institutionalized in organizational policies and procedures. Outcomes of the change should be clearly defined in order to evaluate results.
Rab7 Regulates CDH1 Endocytosis, Circular Dorsal Ruffles Genesis, and Thyroglobulin Internalization in a Thyroid Cell Line

Rab7 regulates the biogenesis of late endosomes, lysosomes, and autophagosomes. It has been proposed that a functional and physical interaction exists between Rab7 and Rac1 GTPases in CDH1 endocytosis and ruffled border formation. In FRT cells over‐expressing Rab7, increased expression and activity of Rac1 was observed, whereas a reduction of Rab7 expression by RNAi resulted in reduced Rac1 activity, as measured by PAK1 phosphorylation. We found that CDH1 endocytosis was extremely reduced only in Rab7 over‐expressing cells but was unchanged in Rab7 silenced cells. In Rab7 under or over‐expressing cells, Rab7 and LC3B‐II co‐localized and co‐localization in large circular structures occurred only in Rab7 over‐expressing cells. These large circular structures occurred in about 10% of the cell population; some of them (61%) showed co‐localization of Rab7 with cortactin and f‐actin and were identified as circular dorsal ruffles (CDRs), the others as mature autophagosomes. We propose that the over‐expression of Rab7 is sufficient to induce CDRs. Furthermore, in FRT cells, we found that the expression of the insoluble/active form of Rab7, rather than Rab5, or Rab8, was inducible by cAMP and that cAMP‐stimulated FRT cells showed increased PAK1 phosphorylation and were no longer able to endocytose CDH1. Finally, we demonstrated that Rab7 over‐expressing cells are able to endocytose exogenous thyroglobulin via pinocytosis/CDRs more efficiently than control cells. We propose that the major thyroglobulin endocytosis described in thyroid autonomous adenomas due to Rab7 increased expression, occurs via CDRs. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 1695–1708, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Friendly Taking Effect: How Interpersonal Closeness Leads to Seemingly Selfish Yet Jointly Maximizing Choice

This research documents “the friendly taking effect” in choosing consumption packages for the self and others, interpersonal closeness leads to a preference for a self-benefiting package when this package also offers greater total benefit to the self-other collective (studies 1 and 2). We propose that a friendly intention (i.e., concern for the total benefit) underlies the friendly taking effect; therefore, people both take more from and give more to a close (vs. distant) other when doing so offers greater benefits in total (study 3), and people are cognitively tuned in to (e.g., acquire, remember) information about the total benefit more when choosing a package for themselves and a close (vs. distant) other (study 4). Moreover, the importance people place on the total benefit mediates the impact of closeness on people’s preference for self-benefiting packages (study 5). We explore boundary conditions (study 6) and implications for marketers of consumption packages (study 7).
Identiﬁcation and Characterization of the gerH Operon of Bacillus anthracis Endospores: a Differential Role for Purine Nucleosides in Germination

We identiﬁed a tri-cistronic operon, gerH , in Bacillus anthracis that is important for endospore germination triggered by two distinct germination response pathways termed inosine-His and purine-Ala. Together, the two pathways allow B . anthracis endospores a broader recognition of purines and amino acids that may be important for host-mediated germination.
Replica Placement Algorithms in hybrid CDN-P2P architectures

Hybrid CDN-P2P architecture is a combination of pure Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks. This architecture relies on CDN and P2P complementary advantages. This paper discusses Replica Placement Algorithms (RPAs) in hybrid CDN-P2P architecture. There are two constraints in the used model; one is the server storage capacity constraint and another is an upper bound for the number of replicas in each content. RPA has been considered as a constraint p-median problem. Some kind of heuristic algorithms are used to solve the p-median problem. The formulations take into account both the transmitting and storage costs. The simulation results show that in hybrid CDN-P2P architecture, the greedy algorithm has the lowest cost among heuristic RPAs.