Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The genetic basis of Haldane's rule and the nature of asymmetric hybrid male sterility among Drosophila simulans, Drosophila mauritiana and Drosophila sechellia.

Haldane's rule (i.e., the preferential hybrid sterility and inviability of heterogametic sex) has been known for 70 years, but its genetic basis, which is crucial to the understanding of the process of species formation, remains unclear. In the present study, we have investigated the genetic basis of hybrid male sterility using Drosophila simulans, Drosophila mauritiana and Drosophila sechellia. An introgression of D. sechellia Y chromosome into a fairly homogenous background of D. simulans did not show any effect of the introgressed Y on male sterility. The substitution of D. simulans Y chromosome into D. sechellia, and both reciprocal Y chromosome substitutions between D. simulans and D. mauritiana were unsuccessful. Introgressions of cytoplasm between D. simulans and D. mauritiana (or D. sechellia) also did not have any effect on hybrid male sterility. These results rule out the X-Y interaction hypothesis as a general explanation of Haldane's rule in this species group and indicate an involvement of an X-autosome interaction. Models of symmetrical and asymmetrical X-autosome interaction have been developed which explain the Y chromosome substitution results and suggest that evolution of interactions between different genetic elements in the early stages of speciation is more likely to be of an asymmetrical nature. The model of asymmetrical X-autosome interaction also predicts that different sets of interacting genes may be involved in different pairs of related species and can account for the observation that hybrid male sterility in many partially isolated species is often nonreciprocal or unidirectional.
Uncommon Complication of Uterine Artery Embolization: Expulsion of Infarcted Myoma and Uterine Sepsis

Uterine leiomyomas are the most common benign tumors in young females and leading cause of hysterectomy. Uterine artery embolization is a safe option for women who wish to retain their uterus. Several complications have been reported including expulsion and sepsis. MRI is a useful pretreatment tool to predict results and outcomes. We report a case of a 44-year-old female with a history of uterine fibroids with the largest one being intracavitary. Patient underwent uterine artery embolization that was complicated by endomyometritis that failed antibiotics, leading to sepsis and hysterectomy.
Nucleobase-mediated general acid-base catalysis in the Varkud satellite ribozyme

Existing evidence suggests that the Varkud satellite (VS) ribozyme accelerates the cleavage of a specific phosphodiester bond using general acid-base catalysis. The key functionalities are the nucleobases of adenine 756 in helix VI of the ribozyme, and guanine 638 in the substrate stem loop. This results in a bell-shaped dependence of reaction rate on pH, corresponding to groups with pKa = 5.2 and 8.4. However, it is not possible from those data to determine which nucleobase is the acid, and which the base. We have therefore made substrates in which the 5′ oxygen of the scissile phosphate is replaced by sulfur. This labilizes the leaving group, removing the requirement for general acid catalysis. This substitution restores full activity to the highly impaired A756G ribozyme, consistent with general acid catalysis by A756 in the unmodified ribozyme. The pH dependence of the cleavage of the phosphorothiolate-modified substrates is consistent with general base catalysis by nucleobase at position 638. We conclude that cleavage of the substrate by the VS ribozyme is catalyzed by deprotonation of the 2′-O nucleophile by G638 and protonation of the 5′-O leaving group by A756.
Urban wastewater effluent increases antibiotic resistance gene concentrations in a receiving northern European river

Antibiotic‐resistant bacteria are an emerging global problem that threatens to undermine important advances in modern medicine. The environment is likely to play an important role in the dissemination of antibiotic‐resistance genes (ARGs) among both environmental and pathogenic bacteria. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) accumulate both chemical and biological waste from the surrounding urban milieu and have therefore been viewed as potential hotspots for dissemination and development of antibiotic resistance. To assess the effect of wastewater effluent on a river that flows through a Swedish city, sediment and water samples were collected from Stångån River, both upstream and downstream of an adjacent WWTP over 3 mo. Seven ARGs and the integrase gene on class 1 integrons were quantified in the collected sediment using real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry was used to assess the abundance of 10 different antibiotics in the water phase of the samples. The results showed an increase in ARGs and integrons downstream of the WWTP. The measured concentrations of antibiotics were low in the water samples from the Stångån River, suggesting that selection for ARGs did not occur in the surface water. Instead, the downstream increase in ARGs is likely to be attributable to accumulation of genes present in the treated effluent discharged from the WWTP. Environ Toxicol Chem 2015;34:192–196. © 2014 SETAC
Real-time imaging of bHLH transcription factors reveals their dynamic control in the multipotency and fate choice of neural stem cells

The basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors Ascl1/Mash1, Hes1, and Olig2 regulate the fate choice of neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, respectively; however, these factors are coexpressed in self-renewing multipotent neural stem cells (NSCs) even before cell fate determination. This fact raises the possibility that these fate determination factors are differentially expressed between self-renewing and differentiating NSCs with unique expression dynamics. Real-time imaging analysis utilizing fluorescent proteins is a powerful strategy for monitoring expression dynamics. Fusion with fluorescent reporters makes it possible to analyze the dynamic behavior of specific proteins in living cells. However, it is technically challenging to conduct long-term imaging of proteins, particularly those with low expression levels, because a high-sensitivity and low-noise imaging system is required, and very often bleaching of fluorescent proteins and cell toxicity by prolonged laser exposure are problematic. Furthermore, to analyze the functional roles of the dynamic expression of cellular proteins, it is essential to image reporter fusion proteins that are expressed at comparable levels to their endogenous expression. In this review, we introduce our recent reports about the dynamic control of bHLH transcription factors in multipotency and fate choice of NSCs, focusing on real-time imaging of fluorescent reporters fused with bHLH transcription factors. Our imaging results indicate that bHLH transcription factors are expressed in an oscillatory manner by NSCs, and that one of them becomes dominant during fate choice. We propose that the multipotent state of NSCs correlates with the oscillatory expression of several bHLH transcription factors, whereas the differentiated state correlates with the sustained expression of a single bHLH transcription factor.
Monetary Transmission in Germany: New Perspectives on Financial Constraints and Investment Spending

In order to obtain a better understanding of the transmission channels for monetary policy, this paper assesses the importance of the interest rate and credit channels on business fixed investment in Germany. Our unbalanced panel of financial statements contains 44,345 firm/year observations for 6,408 firms. We uncover a rather solid interest channel. A transitory increase in nominal interest rates by 100 basis points would depress investment demand by almost 4% within the first year. Using our direct measure of creditworthiness, we can also document a balance-sheet channel. Relative to unconstrained firms, financially constrained firms exhibit increased sensitivity to internal funds, and decreased sensitivity to the user cost as well as to market demand. Furthermore, changes in the rating of firms seem to affect investment demand in a way that is consistent with the presence of a balance-sheet channel. This balance-sheet channel, however, seems to be of secondary importance JEL Classification: E5, E2
Party finance law in Australia: innovation and enervation

Recent scandals and have led to significant ferment in the law governing party finance at State level in Australia. This includes pushes to full public funding of election campaigns. Yet national regulation remains relatively laissez-faire. This paper explores and explains the motivations and details of State level innovations and constitutional constraints, across the domains of both public and private sources of funding, and expenditure. The Australian case proves a lesson in the value of experimentation in a federation, and provides only limited evidence for the 'cartel' or 'etatization' theories.
Modeling out-of-vocabulary words for robust speech recognition

In this paper we present an approach for modeling and recognizing out-of-vocabulary (OOV) words in a single stage recognizer. A word-based recognizer is augmented with an extra OOV word model, which enables the OOV word to be predicted by a word-based language model. The OOV model itself is phone-based, so that an OOV word can be realized as an arbitrary sequence of phones. A phone bigram is used to provide phonotactic constraints within the OOV model. A recognizer with this conﬁguration can recognize words in the original vocabulary as well as any potential new words of arbitrary pronunciation. In our preliminary investigation of this framework, we have evaluated the recognizer on a weather information domain with one test set containing only in-vocabulary (IV) data, and another containing OOV words. On the IV test set, the recognizer had an OOV in-sertion rate of only 1.3%, and degraded the baseline WER from 10.4% to 10.7%. On the OOV test set, the recognizer was able to detect nearly half of the OOV words (47% detection rate).
Asthma Control following Initial Inhaled Corticosteroid Monotherapy in Mild to Moderate Asthma: A 4- to 8-Week Observational Study

Background: There is an increasing trend for the use of combination therapy of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long-acting β2-agonists as initial treatment for asthma. Objective: To assess the efficacy of initial monotherapy with ICS for achieving asthma control in steroid-naive mild to moderate asthmatics. Method: During an observational survey, steroid-naive patients received ICS in a dosage of 400–2,000 µg/day. After 4–8 weeks’ treatment, achievement of asthma control, defined according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines, was assessed and the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) was completed. Results: Among 537 selected patients, 21 were excluded because of severe asthma and 96 because of inadequate ICS daily dosage. Four hundred and twenty patients were analyzed, 396 (94%) of whom completed the survey. Mean ICS dosage, in equivalent beclomethasone, was 479 ± 62 µg/day for mild asthma (group A) and 1,115 ± 306 µg/day for moderate asthma (group B). Asthma control was achieved for 71 and 65% of the patients, mean ACQ score improved from 1.1 ± 0.6 to 0.5 ± 0.5 (p < 0.001) and from 2.0 ± 0.8 to 0.8 ± 0.7 (p < 0,001), and FEV1 (% predicted) improved from 93 ± 9 to 96 ± 13 (p < 0.05) and from 85 ± 15 to 91 ± 15 (p < 0.001) for groups A and B, respectively. Conclusion: Asthma control can be achieved by ICS monotherapy for two thirds of steroid-naive patients with mild to moderate asthma. For these patients, we suggest that ICS alone could be started as initial therapy and that additional therapy should be considered after 4–8 weeks for patients who do not achieve control.
Immunogenic targeting of recombinant peptide vaccines to human antigen-presenting cells by chimeric anti-HLA-DR and anti-surface immunoglobulin D antibody Fab fragments in vitro

To increase the inherently weak immunogenicity of synthetic peptide vaccines, we used recombinant DNA techniques to generate chimeras between immunogenic determinants of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp120 and antibody Fab fragments reactive with surface structures displayed specifically on human antigen-presenting cells (APCs), including surface immunoglobulin D (sIgD) and class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Hybridomas producing anti-human MHC class II (HLA-DR) or surface immunoglobulin D monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that recognize nonpolymorphic determinants were used to clone chimeric Fab gene fragments by employing an established procedure to generate antigen-binding Fab libraries in phagemid vector pComb3. Molecular and immunochemical analysis indicated that the expected chimeric Fab fragments expressing the HIV-1 epitopes were correctly cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and retained the binding specificity of the native (hybridoma-derived) MAb. The chimeric Fab fragments targeted the linked HIV-1-derived antigenic determinants to the surface of human APCs in vitro, as evidenced by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. Furthermore, such recombinant immunotargeted HIV-1 peptide antigens demonstrated improved immunogenicity over equivalent nonimmunotargeted control antigens, as shown by their ability to stimulate interleukin-2 production by CD4+ T-helper cells from human donors exposed to HIV-1 antigens. These data suggest that immunotargeting of recombinant peptide antigens via the attached Fab fragments facilitates uptake by human APCs with subsequent access to the MHC class II processing pathway, thereby validating the immunotargeting concept for such recombinant subunit vaccines in an in vitro human system.
On Efficient Simulations of Systolic Arrays of Random-Access Machines

We give efficient simulations of systolic arrays by unit-cost random-access machines (RAM’s). For example, we show that a one-dimensional systolic array operating in linear time can be simulated by a RAM in $O({{n^2 } / {\log ^2 n}})$ time. For the case of a two-dimensional systolic array, the simulation time is $O({{n^3 } / {\log ^{{3 / 2}} n}})$.
The effect of an acetic acid dip on carcass appearance, microbiological quality, and cooked breast meat texture and flavor.

In Experiment 1, broiler carcasses were subjected to a 10-min prechill treatment with and without a food grade vinegar at a concentration of . 6% acetic acid. After treatment the carcasses were monitored for visual appearance and microbiological quality. Color change and skin appearance were subjectively monitored. Microbiological quality was determined using the low volume whole carcass rinse. Shear values of cooked muscle were determined using a Warner-Bratzler attachment to an Instron. In a second experiment using the same treatment protocol, treated carcasses were chilled in an ice slush for 30 min and held overnight at 2 C. The breast muscles were removed and cooked by two methods. Triangle tests to determine sensory differences due to acetic acid were conducted. The skin color of treated carcasses turned a light yellow, and the feather follicles were protruded or puckered. Total aerobic counts were not affected by any of the treatments, but Enterobacteriaceae (ENT) counts of treated carcasses were significantly lower than the counts for the water control carcasses. Log10 ENT counts ranged from 4.51 for the control to 3.80 for the carcasses treated with acetic acid. Based on sensory triangle tests using a trained panel, there were no significant differences in the samples from either cooking method.
Interactions of exercise training and alpha-lipoic acid on insulin signaling in skeletal muscle of obese Zucker rats.

We have shown previously (Saengsirisuwan V, Kinnick TR, Schmit MB, and Henriksen EJ. J Appl Physiol 91: 145-153, 2001) that the antioxidant R-(+)-alpha-lipoic acid (R-ALA), combined with endurance exercise training (ET), increases glucose transport in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle in an additive fashion. The purpose of the present study was to investigate possible cellular mechanisms responsible for this interactive effect. We evaluated the effects of R-ALA alone, ET alone, or R-ALA and ET in combination on insulin-stimulated glucose transport, protein expression, and functionality of specific insulin-signaling factors in soleus muscle of obese Zucker (fa/fa) rats. Obese animals remained sedentary, received R-ALA (30 mg.kg body wt(-1). day(-1)), performed ET (daily treadmill running for < or =60 min), or underwent both R-ALA treatment and ET for 15 days. R-ALA or ET individually increased (P < 0.05) insulin-mediated (5 mU/ml) glucose transport (2-deoxyglucose uptake) in soleus muscle by 45 and 68%, respectively, and this value was increased to the greatest extent (124%) in the combined treatment group. Soleus insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 protein was significantly increased by R-ALA alone (30%) or ET alone (31%), and a further enhancement (55%) was observed after the combination treatment in the obese animals. Enhanced levels of IRS-1 protein expression after individual or combined interventions were significantly correlated with insulin action on glucose transport activity (r = 0.597, P = 0.0055). Similarly, insulin-mediated IRS-1 associated with the p85 regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase was increased by R-ALA (317%) and ET (319%) and to the greatest extent (435%) (all P < 0.05) by the combination treatment. These results indicate that the improvements of insulin action in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle after R-ALA or ET, alone and in combination, were associated with increases in IRS-1 protein expression and IRS-1 associated with p85.
Highly reliable field electron emitters produced from reproducible damage-free carbon nanotube composite pastes with optimal inorganic fillers

Highly reliable field electron emitters were developed using a formulation for reproducible damage-free carbon nanotube (CNT) composite pastes with optimal inorganic fillers and a ball-milling method. We carefully controlled the ball-milling sequence and time to avoid any damage to the CNTs, which incorporated fillers that were fully dispersed as paste constituents. The field electron emitters fabricated by printing the CNT pastes were found to exhibit almost perfect adhesion of the CNT emitters to the cathode, along with good uniformity and reproducibility. A high field enhancement factor of around 10 000 was achieved from the CNT field emitters developed. By selecting nano-sized metal alloys and oxides and using the same formulation sequence, we also developed reliable field emitters that could survive high-temperature post processing. These field emitters had high durability to post vacuum annealing at 950 °C, guaranteeing survival of the brazing process used in the sealing of field emission x-ray tubes. We evaluated the field emitters in a triode configuration in the harsh environment of a tiny vacuum-sealed vessel and observed very reliable operation for 30 h at a high current density of 350 mA cm−2. The CNT pastes and related field emitters that were developed could be usefully applied in reliable field emission devices.
PROC MIXED: Underlying Ideas with Examples

ABSTRACT The SAS ® procedure MIXED provides a single tool for analyzing a large array of models used in statistics, especially experimental design, through the use of REML estimation. A strategy for identifying mixed models is followed by a description of REML estimation along with a simple example that illustrates its advantages. A comparison of some of the available tests for variance components is given along with several examples, both real and artificial, that illustrate the variety of models handled by PROC MIXED.
Genetic ablation of Rest leads to in vitro-specific derepression of neuronal genes during neurogenesis

Rest (RE1-silencing transcription factor, also called Nrsf) is involved in the maintenance of the undifferentiated state of neuronal stem/progenitor cells in vitro by preventing precocious expression of neuronal genes. However, the function of Rest during neurogenesis in vivo remains to be elucidated because of the early embryonic lethal phenotype of conventional Rest knockout mice. In the present study, we have generated Rest conditional knockout mice, which allow the effect of genetic ablation of Rest during embryonic neurogenesis to be examined in vivo. We show that Rest plays a role in suppressing the expression of neuronal genes in cultured neuronal cells in vitro, as well as in non-neuronal cells outside of the central nervous system, but that it is dispensable for embryonic neurogenesis in vivo. Our findings highlight the significance of extrinsic signals for the proper intrinsic regulation of neuronal gene expression levels in the specification of cell fate during embryonic neurogenesis in vivo.
The Phenotype of Adults with Partial Growth Hormone Deficiency

The concept of partial growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) is well established within the paediatric setting having been validated against height velocity. In hypopituitary adults, GHD is defined by a peak GH response <3 µg/l to stimulation. This cut-off is arbitrary due to the lack of a biological marker equivalent of height velocity. The majority of normal adults achieve peak GH levels several fold higher than this cut off during stimulation. It can be argued, therefore, that there is a cohort of hypopituitary adults with intermediate peak GH values (3–7 µg/l), who have relatively impaired GH secretion, and for whom the impact of this partial GHD (GH insufficiency, GHI) on biological endpoints is not known. Studies of GHI adults have demonstrated an abnormal body composition, adverse lipid profile, impaired cardiac performance, reduced exercise tolerance and insulin resistance. The severity of these abnormalities lies between GHD adults and normal subjects. Whether these anomalies translate into increased mortality, as observed in GHD hypopituitary adults, is not yet known. Given the presence of similar sequelae in GHI and GHD adults, and the improvements during GH replacement in GHD adults, a randomized placebo-controlled study of GH replacement in GHI patients is warranted.
Structured diffusion: Amplify your voice in online social networks

Marketing in a social network via structured groups outperforms spontaneous social conversations. It regulates the social interactions and thus the information pathways, which boosts overall impact. We start with a case study of a strongly-organized advertising network in Weibo, a popular microblogging service, which demonstrates that commercials promoted by this group are averagely twice effective as normal tweets. Then we present a modeling framework to characterize this structured diffusion paradigm. An analytical model using heterogeneous mean-field approximation was thus worked out to capture transmission dynamics. The transmission probability incorporates the inflation and propagation of node influences that explains why and how the structures within a campaign affect the spreading speed, scale, and impact. As empirical evidences, our model numerically simulates four typical structure settings on a large Twitter network. It confirms quantitatively that, hierarchical grouping excels the loosely or randomly coupled ones and classical marketing heuristics.
Egg Morphology Varies Among Populations and Habitats Along a Suture Zone in the Lycaeides idas-melissa Species Complex (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Abstract Insect eggs are often characterized by an intricately sculptured external surface, which has been used to a limited extent as a taxonomic character, but not at all in comparisons among populations within a species or among populations of closely related species. We describe egg morphology by using scanning electron microscopy from 12 populations within a species complex of host-specific butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. Variation is found among populations and habitats. Adaptive hypotheses are discussed, and the observed variation is placed within the biogeographical context of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and adjacent regions.