Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sociosexuality and Romantic Relationships.

In this chapter, we review and critique extant theory and research on sociosexuality and romantic relationships. We begin by recounting the origins of sociosexuality, focusing first on earliest descriptive research and then on the development of the sociosexuality construct and inventory (Gangestad & Simpson, 1990; Simpson & Gangestad, 1991). Following this, we review three sets of theoretical models-lifehistory models, Sexual Strategies Theory, and a model of strategic pluralism-that might explain the large amount of within-sex variation that exists on most sociosexual attitudes and behaviors. We then review and attempt to integrate nearly all of the published and several unpublished empirical investigations of sociosexuality. This empirical review is divided into two major sections: 0) patterns of relations between sociosexuality and other individual difference measures (e.g., personality traits, attachment styles, gender roles), and (2) patterns of relations between sociosexuality and mating proclivities (e.g., mating motives, romantic partner preferences, relationship initiation styles, patterns of romantic interaction, early family history, and crosscultural differences). We conclude by discussing several important future directions and implications of sociosexuality. These include the possible biological! evolutionary origins of sociosexuality, the different motives that might generate restricted versus unrestricted sociosexual orientations, the cues that may signal or convey restricted versus unrestricted orientations in each gender, and the effects that restricted versus unrestricted sociosexual orientations might have on the functioning and well-being ofestablished romantic relationships.
Cadmium exposure inhibits branching morphogenesis and causes alterations consistent with HIF-1α inhibition in human primary breast organoids

Background Developmental cadmium exposure in vivo disrupts mammary gland differentiation, while exposure of breast cell lines to cadmium causes invasion consistent with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The effects of cadmium on normal human breast stem cell development have not been measured. Objective The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of cadmium exposure on normal breast stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Methods We tested the effects of two physiologically relevant doses of cadmium: 0. 25µM and 2. 5μM on reduction mammoplasty patient-derived breast cells using the mammosphere assay, organoid formation in 3D hydrogels, and tested for molecular alterations using RNA-seq. We functionally validated our RNA-seq findings with a HIF-1α transcription factor activity reporter line and pharmaceutical inhibition of HIF-1α in mammosphere and organoid formation assays. Results 2. 5μM cadmium reduced primary and secondary mammosphere formation and branching structure organoid formation rates by 33%, 40%, and 83%, respectively. Despite no changes in mammosphere formation, 0. 25μM cadmium treatment inhibited branching organoid formation in hydrogels by 68%. RNA-seq revealed that cadmium treatment downregulated genes associated with extracellular matrix formation and EMT, while upregulating genes associated with metal response including metallothioneins and zinc transporters. In the RNA-seq data, cadmium treatment also downregulated HIF-1α target genes including LOXL2, ZEB1, and VIM. Cadmium treatment significantly inhibited HIF-1α activity in a luciferase assay, and the HIF-1α inhibitor acriflavine ablated mammosphere and organoid formation. Discussion These findings show that cadmium, at doses relevant to human exposure, inhibited human mammary gland development, potentially through disruption of HIF-1α activity. These findings do not support cadmium being a breast cancer initiator via induction of stem cell proliferation, but instead implicate cadmium as an inhibitor of mammary gland morphogenesis.
Investigation of spinal cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons expressing PKD2L1: evidence for a conserved system from fish to primates

Over 90 years ago, Kolmer and Agduhr identified spinal cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons (CSF-cNs) based on their morphology and location within the spinal cord. In more than 200 vertebrate species, they observed ciliated neurons around the central canal that extended a brush of microvilli into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Although their morphology is suggestive of a primitive sensory cell, their function within the vertebrate spinal cord remains unknown. The identification of specific molecular markers for these neurons in vertebrates would benefit the investigation of their physiological roles. PKD2L1, a transient receptor potential channel that could play a role as a sensory receptor, has been found in cells contacting the central canal in mouse. In this study, we demonstrate that PKD2L1 is a specific marker for CSF-cNs in the spinal cord of mouse (Mus musculus), macaque (Macaca fascicularis) and zebrafish (Danio rerio). In these species, the somata of spinal PKD2L1+ CSF-cNs were located below or within the ependymal layer and extended an apical bulbous extension into the central canal. We found GABAergic PKD2L1-expressing CSF-cNs in all three species. We took advantage of the zebrafish embryo for its transparency and rapid development to identify the progenitor domains from which pkd2l1+ CSF-cNs originate. pkd2l1+ CSF-cNs were all GABAergic and organized in two rows—one ventral and one dorsal to the central canal. Their location and marker expression is consistent with previously described Kolmer–Agduhr cells. Accordingly, pkd2l1+ CSF-cNs were derived from the progenitor domains p3 and pMN defined by the expression of nkx2.2a and olig2 transcription factors, respectively. Altogether our results suggest that a system of CSF-cNs expressing the PKD2L1 channel is conserved in the spinal cord across bony vertebrate species.
The landscape of empirical risk for nonconvex losses

Most high-dimensional estimation and prediction methods propose to minimize a cost function (empirical risk) that is written as a sum of losses associated to each data point. In this paper we focus on the case of non-convex losses, which is practically important but still poorly understood. Classical empirical process theory implies uniform convergence of the empirical risk to the population risk. While uniform convergence implies consistency of the resulting M-estimator, it does not ensure that the latter can be computed efficiently. In order to capture the complexity of computing M-estimators, we propose to study the landscape of the empirical risk, namely its stationary points and their properties. We establish uniform convergence of the gradient and Hessian of the empirical risk to their population counterparts, as soon as the number of samples becomes larger than the number of unknown parameters (modulo logarithmic factors). Consequently, good properties of the population risk can be carried to the empirical risk, and we can establish one-to-one correspondence of their stationary points. We demonstrate that in several problems such as non-convex binary classification, robust regression, and Gaussian mixture model, this result implies a complete characterization of the landscape of the empirical risk, and of the convergence properties of descent algorithms. We extend our analysis to the very high-dimensional setting in which the number of parameters exceeds the number of samples, and provide a characterization of the empirical risk landscape under a nearly information-theoretically minimal condition. Namely, if the number of samples exceeds the sparsity of the unknown parameters vector (modulo logarithmic factors), then a suitable uniform convergence result takes place. We apply this result to non-convex binary classification and robust regression in very high-dimension.
A model of factors influencing the supply chain performance

Improvement of industrial performance such as cost, lead-time, adaptability, variety and traceability is the major finality of companies. Thus, they need to collaborate and to strengthen their coordination mechanisms. Information exchange, supply chain practices and inter-organizational collaboration becomes then strategic issues: what is the nature of the information that can be shared with customers and suppliers? Which impact on the performance of a company is expectable? What is about the performance of the whole supply chain? It is essential for a company to identify the information whose exchange contributes to its performance, to control its information flows and to redefine its relationships with its partners. This study aims to release from the literature the main tendencies of collaboration practices and information exchanges leading to the performance and to propose a model of their relations.
Evaluation of Visualization by Demonstration and Manual View Specification

We present an exploratory study comparing the visualization construction and data exploration processes of people using two visualization tools, each implementing a different interaction paradigm. One of the visualization tools implements the manual view specification paradigm (Polestar) and another implements the visualization by demonstration paradigm (VisExemplar). Findings of our study indicate that the interaction paradigms implemented in these tools influence: 1) approaches used for constructing visualizations, 2) how users form goals, 3) how many visualization alternatives are considered and created, and 4) the feeling of control during the visualization construction process.
Chemotherapeutic Drugs and Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Focus on Doxorubicin, Trastuzumab, and Sunitinib

Many cancer therapies produce toxic side effects whose molecular mechanisms await full elucidation. The most feared and studied side effect of chemotherapeutic drugs is cardiotoxicity. Also, skeletal muscle physiology impairment has been recorded after many chemotherapeutical treatments. However, only doxorubicin has been extensively studied for its side effects on skeletal muscle. Chemotherapeutic-induced adverse side effects are, in many cases, mediated by mitochondrial damage. In particular, trastuzumab and sunitinib toxicity is mainly associated with mitochondria impairment and is mostly reversible. Vice versa, doxorubicin-induced toxicity not only includes mitochondria damage but can also lead to a more robust and extensive cell injury which is often irreversible and lethal. Drugs interfering with mitochondrial functionality determine the depletion of ATP reservoirs and lead to subsequent reversible contractile dysfunction. Mitochondrial damage includes the impairment of the respiratory chain and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential with subsequent disruption of cellular energetic. In a context of increased stress, AMPK has a key role in maintaining energy homeostasis, and inhibition of the AMPK pathway is one of the proposed mechanisms possibly mediating mitochondrial toxicity due to chemotherapeutics. Therapies targeting and protecting cell metabolism and energy management might be useful tools in protecting muscular tissues against the toxicity induced by chemotherapeutic drugs.
Ankle positions potentially facilitating greater maximal contraction of pelvic floor muscles: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Objectives: To evaluate the effect of ankle positions on pelvic floor muscles in women. Methods: Multiple databases were searched from inception-July 2017. Study quality was rated using the grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation system and the “threats to validity tool”. Results: Four studies were eligible for inclusion. Meta-analysis revealed significantly greater resting activity of pelvic floor muscles in neutral ankle position (−1.36 (95% CI −2.30, −0.42) p = 0.004) and induced 15° dorsiflexion (−1.65 (95% CI −2.49, −0.81) p = 0.0001) compared to induced 15° plantar flexion. Significantly greater maximal voluntary contraction of pelvic floor was found in dorsiflexion compared to plantar flexion (−2.28 (95% CI −3.96, −0.60) p = 0.008). Meta-analyses revealed no significant differences between the neutral ankle position and 15° dorsiflexion for either resting activity (0.30 (95% CI −0.75, 1.35) p = 0.57) or maximal voluntary contraction (0.97 (95% CI −0.77, 2.72) p = 0.27). Conclusion: Pelvic floor muscle-training for women with urinary incontinence could be performed in standing with ankles in a neutral position or dorsiflexion to facilitate greater maximal pelvic floor muscle contraction. As urethral support requires resting contraction of pelvic floor muscles, decreased resting activity in plantar flexion identified in the meta-analysis indicates that high-heel wearers with urinary incontinence might potentially experience more leakage during exertion in a standing position. Implications for rehabilitation Pooled analyses revealed that maximal voluntary contraction of pelvic floor muscle is greater in induced ankle dorsiflexion than induced plantar flexion. As pelvic floor muscle strengthening involves achieving a greater maximal voluntary contraction, pelvic floor muscle training for women with stress urinary incontinence could be performed in standing either with ankles in a neutral position or dorsiflexion. Decreased resting activity in plantar flexion identified in the meta-analysis indicates that high-heel wearers with stress urinary incontinence might potentially experience more leakage during exertion in a standing position. Women with stress urinary incontinence should be advised to wear flat shoes instead of high-heels and should be cautioned about body posture and ankle positions assumed during exercise and daily activities.
Physiology, Immunity, Stereotyped Behavior, and Production Performance of the Lactating Sows in the Enriched Environment

The main purpose of this enriched environment test was to determine that enriched environment with straw could eliminate or alleviate stress, improve immunity, reduce stereotyped behavior and improve production performance and other welfare levels of lactating sows. This study selected 48 produced 5-parity sows (Landrace male × Large White female) that has been reared separately in the general space without a enriched environment with straw (C, n = 24) as compared with the space utilizing the enriched straw environment (S, n = 24). Saliva was collected and tested for the density of cortisol at the following time-points: -15 min, and then at + 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 min after the ACTH stimulation test at 1, 21, 28 and 35d post-partum. In addition, sera specimens were collected for the determination of the levels of prolactin, TNF-α and IL-6 at the 1st, 3rd and 5th week post-partum. Next, we observed sham-chewing food behavior , recorded production of the sows after weaning estrus interval data and statistics during the text weeks. The results showed that prolactin, TNF-α, IL-6 and other physiological indicators for each week determined were no significantly different (P>0.05). There were statistical differences observed (P = 0.033, and P = 0.042 ) in terms of sham-chewing behavior at the 4th and 5th week post-partum. Other production performance parameters were insignificant (P > 0.05) with the notable exception of the number of piglets that died within three days post-partum (P = 0.032). In conclusion, Physiology, Immunity, Stereotyped Behavior, and Production Performance of the Lactating Sows in the Enriched Environment
Measurement and simulation of mid-and far-infrared spectra in the presence of cirrus

C. V. Coxa*, J. E. Harriesa, J. P. Taylorb†, P. D. Greena, A. J. Baranb†, J. C. Pickeringa, A. E. Lasta and J.E. Murraya aDepartment of Space and Atmospheric Physics, Imperial College, London, UK bMet Office, Exeter, UK *Correspondence to: C. V. Cox, Space Science and Technology Department, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0QX, Oxon, UK. E-mail: caroline.cox@stfc.ac. uk †The contributions of Taylor and Baran were written in the course of their employment at the Met Office, UK, and are published with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.
HIV drug resistance patterns in pregnant women using next generation sequence in Mozambique

Background Few data on HIV resistance in pregnancy are available from Mozambique, one of the countries with the highest HIV toll worldwide. Understanding the patterns of HIV drug resistance in pregnant women might help in tailoring optimal regimens for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (pMTCT) and antenatal care. Objectives To describe the frequency and characteristics of HIV drug resistance mutations (HIVDRM) in pregnant women with virological failure at delivery, despite pMTCT or antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods Samples from HIV-infected pregnant women from a rural area in southern Mozambique were analysed. Only women with HIV-1 RNA >400c/mL at delivery were included in the analysis. HIVDRM were determined using MiSeq® (detection threshold 1%) at the first antenatal care (ANC) visit and at the time of delivery. Results Ninety and 60 samples were available at the first ANC visit and delivery, respectively. At first ANC, 97% of the women had HIV-1 RNA>400c/mL, 39% had CD4+ counts <350 c/mm3 and 30% were previously not on ART. Thirteen women (14%) had at least one HIVDRM of whom 70% were not on previous ART. Eight women (13%) had at least one HIVDRM at delivery. Out of 37 women with data available from the two time points, 8 (21%) developed at least one new HIVDRM during pMTCT or ART. Twenty seven per cent (53/191), 32% (44/138) and 100% (5/5) of the mutations that were present at enrolment, delivery and that emerged during pregnancy, respectively, were minority mutations (frequency <20%). Conclusions Even with ultrasensitive HIV-1 genotyping, less than 20% of women with detectable viremia at delivery had HIVDRM before initiating pMTCT or ART. This suggests that factors other than pre-existing resistance, such as lack of adherence or interruptions of the ANC chain, are also relevant to explain lack of virological suppression at the time of delivery in women receiving antiretrovirals drugs during pregnancy.
The HIV-1 Tat Protein Enhances Splicing at the Major Splice Donor Site

ABSTRACT Transcription of the HIV-1 proviral DNA and subsequent processing of the primary transcript results in the production of a large set of unspliced and differentially spliced viral RNAs. The major splice donor site (5′ss) that is located in the untranslated leader of the HIV-1 transcript is used for the production of all spliced RNAs, and splicing at this site has to be tightly regulated to allow the balanced production of all viral RNAs and proteins. We demonstrate that the viral Tat protein, which is known to activate viral transcription, also stimulates splicing at the major 5′ss. As for the transcription effect, Tat requires the viral long terminal repeat promoter and the trans-acting responsive RNA hairpin for splicing regulation. These results indicate that HIV-1 transcription and splicing are tightly coupled processes through the coordinated action of the essential Tat protein. IMPORTANCE The HIV-1 proviral DNA encodes a single RNA transcript that is used as RNA genome and packaged into newly assembled virus particles. This full-length RNA is also used as mRNA for the production of structural and enzymatic proteins. Production of other essential viral proteins depends on alternative splicing of the primary transcript, which yields a large set of differentially spliced mRNAs. Optimal virus replication requires a balanced production of all viral RNAs, which means that the splicing process has to be strictly regulated. We show that the HIV-1 Tat protein, a factor that is well known for its transcription activating function, also stimulates splicing. Thus, Tat controls not only the level of the viral RNA but also the balance between spliced and unspliced RNAs.
Time-Domain Power Quality State Estimation Based on Kalman Filter Using Parallel Computing on Graphics Processing Units

A methodology is developed to assess the time-domain power quality state estimation (PQSE) in electrical systems based on the Kalman filter implemented using parallel processing techniques through graphics processing units (GPUs) to reduce the execution time. The measurements used by the state estimation algorithm are taken from the simulation and transient propagation response of the power network. The parallel Kalman filter (PKF) state estimation obtains the waveforms for busbar voltages and line currents with several sources of time-varying electromagnetic transients. The PKF is evaluated using the compute unified device architecture (CUDA) platform and the CUDA basic linear algebra subprograms library, the parallel filter is executed on GPU cards. Case studies are applied to solve the time-domain state estimation using the proposed PKF-PQSE method, obtaining an execution time reduction and including time-varying harmonics, short circuit faults, and load transient conditions. The speed-up depends on the number of state variables modeling the electrical system under analysis. The PKF-PQSE results are successfully compared and validated against the power systems computer aided design/electromagnetic transients including direct current simulator.
AC and DC percolative conductivity of single wall carbon nanotube polymer composites

The equations needed to correctly interpret both AC and DC conductivity results of single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) polymer composites and the scaling of these results onto a single master curve are presented. Brief discussions on the fac- tors that determine the critical volume fraction (/c) and the percolation exponent (t) are also given. The results for a series of SWNT-polyimide composites are presented and the parameters obtained from fitting these results are discussed. The critical vol- ume fraction for electrical percolation of the present composite was about 0.0005. Results obtained from previous work on SWNT (MWNT)-polymer composites and other percolation systems and the modeling (interpretation) of these results are also discussed and compared. V C 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 3273-3287, 2005