Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interaction in fitness between lethal genes in heterozygous condition in Drosophila melanogaster.

OST or all individuals of sexually reproducing, diploid and outbreeding species carry in heterozygous condition genetic variants which are deleterious or even lethal in homozygotes. A major open problem of population genetics is to determine how these variants affect the fitness of their heterozygous carriers. Even genes or chromosomes having drastic effects on viability in homozygous condition could be maintained in natural populations for a long time, depending on their heterozygous effects on fitness. Many works (STERN er al. 1952; WALLACE and KING 1952; and others) during the last 25 years have dealt with the heterozygous effects of recessive lethals on the components of fitness (i.e., preadult viability, develolpmental rate, female fertility etc.). Their orientations might be classified into two groups. From the “classical7’ point of view, evidence has accumulated that lethal genes even in a heterozygous state result in a lowering of fitness (STERN et al. 1952; WALLACE and KING 1952; PROUT 1952; SETO 1954; HIRAIZUMI and CROW 1960; GREENBERG and CROW 1960; OSHIMA and KITAGAWA 1961a; TEMIN 1963, 1966; CROW and TEMIN 1964). From the other, “balance,” point of view, the effects of many lethals in a heterozygous state are neutral, or even slightly advantageous when compared with the mean viability of lethal-free organisms (MUKAI and BURDICK 1959; DOBZHANSKY et al 1960; WALLACE and DOBZHAVSKY 1962; OSHIMA 1963; DOBZHANSKY 1964; WALLACE 1965 ; WALLACE and MADDEN 1965 ) . Which of these viewpoints, “classical” or “balance,” more nearly discribes the behavior of lethals, in natural populations? The answer to this important question has implications for our concepts of the genetic load and its role in the evolutionary process ( I~OBZHANSKY 1955). The present study is an attempt to determine the average effects of recessive lethals and ultimately to estimate the interaction in fitness between them, both for natural and for induced recessive lethal mutations, by determining the change in viability with an increase in the number of recessive lethal genes per zygote.
Comment on the European Commission's "Green Paper towards adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems"

The Green Paper aims at launching a European debate about some of the key challenges that are facing European pension systems. This is a great initiative and this author agree with most of the suggestions, but also thinks that even more drastic policies may be required. For instance, to ensure sustainability (which is the purpose of pension systems and a necessary requirement for adequacy), the social security systems should be redesigned so that the allocation of aggregate risk between the taxpayers and the retirees is explicitly defined. In this way, people would know what risk they are facing and they would know how specific shocks affect benefits and taxes. This indexation should be performed so that the systems are sustainable to any shock. An important partial goal for achieving sustainability is (according to the Green Paper) to achieve a sustainable balance between time spent in work and time spent in retirement. This goal is likely to require (major) labour-market policies on both the demand and the supply sides. Examples here include eliminating the existing subsidized pathways to early retirement, lower replacement rates, prohibiting of age discrimination and possibilities to improve the employability of older workers. It is also important to reduce the distortions in the labour market to increase participation for the younger groups and to improve the EU statistics on pensions, since much more research related to social security is needed. The Green Paper aims at launching a European debate about some of the key challenges that are facing pension systems. The background is that the goal of providing adequate and sustainable retirement income for EU citizens will already be associated with several major challenges in the near future. The large cohort of baby boomers is approaching retirement, and at the same time, Europe’s working-age population is relatively small and shrinking. These effects are amplified by the facts that Europeans are living longer than ever before and that the retirement age has been falling (by a lot) since the introduction of the pension systems. In addition, people are staying longer in education and thus starting work later and later in their lives. The fact that people are living longer is of course a good thing, but with the current design of the welfare systems, these trends constitute severe challenges for the European economies.
Epitaxial growth: Phenomenological model of defect creation

Structural features, related to epitaxial growth and crystal defect creation in common III-V and Si-Ge materials were investigated by high-resolution x-ray diffraction and Transmission Electron Microscopy. Strong correlations between crystal perfection of epitaxial structures and growth conditions, specified by the initial elastic strain, deposition temperature and growth rate, elastic properties of epitaxial structures and thickness of epitaxial layers, were revealed. The investigations allowed suggest phenomenological model of defect creation in epitaxial structures, specify four different stages of defect creation, preferred crystalline defects, their density and spatial distribution in the volume. The main crystalline defect, responsible for deterioration of crystal perfection and physical properties of epitaxial structures were identified. Correct description of defect creation allows improved growth conditions and design of future devices to avoid/minimize deterioration of physical properties due to initially deteriorated growth conditions.
Effects of 1,25-Dihydroxy Vitamin D3 on Endometriosis.

CONTEXT Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent, chronic inflammatory disease. Recent studies have shown that vitamin D (VD) is an effective modulator of the immune system and plays an important role in controlling many inflammatory diseases. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to clarify the in vitro effects of 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 (1,25[OH]2D3) on human endometriotic stromal cells (ESCs) and to determine the serum levels of VD in endometriosis patients. DESIGN, PATIENTS, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES ESCs were isolated from ovarian endometrioma and cultured with 1,25(OH)2D3. Gene expression of IL-8, cyclooxygenase-2, microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1, microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-2, cytosolic prostaglandin E synthase, 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and MMP-9 was examined using quantitative RT-PCR. The production of IL-8 and prostaglandin E2 was measured using an ELISA and an enzyme immunoassay. Viable cell number was assessed using a cell-counting assay, and DNA synthesis was assessed using the bromodeoxyuridine incorporation assay. Apoptosis was assessed using flow cytometry. The expression of inhibitory-κBα protein was detected using Western blotting. The serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and 1,25(OH)2D3 were measured by a RIA. RESULTS In vitro studies showed that 1,25(OH)2D3 significantly reduced IL-1β- or TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses, such as IL-8 expression and prostaglandin activity. 1,25(OH)2D3 also reduced viable ESC numbers and DNA synthesis but did not affect apoptosis. MMP-2 and MMP-9 expressions were reduced by 1,25(OH)2D3. 1,25(OH)2D3 inhibited nuclear factor-κB activation. The serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels were significantly lower in women with severe endometriosis than in the controls and women with mild endometriosis. Serum 1,25(OH)2D3 levels were not different between groups. CONCLUSIONS VD modulates inflammation and proliferation in endometriotic cells, and a lower VD status is associated with endometriosis. Taken together, VD supplementation could be a novel therapeutic strategy for managing endometriosis.
Exploratory Analysis for Ontology Learning from Social Events on Social Media Streaming in Spanish

The problem of event analysis in Spanish social media streaming is that of difﬁculty on automatically processing the data as well as obtaining the most relevant information, such as mentioned by Derczynski et al. (2015). An event is deﬁned as a real world occurrence that takes place in a speciﬁc time and space; Atefeh and Khreich (2013) identiﬁes these occurrences by the entities that took part on it as well as the activities done in it. This project focuses on researching about the viability of modeling these events as ontologies using an automatic approach for entities and relationships extraction in order to obtain relevant information about the event in case. Spanish data from Twitter was used as a study case and tested with the developed application.
Id1 cooperates with oncogenic Ras to induce metastatic mammary carcinoma by subversion of the cellular senescence response

Recent evidence demonstrates that senescence acts as a barrier to tumorigenesis in response to oncogene activation. Using a mouse model of breast cancer, we tested the importance of the senescence response in solid cancer and identified genetic pathways regulating this response. Mammary expression of activated Ras led to the formation of senescent cellular foci in a majority of mice. Deletion of the p19ARF, p53, or p21WAF1 tumor suppressors but not p16INK4a prevented senescence and permitted tumorigenesis. Id1 has been implicated in the control of senescence in vitro, and elevated expression of Id1 is found in a number of solid cancers, so we tested whether overexpression of Id1 regulates senescence in vivo. Although overexpression of Id1 in the mammary epithelium was not sufficient for tumorigenesis, mice with expression of both Id1 and activated Ras developed metastatic cancer. These tumors expressed high levels of p19Arf, p53, and p21Waf1, demonstrating that Id1 acts to make cells refractory to p21Waf1-dependent cell cycle arrest. Inactivation of the conditional Id1 allele in established tumors led to widespread senescence within 10 days, tumor growth arrest, and tumor regression in 40% of mice. Mice in which Id1 expression was inactivated also exhibited greatly reduced pulmonary metastatic load. These data demonstrate that established tumors remain sensitive to senescence and that Id1 may be a valuable target for therapy.
Causality Tests for Cross‐Country Panels: a New Look at FDI and Economic Growth in Developing Countries

The remarkable increase in FDI flows to developing countries over the last decade has focused attention on whether this source of financing enhances overall economic growth. We use a mixed fixed and random (MFR) panel data estimation method to allow for cross country heterogeneity in the causal relationship between FDI and growth and contrast our findings with those from traditional approaches. We find that the relationship between investment, both foreign and domestic, and economic growth in developing countries is highly heterogeneous and that estimation methods which assume homogeneity across countries can yield misleading results. Our results suggest there is some evidence that the efficacy of FDI in raising future growth rates, although heterogeneous across countries, is higher in more open economies.
TMSEG: Novel prediction of transmembrane helices

Transmembrane proteins (TMPs) are important drug targets because they are essential for signaling, regulation, and transport. Despite important breakthroughs, experimental structure determination remains challenging for TMPs. Various methods have bridged the gap by predicting transmembrane helices (TMHs), but room for improvement remains. Here, we present TMSEG, a novel method identifying TMPs and accurately predicting their TMHs and their topology. The method combines machine learning with empirical filters. Testing it on a non‐redundant dataset of 41 TMPs and 285 soluble proteins, and applying strict performance measures, TMSEG outperformed the state‐of‐the‐art in our hands. TMSEG correctly distinguished helical TMPs from other proteins with a sensitivity of 98 ± 2% and a false positive rate as low as 3 ± 1%. Individual TMHs were predicted with a precision of 87 ± 3% and recall of 84 ± 3%. Furthermore, in 63 ± 6% of helical TMPs the placement of all TMHs and their inside/outside topology was correctly predicted. There are two main features that distinguish TMSEG from other methods. First, the errors in finding all helical TMPs in an organism are significantly reduced. For example, in human this leads to 200 and 1600 fewer misclassifications compared to the second and third best method available, and 4400 fewer mistakes than by a simple hydrophobicity‐based method. Second, TMSEG provides an add‐on improvement for any existing method to benefit from. Proteins 2016; 84:1706–1716. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Point Shaving in College Basketball: A Cautionary Tale for Forensic Economics

"Point shaving is the practice by favored teams of attempting to win by less than the point spread to yield profits for gamblers who bet on the underdog. Consistent with point shaving, strong favorites are anomalously likely to win by less than the spread. To distinguish between innocent and criminal explanations, we (1) exploit information in line movements and (2) isolate games without betting lines to identify games where point shaving is implausible and document similar patterns. The data are better explained by strategic efforts to maximize the probability of winning. These findings highlight the importance of methodology design. " ("JEL" L83, K42) Copyright (c) 2009 Western Economic Association International.
Beyond body mass index

Body mass index (BMI) is the cornerstone of the current classification system for obesity and its advantages are widely exploited across disciplines ranging from international surveillance to individual patient assessment. However, like all anthropometric measurements, it is only a surrogate measure of body fatness. Obesity is defined as an excess accumulation of body fat, and it is the amount of this excess fat that correlates with ill‐health. We propose therefore that much greater attention should be paid to the development of databases and standards based on the direct measurement of body fat in populations, rather than on surrogate measures. In support of this argument we illustrate a wide range of conditions in which surrogate anthropometric measures (especially BMI) provide misleading information about body fat content. These include: infancy and childhood; ageing; racial differences; athletes; military and civil forces personnel; weight loss with and without exercise; physical training; and special clinical circumstances. We argue that BMI continues to serve well for many purposes, but that the time is now right to initiate a gradual evolution beyond BMI towards standards based on actual measurements of body fat mass.
COMPARISON OF OKT3 WITH ALG FOR PROPHYLAXIS FOR PATIENTS WITH ACUTE RENAL FAILURE AFTER CADAVERIC RENAL TRANSPLANTATION

A randomized, prospective comparison of OKT3 vs. ALG (University of Minnesota) was performed in patients who had acute renal failure after a cadaver renal transplantation. Criteria for admission to the study were oliguria or increasing serum creatinine in the first 12 hr after renal transplantation. ALG or OKT3 was administered after randomization beginning 12–36 hours posttransplantation. There were no significant differences in age, sex, original disease, ischemia time, or HLA matching between groups. Graft survivals at 1 and 6 months were 84% and 84%, respectively for the ALG group. One- and 6-month graft survival for the OKT3 group was 88% and 84%, respectively. These differences were not statistically significant. The number of rejection episodes and the number of patients with rejection episodes were greater, and the time to first rejection was shorter in the OKT3 group compared with the ALG group, although none of these differences reached statistical significance. There were significantly less side effects in the ALG group compared with the OKT3 group (P<.05). The greatest reductions in side effects were in fever and hypotension. Patients were monitored with flow cytometry analysis measuring the number of CD2 (T11) and CD3 (T3) cells to adjust the dose of both OKT3 and ALG. Starting doses were 10 mg/kg/day of ALG and 5 mg/day of OKT3. There were no significant differences in the incidence of infections (viral or bacterial) between the two groups. There were no rejection episodes during the prophylactic therapy with either ALG or OKT3. In summary, both ALG and OKT3 provided effective prophylaxis for patients with acute renal failure after renal transplantation. OKT3 was associated with a statistically significant increase in incidence of symptomatic side effects.
Mandatory retirement: a constraint in transitions to retirement?

Issues associated with retirement in general, and phased transitions into retirement in particular, are taking on increased importance for a variety of reasons. Outlines those reasons, paying particular attention to the practice of mandatory retirement. Presents age dependency ratios for the OECD to highlight the importance of these issues in the context of an ageing and longer‐lived workforce relative to a smaller working age population. Then discusses the prevalence of mandatory retirement in Canada and the USA, and presents empirical evidence from Canada on variables associated with retiring because of mandatory retirement. The Canadian case is of particular interest, because mandatory retirement in Canada has generally not been banned, which is in marked contrast with the situation in the USA, where it has been banned as constituting age discrimination. The public and legal debate over the issue of mandatory retirement has also been extensive in Canada, and this debate may provide information for other countries dealing with the issue. Ends with an assessment of the extent to which mandatory retirement exerts a constraining influence on transitions into retirement. The essential argument is that its constraining impact is not as simple as it may initially appear. To the extent that mandatory retirement is an intricate part of the compensation and human resource function of firms, banning it can have important implications for those functions and, in turn, for transitions into retirement. The complexities of these issues and dramatically increasing old‐age dependency ratios will ensure that this is an area of growing importance for public policy and human resource management.
Interleukin‐4 regulates connective tissue growth factor expression in human lung fibroblasts

Transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) and interleukin‐4 (IL‐4) have fibrogenic properties and induce extracellular matrix production in a variety of lung diseases. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a matrix signaling molecule stimulated by TGF‐β that in part mediates α1(I) collagen mRNA expression. In these studies, the regulation of CTGF expression by IL‐4 in human lung fibroblasts was examined. Following 6 h of stimulation with IL‐4, basal CTGF mRNA levels were unchanged as assessed by Northern blot analysis. However, IL‐4 attenuated the TGF‐β‐stimulated induction of CTGF mRNA expression by 50%. This effect was selective because IL‐4 did not affect fibronectin or α1(I) collagen mRNA expression induced by TGF‐β. Experiments employing the transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D suggest that IL‐4 did not affect the stability of the CTGF mRNA. Transient transfection assays with 3TP‐Lux, a luciferase gene controlled by a TGF‐β inducible promoter, and with a CTGF promoter construct indicate that IL‐4 interfered with the TGF‐β‐induced transcriptional activation of the CTGF gene. J. Cell. Biochem. 85: 496–504, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Multiple Facets of Co-Production: Building on the work of Elinor Ostrom

Abstract This article revisits Elinor Ostrom’s pioneering formulation more than three decades ago of the notion of co-production, which remains foundational, but closer scrutiny reveals further unexplored potential. This article focuses on the two parts of the term ‘co-production’, namely, its ‘production’, aspect with its sense of a process of turning inputs into products, and its ‘co’ aspect, with its sense of some kind of relationship. Both aspects have multiple facets, which are in some respects at odds and in others congruent with each other. The article canvasses ways of combining, trading off, and/or choosing between them.
Coordination of presynaptic and postsynaptic maturation in a zebra finch forebrain motor control nucleus during song learning

While some species of birds retain the ability to learn new songs as adults, many species can only learn during a restricted period when young. Previous studies have suggested that one potential mechanism of such a limited learning period, an alteration in the composition of postsynaptic NMDA receptors, does not competely block further song learning. Here, we examined whether presynaptic function could play a role in the regulation of learning capacity. We first showed that the participation of NMDA receptor NR2B subunits in synaptic currents in the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA), a critical location for integration of signals during song learning by young birds, decreases from young birds to adults. Using release‐dependent block of postsynaptic NMDA receptors by an open‐channel antagonist to assay presynaptic function, we showed that transmitter release at RA synapses from both HVC and the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium systematically decreases during the period of song learning, and in adults is about half that of juveniles. Further, activation of postsynaptic NMDA receptors could induce an acute depression of transmitter release, while lack of exposure to a normal learning environment could delay the developmental reduction in transmitter release. These results suggest that regulation of learning capacity may occur in part by coordination of presynaptic and postsynaptic function.
Are Homeowners Better Citizens?: Homeownership and Community Participation in the United States

Proponents of homeownership policies often argue that homeowners participate more actively in community life and civic affairs than renters. Although research suggests higher rates of participation among homeowners, the underlying mechanisms driving this relationship are unclear. On one hand, the locally dependent financial investments homeowners make in their communities could lead them to participate as a means of protecting their principal investment. On the other hand, home-ownership could stimulate participation by increasing residential stability, enabling households to overcome the institutional barriers and to develop the social networks that drive community participation. The failure to differentiate between these pathways muddies our understanding of how homeownership matters for community life. Drawing on the November supplement of the Current Population Survey, this article investigates whether homeowners are more likely to vote in local elections, participate in neighborhood groups and join civic associations. A falsification strategy compares these outcomes to a set of placebo measures to address concerns that the findings are driven by selection. The research identifies an independent role for residential stability and locally dependent financial investments in explaining why homeowners participate in their communities.