Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Colonization, Baker's law, and the evolution of gynodioecy in Hawaii: implications from a study of Lycium carolinianum.

PREMISE As Baker's law suggests, the successful colonization of oceanic islands is often associated with uniparental reproduction (self-fertility), but the high incidence of dimorphism (dioecy, gynodioecy) on islands complicates this idea. Lycium carolinianum is widespread, occurring on the North American mainland and the Hawaiian Islands. We examined Baker's ideas for mainland and island populations of L. carolinianum and examined inbreeding depression as a possible contributor to the evolution of gynodioecy on Maui. METHODS Controlled crosses were conducted in two mainland populations and two populations in Hawaii. Treatments included self and cross pollination, unmanipulated controls, and autogamy/agamospermy. Alleles from the self-incompatibility S-RNase gene were isolated and compared between mainland and island populations. Given self-compatibility in Hawaii, we germinated seeds from self- and cross- treatments and estimated inbreeding depression using seven traits and a measure of cumulative fitness. RESULTS Mainland populations of Lycium carolinianum are predominately self-incompatible with some polymorphism for self-fertility, whereas Hawaiian populations are self-compatible. Concordantly, S-RNase allelic diversity is reduced in Hawaii compared to the mainland. Hawaiian populations also exhibit significant inbreeding depression. CONCLUSIONS Self-compatibility in Hawaii and individual variation in self-fertility in mainland populations suggests that a colonization filter promoting uniparental reproduction may be acting in this system. Comparison of S-RNase variation suggests a collapse of allelic diversity and heterozygosity at the S-RNase locus in Hawaii, which likely contributed to mate limitation upon arrival to the Pacific. Inbreeding depression coupled with autonomous self-fertilization may have led to the evolution of gynodioecy on Maui.
MAP kinase activity is downregulated by phorbol ester during mouse oocyte maturation and egg activation in vitro

The effects of protein kinase C (PKC) stimulator, phorbol 12‐myriatate 13‐acetate (PMA), on meiotic cell cycle regulation and mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase changes have been studied in mouse oocytes and eggs. The results showed that MAP kinase activation itself was not necessary for germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), but the ability of the ooplasm to phosphorylate MAP kinase was a prerequisite for this event. At concentrations of 1.6 nM, PMA effectively inhibited GVBD and MAP kinase activation, suggesting that PMA inhibits GVBD by inhibiting molecule(s) upstream to MAP kinase. At concentrations of 16.2 nM, PMA induced metaphase‐interphase transition more effectively in eggs collected 19 hr after human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration than in those collected 15 hr after hCG administration. The degree of MAP kinase activity decrease was well correlated with the time course and proportion of pronuclear formation. On the other hand, when the effect of PMA on cell cycle progression was abolished by protein phosphatase inhibitor, okadaic acid, MAP kinase was superactivated. The biologically inactive 4 α‐phorbol 12,13‐didecanoate (4 α‐PDD) had no evident effects on either GVBD and interphase transition or on MAP kinase activity. Furthermore, the effects of PMA on oocyte GVBD, egg activation, and MAP kinase activity could be overcome by the specific PKC inhibitor, calphostin C, suggesting the possible involvement of this enzyme in the regulation of MAP kinase activity. The results suggest that activation of PKC by PMA entrains a cascade of events that ultimately inhibits MAP kinase activation and GVBD in mouse oocytes and induces MAP kinase inactivation and metaphase‐interphase transition in mouse eggs. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 52:310–318, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Paradigms of plasmid organization

Plasmids are extrachromosomal elements built from a selection of generally quite well understood survival and propagation functions, including replication, partitioning, multimer resolution, post‐segregational killing and conjugative transfer. Evolution has favoured clustering of these modules to form plasmid cores or backbones. Co‐regulation of these core genes can also provide advantages that favour retention of the backbone organization. Tumour‐inducing and symbiosis‐determining plasmids appear to co‐regulate replication and transfer in response to cell density, both being stimulated at high density. Broad‐host‐range plasmids of the IncP‐1 group, on the other hand, have autogenous control circuits, which allow a burst of expression during establishment in a new host, but a minimum of expression during maintenance. The lessons that plasmids have for clustering and co‐regulation may explain the logic and organization of many small bacterial genomes currently being investigated.
On the diabetic menu: Zebrafish as a model for pancreas development and function

Development of the vertebrate pancreas is a complex stepwise process comprising regionalization, cell differentiation, and morphogenesis. Studies in zebrafish are contributing to an emerging picture of pancreas development in which extrinsic signaling molecules influence intrinsic transcriptional programs to allow ultimate differentiation of specific pancreatic cell types. Zebrafish experiments have revealed roles for several signaling molecules in aspects of this process; for example our own work has shown that retinoic acid signals specify the pre‐pancreatic endoderm. Time‐lapse imaging of live zebrafish embryos has started to provide detailed information about early pancreas morphogenesis. In addition to modeling embryonic development, the zebrafish has recently been used as a model for pancreas regeneration studies. Here, we review the significant progress in these areas and consider the future potential of zebrafish as a diabetes research model.
Analysis of memory and incremental redundancy ARQ schemes over a nonstationary channel

A generalized type II automatic-repeat-request (ARQ) scheme using punctured convolutional coding on a two-state Markov model of a nonstationary channel is analyzed. A simple ARQ scheme with memory is also analyzed. It is shown that the simple memory ARQ scheme offers a substantial throughput improvement over a conventional ARQ scheme at severe channel conditions. Furthermore, the generalized type II ARQ scheme yields a better performance than the conventional type II ARQ scheme under all channel conditions, thus making it attractive for use over time-varying channels. >
Star Formation Histories of the LEGUS Spiral Galaxies. I. The Flocculent Spiral NGC 7793

We present a detailed study of the flocculent spiral galaxy NGC 7793, part of the Sculptor group. By analyzing the resolved stellar populations of the galaxy, located at a distance of ∼3.7 Mpc, we infer for the first time its radial star formation history (SFH) from Hubble Space Telescope photometry, thanks to both archival and new data from the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey. We determine an average star formation rate (SFR) for the galaxy portion covered by our F555W and F814W data of 0.23 ± 0.02 M⊙ yr−1 over the whole Hubble time, corresponding to a total stellar mass of (3.09 ± 0.33) × 109 M⊙, in agreement with previous determinations. Thanks to the new data extending to the F336W band, we are able to analyze the youngest stellar populations with a higher time resolution. Most importantly, we recover the resolved SFH in different radial regions of the galaxy; this shows an indication of a growing trend of the present-to-past SFR ratio, increasing from internal to more external regions, supporting previous findings of the inside-out growth of the galaxy.
The assessment of carotid intima-media thickness, lipid profiles and oxidative stress markers in Helicobacter pylori-positive subjects.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Helicobacter pylori infection has been suggested to be associated with atherosclerosis. The issue is still controversial. It is well known that abnormal lipid profile and oxidative stress are related to atherosclerosis and the measurement of carotid intima-media thickness. The aim of this study was to investigate carotid intima-media thickness and oxidative stress along with lipid parameters in Helicobacter pylori-positive and -negative subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty Helicobacter pylori-positive subjects and 31 Helicobacter pylori-negative subjects were enrolled. Helicobacter pylori infection was diagnosed by noninvasive tests. Serum total oxidant status and total antioxidant capacity levels were measured. Oxidative stress index was calculated based on total oxidant status/total antioxidant capacity ratio. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors were recorded, and laboratory analysis included measurement of serum triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. carotid intima media thickness was assessed by high-resolution ultrasound. RESULTS We found that the mean and maximum values of right and overall carotid intima-media thickness in Helicobacter pylori-positive subjects were significantly thicker than in Helicobacter pylori-negatives (p < 0.05). Serum triglycerides levels of Helicobacter pylori-positive subjects were significantly higher than in Helicobacter pylori-negatives (p < 0.05). Total oxidant status, total antioxidant capacity and oxidative stress index values were significantly higher in Helicobacter pylori-positive subjects compared with negatives (p < 0.05). No significant correlation was observed between oxidative stress markers and carotid intima-media thickness values. CONCLUSIONS Carotid intima-media thickness, total oxidant status, total antioxidant capacity, oxidative stress index, and triglycerides values are increased in Helicobacter pylori-positive subjects compared to Helicobacter pylori-negatives. These data indicated that Helicobacter pylori infection may have a role in atherosclerotic processes.
Cache Design with Domain Wall Memory

Domain wall memory (DWM) is a recently developed spin-based memory technology in which several bits of data are densely packed into the domains of a ferromagnetic wire. DWM has shown great promise in enabling non-volatile memory with very high density and energy efficiency, and has been explored for secondary storage and off-chip memory. In this work, we explore the use of DWM within the on-chip cache hierarchy of general purpose computing platforms. Our work is motivated by the fact that DWMs enable much higher density compared to SRAM, DRAM, and other spin-based memory technologies such as STT-MRAM. However, DWMs also pose the unique challenge of serial access to the bits stored in a cell, leading to large and variable access latencies. In addition, DWMs share the inherent write inefficiency of other spin-based memories. We propose TapeCache, a DWM-based cache design that employs device, circuit, and architectural techniques to address these challenges. At the device level, we perform write optimization by employing a new write mechanism based on domain wall shifts to achieve fast, energy-efficient writes in DWM. At the circuit level, we propose different DWM bit-cell designs that are tailored to the distinct architectural requirements of different levels in the cache hierarchy. At the architecture level, we propose a new cache organization and suitable management policies that mitigate the performance penalty arising from serial access to bits in a DWM cell. We show that the holistic device-circuit-architecture co-design enables all the levels in the cache hierarchy to be realized using DWM and benefit from its improved density. Over a wide range of SPEC CPU 2006 benchmarks, TapeCache achieves an average energy improvement of 7.5x, with virtually identical performance and 7.8x improvement in area, compared to an iso-capacity SRAM cache. Compared to an iso-capacity STT-MRAM cache, TapeCache obtains 3.1x improvement in area and 2x average energy savings along with 1.1 percent performance improvement.
A remark on almost Moore digraphs of degree three

It is well known that Moore digraphs do not exist except for trivial cases (degree 1 or diameter 1), but there are digraphs of diameter two and arbitrary degree which miss the Moore bound by one. No examples of such digraphs of diameter at least three are known, although several necessary conditions for their existence have been obtained. A particularly interesting necessary condition for the existence of a digraph of degree three and diameter k ≥ 3 of order one less than the Moore bound is that the number of its arcs be divisible by k + 1. In this paper we derive a new necessary condition (in terms of cycles of the socalled repeat permutation) for the existence of such digraphs of degree three. As a consequence we obtain that a digraph of degree three and diameter k ≥ 3 which misses the Moore bound by one cannot be a Cayley digraph of an Abelian group.
The humanoid museum tour guide Robotinho

Wheeled tour guide robots have already been deployed in various museums or fairs worldwide. A key requirement for successful tour guide robots is to interact with people and to entertain them. Most of the previous tour guide robots, however, focused more on the involved navigation task than on natural interaction with humans. Humanoid robots, on the other hand, offer a great potential for investigating intuitive, multimodal interaction between humans and machines. In this paper, we present our mobile full-body humanoid tour guide robot Robotinho. We provide mechanical and electrical details and cover perception, the integration of multiple modalities for interaction, navigation control, and system integration aspects. The multimodal interaction capabilities of Robotinho have been designed and enhanced according to the questionnaires filled out by the people who interacted with the robot at previous public demonstrations. We present experiences we have made during experiments in which untrained users interacted with the robot.
The 17-residue transmembrane domain of beta-galactoside alpha 2,6- sialyltransferase is sufficient for Golgi retention

beta-Galactoside alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase (ST) is a type II integral membrane protein of the Golgi apparatus involved in the sialylation of N-linked glycans. A series of experiments has shown that the 17-residue transmembrane domain of ST is sufficient to confer localization to the Golgi apparatus when transferred to the corresponding region of a cell surface type II integral membrane protein. Lectin affinity chromatography of chimeric proteins bearing this 17-residue sequence suggests that these chimeric proteins are localized in the trans-Golgi cisternae and/or trans-Golgi network. Further experiments suggest that this 17-residue sequence functions as a retention signal for the Golgi apparatus.
Conley Scale: assessment of a fall risk prevention tool in a General Hospital

Summary Introduction. "Umberto I" Teaching Hospital adopted 'Conley scale' as internal procedure for fall risk assessment, with the aim of strengthening surveillance and improving prevention and management of impatient falls. Materials and methods. Case-control study was performed. Fall events from 1st March 2012 to 30th September 2013 were considered. Cases have been matched for gender, department and period of hospitalization with two or three controls when it is possible. A table including intrinsic and extrinsic 'fall risk' factors, not foreseen by Conley Scale, and setted up after a literature overview was built. Univariate analysis and conditional logistic regression model have been performed. Results. 50 cases and 102 controls were included. Adverse event 'fall' were associated with filled Conley scale at the admission to care unit (OR = 4.92, 95%CI = 2.34-10.37). Univariate analysis identified intrinsic factors increasing risk of falls: dizziness (OR = 3.22; 95%CI = 1.34-7.75), psychomotor agitation (OR = 2.61; 95%CI = 1.06-6.43); and use of means of restraint (OR = 5.05 95%CI = 1.77-14.43). Conditional logistic regression model revealed a significant association with the following variables: use of instruments of restraint (HR = 5.54, 95%CI = 1.2- 23.80), dizziness (OR = 3.97, 95%CI = 1.22-12.89). Discussion. Conley Scale must be filled at the access of patient to care unit. There were no significant differences between cases and controls with regard to risk factors provided by Conley, except for the use of means of restraint. Empowerment strategies for Conley compilation are needed.
Transcendental meromorphic functions with three singular values

Every transcendental meromorphic function f in the plane, which has only three critical values, satisfies lim inf r→∞ T (r, f) log r ≥ √ 3 2π , and this estimate is best possible. AMS Subject classification: 30D30, 30D25. A singular value of a meromorphic function f in the plane C is, by definition, a critical value or an asymptotic value. If we denote the closure of the set of singular values by S, then f : C\f−1(S)→ C\S is a covering map. Meromorphic functions with finitely many singular values play an important role in value distribution theory (see, for example, [8, 15, 16], and Jim Langley’s papers on the distribution of values of derivatives), as well as in holomorphic dynamics [4, 6]. In this paper, “meromorphic function” will always mean a transcendental meromorphic function in the plane, unless some other region is specified. Langley [11, 12] discovered that there exists a relation between the number of singular values of a meromorphic function f and the growth of the Nevanlinna characteristic T (r, f). In [12] he proved that all meromorphic functions f with finitely many singular values satisfy lim inf r→∞ T (r, f) log r > 0. ∗Supported by NSF grants DMS-0100512, DMS-0244421, and by the Humboldt Foundation. 1On algebraic functions with three critical values see [3, 9].
A high speed low power encoder for a 5 bit flash ADC

The present investigation proposes an efficient low power encoding scheme intended for a 5GS/s 5 bit flash analog to digital converter. The designing of a thermometer code to binary code is one of the challenging issues in the design of a high speed low power flash ADC. An encoder circuit in this paper translates the thermometer code into the intermediate gray code to reduce the effects of bubble errors. To maintain the high speed with low power dissipation, the implementation of the encoder through pseudo NMOS logic is presented. The proposed encoder is designed using 90nm technology in 1.2 V power supply using CADENCE tool. The simulation results shown for a sampling frequency of 5GHz and the average power dissipation of the encoder is 0.3149 mW which is very less in comparison with current mode logic encoder implementation.
Successful Customer Collaboration Resulting in the Right Product for the End User

In May 2007, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) asked Pragmatics, Inc. to support the requirements definition and development of a new Web application for the US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) Joint Staff-3 (J3). The USJFCOM J3 sponsors needed to have the application built, delivered, and fielded in a tight, six-week time frame so that Combatant Commands (COCOMs) could enter their FY08 Rotational Requirements by 1 October, 2007. This experience report describes our successful development effort, from initial requirements definition to successful delivery, fielding, and acceptance by end users.
Trajectories of Emotional Symptoms Among Survivors After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

The purpose of the study is to characterize emotional symptom patterns in survivors after severe Traumatic Brain Injury and also determine risk factors associated with these distinct patterns. The data used in this study were available from the University of Pittsburgh Brain Trauma Research Center (BTRC). Subjects who survived from their severe Traumatic Brain Injury were recruited and we use the subset of the collected data including the acute phase of the demographics and injury severity and the longitudinal emotional symptom data collected at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after injury. By using a person-centered, semi-parametric group-based modeling approach, symptom phenotype data were evaluated to identify and characterize group trajectory classifications for each emotional symptom outcome as well as their co-occurrence across time. Additionally, logistic regression and/or multinomial regression models were used to evaluate the associations between trajectories of depression, anxiety and satisfaction of life and covariates such as demographics and clinical variables. Two trajectories of depression were identified: low stable and high increasing trajectories. Three trajectories of anxiety were identified: low stable, high peak and high decreasing symptom groups. Two trajectories of satisfaction with life were identified: low decreasing and high increasing. Dual trajectory models were also conducted. The results show a strong relationship between the trajectories for depression and anxiety, anxiety and satisfaction with life, depression and satisfaction with life. Finally multi-trajectory model were fitted. Three multi-trajectories were identified. Multi-trajectory of high depression and high anxiety and low satisfaction with life was predicted by very severe initial injury severity (OR=4.12, P=0.06) in univariate model and predicted by marital status (married, OR=0.08, P=0.06) in multivariate model. Therefore we concluded that by a person-centered, semi-parametric group-based modeling approach, we identified distinct patterns of change in depression, anxiety and satisfaction with life after severe TBI. Our results also indicated that depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and satisfaction with life are related. The survivors after severe TBI in high depressive trajectories were more likely also to develop high level of anxiety symptom with lower satisfaction with life. Initial injury severity and marital status have association with emotional disorder after severe traumatic brain injury. The finding of this study may help public health develop efficient preventive strategies or targeted interventions on emotional disorder for the population after severe TBI.