Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selection and microevolution of coat pattern are cryptic in a wild population of sheep

Understanding the maintenance of genetic variation in natural populations is a core aim of evolutionary genetics. Insight can be gained by quantifying selection at the level of the genotype, as opposed to the phenotype. Here, we show that in a natural population of Soay sheep which is polymorphic for coat pattern, recessive genetic variants at the causal gene, agouti signalling protein (ASIP) are associated with reduced lifetime fitness. This was due primarily to a reduction in juvenile survival of uniformly coloured (self‐type) sheep, which are homozygous recessive, and occurs despite significantly higher reproductive success in surviving self‐type adults. Consistent with their relatively low fitness, we show that the frequency of self‐type individuals has declined from 1985 to 2008. Remarkably though, the frequency of the underlying self‐allele has increased, because the frequency of heterozygous individuals (who harbour the majority of all self‐alleles) has increased. Indeed, the ratio of observed/expected heterozygous individuals has increased during the study, such that there is now a significant excess of heterozygotyes. By employing gene‐dropping simulations, we show that microevolutionary trends in the frequency and excess of ASIP heterozygotes are too pronounced to be caused by genetic drift. Studying this polymorphism at the level of phenotype rather than underlying genotype would have failed to detect cryptic fitness differences. We would also have been unable to rule out genetic drift as an evolutionary force driving genetic change. This highlights the importance of resolving the underlying genetic basis of phenotypic variation in explaining evolutionary dynamics.
Neurological Complications Associated with Spontaneously Occurring Feline Diabetes Mellitus

In this study, neurological complications associated with spontaneously occurring feline diabetes were comprehensively evaluated. Physical and neurological examinations, electrophysiological assessment, and biochemical and histological analysis of nerve and muscle biopsy specimens were performed in 19 diabetic cats and referenced to similar data from 28 nondiabetic cats without evidence of neuropathy. Compared to nondiabetic cats, diabetic cats exhibited a range of functional, structural, and biochemical defects that, depending on severity, manifested as striking neurological dysfunction. A broad spectrum of clinical signs was apparent with the most notable and severe impairment being a plantigrade posture when standing or walking. A sensorimotor neuropathy, characterized by conduction deficits and increased F wave and cord dorsum potential latencies, was present in both pelvic and thoracic limbs and, except in the most severely affected animals, occurred with little or no electromyographic abnormality. As for nerve structural abnormalities, Schwann cell injury was prevalent and included myelin defects, such as splitting and ballooning, and demyelination, although axonal degeneration was noted in biopsies from severely affected cats. Evidence of polyol pathway activity consisted of marked increases in nerve fructose without appreciable sorbitol accumulation. The occurrence of diabetic neuropathy in the cat, a relatively large animal with a long life span and long nerves, provides unique opportunities to study the development and treatment of this debilitating complication.
The barriers to millennials visiting Rouge Urban National Park

Intensified urbanization has led to more populated cities and less green spaces which are vital to community health, wellbeing and conservation. Rouge Urban National Park in Toronto has recently become Canada’s first urban national park. This park is ideally suited to the millennial population, offering outdoor recreation and green space that this growing market generally desires. There is, however, a lack of research into visitor motivations to urban parks and more specifically millennial motivations. Findings from 280 quantitative surveys found three main barriers to visiting the Urban National Park: distance, transportation, and awareness. The lack of public transport combined with road congestion and fewer millennials owning cars creates issues with accessibility. Poor branding and knowledge through electronic media creates low awareness within a demographic market so tied to technology. Keywords: urban national parks; millennials; distance decay theory; visitor motivations; Canada
Maximum velocity of shortening in relation to myosin isoform composition in single fibres from human skeletal muscles.

1. Maximum velocity of shortening (Vmax) and compositions of myosin heavy chain (MHC) and myosin light chain (MLC) isoforms were determined in single fibres from the soleus or the lateral region of the quadriceps (vastus lateralis) muscles in man. Muscle samples were obtained by percutaneous biopsy, and membranes were permeabilized by glycerol treatment (chemical skinning) or by freeze‐drying. 2. Types I, IIA and IIB MHCs were resolved from single fibre segments by 6% sodium dodecyl sulphate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) and five different fibre types were identified: fibres containing type I MHC, types I and IIA MHCs, type IIA MHC, types IIA and IIB MHCs, and type IIB MHC. Only a few fibres co‐expressed types I and IIA MHCs but 28% of all quadriceps fibres expressed both IIA and IIB MHCs in variable proportions. Fibres co‐expressing types I and IIB MHCs were not found. 3. Alkali (MLC1 and MLC3) and dithio nitrobenzoic acid (DTNB) (MLC2) myosin light chains were observed in all type II fibres in variable proportions. MLC (MLC1s and MLC2s) isoforms from type I fibres had lower migration rates than the corresponding isoforms from type II fibres (MLC1f and MLC2f). More than half of type I fibres in both soleus (65%) and quadriceps (68%) muscles also expressed ‘fast’ MLC3 and 36% of the type II fibres from quadriceps muscle expressed the slow isoform of MLC2. 4. Differences were observed in some mechanical characteristics of freeze‐dried versus chemically skinned fibres. Maximum tension (P0) and specific tension were lower in freeze‐dried types I and IIA fibres than in chemically skinned, while no differences were observed in the IIA/B fibres. The numbers of types I/IIA and IIB fibres were too low to allow statistical comparisons. In chemically skinned fibres, mean specific tension (0.20 +/‐ 0.01 N/mm2) did not vary with fibre type. In freeze‐dried fibres, on the other hand, specific tensions varied according to MHC type: higher (P < 0.01) specific tensions were observed in types IIB (0.19 +/‐ 0.01 N/mm2) and type IIA/B fibres (0.18 +/‐ 0.04 N/mm2) than in type I fibres (0.12 +/‐ 0.02 N/mm2). The specific tension of type IIA fibres (0.12 +/‐ 0.05 N/mm2) did not differ significantly from the other fibre types. Cross‐sectional areas and mean Vmax did not differ between freeze‐dried and chemically skinned fibres, either when all fibres were pooled or within respective fibre types. Vmax data from all fibres of a given type, irrespective of membrane permeabilization technique, have therefore been pooled. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
A Fast K-Means Clustering Algorithm Based on Grid Data Reduction

K-Means is a popular clustering algorithm to find the clustering easily by iteration. But the computational complexity of the traditional k-means due to accessing the whole data in each cycle of iterative operations is too great to make it fit for very large data set. This paper presents a new clustering algorithm we have developed, fast k-means clustering algorithm based on grid data reduction (GDR-FKM), by which clustering operations can be quickly performed on very large data set. Application of the algorithm to analysis of the data relativity in TT&C has demonstrated its celerity and accuracy.
Optical camouflage using retro-reflective projection technology

This paper describes a kind of active camouflage system named optical camouflage. Optical camouflage uses the retro-reflective projection technology, a projection-based augmented-reality system composed of a projector with a small iris and a retro-reflective screen. The object that needs to be made transparent is painted or covered with retro-reflective material. Then a projector projects the background image on it making the masking object virtually transparent.
A Retrospective Study of Clinicoepidemiological Aspects of Nasopharyngeal Cancer at NCI-Cairo (2000-2010)

Aim of Work: The aim of this work was to study the clinico-epidemiological characteristics of the patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), analyse the prognostic factors of the disease and to analyse the results of different treatment modalities and their effect on loco-regional, distal metastatic disease control and both overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) rates. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study reviewing all adult nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients who presented to the radiotherapy department—National Cancer Institute Cairo University in the period from (2000-2010). Results: In this study, it was found that the mean age was 45 years; most of the patients were of locally advanced stages. Multivariate cox proportional hazards regression identified T-stage, radiotherapy course completion & addition of chemotherapy as independent prognostic factors for local control (LC), DFS, & OS. The 5-year LC, DFS and OS rates for all studied patients were 38.2%, 33.5% & 37.2% respectively. The median DFS was 26 months and median OS was 36.5 months. Conclusion: This study matches the published data that support that radical concurrent chemoradiation is the mainstay of treatment of locally advanced NPC, & that T-stage, M-stage, prescribed dose completion, response to initial treatment are independent prognostic factors for survival. All measures should be taken to improve the local response during primary treatment as this will improve survival rates of patients with NPC.
A STREPTOMYCETE PATHOGENIC TO FISH

A streptomycete and pseutdomonad were isolated from blueback salmon, Oncorhynchuis nerka (WValbaum), and shown to be pathogenic to fish. Trhese organisms were isolated from young blueback salmon taken from a gr'oup that developed an increasing mortality after feeding about a month at the United States Fishery Station, Leavenworth, Washington. A superficial examination revealed only the presence of fungus (probably Sap0olcynia parasitica), which wvas on the gills and was eliminated by treatment with a quaternary ammonium salt. Although the fungus infection was eliminated, the mortality continued. It was observed by the station biologist at the time that the majority of the fish in the hatchery troughs were healthy, but that there w-as alwzays present an apathetic group that hud(dled on the bottom, refused food, ancl eventually weakene(l and died. The bulk of the daily mortality was composedI of fish from this group. The apathetic group received constant recruitment from the more vigorous stock, and their number showed a gradual increase rather than clepletion. A more critical examination of the larger affected fish revealedl that thc kICidneys and spleens weIe disintegrating; mycelial masses w-ere sporadically observed in the body cavity; congestion wN-as present in the gastrointestinal tract; some hemorrhagic areas were present in the body musculature; an(l a few fish had a perforating ulceration of the body wall. Furi'unculosis was immediately suspected, and attempts were made to isolate from the diseaseti fish Bacteriim . salininicida Lehmann and Netumann, the etiological agent of furunculosis. B. salmornicida Awas not recovered, however, even after repeated attempts at isolation. Subsequently it was discovered that two other organisms, a streptomycete and a pseudomonad, were characteristically present in the diseased fish. Both organisms were found experimentally to be pathogenic to fish.
KERATINOCYTE-DERIVED CHEMOKINE PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE INDUCTION OF SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION AND TISSUE DAMAGE AFTER TRAUMA-HEMORRHAGE

Neutrophil infiltration is a crucial step in the development of organ dysfunction after trauma. We have previously shown that keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC), a chemoattractant for neutrophils, is up-regulated after trauma-hemorrhage. To determine the role of KC after trauma-hemorrhage, the effect of a KC-neutralizing antibody on the posttraumatic inflammatory response was examined. One hour before surgery, male C3H/HeN mice were treated with an anti-KC antibody or isotype control. Animals were subjected to sham operation or trauma-hemorrhage and resuscitated with Ringer lactate thereafter. They were killed 2 h later, and Kupffer cells were isolated. Plasma levels, Kupffer cell production, and lung and liver content of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, macrophage inflammatory protein 1α, and KC were determined by BD cytometric bead arrays. Myeloperoxidase content in lung and liver were measured as a parameter for neutrophil infiltration, and wet-to-dry weight ratios of these organs were also determined. Hepatocyte damage was assessed by measuring α-gluthathione S-transferase concentration. Administration of the anti-KC antibody before trauma-hemorrhage prevented increases in KC plasma levels, which was accompanied by amelioration of neutrophil infiltration and edema formation in lung and liver after trauma-hemorrhage. No effect on other cytokines in plasma or Kupffer cell release was observed. These results suggest that KC plays a pivotal role in neutrophil infiltration and organ damage after trauma-hemorrhage and resuscitation.
Proactive Traffic Engineering for IEEE 802.11 Mobile Wireless Networks

As a result of its success, Wi-Fi has been promoted as an access technology to provide full internet connectivity in the municipal area. Supporting application QoS by managing resource provisioning is an important challenge for wireless network operators. This paper proposes a traffic engineering model for managing a Voice over Wi-Fi service in a municipal area with stationary and mobile clients. Our proactive algorithm guarantees the connectivity of the mobile clients while maximiz- ing the number of stationary stations. Simulation results show substantial QoS improvements for mobile clients and a near optimal utilization of the capacity of the wireless access network next to the congested hotspots. Index Terms—IEEE 802.11, VoIP, Traffic Engineering.
Mathematical Model of the Pharmacokinetic Behavior of Orally Administered Erythromycin to Healthy Adult Male Volunteers

Erythromycin is an antibiotic useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections. This includes respiratory tract infections, skin infections, chlamydia infections, and syphilis. It may also be used during pregnancy to prevent Group B streptococcal infection in newborns [1]. It is an effective inhibitor of CYP3A4 that patently increases circulating levels of some other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors [20].
Transmission power management in ad hoc networks: issues and advantages

Power management is a very important aspect of ad-hoc networks. With power management capacity, throughput and battery lifetime could be increased, and latency could be reduced. But all of these advantages may be hindered depending on the power management employed and depending on the network configuration. In this paper, issues and advantages involved in the design of power control and management schemes are discussed. We also present a novel approach to power management by utilizing modern control theory to achieve the low-level power control. Simulation has shown that the new approach provides a more accurate and faster power control, than traditional power control.
Will my patient fall?

CONTEXT Effective multifactorial interventions reduce the frequent falling rate of older patients by 30% to 40%. However, clinical consensus suggests reserving these interventions for high-risk patients. Limiting fall prevention programs to high-risk patients implies that clinicians must recognize features that predict future falls. OBJECTIVE To identify the prognostic value of risk factors for future falls among older patients. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION Search of MEDLINE (1966-September 2004), CINAHL (1982-September 2004), and authors' own files to identify prospective cohort studies of risk factors for falls that performed a multivariate analysis of such factors. DATA EXTRACTION Two reviewers independently determined inclusion of articles and assessed study quality. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. Included studies were those identifying the prognostic value of risk factors for future falls among community-dwelling persons 65 years and older. Clinically identifiable risk factors were identified across 6 domains: orthostatic hypotension, visual impairment, impairment of gait or balance, medication use, limitations in basic or instrumental activities of daily living, and cognitive impairment. DATA SYNTHESIS Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria and provided a multivariate analysis including at least 1 of the risk factor domains. The estimated pretest probability of falling at least once in any given year for individuals 65 years and older was 27% (95% confidence interval, 19%-36%). Patients who have fallen in the past year are more likely to fall again [likelihood ratio range, 2.3-2.8]. The most consistent predictors of future falls are clinically detected abnormalities of gait or balance (likelihood ratio range, 1.7-2.4). Visual impairment, medication variables, decreased activities of daily living, and impaired cognition did not consistently predict falls across studies. Orthostatic hypotension did not predict falls after controlling for other factors. CONCLUSIONS Screening for risk of falling during the clinical examination begins with determining if the patient has fallen in the past year. For patients who have not previously fallen, screening consists of an assessment of gait and balance. Patients who have fallen or who have a gait or balance problem are at higher risk of future falls.
Evidence for common genetic control in pathways of inflammation for Crohn's disease and psoriatic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE Clinical, pharmacologic, and epidemiologic evidence supports the hypothesis that common genetic pathways may underlie inflammatory diseases. In a previous study, a Crohn's disease gene, CARD15, was demonstrated to be associated with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Recently, a functional haplotype of 2 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapping to the organic cation transporter (OCTN) genes, SLC22A4 and SLC22A5, was identified as a second Crohn's disease susceptibility locus. The SLC22A4 gene has also been associated with rheumatoid arthritis. This study was undertaken to further elucidate associations of PsA with Crohn's disease susceptibility genes. METHODS Association with CARD15 and OCTN was investigated in UK Caucasian patients with PsA (n = 472) and population controls (n = 594), using 5' allelic discrimination assays (TaqMan). Two SNPs in OCTN, forming a haplotype previously associated with Crohn's disease, were also tested in patients with psoriasis (n = 218) and patients with early undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis (n = 386). Allele and estimated haplotype frequencies were compared between patients and controls. RESULTS No association of PsA with CARD15 was detected. In contrast, a functional SNP mapping to the promoter region of SLC22A5 (rs2631367) was associated with PsA (for CC versus GG, odds ratio 1.65, 95% confidence interval 1.13-2.41, uncorrected P = 0.005). In addition, the haplotype associated with Crohn's disease was also associated with PsA (P = 0.001). No association was detected in the cohort with psoriasis alone or in the cohort with undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis. CONCLUSION The OCTN haplotype previously associated with Crohn's disease is also associated with PsA, suggesting that these 2 diseases may share some common genetic control in pathways of inflammation.
Response of the adult newt ventricle to injury.

A study was made of the response of adult newt ventricle to injury. The major events in the repair process after wounding involve blood clot formation, coagulation necrosis, macrophagic activity, regenerative activity of heart muscle, and connective tissue formation. Light microscopic autoradiography indicated that there was a definite area of labeled cells in trabeculae adjacent to the wound, beginning at about ten days after injury. Electron microscopic autoradiography confirmed that myocytes containing myofibrillae underwent DNA synthesis. It was concluded that adult newt myocardium is capable of reacting to injury by the proliferation of myocytes at the wound area as indicated by both DNA synthesis and mitosis.
WSRD-Net: A Convolutional Neural Network-Based Arbitrary-Oriented Wheat Stripe Rust Detection Method

Wheat stripe rusts are responsible for the major reduction in production and economic losses in the wheat industry. Thus, accurate detection of wheat stripe rust is critical to improving wheat quality and the agricultural economy. At present, the results of existing wheat stripe rust detection methods based on convolutional neural network (CNN) are not satisfactory due to the arbitrary orientation of wheat stripe rust, with a large aspect ratio. To address these problems, a WSRD-Net method based on CNN for detecting wheat stripe rust is developed in this study. The model is a refined single-stage rotation detector based on the RetinaNet, by adding the feature refinement module (FRM) into the rotation RetinaNet network to solve the problem of feature misalignment of wheat stripe rust with a large aspect ratio. Furthermore, we have built an oriented annotation dataset of in-field wheat stripe rust images, called the wheat stripe rust dataset 2021 (WSRD2021). The performance of WSRD-Net is compared to that of the state-of-the-art oriented object detection models, and results show that WSRD-Net can obtain 60.8% AP and 73.8% Recall on the wheat stripe rust dataset, higher than the other four oriented object detection models. Furthermore, through the comparison with horizontal object detection models, it is found that WSRD-Net outperforms horizontal object detection models on localization for corresponding disease areas.
In Vivo Evaluation of Autologous Cartilage Fragment-Loaded Scaffolds Implanted into Equine Articular Defects and Compared with Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation

Background Current autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) techniques require 2 surgical procedures: 1 for cell harvest and 1 for reimplantation of cultured cells. A 1-step procedure is more desirable. Purpose A 1-step surgical procedure using autologous cartilage fragments on a polydioxanone scaffold, or CAIS (cartilage autograft implantation system), in a clinically relevant defect (15-mm diameter) within equine femoral trochlea was compared with a 2-step ACI technique as well as with empty defects and defects with polydioxanone foam scaffolds alone. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Ten skeletally mature horses were used. Articular cartilage from the lateral trochlea of the femur was harvested arthro-scopically (n 5 5), and chondrocytes were cultured on small intestinal submucosa to produce ACI constructs. The CAIS procedure had cartilage harvested during defect creation to prepare minced cartilage on polydioxanone-reinforced foam. The ACI and CAIS constructs were placed in defects using polydioxanone/polyglycolic acid staples. Defects were examined arthroscopically at 4, 8, and 12 months and with gross, histological, and immunohistochemical examination at 12 months. Results Arthroscopic, histologic, and immunohistochemistry results show superiority of both implantation techniques (ACI and CAIS) compared with empty defects and defects with polydioxanone foam alone, with CAIS having the highest score. Conclusion This is the first demonstration of long-term healing with strenuous exercise using ACI and CAIS in a critically sized defect. Clinical Relevance Given these results with the CAIS procedure, testing in human patients is the next logical step (a phase 1 human clinical study has proceeded from this work).