Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imputation of genetic composition for missing pedigree data in Serrasalmidae using morphometric data

This study aimed to impute the genetic makeup of individual fishes of Serrasalmidae family on the basis of body weight and morphometric measurements. Eighty-three juveniles, belonging to the genetic groups Pacu, Pirapitinga, Tambaqui, Tambacu, Tambatinga, Patinga, Paqui and Piraqui, were separated into 16 water tanks in a recirculation system, with two tanks per genetic group, where they remained until they reached 495 days of age. They were then weighed and analyzed according to the following morphometric parameters: Standard Length (SL), Head Length (HL), Body Height (BH), and Body Width (BW). The identity of each fish was confirmed with two SNPs and two mitochondrial markers. Two analyses were performed: one for the validating the imputation and another for imputing a genetic composition of animals considered to be advanced hybrids (post F1). In both analyses, we used linear mixed models with a mixture of normal distributions to impute the genetic makeup of the fish based on phenotype. We applied the mixed models method, whereby the environmental effects were estimated by the Empirical Best Linear Unbiased Estimator (EBLUE) and genetic effects are considered random, obtaining the Empirical Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (EBLUP) from the general (GCA) and the specific (SCA) combining ability effects. The results showed that validation of the genetic makeup imputation based on body weight can be used because of the strong correlation between the observed and imputed genotype. The fish classified as advanced hybrids had a genetic composition with a high probability of belonging to known genotypes and there was consistency in genotype imputation according to the different characteristics used.
Incorporating ecosystem services in decisions

The world now faces unprecedented and interconnected challenges – reducing poverty, addressing climate change, and halting widespread environmental degradation. Scientifi c information on the links between humans and nature can help solve these problems ( Lubchenco 1998 ; Bingham et al . 1995 ; Pielke 2007; MA 2005a ). However, to seize this opportunity, scientifi c knowledge must be translated into action (NRC 2004; Daily et al . 2009 ; Cash et al . 2003 ). Advances in scientifi c modeling such as those described in this book are necessary but not suffi cient. Here we provide an explicit examination of the channels through which the science of mapping and valuing ecosystem services can improve decisions. Opportunities to use information on ecosystem services occur in all sectors of the economy and at all levels of decision-making: a mayor aims to increase fl ood protection for a city’s citizens; a business requires a reliable supply of water for its manufacturing process; an international development agency attempts to reduce poverty by increasing small farm production. Although not always termed “ecosystem services,” in each example, consideration of the benefi ts we gain from the environment is essential for making wise decisions. Information on ecosystem services can tell us how and which services are relevant to our goals, whether important services are at risk, where services are provided, who is affected, and the trade-offs of different choices; all key pieces of information for the design and implementation of a broad set of policy mechanisms. 19.1. 1 Role of ecosystem service information in decisions
Guanylate cyclase activity in permeabilized Dictyostelium discoideum cells

Dictyostelium discoideum cells respond to chemoattractants by transient activation of guanylate cyclase. Cyclic GMP is a second messenger that transduces the chemotactic signal. We used an electropermeabilized cell system to investigate the regulation of guanylate cyclase. Enzyme activity in permeabilized cells was dependent on the presence of a nonhydrolysable GTP analogue (e.g., GTPγS), which could not be replaced by GTP, GDP, or GMP. After the initiation of the guanylate cyclase reaction in permeabilized cells only a short burst of activity is observed, because the enzyme is inactivated with a t1.2 of about 15 s. We show that inactivation is not due to lack of substrate, resealing of the pores in the cell membrane, product inhibition by cGMP, or intrinsic instability of the enzyme. Physiological concentrations of Ca2+ ions inhibited the enzyme (half‐maximal effect at 0.3 μM), whereas InsP3 had no effect. Once inactivated, the enzyme could only be reactivated after homogenization of the permeabilized cells and removal of the soluble cell fraction. This suggests that a soluble factor is involved in an autonomous process that inactivates guanylate cyclase and is triggered only after the enzyme is activated. The initial rate of guanylate cyclase activity in permeabilized cells is similar to that in intact, chemotactically activated cells. Moreover, the rate of inactivation of the enzyme in permeabilized cells and that due to adaptation in vivo are about equal. This suggests that the activation and inactivation of guanylate cyclase observed in this permeabilized cell system is related to that of chemotactic activation and adaptation in intact cells. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Resistance of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 to the High-Mannose Binding Agents Cyanovirin N and Concanavalin A

ABSTRACT Due to the biological significance of the carbohydrate component of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) glycoproteins in viral pathogenesis, the glycosylation step constitutes an attractive target for anti-HIV therapy. Cyanovirin N (CV-N), which specifically targets the high-mannose (HM) glycans on gp120, has been identified as a potent HIV-1 entry inhibitor. Concanavalin A (ConA) represents another mannose-binding lectin, although it has a lower specificity for HM glycans than that of CV-N. For the present study, we selected CV-N- and ConA-resistant HIV-1 strains in the presence of CV-N and ConA, respectively. Both resistant strains exhibited a variety of mutations eliminating N-linked glycans within gp120. Strains resistant to CV-N or ConA displayed high levels of cross-resistance towards one another. The N-glycan at position 302 was eliminated in both of the lectin-resistant strains. However, the elimination of this glycan alone by site-directed mutagenesis was not sufficient to render HIV-1 resistant to CV-N or ConA, suggesting that HIV-1 needs to mutate several N-glycans to become resistant to these lectins. Both strains also demonstrated clear cross-resistance towards the carbohydrate-dependent monoclonal antibody 2G12. In contrast, the selected strains did not show a reduced susceptibility towards the nonlectin entry inhibitors AMD3100 and enfuvirtide or towards reverse transcriptase or protease inhibitors. Recombination of the mutated gp160 genes of the strains resistant to CV-N or ConA into a wild-type background fully reproduced the (cross-)resistance profiles of the originally selected strains, pointing to the impact of the N-glycan mutations on the phenotypic resistance profiles of both selected strains.
A composite guidance law based on the nonlinear disturbance observer-based control for Mars pinpoint landing

The landing accuracy of a Mars lander is severely affected by a wide range of disturbances at the powered descent stage. To address this problem, a composite guidance law is proposed in this paper. The composite guidance law is developed by the combination of disturbance observer-based control (DOBC) technique and multiple sliding surfaces guidance (MSSG) theory. Compared with other guidance laws, the proposed method achieves promising disturbance rejection performance and high landing accuracy in both position and velocity, reducing the conservatism to a certain extent. The proposed guidance law does not require any off-line trajectory generation and its global stability is verified by using Lyapunov direct method. Simulation results show that the proposed guidance law is superior to the conventional guidance laws in terms of both disturbance rejection and landing accuracy.
Preserving atomicity and isolation for multi-row transactions in column-oriented heterogeneous distributed databases

Traditional databases have limitation of scalability with respect to data as well as number of clients. Column-oriented databases have overcome this feature by minimising the cost. Column-oriented databases only ensure single row atomic transaction and does not support snapshot isolation. This paper presents about strong snapshot isolation SI and atomicity for multi-row distributed transactions in HBase. This HBase snapshot isolation uses a novel approach and handles distributed transactions at the end of individual clients. This is also designed to be scalable across large distributed databases in terms of data distribution. Some experiments have been performed extensively to preserve atomicity for distributed transactions in various environments. Experimental results show that the proposed methodology can serve better to preserve atomicity and snapshot isolation in column-oriented HDDBs for multi-row transactions.
MicroRNA expression profile in splenic marginal zone lymphoma

S. , Ribeiro, R.C. , Pui, C.H. , Razzouk, B.I. & Rubnitz, J.E. (2008) Prophylactic antibiotics reduce morbidity due to septicemia during intensive treatment for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Cancer, 113, 376–382. Locatelli, F. , Testi, A.M., Bernardo, M.E. , Rizzari, C. , Bertaina, A. , Merli, P., Pession, A. , Giraldi, E. , Parasole, R. , Barberi, W. & Zecca, M. (2009) Clofarabine, cyclophosphamide and etoposide as single-course re-induction therapy for children with refractory/multiple relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. British Journal of Haematology, 147, 371–378. O’Connor, D. , Sibson, K. , Caswell, M. , Connor, P., Cummins, M. , Mitchell, C. , Motwani, J., Taj, M. , Vora, A. , Wynn, R. & Kearns, P.R. (2011) Early UK experience in the use of clofarabine in the treatment of relapsed and refractory paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. British Journal of Haematology, 154, 482–485. Yamauchi, T. , Nowak, B.J., Keating, M.J. & Plunkett, W. (2001) DNA repair initiated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia lymphocytes by 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide is inhibited by fludarabine and clofarabine. Clinical Cancer Research, 7, 3580–3589.
Controllable shape synthesis for digital fabrication. (Synthèse de formes contrôlable pour la fabrication digitale)

L’objet principal de cette these est de proposer des methodes pour la synthese de formes qui soient controlables et permettent d’imprimer les resultats obtenus. Les imprimantes 3D etant desormais plus faciles d’acces que jamais, les logiciels de modelisation doivent maintenant prendre en compte les contraintes de fabrication imposees par les technologies de fabrication additives. En consequence, des algorithmes efficaces doivent etre developpes afin de modeliser les formes complexes qui peuvent etre creees par impression 3D. Nous developpons des algorithmes pour la synthese de formes par l’exemple qui prennent en compte le comportement mecanique des structures devant etre fabriquees. Toutes les contributions de cette these s’interessent au probleme de generation de formes complexes sous contraintes geometriques et objectifs structurels. Dans un premier temps, nous nous interessons a la gestion des contraintes de fabrication, et proposons une methode pour synthetiser des structures de support efficaces qui sont bien adaptees aux imprimantes a filament. Dans un deuxieme temps, nous prenons en compte le controle de l’apparence, et developpons de nouvelles methodes pour la synthese par l’exemple qui melangent astucieusement des criteres sur visuels, et des contraintes sur le comportement mecanique des objets. Pour finir, nous presentons une methode passant bien a l’echelle, afin de controler les proprietes elastiques des structures imprimees. Nous nous inspirons des methodes de synthese de texture procedurales, et proposons un algorithme efficace pour synthetiser des microstructures imprimables et controler leurs proprietes elastiques
Can low pulse pressure have an adverse effect in octogenarians?

A fter the publication of the landmark randomized Veteran Administration study on severe hypertension, the hypertension community focused mainly on DBP [1]. Later on, SBP regained its position as the most important determinant of risk associated with hypertension [2]. This transition took a few decades, although already in the 1970s, some authors had suggested DBP need not be measured [3]. Indeed, there are well known problems with measuring DBP, and there was quite a controversy whether the fourth or the fifth Korotkoff’s sound should define DBP [4,5]. There is also some evidence that measurement of elevated DBP may frequently be artefactual [6]. As a matter of fact, a slower heart rate was found to be related to a lower DBP already at the beginning of the twentieth century [4]. During the past decade, pulse pressure (PP) – that is the arithmetic differencebetween SBPandDBP – was suggested as amajor determinant of outcome [7]. In part, this reflects the increasing aortic and general vascular rigidity with age at a time when the aged are becoming the majority of the hypertensive population. With aging, there is a parallel process of rising SBP and decreasing DBP, that is increase in PP, and because the slope of SBP rise is usually steeper than the DBP decrease, PP frequently follows SBP. In elderly hypertensive patients, PP has become a readily available surrogate of aortic rigidity, but limitations in its assessment were scarcely considered. The effect of bradycardia was already mentioned [6], and bradycardia may also be associated with higher blood pressure (BP) variability, especially in the face of a constant rate of deflating the measurement cuff [8,9]. The ‘white-coat’ response may not affect SBP and DBP to the same extent, thus leading to a ‘white-coat’ PP [10]. While low SBP (hence low PP [7]) is generally associated with a better outcome [11] (though with some limitations in
Exploring the Relation between the Use of HRIS and their Implementation in Spanish Firms

An information system (IS) is “a set of people, procedures, and resources that collects, transforms, and disseminates information in an organization. A system that accepts data resources as input and processes them into information products as output” (O’Brien & Marakas, 2005). Likewise, the definition of human resource information Systems (henceforth HRIS) can be expressed as an IS that deals only with information related directly to the human resource management (HRM) area (Tannenbaum, 1990). Initially, computerized HRIS were only useful for administrative purposes. However, in the course of the last decade, that tendency has changed markedly and a strategic re-orientation of these applications is nowadays considered desirJosé Antonio Fernández-Sánchez University of Alicante, Spain
20 Conformational Properties of Unfolded Proteins

The protein folding reaction, U(nfolded)TN(ative), is a reversible disorderT order transition. Proteins are disordered (U) at high temperature, high pressure, extremes of pH, or in the presence of denaturing solvents; but they fold to uniquely ordered, biologically relevant conformers (N) under physiological conditions. This folding transition is highly cooperative such that individual molecules within the population are predominantly fully folded or fully unfolded; partially folded chains are transitory and rare. Notably, no covalent bonds are made or broken during folding/unfolding; in effect, the transition is simply a re-equilibration in response to changes in temperature, pressure, pH, or solvent conditions. Currently, there are more than 20 000 examples of native proteins in the protein databank. In contrast, the unfolded population, by its very nature, resists ready structural characterization. In this sense, the folding reaction might be more appropriately denoted as aTN. This chapter traces thinking about the unfolded state from Pauling’s and Wu’s early suggestions in the 1930s, through the work of Tanford and Flory in the 1960s to the present moment. Early work gave rise to the random coil model for the unfolded state, as described below. Confirmatory findings established this model as the conceptual anchor point for thinking about unfolded proteins – until recently, perhaps. In the past few years, results from both theory and experiment indicate the existence of conformational bias in the unfolded state, a condition that is not addressed by the random coil model. If unfolded conformers are biased toward their native conformation sufficiently, then the random coil model is likely to be superseded by newer, more specific models. Though controversial, such a conceptual shift appears to be underway, as we attempt to describe.
The Pharmacist ’ s Role in Personalized Medicine : A Review of Pharmacogenetics

Learning Objectives At the end of this activity, participants should be able to:  explain basic pharmacogenomic and pharmacogenetic concepts.  explain how genetic variation in proteins, including drug transporters and drug metabolizing enzymes, affect drug metabolism and drug response.  discuss the availability of evidence-based guidelines and utilize them for the selection of drug therapy.  review the cost, cost-effectiveness and reimbursement by insurers relevant to pharmacogenomics tests and test interpretation for patients.  recall the process of acquiring genetic material, completing the necessary paperwork and interpreting the pharmacogenetic testing results.
Low Weight and Nutritional Deficiency

To the Editor:-Throughout the medical literature we see phrases such as, "Our evaluation will include an assessment of the following life-style factors: smoking, exercise, nutrition, alcohol ingestion, etc." Although this is an accepted expression, it refers to specific subsets of life-style which should be termed "health-style. " "Life-style" has been defined as "the set of habitual behaviors adopted by personal choice. " This implies a wide range of variables within the areas of sex, age, education, income, and social behavior. The life-style of a female is vastly different, as a rule, from that of a male. The set of habitual behaviors of the over-75year-old is a distinct contrast to that of the teenager. The college graduate usually enjoys a different pattern of activity from the high-school dropout. There is a dramatic contrast in the activity of the wealthy as compared to the povertystricken. The sophisticated connoisseur has a unique life-style when compared to the disinterested and uneducated. Yes, their life-styles could be strikingly different, but their healthstyles could be replicas one of the other. Each of the above distinctly contrasting representatives could be non-smokers, walk 2 miles daily, ingest identical nutrients, and abstain from alcohol ingestion. Their healthstyles would be uniformly alike but their life-styles divergent. When we are discussing a set of habitual behaviors which affect our health and are adopted by personal choice, let's refer to "health-style. " Let us reserve "life-style" for a broader pattern of living which might, or might not, influence the subset of health-style. An improved health-style may be fostered by but does not require either wealth, higher education, social position, youth, or a specific sex. It does require knowledge and adjustment of factors that affect our well being.
The effect of maintained ammonium chloride acidosis on the relation between pulmonary ventilation and alveolar oxygen and carbon dioxide in man.

Five men ingested about 12 g. NH4Cl daily for about a week. Acidaemia was assessed by measuring plasma (HCO3) and alveolar pCO2. Before, during and after the period of ingestion the subjects were given various gas mixtures to breathe, and pulmonary ventilation (V) and the alveolar gas pressures (pCO2, pO2) were measured in the steady state. The effect of acidaemia on the parameters of the equation was examined. Only B, which is related to the “CO2-threshold”, was consistently changed, being reduced in acidaemia.
Trade and Growth in the Age of Global Value Chains

We revisit the relationship between trade and growth taking into account the recent expansion of global value chains (GVCs). We develop a new instrument for trade based on gravity estimations. Our instrument exploits a recent transportation shock: the sharp increase in the maximum size of container ships, which has more than tripled between 1995 and 2007. This shock has an asymmetric impact on different bilateral trade flows, based on the ex-ante presence of deep-water ports across countries, since these are the only ports that can accommodate the new larger ships. Our empirical set-up allows us to obtain instrumental variables not only for gross trade flows, but also for the different value added components of exports, for which we run separate gravity estimations based on WIOD data. We find that trade has a positive effect on GDP per capita, both in levels and in growth terms. Evidence at the country and industry level suggests that the effect works through both productivity improvements and capital deepening. We show that the effect of exports on income is crucially moderated by differences in their value added composition. In particular, we find evidence of stronger export effects on growth for countries that upgrade their positioning or improve their participation to GVCs more than others over time.
Timing of the first cleavage division of the mouse and the duration of its component stages: a study of living and fixed eggs.

Fertilized mouse eggs were examined between 27 and 34 h after the superovulating injection of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG). Out of 1334 eggs examined, 432 were already at the 2-cell stage; the remaining 902 at the 1-cell stage were examined in detail. All chromosome preparations of the first cleavage mitosis were classified into groups corresponding with the stages of prometaphase (early and late), metaphase (early or ‘prechromatid’, ‘chromatid’ and ‘late chromatid’) and anaphase. An indirect estimate was made of the duration of the first cleavage mitosis and of its component stages from the incidence of stages observed at different time intervals after the HCG injection. Fertilized eggs were also observed at 37°C by time-lapse cine-photography and the interval between the disappearance of the pronuclei and the beginning of telophase of the first cleavage division was determined. The progress of eggs fertilized in vitro was also observed under normal culture conditions. A close correlation was observed between the indirect method of assessing the mitotic time and the direct values obtained from the studies on time-lapse and in vitro culture. The effect of temperature on the mitotic time was also examined by the time-lapse method.