Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MAJOR GENETIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CROWN‐OF‐THORNS STARFISH (ACANTHASTER PLANCI) POPULATIONS IN THE INDIAN AND PACIFIC OCEANS

Spatial variation in allelic frequencies at nine allozyme loci were assayed in 20 populations of the crown‐of‐thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci, collected throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans. These data were analyzed together with published data, for the same loci, from an additional 19 populations, giving a total sample size of approximately 1800 individuals. There was a marked discontinuity between the Indian and Pacific Ocean populations, but those off Western Australia and from the Southeast Asian region had a strong Pacific affinity. The genetic groups were congruent with the distributions of two color morph groups: gray‐green to red‐brown forms in the Pacific and a blue to pale red form in the Indian Ocean. These patterns of genetic structure are similar to those described for the starfish Linckia laevigata, which has similar life‐history characteristics. Vicariant events may have influenced some populations within the Pacific, but the allozyme data cannot resolve the effects of these events clearly. Patterns of variation within regions were consistent with isolation by distance, but, at larger scales, were obscured by regional vicariance and some outliers, particularly by apparently high levels of gene flow between Japan and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Apparent gene flow between population pairs was not closely related to present‐day ocean currents. The results demonstrate a strong influence of allopatric separation on genetic divergence at large geographic scales, but also show evidence of slow rates of change in gene frequencies consistent with the large population sizes of this species. Low levels of divergence between groups demonstrate the genetic structure is recent (Pleistocene) and are likely responses to changes in climate and sea level.
A New Protocol of Anesthesia Using Thiopental, Diazepam and Xylazine in White New Zealand Rabbits

The sedative and anesthetic effects of diazepam (D), xylazine (X), thiopental (T) individually and their combinations (DX, DT, XT & DXT) were evaluated in White New Zealand rabbits. The quality of surgical anesthesia obtained from experiment 1 was tested by performing two different surgeries (Vasectomy and embryo transfer; experiment 2). Thirty two growing females and eight adult rabbits (experiment 2) were used in this study. Rabbits were injected with physiological saline, D (2.5 mg/kg), X (10 mg/kg), T (20 mg/kg) or one of the combinations (DX, XT or DXT). Rectal temperature, respiration and heart rates were recorded before and 10 min after injection and the degree and duration of sedation and anesthesia were monitored. Physiological saline had no effect on rectal temperature, respiration and heart rates. Rectal temperatures were increased following thiopental administration (P<0.05). With all treatments, rabbits exhibited depressed respiration and decreased heart rates after injection, with the exception of T which initiated an increased heart rate (P<0.01). Rabbits injected with X, T, D, DT or DX exhibited different degrees of sedation. Surgical anesthesia was obtained only after injection of XT and DXT combinations. D injection significantly prolonged the duration of anesthesia when given with XT combination (P<0.01). The anesthetic selected as superior from this comparison, DXT was used to anesthetise eight rabbits to perform either vasectomy or embryo transfer. The duration and depth of anesthesia was sufficient for performing the surgeries with minimal complications and safe recovery.
MSS4TQM-a management support system for total quality management

The paper describes the research and development of a management support system (MSS) for total quality management (TQM). A prototype system called management support system for total quality management (MSS4TQM) is designed and developed to facilitate management or a quality team in conducting quality barrier assessment and critical factor analysis of TQM for an organization. MSS4TQM is implemented on personal computers under a Microsoft Windows/sup TM/ environment. To evaluate the performance of MSS4TQM, selected quality practitioners in manufacturing and service industries in Hong Kong, as well as quality experts from thirteen nations, are invited to participate in testing the system. The evaluation study of the prototype system in the context of a proposed MSS evaluation framework is described. The results of prototype evaluation are satisfactory and support the contention that MSS4TQM performs its functions as expected.
Understanding the extracellular forces that determine cell fate and maintenance

Stem cells interpret signals from their microenvironment while simultaneously modifying the niche through secreting factors and exerting mechanical forces. Many soluble stem cell cues have been determined over the past century, but in the past decade, our molecular understanding of mechanobiology has advanced to explain how passive and active forces induce similar signaling cascades that drive self-renewal, migration, differentiation or a combination of these outcomes. Improvements in stem cell culture methods, materials and biophysical tools that assess function have improved our understanding of these cascades. Here, we summarize these advances and offer perspective on ongoing challenges. Summary: This Review summarizes recent advances in stem cell culture methods, materials and biophysical tools, which reveal how various active and passive physical cues can influence cell behavior and regulate stem cell fate.
Extraction and exploitation of R&M knowledge from a fleet perspective

The availability of failure data, condition monitoring data and operational data for large sets of homogeneous products (in the following, referred to as a fleet) motivates the development of new analytical methods to extract and exploit reliability and maintainability knowledge on a fleet level. In other words, by clustering products into fleets based on categories of interest (e.g. subsets of assets belonging to the same customer or installed in the same region or operating for the same industrial application) the fleet-specific usage and degradation profiles can be extracted by statistically analyzing the operational, monitoring and failure data of the assets belonging to the selected fleets. In this paper we describe the process of extracting reliability knowledge (in terms of usage and degradation profiles) at the single product level and at the fleet level. The extracted knowledge is then exploited to determine the remaining useful life of a unit in the fleet. In this context, a simple but an effective data-driven prognostic algorithm is proposed. The algorithm makes use of the knowledge extracted at a fleet level to enhance its forecasting capabilities.
Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases in the 21st Century: Characterization, Epidemiology, and Detection of This Important Resistance Threat

SUMMARY β-Lactamases continue to be the leading cause of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics among gram-negative bacteria. In recent years there has been an increased incidence and prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), enzymes that hydrolyze and cause resistance to oxyimino-cephalosporins and aztreonam. The majority of ESBLs are derived from the widespread broad-spectrum β-lactamases TEM-1 and SHV-1. There are also new families of ESBLs, including the CTX-M and OXA-type enzymes as well as novel, unrelated β-lactamases. Several different methods for the detection of ESBLs in clinical isolates have been suggested. While each of the tests has merit, none of the tests is able to detect all of the ESBLs encountered. ESBLs have become widespread throughout the world and are now found in a significant percentage of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains in certain countries. They have also been found in other Enterobacteriaceae strains and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Strains expressing these β-lactamases will present a host of therapeutic challenges as we head into the 21st century.
Pleasurable emotional response to music: A case of neurodegenerative generalized auditory agnosia

Recent functional neuroimaging studies implicate the network of mesolimbic structures known to be active in reward processing as the neural substrate of pleasure associated with listening to music. Psychoacoustic and lesion studies suggest that there is a widely distributed cortical network involved in processing discreet musical variables. Here we present the case of a young man with auditory agnosia as the consequence of cortical neurodegeneration who continues to experience pleasure when exposed to music. In a series of musical tasks, the subject was unable to accurately identify any of the perceptual components of music beyond simple pitch discrimination, including musical variables known to impact the perception of affect. The subject subsequently misidentified the musical character of personally familiar tunes presented experimentally, but continued to report that the activity of ‘listening’ to specific musical genres was an emotionally rewarding experience. The implications of this case for the evolving understanding of music perception, music misperception, music memory, and music-associated emotion are discussed.
An improved control strategy for input-series and output-parallel inverter system at extreme conditions

An improved control strategy for input-series and output-parallel (ISOP) inverter system is proposed in this paper. Compared with the original control strategy, the proposed one has the optimal regulation speed when the input voltages of the constitute modules of the ISOP inverter system are not shared. In the meanwhile, the ISOP inverter system under no-load condition and short circuit current limiting condition are both analyzed with the proposed control strategy. All the theoretical analysis is validated by simulation. A 2 kVA prototype of two-module ISOP inverter is fabricated and tested in the lab and the experimental results verified the proposed control strategy.
Effect of Thalidomide on Endostatin Levels in Retinal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Aim: To evaluate the effects of thalidomide treatment on endostatin production in ischemia/reperfusion-injured guinea pigs retinas. Methods: Control, ischemia, thalidomide/ischemia groups including 7 animals in each were formed from pigmented male guinea pigs. Retinal ischemia was induced by cannulating anterior chambers and lifting the bottle to a height of 205 cm for 90 min in the ischemia and thalidomide/ischemia groups. The thalidomide/ischemia group received thalidomide (300 mg/kg/day) via nasogastric tube 24 h before ischemia and during 7 days of reperfusion. Guinea pigs were scarified for biochemical analysis of retinal endostatin level by ELISA. Results: The mean retinal endostatin levels of the control, ischemia and thalidomide/ischemia groups were 11.79 ± 7.36, 14.70 ± 4.88, 30.94 ± 15.59 ng/ml, respectively. The mean retinal endostatin level of the thalidomide/ischemia group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p = 0.011). The mean retinal endostatin level of the thalidomide/ischemia group was higher than that of the ischemia group, but there was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.073). No statistically significant difference in the mean retinal endostatin level was found between the control and ischemia groups (p = 0.165). Conclusion: Thalidomide treatment increased retinal endostatin level in ischemia/reperfusion-injured guinea pig retinas.
Ontologische Evaluierung des Semantischen Objektmodells

Das Semantische Objektmodell (SOM) ist ein von Ferstl und Sinz vor uber 10 Jahren vorgestellter umfassender Ansatz, der explizit auf die Modellierung betrieblicher Informationssysteme ausgerichtet ist und in vielfaltigen Arbeiten weiterentwickelt wurde. In diesem Beitrag wird das SOM mit Hilfe der von Wand und Weber eingefuhrten Methode der ontologischen Evaluierung von Modellierungssprachen untersucht. Dieses Verfahren wurde bereits zur Evaluierung zahlreicher anderer Modellierungssprachen angewendet. Die Untersuchung zeigt zwar einerseits eine hohe ontologische Abdeckung des SOM, aber andererseits auch verschiedene ontologische Defizite. 1 Ausgangssituation und Problemstellung Informationsmodelle (kurz: Modelle) sind innerhalb der Wirtschaftsinformatik ein zentrales Instrument zur Gestaltung betrieblicher Informationssysteme und haben bereits seit Jahrzehnten Tradition [Be95; Be02; Fr99; Gr74; Sc02a; My98; WW02]. Zur Reprasentation von Modellen werden in der Literatur zahlreiche Modellierungssprachen vorgeschlagen (bspw. Entity-Relationship-Model (ERM), Petri-Netze, ereignisgesteuerte Prozessketten (EPK)). Wenn davon ausgegangen wird, dass die Qualitat der Modellierungssprache einen Einfluss auf die Qualitat der mit ihr reprasentierten Sachverhalte ausubt, wodurch wiederum die allgemeine Effektivitat und Effizienz der Einsatzes von Modellen bei der Systemgestaltung determiniert werden, stellt sich im Hinblick auf die Vielfalt vorhandener Modellierungssprachen die Frage, wie die Qualitat einer Modellierungssprache zu bestimmen ist. Zunachst ist festzustellen, dass die Qualitat einer Modellierungssprache prinzipiell durch unterschiedliche Aspekte bestimmt werden kann. Nach Frank [Fr98, S. 13-17] konnen je nach Aufgabe im Anwendungsgebiet und Rolle im Modellierungsprozess unterschiedliche Qualitatsauffassungen vertreten werden: Exemplarisch mag aus einer Endanwenderrolle die Naturlichkeit der Modellierung dominieren, wohingegen aus Sicht der Systementwicklung die Prazision, Exaktheit und Konsistenz der Modellierungssprache von besonderer Bedeutung sind. Daher pladiert Frank fur eine multiperspektivische Evaluierung von Modellierungssprachen. Da vielfaltige Moglichkeiten bestehen, die Qualitat von Modellierungssprachen zu ermitteln (vgl. bspw. auch [SR98]), erscheint den Autoren eine multiperspektivische Evaluierung von Modellierungssprachen sinnvoll.
Idiopathic congenital central hypoventilation syndrome: Analysis of genes pertinent to early autonomic nervous system embryologic development and identification of mutations in PHOX2b

Idiopathic congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) has been linked to autonomic nervous system dysregulation and/or dysfunction (ANSD) since it was first described in 1970. A genetic basis of CCHS has been proposed because of the reports of four families with two affected children, because of mother–child transmission, and because of a recent report of a polyalanine expansion mutation in PHOX2b in a subset of CCHS subjects. We, therefore, studied genes pertinent to early embryologic development of the ANS including mammalian achaete‐scute homolog‐1 (MASH1), bone morphogenic protein‐2 (BMP2), engrailed‐1 (EN1), TLX3, endothelin converting enzyme‐1 (ECE1), endothelin‐1 (EDN1), PHOX2a, and PHOX2b in 67 probands with CCHS, and gender‐ and ethnicity‐matched controls. No disease‐defining mutations were identified in MASH1, BMP2, EN1, TLX3, ECE1, EDN1, or PHOX2a.The 65/67 CCHS probands (97%) were found to be heterozygous for the exon 3 polyalanine expansion mutation identified previously in PHOX2b. Further, there was an association between repeat mutation length and severity of the CCHS/ANSD phenotype. Of the two probands who did not carry the expansion mutation, one had a nonsense mutation in exon 3 which truncated the protein and the other had no mutation in PHOX2b but had a previously reported EDN3 frameshift point mutation. The polyalanine expansion mutation was not found in any of 67 matched controls. Of 54 available families (including 97 unaffected parents), whose child carried the PHOX2b mutation, 4 parents demonstrated mosaicism for an expansion mutation identical to that seen in the CCHS cases, suggesting that not all mutations in affected probands with unaffected parents are de novo. We also studied four women with CCHS who were heterozygous for the PHOX2b mutation, each with one child. Three of the four children were also affected and had the same mutation, demonstrating autosomal dominant inheritance of the mutation. Assay of the PHOX2b polyalanine repeat mutation represents a highly sensitive and specific technique for confirming the diagnosis of CCHS. Identification of the CCHS mutation will lead to clarification of the phenotype, allow for prenatal diagnosis for parents of CCHS probands and adults with CCHS in future pregnancies, and potentially direct intervention strategies for the treatment of CCHS. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
SELECTION IN A POPULATION OF HOUSE MICE CONTAINING MUTANT INDIVIDUALS.

A population of house mice, Mus musculus , containing a pink-eyed, pale-yellow pelage mutation was discovered on a farm in Missouri. A live-trapping study was conducted in a granary and its environs at regular intervals for 1½ years. Laboratory crosses revealed that the mutation was the result of a simple recessive gene (p) which produced pink eye color and pale-yellow pelage in the homozygous condition. In December 1962, 30.3% of a demonstrated population of 58 mice were pale yellow mutants. Subsequent to this time, domestic cats were allowed free access to the granary from which they had been previously excluded. The predators selected very effectively against the light mutants, and by April 1963 all mutants had been eliminated from the population. The protective coloration of the normal agouti mice prevented their total disappearance. Yellow mice were not again seen in the population until after cats had been removed from the granary. The gene ( p ) remained in the population and was occasionally expressed in the homozygous condition. In the presence of predatory selection pressure, homozygous mutant mice were rapidly eliminated.
Dietary Protein Content Alters Energy Expenditure and Composition of the Mass Gain in Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)

Many fruits contain high levels of available energy but very low levels of protein and other nutrients. The discrepancy between available energy and protein creates a physiological paradox for many animals consuming high‐fruit diets, as they will be protein deficient if they eat to meet their minimum energy requirement. We fed young grizzly bears both high‐energy pelleted and fruit diets containing from 1.6% to 15.4% protein to examine the role of diet‐induced thermogenesis and fat synthesis in dealing with high‐energy–low‐protein diets. Digestible energy intake at mass maintenance increased 2.1 times, and composition of the gain changed from primarily lean mass to entirely fat when the protein content of the diet decreased from 15.4% to 1.6%. Daily fat gain was up to three times higher in bears fed low‐protein diets ad lib. , compared with bears consuming the higher‐protein diet and gaining mass at the same rate. Thus, bears eating fruit can either consume other foods to increase dietary protein content and reduce energy expenditure, intake, and potentially foraging time or overeat high‐fruit diets and use diet‐induced thermogenesis and fat synthesis to deal with their skewed energy‐to‐protein ratio. These are not discrete options but a continuum that creates numerous solutions for balancing energy expenditure, intake, foraging time, fat accumulation, and ultimately fitness, depending on food availability, foraging efficiency, bear size, and body condition.
Steady-state kinetics of the catalase reaction in the presence of cyanide.

Under carefully controlled experimental conditions, the Michaelis constant for H2O2 was measured to be 1.39 and 1.29 M in the reactions of beef erythrocyte and liver catalases, respectively. These values remained unchanged at temperatures between 1 and 26 degrees C. The turnover number of the Michaelis complex was about 2.25 X 10(7) s-1 for either enzyme at 26 degrees C. The cyanide inhibition in the catalase reaction has been reported to be noncompetitive in spite of the fact that cyanide and H2O2 compete for the same site on the catalase molecule. At high concentrations of H2O2, however, the inhibition became clearly competitive. The existence of the Michaelis complex and the anomalous features of cyanide inhibition were clearly accounted for on the basis of simple kinetic models. At H2O2 concentrations below 100 mM, the catalase reaction obeyed first order kinetics with respect to H2O2 and its apparent second order rate constant was measured to be 7.6 X 10(6) and 7.9 X 10(6) M-1 . S-1 for erythrocyte and liver catalases, respectively.
Inhibition of testicular growth in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed to estrogenic alkylphenolic chemicals

It is becoming evident that an increasing number of widely used industrial and agricultural chemicals are estrogenic. The biodegradation products of a major group of nonionic surfactants, the alkylphenol polyethoxylates, are one such group. Some of these chemicals are widespread aquatic pollutants, and bioconcentrate in aquatic biota. Exposure of male rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to four different alkylphenolic chemicals caused synthesis of vitellogenin, a process normally dependent on endogenous estrogens, and a concomitant inhibition of testicular growth. The magnitude of these estrogenic effects was dependent on the estrogenic potency of the chemical, the stage of reproductive development of the fish, and the concentration of the chemical in the water. These results support the contention that exposure of wildlife to environmentally persistent estrogenic chemicals can result in deleterious reproductive consequences.
Structure and properties of the exopolysaccharide produced by Streptococcus macedonicus Sc136.

Streptococcus macedonicus is a Gram positive lactic acid bacterium that is part of the starter flora present in Greek sheep and goat cheeses. The S. macedonicus Sc136 strain produces a high-molecular-mass, highly texturizing exopolysaccharide composed of D-glucose, D-galactose, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine in the molar ratio of 3:2:1. The structure of the exopolysaccharide produced by S. macedonicus Sc136 was determined by chemical analysis, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The repeating unit was shown to be: (see text) The polysaccharide sidechain beta-D-Galf-(1-->6)-beta-D-Glcp-(1-->6)-beta-D-GlcpNAc is a key factor in the highly texturizing properties of the S.macedonicus Sc136 exopolysaccharide. Finally, the trisaccharide sequence beta-D-GlcpNAc-(1-->3)-beta-D-Galp-(1-->4)-beta-D-Glcp corresponds to the internal backbone of the lacto-N-tetraose and lacto-N-neotetraose units, which serve as a structural basis for the large majority of human milk oligosaccharides, an additional property offering an important potential for the development of improved infant nutrition products.
KETENE FORMATION IN INTERSTELLAR ICES: A LABORATORY STUDY

The formation of ketene (H2CCO, ethenone) in polar and apolar ices was studied with in situ 0.8 MeV proton irradiation, far-UV photolysis, and infrared spectroscopic analyses at 10–20 K. Using isotopically enriched reagents, unequivocal evidence was obtained for ketene synthesis in H2O-rich and CO2-rich ices, and several reaction products were identified. Results from scavenging experiments suggested that ketene was formed by free-radical pathways, as opposed to acid–base processes or redox reactions. Finally, we use our results to draw conclusions about the formation and stability of ketene in the interstellar medium.