Muscle atrophy is a frequent complication of CKD, and exercise can attenuate the process. This study investigated the role of microRNA-23a (miR-23a) and miR-27a in the regulation of muscle mass in ...mice with CKD. These miRs are located in a gene cluster that is regulated by the transcription factor NFAT. CKD mice expressed less miR-23a in muscle than controls, and resistance exercise (muscle overload) increased the levels of miR-23a and miR-27a in CKD mice. Injection of an adeno-associated virus encoding the miR-23a/27a/24-2 precursor RNA into the tibialis anterior muscles of normal and CKD mice led to increases in mature miR-23a and miR-27a but not miR-24-2 in the muscles of both cohorts. Overexpression of miR-23a/miR-27a in CKD mice attenuated muscle loss, improved grip strength, increased the phosphorylation of Akt and FoxO1, and decreased the activation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and FoxO1 and the expression of TRIM63/MuRF1 and FBXO32/atrogin-1 proteins. Provision of miR-23a/miR-27a also reduced myostatin expression and downstream SMAD-2/3 signaling, decreased activation of caspase-3 and -7, and increased the expression of markers of muscle regeneration. Lastly,
miR target analysis and luciferase reporter assays in primary satellite cells identified PTEN and caspase-7 as targets of miR-23a and FoxO1 as a target of miR-27a in muscle. These findings provide new insights about the roles of the miR-23a/27a-24-2 cluster in CKD-induced muscle atrophy in mice and suggest a mechanism by which exercise helps to maintain muscle mass.
Hybrid perovskite semiconductors represent a promising platform for color-tunable light emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers; however, the behavior of these materials under the intense electrical ...excitation required for electrically-pumped lasing remains unexplored. Here, we investigate methylammonium lead iodide-based perovskite LEDs under short pulsed drive at current densities up to 620 A cm
. At low current density (J < 10 A cm
), we find that the external quantum efficiency (EQE) depends strongly on the time-averaged history of the pulse train and show that this curiosity is associated with slow ion movement that changes the internal field distribution and trap density in the device. The impact of ions is less pronounced in the high current density regime (J > 10 A cm
), where EQE roll-off is dominated by a combination of Joule heating and charge imbalance yet shows no evidence of Auger loss, suggesting that operation at kA cm
current densities relevant for a laser diode should be within reach.
Ecology Letters (2011) 14: 462–469
Although coral reefs are renowned biodiversity hotspots it is not known whether they also promote the evolution of exceptional ecomorphological diversity. We ...investigated this question by analysing a large functional morphological dataset of trophic characters within Labridae, a highly diverse group of fishes. Using an analysis that accounts for species relationships, the time available for diversification and model uncertainty we show that coral reef species have evolved functional morphological diversity twice as fast as non‐reef species. In addition, coral reef species occupy 68.6% more trophic morphospace than non‐reef species. Our results suggest that coral reef habitats promote the evolution of both trophic novelty and morphological diversity within fishes. Thus, the preservation of coral reefs is necessary, not only to safeguard current biological diversity but also to conserve the underlying mechanisms that can produce functional diversity in future.
Phthalates are used in a wide range of consumer goods, resulting in exposures to specific phthalates that vary over time in accordance with changes in product use and how phthalates are utilized. We ...investigated trends in estimates of daily intake dose and several cumulative risk metrics, including the Hazard Quotient (HQ), Hazard Index (HI), and Maximum Cumulative Ratio (MCR) for six phthalates from 2005 to 2014 using metabolite biomonitoring data collected from spot urine samples under the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Over this period, there was a 2.2-fold decrease in the mean HI (0.34 to 0.15) and a 7.2-fold decrease in the percentage of participants with an HI > 1 (5.7% to 0.8%), indicating an overall decrease in combined exposure to these phthalates. Children (aged 6–11 years) had higher mean HI values than either adolescents (aged 12–19 years) or adults (aged 20+ years) during this period. MCR values were generally low and inversely correlated with HI. This indicated that a single phthalate usually drove the hazards for highly exposed individuals. However, the average value of MCR increased 1.2-fold (1.7–2.1) over this period indicating an increasing need to consider exposures to multiple phthalates in this group.
In this study, the authors extracted the linguistic tones of managers and analysts during
earnings conference calls and examined the differences between them. The authors found
that manager tones ...convey much more optimism (less pessimism) than their analyst
counterparts and that investors (particularly institutional investors) react more strongly
to analyst tones than to manager tones.
Following the August 2000 adoption of Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) by the US
Securities and Exchange Commission, interest in the conference call disclosure medium
within the investment community, among corporate executives, and by academics has
increased substantially. Quarterly earnings conference calls are now open to the public,
and recent research has shown that market participants react to the incremental
information contained therein. However, prior work has not disentangled the most prominent
and interesting aspect of these interactive corporate events-the open dialogue
between managers and analysts. The ability to distinguish and examine "who said
what" during conference calls has important implications for understanding the
mechanisms by which information is mapped into stock prices. Most studies to date have
treated these important interactions between managers and analysts as a black-box process:
we know who goes in (managers and analysts), and we know what comes out (abnormal stock
returns), but we do not know who is responsible for which aspect of what comes out.
In this study, we conducted just such an in-depth examination of conference call
transcripts by identifying and comparing the linguistic tones of managers and analysts. We
used call transcripts to construct a sample that includes conference calls over the
16-quarter period from 2004 through 2007. For each call, we parsed the transcript into its
basic components and, using a specialized textual analysis program, extracted the
linguistic content (i.e., "tone") of managers and analysts separately.
Our results provide several contributions to our understanding of the informational roles
played by managers and analysts. First, we measured and compared the linguistic tones of
managers and analysts during conference calls and showed that managers present more
optimistic tones, on average, than analysts present. This finding suggests that investors
should pay close attention to managerial incentives when weighing the content and meaning
of managerial disclosures. Second, we documented that analyst tones are subject to less
discounting by market participants than manager tones are. This finding highlights the
important role of information intermediaries, such as financial analysts, in discerning
the information content of public disclosures. Third, we showed that institutional
investors appear to be more capable of analyzing and interpreting linguistic tones than
individual investors are. This finding adds to our knowledge of the sources of
institutional investors' information advantages.
It is well known that predators can induce morphological changes in some fish: individuals exposed to predation cues increase body depth and the length of spines. We hypothesize that these structures ...may evolve synergistically, as together, these traits will further enlarge the body dimensions of the fish that gape-limited predators must overcome. We therefore expect that the orientation of the spines will predict which body dimension increases in the presence of predators. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we tested this prediction on the macroevolutionary scale across 347 teleost families, which display considerable variation in fin spines, body depth and width. Consistent with our predictions, we demonstrate that fin spines on the vertical plane (dorsal and anal fins) are associated with a deeper-bodied optimum. Lineages with spines on the horizontal plane (pectoral fins) are associated with a wider-bodied optimum. Optimal body dimensions across lineages without spines paralleling the body dimension match the allometric expectation. Additionally, lineages with longer spines have deeper and wider body dimensions. This evolutionary relationship between fin spines and body dimensions across teleosts reveals functional synergy between these two traits and a potential macroevolutionary signature of predation on the evolutionary dynamics of body shape.
Colonization of novel habitats can result in marked phenotypic responses to the new environment that include changes in body shape and opportunities for further morphological diversification. Fishes ...have repeatedly transitioned along the benthic–pelagic axis, with varying degrees of association with the substrate. Previous work focusing on individual lineages shows that these transitions are accompanied by highly predictable changes in body form. Here, we generalize expectations drawn from this literature to study the effects of habitat on body shape diversification across 3344 marine teleost fishes. We compare rates and patterns of evolution in eight linear measurements of body shape among fishes that live in pelagic, demersal and benthic habitats. While average body shape differs between habitats, these differences are subtle compared with the high diversity of shapes found within each habitat. Benthic living increases the rate of body shape evolution and has led to numerous lineages evolving extreme body shapes, including both exceptionally wide bodies and highly elongate, eel-like forms. By contrast, we find that benthic living is associated with the slowest diversification of structures associated with feeding. Though we find that habitat can serve as an impetus for predictable trait changes, we also highlight the diversity of responses in marine teleosts to opportunities presented by major habitats.
The Heads of Medicines Agencies and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe undertook a survey to gain a better insight into the decision‐making process of veterinarians in Europe when deciding ...which antibiotics to prescribe. The survey was completed by 3004 practitioners from 25 European countries. Analysis was to the level of different types of practitioner (food producing (FP) animals, companion animals, equines) and country for Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Responses indicate no single information source is universally considered critical, though training, published literature and experience were the most important. Factors recorded which most strongly influenced prescribing behaviour were sensitivity tests, own experience, the risk for antibiotic resistance developing and ease of administration. Most practitioners usually take into account responsible use warnings. Antibiotic sensitivity testing is usually performed where a treatment failure has occurred. Significant differences were observed in the frequency of sensitivity testing at the level of types of practitioners and country. The responses indicate a need to improve sensitivity tests and services, with the availability of rapid and cheaper testing being key factors.
We report high-quality, H or CO rotation curves (RCs) to several Re for 41 large, massive, star-forming disk galaxies (SFGs) across the peak of cosmic galaxy evolution (z ∼ 0.67-2.45), taken with the ...ESO-VLT, the LBT and IRAM-NOEMA. Most RC41 SFGs have reflection-symmetric RCs plausibly described by equilibrium dynamics. We fit the major axis position-velocity cuts using beam-convolved forward modeling generated in three dimensions, with models that include a bulge and turbulent disk component embedded in a dark matter (DM) halo. We include priors for stellar and molecular gas masses, optical light effective radii and inclinations, and DM masses from abundance-matching scaling relations. Two-thirds or more of the z ≥ 1.2 SFGs are baryon dominated within a few Re of typically 5.5 kpc and have DM fractions less than maximal disks (median 〈 f DM ( R e ) 〉 = 0.12 ). At lower redshift (z < 1.2), that fraction is less than one-third. DM fractions correlate inversely with the baryonic angular momentum parameter, baryonic surface density, and bulge mass. Inferred low DM fractions cannot apply to the entire disk and halo but more plausibly reflect a flattened, or cored, inner DM density distribution. The typical central "DM deficit" in these cores relative to Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) distributions is ∼30% of the bulge mass. The observations are consistent with rapid radial transport of baryons in the first-generation massive gas-rich halos forming globally gravitationally unstable disks and leading to efficient build-up of massive bulges and central black holes. A combination of heating due to dynamical friction and AGN feedback may drive DM out of the initial cusps.
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