The structure and function of vertebrate fibroblast growth factor receptor 1

The vertebrate fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) is alternatively spliced generating multiple splice variants that are differentially expressed during embryo development and in the adult body. The restricted expression patterns of FGFR1 isoforms, together with differential expression and binding of specific ligands, leads to activation of common FGFR1 signal transduction pathways, but may result in distinctively different biological responses as a result of differences in cellular context. FGFR1 isoforms are also present in the nucleus in complex with various fibroblast growth factors where they function to regulate transcription of target genes.Casper Groth and Michael Lardell

The influence of heavy goods vehicle traffic on accidents on different types of Spanish interurban roads

This paper illustrates a methodology developed to analyze the influence of traffic conditions, i.e. volume and composition on accidents on different types of interurban roads in Spain, by applying negative binomial models. The annual average daily traffic was identified as the most important variable, followed by the percentage of heavy goods vehicles, and different covariate patterns were found for each road type. The analysis of hypothetical scenarios of the reduction of heavy goods vehicles in two of the most representative freight transportation corridors, combined with hypotheses of total daily traffic mean intensity variation, produced by the existence or absence of induced traffic gives rise to several scenarios. In all cases a reduction in the total number of accidents would occur as a result of the drop in the number of heavy goods transport vehicles, However the higher traffic intensity, resulting of the induction of other vehicular traffic, reduces the effects on the number of accidents on single carriageway road segments compared with high capacity roads, due to the increase in exposure. This type of analysis provides objective elements for evaluating policies that encourage modal shifts and road safety enhancements

The Zebrafish equivalent of Alzheimer's disease-associated PRESENILIN Isoform PS2V regulates inflammatory and other responses to hypoxic stress

Dominant mutations in the PRESENILIN genes PSEN1 and PSEN2 cause familial Alzheimer's disease (fAD) that usually shows onset before 65 years of age. In contrast, genetic variation at the PSEN1 and PSEN2 loci does not appear to contribute to risk for the sporadic, late onset form of the disease (sAD), leading to doubts that these genes play a role in the majority of AD cases. However, a truncated isoform of PSEN2, PS2V, is upregulated in sAD brains and is induced by hypoxia and high cholesterol intake. PS2V can increase γ-secretase activity and suppress the unfolded protein response (UPR), but detailed analysis of its function has been hindered by lack of a suitable, genetically manipulable animal model since mice and rats lack this PRESENILIN isoform. We recently showed that zebrafish possess an isoform, PS1IV, that is cognate to human PS2V. Using an antisense morpholino oligonucleotide, we can block specifically the induction of PS1IV that normally occurs under hypoxia. Here, we exploit this ability to identify gene regulatory networks that are modulated by PS1IV. When PS1IV is absent under hypoxia-like conditions, we observe changes in expression of genes controlling inflammation (particularly sAD-associated IL1B and CCR5), vascular development, the UPR, protein synthesis, calcium homeostasis, catecholamine biosynthesis, TOR signaling, and cell proliferation. Our results imply an important role for PS2V in sAD as a component of a pathological mechanism that includes hypoxia/oxidative stress and support investigation of the role of PS2V in other diseases, including schizophrenia, when these are implicated in the pathology.Esmaeil Ebrahimie, Seyyed Hani Moussavi Nik, Morgan Newman, Mark Van Der Hoek and Michael Lardell

Zebrafish aplnra functions in epiboly

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Modeling offenses among motorcyclists involved in crashes in Spain

In relative terms, Spanish motorcyclists are more likely to be involved in crashes than other drivers and this tendency is constantly increasing. The objective of this study is to identify the factors that are related to being an offender in motorcycle accidents. A binary logit model is used to differentiate between offender and non-offender motorcyclists. A motorcyclist was considered to be offender when she had committed at least one traffic offense at the moment previous to the crash. The analysis is based on the official accident database of the Spanish general directorate of traffic (DGT) for the 2003-2008 time period. A number of explanatory variables including motorcyclist characteristics and environmental factors have been evaluated. The results suggest that inexperienced, older females, not using helmets, absent-minded and non-fatigued riders are more likely to be offenders. Moreover, riding during the night, on weekends, for leisure purposes and along roads in perfect condition, mainly on curves, predict offenses among motorcyclists. The findings of this study are expected to be useful in developing traffic policy decisions in order to improve motorcyclist safety

Building Bridges: A Dataset for Evaluating Gender-Fair Machine Translation into German

The translation of gender-neutral person-referring terms (e.g., the students) is often non-trivial. Translating from English into German poses an interesting case -- in German, person-referring nouns are usually gender-specific, and if the gender of the referent(s) is unknown or diverse, the generic masculine (die Studenten (m.)) is commonly used. This solution, however, reduces the visibility of other genders, such as women and non-binary people. To counteract gender discrimination, a societal movement towards using gender-fair language exists (e.g., by adopting neosystems). However, gender-fair German is currently barely supported in machine translation (MT), requiring post-editing or manual translations. We address this research gap by studying gender-fair language in English-to-German MT. Concretely, we enrich a community-created gender-fair language dictionary and sample multi-sentence test instances from encyclopedic text and parliamentary speeches. Using these novel resources, we conduct the first benchmark study involving two commercial systems and six neural MT models for translating words in isolation and natural contexts across two domains. Our findings show that most systems produce mainly masculine forms and rarely gender-neutral variants, highlighting the need for future research. We release code and data at https://github.com/g8a9/building-bridges-gender-fair-german-mt.Comment: Accepted to Findings of ACL 2024. Code and data at https://github.com/g8a9/building-bridges-gender-fair-german-m

The identity and distribution of neural cells expressing the mesodermal determinant spadetail

BACKGROUND: The spadetail (spt) gene of zebrafish is expressed in presomitic mesoderm and in neural cells previously suggested to be Rohon-Beard neurons. The mechanism(s) generating the apparently irregular rostrocaudal distribution of spt-expressing cells in the developing CNS is unknown. RESULTS: spt-expressing neural cells co-express huC, a marker of neurons. These cells also co-express the genes islet-1, -2 and -3 but not valentino. The islet-1 gene expression, irregular distribution and dorsolateral position of spt-expressing cells in the developing CNS are characteristic of dorsal longitudinal ascending (DoLA) interneurons. Shortly after their birth, these neurons extend processes rostrally into which spt mRNA is transported. At 24 hours post fertilisation(hpf), spt-expressing neurons occur most frequently at rostral levels caudal of the 5(th)-formed somite pair. There is no apparent bias in the number of spt-expressing cells on the left or right sides of embryos. Extended staining for spt-transcription reveals expression in the dorsocaudal cells of somites at the same dorsoventral level as the spt-expressing neurons. There is frequent juxtaposition of spt-expression in newly formed somites and in neurons. This suggests that both types of spt-expressing cell respond to a common positional cue or that neurons expressing spt are patterned irregularly by flanking somitic mesoderm. CONCLUSIONS: spt-expressing cells in the developing CNS appear to be DoLA interneurons. The irregular distribution of these cells along the rostrocaudal axis of the spinal cord may be due to "inefficient" patterning of neural spt expression by a signal(s) from flanking, regularly distributed somites also expressing spt

Propuesta metodológica para la instalación de museos submarinos cerca de la costa

En el presente proyecto fin de carrera se ha procedido a analizar el proceso de instalación de arrecifes artificiales cerca de la costa y a valorar los efectos que pueda causar en ella. Concretamente, se ha orientado hacia el estudio de aquellos que fomentan la práctica de actividades tales como el submarinismo, centrando la atención en los museos submarinos. Se ha desarrollado una metodología para su instalación en la cual se han tenido en cuenta las existentes, ampliadas en aquellos aspectos que se han considerado puntos débiles. Posteriormente dicha metodología se ha aplicado a un caso real que ha servido para evaluar las afecciones que este tipo de instalaciones puede causar sobre la morfodinámica de la costa. Se ha verificado que su impacto es mínimo, y que igualmente su diseño en planta tiene poca influencia.Proyecto Fin de Carrera de la Univ. de Granada, Grupo de Dinámica de Flujos Ambientales (TEP209

Knowledge Translation in Action: An Evaluation of the Implementation of Customised Birthweight Centiles at One New Zealand District Health Board

Identifying small for gestational age (SGA) and large for gestational age (LGA) babies is important, because these babies may be at increased risk of hypoglycaemia at birth. It is proposed that customised birthweight centiles (CBWC) can more accurately identify these babies by taking into account several physiological variables of the pregnancy affecting birthweight. These variables are: maternal height and booking weight, ethnicity, parity, the baby's gender and gestation. CBWC for a New Zealand (NZ) population were developed by McCowan, Stewart, Francis and Gardosi (2004), and can be downloaded for free from www.gestation.net. Using CBWC is not in common practice in NZ, even though its use was discussed in a 2007 Health and Disability Commissioner report in relation to neonatal hypoglycaemia. The setting for the study was a NZ District Health Board (DHB) that calculates a CBWC for each birth. The research question asked how the evidence behind CBWC was put into practice and what outcomes resulted from translating this knowledge into action. This was a mixed methods evaluation which included interviews, focus groups, an audit and document analysis. The knowledge-to-action (KTA) framework (Straus, Tetroe, & Graham, 2009) was used as a theoretical template to describe the implementation process that occurred. The results revealed that maternity care providers were initially challenged by the evidence. But over time, guideline compliance improved as practitioners experienced the benefit of using CBWC in practice. All agreed that the CBWC calculator was user-friendly. However, the audit demonstrated it was easy to make a mistake or manipulate results when using the calculator. CBWC can help identify babies at risk of hypoglycaemia who otherwise would have been missed. But it is unknown what difference it had made in improving neonatal morbidity and mortality, due to insufficient data. But anecdotally, stakeholders felt it had made a difference. The findings demonstrated that knowledge translation is a complex process which is difficult to capture within a one-dimensional framework. However, using such a framework can identify what stages are needed to complete an implementation process