The evolution of complete metamorphosis in insects is a key innovation that has led to the successful diversification of holometabolous insects, yet the origin of the pupa remains an enigma. Here, we analyzed the expression of the pupal specifier gene broad (br), and the effect on br of isoform-specific, double-stranded RNA-mediated silencing, in a basal holometabolous insect, the beetle Tribol...

We develop an exact simple random variate generator for the theta distribution, which occurs as the limit distribution of the height of nearly all models of uniform random trees. Even though the density is only known as an infinite sum of functions, our algorithm does not require any summation. The properties of the theta distribution with distribution function F(x)= ~ (1-2j2x2)e-J2x2 j~-(x3 oo...

This paper characterizes the functional dependence of the giant dipole resonance neutron yield produced by electrons in terms of the atomic number (Z) and thickness (T) of the target. The yields were calculated by integrating, over the photon energy, the product of the differential photon track length and published photoneutron cross sections. The EGS4 Monte Carlo code and analytical formulas w...

We present a comparative study aiming at comprehending the effect of ultraviolet/ozone treatment on the modification of poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) and poly(vinylmethyl siloxane) (PVMS) silicone elastomers networks (SENs). Both PDMS and PVMS SENs undergo dramatic changes in their properties when exposed to UVO. The surface chemical composition of both PDMS and PVMS at long UVO treatment time...

The interaction of ZXd2, an insoluble intermediate of the alternative pathway on zymosan (Z5), with factor B and the enzyme D proceeds in a two-step reaction: 1) B binds in the presence of Mg++ to ZXd2 to form the intermediate ZXd2B, 2) B bound to ZXd2 is subsequently activated enzymatically by D to yield the complex ZXd2B which cleaves C3. Evidence was obtained that C3b, which is present on ZX...

Background/Aims The post-reflux swallow-induced peristaltic wave (PSPW) index and esophageal baseline impedance (BI) are novel impedance parameters used to evaluate esophageal chemical clearance and mucosal integrity. However, their relationship with reflux symptoms is not known. We aim to evaluate the correlations of PSPW index and esophageal BI with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symp...