Evidence for hexasomic inheritance in Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. based on analysis of EST-SSR markers

Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) are ornamental flowers, which are famous worldwide. The mode of inheritance has great implications for the genetic analysis of polyploid species. However, genetic analysis of chrysanthemum has been hampered because of its controversial inheritance mode (disomic or hexasomic). To classify the inheritance mode of chrysanthemums, an analysis of three approaches was carried out in an F1 progeny of 192 offspring using 223 expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers. The analysis included segregation analysis, the ratio of simplex marker alleles linked in coupling to repulsion, as well as the transmission and segregation patterns of EST-SSR marker alleles. After segregation analysis, 204 marker alleles fit hexasomic inheritance and 150 marker alleles fit disomic inheritance, showing that marker alleles were inherited predominantly in a hexasomic manner. Furthermore, the results of the analysis of allele configuration and segregation behavior of five EST-SSR markers also suggested random pairing of chromosomes. Additionally, the ratio of simplex marker alleles linked in coupling to repulsion was 1:0, further supporting hexasomic inheritance. Therefore, it could be inferred that chrysanthemum is a complete or near-complete hexasome.

DNA End Joining: G0-ing to the Core

Humans have evolved a series of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathways to efficiently and accurately rejoin nascently formed pairs of double-stranded DNA ends (DSEs). In G0/G1-phase cells, non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and alternative end joining (A-EJ) operate to support covalent rejoining of DSEs. While NHEJ is predominantly utilized and collaborates extensively with the DNA damage response (DDR) to support pairing of DSEs, much less is known about A-EJ collaboration with DDR factors when NHEJ is absent. Non-cycling lymphocyte progenitor cells use NHEJ to complete V(D)J recombination of antigen receptor genes, initiated by the RAG1/2 endonuclease which holds its pair of targeted DSBs in a synapse until each specified pair of DSEs is handed off to the NHEJ DSB sensor complex, Ku. Similar to designer endonuclease DSBs, the absence of Ku allows for A-EJ to access RAG1/2 DSEs but with random pairing to complete their repair. Here, we describe recent insights into the major phases of DSB end joining, with an emphasis on synapsis and tethering mechanisms, and bring together new and old concepts of NHEJ vs. A-EJ and on RAG2-mediated repair pathway choice.

A Fuzzy Method for Joint Resource Allocation and Stable Pairing in D2D Communications with Applications in COVID-19 Patient Information Management

In this paper, a device-to-device (D2D) communication multiple-metric scenario for resource allocation and pairing is proposed. To improve the stability of the D2D connection, a fuzzy method based on the data-rate and battery levels of potential D2D pairs is studied so that the set of D2D transmitters is considered as a fuzzy set. A single-cell scenario with a cellular user and some co-channel D2D nodes consisting of D2D receivers and transmitters is considered. A stable fuzzy pairing criterion is proposed for the selection of the best D2D transmitter. The proposed method is compared to three other pairing methods: maximum sum-rate, constant, and random pairing methods. The simulation results show that the proposed pairing method outperforms the other three methods in terms of stability and fairness criteria and follows the maximum sum-rate method from the sum-rate criteria point of view.

Study on Association between Height, Weight, Iodine Supplementation and Thyroid Volume

The policy of Universal Salt Iodization (USI) could reduce population’s thyroid volume (TVOL) in iodine deficiency areas. Conversely, the improved growth and developmental status of children might increase the TVOL accordingly. Whether the decreased TVOL by USI conceals the increase effect of height and weight on TVOL is unclear. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between height, weight, iodine supplementation and TVOL. Five national Iodine Deficiency Disorder surveys were matched into four pairs according to the purpose of analysis. County-level data of both detected by paired surveys were incorporated, 1: 1 random pairing method was used to match counties or individuals. The difference of TVOL between different height, weight, different iodine supplementation measures groups and the association between TVOL and them were studied. The mean height and weight of children aged 8-10 years increased from 129.9cm and 26.9kg in 2002 to 136.2cm and 32.1kg in 2019; while the median TVOL decreased from 3.10ml to 2.61ml. Iodine supplementation measures can affect TVOL; after exclude iodine effects, the median TVOL was increased with the height and weight. On the other side, after excluding the influence of height and weight, the median TVOL remained decreased. Only age, weight and salt iodine were significant associated with TVOL in multiple linear models. Development of height and weight in children is the evidence of improved nutrition. The decreased TVOL caused by iodized salt measures conceals the increase effect of height and weight on TVOL. Age, weight, and salt iodine affect TVOL significantly.

Observational signs of wide binary stars dissolution in Gaia DR2 data

По данным Gaia DR2 в радиусе 100 пк от Солнца исследованы двойные звезды с общим собственным движением до расстояния между компонентами 3 пк. Для исключения возможных случайных совпадений смоделирована искусственная выборка случайных пар. Показано, что принятый способ отбора пар с общим собственным движением делает загрязнение выборки случайными совпадениями незначительным даже при больших расстояниях между компонентами; величина такого загрязнения оценена численно. Получено бимодальное распределение по логарифму расстояния между компонентами, демонстрирующее для очень широких пар минимум, связанный с распадом систем, на расстоянии ≈ 0.5 пк, и дальнейший рост, формируемый распавшимися, медленно расходящимися компонентами. Binary and common proper motion stars within 100 pc of the Sun are being investigated using Gaia DR2 data. An artificial random pairs sample is constructed to exclude possible random pairing contamination. Numerical estimation of this contamination shows that the chosen method to select the common proper motion stars yields little contamination even at high separations. In a logarithmic scale the separation distribution appear to have a minimum at ≈ 0.5 pc, most likely related to binary star dissolution, with further increase formed by dissolved, slowly distancing components.

Bayesian Coalition Game for Overlay D2D Spectrum Sharing in Cellular Networks

In this paper, we present a Bayesian coalition game model for spectrum sharing in order to increase the overall spectrum resource capacity in a cellular network with device-to-device (D2D) communication capabilities. The coalition game is used to enforce cooperation among D2Ds competing for the use of the limited spectrum resource. In this paper, D2D users can access the network in an overlaid mode and share their allocated sub-bands with other D2D users using the proposed game which enables coalition formation that guarantee an optimal rate for all users in the network. The paper establishes sufficient conditions needed for stability in the coalitions formed and present simulation results to show that it is possible to increase the overall capacity of the D2D-enabled cellular network without reducing the performance of the licensed cellular users using the proposed game. D2D spectrum sharing using our proposed algorithm was compared with spectrum sharing using the random pairing method to validate our game model. Results show that there was a 44% and 36% increase in cell sum-rate, when our proposed sub-band allocation game was deployed compared to the random pairing method, for the 50 and 100 cells respectively. The proposed sub-band allocation game also performed better with an increased number of users in the network because of the effective coordination offered by the algorithm.Keywords— Cellular, coalition game, D2D, overlay, spectrum.

Very wide companion fraction from Gaia DR2: A weak or no enhancement for hot Jupiter hosts, and a strong enhancement for contact binaries

ABSTRACT There is an ongoing debate on whether hot Jupiter hosts are more likely to be found in wide binaries with separations of ≳100 AU. In this paper, we search for comoving, very wide companions with separations of 103–104 AU for hot Jupiter hosts and main-sequence contact binaries in Gaia DR2, and compare the very wide companion fractions with their object-by-object-matched field star samples. We find that 11.9 ± 2.5 per cent of hot Jupiter hosts and 14.1 ± 1.0 per cent of contact binaries have companions at separations of 103–104 AU. While the very wide companion fraction of hot Jupiter hosts is a factor of 1.9 ± 0.5 larger than their matched field star sample, it is consistent, within ∼1σ, with that of matched field stars if the matching is only with field stars without close companions (within ∼50 AU) as is the case for hot Jupiter hosts. The very wide companion fraction of contact binaries is a factor of 3.1 ± 0.5 larger than their matched field star sample, suggesting that the formation and evolution of contact binaries are either tied to or correlated with the presence of wide companions. In contrast, the weak enhancement of very wide companion fraction for hot Jupiter hosts implies that the formation of hot Jupiters is not as sensitive to those environment properties. Our results also hint that the occurrence rates of dual hot Jupiter hosts and dual contact binaries may be higher than the expected values from random pairing of field stars, which may be due to their underlying metallicity and age dependence.

Consequences of population structure for sex allocation and sexual conflict

Both sex allocation and sexual conflict can be modulated by spatial structure. However, how the interplay between the type of dispersal and the scale of competition simultaneously affects these traits in sub-divided populations is rarely considered.We investigated sex allocation and sexual conflict evolution in meta-populations of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae evolving under budding (pairing females from the same patch) or random (pairing females from different patches) dispersal and either local (fixed sampling from each subpopulation) versus global (sampling as a function of subpopulation productivity) competition.Females evolving under budding dispersal produced less female-biased offspring sex ratios than those from the random dispersal selection regimes, contradicting theoretical predictions. In turn, the scale of competition did not have a strong effect on sex allocation. Males evolved under budding dispersal induced less female harm than those exposed to random dispersal, but there was no reduction in female fitness following exposure to multiple mates from either selection regime.This work highlights that population structure can impact the evolution of sex allocation and sexual conflict. We also discuss how selection on either trait may reciprocally affect the evolution of the other, for example via effects on fecundity.