Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drosophila CAP-D2 is required for condensin complex stability and resolution of sister chromatids

The precise mechanism of chromosome condensation and decondensation remains a mystery, despite progress over the last 20 years aimed at identifying components essential to the mitotic compaction of the genome. In this study, we analyse the localization and role of the CAP-D2 non-SMC condensin subunit and its effect on the stability of the condensin complex. We demonstrate that a condensin complex exists in Drosophila embryos, containing CAP-D2, the anticipated SMC2 and SMC4 proteins, the CAP-H/Barren and CAP-G (non-SMC) subunits. We show that CAP-D2 is a nuclear protein throughout interphase, increasing in level during S phase, present on chromosome axes in mitosis, and still present on chromosomes as they start to decondense late in mitosis. We analysed the consequences of CAP-D2 loss after dsRNA-mediated interference, and discovered that the protein is essential for chromosome arm and centromere resolution. The loss of CAP-D2 after RNAi has additional downstream consequences on the stability of CAP-H, the localization of DNA topoisomerase II and other condensin subunits, and chromosome segregation. Finally, we discovered that even after interfering with two components important for chromosome architecture (DNA topoisomerase II and condensin), chromosomes were still able to compact, paving the way for the identification of further components or activities required for this essential process.
Cultivating Positive Youth Development, Critical Consciousness, and Authentic Care in Urban Environmental Education

This paper addresses the issue of how to provide affordances for youth development in the context of environmental stewardship in cities. Urban environmental education encompasses place-based and action-oriented stewardship practices, including community gardening and vegetable production, often with the dual goals of developing youth and community assets. Yet in-depth understanding of how these goals are achieved is lacking. Using narrative inquiry, we explored participant experiences in a multi-year agriculture internship program conducted by the food justice organization East New York Farms! (ENYF) in Brooklyn, NY. Emerging from our conversations with youth were five themes defining their intern experience: ENYF as somewhere to belong, to be pushed, to grapple with complexity, to practice leadership, and to become yourself. We propose a theory of change that emphasizes politicized notions of caring as a foundation for cultivating developmental assets, including competence, contribution, and critical consciousness, among youth who participate in ENYF programs multiple years. This paper extends the literature on socio-environmental affordances to encompass urban environmental education programs, which incorporate physical and social features that act as affordances. Further, this paper describes a feedback loop in which youth afforded opportunities to develop assets through contributing to their community in turn create affordances for additional youth and adults.
Human–Computer Interaction for Smart Environment Applications Using Fuzzy Hand Posture and Gesture Models

Ever since the assemblage of the first computer, efforts have been made to improve the way people could use machines. Recently, the usage of smart environments has become popular in order to make everyday living more comfortable and to improve the quality of living of humans. In this paper, a hand posture and gesture modeling and recognition system is introduced, which can be used as an interface to make possible communication with smart environment (intelligent space) by simple hand gestures. The system transforms preprocessed data of the detected hand into a fuzzy hand-posture feature model by using fuzzy neural networks and based on this model determines the actual hand posture applying fuzzy inference. Finally, from the sequence of detected hand postures, the system can recognize the hand gesture of the user.
Leukosialin (CD43)-major histocompatibility class I molecule interactions involved in spontaneous T cell conjugate formation

Resting T cells spontaneously adhere in a selective manner to potent accessory cells, such as dendritic cells (DC) and lymphoblastoid B blasts (LCL). Here we demonstrate that leukosialin (CD43) and major histocompatibility complex class I molecules (MHC-I) might play a critical role in this process. T cell conjugate formation with monocyte- derived DC (md-DC) and LCL could be strongly inhibited by either preincubating T cells with Fab fragments of CD43 monoclonal antibody (mAb) 6F5 or by preincubating md-DC or LCL with MHC-I mAb W6/32. Intact CD43 mAb 6F5, in contrast to monovalent Fab fragments, enhanced T cell adhesiveness by transactivating CD2 binding to CD58 molecules. Interestingly, induction of this proadhesive signal via CD43 with intact 6F5 mAb was found to revert mAb W6/32-mediated inhibition of T cell conjugate formation. These observations indicated that CD43 cross- linkage mimics and monovalent mAb 6F5 inhibits interaction of T cell CD43 with a stimulatory ligand on opposing cells, presumably MHC-I. For the demonstration of direct physical interaction between CD43 on T cells and MHC-I-coated beads it was necessary, however, to ligate CD2 on T cells with a stimulatory pair of CD2 mAbs (VIT13 plus TS2/18). This suggests that CD2 ligation crosswise upregulates CD43 binding avidity for MHC-I and that both adhesion molecule pairs (CD43/MHC-I and CD2/CD58) act in concert to induce and mediate T cell conjugate formation with certain cell types.
Collaborative backup for dependable mobile applications

We describe the work we are conducting on new middleware services for dependable and secure mobile systems. This work is based on approaches à la peer-to-peer in order to circumvent the problems introduced by the lack of infrastructure in self-organizing networks of mobile nodes, such as MANETs. The mechanisms we propose are based on collaboration between peer mobile devices to provide middleware services such as trust management and critical data storage. This short paper gives a brief description of the problems we are trying to solve and some hints and ideas towards a solution.
Neutralization of lymphokine-mediated antirickettsial activity of fibroblasts and macrophages with monoclonal antibody specific for murine interferon gamma

Lymphokine-mediated inhibition of Rickettsia prowazekii multiplication in L929 fibroblasts was eliminated by treatment of the lymphokine with a monoclonal antibody specific for interferon-gamma. Soluble monoclonal antibody and antibody conjugated to Sepharose beads were equally effective. Macrophage activation to limit the multiplication of Rickettsia conorii was eliminated with antibody-conjugated beads; however, neutralization of the ability to activate macrophages with soluble antibody was not complete and required more antibody than did neutralization of antiviral activity.
A comparison of koniocellular, magnocellular and parvocellular receptive field properties in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the owl monkey (Aotus trivirgatus)

1 By analogy to previous work on lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) cells our goal was to construct a physiological profile of koniocellular (K) cells that might be linked to particular visual perceptual attributes. 2 Extracellular recordings were used to study LGN cells, or their axons, in silenced primary visual cortex (V1), in nine anaesthetized owl monkeys injected with a neuromuscular blocker. Receptive field centre‐surround organization was examined using flashing spots. Spatial and temporal tuning and contrast responses were examined using drifting sine‐wave gratings; counterphase sine‐wave gratings were used to examine linearity of spatial summation. 3 Receptive fields of 133 LGN cells and 10 LGN afferent axons were analysed at eccentricities ranging from 2.8 to 31.3 deg. Thirty‐four per cent of K cells and only 9 % of P and 6 % of M cells responded poorly to drifting gratings. K, P and M cells showed increases in centre size with eccentricity, but K cells showed more scatter. All cells, except one M cell, showed linearity in spatial summation. 4 At matched eccentricities, K cells exhibited lower spatial and intermediate temporal resolution compared with P and M cells. K contrast thresholds and gains were more similar to those of M than P cells. M cells showed lower spatial and higher temporal resolution and contrast gains than P cells. 5 K cells in different K LGN layers differed in spatial, temporal and contrast characteristics, with K3 cells having higher spatial resolution and lower temporal resolution than K1/K2 cells. 6 Taken together with previous results these findings suggest that the K cells consist of several classes, some of which could contribute to conventional aspects of spatial and temporal resolution.
Histone variant Htz1 promotes histone H3 acetylation to enhance nucleotide excision repair in Htz1 nucleosomes

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is critical for maintaining genome integrity. How chromatin dynamics are regulated to facilitate this process in chromatin is still under exploration. We show here that a histone H2A variant, Htz1 (H2A.Z), in nucleosomes has a positive function in promoting efficient NER in yeast. Htz1 inherently enhances the occupancy of the histone acetyltransferase Gcn5 on chromatin to promote histone H3 acetylation after UV irradiation. Consequently, this results in an increased binding of a NER protein, Rad14, to damaged DNA. Cells without Htz1 show increased UV sensitivity and defective removal of UV-induced DNA damage in the Htz1-bearing nucleosomes at the repressed MFA2 promoter, but not in the HMRa locus where Htz1 is normally absent. Thus, the effect of Htz1 on NER is specifically relevant to its presence in chromatin within a damaged region. The chromatin accessibility to micrococcal nuclease in the MFA2 promoter is unaffected by HTZ1 deletion. Acetylation on previously identified lysines of Htz1 plays little role in NER or cell survival after UV. In summary, we have identified a novel aspect of chromatin that regulates efficient NER, and we provide a model for how Htz1 influences NER in Htz1 nucleosomes.
The Serine/Arginine-Rich Protein Family in Rice Plays Important Roles in Constitutive and Alternative Splicing of Pre-mRNA[W]

Ser/Arg-rich (SR) proteins play important roles in the constitutive and alternative splicing of pre-mRNA. We isolated 20 rice (Oryza sativa) genes encoding SR proteins, of which six contain plant-specific characteristics. To determine whether SR proteins modulate splicing efficiency and alternative splicing of pre-mRNA in rice, we used transient assays in rice protoplasts by cotransformation of SR protein genes with the rice Waxyb (Wxb)-β-glucuronidase fusion gene. The results showed that plant-specific RSp29 and RSZp23, an SR protein homologous to human 9G8, enhanced splicing and altered the alternative 5′ splice sites of Wxb intron 1. The resulting splicing pattern was unique to each SR protein; RSp29 stimulated splicing at the distal site, and RSZp23 enhanced splicing at the proximal site. Results of domain-swapping experiments between plant-specific RSp29 and SCL26, which is a homolog of human SC35, showed the importance of RNA recognition motif 1 and the Arg/Ser-rich (RS) domain for the enhancement of splicing efficiencies. Overexpression of plant-specific RSZ36 and SRp33b, a homolog of human ASF/SF2, in transgenic rice changed the alternative splicing patterns of their own pre-mRNAs and those of other SR proteins. These results show that SR proteins play important roles in constitutive and alternative splicing of rice pre-mRNA.
Model to Support Patent Retrieval in the Context of Innovation-Processes by Means of Dialogue and Information Visualisation

Innovations are an essential factor of competition for manufacturing companies in technical industries. Patent information plays an important role within innovation-processes and for human innovators working on innovations. Innovation-processes support the combination of cross-organisational spread information and resources from patent databases and digital libraries is necessary in order to gain profit for innovation experts. The central challenge is to overcome the current information deficit and to fulfil the information need of the experts in the innovation-process. Classical information retrieval (IR) research has been dominated by the system-oriented view in the past. A user formulates a query and then evaluates the elements found through the query according to their relevance. But this rather static setting does not always correspond to the communication and interaction needs of humans. IR systems should explicitly support also the cognitive abilities of the users in order to realize a dynamic dialogue between the user and the system. An information dialogue which does not only support an individual query but also the complete search process is necessary. Only in this way is it possible to satisfy an information need and support the innovation-process. In this paper we present in detail three innovation scenarios to highlight the challenges of advanced information systems, query reusability and result visualisation. By defining the essential activities and conditions of a search task, it is possible to develop user interfaces which offer assistance in the form of a connection of dialogues. From this we derive the elementary information sets and activities in the next step. An example illustrates the applicability and utility of the innovation scenarios described and shows how the activities satisfy the user’s information dialogue context. As part of the example we apply a cognitive walkthrough on a patent database. Aiming for an implementation of Daffodil-System we will benefit from these results.
A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Trial of Fluoroscopic Caudal Epidural Injections in the Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation and Radiculitis

Study Design. A randomized, controlled, double-blind trial. Objective. To assess the effectiveness of fluoroscopically directed caudal epidural injections in managing chronic low back and lower extremity pain in patients with disc herniation and radiculitis with local anesthetic with or without steroids. Summary of Background Data. The available literature on the effectiveness of epidural injections in managing chronic low back pain secondary to disc herniation is highly variable. Methods. One hundred twenty patients suffering with low back and lower extremity pain with disc herniation and radiculitis were randomized to one of the two groups: group I received caudal epidural injections with an injection of local anesthetic, lidocaine 0.5%, 10 mL; group II patients received caudal epidural injections with 0.5% lidocaine, 9 mL, mixed with 1 mL of steroid. The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), the Oswestry Disability Index 2.0 (ODI), employment status, and opioid intake were utilized with assessment at 3, 6, and 12 months posttreatment. Results. The percentage of patients with significant pain relief of 50% or greater and/or improvement in functional status with 50% or more reduction in ODI scores was seen in 70% and 67% in group I and 77% and 75% in group II with average procedures per year of 3.8 ± 1.4 in group I and 3.6 + 1.1 in group II. However, the relief with first and second procedures was significantly higher in the steroid group. The number of injections performed was also higher in local anesthetic group even though overall relief was without any significant difference among the groups. There was no difference among the patients receiving steroids. Conclusion. Caudal epidural injection with local anesthetic with or without steroids might be effective in patients with disc herniation or radiculitis. The present evidence illustrates potential superiority of steroids compared with local anesthetic at 1-year follow-up.
Joint uncertainty decoding for noise robust speech recognition

Background noise can have a significant impact on the performance of speech recognition systems. A range of fast featurespace and model-based schemes have been investigated to increase robustness. Model-based approaches typically achieve lower error rates, but at an increased computational load compared to feature-based approaches. This makes their use in many situations impractical. The uncertainty decoding framework can be considered an elegant compromise between the two. Here, the uncertainty of features is propagated to the recogniser in a mathematically consistent fashion. The complexity of the model used to determine the uncertainty may be decoupled from the recognition model itself, allowing flexibility in the computational load. This paper describes a new approach within this framework, Joint uncertainty decoding. This approach is compared with the uncertainty decoding version ofSPLICE, standardSPLICE, and a new form of front-end CMLLR. These are evaluated on a medium vocabulary speech recognition task with artificially added noise.
Down-regulated miR-331–5p and miR-27a are associated with chemotherapy resistance and relapse in leukaemia

Multidrug resistance (MDR) and disease relapse are challenging clinical problems in the treatment of leukaemia. Relapsed disease is frequently refractory to chemotherapy and exhibits multiple drug resistance. Therefore, it is important to identify the mechanism by which cancer cells develop resistance. In this study, we used microRNA (miRNA) microarray and qRT‐PCR approaches to investigate the expression of miRNAs in three leukaemia cell lines with different degrees of resistance to doxorubicin (DOX) compared with their parent cell line, K562. The expression of miR‐331–5p and miR‐27a was inversely correlated with the expression of a drug‐resistant factor, P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp), in leukaemia cell lines with gradually increasing resistance. The development of drug resistance is regulated by the expression of the P‐gp. Transfection of the K562 and, a human promyelocytic cell line (HL) HL60 DOX‐resistant cells with miR‐331–5p and miR‐27a, separately or in combination, resulted in the increased sensitivity of cells to DOX, suggesting that correction of altered expression of miRNAs may be used for therapeutic strategies to overcome leukaemia cell resistance. Importantly, miR‐331–5p and miR‐27a were also expressed at lower levels in a panel of relapse patients compared with primary patients at diagnosis, further illustrating that leukaemia relapse might be a consequence of deregulation of miR‐331–5p and miR‐27a.
BICEP2 and Keck array operational overview and status of observations

The Bicep2 and Keck Array experiments are designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) on angular scales of 2-4 degrees (ℓ = 50–100). This is the region in which the B-mode signal, a signature prediction of cosmic inflation, is expected to peak. Bicep2 was deployed to the South Pole at the end of 2009 and is in the middle of its third year of observing with 500 polarization-sensitive detectors at 150 GHz. The Keck Array was deployed to the South Pole at the end of 2010, initially with three receivers—each similar to Bicep2. An additional two receivers have been added during the 2011-12 summer. We give an overview of the two experiments, report on substantial gains in the sensitivity of the two experiments after post-deployment optimization, and show preliminary maps of CMB polarization from Bicep2.
Analyzing software requirements errors in safety-critical, embedded systems

The root causes of safety-related software errors in safety-critical embedded systems are analyzed. The results show that software errors identified as potentially hazardous to the system tend to be produced by different error mechanisms than those that produce nonsafety-related software errors. Safety-related software errors are shown to arise most commonly from: discrepancies between the documented requirements specifications and the requirements needed for correct functioning of the system; and misunderstandings of the interface of the software with the rest of the system. These results are used to identify methods by which requirements errors can be prevented. The goal is to reduce safety-related software errors and to enhance the safety of complex, embedded systems. <<ETX>>
Fueling Global Fishing Fleets

Abstract Over the course of the 20th century, fossil fuels became the dominant energy input to most of the world's fisheries. Although various analyses have quantified fuel inputs to individual fisheries, to date, no attempt has been made to quantify the global scale and to map the distribution of fuel consumed by fisheries. By integrating data representing more than 250 fisheries from around the world with spatially resolved catch statistics for 2000, we calculate that globally, fisheries burned almost 50 billion L of fuel in the process of landing just over 80 million t of marine fish and invertebrates for an average rate of 620 L t−1. Consequently, fisheries account for about 1.2% of global oil consumption, an amount equivalent to that burned by the Netherlands, the 18th-ranked oil consuming country globally, and directly emit more than 130 million t of CO2 into the atmosphere. From an efficiency perspective, the energy content of the fuel burned by global fisheries is 12.5 times greater than the edible-protein energy content of the resulting catch.
Incidence, Natural History and Risk Factors of Deep Vein Thrombosis in Elective Knee Arthroscopy

Summary Aims: to determine the incidence, anatomical distribution and extent of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in limbs undergoing elective unilateral knee arthroscopy without active prophylaxis, to evaluate its effect on venous function following early diagnosis, and to quantify the impact of risk factors on its incidence. Methods: 102 consecutive patients undergoing unilateral knee arthroscopy without prophylaxis were studied. A history was obtained with emphasis on the risk factors for thromboembolism, and physical examination and colour duplex were performed prior to and within a week after surgery. Patients who developed calf DVT were given aspirin (150 mg) and compression stockings; those with proximal DVT were admitted for anticoagulation (heparin followed by warfarin). Follow-up (mean 118 [range 84-168] days) entailed weekly physical and duplex examinations during the first month and monthly thereafter. Results: 8 patients developed calf DVT in the operated leg (incidence 7.84% [95% Cl: 2.7%-13.2%]); thrombosis was asymptomatic in 4 of those (50%), caused calf tenderness in 4 (50%) and a positive Homan’s sign in one (12.5%). DVT occurred in the following veins: peroneal 4 subjects (50%), soleal 4 (50%), gastrocnemial 2 (25%) and tibial 2 (25%). Propagation of a calf DVT to the popliteal vein was identified in 1 patient (12.5%). After a median period of 118 days, total clot lysis was found in 50% of DVTs, with partial thrombus resorption in the rest; reflux in the thrombosed veins was present in 75% of limbs with DVT. 43% of patients had 1 risk factor for DVT and 20% had ≥2. The incidence of DVT was higher amongst those with two or more risk factors for thromboembolism (p <.05) or those with previous thrombosis alone (p <.005). Symptoms or signs of pulmonary embolism were not documented. Conclusions: Elective unilateral knee arthroscopy performed without prophylaxis is complicated by ipsilateral calf DVT in 7.8% (95% CI: 2.7%-13.2%) of cases. The risk is higher in the presence of previous thrombosis (relative risk: 8.2) and two or more risk factors for DVT (relative risk: 2.94). Thrombosis may propagate to the proximal veins, despite early diagnosis. 50% of calf clots totally lyse in 4 months, yet reflux develops in at least 75% of limbs with DVT. Further studies to determine optimal prophylaxis are warranted.