Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Acanthamoeba sp. containing two phylogenetically different bacterial endosymbionts

Acanthamoebae are ubiquitous free-living amoebae and important predators of microbial communities. They frequently contain obligate intracellular bacterial symbionts, which show a worldwide distribution. All Acanthamoeba spp. described so far harboured no or only a single specific endosymbiont phylotype, and in some cases evidence for coevolution between the symbiotic bacteria and the amoeba host has been reported. In this study we have isolated and characterized an Acanthamoeba sp. (strain OEW1) showing a stable symbiotic relationship with two morphologically different endosymbionts. 16S rRNA sequence analysis assigned these symbionts to the candidate genus Procabacter (Betaproteobacteria) and the genus Parachlamydia (Chlamydiae) respectively. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and transmission electron microscopy confirmed the affiliation of the endosymbionts and showed their co-occurrence in the amoeba host cells and their intracellular location within separate compartments enclosed by host-derived membranes. Further analysis of this stable relationship should provide novel insights into the complex interactions of intracellular multiple-partner associations.
Incentivize crowd labeling under budget constraint

Crowdsourcing systems allocate tasks to a group of workers over the Internet, which have become an effective paradigm for human-powered problem solving such as image classification, optical character recognition and proofreading. In this paper, we focus on incentivizing crowd workers to label a set of binary tasks under strict budget constraint. We properly profile the tasks' difficulty levels and workers' quality in crowdsourcing systems, where the collected labels are aggregated with sequential Bayesian approach. To stimulate workers to undertake crowd labeling tasks, the interaction between workers and the platform is modeled as a reverse auction. We reveal that the platform utility maximization could be intractable, for which an incentive mechanism that determines the winning bid and payments with polynomial-time computation complexity is developed. Moreover, we theoretically prove that our mechanism is truthful, individually rational and budget feasible. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that our mechanism utilizes budget efficiently to achieve high platform utility with polynomial computation complexity.
A differential equation for a four-point correlation function in Liouville field theory and elliptic four-point conformal blocks

Liouville field theory on a sphere is considered. We explicitly derive a differential equation for four-point correlation functions with one degenerate field . We also introduce and study a class of four-point conformal blocks which can be calculated exactly and represented by finite-dimensional integrals of elliptic theta-functions for an arbitrary intermediate dimension. We also study the bootstrap equations for these conformal blocks and derive integral representations for corresponding four-point correlation functions. A relation between the one-point correlation function of a primary field on a torus and a special four-point correlation function on a sphere is proposed.
Technology gap, competition and spillovers from direct foreign investment: Evidence from establishment data

Using detailed micro data from the Indonesian manufacturing sector, we examine the effect on productivity of direct foreign investment. The results suggest that direct foreign investment benefits locally owned establishments. The effect differs between groups of industries. Spillovers from DFI are found in sectors with a high degree of competition. The result suggests that the degree of competition affects the choice of technology transferred to the multinationals' affiliates and, hence, the potential for spillovers. Moreover, it seems to be domestic competition rather than competition from imports that affects spillovers from DFI. Our result concerning the effect from technology gap is unclear.
Novel Genes Involved in Controlling Specification of Drosophila FMRFamide Neuropeptide Cells

The expression of neuropeptides is often extremely restricted in the nervous system, making them powerful markers for addressing cell specification . In the developing Drosophila ventral nerve cord, only six cells, the Ap4 neurons, of some 10,000 neurons, express the neuropeptide FMRFamide (FMRFa). Each Ap4/FMRFa neuron is the last-born cell generated by an identifiable and well-studied progenitor cell, neuroblast 5-6 (NB5-6T). The restricted expression of FMRFa and the wealth of information regarding its gene regulation and Ap4 neuron specification makes FMRFa a valuable readout for addressing many aspects of neural development, i.e., spatial and temporal patterning cues, cell cycle control, cell specification, axon transport, and retrograde signaling. To this end, we have conducted a forward genetic screen utilizing an Ap4-specific FMRFa-eGFP transgenic reporter as our readout. A total of 9781 EMS-mutated chromosomes were screened for perturbations in FMRFa-eGFP expression, and 611 mutants were identified. Seventy-nine of the strongest mutants were mapped down to the affected gene by deficiency mapping or whole-genome sequencing. We isolated novel alleles for previously known FMRFa regulators, confirming the validity of the screen. In addition, we identified novel essential genes, including several with previously undefined functions in neural development. Our identification of genes affecting most major steps required for successful terminal differentiation of Ap4 neurons provides a comprehensive view of the genetic flow controlling the generation of highly unique neuronal cell types in the developing nervous system.
The one-dimensional Lyα forest power spectrum from BOSS

We have developed two independent methods for measuring the one-dimensional power spectrum of the transmitted flux in the Lyman-α forest. The first method is based on a Fourier transform and the second on a maximum-likelihood estimator. The two methods are independent and have different systematic uncertainties. Determination of the noise level in the data spectra was subject to a new treatment, because of its significant impact on the derived power spectrum. We applied the two methods to 13 821 quasar spectra from SDSS-III/BOSS DR9 selected from a larger sample of over 60 000 spectra on the basis of their high quality, high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), and good spectral resolution. The power spectra measured using either approach are in good agreement over all twelve redshift bins from ⟨z⟩ = 2.2 to ⟨z⟩ = 4.4, and scales from 0.001 km s-1 to 0.02 km s-1. We determined the methodological andinstrumental systematic uncertainties of our measurements. We provide a preliminary cosmological interpretation of our measurements using available hydrodynamical simulations. The improvement in precision over previously published results from SDSS is a factor 2–3 for constraints on relevant cosmological parameters. For a ΛCDM model and using a constraint on H0 that encompasses measurements based on the local distance ladder and on CMB anisotropies, we infer σ8 = 0.83 ± 0.03 and ns = 0.97 ± 0.02 based on H i absorption in the range 2.1 < z < 3.7.
Intrinsic mutagenic properties of 5-chlorocytosine: A mechanistic connection between chronic inflammation and cancer

Significance Chronic inflammation is a significant risk factor for cancer and other human diseases. During chronic inflammation, cells exposed to neutrophil-derived hypochlorous acid accumulate in their genomes the DNA lesion 5-chlorocytosine (5ClC). Using a battery of chemical, structural, and genetic tools, the present study demonstrates that 5ClC is a mutagenic lesion, suggesting that genomic 5ClC accumulation could have very serious biological consequences. 5ClC induces C→T transitions, a type of mutation commonly observed in tissues under inflammatory stress as well as in the genomes of inflammation-driven cancers. Thus, the mutagenic properties of 5ClC represent an appealing molecular mechanism by which chronic inflammation induces the genetic changes that potentially enable and stimulate carcinogenesis. During chronic inflammation, neutrophil-secreted hypochlorous acid can damage nearby cells inducing the genomic accumulation of 5-chlorocytosine (5ClC), a known inflammation biomarker. Although 5ClC has been shown to promote epigenetic changes, it has been unknown heretofore if 5ClC directly perpetrates a mutagenic outcome within the cell. The present work shows that 5ClC is intrinsically mutagenic, both in vitro and, at a level of a single molecule per cell, in vivo. Using biochemical and genetic approaches, we have quantified the mutagenic and toxic properties of 5ClC, showing that this lesion caused C→T transitions at frequencies ranging from 3–9% depending on the polymerase traversing the lesion. X-ray crystallographic studies provided a molecular basis for the mutagenicity of 5ClC; a snapshot of human polymerase β replicating across a primed 5ClC-containing template uncovered 5ClC engaged in a nascent base pair with an incoming dATP analog. Accommodation of the chlorine substituent in the template major groove enabled a unique interaction between 5ClC and the incoming dATP, which would facilitate mutagenic lesion bypass. The type of mutation induced by 5ClC, the C→T transition, has been previously shown to occur in substantial amounts both in tissues under inflammatory stress and in the genomes of many inflammation-associated cancers. In fact, many sequence-specific mutational signatures uncovered in sequenced cancer genomes feature C→T mutations. Therefore, the mutagenic ability of 5ClC documented in the present study may constitute a direct functional link between chronic inflammation and the genetic changes that enable and promote malignant transformation.
Mindfulness‐based stress reduction for mental health in youth: a cluster randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND Mental illness is among the most common causes of morbidity, mortality, and disability in childhood. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has shown significant benefit in mental health; however, evidence of its effectiveness in youth is limited. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of MBSR plus usual care versus usual care alone for reducing mental health symptoms in youth. METHODS A two-arm, mixed methods, randomized cluster-controlled trial of 12-18 year olds who were residents of CASA House, a voluntary residential treatment program for adolescents, between January 2011 and March 2013 (clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01307943). INTERVENTIONS Treatment terms were randomized to usual care, or MBSR plus usual care, which included eight MBSR sessions of 2 hr/week. OUTCOMES The primary outcome was impact on emotions and behavior at the end of the program, using the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2). Secondary outcomes included perceived stress levels, mindfulness, and emotional regulation. RESULTS A total of 85 participants were randomized to either the MBSR arm (n = 45) or control arm (n = 40). Significant differences in favor of MBSR were found on Teacher ratings of the Internalizing Problems (p = .038) and Adaptive Skills subscales (p = .022) on the BASC-2. No significant differences were found on other outcomes. A post hoc analysis found that the MBSR arm had a significantly shorter time to discharge (p = .02). CONCLUSION The results of this study indicate that MBSR is effective for improved coping with internalizing problems and adaptive emotional skills in our sample. Future studies should focus on larger, longer-term studies in youth.
Plasma Interleukin-37 Is Elevated in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Its Correlation with Disease Activity and Th1/Th2/Th17-Related Cytokines

Interleukin- (IL-) 37 is a novel anti-inflammatory cytokine that suppresses immune response and inflammation. This study was performed to determine whether IL-37 was elevated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and investigate the correlation between IL-37 level and disease activity and the concentration of Th1/Th2/Th17-related cytokines. Clinical parameters of disease activity, including the 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28) and C-reactive protein (CRP), were collected in 34 RA patients and 34 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Plasma IL-37 was measured by ELISA. Plasma levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, MCP-1, and MIP-1β were analyzed using the Bio-Plex suspension array system. It was found that IL-37 levels were elevated markedly in RA patients and almost undetectable in healthy controls. In addition, IL-37 levels in patients with active RA were significantly enhanced as compared with those in patients of remission. More importantly, IL-37 showed a significant correlation with disease activity (DAS28) and IL-4, IL-7, IL-10, IL-12, and IL-13 concentrations in RA patients. These findings suggest that IL-37 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of RA and may prove to be a potential biomarker of active RA.
ASSESSMENT OF ICT USAGE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL COMPUTER TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN NSUKKA EDUCATION ZONE OF ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

: The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is very essential in the spread of information. Electronic devices and softwares which aid the spread of information constitute ICT. These devices have impacted positively in education through lesson preparation, instructional delivery, individualized instruction, and collaborative learning. Despite the positive roles of ICT in education, there is paucity of information on its use by secondary school computer teachers and students in Nigeria. The study was thus designed to assess ICT usage among secondary school computer teachers and students in Nsukka Education Zone. The study population consisted of 51 computer teachers and 4242 students while the sample size comprised of 51computer teachers and 520 students. A survey research design was adopted for the study. Data was collected using an instrument titled ‘ ICT Usage A ssessment Questionnaire’ validated by three experts in computer education. Data were presented as frequencies and percentages. The results of the study showed that ICT was not used effectively in lesson preparation, instructional delivery, individualized learning and collaborative learning of computer studies in public secondary schools in the Zone. Based on the findings, it was concluded that Nigerian secondary schools are yet to extensively adopt Information and Communication Technology.
The Contours for Researching Religion and School Choice

ABSTRACT This article argues that contemporary conceptual frameworks for understanding religion may not be adequate for the arena of religion and school choice. Successive published research suggests that people are choosing religious schools for reasons other than religion. But what if the reasons why people might be religious and their motivation for choosing a religious school are more complex? This article considers some of the latest theoretical conversations around religion and social science. In particular it discusses approaches developed by U.K. Catholic sociologist of education, Gerald Grace. The article proposes some new contours for researching religion and school choice in North America.
Lossless Data Hiding of Color Images Using Pixel Decomposition and Phase Difference

Recently, the use of data hiding in hiding annotations, confidential data, or side information into multimedia attracts the attention of researchers in various fields, especially in digital library. One of the essential tasks in digital library is the digitization of arts together with the corresponding textural descriptions. Although there are some standard interleaving algorithms for hiding the relating textural description into an image or video, the textural information is still prone to be accessed and extracted by hackers. Most of the traditional data hiding schemes focus on the recovery of covert information. The common shortcoming is that the original image will be distorted due to the processing of bit-substitution, quantization and truncation. In this paper, three novel data hiding methods are proposed. The first two methods are implemented based on pair-wise logical computation (PWLC) and pixel decomposition by treating R, G, B bands and the intensity component as spatial domains and the third method is implemented by considering and utilizing the phase difference information in the hue and saturation components in the HSI color system. All of the three methods can achieve the goals of complete recovering of covert information and lossless reconstruction of original image simultaneously. In addition, it also obtains high data hiding capacity and good visual quality. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and validity of our proposed method in the data hiding of color images.
On-line blind multichannel equalization based on mutually referenced filters

This paper presents a novel approach to the blind linear equalization of possibly nonminimum phase and time-varying communication channels. In the context of channel diversity, we introduce the concept of mutually referenced equalizers (MREs) in which several filters are considered, the outputs of which act as training signals for each other. A corresponding (constrained) multidimensional mean-square error (MSE) cost function is derived, the minimization of which is shown to be a necessary and sufficient condition for equalization. The links with a standard linear prediction problem are demonstrated. The proposed technique exhibits properties of important practical concern: 1) the proposed algorithm is globally convergent. 2) Simple closed-form solutions exist for the MREs, but the MREs also lend themselves readily to adaptive implementation. In particular, the recursive least-squares (RLS) algorithm can be used to offer optimal convergence rate. 3) The MRE method provides a solution for all equalization delays, which results in robustness properties with respect to SNR and ill-defined channel lengths.
Fuzzy behaviour based navigation of a mobile robot for tracking multiple targets in an unstructured environment

This paper presents fuzzy behaviour based control for a differential drive mobile robot in an unstructured environment capable of tracking priority based multiple targets. Behaviours implementation is done by incorporating the obstacle range data from each ultrasonic range finder, current location of mobile robot and selected target location based on its priority. This behaviour based control architecture is composed of two layers; the first layer selects a group of behaviours and second implements controller actions for the selected group. The layered architecture reduces the rule base as well as allows further decomposition of behaviours. The behaviour conflict management is done by using inhibition at first layer and suppression at second layer. The selection of the next target to be tracked is done on the basis of predefined priorities and conflict among equal priority targets is resolved by minimum Euclidean distance measure. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of proposed method by implementing Obstacle Avoidance, Wall Following, Corridor Following, Target Steering and Emergency behaviours successfully in a single, and multiple target environments. Moreover the conflict management scheme for tracking multiple targets with equally priority is also validated.
Molecular Carbon Chains and Rings in TMC-1

We present mapping results in several rotational transitions of HC3N, C6H, both cyclic and linear C3H2 and C3H, toward the cyanopolyyne peak of the filamentary dense cloud TMC-1 using the IRAM 30 m and MPIfR 100 m telescopes. The spatial distribution of the cumulene carbon chain propadienylidene H2CCC (hereafter l-C3H2) is found to deviate significantly from the distributions of the cyclic isomer c-C3H2, HC3N, and C6H, which, in turn, look very similar. The cyclic over linear abundance ratio of C3H2 increases by a factor of 3 across the filament, with a value of 28 at the cyanopolyyne peak. This abundance ratio is an order of magnitude larger than the range (3-5) we observed in the diffuse interstellar medium. The cyclic over linear abundance ratio of C3H also varies by ~2.5 in TMC-1, reaching a maximum value (13) close to the cyanopolyyne peak. These behaviors might be related to competitive processes between ion-neutral and neutral-neutral reactions for cyclic and linear species.
National identity in the historical narratives of a morally questionable historical process / Identidad nacional en las narrativas sobre un proceso histórico moralmente cuestionable

Abstract Different studies have shown that national groups construct a positive social identity through the appropriation of heroic narratives about the national past. Within this framework, this research studied the narratives of Argentine university students (n = 27), without specific training in history about a historical process in which their national state carried out morally questionable actions. Specifically, we analysed their narratives on the ‘Conquest of the Desert’, a military campaign carried out in the late nineteenth century which entailed the genocide of the indigenous peoples who inhabited most of what is today Argentina. Through semi-structured interviews, it was revealed that although the grammar of the participants’ narratives is generally poor, it is possible to identify in them two clashing groups as agents of that historical process. Furthermore, the participants did not use the pronouns we/us to refer to any of these groups, so they did not identify with them. We conclude that the poverty of the participants’ narratives may reveal a collective attempt to forget this morally condemnable historical process, which would also have been expressed in the shift of responsibility from the Argentine state to other social groups in most of the narratives analysed. Likewise, failure to identify with the victims, even in cases in which it was considered to be the national state, shows the implementation of cognitive strategies to preserve a positive identity.
The development of emotion-related neural circuitry in health and psychopathology

Abstract Disturbances in the detection of, response to, and interpretation of emotion are common in many forms of psychopathology. The amygdala, striatum, and structures within the prefrontal cortex are highly involved in mediating these stages of emotion processing, and evidence indicates that these regions show structural and functional alterations in different types of psychopathology, including anxiety, depression, and autism spectrum disorders. However, we do not know how genes and the environment interact to alter development of these brain regions in ways that give rise to emotion-related psychopathology. This review discusses the current understanding of brain regions that are involved in emotional functioning, how they develop, and how they are altered in three forms of psychopathology: anxiety, depression, and autism spectrum disorders. Following this, a framework is described that may facilitate the integration of investigations of genetic variation and brain function with symptom and diagnostic measures. The framework involves three components: (a) a greater emphasis on simultaneously analyzing multiple levels (genes, brain function, behavior, symptoms, and diagnoses); (b) further integration of developmental considerations, including timing of environmental events, adaptations (or maladaptations), and disorder-related trajectories that guide some children toward atypical experiences; and (c) greater cross-talk between animal and human investigations to take advantage of biological measures that cannot be acquired in humans.