Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Production of aberrant promoter transcripts contributes to methylation and silencing of unlinked homologous promoters in trans

Previous work has suggested that de novo methylation of plant nuclear genes can be triggered by an RNA–DNA interaction. To test whether transcription of a promoter would induce de novo methylation and silencing of unlinked genes driven by the same promoter, a chimeric ‘gene’ consisting of a nopaline synthase promoter (NOSpro) positioned downstream of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (35Spro) and flanked at the 3′ end by a NOS terminator (NOSter) was constructed and introduced into the genome of a plant that normally expresses an unmethylated NOSpro‐neomycinphosphotransferase (nptII) gene. Transformants were tested for kanamycin resistance and NOSpro RNA synthesis. Most produced a full‐length polyadenylated NOSpro RNA, which did not induce silencing or methylation at the NOSpro‐nptII target gene. One, however, contained truncated non‐polyadenylated NOSpro RNA; in this plant, the NOSpro‐nptII gene became silenced and methylated in the NOSpro region. Molecular analysis of the NOSpro silencing locus revealed two incomplete copies of the 35Spro‐NOSpro gene arranged as an inverted repeat with NOSpro sequences at the center. Reducing NOSpro transcription by crossing a 35Spro‐silencing locus partially reactivated nptII gene expression and decreased NOSpro methylation at the target locus, thus implicating aberrant NOSpro RNA in this trans‐silencing phenomenon.
Smartphones power flying robots

Consumer grade technology seen in cameras and phones has led to the price/performance ratio of sensors and processors falling dramatically over the last decade. In particular, most devices are packaged with a camera, a gyroscope, and an accelerometer, important sensors for aerial robotics. The low mass and small form factor make them particularly well suited for autonomous flight with small flying robots, especially in GPS-denied environments. In this work, we present the first fully autonomous smartphone-based quadrotor. All the computation, sensing and control runs on an off-the-shelf smartphone, with all the software functionality in a smartphone app.We show how quadrotors can be stabilized and controlled to achieve autonomous flight in indoor buildings with application to smart homes, search and rescue, construction and architecture. The work allows any consumer with a smartphone to autonomously drive a quadrotor robot platform, even without GPS, by downloading an app, and concurrently build 3-D maps.
ULTRACAM observations of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1118+480 in quiescence

We present high time-resolution multicolour observations of the quiescent soft X-ray transient XTE J1118+480 obtained with ULTRACAM. Superimposed on the double-humped continuum g- and i-band light curves are rapid flare events which typically last a few minutes. The power density spectrum of the light curves can be described by a broken power-law model with a break frequency at 2 mHz or a power-law model plus a broad quasi-periodic oscillation at 2 mHz. In the context of the cellular automaton we estimate the size of the quiescent advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) region to be 104 Schwarzschild radii, similar to that observed in other quiescent black hole X-ray transients, suggesting the same underlying physics. The similarities between the low/hard and quiescent-state power density spectrum suggest a similar origin for the optical and X-ray variability, most likely from regions at or near the ADAF.
A Step Forward in Molecular Diagnostics of Lyssaviruses – Results of a Ring Trial among European Laboratories

Rabies is a lethal and notifiable zoonotic disease for which diagnostics have to meet the highest standards. In recent years, an evolution was especially seen in molecular diagnostics with a wide variety of different detection methods published. Therefore, a first international ring trial specifically designed on the use of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detection of lyssavirus genomic RNA was organized. The trial focussed on assessment and comparison of the performance of conventional and real-time assays. In total, 16 European laboratories participated. All participants were asked to investigate a panel of defined lyssavirus RNAs, consisting of Rabies virus (RABV) and European bat lyssavirus 1 and 2 (EBLV-1 and -2) RNA samples, with systems available in their laboratory. The ring trial allowed the important conclusion that conventional RT-PCR assays were really robust assays tested with a high concordance between different laboratories and assays. The real-time RT-PCR system by Wakeley et al. (2005) in combination with an intercalating dye, and the combined version by Hoffmann and co-workers (2010) showed good sensitivity for the detection of all RABV samples included in this test panel. Furthermore, all used EBLV-specific assays, real-time RT-PCRs as well as conventional RT-PCR systems, were shown to be suitable for a reliable detection of EBLVs. It has to be mentioned that differences were seen in the performance between both the individual RT-PCR systems and the laboratories. Laboratories which used more than one molecular assay for testing the sample panel always concluded a correct sample result. Due to the markedly high genetic diversity of lyssaviruses, the application of different assays in diagnostics is needed to achieve a maximum of diagnostic accuracy. To improve the knowledge about the diagnostic performance proficiency testing at an international level is recommended before using lyssavirus molecular diagnostics e.g. for confirmatory testing.
Resolving astrophysical uncertainties in dark matter direct detection

We study the impact of the assumed velocity distribution of galactic dark matter particles on the interpretation of results from nuclear recoil detectors. By converting experimental data to variables that make the astrophysical unknowns explicit, different experiments can be compared without implicit assumptions concerning the dark matter halo. We extend this framework to include the annual modulation signal, as well as multiple target elements. Recent results from DAMA, CoGeNT and CRESST-II can be brought into agreement if the velocity distribution is very anisotropic and thus allows a large modulation fraction. However constraints from CDMS and XENON cannot be evaded by appealing to such astrophysical uncertainties alone.
The Effects of Bilateral and Regional Investment Agreements on the FDI Inflows into ASEAN Countries

THE EFFECTS OF BILATERAL AND REGIONAL INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS ON THE FDI INFLOWS INTO ASEAN COUNTRIES Sarasin Booppanon, Ph.D. George Mason University, 2007 Dissertation Director: Dr. Kenneth A. Reinert The competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) has resulted in many developing countries resorting to international investment agreements (IIAs) as a legal mechanism to encourage FDI based on the basis that these international commitments are more credible than domestic policy choices for the cost of reneging on them is more costly. IIAs are legal instruments that contain a set of rules governing FDI and specifying the rights and obligations of foreign investors, investing countries and recipient countries. The proliferation of IIAs over the years illustrates the belief of the policymakers in the efficacy of these policy instruments in helping to attract FDI. However, there is still very limited empirical evidence to support the claim of their positive role. The aim of the research is to contribute to the existing empirical literature on FDI by incorporating international FDI policies that to date have not yet been thoroughly studied. It employs Dunning’s ownership-location-internalization (OLI) framework to investigate the extent to which investment agreements play a role in attracting FDI inflows from within ASEAN and outside ASEAN to the countries and compare these influences with those of other macroeconomic and institutional factors over time. The analysis is undertaken using a panel data set covering ten ASEAN countries over the period 1980-2005. The findings demonstrate that BITs or the bilateral type of IIAs made with developed countries have a positive impact on FDI inflows into ASEAN countries and confirm the crucial role played by the quality of domestic institutions. The results are robust to changes in model specification. The empirical results also indicate that BITs function as a complement rather than a substitute for domestic institutional quality. However, there is no evidence that the ASEAN Investment Area, which is a regional type of IIA made among ASEAN nations serves to stimulate intra-regional or inter-regional FDI flows to the region.
A Simultaneous Equations Model of Trade and Development with Dynamic Policy Simulations

This article seeks to help resolve the serious theoretical controversy about the contribution of international trade to economic development by constructing a simultaneous‐equations model that captures the most important quantitative aspects of the relationship between trade and development, and testing it by pooling data for 52 nations (representing all of the developing nations for which the required data are available) from 1961 to the present. The model is estimated by Full Information Maximum Likelihood, validated by dynamic simulation and utilized for policy and other counterfactual simulations. By the use of dummy variables and Chow tests, shifts of the structural relationships and slope coefficients over time are also tested for. The study finds strong empirical support for trade being very important for development, but to be more in the nature of a handmaiden than of an engine of growth.
Capitals and capabilities : a framework for analysing peasant viability, rural livelihoods and poverty in the Andes

Contemporary debates on the rural sector in Latin America have led many to question the future viability of peasant livelihoods in the Andes. The paper first discusses certain limitations in these discussions of peasant viability. Firstly, they conflate agrarian with rural livelihoods, thus deflecting attention from the myriad transitions that have occurred in the ways through which people make a living and the diverse assets they draw upon in the process. Secondly, they imply that rural people assess livelihood options according to income criteria, whereas ethnographic and sociological evidence suggests that other criteria are equally meaningful to rural people, in particular the maintenance of cultural and social practices that accompany rural residence. Thirdly, they suggest an impermeable barrier dividing viable and non-viable units. Yet a review of recent livelihood transitions in the region suggests that this barrier is indeed permeable, particular if we phrase the issue as one of rural, and not only agrarian, livelihoods. On the basis of these observations, the paper develops an analytical framework for analysing rural livelihoods in terms of their sustainability and their implications for rural poverty. The framework argues that our analyses of rural livelihoods need to understand them in terms of: people’s access to five types of capital asset; the ways in which they combine and transform those assets in the building of livelihoods that as far as possible meet their material and their experiential needs; the ways in which they are able to expand their asset bases through engaging with other actors through relationships governed by the logics of the state, market and civil society; and the ways in which they are able to deploy and enhance their capabilities both to make living more meaningful, but also more importantly to change the dominant rules and relationships governing the ways in which resources are controlled, distributed and transformed into income streams. Particular attention is paid to the importance of social capital as an asset through which people are able to widen their access to resources and other actors. 1 p o li ci e s th a t w o rk
Constrained Community-Based Gene Regulatory Network Inference

The problem of gene regulatory network inference is a major concern of systems biology. In recent years, a novel methodology has gained momentum, called community network approach. Community networks integrate predictions from individual methods in a “metapredictor,” in order to compose the advantages of different methods and soften individual limitations. This article proposes a novel methodology to integrate prediction ensembles using constraint programming, a declarative modeling and problem solving paradigm. Constraint programming naturally allows the modeling of dependencies among components of the problem as constraints, facilitating the integration and use of different forms of knowledge. The new paradigm, referred to as constrained community network, uses constraints to capture properties of the regulatory networks (e.g., topological properties) and to guide the integration of knowledge derived from different families of network predictions. The article experimentally shows the potential of this approach: The addition of biological constraints can offer significant improvements in prediction accuracy.
Sato Preferential Utilization of Dipeptides by Porphyromonas gingivalis

Although Porphyromonas gingivalis is known to utilize peptides preferentially, instead of free amino acids, as the source of energy and cell material, there is only limited information on what sizes and kinds of peptide this bacterium preferentially utilizes. In this study, therefore, we tested aspartate or glutamate monopolymers consisting of from 2 to 100 amino acids as metabolic substrates for P. gingivalis. The washed cells of P. gingivalis consumed aspartylaspartate and glutamylglutamate, and produced large amounts of ammonia and organic acids such as propionate and butyrate, while the cells formed only small amounts of end-products from aspartate, glutamate, and other peptides longer than a dipeptide. P. gingivalis also metabolized valylvaline and leucylleucine and produced isobutyrate and isovalerate, respectively, only in the presence of aspartylaspartate or glutamylglutamate. This suggests a metabolic linkage between these dipeptides. These results clearly indicate that P. gingivalis utilizes dipeptides preferentially as its metabolic substrates.
H∞ optimal signal predictive quantization subject to channel loss

This paper investigates signal predictive quantization subject to channel loss. It uses the analysis and design tools of H∞ optimal filtering of discrete-time Markov jump linear system to obtain an optimal predictor for a signal predictive quantization system with channel loss. A linear matrix inequality (LMI) based design method is derived to design the predictor that minimizes the variance of the reconstruction error and removes the unrealistic assumption on quantizer model in the present literature. Simulation results are presented to show the advantages of the obtained design method.
Results of a Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus survey in the river systems of north- east Namibia during August 2004

Areas surveyed The Okavango River in Namibia, from just northwest the bridge on the Trans-Caprivi highway south to the Botswana border; the entire length of the Kwandu-Linyanti-Lake Liambezi-Chobe system; and the Zambezi river for its entire length on Namibia’s border (Figure 1). The Zambezi, the northern section of the Okavango and parts of the Chobe systems are fairly linear rivers. However the lower Okavango and in particular, the Kwandu-Linyanti system consists of a relatively small windy river in a wide floodplain with a large number of backwaters, lakes and pans.
Value Relevance of Consolidated Versus Parent Company Financial Statements: Evidence from the Largest Three European Capital Markets

Within the European Union, parent companies have to prepare and publish both consolidated and individual financial statements. The objective of financial statements with general purpose is to give information regarding the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of the reporting entity, information that is useful to investors and other users in making economic decisions. In order to be useful, financial information needs to be relevant to the decision-making process of users in general, and investors in particular. Therefore, the following question arises naturally – which of the two sets best serves the information needs of investors (and other categories of users), respectively which of the two sets is more relevant for investors? In our scientific endeavor we set to carry out an empirical association study on the problem of market value relevance of consolidated financial statements and of individual financial statements of the parent company, searching for an answer to the above question. In this sense, we analyze the (absolute and relative) market value relevance of consolidated accounting information of listed companies between 2003-2008 on the largest stock markets in Europe (London, Paris, and Frankfurt). Through this empirical study we intend to contribute to the relatively limited literature on this topic with a comparative time analysis of the absolute and incremental relevance of financial information supplied by the two categories of financial statements (group and individual).
Non-Intrusive SOM-Based Speech Quality Assessment for Telephony Applications

A non-intrusive method for speech quality assessment in telephony applications is proposed and its performance evaluated. The method involves measuring perception-based objective auditory distances between the voiced parts of the processed (degraded) speech signal to appropriately matching references extracted from a pre-formulated codebook. The codebook is formed by optimally clustering large number of parametric speech vectors extracted from a database of clean speech records, using an efficient data-mining tool known as the Self-Organizing Map (SOM). The auditory distances are mapped into an objective Mean Opinion listening quality scores (MOS_LQO). Three domain transformation techniques have been utilized to provide perception-based, speakerindependent parametric representation of the speech: a Perceptual Linear Prediction (PLP) model, a Bark Spectrum (BS) analysis and Mel-Frequency Cepstrum Coefficients (MFCC). Reported evaluation results show that the proposed method provides high correlation with subjective listening quality scores (MOS_LQS), yielding accuracy similar to that of the ITU-T P.563 while maintaining a relatively low computational complexity. Results also demonstrate that the method outperforms the PESQ in assessing the quality of speech degraded by channel impairments.
Deterministic and Stochastic Neuronal Contributions to Distinct Synchronous CA3 Network Bursts

Computational studies have suggested that stochastic, deterministic, and mixed processes all could be possible determinants of spontaneous, synchronous network bursts. In the present study, using multicellular calcium imaging coupled with fast confocal microscopy, we describe neuronal behavior underlying spontaneous network bursts in developing rat and mouse hippocampal area CA3 networks. Two primary burst types were studied: giant depolarizing potentials (GDPs) and spontaneous interictal bursts recorded in bicuculline, a GABAA receptor antagonist. Analysis of the simultaneous behavior of multiple CA3 neurons during synchronous GDPs revealed a repeatable activation order from burst to burst. This was validated using several statistical methods, including high Kendall's coefficient of concordance values for firing order during GDPs, high Pearson's correlations of cellular activation times between burst pairs, and latent class analysis, which revealed a population of 5–6% of CA3 neurons reliably firing very early during GDPs. In contrast, neuronal firing order during interictal bursts appeared homogeneous, with no particular cells repeatedly leading or lagging during these synchronous events. We conclude that GDPs activate via a deterministic mechanism, with distinct, repeatable roles for subsets of neurons during burst generation, while interictal bursts appear to be stochastic events with cells assuming interchangeable roles in the generation of these events.
Adaptive inverse control

Methods for adaptive control of plant dynamics and for control of plant disturbance for unknown linear plants are described. In addition, extension of control of plant dynamics to nonlinear plants using neural networks is presented. For their proper application, the plant must be stable. An unstable plant could first be stabilized with feedback, then adaptively controlled. <<ETX>>
When Do Outsider CEOs Generate Strategic Change? The Enabling Role of Corporate Stability

When academic researchers, business commentators, and boards of directors have debated the merits of hiring new CEOs from outside the firm, the implicit or explicit assumption typically made is that outsider CEOs will provide an advantage in achieving strategic change. In this study, we challenge this assumption by employing a duality perspective on stability/change, and we provide an original conceptual framework to posit that it is the presence of corporate stability (ordinary succession, a long‐tenured predecessor CEO, and good firm performance) that allows outsider CEOs to generate a greater degree of post‐succession strategic change. We use extensive longitudinal data from US airline and chemical industries between 1972 and 2010 to test our hypotheses, and we discuss how our supportive findings challenge long‐standing assumptions regarding the outsider succession–strategic change relationship, and we advocate embracing the non‐intiutive notion that stable (unstable) conditions can be enablers (barriers) of strategic change for outsider CEOs.
The Metadata Coalface for Digital Repositories

In this paper we examine a range of metadata-related issues facing the developers and maintainers of digital repositories in Australia. We discuss metadata developments in the areas of digital preservation, repository interoperability, and collection-level discovery services in the context of a range of innovative repository projects designed to improve metadata creation, management and sharing within the Australian higher education and research sector.
Revealing neuronal function through microelectrode array recordings

Microelectrode arrays and microprobes have been widely utilized to measure neuronal activity, both in vitro and in vivo. The key advantage is the capability to record and stimulate neurons at multiple sites simultaneously. However, unlike the single-cell or single-channel resolution of intracellular recording, microelectrodes detect signals from all possible sources around every sensor. Here, we review the current understanding of microelectrode signals and the techniques for analyzing them. We introduce the ongoing advancements in microelectrode technology, with focus on achieving higher resolution and quality of recordings by means of monolithic integration with on-chip circuitry. We show how recent advanced microelectrode array measurement methods facilitate the understanding of single neurons as well as network function.