Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Co-segregation of yeast plasmid sisters under monopolin-directed mitosis suggests association of plasmid sisters with sister chromatids

The 2-micron plasmid, a high copy extrachromosomal element in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, propagates itself with nearly the same stability as the chromosomes of its host. Plasmid stability is conferred by a partitioning system consisting of the plasmid-coded proteins Rep1 and Rep2 and a cis-acting locus STB. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the partitioning system couples plasmid segregation to chromosome segregation during mitosis. However, the coupling mechanism has not been elucidated. In order to probe into this question more incisively, we have characterized the segregation of a single-copy STB reporter plasmid by manipulating mitosis to force sister chromatids to co-segregate either without mother–daughter bias or with a finite daughter bias. We find that the STB plasmid sisters are tightly correlated to sister chromatids in the extents of co-segregation as well as the bias in co-segregation under these conditions. Furthermore, this correlation is abolished by delaying spindle organization or preventing cohesin assembly during a cell cycle. Normal segregation of the 2-micron plasmid has been shown to require spindle integrity and the cohesin complex. Our results are accommodated by a model in which spindle- and cohesin-dependent association of plasmid sisters with sister chromatids promotes their segregation by a hitchhiking mechanism.
DO JUSTICE RELATIONSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATION‐DIRECTED REACTIONS DIFFER ACROSS U.S. AND BANGLADESH EMPLOYEES?

We examined relationships between distributive, procedural, and interactional justice and two types of organization‐directed reactions—organizational commitment and turnover intention—across two employee samples each from the U.S. and Bangladesh. Regression analyses of questionnaire data indicated that the three forms of justice were related to the organization‐directed reactions of both the U.S. and Bangladesh employees. The specific nature of the justice relationships varied primarily when comparing employees across the four samples, rather than across the two countries.
Analysis of planar E+I and ER+I transformers for low-voltage high-current DC/DC converters with focus on winding losses and leakage inductance

In this paper an analysis of two planar transformers designed for high-current switching applications is presented. Typical converter application is represented by fuel and electrolyser cell converters. The transformer designs are based on E+I and ER+I planar cores while the analysis focuses on winding resistance and leakage inductances which represent the main concerns related to low-voltage high-current applications. The PCB winding design has a one to one turn ratio with no interleaving between primary and secondary windings. The main goal was to determine if ER planar core could provide a significant advantage in terms of winding losses compared to planar E cores. Results from finite element analysis highlight that low frequency winding resistance is lower for the ER core since it is dominated by the lower mean turn length however, as the AC-resistance becomes dominating the winding eddy current losses increases more in the ER core than in the E core design. Calculated and simulated leakage inductances for the analyzed cores do not show relevant differences. A laboratory prototype based on E64 planar core is used as reference. Laboratory measurements highlight that FEM analysis provides more realistic results when computing the winding AC-resistance.
Prognostic and therapeutic role of targetable lesions in B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia without recurrent fusion genes

To shed light into the molecular bases of B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia lacking known fusion transcripts, i.e. BCR-ABL1, ETV6-RUNX1, E2A-PBX1, and MLL rearrangements (B-NEG ALL) and the differences between children, adolescents/young adults (AYA) and adults, we analyzed 168 B-NEG ALLs by genome-wide technologies. This approach showed that B-NEG cases carry 10.5 mutations and 9.1 copy-number aberrations/sample. The most frequently mutated druggable pathways were those pertaining to RAS/RTK (26.8%) and JAK/STAT (12.5%) signaling. In particular, FLT3 and JAK/STAT mutations were detected mainly in AYA and adults, while KRAS and NRAS mutations were more frequent in children. RAS/RTK mutations negatively affected the outcome of AYA and adults, but not that of children. Furthermore, adult B-NEG ALL carrying JAK/STAT mutations had a shorter survival. In vitro experiments showed that FLT3 inhibitors reduced significantly the proliferation of FLT3-mutated primary B-NEG ALL cells. Likewise, PI3K/mTOR inhibitors reduced the proliferation of primary cells harboring RAS and IL7R mutations. These results refine the genetic landscape of B-NEG ALL and suggest that the different distribution of lesions and their prognostic impact might sustain the diverse outcome between children, adults and partly AYA - whose genomic scenario is similar to adults - and open the way to targeted therapeutic strategies.
Estimated prevalence of compulsive buying behavior in the United States.

OBJECTIVE Compulsive buying (uncontrolled urges to buy, with resulting significant adverse consequences) has been estimated to affect from 1.8% to 16% of the adult U.S. population. To the authors' knowledge, no study has used a large general population sample to estimate its prevalence. METHOD The authors conducted a random sample, national household telephone survey in the spring and summer of 2004 and interviewed 2,513 adults. The interviews addressed buying attitudes and behaviors, their consequences, and the respondents' financial and demographic data. The authors used a clinically validated screening instrument, the Compulsive Buying Scale, to classify respondents as either compulsive buyers or not. RESULTS The rate of response was 56.3%, which compares favorably with rates in federal national health surveys. The cooperation rate was 97.6%. Respondents included a higher percentage of women and people ages 55 and older than the U.S. adult population. The estimated point prevalence of compulsive buying among respondents was 5.8% (by gender: 6.0% for women, 5.5% for men). The gender-adjusted prevalence rate was 5.8%. Compared with other respondents, compulsive buyers were younger, and a greater proportion reported incomes under 50,000 US dollars. They exhibited more maladaptive responses on most consumer behavior measures and were more than four times less likely to pay off credit card balances in full. CONCLUSIONS A study using clinically valid interviews is needed to evaluate these results. The emotional and functional toll of compulsive buying and the frequency of comorbid psychiatric disorders suggests that studies of treatments and social interventions are warranted.
Evaluation of the reliability of RSSI for indoor localization

In wireless sensor networks, nodes can be static or mobile, depending on the application requirements. Dealing with mobility can pose some formidable challenges in protocol design, particularly, at the link and network layers. These difficulties require mobility adaption algorithms to efficiently localize mobile nodes and predict the quality of link that can be established with these nodes. An off the shelf development platform that uses Radio Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) is mostly selected as the sensor localization method, especially in the indoor environment. Despite this, not much research work has been done to practically demonstrate the reliability of RSSI for indoor localization. Therefore, in this paper, we aim to calibrate and map RSSI to distance by doing a series of experiments. The result shows that the RSSI technology gives an unacceptable high error and thus is not reliable for the indoor sensor localization.
Adrenergic regulation of innate immunity: a review

The sympathetic nervous system has a major role in the brain-immune cross-talk, but few information exist on the sympathoadrenergic regulation of innate immune system. The aim of this review is to summarize available knowledge regarding the sympathetic modulation of the innate immune response, providing a rational background for the possible repurposing of adrenergic drugs as immunomodulating agents. The cells of immune system express adrenoceptors (AR), which represent the target for noradrenaline and adrenaline. In human neutrophils, adrenaline and noradrenaline inhibit migration, CD11b/CD18 expression, and oxidative metabolism, possibly through β-AR, although the role of α1- and α2-AR requires further investigation. Natural Killer express β-AR, which are usually inhibitory. Monocytes express β-AR and their activation is usually antiinflammatory. On murine Dentritic cells (DC), β-AR mediate sympathetic influence on DC-T cells interactions. In human DC β2-AR may affect Th1/2 differentiation of CD4+ T cells. In microglia and in astrocytes, β2-AR dysregulation may contribute to neuroinflammation in autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease. In conclusion, extensive evidence supports a critical role for adrenergic mechanisms in the regulation of innate immunity, in peripheral tissues as well as in the CNS. Sympathoadrenergic pathways in the innate immune system may represent novel antiinflammatory and immunomodulating targets with significant therapeutic potential.
Spectral Schur complement techniques for symmetric Eigenvalue problems

This paper presents a Domain Decomposition-type method for solving real symmetric (or Hermitian complex) eigenvalue problems in which we seek all eigenpairs in an interval [α, β], or a few eigenpairs next to a given real shift ζ. A Newton-based scheme is described whereby the problem is converted to one that deals with the interface nodes of the computational domain. This approach relies on the fact that the inner solves related to each local subdomain are relatively inexpensive. This Newton scheme exploits spectral Schur complements and these lead to so-called eigen-branches, which are rational functions whose roots are eigenvalues of the original matrix. Theoretical and practical aspects of domain decomposition techniques for computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors are discussed. A parallel implementation is presented and its performance on distributed computing environments is illustrated by means of a few numerical examples.
Connecting the dots: using concept maps for interpreting student satisfaction

This study utilised concept mapping software to aid interpretation of the qualitative data from student satisfaction surveys. The analysis revealed differences in student priorities and attitudes across the three years of an undergraduate degree. First-year students were more concerned with social and academic integration and demonstrated an emotional response to their engagement with higher education. Comments from second-year students indicated an emphasis on academic progress and development, while final-year students were focused on achievement-oriented learning. Critical aspects of the student experience hidden between survey questions were also revealed. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for understanding the changing interaction between different aspects of student experience and satisfaction. It concludes with suggestions on how this approach to analysis might benefit the work of quality assurance teams and academic developers in other institutions.
Adaptability to changes in temporal structure is fornix-dependent

Recognition memory deficits, even after short delays, are sometimes observed following hippocampal damage. One hypothesis links the hippocampus with processes in updating contextual memory representation. Here, we used fornix transection, which partially disconnects the hippocampal system, and compares the performance of fornix-transected monkeys with normal monkeys on two versions of a delayed-matching-to-position task with short delays. Spatial recognition memory was affected by fornix transection only when the temporal structure of the task changed across trials, while differences in motor control, motivation, perception, or short-term memory were not critical. We attributed the deficit to a compromised ability in tracking changes in task temporal structure.
Transition from first illicit drug use to first injection drug use among rural Appalachian drug users: a cross-sectional comparison and retrospective survival analysis.

AIM The study's objectives were to characterize initiation of injection drug use, examine the independent association of specific substance use with injection drug use and determine factors associated with rates of transition from first illicit drug use to first injection among a sample of rural Appalachian drug users. DESIGN Interview-administered questionnaires were administered to a sample of drug users recruited via respondent-driven sampling. SETTING Appalachian Kentucky. PARTICIPANTS Injection drug users (IDUs) (n = 394) and non-IDUs (n = 109). MEASUREMENTS Data were collected on substance use and years from age at initiation of illicit substance use to 'event' (initiation of injection or date of baseline interview for non-IDUs). Logistic regression and Cox regression were used to identify factors associated with life-time injection drug use and transition time to injection, respectively. FINDINGS OxyContin(®) was involved in nearly as many initiations to injection (48%), as were stimulants, other prescription opioids and heroin combined; for participants who initiated with OxyContin(®), the median time from which they began OxyContin(®) use to their first injection of OxyContin(®) was 3 years. Adjusting for demographics, five prescription drugs (benzodiazepines, illicit methadone, oxycodone, OxyContin(®) and other opiates) were associated with an increased hazard for transitioning from first illicit drug use to first injection drug use (each at P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS In Appalachia, in the United States, the prescription opioid OxyContin(®) is widely used non-medically and appears to show a particularly high risk of rapid transition to injection compared with the use of other illicit drugs.
Collaborative knowledge sharing strategy to enhance organizational learning

Purpose – The main purpose of the paper is to assess and suggest the ways and means to enhance a collaborative knowledge sharing culture in academic institutions, with special reference to information technology (IT)‐related education in the Management Faculty of the University of Pune.Design/methodology/approach – The research is descriptive and empirical in nature because the primary data were collected using the survey method through fact finding techniques such as questionnaire and interview. The main purpose of this research is to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe “what exists” with respect to variables or conditions in a situation.Findings – The sustainability of any industry is closely linked to the manpower talent made available by the academic institutions. Therefore in order to service the needs of the industry in tune with rapidly changing trends, academic institutions have to implement innovative learning systems and be able to match up to the expect.
Mammalian synthetic biology: emerging medical applications

In this review, we discuss new emerging medical applications of the rapidly evolving field of mammalian synthetic biology. We start with simple mammalian synthetic biological components and move towards more complex and therapy-oriented gene circuits. A comprehensive list of ON–OFF switches, categorized into transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational and post-translational, is presented in the first sections. Subsequently, Boolean logic gates, synthetic mammalian oscillators and toggle switches will be described. Several synthetic gene networks are further reviewed in the medical applications section, including cancer therapy gene circuits, immuno-regulatory networks, among others. The final sections focus on the applicability of synthetic gene networks to drug discovery, drug delivery, receptor-activating gene circuits and mammalian biomanufacturing processes.
Active input-voltage and load-current sharing in input-series and output-parallel connected modular DC-DC converters using dynamic input-voltage reference scheme

This paper explores a new configuration for modular DC/DC converters, namely, series connection at the input, and parallel connection at the output, such that the converters share the input voltage and load current equally. This is an important step toward realizing a truly modular power system architecture, where low-power, low-voltage, building block modules can be connected in any series/parallel combination at input or at output, to realize any given system specifications. A three-loop control scheme, consisting of a common output voltage loop, individual inner current loops, and individual input voltage loops, is proposed to achieve input voltage and load current sharing. The output voltage loop provides the basic reference for inner current loops, which is modified by the respective input voltage loops. The average of converter input voltages, which is dynamically varying, is chosen as the reference for input voltage loops. This choice of reference eliminates interaction among different control loops. The input-series and output-parallel (ISOP) configuration is analyzed using the incremental negative resistance model of DC/DC converters. Based on the analysis, design methods for input voltage controller are developed. Analysis and proposed design methods are verified through simulation, and experimentally, on an ISOP system consisting of two forward converters.
Revising global theories of justice to include public goods

Our aim in this paper is to suggest that most current theories of global justice fail to adequately recognise the importance of global public goods. Broadly speaking, this failing can be attributed at least in part to the complexity of the global context, the individualistic focus of most theories of justice, and the localised nature of the theoretical foundations of most theories of global justice. We argue – using examples (particularly that of protecting antibiotic efficacy) – that any truly effective theory of global justice must recognise the importance of global public goods. Global public goods confer significant benefits to individuals yet can only be effectively promoted and preserved through collective action and the restriction of individual choice; something which most theories of justice are structurally unequipped to sufficiently promote.
English language immersion and students' academic achievement in English, Chinese and mathematics

Abstract Research has demonstrated that second language immersion is an effective means of facilitating primary school students' second language without undermining competence in their first language. Despite the rapid growth of English immersion (EI) programmes in China, only limited empirical research has been conducted to evaluate students' academic achievement in these programmes. This study addressed three primary research questions regarding EI students' academic achievement represented by English (L2), Chinese (L1) and mathematics. This study was conducted with a group of Grade 2 (n=385), Grade 4 (n=430) and Grade 6 (n=183) students in immersion or non-immersion programmes in three schools in China. Cambridge Young Learners English Tests were employed as the L2 measure. School-issued achievement tests in L1 (Chinese) and in mathematics were also employed. The results show that immersion students, compared with non-immersion students, did better in English at all three grade levels. They also did similarly in Chinese and mathematics at Grades 2 and 4, but better at Grade 6. The findings from this evaluation study demonstrate a complex and developmental picture of students' academic achievement in English, Chinese and mathematics.
Differential expression of neuronal genes in Müller glia in two- and three-dimensional cultures.

PURPOSE Müller glia in the mammalian retina have some stem cell-like characteristics, although their capacity for neurogenesis remains limited both in vivo and in vitro. In vitro studies to date have used traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture to assess neuronal differentiation of Müller glia. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 2D and three-dimensional (3D) environments on Müller glial gene expression after growth factor stimulation. METHODS Conditionally immortalized mouse Müller glia cells (ImM10) were cultured under nonimmortalizing conditions with EGF/FGF2 to generate spheres that were differentiated in vitro on uncoated culture dishes (2D) or encapsulated in self-assembling, RADA-16 peptide hydrogels (3D) under identical media and growth factor supplementation conditions. Gene expression was analyzed using quantitative RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. Cellular morphology was analyzed with light and confocal microscopy; sphere ultrastructure was analyzed with transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS ImM10 Müller cells express numerous genes associated with neural stem cells and retinal progenitors in both normal growth conditions and sphere-forming conditions. When encapsulated in the 3D hydrogel, cells can migrate and send processes into the hydrogel. Many genes associated with neurogenesis, as well as retinal neuron-specific genes, are differentially expressed in 2D and 3D differentiation conditions. CONCLUSIONS ImM10 Müller glia upregulate genes characteristic of retinal neurons after growth factor stimulation in vitro, and gene expression patterns are altered in 3D hydrogel cultures.
Subsampled Power Iteration: a New Algorithm for Block Models and Planted CSP's

We present a new algorithm for recovering planted solutions in two well-known models, the stochastic block model and planted constraint satisfaction problems, via a common generalization in terms of random bipartite graphs. Our algorithm achieves the best-known bounds for the number of edges needed for perfect recovery and its running time is linear in the number of edges used. The time complexity is significantly better than both spectral and SDP-based approaches. The main new features of the algorithm are two-fold: (i) the critical use of power iteration with subsampling, which might be of independent interest; its analysis requires keeping track of multiple norms of an evolving solution (ii) it can be implemented statistically, i.e., with very limited access to the input distribution. ∗IBM Research Almaden †Georgia Tech. Supported by an NSF postdoctoral fellowship. ‡Georgia Tech. Supported in part by NSF award CCF-1217793. ar X iv :1 40 7. 27 74 v1 [ cs . D S] 1 0 Ju l 2 01 4