Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uncovering the genetic architecture of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum resistance through QTL mapping and epistatic interaction analysis in common bean

Colletotrichum lindemuthianum is a hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen that causes anthracnose disease in common bean. Despite the genetics of anthracnose resistance has been studied for a long time, few quantitative trait loci (QTLs) studies have been conducted on this species. The present work examines the genetic basis of quantitative resistance to races 23 and 1545 of C. lindemuthianum in different organs (stem, leaf and petiole). A population of 185 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from the cross PMB0225 × PHA1037 was evaluated for anthracnose resistance under natural and artificial photoperiod growth conditions. Using multi-environment QTL mapping approach, 10 and 16 main effect QTLs were identified for resistance to anthracnose races 23 and 1545, respectively. The homologous genomic regions corresponding to 17 of the 26 main effect QTLs detected were positive for the presence of resistance-associated gene cluster encoding nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat (NL) proteins. Among them, it is worth noting that the main effect QTLs detected on linkage group 05 for resistance to race 1545 in stem, petiole and leaf were located within a 1.2 Mb region. The NL gene Phvul.005G117900 is located in this region, which can be considered an important candidate gene for the non-organ-specific QTL identified here. Furthermore, a total of 39 epistatic QTL (E-QTLs) (21 for resistance to race 23 and 18 for resistance to race 1545) involved in 20 epistatic interactions (eleven and nine interactions for resistance to races 23 and 1545, respectively) were identified. None of the main and epistatic QTLs detected displayed significant environment interaction effects. The present research provides essential information not only for the better understanding of the plant-pathogen interaction but also for the application of genomic assisted breeding for anthracnose resistance improvement in common bean through application of marker-assisted selection (MAS).
Diffusion Coefficients of n-Alkanes and 1-Alcohols in Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN)

Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) is a polyester polymer with well-known good barrier properties. PEN had been used in the food packaging area till 2012 especially as refillable bottles for soft drinks, juices, and beer. Now, PEN is mainly used in technical applications, e.g., for data storage tapes and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) applications. The aim of the study was the determination of the diffusion coefficients of organic molecules (n-alkanes, 1-alcohols) in PEN. Diffusion and partition coefficients were determined from the lag times of the permeation process of the permeants through a commercial 12 μm biaxial-oriented PEN film. In addition, activation energies of diffusion EA were calculated according to the Arrhenius approach. The activation energy of diffusion EA follows a correlation with the molecular volume V of the investigated permeants. In addition, the preexponential factor D0 follows a correlation with the activation energy of diffusion EA. The results of this study for PEN (e.g., EA, DP) were compared to literature data on PET.
Latent Log-Linear Models for Handwritten Digit Classification

We present latent log-linear models, an extension of log-linear models incorporating latent variables, and we propose two applications thereof: log-linear mixture models and image deformation-aware log-linear models. The resulting models are fully discriminative, can be trained efficiently, and the model complexity can be controlled. Log-linear mixture models offer additional flexibility within the log-linear modeling framework. Unlike previous approaches, the image deformation-aware model directly considers image deformations and allows for a discriminative training of the deformation parameters. Both are trained using alternating optimization. For certain variants, convergence to a stationary point is guaranteed and, in practice, even variants without this guarantee converge and find models that perform well. We tune the methods on the USPS data set and evaluate on the MNIST data set, demonstrating the generalization capabilities of our proposed models. Our models, although using significantly fewer parameters, are able to obtain competitive results with models proposed in the literature.
A Postsynaptic Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter with Chloride Conductance Functionally Regulated by Neuronal Activity in Cerebellar Purkinje Cells

Excitatory amino acid (EAA) neurotransmitters induce postsynaptic depolarization by activating receptor-mediated cation conductances, a process known to underlie changes in synaptic efficacy. Using a patch-clamp method, we demonstrate here an EAA-dependent postsynaptic anion conductance mediated by EAA transporters present on cerebellar Purkinje cell bodies and dendrites in culture. This transporter-mediated current was modulated by neuronal activity: it exhibited facilitation for >20 min after transient depolarization accompanied by Ca2+ influx. Evidence is presented suggesting that the transporter facilitation is mediated by arachidonate release after Ca2+-dependent activation of phospholipase A2, which exists in Purkinje cells. This postsynaptic reuptake system may represent a novel modulatory mechanism of synaptic transmission as well as prevent neuronal excitotoxicity.
A study of the vaccinia virus interferon-γ receptor and its contribution to virus virulence

Vaccinia virus (VV) strain Western Reserve gene B8R encodes a 43 kDa glycoprotein that is secreted from infected cells early in infection as a homodimer. This protein has amino acid similarity with the extracellular domain of cellular IFN-c receptor (IFN-cR) and binds and inhibits IFN-c from a wide range of species. Here we demonstrate that the B8R protein also inhibits equine IFN-c. The 5« end of the B8R mRNA has been mapped by primer extension analysis and the contribution of IFN-cRs to VV virulence was studied by the construction of a deletion mutant lacking the B8R gene (vDB8R) and a revertant virus (vB8R-R) in which the B8R gene was re-inserted into the deletion mutant. A recombinant virus that expressed a soluble form of the mouse IFN-cR was also constructed and studied. The virulence of these viruses was tested in rodent models of infection. In mice, the loss of the VV IFN-cR did not affect virulence compared with WT and revertant viruses, consistent with the low affinity of the VV IFN-cR for mouse IFN-c. However, expression of the mouse soluble IFN-cR increased virus virulence slightly. In rabbit skin, loss of the VV IFN-cR produced lesions with histological differences compared with WT and revertant viruses. Lastly, the affinity constants of the VV IFN-cR for human and mouse IFN-c were determined by surface plasmon resonance.
Bipolar depression: the importance of being on remission.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study is to compare quality of life among currently depressed, subsyndromal and remitted patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and to assess whether the level of depression correlates with the scores of quality of life in BD patients. METHOD Sixty bipolar outpatients diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV who met criteria for diagnosis of BD type I, II or not otherwise specified (BD-NOS), and who were not currently on a manic or mixed episode were included. The main variables of interest were quality of life (QOL) assessed using the 26-item World Health Organization QOL instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) and depression assessed using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). RESULTS A linear trend test showed a dose response association between patients' current mood state and all domains of quality of life. Higher quality of life scores were found among remitted patients, followed by subsyndromal patients; depressed patients presented lower scores of quality of life, except for the social domain. The four domains of the WHOQOL scale correlated negatively with the HDRS. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that bipolar depression and residual symptoms of depression are negatively correlated with QOL in BD patients.
Exact pairwise error probability for block fading ofdm systems

In this paper, we derive the exact pairwise error probability (PEP) expression for Rayleigh fading OFDM systems. We begin with the quasi-static fading OFDM system, and derive the PEP expression for both the case when the eigenvalues of the channel code are all the same, as well as the more general case when they could be different. The exact PEP expression for the block Rayleigh fading OFDM system can then be determined using the general quasi-static fading result
Reliable communications over wireless mesh networks with inter and intra-flow network coding

In this work we present a flexible Network Coding (NC) module integrated within the ns-3 framework. We have exploited it to implement an inter-flow coding protocol, in which intermediate nodes (routers) combine packets belonging to different flows, as well as an intra-flow coding scheme, in which both the source and intermediate nodes linearly code packets of the same flow. We assess the performance of both approaches to provide reliable communication services over wireless mesh networks, considering that links are prone to cause packet drops, comparing their behavior with the one exhibited by legacy TCP.
Benznidazole and Posaconazole in Experimental Chagas Disease: Positive Interaction in Concomitant and Sequential Treatments

Background Current chemotherapy for Chagas disease is unsatisfactory due to its limited efficacy, particularly in the chronic phase, with frequent side effects that can lead to treatment discontinuation. Combined therapy is envisioned as an ideal approach since it may improve treatment efficacy whilst decreasing toxicity and the likelihood of resistance development. We evaluated the efficacy of posaconazole in combination with benznidazole on Trypanosoma cruzi infection in vivo. Methods and Findings Benznidazole and posaconazole were administered individually or in combination in an experimental acute murine infection model. Using a rapid treatment protocol for 7 days, the combined treatments were more efficacious in reducing parasitemia levels than the drugs given alone, with the effects most evident in combinations of sub-optimal doses of the drugs. Subsequently, the curative action of these drug combinations was investigated, using the same infection model and 25, 50, 75 or 100 mg/kg/day (mpk) of benznidazole in combination with 5, 10 or 20 mpk of posaconazole, given alone or concomitantly for 20 days. The effects of the combination treatments on parasitological cures were higher than the sum of such effects when the drugs were administered separately at the same doses, indicating synergistic activity. Finally, sequential therapy experiments were carried out with benznidazole or posaconazole over a short interval (10 days), followed by the second drug administered for the same period of time. It was found that the sequence of benznidazole (100 mpk) followed by posaconazole (20 mpk) provided cure rates comparable to those obtained with the full (20 days) treatments with either drug alone, and no cure was observed for the short treatments with drugs given alone. Conclusions Our data demonstrate the importance of investigating the potential beneficial effects of combination treatments with marketed compounds, and showed that combinations of benznidazole with posaconazole have a positive interaction in murine models of Chagas disease.
A token-based connectivity update scheme for unmanned aerial vehicle ad hoc networks

Code division multiple access mobile ad hoc networks (CDMA-MANETs) are envisioned to be the next-generation networking architecture for networking military platforms in a battlefield. In this paper we consider a CDMA ad hoc network consisting of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). We propose a token-based connectivity update scheme to solve the code collision problem in assigning code channels as well as the network link update problem for the CDMA UAV ad hoc network. Our proposed scheme uses a token message, which continuously circulates around the network in a non-predetermined order, to conduct assignment of code channels for each UAV. By using the broadcast properties of the wireless communication media, our proposed scheme is able to discover new or lost neighbors almost in real time. Moreover, the proposed token-based connectivity update scheme implements spatial reuse of code channels, which is mandatory in large-scale ad hoc networks due to the limited size of the CDMA code set. We then derive a theoretical result for approximating the connectivity update latency, which is further verified through computer simulations.
Techniques for effective vocabulary selection

The vocabulary of a continuous speech recognition (CSR) system is a significant factor in determining its performance. In this paper, we present three principled approaches to select the target vocabulary for a particular domain by trading off between the target out-of-vocabulary (OOV) rate and vocabulary size. We evaluate these approaches against an ad-hoc baseline strategy. Results are presented in the form of OOV rate graphs plotted against increasing vocabulary size for each technique.
Image editing for weathering effects with geometric details

We present an image-editing technique that can synthesize weathering effects with fine-scale geometric variations that occur together with weathering phenomena. We extract such fine-scale geometries as high-frequency components of the image semi-automatically according to the estimated weathering distribution in the image. The geometric details are modified when (de)-weathering is applied, yielding much more realistic appearance than previous methods without adding excessive user inputs. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the present technique through comparisons with previous methods.
A Study on Micro Forming of Metallic Composites

As the popularisation of electronical devices around the world, the development of micro system has attracted the attention of the researchers. The obvious advantages such as saving energy and portability make micro forming process becomes the rising start in manufacturing industry. Although the micro forming process shows a great potential, it still has significant barriers. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the effects of relevant parameters in micro forming process. One of the most significant barriers for micro forming process is size effect, which may be influenced by various factors such as the thickness of materials, lubrication and surface roughness. This study mainly focuses on the impact of holding time in heat treatment process on the properties of materials after the micro forming process. Moreover, due to the mechanical properties of composite material, Cu-Al-Cu laminate composite material is applied in this study. The results demonstrate that the Cu-Al-Cu laminate composite material that experiences 10-minute holding time in heat treatment process can gain better properties, which involves strength, plasticity and formability. Furthermore, a simulation model of the micro forming process is developed in this study and the results of simulation are also compared with the experimental results.
Finding Salient Dates for Building Thematic Timelines

We present an approach for detecting salient (important) dates in texts in order to automatically build event timelines from a search query (e.g. the name of an event or person, etc.). This work was carried out on a corpus of newswire texts in English provided by the Agence France Presse (AFP). In order to extract salient dates that warrant inclusion in an event timeline, we first recognize and normalize temporal expressions in texts and then use a machine-learning approach to extract salient dates that relate to a particular topic. We focused only on extracting the dates and not the events to which they are related.
Stimulation of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate (IP3) Receptor Subtypes by Analogues of IP3

Most animal cells express mixtures of the three subtypes of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) encoded by vertebrate genomes. Activation of each subtype by different agonists has not hitherto been examined in cells expressing defined homogenous populations of IP3R. Here we measure Ca2+ release evoked by synthetic analogues of IP3 using a Ca2+ indicator within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum of permeabilized DT40 cells stably expressing single subtypes of mammalian IP3R. Phosphorylation of (1,4,5)IP3 to (1,3,4,5)IP4 reduced potency by ∼100-fold. Relative to (1,4,5)IP3, the potencies of IP3 analogues modified at the 1-position (malachite green (1,4,5)IP3), 2-position (2-deoxy(1,4,5)IP3) or 3-position (3-deoxy(1,4,5)IP3, (1,3,4,5)IP4) were similar for each IP3R subtype. The potency of an analogue, (1,4,6)IP3, in which the orientations of the 2- and 3-hydroxyl groups were inverted, was also reduced similarly for all three IP3R subtypes. Most analogues of IP3 interact similarly with the three IP3R subtypes, but the decrease in potency accompanying removal of the 1-phosphate from (1,4,5)IP3 was least for IP3R3. Addition of a large chromophore (malachite green) to the 1-phosphate of (1,4,5)IP3 only modestly reduced potency suggesting that similar analogues could be used to measure (1,4,5)IP3 binding optically. These data provide the first structure-activity analyses of key IP3 analogues using homogenous populations of each mammalian IP3R subtype. They demonstrate broadly similar structure-activity relationships for all mammalian IP3R subtypes and establish the potential utility of (1,4,5)IP3 analogues with chromophores attached to the 1-position.
High‐Resolution Solid‐State NMR Studies on Uniformly [13C,15N]‐Labeled Ubiquitin

Understanding of the effects of intermolecular interactions, molecular dynamics, and sample preparation on high‐resolution magic‐angle spinning NMR data is currently limited. Using the example of a uniformly [13C,15N]‐labeled sample of ubiquitin, we discuss solid‐state NMR methods tailored to the construction of 3D molecular structure and study the influence of solid‐phase protein preparation on solid‐state NMR spectra. A comparative analysis of 13C′, 13Cα, and 13Cβ resonance frequencies suggests that 13C chemical‐shift variations are most likely to occur in protein regions that exhibit an enhanced degree of molecular mobility. Our results can be refined by additional solid‐state NMR techniques and serve as a reference for ongoing efforts to characterize the structure and dynamics of (membrane) proteins, protein complexes, and other biomolecules by high‐resolution solid‐state NMR.
Specialised excitation and wavelet feature extraction in fault diagnosis of analog electronic circuits

This article presents design of specialised aperiodic excitation. Purpose is improvement of fault diagnosis of analog electronic circuits. The goal is enhancement of catastrophic (hard) faults location. Further improvement is achieved after utilising additional feature extraction by means of wavelet transform. Obtained results are compared to fault diagnosis without feature extraction and diagnosis with the simplest aperiodic excitation: step function.
Rapid rendering of apparent contours of implicit surfaces for real-time tracking

This paper addresses the problem of real-time visual tracking of structures with curved surfaces by localising the apparent contour in each frame of an image sequence. A scheme is presented for rapidly rendering the apparent contour from a predicted pose. Errors between this contour and the observed contour are then used to update the pose estimate for tracking. The rendering algorithm makes use of two contributions. Firstly, a differential equation is derived which traces out the contour generators on an iso-surface of a scalar field. Secondly a set of rules for determining the visibility of each part of the apparent contour is presented. These techniques are used to render structures of moderate complexity in under 30ms which permits real-time tracking at video frame rate.
Electroactive polymers for sensing

Electromechanical coupling in electroactive polymers (EAPs) has been widely applied for actuation and is also being increasingly investigated for sensing chemical and mechanical stimuli. EAPs are a unique class of materials, with low-moduli high-strain capabilities and the ability to conform to surfaces of different shapes. These features make them attractive for applications such as wearable sensors and interfacing with soft tissues. Here, we review the major types of EAPs and their sensing mechanisms. These are divided into two classes depending on the main type of charge carrier: ionic EAPs (such as conducting polymers and ionic polymer–metal composites) and electronic EAPs (such as dielectric elastomers, liquid-crystal polymers and piezoelectric polymers). This review is intended to serve as an introduction to the mechanisms of these materials and as a first step in material selection for both researchers and designers of flexible/bendable devices, biocompatible sensors or even robotic tactile sensing units.
Human Discrimination of Depth of Field in Stereoscopic and Nonstereoscopic Photographs

Depth of field (DOF) is defined as the distance range within which objects are perceived as sharp. Previous research has focused on blur discrimination in artificial stimuli and natural photographs. The discrimination of DOF, however, has received less attention. Since DOF introduces blur which is related to distance in depth, many levels of blur are simultaneously present. As a consequence, it is unclear whether discrimination thresholds for blur are appropriate for predicting discrimination thresholds for DOF. We therefore measured discrimination thresholds for DOF using a two-alternative forced-choice task. Ten participants were asked to observe two images and to select the one with the larger DOF. We manipulated the scale of the scene—that is, the actual depth in the scene. We conducted the experiment under stereoscopic and nonstereoscopic viewing conditions. We found that the threshold for a large DOF (39.1 mm) was higher than for a small DOF (10.1 mm), and the thresholds decreased when scale of scene increased. We also found that there was no significant difference between stereoscopic and nonstereoscopic conditions. We compared our results with thresholds predicted from the literature. We concluded that using blur discrimination thresholds to discriminate DOF may lead to erroneous conclusions because the depth in the scene significantly affects people's DOF discrimination ability.
Isolation and Characterization of Micromonospora Phage ΦHAU8 and Development into a Phasmid

ABSTRACT ΦHAU8, a temperate Micromonospora phage, which is capable of infecting Micromonospora sp. strains 40027 and A-M-01, was isolated. The ΦHAU8 virion has a polyhedral head and a flexible tail and has a small genome (ca. 42.5 kb) with double-stranded DNA and cohesive ends. ΦHAU8 was most stable at 4°C in Difco nutrient broth within a pH range of 6 to 12. ΦHAU8 plaque formation on Micromonospora sp. strain 40027 was optimal with 32 mM Ca2+ and 30 mM Mg2+. A lysogen, LXH8, was isolated from turbid plaques, and a phasmid derivative that functions as a λ cosmid vector in Escherichia coli and as a phage in Micromonospora sp. strain 40027 was constructed. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of AseI-digested total DNA showed that ΦHAU8 DNA integrates into the 500-kb AseI fragment of Micromonospora sp. strain 40027.