Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The price of being seen to be just: an intention signalling strategy for indirect reciprocity

Cooperation among strangers is a marked characteristic of human sociality. One prominent evolutionary explanation for this form of human cooperation is indirect reciprocity, whereby each individual selectively helps people with a ‘good’ reputation, but not those with a ‘bad’ reputation. Some evolutionary analyses have underscored the importance of second-order reputation information (the reputation of a current partner's previous partner) for indirect reciprocity as it allows players to discriminate justified ‘good’ defectors, who selectively deny giving help to ‘bad’ partners, from unjustified ‘bad’ defectors. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether people in fact make use of second-order information in indirect reciprocity settings. As an alternative, we propose the intention signalling strategy, whereby defectors are given the option to abandon a resource as a means of expunging their ‘bad’ reputation. Our model deviates from traditional modelling approaches in the indirect reciprocity literature in a crucial way—we show that first-order information is sufficient to maintain cooperation if players are given an option to signal their intention. Importantly, our model is robust against invasion by both unconditionally cooperative and uncooperative strategies, a first step towards demonstrating its viability as an evolutionarily stable strategy. Furthermore, in two behavioural experiments, when participants were given the option to abandon a resource so as to mend a tarnished reputation, participants not only spontaneously began to use this option, they also interpreted others' use of this option as a signal of cooperative intent.
Polycomb repressive complex 2 in an autoinhibited state

Polycomb-group proteins control many fundamental biological processes, such as anatomical development in mammals and vernalization in plants. Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is responsible for methylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27), and trimethylated H3K27 (H3K27me3) is implicated in epigenetic gene silencing. Recent genomic, biochemical, and structural data indicate that PRC2 is broadly conserved from yeast to human in many aspects. Here, we determined the crystal structure of an apo-PRC2 from the fungus Chaetomium thermophilum captured in a bona fide autoinhibited state, which represents a novel conformation of PRC2 associated with enzyme regulation in light of the basal and stimulated states that we reported previously. We found that binding by the cofactor S-adenosylmethionine mitigates this autoinhibited structural state. Using steady-state enzyme kinetics, we also demonstrated that disrupting the autoinhibition results in a vastly activated enzyme complex. Autoinhibition provides a novel structural platform that may enable control of PRC2 activity in response to diverse transcriptional states and chromatin contexts and set a ground state to allow PRC2 activation by other cellular mechanisms as well.
Design, development and locomotion control of compliant soft mobile robot

The paper presents a novel design of compliant soft mobile robot using shape memory alloy. This paper also demonstrates the capability of shape memory alloy (Ni-Ti) as an actuator for a micro robot. Soft robots provide better flexibility and softness which increases the range of locomotion and their capability in complex environment. The robot presented in the paper has 60X50X50 mm dimension. Shape memory alloy actuators were chosen because of its high power to weight ratio and gearless mechanism. The structure of the robot has two disc connected with six SMA in parallel. The four SMA used are 0.2mm diameter memorized to coil shape and the other two are 0.375mm diameter memorized to straight shape. The actuation of these two different sets of SMA with proper control were able to give an antagonistic locomotion. The locomotion was made in one direction using the method of differential friction where an additional gripper at the end was given with different adhesive material. The tension or pull force due to connecting wires of the SMA was compensated using a roller like mechanism. Hence taking benefit from the actuation of shape memory alloy, we present a novel soft robot prototype that utilizes bio-inspired antagonistic actuation for its locomotion.
Disruptive innovation and the two views of entrepreneurial opportunity

In view of the importance of disruptive innovations (DI) in both emerging and advanced economies, a better understanding of opportunities for disruptive innovations is called for. We provide case study exemplars that illustrate how entrepreneurs have undertaken disruptive innovations for customers of low-end and new markets. These are innovations that have the potential to be disruptive but perceiving and acting on opportunities to innovate in this way is problematic. By extending research on the generation of entrepreneurial opportunities into the arena of disruptive innovations, the paper aims to contribute to understanding of both DI and the nature of opportunity generation and to provide a basis for guidance to practitioners.
The active site of hydroxynitrile lyase from Prunus amygdalus: Modeling studies provide new insights into the mechanism of cyanogenesis

The FAD‐dependent hydroxynitrile lyase from almond (Prunus amygdalus, PaHNL) catalyzes the cleavage of R‐mandelonitrile into benzaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid. Catalysis of the reverse reaction—the enantiospecific formation of α‐hydroxynitriles—is now widely utilized in organic syntheses as one of the few industrially relevant examples of enzyme‐mediated C–C bond formation. Starting from the recently determined X‐ray crystal structure, systematic docking calculations with the natural substrate were used to locate the active site of the enzyme and to identify amino acid residues involved in substrate binding and catalysis. Analysis of the modeled substrate complexes supports an enzymatic mechanism that includes the flavin cofactor as a mere “spectator” of the reaction and relies on general acid/base catalysis by the conserved His‐497. Stabilization of the negative charge of the cyanide ion is accomplished by a pronounced positive electrostatic potential at the binding site. PaHNL activity requires the FAD cofactor to be bound in its oxidized form, and calculations of the pKa of enzyme‐bound HCN showed that the observed inactivation upon cofactor reduction is largely caused by the reversal of the electrostatic potential within the active site. The suggested mechanism closely resembles the one proposed for the FAD‐independent, and structurally unrelated HNL from Hevea brasiliensis. Although the actual amino acid residues involved in the catalytic cycle are completely different in the two enzymes, a common motif for the mechanism of cyanogenesis (general acid/base catalysis plus electrostatic stabilization of the cyanide ion) becomes evident.
Desensitization shortens the high‐quantal‐content endplate current time course in frog muscle with intact cholinesterase

1 The desensitization induced by bath‐applied carbachol or acetylcholine (ACh) and potentiated by proadifen (SKF 525A) was studied in the frog sartorius with intact synaptic acetylcholinesterase (AChE). 2 The reduction in the density and number of postsynaptic receptors produced by desensitization lowered the amplitude of the endplate currents (EPCs) and shortened the EPC decay when the quantal content (m) of the EPC was about 170 and when multiple release of quanta at single active zones was highly probable. The shortening of high‐quantal‐content EPCs persisted for at least 15 min after the wash‐out of agonists, at a time when the amplitude had recovered fully. 3 The decay times of the low‐quantal‐content EPCs recorded from preparations pretreated with 5 mm Mg2+ (m≈ 70) and single‐quantum miniature endplate currents (MEPCs) were not affected by carbachol, ACh or proadifen. 4 The desensitization of ACh receptors potentiated by proadifen, prevented completely the 6‐ to 8‐fold prolongation of EPC which was induced by neostigmine inhibition of synaptic AChE. 5 It is assumed that high‐quantal‐content EPCs increase the incidence of multiple quanta release at single active zones and the probability of repetitive binding of ACh molecules which leads to EPC prolongation. The shortening which persists after complete recovery of the amplitude during wash‐out of the exogenous agonist is probably due to ‘trapping’ of ACh molecules onto rapidly desensitized receptors and the reduced density of functional AChRs during the quantum action.
Ensuring fidelity of underwater acoustic measurements at low frequencies

The water column is being investigated increasingly with low-frequency sound, of order 1–10 kilohertz or less, with both conventional sonars and the difference-frequency band of parametric sonars. While high-frequency applications abound, scaling to lower frequencies is not always straightforward. A number of challenges, framed here as considerations, are reviewed to support the overall aim of ensuring measurement fidelity at low frequencies. The particular considerations, or concerns, are those of the nearfield, acoustic sampling volume, range compensation, beam patterns, and calibration.
STAT5-mediated expression of oncogenic miR-155 in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

The pathogenesis of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) remains elusive. Recent discoveries indicate that the oncogenic microRNA miR-155 is overexpressed in affected skin from CTCL patients. Here, we address what drives the expression of miR-155 and investigate its role in the pathogenesis of CTCL. We show that malignant T cells constitutively express high levels of miR-155 and its host gene BIC (B cell integration cluster). Using ChIP-seq, we identify BIC as a target of transcription factor STAT5, which is aberrantly activated in malignant T cells and induced by IL-2/IL-15 in non-malignant T cells. Incubation with JAK inhibitor or siRNA-mediated knockdown of STAT5 decreases BIC/miR-155 expression, whereas IL-2 and IL-15 increase their expression in cell lines and primary cells. In contrast, knockdown of STAT3 has no effect, and BIC is not a transcriptional target of STAT3, indicating that regulation of BIC/miR-155 expression by STAT5 is highly specific. Malignant proliferation is significantly inhibited by an antisense-miR-155 as well as by knockdown of STAT5 and BIC. In conclusion, we provide the first evidence that STAT5 drives expression of oncogenic BIC/miR-155 in cancer. Moreover, our data indicate that the STAT5/BIC/miR-155 pathway promotes proliferation of malignant T cells, and therefore is a putative target for therapy in CTCL.
Subband encoding by wavelet filter cascade for band width compression in FDTD simulation

The wavelet filter cascade method for subband encoding of finite-difference time-domain simulation is presented. This method implements computational bandwidth compression via a filter bank comprised of discrete wavelet transforms which maps simulation data or measured data into a compressed representation with little degradation of signal integrity. This letter discusses the use of the WFC technique to augment the FDTD method in particular but may be extended to other time domain methods. Simulation results are compared to standard FDTD results for accuracy and signal fidelity, with reduction in problem size summarized.
Hybrid Thin Film Antenna for Automotive Radar at 79 GHz

A novel hybrid approach to designing multilayer antennas for automotive radar using a thin single layer printed circuit board and multilayer thin films is presented in this paper. A new substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) slot fed stacked grid antenna element is designed using this approach. The flexibility of this approach in designing antenna arrays is shown by integrating the same antenna element with three different feed networks based on SIW, grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW), and microstrip (MS) transmission lines. The antenna is designed to operate in the frequency band between 77 and 81 GHz for automotive radar. Measurement results on $1\times 4$ arrays show an impedance matching bandwidth and a realized gain of 7.8% (76.3–82.5 GHz) and 9.2 dBi, respectively, for SIW feed antenna, 11.3% (76.3–85.5 GHz) and 10.7 dBi, respectively, for GCPW feed antenna, and 11.3% (75.7–84.8 GHz) and 12.1 dBi, respectively, for MS feed antennas. The proposed antenna can be used for medium- and short-range automotive radar applications.
Adaptive analog network coding strategy with variable slot numbers in two-way relay systems

Analog network coding (ANC) can effectively improve the outage performance and increase its spectrum efficiency for two-way relay systems. An adaptive analog network coding strategy (AVSN-ANC strategy) was proposed in this paper, which dynamically adjusts the number of timeslots according to the instantaneous channel information. In this manner, the outage probability can be significantly reduced. We describe the detailed realization of the strategy, derive the closed-form expression for the lower bound of the outage probability, analyze the achievable diversity order, and discuss the power allocation issue. Simulation results validate the theoretical analysis. Compared to conventional ANC protocol with fixed slot numbers, the proposed AVSN-ANC strategy offers better outage performance. In addition, it is shown from our study that, the equal power allocation scheme, despite its simplicity, can obtain the near-optimal performance in terms of the outage probability.
Inhibition of ID1–BMPR2 Intrinsic Signaling Sensitizes Glioma Stem Cells to Differentiation Therapy

Purpose: Normal stem cells tightly control self-renewal and differentiation during development, but their neoplastic counterparts, cancer stem cells (CSCs), sustain tumorigenicity both through aberrant activation of stemness and evasion of differentiation. Although regulation of CSC stemness has been extensively studied, the molecular mechanisms suppressing differentiation remain unclear. Experimental Design: We performed in silico screening and in vitro validation studies through Western blotting, qRT-PCR for treatment of WNT and SHH signaling inhibitors, and BMP signaling inducer with control and ID1-overexpressing cells. We also performed in vivo drug treatment assays with Balb/c nude mice. Results: Inhibitor of differentiation 1 (ID1) abrogated differentiation signals from bone morphogenetic protein receptor (BMPR) signaling in glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) to promote self-renewal. ID1 inhibited BMPR2 expression through miRNAs, miR-17 and miR-20a, which are transcriptional targets of MYC. ID1 increases MYC expression by activating WNT and SHH signaling. Combined pharmacologic blockade of WNT and SHH signaling with BMP treatment significantly suppressed GSC self-renewal and extended survival of tumor-bearing mice. Conclusions: Collectively, our results suggested that ID1 simultaneously regulates stemness through WNT and SHH signaling and differentiation through BMPR-mediated differentiation signaling in GSCs, informing a novel therapeutic strategy of combinatorial targeting of stemness and differentiation. Clin Cancer Res; 24(2); 383–94. ©2017 AACR.
Evaluating the effects of providing financial incentives to tuberculosis patients and health providers in China.

SETTING A project was implemented in 50 low-income counties of Shanxi, where transport incentives were provided to poor patients for their first visit for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis as well as for referral and supervision incentives for doctors. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of providing incentives on TB case detection and treatment. METHODS A group of 51 control counties in Shanxi comparable to the intervention counties was selected. Routine TB reporting was reviewed at baseline (January-September 2004) and during the project period (January-September 2005) in both groups. A patient survey was conducted in two counties in each group, with interviews of 119 new smear-positive patients treated during the intervention. RESULTS Patients who received travel incentives had an annual individual income similar to those who did not. The notification rates of new smear-positive cases improved in both groups; however, improvement was less marked in the intervention group (70%) than in the control group (99%). Travel incentives did not reduce patient and doctor delays in the intervention group compared with the control group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION Providing incentives was not effective in improving TB control. There are two possible reasons for this: the poor were not well-targeted due to a lack of operational tools, and more influential health systems issues were not addressed.
Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II (HLA-DRB and -DQB) Allele Frequencies in Botswana: Association with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection

ABSTRACT Southern Africa is facing an unprecedented public health crisis due to the high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Vaccine development and testing efforts, mainly based on elicitation of HIV-specific T cells, are under way. To understand the role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles in HIV pathogenesis and to facilitate HLA-based HIV-1 vaccine design, we analyzed the frequencies of HLA class II alleles within the southern African country of Botswana. Common HLA class II alleles were identified within the Batswana population through the molecular genotyping of DRB and DQB1 loci. The DRB1 allele groups DRB1*01, DRB1*02/15, DRB1*03, DRB1*11, and DRB1*13 were encountered at frequencies above 20%. Within the DQB1 locus, DQB1*06 (47.7%) was the most common allele group, followed by DQB1*03 (39.2%) and DQB1*04 (25.8%). We found that DRB1*01 was more common in HIV-negative than in HIV-positive individuals and that those who expressed DRB1*08 had lower median viral loads. We demonstrate that the frequencies of certain HLA class II alleles in this Batswana population differ substantially from those in North American populations, including African-Americans. Common allele groups within Botswana cover large percentages of other African populations and could be targeted in regional vaccine designs.
Saccades and smooth pursuit eye movements trigger equivalent gaze-cued orienting effects

Research has established that a perceived eye gaze produces a concomitant shift in a viewer’s spatial attention in the direction of that gaze. The two experiments reported here investigate the extent to which the nature of the eye movement made by the gazer contributes to this orienting effect. On each trial in these experiments, participants were asked to make a speeded response to a target that could appear in a location toward which a centrally presented face had just gazed (a cued target) or in a location that was not the recipient of a gaze (an uncued target). The gaze cues consisted of either fast saccadic eye movements or slower smooth pursuit movements. Cued targets were responded to faster than uncued targets, and this gaze-cued orienting effect was found to be equivalent for each type of gaze shift both when the gazes were un-predictive of target location (Experiment 1) and counterpredictive of target location (Experiment 2). The results offer no support for the hypothesis that motion speed modulates gaze-cued orienting. However, they do suggest that motion of the eyes per se, regardless of the type of movement, may be sufficient to trigger an orienting effect.
An Open Reading Frame Element Mediates Posttranscriptional Regulation of Tropoelastin and Responsiveness to Transforming Growth Factor β1

ABSTRACT Elastin, an extracellular component of arteries, lung, and skin, is produced during fetal and neonatal growth. We reported previously that the cessation of elastin production is controlled by a posttranscriptional mechanism. Although tropoelastin pre-mRNA is transcribed at the same rate in neonates and adults, marked instability of the fully processed transcript bars protein production in mature tissue. Using RNase protection, we identified a 10-nucleotide sequence in tropoelastin mRNA near the 5′ end of the sequences coded by exon 30 that interacts specifically with a developmentally regulated cytosolic 50-kDa protein. Binding activity increased as tropoelastin expression dropped, being low in neonatal fibroblasts and high in adult cells, and treatment with transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), which stimulates tropoelastin expression by stabilizing its mRNA, reduced mRNA-binding activity. No other region of tropoelastin mRNA interacted with cellular proteins, and no binding activity was detected in nuclear extracts. The ability of the exon-30 element to control mRNA decay and responsiveness to TGF-β1 was assessed by three distinct functional assays: (i) insertion of exon 30 into a heterologous gene conferred increased reporter activity after exposure to TGF-β1; (ii) addition of excess exon 30 RNA slowed tropoelastin mRNA decay in an in vitro polysome degradation assay; and (iii) a mutant tropoelastin cDNA lacking exon 30, compared to wild-type cDNA, produced a stable transcript whose levels were not affected by TGF-β1. These findings demonstrate that posttranscriptional regulation of elastin production in mature tissue is conferred by a specific element within the open reading frame of tropoelastin mRNA.
Communicating Inequalities to Enhance Support for Obesity-Prevention Policies: The Role of Social Comparisons, Age Frames, and Emotion

ABSTRACT With certain populations in the United States at higher risk for obesity than other populations, public health advocates have attempted to draw attention to these inequalities to galvanize support for obesity-mitigation policies. Yet research comparing different messages about social inequalities indicates that not all social comparisons are persuasive. Drawing on Weiner’s (1986) theory of perceived responsibility and social motivation, I experimentally tested promising message frames about obesity disparities. Participants (N = 653) read one of six messages following a 3 (social comparison frame: geographic vs. racial vs. no-comparison) × 2 (age frame: child vs. adult) between-subjects design. Unexpectedly, geographic frames (rural/urban) indirectly decreased policy support relative to the control frame by way of increased counterarguing. Compared to adult frames about obesity inequalities, childhood frames evoked more sympathy and less internal attribution, which in turn positively predicted support for obesity-prevention policies. Practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
Hot-Carrier Degradation in SiGe HBTs: A Physical and Versatile Aging Compact Model

This paper presents a new physical compact model for interface state creation due to hot-carrier degradation in advanced SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). An analytical model for trap density is developed through an accurate solution of the rate equation describing generation and annihilation of interface traps. The analytical aging law has been derived and implemented in terms of base recombination current parameters in HiCuM compact model and its accuracy has been validated against results from long-term aging tests performed close to the safe-operating areas of various HBT technologies. The model implementation uses a single additional node, alike previous implementations, thereby preserving its simplicity, yet improving the accuracy and the physical basis of degradation.