Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transgene Is MHC Haplotype-Dependent d Ea Protection of Murine Lupus by the

A high-level expression of a transgene, Ea d , encoding the I-E d a -chain is very effective in protection against murine lupus. To investigate the speciﬁc contribution of select H-2 haplotypes on the Ea d transgene-mediated disease-suppressing effect, we generated H-2 congenic (NZB 3 BXSB)F 1 hybrid mice bearing either H-2 b/b , H-2 d/b , or H-2 d/d haplotype, and compared the trans-gene-mediated protective effect on the clinical development (autoantibody production and glomerulonephritis) of lupus in these F 1 hybrids. The level of protection was most remarkable in mice bearing the I-E 2 H-2 b/b haplotype but was only minimal in I-E 1 H-2 d/d F 1 hybrids. Additional analysis demonstrated a marked suppression of lupus in I-E 1 H-2 k/k (MRL 3 BXSB)F 1 hybrid mice, indicating that the transgene is able to suppress autoimmune responses even in mice already expressing I-E molecules at a homozygous level. Our results indicate that the level of the transgene-mediated protection is dependent on the host H-2 haplotype. This suggests that the autoimmune suppressive activity of the Ea d transgene is likely to be determined through the interaction of the transgene product with the host MHC class II molecules, providing new insight into the role of MHC in lupus-like autoimmunity. The Journal of Immunology, 2000, 164: 505–511. circulating B from transgenic comparable nontransgenic
Decentralized overlapping control of a platoon of vehicles

A methodology is proposed for longitudinal control design of platoons of automotive vehicles within intelligent vehicle/highway systems (IVHSs). The proposed decentralized overlapping control law is obtained by using the inclusion principle, i.e., by decomposing the original system model by an appropriate input/state expansion, and by applying the linear quadratic (LQ) optimization to the locally extracted subsystems. The local quadratic criteria directly reflect the desired system performance. Optimization is carried out by using a sequential algorithm adapted to the lower block triangular (LBT) structure of the closed-loop system model. Contraction to the original space provides a decentralized platoon controller which preserves the asymptotic stability and the steady-state behavior of the controller obtained in the expanded space. Conditions for eliminating the "slinky effect" and obtaining the strict string stability are defined; it is shown that the corresponding constraints on the controller parameters are not too restrictive. A new dynamic platoon controller structure, consisting of a reduced order observer and a static feedback map, is obtained by applying the inclusion principle to the decentralized overlapping platoon control design in the case when the information from the preceding vehicle is missing. Numerous simulation results show that the proposed methodology provides a reliable tool for a systematic and efficient design of platoon controllers within IVHS.
An Unsupervised Technical Readability Ranking Model by Building a Conceptual Terrain in LSI

Searching for domain-specific related information has gained a high popularity in recent years. Naturally, everyone is not at par with each other when it comes to knowledge about the concepts of a domain. A doctor may be well versed in her field of specialization and probably would search for advanced medical documents on the Internet. But she may look for a much simpler material related to Computer Programming. However, current information retrieval (IR) systems just return a mixed set of results based on similarity and popularity of the web pages. Existing methods which have tried to address the issue of matching readers with texts in domain-specific IR either use an ontology or some seed concepts thereby limiting their application in certain domains only. Moreover, readability methods cannot address the issue in domain-specific IR ranking because they fail to give precise prediction when applied on web pages. We address this problem in domain-specific search using a conceptual model where the sequence of the terms in a document is modeled as a connected conceptual terrain. Our model has achieved significant improvement in ranking documents by technical readability.
Fruit Self-Thinning: A Trait to Consider for Genetic Improvement of Apple Tree

In apple (Malus×domestica Borkh), as in many fruiting crops, fruit maintenance vs abscission is a major criteria for production profitability. Growers routinely make use of chemical thinning agents to control total fruit load. However, serious threats for the environment lead to the demand for new apple cultivars with self-thinning properties. In this project, we studied the genetic determinism of this trait using a F1 progeny derived from the cross between the hybrid INRA X3263, assumed to possess the self-thinning trait, and the cultivar ‘Belrène’. Both counting and percentage variables were considered to capture the fruiting behaviour on different shoot types and over three consecutive years. Besides low to moderate but significant genetic effects, mixed models showed considerable effects of the year and the shoot type, as well as an interaction effect. Year effect resulted mainly from biennial fruiting. Eight Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) were detected on several linkage groups (LG), either independent or specific of the year of observation or the shoot type. The QTL with highest LOD value was located on the top third of LG10. The screening of three QTL zones for candidate genes revealed a list of transcription factors and genes involved in fruit nutrition, xylem differentiation, plant responses to starvation and organ abscission that open new avenues for further molecular investigations. The detailed phenotyping performed revealed the dependency between the self-thinning trait and the fruiting status of the trees. Despite a moderate genetic control of the self-thinning trait, QTL and candidate genes were identified which will need further analyses involving other progenies and molecular investigations.
Crowdsourcing: Tackling Challenges in the Engagement of Citizens with Smart City Initiatives

The engagement and involvement of citizens with the design of Smart City (SC) initiatives help ensure a maximisation of benefit for all stakeholders. However, undertaking processes that facilitate citizen engagement often involves prohibitive challenges in cost, design and deployment mechanisms, particularly for small cities which have limited resources. We report on a project carried out in Cork City, a small city in Ireland, where a crowdsourcing-inspired method was used. Academics, local government, volunteers and civil organisations came together to collaboratively design and carry out a study to represent local interests around the deployment of smart city infrastructure. Our project demonstrates a new way of translating crowdsourcing for use in government problem-solving. It was three-times less in cost, creative in design, and flexible but collaborative in deployment, resulting in high volume of reliable data for project prioritisation and implementation.
Objective Assessment of Foveal Cone Loss Ratio in Surgically Closed Macular Holes Using Adaptive Optics Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy

Purpose To use adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AO-SLO) to quantify cone loss ratio in the foveola in order to assess foveal cone status and to investigate relationships between foveal structural abnormalities and visual function in patients with macular hole (MH) after surgery. Methods We evaluated 10 normal eyes of 10 healthy volunteers and 19 eyes of 18 patients in whom anatomically successful MH closure had been performed. All subjects underwent a comprehensive ophthalmologic examination that included measurements of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and AO-SLO. Results On AO-SLO regular cone mosaic was seen in all normal eyes whereas dark regions suggesting cone loss were seen in all eyes after MH repair. Visual acuity was better in eyes without dark regions at the center of the fovea than in eyes with them (P = 0.001). Cone loss ratio in the foveola correlated with postoperative visual acuity (P<0.001), mean foveal sensitivity (P = 0.029), thinner inner and outer segments at the center of the fovea (P = 0.002), larger size of the disrupted inner and outer segment junction line (P = 0.018), and cone outer segment tip line (P<0.001). Cone loss ratio in the foveola was significantly greater in eyes that had moderately reflective foveal lesions after surgery (P = 0.006). Conclusions AO-SLO is a useful means of assessing foveal cone damage objectively and quantitatively. The location and extent of cone damage, especially if it involves the foveola, is an important factor determining visual function after MH surgery.
A work-in-progress platform for solving knowledge sharing issues in organizations

In this paper, we propose a knowledge sharing platform based on the technology of ontology and agent, in order to solve the issues in the knowledge sharing activities within organizations. Based on the analysis of literature, the issues within current organizational knowledge sharing activities and knowledge sharing technologies are explored. By means of the literature analysis, we present a new definition of knowledge sharing in the context of organizational environment. Against these issues, our research objectives are delivered, and potential research effects are indicated. After that we choose a research approach and propose the conceptual model of our knowledge sharing platform. Finally we state the progress of our current research work, make conclusions and plan further works.
Privacy Preservation Measure using t-closeness with combined l-diversity and k-anonymity

Public survey data that may Increase the exposure of privacy and census information about the particulars is called the Data sensitivity. To maintain the privacy increase the similarity in the data item and introduce redundancy in such a way that information about individual users can not be disclose. This technique also desires the actual information of the data to not change. In this work we propose a unique method by combining two of the most widely used privacy preservation techniques: K-anonymity and l-diversity. The k-anonymity privacy requirement for publishing micro data requires that each equivalence class (i.e., a set of records that are indistinguishable from each other with respect to certain “identifying” attributes) contains at least k records. Diversity requires that each equivalence class has at least well-represented (in Section 2) values for each sensitive attribute. In this article, we show that -diversity has a number of limitations. In particular, it is neither necessary nor sufficient to prevent attribute disclosure. Motivated by these limitations, we propose a new notion of privacy called “closeness”. We ﬁrst present the base model t-closeness, which requires that the distribution of a sensitive attribute in any equivalence class is close to the distribution of the attribute in the overall table (i.e., the distance between the two distributions should be no more than a threshold t). Based on entropy based closeness and distance measure between the class of data we propose a comprehensive technique to change the dataset to preserve the privacy while keeping the original meaning intact.
A simple and efficient method for retrieving surface UV radiation dose rate from satellite

A continual trend of ozone depletion has drawn much attention to the biologically harmful UV-B radiation from the Sun reaching the Earth's surface. Satellite remote sensing provides a sole means of monitoring the global distribution of surface UV-B. At present, there are very few inversion algorithms with sufficient accuracy and robustness for operational application. A new algorithm is proposed here to infer surface UV-B irradiance and UV erythemal dose rate from satellite observations. The method is based on a simple model that treats UV radiative transfer in three distinct layers: an absorbing layer of ozone, a scattering layer of molecules, cloud and aerosol particles, and a layer of the Earth's surface. UV-B irradiance and dose rate at the surface are determined by the transmittance of the ozone layer, which can be derived from TOMS total ozone measurements, and the reflectance of the scattering layer, which can be determined from any UV or visible channel outside of ozone absorption bands. The inversion algorithm developed here is very simple (a couple of analytical expressions) and contains a few parameters that can be readily obtained from satellites (except for aerosol variables). The performance of the algorithm is validated against the results of comprehensive radiative transfer modeling using a DISORT-based model. Under a wide range of conditions (clear, cloudy, and turbid atmospheres) the retrieved surface UV-B irradiance and erythemal dose rate from the simple inversion algorithm are nearly as accurate as those calculated from the DISRORT-based model but require much less computation and input data.
Correlated Discretized Expression Score: A Method for Identifying Gene Interaction Networks from Time Course Microarray Expression Data

One of the goals of genomic expression analysis is to construct gene interaction networks from microarray data. Time course microarray data is a common place to seek causal relationships between the expression of a regulator and its effect on the expression of its targets. By proposing gene expression patterns of regulator and target genes based on biological expectation of regulatory interactions, it is possible to propose a system to identify these patterns. This system is based on the correlated discretized expression (CDE) score calculated from microarray time course data. The CDE-score is derived by discretizing microarray data to identify significant gene expression changes. The usefulness of this method is demonstrated using a set of hypothetical gene expression data and the analysis of S. cerevisiae cell cycle microarray data
Feasibility of using transmitters of opportunity for precision multitarget tracking

Passive Coherent Location (PCL) is a low-cost system for tracking of air targets clandestinely using illuminators of opportunity such as FM broadcast and digital TV. Due to an increased interest in PCL systems, researchers have been working on different configurations of available sources of opportunity and receivers capable of extracting plots from reflected signals of opportunity. The configuration can be multiple-transmitter-single-receiver or singletransmitter- multiple-receiver. Unlike standard radar systems, which can be optimized for detection probability and/or false alarm rate using different transmitted signals and adaptive thresholding, PCL systems are prone to poor detection due to low signal-to-noise (SNR). This leads to high clutter with low probability of detection of target of interest. In this work, we implement a multisensor-multitarget tracking system that fuses measurements from different PCL systems to improve tracking results. The benefits of the fusion are demonstrated using real data from NATA SET Panel 108 on PCL as well as simulated data.
Exact Complexity Results and Polynomial-Time Algorithms for Derivative Accumulation

We discuss the complexity of evaluating certain collections of monic multilinear polynomials using operations in {×, +}. The functions we consider, which are defined on paths in directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), represent derivative computations that are based on the chain rule and have direct applications in high-performance scientific computing. Our main results concern functions derived from single-source, single-sink DAGs whose maximal paths all have length three. We derive tight, exact lower bounds for the numbers of multiplications, additions, and total arithmetic operations needed. Moreover, we show that, given such a DAG, an arithmetic circuit (or straight-line program) of minimum size that evaluates J (G) can be constructed in polynomial time. In contrast, we show the (perhaps surprising) result that the problem of finding a circuit of minimum size for a given DAG becomes NP-hard, even for the restricted class of DAGs considered in this paper, when some subset of the arcs may be labeled with the multiplicative identity 1 rather than an indeterminate.
Interplay between group size, huddling behavior and basal metabolism: an experimental approach in the social degu

Mammals exposed to low temperatures increase their metabolic rate to maintain constant body temperature and thus compensate for heat loss. This high and costly energetic demand can be mitigated through thermoregulatory behavior such as social grouping or huddling, which helps to decrease metabolic rate as function of the numbers of individuals grouped. Sustained low temperatures in endothermic animals produce changes over time in rates of energy expenditure, by means of phenotypic plasticity. However, the putative modulating effect that huddling exerts on the flexibility of the basal metabolic rate (BMR) due to thermal acclimation remains unknown. We determined BMR values in Octodon degus, an endemic Chilean rodent, after being acclimated to either 15 or 30°C during 60 days, both alone and in groups of three and five individuals. At 15°C, BMR of huddling individuals was 40% lower than that of animals housed alone. Moreover, infrared thermography revealed a significant increase in local surface temperatures in huddled animals. Furthermore, individual thermal conductance was lower in individuals acclimated to 15°C than to 30°C, but no differences were observed between single and grouped animals. Our results indicate that huddling prevents an increase in BMR when animals are acclimated to cold conditions and that this effect is proportional to the number of animals grouped.
Towards an Efficient Integration of Spatial Join Queries and IR-style Keyword Search

Recently, with the amount of available textual data in spatial databases growing rapidly, more and more applications are required to support both spatial joins and keyword-based text information retrieval. In this paper, we discuss a new type of query, called as SJIRKS, which efficiently integrates spatial join on spatial data and IR-style keyword search on textual data. In particular, the proposed SJ-IRKS queries return users with the most interesting spatial object pairs by adapting state-of-the-art Information Retrieval (IR) relevance ranking strategies. For answering SJ-IRKS queries efficiently, we present a pipeline algorithm named PL*SJ-IRKS which outputs the results in an incremental way. The experimental results show that our proposed algorithm has superior performance and excellent scalability.
Tissue-specific alternative polyadenylation at the imprinted gene Mest regulates allelic usage at Copg2

The gene Mest (also known as Peg1) is regulated by genomic imprinting in the mouse and only the paternal allele is active for transcription. MEST is similarly imprinted in humans, where it is a candidate for the growth retardation Silver-Russell syndrome. The MEST protein belongs to an ancient family of hydrolases but its function is still unknown. It is highly conserved in vertebrates although imprinted expression is only observed in marsupials and eutherians, thus a recent evolutionary event. Here we describe the identification of new imprinted RNA products at the Mest locus, longer variants of the RNA, called MestXL, transcribed >10 kb into the downstream antisense gene Copg2. During development MestXL is produced exclusively in the developing central nervous system (CNS) by alternative polyadenylation. Copg2 is biallelically expressed in the embryo except in MestXL-expressing tissues, where we observed preferential expression from the maternal allele. To analyze the function of the MestXL transcripts in Copg2 regulation, we studied the effects of a targeted allele at Mest introducing a truncation in the mRNA. We show that both the formation of the MestXL isoforms and the allelic bias at Copg2 are lost in the CNS of mutants embryos. Our results propose a new mechanism to regulate allelic usage in the mammalian genome, via tissue-specific alternative polyadenylation and transcriptional interference in sense–antisense pairs at imprinted loci.
Two Concepts of Money, and the Future of Europe

There has been a continuing debate between those who argue that the use of currency was based essentially on the power of the issuing authority - i.e. that currency becomes money primarily because the coins are struck with the insignia of majesty, and not so much because they happen to be made of gold, silver and copper, - and those who argue that the value of currency depends primarily, or solely, on the intrinsic value of the backing of that currency.
Assembly of archaeal signal recognition particle from recombinant components.

Signal recognition particle (SRP) takes part in protein targeting and secretion in all organisms. Searches for components of archaeal SRP in primary databases and completed genomes indicated that archaea possess only homologs of SRP RNA, and proteins SRP19 and SRP54. A recombinant SRP was assembled from cloned, expressed and purified components of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus. Recombinant Af-SRP54 associated with the signal peptide of bovine pre-prolactin translated in vitro. As in mammalian SRP, Af-SRP54 binding to Af-SRP RNA required protein Af-SRP19, although notable amounts bound in absence of Af-SRP19. Archaeoglobus fulgidus SRP proteins also bound to full-length SRP RNA of the archaeon Methanococcus jannaschii, to eukaryotic human SRP RNA, and to truncated versions which corresponded to the large domain of SRP. Dependence on SRP19 was most pronounced with components from the same species. Reconstitutions with heterologous components revealed a significant potential of human SRP proteins to bind to archaeal SRP RNAs. Surprisingly, M.jannaschii SRP RNA bound to human SRP54M quantitatively in the absence of SRP19. This is the first report of reconstitution of an archaeal SRP from recombinantly expressed purified components. The results highlight structural and functional conservation of SRP assembly between archaea and eucarya.
Measures of human capital: A review of the literature

Human capital is increasingly believed to play an important role in the growth process, however, adequately measuring its stock remains controversial. This paper identifies three general approaches to human capital measurement; cost-based, income-based and education-based, and presents a critical review of the theories and their applications to data from a range of countries. Emphasis on empirical evidence will be given to the case of New Zealand.