Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Open Access Research Article Transcriptome Sequencing and Comparative Analysis of Cucumber Flowers with Different Sex Types

article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons At-tribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Background: Cucumber, Cucumis sativus L. , is an economically and nutritionally important crop of the Cucurbitaceae family and has long served as a primary model system for sex determination studies. Recently, the sequencing of its whole genome has been completed. However, transcriptome information of this species is still scarce, with a total of around 8,000 Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) and mRNA sequences currently available in GenBank. In order to gain more insights into molecular mechanisms of plant sex determination and provide the community a functional genomics resource that will facilitate cucurbit research and breeding, we performed transcriptome sequencing of cucumber flower buds of two near-isogenic lines, WI1983G, a gynoecious plant which bears only pistillate flowers, and WI1983H, a hermaphroditic plant which bears only bisexual flowers. Result: Using Roche-454 massive parallel pyrosequencing technology, we generated a total of 353,941 high quality EST sequences with an average length of 175bp, among which 188,255 were from gynoecious flowers and 165,686 from hermaphroditic flowers. These EST sequences, together with ~5,600 high quality cucumber EST and mRNA sequences available in GenBank, were clustered and assembled into 81,401 unigenes, of which 28,452 were contigs and 52,949 were singletons. The unigenes and ESTs were further mapped to the cucumber genome and more than 500 alternative splicing events were identified in 443 cucumber genes. The unigenes were further functionally annotated by comparing their sequences to different protein and functional domain databases and assigned with Gene Ontology (GO) terms. A biochemical pathway database containing 343 predicted pathways was also created based on the annotations of the unigenes. Digital expression analysis identified ~200 differentially expressed genes between flowers of WI1983G and WI1983H and provided novel insights into molecular mechanisms of plant sex determination process. Furthermore, a set of SSR motifs and high confidence SNPs between WI1983G and WI1983H were identified from the ESTs, which provided the material basis for future genetic linkage and QTL analysis. Conclusion: A large set of EST sequences were generated from cucumber flower buds of two different sex types. Differentially expressed genes between these two different sex-type flowers, as well as putative SSR and SNP markers, were identified. These EST sequences provide valuable information to further understand molecular mechanisms of plant sex determination process and forms a …
When remembering the past suppresses memory for future actions

Remembering planned actions at the correct time in the future is an integral component of prospective cognition. Recent studies on future remembering have led to suggestions that prospective cognition might be based on past experience. To test this hypothesis, we focused on retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF), which usually indicates that remembering past events suppresses memory for related but different past events. The current study assessed RIF in two kinds of event-based prospective memory (PM) tasks using either focal or non-focal cues for ongoing tasks. Participants studied six members from each of eight taxonomic categories and then practiced recalling three of the six members from four of the eight categories using category-stem cues. This retrieval practice suppressed the detection of non-practiced members of the practiced categories during the PM task with non-focal cues (Experiment 1) but not with focal cues (Experiment 2). The results suggest that recall of certain items inhibits the function of the others as PM cues, but only if the PM task does not largely share its processing with the ongoing task.
Comprehensive analysis of the effects of bending strain on GFET on ultra‐flat flexible PI substrate using varnish PI

The study investigated how bending strain affected graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) that had been fabricated on ultra-flat flexible polyimide (PI) film, and the instability of graphene from repeated bending strain. An ultra-flat surface of PI film was achieved by using varnish PI with gradually increasing temperature. The average surface roughness was reduced from 23.23 to 0.32 nm. Bending strain distorted the symmetric atomic structure of graphene, and thereby caused a shift of two-dimensional peak by −42.67 cm−1/% in the Raman spectrum and acted such as uniaxial strain. Bending strain on the GFET increased its energy bandgap, and the increased energy bandgap decreased the ‘off’ current and increased the current on/off ratio. Bending strain increased carrier concentration and decreased carrier mobility. Repeated bending strain damaged graphene by increasing defects, and thereby increased its resistivity by ∼25%. The damage could be recovered by thermal annealing at 200°C.
Diagnostic of path and gate delay faults in non-scan sequential circuits

The goal of fault diagnosis is to identify the causes of device failures. Different techniques have been proposed for stuck-at fault diagnosis in combinational as well as sequential circuits. On the other side, diagnosis of delay faults has received attention for the first category of circuits, but not for synchronous sequential circuits. So, this paper concerns delay fault diagnosis for non-scan circuits. A preliminary version of the proposed method is first given. New concepts for allowing path tracing in the proposed diagnosis process (identification of self-masking) are also presented. As the method is based on path tracing through the sequential circuit, gate delay faults as well as path delay faults are considered and may be located in a faulty machine. Results of experiments on ISCAS-89 benchmark circuits are finally discussed.
Continual neighborhood tracking for moving objects using adaptive distances

Based on the recent progress of digital cartography, global positioning systems (GPSs), and hand-held devices, there are growing needs of technology that provides neighborhood information to moving objects according to their locations and trajectories. In this paper we propose spatial query generation models that take account of the current position and the past/future trajectories of a moving object to provide appropriate neighborhood information to it. For this purpose, we introduce an influence model of trajectory points and derive neighborhood query generation models using adaptive ellipsoid distances. We describe query processing strategies for these query generation models and show incremental query update procedures to support continual query facilities with low processing cost. Finally, we present experimental results to show the effectiveness of our approach.
On the Excluded Minors for Quaternary Matroids

This paper strengthens the excluded-minor characterization of GF(4)-representable matroids. In particular, it is shown that there are only finitely many 3-connected matroids that are not GF(4)-representable and that have no U2, 6-, U4, 6-, P6-, F? 7-, or (F? 7)*-minors. Explicitly, these matroids are all minors of S(5, 6, 12) with rank and corank at least 4, and P? 8, the matroid that can be obtained from S(5, 6, 12) by deleting two elements, contracting two elements, and then relaxing the only pair of disjoint circuit-hyperplanes.
Court Reporters: A Viable Solution for the Challenges of Focus Group Data Collection?

Focus group interviews are a common approach to data collection in qualitative research projects. They are, however, a method with the potential for methodological and pragmatic difficulties, many of which stem from transcribing focus group data from an audiotape. An alternative to postinterview transcription is the use of a court reporter. Advantages found using court reporters were increased accuracy, timely receipt of transcripts, less distraction for focus group facilitators, guaranteed confidentiality, time saved reviewing transcripts, and convenience. Because court reporters do not traditionally work in health research, there might be issues with medical terminology that require diligence on the part of the researcher to ensure that jargon is appropriately identified and transcribed. Using court reporters in rural areas might be cost-prohibitive because of travel expenses. Court reporters offer a viable and worthwhile approach to data transcription, and in our experience, have provided our research team with rich and accurate data.
Using reward-weighted imitation for robot Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement Learning is an essential ability for robots to learn new motor skills. Nevertheless, few methods scale into the domain of anthropomorphic robotics. In order to improve in terms of efficiency, the problem is reduced onto reward-weighted imitation. By doing so, we are able to generate a framework for policy learning which both unifies previous reinforcement learning approaches and allows the derivation of novel algorithms. We show our two most relevant applications both for motor primitive learning (e.g., a complex Ball-in-a-Cup task using a real Barrett WAM robot arm) and learning task-space control.
and Ewing Lusk Fault Tolerance in Message Passing Interface Programs

In this paper we examine the topic of writing fault-tolerant Message Passing Interface (MPI) applications. We discuss the meaning of fault tolerance in general and what the MPI Standard has to say about it. We survey several approaches to this problem, namely checkpointing, restructuring a class of standard MPI programs, modifying MPI semantics, and extending the MPI specification. We conclude that, within certain constraints, MPI can provide a useful context for writing application programs that exhibit significant degrees of fault tolerance.
[Delirium after cardiac surgery].

Zagadnienie majaczenia i deficytów funkcji poznawczych po zabiegach kardiochirurgicznych jest opisywane w literaturze naukowej od początku rozwoju procedur chirurgicznych przeprowadzanych na otwartym sercu [1]. Przełomem w postępie technik kardiochirurgicznych było przeprowadzenie w 1954 r. zabiegu pomostowania aortalno-wieńcowego (CABG) z wykorzystaniem krążenia pozaustrojowego [2]. Do najczęściej wykonywanych zabiegów kardiochirurgicznych należą wspomniane CABG i operacje wymiany lub naprawy uszkodzonych zastawek serca (CVR). Wśród innych procedur należy wymienić usunięcie śluzaka serca i wymianę aorty wstępującej. Do korzyści płynących z CABG i CVR należy zmniejszenie dolegliwości bólowych, poprawa jakości życia i wydłużenie czasu przeżycia operowanych chorych [3]. Z drugiej strony zabiegi kardiochirurgiczne niosą ze sobą ryzyko powikłań neurologicznych i psychiatrycznych, do których zaliczamy między innymi majaczenie. Majaczenie jest powikłaniem, które istotnie wpływa na rokowanie: zwiększa współchorobowość i śmiertelność, wydłuża czas hospitalizacji [4, 5]. Zwiększa także ryzyko instytucjonalizacji chorego i upośledza samodzielne funkcjonowanie [6].
In vitro controlled release of cisplatin from gold-carbon nanobottles via cleavable linkages

Carbon nanotubes’ (CNTs) hollow interior space has been explored for biomedical applications, such as drug repository against undesirable inactivation. To further devise CNTs as smart material for controlled release of cargo molecules, we propose the concept of “gold-carbon nanobottles”. After encapsulating cis-diammineplatinum(II) dichloride (cisplatin, CDDP) in CNTs, we covalently attached gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) at the open-tips of CNTs via different cleavable linkages, namely hydrazine, ester, and disulfide-containing linkages. Compared with our previous study in which more than 80% of CDDP leaked from CNTs in 2 hours, AuNPs were found to significantly decrease such spontaneous release to <40%. In addition, CDDP release from AuNP-capped CNTs via disulfide linkage was selectively enhanced by twofolds in reducing conditions (namely with 1 mM dithiothreitol [DTT]), which mimic the intracellular environment. We treated human colon adenocarcinoma cells HCT116 with our CDDP-loaded gold-carbon nanobottles and examined the cell viability using lactate dehydrogenase assay. Interestingly, we found that our nanobottles with cleavable disulfide linkage exerted stronger cytotoxic effect in HCT116 compared with normal human fetal lung fibroblast cells IMR-90. Therefore, we infer that our nanobottles strategy with inbuilt disulfide linkage could attain selective release of payload in highly reductive tumor tissues while avoiding collateral damage to normal tissues.
The ecology and adaptive evolution of influenza A interspecies transmission

Since 2013, there have been several alarming influenza‐related events; the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses into North America, the detection of H10N8 and H5N6 zoonotic infections, the ongoing H7N9 infections in China and the continued zoonosis of H5N1 viruses in parts of Asia and the Middle East. The risk of a new influenza pandemic increases with the repeated interspecies transmission events that facilitate reassortment between animal influenza strains; thus, it is of utmost importance to understand the factors involved that promote or become a barrier to cross‐species transmission of Influenza A viruses (IAVs). Here, we provide an overview of the ecology and evolutionary adaptations of IAVs, with a focus on a review of the molecular factors that enable interspecies transmission of the various virus gene segments.
Cryo-EM structure of an antibody that neutralizes dengue virus type 2 by locking E protein dimers

An antibody to lock dengue virus out Mosquito-borne dengue virus (DENV) is a growing public health threat. Nearly 400 million people are infected annually, and no vaccine is currently available. Fibriansah et al. report that a human antibody (2D22) specific for DENV serotype 2, when given therapeutically, can protect mice from a lethal form of this virus. Structural analysis revealed that 2D22 binds across multiple DENV envelope proteins, which probably blocks the ability of these proteins to assemble into the orientation necessary for viral entry. The epitope where 2D22 binds to the virus may therefore represent a potential vaccine target. Science, this issue p. 88 A human antibody specific for dengue virus locks viral envelope proteins into a conformation that prohibits viral entry. There are four closely-related dengue virus (DENV) serotypes. Infection with one serotype generates antibodies that may cross-react and enhance infection with other serotypes in a secondary infection. We demonstrated that DENV serotype 2 (DENV2)–specific human monoclonal antibody (HMAb) 2D22 is therapeutic in a mouse model of antibody-enhanced severe dengue disease. We determined the cryo–electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of HMAb 2D22 complexed with two different DENV2 strains. HMAb 2D22 binds across viral envelope (E) proteins in the dimeric structure, which probably blocks the E protein reorganization required for virus fusion. HMAb 2D22 “locks” two-thirds of or all dimers on the virus surface, depending on the strain, but neutralizes these DENV2 strains with equal potency. The epitope defined by HMAb 2D22 is a potential target for vaccines and therapeutics.
Living Matter Observations with a Novel Hyperspectral Supercontinuum Confocal Microscope for VIS to Near-IR Reflectance Spectroscopy

A broad range hyper-spectroscopic microscope fed by a supercontinuum laser source and equipped with an almost achromatic optical layout is illustrated with detailed explanations of the design, implementation and data. The real novelty of this instrument, a confocal spectroscopic microscope capable of recording high resolution reflectance data in the VIS-IR spectral range from about 500 nm to 2.5 μm wavelengths, is the possibility of acquiring spectral data at every physical point as defined by lateral coordinates, X and Y, as well as at a depth coordinate, Z, as obtained by the confocal optical sectioning advantage. With this apparatus we collect each single scanning point as a whole spectrum by combining two linear spectral detector arrays, one CCD for the visible range, and one InGaAs infrared array, simultaneously available at the sensor output channel of the home made instrument. This microscope has been developed for biomedical analysis of human skin and other similar applications. Results are shown illustrating the technical performances of the instrument and the capability in extracting information about the composition and the structure of different parts or compartments in biological samples as well as in solid statematter. A complete spectroscopic fingerprinting of samples at microscopic level is shown possible by using statistical analysis on raw data or analytical reflectance models based on Abelés matrix transfer methods.
An Event Model for Deadline Verification of Hard Real-Time Systems

A mandatoiy condition for event driven hard real-time systems to meet deadlines under all circunzstaizces is the bounded number of events in time. Traditionally the verification of hard deadlines is achieved for periodic events or sporadic events with given interarrival tinzes only. A new event nzodel presented in this paper provides the means to describe the occurrence of events bounded in time iitteivals more precisely to achieve a better offline schedulability test. New deadline verification techniques for a basic task nzodel are outlined in this paper. These techniques have heen extended to verifr deadlines in real process control environments.
Age‐related changes in brain hemodynamics; A calibrated MRI study

Blood oxygenation‐level dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging signal changes in response to stimuli have been used to evaluate age‐related changes in neuronal activity. Contradictory results from these types of experiments have been attributed to differences in cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2). To clarify the effects of these physiological parameters, we investigated the effect of age on baseline CBF and CMRO2.
Practising peer review in organizations: a qualifier for knowledge dissemination and legitimization

A key issue in many organizations is how to disseminate information in an effective way and, more importantly, how to make use of this information in order to create new knowledge. One way of addressing this problem is to focus on how information is socially transformed into knowledge. This includes how knowledge is handled in practice and how the knowledge produced is qualified as being something worth knowing and acting upon. Two well-established practices for doing this are the refereeing system and the peer review process. These are used in scientific communities as a means of validating and legitimating knowledge, for example by reviewing journal papers before publishing or project proposals before granting funds, etc. This paper argues that peer review is a useful concept when looking at knowledge creation and legitimization in organizations. The social meaning of peer review is to legitimize new knowledge by organizationally sanctioning it and thereby creating a platform for collective sense making. This paper uses an example from a field study in a pharmaceutical company in order to illustrate this argument. The study took place in a quality support department where the quality of health care products and processes was assessed. The organization had a need for fast and reliable updating of information that could influence how the production process of pharmaceuticals should be carried out. In order to cope with these problems the department established an ‘evaluation loop’, which shared several characteristics with the peer review process.
Vegetable intake, but not fruit intake, is associated with a reduction in the risk of cancer incidence and mortality in middle-aged Korean men.

BACKGROUND Few prospective studies have examined the preventive role of fruit and vegetable intakes against cancer in Asian populations. OBJECTIVE This prospective study evaluated the associations between total fruit intake, total vegetable intake, and total fruit and vegetable intake and total cancer incidence and mortality. METHODS This prospective cohort study included 14,198 men 40-59 y of age enrolled in the Seoul Male Cohort Study from 1991 to 1993. Fruit and vegetable intakes were assessed by a validated food-frequency questionnaire. We used Cox proportional hazard regression models to compute RR ratios and 95% CIs. RESULTS During the follow-up period from 1993 to 2008, 1343 men were diagnosed with cancer, and 507 died of cancer. Total vegetable intake was linearly associated with cancer incidence but was nonlinearly associated with cancer mortality; by comparing ≥ 500 g/d with <100 g/d of total vegetable intake, the multivariable-adjusted RR for total cancer incidence was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.58, 0.90; P-trend: 0.02; P-nonlinearity: 0.06). For total cancer mortality, the multivariable-adjusted RRs comparing 100 to <200 g/d, 200 to <300 g/d, 300 to <500 g/d, and ≥ 500 g/d with <100 g/d of total vegetable intake were 0.68 (95% CI: 0.53, 0.88), 0.75 (95% CI: 0.57, 0.98), 0.72 (95% CI: 0.54, 0.95), and 0.67 (95% CI: 0.47, 0.95), respectively (P-trend: 0.09; P-nonlinearity: 0.01). No associations were found between total fruit intake and total cancer incidence and mortality; ≥ 300 g/d vs. <50 g/d, RR: 1.04 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.25; P-trend = 0.56) for incidence and RR: 0.89 (95% CI: 0.66, 1.21; P-trend = 0.71) for mortality. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that total vegetable intake is linearly associated with cancer incidence but nonlinearly associated with total cancer mortality in middle-aged Korean men. However, total fruit intake is not associated with total cancer incidence or mortality.
Experimental Study of Aqueous Humor Flow in a Transparent Anterior Segment Phantom by Using PIV Technique

Pupillary block is considered as an important cause of primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). In order to investigate the effect of pupillary block on the hydrodynamics of aqueous humor (AH) in anterior chamber (AC) and potential risks, a 3D printed eye model was developed to mimic the AH flow driven by fluid generation, the differential pressure between AC and posterior chambers (PC) and pupillary block. Particle image velocimetry technology was applied to visualize flow distribution. The results demonstrated obvious differences in AH flow with and without pupillary block. Under the normal condition (without pupillary block), the flow filed of AH was nearly symmetric in the AC. The highest flow velocity located at the central of AC when the differential pressure between AC and PC was under 5.83 Pa, while it appeared near the cornea and iris surface when the differential pressure was greater than 33.6 Pa. Once pupillary block occurred, two asymmetric vortices with different sizes were observed and the shear stress in the paracentral cornea and iris epithelium increased greatly. It can be concluded that the pupillary block and the elevated differential pressure between AC and PC could change the flow distribution and thus increase the risk of corneal endothelial cells detachment. This study could make a further understanding of the pathogenesis of PACG.