Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Ethylene-Insensitive sickle Mutant of Medicago truncatula Shows Altered Auxin Transport Regulation during Nodulation1[W]

We studied the ethylene-insensitive, hypernodulating mutant, sickle (skl), to investigate the interaction of ethylene with auxin transport during root nodulation in Medicago truncatula. Grafting experiments demonstrated that hypernodulation in skl is root controlled. Long distance transport of auxin from shoot to root was reduced by rhizobia after 24 h in wild type but not in skl. Similarly, the ethylene precursor 1-amino cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid inhibited auxin transport in wild type but not in skl. Auxin transport at the nodule initiation zone was significantly reduced by rhizobia after 4 h in both wild type and skl. After 24 h, auxin transport significantly increased at the nodule initiation zone in skl compared to wild type, accompanied by an increase in the expression of the MtPIN1 and MtPIN2 (pin formed) auxin efflux transporters. Response assays to different auxins did not show any phenotype that would suggest a defect of auxin uptake in skl. The auxin transport inhibitor N-1-naphthylphtalamic acid inhibited nodulation in wild type but not skl, even though N-1-naphthylphtalamic acid still inhibited auxin transport in skl. Our results suggest that ethylene signaling modulates auxin transport regulation at certain stages of nodule development, partially through PIN gene expression, and that an increase in auxin transport relative to the wild type is correlated with higher nodule numbers. We also discuss the regulation of auxin transport in skl in comparison to previously published data on the autoregulation mutant, super numerary nodules (van Noorden et al., 2006).
Phototaxis of Spiral Waves

The drift of spiral waves toward regions of higher light intensity was observed experimentally in the ruthenium-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. A light gradient can thus be used to manipulate optical information in new computational systems based on photochemical media. The drift of a gradient that is rotationally invariant in space is three to four times as fast as that of a translationally invariant gradient. Simulations based on the use of a cellular automaton, which is made isotropic by a semirandom distribution of cells, are in agreement with the experimental results.
Reliability Aware Routing for Intra-Wireless Body Sensor Networks

With the promise of cost effective, unobtrusive, and unsupervised continuous monitoring, wireless body sensor networks (WBSNs) have attracted a wide range of monitoring applications such as medical and healthcare, sport activity, and rehabilitation systems. Most WBSN's medical and healthcare applications are real-time and life-critical, which require strict guarantee of quality of service (QoS), in terms of latency, and reliability. Reliability in routing plays key role in providing the overall reliability in WBSNs. This paper presents reliability aware routing (RAR) for intra-WBSNs that aims to provide high reliability for reliability constraint data packets. It considers the high and dynamic path loss due to body postural movements and temperature rise of the implanted biomedical sensor nodes. We have used two network models in this paper: RAR without Relays (RAR) and RAR with Relays (RARR). The simulation results reveal that RARR outperforms the other state-of-the-art schemes while RAR has slightly low reliability at low data rates as compared to RARR but significantly higher than other state-of-the-art schemes.
Adenosine modulates transmission at the hippocampal mossy fibre synapse via direct inhibition of presynaptic calcium channels

The modulation of synaptic transmission by presynaptic ionotropic and metabotropic receptors is an important means to control and dynamically adjust synaptic strength. Even though synaptic transmission and plasticity at the hippocampal mossy fibre synapse are tightly controlled by presynaptic receptors, little is known about the downstream signalling mechanisms and targets of the different receptor systems. In the present study, we identified the cellular signalling cascade by which adenosine modulates mossy fibre synaptic transmission. By means of electrophysiological and optical recording techniques, we found that adenosine activates presynaptic A1 receptors and reduces Ca2+ influx into mossy fibre terminals. Ca2+ currents are directly modulated via a membrane‐delimited pathway and the reduction of presynaptic Ca2+ influx can explain the inhibition of synaptic transmission. Specifically, we found that adenosine modulates both P/Q‐ and N‐type presynaptic voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channels and thereby controls transmitter release at the mossy fibre synapse.
Genetic structure in the European endemic seabird, Phalacrocorax aristotelis, shaped by a complex interaction of historical and contemporary, physical and nonphysical drivers

Geographically separated populations tend to be less connected by gene flow, as a result of physical or nonphysical barriers preventing dispersal, and this can lead to genetic structure. In this context, highly mobile organisms such as seabirds are interesting because the small effect of physical barriers means nonphysical ones may be relatively more important. Here, we use microsatellite and mitochondrial data to explore the genetic structure and phylogeography of Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of a European endemic seabird, the European shag, Phalacrocorax aristotelis, and identify the primary drivers of their diversification. Analyses of mitochondrial markers revealed three phylogenetic lineages grouping the North Atlantic, Spanish/Corsican and eastern Mediterranean populations, apparently arising from fragmentation during the Pleistocene followed by range expansion. These traces of historical fragmentation were also evident in the genetic structure estimated by microsatellite markers, despite significant contemporary gene flow among adjacent populations. Stronger genetic structure, probably promoted by landscape, philopatry and local adaptation, was found among distant populations and those separated by physical and ecological barriers. This study highlights the enduring effect of Pleistocene climatic changes on shag populations, especially within the Mediterranean Basin, and suggests a role for cryptic northern refugia, as well as known southern refugia, on the genetic structure of European seabirds. Finally, it outlines how contemporary ecological barriers and behavioural traits may maintain population divergence, despite long‐distance dispersal triggered by extreme environmental conditions (e.g. population crashes).
The male perineal sling: Intermediate‐term results

In men with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) due to sphincteric incompetence, surgical options include periurethral injection of bulking agents, implantation of an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS), and sling surgery. Short‐term results of the male sling have generally been favorable. We report the intermediate‐term results of the bone‐anchored male perineal sling with a median of 4 years and minimum of 2 years follow‐up.
Analysis and design of CMOS RF LNAs with ESD protection

approved: Kartikeya Mayaram An analysis that accounts for the effect of standard electrostatic discharge (ESD) structures on critical LNA specifications of noise figure, input matching and gain is presented. It is shown that the ESD structures degrade LNA performance particularly for higher frequency applications. Two LNAs, one with ESD protection and one without, which operate at 2.4 GHz have been fabricated in a 0.l5pm CMOS process. The LNAs feature one of the best reported performances for CMOS LNAs to date. The LNA with ESD protection achieves a gain of 12dB, a NF of 2.77dB and an IIP3 of 2.4dBm with a power consumption of 4.65mW. The LNA without ESD protection achieves a gain of 14dB, a NF of 2.36dB and an 11P3 of -2.2dBm with a power consumption of 4.65mW. Redacted for privacy
FAIRTRADE TOWN INITIATIVE AS A MARKETING TOOL

Fairtrade Town (FTT) campaign was initially launched in 2000 in English town of Garstand in order to promote Fairtrade products. After ten years of performing and more than 1000 places awarded with the title, FTT could now be perceived as beneficial not only to the disadvantaged producers from the underdeveloped countries, but also to the places themselves. The aim of this article is to present the FTT initiative as a marketing tool, which could affect the image of the places and give them additional value and distinctiveness in the eyes of different target markets, such as citizens, tourists or new residents. The article presents examples of how the FTT title can create additional value to the places and become a part of the city’s marketing message
Electronic commerce‐based internationalisation of small, niche‐oriented retailing companies

Purpose – The main object of this research paper is to analyse the dynamic internationalisation process in small retailing firms, achieved on the basis of electronic commerce – a combination that has seldom been investigated. An analysis of dynamic internationalisation in companies presumes that the businesses concerned are observed over a longer period of time, which is why the paper focuses on the case of one specific company.Design/methodology/approach – The basis of the analysis is a theory‐based framework which refers to two opposing approaches in international management, namely the incremental, experiential learning perspective, and the revolutionary perspective. The framework and the case study look specifically at market‐oriented, supply side‐oriented, and management processes. Based on an extended case study on a small, born‐global firm, the many facets of increasing professionalisation have been documented.Findings – The paper shows that small, niche‐oriented companies can be successful interna.
THE IMPACT OF BLOCKS TRADES IN THE UNDERLYING MARKET ON OPTION PRICES: EVIDENCE FROM THE ASX

This dissertation examines the impact a block trade in the underlying stock market has on options listed on that stock in the options market. There is significant debate in previous literature in regards to which market leads, and which market is preferred by informed traders. This thesis contributes to, and extends previous literature, by examining the relationship between stocks and options around block trades in a different geographical setting. Furthermore, by using a combined dataset provided by SIRCA and the Australian Securities Exchange, this dissertation is able to identify individual brokers executing block trades and analyse their activity in the options market. This unique dataset allows a direct test of the “inter-market front-running” hypothesis proposed by in prior literature. Results from this dissertation are consistent with previous literature, and indicate that the stock market leads the options market by as much as fifteen minutes. Analysis of Broker ID’s confirms that there is no evidence of any inter-market front-running.
5G Terminals with Multi-Streaming Features for Real-Time Mobile Broadband Applications

In this paper we present a novel QoS framework on the network layer for 5G terminals with vertical multihoming and multi-streaming capabilities by using radio networks aggregation. The proposed framework is leading to high performance utility networks with QoS provisioning for real-time multimedia services by achieving low packet delays, stochastic queuing network stability and highest mobile broadband capabilities i.e. bitrates. The proposed QoS algorithm is implemented within the mobile terminals on one side, and in dedicated proxy servers on mobile core network side. It is based on Lyapunov optimization techniques and it is targeted to handle simultaneously multiple multimedia service flows via multiple radio network interfaces in parallel.
Optimal Investment Strategy for Energy Performance Improvements in Existing Buildings

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all those individuals without whom I could not have completed this research thesis. Looking back over past six months, I realized the amount of guidance & cooperation that I received from several people. Without their help, this would just have been a report rather than a research thesis. First, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to Prof. Castro my advisor, my mentor; without his assistance, guidance and enthusiastic support I would never have completed this work. I cannot give enough thanks to Prof. Augenbroe for the never ending support, for trusting my capability and assigning me a challenging thesis topic. I would like to really thank them for freezing time in their busy schedules to discuss my queries, and steering me out of crucial situations (umpteen times). I would like to sincerely thank Prof Stylianos Kavadias for helping me throughout my thesis work. I would like to thank Dr. Linda Thomas for standing by me during difficult times. I would also like to thank Mrs. Karen Houston for helping me get all my paperwork done on time. Finally, I couldn't have accomplished this or any of the other things in my life without the love and support of my parents, my sister, and of course my " Invaluable friends ". I would like to thank my " BC-laptop " that permitted me to complete this research work without any crashes, errors…! I thank you all. Thank you, almighty god for your blessings.
Students Left Behind

The No Child Left Behind Act requires states to publish high school graduation rates for public schools; the U.S. Department of Education is currently considering a mandate to standardize high school graduation rate reporting. However, no consensus exists among researchers or policymakers about how to measure high school graduation rates. We use longitudinal data tracking a cohort of students at 82 Texas public high schools to assess the precision of three widely used high school graduation rate measures: Texas’s official graduation rates and two competing estimates based on publicly available enrollment data from the Common Core of Data. Our analyses show that these widely used approaches yield highly imprecise estimates of high school graduation and persistence rates. We propose several guidelines for using existing graduation and persistence rate data and argue that a national effort to track students as they progress through high school is essential to reconcile conflicting estimates.
Satellites Capture the Drought Severity Around China's Largest Freshwater Lake

A severe drought occurred in the region of Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China in early 2011, causing various environmental problems and posing a significant threat to local animals and humans. The event has caught extensive attention from many environmental groups as well as from national and international news media. Yet there has been no quantitative report on the severity of the drought except some qualitative description of water levels and local dry/wet conditions. Here we demonstrate how satellites can provide a quantitative measure of the severity of the large-scale drought, and how the current drought event may compare with historical conditions. The inclusion of the multi-source satellite data over a 12-year period also led to the conclusion that the drought was primarily caused by the significantly low precipitation. While there was a widespread rumor in China that the impoundment of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) could lead to the severe drought, available data did not support such a hypothesis. Through this example, we hope to provide a perspective on the unique value of multi-source satellite data in quantifying environmental conditions in a changing climate.
Structure, conduct and performance of Plantain Marketing in Edo State, Nigeria

The study examined the conduct, structure and performance of plantain marketing in Edo State. The objectives of the study were to examine the structure and conduct of plantain marketing system, assess its performance and estimate the cost and returns in plantain marketing. Data for the study were collected using a well-structured questionnaire administered to 240 marketers of plantain selected using a two–stage sampling process involving random and purposive sampling techniques. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis, marketing margins, marketing efficiency and the Gini-coefficient. The results indicate that the market was characterized with many buyers and sellers reflecting a pure competitive structure, prices were determined mainly by factors such as purchase price, ability of the buyers to haggle, supply and demand forces and cost of transportation. Market associations existed among the marketers but only 32.42% belonged to such associations. Most of the respondents agreed that they used both open display and persuasive efforts to attract customers. The value of the Gini coefficient (0.677) indicates some level of inequality suggesting the presence of market concentration among the respondents. The results indicated a net profit of N15.70 per kg of raw plantain. The marketing margin of #32.1 and efficiency of 95.79% indicate reasonably good performance. © JASEM
A Nonlinear Electric Field Sensor That Exploits Coupled Oscillator Dynamics: The Charge Collection Mechanism

In this paper, we investigate the exploitation of nonlinear behavior in ferroelectric (FE) materials in the realization of innovative transducers for detecting weak and low-frequency electric fields (E-fields). Specifically, we describe a nonlinear dynamical system based on FE capacitors coupled into a unidirectional ring circuit which, under the appropriate operating conditions, exhibits an oscillating regime of behavior in the response variable (the electric polarization). In this device, a weak target E-field induces a perturbation of the polarization of the FE material; in turn, the target signal can be detected and quantified via its effect on the coupled system response. Hence, the device entails the synergetic use of bistable FE materials, micromachining technologies that allow for addressing charge density amplification, and novel sensing strategies based on coupling nonlinear elemental cells. The “charge collector” strategy has been employed to detect the target field. An experimental characterization of the sensing device, including three cells (each cell corresponds to an FE capacitor) coupled in a ring configuration, is presented as a function of the charge collector configuration.
Attributes of service delivery modes and their impact on customer satisfaction

Consumersatisfaction is fundamental to organisational success. It is well recognised that personal service is important in achieving consumer satisfaction. However, the application of self-service technology (SST) is widcning and is attennuating traditional exchanges between consumers and service employees. The effect of this reduction of personal service on consumer satisfaction judgements is not well understood. This study addresses this gap by investigating the relative effects of SST and personal service attributes on overall consumer satisfaction. Thc study highlights important service attributes applicable to SST and personal service. The conceptual framework is tested using data collected from 241 leisure and business travellers drawn from premium hotels in a regional area. Structural equation modelling techniques support the conceptual framework. As expected, the attributes of personal service and SST contribute to consumer satisfaction. However, thc impact of personal service attributes 011 consumer satisfaction is much stronger than the effects of SST attributes. Though SST is an important determinant of consumer satisfaction, interactions with staff are critical. These results have applications for the theory and practice of services marketing, and high light avenues for further investigation.
Lightweight algorithm for protecting SDN controller against DDoS attacks

It is without a doubt that both the controller and switch of an SDN are vulnerable to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Typically, this ilk of attacks targets the flow table of the deployed network switches with the aim of producing overloading, high network delays, and consume bandwidth. Motivated by this fact, in this paper, we propose a lightweight scheme which is based on a set of rules to efficiently characterize packets send to a network switch as malicious or not. Through testbed experimentation and comparison with legacy DDoS protection schemes, we demonstrate that our solution performs significantly better when it comes to SDN ecosystem of mobile users.
A role for tyrosine phosphorylation in the regulation and sensitization of adenylate cyclase by melatonin

Mimicking short photoperiod melatonin signals (16 h exposure) on primary cell cultures of melatonin target cells of the ovine pars tuberalis (PT) results in an enhanced cAMP response to forskolin stimulation relative to untreated cells, a phenomenon termed sensitization. The sensitized response of PT cells may be an important aspect of the interpretation of the melatonin signal to initiate appropriate seasonal physiological responses. The aim of this study is to add to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the sensitization of PT cells by melatonin. We demonstrate that sensitization of PT cells by melatonin is mediated via a Gj‐coupled melatonin receptor. The sensitized cAMP response is not only obtained with the pharmacological tool forskolin, but also with cholera toxin, an activator of Gsα. Changes in the level of GsQ, or Giα G‐protein subunits are ruled out as part of the sensitization mechanism. However, changes in tyrosine phosphorylation may be involved as tyrosine kinase inhibitors sensitize ovine PT cells and tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors significantly blunt adenylate cyclase activity, including the sensitized response to melatonin. The adenylate cyclase isoforms mediating the sensitized response may be broad as 7 of the 9 isoforms of adenylate cyclase are expressed in the PT. –Barrett, P., Choi, W. ‐S. , Morris, M. , Morgan, P. A role for tyrosine phosphorylation in the regulation and sensitization of adenylate cyclase by melatonin. FASEB J. 14, 1619–1628 (2000)
Dynamics of HIV Latency and Reactivation in a Primary CD4+ T Cell Model

HIV latency is a major obstacle to curing infection. Current strategies to eradicate HIV aim at increasing transcription of the latent provirus. In the present study we observed that latently infected CD4+ T cells from HIV-infected individuals failed to produce viral particles upon ex vivo exposure to SAHA (vorinostat), despite effective inhibition of histone deacetylases. To identify steps that were not susceptible to the action of SAHA or other latency reverting agents, we used a primary CD4+ T cell model, joint host and viral RNA sequencing, and a viral-encoded reporter. This model served to investigate the characteristics of latently infected cells, the dynamics of HIV latency, and the process of reactivation induced by various stimuli. During latency, we observed persistence of viral transcripts but only limited viral translation. Similarly, the reactivating agents SAHA and disulfiram successfully increased viral transcription, but failed to effectively enhance viral translation, mirroring the ex vivo data. This study highlights the importance of post-transcriptional blocks as one mechanism leading to HIV latency that needs to be relieved in order to purge the viral reservoir.