Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overexpression of ZmIRT1 and ZmZIP3 Enhances Iron and Zinc Accumulation in Transgenic Arabidopsis

Iron and zinc are important micronutrients for both the growth and nutrient availability of crop plants, and their absorption is tightly controlled by a metal uptake system. Zinc-regulated transporters, iron-regulated transporter-like proteins (ZIP), is considered an essential metal transporter for the acquisition of Fe and Zn in graminaceous plants. Several ZIPs have been identified in maize, although their physiological function remains unclear. In this report, ZmIRT1 was shown to be specifically expressed in silk and embryo, whereas ZmZIP3 was a leaf-specific gene. Both ZmIRT1 and ZmZIP3 were shown to be localized to the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum. In addition, transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing ZmIRT1 or ZmZIP3 were generated, and the metal contents in various tissues of transgenic and wild-type plants were examined based on ICP-OES and Zinpyr-1 staining. The Fe and Zn concentration increased in roots and seeds of ZmIRT1-overexpressing plants, while the Fe content in shoots decreased. Overexpressing ZmZIP3 enhanced Zn accumulation in the roots of transgenic plants, while that in shoots was repressed. In addition, the transgenic plants showed altered tolerance to various Fe and Zn conditions compared with wild-type plants. Furthermore, the genes associated with metal uptake were stimulated in ZmIRT1 transgenic plants, while those involved in intra- and inter- cellular translocation were suppressed. In conclusion, ZmIRT1 and ZmZIP3 are functional metal transporters with different ion selectivities. Ectopic overexpression of ZmIRT1 may stimulate endogenous Fe uptake mechanisms, which may facilitate metal uptake and homeostasis. Our results increase our understanding of the functions of ZIP family transporters in maize.
Effect of a high‐protein diet on food intake and liver metabolism during pregnancy, lactation and after weaning in mice

Major hepatic metabolic pathways are involved in the control of food intake but how dietary proteins affect global metabolism to adjust food intake is incompletely understood, particularly under physiological challenging conditions such as lactation. In order to identify these molecular events, mice were fed a high‐protein (HP) diet from pregnancy, during lactation until after weaning and compared with control fed counterparts. Liver specimens were analyzed for regulated proteins using 2‐DE and MALDI‐TOF‐MS and plasma samples for metabolites. Based on the 26 differentially expressed proteins associated with depleted liver glycogen content, elevated urea and citrulline plasma concentrations, we conclude that HP feeding during lactation leads to an activated amino acid, carbohydrate and fatty acid catabolism while it activates gluconeogenesis. From pregnancy to lactation, plasma arginine, tryptophan, serine, glutamine and cysteine decreased, whereas urea concentrations increased in both groups. Concomitantly, hepatic glycogen content decreased while total fat content remained unaltered in both groups. Consideration of 59 proteins differentially expressed between pregnancy and lactation highlights different strategies of HP and control fed mice to meet energy requirements for lactation by adjusting amino acid degradation, carbohydrate and fat metabolism, citrate cycle, but also ATP‐turnover, protein folding, secretion of proteins and (de)activation of transcription factors.
A Semantic Study on Yami Ontology in Traditional Songs

The purpose of this study was to provide an example of how to build a Yami ontology from traditional songs by employing Protege, an open-source tool for editing and managing ontologies developed by Stanford University. Following Conceptual Blending Theory (Fauconnier and Turner, 1998), we found that Yami people use the conceptual metaphor of “fishing” in traditional songs when praising the host’s diligence in a ceremony celebrating the completion of a workhouse. The process of building ontologies is explored and illustrated. The proposed construction of an ontology for Yami traditional songs can serve as a fundamental template, using the corpus available online from the Yami documentation website (http://yamiproject.cs.pu.edu.tw/yami) to build ontologies for other domains.
Automatic XACML requests generation for testing access control policies

XACML has become increasingly popular for specifying access control policies in mission critical domains to protect sensitive resources. However, manually crafted XACML policies may contain errors which can only be identified with manual policies review. Recent progress in policy testing still requires tedious and inefficient manual efforts to compose access requests. In this paper, we propose an automatic XACML requests generation for testing access control policies by employing symbolic execution techniques. Firstly, the access control policy under test is converted into semantically equivalent C Code Representation (CCR). Secondly, the CCR is symbolically executed to generate test inputs. Finally, the test inputs are used to compose access control requests, which can be automatically evaluated with existing tools. We also implemented a prototype tool called XPTester (Xacml Policy Tester) and conducted extensive experiments upon real-world policies to demonstrate the scalability, efficiency and effectiveness. Keywords—Access control policy; XACML; test generation; symbolic execution
A Bayesian kriging approach for blending satellite and ground precipitation observations

Drought and flood management practices require accurate estimates of precipitation. Gauge observations, however, are often sparse in regions with complicated terrain, clustered in valleys, and of poor quality. Consequently, the spatial extent of wet events is poorly represented. Satellite‐derived precipitation data are an attractive alternative, though they tend to underestimate the magnitude of wet events due to their dependency on retrieval algorithms and the indirect relationship between satellite infrared observations and precipitation intensities. Here we offer a Bayesian kriging approach for blending precipitation gauge data and the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation satellite‐derived precipitation estimates for Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela. First, the gauge observations are modeled as a linear function of satellite‐derived estimates and any number of other variables—for this research we include elevation. Prior distributions are defined for all model parameters and the posterior distributions are obtained simultaneously via Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling. The posterior distributions of these parameters are required for spatial estimation, and thus are obtained prior to implementing the spatial kriging model. This functional framework is applied to model parameters obtained by sampling from the posterior distributions, and the residuals of the linear model are subject to a spatial kriging model. Consequently, the posterior distributions and uncertainties of the blended precipitation estimates are obtained. We demonstrate this method by applying it to pentadal and monthly total precipitation fields during 2009. The model's performance and its inherent ability to capture wet events are investigated. We show that this blending method significantly improves upon the satellite‐derived estimates and is also competitive in its ability to represent wet events. This procedure also provides a means to estimate a full conditional distribution of the “true” observed precipitation value at each grid cell.
Design of sigma-delta modulators of arbitrary topology

Calculation of sigma-delta modulator coefficients is presented in this work as the problem of digital filter design. Numerical values of a transfer function coefficients are calculated using available procedures for Chebyshev or Butterworth digital filters design. Symbolic expressions linking transfer function coefficients with sigma-delta modulator structure coefficients are obtained for a modulator of arbitrary structure using matrix model of corresponding discrete circuit.
Improper Tagging of the Non-Essential Small Capsid Protein VP26 Impairs Nuclear Capsid Egress of Herpes Simplex Virus

To analyze the subcellular trafficking of herpesvirus capsids, the small capsid protein has been labeled with different fluorescent proteins. Here, we analyzed the infectivity of several HSV1(17+) strains in which the N-terminal region of the non-essential small capsid protein VP26 had been tagged at different positions. While some variants replicated with similar kinetics as their parental wild type strain, others were not infectious at all. Improper tagging resulted in the aggregation of VP26 in the nucleus, prevented efficient nuclear egress of viral capsids, and thus virion formation. Correlative fluorescence and electron microscopy showed that these aggregates had sequestered several other viral proteins, but often did not contain viral capsids. The propensity for aggregate formation was influenced by the type of the fluorescent protein domain, the position of the inserted tag, the cell type, and the progression of infection. Among the tags that we have tested, mRFPVP26 had the lowest tendency to induce nuclear aggregates, and showed the least reduction in replication when compared to wild type. Our data suggest that bona fide monomeric fluorescent protein tags have less impact on proper assembly of HSV1 capsids and nuclear capsid egress than tags that tend to dimerize. Small chemical compounds capable of inducing aggregate formation of VP26 may lead to new antiviral drugs against HSV infections.
Direction Selectivity in Drosophila Emerges from Preferred-Direction Enhancement and Null-Direction Suppression

Across animal phyla, motion vision relies on neurons that respond preferentially to stimuli moving in one, preferred direction over the opposite, null direction. In the elementary motion detector of Drosophila, direction selectivity emerges in two neuron types, T4 and T5, but the computational algorithm underlying this selectivity remains unknown. We find that the receptive fields of both T4 and T5 exhibit spatiotemporally offset light-preferring and dark-preferring subfields, each obliquely oriented in spacetime. In a linear-nonlinear modeling framework, the spatiotemporal organization of the T5 receptive field predicts the activity of T5 in response to motion stimuli. These findings demonstrate that direction selectivity emerges from the enhancement of responses to motion in the preferred direction, as well as the suppression of responses to motion in the null direction. Thus, remarkably, T5 incorporates the essential algorithmic strategies used by the Hassenstein–Reichardt correlator and the Barlow–Levick detector. Our model for T5 also provides an algorithmic explanation for the selectivity of T5 for moving dark edges: our model captures all two- and three-point spacetime correlations relevant to motion in this stimulus class. More broadly, our findings reveal the contribution of input pathway visual processing, specifically center-surround, temporally biphasic receptive fields, to the generation of direction selectivity in T5. As the spatiotemporal receptive field of T5 in Drosophila is common to the simple cell in vertebrate visual cortex, our stimulus-response model of T5 will inform efforts in an experimentally tractable context to identify more detailed, mechanistic models of a prevalent computation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Feature selective neurons respond preferentially to astonishingly specific stimuli, providing the neurobiological basis for perception. Direction selectivity serves as a paradigmatic model of feature selectivity that has been examined in many species. While insect elementary motion detectors have served as premiere experimental models of direction selectivity for 60 years, the central question of their underlying algorithm remains unanswered. Using in vivo two-photon imaging of intracellular calcium signals, we measure the receptive fields of the first direction-selective cells in the Drosophila visual system, and define the algorithm used to compute the direction of motion. Computational modeling of these receptive fields predicts responses to motion and reveals how this circuit efficiently captures many useful correlations intrinsic to moving dark edges.
Three-dimensional progressive rotated codebook for advanced multi-user MIMO in LTE-A networks

The three dimensional (3D) characteristics of the wireless communication channels have led to a growing interest in the 3D beamforming techniques, where beamformers can be adjusted in the 3D space to exploit more degrees of freedom of the channel. In this work, we propose a 3D Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) progressive beamforming scheme. The proposed scheme adopts varying & rotated 3D codebooks over a certain number of the Channel State Information (CSI) periods. It combines the full dimensional beamforming in one process to scan the 3D space, with 62% reduction in the user feedback overhead compared to the standard LTE-A dual codebook. Additionally, the proposed scheme employs dynamic channel progression technique at the eNodeB, to increase the effective precision of the CSI at the transmitter (CSIT). Simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves significant outperformance over the standard LTE-A dual codebook.
Interleukin‐17‐producing cell infiltration in the breast cancer tumour microenvironment is a poor prognostic factor

Interleukin‐17 (IL‐17) is a proinflammatory cytokine that is most prominently produced by T‐helper type 17 (Th17) cells, a distinct CD4+ T‐helper cell subset. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of IL‐17‐producing cells in the breast cancer tumour microenvironment and its prognostic role.
Handling Multi-Versioning in LLVM: Code Tracking and Cloning

Instrumentation by sampling, adaptive computing and dynamic optimization can be efficiently implemented using multiple versions of a code region. Ideally, compilers should automatically handle the generation of such multiple versions. In this work we discuss the problem of multi-versioning in the situation where each version requires a different intermediate representation. We expose the limits of nowadays compilers regarding these aspects and provide our solutions to overcome them, using the LLVM compiler as our research platform. The paper is focused on three main aspects: tracking code in LLVM IR, cloning, and communication between low-level and high-level representations. Aiming at performance and minimal impact on the behavior of the original code, we describe our strategies to guide the interaction between the newly inserted code and the optimization passes, from annotating code using metadata to inlining assembly code in LLVM IR. Our target is performing code instrumentation and optimization, with an interest in loops. We build a version in x86_64 assembly code to acquire low-level information, and multiple versions in LLVM IR for performing high-level code transformations. The selection mechanism consists in callbacks to a generic runtime system. Preliminary results on the SPEC CPU 2006 and the Pointer Intensive Benchmark suite show that our framework has a negligible overhead in most cases, when instrumenting the most time consuming loop nests.
Student Ratings of Instruction

Handrails and posts are adjustably assembled by means of a rotatably adjustable pierced fitting having a general shape longest in a direction that is perpendicular to both the handrail and post at the same time. The fitting permits adjustment both for height and pitch and has separate means to allow the longitudinally extending posts and handrails to be slid to various positions and then fixed with respect to a portion of the fitting. Means are also disclosed for temporarily fixing the relative position of the posts, handrails and fitting pieces and then rotatably adjusting them, and then permanently fixing their position.
Physical and Chemical Sensing With Electronic Skin

This paper reviews current progress on flexible and stretchable transistors and sensors for the next-generation multiplex electronics (commonly referred to as “electronics skin” or “e-skin”) that is capable of simultaneous detection of multiple information from a variety of surfaces including human skin. Flexible chemical sensors for sweat analysis as well as physical sensors for detecting tactile force, bending, and temperature will be discussed, with emphasis on materials, detection mechanisms, and device demonstration to realize multiplex human-interactive devices. Next, system integration enabling the real-time monitoring of health conditions is also demonstrated as a proof of concept. Finally, perspectives on e-skin for moving toward realizing practical wearable electronics in the market are discussed. This paper targets the translation of the nano- and flexible technologies from academic innovations to industrial practical applications with high-impact breakthroughs.
Elevated [18F]Fluorodopamine Turnover in Brain of Patients with Schizophrenia: An [18F]Fluorodopa/Positron Emission Tomography Study

Previous positron emission tomography (PET) studies with levodopa analogs have revealed a modestly increased capacity for dopamine synthesis in the striatum of patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy age-matched control subjects. We hypothesized that not just the synthesis but also the turnover of radiolabeled dopamine is elevated in patients. To test the hypothesis, we reanalyzed 2-h-long [18F]fluorodopa (FDOPA)/PET recordings from eight unmedicated patients with schizophrenia and 15 healthy age-matched control subjects, using new methods for the quantification of [18F]fluorodopamine steady-state kinetics. The fractional rate constant for the catabolism and elimination of [18F]fluorodopamine was elevated nearly twofold in striatum, the largest biochemical difference in brain of schizophrenics yet reported. The magnitude of the intrinsic blood–brain FDOPA clearance with correction for this loss of [18F]fluorodopamine metabolites was increased by 20% in caudate and putamen and by 50% in amygdala and midbrain of the patients. However, the magnitude of the steady-state storage of FDOPA and its decarboxylated metabolites (Vd) was reduced by one-third in the caudate nucleus and amygdala of the schizophrenic group. Thus, reduced steady-state storage of [18F]fluorodopamine occurs in the midst of accelerated synthesis in brain of untreated patients. Positive scores of the positive and negative syndrome scale correlated inversely with the magnitude of Vd in amygdala, suggesting an association between positive symptoms and impaired steady-state storage of FDOPA metabolites in that structure.
A probabilistic algorithm approximating solutions of a singular PDE of porous media type

The object of this paper is a one-dimensional generalized porous media equation (PDE) with possibly discontinuous coefficient $\beta$, which is well-posed as an evolution problem in $L^1(\mathbb{R})$. In some recent papers of Blanchard et alia and Barbu et alia, the solution was represented by the solution of a non-linear stochastic differential equation in law if the initial condition is a bounded integrable function. We first extend this result, at least when $\beta$ is continuous and the initial condition is only integrable with some supplementary technical assumption. The main purpose of the article consists in introducing and implementing a stochastic particle algorithm to approach the solution to (PDE) which also fits in the case when $\beta$ is possibly irregular, to predict some long-time behavior of the solution and in comparing with some recent numerical deterministic techniques.
Affinity chromatography of anti-meningococcal antiserum.

The separate isolation of specific antibody to different antigens on the cell surface is essential for the understanding of immunity to the meningococcus. A simple, efficient method for preparing highly cross-linked polyacrylamide immunoadsorbents containing purified serogroups A, B and C polysaccharide and the serotype protein antigen II of Neisseria meningitidis is described. After hyperimmune anti-live organism antiserum was passed over an immunoadsorbent, a 2.0 M potassium iodide elution of the adsorbed antibodies yielded biologically active, serogroup or serotype specific antibody populations. The populations are shown to consist of IgG and IgM and to be functional in bactericidal and hemagglutinating activity.
On surjections between Banach spaces of continuous functions on separable nonmetrizable compact lines

For a compact subset K of [0 , 1] and a subset A of K , we denote by K A the modiﬁcation of the two-arrows space with base K and duplicated set A . We study necessary conditions for the existence of continuous linear surjections between the Banach spaces C ( K A ) of all real continuous functions on K A spaces. We show that if there exists a continuous linear surjection from C ( K A ) onto C ( L B ) and A is a member of the additive Borel class Σ α for some ordinal number 1 ≤ α ≤ ω 1 , then B ∈ Σ max { 3 , 1+ α } .
The high frequency power spectrum of Markarian 766

An analysis is presented of the power spectrum of X-ray variability of the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 766 as observed by XMM-Newton. Over the 0.2-10 keV energy range the power spectral density (PSD) is well-represented by a power-law with a slope of α l o w 1 at low frequencies, breaking to a slope of α h i = 2.8 + 0 . 2 - 0 . 4 at a frequency f b r 5 x 10 - 4 Hz. As has been noted before, this broken power-law PSD shape is similar to that observed in the Galactic black hole candidate Cygnus X-1. If it is assumed that Mrk 766 shows a power spectrum similar in form to that of Cyg X-1, and that the break time-scale scales linearly with black hole mass, then the mass of the black hole in Mrk 766 is inferred to be < 5 x 10 5 M O . This rather low mass would mean Mrk 766 radiates above the Eddington limit. The coherence between different energy bands is significantly below unity implying that variations in the different energy bands are rather poorly correlated. The low coherence can be explained in the framework of standard Comptonization models if the properties of the Comptonizing medium are rapidly variable or if there are several distinct emission sites.