Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fourteen polymorphic microsatellite markers for a widespread limestone endemic, Carex eburnea (Cyperaceae: Carex sect. Albae)1

Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed for a widespread limestone endemic sedge, Carex eburnea, to facilitate investigation of the genetic diversity and phylogeography of this taxon and its closest relative, C. mckittrickensis. Methods and Results: Forty-eight primer pairs were designed from Illumina sequence data and screened for suitability. Fourteen of these primer pairs were polymorphic and generated one to seven alleles per locus. Cross-species amplifications were conducted for all four members of Carex sect. Albae. Conclusions: These primer pairs can be used to assess the genetic diversity and population structure in future studies of C. eburnea and C. mckittrickensis, and likely in other members of Carex sect. Albae.
Distance-based Multiple Paths Quantization of Vocabulary Tree for Object and Scene Retrieval

The state of the art in image retrieval on large scale databases is achieved by the work inspired by the text retrieval approaches. A key step of these methods is the quantization stage which maps the high-dimensional feature vectors to discriminatory visual words. This paper mainly proposes a distance-based multiple paths quantization (DMPQ) algorithm to reduce the quantization loss of the vocabulary tree based methods. In addition, a more efficient way to build a vocabulary tree is presented by using sub-vectors of features. The algorithm is evaluated on both the standard object recognition and the location recognition databases. The experimental results have demonstrated that the proposed algorithm can effectively improve image retrieval performance of the vocabulary tree based methods on both the databases.
Active Exoskeletons for Upper-Limb Motion Assist

This paper presents the current state of research into power-assist exoskeletons for the upper limb. The assist of the upper limb is important for physically weak persons in daily activities, since upper-limb motion is involved in many important motions in daily living. The most important criterion is that power-assist exoskeletons assist the user's motion automatically in accordance with the user's motion intentions. Electromyogram (EMG) signals in which the user's motion intention is reflected could provide vital real-time information to facilitate accurate control of the power-assist exoskeleton in accordance with the user's motion intentions. A four degree-of-freedom active exoskeleton that assists human upper-limb motion (shoulder vertical flexion/extension, shoulder horizontal flexion/extension, elbow flexion/extension, and forearm supination/pronation) is also proposed.
Numerical dosimetry of currents induced in the human body by ELF magnetic fields

The classical φ − a formulation for numerical dosimetry of currents induced by ELF magnetic fields requires that the source field is provided through a vector potential. We present here a new formulation t − b which directly takes the flux density as source term. This formulation is implemented through Finite Element and validated by comparison with analytical solutions. The results obtained by both formulations are compared in the case of an anatomical computational phantom exposed to a vertical uniform field. As example, the t − b formulation is used for computing the induced fields in the body exposed to the stray field of a 2.5 MW HTA/BT three-phase power transformer.
Comparative Study of Anthropometric Measurement and Body Composition between Elite Soccer and Basketball Players

El proposito de este estudio fue describir las caracteristicas antropometricas y de composicion corporal de los jugadores de futbol y basquetbol de elite, asi como hacer comparaciones entre ellos. Setenta y un hombres fueron incluidos en el estudio, divididos en tres grupos: 26 jugadores de futbol, 14 jugadores de basquetbol y 31 sujetos sedentarios sanos. Todos los sujetos fueron evaluados para obtener las medidas antropometricas requeridas para el calculo de las variables de composicion corporal, utilizando los procedimientos normalizados recomendados. Los datos fueron analizados mediante el programa SPSS y los datos estadisticos descriptivos se expresaron como media (desviacion estandar) para cada variable. Ademas se utilizaron las pruebas de ANOVA y LSD que se llevaron a cabo para detectar los efectos de cada tipo de deporte. Los resultados mostraron que no existia diferencia significativa en el indice de masa corporal entre los grupos, mientras que se encontro una diferencia estadisticamente significativa para la altura del cuerpo y el peso corporal, asi como para las tres variables medidas del cuerpo (musculo, hueso y grasa) entre los grupos. Los jugadores de basquetbol fueron significativamente mas altos y pesados que los jugadores de futbol y los sujetos del grupo de control, mientras que tambien hubo una diferencia significativa entre el peso de los jugadores de futbol y los sujetos del grupo de control, que fueron significativamente mas pesados. El contenido muscular y oseo de los sujetos en el grupo control fue significativamente menor, mientras que no hubo diferencias entre los jugadores de futbol y baloncesto. Por ultimo, el contenido de grasa en el cuerpo de los sujetos en el grupo de control fue significativamente mayor que la de los otros sujetos, mientras que no hubo diferencia entre los jugadores de futbol y de basquetbol. Por lo tanto, estos hallazgos pueden dar a los entrenadores de la region un mejor conocimiento y sugerir a ellos seguir los ultimos metodos de proceso de seleccion y ser mas cuidadoso durante el reclutamiento.
Rabbit Anti-HIV-1 Monoclonal Antibodies Raised by Immunization Can Mimic the Antigen-Binding Modes of Antibodies Derived from HIV-1-Infected Humans

ABSTRACT The rabbit is a commonly used animal model in studying antibody responses in HIV/AIDS vaccine development. However, no rabbit monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been developed previously to study the epitope-specific antibody responses against HIV-1 envelope (Env) glycoproteins, and little is known about how the rabbit immune system can mimic the human immune system in eliciting such antibodies. Here we present structural analyses of two rabbit MAbs, R56 and R20, against the third variable region (V3) of HIV-1 gp120. R56 recognizes the well-studied immunogenic region in the V3 crown, while R20 targets a less-studied region at the C terminus of V3. By comparison of the Fab/epitope complex structures of these two antibodies raised by immunization with that of the corresponding human antibodies derived from patients chronically infected with HIV-1, we found that rabbit antibodies can recognize immunogenic regions of gp120 and mimic the binding modes of human antibodies. This result can provide new insight into the use of the rabbit as an animal model in AIDS vaccine development.
Robust L1 Filtering with Pole Constraint in a Disk via Parameter-dependent Lyapunov Functions

A strategy for robust L1 filtering with pole constraint in a disk for continuous-time polytopic uncertain systems is discussed. The attention is focused on design a linear asymptotically stable filter such that the resulting filtering error system remains robust stable, and has a L1 performance constraint and pole constraint in a disk. By introducing some slack matrix variables, less-conservative linear matrix inequality (LMI) based conditions for new robust L1 performance criteria and regional pole placement are obtained as compared to existing characterizations. A L1 robust filter is obtained when applying the improved matrix inequality conditions by LMI technique
Deformable model based data compression for gesture recognition

We aim at recognizing a set of dance gestures from contemporary ballet. Our input data are motion trajectories followed by the joints of a dancing body provided by a motion-capture system. It is obvious that direct use of the original signals is unreliable and expensive. Therefore, we propose a suitable tool for nonuniform, sub-sampling of spatio-temporal signals. The key of our approach is the use of a deformable model to provide a compact and efficient representation of motion trajectories.
Application of Strong Optical Feedback to Enhance the Modulation Bandwidth of Semiconductor Lasers to the Millimeter!Wave Band

We report on the use of strong external optical feedback to enhance the modulation response of semiconductor lasers over a frequency passband around modulation frequencies higher than 60 GHz. We show that this modulation enhancement is a type of photon! photon resonance (PPR) of oscillating modes in the external cavity formed between the laser and the external reflector. The study is based on a time! delay rate equation model that tinto account both the strong feedback and multiple reflections in the external cavity. We examine the harmonic and intermodulation distortions associated with single and two! tone modulations in the mm! wave band of the resonant modulation. We show that compared with solitary lasers modulated around the carrier! photon resonance frequency, the present mm! wave modulated signal has lower distortions.
Multiple plant traits shape the genetic basis of herbivore community assembly

Summary 1. Community genetics research has posited a genetic basis to the assembly of ecological communities. For arthropod herbivores in particular, there is strong support that genetic variation in host plants is a key factor shaping their diversity and composition. However, the specific plant phenotypes underlying herbivore responses remain poorly explored for most systems. 2. We address this knowledge gap by examining the influence of both genetic and phenotypic variation in a dominant host-plant species, Salix hookeriana, on its associated arthropod herbivore community in a common garden experiment. Specifically, we surveyed herbivore responses among five different arthropod feeding guilds to 26 distinct S. hookeriana genotypes. Moreover, we quantified the heritability of a suite of plant traits that determine leaf quality (e.g. phenolic compounds, trichomes, specific leaf area, C : N) and whole-plant architecture, to identify which traits best accounted for herbivore community responses to S. hookeriana genotype. 3. We found that total herbivore abundance and community composition differed considerably among S. hookeriana genotypes, with strong and independent responses of several species and feeding guilds driving these patterns. We also found that leaf phenolic chemistry displayed extensive heritable variation, whereas leaf physiology and plant architecture tended to be less heritable. Of these traits, herbivore responses were primarily associated with leaf phenolics and plant architecture; however, different herbivore species and feeding guilds were associated with different sets of traits. Despite our thorough trait survey, plant genotype remained a significant predictor of herbivore responses in most trait association analyses, suggesting that unmeasured host-plant characteristics and/or interspecific interactions were also contributing factors. 4. Taken together, our results support that the genetic basis of herbivore community assembly occurs through a suite of plant traits for different herbivore species and feeding guilds. Still, identifying these phenotypic mechanisms requires measuring a broad range of plant traits and likely further consideration of how these traits affect interspecific interactions.
UPF2-Dependent Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay Pathway Is Essential for Spermatogenesis by Selectively Eliminating Longer 3'UTR Transcripts

During transcription, most eukaryotic genes generate multiple alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (APA) sites, leading to the production of transcript isoforms with variable lengths in the 3’ untranslated region (3’UTR). In contrast to somatic cells, male germ cells, especially pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids, express a distinct reservoir of mRNAs with shorter 3’UTRs that are essential for spermatogenesis and male fertility. However, the mechanisms underlying the enrichment of shorter 3’UTR transcripts in the developing male germ cells remain unknown. Here, we report that UPF2-mediated nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) plays an essential role in male germ cells by eliminating ubiquitous genes-derived, longer 3’UTR transcripts, and that this role is independent of its canonical role in degrading “premature termination codon” (PTC)-containing transcripts in somatic cell lineages. This report provides physiological evidence supporting a noncanonical role of the NMD pathway in achieving global 3’UTR shortening in the male germ cells during spermatogenesis.
Cdc2 H1 kinase is negatively regulated by a type 2A phosphatase in the Xenopus early embryonic cell cycle: evidence from the effects of okadaic acid.

In Xenopus embryos, the cell cycle is abbreviated to a rapid alternation between interphase and mitosis. The onset of each M phase is induced by the periodic activation of the cdc2 kinase which is triggered by a threshold level of cyclins and apparently involves dephosphorylation of p34cdc2. We have prepared post‐ribosomal supernatants from eggs sampled during interphase (interphase extracts) and just before the first mitosis of the early embryonic cell cycle (prophase extracts). In ‘interphase extracts’, the cdc2 kinase never activates spontaneously upon incubation at room temperature whereas in ‘prophase extracts’ it does. We show here that in ‘interphase extracts’, specific inhibition of type 2A phosphatase by okadaic acid induces cdc2 kinase activation. This requires a subthreshold level of cyclin and the presence of a particulate factor in the extract. Inhibition of type 1 phosphatases by inhibitor 1 and inhibitor 2 never results in cdc2 kinase activation. These results demonstrate that during the period of cyclin accumulation, cdc2 kinase activation is inhibited by a type 2A phosphatase. In ‘prophase extracts’, spontaneous activation of the cdc2 kinase is inhibited by beta‐glycerophosphate and NaF, but not by okadaic acid, inhibitor 1 and inhibitor 2 or divalent cation chelation. This demonstrates that when enough cyclin has accumulated, cdc2 kinase activation involves a protein phosphatase which must be distinct from the type 1 and 2A phosphatases, and from the calcium‐dependent (type 2B) and magnesium‐dependent (type 2C) phosphatases.
Efficient Energy Detection Methods for Spectrum Sensing Under Non-Flat Spectral Characteristics

Cognitive radio is an emerging wireless technology that is capable of efficiently coordinating the use of the currently scarce spectrum resources, and spectrum sensing constitutes its most crucial operation. This paper proposes wideband multichannel spectrum sensing methods utilizing fast Fourier transform or filter-bank-based methods for spectrum analysis. Fine-grained spectrum analysis facilitates optimal energy detection in practical scenarios where the transmitted signal, channel frequency response, and/or receiver frequency response do not follow the commonly assumed boxcar model, which typically assumes, among other things, narrow-band communications with flat spectral characteristics. Such sensing schemes can be tuned to the spectral characteristics of the target primary user signals, allowing simultaneous sensing of multiple target primary signals with low additional complexity. This model is also extended to accounting for the specific scenario of detecting a reappearing primary user during secondary transmission, as well as in spectrum sensing scenarios where the frequency range of a primary user is unknown. Novel analytic expressions are derived for the corresponding probability of false alarm and probability of detection in each case, while the useful concept of the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve is additionally introduced as a single scalar metric for evaluating the overall performance of the proposed spectrum sensing algorithms and scenarios. The derived expressions have a rather simple algebraic representation, which renders them convenient to handle both analytically and numerically. The offered results are also extensively validated through comparisons with respective results from computer simulations and are subsequently employed in evaluating each technique analytically, which provides meaningful insights that are anticipated to be useful in future deployments of cognitive radio systems.
Expression of type III collagen mRNA in renal biopsy specimens of patients with idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis

Aim—To investigate the distribution of type III collagen in membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN); to identify the cells responsible for the synthesis of α1 (III) mRNA. method—The distribution of type III collagen was studied by immunohistochemistry in 10 renal biopsy specimens, histologically diagnosed as MGN, and five control renal tissue samples obtained at surgery. Synthesis of α1 (III) mRNA was detected by non-radioactive in situ hybridisation. Results—On immunohistochemistry, type III collagen was not observed in the control glomeruli, but was present focally in the glomeruli in samples from patients with MGN. No specific hybridisation signal for α1 (III) mRNA was found in the control glomeruli on non-radioactive in situ hybridisation. By contrast, positive signals for α1 (III) chain mRNA were detected in glomerular epithelial cells and mesangial cells in MGN tissue samples. Conclusion—These data suggest that additional synthesis of type III collagen by intraglomerular cells contributes to the changes in the glomerular basement membrane characteristic of MGN.
Molecular Cell Alternative Binding of Nrd 1 to RNAPII CTD and Trf

Agnieszka Tudek,1,6 Odil Porrua,1,5,6,* Tomasz Kabzinski,2,3,6 Michael Lidschreiber,4 Karel Kubicek,2,3 Andrea Fortova,2,3 François Lacroute,1 Stepanka Vanacova,2,3 Patrick Cramer,4 Richard Stefl,2,3,7,* and Domenico Libri1,5,7,* 1Centre de Génétique Moléculaire, CNRS UPR3404, 91190 Gif sur Yvette, France 2CEITEC-Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno 62500, Czech Republic 3National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno 62500, Czech Republic 4Gene Center Munich and Department of Biochemistry, Center for Integrated Protein Science CIPSM, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 81377 Munich, Germany 5Present address: Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, UMR 7592, Univ Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 75205 Paris, France 6Co-first author 7Co-senior author *Correspondence: porrua@ijm.univ-paris-diderot.fr (O.P.), richard.stefl@ceitec.muni. cz (R.S.), libri.domenico@ijm.univ-paris-diderot.fr (D.L.) http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.molcel. 2014.05. 031
The use of positron emission tomography/CT in the diagnosis of tuberculosis-associated uveitis

Background Detection of tuberculosis as the underlying disease in uveitis can be problematic because of the limited sensitivity of conventional diagnostic methods, especially in the case of latent infection. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT (18F-FDG-PET/CT) in patients with uveitis and positive interferon-γ release assay. Methods We screened 95 patients with different uveitis forms by QuantiFERON TB-Gold test. Positive results were found in 24 cases. 18F-FDG-PET/CT was performed in 20 QuantiFERON-positive patients. PET/CT images were evaluated for the presence, size and metabolic activity of hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes and pulmonary lesions. Results In nine patients (45%) PET/CT detected increased FDG uptake in mediastinal or hilar lymph nodes. In two patients Mycobacterium tuberculosis was detected in culture after PET/CT-guided lymph node biopsy. In seven patients (35%) with serpiginous choroiditis partly calcified lymph nodes without FDG-uptake were found. Remission of uveitis was achieved in nine of 11 (82%) anti-tuberculosis-treated patients with progressive course of uveitis. Conclusion In QuantiFERON-positive patients with severe uveitis forms, such as serpiginous choroiditis and occlusive retinal vasculitis, 18F-FDG-PET/CT is useful to identify lesions appropriate for biopsy and helps to establish the diagnosis and appropriate therapy for presumed tuberculosis-induced intraocular inflammation.
Elastase activity enhances the adhesion of neutrophil and cancer cells to vascular endothelial cells.

BACKGROUND Elastase activity in cancer cells has been reported to promote their metastasis. Hence, we analyzed the influence of elastase activity of cancer cells on their responsive adhesion to vascular endothelial cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS Human pancreatic (S2-007, S2-013, S2-020, S2-028) and colonic (COLO205) cancer cell lines were used. S2-007, S2-013, and S2-020 possess high elastase activity, whereas S2-028 and COLO205 have low elastase activity. Adhesive reactions of these cancer cells and neutrophils to TNFalpha-activated HUVEC were analyzed. Bound cells onto HUVEC were counted after incubation for 10 min. The effects of suppression of elastase activity by ZD8321, a potent elastase inhibitor, and supplementation of human neutrophil elastase (NE) on the adhesive reactions were also analyzed. In addition, E-selectin expression on HUVEC and concentrations of soluble E-selectin in the medium were measured. RESULTS Adhesion of cells with high intracellular elastase activity to TNFalpha-activated HUVEC was suppressed by ZD8321. On the other hand, adhesion of cells with low elastase activity was enhanced by exogenous NE. Expression of E-selectin, a key molecule in leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction, on HUVEC was increased by NE. Soluble E-selectin concentration in the medium increased after the adhesive reaction between neutrophils and HUVEC. This increase was thought to be due to the shedding of cell surface E-selectin. Such responses were inhibited by ZD8321. CONCLUSION Elastase activity has a biological function of stimulating both the E-selectin expression on HUVEC and the resultant adhesive reaction of cancer cells with them. Inhibition of elastase activity is a potent strategy for controlling cancer metastasis.
Naturalistic prospective memory in older adults: Predictors of performance on a habitual task

Age-related difficulties in episodic prospective memory (PM) are common. However, little is known about habitual PM, which involves remembering to carry out intended actions that are regular and repeated. This is important for many health-related tasks and for maintaining independence in daily living activities. This study investigates, in older people, the predictors of habitual PM performance in a naturalistic setting. A group of 191 community-based, older adults (aged 65–89 years) wore an actigraph over two weeks. The habitual PM task involved pressing a button twice daily (Bed-time, Rise-time) on the actigraph. Accuracy of response was calculated for Bed-time and Rise-time, determined by light, movement, and diary data. The contribution of retrospective memory and executive function to PM performance was assessed. PM was more accurate at Bed-time compared to Rise-time (p < .01), and better in the first compared to the second week (p < .01). Retrospective memory contributed small but significant unique variance (β = .24) to PM accuracy. For older adults living in the community, both contextual factors (e.g., time of day) and retrospective memory are important for individuals’ ability to remember to perform daily tasks. This is relevant when planning interventions for maintaining independent living in ageing.