Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The DNA SET: a novel device for single-molecule DNA sequencing

We present the principle of the dnaSET, a novel device for single-molecule sequence analysis of DNA strands. The central idea is to measure the variations in current through a single electron transistor (SET) as a target DNA molecule slithers through a nanoeye integrated between the SET's floating island and gate. We present a basic but illustrative simulation of the operation, and the results therefrom lead us to conclude that the DNA SET has a single-nucleotide resolution that enables it to read off the individual bases in a DNA strand. The versatility of this idea makes it suitable for incorporation in other bio-assay tools, and thus the DNA/protein SET promises to be a powerful direct sensing device for a wide range of applications.
A proteomic approach in analyzing heat‐responsive proteins in rice leaves

The present study investigated rice leaf proteome in response to heat stress. Rice seedlings were subjected to a temperature of 42°C and samples were collected 12 and 24 h after treatment. Increased relative ion leakage and lipid peroxidation suggested that oxidative stress frequently was generated in rice leaves exposed to high temperature. 2‐DE, coupled with MS, was used to investigate and identify heat‐responsive proteins in rice leaves. In order to identify the low‐abundant proteins in leaves, samples were prefractionated by 15% PEG. The PEG supernatant and the pellet fraction samples were separated by 2‐DE, and visualized by silver or CBB staining. Approximately 1000 protein spots were reproducibly detected on each gel, wherein 73 protein spots were differentially expressed at least at one time point. Of these differentially expressed proteins, a total of 34 and 39 protein spots were found in the PEG supernatant and pellet fractions, respectively. Using MALDI‐TOF MS, a total of 48 proteins were identified. These proteins were categorized into classes related to heat shock proteins, energy and metabolism, redox homeostasis, and regulatory proteins. The results of the present study show that a group of low molecular small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) were newly induced by heat stress. Among these sHSPs, a low molecular weight mitochondrial (Mt) sHSP was validated further by Western blot analysis. Furthermore, four differentially accumulated proteins that correspond to antioxidant enzymes were analyzed at the mRNA level, which confirmed the differential gene expression levels, and revealed that transcription levels were not completely concomitant with translation. The identification of some novel proteins in the heat stress response provides new insights that can lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of heat‐sensitivity in plants.
The Role of Political Ideology in the Structural Design of New Governance Agencies

This paper employs theories of structural politics and delegation to develop a set of theoretical propositions about legislative delegations of authority to quasigovernmental entities, operating more or less at arms length from political authorities. Legislators have the incentive to condition their choice of the structure of an organization they charge with implementing a policy on their own political attitudes toward good government. The quasi-independence of quangos provides credibility for legislators to commit to a process that takes policymaking out of their hands, while still creating a structure that increases the expected likelihood of achieving their policy goals. Theoretical implications are empirically examined using data on the financial autonomy of Dutch public bodies. The results support the theoretical argument that it is very important to consider politicians' ideologies directly in governance studies as they form the key component of structural politics.
Charles Eugène Bedaux (1886–1944): ‘cost killer’ or Utopian Socialist?

Charles Eugène Bedaux is best known by social scientists for his labour organisation method. This method was a great success with companies during the interwar years, thus enabling its author to set up a multinational business consultancy. The Bedaux method was, however, violently contested by employees and their unions, who organised many strikes to protest against it. Some of those who knew Bedaux, however, claimed that his method was in reality merely one part of a larger system, a simple component working towards a broader and more generous vision of society (known in French as équivalisme). His project was inspired by the Utopian Socialists of the last century, intended to provide a solution to the widespread disorder experienced by industrial societies during the interwar period. This paper explores the credibility of this project from two perspectives: a critical examination of his biographies and investigations conducted in the places where experiments in ‘equivalism’ were supposedly undertaken.
Optimal Minimal Panels of Immunohistochemistry for Diagnosis of B-Cell Lymphoma for Application in Countries With Limited Resources and for Triaging Cases Before Referral to Specialist Centers.

OBJECTIVES Establish and validate optimal minimal immunohistochemistry panels for usage in a staged algorithmic manner for precise diagnosis of B-cell lymphomas in countries with limited resources. Suggest short panels of immunostains to be used in referring units that refer suspected lymphomas to specialist diagnostic centers in resourceful countries. METHODS Significant proportion of six B-cell lymphomas has characteristic morphology requiring a short panel of confirmatory immunostains. The rest would go through five different algorithms. RESULTS 812 cases in which a B-cell lymphoma or an HIV-associated lymphoma was suspected on morphological grounds were evaluated. This led to arriving at a specific diagnosis of 799 B-cell lymphomas. A correct diagnosis was achievable in 69% cases with the application of three to five antibodies; others required additional work-up. CONCLUSIONS The panels/algorithms assist pathologists in practicing lymphoma diagnostics in countries with limited resources and in making lymphoma referrals to specialist centers.
Achieving Gender Equality: Development versus Historical Legacies

Economic development is often held to be beneficial for gender equality. However, there is good reason to believe that persistent institutions such as religion, legal traditions, and family practices, also matter. This article provides an empirical assessment of the relative importance of development and historical determinants of gender equality at the cross-national level. To capture this long-term relationship, a new index of gender equality that stretches back to 1950 is introduced. The determinants of this index are analysed using data on development and religious, legal, and family traditions. We find that variables measuring the long-lasting institutions of countries can be as important as economic development in determining gender equality outcomes. Thus, our study highlights the importance of considering the historical context of a country when analysing the determinants of gender equality gaps. (JEL codes: J160, N000, Z130, J120)
A noncooperative theory of coalitional bargaining

We explore a sequential offers model of n-person coalitional bargaining with transferable utility and with time discounting. Our focus is on the efficiency properties of stationary equilibria of strictly superadditive games, when the discount factor δ is sufficiently large; we do, however, consider examples of other games where subgame perfectness alone is employed. It is shown that delay and the formation of inefficient subcoalitions can occur in equilibrium, the latter for some or all orders of proposer. However, efficient stationary equilibrium payoffs converge to a point in the core, as δ → 1. Strict convexity is a sufficient condition for there to exist an efficient stationary equilibrium payoff vector for sufficiently high δ. This vector converges as δ → 1 to the egalitarian allocation of Dutta and Ray (1989).
A Generalized Dynamic Factor Model for the Belgian Economy: Identification of the Business Cycle and GDP Growth Forecasts

This paper aims to identify the Belgian business cycle and forecast GDP growth based on a large data base of short-term conjunctural indicators. The data base consists of 509 indicators containing information on surveys of Belgium and its neighbouring countries, macroeconomic variables and some worldwide watched indicators such as the US ISM and OECD confidence indicators. The statistical framework used is the One-Sided Generalized Dynamic Factor Model developed by Forni, Hallin, Lippi and Reichlin (2003). The model reduces the variables to their core business cycle information, defined as the part of variation of the variables common to the data set. Well-known indicators such as the EC economic sentiment indicator and the NBB overall synthetic curve contain a high amount of business cycle information. Furthermore, the richness of the model allows to determine the cyclical properties of the series and to forecast GDP growth all within the same unified setting. We classify the variables into leading, lagging and coincident with respect to a reference business cycle defined as the common variation contained in quarter-on-quarter GDP growth. 22% of the variables are found to be leading. Amongst the most leading variables we find asset prices and international confidence indicators such as the ISM and some OECD indicators. In general, national business confidence surveys are found to be coincident, while consumer confidence seems to lag. Although the model captures the dynamic common variation contained in the data set, forecasts based on that information are insufficient to deliver a good proxy for GDP growth given a non-negligible idiosyncratic part in GDP's variance. Lastly, we explore the dependence of the model's results on the data set and show through a data reduction process that the idiosyncratic part of GDP growth can be dramatically reduced. However, this does not improve the forecasts.
XXXVIII-1 / C 22 UAV-g 2011 , Conference on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Geomatics , Zurich , Switzerland MOBILE 3 D MAPPING WITH A LOW-COST UAV SYSTEM

In this contribution it is shown how an UAV system can be built at low costs. The components of the system, the equipment as well as the control software are presented. Furthermore an implemented programme for photogrammetric flight planning and its execution are described. The main focus of this contribution is on the generation of 3D point clouds from digital imagery. For this web services and free software solutions are presented which automatically generate 3D point clouds from arbitrary image configurations. Possibilities of georeferencing are described whereas the achieved accuracy has been determined. The presented workflow is finally used for the acquisition of 3D geodata. On the example of a landfill survey it is shown that marketable products can be derived using a low-cost UAV. * Corresponding author
Development of a step counter based on artificial neural networks

The research field of indoor navigation focuses on the position estimate in GNSS-shaded (Global Navigation Satellite System) areas. Accelerometer and gyroscope as Micro Electro Mechanical Systems are used for a position estimate based on Pedestrian Dead Reckoning, where the accelerometer is used for step detection. To realize a usefull position estimate for pedestrian navigation, the distance accuracy of the step length has to be less than a few centimeters to reach this accuracy, because the distance errors add up themselves time-dependent. This step length is derived from the sensor data of the integrated accelerometer of the smartphone. In this article, a step counter with step length estimate based on a artificial neural network (ANN) is described. The Matlab toolbox Neural Network is used to generate the structure of ANN. After leveling the three axis accelerometer the z-axis acceleration will be used to realize a ANN based on data from more than forty persons. Besides that, the results will be compared to an alternative approach, while two conditions are used which successively must be fulfilled. The results of this investigation reveal a step recognition rate of 99.5% as well as an average distance error of 9% of the respective distance.
Comparative Immunogenicity in Rhesus Monkeys of DNA Plasmid, Recombinant Vaccinia Virus, and Replication-Defective Adenovirus Vectors Expressing a Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 gag Gene

ABSTRACT Cellular immune responses, particularly those associated with CD3+ CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), play a primary role in controlling viral infection, including persistent infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Accordingly, recent HIV-1 vaccine research efforts have focused on establishing the optimal means of eliciting such antiviral CTL immune responses. We evaluated several DNA vaccine formulations, a modified vaccinia virus Ankara vector, and a replication-defective adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) vector, each expressing the same codon-optimized HIV-1 gag gene for immunogenicity in rhesus monkeys. The DNA vaccines were formulated with and without one of two chemical adjuvants (aluminum phosphate and CRL1005). The Ad5-gag vector was the most effective in eliciting anti-Gag CTL. The vaccine produced both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses, with the latter consistently being the dominant component. To determine the effect of existing antiadenovirus immunity on Ad5-gag-induced immune responses, monkeys were exposed to adenovirus subtype 5 that did not encode antigen prior to immunization with Ad5-gag. The resulting anti-Gag T-cell responses were attenuated but not abolished. Regimens that involved priming with different DNA vaccine formulations followed by boosting with the adenovirus vector were also compared. Of the formulations tested, the DNA-CRL1005 vaccine primed T-cell responses most effectively and provided the best overall immune responses after boosting with Ad5-gag. These results are suggestive of an immunization strategy for humans that are centered on use of the adenovirus vector and in which existing adenovirus immunity may be overcome by combined immunization with adjuvanted DNA and adenovirus vector boosting.
Identification of domains within the human cytomegalovirus major immediate-early 86-kilodalton protein and the retinoblastoma protein required for physical and functional interaction with each other

The human cytomegalovirus major immediate-early 86-kDa protein (IE2 86) plays an important role in the trans activation and regulation of HCMV gene expression. Previously, we demonstrated that IE2 86 contains three regions (amino acids [aa] 86 to 135, 136 to 290, and 291 to 364) that can independently bind to in vitro-translated Rb when IE2 86 is produced as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein (M. H. Sommer, A. L. Scully, and D. H. Spector, J. Virol. 68:6223-6231, 1994). In this report, we have elucidated the regions of Rb involved in binding to IE2 86 and have further analyzed the functional nature of the interaction between these two proteins. We find that two domains on Rb, the A/B pocket and the carboxy terminus, can each independently form a complex with IE2 86. In functional assays, we demonstrate that IE2 86 and another IE protein, IE1 72, can counter the enlarged flat cell phenotype, but not the G1/S block, which results from expression of wild-type Rb in the human osteosarcoma cell line Saos-2. Mutational analysis reveals that there are two domains on IE2 86 that can independently affect Rb function. One region (aa 241 to 369) includes the major Rb-binding domain, while the second maps to the amino-terminal region (aa 1 to 85) common to both IE2 86 and IE1 72. These data show that Rb and IE2 86 physically and functionally interact with each other via at least two separate domains and provide further support for the hypothesis that IE2 86 may exert its pleiotropic effects through the formation of multimeric protein complexes.
Escherichia coli “TatExpress” strains super‐secrete human growth hormone into the bacterial periplasm by the Tat pathway

Numerous high‐value proteins are secreted into the Escherichia coli periplasm by the General Secretory (Sec) pathway, but Sec‐based production chassis cannot handle many potential target proteins. The Tat pathway offers a promising alternative because it transports fully folded proteins; however, yields have been too low for commercial use. To facilitate Tat export, we have engineered the TatExpress series of super‐secreting strains by introducing the strong inducible bacterial promoter, ptac, upstream of the chromosomal tatABCD operon, to drive its expression in E. coli strains commonly used by industry (e.g., W3110 and BL21). This modification significantly improves the Tat‐dependent secretion of human growth hormone (hGH) into the bacterial periplasm, to the extent that secreted hGH is the dominant periplasmic protein after only 1 hr induction. TatExpress strains accumulate in excess of 30 mg L−1 periplasmic recombinant hGH, even in shake flask cultures. A second target protein, an scFv, is also shown to be exported at much higher rates in TatExpress strains.
Oscillations and hypoxic changes of mitochondrial variables in neurons of the brainstem respiratory centre of mice

We studied the functions of mitochondria and their hypoxic modulation in the brainstem slices of neonatal mice (postnatal day (P)6‐11). The measurements were made in the preBötzinger complex (pBC), a part of the respiratory centre, and in the hypoglossal (XII) nucleus. Using a CCD camera, changes in the redox state were assessed from cell autofluorescence produced by NADH and FAD, while alterations in mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ) and free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]m) were obtained from fluorescence signals after loading the cells with Rh123 and Rhod‐2, respectively. In the pBC, the cells were functionally identified by correlating the oscillations in [NADH], [FAD], Δψ and [Ca2+]m with the respiratory motor output recorded simultaneously from XII rootlets. In the inspiratory cells, NADH fluorescence showed a brief decrease followed by a slow and long‐lasting increase during one oscillation period. The initial decrease in NADH fluorescence was accompanied by an increase in FAD fluorescence and coincided with Δψ depolarization. The slow secondary increase in NADH fluorescence had a time course similar to that of the Rhod‐2 signal, indicating the role of Ca2+ uptake by mitochondria in NAD and FADH reduction. Brief (2‐4 min) hypoxia reversibly abolished rhythmic changes in mitochondrial variables and brought them to new steady levels. In parallel, ATP‐sensitive K+ (KATP) channels were activated and the respiratory output was depressed. The hypoglossal neurons showed much bigger increases in Δψ and [NADH] during hypoxia than the pBC neurons, which may explain their extreme vulnerability to hypoxia. We show here that mitochondrial function can be monitored in vitro in neurons constituting the respiratory neural network in slice preparations. Since mitochondrial variables demostrate specific, stereotypic fluctuations during a respiratory cycle, we suggest that mitochondrial function is modulated by spontaneous activity in the respiratory network. Therefore mitochondrial depolarization and Ca2+ uptake can contribute to the biphasic reaction of the respiratory network during hypoxia.
Supervisory practices and training transfer: lessons from Malaysia

Extant training transfer literature has paid little attention to supervisory practices, especially in the context of developing countries. This study investigates the influence of supervisory practices on training transfer via motivation to learn in the Malaysian public sector context. This study is one of the first to explore the impact of supervisor assignment decisions on training transfer through the mediating effect of motivation to learn. Quantitative data was collected from 306 employees working in a large government agency. The findings have demonstrated that supervisor support, communication, and assignment decisions are valid predictors of motivation to learn, leading to training transfer. Such findings have important implications for theory development by elucidating factors within supervisory practices which are critical for motivation to learn and training transfer. Implications for human resource management include the need for practitioners to expand supervisors' role and competency in promoting motivation to learn and training transfer.
Social Media Monitoring for Crisis Communication: Process, Methods and Trends in

This literature review study aims at clarifying current knowledge on social media monitoring from the perspective of organizational communication and public relations. It also contributes to crisis communication by shedding light on how fast developing social media discourse can be followed and analysed in order to understand citizens’ needs throughout all the phases of a crisis. The findings of this study reveal a number of insights in the scientific literature on the concept of monitoring, the monitoring process, methods, tools and solutions, methodological issues and trends covering the years 2009–2012. In the literature, social media monitoring is described as a process which comprises various steps: preparation, data collection, data analysis and reporting. The methodological issues discussed in the literature show the many challenges still to be addressed. Knowledge connecting the results of monitoring activities to communication strategy making is lacking, indicating a gap to be filled in future studies.
Role of elevated heart rate in the development of cardiovascular disease in hypertension.

That elevated heart rate (HR) is a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in healthy people as well as in patients with cardiac diseases is supported by numerous epidemiological association studies.1–4 Increased HR has been recognized as a negative prognostic factor independent of many other clinical parameters that can influence the HR, including physical activity scores, left ventricular function, or use of β-blockers. Thus, HR appears to satisfy all epidemiological criteria for being considered as a true risk factor, and its predictive value for cardiovascular disease appeared to be as strong as that of most important cardiovascular risk factors. This is particularly true for the results obtained in hypertensive patients. Elevated HR is a common feature among hypertensive individuals.1 Among the young hypertensive subjects participating in the HARVEST study, >15% had a baseline resting HR ≥85 bpm and 27% had a HR ≥80 bpm.5 According to the Tensiopulse study, which evaluated 38 145 patients cared for by 2000 general practitioners all across Italy, >30% of the hypertensive patients had a resting HR ≥80 bpm.6 In a large French population, untreated hypertensive subjects had approximately a 6-bpm faster HR than normotensive individuals.7 Elevated HR is frequently associated with high blood pressure (BP) and metabolic disturbances and increases the risk of new onset hypertension and diabetes.1 Many experimental data obtained both in animals and in human beings support the importance of HR as a true risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, providing convincing evidence for this pathogenetic mechanism.1–3 The pathogenetic connection between HR and cardiovascular disease has been discussed in several reports1–3,8,9 and is beyond the scope of this review. ### High HR as a Precursor of Hypertension, Obesity, and Diabetes Numerous studies have demonstrated that tachycardia is frequently associated with hypertension in …