Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Production of Transgenic Italian Ryegrass(Lolium multiflorum Lam. ) via Microprojectile Bombardment of Embryogenic Calli

We established a microprojectile-bombardment-mediated transformation system in embryogenic calli of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). Bombardment conditions with a PDS-1000/He helium-driven biolistic device were optimized by transient expression assays of a chimeric β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene construct. The highest number of transient GUS expression events was observed with 24 h of high osmotic pretreatment and a bombardment pressure of 7584 kPa. Diploid and tetraploid Italian ryegrass calli were transformed under optimal conditions with two plasmids harboring the gene for antisense expression of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) or hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT). Transformed calli were obtained via microprojectile bombardment followed by selection of transformants on media containing hygromycin at 50mg l-1 for 1 week and then 100mg l-1 for 5 weeks. A total of 33 transgenic plants were produced. The transformation frequencies in cultivars Waseaoba (diploid) and Meritra (tetraploid) were 3.8% and 2.3%, respectively. The total cointegration frequencies of the HPT and antiCAD genes (antisense orientation of CAD gene) were 55.6% in Waseaoba and 73.3% in Meritra. The expression of the antiCAD gene in the co transformed plants was confirmed by RT-PCR.
An Information Processing View on Joint Vendor Performance in Multi-Sourcing: The Role of the Guardian

Abstract This paper examines joint vendor performance in multi-sourcing arrangements. Using an Information Processing View, we argue that managing interdependencies between multiple vendors imposes substantial information processing (IP) requirements on clients. To achieve high joint performance, clients therefore need to possess sufficient IP capacity. We examine how three sources of IP capacity, two internal (i.e., the client’s inter-vendor governance and the client’s architectural knowledge) and one external (i.e., the guardian vendor), work together in realizing joint performance. Our results show that formal governance and architectural knowledge contribute to joint performance. The guardian vendor contributes to joint performance in settings where the client deploys strong governance but lacks architectural knowledge. This suggests that, contrary to common views in the literature, guardian vendors should not be understood as mediators (or single points of contact) who relieve clients from governance efforts. Instead, guardian vendors are more fruitfully understood as architects, who complement the client’s governance efforts by compensating for knowledge gaps. Put simply, client firms should consider using a guardian vendor to compensate for weak architectural knowledge while still maintaining strong formal and informal governance of all vendors.
A Mutagenesis Study to Find fimE Regulating Genes in Escherichia coli

The bacterial species Escherichia coli is responsible for the majority of urinary tract infections in humans, in part due to attachment of bacteria to uroepithelial cells via type 1 fimbriae. This study focused on one gene involved in type 1 pilus expression, fimE. FimE regulates expression of type 1 fimbriae by changing the position of the structural gene’s promoter to prevent transcription. To determine what genes may be involved in regulating fimE, an E. coli strain lacking fim and lac genes was transformed with a plasmid containing the fimE promoter hooked to a promoterless lacZ gene. The aims of this study were: 1) to randomly insert transposons into genes within the genome of this strain, 2) to screen the mutants generated for their ability to affect fimE expression as measured by the amount of β-galactosidase produced, and 3) to identify by DNA sequencing one or more genes affecting fimE expression. A total of 554 random transposon mutants were generated and screened for their ability to affect fimE expression. Of these mutants, three reproducibly showed downregulation of fimE, and one showed up-regulation. Further testing will be needed to characterize the nature of their behavior, and eventual DNA sequencing will elucidate which exact genes were mutated.
NDT_A_207069 2705..2714

Ren-Ren Li* Yu-Sheng He* Meng Liu Zhi-Yu Nie Li-He Huang Zheng Lu Ling-Jing Jin Yun-Xia Li 1Department of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200065, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Foreign Languages, Research Center for Ageing, Language and Care, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Psychiatry, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200065, People’s Republic of China
Running Head: Dual Commitment Profiles

Work-relevant commitments have important implications for employee behavior and well-being, but the connections are complicated by the fact that commitments can be characterized by different mindsets and be directed at different targets. Recent developments in person-centered analytic strategies (e.g., latent profile analysis) have helped to address these complexities, particularly as they pertain to the interactions among the mindset of affective, normative, and continuance commitment to the organization. In the present study we extend application of the person-centered approach to identify profiles of commitment to two interrelated targets—the organization and occupation—in a sample of 1,096 Hong Kong teachers. We identified seven distinct profiles reflecting both similarities and differences in the nature of the dual commitments across targets, and demonstrated differing patterns of turnover intentions and well-being across the profiles. Implications for commitment theory, future research, and practice are discussed.
TIME DOMAIN VOCAL TRACT LENGTH NORMALIZATION

Recently, the speaker normalization technique VTLN (vocal tract length normalization), known from speech recognition, was applied to voice conversion. So far, VTLN has been performed in frequency domain. However, to accelerate the conversion process, it is helpful to apply VTLN directly to the time frames of a speech signal. In this paper, we propose a technique which directly manipulates the time signal. By means of subjective tests, it is shown that the performance of voice conversion techniques based on frequency domain and time domain VTLN are equivalent in terms of speech quality, while the latter requires about 20 times less processing time.
Glial Cells in the Auditory Brainstem-Oxford Handbooks

The auditory brainstem carries out sound localization functions that require an extraordinary degree of precision. While many of the specializations needed for these functions reside in auditory neurons, additional adaptations are made possible by the functions of glial cells. Astrocytes, once thought to have mainly a supporting role in nervous system function, are now known to participate in synaptic function. In the auditory brainstem, they contribute to development of specialized synapses and to mature synaptic function. Oligodendrocytes play critical roles in regulating timing in sound localization circuitry. Microglia enter the central nervous system early in development, and also have important functions in the auditory system’s response to injury. This chapter highlights the unique functions of these non-neuronal cells in the auditory system.
Isolation of Resistance Gene Candidates in Chilli and Use of Molecular Markers for Root Knot Nematode Resistance

Chilli or hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), a major commercial vegetable crop of India is challenged with a number of pests and diseases and considerable economic damage, caused by root knot-nematode (RKN). Use of cultivars resistant to RKN would obviate the need for the use of pesticides. More than 40 resistant genes have been reported so far in various crops based on a candidate gene approach to address various biotic stresses. In the present study, isolation of these resistance gene candidates (RGCs) has been performed using a PCR-based approach involving degenerate primers designed based on the conserved nucleotide binding site (NBS) domains. Of the 41 clones sequenced, 9 NBS sequences with complete open reading frames (ORFs) had high similarity with the known resistance (R) genes, and are denoted as CaRGCs (Capsicum annuum resistant gene candidates). The presence of internal conserved motifs provided evidence that sequences isolated from chilli may belong to the NBS-LRR family. A cluster analysis based on the deduced amino acid sequence was carried out on chilli NBS-sequences, together with several analogous domains of known R genes, allowing chilli sequences to be classified into three major groups. The ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitution (dN/dS) in the NBS domains of chilli RGCs ranged from 0.064 to 0.38 for the different classes, which suggests purifying selection. We report that the partial coding sequence CaRGC6, which shows similarity to a nematode resistant protein, could have a potential advantage in the development of a transgenic chilli provided the full length gene is isolated and characterized. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Is faster or slower trading better? An examination of order type execution speed and costs

We examine how order type execution speed affects execution costs for U.S. equity traders. Marketable orders that execute slower exhibit lower execution costs. Those who remove liquidity faster and pay higher trading costs transact in smaller size, spread trading across more venues, take more liquidity, and are better informed. Non-marketable limit orders that execute slower exhibit greater adverse selection and larger, uninformed traders often submit them. Our findings indicate traders strategically alter order type trading speed to lower trading costs or profit from information, and that recent efforts by some markets to slow down trading intentionally can benefit certain market participants.
Board 102: Exploring Professional Identity Formation in Undergraduate Civil Engineering Students Who Experience Disabilities: Establishing Deﬁnitions of Self

Dr. Cassandra Groen-McCall is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Her primary research interests include professional identity formation in undergraduate civil engineering students, grounded theory methods, and theory development. Her current work includes the exploration of professional identity formation in civil engineering students who experience disabilities and the ways in which this identity is inﬂuenced by students’ academic relationships, events, and experiences. Dr. McCall holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Her research interests include interdisciplinary collaboration, design education, communication studies, identity theory and reﬂective practice. Projects supported by the National Science Foundation include exploring disciplines as cultures, liberatory maker spaces, and a RED grant to increase pathways in ECE for the professional formation of engineers. dynamics of cross-disciplinary Abstract The ways in which students encounter school can markedly shape how they form professional identities and continue into the engineering workforce. This is particularly true for those students who experience a variety of disabilities, as they must simultaneously manage and navigate disability-related cultural, academic, physical, and bureaucratic university structures and form professional identities. In this paper, we describe the evolution of an ongoing NSF-sponsored project exploring professional identity formation in undergraduate civil engineering students with disabilities as they experience their undergraduate careers and move into the workforce. To provide context for this ongoing work, we summarize the background, sensitizing concepts, and updated research procedures underpinning this study. We then focus our discussion on our emergent findings to-date, which include the identification of a sub-process referred to as Establishing Definitions of Self . Overall, these findings begin to highlight the nuance and fluidity of disability identity as students form professional identities as civil engineers.
Inversion of receiver functions without deconvolution—application to the Indian craton

S U M M A R Y Receiver functions are a powerful tool to isolate and interpret receiver-side structure effects in teleseismic seismic records. They are easily constructed by deconvolving one component of a seismogram by another. Deconvolution is the inverse of convolution, and hence can be mathematically viewed as an inverse problem. It is a numerically unstable procedure that needs to be stabilized (i.e. regularized). This points to a recurring problem in geophysical imaging: there is a trade-off between variance and resolution, where the user needs to arbitrarily define a level of compromise. Here we propose a novel misfit function for inversion of converted phases that avoids deconvolution. In this way, the choice of regularization parameters (e.g. water level, width of a low pass filter) is avoided, and statistics of data errors can be correctly accounted for. We use this misfit measure to construct a likelihood probability function and carry out a transdimensional Bayesian inversion for shear wave structure. After illustrating the method with a synthetic test, a real data application is shown where teleseismic signals recorded at HYB station (Hyderabad, India) and surface wave dispersion measurements are jointly inverted to provide a probabilistic 1-D seismic model beneath the station. The results help address the debate on the thickness of the lithosphere in this region. We show that the sharp negative velocity jump at 110 km that was previously interpreted as the lithosphere– asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is actually a mid-lithospheric discontinuity. The actual LAB is seen deeper as a milder gradient between 150 and 200 km.
The Impacts of Household Financial Stress, Resilience, Social Support, and Other Adversities on the Psychological Distress of Western Sydney Parents

This study investigated the prevalence of psychological distress among parents in Western Sydney households and examined its relationship with household financial, family and life stressors, and potential resilience factors. As part of a longer-term study, parents from Western Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), completed computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) in May 2011 (). Respondents were primary caregivers of at least one child (aged 4–16). Responses were weighted to reflect the Western Sydney population. Multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between parent experiences of stressor and resilience factors and reported psychological distress. Overall, 10.7% (95% CI: 7.8, 14.5) reported experiencing high/very high levels of psychological distress. Multivariate analysis indicated that financial hardship factors formed the strongest associations with psychological distress particularly housing and job security factors and, specifically, inability to meet mortgage/rent payments (, 95% CI: 1.74–15.25, ), poor self-rated health (, 95% CI: 1.88–10.64, ), adult job loss (, 95% CI: 1.33–10.66, ), and other family/life events (, 95% CI: 1.05–5.03, ). High personal resilience was common within this parent population and was a significant protective factor for high psychological distress (, 95% CI: 0.06–0.34, ). The findings support the development of targeted interventions to promote parent coping strategies in the context of household financial hardship.
Identification of key candidate genes for colorectal cancer by bioinformatics analysis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers of the digestive tract. Although numerous studies have been conducted to elucidate the cause of CRC, the exact mechanism of CRC development remains to be determined. To identify candidate genes that may be involved in CRC development and progression, the microarray datasets GSE41657, GSE77953 and GSE113513 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were used for functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A protein-protein interaction network was constructed, and the hub genes were subjected to module analysis and identification using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins and Cytoscape. A total of 142 DEGs were identified, with enriched functions and pathways in the ‘cell cycle’, ‘cell proliferation’, ‘the mitotic cell cycle’ and ‘one-carbon metabolic process’. In addition, 10 hub genes were identified, and functional analysis indicated that these genes are mainly enriched in ‘cell division’, ‘cell cycle’ and functions associated with nucleotide binding processes. Survival analysis demonstrated that DNA topoisomerase II α, cyclin-dependent kinase 1 and CDC28 protein kinase regulatory subunit 2 may be involved in cancer invasion or recurrence. The DEGs identified in the present study may help explain the molecular mechanisms of CRC development and progression.
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF QUANTUM STATES IN LAYERED QUANTUM SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURES WITH BAND

A simultaneous calculation of eigenstates in the layered quantum semiconductor structures using the finite element method was developed. We proposed the approximation to linearize the nonlinear eigenvalue problem due to nonparabolicity effect and found the application range for the approach. The finite element calculation results showed an excellent agreement with the published results obtained by other authors. In addition, our calculated results confirm that the effect of nonparabolicity on the transition energy shift is considerably large for higher subbands and should be taken into account in the simulation and design of light emitters based on layered quantum semiconductor structures. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 1–5, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www. interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23976
MAPPING GNSS RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTS WITH A DRONE TANDEM AND INDIRECT POSITION CONTROL

Abstract. The problem of autonomously mapping highly cluttered environments, such as urban and natural canyons, is intractable with the current UAV technology. The reason lies in the absence or unreliability of GNSS signals due to partial sky occlusion or multi-path effects. High quality carrier-phase observations are also required in efficient mapping paradigms, such as Assisted Aerial Triangulation, to achieve high ground accuracy without the need of dense networks of ground control points. In this work we consider a drone tandem in which the first drone flies outside the canyon, where GNSS constellation is ideal, visually tracks the second drone and provides an indirect position control for it. This enables both autonomous guidance and accurate mapping of GNSS restricted environments without the need of ground control points. We address the technical feasibility of this concept considering preliminary real-world experiments in comparable conditions and we perform a mapping accuracy prediction based on a simulation scenario.
Comparison of Processing Strategy for Time and Frequency Transfer Using GNSS

We have tested GNSS data processing for time and frequency (T&F) transfer prior to performing international VLBI T&F transfer experiments between two lattice clocks operated by INRIM (Italy) and NICT (Japan). Modified Allan deviation values show that precise point positioning (PPP) with ambiguity resolution (PPP-AR) and PPP by a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) GNSS processing tool, MALIB, perform similarly with best-case one-day instabilities on the order of 10−15 for the Koganei–Medicina baseline. Although further investigation is required to evaluate the PPP-AR technique, preliminary results imply that this technique is sufficient for validating the international VLBI experiments between INAF and NICT for the comparison of two lattice clocks.
University of Groningen Phenylketonuria : towards mechanism-based treatment

In phenylketonuria (PKU) research, the development of the genetic Pah-enu2 PKU mouse model has greatly increased pathophysiological knowledge. Recently, we found that C57Bl/6 PKU mice do not display behavioral phenotypes reflecting learning and memory deficits (manuscript under revision). In the current study, behavioral phenotypes reflecting mood and motor function of C57Bl/6 PKU mice were investigated in relation to brain concentrations of monoaminergic neurotransmitters. We hypothesized that C57Bl/6 PKU mice would show several behavioral phenotypes reflecting mood and motor function impairments compared to C57Bl/6 wild type (WT) mice, paralleled by reduced brain concentrations of monoaminergic neurotransmitters known to induce such phenotypes. In line with this hypothesis, PKU mice displayed an increase in time spent in the corners of the open field test (WT 239 ± 32 s vs. PKU 301 ± 31 s, p<0.001), increases of the number of steps and number of slips in the balance beam (WT 39 ± 3 vs. PKU 54 ± 4, p<0.001 and WT 5 ± 4 vs. PKU 27 ± 10, p<0.001, respectively), increased open arm times and open arm entries in the elevated plus maze (WT 23 ± 14 s vs. PKU 73 ± 38 s, p=0.003 and WT 2 ± 2 vs. PKU 5 ± 2, p=0.024, respectively), and increased immobility times in the forced swim test (WT 133 ± 27 s vs. PKU 194 ± 32 s, p<0.001). These behavioral phenotypes were paralleled by reduced brain concentrations of dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin in PKU mice (p<0.001 for all compared to WT mice). In conclusion, C57Bl/6 PKU mice showed behavioral phenotypes reflecting mood and motor function impairments, which were associated with reduced brain concentrations of monoaminergic neurotransmitters. Further studies are needed to investigate the associated biochemical and molecular pathways in further detail, and to assess the effects of intervening in these pathways.
Democratization of 2 Distributed 3 Data may or may not catalyze the global 4 Dissemination of 5 Digital 6 Dividends

We discuss the role of sensor analytics point solutions (SNAPS), a reduced complexity 21 machine-assisted decision support (MADS) tool. We summarize the approaches used for mobile 22 phone-based chemical/biological sensors, including general hardware and software requirements 23 for signal transduction and acquisition. We introduce SNAPS, part of a platform approach to 24 converge sensor data and analytics. The platform consists of a portfolio of modular tools which 25 may lend itself to dynamic composability by enabling context-specific selection of relevant units, 26 resulting in user-guided, context-specific, case-based working modules. SNAPS is an element of 27 this variant configuration mechanism, where, depending on need, data analytics, statistical 28 characterization and algorithms may be delivered to the data via embedded systems in devices, or 29 sourced, in near real-time, from mist, fog or cloud computing resources. Convergence of the 30 physical systems with the cyber components paves the path for SNAPS to progress to higher 31 levels of artificial reasoning tools (ART) and emerge as data-informed decision support as a 32 service (DIDA’S). Proof of concept examples of SNAPS are demonstrated for quantitative and 33 qualitative data, each operated using a mobile device (smartphone/tablet) for data acquisition and 34 analysis. We discuss the challenges and opportunities for SNAPS, centered around the value to 35 end-users as a key performance indicator (KPI), for generic machine-assisted tools (MAT). 36