Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased visual cortical thickness in sight‐recovery individuals

Individuals who are born blind due to dense bilateral cataracts and who later regain vision due to cataract surgery provide a unique model to evaluate the effect of early sensory experience in humans. In recent years, several studies have started to assess the functional consequences of early visual deprivation in these individuals, revealing a number of behavioral impairments in visual and multisensory functions. In contrast, the extent to which a transient period of congenital visual deprivation impacts brain structure has not yet been investigated. The present study investigated this by assessing cortical thickness of occipital areas in a group of six cataract‐reversal individuals and a group of six age‐matched normally sighted controls. This analysis revealed higher cortical thickness in cataract‐reversal individuals in the left calcarine sulcus, in the superior occipital gyrus and in the transverse occipital sulcus bilaterally. In addition, occipital cortical thickness correlated negatively with behavioral performance in an audio–visual task for which visual input was critical, and positively with behavioral performance in auditory tasks. Together, these results underscore the critical role of early sensory experience in shaping brain structure and suggest that increased occipital cortical thickness, while potentially compensatory for auditory sensory processing, might be maladaptive for visual recovery in cases of sight restoration. Hum Brain Mapp 36:5265–5274, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The FRIGIDA Complex Activates Transcription of FLC, a Strong Flowering Repressor in Arabidopsis, by Recruiting Chromatin Modification Factors[C][W]

A flowering repressor, FLC, has been extensively studied for its role in epigenetic regulation. However, the mechanism of FLC transcription is largely unknown. The authors show that the FRI protein complex recruits basal transcription factors, chromatin modification complexes, and eventually RNA polymerase II to transcribe the FLC gene. This helps to explain the flowering of winter annual Arabidopsis. The flowering of Arabidopsis thaliana winter annuals is delayed until the subsequent spring by the strong floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). FRIGIDA (FRI) activates the transcription of FLC, but the molecular mechanism remains elusive. The fri mutation causes early flowering with reduced FLC expression similar to frl1, fes1, suf4, and flx, which are mutants of FLC-specific regulators. Here, we report that FRI acts as a scaffold protein interacting with FRL1, FES1, SUF4, and FLX to form a transcription activator complex (FRI-C). Each component of FRI-C has a specialized function. SUF4 binds to a cis-element of the FLC promoter, FLX and FES1 have transcriptional activation potential, and FRL1 and FES1 stabilize the complex. FRI-C recruits a general transcription factor, a TAF14 homolog, and chromatin modification factors, the SWR1 complex and SET2 homolog. Complex formation was confirmed by the immunoprecipitation of FRI-associated proteins followed by mass spectrometric analysis. Our results provide insight into how a specific transcription activator recruits chromatin modifiers to regulate a key flowering gene.
Novel Haptoglobin Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism Is Associated with the Lipid Profile and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Concentration

Abstract We discovered a hitherto undescribed insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of 7 base pairs in intron 4 of the HP1 allele and intron 4 and 6 of the HP2 allele. Genotyping was performed in 311 Belgian subjects. The association between serum haptoglobin (Hp) and lipid concentrations and the Hp I/D genotypes was investigated. Genotype distribution in 103 Hp 1–1 phenotypes (50.5% DD, 39.8% DI, 9.7% II) and D allele frequency (0.70) were in close agreement with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. No association between Hp concentrations and the Hp I/D genotypes could be found. Apolipoprotein (apo)A2, apoB and cholesterol concentrations were slightly lower in Hp II compared to DI and DD. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations and the apoA1/apoA2 ratios differed significantly between Hp D/I genotypes. We added a further component to the molecular heterogeneity of Hp by the detection of an I/D polymorphism. Studies on the Hp I/D polymorphism in various populations open perspectives for further investigation of the distribution pattern of the human Hp gene. The association of the Hp I/D polymorphism with various lipid parameters might add a further component to the complex and multifaceted lipid metabolism.
Laserpointer-Interaktion für große, hochauflösende Displays

Aufgrund des limitierten Sehvermgens des Menschen muss sich ein Anwender vor gro§en, hochaufl-senden Displays frei bewegen knnen, um kleinste Details pixelgenau wahr zu nehmen oder einen berblick ber die gesamte Darstellungsflche von mehreren Quadratmetern zu erhalten. Im Gegensatz zu konventionellen Eingabegerten wie Maus und Tastatur beschrnken Laserpointer den Anwender nicht in seiner Bewegungsfreiheit, sondern ermglichen unabhngig von der Position zum Display eine sehr intuitive und direkte Art der Interaktion. In diesem Beitrag wird eine Interaktionsbibliothek vorge-stellt, welche im Hinblick auf Przision und verzgerungsfreier Steuerung erstmals auch den Einsatz von Laserpointer-Tracking bei gro§en, hochauflsenden Displays ermglicht. In einem Vergleichsex-periment wurde die Interaktionsbibliothek in Kombination mit einem Infrarotlaserpointer gegenber einer klassischen Maus als Standardeingabegert bei unterschiedlichen Distanzen evaluiert. Der signi-fikante Performancevorteil der Maus von 12,5% scheint in Anbetracht der gewonnenen Bewegungs-freiheit und der unmittelbaren Interaktionsweise mit dem Laserpointer eher gering ins Gewicht zu fallen. Im Vergleich zu bisherigen Systemen konnte der Rckstand des Laserpointers um ber 50% reduziert werden, was gr§tenteils auf die geringe Bewegungslatenz, das przise Tracking und die wirksame Kompensation des Zitterns der Hand zurckzufhren ist. Ferner wurde bei der Studie ein signifikanter Distanzeffekt beim Laserpointer hinsichtlich Performance und Fehlerrate festgestellt.
Brain Nicotine Binding Sites

Saturable high affinity binding The binding of tritiated nicotine to brain preparations was first described in the 1970s. 1-5 [3H]Nicotine of higher specific activity subsequently became available commercially, initially as a racemic mixture, and the first detailed study of its binding to rat brain membranes was published by Romano & Goldstein.6 Numerous binding studies have followed (see Table 1): [3H]nicotine displays saturable high affinity binding to brain tissue with apparent dissociation constants, (Kd), in the range 1-60 nM. This variation in reported Kd values can be attributed to a number of factors which may be summarised as follows.
An Ultrasonic and Vision-Based Relative Positioning Sensor for Multirobot Localization

This paper proposes a novel 3D sensor node to establish relative measurements within a robot network. The developed sensor nodes employ ultrasonic-based range measurement and infrared-based bearing measurement for spatial localization of robots. The sensor is low power, lightweight, low cost, and designed to be applicable across many robotic platforms, including microaerial vehicles. The proposed sensor design requires only two robots to perform relative measurements of each other and achieves a measurement accuracy of 0.96-cm Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) for range and 0.3° RMSE for bearing. The sensor nodes are scalable and can be configured using either Star or Mesh protocols with a maximum of 10-Hz update rates over a detection range of 9 m. The correspondence issue of having multiple robots is resolved using time division multiple access methods where different time slots are used by each sensor node. These features are verified by multiple experimental evaluations on a multirobot team with both ground and aerial agents. The proposed approach allows multirobot localization in scenarios where supportive positioning services such as GPS are unavailable. As a result, even basic robots, which lack powerful simultaneous localization and mapping capabilities, will be capable of autonomous navigation by accessing the positional information provided by the sensor network.
Tapped-Inductor Buck HB-LED AC–DC Driver Operating in Boundary Conduction Mode for Replacing Incandescent Bulb Lamps

High-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB-LEDs) are recognized as being potential successors of incandescent bulb lamps due to their high luminous efficiency and long lifespan. To achieve these advantages, HB-LED ballast must be durable and efficient. Furthermore, for this specific application, ac-dc HB-LED ballast requires a high-step-down ratio, high power factor and low cost. This paper presents a tapped-inductor buck power factor corrector (PFC) operating in boundary conduction mode design for replacing incandescent bulb lamps. This low-cost solution presents a suitable high-step-down ratio without galvanic isolation in order to produce an output voltage of about 20 V from line voltage. In addition, the tapped-inductor buck PFC maintains high efficiency in comparison to other one stage solutions widely used to design low-cost ac-dc HB-LED drivers (e.g., flyback PFCs). Static analysis, input current distortion analysis, and an average small signal model of the tapped-inductor buck PFC have been implemented in this paper both to check the validity of the proposed solution and to provide a suitable design procedure of the ac-dc HB-LED driver. Finally, a 12-W experimental prototype was developed to validate the theoretical results presented.
Advances in statistical analytical strategies for causal inferences in the social and behavioural sciences

This article shows how recent advances in statistical analytical strategies could be applied to correlational or observational data collected from non-experimental designs in order to provide convergent validity for causal inferences regarding "change" in two broad contexts. The first context refers to modeling causal relationships between constructs, specifically on relationships that go beyond the "bivariate prediction paradigm". In this context, mediation analyses, interaction analyses, combination of interactions and mediations, and structural equation modeling were discussed. The second context refers to modeling the causes of changes over time. In this context, fundamental questions on changes over time were explicated, limitations of traditional techniques for analyzing changes over time were illustrated, and latent variable approaches to modeling changes over time were discussed.
Security Analysis and Implementation of an Improved Cch2 Proxy Multi-Signature Scheme

Many of the signature schemes are proposed in which the t out of n threshold schemes are deployed; but they still lack the property of security. In this paper, we have discussed implementation of improved CCH1 and improved CCH2 proxy multi-signature scheme based on elliptic curve cryptosystem. We have represented time complexity, space complexity and computational overhead of improved CCH1 and CCH2 proxy multi-signature schemes. We have presented cryptanalysis of improved CCH2 proxy multi-signature scheme and showed that improved CCH2 scheme is suffered from various attacks i.e. forgery attack and framing attack.
LetsMT !-Platform to Drive Development and Application of Statistical Machine Translation

This paper presents ICT-PSP project LetsMT! which develops a user-driven machine translation “factory on the cloud”. Current mass-market and online MT systems are of general nature, system adaptation for specific needs is prohibitively expensive service not affordable to smaller companies or public institutions. To exploit the huge potential of open statistical machine translation (SMT) technologies LetsMT! has created an innovative online collaborative platform for data sharing and MT building.
Assessment of Cell Viability in Primary Neuronal Cultures

This unit contains five protocols for assaying cell viability in vitro using primary neuronal cultures, including a novel method for use with transfected neurons. Three of the assays are based on the principle that cell death cascades alter membrane permeability. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay measures the amount of the cytoplasmic enzyme released into the bathing medium, while the trypan blue and propidium iodide assays measure the ability of cells to exclude dye from their cytoplasm. The 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay measures the mitochondrial activity of viable cells by quantifying the conversion of the tetrazolium salt to its formazan product. Finally, the fifth assay details the measurement of luciferase expression as an indication of neuronal viability within a relatively small population of transfected neurons. Curr. Protoc. Neurosci. 44:7.18. 1‐7.18. 15. © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Formal Verification for Validation of PSEEL's PLC Program

In order to keep its leadership in French rail market and to improve work conditions of its systems engineers during automation projects, the SNCF (French acronym for National Society of French Railways) wants to develop solutions increasing the productivity. One of these improvements focuses on the current methodology used by systems engineers to verify and validate PLC programs of electrical installations. This task remains one of the most important during an automation project because it is supposed to ensure installations safety, but it must be optimized. Through an industrial thesis financed by SNCF, the aim of this research project is to improve this method and reduce time validation of programs by providing a tool which will help systems engineers to verify and validate quickly and automatically PLC programs during any automation project, not necessarily during factory tests but directly from their office.
Patterning the surface of colloidal microspheres and fabrication of nonspherical particles.

(Figure Presented) One seedfor two: Microspheres with patterned surfaces were obtained by modifying the surface of microspheres of a self-assembled colloidal crystal and redispersion of the colloidal crystal into individual particles. With these surface-patterned spheres as seeds, two types of nonspherical particles were fabricated by the seeded particle growth method.
Application of Improved SSL in Data Security Transmission of Mobile Database System

The existing SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol which mobile database system is using has many drawbacks, such as large amount of communication, computational complexity of encryption algorithm and the workload imbalance. In order to solve these problems, the paper proposes an improved SSL protocol. It decomposes the private key into independent elements which reducing the computational complexity and implementing parallel computing, at the same time it put part of decryption calculation to the client so that balancing the workload and shortening the running time of the algorithm. The improved SSL protocol exchanges certificate identifier instead of certificate entities between client and server, which reduces the message payload. The improved SSL protocol improves the decryption speed and reduces the handshake communication load compared to the original SSL protocol. Key-Words: Mobile database, security transmission, improved SSL protocol, RSA encryption algorithm, identity authentication
Comprehensive Integration of Single-Cell Data

Single cell transcriptomics (scRNA-seq) has transformed our ability to discover and annotate cell types and states, but deep biological understanding requires more than a taxonomic listing of clusters. As new methods arise to measure distinct cellular modalities, including high-dimensional immunophenotypes, chromatin accessibility, and spatial positioning, a key analytical challenge is to integrate these datasets into a harmonized atlas that can be used to better understand cellular identity and function. Here, we develop a computational strategy to “anchor” diverse datasets together, enabling us to integrate and compare single cell measurements not only across scRNA-seq technologies, but different modalities as well. After demonstrating substantial improvement over existing methods for data integration, we anchor scRNA-seq experiments with scATAC-seq datasets to explore chromatin differences in closely related interneuron subsets, and project single cell protein measurements onto a human bone marrow atlas to annotate and characterize lymphocyte populations. Lastly, we demonstrate how anchoring can harmonize in-situ gene expression and scRNA-seq datasets, allowing for the transcriptome-wide imputation of spatial gene expression patterns, and the identification of spatial relationships between mapped cell types in the visual cortex. Our work presents a strategy for comprehensive integration of single cell data, including the assembly of harmonized references, and the transfer of information across datasets. Availability: Installation instructions, documentation, and tutorials are available at: https://www.satijalab. org/seurat
prbA, a Gene Coding for an Esterase Hydrolyzing Parabens in Enterobacter cloacae and Enterobacter gergoviae Strains

ABSTRACT The new gene prbA encodes an esterase responsible for the hydrolysis of the ester bond of parabens in Enterobacter cloacae strain EM. This gene is located on the chromosome of strain EM and was cloned by several PCR approaches. The prbA gene codes for an immature protein of 533 amino acids, the first 31 of which represent a proposed signal peptide yielding a mature protein of a putative molecular mass of 54.6 kDa. This enzyme presents analogies with other type B carboxylesterases, mainly of eukaryotic origin. The cloning and expression of the prbA gene in a strain of Escherichia coli previously unable to hydrolyze parabens resulted in the acquisition of a hydrolytic capacity comparable to the original activity of strain EM, along with an increased resistance of the transformed strain to methyl paraben. The presence of homologues of prbA was tested in additional ubiquitous bacteria, which may be causative factors in opportunistic infections, including Enterobacter gergoviae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas agglomerans, E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Burkholderia cepacia. Among the 41 total strains tested, 2 strains of E. gergoviae and 1 strain of Burkholderia cepacia were able to degrade almost completely 800 mg of methyl paraben liter−1. Two strains of E. gergoviae, named G1 and G12, contained a gene that showed high homology to the prbA gene of E. cloacae and demonstrated comparable paraben esterase activities. The significant geographical distance between the locations of the isolated E. cloacae and E. gergoviae strains suggests the possibility of an efficient transfer mechanism of the prbA gene, conferring additional resistance to parabens in ubiquitous bacteria that represent a common source of opportunistic infections.
A Compact Dual-Mode Metamaterial-Inspired Antenna Using Rectangular Type CSRR

In this paper a compact planar dual-mode metamaterial (MTM) antenna using rectangular type complementary split ring resonator (CSRR) is proposed. It is observed that an increase in series capacitance tends to decrease resonant frequency at which n = 1 mode is obtained in the proposed antenna. Zeroth order mode (ZOR) is obtained by means of rectangular type CSRR, tends to provide the miniaturized area. Dispersion relations are shown in order to characterize the metamaterial behavior by extracting the equivalent circuit parameters. The resonant frequency of the antenna is 2.14 GHz with input reflection coefficient up to −45 dB. The electrical size of the proposed MTM antenna is 0. 321λ0 × 0. 285λ0 × 0. 011λ0. ZOR mode is observed at 1.15 GHz although the proposed antenna is operated at 2.14 GHz. Furthermore, it achieves simulated antenna gain of 2.60 dB with 70% radiation efficiency. In order to verify the simulation results of antenna, a prototype is fabricated and measured.
Hybrid evolutionary algorithms on minimum vertex cover for random graphs

This paper analyzes the hierarchical Bayesian optimization algorithm (hBOA) on minimum vertex cover for standard classes of random graphs and transformed SAT instances. The performance of hBOA is compared with that of the branch-and-bound problem solver (BB), the simple genetic algorithm (GA) and the parallel simulated annealing (PSA). The results indicate that BB is significantly outperformed by all the other tested methods, which is expected as BB is a complete search algorithm and minimum vertex cover is an NP-complete problem. The best performance is achieved with hBOA; nonetheless, the performance differences between hBOA and other evolutionary algorithms are relatively small, indicating that mutation-based search and recombination-based search lead to similar performance on the tested problem instances.
Effects of Mannheimia haemolytica leukotoxin on apoptosis and oncosis of bovine neutrophils.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the concentration-dependent effects of Mannheimia haemolytica (formerly Pasteurella haemolytica) leukotoxin (LKT) on apoptosis and oncosis in bovine neutrophils and to examine the role of calcium ions (Ca2+) in LKT-induced apoptosis. SAMPLE POPULATION Neutrophils isolated from blood samples obtained from healthy calves. PROCEDURE Neutrophil suspensions were exposed to lytic or sublytic dilutions of LKT and then examined by use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or gel electrophoresis. Contribution of extracellular Ca2+ to LKT-induced apoptosis was investigated by incubating neutrophils with LKT or control solutions in buffer containing 1 mM CaCl2 or in Ca2+-free buffer containing 1 mM ethylene glycol-bis (b-aminoethyl ether)-N,N-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) prior to diphenyl amine analysis. RESULTS Examination by TEM revealed that bovine neutrophils exposed to lytic dilutions of LKT had changes consistent with oncosis, whereas neutrophils exposed to sublytic dilutions of LKT and staurosporin, an inducer of apoptosis, had changes consistent with apoptosis. Effects of sublytic dilutions of LKT on apoptosis were confirmed by gel electrophoresis. Replacement of extracellular Ca2+ with EGTA, a Ca2+ chelator, reduced apoptosis attributable to the calcium ionophore A23187, but it did not have significant effects on apoptosis induced by LKT or staurosporin. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The ability of LKT to cause apoptosis instead of oncosis is concentration-dependent, suggesting that both processes of cell death contribute to an ineffective host-defense response, depending on the LKT concentration in pneumonic lesions. Furthermore, although Ca2+ promotes A23187-induced apoptosis, it is apparently not an essential second messenger for LKT-induced apoptosis.