Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
mRNA quality control goes transcriptional

Eukaryotic mRNAs are extensively processed to generate functional transcripts, which are 5′ capped, spliced and 3′ polyadenylated. Accumulation of unprocessed (aberrant) mRNAs can be deleterious for the cell, hence processing fidelity is closely monitored by QC (quality control) mechanisms that identify erroneous transcripts and initiate their selective removal. Nucleases including Xrn2/Rat1 and the nuclear exosome have been shown to play an important role in the turnover of aberrant mRNAs. Recently, with the growing appreciation that mRNA processing occurs concomitantly with polII (RNA polymerase II) transcription, it has become evident that QC acts at the transcriptional level in addition to degrading aberrant RNAs. In the present review, we discuss mechanisms that allow cells to co-transcriptionally initiate the removal of RNAs as well as down-regulate transcription of transcripts where processing repeatedly fails.
Search for Intracluster MACHOs by Pixel Lensing of M87

Intra-Cluster Machos (ICMs) are a plausible candidate for at least some of the dark matter in clusters of galaxies. ICMs can be detected by searching toward M87 for ``pixel lensing'', gravitational microlensing of unresolved stars. Dedicated observations by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera on the {\it Hubble Space Telescope} would discover lenses at a rate $\Gamma\sim 7 f\,\rm day^{-1}$ where $f$ is the fraction of the Virgo cluster composed of Machos (Massive Compact Objects). The only important background is lensing by stars in M87 itself. Such self-lensing should be detected at a rate $\Gamma\sim 1\,\rm day^{-1}$. However, most of these background events should be recognizable from their angular distribution and/or measurement of their proper motions (which are smaller by a factor $\sim 2$ than those of ICMs). The observations should be carried out principally in $I$, but with $V$ measurements made $\sim 20\%$ of the time in order to determine the colors of the lensed stars. It is also possible to detect ``Class II'' lensing events which are longer and hence for which lower signal to noise is balanced by a much larger number of observations per event. There are $\sim 5$ times more of these than the higher quality events. However, it is difficult to distinguish Class II events generated by ICMs from those generated by M87 stars.
Acoustic Properties of Aspect Markers & Their Homonymous Lexical Counterparts

The aim of the study was to investigate the prosodic pattern of aspect markers and their homonymous counterparts in child-directed speech (CDS) and adult-directed speech (ADS) in the context of story-telling. The acoustic parameters, fundamental frequency, relative amplitude and duration, of prosody were measured. The pairs of words chosen for study were the progressive aspect marker gcm2 and its homonymous adjective, meaning tight and the perfective aspect marker jo2 and its locative adverb, meaning left. The prosodic modification in CDS was found to be consistent with previous studies. It provided further evidence to support the possibly universal prosodic features of motherese. The acoustic parameters were found to differentiate grammatical category, that is aspect markers and their homonyms. The result helped to explain the early acquisition of aspect markers by Cantonese-speaking children. The role of prosody in the acquisition of functional morphemes is discussed.
The Push and Pull of School Performance: Evidence from Student Mobility in New Orleans

We investigate student mobility in a choice-based system that has gone to scale, New Orleans, to gain insight into an underlying improvement mechanism of choice-based reform and its potential equity-related consequences. In contrast to typical analyses of mobility, this study distinguishes incumbent school characteristics that can cause students to search for a new school (“push” factors) from those features that can draw families to a new school (“pull” factors). We find evidence consistent with school performance playing both push and pull roles. However, for low-achieving students, the push of low performance at incumbent schools is stronger than the pull of high performance at potential destinations, implying that low-achieving students are more successful in exiting low-performing schools than they are in finding higher-performing schools to attend.
POSTNATAL ONTOGENY OF GABA, BINDING IN RAT BRAIN

The postnatal development of GABA, binding sites in rat brain was studied by quantitative receptor autoradiography using ('H)GABA under selective conditions. Binding levels peak at regionally specific times during the first three weeks of life and then decline to adult levels. GABA, binding peaked in the globus pallidus, vestibular and spinal trigeminal nuclei, and the CA3 region of the hippocampus at postnatal day 3; in the striatum, nucleus accumbens, inferior olive, septum, dentate gyms and CA1 region of the hippocampus at postnatal day 7; in the neocortex and thalamus at postnatal day 14; and in the medial geniculate at postnatal day 21. Following these regionally specific peaks, binding decreased to postnatal day 28 levels. Further significant decreases in binding were observed in all regions examined between postnatal day 28 and adulthood. Comparisons of binding site pharmacology reveal equipotent displacement of GABA, binding by several competitive agonists and antagonists in postnatal day 7 and adult rat brain, indicating that immature and adult binding sites have similar pharmacological properties with regard to these compounds. The GABA, receptor antagonist CGP 54626A, however, inhibited binding more potently in the postnatal day 7 thalamus and neocortex than in these areas in the adult brain. The guanyl nucleotide analogue guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphasphate) inhibited GABA, binding exten- sively in both postnatal day 7 and adult brain. The non-competitive antagonist zinc also inhibited GABA, binding at both ages and was more potent in postnatal day 7 brain than in adult brain, Saturation analyses reveal two binding sites with similar affinities in both immature and adult rat brain, indicating that postnatal modulation of GABA, binding reflects changes in binding site density rather than modulation of binding site affinity. While immature GABA, binding sites share most pharmacological characteristics with adult binding sites and appear to be coupled IO G-proteins at an early age, their interactions with zinc and CGP 54626A suggest that GABA. binding sites in immature brain may have a distinct pharmacological profile. __ Our data suggest significant regional and pharmacological changes in GABA, binding during development. The implications of these findings are discussed with regards to a possible role of GABA, receptors in the development of the central nervous system.
Kinematic analysis of a dual-arm humanoid cooking robot

The dual-arm humanoid cooking robot is able to cook dishes like a master chef in ordinary home kitchens. The kinematic analysis is carried out for the arm of the robot. Coordinate frames are assigned to each link of the arm using the Denavit-Hartenberg convention. The working space of the arm is calculated. The kinematic equations are obtained by calculating the homogeneous transformation matrix. The inverse kinematic solution is obtained and verified by simulation. The Jacobian of the arm is obtained by the vector product method.
Mobile Agent based Architecture for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks(WSN) have emerged as one of the key growth areas for wireless networking and computing technologies. Usually in sensor networking, traditional client-server computing architecture is employed where data at multiple nodes is transfered to a processing element. In the mobile-agent based computing paradigm, the motto is to move the computation to the data rather than data to the computation. Using this paradigm, the communication cost, specially over low bandwidth links is greatly reduced. In this paper we study the recently proposed paradigm known as mobile agent based distributed sensor network (MADSN) by Qi et. al [6]. The paper also addresses the advantages and the challenges associated with this paradigm.
Functional Characterization of Nuclear Localization and Export Signals in Hepatitis C Virus Proteins and Their Role in the Membranous Web

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive strand RNA virus of the Flavivirus family that replicates in the cytoplasm of infected hepatocytes. Previously, several nuclear localization signals (NLS) and nuclear export signals (NES) have been identified in HCV proteins, however, there is little evidence that these proteins travel into the nucleus during infection. We have recently shown that nuclear pore complex (NPC) proteins (termed nucleoporins or Nups) are present in the membranous web and are required during HCV infection. In this study, we identify a total of 11 NLS and NES sequences in various HCV proteins. We show direct interactions between HCV proteins and importin α5 (IPOA5/kapα1), importin β3 (IPO5/kap β3), and exportin 1 (XPO1/CRM1) both in-vitro and in cell culture. These interactions can be disrupted using peptides containing the specific NLS or NES sequences of HCV proteins. Moreover, using a synchronized infection system, we show that these peptides inhibit HCV infection during distinct phases of the HCV life cycle. The inhibitory effects of these peptides place them in two groups. The first group binds IPOA5 and inhibits infection during the replication stage of HCV life cycle. The second group binds IPO5 and is active during both early replication and early assembly. This work delineates the entire life cycle of HCV and the active involvement of NLS sequences during HCV replication and assembly. Given the abundance of NLS sequences within HCV proteins, our previous finding that Nups play a role in HCV infection, and the relocation of the NLS double-GFP reporter in HCV infected cells, this work supports our previous hypothesis that NPC-like structures and nuclear transport factors function in the membranous web to create an environment conducive to viral replication.
The force balance of sea ice in a numerical model

The balance of forces in the sea ice model of Hibler [1979] is examined. The model predicts that internal stress gradients are an important force in much of the Arctic Ocean except in summer, when they are significant only off the northern coasts of Greenland and the Canadian Archipelago. A partition of the internal stress gradient between the pressure gradient and the viscous terms reveals that both are significant, although they operate on very different timescales. The acceleration term is generally negligible, while the sum of Coriolis plus sea surface tilt is small. Thus the seasonal average force balance in fall, winter, and spring is mostly between three terms of roughly equal magnitudes: air drag, water drag, and internal stress gradients. This is also true for the monthly average force balance. However, we find that there is a transition around the weekly timescale and that on a daily basis the force balance at a particular location and time is often between only two terms: either between air drag and water drag or between air drag and internal stress gradients. The model is in agreement with the observations of Thorndike and Colony [1982] in that the correlation between geostrophic wind forcing and the model's ice velocity field is high. This result is discussed in the context of the force balance; we show that the presence of significant internal stress gradients does not preclude high wind-ice correlation. A breakdown of the internal stress gradient into component parts reveals that the shear viscous force is far from negligible, which casts strong doubt on the theoretical validity of the cavitating fluid approximation (in which this component is neglected). Finally, the role of ice pressure is examined by varying the parameter P*. We find a strong sensitivity in terms of the force balance, as well as ice thickness and velocity.
Convincing Top Management of the Strategic Potential of Information Systems

Recent research has shown that the difficulty of convincing top management of the potential strategic impact of information systems impedes information systems planning. Interviews with 20 top information systems executives revealed reasons for this difficulty and techniques that they use in attempting to overcome it. The results suggest the importance of information systems executives' skills and activities necessary for the selling of information systems products and services. The research also raises three controversial questions for future investigators.
Submodularity and its applications in optimized information gathering

Where should we place sensors to efficiently monitor natural drinking water resources for contamination? Which blogs should we read to learn about the biggest stories on the Web? These problems share a fundamental challenge: How can we obtain the most useful information about the state of the world, at minimum cost? Such information gathering, or active learning, problems are typically NP-hard, and were commonly addressed using heuristics without theoretical guarantees about the solution quality. In this article, we describe algorithms which efficiently find provably near-optimal solutions to large, complex information gathering problems. Our algorithms exploit submodularity, an intuitive notion of diminishing returns common to many sensing problems: the more sensors we have already deployed, the less we learn by placing another sensor. In addition to identifying the most informative sensing locations, our algorithms can handle more challenging settings, where sensors need to be able to reliably communicate over lossy links, where mobile robots are used for collecting data, or where solutions need to be robust against adversaries and sensor failures. We also present results applying our algorithms to several real-world sensing tasks, including environmental monitoring using robotic sensors, activity recognition using a built sensing chair, a sensor placement challenge, and deciding which blogs to read on the Web.
Influence of polymer-coated slow-release urea on total tract apparent digestibility, ruminal fermentation and performance of Nellore steers

Objective Two experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of coated slow-release urea on nutrient digestion, ruminal fermentation, nitrogen utilization, blood glucose and urea concentration (Exp 1), and average daily gain (ADG; Exp 2) of steers. Methods Exp 1: Eight ruminally fistulated steers [503±28.5 kg body weight (BW)] were distributed into a d 4×4 Latin square design and assigned to treatments: control (CON), feed grade urea (U2), polymer-coated slow-release urea A (SRA2), and polymer-coated slow-release urea B (SRB2). Dietary urea sources were set at 20 g/kg DM. Exp 2: 84 steers (350.5±26.5 kg initial BW) were distributed to treatments: CON, FGU at 10 or 20 g/kg diet DM (U1 and U2, respectively), coated SRA2 at 10 or 20 g/kg diet DM (SRA1 and SRA2, respectively), and coated SRB at 10 or 20 g/kg diet DM (SRB1 and SRB2, respectively). Results Exp 1: Urea treatments (U2+SRA2+SRB2) decreased (7.4%, p = 0.03) the DM intake and increased (11.4%, p<0.01) crude protein digestibility. Coated slow-release urea (SRA2+SRB2) showed similar nutrient digestibility compwared to feed grade urea (FGU). However, steers fed SRB2 had higher (p = 0.02) DM digestibility compared to those fed SRA2. Urea sources did not affect ruminal fermentation when compared to CON. Although, coated slow-release urea showed lower (p = 0.01) concentration of NH3-N (−10.4%) and acetate to propionate ratio than U2. Coated slow-release urea showed lower (p = 0.02) urinary N and blood urea concentration compared to FGU. Exp 2: Urea sources decreased (p = 0.01) the ADG in relation to CON. Animals fed urea sources at 10 g/kg DM showed higher (12.33%, p = 0.01) ADG compared to those fed urea at 20 g/kg DM. Conclusion Feeding urea decreased the nutrient intake without largely affected the nutrient digestibility. In addition, polymer-coated slow-release urea sources decreased ruminal ammonia concentration and increased ruminal propionate production. Urea at 20 g/kg DM, regardless of source, decreased ADG compared both to CON and diets with urea at 10 g/kg DM.
Essays on Health Insurance Market Design and Labor Market Interactions

This dissertation aims to develop empirical frameworks to assess a variety of health insurance market policies and explore the optimal policy design taking into account their impacts on the labor market and public insurance program. The first chapter (co-authored with Hanming Fang) presents and empirically implements an equilibrium labor market search model where risk averse workers facing medical expenditure shocks are matched with firms making health insurance coverage decisions. We use our estimated model to evaluate the equilibrium impact of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) and find that it would reduce the uninsured rate among the workers in our estimation sample from 20.12% to 7.27%. The second chapter evaluates the current health insurance exchange (HIX) system implemented under the ACA and examines its optimal design, accounting for adverse selection and equilibrium labor market interactions. I develop and empirically implement a life cycle equilibrium labor market search model integrated with the pre-ACA health insurance market. Counterfactual experiments show that the ACA decreases not only the uninsured rate but also aggregate labor productivity. Next, I examine the optimal design of HIX by choosing the values of three major design components---tax penalties on the uninsured, premium subsidies and age-based rating regulations. I find that the optimal combination of these components makes it less beneficial for older workers relative to younger workers to purchase health insurance from HIX. Implementing the optimal structure leads to higher labor productivity and a slightly lower uninsured rate. The third chapter (co-authored with You Suk Kim) studies the incentives for private insurers to use advertising to attract low-cost, healthy individuals and the impacts of advertising on selection, competition, and welfare in the context of the Medicare Advantage (MA). We develop and estimate an equilibrium model of the MA market, which incorporates strategic advertising by insurers. We find that advertising has positive effects on overall demand, but a much larger effect on the demand of the healthy individuals. Moreover, we find that advertising accounts for 15% of the selection of healthier individuals into MA. The impact of risk adjustment policies is also examined. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Economics First Advisor Hanming Fang Subject Categories Economics This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/edissertations/1187 This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/edissertations/1187 ESSAYS ON HEALTH INSURANCE MARKET DESIGN AND LABOR MARKET
Optimal Bidding in Multi-Unit Discriminatory Auctions: Two Bidders

We analyze the two-bidder discriminatory auction with downward sloping marginal valuations and a continuous, variable award. We allow for a common component in marginal valuations and affiliation. We focus on problems that admit solutions with strictly downward sloping bidding schedules. Using the method of characteristics, we reduce the first order conditions to a pair of ordinary differential equations where we fix the equilibrium quantities that are allocated to the two bidders. These ordinary differential equations are extensions of the Milgrom-Weber equation for the first price unit auction. A new ordinary differential equation that characterizes the relation between signals yielding the fixed quantity allocation is obtained. The equilibrium solution of the discriminatory auction is given by the solution of an initial value problem for these two coupled ODEs that generalize the Milgrom-Weber equation. We show the conditions for existence of solutions to this systems of ODEs. Some examples are analytically and numerically solved using our approach.
Performance of Cognitive Radio based MC-DS-CDMA system for downlink communication

The performance of a cognitive radio based Transmitter Pre-processing (TP) assisted Multi-Carrier (MC)-Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system over correlated frequency-selective channels for downlink communication is presented in this paper. The Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) helps us understand the need for TP. Channel State Information (CSI) is collected via feedback channels and this SVD based TP technique cancels the effects of Co-Channel Interference (CCI) and Multiple Access Interference (MAI).
Association of Serum Adipocyte-Specific Fatty Acid Binding Protein with Fatty Liver Index as a Predictive Indicator of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background Adipocyte-specific fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP) is a cytoplasmic protein expressed in macrophages and adipocytes and it plays a role in insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. Recently, the fatty liver index (FLI) was introduced as an indicator of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between baseline serum A-FABP levels and FLI after 4 years in apparently healthy subjects. Methods A total of 238 subjects without a past history of alcoholism or hepatitis were recruited from a medical check-up program. The NAFLD state was evaluated 4 years later in the same subjects using FLI. Fatty liver disease was diagnosed as diffusely increased echogenicity of the hepatic parenchyma compared to the kidneys, vascular blurring, and deep-echo attenuation. NAFLD was defined as subjects with fatty liver and no history of alcohol consumption (>20 g/day). Results Baseline serum A-FABP levels were significantly associated with FLI after adjustment for age and sex (P<0.001). The subjects with higher A-FABP levels had a higher mean FLI (P for trend=0.006). After adjusting for age and sex, serum A-FABP levels at baseline were shown to be significantly associated with FLI as a marker of development of NAFLD after 4 years (odds ratio, 2.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.24 to 5.80 for highest tertile vs. lowest tertile; P=0.012). Conclusion This study demonstrated that higher baseline serum A-FABP levels were associated with FLI as a predictive indicator of NAFLD after 4 years of follow-up in healthy Korean adults.