Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sae2 Protein Promotes Resection and Bridging of Double Strand Break Ends*

When eukaryotic chromosomes undergo double strand breaks (DSBs), several evolutionarily conserved proteins, among which the MRX complex, are recruited to the break site, leading to checkpoint activation and DNA repair. The function of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sae2 protein, which is known to work together with the MRX complex in meiotic DSB processing and in specific mitotic DSB repair events, is only beginning to be elucidated. Here we provide new insights into the role of Sae2 in mitotic DSB repair. We show that repair by single strand annealing of a single DSB, which is generated by the HO endonuclease between direct repeats, is defective both in the absence of Sae2 and in the presence of the hypomorphic rad50s allele altering the Rad50 subunit of MRX. Moreover, SAE2 overexpression partially suppresses the rad50s single strand annealing repair defects, suggesting that the latter might arise from defective MRX-Sae2 interactions. Finally, SAE2 deletion slows down resection of an HO-induced DSB and impairs DSB end bridging. Thus, Sae2 participates in DSB single strand annealing repair by ensuring both resection and intrachromosomal association of the broken ends.
Effect of Rater Nationality on the Relationships Among Ratee Task, Contextual, and Counterproductive Behaviors and Salary Estimates

This study examined the moderating effect of rater nationality on the relationships among ratee task, contextual, and counterproductive behaviors, and rater salary estimates gauging the dollar value of overall job performance. As hypothesized, rater nationality had a significant moderating effect, such that the Lebanese sample showed stronger relationships between each of the three types of job performance and their dollar value estimates than did the American sample. In other words, results indicated that Lebanese participants made stronger salary differentiations among the different levels of task, contextual, and counterproductive performance. These results seem to suggest that Lebanese participants provided salary estimates using more of an equity approach, whereas American participants provided salary estimates using more of an equality approach. Results contribute to the growing evidence that national culture is important in evaluating job performance.
Protection switching for optical bursts using segmentation and deflection routing

Burst segmentation in OBS networks can significantly reduce the amount of data that is lost due to contention events by dropping or deflecting only the portion of a burst that overlaps another contending burst. In this letter, we demonstrate how segmentation combined with deflection routing can be used to reduce the amount of data that is lost when network elements fail. By enabling an OBS switch to deflect the tail-end segments of bursts that are in transmission as soon as it becomes aware of a downstream link failure, the retransmission of lost data can be reduced.
Acoustics in Optical Fiber

Optical filters are the heart of optical networks; without the wavelength selective device wavelength division multiplexing and dense wavelength division multiplexing network will not exist. As the networks are progressing towards closer wavelength spacing, performance requirement for filters are becoming more demanding. Currently, the popular filters include gratings, thin-film filters, and Fabry-Perot filters and acoustoi optic tunable filters (AOTFs).
Propagation by Cutting of Grewia coriacea Mast. (Malvaceae).

Congolese forests contain important spontaneous food plants. Among these plants, there is the Grewia coriacea Mast. , called in the national language "Tsui-téké", which is a tree of 4-25 m high and of 12-40 cm in diameter. Its fruits are used in several drinks making (juice, sparkling wine, syrup) and lollipops. Grewia's barks are used in pharmacopoeia to cure of stomach aches, syphilis. However, the fruits harvesting method based on branches or trees cutting as well as swidden agriculture by local people dangerously threatens the Grewia in the natural ecosystems of Congo. To insure the longevity of this species, we undertook trials of vegetative reproduction of the plant by means of propagation by cuttings for its domestication. Less woody leafless cuttings of 30 cm in length provided best results with a resumption rate of 63.3%, a good rooting production and an average duration of the apparent plastochrone of three days from the second to the fifth leaf. The study shows that domestication of the Grewia coriacea Mast. is possible today by cuttings. Its culture might allow the diversification of species which can be used in orchards.
Secure and simplified access to home appliances using Iris recognition

Moving towards an ‘always-on’, ‘mobile’ and technology driven lifestyle, people are demanding greater technical triumph to make life more exciting, convenient and trouble-free. Automation at home has already started catering to this growing need. Another major motivating factor for this is the prospect of higher energy efficiency, greater control on home from remote locations and the decreasing cost of network-controlled home appliances. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme for accessing home appliances over the Internet using secure communication channel offered by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) with mandatory certificate verification, perform user authentication using Iris image, and then hash the biometric data to provide an impregnable three-factor security to the biometric data as well as user instructions while in transit between the user terminal and the home appliance. Additionally, we propose the use of a single Authentication Server for multiple residences, that would store users' sensitive biometric data, perform authentication, access control and quality of service, thereby reducing cost, effort, user dependability and improve security, acceptability and user-friendliness of home automation universally, together with SIP and UPnP protocols. The proposed approach proves to be more effective because of its well integrated three levels of security, less equal error, very small hash code used for authentication, lower computational complexity while matching, and thus, very fast response.
Answering A Critique of Rational - Emotive Therapy

Each of the major ideas presented by Morris in his article "The Rational-Emotive Approach: A Critique" are dealt with by Albert Ellisas he answers some thoughtful criticisms of R. E. T. Ellis counters Morris' major points and suggests in effect that experimental evidence is lacking in support of these various claims. Ellis further suggests thatan "existential" bias pervades and that this is quite different from hisown hard-headed brand of "existentialism". Chacune des idees principales econcees par Morris dans son article"The Rational-Emotive Approach:ACritique" est discutee par Albert Ellis. Ellis refuteles principaux arguments de Morris et souligne l'absence d'evidence experimentale qui appuierait les idees soulevees par Morris. De plus, Ellis suggere qu'un biais "existentialiste" s'infiltre dans l'article de Morris et que ce biais differe de sa conception de l'existentialisme.
Diversity of Natural Product Biosynthetic Genes in the Microbiome of the Deep Sea Sponges Inflatella pellicula, Poecillastra compressa, and Stelletta normani

Three different deep sea sponge species, Inflatella pellicula, Poecillastra compressa, and Stelletta normani comprising seven individual samples, retrieved from depths of 760–2900 m below sea level, were investigated using 454 pyrosequencing for their secondary metabolomic potential targeting adenylation domain and ketosynthase domain sequences. The data obtained suggest a diverse microbial origin of nonribosomal peptide synthetases and polyketide synthase fragments that in part correlates with their respective microbial community structures that were previously described and reveals an untapped source of potential novelty. The sequences, especially the ketosynthase fragments, display extensive clade formations which are clearly distinct from sequences hosted in public databases, therefore highlighting the potential of the microbiome of these deep sea sponges to produce potentially novel small-molecule chemistry. Furthermore, sequence similarities to gene clusters known to be involved in the production of many classes of antibiotics and toxins including lipopeptides, glycopeptides, macrolides, and hepatotoxins were also identified.
Semi-automatic evaluation of the grammatical coverage of machine translation systems

In this paper we present a methodology for automating the evaluation of the grammatical coverage of machine translation (MT) systems. The methodology is based on the importance of unfolded grammatical structures, which represent the most basic syntactic pattern for a sentence in a given language. A database of unfolded grammatical structures is built to evaluate the parser of any NLP or MT system. The evaluation results in an overall measure called the grammatical coverage. The results of implementing the above approach on three English-to-Arabic commercial MT systems are presented.
Failure of injection of Rat Placental Lactogen to Inhibit Prolactin in Vivo 1

Abstract In an attempt to demonstrate a negative feedback of rat placental lactogen (rPL) on prolactin secretion, pregnant rats were hysterectomized and injected intraperitoneally with placental extracts. Hysterectomy alone prolonged the incidence of nocturnal prolactin surges and injection of placental extracts did not alter this response. However, the absence of rPL in the serum following the injections indicated a primary reason why no inhibition was seen. Only when rPL was given intravenously was there detectable amounts found in the blood. The slow disappearance of rPL from the circulation following hysterectomy in Day 11 pregnant rats suggests that the lack of rPL in the blood following ip injection of placental extracts is not due to rapid clearance of rPL from blood. The failure to show a negative feedback of rPL on prolactin in vivo may be due primarily to the lack of appearance of rPL in the circulation following an ip injection of placental extracts.
The Changing Epidemiology of Meningococcal Disease in Quebec, Canada, 1991–2011: Potential Implications of Emergence of New Strains

Background In order to inform meningococcal disease prevention strategies, we analysed the epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in the province of Quebec, Canada, 10 years before and 10 years after the introduction of serogroup C conjugate vaccination. Methodology IMD cases reported to the provincial notifiable disease registry in 1991–2011 and isolates submitted for laboratory surveillance in 1997–2011 were analysed. Serogrouping, PCR testing and assignment of isolates to sequence types (ST) by using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were performed. Results Yearly overall IMD incidence rates ranged from 2.2–2.3/100,000 in 1991–1992 to 0.49/100,000 in 1999–2000, increasing to 1.04/100,000 in 2011. Among the 945 IMD cases identified by laboratory surveillance in 1997–2011, 68%, 20%, 8%, and 3% were due to serogroups B, C, Y, and W135, respectively. Serogroup C IMD almost disappeared following the implementation of universal childhood immunization with monovalent C conjugate vaccines in 2002. Serogroup B has been responsible for 88% of all IMD cases and 61% of all IMD deaths over the last 3 years. The number and proportion of ST-269 clonal complex has been steadily increasing among the identified clonal complexes of serogroup B IMD since its first identification in 2003, representing 65% of serogroup B IMD in 2011. This clonal complex was first introduced in adolescent and young adults, then spread to other age groups. Conclusion Important changes in the epidemiology of IMD have been observed in Quebec during the last two decades. Serogroup C has been virtually eliminated. In recent years, most cases have been caused by the serogroup B ST-269 clonal complex. Although overall burden of IMD is low, the use of a vaccine with potential broad-spectrum coverage could further reduce the burden of disease. Acceptability, feasibility and cost-effectiveness studies coupled with ongoing clinical and molecular surveillance are necessary in guiding public policy decisions.
Global Propagation in Bayesian Networks Vs Semijoin Programs in Relational Databases

Bayesian networks have been well established as an effective framework for uncertainty management using probability. Various methods for probabilistic reasoning in Bayesian networks have been developed and matured. Recently, research has shown that there exists an intriguing relationship between Bayesian networks and relational databases. Adding to that intriguing relationship, in this paper, we reveal that the global propagation method for probabilistic reasoning in Bayesian networks has a close tie with the well known semijoin programs for query answering in relational databases. This linkage between these two apparently different but closely related knowledge representations suggests that well developed techniques for query answering in relational databases could be applied to probabilistic reasoning in Bayesian networks for large and complex domains.
Contemporary predictors of conversion from laparoscopic to open appendectomy.

BACKGROUND We defined the contemporary conversion rate from laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) to open appendectomy and identified pre-operative factors associated with conversion. METHODS Retrospective review of 941 consecutive LAs performed for suspected acute appendicitis in a single urban university hospital between 2000 and 2007. Patient characteristics, clinical features, physical examination findings, laboratory values, computed tomography (CT) findings, surgeon identity, operative findings, and pathologic results were assessed. Categorical variables were compared in patients undergoing LA and those in whom conversion was necessary using the Fisher exact test; the Student t-test was used to compare continuous variables. Multivariable analysis was performed with binomial logistic regression. Statistical significance was established at α = 0.05. RESULTS The overall conversion rate was 4.1% and did not change significantly over the course of the study. By univariable analysis, conversion was significantly associated with older age, male gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score >2 points, longer duration of symptoms, rigidity on physical examination, increased percentage of neutrophils on admission white blood cell differential count, extraluminal air on CT, inexperience of the attending surgeon with LA, retrocecal location of the appendix, gross necrosis or perforation, murky or purulent ascites, and microscopic evidence of perforation. By multivariable analysis, advanced age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.02 per year; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.04, p = 0.02), ASA score >2 points (HR 11.2; 95% CI 5.6-24.4; p < 0.001), CT inflammation grade ≥ 4 (HR 4.8; 95% CI 1.9-12.3; p = 0.001), and attending surgeon inexperience (HR 7.4; 95% CI 2.6-20.8; p < 0.001) were independent predictors of conversion. CONCLUSION The conversion rate during laparoscopic appendectomy has not changed significantly over the past seven years and remains ~4%. Independent pre-operative predictors of conversion are advanced age, ASA score >2 points, attending surgeon inexperience, and extensive inflammation observed on pre-operative CT scan. Proceeding directly with open appendectomy under these circumstances may reduce operative time, expense, and morbidity.
Analysis of Immune Signatures in Longitudinal Tumor Samples Yields Insight into Biomarkers of Response and Mechanisms of Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Blockade.

UNLABELLED Immune checkpoint blockade represents a major breakthrough in cancer therapy; however, responses are not universal. Genomic and immune features in pretreatment tumor biopsies have been reported to correlate with response in patients with melanoma and other cancers, but robust biomarkers have not been identified. We studied a cohort of patients with metastatic melanoma initially treated with cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA4) blockade (n = 53) followed by programmed death-1 (PD-1) blockade at progression (n = 46), and analyzed immune signatures in longitudinal tissue samples collected at multiple time points during therapy. In this study, we demonstrate that adaptive immune signatures in tumor biopsy samples obtained early during the course of treatment are highly predictive of response to immune checkpoint blockade and also demonstrate differential effects on the tumor microenvironment induced by CTLA4 and PD-1 blockade. Importantly, potential mechanisms of therapeutic resistance to immune checkpoint blockade were also identified. SIGNIFICANCE These studies demonstrate that adaptive immune signatures in early on-treatment tumor biopsies are predictive of response to checkpoint blockade and yield insight into mechanisms of therapeutic resistance. These concepts have far-reaching implications in this age of precision medicine and should be explored in immune checkpoint blockade treatment across cancer types. Cancer Discov; 6(8); 827-37. ©2016 AACR.See related commentary by Teng et al., p. 818This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 803.
Antibiotic resistance in cancer patients

Bacterial infection is one of the most frequent complications in cancer patients and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. In recent years, the emergence of antimicrobial resistance has become a significant problem worldwide, and cancer patients are among those affected. Treatment of infections due to multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria represents a clinical challenge, especially in the case of Gram-negative bacilli, since the therapeutic options are often very limited. As the antibiotics active against MDR bacteria present several disadvantages (limited clinical experience, higher incidence of adverse effects, and less knowledge of the pharmacokinetics of the drug), a thorough acquaintance with the main characteristics of these drugs is mandatory in order to provide safe treatment to cancer patients with MDR bacterial infections. Nevertheless, the implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs and infection control measures is the cornerstone for controlling the development and spread of these MDR pathogens.
Skip and bin: pervasive alternative splicing triggers degradation by nuclear RNA surveillance in fission yeast

Exon-skipping is considered a principal mechanism by which eukaryotic cells expand their transcriptome and proteome repertoires, creating different slice varaiants with distinct cellular functions. Here we analyze RNA-seq data from 116 transcriptomes in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe), covering multiple physiological conditions as well as transcriptional and RNA processing mutants. We applied brute-force algorithms to detect all possible exon-skipping events, which were ubiquitous but rare compared to canonical splicing events. Exon-skipping events increased in cells deficient for the nuclear exosome or the 5’-3’ exonuclease Dhp1, and also at late stages of meiotic differentiation when nuclear-exosome transcripts were down-regulated. The pervasive exon-skipping transcripts were stochastic, did not increase in specific physiological conditions, and were mostly present at below 1 copy per cell, even in the absence of nuclear RNA surveillance and late during meiosis. These exon-skipping transcripts are therefore unlikely to be functional and may reflect splicing errors that are actively removed by nuclear RNA surveillance. The average splicing error-rate was ∼0.24% in wild-type and ∼1.75% in nuclear exonuclease mutants. Using an exhaustive search algorithm, we also uncovered thousands of previously unknown splice sites, indicating pervasive splicing, yet most of these novel splicing events were rare and targeted for nuclear degradation. Analysis of human transcriptomes revealed similar, albeit much weaker trends for pervasive exon-skipping transcripts, some of which being degraded by the nuclear exosome. This study highlights widespread, but low frequency alternative splicing which is targeted by nuclear RNA surveillance.
Peddling in the Antebellum Economy: Precursor of Mass‐Marketing or a Start in Life?

This article examines the effect of peddling upon industrialization and economic development and the evolution of institutional arrangements in marketing in the Antebellum period. After 1840 peddling in America was undertaken, to an increasing extent, by newly arrived immigrants from Germany who displaced the traditional “Yankees” from the trade. The relationship between peddling and the development of entrepreneurship is explored, along with the special opportunities that peddling provided for economic and occupational mobility in the American milieu. The frequency with which individuals who started careers as peddlers rose to prominence in the fields of merchandising and finance points to the importance of the “schooling” function of this institution for newly arrived immigrants in American folkways, business practices, and commercial possibilities.
Love and Power in Mexico, Spain, and the United States

The semantic differential technique was used to examine the subjective meaning of the concepts "love" and "power" in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. The following groups were tested: 102 Mexicans and 97 Spaniards in Spanish and 78 Hispanic Americans and 79 Anglo Americans in English. All subjects were college-age students. The evaluation dimension of the subjective meaning of love was significantly lower for Mexicans than for the other groups. Mexicans also judged love to be less potent than did the other groups. The four ethnic groups differed significantly in their evaluation of power. In particular, the Spaniards were significantly lower than the other groups. Anglo and Hispanic Americans attributed greater potency to power than did the Spaniards and the Mexicans. The Spaniards also attributed lower activity to power than did the other three groups. The D statistic was used to characterize the difference between love and power in the four groups. D was significantly greater in Spaniards than in the other groups. Furthermore, the meanings of love and power were significantly correlated in the Spanish sample and were uncorrelated in the Mexican sample. The present results do not support the proposition that the meanings of power and love to modern college-age Mexicans reflect historical differences between them and the other groups.
Religious support and psychosocial well-being among a religious Jewish population

The three subscales of the Religious Support Scale assess perceived support from a person’s religious community, religious leaders, and God. This three-factor structure was replicated in the current study with a sample of 277 religious Jewish persons residing in Israel. Hierarchical canonical analysis showed that, even after controlling for general social support, Religious Leader and God Support were related to lower emotional distress, Religious Leader and Religious Community Support contributed to a higher level of life satisfaction, and Religious Community and God Support contributed to the prediction of perceived health. Findings are discussed in terms of religious support’s generalizability as a psychosocial resource for persons of various faiths.