Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Ectopic White and Transformer Expression on Drosophila Courtship Behavior

The sex determining genes of Drosophila males and females function to establish the potential for sex-specific behaviors. Previous studies suggest that ectopic GAL4-directed misexpression of the female-specific isoform of the sex-determining gene transformer (tra) in specific sub-domains of an otherwise male brain can lead to bisexual courtship behavior, thus identifying brain domains that may mediate sex-specific behavior. However, expression of mini-white, the marker gene used in both P{GAL4} and P{UASG} constructs, also induces males to court other males, questioning whether GAL4-mediated tra expression alone can induce bisexual behavior. Here we demonstrate the consequences of inducing mutations in the mini-white genes within P{GAL4} and P{UASG} constructs to generate flies in which a white mutant phenotype is revealed. In these mini-white mutant strains, P{GAL4}-mediated transformer expression alone is both sufficient and necessary to generate bisexual behavior. In addition, using RT-PCR, we reveal the presence of female transcripts of doublesex and fruitless in the brains of otherwise male (XY) flies exhibiting P{GAL4}-directed tra-expression, demonstrating that P{GAL4}-directed tra is functional at the molecular level. We conclude that P{GAL4}-directed misexpression of tra is responsible for the bisexual behavior previously described and that this is mediated via sex-specific splicing of dsx and fru. Our results support the validity of such strategies for identifying regions of the fly brain that underlie sex-specific behaviors.
Solving A Multi-Dimensional Knapsack Problem Using A Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

In this paper, an optimisation technique based on the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm will be experimented upon the Multi-dimensional Knapsack Problem. Through the merging of fundamental concepts of the existing PSO algorithm and selected features of evolutionary algorithms, a novel hybrid algorithm is created. When testing the algorithm against a test suite publicly available on OR-LIB, it was discovered that the algorithm is able to locate fitness values very close to best available results discovered using Linear Programming techniques, even though the algorithm is at the very early stage of development. Such an observation reveals the potential of this algorithm, calling for further research to be made upon it.
CHEMICAL ADMIXTURES FOR CONCRETE

Following the substantial increase in the use of chemical admixtures in concrete, the book provides information on materials of this type. Details are given of the specification, use and design of concrete mixtures with information on the types, mode of action, effect and application of the major types of chemical admixtures in the following sections: water-reducing agents; air-entraining agents; concrete waterproofers; accelerators; application of admixtures; and, analysis of hardened concrete for admixture type and quantity. (TRRL)
Effects of forest structure and composition on food availability for Varecia variegata at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar

We present a summary of a long‐term field study that examined the effects of forest disturbance on the availability of palatable fruit and its utilization by V. variegata. Forest structure and tree species composition were measured in three adjacent study areas, with different histories of disturbance, in Ranomafana National Park (RNP), Madagascar. V. variegata abundance was monitored by frequent encounters with resident groups and periodic censuses conducted along trails. Finally, the abundance of mature fruit in species used by V. variegata was scored monthly at representative trees at several locations. V. variegata abundance was most consistent in the least anthropogenically disturbed site, while no established lemur groups were observed in the heavily logged site for over a decade post‐harvest. Lemur abundance was variable in the selectively logged site. The presence of select food trees, particularly specimens with voluminous crowns capable of producing abundant fruit crops, appears to be key to the establishment and expansion of V. variegata groups. Our analysis of year‐long fruit utilization revealed a high degree of preference for several species of trees. Two species exhibited mature fruit in a low percentage of stems but were available for a protracted period of time, while two additional species showed high intraspecific fruiting synchrony and were available for a shorter period of time. These contrasting phenologies, rather than the individual tree species, may be most important to V. variegata due to their coincident timing of fruit maturation with key lemur life‐history events. Any disturbance–natural or anthropogenic–that disrupts the phenology cycles of food trees has the potential to impact lemur abundance and dispersion. Intense disturbances, such as heavy logging or severe cyclones, have long‐lasting impacts on fruit production, while selective logging or moderate cyclonic windthrow cause more transient impacts. V. variegata is adapted to deal with an intrinsically erratic food supply by virtue of its reproductive biology and social behavior. Am. J. Primatol. 66:45–70, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Automatic and self-contained calibration of a multi-sensorial humanoid's upper body

Complex manipulation tasks require an accurate interplay of actuation and sensing. This accuracy can only be achieved by calibrating the relevant components beforehand. Typically calibration procedures are time-consuming and often include subsequent calibration steps, involve multiple people and require external tools. In this paper we alleviate these issues by auto-calibrating the different sensors of DLR's humanoid Rollin' Justin in a single, completely automatic and self-contained procedure, i.e. without calibration plate. By observing a single point feature on each wrist while moving the robot's head, the stereo cameras' intrinsic and extrinsic parameters are calibrated together with the arm joint elasticities and joint angle offsets. Additionally, we use the head motion to calibrate an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) extrinsically. Parameters are obtained by formulating the calibration problem as a batch-optimization problem that estimates all parameters jointly. A rough initial guess, as is, e.g., available when re-calibrating, is needed for the estimation and to facilitate marker detection. The procedure is validated on real hardware and reduces the effort considerably allowing rapid (5 min movement time), automatic, and accurate calibration by simply “pushing a button”.
Loss of Anti-Viral Immunity by Infection with a Virus Encoding a Cross-Reactive Pathogenic Epitope

T cell cross-reactivity between different strains of the same virus, between different members of the same virus group, and even between unrelated viruses is a common occurrence. We questioned here how an intervening infection with a virus containing a sub-dominant cross-reactive T cell epitope would affect protective immunity to a previously encountered virus. Pichinde virus (PV) and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) encode subdominant cross-reactive NP205–212 CD8 T cell epitopes sharing 6 of 8 amino acids, differing only in the MHC anchoring regions. These pMHC epitopes induce cross-reactive but non-identical T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires, and structural studies showed that the differing anchoring amino acids altered the conformation of the MHC landscape presented to the TCR. PV-immune mice receiving an intervening infection with wild type but not NP205-mutant LCMV developed severe immunopathology in the form of acute fatty necrosis on re-challenge with PV, and this pathology could be predicted by the ratio of NP205-specific to the normally immunodominant PV NP38–45 -specific T cells. Thus, cross-reactive epitopes can exert pathogenic properties that compromise protective immunity by impairing more protective T cell responses.
The Drosophila FMRP and LARK RNA-Binding Proteins Function Together to Regulate Eye Development and Circadian Behavior

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of hereditary mental retardation. FXS patients have a deficit for the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) that results in abnormal neuronal dendritic spine morphology and behavioral phenotypes, including sleep abnormalities. In a Drosophila model of FXS, flies lacking the dfmr1 protein (dFMRP) have abnormal circadian rhythms apparently as a result of altered clock output. In this study, we present biochemical and genetic evidence that dFMRP interacts with a known clock output component, the LARK RNA-binding protein. Our studies demonstrate physical interactions between dFMRP and LARK, that the two proteins are present in a complex in vivo, and that LARK promotes the stability of dFMRP. Furthermore, we show genetic interactions between the corresponding genes indicating that dFMRP and LARK function together to regulate eye development and circadian behavior.
ARM-BEARING MICROTUBULES ASSOCIATED WITH AN UNUSUAL DESMOSOME-LIKE JUNCTION

Microtubule fine structure is well documented in many diverse cell types (see reviews by Porter, 1966; Schmitt and Samson, 1969) . In most instances a typical 200-250 A diameter structure is described. Occasionally, additional characteristics such as arms or bridges are seen in cells other than typical flagella and cilia . Selected examples of these include : frog neurotubules (Kohno, 1964) ; axostyle microtubules (Grimstone and Cleveland, 1965) ; tentacle microtubules (Rudzinska, 1965) ; spindle microtubules (Krishan and Buck, 1965) ; intranuclear microtubules (Behnke and Forer, 1966) ; sperm microtubules (Robison, 1966) ; axopodial microtubules (MacDonald and Kitching, 1967) ; spermatic, microtubules (McIntosh and Porter, 1967) ; pyramidal cell neurotubules (Palay, 1968) ; groupings of microtubules in several ciliate species (Tucker, 1968 ; Bannister and Tatchell, 1968) ; plant cell plates (Hepler and Jackson, 1968) ; algal spindle fibers (Wilson, 1969) ; dendritic neurotubules (Wuerker and Palay, 1969) ; insect sensory cell microtubules (Smith, 1969) ; heliozoan microtubules (Tilney and Byers, 1969) ; tissue culture cells (Hepler, McIntosh, and Cleland, 1970) ; heliozoan microtubules (Roth, Pihlaja, and Shigenaka, 1970) . Likewise, the fine structure of junctional complexes has been well documented (Farquhar and Palade, 1963, 1965; Kelly, 1966). Generally, these are divided into typical desmosomes (maculae adherentes), zonulae adherentes, and the zonulae occludentes . In addition, the septate desmosome has been described (Locke, 1965 ; Gouranton, 1967 ; Bullivant and Loewenstein, 1968) . However, the number of descriptions of functional complexes associated with microtubules is only a very small proportion of the total reports . In 1966, Noirot-Timothée and Noirot described the insertion of microtubules in the plasma membrane of foregut and hindgut epithelial cells of termites . These junctional areas or "attachment zones" were obscured by dense material adjacent to the internal lamella of the membrane . LaiFook (1967), in describing developing muscle insertions in insects, stated that the microtubules of the tendinous epidermal cells did "not merely approach the membrane but appeared to attach to it at the site of intermediate junctions and hemidesmosomes . " Moulins (1968) also described microtubules inserting on plasma membranes of epithelial cells in Blabera craniifer . The present study provides some additional observations on arm-containing microtubules and their association with and participation in an unusual junctional complex .
Cu‐Doped ZnO Nanowires for Efficient and Multispectral Photodetection Applications

h 1 1D nanostructures of high-performance semiconductors and oxides are emerging as an important class of potential optoelectronic materials, and have been the focus of much recent interest. Advances in nanofabrication methodologies have enabled the growth of ZnO nanowires as dislocation-free, highly faceted single crystals. These nanowires show remarkable electrical and optical properties, and thus hold great promise for applications in various types of nanodevices including but not limited to solid-state lighting, photodetectors, and optical switches. Owing to their large bandgap (ca. 3.2 eV for wurtzite ZnO), the intrinsic sensitivity of metal oxides to visible and IR radiation is typically quite limited. Furthermore, the sensitivity of ZnO nanowires to short-wavelength photons also tends to be low because of their relatively small photon-capture efficiency (diameter a , where a represents the absorption coefficient) and relatively large number of the surface defects (arising from the large surface-to-volume ratio). Nevertheless, crystalline ZnO nanowires with diameters spanning the range from tens to hundreds of nanometers constitute a novel class of nanomaterials with intermediate to weak quantum confinement of excitons and carriers. The latter, however, makes quantum-mechanical-based nanoengineering approaches not practical or economical to improve and broaden the spectral sensitivity of nanostructured ZnO. In this study, orders of magnitude enhancement of the spectral sensitivity has been obtained over both UV and visible spectral ranges by doping ZnO nanowires with transitionmetal impurities such as Cu. The nanowires have been configured as 1D two-terminal nano-photodetectors that operate at biases below their breakdown voltage. Zn has two electrons in the 4s orbital, which fill up the O 2p orbital. In the case of stoichiometric ZnO, the 4s Zn orbital is empty and the 2p O orbital is full, making ZnO an intrinsic semiconductor. However, in the case of oxygendeficient ZnO structures, the excess 4s electrons can be readily ionized (ca. 0.05 eV), making most of the as-grown ZnO structures n-type semiconductors. In solid-state ZnOnanowire-based optical sensors employing excitonic or direct interband transitions as the dominant photocarrier generation
Learning to combine distances for complex representations

The k-Nearest Neighbors algorithm can be easily adapted to classify complex objects (e.g. sets, graphs) as long as a proper dissimilarity function is given over an input space. Both the representation of the learning instances and the dissimilarity employed on that representation should be determined on the basis of domain knowledge. However, even in the presence of domain knowledge, it can be far from obvious which complex representation should be used or which dissimilarity should be applied on the chosen representation. In this paper we present a framework that allows to combine different complex representations of a given learning problem and/or different dissimilarities defined on these representations. We build on ideas developed previously on metric learning for vectorial data. We demonstrate the utility of our method in domains in which the learning instances are represented as sets of vectors by learning how to combine different set distance measures.
Development and Testing of Bamboo-Fibres Reinforced Plastic Composites

Many researchers in the past have developed composites with natural fibres such as of sisal, henequen, jute and palm; but the work on the bamboo-fibre reinforced com posites is not available in the literature published so far. In the present work, an effort has been made to develop bamboo-fibre reinforced plastic (BFRP) composites using a simple casting technique. These composites have been tested for tensile strength, impact strength and Young's modulus of elasticity. It has been observed that these composites possess high strength and ductility and are useful for many structural applications. The ultimate tensile strength of some BFRP composites is more or less equal to the ultimate tensile strength of mild steel, while their density is approximately one eighth of the density of mild steel. The mechanical behaviour of these composites is similar to other commonly used composites such as Glass fibre reinforced plastics.
Neuroanatomy of Individual Differences in Language in Adult Males with Autism

One potential source of heterogeneity within autism spectrum conditions (ASC) is language development and ability. In 80 high-functioning male adults with ASC, we tested if variations in developmental and current structural language are associated with current neuroanatomy. Groups with and without language delay differed behaviorally in early social reciprocity, current language, but not current autistic features. Language delay was associated with larger total gray matter (GM) volume, smaller relative volume at bilateral insula, ventral basal ganglia, and right superior, middle, and polar temporal structures, and larger relative volume at pons and medulla oblongata in adulthood. Despite this heterogeneity, those with and without language delay showed significant commonality in morphometric features when contrasted with matched neurotypical individuals (n = 57). In ASC, better current language was associated with increased GM volume in bilateral temporal pole, superior temporal regions, dorsolateral fronto-parietal and cerebellar structures, and increased white matter volume in distributed frontal and insular regions. Furthermore, current language–neuroanatomy correlation patterns were similar across subgroups with or without language delay. High-functioning adult males with ASC show neuroanatomical variations associated with both developmental and current language characteristics. This underscores the importance of including both developmental and current language as specifiers for ASC, to help clarify heterogeneity.
Doppler ultrasonography of the lower extremity arteries: anatomy and scanning guidelines

Doppler ultrasonography of the lower extremity arteries is a valuable technique, although it is less frequently indicated for peripheral arterial disease than for deep vein thrombosis or varicose veins. Ultrasonography can diagnose stenosis through the direct visualization of plaques and through the analysis of the Doppler waveforms in stenotic and poststenotic arteries. To perform Doppler ultrasonography of the lower extremity arteries, the operator should be familiar with the arterial anatomy of the lower extremities, basic scanning techniques, and the parameters used in color and pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasonography.
Pregnancy outcomes associated with Cesarean deliveries in Peruvian public health facilities

A continuous rise in the rate of cesarean deliveries has been reported in many countries over recent decades. This trend has prompted the emergence of a debate on the risks and benefits associated with cesarean section. The present study was designed to estimate cesarean section rates over time during the period between 2000 and 2010 in Peru and to present outcomes for each mode of delivery. This is a secondary analysis of a large database obtained from the Perinatal Information System, which includes 570,997 pregnant women and their babies from 43 Peruvian public health facilities in three geographical regions: coast, highlands, and jungle. Over 10 years, 558,901 women delivered 563,668 infants weighing at least 500 g. The cesarean section rate increased from 25.5% in 2000 to 29.9% in 2010 (26.9% average; P < 0.01). The rate of stillbirths was lower with cesarean than vaginal deliveries (P < 0.01). On the other hand, and as expected, the rates for preterm births, twin pregnancies, and preeclampsia were higher in women who delivered by cesarean section (P < 0.01). More importantly, the rate of maternal mortality was 5.5 times higher in the cesarean section group than in the vaginal delivery group. Data suggest that cesarean sections are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
New performance results for multiuser optimum combining in the presence of rician fading

This paper analyzes the performance of multiuser optimum combining systems. We consider the practical scenario where the desired user undergoes Rician fading, and the received signals are corrupted by Rayleigh-faded interference and noise. We derive new closed-form expressions for the symbol error rate, ergodic capacity, level crossing rate, and average fade duration. These results are given as either accurate approximations or asymptotic (eg. high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)) expressions, and are based on new closed-form statistical properties which we derive for the signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR). Specifically, we derive exact first order expansions and accurate gamma approximations for the SINR distribution, as well as simplified exact expressions for the moments. We also present closed-form expressions for key performance parameters such as the diversity order and array gain, wideband slope, and high SNR power offset, and analyze the impact of the Rician K-factor, which is shown in all cases to yield a performance improvement.
Preparation and properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/carbon fiber/epoxy composites

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes/carbon fiber (MWCNTs/CF) hybrid fillers are employed to prepare MWCNTs/CF/epoxy composites. Results reveal that a great improvement of the thermal conductivities of the epoxy composites with the addition of MWCNTs/CF hybrid fillers, and the thermal conductivity of the MWCNTs/CF/epoxy composites is 1.426 W/mK with 8 vol% treated MWCNTs/CF hybrid fillers (5 vol% MWCNTs + 3 vol% CF). Both the flexural and impact strength of the MWCNTs/CF/epoxy composites are increased firstly, but decreased with the excessive addition of MWCNTs. The flexural and impact strength of the MWCNTs/epoxy composites are optimal with 2 vol% MWCNTs. For a given MWCNTs/CF hybrid fillers loading, the surface treatment of MWCNTs/CF hybrid fillers can further increase the thermal conductivities and mechanical properties of the MWCNTs/CF/epoxy composites. POLYM. COMPOS. , 35:2150–2153, 2014. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers
Mind the Gap: A SIG on Bridging the Gap in Research on Body Sensing, Body Perception and Multisensory Feedback

People's perceptions of their own body's appearance, capabilities and position are constantly updated through sensory cues [10,14] that are naturally produced by their actions. Increasingly cheap and ubiquitous sensing technology is being used with multisensory feedback in multiple HCI areas of sports, health, rehabilitation, psychology, neuroscience, arts and games to alter or en-hance sensory cues to achieve many ends such as enhanced body perception and body awareness. However, the focus and aims differ between areas. Designing more effective and efficient multisensory feedback re-quires an attempt to bridge the gap between these worlds. This interactive SIG with minute madness technology presentations, expert sessions, and multidisciplinary discussions will: (i) bring together HCI researchers from different areas, (ii) discuss tools, methods and frameworks, and (iii) form a multidisciplinary community to build synergies for further collaboration.