Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Remote microscale teleoperation through virtual reality and haptic feedback

This paper reports the remote handling of microscale objects, between two sites approximately 630 km distant. To manipulate objects less than 10 µm, specific equipments such as AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) cantilevers integrated into a SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) are generally required. Enabling remote access to such a system would benefit any micro/nanoresearcher. However, vision feedback and sensor data of a micromanipulation system are generally limited, hence the implementation of a teleoperation scenario is not straightforward. Specific tools are proposed here for an intuitive manipulation in a wide range of applications. To ensure ease of manipulation, both a 3D virtual representation of the scene and haptic feedback are provided. Force sensor feedback is limited since only two measures are available. In order to extend this information, vision algorithms are developed to estimate the respective positions of the tool and objects, which are then used to calculate the haptic feedback. The stability of the overall scheme is very sensitive to time delays. This requirement is taken into account in vision algorithms and the communication module which transfers the data between the two remote sites. In addition, the proposed robotic control architecture is modular so that the platform can be used for a wide range of applications. First results are obtained on a teleoperation between Paris, France, and Oldenburg, Germany.
Transient expression of the beta interferon promoter in human cells

A human transient expression assay was used to examine the inducible transcriptional activation of beta interferon (IFN-beta) and IFN-alpha 1 promoters in a homologous cellular environment. Use of 293 cells, an adenovirus DNA-transformed human embryonic kidney cell line, permitted Sendai virus-inducible expression of IFN-beta-CAT hybrid gene. Introduction of the simian virus 40 (SV40) enhancer 5' or 3' to the IFN-CAT gene increased basal (uninduced) levels of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity; in one construct the SV40 enhancer--IFN-beta regulatory region combination increased the induced CAT activity 50- to 100-fold, suggesting that this may be a generally useful inducible enhancer-promoter combination. No expression from the IFN-alpha-CAT hybrid gene was detected in 293 cells, indicating that human epithelioid cells lack a factor required for expression of the IFN-alpha promoter. However, when the IFN-alpha regulatory region was combined with the SV40 enhancer, a low level of inducible CAT activity was detected in the human transient system.
Successful Aging among the Young-Old, Old-Old, and Oldest-Old Chinese

In this study, successful aging was defined by four dimensions including functional status, affective status, cognitive status, and productive involvement status. This study examined successful aging among Hong Kong Chinese old people in three different age cohorts: young-old, old-old, and oldest-old. The respondents were 1106 people aged 60 years or older from a cross-sectional study of a representative community sample of the elderly population in Hong Kong. We found modest associations between four dimensions of successful aging, indicating the relative independence of these four criteria for successful aging. Using multiple regression models, we found that age, gender, years of education, number of close relatives, frequency of contact with friends, financial strain, number of chronic illnesses, self-rated health, hearing impairment, and life satisfaction were associated with the successful aging indicator.
Attention in ﬂux

SUMMARY Selective attention comprises essential infrastructural functions supporting cognition—anticipating, prioritizing, selecting, routing, integrating, and preparing signals to guide adaptive behavior. Most studies have examined its consequences, systems, and mechanisms in a static way, but attention is at the conﬂuence of multiple sources of ﬂux. The world advances, we operate within it, our minds change, and all resulting signals progress through multiple pathways within the dynamic networks of our brains. Our aim in this review is to raise awareness of and interest in three important facets of how timing impacts our understanding of attention. These include the challenges posed to attention by the timing of neural processing and psychological functions, the opportunities conferred to attention by various temporal structures in the environment, and how tracking the time courses of neural and behavioral modulations with continuous measures yields surprising insights into the workings and principles of attention.
An insertion element prevents phycobilisome synthesis in N2-fixing Synechocystis sp. strain BO 8402

The unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain BO 8402, isolated from Lake Constance, contains a novel insertion sequence, IS8402, in the apcA gene encoding a pigmented protein of phycobilisomes. IS8402 comprises 1,322 bp, flanked by two inverted repeats of 15 bp. Upon insertion in the target DNA, direct duplications of 8 nucleotides were generated. One open reading frame, potentially coding for a protein of 399 amino acids, was found. The deduced amino acid sequence shows homology to putative transposases of the IS4 family. Precise excision of the insertion element resulted in a spontaneous revertant, Synechocystis sp. strain BO 9201, that had regained the ability to form hemidiscoidal phycobilisomes. Apart from the unique insertion of IS8402 into apcA in strain BO 8402 both strains contain at least 12 further homologous insertion elements at corresponding sites in the genomes. The unique insertion in strain BO 8402 prevents the expression of apcABC operon and hence abolishes the formation of intact phycobilisomes. This decreases the quantum efficiency of photosystem II and promotes anaerobic N2 fixation in a unicellular cyanobacterium with a highly oxygen-sensitive nitrogenase.
Initial state opacity in stochastic DES

A non-deterministic finite automaton is initial-state opaque if the membership of its true initial state to a given set of secret states S remains opaque (i.e., uncertain) to an intruder who observes system activity through some natural projection map. By establishing that the verification of initial state opacity is equivalent to the language containment problem, earlier work has established that the verification of initial state opacity is a PSPACE-complete problem. In this paper, motivated by the desire to incorporate probabilistic (likelihood) information, we extend the notion of initial state opacity to stochastic discrete event systems. Specifically, we consider systems that can be modeled as probabilistic finite automata, and introduce and analyze the notions of almost initial state opacity and step-based almost initial state opacity, both of which hinge on the a priori probability that the given system generate behavior that violates initial-state opacity. We also discuss how almost initial state opacity and step-based almost initial state opacity can be verified, and analyze the complexity of the proposed verification methods.
Comparative Expression Profile of Orphan Receptor Tyrosine Kinase ROR1 in Iranian Patients with Lymphoid and Myeloid Leukemias

It has recently been shown that ROR1, a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase family, is overexpressed in leukemic B cells of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and a subset of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). In this comparative study the expression profile of ROR1 mRNA was investigated in Iranian patients with CLL and Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and the results were compared with those previously reported in our Iranian ALL patients. RT-PCR was performed on bone marrow and/or peripheral blood samples of 84 CLL and 12 AML patients. CLL samples were classified into immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IGHV) gene mutated (n = 55) and unmutated (n = 29) and also indolent (n = 42) and progressive (n = 39) subtypes. ROR1 expression was identified in 94% of our CLL patients, but none of the AML patients expressed ROR1. No significant differences were observed between different CLL subtypes for ROR1 expression. Taken together the present data and our previous results on ROR1 expression in ALL, our findings propose ROR1 as a tumor-associated antigen overexpressed in a large proportion of lymphoid (CLL and ALL), but not myeloid (AML) leukemias. Expression of ROR1 seems to be associated to lineage and differentiation stages of leukemic cells with a potential implication for immunotherapy.
Attractors at Weak Gravity

We study the attractor mechanism in low energy effective D = 4, N = 2 Yang-Mills theory weakly coupled to gravity, obtained from the effective action of type IIB string theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold. Using special Kähler geometry, the general form of the leading gravitational correction is derived, and from this the attractor equations in the weak gravity limit. The effective Newton constant turns out to be spacetime-dependent due to QFT loop and nonperturbative effects. We discuss some properties of the attractor solutions, which are gravitationally corrected dyons, and their relation with the BPS spectrum of quantum Yang-Mills theory. Along the way, we obtain a satisfying description of Strominger’s massless black holes, moving at the speed of light, free of pathologies encountered in earlier proposals.
Global Inequality Dynamics: New Findings from Wid.World

This paper presents new findings on global inequality dynamics from the World Wealth and Income Database (WID.world), with particular emphasis on the contrast between the trends observed in the United States, China, France, and the United Kingdom. We observe rising top income and wealth shares in nearly all countries in recent decades. But the magnitude of the increase varies substantially, thereby suggesting that different country-specific policies and institutions matter considerably. Long-run wealth inequality dynamics appear to be highly unstable. We stress the need for more democratic transparency on income and wealth dynamics and better access to administrative and financial data.
Diagnosis of planktonic trophic network 3 dynamics with sharp qualitative changes

Trophic interaction networks are notoriously difficult to understand and to diagnose (i.e., to 7 identify contrasted network functioning regimes). Such ecological networks have many direct 8 and indirect connections between species, and these connections are not static but often vary 9 over time. These topological changes, as opposed to a dynamic on a static (frozen) network, can 10 be triggered by natural forcings (e.g., seasons) and/or by human influences (e.g., nutrient or 11 pollution inputs). Aquatic trophic networks are especially dynamic and versatile, thus suggesting 12 new approaches for identifying network structures and functioning in a comprehensive manner.
Coreceptor Phenotype of Natural Human Immunodeficiency Virus with Nef Deleted Evolves In Vivo, Leading to Increased Virulence

ABSTRACT The Sydney Blood Bank Cohort is a group of patients with slowly progressive infection by a human immunodeficiency virus strain containing spontaneous deletions within the nef long terminal repeat region. In 1999, 18 years after the initial infection, one of the members (D36) developed AIDS. In this work, we used an ex vivo human lymphoid cell culture system to analyze two viral isolates obtained from this patient, one prior to the onset of AIDS in 1995 and one after disease progression in 1999. Both D36 isolates were less potent in depleting CD4+ T cells than a reference dualtropic, nef-bearing viral isolate. However, the 1999 isolate was measurably more cytotoxic to CD4+ T cells than the 1995 isolate. Interestingly, although both isolates were nearly equally potent in depleting CCR5+ CD4+ T cells, the cytotoxic effect of the 1999 isolate toward CCR5− CD4+ T cells was significantly higher. Furthermore, GHOST cell infection assays and blocking experiments with the CXCR4 inhibitor AMD3100 showed that the later D36 1999 isolate could infect both CCR5+ and CCR5− CXCR4+ cells efficiently, while infection by the 1995 isolate was nearly completely restricted to CCR5+ cells. Sequence analysis of the V1/V2 and V3 regions of the viral envelope protein gp120 revealed that the more efficient CXCR4 usage of the later isolate might be caused by an additional potential N-glycosylation site in the V1/V2 loop. In conclusion, these data show that an in vivo evolution of the tropism of this nef-deleted strain toward an X4 phenotype was associated with a higher cytopathic potential and progression to AIDS.
: Can they contribute to the prevention of excessive weight gain in gaming adolescents

the intervention were found on self-reported physical activity and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and snacks. The process evaluation showed that despite the intervention aiming to enable and motivate adolescents to engage in active gaming at least one hour per week, only 14% of the participants in the intervention group managed to do so. Frequently mentioned reasons for not playing the active games were lack of time, prefer-ring to play non-active games
A Commentary on Robin Hendry’s Views on Molecular Structure, Emergence and Chemical Bonding

In this article I examine several related views expressed by Robin Hendry concerning molecular structure, emergence and chemical bonding. There is a long-standing problem in the philosophy of chemistry arising from the fact that molecular structure cannot be strictly derived from quantum mechanics. Two or more compounds which share a molecular formula, but which differ with respect to their structures, have identical Hamiltonian operators within the quantum mechanical formalism. As a consequence, the properties of all such isomers yield precisely the same calculated quantities such as their energies, dipole moments etc. The only means through which the difference between the isomers can be recovered is to build their structures into the quantum mechanical calculations, something that is carried out by the application of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. Consequently, it has been argued by many authors that molecular structure is written in ‘by hand’ rather than derived. Robin Hendry is one such author, but he goes a great deal further by proposing that this situation implies the existence of emergence and downward causation. In the current article I argue that there are alternative explanations which render emergence and downward causation redundant. Such an alternative lies in the notion of quantum decoherence and the appeal to work in the foundations of physics, which posits that the various isomers exist as a superposition until their wavefunctions are collapsed either by observation or by interacting with their environment.
Silencing of Aγ-Globin Gene Expression during Adult Definitive Erythropoiesis Mediated by GATA-1-FOG-1-Mi2 Complex Binding at the −566 GATA Site

ABSTRACT Autonomous silencing of γ-globin transcription is an important developmental regulatory mechanism controlling globin gene switching. An adult stage-specific silencer of the Aγ-globin gene was identified between −730 and −378 relative to the mRNA start site. A marked copy of the Aγ-globin gene inserted between locus control region 5′ DNase I-hypersensitive site 1 and the ε-globin gene was transcriptionally silenced in adult β-globin locus yeast artificial chromosome (β-YAC) transgenic mice, but deletion of the 352-bp region restored expression. This fragment reduced reporter gene expression in K562 cells, and GATA-1 was shown to bind within this sequence at the −566 GATA site. Further, the Mi2 protein, a component of the NuRD complex, was observed in erythroid cells with low γ-globin levels, whereas only a weak signal was detected when γ-globin was expressed. Chromatin immunoprecipitation of fetal liver tissue from β-YAC transgenic mice demonstrated that GATA-1, FOG-1, and Mi2 were recruited to the Aγ-globin −566 or Gγ-globin −567 GATA site when γ-globin expression was low (day 18) but not when γ-globin was expressed (day 12). These data suggest that during definitive erythropoiesis, γ-globin gene expression is silenced, in part, by binding a protein complex containing GATA-1, FOG-1, and Mi2 at the −566/−567 GATA sites of the proximal γ-globin promoters.
Becker Digital

Noroviruses (NVs) cause the majority of cases of epidemic nonbacterial gastroenteritis worldwide and contribute to endemic enteric disease. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for immune control of their replication are not completely understood. Here we report that the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) is required for control of murine NV (MNV) replication and pathogenesis in vivo . This led us to studies documenting a cell-autonomous role for IRF-1 in gamma interferon (IFN-(cid:1) )-mediated inhibition of MNV replication in primary macrophages. This role of IRF-1 in the inhibition of MNV replication by IFN-(cid:1) is independent of IFN-(cid:2)(cid:3) signaling. While the signal transducer and activator of transcription STAT-1 was also required for IFN-(cid:1) -mediated inhibition of MNV replication in vitro , class II transactivator (CIITA), interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3), and interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF-7) were not required. We therefore hypothesized that there must be a subset of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) regulated by IFN-(cid:1) in a manner dependent only on STAT-1 and IRF-1. Analysis of transcriptional proﬁles of macrophages
Barth syndrome: TAZ gene mutations, mRNAs, and evolution

Barth syndrome (MIM 302060) is an X‐linked condition that includes dilated cardiomyopathy, neutropenia, failure to thrive, abnormal mitochondria, and 3‐methylglutaconic aciduria. The mutated gene, TAZ, first described in 1996, appeared to produce a large set of alternatively spliced mRNAs with initiations of transcription upstream of exons 1 and 3. Since then, disease‐causing mutations have been found in all exons including, most recently, a missense mutation in the controversial exon 5. Because of the initially described second initiation of transcription in intron 2, with in‐frame initiation of translation in exon 3, we hypothesized that subjects with mutations in exons 1 and 2 would produce more normal “short product” that might attenuate their phenotype. Moreover, it was of interest to determine which splice variants were potentially functional as exon 5 is not present in yeast and rodents, and the variant lacking this exon is the most abundant. Using RT‐PCR, we characterized TAZ mRNAs in cultured lymphocytes from nine subjects with Barth syndrome and two healthy controls. The TAZ genes and mRNAs of primates were also included. We found the following: (1) there is only one site for initiation of transcription, and the normal alternatively spliced assortment is limited to full‐length, Δ5, Δ7, Δ5Δ7; (2) there are two alternative splice sites within introns 1 and 2 that could potentially produce an in‐frame product; (3) exon 5 evolved into “exonhood” in the primate lineage after the split between Old World monkeys and hominoid primates; and (4) our results suggest that only two functional protein variants exist in lymphocytes: Δ5 and full‐length. Although exon 5 does not appear to be required for TAZ function in yeast and monkeys, its evolution to a highly conserved spliced exon in hominoid primates and the recent finding of an exon 5 mutation in a patient with Barth syndrome suggest that the full‐length variant is important to TAZ function. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
MillenniumDB: A multi-modal, multi-model graph database engine

Current knowledge graphs encompass diverse data formats, including images, text, tables, audio files, and videos. Additionally, the graph database ecosystem is required to support multiple co-existing data models. Addressing these challenges is essential for promoting interoperability between data sources. This demo introduces MillenniumDB, a high-performing, open-source graph database handling this diversity of data formats and models. MillenniumDB is a multi-modal, multi-model graph database, supporting the popular property graph paradigm, the Semantic Web format RDF, and the multi-layered graph model, which combines and extends the two. In terms of querying, its provides support for a Cypher-like language over property graphs and multilayered graphs, as well as SPARQL 1.1 support over RDF. The engine is build on a solid theoretical foundation and it leverages worst-case optimal join algorithms in combination with traditional relational query optimization. It also support a wide array of graph-specific tasks such as path finding, pattern recognition, and similarity search on multi-modal data. In this demo, we will showcase how MillenniumDB is currently being used to host three public multi-modal knowledge graphs. The first one, a multi-layered graph called TelarKG, was developed at IMFD Chile to track the information about the Chilean constitutional reform. In the second one, called BibKG, we integrate information about Computer Science publications from different sources and make them available as a property graph. Finally, for RDF, we provide a SPARQL endpoint for Wikidata, the largest knowledge graph openly available online. We remark that our end-points have stable links, allowing the audience to post queries using their Web browser with no restrictions, and will be available during the review process and during the demo.
METHODOLOGY UNDERPINNING THE SYSTEMS CHANGE LAB PLATFORM

The Systems Change Lab platform provides an overview of the world’s collective efforts to accelerate the system-wide transformations needed to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5°C, protect biodiversity, and advance equity. This technical note explains the methodology of the Systems Change Lab platform. We identify key global systems that must transform and choose the most critical shifts needed within each system. We then translate those shifts into global targets and assess the world’s progress in achieving them. This technical note covers the overall methodology that we applied to all systems on the platform; the methods that are specific to each system (e.g., power, transport) can be found on the methodology page of the platform. Research is ongoing on systems related to biodiversity and equity, so this technical note will be updated as more systems are added to the platform. This technical note draws heavily on the technical note for the State of Climate Action series (Schumer et al. 2022), the State of Climate Action 2021 report (Boehm et al. 2021), the State of Climate Action 2022 report (Boehm et al. 2022), and the State of Climate Action 2023 report (Boehm et al. 2023). Some parts of this technical note are directly derived from those publications. However, the Systems Change Lab platform is a larger undertaking than the State of Climate Action series in that it expands the coverage of climate-focused systems change and includes the protection of biodiversity and the advancement of equity as additional goals. This is version 2 of the technical note. Changes from version 1 can be found in the update log.
Control for Humanoid Locomotion: From Pendulum Models to MPC with Centroidal Dynamics*

—Performing versatile robotic tasks in arbitrary environments often requires traversing difficult terrain. Humanoid-legged robots offer great potential for those applications. However, achieving stable locomotion with two legs remains challenging, since many aspects like robustness, collision avoidance and real-time performance need to be considered which makes the generation of feasible motion trajectories complex. In this work, we will provide an overview of various classical, non-learning approaches for the control of humanoid walking. Thereby we will move from simpler pendulum-based methods over single rigid body dynamics with MPC to full dynamics utilizing DDP. Finally, we compare the presented approaches in terms of their optimization capabilities and performance.