Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding Regulation of the Cytoskeleton during Cell Cycle Transitions through Examination of Crosstalk between Homologous Fission Yeast Pathways, Septation Initiation Network and Morphogenesis ORB6 Network: A Dissertation

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has become a powerful model system for studying cytokinesis, a process of cytoplasmic division by which one cell divides into two identical daughter cells. Like mammalian cells, S. pombe divides through the use of an actomyosin contractile ring, which is composed of a set of highly conserved cytoskeletal proteins. Cytokinesis in S. pombe is primarily regulated by the SIN pathway, which is activated in late mitosis and is required for actomyosin contractile ring and septum assembly, and also plays a role in spindle checkpoint inactivation, and telophase nuclear positioning. The various functions of the SIN are carried out by the terminal kinase in the pathway called Sid2. The lack of information in the downstream targets of Sid2 has limited our understanding of the different functions of the SIN. We recently showed that, in addition to its other functions, the SIN promotes cytokinesis through inhibition the MOR signaling pathway, which normally drives cell separation and initiation of polarized growth following completion of cytokinesis (Ray et al, 2010). The molecular details of this inhibition and the physiological significance of inhibiting MOR during cytokinesis was unclear. The results presented in Chapter II describe our approach to identify Sid2 substrates, particularly focusing on Nak1 and Sog2 that function in the MOR signaling cascade. We identified and characterized Sid2 phosphorylation sites on the Nak1 and Sog2 proteins. Chapter III explores how post translational modification of MOR proteins by Sid2 regulates polarized growth during cytokinesis. This includes delineating the effect of Sid2 mediated phosphorylation of Nak1 and Sog2 on protein-protein interactions in the MOR pathway as well as on the regulation of their localization during late mitosis. Finally, results in Chapter IV demonstrate that failure to inhibit MOR signaling is lethal because cells initiate septum degradation/cell separation before completing cytokinesis thereby emphasizing the importance of cross-regulation between the two pathways to prevent initiation of the interphase polarity program during cytokinesis.
Nitric oxide: Mediator of nonadrenergic noncholinergic hyperpolarization of opossum esophageal circular smooth muscle

The electromyogram recorded from circular smooth muscle (SM) of opossum esophagus, either during peristalsis or when the intrinsic esophageal nerves are stimulated by an electrical field (EFS), consists of a hyperpolarization followed by a depolarization. This membrane response results from the interaction of a nonadrenergic-noncholinergic (NANC) neurotransmitter with its receptors on SM membrane. N{sup G}-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, and nitric oxide (NO) were used to test the hypothesis that NO is a mediator of this NANC nerve-induced response. The transmembrane potential difference of circular SM cells of opossum esophagus was recorded with glass microelectrode. The nerve-mediated membrane response was evoked by EFS. L-NNA (50uM) abolished the initial hyperpolarization and reduced the amplitude of and the time to maximal depolarization. L-arginine (1mM), the substrate for NO synthase, antagonized the effect of L-NNA. Neither L-NNA nor L-arginine altered the resting membrane potential. Exogenous NO produced hyperpolarization of SM membrane potential and attenuated the amplitude of EFS-induced hyperpolarization and depolarization. Nitrosocysteine, a NO-containing compound, also hyperpolarized the membrane potential. Effect of NO was neither blocked by L-NNA nor by TTX. The data support the hypothesis that NO or an NO-containing compound mediates NANC nerve-induced responses of the esophageal SMmore » membrane. « less
Understanding domestic social media use among Chinese college students under the framework of uses and gratifications

Although China has the world’s largest population of social media users, little is known what drives Chinese users to adopt the country’s leading media platforms, like QQ, WeChat, and Weibo, and what gratifications are satisfied by using these fastest-growing sites. In light of the literature on the uses and gratifications theory, the study explored the essential pattern of computer-mediated communication phenomena and interaction behaviors in Mainland China. In this exploratory study, 258 college students from Chinese universities were asked about their uses and gratifications of these social media sites. The factor analysis reveals five key dimensions relating to gratifications obtained from social media are identified: relationship maintenance, amusement, style, information seeking and sociability. Moreover, a hierarchical OLS regression analysis shows that there is a positive relationship between frequency of social media use and the needs of relationship maintenance and amusement. Furthermore, among the five socio-psychological values, the social related factor is revealed to be significantly and positively linked with spending time on the social media.
Faciliter la création de connaissances

Les bibliotheques existent depuis des millenaires, mais sont-elles encore d’actualite aujourd’hui ? Dans un monde de plus en plus numerique et connecte, nos villes, nos colleges et nos ecoles doivent-ils encore faire de la place aux livres ? Et si les bibliotheques ne se resument pas a leur collection de livres, quelle est donc leur fonction ? Dans son ouvrage, Lankes soutient que les communautes, pour prosperer, ont besoin de bibliotheques dont les preoccupations depassent leurs bâtiments et les livres qu’ils contiennent. Nous devons donc attendre davantage de la part de nos bibliotheques. Elles doivent etre des lieux d’apprentissage qui ont a cœur les interets de leurs communautes sur les enjeux de la protection de la vie privee, de la propriete intellectuelle et du developpement economique. Exigeons de meilleures bibliotheques est un cri de ralliement lance aux communautes pour qu’elles haussent leurs attentes a l’egard des bibliotheques.
A systematic comparison between SMT and NMT on translating user-generated content

Twitter has become an immensely popular platform where the users can share information within a certain character limit (280 characters) which encourages them to deliver short and informal messages (tweets). In general, machine translation (MT) of tweets is a challenging task. However, for translating German tweets about football into English, it has been shown that a moderate translation performance in terms of the BLEU score can be achieved using the phrase-based translation engines built on a tiny parallel Twitter data set [1]. In this work, we propose to further increase the translation quality using the neural machine translation models and applying the following strategies: (i) we back translate a set of out-of-domain English tweets released by ”Harvard data set” in 2017 into German and add the synthetic parallel data to the tiny parallel data used in [1]; (ii) as tweets are short in general, we extract short text pairs from the large news-commentary parallel data and add it to the tiny Twitter parallel data set in order to restrict the length of the out-of-genre text segments. We build both phrase-based and neural MT systems (PBMT and NMT) using the above data combinations in order to perform a systematic comparison between the two approaches on translating tweets. Our experimental results reveal that the NMT system performs signiﬁcantly worse than the PBMT system when using only the tiny Twitter data set for MT training. In contrast, when additional data is used for training, the results show huge improvements of the NMT system and produce very similar BLEU scores as the PBMT system even with only few hundred thousands of additional synthetic parallel data.
Aspects of the ecology of African woolly-necked storks (Ciconia microscelis) in an anthropogenic changing landscape in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

i PREFACE . iv DECLARATION 1 PLAGIARISM . v DECLARATION 2 PUBLICATIONS . vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . viii TABLE OF CONTENTS . x LIST OF FIGURES . xii LIST OF TABLES . xv CHAPTER 1 .
Matrix metalloproteinase expression in impaired wound healing

A common complication of diabetes mellitus is the non healing/chronic foot ulcer, which can, in the worse case scenario, lead to amputation. Moreover the pain, discomfort and economic significance associated with wounds of this kind makes elucidating the mechanism of diabetic wounds an area of expanding research. We are interested in the wound healing roles of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of zinc dependent, extracellular matrix degrading proteases (Birkedal-Hansen et al. 1993). Using the diabetes mouse (C57BL/KSJ-db/db), an animal model of type II diabetes mellitus, we are investigating the expression levels of the MMPs and their natural inhibitors, TIMPs (Tissue Inhibitors of MMPs), during normal and impaired wound repair. Data obtained from this system may improve our understanding of the human condition and provide a potential target for therapeutic intervention.
Effect of exercise on retrograde transport in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The potential for exercise to improve function and delay disease progression in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been examined in some detail. Recent studies have shown that retrograde transport is diminished throughout disease progression in this mouse model. The finding that exercise plus viral delivery of IGF-I significantly improves lifespan of the G93A transgenic mouse highlights the need to investigate the mechanisms by which exercise may alter factors associated with the disease. Therefore, G93A and wild-type mice underwent an eight-week treadmill running protocol, and retrograde transport and neuro~nuscular junction integrity were examined. Retrograde transport was significantly improved (p<0.001) by exercise training in the transgenic animals. The percentage of innervated muscle fibers was also improved (p<0.01), and this improvement was highly correlated to the improvement in retrograde transport (r=0.75). These data indicate that exercise may enhance delivery of neurotrophic factors from skeletal muscle to motor neurons.
WHAT IS THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTION? A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Theoretical contribution is a process which is based on the theory development and advancement in existing theory with some logics and facts. This study has focused on some theoretical contribution related question and their answers through the narrative review of literature. This study will highlight what is the theory? And what are the major building blocks of theory? How authors can contribute in theory? The answers for these questions during theoretical studies will enhance the impact of paper and also increase the chance of publication. This study also suggested how theoretical concepts can be practical implemented in the society and organizations to enhance organizational performance and validate the theory.
Study of the termination factor like Dom34-Hbs1 complex : functional analysis of their roles in RNA quality control and in stimulating translation by dissociating inactive ribosomes

Protein production is a cyclic process that consists of four stages: initiation, elongation, termination and recycling. During recycling the subunits of terminated ribosomes are dissociated, to make them available for new rounds of translation. If ribosomes stall during translation, ribosomes cannot terminate properly and canonical recycling cannot occur. Cells have mechanisms to rescue these stalled ribosomes. A complex formed by the factors Dom34 and Hbs1 induces their dissociation. This compex in RNA quality control, targeting RNAs that cause ribosomal stalling. In this thesis the importance of several functional sites of the Dom34-Hbs1 complex for the degradation of these RNA sis investigated. Details of and therelationship between RNA quality control pathways in which the complex functions are further investigated. Finally, a new role of this complex, dissociating inactive ribosomes and there by making their subunits available to re-enter the translation cycle is described.
Design Thinking: Exploring the Effect of Appropriability and Capabilities on Innovation Performance in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services

Design thinking (DT) has recently gained in popularity with knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) seeking to increase innovation effectiveness. DT provides organizations with an iterative framework that supports problem-solving, using a human-centered approach to support innovation (Brown, 2009; Chasanidou, Gasparini, & Lee, 2015). This study aimed to investigate the effects of appropriability and capabilities on DT implementation and innovation performance in a KIBS. The study’s methodology is a systematic review that provides an analysis of the relevant literature evidence-based research approach. Using thematic synthesis, this study analyzed and aggregated relevant literature on organizational appropriability, innovation capabilities, and DT according to results from 49 studies. This article found the level of appropriability strategy both inhibits and facilitates the development of a collaborative partnership to support innovation. Collaboration with clients and strategic partners goes hand-in-hand with the importance of a formal appropriability mechanism (Miozzo, Desyllas, Lee, & Miles, 2016). Findings indicate that KIBS firms which measure and dynamically utilize different appropriability strategies efficiently attain improved performance than organizations that do not. Therefore, KIBS seeking to implement DT to support innovation performance need both leadership and resource support to adopt a dynamic appropriability strategy, build capabilities, encourage resources, and legitimize the viability of the DT process in the organization.
Segmentación y detección de objetos en imágenes y vídeo mediante inteligencia computacional

La presente tesis trata sobre el procesamiento y analisis de imagenes y video mediante sistemas informaticos. Primeramente se hace una introduccion, donde se especifica el contexto, los objetivos y la metodologia utilizados. Tras esto se muestran los antecedentes, senalando los fundamentos de la videovigilancia, area sobre la que se van a aplicar los modelos desarrollados, las dificultades existentes para modelar el fondo de las escenas de los videos y diversos algoritmos con la finalidad de detectar los objetos que aparecen en primer plano, seguido de las principales caracteristicas del aprendizaje profundo, transporte inteligente y sistemas con camara PTZ, exponiendo finalmente como se evaluan los metodos y distintos conjuntos de datos que se utilizan para tal fin. A continuacion se muestran tres partes, cada una con diferentes apartados. La primera parte se basa en los estudios desarrollados que tratan sobre la fase de segmentacion. En esta parte se explican diferentes modelos desarrollados cuyo objetivo es la deteccion de objetos en primer plano mediante el uso de hardware generico o hardware especifico, como lo es el de bajo coste, la segmentacion de objetos en un ambito especifico, como lo es la deteccion de globulos rojos en muestras de sangre, o el estudio de como influye la reduccion del tamano de las imagenes al rendimiento de los algoritmos basados a nivel de pixel. La segunda parte de la tesis describe los trabajos en los que se hace uso de una camara PTZ. Asi, en esta parte se presentan dos trabajos con esta particularidad. El primero de ellos hace un seguimiento del objeto mas anomalo del escenario, siendo el propio sistema el que decide cuales son los objetos anomalos y cuales no, decision que se basa en un modelo entrenado previamente con un video en el que no aparecen objetos anomalos. Por su parte, el segundo trabajo muestra un sistema que indica a la camara los movimientos a realizar en funcion de la salida producida por un modelo de fondo no panoramico y mejorada con un gas neuronal creciente. La tercera parte es relativa a los estudios desarrollados que tienen relacion con el transporte inteligente, como es la clasificacion de los vehiculos que aparecen en secuencias de trafico. En uno de estos trabajos se aplican tecnicas tradicionales como la segmentacion y posterior extraccion de rasgos o caracteristicas; el segundo hace uso de una fase de segmentacion y de varias redes convolucionales en lugar de la extraccion de caracteristicas, complementado con un estudio del redimensionado de las imagenes para proveerlas en el formato necesario a cada red; y el tercero utiliza un modelo de red que detecta y clasifica objetos, tras lo que se realiza una estimacion de la contaminacion generada por los vehiculos. Por ultimo, se exponen las conclusiones generales que se han obtenido tras la realizacion de la presente tesis y se comentan unas posibles lineas futuras de investigacion que la amplien y complementen.
Organelle Genetic Diversity and Phylogeography of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)

The paper reviews the present knowledge of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) diversity, historical and geographical distribution, based on mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA data. The observed differences in the estimates of genetic differentiation between different types of genomes suggest that both pollen and seed contribute significantly to gene flow within species. Organelles' diversity represents an important criterion which could be later applied in planning for future forest management and breeding through a better understanding of adaptation strategies of different Scots pine haplotypes. This analysis would provide valuable references when facing current day problems with climate change, species adaptation, and loss of forest with negative effects on biodiversity. Research on organelles' diversity could lead to important practical applications in areas such as traceability and eco-certification of forest products, and the identification of plant populations for conservation. Based on the results from earlier investigations, Scots pine in Europe can be divided into at least three evolutionary units (Spain, northern/central Europe and northern Fennoscandia), each with a different origin after glaciations. However, it must be emphasized that these interpretations are preliminary and further mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA data need to be analyzed in conjunction with evidence from pollen and fossil analysis.
WOMEN AS CIVIL ENGINEER-CHALLENGES AND SCOPE

The era of globalization and rapid technological development has changed people’s lives dramatically. Science and technology play an extremely important role in the contemporary society. Government in developed and developing countries recognize the importance of the development of S&T sphere. The roles of men and women have changed dramatically in the contemporary society. Science and technology are decisively important tools that can be used for the advancement of women in most. Women’s involvement in the application of science and technology will lead to beneficial and productive uses. The science and technology in the four critical areas will affect all of the critical areas: education and training; economy (and economy linked with poverty); health; and communications/media. The four critical areas noted above and believe that science and technology in these areas will affect all the critical areas. For example, improved education and training in science and technology fields and applications will pave the way for women’s involvement in leadership positions, which, in turn, would increase women’s incomes and empower women in their communities. Access to improved communications would affect women’s access to each other and promote their ability to organize politically There has been considerable effort in the last decade to increase the participation of women in engineering through various policies. India has achieved higher technological advancement during last decade of civil engineering, which is equally enthralling, encouraging, as well as, demanding for women in the field. Women account for nearly 51% of the construction labour force. Even though, the percentage of unskilled women is high in construction site, the female-to-male ratio in a class of civil engineering is hardly one-fourth. Nearly 20% of women continue to work in the field of civil engineering, while others move on to pursue different fields. This paper looks into different aspects of civil engineering, which is equally enthralling, encouraging, as well as, demanding for women in the field.
Differential effects of low-temperature inhibition on the propylene induced autocatalysis of ethylene production, respiration and ripening of ‘Hayward’ kiwifruit

Summary Previous studies (Stavroulakis and Sfakiotakis, 1993) have shown an inhibition of propylene-induced ethylene production in kiwifruit below a critical temperature range of 11–14.8CC. The aim of this research was to identify the biochemical basis of this inhibition in kiwifruit below 11–14.8°C. ‘Hayward’ kiwifruit were treated with increasing propylene concentrations at 10 and 20°C. Ethylene biosynthesis pathways and fruit ripening were investigated. Kiwifruit at 20°C in ah started autocatalysis of ethylene production and ripened after 19 d with a concomitant increase in respiration. Ethylene production and the respiration rise appeared earlier with increased propylene concentrations. Ripening proceeded immediately after propylene treatment, while ethylene autocatalysis needed a lag period of 24#8212;72 h. The latter event was attributed to the delay found in the induction of 1-aminocyclopropane-l-carboxylate synthase (ACC synthase) activity and consequently to the delayed increase of 1-aminocyclopropane-l-carboxylic acid (ACC) content. In contrast propylene treatment induced 1-aminocyclopropane-l-carboxylate oxidase (ACC oxidase) activity with no lag period. Moreover, transcription of ACC synthase and ACC oxidase genes was active only in ethylene-producing kiwifruit at 20CC. In contrast, treatment at 10°C with propylene strongly inhibited ethylene production, which was attributed to the low activities of both ACC synthase and ACC oxidase as well as the low initial ACC level. Interestingly, fruit treated with propylene at 10°C appeared to be able to transcribe the ACC oxidase but not the ACC synthase gene. However, propylene induced ripening of that fruit almost as rapidly as in the propylene-treated fruit at 20CC. Respiration rate was increased together with propylene concentration. It is concluded that kiwifruit stored at 20°C behaves as a typical climacteric fruit, while at 10°C behaves like a non-climacteric fruit. We propose that the main reasons for the inhibition of the propylene induced (autocatalytic) ethylene production in kiwifruit at low temperature (≤io°C), are primarily the suppression of the propylene-induced ACC synthase gene expression and the possible post-transcriptional modification of ACC oxidase.