Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Taxonomy of Penicillium section Citrina

Species of Penicillium section Citrina have a worldwide distribution and occur commonly in soils. The section is here delimited using a combination of phenotypic characters and sequences of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene operon, including the internal transcribed spacer regions ITS1 and ITS2, the 5.8S nrDNA (ITS) and partial RPB2 sequences. Species assigned to section Citrina share the production of symmetrically biverticillate conidiophores, flask shaped phialides (7.0–9.0 μm long) and relatively small conidia (2.0–3.0 μm diam). Some species can produce greyish-brown coloured cleistothecia containing flanged ascospores. In the present study, more than 250 isolates presumably belonging to section Citrina were examined using a combined analysis of phenotypic and physiological characters, extrolite profiles and ITS, β-tubulin and/or calmodulin sequences. Section Citrina includes 39 species, and 17 of those are described here as new. The most important phenotypic characters for distinguishing species are growth rates and colony reverse colours on the agar media CYA, MEA and YES; shape, size and ornamentation of conidia and the production of sclerotia or cleistothecia. Temperature-growth profiles were made for all examined species and are a valuable character characters for species identification. Species centered around P. citrinum generally have a higher maximum growth temperature (33–36 °C) than species related to P. westlingii (27–33 °C). Extrolite patterns and partial calmodulin and β-tubulin sequences can be used for sequence based identification and resolved all species. In contrast, ITS sequences were less variable and only 55 % of the species could be unambiguously identified with this locus. Taxonomic novelties: Penicillium argentinense Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. atrofulvum Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. aurantiacobrunneum Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. cairnsense Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. christenseniae Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. copticola Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. cosmopolitanum Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. neomiczynskii Cole, Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. nothofagi Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. pancosmium Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. pasqualense Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. quebecense Seifert, Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. raphiae Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. terrigenum Seifert, Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. ubiquetum Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. vancouverense Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson, P. wellingtonense Cole, Houbraken, Frisvad & Samson.
Modification of the cadmium reduction assay for detection of nitrite production using fluorescence indicator 2,3-diaminonaphthalene.

The measurement of nitric oxide (NO) is important for characterizing the regulatory roles of NO in various biological systems. In this communication we report that cadmium (Cd) reduction of nitrate (NO(-)(3)) to nitrite (NO(-)(2)) can be quantitated by using the fluorescence indicator, 2,3-diaminonaphthalene (DAN) to detect the sum of NO(-)(3) and NO(-)(2) (NO(-)(x)) from endothelial cells. This assay is at least 10-fold more sensitive than when Cd reduction is coupled with the spectrophotometric Greiss reaction and can be used to quantitate the small amounts of NO(-)(x) generated from the constitutive form of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). In addition various P(2) purinoceptor agonists and antagonists do not interfere the Cd reduction/DAN assay. Thus the Cd reduction/DAN assay can be used not only to characterize P(2) purinoceptor release of NO(-)(x) from cultured endothelial cells but also to quantitate NO(-)(x) levels in serum.
Growth factor action in neural crest cell diversification

At the onset of their migration into the embryo, many neural crest cells are pluripotent in the sense that they have the capacity to generate progeny that consist of more than one cell type. More recently, we have found that there are pluripotent neural crest cell‐derived cells even at sites of terminal differentiation. These findings support the notion that cues originating from the microenvironment, at least in part, direct neural crest cell type specification. Based on the rationale that growth factors that are known to support survival of neural crest cell derivatives may have additional functions in progenitor cell development, we have examined the action of pertinent growth factors. Trophic, mitogenic, antiproliferative and differentiation promoting activities were found. Stem cell factor (SCF) is trophic for pluripotent neural crest cells. Contrary to expectation, SCF plus a neurotrophin, rather than SCF alone, is trophic for committed melanogenic cells. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is mitogenic both for pluripotent cells and committed melanogenic cells. However, the cells become dependent on another factor for survival. Whereas any neurotrophin tested can rescue bFGF‐activated pluripotent neural crest cells, the factor that rescues melanogenic cells remains to be determined. Transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) is a powerful antimitotic signal for all neural crest cells that overrides the bFGF/neurotrophin proliferative signal. Furthermore, SCF promotes differentiation of neural crest cells into cells of the sensory neuron lineage. Neurotrophin‐3 (NT‐3) specifically promotes high affinity uptake of norepinephrine by neural crest cells and is thus thought to play a critical role in the differentiation of sympathetic neuroblasts. In summary, our data indicate that neurotrophins and other pertinent growth factors affect survival, proliferation and differentiation of neural crest cells at multiple levels and in different lineages. Moreover, our findings emphasise the importance of the concerted action of combinations of growth factors, rather than of individual factors.
A design of fractional-N frequency synthesizer with quad-band (700 MHz/AWS/2100 MHz/2600 MHz) VCO for LTE application in 65 nm CMOS process

This paper presents the design of a fractional-N frequency synthesizer for LTE application covering frequency band from 698 MHz to 2690 MHz, which is fabricated in a 65 nm CMOS process. The frequency of VCO was designed from 2.7 GHz to 6.1 GHz by three cores. Each VCO core has the 23 %∼40 % tuning range that is obtained by means of a 6-bit binary-weighted capacitance array and a small varactor for fine tuning. Also in order to operate in a wide-band frequency range, AFC technique is used. A 3-bit third order MASH type Δ - Σ modulator is employed to meet a frequency resolution of 20 Hz and improve the phase noise performance. The frequency synthesizer measures phase noise of −98 dBc/Hz at 10 KHz offset, −128 dBc/Hz at 5 MHz offset, −131 dBc/Hz at 7.5 MHz offset, integrated phase noise of 0.67° and a settling time of less than 150 us while operating LO frequency at 2.62 GHz. The implemented frequency synthesizer consumes 39 mA from 1.2 V power supply and meets the requirements of LTE application.
Stabilité des mousses : quelques expériences montrant l'influence de la rhéologie de surface

La physico-chimie de materiaux comme les mousses donne lieu a une physique multiechelle d'une grande complexite. Pour pouvoir comprendre les mecanismes physiques a l'origine de la destabilisation des mousses, il est donc necessaire de travailler sur des experiences modeles, tant du point de vue des systemes que du dispositif experimental. C'est ce que nous avons essaye de faire sur un certain nombre de problemes : - Quelle est l'importance du confinement a l'echelle des films de savon ? Comment drainent des films minces et ultra-minces ? - Y a-t-il un lien entre la rupture d'un film de savon unique pendant sa generation et la coalescence d'une mousse lors de sa fabrication ? - Comment stopper le murissement ? - Comment faire le lien entre la physico-chimie et la condition aux limites a l'interface liquide/air ?
Identification and pathogenicity of Pythium species causing damping-off in sugarbeet in northwest Iran

Seventy-eight Pythium isolates were obtained from diseased sugarbeet seedlings that were planted in soil samples collected from different sugarbeet fields in northwest Iran. P. ultimum var. ultimum was the dominant species, representing 52.6% of isolates, and P. aphanidermatum, P. deliens, P. oligandrum, P. ostracodes, Pythium group HS and Pythium group T were the other species identified. Five other isolates could not be identified and were designated as Pythium sp. In the greenhouse pathogenicity test, P. ostracodes and two isolates of P. oligandrum and Pythium sp. were non-pathogenic and four isolates belonging to P. aphanidermatum, P. ultimum var. ultinmum and Pythium group HS were very highly pathogenic. The remaining 24 isolates were weakly, moderately or highly pathogenic. This is the first report of isolation of Pythium group T and P. ostracodes from sugarbeet and the pathogenicity of the Pythium group T on sugarbeet. It is also the first report of P. paroecandrum and Pythium group HS being isolated from sugarbeet and their pathogenicity on sugarbeet in Iran. Pythium group T is a new record for Iran.
Linear trend tests for case–control genetic association that incorporate random phenotype and genotype misclassification error

The purpose of this work is the development of linear trend tests that allow for error (LTTae), specifically incorporating double‐sampling information on phenotypes and/or genotypes. We use a likelihood framework. Misclassification errors are estimated via double sampling. Unbiased estimates of penetrances and genotype frequencies are determined through application of the Expectation‐Maximization algorithm. We perform simulation studies to evaluate false‐positive rates for various genotype classification weights (recessive, dominant, additive). We compare simulated power between the LTTae and its genotypic test equivalent, the LRTae, in the presence of phenotype and genotype misclassification, to evaluate power gains of the LTTae for multi‐locus haplotype association with a dominant mode of inheritance. Finally, we apply LTTae and a method without double‐sample information (LTTstd) to double‐sampled phenotype data for an actual Alzheimer's disease (AD) case–control study with ApoE genotypes. Simulation results suggest that the LTTae maintains correct false‐positive rates in the presence of misclassification. For power simulations, the LTTae method is at least as powerful as LRTae method, with a maximum power gain of 0.42 over the LRTae method for certain parameter settings. For AD data, LTTae provides more significant evidence for association (permutation p=0.0522) than LTTstd (permutation p=0.1684). This is due to observed phenotype misclassification. The LTTae statistic enables researchers to apply linear trend tests to case–control genetic data, increasing power to detect association in the presence of misclassification. If the disease MOI is known, LTTae methods are usually more powerful due to the fact that the statistic has fewer degrees of freedom. Genet. Epidemiol. 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Diseño de un juego basado en Interacción Tangible para la enseñanza de Programación

Resumen. En este articulo se presenta un juego educativo basado en interaccion tangible, disenado para ayudar a los alumnos en la comprension de temas claves de los cursos introductorios de Programacion, de las carreras en Informatica. El juego (EPIT: Ensenanza de la Programacion usando Interaccion Tangible) propone la reflexion y el analisis sobre posibles soluciones para la resolucion de un problema que involucra el uso de diferentes estructuras de datos, abordadas en los programas de estas asignaturas. Se trata de un juego colaborativo, en los que se trabaja en grupos de 4 alumnos, a los que se les propone atravesar por tres etapas que hacen a la dinamica de la actividad, y en cada una se procura que los alumnos pongan en juego habilidades cognitivas tales como el analisis, comparacion, y comprension, y en particular, en la segunda y tercera etapa, habilidades mas orientadas a la colaboracion y reflexion conjunta. Se presentan aqui los antecedentes que permitieron la realizacion de este juego, su diseno y el plan para poder aplicarlo en los proximos meses. Se detallan los resultados esperados y las conclusiones del trabajo.
Exploring finger specific touch screen interaction for mobile phone user interfaces

Today, mobile phones with touch screens are widespread but as de facto, the interaction space is limited to single finger taps or multitouch gestures. In this paper, we present an investigation of a novel interaction concept for mobile phone touch screen input by distinguishing between different fingers. To explore the concept, we organized three user studies (number of participants 37, 13 and 25), where we charted the finger specific input performance, and evaluated the concept with both a Wizard-of-Oz prototype and a functional implementation. The salient results show, e.g. statistical differences in comfort and perceived speed for interacting with different fingers, and that users see value in finger specific functionality, especially in providing fast shortcuts to different functions and as a means to personalize the interaction with the device.
The Rag GTPases Bind Raptor and Mediate Amino Acid Signaling to mTORC1

The multiprotein mTORC1 protein kinase complex is the central component of a pathway that promotes growth in response to insulin, energy levels, and amino acids and is deregulated in common cancers. We find that the Rag proteins—a family of four related small guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases)—interact with mTORC1 in an amino acid–sensitive manner and are necessary for the activation of the mTORC1 pathway by amino acids. A Rag mutant that is constitutively bound to guanosine triphosphate interacted strongly with mTORC1, and its expression within cells made the mTORC1 pathway resistant to amino acid deprivation. Conversely, expression of a guanosine diphosphate–bound Rag mutant prevented stimulation of mTORC1 by amino acids. The Rag proteins do not directly stimulate the kinase activity of mTORC1, but, like amino acids, promote the intracellular localization of mTOR to a compartment that also contains its activator Rheb.
GOING BEYOND: EFFECTIVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE ACROSS ORGANIZATIONAL LEVELS

Although information technology today is a driving force behind public sector innovation, harnessing the benefits of investing in such technology is challenging for governments worldwide. Hence, a wide number of governments are endeavoring to implement governance projects for effective information technology. This study expands on earlier research into information technology governance within the public sector. The earlier study proposed a new construct to analyze the critical success factors. While the previous work mainly focused on the strategic level, this current study spans the organizational levels of strategic, tactical, and operational. Apart from a general consensus on Critical Success Factors, the results reveal a number of differences between the levels that affect every organization. Failure to minimize these differences could have a negative effect on the aligning business with information technology.
Increase in speech recognition due to linguistic mismatch between target and masker speech: monolingual and simultaneous bilingual performance.

PURPOSE To examine whether improved speech recognition during linguistically mismatched target-masker experiments is due to linguistic unfamiliarity of the masker speech or linguistic dissimilarity between the target and masker speech. METHOD Monolingual English speakers (n = 20) and English-Greek simultaneous bilinguals (n = 20) listened to English sentences in the presence of competing English and Greek speech. Data were analyzed using mixed-effects regression models to determine differences in English recogition performance between the 2 groups and 2 masker conditions. RESULTS Results indicated that English sentence recognition for monolinguals and simultaneous English-Greek bilinguals improved when the masker speech changed from competing English to competing Greek speech. CONCLUSION The improvement in speech recognition that has been observed for linguistically mismatched target-masker experiments cannot be simply explained by the masker language being linguistically unknown or unfamiliar to the listeners. Listeners can improve their speech recognition in linguistically mismatched target-masker experiments even when the listener is able to obtain meaningful linguistic information from the masker speech.
Early Access to Pension Savings : International Experience and Lessons Learnt

The objectives of a well-designed pension system are poverty reduction in old age and income smoothing throughout an individuals' lifetime. Over the last thirty years, changing demographic trends have caused a shift from 'pay as you go' and occupational defined benefit (DB) schemes - where the obligation for paying for retirement income is with the state and employers - to defined contribution (DC) schemes, where the obligation to save for retirement rests more with individuals. The transition to DC schemes did help establish a strong link between contributions during working life and benefits during retirement, for individuals. However, an increasing challenge has been balancing genuine needs for some pre-retirement liquidity, access to savings and providing adequate income post retirement for individuals. The need to get this balancing act right is being felt increasingly as coverage of national social security systems is expanded to include more of the non-salaried workforce which often has lower levels of income, more periods of unemployment and more irregular earnings. This note surveys recent literature and country experiences to understand if and how countries address the need for pre-retirement liquidity in both mandatory and voluntary DC schemes. The note also uses simple modelling to illustrate the impact of allowing access to pension savings on income adequacy after retirement. The report concludes with recommendations based on emerging best practice.
MODIFICATIONS NEUROCHIMIQUES INDUITES PAR LA STIMULATION HAUTE FREQUENCE DU NOYAU SOUS-THALAMIQUE AU SEIN DES RESEAUX NEURONAUX IMPLIQUES DANS LES CIRCUITS MOTEURS ET LEURS INTERACTIONS AVEC UN TRAITEMENT A LA L-DOPA Etude par microdialyse intracérébrale chez le rat sain et hémiparkinsonien.

La stimulation a haute frequence (SHF) du noyau sous-thalamique (NST) permet de traiter l'ensemble des symptomes moteurs de la maladie de Parkinson (MP), mais aussi d'attenuer l'apparition les dyskinesies L-Dopa induites, grâce notamment a une reduction massive, voire complete, des prises de L-Dopa chez les patients stimules. Toutefois, les mecanismes in fine qui sous-tendent l'efficacite therapeutique de la SHF du NST chez l'homme ne sont pas encore elucides, tout comme les possibles interactions pouvant exister entre les effets induits par la SHF du NST et ceux (synergiques ou non) d'un traitement a la L-DOPA. Notre travail a porte principalement sur l'animal anesthesie, sain ou hemiparkinsonien, traite de maniere chronique ou aigue a la L-Dopa, et soumis ou non a la SHF du NST. Dans une premiere partie experimentale, nous avons analyse chez le rat sain les modifications neurochimiques (variations des contenus en glutamate et en GABA mesurees par microdialyse intracerebrale) induites par la SHF du NST sur des structures situees a distance du NST mais impliquees directement ou indirectement dans les circuits moteurs, comme la region Fr3 du cortex moteur, le colliculus superieur et le noyau ventro-median du thalamus.Dans une deuxieme partie, nous avons essaye de determiner si la SHF du NST pouvait modifier la reponse a la L-Dopa (suite a un traitement chronique ou aigu) sur les contenus en dopamine (et ses metabolites DOPAC et HVA), en glutamate et en GABA. Les principaux resultats obtenus mettent en exergue une interaction synergique entre les effets d'une injection unique de L-Dopa et ceux induits par la SHF du NST. En effet, il apparait que cette stimulation stabilise les taux eleves de dopamine suite au traitement L-Dopa, retardant ainsi son metabolisme. Ces resultats pourraient donc apporter de arguments interessants concernant les effets benefiques de la SHF du NST observes chez les malades parkinsoniens, notamment dans la stabilisation des fluctuations motrices. Les donnees obtenues au cours de ce travail doctoral apportent de nouveaux arguments pour la comprehension des mecanismes de la SHF du NST, et amenent de nouvelles perspectives justifiant l'interet therapeutique de la SHF dans la maladie de Parkinson.
Estimating impact of financial incentives on construction waste production

Due to destructive environmental effects of construction wastes and increasing amount of these wastes that are in conflict with sustainable development objectives, it is essential to adopt solutions in order to reduce such wastes regarding environment preservation. This study was conducted to examine impact of financial incentives on reducing construction wastes using pairwise comparisons. According to professional opinions and experience of experts in building industry based on the 7-point Likert scale, mean responses obtained to 4.93, 4.83, and 4.73 for waste materials (stone, tile, ceramic), ready mix concrete waste, and EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) waste, respectively. On the other hand, reliability of research instrument obtained at 0.77 using Cronbach’s alpha test. Moreover, it is seen that the studied materials in this research assigned 41% contribution of constructing costs to themselves; of them, fittings and tiles, ceramics and stone assigned the highest constructing cost to themselves with 12%contribution. In fact, waste of materials in projects under the “total price” contract 3050% higher than projects under the “cost plus” contract. Increasing number of floors and area of construction project lead to average reduction in waste of materials from 4.4% to 1.4%. Change in regional price of housing will changes materials used in construction based on different prices.