Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Kinetochore capture by spindle microtubules: why fission yeast may prefer pivoting to search-and-capture

The mechanism by which microtubules find kinetochores during spindle formation is a key question in cell biology. Previous experimental studies have shown that although search-and-capture of kinetochores by dynamic microtubules is a dominant mechanism in many organisms, several other capture mechanisms are also possible. One such mechanism reported in Schizosaccharomyces pombe shows that microtubules can exhibit a prolonged pause between growth and shrinkage. During the pause, the microtubules pivoted at the spindle pole body search for the kinetochores by performing an angular diffusion. Is the latter mechanism purely accidental, or could there be any physical advantage underlying its selection? To compare the efficiency of these two mechanisms, we numerically study distinct models and compute the timescales of kinetochore capture as a function of microtubule number N. We find that the capture timescales have non-trivial dependences on microtubule number, and one mechanism may be preferred over the other depending on this number. While for small N (as in fission yeast), the typical capture times due to rotational diffusion are lesser than those for search-and-capture, the situation is reversed beyond a certain N. The capture times for rotational diffusion tend to saturate due to geometrical constraints, while those for search-and-capture reduce monotonically with increasing N making it physically more efficient. The results provide a rationale for the common occurrence of classic search-and-capture process in many eukaryotes which have few hundreds of dynamic microtubules, as well as justify exceptions in cells with fewer microtubules.
Multiple aspects of the selfing syndrome of the morning glory Ipomoea lacunosa evolved in response to selection: A Qst‐Fst comparison

Abstract The frequent transition from outcrossing to selfing in flowering plants is often accompanied by changes in multiple aspects of floral morphology, termed the “selfing syndrome. ” While the repeated evolution of these changes suggests a role for natural selection, genetic drift may also be responsible. To determine whether selection or drift shaped different aspects of the pollination syndrome and mating system in the highly selfing morning glory Ipomoea lacunosa, we performed multivariate and univariate Qst‐Fst comparisons using a wide sample of populations of I. lacunosa and its mixed‐mating sister species Ipomoea cordatotriloba. The two species differ in early growth, floral display, inflorescence traits, corolla size, nectar, and pollen number. Our analyses support a role for natural selection driving trait divergence, specifically in corolla size and nectar traits, but not in early growth, display size, inflorescence length, or pollen traits. We also find evidence of selection for reduced herkogamy in I. lacunosa, consistent with selection driving both the transition in mating system and the correlated floral changes. Our research demonstrates that while some aspects of the selfing syndrome evolved in response to selection, others likely evolved due to drift or correlated selection, and the balance between these forces may vary across selfing species.
Fundamentals of Enterprise Risk Management: How Top Companies Assess Risk, Manage Exposure, and Seize Opportunity by John J. Hampton

reader gains an understanding of the different needs which different companies exhibit at different points in their lifecycle. Two chapters merit further mention. The chapter that covers how to answer business question through ratios and trends takes common ratios (return on equity, for example), asks the question which underlies the ratio, “should we keep investing in our company? ” Worrell then provides sample calculations. This manner of reviewing ratios is very helpful to readers trying to understand which ratio best suits their business needs. The chapter on dashboards is also quite helpful, providing the reader with a metric (TIGER, or Time, Impact, Goals, Ease, Relationships, p. 204) by which to gauge the value of a dashboard, information on how to create a dashboard by hand, and then evaluating relevant commercial services which offer dashboards. Other titles that cover ground similar to this book include Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs: What You Really Need to Know about the Numbers (Berman, Knight, & Case, 2008), The Business Owner’s Guide to Reading and Understanding Financial Statements: How to Budget, Forecast, and Monitor Cash Flow for Better Decision Making (Epstein, 2012), and How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Vital Signs Out of the Numbers (J. Tracy & T. Tracy, 2014). Overall, this title is an effective and readable examination of financial statements basics with an emphasis on the small business owner. Libraries of all types would find it a wonderful addition to their collection.
Daurinol Attenuates Autoimmune Arthritis via Stabilization of Nrp1–PTEN–Foxp3 Signaling in Regulatory T Cells

Optimizing Treg function and improving Treg stability are attractive treatment strategies for treating autoimmune rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the limited number of circulating Tregs and questions about the functional stability of in vitro-expanded Tregs are potential limitations of Treg-based cell therapy. The aim of this study was to analyze the regulatory effect of daurinol, a catalytic inhibitor of topoisomerase IIα, on Th cell differentiation and to evaluate their therapeutic potential in a preclinical experimental model of RA. We investigated the effect of daurinol on T cell differentiation by flow cytometry. Foxp3 stability and methylation were analyzed by suppression assays and bisulfite pyrosequencing. Daurinol was treated in the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model, and the effects in vivo were determined. We found that daurinol can promote Treg differentiation and reciprocally inhibit Th17 differentiation. This Treg-inducing property of daurinol was associated with decreased activity of Akt–mTOR and reciprocally increased activity of neuropilin-1 (Nrp1)–PTEN. Daurinol treatment inhibited aerobic glycolysis in Th17 conditions, indicating the metabolic changes by daurinol. We found that the daurinol increase the Treg stability was achieved by Foxp3 hypomethylation. In vivo daurinol treatment in CIA mice reduced the clinical arthritis severity and histological inflammation. The Treg population frequency increased and the Th17 cells decreased in the spleens of arthritis mice treated with daurinol. These results showed the anti-arthritic and immunoregulating properties of daurinol is achieved by increased differentiation and stabilization of Tregs. Our study provides first evidence for daurinol as a treatment for RA.
Choice suppression is achieved through opponent but not independent function of the striatal indirect pathway in mice

The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) plays a key role in action selection, but little is known about how direct and indirect pathway spiny projection neurons (dSPNs and iSPNs) contribute to choice suppression in freely moving animals. Here, we used pathway-specific chemogenetic manipulation during a serial choice foraging task to test opposing predictions for iSPN function generated by two theories: 1) the ‘select/suppress’ heuristic which suggests iSPN activity is required to suppress alternate choices and 2) the network-inspired Opponent Actor Learning model (OpAL) which proposes that the weighted difference of dSPN and iSPN activity determines choice. We found that chemogenetic activation, but not inhibition, of iSPNs disrupted learned suppression of nonrewarded choices, consistent with the predictions of the OpAL model. Our findings suggest that iSPNs’ role in stopping and freezing does not extend in a simple fashion to choice suppression. These data may provide insights critical for the successful design of interventions for addiction or other conditions in which suppression of behavior is desirable.
Development of spiced squash (appetizer) from wild prickly pear (Opuntia dillenii Haw.) and its quality evaluation during storage

Wild prickly pear (Opuntia dillenii Haw.) is one of the wild fruit with great importance because of its high antioxidants, colour pigments and other quality parameters besides its medicinal properties. In India, there are only a limited number of reports pertaining to utilization of this fruit which further lack the development of value added novel products. So, the present studies were carried out for the development of spiced squash or appetizer from wild prickly pear fruit and its quality evaluation during storage. Different combinations of fruit juice (25, 30, 35 and 40 %) and sugar syrup (40 and 45 °B) were tried to standardize a proper combination for appetizer. The appetizer prepared by using the best recipe with 35 % juice, 45 °B TSS (Total soluble solids) and 1.20 % acidity was packed in two packaging materials viz. glass and PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles which were further stored for six months under ambient and refrigerated temperature conditions. Appetizer packed in glass as well as in PET packaging material can be stored successfully for a period of six months under both the temperature conditions. However, various quality parameters of appetizer were retained higher in glass bottles stored under refrigerated storage conditions.
The Concept of Work for Moving Image Materials

In a series of articles to appear soon in this publica- tion, lhe general concept of work as it applies to all materials will be discussed. In a well-designed catalog, two items treated as the same work will display together and be represented as manifestations (edi- tions) or copies of the same work to the user interested in a particular work. In th~s article, the concepcs of work and related work as (hey apply to moving image works will be discussed, and recommenda- tions made for their application to moving image works.
Integrated analysis of different non-coding features across the Sox2 locus implicates a diencephalic enhancer in adult brain expression

SOX2 is a prominent member of the SOX family of transcription factors that has many different functional roles. This pleiotropy is made possible by multiple regulatory mechanisms that direct appropriate spatial and temporal patterns of expression, and therefore action. The current study concerns the mechanisms that determine Sox2 gene expression in the adult mammalian brain, where SOX2 protein is absent in general, but is selectively and abundantly expressed in a majority of neurons within a ventral diencephalic brain structure, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). In this study, a comparative bioinformatic and biochemical analysis of different adult rat brain regions was conducted in order to identify SCN-selective (immaturity-related) regulatory mechanisms. The approach incorporated an integrated analysis of Sox2 enhancers, CTCF binding sites, and also expression of the Sox2-overlapping, long non-coding (lnc)RNA, Sox2ot. Initial experiments revealed brain region-specific Sox2ot expression (including region-specific novel transcripts), indicating a significant diversity of Sox2ot expression across the adult brain. However, the pattern and abundance of Sox2ot expression in the SCN, relative to selected control areas of the brain, did not indicate an overt relationship to Sox2 gene expression. Furthermore, although multiple individual Sox2ot exon sequences were shown to overlap annotated Sox2 gene enhancers at different sites across the Sox2 locus, again there was no indication of a SCN-specific functional correlation. Further integration with an analysis of selectively-active CTCF sites within the Sox2 locus directed attention to one site with both a prominent peak of activity in immature brain, and proximity to a functionally-characterized, ventral diencephalic, Sox2 enhancer termed U6 (upstream enhancer 6). Ex vivo analysis of the U6-associated CTCF site revealed SCN-selective CTCF binding, and these sequences were both localized within a known (brain region-selective) super-enhancer. Bioinformatic analysis of the U6 enhancer sequence revealed an abundance of consensus sites for the SCN-selective transcription factor LHX1, and over-expression of this factor enhanced the activity of cloned U6 sequence in transfected cells. However, despite this compelling evidence for a molecular mechanism that underlies adult brain expression of SOX2, further analysis of LHX1-SOX2 co-expression in the SCN confounded this view, indicating the presence of other concurrent mechanisms in the different cell populations of the SCN.
An auditory motivated time-scale signal representation

A time-scale representation of (acoustic) signals, motivated by the structure of the mammalian auditory system, is presented. Drawing from the theory of irregular sampling and frames, a theoretical framework is developed in which iterative algorithms for reconstruction are constructed. Numerical examples are included which illustrate the validity of such a representation for new and effective methods of data compression and noise suppression. <<ETX>>
The evolving concept of data privacy in Japanese law

† How Japan has shaped and evolved the concept of data privacy is examined and how, in this context, it has overcome its culture of respecting the community and the public at the cost of private interests. † The tradition and history of the Japanese culture of privacy is rooted in Bushi-do, which values public interests. After the right to protect private life was judicially recognized in the 1960s, the rapid growth of technology which threatened privacy and personal data led to a new concept of privacy as controlling personal information, as well as to new legislation on protecting personal information.
Wild pollinator activity negatively related to honey bee colony densities in urban context

As pollinator decline is increasingly reported in natural and agricultural environments, cities are perceived as shelters for pollinators because of low pesticide exposure and high floral diversity throughout the year. This has led to the development of environmental policies supporting pollinators in urban areas. However, policies are often restricted to the promotion of honey bee colony installations, which resulted in a strong increase in apiary numbers in cities. Recently, competition for floral resources between wild pollinators and honey bees has been highlighted in semi-natural contexts, but whether urban beekeeping could impact wild pollinators remains unknown. Here, we show that in the city of Paris (France), wild pollinator visitation rates are negatively correlated to honey bee colony densities present in the surrounding landscape (500m –slope = -0.614; p = 0.001 –and 1000m –slope = -0.489; p = 0.005). Regarding the morphological groups of wild pollinators, large solitary bee and beetle visitation rates were negatively affected by honey bee colony densities within a 500m buffer (slope = -0.425, p = 0.007 and slope = - 0.671, p = 0.002, respectively) and bumblebee visitation rates were negatively affected by honey bee colony density within a 1000m buffer (slope = - 0.451, p = 0.012). Further, lower interaction evenness in plant-pollinator networks was observed with high honey bee colony density within a 1000m buffer (slope = -0.487, p = 0.008). Finally, honey bees tended to focus their foraging activity on managed rather than wild plant species (student t-test, p = 0.001) whereas wild pollinators equally visited managed and wild species. We advocate responsible practices mitigating the introduction of high density of honey bee colonies in urban environments. Further studies are however needed to deepen our knowledge about the potential negative interactions between wild and domesticated pollinators.
Defecation by the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi occurs with an ultradian rhythm through a single transient anal pore

Defecation in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi is a stereotyped sequence of effector responses that occur with a regular ultradian rhythm. Time intervals between repeated defecations of individual animals depend on body size, ranging from ~10 min in small larvae to ~1 hr in large adults. New features and corrections of previous reports of the gastrovascular system during and between defecations are described in detail by video microscopy. Contrary to the scientific literature, the defecating organ of the excretory complex is just one of the two anal canals which possesses the animal’s only anal pore. The anal pore is not visible as a permanent structure as depicted in textbooks, but appears at defecation and disappears afterward. DIC microscopy reveals that opening and closing of the anal pore resemble a reversible ring of tissue fusion between apposed endodermal and ectodermal layers at the aboral end. Mnemiopsis thus appears to have an intermittent anus and therefore an intermittent through-gut that reoccur at regular intervals. The temporality of a visible anal pore in Mnemiopsis is novel, and may shed light on the evolution of a permanent anus and through-gut in animals. In addition, mirror image dimorphism of the diagonal anal complex occurs in larval ctenophores but not in adults, indicating developmental flexibility in diagonal symmetry of the anal complex.
Species distribution modelling supports “nectar corridor” hypothesis for migratory nectarivorous bats and conservation of tropical dry forest

The Mexican long‐tongued bat (Choeronycteris mexicana), Mexican long‐nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) and lesser long‐nosed bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae) undertake long‐distance migrations from south‐central Mexico to the south‐western United States. It is proposed that these bats migrate along a nectar corridor of columnar cacti and Agave species, but this has not been tested with independent data and the spatiotemporal nature of this relationship is poorly understood. Our goal was to test this nectar corridor hypothesis and determine the relative importance of food plant and abiotic variables to the distribution and seasonal movements of these migratory nectarivores.
A hardware emulator testbed for software defined radio

In software defined radio (SDR), most of the traditionally analogue signal processing, synthesis and analysis functions of a communications system are performed digitally. However, critical hardware system components (such as analogue-digital-analogue conversion) still remain, making the full system design and testing more cumbersome. This paper presents an introductory overview on SDR and work-in-progress concerning the background and design considerations for a basic SDR hardware emulator. Hardware emulation allows fast and low-cost evaluation of possible hardware architectures. An object-orientated software design approach is taken, and the technical issues surrounding the development of hardware models are considered. Finally, a proposed system software architecture is presented.
Indications of Genetic Admixture in the Transition Zone between Fagus sylvatica L. and Fagus sylvatica ssp. orientalis Greut. & Burd

Two subspecies of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) can be found in southeast Europe: Fagus sylvatica ssp. sylvatica L. and Fagus sylvatica ssp. orientalis (Lipsky) Greut. & Burd. (Fagus orientalis Lipsky). In a previous study, based on genetic diversity patterns and morphological characters, indications of hybridization between both subspecies were found in northeastern Greece, a known contact zone of F. sylvatica and F. orientalis. Nevertheless, potential genetic admixture has not been investigated systematically before. Here, we investigated genetic diversity and genetic structure of 14 beech populations originating from Greece and Turkey as well as of two reference F. sylvatica populations from Germany based on nine expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers. Very low genetic differentiation was detected among F. sylvatica populations (mean GST: 0.005) as well as among F. orientalis populations (mean GST: 0.008), but substantial differentiation was detected between populations of the two subspecies (mean GST: 0.122). Indications for hybridization between both subspecies were revealed for one population in Greece. One of the genetic markers showed specific allele frequencies for F. sylvatica and F. orientalis and may be used as a diagnostic marker in future studies to discriminate both subspecies.
A genome wide survey of the insertion sequences in Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans, a haloalkaliphilic anaerobic bacterium

Insertion sequences (IS) are the smallest prokaryotic transposable elements. These mobile genes are highly diverse in size and structure, making them difficult to study. The transposition activity of insertion sequences has a significant role in evolution by enabling genomic plasticity via genome rearrangements. Insertion sequences are largely uncharacterized and thus methods to improve the ability to accurately identify, annotate, and infer genomic impact of insertion sequences is limited. A sequential set of methods using readily available genomic and bioinformatic tools was developed to accurately identify insertion sequences. This method was used to perform an entire genome survey of Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans to identify and characterize all insertion sequences. After characterization insertion sequence activity is inferred, including transposition capability, element interaction, and insertion sequence evolution.
A SURVEY ON EDUCATIONAL DATA MINING AND RESEARCH TRENDS

Educational Data Mining (EDM) is an emerging field exploring data in educational context by applying different Data Mining (DM) techniques/tools. It provides intrinsic knowledge of teaching and learning process for effective education planning. In this survey work focuses on components, research trends (1998 to 2012) of EDM highlighting its related Tools, Techniques and educational Outcomes. It also highlights the Challenges EDM.
Using EBI pattern in conjunction with service-oriented architectures

This thesis presents a service-oriented architecture prototype developed for route optimization system. The architecture of the prototype is based on Entity-BoundaryInteractor (EBI) pattern. The focus of this thesis is to evaluate the quality of the architecture resulting from the combination of EBI and SOA patterns. The quality is evaluated with respect to requirements of a route optimization system. The evaluation of the prototype architecture is performed by using proven software architecture evaluation methods. The architecture of the prototype fulfilled its objectives.