Laying the Foundation for In-car Alcohol Detection by Speech

The fact that an increasing number of functions in the automobile are and will be controlled by speech of the driver rises the question whether this speech input may be used to detect a possible alcoholic intoxication of the driver. For that matter a large part of the new Alcohol Language Corpus (ALC) edited by the Bavarian Archive of Speech Signals (BAS) will be used for a broad statistical investigation of possible feature candidates for classification. In this contribution we present the motivation and the design of the ALC corpus as well as first results from fundamental frequency and rhythm analysis. Our analysis by comparing sober and alcoholized speech of the same individuals suggests that there are in fact promising features that can automatically be derived from the speech signal during the speech recognition process and will indicate intoxication for most speakers

Influence of Cytokines and Autologous Lymphokine-Activated Killer Cells on Leukemic Bone Marrow Cells and Colonies in AML

We have already shown that cytokine cocktails (IL-1 beta, IL-3, IL-6, SCF, GM-CSF) and/or lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells can reduce the amounts of clonal, CD34-positive mononuclear bone marrow cells (BM-MNC) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In addition, the influence of those cocktails and/or LAK cells on the clonogenic potential of AML BM-MNC was investigated. BM colonies cultured in agar during different stages of the disease were immunophenotyped in situ: 17 patients at diagnosis, 14 patients in complete remission, 8 patients at relapse, 8 healthy donors. A significant reduction in leukemic cells and colonies positive for CD34 after in vitro culture of BM-MNC with cytokine cocktails was achieved with all samples obtained at diagnosis (n = 8, p < 0.01), in 6 of 8 cases in complete remission but only in 2 of 6 cases at relapse. Cytokine cocktails stimulated granulopoiesis as well as B and T lymphopoiesis. Colonies with leukemic phenotype could never be detected in healthy BM. A significant reduction in leukemic colonies was achieved by coculture of BM-MNC (uncultured or cytokine precultured) with autologous LAK cells in all 4 cases at diagnosis and in 1 case at relapse. An additive effect of in vitro cytokine preincubation of BM samples on the leukemia-reducing effect of LAK cells could be demonstrated in all samples studied (p <0.001; diagnosis: n = 10, relapse: n = 3, complete remission: n = 7). Patients had a better prognosis if CD34-positive colonies in AML could be reduced by cytokine incubation (p = 0.03) or coculture with autologous LAK cells in vitro (p = 0.04). Our data show that cytokines as well as LAK cells alone and in combination can reduce, however not eliminate clonogenic AML cells. Such mechanisms might be responsible for maintaining stable remissions in AML. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel

Nicotiana attenuata protein kinases mediate plant growth and resistance to insect herbivores

Protein kinases modulate developmental and adaptation processes in the plant kingdom. While MAPK signaling has been intensively studied for the involvement in growth, defense and growth regulation, more and more studies have shown that CDPKs also function in these physiological processes. N. attenuata is an annual solanaceous plant, which germinates only after fire. In its natural habitat in the Great Basin Desert in Utah, USA, after being attacked by the specialist, tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta, N. attenuata has developed many specific and fine-tuned responses to cope with herbivore challenges. It has been shown that two MAPKs, NaSIPK and NaWIPK are involved in defense against M. sexta attack, by controlling the plant hormone, jasmonic acid (JA). The burst of JA after herbivore recognition is important to induce defense responses, such as the production of small secondary metabolites (e.g. nicotine) and defensive proteins – trypsin proteinase inhibitor (TPI). MAPKs are the last element in a MAPK cascade: MAPKKKs activate MAPKKs, which in turn phosphorylate MAPKs. In order to investigate the function of MAPK cascades in plant-herbivore interactions, using N. attenuata and M. sexta as the model system, I studied the function of five MAPKKs in plant defense against herbivores. A virus-induced gene silencing method was used to transiently knock down the transcript levels of these five MAPKKs. These lines were used to analyze the role of MAPKKs in regulating the accumulation of phytohormones JA and ethylene, the MAPKs, NaSIPK and NaWIPK, and the activity of TPI. M. sexta performance assays were used to evaluate the impact of the five MAPKKs on larval growth. It was found that one MAPKK, NaMEK2, plays an important role in activating NaSIPK, and is therefore involved in JA accumulation and ethylene production after herbivory. Although the other four MAPKKs do not affect NaSIPK activity levels, like NaMEK2, they are also involved in the regulation of TPI activity. Moreover, two MAPKKs, NaMEK1 and NaSIPKK, are important for early steps of JA biosynthesis, because they function in the regulation of a JA precursor, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA). However, none of these five MAPKKs was sufficient to have a detectable impact on larval growth of M. sexta. This might be due to redundancy of these MAPKKs in regulating herbivore resistance. After wounding or herbivory, highly elevated JA levels were found in irCDPK4/5 plants, which were silenced in two CDPKs, CDPK4 and CDPK5. irCDPK4/5 also exhibited stunted stem elongation. Using irCDPK4/5 as the model, I sought to unravel the function of JA in N. attenuata’s growth. I found remarkably high levels of JA in irCDPK4/5 stem, and genetic analysis using plants deficient in JA accumulation or signaling, which were crossed with irCDPK4/5, indicated that high JA levels accounted for the impaired stem growth. Applying another phytohormone, gibberellic acid (GA), to irCDPK4/5 largely recovered its stem growth to almost wild-type level. Using quantitative real time PCR, it was shown, that high JA levels repress an important GA biosynthesis gene, GA20-oxidase (GA20ox). Using virus-induced gene silencing, I knocked down GA20ox transcripts and further confirmed that GA20ox is important for stem growth. This work revealed a novel interaction between JA and GA: JA antagonizes the biosynthesis of GAs by suppressing the transcript levels of GA20ox.Die Anpassung von Pflanzen an ihre Umwelt wird zu einem großen Teil von Protein Kinasen reguliert. Pflanzen können durch diese Kinasen ihre Entwicklung und ihre Verteidigung in Antwort auf biotische und abiotische Einflüsse steuern. Während mitogen-aktivierte Protein Kinasen (MAPKs) schon sehr intensiv im Zusammenhang mit Wachstum, Verteidigung und Wachstumsregulation untersucht wurden, wird jetzt erst nach und nach gezeigt, dass auch calcium-aktivierte Protein Kinasen (CDPKs) in diesen Prozessen eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Die wilde Tabakpflanze Nicotiana attenuata gehört zu den Solanaceaen und keimt speziell nach Bränden. Natürlicherweise kommt sie in der Great Basin Wüste in Utah, USA vor. Da sie zu den ersten Pflanzen nach einem Brand zählt, wird sie besonders häufig von Fraβfeinden bedroht. Um sich anzupassen, hat sie spezielle und komplex regulierte Mechanismen entwickelt. Die Abwehr der Tabakpflanze gegen den Tabakhornwurm Manduca sexta wurde bereits sehr intensiv studiert. Es wurde gezeigt, dass zwei MAPKs, NaSIPK und NaWIPK in Verteidigungsantworten gegen M. sexta Attacken involviert sind, in dem sie ein Pflanzenhormon, Jasmonsäure (JA) aktivieren. Der Anstieg von JA nach der Erkennung von Herbivoren ist ein wichtiger Faktor, der Verteidigungsantworten wie zum Beispiel die Produktion von Sekundärmetaboliten (z.B. Nikotin) und von Verdauungshemmern (z.B. Trypsin Proteinase Inhibitoren, TPI) initiiert. MAPKs sind die letzten Regulationselemente einer Signalkaskade. Diese beginnt mit der Aktivierung von einer oder mehreren MAPKKKs, diese phosphorylieren dann MAPKKs, welche dann MAPKs aktivieren. Um die Funktion dieser Signalkaskaden in der besser zu verstehen, habe ich fünf MAPKKs und ihre Funktion in der Verteidigung gegen M. sexta erforscht. Für meine Versuche habe ich die RNA Transkripte der MAPKKs mit Hilfe einer Virus-basierten Methode herunter reguliert, um so die MAPKKs auszuschalten. Die dadurch veränderten Pflanzen habe ich dann auf die Aktivierung der MAPKs, NaSIPK und NaWIPK, die Phytohormone JA und Ethylen, sowie die Veränderungen der TPI Aktivität untersucht. Die MAPKKs, NaMEK1 und NaSIPKK spielen eine Rolle im frühen JA Signalweg, da sie die Akkumulation eines JA Vorproduktes, 12-oxo-phytodien Säure, OPDA, beeinflussen. Ich fand heraus, dass eine MAPKK, NaMEK2 einen großen Einfluss auf die Aktivität von NaSIPK hat und dadurch in die Akkumulation von JA und Ethylen nach Herbivorbefall involviert ist. Alle fünf MAPKKs sind wichtig für die TPI Regulation. Um den Einfluss der MAPKKs auf das Raupenwachstum zu beleuchten, führte ich Raupenassays mit M. sexta Larven durch. Das Ausschalten einzelner MAPKK war nicht ausreichend, um das Wachstum von M. sexta Larven zu behindern. Nach Verwundung oder Herbivorie wurden in irCDPK4/5 Pflanzen, welche in den CDPKs CDPK4 und CDPK5 herunter reguliert waren, sehr hohe JA Mengen gemessen. Diese Pflanzen zeigten auch ein verkümmertes Stammwachstum. Daher habe ich sie als Modelpflanzen gewählt, um den Einfluss von JA auf das Stammwachstum von N. attenuata zu untersuchen. In den Stämmen von irCDPK4/5 Pflanzen war die basale JA Menge sehr hoch, und durch die genetische Analyse durch die Kreuzung mit transgenen Pflanzen, mit vermindertem JA-Signalwegen oder JA-Akkumulationen, konnte ich zeigen, dass wahrscheinlich JA für den verringerten Stammwuchs verantwortlich ist. Durch die Behandlung der Pflanzen mit einem anderen Pflanzenhormon, Gibberellinsäure (GA), erholte sich der Stamm und erreichte fast die gleiche Höhe wie Wildtyppflanzen. Mittels quantitativer Echtzeit-PCR wurde gezeigt, dass ein wichtiges GA Biosynthese Gen, GA20-Oxidase (GA20ox) in irCDPK4/5 Pflanzen unterdrückt wird. Die Expression dieses Gens inhibierte ich mit Hilfe der bereits erwähnten Virus-basierten Genausschaltung in unveränderten Pflanzen, wodurch diese im Laufe ihrer Entwicklung dann ebenfalls verringertes Stammwachstum zeigten. Diese Arbeit zeigt eine neue Interaktion zwischen JA und GA: JA verhindert die Biosynthese von GA durch die Unterdrückung der GA20ox Transkription

Semantic Processing of Out-Of-Vocabulary Words in a Spoken Dialogue System

One of the most important causes of failure in spoken dialogue systems is usually neglected: the problem of words that are not covered by the system's vocabulary (out-of-vocabulary or OOV words). In this paper a methodology is described for the detection, classification and processing of OOV words in an automatic train timetable information system. The various extensions that had to be effected on the different modules of the system are reported, resulting in the design of appropriate dialogue strategies, as are encouraging evaluation results on the new versions of the word recogniser and the linguistic processor.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figures, requires LaTeX2e, uses eurospeech.sty and epsfi

Gene rearrangements in bone marrow cells of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia

At diagnosis, clonal gene rearrangement probes {[}retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-alpha, major breakpoint cluster region (M-bcr), immunoglobulin (Ig)-JH, T cell receptor (TcR)-beta, myeloid lymphoid leukemia (MLL) or cytokine genes (GM-CSF, G-CSF, IL-3)] were detected in bone marrow samples from 71 of 153 patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) (46%): in 41 patients with primary AML (pAML) (58%) and in 30 patients with secondary AML (42%). In all cases with promyelocytic leukemia (AML-M3) RAR-alpha gene rearrangements were detected (n = 9). Gene rearrangements in the Ig-JH or the TcR-beta or GM-CSF or IL-3 or MLL gene were detected in 12, 10, 16 and 12% of the cases, respectively, whereas only few cases showed gene rearrangements in the M-bcr (6%) or G-CSF gene (3%). Survival of pAML patients with TcR-beta gene rearrangements was longer and survival of pAML patients with IL-3 or GM-CSF gene rearrangement was shorter than in patients without those rearrangements. No worse survival outcome was seen in patients with rearrangements in the MLL, Ig-JH or M-bcr gene. In remission of AML (CR), clonal gene rearrangements were detected in 23 of 48 cases (48%) if samples were taken once in CR, in 23 of 26 cases (88%) if samples were taken twice in CR and in 23 of 23 cases (100%) if samples were studied three times in CR. All cases with gene rearrangements at diagnosis showed the same kind of rearrangement at relapse of the disease (n = 12). Our data show that (1) populations with clonal gene rearrangements can be regularly detected at diagnosis, in CR and at relapse of AML. (2) Certain gene rearrangements that are detectable at diagnosis have a prognostic significance for the patients' outcome. Our results point out the significance of gene rearrangement analyses at diagnosis of AML in order to identify `poor risk' patients - independently of the karyotype. Moreover, the persistence of clonal cells in the further course of AML can be studied by gene rearrangement analysis. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel

China’s Recent Maritime Legislation. A Study of Consistency with the International Law of the Sea and the Political Context

No abstract available

Performance of wheat composite crosses on station and on-farm

The F11 of 14 winter wheat composite cross populations (CCPs) were compared in replicated field trials to the mixture of the 20 parents and three commercial wheat cultivars in replicated field trials. In addition, one population was given to farmers for on-farm testing. In 2012 severe frost killed 16 out of the 20 parental varieties of the CCPs. In contrast, the mixture of these varieties and the CCP populations survived well. The CCPs with high yielding parents yielded still highest in the F12 and quality in the CCPs with high quality parents was highest. CCPs on-farm were comparable in performance with farmers reference varieties