A Pragmatics-based Model for Narrative Dialogue Generation

We describe a method and a proof of concept which allow the generation of rich and engaging dialogues between virtual characters from a formalised plot description. The structure of the dialogue generated borrows from inferential pragmatics, following the Geneva Model of discourse analysis, in order to provide realistic interaction between characters in the narrative. At a higher level, this discourse is organised following heuristics borrowed from narratology theory in order to elicit emotions linked to dramatic tension and thus favour narrative engagement. Besides enriching narrative generation systems embedded within simulation applications, our work also has the potential to be adapted to support engaging interactive dialogues between users and virtual conversational agents in narrative systems

A Database of Full Body Virtual Interactions Annotated with Expressivity Scores

Abstract Recent technologies enable the exploitation of full body expressions in applications such as interactive arts but are still limited in terms of dyadic subtle interaction patterns. Our project aims at full body expressive interactions between a user and an autonomous virtual agent. The currently available databases do not contain full body expressivity and interaction patterns via avatars. In this paper, we describe a protocol defined to collect a database to study expressive full-body dyadic interactions. We detail the coding scheme for manually annotating the collected videos. Reliability measures for global annotations of expressivity and interaction are also provided

One Hundred Years of Observations of the Be Star HDE 245770 (the X-ray Binary A0535+26/V725 Tau): The End of an Active Phase

UBV observations of the X-ray binary system A0535+26/V725 Tau at the Crimean Station of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in 1980-1998 are presented. Based on our and published data, we analyze the photometric history of the star from 1898.Comment: Translated from Pis'ma Astronomicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2000, pp. 13-2

RNA-Seq transcriptomics and pathway analyses reveal potential regulatory genes and molecular mechanisms in high- and low-residual feed intake in Nordic dairy cattle

BACKGROUND: The selective breeding of cattle with high-feed efficiencies (FE) is an important goal of beef and dairy cattle producers. Global gene expression patterns in relevant tissues can be used to study the functions of genes that are potentially involved in regulating FE. In the present study, high-throughput RNA sequencing data of liver biopsies from 19 dairy cows were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between high- and low-FE groups of cows (based on Residual Feed Intake or RFI). Subsequently, a profile of the pathways connecting the DEGs to FE was generated, and a list of candidate genes and biomarkers was derived for their potential inclusion in breeding programmes to improve FE. RESULTS: The bovine RNA-Seq gene expression data from the liver was analysed to identify DEGs and, subsequently, identify the molecular mechanisms, pathways and possible candidate biomarkers of feed efficiency. On average, 57 million reads (short reads or short mRNA sequences < ~200 bases) were sequenced, 52 million reads were mapped, and 24,616 known transcripts were quantified according to the bovine reference genome. A comparison of the high- and low-RFI groups revealed 70 and 19 significantly DEGs in Holstein and Jersey cows, respectively. The interaction analysis (high vs. low RFI x control vs. high concentrate diet) showed no interaction effects in the Holstein cows, while two genes showed interaction effects in the Jersey cows. The analyses showed that DEGs act through certain pathways to affect or regulate FE, including steroid hormone biosynthesis, retinol metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, ether lipid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism and drug metabolism cytochrome P450. CONCLUSION: We used RNA-Seq-based liver transcriptomic profiling of high- and low-RFI dairy cows in two breeds and identified significantly DEGs, their molecular mechanisms, their interactions with other genes and functional enrichments of different molecular pathways. The DEGs that were identified were the CYP’s and GIMAP genes for the Holstein and Jersey cows, respectively, which are related to the primary immunodeficiency pathway and play a major role in feed utilization and the metabolism of lipids, sugars and proteins. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3622-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Deguelin Attenuates Reperfusion Injury and Improves Outcome after Orthotopic Lung Transplantation in the Rat

The main goal of adequate organ preservation is to avoid further cellular metabolism during the phase of ischemia. However, modern preservation solutions do rarely achieve this target. In donor organs hypoxia and ischemia induce a broad spectrum of pathologic molecular mechanisms favoring primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after transplantation. Increased hypoxia-induced transcriptional activity leads to increased vascular permeability which in turn is the soil of a reperfusion edema and the enhancement of a pro-inflammatory response in the graft after reperfusion. We hypothesize that inhibition of the respiration chain in mitochondria and thus inhibition of the hypoxia induced mechanisms might reduce reperfusion edema and consecutively improve survival in vivo. In this study we demonstrate that the rotenoid Deguelin reduces the expression of hypoxia induced target genes, and especially VEGF-A, dose-dependently in hypoxic human lung derived cells. Furthermore, Deguelin significantly suppresses the mRNA expression of the HIF target genes VEGF-A, the pro-inflammatory CXCR4 and ICAM-1 in ischemic lungs vs. control lungs. After lung transplantation, the VEGF-A induced reperfusion-edema is significantly lower in Deguelin-treated animals than in controls. Deguelin-treated rats exhibit a significantly increased survival-rate after transplantation. Additionally, a downregulation of the pro-inflammatory molecules ICAM-1 and CXCR4 and an increase in the recruitment of immunomodulatory monocytes (CD163+ and CD68+) to the transplanted organ involving the IL4 pathway was observed. Therefore, we conclude that ischemic periods preceding reperfusion are mainly responsible for the increased vascular permeability via upregulation of VEGF. Together with this, the resulting endothelial dysfunction also enhances inflammation and consequently lung dysfunction. Deguelin significantly decreases a VEGF-A induced reperfusion edema, induces the recruitment of immunomodulatory monocytes and thus improves organ function and survival after lung transplantation by interfering with hypoxia induced signaling

Proteomics and the search for welfare and stress biomarkers in animal production in the one-health context

Stress and welfare are important factors in animal production in the context of growing production optimization and scrutiny by the general public. In a context in which animal and human health are intertwined aspects of the one-health concept it is of utmost importance to define the markers of stress and welfare. These are important tools for producers, retailers, regulatory agents and ultimately consumers to effectively monitor and assess the welfare state of production animals. Proteomics is the science that studies the proteins existing in a given tissue or fluid. In this review we address this topic by showing clear examples where proteomics has been used to study stress-induced changes at various levels. We adopt a multi-species (cattle, swine, small ruminants, poultry, fish and shellfish) approach under the effect of various stress inducers (handling, transport, management, nutritional, thermal and exposure to pollutants) clearly demonstrating how proteomics and systems biology are key elements to the study of stress and welfare in farm animals and powerful tools for animal welfare, health and productivity

What is new in uremic toxicity?

Uremic syndrome results from a malfunctioning of various organ systems due to the retention of compounds which, under normal conditions, would be excreted into the urine and/or metabolized by the kidneys. If these compounds are biologically active, they are called uremic toxins. One of the more important toxic effects of such compounds is cardio-vascular damage. A convenient classification based on the physico-chemical characteristics affecting the removal of such compounds by dialysis is: (1) small water-soluble compounds; (2) protein-bound compounds; (3) the larger “middle molecules”. Recent developments include the identification of several newly detected compounds linked to toxicity or the identification of as yet unidentified toxic effects of known compounds: the dinucleotide polyphosphates, structural variants of angiotensin II, interleukin-18, p-cresylsulfate and the guanidines. Toxic effects seem to be typically exerted by molecules which are “difficult to remove by dialysis”. Therefore, dialysis strategies have been adapted by applying membranes with larger pore size (high-flux membranes) and/or convection (on-line hemodiafiltration). The results of recent studies suggest that these strategies have better outcomes, thereby clinically corroborating the importance attributed in bench studies to these “difficult to remove” molecules

Identification of DHX9 as a cell cycle regulated nucleolar recruitment factor for CIZ1

CIP1-interacting zinc finger protein 1 (CIZ1) is a nuclear matrix associated protein that facilitates a number of nuclear functions including initiation of DNA replication, epigenetic maintenance and associates with the inactive X-chromosome. Here, to gain more insight into the protein networks that underpin this diverse functionality, molecular panning and mass spectrometry are used to identify protein interaction partners of CIZ1, and CIZ1 replication domain (CIZ1-RD). STRING analysis of CIZ1 interaction partners identified 2 functional clusters: ribosomal subunits and nucleolar proteins including the DEAD box helicases, DHX9, DDX5 and DDX17. DHX9 shares common functions with CIZ1, including interaction with XIST long-non-coding RNA, epigenetic maintenance and regulation of DNA replication. Functional characterisation of the CIZ1-DHX9 complex showed that CIZ1-DHX9 interact in vitro and dynamically colocalise within the nucleolus from early to mid S-phase. CIZ1-DHX9 nucleolar colocalisation is dependent upon RNA polymerase I activity and is abolished by depletion of DHX9. In addition, depletion of DHX9 reduced cell cycle progression from G1 to S-phase in mouse fibroblasts. The data suggest that DHX9-CIZ1 are required for efficient cell cycle progression at the G1/S transition and that nucleolar recruitment is integral to their mechanism of action