7,128 research outputs found
Enhancing Predictability in Deep Reinforcement Learning for Building Temperature Control
No full textIn recent years, machine learning-based methods have become increasingly popular for addressing control problems. Within the context of temperature control in buildings, reinforcement learning algorithms stand out as an appealing model-free and fast real-time execution alternative to classical model-based control methods. However, these techniques lack interpretability and require a significant amount of data. In this paper, we investigate the application of an actor-critic reinforcement learning algorithm for the temperature control of a medium-size building through a specific model-based training approach. More specifically, the goal is here to enhance the predictive capabilities of actor-critic schemes by proposing extensions to state-of-the-art algorithms, which integrate a simplified model as a state predictor and incorporate future disturbances. This leads to the so-called Recursive Actor-Critic, Look-Ahead Trajectory Actor-Critic, and Augmented Actor-Critic schemes. Experimental results show that such improved reinforcement learning approaches can achieve performance comparable to model predictive control, without the need for real-time optimization nor a huge amount of data
Functional genomic analysis of constitutive and inducible defense responses to Fusarium verticillioides infection in maize genotypes with contrasting ear rot resistance
No full textRESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access
Functional genomic analysis of constitutive and
inducible defense responses to
Fusarium
verticillioides
infection in maize genotypes
with contrasting ear rot resistance
Alessandra Lanubile
1
, Alberto Ferrarini
2
, Valentina Maschietto
1
, Massimo Delledonne
2
, Adriano Marocco
1*
and Diana Bellin
2
Abstract
Background:
Fusarium verticillioides
causes ear rot in maize (
Zea mays
L.) and accumulation of mycotoxins, that
affect human and animal health. Currently, chemical and agronomic measures to control
Fusarium
ear rot are not
very effective and selection of more resistant genotypes is a desirable strategy to reduce contaminations. A deeper
knowledge of molecular events and genetic basis underlying
Fusarium
ear rot is necessary to speed up progress in
breeding for resistance.
Results:
A next-generation RNA-sequencing approach was used for the first time to study transcriptional changes
associated with
F. verticillioides
inoculation in resistant CO441 and susceptible CO354 maize genotypes at 72 hours
post inoculation. More than 100 million sequence reads were generated for inoculated and uninoculated control
plants and analyzed to measure gene expression levels. Comparison of expression levels between inoculated vs.
uninoculated and resistant vs. susceptible transcriptomes revealed a total number of 6,951 differentially expressed
genes. Differences in basal gene expression were observed in the uninoculated samples. CO441 genotype showed
a higher level of expression of genes distributed over all functional classes, in particular those related to secondary
metabolism category. After
F. verticillioides
inoculation, a similar response was observed in both genotypes, although
the magnitude of induction was much greater in the resistant genotype. This response included higher activation of
genes involved in pathogen perception, signaling and defense, including WRKY transcription factors and jasmonate/
ethylene mediated defense responses. Interestingly, strong differences in expression between the two genotypes were
observed in secondary metabolism category: pathways relate
d to shikimate, lignin, flavonoid and terpenoid biosynthesis
were strongly represented and induced in the CO441 genotype
, indicating that selection to enhance these traits is an
additional strategy for improving resistance against
F. verticillioides
infection.
Conclusions:
The work demonstrates that the global transcriptional analysis provided an exhaustive view of genes
involved in pathogen recognition and signaling, and controlling activities of different TFs, phytohormones and secondary
metabolites, that contribute
to host resistance against
F. verticillioides
. This work provides an important source of markers
for development of disease resistance maize genotypes and
mayhaverelevancetostudyoth
er pathosystems involving
mycotoxin-producing fungi
Generation of a large catalog of unique transcripts for whole-genome expression analysis in non-model species
No full textNext-generation sequencing technologies have allowed new tools to be developed for transcriptomecharacterization.We describe here the methods for the preparation of a library from pooled RNAs for 454 sequencingof 3¢-cDNA fragments. We also describe how the read sequences obtained can be used to generate,through de novo reads assembly, a large catalog of unique transcripts in organisms for which a comprehensivecollection of transcripts or the complete genome sequence is not available. Finally, this catalogcan be used efficiently to design oligonucleotide probes for setting up a comprehensive microarray forglobal analysis of gene expression
Troppi agiografi per un santo? Il ‘dossier’ di Medardo di Noyon e la questione attributiva di BHL 5864
No full text«Too Many Hagiographers for a Saint? Medard’s of Noyon Dossier and the Attributive Question of BHL 5864». ABSTRACT: Bishop of Noyon in the middle of the VI century, Medard received in 555 the Merovingian queen Radegund, while fleeing from the king Chlothar, and consecrated her as a deaconess against the will of the king (Ven. Fort., Vita Radeg. 12). The reputation of the holiness of the bishop was increased, so much so that only a few years later, at his death, it was Chlothar himself who buried him 'cum summo honore' in Soissons, ordering the construction of an imposing basilica, later completed by his son Sigebert (Greg. Tur., Franc. IV 19). Therefore, the richness of his hagiographic dossier (BHL 5863-5874) is not surprising. It includes, among others, a large poem by Venantius Fortunatus (carm. II 16) about Medard’s miracles 'in vita' and 'post mortem', dating to 566/567, and a later and dependent 'Vita Medardi' in prose, written during the reign of Theodebert II (after 602). Part of the manuscript tradition also attributes this second text to Fortunatus (it would be a senile work), while the editor of the MGH edition includes it among the «opuscula Venantio Fortunato male attributa»
[Poesia] Três poemas de Alberto Secama
No full textThree poems by Alberto Secama. About the author: Alberto Secama is an Angolan poet who has poems published on many websites and on facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Xungurra/abouthttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-rio-kwanza-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-zong-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/coluna-africa-em-verso-o-sol-la-fora-por-alberto-secamaTres poemas de Alberto Secama. Sobre el autor: Alberto Secama es un poeta angoleño que tiene poemas publicados en varios sitios y en el facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Xungurra/abouthttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-rio-kwanza-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-zong-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/coluna-africa-em-verso-o-sol-la-fora-por-alberto-secamaTrês poemas de Alberto Secama. Sobre o autor: Alberto Secama é um poeta angolano que possui poemas publicados em vários sites e no facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Xungurra/abouthttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-rio-kwanza-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/africa-em-verso-zong-por-alberto-secamahttp://www.pordentrodaafrica.com/cultura/coluna-africa-em-verso-o-sol-la-fora-por-alberto-secam
West Nile Virus Encephalitis in Haematological Setting: Report of Two Cases and a Brief Review of the Literature
No full textWest Nile virus is a zoonotic agent causing life-threatening encephalitis in a proportion of infected patients. Older age, immunosuppression, and mutations in specific host genes (e.g., CCR5 delta-32 mutation) predispose to neuroinvasive infection. We report on two cases of severe West Nile encephalitis in recently-treated, different-aged, chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients. Both patients developed high-grade fever associated with severe neurological impairment. The younger one harboured germ-line CCR5 delta-32 mutation, which might have played a role in the pathogenesis of its neuroinvasive manifestations
VDJSeq-Solver: In Silico V(D)J Recombination Detection tool
No full textIn this paper we present VDJSeq-Solver, a methodology and tool to identify clonal lymphocyte populations from paired-end RNA Sequencing reads derived from the sequencing of mRNA neoplastic cells. The tool detects the main clone that characterises the tissue of interest by recognizing the most abundant V(D)J rearrangement among the existing ones in the sample under study. The exact sequence of the clone identified is capable of accounting for the modifications introduced by the enzymatic processes. The proposed tool overcomes limitations of currently available lymphocyte rearrangements recognition methods, working on a single sequence at a time, that are not applicable to high-throughput sequencing data. In this work, VDJSeq-Solver has been applied to correctly detect the main clone and identify its sequence on five Mantle Cell Lymphoma samples; then the tool has been tested on twelve Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma samples. In order to comply with the privacy, ethics and intellectual property policies of the University Hospital and the University of Verona, data is available upon request to [email protected] after signing a mandatory Materials Transfer Agreement. VDJSeq-Solver JAVA/Perl/Bash software implementation is free and available at http://eda.polito.it/VDJSeq-Solver
Orizzonti mantovani. Spunti e dinamiche paesaggistiche ne L'Illustrissimo di Alberto Cantoni
No full textIn the literary production of Alberto Cantoni, short story writer and novelist between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the novel L'Illustrissimo is highly important both because it is the last publication of the author, from Pomponesco, a small town a few kilometers south of Mantua, both because it summarizes in a single text the different nuances and different directions that his writing has taken over the course of his literary career, also due to a writing and processing time that embraces the entire span of years of his career itself. In the foreground, in addition to the numerous and brilliant characters, one of the protagonists is the Mantuan landscape which, not a simple background, becomes a true literary parameter which in different and significant ways affects the purposes and mechanisms of the novel
Plenary Session: Luis Alberto Urrea
No full texta) Plenary Session: Luis Alberto Urrea, Mexican American Chicago Writer
Luis Alberto Urrea is a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for non-fiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame. He is a prolific and acclaimed writer who has used his dual-culture life border experiences to explore the complex and interconnected Mexican-US American reality. The critically acclaimed and best-selling Mexican-born author of 13 books, Urrea has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays.
Moderator: Dr. Héctor García, Loyola University Chicag
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