Sistema di filologia computazionale per testi demotici

A project for a Demotic Inscriptions on Ostraka Database is being carried out in collaboration between ILC/CNR (Pisa), the Department of Electronic Engineering (Calabria University) and the Department of the Ancient World History (Egyptological section, Pisa University). The aim of the project is to analyse the digital colour images of demotic texts on ostraka (Medinet Madi, in Fayyum region) with the aid of computational tools. The module described in the paper is a neural component able to learn the graphical features of each demotic symbol, which has been previously segmented in the images thanks to a semiautomatic procedure. A specific neural network tries to recognize the text written in the images linking the symbols segmented within the ostraka images database to the correspondent symbols available on a virtual keyboard. The graphical interface is particularly useful for teaching and research activities on this type of archaeological documentation

Advances in human-computer interactions: methods, algorithms, and applications

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In silico identification of new putative pathogenic variants in the NEU1 sialidase gene affecting enzyme function and subcellular localization

The NEU1 gene is the first identified member of the human sialidases, glycohydrolitic enzymes that remove the terminal sialic acid from oligosaccharide chains. Mutations in NEU1 gene are causative of sialidosis (MIM 256550), a severe lysosomal storage disorder showing autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. Sialidosis has been classified into two subtypes: sialidosis type I, a normomorphic, late-onset form, and sialidosis type II, a more severe neonatal or early-onset form. A total of 50 causative mutations are reported in HGMD database, most of which are missense variants. To further characterize the NEU1 gene and identify new functionally relevant protein isoforms, we decided to study its genetic variability in the human population using the data generated by two large sequencing projects: the 1000 Genomes Project (1000G) and the NHLBI GO Exome Sequencing Project (ESP). Together these two datasets comprise a cohort of 7595 sequenced individuals, making it possible to identify rare variants and dissect population specific ones. By integrating this approach with biochemical and cellular studies, we were able to identify new rare missense and frameshift alleles in NEU1 gene. Among the 9 candidate variants tested, only two resulted in significantly lower levels of sialidase activity (pC and c.700G>A. These two mutations give rise to the amino acid substitutions p.V217A and p.D234N, respectively. NEU1 variants including either of these two amino acid changes have 44% and 25% residual sialidase activity when compared to the wild-type enzyme, reduced protein levels and altered subcellular localization. Thus they may represent new, putative pathological mutations resulting in sialidosis type I. The in silico approach used in this study has enabled the identification of previously unknown NEU1 functional alleles that are widespread in the population and could be tested in future functional studies

Effects of the current financial and economic crisis on the rural landscape as well as the agri-food sector in Europe and Central Asia

This paper reviews the expected effects of the current financial crisis and subsequent recession on the rural landscape, in particular the agri-food sector in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) on the basis of the structure of the rural economy and of different organisations and institutions. Empirical evidence suggests that the crisis has hit the ECA region the hardest. Agriculture contributes about 9% to gross domestic product (GDP) for the ECA region as a whole with 16% of the population being employed in the agricultural sector. As far as the impact of the financial crisis on the agri-food sector is concerned, there are a few interconnected issues: (1) reduction in income elastic food demand and commodity price decline, (2) loss of employment and earnings of rural people working in urban centres, implying also costly labour reallocation, (3) rising rural poverty originating mainly from lack of opportunities in the non-farm sector and a sizable decline of international remittances, (4) tightening of agricultural credit markets, and the (5) collapse of sectoral government support programs and social safety-net measures in many countries. The paper reveals how the crisis hit farming and broader agri-business differently in general and in the ECA sub-regions

Characterization of the AP-1 μ1A and μ1B adaptins in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Protein transport between the trans-Golgi network and endosomes is mediated by transport vesicles formed by the adaptor-protein complex AP-1, consisting of the adaptins γ1, β1, μ1, σ1. Mammalia express μ1A ubiquitously and isoform μ1B in polarized epithelia. Mouse γ1 or μ1A 'knock out's revealed that AP-1 is indispensable for embryonic development. We isolated μ1A and μ1B from Danio rerio. Analysis of μ1A and μ1B expression revealed tissue-specific expression for either one during embryogenesis and in adult tissues in contrast to their expression in mammalia. μ1B transcript was detected in organs of endodermal derivation and "knock-down" experiments gave rise to embryos defective in formation of intestine, liver, and pronephric ducts. Development ceased at 7-8 dpf. μ1B is not expressed in murine liver, indicating loss of μ1B expression and establishment of alternative sorting mechanisms during mammalian development

Interaction of perceptual grouping and crossmodal temporal capture in tactile apparent-motion

Previous studies have shown that in tasks requiring participants to report the direction of apparent motion, task-irrelevant mono-beeps can "capture'' visual motion perception when the beeps occur temporally close to the visual stimuli. However, the contributions of the relative timing of multimodal events and the event structure, modulating uni- and/or crossmodal perceptual grouping, remain unclear. To examine this question and extend the investigation to the tactile modality, the current experiments presented tactile two-tap apparent-motion streams, with an SOA of 400 ms between successive, left-/right-hand middle-finger taps, accompanied by task-irrelevant, non-spatial auditory stimuli. The streams were shown for 90 seconds, and participants' task was to continuously report the perceived (left-or rightward) direction of tactile motion. In Experiment 1, each tactile stimulus was paired with an auditory beep, though odd-numbered taps were paired with an asynchronous beep, with audiotactile SOAs ranging from -75 ms to 75 ms. Perceived direction of tactile motion varied systematically with audiotactile SOA, indicative of a temporal-capture effect. In Experiment 2, two audiotactile SOAs-one short (75 ms), one long (325 ms)-were compared. The long-SOA condition preserved the crossmodal event structure (so the temporal-capture dynamics should have been similar to that in Experiment 1), but both beeps now occurred temporally close to the taps on one side (even-numbered taps). The two SOAs were found to produce opposite modulations of apparent motion, indicative of an influence of crossmodal grouping. In Experiment 3, only odd-numbered, but not even-numbered, taps were paired with auditory beeps. This abolished the temporal-capture effect and, instead, a dominant percept of apparent motion from the audiotactile side to the tactile-only side was observed independently of the SOA variation. These findings suggest that asymmetric crossmodal grouping leads to an attentional modulation of apparent motion, which inhibits crossmodal temporal-capture effects

Distortions of Subjective Time Perception Within and Across Senses

Background: The ability to estimate the passage of time is of fundamental importance for perceptual and cognitive processes. One experience of time is the perception of duration, which is not isomorphic to physical duration and can be distorted by a number of factors. Yet, the critical features generating these perceptual shifts in subjective duration are not understood. Methodology/Findings: We used prospective duration judgments within and across sensory modalities to examine the effect of stimulus predictability and feature change on the perception of duration. First, we found robust distortions of perceived duration in auditory, visual and auditory-visual presentations despite the predictability of the feature changes in the stimuli. For example, a looming disc embedded in a series of steady discs led to time dilation, whereas a steady disc embedded in a series of looming discs led to time compression. Second, we addressed whether visual (auditory) inputs could alter the perception of duration of auditory (visual) inputs. When participants were presented with incongruent audio-visual stimuli, the perceived duration of auditory events could be shortened or lengthened by the presence of conflicting visual information; however, the perceived duration of visual events was seldom distorted by the presence of auditory information and was never perceived shorter than their actual durations. Conclusions/Significance: These results support the existence of multisensory interactions in the perception of duration and, importantly, suggest that vision can modify auditory temporal perception in a pure timing task. Insofar as distortions in subjective duration can neither be accounted for by the unpredictability of an auditory, visual or auditory-visual event, we propose that it is the intrinsic features of the stimulus that critically affect subjective time distortions

Preliminary archaeoentomological analyses of permafrost-preserved cultural layers from the pre-contact Yup’ik Eskimo site of Nunalleq, Alaska : implications, potential and methodological considerations

Acknowledgements Site excavation and samples collection were conducted by archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen, with the help of archaeologists and student excavators from the University of Aberdeen University of Alaska Fairbanks and Bryn Mawr College, Kuskokwim Campus, College of Rural Alaska and residents of Quinhagak and Mekoryuk. This study is funded through AHRC grant to the project ‘Understanding Cultural Resilience and Climate Change on the Bering Sea through Yup’ik Ecological Knowledge, Lifeways, Learning and Archaeology’ to Rick Knecht, Kate Britton and Charlotta Hillderal (University of Aberdeen; AH/K006029/1). Thanks are due to Qanirtuuq Inc. and Quinhagak, Alaska for sampling permissions and to entomologists working at the CNC in Ottawa for allowing access to reference collections of beetles, lice and fleas. Yves Bousquet, Ales Smetana and Anthony E. Davies are specially acknowledged for their help with the identification of coleopteran specimens. Finally, we would also like to thank Scott Elias for useful comments on the original manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Слобожанщина: літературний вимір

To determine diurnal variations in the physical and biological state of Lake Garda in early spring, high-resolution measurements were made of the vertical distribution of temperature and fluorescence in the upper 100 meters during 5–7 March 2014. In this paper, the results of these measurements are presented and a preliminary analysis that focuses on the connection between the vertical mixing coefficient K_T and the chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration is given. From these first direct measurements of turbulence-related quantities in Lake Garda, it is found that mixed-layer values of K_Tdecrease, while surface chl-a concentrations increase, over the day. Variations in K_Tcan be connected to the changes in the surface wind stress, while variations in chl-a are negatively correlated with the amplitude of K_T. In addition, satellite observations of the surface chl-a concentration are analysed to test their use for the calibration of the fluorescence measurements and also for their potential utility in remotely determining vertical mixing in the upper layers of the lake

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