Projecting a relevant "next": Instruction sequences in driving lessons

Car interaction and the organisation of multi-activity in cars have become a fertile topic of research within CA and EM (Laurier 2005, Haddington & Keisanen 2009). While previous research has focused exclusively on everyday car rides, in this paper we will analyse a specific kind of car interaction, namely driving lessons. In addition to"driving" and"talking", as the two main parallel activities in everyday car rides (Mondada in press), in driving lessons a central activity is"instructing", that we understand to be a collaborative accomplishment (Sanchez Svensson et al. 2009). Drawing on a corpus of 7 video-recorded driving lessons, we will analyse the sequential organisation of"instruction sequences", i.e. of those actions that are initiated by the driving instructor with a turn projecting the next relevant action to be executed by the learner. Learners carry out next actions in two different ways: a) as"single" actions (e.g. using the indicator); b) as a complex series of overlapping or parallel actions. We will show that"single" actions occur as responses to instructions concerning the learner's command of the car, while complex actions occur when the instructors formulate direction indications. The aims of our analyses are twofold. Firstly, we will analyse how instruction sequences are fitted to the emerging contingencies of the car ride (movement in space, changing environment): we will show that a) the turn format of the instruction initiation displays the degree of"urgency" of the requested action; b) learners have the possibility to start the relevant"next" before the instruction initiation comes to completion. Secondly, we will focus on those"seconds" that the driving instructor treats as problematic by initiating a repair sequence (e.g. an improper use of the indicator). Our research contributes to the discussion about the multimodal resources that participants can employ to fulfil a projected action. In addition, it offers insights in a hitherto scarcely investigated topic, namely the organisation of instructions and the ecology of apprenticeship. References HADDINGTON, P. & KEISANEN, T. (2009) Location, mobility and the body as resources in selecting a route. Journal of Pragmatics 41 (10), 1938-1961. LAURIER, Eric (2005): Searching for a parking space. Intellectica 41-42/2-3: 101-116. MONDADA, Lorenza (in press). Talking and driving: multi-activity in the car. Semiotica. SANCHEZ SVENSSON, M. et al. (2009) "Embedding instruction in practice: contingency and collaboration during surgical training", Sociology of Health & Illness, 31/6: 889-906.

Phylogenetic position of Riemerella anatipestifer based on 16S rRNA gene sequences

Riemerella anatipestifer, the causative agent of septicemia anserum exsudativa (also called new duckling disease), belongs to the family Flavobacteriaceae of gram-negative bacteria. We determined the DNA sequences of the rrs genes encoding the 16S rRNAs of four R. anatipestifer strains by directly sequencing PCR-amplified rrs genes. A sequence similarity analysis confirmed the phylogenetic position of R. anatipestifer in the family Flavobacteriaceae in rRNA superfamily V and allowed fine mapping of R. anatipestifer on a separate rRNA branch comprising the most closely related species, Bergeyella zoohelcum, as well as Chryseobacterium balustinum, Chryseobacterium indologenes, and Chryseobacterium gleum. The sequences of the rrs genes of the four R. anatipestifer strains varied between 0.5 and 1.0%, but all of the strains occupied the same position on the phylogenetic tree. In general, differences in rrs genes were observed among R. anatipestifer strains, even within a given serotype, as shown by restriction fragment length polymorphism of PCR-amplified rrs genes.

Phylogenetic positions of Clostridium chauvoei and Clostridium septicum based on 16S rRNA gene sequences

The sequences of the 16S rRNA genes (rrs genes) of Clostridium chauvoei, the causative agent of blackleg in cattle, and the phenotypically related organism Clostridium septicum were determined. After amplification of 1,507-bp PCR fragments from the corresponding rrs genes, the sequences were determined in a single round of sequencing by using conserved region primers. A sequence similarity analysis of the sequences revealed the close phylogenetic relationship of C. chauvoei and C. septicum in Clostridium cluster I (M. D. Collins, P. A. Lawson, A. Willems, J. J. Cordoba, J. Fernandez-Garayzabal, P. Garcia, J. Cai, H. Hippe, and J. A. E. Farrow, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 44:812-826, 1994), which includes Clostridium carnis, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium botulinum, and Clostridium tetani. We found that 99.3% of the nucleotides in the genes of C. chauvoei and C. septicum are identical.

Disruption of right prefrontal cortex by low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation induces risk-taking behavior

Decisions require careful weighing of the risks and benefits associated with a choice. Some people need to be offered large rewards to balance even minimal risks, whereas others take great risks in the hope for an only minimal benefit. We show here that risk-taking is a modifiable behavior that depends on right hemisphere prefrontal activity. We used low-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to transiently disrupt left or right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) function before applying a well known gambling paradigm that provides a measure of decision-making under risk. Individuals displayed significantly riskier decision-making after disruption of the right, but not the left, DLPFC. Our findings suggest that the right DLPFC plays a crucial role in the suppression of superficially seductive options. This confirms the asymmetric role of the prefrontal cortex in decision-making and reveals that this fundamental human capacity can be manipulated in normal subjects through cortical stimulation. The ability to modify risk-taking behavior may be translated into therapeutic interventions for disorders such as drug abuse or pathological gambling.

Suppressing versus releasing a habit: frequency-dependent effects of prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation.

When subjects are required to generate a random sequence of numbers they typically produce too many forward and backward 'counts' (e.g. 5-6, 4-3). This counting bias is interpreted as the consequence of an interference by overlearned tendencies to arrange numbers according to their natural order. Inhibition of such well-learned routines is known to rely on frontal lobe functioning. We examined differential effects of slow (1 Hz) and fast (10 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left or right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on random number generation (RNG) performance. Eighteen healthy men performed an RNG task. Those subjects stimulated over the left DLPFC showed a frequency-dependent rTMS effect: counting bias was significantly reduced after the 1 Hz stimulation compared with baseline, but significantly exaggerated after the 10 Hz stimulation compared with 1 Hz stimulation. In contrast, the sequences of the subjects stimulated over the right DLPFC showed the well-known excess of counting in all conditions (i.e. baseline, 1 Hz and 10 Hz). These findings confirm the functional importance of specifically the left DLPFC in sequential response production and show, for the first time, that rTMS affects cognitive processing in a frequency-dependent manner.

Complete Genome Sequences of Virulent Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae Strains F38 and ILRI181

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) caused by Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae is a severe epidemic affecting mainly domestic Caprinae species but also affects wild Caprinae species. M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae belongs to the "Mycoplasma mycoides cluster." The disease features prominently in East Africa, in particular Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. CCPP also endangers wildlife and thus affects not only basic nutritional resources of large populations but also expensively built-up game resorts in affected countries. Here, we report the complete sequences of two M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae strains: the type strain F38 and strain ILRI181 isolated druing a recent outbreak in Kenya. Both genomes have a G+C content of 24% with sizes of 1,016,760 bp and 1,017,183 bp for strains F38 and ILRI181, respectively.

Regulatory sequences of the porcine THBD gene facilitate endothelial-specific expression of bioactive human thrombomodulin in single- and multitransgenic pigs.

BACKGROUND Among other mismatches between human and pig, incompatibilities in the blood coagulation systems hamper the xenotransplantation of vascularized organs. The provision of the porcine endothelium with human thrombomodulin (hTM) is hypothesized to overcome the impaired activation of protein C by a heterodimer consisting of human thrombin and porcine TM. METHODS We evaluated regulatory regions of the THBD gene, optimized vectors for transgene expression, and generated hTM expressing pigs by somatic cell nuclear transfer. Genetically modified pigs were characterized at the molecular, cellular, histological, and physiological levels. RESULTS A 7.6-kb fragment containing the entire upstream region of the porcine THBD gene was found to drive a high expression in a porcine endothelial cell line and was therefore used to control hTM expression in transgenic pigs. The abundance of hTM was restricted to the endothelium, according to the predicted pattern, and the transgene expression of hTM was stably inherited to the offspring. When endothelial cells from pigs carrying the hTM transgene--either alone or in combination with an aGalTKO and a transgene encoding the human CD46-were tested in a coagulation assay with human whole blood, the clotting time was increased three- to four-fold (P<0.001) compared to wild-type and aGalTKO/CD46 transgenic endothelial cells. This, for the first time, demonstrated the anticoagulant properties of hTM on porcine endothelial cells in a human whole blood assay. CONCLUSIONS The biological efficacy of hTM suggests that the (multi-)transgenic donor pigs described here have the potential to overcome coagulation incompatibilities in pig-to-primate xenotransplantation.

Rasmussen's spectral sequences and the \germslN-concordance invariants

Combining known spectral sequences with a new spectral sequence relating reduced and unreduced slN-homology yields a relations hip between the Homflypt-homology of a knot and its slN-concordance invariants. As an application, some of the slN-concordance invariants are shown to be linearly independent.

Comparison against 186 canid whole genome sequences reveals survival strategies of an ancient clonally transmissible canine tumor.

Canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is a parasitic cancer clone that has propagated for thousands of years via sexual transfer of malignant cells. Little is understood about the mechanisms that converted an ancient tumor into the world's oldest known continuously propagating somatic cell lineage. We created the largest existing catalog of canine genome-wide variation and compared it against two CTVT genome sequences, thereby separating alleles derived from the founder's genome from somatic drivers of clonal transmissibility. We show that CTVT has undergone continuous adaptation to its transmissible allograft niche, with overlapping mutations at every step of immunosurveillance, particularly self-antigen presentation and apoptosis. We also identified chronologically early somatic mutations in oncogenesis- and immune-related genes that may represent key initiators of clonal transmissibility. Thus, we provide the first insights into the specific genomic aberrations that underlie CTVT's dogged perseverance in canids around the world.

A comprehensive discussion of HMBC pulse sequences. III. Solving the problem of missing and weakly observed long-range correlations

The intensity of long-range correlations observed with the classical HMBC pulse sequence using static optimization of the long-range coupling delay is directly related to the size of the coupling constant and is often set as a compromise. As such, some long-range correlations might appear with a reduced intensity or might even be completely absent from the spectra. After a short introduction, this third manuscript will give a detailed review of some selected HMBC variants dedicated to improve the detection of long-range correlations, such as the ACCORD-HMBC, CIGAR-HMBC, and Broadband HMBC experiments. Practical details about the accordion optimization, which affords a substantial improvement in both the number and intensity of the long-range correlations observed, but introduces a modulation in F1, will be discussed. The incorporation of the so-called constant time variable delay in the CIGAR-HMBC experiment, which can trigger or even completely suppress 1H–1H coupling modulation inherent to the utilization of the accordion principle, will be also discussed. The broadband HMBC scheme, which consists of recording a series of HMBC spectra with different delays set as a function of the long-range heteronuclear coupling constant ranges and transverse relaxation times T2, is also examined.

Using MDEFT MRI Sequences to Target the GPi in DBS Surgery.

OBJECTIVE Recent advances in different MRI sequences have enabled direct visualization and targeting of the Globus pallidus internus (GPi) for DBS surgery. Modified Driven Equilibrium Fourier Transform (MDEFT) MRI sequences provide high spatial resolution and an excellent contrast of the basal ganglia with low distortion. In this study, we investigate if MDEFT sequences yield accurate and reliable targeting of the GPi and compare direct targeting based on MDEFT sequences with atlas-based targeting. METHODS 13 consecutive patients considered for bilateral GPi-DBS for dystonia or PD were included in this study. Preoperative targeting of the GPi was performed visually based on MDEFT sequences as well as by using standard atlas coordinates. Postoperative CT imaging was performed to calculate the location of the implanted leads as well as the active electrode(s). The coordinates of both visual and atlas based targets were compared. The stereotactic coordinates of the lead and active electrode(s) were calculated and projected on the segmented GPi. RESULTS On MDEFT sequences the GPi was well demarcated in most patients. Compared to atlas-based planning the mean target coordinates were located significantly more posterior. Subgroup analysis showed a significant difference in the lateral coordinate between dystonia (LAT = 19.33 ± 0.90) and PD patients (LAT = 20.67 ± 1.69). Projected on the segmented preoperative GPi the active contacts of the DBS electrode in both dystonia and PD patients were located in the inferior and posterior part of the structure corresponding to the motor part of the GPi. CONCLUSIONS MDEFT MRI sequences provide high spatial resolution and an excellent contrast enabling precise identification and direct visual targeting of the GPi. Compared to atlas-based targeting, it resulted in a significantly different mean location of our target. Furthermore, we observed a significant variability of the target among the PD and dystonia subpopulation suggesting accurate targeting for each individual patient.

Characterization of Chelonus inanitus polydnavirus segments: sequences and analysis, excision site and demonstration of clustering

Polydnaviruses (genera Ichnovirus and Bracovirus) have a segmented genome of circular double-stranded DNA molecules, replicate in the ovary of parasitic wasps and are essential for successful parasitism of the host. Here we show the first detailed analysis of various segments of a bracovirus, the Chelonus inanitus virus (CiV). Four segments were sequenced and two of them, CiV12 and CiV14, were found to be closely related while CiV14.5 and CiV16.8 were unrelated. CiV12, CiV14.5 and CiV16.8 are unique while CiV14 occurs also nested in another larger segment. All four segments are predicted to contain genes and predictions could be substantiated in most cases. Comparison with databases revealed no significant similarities at either the nucleotide or amino acid level. Inverted repeats with identities between 77% and 92% and lengths between 26 bp and 100 bp were found on all segments outside of predicted genes. Hybridization experiments indicate that CiV12 and CiV14 are both flanked by other virus segments, suggesting that proviral CiV segments are clustered in the genome of the wasp. The integration/excision site of CiV14 was analysed and compared to that of CiV12. On both termini of proviral CiV12 and CiV14 as well as in the excised circular molecule and the rejoined DNA a very similar repeat of 14 bp was found. A model to illustrate where the terminal repeats might recombine to yield the circular molecule is presented. Excision of CiV12 and CiV14 is restricted to the female and sets in at a very specific time-point in pupal-adult development.

Conserved sequences and cell-specific DNase I hypersensitive sites upstream from the co-ordinately expressed alpha I- and alpha II-globin genes of Xenopus laevis

The globin gene family of Xenopus laevis comprises pairs of closely related genes that are arranged in two clusters, each pair of genes being co-ordinately and stage-specifically expressed. To get information on putative regulatory elements, we compared the DNA sequences and the chromatin conformation 5' to the co-ordinately expressed adult alpha-globin genes. Sequence analysis revealed a relatively conserved region from the cap site up to position -289, and further upstream seven distinct boxes of homology, separated by more diverged sequences or deletions/insertions. The homology boxes comprise 22 to 194 base-pairs showing 78 to 95% homology. Analysis of chromatin conformation showed that DNase I preferentially cuts the upstream region of both genes at similar positions, 5' to the T-A-T-A and the C-C-A-A-T boxes, only in chromatin of adult erythroblasts and erythrocytes, where adult globin genes are expressed, but not in chromatin of adult liver cells or larval erythrocytes, where these genes are silent. This suggests that cell- and stage-specific activation of these genes coincides with specific changes in chromatin conformation within the proximal upstream region. No difference was found in the nucleotide sequence within the DNase I hypersensitive region proximal to the adult alpha 1-globin gene in DNA from embryonic cells, in which this gene is inactive, and adult erythrocytes, expressing this gene.