University of Tsukuba

About: University of Tsukuba is a education organization based out in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 36352 authors who have published 79483 publications receiving 1934752 citations. The organization is also known as: Tsukuba daigaku & Tsukuba University.

Technical design report for the upgrade of the ALICE inner tracking system

Abstract: ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is studying the physics of strongly interacting matter, and in particular the properties of the Quark–Gluon Plasma (QGP), using proton–proton, proton–nucleus and nucleus–nucleus collisions at the CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider). The ALICE Collaboration is preparing a major upgrade of the experimental apparatus, planned for installation in the second long LHC shutdown in the years 2018–2019. A key element of the ALICE upgrade is the construction of a new, ultra-light, high- resolution Inner Tracking System (ITS) based on monolithic CMOS pixel detectors. The primary focus of the ITS upgrade is on improving the performance for detection of heavy-flavour hadrons, and of thermal photons and low-mass di- electrons emitted by the QGP. With respect to the current detector, the new Inner Tracking System will significantly enhance the determination of the distance of closest approach to the primary vertex, the tracking efficiency at low transverse momenta, and the read-out rate capabilities. This will be obtained by seven concentric detector layers based on a 50 μm thick CMOS pixel sensor with a pixel pitch of about 30×30 μm2. This document, submitted to the LHCC (LHC experiments Committee) in September 2013, presents the design goals, a summary of the R&D activities, with focus on the technical implementation of the main detector components, and the projected detector and physics performance.

Molecular cloning of Sdr4, a regulator involved in seed dormancy and domestication of rice

Abstract: Seed dormancy provides a strategy for flowering plants to survive adverse natural conditions. It is also an important agronomic trait affecting grain yield, quality, and processing performance. We cloned a rice quantitative trait locus, Sdr4, which contributes substantially to differences in seed dormancy between japonica (Nipponbare) and indica (Kasalath) cultivars. Sdr4 expression is positively regulated by OsVP1, a global regulator of seed maturation, and in turn positively regulates potential regulators of seed dormancy and represses the expression of postgerminative genes, suggesting that Sdr4 acts as an intermediate regulator of dormancy in the seed maturation program. Japonica cultivars have only the Nipponbare allele (Sdr4-n), which endows reduced dormancy, whereas both the Kasalath allele (Srd4-k) and Sdr4-n are widely distributed in the indica group, indicating prevalent introgression. Srd4-k also is found in the wild ancestor Oryza rufipogon, whereas Sdr4-n appears to have been produced through at least two mutation events from the closest O. rufipogon allele among the accessions examined. These results are discussed with respect to possible selection of the allele during the domestication process.

Facial micro-expressions recognition using high speed camera and 3D-gradient descriptor

Abstract: Facial micro-expressions were proven to be an important behaviour source for hostile intent and danger demeanour detection. In this paper, we present a novel approach for facial micro-expressions recognition in video sequences. First, 200 frame per second (fps) high speed camera is used to capture the face. Second, the face is divided to specific regions, then the motion in each region is recognized based on 3D-Gradients orientation histogram descriptor. For testing this approach, we create a new dataset of facial micro-expressions, that was manually tagged as a ground truth, using a high speed camera. In this work, we present recognition results of 13 different micro-expressions. (6 pages)

The construction of an EST database for Bombyx mori and its application

Abstract: To build a foundation for the complete genome analysis of Bombyx mori, we have constructed an EST database. Because gene expression patterns deeply depend on tissues as well as developmental stages, we analyzed many cDNA libraries prepared from various tissues and different developmental stages to cover the entire set of Bombyx genes. So far, the Bombyx EST database contains 35,000 ESTs from 36 cDNA libraries, which are grouped into ≈11,000 nonredundant ESTs with the average length of 1.25 kb. The comparison with FlyBase suggests that the present EST database, SilkBase, covers >55% of all genes of Bombyx. The fraction of library-specific ESTs in each cDNA library indicates that we have not yet reached saturation, showing the validity of our strategy for constructing an EST database to cover all genes. To tackle the coming saturation problem, we have checked two methods, subtraction and normalization, to increase coverage and decrease the number of housekeeping genes, resulting in a 5–11% increase of library-specific ESTs. The identification of a number of genes and comprehensive cloning of gene families have already emerged from the SilkBase search. Direct links of SilkBase with FlyBase and WormBase provide ready identification of candidate Lepidoptera-specific genes.