No abstract

Urbanization and increased building density of cities are essential features of modern society. Not only does such a way of life bring economic benefits, but it also poses a new set of problems for city authorities. One of these problems is efficient traffic management and analysis. High population density leads to the tremendous number of personal cars, an increased number of freight vehicles for transportation of commodities and goods, tight pedestrian traffic. Transportation tasks can no longer be addressed by sub-optimal heuristics, based on the small amount of the manually gathered statistics. To make efficient decisions, forecast and assess their consequences, authorities require an automated system for analyzing traffic flow throughout the city. Nowadays, many cities have low-cost video surveillance systems, also known as closed-circuit television (CCTV). They exhibit rapid growth nowadays and usually include heterogeneous cameras with various resolution, mounting points, and frame rates [43]. CCTV works 24 h a day, 7 days a week and generates a massive amount of information, called Big Data. Among other applications, this data can serve as a foundation for the automated traffic surveillance system.

Identifying roles for Z-DNA remains challenging given their dynamic nature. Here, we perform genome-wide interrogation with the DNABERT transformer algorithm trained on experimentally identified Z-DNA forming sequences (Z-flipons). The algorithm yields large performance enhancements (F1 = 0.83) over existing approaches and implements computational mutagenesis to assess the effects of base substitution on Z-DNA formation. We show Z-flipons are enriched in promoters and telomeres, overlapping quantitative trait loci for RNA expression, RNA editing, splicing, and disease-associated variants. We cross-validate across a number of orthogonal databases and define BZ junction motifs. Surprisingly, many effects we delineate are likely mediated through Z-RNA formation. A shared Z-RNA motif is identified in SCARF2, SMAD1, and CACNA1 transcripts, whereas other motifs are present in noncoding RNAs. We provide evidence for a Z-RNA fold that promotes adaptive immunity through alternative splicing of KRAB domain zinc finger proteins. An analysis of OMIM and presumptive gnomAD loss-of-function datasets reveals an overlap of Z-flipons with disease-causing variants in 8.6% and 2.9% of Mendelian disease genes, respectively, greatly extending the range of phenotypes mapped to Z-flipons.

Z-DNA binding protein (ZBP1) very much represents the nuclear option. By initiating inflammatory cell death (ICD), ZBP1 activates host defenses to destroy infectious threats. ZBP1 is also able to induce noninflammatory regulated cell death via apoptosis (RCD). ZBP1 senses the presence of left-handed Z-DNA and Z-RNA (ZNA), including that formed by expression of endogenous retroelements. Viruses such as the Epstein–Barr “kissing virus” inhibit ICD, RCD and other cell death signaling pathways to produce persistent infection. EBV undergoes lytic replication in plasma cells, which maintain detectable levels of basal ZBP1 expression, leading us to suggest a new role for ZBP1 in maintaining EBV latency, one of benefit for both host and virus. We provide an overview of the pathways that are involved in establishing latent infection, including those regulated by MYC and NF-κB. We describe and provide a synthesis of the evidence supporting a role for ZNA in these pathways, highlighting the positive and negative selection of ZNA forming sequences in the EBV genome that underscores the coadaptation of host and virus. Instead of a fight to the death, a state of détente now exists where persistent infection by the virus is tolerated by the host, while disease outcomes such as death, autoimmunity and cancer are minimized. Based on these new insights, we propose actionable therapeutic approaches to unhost EBV.

The paper concerns with mathematical modeling of two-velocity media with reference to data on Stoneley wave propagation at the fluid-porous solid interface from experiments by K.W. Winkler, H.L. Liu, and D.J. Johnson. Models obtained within the limits of two theories, that of Biot (Biot–Johnson) and continuum filtration, are investigated in comparison. On this basis, it is discussed whether it is reasonable to include pore tortuosity and frequency-dependent permeability and tortuosity when modeling the mechanics of deforming fluid-saturated porous solids.