Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells differentiated into hepatocyte-like cells in vivo and in vitro

Cell-based therapy is a potential alternative to liver transplantation. The goal of the present study was to examine the in vivo and in vitro hepatic differentiation potential of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs) and to explore its therapeutic use. AT-MSCs were isolated and cultured with hepatic differentiation medium. Bioactivity assays were used to study the properties of AT-MSCs. The morphology of differentiated AT-MSCs in serum-free hepatic differentiation medium changed into polygonal epithelial cells, while the morphology of AT-MSCs in a similar medium containing 2% fetal bovine serum remained unchanged. The differentiated cells cultured without serum showed hepatocyte-like cell morphology and hepatocyte-specific markers, including albumin (ALB) and α-fetoprotein. The bioactivity assays revealed that hepatocyte-like cells could take up low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and store glycogen. Furthermore, trichostatin A (TSA) enhanced ALB production and LDL uptake by the hepatocyte-like cells, analogous to the functions of human liver cells. ALB was detected in the livers of the CCl4-injured mice one month post-transplantation. This suggested that transplantation of the human AT-MSCs could relieve the impairment of acute CCl4-injured livers in nude mice. This therefore implied that adipose tissue was a source of multipotent stem cells which had the potential to differentiate into mature, transplantable hepatocyte-like cells in vivo and in vitro. In addition, the present study determined that TSA was essential to promoting differentiation of human MSC towards functional hepatocyte-like cells. The relief of liver injury following treatment with AT-MSCs suggested their potential as a novel therapeutic method for liver disorders or injury.
Effect of Balance Intervention on Postural Control and Gait Efficiency in Preschoolers with Down syndrome

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect that balance training can have on children with Down syndrome, specifically on their levels of postural control and gait efficiency. Eleven children with Down syndrome, ages 4-6, were recruited for this study. Before the intervention program began, baseline testing was performed for each participant using a force plate (BTrackS) and a timed up-and-go test. The intervention consisted of 30 minutes of balance activities per day, which took place four days a week for four weeks. Post-testing was performed after the last session. There was no statistical significance for the changes that were observed between pre and post test for the measured variables. However, changes were seen in the effect size which was calculated in order to determine if there was any change between baseline and post-testing for our small sample size. Some of the greatest differences we saw were decreased mean frequency and average time for timed up-and-go test. These results indicate that a shortterm training intervention can be beneficial for both postural control and gait efficiency in children with Down syndrome.
POLYNOMIAL-TIME WORD PROBLEMS

We find polynomial-time solutions to the word problem for free-by-cyclic groups, the word problem for automorphism groups of free groups, and the membership problem for the handlebody subgroup of the mapping class group. All of these results follow from observing that automorphisms of the free group strongly resemble straight-line programs, which are widely studied in the theory of compressed data structures. In an effort to be self-contained we give a detailed exposition of the necessary results from computer science.
The dynamical structure of isotropic spherical galaxies with a central black hole

We discuss the kinematical structure of a two-parameter family of isotropic models with a central black hole. The family contains the slope of the central density cusp and the relative black hole mass as parameters. Most of the basic kine- matical quantities of these models can be expressed analytically. This family contains three distinct models where also the distribution function, differential energy distribution and spatial LOSVDs can be expressed completely analytically. Each of these models shows a drastically different behaviour of the distribution function. Although the effect of a black hole on the distribution function is very strong, in particular for models with a shallow density cusp, the differential energy distribution is only marginally affected. We discuss in detail the effects of a central black hole on the LOSVDs. The projected velocity dispersion increases with black hole mass at small projected radii, but the effect of a black hole on the shape of the LOSVDs (characterized by the h4 parameter) is less straightforward to interpret. Too much reliance on the wings of the LOSVDs and the value of the h4 parameter to determine black hole masses might hence be dangerous.
Target perceivability and its applications

A concept of target perceivability is introduced, which is related to such concepts as target existence and target observability. Its probability provides a basis for an integrated approach to track initiation, confirmation, termination, and refinement of track maintenance algorithms. This paper proposes the concepts of target perceivability and presents a recursion of its probability based on hidden Markov models (HMMs) and their applications to tracker analysis, development, and design, in particular, in the context of the probabilistic data association (PDA) method. Specifically, several important quantities and track life are analyzed; a perceivability-based probabilistic approach to track confirmation and termination is proposed; two versions of perceivability-based PDA trackers are presented. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate their performance.
Variable slope normalization of reverse phase protein arrays

MOTIVATION Reverse phase protein arrays (RPPA) measure the relative expression levels of a protein in many samples simultaneously. A set of identically spotted arrays can be used to measure the levels of more than one protein. Protein expression within each sample on an array is estimated by borrowing strength across all the samples, but using only within array information. When comparing across slides, it is essential to account for sample loading, the total amount of protein printed per sample. Currently, total protein is estimated using either a housekeeping protein or the sample median across all slides. When the variability in sample loading is large, these methods are suboptimal because they do not account for the fact that the protein expression for each slide is estimated separately. RESULTS We propose a new normalization method for RPPA data, called variable slope (VS) normalization, that takes into account that quantification of RPPA slides is performed separately. This method is better able to remove loading bias and recover true correlation structures between proteins. AVAILABILITY Code to implement the method in the statistical package R and anonymized data are available at (http://bioinformatics.mdanderson.org/supplements.html).
Does Race/Ethnicity Matter? Exploring the Relationship Between Mentor Functions and Self-Efficacy Among Female Faculty in Academic Medicine.

The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the relationship between mentor functions and self-efficacy for women and underrepresented minority women in academic medicine. The data for this thesis was drawn from existing survey data collected from the research study, titled Women and Inclusion in Academic Medicine (WIAM), which was conducted at 13 medical schools in the United States, and Puerto Rico. There were 8,041 female faculty who participated in the online survey. The survey included many validated measures, specific items that were used for analysis in this thesis were from the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) and Dreher and Ash’s (1990) Organizational Mentoring Questionnaire. Participants who had a current mentor and an academic rank of instructor or higher were included in the analysis of this thesis (n=1,176). Based on previous research, Hypothesis 1 was there would be a positive association between the mentor functions, career functions and psychosocial functions, and self-efficacy, but the career functions would have a stronger relationship with selfefficacy than psychosocial functions and self-efficacy. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that there was a positive relationship between self-efficacy and both psychosocial functions (b=0.07, p=0.001) and career functions (b=0.03, p=0.140), however psychosocial functions showed a stronger and significant relationship with self-efficacy than did career functions and self-efficacy. It was also hypothesized that race/ethnicity would have a moderating effect on the association between the mentor
A Minimally Supervised Approach for Synonym Extraction with Word Embeddings

Abstract In this paper we present a novel approach to minimally supervised synonym extraction. The approach is based on the word embeddings and aims at presenting a method for synonym extraction that is extensible to various languages. We report experiments with word vectors trained by using both the continuous bag-of-words model (CBoW) and the skip-gram model (SG) investigating the effects of different settings with respect to the contextual window size, the number of dimensions and the type of word vectors. We analyze the word categories that are (cosine) similar in the vector space, showing that cosine similarity on its own is a bad indicator to determine if two words are synonymous. In this context, we propose a new measure, relative cosine similarity, for calculating similarity relative to other cosine-similar words in the corpus. We show that calculating similarity relative to other words boosts the precision of the extraction. We also experiment with combining similarity scores from differently-trained vectors and explore the advantages of using a part-of-speech tagger as a way of introducing some light supervision, thus aiding extraction. We perform both intrinsic and extrinsic evaluation on our final system: intrinsic evaluation is carried out manually by two human evaluators and we use the output of our system in a machine translation task for extrinsic evaluation, showing that the extracted synonyms improve the evaluation metric.
Proprioception and Stimulus-Response Compatibility

Sixteen subjects pressed a left or right key in response to lateralized visual stimuli, in uncrossed (left index finger on left key, right finger on right key) and crossed conditions (left finger on right key and vice versa), with varying finger separations. Visual, tactile, or “efference copy” cues about relative finger positions were unavailable. Subjects had to press the key on the same side as (compatible group) or opposite side to the stimulus (incompatible group). Separate proprioceptive judgements of the relative finger positions were obtained. Findings of an overall reaction time (RT) advantage for compatible instructions and for uncrossed hands were replicated. With decreasing finger separation the RT advantage for compatible instructions decreased, and the probability of responding with either hand increased. The compatibility effect disappeared completely at the 6-cm crossed position, not at the position that was hardest to judge proprioceptively. This suggests that two forms of neural activation are summed: automatic activation of the anatomically same-side limb, and an integrated, rule-based activation. The results further demonstrate that independent proprioceptive cues from each limb, unassociated with skin contact between the limbs, can mediate the determination of relative position for response selection in stimulus-response compatibility tasks.
The Short of It: Investor Sentiment and Anomalies

This study explores the role of investor sentiment in a broad set of anomalies in cross-sectional stock returns. We consider a setting where the presence of market-wide sentiment is combined with the argument that overpricing should be more prevalent than underpricing, due to short-sale impediments. Long-short strategies that exploit the anomalies exhibit profits consistent with this setting. First, each anomaly is stronger - its long-short strategy is more profitable - following high levels of sentiment. Second, the short leg of each strategy is more profitable following high sentiment. Finally, sentiment exhibits no relation to returns on the long legs of the strategies.
Sex and the perceived effectiveness of short-term mate poaching acts in college students.

Schmitt and Buss (2001) investigated acts that would be used in a mate poach. However, during their first phase of research, they failed to ask their participants to nominate acts in a short-term mate poaching context. This current study set out to discover the actions men use during short-term mate poaching and the effectiveness of these actions. Study 1 asked heterosexual men (N = 39) to nominate actions they would use for a short-term mate poach. Men were expected to nominate actions that display emotional support, caring, emotional stability, and dominance. Study 2 (N = 448) investigated which acts were perceived as most effective by both men and women. The five acts that were nominated as most effective were acts that signaled emotional commitment and altruism.
ENGAGEMENT AND BURNOUT AMONG NURSING AND PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS IN SLOVAKIA

Aim: The aim of the study was to examine the differences in engagement and burnout syndrome in students of nursing/midwifery and psychology in Slovakia. Design: A cross-sectional design was used. Methods: 171 university students on a baccalaureate program participated in the research (90.9% females; age 20.6 ± 1.3; 80 psychology students, 91 nursing/midwifery students). The School Burnout Inventory (SBI) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) were employed as measurement methods. Results: A significant negative association between levels of burnout and engagement (R = 0.42; p < 0.01) was found. A linear regression model showed a significant effect of engagement on burnout (β = -0.34; 95% CI: -0.50; -0.19). However, the total explained variance was only 19.4%. Students of psychology scored higher in engagement compared to nursing and midwifery students (t = 6.89; p < 0.001). Conversely, midwifery and nursing students had higher levels of burnout compared to the group of psychology students (t = -4.55; p < 0,001). Conclusion: Nursing is considered to be a high risk profession in terms of development of burnout, which was demonstrated in this study by the higher burnout, and lower engagement levels in nursing and midwifery students. Higher attention to coping mechanisms for stress and burnout symptoms among students of healthcare professions is required in the school curriculum, especially in nursing programs. Keywords: burnout syndrome, engagement, students of nursing, midwifery, students of psychology, School Burnout Inventory (SBI), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES).
Why Do You Work with Struggling Students? Teacher Perceptions of Meaningful Work in Trauma-Impacted Classrooms

This study contributed new findings to the construct of meaningful work (MW) and negative impacts on MW. In other professional samples, finding meaning in work has been shown to be an effective buffer when facing workplace adversity. However, prior investigation has neither identified nor explored the specific sources and mechanisms of meaningful work that teachers derive from educating trauma-affected students. Within a cross-sectional sample of primary and secondary teachers (N = 18) working in traumaaffected classrooms, two interrelated sources of MW: (1) practice pedagogy and (2) teacher wellbeing were further analysed for discussion via Rosso, Dekas, and Wrzesniewski’s (2010) four mechanisms of MW (i.e., individuation, self-connection, contribution, and unification). These findings argue for the new development of trauma-informed pedagogies that both (1) enable teachers to redress the complex and unmet needs of students and (2) incorporate domains of meaning that teachers bring to their trauma-affected work.
About the self-calibration of a rotating and zooming camera: Theory and practice

This paper deals with the uniqueness of the self-calibration of a rotating and zooming camera theoretically. We assume that the principal point and the aspect ratio are fixed but the focal length changes as the camera moves. In this case, at least one inter-image homography is required in order to compute the internal calibration parameters as well as the rotation. We analyze the effects of the deviation of the principal point on the estimation of the focal length and the rotation. The more the camera changes its zoom, the larger the effects are, and the larger the rotation angle is, the smaller the effects are. Thus, we may take the image center as the principal point in practical applications. Experiments using real images are given.
A best-first anytime algorithm for computing optimal coalition structures

This work presents a best-first anytime algorithm for computing optimal coalition structures. The approach is novel in that it generates coalition structures based on coalition values, while existing algorithms base their generation on the structure (members and configurations) of coalitions. With our algorithm, coalition structures are generated by repeatedly choosing the best coalition, as determined using a novel metric called agent's contribution to coalition structure that we define. We have compared the performance of our algorithm against that of Rahwan et al [5] using 20 data distributions. Our results show that our algorithm almost always converges on an optimal coalition structure faster (although it terminates later in some cases). Empirically, our algorithm almost always yields better than or as good as Rahwan et al's results at any point in time.
The Frequency of Active and Quiescent Galaxies with Companions: Implications for the Feeding of the Nucleus

We analyze the idea that nuclear activity, either active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or star formation, can be triggered by interactions by studying the percentage of active, H II, and quiescent galaxies with companions. Our sample was selected from the Palomar survey and avoids selection biases faced by previous studies. This sample was split into five different groups, Seyfert galaxies, LINERs, transition galaxies, H II galaxies, and absorption-line galaxies. The comparison between the local galaxy density distributions of the different groups showed that in most cases there is no statistically significant difference among galaxies of different activity types, with the exception that absorption-line galaxies are seen in higher density environments, since most of them are in the Virgo Cluster. The comparison of the percentage of galaxies with nearby companions showed that there is a higher percentage of LINERs, transition galaxies, and absorption-line galaxies with companions than Seyfert and H II galaxies. However, we find that when we consider only galaxies of similar morphological types (elliptical or spiral), there is no difference in the percentage of galaxies with companions among different activity types, indicating that the former result was due to the morphology-density effect. In addition, only small differences are found when we consider galaxies with similar Hα luminosities. The comparison between H II galaxies of different Hα luminosities shows that there is a significantly higher percentage of galaxies with companions among H II galaxies with L(Hα) > 1039 ergs s-1 than among those with L(Hα) ≤ 1039 ergs s-1, indicating that interactions increase the amount of circumnuclear star formation, in agreement with previous results. The fact that we find that galaxies of different activity types have the same percentage of companions suggests that interactions between galaxies is not a necessary condition to trigger the nuclear activity in AGNs. We compare our results with previous ones and discuss their implications.
Detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans in the Environment Predicts Prevalence of Buruli Ulcer in Benin

Background Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer (BU). In West Africa there is an association between BU and residence in low-lying rural villages where aquatic sources are plentiful. Infection occurs through unknown environmental exposure; human-to-human infection is rare. Molecular evidence for M. ulcerans in environmental samples is well documented, but the association of M. ulcerans in the environment with Buruli ulcer has not been studied in West Africa in an area with accurate case data. Methodology/Principal Finding Environmental samples were collected from twenty-five villages in three communes of Benin. Sites sampled included 12 BU endemic villages within the Ouheme and Couffo River drainages and 13 villages near the Mono River and along the coast or ridge where BU has never been identified. Triplicate water filtrand samples from major water sources and samples from three dominant aquatic plant species were collected. Detection of M. ulcerans was based on quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results show a significant association between M. ulcerans in environmental samples and Buruli ulcer cases in a village (p = 0.0001). A “dose response” was observed in that increasing numbers of M. ulceran- positive environmental samples were associated with increasing prevalence of BU cases (R2 = 0.586). Conclusions/Significance This study provides the first spatial data on the overlap of M. ulcerans in the environment and BU cases in Benin where case data are based on active surveillance. The study also provides the first evidence on M. ulcerans in well-defined non-endemic sites. Most environmental pathogens are more broadly distributed in the environment than in human populations. The congruence of M. ulcerans in the environment and human infection raises the possibility that humans play a role in the ecology of M. ulcerans. Methods developed could be useful for identifying new areas where humans may be at high risk for BU.
Response: Commentary: Perceptual learning in autism: over-specificity and possible remedies

In a recent study, we tested perceptual learning in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Harris et al., 2015), employing the standard and well-established texture-learning paradigm [TDT; (Karni and Sagi, 1991; Sagi, 1995; Harris et al., 2012)]. In this paradigm, observers learn to discriminate an oriented texture target embedded at a fixed location in a background of elements having a different orientation. Performance is measured as a function of the time-interval between the onset of the target and a mask (stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA), with threshold defined as the minimal time (SOA) to reach a predefined criterion level of performance. Typical observers improve their performance (show reduced thresholds) with training across 3–4 days, but need to relearn the task when the target is moved to a different location in the visual field, showing specificity. We (Harris et al., 2015) reported similar results with observers with ASD, but unlike the typical observers who showed faster learning at the second location (Sagi, 2011), ASD observers showed difficulty in relearning the task at the second location, suggesting that the training with the target at the first location might have interfered with the training at the new, second location. We termed this anomalous poor learning “over-specificity” (OS) to reflect the narrowness of the learning and the failure to generalize, and quantified OS as the average threshold difference between the second and the first learning curves (for generalization OS 0). A modified learning paradigm, where standard target trials were interleaved with no-target trials (“dummy” trials) during training, showed generalization of learning (OS 1) has never been observed before.