Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Reclassification of Crohn's Disease by Cluster Analysis of Genetic Variants

Background Crohn's Disease (CD) has a heterogeneous presentation, and is typically classified according to extent and location of disease. The genetic susceptibility to CD is well known and genome-wide association scans (GWAS) and meta-analysis thereof have identified over 30 susceptibility loci. Except for the association between ileal CD and NOD2 mutations, efforts in trying to link CD genetics to clinical subphenotypes have not been very successful. We hypothesized that the large number of confirmed genetic variants enables (better) classification of CD patients. Methodology/Principal Findings To look for genetic-based subgroups, genotyping results of 46 SNPs identified from CD GWAS were analyzed by Latent Class Analysis (LCA) in CD patients and in healthy controls. Six genetic-based subgroups were identified in CD patients, which were significantly different from the five subgroups found in healthy controls. The identified CD-specific clusters are therefore likely to contribute to disease behavior. We then looked at whether we could relate the genetic-based subgroups to the currently used clinical parameters. Although modest differences in prevalence of disease location and behavior could be observed among the CD clusters, Random Forest analysis showed that patients could not be allocated to one of the 6 genetic-based subgroups based on the typically used clinical parameters alone. This points to a poor relationship between the genetic-based subgroups and the used clinical subphenotypes. Conclusions/Significance This approach serves as a first step to reclassify Crohn's disease. The used technique can be applied to other common complex diseases as well, and will help to complete patient characterization, in order to evolve towards personalized medicine.
Ministerial Politics in Southeastern Europe: Appointment and Portfolio Allocation to Female Ministers

Abstract In light of the growing scholarship on women's representation in the executive, we examine whether extant theories on the determinants of female ministerial appointments apply to and explain the role of women in the executive in new democracies. We are further interested in better understanding the dynamics of portfolio allocation to female ministers. Given the different meanings that the political left and right carry in new compared with established democracies, we argue that ministerial appointments and portfolio allocations reflect this difference and therefore show diverse results. Presenting data on women ministers in five southeastern European states between 1990 and 2018, we analyze the descriptive representation of women at the highest echelons of political power. We establish that while the standard claim found in the literature that left political parties stage more women and with more progressive views, as shown primarily in scholarship on Western democracies, southeastern European women ministers who are given portfolios traditionally reserved for men are appointed primarily by parties of the right. Moreover, we find little support for the link between legislative and executive representation; rather, we see that the appointment of women ministers is related to the institutionalization level of the parties in power.
The Student as Commuter: Developing a Comprehensive Institutional Response. ASHE-ERIC Report No. 7.

Several major studies have identified student commuters as being at particularly high risk for attrition from higher educational institutions. This report reviews the knowledge that exists about students-as-commuters in depth. Among the implications for educational policy makers is the need for commuter institutions to pruvide opportunities to increase students' involvement and to evaluate the iastitution's impact. Educators should assess how studetfts think about important issues and how the environment of the commutes institution either challenges or supports their thinking. Ways that institutions can assess their effectiveness with their commuting students and create a sense of community for them within the institution are outlined. One model describes the development of a comprehensive institutional response to the student-as-commuter in three stages. In stage 1, institution merely removes obvious barriers like requirements for admission or housing. In stage 2, separate student programs specifically for commuters on residential campuses are developed. Finally, stage 3 involves the active use of the principles of justice and fairness to correct inequities in a system that de facto discriminates against one group in favor of another. Thirteen recommendations for developing a plan of action are provided. Contains 275 references. (GLR) , ;I! :0, , ';'1! ;:: , The Student as Commuter r Developing a Comprehensive Institutional Response
Intrinsic Circuit Organization and Theta–Gamma Oscillation Dynamics in the Entorhinal Cortex of the Rat

A thorough knowledge of the intrinsic circuit properties of the entorhinal cortex (EC) and the temporal dynamics these circuits support is essential for understanding how information is exchanged between the hippocampus and neocortex. Using intracellular and extracellular recordings in the anesthetized rat and anatomical reconstruction of single cells, we found that EC5 and EC2 principal neurons form large axonal networks mainly within their layers, interconnected by the more vertically organized axon trees of EC3 pyramidal cells. Principal cells showed layer-specific unique membrane properties and contributed differentially to theta and gamma oscillations. EC2 principal cells were most strongly phase modulated by EC theta. The multiple gamma oscillators, present in the various EC layers, were temporally coordinated by the phase of theta waves. Putative interneurons in all EC layers fired relatively synchronously within the theta cycle, coinciding with the maximum power of gamma oscillation. The special wiring architecture and unique membrane properties of EC neurons may underlie their behaviorally distinct firing patterns in the waking animal.
EUV-CDA: Pattern shift aware critical density analysis for EUV mask layouts

Despite the use of mask defect avoidance and mitigation techniques, finding a usable defective mask blank remains a challenge for Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) at sub-10nm node due to dense layouts and low CD tolerance. In this work, we propose a pattern shift-aware metric called critical density, which can quickly evaluate the robustness of EUV layouts to mask defects (300-1300x faster than Monte Carlo, with average mask yield root mean square error (RMSE) ranging from 0.08%-6.44%), thereby enabling design-level mask defect mitigation techniques. Our experimental results indicate that reducing layout regularity improves the ability of layouts to tolerate mask defects via pattern shift.
Development of an Optimal Operation Approach in the MPC Framework for Heavy-Haul Trains

An operation control approach for heavy-haul trains to optimize their performance, including operation safety, service quality, and energy consumption, is proposed. Following a model predictive control method, the controller is capable of scheduling a train to operate optimally during a long section of the rail track. In the cost function, two penalty factors are presented, i.e., one for the braking forces and one for coupler damping effects. The penalty for braking forces is employed to reduce the energy waste incurred by braking. The penalty for coupler damping is introduced to alleviate the cyclic vibration of couplers, which link adjacent cars in the train. The damping penalty is also expected to reduce energy wasted by coupler damping and corresponding maintenance/replacement cost of the dampers. In addition, the weight of the velocity tracking term in the objective function is modified to vary dynamically, according to the train's velocity, to improve the train's overall performance. Simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed control approach. Discussions over the impacts of the two penalty factors and the dynamic weight method are provided, together with some suggestions on their applications.
LDPC-based Gaussian key reconciliation

We propose a new information reconciliation method which allows two parties sharing continuous random variables to agree on a common bit string. We show that existing coded modulation techniques can be adapted for reconciliation and give an explicit code construction based on LDPC codes in the case of Gaussian variables. Simulations show that our method achieves higher efficiency than previously reported results.
Surface Brightness of Starbursts at Low and High Redshifts

Observations in the rest-frame ultraviolet from various space missions are used to define the nearby starburst regions having the highest surface brightness on scales of several hundred parsecs. The bright limit is found to be 6 × 10-16 ergs cm-2 s-1 Å-1 arcsec-2 for rest-frame wavelength of 1830 Å. Surface brightness in the brightest pixel is measured for 18 galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field having z > 2.2. After correcting for cosmological dimming, we find that the high-redshift starbursts have intrinsic ultraviolet surface brightness that is typically 4 times brighter than low-redshift starbursts. It is not possible to conclude whether this difference is caused by decreased dust obscuration in the high-redshift starburst regions or by intrinsically more intense star formation. Surface brightness enhancement of starburst regions may be the primary factor for explaining the observed increase with redshift of the ultraviolet luminosity arising from star formation.
Lesions to the subthalamic nucleus decrease impulsive choice but impair autoshaping in rats: the importance of the basal ganglia in Pavlovian conditioning and impulse control

Although the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is involved in regulating motor function, and inactivation of this structure relieves the motor symptoms in Parkinsonian patients, recent data indicate that corticosubthalamic connections are involved in both the regulation of attention and the ability to withhold from responding. Considerable evidence suggests that the neural circuitry underlying such behavioural disinhibition or impulsive action can be at least partially dissociated from that implicated in impulsive decision‐making and it has been suggested that the tendency to choose impulsively is related to the ability to form and use Pavlovian associations. To explore these hypotheses further, STN‐lesioned rats were tested on the delay‐discounting model of impulsive choice, where impulsivity is defined as the selection of a small immediate over a larger delayed reward, as well as in a rodent autoshaping paradigm. In contrast to previous reports of increased impulsive action, STN lesions decreased impulsive choice but dramatically impaired the acquisition of the autoshaping response. When the STN was lesioned after the establishment of autoshaping behaviour, lesioned subjects were more sensitive to the omission of reward, indicative of a reduction in the use of Pavlovian associations to control autoshaping performance. These results emphasize the importance of the STN in permitting conditioned stimulus–unconditioned stimulus associations to regulate goal‐seeking, a function which may relate to the alterations in impulsive choice observed in the delay‐discounting task. These data bear a striking similarity to those observed after lesions of the orbitofrontal cortex and are suggestive of an important role for corticosubthalamic connections in complex cognitive behaviour.
Genetic Grouping of Nephropathogenic Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus Isolated in Morocco

Thirty Moroccan isolates of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) recovered from unvaccinated broiler chickens flocks originated from different regions of Morocco between 1997 and 2002, and two references strains Massachusetts and 4/91 (vaccine strains) were classified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis using two restriction enzymes Hae III and Alu1. RFLP patterns of the amplified S1 gene of IBV (1720 bp) digested by two restriction enzymes HaeIII and Alu1 showed that Moroccan isolates of IBV were classified into five genotypes with Three genotypes different from vaccine strains, vaccine protection test showed that Massachusetts type vaccine could not protect chickens against challenge with this three new genotypes.
Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in survivors of very low birth weight

Background: Children who survive very low birth weight (VLBW) without major disability have a high prevalence of learning difficulty, attention deficit, and dyspraxia. Aims: To determine whether learning difficulty in children with VLBW is associated with structural brain abnormalities. Methods: A total of 87 children (aged 15–16 years) with a history of VLBW (<1500 g) and eight age matched full term controls have been studied with detailed magnetic resonance brain scans. Volume measurements of the caudate nuclei and hippocampal formations were made. Results: Scans in 42.5% of the children showed evidence of perinatal brain injury. There was no significant difference in IQ, dyspraxia, or attention deficit between children with qualitatively normal and abnormal scans. However, quantitative volumetric analysis showed that children with a low IQ had smaller volume measurements for the right caudate nucleus and left hippocampus, and a smaller hippocampal ratio (left volume:right volume) than those with normal IQ. Conclusion: Data suggest that learning disorder, attention deficit, and dyspraxia in children who survive VLBW do not correlate with conventional markers of perinatal brain injury, and may be related to global brain growth and the development of key structures, such as the caudate nuclei and hippocampal formations.
Emerging Capital Markets in Turmoil: Bad Luck or Bad Policy?

Since the mid-1990s, emerging market economies have been hit by dramatic highs and lows: lifted by large capital inflows, then plunged into chaos by constrained credit and out-of-control exchange rates. The conventional wisdom about such crises is strongly influenced by the experience of advanced economies. In Emerging Capital Markets in Turmoil, Guillermo Calvo examines these issues instead from the perspective of emerging market economies themselves, taking into account the limitations and vulnerabilities these economies confront. A succession of crises -- Mexico in 1994-5, East Asia in 1997, Russia in 1998, and Argentina in 2001 -- prompted an urgent search in economic policy circles for cogent explanations. Calvo begins by laying the groundwork for a new approach to these issues. In the theoretical chapters that follow, he argues that financial crisis theory regarding emerging markets has progressed from focusing on such variables as fiscal deficits, debt sustainability, and real currency devaluation to stressing the role of the financial sector -- emphasizing stocks rather than flows as well as the role credibility plays in containing financial crises. He then returns to a more empirical analysis and focuses on exchange-rate issues, considering the advantages and disadvantages of flexible exchange rates for emerging market economies. Coming after a decade of ongoing crises, Calvo's timely reassessment of the importance of external factors in making emerging market economies safer from financial turmoil offers important policy lessons for dealing with inevitable future episodes of financial crises.
Reconnection in a rotation-dominated magnetosphere and its relation to Saturn's auroral dynamics

The first extended series of observations of Saturn's auroral emissions, undertaken by the Hubble Space Telescope in January 2004 in conjunction with measurements of the upstream solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) by the Cassini spacecraft, have revealed a strong auroral response to the interplanetary medium. Following the arrival of the forward shock of a corotating interaction region compression, bright auroras were first observed to expand significantly poleward in the dawn sector such that the area of the polar cap was much reduced, following which the auroral morphology evolved into a spiral structure around the pole. We propose that these auroral effects are produced by compression-induced reconnection of a significant fraction of the open flux present in Saturn's open tail lobes, as has also been observed to occur at Earth, followed by subcorotation of the newly closed flux tubes in the outer magnetosphere region due to the action of the ionospheric torque. We show that the combined action of reconnection and rotation naturally gives rise to spiral structures on newly opened and newly closed field lines, the latter being in the same sense as observed in the auroral images. The magnetospheric corollary of the dynamic scenario outlined here is that corotating interaction region-induced magnetospheric compressions and tail collapses should be accompanied by hot plasma injection into the outer magnetosphere, first in the midnight and dawn sector, and second at increasing local times via noon and dusk. We discuss how this scenario leads to a strong correlation of auroral and related disturbances at Saturn with the dynamic pressure of the solar wind, rather than to a correlation with the north-south component of the IMF as observed at Earth, even though the underlying physics is similar, related to the transport of magnetic flux to and from the tail in the Dungey cycle.
The fragility of the evidence on inequality, trade liberalisation, growth and poverty

There has been a recent resurgence of interest in the relationships between income inequality and growth, trade policy and growth, and growth and poverty. We contribute to this literature by exploring the relationships between inequality, trade liberalisation, growth and poverty in a sample of exclusively developing countries. We find moderately robust evidence for a negative effect of inequality on growth in the long run but no significant effect in the short run. However, the strength of the long-run effect is sensitive to the sample and specification, suggesting that inequality is only one measure of policy distortions that retard growth while the relationship between inequality and growth is quite different in some countries. Trade liberalisation appears to have a consistent and significant positive association with growth. There is no evidence that inequality, growth or trade liberalisation are significant determinants of cross-country variations in poverty. There is consistent evidence that, controlling for most other variables, sub-Saharan African countries experience below average growth performance, have higher inequality and higher poverty. While the empirical relationships are fragile, the analysis confirms that the fundamental determinants of inequality and poverty are country-specific factors not easily captured in cross-country regressions. This cautions against making any broad generalisations about how inequality, growth and poverty are related. Outline
X-ray and Neutron Diffraction in the Study of Organic Crystalline Hydrates

A review. Diffraction methods are a powerful tool to investigate the crystal structure of organic compounds in general and their hydrates in particular. The laboratory standard technique of single crystal X-ray diffraction gives information about the molecular conformation, packing and hydrogen bonding in the crystal structure, while powder X-ray diffraction on bulk material can trace hydration/dehydration processes and phase transitions under non-ambient conditions. Neutron diffraction is a valuable complementary technique to X-ray diffraction and gives highly accurate hydrogen atom positions due to the interaction of the radiation with the atomic nuclei. Although not yet often applied to organic hydrates, neutron single crystal and neutron powder diffraction give precise structural data on hydrogen bonding networks which will help explain why hydrates form in the first place.
Channel estimation for OFDM systems based on comb-type pilot arrangement in frequency selective fading channels

The channel estimation methods for OFDM systems based on a comb-type pilot sub-carrier arrangement are investigated. The channel estimation algorithm based on comb-type pilots is divided into pilot signal estimation and channel interpolation. The pilot signal estimation based on LS or MMSE criteria, together with channel interpolation based on piecewise-linear interpolation or piecewise second-order polynomial interpolation is studied. Owing to the MMSE estimate of the pilot signals, the inter-carrier interference and additive white Gaussian noise are reduced considerably. The computational complexity of pilot signal estimation based on MMSE criterion can be reduced by using a simplified LMMSE estimator with low-rank approximation using singular value decomposition. Phase compensators before and after interpolation are also presented to combat the phase changes of subchannel symbols arising from the frame synchronization errors. Compared to the transform-domain processing based channel estimation algorithm the MMSE estimate of pilot signals together with phase compensated linear interpolation algorithm provides a better performance and requires less computations.
Modeling texture evolution during recrystallization in aluminum

The main aim of this work was to develop a model with predictive capability for microstructural evolution during recrystallization and to identify factors that exert the greatest effect on the development of texture. To achieve this aim, geometric and crystallographic observations from two orthogonal sections through a polycrystal were used as input to the computer simulations, to create a statistically representative three-dimensional model. Assignment of orientations to the grains was performed so as to optimize agreement between the orientation and misorientation distributions of assigned and observed orientations. The microstructures thus created were allowed to evolve using a Monte Carlo simulation. As a demonstration of the model the effects of anisotropy, both in energy and in mobility, stored energy and oriented nucleation (ON) on overall texture development were studied. The results were analyzed with reference to the various established competing theories of ON and oriented growth. The results suggested that all of ON, mobility anisotropy, stored energy and energy anisotropy (listed in order of their relative importance) influence texture development. It was also determined that comparison of simulated and measured textures throughout the recrystallization process is a more severe test of a model than the typical comparison of textures only at the end of the process.
GARP: a surface molecule of regulatory T cells that is involved in the regulatory function and TGF-β releasing

There are many molecules that define regulatory T cells (Tregs) phenotypically and functionally. Glycoprotein A repetitions predominant (GARP) is a transmembrane protein containing leucine rich repeats. Recently, GARP is found to express highly on the surface of activated Tregs. The combination of GARP and other surface molecules isolates Tregs with higher purity. Besides, GARP is a cell surface molecule of Tregs that maintains their regulatory function and homeosatsis. GARP has also been proved to promote the activation and secretion of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). Moreover, its potential value in cancer immunotherapy is also discussed in this work.