Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of genes in susceptibility to T 1 D

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease caused by the destruction of insulin producing beta-cells in the pancreas. Individuals with T1D cannot survive without insulin replacement, and despite daily insulin treatment remain at risk of complications including nephropathy, retinopathy and coronary heart disease. Although commonly associated with onset in childhood and adolescence with a peak age at diagnosis of 12 years, many cases of T1D are diagnosed in adulthood. Epidemiological studies show that the incidence of T1D is unequally distributed in the world’s population, with a high incidence rate in Caucasians (40/100 000/year in Finland) and an extremely low rate among Asian and South American populations (0.1/100 000/year) (Karvonen et al., 2000). T1D is increasingly considered a disease of “westernization” or affluence associated with improved hygiene, healthcare and living standards. The incidence of the condition has been increasing rapidly in recent decades for unknown reasons: the current rate of increase is 3% per year worldwide and it has been predicted that the incidence will be 40% higher by 2010 compared to 1998 (Onkamo et al., 1999). More recent predictions show that if present trends continue, doubling of new cases of type 1 diabetes in European children younger than 5 years will occur between 2005 and 2020, and prevalent cases younger than 15 years will rise by 70% (Patterson et al., 2009). T1D is generally diagnosed on clinical grounds but can be confirmed by the presence of circulating antibodies in the blood (Baekkeskov et al., 1982). These antibodies are markers of ongoing autoimmune destruction (Bottatzo et al., 1985) and the best characterized are specific to the islet proteins insulin (Palmer et al., 1983), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) (Baekkeskov et al., 1990), IA-2 ( Christie et al., 1994) and the zinc transporter ZnT8 (Wenzlau et al., 2007, 2008). The autoimmune process begins very early in life: studies of neonatal diabetes suggest that most cases of diabetes diagnosed before 6 months are unlikely to be autoimmune, but those diagnosed after the age of 6 months have the genetic characteristics of T1D (Edghill et al., 2006) while islet autoantibodies are detectable by 5 years of age in most future T1D cases (Bonifacio et al., 2004 ); in many by 2 years of age (Zeigler et al., 1999), and antibodies to insulin (generally the first to appear) have been detected as early as 6 to 12 months of age (Roll et al., 1996). T1D can be predicted accurately by the detection of multiple islet autoantibodies and their characteristics (Bingley et al. 1997; Achenbach et al., 2004a, 2004b). Trials of agents to prevent T1D however require identification of those at risk of T1D very early in life before the autoimmune process has been initiated. This is only possible by estimation of genetic risk.
Circulation andwatermass transformation in amodel of the Chukchi Sea

[1] The circulation and water mass transformation in a regional ocean-ice model of the Chukchi Sea are discussed. The model has horizontal resolution of O(4 km), is forced by fluxes derived from daily NCEP reanalysis fields, and has seasonally varying transport, temperature, and salinity imposed at Bering Strait. Many of the observed characteristics of the mean circulation and seasonal cycle in the Chukchi Sea are reproduced. The discussion focuses on: the branching of the inflow transport into pathways following Herald Canyon, Central Channel, and the Alaskan coast; the pattern of ice melt; and the water mass transformation and formation of winter water and hypersaline water. The ice melt pattern and timing is strongly influenced by advection through Bering Strait. High frequency forcing results in a larger region of ice melt, particularly over the shoals and in the northern Chukchi Sea, compared to monthly mean forcing. In the model, the seasonal cycle of salinity in the southern and central Chukchi Sea is dominated by advection through Bering Strait, while local atmospheric forcing and brine rejection are more important north of Herald and Hanna Shoals and in Barrow Canyon. However, since the residence time in the Chukchi Sea is generally less than 1 year, interannual variability in the Bering Strait salinity will be reflected in the salinity across the Chukchi Sea and at Barrow Canyon.
A Particle Filter Approach to Outdoor Localization using Image-based Rendering

We propose an outdoor localization system using a particle filter. In our approach, a textured, geo-registered model of the outdoor environment is used as a reference to estimate the pose of a smartphone. The device position and the orientation obtained from a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) are used as a first estimation of the true pose. Then, multiple pose hypotheses are randomly distributed about the GPS/IMU measurement and use to produce renderings of the virtual model. With vision-based methods, the rendered images are compared with the image received from the smartphone, and the matching scores are used to update the particle filter. The outcome of our system improves the camera pose estimate in real time without user assistance.
Report of a New Mutation and Frequency of Connexin 26 gene (GJB2) Mutations in Patients from Three Provinces of Iran

Autosomal recessive and sporadic non-syndromic hearing loss (ARSNSHL) is the major form of hereditary deafness. Mutations in the GJB2 gene encoding the gap-junction protein Connexin 26 have been identified to be highly associated with ARSNSHL. In this study we have analyzed 196 deaf subjects from 179 families having one or more deaf children in 3 proviences of Iran, including Kordestan, Khuzestan and Golestan. The nested PCR prescreening strategy and direct sequencing technique were used to detect the mutations in coding exon of the gene. Altogether 3 GJB2 recessive mutations including 35delG, 167delT and V27I+E114G, were identified in 23 of 179 families (12.8%). Fourteen of 179 families were observed to have GJB2 mutation in both alleles (7.8%). A novel variant (R159H) also was found in a deaf family from Khuzestan. Four polymorphisms V27I, E114G, S86T and V153 I also were detected in 7 families. A polymorphism (S86T) was seen in the whole population studied. Our data indicated that the rate of connexin 26 mutations is different in this three Irainian population and is lower than the high frequency of 35delG (26%) reported from Gilan province in the north of Iran.
Accelerating and Parallelizing Lagrangian Simulations of Mixing‐Limited Reactive Transport

Recent advances in random walk particle tracking have enabled direct simulation of mixing and reactions by allowing the particles to interact with each other using a multipoint mass transfer scheme. The mass transfer scheme allows separation of mixing and spreading processes, among other advantages, but it is computationally expensive because its speed depends on the number of interacting particle pairs. This note explores methods for relieving the computational bottleneck caused by the mass transfer step, and we use these algorithms to develop a new parallel, interacting particle model. The new model is a combination of a sparse search algorithm and a novel domain decomposition scheme, both of which offer significant speedup relative to the reference case—even when they are executed serially. We combine the strengths of these methods to create a parallel particle scheme that is highly accurate and efficient with run times that scale as 1/P for a fixed number of particles, where P is the number of computational cores (equivalently, subdomains, in this work) being used. The new parallel model is a significant advance because it enables efficient simulation of large particle ensembles that are needed for environmental simulations and also because it can naturally pair with parallel geochemical solvers to create a practical Lagrangian tool for simulating mixing and reactions in complex chemical systems.
Misleading Advertising in Duopoly (Publicité Mensongère Dans Un Duopole)

This paper builds a model of strategic misleading advertising in duopolistic markets with horizontal product differentiation and advertising externality between firms. We investigate the effects of regulating misinformation on market competition, behaviour of firms, and social welfare. We show that the degree of advertising externality and the magnitude of advertising costs are crucial for determining the welfare effects of several regulations, including prohibiting misleading advertising, educating consumers, taxing production, and taxing misleading advertising. We extend the model by introducing heterogeneous consumers, heterogeneous production costs between firms, and the degree of advertising informativeness. Our results have important policy implications for the debate regarding regulation of advertising, especially direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
Proper motions of stars in the region of the Orion Nebula cluster (C 0532{054) ?

Relative proper motions and membership probabilities for 333 stars within an area of 1: 6b y 1:8 centred on the Orion Nebula M 42 are determined using plates taken over a period of 83 years with the double astrograph of Shanghai Observatory (scale of 30 00 /mm). The plates were measured with the ASTROSCAN automatic plate{ measuring machine of Leiden Observatory. The average proper motion accuracy obtained for stars in the photographic magnitude range 7 to 14 is 0.3 mas/yr. Errors are somewhat larger towards fainter and brighter magnitude, but the majority lie well below 1 mas/yr. 64% of the stars have been measured successfully on at least 13 out of 18 plates. The number of stars with membership probabilities higher than 0.7 is 184. It is shown by a detailed discussion that the proper motions and membership probabilities of the stars determined in this paper are in good agreement with the results presented recently by other authors. Although there is a clear concentration in the proper motion diagram, both the remaining dispersion of the internal motions and the distribution of \members" as projected on the sky indicate that the stars in this region are not bound as one system, but do have a common origin. A similar conclusion can be drawn from a comparison with spectroscopic and radial velocity data.
Valuing the future: intellectual capital supplements at Skandia

Skandia’s intellectual capital supplements are pioneering forms of communication that inform internal as well as external readers of the attempts to manage and create value from intellectual resources. These supplements to the financial accounting statement communicate not only in numbers but also in stories and illustrations about the challenges facing the firm. They help develop a narrative for the path ahead for Skandia as a “capable” firm that thrives through intellectual resources found in humans, structures and relations. In this paper we discuss how this is possible and we suggest that intellectual capital statements are not only new types of communication; they also anticipate new “contracts” between labour and management where employees are persuaded to help managers craft the strategies to be pursued in the marketplace of the future.
Stepwise Approach Ablation Versus Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: Randomized Controlled Trial

Cite this article as: Massimiliano Faustino M.D., Carmine Pizzi M.D., Tullio Agricola M. D. , Borejda Xhyheri M.D., Grazia Maria Costa M.D., Maria Elena Flacco M.D., Lorenzo Capasso M.D., Giancarlo Cicolini M.D., Enrico Di Girolamo M.D., Luigi Leonzio M.D., Lamberto Manzoli M.D., Stepwise Approach Ablation Versus Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: Randomized Controlled Trial, Heart Rhythm, http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.hrthm. 2015.06. 009
The performance and the characterization of laser ablation aerosol particle time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LAAP-ToF-MS)

Abstract. Hyphenated laser ablation–mass spectrometry instruments have been recognized as useful analytical tools for the detection and chemical characterization of aerosol particles. Here we describe the performances of a laser ablation aerosol particle time-of-flight mass spectrometer (LAAP-ToF-MS) which was designed for aerodynamic particle sizing using two 405 nm scattering lasers and characterization of the chemical composition of single aerosol particle via ablation/ionization by a 193 nm excimer laser and detection in a bipolar time-of-flight mass spectrometer with a mass resolving power of m/Δm > 600. We describe a laboratory based optimization strategy for the development of an analytical methodology for characterization of atmospheric particles using the LAAP-ToF-MS instrument in combination with a particle generator, a differential mobility analyzer and an optical particle counter. We investigated the influence of particle number concentration, particle size and particle composition on the detection efficiency. The detection efficiency is a product of the scattering efficiency of the laser diodes and the ionization efficiency or hit rate of the excimer laser. The scattering efficiency was found to vary between 0.6 and 1.9 % with an average of 1.1 %; the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 17.0 %. The hit rate exhibited good repeatability with an average value of 63 % and an RSD of 18 %. In addition to laboratory tests, the LAAP-ToF-MS was used to sample ambient air during a period of 6 days at the campus of Aix-Marseille University, situated in the city center of Marseille, France. The optimized LAAP-ToF-MS methodology enables high temporal resolution measurements of the chemical composition of ambient particles, provides new insights into environmental science, and a new investigative tool for atmospheric chemistry and physics, aerosol science and health impact studies.
Predicting and understanding spatio‐temporal dynamics of species recovery: implications for Asian crested ibis Nipponia nippon conservation in China

Some threatened species are now recovering after a period of serious decline. Understanding and predicting the spatio‐temporal recolonization of these species in a heterogeneous landscape are important for their conservation planning. We aimed to predict the range expansion of the endangered Asian crested ibis Nipponia nippon as it recovers from near‐extinction to guide its in situ conservation and plan possible reintroductions.
Raw � Data Extract Random Pat � ches Wh � itening K-means ( � Triangle ) � � Extract Feat � ures

We perform the image classification task on the CIFAR-10 dataset, where each image belongs to one of the ten distinct classes. The classes are mutually exclusive and are mostly objects and animals. The images are small (32⇥ 32 pixels), of uniform size and shape, and RGB coloured. We implement an proposed image preprocessing framework to learn and extract the salient features of the images. The method was demonstrated to increase the classification performance significantly. We testify such claim and see a considerable improvement of more than 15% from the baseline (i.e., without preprocessing). We further experiment with various parameters and settings of the proposed method to tune the preprocessing frameworks. We also experiment with a variety of linear classifiers on the preprocessed images. We find out that a simple SVM classifier with linear kernel performs the best. We finally experiment with ensemble learning by combining a linear SVM with a multinomial logistic regression. The ensemble learning marginally improves on the simple linear SVM at a high computational cost.
Title Highly conserved gene order and numerous novel repetitive elements in genomic regions linked to wing pattern variation in Heliconius butterflies Permalink

Background: With over 20 parapatric races differing in their warningly colored wing patterns, the butterfly Heliconius erato provides a fascinating example of an adaptive radiation. Together with matching races of its co-mimic Heliconius melpomene, H. erato also represents a textbook case of Müllerian mimicry, a phenomenon where common warning signals are shared amongst noxious organisms. It is of great interest to identify the specific genes that control the mimetic wing patterns of H. erato and H. melpomene. To this end we have undertaken comparative mapping and targeted genomic sequencing in both species. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of genomic sequences linked to color pattern mimicry genes in Heliconius. Results: Scoring AFLP polymorphisms in H. erato broods allowed us to survey loci at approximately 362 kb intervals across the genome. With this strategy we were able to identify markers tightly linked to two color pattern genes: D and Cr, which were then used to screen H. erato BAC libraries in order to identify clones for sequencing. Gene density across 600 kb of BAC sequences appeared relatively low, although the number of predicted open reading frames was typical for an insect. We focused analyses on the Dand Cr-linked H. erato BAC sequences and on the Yb-linked H. melpomene BAC sequence. A comparative analysis between homologous regions of H. erato (Cr-linked BAC) and H. melpomene (Yb-linked BAC) revealed high levels of sequence Published: 22 July 2008 BMC Genomics 2008, 9:345 doi:10.1186/1471-2164-9-345 Received: 18 January 2008 Accepted: 22 July 2008 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral. com/1471-2164/9/345 © 2008 Papa et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
SEM Characterization of an Irradiated Dispersion Fuel Plate with U-10Mo Particles and 6061 Al Matrix

It has been observed that during irradiation of a dispersion fuel plate, fuel/matrix interactions can impact the overall fuel plate performance. To continue the investigation of the irradiation performance of Si-rich fuel/matrix interaction layers, RERTR-6 fuel plate V1R010 (U- 10Mo/6061 Al) was characterized using scanning electron microscopy. This fuel plate was of particular interest because of its similarities to fuel plate R1R010, which had U-7Mo particles dispersed in 6061 Al. Both fuel plates were irradiated as part of the RERTR-6 experiment and saw very similar irradiation conditions. R1R010 was characterized in another study and was observed to form relatively uniform Si-rich layers during fabrication that remained stable during irradiation. Since U-10Mo does not interact as much with 6061 Al at high temperatures to form layers, it was of interest to characterize a fuel plate with these particles since it would allow for a comparison of fuel plates with different amounts of preirradiation interaction zone formation, which were then exposed to similar irradiation conditions. This paper demonstrates how the lower amount of interaction layer development in V1R010 during fabrication appears to impact the overall performance of the fuel plate, such that it does not behave as well as R1R010 in termsmore » of interaction layer stability. Additionally, the results of this study are applied to improve the understanding of fuel/cladding interactions in monolithic fuel plates that consist of U-10Mo foils encased in 6061 Al cladding. « less
Comparative Growth Performance, in vivo Digestibility and Enzyme Activities of Labeo rohita Fed with DORB Based Formulated Diet and Commercial Carp Feed

A 60-day feeding trial was conducted to study the nutrient utilization and growth performance of Labeo rohita fed with T1 [DORB supplemented with phytase and xylanase (0.01% each)], T2 [ T1+ L-lysine(1.4%), Lmethionine (0.4%), combination of EPA and DHA (0.5%)] , T3 [DORB supplemented with phytase (0.01%), combination of xylanase and cellulase (0.075%), L-lysine (1.4 %), Lmethionine (0.4 %), combination of EPA and DHA (0.5%)] and T4 (commercially available carp feed) diets. Weight gain%, SGR, and FCR were similar (p>0.05) for the fishes fed with either T3 feed or commercial carp feed (T4), whereas PER was highest for the T3 group. A significantly higher apparent dry matter and carbohydrate digestibility were observed in the T3 group. Highest crude protein digestibility was observed in T4 group, though lipid digestibility was similar in both T3 and T4 groups. The activities of digestive enzymes were similar in T2, T3 and T4 groups, whereas the lowest activity of these enzymes were observed in T1 group. Based on the findings it is concluded that T3 feed (crude protein 18.18 %) is having comparable growth performance of Labeo rohita as compared to T4 diet (crude protein 32.01 %) due to higher In vivo digestibility.
Quantification of Dual Reporter Cell Cultures via Image Analysis

—The successful performance of experiments is tightly related to the efficiency and reliability of the analytical methods used for the data analysis. This is particularly true when data is collected as images and the quantification of the biological effect behind the picture is often an issue. Consistent evaluation represents a challenge even for experienced biologists. Even though other techniques allow the quantification of fluorescent cell populations, (FACS, among others) image analysis is widely used. For this reason there is an increasing need of methods for reliable and reproducible quantification of images. To this aim a new algorithm for image analysis has been developed that allows rapid quantification of fluorescent Dual Reporter cells populations. These cells can express RFP (αSMA) or EGFP (collagen), and, via epi-fluorescence, come up as red or green, or yellow when RFP and GFP co-localize within the same cell. The algorithm can quantify and classify these sub-sets, by using a fuzzy, two-pass class partitioning, in addition to Difference of Gaussians and watershed segmentation techniques for blob detection and extraction. Results show average errors in the 2-6% range and an analysis time of 6-9 seconds per acquired image. The algorithm was validated against manual quantification techniques and compared to other state-of-the-art software. It allows rapid detection and extraction of Dual Reporter cells distributions in acquired epi-fluorescence optical fields. Finally, thanks to the implementation of semi-automated calibration procedures, the algorithm constitutes a totally objective instrument for quantification and classification measurements, especially when class boundaries are not sharply defined.
Experiments on localization accuracy with non-individual and individual HRTFs comparing static and dynamic reproduction methods

Binaural reproduction can be used in listening experiments under real-life conditions to achieve a high realism and good reproducibility. In recent years a clear trend to more individual reproduction can be observed as the ability to measure individual head-related-transfer-functions (HRTFs) is becoming more widespread. The question of the accuracy and reproduction methods needed for a realistic playback however has not been sufficiently answered. To evaluate an appropriate approach for binaural reproduction via headphones different head-related-transfer-functions (HRTFs) and reproduction methods were compared in this paper. In a listening test eleven explicitly trained participants were asked to localize eleven sound sources positioned in the right hemisphere using the proximal pointing method. Binaural stimuli based on individually measured HRTFs were compared to those of an artificial head in a static reproduction of stimuli and in three dynamic reproduction methods of different resolutions (5°, 2.5° and 1°). Unsigned errors in azimuth and elevation as well as front-back-confusions and in-head-localization were observed. Dynamic reproduction of any resolution applied turned out fundamental for a reduction of undesired front-back-confusions and in-head-localization. Individually measured HRTFs showed a smaller effect on localization accuracy compared to the influence of dynamic sound reproduction. They were mainly observed to reduce the front-back-confusion rate.