Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Centromere protein A dynamics in human pluripotent stem cell self-renewal, differentiation and DNA damage

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) hold significant promise for use in regenerative medicine, or as a model to understand human embryo development. However, the basic mechanisms required for proliferation and self-renewal of hPSCs have not been fully uncovered. Proliferation in all eukaryotes is dependent upon highly regulated expression of the histone H3 variant Centromere protein A (CENP-A). In the current study, we demonstrate that hPSCs have a unique messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) reserve of CENP-A not found in somatic fibroblasts. Using short hairpin RNA technology to reduce but not ablate CENP-A, we show that CENP-A-depleted hPSCs are still capable of maintaining a functional centromeric mark, whereas fibroblasts are not. However, upon induction of differentiation or DNA damage, hPSCs with depleted CENP-A arrest in G2/M and undergo apoptosis. Analysis of CENP-A dynamics following DNA damage in hPSCs reveals that 60 min after irradiation, CENP-A is found in multiple small nuclear foci that are mutually exclusive to γH2AX as well as CENP-C. Furthermore, following irradiation, hPSCs with depleted CENP-A mount a normal apoptotic response at 6 h; however at 24 h, apoptosis is significantly increased in CENP-A-depleted hPSCs relative to control. Taken together, our results indicate that hPSCs exhibit a unique mechanism for maintaining genomic integrity by possessing the flexibility to reduce the amount of CENP-A required to maintain a functional centromere under self-renewing conditions, and maintaining a reserve of CENP-A mRNA to rebuild the centromere following differentiation or DNA damage.
Automated 3-D Extraction of Inner and Outer Surfaces of Cerebral Cortex from MRI

Automatic computer processing of large multidimensional images such as those produced by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is greatly aided by deformable models, which are used to extract, identify, and quantify specific neuroanatomic structures. A general method of deforming polyhedra is presented here, with two novel features. First, explicit prevention of self-intersecting surface geometries is provided, unlike conventional deformable models, which use regularization constraints to discourage but not necessarily prevent such behavior. Second, deformation of multiple surfaces with intersurface proximity constraints allows each surface to help guide other surfaces into place using model-based constraints such as expected thickness of an anatomic surface. These two features are used advantageously to identify automatically the total surface of the outer and inner boundaries of cerebral cortical gray matter from normal human MR images, accurately locating the depths of the sulci, even where noise and partial volume artifacts in the image obscure the visibility of sulci. The extracted surfaces are enforced to be simple two-dimensional manifolds (having the topology of a sphere), even though the data may have topological holes. This automatic 3-D cortex segmentation technique has been applied to 150 normal subjects, simultaneously extracting both the gray/white and gray/cerebrospinal fluid interface from each individual. The collection of surfaces has been used to create a spatial map of the mean and standard deviation for the location and the thickness of cortical gray matter. Three alternative criteria for defining cortical thickness at each cortical location were developed and compared. These results are shown to corroborate published postmortem and in vivo measurements of cortical thickness.
Le pouvoir de prévision des indices PMI

The forecast of world economic growth plays a key role in the conduct of Canadian monetary policy. In this context, the authors study the usefulness of the monthly Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMIs) in predicting short-term real GDP growth in the euro area, Japan, the United Kingdom, and China, as well as in the world economy. The main advantage of the PMIs lies in the timeliness of their releases compared to that of quarterly national accounts data and other related monthly indicators. The authors’ goal is to assess whether PMIs can help predict real GDP growth at the margin of other traditional monthly indicators (on top of the advantage related to their timeliness). To that end, the authors build simple indicator models and verify whether the addition of PMIs improves the in- and out-of-sample predictions. For all economies, PMIs turn out to be significant explanatory variables and to substantially improve the accuracy of predictions.
An Articulatory Speech-Prosthesis System

We investigate speech-coding strategies for brain-machine-interface (BMI) based speech prostheses. We present an articulatory speech-synthesis system using an experimental integrated-circuit vocal tract that models the human vocal tract. Our articulatory silicon vocal tract makes feasible the transmission of low bit-rate speech-coding parameters over a bandwidth-constrained body sensor network (BSN). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first articulatory speech-prosthesis system reported to date. We also present a speech-prosthesis simulator (SPS) as a means to generate realistic articulatory parameter sequences.
A novel volumetric display using fog emitter matrix

This paper presents a novel volumetric display based on projection on a non-planer and reconfigurable fog screen. Unlike conventional fog projection systems which produce 2D images on flat screens, our display scatters different parts of the projected image at different depth levels, thus allowing volumetric data to be displayed in the real 3D space. We constructed the fog screen with a 2D array of nozzles that are individually switchable, while the switching pattern is tightly synchronized with the video content. Our system is superior to many existing approaches at many levels. First, our display does not require head tracking, glasses or head-mounted devices while allowing high resolution, full color 3D image to be observed from wide viewing angles by many people at the same time. As compare with various existing approaches, our system is relatively easy to setup and low cost. Most importantly, our immaterial, mid-air display allows users to directly touch and manipulate virtual objects in 3D under marker-free and barrier-free settings which opens up immense tangible and creative interaction possibilities. In this paper, we provide the details of display mechanism and design prototype, as well as a constrained optimization problem to find the projection distance that can maximize the display resolution. A number of real display examples will demonstrate the performance of the proposed system.
Block-matching based optical flow estimation with reduced search space based on geometric constraints

In this paper we propose a new block-matching based approach for the estimation of nearly dense optical flow fields in image sequences. We focus on applications to autonomous vehicles where a dominant movement of the camera along its optical axis is present. The presented algorithm exploits the geometric relations between the two viewpoints induced by the epipolar geometry, hence it is applicable for the static parts of the scene. These relations are used to remap the images so that the resulting virtual images are similar to images captured by an axial stereo camera setup. This alignment dramatically reduces the computational complexity of the correspondence search and avoids false correspondences e.g. caused by repeated patterns. Experiments on challenging real-world sequences show the accuracy of the proposed approach.
Security Guidelines: Requirements Engineering for Verifying Code Quality

The development and delivery of secure software is a challenging task, that gets even harder when the developer tries to adhere to both application and organization-specific security requirements translated into security guidelines. These guidelines serve as best practices or recommendations that help reduce application exposure to vulnerabilities, and provide hints about the application's adherence to high-level and abstract security requirements. In this paper, we present guidelines we gathered from different sources, and we highlight the main issues related to the interpretation and application of those guidelines. We present a first attempt to classify the requirements with the objective of identifying the analysis that should be performed to verify the adherence of the developed software to each of the categories.
Computational Creativity Infrastructure for Online Software Composition: A Conceptual Blending Use Case

Computational creativity (CC) is a multidisciplinary research field, studying how to engineer software that exhibits behavior that would reasonably be deemed creative. This paper shows how composition of software solutions in this field can effectively be supported through a CC infrastructure that supports user-friendly development of CC software components and workflows, their sharing, execution, and reuse. The infrastructure allows CC researchers to build workflows that can be executed online and be easily reused by others through the workflow web address. Moreover, it enables the building of procedures composed of software developed by different researchers from different laboratories, leading to novel ways of software composition for computational purposes that were not expected in advance. This capability is illustrated on a workflow that implements a Concept Generator prototype based on the Conceptual Blending framework. The prototype consists of a composition of modules made available as web services, and is explored and tested through experiments involving blending of texts from different domains, blending of images, and poetry generation.
Physics Motivations for Future CERN Accelerators

We summarize the physics motivations for future accelerators at CERN. We argue that (a) a luminosity upgrade for the LHC could provide good physics return for a relatively modest capital investment, (b) CLIC would provide excellent long-term perspectives within many speculative scenarios for physics beyond the Standard Model, (c) a Very Large Hadron Collider could provide the rst opportunity to explore the energy range up to about 30 TeV, (d) a neutrino factory based on a muon storage ring would provide an exciting and complementary scientic programme and a muon collider could be an interesting later option.
Evidence-based systematic review: effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on swallowing and neural activation.

PURPOSE To systematically review the literature examining the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on swallowing and neural activation. The review was conducted as part of a series examining the effects of oral motor exercises (OMEs) on speech, swallowing, and neural activation. METHOD A systematic search was conducted to identify relevant studies published in peer-reviewed journals from 1960 to 2007. All studies meeting the exclusion/inclusion criteria were appraised for quality and categorized as efficacy or exploratory research based on predetermined criteria. RESULTS Out of 899 citations initially identified for the broad review of OMEs, 14 articles relating to NMES qualified for inclusion. Most of the studies (10/14) were considered exploratory research, and many had significant methodological limitations. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review reveals that surface NMES to the neck has been most extensively studied with promising findings, yet high-quality controlled trials are needed to provide evidence of efficacy. Surface NMES to the palate, faucial pillars, and pharynx has been explored in Phase I research, but no evidence of efficacy is currently available. Intramuscular NMES has been investigated in a single Phase I exploratory study. Additional research is needed to document the effects of such protocols on swallowing performance.
Prospects of Computer Vision Automated Grading and Sorting Systems in Agricultural and Food Products for Quality Evaluation

The paper presents the recent development and application of image analysis and computer vision systems in sorting and grading of products in the field of agricultural and food. Basic concepts and technologies associated with computer vision, a tool used in image analysis and automated sorting and grading is highlighted. For the ever-increasing population, losses in handling and processing and the increased expectation of food products of high quality and safety standards, there is need for the growth of accurate, fast and objective quality determination of the characteristics of food and agricultural food products. Computer vision and image analysis, are non-destructive and cost-effective technique for sorting and grading of agricultural and food products during handling processes and commercial purposes. Different approaches based on image analysis and processing identified is related to variety of applications in agricultural and food products.
Heterogeneity and the Welfare Cost of Dynamic Factor Taxes

The welfare costs of dynamic factor taxes are analyzed in a dynamic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous endowments, abilities, and tastes. Conventional functional form restrictions yield formulas for the transition effects and marginal welfare costs of factor taxes. Heterogeneity implies that taxes have feedback or distribution effects, beyond standard efficiency effects, that may lead to nonstandard aggregate dynamics. Also, marginal welfare costs vary systematically with initial distortions and agents' characteristics. Because factor taxes lower wealth inequality, equity gains offset efficiency losses with the offset weakening as initial distortions rise. However, distribution effects reinforce efficiency losses unless preexisting distortions are sufficiently high, in which case some types of heterogeneity yield offsetting distribution effects. Simulations suggest that, for labor taxes, distribution effects dominate dynamics, but not for capital taxes. Also, equity gains dominate efficiency losses and distribution effects for the marginal welfare cost of labor taxes, and vice versa for capital taxes.
The Impact of Neonatal Seizures on the Ability to Encode , Store , and Retrieve Memories

Throughout life, the prevalence of seizures is highest during the neonatal period, a critical time for synaptic development. While neonatal seizures can be attributed to a wide array of predisposed risk factors and underlying medical complications, the majority of seizures result from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a condition that occurs when the brain is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Early life neonatal seizures often result in cognitive deficits such as long-term impairments in learning and memory. Additionally, the occurrence of seizure activity during the this developmental period increases susceptibility to epilepsy far into adulthood. In this study, we propose two distinct sets of hypotheses to explain the origin of cognitive dysfunction resulting from neonatal seizures. From a psychological perspective, the extensive and far-reaching effects of such seizures can be rationalized using components from existing memory models. Furthermore, these deficits can be explained on a synaptic level through the physiological association between long-term potentiation and the ability to encode, store, and retrieve memories.
A model driven approach for event processing applications

This paper presents The Event Model (TEM) as a means to design, develop, implement, and maintain event-driven applications. The friendly, yet rigorous, representation of the event logic in Excel-like tables makes the model accessible to people lacking IT skills. The Event Model follows the model driven engineering approach and can be classified as a CIM (Computation Independent Model). The goal is to strive for automatic transformation along with the model driven engineering. In this paper we provide a methodology to transform the CIM into a running event driven application. We demonstrate our methodology using an example taken from mobile phone fraud detection.
Supplemental Material Upper Midwest Climate Variations: Farmer Responses to Excess Water Risks Cscap-u2u Survey

The survey data used in this study come from a February 2012 survey of farmers stratified across 22 HUC6 watersheds in the Corn Belt (Arbuckle et al., 2013b). Watersheds were selected according to a number of factors, primarily overall corn production. The target population was the largest producers, with sample selection limited to operations with at least 32.4 hectares (80 acres) of corn production and at least $100,000 in gross sales. The survey was sent to over 18,000 producers, and the analysis in this study utilizes the data from all 4,778 respondents, a response rate of 26%. The survey was conducted as part of a partnership between Loy et al. (2013) provide details of the survey methodology and many of the variables used in this study. Some of the socioeconomic predictors used in the multivariate tobit model involve latent factors, and the details of the factor analysis used in their construction are presented here. The latent factors, their measurement variables and estimated loadings are presented in Supplemental Table S1. One perceived risk predictor is a latent factor that quantifies each subject's perceived risk related to excess water and is measured by survey items that asked respondents' level of
Illumination invariant road detection based on learning method

Road detection is an essential and important component in intelligent transportation system (ITS). Generally, most road detection methods are sensitive to variation of illumination which results in increasing false detection rate. In this paper, we propose an illumination invariant road detection method to deal with variation of illumination. We adopt learning method to estimate illumination invariant direction which is specified to road surface. Once this direction is estimated, we can classify image pixel as road or not. Incorporating scene layout of road image, we reduce false positive detection rate outside the road. Experimental results on real road scenes show that the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Role-governed categories

Theories of categorization have typically focused on the internal structure of categories. This paper is concerned with the external structure of categories. In particular, it is suggested that many categories specify the relational role that is played by category members. To support this claim, the paper distinguishes between traditional feature-based categories, relational categories (which specify a relational structure) and role-governed categories (which specify that an item plays a particular role within a relational structure). After discussing the relationship among these types of categories, the implications of this view for the study of category learning and category use are discussed.
Valuing American options in the presence of user-defined smiles and time-dependent volatility: scenario analysis, model stress and lower-bound pricing applications

A method is presented for the valuation of American style options as a function of an exogenously assigned future implied volatility surface evolution. Subject to this specification, this is done independently of any assumptions about a stochastic process of the underlying asset. The scope and applicability of the method are analyzed in detail. The approach should have applications in risk management, and to estimate a tight lower bound price for the American option.
Identification of Conflicting Selective Effects on Highly Expressed Genes

Many different selective effects on DNA and proteins influence the frequency of codons and amino acids in coding sequences. Selection is often stronger on highly expressed genes. Hence, by comparing high- and low-expression genes it is possible to distinguish the factors that are selected by evolution. It has been proposed that highly expressed genes should (i) preferentially use codons matching abundant tRNAs (translational efficiency), (ii) preferentially use amino acids with low cost of synthesis, (iii) be under stronger selection to maintain the required amino acid content, and (iv) be selected for translational robustness. These effects act simultaneously and can be contradictory. We develop a model that combines these factors, and use Akaike’s Information Criterion for model selection. We consider pairs of paralogues that arose by whole-genome duplication in Saccharmyces cerevisiae. A codon-based model is used that includes asymmetric effects due to selection on highly expressed genes. The largest effect is translational efficiency, which is found to strongly influence synonymous, but not non-synonymous rates. Minimization of the cost of amino acid synthesis is implicated. However, when a more general measure of selection for amino acid usage is used, the cost minimization effect becomes redundant. Small effects that we attribute to selection for translational robustness can be identified as an improvement in the model fit on top of the effects of translational efficiency and amino acid usage.
Frequency of severe hypoglycemia requiring emergency treatment in type 1 and type 2 diabetes: a population-based study of health service resource use.

OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence, predisposing factors, and costs of emergency treatment of severe hypoglycemia in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Over a 12-month period, routinely collected datasets were analyzed in a population of 367,051 people, including 8,655 people with diabetes, to measure the incidence of severe hypoglycemia that required emergency assistance from Ninewells Hospital and Medical School (NHS) personnel including those in primary care, ambulance services, hospital accident and emergency departments, and inpatient care. Associated costs with these episodes were calculated. RESULTS A total of 244 episodes of severe hypoglycemia were recorded in 160 patients, comprising 69 (7.1%) people with type 1 diabetes, 66 (7.3%) with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin, and 23 (0.8%) with type 2 diabetes treated with sulfonylurea tablets. Incidence rates were 11.5 and 11.8 events per 100 patient-years for type 1 and type 2 patients treated with insulin, respectively. Age, duration, and socioeconomic status were identified as risk factors for severe hypoglycemia. One in three cases were treated solely by the ambulance service with no other contact from health care professionals. The total estimated cost of emergency treatment of severe hypoglycemia was </= pound 92,078 in one year. CONCLUSIONS Hypoglycemia requiring emergency assistance from health service personnel is as common in people with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin as in people with type 1 diabetes. It is associated with considerable NHS resource use that has a significant economic and personal cost.
On the magnetic field required for driving the observed angular-velocity variations in the solar convection zone

A putative temporally varying circulation-free magnetic-field configuration is inferred in an equatorial segment of the solar convection zone from the helioseismologically inferred angular-velocity variation, assuming that the predominant dynamics is angular acceleration produced by the azimuthal Maxwell stress exerted by a field whose surface values are consistent with photospheric line-of-sight measurements.