Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activated N‐ras gene induces neuronal differentiation of PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells

Activated mouse N‐ras gene transfected into PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells suppressed proliferation and promoted neuronal differentiation. Normal mouse N‐ras in a LTR‐containing vector caused differentiation with a reduced efficiency, but normal N‐ras in a vector lacking LTR sequences failed to alter the PC12 phenotype. Cultures of NGF‐resistant PC12 variant subline U7 also showed outgrowth of neurites and cessation of cell division following transfection with the mutated ras gene. The present findings suggest that ras genes can, in certain cells, play a role in promoting differentiation and suppressing proliferation, in contrast to their established oncogenic neoplasiapromoting activity in other cells.
Application of IPSO and fuzzy logic methods in electrical vehicles for efficient frequency control of multi-area power systems

Nowadays, frequency control, as a basic concept in power systems, has experienced high uncertainties due to changing structure of interconnected power systems, increasing size in multi-area systems and various load changes. On the other hand, according to arisen limitations in conventional generation units, such as increasing greenhouse gas emissions and high operational costs, paying attention to new apparatuses for frequency control like controllable loads seems as a vital matter. In this context, electric vehicles (EVs) can be propounded as one of the foremost controllable loads for enhancing the frequency performance after disturbance. Practically, a proportional-integral (PI) controller is employed to control the charging/discharging conditions of the EV. In this paper, as the first step, the parameters of PI controller are regulated by improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) method. In the second step, the parameters of PI controller are retuned adaptively by fuzzy logic method. The new fuzzy-based PI controller (FPIC) is effective in improving frequency performance and tie-line power variation. Simulation results illustrate the efficiency of the EVs equipped with the IPSO and FPIC for frequency and tie-line power variations enhancement.
Non-Drude Behavior in Indium-Tin-Oxide Nanowhiskers and Thin Films Investigated by Transmission and Reflection THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

A comparative study of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) nanowhiskers (NWhs) and thin films as transparent conductors in the terahertz frequency range are conducted. We employ both transmission-type and reflection-type terahertz time-domain spectroscopies (THz-TDTS and THz-TDRS) to explore the far-infrared optical properties of these samples. Their electrical properties, such as plasma frequencies and carrier scattering times, are analyzed and found to be fitted well by the Drude-Smith model over 0.1-1.4 THz. Further, structural and crystalline properties of samples are examined by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. Non-Drude behavior of complex conductivities in ITO NWhs is attributed to carrier scattering from grain boundaries and impurity ions. In ITO thin films, however, the observed non-Drude behavior is ascribed to scattering by impurity ions only. Considering NWhs and thin films with the same height, mobility of the former is ~ 125 cm2V-1s-1, much larger than those of the ITO thin films, ~ 27 cm2 V-1 s-1. This is attributed to the longer carrier scattering time of the NWhs. The dc conductivities ( ~ 250 Ω-1 cm-1) or real conductivities in the THz frequency region of ITO NWhs is, however, lower than those of the ITO thin films ( ~ 800 Ω-1 cm-1) but adequate for use as electrodes. Partly, this is a reflection of the much higher plasma frequencies of thin films. Significantly, the transmittance of ITO NWhs ( ≅ 60%-70%) is much higher ( ≅ 13 times) than those of ITO thin films in the THz frequency range. The underneath basic physics is that the THz radiation can easily propagate through the air-space among NWhs. The superb transmittance and adequate electrical properties of ITO NWhs suggest their potential applications as transparent conducting electrodes in THz devices.
Relationships Between Academics and Problem Behavior in the Transition from Middle School to High School

Given the increased risk factors in the transition from middle school to high school, this study tracked academic and school discipline records for students receiving general and special education services as they transitioned from Grade 8 to Grade 9. The authors employed analysis of variance and structural equation modeling to determine the significance and strength of the relationship between academic skills and behavior variables. Results indicated significant interactions between academic scores and office discipline referrals, both within and across grades. When controlling for the direct effects, crossover effects of Grade 8 discipline referrals on Grade 9 academic scores remained statistically significant, though effects of Grade 8 state reading assessment scores on Grade 9 discipline referrals did not. Results are discussed in terms of improving school environments and academic instruction to prevent school failure.
Differentiating Occult Branch Retinal Artery Occlusion from Primary Open-angle Glaucoma.

SIGNIFICANCE Clinical findings in occult branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) can mimic those of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Because management of these conditions substantially differs, accurate diagnosis is crucial. Our comparative analysis indicates that specific macular thickness variables reliably differentiate these conditions and that macular scanning may enhance routine glaucoma evaluation. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to identify clinical factors that reliably and efficiently identify occult BRAO masquerading as POAG. METHODS All subjects had comprehensive eye examinations including measurements of retinal nerve fiber layer and macular thickness (MT) using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). All subjects were asymptomatic for previous acute vision loss episodes, had optic nerve appearances suggestive of glaucoma, and exhibited SD-OCT retinal nerve fiber layer thinning with corresponding visual field loss. Macular thickness scans were divided into 64 individual thickness blocks with thin MT blocks defined by the lower 99% confidence interval from a group of normal eyes. We defined BRAO by the presence of regional inner retinal thinning with lack of inner-layer stratification on macular SD-OCT b-scan images that spatially corresponded with arteriolar distribution and visual field loss location. Primary open-angle glaucoma eyes were selected to match the BRAO eyes by age and disease severity. Pairwise and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were used to compare occult BRAO and POAG eyes. RESULTS Compared with POAG (n = 52), occult BRAO eyes (n = 11) demonstrated lower cup-disc ratio, greater intereye and intraeye (superior vs. inferior) MT asymmetry, and higher frequency of thin MT blocks (<200 μm). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for differentiating these conditions was highest for intraeye MT asymmetry (AUC = 0.990 [95% confidence interval, 0.925 to 1.000]) and number of thin MT blocks (AUC = 0.993 [95% confidence interval, 0.929 to 1.000]). CONCLUSIONS Macular thickness parameters provided accurate and efficient diagnostic capability in this study. Considering the clinical implications of inaccurate diagnosis, macular scanning may be important in baseline glaucoma evaluation.
U. S. Government Factors Influencing an Expansion of Study Abroad in the Middle East/North Africa.

During the past 60 years, United States foreign policy has at times dictated the terms for support of international education. Beginning in the late 1950s, federal legislation has helped to create opportunities for young U.S. students to learn about areas of the world that had been largely neglected by providing federal funds to support certain aspects of higher education. As the United States continued to grow as a world power throughout the later part of the twentieth century, government funding for international education grew more closely connected to its national security needs. Federal funds have contributed to the growth of Area Studies and studying Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs).
Evaluation of a stochastic approach to 2D-3D intensity-based registration

This paper assesses a new 2D-3D rigid registration method based on stochastic clustering and an enhanced estimator for mutual information. It combines precision, accuracy and acceptable computation time. Spine datasets (fluoroscopy and computed tomography) with their gold standard transformations are used. Both optimization method and similarity measure are assessed separately using standardized evaluation methodologies. Sub-millimeter accuracy and the high convergence rate obtained within one minute are compared to other quasi-global optimization processes such as particle filtering.
Nonprescribed hormone use and self-performed surgeries: "do-it-yourself" transitions in transgender communities in Ontario, Canada.

OBJECTIVES We examined the extent of nonprescribed hormone use and self-performed surgeries among transgender or transsexual (trans) people in Ontario, Canada. METHODS We present original survey research from the Trans PULSE Project. A total of 433 participants were recruited from 2009 to 2010 through respondent-driven sampling. We used a case series design to characterize those currently taking nonprescribed hormones and participants who had ever self-performed sex-reassignment surgeries. RESULTS An estimated 43.0% (95% confidence interval = 34.9, 51.5) of trans Ontarians were currently using hormones; of these, a quarter had ever obtained hormones from nonmedical sources (e.g., friend or relative, street or strangers, Internet pharmacy, herbals or supplements). Fourteen participants (6.4%; 95% confidence interval = 0.8, 9.0) reported currently taking nonprescribed hormones. Five indicated having performed or attempted surgical procedures on themselves (orchiectomy or mastectomy). CONCLUSIONS Past negative experiences with providers, along with limited financial resources and a lack of access to transition-related services, may contribute to nonprescribed hormone use and self-performed surgeries. Promoting training initiatives for health care providers and jurisdictional support for more accessible services may help to address trans people's specific needs.
Identity-based leveled fully homomorphic encryption over ideal lattices

This paper proposes an efficient identity-based leveled fully homomorphic encryption (IBFHE) scheme over ideal lattice. First, we achieve an identity-based encryption (IBE) scheme in dual-LWE cryptosystem. Then, we take advantage of the eigenvector method to compile the IBE scheme into an IBFHE scheme. Compared with the previous scheme, our scheme is of shorter key size, smaller storage, and higher efficiency, owing to a new trapdoor generation function and algebraic structure of ideal lattice. The security analysis shows that our scheme is selective-identity secure against chosen-plaintext attacks in the standard model.
Control of Cell Cycle Exit and Entry by Protein Kinase B-Regulated Forkhead Transcription Factors

ABSTRACT AFX-like Forkhead transcription factors, which are controlled by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB) signaling, are involved in regulating cell cycle progression and cell death. Both cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis are mediated in part by transcriptional regulation of p27kip1. Here we show that the Forkheads AFX (FOXO4) and FKHR-L1 (FOXO3a) also directly control transcription of the retinoblastoma-like p130 protein and cause upregulation of p130 protein expression. Detailed analysis of p130 regulation demonstrates that following Forkhead-induced cell cycle arrest, cells enter G0 and become quiescent. This is shown by a change in phosphorylation of p130 to G0-specific forms and increased p130/E2F-4 complex formation. Most importantly, long-term Forkhead activation causes a sustained but reversible inhibition of proliferation without a marked increase in apoptosis. As for the activity of the Forkheads, we also show that protein levels of p130 are controlled by endogenous PI3K/PKB signaling upon cell cycle reentry. Surprisingly, not only nontransformed cells, but also cancer cells such as human colon carcinoma cells, are forced into quiescence by Forkhead activation. We therefore propose that Forkhead inactivation by PKB signaling in quiescent cells is a crucial step in cell cycle reentry and contributes to the processes of transformation and regeneration.
Chudley-McCullough syndrome: bilateral sensorineural deafness, hydrocephalus, and other structural brain abnormalities.

The Chudley-McCullough syndrome, an autosomal recessive condition first reported by Chudley et al. [1997], comprises profound sensorineural hearing loss and hydrocephalus secondary to an obstruction of the foramen of Munro. We describe two more sibs with this condition. One girl had sensorineural hearing loss and hydrocephalus due to obstruction of the foramen of Munro. Incidentally she was also found to carry a full mutation in the FMR1 gene. The older sister had profound sensorineural hearing loss and hydrocephalus not due to obstruction of the foramen of Munro; she also had callosal dysgenesis, gray matter heterotopia, cortical dysplasia, and cerebellar dysgenesis. Thus, the Chudley-McCullough syndrome may include hydrocephalus not necessarily related to obstruction of the foramen of Munro and other structural brain abnormalities.
IN VITRO RESISTANCE TO CYTOSINE ARABINOSIDE, NOT TO DAUNORUBICIN, IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RISK OF RELAPSE IN DE NOVO ACUTE MYELOID LEUKAEMIA

The efficacy of chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is limited by clinical drug resistance. We determined in vitro resistance to cytosine arabinoside (ARA‐C), daunorubicin (DNR), mitoxantrone (MITOX), m‐amsacrine (AMSA) and etoposide (VP16) in 49 adults with de novo AML using the MTT assay. Results showed that non‐ responders to chemotherapy were, in vitro, 2.9‐fold more resistant to DNR, but not more resistant to ARA‐C, compared to complete responders. However, complete responders who were in vitro resistant to ARA‐C had a 4‐fold higher risk of relapse (95% CI 1.3–12.5‐fold) compared to complete responders in vitro sensitive to ARA‐C. With a mean follow‐up of 12 months the probability of continuous complete remission (CCR) for patients in vitro sensitive to ARA‐C was 61% at 34 months (95% CI 28–82%), whereas all patients in vitro resistant to ARA‐C relapsed within 18 months from diagnosis. This difference appeared to be independent of other clinical features such as sex, age, white blood cell count, FAB classification, and CD34 expression. In vitro resistance to DNR was not related to the probability of CCR. We conclude that in vitro drug resistance assessed with the MTT assay appears to be associated with short‐ and long‐term clinical outcome in AML. Confirmatory studies comprising a sufficient number of patients for multivariate analyses should prove whether in vitro resistance to ARA‐C will appear to be an independent risk factor.
The genetic variability of the VH genes in follicular lymphoma: the impact of the hypermutation mechanism

Follicular lymphoma (FL) cells have inherited an activated hypermutation mechanism from their origin of germinal centre B cells. Based on today's knowledge of the intrinsic properties related to this mechanism and the VH base composition, reconsideration of previous reports should be made on a broader range of samples. The present study examined the mutation pattern of the VH genes expressed by 55 cases of FL. FL VH genes showed evidence of antigenic selection in 30% of cases with 88% carrying a functional sIg and 78.2% showing intraclonal variation. VH family and gene segment utilization was found to be roughly similar to that of normal B lymphocytes. FL VH genes revealed extensive variations. 17% of the VH exons harboured a total of five deletions, three duplications and two insertions as compared to the most homologous germline counterpart. The VH genes of one tumour displayed three populations with varying CDR3 length at diagnosis. At relapse, emergence of a differently mutated gene, additional mutations reminiscent of ongoing mutations or no variation was prominent. From this study the heterogeneity of FLs is well established and ongoing mutations are seen in the scope of the activated status of the hypermutation mechanism rather than antigen‐stimulated tumour growth.
On the Loadability and Voltage Stability of Islanded AC–DC Hybrid Microgrids During Contingencies

The future smart grid encompasses ac–dc clusters known as ac–dc microgrids. For reliability and security purposes, each microgrid hosts a mix of synchronous-based and converter-based distributed resources. However, synchronous-based generators, in particular, are characterized by their limited reactive power capabilities because of the limitation of their excitation systems, which could lead to voltage instability problems when the hosting microgrid is islanded. AC–DC microgrids also comprise controllable thermal and electrical loads. Most modern ac–dc loads have power electronics interfaces that control the voltage at their ends, exhibiting constant power characteristics. AC–DC microgrids with high penetrations of constant power ac–dc loads are vulnerable to voltage collapse. As with other power system architectures, microgrids are subject to contingencies, e.g., a line circuit outage, during which their loadability can be jeopardized. For this reason, the work reported in this paper involved the investigation of the steady-state voltage stability of islanded ac–dc hybrid microgrids (HMGs) during contingencies. Voltage stability analysis was carried out on a 12-bus ac–dc HMG. Several case studies were designed to reveal the likelihood of voltage instability/collapse in microgrids under severe contingencies. The voltage stability analysis also shows that interfacing ac and dc microgrids does not always enhance loadability. The analysis was carried with the goal of raising awareness among microgrid planners and operators of the possibility that a voltage collapse phenomenon can develop in islanded ac–dc microgrids under extreme events. Contingency analysis should therefore be incorporated into planning and operations criteria for islanded ac–dc microgrids.
Automated Segmentation of Skin Strata in Reflectance Confocal Microscopy Depth Stacks

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a powerful tool for in-vivo examination of a variety of skin diseases. However, current use of RCM depends on qualitative examination by a human expert to look for specific features in the different strata of the skin. Developing approaches to quantify features in RCM imagery requires an automated understanding of what anatomical strata is present in a given en-face section. This work presents an automated approach using a bag of features approach to represent en-face sections and a logistic regression classifier to classify sections into one of four classes (stratum corneum, viable epidermis, dermal-epidermal junction and papillary dermis). This approach was developed and tested using a dataset of 308 depth stacks from 54 volunteers in two age groups (20-30 and 50-70 years of age). The classification accuracy on the test set was 85.6%. The mean absolute error in determining the interface depth for each of the stratum corneum/viable epidermis, viable epidermis/dermal-epidermal junction and dermal-epidermal junction/papillary dermis interfaces were 3.1 μm, 6.0 μm and 5.5 μm respectively. The probabilities predicted by the classifier in the test set showed that the classifier learned an effective model of the anatomy of human skin.
Student Loans and Early Post-Graduation Earnings: Evidence from Decomposition Analysis

Student loans increase educational opportunities for students from all backgrounds. They have also been criticized as imposing financial and psychological hardships. We employ the data from restricted-use National Surveys of Recent College Graduates to conduct an in-depth investigation of the relationship between student loans and post-graduation labor market outcomes. Graduates with loans have systematically lower earnings than graduates without loans. Decomposition estimations show that most of the earnings differential is due to factors related to the choice and performance in college and unobservables. Student borrowers could benefit from more information about net returns to higher quality education conditional on borrowing.
Parallelized network-driven analysis of network systems on commodity hardware

In recent times, the study of complex network systems, for example communication networks such as the Internet, Smart Grids or Social Networks, have received significant attention. While newly emerging data sets in these domains now allow for a broad quantitative exploration and empirical validation of theoretical models towards a better understanding of complex networks, the enormous size of complex networks make many analyses too computationally expensive, therefore rendering an effective study in most cases impractical. This paper argues that through parallelization and network-driven analysis an effective study becomes again feasible, and that such parallelization may even be achieved using commodity hardware, thus making this technique applicable to a broad community.
Comparing the E-Z Reader Model to Other Models of Eye Movement Control in Reading

The E-Z Reader model provides a theoretical framework for understanding how word identification, visual processing, attention, and oculomotor control jointly determine when and where the eyes move during reading. Thus, in contrast to other reading models reviewed in this article, E-Z Reader can simultaneously account for many of the known effects of linguistic, visual, and oculomotor factors on eye movement control during reading. Furthermore, the core principles of the model have been generalized to other task domains (e.g., equation solving, visual search), and are broadly consistent with what is known about the architecture of the neural systems that support reading.
New Spectrum-Sliced Microwave Photonic Filter for High-Frequency Signal Processing

A new spectrum-sliced microwave photonic filter exhibiting multitap characteristics, high-frequency operation, and insensitivity to the operating optical wavelength, is presented. It is based on an amplitude-modulated single sliced source and a novel sinusoidal group delay line structure, integrating tap weights and delays in one unit, and enabling multiple-tap signal processing without coherence interference limitations. Experimental results demonstrate the realization of a transversal filter response with 7.8-GHz free spectral range and 40-dB out-of-band rejection ratio.
A Robust, Real-Time and Calibration-Free Lane Departure Warning System

A real-time and calibration-free lane departure warning system algorithm is proposed. The pre-processing stage of the lane departure algorithm is carried out using Gaussian pyramid to smooth the image and reduce its dimensions, which decreases the unnecessary details in the image. A lane detection stage is then developed based on the Edge Drawing Lines (EDLines) algorithm that is a real-time line segment detector, which has false detection control. The reference-counting technique is used to track the lane boundaries and predict the missing ones. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has accuracy of 99.25% and average processing time of 80 fps (frame per second). The proposed algorithm is efficient to be used in the self-driving systems in the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) cars.