Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transplanted neurons form both normal and ectopic projections in the adult brain

Transplantation of embryonic or stem cell derived neurons has been proposed as a potential therapy for several neurological diseases. Previous studies reported that transplanted embryonic neurons extended long‐distance projections through the adult brain exclusively to appropriate targets. We transplanted E14 lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE) and E15 cortical precursors from embryonic mice into the intact adult brain and analyzed the projections formed by transplanted neurons. In contrast to previous studies, we found that transplanted embryonic neurons formed distinct long‐distance projections to both appropriate and ectopic targets. LGE neurons transplanted into the adult striatum formed projections not only to the substantia nigra, a normal target, but also to the claustrum and through all layers of fronto‐orbital cortex, regions that do not normally receive striatal input. In some cases, inappropriate projections outnumbered appropriate projections. To examine the relationship between the donor cells and host brain in establishing the pattern of projections, we transplanted cortical precursors into the adult striatum. Despite their heterotopic location, cortical precursors not only predominantly formed projections appropriate for cortical neurons, but they also formed projections to inappropriate targets. Transplantation of GFP‐expressing cells into β‐galactosidase‐expressing mice confirmed that the axonal projections were not created by the fusion of donor and host cells. These results suggest that repairing the brain using transplantation may be more complicated than previously expected, because exuberant ectopic projections could result in brain dysfunction. Understanding the signals regulating axonal extension in the adult brain will be necessary to harness stem cells or embryonic neurons for effective neuronal‐replacement therapies. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008.
Interactions between VirB9 and VirB10 membrane proteins involved in movement of DNA from Agrobacterium tumefaciens into plant cells

The 11 VirB proteins from Agrobacterium tumefaciens are predicted to form a membrane-bound complex that mediates the movement of DNA from the bacterium into plant cells. The studies reported here on the possible VirB protein interactions in such a complex demonstrate that VirB9 and VirB10 can each form high-molecular-weight complexes after treatment with a chemical cross-linker. Analysis of nonpolar virB mutants showed that the formation of the VirB10 complexes does not occur in a virB9 mutant and that VirB9 and VirB10 are not components of the same cross-linked complex. VirB9, when stabilized by the concurrent expression of VirB7, was shown to be sufficient to permit VirB10 to cross-link into its usual high-molecular-weight forms in the absence of other Vir proteins. Randomly introduced single point mutations in virB9 resulted in Agrobacterium strains with severely attenuated virulence. Although some of the mutants contained wild-type levels of VirB9 and displayed an unaltered VirB9 cross-linking pattern, VirB10 cross-linking was drastically reduced. We conclude that specific amino acid residues in VirB9 are necessary for interaction with VirB10 resulting in the capacity of VirB10 to participate in high-molecular-weight complexes that can be visualized by chemical cross-linking.
Automotive EMC analysis using the hybrid finite element boundary integral approach

The majority of innovative trends in automotive industry today relies on electronic systems. Understanding the electromagnetic behavior of the electronic control units (ECUs) in a vehicle has become an ever increasing concern of automotive manufacturers. Computational Electromagnetic Modeling (CEM) is a cost effective approach that has being adopted by the automotive industry to address electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems. Automotive structures are electrically large in nature and the systems required for a complete EMC analysis can be fairly complex. For this reason, there is no single numerical technique that can be used to address all automotive EMC problems. This paper shows how the automotive standard ISO11452-2 can be solved using the hybrid Finite Element Boundary Integral (FEBI) approach. A comparative study indicates that FEBI is faster and requires less computational effort than the Finite Element Method (FEM) for this particular analysis. Recent technology advances on FEBI are also presented showing the great potential of this technique to address automotive EMC problems.
Self-tolerance: context dependent tuning of T cell antigen recognition.

Physiological messages to cells are encoded in the magnitude, and in the time- and space-contingencies, of sets of stimuli. In particular, individual T cells continuously integrate antigenic and other signals and respond differentially to the rate of change in the level of stimulation, translated intracellularly into 'metabolic perturbations'. The organization of the immune response at the cell-population level in space and time is also conductive to discriminating the magnitude of 'system perturbations'. In this way, the immune system was 'designed' to respond in a characteristic explosive way mainly to episodes of infection and not to the continuous presence of self-antigens. T cells are selected to be moderately autoreactive, and the degree of autoreactivity that they express is continuously controlled through activation-threshold tuning. Their level of autoreactivity is maintained in a range that facilitates survival and self-renewal and is probably used in performing some immunoregulatory functions and possibly other physiological functions. Autoreactivity and outward-directed immunity are regulated simultaneously and interactively through the interplay of selection, tuning, controlled activation and feedback.
Analyzing repeated measures semi-continuous data, with application to an alcohol dependence study

Summary Two-part random effects models (Olsen and Schafer, 1 Tooze et al. 2 ) have been applied to repeated measures of semi-continuous data, characterized by a mixture of a substantial proportion of zero values and a skewed distribution of positive values. In the original formulation of this model, the natural logarithm of the positive values is assumed to follow a normal distribution with a constant variance parameter. In this article, we review and consider three extensions of this model, allowing the positive values to follow (a) a generalized gamma distribution, (b) a log-skew-normal distribution, and (c) a normal distribution after the Box-Cox transformation. We allow for the possibility of heteroscedasticity. Maximum likelihood estimation is shown to be conveniently implemented in SAS Proc NLMIXED. The performance of the methods is compared through applications to daily drinking records in a secondary data analysis from a randomized controlled trial of topiramate for alcohol dependence treatment. We find that all three models provide a significantly better fit than the log-normal model, and there exists strong evidence for heteroscedasticity. We also compare the three models by the likelihood ratio tests for non-nested hypotheses (Vuong 3 ). The results suggest that the generalized gamma distribution provides the best fit, though no statistically significant differences are found in pairwise model comparisons.
Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation Failure: A Case Study from Jordan

The economic growth in the Jordanian market led multiple business owners to refer to information technology in general and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in particular, in order to improve their business aspects, flow of information and customer satisfaction. Researchers have been studying the use of ERP systems for many years, and have stated its many advantages and disadvantage. They have also listed that some critical factors such as commitment issues, poor project management and poor knowledge transfer could lead to a failed ERP implementation process, which resulted in business owners refraining from ERP system. This paper discusses the literature and evolution of ERP systems along with the failure factors contributing to implementation failure, and finally discusses the findings on the case study conducted on four Jordanian companies.
Agreement among three quality of life measures in patients with ALS

AIM: To determine the concurrent validity of three self-administered health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires when administered to patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). BACKGROUND: ALS is the most common motor neuron disease among adults. As a rapidly progressive and fatal disease, ALS has devastating effects on the patient's relationships, functional capacity and mental health. HRQOL measures include information about patients' impairments, functional level, and psychosocial status. This study compares a tool designed for the ALS population, the Sickness Impact Profile ALS-19 (SIP/ALS19), and two tools designed to be used in any population, the Quality of Wellbeing Scale SA (QWB SA), and the SF-36 Health Survey (SF-36). Correlation of the scores would suggest that each tool is valid as a stand-alone measurement of quality of life for this patient population. METHODS: The SIP/ALS-19, the SF-36, and the QWB SA were self-administered to 19 subjects diagnosed with ALS. The scores for each test were ranked and analyzed for agreement using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Results: The SIP/ALS-19 demonstrated moderate to good correlation with the QWB SA and fair correlation with the SF-36. The SF-36 had little to no correlation with the QWB physical SA. CONCLUSIONS: The study did not demonstrate significant correlation among the three quality of life measures. The SIP/ALS-19, SF-36, and QWB SA each have a different focus in measuring HRQOL. The healthcare practitioner should consider the patient's stage of disease, treatment goals, and type of interventions planned when selecting a HRQOL tool for the ALS patient. (ALS 2000; 1: 269–275)
Predicting rates of inbreeding: in populations undergoing selection

Tractable forms of predicting rates of inbreeding ( D F ) in selected populations with general indices, nonrandom mating, and overlapping generations were developed, with the principal results assuming a period of equilibrium in the selection process. An existing theorem concerning the relationship between squared long-term genetic contributions and rates of inbreeding was extended to nonrandom mating and to overlapping generations. D F was shown to be z 1 ⁄ 4 (1 2 v ) times the expected sum of squared lifetime contributions, where v is the deviation from Hardy-Weinberg proportions. This relationship cannot be used for prediction since it is based upon observed quantities. Therefore, the relationship was further developed to express D F in terms of expected long-term contributions that are conditional on a set of selective advantages that relate the selection processes in two consecutive generations and are predictable quantities. With random mating, if selected family sizes are assumed to be independent Poisson variables then the expected long-term contribution could be substituted for the observed, providing 1 ⁄ 4 (since v 5 0) was increased to 1 ⁄ 2 . Established theory was used to provide a correction term to account for deviations from the Poisson assumptions. The equations were successfully applied, using simple linear models, to the problem of predicting D F with sib indices in discrete generations since previously published solutions had proved complex.
Tree-RNSA: A Negative Selection Algorithm Based on Self Index Tree

As traditional negative selection algorithms need to calculate the distances between initial detectors and all the self data, the efficiencies of them are too low. In this article, before the creation process of detectors, the self data is pretreated to be a SS-Tree, and then the negative selection process is transformed into the data query process in the self SS-Tree to improve the efficiency of detectors creation.
Partial Truncation of the Yeast RNA Polymerase II Carboxyl-terminal Domain Preferentially Reduces Expression of Glycolytic Genes (*)

The largest subunit of RNA polymerase II contains an essential carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) that consists of highly conserved heptapeptide repeats with the consensus sequence Tyr-Ser-Pro-Thr-Ser-Pro-Ser. Yeast cells with a partially truncated CTD grow slowly, are temperature- and cold-sensitive, and are unable to fully activate transcription of some genes. Screening a yeast wild-type cDNA library by means of comparative hybridization we find that CTD truncation preferentially reduces transcription of genes encoding glycolytic enzymes. Using a newly developed dual reporter assay we demonstrate that sensitivity to CTD truncation is conferred by the glycolytic gene promoters. Expression driven by glycolytic gene promoters is reduced, on average, about 3-fold in strains with the shortest CTD growing on either fermentable or nonfermentable carbon sources. Sensitivity to CTD truncation is particularly acute for the constitutively expressed ENO1 gene, which is reduced 10-fold in a strain with only eight CTD repeats. The sensitivity of constitutive ENO1 expression argues that CTD truncation can cause defects in uninduced as well as induced transcription.
On-chip silicon odometers and their potential use in medical electronics

The parametric shifts or circuit failures caused by transistor aging have become more severe with shrinking device sizes and voltage margins. Designing circuits that can withstand these aging effects is particularly critical in medical applications where systems must operate flawlessly across a range of conditions for their entire lifetimes. In this work we present several on-chip Silicon Odometers that provide measurement data required to develop transistor degradation models. One such scheme-a beat frequency detection circuit capable of recording oscillator frequency shifts ranging down to a theoretical limit of less than 0.01%-may be suited to trigger real-time adjustments that compensate for lost performance on products in the field. Incorporating this sensing capability may be especially attractive in implantable medical electronics.
Palaeogenetic evidence supports a dual model of Neolithic spreading into Europe

The peopling of Europe is a complex process. One of the most dramatic demographic events, the Neolithic agricultural revolution, took place in the Near East roughly 10 000 years ago and then spread through the European continent. Nevertheless, the nature of this process (either cultural or demographic) is still a matter of debate among scientists. We have retrieved HVRI mitochondrial DNA sequences from 11 Neolithic remains from Granollers (Catalonia, northeast Spain) dated to 5500 years BP. We followed the proposed authenticity criteria, and we were also able, for the first time, to track down the pre-laboratory-derived contaminant sequences and consequently eliminate them from the generated cloning dataset. Phylogeographic analysis shows that the haplogroup composition of the Neolithic population is very similar to that found in modern populations from the Iberian Peninsula, suggesting a long-time genetic continuity, at least since Neolithic times. This result contrasts with that recently found in a Neolithic population from Central Europe and, therefore, raises new questions on the heterogeneity of the Neolithic dispersals into Europe. We propose here a dual model of Neolithic spread: acculturation in Central Europe and demic diffusion in southern Europe.
Noninvasive fluid flow measurements in microfluidic channels with backscatter interferometry

The ability to measure fluid velocity within picoliter volumes or on‐chip noninvasively, is important toward fully realizing the potential of microfluidics and micrototal analysis systems, particularly in applications such as micro‐high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or in metering mixing where the flow rate must be quantified. Additionally, these measurements need to be performed directly on moving fluids in a noninvasive fashion. We presented here the proof of principle experiments showing nonintrusive fluid flow measurements can be accomplished on‐chip using a pump and probe configuration with backscattering interferometry. The on‐chip interferometric backscatter detector (OCIBD) is based on a fiber‐coupled HeNe laser that illuminates a portion of an isotropically etched 40 μm radius channel and a position sensitive transducer to measure fringe pattern shifts. An infrared laser with a mechanical shutter is used to heat a section of a flowing volume and the resulting refractive index (RI) change is detected with the OCIBD downstream as a time‐dependent RI perturbation. Fluid velocity is quantified as changes in the phase difference between the shutter signal and the OCIBD detected signal in the Fourier domain. The experiments are performed in the range of 3–6 μL/h with 3σ detection limits determined to be 0.127 nL/s. Additionally, the RI response of the system is calibrated using temperature changes as well as glycerol solutions.
Automatic Diagnosing of Suspicious Lesions in Digital Mammograms

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women’s age between 50 and 74 years across the worldwide. In this paper we’ve proposed a method to detect the suspicious lesions in mammograms, extracting their features and classify them as Normal or Abnormal and Benign or Malignant for diagnosing of breast cancer. This method consists of two major parts: The first one is detection of regions of interest (ROIs). The second one is diagnosing of detected ROIs. This method was tested by Mini Mammography Image Analysis Society (Mini-MIAS) database. To check method’s performance, we’ve used FROC (Free-Receiver Operating Characteristics) curve in the detection part and ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristics) curve in the diagnosis part. Obtained results show that the performance of detection part has sensitivity of 94.27% at 0.67 false positive per image. The performance of diagnosis part has 94.29% accuracy, with 94.11% sensitivity, 94.44% specificity in the classification as normal or abnormal mammogram, and has achieved 94.4%accuracy, with 96.15% sensitivity and 94.54% specificity in the classification as Benign or Malignant mammogram.
GaAs MMIC power amplifiers for GMSK based GSM/DCS-1800 applications

The design and development of subscriber power amplifiers for GMSK based GSM (Global System Mobile) and DCS-1800 will be presented. This extremely high volume and price sensitive market dictates that state of the art electrical performance and manufacturability need to be considered as concurrent design goals. Nonlinear modeling using both harmonic balance and time domain techniques provided the optimal circuit topology and element values. These two-stage GaAs MESFET power amplifiers operate on a 6V supply which is pulsed with a 570uS burst and a 12.5% duty cycle. The GSM power amplifier provides 36dBm pulsed output power at 53% efficiency and an associated gain of 26dB over the 890-915 MHz frequency range. The DCS-1800 power amplifier provides 33dBm pulsed output power at 56% efficiency and an associated gain of 22dB over the 1710-1785 MElz frequency range. The amplifiers are packaged in a novel thermally efficient low cost plastic package and incorporate flexible high-Q off chip output matching. The inherent package size is 0.02cm3 as compared to greater than 1cm3 typical of conventional hybrid approaches and is believed to be the smallest size for an amplifier of this functionality and state of the art electrical performance.
A Motion-Sketch Based Video Retrieval Using MST-CSS Representation

In this work, we propose a framework for a robust Content Based Video Retrieval (CBVR) system with free hand query sketches, using the Multi-Spectro Temporal-Curvature Scale Space (MST-CSS) representation. Our designed interface allows sketches to be drawn to depict the shape of the object in motion and its trajectory. We obtain the MST-CSS feature representation using these cues and match with a set of MST-CSS features generated offline from the video clips in the database (gallery). Results are displayed in rank ordered similarity. Experimentation with benchmark datasets shows promising results.
Cellular Automata to Simulate Rock Failure

Rock fracture process that shows strong nonlinearity and complexity is simulated by cellular automata method. Cellular automata are considered as an efficient method to simulate complex system and study mechanisms of physical phenomena due to their locality and parallelization. In this paper rock samples can be discretized into cell elements that are connected with beam elements. Force and displacement are taken as the basic state variables. Based on equilibrium equations, constitutive equations and deformation equations local rules are attained, which overcomes the shortcoming of arbitrary decision of local rules. Maximum tensile strain criterion and Mohr-Coulomb criterion are introduced to judge the beginning of tensile failure and shearing failure respectively. And based on damage mechanics deformation and strength properties of damaged cell elements are estimated. This model can simulate heterogeneity of rock and crack propagation and coalescence. Finally based on this model fracture process and crack propagation and coalescence are simulated. The simulated results are in good accordance with typical experimental results and it proved that cellular automata method is a promising method to study rock fracture.
Mehr Und Bessere Daten Für Die Arbeitsmarktforschung. Vorschläge Zur Effizienten Erschließung Von Bislang Ungenutztem Potenzial Der Amtlichen Statistik

Die okonomische Beurteilung von Vorgangen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt erfordert eine solide und aussagekraftige Datengrundlage. Eine Kerngrose zu deren Verstandnis bilden Stundenlohne. Stundenlohne erklaren beispielsweise, ob und in welchem Umfang Menschen arbeiten und konsumieren, warum und wie lange sie arbeitslos bleiben und wie viel sie in Bildung investieren. Stundenlohne erklaren daruber hinaus, in welchem Umfang Firmen Menschen entlassen oder einstellen, fur welchen Standort sie sich entscheiden und welche Form der Spezialisierung fur sie optimal ist. Nicht zuletzt sind Stundenlohne von erheblicher Bedeutung fur die Beantwortung von Verteilungsfragen. Umso erstaunlicher mutet es daher an, dass seitens der amtlichen Statistik fur diesen zentralen Bereich der Wirtschaft bislang keine hinreichende Datengrundlage bereitgestellt wird. Das liese sich mit relativ geringem Aufwand andern. Dazu bedarf es jedoch letztlich der Unterstutzung durch den Gesetzgeber. Dies betrifft zum einen die Konzeption amtlicher Erhebungen und zum anderen die Schaffung einer gesetzlichen Grundlage fur Verknupfung von amtlichen Mikrodaten zu wissenschaftlichen Zwecken.