Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Forensic-paternity effectiveness and genetics population analysis of six non-CODIS mini-STR loci (D1S1656, D2S441, D6S1043, D10S1248, D12S391, D22S1045) and SE33 in Mestizo and Amerindian populations from Mexico

Abstract Background: STRs are powerful tools intensively used in forensic and kinship studies. Aim: In order to assess the effectiveness of non-CODIS genetic markers in forensic and paternity tests, the genetic composition of six mini short tandem repeats—mini-STRs—(D1S1656, D2S441, D6S1043, D10S1248, D12S391, D22S1045) and the microsatellite SE33 in Mestizo and Amerindian populations from Mexico were studied. Subjects and methods: Using multiplex polymerase chain reactions and capillary electrophoresis, this study genotyped all loci from 870 chromosomes and evaluated the statistical genetic parameters. Results: All mini-STRs studied were in agreement with HW and linkage equilibrium; however, an important HW departure for SE33 was found in the Mestizo population (p ≤ 0.0001). Regarding paternity and forensic statistical parameters, high values of combined power discrimination and mean power of exclusion were found using these seven markers. The principal co-ordinate analysis based on allele frequencies of three mini-STRs showed the complex genetic architecture of the Mestizo population. Conclusion: The results indicate that this set of loci is suitable to genetically identify individuals in the Mexican population, supporting its effectiveness in human identification casework. In addition, these findings add new statistical values and emphasise the importance of the use of non-CODIS markers in complex populations in order to avoid erroneous assumptions.
Interval Methods for Judgment Aggregation in Argumentation

Given a set of conflicting arguments, there can exist multiple plausible opinions about which arguments should be accepted, rejected, or deemed undecided. Recent work explored some operators for deciding how multiple such judgments should be aggregated. Here, we generalize this line of study by introducing a family of operators called interval aggregation methods, which contain existing operators as instances. While these methods fail to output a complete labelling in general, we show that it is possible to transform a given aggregation method into one that does always yield collectively rational labellings. This employs the down-admissible and up-complete constructions of Caminada and Pigozzi. For interval methods, collective rationality is attained at the expense of a strong Independence postulate, but we show that an interesting weakening of the Independence postulate is retained.
Metareasoning as an Integral Part of Commonsense and Autocognitive Reasoning

In this paper we summarise our progress towards building a self-aware agent based on the definition of explicit selfawareness. An explicit self-aware agent is characterised by 1) being based on an extensive and human-like knowledge base, 2) being transparent both in its behaviour and in how the knowledge is represented and used, and 3) being able to communicate in natural language and directly display awareness through its dialogues. We first review the requirements posed by explicit self-awareness on the knowledge representation and reasoning system and then describe how these have been realized in the new version of the EPILOG system. We argue that meta-level reasoning is very important to achieve self-awareness but that it doesn’t need to be on an entirely different level from object-level reasoning. In fact, in our agent meta-level reasoning and object-level reasoning cooperate seamlessly to answer each question posed to it.
MicroRNA Target Prediction and Exploration through Candidate Binding Sites Generation

Gene regulation is one of the most important processes in the molecular biology, in the last years the microRNA molecule, one of the non-coding RNAs involved in the process, has been the focus of attention for several studies. The computational research on this area has gained a notable importance, considering the low amount of experimental information available and the lack of understanding of the microRNA binding mechanism. This article deals with the microRNA-target prediction and presents an innovative method for it. First it generates a set of promising binding sites for a given microRNA using a Genetic Algorithm, at the same time a set of target genes is selected based on the biological process under study. Secondly the set of promising binding sites is mapped into the selected set of target genes, in order to provide real binding sites and finally the resulting targets are filtered according to a biological or structural property. The objectives are to provide a flexible method that is capable of incorporating easily new knowledge, is independent of availability of the experimental information and is able to give hints on the research towards new characteristics among the microRNA binding sites such as motifs. The results present some of this novel properties and present a comparison with the most frequently used methods in the field.
Combining rTMS and Task-Oriented Training in the Rehabilitation of the Arm after Stroke: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a promising technique for promoting rehabilitation of arm function after stroke. The feasibility and impact of rTMS as an adjunct to traditional task-oriented training to improve arm function have not yet been demonstrated. Objective. Evaluate the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial aimed at determining the efficacy of rTMS as an adjunct to task-oriented therapy in facilitating restoration of arm function after stroke. Methods. Stratified block-randomized controlled trial set in the general community. Eleven stroke persons with mild to severe arm deficits were recruited and randomized to receive 8 sessions of real-rTMS or sham-rTMS followed by ninety minutes of arm tasks designed to improve function. Results. Medium to large, statistically significant effect sizes (0.49 to 1.63) were observed in both groups on several measures of arm function at the postintervention evaluation. Three out of four subjects in the real-TMS condition showed increased levels of corticomotor excitability after the first stimulation session. Conclusions. Preliminary evidence suggests that an rTMS protocol potent enough to induce transient increases in cortical excitability of the lesioned hemisphere is feasible but did not show promising results as an adjunct to task-specific training. This trial is registration with Clinical Trials.gov NCT00850408.
Understanding spatial and temporal coverage in participatory sensor networks

Sensor coverage is a well established problem in sensor networks. Most of the work is focused on optimizing coverage in stationary networks or by controlling the movement of mobile nodes (e.g. robots) in order to maximize their coverage. In participatory sensor networks, we are faced with noncontrollable mobility. Humans move freely and there is no central nor distributed algorithm that optimizes coverage. There is no work in literature yet that explores coverage in the context of non-controllable mobility. To this end, we report results of a study applying an adapted greedy coverage algorithm onto three different data sets. Given these datasets, we report results studying the effect of different mobility characteristics on the spatial and temporal coverage. Our results show that high coverage can be achieved by a relatively small subset of nodes. Also, given a real-world participatory sensing system, turn-around times are relevant for continuous temporal coverage.
A comparison of warped and conventional linear predictive coding

Frequency-warped signal processing techniques are attractive to many wideband speech and audio applications since they have a clear connection to the frequency resolution of human hearing. A warped version of linear predictive coding (LPC) is studied. The performance of conventional and warped LPC algorithms are compared in a simulated coding system using listening tests and conventional technical measures. The results indicate that the use of warped techniques is beneficial especially in wideband coding and may result in savings of one bit per sample compared to the conventional algorithm while retaining the same subjective quality.
Fraud detection on international direct dial call using hybrid NBTree algorithm and Kullback Leibler divergence

Fraud detection is a serious challenge in the telecommunication sector, including in international direct dial (IDD) call service. Fraudulent activities cause a greater impact on the company because the loss of revenue results in the loss of the gain due to expenses to be paid to global partners to provide an international call interconnection. Therefore IDD call fraud continues to be a concern among all IDD call service providers by developing various methods to overcome the problem. The objective of this paper is to propose a method to detect fraud suspects on IDD call services which combines the advantages of hybrid NBTree and Kullback Leibler divergence (KL-divergence or KLD). NBTree is employed due to its ability to handle large size data and its performance in accuracy and tree size that outperforms Decision Tree and Naive Bayesian. In addition, the use of KL-divergence in fraud detection, similarity measurement, and feature selection has long been proven and implemented practice. The experiment results show that the combination of the two provides better accuracy and F1-measure compared with the previous method: Naive Bayesian Classifier, hybrid Naive Bayesian — KL-divergence, and Support Vector Machine (SVM).
Automated Identification and Classification of White Blood Cells (Leukocytes) in Digital Microscopic Images

The differential counting of white blood cell provides invaluable information to pathologist for diagnosis and treatment of many diseases manually counting of white blood cell is a tiresome, time-consuming and susceptible to error procedure due to the tedious nature of this process, an automatic system is preferable in this automatic process, segmentation and classification of white blood cell are the most important stages. The objective of the present study is to develop an automatic tool to identify and classify the white blood cells namely, lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophil in digital microscopic images. We have proposed color based segmentation method and the geometric features extracted for each segment are used to identify and classify the different types of white blood cells. The experimental results are compared with the manual results obtained by the pathologist and demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method
Rapid Combined Characterization of Microorganism and Host Genotypes using a Single Technology

Background. Genetic information is becoming increasingly important in diagnosis and prognosis of infectious diseases. In this study we investigated the possibility of using a single technology, the Pyrosequencing™ technology (Biotage AB, Uppsala, Sweden), to gather several kinds of important genetic information from the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori, as well as from the carrier of the H. pylori infection.
Bacteroides fragilis mobilizable transposon Tn5520 requires a 71 base pair origin of transfer sequence and a single mobilization protein for relaxosome formation during conjugation

Tn5520 is the smallest known bacterial mobilizable transposon and was isolated from an antibiotic resistant Bacteroides fragilis clinical isolate. When a conjugation apparatus is provided in trans, Tn5520 is mobilized (transferred) efficiently within, and from, both Bacteroides spp. and Escherichia coli. Only two genes are present on Tn5520; one encodes an integrase, and the other a multifunctional mobilization (Mob) protein BmpH. BmpH is essential for Tn5520 mobility. The focus of this study was to identify the Tn5520 origin of conjugative transfer (oriT) and to study BmpH‐oriT binding. We delimited the functional Tn5520 oriT to a 71 bp sequence upstream of the bmpH gene. A plasmid vector harbouring this minimal 71 bp oriT was mobilized at the same frequency as that of intact Tn5520. The minimal oriT contains one 17 bp inverted repeat (IR) sequence. We constructed and tested multiple IR mutants and showed that the IR was essential in its entirety for mobilization. A nick site sequence (5′‐GCTAC‐3′) was also identified within the minimal oriT; this sequence resembled nick sites found in plasmids of Gram positive origin. We further showed that mutation of a highly conserved GC dinucleotide in the nick site sequence completely abolished mobilization. We also purified BmpH and showed that it specifically bound a Tn5520 oriT fragment in electrophoretic mobility shift assays. We also identified non‐nick site sequences within the minimal oriT that were essential for mobilization. We hypothesize that transposon‐based single Mob protein systems may contribute to efficient gene dissemination from Bacteroides spp. , because fewer DNA processing proteins are required for relaxosome formation.
Gravitropism of Arabidopsis thaliana Roots Requires the Polarization of PIN2 toward the Root Tip in Meristematic Cortical Cells[C][W]

Gravitropism of roots depends on a flow of auxin from the root cap to the zone of elongation via the auxin efflux carrier PIN2. While PIN2 in epidermis and lateral root cap is positioned appropriately, PIN2 in the cortex has the opposite polarity. We report that, despite this, PIN2 functions in the root cortex for optimal gravitropism, apparently by limiting the auxin flow. In the root, the transport of auxin from the tip to the elongation zone, referred to here as shootward, governs gravitropic bending. Shootward polar auxin transport, and hence gravitropism, depends on the polar deployment of the PIN-FORMED auxin efflux carrier PIN2. In Arabidopsis thaliana, PIN2 has the expected shootward localization in epidermis and lateral root cap; however, this carrier is localized toward the root tip (rootward) in cortical cells of the meristem, a deployment whose function is enigmatic. We use pharmacological and genetic tools to cause a shootward relocation of PIN2 in meristematic cortical cells without detectably altering PIN2 polarization in other cell types or PIN1 polarization. This relocation of cortical PIN2 was negatively regulated by the membrane trafficking factor GNOM and by the regulatory A1 subunit of type 2-A protein phosphatase (PP2AA1) but did not require the PINOID protein kinase. When GNOM was inhibited, PINOID abundance increased and PP2AA1 was partially immobilized, indicating both proteins are subject to GNOM-dependent regulation. Shootward PIN2 specifically in the cortex was accompanied by enhanced shootward polar auxin transport and by diminished gravitropism. These results demonstrate that auxin flow in the root cortex is important for optimal gravitropic response.
Analysis and suppression of phase noise and IQ imbalance for dual-band MIMO-OFDM

Carrier aggregation (CA) schemes and multiple antenna techniques are used for the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in order to highly improve the communication capacity in LTE-advanced. In order to implement the multi-band system based on multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technique, a wideband frequency synthesizer is required. But, when using broadband frequency synthesizer, serious phase noise problem occurs at the transceiver. In addition, when using MIMO scheme, IQ imbalance is a critical impairment as it causes inter carrier interferences (ICI), that results in severe degradation of the receive performance. Therefore, a joint phase noise and IQ imbalance compensation technique is needed at the receiver for LTE-advanced system with CA and MIMO. In this article, we analyze the effects of the phase noise and IQ imbalance in dual band MIMO-OFDM system, and propose a novel compensation scheme in order to enhance the system performance. From the simulation results, it can be seen that phase noise and IQ imbalance cause serious performance degradation of dual-band MIMO-OFDM system, and the proposed schemes has significantly improved BER performance by concurrent suppression of ICI due to phase noise and IQ imbalance.
Participation of p 53 Protein in the Cellular Response to DNA Damage 1

The inhibition of replicative DNA synthesis that follows DNA damage may be critical for avoiding genetic lesions that could contribute to cellular transformation. Exposure of MI -1 myeloblastic leukemia cells to nonlethal doses of the DNA damaging agents, -Â»-irradiationor actinomycin D, causes a transient inhibition of replicative DNA synthesis via both (. , and (F. arrests. Levels of p53 protein in MI -I cells and in proliferating normal bone marrow myeloid progenitor cells increase and decrease in temporal association with the GÃ¬ arrest. In contrast, the S-phase arrest of MI -1 cells caused by exposure to the anti-metabolite, cytosino arabinoside, which does not directly damage DNA, is not associated with a significant change in p53 protein levels. Caffeine treatment blocks both the (F, arrest and the induction of p53 protein after f-irradiation, thus suggesting that blocking the induction of pS3 protein may contribute to the previously observed effects of caffeine on cell cycle changes after DNA damage. Unlike MI -I cells and normal bone marrow myeloid progenitor cells, hematopoietic cells that either lack p53 gene expression or overexpress a mutant form of the pS3 gene do not exhibit a (. , arrest after -y-irradiation; however, the G2 arrest is unaffected by the status of the p53 gene. These results suggest a role for the wild-type pS3 protein in the inhibition of DNA synthesis that follows DNA damage and thus suggest a new mechanism for how the loss of wild-type p53 might contribute to tumorigenesis.
Transmitter inputs to different motoneuron subgroups in the oculomotor and trochlear nucleus in monkey

In all vertebrates the eyes are moved by six pairs of extraocular muscles enabling horizontal, vertical and rotatory movements. Recent work showed that each extraocular muscle is controlled by two motoneuronal groups: (1) Motoneurons of singly-innervated muscle fibers (SIF) that lie within the boundaries of motonuclei mediating a fast muscle contraction; and (2) motoneurons of multiply-innervated muscle fibers (MIF) in the periphery of motonuclei mediating a tonic muscle contraction. Currently only limited data about the transmitter inputs to the SIF and MIF motoneurons are available. Here we performed a quantitative study on the transmitter inputs to SIF and MIF motoneurons of individual muscles in the oculomotor and trochlear nucleus in monkey. Pre-labeled motoneurons were immunostained for GABA, glutamate decarboxylase, GABA-A receptor, glycine transporter 2, glycine receptor 1, and vesicular glutamate transporters 1 and 2. The main findings were: (1) the inhibitory control of SIF motoneurons for horizontal and vertical eye movements differs. Unlike in previous primate studies a considerable GABAergic input was found to all SIF motoneuronal groups, whereas a glycinergic input was confined to motoneurons of the medial rectus (MR) muscle mediating horizontal eye movements and to those of the levator palpebrae (LP) muscle elevating the upper eyelid. Whereas SIF and MIF motoneurons of individual eye muscles do not differ numerically in their GABAergic, glycinergic and vGlut2 input, vGlut1 containing terminals densely covered the supraoculomotor area (SOA) targeting MR MIF motoneurons. It is reasonable to assume that the vGlut1 input affects the near response system in the SOA, which houses the preganglionic neurons mediating pupillary constriction and accommodation and the MR MIF motoneurones involved in vergence.
Detection and clinical features of hepatitis C virus type 6 infections in blood donors from Hong Kong

The genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was investigated in 212 viraemic blood donors from Hong Kong. A subset of the samples was investigated using three different genotyping assays to establish the accuracy of each in this population. These assays were restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of amplified 5′ noncoding region (5′NCR) sequences, RFLP of the core region, and a serotyping assay using peptides from two antigenic regions of NS4.
Why They Buy: American Consumers Inside and Out

Needs: The Constant Quest for Satisfaction Motives: Silent, Invisible Engines of Desire Personality: Concepts of I, Me and Mine Perception: What You See is What You Taste Learning: Painless Injections of Information Attitudes: The Pictures in the Mind's Eye Social Roles: Playing Out Life's Drama Affiliations: The Dynamics of Belonging Family: A Consumer Collective Buying Unit Social Class: A Place on the Public Ladder Culture: The Dictatorship of Normality Life Stages: Steps on the Stairway of Life Psychographics: It's All a Matter of Style Demographics: It's Just the Way We Are Choice: Picking at the Material Landscape Conclusion Index.
Myelodysplastic Syndrome and Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors: “To Be or Not to Be Acetylated”?

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) represents a heterogeneous group of diseases with clonal proliferation, bone marrow failure and increasing risk of transformation into an acute myeloid leukaemia. Structured guidelines are developed for selective therapy based on prognostic subgroups, age, and performance status. Although many driving forces of disease phenotype and biology are described, the complete and possibly interacting pathogenetic pathways still remain unclear. Epigenetic investigations of cancer and haematologic diseases like MDS give new insights into the pathogenesis of this complex disease. Modifications of DNA or histones via methylation or acetylation lead to gene silencing and altered physiology relevant for MDS. First clinical trials give evidence that patients with MDS could benefit from epigenetic treatment with, for example, DNA methyl transferase inhibitors (DNMTi) or histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi). Nevertheless, many issues of HDACi remain incompletely understood and pose clinical and translational challenges. In this paper, major aspects of MDS, MDS-associated epigenetics and the potential use of HDACi are discussed.
Representing Constraints with Automata

In this paper we describe an approach to constraint based syntactic theories in terms of finite tree automata. The solutions to constraints expressed in weak monadic second order (MSO) logic are represented by tree automata recognizing the assignments which make the formulas true. We show that this allows an efficient representation of knowledge about the content of constraints which can be used as a practical tool for grammatical theory verification. We achieve this by using the intertranslatability of formulae of MSO logic and tree automata and the embedding of MSO logic into a constraint logic programming scheme. The usefulness of the approach is discussed with examples from the realm of Principles-and-Parameters based parsing.
Slipping into and Out of Poverty: the Dynamics of Spells

This paper examines the dynamics of poverty. Previous analyses of the dynamics of poverty have either examined only fluctuations in the male heads earnings or looked at the frequency of poverty periods over a fixed time frame. We argue that a more appropriate way to understand the dynamics of poverty is to define spells of poverty. Using this methodology we find that the majority of poor persons at any point in time are in fact in the midst of a rather long spell of poverty. The methodology also allows us to estimate the extent to which poverty spell beginnings and endings are associated with changes in income or changes in family structure. Less than 40 percent of poverty spell beginnings seem to be caused by a drop in the heads earnings,while 60 percent of endings occur when the head's earnings increase. As a result we argue that to understand the causes and potential remedies for poverty, researchers must focus on household formation decisions and on the behavior of so called secondary family members.