Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PML/RARa inhibits PTEN expression in hematopoietic cells by competing with PU.1 transcriptional activity

Acute promyelocitic leukemia (APL) is characterized by the pathognomonic presence in leukemic blasts of the hybrid protein PML/RARA, that acts as a transcriptional repressor impairing the expression of genes that are critical to myeloid differentiation. Here, we show that primary blasts from APL patients express lower levels of the oncosuppressor protein PTEN, as compared to blast cells from other AML subtypes or normal bone marrow, and demonstrate that PML-RARA directly inhibits PTEN expression. We show that All-Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA) triggers in APL cells an active chromatin status at the core regulatory region of the PTEN promoter, that allows the binding of the myeloid-regulating transcription factor PU.1, and, in turn, the transcriptional induction of PTEN. ATRA, via PML/RARA degradation, also promotes PTEN nuclear re-localization and decreases expression of the PTEN target Aurora A kinase. In conclusion, our findings support the notion that PTEN is one of the primary targets of PML/RARA in APL
A normative multiagent approach to requirements engineering

In this paper we present a new model for the requirements analysis of a system. We offer a conceptual model defined following a visual modeling language, called dependence networks. TROPOS [9] uses dependence networks in the requirements analysis, in this paper we propose to extend them with norms. This improvement allows to define a new type of dependence networks, called conditional dependence networks, representing a new modeling technique for the requirements analysis of the system. Our model, moreover, allows the definition of the notion of coalition depending on the different kinds of network. We present our model using the scenario of virtual organizations based on a Grid network.
Partial least squares regression on grassmannian manifold for emotion recognition

In this paper, we propose a method for video-based human emotion recognition. For each video clip, all frames are represented as an image set, which can be modeled as a linear subspace to be embedded in Grassmannian manifold. After feature extraction, Class-specific One-to-Rest Partial Least Squares (PLS) is learned on video and audio data respectively to distinguish each class from the other confusing ones. Finally, an optimal fusion of classifiers learned from both modalities (video and audio) is conducted at decision level. Our method is evaluated on the Emotion Recognition In The Wild Challenge (EmotiW 2013). The experimental results on both validation set and blind test set are presented for comparison. The final accuracy achieved on test set outperforms the baseline by 26%.
Soil hydraulic properties play a key role in many hydroclimatic processes in the critical zone and land – atmosphere interface

With the development of many earth-observing remote sensing (RS) platforms, spatially distributed remote sensing products are becoming critical inputs to many hydrologic and meteorological models. Remotely sensed soil moisture (SM) and evapotranspiration (ET) including ground-based data have the potential to be used for estimating pixel-scale soil hydraulic parameters. However, only a few studies have been conducted to better understand the impact of assimilating both SM and ET in estimating soil hydraulic properties of the root zone. In this study, we used inverse modeling based on the Noisy Monte Carlo Genetic Algorithm by linking RS SM and ET derived from the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land for estimating pixel-scale effective soil hydraulic properties. Walnut Creek (Iowa), Brown (Illinois), and Lubbock (Texas) test sites were selected to assess the performance of this approach from point to satellite scales using synthetic and validation experiments. For comparison purposes, inverse modeling results were analyzed under three scenarios (ET only, SM only, and SM + ET in the optimization criteria). These results showed that considering both SM and ET components improved the estimations of effective soil hydraulic properties and reduced their uncertainties better than SM or ET only. Overall, although uncertainty exists, our proposed SM + ET based scheme performed well in estimating effective soil hydraulic properties at multiple spatial scales (point, airborne, and satellite footprints) under various hydroclimatic conditions.
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A VHDL PROCESSOR FOR DCT BASED IMAGE COMPRESSION

This paper describes the design and implementation of a VHDL processor meant for performing 2D-Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) to use in image compression applications. The design flow starts from the system specification to implementation on silicon and the entire process is carried out using an advanced workstation based design environment for digital signal processing. The software allows the bit-true analysis to ensure that the designed VLSI processor satisfies the required specifications. The bit-true analysis is performed on all levels of abstraction (behavior, VHDL etc.). The motivation behind the work is smaller size chip area, faster processing, reducing the cost of the chip
Association of Preoperative Anticholinergic Medication Exposure With Postoperative Healthcare Resource Use and Outcomes: A Population-based Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to measure the association of preoperative anticholinergic exposure with length of stay (LOS) and other outcomes in older people having elective noncardiac surgery. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Anticholinergic medications are associated with adverse events in nonsurgical populations; the association of anticholinergic medications with outcomes in elective surgery patients is poorly described. METHODS We conducted a retrospective, population-based cohort study using linked administrative data in Ontario, Canada. We identified all people >65 years old, from 2003 to 2014, having major, elective noncardiac surgery. Anticholinergic medication exposure was quantified using the Anticholinergic Risk Scale (ARS). Multilevel, multivariable modeling measured the adjusted association of ARS with LOS (primary outcome), institutional discharge, readmissions, costs, and survival (secondary outcomes). RESULTS Of 245,410 individuals, 71,569 had anticholinergic exposure (ARS 1-2, 15.6%; ARS ≥3, 13.6%). Median LOS was 5 days (interquartile range 3-7). Using proportional hazards analysis to model time to discharge, adjusting for in-hospital death as a competing risk, and surgical risk, demographic characteristics, and comorbidities, higher ARS scores were associated with longer LOS [smaller hazard ratios (HRs) mean longer LOS; ARS 1-2: adjusted HR 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.93-0.95, P < 0.0001; ARS ≥3: adjusted HR 0.93, 95% CI, 0.91-0.95, P < 0.0001]. Similar associations were observed for all secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Increasing ARS scores were associated with increased LOS, decreased survival, higher rates of institutional discharge and readmission, and higher costs of care. Perioperative interventional research to reduce the anticholinergic exposure in older surgical patients is likely warranted.
Do Words Stink? Neural Reuse as a Principle for Understanding Emotions in Reading

Abstract How do we understand the emotional content of written words? Here, we investigate the hypothesis that written words that carry emotions are processed through phylogenetically ancient neural circuits that are involved in the processing of the very same emotions in nonlanguage contexts. This hypothesis was tested with respect to disgust. In an fMRI experiment, it was found that the same region of the left anterior insula responded whether people observed facial expressions of disgust or whether they read words with disgusting content. In a follow-up experiment, it was found that repetitive TMS over the left insula in comparison with a control site interfered with the processing of disgust words to a greater extent than with the processing of neutral words. Together, the results support the hypothesis that the affective processes we experience when reading rely on the reuse of phylogenetically ancient brain structures that process basic emotions in other domains and species.
Leukemia and the Peripheral Nervous System: A review

The fate of patients with leukemia has greatly improved in the past decades. Survival has been increased and the once stereotypic pattern of Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) infiltration and diffuse infiltration of nerves and muscles has entirely changed. Peripheral nervous structures as cranial nerves, nerve roots, plexus and peripheral nerves can be affected in different types of leukemia, by different mechanisms and at different time points. Treatment side effects become more apparent, as the number of long term survivors increases. In some cases also isolated relapses of leukemia in the nervous system occurs and effects of stem cell transplantation on the nervous system became apparent. Diagnostically the cranial nerves, nerve roots, cauda equina, nerve plexus and the peripheral nerves have become more accessible to investigation due to improved imaging methods as ultrasound and MRI, thus facilitating the earlier diagnosis and treatment of nerve involvement.
Virtual Constraint Control of a Powered Prosthetic Leg : Experiments with Transfemoral Amputees

Powered prosthetic legs could significantly improve mobility for lower-limb amputees, but the performance and clinical viability of these devices are currently limited by complex control systems that independently control different joints and time periods of the gait cycle. Recent efforts have been made to address these challenges with a unifying control model used by recent bipedal robots, in which virtual constraints define joint patterns as functions of a monotonic variable that continuously represents the gait cycle phase. This talk reports initial results of virtual constraint control of a powered prosthetic leg with three transfemoral amputee subjects walking overground and at variable cadences on a treadmill.
Out of bounds? How Gawker’s outing a married man fits into the boundaries of journalism

Gawker ignited a controversy when it published an article about a married Conde Nast executive who allegedly sought the services of a gay escort. The popular blog eventually removed the article following condemnation from readers and other journalists. Guided by the frameworks of boundary work and field theory, this study analyzed 65 news articles and 2203 online comments and found that journalists and audiences problematized Gawker’s identity as a journalistic organization and evaluated the article based on traditional standards of newsworthiness, audiences asserted their role in journalism’s larger interpretive community, and that the larger interpretive community assessed the article based on the ethics of outing. Investigating the discourse generated by this critical incident is important because it identifies where journalists and readers draw the boundaries of legitimate journalism, specifies the place of ethics in boundary discourse, and informs journalistic practice about the phenomenon of outing in the news.
The Selfishness Questionnaire: Egocentric, Adaptive, and Pathological Forms of Selfishness

ABSTRACT Despite its importance in society, there is virtually no standardized research on the personality trait of selfishness, in part due to the absence of an assessment instrument. The central aim of this study was to develop a brief (2–3 min) self-report personality measure of selfishness with three main subtypes: egocentric, adaptive, and pathological. Questionnaires were administered to an undergraduate sample, with replicability and generalizability tested on a community population. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the existence of the three hypothesized forms of selfishness. Good internal reliability, test–retest reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, factorial validity, incremental validity, and criterion validity were documented. Selfishness was associated with reduced levels of mindfulness and more utilitarian decision making, whereas Tibetan Buddhist monks were less selfish than controls. Findings from the student sample were replicated in the community sample. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic examination of the personality construct of selfishness and the first instrument to assess selfishness and its variants.
The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: measuring DA and H at z = 0.57 from the baryon acoustic peak in the data release 9 spectroscopic galaxy sample

We present measurements of the angular diameter distance to and Hubble parameter at z = 0:57 from the measurement of the baryon acoustic peak in the correlation of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. Our analysis is based on a sample from Data Release 9 of 264,283 galaxies over 3275 square degrees in the redshift range 0:43 < z < 0:70. We use two different methods to provide robust measurement of the acoustic peak position across and along the line of sight in order to measure the cosmological distance scale. We find DA(0:57) = 1408 45 Mpc and H(0:57) = 92:9 7:8 km/s/Mpc for our fiducial value of the sound horizon. These results from the anisotropic fitting are fully consistent with the analysis of the spherically averaged acoustic peak position presented in Anderson et al. (2012). Our distance measurements are a close match to the predictions of the standard cosmological model featuring a cosmological constant and zero spatial curvature.
Isolation and characterization of globulin from seeds of Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.

Seeds of grain amaranths contain a high amount (about 60% of total nitrogen) of albumin and globulin and a trace amount of prolamin. From salt-soluble extracts of A. hypochondriacus seeds, a globulin (440, 000 in apparent molecular weight and s020, w= 12-7) was purified by Sepharose 6B gel and DEAE-cellulose column chromatographies. The protein comprised at least four kinds of subunits whose molecular weights were 36, 000, 32, 000, 20, 000 and 18, 000, respectively. The amino acid composition of the globulin was almost similar to those of soybean and oat globulins.
Downward Nominal-Wage Flexibility: Real or Measurement Error?

This paper presents a new method to correct for measurement error in wage data and applies this method to address an old question: How much downward wage flexibility is there in the United States? We apply standard methods developed by Bai and Perron to identify structural breaks in time series data. Applying these methods to wage histories allows us to identify when each person experiences a change in nominal wages. The length of the period of constant nominal wages is left unrestricted and is allowed to differ across individuals, as are the size and direction of the nominal-wage change. We apply these methods to data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. The evidence we provide indicates that the probability of a cut in nominal wages is substantially overstated in data that are not corrected for measurement error.
Natural history and outcome of inflammatory bowel diseases in children in Saudi Arabia: A single-center experience

Background/Aim: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder which includes ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), and indeterminate colitis (IC). The natural history of pediatric IBDs is poorly understood and generally unpredictable. We aim to study the natural history of IBD in Saudi children including the extraintestinal manifestations, changes in diagnosis, disease behavior, medical management, and surgical outcome. Patients and Methods: A retrospective review of all the charts of children less than 14 years of age who were diagnosed as IBD and followed up in King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH and RC) from January 2001 to December 2011 was performed. Results: Sixty-six children were diagnosed with IBD, 36 patients (54.5%) had CD, 27 patients (41%) had UC, and 3 patients (4.5%) had IC. Change in the diagnosis from UC to CD was made in 5 patients (7.6%). Extraintestinal manifestations were documented in 32% of all patients, and the most common was bone involvement (osteopenia/osteoporosis) in 16.7% of the patients. Arthritis (13.6%) was the second most common manifestation. Sclerosing cholangitis was reported in 2.8% in CD compared to 14.8% in UC. At the time of data collection, 8 patients (12%) were off therapy, 38 patients (57.6) were on 5-ASA, 31 patients (47%) were on azathioprine, and 12 patients (18.2%) were receiving anti-TNF. Of the children with CD, 10 patients (27.8%) underwent 1 or more major operations. Of the children with UC, 18.5% underwent 1 or more major intraabdominal procedures. Conclusions: Many issues in pediatric IBD can predict the natural history of the disease including growth failure, complications, need for more aggressive medical treatment, and/or surgery. More studies are needed from the region focusing on factors that may affect the natural history and disease progression.
DimScanner: A relation-based visual exploration approach towards data dimension inspection

Exploring multi-dimensional datasets can be cumbersome if data analysts have little knowledge about the data. Various dimension relation inspection tools and dimension exploration tools have been proposed for efficient data examining and understanding. However, the needed workload varies largely with respect to data complexity and user expertise, which can only be reduced with rich background knowledge over the data. In this paper we address the workload challenge with a data structuring and exploration scheme that affords dimension relation detection and that serves as the background knowledge for further investigation. We contribute a novel data structuring scheme that leverages an information-theoretic view structuring algorithm to uncover information-aware relations among different data views, and thereby discloses redundancy and other relation patterns among dimensions. The integrated system, DimScanner, empowers analysts with rich user controls and assistance widgets to interactively detect the relations of multi-dimensional data.
Dynamical and Structural Analysis of a T Cell Survival Network Identifies Novel Candidate Therapeutic Targets for Large Granular Lymphocyte Leukemia

The blood cancer T cell large granular lymphocyte (T-LGL) leukemia is a chronic disease characterized by a clonal proliferation of cytotoxic T cells. As no curative therapy is yet known for this disease, identification of potential therapeutic targets is of immense importance. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive dynamical and structural analysis of a network model of this disease. By employing a network reduction technique, we identify the stationary states (fixed points) of the system, representing normal and diseased (T-LGL) behavior, and analyze their precursor states (basins of attraction) using an asynchronous Boolean dynamic framework. This analysis identifies the T-LGL states of 54 components of the network, out of which 36 (67%) are corroborated by previous experimental evidence and the rest are novel predictions. We further test and validate one of these newly identified states experimentally. Specifically, we verify the prediction that the node SMAD is over-active in leukemic T-LGL by demonstrating the predominant phosphorylation of the SMAD family members Smad2 and Smad3. Our systematic perturbation analysis using dynamical and structural methods leads to the identification of 19 potential therapeutic targets, 68% of which are corroborated by experimental evidence. The novel therapeutic targets provide valuable guidance for wet-bench experiments. In addition, we successfully identify two new candidates for engineering long-lived T cells necessary for the delivery of virus and cancer vaccines. Overall, this study provides a bird's-eye-view of the avenues available for identification of therapeutic targets for similar diseases through perturbation of the underlying signal transduction network.
Identification of multipolar sources in a bioluminescent tomography problem

Bioluminescence Tomography (BLT) is a recently developed noninvasive imaging tool that allows a direct study of the molecular activity in small animal models. While the forward problem is reduced to a diffusion equation since the scattering phenomena are dominated by the absorption ones in biological tissues, the reconstruction of the distribution of the BLT source is an inverse source problem. In this paper, we concentrate on the reconstruction method where we present an algebraic method allowing to identify the number, the intensities and the location of monopolar sources. Finally, some numerical results are shown proving the robustness of the method. Resume. Identification de sources multipolaire dans un probleme de tomographie par bioluminescence La Tomographie par Bioluminescence (BLT) est un outil non invasive d'imagerie recemment developpe dont l'objectif est d'´etudier l'activite moleculaire dans de petits animaux. ´ Etant
Facile Synthesis of Porous SnSb Alloy Anode for Li-Ion Battery

Sn/Sb based alloy anodes have attracted considerable interest as electrodes for next-generation high performance Li-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their high theoretical capacities. And fabricate porous structure is an effective way to improve materials’ cycling performance. Here, we developed nanoporous SnSb alloy ribbon (NP-SnSb) through a melt-spinning/chemical-etching process and took it as electrode of LIB directly. Being of self-supported and binder free, the NP-SnSb shows a total outperformance over its nonporous counterparts both in cycling performance and kinetic characteristic. Besides, considering the melt-spinning/chemical-etching synthetic process is high-through-put and simple, the ribbon kind of alloy anodes have strong potential application for LIBs research.
Performance analysis of the Aurora large vocabulary baseline system

In this paper, we present the design and analysis of the baseline recognition system used for ETSI Aurora large vocabulary (ALV) evaluation. The experimental paradigm is presented along with the results from a number of experiments designed to minimize the computational requirements for the system. The ALV baseline system achieved a WER of 14.0% on the standard 5K Wall Street Journal task, and required 4 xRT for training and 15 xRT for decoding (on an 800 MHz Pentium processor). It is shown that increasing the sampling frequency from 8 kHz to 16 kHz improves performance significantly only for the noisy test conditions. Utterance detection resulted in significant improvements only on the noisy conditions for the mismatched training conditions. Use of the DSR standard VQ-based compression algorithm did not result in a significant degradation. The model mismatch and microphone mismatch resulted in a relative increase in WER by 300% and 200%, respectively.