Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Structural Model Interpretation of Wright ’ s NESS Test

Although understanding causation is an essential part of nearly every problem domain, it has resisted formal treatment in the languages of logic, probability, and even statistics. Autonomous artificially intelligent agents need to be able to reason about cause and effect. One approach is to provide the agent with formal, computational notions of causality that enable the agent to deduce cause and effect relationships from observations. During the 1990s, formal notions of causality were pursued within the AI community by many researchers, notably by Judea Pearl. Pearl developed the formal language of structural models for reasoning about causation. Among the problems he addressed in this formalism was a problem common to both AI and law, the attribution of causal responsibility or actual causation. Pearl and then Halpern and Pearl developed formal definitions of actual causation in the language of structural models. Within the law, the traditional test for attributing causal responsibility is the counterfactual "but-for" test, which asks whether, but for the defendant's wrongful act, the injury complained of would have occurred. This definition conforms to common intuitions regarding causation in most cases, but gives non-intuitive results in more complex situations where two or more potential causes are present. To handle such situations, Richard Wright defined the NESS Test. Pearl claims that the structural language is an appropriate language to capture the intuitions that motivate the NESS test. While Pearl's structural language is adequate to formalize the NESS test, a recent result of Hopkins and Pearl shows that the Halpern and Pearl definition fails to do so, and this thesis develops an alternative structural definition to formalize the NESS test.
Homozygous PPT1 Splice Donor Mutation in a Cane Corso Dog With Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis

A 10‐month‐old spayed female Cane Corso dog was evaluated after a 2‐month history of progressive blindness, ataxia, and lethargy. Neurologic examination abnormalities indicated a multifocal lesion with primarily cerebral and cerebellar signs. Clinical worsening resulted in humane euthanasia. On necropsy, there was marked astrogliosis throughout white matter tracts of the cerebrum, most prominently in the corpus callosum. In the cerebral cortex and midbrain, most neurons contained large amounts of autofluorescent storage material in the perinuclear area of the cells. Cerebellar storage material was present in the Purkinje cells, granular cell layer, and perinuclear regions of neurons in the deep nuclei. Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) was diagnosed. Whole genome sequencing identified a PPT1c.124 + 1G>A splice donor mutation. This nonreference assembly allele was homozygous in the affected dog, has not previously been reported in dbSNP, and was absent from the whole genome sequences of 45 control dogs and 31 unaffected Cane Corsos. Our findings indicate a novel mutation causing the CLN1 form of NCL in a previously unreported dog breed. A canine model for CLN1 disease could provide an opportunity for therapeutic advancement, benefiting both humans and dogs with this disorder.
Evaluation of interoperator variance in shunt fraction calculation after transcolonic scintigraphy for diagnosis of portosystemic shunts in dogs and cats.

OBJECTIVE To determine interoperator variance in shunt fraction calculation. DESIGN Case series. SAMPLE POPULATION 101 transrectal portoscintigraphic studies. PROCEDURE Results of dynamic portoscintigraphic studies were reviewed by 4 radiologists without knowledge of signalment, history, or medical profile. Results were judged to be negative or positive on the basis of the dynamic scan. Composite images were formulated, and hand-drawn regions of interest were determined for the heart and liver. Time-activity curves were generated, time-zero points were selected, curves were integrated during a 10-second interval, and shunt fractions were calculated. RESULTS Radiologists were in agreement regarding positive versus negative results for 99 of 101 studies. Interoperator variance in shunt fraction calculation ranged from 0.4 to 59.6%. For 51 studies with positive results, variance ranged from 2.5 to 59.6% (mean +/- SD, 22.8 +/- 14.5%); differences among reviewers were significant. For 48 studies with negative results, variance in shunt fraction ranged from 0.4 to 25.9% (mean, 5.3 +/- 5.8%); significant differences among reviewers were not detected. Shunt fraction calculations were not exactly reproducible among radiologists in 94 and 100% of studies with negative or positive results, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggest that shunt fraction values are not reproducible among operators. Range in variability was greater in studies with positive results. This factor may be of particular clinical importance in reassessment of patients after incomplete shunt ligation.
An Efficient Multi-Resolution Spectral Transform for Music Analysis

In this paper we focus on multi-resolution spectral analysis algorithms for music signals based on the FFT. Two previously devised efficient algorithms (efficient constan tQ transform [1] and multiresolution FFT [2]) are reviewed and compared with a new proposal based on the IIR filtering of the FFT. Apart from its simplicity, the proposed method shows to be a good compromise between design flexibility and reduced computational effort. Additionall y, it was used as a part of an effective melody extraction algorithm.
In vitro patterning of pluripotent stem cell-derived intestine recapitulates in vivo human development

ABSTRACT The intestine plays a central role in digestion, nutrient absorption and metabolism, with individual regions of the intestine having distinct functional roles. Many examples of region-specific gene expression in the adult intestine are known, but how intestinal regional identity is established during development is a largely unresolved issue. Here, we have identified several genes that are expressed in a region-specific manner in the developing human intestine. Using human embryonic stem cell-derived intestinal organoids, we demonstrate that the duration of exposure to active FGF and WNT signaling controls regional identity. Short-term exposure to FGF4 and CHIR99021 (a GSK3β inhibitor that stabilizes β-catenin) resulted in organoids with gene expression patterns similar to developing human duodenum, whereas longer exposure resulted in organoids similar to ileum. When region-specific organoids were transplanted into immunocompromised mice, duodenum-like organoids and ileum-like organoids retained their regional identity, demonstrating that regional identity of organoids is stable after initial patterning occurs. This work provides insights into the mechanisms that control regional specification of the developing human intestine and provides new tools for basic and translational research. Summary: Human embryonic stem cell-derived intestinal organoids can be patterned into duodenum-like or ileum-like tissue, recapitulating in vivo human development.
Measurement and Sustainability of the Qualifications Frameworks in the European Higher Education Area through an Employment Survey on Access to the Labour Market

There is a clear need to measure the correct implementation of the European Framework through the employability of the alumni. The evaluation of the deployment of the Qualifications Frameworks in the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA/QF) should shed significant light on the action that must be taken by legislators and higher education managers to foster employability and guarantee the sustainability of the EHEA. We propose a methodology based on a Survey on Access to the Labour Market (SALM) to assess the correlation between the education provided to the students and the practical utility of the knowledge acquired in the workplace. A questionnaire has been produced to measure the competencies and descriptors that had been theoretically defined within the QF-EHEA. Fifteen questions were disguised so that the six QF-EHEA descriptors were quantified through the difference between education and utility. The quantification methodology for the framework has been tested successfully on the former students of a higher education center in Spain. In this center, the alumni perceived that the utility of their acquired competencies and their employability level was greater than their education content, while both levels were reasonably high. The results hold for both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
Preconditioning " with latrepirdine , an adenosine 5 '-monophosphate-activated protein kinase activator , delays amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression in SOD 1 ( G 93 A ) mice

"Preconditioning" with latrepirdine, an adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase activator, delays amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression in SOD1(G93A) mice. " with latrepirdine, an adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase activator, delays amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression in SOD1(G93A) mice. You are free: • to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work. • to make derivative works. Under the following conditions: • Attribution — You must give the original author credit. • Non-Commercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes. • Share Alike — If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a licence identical to this one. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms of this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the author. Your fair use and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Conflict of Interest: There are no conflicts of interest for any of the authors on this manuscript. Abstract Adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master regulator of energy balance. As energy imbalance is documented as a key pathological feature of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) we investigated AMPK as a pharmacological target in SOD1 G93A mice. We noted a strong activation of AMPK in lumbar spinal cords of SOD1 G93A mice. Pharmacological activation of AMPK has shown protective effects in neuronal 'pre-conditioning' models. We tested the hypothesis that 'pre-conditioning' with a small molecule activator of AMPK, Latrepirdine, exerts beneficial effects on disease progression. SOD1 G93A mice (n=24 animals per group; sex-and litter-matched) were treated with Latrepirdine (1 g/kg, i.p.) or vehicle from postnatal day 70 to 120. Treatment with Latrepirdine increased AMPK activity in primary mouse motor neuron cultures and in SOD1 G93A lumbar spinal cords. Mice 'pre-conditioned' with Latrepirdine showed a delayed symptom onset and a significant increase in lifespan (p<0.01). Our study suggests that 'pre-conditioning' with Latrepirdine may represent a possible therapeutic strategy for individuals harbouring ALS-associated gene mutations who are at risk for developing ALS.
Finding needles in haystacks: linking scientific names, reference specimens and molecular data for Fungi

DNA phylogenetic comparisons have shown that morphology-based species recognition often underestimates fungal diversity. Therefore, the need for accurate DNA sequence data, tied to both correct taxonomic names and clearly annotated specimen data, has never been greater. Furthermore, the growing number of molecular ecology and microbiome projects using high-throughput sequencing require fast and effective methods for en masse species assignments. In this article, we focus on selecting and re-annotating a set of marker reference sequences that represent each currently accepted order of Fungi. The particular focus is on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region in the nuclear ribosomal cistron, derived from type specimens and/or ex-type cultures. Re-annotated and verified sequences were deposited in a curated public database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), namely the RefSeq Targeted Loci (RTL) database, and will be visible during routine sequence similarity searches with NR_prefixed accession numbers. A set of standards and protocols is proposed to improve the data quality of new sequences, and we suggest how type and other reference sequences can be used to improve identification of Fungi. Database URL: http://www.ncbi. nlm.nih. gov/bioproject/PRJNA177353
Fault-Free Hamiltonian Cycles Passing through Prescribed Edges in k-Ary n-Cubes with Faulty Edges

The $k$ -ary $n$ -cube $Q^k_n$ is one of the most attractive interconnection networks for parallel and distributed systems. In this paper, we consider the problem of a fault-free hamiltonian cycle passing through prescribed edges in a $k$ -ary $n$ -cube $Q^k_n$ with some faulty edges. The following result is obtained: For any $n\ge 2$ and $k\ge 3$ , let $F\subset E(Q^k_n)$ , ${\cal P}\subset E(Q^k_n)\setminus F$ with $\vert {\cal P}\vert \le 2n-2$ , $\vert F\vert \le 2n-(\vert {\cal P}\vert +2)$ . Then there exists a hamiltonian cycle passing through all edges of ${\cal P}$ in $Q^k_n-F$ if and only if the subgraph induced by ${\cal P}$ consists of pairwise vertex-disjoint paths. It improves the result given by Yang and Wang .
Advances in the arsenal of tools available enabling the discovery of novel lantibiotics with therapeutic potential

Introduction: Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesised peptides, which undergo extensive post-translational modification. Their mode of action and effectiveness against multi–drug-resistant pathogens, and relatively low toxicity, makes them attractive therapeutic options. Areas covered: This article provides background information on the four classes of lanthipeptides that have been described to date. Due to the clinical potential of these agents, specifically those from Class I and II, it is essential to identify organisms that harbour potentially interesting clusters encoding novel lantibiotics. Multiple emerging technologies have been applied to address this issue, including genome mining and specific bioinformatics programs designed to identify lantibiotic clusters present within the genome sequences. These clusters can then be effectively expressed using optimised heterologous expression systems, which are ideally amenable to large-scale production. Expert opinion: The continuing expansion of publicly available genomes, particularly genomes from microorganisms isolated from under-explored environments, combined with powerful bioinformatics tools able to accurately identify clusters of interest are of paramount importance in the discovery of novel lantibiotics. Detailed analysis of clusters drastically reduces dereplication time, which was often problematic when using the traditional method of isolation, purification and then identification. Allowing a more focused direction of ‘wet lab' work, targeting the most promising agents, greatly increases the chance of novel lantibiotic discovery and development. High-throughput screening strategies are also required to enable the efficient analysis of these potentially clinically relevant agents.
Enhancing Tabletop Games with Relative Positioning Technology

Research in pervasive and ubiquitous computing has produced especially small and powerful technologies. In this paper we motivate the application of these new technologies in tabletop games that do not rely on special game boards, but are mainly played on custom made miniature landscapes created by the players. We propose the RELATE [1] platform for augmenting miniatures normally used as game pieces in these tabletop games. Thereby the RELATE platform augments tabletop miniatures with relative positioning, communication and computing power. We discuss how the gaming experience can benefit form this technology.
Asymptomatic Brugada Syndrome: Clinical Characterization and Long-Term Prognosis

Background—Among Brugada syndrome patients, asymptomatic individuals are considered to be at the lowest risk. Nevertheless, arrhythmic events and sudden cardiac death are not negligible. Literature focused on this specific group of patients is sparse. The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical characteristics, management, and long-term prognosis of asymptomatic Brugada syndrome patients. Methods and Results—Patients presenting with spontaneous or drug-induced Brugada type I ECG and no symptoms at our institution were considered eligible. A total of 363 consecutive patients (200 men, 55.1%; mean age, 40.9±17.2 years; 41 [11.3%] with spontaneous type I ECG) were included. Electrophysiological study was performed in 321 (88.4%) patients, and ventricular arrhythmias were induced in 32 (10%) patients. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator was implanted in 61 (16.8%) patients. After a mean follow-up time of 73.2±58.9 months, 9 arrhythmic events occurred, accounting for an annual incidence rate of 0.5%. Event-free survival was 99.0% at 1 year, 96.2% at 5 years, and 95.4% at 10 and 15 years. Univariate analysis identified as risk factors: electrophysiological study inducibility (hazard ratio, 11.4; P<0.01), spontaneous type I (hazard ratio, 4.0; P=0.04), and previous sinus node dysfunction (hazard ratio, 8.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.0–63.9; P=0.05). At the multivariate analysis, only inducibility remained significant (hazard ratio, 9.1; P<0.01) Conclusions—Arrhythmic events in asymptomatic Brugada syndrome patients are not insignificant. Ventricular arrhythmia inducibility, spontaneous type I ECG, and presence of sinus node dysfunction might be considered as risk factors and used to drive long-term management.
A 675 Mbps, 4 × 4 64-QAM K-Best MIMO Detector in 0.13 µm CMOS

This paper introduces a novel scalable pipelined VLSI architecture for a 4 × 4 64-QAM hard-output multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) detector based on K-best lattice decoders. The key contribution is a means of expanding the intermediate nodes of the search tree on-demand, rather than exhaustively, along with three types of distributed sorters operating in a pipelined structure. The proposed architecture has a fixed critical path independent of the constellation size, on-demand expansion scheme, efficient distributed sorters, and is scalable to higher number of antennas. Fabricated in 0.13 μm CMOS, it occupies 0.95 mm2 core area. Operating at 282 MHz clock frequency, it dissipates 135 mW at 1.3 V supply with no BER performance loss. It achieves an SNR-independent throughput of 675 Mbps satisfying the requirements of IEEE 802.16m and long term evolution (LTE) systems. The measurements confirm that this design consumes 3.0 × less energy/bit and operates at a significantly higher throughput compared to the best previously published design.
A 0.5-μ Vrms 12-μ W Wirelessly Powered Patch-Type Healthcare Sensor for Wearable Body Sensor Network

A wirelessly powered patch-type healthcare sensor IC is presented for a wearable body sensor network (W-BSN) to continuously monitor personal vital signals. Thick-film electrodes are screen printed on a fabric by planar-fashionable circuit board (P-FCB) technology on which stainless steel powder with a grain size of 100 μ m is added to reduce both contact impedance as well as motion artifacts. A nested chopped amplifier (NCA) is designed and optimized for the proposed patch-type healthcare sensor with a reduced electrode referred noise of 0.5 μVrms. A programmable gain and bandwidth amplifier (PGA) stage is also implemented to accommodate various dynamic ranges of vital signals. A 10-b folded successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) reduces capacitive digital-to-analog conversion size by 94% and relaxes the power budget of the ADC driver by 36%. Measured sensor resolution is 9.2 b and rejects common-mode interference larger than 100 dB while consuming only 12 μ W of power supplied wirelessly. A 2.0 mm × 1.3 mm sensor IC is fabricated in 0.18-μm 1P6M CMOS technology. The chip is directly integrated between two screen printed electrodes and stacked by a screen printed fabric inductor. With the proposed patch-type sensor, personal healthcare without expensive batteries is possible in W-BSN and greatly improves wearability and convenience in use.
Fe<formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">$_{3}$</tex></formula>O<formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">$_{4}$</tex></formula> Incorporated AOT-Alginate Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery

Composite nanoparticles of aerosol OT-alginate hydrogel loaded with Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> and rhodamine 6G (R6G) in average diameter between 25 nm and 50 nm were synthesized by emulsification-cross-linking process and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and SQUID magnetometery measurements. TEM measurements show that the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> particles are uniformly distributed within AOT-alginate nanoparticles. The Ca<sup>2+</sup> cross-linked AOT-alginate nanoparticles loaded with Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> and rhodamine showed superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature with saturation magnetization of ~50 emu/g of Fe<sub>3</sub> O<sub>4</sub>. Similar behavior was exhibited by Fe<sup>2+</sup> cross-linked AOT-alginate nanoparticles loaded with Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> and rhodamine except it showed twice the magnetization of Ca<sup>2+</sup> crosslinked counterpart. A decrease in the amount of rhodamine loading for the composite nanoparticle systems as compared to the bare AOT-alginate nanoparticles was found.
Hemodynamic Responses to Epinephrine-Containing Local Anesthetic Injection and to Emergence From General Anesthesia in Transsphenoidal Hypophysectomy Patients

Summary: Patients undergoing transsphenoidal pituitary surgery may experience hypertensive episodes during the intranasal injection of vasoconstrictor-supplemented local anesthetics or emergence from general anesthesia. The present research characterized the blood pressure responses during transsphenoidal surgery and tested the hypothesis that the underlying pituitary disease influences the incidence and magnitude of the blood pressure responses. The records of 100 patients were retrospectively reviewed. All had direct blood pressure measurements recorded using a computer-based anesthesia recording system. Mean age was 49 ± 17 years (± SD) and 52% were male. Blood pressure increased by 60 ± 37 mm Hg systolic and 23 ± 22 mm Hg diastolic with intranasal injection and 42 ± 24 mm Hg systolic and 23 ± 16 mm Hg diastolic during emergence from general anesthesia. Systolic blood pressure increased by greater than 50% in 58% of patients following intranasal injection and in 33% of patients upon emergence from anesthesia. Blood pressure responses did not differ with respect to endocrinopathy type (Cushing’s disease, acromegaly, or other pathology), gender, age, surgeon, history of prior transsphenoidal surgery, history of either hypertension or diabetes, or preoperative use of either beta-adrenergic or calcium channel-blocking drugs. There was poor correlation between the epinephrine dose injected (range 30–220 μg) and systolic blood pressure response (r = 0.24; r2 = 0.06; P = 0.031). Blood pressure increases were not associated with cardiac arrhythmias, persistent myocardial ischemia, or myocardial infarction. The authors conclude that in transsphenoidal hypophysectomy patients, large blood pressure increases are common with intranasal injection and upon awakening from general anesthesia. However, the authors were not able to find a variable that might enable the prediction of which patients are most likely to experience the most intense blood pressure elevations.