Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Utility of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for the Study and Treatment of Genetic Diseases: Focus on Childhood Neurological Disorders

The study of neurological disorders often presents with significant challenges due to the inaccessibility of human neuronal cells for further investigation. Advances in cellular reprogramming techniques, have however provided a new source of human cells for laboratory-based research. Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can now be robustly differentiated into specific neural subtypes, including dopaminergic, inhibitory GABAergic, motorneurons and cortical neurons. These neurons can then be utilized for in vitro studies to elucidate molecular causes underpinning neurological disease. Although human iPSC-derived neuronal models are increasingly regarded as a useful tool in cell biology, there are a number of limitations, including the relatively early, fetal stage of differentiated cells and the mainly two dimensional, simple nature of the in vitro system. Furthermore, clonal variation is a well-described phenomenon in iPSC lines. In order to account for this, robust baseline data from multiple control lines is necessary to determine whether a particular gene defect leads to a specific cellular phenotype. Over the last few years patient-derived neural cells have proven very useful in addressing several mechanistic questions related to central nervous system diseases, including early-onset neurological disorders of childhood. Many studies report the clinical utility of human-derived neural cells for testing known drugs with repurposing potential, novel compounds and gene therapies, which then can be translated to clinical reality. iPSCs derived neural cells, therefore provide great promise and potential to gain insight into, and treat early-onset neurological disorders.
P-Bus: Programming Interface Layer for Safe OS Kernel Extensions

P-Bus, a new programming interface layer for safe kernel extensions is proposed. P-Bus introduces a new programming interface on top of the Linux kernel in order to give formal specifications to the interface, and to improve portability of extensions. New extensions, called P-Components, are verified with a model checker MKencha to see whether a component is compliant with rules which should be obeyed to implement extensions properly. A network driver has been implemented as a P-Component and verified with MKencha. MKencha has found two bugs in the component.
Frequency-Dependent Sampling Linearity

A novel model predicts tracking nonlinearity (NL) in the form of harmonic distortion (HD) for weakly nonlinear (i.e., SFDR > 30 dBc) first-order open-loop sampling circuits. The mechanisms for the NL are exponential settling, amplitude modulation, phase modulation, and discrete-time modulation. The model demonstrates that HD typically increases at 20 dB per decade over most standard operating ranges and is a function of input frequency, sampling bandwidth, input amplitude, sample rate, and component NL. The application of the model is reduced to the equivalent of frequency-independent NL analysis over this range, requiring only a Taylor series expansion of the NL time constant. Design insight is given for common MOS switch types, revealing a high correlation between HD and bandwidth. The first method to quantify the tradeoff between thermal noise (SNR) and linearity [spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR)] for sampling circuits is presented. Measured HD 2, HD 3, HD 4, and HD 5 versus frequency at multiple sample rates of a sample-and-hold test chip fabricated in a 0.25-mum 1P5M CMOS process and Spectre simulation results support the findings. The results broadly apply to switched-capacitor circuits in general and sampling circuits specifically, regardless of technology.
Evaluating the performance of sparse principal component analysis methods in high-dimensional data scenarios

ABSTRACT High-dimensional datasets have exploded into many fields of research, challenging our interpretation of the classic dimension reduction technique, Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Recently proposed Sparse PCA methods offer useful insight into understanding complex data structures. This article compares three Sparse PCA methods through extensive simulations, with the aim of providing guidelines as to which method to choose under a variety of data structures, as dictated by the variance-covariance matrix. A real gene expression dataset is used to illustrate an application of Sparse PCA in practice and show how to link simulation results with real-world problems.
Indoor Localization Accuracy Estimation from Fingerprint Data

The demand for indoor localization services has led to the development of techniques that create a Fingerprint Map (FM) of sensor signals (e.g., magnetic, Wi-Fi, bluetooth) at designated positions in an indoor space and then use FM as a reference for subsequent localization tasks. With such an approach, it is crucial to assess the quality of the FM before deployment, in a manner disregarding data origin and at any location of interest, so as to provide deployment staff with the information on the quality of localization. Even though FM-based localization algorithms usually provide accuracy estimates during system operation (e.g., visualized as uncertainty circle or ellipse around the user location), they do not provide any information about the expected accuracy before the actual deployment of the localization service. In this paper, we develop a novel frame-work for quality assessment on arbitrary FMs coined ACCES. Our framework comprises a generic interpolation method using Gaussian Processes (GP), upon which a navigability score at any location is derived using the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB). Our approach does not rely on the underlying physical model of the fingerprint data. Our extensive experimental study with magnetic FMs, comparing empirical localization accuracy against derived bounds, demonstrates that the navigability score closely matches the accuracy variations users experience.
Clonal Distribution and Differential Occurrence of the Enterotoxin Gene Cluster , egc , in Carriage-versus Bacteremia-Associated Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus

The Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin gene cluster, egc, was detected in isolates from healthy individuals and in those from patients with bacteremia. The egc genes cooccur and are slightly enriched in strains from healthy carriers (present in 63.7% of carriage-associated isolates versus 52.9% of invasive isolates; P 0.03). Multilocus sequence typing revealed that successful staphylococcal clones usually harbor the egc locus.
Visual Sentiment Analysis of RSS News Feeds Featuring the US Presidential Election in 2008

The technology behind RSS feeds offers great possibilities to retrieve more news items than ever. In contrast to these technical developments, human capabilities to read all these news items have not increased likewise. To bridge this gap, this paper presents a visual analytics tool for conducting semi-automatic sentiment analysis of large news feeds. While the tool automatically retrieves and analyzes RSS feeds with respect to positive and negative opinion words, the more demanding news analysis of finding trends, spotting peculiarities and putting events into context is left to the human expert. For a solid analysis the news similarity filter enables highlighting of similar or redundant news items. A case study about news related to the US presidential election in 2008 shows how the visual interface of the tool empowers the analyst to draw meaningful conclusions without the effort of reading all news postings. Author Keywords sentiment analysis, opinion mining, information visualization, visual analytics
Extreme Deuteration and Hot Corinos: the Earliest Chemical Signatures of Low-Mass Star Formation

Low-mass protostars form from condensations inside molecular clouds when gravity overwhelms thermal and magnetic supporting forces. The first phases of the formation of a solar-type star are characterized by dramatic changes not only in the physical structure but also in the chemical composition. Since PPIV (e.g., Langer et al.), exciting new developments have occurred in our understanding of the processes driving this chemical evolution. These developments include two new discoveries : 1) extremely enhanced molecular deuteration, which is caused by the freeze-out of heavy-element-bearing molecules onto grain mantles during the Prestellar Core and Class 0 source phases; and 2) hot corinos, which are warm and dense regions at the center of Class 0 source envelopes and which are characterized by a multitude of complex organic molecules. In this chapter we will review these two new topics, and will show how they contribute to our understanding of the first phases of solar-type stars.
Supervision of psychotherapy. A critical review of the literature.

SUPERVISION of psychotherapy began as the child of necessity in the early history of psychoanalysis and grew unselfconsciously until some 30 years ago, clearly establishing its value as a method of instruction. Casework supervision developed independently on the apprenticeship model but was markedly influenced by dynamic principles and psychoanalytic knowledge (Zetzel1), contributing much to the literature on supervision. Ekstein2has described the ahistorical phase of psychoanalytic supervision, as well as the subsequent awakening of interest in and attention to the supervisory experience. Over the past 30 years a considerable literature has developed on the subject. The purpose of this paper is a critical assessment of this literature as it bears on the supervision of psychiatric residents and on research in supervision. A review of the literature reveals a general preoccupation with several essential issues: (1) What kind of data are
The Mechanical Properties of Rat Tail Tendon

The load-strain and stress-relaxation behavior of wet rat tail tendon has been examined with respect to the parameters strain, rate of straining, and temperature. It is found that this mechanical behavior is reproducible after resting tile tendon for a few minutes after each extension so long as the strain does not exceed about 4 per cent. If this strain is exceeded, the tendon becomes progressively easier to extend but its length still returns to the original value after each extension. Extensions of over 35 per cent can be reached in this way. Temperature has no effect upon the mechanical behavior over the range 0-37°C. Just above this temperature, important changes take place in the mechanical properties of the tendon which may have biological significance. The application of the techniques used here to studies of connective tissue disorders is suggested. Some of the mechanical properties of tendon have been interpreted with a simple model. I N T R O D U C T I O N Most studies of collagen have been concerned with its chemica l na tu re and react ivi ty, and wi th e lect ron microscope and xray diffract ion examinat ions with a view to de te rmin ing its mac ro and molecu la r s t ruc ture (1-4). As yet there is no ent i re ly satisfactory molecu la r model , and one major s tumbl ing block appears to be the confusion over whe the r collagen is or is not capab le of large extensions. A n u m b e r of measurements have been repor ted on the mechan ica l p roper ties of such col lagen-conta in ing structures as tendons, l igaments, and fascia. T h e r e is no extensive review of the older work available. However , typical results m a y be found in references (5-7) . S t ruc tures conta in ing a h igh per cent of collagen were found difficult to stretch and usually broke before they e longated apprec iab ly , while s tructures with a lower collagen con ten t and a From the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Experimental Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service (Grant H-3039) and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Rigby's present address is Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Wool Research Laboratories, Division of Textile Physics, Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. Dr. Hirai's present address is the Department of Chemistry, Okayama University, Okayama City, Japan. Received for publication, February 18, 1958.
Shp2 and Pten have antagonistic roles in myeloproliferation but cooperate to promote erythropoiesis in mammals

Significance Despite the extensive attentions paid to phosphatase and tensin homolog (Pten) or SH2-containing tyrosine phosphatase (Shp2) functions in cell signaling, how their regulated pathways are intertwined has never been investigated. By creating a compound mutant mouse line with both genes deleted in blood cells, we have found that Pten and Shp2 can work antagonistically in myelopoiesis, while acting cooperatively in erythropoiesis. Consistently, pharmacological inhibition of Shp2 suppressed myeloproliferative neoplasm induced by Pten loss but induced severe anemia. These data explain why some pharmaceuticals designed to target a specific pathway can suppress one pathogenic process but trigger another. Previous data suggested a negative role of phosphatase and tensin homolog (Pten) and a positive function of SH2-containing tyrosine phosphatase (Shp2)/Ptpn11 in myelopoiesis and leukemogenesis. Herein we demonstrate that ablating Shp2 indeed suppressed the myeloproliferative effect of Pten loss, indicating directly opposing functions between pathways regulated by these two enzymes. Surprisingly, the Shp2 and Pten double-knockout mice suffered lethal anemia, a phenotype that reveals previously unappreciated cooperative roles of Pten and Shp2 in erythropoiesis. The lethal anemia was caused collectively by skewed progenitor differentiation and shortened erythrocyte lifespan. Consistently, treatment of Pten-deficient mice with a specific Shp2 inhibitor suppressed myeloproliferative neoplasm while causing anemia. These results identify concerted actions of Pten and Shp2 in promoting erythropoiesis, while acting antagonistically in myeloproliferative neoplasm development. This study illustrates cell type-specific signal cross-talk in blood cell lineages, and will guide better design of pharmaceuticals for leukemia and other types of cancer in the era of precision medicine.
The Relevance of Integration for Knowledge Management Success: Conceptual and Empirical Findings

Many organizations pursue knowledge management (KM) initiatives, with different degrees of success. One key aspect of KM often neglected in practice is following an integrated and holistic approach. Complementary, KM researchers have increasingly focused on factors that determine KM success and examined whether the metrics used to measure KM initiatives are reasonable. In this article, the importance of integration issues for successful KM is analyzed by means of a case study of a KM initiative at an international consulting company. The investigations demonstrate the importance of an integrated KM approach - an integrated view of KM strategy, KM processes, KM technology, and company culture - to ensure KM success.
Blind Children Integrated in Classrooms with Sighted Children: A Sociometric Study

Children spend significant portions of their lives in classrooms and much of their interaction with non-sibling peers occurs within the school context. Since the school, therefore, is a primary socializing agent during the child's formative years, it represents an ideal setting for studying certain relationships between blind and sighted children, relationships that it does not seem unreasonable to speculate play a direct role in shaping the blind child's self-concept. The present study, utilizing sociometric methods, deals with the acceptance of blind children intergrated in classrooms with sighted children. Little is known about the acceptance of blind children by sighted children in school settings. A comprehensive survey of the literature reveals, for example, only a single study, reported some 13 years ago, concerning the attitudes of sighted children (in this case, preschool and kindergarten) toward their blind classmates. 10 A recent survey devoted to the socialization of blind children reported no empirical studies in this area. 6 In spite of the obvious value of such work-from the perspective of the blind child's adjustment as well as of school planningit appears that research and experimentation in this important area is all but non-existent. 0 The principal question of the present investigation involves the acceptance of blind children by their sighted peers in the classroom in social, academic, and physical activities. A secondary question deals with the sociometric characteristics of sighted children who show a high degree of acceptance of their blind classmates. It should be noted that the present investigation is an extension of a laboratory study by Joness in which naive college students participated in a learning experiment in the presence of a blind or a sighted confederate. The rLsults of this study revealed no differences in actual learning or association when the naive subject was in the presence of the blind or the sighted confederate; most perceived, however, that their performance was impaired when the second participant was a blind confederate. These findings support those of several studies on attitudes toward the disabled in which some form of a dimension called "interaction strain" was identified. 7, s, 9 The central theme of the interaction strain construct is that the non-disabled feel some discomfort in faceto-face relationships with disabled persons. A consequence, in many instances, is that interactions with the disabled are avoided or are, at
On the dispersions of three network information theory problems

We characterize fundamental limits for the Slepian-Wolf problem, the multiple-access channel and the asymmetric broadcast channel in the finite blocklength setting. For the Slepian-Wolf problem (distributed lossless source coding), we introduce a fundamental quantity known as the entropy dispersion matrix. We show that if this matrix is positive-definite, the optimal rate region under the constraint of a fixed blocklength and non-zero error probability has a curved boundary compared to being polyhedral for the asymptotic Slepian-Wolf scenario. In addition, the entropy dispersion matrix governs the rate of convergence of the non-asymptotic region to the asymptotic one. We develop a general universal achievability procedure for finite blocklength analyses of other network information theory problems such as the multiple-access channel and broadcast channel. We provide inner bounds to these problems using a key result known as the vector rate redundancy theorem which is proved using a multidimensional version of the Berry-Essèen theorem. We show that a so-called information dispersion matrix characterizes these inner bounds.
Latency correction of event-related potentials between different experimental protocols

Objective. A fundamental issue in EEG event-related potentials (ERPs) studies is the amount of data required to have an accurate ERP model. This also impacts the time required to train a classifier for a brain–computer interface (BCI). This issue is mainly due to the poor signal-to-noise ratio and the large fluctuations of the EEG caused by several sources of variability. One of these sources is directly related to the experimental protocol or application designed, and may affect the amplitude or latency of ERPs. This usually prevents BCI classifiers from generalizing among different experimental protocols. In this paper, we analyze the effect of the amplitude and the latency variations among different experimental protocols based on the same type of ERP. Approach. We present a method to analyze and compensate for the latency variations in BCI applications. The algorithm has been tested on two widely used ERPs (P300 and observation error potentials), in three experimental protocols in each case. We report the ERP analysis and single-trial classification. Main results. The results obtained show that the designed experimental protocols significantly affect the latency of the recorded potentials but not the amplitudes. Significance. These results show how the use of latency-corrected data can be used to generalize the BCIs, reducing the calibration time when facing a new experimental protocol.
Interleukin 6 is essential for in vivo development of B lineage neoplasms

Interleukin (IL) 6 has been suggested to be the major cytokine responsible for proliferation of neoplastic plasma cells in both human myeloma and mouse plasmacytoma. Much of the evidence supporting this suggestion is derived from in vitro studies in which the survival or proliferation of some plasma cell tumors has been found to be IL-6 dependent. However, it remains unclear whether this dependency is the consequence of in vivo or in vitro selective pressures that preferentially expand IL-6-responsive tumor cells, or whether it reflects a critical in vivo role for IL-6 in plasma cell neoplasia. To address this question, we have attempted to induce plasma cell tumors in normal mice and in IL-6-deficient mice generated by introduction of a germline-encoded null mutation in the IL-6 gene. The results demonstrate that mice homozygous (+/+) or heterozygous (+/-) for the wild-type IL-6 allele yield the expected incidences of plasma cell tumors. In contrast, mice homozygous for the IL-6-null allele (-/-) are completely resistant to plasma cell tumor development. These studies define the essential role of IL-6 in the development of B lineage tumors in vivo and provide experimental support for continued efforts to modulate this cytokine in the treatment of appropriate human B cell malignancies.
Funny things happen at the Grange: Introducing comedy activities in day services to older people with dementia – innovative practice

This paper shares outcomes from the evaluation of a community project where comedy activities were introduced into a day centre for older people with dementia as a result of a partnership between the day centre, a local university and a specialist comedy provider. Four workshops were provided using improvisatory activities and comedy, as a medium to engage older people in reflecting on aspects of their care environment. The main output resulted in a 30 minute ‘mockumentary’ of the ‘Her Majesty the Queen’ visiting the day centre, in the form of a digital reusable learning object to be used by social work and mental health professionals. The evaluation demonstrated some additional outcomes for those involved and highlighted the benefits of laughter and fun in promoting a positive climate.
Technical, tactical and movement analysis of men's professional tennis on hard courts.

BACKGROUND There is very little information in tennis relating performance to both the movement of the players and the effectiveness of their shots. This study aimed to identify differences between winners and losers in the volume and intensity of their movements, as well as in the effectiveness of their shots. METHODS Matches (N.=8) at the 2011 ATP 500 tournament in Valencia (Spain) were recorded and analyzed using SAGIT, a computerized vision-tracking system. Data were split into points for movement analysis, and into games for stroke analysis. RESULTS Players winning points used more offensive strategies and spent more time in the offensive zone than point losers. They also forced point losers to cover more distance at a higher speed. Game winners hit more winning shots, made fewer unforced errors, and were more effective than game losers. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that winner players controlled the game by playing more offensively and forcing losers to play in defensive positions, move greater distances at a faster speed, and make more errors.