Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Summing up: an action plan for ALS research

This meeting did not take place in a vacuum. The ALS world changed in 1993 when Dr. Brown and Dr. Siddique and their teams discovered the SOD-1 mutation, which was the most important research advance in ALS since Charcot. Immediately thereafter came the SOD mutant mouse, providing the key for the tremendous advances in understanding the pathogenesis of ALS. Concomitantly, the design of clinical trials became more sophisticated. However, the bottom line is clear; we still have no truly effective therapy. It has been a decade of fantastic advances – the mutation, the mouse, cultured cells bearing the mutant SOD-1 protein; the discovery of more genes for familial ALS, and the emergence of stem cell and gene therapy – and the number of papers published has increased exponentially. However, there are still many problems. There remains no coherent picture of the etiology of sporadic ALS; we do not know the cause. There is similarly no clear picture of the pathogenesis of either sporadic ALS or familial ALS; we do not know the precise molecular changes that lead to the clinical manifestations. Evidence from the mutant mouse indicates that motor neuron degeneration is not motor neuron ‘autonomous’; cellular malfunction is not limited to motor neurons because glial cells are also involved. We talk about genetic susceptibility versus the environment in thinking about causality. Both are involved, but we know little about genetic susceptibility, and virtually nothing about possible factors in the environment. Discussions are not enough; we must come away from conferences like this one with a clear view of what actions we are going to take. This meeting was historically important, because it has led to a reconsideration of the design of trials and the selection of treatments. Many people deserve accolades for the success of this meeting, but in particular the driving force has been Hiroshi Mitsumoto, ably assisted by Serge Przedborski. Looking to the future, and taking cues from the proceedings of this meeting, we can consider some suggestions for action:
Distribution of autologous tumor‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in human metastatic melanoma

The study of specific immunity in human cancers has been hampered by the elusive distribution and heterogeneity of effector cells. In this study, we have investigated the distribution of autologous melanoma‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in 18 different distant metastases from melanomas (9 non‐ visceral and 9 visceral metastases). Uncultured cells from tumors were provided directly for the establishment of T‐cell clones using limiting dilution analysis to avoid any possible effects of in vitro sensitization of T cells to coexisting tumor cells. Autologous tumor‐specific CTL, clones were detected in 6 of 18 tumors (33%, 4 non‐visceral and 2 visceral metastases). The majority of GTL clones (35 of 46 and 17 of 19) in 2 patients with HLA class‐1 A2 haplotype failed to lyse either A2+ or A2− allogeneic melanoma cells, although anti‐class‐1 (monomorphic) MAb inhibited their cytotoxicity. The remaining 11 of 46 and 2 of 19 CTL clones showed A2‐restricted cytotoxicity. Autologous tumor‐specific cytotoxicity was also detected after polyclonal culture of these tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in 8 of 16 tumors (50%, 5 non‐visceral and 3 visceral metastases). These results suggest that tumor‐specific T cells exist at tumor sites in at least one‐third of distant metastases of melanomas and could be induced by the addition of IL‐2 in at least half of the tumors. Tumor‐specific T cells were detectable more often in non‐ visceral than in visceral metastases. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The role of geography in school segregation in the free parental choice context of Dutch cities

School segregation and residential segregation are generally highly correlated. Cities in the Netherlands are considered to be moderately segregated residentially, while the educational landscape is choice-based but publicly funded. This article analyses how school and residential segregation are interrelated in the educational landscape of Dutch cities. Drawing on individual register data about all primary school pupils in the 10 largest cities, it demonstrates that segregation by ethnicity and social class is generally high, but that the patterns differ strongly between cities. By hypothetically allocating children to the nearest schools, this article demonstrates that even in a highly choice-based school context school segregation is to a large extent the effect of residential patterns. The role of residential trends, notably gentrification, is therefore crucial for understanding the differences in current trends of school segregation across Dutch urban contexts.
Morphological structure and microhardness of ground thermally expanded graphite

The effect of the mechanical grinding on the structure and mechanical properties such as microhardness of the disperse thermally expanded graphite (TEG) has been studied. A comparison of the parameters of a deep structure of obtained TEG samples by X-ray diffraction method has been provided. The microhardness and elastic characteristics of disperse expanded graphite has been studied by the methods of continuous nanoidentation. It was shown that with a decrease in the average particle size, the branched morphology of TEG particles changes and the shape approaches to the equiaxial. It was determined that particles of thermally expanded graphite with an average particles cross-section of 120 μm have maximum microstresses, and the compactated samples are characterized by the maximum values of microhardness and Young's modulus, that is 0.12 GPa and 1 GPa respectively. The criteria of the powder mixtures treatment for disperse TEG powder, predicted changes in particles morphology and mechanical characteristics of the compacted samples obtained have been optimized.
Association of Dyslipidemia with Renal Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease

Dyslipidemia is highly prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the relationship between dyslipidemia with renal outcomes in patients with moderate to advanced CKD remains controversial. Hence, our objective is to determine whether dyslipidemia is independently associated with rapid renal progression and progression to renal replacement therapy (RRT) in CKD patients. The study analyzed the association between lipid profile, RRT, and rapid renal progression (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] slope <−6 ml/min/1.73 m2/yr) in 3303 patients with stages 3 to 5 CKD. During a median 2.8-year follow-up, 1080 (32.3%) participants commenced RRT and 841 (25.5%) had rapid renal progression. In the adjusted models, the lowest quintile (hazard ratios [HR], 1.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 1.49) and the highest two quintiles of total cholesterol (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.52 and HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.65 respectively) increased risks for RRT (vs. quintile 2). Besides, the highest quintile of total cholesterol was independently associated with rapid renal progression (odds ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.83). Our study demonstrated that certain levels of dyslipidemia were independently associated with RRT and rapid renal progression in CKD stage 3–5. Assessment of lipid profile may help identify high risk groups with adverse renal outcomes.
CENTDIST: discovery of co-associated factors by motif distribution

Transcription factors (TFs) do not function alone but work together with other TFs (called co-TFs) in a combinatorial fashion to precisely control the transcription of target genes. Mining co-TFs is thus important to understand the mechanism of transcriptional regulation. Although existing methods can identify co-TFs, their accuracy depends heavily on the chosen background model and other parameters such as the enrichment window size and the PWM score cut-off. In this study, we have developed a novel web-based co-motif scanning program called CENTDIST (http://compbio.ddns.comp.nus.edu.sg/~chipseq/centdist/). In comparison to current co-motif scanning programs, CENTDIST does not require the input of any user-specific parameters and background information. Instead, CENTDIST automatically determines the best set of parameters and ranks co-TF motifs based on their distribution around ChIP-seq peaks. We tested CENTDIST on 14 ChIP-seq data sets and found CENTDIST is more accurate than existing methods. In particular, we applied CENTDIST on an Androgen Receptor (AR) ChIP-seq data set from a prostate cancer cell line and correctly predicted all known co-TFs (eight TFs) of AR in the top 20 hits as well as discovering AP4 as a novel co-TF of AR (which was missed by existing methods). Taken together, CENTDIST, which exploits the imbalanced nature of co-TF binding, is a user-friendly, parameter-less and powerful predictive web-based program for understanding the mechanism of transcriptional co-regulation.
Therapeutic approaches to enhance natural killer cell cytotoxicity

Enhancing the cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells has emerged as a promising strategy in cancer immunotherapy, due to their pivotal role in immune surveillance and tumor clearance. This literature review provides a comprehensive overview of therapeutic approaches designed to augment NK cell cytotoxicity. We analyze a wide range of strategies, including cytokine-based treatment, monoclonal antibodies, and NK cell engagers, and discuss criteria that must be considered when selecting an NK cell product to combine with these strategies. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges and limitations associated with each therapeutic strategy, as well as the potential for combination therapies to maximize NK cell cytotoxicity while minimizing adverse effects. By exploring the wealth of research on this topic, this literature review aims to provide a comprehensive resource for researchers and clinicians seeking to develop and implement novel therapeutic strategies that harness the full potential of NK cells in the fight against cancer. Enhancing NK cell cytotoxicity holds great promise in the evolving landscape of immunotherapy, and this review serves as a roadmap for understanding the current state of the field and the future directions in NK cell-based therapies.
Hypervolume-Based Surrogate Model for MO-CMA-ES

Evolutionary algorithms are among the best multi-objective optimizers, but the large number of objective function evaluations they require makes it hard to use them to solve certain real-life tasks. In this work we present a surrogate-based local search for the multi-objective covariance matrix adaption evolution strategy (MO-CMA-ES). The local search is based on the estimation of hypervolume contribution of each individual and maximization of this contribution. This work extends our previous work and makes such surrogate models applicable to problems with more than two objectives. Moreover, it uses a unique feature of MO-CMA-ES to make the local search more effective. The results indicate that the algorithm can find solutions of the same quality as MO-CMA-ES while using 30-50 percent less objective function evaluations.
Right frontal hypergyria differentiation in affected and unaffected siblings from families multiply affected with schizophrenia: a morphometric mri study.

OBJECTIVE The authors used magnetic resonance imaging to corroborate the postmortem finding of right frontal hypergyria associated with schizophrenia. METHOD Twelve affected-unaffected sibling pairs from families multiply affected with schizophrenia were studied. Bilateral measurement of the gyrification index, the ratio of the inner and outer surface contours, was performed on three different slices of the prefrontal region. RESULTS The mean gyrification index on the right side was significantly higher in siblings with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder than in the unaffected siblings. CONCLUSIONS In this family cohort study, the postmortem finding of right-sided hypergyria in subjects with schizophrenia was replicated in vivo with magnetic resonance imaging. This observation provides further support for a neurodevelopmental mechanism in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
1992 AAAI Robot Exhibition and Competition

The first Robotics Exhibition and Competition sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence was held in San Jose, California, on 14-16 July 1992 in conjunction with the Tenth National Conference on AI. This article describes the history behind the competition, the preparations leading to the competition, the threedays during which 12 teams competed in the three events making up the competition, and the prospects for other such competitions in the future.
An experimentally validated analytical model for gate line-edge roughness (LER) effects on technology scaling

This letter introduces an analytical model to represent line-edge roughness (LER) effects on both off-state leakage and drive current for sub-100-nm devices. The model partitions a given device into small unit cells along its width, each unit cell assumes a constant gate length (i.e., cell's width is small compared to LER spatial frequency). An analytical model is used to represent saturated threshold voltage dependency on the unit cell's gate length. Using this technique, an efficient and accurate model for LER effects (through V/sub ts/ variations) on off-state leakage and drive current is proposed and experimentally validated using 193 and 248 nm lithography for devices with 80-nm nominal gate lengths. Assuming that the deviation from the ideal 0-LER case remains constant from generation to generation, the model predicts that 3 nm or less LER is required for 50-60-nm state-of-the-art devices in the 0.1-/spl mu/m technology node. Based on data presented, we suggest that the LER requirement for this technology node is attainable with an alternated phase-shift type of patterning process.
Causes and Effects of Poverty on Academic Achievements of Rural Secondary School Students: Case of Secondary School in Bahawlanagar District

Exchange to teaching is one of the significant uncomplicated social honesties in totally cultures. In Pakistan, the running of education has been one of the greatest serious matters of management public strategy particularly subsequently afterward individuality in 1947. Poverty has still continued a tentative block for maximum persons to achieve this simple right. This study required to examine the reasons and things of lack on educational success in the Bahawalnagar secondary school. The education required to representation the experiments shortage secondary school pupils’ expression in their mission for education, afterward important them to descent out of school. The procedure supervisory this study was a case study. Records were collected using forms, expression to expression meetings and document analysis. The study discovered that death of workers; joblessness and lack of education are the major reasons of deficiency in the Bahawalnagar public. The consequences of this study showed that shortage harmfully impressions on the educational success of scholars. The study consequently mentions that institute establishments stumble expense of school dues in instruction to accommodate the fewer fortunate scholars. The study additional mentions that the contributor public network capitals to education and feed students who originated from disadvantaged circumstances.
Meta-analysis of single crowns supported by short (<10 mm) implants in the posterior region.

AIM To assess the failures and complications of short (<10 mm) implants supporting single crowns in the posterior region and its potential risk factors (RkF). MATERIALS AND METHODS Prospective studies were screened according to eligibility criteria, followed by contact with authors. Quality assessment was performed using a standardized protocol. Mean implant failure proportion (FP), biological and prosthetic failure proportions (BFP/PFP) and marginal bone loss (MBL) including 95% confidence intervals were estimated using random-effects models for meta-analysis. RESULTS Sixteen studies with a medium methodological quality (mean score: 8 ± 3; 2-14) had data collected. In summary, 762 short implants were followed up for up to 120 months in 360 patients (mean follow-up: 44 ± 33.72 months; mean dropout rate: 5.1%). The means FP, BFP, PFP and MBL were 5.9% (95%CI: 3.7-9.2%), 3.8% (95%CI: 1.9-7.4%), 2.8% (95%CI: 1.4-5.7%) and 0.83 mm (95%CI: 0.54-1.12 mm) respectively. Quantitative analysis showed that placement in the mandible (p = 0.0002) and implants with length ≤8 mm (p = 0.01) increased FP, BFP and MBL, whereas qualitative assessment revealed that crown-to-implant ratio did not influence MBL. CONCLUSIONS Single crowns supported by short implants in the posterior region are a predictable treatment option with reduced failure rates, biological/prosthetic complications and minimal bone loss.
Attitude Control of Quadrotor Using PID Sliding Mode Controller

In this paper, a Proportional Integral Derivative Sliding Mode Controller (PIDSMC) is proposed to control the Quadrotor vehicle. Initially, the Quadrotor dynamic is described briefly. Next, the PIDSMC is derived to control Quadrotor attitude and to improve the performance of the vehicle. In this control approach, the adaptive PID controller is employed as an equivalent control signal of SMC at equivalent point. The PID gains are tuned based on sliding mode algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is demonstrated by numerical simulation result.
Lung cancer and occupation: A New Zealand cancer registry-based case-control study.

BACKGROUND There are many proven and suspected occupational causes of lung cancer, which will become relatively more important over time, as smoking prevalence decreases. METHODS We interviewed 457 cases aged 20-75 years notified to the New Zealand Cancer Registry during 2007-2008, and 792 population controls. We collected information on demographic details, potential confounders, and employment history. Associations were estimated using logistic regression adjusted for gender, age, ethnicity, smoking, and socio-economic status. RESULTS Among occupations of a priori interest, elevated odds ratios (ORs) were observed for sawmill, wood panel and related wood-processing plant operators (OR 4.63; 95% CI 1.05-20.29), butchers (OR 8.77, 95% CI 1.06-72.55), rubber and plastics products machine operators (4.27; 1.16-15.66), heavy truck drivers (2.24; 1.19-4.21) and workers in petroleum, coal, chemical and associated product manufacturing (1.80; 1.11-2.90); non-significantly elevated risks were also observed for loggers (4.67; 0.81-27.03), welders and flame-cutters (2.50; 0.86-7.25), pressers (5.74; 0.96-34.42), and electric and electronic equipment assemblers (3.61; 0.96-13.57). Several occupations and industries not of a priori interest also showed increased risks, including nursing associate professionals (5.45; 2.29-12.99), enrolled nurses (7.95; 3.10-20.42), care givers (3.47; 1.40-8.59), plant and machine operators and assemblers (1.61; 1.20-2.16), stationary machine operators and assemblers (1.67; 1.22-2.28), food and related products processing machine operators (1.98; 1.23-3.19), laborers and related elementary service workers (1.45; 1.05-2.00), manufacturing (1.34; 1.02-1.77), car retailing (3.08; 1.36-6.94), and road freight transport (3.02; 1.45-6.27). CONCLUSIONS Certain occupations and industries have increased lung cancer risks in New Zealand, including wood workers, metal workers, meat workers, textile workers and drivers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 54:89-101, 2011. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
An Ancient Irrigation Canal in the Pampa Tamarugal (Chile)

ABSTRACT Southwest of Tarapacá Valley, in the Pampa Tamarugal of northern Chile, the remains of a canal were discovered running south for more than 6 km. Mapping and excavations indicated that this narrow (about 3 m) and shallow (about 0.5 m) construction was intended to divert water from the perennial Tarapacá River, combine this with occasional run-off from the mountains to the east, and irrigate a system of agricultural fields in a depression on the pampa. Several piles of rocks (cairns) and cleared lines (geoglyphs) were seen in the vicinity of the canal. The recovered pottery sherds were identified as belonging to the Pica-Charcollo tradition (800–1500 c.e.), while four radiocarbon dates from excavated wood and charcoal clustered around 1400–1600 c.e. This places the canal around the time of the colonization of the area by the Inka Empire, which made Tarapacá Valley into a regional center for mining and marine resources. The rationale behind its construction is likely a combination of the need to mitigate fluctuations in the availability of water for agriculture and the production of a larger food surplus.
Compressive sensing-based channel estimation for massive multiuser MIMO systems

We propose a new approach based on compressive sensing (CS) for the channel matrix estimation problem for “massive” (or large-scale) multiuser (MU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The system model includes a base station (BS) equipped with a very large number of antennas communicating simultaneously with a large number of autonomous single-antenna user terminals (UTs), over a realistic physical channel with finite scattering model. Based on the idea that the degree of freedom of the channel matrix is smaller than its large number of free parameters, a low-rank matrix approximation based on CS is proposed and solved via a quadratic semidefine programming (SDP). Our analysis and experimental results suggest that the proposed method outperforms the existing ones in terms of estimation error performance or training transmit power, without requiring any knowledge about the statistical distribution or physical parameters of the propagation channel.
Dynamic monitoring of land-use/land-cover change and urban expansion in Shenzhen using Landsat imagery from 1988 to 2015

ABSTRACT To analyse changes in human settlement in Shenzhen City during the past three decades, changes in land use/land cover (LULC) and urban expansion were investigated based on multi-temporal Landsat Thematic Mapper/Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus/Operational Land Imager (TM/ETM+/OLI) images. Using C4.5-based AdaBoost, a hierarchical classification method was developed to extract specific classes with high accuracy by combining a specific number of base-classifier decisions. Along with a classification post-processing approach, the classification accuracy was greatly improved. The statistical analysis of LULC changes from 1988 to 2015 shows that built-up areas have increased 6.4-fold, whereas cultivated land and forest continually decreased because of rapid urbanization. Urban expansion driven by human activities has considerably affected the landscape change of Shenzhen. The urban-expansion pattern of Shenzhen is a mixture of three urban-expansion patterns. Among these patterns, traffic-driven urban expansion has been the main form of urban expansion for some time, especially in the Non-Special Economic Zone. In addition, by taking 8 to 10 year periods as time intervals, urban expansion in Shenzhen was divided into three stages: the early-age urbanization stage (1988–1996), the rapid urbanization stage (1996–2005), and the intensive urbanization stage (2005–2015). For different stages, the state of urban expansion is different. In long-term LULC dynamic monitoring and urban-expansion detection, it was possible to obtain 11 LULC maps, which took 2 to 4 years as a research interval. With regard to the short research periods, LULC changes and urban expansion were investigated in detail.