Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Progranulin Mediates Caspase-Dependent Cleavage of TAR DNA Binding Protein-43

TAR DNA binding protein-43 (TDP-43) is the pathologic substrate of neuronal and glial inclusions in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions (FTDL-U) and in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Mutations in the progranulin gene (PGRN) have been shown to cause familial FTLD-U. The relationship between progranulin and TDP-43 and their respective roles in neurodegeneration is unknown. We report that progranulin mediates proteolytic cleavage of TDP-43 to generate ∼35 and ∼25 kDa species. Suppression of PGRN expression with small interfering RNA leads to caspase-dependent accumulation of TDP-43 fragments that can be inhibited with caspase inhibitor treatment. Cells treated with staurosporine also induced caspase-dependent cleavage and redistribution of TDP-43 from its nuclear localization to cytoplasm. Altered cleavage and redistribution of TDP-43 in cell culture models are similar to findings in FTLD-U and ALS. The results suggest that abnormal metabolism of TDP-43 mediated by progranulin may play a pivotal role in neurodegeneration.
Visual Data Exploration to Feature Space Definition

Many image-related applications rely on the fact that the dataset under investigation is correctly represented by features. However, defining a set of features that properly represents a dataset is still a challenging and, in most cases, an exhausting task. Most of the available techniques, especially when a large number of features is considered, are based on purely quantitative statistical measures or approaches based on artificial intelligence, and normally are “black-boxes” to the user. The approach proposed here seeks to open this “black-box” by means of visual representations, enabling users to get insight about the meaning and representativeness of the features computed from different feature extraction algorithms and sets of parameters. The results show that, as the combination of sets of features and changes in parameters improves the quality of the visual representation, the accuracy of the classification for the computed features also improves. The results strongly suggest that our approach can be successfully employed as a guidance to defining and understanding a set of features that properly represents an image dataset.
T F L T C E  F L

We survey recent results on the enumeration of formal languages. In particular, we consider enumeration of regular languages accepted by deterministic and nondeterministic finite automata with n states, regular languages generated by regular expressions of a fixed length, and ω-regular languages accepted by Müller automata. We also survey the uncomputability of enumeration of context-free languages and more general structures.
Analysis of biogenic carbonyl compounds in rainwater by stir bar sorptive extraction technique with chemical derivatization and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry

Stir bar sorptive extraction is a powerful technique for the extraction and analysis of organic compounds in aqueous matrices. Carbonyl compounds are ubiquitous components in rainwater, however, it is a major challenge to accurately identify and sensitively quantify carbonyls from rainwater due to the complex matrix. A stir bar sorptive extraction technique was developed to efficiently extract carbonyls from aqueous samples following chemical derivatization by O‐(2,3,4,5,6‐pentafluorobenzyl) hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Several commercial stir bars in two sizes were used to simultaneously measure 29 carbonyls in aqueous samples with detection by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. A 100 mL aqueous sample was extracted by stir bars and the analytes on stir bars were desorbed into a 2 mL solvent solution in an ultrasonic bath. The preconcentration Coefficient for different carbonyls varied between 30 and 45 times. The limits of detection of stir bar sorptive extraction with gas chromatography mass spectrometry for carbonyls (10–30 ng/L) were improved by ten times compared with other methods such as gas chromatography with electron capture detection and stir bar sorptive extraction with high‐performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The technique was used to determine carbonyls in rainwater samples collected in York, UK, and 20 carbonyl species were quantified including glyoxal, methylglyoxal, isobutenal, 2‐hydroxy ethanal.
A NoSQL-Based Framework for Managing Home Services

Individuals and companies have an increasing need for services by specialized suppliers in their homes or premises. These services can be quite different and can require different amounts of resources. Service suppliers have to specify the activities to be performed, plan those activities, allocate resources, follow up after their completion and must be able to react to any unexpected situation. Various proposals were formulated to model and implement these functions; however, there is no unified approach that can improve the efficiency of software solutions to enable economy of scale. In this paper, we propose a framework that a service supplier can use to manage geo-localized activities. The proposed framework is based on a NoSQL data model and implemented using the MongoDB system. We also discuss the advantages and drawbacks of a NoSQL approach.
Disruption of Functional Brain Networks in Alzheimer's Disease: What Can We Learn from Graph Spectral Analysis of Resting-State Magnetoencephalography?

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), structural and functional brain network organization is disturbed. However, many of the present network analysis measures require a priori assumptions and methodological choices that influence outcomes and interpretations. Graph spectral analysis (GSA) is a more direct algebraic method that describes network properties, which might lead to more reliable results. In this study, GSA was applied to magnetoencephalography (MEG) data to explore functional network integrity in AD. Sensor-level resting-state MEG was performed in 18 Alzheimer patients (age 67 ± 9, 6 women) and 18 healthy controls (age 66 ± 9, 11 women). Weighted, undirected graphs were constructed based on functional connectivity analysis using the Synchronization likelihood, and GSA was performed with a focus on network connectivity, synchronizability, and node centrality. The main outcomes were a global loss of network connectivity and altered synchronizability in most frequency bands. Eigenvector centrality mapping confirmed the hub status of the parietal areas, and demonstrated a low centrality of the left temporal region in the theta band in AD patients that was strongly related to the mini mental state examination (global cognitive function test) score (r=0.67, p=0.001). Summarizing, GSA is a theoretically solid approach that is able to detect the disruption of functional network topology in AD. In addition to the previously reported overall connectivity losses and parietal area hub status, impaired network synchronizability and a clinically relevant left temporal centrality loss were found in AD patients. Our findings imply that GSA is valuable for the purpose of studying altered brain network topology and dynamics in AD.
Single image defocus map estimation using local contrast prior

Image defocus estimation is useful for several applications including deblurring, blur magnification, measuring image quality, and depth of field segmentation. In this paper, we present a simple yet effective approach for estimating a defocus blur map based on the relationship of the contrast to the image gradient in a local image region. We call this relationship the local contrast prior. The advantage of our approach is that it does not require filter banks or frequency decomposition of the input image; instead we only need to compare local gradient profiles with the local contrast. We discuss the idea behind the local contrast prior and demonstrate its effectiveness on a variety of experiments.
Influence of Non Quadrature of Phase Shifter to Adaptive Interference Cancellation System

This paper investigates the influence of non quadrature of phase shifter to the convergence characteristic and interference cancellation ratio (ICR) of a Single chunnel analog adaptive interference cancellation system (SAAICS). We established the analysis model and solved the transient and steady-state characteristics of weights. Through the analysis of steady-state error and ICR, we obtained the rule of ICR variation with quadrature offset angle. And that rule with different interference signal phase was gained. The non quadrature of phase shifter decreases the average convergence speed. The more quadrature offset is, the low average convergence speed will be. But the ICR does not decrease absolutely with the increase of quadrature offset. It is related with the interference signal phase. For different interference signal phase, the rules of ICR variation with different quadrature offset angles are nearly consistent. The analyses are in agreement with the computer simulation. For non quadrature of phase shifter, the system is time-variant. When the signal frequency is higher, the influence of the time-variation is smaller.
Formins: Emerging Players in the Dynamic Plant Cell Cortex

Formins (FH2 proteins) are an evolutionarily conserved family of eukaryotic proteins, sharing the common FH2 domain. While they have been, until recently, understood mainly as actin nucleators, formins are also engaged in various additional aspects of cytoskeletal organization and signaling, including, but not limited to, the crosstalk between the actin and microtubule networks. A surprising diversity of domain organizations has been discovered among the FH2 proteins, and specific domain setups have been found in plants. Seed plants have two clades of formins, one of them (Class I) containing mostly transmembrane proteins, while members of the other one (Class II) may be anchored to membranes via a putative membrane-binding domain related to the PTEN antioncogene. Thus, plant formins present good candidates for possible mediators of coordination of the cortical actin and microtubule cytoskeletons, as well as their attachment to the plasma membrane, that is, aspects of cell cortex organization likely to be important for cell and tissue morphogenesis. Although experimental studies of plant formin function are hampered by the large number of formin genes and their functional redundancy, recent experimental work has already resulted in some remarkable insights into the function of FH2 proteins in plants.
Human DPSCs fabricate vascularized woven bone tissue: a new tool in bone tissue engineering

Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are mesenchymal stem cells that have been successfully used in human bone tissue engineering. To establish whether these cells can lead to a bone tissue ready to be grafted, we checked DPSCs for their osteogenic and angiogenic differentiation capabilities with the specific aim of obtaining a new tool for bone transplantation. Therefore, hDPSCs were specifically selected from the stromal–vascular dental pulp fraction, using appropriate markers, and cultured. Growth curves, expression of bone-related markers, calcification and angiogenesis as well as an in vivo transplantation assay were performed. We found that hDPSCs proliferate, differentiate into osteoblasts and express high levels of angiogenic genes, such as vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor A. Human DPSCs, after 40 days of culture, give rise to a 3D structure resembling a woven fibrous bone. These woven bone (WB) samples were analysed using classic histology and synchrotron-based, X-ray phase-contrast microtomography and holotomography. WB showed histological and attractive physical qualities of bone with few areas of mineralization and neovessels. Such WB, when transplanted into rats, was remodelled into vascularized bone tissue. Taken together, our data lead to the assumption that WB samples, fabricated by DPSCs, constitute a noteworthy tool and do not need the use of scaffolds, and therefore they are ready for customized regeneration.
Reduction of quaternary ammonium-induced ocular surface toxicity by emulsions: an in vivo study in rabbits

Purpose To evaluate and compare the toxicological profiles of two quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), benzalkonium chloride (BAK), and cetalkonium chloride (CKC), in standard solution or cationic emulsion formulations in rabbit eyes using newly developed in vivo and ex vivo experimental approaches. Methods Seventy eyes of 35 adult male New Zealand albino rabbits were used in this study. They were randomly divided into five groups: 50 µl of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), PBS containing 0.02% BAK or 0.002% CKC (BAK Sol and CKC Sol, respectively), and emulsion containing 0.02% BAK or 0.002% CKC (BAK Em and CKC Em, respectively) were applied to rabbit eyes 15 times at 5-min intervals. The ocular surface changes induced by these eye drops were investigated using slit-lamp examination, flow cytometry (FCM), impression cytology (IC) on conjunctiva, and corneal in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM). Standard immunohistology in cryosections was also examined for cluster of differentiation (CD) 45+ infiltrating and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-nick end labeling (TUNEL)+ apoptotic cells. Results Clinical observations and IVCM showed that the highest toxicity was induced by BAK Sol, characterized by damaged corneal epithelium and a high level of inflammatory infiltration. BAK Em and CKC Sol presented moderate effects, and CKC Em showed the lowest toxicity with results similar to those of PBS. Conjunctival imprints analyzed by FCM showed a higher expression of RLA-DR and TNFR1 markers in BAK Sol-instilled eyes than in all other groups, especially at 4 h. Immunohistology was correlated with in vivo and ex vivo findings and confirmed this toxicity profile. A high level of infiltration of CD45+ inflammatory cells and TUNEL+ apoptotic cells was observed in limbus and conjunctiva, especially in QAC solution-receiving eyes compared to QAC emulsion-instilled eyes. Conclusions The acute administration of 15 instillations at 5 min intervals was a rapid and efficient model to assess quaternary ammonium toxicity profiles. This model showed the highest toxicity, induced by the BAK solution, and the lowest level of toxicity, induced by the CKC emulsion. These in vivo and ex vivo experimental approaches demonstrated that ocular surface toxicity was reduced by using an emulsion instead of a traditional solution and that a CKC emulsion was safe for future ocular administration.
Postural Dysfunction in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Some Implications for Therapeutic Guidance

Postural problems play a central role in the motor dysfunction of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Therefore, they spend more time in sitting than in standing to perform vital tasks of daily life. The focus of this article is to describe the pathophysiology of postural control in sitting and outline some implications for management and treatment. In general, children with CP exhibit muscular activity counteracting forces that disturb equilibrium. Only ‘non-sitting’ children with severe CP lack such ‘direction-specific’ adjustments, possibly ruling out achievement of independent sitting. Most frequently, the children display dysfunctions in the adaptation of the adjustment. Typical characteristics of this adaptation in children with CP are a top-down recruitment of pos tural muscles, an excessive degree of antagonistic coactivation, and an incomplete adaptation of the EMG-amplitude to task specific constraints. Despite our knowledge on the pathophysiology underlying the postural problems in children with CP, little ’high-level’ evidence (according to Sackett) exists on how different interventions can affect these problems. Therapeutic attention to promote motor performance in sitting focuses on adaptive seating, tilting of the support surface, and ample, variable training in motivating settings. The challenge facing us now is to provide evidence about the efficacy of specific treatment approaches facilitating that children reach an optimal level of functioning in daily life.
Ménage à trois

Glioblastoma is an aggressive primary brain cancer. Given our interest in novel immunotherapies, we have recently shown that inhibiting CTLA-4, PD-L1 and IDO results in a dramatic survival advantage in mice with brain tumors. Our preclinical study supports the rapid translation of this approach into phase I clinical trial.
A temporal constraint based planning approach for city tour and travel plan generation

In this paper, we present an AI planning-based city tour and travel application. The system assists the travellers to generate temporally constrained plans and their interactive map-based visualizations. We discuss the requirement of temporal constraints in the domain of city tour and travel application and consequent modelling of such an application as a temporally constrained planning problem. We have proposed schemes for specification and processing of temporal constraints in a Hierarchical Task Network (HTN) planner. We have redefined the basic PDDL3.0 temporal operators by imposing interval bounds and defined them as a restricted subset of Metric Interval Temporal Logic (MITL) family. The planner has been used to devise city tour and travel plans under temporal constraints and the generated plans have been rendered through Google-map based navigation interface.
Multiple-cultural Training Strategy Based on Cultural Model in the Context of Globalization

The paper discusses the strategy of organizational culture and organizational performance in the context of globalization. The survey from local enterprises shows that organizational culture can significantly affect innovation performance. This paper takes organizational culture strategy as intermediary variables to study the relationship between organizational culture and organizational performance. The survey from local state grid corporations shows that organizational culture can have significant predictive power on performance and organizational learning acts as a significant moderator. This research provides useful tools for organizational performance management in the context of globalization. Introduction Literature The "one Belt one Road" strategy proposed by President Xi has received a lot attention from many countries and the large corporations. In the process of internationalization, cultural differences and cultural conflicts are inescapable contradictions in the transnational operation and development of enterprises under the background of economic globalization. It is a long time concerning for many enterprises to research multilingual staffs training. Most of them lack the ability to offer effective training, which helps employees to break down language and cultural barriers before they send them abroad and bring them into the country. The existing research relies instead on the values of the differences which lead to training invalid, focused on experiences and class activities among different countries. This research will be against the background of the organizational culture, on the basis of cultural theoretical model, discusses difference significance of training management. The result provides useful reference to develop culture training in large multinational corporations. Review and Statement of Hypothesis International business are seen to present opportunities to combine resources such as capability and knowledge to develop new products or services and thus innovate; As the result, the number of such international business continues to increase. However, Tidd and Izumimoto argued that not all of these overseas business are successful. A number of studies have noted problems, which seem to be inevitably associated with these alliances, in cooperating with a partner from a different national culture. But Barkema and Vermeulen pointed to issues about cultural differences. Beamish showed that there was significant dissatisfaction with their performance, which may be attributable to these cultural differences. Culture is a difficult concept to grasp and measure. Harrington, for example, found that corporate cultural differences were partly responsible for the short duration of international joint business. Madhok suggested that literature has tended to overlook human relations core concepts such as
ArchMDSP: using DSPs for parallel image processing

Presents a parallel machine implemented with digital signal processors (DSPs), and its corresponding programming environment. This machine, named "Architecture using Multiple DSPs" (ArchMDSP), is supported by a parallel environment. Images are initially mapped to the parallel system to analyse the potential of this approach, but other applications have also been analysed, including real-time and fault-tolerant problems. The mapping system makes sub-image distribution available, one sub-image for each processor. The potential offered by this architecture was analysed for image processing by certain types of operators. The host computer is a Sun SparcStation whose Sbus has a link with a multiple-module carrier card with TMS320C40 processors in a pipeline structure, where each module has 8 MBytes of memory. Timing measurements, including communication overhead and speed-up, were taken for different sizes of images.
Effectiveness of school-based smoking prevention curricula: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To assess effectiveness of school-based smoking prevention curricula keeping children never-smokers. Design Systematic review, meta-analysis. Data: MEDLINE (1966+), EMBASE (1974+), Cinahl, PsycINFO (1967+), ERIC (1982+), Cochrane CENTRAL, Health Star, Dissertation Abstracts, conference proceedings. Data synthesis: pooled analyses, fixed-effects models, adjusted ORs. Risk of bias assessed with Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Setting 50 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of school-based smoking curricula. Participants Never-smokers age 5–18 (n=143 495); follow-up ≥6 months; all countries; no date/language limitations. Interventions Information, social influences, social competence, combined social influences/competence and multimodal curricula. Outcome measure Remaining a never-smoker at follow-up. Results Pooling all curricula, trials with follow-up ≤1 year showed no statistically significant differences compared with controls (OR 0.91 (0.82 to 1.01)), though trials of combined social competence/social influences curricula had a significant effect on smoking prevention (7 trials, OR 0.59 (95% CI 0.41 to 0.85)). Pooling all trials with longest follow-up showed an overall significant effect in favour of the interventions (OR 0.88 (0.82 to 0.95)), as did the social competence (OR 0.65 (0.43 to 0.96)) and combined social competence/social influences curricula (OR 0.60 (0.43 to 0.83)). No effect for information, social influences or multimodal curricula. Principal findings were not sensitive to inclusion of booster sessions in curricula or to whether they were peer-led or adult-led. Differentiation into tobacco-only or multifocal curricula had a similar effect on the primary findings. Few trials assessed outcomes by gender: there were significant effects for females at both follow-up periods, but not for males. Conclusions RCTs of baseline never-smokers at longest follow-up found an overall significant effect with average 12% reduction in starting smoking compared with controls, but no effect for all trials pooled at ≤1 year. However, combined social competence/social influences curricula showed a significant effect at both follow-up periods. Systematic review registration Cochrane Tobacco Review Group CD001293.