Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional Characterization of Friedreich Ataxia iPS-Derived Neuronal Progenitors and Their Integration in the Adult Brain

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive disease characterised by neurodegeneration and cardiomyopathy that is caused by an insufficiency of the mitochondrial protein, frataxin. Our previous studies described the generation of FRDA induced pluripotent stem cell lines (FA3 and FA4 iPS) that retained genetic characteristics of this disease. Here we extend these studies, showing that neural derivatives of FA iPS cells are able to differentiate into functional neurons, which don't show altered susceptibility to cell death, and have normal mitochondrial function. Furthermore, FA iPS-derived neural progenitors are able to differentiate into functional neurons and integrate in the nervous system when transplanted into the cerebellar regions of host adult rodent brain. These are the first studies to describe both in vitro and in vivo characterization of FA iPS-derived neurons and demonstrate their capacity to survive long term. These findings are highly significant for developing FRDA therapies using patient-derived stem cells.
Galactosylated Chitosan Oligosaccharide Nanoparticles for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell-Targeted Delivery of Adenosine Triphosphate

Nanoparticles composed of galactosylated chitosan oligosaccharide (Gal-CSO) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were prepared for hepatocellular carcinoma cell-specific uptake, and the characteristics of Gal-CSO/ATP nanoparticles were evaluated. CSO/ATP nanoparticles were prepared as a control. The average diameter and zeta potential of Gal-CSO/ATP nanoparticles were 51.03 ± 3.26 nm and 30.50 ± 1.25 mV, respectively, suggesting suitable properties for a drug delivery system. Subsequently, the cytotoxicity of Gal-CSO/ATP nanoparticles were examined by the methyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were calculated with HepG2 (human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line) cells. The results showed that the cytotoxic effect of nanoparticles on HepG2 cells was low. In the meantime, it was also found that the Gal-CSO/ATP nanoparticles could be uptaken by HepG2 cells, due to expression of the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R) on their surfaces. The presented results indicate that the Gal-CSO nanoparticles might be very attractive to be used as an intracellular drug delivery carrier for hepatocellular carcinoma cell targeting, thus warranting further in vivo or clinical investigations.
Simulated shift work in rats perturbs multiscale regulation of locomotor activity

Motor activity possesses a multiscale regulation that is characterized by fractal activity fluctuations with similar structure across a wide range of timescales spanning minutes to hours. Fractal activity patterns are disturbed in animals after ablating the master circadian pacemaker (suprachiasmatic nucleus, SCN) and in humans with SCN dysfunction as occurs with aging and in dementia, suggesting the crucial role of the circadian system in the multiscale activity regulation. We hypothesized that the normal synchronization between behavioural cycles and the SCN-generated circadian rhythms is required for multiscale activity regulation. To test the hypothesis, we studied activity fluctuations of rats in a simulated shift work protocol that was designed to force animals to be active during the habitual resting phase of the circadian/daily cycle. We found that these animals had gradually decreased mean activity level and reduced 24-h activity rhythm amplitude, indicating disturbed circadian and behavioural cycles. Moreover, these animals had disrupted fractal activity patterns as characterized by more random activity fluctuations at multiple timescales from 4 to 12 h. Intriguingly, these activity disturbances exacerbated when the shift work schedule lasted longer and persisted even in the normal days (without forced activity) following the shift work. The disrupted circadian and fractal patterns resemble those of SCN-lesioned animals and of human patients with dementia, suggesting a detrimental impact of shift work on multiscale activity regulation.
Molecular Characterization and Expression of Cloned Human Galanin Receptors GALR2 and GALR3

Abstract: Galanin is a 29‐ or 30‐amino acid peptide with wide‐ranging effects on hormone release, feeding behavior, smooth muscle contractility, and somatosensory neuronal function. Three distinct galanin receptor (GALR) subtypes, designated GALR1, 2, and 3, have been cloned from the rat. We report here the cloning of the human GALR2 and GALR3 genes, an initial characterization of their pharmacology with respect to radioligand binding and signal transduction pathways, and a profile of their expression in brain and peripheral tissues. Human GALR2 and GALR3 show, respectively, 92 and 89% amino acid sequence identity with their rat homologues. Radioligand binding studies with 125I‐galanin show that recombinant human GALR2 binds with high affinity to human galanin (KD = 0.3 nM). Human GALR3 binds galanin with less affinity (IC50 of 12 nM for porcine galanin and 75 nM for human galanin). Human GALR2 was shown to couple to phospholipase C and elevation of intracellular calcium levels as assessed by aequorin luminescence in HEK‐293 cells and by Xenopus melanophore pigment aggregation and dispersion assays, in contrast to human GALR1 and human GALR3, which signal predominantly through inhibition of adenylate cyclase. GALR2 mRNA shows a wide distribution in the brain (mammillary nuclei, dentate gyrus, cingulate gyrus, and posterior hypothalamic, supraoptic, and arcuate nuclei), and restricted peripheral tissue distribution with highest mRNA levels detected in human small intestine. In comparison, whereas GALR3 mRNA was expressed in many areas of the rat brain, there was abundant expression in the primary olfactory cortex, olfactory tubercle, the islands of Calleja, the hippocampal CA regions of Ammon's horn, and the dentate gyrus. GALR3 mRNA was highly expressed in human testis and was detectable in adrenal gland and pancreas. The genes for human GALR2 and 3 were localized to chromosomes 17q25 and 22q12.2–13.1, respectively.
Estimating the Returns to Education: Models, Methods and Results

This paper reviews appropriate non-experimental methods and microeconometric models for recovering the returns to education using individual data. Three estimators are considered: matching methods, instrumental variable methods and control function methods. The properties of these methods are investigated for models with multiple treatments and heterogeneous returns. Data from the British 1958 NCDS birth cohort is used to estimate returns to schooling and to illustrate the sensitivity of different estimators to model specification and data availability.
Motivating medicine: Why money is not enough

The public health system in Australia currently faces unprecedented challenges managing an ageing population with a rising burden of illness. Health professionals employed in the area are under constant pressure to do more with less, leading to high levels of employee dissatisfaction. Physician satisfaction is a critical aspect of quality health care, allowing the development of a motivated workforce committed to improving patient outcomes. Herzberg has identified several factors that contribute to employee motivation, including financial remuneration, work–life balance and the recognition and reward of good performance. Some strategies are more effective than others; here we discuss their relative advantages, the role of financial rewards, and propose other interventions to ‘switch on’ motivation.
Ultrasound Changes Solid-Liquid Leaching Equilibrium of Glycyrrhizic Acid from Glycyrrhiza Uralensis in Water

This work reported that ultrasound changed the solid-liquid leaching equilibrium of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) from glycyrrhiza uralensis in water. Several critical variables were considered, including temperature, ultrasonic power and frequency. The equilibrium concentration of GA increased by increasing the temperature, while the optimal ultrasonic frequency was affected by the temperature and the ultrasonic power affected the concentration lightly when the power was more than 100W. To investigate the cause that ultrasound changed the solid-liquid leaching equilibrium, a scanning electron microscope was used to observe the solid structure before ultrasound treatment and after that. It was found that ultrasound was able to change the structure of glycyrrhiza uralensis. So a new equilibrium was built and the equilibrium concentration of GA was influenced because the solid structure was transformed by ultrasound.
A constraint‐stabilized time‐stepping approach for rigid multibody dynamics with joints, contact and friction

We present a method for achieving geometrical constraint stabilization for a linear‐complementarity‐based time‐stepping scheme for rigid multibody dynamics with joints, contact, and friction. The method requires the solution of only one linear complementarity problem per step. We prove that the velocity stays bounded and that the constraint infeasibility is uniformly bounded in terms of the size of the time step and the current value of the velocity. Several examples, including one for joint‐only systems, are used to demonstrate the constraint stabilization effect. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Total and Partial Fragmentation Cross-Section of 500 MeV/nucleon Carbon Ions on Different Target Materials

By using an experimental setup based on thin and thick double-sided microstrip silicon detectors, it has been possible to identify the fragmentation products due to the interaction of very high energy primary ions on different targets. Here we report total and partial cross-sections measured at GSI (Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung), Darmstadt, for 500 MeV/n energy 12C beam incident on water (in flasks), polyethylene, lucite, silicon carbide, graphite, aluminium, copper, iron, tin, tantalum and lead targets. The results are compared to the predictions of GEANT4 (v4.9.4) and FLUKA (v11.2) Monte Carlo simulation programs.
Adaptive estimation of the evolutionary wavelet

In this work we deene and study a new class of non{stationary random processes which are characterized by a representation with respect to a family of localized basis functions. Using non{decimated or \stationary" wavelets this generalizes the Cram er (Fourier) spectral representation of stationary time series. We provide a time{scale instead of a time{frequency decomposition and, hence, instead of thinking as scale in terms of \inverse frequency" we start from genuine time{scale building blocks or \atoms". Using our new model of \locally stationary wavelet" processes, we develop a theory how to deene and estimate an \evolutionary wavelet spectrum". Our asymptotics are based on rescaling in time{location which allows us to perform rigorous estimation starting from a single stretch of observations of the process. This wavelet spectrum measures the local power in the variance{covariance decomposition of the process at a certain scale and a (rescaled) time location. To estimate the wavelet spectrum we use (corrected and appropriately smoothed) \wavelet periodograms'. Further, we suggest an inverse transformation of the smoothed wavelet periodogram that estimates a local autocovariance of the original stochastic process. Some numerical simulations and an application to a medical time series, which shows a particular non{stationary behaviour, indicate the usefulness of our new approach.
Intentions to use violence among young adolescents.

OBJECTIVE Frequent violent behavior among adolescents has been found to be associated with previous exposure to violence, personal victimization, depression, hopelessness, and older age. Although young adolescents engage in less severe violent behavior than older adolescents, their perceived normative expectations to use violence to resolve conflicts may already be established by early adolescence. This study examined the influence of exposure to violence, depression, church attendance, multiple drug use, and demographic variables on young adolescents' intentions to use violence to resolve conflict. METHODS Young adolescents (N = 225, males = 49.4%, black = 88.7%, mean age = 12.9 +/- 1 years) in two middle schools serving low-income and working-class communities were administered a previously tested anonymous questionnaire. They were also asked how they would resolve conflict in 15 different hypothetical situations. Each situation had 10 possible responses ranging from humor or avoidance to severe violence (eg, use of a gun). The Intentions to Use Violence in Hypothetical Situations Scale had a high internal reliability (alpha = .88) and was correlated (r = .46) at the expected level for this age group with a standardized use of violence and weapon-carrying scale. RESULTS The Intentions to Use Violence in Hypothetical Situations Scale was significantly correlated with age (r = .17), school grade (r = .14), lower church attendance (r = -.23), frequency of smoking (r = .24), alcohol use (r = .37), marijuana use (r = .36), crack cocaine use (r = .14), smokeless tobacco use (r = .20), injecting drug use (r = .16), depression (r = .12), and exposure to violence (r = .48). Based on multiple regression analysis, exposure to violence, marijuana use, frequency of church attendance, alcohol use, cocaine use, and tobacco use accounted for 36.6% of the variation in the Intentions to Use Violence in Hypothetical Situations Scale. CONCLUSION Although the intention to use violence was associated with previous exposure to violence and current drug use, adolescents who attended religious services more often were less likely to report that they would use violence to resolve interpersonal conflict.
C8orf13-BLK is a genetic risk locus for systemic sclerosis and has additive effects with BANK1: results from a large french cohort and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE Accumulating evidence suggests that B cells are involved in systemic sclerosis (SSc). BANK1 has been reproducibly reported to be associated with diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc). BLK encodes another B cell signal transducer, and a functional variant at the C8orf13-BLK locus has been found to be associated with SSc in Caucasians. However, no independent replication has been reported, and there are discrepancies in the genotype-phenotype correlation between these studies in Caucasians and another study performed in the Japanese population. Therefore, in a large cohort of French Caucasians and using a meta-analysis of the available data, this study was undertaken to determine whether the C8orf13-BLK locus is associated with SSc, and to assess the possibility of interaction between BLK and BANK1 in SSc. METHODS The C8orf13-BLK rs13277113 genotype was determined in 1,031 patients with SSc and 1,014 control subjects for whom BANK1 genotypes were available. Meta-analysis of the 3 available data sets (6,078 individuals) was also performed. RESULTS Minor allele frequencies for rs13277113 revealed an association restricted to the dcSSc subtype (P = 0.012, odds ratio [OR] 1.29) in the French sample. Meta-analysis of the combined Caucasian populations showed an association of this genotype with both SSc (P = 0.0013, OR 1.16, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.06-1.26) and dcSSc (P = 0.0012, OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.08-1.39). Inclusion of the Japanese population confirmed the overall association with the disease, with the strongest association observed with dcSSc (P = 3.27 × 10⁻⁵, OR 1.27). Secondary analysis in the French sample revealed additive effects between C8orf13-BLK and BANK1, mainly in the dcSSc subset. CONCLUSION These results confirm C8orf13-BLK as an SSc risk locus. The strongest effects, and particularly additive effects, were observed in the interaction between C8orf13-BLK and BANK1 in the dcSSc subset.
TUBERCULOSIS AND HIV COINFECTION

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most common co-infections that people living with HIV can get. It’s passed on through the air, and in coughs and sneezes of someone with active TB, also known as TB disease Testing for TB is easily done with a blood test or by taking a sample of mucus or other bodily fluid. If you are diagnosed with active TB, you will be offered treatment with a course of antibiotics to cure it.
A Java Implementation of an Extended Word Alignment Algorithm Based on the IBM Models

In recent years statistical word alignment models have been widely used for various Natural Language Processing (NLP) problems. In this paper we describe a platform independent and object oriented implementation (in Java) of a word alignment algorithm. This algorithm is based on the first three IBM models. This is an ongoing work in which we are trying to explore the possible enhancements to the IBM models, especially for related languages like the Indian languages. We have been able to improve the performance by introducing a similarity measure (Dice coefficient), using a list of cognates and morph analyzer. Use of information about cognates is especially relevant for Indian languages because these languages have a lot of borrowed and inherited words which are common to more than one language. For our experiments on English-Hindi word alignment, we also tried to use a bilingual dictionary to bootstrap the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. After training on 7399 sentence aligned sentences, we compared the results with GIZA++, an existing word alignment tool. The results indicate that though the performance of our word aligner is lower than that of GIZA++, it can be improved by adding some techniques like smoothing to take care of the data sparsity problem. We are also working on further improvements using morphological information and a better similarity measure etc. This word alignment tool is in the form of an API and is being developed as part of Sanchay, (a collection of tools and APIs for NLP with focus on Indian languages).
The synthesis of micrometer‐ and submicrometer‐size spheres of ordered mesoporous oxide MCM‐41

desiccator under vacuum for 20 min to remove air bubbles trapped in the liquid prepolymer, When features on the surface of the shrunken film were deep, many small air bubbles could not escape but settled down at the interface between the liquid prepolymer and the solid shrunken film. The air bubbles were thus replicated into the replica after the prepolymer was solidified (e.g. the surface texture shown in Fig. 2b-d). We used a UV-curable polyurethane (NOA73, Norland Products, New Brunswick, NJ) and a heatcurable epoxy (F114, Tra-Con, Medford. MA) to replicate the surface of shrunken films. The prepolymcr of NOA73 was irradiated with a UV light (Type 7825-34, Canrdd-Hanovia 450 W medium-pressure Hg vapor lamp, Ace Glass, Tnc., Vineland. NJ) for 45 min, with samples placed at a distance of -1-2 cm from the lamp. The precursor of F114 was cross-linked at 65 "C for 4 h.
EasyAlbum: an interactive photo annotation system based on face clustering and re-ranking

Digital photo management is becoming indispensable for the explosively growing family photo albums due to the rapid popularization of digital cameras and mobile phone cameras. In an effective photo management system photo annotation is the most challenging task. In this paper, we develop several innovative interaction techniques for semi-automatic photo annotation. Compared with traditional annotation systems, our approach provides the following new features: "cluster annotation" puts similar faces or photos with similar scene together, and enables user label them in one operation; "contextual re-ranking" boosts the labeling productivity by guessing the user intention; "ad hoc annotation" allows user label photos while they are browsing or searching, and improves system performance progressively through learning propagation. Our results show that these technologies provide a more user friendly interface for the annotation of person name, location, and event, and thus substantially improve the annotation performance especially for a large photo album.
On the Elasticity of Effort for Piece Rates: Evidence from the British Columbia Tree-Planting Industry

If policy prescriptions for compensation systems are to be useful, then they must be based on the empirical analysis of incentive effects; i.e., the elasticity of worker effort with respect to changes in the compensation system. We measure the elasticity of worker effort with respect to changes in the piece rate using panel data collected from the payroll records of a British Columbia tree-planting firm. Our data contain information on daily worker productivity and the piece rate received over a five-month period. We highlight the endogeneity problems inherent in traditional empirical analyses of compensation systems. In particular, employing regression methods, which use the sample covariance between piece rates and daily productivity to identify the incentive effect, we consistently estimate the elasticity of effort with respect to changes it the piece rate to be negative. Using a structural model to control for the endogeneity of the piece rate, we estimate this elasticity to be approximately 2.2. Structural estimation also allows us to perform policy experiments and to compare firm profits under alternative compensation systems. Our results suggest that profits would increase by at least 17 percent were the firm to implement the optimal contract as predicted by principal-agent theory.
Transmission of hepatitis C virus from a patient to an anesthesiology assistant to five patients.

Prevention and treatment of infections with hepatitis C virus (HCV) remain a major challenge.1 The main source of HCV infection in developed countries was formerly transfusion of contaminated blood and blood products but is now injection-drug use.2–4 In general, a potential risk factor can be established for about 90 percent of all cases of HCV infection.3 One way of contracting HCV may be transmission from infected medical personnel to susceptible patients during medical care. Provider-to-patient transmission of HCV is rare, and in most cases HCV-positive surgeons are the probable source.5–7 We studied an outbreak of HCV in a .
Process Variation Aware Cache Leakage Management

In a few technology generations, limitations of fabrication processes have made accurate design time power estimates a daunting challenge. Static leakage current which comprises a significant fraction of total power due to large on-chip caches, is exponentially dependent on widely varying physical parameters such as gate length, gate oxide thickness, and dopant ion concentration. In large structures like on-chip caches, this may mean that one portion of a cache may consume an order of magnitude larger static power than equivalently sized regions. Under this climate, egalitarian management of physical resources is clearly untenable. In this paper, we analyze the effects of within-die and die-to-die leakage variation for on-chip caches. We then propose way prioritization, a manufacturing variation aware scheme that minimizes cache leakage energy. Our results show that significant average power reductions are possible without undue hardware complexity or performance compromise