Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prospectives for Gene Therapy of Retinal Degenerations

Retinal degenerations encompass a large number of diseases in which the retina and associated retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells progressively degenerate leading to severe visual disorders or blindness. Retinal degenerations can be divided into two groups, a group in which the defect has been linked to a specific gene and a second group that has a complex etiology that includes environmental and genetic influences. The first group encompasses a number of relatively rare diseases with the most prevalent being Retinitis pigmentosa that affects approximately 1 million individuals worldwide. Attempts have been made to correct the defective gene by transfecting the appropriate cells with the wild-type gene and while these attempts have been successful in animal models, human gene therapy for these inherited retinal degenerations has only begun recently and the results are promising. To the second group belong glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). These retinal degenerations have a genetic component since they occur more often in families with affected probands but they are also linked to environmental factors, specifically elevated intraocular pressure, age and high blood sugar levels respectively. The economic and medical impact of these three diseases can be assessed by the number of individuals affected; AMD affects over 30 million, DR over 40 million and glaucoma over 65 million individuals worldwide. The basic defect in these diseases appears to be the relative lack of a neurogenic environment; the neovascularization that often accompanies these diseases has suggested that a decrease in pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), at least in part, may be responsible for the neurodegeneration since PEDF is not only an effective neurogenic and neuroprotective agent but also a potent inhibitor of neovascularization. In the last few years inhibitors of vascularization, especially antibodies against vascular endothelial cell growth factors (VEGF), have been used to prevent the neovascularization that accompanies AMD and DR resulting in the amelioration of vision in a significant number of patients. In animal models it has been shown that transfection of RPE cells with the gene for PEDF and other growth factors can prevent or slow degeneration. A limited number of studies in humans have also shown that transfection of RPE cells in vivo with the gene for PEDF is effective in preventing degeneration and restore vision. Most of these studies have used virally mediated gene delivery with all its accompanying side effects and have not been widely used. New techniques using non-viral protocols that allow efficient delivery and permanent integration of the transgene into the host cell genome offer novel opportunities for effective treatment of retinal degenerations.
Characterization of an Acellular Scaffold for a Tissue Engineering Approach to the Nipple-Areolar Complex Reconstruction

A significant number of patients undergo mastectomies and breast reconstructions every year using many surgical-based techniques to reconstruct the nipple-areolar complex (NAC). Described herein is a tissue engineering approach that may permit a human NAC onlay graft during breast reconstruction procedures. By applying decellularization, which is the removal of cellular components from tissue, to an intact whole donor NAC, the extracellular matrix (ECM) structure of the NAC is preserved. This creates a biologically derived scaffold for cells to repopulate and regenerate the NAC. A detergent-based decellularization method was used to derive whole NAC scaffolds from nonhuman primate rhesus macaque NAC tissue. Using both histological and quantitative analyses for the native and decellularized tissues, the derived ECM graft was assessed. The bioactivity of the scaffold was evaluated following cell culture with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The data presented here demonstrate that scaffolds are devoid of cells and retain ECM integrity and a high degree of bioactivity. The content of collagen and glycosaminoglycans were not significantly altered by the decellularization process, whereas the elastin content was significantly decreased. The proliferation and apoptosis of seeded BMSCs were found to be approximately 65 and <1.5%, respectively. This study characterizes the successful decellularization of NAC tissue as compared to native NACs based on structural protein composition, lubricating protein retention, the maintenance of adhesion molecules, and bioactivity when reseeded with cells. These histological and quantitative analyses provide the foundation for a novel approach to NAC reconstruction.
Does Employment during High School Impair Academic Progress

Tyack, D. 1966 "The 'Kingdom of God' and the common school: Protestant ministers and the educational awakening in the West. " Harvard Educational Review 36:447-69. 1970 "Onward Christian soldiers: Religion in the American common school. " Pp. 212-55 in P. Nash (ed.), History and Education. New York: Random House. 1974 The One Best System. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. U.S. Bureau of the Census 1976 Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, Bicentennial Edition, Parts I and II. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1974 Current Population Reports, Series P-25, No. 519. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis 1973 Long Term Economic Growth, 1860-1970. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
From live sequence charts to state machines and back: a guided tour

The problem of relating state-based intraagent (or intraobject) behavioral descriptions with scenario-based interagent (interobject) descriptions has recently focused much interest among the software engineering community. This paper compiles the results of our investigation of this problem. As interagent formalism, we adopt a simple variant of live sequence charts. For the intraagent perspective, we consider a game-theoretic foundation, looking at agents as "strategies," which encompasses the popular "state-based" paradigm. Three classes of relationships between models are studied: scenario checking (called eLSC checking), synthesis, and verification. We set a formally defined theoretical stage that allows us to express these three problems very simply, to discuss their complexity, and to describe optimal solutions. Our study reveals the intrinsic high computational difficulty of these tasks. Consequently, many related problems and solutions are surveyed, some of which can be the basis for practical solutions. In this, we also offer a panorama of current research and directions for the future.
Using Blind Search and Formal Concepts for Binary Factor Analysis

Binary Factor Analysis (BFA, also known as Boolean Factor Analysis) may help with understanding collections of binary data. Since we can take collections of text documents as binary data too, the BFA can be used to analyse such collections. Unfortunately, exact solving of BFA is not easy. This article shows two BFA methods based on exact computing, boolean algebra and the theory of formal concepts.
Selenium binding protein 1 in ovarian cancer

Selenium binding protein 1 (SELENBP1) was identified to be the most significantly down‐regulated protein in ovarian cancer cells by a membrane proteome profiling analysis. SELENBP1 expression levels in 4 normal ovaries, 8 benign ovarian tumors, 12 borderline ovarian tumors and 141 invasive ovarian cancers were analyzed with immunohistochemical assay. SELENBP1 expression was reduced in 87% cases of invasive ovarian cancer (122/141) and was significantly reduced in borderline tumors and invasive cancers (p < 0.001). Cox multivariate analysis within the 141 invasive cancer tissues showed that SELENBP1 expression score was a potential prognostic indicator for unfavorable prognosis of ovarian cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 2.18; 95% CI = 1.22–3.90; p = 0.009). Selenium can disrupt the androgen pathway, which has been implicated in modulating SELENBP1 expression. We investigated the effects of selenium and androgen on normal human ovarian surface epithelial (HOSE) cells and cancer cells. Interestingly, SELENBP1 mRNA and protein levels were reduced by androgen and elevated by selenium treatment in the normal HOSE cells, whereas reversed responses were observed in the ovarian cancer cell lines. These results suggest that changes of SELENBP1 expression in malignant ovarian cancer are an indicator of aberration of selenium/androgen pathways and may reveal prognostic information of ovarian cancer. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Ping-pong player prototype

In this paper, a low-cost robot capable of playing ping-pong against human opponent using a vision system to detect the ball is presented. In the subsequent sections, the three main subsystems of the robot, i.e., the vision system, mechanical structure, and the control systems, are described. A prototype has been designed with lightweight and resistant materials to increase the response time and accurateness of the shot. One of the important features of this system is that it uses only one camera to detect the ball, thus reducing the computational time and hardware requirements. To detect the location of the ball, the robot combines the information about the ball and about the shadow it casts on the table. The expert module control defines the game strategy. Orienting the bat in order to return the ball to the desired position on the table does this. In these experiments, the success rate in returning balls was greater than 80%.
On the Design and Implementation of Hybrid Intelligent Controllers

1 During the last years, in the eld of \intelligent control" [1], several methodologies have shown up, like fuzzy, neural and genetic control, providing for the rst time practical solutions for nonlinear control problems, or supplying better or at least alternative solutions for some classic problems. Each of these new approaches has its own advantages and drawbacks, and that explains why they have been applied only to speci c elds. Thinking that most applications are better solved with an integrated approach, we developed a hybrid approach that merges some of the following control paradigms: fuzzy control, neurocontrol, linear control, optimization algorithms like simulated annealing and genetic optimization, and nite state automata [2, 3]. An immediate synergy can be found between fuzzy and neural control. The former exploits an important feature of Fuzzy Systems (FSs) [2], that is the capability of building the rule base by mapping the knowledge of human experts onto it. On the other hand, Neural Networks (NNs) can be trained with a suitable set of data samples, without being able to map available human knowledge to network weights. Recently, NNs and FSs have been merged into Weighted Radial Basis Function (WRBF) networks [4], in which fuzzy rules can be immediately mapped into the network structure, and then trained or optimized in the same way as traditional NNs. This can lead to a noticeable
Neighborhood Racial and Ethnic Change: The Time Dimension in Segregation

This nationwide study of neighborhood racial and ethnic transitions examines the varieties and dynamics of U.S. neighborhood change between 1990 and 2000. The authors use innovative and robust cluster analysis techniques to classify U.S. census tracts in the 50 largest metropolitan areas. We interpret the resulting clusters according to their central tendencies and explore inter-metropolitan and regional patterns in relative cluster frequencies. Finally, we estimate multilevel logistic regression models of the covariates of cluster membership. We conclude that within cities, trends toward greater and potentially stable diversity in some neighborhoods co-exist with continuing White flight and re-segregation in other local areas. Further, at both the metropolitan and neighborhood levels increasing diversity is associated with the significant presence of multiple minorities, while white flight and re-segregation are associated with the rapid growth of either blacks or Hispanics. This variability in transition outcomes can at least in part be attributed to demographic structure at the metropolitan scale and to the distance from established minority enclaves of the neighborhoods themselves.
Estimation of the Atmospheric Mean Radiating Temperature Throughout the World in a Nonscattering Atmosphere

The atmosphere mean radiating temperature Tmr is relevant for different applications in communications and remote sensing; however, it is not easily measured. Alternatively, it is estimated in many cases from measurements of surface temperature Ts using empirical formulas. In this letter, new approaches are proposed for the estimation of Tmr from Ts on the basis of physical attenuation models applied to a large database of atmospheric profiles, gathered using radiosoundings carried out on 60 sites from all over the world. Global empirical estimations are provided for different frequency bands between 12 and 100 GHz, as well as more refined expressions calculated for different climatic zones. The new estimations represent an improvement on previous approximations.
Telomerase in human tumors: molecular diagnosis andclinical significance

Shortening of structures known as telomeres, which cap the ends of chromosomes, is postulated to limit the lifespan of human cells. Activation of telomerase, an enzyme that synthesizes telomeric DNA, is an essential step in cell immortalization. Telomerase is ordinarily inactive in most somatic cells, but can be detected in nearly all tumors. The activation of telomerase in malignant cancers seems to be an important step in tumorigenesis, whereby the cell gains the ability of indefinite proliferation. Due to the association between telomerase expression and malignancy, the enzyme is expected to be a useful tumor marker and a new anticancer therapeutic target. However, recent results scale down to some extent the initial enthusiastic expectations for telomerase as the ideal malignancy marker.
Comment concilier marchand et non-marchand : une taxonomie empirique des comportements stratégiques des SSLL

L’ambition de cet article est de mieux comprendre comment des societes de services parviennent a developper une activite marchande dans le domaine des logiciels open source initialement non-marchand. D’un point de vue theorique, nous considerons que le comportement strategique des entreprises est influence par des regles sociales auxquelles elles doivent se conformer au moins partiellement afin de paraitre legitimes. Au niveau methodologique, cette recherche s’appuie sur les travaux de Lisein et al. (2009) qui ont mis en evidence quatre dimensions cles de l’ideologie du libre.Une etude quantitative sur un echantillon de 71 Societes de Services en Logiciels Libres (SSLL) permet de mettre en evidence trois comportements strategiques. Deux d’entre eux representent des strategies d’hybridation, alors que le troisieme se rapproche nettement d’une stricte logique marchande. Ensuite, l’etude qualitative de trois cas de SSLL issues de l’echantillon permet de mieux comprendre les benefices que ces societes escomptent d’une interaction avec la sphere non marchande et les manœuvres strategiques qu’elles deploient.Nos resultats confirment que les SSLL sont bien amenees a se positionner par rapport aux quatre principes generiques constituant l’ideologie de l’open source. Le modele de Lisein et al. (2009) semble donc valide. Nos observations montrent cependant qu’il est possible de concilier logiques marchande et non marchande par des comportements differents. Ces comportements sont distingues sur trois dimensions cles : la relation entretenue avec la communaute du libre, le type de legitimite recherchee, les manœuvres strategiques deployees. Cette recherche peut ainsi etre d’un interet tout particulier pour les responsables de SSLL qui pourront mieux cerner les consequences et les enjeux de leurs choix strategiques de positionnement entre la sphere marchande et non marchande.
Electrophysiological differences between nociceptive and non‐nociceptive dorsal root ganglion neurones in the rat in vivo

Intracellular recordings were made from 1022 somatic lumbar dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones in anaesthetized adult rats, classified from dorsal root conduction velocities (CVs) as C, Aδ or Aα/β, and according to their responses to mechanical and thermal stimuli as nociceptive (including high‐threshold mechanoreceptive (HTM) units), and non‐nociceptive (including low‐threshold mechanoreceptive (LTM) and cooling units). Of these, 463 met electrophysiological criteria for analysis of action potentials (APs) evoked by dorsal root stimulation. These included 47 C‐, 71 Aδ‐ and 102 Aα/β‐nociceptive, 10 C‐, 8 Aδ− and 178 Aα/β‐LTM, 18 C‐ and 19 Aδ‐ unresponsive, and 4 C‐cooling units. Medians of AP and afterhyperpolarization (AHP) durations and AP overshoots were significantly greater for nociceptive than LTM units in all CV groups. AP overshoots and AHP durations were similar in nociceptors of all CV groups whereas AP durations were greater in slowly conducting, especially C‐fibre, nociceptors. C‐cooling units had faster CVs, smaller AP overshoots and shorter AP durations than C‐HTM units. A subgroup of Aα/β‐HTM, moderate pressure units, had faster CVs and AP kinetics than other Aα/β‐HTM units. Of the Aα/β‐LTM units, muscle spindle afferents had the fastest CV and AP kinetics, while rapidly adapting cutaneous units had the slowest AP kinetics. AP variables in unresponsive and nociceptive units were similar in both C‐ and Aδ‐fibre CV groups. The ability of fibres to follow rapid stimulus trains (fibre maximum following frequency) was correlated with CV but not sensory modality. These findings indicate both the usefulness and limitations of using electrophysiological criteria for identifying neurones acutely in vitro as nociceptive.
Capacidade de Inovação: Revisão Sistemática da Literatura

This work contributes to consolidate academic research on innovation capacity. A systematic methodology was applied to review the literature since 1991. The recovered literature was analyzed and synthesized into a multidimensional framework composed of 7 determinants of innovation capability - transformational leadership; strategic intent to innovate; personnel management innovation; customer and market knowledge; strategic management of technology; organicity of the organizational structure; and project management that results in performance innovation in products and processes. Additionally, an inventory of management practices that characterize and underpin the aforementioned factors was conducted and presented. The framework and the list of management practices can be used as a basis for future empirical research or as a guide for improving firms' innovation capabilities.
Maximal motor unit discharge rates in the quadriceps muscles of older weight lifters.

UNLABELLED Although the existence of "neural factors" is regularly cited as an important contributor to muscular strength, we have little specific knowledge regarding the existence of such neural factors or how they contribute to the expression of muscular force. PURPOSE The present investigation sought to assess maximal motor unit discharge rates in older, highly resistance-trained adults to determine whether maximal motor unit discharge rates might be one such neural contributor to maximal strength production. METHODS Subjects consisted of seven well-trained older weight lifters (ages 67-79 yr) and five untrained age-matched older adults. While subjects performed 50 and 100% maximal voluntary knee extensor contractions (MVC), recordings from groups of motor units were obtained from the rectus femoris muscle by using an indwelling electrode. Off-line analysis was performed to identify individual motor unit firing occurrences and to compute maximal motor unit discharge rates. RESULTS As expected, knee extension strength in the trained weight lifters (367.0 +/- 72.0 N) was significantly greater than that in the control subjects (299.9 +/- 35.9 N; P < 0.05). Motor unit discharge rates were similar in the two subject groups at the 50% MVC force level (P > 0.05), but maximal (100% MVC) motor unit discharge rate in the weight lifters (23.8 +/- 7.71 pps) was significantly greater than that in the age-matched controls (19.1 +/- 6.29 pps; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Motor unit discharge rates may comprise an important neural factor contributing to maximal strength in older adults.
Salutogenesis: A new paradigm for pervasive computing in healthcare environments?

Salutogenesis is now accepted as a part of the contemporary model of disease: an individual is not only affected by pathogenic factors in the environment, but those that promote well-being or salutogenesis. Given that "environment" extends to include the built environment, promotion of salutogenesis has become part of the architectural brief for contemporary healthcare facilities, drawing on an increasing evidence-base. Salutogenesis is inextricably linked with the notion of person-environment "fit". MyRoom is a proposal for an integrated architectural and pervasive computing model, which enhances psychosocial congruence by using real-time data indicative of the individual's physical status to enable the environment of his/her room (colour, light, temperature) to adapt on an on-going basis in response to bio-signals. This work is part of the PRTLI-IV funded programme NEMBES, investigating the use of embedded technologies in the built environment. Different care contexts require variations in the model, and iterative prototyping investigating use in different contexts will progressively lead to the development of a fully-integrated adaptive salutogenic single-room prototype.