Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of post-transcriptional regulatory networks during myeloblast-to-monocyte differentiation transition

Treatment of leukemia cells with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 may overcome their differentiation block and lead to the transition from myeloblasts to monocytes. To identify microRNA-mRNA networks relevant for myeloid differentiation, we profiled the expression of mRNAs and microRNAs associated to the low- and high-density ribosomal fractions in leukemic cells and in their differentiated monocytic counterpart. Intersection between mRNAs shifted across the fractions after treatment with putative target genes of modulated microRNAs showed a series of molecular networks relevant for the monocyte cell fate determination, as for example the post-transcriptional regulation of the Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) by miR-22–3p and let-7e-5p.
Antimycobacterial Activity of Constituents from Foeniculum vulgare var. Dulce Grown in Mexico

Bioassay guided fractionation of an antimycobacterial extract of Foeniculum vulgare var dulce (Apiaceae) led to the isolation and characterization of 5-hydroxyfurano-coumarin. The chemical structure of this compound was elucidated by 1H and 13C (1D and 2D) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In addition, the active fractions were analyzed by GC-MS and seventy eight compounds were identified; the major compounds were 1,3-benzenediol, 1-methoxycyclohexene, o-cymene, sorbic acid, 2-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, estragole, limonene-10-ol and 3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one. Twenty compounds identified in the active fractions were tested against one sensitive and three MDR strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using the Alamar Blue microassay. Compounds that showed some degree of antimycobacterial activity against all strains tested were the following: linoleic acid (MIC 100 µg/mL), oleic acid (MIC 100 µg/mL), 1,3-benzenediol (MIC 100–200 µg/mL), undecanal (MIC 50–200 µg/mL), and 2,4-undecadienal (MIC 25–50 µg/mL), the last being the most active compound. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the presence of 5-hydroxy-furanocoumarin in F. vulgare.
Health care supply networks in tightly and loosely coupled structures: exploration using agent-based modelling

Health care supply networks are multi-faceted complex structures. This article discusses architecture of complex systems and an agent-based modelling framework to study health care supply networks and their impact on patient safety, economics, and workloads. Here we demonstrate the application of a safety dynamics model proposed by Cook and Rasmussen (2005, ‘“Going Solid”: A Model of System Dynamics and Consequences for Patient Safety’, Quality & Safety in Health Care, 14, 67–84.) to study a health care system, using a hypothetical simulation of an emergency department as a representative unit and its dynamic behaviour. By means of simulation, this article demonstrates the non-linear behaviours of a health service unit and its complexities; and how the safety dynamic model may be used to evaluate the various policy and design aspects of health care supply networks.
The OWL Reasoner Evaluation Goes Mobile

The advantage of using semantic reasoners based on Description Logics (DL) for the development of intelligent systems is doubtless: They make easy the optimal management of knowledge (expressed as ontologies). Reasoning is a complex and computationally expensive task traditionally performed on powerful server and desktop computers. However, we should not discard reasoners from being used on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, as the increasing number of applications run on wireless environments demands that many intelligent tasks should be performed on mobile devices rather than on desktop or server computers. Although less powerful that their fixed counterparts, mobile devices are becoming more and more capable of running complex tasks, such as DL reasoning. In this paper we introduce the framework of a competition for reasoners on mobile devices, based on the OWL Reasoner Evaluation, with the main goal of promoting the development of reasoners adapted to mobile environments. We detail the format of such a competition including the kind of tasks that participating reasoners should execute, interesting results of such executions, and the kind of ontologies and devices that could be used to run such tests.
Towards an EMG-Controlled Prosthetic Hand Using a 3-D Electromagnetic Positioning System

This paper proposes a novel method of using electromyographic (EMG) potentials generated by the forearm muscles during hand and finger movements to control an artificial prosthetic hand worn by an amputee. Surface EMG sensors were used to record a sequence of forearm EMG potential signals via a PC sound card and a novel 3-D electromagnetic positioning system together with a data-glove mounted with 11 miniature electromagnetic sensors used to acquire corresponding human hand pose in real time. The synchronized measurements of hand posture and associated EMG signals stored as prototypes embody a numerical expression of the current hand shape in the form of a series of data frames, each comprising a set of postures and associated EMG data. This allows a computer generated graphical 3-D model, combined with synthesized EMG signals, to be used to evaluate the approach. This graphical user interface could also enable handicapped users to practice controlling a robotic prosthetic hand using EMG signals derived from their forearm muscles. We believe this task might be made easier using a dictionary of stored task-specific prototype data frames acquired from able-bodied users. By comparing the resulting EMG data frames with stored prototypes, the most likely data frame sequence can be identified and used to control a robotic hand so that it carries out the user's desire. We explore the feasibility of this approach by applying frequency analysis on the signal derived from a multichannel EMG measurement device and identify pattern recognition techniques in the time and frequency domains to determine plausible hand shapes. This approach offers several advantages over existing methods. First, it simplifies the classification procedure, saving computational time and the requirement for the optimization process, and second, it increases the number of recognizable hand shapes, which in turn improves the dexterity of the prosthetic hand and the quality of life for amputees. The database of EMG prototypes could be employed to optimize the accuracy of the system within a machine learning paradigm. By making a range of EMG prototype databases available, prosthetic hand users could train themselves to use their prosthesis using the visual reference afforded by the virtual hand model to provide feedback
Introducing robots into a human-centred environment: the behaviour-based approach

This paper describes the application of behaviour-based control for a mobile manipulation task. It presents a preliminary result in the research into a ‘task-robust’ controller for a service robot, needed when a robot is used in a human-centred environment. The chosen benchmark task is the co-operative carrying of a long object by a mobile manipulator and a human. The human will guide the task, the mobile manipulator follows, while avoiding obstacles in its path. This paper gives a global overview of the implemented control structure, the resulting behaviour of the mobile manipulator and some goals for the future are presented.
Histone H2B Ubiquitylation Is Not Required for Histone H3 Methylation at Lysine 4 in Tetrahymena*

Ubiquitylation of histone H2B and/or a component of the system that ubiquitylates H2B is required for methylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4) in yeasts and probably in humans. In this study, the single ubiquitylation site was mapped to conserved lysine 115 of the C-terminal region of histone H2B in the single-cell model organism Tetrahymena thermophila. In strains lacking H2B ubiquitylation, H3K4 methylation was not detectably affected. As in other organisms, the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Ubc2 and the E3 ubiquitin ligase Bre1 were required for H2B ubiquitylation. However, neither enzyme was required for H3K4 methylation. These studies argue that, in T. thermophila, the histone ubiquitylation mechanism is not required for H3K4 methylation, demonstrating that different organisms can speak different languages in the “cross-talk” among post-translational modifications on different histones.
Values as a Mediator of Contextual Sources of School Self-Esteem.

Recent studies have shown that school self-esteem is one of the greatest contributors to overall self-esteem among adolescents in grades 7-12. Research suggests that middle schools play a significant role in the development and socialization of early adolescents. The first purpose of this study was to examine the relations between school self-esteem, intrinsic valuing of education, and students' academic achievement as measured by GPA. During adolescence, parents, teachers, and peers are widely recognized as the primary groups that impact these school-related values and behaviors. Adolescents often internalize the values that are communicated both directly and indirectly by significant others. However, few studies have explored the relations between these contextual influences and students' values related to education. A second aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between values communicated by parents, teachers, and peers and students' own intrinsic value of education. Results of this study indicate that intrinsic value of education mediates the relationship between parental expectations, teacher respect, peer academic support and school self-esteem for middle school students. Further, the internalization of these values directly influences a student's overall feelings of worth in regards to school. (Contains 11 references.) (JDM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Values and Self-Esteem 1 Values as a Mediator of Contextual Sources of School Self-Esteem Megan M. Brooks Michaeleen R. Burns Tamera B. Murdock University of Missouri-Kansas City
Implantation potential of mosaic embryos

ABSTRACT Chromosomal mosaicism is a relatively common finding in human IVF embryos. However, the association between mosaicism in trophoectoderm and inner mass cells, the mechanisms involved, and its effects on implantation are far from established. We retrospectively reanalyzed array-CGH results from 1,362 trophoectoderm biopsies. We detected chromosomal mosaicism in 183 blastocysts (13.4%). A decrease in the clinical pregnancy rate when we compared the cycles where only mosaic embryos were transferred (26.9%) vs. euploid embryos were transferred (40.2%) was not statistically different (p = 0.127). Also a tendency to increase the biochemical miscarriage was reported (21.2% mosaic group vs. 12.3% euploid group; p=0.102). Our data suggests that the transfer of some mosaic embryos achieve full term pregnancies. Additional studies are needed to clarify how embryo mosaicism affects the outcomes of the IVF cycles.
A robust channel estimator at the high Doppler frequency via matching pursuit technique

In this paper, we propose a robust channel estimator for fast time-varying channels. For this technique, a basis expansion model (BEM) is used in order to approximate the time-variant channel. Pilot symbol assisted modulation (PSAM) is employed as the training scheme, and the coefficients of the BEM are obtained via the matching pursuit (MP) algorithm. Through computer simulations, it is demonstrated that MP is able to offer a reliable channel estimate even when it selects an inappropriate number of basis functions, whilst it was previously reported that more basis functions than necessary could cause performance degradation by enhancing the noise. Thus, MP is robust with respect to mismatch in the number of basis functions in the BEM. Furthermore, the simulation results show that MP can operate well even without knowledge of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR).
HROUGH : Finding Chairs in Heavily Occluded Indoor Scenes

3D geometry mockups of single images of indoor scenes are useful for many applications including interior design, content creation for virtual reality, and image manipulation. Unfortunately, manually modeling a scene from a single image is tedious and requires expert knowledge. We aim to construct scene mockups from single images automatically. However, automatically inferring 3D scenes from 2D images is an ill-posed problem, as 2D images are projections of many meaningful attributes (e.g., geometry, illumination, material), with objects regularly being occluded by themselves or others. Recent systems targeting scene mockup mirror this observation and work mostly on fully visible objects. To improve the state-of-the-art we need to take into account contextual information, exploiting the fact that objects co-occur mostly in typical regular configurations. We exploit such regularity in the form of data-driven scene priors. Specifically, we first use a neural network trained on scene arrangement to extract keypoints, then feed these keypoints to a candidate object generation stage. From these candidates, an optimal selection is then made using pairwise co-occurrence statistics, discovered from a database of 3D scenes. We iterate the process allowing for candidates with low keypoint response to be detected based on the location of neighbouring objects. We demonstrate that our pipeline outperforms combinations of state-of-the-art single object methods, especially for scenes with severely occluded objects. All code, training data, and scene statistics will be available for research use.
Enhancing Instruction through General Case Programming

A student generalizes his skills in a community restaurant. I t is well documented that individuals with disabilities often have difficulty generalizing skills from one situation to another (Horner, Sprague, & Wilcox, 1982; Vaughn, Bos, & Lund, 1986). This is particularly true of people with severe disabilities, who frequently have difficulty generalizing skills to different environments (e.g., from a classroom to a community environment) or to different materials or instructors. A number of approaches to promoting generalization have been attempted in recent years, such as teaching a skill to criterion in one setting or with one instructor or set of materials and then sequentially changing the environment/instructor/materials to promote generalization (Stokes & Baer, 1977). However, such strategies often are not sufficient to help learners with severe disabilities develop generalized skills. This problem is of particular concern with skills that must be demonstrated in many ways in order to be functional, for example, ordering a cup of coffee in a restaurant or using coin-operated vending machines.
Efficient FPGA implementation of modified DWT for JPEG2000

An efficient implementation of discrete wavelet transform (DWT) in JPEG2000 is designed with low memory and high pipeline architecture. Considering the limited dynamic range of wavelet coefficients, a modified scheme of integer-to-integer discrete wavelet transform based on fixed-point manipulation is proposed by preserving efficiently fractions of coefficients in lifting steps. This scheme ensures higher computational precision in DWT and accordingly improves the compression quality. The corresponding line-based FPGA lifting scheme is put forward from hardware perspective. In a parallel way, transform can be row-wise and column-wise executed. Prototyped onto Xilinx Virtex-II FPGA, the proposed architecture requires fewer resources and memory accesses, but reaches a higher processing throughput. Experimental results provide parameters as follows. For an image with resolution 1024×1024, the inputting sampling is up to 61 Mpixels/s when DWT is working at the clock of 65 MHz. Internal memory of only 5 rows is required for the 9/7 filter to perform one-level 2-D decomposition. The completion of multi-level DWT is within the time T that an image is transmitted in line order.
LOOP IIId of the HCV IRES is essential for the structural rearrangement of the 40S-HCV IRES complex

As obligatory intracellular parasites, viruses rely on cellular machines to complete their life cycle, and most importantly they recruit the host ribosomes to translate their mRNA. The Hepatitis C viral mRNA initiates translation by directly binding the 40S ribosomal subunit in such a way that the initiation codon is correctly positioned in the P site of the ribosome. Such a property is likely to be central for many viruses, therefore the description of host-pathogen interaction at the molecular level is instrumental to provide new therapeutic targets. In this study, we monitored the 40S ribosomal subunit and the viral RNA structural rearrangement induced upon the formation of the binary complex. We further took advantage of an IRES viral mutant mRNA deficient for translation to identify the interactions necessary to promote translation. Using a combination of structure probing in solution and molecular modeling we establish a whole atom model which appears to be very similar to the one obtained recently by cryoEM. Our model brings new information on the complex, and most importantly reveals some structural rearrangement within the ribosome. This study suggests that the formation of a ‘kissing complex’ between the viral RNA and the 18S ribosomal RNA locks the 40S ribosomal subunit in a conformation proficient for translation.
A Study on Atherogenic Indices of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension Patients as Compared to Normal Pregnant Women.

INTRODUCTION Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) includes Gestational hypertension, Pre-eclampsia and Eclampsia and is one of the most common obstetric complication. Worldwide about 76,000 pregnant women die each year from pre-eclampsia and related hypertensive disorders. The aetiology of Pre-eclampsia is unknown but it is thought to be related to abnormal development of placenta. Several studies have shown the presence of reduced endothelial function in pre-eclamptic pregnancy. Endothelial dysfunction is also a feature of atherosclerosis. AIM To assess fasting lipid profile and atherogenic indices in women diagnosed with pre-eclampsia as well as in women with normal pregnancy and to correlate the findings of pre-eclamptic women with that of normal pregnant women, in an attempt to utilize the data for the development of a new clinical approach for early recognition and prevention of risk of future cardiovascular diseases in women with PIH. MATERIALS AND METHODS This case-control study was conducted on 50 pre-eclampsia patients who were in third trimester of pregnancy (Case group). A control group of 50 age and gestational age matched normal pregnant women was taken. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were followed. Fasting Lipid profile parameters were assessed and used to calculate the atherogenic indices namely Atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), Cardiac risk ratio (CRR) and Atherogenic coefficient (AC). Statistical Analysis was done by using student's t-test. Mann-Whitney U-test was used wherever applicable and correlations between the variables were estimated by Pearson's correlation coefficients. RESULTS There was an extremely significant (p<0.0001) increase in Atherogenic indices (AIP, CRR and AC) in case group as compared to the control group. A positive and significant correlation of systolic blood pressure with AIP (r=0.3583), CRR (r=0.3137), AC (r=0.3193) was found in cases. There was a positive and significant correlation between gestational age and atherogenic indices in the case group. CONCLUSION Women with pre-eclampsia present abnormalities in lipid profile and these lipids turn out to be a risk factor for cardiovascular complications. Evaluation of the atherogenic indices during pregnancy may help prevent this risk.
Stochastic Averaging for Constrained Optimization With Application to Online Resource Allocation

Existing resource allocation approaches for nowadays stochastic networks are challenged to meet fast convergence and tolerable delay requirements. The present paper leverages online learning advances to facilitate online resource allocation tasks. By recognizing the central role of Lagrange multipliers, the underlying constrained optimization problem is formulated as a machine learning task involving both training and operational modes, with the goal of learning the sought multipliers in a fast and efficient manner. To this end, an order-optimal offline learning approach is developed first for batch training, and it is then generalized to the online setting with a procedure termed learn-and-adapt. The novel resource allocation protocol permeates benefits of stochastic approximation and statistical learning to obtain low-complexity online updates with learning errors close to the statistical accuracy limits, while still preserving adaptation performance, which in the stochastic network optimization context guarantees queue stability. Analysis and simulated tests demonstrate that the proposed data-driven approach improves the delay and convergence performance of existing resource allocation schemes.
Fluid and white matter suppression with the MP2RAGE sequence

To develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence (fluid and white matter suppression, FLAWS) for generating two sets of images from a single acquisition: one with contrast similar to a T1‐weighted magnetization‐prepared rapid gradient‐echo sequence (MPRAGE) for structural definition; the other with nulled white matter (WM) signal intensity, similar to the fast gray matter T1 inversion recovery (FGATIR) sequence, for improved delineation of subcortical brain structures.
High yield fabrication of fluorescent nanodiamonds

A new fabrication method to produce homogeneously fluorescent nanodiamonds with high yields is described. The powder obtained by high energy ball milling of fluorescent high pressure, high temperature diamond microcrystals was converted in a pure concentrated aqueous colloidal dispersion of highly crystalline ultrasmall nanoparticles with a mean size less than or equal to 10 nm. The whole fabrication yield of colloidal quasi-spherical nanodiamonds was several orders of magnitude higher than those previously reported starting from microdiamonds. The results open up avenues for the industrial cost-effective production of fluorescent nanodiamonds with well-controlled properties.