Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gene Therapy Regenerates Protein Expression in Cone Photoreceptors in Rpe65R91W/R91W Mice

Cone photoreceptors mediate visual acuity under daylight conditions, so loss of cone-mediated central vision of course dramatically affects the quality of life of patients suffering from retinal degeneration. Therefore, promoting cone survival has become the goal of many ocular therapies and defining the stage of degeneration that still allows cell rescue is of prime importance. Using the Rpe65R91W/R91W mouse, which carries a mutation in the Rpe65 gene leading to progressive photoreceptor degeneration in both patients and mice, we defined stages of retinal degeneration that still allow cone rescue. We evaluated the therapeutic window within which cones can be rescued, using a subretinal injection of a lentiviral vector driving expression of RPE65 in the Rpe65R91W/R91W mice. Surprisingly, when applied to adult mice (1 month) this treatment not only stalls or slows cone degeneration but, actually, induces cone-specific protein expression that was previously absent. Before the intervention only part of the cones (40% of the number found in wild-type animals) in the Rpe65R91W/R91W mice expressed cone transducin (GNAT2); this fraction increased to 64% after treatment. Correct S-opsin localization is also recovered in the transduced region. In consequence these results represent an extended therapeutic window compared to the Rpe65-/- mice, implying that patients suffering from missense mutations might also benefit from a prolonged therapeutic window. Moreover, cones are not only rescued during the course of the degeneration, but can actually recover their initial status, meaning that a proportion of altered cones in chromophore deficiency-related disease can be rehabilitated even though they are severely affected.
Women and HIV: motherhood and more

Purpose of review The number of women living with HIV continues to increase globally. With the availability of efficacious antiretroviral therapy, there is a pressing need to ensure women are treated effectively throughout their life course. This article reviews information on ways that HIV affects women and discusses recent treatment and prevention approaches. Recent findings Because women are at greater risk of heterosexual HIV acquisition than men, new data on biomedical approaches to prevention are of particular relevance. International guidelines for the treatment of pregnant women with HIV now place greater weight on the well being of the mother as well as the prevention of vertical transmission. Although effective HIV treatment for women is associated with better health, longer life, reduced infectiousness and prevention of acquisition of HIV, there is evidence that women experience more adverse effects, discontinue medication more frequently and have more problems with adherence than men. Summary Efficacious anti-HIV drugs exist, but the particular circumstances for women may compromise their effectiveness. Globally, women's access to therapy remains inadequate. More data are needed about the best approaches to HIV therapy for women to include the biological, psychological, social and cultural factors that influence the way women experience HIV infection.
Distribution of HLA-B*27 Subtypes in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis in Local Population.

OBJECTIVE To compare the distribution of HLA-B*27 subtypes in healthy controls and in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients of different ethnic groups from Pakistan. STUDY DESIGN Descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from April 2016 to October 2017. METHODOLOGY Forty-nine HLA-B*27 positive, unrelated AS patients and 18 HLA-B*27 positive healthy BMT/renal transplant donors were selected for this study. Typing of the HLA-B27 alleles was performed by the polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP). RESULTS There was a wide number of HLA-B*27 subtypes and an elevated frequency of the B*2707 allele in the AS patients. The allele B*2706 seems to have a protective role in the population studied because it was found only in the healthy controls. HLA-B*27:03 and 07 were found predominant subtypes in Punjabis and Pathans, respectively. CONCLUSION There were no significant differences for the distribution of B*27 subtypes between patients and controls (p >0.05).
The Standard Transistor Array (STAR) Part II Automatic Cell Placement Techniques

Layout of a STAR device consists of the placement of standard cells (circuit elements) on the array and the routing of conductors between cells. Cell placement must be such that routing is not hindered. Also, placement procedures must be cost effective and easy to implement on a digital computer. A placement procedure for STARs is described in this paper that satisfies these characteristics. The procedure attempts to optimize the placement with respect to several criteria including expected routing channel usage and routing VIA requirements. Computer implementations of the procedure are discussed. Experimental results are presented which indicate that the procedure yields near-optimum results in computationally convenient amounts of time.
A Discrete Queue-Based Model for Capturing Memory and Soft-Decision Information in Correlated Fading Channels

A discrete (binary-input 2q-ary output) communication channel with memory is introduced to judiciously capture both the statistical memory and the soft-decision information of a time-correlated discrete fading channel (DFC) used with antipodal signaling and soft output quantization of resolution q. The discrete channel, which can be explicitly described via its binary input process and a 2q-ary noise process, is shown to be symmetric, thus admitting a simple expression for its capacity when its noise is stationary ergodic. It is observed that considerable capacity gains can be achieved due to the channel's memory and the use of as few as 2 bits for soft-decision over interleaving the channel (to render it memoryless) and hard-decision demodulation (q=1). The 2q-ary noise process is next modeled via a queue-based (QB) ball-sampling mechanism to produce a mathematically tractable stationary ergodic Markovian noise source. The DFC is fitted by the QB noise model via an iterative procedure that minimizes the Kullback-Leibler divergence rate between the DFC and QB noise sources. Modeling results, measured in terms of channel noise correlation function and capacity reveal a good agreement between the two channels for a broad range of fading conditions.
Effects of magnetic coupling on radiation from accretion disc around a Kerr black hole

ABSTRACT The eﬀects of magnetic coupling (MC) process on the inner edge of the disc are dis-cussed in detail. It is shown that the inner edge can deviate from the innermost stablecircular orbit (ISCO) due to the magnetic transfer of energy and angular momentumbetween a Kerr black hole (BH) and its surrounding accretion disc. It turns out thatthe inner edge could move inward and outward for the BH spin a ∗ being greater andless than 0.3594, respectively. The MC eﬀects on disc radiation are discussed based onthe displaced inner edge. A very steep emissivity can be provided by the MC process,which is consistent with the observation of MCG-6-30-15. In addition, the BH spinsof GRO J1655-40 and GRS 1915+105 are detected by X-ray continuum ﬁtting basedon this model.Key words: accretion, accretion disc— black hole physics — magnetic ﬁeld 1 INTRODUCTIONAs is well shown, disc accretion is a very eﬃcient energysource in astrophysics, which is widely used to explain thehigh-energy radiation of AGNs, X-ray binaries and so on. Inthe model of standard accretion disc (SAD), the motion ofthe accreting matter is assumed to be Keplerian with a smallradial velocity, and the inner edge of the disc lies at the in-nermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) of radius r
Query-Based Outlier Detection in Heterogeneous Information Networks

Outlier or anomaly detection in large data sets is a fundamental task in data science, with broad applications. However, in real data sets with high-dimensional space, most outliers are hidden in certain dimensional combinations and are relative to a user’s search space and interest. It is often more effective to give power to users and allow them to specify outlier queries flexibly, and the system will then process such mining queries efficiently. In this study, we introduce the concept of query-based outlier in heterogeneous information networks, design a query language to facilitate users to specify such queries flexibly, define a good outlier measure in heterogeneous networks, and study how to process outlier queries efficiently in large data sets. Our experiments on real data sets show that following such a methodology, interesting outliers can be defined and uncovered flexibly and effectively in large heterogeneous networks.
Risk perceptions of men and women scientists

Studies of the general public have shown that women express far greater concern than men about many health and environmental hazards. A variety of explanations have been offered, including differentials in scientific knowledge or general concerns about technology. The purpose of this study is to analyze differences in the ways that men and women scientists perceive nuclear risk. This article examines the risk attitudes and perceptions of a large mail survey sample of men and women scientists. The sample consists of randomly selected members of the biological and physical science sections of the American Association for the Advancement of Science who reside in Colorado and New Mexico. Men scientists tend to see substantially less risk from nuclear technologies than do women scientists, but this difference is not a manifestation of different levels of scientific training or attitudes toward nature, technology, and normative aspects of risk. Gender differences and field of research have an additive effect on risk perceptions, with women scientists and life scientists perceiving greater risks
Intensive Teaching Formats: A Review.

This paper reviews the literature on the use of intensive teaching formats in the tertiary sector. The paper begins with a summary of recent changes in higher education which have led to the consideration of intensive teaching as a mode of learning. The paper then addresses two principal issues: the advantages and disadvantages of intensive teaching formats and the main learning issues involved. The paper will identify some of the main themes in this literature concentrating on the literature in the tertiary sector. It then draws some tentative conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of intensive teaching formats.
The Awesome Power of Yeast Evolutionary Genetics: New Genome Sequences and Strain Resources for the Saccharomyces sensu stricto Genus

High-quality, well-annotated genome sequences and standardized laboratory strains fuel experimental and evolutionary research. We present improved genome sequences of three species of Saccharomyces sensu stricto yeasts: S. bayanus var. uvarum (CBS 7001), S. kudriavzevii (IFO 1802T and ZP 591), and S. mikatae (IFO 1815T), and describe their comparison to the genomes of S. cerevisiae and S. paradoxus. The new sequences, derived by assembling millions of short DNA sequence reads together with previously published Sanger shotgun reads, have vastly greater long-range continuity and far fewer gaps than the previously available genome sequences. New gene predictions defined a set of 5261 protein-coding orthologs across the five most commonly studied Saccharomyces yeasts, enabling a re-examination of the tempo and mode of yeast gene evolution and improved inferences of species-specific gains and losses. To facilitate experimental investigations, we generated genetically marked, stable haploid strains for all three of these Saccharomyces species. These nearly complete genome sequences and the collection of genetically marked strains provide a valuable toolset for comparative studies of gene function, metabolism, and evolution, and render Saccharomyces sensu stricto the most experimentally tractable model genus. These resources are freely available and accessible through www.SaccharomycesSensuStricto. org.
Molecular Proximity of Kv1.3 Voltage-gated Potassium Channels and β1-Integrins on the Plasma Membrane of Melanoma Cells

Tumor cell membranes have multiple components that participate in the process of metastasis. The present study investigates the physical association of β1-integrins and Kv1.3 voltage-gated potassium channels in melanoma cell membranes using resonance energy transfer (RET) techniques. RET between donor-labeled anti–β1-integrin and acceptor-labeled anti-Kv1.3 channels was detected on LOX cells adherent to glass and fibronectin-coated coverslips. However, RET was not observed on LOX cells in suspension, indicating that molecular proximity of these membrane molecules is adherence-related. Several K+ channel blockers, including tetraethylammonium, 4-aminopyridine, and verapamil, inhibited RET between β1-integrins and Kv1.3 channels. However, the irrelevant K+ channel blocker apamin had no effect on RET between β1-integrins and Kv1.3 channels. Based on these findings, we speculate that the lateral association of Kv1.3 channels with β1-integrins contributes to the regulation of integrin function and that channel blockers might affect tumor cell behavior by influencing the assembly of supramolecular structures containing integrins.
Arctic sea ice, cloud, water, and lead classification using neural networks and 1.6-μm data

Polar sea ice plays a critical role in regulating the global climate. Seasonal variation in sea ice extent, however, coupled with the difficulties associated with in situ observations of polar sea ice, makes remote sensing the only practical way to estimate this important climatic variable on the space and time scales required. Unfortunately, accurate retrieval of sea ice extent from satellite data is a difficult task. Sea ice and high cold clouds have similar visible reflectance, but some other types of clouds can appear darker than sea ice. Moreover, strong atmospheric inversions and isothermal structures, both common in winter at some polar locations, further complicate the classification. This paper uses a combination of feed-forward neural networks and 1.6-/spl mu/m data from the new Chinese Fengyun-1C satellite to mitigate these difficulties. The 1.6-/spl mu/m data are especially useful for detecting illuminated water clouds in polar regions because 1) at 1.6 /spl mu/m, the reflectance of water droplets is significantly higher than that of snow or ice and 2) 1.6-/spl mu/m data are unaffected by atmospheric inversions. Validation data confirm the accuracy of the new classification technique. Application to other sensors with 1.6-/spl mu/m capabilities also is discussed.
Nutritional factors affecting tumor penetrance in Drosophila melanogaster.

1. Crowding of itself as a physical stress does not influence tumor penetrance values in the ebony11 pigmented tumor stock. 2. A nutritional deficiency created by the presence of increasing numbers of third instar larvae causes a reduction in tumor penetrance in younger larvae in the same culture. 3. It is suggested that this nutritional deficiency is in reality a yeast deficiency which is affecting the development of this ebony11 tumor stock. 4. It is suggested that a nutritional critical period for tumor occurs before the third larval instar.
Transgression and Clifford algebras

Let $W$ be a differential (not necessarily commutative) algebra which carries a free action of a polynomial algebra $SP$ with homogeneous generators $p_1, >. , p_r$. We show that for $W$ acyclic, the cohomology of the quotient $H(W/ )$ is isomorphic to a Clifford algebra $ ext{Cl}(P,B)$, where the (possibly degenerate) bilinear form $B$ depends on $W$. This observation is an analogue of an old result of Borel in a non-commutative context. As an application, we study the case of $W$ given by the quantized Weil algebra $qWg = Ug otimes Clg$ for $Lieg$ a reductive Lie algebra. The resulting cohomology of the canonical Weil differential gives a Clifford algebra, but the bilinear form vanishes on the space of primitive invariants of the semi-simple part. As an application, we consider the deformed Weil differential (following Freed, Hopkins and Teleman).
A New Surface Plasmon Resonance-Based Immunoassay for Rapid, Reproducible and Sensitive Quantification of Pentraxin-3 in Human Plasma

A new immunoassay based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for the rapid, reproducible and sensitive determination of pentraxin-3 (PTX3) levels in human plasma has been developed and characterized. The method involves a 3-min flow of plasma over a sensor chip pre-coated with a monoclonal anti-PTX3 antibody (MNB4), followed by a 3-min flow of a polyclonal anti-PTX3 antibody (pAb), required for specific recognition of captured PTX3. The SPR signal generated with this secondary antibody linearly correlates with the plasma PTX3 concentration, in the range of 5–1500 ng/mL, with a lowest limit of detection of 5 ng/mL. The PTX3 concentrations determined with the SPR-based immunoassay in the plasma of 21 patients with sepsis, ranging 15–1600 ng/mL, were superimposable to those found in a classic ELISA immunoassay. Since the PTX3 concentration in the plasma of healthy subjects is <2 ng/mL, but markedly rises in certain medical conditions, the method is useful to quantify pathological levels of this important biomarker, with important diagnostic applications. In comparison with the classic ELISA, the SPR-based approach is much faster (30 min versus 4–5 h) and could be exploited for the development of new cost-effective SPR devices for point-of-care diagnosis.
Distributed Consensus and Linear Functional Calculation in Networks: An Observability Perspective

We study the problem of performing sensor fusion and distributed consensus in networks, where the objective is to calculate some linear function of the initial sensor values at some or all of the sensors. We utilize a linear iteration where, at each time-step, each sensor updates its value to be a weighted average of its own previous value and those of its neighbors. We show that this approach can be viewed as a linear dynamical system, with dynamics that are given by the weight matrix for the linear iteration, and with outputs for each sensor that are captured by the subset of the state vector that is measurable by that sensor. We then cast the fusion and consensus problems as that of observing a linear functional of the initial state vector using only local measurements (that are available at each sensor). When the topology of the network is time-invariant, we show that the weight matrix can be chosen so that each sensor can calculate the desired function as a linear combination of its measurements over a finite number of time-steps.
Intricate Transcriptional Networks of Classical Brown and Beige Fat Cells

Brown adipocytes are a specialized cell type that is critical for adaptive thermogenesis, energy homeostasis, and metabolism. In response to cold, both classical brown fat and the newly identified “beige” or “brite” cells are activated by β-adrenergic signaling and catabolize stored lipids and carbohydrates to produce heat via UCP1. Once thought to be non-existent in adults, recent studies have discovered active classical brown and beige fat cells in humans, thus reinvigorating interest in brown and beige adipocytes. This review will focus on the newly discovered transcription factors and microRNAs that specify and orchestrate the classical brown and beige fat cell development.
A comparison of treatment strategies for endometrial adenocarcinoma: analysis of financial impact.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of three treatment strategies for adenocarcinoma of the endometrium on the utilization of adjuvant radiation therapy and the medical charges associated with each pattern of practice. METHODS Three clinical algorithms felt to represent practice patterns for patients with endometrial cancer were considered: (1) comprehensive surgical staging of all patients, with adjuvant pelvic radiation reserved for documented cases of extrauterine disease, (2) total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (TAH/BSO) with lymph node dissection reserved for cases of myometrial invasion, followed by adjuvant radiation based on the presence of uterine risk factors, and (3) TAH/BSO followed by intraoperative pathologic assessment of the uterus and consultation with a "surgical" oncologist for comprehensive staging. Each algorithm was applied to a cohort of 190 surgically staged patients identified through a retrospective medical records review. The use of radiation in each algorithm was quantified and the associated financial impact was estimated using hospital charges. RESULTS Treatment algorithm 1 yielded the lowest charges per patient at $12,778.52. Treatment algorithms 2 and 3 had associated charges per patient of $15,997.02 and $17,343.44, respectively. CONCLUSION Approaches to care that lead to cost-effective utilization of health care resources should be pursued.
Relevance of ineffective oesophageal motility during oesophageal acid clearance

Background: Oesophageal clearance of acid reflux consists of an initial volume clearance followed by neutralisation of the acidified mucosa by swallowed saliva (chemical clearance). Ineffective oesophageal motility (IOM), a frequent finding in patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), has been claimed to underlie prolonged acid clearance by affecting oesophageal emptying and saliva transport. Intraluminal impedance allows non-radiological monitoring of movement of oesophageal liquids. Aims: To evaluate the relevance of IOM during oesophageal volume and chemical clearance using combined pH impedance measurements. Subjects: Impedance was validated with fluoroscopy to study volume clearance in three healthy subjects. Acid clearance tests were performed in 10 healthy subjects in the upright and supine positions, before and after oesophageal peristaltic disruption with sildenafil 50 mg. Methods: After instillation of an acid bolus, simultaneous manometry, pH, and impedance were used to study oesophageal motility, chemical clearance, and volume clearance, respectively. Results: Impedance allowed assessment of volume clearance accurately, showing a strong correlation with fluoroscopy (r2=0.89). Sildenafil provoked a graded impairment in oesophageal motility in healthy subjects without affecting saliva secretion. In the upright position, volume clearance was slightly prolonged only with severe IOM (>80% abnormal peristaltic sequences). In the supine position, severe IOM significantly prolonged chemical and volume clearance. Moderate IOM (30–80% abnormal peristalsis) had no effect. With normal peristalsis and moderate IOM, clearance times were similar in the upright and supine positions. Severe IOM however had a greater impact on clearance in the supine than in the upright position. Conclusion: Ineffective oesophageal motility has little effect on oesophageal clearance during upright acid reflux. With supine reflux, only severe IOM is associated with prolonged oesophageal clearance.