Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stem Cell Modeling: A Promising New Avenue for Young‐Onset PD Research

About 10% of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients are diagnosed between ages 21 and 45 years, which is known as young-onset PD (YOPD). Because about 80% of YOPD patients do not have known PD mutations or family history and the disease strikes people in the prime of life, understanding its pathogenesis is urgently needed to pave the way to discovery of novel therapeutic agents. Because of the difficulty of accessing patient dopamine neurons and poor animal models of YOPD, reprogramming patient-derived somatic cells into dopamine neurons represents an ideal model for PD research. In a recent issue of Nature Medicine, Svendsen and colleagues revealed a molecular signature of YOPD and identified a drug candidate for treating it by induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) modeling technology. Specifically, the authors first generated iPSCs from blood mononuclear cells of YOPD patients and subsequently induced them to differentiate into midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) cultures. By using a series of advanced technologies including RNA-seq and proteomics analyses, they identified 2 key abnormal characteristics in YOPD mDA. These are accumulation of α-synuclein independent of transcription and malfunction of lysosomes (with reduced lysosomal proteins and hydrolase activity). They further showed that lysosomal deficiency may cause the accumulation of α-synuclein because its degradation was not mediated by the proteasome in YOPD mDA cells. Notably, YOPD patients do not have known PD mutations but end up with common molecular markers of lysosomal dysfunction, indicating that there might be uncharacterized genetic contributions to their disease. Next, they tested the effects of several drugs on restoring abnormal characteristics in YOPD mDA neurons and found that PEP005, an Food and Drug Administration–approved drug for treating skin precancers, effectively degraded α-synuclein both in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, PEP005 has the potential to develop into a novel drug candidate for treating YOPD. Although elevated phosphorylated protein kinase Cα (p-PKCα), a member of the protein kinase family that phosphorylates hydroxyl groups of many proteins, was also found in YOPD mDA, the p-PKCα contents were not validated in postmortem PD tissues, and the function of p-PKCα in PD is unclear. Overall, iPSC-derived mDA cultures are a unique model for YOPD research because this model preserved the precise patient genome and mimicked key essential disease pathological processes. This interesting study revealed the unique molecular signature in iPSC-derived mDA cultures that may be used for early YOPD diagnostics. Importantly, this work provides a screening platform for discovery of novel therapeutic drugs for YOPD.
Investigation of the Influence of Thyroid Location on Iodine-131 S Values.

The use of iodine-131 S values based on reference computational phantoms with fixed thyroid model may lead to significant dosimetric errors in patients who may have different thyroid location from the reference phantoms. In the present study, we investigated individual thyroid location variation by examining the computed tomography image sets of 40 adult male and female patients. Subsequently, the thyroid location of the adult male and female mesh-type reference phantoms of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) was adjusted to match each the highest, mean and the lowest locations of the thyroid observed in this dataset. The thyroid-adjusted phantoms were implemented into the Geant4 Monte Carlo code to calculate thyroid location-dependent iodine-131 S values (rT ← thyroid) for a total of 30 target regions. The maximum variation among the observed thyroid locations was 39 mm and 36 mm for male and female patients, respectively. The mean thyroid locations of both male and female patients showed a good agreement with the ICRP reference phantoms. The thyroid location-dependent Iodine-131 S values were significantly different from the reference phantoms for most target regions by up to a factor of 3. The use of thyroid location-dependent S values in dose reconstructions should help quantify the dosimetric uncertainty in epidemiologic investigations of patients receiving iodine-131 therapy for hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer.
To Identify and Support Youths Who Struggle with Living—Nurses’ Suicide Prevention in Psychiatric Outpatient Care

Abstract Nurses working in psychiatric care daily encounter youths who are struggling with living. Despite this, nurses’ suicide-prevention work is seldom addressed in research or in recommendations for care. The overall aim of this paper is to discuss how nurses, with their caring science perspective, may contribute to suicide prevention. The paper presents how nurses in psychiatric outpatient care may identify and support suicidal youths, according to experts in suicide prevention. The interviews with six experts in suicide prevention resulted in three themes: Engagement necessary but demanding, Acknowledgement of warnings signs and Supportive relationship. The respondents elaborated on how suicide-risk can be assessed. A good rapport with the youths was stressed and the recommended act of care included: to listen openheartedly without interrupting as well as to listen after risk- and protective factors to emphasize or to penetrate. To ask about suicidality as well as to let the person elaborate on what’s important for him or her. To endure in the patients’ suffering as well as steering the conversations toward hope. The paper also presents warning signs that need to be noticed according to the experts and the literature consensus. Our findings suggest that communication in suicide-prevention is an “art and act” that cannot be reduced to a method or simple guidelines. We argue that the recommended acts of care demand sensitivity and skills and that nurses as well as the domain of caring science may contribute to this competence.
Shape Morphable Hydrogel/Elastomer Bilayer for Implanted Retinal Electronics

Direct fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) structure using soft materials has been challenging. The hybrid bilayer is a promising approach to address this challenge because of its programable shape-transformation ability when responding to various stimuli. The goals of this study are to experimentally and theoretically establish a rational design principle of a hydrogel/elastomer bilayer system and further optimize the programed 3D structures that can serve as substrates for multi-electrode arrays. The hydrogel/elastomer bilayer consists of a hygroscopic polyacrylamide (PAAm) layer cofacially laminated with a water-insensitive polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer. The asymmetric volume change in the PAAm hydrogel can bend the bilayer into a curvature. We manipulate the initial monomer concentrations of the pre-gel solutions of PAAm to experimentally and theoretically investigate the effect of intrinsic mechanical properties of the hydrogel on the resulting curvature. By using the obtained results as a design guideline, we demonstrated stimuli-responsive transformation of a PAAm/PDMS flower-shaped bilayer from a flat bilayer film to a curved 3D structure that can serve as a substrate for a wide-field retinal electrode array.
COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF FRUIT-FEEDING BUTTERFLIES (LEPIDOPTERA) IN AN AMAZONIAN FOREST AREA IN THE MARANHÃO ISLAND, BRAZIL

Lucas Pereira Martins Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), Departamento de Biologia, São Luís, MA. martinslucas.p@gmail.com; Gisele Garcia Azevedo UFMA, Departamento de Biologia, São Luís, MA; Marcelo Duarte da SilvaMuseu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, SP. ; Elias da Costa Araújo Júnior UFMA, Departamento de Biologia, São Luís, MA; Leonardo Manir Feitosa UFMA, Departamento de Biologia, São Luís, MA
THE ROLES OF DISPERSAL LIMITATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN CONTROLLING TROPHIC GUILDS OF THE AMAZONIAN DUNG BEETLES

Michelly CarneiroUniversidade Estadual de GoiásAnapolis-Go michellybio21@gmail.com; Mayra PimentaEmbrapa Recursos Genéticos e BiotecnologiaBrasilia DF Aline Cardoso Universidade Estadual de GoiásAnapolis-Go Leonardo Lima Bergamini – PPG Ecologia e Evolução UFG Goiania-Go Silvia L. Dutra Universidade Federal do Tocantins, AraguaínaTo Caroline Costa Corrêa – PPG Ecologia e Evolução UFG Goiania-Go Juliana SimiãoFerreira Universidade Estadual de Goiás Anapolis-Go
Telomere Length Dynamics in Human T Cells: A Dissertation

Telomere length has been shown to be a critical determinant of T cell replicative capacity and in vivo persistence in humans. We evaluated telomere lengths in virusspecific T cells to understand how they may both shape and be changed by the maintenance of memory T cells during a subsequent virus re-infection or reactivation. We used longitudinal peripheral blood samples from healthy donors and samples from a long-term HCV clinical interferon therapy trial to test our hypotheses. To assess T cell telomere lengths, I developed novel modifications to the flow cytometry fluorescence in situ hybridization (flowFISH) assay. These flowFISH modifications were necessary to enable quantification of telomere length in activated, proliferating T cells. Adoption of a fixation-permeabilization protocol with RNA nuclease treatment prior to telomere probe hybridization were required to produce telomere length estimates that were consistent with a conventional telomere restriction fragment length Southern blot assay. We hypothesized that exposure to a non-recurring, acute virus infection would produce memory T cells with longer telomeres than those specific for recurring or reactivating virus infections. We used two acute viruses, vaccinia virus (VACV) and influenza A virus (IAV) and two latent-reactivating herpesviruses, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) for these studies. Combining a proliferation assay with flowFISH, I found telomeres in VACV-specific CD4 T cells were longer than those specific for the recurring exposure IAV; data which support my hypothesis.
Structural and functional analysis of the Oct-6 Schwann cell enhancer

textabstractA defining feature in the biology of higher vertebrates is their extended and complex nervous system that allows them to rapidly integrate and process environmental information, control body posture, regulate homeostasis of their internal organs and develop complex behaviour. The principal cell types that make up the nervous system are the neuron and glial cell. Neurons exist in a wide range of different shapes but are generally built up of a soma, containing the nucleus, its dendritic arborisation and its single axon.
CLINICAL EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF EXTERNAL FIXATORS USED IN ANTEBRACHIAL AND CRURAL FRACTURES IN DOGS: A REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

PURPOSE: The aim of this meta-analysis is to describe the indications, preoperative assessment, surgical technique, postoperative care, clinical results and complications of external fixators used to treat antebrachial and crural fractures in dogs. METHODS: Databases including Pubmed, Elsevier, Science Direct, Cochrane library and other journals were searched for articles published before January 2018 for studies regarding history, clinical applications, complications, advantages and disadvantages of the external fixators technique. With a history of over a hundred years, external skeletal fixators have been used in veterinary medicine as a common technique for stabilizing fractures over the past two decades. The external skeletal fixators use multiple percutaneous pins or wires placed distally and proximally to the fracture site or joint, coupled with an external frame, that can be linear, circular or hybrid and can be placed in various geometrical configurations. This method can be used in various situations besides fracture stabilization, including joint immobilization, limb lengthening and angular, translational and rotational limb deformities, external skeletal fixators being mechanically versatile. The minimal soft tissue and bone trauma allows for simple staged disassembly in helping promotion of bone healing by using increased loading forces on the fracture site after the beginning of healing. Also, from the reviewed sources we can easily say that some of the most common postoperative complications of these surgical approaches are pin-tract infections, bone lysis, osteomyelitis and implant failure but none of them outweigh the benefits. CONCLUSIONS: External skeletal fixators are a biologically friendly surgical technique, used to minimize disruption of the blood supply to the soft tissue and bone being an advantageous system for management of antebrachial and crural fractures in dogs.
Using e-Quiz to Promote Arts Students’ Self-Regulated Learning

The forthcoming 4.0 industrial era brings the concept of Internet of Things (IoT) to every aspect of the society’s life, including education. This concept requires a fundamental change in the way the teaching and learning process should be conducted as both teachers and students are wirelessly connected. Using e-quiz as a part of classroom activities can be an alternative way, as traditional students are not actively engaged in virtual classroom. This study shows that students are encouraged to work independently by choosing time and place that are most appropriate to them, and also by selecting appropriate strategies while dealing with the e-quiz. They also showed some improvements in their metacognitive skills and time management.
The Bane of Generate-and-Validate Program Repair: Too Much Generation, Too Little Validation

To repair a program does not mean to make it absolutely correct; it only means to make it more-correct, in some sense, than it is. This distinction has consequences: Given that software products typically have a dozen faults per KLOC and thousands of KLOC’s, program repair tools ought to be designed in such a way as to transform an incorrect program into an incorrect, albeit more-correct, program. In the absence of a concept of relative correctness (the property of a program to be more-correct than another with respect to a specification), program repair methods have resorted to various approximations of absolute correctness. This shortcoming has been concealed by the fact that they are usually validated on programs with a single fault at a time, for which the goals of absolute correctness and relative correctness are indistinguishable. In this paper we discuss how the use of relative correctness can reduce the scale of patch generation and enhance the efficiency, precision and recall of patch validation.
THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL CATHARSIS PROGRAM IN DECREASING RELIGIOUS FANATICISM

The present study examines the credibility of the null hypothesis which illustrates that (there are no significant differences between the group under experiment and the group under control concerning fanaticism). It examines as well religious fanaticism among university students of (19-23) years old illustrating gender-wise discrepancies between female and male as detected. When the fanaticism scale has been applied to (220) male and female students, the marks of (20) of them surpassed the value of the cut point which is the hypothetical average on the scale; an outcome that necessitated applying the emotional catharsis program to them. The latter needed (8) sessions, each of which lasted (45) minutes for four weeks, i. e. , two sessions a week, during which special techniques and technologies based on Freud‟s theory of psychoanalysis have been applied. The results , by the use of Mann Whitney‟s test, have shown a rejection of the null hypothesis and reliance on the alter hypothesis instead; that the emotional catharsis program has actually helped reduce fanaticism among university students.
Handling Uncertainty in Probabilistic Model-Based Magnetic Resonance Image Quality Transfer

Previous studies of model-based image enhancement approaches used artifact-free training data synthesised from a deterministic forward model. However, the forward model often has unknown components of a stochastic nature. In this paper, we adapt model-based image enhancement to exploit probabilistic forward models. This enables us to capture inherent model uncertainty that arises from unknown aspects of the forward model. Overall, two distinct sources of uncertainty arise: uncertainty inherently included in the stochastic forward process; and uncertainty arising from model training for the inverse process. We formulate homoscedastic and heteroscedastic models to estimate uncertainty in the mapping from input to enhanced image. The models enable us to construct uncertainty maps over the enhanced image. Here we test the new method within the task of estimating high ﬁeld from low ﬁeld Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) via Image Quality Transfer (IQT).
EFFECT OF ORGANIC FRUITS (BANANA AND PAPAYA) ON LOCOMOTOR ABILITY AND RESISTANCE TO EITHERIZATOIN IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Article History: Received 5, May, 2015 Received in revised form 12, May, 2015 Accepted 6, June, 2015 Published online 28, June, 2015 The amount and quality of diet taken by an organism have a strong impact on almost all activities of organisms. In the present study flies of D. melanogaster fed on organic, and non organic and normal food media were subjected to crawling and climbing assay and resistance to etherization. It was found that flies grown on organic fruits had consumed greater quantity of food and had a significantly greater locomotor ability over flies grown on non organic and in normal food media. Similar recent was also noted in flies resistance to etherization. Thus these studies in D.melanogaster suggest organic fruits had beneficial effect on locomotor ability.
An empirical study of algorithms for point-feature label placement

A major factor affecting the clarity of graphical displays that include text labels is the degree to which labels obscure display features (including other labels) as a result of spatial overlap. Point-feature label placement (PFLP) is the problem of placing text labels adjacent to point features on a map or diagram so as to maximize legibility. This problem occurs frequently in the production of many types of informational graphics, though it arises most often in automated cartography. In this paper we present a comprehensive treatment of the PFLP problem, viewed as a type of combinatorial optimization problem. Complexity analysis reveals that the basic PFLP problem and most interesting variants of it are NP-hard. These negative results help inform a survey of previously reported algorithms for PFLP; not surprisingly, all such algorithms either have exponential time complexity or are incomplete. To solve the PFLP problem in practice, then, we must rely on good heuristic methods. We propose two new methods, one based on a discrete form of gradient descent, the other on simulated annealing, and report on a series of empirical tests comparing these and the other known algorithms for the problem. Based on this study, the first to be conducted, we identify the best approaches as a function of available computation time.
Nematodes of the tribe cyathostominea (Strongylidae) collected from horses in Scotland

Nematodes of the tribe Cyathostominea are important parasites of horses. They live in large numbers in the large intestine and include over 50 species worldwide. This report describes an enumeration study of species found in a small population of horses in western Scotland. As found previously in a wide range of geographic regions, the 7 most abundant species of Cyathostominea, of the 18 recorded in this study, accounted for over 94% of the total population. One major exception to the results of previous studies was the presence of the most common species in this population, Cylicocyclus ashworthi. This species has not been recorded in the U.K. since its original description in 1924 and is morphologically very similar to another member of the same genus, Cylicocyclus nassatus, from which it has not been distinguished in previous studies in this geographical region. A rare species, Tridentoinfundibulum gobi, was found in low numbers in 3 of 4 horses.
Study of Hypocalcemic Cardiac Disorder by Analyzing the Features of ECG Signal Using DWT Technique

---------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------Abstract Heart diseases are one of the most fatal diseases leading to deaths if they are not diagnosed and treated properly on time. The electrical signals (ECG signals) from the heart are monitored for detecting the cardiac disorders and heart diseases. The ECG signals are significantly affected by the various noises produced by the electronic devices used for monitoring the ECG signals. It is very essential to develop an effective de-noising technique to generate accurate ECG signals to monitor diseases in heart patients. Further the strategies are development and designed for the detection of hypocalcaemia from the QRS complex of the ECG signal using wavelet transform technique. The paper presents the effective de-noising technique and statistical parameters like Mean Square Error (MSE), Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) and Percentage Deviation (PD) are estimated for the ECG signal which gives the amount of error in the ECG signal. The comparison between parameter is made to distinguish between healthy person and the cardiac patients.
Modeling "Newsworthiness" for Lead-Generation Across Corpora

Journalists obtain"leads", or story ideas, by reading large corpora of government records: court cases, proposed bills, etc. However, only a small percentage of such records are interesting documents. We propose a model of"newsworthiness"aimed at surfacing interesting documents. We train models on automatically labeled corpora -- published newspaper articles -- to predict whether each article was a front-page article (i.e., \textbf{newsworthy}) or not (i.e., \textbf{less newsworthy}). We transfer these models to unlabeled corpora -- court cases, bills, city-council meeting minutes -- to rank documents in these corpora on"newsworthiness". A fine-tuned RoBERTa model achieves . 93 AUC performance on heldout labeled documents, and . 88 AUC on expert-validated unlabeled corpora. We provide interpretation and visualization for our models.
SNP Calling, Genotype Calling, and Sample Allele Frequency Estimation from New-Generation Sequencing Data

We present a statistical framework for estimation and application of sample allele frequency spectra from New-Generation Sequencing (NGS) data. In this method, we first estimate the allele frequency spectrum using maximum likelihood. In contrast to previous methods, the likelihood function is calculated using a dynamic programming algorithm and numerically optimized using analytical derivatives. We then use a Bayesian method for estimating the sample allele frequency in a single site, and show how the method can be used for genotype calling and SNP calling. We also show how the method can be extended to various other cases including cases with deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. We evaluate the statistical properties of the methods using simulations and by application to a real data set.