Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) created from skin fibroblasts of patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) retain the molecular signature of PWS

AbstractPrader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a syndromic obesity caused by loss of paternal gene expression in an imprinted interval on 15q11.2-q13. Induced pluripotent stem cells were generated from skin cells of three large deletion PWS patients and one unique microdeletion PWS patient. We found that genes within the PWS region, including SNRPN and NDN, showed persistence of DNA methylation after iPSC reprogramming and differentiation to neurons. Genes within the PWS minimum critical deletion region remain silenced in both PWS large deletion and microdeletion iPSC following reprogramming. PWS iPSC and their relevant differentiated cell types could provide in vitro models of PWS

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Algorithme de détection d'attaques de type « SYN Flooding »

Nous proposons un algorithme de détection d'anomalies dans le trafic Internet générées par une attaque de déni de service liée au protocole TCP : le « TCP/SYN Flooding ». Celui-ci permet de traiter une quantité très importante de données, détecte les anomalies en temps réel et identifie les adresses IP source et destination impliquées. Notre approche consiste à réduire la taille des données auxquelles on s'intéresse grâce une étape de filtrage et à analyser celles-ci grâce à une méthode statistique de détection de ruptures fondée sur un test de rang pour données censurées

ARTERIAL HEALING IN THE DOG AFTER INTRALUMINAL DELIVERY OF PULSED ND-YAG LASER ENERGY

Let (Xi)i≥1 be a stationary mean-zero Gaussian process with covariances $\rho(k)=\mathbb {E}(X_{1}X_{k+1})$ satisfying ρ(0) = 1 and ρ(k) = k−DL(k), where D is in (0, 1), and L is slowly varying at infinity. Consider the U-process {Un(r), r ∈ I} defined as Un(r) = 1/n(n−1) ∑1≤i≠j≤n1{G(Xi, Xj)≤r}, where I is an interval included in ℝ, and G is a symmetric function. In this paper, we provide central and noncentral limit theorems for Un. They are used to derive, in the long-range dependence setting, new properties of many well-known estimators such as the Hodges–Lehmann estimator, which is a well-known robust location estimator, the Wilcoxon-signed rank statistic, the sample correlation integral and an associated robust scale estimator. These robust estimators are shown to have the same asymptotic distribution as the classical location and scale estimators. The limiting distributions are expressed through multiple Wiener–Itô integrals.Supported in part by NSF Grants DMS-07-06786 and DMS-10-07616 at Boston University. (DMS-07-06786 - NSF at Boston University; DMS-10-07616 - NSF at Boston University

Efficient Semiparametric Estimation of the Periods in a Superposition of Periodic Functions with Unknown Shape

We consider the estimation of the periods of periodic functions when their shape is unknown and they are corrupted by Gaussian white noise. In the case of a single periodic function, we propose a consistent and asymptotically efficient semiparametric estimator of the period. We then study the case of a sum of two periodic functions of unknown shape with different periods and propose semiparametric estimators of their periods that are consistent and asymptotically Gaussian. Copyright 2006 The Authors Journal compilation 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.