Application of Classification Association Rule Mining for Mammalian Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation

Abstract. In this paper, data mining is used to analyze the differentiation of mammalian Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs). A database comprising the key parameters which, we believe, influence the destiny of mammalian MSCs has been constructed. This paper introduces Classification Association Rule Mining (CARM) as a data mining technique in the domain of tissue engineering and initiates a new promising research field. The experimental results show that the proposed approach performs well with respect to the accuracy of (classification) prediction. Moreover, it was found that some rules mined from the constructed MSC database are meaningful and useful

Search for long-lived particles that decay into final states containing two electrons or two muons in proton-proton collisions at root s=8Tev

A search is performed for long-lived particles that decay into final states that include a pair of electrons or a pair of muons. The experimental signature is a distinctive topology consisting of a pair of charged leptons originating from a displaced secondary vertex. Events corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 (20.5) fb(-1) in the electron (muon) channel were collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s TeV. No significant excess is observed above standard model expectations. Upper limits on the product of the cross section and branching fraction of such a signal are presented as a function of the long-lived particle’s mean proper decay length. The limits are presented in an approximately model-independent way, allowing them to be applied to a wide class of models yielding the above topology. Over much of the investigated parameter space, the limits obtained are the most stringent to date. In the specific case of a model in which a Higgs boson in the mass range 125-1000 GeV/c(2) decays into a pair of long-lived neutral bosons in the mass range 20-350 GeV= c(2), each of which can then decay to dileptons, the upper limits obtained are typically in the range 0.2-10 fb for mean proper decay lengths of the long-lived particles in the range 0.01-100 cm. In the case of the lowest Higgs mass considered (125 GeV/c(2)), the limits are in the range 2-50 fb. These limits are sensitive to Higgs boson branching fractions as low as 10(-1)

SOS2 and ACP1 Loci Identified through Large-Scale Exome Chip Analysis Regulate Kidney Development and Function

Genome-wide association studies have identified >50 common variants associated with kidney function, but these variants do not fully explain the variation in eGFR. We performed a two-stage meta-analysis of associations between genotypes from the Illumina exome array and eGFR on the basis of serum creatinine (eGFRcrea) among participants of European ancestry from the CKDGen Consortium (n(stage1);111,666;n(stage2): 48,343). In single-variant analyses, we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms at seven new loci associated with eGFRcrea (PPM1J, EDEM3, ACP1, SPEG, EYA4, CYP1A1, and ATXN2L; P-stage1<3.7 x10(-7)), of which most were common and annotated as nonsynonymous variants. Gene-based analysis identified associations of functional rare variants in three genes with eGFRcrea, including a novel association with the SOS Ras/Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 2 gene, SOS2 (P=5.4x 10(-8) by sequence kernel association test). Experimental follow-up in zebrafish embryos revealed changes in glomerular gene expression and renal tubule morphology in the embryonic kidney of acp1- and sos2-knockdowns. These developmental abnormalities associated with altered blood clearance rate and heightened prevalence of edema. This study expands the number of loci associated with kidney function and identifies novel genes with potential roles in kidney formation