Real-time adaptive morphing website modeled per user and optimized across users

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 18).Morphing is a powerful tool for providing users with information in a format that benefits them most. It has been shown to increase trust and sales. This thesis describes the implementation of a modular website that morphs based on the click stream of each individual user and learns how to pick the optimal morph based on aggregate user results. The main components are the website controller, the Bayesian Inference Engine, and the Gittins' Optimization Engine. The website controller acts as the interface between the user input and the mathematical modeling of the user's cognitive styles. It uses the Bayesian Engine to update the model and the Gittins' Engine to select the best morph in order to modify the website view. The project was run in survey format to test the effectiveness of morphing for the Suruga Card Loan advice site as well as to test performance and feasibility of real-time morphing and optimization.by Christopher J. Perciballi.M.Eng

Soccer and Society: A Study of Ethnic Group Adaptation in Society Through the Game of Soccer; Windsor, Ontario, 1972

The primary objective of this study was to provide a historical account of how soccer was used as a vehicle aiding or inhibiting the adaptation of ethnic groups into society in Windsor, Ontario. Furthermore, it was to determine the value that ethnic groups of the 1972 South-Western Ontario Soccer League placed in regards to maintaining their own culture and identity, creating and maintaining relationships with other ethnic groups, and comparing how the adaptation strategies differed across the teams of the league. Teams representing the Italian, Hungarian, Greek, German, Croatian, English, Scottish, and Serbian communities at the time were examined. The information retrieved through one-on-one, semi-structured interviews revealed the degree of cultural and structural assimilation experienced by their members. In addition, an accurate account of the way in which each ethnic team generally addressed the questions posed in J.W. Berry\u27s model of ethnic group adaptation was revealed

The Combination of the M2 Muscarinic Receptor Agonist and Chemotherapy Affects Drug Resistance in Neuroblastoma Cells

One of the major limits of chemotherapy is depending on the ability of the cancer cells to elude and adapt to dierent drugs. Recently, we demonstrated how the activation of the M2 muscarinic receptor could impair neuroblastoma cell proliferation. In the present paper, we investigate the possible eects mediated by the preferential M2 receptor agonist arecaidine propargyl ester (APE) on drug resistance in two neuroblastoma cell lines, SK-N-BE and SK-N-BE(2C), a sub-clone presenting drug resistance. In both cell lines, we compare the expression of the M2 receptor and the eects mediated by the M2 agonist APE on cell cycle, demonstrating a decreased percentage of cells in S phase and an accumulation of SK-N-BE cells in G1 phase, while the APE treatment of SK-N-BE(2C) cells induced a block in G2/M phase. The withdrawal of the M2 agonist from the medium shows that only the SK-N-BE(2C) cells are able to rescue cell proliferation. Further, we demonstrate that the co-treatment of low doses of APE with doxorubicin or cisplatin significantly counteracts cell proliferation when compared with the single treatment. Analysis of the expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) eux pumps demonstrates the ability of the M2 agonist to downregulate their expression and that this negative modulation may be dependent on N-MYC decreased expression induced by theM2agonist. Our data demonstrate that the combined eect of low doses of conventional drugs and the M2 agonist may represent a new promising therapeutic approach in neuroblastoma treatment, in light of its significant impact on drug resistance and the possible reduction in the side eects caused by high doses of chemotherapy drugs

Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line (CSS012-A (7672)) carrying the p.G376D heterozygous mutation in the TARDBP protein

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable neurodegenerative condition with phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity. It is characterized by the selective vulnerability and the progressive loss of the neural population. Here, an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line was generated from dermal fibroblasts of an individual carrying the p.G376D mutation in the TDP-43 protein. Fibroblasts were reprogrammed using nonintegrating episomal plasmids. There were no karyotype abnormalities, and iPSCs successfully differentiated into all three germ layers. This cell line may prove useful in the study of the pathogenic mechanisms that underpin ALS syndrome

A systematic review on the effects of Echinacea supplementation on cytokine levels: Is there a role in COVID-19?

COVID-19 is the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Cytokine storm appears to be a factor in COVID-19 mortality. Echinacea species have been used historically for immune modulation. A previous rapid review suggested that Echinacea supplementation may decrease the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in cytokine storm. The objective of the present systematic review was to identify all research that has assessed changes in levels of cytokines relevant to cytokine storm in response to administration of Echinacea supplementation. The following databases were searched: Medline (Ovid), AMED (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), EMBASE (Ovid). Title and abstract screening, full text screening, and data extraction were completed in duplicate using a piloted extraction template. Risk of bias assessment was completed. Qualitative analysis was used to assess for trends in cytokine level changes. The search identified 279 unique publications. After full text screening, 105 studies met criteria for inclusion including 13 human studies, 24 animal studies, and 71 in vitro or ex vivo studies. The data suggest that Echinacea supplementation may be associated with a decrease in the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and TNF, as well as an increase in the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. The risk of bias in the included studies was generally high. While there is currently no substantive research on the therapeutic effects of Echinacea in the management of either cytokine storm or COVID-19, the present evidence related to the herb's impact on cytokine levels suggests that further research may be warranted in the form of a clinical trial involving patients with COVID-19

Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line, CSSi011-A (6534), from an Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient with heterozygous L145F mutation in SOD1 gene

Among the known causative genes of familial ALS, SOD1 mutation is one of the most common. It encodes for the ubiquitous detoxifying copper/zinc binding SOD1 enzyme, whose mutations selectively cause motor neuron death, although the mechanisms are not as yet clear. What is known is that mutant-mediated toxicity is not caused by loss of its detoxifying activity but by a gain-of-function. In order to better understand the pathogenic mechanisms of SOD1 mutation, a human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) line was generated from the somatic cells of a female patient carrying a missense variation in SOD1 (L145F)