Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance and Safety of Praziquantel for Treatment of Intestinal Schistosomiasis in Infants and Preschool Children

Background In 2012 the WHO formally recognised that infants and preschool children are at significant risk of schistosomiasis and qualify for treatment with praziquantel (PZQ). Targeted surveys determining both the performance and safety of this drug are now needed in endemic areas. We have formally assessed parasitological cure and putative side-effects in a prospective cohort of Schistosoma mansoni-infected children (aged 5 months–7 years old) in lakeshore settings of Uganda. Methodology/Principal Findings From a total of 369 children found to be egg-patent for intestinal schistosomiasis, 305 were followed-up three to four weeks after PZQ treatment and infection status re-assessed. Separately, a previously tested side-effect questionnaire was employed before and 24 hours after PZQ treatment to assess incidence and amelioration of symptoms in young children and their mothers. While the overall observed parasitological cure was 56.4%, a significant difference was found between a sub-set of children who had a history of multiple PZQ treatments (between one and four in an 18 month period), where cure rate was 41.7%, and those who had never received treatment (cure rate was 77·6%). PZQ proved to be safe, with only mild reported side effects which cleared within a month after treatment. Prevalence of reported symptoms was significantly lower in children than in mothers, and fewer side-effects were reported upon subsequent rounds of PZQ treatment. Conclusion/Significance Our findings show that PZQ treatment of young children resulted in satisfactory cure rates, and marked reduction in egg-output, with only mild and transient reported side-effects. However, the cure rate is clearly lower in younger children and those with history of previous treatment. Cure rate, but not egg reduction rate, was also lower in children with heavier pre-intervention infection intensity. With chemotherapy now recommended as a long-term strategy for disease control in young children, research into optimising the periodicity of targeted treatment strategies is now crucial.
Retail Electricity Price Savings from Compliance Flexibility in GHG Standards for Stationary Sources

The EPA will issue rules regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing steam boilers and refineries in 2012. A crucial issue affecting the scope and cost of emissions reductions will be the potential introduction of flexibility in compliance, including averaging across groups of facilities. This research investigates the role of compliance flexibility for the most important of these source categories—existing coal-fired power plants—that currently account for one-third of national emissions of carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas. We find a flexible standard, calibrated to achieve the same emissions reductions as a traditional(inflexible) approach, reduces the increase in electricity price by 60 percent and overall costs by two-thirds in 2020. The flexible standard also leads to substantially more investment to improve the operating efficiency of existing facilities, whereas the traditional standard leads to substantially greater retirement of existing facilities.
OFDM Symbol Design for Peak-to-Average Power Ratio Reduction Employing Non-Data Bearing Subcarriers

In this paper, we present a novel peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) reduction algorithm for OFDM systems employing a symbol balancing approach with several non-data bearing (NDB) subcarriers. The proposed algorithm assigns the NDB subcarriers values that, when combined with interleaving, reduces the long correlation patterns of the input frame that can potentially lead to high PAPR. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm can use either a fixed number of NDB subcarriers or a variable number of NDB subcarriers according to the amount of inter-subcarrier correlation, thus attempting to increase the data throughput of the system. Simulation results for a 256-subcarrier OFDM system employing QPSK symbols and 16 interleavers can achieve a PAPR reduction of 4 dB for a complementary cumulative distribution of 0.01%.
A Study of Cross-Cultural Decision-Making Styles: Is Cognitive Mapping an Effective Methodology for Data Analysis?

In an increasingly globalised business environment, the behaviour and performance of managers from one country and culture working in another has never been more relevant. Of particular interest is the behaviour of expatriate managers from the west, working in Asian-owned or joint-venture companies situated in East Asia, and making decisions individually and as a group. The current study differs from many that are based around questionnaires and a quantitative methodology. It is a qualitative investigation into expatriate French managers based in China, and working in Chinese and French-Chinese companies. The choice of French managers situated in China is based on the distinct differences in culture, and the author’s own background as a Chinese manager working with French colleagues. The familiarity of the author with both the Chinese and French business cultures is important for useful interpretation of the data. The understanding of both cultures used in creating the methodology, interviewing, analysing and interpreting the data is an important and distinctive aspect of the research. The research looks at the manager's choice of individual or group decision-making styles, and the factors that influence the manager's choices in different cultural contexts. It uses cognitive mapping techniques to analyse 20 interview transcripts. The study concluded that cognitive mapping is a viable methodology to gain insights into the manager's individual and group decision-making styles. This methodology provided an opportunity to follow the manager's thinking around the choices they made, and to identify the factors that influence the manager's decision-making styles and process.
Pharmacological Vasodilation Improves Insulin-Stimulated Muscle Protein Anabolism but Not Glucose Utilization in Older Adults

OBJECTIVE Skeletal muscle protein metabolism is resistant to the anabolic action of insulin in healthy, nondiabetic older adults. This defect is associated with impaired insulin-induced vasodilation and mTORC1 signaling. We hypothesized that, in older subjects, pharmacological restoration of insulin-induced capillary recruitment would improve the response of muscle protein synthesis and anabolism to insulin. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Twelve healthy, nondiabetic older subjects (71 ± 2 years) were randomized to two groups. Subjects were studied at baseline and during local infusion in one leg of insulin alone (Control) or insulin plus sodium nitroprusside (SNP) at variable rate to double leg blood flow. We measured leg blood flow by dye dilution; muscle microvascular perfusion with contrast enhanced ultrasound; Akt/mTORC1 signaling by Western blotting; and muscle protein synthesis, amino acid, and glucose kinetics using stable isotope methodologies. RESULTS There were no baseline differences between groups. Blood flow, muscle perfusion, phenylalanine delivery to the leg, and intracellular availability of phenylalanine increased significantly (P < 0.05) in SNP only. Akt phosphorylation increased in both groups but increased more in SNP (P < 0.05). Muscle protein synthesis and net balance (nmol · min−1 · 100 ml · leg−1) increased significantly (P < 0.05) in SNP (synthesis, 43 ± 6 to 129 ± 25; net balance, −16 ± 3 to 26 ± 12) but not in Control (synthesis, 41 ± 10 to 53 ± 8; net balance, −17 ± 3 to −2 ± 3). CONCLUSIONS Pharmacological enhancement of muscle perfusion and amino acid availability during hyperinsulinemia improves the muscle protein anabolic effect of insulin in older adults.
New Conditions for Sparse Phase Retrieval

We consider the problem of sparse phase retrieval, where a $k$-sparse signal ${\bf x} \in {\mathbb R}^n \textrm{ (or } {\mathbb C}^n\textrm{)}$ is measured as ${\bf y} = |{\bf Ax}|,$ where ${\bf A} \in {\mathbb R}^{m \times n} \textrm{ (or } {\mathbb C}^{m \times n}\textrm{ respectively)}$ is a measurement matrix and $|\cdot|$ is the element-wise absolute value. For a real signal and a real measurement matrix ${\bf A}$, we show that $m = 2k$ measurements are necessary and sufficient to recover ${\bf x}$ uniquely. For complex signal ${\bf x} \in {\mathbb C}^n$ and ${\bf A} \in {\mathbb C}^{m \times n}$, we show that $m = 4k-2$ phaseless measurements are sufficient to recover ${\bf x}$. It is known that the multiplying constant $4$ in $m = 4k-2$ cannot be improved.
Audience effect is context dependent in Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens

Investigations of communication networks in animals have focused primarily on determining whether animals extract information from peripheral contests (eavesdropping) or respond to the presence of bystanders (audience effect). The possibility that an animal's response to being watched might be context dependent, however, has been explored in far less detail. This study investigated the influence of two contexts, exposure to audiences of different sexes and presence or absence of a nest, on the aggressive behavior of interacting male Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens. Males interacted in the presence (male, female) or absence of an audience in three different nest conditions (0, 1, or 2 nests). Audience sex and territorial status influenced aggressive behavior in the interacting males, but a strong audience × nest interaction also was uncovered. Males were more aggressive when neither male had a nest and a male audience was present than when a female or no audience was present. Males also were more aggressive when only one male had a nest and a male audience was present than when a female or no audience was present. When both males had nests and a male audience was present, however, males were less aggressive than when only one male or neither male had a nest. In sum, aggressive behavior was influenced by the interaction between audience and nest; neither nest nor audience alone was sufficient to explain the results. Male Siamese fighting fish alter their behavior based on both external cues, the sex of the audience, and internal cues, reproductive state and resource possession. Our results emphasize the importance of considering aspects of an animal's environment when examining audience effects and communication networks in general. Copyright 2005.
Empathy gap – what do we know about empathizing with others′ pain?

Empathy of pain as a multi-dimensional process includes sharing and understanding the pain of others in relation to oneself. Subjects in such studies are typically members of western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic societies. In the literature review that we conducted, we observed that little is known about the empathy for pain in people who are not members of societies with these cultural characteristics. We often understand those who are “similar” to us more easily – ones who belong to “our” cultural circle. However, contact with another culture could help prevent such bias. Group characteristics, such as focus on others, hierarchy preference, or cultural differences in selfconstructs, can change the activity of brain regions associated with empathy and compassion. Increasing the diversity of the research participants connected with education level, poverty, industrialization, and respect for basic citizen freedoms seem to be necessary to fully understand the mechanisms that influence the development and operation of empathy.
Associations among Physical Activity, Diet, and Obesity Measures Change during Adolescence

Background. Obesity in youth is highly prevalent. Physical activity and diet are influential in obesity development. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding links between activity and diet quality and their combined influence on obesity during adolescence. Objectives. We used five years of data from 2379 adolescent girls in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study to evaluate the association between physical activity and diet quality during adolescence and to assess both as correlates of obesity. Design. Diet, activity, and body composition measures were evaluated pairwise for correlation. A canonical correlation analysis was used to evaluate relationships within and between variable groups. All statistics were examined for trends over time. Results. We found positive correlations between physical activity and diet quality that became stronger with age. Additionally we discovered an age-related decrease in association between obesity correlates and body composition. Conclusion. These results suggest that while health behaviors, like diet and activity, become more closely linked during growth, obesity becomes less influenced by health behaviors and other factors. This should motivate focus on juvenile obesity prevention capitalizing on the pliable framework for establishing healthy diet and physical activity patterns while impact on body composition is greatest.
HSP90 Inhibitor Encapsulated Photo-Theranostic Nanoparticles for Synergistic Combination Cancer Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising non-invasive therapeutic modality that has been proposed for treating prostate cancer, but the procedure is associated with limited efficacy, tumor recurrence and photo-toxicity. In the present study, we proposed to develop a novel multifunctional nano-platform for targeted delivery of heat, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitor simultaneously for combination therapy against prostate cancer. This new nano-platform combines two newly developed entities: 1) a unique organic and biocompatible nanoporphyrin-based drug delivery system that can generate efficient heat and ROS simultaneously with light activation at the tumor sites for dual-modal photothermal- and photodynamic- therapy (PTT/PDT), and 2) new nano-formulations of Hsp90 inhibitors that can decrease the levels of pro-survival and angiogenic signaling molecules induced by phototherapy, therefore, further sensitizing cancer cells to phototherapy. Furthermore, the nanoparticles have activatable near infrared (NIR) fluorescence for optical imaging to conveniently monitor the real-time drug delivery in both subcutaneous and orthotopic mouse models bearing prostate cancer xenograft. This novel multifunctional nano-platform has great potential to improve the care of prostate cancer patients through targeted combination therapy.
Loss of MeCP2 in the rat models regression, impaired sociability and transcriptional deficits of Rett syndrome

Mouse models of the transcriptional modulator Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2 (MeCP2) have advanced our understanding of Rett syndrome (RTT). RTT is a ‘prototypical’ neurodevelopmental disorder with many clinical features overlapping with other intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Therapeutic interventions for RTT may therefore have broader applications. However, the reliance on the laboratory mouse to identify viable therapies for the human condition may present challenges in translating findings from the bench to the clinic. In addition, the need to identify outcome measures in well-chosen animal models is critical for preclinical trials. Here, we report that a novel Mecp2 rat model displays high face validity for modelling psychomotor regression of a learned skill, a deficit that has not been shown in Mecp2 mice. Juvenile play, a behavioural feature that is uniquely present in rats and not mice, is also impaired in female Mecp2 rats. Finally, we demonstrate that evaluating the molecular consequences of the loss of MeCP2 in both mouse and rat may result in higher predictive validity with respect to transcriptional changes in the human RTT brain. These data underscore the similarities and differences caused by the loss of MeCP2 among divergent rodent species which may have important implications for the treatment of individuals with disease-causing MECP2 mutations. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the Mecp2 rat model is a complementary tool with unique features for the study of RTT and highlight the potential benefit of cross-species analyses in identifying potential disease-relevant preclinical outcome measures.
Fast Nonnegative Matrix Factorization and Its Application for Protein Fold Recognition

Linear and unsupervised dimensionality reduction via matrix factorization with nonnegativity constraints is studied. Because of these constraints, it stands apart from other linear dimensionality reduction methods. Here we explore nonnegative matrix factorization in combination with three nearest-neighbor classifiers for protein fold recognition. Since typically matrix factorization is iteratively done, convergence, can be slow. To speed up convergence, we perform feature scaling (normalization) prior to the beginning of iterations. This results in a significantly (more than 11 times) faster algorithm. Justification of why it happens is provided. Another modification of the standard nonnegative matrix factorization algorithm is concerned with combining two known techniques for mapping unseen data. This operation is typically necessary before classifying the data in low-dimensional space. Combining two mapping techniques can yield better accuracy than using either technique alone. The gains, however, depend on the state of the random number generator used for initialization of iterations, a classifier, and its parameters. In particular, when employing the best out of three classifiers and reducing the original dimensionality by around 30%, these gains can reach more than 4%, compared to the classification in the original, high-dimensional space.
Sonic Hedgehog and Bone Morphogenetic Protein Regulate Interneuron Development from Dorsal Telencephalic Progenitors In Vitro

Cortical progenitors are competent to produce interneurons, but do not generate large numbers of interneurons in vivo under normal circumstances. This could reflect the absence of an inductive signal in the environment of the dorsal telencephalon and/or the presence of an inhibitory signal. To determine whether either or both mechanisms regulate interneuron generation, progenitors in dorsomedial and dorsolateral wall explants of mouse telencephalon were marked with a retrovirus and cultured under several conditions. When cultured separately, progenitors in dorsomedial wall explants produced fewer GABAergic interneurons than progenitors in dorsolateral wall explants. When cocultured with ventral telencephalic cells, however, dorsomedial wall progenitors produced more GABAergic interneurons than in dorsomedial wall explants alone. The inductive effect of ventral telencephalon depended on sonic hedgehog (Shh) and could be mimicked by exogenous Shh. In contrast, exogenous bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) reduced the production of interneurons in dorsolateral wall explants and inhibited the induction by exogenous Shh. Moreover, inhibiting BMP signaling in dorsomedial wall progenitors with a dominant-negative BMP receptor Ib (dnBMPIb) virus increased their production of interneurons, even if Shh was blocked. Shh and dnBMPRIb increased proliferation and the generation of interneurons, but FGF2 did not induce interneurons, although it increased proliferation. This suggests that proliferation per se does not control the production of interneurons. Our findings suggest that the generation of interneurons by dorsal telencephalic progenitors is normally limited by excess levels of BMPs. Shh may promote the generation of interneurons by antagonizing BMP, but may not be required directly for the generation of interneurons.
Omaha Terminologies

Omaha kinship terminologies are distributed globally to the north and south of the belt of ancient “high cultures” which stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to East and Southeast Asia in the Old World and includes parts of Mesoamerica and the Andes in the New World. This article offers an explanation for this curious distribution of Omaha terminologies. In so doing, it reviews examples of Omaha terminologies in Central Asia and on the Horn of Africa, noting their defining characteristics and those other aspects of social organization with which they are associated. In conclusion, it is suggested that a continuum of lineage-based systems, including systems with Omaha terminologies, was split into two areas of concentration, one to the north and the other to the south, as ancient “high cultures,” based on intensive agricultural production, arose among them, reverting, in the process, to terminological systems with a cognatic bias like those of the Eskimo type that are associated with urbanization and statehood.
HOW CLOSELY CORRELATED ARE MOLECULAR AND QUANTITATIVE MEASURES OF GENETIC VARIATION? A META‐ANALYSIS

Abstract. — The ability of populations to undergo adaptive evolution depends on the presence of quantitative genetic variation for ecologically important traits. Although molecular measures are widely used as surrogates for quantitative genetic variation, there is controversy about the strength of the relationship between the two. To resolve this issue, we carried out a meta‐analysis based on 71 datasets. The mean correlation between molecular and quantitative measures of genetic variation was weak (r = 0.217). Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between the two measures for life‐history traits (r =−0.11) or for the quantitative measure generally considered as the best indicator of adaptive potential, heritability (r =−0.08). Consequently, molecular measures of genetic diversity have only a very limited ability to predict quantitative genetic variability. When information about a population's short‐term evolutionary potential or estimates of local adaptation and population divergence are required, quantitative genetic variation should be measured directly.
Urban Flood Mapping Based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Remote Sensing and Random Forest Classifier—A Case of Yuyao, China

Flooding is a severe natural hazard, which poses a great threat to human life and property, especially in densely-populated urban areas. As one of the fastest developing fields in remote sensing applications, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can provide high-resolution data with a great potential for fast and accurate detection of inundated areas under complex urban landscapes. In this research, optical imagery was acquired by a mini-UAV to monitor the serious urban waterlogging in Yuyao, China. Texture features derived from gray-level co-occurrence matrix were included to increase the separability of different ground objects. A Random Forest classifier, consisting of 200 decision trees, was used to extract flooded areas in the spectral-textural feature space. Confusion matrix was used to assess the accuracy of the proposed method. Results indicated the following: (1) Random Forest showed good performance in urban flood mapping with an overall accuracy of 87.3% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.746; (2) the inclusion of texture features improved classification accuracy significantly; (3) Random Forest outperformed maximum likelihood and artificial neural network, and showed a similar performance to support vector machine. The results demonstrate that UAV can provide an ideal platform for urban flood monitoring and the proposed method shows great capability for the accurate extraction of inundated areas.