Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epidemiological study of ocular trauma in an urban slum population in Delhi, India

Purpose: To study the epidemiology and clinical profile of victims of ocular trauma in an urban slum population. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted on 500 families each in three randomly selected urban slums in Delhi, collected demographic data for all members of these families, and clinical data for all those who suffered ocular trauma at any time, that required medical attention. Data was managed on SPSS 11.0. Results: Of 6704 participants interviewed, 163 episodes of ocular trauma were reported by 158 participants (prevalence = 2.4%, confidence interval = 2.0 to 2.7) Mean age at trauma was 24.2 years. The association between the age of participants and the history of ocular trauma was significant (P < 0.001), when adjusted for sex, education and occupation. Males were significantly more affected. Blunt trauma was the commonest mode of injury (41.7%). Blindness resulted in 11.4% of injured eyes ( P = 0.028). Of 6704 participants, 1567 (23.4%) were illiterate, and no association was seen between education status and trauma, when adjusted for sex and age at injury. A significant association was noted between ocular trauma and workplace (Chi-square = 43.80, P < 0.001), and between blindness and place (Chi-square = 9.98, P = 0.041) and source (Chi-square = 10.88, P = 0.028) of ocular trauma. No association was found between visual outcome and the time interval between trauma and first consultation (Chi-square = 0.50, P = 0.78), between receiving treatment and the best corrected visual acuity (Chi-square = 0.81, P = 0.81), and between the person consulted and blinding ocular trauma (Chi-square = 1.88, P = 0.170). Conclusion: A significant burden of ocular trauma in the community requires that its prevention and early management be a public health priority.
Tachinid Flies and Monarch Butterflies: Citizen Scientists Document Parasitism Patterns over Broad Spatial and Temporal Scales

and Conservation Biology at She and her students conduct research on several aspects of monarch butterfly ecology, including reproductive ecology, host-parasite interactions, factors affecting the distribution and abundance of immature monarch stages, risks posed by global climate change and pest control practices to monarch butterflies. She and her student Michelle Prysby started the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project in 1996.
Improving the quality of twilight‐zone alignments

Several recent publications illustrated advantages of using sequence profiles in recognizing distant homologies between proteins. At the same time, the practical usefulness of distant homology recognition depends not only on the sensitivity of the algorithm, but also on the quality of the alignment between a prediction target and the template from the database of known proteins. Here, we study this question for several supersensitive protein algorithms that were previously compared in their recognition sensitivity (Rychlewski et al., 2000). A database of protein pairs with similar structures, but low sequence similarity is used to rate the alignments obtained with several different methods, which included sequence–sequence, sequence–profile, and profile–profile alignment methods. We show that incorporation of evolutionary information encoded in sequence profiles into alignment calculation methods significantly increases the alignment accuracy, bringing them closer to the alignments obtained from structure comparison.
Diagnostic Value of the Urine Mucus Test in Childhood Masturbation among Children below 12 Years of Age: A Cross-Sectional Study from Iran

Background: Childhood masturbation (CM) is considered a variant of normal sexual behavior; however, it is commonly misdiagnosed as epilepsy and movement disorders. As the first study from Iran, we analyzed a large population of infants and children with CM in a case-control study and evaluated the value of mucus in urine analysis as an alternative diagnostic tool for CM. Methods: A total of 623 children referred to the Pediatric Neurology Clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital for an evaluation of seizure or movement disorders were studied between 2008 and 2011. Totally, 359 children were found to have masturbatory behaviors (Group A) and the rest (264) were assigned to Group B. CM was diagnosed by direct observation. Collected data comprised demographic characteristics, clinical and neurodevelopmental examinations, laboratory findings (particularly urine analysis), and electrocardiography. Results: The age of the children with CM was below 12 years old, and the girl-to-boy ratio was 7:1. Mucus in urine was positive in 357 (99.44%) children in Group A and 22 (8.3%) in Group B (P<0.001). A significant correlation was found between the presence of mucus in urine and masturbatory behaviors (P<0.001). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the presence of mucus in urine can be used as an alternative laboratory test in children with CM below 12 years old and even in infants (≤24 months old). Further studies are needed to confirm the results.
ABO blood type correlates with survival on prostate cancer vaccine therapy

Cancer vaccines and other immunotherapies have significant potential for treating cancer patients, but clinical responses vary considerably from patient to patient. Simple, inexpensive strategies to target treatment to likely responders could substantially improve efficacy while simultaneously reducing health care costs, but identification of reliable biomarkers has proven challenging. Previously, we found that pre‐treatment serum IgM to blood group A (BG‐A) correlated with survival for patients treated with PROSTVAC‐VF, a therapeutic cancer vaccine in phase III clinical trials for the treatment of prostate cancer. These results suggested that ABO blood type might influence efficacy. Unfortunately, blood types were not available in the clinical records for all but 8 patients and insufficient amounts of sera were left for standard blood typing methods. To test the hypothesis, therefore, we developed a new glycan microarray‐based method for determining ABO blood type. The method requires only 4 μL of serum, provides 97% accuracy, and allows simultaneous profiling of many other serum anti‐glycan antibodies. After validation with 220 healthy subjects of known blood type, the method was then applied to 74 PROSTVAC‐VF patients and 37 control patients from a phase II trial. In this retrospective study, we found that type B and O PROSTVAC‐VF patients demonstrated markedly improved clinical outcomes relative to A and AB patients, including longer median survival, longer median survival relative to Halabi predicted survival, and improved overall survival via Kaplan‐Meier survival analysis (p=0.006). Consequently, blood type may provide an inexpensive screen to pre‐select patients likely to benefit from PROSTVAC‐VF therapy.
Online Social Influence: Past, Present, and Future

Social influence research has flourished for more than five decades. This chapter presents a comprehensive yet selective review of social influence research, demarcated by three points in time—pre-online, the early days of computer-mediated communication, and the current Web 2.0 environment. This chapter’s main objective is to show how concepts, theories, and models developed in earlier research can enhance understanding of online social influence in today’s digital world. We organize our review of online social influence research around the basic components of communication—source, message, channel, and audience. We also provide a critique and directions for future research.
Gender Differences in Transcriptional Signature of Developing Rat Testes and Ovaries following Embryonic Exposure to 2,3,7,8-TCDD

Dioxins are persistent organic pollutants interfering with endocrine systems and causing reproductive and developmental disorders. The objective of our project was to determine the impact of an in utero exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on reproductive function of male and female offspring in the rat with a special emphasis on the immature period. We used a low dose of TCDD (unique exposure by oral gavage of 200 ng/kg at 15.5 days of gestation) in order to mirror a response to an environmental dose of TCDD not altering fertility of the progeny. We choose a global gene expression approach using Affymetrix microarray analysis, and testes of 5 days and ovaries of 14 days of age. Less than 1% of the expressed genes in gonads were altered following embryonic TCDD exposure; specifically, 113 genes in ovaries and 56 in testes with 7 genes common to both sex gonads. It included the repressor of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahrr), the chemokines Ccl5 and Cxcl4 previously shown to be regulated by dioxin in testis, Pgds2/Hpgds and 3 others uncharacterized. To validate and extend the microarray data we realized real-time PCR on gonads at various developmental periods of interest (from 3 to 25 days for ovaries, from 5 to the adult age for testes). Overall, our results evidenced that both sex gonads responded differently to TCDD exposure. For example, we observed induction of the canonic battery of TCDD-induced genes coding enzymes of the detoxifying machinery in ovaries aged of 3–14 days of age (except Cyp1a1 induced at 3–10 days) but not in testes of 5 days (except Ahrr). We also illustrated that inflammatory pathway is one pathway activated by TCDD in gonads. Finally, we identified several new genes targeted by TCDD including Fgf13 in testis and one gene, Ptgds2/Hpgds regulated in the two sex gonads.
Experience of Ultrasonography-Guided Percutaneous Core Biopsy for Renal Masses

Purpose We evaluated the safety and accuracy of ultrasonography-guided percutaneous core biopsy collection in patients with renal masses. Materials and Methods From June 2008 to August 2012, 30 percutaneous core biopsies of renal masses were performed. The biopsies obtained were small tumors (<4 cm) with ambiguous radiologic findings or that met classic renal biopsy indications. The biopsy results were compared with the final pathological results after definitive surgical treatment. Ultrasonography was performed on the day after biopsy collection to rule out any complications. Results The mean age of the patients was 57.7 years, and the mean tumor size was 3.39 cm. Twelve of the lesions were in the left kidney, and 18 were in the right kidney. All but one core biopsy contained sufficient material for histopathological analysis. The biopsy results showed 17 renal cell carcinomas (56.7%), 3 angiomyolipomas (10.0%), 2 oncocytomas (6.7%), 1 adenocarcinoma (3.3%), and 7 benign lesions (23.3%). A total of 18 cases underwent surgery, and the pathological results confirmed the initial biopsy diagnosis for 17 of 18 cases (94.4%). The one (5.9%) inaccurate biopsy result was found to be a urothelial carcinoma of the kidney. No needle tract seeding was found in the pathological specimens or on follow-up imaging. A small perinephric hematoma (1-2 cm) was seen in 5 cases (16.7%), but all patients remained hemodynamically stable. Conclusions Ultrasonography-guided renal biopsy is a safe, effective, and accurate method for evaluating small renal masses. This procedure may help in selecting treatment modalities for small renal masses.
Long-term nicotine exposure induces dysfunction of mouse endothelial progenitor cells

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have an important role in maintaining endothelial homeostasis. Previous studies reported that smoking has detrimental effects on EPCs; however, recent studies revealed that short-term nicotine exposure may benefit EPCs. As most smokers are exposed to nicotine over an extended time period, the present study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of nicotine on EPCs. Mice were administered nicotine orally for 1, 3 or 6 months. The mice exposed to nicotine for 1 month demonstrated increased EPC counts and telomerase activity and reduced cell senescence compared with control mice, consistent with previous reports. However, long-term nicotine exposure resulted in opposing effects on EPCs, causing decreased counts, functional impairment and reduced telomerase activity. Furthermore, the effects of nicotine exposure were correlated with changes in sirtuins type 1 (SIRT1) protein expression. The current study indicated that long-term nicotine exposure induces dysfunction and senescence of EPCs, which may be associated with impairment of telomerase activity through SIRT1 downregulation. The present results emphasize the necessity of smoking cessation to prevent dysfunction of EPCs.
GNOM/FEWER ROOTS is Required for the Establishment of an Auxin Response Maximum for Arabidopsis Lateral Root Initiation

Lateral root (LR) formation in vascular plants is regulated by auxin. The mechanisms of LR formation are not fully understood. Here, we have identified a novel recessive mutation in Arabidopsis thaliana, named fewer roots (fwr), that drastically reduces the number of LRs. Expression analyses of DR5::GUS, an auxin response reporter, and pLBD16::GUS, an LR initiation marker, suggested that FWR is necessary for the establishment of an auxin response maximum in LR initiation sites. We further identified that the fwr phenotypes are caused by a missense mutation in the GNOM gene, encoding an Arf-GEF (ADP ribosylation factor-GDP/GTP exchange factor), which regulates the recycling of PINs, the auxin efflux carriers. The fwr roots showed enhanced sensitivity to brefeldin A in a root growth inhibition assay, indicating that the fwr mutation reduces the Arf-GEF activity of GNOM. However, the other developmental processes except for LR formation appeared to be unaffected in the fwr mutant, indicating that fwr is a weaker allele of gnom compared with the other gnom alleles with pleiotropic phenotypes. The localization of PIN1–green fluorescent protein (GFP) appeared to be unaffected in the fwr roots but the levels of endogenous IAA were actually higher in the fwr roots than in the wild type. These results indicate that LR initiation is one of the most sensitive processes among GNOM-dependent developmental processes, strongly suggesting that GNOM is required for the establishment of the auxin response maximum for LR initiation, probably through the regulation of local and global auxin distribution in the root.
EMM Estimation of Affine and Nonaffine Term Structure Models

We use the Efficient Method of Moments (EMM) of Gallant and Tauchen (1996) to estimate a three factor term structure model which is affine under the risk-neutral probability distribution, but non-affine under the true probability distribution. Unlike most previous research, in which the model is affine under both distributions, this allows us to retain the analytical convenience for pricing of this class of model, while allowing greater flexibility in matching the observed time-series properties of interest rates. We find that the fully affine specification is statistically rejected in favor of the more flexible alternative. We also shed new light on the implementation of EMM for estimating models using high dimensional, very persistent series such as term structure models. We find, in particular, that the auxiliary model most commonly used in conjunction with EMM, the SNP model of Gallant and Tauchen (1992), has serious problems in this environment, and that substantially better results are obtained using moment conditions derived from an approximate maximum likelihood estimator based on the Kalman filter. JEL classification: G12, G13, G23. ∗Both authors U.C. Berkeley. We gratefully acknowledge financial assistance from the Berkeley Program in Finance, from the U.C. Berkeley Committee on Research, and from the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics.
New doubts on the importance of the logographic stage : A longitudinal study of French children

The objective of this longitudinal study was to evaluate reading strategies used by French children. A group of prereaders (N = 37) was followed from the beginning of kindergarten to the end of the first grade. In kindergarten, they were non-readers. They were presented with a series of word-to-picture matching tasks twice in kindergarten and twice in first grade. The aim of the observation was to evaluate the utilization of logographic strategies which are characterized by substantial reliance on the global form of the word (its length, see study 1), by the non-sequentiality of processing (study 2) and by the use of salient visual - and not phonological - cues (study 3). In these three studies we took into account correct responses and justifications. Relations between metaphonological abilities, letter knowledge and prereading strategies were also assessed (studies 4 and 5). Our data showed that first graders did not use logographic strategies ; their results were characterized by a high number of correct responses with pertinent justifications, by the use of sequential processing and by sensitivity to the phonic characteristics of items. For kindergarteners, we could not actually observe traces of logographic strategies besides that fact that they 'read the environment (the picture) rather than the word itself as indicated by the importance of semantic justifications (for example, acceptance of bicyclette justified by it is velo written). Moreover, their performance did not improve between the two kindergarten sessions. Nevertheless, there was a change between these sessions in the use of letter justification. But these justifications were already prevalent as of the first session and were only produced by some children, those having better letter knowledge and better metaphonological levels. The results indicated that these children used prereading strategies that relied on partial alphabetic cues. Yet it seems difficult to assert that the other children only relied on visual strategies since their performance indicated sensitivity to the phonological properties of items. These results lead us to question the generality of some aspects of reading developmental models resulting from research dealing only with English-speaking subjects.
Minimal Narrative Annotation Schemes and Their Applications

The increased use of large corpora in narrative research has created new opportunities for empirical research and intelligent narrative technologies. To best exploit the value of these corpora, several research groups are eschewing complex discourse analysis techniques in favor of high-level minimalist narrative annotation schemes that can be quickly applied, achieve high inter-rater agreement, and are amenable to automation using machine-learning techniques. In this paper we compare different annotation schemes that have been employed by two groups of researchers to annotate large corpora of narrative text. Using a dual-annotation methodology, we investigate the correlation between narrative clauses distinguished by their structural role (orientation, action, evaluation), their subjectivity, and their narrative level within the discourse. We find that each simple narrative annotation scheme captures a structurally distinct characteristic of real-world narratives, and each combination of labels is evident in a corpus of 19 weblog narratives (951 narrative clauses). We discuss several potential applications of minimalist narrative annotation schemes, noting the combination of label across these two annotation schemes that best support each task.
Comparative performance analysis of routing protocols in mobile ad hoc networks under JellyFish attack

A mobile ad hoc network is much more assailable to attacks than a wired network due to its limited physical security, high mobility and lack of centralized administration. Jellyfish is a new denial of service attack. There are three kinds of JellyFish attacks i.e. JF Reorder Attack, JF Periodic Dropping Attack, JF Delay Variance Attack. In JF delay variance attack, intruder node needs to intrude into forwarding group and then it delays data packets for some amount of time before forwarding. Due to JF delay variance attack, high end- to- end delay takes place in the network and performance of the network (i.e. throughput etc) becomes worse. In our paper we have done a comparative performance analysis of three reactive routing protocols i.e. AODV, DSR and TORA used in mobile ad hoc network under JF delay variance attack with increasing node density. If we have a mobile ad hoc network in which probability of occurrence of JF attack is high and also if it requires time efficient network service for information exchange with increasing number of nodes then we have to choose DSR protocol. If it requires high throughput and consistent service in the network with increasing node density then TORA protocol is recommended.
Neural networks compete with expert human players in solving the Double Dummy Bridge Problem

Artificial neural networks, trained only on sample bridge deals, without presentation of any human knowledge as well as the rules of the game, are applied to solving the Double Dummy Bridge Problem (DDBP). The problem, in its basic form, consist in estimation of the number of tricks to be taken by one pair of bridge players.
S-LOCUS EARLY FLOWERING 3 Is Exclusively Present in the Genomes of Short-Styled Buckwheat Plants that Exhibit Heteromorphic Self-Incompatibility

The different forms of flowers in a species have attracted the attention of many evolutionary biologists, including Charles Darwin. In Fagopyrum esculentum (common buckwheat), the occurrence of dimorphic flowers, namely short-styled and long-styled flowers, is associated with a type of self-incompatibility (SI) called heteromorphic SI. The floral morphology and intra-morph incompatibility are both determined by a single genetic locus named the S-locus. Plants with short-styled flowers are heterozygous (S/s) and plants with long-styled flowers are homozygous recessive (s/s) at the S-locus. Despite recent progress in our understanding of the molecular basis of flower development and plant SI systems, the molecular mechanisms underlying heteromorphic SI remain unresolved. By examining differentially expressed genes from the styles of the two floral morphs, we identified a gene that is expressed only in short-styled plants. The novel gene identified was completely linked to the S-locus in a linkage analysis of 1,373 plants and had homology to EARLY FLOWERING 3. We named this gene S-LOCUS EARLY FLOWERING 3 (S-ELF3). In an ion-beam-induced mutant that harbored a deletion in the genomic region spanning S-ELF3, a phenotype shift from short-styled flowers to long-styled flowers was observed. Furthermore, S-ELF3 was present in the genome of short-styled plants and absent from that of long-styled plants both in world-wide landraces of buckwheat and in two distantly related Fagopyrum species that exhibit heteromorphic SI. Moreover, independent disruptions of S-ELF3 were detected in a recently emerged self-compatible Fagopyrum species and a self-compatible line of buckwheat. The nonessential role of S-ELF3 in the survival of individuals and the prolonged evolutionary presence only in the genomes of short-styled plants exhibiting heteromorphic SI suggests that S-ELF3 is a suitable candidate gene for the control of the short-styled phenotype of buckwheat plants.