Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
School closure strategies for the 2009 Hong Kong H1N1 influenza pandemic

Modelling of detailed community interaction dynamics increases a public health organization's ability to contain a potential disease strain at an early stage. Due to its dense population and high levels of human movements and interactions, Hong Kong has suffered from various epidemic diseases. The use of non-medical interventions is often efficacious in containing pandemic outbreaks. In this paper, we focus on evaluating the effectiveness of various practical school-related non-medical intervention strategies to mitigate the effects of pandemic influenza under a realistic Hong Kong demographic scenario. We modelled the impact of a combination of various school closure modes, triggers, types, and lengths. The simulation results suggest that the strategy of closing all types of schools generally outperforms that of closing only a subset, especially if the closure period is substantial. We also discuss future research directions along with individual school closure and economic evaluations.
A Hybrid Cache Cohrency Scheme for Ubiquitous Mobile Clients

We propose a new cache coherency scheme named HCCS(hybrid cache coherency scheme) to facilitate ubiquitous data access of mobile clients. To cope with the limitations of ubiquitous computing environments, it integrates the cache invalidation scheme using broadcast channel into the publish/subscribe-based data synchronization scheme using two-way communication channel. We present novel algorithms and system architecture for the HCCS. By integrating two schemes, the HCCS provides substantial benefits: allows updates on the mobile client which are restricted in the cache invalidation scheme using broadcast channel and disconnected operations, improves the scalability. The HCCS scheme also gives proper support to the short disconnection of mobile clients, dynamically adapts to changes of disconnection period of the mobile clients.
A Content Analysis of Ethnographic Research Published in Top Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals from 2000 to 2009

Despite qualitative research having much to offer to the understanding and prevention of crime, academic research in criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) is primarily quantitative. The relatively limited amount of ethnographic research in the field contributes to difficulties in understanding what represents sound ethnographic designs and the most appropriate ways to present such information. The current study examines the relative frequency with which ethnographic research appears in CCJ journals, and more importantly, the content of these articles. We find that less than 4% of all research published in 15 top CCJ journals use ethnographic methods. We present patterns about the methodological (e.g., sample size, type of data collection, and characteristics of participants) and stylistic (writing style, discussion of coding, and policy recommendations) content of these articles. We conclude with implications for our findings and point to substantive areas of research that may need more attention.
Editorial on psychoanalytical neuroscience: exploring psychoanalytic concepts with neuroscientific methods

The Research Topic “Psychoanalytical neuroscience: Exploring psychoanalytic concepts with neuroscientific methods” was cross-linked in two Frontiers journals, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience and Frontiers in Psychoanalysis and Neuropsychoanalysis. Thus, contributing authors could choose to submit to either of those two journals. Among the 16 finally accepted contributions, 14 were submitted to Frontiers in Human Neuroscience and 2 to Frontiers in Psychoanalysis and Neuropsychoanalysis (potentially related to the fact that during the time of submission only the former journal was listed with an impact factor; this has changed by now). These articles covered a wide range of topics, from empirical studies on basic psychoanalytic concepts (n = 4) to articles on the neurobiological mechanisms of psychodynamic therapy (n = 3) and theoretical reviews (n = 9).
MRI detection of intratumoral fat in hepatocellular carcinoma: potential biomarker for a more favorable prognosis.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether the presence of intratumoral fat in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) could serve as an imaging biomarker to predict a favorable prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS After a search of the radiology and pathology databases from January 2002 to December 2010, a cohort of patients with fat-containing HCC imaged by chemical-shift MRI techniques was matched with a cohort of patients with nonfat-containing HCC for TNM stage and type of subsequent treatment. The number and type of tumor progression, time to tumor progression (TTP), and overall survival (OS) were determined for each cohort. RESULTS There were 46 patients included in each cohort. Tumor progression was more prevalent in the non-fat-containing HCC cohort (30 patients, 65.2%) compared with the fat-containing HCC cohort (16 patients, 34.7%; p = 0.001). Distant metastasis occurred more commonly in the non-fat-containing HCC cohort (10 patient, 21.7%) compared with the fat-containing HCC cohort (two patients, 4.3%; p = 0.039). The median TTP was significantly longer in the fat-containing HCC group (52 months) compared with the non-fat-containing HCC group (27 months; p = 0.037). The significantly longer TTP was primarily observed in the locoregional treatment subgroup (p = 0.028). No statistical significance in OS and subanalysis by treatment was observed (p = 0.63-0.81). CONCLUSION Fat-containing HCC, imaged on an MRI unit, may predict a more favorable prognosis compared with nonfat-containing HCC.
Relationship between activity and concentration measurements of plasma potassium.

An ion-selective electrode incorporating valinomycin in a poly(vinyl chloride) membrane was used for examining potassium in blood and plasma. Using an electrode cell thermostated at 37 °C and a saturated potassium chloride liquid junction, the activity of plasma potassium appeared to be very similar to that for similar concentrations of potassium in physiological saline.An apparent difference in potassium activities between the plasma of whole blood and separated plasma was found to be comparable to the discrepancy between the pH of whole blood and plasma, and was attributed to an effect of red blood cells on the liquid junction of the measuring cell.The magnitude of the liquid junction potential between a bridge solution and blood is a major uncertainty both in the determination of activities of ions by electrode measurements (e.g., the biological pH scale) and in the measurement of potential differences across biological membranes. The advent of the highly selective plastic membrane electrodes enables this problem to be re-examined.
Gender Issues in Mathematics: An Ontario Perspective

In many developed countries, including Canada, it is often perceived that gender issues in mathematics have been ‘solved’ and are no longer a relevant and timely issue. In this article, I challenge this perception by providing an overview of gender issues in mathematics in three domains – achievement, attitude, and participation – ranging from the elementary school level to the university level. My analysis of several sources of data from Ontario is compared to a meta-analysis of research involving data from culturally similar countries to Canada (e.g., Australia, United Kingdom). The data primarily arise from large-scale mathematics assessments (e.g., PISA, EQAO) and national statistics databases (e.g., Statistics Canada, National Center for Education Statistics). Counter to the aforementioned perception, this analysis indicates that gender issues still exist in mathematics in developed countries, including Canada. The gender gap is particularly wide in terms of students’ attitudes and participation: Males have substantially more positive attitudes toward mathematics and higher levels of participation in non-mandatory levels of mathematics than do females. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings and suggestions of possible steps that may be taken to help ameliorate the current situation.
Sex-Related Differences in Relations of Uric Acid to Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Remodeling in Japanese Hypertensive Patients

Both hyperuricemia and echocardiographically determined left ventricular (LV) mass have a well-determined association with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, whether or not there is a sex difference in the association of serum uric acid level with LV mass has never been systematically explored. We examined the sex-specific relation of serum uric acid level and echocardiographic indexes of LV structure in never-treated patients with essential hypertension. We enrolled 160 never-treated hypertensive patients (89 men and 71 women) to assess the possible relationship between LV mass and serum uric acid levels. LV measurements were performed according to the recommendations of the American Society of Echocardiography and the Penn Convention. LV mass was indexed by height, body surface area and height raised to the 2.7th power. A positive significant correlation between LV geometry (LV mass, indexed LV mass and relative wall thickness) and serum uric acid level was found in male hypertensive patients but not in female hypertensive patients. Independent determinants of serum uric acid levels in male hypertensive patients were LV mass and serum creatinine levels. In addition, male hypertensive patients with concentric hypertrophy showed the highest serum uric acid levels. In comparison, independent determinants of serum uric acid levels in female hypertensive patients were age and serum creatinine levels. In conclusion, these findings indicate a sex difference in the association of uric acid with LV geometry in Japanese hypertensive patients. In addition, the finding that the highest levels of serum uric acid were observed in our male hypertensive patients with concentric hypertrophy confirmed the previous reports that these patients have the highest risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Methanogenic Pathway and Fraction of CH4 Oxidized in Paddy Fields: Seasonal Variation and Effect of Water Management in Winter Fallow Season

A 2-year field and incubation experiment was conducted to investigate δ13C during the processes of CH4 emission from the fields subjected to two water managements (flooding and drainage) in the winter fallow season, and further to estimate relative contribution of acetate to total methanogenesis (Fac) and fraction of CH4 oxidized (Fox) based on the isotopic data. Compared with flooding, drainage generally caused CH4, either anaerobically or aerobically produced, depleted in 13C. There was no obvious difference between the two in transport fractionation factor (εtransport) and δ13C-value of emitted CH4. CH4 emission was negatively related to its δ13C-value in seasonal variation (P<0.01). Acetate-dependent methanogenesis in soil was dominant (60–70%) in the late season, while drainage decreased Fac-value by 5–10%. On roots however, CH4 was mostly produced through H2/CO2 reduction (60–100%) over the season. CH4 oxidation mainly occurred in the first half of the season and roughly 10–90% of the CH4 was oxidized in the rhizosphere. Drainage increased Fox-value by 5–15%, which is possibly attributed to a significant decrease in production while no simultaneous decrease in oxidation. Around 30–70% of the CH4 was oxidized at the soil-water interface when CH4 in pore water was released into floodwater, although the amount of CH4 oxidized therein might be negligible relative to that in the rhizosphere. CH4 oxidation was also more important in the first half of the season in lab conditions and about 5–50% of the CH4 was oxidized in soil while almost 100% on roots. Drainage decreased Fox-value on roots by 15% as their CH4 oxidation potential was highly reduced. The findings suggest that water management in the winter fallow season substantially affects Fac in the soil and Fox in the rhizosphere and roots rather than Fac on roots and Fox at the soil-water interface.
Socioeconomic and Demographic Disparities in Trends in Old-Age Disability

Old-age disability rates among all major socioeconomic and demographic groups declined over the past two decades, but the magnitude of the fall was larger for those who have higher income, have more years of education, are married, and are younger. As a result, disparities in disability have increased. The causes of these developments are unknown, while the potential ramifications for social and personal well-being are substantial.
Pathology of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a well recognized and relatively well understood soft tissue tumor. Early events in GIST development are activating mutations in KIT or PDGFRA, which occur in most GISTs and encode for mutated tyrosine receptor kinases that are therapeutic targets for tyrosine kinase inhibitors, including imatinib and sunitinib. A small minority of GISTs possessing neither KIT nor PDGFRA mutations may have germline mutations in SDH, suggesting a potential role of SDH in the pathogenesis. Immunohistochemical detection of KIT, and more recently DOG1, has proven to be reliable and useful in the diagnosis of GISTs. Because current and future therapies depend on pathologists, it is important that they recognize KIT-negative GISTs, GISTs in specific clinical contexts, GISTs with unusual morphology, and GISTs after treatment. This review focuses on recent developments in the understanding of the biology, immunohistochemical diagnosis, the role of molecular analysis, and risk assessment of GISTs.
An Efficient Pose Measurement Method of a Space Non-Cooperative Target Based on Stereo Vision

Pose (position and attitude) measurement of a space non-cooperative target is very important for on-orbital servicing tasks, including malfunctioning target repairing, space debris removal, and so on. However, such targets are generally non-cooperative, i.e., no markers are mounted on it and there is no prior knowledge. Therefore, the identification and measurement of a non-cooperative target is very challenging. In this paper, we propose an efficient method to recognize the natural objects with circular or near-circular shapes on the target, reducing the computation load and improving accuracy. First, the geometry properties of a practical non-cooperative target are analyzed. A stereo vision system is correspondingly designed to measure the relative pose of the target. Second, the error sources and time-consuming factors of the traditional method are analyzed. Then, a solution concept is proposed. Third, the efficient method is detailed to solve the geometry equation and determine the pose information, reducing the calculation complexity and increasing the accuracy. The image pre-processing and target detecting algorithms are realized on FPGAs, further accelerating the calculation speed. Finally, we develop an experiment system and verify the proposed method through practical experiments. The experiment system is composed of satellite mockup, binocular camera, and high precision laser tracker. The experiment results show that the proposed method has high accuracy and efficiency.
The human CFTR protein expressed in CHO cells activates aquaporin-3 in a cAMP-dependent pathway: study by digital holographic microscopy

ABSTRACT The transmembrane water movements during cellular processes and their relationship to ionic channel activity remain largely unknown. As an example, in epithelial cells it was proposed that the movement of water could be directly linked to cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein activity through a cAMP-stimulated aqueous pore, or be dependent on aquaporin. Here, we used digital holographic microscopy (DHM) an interferometric technique to quantify in situ the transmembrane water fluxes during the activity of the epithelial chloride channel, CFTR, measured by patch-clamp and iodide efflux techniques. We showed that the water transport measured by DHM is fully inhibited by the selective CFTR blocker CFTRinh172 and is absent in cells lacking CFTR. Of note, in cells expressing the mutated version of CFTR (F508del-CFTR), which mimics the most common genetic alteration encountered in cystic fibrosis, we also show that the water movement is profoundly altered but restored by pharmacological manipulation of F508del-CFTR-defective trafficking. Importantly, whereas activation of this endogenous water channel required a cAMP-dependent stimulation of CFTR, activation of CFTR or F508del-CFTR by two cAMP-independent CFTR activators, genistein and MPB91, failed to trigger water movements. Finally, using a specific small-interfering RNA against the endogenous aquaporin AQP3, the water transport accompanying CFTR activity decreased. We conclude that water fluxes accompanying CFTR activity are linked to AQP3 but not to a cAMP-stimulated aqueous pore in the CFTR protein.
Accuracy and Repeatability of Refractive Error Measurements by Photorefractometry

Purpose: To determine the accuracy of photorefraction and autorefraction as compared to cycloautorefraction and to detect the repeatability of photorefraction. Methods: This diagnostic study included the right eyes of 86 children aged 7-12 years. Refractive status was measured using photorefraction (PlusoptiX SO4, GmbH, Nürnberg, Germany) and autorefraction (Topcon RM800, USA) with and without cycloplegia. Photorefraction for each eye was performed three times to assess repeatability. Results: The overall agreement between photorefraction and cycloautorefraction was over 81% for all refractive errors. Photorefractometry had acceptable sensitivity and specificity for myopia and astigmatism. There was no statistically significant difference considering myopia and astigmatism in all comparisons, while the difference was significant for hyperopia using both amblyogenic (P = 0.006) and nonamblyogenic criteria (P = 0.001). A myopic shift of 1.21 diopter (D) and 1.58 D occurred with photorefraction in nonamblyogenic and amblyogenic hyperopia, respectively. Using revised cut-off points of + 1.12 D and + 2.6 D instead of + 2.00 D and + 3.50 D improved the sensitivity of photorefractometry to 84.62% and 69.23%, respectively. The repeatability of photorefraction for measurement of myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia was acceptable (intra-cluster correlation [ICC]: 0.98, 0.94 and 0.77, respectively). Autorefraction results were significantly different from cycloautorefraction in hyperopia (P < 0.0001), but comparable in myopia and astigmatism. Also, noncycloglegic autorefraction results were similar to photorefraction in this study. Conclusion: Although photorefraction was accurate for measurement of myopia and astigmatism, its sensitivity for hyperopia was low which could be improved by considering revised cut-off points. Considering cut-off points, photorefraction can be used as a screening method.
Reactivity to uncertain threat as a familial vulnerability factor for alcohol use disorder

Background When sober, problematic drinkers display exaggerated reactivity to threats that are uncertain (U-threat). Since this aversive affective state can be alleviated via acute alcohol intoxication, it has been posited that individuals who exhibit heightened reactivity to U-threat at baseline are motivated to use alcohol as a means of avoidance-based coping, setting the stage for excessive drinking. To date, however, no study has attempted to characterize the dispositional nature of exaggerated reactivity to U-threat and test whether it is a vulnerability factor or exclusively a disease marker of problematic alcohol use. Method The current investigation utilized a family study design to address these gaps by examining whether (1) reactivity to U-threat is associated with risk for problematic alcohol use, defined by family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and (2) reactivity to U-threat is correlated amongst adult biological siblings. A total of 157 families, and 458 individuals, participated in the study and two biological siblings completed a threat-of-shock task designed to probe reactivity to U-threat and predictable threat (P-threat). Startle potentiation was collected as an index of aversive responding. Results Within biological siblings, startle potentiation to U-threat [intraclass correlation (ICC) = 0.35] and P-threat (ICC = 0.63) was significantly correlated. In addition, independent of an individuals’ own AUD status, startle potentiation to U-threat, but not P-threat, was positively associated with risk for AUD (i.e. AUD family history). Conclusion This suggests that heightened reactivity to U-threat may be a familial vulnerability factor for problematic drinking and a novel prevention target for AUD.
Repetitive somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration in Zizyphus jujuba Mill

SummaryA procedure for regenerating Zizyphus jujuba Mill. (Chinese date) plants through repetitive somatic embryogenesis (RSE) was developed. Primary somatic embryos were produced from cotyledon-derived cultures of germinated plants in vitro. The highest induction frequency of primary somatic embryogenesis (PSE) was obtained with a combination of 4.52 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 0.49 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and 0.44 μM benzyladenine (BA) (17.4%). These primary somatic embryos were multiplied by RSE on media with different plant growth regulator (PGR) combinations. The highest RSE frequency (51.3%), was obtained with 0.58 μM gibberellic acid (GA3). However, the highest number (4.4 per primary somatic embryo) of repetitive somatic embryos was obtained with 0.98 μM 6-r-r-dimethylallylaminopurine (2-iP). For germination of somatic embryos, different PGRs, cold and desiccation treatment were tested. Desiccation of somatic embryos at 25±1°C for 2 wk was the best treatment for germination with epicotyl elongation and root development. Of over 256 plants regenerated, 237 (92.6%) survived.
Possible origin of the discrepancy in Peierls stresses of fcc metals: First-principles simulations of dislocation mobility in aluminum

Dislocation motion governs the strength and ductility of metals, and the Peierls stress (σp) quantifies dislocation mobility. σp measurements carry substantial uncertainty in face-centered cubic (fcc) metals, and σp values can differ by up to two orders of magnitude. We perform first-principles simulations based on orbital-free density functional theory (OFDFT) to calculate the most accurate currently possible σp for the motion of 12 〈110〉 {111} dislocations in fcc Al. We predict the σps of screw and edge dislocations (dissociated in their equilibrium state) to be 1.9 × 10−4G and 4.9 × 10−5G, respectively (G is the shear modulus). These values fall within the range of measurements from mechanical deformation tests (10−4–10−5G). OFDFT also finds a new metastable structure for a screw dislocation not seen in earlier simulations, in which a dislocation core on the glide plane does not dissociate into partials. The corresponding σp for this undissociated dislocation is predicted to be 1.1 × 10−2G, which agrees with typical Bordoni peak measurements (10−2–10−3G). The calculated σps for dissociated and undissociated screw dislocations differ by two orders of magnitude. The presence of undissociated, as well as dissociated, screw dislocations may resolve the decades-long mystery in fcc metals regarding the two orders of magnitude discrepancy in σp measurements.