Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electrosprayed Core–Shell Composite Microbeads Based on Pectin-Arabinoxylans for Insulin Carrying: Aggregation and Size Dispersion Control

Aggregation and coalescence are major drawbacks that contribute to polydispersity in microparticles and nanoparticles fabricated from diverse biopolymers. This study presents the evaluation of a novel method for the direct, electrospray-induced fabrication of small, CaCl2/ethanol-hardened low methoxy pectin/arabinoxylans composite microbeads. The electrospray method was evaluated to control particle size by adjusting voltage, flux, and crosslinking solution content of CaCl2/ethanol. A bead diameter of 1µm was set as reference to test the capability of this method. Insulin was chosen as a model carried molecule. Statistical analysis was a central composite rotatable design (CCRD) with a factorial arrangement of 24. The variables studied were magnitude and particle size dispersion. For the determination of these variables, light diffraction techniques, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used. Major interaction was found for ethanol and CaCl2 as well as flow and voltage. Stable spherical structures of core–shell beads were obtained with neither aggregation nor coalescence for all treatments where ethanol was included in the crosslinking solution, and the average diameter within 1 ± 0.024 μm for 11 KV, 75% ethanol with 11% CaCl2, and flow of 0.97 mL/h.
Imatinib mesylate in children and adolescents with cancer

Imatinib is an inhibitor of the BCR–ABL fusion gene product that characterizes chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and of the related tyrosine kinases c‐KIT and platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor. The drug is now included as front‐line therapy for CML and Philadelphia chromosome‐positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and adolescents, though valid concerns about serious late sequelae remain unresolved and are important issues for further study. European and North American consortia have conducted phase I and II clinical trials of imatinib in children and adolescents with brain and other solid tumors that have provided little evidence of efficacy. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2010;55:18–25. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Novel subgroups of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder identified by topological data analysis and their functional network modular organizations

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a clinically heterogeneous condition and identification of clinically meaningful subgroups would open up a new window for personalized medicine. Thus, we aimed to identify new clinical phenotypes in children and adolescents with ADHD and to investigate whether neuroimaging findings validate the identified phenotypes. Neuroimaging and clinical data from 67 children with ADHD and 62 typically developing controls (TDCs) from the ADHD-200 database were selected. Clinical measures of ADHD symptoms and intelligence quotient (IQ) were used as input features into a topological data analysis (TDA) to identify ADHD subgroups within our sample. As external validators, graph theoretical measures obtained from the functional connectome were compared to address the biological meaningfulness of the identified subtypes. The TDA identified two unique subgroups of ADHD, labelled as mild symptom ADHD (mADHD) and severe symptom ADHD (sADHD). The output topology shape was repeatedly observed in the independent validation dataset. The graph theoretical analysis showed a decrease in the degree centrality and PageRank in the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex in the sADHD group compared with the TDC group. The mADHD group showed similar patterns of intra- and inter-module connectivity to the sADHD group. Relative to the TDC group, the inter-module connectivity between the default mode network and executive control network were significantly increased in the sADHD group but not in the mADHD group. Taken together, our results show that the data-driven TDA is potentially useful in identifying objective and biologically relevant disease phenotypes in children and adolescents with ADHD.
Labels, cognomes, and cyclic computation: an ethological perspective

For the past two decades, it has widely been assumed by linguists that there is a single computational operation, Merge, which is unique to language, distinguishing it from other cognitive domains. The intention of this paper is to progress the discussion of language evolution in two ways: (i) survey what the ethological record reveals about the uniqueness of the human computational system, and (ii) explore how syntactic theories account for what ethology may determine to be human-specific. It is shown that the operation Label, not Merge, constitutes the evolutionary novelty which distinguishes human language from non-human computational systems; a proposal lending weight to a Weak Continuity Hypothesis and leading to the formation of what is termed Computational Ethology. Some directions for future ethological research are suggested.
Distributed Space Time Coding for Bit-Interleaved Coded Modulation in Two-Way Relaying Communications

This paper proposes a design of distributed space-time coding (DSTC) for the multiple access (MA) phase of a two-way relaying communication system. Bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) is used by the two terminal nodes and decoding based on the quaternary code representation is adopted at the relay. Based on an upper bound of the error probability, the impact of DSTC on the error performance is analyzed by considering three error types in the MA phase. Specifically, it is shown that type-3 errors need to be carefully taken into account in the design of a DSTC scheme. By developing a performance metric related to type-3 errors, a single parameter can be searched and its optimal value is obtained. To corroborate the analysis and optimization, simulation results are provided to show the advantage of the proposed DSTC scheme over other schemes under both Rayleigh and Rician fading channels.
Quasi-time-optimal motion planning of mobile platforms in the presence of obstacles

This paper addresses a problem of optimal motion planning of mobile platforms amidst obstacles, considering the mobile platform dynamics. Due to nonholonomic constraints, actuator constraints, and state constraints by obstacle avoidance, the planning problem of mobile platform with two independently driven wheels is a complicated one. In this study, a dynamical model for the mobile platform is presented, including nonholonomic kinematic constraints. The idea of a path parameter is introduced to simplify the planning problem by considering the dynamics and nonholonomic constraints. Using the path parameter, the optimal motion planning problem is divided into two sub-problems: 1) time-optimization of trajectory along specified path, and 2) search for optimal path. Then two methods are proposed the solve the problems using the path parameter and parametrization by B-spline function. Finally, quasi-time-optimal solution for the original problem are planned by combining the two methods. Numerical examples show effectiveness of the motion planner.
Dynamic Capacity Networks

We introduce the Dynamic Capacity Network (DCN), a neural network that can adaptively assign its capacity across different portions of the input data. This is achieved by combining modules of two types: low-capacity sub-networks and high-capacity sub-networks. The low-capacity sub-networks are applied across most of the input, but also provide a guide to select a few portions of the input on which to apply the high-capacity sub-networks. The selection is made using a novel gradient-based attention mechanism, that efficiently identifies input regions for which the DCN's output is most sensitive and to which we should devote more capacity. We focus our empirical evaluation on the Cluttered MNIST and SVHN image datasets. Our findings indicate that DCNs are able to drastically reduce the number of computations, compared to traditional convolutional neural networks, while maintaining similar or even better performance.
Engineering optimization using simple evolutionary algorithm

This paper presents a simple (1 + /spl lambda/) evolution strategy and three simple selection criteria to solve engineering optimization problems. This approach avoids the use of a penalty function to deal with constraints. Its main advantage is that it does not require the definition of extra parameters, other than those used by the evolution strategy. A self-adaptation mechanism allows the algorithm to maintain diversity during the process in order to reach competitive solutions at a low computational cost. The approach was tested in four well-known engineering design problems and compared against several penalty-function-based approaches and other state-of-the-art technique. The results obtained indicate that the proposed technique is highly competitive in terms of quality, robustness and computational cost.
Towards a universal method for calculating hydration free energies: a 3D reference interaction site model with partial molar volume correction

We report a simple universal method to systematically improve the accuracy of hydration free energies calculated using an integral equation theory of molecular liquids, the 3D reference interaction site model. A strong linear correlation is observed between the difference of the experimental and (uncorrected) calculated hydration free energies and the calculated partial molar volume for a data set of 185 neutral organic molecules from different chemical classes. By using the partial molar volume as a linear empirical correction to the calculated hydration free energy, we obtain predictions of hydration free energies in excellent agreement with experiment (R = 0.94, σ = 0.99 kcal mol − 1 for a test set of 120 organic molecules).
Low-cost communication for rural internet kiosks using mechanical backhaul

Rural kiosks in developing countries provide a variety of services such as birth, marriage, and death certificates, electricity bill collection, land records, email services, and consulting on medical and agricultural problems. Fundamental to a kiosk's operation is its connection to the Internet. Network connectivity today is primarily provided by dialup telephone, although Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) or long-distance wireless links are also being deployed. These solutions tend to be both expensive and failure prone. Instead, we propose the use of buses and cars as "mechanical backhaul" devices to carry data to and from a village and an internet gateway. Building on the pioneering lead of Daknet [15], and extending the Delay Tolerant Networking Research Group architecture [24], we describe a comprehensive solution, encompassing naming, addressing, forwarding, routing, identity management, application support, and security. We believe that this architecture not only meets the top-level goals of low cost and robustness, but also exposes fundamental architectural principles necessary for any such design. We also describe our experiences in implementing a prototype of this architecture.
Myocardial Infarction and Stroke Risk in Young Healthy Men Treated with Injectable Testosterone

This study was conducted to examine the association between testosterone therapy and new myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke events in a series of patients treated at Low T Centers across the United States, consisting of mainly young (mean age = 46), otherwise, healthy men. Electronic medical records were queried between the years 2009 and 2014 to identify patients diagnosed with hypogonadism, MI, and stroke, as indicated by ICD-9 codes. The incidence of MI and stroke events was compared to community-based registries. 39,936 patients recruited from 40 Low T Centers across the United States were treated and 19,968 met eligibility criteria for receiving testosterone treatment. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) for MI in testosterone- (T-) treated versus nontreated patients was 0.14 (C.I. = 0.08 to 0.18, P < 0.0001) whereas the IRR for stroke for T-treated versus nontreated patients was 0.11 (C.I. = 0.02 to 0.13, P < 0.0001). There was no evidence of worsening preexisting MI or stroke in patients treated with testosterone. The experience in Low T Centers shows that, in an injectable testosterone patient registry, testosterone is generally safe for younger men who do not have significant risk factors. Of patients that developed MI with testosterone, there was no association with testosterone or hematocrit levels.
The thermostabilizing domain of the modular xylanase XynA of Thermotoga maritima represents a novel type of binding domain with affinity for soluble xylan and mixed‐linkage β‐1,3/β‐1,4‐glucan

Thermotoga maritima XynA is an extremely thermostable modular enzyme with five domains (A1–A2–B–C1–C2). Its catalytic domain (–B–) is flanked by duplicated non‐catalytic domains. The C‐terminal repeated domains represent cellulose‐binding domains (CBDs). Xylanase domains related to the N‐terminal domains of XynA (A1–A2) are called thermostabilizing domains because their deletion normally leads to increased thermosensitivity of the enzymes. It was found that a glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST) hybrid protein (GST‐A1A2) containing both A‐domains of XynA can interact with various soluble xylan preparations and with mixed‐linkage β‐1,3/β‐1,4‐glucans. GST‐A1A2 showed no affinity for insoluble microcrystalline cellulose, whereas, vice versa, GST‐C2, which contains the C‐terminal CBD of XynA, did not interact with soluble xylan. Another hybrid protein, GST‐A2, displayed the same binding properties as GST‐A1A2, indicating that A2 alone can also promote xylan binding. The dissociation constants for the binding of xylose, xylobiose, xylotriose, xylotetraose and xylopentaose by GST‐A2, as determined at 20°C by fluorescence quench experiments, were 8.1 × 10−3 M, 2.3 × 10−4 M, 2.3 × 10−5 M, 2.5 × 10−6 M and 1.1 × 10−6 M respectively. The A‐domains of XynA, which are designated as xylan binding domains (XBD), are, from the structural as well as the functional point of view, prototypes of a novel class of binding domains. More than 50 related protein segments with hitherto unknown function were detected in about 30 other multidomain β‐glycanases, among them putative plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) xylanases. It is argued that polysaccharide binding and not thermostabilization is the main function of A‐like domains.
Age distribution dynamics with stochastic jumps in mortality

While deterministic age distribution models have been extensively studied and applied in various disciplines, little work has been devoted to understanding the role of stochasticity in birth and mortality terms. In this paper, we analyse a stochastic M’Kendrick–von Foerster equation in which jumps in mortality represent intense losses of population due to external events. We present explicit solutions for the probability density functions of the age distribution and the total population and for the temporal dynamics of their moments. We also derive the dynamics of the mean age of the population and its harmonic mean. The framework is then used to calculate the age distribution of salt in the soil root zone, where the accumulation of salt by atmospheric deposition is counteracted by plant uptake and by jump losses due to percolation events.
The Shape of an Auxin Pulse, and What It Tells Us about the Transport Mechanism

Auxin underlies many processes in plant development and physiology, and this makes it of prime importance to understand its movements through plant tissues. In stems and coleoptiles, classic experiments showed that the peak region of a pulse of radio-labelled auxin moves at a roughly constant velocity down a stem or coleoptile segment. As the pulse moves it becomes broader, at a roughly constant rate. It is shown here that this ‘spreading rate’ is larger than can be accounted for by a single channel model, but can be explained by coupling of channels with differing polar transport rates. An extreme case is where strongly polar channels are coupled to completely apolar channels, in which case auxin in the apolar part is ‘dragged along’ by the polar part in a somewhat diffuse distribution. The behaviour of this model is explored, together with others that can account for the experimentally observed spreading rates. It is also shown that saturation of carriers involved in lateral transport can explain the characteristic shape of pulses that result from uptake of large amounts of auxin.
Automating the News

This study investigates the impact of personalized news recommender system design on selective exposure, elaboration, and knowledge. Scholars have worried that proliferation of personalization technologies will degrade public opinion by isolating people from challenging perspectives. Informed by selective exposure research, this study examines personalized news recommender system designs using a communication mediation model. Recommender system design choices examined include computer-generated personalized recommendations, user-customized recommendations, and full or limited news information environments based on recommendations. Results from an online mock election experiment with Ohio adult Internet users indicate increased selective exposure when using personalized news systems. However, portals recommending news based on explicit user customization result in significantly higher counterattitudinal news exposure. Expected positive effects on elaboration and indirect effects on knowledge through elaboration are found only in personalized news recommender systems that display only recommended headlines. Lastly, personalized news recommender system use has a negative direct effect on knowledge.
First-stroke recovery process: the role of family social support.

OBJECTIVE To determine the role of family social support in three stroke rehabilitation variables (functional status, depression, social status) during a 6-month recovery period. DESIGN Assessment of first-stroke patients' functional status, depression, and social status before discharge and at 1, 3, and 6 months after stroke onset, in comparison with the amount of family social support received. The family social support scale--compliance, instrumental, and emotional support--was employed in the first month. SETTING A university hospital and patients' residences. PATIENTS A consecutive sample of 43 first-stroke patients meeting the inclusion criteria. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Changes of patients' rehabilitation variables over the 6-month period were tested by use of repeated multivariate analysis of variance measures. RESULTS Observers of functional, depression, and social status changes were blind to patient grouping according to levels of family support. These three variables were significantly affected by higher levels of support (p = .001, p = .001, p = .020, respectively), but a significant interaction was found only with regard to functional status adjusted for initial stroke severity (p = .019). Patients with moderate/severe stroke and high levels of social support attained a significantly better and progressively improving functional status than those with less support. CONCLUSIONS High levels of family support--instrumental and emotional--are associated with progressive improvement of functional status, mainly in severely impaired patients, while the psychosocial status is also affected.
Treatment of advanced postmenopausal breast cancer with an aromatase inhibitor, 4-hydroxyandrostenedione: phase II report.

4-Hydroxyandrostenedione (4-OHA), a potent new aromatase inhibitor, was given i.m. (500-1000 mg) to 58 patients with advanced postmenopausal breast cancer. Of 52 assessable patients 14 responded (27%), in 10 (19%) the disease stabilized, and in 28 (54%) the disease progressed. Sterile abscesses occurred at the injection site in 6 patients and painful lumps were found in a further 3 patients. Two patients developed allergic-type reactions and 4 developed lethargy, suspected to be treatment induced. Plasma estradiol levels were suppressed from a mean of 7.2 +/- 0.8 (SE) pg/ml before treatment to 2.6 +/- 0.2, 2.7 +/- 0.2, and 2.8 +/- 0.3 pg/ml after 1, 2, and greater than 4 months, respectively, of treatment and remained suppressed in patients whose disease relapsed. No significant fall in estrone levels was seen. Similarly, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, sex hormone binding globulin, and gonadotrophin levels were unaltered after 6 months of treatment. Plasma 4-OHA levels were measured in a radioimmunoassay for androstenedione after chromatographic separation of 4-OHA from androstenedione. Drug concentrations ranged from 0.7 to 23.2 (7.8 +/- 1.1) ng/ml after 2 months on treatment. 4-OHA is an effective drug in the management of postmenopausal patients with breast cancer and does not produce notable systemic side effects.
Global Identification of DELLA Target Genes during Arabidopsis Flower Development1[C][W][OA]

Gibberellin (GA) plays important roles in regulating many aspects of plant development. GA derepresses its signaling pathway by promoting the degradation of DELLA proteins, a family of nuclear growth repressors. Although the floral organ identity is established in flowers of the GA-deficient mutant ga1-3, the growth of all floral organs is severely retarded. In particular, abortive anther development in ga1-3 results in male sterility. Genetic analysis has revealed that various combinations of null mutants of DELLA proteins could gradually rescue floral organ defects in ga1-3 and that RGA is the most important DELLA protein involved in floral organ development. To elucidate the early molecular events controlled by RGA during flower development, we performed whole-genome microarray analysis to identify genes in response to the steroid-inducible activation of RGA in ga1-3 rgl2 rga 35S:RGA-GR. Although DELLA proteins were suggested as transcriptional repressors, similar numbers of genes were down-regulated or up-regulated by RGA during floral organ development. More than one-third of RGA down-regulated genes were specifically or predominantly expressed in stamens. A significant number of RGA-regulated genes are involved in phytohormone signaling or stress response. Further expression analysis through activation of RGA by steroid induction combined with cycloheximide identified eight genes as immediate targets of RGA. In situ hybridization and transgenic studies further showed that the expression pattern and function of several selected genes were consistent with the predictions from microarray analysis. These results suggest that DELLA regulation of floral organ development is modulated by multiple phytohormones and stress signaling pathways.
Improved Temporal Resolution Heart Rate Variability Monitoring—Pilot Results of Non-Laboratory Experiments Targeting Future Assessment of Human-Computer Interaction

This paper outlines the INTERFACE software ergonomic evaluation methodology and presents new validation results. The INTERFACE methodology is based on a simultaneous assessment of heart rate variability, skin conductance, and other data. The results of using this methodology on-site, in a non-laboratory environment indicate that it is potentially capable of identifying quality attributes of elements of software with a temporal resolution of only a few seconds. This paper presents pilot results supporting this hypothesis, showing empirical evidence in spite of the definitely non-laboratory environment: they indicate that the method is robust enough for practical usability tests. Naturally, in the future these pilot results will have to be followed with further laboratory-based verification and refinement. This paper focuses only on some characteristics of this method, not on an actual analysis of human-computer interaction; however, its results can establish a future practical and objective event-related analysis of software use.