Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Active and Passive Mobility of Lower Limb Joints in Elderly Men and Women

An age associated decline in joint mobility during the early and middle adult years is well documented, however, little information exists on the progress of this aspect of joint function during old age. Active and passive ranges of 10 lower limb joint motions were measured in 80 healthy, active men and women aged from 70 years, to examine the relationship between the capacity for joint movement and age, gender, and type of motion. Joint mobility declined consistently as age increased, with women generally having greater movement capability than their male peers. The predominant trend was for a more rapid reduction in mobility during the ninth decade. Passive ranges were larger than those produced actively, and the pattern of change in both measurement modes was parallel over the age range. It is hypothesized that the consistent decline in mobility indicates the importance of biological aging of articular structures as a primary cause of increasing resistance to movement, while environmental causes, such as changing activity status, are suggested by the variation in the magnitude and patterns of change over the age range
Interference Alignment in Partially Connected Interfering Multiple-Access and Broadcast Channels

We consider interference alignment (IA) in the L-interfering multiple access channels (MACs) network, a particular case of the partially connected interfering MACs network whereby the number of interference links per MAC is bounded regardless of the total number of MACs in the network. Conversely to the fully-connected case, we show that interference alignment can be achievable in a network of arbitrary size, while the per-user signaling dimension remains bounded. We provide necessary conditions for the feasibility of IA, discuss their sufficiency, and introduce an algorithm capable of providing practical solutions. These results also apply to the dual case of partially connected interfering broadcast channels (IBCs), and have practical applications to both the uplink and downlink of large cellular networks.
Toward discovery science of human brain function

Although it is being successfully implemented for exploration of the genome, discovery science has eluded the functional neuroimaging community. The core challenge remains the development of common paradigms for interrogating the myriad functional systems in the brain without the constraints of a priori hypotheses. Resting-state functional MRI (R-fMRI) constitutes a candidate approach capable of addressing this challenge. Imaging the brain during rest reveals large-amplitude spontaneous low-frequency (<0.1 Hz) fluctuations in the fMRI signal that are temporally correlated across functionally related areas. Referred to as functional connectivity, these correlations yield detailed maps of complex neural systems, collectively constituting an individual's “functional connectome. ” Reproducibility across datasets and individuals suggests the functional connectome has a common architecture, yet each individual's functional connectome exhibits unique features, with stable, meaningful interindividual differences in connectivity patterns and strengths. Comprehensive mapping of the functional connectome, and its subsequent exploitation to discern genetic influences and brain–behavior relationships, will require multicenter collaborative datasets. Here we initiate this endeavor by gathering R-fMRI data from 1,414 volunteers collected independently at 35 international centers. We demonstrate a universal architecture of positive and negative functional connections, as well as consistent loci of inter-individual variability. Age and sex emerged as significant determinants. These results demonstrate that independent R-fMRI datasets can be aggregated and shared. High-throughput R-fMRI can provide quantitative phenotypes for molecular genetic studies and biomarkers of developmental and pathological processes in the brain. To initiate discovery science of brain function, the 1000 Functional Connectomes Project dataset is freely accessible at www.nitrc. org/projects/fcon_1000/.
Ursodeoxycholic acid as adjunctive therapy for problematic type 1 autoimmune hepatitis: A randomized placebo‐controlled treatment trial

To evaluate the efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid as adjunctive therapy in type 1 autoimmune hepatitis, 37 patients who had experienced treatment failure, repeated relapse, or incomplete response were randomized to ursodeoxycholic acid (13‐15 mg/kg daily) or placebo for 6 months in addition to their usual corticosteroid schedule. Serum aspartate transaminase (70% vs.31%,P= .04) and alkaline phosphatase (47% vs. 7%,P= .02) levels improved more commonly in the 21 patients randomized to ursodeoxycholic acid. Mean serum levels, however, were similar before and after the treatment period. The frequency of dose reduction or corticosteroid withdrawal was comparable in both groups (29% versus 31%,P>.9), and clinical improvement (48% vs. 44%,P>.9)orits absence (52% vs. 56%,P> .9) occurred as commonly in patients receiving ursodeoxycholic acid or placebo.The modifed histological activity score (3.5 ± 0.8 vs. 3.5 ± 0.9)and the modified fibrosis score (2.4 ± 0.4 vs. 2.4 ± 0.4)were similar before and after treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid and no different than after placebo therapy.We conclude that ursodeoxycholic acid can improve certain laboratory tests in problematic patients with type 1 autoimmune hepatitis when administered adjunctively for 6 months. Short‐term therapy, however, does not facilitate reduction in the dose of corticosteroids or its withdrawal, affect clinical outcome, or reduce histological activity.
Difference Bloom Filter: A probabilistic structure for multi-set membership query

Given v sets and an incoming item e, multi-set membership query is to report which set contains item e. Multi-set membership query is a fundamental problem in computer systems and applications. All existing data structures cannot achieve small memory usage, fast query speed and high accuracy at the same time. In this paper, we propose a novel probabilistic data structure named Difference Bloom Filter (DBF) for fast multi-set membership query, which not only is more accurate than the state-of-the-art, but has a faster query speed. There are two key design principles for DBF. The first one is to make the representation of the membership of elements exclusive by writing different number of 1s and 0s in the same filter, and the second one is to use the slow but cheap DRAM memory to improve the accuracy of the filter on the fast but expensive SRAM memory. Experimental results show that in terms of accuracy, DBF has a great advantage compared to state-of-the-art, being hundreds of times more accurate than the state-of-the-art vBF and ShBF. Furthermore, we have made the source code of our DBF available at our homepage [1] and GitHub [2].
Targeting impulsivity in Parkinson’s disease using atomoxetine

In a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study, Kehagia et al. investigate the effects of a single dose of atomoxetine, a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, in 25 patients with Parkinson’s disease. Consistent with the presence of a longstanding noradrenergic deficit, atomoxetine improved stopping accuracy, and reduced reflection impulsivity during decision making.
Aerial Arthropod Communities of Native and Invaded Forests, Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile

ABSTRACT Invasive species significantly contribute to biological change and threaten biodiversity, with a growing body of evidence that plant invasions affect higher trophic levels. We explored the relative importance of plant invasion and forest structure on aerial arthropod abundance, diversity, and composition on Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile. We used flight intercept traps to sample aerial arthropods within distinct canopy strata of native and invaded forests over 3-mo periods in 2006 and 2007. Arthropod abundance and diversity were higher in native than invaded forest, and arthropod communities were distinct between forest types. In both forest types, arthropod abundance was highest in the lower canopy, and canopy strata exhibited some differences in arthropod community composition. Several morphospecies were distinctly associated with each forest type. The strong differences in aerial arthropod communities associated with the invasion of native forest by non-native plants may affect other trophic levels, such as insectivorous birds. Steps to stop invasive plant spread and to restore native forest composition and structure are needed to safeguard the integrity of native communities, from plants to higher-level consumers.
Neogene Expansion of the Qilian Shan, North Tibet: Implications for the Dynamic Evolution of the Tibetan Plateau

The Qilian Shan, at the northeastern frontier of the Tibetan Plateau, is a key area for studying the expansion mechanism of the Tibetan Plateau. Although previous thermochronology and paleomagnetic studies indicate Neogene northward expansion of the northern Qilian Shan, there is a distinct temporal gap in knowledge relative to the tectonic history of the southern Qilian Shan. This has hindered a complete understanding of the Cenozoic deformation pattern of the entire Qilian Shan. To study the growth history of the southern Qilian Shan, apatite fission track (AFT) data have been acquired from Zongwulong Shan and the Huaitoutala section. AFT thermal history modeling from the former shows a rapid cooling episode occurred at ~18–11 Ma, which is interpreted as marking the onset of intensive exhumation in the southern Qilian Shan. Within the Huaitoutala section, detrital grain up‐section shows progressively decreasing peak AFT ages followed by an age increase from midsection, implying that a sediment‐recycling event occurred at approximately 7 ± 2 Ma. Together with a shift in paleocurrent directions, this change marks the onset of Late Miocene deformation of the northern Qaidam Basin. Combined with previous studies on the deformation time of the Qilian Shan, our findings suggest that both the northern and southern Qilian Shan region grew outward synchronously in opposite directions during the Neogene. This resulted in the formation of a flower structure, which had an important impact on the deformation pattern of north Tibet. The synchronous outward expansion may have been triggered by the removal of mantle beneath north Tibet.
Tumoral Lymphocytic Infiltration and Expression of the Chemokine CXCL10 in Breast Cancers from the Ontario Familial Breast Cancer Registry

Purpose: Breast carcinomas, including basal and hereditary cases, often present with a prominent tumoral lymphocytic infiltrate. Chemokines could play a role in attracting these cells and contribute to tumor progression. We explored tumoral expression of CXCL10 and determined the relationship between CXCL10 and lymphocytic infiltrate in a cohort of breast cancers. Experimental Design: Using tissue microarrays of 364 breast tumors, we evaluated expression of CXCL10 and its receptor, CXCR3, in relation to histopathologic features, biomarkers, and lymphocyte markers. In addition, we overexpressed CXCL10 and CXCR3 in MCF7 breast cancer cells and monitored T-lymphocyte migration and invasion. Results: Forty-five percent of tumors expressed CXCL10, and a significant association was found with CXCR3 and lymphocytic infiltrate. Further characterization of the lymphocytic infiltrate revealed an association with CXCL10 expression for peritumoral CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes. CD8+ intratumoral lymphocytes, FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs), and T-BET+ TH1 cells were associated with BRCA1 and basal tumors. Conditioned media from MCF7 cells overexpressing both CXCL10 and CXCR3 increased T-lymphocyte migration and invasion. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that CXCL10 may act in a paracrine manner, affecting the tumor microenvironment, and in an autocrine manner, acting on the tumor cells themselves and may play a role in tumor invasiveness and progression. The CXCL10-CXCR3 axis can serve as a potential target in BRCA1 and basal breast cancers, which present with a prominent lymphocytic infiltrate and a poor prognosis. Clin Cancer Res; 19(2); 336–46. ©2012 AACR.
Microcystic adnexal carcinoma: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge

ABSTRACT: Microcystic adnexal carcinoma (MAC) is a rare cutaneous neoplasm that is often diagnosed after having been present for a significant period of time. It appears bland on histologic evaluation despite its locally aggressive behavior. Actual skin involvement is significantly more extensive than can be determined clinically and because of this, therapy is challenging. Though metastasis is rare, there have been reports of both regional and distant metastatic disease. Several treatment modalities have been used to date, including standard excision (SE), Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS), irradiation, chemotherapy, and observation. There has also been discussion in the literature regarding techniques than can aid in assurance of clear margins with MMS. We review the literature on MAC, including the various therapeutic options, addressing when one modality may be preferable over others. In general, MMS offers the highest likelihood of clear margins and cure with the fewest procedures.
Families and mental health workers: the need for partnership.

In Western countries, the movement from treatment in large mental hospitals to treatment in community mental health facilities has resulted in a heavy burden of care for the families of people with mental illness (1). The nature of this caregiving role is often not understood by professional mental health workers. Blaming families for causing these illnesses has not completely disappeared, although it is decreasing as evidence mounts for a neurobiological explanation of mental illness. Families are frequently excluded from treatment and care plans. Reasons for this include the belief that the individual has the right to a confidential relationship with his doctor. Mental health professionals are trained to maintain confidentiality. This can assume precedence over other treatment and care issues that may be of greater benefit to the patient (2). Secondly, mental health professionals are not skilled in working with families. Some recent programs now train mental health workers to provide families with the skills needed to be active, positive carers rather than passive victims to the difficult situations created by a relative's illness (3). In Eastern societies, the relationship between families and mental health professionals is different. Families have never been excluded from the treatment process, and are the mainstay of care for their relatives with mental illness. Confidentiality is not a problem, although stigma is even greater than it is in the West. Nevertheless, the intrinsic and tremendous potential of families to facilitate recovery in their ill relative has generally not been recognized. Families receive information about the need to continue medication (in fact, medication is often entirely supervised by families and the patient is only a passive participant). In developing countries, caregivers have a major role to play in the resocialisation, vocational and social skills training of the patient, not only because of close family ties that exist in these traditional societies, but also because developing countries lack rehabilitation professionals to deliver these services. Carer burden is exacerbated by issues of poverty and illiteracy (4). Regardless of whether the country is in the developed or developing world, there are too few instances where families receive the information, education, training and emotional support that they need in order to facilitate their loved one's recovery.
Risk Transfer with CDOs and Systemic Risk in Banking

Large banks often sell part of their loan portfolio in the form of collateralized debt obligations (CDO) to investors. In this paper we raise the question whether credit asset securitization affects the cyclicality (or commonality) of bank equity values. The commonality of bank equity values reflects a major component of systemic risks in the banking market, caused by correlated defaults of loans in the banks' loan books. Our simulations take into account the major stylized fact of CDO transactions, the nonproportional nature of risk sharing that goes along with tranching. We provide a theoretical framework for the risk transfer through securitization that builds on a macro risk factor and an idiosyncratic risk factor, allowing an identification of the types of risk that the individual tranche holders bear. This allows conclusions about the risk positions of issuing banks after risk transfer. Building on the strict subordination of tranches, we first evaluate the correlation properties both within and across risk classes. We then determine the effect of securitization on the systematic risk of all tranches, and derive its effect on the issuing bank's equity beta. The simulation results show that under plausible assumptions concerning bank reinvestment behaviour and capital structure choice, the issuing intermediary's systematic risk tends to rise. We discuss the implications of our findings for financial stability supervision.
Plant Movement. Submergence-Induced Petiole Elongation inRumex palustris Depends on Hyponastic Growth1

The submergence-tolerant species Rumex palustris(Sm.) responds to complete submergence by an increase in petiole angle with the horizontal. This hyponastic growth, in combination with stimulated elongation of the petiole, can bring the leaf tips above the water surface, thus restoring gas exchange and enabling survival. Using a computerized digital camera set-up the kinetics of this hyponastic petiole movement and stimulated petiole elongation were studied. The hyponastic growth is a relatively rapid process that starts after a lag phase of 1.5 to 3 h and is completed after 6 to 7 h. The kinetics of hyponastic growth depend on the initial angle of the petiole at the time of submergence, a factor showing considerable seasonal variation. For example, lower petiole angles at the time of submergence result in a shorter lag phase for hyponastic growth. This dependency of the hyponastic growth kinetics can be mimicked by experimentally manipulating the petiole angle at the time of submergence. Stimulated petiole elongation in response to complete submergence also shows kinetics that are dependent on the petiole angle at the time of submergence, with lower initial petiole angles resulting in a longer lag phase for petiole elongation. Angle manipulation experiments show that stimulated petiole elongation can only start when the petiole has reached an angle of 40° to 50°. The petiole can reach this “critical angle” for stimulated petiole elongation by the process of hyponastic growth. This research shows a functional dependency of one response to submergence in R.palustris (stimulated petiole elongation) on another response (hyponastic petiole growth), because petiole elongation can only contribute to the leaf reaching the water surface when the petiole has a more or less upright position.
zALK‐8, a novel type I serine/threonine kinase receptor, is expressed throughout early zebrafish development

Here, we report the isolation and characterization of zebrafish activin receptor‐like kinase‐8 (zALK‐8), a novel type I serine/threonine (ser/thr) kinase receptor of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) family. zALK‐8 is novel, in that it contains an extracellular domain that is quite distinct from that of previously identified ALK receptors 1 through 7. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence of the 506 amino acid zALK‐8 receptor reveals an ser/thr kinase domain characteristic of type I TGF‐β family member receptors. zALK‐8, therefore, is a traditional type I ser/thr kinase receptor of the TGF‐β family, but it may exhibit novel ligand‐binding activities. The developmental expression of zALK‐8 mRNA was examined by wholemount in situ hybridization analysis using a probe from the 3′‐untranslated sequence of zALK‐8, which does not cross react with other members of the highly conserved TGF‐β receptor family. zALK‐8 mRNA is present as a maternal message that is expressed ubiquitously before the start of zygotic transcription. By 16 hr postfertilization (hpf), zALK‐8 mRNA is still expressed fairly evenly throughout the embryo. In 24‐hpf embryos, zALK‐8 mRNA is expressed predominantly in the developing eye and neural structures. By 48 hpf, zALK‐8 mRNA is faintly detectable as a diffuse signal throughout the head. zALK‐8 mRNA is not detectable by this method in 72‐hpf or 96‐hpf embryos. Northern analysis of zALK‐8 mRNA in poly(A+) mRNA isolated from 6–9 hpf embryos detects a major transcript of 3.6 kb and a minor transcript of 4.3 kb. zALK‐8 mRNA expression correlates well with known functions of TGF‐β family members as early axial patterning and mesoderm‐inducing growth factors and as potent growth and differentiation factors in craniofacial development. Dev. Dyn. 1998;211:352–361. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Robust speech features and acoustic models for speech recognition

This thesis examines techniques to improve the robustness of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems against noise distortions. The study is important as the performance of ASR systems degrades dramatically in adverse environments, and hence greatly limits the speech recognition application deployment in realistic environments. Towards this end, we examine a feature compensation approach and a discriminative model training approach to improve the robustness of speech recognition system. The degradation of recognition performance is mainly due to the statistical mismatch between clean-trained acoustical model and noisy testing speech features. To reduce the feature-model mismatch, we propose to normalize the temporal structure of both training and testing speech features. Speech features’ temporal structures are represented by the power spectral density (PSD) functions of feature trajectories. We propose to normalize the temporal structures by applying equalizing filters to the feature trajectories. The proposed filter is called temporal structure normalization (TSN) filter. Compared to other temporal filters used in speech recognition, the advantage of the TSN filter is its adaptability to changing environments. The TSN filter can also be viewed as a feature normalization technique that normalizes the PSD function of features, while other normalization methods, such as histogram equalization (HEQ), normalize the probability density function (p.d.f.) of features. Experimental study shows that the TSN filter produces better performance than other state-of-the-art temporal filters on both small vocabulary Aurora-2 task and large vocabulary Aurora-4 task. In the second study, we improve the robustness of speech recognition by improving the generalization capability of acoustic model rather than reducing the feature-model mismatch. In the log likelihood score domain, noise distortion causes the log likelihood score of noisy features to deviate from that of clean features. The deviation may move