Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sunshine and skin cancer: a school-based skin cancer prevention project.

Over 50 percent of the cancers diagnosed in the U.S. are skin cancers. The incidence in Arizona far exceeds the national average for all types of skin cancers, currently having the second highest incidence and prevalence in the world. Results from skin cancer prevention programs elsewhere have suggested that awareness, attitudes, and behavior could be changed by educational efforts with eventual decreases in measurable outcomes such as morbidity and mortality. Sensible sun habits develop early in life. Most health educators agree that the ideal place to begin to teach values regarding health choices is with school-aged children. We have evaluated a primary skin cancer prevention education program in a controlled situation. The target population was chosen in a formal school setting and represented pre-adolescents and early adolescents, who were just beginning to develop "sun-worshipping" tendencies as a part of their increasing preoccupation with appearance. Two unique comprehensive "Sunshine and Skin Cancer" curricula comprised of six units about the sun, its benefits and disadvantages, the skin, cancer and skin cancer, and sun damage prevention were developed. The curricula were very well received by the school system, teachers, children, and the community, and have received local, national, and international attention. This program was shown to significantly change the knowledge and the self-reported behavior (p less than .001) of the children with respect to skin cancer prevention. Steps are being taken to integrate this curriculum into all Arizona middle schools.
Relationship between aortic diameter and aortic baroreceptor activity in normal and hypertensive rabbits.

Studies of aortic nerve activity (Aars 1968a), and the load/length relationship of strips from the aortic wall (Aars 1968b), have suggested that the hypertensive resetting of baroreceptor activity is due to changes in the aortic wall. In nine normal and four hypertensive rabbits, diameter of the ascending aorta, measured with an ultrasonic gauge, was therefore recorded together with aortic baroreceptor activity. Aortic nerve activity was closely related to aortic diameter in individual rabbits, but wide variations in pressure/diameter relationships made it difficult to compare diameter and activity in a group of rabbits. Assuming that stretching of the receptor area would be almost equal in all rabbits at the inflexion point of their pressure/diameter curves, the diameter corresponding to inflexion point of the curve for dynamic elastic modulus was used as reference diameter. Plotted against per cent of this diameter, the nerve activity showed acceptable uniformity in the group of normal rabbits, and observations in hypertensive rabbits showed less deviation from the normal. The uniformity was further improved by allowing for variations in diameter pulsations. It was therefore concluded that the hypertensive resetting of aortic baroreceptor activity was predominantly due to altered distensibility of the aortic wall.
Ensemble classifiers for land cover mapping

not been submitted before for any degree or examination in any other University. Abstract This study presents experimental investigations on supervised ensemble classification for land cover classification. Despite the arrays of classifiers available in machine learning to create an ensemble, knowing and understanding the correct classifier to use for a particular dataset remains a major challenge. The ensemble method increases classification accuracy by consulting experts taking final decision in the classification process. This study generated various land cover maps, using image classification. This is to authenticate the number of classifiers that should be used for creating an ensemble. The study exploits feature selection techniques to create diversity in ensemble classification. Landsat imagery of Kampala (the capital of Uganda, East Africa), AVIRIS hyperspectral dataset of Indian pine of Indiana and Support Vector Machines were used to carry out the investigation. The research reveals that the superiority of different classification approaches employed depends on the datasets used. In addition, the pre-processing stage and the strategy used during the designing phase of each classifier is very essential. The results obtained from the experiments conducted showed that, there is no significant benefit in using many base classifiers for decision making in ensemble classification. The research outcome also reveals how to design better ensemble using feature selection approach for land cover mapping. The study also reports the experimental comparison of generalized support vector machines, random forests, C4.5, neural network and bagging classifiers for land cover classification of hyperspectral images. These classifiers are among the state-of-the-art supervised machine learning methods for solving complex pattern recognition problems. The pixel purity index was used to obtain the endmembers from the Indiana pine and Washington DC mall hyperspectral image datasets. Generalized reduced gradient optimization algorithm was used to estimate fractional abundance in the image dataset thereafter obtained numeric values for land cover classification. v The fractional abundance of each pixel was obtained using the spectral signature values of the endmembers and pixel values of class labels. As the results of the experiments, the classifiers show promising results. Using Indiana pine and Washington DC mall hyperspectral datasets, experimental comparison of all the classifiers' performances reveals that random forests outperforms the other classifiers and it is computational effective. The study makes a positive contribution to the problem of classifying land cover hyperspectral images by exploring the use of generalized reduced gradient method and five supervised classifiers. The accuracy comparison of these …
Re‐evaluation of insect melanogenesis research: Views from the dark side

Melanins (eumelanin and pheomelanin) are synthesized in insects for several purposes including cuticle sclerotization and color patterning, clot formation, organogenesis, and innate immunity. Traditional views of insect immunity detail the storage of pro‐phenoloxidases inside specialized blood cells (hemocytes) and their release upon recognition of foreign bodies. Activated phenoloxidases convert monophenols into reactive quinones in a two‐step enzymatic reaction, and until recently, the mechanism of tyrosine hydroxylation remained a mystery. Herein, we present our interpretations of these enzyme–substrate complexes. The resultant melanins are deposited onto the surface of microbes to immobilize, agglutinate, and suffocate them. Phenoloxidase activity and melanin production are not limited to the blood (hemolymph) or cuticle, as recent evidence points to more diverse, sophisticated interactions in the gut and with the resident symbionts. This review offers insight into the somewhat neglected areas of insect melanogenesis research, particularly in innate immunity, its role in beneficial insects such as pollinators, the functional versatility of phenoloxidases, and the limitations of common experimental approaches that may impede progress inadvertently.
Human progesterone receptor polymorphisms and implantation failure during in vitro fertilization.

OBJECTIVE Polymorphic variants of the human progesterone receptor gene have been described, but their potential influence on in vitro fertilization outcome have not been studied. STUDY DESIGN DNA was available from 317 women (cases) who had >or=2 embryo transfers without a clinical pregnancy and from 288 women (control subjects) who became pregnant after 1 in vitro fertilization attempt. With protocols that were specific for H770H (C/T genotype) and +331G/A polymorphism, amplification of polymorphism fragments, digestion with restriction enzymes, and gel visualization were performed. RESULTS Allele frequencies for the 2 variants were 15.5% for H770H T and 4.1% for +331A in cases and 17.9% and 3.6% in control subjects, respectively. Both polymorphisms were rare among non-white subjects. Possession of a H770H T allele was associated with a decreased risk for implantation failure, which was nonsignificant overall but significant in women aged <35 years (adjusted relative risk, 0.52 [95% CI, 0.28, 0.97]). Possession of a +331A allele was associated with an increased risk of implantation failure, which was nonsignificant overall but significant in women who weighed <135 pounds (adjusted relative risk, 3.85 [95% CI, 1.20, 12.30]). The +331G/A polymorphism tended to increase the risk for implantation failure in women with an H770H C/C genotype, but not in women with a C/T or TT genotype (P=.09). Among white women who were H770H C/C, there was a significant trend (P=.03) in the proportion of +331G/A carriers as the number of implantation failures increased, from 8.6% of women with 0 failed attempts to 40% among women with >or=5 failed attempts. CONCLUSION Although human progesterone receptor polymorphisms do not clearly affect the risk for implantation failure in most women who undergo in vitro fertilization, the likelihood that a woman carries the +331G/A human progesterone receptor polymorphism increases with the number of failed attempts at implantation.
Pilot evaluation of short-term changes in macular pigment and retinal sensitivity in different phenotypes of early age-related macular degeneration after carotenoid supplementation

Purpose To investigate the response of carotenoid supplementation in different phenotypes of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by measuring macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and retinal sensitivity. Methods Consecutive patients with only medium/large drusen and only reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) and age-matched and sex-matched controls were enrolled. At baseline, participants underwent a complete ophthalmological examination including measurement of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), MPOD and retinal sensitivity. Patients were put on vitamin supplementation (lutein 10 mg/day, zeaxanthin 2 mg/day) and 3 months later underwent a repeated ophthalmological examination. Results Twenty patients with medium/large drusen, 19 with RPD and 15 control subjects were included. At baseline, in controls, mean MPOD and BCVA were significantly higher compared with RPD (p=0.001 and p=0.01) but similar to medium/large drusen (p=0.9 and p=0.4). Mean retinal sensitivity was significantly higher in controls compared with RPD and medium/large drusen (for all p<0.0001). After 3 months of carotenoid supplementation the mean MPOD significantly increased in RPD (p=0.002), thus showing no more difference compared with controls (p=0.3); no significant changes were found in mean retinal sensitivity and BCVA (p=0.3 and p=0.7). Medium/large drusen did not show significant changes on MPOD, retinal sensitivity and BCVA (p=0.5, p=0.7 and p=0.7, respectively). Conclusions Patients with early AMD, especially RPD phenotype, show lower macular sensitivity and MPOD than controls. After supplementation, MPOD significantly increased in RPD. These results suggest different pathophysiology for RPD as compared with medium/large drusen and may open new ways to identifying further therapeutic targets in this phenotype of early AMD.
FMRI Study of Neural Responses to Implicit Infant Emotion in Anorexia Nervosa

Difficulties in social–emotional processing have been proposed to play an important role in the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). Few studies, thus far, have investigated neural processes that underlie these difficulties, including processing emotional facial expressions. However, the majority of these studies have investigated neural responses to adult emotional display, which may be confounded by elevated sensitivity to social rank and threat in AN. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the neural processes underlying implicit processing of positively and negatively valenced infant emotional display in AN. Twenty-one adult women with AN and twenty-six healthy comparison (HC) women were presented with images of positively valenced, negatively valenced, and neutral infant faces during a fMRI scan. Significant differences between the groups in positive > neutral and negative > neutral contrasts were investigated in a priori regions of interest, including the bilateral amygdala, insula, and lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). The findings revealed that the AN participants showed relatively increased recruitment while the HC participants showed relatively reduced recruitment of the bilateral amygdala and the right dorsolateral PFC in the positive > neutral contrast. In the negative > neutral contrast, the AN group showed relatively increased recruitment of the left posterior insula while the HC groups showed relatively reduced recruitment of this region. These findings suggest that people with AN may engage in implicit prefrontal down-regulation of elevated limbic reactivity to positively social–emotional stimuli.
Magnetic resonance imaging findings in spinal tuberculosis: Comparison of HIV positive and negative patients

Background: There is an increasing incidence of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) co-infection. This has led to an increasing number of atypical features on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We postulated that the type 4 hypersensitivity response causing granulomatous inflammation may be disrupted by the HIV resulting in less vertebral body destruction. This study compares the MRI features of spinal tuberculosis in HIV positive and negative patients. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients with confirmed spinal tuberculosis, HIV status and available MRI scans at a single institution from 2003–2009 were identified. HIV status was positive in 20 and negative in 30. Females were predominant (34:16). The HIV positive group was younger at 32.4 versus 46 years ( P =0.008). Blood parameters (WCC, ESR, Hb, Lymphocyte count) were not significantly different between the HIV groups. MRI scans were reviewed by a radiologist who was blinded to the HIV status. Site, extent of disease, body collapse, abscess location and volume, kyphotic deformity and cord signal were reported. Results: There was no difference between the number of vertebral bodies affection with TB involvement, presence of cord signal or incidence of non-contiguous lesions. The HIV negative group had significantly more total vertebral collapse ( P =0.036) and greater kyphosis ( P =0.002). The HIV positive group had a trend to larger anterior epidural pus collection ( P =0.2). Conclusion: HIV negative patients demonstrate greater tuberculous destruction in terms of total percentage body collapse and resultant kyphosis. There is no difference in the incidence of cord signal or presence of non-contiguous lesions. HIV positive patients show a trend to a greater epidural abscess volume. This difference may be explained by the reduced autoimmune response of the type 4 hypersensitivity reaction caused by the HIV infection.
Intraruminal propionate supplementation modifies hindlimb energy metabolism without changing the splanchnic release of glucose in growing lambs

The influence of propionate supplementation on the splanchnic metabolism of energy-yielding nutrients and the supply of glucose to the hindlimb was investigated in growing lambs. Six rumen-cannulated and multicatheterized lambs (32·2 kg), fed frozen rye grass at 690 kJ metabolizable energy intak/ per kg body weight0·75, were infused intraruminally with a salt solution (control) or with propionate solutions at 0·55 mo/ (P1) or 0·98 mo/ (P2) according to a replicated Latin square design. In the rumen fluid, supplementation decreased the acetate:propionate molar ratio from 2·36:1 to 1·37:1, without modifying the ruminal concentrations of acetate and NH4. As a result, the portal appearance of propionate increased by 51 and 72 % with P1 and P2, respectively, and that of L-LACTATE DOUBLED. ACROSS THE Liver, net extraction of propionate increased by 47 and 67 % with P1 and P2, respectively. However, the net hepatic production of glucose remained unchanged, probably as the result of a substantial rise in insulin secretion and its hepatic extraction. Overall, the net splanchnic release of acetate, glucose and butyrate was not modified while that of L-lactate increased. Despite this, the net uptake of acetate, glucose, l-lactate and non-esterified fatty acids by the hindlimb increased. Propionate probably enhanced the storage of energy-yielding nutrients in the hindlimb, despite their unchanged release by the splanchnic tissues and the unmodified insulinaemia. Regulatory mechanisms are not clear.
Go-ICP: A Globally Optimal Solution to 3D ICP Point-Set Registration

The Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm is one of the most widely used methods for point-set registration. However, being based on local iterative optimization, ICP is known to be susceptible to local minima. Its performance critically relies on the quality of the initialization and only local optimality is guaranteed. This paper presents the first globally optimal algorithm, named Go-ICP, for Euclidean (rigid) registration of two 3D point-sets under the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_2$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="yang-ieq1-2513405.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> error metric defined in ICP. The Go-ICP method is based on a branch-and-bound scheme that searches the entire 3D motion space <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$SE(3)$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="yang-ieq2-2513405.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>. By exploiting the special structure of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$SE(3)$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="yang-ieq3-2513405.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> geometry, we derive novel upper and lower bounds for the registration error function. Local ICP is integrated into the BnB scheme, which speeds up the new method while guaranteeing global optimality. We also discuss extensions, addressing the issue of outlier robustness. The evaluation demonstrates that the proposed method is able to produce reliable registration results regardless of the initialization. Go-ICP can be applied in scenarios where an optimal solution is desirable or where a good initialization is not always available.
Whole-Genome Analysis of Herbicide-Tolerant Mutant Rice Generated by Agrobacterium-Mediated Gene Targeting

Gene targeting (GT) is a technique used to modify endogenous genes in target genomes precisely via homologous recombination (HR). Although GT plants are produced using genetic transformation techniques, if the difference between the endogenous and the modified gene is limited to point mutations, GT crops can be considered equivalent to non-genetically modified mutant crops generated by conventional mutagenesis techniques. However, it is difficult to guarantee the non-incorporation of DNA fragments from Agrobacterium in GT plants created by Agrobacterium-mediated GT despite screening with conventional Southern blot and/or PCR techniques. Here, we report a comprehensive analysis of herbicide-tolerant rice plants generated by inducing point mutations in the rice ALS gene via Agrobacterium-mediated GT. We performed genome comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) array analysis and whole-genome sequencing to evaluate the molecular composition of GT rice plants. Thus far, no integration of Agrobacterium-derived DNA fragments has been detected in GT rice plants. However, >1,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion/deletion (InDels) were found in GT plants. Among these mutations, 20-100 variants might have some effect on expression levels and/or protein function. Information about additive mutations should be useful in clearing out unwanted mutations by backcrossing.
Can recent innovations in harmonic analysis `explain' key findings in natural image statistics?

Recently, applied mathematicians have been pursuing the goal of sparse coding of certain mathematical models of images with edges. They have found by mathematical analysis that, instead of wavelets and Fourier methods, sparse coding leads towards new systems: ridgelets and curvelets. These new systems have elements distributed across a range of scales and locations, but also orientations. In fact they have highly direction-specific elements and exhibit increasing numbers of distinct directions as we go to successively finer scales. Meanwhile, researchers in natural scene statistics (NSS) have been attempting to find sparse codes for natural images. The new systems they have found by computational optimization have elements distributed across a range of scales and locations, but also orientations. The new systems are certainly unlike wavelet and Gabor systems, on the one hand because of the multi-orientation and on the other hand because of the multi-scale nature. There is a certain degree of visual resemblance between the findings in the two fields, which suggests the hypothesis that certain important findings in the NSS literature might possibly be explained by the slogan: edges are the dominant features in images, and curvelets are the right tool for representing edges. We consider here certain empirical consequences of this hypothesis, looking at key findings of the NSS literature and conducting studies of curvelet and ridgelet transforms on synthetic and real images, to see if the results are consistent with predictions from this slogan. Our first experiment measures the nonGaussianity of Fourier, wavelet, ridgelet and curvelet coefficients over a database of synthetic and photographic images. Empirically the curvelet coefficients exhibit noticeably higher kurtosis than wavelet, ridgelet, or Fourier coefficients. This is consistent with the hypothesis. Our second experiment studies the inter-scale correlation of wavelet coefficient energies at the same location. We describe a simple experiment showing that presence of edges explains these correlations. We also develop a crude nonlinear `partial correlation' by considering the correlation between wavelet parents and children after a few curvelet coefficients are removed. When we kill the few biggest coefficients of the curvelet transform, much of the correlation between wavelet subbands disappears - consistent with the hypothesis. We suggest implications for future discussions about NSS.