Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Star Formation Rate History in the FORS Deep and GOODS-South Fields

We measure the star formation rate (SFR) as a function of redshift z up to z ≈ 4.5, based on B-, I-, and (I+B)-selected galaxy catalogs from the FORS Deep Field (FDF) and the K-selected catalog from the GOODS-South field. Distances are computed from spectroscopically calibrated photometric redshifts accurate to Δz/(zspec + 1) ≤ 0.03 for the FDF and ≤0.056 for the GOODS-South field. The SFRs are derived from the luminosities at 1500 Å. We find that the total SFR estimates derived from B, I, and I+B catalogs agree very well (≲0.1 dex), while the SFR from the K catalog is lower by ≈0.2 dex. We show that the latter is due solely to the lower star-forming activity of K-selected intermediate- and low-luminosity (L < L*) galaxies. The SFR of bright (L > L*) galaxies is independent of the selection band, i.e., the same for B-, I-, (I+B)-, and K-selected galaxy samples. At all redshifts, luminous galaxies (L > L*) contribute only approximately one-third to the total SFR. There is no evidence for significant cosmic variance between the SFRs in the FDF and in the GOODS-South field, ≲0.1 dex, consistent with theoretical expectations. The SFRs derived here are in excellent agreement with previous measurements, provided that we assume the same faint-end slope of the luminosity function as previous works (α ~ -1.6). However, our deep FDF data indicate a shallower slope of α = -1.07, implying a SFR lower by ≈0.3 dex. We find the SFR to be roughly constant up to z ≈ 4 and then to decline slowly beyond, if dust extinctions are assumed to be constant with redshift.
Use of Automated Ambulatory-Care Encounter Records for Detection of Acute Illness Clusters, Including Potential Bioterrorism Events

The advent of domestic bioterrorism has emphasized the need for enhanced detection of clusters of acute illness. We describe a monitoring system operational in eastern Massachusetts, based on diagnoses obtained from electronic records of ambulatory-care encounters. Within 24 hours, ambulatory and telephone encounters recording patients with diagnoses of interest are identified and merged into major syndrome groups. Counts of new episodes of illness, rates calculated from health insurance records, and estimates of the probability of observing at least this number of new episodes are reported for syndrome surveillance. Census tracts with unusually large counts are identified by comparing observed with expected syndrome frequencies. During 1996–1999, weekly counts of new cases of lower respiratory syndrome were highly correlated with weekly hospital admissions. This system complements emergency room- and hospital-based surveillance by adding the capacity to rapidly identify clusters of illness, including potential bioterrorism events.
Mechanical Properties for Reliability Analysis of Structures in Glassy Carbon

Despite its good physical properties, the glassy carbon material is not widely used, especially for structural applications. Nevertheless, its transparency to particles and temperature resistance are interesting properties for the applications to vacuum chambers and components in high energy physics. For example, it has been proposed for fast shutter valve in particle accelerator [1] 08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F005200650066003300380032003500380030003900310035000000 [2] 08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F005200650066003300380032003500380030003900320030000000 . The mechanical properties have to be carefully determined to assess the reliability of structures in such a material. In this paper, mechanical tests have been carried out to determine the elastic parameters, the strength and toughness on commercial grades. A statistical approach, based on the Weibull’s distribution, is used to characterize the material both in tension and compression. The results are compared to the literature and the difference of properties for these two loading cases is shown. Based on a Finite Element analysis, a statistical approach is applied to define the reliability of a structural component in glassy carbon. In this paper, the determination of the mechanical properties of glassy carbon allows the analysis of reliability of structures in glassy carbon.
Role of IL-23 and Th17 Cells in Airway Inflammation in Asthma

Asthma is characterized by chronic airway inflammation with intense eosinophil and lymphocyte infiltration, mucus hyperproduction, and airway hyperresponsiveness. Accumulating evidence indicates that antigen-specific Th2 cells and their cytokines such as IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 orchestrate these pathognomonic features of asthma. In addition, we and others have recently shown that IL-17-producing CD4+ T cells (Th17 cells) and IL-23, an IL-12-related cytokine that is essential for survival and functional maturation of Th17 cells, are involved in antigen-induced airway inflammation. In this review, our current understanding of the roles of IL-23 and Th17 cells in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation will be summarized.
A Storage Scheme for Multi-dimensional Databases Using Extendible Array Files

Large scale scientific datasets are generally modeled as k-dimensional arrays, since this model is amenable to the form of analyses and visualization of the scientific phenomenon often investigated. In recent years, organizations have adopted the use of on-line analytical processing (OLAP), methods and statistical analyses to make strategic business decisions using enterprise data that are modeled as multi-dimensional arrays as well. In both of these domains, the datasets have the propensity to gradually grow, reaching orders of terabytes. However, the storage schemes used for these arrays correspond to those where the array elements are allocated in a sequence of consecutive locations according to an ordering of array mapping functions that map k-dimensional indices one-to-one onto the linear locations. Such schemes limit the degree of extendibility of the array to one dimension only. We present a method of allocating storage for the elements of a dense multidimensional extendible array such that the bounds on the indices of the respective dimensions can be arbitrarily extended without reorganizing previously allocated elements. We give a mapping function F∗(), and its inverse F −1 ∗ (), for computing the linear address of an array element given its k-dimensional index. The technique adopts the mapping function, for realizing an extendible array with arbitrary extendibility in main memory, to implement such array files. We show how the extendible array file implementation gives an efficient storage scheme for both scientific and OLAP multi-dimensional datasets that are allowed to incrementally grow without incurring the prohibitive costs of reorganizations. Proceedings of the third Workshop on STDBM Seoul, Korea, September 11, 2006
Application of a Newly Developed High-Sensitivity HBsAg Chemiluminescent Enzyme Immunoassay for Hepatitis B Patients with HBsAg Seroclearance

ABSTRACT We modified and automated a highly sensitive chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) for surface antigen (HBsAg) detection using a combination of monoclonal antibodies, each for a specific epitope of HBsAg, and by improving an earlier conjugation technique. Of 471 hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers seen in our hospital between 2009 and 2012, 26 were HBsAg seronegative as determined by the Abbott Architect assay. The Lumipulse HBsAg-HQ assay was used to recheck those 26 patients who demonstrated seroclearance by the Abbott Architect assay. The performance of the Lumipulse HBsAg-HQ assay was compared with that of a quantitative HBsAg detection system (Abbott Architect) and the Roche Cobas TaqMan HBV DNA assay (CTM) (lower limit of detection, 2.1 log copies/ml) using blood serum samples from patients who were determined to be HBsAg seronegative by the Abbott Architect assay. Ten patients had spontaneous HBsAg loss. Of 8 patients treated with nucleotide analogues (NAs), two were HBsAg seronegative after stopping lamivudine therapy and 6 were HBsAg seronegative during entecavir therapy. Eight acute hepatitis B (AH) patients became HBsAg seronegative. Of the 26 patients, 16 were HBsAg positive by the Lumipulse HBsAg-HQ assay but negative by the Abbott Architect assay. The differences between the two assays in terms of detectable HBsAg persisted over the long term in the spontaneous loss group (median, 10 months), the NA-treated group (2.5 months), and the AH group (0.5 months). In 9 patients, the Lumipulse HBsAg-HQ assay detected HBsAg when HBV DNA was negative by the CTM assay. HBsAg was also detected by the Lumipulse HBsAg-HQ assay in 4 patients with an anti-HBs concentration of >10 mIU/ml, 3 of whom had no HBsAg escape mutations. The automatic, highly sensitive HBsAg CLEIA Lumipulse HBsAg-HQ is a convenient and precise assay for HBV monitoring.
Breast Milk-Transforming Growth Factor-β2 Specifically Attenuates IL-1β-Induced Inflammatory Responses in the Immature Human Intestine via an SMAD6- and ERK-Dependent Mechanism

Background: Breast milk is known to protect the infant against infectious and immuno-inflammatory diseases, but the mechanisms of this protection are poorly understood. Objectives: We hypothesized that transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2), an immunoregulatory cytokine abundant in breast milk, may have a direct anti-inflammatory effect on immature human intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). Methods: Human fetal ileal organ culture, primary human fetal IECs, and the human fetal small intestinal epithelial cell line H4 were stimulated with interleukin 1β (IL-1β) with or without TGF-β2. Pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion and mRNA expression were measured by ELISA and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Alterations in ERK signalling were detected from IECs by immunoblotting and in fetal ileal tissue culture by immunohistochemistry. SMAD6 knockdown was performed by transfecting the cells with SMAD6 siRNA. Results: TGF-β2 significantly attenuated IL-1β-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production in fetal intestinal organ culture and the cell culture models. In addition, TGF-β2 reduced the IL-1β-induced IL-8 and IL-6 mRNA response in H4 cells. TGF-β2 markedly inhibited IL-1β-induced phosphorylation of ERK, which was necessary for the cytokine response. The inhibitory effect of TGF-β2 on IL-1β-induced cytokine production was completely abrogated by SMAD6 siRNA knockdown. Conclusions: TGF-β2 attenuates IL-1β-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production in immature human IECs by inhibiting ERK signalling. The anti-inflammatory effect of TGF-β2 is dependent on SMAD6. Breast milk TGF-β2 may provide the neonate with important immunoregulatory support. TGF-β2 might provide a novel means to improve intestinal immunophysiology in premature neonates.
Comparative study on the physico-chemical, textural and thermal properties of instant porridges based on spelt and oats

Changing of food habits and increased preference for healthy meals, along with the growth of breakfast industry has increased the size of ready-made“ and instant porridge market in Serbia. Porridges dominantly marketed are those based on oats. However, there is a growing interest of local producers to use other cereals for porridge production. Therefore, this work was aimed to estimate the porridge-making ability of spelt wheat (Triticum aestivum spp. spelta) in comparison to that of oats. The studied porridges are instant products, based on extruded spelt or oat flour. The proximate composition, hydration properties (water absorption index-WAI and water solubility indexWSI), consistency and thermal properties were determined with the aim to compare the characteristics of the porridges. In general, the spelt-based porridge had more total and insoluble fibреs, proteins, minerals and less available carbohydrates in comparison to the oat porridge. The spelt porridge may be eligible to bear the nutritional claim „high-fibre“ which is advantageous for the market viability of the product. Both porridges had >20% of damaged starch due to high initial content in the flours and extrusion processing of flours, though spelt-based extrudate and porridge were significantly higher in this parameter. Oat-based extrudate and porridge were higher in resistant starch content. The consistency was similar between the porridges, although spelt tended to form slightly firmer and cohesive porridge. Spelt porridge had better hydration properties (higher WAI) which are a featured attribute for this kind of product, similarly to higher consistency values. Spelt wheat, in its extruded form, is a suitable ingredient for porridge production.
Clinical Outcome of Lumbar Total Disc Replacement Using ProDisc-L in Degenerative Disc Disease: Minimum 5-Year Follow-up Results at a Single Institute

Study Design. A retrospective clinical data analysis. Objective. To determine the therapeutic effectiveness of lumbar total disc replacement (TDR) using ProDisc-L (Synthes Spine, West Chester, PA) in the patients with degenerative disc diseases (DDD) with a minimum follow-up of 5 years. Summary of Background Data. Early successful clinical results of lumbar TDR have been reported. However, few reports have published its therapeutic effectiveness in the long term. Methods. The patients were examined preoperatively and at 3 months, 1 year, 2 years, and more than 5 years postoperatively, and assessed using visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), physical health component summary (PCS) of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire, and sporting activity scale scores. At last follow-up visits, two additional questions were asked: satisfaction with surgery and willingness to undergo the same treatment. Finally, clinical success was assessed using the Food and Drug Administration definition. Results. Thirty-five patients were included in the study. The mean follow-up period was 72 months (6 years). Postoperatively, all outcome measure scores (VAS, mean ODI, PCS, and sports activity scores) immediately improved and these improvements were maintained at last follow-up visits with statistical significance. However, outcome score improvements were observed to be slightly, though significantly, lower at last follow-up visits than at 1 or 2 years postoperatively. Eighty-eight percent of patients were “satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with treatment and 60% were prepared to undergo the same treatment again. Twenty-five patients (71.4%) achieved clinical success. Conclusion. This study reveals that lumbar TDR using ProDisc-L is a safe and effective treatment for chronic back pain caused by lumbar DDD as assessed at more than 5 years postoperatively. Nevertheless, outcome scores were slightly, though significantly lower at last follow-up visits than at 1 and 2 years postoperatively. A longer-term follow-up study is warranted.
Speech processing using higher order statistics

The potential use of third-order statistics (TOS) in speech processing applications is examined. A source-system speech representation and analysis algorithm is considered. It computes the autoregressive (AR) parameters of speech from its third-order cumulants. The TOS-based AR estimates are compared with those obtained using second order statistics. Results are given voiced and unvoiced speech segments which are corrupted by additive Gaussian noise. The TOS-based AR estimation algorithm is also used to estimate the parameters of the short-term prediction filter of a code excited linear prediction (CELP) algorithm. <<ETX>>
Vitamin D Deficiency in 7 - 11 Year Old Children in Eastern Iran

1Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, IR Iran 2Department of Pediatrics, Birjand Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, IR Iran 3Department of Social Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, IR Iran 4Department of Pathology, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, IR Iran *Corresponding author: Kokab Namakin, Department of Pediatrics, Birjand Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, IR Iran. Tel: +98-56144430019, Fax: +98-5632214704, E-mail: d_namakin@yahoo.com
The Prostate 68 : 1763 ^ 1772 ( 2008 ) Dose-DependentGrowth Inhibition InVivoof PC-3 ProstateCancerWith aReduction in TumoralGrowth FactorsAfterTherapyWith GHRHAntagonistMZ-J-7-138

Elmar Heinrich, Andrew V. Schally,* Stefan Buchholz, Ferenc G. Rick, Gabor Halmos, Melinda Mile, Kate Groot, Florian Hohla, Marta Zarandi, and Jozsef L. Varga Veterans AffairsMedical Center,TulaneUniversity SchoolofMedicine,NewOrleans, Louisiana Veterans AffairsMedical Centerand South FloridaVeterans Affairs Foundationfor ResearchandEducation, Miami, Florida Departmentsof PathologyandMedicine,DivisionofOncology/Hematology,Miller SchoolofMedicine, UniversityofMiami,Miami, Florida Departmentof Biopharmacy, Schoolof Pharmacy,Universityof Debrecen,Debrecen,Hungary
EXPOSURE PARAMETERS OF MAMMOGRAMS WITH AND WITHOUT MASS LESIONS FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN BREAST CARE CENTRE

In South African breast care centres, full-field digital mammography units provide breast imaging services to symptomatic and asymptomatic women simultaneously. This study evaluated the technical exposure parameters of 800 mammograms of which 100 mammograms had obvious mass lesions in the fibroglandular tissue. The average breast compression force of mammograms with mass lesions in the fibroglandular tissue was 18.4% less than the average breast compression force of mammograms without mass lesions. The average mean glandular dose (MGD), tube potential (kVp) and compressed breast thickness (CBT) values were 2.14 mGy, 30.5 kVp and 63.9 mm, respectively, for mammograms with mass lesions, and 1.45 mGy, 29.6 kVp and 56.9 mm, respectively, for mammograms without mass lesions. Overall, the average MGD and mean CBT of mammograms with mass lesion were significantly higher compared to those without mass lesions (p < 0.05), although there was no significant difference in their tube potentials (p > 0.05).
A qualitative study into the attitudes of patients and staff towards violence and aggression in a high security hospital.

This paper provides a brief overview of research conducted within a high security hospital to ascertain staff and patient views on how aggression and violence are managed and their subsequent impact on all parties. Both the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE, 2004) and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2005) have emphasized the need to take account of contextual factors when considering the cause and management of aggression. While patient variables (internal) are important within psychiatry, the environment or setting (including culture), relational issues (including gender) and staff attitude are equally important (Jansen et al. 2006). Duxbury & Whittington (2005) found that poor communication contributed to the development of patient aggression, whereby restrictions and environmental factors are fundamental to relational issues. There is currently very little research conducted in high secure services (HSS) that focuses on the management of violence and aggression (MVA) in this context. Uppal & McMurran (2009) report on the frequency and nature of incidents of violence, selfharm and security and Ireland (2006) consider bullying within this context. However, these studies do not focus specifically on the attitudes of staff and patients to violence and aggression. McKeown & Stowell-Smith (2006) speak about the construction of ‘difference’ between staff and patients, who exist in conditions of high security; they suggest that we separate ourselves from those with psychopathic personalities to cope with the work, but acknowledge that this creates its own difficulties within the establishment of the therapeutic relationship. More recently, Canadian authors Jacob et al. (2009) stated that ‘Forensic psychiatric nurses work with individuals who may evoke feelings of empathy as well as feelings of disgust, repulsion, and fear. ’ (p. 153). They attribute these emotions to the fear of caring for individuals who are viewed as ‘monsters’ (Jacob et al. 2009). This view resonates with that of McKeown & Stowell-Smith (2006), who suggest that in the face of abjection, staff create a context that constructs a sense of difference and ‘otherness’ between themselves and the patients. They suggest that developing greater understanding, and thus a better attitude towards the client group, would benefit forensic mental health nurses. This in turn, would enable them to engage in a reflective process regarding their professional practice, and, as a result, improve the provision of nursing care. Such commentary is valuable, but is based upon observation and experience rather than research.
Effect of oil gum massage therapy on common pathogenic oral microorganisms - A randomized controlled trial

Objectives: (i) To assess reduction in Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus species count in saliva sample after ten minutes of oil gum massage therapy (massage of gingival tissues) per day for three weeks with sesame oil, olive oil, and coconut oil in three different groups of subjects. (ii) To compare the efficacy between three different oils and the “gold standard” chlorhexidine gel. (iii) To assess reduction in gingival scores and plaque scores of study subjects. Materials and Methods: Study design – Single center, parallel design, and triple blind randomized clinical study with four treatment groups. Participants: 32 of the 40 study subjects working as housekeeping personnel at Kasturba Hospital, Manipal; aged 18-55 years completed the three-week study period. Interventions: Subjects were randomly assigned to massage their gingiva everyday for three weeks with sesame oil, olive oil, coconut oil (tests), and Chlorhexidine gel (control). Oral health status and paraffin stimulated saliva samples were obtained at baseline and after three weeks of oil gum massage therapy. Outcome measures: Microbial culture, plaque index, and gingival index. Statistical analysis: Paired t test and Kruskal Wallis test. Results: There was a significant reduction in mean Streptococcus mutans count, Lactobacillus count, plaque scores, and gingival scores in all four groups after the study. However, there was no significant difference found in percentage reduction of these variables between the four groups. Conclusion: These oils can be used as valuable preventive agents in maintaining and improving oral health in low socioeconomic status population. However, it is recommended that further research should be conducted in other populations with a larger sample and longer duration of follow-up period.
A General Retraining Framework for Scalable Adversarial Classification

Traditional classification algorithms assume that training and test data come from similar distributions. This assumption is violated in adversarial settings, where malicious actors modify instances to evade detection. A number of custom methods have been developed for both adversarial evasion attacks and robust learning. We propose the first systematic and general-purpose retraining framework which can: a) boost robustness of an \emph{arbitrary} learning algorithm, in the face of b) a broader class of adversarial models than any prior methods. We show that, under natural conditions, the retraining framework minimizes an upper bound on optimal adversarial risk, and show how to extend this result to account for approximations of evasion attacks. Extensive experimental evaluation demonstrates that our retraining methods are nearly indistinguishable from state-of-the-art algorithms for optimizing adversarial risk, but are more general and far more scalable. The experiments also confirm that without retraining, our adversarial framework dramatically reduces the effectiveness of learning. In contrast, retraining significantly boosts robustness to evasion attacks without significantly compromising overall accuracy.