Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Infliximab on the UVB-Induced Apoptosis of Keratinocytes Infected by HPV38 E6/E7

The question of the effect of anti-TNF-alpha in skin carcinogenesis is especially relevant in view of the increased use of these drugs for the treatment of autoinflammatory immune diseases. Since ultraviolet radiation and human papillomavirus are involved in skin carcinogenesis, we wished to investigate the effect of TNF-alpha antagonists on the UVB-induced apoptosis of keratinocytes infected by HPV38. Our results indicate that anti-TNF agent, infliximab, does not contribute to the survival of HPV38-transduced keratinocytes with UVB-induced DNA damages.
Fear conditioning, meaning, and belongingness: a selective association analysis.

Twenty-three subjects rated the belongingness of pairs of conditionable (photographic slides) and unconditioned (e.g., shock, tone, human scream) stimuli. Forty new subjects were then classically conditioned, using rating-defined high (angry face/scream) and low (landscape/scream) belongingness pairs. Finger-pulse responses to the high-belongingness pairs showed superior acquisition and resistance to extinction. Another 40 subjects were conditioned to compound stimuli: a slide (either landscape or angry face) that was the same over trials, and a yellow or blue background that was the discriminant cue for the unconditioned stimulus (scream). When the angry face (the high-belongingness slide) was the invariant part of the compound, relatively poorer differential pulse-volume and skin-conductance conditioning was observed. Thus, depending on the task, a priori belongingness rendered stimuli selectively conditionable, either enhancing or inhibiting visceral response associations.
Issues in the development of auditory-visual speech perception: adults, infants, and children

In this paper we review research by us and others on the development of auditory-visual speech perception in order to draw out issues of interest, pinpoint unanswered questions, and highlight future research directions. Studies using the McGurk Effect have shown that Japanese adults use visual speech information less than do English language adults. Infants perceive the McGurk Effect, and for English language children, it appears that auditory-visual speech perception improves over age, especially between 6 and 8 years. However, the same is not the case for Japanese children.
Digital foam interaction techniques for 3D modeling

Digital Foam is a new input sensor developed to support clay like sculpting and modeling operations. We present techniques facilitating navigation and manipulation operations performed using Spherical Digital Foam as a sole input device. Our free-form sculpting technique allows manipulation of new and existing 3D models using accumulated sculpting like motions. Digital Foam's multi-point pressure sensitive surface captures the separate locations of a user's fingertips allowing controlled manipulation of multiple model vertices simultaneously. Additionally, we developed a technique that allows the camera view and zoom to be controlled by applying varying pressure to the Digital Foam surface. Furthermore, we have designed a menu system tailored for operation using Spherical Digital Foam as a sole input device using both the internal orientation sensor and the pressure sensitive surface. A new higher resolution Spherical Digital Foam input device with 162 unique pressure sensors is presented. This is a significant improvement in comparison to the previous Spherical Digital Foam version with only 21 sensors. We discuss the design issues and how an increased resolution affects the operation and design of the algorithms used. We propose a new dynamic button allocation technique made possible using the new high resolution Spherical Digital Foam. Finally, we performed a trial study using the new 162 sensor Spherical Digital Foam input device to evaluate elements of the menu system.
The Reconstruction of Society: Understanding the Indigenous Response to French and British Rule in Cameroun

Babete and Akum are Bamileke kingdoms located respectively in francophone and anglophone Cameroun. In Babete indigenous political institutions exert little influence over local political and economic life. In contrast, indigenous institutions in Akum remain a vibrant force. What accounts for the difference? The difference reflects the divergent impact of French and British colonial institutions on Bamileke society. ' In francophone Babete colonial institutions severed the tie between individual achievement and participation in local governance, rendering local institutions irrelevant. In anglophone Akum colonial institutions modified but nevertheless retained the link between achievement and participation. Local institutions remained important. Though historically specific, the threads of this analysis carry an important message. Too often, contemporary scholarship assumes an oppositional relationship between state and society. In the popular press a strong, overbearing state is said to crush or drown civil society, while a vibrant civil society necessarily circumscribes state power.2 In many policy analyses the historically centralized state relinquishes authority, and a long dormant civil society steps forward to spearhead needed community development.3 Babete and Akum present a more complicated view. State and society are mutually constitutive. When state actors fashion new rules or new mechanisms for rule enforcement, social actors likewise refashion local institutions to capture or evade these new forms of state power.4 Thus, it can not simply be assumed that civil society lies dormant or that it will readily step forward to govern if the state withdraws. Rather, civil society is constantly reinventing and reformulating itself as individuals seek to advance their individual or collective interests.
The effects of mental health parity on spending and utilization for bipolar, major depression, and adjustment disorders.

OBJECTIVE The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act requires insurance parity for mental health/substance use disorder and general medical services. Previous research found that parity did not increase mental health/substance use disorder spending and lowered out-of-pocket spending. Whether parity's effects differ by diagnosis is unknown. The authors examined this question in the context of parity implementation in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. METHOD The authors compared mental health/substance use disorder treatment use and spending before and after parity (2000 and 2002, respectively) for two groups: FEHB enrollees diagnosed in 1999 with bipolar disorder, major depression, or adjustment disorder (N=19,094) and privately insured enrollees unaffected by the policy in a comparison national sample (N=10,521). Separate models were fitted for each diagnostic group. A difference-in-difference design was used to control for secular time trends and to better reflect the specific impact of parity on spending and utilization. RESULTS Total spending was unchanged among enrollees with bipolar disorder and major depression but decreased for those with adjustment disorder (-$62, 99.2% CI=-$133, -$11). Out-of-pocket spending decreased for all three groups (bipolar disorder: -$148, 99.2% CI=-$217, -$85; major depression: -$100, 99.2% CI=-$123, -$77; adjustment disorder: -$68, 99.2% CI=-$84, -$54). Total annual utilization (e.g., medication management visits, psychotropic prescriptions, and mental health/substance use disorder hospitalization bed days) remained unchanged across all diagnoses. Annual psychotherapy visits decreased significantly only for individuals with adjustment disorders (-12%, 99.2% CI=-19%, -4%). CONCLUSIONS Parity implemented under managed care improved financial protection and differentially affected spending and psychotherapy utilization across groups. There was some evidence that resources were preferentially preserved for diagnoses that are typically more severe or chronic and reduced for diagnoses expected to be less so.
Association of Persistent, Incident, and Remittent Proteinuria With Stroke Risk in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus or Prediabetes Mellitus

Background Proteinuria often changes dynamically, showing either regression or progression. The impact of changes in proteinuria on future stroke risk remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that changes in proteinuria would be associated with stroke risk in patients with diabetes mellitus and prediabetes mellitus. Methods and Results The study population included 17 380 participants with diabetes mellitus or prediabetes mellitus enrolled in a prospective Chinese cohort. From the baseline and 2‐year dipstick screening results, participants were classified as having no proteinuria or remittent, incident, or persistent proteinuria. Reduction in proteinuria was calculated as the baseline minus 2‐year proteinuria. Stroke outcomes were assessed in subsequent follow‐ups. Data were analyzed using Cox proportional‐hazards models. During a median follow‐up of 6.9 years, we identified 751 patients with stroke. Stroke risk was increased for participants with persistent (hazard ratio [HR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18–2.30), incident (HR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.22–1.89), and remittent (HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.01–2.02) proteinuria compared with those with no proteinuria. Persistent proteinuria was associated with a higher risk of stroke for participants with prediabetes mellitus (HR, 2.58; 95% CI, 1.58–4.22) compared with those with diabetes mellitus (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.86–2.12 [P for interaction=0.0083]). Proteinuria reduction contributed to a decrease in stroke incidence (HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.81–0.95). The results were confirmed by sensitivity analyses. Conclusions Persistent, incident, and remittent proteinuria are independent indicators of stroke risk in both diabetic and prediabetic populations.
Efficient and practical authentication of PUF-based RFID tags in supply chains

We propose new methodologies for the authentication of RFID tags along supply chains, exploiting tags equipped with a Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) device. Unlike state-of-the-art approaches that require sharing a large database of challenge-response pairs (CRPs), we achieve a constant amount of shared secret data, oblivious of the number of CRPs and tags to be handled. Such data can be distributed using a secure hardware token. The rest of the data can be released over an insecure one-way communication channel that can be realized by shipping storage media along with goods. We discuss the applicative scenario and perform experiments on pre-production PUF-based tags in order to assess the applicability of our approaches.
Whole-body and muscle protein metabolism are not affected by acute deviations from habitual protein intake in older men: the Hormonal Regulators of Muscle and Metabolism in Aging (HORMA) Study.

BACKGROUND Acute deviations in protein intake before the quantification of protein kinetics in older humans may explain the controversy over the effects of older age on muscle protein synthesis and proteolysis rates. OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that an acute decrease in protein intake from the habitual intake is associated with lower muscle protein synthesis and higher proteolysis rates, whereas an acute increase in protein intake from the habitual intake is associated with higher muscle protein synthesis and lower proteolysis rates. DESIGN In 112 community-dwelling healthy men aged 65-90 y, we quantified resting whole-body [1,2-(13)C(2)]leucine kinetics, muscle mixed protein fractional synthesis rates (FSRs), and muscle proteasome proteolytic enzyme activities after participants consumed for 3 d controlled research meals (0.9-1.1 g protein · kg(-1) · d(-1)) that contained more or less protein than that habitually consumed and that induced alterations in nitrogen balance. RESULTS Protein kinetic parameters were not significantly different between the groups, despite controlled research protein intakes that were lower (-0.2 to -0.3 g · kg(-1) · d(-1)) or higher (+0.2 g · kg(-1) · d(-1)) than habitual intakes and that induced negative (-22 to -25 mg · kg(-1) · d(-1)) or positive (22-25 mg · kg(-1) · d(-1)) nitrogen balance. Within these acutely altered protein intake and nitrogen balance boundaries, a reduction in protein intake from habitual intake and induction of negative nitrogen balance were not associated with higher proteolysis or lower muscle FSR, and an acute increase in protein intake from habitual intake and induction of positive nitrogen balance were not associated with lower proteolysis or higher muscle FSR. A higher quantitative insulin sensitivity check index was associated with lower whole-body proteolysis rates. CONCLUSIONS The practice of acutely controlling protein intake, even at intakes lower than habitual intakes that induce negative nitrogen balance, before quantifying human protein kinetics does not significantly reduce muscle protein synthesis or increase proteolysis. Factors other than protein intake explain lower muscle protein synthesis rates with advanced age. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00183040.
Communicating to young Chinese about human papillomavirus vaccination: examining the impact of message framing and temporal distance

ABSTRACT This research investigated the influence of message framing (gain or loss) and temporal distance (present or future) on the intention of Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. A total of 156 Chinese undergraduates participated in a controlled experiment in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China. Results showed that message framing and temporal distance interacted to impact the intention of HPV vaccination. Particularly, among participants who had no prior knowledge of HPV vaccine, the gain-present and loss-future framed messages resulted in more positive attitudes toward the message, higher degree of perceived severity of HPV infection, and more likelihood to get HPV vaccination than the gain-future and loss-present framed messages. Implications of the findings were discussed.
EXCHANGE RATE FUNDAMENTALS, FORECASTING, AND SPECULATION: BAYESIAN MODELS IN BLACK MARKETS

SUMMARY Although speculative activity is central to black markets for currency, the out‐of‐sample performance of structural models in those settings is unknown. We substantially update the literature on empirical determinants of black market rates and evaluate the out‐of‐sample performance of linear models and non‐parametric Bayesian treed Gaussian process (BTGP) models against the random walk benchmark. Fundamentals‐based models outperform the benchmark in out‐of‐sample prediction accuracy and trading rule profitability measures given future values of fundamentals. In simulated real‐time trading exercises, however, the BTGP achieves superior realized profitability, accuracy and market timing, while linear models do no better than a random walk. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gesture spotting using wrist worn microphone and 3-axis accelerometer

We perform continuous activity recognition using only two wrist-worn sensors - a 3-axis accelerometer and a microphone. We build on the intuitive notion that two very different sensors are unlikely to agree in classification of a false activity. By comparing imperfect, jumping window classifications from each of these sensors, we are able discern activities of interest from null or uninteresting activities. Where one sensor alone is unable to perform such partitioning, using comparison we are able to report good overall system performance of up to 70% accuracy. In presenting these results, we attempt to give a more-in depth visualization of the errors than can be gathered from confusion matrices alone.
HIV-1 RNA in plasma and genital tract secretions in women infected with HIV-1.

To assess antiretroviral therapy, all compartments, including the genital tract, need to be evaluated. HIV-1 RNA was quantified in whole cervicovaginal lavage fluid (CVL) and plasma of 56 women and in the cellular and supernatant fractions of 27 of these women. Overall, we detected HIV-1 RNA in 59% of whole CVL samples and in 61% and 44% of cellular and supernatant fractions of the subset of women, respectively. Detectability of HIV-1 RNA in CVL increased with increasing level of plasma RNA in both unfractionated and cell-associated CVL components (p = .0004 and .002, respectively), but not in the cell-free fraction (p = .29). Mean HIV-1 RNA levels in CVL increased with decreasing CD4 counts (p = .002,) and with increasing plasma HIV-1 RNA (p < .001). Adjusted odds ratios (OR) for detectable CVL RNA were highest for women with CD4 counts <200 cells/mm3 (OR, 10.1; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6-82.7; p = .02) and >50,000 copies/ml of plasma RNA (OR, 25.2; 95% CI, 3.2-554; p = .01). Treatment did not seem to affect RNA detection in CVL after adjusting for plasma RNA and CD4. In conclusion, we found that detectability and level of CVL RNA were closely associated with the cellular fraction of genital secretions in women and strongly correlated with the level of plasma RNA and CD4. Genital tract secretions may need to be tested in the assessment of treatment efficacy and this can easily be accomplished with this rapid and easy procedure using whole CVL.
Genetic variations in the serotonergic system contribute to amygdala volume in humans

The amygdala plays a critical role in emotion processing and psychiatric disorders associated with emotion dysfunction. Accumulating evidence suggests that amygdala structure is modulated by serotonin-related genes. However, there is a gap between the small contributions of single loci (less than 1%) and the reported 63–65% heritability of amygdala structure. To understand the “missing heritability,” we systematically explored the contribution of serotonin genes on amygdala structure at the gene set level. The present study of 417 healthy Chinese volunteers examined 129 representative polymorphisms in genes from multiple biological mechanisms in the regulation of serotonin neurotransmission. A system-level approach using multiple regression analyses identified that nine SNPs collectively accounted for approximately 8% of the variance in amygdala volume. Permutation analyses showed that the probability of obtaining these findings by chance was low (p = 0.043, permuted for 1000 times). Findings showed that serotonin genes contribute moderately to individual differences in amygdala volume in a healthy Chinese sample. These results indicate that the system-level approach can help us to understand the genetic basis of a complex trait such as amygdala structure.
Prognostic value of post-thyroidectomy thyroglobulin levels in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer

Background: Thyroglobulin is an excellent biological marker of persistent or recurrent thyroid cancer during long-term follow-up. Most studies investigated its diagnostic value but not its prognostic value over time. We aim to study the prognostic value of thyroglobulin levels early after total thyroidectomy, before iodine ablation. Methods: The study was based on the Rabin Medical Center registry of patients with non-medullary thyroid carcinoma. Data were collected on the clinical, laboratory, and outcome characteristics of 420 consecutive patients followed at our institution for whom early post-operative pre-ablation thyroglobulin values (baseline thyroglobulin) were available. Results: Patients were classified into 4 groups by baseline thyroglobulin level: 0–2, 2–10, 10–100, and >100 ng/ml. Higher levels were associated with a shift toward male gender (p=0.01), larger tumor size (p=0.02), and a more extensive disease (p<0.0001). They were also related to disease persistence and evidence of disease at last follow-up (p<0.0001). The 10 ng/ml cut-off level identified patients with persistent disease with a sensitivity and specificity of 73%, positive predictive value of 43%, and negative predictive value of 89%. On multivariate analysis, the following variables were predictive of persistent disease: baseline thyroglobulin level, male gender, lymph-node involvement, distant metastases, higher tumor invasiveness, and larger tumor size. However, the predictive power of baseline thyroglobulin level was relatively weak (odds ratio 1.002, 95% confidence interval 1.00–1.04). Conclusions: In patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer, a post-thyroidectomy thyroglobulin level <10 ng/ml is associated with a low probability of having persistent disease and can be used combined with other disease characteristics for decisions regarding treatment and follow-up.
Performance analysis of cooperative DF relaying over correlated Nakagami-m fading channels

In this paper, we investigate the performance of cooperative decode-and-forward (DF) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relaying system with orthogonal space-time block code (OSTBC) transmissions over correlated Nakagami-m fading channels. For maximal ratio combining (MRC) receiver at the destination, we provide the compact closed-form expressions for cumulative distribution function (CDF) and probability density function (PDF) of the instantaneous end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In addition, the exact analytical expressions are also derived for the outage probability (OP) and symbol error rate (SER) relying on CDF. Furthermore, we present the asymptotic expressions for OP and SER in the high SNR regime, from which we gain an insight into the system performance and derive the achievable diversity order and array gain. The analytical expressions are validated through Monte-Carlo simulations.
Specific absorption rates and induced current densities for an anatomy‐based model of the human for exposure to time‐varying magnetic fields of MRI

A 6‐mm resolution, 30‐tissue anatomy‐based model of the human body is used to calculate specific absorption rate (SAR) and the induced current density distributions for radiofrequency and switched gradient magnetic fields used for MRI, respectively. For SAR distributions, the finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) method is used including modeling of 16‐conductor birdcage coils and outer shields of dimensions that are typical of body and head coils and a new high‐frequency head coil proposed for the 300–400 MHz band. SARs at 64, 128, and 170 MHz have been found to increase with frequency (f ) as f k where k is on the order of 1.1–1.2. The tables of the calculated maximum 1 kg and 100 g SAR may be used to calculate the maximum RF currents and/or magnetic fields that may be used in order not to exceed the safety guidelines. Because of the low frequencies associated with switched gradient magnetic fields, a quasi‐static impedance method is used for calculation of induced current densities that are compared with the safety guidelines. Magn Reson Med 41:816–823, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Predicting Sex Role Attitudes

Variance in sex role attitudes among a national sample of 1,522 women is investigated using a scale of attitudes toward the appropriate role of women as the dependent variable in a multiple regression analysis. Exchange theory would predict that the traditional orientation toward women, being most costly today, is likely to be less favored by women with the most available alternatives. The findings indeed show that those who supported a traditional role for women were older, less educated, had lower incomes, and lower feelings of personal competence.