Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inference for a mixture of symmetric distributions under log-concavity

In this article, we reconsider the problem of estimating the unknown symmetric density in a two-component location mixture model under the assumption that the symmetric density is log-concave. When consistent estimators for the shift locations and mixing probability are used, we show that the nonparametric log-concave Maximum Likelihood estimator (MLE) of both the mixed density and that of the unknown symmetric component are consistent in the Hellinger distance. In case the estimators for the shift locations and mixing probability are p n-consistent, we establish that these MLE’s converge to the truth at the rate n 2=5 in the L1 distance. To estimate the shift locations and mixing probability, we use the estimators proposed by Hunter et al. (2007). The unknown symmetric density is eciently computed using the R package logcondens.mode.
Information Security Analysis Using Game Theory and Simulation

- Information security analysis can be performed using game theory implemented in dynamic simulations of Agent-Based Models (ABMs). Such simulations can be verified with the results from game theory analysis and further used to explore larger scale, real world scenarios involving multiple attackers, defenders, and information assets. Our approach addresses imperfect information and scalability that allows us to also address previous limitations of current stochastic game models. Such models only consider perfect information assuming that the defender is always able to detect attacks; assuming that the state transition probabilities are fixed before the game assuming that the players’ actions are always synchronous; and that most models are not scalable with the size and complexity of systems under consideration. Our use of ABMs yields results of selected experiments that demonstrate our proposed approach and provides a quantitative measure for realistic information systems and their related security scenarios.
Serologic and fecal markers to predict response to induction therapy in dogs with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease

Background Little information is available of markers that assess the disease course in dogs with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Objectives Evaluate relationship between disease severity and serum and fecal biomarkers in dogs with idiopathic IBD before and after treatment. Animals Sixteen dogs with idioptahic IBD and 13 healthy dogs. Methods Prospective case control study. Canine IBD activity index (CIBDAI) clinical score, serum concentrations of C‐reactive protein (CRP), perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA), and serum and fecal canine calprotectin (cCP) were measured before and after 21 days of treatment. Results Serum CRP (median 3.5 mg/L; range: 0.1‐52.4 mg/L), fecal cCP (median 92.3 μg/g; range: 0.03‐637.5 μg/g), and CIBDAI scores significantly increased in dogs with IBD before treatment compared with serum CRP (median 0.2 mg/L; range: 0.1‐11.8 mg/L; P < .001), fecal cCP (median 0.67 μg/g; range: 0.03‐27.9 μg/g; P < .001) and CIBDAI (P < .001) after treatment. No significant associations between CIBDAI scores and before or after treatment serum biomarkers. There was a significant association between fecal cCP and CIBDAI scores before treatment (rho = 0.60, P = .01). CRP and fecal cCP significantly decreased after treatment (median 3.5 mg/L v. 0.2 mg/L; P < .001 and 92.3 μg/g v. 0.67 μg/g; P = .001, respectively). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Our data indicate that measurement of fecal cCP concentration is a useful biomarker for noninvasive evaluation of intestinal inflammation. Dogs with severe signs of GI disease more often have abnormal markers than dogs having less severe disease.
Compelling Self-Motion Through Virtual Environments Without Actual Self-Motion – Using Self-Motion Illusions ('Vection') to Improve VR User Experience

While modern computer graphics and virtual reality (VR) simulations can have stunning photorealism, they are often unable to provide a life-like and compelling sensation of moving through the simulated world. This is in stark contrast to our real-world experience, where locomotion through the environment is naturally accompanied by the embodied sensation of self-motion, even when we are not actively walking but using other transportation devices like bicycles, cars, or buses. This fundamental difference in which we perceive simulated versus actual motions might negatively impact the perceived realism, behavioural effectiveness, user acceptance, and commercial success of virtual reality technology and applications. In this chapter, I propose and discuss how investigating, utilizing, and optimizing self-motion illusions (“vection”) might be a lean and elegant way to overcome such shortcomings and provide a truly “moving experience” in computermediated environments without the need to physically move, thus reducing overall cost and effort. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the state of the art in research on visually-induced self-motion illusions in real and virtual environments. Specific focus will be on a topic that is of particular interest in the context of VR but has not been thoroughly reviewed before: Namely how self-motion illusions are not only affected by physical stimulus parameters themselves via bottom-up perceptual processes (as discussed in section 3), but also by the way we look at, perceive, and interpret the stimulus, how it is integrated into the overall display setup, and whether or not actual motion might be possible (see section 4). Knowledge of these factors can not only deepen our understanding of the complex processes underlying self-motion perception, but might also be of particular interest for VR simulations and other immersive/multi-media applications like gaming or movies, as these factors can often be manipulated with relatively little effort. Section 5 will provide a brief overview on recent studies on multi-modal contributions and interactions for vection. These indicate significant cross-modal benefits, which could, together with the results presented in earlier sections, be employed to design more effective-yet-affordable VR interfaces, as will be discussed in the final section and throughout this chapter. Possible side-effects of vection in VR are discussed in section 6.
Sex and Gender Differences in Pain and Inflammation NMDA receptor antagonism disrupts the development of morphine analgesic tolerance in male , but not female C 57 BL / 6 J mice

Camron D. Bryant, Shoshana Eitan, Kevin Sinchak, Michael S. Fanselow, and Christopher J. Evans Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience and Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, Neuroscience and Behavior Laboratory, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts; and Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, California
Low Plasma ADAMTS13 Activity Is Associated with Coagulopathy, Endothelial Cell Damage and Mortality after Severe Paediatric Trauma

Abstract Decrease of plasma activity of ADAMTS13, a metalloenzyme that cleaves von Willebrand factor (VWF) and prevents adhesion and aggregation of platelets, has been reported early after onset of systemic inflammation resulting from infections and after severe trauma. Here, we determined whether trauma-induced systemic (sterile) inflammation would be associated with a reduction of plasma ADAMTS13 activity in paediatric patients and its association with disease severity and outcome. Paediatric patients (n = 106) with severe trauma at a level 1 paediatric trauma centre between 2014 and 2016 were prospectively enrolled. Blood samples were collected upon arrival and at 24 hours and analysed for plasma levels of ADAMTS13 activity, VWF antigen, collagen binding activity, human neutrophil peptides (HNP) 1–3, coagulation abnormalities, endothelial glycocalyx damage and clinical outcome. Plasma samples were also collected for similar measurements from 52 healthy paediatric controls who underwent elective minor surgery. The median age of patients was 9 years with 81% sustaining blunt trauma. The median injury severity score was 22 and the mortality rate was 11%. Plasma levels of ADAMTS13 activity were significantly lower and plasma levels of VWF antigen and HNP 1–3 proteins were significantly higher for paediatric trauma patients on admission and at 24 hours when compared with controls. Finally, the lowest plasma ADAMTS13 activity was found in patients who died from their injuries. We conclude that relative plasma deficiency of ADAMTS13 activity may be associated with more severe traumatic injury, significant endothelial glycocalyx damage, coagulation abnormalities and mortality after severe trauma in paediatric patients.
Whispering-gallery mode resonators for highly unidirectional laser action

Optical microcavities can be designed to take advantage of total internal reflection, which results in resonators supporting whispering-gallery modes (WGMs) with a high-quality factor (Q factor). One of the crucial problems of these devices for practical applications such as designing microcavity lasers, however, is that their emission is nondirectional due to their radial symmetry, in addition to their inefficient power output coupling. Here we report the design of elliptical resonators with a wavelength-size notch at the boundary, which support in-plane highly unidirectional laser emission from WGMs. The notch acts as a small scatterer such that the Q factor of the WGMs is still very high. Using midinfrared (λ ∼ 10 μm) injection quantum cascade lasers as a model system, an in-plane beam divergence as small as 6 deg with a peak optical power of ∼5 mW at room temperature has been demonstrated. The beam divergence is insensitive to the pumping current and to the notch geometry, demonstrating the robustness of this resonator design. The latter is scalable to the visible and the near infrared, thus opening the door to very low-threshold, highly unidirectional microcavity diode lasers.
Simulated tri-trophic networks reveal complex relationships between species diversity and interaction diversity

Most of earth’s biodiversity is comprised of interactions among species, yet it is unclear what causes variation in interaction diversity across space and time. We define interaction diversity as the richness and relative abundance of interactions linking species together at scales from localized, measurable webs to entire ecosystems. Large-scale patterns suggest that two basic components of interaction diversity differ substantially and predictably between different ecosystems: overall taxonomic diversity and host specificity of consumers. Understanding how these factors influence interaction diversity, and quantifying the causes and effects of variation in interaction diversity are important goals for community ecology. While previous studies have examined the effects of sampling bias and consumer specialization on determining patterns of ecological networks, these studies were restricted to two trophic levels and did not incorporate realistic variation in species diversity and consumer diet breadth. Here, we developed a food web model to generate tri-trophic ecological networks, and evaluated specific hypotheses about how the diversity of trophic interactions and species diversity are related under different scenarios of species richness, taxonomic abundance, and consumer diet breadth. We investigated the accumulation of species and interactions and found that interactions accumulate more quickly; thus, the accumulation of novel interactions may require less sampling effort than sampling species in order to get reliable estimates of either type of diversity. Mean consumer diet breadth influenced the correlation between species and interaction diversity significantly more than variation in both species richness and taxonomic abundance. However, this effect of diet breadth on interaction diversity is conditional on the number of observed interactions included in the models. The results presented here will help develop realistic predictions of the relationships between consumer diet breadth, interaction diversity, and species diversity within multi-trophic communities, which is critical for the conservation of biodiversity in this period of accelerated global change.
Cluster-randomised controlled trials of individual and combined water, sanitation, hygiene and nutritional interventions in rural Bangladesh and Kenya: the WASH Benefits study design and rationale

Introduction Enteric infections are common during the first years of life in low-income countries and contribute to growth faltering with long-term impairment of health and development. Water quality, sanitation, handwashing and nutritional interventions can independently reduce enteric infections and growth faltering. There is little evidence that directly compares the effects of these individual and combined interventions on diarrhoea and growth when delivered to infants and young children. The objective of the WASH Benefits study is to help fill this knowledge gap. Methods and analysis WASH Benefits includes two cluster-randomised trials to assess improvements in water quality, sanitation, handwashing and child nutrition—alone and in combination—to rural households with pregnant women in Kenya and Bangladesh. Geographically matched clusters (groups of household compounds in Bangladesh and villages in Kenya) will be randomised to one of six intervention arms or control. Intervention arms include water quality, sanitation, handwashing, nutrition, combined water+sanitation+handwashing (WSH) and WSH+nutrition. The studies will enrol newborn children (N=5760 in Bangladesh and N=8000 in Kenya) and measure outcomes at 12 and 24 months after intervention delivery. Primary outcomes include child length-for-age Z-scores and caregiver-reported diarrhoea. Secondary outcomes include stunting prevalence, markers of environmental enteropathy and child development scores (verbal, motor and personal/social). We will estimate unadjusted and adjusted intention-to-treat effects using semiparametric estimators and permutation tests. Ethics and dissemination Study protocols have been reviewed and approved by human subjects review boards at the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, and Innovations for Poverty Action. Independent data safety monitoring boards in each country oversee the trials. This study is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of California, Berkeley. Registration Trial registration identifiers (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov): NCT01590095 (Bangladesh), NCT01704105 (Kenya).
Association between Oral Anticoagulation Knowledge, Anticoagulation Control, and Demographic Characteristics of Patients Attending an Anticoagulation Clinic in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Prospective Evaluation

Purpose: To assess the level of knowledge on warfarin therapy and anticoagulation control, and explore the association between knowledge and anticoagulation control in a section of Saudi population. Methods: A cross-sectional prospective survey was conducted over a 4-week period in 2013 at King Khalid University Hospital outpatient anticoagulant clinic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Adult patients who were either discharged on warfarin or taking warfarin and attending the outpatient anticoagulant clinic for ≥ 6 months were invited to participate in the study. A questionnaire was used to collect the demographic data and knowledge of warfarin therapy (8-item). International Normalized Ratio (INR) readings were obtained from electronic-laboratory database. Good knowledge of warfarin was defined as a score of ≥ 75 % and good (INR) control was defined as ≥ 75 % Time INR in therapeutic range (TTR) calculated using Rosendaal method. Results: A total of 105 patients completed the questionnaire with a response rate of 49.2 %. Seventy nine patients (75.2 %) had good knowledge of warfarin (scored ≥ 75 %), but only 35 patients (33.3 %) had good anticoagulation control (TTR ≥ 75 %). An association was observed between patients with no formal education and poor warfarin knowledge (p = 0.012). Smoking history was also linked with warfarin knowledge (p = 0.025). INR control results significantly differed by marital status with divorced/widow status displaying poor INR control (p = 0.028). Lastly, no association was found between good knowledge and good INR control (OR 1.35, 95 %; CI 0.537 – 3.392). Conclusions: The majority of patients seen at the outpatient anticoagulation clinic have good knowledge of warfarin therapy although only a third showed good anticoagulation control. The results indicate no significant association between knowledge of warfarin therapy and anticoagulation control. Studies with a larger sample size are recommended to verify the foregoing results. Keywords: Oral Anticoagulant, Warfarin, International Normalized Ratio, Knowledge, Anticoagulation Control
Cardiorespiratory fitness and the metabolic syndrome: Roles of inflammation and abdominal obesity

Objective Individuals with metabolic syndrome have increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We aimed to test the hypothesis that a high level of cardiorespiratory fitness (CR-fitness), counteracts accumulation of visceral fat, decreases inflammation and lowers risk factors of the metabolic syndrome. Method The study sample included 1,293 Danes (age 49–52 years) who from 2009 to 2011 participated in the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank, including a questionnaire, physical tests, and blood samples. Multiple linear regression models were performed with CR-fitness as exposure and plasma levels of cytokines and high sensitive C-reactive protein as outcomes and measures of abdominal obesity were added to test if they explained the potential association. Similarly, multiple linear regression models were performed with CR-fitness as exposure and factors of the metabolic syndrome as outcomes and the potential explanation by inflammatory biomarkers were tested. All models were adjusted for the effect of age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, socio-economic status, and acute inflammatory events within the preceding two weeks. Results CR-fitness was inversely associated with high sensitive C-reactive protein, Interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-18, and directly associated with the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, but not associated with tumor necrosis factor alpha, interferon gamma or IL-1β. Abdominal obesity could partly explain the significant associations. Moreover, CR-fitness was inversely associated with an overall metabolic syndrome score, as well as triglycerides, glycated haemoglobin A1c, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and directly associated with high-density lipoprotein. Single inflammatory biomarkers and a combined inflammatory score partly explained these associations. Conclusion Data suggest that CR-fitness has anti-inflammatory effects that are partly explained by a reduction in abdominal obesity and a decrease in the metabolic syndrome risk profile. The overall inflammatory load was mainly driven by high sensitive C-reactive protein and IL-6.
Effects of parenteral ω-3 fatty acid supplementation in postoperative gastrointestinal cancer on immune function and length of hospital stay: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Omega-3 fatty acids are widely used in nutritional support. However, whether parenteral supplementation with ω-3 fatty acids is effective for gastrointestinal cancer patients remains uncertain. This study assessed the effects of this form of parenteral nutrition on immune function and clinical outcomes in postoperative gastrointestinal cancer patients. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN We searched Medline, Embase, Scopus, and the reference lists of selected studies to identify randomized controlled trials that compared ω-3 fatty acids with a control, and that included immune indices, infectious complications, or length of hospital stay in the final outcomes. The odds ratio and weighted mean difference with 95% confidence intervals were calculated and the I2 statistic was used to assess heterogeneity. RESULTS Seven trials with a total of 457 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Five pooled trials with 373 participants indicated that the incidence of infectious complications was significantly different between the intervention and control groups (odds ratio: 0.36; 95% confidence interval: 0.18, 0.74, p<0.05). Five trials involving 385 participants indicated that parenteral ω-3 fatty acid supplementation significantly shortened the length of hospital stay (weighted mean difference: -2.29, 95% confidence interval: -3.64, -0.93; p<0.05). Meta-analysis also indicated that ω-3 fatty acids increased the level of CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ ratio. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that parenteral ω-3 fatty acid supplementation is beneficial for gastrointestinal cancer patients, and is accompanied by improved postoperative immune function and satisfactory clinical outcomes.
Elimination of Outliers from 2-D Point Sets Using the Helmholtz Principle

A method for modeling and removing outliers from 2-D sets of scattered points is presented. The method relies on a principle due to Helmholtz stating that every large deviation from uniform noise should be perceptible, provided that the deviation is generated by an a contrario model of geometric structures. By assuming local linearity, we first employ a robust algorithm to model the local manifold of the corrupted data by local line segments. Our rationale is that long line segments should not be expected in a noisy set of points. This assumption leads to the modeling of the lengths of the line segments by a Pareto distribution, which is the adopted a contrario model for the observations. The model is successfully evaluated on two problems in computer vision: shape recovery and linear regression.
Short-Term Outcomes and Medical and Surgical Interventions in Infants with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

Abstract Objective The aim of this study is to characterize medical and surgical therapies and short-term outcomes in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Study Design Retrospective analysis of CDH infants admitted to 27 children's hospitals submitting data to Children's Hospital Neonatal Database (CHND) from 2010 to 2013, stratified by gestational age, birth weight, and survival. Results A total of 572 infants were identified, 508 (89%) born ≥ 34 weeks' gestation and ≥ 2 kg. More mature infants had higher APGAR scores, shorter duration of mechanical ventilation, and were more likely to receive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Overall, mortality for the cohort was 29%, with mortality lower in infants born ≥ 34 weeks' gestation and ≥ 2 kg (26 vs. 50%, p < 0.01). Nonsurvivors were more likely to receive treatment with high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV), vasopressors, pulmonary vasodilators, and ECMO, and to have associated major congenital anomalies than survivors. In hospital morbidity and complications were relatively uncommon among survivors. Conclusion Infants with CDH have a high risk of morbidity and mortality, and for preterm infants with CDH those risks are amplified. Patterns of respiratory and circulatory support appeared to be different for survivors. In addition to established data registries, this consortium of regional neonatal intensive care units provides a new collaborative effort to describe short-term outcomes for infants referred with CDH.