Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hits and Misses: Screening Commercial Drivers for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Using Guidelines Recommended by a Joint Task Force

Objective:To evaluate joint task force criteria-based screening for severe obstructive sleep apnea (s-OSA) in commercial drivers. Methods:Among a community-based cohort of licensed commercial vehicle drivers, we assessed utility of the joint task force criteria. We conducted full, 14-channel overnight polysomnography in all drivers, defining s-OSA as an apnea–hypopnea index of 30 or more per hour. Results:One hundred of 104 drivers with successful polysomnography studies were predominantly obese (median body mass index = 32.8 kg/m2; interquartile range = 26.8 to 37.4) and had a median apnea—hypopnea index of 20.6 per hour (interquartile range = 10.0 to 34.2). Examination-based criteria were more effective (sensitivity = 80%; negative posttest probability [nPTP] = 17%) than symptom-based criteria (sensitivity = 63%; nPTP = 23%). Examination and symptom-based criteria combined had high sensitivity (97%) and low nPTP (7%), but poor specificity (19%). Conclusions:Examination-based criteria missed 20% of s-OSA cases. Combining examination with confidentially reported symptoms improved sensitivity but required confirmatory polysomnography in 86%, supporting universal screening of all drivers.
Bacteria-Human Somatic Cell Lateral Gene Transfer Is Enriched in Cancer Samples

There are 10× more bacterial cells in our bodies from the microbiome than human cells. Viral DNA is known to integrate in the human genome, but the integration of bacterial DNA has not been described. Using publicly available sequence data from the human genome project, the 1000 Genomes Project, and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we examined bacterial DNA integration into the human somatic genome. Here we present evidence that bacterial DNA integrates into the human somatic genome through an RNA intermediate, and that such integrations are detected more frequently in (a) tumors than normal samples, (b) RNA than DNA samples, and (c) the mitochondrial genome than the nuclear genome. Hundreds of thousands of paired reads support random integration of Acinetobacter-like DNA in the human mitochondrial genome in acute myeloid leukemia samples. Numerous read pairs across multiple stomach adenocarcinoma samples support specific integration of Pseudomonas-like DNA in the 5′-UTR and 3′-UTR of four proto-oncogenes that are up-regulated in their transcription, consistent with conversion to an oncogene. These data support our hypothesis that bacterial integrations occur in the human somatic genome and may play a role in carcinogenesis. We anticipate that the application of our approach to additional cancer genome projects will lead to the more frequent detection of bacterial DNA integrations in tumors that are in close proximity to the human microbiome.
Eﬀect of coral reefs on wave attenuation and erosion: Mnemba Island, Zanzibar.

Global warming and sea level rise are some of the greatest threats humanity faces today with low-lying coral reef islands most vulnerable to these threats and their repercussions. This study focuses on the mechanisms that have resulted in the severe erosion of low-lying coral reef islands. Mnemba Island, a small island off the north-east coast of Zanzibar is used as a case study. It is a premium high value resort that is currently experiencing severe erosion. The erosion has resulted in the collapse of various structures and utilities littering the eastern beach with debris and fallen Casuarina trees which dominate the Island’s eastern border. Mnemba Island is a typical low-lying island surrounded by a coral reef platform. This study identified the key role these reefs play in wave attenuation and protecting the island from the large swell that surrounds the reef. The reef crest was found to attenuate wave heights by up to 70%. Overfishing and changes in the climate have resulted in the destruction of the coral reef communities that protect the island because of their increase hydraulic roughness and shallowness. Modelling shows that the impact of reduced bed roughness from coral degradation and just 10 cm sea level rise can result in up to 40% increase in wave height at the Island’s eastern beach. Coupled with the large tidal range and increased wave heights propagating over the reef platform, wave driven forces and currents are enhanced thus disturbing the quasi-equilibrium wave climate resulting in major erosion. The fine sediments are lifted into the water column and transported into deeper sections of the reef platform. The low wave energy in the following seasons is insufficient to overcome the critical shear stresses that lift the transported sediments back into the water column and hence, a net loss of sediment off the reef platform is experienced.
Overexpressing a NAM, ATAF, and CUC (NAC) transcription factor enhances drought resistance and salt tolerance in rice

Drought and salinity are major abiotic stresses to crop production. Here, we show that overexpression of stress responsive gene SNAC1 (STRESS-RESPONSIVE NAC 1) significantly enhances drought resistance in transgenic rice (22–34% higher seed setting than control) in the field under severe drought stress conditions at the reproductive stage while showing no phenotypic changes or yield penalty. The transgenic rice also shows significantly improved drought resistance and salt tolerance at the vegetative stage. Compared with WT, the transgenic rice are more sensitive to abscisic acid and lose water more slowly by closing more stomatal pores, yet display no significant difference in the rate of photosynthesis. SNAC1 is induced predominantly in guard cells by drought and encodes a NAM, ATAF, and CUC (NAC) transcription factor with transactivation activity. DNA chip analysis revealed that a large number of stress-related genes were up-regulated in the SNAC1-overexpressing rice plants. Our data suggest that SNAC1 holds promising utility in improving drought and salinity tolerance in rice.
HAGR-D: A Novel Approach for Gesture Recognition with Depth Maps

The hand is an important part of the body used to express information through gestures, and its movements can be used in dynamic gesture recognition systems based on computer vision with practical applications, such as medical, games and sign language. Although depth sensors have led to great progress in gesture recognition, hand gesture recognition still is an open problem because of its complexity, which is due to the large number of small articulations in a hand. This paper proposes a novel approach for hand gesture recognition with depth maps generated by the Microsoft Kinect Sensor (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) using a variation of the CIPBR (convex invariant position based on RANSAC) algorithm and a hybrid classifier composed of dynamic time warping (DTW) and Hidden Markov models (HMM), called the hybrid approach for gesture recognition with depth maps (HAGR-D). The experiments show that the proposed model overcomes other algorithms presented in the literature in hand gesture recognition tasks, achieving a classification rate of 97.49% in the MSRGesture3D dataset and 98.43% in the RPPDI dynamic gesture dataset.
Silvicultural options for young-growth Douglas-fir forests: the Capitol Forest study—establishment and first results.

Descriptive statistics and some initial results are presented for an operation-scale study being conducted by Pacific Northwest Research Station and the Washington Department of Natural Resources in cooperation with the University of Washington and University of Idaho. The study compares a number of widely different silvicultural regimes applied to young-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) stands in western Washington managed for multiple objectives. The first replicate was established in 1997-98. A second replicate was harvested in the summer of 2002 and a third is planned for 2004. The regimes compared are (1) conventional clearcutting, (2) retention of reserve trees to create a two-age stand, (3) small patch cuts dispersed within a thinned matrix, repeated at approximately 15-year intervals to create a mosaic of age classes, (4) group selection within a thinned matrix on an approximate 15-year cycle, (5) repeated thinning on an extended rotation, and (6) an extended rotation on an untreated control. Variables to be evaluated include timber growth and yield, regeneration, harvest costs, sale layout and administration costs, public acceptance, soil disturbance, bird populations, and economics. We have no growth data as yet, but some preliminary results are available for other aspects of the study. • Windfall losses in the first 4 years after establishment were comparatively small, occurring mainly in the two-age and patch cut units and around the margins of the clearcut unit. • Sale preparation costs were lowest for the clearcut and highest for group selection. Costs per acre for the repeated thinning, two-age, and patch cut regimes were similar. Cost per unit of volume decreased, however, as volume removed increased. A major element in costs was cost of marking, which could be considerably reduced in the future. • Harvesting was with ground-based equipment. The clearcut unit had the lowest harvesting cost per thousand board feet. The two-age regime was about 9 percent higher, the patch cut was 17 percent higher, group selection 16 percent higher, and thinning 24 percent higher than the clearcut cost. • Soil surface disturbance was evaluated on a series of transects. In general, as removal intensity increased the percentage of disturbed area increased (22.5 to 32.2 percent). There was little rutting on any of the units. • Photographs of the several treatments were used in a preference survey administered to several user groups. All groups showed a preference for " green natural appearance , " and foresters tended to be …
High Q microcavity light emitting diodes with buried AlN current apertures

We demonstrate a GaN-based high-Q microcavity light emitting diode (MCLED) with a buried AlN current aperture. A thin AlN layer is inserted on the InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells as a current blocking layer and an optical confinement layer. The GaN-based MCLED is composed of a 29-pair GaN/AlN distributed Bragg reflector (DBR), an eight-pair of SiO2/Ta2O5 dielectric DBR, and a three-λ optical thickness InGaN/GaN active region. The current can be injected more effectively in the MCLED with a buried AlN current aperture. The output emission has a dominant emission peak wavelength at 440 nm with a very narrow linewidth of 0.52 nm, corresponding to a cavity Q-value of 846 at a driving current of 5 mA.
Targeting Three Distinct HER2 Domains with a Recombinant Antibody Mixture Overcomes Trastuzumab Resistance

HER2 plays an important role in the development and maintenance of the malignant phenotype of several human cancers. As such, it is a frequently pursued therapeutic target and two antibodies targeting HER2 have been clinically approved, trastuzumab and pertuzumab. It has been suggested that optimal inhibition of HER2 is achieved when utilizing two or more antibodies targeting nonoverlapping epitopes. Superior clinical activity of the trastuzumab plus pertuzumab combination in metastatic breast cancer supports this hypothesis. Because trastuzumab and pertuzumab were not codeveloped, there may be potential for further optimizing HER2 targeting. The study herein evaluated functional activity of anti-HER2 antibody combinations identifying optimal epitope combinations that provide efficacious HER2 inhibition. High-affinity antibodies to all four extracellular domains on HER2 were identified and tested for ability to inhibit growth of different HER2-dependent tumor cell lines. An antibody mixture targeting three HER2 subdomains proved to be superior to trastuzumab, pertuzumab, or a combination in vitro and to trastuzumab in two in vivo models. Specifically, the tripartite antibody mixture induced efficient HER2 internalization and degradation demonstrating increased sensitivity in cell lines with HER2 amplification and high EGFR levels. When compared with individual and clinically approved mAbs, the synergistic tripartite antibody targeting HER2 subdomains I, II, and IV demonstrates superior anticancer activity. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(3); 669–80. ©2015 AACR.
Force Estimation and Slip Detection for Grip Control using a Biomimetic Tactile Sensor

—We introduce and evaluate contact-based tech- niques to estimate tactile properties and detect manipulation events using a biomimetic tactile sensor. In particular, we estimate ﬁnger forces, and detect and classify slip events. In addition, we present a grip force controller that uses the estimation results to gently pick up objects of various weights and texture. The estimation techniques and the grip controller are experimentally evaluated on a robotic system consisting of Barrett arms and hands. Our results indicate that we are able to accurately estimate forces acting in all directions, detect the incipient slip, and classify slip with over 80% success rate.
The Ideal of Relations for the Ring of Invariants of n Points on the Line: Integrality Results

Consider the projective coordinate ring of the Geometric Invariant Theory (GIT) quotient (ℙ1) n //SL(2), with the usual linearization, where n is even. In 1894, Kempe proved that this ring is generated in degree one. In [2] we showed that, over ℚ, the relations between degree one invariants are generated by a class of quadratic relations—the simplest binomial relations—with the exception of n = 6, where there is a single cubic relation. The purpose of this article is to show that these results hold over , and to suggest why they may be true over .
Platelet inhibition and bleeding complications in cardiac surgery: A review

Abstract Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with acetylsalicylic acid and a P2Y12 inhibitor (clopidogrel, ticagrelor, or prasugrel) reduces thrombotic events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but it is also associated with an increased risk of bleeding complications. Excessive bleeding in cardiac surgery patients is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and high costs. In this review, different aspects of platelet inhibition in cardiac surgery patients will be discussed, including direct effects on bleeding and transfusion requirements, discontinuation and reinstitution of antiplatelet drugs before and after surgery, and the use of perioperative platelet function testing.
Predicting Sedimentation in Urban Sewer Conduits

Sedimentation commonly occurs in urban drainage systems, disrupts flow, and is one of the major causes of inundation. The complicated phenomena that alter the cross-section of sewer conduits include transportation, precipitation, and sedimentation, and need to be analyzed for the proper design and efficient maintenance of urban drainage systems. In this study, the discharge capacity of urban drainage systems is simulated and analyzed by considering the pattern of flow of sediments in sewer conduits through a numerical analysis model. The sites of the highest and lowest accumulation of soil were examined as sedimentation occurred, as was discharge due to accumulation in sewer conduits. The purpose of this study is the examination of mathematical models for two-phase fluid flow analysis and the prediction of sedimentation in urban sewer conduits. An expression for the height of the sedimentation was obtained to assess the discharge capacity of urban drainage systems, and a model to predict accumulation in sewer conduits was developed using non-dimensional variables for inlet velocity, inlet particle volume fraction, and particle size. When subjected to linear regression analysis, the model yielded a high correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.899. This satisfied the aims of this study, to obtain a higher discharge capacity and a plan for the design of urban drainage systems.
The Pericardium Substantially Affects the Left Ventricular Diastolic Pressure‐Volume Relationship in the Dog

We instrumented six dog hearts in vivo to study the relationship between left and right ventricular diastolic pressures with the pericardium closed and open. We measured left ventricular septum-to-free wall and anterior-posterior and right ventricular septum-to-free wall dimensions with implanted ultrasonic crystals, together with simultaneous high fidelity pressures. We varied diastolic pressure by infusing or withdrawing Mood or by increasing right ventricular afterload with transient pulmonary artery constriction. Although left and right ventricular diastolic pressures always correlated, this correlation was significantly higher with the pericardium closed than open. We fit left ventricular dfautolic pressure to an equation whkh included first order right ventricular pressure and fourth order left ventricular dimension terms. With the pericardium closed, the right ventricular pressure term dominated; with the pericardium open, left ventricular dimension terms dominated. Therefore, with the pericardium closed, right ventricular pressure was a more powerful predictor of left ventricular pressure than were left ventricular dimensions. In addition, the left ventricle appears much more compliant with the pericardium open. These results led us to modify the traditional view of the diastolic left ventricle as an unconstrained elastic shell of myocardium and replace it with a concept of the diastolic heart as a composite shell of stiff pericardium and compliant muscle, divided into subcompartments (ventricles) by the relatively compliant septum. The influence of the pericardium on the diastolic pressure-volume relationship should be considered in experiments on animals and patient management when the pericardium is open or closeab.
Microstrip back-cavity Hilbert Fractal Antenna for experimental detection of breast tumors

This paper presents a miniaturized microstrip back-cavity Hilbert Fractal Antenna specifically designed for breast cancer detection. This antenna is used to investigate on the possibility of detecting the presence of breast tumors by directly measuring the shift of the antenna resonance frequency. First, simulations are performed on a multi-layer breast model; then the proposed approach was applied for in vivo measurements on two different patients diagnosed with breast cancer, followed by ex vivo characterization of the electrical properties of excised tumors.
The pursuit of happiness

In 1956, Hans Selye tentatively suggested that the scientific study of stress could ‘help us to formulate a precise program of conduct’ and ‘teach us the wisdom to live a rich and meaningful life’. Nearly two decades later, Selye expanded this limited vision of social order into a full-blown philosophy of life. In Stress without Distress, first published in 1974, he proposed an ethical code of conduct designed to mitigate personal and social problems. Basing his arguments on contemporary understandings of the biological processes involved in stress reactions, Selye referred to this code as ‘altruistic egotism’. This article explores the origins and evolution of Selye’s ‘natural philosophy of life’, analysing the links between his theories and adjacent intellectual developments in biology, psychosomatic and psychosocial medicine, cybernetics and socio-biology, and situating his work in the broader cultural framework of modern western societies.
Disambiguating Visual Motion Through Contextual Feedback Modulation

Motion of an extended boundary can be measured locally by neurons only orthogonal to its orientation (aperture problem) while this ambiguity is resolved for localized image features, such as corners or nonocclusion junctions. The integration of local motion signals sampled along the outline of a moving form reveals the object velocity. We propose a new model of V1-MT feedforward and feedback processing in which localized V1 motion signals are integrated along the feedforward path by model MT cells. Top-down feedback from MT cells in turn emphasizes model V1 motion activities of matching velocity by excitatory modulation and thus realizes an attentional gating mechanism. The model dynamics implement a guided filling-in process to disambiguate motion signals through biased on-center, off-surround competition. Our model makes predictions concerning the time course of cells in area MT and V1 and the disambiguation process of activity patterns in these areas and serves as a means to link physiological mechanisms with perceptual behavior. We further demonstrate that our model also successfully processes natural image sequences.
ChaLearn Looking at People 2015 challenges: Action spotting and cultural event recognition

Following previous series on Looking at People (LAP) challenges [6, 5, 4], ChaLearn ran two competitions to be presented at CVPR 2015: action/interaction spotting and cultural event recognition in RGB data. We ran a second round on human activity recognition on RGB data sequences. In terms of cultural event recognition, tens of categories have to be recognized. This involves scene understanding and human analysis. This paper summarizes the two challenges and the obtained results. Details of the ChaLearn LAP competitions can be found at http://gesture.chalearn. org/.
Antipsychotic polypharmacy in psychotic disorders: a critical review of neurobiology, efficacy, tolerability and cost effectiveness

Objective: The purpose of this study was to review the scientific evidence for neurobiological rationale, efficacy, tolerability and cost effectiveness of antipsychotic polypharmacy (APP). Data sources: A systematic literature search of Medline, Embase, Ovid and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews until April 2012 was carried out. Results: Theories behind APP have only modest pre-clinical and clinical evidence. We found limited statistical evidence supporting modest efficacy of APP in patients with psychotic symptoms refractory to clozapine. APP is associated with increased mortality, metabolic syndrome, decreased cognitive functioning, high dose prescription and non-adherence. It brings up extra costs, lacking evidence for cost-effectiveness. Conclusions: Pre-clinical studies underpinning neurobiological hypotheses in APP are lacking. Evidence supporting efficacy of APP is limited with modest beneficial clinical relevance. APP is associated with several serious adverse effects and increased health costs. In the absence of more convincing pre-clinical support and clinical evidence we advise adherence to existing guidelines and limiting combinations of antipsychotics (in consideration with other pharmacotherapeutic, somatic and psychotherapeutic options) to patients with clozapine-refractory psychosis in well-evaluated individual trials that might need 10 weeks or more.