Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A minimum of two distinct heritable factors are required to explain correlation structures in proliferating lymphocytes

During the adaptive immune response, lymphocyte populations undergo a characteristic three-phase process: expansion through a series of cell divisions; cessation of expansion; and, finally, most of the accumulated lymphocytes die by apoptosis. The data used, thus far, to inform understanding of these processes, both in vitro and in vivo, are taken from flow cytometry experiments. One significant drawback of flow cytometry is that individual cells cannot be tracked, so that it is not possible to investigate interdependencies in the fate of cells within a family tree. This deficit in experimental information has recently been overcome by Hawkins et al. (Hawkins et al. 2009 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106, 13 457–13 462 (doi:10.1073/pnas.0905629106)), who reported on time-lapse microscopy experiments in which B-cells were stimulated through the TLR-9 receptor. Cells stimulated in this way do not aggregate, so that data regarding family trees can be recorded. In this article, we further investigate the Hawkins et al. data. Our conclusions are striking: in order to explain the familial correlation structure in division times, death times and propensity to divide, a minimum of two distinct heritable factors are necessary. As the data show that two distinct factors are necessary, we develop a stochastic model that has two heritable factors and demonstrate that it can reproduce the key features of the data. This model shows that two heritable factors are sufficient. These deductions have a clear impact upon biological understanding of the adaptive immune response. They also necessitate changes to the fundamental premises behind the tools developed by statisticians to draw deductions from flow cytometry data. Finally, they affect the mathematical modelling paradigms that are used to study these systems, as these are widely developed based on assumptions of cellular independence that are not accurate.
Dimethylarginine Dimethylaminohydrolase-1 Is the Critical Enzyme for Degrading the Cardiovascular Risk Factor Asymmetrical Dimethylarginine

Objective—The objective of this study was to identify the role of dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase-1 (DDAH1) in degrading the endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitors asymmetrical dimethylarginine (ADMA) and Ng-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA). Methods and Results—We generated a global-DDAH1 gene–deficient (DDAH1−/−) mouse strain to examine the role of DDAH1 in ADMA and L-NMMA degradation and the physiological consequences of loss of DDAH1. Plasma and tissue ADMA and L-NMMA levels in DDAH1−/− mice were several folds higher than in wild-type mice, but growth and development of these DDAH1−/− mice were similar to those of their wild-type littermates. Although the expression of DDAH2 was unaffected, DDAH activity was undetectable in all tissues tested. These findings indicate that DDAH1 is the critical enzyme for ADMA and L-NMMA degradation. Blood pressure was ≈20 mm Hg higher in the DDAH1−/− mice than in wild-type mice, but no other cardiovascular phenotype was found under unstressed conditions. Crossing DDAH1+/− male with DDAH1+/− female mice yielded DDAH1+/+, DDAH1+/−, and DDAH1−/− mice at the anticipated ratio of 1:2:1, indicating that DDAH1 is not required for embryonic development in this strain. Conclusion—Our findings indicate that DDAH1 is required for metabolizing ADMA and L-NMMA in vivo, whereas DDAH2 had no detectable role for degrading ADMA and L-NMMA.
A New Approach to Hospital Cost Functions and Some Issues in Revenue Regulation

An important aspect of hospital revenue regulation at the State level is the use of retroactive allowances for changes in the volume of service. Arguments favoring non-proportional allowances have been based on statistical studies of marginal cost, together with concerns about fairness toward non-profit enterprises or concerns about various inflationary biases in hospital management. This article attempts to review and clarify the regulatory issues and choices, with the aid of new econometric work that explicitly allows for the effects of transitory as well as expected demand changes on hospital expense. The present analysis is also novel in treating length of stay as an endogenous variable in cost functions. We analyzed cost variation for a panel of over 800 hospitals that reported monthly to Hospital Administrative Services between 1973 and 1978. The central results are that marginal cost of unexpected admissions is about half of average cost, while marginal cost of forecasted admissions is about equal to average cost. We obtained relatively low estimates of the cost of an “empty bed. ” The study tends to support proportional volume allowances in revenue regulation programs, with perhaps a residual role for selective case review.
Field and Model Studies of Ocean Outfalls

Field and laboratory studies of the behavior of wastewater discharged from the San Francisco ocean outfall are reported. Wastefield behavior was predicted by the mathematical models RSB and ULINE; the closest predictions were those of RSB. The hydraulic model study reproduced the major features observed in the field. It also afforded considerable insight into the mechanics of mixing of multiport risers which could not have been obtained either from the field test or the mathematical models.
Experimental Phase Relations in Altered Oceanic Crust: Implications for Carbon Recycling at Subduction Zones

The phase relationships in altered mafic oceanic crust (K2O, CO2 and H2O bearing) have been investigated to constrain and quantify the processes of carbon transfer from the slab to the mantle wedge at subduction zones. We report experiments at 2·5–4·5 GPa and 700–900°C in which gas in the experimental charges is analysed by gas chromatography to constrain the volatile composition of the aqueous fluid or hydrous melt. A phengite-bearing epidote-eclogite with dolomite and/or magnesite is stable at subsolidus conditions. The wet solidus at fO2 of NNO (nickel–nickel oxide) was found between 700 and 750°C at 2·5–3·5 GPa and 800–850°C at 4·5 GPa, similar to the CO2-free systems. This observation indicates a low amount of CO2 in the aqueous fluid phase at the wet solidus, in agreement with a measured X(CO2) of 0·059 ± 0·003 at 3 GPa, 700°C and 0·038 ± 0·003 at 3·5 GPa, 700°C. Experiments performed at higher fO2, using either an oxidized starting material or a Re–ReO2 buffer, resulted in a shift of the solidus to higher temperatures. Higher fO2 results in a higher X(CO2) in the aqueous fluid and the reduced water activity leads to a shift in the solidus to higher temperatures. Above the solidus, both textural observations and analyses of the gas enclosed in the capsule suggest that CO2 solubility in the silicate melt increases with increasing P–T conditions. At 4·5 GPa, more than 70% of carbonate at 850°C and 100% at 900°C was dissolved in the hydrous silicate melt. From textural observation it is not clear whether the high carbon content of the melt is related to an increased solubility of carbonate in the hydrous silicate melt or reflects an immiscible carbonatite melt. In any case, partial melting of altered oceanic crust at moderately oxidizing conditions (NNO) and pressures >4 GPa provides an efficient means for the transfer of carbon from the slab to the mantle wedge in intermediate to hot subduction zones. Significant amounts of subducted carbon can thus be brought back to the atmosphere via arc magmatism on relatively short time scales of less than 10 Myr.
Polar Cap Energy Deposition Events During the 5–6 August 2011 Magnetic Storm

We study the 5–6 August 2011 storm for its energy deposition events occurring deep in the polar cap region, where the consequential localized intensifications of earthward directed Poynting flux led to the development of their related localized neutral density increases. For unraveling the underlying physical processes, we investigate the relations among Poynting flux intensifications, flow channels (FCs), and localized neutral density enhancements plus the nature of the underlying reconnection events. Observational results demonstrate Poynting flux increase deep in the polar cap in a FC‐2 type FC during magnetopause reconnections and in a FC‐4 type FC during lobe reconnections. During the latter stages of these different types of reconnection events, energy/momentum transfer occurred along old‐open field lines and commonly led to the development of localized neutral density increases during their respective upwelling events fueled by field‐aligned currents and above/within these polar FCs. The prevailing BY domination and the pulsed nature of this storm created favorable conditions for the development of these FC‐2 and FC‐4 types in the sunlit northern summer hemisphere and caused the observed Poynting flux intensifications deep in the polar cap. The solar wind source of these reconnections taking place along old‐open field lines was situated in the high‐latitude boundary layer. Thus, the high‐latitude boundary layer dynamo provided a vigorous source of energy/momentum transfer during the latter‐stage reconnections unfolding along old‐open field lines.
Assessment of transmission loss in a Mediterranean karstic watershed (Wadi Natuf, West Bank)

Run‐off transmission loss into karstified consolidated aquifer bedrock below ephemeral streams (wadis) has rarely been described nor quantified. This study presents unique data of long‐term high‐resolution field measurements and field observations in a semiarid to subhumid Mediterranean carbonatic mountainshed. The catchment with a 103 km2 surface area is subdivided into 5 subcatchments. Coupled run‐off measurements were made in the different stream sections (reaches), and transmission loss calculated from differences in discharge. Rainfall and run‐off observations from 9 automated precipitation gauging stations and 5 pressure transducers for automatic water level recording are complemented by manual measurements during 34 run‐off events covering a total measurement period of 8 consecutive years. Run‐off generation is strongly event based depending on rainfall intensities and depths. Both, run‐off generation and transmission losses are related to spatial patterns of bedrock lithologies (and hydrostratigraphy). Transmission losses range between 62% and 80% of generated run‐off, with most of the smaller events showing 100% transmission loss. Therefore, although event run‐off coefficients in the mountains can reach up to 22%, only 0.11% of total annual precipitation leaves the catchment as run‐off. Most run‐off infiltrates directly into the regional karst aquifers (Upper Cretaceous carbonate series), with transmission loss intensities of up to 40 mm/h below the stream channels. The factors determining run‐off—such as geology, pedology, vegetation cover and land use, relief and morphology, the semiarid to subhumid Mediterranean climate with a strong elevation gradient, and the patchiness of individual storm events distributed over the winter seasons—as well as the lithology and epikarst features of the bedrock are all characteristic for larger areas in the Mediterranean region. Therefore, we expect that our findings can be generalized to a large extent.
Discriminative Latent Models for Recognizing Contextual Group Activities

In this paper, we go beyond recognizing the actions of individuals and focus on group activities. This is motivated from the observation that human actions are rarely performed in isolation; the contextual information of what other people in the scene are doing provides a useful cue for understanding high-level activities. We propose a novel framework for recognizing group activities which jointly captures the group activity, the individual person actions, and the interactions among them. Two types of contextual information, group-person interaction and person-person interaction, are explored in a latent variable framework. In particular, we propose three different approaches to model the person-person interaction. One approach is to explore the structures of person-person interaction. Differently from most of the previous latent structured models, which assume a predefined structure for the hidden layer, e.g., a tree structure, we treat the structure of the hidden layer as a latent variable and implicitly infer it during learning and inference. The second approach explores person-person interaction in the feature level. We introduce a new feature representation called the action context (AC) descriptor. The AC descriptor encodes information about not only the action of an individual person in the video, but also the behavior of other people nearby. The third approach combines the above two. Our experimental results demonstrate the benefit of using contextual information for disambiguating group activities.
The Principle of Substitution: The Argentine Contribution to Private Sponsorship Schemes?

This paper provides a critical review of the first private sponsorship scheme to be introduced into Latin America in the last decade, the Syria Program, which has been in place in Argentina since 2014. Though the national and international bodies involved in the initiative (including the International Organization for Migration, UNHCR, and the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative) have described it as a good practice, a content analysis of their publications indicates that their interpretations may be overly rosy. Unlike refugee sponsorship schemes that have appeared in other countries, the Argentine private sponsorship program does not complement a public state resettlement scheme but rather appears to replace it.
[Eighty cases of monitored anesthesia care (MAC) for inguinal hernia repairs using tumescent local anesthesia (TLA)].

BACKGROUND This paper discusses the efficacy and difficulty of the management of monitored anesthesia care (MAC) for inguinal hernia repairs using tumescent local anesthesia(TLA). METHODS Eighty patients were retrospectively divided into four groups (all n = 20) according to the drugs used; group P (propofol), group PF (propofol and fentanyl), group PFM (propofol, fentanyl and midazolam), group PR (propofol and remifentanyl). The four groups were analyzed in terms of the applied dose, airway use, wake-up test to determine whether hernia was repaired, postoperative pain and nausea. RESULTS More propofol was administered in group P than in group PFM and PR. Although, airway was used for nine patients, there was no difference between the four groups. Postoperative pain and nausea also do not differ between the groups. One patient in group P showed unsuccessful repair with wake-up test. CONCLUSIONS MAC shows a beneficial effect on inguinal hernia repairs under TLA. The rate of airway use was as high as eleven percent, and maintenance of the patients' airway requires attention. In terms of wake-up test, propofol combined with opioid administration may be more effective than propofol administration alone. There was no significant difference between the groups in pain and nausea, regardless at the use of fentanyl or remifentanil.
A Fictitious Play Approach to Large-Scale Optimization

In this paper, we investigate the properties of the sampled version of the fictitious play algorithm, familiar from game theory, for games with identical payoffs, and propose a heuristic based on fictitious play as a solution procedure for discrete optimization problems of the form max{ u( y):y = ( y1,., y n ) ? Y1Yn }, i.e., in which the feasible region is a Cartesian product of finite setsYi,i ? N = {1,. , n}. The contributions of this paper are twofold. In the first part of the paper, we broaden the existing results on convergence properties of the fictitious play algorithm on games with identical payoffs to include an approximate fictitious play algorithm that allows for errors in players' best replies. Moreover, we introduce sampling-based approximate fictitious play that possesses the above convergence properties, and at the same time provides a computationally efficient method for implementing fictitious play. In the second part of the paper, we motivate the use of algorithms based on sampled fictitious play to solve optimization problems in the above form with particular focus on the problems in which the objective functionu(Â·) comes from a "black box," such as a simulation model, where significant computational effort is required for each function evaluation.
Adult Outcome of Child and Adolescent Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a Primary Care Setting

Objectives: To determine the adult status of children and adolescents previously diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: From a consecutive sample, a case series from a primary care, private physician, office-based practice was evaluated. Seventy-seven adults were eligible, having been diagnosed with ADHD as children and adolescents by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third and Fourth Editions criteria. Seventy-three adults were available for interviews. Parents and/or significant others were also interviewed. The same criteria used originally were employed in the adult follow-up analysis. Main outcome measures included rates of adult ADHD, other psychiatric disorders, and educational attainment. Results: Of 73 participants, only 4 (5.5%) had retained ADHD into adulthood. Sixty-nine (94.5%) did not have adult ADHD. The majority of the cohort did not exhibit any disabling psychopathology, and most had achieved positive educational attainment. Conclusions: Adult follow-up of children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD shows adult ADHD is rare in primary care. The data suggests that clinicians can have the greatest impact on ADHD by concentrating on the evaluation and management of children and adolescents with the disorder.
Docking Ligands into Flexible and Solvated Macromolecules. 3. Impact of Input Ligand Conformation, Protein Flexibility, and Water Molecules on the Accuracy of Docking Programs

Several modifications and additions to Fitted1.5 led to the development of Fitted2.6. Among the novel implementations are a matching algorithm-enhanced genetic algorithm and a ring conformational search algorithm. With these various optimizations, we also hoped to remove the biases and to develop a docking program that would provide results (i.e., poses) as independent as possible to the input ligand and protein conformations and used parameters, although keeping the options to provide additional experimental information. These biases were investigated within Fitted2.6 along with FlexX, GOLD, Glide, and Surflex. The input ligand conformation was found to have a major impact on the program accuracy as drops as large as 10-50% were observed with all the programs but Fitted. This comparative study also demonstrates that the accuracy of Fitted is similar to that of other widely used programs. We have also demonstrated that protein flexibility, displaceable water molecules, and ring conformational search algorithms, three of the main Fitted features, significantly increased its accuracy. Finally, we also proposed potential modifications to the available programs to further improve their accuracy in binding mode prediction.
Elevated nitric oxide in recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis – association with clinical findings

Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis is defined as having three to four episodes per year and causes substantial suffering. Little is known about the mechanisms leading to relapses in otherwise healthy women. Nitric oxide is part of the nonspecific host defense and is increased during inflammation. Nitric oxide levels were measured and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase was analyzed in the vagina during an acute episode of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis and after treatment with fluconazole.
Supporting self-regulated learning in computer-based learning environments: systematic review of effects of scaffolding in the domain of science education

Despite the widespread assumption that students require scaffolding support for self-regulated learning (SRL) processes in computer-based learning environments (CBLEs), there is little clarity as to which types of scaffolds are most effective. This study offers a literature review covering the various scaffolds that support SRL processes in the domain of science education. Effective scaffolds are categorized and discussed according to the different areas and phases of SRL. The results reveal that most studies on scaffolding processes focus on cognition, whereas few focus on the non-cognitive areas of SRL. In the field of cognition, prompts appear to be the most effective scaffolds, especially for processes during the control phase. This review also shows that studies have paid little attention to scaffold designs, learner characteristics, or various task characteristics, despite the fact that these variables have been found to have a significant influence. We conclude with the implications of our results on future design and research in the field of SRL using CBLEs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Functional ecology of fish on coral reefs: the roles of seascape and subsistence fishing

Globally, fish are being removed from our oceans at unsustainable rates. This is particularly true for coral reef fish, which, in addition to overfishing, are also under threat from global warming, ocean acidification, and pollution. Current conservation strategies for coral reef fisheries either indirectly control the amount of fish caught through restrictions on fishing effort, techniques, and areas, or directly limit fish catch using quotas for each fishery. However, to ensure that these conservation strategies function to their utmost potential, we need to identify the fishing techniques and seascape characteristics that have the most impact on coral reefs and their associated fish assemblages. This thesis used a field study on a group of remote Pacific atolls to establish how fishing using traditional techniques for food, not profit (subsistence fishing) affected coral reef fish assemblages. I demonstrate that subsistence fishing may be an effective way of providing food for small island communities, while also maintaining pristine reef fish assemblages. This thesis also investigated how connections in coastal seascapes affected crucial ecosystem functions on coral reefs. I show that connectivity can exert opposing effects on ecosystem functions, and that the distribution of fish and the ecosystem functions they provide may not align. I advocate that if marine spatial plans aim to incorporate ecosystem functions into their framework, they need to explicitly measure ecosystem function, rather than using proxies such as fish abundance. Finally, this thesis reports how the arrangement of mangroves and coral reefs in coastal seascapes varied globally, and how these differences affected the distribution of fish. I show that the configuration of coastal mangrove and coral reef seascapes, and their effects on fish, are correlated with tidal range, and I suggest that we cannot make global generalisations about the scale at which mangrove connections modify fish assemblages on coral reefs. This thesis makes direct recommendations on how to improve the conservation of coral reef fish. By endorsing low-impact fishing techniques and improving our understanding of seascape ecology, we can expect to improve conservation strategies for coral reefs, making them as practical and effective as possible.