Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The unmet provision of allergy services in Hong Kong impairs capability for allergy prevention-implications for the Asia Pacific region.

INTRODUCTION There is a high and rising prevalence of many allergic diseases in the Asia Pacific, including Hong Kong (HK), which is unmatched by a commensurate provision of clinical allergy services. METHOD This review highlights progress and deficiencies in allergy service and training in HK. The allergy work force was estimated from the numbers of doctors practicing allergy registered with the HK Medical Council Specialist Register in Immunology and Allergy; Paediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases (includes allergy); Paediatrics; and Immunology (as a discipline of Pathology). The numbers of trainees were estimated from the trainee lists of the Hong Kong Colleges of Physicians, Paediatrics and Pathology. The numbers of allergy clinics were estimated from existing services in Hospital Authority public hospitals in HK. RESULTS In the last 3 years, two new drug allergy clinics have been established in public hospitals, and for the first time in 20 years, Hong Kong has a trainee in adult allergy. The current ratio of allergists per head of population has improved slightly from 1:1.46 million in 2014 to 1:1.17 million, but it is still low compared to many countries. There are 5-fold more paediatric allergists than adult allergists per head of population in HK. DISCUSSION Hong Kong is not equipped to take advantage of major public health advances in allergy prevention. If the unbalance of adult to paediatric allergists remains uncorrected, continuing care for allergic children as they grow into adulthood will be an increasing problem. CONCLUSION Hong Kong still has an unmet need for allergy specialists and is ill equipped to exploit recently discovered public health opportunities to prevent allergy. This review provides recommendations to improve allergy service provision and training, including the creation of Centres of Excellence in allergy to drive the growth of the specialty.
The Influence of Emotional Material on Encoding and Retrieving Intentions: An ERP Study in Younger and Older Adults

Prospective memory is a cognitive process that comprises the encoding and maintenance of an intention until the appropriate moment of its retrieval. It is of highly relevance for an independent everyday life, especially in older adults; however, there is ample evidence that prospective memory declines with increasing age. Because most studies have used neutral stimuli, it is still an open question how emotional factors influence age-related differences in prospective remembering. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of emotional material on prospective memory encoding, monitoring, maintaining, and retrieval in younger and older adults using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. We tested 24 younger adults (M = 26.4 years) and 20 older adults (M = 68.1 years) using a picture one-back task as ongoing activity with an embedded prospective memory instruction. The experimental task consisted of three sessions. In each session, participants had to encode series of images that represented the prospective memory cues for the consecutive block. The images were either of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral valence. The pictures used in the ongoing task were likewise of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral valence. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to assess the neural correlates of intention encoding, maintenance, and self-initiated retrieval. We did not find age differences between younger and older adults on the behavioral level. However, the ERP results revealed an interesting pattern that suggested for both age groups elevated attentional processing of emotional cues during encoding indicated by an elevated LPP for the emotional cues. Additionally, younger adults showed increased activity for unpleasant cues. During the maintenance phase, both age groups engaged in strategic monitoring especially for pleasant cues, which led to enhanced sustained positivity. During retrieval, older adults showed increased activity of ERP components related to cue detection and retrieval mainly for pleasant cues indicating enhanced relevance for those cues. In conclusion, emotional material may influence prospective remembering in older adults differently than in younger adults by supporting a mixture of top-down and bottom-up controlled processing. The results demonstrated a negativity bias in younger adults and a positivity bias in older adults.
DNA methylation of imprinted gene control regions in the regression of low‐grade cervical lesions

The role of host epigenetic mechanisms in the natural history of low‐grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN1) is not well characterized. We explored differential methylation of imprinted gene regulatory regions as predictors of the risk of CIN1 regression. A total of 164 patients with CIN1 were recruited from 10 Duke University clinics for the CIN Cohort Study. Participants had colposcopies at enrollment and up to five follow‐up visits over 3 years. DNA was extracted from exfoliated cervical cells for methylation quantitation at CpG (cytosine‐phosphate‐guanine) sites and human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox regression to quantify the effect of methylation on CIN1 regression over two consecutive visits, compared to non‐regression (persistent CIN1; progression to CIN2+; or CIN1 regression at a single time‐point), adjusting for age, race, high‐risk HPV (hrHPV), parity, oral contraceptive and smoking status. Median participant age was 26.6 years (range: 21.0–64.4 years), 39% were African‐American, and 11% were current smokers. Most participants were hrHPV‐positive at enrollment (80.5%). Over one‐third of cases regressed (n = 53, 35.1%). Median time‐to‐regression was 12.6 months (range: 4.5–24.0 months). Probability of CIN1 regression was negatively correlated with methylation at IGF2AS CpG 5 (HR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.23–0.77) and PEG10 DMR (HR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.65–0.98). Altered methylation of imprinted IGF2AS and PEG10 DMRs may play a role in the natural history of CIN1. If confirmed in larger studies, further research on imprinted gene DMR methylation is warranted to determine its efficacy as a biomarker for cervical cancer screening.
Chimera: a Bioconductor package for secondary analysis of fusion products

Summary: Chimera is a Bioconductor package that organizes, annotates, analyses and validates fusions reported by different fusion detection tools; current implementation can deal with output from bellerophontes, chimeraScan, deFuse, fusionCatcher, FusionFinder, FusionHunter, FusionMap, mapSplice, Rsubread, tophat-fusion and STAR. The core of Chimera is a fusion data structure that can store fusion events detected with any of the aforementioned tools. Fusions are then easily manipulated with standard R functions or through the set of functionalities specifically developed in Chimera with the aim of supporting the user in managing fusions and discriminating false-positive results. Availability and implementation: Chimera is implemented as a Bioconductor package in R. The package and the vignette can be downloaded at bioconductor.org. Contact: raffaele.calogero@unito.it Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Deep Meta-Learning: Learning to Learn in the Concept Space

Few-shot learning remains challenging for meta-learning that learns a learning algorithm (meta-learner) from many related tasks. In this work, we argue that this is due to the lack of a good representation for meta-learning, and propose deep meta-learning to integrate the representation power of deep learning into meta-learning. The framework is composed of three modules, a concept generator, a meta-learner, and a concept discriminator, which are learned jointly. The concept generator, e.g. a deep residual net, extracts a representation for each instance that captures its high-level concept, on which the meta-learner performs few-shot learning, and the concept discriminator recognizes the concepts. By learning to learn in the concept space rather than in the complicated instance space, deep meta-learning can substantially improve vanilla meta-learning, which is demonstrated on various few-shot image recognition problems. For example, on 5-way-1-shot image recognition on CIFAR-100 and CUB-200, it improves Matching Nets from 50.53% and 56.53% to 58.18% and 63.47%, improves MAML from 49.28% and 50.45% to 56.65% and 64.63%, and improves Meta-SGD from 53.83% and 53.34% to 61.62% and 66.95%, respectively.
Exotic Derivatives under Stochastic Volatility Models with Jumps

In equity and foreign exchange markets the risk-neutral dynamics of the underlying asset are commonly represented by stochastic volatility models with jumps. In this paper we consider a dense subclass of such models and develop analytically tractable formulae for the prices of a range of first-generation exotic derivatives. We provide closed form formulae for the Fourier transforms of vanilla and forward starting option prices as well as a formula for the slope of the implied volatility smile for large strikes. A simple explicit approximation formula for the variance swap price is given. The prices of volatility swaps and other volatility derivatives are given as a one-dimensional integral of an explicit function. Analytically tractable formulae for the Laplace transform (in maturity) of the double-no-touch options and the Fourier-Laplace transform (in strike and maturity) of the double knock-out call and put options are obtained. The proof of the latter formulae is based on extended matrix Wiener-Hopf factorisation results. We also provide convergence results.
Assessing Strong String Stability of Constant Spacing Policy under Speed Limit Fluctuations

The speed limit changes frequently throughout the transportation network, due to either safety (e.g., change in geometry) or congestion management (e.g., speed harmonization systems). Any abrupt reduction in the speed limit can create a shockwave that propagates upstream in traffic. Dealing with such an abrupt reduction in speed limit is particularly important while designing control laws for a platoon of automated vehicles from both stability and efficiency perspectives. This paper focuses on Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) based platooning under a constant spacing policy, and investigates the possibility of designing a controller that ensures stability, while tracking a given target velocity profile that changes as a function of location. An ideal controller should maintain a constant spacing between successive vehicles, while tracking the desired velocity profile. The analytical investigations of this paper suggest that such a controller does not exist.
Formulation and cytotoxicity evaluation of new self-emulsifying multiple W/O/W nanoemulsions

Three multiple water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) nanoemulsions have been designed for potential inclusion of either lipophilic or hydrophilic drugs using a two-step emulsification process exclusively based on low-energy self-emulsification. The W/O primary emulsion was constituted by a blend of oil (medium chain triglyceride), a mixture (7:3) of two surfactants, and a 10% water phase. The surfactants were a mixture of Polysorbate-85/Labrasol®, Polysorbate-85/Cremophor® EL or glycerol/Polysorbate-85. The final W/O/W nanoemulsions were obtained by the addition of water, with a weight ratio nanoemulsion/water of 1:2. The multiple emulsion stability was found to increase from 24 hours to 2 and 6 months with Labrasol, glycerol, and Cremophor, respectively. Cytotoxicity was found for formulations including Labrasol and Cremophor EL. The concentration of emulsion inhibiting 50% cell viability (IC50) was determined using the alamarBlue® test, giving after 24 hours of incubation, IC50 = 10.2 mg/mL for the Labrasol formulation and IC50 = 11.8 mg/mL for the Cremophor EL formulation. Corresponding calculated IC50 values for surfactants were 0.51 mg/mL for Labrasol and 0.59 mg/mL for Cremophor EL. In both cases, cytotoxicity was due to an apoptotic mechanism, evidenced by chromatin condensation and P2X7 cell death receptor activation. The formulation including glycerol, investigated between 1 and 100 mg/mL concentration of nanoemulsion, did not affect cell viability. Moreover, neither chromatin condensation nor P2X7 activation was found between the 10 and 30 mg/mL final concentration of the emulsion. This last formulation would therefore be of major interest for further developments.
An overview of the role of sympathetic regulation of immune responses in infectious disease and autoimmunity

Abstract Stress in patients and pre-clinical research animals plays a critical role in disease progression Activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) by stress results in secretion of the catecholamines epinephrine (Epi) and norepinephrine (NE) from the adrenal gland and sympathetic nerve endings. Adrenergic receptors for catecholamines are present on immune cells and their activity is affected by stress and the accompanying changes in levels of these neurotransmitters. In this short review, we discuss how this adrenergic stress impacts two categories of immune responses, infections and autoimmune diseases. Catecholamines signal primarily through the β2-adrenergic receptors present on innate and adaptive immune cells which are critical in responding to infections caused by pathogens. In general, this adrenergic input, particularly chronic stimulation, suppresses lymphocytes and allows infections to progress. On the other hand, insufficient adrenergic control of immune responses allows progression of several autoimmune diseases.
Examining the Relationship Between Childhood Victimization, High-Risk Behaviors, and Health Among Criminal Justice-Involved Women

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a conceptual model of the pathways through which childhood victimization influences adult health outcomes. Specifically, measures of high-risk behaviors, tobacco use, alcohol use, illegal substance use, and HIV risk behaviors were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between childhood victimization and adult physical health. The sample consisted of 406 women on probation and parole with a history of childhood victimization in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between childhood victimization, high-risk behaviors, and physical health outcomes. The findings indicate partial mediation, with health risk behaviors accounting for 12.5% of the variance in the relationship between childhood victimization and health outcomes. Implications for policy and treatment practice in the health and criminal justice arena are discussed.
The influence of cecectomy on metabolizable energy and amino acid digestibility of select feedstuffs for white Pekin ducks.

Twenty-four cecectomized and 24 intact White Pekin ducks were used in two experiments to assess the influence of cecectomy on ME and amino acid digestibility of several feed ingredients for ducks. Corn and soybean meal (SBM) were evaluated in Experiment 1, and bakery meal (BM), red dog (RD), and wheat middlings (WM) were evaluated in Experiment 2. Nitrogen-corrected true metabolizable energy and amino acid digestibility of the ingredients were assayed concurrently. In Experiment 1, TME of corn was higher (P < or = 0.05) in cecectomized ducks, and intact ducks demonstrated greater (P < or = 0.05) ability to utilize the energy in SBM. Intact ducks exhibited higher (P < or = 0.05) true digestibilities of lysine and methionine. True digestibility of tryptophan was higher (P < or = 0.05) for cecectomized ducks. True digestibility of indispensable amino acids in SBM did not differ (P > or = 0.05) between cecectomized and intact ducks. In Experiment 2, cecectomized ducks exhibited greater (P < or = 0.05) ability to utilize the energy in RD. Intact ducks exhibited greater (P < or = 0.05) ability to utilize the energy in WM. True digestibility of indispensable amino acids in BM, RD, and WM was variable. Results of the present study suggest that the effect of cecectomy on nutrient digestibility in ducks is dependent on the feedstuff assayed.
Genetic variation and population structure in Fraser fir (Abies fraseri): a microsatellite assessment of young trees

The island-like populations of Fraser fir ( Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir. ) have been isolated since the end of the late-Wisconsinian glaciation on the highest peaks of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and therefore offer an opportunity to investigate the genetic dynamics of a long-fragmented forest tree species. An analysis of eight microsatellite markers isolated from Fraser fir found that the species was out of Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, with a significant deficiency of heterozygosity and a high degree of inbreeding (FIS= 0.223) relative to other conifers, perhaps associated in part with the young life stage of the trees included in the analysis. The analysis detected a significant but small amount of genetic differentiation among Fraser fir populations (FST= 0.004) and revealed that the geographical and latitudinal distances between populations, but not population area, were significantly correlated with their pairwise genetic differences. Both gene flow and postglacial migration history may have influenced the genetic architecture of the species. The results will be useful in the genetic conservation of Fraser fir, a species experiencing severe mortality following infestation by an exotic insect.
Inclusion of coconut oil in diets for turkey breeders and its effects on embryonic yolk and liver fatty acids.

Turkey hens were fed either a standard breeder diet (CON, myristic acid, C14.0, 1.1%; palmitic acid, C16:0, 16.8%; oleic acid, C18:1, 23%; linoleic acid, C18:2, 48.7%) or a diet containing 5% coconut oil (COCO) enriched with medium chain fatty acids (MCFA; lauric acid, C12:0, 22.6%; C14:0, 10.8%; C16:0, 12.5%; C18:1, 14.8%; C18:2, 24.6%). After 10 d on the diets, fresh eggs were collected for yolk lipid and fatty acid (FA) determination. An additional 60 to 95 eggs were incubated and the FA profiles of the neutral lipid (NL) and phospholipid (PL) fractions of yolk sac and liver lipids were determined. The NL fraction of the yolk sac from CON eggs contained less C12:0 (0 vs 0.49%) and C14:0 (0.7 vs 4.6%) and more C18:1 (41.3 vs 37.5%). The PL fraction of the yolk sac from both treatments contained < 1% C14:0, and there was less than a 2% difference between treatments in other FA concentrations. The hepatic NL fraction from both treatments contained < 1% C14:0 and only C18:1 showed > 1% differences between treatments (Control = 59.9%; COCO = 56.62%). There were no dietary effects on the FA profile of hepatic PL. The presence of only minimal quantities of MCFA in hepatic NL and PL suggests that absorbed yolk sac MCFA are extensively metabolized during embryonic development.
Heritability of ascites and the ratio of right to total ventricle weight in broiler breeder male lines.

The objectives of this study were to induce ascites in three pure male line populations by subjecting them to cold stress, and to calculate heritability estimates for ascites (ASCITES) and the ratio of right to total ventricle weight (RATIO) in these populations under cold stress. Data were collected during the winter of 1993 to 1994 from 3,436 cockerels representing three commercial broiler breeder male lines. The male lines used in this study were characterized by: rapid growth rate and good feed efficiency (RG), moderate growth, good conformation, and excellent livability (MG), and maximum white meat yield and rapid growth (YD). Birds were cold stressed and euthanatized at 8 wk of age. Ratios of right to total ventricle weight and ascites (birds with fluid in the abdominal cavity) were recorded on every bird. Line means for the incidence of ascites were 17.5, 18.7, and 33.5% for RG, MG, and YD, respectively. Lines RG and MG did not differ from each other for ascites, but both were less than YD (P < .05). Means and standard deviations for the ratio of right to total ventricle weight (RATIO) were . 299 +/- 0.9, . 297 +/- . 08, and . 294 +/- . 09 for RG, MG, and YD, respectively. Line means for RATIO did not differ. Heritability estimates of RATIO were . 21 +/- . 09, . 21 +/- . 09, and . 27 +/- . 08 for RG, MG, and YD, respectively; and heritabilities of ascites were . 36 +/- . 10, . 11 +/- . 08, and . 44 +/- . 09, respectively. Phenotypic correlations of ASCITES with RATIO were . 54, . 43, and . 50 in RG, MG, and YD and genetic correlations of ASCITES with RATIO were . 69 +/- . 13, . 46 +/- . 33, and . 78 +/- . 10 in RG, MG, and YD, respectively.
Blockchain Platform for Industrial Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) are being adopted for industrial and manufacturing applications such as manufacturing automation, remote machine diagnostics, prognostic health management of industrial machines and supply chain management. Cloud-Based Manufacturing is a recent on-demand model of manufacturing that is leveraging IoT technologies. While Cloud-Based Manufacturing enables on-demand access to manufacturing resources, a trusted intermediary is required for transactions between the users who wish to avail manufacturing services. We present a decentralized, peer-to-peer platform called BPIIoT for Industrial Internet of Things based on the Block chain technology. With the use of Blockchain technology, the BPIIoT platform enables peers in a decentralized, trustless, peer-to-peer network to interact with each other without the need for a trusted intermediary.
Organizational Cynicism and Its Consequences on Nurses and Quality of Care in Critical Care and Toxicology Units.

For many decades, the attitude of nurses has been an area of interest for researchers. The major reason for this interest is the profound impact of nurse’s attitude like organizational cynicism on many organizational outcomes. The present study is aimed to describe organizational cynicism, level of perceived organizational support, and the sequences of organizational cynicism on nurses and quality of care. Correlation descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out amongst 368 nurses working in critical care and toxicology units. The independent variable was organizational cynicism, while the dependent variables were nurse work outcomes and quality of care. The study shows high level of organizational cynicism among nurses in critical care units and low level of perceived organizational support. It also shows a negative relation between organizational cynicism and perceived organizational support, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and quality of care. As their cynicism level increased, their perceived level of organizational support, nurses’ commitment, job satisfaction, and quality of care decreased. In addition, it was obvious that nurses’ perception for organizational cynicism has a positive and significant effect on deviant workplace behavior, and their leaving of employing organization and burnout. Keywords : organizational support, cynicism, consequences, nurses, quality of care.