Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning Infinite Hidden Relational Models

Relational learning analyzes the probabilistic constraints between the attributes of entities and relationships. We extend the expressiveness of relational models by introducing for each entity (or object) an infinite-state latent variable as part of a Dirichlet process (DP) mixture model. It can be viewed as a relational generalization of hidden Markov random field. The information propagates in the intern-connected network via latent variables, reducing the necessary for extensive structure learning. For inference, we explore a Gibbs sampling method based on the Chinese restaurant process. The performance of our model is demonstrated in three applications: the movie recommendation, the function prediction of genes and a medical recommendation system.
Zero resource anti-spoofing detection for unit selection based synthetic speech using image spectrogram artifacts

Synthesized speech poses a serious threat to speaker verification systems, which is aggravated by speech synthesis systems becoming more freely available and easily adaptable to a target speaker. This motivated research into synthetic speech detection to circumvent the threat. Although current algorithms are effective in the detection of HMM-based speech synthesizers, unit selection based speech synthesizers remain a serious threat due to its ability to generate spoofing speech which easily overcame existing detectors. Current error rates for their detection is a lot higher than that obtained for other spoofing methods. This paper proposes a detection algorithm to counter unit selection based synthesis speech. It is free of training and exploits presence of artifacts in image spectrogram to perform detection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt targeted for unit selection based synthesis speech. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Efalizumab: continuous therapy for chronic psoriasis

Efalizumab is a humanised monoclonal antibody targeting the CD11a subunit of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1, specifically developed for ps-oriasis. Indicated for patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, efalizumab is FDA-approved in the US for patients aged ≥ 18, as well as being approved in several other European countries. Clinical studies have proven the efficacy of efalizumab for a majority of patients, improving quality of life with continuous maintenance therapy by means of weekly subcutaneous self-injections. Controlled trials have demonstrated the safety and tolerability of efalizumab. Clinical trials have established that ~ 30% of patients can achieve a PASI-75 response within 12weeks of initiating treatment, with further clinical benefit noted with continued therapy up to 24 and even 36months of therapy. Efalizumab may thus potentially offer patients a safe option for long-term safe control in managing their disease.
Velocity and acceleration before contact in the tackle during rugby union matches

Abstract The velocity and acceleration at which the ball-carrier or tackler enters the tackle may contribute to winning the contest and prevailing injury free. Velocity and acceleration have been quantified in controlled settings, whereas in match-play it has been subjectively described. The purpose of this study was to determine the velocity and acceleration of the ball-carrier and tackler before contact during match-play in three competitions (Super 14, Varsity Cup, and Under-19 Currie Cup). Using a two-dimensional scaled version of the field, the velocity and acceleration of the ball-carrier and tackler were measured at every 0.1 s to contact for 0.5 s. For front-on tackles, a significant difference (P < 0.05) between the ball-carrier (4.6 ± 1 m · s–1) and tackler (7.1 ± 3.5 m · s–1) was found at the 0.5 s time to contact interval in the Varsity Cup. For side-on tackles, differences between the two opposing players were found at 0.5 s (ball-carrier: 4.6 ± 1.7 m · s–1; tackler: 3.1 ± 1.2 m · s–1) and 0.4 s (ball-carrier: 6.3 ± 2.3 m · s–1; tackler: 3.7 ± 1.6 m · s–1) at Under-19 level. After 0.4 s, no significant differences (P > 0.05) were evident. Also, the ball-carrier's velocity over the 0.5 s was relatively stable compared with that of the tackler. Results suggest that tacklers adjust their velocity to reach a suitable relative velocity before making contact with the ball-carrier.
An information security meta‐policy for emergent organizations

There is an increasing movement towards emergent organizations and an adaptation of Web‐based information systems (IS). Such trends raise new requirements for security policy development. One such requirement is that information security policy formulation must become federated and emergent. However, existing security policy approaches do not pay much attention to policy formulation at all – much less IS policy formulation for emergent organizations. To improve the situation, an information security meta‐policy is put forth. The meta‐policy establishes how policies are created, implemented and enforced in order to assure that all policies in the organization have features to ensure swift implementation and timely, ongoing validation.
Antibodies to α B-Crystallin, Vimentin, and Heat Shock Protein 70 in Aqueous Humor of Patients with Normal Tension Glaucoma and IgG Antibody Patterns Against Retinal Antigen in Aqueous Humor

Purpose: To show the existence of IgG antibodies against retinal antigens in aqueous humor of normal tension glaucoma patients. Methods: Forty-two patients were included in this study. Aqueous humor was collected from control subjects (CO; n = 21) and patients with normal tension glaucoma (NTG; n = 21). Western blot methods against bovine retinal antigens were used to detect the IgG antibody patterns. The complex antibody repertoires were analyzed by multivariate statistical techniques. Mass spectrometry was used to identify the most important antigens. Results: Very complex IgG antibody patterns against retinal antigens were found in all analyzed aqueous humor samples. Our multivariate approach could quantify differences in immunoreactivities, and including all peaks, the analysis of discriminance revealed a statistical significant difference between the patterns of the NTG and the CO group (p < 0.001). The antigen band at 21 kDa was identified as α B-crystallin, the 57-kDa antigen band as vimentin, and one at 70 kDa as heat shock protein 70. Conclusions: We could demonstrate that complex IgG antibody patterns against retina exist in aqueous humor. The significant differences in the antibody pattern of the glaucoma group compared with the nonglaucoma group in aqueous humor confirm the results of previous studies using sera of glaucoma patients. These differences in antibody patterns might be further evidence for an autoimmune involvement in the pathogenesis of some glaucoma patients.
Conceptual, Spatial, and Cue Learning in the Morris Water Maze in Fast or Slow Kindling Rats: Attention Deficit Comorbidity

Rat lines selectively bred for differences in amygdala excitability, manifested by “fast” or “slow” kindling epileptogenesis, display several comorbid features related to anxiety and learning. To assess the nature of the learning deficits in fast kindling rats, performance was evaluated in several variants of a Morris water-maze test. Regardless of whether the location of the platform was fixed or varied over days (matching-to-place task), the fast rats displayed inferior performance, suggesting both working and reference memory impairments. Furthermore, when the position of the platform was altered after the response was acquired, fast rats were more persistent in emitting the previously acquired response. The poor performance of fast rats was also evident in both cued and uncued tasks, indicating that their disturbed learning was not simply a reflection of a spatial deficit. Moreover, fast rats could be easily distracted by irrelevant cues, suggesting that these animals suffered from an attentional disturbance. Interestingly, when rats received several training trials with the platform elevated, permitting them to develop the concept of facile escape, the performance of fast rats improved greatly. The performance disturbance in fast rats may reflect difficulties in forming a conceptual framework under conditions involving some degree of ambiguity, as well as greater distractibility by irrelevant cues. These various attributes of the fast rats may serve as a potentially useful animal model of disorders characterized by an attention deficit.
Structure and Evolution of a Novel Dimeric Enzyme from a Clinically Important Bacterial Pathogen*

Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS) catalyzes the first committed step of the lysine biosynthetic pathway. The tetrameric structure of DHDPS is thought to be essential for enzymatic activity, as isolated dimeric mutants of Escherichia coli DHDPS possess less than 2.5% that of the activity of the wild-type tetramer. It has recently been proposed that the dimeric form lacks activity due to increased dynamics. Tetramerization, by buttressing two dimers together, reduces dynamics in the dimeric unit and explains why all active bacterial DHDPS enzymes to date have been shown to be homo-tetrameric. However, in this study we demonstrate for the first time that DHDPS from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) exists in a monomer-dimer equilibrium in solution. Fluorescence-detected analytical ultracentrifugation was employed to show that the dimerization dissociation constant of MRSA-DHDPS is 33 nm in the absence of substrates and 29 nm in the presence of (S)-aspartate semialdehyde (ASA), but is 20-fold tighter in the presence of the substrate pyruvate (1.6 nm). The MRSA-DHDPS dimer exhibits a ping-pong kinetic mechanism (kcat = 70 ± 2 s-1, KmPyruvate = 0.11 ± 0.01 mm, and KmASA = 0.22 ± 0.02 mm) and shows ASA substrate inhibition with a KsiASA of 2.7 ± 0.9 mm. We also demonstrate that unlike the E. coli tetramer, the MRSA-DHDPS dimer is insensitive to lysine inhibition. The near atomic resolution (1.45Å) crystal structure confirms the dimeric quaternary structure and reveals that the dimerization interface of the MRSA enzyme is more extensive in buried surface area and noncovalent contacts than the equivalent interface in tetrameric DHDPS enzymes from other bacterial species. These data provide a detailed mechanistic insight into DHDPS catalysis and the evolution of quaternary structure of this important bacterial enzyme.
Sensitivity of Climate to Changes in NDVI

Abstract The sensitivity of global and regional climate to changes in vegetation density is investigated using a coupled biosphere–atmosphere model. The magnitude of the vegetation changes and their spatial distribution are based on natural decadal variability of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Different scenarios using maximum and minimum vegetation cover were derived from satellite records spanning the period 1982–90. Albedo decreased in the northern latitudes and increased in the Tropics with increased NDVI. The increase in vegetation density revealed that the vegetation’s physiological response was constrained by the limits of the available water resources. The difference between the maximum and minimum vegetation scenarios resulted in a 46% increase in absorbed visible solar radiation and a similar increase in gross photosynthetic CO2 uptake on a global annual basis. This increase caused the canopy transpiration and interception fluxes to increase and reduced those from the soil. T.
The power stroke of myosin VI and the basis of reverse directionality

Myosin VI supports movement toward the (−) end of actin filaments, despite sharing extensive sequence and structural homology with (+)-end-directed myosins. A class-specific stretch of amino acids inserted between the converter domain and the lever arm was proposed to provide the structural basis of directionality reversal. Indeed, the unique insert mediates a 120° redirection of the lever arm in a crystal structure of the presumed poststroke conformation of myosin VI [Ménétrey J, Bahloul A, Wells AL, Yengo CM, Morris CA, Sweeney HL, Houdusse A (2005) Nature 435:779–785]. However, this redirection alone is insufficient to account for the large (−)-end-directed stroke of a monomeric myosin VI construct. The underlying motion of the myosin VI converter domain must therefore differ substantially from the power stroke of (+)-end-directed myosins. To experimentally map out the motion of the converter domain and lever arm, we have generated a series of truncated myosin VI constructs and characterized the size and direction of the power stroke for each construct using dual-labeled gliding filament assays and optical trapping. Motors truncated near the end of the converter domain generate (+)-end-directed motion, whereas longer constructs move toward the (−) end. Our results directly demonstrate that the unique insert is required for directionality reversal, ruling out a large class of models in which the converter domain moves toward the (−) end. We suggest that the lever arm rotates ≈180° between pre- and poststroke conformations.
Rectal infections with chlamydia and gonorrhoea in women attending a multiethnic sexually transmitted diseases urban clinic

Sexually transmitted rectal infections with Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) have been well documented in men who have sex with men (MSM). Few studies have described infections in women who engage in anal intercourse. We performed testing for rectal infections in women who reported ano-receptive intercourse at the Miami Dade Health Department Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) clinic and report the prevalence and characteristics of women with rectal CT or GC infections. Our results revealed a prevalence of 17.5% for rectal chlamydia and 13.4% for rectal gonorrhoea. Urine-based screening alone would have missed 6% of rectal chlamydia infections and 35% of rectal gonorrhoea infections. Anal symptoms were reported in 12.5% of women with rectal chlamydia infections. The only associated factor identified was an age less than 28 years. We conclude that rectal screening for CT and GC should be included in STD prevention strategies, especially in the younger population.
Visual Dysfunction in Posterior Cortical Atrophy

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a syndromic diagnosis. It is characterized by progressive impairment of higher (cortical) visual function with imaging evidence of degeneration affecting the occipital, parietal, and posterior temporal lobes bilaterally. Most cases will prove to have Alzheimer pathology. The aim of this review is to summarize the development of the concept of this disorder since it was first introduced. A critical discussion of the evolving diagnostic criteria is presented and the differential diagnosis with regard to the underlying pathology is reviewed. Emphasis is given to the visual dysfunction that defines the disorder, and the classical deficits, such as simultanagnosia and visual agnosia, as well as the more recently recognized visual field defects, are reviewed, along with the evidence on their neural correlates. The latest developments on the imaging of PCA are summarized, with special attention to its role on the differential diagnosis with related conditions.
Development of a microsurgery training system

Surgeons require significant training to acquire sufficient dexterity and hand-eye coordination to manipulate objects skillfully under the microscope. This paper presents a computer-based real-time simulation of microsurgery as well as the hardware setup. It presents a realistic physics-based elastic suture and blood vessel model, fast collision detection techniques, suture insertion process and novel approach of a haptic forceps. The simulation environment demonstrates a complete vascular suturing system to train skills such as grasping, suture placement, needle insertion and knot-tying running at 500 Hz, sufficient for physical realism.
Differential Expression of Neurokinin-1 Receptor by Human Mucosal and Peripheral Lymphoid Cells

ABSTRACT Substance P (SP) has been implicated in peripheral and mucosal neuroimmunoregulation. However, confusion remains regarding immunocyte expression of the receptor for SP, neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R), and whether there is differential NK-1R expression in the mucosal versus the peripheral immune system. In the same assay systems, we examined the expression of NK-1R in human lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), monocytes, and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM). Using standard reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, mRNA expression of both the long and the short isoforms of the NK-1R was evident in LPMC but not in PBMC, PBL, monocytes, or MDM. However, by using nested RT-PCR NK-1R mRNA expression was detected in PBMC, PBL, monocytes, and MDM. This level of expression was found to represent one NK-1R mRNA transcript in >1,000 cells. In contrast, by using competitive RT-PCR we demonstrate that LPMC express a more biologically significant level of eight NK-1R mRNA transcripts per cell. Flow cytometric detection of NK-1R expression at the protein level was evident in LPMC but not in PBMC. These findings illustrate the extreme sensitivity of nested RT-PCR and the advantages of competitive RT-PCR in comparative studies of receptor expression in different cell populations. This study suggests that, under normal conditions, readily detectable expression of NK-1R in human mononuclear cells occurs at the mucosal level rather than in the peripheral circulation.
Self-organizing wide-area network caches

A substantial fraction of all network traffic today comes from applications in which clients retrieve objects from servers. The caching of objects in locations "close" to clients is an important technique for reducing both network traffic and response time for such applications. In this paper we consider the benefits of associating caches with switching nodes throughout the network, rather than in a few locations. We also consider the use of various self-organizing or active cache management strategies for organizing cache content. We evaluate caching techniques using both simulation and a general analytic model for network caching. Our results indicate that in-network caching can make effective use of cache space, and in many cases self-organizing caching schemes yield better average round-trip latencies than traditional approaches, using much smaller per-node caches.
The characteristics of juvenile myasthenia gravis among South Africans.

OBJECTIVES To report the characteristics of juvenile-onset (<20 years) myasthenia gravis (MG) in Africa. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Six South African centres collected data which included acetylcholine receptor-antibody (AChR-ab) status, delay before diagnosis, MG Foundation of America grade at onset, maximum severity and severity at last visit, therapies, outcomes and complications. RESULTS We report on 190 individuals with a 4-year median follow-up (interquartile range (IQR) 1 - 8). The median age at symptom onset was 7 years (IQR 4 - 14). Ocular MG (26%) occurred among younger children (mean 5.1 years), compared with those developing generalised MG (74%) (mean 10.2 years) (p=0.0004). Remissions were obtained in 45% of generalised and 50% of ocular MG patients, of whom the majority received immunosuppressive treatment, mainly prednisone. Children with post-pubertal onset had more severe MG, but deaths were infrequent. Thymectomies were performed in 43% of those with generalised MG who suffered greater maximum disease severity (p=0.002); there was a trend towards more remissions in the thymectomy group compared with the non-thymectomy group (p=0.057). There was no racial variation with respect to AChR-ab status, maximum severity, or use of immunosuppression. However, 23% of children of African genetic ancestry developed partial or complete ophthalmoplegia as a complication of generalised MG (p=0.002). CONCLUSION Younger children developed ocular MG and older children generalised MG. Persistent ophthalmoplegia developing as a MG complication is not uncommon among juveniles of African genetic ancestry. A successful approach to the management of this complication that causes significant morbidity is, as yet, unclear.
The Rationale for Consuming Cognitive Enhancement Drugs in University Students and Teachers

Cognitive enhancement (CE) is the pharmaceutical augmentation of mental abilities (e.g., learning or memory) without medical necessity. This topic has recently attracted widespread attention in scientific and social circles. However, knowledge regarding the mechanisms that underlie the decision to use CE medication is limited. To analyze these decisions, we used data from two online surveys of randomly sampled university teachers (N = 1,406) and students (N = 3,486). Each respondent evaluated one randomly selected vignette with regard to a hypothetical CE drug. We experimentally varied the characteristics of the drugs among vignettes and distributed them among respondents. In addition, the respondent’s internalization of social norms with respect to CE drug use was measured. Our results revealed that students were more willing to enhance cognitive performance via drugs than university teachers, although the overall willingness was low. The probability of side effects and their strength reduced the willingness to use CE drugs among students and university teachers, whereas higher likelihoods and magnitudes of CE increased this propensity. In addition, the internalized norm against CE drug use influenced decision making: Higher internalization decreased the willingness to use such medications. Students’ internalized norms more strongly affected CE abstinence compared with those of university teachers. Furthermore, internalized norms negatively interacted with the instrumental incentives for taking CE medication. This internalization limited the influence of and deliberation on instrumental incentives. This study is the first to provide empirical evidence regarding the importance of social norms and their influence on rational decision making with regard to CE. We identified previously undiscovered decision-making patterns concerning CE. Thus, this study provides insight into the motivators and inhibitors of CE drug use. These findings have implications for contending with CE behavior by highlighting the magnitude of potential side effects and by informing the debate regarding the ethics of CE use.
Contextual modeling with labeled multi-LDA

Learning about activities and object affordances from human demonstration are important cognitive capabilities for robots functioning in human environments, for example, being able to classify objects and knowing how to grasp them for different tasks. To achieve such capabilities, we propose a Labeled Multi-modal Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LM-LDA), which is a generative classifier trained with two different data cues, for instance, one cue can be traditional visual observation and another cue can be contextual information. The novel aspects of the LM-LDA classifier, compared to other methods for encoding contextual information are that, I) even with only one of the cues present at execution time, the classification will be better than single cue classification since cue correlations are encoded in the model, II) one of the cues (e.g., common grasps for the observed object class) can be inferred from the other cue (e.g., the appearance of the observed object). This makes the method suitable for robot online and transfer learning; a capability highly desirable in cognitive robotic applications. Our experiments show a clear improvement for classification and a reasonable inference of the missing data.