Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Duration of Nuclear Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase 1 and 2 Signaling during Cell Cycle Reentry Distinguishes Proliferation from Apoptosis in Response to Asbestos

Asbestos exposure causes activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) in lung epithelial cells, the targets of asbestos-associated lung carcinomas. The functional significance of ERK1/2 activation in pulmonary epithelial and mesothelial cells is unclear. Using serum-stimulated mouse alveolar type II epithelial cells as a model for cell cycle reentry, we show that the duration of phospho-ERK1/2 in the nucleus determines cell fate in response to crocidolite asbestos. In response to 10% serum, a proliferative stimulus, phosphorylated ERK1/2 initially accumulated in the nucleus, and reduction of nuclear phospho-ERK1/2 after 2 to 4 hours was followed by expression of cyclin D1 and S-phase entry. Low levels of asbestos (<0.5 μg/cm2) promoted S-phase entry in low (2%) serum through an epidermal growth factor receptor-dependent pathway but did not promote cell cycle progression or induce apoptosis in the presence of high (10%) serum-containing medium. Higher levels of asbestos (1.0 to 5.0 μg/cm2) prolonged the localization of phospho-ERK1/2 in the nucleus in the presence of high serum, impeded S-phase entry, and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Immunofluorescence microscopy indicated that the duration of signaling by phospho-ERK1/2 in the nucleus was predictive of cell fate at any concentration of asbestos. After 8 hours of exposure, cells with nuclear phospho-ERK1/2 also were positive for nuclear localization of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), an early event in apoptosis. In contrast, asbestos-exposed cells that displayed cytoplasmic phospho-ERK1/2 at 8 hours expressed cyclin D1 and proceeded to S phase. Our studies show that prolonged localization of phospho-ERK1/2 in the nucleus is incompatible with expression of cyclin D1 and is predictive of asbestos-associated cell death by AIF, thereby providing an approach for determining cell fate in asbestos-induced tumorigenesis.
Energy efficient BS Cooperation in DPS CoMP based cellular networks with hybrid power supply

Energy efficient cellular networking has recently drawn increasing attention for reducing network operation cost without sacrificing the quality of service (QoS). This paper proposes a framework for energy cooperation among base stations (BSs) in coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission based cellular networks, where the BSs are powered by hybrid power supplies including both the conventional grid and renewable energy sources. The considered network deploys BSs having independent energy storages, which are assumed interconnected by resistive power lines for energy sharing. The network also integrates dynamic point selection (DPS) CoMP technique for selecting the best serving BSs for an user equipment. The objective of the proposed cooperation is to maximize the usage of renewable solar energy leading to reduced on-grid power consumption. The proposed energy cooperation among BSs exploits the tempo-spatial diversities of both the renewable energy generation and the traffic demand. Monte Carlo based simulations are carried out for analyzing the energy efficiency (EE) performance of the proposed network. Simulation results validate the proposed inter-BS cooperation demonstrating substantial energy savings.
Impact of antidementia medications on neuropsychiatric symptoms and informal costs of caregiving in dementia

36 Introduction . 37 Methods. 41 Results . 50 Discussion . 58 4. CONCLUSIONS. 64 REFERENCES . 66 ix Page APPENDICES . 75 Appendix A: Medication Record from the Cache County Study on Memory in Aging . 76 Appendix B: Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale . 83 Appendix C: General Medical Health Rating (GMHR) . 87 Appendix D: Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) . 89 Appendix E: Caregiver Activity Survey (CAS) . 98 Appendix F: Neuropsychiatric Inventory Score by Visit . 101 Appendix G: Natural Log Transformation of Neuropsychiatric Inventory Score by Each Visit . 110
Comparison Criteria for Optimum Image Compression

Recently, many efficient image compression methods have been developed in order to compress image data prior to further processing. Discrete cosine transforms and wavelet transforms are examples of these compression methods. The aim of the work presented within this paper is to introduce comparison criteria for optimum compression using these well known image compression techniques. The comparison criteria will comprise visual inspection and computed analysis
VibPress: estimating pressure input using vibration absorption on mobile devices

This paper introduces VibPress, a software technique that enables pressure input interaction on mobile devices by measuring the level of vibration absorption with the built-in accelerometer when the device is in contact with a damping surface (e.g., user's hands). This is achieved using a real-time estimation algorithm running on the device. Through a user evaluation, we provide evidence that this system is faster than previous software-based approaches, and accurate as hardware-augmented approaches (up to 99.7% accuracy). With this work, we also provide an insight about the maximum number of pressure levels that users can reliably distinguish, reporting usability metrics (time, errors and cognitive load) for different pressure levels and types of gripping gestures (press and squeeze).
Serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor AND ANGIOSTATIN as Potential Markers in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective: to evaluate the prognostic role of serum VEGF and angiostatin levels in patients with HCC. Patients and methods: Between April 2010 and April 2012, 40 patients diagnosed with HCC, presented to the Departments of Gastroenterology and clinical oncology, Assiut Univ. Hospital were recruited in this study. The control group consisted of 40 healthy individuals and another group of 40 cirrhotic patients with no evidence of HCC attending the Gastroenterology clinic of our hospital were included. Serum samples were prospectively collected from all groups for estimation of α-FP, VEGF, and angiostatin levels using ELISA technique. Patients with HCC were managed according to the BCLC strategy. All patients were reviewed in the Gastroenterology and oncology clinics at least every 1 to 2 months. Results: The mean serum VEGF concentrations (632.3±5.1 pg/mL) were significantly higher in patients with HCC than in liver cirrhosis patients and healthy controls (mean value148.0±23.32 pg/mL, and 45.0±6.4 pg/mL, respectively) (P < 0.05). In addition, HCC patients showed increased serum VEGF concentrations with increased BCLC score (Odd’s Ratio1.05 95% confidence interval 1.11–3.9). On multivariate analysis, serum VEGF level was an independent prognostic factor (hazard ratio 1.86 (95 per cent confidence interval 1.10 to 3.92); P = 0.032). We also found that angiostatin levels were significantly lower in HCC patients compared with patients with liver cirrhosis and control subjects (P <0.05). Furthermore, there was no significant correlation between serum angiostatin levels and VEGF levels. We did not find any correlation between angiostatin serum levels and overall survival. Conclusion: this study demonstrated that serum VEGF level is a prognostic marker for HCC that can help guidance in clinical decision-making regarding therapy and outcome. Our study also showed that angiostatin is potential diagnostic marker that may aid in early detection of HCC. However, further studies should be performed. [Laila Abdelbaki, Samy El Gizawy, Khaled Abdalazeem, Mohammed Z. E. Hafez, Rania Bakry, Ebtesam M. ElGezawy and Khalid A. Nasif. Serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor AND ANGIOSTATIN as Potential Markers in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):3846-3851]. (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 573
Intact acquisition and long-term retention of mirror-tracing skill in Alzheimer's disease and in global amnesia.

The ability of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or global amnesia (AMN) to acquire skill for tracing a pattern seen in mirror-reversed view and to retain that skill over 24-h intervals was examined. Both patient groups had poor recall and recognition of their mirror-tracing experience, but they acquired and retained mirror-tracing skill as well as normal control subjects. One AMN patient (H.M.) retained the skill over a year-long interval. Furthermore, the patients transferred their skill normally to an alternate pattern. These results indicate that the memory system underlying mirror-tracing skill learning is separable from medial-temporal structures compromised in AMN and AD and from neocortical areas compromised in AD. Brain regions relatively spared in early AD, such as the basal ganglia or cerebellum, may mediate critical aspects of the learning of novel sensorimotor associations that underlie skilled mirror tracing.
Beyond Face-to-Face: A Field Study of Electronic Meetings in Different Time and Place Modes

In this article, we present a field study of using an electronic meeting system to support actual meetings in 4 different time and place modes within a large company. The meeting descriptions provide concrete case illustrations of how different meeting modes can work, what types of effects can occur, and factors that contribute to success. Analysis of these meetings focuses on 3 main areas. First, commonalities and differences between these cases are examined to provide insights into how electronic meetings may be affected by the time-place mode in which they occur. Positive findings from previous field studies of EMS use in face-to-face meetings are found to extend to distributed meeting environments. This includes increased productivity, more active participation, and increased buy in and ownership of the meeting results. The distributed meeting modes are also found to impose new challenges related to facilitation and maintaining participation and engagement in the meetings. Among these cases are examples of meetings that use multiple time-place modes to accommodate different components of the overall meeting process. These multimode meetings represent a major trend in group work and provide new options for meeting design.
Social Media Data Analysis with IndexedHBase and Iterative MapReduce

As data intensive applications evolve, many research projects involving Big Data require efficient extraction and analysis of specific data subsets, rather than the whole dataset. Social media data analysis is one such example. While social media platforms provide tremendous data about all kinds of social activities, most research analyses focus on specific social events along the lines of presidential elections or protests. In order to support the requirements of such research use cases, the storage platform needs to provide not only a scalable solution for the overall large dataset, but also mechanisms for efficiently querying the target subsets and applying post-query analyses. This paper introduces IndexedHBase, a storage platform specially designed to support end-to-end analysis of social media data. IndexedHBase uses HBase as the storage substrate, and provides a customizable indexing framework to facilitate queries about data subsets related to different social events. Beyond the queries, IndexedHBase can be integrated with parallel processing runtimes like Hadoop and Twister to support sophisticated analysis of the query results through user-defined MapReduce functions. We describe the architecture and components of IndexedHBase, and demonstrate its effectiveness and efficiency by reproducing the end-to-end analysis of a published research project about the 2010 U.S. midterm elections. We then extend this to a data subset about the 2012 presidential election, which serves to demonstrate that IndexedHBase correctly generates results that match with independent evaluations. Furthermore, our parallel implementation for the most time-consuming analysis step can achieve a processing speed that is tens to hundreds of times faster compared with a baseline sequential implementation in R for a distributed setup.
Characterizing the Spatial Structure of Mangrove Features for Optimizing Image-Based Mangrove Mapping

Understanding the relationship between the size of mangrove structural features and the optimum image pixel size is essential to support effective mapping activities in mangrove environments. This study developed a method to estimate the optimum image pixel size for accurately mapping mangrove features (canopy types and features (gaps, tree crown), community, and cover types) and tested the applicability of the results. Semi-variograms were used to characterize the spatial structure of mangrove vegetation by estimating the size of dominant image features in WorldView-2 imagery resampled over a range of pixel sizes at several mangrove areas in Moreton Bay, Australia. The results show that semi-variograms detected the variations in the structural properties of mangroves in the study area and its forms were controlled by the image pixel size, the spectral-band used, and the spatial characteristics of the scene object, e.g., tree or gap. This information was synthesized to derive the optimum image pixel size for mapping mangrove structural and compositional features at specific spatial scales. Interpretation of semi-variograms combined with field data and visual image interpretation confirms that certain vegetation structural features are detectable at specific scales and can be optimally detected using a specific image pixel size. The analysis results provide a basis for multi-scale mangrove mapping using high spatial resolution image datasets.
The incidence rate of female breast cancer in Saudi Arabia: an observational descriptive epidemiological analysis of data from Saudi Cancer Registry 2001–2008

Background This study presents descriptive epidemiological data related to breast cancer cases diagnosed from 2001 to 2008 among Saudi women, including the frequency and percentage of cases, the crude incidence rate (CIR), and the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), adjusted by the region and year of diagnosis. Methods This is a retrospective descriptive epidemiological study of all Saudi female breast cancer cases from 2001 to 2008. The statistical analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics, a linear regression model, and analysis of variance with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0. Results A total of 6,922 female breast cancer cases were recorded in the Saudi Cancer Registry from 2001 to 2008. The highest overall percentages (38.6% and 31.2%) of female breast cancer cases were documented in women who were 30–44 and 45–59 years of age, respectively. The eastern region of Saudi Arabia had the highest overall ASIR, at 26.6 per 100,000 women, followed by Riyadh at 20.5 and Makkah at 19.4. Jazan, Baha, and Asir had the lowest average ASIRs, at 4.8, 6.1, and 7.3 per 100,000 women, respectively. The region of Jouf (24.2%; CIR 11.2, ASIR 17.2) had the highest changes in CIR and ASIR from 2001 to 2008. While Qassim, Jazan, and Tabuk recorded down-trending rates with negative values. Conclusion There was a significant increase in the CIRs and ASIRs for female breast cancer between 2001 and 2008. The majority of breast cancer cases occurred among younger women. The region of Jouf had the greatest significant differences of CIR and ASIR during 2001 to 2008. Jazan, Baha, and Najran had the lowest average CIRs and ASIRs of female breast cancer, whereas the linear trend upward is a concern in certain regions, such as the eastern region, Makkah, and Riyadh. However, further analytical epidemiological research is needed to identify the potential risk factors involved in the increase in the prevalence of breast cancer among Saudi women.
Randomized Study of PMTO in Foster Care

Objective: This study examined the effects of Parent Management Training, Oregon (PMTO) model on parenting effectiveness and caregiver functioning. Method: Children in foster care with emotional and behavioral problems were randomized to PMTO (n = 461) or services as usual (n = 457) in a nonblinded study design. Using an intent-to-treat approach, analysis of covariance models tested the intervention’s overall effect and time interactions for parenting and caregiver functioning. Additional analyses were conducted to identify significant predictors of outcomes. Results: PMTO did not significantly affect parenting practices; however, positive effects were observed on caregiver functioning in mental health (odds ratio [OR] = 2.01), substance use (OR = 1.67), social supports (OR = 2.37), and readiness for reunification (OR = 1.64). While no time interactions were detected, several child, parent, and case characteristics were associated with improvements in 6-month outcomes. Conclusion: This study extends evidence on PMTO to biological families of children in foster care, including those with older youth.
Cortical Inhibition Modified by Embryonic Neural Precursors Grafted into the Postnatal Brain

Embryonic medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) cells transplanted into the adult brain can disperse, migrate, and differentiate to neurons expressing GABA, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. It has been hypothesized that grafted MGE precursors could have important therapeutic applications increasing local inhibition, but there is no evidence that MGE cells can modify neural circuits when grafted into the postnatal brain. Here we demonstrate that MGE cells grafted into one location of the neonatal rodent brain migrate widely into cortex. Grafted MGE-derived cells differentiate into mature cortical interneurons; the majority of these new interneurons express GABA. Based on their morphology and expression of somatostatin, neuropeptide Y, parvalbumin, or calretinin, we infer that graft-derived cells integrate into local circuits and function as GABA-producing inhibitory cells. Whole-cell current-clamp recordings obtained from MGE-derived cells indicate firing properties typical of mature interneurons. Moreover, patch-clamp recordings of IPSCs on pyramidal neurons in the host brain, 30 and 60 d after transplantation, indicated a significant increase in GABA-mediated synaptic inhibition in regions containing transplanted MGE cells. In contrast, synaptic excitation is not altered in the host brain. Grafted MGE cells, therefore, can be used to modify neural circuits and selectively increase local inhibition. These findings could have important implications for reparative cell therapies for brain disorders.
Using Cue Phrases to Determine Rhetorical Relations

'Relation based' approaches to discourse analysis and text generation suffer from a common problem: there is considerable disagreement between researchers over the set of relations which is proposed. Few researchers use identical sets of relations, and many use relations not found in any other sets. This proliferation of relations has been pointed out before (eg Hovy [1]), and several methods for justifying a standard set of relations have been proposed: this paper reviews some of these, and presents a new method of justification which overcomes some awkward problems.
A multisite randomized trial of the effects of physician education and organizational change in chronic-asthma care: health outcomes of the Pediatric Asthma Care Patient Outcomes Research Team II Study.

BACKGROUND Traditional primary care practice change approaches have not led to full implementation of national asthma guidelines. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of 2 asthma care improvement strategies in primary care. DESIGN Two-year randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING Forty-two primary care pediatric practices affiliated with 4 managed care organizations. PARTICIPANTS Children aged 3 to 17 years with mild to moderate persistent asthma enrolled in primary care practices affiliated with managed care organizations. INTERVENTIONS Peer leader education consisted of training 1 physician per practice in asthma guidelines and peer teaching methods. Planned care combined the peer leader program with nurse-mediated organizational change through planned visits with assessments, care planning, and self-management support, in collaboration with physicians. Analyses compared each intervention with usual care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Annualized asthma symptom days, asthma-specific functional health status (Children's Health Survey for Asthma), and frequency of brief oral steroid courses (bursts). RESULTS Six hundred thirty-eight children completed baseline evaluations, representing 64% of those screened and eligible. Mean +/- SD age was 9.4 +/- 3.5 years; 60% were boys. Three hundred fifty (55%) were taking controller medication. Mean +/- SD annualized asthma symptom days was 107.4 +/- 122 days. Children in the peer leader arm had 6.5 fewer symptom days per year (95% confidence interval [CI], - 16.9 to 3.6), a nonsignificant difference, but had a 36% (95% CI, 11% to 54%) lower oral steroid burst rate per year compared with children receiving usual care. Children in the planned care arm had 13.3 (95% CI, - 24.7 to -2.1) fewer symptom days annually (-12% from baseline; P =.02) and a 39% (95% CI, 11% to 58%) lower oral steroid burst rate per year relative to usual care. Both interventions showed small, statistically significant effects for 2 of 5 Children's Health Survey for Asthma scales. Planned care subjects had greater controller adherence (parent report) compared with usual care subjects (rate ratio, 1.05 [95% CI, 1.00 to 1.09]). CONCLUSIONS Planned care (nurse-mediated organizational change plus peer leader education) is an effective model for improving asthma care in the primary care setting. Peer leader education on its own may also serve as a useful model for improving asthma care, although it is less comprehensive and the treatment effect less pronounced.
Multi-class fruit classification using RGB-D data for indoor robots

In this paper we present an effective and robust system to classify fruits under varying pose and lighting conditions tailored for an object recognition system on a mobile platform. Therefore, we present results on the effectiveness of our underlying segmentation method using RGB as well as depth cues for the specific technical setup of our robot. A combination of RGB low-level visual feature descriptors and 3D geometric properties is used to retrieve complementary object information for the classification task. The unified approach is validated using two multi-class RGB-D fruit categorization datasets. Experimental results compare different feature sets and classification methods and highlight the effectiveness of the proposed features using a Random Forest classifier.
A Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization Improved by Mutative Scale Chaos Algorithm

When using the standard particle swarm optimization to optimize the complex problems with high dimension, low convergence efficiency and falling into local optimization usually occur because of its inherent disadvantages. To avoid these disadvantages, a novel hybrid particle swarm optimization improved by mutative scale chaos method is proposed in this paper. This hybrid algorithm combines global high-speed convergence ability of particle swarm optimization with chaos method's advantage, i.e., breaking away from local optimal points easily. The variance of the population's fitness is used to judge premature state of the whole population. The searching space of chaos method can be reduced dynamically by mutative scale scheme, and then searching efficiency of the proposed algorithm is improved further. The test results for benchmark functions show that this novel hybrid algorithm not only surpasses the standard particle swarm optimization obviously in many respects, such as optimization precision, efficiency, success ratio and so on, but also has good stability and low sensitivity to different dimensions of functions.