Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The ASCA spectrum of the z=4.72 blazar GB 1428+4217.

The X-ray luminous quasar GB 1428+4217 at redshift 4.72 has been observed with ASCA. The observed 0.5-10 keV flux is 3.2E-12 erg/s/cm2. We report here on the intrinsic 4-57 keV X-ray spectrum, which is very flat (photon index of 1.29). We find no evidence for flux variability within the ASCA dataset or between it and ROSAT data. We show that the overall spectral energy distribution of GB 1428+4217 is similar to that of lower redshift MeV blazars and present models which fit the available data. The Doppler beaming factor is likely to be at least 8. We speculate on the number density of such high redshift blazars, which must contain rapidly-formed massive black holes.
Neuropathology and Therapeutic Intervention in Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy

Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a hereditary motor neuron disease caused by the expansion of a polyglutamine tract in the androgen receptor (AR). The histopathological finding in SBMA is loss of lower motor neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord as well as in the brainstem motor nuclei. Animal studies have revealed that the pathogenesis of SBMA depends on the level of serum testosterone, and that androgen deprivation mitigates neurodegeneration through inhibition of nuclear accumulation of the pathogenic AR. Heat shock proteins, ubiquitin-proteasome system and transcriptional regulation are also potential targets of therapy development for SBMA.
Improving Alignment of System Combination by Using Multi-objective Optimization

This paper proposes a multi-objective optimization framework which supports heterogeneous information sources to improve alignment in machine translation system combination techniques. In this area, most of techniques usually utilize confusion networks (CN) as their central data structure to compact an exponential number of an potential hypotheses, and because better hypothesis alignment may benefit constructing better quality confusion networks, it is natural to add more useful information to improve alignment results. However, these information may be heterogeneous, so the widely-used Viterbi algorithm for searching the best alignment may not apply here. In the multi-objective optimization framework, each information source is viewed as an independent objective, and a new goal of improving all objectives can be searched by mature algorithms. The solutions from this framework, termed Pareto optimal solutions, are then combined to construct confusion networks. Experiments on two Chinese-to-English translation datasets show significant improvements, 0.97 and 1.06 BLEU points over a strong Indirected Hidden Markov Model-based (IHMM) system, and 4.75 and 3.53 points over the best single machine translation systems.
Secure SocialAware: A Security Framework for Mobile Social Networking Applications ; CU-CS-1054-09

Social network information is now being used in ways for which it may have not been originally intended. In particular, increased use of smartphones capable of running applications which access social network information enable applications to be aware of a user’s position and preferences. However, current models for exchange of this information require users to compromise their privacy. We present a framework called Secure SocialAware (SSA) which allows for the interaction of social network information with real-world location-based services without compromising user privacy and security. Through exchanging an encrypted nonce (EID) associated with a verified user location, SSA allows locationbased services to query the local area for social network information without disclosing user identity or any set of information which could be positively matched to users. We argue that it is important that such a framework be accepted as mobile social networks are growing exponentially.
Using a system dynamics approach for identifying and removing management model inadequacy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how system dynamics (SD) modeling can help in cases where the management models used by an organization are not adequate for the task at hand.Design/methodology/approach – Two specific cases of management model inadequacy are discussed in this paper – namely management model obsolescence and management model inappropriateness. Each of the two cases is being demonstrated with the use of a specific practical case study. SD simulation models have been constructed based on a more comprehensive view than the ones used at the outset in order to come up with more robust and reliable management models, which were appropriate to the situations at hand. The cases conducted were exploratory in the tradition of action research and the findings are preliminary.Findings – The inadequacy of prior management models was demonstrated by the superior results obtained – as derived from the SD models – if more appropriate management models, leading to new value potentials, wer.
Routine Cerebral Angiography after Surgery for Saccular Aneurysms: Is It Worth It?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether an angiographically proven rate of saccular intracranial aneurysm occlusion after surgical clipping suggests that postoperative angiography should continue to be used routinely or should be supplanted by intraoperative angiography. These data also should establish a basis for comparing surgery with new endovascular methods of treatment. METHODS: During a 3.5-year period, a consecutive series of 622 patients (955 aneurysms, 808 of which were surgically clipped) who underwent postoperative angiography were studied retrospectively. This series comprised 493 ruptured and 315 unruptured aneurysms. RESULTS: Complete aneurysm closure was achieved in 88% of aneurysms, a neck remnant was discovered in 9%, and a fundus remnant was revealed in 3%. Of 493 ruptured aneurysms, 86% were completely occluded. Of 315 unruptured aneurysms, 91% were completely occluded. The results for clipping of complex aneurysms, i.e., posterior circulation or large to giant aneurysms, were significantly inferior to those for small and anterior circulation aneurysms. In one-third of the large and giant aneurysms, a part of the base was left intentionally because of calcifications or strong wall or to prevent occlusion of any branches. In the series, a significant 5% complication rate of major vessel occlusion was detected. CONCLUSION: Our retrospective analysis revealed that ruptured, posterior circulation, and large/giant aneurysms are more prone to incomplete clipping. Therefore, these aneurysms require postoperative if not intraoperative evaluation with angiography. Many clippings of anterior circulation aneurysms experience unexpected failures, which suggests that intraoperative angiography could be beneficial. This series, which has no selection bias, can be used as a basis to compare the results of other series reporting surgical or endovascular treatment.
Variable sleep schedules and outcomes in children with psychopathological problems: preliminary observations

Background Night-to-night variability in sleep of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be a mediator of behavioral phenotype. We examined the potential association between alertness, sleep, and eating behaviors in children with ADHD and comorbid problems. Methods Sleep was monitored by actigraphy for 7 days. Questionnaires were used to assess sleep complaints, habits and food patterns by parental report, and sleep complaints and sleepiness by child report. Results The group comprised 18 children, including 15 boys, aged 9.4 ± 1.7 years, 88.9% Caucasian, who took one or multiple medications. Children slept on average for 6 hours and 58 minutes with a variability of 1 hour 3 minutes relative to the mean, and their sleepiness scores were highly variable from day to day. Most children had a normal body mass index (BMI). Sleepiness and BMI were associated with sleep schedules and food patterns, such that they accounted for 76% of variance, predominantly by the association of BMI with mean wake after sleep onset and by bedtime sleepiness, with wake after sleep onset variability. Similarly, 97% of variance was shared with eating behaviors, such as desserts and snacks, and fast food meals were associated with morning sleepiness. Conclusion Disrupted sleep and sleepiness appears to favor unhealthy food patterns and may place children with ADHD at increased risk for obesity.
Low Prevalence of Iron and Vitamin A Deficiency among Cambodian Women of Reproductive Age

Nearly half of women of reproductive age (WRA) in Cambodia are anemic. To guide interventions, national data on nutritional causes of anemia, including iron deficiency and vitamin A deficiency, are needed. In 2012, a national household survey in WRA on antibodies to routine vaccine-preventable disease immunity was performed. We used serum samples from this survey to estimate the prevalence of iron and vitamin A deficiency in 2112 Cambodian WRA, aged 15 to 39 years. Iron deficiency was classified as low or marginal iron stores (ferritin concentrations corrected for inflammation <15 μg/L and <50 μg/L respectively; Fer), iron deficient erythropoiesis (soluble transferrin receptor concentrations >8.3 mg/L; sTfR), or low total body iron (TBI) derived from Fer and sTfR concentrations (<0 mg/kg). Vitamin A status was classified using retinol binding protein (RBP) concentrations corrected for inflammation as deficient (<0.70 μmol/L) or marginal (<1.05 μmol/L. Overall, the prevalence of low iron stores, low TBI and iron deficient erythropoiesis was 8.1%, 5.0% and 9.3% respectively. Almost 40% of the women had marginal iron stores. Iron status was better in women living in urban areas compared to rural areas (p < 0.05 for TBI and sTfR). The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency was <1%. These findings suggest that the contribution of iron and vitamin A deficiency to the high prevalence of anemia in Cambodian WRA may be limited. The etiology of anemia in Cambodia needs to be elucidated further to guide current policies on anemia.
Localized proton MRS of cerebral metabolite profiles in different mouse strains

Localized proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) was used to quantify cerebral metabolite concentrations in NMRI (n = 8), BALB/c (n = 7), and C57BL/6 (n = 8) mice in vivo and 1 hr after global irreversible ischemia (2.35 T, STEAM, TR/TE/TM = 6000/20/10 ms, 4 × 3 × 4 mm3 volume, corrections for cerebrospinal fluid). Anatomical MRI and proton MRS revealed significant differences of the C57BL/6 strain in comparison with both BALB/c and NMRI mice. While MRI volumetry yielded larger ventricular spaces of the C57BL/6 strain, proton MRS resulted in elevated concentrations of N‐acetylaspartate (tNAA), creatine and phosphocreatine (tCr), choline‐containing compounds (Cho), glucose (Glc), and lactate (Lac) relative to BALB/c mice and elevated Glc relative to NMRI mice. Apart from the expected decrease of Glc and increase of Lac 1 hr post mortem, C57BL/6 mice presented with significant reductions of tNAA, tCr, and Cho, whereas these metabolites remained unchanged in BALB/c and NMRI mice. The results support the hypothesis that the more pronounced vulnerability of C57BL/6 mice to brain ischemia is linked to strain‐dependent differences of the cerebral energy metabolism. Magn Reson Med 49:822–827, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Self-optimization in computer systems via on-line control: application to power management

Computer systems hosting critical e-commerce applications must typically satisfy stringent quality-of-service (QoS) requirements under dynamic operating conditions and workloads. Also, as such systems increase in size and complexity, maintaining the desired QoS by manually tuning the numerous performance-related parameters will become very difficult. This paper addresses the design of self-optimizing computer systems using a generic online control framework in which the control actions governing the operation of the system are obtained by optimizing its behavior, as forecast by a mathematical model, over a limited time horizon. As a specific application of this control technique, we show how to minimize the power consumed by a single computer processing a time-varying workload. Assuming a processor capable of operating at multiple frequencies, we design an online controller to satisfy the QoS requirements of the workload while operating the processor at the lowest possible frequency. We describe the processor model, formulate the power management problem, and derive the online control algorithm. The performance of the controller is evaluated using representative e-commerce workloads. Finally, we discuss how the proposed technique can be applied to other resource management problems in computer systems.
PCR-based expression analysis and identification of microRNAs

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs that regulate translation and hence control a variety of cellular processes in metazoans. The quantitation and identification of miRNAs has been hampered by their small size and low abundance. Here we describe two robust PCR-based assays of miRNA expression based on the original cloning strategy. The non-quantitative PCR method allows detection and identification of miRNAs and we utilise this method in the discovery of a new miRNA (miR-532) in retinoic acid differentiated P19 cells. The second and quantitative method (QM-RT-PCR) is simple and accurate, and uses commonly available technology. Of particular interest is the specificity of this PCR-based technology compared to hybridisation-based methods including arrays and northern blotting. Here we have shown that a single base pair mismatch in the priming sequence results in a two order of magnitude reduction in the amplification of let-7f. These streamlined methods will complement previously described methods and will facilitate analysis of miRNA expression in rare cell populations where the amount of RNA is limited.
The Impact of Fructose on Renal Function and Blood Pressure

Fructose is a sugar present in sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, and fruits. Fructose intake has increased markedly in the last two centuries, primarily due to increased intake of added sugars. Increasing evidence suggests that the excessive intake of fructose may induce fatty liver, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and kidney disease. These studies suggest that excessive intake of fructose might have an etiologic role in the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and cardiorenal disease.
Midcrustal Deformation in the Central Andes Constrained by Radial Anisotropy

The Central Andes are characterized by one of the largest orogenic plateaus worldwide. As a result, they are home to some of the thickest continental crust observed today (up to ~75‐km thick). Understanding the response of the crust to such overthickening provides insights into the ductile behavior of the midcrust and lower crust. One of the best tools for examining crustal‐scale features is ambient noise tomography, which takes advantage of the ambient noise wavefield to sample crustal depths in great detail. We extract Love and Rayleigh wave phase velocities from ambient noise data to invert for Vsh, Vsv, and radial anisotropy throughout the Central Andes. We capture detailed crustal structure, including pronounced along‐strike isotropic velocity heterogeneity and substantial (up to 10%) radial anisotropy that varies with depth. This crustal anisotropy may have several origins, but throughout the majority of the Central Andes, particularly beneath the Altiplano, we interpret radial anisotropy as the result of mineral alignment due to ductile crustal deformation. Only in the strongly volcanic Altiplano‐Puna Volcanic Complex is radial anisotropy likely caused by magmatic intrusions.
Genetic Characterization of a New Type IV-A Pilus Gene Cluster Found in Both Classical and El Tor Biotypes ofVibrio cholerae

ABSTRACT The Vibrio cholerae genome contains a 5.4-kbpil gene cluster that resembles the Aeromonas hydrophila tap gene cluster and other type IV-A pilus assembly operons. The region consists of five complete open reading frames designated pilABCD and yacE, based on the nomenclature of related genes from Pseudomonas aeruginosaand Escherichia coli K-12. This cluster is present in both classical and El Tor biotypes, and the pilA andpilD genes are 100% conserved. The pilA gene encodes a putative type IV pilus subunit. However, deletion ofpilA had no effect on either colonization of infant mice or adherence to HEp-2 cells, demonstrating that pilA does not encode the primary subunit of a pilus essential for these processes. The pilD gene product is similar to other type IV prepilin peptidases, proteins that process type IV signal sequences. Mutational analysis of the pilD gene showed that pilD is essential for secretion of cholera toxin and hemagglutinin-protease, mannose-sensitive hemagglutination (MSHA), production of toxin-coregulated pili, and colonization of infant mice. Defects in these functions are likely due to the lack of processing of N termini of four Eps secretion proteins, four proteins of the MSHA cluster, and TcpB, all of which contain type IV-A leader sequences. SomepilD mutants also showed reduced adherence to HEp-2 cells, but this defect could not be complemented in trans, indicating that the defect may not be directly due to a loss ofpilD. Taken together, these data demonstrate the effectiveness of the V. cholerae genome project for rapid identification and characterization of potential virulence factors.
Complete action map or best action map in accuracy-based reinforcement learning classifier systems

We study two existing Learning Classifier Systems (LCSs): XCS, which has a complete map (which covers all actions in each state), and XCSAMm, which has a best action map (which covers only the highest-return action in each state). This allows XCSAM to learn with a smaller population size limit (but larger population size) and to learn faster than XCS on well-behaved tasks. However, many tasks have dif- ficulties like noise and class imbalances. XCS and XCSAM have not been compared on such problems before. This pa- per aims to discover which kind of map is more robust to these difficulties. We apply them to a classification problem (the multiplexer problem) with class imbalance, Gaussian noise or alternating noise (where we return the reward for a different action). We also compare them on real-world data from the UCI repository without adding noise. We analyze how XCSAM focuses on the best action map and introduce a novel deletion mechanism that helps to evolve classifiers towards a best action map. Results show the best action map is more robust (has higher accuracy and sometimes learns faster) in all cases except small amounts of alternat- ing noise.
HIV/STD-protective benefits of living with mothers in perceived supportive families: a study of high-risk African American female teens.

BACKGROUND The joint influence of living with the mother in a perceived supportive family may be an important HIV/STD-protective factor among sexually active female adolescents. METHODS Sexually active African American female adolescents (N = 522) completed a self-administered survey and structured interview. Adolescents scoring high on family support and reporting that their mother lived with them were compared with the remaining adolescents in respect to unprotected vaginal sex (past 30 days), sex with a non-steady partner (past 6 months), communication with sex partners, attitudes toward condoms, and perceived ability to negotiate condom use. Logistic regression analyses controlled for the influence of parent-adolescent communication about sex and parental monitoring. RESULTS Adolescents residing with their mothers in a perceived supportive family were more likely to communicate with their sex partners about sexual risk (OR = 1.53). They were less likely to report sex with a non-steady partner (OR = 0.51) or having unprotected sex with a steady partner (OR = 0.52) or any partner (OR = 0.55). CONCLUSIONS Controlled analyses suggest that living with the mother in a perceived supportive family is an important HIV/STD-protective factor among female adolescents. HIV/STD prevention programs for female adolescents that include the mothers may promote positive and lasting effects.
Labels, identity and narratives in children with primary speech and language impairments

Abstract Purpose: There has been debate about labels in relation to speech and language impairments. However, children’s views are missing from this debate, which is risky considering that labels with negative associations may result in stigma. The aim of this study was to explore the range of identities which children with primary speech and language impairments presented in their narratives and to investigate their evaluations of these identities with a view to understanding the values they attach to labels. Method: Eleven children aged 9–12 years with primary speech and language impairments were recruited to the study. Fifty nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with the aim of generating storied accounts of everyday experiences. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes were identified in the data: desired identities and undesired identities. Result: The findings suggest that the children were actively involved in identity construction and wanted to be seen in positive ways. They disliked labels assigned by others, which they considered portrayed them in negative ways. Conclusion: The debate about labels could be progressed by consulting with children themselves asking for their ideas in relation to labels in specialist education, and speech and language pathology.
Primary prevention of acculturative stress among refugees. Application of psychological theory and practice.

Primary prevention in refugee mental health requires information from clinical, health, and cross-cultural psychology. Primary prevention's roots are in public health, which is distinguished by a communitywide perspective for addressing mental health concerns. This article summarizes research suggesting that refugees are an at-risk population, making them especially suitable for public health interventions. Research on stress and acculturation is highlighted, given its importance to prevention in refugee mental health. The opportunities for primary prevention programs and policies at 3 levels (i.e., local community, national, and international) are illustrated with case examples from both the United States and Canada. Prevention at the international level is highlighted by a World Health Organization Mental Health Mission to camps on the Thai-Cambodian border.
Benefits and Risks of Preventing Thromboembolism With Enoxaparin in Patients With General Surgery in Real World—The CLEVER Study

Background: We aimed to document enoxaparin use in real world and identify the risk factors for bleeding complications. Methods: Postauthorization study in 448 surgical patients receiving enoxaparin prophylaxis. Complete compression ultrasound (CCUS) was performed at day 10 ± 3. Results: During treatment, 11 of 448 patients had suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT) but none confirmed. One patient had symptoms of pulmonary embolism ([PE] 0.22%; 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.21-0.66). There were no asymptomatic cases detected upon CCUS. At the 90-day follow-up, 4 (0.9%) of the 440 patients had DVT symptoms (95% CI 0.02-1.80) and none had PE; 5.4% had major and 11.6% any type of bleeding complications. Major bleeding was more frequent in those with kidney disease (odds ratio [OR] 5.53), those who are bedridden (OR 5.49), those with peridural indwelling catheters (OR 4.01), and those on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (OR 3.33). Conclusions: Enoxaparin is effective and safe in surgical patients to prevent venous thromboembolism.