Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using embedded formative assessment to predict state summative test scores

If we wish to embed assessment for accountability within instruction, we need to better understand the relative contribution of different types of learner data to statistical models that predict scores on assessments used for accountability purposes. The present work scales up and extends predictive models of math test scores from existing literature and specifies six categories of models that incorporate information about student prior knowledge, socio-demographics, and performance within the MATHia intelligent tutoring system. Linear regression and random forest models are learned within each category and generalized over a sample of 23,000+ learners in Grades 6, 7, and 8 over three academic years in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. After briefly exploring hierarchical models of this data, we discuss a variety of technical and practical applications, limitations, and open questions related to this work, especially concerning to the potential use of instructional platforms like MATHia as a replacement for time-consuming standardized tests.
Understanding the intention of human activities through semantic perception: observation, understanding and execution on a humanoid robot

In this work, we present and demonstrate that with an appropriate semantic representation and even with a very naive perception system, it is sufficient to infer human activities from observations. First, we present a method to extract the semantic rules of human everyday activities. Namely, we extract low-level information from the sensor data and then we infer the high-level by reasoning about the intended human behaviors. The advantage of this abstract representation is that it allows us to obtain more generic models from human behaviors, even when the information is obtained from different scenarios. Another important aspect of our system is its scalability and adaptability toward new activities, which can be learned on-demand. Our system has been fully implemented on a humanoid robot, the iCub, to experimentally validate the performance and the robustness of our system during on-line execution within the control loop of the robot. The results show that the robot is able to make a decision in 0.12 s about the inferred human behaviors with a recognition accuracy of 85%. Graphical Abstract
All-printed diode operating at 1.6 GHz

Significance Printed electronic labels and stickers are expected to define future outposts of the communication web, as remote sensors, detectors, and as surveillance technology, within the Internet-of-things concept. It is crucial to couple such technology with standard communication systems that commonly operate at gigahertz frequencies. To accomplish this, ultra–high-frequency rectification components manufactured in a low-temperature printing process are necessary. Here, we report an all-printed diode operating above 1 GHz, achieved using a combination of Si and NbSi2 microparticles. The diode was integrated with a flexible antenna and a printed electrochromic display indicator to successfully demonstrate remote transfer of signal and power from a standard Global System for Mobile Communications phone to the resulting e-label. Printed electronics are considered for wireless electronic tags and sensors within the future Internet-of-things (IoT) concept. As a consequence of the low charge carrier mobility of present printable organic and inorganic semiconductors, the operational frequency of printed rectifiers is not high enough to enable direct communication and powering between mobile phones and printed e-tags. Here, we report an all-printed diode operating up to 1.6 GHz. The device, based on two stacked layers of Si and NbSi2 particles, is manufactured on a flexible substrate at low temperature and in ambient atmosphere. The high charge carrier mobility of the Si microparticles allows device operation to occur in the charge injection-limited regime. The asymmetry of the oxide layers in the resulting device stack leads to rectification of tunneling current. Printed diodes were combined with antennas and electrochromic displays to form an all-printed e-tag. The harvested signal from a Global System for Mobile Communications mobile phone was used to update the display. Our findings demonstrate a new communication pathway for printed electronics within IoT applications.
Localization, Grasping, and Transportation of Magnetic Objects by a Team of MAVs in Challenging Desert-Like Environments

Autonomous Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) have the potential to assist in real-life tasks involving grasping and transportation, but not before solving several difficult research challenges. In this work, we address the design, control, estimation, and planning problems for cooperative localization, grasping, and transportation of objects in challenging outdoor scenarios. We demonstrate an autonomous team of MAVs able to plan safe trajectories for manipulation of ferrous objects, while guaranteeing interrobot collision avoidance and automatically creating a map of the objects in the environment. Our solution is predominantly distributed, allowing the team to pick and transport ferrous disks to a final destination without collisions. This result is achieved using a new magnetic gripper with a novel feedback approach, enabling the detection of successful grasping. The gripper design and all the components to build a platform are clearly provided as open-source hardware for reuse by the community. Finally, the proposed solution is validated through experimental results, where difficulties include inconsistent wind, uneven terrain, and sandy conditions.
PARP14 Controls the Nuclear Accumulation of a Subset of Type I IFN–Inducible Proteins

The enzymes of the poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) superfamily control many relevant cellular processes, but a precise understanding of their activities in different physiological or disease contexts is largely incomplete. We found that transcription of several Parp genes was dynamically regulated upon murine macrophage activation by endotoxin. PARP14 was strongly induced by several inflammatory stimuli and translocated into the nucleus of stimulated cells. Quantitative mass spectrometry analysis showed that PARP14 bound to a group of IFN-stimulated gene (ISG)–encoded proteins, most with an unknown function, and it was required for their nuclear accumulation. Moreover, PARP14 depletion attenuated transcription of primary antiviral response genes regulated by the IFN regulatory transcription factor 3, including Ifnb1, thus reducing IFN-β production and activation of ISGs involved in the secondary antiviral response. In agreement with the above-mentioned data, PARP14 hindered Salmonella typhimurium proliferation in murine macrophages. Overall, these data hint at a role of PARP14 in the control of antimicrobial responses and specifically in nuclear activities of a subgroup of ISG-encoded proteins.
Electromagneto-Optical Scanning of the Magnetic Domains Local Areas of Bismuth-Substituted Yttrium Iron Garnets

Magneto-electric properties of the magnetic domains local areas of bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet films are investigated. The electromagneto-optical (EMO) scanning method was used in our experiments when probing by laser beam various sites of separate magnetic domains of the film. Registered in our experiments the nonlinear and linear components of EMO effect does not remain to constants at optical scanning of various points of the magnetic domain. I.e. the local EMOE picture from the separate sites of the domain must be more informative than an averaged one in the multidomain case.
Fine structure of the lingual dorsal surface of the bullfrog.

There have been many reports on the ultrastructure of the lingual taste organs, sensory papillae, of frogs (Uga, 1966; Uga and Hama, 1967; Graziadei and DeHan, 1971; Stensaas, 1971; Hirata and Nada, 1975; During and Andres, 1976; Jeager and Hillman, 1976; Graziadei, 1975). However, among these papers, only a few describe tridimensional ultrastructural studies on the lingual epithelial surface by scanning electron microscopy (Graziadei and DeHan, 1971; During and Andres, 1976; Graziadei, 1975). In vertebrates including amphibia, it has proved difficult to observe the real surface of the oral epithelial cells using scanning electron microscopy because of the mucus which covers them. It has recently become possible to examine the intact cell surface of the mammalian tongue by scanning electron microscopy in a better condition than formerly due to advances in the removal of extracellular material by acid hydrolysis (Iwasaki et al., 1983, 1984a, b, c). In the present study, this method was applied to the lingual dorsal epithelial cells and sensory organs of the bullfrog to investigate their ultrastructures by scanning electron microscopy.
Chemical characterization of 21 species of marine macroalgae common in Norwegian waters: benefits of and limitations to their potential use in food and feed

Abstract BACKGROUND In the past few years, much effort has been invested into developing a new blue economy based on harvesting, cultivating and processing marine macroalgae in Norway. Macroalgae have high potential for a wide range of applications, e.g. as source of pharmaceuticals, production of biofuels or as food and feed. However, data on the chemical composition of macroalgae from Norwegian waters are scant. This study was designed to characterize the chemical composition of 21 algal species. Both macro‐ and micronutrients were analysed. Concentrations of heavy metals and the metalloid arsenic in the algae were also quantified. RESULTS The results confirm that marine macroalgae contain nutrients which are relevant for both human and animal nutrition, the concentrations whereof are highly dependent on species. Although heavy metals and arsenic were detected in the algae studied, concentrations were mostly below maximum allowed levels set by food and feed legislation in the EU. CONCLUSION This study provides chemical data on a wide range of algal species covering the three taxonomic groups (brown, red and green algae) and discusses both benefits of and potential limitations to their use for food and feed purposes. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
A randomized trial of saline hydration to prevent contrast nephropathy in chronic renal failure patients.

BACKGROUND Contrast nephropathy (CN) is a common cause of renal dysfunction that may be prevented by saline hydration and by drugs such as theophylline or furosemide. Whether oral saline hydration is as efficient as intravenous saline hydration is unknown. The preventive efficacy of theophylline and furosemide for CN remains controversial. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of oral saline hydration and of intravenous saline hydration plus theophylline or furosemide for the prevention of CN. METHODS We prospectively studied 312 patients with chronic renal failure (serum creatinine 201+/-81 micromol/l, Cockcroft clearance 37+/-12 ml/min/1.73 m(2)), who were undergoing various radiological procedures with a non-ionic, low osmolality contrast agent. Patients were randomly assigned to four arms. In arm A, patients received 1 g/10 kg of body weight/day of sodium chloride per os for 2 days before the procedure. In arm B, patients received 0.9% saline intravenously at a rate of 15 ml/kg for 6 h before the procedure. In arm C, patients received the same saline hydration as in arm B plus 5 mg/kg theophylline per os in one dose 1 h before the procedure. In arm D, patients received the same saline hydration as in arm B plus 3 mg/kg of furosemide intravenously just after the procedure. RESULTS Patients were well-matched with no significant differences at baseline in any measured parameters. Acute renal failure, defined as an increase in serum creatinine of 44 micromol/l (0.5 mg/dl), occurred in 27 out of 312 patients (8.7%). There was no significant difference between the rate of renal failure in the different arms of the study: five out of 76 (6.6%) in arm A, four out of 77 (5.2%) in arm B, six out of 80 (7.5%) in arm C and 12 out of 79 (15.2%) in arm D. No patient had fluid overload or a significant increase in blood pressure in the 2 days following the radiological procedure. The independent predictors of CN were diabetes mellitus, high baseline serum creatinine and high systolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS Oral saline hydration was as efficient as intravenous saline hydration for the prevention of CN in patients with stage 3 renal diseases. Furosemide and theophylline were not protective.
Barrier Island Morphology and Sediment Characteristics Affect the Recovery of Dune Building Grasses following Storm-Induced Overwash

Barrier islands are complex and dynamic systems that provide critical ecosystem services to coastal populations. Stability of these systems is threatened by rising sea level and the potential for coastal storms to increase in frequency and intensity. Recovery of dune-building grasses following storms is an important process that promotes topographic heterogeneity and long-term stability of barrier islands, yet factors that drive dune recovery are poorly understood. We examined vegetation recovery in overwash zones on two geomorphically distinct (undisturbed vs. frequently overwashed) barrier islands on the Virginia coast, USA. We hypothesized that vegetation recovery in overwash zones would be driven primarily by environmental characteristics, especially elevation and beach width. We sampled species composition and environmental characteristics along a continuum of disturbance from active overwash zones to relict overwash zones and in adjacent undisturbed environments. We compared species assemblages along the disturbance chronosequence and between islands and we analyzed species composition data and environmental measurements with Canonical Correspondence Analysis to link community composition with environmental characteristics. Recovering and geomorphically stable dunes were dominated by Ammophila breviligulata Fernaud (Poaceae) on both islands while active overwash zones were dominated by Spartina patens (Aiton) Muhl. (Poaceae) on the frequently disturbed island and bare sand on the less disturbed island. Species composition was associated with environmental characteristics only on the frequently disturbed island (p = 0.005) where A. breviligulata was associated with higher elevation and greater beach width. Spartina patens, the second most abundant species, was associated with larger sediment grain size and greater sediment size distribution. On the less frequently disturbed island, time since disturbance was the only factor that affected community composition. Thus, factors driving the abundance of dune-building grasses and subsequent recovery of dunes varied between the two geomorphically distinct islands.
A Bayesian framework for de novo mutation calling in parents-offspring trios

MOTIVATION Spontaneous (de novo) mutations play an important role in the disease etiology of a range of complex diseases. Identifying de novo mutations (DNMs) in sporadic cases provides an effective strategy to find genes or genomic regions implicated in the genetics of disease. High-throughput next-generation sequencing enables genome- or exome-wide detection of DNMs by sequencing parents-proband trios. It is challenging to sift true mutations through massive amount of noise due to sequencing error and alignment artifacts. One of the critical limitations of existing methods is that for all genomic regions the same pre-specified mutation rate is assumed, which has a significant impact on the DNM calling accuracy. RESULTS In this study, we developed and implemented a novel Bayesian framework for DNM calling in trios (TrioDeNovo), which overcomes these limitations by disentangling prior mutation rates from evaluation of the likelihood of the data so that flexible priors can be adjusted post-hoc at different genomic sites. Through extensively simulations and application to real data we showed that this new method has improved sensitivity and specificity over existing methods, and provides a flexible framework to further improve the efficiency by incorporating proper priors. The accuracy is further improved using effective filtering based on sequence alignment characteristics. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The C++ source code implementing TrioDeNovo is freely available at https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/cgg. CONTACT bingshan.li@vanderbilt.edu SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Enhanced Detection of Edema in Malignant Anterior Circulation Stroke (EDEMA) Score: A Risk Prediction Tool

Background and Purpose— Rapid recognition of those at high risk for malignant edema after stroke would facilitate triage for monitoring and potential surgery. Admission data may be insufficient for accurate triage decisions. We developed a risk prediction score using clinical and radiographic variables within 24 hours of ictus to better predict potentially lethal malignant edema. Methods— Patients admitted with diagnosis codes of cerebral edema and ischemic stroke, NIHSS score (National Institute of Health Stroke Score) of ≥8 and head computed tomographies within 24 hours of stroke onset were included. Primary outcome of potentially lethal malignant edema was defined as death with midline shift ≥5 mm or decompressive hemicraniectomy. We performed multivariate analyses on data available within 24 hours of ictus. Bootstrapping was used to internally validate the model, and a risk score was constructed from the results. Results— Thirty-three percent of 222 patients developed potentially lethal malignant edema. The final model C statistic was 0.76 (confidence interval, 0.68–0.82) in the derivation cohort and 0.75 (confidence interval, 0.72–0.77) in the bootstrapping validation sample. The EDEMA score (Enhanced Detection of Edema in Malignant Anterior Circulation Stroke) was developed using the following independent predictors: basal cistern effacement (=3); glucose ≥150 (=2); no tPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator) or thrombectomy (=1), midline shift >0 to 3 (=1), 3 to 6 (=2), and 6 to 9 (=4); >9 (=7); and no previous stroke (=1). A score over 7 was associated with 93% positive predictive value. Conclusions— The EDEMA score identifies patients at high risk for potentially lethal malignant edema. Although it requires external validation, this scale could help expedite triage decisions in this patient population.
Aspects of retention and formation

Polyampholytes offer considerable promise as dry-strength additives, but the molecular mechanism involved in their adsorption needs to be better understood. Amphoteric terpolymers of acrylamide, itaconic acid, and N-[3-(NN’,N’dimethylamine)propyl]acrylamide (DMAPAA) with a constant ratio of basic to acidic groups (5:4) were prepared by random polymerization. The basic groups ranged from 2.5 to 20 mole percent in the terpolymers. Analysis by H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance revealed near-quantitative agreement with the make up stoichiometry. Streaming potential tests showed significant effects of polyampholyte adsorption, depending on the charge density of the polyampholyte, its level of addition, the pH, and the background electrolyte. Polyampholytes having higher density of ionizable groups yielded more positive streaming potential at low pH values and more negative streaming potentials at high pH values, compared to polyampholytes of lower charge density. At the extremes of pH, e.g. pH=3 and pH=11, the effects of a polyampholyte on streaming potential were similar to those of single-charged polyelectrolytes having a matched degree of substitution of charged monomeric groups. Except for the sample having the lowest density of charges, all of the polyampholyte samples showed a broad maximum in adsorbed amount vs. pH within the range of about pH=5 to pH=9, which is intermediate between the pKa values of the respective charged groups.
Relationship between low-cloud presence and the amount of overlying aerosols

Abstract. Aerosols are often advected above cloud decks, and the amount of aerosols over cloud has been assumed to be similar to that at the same heights in nearby clear sky. In this assumption, cloud and aerosol above cloud-top height are considered randomly located with respect to each other. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) data are analyzed here to investigate this assumption on global scales. The CALIPSO data reveal that the aerosol optical depth (AOD) above low cloud tends to be smaller than in nearby clear sky during the daytime, and the opposite is true during the nighttime. In particular, over oceanic regions with wide-spread low cloud, such as the tropical southeastern Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, the daytime AOD above low cloud is often 40 % smaller than in surrounding clear skies.
eview hildhood adversity and neural development : Deprivation and threat s distinct dimensions of early experience

A growing body of research has examined the impact of childhood adversity on neural structure and function. Advances in our understanding of the neurodevelopmental consequences of adverse early environments require the identification of dimensions of environmental experience that influence neural development differently and mechanisms other than the frequently-invoked stress pathways. We propose a novel conceptual framework that differentiates between deprivation (absence of expected environmental inputs and complexity) and threat (presence of experiences that represent a threat to one’s physical integrity) and make predictions grounded in basic neuroscience principles about their distinct effects on neural development. We review animal research on fear learning and sensory deprivation
Plasma metabolomic analysis of human hepatocellular carcinoma: Diagnostic and therapeutic study

Many hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients suffer from late stages when diagnosed, leading to dismal prospects for cure. Improving the diagnosis and treatment of HCC remains a challenge. In this work, NMR-based metabolomic techniques were used to investigate the metabolic alterations of HCC patients from different pathological backgrounds. Metabolic improvement of clinical surgical treatments or transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for recurrent or metastatic HCC was also evaluated. HCC was characterized by enhanced lipid metabolism and high consumption in response to liver injury. Expectedly, higher consumption of glucose and lactate production in TACE group confirmed that recurrent or metastatic HCC is more active in citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. However, TACE or surgical treatments did not immediately improve the metabolic profiles of HCC patients. Combining multivariate statistical analyses with univariate t-test, a series of characteristic metabolites were identified and served as biomarkers for discrimination of HCC patients in different pathological backgrounds. The relative metabolic pathway analyses help to get insight into the underlying biochemical mechanism and extend clinical relevance. Furthermore, algorithm of support vector classification was used to identify HCC and control subjects, and diagnostic sensitivity and specificity reached to 100% and 81.08% respectively by receiver operating characteristic analysis. It is concluded that NMR-based metabolomic analysis of plasma can provide a powerful approach to discover diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers, and subsequently contribute to clinical disease management.