Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microarray analysis of cytokine and chemokine genes in the brains of macaques with SHIV‐encephalitis

Abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐encephalitis results from a cascade of viral–host interactions that lead to cytokine and chemokine imbalance, which then leads to neuropathologic manifestations of the disease. These include macrophage/microglia activation, astrocytosis and neuronal dysfunction or death. As the molecular mechanisms of this process are poorly understood, we used Atlas human cytokine or cytokine receptor microarray analysis to highlight gene expression profiles that accompanied encephalitis in Simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) 89.6P‐infected macaques. Of the 277 genes screened, marked upregulation of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1, interferon‐inducible peptide IP‐10 and interleukin‐4 were observed specifically in the encephalitic brains. These genes are collectively known to promote macrophage infiltration and activation and virus replication. In contrast, genes regulating neurotrophic functions, such as brain‐derived neurotrophic factor were downregulated. We also found that some of the apoptosis genes were up‐ or down‐regulated. These data provide a comprehensive spectrum of gene expression that underscores the two major clinical manifestations of this unique syndrome: enhanced virus replication in brain macrophages and dystrophic changes in neurons.
Pattern classification via unsupervised learners

We consider classification problems in a variant of the Probably Approximately Correct (PAC)-learning framework, in which an unsupervised learner creates a discriminant function over each class and observations are labeled by the learner returning the highest value associated with that observation. Consideration is given to whether this approach gains significant advantage over traditional discriminant techniques. It is shown that PAC-learning distributions over class labels under Ll distance or KL-divergence implies PAC classification in this framework. We give bounds on the regret associated with the resulting classifier, taking into account the possibility of variable misclassification penalties. We demonstrate the advantage of estimating the a posteriori probability distributions over class labels in the setting of Optical Character Recognition. We show that unsupervised learners can be used to learn a class of probabilistic concepts (stochastic rules denoting the probability that an observation has a positive label in a 2-class setting). This demonstrates a situation where unsupervised learners can be used even when it is hard to learn distributions over class labels - in this case the discriminant functions do not estimate the class probability densities. We use a standard state-merging technique to PAC-learn a class of probabilistic automata and show that by learning the distribution over outputs under the weaker L1 distance rather than KL-divergence we are able to learn without knowledge of the expected length of an output. It is also shown that for a restricted class of these automata learning under L1 distance is equivalent to learning under KL-divergence.
Non-parametric Method to Estimate PIN (Probability of Informed Trading) in China Stock Market

This article discusses the validity of EKOP's non-parametric model to estimate PIN as the measurement of information risk in China Stock Market. The results show that non-parametric model can improve the optimizing efficiency in parameters estimation and achieve more precise results by relaxing the assumption of independence among event days. Moreover we test the pricing ability of PIN based on non-parametric model. It turns out that PIN has significant explanatory power to excess returns in China Stock Market, though negative effect. Furthermore, we analyze the causes of the empirical results.
Prevalence of dental fluorosis and associated risk factors in Alappuzha district, Kerala.

BACKGROUND Fluorosis is considered endemic in 15 states of India. Dental fluorosis is the most convenient biomarker of exposure to fluoride. In Kerala, although the condition is reported to be endemic in the districts of Alappuzha and Palakkad, there are no systematic epidemiological studies evaluating dental fluorosis. We studied the prevalence of dental fluorosis among school children in Ambalappuzha taluk, Alappuzha district, Kerala and evaluated the contribution of potential risk factors. METHODS We conducted a community-based, cross-sectional survey of 1142 school children (630 girls, 512 boys) in the age group of 10-17 years, using a multistage random cluster sampling technique. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to assess exposure to various sources of fluoride. A dental specialist examined all the children to determine the presence or absence of dental fluorosis and graded the degree of dental fluorosis using Dean's Index. The water fluoride content in the study area was obtained from the district water authority department. Bivariate associations were examined using the Chi-square and Chi-square trend tests, while multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of select risk factors with the presence or absence of dental fluorosis. RESULTS The overall prevalence of dental fluorosis in our study sample was 35.6% and the community fluorosis index was 0.69. The prevalence of dental fluorosis was higher in the urban compared to the rural areas (55.3% v. 16.8%; p < 0.001), and in girls compared to boys (39.2% v. 31.3%; p < 0.01). The prevalence of dental fluorosis was higher among children who consumed pipe water as compared to children who consumed well water (44.8% v. 12.7%; p < 0.001). We noted a step-wise increase in the prevalence of dental fluorosis with a corresponding increase in water fluoride content in different panchayats (p = 0.024). The principal factor associated with the presence of dental fluorosis was a high fluoride content of drinking water (OR 1.85, 95% Cl: 1.17-2.92). We did not observe any significant association between dental fluorosis and the intake of brick-tea, consumption of fish or the use of toothpaste. CONCLUSION Dental fluorosis is a public health problem in the Ambalappuzha taluk. Active steps must be taken to partially defluoridate the water before distribution to reduce the morbidity associated with dental fluorosis in this area. Similar surveys are required in other parts of India to identify areas with high water fluoride content and determine the extent and manner in which defluoridation can be carried out.
Monolithically integrated quantum-confined stark effect tuned laser with uniform frequency modulation response

Conventional tunable semiconductor lasers tuned by the carrier induced effect suffer from intrinsically nonuniform optical frequency modulation (FM) response due to the associated thermal effect. Electric field effect tuned lasers involving no current injection, offer intrinsically uniform FM response. We report here the first quantum-confined Stark effect tuned two-section ridge waveguide laser fabricated by postgrowth band gap engineering techniques. An highly uniform FM response, within /spl plusmn/3 dB from 30 kHz to 6 GHz, is achieved, independent of laser output power, the widest and most uniform response yet reported for a field effect tuned laser. The residual intensity modulation is less than 5% for 4.5-GHz peak frequency deviation.
Consensus Problems in Networks of Agents under Nonlinear Protocols with Directed Interaction Topology

The purpose of this short paper is to provide a theoretical analysis for the consensus problem under nonlinear protocols. A main contribution of this work is to generalize the previous consensus problems under nonlinear protocols for networks with undirected graphs to directed graphs (information flow). Our theoretical result is that if the directed graph is strongly connected and the nonlinear protocol is strictly increasing, then consensus can be realized. Some simple examples are also provided to demonstrate the validity of our theoretical result.
Social Integration and Exclusion in France: Some Introductory Remarks from a Social Transaction Perspective

Nowadays in France, a political rhetoric highlights the 'excluded' and aims to reduce 'social fracture'. Most sociologists react negatively to this stance and propose alternative concepts to exclusion, such as 'disaffiliation' and 'disqualification'. This paper links together integration and exclusion as a social transaction process and outlines how this theoretical framework is applicable to the housing field. It identifies some implications for housing policy, particularly in relation to the management of the HLM sector in France.
Altered alkaline phosphatase activity in obese Zucker rats liver respect to lean Zucker and Wistar rats discussed in terms of all putative roles ascribed to the enzyme

Biliary complications often lead to acute and chronic liver injury after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Bile composition and secretion depend on the integrated action of all the components of the biliary tree, starting from hepatocytes. Fatty livers are often discarded as grafts for OLT, since they are extremely vulnerable to conventional cold storage (CS). However, the insufficiency of donors has stimulated research to improve the usage of such marginal organs as well as grafts. Our group has recently developed a machine perfusion system at subnormothermic temperature (20°C; MP20) that allows a marked improvement in preservation of fatty and even of normal rat livers as compared with CS. We sought to evaluate the response of the biliary tree of fatty liver to MP20, and a suitable marker was essential to this purpose. Alkaline phosphatase (AlkP, EC 3.1.3.1), frequently used as marker of membrane transport in hepatocytes and bile ducts, was our first choice. Since no histochemical data were available on AlkP distribution and activity in fatty liver, we have first settled to investigate AlkP activity in the steatotic liver of fatty Zucker rats (fa/fa), using as controls lean Zucker (fa/+) and normal Wistar rats. The AlkP reaction in Wistar rats was in accordance with the existing data and, in particular, was present in bile canaliculi of hepatocytes in the periportal region and midzone, in the canals of Hering and in small bile ducts but not in large bile ducts. In lean ZR liver the AlkP reaction in Hering canals and small bile ducts was similar to Wistar rat liver but hepatocytes had lower canalicular activity and besides presented moderate basolateral reaction. The difference between lean Zucker and Wistar rats, both phenotypically normal animals, could be related to the fact that lean Zucker rats are genotypically heterozygous for a recessive mutated allele. In fatty liver, the activity in ductules and small bile ducts was unchanged, but most hepatocytes were devoid of AlkP activity with the exception of clusters of macrosteatotic hepatocytes in the mid-zone, where the reaction was intense in basolateral domains and in distorted canaliculi, a typical pattern of cholestasis. The interpretation of these data was hindered by the fact that the physiological role of AlkP is still under debate. In the present study, the various functions proposed for the role of the enzyme in bile canaliculi and in cholangiocytes are reviewed. Independently of the AlkP role, our data suggest that AlkP does not seem to be a reliable marker to study the initial step of bile production during OLT of fatty livers, but may still be used to investigate the behaviour of bile ductules and small bile ducts.
The comparative pathogenicity of Fusarium graminearum group 1, Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium crookwellense as crown, foot and root rot pathogens of wheat

The comparative pathogenicity to wheat, of Fusarium graminearum Schwabe Group 1, F. culmorum (W.G. Sm) Sacc. and F. crookwellense Burgess, Nelson and Toussoun, was studied in pasteurised soil. F. graminearum Group 1 caused severe above ground symptoms earlier than the other species. It also colonised the sub-crown internode, leaf sheaths and culm bases causing marked necrosis. F. culmorum caused less severe necrosis of these tissues and caused a cortical rot of the crown roots. F, crookwellense produced some necrosis of the sub-crown internode, leaf sheaths and culm bases and caused a severe rot of the crown roots. The implications for potential yield loss from each of the fungi are discussed.
Neuronal death in Drosophila triggered by GAL4 accumulation

The GAL4/UAS system has been extensively employed in Drosophila to control gene expression in defined spatial patterns. More recently this system has been successfully applied to express genes involved in neurodegeneration to model various diseases in the fruit fly. We used transgenic lines expressing different levels of GAL4 in a particular subset of neurons involved in the control of rhythmic behaviour, so that its impact on neuronal physiology would result in altered locomotor activity, which could be readily assessed. We observed a striking correlation between gal4 dosage and behavioural defects associated with apoptotic neuronal loss in the specific GAL4‐expressing neurons. Increased gal4 dosage correlated with accumulation of insoluble GAL4, suggesting that the cascade of events leading to apoptosis might be triggered by protein deposits of either GAL4 or protein intermediates. Behavioural defects were rescued by expression of hsp70, a classic chaperone that also interferes with cell death pathways. In agreement with the latter, the viral caspase inhibitor p35 also rescued GAL4‐induced behavioural defects. Our observations demonstrate the intrinsic effects of GAL4 deregulation on neuronal viability and suggest that an excess of GAL4 might enhance neuronal deficits observed in models of neurodegeneration.
A Parallel QR Factorization Algorithm with Controlled Local Pivoting

This paper presents a new version of the Householder algorithm with column pivoting for computing a QR factorization that identifies rank and range space of a given matrix. The standard pivoting technique is not well suited for parallel computation, since it requires synchronization at every step in order to choose the next pivot column. In contrast, a restricted pivoting scheme that restricts the choice of pivot columns and avoids this synchronization constraint is employed. Incremental condition estimation is used to assess the effect that the addition of a candidate pivot column would have on the condition number of the matrix being generated. This safeguard ensures that this local strategy selects pivot columns that make sense in the global context of the computation. The resulting algorithm is well suited for implementation on a parallel machine, in particular, a MIMD machine with distributed memory. Simulations demonstrate that the numerical behavior of the restricted pivoting strategy is comparable to the traditional global pivoting strategy. Implementation results of the QR factorization algorithm without pivoting and with local and traditional pivoting on the Intel iPSC/1 and iPSC/2 hypercubes show that our scheme about halves the extra time required for pivoting.
The relationship between employee engagement and organizational citizenship behaviour in Thailand

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between employee engagement and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in Thailand. The influence of employee perceptions of human resource development (HRD) practices as potential moderators were also examined. Data were collected from 522 employees from four large Thai organizations. The results found support for positive relationships between employee engagement and every component of OCB. The relationship was found to be strongest for the civic virtue component of OCB. However, no support was found for the hypothesized moderating effect of HRD practices between employee engagement and OCB. Discussion and recommendations for future research and practice are also provided.
The (Racially Neutral) Politics of Education: A Critical Race Theory Perspective

Although Critical Race Theory (CRT) originated in the legal arena, its influence has proliferated throughout the social sciences literature. Yet CRT has not spread significantly into the field of educational leadership, where the discourse on diversity has failed to penetrate the salience of racism in schooling. The purpose of this article is to confront the silence on race in schools and to summon scholars in the politics of education to critical analysis of race as an issue in public schools.
Boundary conditions for interfaces of electromagnetic crystals and the generalized Ewald-Oseen extinction principle

The problem of plane-wave diffraction on semi-infinite orthorhombic electromagnetic photonic crystals of a general kind is considered. Boundary conditions are obtained in the form of infinite system of equations relating amplitudes of incident wave, eigenmodes excited in the crystal, and scattered spatial harmonics. The generalized Ewald-Oseen extinction principle is formulated on the base of deduced boundary conditions. The knowledge of properties of infinite crystal’s eigenmodes provides an option to solve the diffraction problem for the corresponding semi-infinite crystal numerically. In the case when the crystal is formed by small inclusions which can be treated as point dipolar scatterers with fixed direction the problem admits complete rigorous analytical solution. The amplitudes of excited modes and scattered spatial harmonics are expressed in terms of the wave vectors of the infinite crystal by closed-form analytical formulas. The result is applied for the study of reflection properties of metamaterial formed by cubic lattice of split-ring resonators.
Congestion Control for High-speed Extremely Shallow-buffered Datacenter Networks

The link speed in datacenters is growing fast, from 1Gbps to 100Gbps. However, the buffer size of commodity switches increases slowly, thus significantly outpaced by the link speed. In such extremely shallow-buffered datacenter networks, prior TCP/ECN solutions suffer from either excessive packet losses or significant throughput degradation. Motivated by this, we introduce BCC, a simple yet effective solution with only one more configuration (shared buffer ECN/RED) at commodity switches. BCC operates based on real-time shared buffer utilization. When the buffer is abundant, BCC delivers both high throughput and low packet loss rate. When it becomes scarce, BCC triggers shared buffer ECN/RED to prevent packet losses at the cost of sacrificing a small amount of throughput. Our preliminary results show that BCC maintains low packet loss rate persistently while only slightly degrading throughput when the buffer becomes insufficient. Compared to current practice, BCC achieves up to 94.4% lower 99th percentile completion time for small flows while only degrading large flows by up to 2.8%.
Preparations for Y2K: Revisiting the Behavioral Component of the Third‐Person Effect

Although the behavioral component was an integral part of the original formulation of the third-person effect hypothesis, little research has examined the impact of biased media effect perceptions on behaviors that assume others have already been affected. The present study examines how third-person perceptions (the belief that other people are particularly vulnerable to media messages) contributed to intentions to prepare for problems stemming from Y2K, also known as the “millennium bug. ” Analyses using data from 2 regional probability samples taken in late 1999 show that perceptions about the potential effects of news messages influenced public anxiety about the Y2K situation and beliefs that other people would overprepare for the new year. These 2 variables, in turn, predicted intentions to stockpile supplies of food, water, gasoline, and cash. The article discusses the implications of these findings for understanding the relationship between perceptions of media effects and an extended range of behaviors.
Impact of Title VII Training Programs on Community Health Center Staffing and National Health Service Corps Participation

PURPOSE Community health centers (CHCs) are a critical component of the health care safety net. President Bush’s recent effort to expand CHC capacity coincides with difficulty recruiting primary care physicians and substantial cuts in federal grant programs designed to prepare and motivate physicians to practice in underserved settings. This article examines the association between physicians’ attendance in training programs funded by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII Section 747 Primary Care Training Grants and 2 outcome variables: work in a CHC and participation in the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (NHSC LRP). METHODS We linked the 2004 American Medical Association Physician Master-file to HRSA Title VII grants files, Medicare claims data, and data from the NHSC. We then conducted retrospective analyses to compare the proportions of physicians working in CHCs among physicians who either had or had not attended Title VII–funded medical schools or residency programs and to determine the association between having attended Title VII–funded residency programs and subsequent NHSC LRP participation. RESULTS Three percent (5,934) of physicians who had attended Title VII–funded medical schools worked in CHCs in 2001–2003, compared with 1.9% of physicians who attended medical schools without Title VII funding (P<.001). We found a similar association between Title VII funding during residency and subsequent work in CHCs. These associations remained significant (P<.001) in logistic regression models controlling for NHSC participation, public vs private medical school, residency completion date, and physician sex. A strong association was also found between attending Title VII–funded residency programs and participation in the NHSC LRP, controlling for year completed training, physician sex, and private vs public medical school. CONCLUSIONS Continued federal support of Title VII training grant programs is consistent with federal efforts to increase participation in the NHSC and improve access to quality health care for underserved populations through expanded CHC capacity.