Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Current Smoking Prevalence to Project Lung Cancer Morbidity and Mortality in Georgia by 2020

Introduction Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. In Georgia, approximately 18% of adults smoke cigarettes, and 87% of men’s lung cancer deaths and 70% of women’s lung cancer deaths are due to smoking. From 2004–2008, the age-adjusted lung cancer incidence rate in Georgia was 112.8 per 100,000 population, and the mortality rate was 88.2 per 100,000 population. Methods The Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey was used to estimate trends in current adult smoking prevalence (1985–2010). Georgia smoking–attributable cancer mortality was estimated using a method similar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Smoking-Attributable Morbidity, Mortality, and Economic Costs application. Data on cancer incidence (1998–2008) were obtained from the Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry, and data on cancer deaths (1990–2007) were obtained from the Georgia Department of Public Health Vital Records Program. Results From 1985 through 1993, the prevalence of smoking among Georgians declined by an average of 3% per year in men and 0.2% in women. From 2001 through 2008, lung cancer incidence rates declined in men and increased in women. Lung cancer mortality rates declined in men and women from 2000 through 2007. By 2020, Georgia lung cancer incidence rates are projected to decrease for men and increase for women. Lung cancer mortality is projected to decrease for both men and women. Conclusion The lung cancer mortality rates projected in this study are far from meeting the Healthy People 2020 goal (46 per 100,000 population). Full implementation of comprehensive tobacco-use control programs would significantly reduce tobacco-use–related morbidity and mortality.
Markov Entanglement Networks

Graphical models of probabilistic dependencies have been extensively investigated in the context of classical uncertainty. However, in some domains (most notably, in computational physics and quantum computing) the nature of the relevant uncertainty is non-classical, and the laws of classical probability theory are superseded by those of quantum mechanics. In this paper we introduce Markov Entanglement Networks (MEN), a novel class of graphical representations of quantum-mechanical dependencies in the context of such non-classical systems. MEN are the quantummechanical analogue of Markovian Networks, a family of undirected graphical representations which, in the classical domain, exploit a notion of conditional independence among subsystems. After defining a notion of conditional independence appropriate to our domain (conditional separability), we prove that the conditional separabilities induced by a quantum-mechanical wave function are effectively reflected in the graphical structure of MEN. Specifically, we show that for any wave function there exists a MEN which is a perfect map of its conditional separabilities. Next, we show how the graphical structure of MEN can be used to effectively classify the pure states of three-qubit systems. We also demonstrate that, in large systems, exploiting conditional independencies may dramatically reduce the computational burden of various inference tasks. In principle, the graph-theoretic representation of conditional independencies afforded by MEN may not only facilitate the classical simulation of quantum systems, but also provide a guide to the efficient design and complexity analysis of quantum algorithms and circuits.
The energy equivalents of ATP and the energy values of food proteins and fats

1. Heats of combustion and energy equivalents of cytoplasmic ATP have been estimated for glucose, 101 food proteins and 116 food fats based on amino acid and fatty acid composition data from food composition tables and the heats of combustion and energy equivalents of cytoplasmic ATP of each individual amino acid, fatty acid, glycerol and glucose. The isodynamic equivalents of carbohydrate, fat and protein at the biochemical level have been investigated. 2. Heats of combustion of food proteins and fats derived from compositional data were within 1 % of published values obtained by calorimetry. 3. Cytoplasmic ATP equivalents for glucose, fat and protein range from 9·0 to 14·7, 8·6 to 14·6 and 6·4 to 13·2 mol cytoplasmic ATP/MJ of metabolizable energy respectively, depending on the choice of mitochondrial proton stoichiometries for these estimations. The range is extended further when considering the level and type of mitochondrial ‘uncoupling’. 4. Isobioenergetic relationships between the efficiencies of glucose (G) and fat (F) (F = 1·05 G-0·9) and glucose and protein (P) (P = G(1·02–0·19f)-(1.8+0·5f)) energy conversions (wheref is the fraction of protein oxidized via gluconeogenesis) were obtained and were essentially independent of the choice of mitochondrial proton stoichiometry and the level and type of uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation. 5. Potential errors in previous estimates of ATP yield from protein are shown to be as much as -17·6 to < 118%; accounting for the efficiency of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation narrows this to between -7·9 and 17·4% and accounting for the fraction of protein oxidized via gluconeogenesis limits this further to between - 7·9 and 11·1%. Remaining uncertainty is attributed mostly to lack of knowledge about the energy cost of substrate absorption from the gut and transport across cell membranes. 6. Coefficients of variation (cv) in the cytoplasmic ATP yield/g protein and /g protein nitrogen for the 101 food proteins were large (0·033 and 0·058 respectively). This is attributed mostly to variation in the metabolizable heats of combustion (cv 0·033 and 0·053 respectively) and to a much smaller extent in the efficiency with which cytoplasmic ATP equivalents are generated/MJ of metabolizable energy (cv 0·01). 7. It is concluded that the current understanding of biochemical energy transduction is sufficient to permit only a crude estimate of the energy equivalents of cytoplasmic ATP but that these equivalents vary by less than 5% between both different food proteins and different food fats. Isobioenergetic equivalents for carbohydrates, fats and protein which could be applied to modify the Atwater conversion factors are possible but require first an accurate quantification of the energy equivalent of cytoplasmic ATP for glucose in vivo, and an indication that oxidative phosphorylation is similarly efficient in different individuals.
Using curriculum-based measurement data to monitor the effectiveness of the Wilson Reading System for students with disabilities: an exploratory study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to contribute to the literature on the promise of the Wilson Reading System (WRS) for students with disabilities. School professionals monitored the growth of students over time using curriculum-based measurements. Participants included 51 students (53% male, 47% female) from six schools (five elementary, one middle school); the vast majority (80%) qualified for free or reduced lunches. All students were receiving special education and related services, and most had either a learning disability or a language impairment (62%). Certified teachers implemented the WRS. Results demonstrated students had significant growth in their reading over time. Directions for future research and practical implications are discussed.
CHANGING DIAGNOSIS IN PSYCHIATRY

SUMMARY The present study was conducted to find out changes in the diagnosis of hospitalized patients. Out of 421 hospitalized psychiatric patients from 1974 to 1976, the diagnosis was changed in 54 (12.8%) patients. The change in diagnosis occured once in 51 and twice in 3 cases. Finally reasons for change and its implementations are discussed.
Insidious Effects of Syntactic Complexity: Are Ads Targeting Older Adults Too Complex to Remember?

This research examines the role of syntactic complexity—complexity induced by the sentence structure of the text—on memory for print ads. The authors find that ads aimed at older adults contain significant complexity, which commonly used readability indexes fail to detect. Further, syntactic complexity adversely affects message recall in older (age 65 and up), but not younger, adults. This adverse effect of syntactic complexity on memory continues even when motivation to process the message is high. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.
Cholera Toxin B-Subunit Prevents Activation and Proliferation of Human CD4+ T Cells by Activation of a Neutral Sphingomyelinase in Lipid Rafts1

The inhibition of human CD4+ T lymphocyte activation and proliferation by cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB) is a well-established phenomenon; nevertheless, the exact mechanism remained unclear. In the present study, we propose an explanation for the rCTB-induced inhibition of CD4+ T lymphocytes. rCTB specifically binds to GM1, a raft marker, and strongly modifies the lipid composition of rafts. First, rCTB inhibits sphingomyelin synthesis; second, it enhances phosphatidylcholine synthesis; and third, it activates a raft-resident neutral sphingomyelinase resembling to neutral sphingomyelinase type 1, thus generating a transient ceramide production. We demonstrated that these ceramides inhibit protein kinase Cα phosphorylation and its translocation into the modified lipid rafts. Furthermore, we show that rCTB-induced ceramide production activate NF-κB. Combined all together: raft modification in terms of lipids, ceramide production, protein kinase Cα inhibition, and NF-κB activation lead to CD4+ T cell inhibition.
POTENTIALITIES OF USRP-BASED SOFTWARE DEFINED RADAR SYSTEMS

Software Deflned Radar is the latest trend in radar development. To handle enhanced radar signal processing techniques, advanced radars need to be able of generating various types of waveforms, such as frequency modulated or phase coded, and to perform multiple functions. The adoption of a Software Deflned Radio system makes easier all these abilities. In this work, the implementation of a Software Deflned Radar system for target tracking using the Universal Software Radio Peripheral platform is discussed. For the flrst time, an experimental characterization in terms of radar application is performed on the latest Universal Software Radio Peripheral NI2920, demonstrating a strongly improved target resolution with respect to the flrst generation platform.
Young Cervical Cancer Patients May Be More Responsive than Older Patients to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Followed by Radical Surgery

Objective To evaluate the effects of age and the clinical response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients with cervical cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical surgery. Methods A total of 1,014 patients with advanced cervical cancer who received NACT followed by radical surgery were retrospectively selected. Patients were divided into young (aged ≤35 years, n = 177) and older (aged >35 years, n = 837) groups. We compared the short-term responses and survival rates between the groups. The five-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were stratified by age, NACT response, and FIGO stage. Results The overall response rate was 86.8% in the young group and 80.9% in the older group. The young patients had an earlier FIGO stage (P<0.001), a higher rate of adenocarcinoma (P = 0.022), and more lymph node metastasis (P = 0.033) than the older patients. The presence of adenocarcinoma as the histological type (P = 0.024) and positive lymph node metastasis (P<0.001) were identified as independent risk factors for survival. When stratified by age and clinical response, young patients with no response to NACT had a worse clinicopathological condition compared with the other subgroups. Compared with non-responders, responders to NACT had a higher five-year DFS rate (80.1% versus 71.8%; P = 0.019) and OS rate (82.6% versus 71.8%; P = 0.003) among the young patients but not among the older patients. Conclusions Responders to NACT aged 35 years or younger benefitted the most from NACT, while the young non-responders benefitted the least. Age might represent an important factor to consider when performing NACT in patients with cervical cancer.
Dialysis delivery of an adenosine A2A agonist into the pontine reticular formation of C57BL/6J mouse increases pontine acetylcholine release and sleep

In vivo microdialysis in C57BL/6J (B6) mouse was used to test the hypothesis that activating adenosine A2A receptors in the pontine reticular formation (PRF) increases acetylcholine (ACh) release and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Eight concentrations of the adenosine A2A receptor agonist 2‐p‐(2‐carboxyethyl)phenethylamino‐5′‐N‐ethylcarboxamidoadenosine hydrochloride (CGS 21680; CGS) were delivered to the PRF and ACh in the PRF was quantified. ACh release was significantly increased by dialysis with 3 μm CGS and significantly decreased by dialysis with 10 and 100 μm CGS. Co‐administration of the adenosine A2A receptor antagonist 4‐(2‐[7‐amino‐2‐(2‐furyl)[1,2,4]triazolo[2,3‐a][1,3,5]triazin‐5‐ylamino]ethyl)phenol (ZM 241385; 30 nm) blocked the CGS‐induced increase in ACh release. In a second series of experiments, CGS (3 μm) was delivered by dialysis to the PRF for 2 h while recording sleep and wakefulness. CGS significantly decreased time in wakefulness (−51% in h 1; −54% in h 2), increased time in non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (90% in h 1; 151% in h 2), and increased both time in REM sleep (331% in h 2) and the number of REM sleep episodes (488% in h 2). The enhancement of REM sleep is consistent with the interpretation that adenosine A2A receptors in the PRF of the B6 mouse contribute to REM sleep regulation, in part, by increasing ACh release in the PRF. A2A receptor activation may promote NREM sleep via GABAergic inhibition of arousal promoting neurons in the PRF.
Myeloid Cells Expressing VEGF and Arginase-1 Following Uptake of Damaged Retinal Pigment Epithelium Suggests Potential Mechanism That Drives the Onset of Choroidal Angiogenesis in Mice

Whilst data recognise both myeloid cell accumulation during choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) as well as complement activation, none of the data has presented a clear explanation for the angiogenic drive that promotes pathological angiogenesis. One possibility that is a pre-eminent drive is a specific and early conditioning and activation of the myeloid cell infiltrate. Using a laser-induced CNV murine model, we have identified that disruption of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Bruch’s membrane resulted in an early recruitment of macrophages derived from monocytes and microglia, prior to angiogenesis and contemporaneous with lesional complement activation. Early recruited CD11b+ cells expressed a definitive gene signature of selective inflammatory mediators particularly a pronounced Arg-1 expression. Accumulating macrophages from retina and peripheral blood were activated at the site of injury, displaying enhanced VEGF expression, and notably prior to exaggerated VEGF expression from RPE, or earliest stages of angiogenesis. All of these initial events, including distinct VEGF + Arg-1+ myeloid cells, subsided when CNV was established and at the time RPE-VEGF expression was maximal. Depletion of inflammatory CCR2-positive monocytes confirmed origin of infiltrating monocyte Arg-1 expression, as following depletion Arg-1 signal was lost and CNV suppressed. Furthermore, our in vitro data supported a myeloid cell uptake of damaged RPE or its derivatives as a mechanism generating VEGF + Arg-1+ phenotype in vivo. Our results reveal a potential early driver initiating angiogenesis via myeloid-derived VEGF drive following uptake of damaged RPE and deliver an explanation of why CNV develops during any of the stages of macular degeneration and can be explored further for therapeutic gain.
Human Capital Risk, Contract Enforcement, and the Macroeconomy

We use data from the Survey of Consumer Finance and Survey of Income Program Participation to show that young households with children are under-insured against the risk that an adult member of the household dies. We develop a tractable macroeconomic model with human capital risk, age-dependent returns to human capital investment, and endogenous borrowing constraints due to the limited pledgeability of human capital (limited contract enforcement). We show analytically that, consistent with the life insurance data, in equilibrium young households are borrowing constrained and under-insured against human capital risk. A calibrated version of the model can quantitatively account for the life-cycle variation of life-insurance holdings, financial wealth, earnings, and consumption inequality observed in the US data. Our analysis implies that a reform that makes consumer bankruptcy more costly, like the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, leads to a substantial increase in the volume of both credit and insurance.
CADM1 Controls Actin Cytoskeleton Assembly and Regulates Extracellular Matrix Adhesion in Human Mast Cells

CADM1 is a major receptor for the adhesion of mast cells (MCs) to fibroblasts, human airway smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) and neurons. It also regulates E-cadherin and alpha6beta4 integrin in other cell types. Here we investigated a role for CADM1 in MC adhesion to both cells and extracellular matrix (ECM). Downregulation of CADM1 in the human MC line HMC-1 resulted not only in reduced adhesion to HASMCs, but also reduced adhesion to their ECM. Time-course studies in the presence of EDTA to inhibit integrins demonstrated that CADM1 provided fast initial adhesion to HASMCs and assisted with slower adhesion to ECM. CADM1 downregulation, but not antibody-dependent CADM1 inhibition, reduced MC adhesion to ECM, suggesting indirect regulation of ECM adhesion. To investigate potential mechanisms, phosphotyrosine signalling and polymerisation of actin filaments, essential for integrin-mediated adhesion, were examined. Modulation of CADM1 expression positively correlated with surface KIT levels and polymerisation of cortical F-actin in HMC-1 cells. It also influenced phosphotyrosine signalling and KIT tyrosine autophosphorylation. CADM1 accounted for 46% of surface KIT levels and 31% of F-actin in HMC-1 cells. CADM1 downregulation resulted in elongation of cortical actin filaments in both HMC-1 cells and human lung MCs and increased cell rigidity of HMC-1 cells. Collectively these data suggest that CADM1 is a key adhesion receptor, which regulates MC net adhesion, both directly through CADM1-dependent adhesion, and indirectly through the regulation of other adhesion receptors. The latter is likely to occur via docking of KIT and polymerisation of cortical F-actin. Here we propose a stepwise model of adhesion with CADM1 as a driving force for net MC adhesion.
Using Assistive Technology to Increase Vocabulary Acquisition and Engagement for Students with Learning Disabilities in the High School Science Classroom

Using Assistive Technology to Increase Vocabulary Acquisition and Engagement for Students with Learning Disabilities in the High School Science Classroom Tal Slemrod Chair of Supervisory Committee: Professor Douglas Cheney Special Education There is a growing recognition of the importance and effectiveness of instruction in the STEM subjects, including science. The movement towards increased requirements and expectations in science presents a challenge to both students and teachers as many students with Learning Disabilities (LD) often particularly struggle in their science classes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of an assistive technology (AT) intervention targeting the acquisition of science vocabulary for adolescents with LD in a general education secondary biology classroom. Participants for this study included 3 secondary students with LD who were enrolled in a biology class. An alternating treatment design was used to compare the effects of a keyword mnemonic vocabulary intervention via index cards or iPod touch on student, vocabulary acquisition, academic engagement and disruptive behavior. All students’ acquired the content vocabulary equally well during both conditions. When using the AT, students’ engagement increased compared to baseline conditions. It was clear that the students had a strong interest in using AT to increase their grades and engagement, however the teachers had little access and training on using AT to support their students with disabilities.
Bisphophonates in CKD Patients with Low Bone Mineral Density

Patients with chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) have a high risk of bone fracture because of low bone mineral density and poor bone quality. Osteoporosis also features low bone mass, disarranged microarchitecture, and skeletal fragility, and differentiating between osteoporosis and CKD-MBD in low bone mineral density is a challenge and usually achieved by bone biopsy. Bisphosphonates can be safe and beneficial for patients with a glomerular filtration rate of 30 mL/min or higher, but prescribing bisphosphonates in advanced CKD requires caution because of the increased possibility of low bone turnover disorders such as osteomalacia, mixed uremic osteodystrophy, and adynamic bone, even aggravating hyperparathyroidism. Therefore, bone biopsy in advanced CKD is an important consideration before prescribing bisphosphonates. Treatment also may induce hypocalcemia in CKD patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism, but vitamin D supplementation may ameliorate this effect. Bisphosphonate treatment can improve both bone mineral density and vascular calcification, but the latter becomes more unlikely in patients with stage 3-4 CKD with vascular calcification but no decreased bone mineral density. Using bisphosphonates requires considerable caution in advanced CKD, and the lack of adequate clinical investigation necessitates more studies regarding its effects on these patients.
Bearing-only SLAM Using a SPRT Based Gaussian Sum Filter

Use of a Gaussian Sum filter (GSF) to efficiently solve the initialisation problem in bearing-only simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) is the main contribution of this paper. When information about the range is not available, the initial probability density function (pdf) of a landmark in the environment can not be represented using a Gaussian. The GSF is an attractive candidate for estimation in this scenario as it can deal with arbitrary pdfs represented as sets of Gaussians. However, the implementation of the GSF requires maintaining a bank of extended Kalman filters. The resulting computational complexity needs to be reduced by employing a minimum number of filters. In this work, the performance of each extended Kalman filter (EKF) in the GSF is evaluated using the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT). As such the number of members in the Gaussian sum can be reduced rapidly and the efficiency of the GSF can be significantly increased, providing a solution to the important problem of bearing-only SLAM. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated by simulation and experiment conducted using a Pioneer mobile robot.