Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CrowdMask: Using Crowds to Preserve Privacy in Crowd-Powered Systems via Progressive Filtering

Crowd-powered systems leverage human intelligence to go beyond the capabilities of automated systems, but also introduce privacy and security concerns because unknown people must view the data that the system processes. While automated approaches cannot robustly filter private information from these datasets, people have the ability to do so if the risk from them viewing the data can be mitigated. We present a crowd-powered approach to masking private content in data by segmenting and distributing smaller segments to crowd workers so that individual workers can identify potentially private content without being able to fully view it themselves. We introduce a novel pyramid workflow for segmentation that uses segments at multiple levels of granularity to overcome problems with fixed-sized approaches. We implement our approach in CrowdMask, a system that allows images with potentially sensitive content to be masked by appearing in progressively larger, more identifiable segments, and masking portions of the image as soon as a risk is identified. Our experiments with 4134 Mechanical Turk workers show that CrowdMask can effectively mask private content from images without revealing sensitive content to constituent workers, while still enabling future systems to use the filtered result.
Aspirin Resistance in Cardiovascular Disease: A Review of Prevalence, Mechanisms, and Clinical Significance

Salicylates have been used to treat pain and inflammation associated with rheumatism and other conditions since ancient times. The Assyrians initially described the use of willow leaves in treating rheumatism . This practice was continued into the 19th century when the first scientific studies evaluating this remedy were published in Europe. The active ingredient, salicylic acid, was first discovered in 1838 by the Italian chemist Raffaele Piria. Herman Kolbe of Marburg University elucidated the chemical structure and synthesized the compound in 1859 opening the door for industrial production of salicylic acid. However, early preparations of salicylic acid were plagued by side effects, such as unpleasant taste and dyspepsia, leading to discontinuation of treatment in a significant number of patients. This inspired Felix Hoffmann of Friedrich Bayer & Co. to develop a stable and better-tolerated form of the drug: acetylsalicylic acid. This new compound was marketed in 1899 as “Aspirin”. This acetylation step would prove to have consequences that reached well beyond tolerability and pain relief. In fact, it is now clear that it is responsible for aspirin’s widespread clinical use as an antiplatelet agent.
Zero-Shot Kernel Learning

In this paper, we address an open problem of zero-shot learning. Its principle is based on learning a mapping that associates feature vectors extracted from i.e. images and attribute vectors that describe objects and/or scenes of interest. In turns, this allows classifying unseen object classes and/or scenes by matching feature vectors via mapping to a newly defined attribute vector describing a new class. Due to importance of such a learning task, there exist many methods that learn semantic, probabilistic, linear or piece-wise linear mappings. In contrast, we apply well-established kernel methods to learn a non-linear mapping between the feature and attribute spaces. We propose an easy learning objective inspired by the Linear Discriminant Analysis, Kernel-Target Alignment and Kernel Polarization methods [12, 8, 4] that promotes incoherence. We evaluate the performance of our algorithm on the Polynomial as well as shift-invariant Gaussian and Cauchy kernels. Despite simplicity of our approach, we obtain state-of-the-art results on several zero-shot learning datasets and benchmarks including a recent AWA2 dataset [45].
Disparities in quality of cancer care

Abstract Escalating costs and concerns about quality of cancer care have increased calls for quality measurement and performance accountability for providers and health plans. The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to assess variability in the quality of cancer care by health insurance type in California. Persons with breast, ovary, endometrium, cervix, colon, lung, or gastric cancer during the period 2004 to 2014 were identified in the California Cancer Registry. Individuals were stratified into 5 health insurance categories: private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, dual Medicare and Medicaid eligible, and uninsured. Quality of care was evaluated using Commission on Cancer quality measures. Logistic regression models were generated to assess the independent effect of health insurance type on stage at diagnosis, quality of care and survival after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). A total of 763,884 cancer cases were evaluated. Individuals with Medicaid or Medicare-Medicaid dual-eligible coverage and the uninsured had significantly lower odds of receiving recommended radiation and/or chemotherapy after diagnosis or surgery for breast, endometrial, and colon cancer, relative to those with private insurance. Dual eligible patients with gastric cancer had 21% lower odds of having the recommended number of lymph nodes removed and examined compared to privately insured patients. After adjusting for known demographic confounders, substantial and consistent disparities in quality of cancer care exist according to type of health insurance in California. Further study is needed to identify particular factors and mechanisms underlying the identified treatment disparities across sources of health insurance.
Long-term administration of low doses of mycotoxins in poultry. 1. Residues of ochratoxin A in broilers and laying hens.

The occurrence and amount of residues of ochratoxin A (OA) in poultry tissues and organs were investigated in a trial aimed at measuring the effects of contamination approaching the patterns more frequently found in natural situations (i.e., small doses of OA in the diet for long periods). Hubbard male broilers and laying hens were treated with an OA-contaminated feed (50 ppb) from the 14th day of age onward. Both groups were further divided into subgroups, some of which underwent continual treatment (64 and 169 days, respectively) and others that were withdrawn from administration (maximum 28 and 82 days, respectively). Determination of residues was performed by high performance liquid chromatography. Residues in liver were higher in broilers (up to 11.0 ppb) than in hens (1.5 ppb), whereas the reverse occurred in kidney (up to .8 and 5.8 ppb, respectively). Residues (.8 ppb) were also in hen thigh muscle but not in breast muscle. Residues of OA in poultry appear to be of possible public health concern. Suggestions for monitoring are given.
Water usage of broiler breeders.

Water usage of daily fed and skip-a-day-fed broiler pullets housed in cages was measured in two trials. Daily fed birds in both trials had free access to water. In Trial 1, skip-a-day-fed birds were restricted to 4 h water every day or only on feed days. In Trial 2, the skip-a-day-fed birds were water restricted 4 h either every day, only on feed days, or had free access to water. Skip-a-day-fed birds tended to drink more water on feed days than on off-feed days but amounts were significantly different only in Trial 2. Water intake of these skip-a-day-fed birds on off-feed days was less than that of comparable birds fed on a daily basis with free access to water. Conversely, skip-a-day-fed birds drank more water on feed days than did daily fed birds (P less than .05) when both groups were given free access to water. Overall mean daily water consumption and spillage were unaffected by feeding or water restriction regimens. The main influence of skip-a-day feeding and water restriction appears to be on the pattern of water consumption and not on overall water usage. Daily feeding increased body weight gain relative to that of birds fed skip-a-day, although water restriction did not influence growth. Metabolizable energy derived from a feed was unaffected by feeding or water restriction regimens.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Retinal Pigmented Epithelium: A Comparative Study Between Cell Lines and Differentiation Methods.

PURPOSE The application of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal pigmented epithelium (iPSC-RPE) in patients with retinal degenerative disease is making headway toward the clinic, with clinical trials already underway. Multiple groups have developed methods for RPE differentiation from pluripotent cells, but previous studies have shown variability in iPSC propensity to differentiate into RPE. METHODS This study provides a comparison between 2 different methods for RPE differentiation: (1) a commonly used spontaneous continuously adherent culture (SCAC) protocol and (2) a more rapid, directed differentiation using growth factors. Integration-free iPSC lines were differentiated to RPE, which were characterized with respect to global gene expression, expression of RPE markers, and cellular function. RESULTS We found that all 5 iPSC lines (iPSC-1, iPSC-2, iPSC-3, iPSC-4, and iPSC-12) generated RPE using the directed differentiation protocol; however, 2 of the 5 iPSC lines (iPSC-4 and iPSC-12) did not yield RPE using the SCAC method. Both methods can yield bona fide RPE that expresses signature RPE genes and carry out RPE functions, and are similar, but not identical to fetal RPE. No differences between methods were detected in transcript levels, protein localization, or functional analyses between iPSC-1-RPE, iPSC-2-RPE, and iPSC-3-RPE. Directed iPSC-3-RPE showed enhanced transcript levels of RPE65 compared to directed iPSC-2-RPE and increased BEST1 expression and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) secretion compared to directed iPSC-1-RPE. In addition, SCAC iPSC-3-RPE secreted more PEDF than SCAC iPSC-1-RPE. CONCLUSIONS The directed protocol is a more reliable method for differentiating RPE from various pluripotent sources and some iPSC lines are more amenable to RPE differentiation.
Proteomic analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus – clinical implications

ABSTRACT Introduction: Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitous saprophytic fungus capable of producing small airborne spores, which are frequently inhaled by humans. In healthy individuals, the fungus is rapidly cleared by innate mechanisms, including immune cells. However, in individuals with impaired lung function or immunosuppression the spores can germinate and prompt severe allergic responses, and disease with limited or extensive invasiveness. Areas covered: The traits that make A. fumigatus a successful colonizer and pathogen of humans are multi-factorial. Thus, a global investigative approach is required to elucidate the mechanisms utilized by the fungus to cause disease. Expert commentary: In doing so, a better understanding of disease pathology can be achieved with improved therapeutic/diagnostic solutions, thereby improving patient outcome. Proteomic analysis permits such investigations and recent work has yielded insight into these mechanisms.
Constructive Multi-User Interference for Symbol-Level Link Adaptation: MMSE Approach

Unlike the general concept of eliminating or avoiding inter-user interference in the multi-user downlink multiple-input single-output (MISO) system, the data-aided precoding scheme attempts to exploit the constructive interference at symbol level among the multiple users. A positive interference can be constructed to enhance the received signal gain by predicting the phase and magnitude of inter-user interference. Thus, we propose constructive interference optimization that maximizes the signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) of users by predicting the constructive interference. Towards this end, we formulate a minimum mean square error (MMSE) problem, which is relaxed over the constructive interference region with the minimum required cumulative constrictive interference gain (CCIG) under a total power constraint. We then derive the optimal transmit signal vector as a function of Lagrange multipliers obtained by Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions. Our numerical results demonstrate that the proposed data-aided precoding scheme provides more CCIG than other state-of-the-art schemes, which turns out to be useful under a mm-wave band channel with few multi-paths or non-homogeneous environment.
Inference of Ancestral Recombination Graphs through Topological Data Analysis

The recent explosion of genomic data has underscored the need for interpretable and comprehensive analyses that can capture complex phylogenetic relationships within and across species. Recombination, reassortment and horizontal gene transfer constitute examples of pervasive biological phenomena that cannot be captured by tree-like representations. Starting from hundreds of genomes, we are interested in the reconstruction of potential evolutionary histories leading to the observed data. Ancestral recombination graphs represent potential histories that explicitly accommodate recombination and mutation events across orthologous genomes. However, they are computationally costly to reconstruct, usually being infeasible for more than few tens of genomes. Recently, Topological Data Analysis (TDA) methods have been proposed as robust and scalable methods that can capture the genetic scale and frequency of recombination. We build upon previous TDA developments for detecting and quantifying recombination, and present a novel framework that can be applied to hundreds of genomes and can be interpreted in terms of minimal histories of mutation and recombination events, quantifying the scales and identifying the genomic locations of recombinations. We implement this framework in a software package, called TARGet, and apply it to several examples, including small migration between different populations, human recombination, and horizontal evolution in finches inhabiting the Galápagos Islands.
Effects of Matrix Stiffness on the Morphology, Adhesion, Proliferation and Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

BMMSCs have drawn great interest in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine attributable to their multi-lineage differentiation capacity. Increasing evidence has shown that the mechanical stiffness of extracellular matrix is a critical determinant for stem cell behaviors. However, it remains unknown how matrix stiffness influences MSCs commitment with changes in cell morphology, adhesion, proliferation, self-renewal and differentiation. We employed fibronectin coated polyacrylamide hydrogels with variable stiffnesses ranging from 13 to 68 kPa to modulate the mechanical environment of BMMSCs and found that the morphology and adhesion of BMMSCs were highly dependent on mechanical stiffness. Cells became more spread and more adhesive on substrates of higher stiffness. Similarly, the proliferation of BMMSCs increased as stiffness increased. Sox2 expression was lower during 4h to 1 week on the 13-16 kPa and 62-68 kPa, in contrast, it was higher during 4h to 1 week on the 48-53 kPa. Oct4 expression on 13-16 kPa was higher than 48-53 kPa at 4h, and it has no significant differences at other time point among three different stiffness groups. On 62-68 kPa, BMMSCs were able to be induced toward osteogenic phenotype and generated a markedly high level of RUNX2, ALP, and Osteopontin. The cells exhibited a polygonal morphology and larger spreading area. These results suggest that matrix stiffness modulates commitment of BMMSCs. Our findings may eventually aid in the development of novel, effective biomaterials for the applications in tissue engineering.
The complex world of plant protease inhibitors: Insights into a Kunitz-type cysteine protease inhibitor of Arabidopsis thaliana

ABSTRACT Plants have evolved an intricate regulatory network of proteases and corresponding protease inhibitors (PI), which operate in various biological pathways and serve diverse spatiotemporal functions during the sedentary life of a plant. Intricacy of the regulatory network can be anticipated from the observation that, depending on the developmental stage and environmental cue(s), either a single PI or multiple PIs regulate the activity of a given protease. On the other hand, the same PI often interacts with different targets at different places, necessitating another level of fine control to be added in planta. Here, it is reported on how the activity of a papain-like cysteine protease dubbed RD21 (RESPONSIVE TO DESICCATION 21) is differentially regulated by serpin and Kunitz PIs over plant development and how this mechanism contributes to defenses against herbivorous arthropods and microbial pests.
Sensitivity of various bone parameters of laying hens to different daily calcium intakes.

Experiments were designed to examine the sensitivity of various bone parameters of laying hens to different levels of calcium intake (2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 g/day). All birds were individually fed 85 g of feed daily. Dry femur weight (DW) and absolute ash weight (AW) of the whole bone (WB), cortical bone (CB), or medullary bone (MB) were reliable indicators of bone status affected by changes in calcium intake. Expressing AW as a percentage of fat-free dry matter (AW/FFDM) or a percentage of dry weight (AW/DW) showed no effect due to different levels of calcium intake. The correlations between CB-AW/FFDM or CB-AW/DW with calcium intake were . 05 and -. 07, respectively. Bone ash concentration and bone ash per unit volume (AW/VOL, mg/mL) was very sensitive to different levels of calcium intake; the values increased linearly as calcium intake increased from 2 to 4.5 g/day (WB = 316 to 403; CB = 479 to 571; MB = 133 to 213). Bone-breaking force (BBF), bone-bending moment (BBM), bone stress, and BBF/100 g body weight were equally sensitive in indicating bone mineral reserves due to different levels of calcium intake. Regression equations showed that AW/VOL alone (true for WB, CB, and MB) was capable of predicting BBM well (all with R2 greater than .82). However, AW/FFDM did not have predictive power over BBM (CB-AW/FFDM:R2 less than .001). Using daily calcium intake as the predictor, regression lines for BBM, WB-AW, WB-AW/VOL, CB-AW/VOL, and MB-AW/VOL yielded significant slopes of 1.24 kg.cm, . 01 g, 17.11 mg/mL, 16.34 mg/mL, and 16.42 mg/mL, respectively.
From Hashing to CNNs: Training BinaryWeight Networks via Hashing

Deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown appealing performance on various computer vision tasks in recent years. This motivates people to deploy CNNs to real-world applications. However, most of state-of-art CNNs require large memory and computational resources, which hinders the deployment on mobile devices. Recent studies show that low-bit weight representation can reduce much storage and memory demand, and also can achieve efficient network inference. To achieve this goal, we propose a novel approach named BWNH to train Binary Weight Networks via Hashing. In this paper, we first reveal the strong connection between inner-product preserving hashing and binary weight networks, and show that training binary weight networks can be intrinsically regarded as a hashing problem. Based on this perspective, we propose an alternating optimization method to learn the hash codes instead of directly learning binary weights. Extensive experiments on CIFAR10, CIFAR100 and ImageNet demonstrate that our proposed BWNH outperforms current state-of-art by a large margin.
Protocol for a prospective, school-based standardisation study of a digital social skills assessment tool for children: The Paediatric Evaluation of Emotions, Relationships, and Socialisation (PEERS) study

Background Humans are by nature a social species, with much of human experience spent in social interaction. Unsurprisingly, social functioning is crucial to well-being and quality of life across the lifespan. While early intervention for social problems appears promising, our ability to identify the specific impairments underlying their social problems (eg, social communication) is restricted by a dearth of accurate, ecologically valid and comprehensive child-direct assessment tools. Current tools are largely limited to parent and teacher ratings scales, which may identify social dysfunction, but not its underlying cause, or adult-based experimental tools, which lack age-appropriate norms. The present study describes the development and standardisation of Paediatric Evaluation of Emotions, Relationships, and Socialisation (PEERS®), an iPad-based social skills assessment tool. Methods The PEERS project is a cross-sectional study involving two groups: (1) a normative group, recruited from early childhood, primary and secondary schools across metropolitan and regional Victoria, Australia; and (2) a clinical group, ascertained from outpatient services at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne (RCH). The project aims to establish normative data for PEERS®, a novel and comprehensive app-delivered child-direct measure of social skills for children and youth. The project involves recruiting and assessing 1000 children aged 4.0–17.11 years. Assessments consist of an intellectual screen, PEERS® subtests, and PEERS-Q, a self-report questionnaire of social skills. Parents and teachers also complete questionnaires relating to participants’ social skills. Main analyses will comprise regression-based continuous norming, factor analysis and psychometric analysis of PEERS® and PEERS-Q. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval has been obtained through the RCH Human Research Ethics Committee (34046), the Victorian Government Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (002318), and Catholic Education Melbourne (2166). Findings will be disseminated through international conferences and peer-reviewed journals. Following standardisation of PEERS®, the tool will be made commercially available.
Melatonin and the enhancement of immune responses in immature male chickens.

Understanding the role of melatonin in affecting different physiological functions, especially immune responses, is becoming increasingly important in the basic and applied sciences. Enhancing the immune response will result in increasing disease resistance and, therefore, improve production efficiency. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of melatonin, administered during the light or dark period, on BW, feed consumption (FC), and immune responses of immature chickens. Eight-week-old Cornell White Leghorn males were used in this study. The doses of melatonin were 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg BW. Melatonin was administered s.c. every 24 h for 7 consecutive d. The chicks were randomly divided into two groups; one group received injection during the middle of the light period, and the other group received injection during the middle of the dark period. All birds received 16 h light and 8 h darkness during a 24-h period. Body weights were measured before and after melatonin treatment, and FC was also measured. After the seven injections, blood samples were collected from the brachial vein, and total white blood cell (WBC) counts, differential cell counts, and activities of T and B lymphocytes were measured. Body weight was not significantly affected by dose of melatonin or time of injection. Furthermore, melatonin did not significantly affect FC; however, FC was significantly lower in the group that was injected in the dark vs. light period. The WBC counts of birds injected with 40 mg melatonin/kg BW were significantly higher than the WBC counts of saline-injected birds. The heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios of birds injected during the light period were significantly higher than those of birds injected during the dark period. T- and B-lymphocyte proliferation were significantly higher in birds injected with 40 mg melatonin/kg BW compared to saline-injected birds. These results indicate that melatonin in vivo is important in enhancing not only circulating WBC but also activities of B and T lymphocytes of immature male chickens without adversely affecting BW.