Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comment: Fisher Lecture: Dimension Reduction in Regression

I am pleased to participate in this well-deserved recognition of Dennis Cook's remarkable career. Cook points out Fisher's insistence that predictor variables in regression be chosen without reference to the dependent variable. Reduction by principal compo nents clearly satisfies that dictum. One of my primary objections to partial least squares regression when I first encountered it as an alternative to principal com ponents was that the predictor variables were being chosen with reference to the dependent variable. (I now have other objections to partial least squares.) Yet on the other hand, variable selection in regression is well accepted and it clearly chooses variables based on their relationship to the dependent variable. Perhaps variable selection is better thought of as a form of shrinkage es timation rather than as a process for choosing predictor variables. Cook also reiterates something that I think is diffi cult to overemphasize: Fisher's point that "More or less elaborate forms [for models] will be suitable according to the volume of the data. " We see this now on a regular basis as modern technology provides larger data sets to which elaborate models are regularly fitted. With regard to Cook's work, it seems to me that the key issue in the development of Cook's models (2), (5), (10) and (13) is whether they are broadly reason able. The question did not seem to be extensively ad dressed but Cook shows that much can be gained if we can reasonably use them. When they are appropri ate, the results in the corresponding propositions are rather stunning. It has long been known that the best regression model available? technically the best pre dictor of a random variable y based on a p-dimensional random vector x? is the conditional mean E(y \x). The problem with this result is that it requires us to know the joint distribution of (x1', y). Most of what we com monly recognize as regression analysis is an attempt to
Quality Attribute Workshops (QAWs), Third Edition

Abstract : The Quality Attribute Workshop (QAW) is a facilitated method that engages system stake- holders early in the life cycle to discover the driving quality attributes of a software-intensive system. The QAW was developed to complement the Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method(SM) (ATAM(SM)) and provides a way to identify important quality attributes and clarify system requirements before the software architecture has been created. This is the third edition of a technical report describing the QAW. We have narrowed the scope of a QAW to the creation of prioritized and refined scenarios. This report describes the newly revised QAW and describes potential uses of the refined scenarios generated during it.
The proliferative and migratory effects of physical injury and stromal cell-derived factor-1α on rat cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts.

OBJECTIVE This study aims to explore the effects of physical injury and stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) on the proliferation of cardiomyocytes and chemotactic effects of cardiomyocytes on the migration of cardiac fibroblasts. MATERIALS AND METHODS Isolation and primary culture of rat cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts were performed; scratching was employed to induce physical injury on cells which were cultured with SDF-1α at different concentrations; proliferation ability of cardiomyocytes was checked with CCK-8 assay and migratory ability of cardiac fibroblasts under the chemotaxis of cardiomyocytes was detected with Transwell assay. RESULTS SDF-1α enhanced the proliferation ability of cardiomyocytes with physical injury, especially at the concentration of 80 µg/L when the proliferation rate of cardiomyocytes increased most markedly. Moreover, physically injured cardiomyocyte that was cultured with SDF-1α significantly elevated migratory ability of cardiac fibroblasts, which tended to be more obvious along with the chemotactic culture time. CONCLUSIONS SDF-1α enhanced the proliferation ability of cardiomyocytes with physical injury, and physically injured cardiomyocyte that was cultured with SDF-1α promoted the migration of cardiac fibroblasts.
Cross-resistance study and biochemical mechanisms of thiamethoxam resistance in B-biotype Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae).

BACKGROUND B-biotype Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) has invaded China over the past two decades. To understand the risks and to determine possible mechanisms of resistance to thiamethoxam in B. tabaci, a resistant strain was selected in the laboratory. Cross-resistance and the biochemical mechanisms of thiamethoxam resistance were investigated in the present study. RESULTS A 66.3-fold thiamethoxam-resistant B. tabaci strain (TH-R) was established after selection for 36 generations. Compared with the susceptible strain (TH-S), the selected TH-R strain showed obvious cross-resistance to imidacloprid (47.3-fold), acetamiprid (35.8-fold), nitenpyram (9.99-fold), abamectin (5.33-fold) and carbosulfan (4.43-fold). No cross-resistance to fipronil, chlorpyrifos or deltamethrin was seen. Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and triphenyl phosphate (TPP) exhibited significant synergism on thiamethoxam effects in the TH-R strain (3.14- and 2.37-fold respectively). However, diethyl maleate (DEM) did not act synergistically with thiamethoxam. Biochemical assays showed that cytochrome P450 monooxygenase activities increased 1.21- and 1.68-fold respectively, and carboxylesterase activity increased 2.96-fold in the TH-R strain. However, no difference was observed for glutathione S-transferase between the two strains. CONCLUSION B-biotype B. tabaci develops resistance to thiamethoxam. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase and carboxylesterase appear to be responsible for the resistance. Reasonable resistance management that avoids the use of cross-resistance insecticides may delay the development of resistance to thiamethoxam in this species.
Surgical treatment of diaphyseal stress fractures of the fifth metatarsal in competitive athletes: long-term follow-up and computerized pedobarographic analysis.

BACKGROUND Proximal diaphyseal stress fractures of the fifth metatarsal are common in athletes. Conservative treatment has been shown to result in high rates of delayed union, nonunion, and refracture, so internal fixation has become the treatment of choice in competitive athletes. METHODS Twenty top-level athletes with diaphyseal stress fractures fixed with intramedullary malleolar screws were evaluated. Functional outcome was assessed by American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society midfoot score. Static and dynamic maximum vertical force and peak plantar pressures were evaluated with a computerized pedobarograph. RESULTS Mean follow-up from surgery to interview was 10.3 years (range, 3.5-19.0 years). Clinical healing was 95%, and there has been one refracture (5%). The mean time from surgery to return to sport was 9 weeks (range, 5-14 weeks). Twelve athletes (60%) returned to a higher level of training, 7 (35%) to the same level, and 1 (5%) to a lower level compared with the level of training before injury. Average American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society midfoot score was 93.8 (range, 85-100). During the computerized pedobarographic evaluations, 18 patients (90%) presented with varus of the metatarsus and the midfoot and 2 (10%) presented with a normal plantigrade foot. CONCLUSIONS Intramedullary malleolar screws can yield reliable and effective healing of fifth metatarsal stress fractures in athletes. Varus of the metatarsus and the midfoot were predisposing factors for stress fractures in this population of competitive athletes, and all were recommended to wear orthoses until their competitive careers were completed.
Characterization of the human B cell stimulatory factor 1 receptor

125I-labeled recombinant human B cell stimulatory factor 1 (BSF-1) was used to characterize receptors specific for this lymphokine on in vitro cell lines representing human B, T, and hematopoietic lineages, as well as on adherent cell lines of epithelial and endothelial origin, and on primary human gingival fibroblasts. BSF-1 binding was extremely rapid and saturable at both 4 and 37 degrees C, with a slow dissociation rate. On all human cell types examined, BSF-1 bound to a single class of high-affinity receptor (less than 3,000 receptors per cell) with a Ka of 0.5-1.0 X 10(10)/M. Human BSF-1 also bound to cell lines of simian but not murine origin. Comparison of kinetic characteristics obtained with a yeast-derived hyperglycosylated form of BSF-1 (Mr 60,000) and N-glycanase-treated, sugar-free BSF-1 (Mr 15,000) showed no significant differences. Among a panel of lymphokines and growth hormones, only unlabeled human BSF-1 was able to compete for the binding of 125I-labeled human BSF-1. Affinity crosslinking experiments resulted in the identification on both Raji cells and on primary human gingival fibroblasts of a receptor subunit with an average Mr of 139,000. These studies show that the BSF-1 receptor on human cells has an extremely broad cellular distribution, while further supporting the notion that the ability of BSF-1 to mediate a spectrum of biological activities cannot be accounted for by overt differences in the receptor for this lymphokine on different cell lineages.
Standards and standardization in mastocytosis: Consensus Statements on Diagnostics, Treatment Recommendations and Response Criteria

Although a classification for mastocytosis and diagnostic criteria are available, there remains a need to define standards for the application of diagnostic tests, clinical evaluations, and treatment responses. To address these demands, leading experts discussed current issues and standards in mastocytosis in a Working Conference. The present article provides the resulting outcome with consensus statements, which focus on the appropriate application of clinical and laboratory tests, patient selection for interventional therapy, and the selection of appropriate drugs. In addition, treatment response criteria for the various clinical conditions, disease‐specific symptoms, and specific pathologies are provided. Resulting recommendations and algorithms should greatly facilitate the management of patients with mastocytosis in clinical practice, selection of patients for therapies, and the conduct of clinical trials.
Adherence to Antipsychotic Medication and Criminal Recidivism in a Canadian Provincial Offender Population

Abstract Preliminary evidence suggests that adherence to antipsychotic medication reduces criminal recidivism among patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, existing studies operationalize antipsychotic adherence as a binary variable (usually using a threshold of ≥80%), which does not reflect the prevalence of suboptimal adherence in real-world settings. The purpose of the current analysis was to investigate the association between successive ordinal levels of antipsychotic adherence and criminal recidivism in a well-defined sample of offenders diagnosed with schizophrenia (n = 11462). Adherence was measured using the medication possession ratio (MPR) and analyzed as a time-dependent covariate in multivariable regression models. Data were drawn from linked, comprehensive diagnostic, pharmacy and justice system records, and individuals were followed for an average of 10 years. Adjusted rate ratios (ARR) and confidence intervals (CI) are reported. Overall mean MPR was 0.41. Increasing levels of antipsychotic adherence were not associated with progressively lower rates of offending. However, when compared to the reference group (MPR ≥ 80%) all lower adherence levels were significantly associated (P < .001) with increased risk of violent (ARR = 1.58; 95% CI = 1.46–1.71) and nonviolent (ARR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.33–1.50) offenses. Significance was replicated in separate sensitivity analyses. Previously published studies reporting reductions in crime may have been influenced by antipsychotic adherence ≥80%. Binary operationalization of adherence is an inaccurate predictor of recidivism. Future research addressing functional outcomes of antipsychotic adherence should conceptualize adherence as an incremental independent variable.
Expression of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 6 complementary DNA alters neuroblastoma cell growth.

Insulin-like growth factors I and II (IGF-I and IGF-II) are actively involved in neuroblastoma cell growth. In all biological fluids, they are noncovalently bound to high-affinity binding proteins. At least six species of these IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) have been identified, but their precise roles remain unclear. One of them, IGFBP-6, is produced by neuroblastoma cells in culture under certain experimental conditions and seems to be associated with the arrest of cell growth. We stably transfected IGR-N-91 and SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells with an expression vector comprising IGFBP-6 cDNA, whose expression was placed under the control of the constitutive and ubiquitous cytomegalovirus promoter. Analyses of the cell cycle (flux cytofluorometry), mitogenic activity (radiolabeled thymidine incorporation), and the number of viable cells (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test) showed that the mitogenic effects of serum, IGF-I, IGF-II, and des (1-3) IGF-I, a truncated IGF-I analogue with no affinity for IGFBP-6, were depressed in both transfected cell lines. With s.c. injection of transfected IGR-N-91 cells into nude mice, tumors developed in only 50-70% of cases, 1 or 2 weeks after those in controls, and were 60-90% smaller. Our findings show that IGFBP-6 influences neuroblastoma cell growth, both in vitro and in experimental xenograft development.
A tensor approach to learning mixed membership community models

Community detection is the task of detecting hidden communities from observed interactions. Guaranteed community detection has so far been mostly limited to models with non-overlapping communities such as the stochastic block model. In this paper, we remove this restriction, and provide guaranteed community detection for a family of probabilistic network models with overlapping communities, termed as the mixed membership Dirichlet model, first introduced by Airoldi et al. This model allows for nodes to have fractional memberships in multiple communities and assumes that the community memberships are drawn from a Dirichlet distribution. Moreover, it contains the stochastic block model as a special case. We propose a unified approach to learning these models via a tensor spectral decomposition method. Our estimator is based on low-order moment tensor of the observed network, consisting of 3-star counts. Our learning method is fast and is based on simple linear algebraic operations, e.g. singular value decomposition and tensor power iterations. We provide guaranteed recovery of community memberships and model parameters and present a careful finite sample analysis of our learning method. As an important special case, our results match the best known scaling requirements for the (homogeneous) stochastic block model.
CHLORIDE PENETRATION INTO CONCRETE STRUCTURES IN AGGRESSIVE MARINE ENVIRONMENT - EXPERIMENTAL SIMULATION

Performance of concrete, made with either Portland cement alone or blended with blast granulated furnace slag, in aggressive marine environment is investigated in a full scale laboratory test exposed to simulated practical conditions. Concrete specimens, cured in different conditions, are exposed to wetting/drying and heating/cooling cycles, simulating the tidal zone of marine structures with daily temperature variations. In an attempt to integrate durability and structural design, the effect of "restraint" of thermal strains has been evaluated by exposing the top surfaces of the large beams, as "restrained" elements, and small cubes, as "unrestrained" test specimens, to the chloride environment. Short term results indicate that thermal cracks in "restrained" specimens promote the chloride ingress into the marine concrete. Good performance of blast furnace slag concrete, with regard to chloride penetration, was found in comparison with concrete made with ordinary Portland cement. While the conventional tests often neglect the effect of stresses on the deterioration process, it is believed that the proposed test configuration more accurately represents the real-life situations in most concrete structures. For the covering abstract see ITRD E111699.
Inhaled corticosteroid use in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the risk of hospitalization for pneumonia.

RATIONALE Inhaled corticosteroids are commonly prescribed to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). OBJECTIVES To examine whether these medications might be associated with an excess risk of pneumonia. METHODS We conducted a nested case-control study within a cohort of patients with COPD from Quebec, Canada, over the period 1988-2003, identified on the basis of administrative databases linking hospitalization and drug-dispensing information. Each subject hospitalized for pneumonia during follow-up (case subjects) was age and time matched to four control subjects. The effect of the use of inhaled corticosteroids was assessed by conditional logistic regression, after adjusting for comorbidity and COPD severity. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The cohort included 175,906 patients with COPD of whom 23,942 were hospitalized for pneumonia during follow-up, for a rate of 1.9 per 100 per year, and matched to 95,768 control subjects. The adjusted rate ratio of hospitalization for pneumonia associated with current use of inhaled corticosteroids was 1.70 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.63-1.77) and 1.53 (95% CI, 1.30-1.80) for pneumonia hospitalization followed by death within 30 days. The rate ratio of hospitalization for pneumonia was greatest with the highest doses of inhaled corticosteroids, equivalent to fluticasone at 1,000 microg/day or more (rate ratio, 2.25; 95% CI, 2.07-2.44). All-cause mortality was similar for patients hospitalized for pneumonia, whether or not they had received inhaled corticosteroids in the recent past (7.4 and 8.2%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The use of inhaled corticosteroids is associated with an excess risk of pneumonia hospitalization and of pneumonia hospitalization followed by death within 30 days, among elderly patients with COPD.
Amplitude- and Frequency-based Dispersion Patterns and Entropy

Permutation patterns-based approaches, such as permutation entropy (PerEn), have been widely and successfully used to analyze data. However, these methods have two main shortcomings. First, when a series is symbolized based on permutation patterns, repetition as an unavoidable phenomenon in data is not took in to account. Second, they consider only the order of amplitude values and so, some information regarding the amplitude values themselves may be ignored. To address these deficiencies, we have very recently introduced dispersion patterns and subsequently, dispersion entropy (DispEn). In this paper, we investigate the effect of different linear and non-linear mapping approaches, used in the algorithm of DispEn, on the characterization of signals. We also inspect the sensitivity of different parameters of DispEn to noise. Moreover, we introduce frequency-based DispEn (FDispEn) as a measure to deal with only the frequency of time series. The results suggest that DispEn and FDispEn with the log-sigmoid mapping approach, unlike PerEn, can detect outliers. Furthermore, the original and frequency-based forbidden dispersion patterns are introduced to discriminate deterministic from stochastic time series. The computation times show that DispEn and FDispEn are considerably faster than PerEn. Finally, we find that DispEn and FDispEn outperform PerEn to distinguish various dynamics of biomedical signals. Due to their advantages over existing entropy methods, DispEn and FDispEn are expected to be widely used for the characterization of a wide variety of real-world time series.
Collaborative Product Representation for Emergent Electronic Marketplace

A B2B e-marketplace is emergent with product representation requirements in continuous changes. To capture the emergence, this paper proposes a novel collaborative product representation approach that collaboratively generates new product representations in real-time both at the sides of sellers/buyers and e-marketplace providers. The approach employs a well-defined product representation construct that decomposes each representation into a set of hierarchically arranged vector concept-based annotations and sub-structures. The use of vector-based concepts achieves flexibility, exactness and evolvability of the whole product representation system.
Hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and differentiation are supported by embryonic aorta-gonad-mesonephros region-derived endothelium.

Hematopoietic stem cells are capable of extensive self-renewal and expansion, particularly during embryonic growth. Although the molecular mechanisms involved with stem cell maintenance remain mysterious, it is now clear that an intraembryonic location, the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region, is a site of residence and, potentially, amplification of the definitive hematopoietic stem cells that eventually seed the fetal liver and adult bone marrow. Because several studies suggested that morphologically defined hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells in the AGM region appeared to be attached in clusters to the ventrally located endothelium of the dorsal aorta, we derived cell lines from this intraembryonic site using an anti-CD34 antibody to select endothelial cells. Analysis of two different AGM-derived CD34(+) cell lines revealed that one, DAS 104-8, efficiently induced fetal-liver hematopoietic stem cells to differentiate down erythroid, myeloid, and B-lymphoid pathways, but it did not mediate self-renewal of these pluripotent cells. In contrast, a second cell line, DAS 104-4, was relatively inefficient at the induction of hematopoietic differentiation. Instead, this line provoked the expansion of early hematopoietic progenitor cells of the lin-CD34(+)Sca-1(+)c-Kit+ phenotype and was proficient at maintaining fetal liver-derived hematopoietic stem cells able to competitively repopulate the bone marrow of lethally irradiated mice. These data bolster the hypothesis that the endothelium of the AGM region acts to mediate the support and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells in vivo.
Person Verification by Lip-Motion

This paper describes a new motion based feature extraction technique for speaker recognition using orientation estimation in 2D manifolds. The motion is estimated by computing the components of the structure tensor from which normal flows are extracted. By projecting the 3D spatiotemporal data to 2-D planes we obtain projection coefficients which we use to evaluate the 3-D orientations of brightness patterns in TV like 2D image sequences. This corresponds to the solutions of simple matrix eigenvalue problems in 2D, affording increased computational efficiency. An implementation based on joint lip movements and speech is presented along with experiments which confirm the theory, exhibiting a recognition rate of 98% on the publicly available XM2VTS database.