Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unsupervised Relation Extraction with General Domain Knowledge

Information extraction (IE) is becoming increasingly useful as a form of shallow semantic analysis. Learning relational facts from text is one of the core tasks of IE and has applications in a variety of fields including summarization, question answering, and information retrieval. Previous work has traditionally relied on extensive human involvement (e.g., hand-annotated training instances, manual pattern extraction rules, hand-picked seeds). Standard supervised techniques can yield high performance when large amounts of hand-labeled data are available for a fixed inventory of relation types, however, extraction systems do not easily generalize beyond their training domains and often must be re-engineered for each application. In this talk I will present an unsupervised approach to relational information extraction which could lead to significant resource savings and more portable extraction systems that require less engineering effort. The proposed model partitions tuples representing an observed syntactic relationship between two named entities (e.g., “X was born in Y” and “X is from Y”) into clusters corresponding to underlying semantic relation types (e.g., BornIn, Located). Our approach incorporates general domain knowledge which we encode as First Order Logic rules. Specifically and automatically combine with we combine a topic model developed for the relation extraction task with automatically extracted domain relevant rules, and present an algorithm that estimates the parameters of this model. Evaluation results on the ACE 2007 English Relation Detection and Categorization (RDC) task show that our model outperforms competitive unsupervised approaches by a wide margin and is able to produce clusters shaped by both the data and the rules.
A Multisample Analysis of Psychometric Properties for the Malaysian Adapted Sport Anxiety Scale-2 Among Youth Athletes

This study examined psychometric properties of a Malaysian-language Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) in three separate studies. Study 1 examined the criterion validity and internal consistency of SAS-2 among 119 developmental hockey players. Measures of trait anxiety and mood states along with digit vigilance, choice reaction time, and depth perception tests were administered. Regression analysis revealed that somatic anxiety and concentration disruption were significantly associated with sustained attention. Worry was significantly associated with depth perception but not sustained attention. Pearson correlation coefficients also revealed significant relationships between SAS-2 subscales and negative mood state dimensions. Study 2 examined the convergent and discriminant validity of SAS-2 by correlating it with state anxiety measured by the CSAI-2R. Significant positive relationships were obtained between SAS-2 subscales and somatic and cognitive state anxiety. Conversely, state self-confidence was negatively related to SAS-2 subscales. In addition, significant differences were observed between men and women in somatic anxiety. Study 3 examined the factorial validity of the Malaysian SAS-2 using confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 539 young athletes. Confirmatory factor analysis results provided strong support for the SAS-2 factor structure. Path loadings exceeding 0.5 indicated convergent validity among the subscales, and low to moderate subscale intercorrelations provided evidence of discriminant validity. Overall, the results supported the criterion and construct validity of this Malaysian-language SAS-2 instrument.
Potassium permeability in the absence of fluid reabsorption in proximal tubule of the anesthetized rat.

A luminal microperfusion technique was used to examine the K+ permeability of surface proximal convoluted tubules (PCT) in the kidney of anesthetized rats. Transtubular potassium concentration ([K+]) gradients were varied by altering the concentration of KCl in luminal perfusates, to which 32 mmol/l of the impermeant solute raffinose was also added to prevent net fluid reabsorption. The arithmetic mean transtubular [K+] gradient was highly predictive of net potassium flux, yielding an apparent K+ permeability of 31.9 ± 1.7 × 10-5 cm/s in the absence of fluid reabsorption. When compared using identical calculation techniques, we found this was not significantly different from the permeability derived in a previous study when fluid reabsorption was present [J. D. Kibble, M. Wareing, R. W. Wilson, and R. Green. Am. J. Physiol. 268 ( Renal Fluid Electrolyte Physiol. 27): F778-F783, 1995]. We conclude that fluid reabsorption does not affect the apparent permeability of the proximal tubule to potassium. The apparent permeability to86Rb, measured following its addition to luminal perfusates, was not significantly different from the value obtained for K+, suggesting that rubidium is a useful marker for net potassium movements in the PCT of the rat.
Interaction Analysis of Longevity Interventions Using Survival Curves

A long-standing problem in ageing research is to understand how different factors contributing to longevity should be expected to act in combination under the assumption that they are independent. Standard interaction analysis compares the extension of mean lifespan achieved by a combination of interventions to the prediction under an additive or multiplicative null model, but neither model is fundamentally justified. Moreover, the target of longevity interventions is not mean life span but the entire survival curve. Here we formulate a mathematical approach for predicting the survival curve resulting from a combination of two independent interventions based on the survival curves of the individual treatments, and quantify interaction between interventions as the deviation from this prediction. We test the method on a published data set comprising survival curves for all combinations of four different longevity interventions in Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that interactions are generally weak even when the standard analysis indicates otherwise.
Mixed-Mode Decohesion Elements for Analyses of Progressive Delamination

A new 8-node decohesion element with mixed mode capability is proposed and demonstrated. The element is used at the interface between solid finite elements to model the initiation and propagation of delamination. A single displacement-based damage parameter is used in a strain softening law to track the damage state of the interface. The method can be used in conjunction with conventional material degradation procedures to account for inplane and intra-laminar damage modes. The accuracy of the predictions is evaluated in single mode delamination tests, in the mixed-mode bending test, and in a structural configuration consisting of the debonding of a stiffener flange from its skin.
Long non-coding RNA XIST exerts oncogenic functions in pancreatic cancer via miR-34a-5p

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in the occurrence and progression of multiple cancers. In the present study, we investigated the role of lncRNA X inactive-specific transcript (XIST) in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer (PC). Firstly, we found that lncRNA XIST was markedly upregulated in PC tissues and PC cell lines, respectively. Overexpression of XIST significantly promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion, and suppressed cell apoptosis of BxPC-3 cells; knockdown of XIST significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion, and accelerated cell apoptosis of PANC-1 cells. Furthermore, BxPC-3 and PANC-1 cells transfected with different vectors were injected subcutaneously into nude mice to explore tumor formation. We found that XIST promoted tumor formation in vivo. Subsequently, we found that microRNA-34a-5p (miR-34a-5p) was downregulated in PC tissues, and predicted a poor prognosis in PC patients. In addition, the results indicated that miR-34a-5p is a target gene of XIST and was significantly negatively correlated with XIST. More importantly, we found that miR-34a-5p rescued the facilitation of malignant behavior mediated by XIST. These results indicated that XIST and miR-34a-5p may be potential effective therapeutic targets for PC.
Predisposing factors, clinical assessment, management and outcomes of agitation in the trauma intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND Agitation occurs frequently among critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). We aimed to evaluate the frequency, predisposing factors and outcomes of agitation in trauma ICU. METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted to include patients who were admitted to the trauma ICU between April 2014 and March 2015. Data included patient's demographics, initial vitals, associated injuries, Ramsey Sedation Scale, Glasgow Coma Scale, head injury lesions, use of sedatives and analgesics, head interventions, ventilator days, and ICU length of stay. Patients were divided into two groups based on the agitation status. RESULTS A total of 102 intubated patients were enrolled; of which 46 (45%) experienced agitation. Patients in the agitation group were 7 years younger, had significantly lower GCS and sustained higher frequency of head injuries (P<0.05). Patients who developed agitation were more likely to be prescribed propofol alone or in combination with midazolam and to have frequent ICP catheter insertion, longer ventilatory days and higher incidence of pneumonia (P<0.05). On multivariate analysis, use of propofol alone (OR=4.97; 95% CI=1.35-18.27), subarachnoid hemorrhage (OR=5.11; 95% CI=1.38-18.91) and ICP catheter insertion for severe head injury (OR=4.23; 95% CI=1.16-15.35) were independent predictors for agitation (P<0.01). CONCLUSION Agitation is a frequent problem in trauma ICU and is mainly related to the type of sedation and poor outcomes in terms of prolonged mechanical ventilation and development of nosocomial pneumonia. Therefore, understanding the main predictors of agitation facilitates early risk-stratification and development of better therapeutic strategies in trauma patients.
Surface durability of injection-moulded carbon nanotube–polypropylene spur gears

Short fibre reinforced thermoplastics are being considered for light- and medium-duty engineering applications because of their improved mechanical strength combined with cost-effective advantages. In recent years, the carbon nanotube reinforced thermoplastics are being preferred over the short fibre reinforced thermoplastics because of the absence of directional shrinkage characteristics, directional mechanical and tribological properties. In this work, 1 wt% carbon nanotube–polypropylene material was injection-moulded to spur gears and evaluated for the durability using in-house developed power absorption gear test rig. During testing, the net surface temperature of the test gears and in-line torque available at the driver and driven shafts were continuously measured. The measured torque was used to evaluate the transmission efficiency of the test-steel gear pair. The measured net surface temperature was correlated with the gear failure mode. Test gears were run up to failure or up to 8.6 × 105 cycles, whichever occurred first. Worn-out gear tooth surfaces were observed using an optical and scanning electron microscope to understand the wear mechanism. In the initial stage of service, test gears exhibited less wear near the pitch region compared to the tip and root regions. This behaviour is due to the maximum sliding velocities at the tip and root regions compared to the pitch region. The carbon nanotube–polypropylene gears exhibited lower surface temperature (5−10 ℃), improved service life (30%−80%) and higher transmission efficiency (1−1.5%) compared to the polypropylene gear.
Laurus nobilis: Composition of Essential Oil and Its Biological Activities

Laurus nobilis is native to the southern Mediterranean region and cultivated mainly in Europe and the USA as an ornamental and medicinal plant. The chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) from leaves of L. nobilis, collected in Southern Italy, was studied by GC and GC-MS. In all, 55 compounds were identified, accounting for 91.6% of the total essential oil. 1,8-Cineole (31.9%), sabinene (12.2%), and linalool (10.2%) were the main components. Antimicrobial and antifungal activities of EO and 1,8-cineole were determined in vitro. The cytotoxicity of the EO was evaluated against SH-SY5Y cell line, as well as the influence of the EO on the expression of adenylate cyclase 1 (ADCY1), suggesting possible essential oil effects on the Central Nervous System.
The Default Mode Network in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

When the brain is not engaged in goal-directed activities and at rest, there are still measureable patterns of activity. One resting-state network, the default mode network (DMN) is responsible for a self-referential introspective state. There are many factors that influence normal changes in brain activity. The purpose of this review is to summarize differences in DMN functional connectivity in healthy individuals by age, sex, cognitive function, and analysis type to characterize what is "normal. " Studies were systematically selected up to August 2016. Two reviewers independently used predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify relevant studies. Studies that provided sufficient information were included in a subsequent voxel-wise meta-analysis. Strength of DMN functional connectivity follows an inverse U-shape, where it is strongest in adulthood and lowest in children and elderly. Cognitive function is positively correlated with DMN functional connectivity. Females exhibit stronger intranetwork connectivity compared with males. Effects of analysis type were inconclusive and more studies need to incorporate complementing techniques. The voxel-wise meta-analysis was only conducted for the age factor. Findings supported an immature network in children compared with adults and a stronger network in adults compared with elderly. This is the first study to review differences of DMN functional connectivity in healthy individuals by age, sex, cognitive function, and analysis type. Findings add to the understanding of normal variance. Furthermore, defining a normal comparative base may allow for the identification of DMN change into pathology. This is important since it may allow for the detection of an intermediate risk phenotype and could serve as a biomarker for treatment response.
Reconstruction of Haplotype-Blocks Selected during Experimental Evolution

The genetic analysis of experimentally evolving populations typically relies on short reads from pooled individuals (Pool-Seq). While this method provides reliable allele frequency estimates, the underlying haplotype structure remains poorly characterized. With small population sizes and adaptive variants that start from low frequencies, the interpretation of selection signatures in most Evolve and Resequencing studies remains challenging. To facilitate the characterization of selection targets, we propose a new approach that reconstructs selected haplotypes from replicated time series, using Pool-Seq data. We identify selected haplotypes through the correlated frequencies of alleles carried by them. Computer simulations indicate that selected haplotype-blocks of several Mb can be reconstructed with high confidence and low error rates, even when allele frequencies change only by 20% across three replicates. Applying this method to real data from D. melanogaster populations adapting to a hot environment, we identify a selected haplotype-block of 6.93 Mb. We confirm the presence of this haplotype-block in evolved populations by experimental haplotyping, demonstrating the power and accuracy of our haplotype reconstruction from Pool-Seq data. We propose that the combination of allele frequency estimates with haplotype information will provide the key to understanding the dynamics of adaptive alleles.
Evidence for NO ⋅ redox form of nitric oxide as nitrergic inhibitory neurotransmitter in gut.

A nitric oxide (NO)-like product of thel-arginine NO synthase pathway has been shown to be a major inhibitory neurotransmitter that is involved in the slow component of the inhibitory junction potential (IJP) elicited by stimulation of nonadrenergic, noncholinergic nerves. However, the exact nature of the nitrergic transmitter, the role of cGMP, and the involvement of a potassium or a chloride conductance in the slow IJP remain unresolved. We examined the effects of soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitors LY-83583 and 1 H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3- a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), potassium-channel blockers and putative chloride-channel blockers diphenylamine-2-carboxylate (DPC) and niflumic acid (NFA) on the hyperpolarization elicited by an NO ⋅ donor, diethylenetriamine/NO adduct (DNO), NO in solution, and an NO+ donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), in the guinea pig ileal circular muscle. Effects of these blockers on purinergic (fast) and nitrergic (slow) IJP were also examined. DNO-induced hyperpolarization and nitrergic slow IJP were suppressed by LY-83583 or ODQ and DPC or NFA but not by the potassium-channel blocker apamin. In contrast, hyperpolarization caused by SNP or solubilized NO gas and purinergic fast IJP were antagonized by apamin but not by inhibitors of guanylate cyclase or chloride channels. These results demonstrate biological differences in the actions of different redox states of NO and suggest that NO ⋅ is the nitrergic inhibitory neurotransmitter.
Hazard assessment of nickel nanoparticles in soil—The use of a full life cycle test with Enchytraeus crypticus

Nanoparticles (NPs) such as nickel (Ni) are widely used in several applications. Nevertheless, the environmental effects of Ni NPs are still poorly understood. In the present study, the toxicity of Ni NPs and nickel nitrate (NiNO3) was assessed using the standard test species in soil ecotoxicology, Enchytraeus crypticus (Oligochaeta), in a full life cycle test, adding the endpoints hatching, growth, and time to reach maturity, besides survival and reproduction as in the standard Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development Guideline 220 and/or International Organization for Standardization 16387. For Ni NPs, the Ni in soil and in soil solution was concentration‐ and time‐dependent, with a relatively higher soil solution content in the lower and shorter exposure concentrations and times. Overall, NiNO3 was more toxic than Ni NPs, and toxicity seemed to occur via different mechanisms. The former caused reduced hatching (50% effect concentration [EC50] = 39 mg Ni/kg soil), and the negative effects remained throughout the life cycle, in all measured endpoints (growth, maturation, survival, and reproduction). For Ni NPs, hatching was the most sensitive endpoint (EC50 = 870 mg Ni/kg soil), although the organisms recovered; that is, additional endpoints across the life cycle showed that this effect corresponded to a delay in hatching because organisms survived and reproduced at concentrations up to 1800 mg Ni/kg soil. On the other hand, the lowest tested concentration of Ni NPs (100 mg Ni/kg soil) caused reproduction effects similar to those at higher concentrations (1000 and 1800 mg Ni/kg soil). The present results show that the potential implications of a nonmonotonic dose response should be considered when assessing the risks of Ni NP exposure in soil. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2934–2941. © 2017 SETAC
Food insecurity among people who inject drugs in Los Angeles and San Francisco

Abstract Objective We estimated the prevalence of food insecurity among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Los Angeles and San Francisco and explored correlates of food insecurity. Design A cross-sectional study that measured 30 d food insecurity using the US Adult Food Security Survey ten-item Module developed by the US Department of Agriculture. Food insecurity was defined as including low and very low food security. Setting Two cities in the state of California, USA. Subjects Male and female active PWID (n 777). Results Among participants, 58 % reported food insecurity and 41 % reported very low food security. Food-insecure PWID were more likely to report being homeless (prevalence ratio (PR)=1·20; 95 % CI 1·05, 1·37), chest pain in the past 12 months (PR=1·19; CI 1·06, 1·35), acquiring syringes from someone who goes to a syringe exchange programme (PR=1·27; 95 % CI 1·13, 1·43) and feeling at risk for arrest for possession of drug paraphernalia (PR=1·30; 95 % CI 1·15, 1·46). Conclusions Current food insecurity was common among PWID in these two cities, yet few factors were independently associated with food insecurity. These data suggest that broad strategies to improve food access for this high-risk population are urgently needed.
Chemokine regulation of ozone-induced neutrophil and monocyte inflammation.

Pulmonary inflammation has been observed in humans and in many animal species after ozone exposure. Inflammatory cell accumulation involves local synthesis of chemokines, including neutrophil chemoattractants such as macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), and monocyte chemoattractants, such as monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). To better understand the mechanism of ozone-induced inflammation, we exposed mice and rats to ozone for 3 h and measured MIP-2 and MCP-1 gene expression. In C57BL/6 mice, steady-state mRNA levels for MCP-1 in the lung increased at 0.6 parts/million (ppm) ozone and were maximal at 2.0 ppm ozone. After exposure to 2 ppm ozone, MIP-2 mRNA levels peaked at 4 h postexposure, whereas MCP-1 mRNA levels peaked at 24 h postexposure. Neutrophils and monocytes recovered in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid peaked at 24 and 72 h, respectively. The accumulation of monocytes was thus delayed relative to that of neutrophils, consistent with the sequential expression of the corresponding chemokines. The role of MCP-1 in monocyte accumulation was evaluated in greater detail in rats. Ozone caused an increase in monocyte chemotactic activity in bronchoalveolar fluid that was inhibited by an antibody directed against MCP-1. Ozone-induced MCP-1 mRNA levels were higher in lavage cells than in whole lung tissue, indicating that lavage cells are an important source of MCP-1. In these cells, nuclear factor-κB, a nuclear transcription factor implicated in MCP-1 gene regulation, was also activated 20-24 h after ozone exposure. These findings indicate that monocyte accumulation subsequent to acute lung injury can be mediated through MCP-1 and that nuclear factor-κB may play a role in ozone-induced MCP-1 gene expression.
Human melanoma cells resistant to MAPK inhibitors can be effectively targeted by inhibition of the p90 ribosomal S6 kinase

The clinical availability of small molecule inhibitors specifically targeting mutated BRAF marked a significant breakthrough in melanoma therapy. Despite a dramatic anti-tumour activity and improved patient survival, rapidly emerging resistance, however, greatly limits the clinical benefit. The majority of the already described resistance mechanisms involve a reactivation of the MAPK signalling pathway. The p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK), a downstream effector of the MAPK signalling cascade, has been reported to enhance survival of melanoma cells in response to chemotherapy. Here, we can show that RSK activity is significantly increased in human melanoma cells with acquired resistance to the BRAFV600E/K inhibitor vemurafenib. Interestingly, inhibition of RSK signalling markedly impairs the viability of vemurafenib resistant melanoma cells and is effective both in two-dimensional and in three-dimensional culture systems, especially in a chronic, long-term application. The effect of RSK inhibition can be partly replicated by downregulation of the well-known RSK target, Y-box binding protein 1 (YB-1). Intriguingly, RSK inhibition also retains its efficacy in melanoma cells with combined resistance to vemurafenib and the MEK inhibitor trametinib. These data suggest that active RSK signalling might be an attractive novel therapeutic target in melanoma with acquired resistance to MAPK pathway inhibitors.