Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression profile and potential roles of EVA1A in normal and neoplastic pancreatic tissues.

BACKGROUND EVA1A (eva-1 homolog A) is a novel gene that regulates programmed cell death through autophagy and apoptosis. Our objective was to investigate the expression profiles and potential role of EVA1A in normal and neoplastic human pancreatic tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS The expression pattern of EVA1A in normal pancreatic tissue was examined by indirect immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. Protein levels in paraffin-embedded specimens from normal and diseased pancreatic and matched non-tumor tissues were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS EVA1A colocalized with glucagon but not with insulin, demonstrating production in islet alpha cells. Itwas strongly expressed in chronic pancreatitis, moderately or weakly expressed in the plasma membrane and cytoplasm in pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma, and absent in normal pancreatic acinar cells. Although the tissue architecture was deformed, EVA1A was absent in the alpha cells of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms, mucinous cystadenomas, solid papillary tumors and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. CONCLUSIONS EVA1A protein is specifically expressed in islet alpha cells, suggesting it may play an important role in regulating alpha-cell function. The ectopic expression of EVA1A in pancreatic neoplasms may contribute to their pathogenesis and warrants further investigation.
PCF: A Portable Circuit Format for Scalable Two-Party Secure Computation

A secure computation protocol for a function f (x,y) must leak no information about inputs x,y during its execution; thus it is imperative to compute the function f in a data-oblivious manner. Traditionally, this has been accomplished by compiling f into a boolean circuit. Previous approaches, however, have scaled poorly as the circuit size increases. We present a new approach to compiling such circuits that is substantially more efficient than prior work. Our approach is based on online circuit compression and lazy gate generation. We implemented an optimizing compiler for this new representation of circuits, and evaluated the use of this representation in two secure computation environments. Our evaluation demonstrates the utility of this approach, allowing us to scale secure computation beyond any previous system while requiring substantially less CPU time and disk space. In our largest test, we evaluate an RSA-1024 signature function with more than 42 billion gates, that was generated and optimized using our compiler. With our techniques, the bottleneck in secure computation lies with the cryptographic primitives, not the compilation or storage of circuits.
Bayesian Estimation of the Performance of Using Clinical Observations and Harvest Lung Lesions for Diagnosing Bovine Respiratory Disease in Post-weaned Beef Calves

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) diagnosis during the postweaning phase of beef production is an important component of effective preventive health and treatment programs. Although identification of diseased animals based on signs of clinical illness (CI) is a common method in the beef industry for identifying BRD, very little information is available on the accuracy of this method. Previous investigators hypothesized that monitoring pulmonary lesions at harvest (LU) could be a more reliable indicator of disease status during the postweaning phase. A structured literature review was conducted to identify research that compared CI and LU. Because there is no true gold standard for diagnosing BRD, Bayesian methods were used to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of each diagnostic method relative to a BRD diagnosis at any time during the postweaning phase. Results from the current study indicate that the estimated diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of CI were 61.8% (97.5% probability interval [PI]: 55.7, 68.4) and 62.8% (97.5% PI: 60.0, 65.7), respectively. Use of LU for a BRD diagnosis was estimated to have a sensitivity of 77.4% (97.5% PI: 66.2, 87.3) and a specificity of 89.7% (97.5% PI: 86.0, 93.8). Further analysis revealed that the probabilities of LU having higher sensitivity and specificity than CI were 99.4% and 100%, respectively. The present research indicates that neither method was perfect, and both methods were relatively poor at correctly classifying truly diseased animals (sensitivity) but that LU was more accurate than CI for BRD diagnosis. Results from the present study should be considered when these diagnostic methods are used to evaluate BRD outcomes in clinical and research settings.
Validation Through Understanding Test-Taking Strategies

This article explores an approach for test score validation that examines test takers’ strategies for taking a reading comprehension test. The authors formulated three working hypotheses about score validity pertaining to three types of test-taking strategy (comprehending meaning, test management, and test-wiseness). These hypotheses were formulated in terms of the use of three types of test-taking strategy and their relationships with performance on specific task types (testlets) and overall test performances. We illustrated the proposed method for validation using example data from the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program-General (CELPIP-General) reading pilot test. The findings were that (a) test takers were engaging more in processing the texts for comprehending meaning, less in test-management skills, and least in test-wiseness; (b) at the task level, task characteristics (e.g., difficulty) had implications on test takers’ engagement with different types of strategies, which, in turn, led to differences in predicting task performances; and (c) at the test level, higher engagement in comprehending meaning led to higher test performance, engagement in test management showed a small negative association with test performance, and higher engagement in test-wiseness led to poorer performance. The high congruence between the working hypotheses and the empirical results offered plausible evidence that supported the validity of CELPIP-General reading scores. Revisions to both hypotheses and research design that might improve the proposed validation method are reviewed in the “Discussion” section.
Impact of feeding and breastfeeding practices on the nutritional status of infants in a district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

BACKGROUND Infant feeding practices have a major role in determining the nutritional status of children and are associated with household socioeconomic and demographic factors. We did a cross-sectional household study to assess feeding practices of infants and young children in rural areas of Medak district, Andhra Pradesh. METHODS A total of 805 child-mother pairs were included using systematic random sampling. Age-specific feeding patterns were described using frequencies, proportions and survival analysis. Logistic regression was done with feeding practice as dependent and sociodemographic factors as independent variables. RESULTS Breastfeeding was universal in the study area. Only 22% of mothers initiated breastfeeding within one hour whereas 44% initiated it within three hours after delivery. The median duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 5.5 months. Pre-lacteal use was high (44.7%). Only 41% of infants were exclusively breastfed for 6 months and 58% of infants (6-11 months) received complementary feeding at 6-9 months of age. Timely initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months was significantly more likely among mothers belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10-0.76 and OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.08-0.76). Timely initiation of complementary feeding was more likely among scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.11-0.54). CONCLUSION Early initiation of breastfeeding (within an hour of birth) and other feeding practices were associated with community, type of family and education of mother. Efforts are needed to promote early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and age-appropriate complementary feeding among infants.
Advanced age is not a barrier to creating a functional arteriovenous fistula: a retrospective study

Introduction Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are the recommended form of vascular access for hemodialysis. However, controversy exists regarding whether AVFs are suitable for elderly patients. Methods Single-center retrospective review to investigate the impact of age on AVF outcomes. Five hundred and twenty-five patients with AVF creation were stratified based on age <65, 65-75, and >75 years. AVF outcomes including primary failure, AVF patency (primary, secondary, and functional), and AVF complications were studied for 3 years following AVF creation. Results The cohort was 63% male, 44% Caucasian, and 55% had diabetes or cardiovascular disease. 39% were aged <65 years, 33% 65-75 years, and 28% were aged >75 years. No differences in rates of primary failure, loss of primary patency, complications, or need for intervention were observed between age groups. There was a significant association of age with secondary patency and functional patency, with age >75 being an independent risk factor for shortened lifespan of the fistula. For patients aged >75 years, secondary patency at 3 years was 64% compared to 75%-78% for younger patients. Functional patency at 2 years was 69% for those aged >75 years compared to 78%-81% for younger patients. Conclusions We found no difference in AVF maturation, primary patency, complications, or interventions in those over the age of 75 compared to younger counterparts. While secondary and functional patency rates were significantly lower in those aged >75 years, the magnitude of difference is likely not clinically relevant. Therefore, we recommend that advanced age alone should not preclude patients from AVF creation.
An Extended, Dynamic Account of Collaborative Remembering and Information Search

Our memories are collections of the information we have experienced and learned over the course of our lives. While the nature of memory has been studied extensively in the history of the cognitive and psychological sciences, relatively little is known about how we sift through that information space to bring up any given thought at a given moment. According to the extended, dynamical systems framework, the mind is interwoven inextricably into its environment, and so the process of memory retrieval must be considered from a contextually-situated perspective. The goal of the current project is to highlight the importance of a key component of any memory system’s context: the social interactive context. Using both empirical and computational methodologies, the interdisciplinary studies described herein compare the processes employed by individuals and collaborating dyads while searching through information space. Inspiration is drawn from the domains of ecological foraging and particle diffusion in statistical physics to explain foraging dynamics, and from complex systems science to explore collaboration dynamics.Ultimately, the project argues that not only is the social collaborative context an important modulator of memory processes at an individual level, but that in some cases people might be able to coordinate their memory processes, coming together to act as one. Through technological advancements, we are increasingly able to communicate and work collaboratively on all sorts of projects. Thus, a call is made for ongoing research to consider the conditions in which we can optimize information retrieval in these collaborative scenarios.This dissertation, An Extended, Dynamic Account of Collaborative Remembering and Information Search, is submitted by Janelle Szary in 2015 in partial fulfillment of the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced, under the guidance of dissertation committee co-chairs Rick Dale and Christopher T. Kello.
Distinct Proinflammatory Host Responses to Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection in Immortalized Human Cervical and Vaginal Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT In this study we utilized immortalized morphologically and functionally distinct epithelial cell lines from normal human endocervix, ectocervix, and vagina to characterize gonococcal epithelial interactions pertinent to the lower female genital tract. Piliated, but not nonpiliated, N. gonorrhoeae strain F62 variants actively invaded these epithelial cell lines, as demonstrated by an antibiotic protection assay and confocal microscopy. Invasion of these cells by green fluorescent protein-expressing gonococci was characterized by colocalization of gonococci with F actin, which were initially detected 30 min postinfection. In all three cell lines, upregulation of interleukin 8 (IL-8) and IL-6, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (CD54), and the nonspecific cross-reacting antigen (CD66c) were detected 4 h after infection with piliated and nonpiliated gonococci. Furthermore, stimulation of all three cell lines with gonococcal whole-cell lysates resulted in a similar upregulation of IL-6 and IL-8, confirming that bacterial uptake is not essential for this response. Increased levels of IL-1 were first detected 8 h after infection with gonococci, suggesting that the earlier IL-8 and IL-6 responses were not mediated through the IL-1 signaling pathway. The IL-1 response was limited to cultures infected with piliated gonococci and was more vigorous in the endocervical epithelial cells. The ability of gonococci to stimulate distinct proinflammatory host responses in these morphologically and functionally different compartments of the lower female genital tract may contribute directly to the inflammatory signs and symptoms characteristic of disease caused by N. gonorrhoeae.
Objective and Subjective Evaluation of a Redesigned Corridor Environment in a Psychiatric Hospital

This study examined the impact of redesigning a corridor space within a psychiatric hospital on the behaviour of patients with dementia. In addition, patient and staff perceptions of the redesigned corridor were assessed. Data were collected through an observational tool (behavioural mapping) and a specifically design questionnaire. The findings suggest a positive impact of the redesigned corridor on patient behaviour and that patients and staff perceived the change to the environment differentially. These results are discussed in relation to theoretical explanations of the importance of the health care environment and design for dementia.
Gravity-Capillary Wave Spectral Modulation by Gravity Waves

In order to more fully understand the specific hydrodynamic relationship between young wind-generated gravity-capillary waves and longer gravity waves, a laboratory experiment was devised to observe changes in short wave spectral behavior over the phase of a long wave. This paper endeavors to expand on the body of laboratory wave modulation data and extend the investigation in support of the radar remote sensing of ocean surface waves. Measurements were made in the University of Miami’s surge–structure–atmosphere interaction facility in the air–sea interaction saltwater tank wind-wave tank, with 10 m referenced wind speeds ranging between 5 and 23 m/s and paddle-generated wave steepnesses “ak” varying between <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.05< {\mathrm{ ak}} <0.3$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. A polarimetric camera was used to capture high sampling frequency maps of wave slope, yielding spatiotemporal information about short wind-wave behavior [provided as temporal variations in the wavenumber spectrum, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k~\approx \mathscr {O}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>(100–1000) rad/m]. The simultaneous and colocated long wave phase was measured via a side-looking camera. Hydrodynamic modulation transfer function (MTF) phases are found to be in general agreement with established values (between 2 and 10 radians) at the given wind speeds. The positive phase of the modulation places it immediately downwind of the long wave crest, with MTF magnitudes strongest for high wavenumbers at the lowest wind speeds. The results are also presented to show the modulation of gravity-capillary and pure capillary waves as variations in mean square slope over the long wave phase, with peak roughness enhancement found to move upwind of the long wave crest with increasing wind forcing.
Temporally Dissociable Contributions of Human Medial Prefrontal Subregions to Reward-Guided Learning

In decision making, dorsal and ventral medial prefrontal cortex show a sensitivity to key decision variables, such as reward prediction errors. It is unclear whether these signals reflect parallel processing of a common synchronous input to both regions, for example from mesocortical dopamine, or separate and consecutive stages in reward processing. These two perspectives make distinct predictions about the relative timing of feedback-related activity in each of these regions, a question we address here. To reconstruct the unique temporal contribution of dorsomedial (dmPFC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) to simultaneously measured EEG activity in human subjects, we developed a novel trialwise fMRI-informed EEG analysis that allows dissociating correlated and overlapping sources. We show that vmPFC uniquely contributes a sustained activation profile shortly after outcome presentation, whereas dmPFC contributes a later and more peaked activation pattern. This temporal dissociation is expressed mainly in the alpha band for a vmPFC signal, which contrasts with a theta based dmPFC signal. Thus, our data show reward-related vmPFC and dmPFC responses have distinct time courses and unique spectral profiles, findings that support distinct functional roles in a reward-processing network. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Multiple subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex are known to be involved in decision making and learning, and expose similar response patterns in fMRI. Here, we used a novel approach to analyzing simultaneous EEG-fMRI that allows to dissociate the individual time courses of brain regions. We find that vmPFC and dmPFC have distinguishable time courses and time-frequency patterns.
A Fully Nonlinear Boussinesq Model for Surface Waves. Part 2. Extension to O(kh) 4

A Boussinesq-type model is derived which is accurate to O(kh) 4 and which retains the full representation of the fluid kinematics in nonlinear surface boundary condition terms, by not assuming weak nonlinearity. The model is derived for a horizontal bottom , and is based explicitly on a fourth-order polynomial representation of the vertical dependence of the velocity potential. In order to achieve a (4,4) Padé representation of the dispersion relationship, a new dependent variable is defined as a weighted average of the velocity potential at two distinct water depths. The representation of internal kinematics is greatly improved over existing O(kh) 2 approximations, especially in the intermediate to deep water range. The model equations are first examined for their ability to represent weakly nonlinear wave evolution in intermediate depth. Using a Stokes-like expansion in powers of wave amplitude over water depth, we examine the bound second harmonics in a random sea as well as nonlinear dispersion and stability effects in the nonlinear Schrödinger equation for a narrow-banded sea state. We then examine numerical properties of solitary wave solutions in shallow water, and compare model performance to the full solution of Tanaka (1986) as well as the level 1, 2 and 3 solutions of Shields & Webster (1988). 1. Introduction Important progress has been made in variable-depth Boussinesq-type models since the development of the more-or-less standard model of Peregrine (1967), which represents a consistent representation of an arbitrary irregular sea state correct to first order in relative wave amplitude δ = a/h and second order in inverse relative wavelength µ = kh, with O(δ) = O(µ
A Developmental Index Using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

The possible utility of Wechsler's Deterioration Index (WDI) in analyzing children's Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) results was explored in this study. Clinical records of children with learning disabilities (LD) and children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were reviewed to determine if the WDI predicted the presence or severity of the disorders. The ages of the children ranged from 6 to 14. In two independent samples of children with LD (n=35 and n=26), the WDI did not predict LD status or severity. The LD samples were mostly male—85% and 57%, respectively. However, the WDI scores did significantly distinguish children with ADHD (n=10) from nondisabled children (n=10). The results were cross-validated on an independent sample of children with ADHD (n=17) when compared to non-ADHD children (n=22) who experienced significant behavioral difficulties. The ADHD samples were also mostly male—90% and 89%, respectively. The WDI classified only 59% of the children with ADHD and 86% of the non-ADHD children correctly. It is recommended that the WDI be considered a developmental index rather than a deterioration index in children. It is also recommended that significant WDI elevation (>.20) be considered to raise the question of ADHD, rather than simply yielding a diagnosis of ADHD.
Accelerated Training for Massive Classification via Dynamic Class Selection

Massive classification, a classification task defined over a vast number of classes (hundreds of thousands or even millions), has become an essential part of many real-world systems, such as face recognition. Existing methods, including the deep networks that achieved remarkable success in recent years, were mostly devised for problems with a moderate number of classes. They would meet with substantial difficulties, e.g., excessive memory demand and computational cost, when applied to massive problems. We present a new method to tackle this problem. This method can efficiently and accurately identify a small number of "active classes" for each mini-batch, based on a set of dynamic class hierarchies constructed on the fly. We also develop an adaptive allocation scheme thereon, which leads to a better tradeoff between performance and cost. On several large-scale benchmarks, our method significantly reduces the training cost and memory demand, while maintaining competitive performance.