Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A low-rate bound on the reliability of a quantum discrete memoryless channel

We extend a low-rate improvement of the random coding bound on the reliability of a classical discrete memoryless channel (DMC) to its quantum counterpart. The key observation that we make is that the problem of bounding below the error exponent for a quantum channel relying on the class of stabilizer codes is equivalent to the problem of deriving error exponents for a certain symmetric classical channel.
Assessment of veterinary practitioners in the British Isles' approaches towards the management of canine osteoarthritis

The aim of this questionnaire-based retrospective study was to ascertain veterinary practitioners in the British Isles' approaches to osteoarthritis in dogs. The Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test and multiple ordinal logistic regression were used to compare demographic data with treatment options. Questionnaires were returned by 228 practitioners (a response rate of 22.8 per cent). The majority of responses were from males (70 per cent). Eighty-six per cent (188 of 220) of the respondents had graduated from veterinary schools in the UK and Ireland. Veterinarians who had graduated less recently used exercise modulation less frequently (P<0.004, odds ratio [OR]=1.06) and ranked exercise modulation as less important (P=0.008, OR=1.04). Veterinarians who had graduated outside the UK or Ireland were less likely (P=0.033, OR=0.46) to use exercise modulation than those who had graduated in the UK or Ireland. Veterinarians who had graduated more recently were less likely (P=0.008, OR=0.95) to use medications. Female veterinary surgeons were less likely to rank medications as important (P<0.0001, OR=0.29) and less likely to rank corticosteroids as important (P=0.046, OR=0.42) than male veterinary surgeons. Practitioners who had graduated outside the UK or Ireland were less likely (P=0.01, OR=0.30) to rank corticosteroids as important. There was a significant mild negative correlation between the frequency of use of structure-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (SMOADs) and practitioners' opinions on rank importance (−0.32, P<0.0001). Medications such as SMOADs and nutraceuticals were ranked as not important but were used frequently. Overall, age, sex, the university of graduation and the number of canine consultations per day had an impact on the practitioners' treatment protocols.
An online monitor of the oxidative capacity of aerosols (o-MOCA)

The capacity of airborne particulate matter to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been correlated with the generation of oxidative stress both in vitro and in vivo. The cellular damage from oxidative stress, and by implication with ROS, is associated with several common diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and some neurological diseases. Yet currently available chemical and in vitro assays to determine the oxidative capacity of ambient particles require large samples, analyses are typically done offline, and the results are not immediate. Here we report the development of an online monitor of the oxidative capacity of aerosols (o-MOCA) to provide online, time-resolved assessment of the capacity of airborne particles to generate ROS. Our approach combines the Liquid Spot Sampler (LSS), which collects particles directly into small volumes of liquid, and a chemical module optimized for online measurement of the oxidative capacity of aerosol using the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay. The LSS uses a three-stage, laminar-flow water condensation approach to enable the collection of particles as small as 5 nm into liquid. The DTT assay has been improved to allow the online, time-resolved analysis of samples collected with the LSS but could be adapted to other collection methods or offline analysis of liquid extracts. The o-MOCA was optimized and its performance evaluated using the 9,10-phenanthraquinone (PQ) as a standard redox-active compound. Laboratory testing shows minimum interferences or carryover between consecutive samples, low blanks, and a reproducible, linear response between the DTT consumption rate (nmol min−1) and PQ concentration (μM). The calculated limit of detection for o-MOCA was 0.15 nmol min−1. The system was validated with a diesel exhaust particle (DEP) extract, previously characterized and used for the development, improvement, and validation of the standard DTT analysis. The DTT consumption rates (nmol min−1) obtained with the o-MOCA were within experimental uncertainties of those previously reported for these DEP samples. In ambient air testing, the fully automated o-MOCA was run unattended for 3 days with 3 h time resolution and showed a diurnal and daily variability in the measured consumption rates (nmol min−1 m−3).
Learning to Optimize via Posterior Sampling

This paper considers the use of a simple posterior sampling algorithm to balance between exploration and exploitation when learning to optimize actions such as in multiarmed bandit problems. The algorithm, also known as Thompson Sampling and as probability matching, offers significant advantages over the popular upper confidence bound (UCB) approach, and can be applied to problems with finite or infinite action spaces and complicated relationships among action rewards. We make two theoretical contributions. The first establishes a connection between posterior sampling and UCB algorithms. This result lets us convert regret bounds developed for UCB algorithms into Bayesian regret bounds for posterior sampling. Our second theoretical contribution is a Bayesian regret bound for posterior sampling that applies broadly and can be specialized to many model classes. This bound depends on a new notion we refer to as the eluder dimension, which measures the degree of dependence among action rewards. Compared to UCB.
Postmenopausal hypertension, abdominal obesity, apolipoprotein and insulin resistance

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the association of abdominal obesity, apolipoprotein and insulin resistance (IR) with the risk of hypertension in postmenopausal women. We analyzed a total of 242 women aged between 35 and 70 years. Blood pressure (BP), anthropometric indices, lipid profile, fasting glucose, insulin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and apolipoprotein concentrations were measured. Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) was used to assess IR. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP (SBP) ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP (DBP) ≥90 mmHg or current treatment with antihypertensive drugs. Women with hypertension showed significantly higher mean values of age, SBP and DBP, waist circumference (WC), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin, HOMAIR and the apolipoprotein B (apoB). When analyses were done according to the menopausal status, higher prevalence of hypertension was observed in postmenopausal women (72.8% vs. 26.0%, p < 0.001) compared to their premenopausal counterparts. Postmenopausal women showed also significantly higher mean values of SBP and DBP, WC, HOMAIR and apoB. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that SBP was significantly affected by WC (p = 0.034), apoB (p = 0.038) and log HOMAIR (p = 0.007) in postmenopausal women. The interaction models revealed significant interaction between WC, apoB and log HOMAIR (WC×apoB×log HOMAIR) on SBP (p = 0.001) adjusted for age. In a multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for age and apoB, WC (p = 0.001), log HOMAIR (p = 0.007) and menopause (p = 0.008) were significantly associated with higher risk for hypertension. These results suggest that changes in WC, apoB and IR accompanying menopause lead to a greater prevalence of hypertension in postmenopausal women.
Dense Estimation of Layer Motions in the Atmosphere

In this paper, we address the problem of estimating dense motion fields related to a stratified atmosphere which is observed through satellite imagery. Estimating the evolving vertical distribution of horizontal wind fields from satellite image time series is of great importance for the study of atmospheric dynamics. Because of the sparse 3D nature of observations, classical correlation-based techniques are not suited for the dense estimation of layer motion. Moreover, such methods are not necessarily temporally consistent. This paper proposes a sound energy-based estimator producing dense wind fields estimates for each partially observed atmospheric layer. The energy function to be minimized is composed of a data term based on the continuity equation which cancels out the influence of undesirable layers and of a specific div curl regularization term. To preserve the temporal consistency of the estimates, the variational method is initialized by propagation of the previous estimated field according to a velocity-vorticity formulation of Navier-Stokes equations. The relevance of our estimator is demonstrated on Meteosat image sequences
The impact of a continuing education programme on the adoption of nickel-titanium rotary instrumentation and root-filling quality amongst a group of Swedish general dental practitioners.

INTRODUCTION The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that a further education programme relating to nickel-titanium rotary instrumentation (NTRI), with the concurrent activation of social/professional networks amongst all general dental practitioners (GDPs) in a public dental service in Sweden, would increase the adoption rate and improve root-filling quality. MATERIAL AND METHOD To activate the networks, the GDPs at the 25 clinics elected training coaches from amongst themselves. The coaches were educated by a specialist and were then free to organise and conduct the training of the local GDPs. However, collective hands-on training and discussions were mandatory. Lectures were held by an endodontist. The rate of adoption and root-filling quality was evaluated just before and 6 months after the education. Statistical tests were performed with chi-square using a 95% confidence interval. RESULTS Nickel-titanium rotary instrumentation was adopted by 88%. Excellent root fillings (score 1) increased from 45% to 59% (P = 0.003). The rate of poor-quality root fillings (score 4 and score 5) was not affected. The quality ratio (score 1/score 5) increased from 5.36 (118/22) to 9.5 (133/14). Eleven dentists (17%) at nine different clinics produced 49% of the poor-quality root fillings (score 4 and score 5). Seventy-three per cent of these dentists stated that they had adopted NTRI. CONCLUSIONS The introduction of NTRI will increase the adoption rate and the frequency of good-quality root fillings. However, it will not overcome the problems associated with dentists producing a low-quality level, even if a local professional network is activated.
Gene expression and miRNAs profiling RNA samples were processed for mRNA microarray hybridization by the INT-MI Functional Genomics

RNA samples were processed for mRNA microarray hybridization by the INT-MI Functional Genomics and core facility, as previously described [1]. Briefly, 800 ng of total RNA was reverse transcribed, labeled with biotin and amplified overnight (14 hours) using the Illumina RNA TotalPrep Amplification kit (Ambion, Austin, Texas, USA) according to the manufacturer's protocol. One μg of the biotinylated cRNA sample was mixed with the Hyb E1 hybridization buffer containing 37.5% (w/w) formamide and then hybridized to HumanHT-12 v3 Expression BeadChip at 58° C overnight (18 hours). The array represents over 48800 bead types, each with a unique sequence derived from human genes in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information Reference Sequence or UniGene database. Array chips were washed with the manufacturer's E1BC solution, stained with 1 μg/ml Cy3-streptavidine (Amersham Biosciences; GE Healthcare, Piscataway, NJ, USA) and eventually scanned with Illumina BeadArray Reader V3.1. 3.0. Mature miRNAs were amplified with the Human v2 MicroRNA Expression Profiling Kit based on the DASL (cDNA-mediated Annealing, Selection, Extension, and Ligation) assay, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Briefly, 600ng total RNA was converted to cDNA and annealed to a miRNA-specific oligonucleotide pool consisting of three parts: a universal PCR priming site at the 5' end, an address sequence complementary to a capture sequence on the BeadArray, and a miRNA-specific sequence at the 3' end. After PCR amplification and fluorescent labeling, the probes were hybridized on Illumina humanMI V2 arrays. After hybridization and washing, fluorescent signals were detected by the Illumina BeadArray Reader V3.1. 3.0. Microarray data analysis Affymetrix gene expression data of model-1 were pre-processed using rma [2] method implemented in the affy [3] package of Bioconductor [4]. After normalization, probesets called " absent " in at least two samples were filtered out from subsequent analysis. All data from Illumina gene expression and miRNA platforms were analyzed using the lumi package [5]. Data were log2 transformed and normalized using robust spline normalization. Boxplot, MA-plot and between-sample correlation were used to evaluate the quality of array profiles. Two samples (one treated and one control) from the miRNA dataset of model-2 were excluded due to low quality profiles. In each experiment, probes with a detection p-value > 0.01 in all samples were filtered out.
Concerning the structure of apoE

Apolipoprotein E (apoE), first described in 1973, is a truly fascinating protein. While studies initially focused on its role in cholesterol and lipid metabolism, one apoE isoform (apoE4) is a major risk factor for development of late onset Alzheimer's disease. Yet the difference between apoE3, the common form, and apoE4 is a single amino acid of the 299 in this 34 kDa protein. Structure determination of the two domain full length apoE3 protein was only accomplished in 2011 and supports the notion that mutations in the N‐terminal domain can be propagated through the structure to the C‐terminal domain. Understanding the structural differences between apoE3 and apoE4 is critical for finding ways to modulate the deleterious effect of apoE4.
Metformin targets c-MYC oncogene to prevent prostate cancer.

UNLABELLED Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in American men and many PCa patients develop skeletal metastasis. Current treatment modalities for metastatic PCa are mostly palliative with poor prognosis. Epidemiological studies indicated that patients receiving the diabetic drug metformin have lower PCa risk and better prognosis, suggesting that metformin may have antineoplastic effects. The mechanism by which metformin acts as chemopreventive agent to impede PCa initiation and progression is unknown. The amplification of c-MYC oncogene plays a key role in early prostate epithelia cell transformation and PCa growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of metformin on c-myc expression and PCa progression. Our results demonstrated that (i) in Hi-Myc mice that display murine prostate neoplasia and highly resemble the progression of human prostate tumors, metformin attenuated the development of prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN, the precancerous lesion of prostate) and PCa lesions. (ii) Metformin reduced c-myc protein levels in vivo and in vitro. In Myc-CaP mouse PCa cells, metformin decreased c-myc protein levels by at least 50%. (iii) Metformin selectively inhibited the growth of PCa cells by stimulating cell cycle arrest and apoptosis without affecting the growth of normal prostatic epithelial cells (RWPE-1). (iv) Reduced PIN formation by metformin was associated with reduced levels of androgen receptor and proliferation marker Ki-67 in Hi-Myc mouse prostate glands. Our novel findings suggest that by downregulating c-myc, metformin can act as a chemopreventive agent to restrict prostatic neoplasia initiation and transformation. SUMMARY Metformin, an old antidiabetes drug, may inhibit prostate intraepithelial neoplasia transforming to cancer lesion via reducing c-MYC, an 'old' overexpressed oncogene. This study explores chemopreventive efficacy of metformin in prostate cancer and its link to cMYC in vitro and in vivo.
Hormone Replacement Therapy, Likely Neither Angel Nor Demon

Purpose A decline in breast cancer incidence has been attributed to the reduction in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions since the publication of the landmark WHIT paper in 2003. Concurrently, a relationship between HRT and cerebrovascular disease incidence has also been suggested. No generalized analysis of HRT prescription rates and breast cancer incidence rates that included more than seven years of data. We hypothesized that detailed analysis of SEER data would clarify the relationship between HRT use and breast cancer incidence. Given the large decline in HRT prescription rates uncovered, analyses of potential complications were also conducted, with the understanding that a small effect or one limited to a subpopulation, such as a single race, might not be detected. Methods Incidence rates (per 100,000 women) and standard errors for ductal and lobular breast carcinomas, and endometrioid /endometrial carcinomas in women over 50 years were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database 1992–2012. From the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 1996–2012 weighted counts and standard errors of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions for women over 50 years were obtained. Using the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), 1996–2010 weighted counts and standard errors of femoral neck fractures, total hip replacements, acute myocardial infarctions, and cerebral infarctions were obtained for 50+ year men and women. Weighted counts and standard errors were divided by US census figures and multiplied by 100,000. Joinpoint regression was used to analyze rates. Main Results Beginning 2001, HRT prescription rates dropped dramatically, 2001–2012 AAPC -14.9 (95% CI -17.4, -12.4). Breast cancer rates, which began to decline in 1999, increased after 2003; 2012 rates were similar to those seen in 2001 for both ductal, AAPC 0.1 (-0.4, 0.6) and lobular, AAPC 0.5 (-0.4, 1.5), carcinoma. Endometrial carcinoma rates increased, 2001–2012 AAPC 3.5 (3.1, 3.8), arguing against a negative effect of HRT discontinuation of endometrial carcinoma. Tests for parallelism failed to detect APC differences among genders for femoral neck fractures (P = 0.24), for total hip replacements (P = 0.11), for myocardial infarctions (P = 0.10), or for cerebral infarctions (P = 0.19), precluding any assignment of general effect on these disorders by HRT. Conclusions Using SEER data, we demonstrated that changes in breast cancer rates cannot be explained by HRT prescription rate changes.
A role for the gut microbiota in energy harvesting?

The amount of energy that is stored in the body depends on the balance between energy intake and expenditure: when energy intake exceeds expenditure, excess energy is stored as fat, which leads to weight gain and eventually obesity. A number of factors are associated with the obesity epidemic that is spreading worldwide, such as individual genetic predisposition, diet and lifestyle. Recently, the community of microbes colonising the gastrointestinal tract, the gut microbiota, has been recognised as one such factor.1–3 Studies on mice maintained under germ-free conditions have shown that the gut microbiota promotes increased adiposity by enhancing energy extraction from food and modulating host genes that regulate fat storage.1 Culture independent analyses of the composition of the gut microbiota have revealed that obese individuals harboured a varied proportion of two prevailing phyla, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, in comparison to lean subjects.4 Furthermore, the obese metagenome, which is the set of all genes present in the genomes of gut microbes, was enriched in gene functions associated with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.5 Both in animal and human studies, obesity has been linked to a different composition of the gut microbiota. However, results from different studies are not concordant as to the contribution of specific components of the gut microbiota to the pathogenesis of obesity …
Purified and Functionalized MWCNTs: Application In CO2/CH4 Separation Using Mixed Matrix Membranes

To fabricate a defect free and high performance mixed matrix membrane (MMM), one approach is the functionalization of inorganic nanofillers (as dispersed phase) in the organic polymer matrix (as continuous phase) to modify the interactions between two phases. For this purpose,, raw multi-walled carbon nanotubes (rMWCNTs) were purified by acid mixture (HNO3/H2SO4; v/v = 1:3) and then the purified MWCNTs (pMWCNTs) were functionalized by low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC) and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) tests. Functionalized MWCNTs (fMWCNTs) were added to polyethersulfone (PES) solution, and mixed matrix membranes containing different amount of the fMWCNTs in PES matrix were fabricated by immersion precipitation technique. Neat PES and mixed matrix membranes were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and permeation (using CO2 and CH4 as test gases) experiments. FTIR and XRD experiments confirmed attachment of LMWC on the surface of fMWCNTs. Gas permeation test results revealed that the mixed matrix membrane containing 1 wt. % fMWCNTs (PES/1wt.%fMWCNTs) has the best CO2/CH4 separation performance and this result was confirmed by DSC and FESEM results. Therefore simultaneous purification (by acid mixture) and functionalization (by LMWC) of MWCNTs can be used for fabrication of high performance mixed matrix gas separation membranes.
Polar Codes for the Two-User Multiple-Access Channel

Arikan's polar coding method is extended to two-user multiple-access channels. It is shown that if the two users of the channel use Arikan's construction, the resulting channels will polarize to one of five possible extremals, on each of which uncoded transmission is optimal. The sum rate achieved by this coding technique is the one that corresponds to uniform input distributions. The encoding and decoding complexities and the error performance of these codes are as in the single-user case: O(nlogn) for encoding and decoding, and o(2-n1/2-ε) for the block error probability, where n is the blocklength.
Multi-density model of the ionised gas in NGC 253 using radio recombination lines

We have imaged the H92alpha (8.3 GHz), H75alpha (15 GHz), and H166alpha (1.4 GHz) Radio Recombination Lines (RRLs) from NGC 253 at resolutions of 4.5 pc (0.4"), 2.5 pc (0.2") and 53 pc (4.5") respectively. The H92a line arises from individual compact sources, most of which possess radio continuum counterparts. The line widths range from similar to 200 km s(-1) for the sources near the radio nucleus to 70 - 100 km s(-1) for the extranuclear ones. These lines are emitted by gas at a density similar to 10(4) cm(-3). The remainder of the cm-wave RRLs arise in lower density gas (similar to500 cm(-3)) with a higher area filling factor and with ten times higher mass. A third component of higher density gas (> 10(4) cm(-3)) is required to explain the mm-wave RRLs.