Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Minimax rates for homology inference

Often, high dimensional data lie close to a low-dimensional submanifold and it is of interest to understand the geometry of these submanifolds. The homology groups of a manifold are important topological invariants that provide an algebraic summary of the manifold. These groups contain rich topological information, for instance, about the connected components, holes, tunnels and sometimes the dimension of the manifold. In this paper, we consider the statistical problem of estimating the homology of a manifold from noisy samples under several different noise models. We derive upper and lower bounds on the minimax risk for this problem. Our upper bounds are based on estimators which are constructed from a union of balls of appropriate radius around carefully selected points. In each case we establish complementary lower bounds using Le Cam's lemma.
Cancer Therapy : Preclinical Activity of the Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 Inhibitor AZD 3965 in Small Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose: The monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) inhibitor, AZD3965, is undergoing phase I evaluation in the United Kingdom. AZD3965 is proposed, via lactate transport modulation, to kill tumor cells reliant on glycolysis. We investigated the therapeutic potential of AZD3965 in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) seeking rationale for clinical testing in this disease and putative predictive biomarkers for trial use. Experimental Design: AZD3965 sensitivity was determined for seven SCLC cell lines, in normoxia and hypoxia, and for a tumor xenograft model. Proof of mechanism was sought via changes in intracellular/ tumor lactate. Expression of MCT1 and related transporter MCT4 was assessed by Western blot analysis. Drug resistance was investigated via MCT4 siRNAi and overexpression. The expression and clinical significance of MCT1 and MCT4 were explored in a tissue microarray (TMA) from 78 patients with SCLC. Results: AZD3965 sensitivity varied in vitro and was highest in hypoxia. Resistance in hypoxia was associated with increased MCT4 expression. In vivo, AZD3965 reduced tumor growth and increased intratumor lactate. In the TMA, high MCT1 expression was associated with worse prognosis (P 1⁄4 0.014). MCT1 and hypoxia marker CA IX expression in the absence of MCT4 was observed in 21% of
Non-Pharmacological Intervention for Memory Decline

Non-pharmacological intervention of memory difficulties in healthy older adults, as well as those with brain damage and neurodegenerative disorders, has gained much attention in recent years. The two main reasons that explain this growing interest in memory rehabilitation are the limited efficacy of current drug therapies and the plasticity of the human central nervous and the discovery that during aging, the connections in the brain are not fixed but retain the capacity to change with learning. Moreover, several studies have reported enhanced cognitive performance in patients with neurological disease, following non-invasive brain stimulation [i.e., repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation to specific cortical areas]. The present review provides an overview of memory rehabilitation in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and in patients with Alzheimer’s disease with particular regard to cognitive rehabilitation interventions focused on memory and non-invasive brain stimulation. Reviewed data suggest that in patients with memory deficits, memory intervention therapy could lead to performance improvements in memory, nevertheless further studies need to be conducted in order to establish the real value of this approach.
Circulant and Toeplitz matrices in compressed sensing

Compressed sensing seeks to recover a sparse vector from a small number of linear and non-adaptive measurements. While most work so far focuses on Gaussian or Bernoulli random measurements we investigate the use of partial random circulant and Toeplitz matrices in connection with recovery by $\ell_1$-minization. In contrast to recent work in this direction we allow the use of an arbitrary subset of rows of a circulant and Toeplitz matrix. Our recovery result predicts that the necessary number of measurements to ensure sparse reconstruction by $\ell_1$-minimization with random partial circulant or Toeplitz matrices scales linearly in the sparsity up to a $\log$-factor in the ambient dimension. This represents a significant improvement over previous recovery results for such matrices. As a main tool for the proofs we use a new version of the non-commutative Khintchine inequality.
Nutritional status: its influence on the outcome of patients undergoing liver transplantation

Background: Malnutrition is frequently present in case of end‐stage liver diseases, and in cirrhotic patients, a poor nutritional status is considered to be one of the predictive factors for increased morbidity and mortality rates after surgery. The impact of the recipients' malnutrition on the outcome of liver transplantation (LT) is still under debate and recent studies have shown controversial results.
Psychosocial correlates of harassment, threats and fear of violence in the workplace.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate work climate factors and structural job aspects as predictors of workplace violence, with particular attention to the relative influence of both sets of factors. METHODS Telephone survey data collected by a large midwestern insurance company were analyzed. Interviewers asked 598 full-time workers about their work climate, structural job aspects, and subject and workplace demographics, all of which were used as predictor variables in regression analyses. The participants were also asked about incidents of threats, harassment, physical attacks, and fear of becoming a victim of workplace violence, all of which were used as outcome measures. RESULTS Separate logistic regressions were carried out for each of the outcome measures. The study identified a variety of factors which appear to place workers at risk of nonfatal occupational violence. Work climate variables, such as co-worker support and work group harmony, were predictive of threats, harassment, and fear of becoming a victim of violence. Structural aspects of the job, such as work schedule, were also significant in predicting threats and fear of becoming a victim of violence, but they were not predictive of harassment. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study which suggests that both work climate and structural aspects of work may be important in promoting workplace violence. This finding suggests that intervention strategies should consider organizational and climate issues in addition to basic security measures.
Down-regulation of survivin expression in T lymphocytes after interferon beta-1a treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND Treatment with interferon beta reduces clinical exacerbations in multiple sclerosis (MS) through several immunomodulatory mechanisms that involve the augmentation of programmed cell death (apoptosis) of peripheral T lymphocytes. The expression of survivin, a cell cycle-regulated antiapoptosis protein, is up-regulated in mitogen-stimulated T lymphocytes from patients with MS, and this expression correlates with MS disease activity. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of interferon beta on the expression of survivin and other apoptosis regulatory molecules in peripheral T lymphocytes from patients with MS. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a prospective, combined clinical and immunologic study, we evaluated the expression of survivin, Bcl-2 protein, and the death receptor Fas in mitogen-stimulated T lymphocytes from 26 patients with MS, before and serially after treatment with interferon beta-1a. We also investigated the long-term effects of interferon beta-1a on cellular expression of these proteins and T-lymphocyte apoptosis in a cross-sectional study of 19 patients with MS receiving long-term interferon beta-1a therapy. RESULTS Treatment with interferon beta-1a reduced the expression of survivin in in vitro stimulated T lymphocytes. This reduced expression correlated with augmented T-cell susceptibility to apoptosis and with clinical response to treatment. In contrast, interferon beta-1a therapy did not significantly alter cellular expression of Bcl-2 protein or Fas. This down-regulatory effect of interferon beta-1a on cellular expression of survivin was maintained after long-term therapy. CONCLUSIONS Our observations suggest that interferon beta exerts a regulatory effect on peripheral T lymphocytes through an antiapoptosis mechanism that involves the down-regulation of cellular survivin expression.
SWCNT/Graphite Nanoplatelet Hybrid Thin Films for Self‐Temperature‐Compensated, Highly Sensitive, and Extensible Piezoresistive Sensors

Highly sensitive single-wall carbon nanotube/graphite nanoplatelet (SWCNT/GNP) hybrid thin-film sensors are developed, which possess the unique capability for self-temperature compensation. This unique property in combination with their high gauge sensitivity and large reversible extensibility promises the SWCNT/GNP hybrid thin film piezoresistive sensors for a wide range applications, such as in man-machine interaction and body monitoring.
Benchmarking cloud serving systems with YCSB

While the use of MapReduce systems (such as Hadoop) for large scale data analysis has been widely recognized and studied, we have recently seen an explosion in the number of systems developed for cloud data serving. These newer systems address "cloud OLTP" applications, though they typically do not support ACID transactions. Examples of systems proposed for cloud serving use include BigTable, PNUTS, Cassandra, HBase, Azure, CouchDB, SimpleDB, Voldemort, and many others. Further, they are being applied to a diverse range of applications that differ considerably from traditional (e.g., TPC-C like) serving workloads. The number of emerging cloud serving systems and the wide range of proposed applications, coupled with a lack of apples-to-apples performance comparisons, makes it difficult to understand the tradeoffs between systems and the workloads for which they are suited. We present the "Yahoo! Cloud Serving Benchmark" (YCSB) framework, with the goal of facilitating performance comparisons of the new generation of cloud data serving systems. We define a core set of benchmarks and report results for four widely used systems: Cassandra, HBase, Yahoo! 's PNUTS, and a simple sharded MySQL implementation. We also hope to foster the development of additional cloud benchmark suites that represent other classes of applications by making our benchmark tool available via open source. In this regard, a key feature of the YCSB framework/tool is that it is extensible--it supports easy definition of new workloads, in addition to making it easy to benchmark new systems.
Distinguishing Tuberculosis from Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Lung Disease, Oregon, USA

To determine whether tuberculosis (TB) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection patients could be distinguished from one another with limited information, we compared pulmonary TB and NTM patients during 2005–2006. Our finding that age, birthplace, and presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease could differentiate TB and NTM disease could assist tuberculosis control efforts.
Autonomous translational pausing is required for XBP1u mRNA recruitment to the ER via the SRP pathway

Significance Unconventional splicing of unspliced X-box–binding protein 1 (XBP1u) mRNA on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an important process by which signals are transferred from the ER to the nucleus to maintain ER homeostasis. Newly synthesized XBP1u protein drags its own mRNA as a ribosome nascent chain complex to the ER; however, its precise location and molecular mechanism of ER recruitment remain unknown. We show that translational pausing of XBP1u is necessary for the recognition of the internal signal sequence of XBP1u by canonical secretory machinery. Interestingly, most XBP1u targeted to the ER was not imported into the ER lumen but was associated with the ER membrane, suggesting a noncanonical mechanism by which mRNA substrates are targeted to the ER for unconventional splicing. Unconventional mRNA splicing on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane is the sole conserved mechanism in eukaryotes to transmit information regarding misfolded protein accumulation to the nucleus to activate the stress response. In metazoans, the unspliced form of X-box–binding protein 1 (XBP1u) mRNA is recruited to membranes as a ribosome nascent chain (RNC) complex for efficient splicing. We previously reported that both hydrophobic (HR2) and translational pausing regions of XBP1u are important for the recruitment of its own mRNA to membranes. However, its precise location and the molecular mechanism of translocation are unclear. We show that XBP1u-RNC is specifically recruited to the ER membrane in an HR2- and translational pausing-dependent manner by immunostaining, fluorescent recovery after photobleaching, and biochemical analyses. Notably, translational pausing during XBP1u synthesis is indispensable for the recognition of HR2 by the signal recognition particle (SRP), resulting in efficient ER-specific targeting of the complex, similar to secretory protein targeting to the ER. On the ER, the XBP1u nascent chain is transferred from the SRP to the translocon; however, it cannot pass through the translocon or insert into the membrane. Therefore, our results support a noncanonical mechanism by which mRNA substrates are recruited to the ER for unconventional splicing.
Enzyme Inhibitory Radicinol Derivative from Endophytic fungus Bipolaris sorokiniana LK12, Associated with Rhazya stricta

Endophytes, living inside plant tissues, play an essential role in plant growth and development, whilst producing unique bioactive secondary metabolites. In the current study, the endophytic fungus Bipolaris sorokiniana LK12 was isolated from the leaves of ethno-medicinal and alkaloidal rich Rhazya stricta. The bulk amount of ethyl acetate extract of fungus was subjected to advance column chromatographic techniques, which resulted in the isolation of a new radicinol derivative, bipolarisenol (1). It was found to be a derivative of radicinol. The structure elucidation was carried out by the combined use of 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, mass, and UV spectrometric analyses. The bipolarisenol was assessed for its potential role in enzyme inhibition of urease and acetyl cholinesterase (AChE). Results showed that bipolarisenol significantly inhibited the AChE activity with low IC50 (67.23 ± 5.12 µg·mL−1). Bipolarisenol inhibited urease in a dose-dependent manner with high IC50 (81.62 ± 4.61 µg·mL−1). The new compound also showed a moderate anti-lipid peroxidation potential (IC50 = 168.91 ± 4.23 µg·mL−1). In conclusion, endophytes isolated from medicinal plants possess a unique potential to be considered for future drug discovery.
Prediction of premature separation of bonded CFRP plates from strengthened steel beams using a fracture criterion

This paper presents a method for predicting premature separation of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) plates from strengthened steel beams. The fracture criterion based on material-induced singularity is formulated in terms of a singular intensity factor. Static test on double strap joints was selected to provide the critical stress intensity factor in the criterion because good degree of accuracy and consistency of experimental data can be expected compared with the unsymmetrically loaded single lap joints. The debond/separation loads of steel beams with different CFRP lengths were measured and compared with those predicted from the criterion. Good agreement between the test results and the prediction was found.
HCV Infection and B-Cell Lymphomagenesis

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been recognized as a major cause of chronic liver diseases worldwide. It has been suggested that HCV infects not only hepatocytes but also mononuclear lymphocytes including B cells that express the CD81 molecule, a putative HCV receptor. HCV infection of B cells is the likely cause of B-cell dysregulation disorders such as mixed cryoglobulinemia, rheumatoid factor production, and B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders that may evolve into non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Epidemiological data indicate an association between HCV chronic infection and the occurrence of B-cell NHL, suggesting that chronic HCV infection is associated at least in part with B-cell lymphomagenesis. In this paper, we aim to provide an overview of recent literature, including our own, to elucidate a possible role of HCV chronic infection in B-cell lymphomagenesis.
Community characteristics associated with where urgent care centers are located: a cross-sectional analysis

Objectives To determine the community characteristics associated with non-hospital-based urgent care centres wherever they are located. Design National cross-sectional study evaluating the association between non-hospital-based urgent care centers, and their demographic characteristics in a community, using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regressions. Setting Communities in the USA with non-hospital-based urgent care centers, as identified using a 2014 national database from the Urgent Care Association of America. Participants 31 022 communities encompassing 6898 urgent care centers across the USA. Primary and secondary outcome measures Presence of a non-hospital-based urgent care center within a community. Results Communities with non-hospital-based urgent care centers are urban (75.7% with vs 22.2% without; p<0.001 across rural urban commuting area levels), and are located in areas with higher income levels (38.6% in highest quartile with vs 22.3% without; p<0.001 across quartiles) and higher levels of private insurance (29.6% in highest quartile with vs 23.9% without; p<0.001 across quartiles). Conclusions While the growth of the urgent care industry may have other promising implications, policymakers should recognise that it may exacerbate disparities in access to acute care faced by poorer, uninsured patients, and may also have financial implications for providers that are providing overlapping services, such as emergency departments and primary care practices.
Apparent Elastic Modulus of Scale Estimated from Bending Property of Single Wool Fiber

We measured the bending properties of a wool fiber having the complex internal structure in the natural fiber. Especially, the effect of the scale of wool fiber on the mechanical characteristic was examined. An original wool fiber and the wool fiber that had removed the scale were used. As the result, in the bending test, the flexural property of these wool fiber is greatly different, however, those tensile modulus was the same. By the finite element analysis, apparent bending modulus of the scale part was calculated from the skin-core structure model of the wool fiber.
Effect of visual restitution training on absolute homonymous scotomas

The authors examined 16 patients with stable homonymous visual field defects (HVFDs) with static automated perimetry (SAP). Training effect E was defined as difference of the proportions of absolutely defective locations in all test locations, before and after visual restitution training (VRT). E was 0.05 ± 0.05 (mean ± SD). The authors observed a relevant training effect (E ≥ 0.12) in two subjects, but only monocularly. VRT has little effect on absolute HVFDs in SAP.
Effects of Unfermented and Fermented Whole Grain Rye Crisp Breads Served as Part of a Standardized Breakfast, on Appetite and Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Responses: A Randomized Cross-over Trial

Background Whole grain rye products have been shown to increase satiety and elicit lower postprandial insulin response without a corresponding change in glucose response compared with soft refined wheat bread. The underlying mechanisms for these effects have not been fully determined The primary aim of the study was to investigate if whole grain rye crisp bread compared to refined wheat crisp bread, elected beneficial effects on appetite and postprandial insulin response, similarly as for other rye products. Methods In a randomized cross-over trial, 23 healthy volunteers, aged 27-70 years, BMI 18-31.4 kg/m2, were served a standardized breakfast with unfermented whole grain rye crisp bread (uRCB), fermented whole grain rye crisp bread (RCB) or refined wheat crisp bread (WCB), Appetite was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS) until 4 h after breakfast. Postprandial glucose and insulin were measured at 0-230 min. Breads were chemically characterized including macronutrients, energy, dietary fiber components, and amino acid composition, and microstructure was characterized with light microscopy. Results Reported fullness was 16% higher (P<0.001), and hunger 11% and 12% lower (P<0.05) after ingestion of uRCB and RCB, respectively, compared with WCB. Postprandial glucose response did not differ significantly between treatments. Postprandial insulin was 10% lower (P<0.007) between 0-120 min but not significantly lower between 0-230 min for RCB compared with WCB. uRCB induced 13% (P<0.002) and 17% (P<0.001) lower postprandial insulin response between 0-230 min compared with RCB and WCB respectively. Conclusion Whole grain rye crisp bread induces higher satiety and lower insulin response compared with refined wheat crisp bread. Microstructural characteristics, dietary fiber content and composition are probable contributors to the increased satiety after ingestion of rye crisp breads. Higher insulin secretion after ingestion of RCB and WCB compared with uRCB may be due to differences in fiber content and composition, and higher availability of insulinogenic branched chain amino acids. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02011217
Proximal Glycans Outside of the Epitopes Regulate the Presentation of HIV-1 Envelope gp120 Helper Epitopes1

Glycosylation of HIV-1 envelope gp120 determines not only the proper structure, but also the immune responses against this Ag. Although glycans may be part of specific epitopes or shield other epitopes from T cells and Abs, this study provides evidence for a different immunomodulatory function of glycans associated with gp120 residues N230 and N448. These glycans are required for efficient MHC class II-restricted presentation of nearby CD4 T cell epitopes, even though they are not part of the epitopes. The glycans do not affect CD4 T cell recognition of more distant epitopes and are not essential for the proper folding and function of gp120. Data on CD4 T cell recognition of N448 mutants combined with proteolysis analyses and surface electrostatic potential calculation around residue N448 support the notion that N448 glycan near the epitope’s C terminus renders the site to be surface accessible and allows its efficient processing. In contrast, the N230 glycan contributes to the nearby epitope presentation at a step other than the proteolytic processing of the epitope. Hence, N-glycans can determine CD4 T cell recognition of nearby gp120 epitopes by regulating the different steps in the MHC class II processing and presentation pathway after APCs acquire the intact gp120 Ag exogenously. Modifications of amino acids bearing glycans at the C termini of gp120 helper epitopes may prove to be a useful strategy for enhancing the immunogenicity of HIV-1 envelope gp120.
Perception and Navigation for an Autonomous quadrotor in GPS-denied Environments

Robots need autonomous navigation to complete their tasks e fficiently. This becomes more challenging in GPS-denied environments where positioning information is not available. For small flying robots and quadroto rs, inherent limitations such as limited sensor payload and small system time-consta nt add another layer of challenge to the problem. This paper presents a solution for autonomous navigation of a quadrotor rotorcraft by performing autonomous behaviors, such as explorat ion, returning home, or following waypoints. The solution relies on accurate loc alization, mapping, and navigation between waypoints. Multiple tests were perform ed in simulated and real-world environments to show the effectiveness of the pr oposed solution.