Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic values of VEGF and endostatin with malignant pleural effusions in patients with lung cancer.

AIMS Angiogenesis is important in malignant pleural effusion (MPE) formation and it is regulated by a number of pro- and anti-angiogenic cytokines. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiogenesis inhibitor endostatin in lung cancer patients with MPE, and investigate the relationship between these two kinds of agent. METHODS Using enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay, the concentrations of VEGF and endostatin were measured in pleural effusions (PE) and serum from a total of 70 lung cancer patients with MPE and 20 patients with tuberculosis. RESULTS Compared to patients with tuberculosis, the levels of VEGF and endostatin in both PE and serum were significantly higher in patients with lung cancer. There were statistically significant correlations between VEGF levels in PE and serum (r=0.696, <0.001), endostatin levels in PE and serum (r=0.310, p=0.022), and VEGF and endostatin levels in PE (r=0.287, p=0.019). Cox multivariate analysis revealed that elevated pleural VEGF and endostatin levels and serum endostatin level were independent predictors of shorter overall survival. CONCLUSION Both pro- and anti-angiogenic factors are likely contributors to PE formation. Our results suggest that the levels of VEGF and endostatin in PE, together with endostatin in serum, may be potential prognostic parameters for lung cancer patients with MPE.
To Take Risk is to Face Loss: A Tonic Pupillometry Study

The construct of risk taking is studied through the prism of the relation between tonic arousal and risk taking behavior. Several theories have proposed that high aroused individuals tend to exhibit risk aversion. We posit that this arousal–behavior association is activated much more strongly in risks with losses, as losses increase arousal and trigger relevant traits associated with the sensitivity to risk. In three studies we examined risk taking in experience-based decision tasks, with either token losses or relative-losses (in the gain domain). In Study 1 we found a negative correlation between pre-task pupil diameter and risk taking in the loss domain but not in the gain domain. In Study 2 we re-analyzed a previous pupillometry dataset involving symmetric mixed gains and losses. We found that the negative correlation in this mixed condition emerged even while the participants did not show loss aversion. This finding was replicated in Study 3. Thus, the effect of losses on arousal provides sufficient conditions for the moderation of the tonic arousal–behavior association. The findings suggest an important role for losses in the psychological and physiological experience of risk.
Promoting Well-Being: The Contribution of Emotional Intelligence

Adopting a primary prevention perspective, this study examines competencies with the potential to enhance well-being and performance among future workers. More specifically, the contributions of ability-based and trait models of emotional intelligence (EI), assessed through well-established measures, to indices of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being were examined for a sample of 157 Italian high school students. The Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test was used to assess ability-based EI, the Bar-On Emotional Intelligence Inventory and the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire were used to assess trait EI, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and the Satisfaction With Life Scale were used to assess hedonic well-being, and the Meaningful Life Measure was used to assess eudaimonic well-being. The results highlight the contributions of trait EI in explaining both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, after controlling for the effects of fluid intelligence and personality traits. Implications for further research and intervention regarding future workers are discussed.
GBA2 Mutations Cause a Marinesco-Sjögren-Like Syndrome: Genetic and Biochemical Studies

Background With the advent new sequencing technologies, we now have the tools to understand the phenotypic diversity and the common occurrence of phenocopies. We used these techniques to investigate two Norwegian families with an autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia with cataracts and mental retardation. Methods and Results Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip analysis followed by Exome sequencing identified a 2 bp homozygous deletion in GBA2 in both families, c. 1528_1529del [p.Met510Valfs*17]. Furthermore, we report the biochemical characterization of GBA2 in these patients. Our studies show that a reduced activity of GBA2 is sufficient to elevate the levels of glucosylceramide to similar levels as seen in Gaucher disease. Furthermore, leucocytes seem to be the proper enzyme source for in vitro analysis of GBA2 activity. Conclusions We report GBA2 mutations causing a Marinesco-Sjögren-like syndrome in two Norwegian families. One of the families was originally diagnosed with Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome based on an autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia with cataracts and mental retardation. Our findings highlight the phenotypic variability associated with GBA2 mutations, and suggest that patients with Marinesco-Sjögren-like syndromes should be tested for mutations in this gene.
Hippocampal long-term synaptic plasticity and signal amplification of NMDA receptors.

The direction of plasticity at CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapses is determined by the strength of afferent stimulation. Weak stimuli lead to long-term depression (LTD) and strong stimuli to long-term potentiation (LTP), but both require activation of synaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). These receptors are therefore necessary and required for the induction of plasticity at CA3-CA1 synapses even though they carry little of the current responsible for the basal excitatory post-synaptic potential (EPSP). The influx of Ca(2+) via NMDARs triggers the subsequent and persistent changes in the expression of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5 methylisoxazole-4-proprionic acid receptors (AMPARs) and these receptors are responsible for the major part of the basal EPSP. The degree of activity of NMDARs is determined in part by extracellular Mg(2+) and by the co-agonists for this receptor, glycine and D-serine. During strong stimulation, a relief of the voltage-dependent block of NMDARs by Mg(2+) provides a positive feedback for NMDAR Ca(2+) influx into postsynaptic CA1 spines. In this review, we discuss how the induction of LTP at CA3-CA1 synapses requires further signal amplification of NMDAR activity. We discuss how the regulation of NMDARs by protein kinases and phosphatases is brought into play. Evidence is presented that Src family kinases (SFKs) play a "core" role in the induction of LTP by enhancing the function and expression of NMDARs. At CA3-CA1 synapses, NMDARs are largely composed of NR1 (NMDA receptor subunit 1)-NR2A or NR1-NR2B containing subunits. Recent, but controversial, evidence has correlated NR1-NR2A receptors with the induction of LTP and NR1-NR2B receptors with LTD. However, LTP can be induced by activation of either subtype of NMDAR and the ratio of NR2A:NR2B receptors has been proposed as an alternative determinant of the direction of synaptic plasticity. Many transmitters and signal pathways can modify NMDAR function and expression and, for a given stimulus strength, they can potentially lead to a change in the balance between LTP and LTD. As opposed to the "core" mechanisms of LTP and LTD, the resulting alterations in this balance underlie "meta-plasticity. " Thus, in addition to their contribution to core mechanisms, we will also discuss how Src-family kinases could preferentially target NR1-NR2A or NR1-NR2B receptors to alter the relative contribution of these receptor subtypes to synaptic plasticity.
A comparison study of feature spaces and classification methods for facial expression recognition

Facial expression recognition (FER) is important for robots and computers to achieve natural interaction with human. Over the years, researchers have proposed different feature descriptors, implemented different classification methods, and carried out test experiments on different datasets in realizing an automatic FER system. While achieving good performance, the most efficient feature space and classification method for FER remain unknown due to lack of comparison study. We performed comprehensive comparison experiments with five popular feature spaces in computer vision field and seven classification methods with four unique facial expression datasets. Our contributions in this work includes: (1) identified most efficient feature space for FER, (2) investigated effect of image resolutions on FER performances, and (3) obtained best FER performance by using AdaBoost algorithm for feature selection and Support Vector Machine for image classification.
Derivation and Validation of a Risk Standardization Model for Benchmarking Hospital Performance for Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes After Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background— Before outcomes-based measures of quality can be used to compare and improve care, they must be risk-standardized to account for variations in patient characteristics. Despite the importance of health-related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), no risk-standardized models have been developed. Methods and Results— We assessed disease-specific HRQL using the Seattle Angina Questionnaire at baseline and 1 year later in 2693 unselected AMI patients from 24 hospitals enrolled in the Translational Research Investigating Underlying disparities in acute Myocardial infarction Patients’ Health status (TRIUMPH) registry. Using 57 candidate sociodemographic, economic, and clinical variables present on admission, we developed a parsimonious, hierarchical linear regression model to predict HRQL. Eleven variables were independently associated with poor HRQL after AMI, including younger age, previous coronary artery bypass graft surgery, depressive symptoms, and financial difficulties (R2=20%). The model demonstrated excellent internal calibration and reasonable calibration in an independent sample of 1890 AMI patients in a separate registry, although the model slightly overpredicted HRQL scores in the higher deciles. Among the 24 TRIUMPH hospitals, 1-year unadjusted HRQL scores ranged from 67–89. After risk-standardization, HRQL score variability narrowed substantially (range=79–83), and the group of hospital performance (bottom 20%/middle 60%/top 20%) changed in 14 of the 24 hospitals (58% reclassification with risk-standardization). Conclusions— In this predictive model for HRQL after AMI, we identified risk factors, including economic and psychological characteristics, associated with HRQL outcomes. Adjusting for these factors substantially altered the rankings of hospitals as compared with unadjusted comparisons. Using this model to compare risk-standardized HRQL outcomes across hospitals may identify processes of care that maximize this important patient-centered outcome.
Induction of IDO by Bacille Calmette-Guérin Is Responsible for Development of Murine Depressive-Like Behavior1

Chronic inflammation activates the tryptophan-degrading enzyme IDO, which is well known to impair T cell proliferation. We have previously established that bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), an attenuated form of Mycobacterium bovis, is associated with persistent activation of IDO in the brain and chronic depressive-like behavior, but a causative role has not been established. In these experiments we used both pharmacologic and genetic approaches to test the hypothesis that IDO activation is responsible for the development of chronic depression that follows BCG infection. BCG induced TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IDO mRNA steady-state transcripts in the brain as well as the enzyme 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid oxygenase (3-HAO) that lies downstream of IDO and generates the neuroactive metabolite, quinolinic acid. Behaviors characteristic of depression were apparent 1 wk after BCG infection. Pretreatment with the competitive IDO inhibitor 1-methyltryptophan fully blocked BCG-induced depressive-like behaviors. Importantly, IDO-deficient mice were completely resistant to BCG-induced depressive-like behavior but responded normally to BCG induction of proinflammatory cytokines. These results are the first to prove that the BCG-induced persistent activation of IDO is accompanied by the induction of 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid oxygenase and that IDO is required as an initial step for the subsequent development of chronic depressive-like behavior.
Discriminative Training of a Neural Network Statistical Parser

Discriminative methods have shown significant improvements over traditional generative methods in many machine learning applications, but there has been difficulty in extending them to natural language parsing. One problem is that much of the work on discriminative methods conflates changes to the learning method with changes to the parameterization of the problem. We show how a parser can be trained with a discriminative learning method while still parameterizing the problem according to a generative probability model. We present three methods for training a neural network to estimate the probabilities for a statistical parser, one generative, one discriminative, and one where the probability model is generative but the training criteria is discriminative. The latter model outperforms the previous two, achieving state-of-the-art levels of performance (90.1% F-measure on constituents).
Effect of Crumble-Pellet and Mash Diets with Different Levels of Dietary Protein and Energy on the Performance of Broilers at the End of the Third Week

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of the form of diets with different levels of protein and energy on broilers performance at the end of the third week. A total of 2800 male broiler chicks were fed with two forms of diet (mash and crumble-pellet), two levels of protein (23% and 21% CP), and two levels of energy (3200 and 3000 Kcal/Kg ME) from 1 to 21 days of age. The bodyweight (BW) and Feed conversion rate (FCR) were affected by the form of diet with the crumble-pellet form being better (P < .001). The diet with high protein significantly increased BW and decreased FCR (P < .001). The different levels of energy did not affect FCR and BW in crumble-pellet diet but should a significant effect on them in mash diet (P < .05). There were no significant interactions for any of the parameters tested except for interactions between energy and feed form. BW and FCR were improved by energy when diets were fed in the mash form (unlike the crumble-pellet form) at all ages. It is concluded that feeding crumble-pellets from 1 to 21 days of age improved BW and FCR and that an increase in the protein (unlike energy) content of the diet increased the performance of the chickens at the end of the third week.
Hydrodynamic Lubrication of Microdimple Textured Surface Using Three-Dimensional CFD

Surface texturing has been recognized to be very efficient in modifying the tribological performances of sliding surfaces. In the present article, a three-dimensional hydrodynamic lubrication model of the incompressible Newtonian fluid is proposed on the textured surface with a single spherical cap microdimple based on the full Navier-Stokes equation. The three-dimensional pressure field and velocity field of lubrication film are obtained by employing the finite volume method (FVM). The effects of geometric parameters and Reynolds number on pressure field, load-carrying capacity, friction force, and friction coefficient are investigated. Numerical simulation led the authors to conclude that the load-carrying capacity of the lubrication film is monotonously enhanced with increasing microdimple width and Reynolds number, and a reverse tendency is obtained for friction force and friction coefficient. The dimensionless optimum microdimple depth increases with the increase of the width and decreases with the increase of the Reynolds in the range of 0.80–2.00, which is responsible for the largest load-carrying capacity and the smallest friction coefficient. It has also been found that the optimum depth becomes a critical value to produce a vortex in the bottom of the dimple. Further analysis indicates that the optimum dimple depth becomes a transition of lubrication mode from hydrodynamic to mixed lubrication for a textured surface with a fixed microdimple.
Rule-based Machine Learning Methods for Functional Prediction

We describe a machine learning method for predicting the value of a real-valued function, given the values of multiple input variables. The method induces solutions from samples in the form of ordered disjunctive normal form (DNF) decision rules. A central objective of the method and representation is the induction of compact, easily interpretable solutions. This rule-based decision model can be extended to search efficiently for similar cases prior to approximating function values. Experimental results on real-world data demonstrate that the new techniques are competitive with existing machine learning and statistical methods and can sometimes yield superior regression performance.
Increased Interleukin 4 (IL-4) Receptor Expression and IL-4-Induced Decrease in IL-12 Production by Langerhans Cells Infected with Leishmania major

ABSTRACT Langerhans cells (LC) take up Leishmania major and are critical for the induction of the parasite-specific T-cell response. Their functional activities are regulated by cytokines. We analyzed whether infection of LC with L. major modulates the expression of their cytokine receptors. The expression of the interleukin 4 (IL-4) receptor was increased on infected LC from susceptible mice but not on those from resistant mice. Moreover, IL-4 treatment strongly decreased the lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-12 response of infected LC from susceptible mice. This modulation of IL-4 receptor expression and IL-12 production by infection of LC with Leishmania may contribute to the development of Th2 cells and to susceptibility to infection.
Functional Integration of Newly Generated Neurons Into Striatum After Cerebral Ischemia in the Adult Rat Brain

Background and Purpose— Ischemic injury can induce neurogenesis in the striatum. Those newborn neurons can express glutamic acid decarboxylase and choline acetyltransferase, markers of GABAergic and cholinergic neurons, respectively. The present study investigated whether these GABAergic and cholinergic new neurons could differentiate into functional cells. Methods— Retrovirus containing the EGFP gene was used to label dividing cells in striatal slices prepared from adult rat brains after middle cerebral artery occlusion. EGFP-targeted immunostaining and immunoelectron microscopy were performed to detect whether newborn neurons could anatomically form neuronal polarity and synapses with pre-existent neurons. Patch clamp recording on acute striatal slices of brains at 6 to 8 weeks after middle cerebral artery occlusion was used to determine whether the newborn neurons could display functional electrophysiological properties. Results— EGFP-expressing (EGFP+) signals could be detected mainly in the cell body in the first 2 weeks. From the fourth to thirteenth weeks after their birth, EGFP+ neurons gradually formed neuronal polarity and showed a time-dependent increase in dendrite length and branch formation. EGFP+ cells were copositive for NeuN and glutamic acid decarboxylase (EGFP+-NeuN+-GAD67+), MAP-2, and choline acetyltransferase (EGFP+-MAP-2+-ChAT+). They also expressed phosphorylated synapsin I (EGFP+-p-SYN+) and showed typical synaptic structures comprising dendrites and spines. Both GABAergic and cholinergic newborn neurons could fire action potentials and received excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs because they displayed spontaneous postsynaptic currents in picrotoxin- and CNQX-inhibited manners. Conclusion— Ischemia-induced newly formed striatal GABAergic and cholinergic neurons could become functionally integrated into neural networks in the brain of adult rats after stroke.
Motor skills in adolescents with low birth weight

Background: Minor motor problems have been reported in low birthweight children, but few studies have assessed motor skills in adolescents. Objective: To examine the prevalence of motor problems in adolescents with low birth weight. Method: Fifty four very low birthweight (VLBW: birth weight ⩽ 1500 g), 59 term small for gestational age (SGA: birth weight < 10th centile), and 83 control (birth weight ⩾ 10th centile at term) children were assessed with the Movement assessment battery for children (Movement ABC) at the age of 14 in a population based study. Results: One in four VLBW children (odds ratio (OR) 9.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.5 to 34.5) and one in six SGA children (OR 4.7, 95%CI 1.2 to 18.4) had motor problems compared with controls (3.7%). There were no sex differences in motor problems in the VLBW group, and the increased risk was consistent across the continuum of the Movement ABC. For SGA children, the increased risk of motor problems was particularly in manual dexterity in boys. Conclusion: VLBW and SGA adolescents have increased risk of motor problems compared with control children.
A Fully Human, Allosteric Monoclonal Antibody That Activates the Insulin Receptor and Improves Glycemic Control

Many patients with diabetes mellitus (both type 1 and type 2) require therapy to maintain normal fasting glucose levels. To develop a novel treatment for these individuals, we used phage display technology to target the insulin receptor (INSR) complexed with insulin and identified a high affinity, allosteric, human monoclonal antibody, XMetA, which mimicked the glucoregulatory, but not the mitogenic, actions of insulin. Biophysical studies with cultured cells expressing human INSR demonstrated that XMetA acted allosterically and did not compete with insulin for binding to its receptor. XMetA was found to function as a specific partial agonist of INSR, eliciting tyrosine phosphorylation of INSR but not the IGF-IR. Although this antibody activated metabolic signaling, leading to enhanced glucose uptake, it neither activated Erk nor induced proliferation of cancer cells. In an insulin resistant, insulinopenic model of diabetes, XMetA markedly reduced elevated fasting blood glucose and normalized glucose tolerance. After 6 weeks, significant improvements in HbA1c, dyslipidemia, and other manifestations of diabetes were observed. It is noteworthy that hypoglycemia and weight gain were not observed during these studies. These studies indicate, therefore, that allosteric monoclonal antibodies have the potential to be novel, ultra-long acting, agents for the regulation of hyperglycemia in diabetes.
Random Fourier Features for Kernel Ridge Regression: Approximation Bounds and Statistical Guarantees

Random Fourier features is one of the most popular techniques for scaling up kernel methods, such as kernel ridge regression. However, despite impressive empirical results, the statistical properties of random Fourier features are still not well understood. In this paper we take steps toward filling this gap. Specifically, we approach random Fourier features from a spectral matrix approximation point of view, give tight bounds on the number of Fourier features required to achieve a spectral approximation, and show how spectral matrix approximation bounds imply statistical guarantees for kernel ridge regression. Qualitatively, our results are twofold: on the one hand, we show that random Fourier feature approximation can provably speed up kernel ridge regression under reasonable assumptions. At the same time, we show that the method is suboptimal, and sampling from a modified distribution in Fourier space, given by the leverage function of the kernel, yields provably better performance. We study this optimal sampling distribution for the Gaussian kernel, achieving a nearly complete characterization for the case of low-dimensional bounded datasets. Based on this characterization, we propose an efficient sampling scheme with guarantees superior to random Fourier features in this regime.