Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association Between Body Mass Index and Asthma Symptoms Among Korean Children: A Nation-Wide Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of wheeze using nation-wide cross-sectional study in Korean children. Total 50,200 children from 427 elementary schools were randomly selected according to residential areas (metropolitan, provincial, rural, and industrial areas) by the cluster sampling method. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaires were used to measure the prevalence of wheeze. Among 31,026 respondents, 25,322 were analyzed. BMI was classified into quartiles based on BMI-for-age percentile. In all residential areas, pets at home and visible mold or moisture were associated with an increased prevalence of wheeze in both genders. However, other living environment factors were not consistently associated among residential areas and gender. Among girls, lowest BMI was negatively associated with prevalence of wheeze and highest BMI was positively associated in all residential areas. In multilevel logistic regression analysis, environmental tobacco smoking exposure, pets at home, visible mold or moisture, and being in the lowest and highest BMI quartile were significantly associated with the prevalence of wheeze in both genders. BMI has become an important risk factor for asthma symptoms among Korean children.
A versatile framework for FPGA field updates: an application of partial self-reconfiguration

Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) provide an attractive solution to developers needing custom logic for short time-to-market products. Products embedding FPGA system-on-chip solutions have the advantage in that they can be updated once deployed. New FPGA firmware may be loaded via manufacturer-supplied memory devices or remotely via a network connection. Recent FPGAs allow for self-reconfiguration, where the user-FPGA fabric can internally modify its own configuration data. Using self-reconfiguration, configuration control protocols can be implemented in user logic. This allows new FPGA programming methods to be designed. We propose a versatile partial self-reconfiguration framework for FPGA field updates that customizes to specific applications, reduces reconfiguration times, and minimizes the need for external hardware. The framework provides flexibility in media sources and design security. A prototype using this framework is demonstrated on a Xilinx Virtex-II FPGA.
β-Adrenergic cAMP Signals Are Predominantly Regulated by Phosphodiesterase Type 4 in Cultured Adult Rat Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells

Background We investigated the role of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) in the spatiotemporal control of intracellular cAMP concentrations in rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMCs). Methodology/Principal Findings The rank order of PDE families contributing to global cAMP-PDE activity was PDE4> PDE3 = PDE1. PDE7 mRNA expression but not activity was confirmed. The Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-based cAMP sensor, Epac1-camps, was used to monitor the time course of cytosolic cAMP changes. A pulse application of the β-adrenoceptor (β-AR) agonist isoproterenol (Iso) induced a transient FRET signal. Both β1- and β2-AR antagonists decreased the signal amplitude without affecting its kinetics. The non-selective PDE inhibitor (IBMX) dramatically increased the amplitude and delayed the recovery phase of Iso response, in agreement with a role of PDEs in degrading cAMP produced by Iso. Whereas PDE1, PDE3 and PDE7 blockades [with MIMX, cilostamide (Cil) and BRL 50481 (BRL), respectively] had no or minor effect on Iso response, PDE4 inhibition [with Ro-20-1724 (Ro)] strongly increased its amplitude and delayed its recovery. When Ro was applied concomitantly with MIMX or Cil (but not with BRL), the Iso response was drastically further prolonged. PDE4 inhibition similarly prolonged both β1- and β2-AR-mediated responses. When a membrane-targeted FRET sensor was used, PDE3 and PDE4 acted in a synergistic manner to hydrolyze the submembrane cAMP produced either at baseline or after β-AR stimulation. Conclusion/Significance Our study underlines the importance of cAMP-PDEs in the dynamic control of intracellular cAMP signals in RASMCs, and demonstrates the prominent role of PDE4 in limiting β-AR responses. PDE4 inhibition unmasks an effect of PDE1 and PDE3 on cytosolic cAMP hydrolyzis, and acts synergistically with PDE3 inhibition at the submembrane compartment. This suggests that mixed PDE4/PDE1 or PDE4/PDE3 inhibitors would be attractive to potentiate cAMP-related functions in vascular cells.
Generalized Domain-Adaptive Dictionaries

Data-driven dictionaries have produced state-of-the-art results in various classification tasks. However, when the target data has a different distribution than the source data, the learned sparse representation may not be optimal. In this paper, we investigate if it is possible to optimally represent both source and target by a common dictionary. Specifically, we describe a technique which jointly learns projections of data in the two domains, and a latent dictionary which can succinctly represent both the domains in the projected low-dimensional space. An efficient optimization technique is presented, which can be easily kernelized and extended to multiple domains. The algorithm is modified to learn a common discriminative dictionary, which can be further used for classification. The proposed approach does not require any explicit correspondence between the source and target domains, and shows good results even when there are only a few labels available in the target domain. Various recognition experiments show that the method performs on par or better than competitive state-of-the-art methods.
The Role of Interpretation in Caring Science

This article addresses the role of interpretation in research in caring sciences. Drawing on methodological suggestions from Hans-George Gadamer and Per-Johan Ödman, it shows a way of interpretation on an existential level. The methodology is focused, while a caring science paradigm serves both as a background and as a theoretical framework— as paradigmatic thinking using an abductive process. The authors interpret an excerpt from a narration of an interview with a relative of a person suffering from dementia. The results give substance to the drama of suffering and health, and will be presented in a later article.
In vitro models of brain ischemia: The peptidergic drug cerebrolysin protects cultured chick cortical neurons from cell death

Glutamate (1 mM), iodoacetate (0.01 mM) and ionomycin (0.25 μM) are reported to induce several characteristics of ischemia and neuronal degenerationin vitro, e.g. glutamate and ionomycin lesion result in a disturbance of Ca2+ homeostasis, iodoacetate impairment leads to an inhibition of energy metabolism, suppression of protein synthesis and generation of oxygen free radicals. In this study these three lesion models were used to investigate the effects of the nootropic drug Cerebrolysin (Cere) on the survival of cortical neurons in culture and on the occurrence of apoptosis. The viability of the cells was evaluated with the colorimetric MTT-reduction assay. Apoptosis was detected with Bisbenzimide (Hoechst: 33258), a fluorescent DNA stain. Administration of Cere resulted in dose dependent neuroprotection independent from the kind of lesion. In the glutamate model the drug almost doubled neuronal viability compared to lesioned controls. After acute glutamate exposure Cere reduced the number of apoptotic cells significantly. In spite of the protective efficacy after cytotoxic hypoxia induced by iodoacetate, the drug significantly increased the number of apoptotic neurons, indicating a shift from necrosis to apoptosis. In contrast to previous studies investigating acute ionomycin lesions, the chronic Ca2+-overload used here did not increase the abundance of apoptosis compared to the unlesioned control. Summarizing the findings it can be suggested that Cere is able to stabilize Ca2+ homeostasis, to protect protein synthesis and to counteract neuronal death in differentin vitro models of ischemia.
Evaluation of steroid hormones and their receptors in development and progression of renal cell carcinoma

Steroid hormones and their receptors have important roles in normal kidney biology, and alterations in their expression and function help explain the differences in development of kidney diseases, such as nephrotic syndrome and chronic kidney disease. The distinct gender difference in incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), with males having almost twice the incidence as females globally, also suggests a role for sex hormones or their receptors in RCC development and progression. There was a peak in interest in evaluating the roles of androgen and estrogen receptors in RCC pathogenesis in the late 20th century, with some positive outcomes for RCC therapy that targeted estrogen receptors, especially for metastatic disease. Since that time, however, there have been few studies that look at use of steroid hormone modulators for RCC, especially in the light of new therapies such as the tyrosine kinase inhibitors and new immune therapies, which are having some success for treatment of metastatic RCC. This review summarises past and current literature and attempts to stimulate renewed interest in research into the steroid hormones and their receptors, which might be used to effect, for example, in combination with the other newer targeted therapies for RCC.
Insulin Resistance and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Postmenopausal Women: A Cohort Study From the Women’s Health Initiative

Background—Insulin resistance is associated with diabetes mellitus, but it is uncertain whether it improves cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction beyond traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Methods and Results—We identified 15 288 women from the Women’s Health Initiative Biomarkers studies with no history of CVD, atrial fibrillation, or diabetes mellitus at baseline (1993–1998). We assessed the prognostic value of adding fasting serum insulin, HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment–insulin resistance), serum-triglyceride-to-serum-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio TG/HDL-C, or impaired fasting glucose (serum glucose ≥110 mg/dL) to traditional risk factors in separate Cox multivariable analyses and assessed risk discrimination and reclassification. The study end point was major CVD events (nonfatal and fatal coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke) within 10 years, which occurred in 894 (5.8%) women. Insulin resistance was associated with CVD risk after adjusting for age and race/ethnicity with hazard ratios (95% confidence interval [CI]) per doubling in insulin of 1.21 (CI, 1.12–1.31), in HOMA-IR of 1.19 (CI, 1.11–1.28), in TG/HDL-C of 1.35 (CI, 1.26–1.45), and for impaired fasting glucose of 1.31 (CI, 1.05–1.64). Although insulin, HOMA-IR, and TG/HDL-C remained associated with increased CVD risk after adjusting for most CVD risk factors, none remained significant after adjusting for HDL-C: hazard ratios for insulin, 1.06 (CI, 0.98–1.16); for HOMA-IR, 1.06 (CI, 0.98–1.15); for TG/HDL-C, 1.11 (CI, 0.99–1.25); and for glucose, 1.20 (CI, 0.96–1.50). Insulin resistance measures did not improve CVD risk discrimination and reclassification. Conclusions—Measures of insulin resistance were no longer associated with CVD risk after adjustment for high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and did not provide independent prognostic information in postmenopausal women without diabetes mellitus. Clinical Trial Registration Information—URL: http://www.clinicaltrial. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00000611.
Specification of excitatory neurons in the developing cerebral cortex: progenitor diversity and environmental influences

The mature cerebral cortex harbors a heterogeneous population of glutamatergic neurons, organized into a highly intricate histological architecture. Classically, this mixed population of neurons was thought to be generated sequentially from a seemingly homogenous group of progenitors under the influence of external cues. This view, however, has been challenged in the last decade by evidences pointing to the existence of fate-restricted neuronal progenitors in the developing neocortex. Here, we review classical studies using cell transplantation, retroviral labeling and cell culture, as well as new data from genetic fate-mapping analysis, to discuss the lineage relationships between neocortical progenitors and subclasses of excitatory neurons. We also propose a temporal model to conciliate the existence of fate-restricted progenitors alongside multipotent progenitors in the neocortex. Finally, we discuss evidences for a critical period of plasticity among post mitotic excitatory cortical neurons when environmental influences could change neuronal cell fate.
Genetically modified food in the news: media representations of the GM debate in the UK

This paper analyses a corpus of articles on GM crops and food which appeared in six UK newspapers in the first three months of 2004, the year following the GM Nation? debate (2003). Using the methods of critical discourse analysis we focus on how specific and pervasive representations of the major stakeholders in the national debate on GM—the British public, the British government, the science of GM, and biotechnology companies—served significant rhetorical functions in the controversy. Of particular significance was the pervasive representation of the British public as uniformly opposed to GM crops and food which served rhetorically to position the British government as undemocratic and as being beholden to powerful political and economic interests. Of significance also in our analysis, is how the science of GM farming itself became a highly contested arena. In short, our analysis demonstrates how the GM debate was represented in the newsprint media as a “battleground” of competing interests. We conclude by considering the possible implications of this representation given the increasing emphasis placed on the importance of deliberative and inclusive forms of science policy decision-making.
Sequential temporo‐fronto‐temporal activation during monitoring of the auditory environment for temporal patterns

Subjects detected rarely occurring shifts between two simple tone‐patterns, in a paradigm that dissociated the effects of rarity from those of pitch, habituation, and attention. Whole‐head magnetoencephalography suggested that rare attended pattern‐shifts evoked activity first in the superior temporal plane (sTp, peak ∼100 ms), then superior temporal sulcus (sTs, peak ∼130 ms), then posteroventral prefrontal (pvpF, peak ∼230 ms), and anterior temporal cortices (aT, peak ∼370 ms). Activity was more prominent in the right hemisphere. After subtracting the effects of nonshift tones (balanced for pitch and habituation status), weak but consistent differential effects of pattern‐shifts began in aT at 90–130 ms, spread to sTs and sTp at ∼130 ms, then pvpF, and finally returned to aT. Cingulate activity resembled prefrontal. Responses to pattern shifts were greatly attenuated when the same stimuli were ignored, suggesting that the initial superior temporal activity reflected an attention‐related mismatch negativity. The prefrontal activity at ∼230 ms corresponded in latency and task correlates with simultaneously recorded event‐related potential components N2b and P3a; the subsequent temporal activity corresponded to the P3b. These results were confirmed in sensors specific for frontal or temporal cortex, and thus are independent of the inverse method used. Overall, these results suggest that auditory working memory for temporal patterns begins with detection of the pattern change by an interaction of anterior and superior temporal structures, followed by identification of the event and its consequences led by posteroventral prefrontal and cingulate cortices, and finally, definitive encoding of the event in anterior temporal areas. Hum Brain Mapp, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Comparison of Visual Performance with Photochromic, Yellow and Clear Intraocular Lenses

Purpose: To evaluate visual function in patients with different types of light-filtering intraocular lenses (IOLs) Methods: In this prospective comparative clinical study Cataract patients with different types of IOLs in Khatam-al-Anbia Eye Hospital, Mashhad were enrolled and followed for three months postoperatively. Corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), color discrimination under photopic (1000 lux) and mesopic (40 lux) conditions were evaluated with Roth 28 hue test. Contrast sensitivity testing was then performed with 1000E contrast sensitivity unit (CSV-1000E, vector vision) with a constant test luminance level of 85 cd/m. Results: In this study, 47 patients were evaluated with different IOLs (16 clear, 17 yellow, 14 photochromic). There were no significant differences between the three IOLs in CDVA, contrast sensitivity and mesopic and photopic color vision (p<.05). Conclusion: Contrast sensitivity as well as the mesopic and photopic color vision are not different in clear, yellow and photochromic IOLs.
Reflections on the History of Operating Systems Research in Fault Tolerance

In October of 2015, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of SOSP as part of SOSP 25. Peter Denning formed a “history day” steering committee, and invited me to give a short talk on the topic of fault tolerance (and also asked if I could help organize the remainder of the day). This essay is intended as an accompaniment to the video and slides of my talk. My topic here is dominated by two fairly specific questions, central to the way we think about the discipline: Must strong properties bring complexity, poor scalability, high latencies and other significant costs? Can a system support consistency without dictating to its users? The debate surrounding these issues has animated the community at least since the mid 1980’s. Any decision to focus dictates a degree of narrowness. For example, Butler Lampson has argued that one cannot have security without reliability, and vice versa [25], and the SOSP 2015 program supports his view. Nonetheless, I won’t be discussing security here. I hope that nobody is offended by my omission of this and other important work; just like the other history day speakers, I was required to keep the scope of my talk manageable and focused, and omissions were unavoidable.
Low-frequency quantitative ultrasound imaging of cell death in vivo.

PURPOSE Currently, no clinical imaging modality is used routinely to assess tumor response to cancer therapies within hours to days of the delivery of treatment. Here, the authors demonstrate the efficacy of ultrasound at a clinically relevant frequency to quantitatively detect changes in tumors in response to cancer therapies using preclinical mouse models. METHODS Conventional low-frequency and corresponding high-frequency ultrasound (ranging from 4 to 28 MHz) were used along with quantitative spectroscopic and signal envelope statistical analyses on data obtained from xenograft tumors treated with chemotherapy, x-ray radiation, as well as a novel vascular targeting microbubble therapy. RESULTS Ultrasound-based spectroscopic biomarkers indicated significant changes in cell-death associated parameters in responsive tumors. Specifically changes in the midband fit, spectral slope, and 0-MHz intercept biomarkers were investigated for different types of treatment and demonstrated cell-death related changes. The midband fit and 0-MHz intercept biomarker derived from low-frequency data demonstrated increases ranging approximately from 0 to 6 dBr and 0 to 8 dBr, respectively, depending on treatments administrated. These data paralleled results observed for high-frequency ultrasound data. Statistical analysis of ultrasound signal envelope was performed as an alternative method to obtain histogram-based biomarkers and provided confirmatory results. Histological analysis of tumor specimens indicated up to 61% cell death present in the tumors depending on treatments administered, consistent with quantitative ultrasound findings indicating cell death. Ultrasound-based spectroscopic biomarkers demonstrated a good correlation with histological morphological findings indicative of cell death (r2=0.71, 0.82; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS In summary, the results provide preclinical evidence, for the first time, that quantitative ultrasound used at a clinically relevant frequency, in addition to high-frequency ultrasound, can detect tissue changes associated with cell death in vivo in response to cancer treatments.
Performance of Stochastic Kronecker MIMO Radio Channel Model in Urban Microcells

In this paper, the performance of the widely used stochastic Kronecker multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radio channel model is investigated based on non-line of sight (NLOS) measured data in urban microcellular environment at 5.3 GHz carrier frequency. The channel transfer matrices rendered by the Kronecker model are compared to the measured ones in terms of the distribution of the channel coefficients and the distribution of the eigenvalues of the channel correlation matrix. Furthermore, the channel capacity and the symbol error rate performance achievable over the measured and modeled channels are also compared. Good agreement in terms of symbol error rate performance is found while 4.16% error in the median channel capacity at 20 dB signal to noise ratio (SNR) is observed
Towards improving the online shopping experience: A client-based platform for post-processing Web search results

The quality of results to Web search queries is substantially limited because of the cost and short processing times allowed at search engine's data center to retrieve relevant pages, augment ads, and present them to the end-user. We tackle such an issue by proposing a radically different system, where the search engine replies to a query with a large list of relevant URLs. Our client-side platform then proceeds to download the target HTML files only, parse them, understand their content, and present a summary to the user. Different types of summaries can be created by using plug-ins attached to the base platform. Each plug-in provides the required functionality according to the type of summary desired by the user. With this novel mechanism, our system offers increased computational power for post-processing search results and consequently improves and personalizes the user's search experience while maintaining constant workload at the search engine. We present prototype implementations of the proposed search assistant and an associated shopping plug-in capable of detecting whether a Web-page encapsulates a direct commercial offering. We also review measurements related to projected system performance and demonstrate its applicability to different scenarios.