Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) sustains macrophage proinflammatory function by inhibiting p53: Regulatory role in the innate immune response

The importance of the macrophage in innate immunity is underscored by its secretion of an array of powerful immunoregulatory and effector molecules. We report herein that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a product of activated macrophages, sustains macrophage survival and function by suppressing activation-induced, p53-dependent apoptosis. Endotoxin administration to MIF−/− mice results in decreased macrophage viability, decreased proinflammatory function, and increased apoptosis when compared with wild-type controls. Moreover, inhibition of p53 in endotoxin-treated, MIF-deficient macrophages suppresses enhanced apoptosis and restores proinflammatory function. MIF inhibits p53 activity in macrophages via an autocrine regulatory pathway, resulting in a decrease in cellular p53 accumulation and subsequent function. Inhibition of p53 by MIF coincides with the induction of arachidonic acid metabolism and cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) expression, which is required for MIF regulation of p53. MIF's effect on macrophage viability and survival provides a previously unrecognized mechanism to explain its critical proinflammatory action in conditions such as sepsis, and suggests new approaches for the modulation of innate immune responses.
Development and validation of the Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Instrument to facilitate selection of women for bone densitometry.

BACKGROUND Although mass screening for osteoporosis is not recommended among postmenopausal women, there is no consensus on which women should undergo testing for low bone mineral density. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a clinical tool to help clinicians identify which women are at increased risk for osteoporosis and should therefore undergo further testing with bone densitometry. METHODS Using Ontario baseline data from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study, we identified all cognitively normal women aged 45 years or more who had undergone testing with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at both the femoral neck and the lumbar spine (L1-L4). Participants who had a previous diagnosis of osteoporosis or were taking bone active medication other than ovarian hormones were excluded. The main outcome measure was low bone mineral density (T score of 2 or more standard deviations below the mean for young Canadian women) at either the femoral neck or the lumbar spine. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were used to identify the simplest algorithm that would identify women at increased risk for low bone mineral density. RESULTS The study population comprised 1376 women, of whom 926 were allocated to the development of the tool and 450 to its validation. A simple algorithm based on age, weight and current estrogen use (yes or no) was developed. Validation of this 3-item Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Instrument (ORAI) showed that the tool had a sensitivity of 93.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 86.3%-97.0%) and a specificity of 46.4% (95% CI 41.0%-51.8%) for selecting women with low bone mineral density. The sensitivity of the instrument for selecting women with osteoporosis was 94.4% (95% CI 83.7%-98.6%). Use of the ORAI represented a 38.7% reduction in DXA testing compared with screening all women in our study. INTERPRETATION The ORAI accurately identifies the vast majority of women likely to have low bone mineral density and is effective in substantially decreasing the need for all women to undergo DXA testing.
Opinion mining from online reviews in Bali tourist area

Bali Island is the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia. Bali needs to make continuous quality improvements of its tourism industry by devoting particular attention to the hotel as an integral part of tourism. Through hotel user reviews, hotel managers gained insight about the hotel condition that was perceived by the users. based on online reviews in Tripadvisor.com, this study used text mining approach and aspect-based sentiment analysis to obtain hotel user opinion in the form of sentiment. Aspect-based sentiment analysis is able to provide information that is not provided by the typical sentiment analysis. To perform these tasks, this study tries to apply the Recursive Neural Tensor Network (RNTN) algorithm, which was commonly used for classifying sentiment in sentence level. With the average accuracy of 85%, the proposed algorithm performed well in classifying the sentiment of words or aspects. Moreover, the output can be used for evaluation in improving the quality of the hospitality industry as well as supporting the tourism industry in Indonesia.
Improvement of Force-Sensor-Based Heart Rate Estimation Using Multichannel Data Fusion

The aim of this paper is to present and evaluate algorithms for heartbeat interval estimation from multiple spatially distributed force sensors integrated into a bed. Moreover, the benefit of using multichannel systems as opposed to a single sensor is investigated. While it might seem intuitive that multiple channels are superior to a single channel, the main challenge lies in finding suitable methods to actually leverage this potential. To this end, two algorithms for heart rate estimation from multichannel vibration signals are presented and compared against a single-channel sensing solution. The first method operates by analyzing the cepstrum computed from the average spectra of the individual channels, while the second method applies Bayesian fusion to three interval estimators, such as the autocorrelation, which are applied to each channel. This evaluation is based on 28 night-long sleep lab recordings during which an eight-channel polyvinylidene fluoride-based sensor array was used to acquire cardiac vibration signals. The recruited patients suffered from different sleep disorders of varying severity. From the sensor array data, a virtual single-channel signal was also derived for comparison by averaging the channels. The single-channel results achieved a beat-to-beat interval error of 2.2% with a coverage (i.e., percentage of the recording which could be analyzed) of 68.7%. In comparison, the best multichannel results attained a mean error and coverage of 1.0% and 81.0%, respectively. These results present statistically significant improvements of both metrics over the single-channel results (p <; 0.05).
Vital capacity as a predictor of incident type 2 diabetes: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that lower vital capacity is cross-sectionally associated with features of insulin resistance and is an independent predictor of incident type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We conducted a prospective cohort study of vital capacity as a predictor of incident type 2 diabetes using 9-year follow-up data on 11,479 middle-aged adults without diabetes at baseline from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. RESULTS Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s were measured at baseline using standard spirometry. Incident type 2 diabetes cases were ascertained during follow-up. At baseline, low FVC (% predicted) was independently associated with indicators of the insulin resistance syndrome, including higher fasting levels of glucose, insulin, and triglycerides; lower fasting HDL cholesterol; and higher systolic blood pressure. In prospective analyses, there were graded associations between low FVC (% predicted) and incidence of type 2 diabetes in men and women. These associations persisted in multivariable analyses that adjusted for age, race, adiposity, smoking, physical activity, and ARIC center. Compared with individuals in the highest quartile of FVC (% predicted), the fully adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI) of diabetes in individuals in the lowest quartile was 1.6 (1.3-2.0) in men and 1.7 (1.3-2.1) in women. These relationships were stronger in those who have never smoked. CONCLUSIONS Lower vital capacity is an independent predictor of incident type 2 diabetes. Pulmonary factors related to vital capacity deserve attention as possible risk factors for insulin resistance and diabetes.
Novel Functional Germline Variants in the VEGF Receptor 2 Gene and Their Effect on Gene Expression and Microvessel Density in Lung Cancer

Purpose: VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) plays a crucial role in mediating angiogenic endothelial cell responses via the VEGF pathway, and angiogenesis inhibitors targeting VEGFR-2 are in clinical use. As angiogenesis is a host-driven process, functional heritable variation in KDR, the gene encoding VEGFR-2, may affect VEGFR-2 function and, ultimately, the extent of tumor angiogenesis. Experimental Design: We resequenced KDR using 24 DNAs each from healthy Caucasian, African American, and Asian groups. Nonsynonymous genetic variants were assessed for function by phosphorylation assays. Luciferase reporter gene assays were used to examine effects of variants on gene expression. KDR mRNA and protein expression and microvessel density (MVD) were measured in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor samples, and matching patient DNA samples were genotyped to test for associations with variants of interest. Results: KDR resequencing led to the discovery of 120 genetic variants, of which 25 had not been previously reported. Q472H had increased VEGFR-2 protein phosphorylation and associated with increased MVD in NSCLC tumor samples. −2854C and −2455A increased luciferase expression and associated with higher KDR mRNA levels in NSCLC samples. −271A reduced luciferase expression and associated with lower VEGFR-2 levels in NSCLC samples. −906C and 23408G associated with higher KDR mRNA levels in NSCLC samples. Conclusions: This study has defined KDR genetic variation in 3 populations and identified common variants that impact on tumoral KDR expression and vascularization. These findings may have important implications for understanding the molecular basis of genetic associations between KDR variation and clinical phenotypes related to VEGFR-2 function. Clin Cancer Res; 17(16); 5257–67. ©2011 AACR.
Macular and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Measurement Reproducibility Using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT-3)

Purpose:To assess the reproducibility of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and macular thickness measurements using OCT-3. Methods:Randomly chosen eyes of healthy individuals were scanned following pupillary dilation by two trained operators (RGO, RV) using OCT-3 (software version A1.1, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA), three times on separate days within a one-month period. Fast and regular macula (128 A-scans), and fast and regular RNFL (256 A-scans) scanning protocols were performed. Intra- and interoperator measurement reproducibility was evaluated. Results:Ten eyes of 10 subjects (6 females, 4 males) were enrolled. Mean age was 32 ± 11.2 years (range, 21 to 52 years). Intraoperator reproducibility was high for both macular and RNFL thickness measurements. Mean coefficients of variation (CV) for mean total RNFL thickness measurements ranged from 6.9 ± 6.4% to 8.0 ± 3.5% for operators 1 and 2 in fast and regular RNFL protocols. Mean CV for mean macular thickness measurements ranged from 4.7 ± 2.6% to 6.4 ± 5.5% for operator 1 and 2 in fast and regular macula protocols. There was no difference in mean total RNFL and mean foveal thickness measurements performed on different days (P > 0.05 for all measurements in all protocols, for operators 1 and 2, ANOVA). Interop-erator reproducibility was high for both macular and RNFL thickness measurements (P > 0.05 for all measurements in all protocols, paired t test). Conclusion:OCT-3 RNFL and macular thickness measurements are reproducible in normal eyes. These results should be validated in ocular hypertensive and glaucomatous eyes.
Molecular Characterization and Enhancement of Anticancer Activity of Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester by γ Cyclodextrin

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) is a key component in New Zealand propolis, known for a variety of health promoting and therapeutic potentials. We investigated the molecular mechanism of anticancer and anti-metastasis activities of CAPE. cDNA array performed on the control and CAPE-treated breast cancer cells revealed activation of DNA damage signaling involving upregulation of GADD45α and p53 tumor suppressor proteins. Molecular docking analysis revealed that CAPE is capable of disrupting mortalin-p53 complexes. We provide experimental evidence and demonstrate that CAPE induced disruption of mortalin-p53 complexes led to nuclear translocation and activation of p53 resulting in growth arrest in cancer cells. Furthermore, CAPE-treated cells exhibited downregulation of mortalin and several other key regulators of cell migration accountable for its anti-metastasis activity. Of note, we found that whereas CAPE was unstable in the culture medium (as it gets degraded into caffeic acid by secreted esterases), its complex with gamma cyclodextrin (γCD) showed high efficacy in anti-tumor and anti-metastasis assays in vitro and in vivo (when administered through either intraperitoneal or oral route). The data proposes that CAPE-γCD complex is a potent anti-cancer and anti-metastasis reagent.
When memory components act as perceptual components: Facilitatory and interference effects in a visual categorisation task

When they live through an experience, individuals both perceive sensorimotor components in the environment (perception) and reactivate properties associated with the experience that are not perceptually present (memory). According to embodiment theory, memory consists of sensorimotor traces that are reactivated during the experience. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that a reactivated property in memory can influence the processing of a stimulus that shares this property even if the property itself is not perceptually present. In two experiments, participants had to categorise pictures of products which were typically sweet or unsweetened (they were asked if the products were edible or inedible). These pictures were preceded by (Experiment 1) or presented simultaneously with (Experiment 2) either a visual pattern that had been associated with the property of sweetness during a first phase or a visual pattern which was not associated with this property. The results revealed that the presentation of the pattern previously associated with the property of sweetness had a facilitatory effect (Experiment 1) or an interference effect (Experiment 2) on the categorisation of the pictures of sweet products. We propose an interpretation in terms of reciprocal influences between memory and perceptual mechanisms that involve the same sensorimotor properties.
Cut-off rate based outage probability analysis of frequency hopping mobile radio under jamming conditions

This paper deals with the achievable spectral efficiency and outage analysis of short burst frequency hopping (FH) mobile radios under heavy jamming scenarios. With the use of outage probability analysis based on cut-off rate, the maximum spectral efficiency (bits / dimension) and the required number of radio frequency bursts (RFB) (or degrees of freedom) is determined in order to transmit a message reliably for a given target outage probability, number of information bits (message information length) and constellation. A Cut-off rate approach is exploited in order to take the influence of constellation into account, and outage metric is obtained depending on the jamming state, fading, number of RFB and constellation. On-off jamming with a given probability assignment is assumed for each burst. It is shown that the message length limits the achievable rate of the system. An upper bound on the code rate as a function of message length is derived for given outage probability, constellation, and channel statistics.
The role of adults in children's dramatic play in Icelandic preschools

SUMMARY The study was conducted in preschools in the Reykjavik region in Iceland. The purpose of the study was twofold: to learn about the role of educational personnel in children's dramatic play in Icelandic preschools, and to investigate how they intervened. Secondly, the study also attempted to gain the practitioner's attitudes and opinions concerning children's dramatic play and their view of their own role and function. The data were collected using observation and videotaping of educational personnel's actions while the children were engaged in dramatic play. A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of other preschool personnel in the area. It was found that in approximately 38% of the observed time the adults were outside the room where the children were playing. The results from the observations indicate that adult participation was not common and it most frequently occurred outside the theme of the play. It was also found that adult behaviour was related to setting. Most of the educational pe.
IMpRH Server: an RH mapping server available on the Web

SUMMARY The INRA-Minnesota Porcine Radiation Hybrid (IMpRH) Server provides both a mapping tool (IMpRH mapping tool) and a database (IMpRH database) of officially submitted results. The mapping tool permits the mapping of a new marker relatively to markers previously mapped on the IMpRH panel. The IMpRH database is the official database for submission of new results and queries. The database not only permits the sharing of public data but also semi-private and private data.
Validity of the Sensory Balance Test to Screen Children for Sensory Processing Impairments

This study examines the validity of the Sensory Balance Test (SBT), which uses the technology of computerized dynamic posturography, to screen children for sensory processing impairments. Twenty typically developing children and 20 children with sensory processing impairments were administered the SBT under six different sensory conditions. The results show that children's sensory balance composite scores (SBT summary score) are associated with their sensory processing functioning status (adjusted odds ratio = 0.97; 95% confidence interval = [0.95, 0.99], p = .004). Children's sensory balance composite scores, together with age and gender, successfully predicted their current sensory processing functioning status as the predicted status had excellent agreement with children's current status (Kappa = 0.80). Typically developing children performed significantly better than children with sensory processing impairments while tested under sensory conflict conditions. Findings from this study support that the SBT is an appropriate and effective tool to screen children for possible sensory processing impairments.
Static analysis of device drivers: we can do better!

We argue that the device driver architecture enforced by current operating systems complicates both manual and automatic reasoning about driver behaviour. In particular, it makes it hard and in some cases impossible to statically verify that the driver correctly interacts with the rest of the kernel. This limitation cannot be addressed solely via better verification tools. We maintain that qualitative improvement in the effectiveness of static driver verification must rely on an improved driver architecture, leading to drivers that are easier to write, understand, and verify. To support our claims, we present a device driver architecture, called active drivers, that satisfies these requirements. We outline our methodology for specifying and verifying active driver protocols using existing model checking tools and describe initial experimental results.
Predicting trophic guild and diet overlap from functional traits: statistics, opportunities and limitations for marine ecology

Fish diets provide information that can be used to explore and model complex ecosys- tems, and infer resource partitioning among species. The exhaustive sampling of prey items captured by each species remains, however, a demanding task. Therefore, predicting diets from other vari- ables, such as functional traits, may be a valuable method. Here, we attempted to predict trophic guild and diet overlap for 35 fish species using 13 ecomorphological traits related to feeding ecology. We compared linear discriminant analysis and random forest (RF) classifiers in their ability to predict trophic guild. We used generalized dissimilarity modelling to predict diet overlap from functional dis- tances between species pairs. All models were evaluated using the same cross-validation procedure. We found that fish trophic guilds were accurately predicted by an RF classifier, even with a limited number of traits, when no more than 7 guilds were defined. Prediction was no longer accurate when finer trophic guilds were created (8 or more guilds), whatever the combination of traits. Furthermore, predicting the degree of diet dissimilarity between species pairs, based on their ecomorphological traits dissimilarities, was profoundly unreliable (at least 76% of unexplained variation). These results suggest that we can predict fish trophic guilds accurately from ecomorphological traits, but not diet overlap and resource partitioning because of inherent versatility in fish diets. More generally, our sta- tistical framework may be applied to any kind of marine organism for which feeding strategies need to be determined from traits.
iCat: an affective game buddy based on anticipatory mechanisms

In this paper, we study the role of emotions and expressive behaviour in socially interactive characters employed in educational games. More specifically, on how we can use such emotional behaviour to help users to better understand the game state. An emotion model for these characters, which is mainly influenced by the current state of the game and is based on the emotivector anticipatory mechanism, was developed. We implemented the model in a social robot named iCat, using chess as the game scenario. The results of a preliminary evaluation suggested that the emotional behaviour embedded in the character indeed helped the users to have a better perception of the game.
A 23mW face recognition accelerator in 40nm CMOS with mostly-read 5T memory

This paper presents a face recognition accelerator for HD (1280×720) images. The proposed design detects faces from the input image using cascaded classifiers. A SVM (Support Vector Machine) performs face recognition based on features extracted by PCA (Principal Component Analysis). Algorithm optimizations including a hybrid search scheme that reduces the workload for face detection by 12×. A new mostly-read 5T memory reduces bitcell area by 7.2% compared to a conventional 6T bitcell while achieving significantly better read reliability and voltage scalability due to a decoupled read path. The resulting design consumes 23mW while processing both face detection and recognition in real time at 5.5 frames/s throughput.