Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neonatal Iron Deficiency Causes Abnormal Phosphate Metabolism by Elevating FGF23 in Normal and ADHR Mice

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) gain of function mutations can lead to autosomal dominant hypophosphatemic rickets (ADHR) disease onset at birth, or delayed onset following puberty or pregnancy. We previously demonstrated that the combination of iron deficiency and a knock‐in R176Q FGF23 mutation in mature mice induced FGF23 expression and hypophosphatemia that paralleled the late‐onset ADHR phenotype. Because anemia in pregnancy and in premature infants is common, the goal of this study was to test whether iron deficiency alters phosphate handling in neonatal life. Wild‐type (WT) and ADHR female breeder mice were provided control or iron‐deficient diets during pregnancy and nursing. Iron‐deficient breeders were also made iron replete. Iron‐deficient WT and ADHR pups were hypophosphatemic, with ADHR pups having significantly lower serum phosphate (p < 0.01) and widened growth plates. Both genotypes increased bone FGF23 mRNA (>50 fold; p < 0.01). WT and ADHR pups receiving low iron had elevated intact serum FGF23; ADHR mice were affected to a greater degree (p < 0.01). Iron‐deficient mice also showed increased Cyp24a1 and reduced Cyp27b1, and low serum 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D). Iron repletion normalized most abnormalities. Because iron deficiency can induce tissue hypoxia, oxygen deprivation was tested as a regulator of FGF23, and was shown to stimulate FGF23 mRNA in vitro and serum C‐terminal FGF23 in normal rats in vivo. These studies demonstrate that FGF23 is modulated by iron status in young WT and ADHR mice and that hypoxia independently controls FGF23 expression in situations of normal iron. Therefore, disturbed iron and oxygen metabolism in neonatal life may have important effects on skeletal function and structure through FGF23 activity on phosphate regulation. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
A 3.5/7.0/14-Gb/s multi-rate clock and data recovery circuit with a multi-mode rotational binary phase detector

A new type of multi-rate clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit is realized that can operate at multiple data rates of 3.5, 7.0 and 14-Gb/s. A multi-mode rotational binary phase detector supports full-rate, half-rate and quarter-rate CDR operation with only one voltage-controlled oscillator. A prototype CDR circuit implemented in 65nm CMOS technology successfully demonstrates the multi-rate operation with energy efficiency of 0.64pJ/bit and chip size of 0.017mm2, both of which are much less than those of conventional multi-rate CDR circuits.
Visuospatial function in early Alzheimer’s disease: Preliminary study

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia, accounting for 55% of all cases. AD patients gradually lose functional capacity, manifesting deficits in attention, language, temporal and direction orientation, mood, socialization and visuospatial function. The visuospatial function entails identification of a stimulus and its location. AD patients can present deficits in visuo-spatial skills during initial stages of the disease, but in the course of clinical evolution this function can become severely impaired. One of the neuropsychological tests indicated to evaluate the visuospatial function is the VOSP (The Visual Object and Space Perception Battery). Objectives The aim of this preliminary study was to detect visuospatial dysfunction in early AD patients using the VOSP, and assess its sensitivity in a Brazilian sample. Results Controls outperformed AD patients on all neuropsychological evaluations, except the Corsi block tapping task and cancellation task-errors. The AD patients performed significantly worse on all object perception and two space perception (Number Location and Cube Analyses) subtests of the VOSP. Conclusion The AD patients demonstrated impaired visuospatial function in several aspects. The subtests of the VOSP were found to be sensitive for detecting this impairment in mild cases.
Prognostic markers of symptomatic congenital human cytomegalovirus infection in fetal blood

Please cite this paper as: Fabbri E, Revello M, Furione M, Zavattoni M, Lilleri D, Tassis B, Quarenghi A, Rustico M, Nicolini U, Ferrazzi E, Gerna G. Prognostic markers of symptomatic congenital human cytomegalovirus infection in fetal blood. BJOG 2011;118:448–456.
Meta-Search in Human Resource Management

— In the area of Human Resource Management, the trend is towards online exchange of information about human resources. For example, online applications for employment become standard and job offerings are posted in many job portals. However, there are too many job portals to monitor all of them if someone is interested in a new job. We developed a prototype for integrating information of different job portals into one meta-search engine. First, existing job portals were investigated and XML schema documents were derived automated from these portals. Second, translation rules for transforming each schema to a central HR-XML-conform schema were determined. The HR-XML-schema is used to build a form for searching jobs. The data supplied by a user in this form is now translated into queries for the different job portals. Each result obtained by a job portal is sent to the meta-search engine that ranks the result of all received job offers according to user’s preferences.
Profiling Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and Heregulin Receptor 3 Heteromerization Using Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Heteromer Investigation Technology

Heteromerization can play an important role in regulating the activation and/or signal transduction of most forms of receptors, including receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). The study of receptor heteromerization has evolved extensively with the emergence of resonance energy transfer based approaches such as bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). Here, we report an adaptation of our Receptor-Heteromer Investigation Technology (Receptor-HIT) that has recently been published as the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) Heteromer Identification Technology (GPCR-HIT). We now demonstrate the utility of this approach for investigating RTK heteromerization by examining the functional interaction between the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR; also known as erbB1/HER1) and heregulin (HRG) receptor 3 (HER3; also known as erbB3) in live HEK293FT cells using recruitment of growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (Grb2) to the activated receptors. We found that EGFR and HER3 heteromerize specifically as demonstrated by HRG inducing a BRET signal between EGFR/Rluc8 and Grb2/Venus only when HER3 was co-expressed. Similarly, EGF stimulation promoted a specific BRET signal between HER3/Rluc8 and Grb2/Venus only when EGFR was co-expressed. Both EGF and HRG effects on Grb2 interaction are dose-dependent, and specifically blocked by EGFR inhibitor AG-1478. Furthermore, truncation of HER3 to remove the putative Grb2 binding sites appears to abolish EGF-induced Grb2 recruitment to the EGFR-HER3 heteromer. Our results support the concept that EGFR interacts with Grb2 in both constitutive and EGF-dependent manners and this interaction is independent of HER3 co-expression. In contrast, HER3-Grb2 interaction requires the heteromerization between EGFR and HER3. These findings clearly indicate the importance of EGFR-HER3 heteromerization in HER3-mediated Grb2-dependent signaling pathways and supports the central role of HER3 in the diversity and regulation of HER family functioning.
Rethinking RFID: awareness and control for interaction with RFID systems

People now routinely carry radio frequency identification (RFID) tags - in passports, driver's licenses, credit cards, and other identifying cards - from which nearby RFID readers can access privacy-sensitive information. The problem is that people are often unaware of security and privacy risks associated with RFID, likely because the technology remains largely invisible and uncontrollable for the individual. To mitigate this problem, we introduce a collection of novel yet simple and inexpensive tag designs. Our tags provide reader awareness, where people get visual, audible, or tactile feedback as tags come into the range of RFID readers. Our tags also provide information control, where people can allow or disallow access to the information stored on the tag by how they touch, orient, move, press or illuminate the tag.
Security Games with Arbitrary Schedules: A Branch and Price Approach

Security games, and important class of Stackelberg games, are used in deployed decision-support tools in use by LAX police and the Federal Air Marshals Service. The algorithms used to solve these games find optimal randomized schedules to allocate security resources for infrastructure protection. Unfortunately, the state of the art algorithms either fail to scale or to provide a correct solution for large problems with arbitrary scheduling constraints. We introduce ASPEN, a branch-and-price approach that overcomes these limitations based on two key contributions: (i) A column-generation approach that exploits a novel network flow representation, avoiding a combinatorial explosion of schedule allocations; (ii) A branch-and-bound algorithm that generates bounds via a fast algorithm for solving security games with relaxed scheduling constraints. ASPEN is the first known method for efficiently solving massive security games with arbitrary schedules.
Relaxation vs. Cognitively Oriented Therapies for Dental Fear

Cognitive therapy has been reported for the treatment of dental phobia, but comparisons with other behavioral treatments are scarce. This study investigated the outcome of two modes of treatment for phobic dental fear. Relaxation and cognitively oriented therapy were compared in a sample of 112 adult fearful dental patients. The patient made questionnaire assessments of background and outcome variables, and the specialist dentist rated successful/non-successful outcome. It was shown that a higher number of patients who received cognitively oriented therapy completed the treatment program, while anxiety was more reduced among patients who received relaxation-oriented therapy. Dropout during the initial phobia therapy with a psychologist was related to lower motivation (willingness to engage in treatment), while failures during dental treatment after the completion of therapy were related to higher levels of general fear and anxiety. A multiple logistic regression model explaining 67% of the variance revealed that the risk of failure was only slightly increased by general fears, while patients with low (below median) motivation ran a 3.6-times-higher risk of dropping out. In conclusion, it was shown that the two treatment methods were both effective in reducing dental phobic reactions. However, while cognitively oriented therapy resulted in a higher number of patients completing therapy, relaxation-oriented treatment generally resulted in a more significant reduction in dental fear as well as in general anxiety and fear. Motivation was found to be a significant predictor of successful treatment outcome.
Pregabalin for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome: results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and lowered pain threshold. Other prominent symptoms include disordered sleep and fatigue. FMS affects an estimated 2% of the population, predominantly women. This trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pregabalin, a novel alpha(2)-delta ligand, for treatment of symptoms associated with FMS. METHODS This multicenter, double-blind, 8-week, randomized clinical trial compared the effects of placebo with those of 150, 300, and 450 mg/day pregabalin on pain, sleep, fatigue, and health-related quality of life in 529 patients with FMS. The primary outcome variable was the comparison of end point mean pain scores, derived from daily diary ratings of pain intensity, between each of the pregabalin treatment groups and the placebo group. RESULTS Pregabalin at 450 mg/day significantly reduced the average severity of pain in the primary analysis compared with placebo (-0.93 on a 0-10 scale) (P </= 0.001), and significantly more patients in this group had >/=50% improvement in pain at the end point (29%, versus 13% in the placebo group; P = 0.003). Pregabalin at 300 and 450 mg/day was associated with significant improvements in sleep quality, fatigue, and global measures of change. Pregabalin at 450 mg/day improved several domains of health-related quality of life. Dizziness and somnolence were the most frequent adverse events. Rates of discontinuation due to adverse events were similar across all 4 treatment groups. CONCLUSION Pregabalin at 450 mg/day was efficacious for the treatment of FMS, reducing symptoms of pain, disturbed sleep, and fatigue compared with placebo. Pregabalin was well tolerated and improved global measures and health-related quality of life.
An online GA-based output-feedback direct adaptive fuzzy-neural controller for uncertain nonlinear systems

In this paper, we propose a novel design of a GA-based output-feedback direct adaptive fuzzy-neural controller (GODAF controller) for uncertain nonlinear dynamical systems. The weighting factors of the direct adaptive fuzzy-neural controller can successfully be tuned online via a GA approach. Because of the capability of genetic algorithms (GAs) in directed random search for global optimization, one is used to evolutionarily obtain the optimal weighting factors for the fuzzy-neural network. Specifically, we use a reduced-form genetic algorithm (RGA) to adjust the weightings of the fuzzy-neural network. In RGA, a sequential-search -based crossover point (SSCP) method determines a suitable crossover point before a single gene crossover actually takes place so that the speed of searching for an optimal weighting vector of the fuzzy-neural network can be improved. A new fitness function for online tuning the weighting vector of the fuzzy-neural controller is established by the Lyapunov design approach. A supervisory controller is incorporated into the GODAF controller to guarantee the stability of the closed-loop nonlinear system. Examples of nonlinear systems controlled by the GODAF controller are demonstrated to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Multi-scale partial intrinsic symmetry detection

We present an algorithm for multi-scale partial intrinsic symmetry detection over 2D and 3D shapes, where the scale of a symmetric region is defined by intrinsic distances between symmetric points over the region. To identify prominent symmetric regions which overlap and vary in form and scale, we decouple scale extraction and symmetry extraction by performing two levels of clustering. First, significant symmetry scales are identified by clustering sample point pairs from an input shape. Since different point pairs can share a common point, shape regions covered by points in different scale clusters can overlap. We introduce the symmetry scale matrix (SSM), where each entry estimates the likelihood two point pairs belong to symmetries at the same scale. The pair-to-pair symmetry affinity is computed based on a pair signature which encodes scales. We perform spectral clustering using the SSM to obtain the scale clusters. Then for all points belonging to the same scale cluster, we perform the second-level spectral clustering, based on a novel point-to-point symmetry affinity measure, to extract partial symmetries at that scale. We demonstrate our algorithm on complex shapes possessing rich symmetries at multiple scales.
FREQUENCY AND PREDICTORS OF VENTILATOR-ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA RECURRENCE: A META-ANALYSIS

Large clinical series focusing on the risk factors associated with recurrence after the onset of an initial episode of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) produced inconsistent results. A meta-analysis would be helpful to shed light on the issue. Our objective was to estimate the frequency of VAP recurrence and to identify risk factors associated with it. PubMed, Scopus, Current Contents, and references of retrieved articles were searched without language restrictions. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by using both the Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effect and the DerSimonian-Laird random effects models. The overall frequency of VAP recurrence in 969 patients of the seven eligible reports was 26.8%. Among the 20 evaluated risk factors, only acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (OR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.12-2.75) and shock (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.01-2.41) at the day of diagnosis of the first VAP episode were found to be associated with VAP recurrence. There was also evidence, albeit inconsistent, that severity of illness at intensive care unit admission was associated with VAP recurrence. Recurrence involves almost one in four cases of VAP and is associated with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock, but not with first-episode causative pathogens. Recognition of these predictors may permit the timely implementation of measures to prevent recurrence of VAP.Abbreviations-VAP-ventilatorassociated pneumonia; OR-odds ratio; CI-confidence interval; MV-mechanical ventilation; ICU-intensive care unit
GENETICS OF A DIFFERENCE IN PIGMENTATION BETWEEN DROSOPHILA YAKUBA AND DROSOPHILA SANTOMEA

Abstract Drosophila yakuba is a species widespread in Africa, whereas D. santomea, its newly discovered sister species, is endemic to the volcanic island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea. Drosophila santomea probably formed after colonization of the island by its common ancestor with D. yakuba. The two species differ strikingly in pigmentation: D. santomea, unlike the other eight species in the D. melanogaster subgroup, almost completely lacks dark abdominal pigmentation. D. yakuba shows the sexually dimorphic pigmentation typical of the group: both sexes have melanic patterns on the abdomen, but males are much darker than females. A genetic analysis of this species difference using morphological markers shows that the X chromosome accounts for nearly 90% of the species difference in the area of abdomen that is pigmented and that at least three genes (one on each major chromosome) are involved in each sex. The order of chromosome effects on pigmentation area are the same in males and females, suggesting that loss of pigmentation in D. santomea may have involved the same genes in both sexes. Further genetic analysis of the interspecific difference between males in pigmentation area and intensity using molecular markers shows that at least five genes are responsible, with no single locus having an overwhelming effect on the trait. The species difference is thus oligogenic or polygenic. Different chromosomal regions from each of the two species influenced pigmentation in the same direction, suggesting that the species difference (at least in males) is due to natural or sexual selection and not genetic drift. Measurements of sexual isolation between the species in both light and dark conditions show no difference, suggesting that the pigmentation difference is not an important cue for interspecific mate discrimination. Using DNA sequence differences in nine noncoding regions, we estimate that D. santomea and D. yakuba diverged about 400,000 years ago, a time similar to the divergences between two other well-studied pair of species in the subgroup, both of which also involved island colonization.
Iterative Design of an Immunization Information System in Pakistan

Routine early age child immunization is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions. The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools such as Immunization Information Systems (IIS) to improve efficiency of vaccination programs has shown mixed but encouraging results in terms of success. The objective of this paper is to present evidence of Evaccs -- a successfully deployed smartphone based vaccinator monitoring app, discuss the need to create a smartphone enabled IIS (called Har Zindagi -- every life matters) that can store digital records of every child, discuss various design and implementation features of Har Zindagi's android application, and present findings of the usability testing performed on the Har Zindagi android app. Given that the vaccinators are non tech-savvy, and the real estate on a smartphone is limited, this application was particularly designed to allow easy record entry process, and smoothen the workflow. This paper builds upon previous work on user interface design for low-literate users, and identifies techniques to iteratively design interfaces with government employees, who may be uncomfortable with giving usability feedback due to fear of repercussions or might have different field reality when compared to their supervisors and policy makers.
Network intrusion detection using feature selection and Decision tree classifier

Security of computers and the networks that connect them is increasingly becoming of great significance. Machine learning techniques such as Decision trees have been applied to the field of intrusion detection. Machine learning techniques can learn normal and anomalous patterns from training data and generate classifiers that are used to detect attacks on computer system. In general the input to classifiers is in a high dimension feature space, but not all features are relevant to the classes to be classified. Feature selection is a very important step in classification since the inclusion of irrelevant and redundant features often degrade the performance of classification algorithms both in speed and accuracy. In this paper, we have considered three different approaches for feature selection, Chi square, Information Gain and ReliefF which is based on filter approach. A comparative study of the three approaches is done using decision tree as classifier. The KDDcup 99 data set is used to train and test the decision tree classifiers.
Detección de fármacos genéricos en textos biomédicos

This paper presents a system for drug name recognition and clasification in biomedical texts. The system combines information from UMLS Metathesaurus and nomenclatura rules for generic drugs, recommended by United States Adoptated Names (USAN), that allow the classification of the drugs in pharmacologic families. The initial hypothesis is that rules are able to detect possible candidates of drug names which are not included in the UMLS database (version 2007AC), increasing, in this way, the coverage of the system. The system achieves a 100% precision and 97% recall using UMLS only. The combination of the USAN rules and UMLS slightly improves the coverage of the system.
Ascorbic acid against reperfusion injury in human renal transplantation

The cadaveric renal graft is exposed to ischaemic injury during preservation and to oxidative damage during reperfusion. Both these mechanisms are known to cause cell damage, which may impair graft function. Reperfusion injury (RPI) is mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Ascorbic acid (AA) is a potent physiological extracellular scavenger of ROS. We perfused 31 renal grafts immediately before implantation with a solution of Euro-Collins containing 0.5 mg/ml of AA to diminish RPI. From every donor, the contralateral kidney served as a control. The control grafts were perfused with the same perfusion as those of the AA group, only without the AA substitution. We assessed the effect of AA by recording serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, initial graft function and early rejections. The incidence of delayed graft function (DGF) was 32% in the AA group, and 29% in the control group. Other parameters were also similar in both groups, except for the length of DGF, which showed a trend towards a shorter duration in the AA group. The pre-operative systemic AA concentration was significantly (P=0.01) lower in the haemodialysis patients than in those on peritoneal dialysis. In conclusion, this clinical study could not demonstrate significant benefits of AA in renal transplantation.