Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
When the Party is Over: A Systematic Review of Behavioral Interventions for Substance-Using Men who Have Sex with Men.

Because problematic patterns of alcohol and other substance use are prevalent drivers of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, comprehensive interventions are needed for substance-using men who have sex with men (SUMSM). We conducted a systematic review of 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of behavioral interventions for reducing condomless anal intercourse (CAI) in SUMSM. Three RCTs observed that cognitive-behavioral or motivational interviewing interventions achieved a 24% to 40% decrease in CAI. Interventions also tended to demonstrate greater efficacy for reducing CAI and substance use among those who had lower severity of substance use disorder symptoms. Although behavioral interventions for SUMSM are one potentially important component of bio-behavioral HIV/AIDS prevention, further research is needed to examine if integrative approaches that cultivate resilience and target co-occurring syndemic conditions demonstrate greater efficacy. Multi-level intervention approaches are also needed to optimize the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis and HIV treatment as prevention with SUMSM.
Transcriptional profile of native CD271+ multipotential stromal cells: evidence for multiple fates, with prominent osteogenic and Wnt pathway signaling activity.

OBJECTIVE Controversy surrounds the identity and functionality of rare bone marrow-derived multipotential stromal cells (BM-MSCs), including their differentiation capabilities, their relationship to pericytes and hematopoiesis-supporting stromal cells, and the relevance of their culture-expanded progeny in studies of skeletal biology and development of cell-based therapies. The aim of this study was to clarify the nature of candidate BM-MSCs by profiling transcripts that reflect different aspects of their putative functions in vivo. METHODS Rare, sorted BM-derived CD45(-/low) CD271(bright) (CD271) cells were analyzed using 96-gene expression arrays focused on transcripts relevant to mesenchymal-lineage differentiation (toward bone, cartilage, fat, or muscle), hematopoietic and stromal support, and molecules critical to skeletal homeostasis. These cells were compared to matched CD45+ CD271- hematopoietic-lineage cells, culture-expanded MSCs, and skin fibroblasts. When feasible, transcription was validated using flow cytometry. RESULTS CD271 cells had a transcriptional profile consistent with the multiple fates of in vivo MSCs, evident from the observed simultaneous expression of osteogenic, adipogenic, pericytic, and hematopoiesis-supporting genes (e.g., SP7 [osterix], FABP4 [fatty acid binding protein 4], ANGPT1 [angiopoietin 1], and CXCL12 [stromal cell-derived factor 1], respectively). Compared to culture-expanded MSCs and fibroblasts, CD271 cells exhibited greater transcriptional activity, particularly with respect to Wnt-related genes (>1,000-fold increased expression of FRZB [secreted frizzled-related protein 3] and WIF1 [Wnt inhibitory factor 1]). A number of transcripts were identified as novel markers of MSCs. CONCLUSION The native, BM-derived in vivo MSC population is endowed with a gene signature that is compatible with multiple functions, reflecting the topographic bone niche of these cells, and their signature is significantly different from that of culture-expanded MSCs. This indicates that studies of the biologic functions of MSCs in musculoskeletal diseases, including osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, should focus on in vivo MSCs, rather than their culture-adapted progeny.
Comparing apples and oranges and pears and kumquats: The misuse of index systems for processing histopathology data in fish toxicological bioassays

Histopathology index systems involve the application of weighted scores to various diagnostic findings for the purpose of calculating overall organ and/or whole‐animal health measurements. Such systems were originally developed as tools for monitoring the general health of fish populations. More recently, index systems have been applied to hypothesis‐based toxicological studies, the goal of which is to investigate whether a cause‐and‐effect relationship exists between exposure to a particular test substance or environmental contaminant and morphologic effects in fish tissues. However, the application of index systems in that context is problematic for various reasons: a dependency on untested assumptions of toxicological importance for different types of histopathologic findings; organ scores that combine mechanistically unrelated and potentially contradictory diagnoses; calculations that include excessive numbers of findings, some of which may be incidental to the study outcome; failure to incorporate additional relevant results into the data interpretation, such as clinical observations, macroscopic findings, organ/body weights, clinical pathology data, and the results of hormonal or other biochemical assays; the inappropriate mathematical manipulation of ordinal categorical data (e.g., severity scores and “importance factors”); and a tendency of these systems to amplify, mask, and divert attention from methodological weaknesses and inaccurate diagnoses. The purpose of the present article is to demonstrate why the use of index systems is a misguided approach for handling histopathology data in studies of potential fish toxicants. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:1688–1695. © 2018 SETAC
Development of a Single-Edge Notched Beam Test for Asphalt Concrete Mixtures

This paper describes the development of a fracture test for determining the fracture energy of asphalt concrete. The test will be used in combination with numerical analysis and field studies to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms of reflective cracking in asphalt concrete overlays. A review of the literature revealed that a single-edge notched beam (SE(B)) test specimen was the most promising fracture test for the objectives of the reflective cracking study. Existing servohydraulic testing equipment was modified to perform the SE(B) test along with new loading fixtures, sensors, data collection, and analysis procedures. Preliminary tests were conducted to develop test procedures, to obtain a better understanding of crack-front characteristics, to investigate test repeatability, to examine variations of fracture energy with temperature, and to investigate mixed-mode fracture. The results from the tests follow expected trends and test variability appears to be within a range typical for asphalt concrete fracture testing.
The Influence of Severe Plastic Deformation on Structure and Mechanical Properties the Aluminium Alloy EN AW 6082

The effect of severe plastic deformation by ECAP process on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the aluminium alloy EN AW 6082 produced by cold extrusion is investigated. In both states were evaluated the structural changes by light microscopy, the analysis particles in structures, by X-ray diffraction (XRD) in transmission mode by synchrotron radiation and mechanical properties. Severe plastic deformation leads to strengthening of investigated EN AW 6082 alloy but on the other hand the plasticity of ECAP-ed alloy decreases.
Selective stalling of human translation through small-molecule engagement of the ribosome nascent chain

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) plays a key role in regulating the levels of plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Here, we demonstrate that the compound PF-06446846 inhibits translation of PCSK9 by inducing the ribosome to stall around codon 34, mediated by the sequence of the nascent chain within the exit tunnel. We further show that PF-06446846 reduces plasma PCSK9 and total cholesterol levels in rats following oral dosing. Using ribosome profiling, we demonstrate that PF-06446846 is highly selective for the inhibition of PCSK9 translation. The mechanism of action employed by PF-06446846 reveals a previously unexpected tunability of the human ribosome that allows small molecules to specifically block translation of individual transcripts.
SFB 823 Monitoring multivariate variance changes

We propose a model-independent multivariate sequential procedure to monitor changes in the vector of componentwise unconditional variances in a sequence of p-variate random vectors. The asymptotic behavior of the detector is derived and consistency of the procedure stated. A detailed simulation study illustrates the performance of the procedure confronted with different types of data generating processes. We conclude with an application to the log returns of a group of DAX listed assets.
Pubertal and adult windows of susceptibility to a high animal fat diet in Trp53-null mammary tumorigenesis

Premenopausal breast cancer is associated with increased animal fat consumption among normal weight, but not overweight women (Farvid et al., 2014). Our previous findings in obesity-resistant BALB/c mice similarly showed promotion of carcinogen-induced mammary tumorigenesis by a diet high in saturated animal fat (HFD). This effect was specific to pubertal versus adult HFD. This study identifies the effects of HFD during puberty versus adulthood in Trp53-null transplant BALB/c mice and investigates its mechanism of enhancing tumorigenesis. Either pubertal or adult HFD is sufficient to increase incidence of Trp53-null mammary tumors. Puberty-restricted HFD exposure promoted tumor cell proliferation, increased angiogenesis, and increased recruitment of total and M2 macrophages in epithelial tumors. Adult-restricted exposure to HFD similarly increased proliferation, angiogenesis, recruitment of total and M2 macrophages, and additionally reduced apoptosis. Adult HFD also increased incidence of spindle cell carcinomas resembling claudin-low breast cancer, and thus adult HFD in the Trp53-null transplantation system may be a useful model for human claudin low breast cancer. Importantly, these results on Trp53-null and our prior studies on DMBA-induced mammary tumorigenesis demonstrate a pubertal window of susceptibility to the promotional effects of HFD, indicating the potential of early life dietary intervention to reduce breast cancer risk.
Low-light pedestrian detection from RGB images using multi-modal knowledge distillation

While deep learning based pedestrian detection systems have continued to scale new heights in recent times, the performance of such algorithms tends to degrade under challenging illumination conditions. This causes a bottleneck in ready portability of such systems to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), where consistent performance across varying environmental lighting is desired. Inspired by the concept of dark knowledge, this paper proposes a novel guided deep network that distills knowledge from a multi-modal pedestrian detector. The proposed network learns to extract both RGB and thermal-like features from RGB images alone, thus compensating for the requirement of significantly costly automotive-grade thermal cameras. Compelling detection performance in severe lighting conditions is demonstrated on a publicly available night-time pedestrian dataset — KAIST. We achieve an effective miss-rate of 12% lower than the recent state-of-the-art methods.
The skull unfolded: a cranial CT visualization algorithm for fast and easy detection of skull fractures.

PURPOSE To retrospectively assess the rate of detection of skull fractures at cranial computed tomography (CT) achieved with the use of curved maximum intensity projections (MIPs) compared with that achieved by reading transverse sections only. MATERIALS AND METHODS The institutional review board approved this research and waived informed consent. A curved thin (3-mm) MIP of the skull cap and a curved thick (50-mm) MIP of the skull base were obtained from the cranial CT data in 200 consecutive patients with head trauma. Four radiologists (two residents without experience in cranial CT and two consultants) independently evaluated all cases. Each radiologist reported findings in 100 patients by using transverse sections only and findings in the other 100 patients by using the unfolded view. The radiologists were blinded to patient names, and patient and group orders were randomized. The results were compared with a standard of reference established by two experts from all prior reading results, all reconstructions, and high-spatial-resolution multiplanar reformats. Logistic regression with repeated measurements was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The experts found 63 fractures in 30 patients. When transverse sections only were used, the mean patient-based fracture detection rate was 43% (13 of 30) for inexperienced and 70% (21 of 30) for experienced readers; with curved MIPs, the rates were 80% (24 of 30) and 87% (26 of 30), respectively. Overall sensitivity was higher with curved MIPs (P < .001); specificity was higher with transverse sections (P < .001). CONCLUSION Curved MIPs enable a significantly higher fracture detection rate than transverse sections. They also considerably close the experience gap in fracture detection rate between residents and experts.
A comparative study on the effectiveness of using different similarity and dissimilarity measures for head pose estimation

This paper presents a comparative study on the effectiveness of using some similarity and dissimilarity measures for head pose estimation. The aim is to find the most efficient measure for head pose estimation from a set of measures. The efficiency is determined based on the error each measure produces when a test image is compared against a set of trained images and the execution time taken by each measure. To ensure best results, some image enhancement techniques are used on the dataset and the appropriate enhancement technique is chosen by an image quality assessment method based on the gradient and luminance similarity. The measures are applied on images under different scenarios such as darklight condition, normal light condition and light condition. Using Wiener filter followed by histogram equalization as an enhancement technique gives best result for this pose estimation method. The experimental result showed that Pearson correlation coefficient and Spearman's Rho among the similarity measures and Li norm, MAD, Square L2 norm, MSD among the dissimilarity measures can be effectively used for head pose estimation under any light condition.
Cognitive Functioning of Adolescent and Young Adult Cannabis Users in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort

Cannabis use in youth is rising and has been linked to deficits in cognitive functioning. However, cognitive findings have primarily been based on small samples of users seeking treatment, and few studies have evaluated cognition in occasional cannabis users. Here, we examined 4,568 adolescents and young adults (ages 14–21 years) drawn from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, a prospective, population-based study. Participants were classified as cannabis Non-Users (n = 3,401), Occasional Users (twice per week or less; n = 940), or Frequent Users (>3 times per week; n = 227). Mixed-model analyses examined main effects of cannabis use and interactions between age and cannabis use on cognitive functioning. There was a significant interaction between cannabis group and age such that adolescent (but not young adult) Frequent Users performed worse than Non-Users on measures of executive control (p = .002). Earlier age of cannabis use was associated with worse performance in executive control in Occasional Users (p = .04). Unexpectedly, Occasional Users exhibited better executive control, memory, and social cognition than Non-Users (ps < .05). Although mild executive control deficits in adolescent frequent users and a relation between early cannabis initiation and cognitive performance are partially consistent with prior research, cognitive deficits were not found in other hypothesized domains in this community-based sample. Moreover, occasional cannabis users displayed equivalent or even slightly better executive control, social–cognitive, and memory abilities compared with nonusers, suggesting complex relationships between cannabis use and cognition in youth. Longitudinal studies with community samples are needed to identify variables affecting risk and resilience to cognitive deficits associated with cannabis.
A 0.45–0.7 V 1–6 Gb/s 0.29–0.58 pJ/b Source-Synchronous Transceiver Using Near-Threshold Operation

A low-power source-synchronous multi-Gb/s transceiver is presented. Supply voltage is aggressively scaled to reduce power, and the speed penalty resulting from low-voltage operation is overcome by multiplexing transmitter/receiver synchronized by low-rate multi-phase clocks. Phase spacing errors incurred by device mismatches are corrected using a self-calibration scheme. The proposed phase calibration method uses a single digital DLL to calibrate all the phases, which makes it insensitive to offsets in the calibrating DLL. Fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS process, energy efficiency and data rate of the prototype transceiver vary from 0.29 to 0.58 pJ/bit and 1 to 6 Gb/s, respectively, as the supply voltage changes from 0.45 to 0.7 V.
The Alkaloid Ageladine A, Originally Isolated from Marine Sponges, Used for pH-Sensitive Imaging of Transparent Marine Animals

The brominated pyrrole-imidazole Ageladine A was used for live imaging of the jellyfish (jellies) Nausithoe werneri, the sea anemone Metridium senile and the flatworm Macrostomum lignano. The fluorescence properties of Ageladine A allow for estimation of pH values in tissue and organs in living animals. The results showed that Nausithoe werneri had the most acidic areas in the tentacles and close to the mouth (pH 4–6.5), Metridium senile harbours aggregates of high acidity in the tentacles (pH 5) and in Macrostomum lignano, the rhabdoids, the gonads and areas close to the mouth were the most acidic with values down to pH 5.
Nickel chloride-induced apoptosis via mitochondria- and Fas-mediated caspase-dependent pathways in broiler chickens

Ni, a metal with industrial and commercial uses, poses a serious hazard to human and animal health. In the present study, we used flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR to investigate the mechanisms of NiCl2-induced apoptosis in kidney cells. After treating 280 broiler chickens with 0, 300, 600 or 900 mg/kg NiCl2 for 42 days, we found that two caspase-dependent pathways were involved in the induced renal tubular cell apoptosis. In the mitochondria-mediated caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway, cyt-c, HtrA2/Omi, Smac/Diablo, apaf-1, PARP, and caspase-9, 3, 6 and 7 were all increased, while. XIAP transcription was decreased. Concurrently, in the Fas-mediated caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway, Fas, FasL, caspase-8, caspase-10 and Bid levels were all increased. These results indicate that dietary NiCl2 at 300+ mg/kg induces renal tubular cell apoptosis in broiler chickens, involving both mitochondrial and Fas-mediated caspase-dependent apoptotic pathways. Our results provide novel insight into Ni and Ni-compound toxicology evaluated in vitro and in vivo.
Comprehensive analysis of aberrantly expressed profiles of lncRNAs and miRNAs with associated ceRNA network in muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Although initially thought to be transcriptional noise, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are gaining increased attention in human cancers as its diversity function. At present, lncRNAs are regarded as the main part of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network due to its regulation on protein-coding gene expression by acting as miRNA sponges. However, functional roles of lncRNA-mediated ceRNAs in muscle-invasive bladder cancer remain unclear. To clarify relevant potential mechanisms, here we comprehensively compared the expression profiles of mRNAs, lncRNAs and miRNAs between 322 muscle-invasive bladder cancer tissues and 19 non-tumor bladder tissues, based on the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). A total of 22 lncRNAs were identified as aberrantly expressed and had correlations with tumorigenesis and/or progression of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (|log2FoldChange| > 1.5, corrected P value < 0.01). 6 out of the 22 dysregulated lncRNAs functioned as prognostic biomarkers for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer according to the overall survival analysis (P value < 0.05). Finally, a dysregulated lncRNA-associated ceRNA network was successfully constructed, which inculdes five muscle-invasive bladder cancer-specific lncRNAs, nine miRNAs and 32 mRNAs. In summary, our study identified novel lncRNAs as candidate prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, based on large-scale sample size. More importantly, the newly identified ceRNA network will be beneficial for improving the understanding of lncRNA-mediated ceRNA regulatory mechanisms in the pathogenesis of muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Micro-Composite Fabrication via Field-Aided Laminar Composite (FALCom) Processing

Abstract : A novel composite fabrication process is used to create multi-functional micro-composites, which can be tailored for specific end-use applications. The Field-Aided Laminar Composite (FALCom) process uses specifically focused electric fields to align nano- to micro-sized particles into chain-like structures, which are referred to as pseudo-fibers. These pseudo-fibers are then immediately frozen into place by the laser curing of the photopolymer matrix. The pseudo-fibers are arranged by design, and are used to create three-dimensional composite structures. In this research, multiple filler particles were selected for processing evaluation. Multi-walled carbon nano-tubes, aluminum micro-particles, and alumina micro-particles were aligned and oriented in an acrylic photopolymer matrix. Examples of processing and a review of experimental processing are shown, and conclusions and future work are discussed.
Color representation in deep neural networks

Convolutional neural networks are top-performers on image classification tasks. Understanding how they make use of color information in images may be useful for various tasks. In this paper we analyze the representation learned by a popular CNN to detect and characterize color-related features. We confirm the existence of some object- and color-specific units, as well as the effect of layer-depth on color-sensitivity and class-invariance.
Time Domain Near Infrared Spectroscopy Device for Monitoring Muscle Oxidative Metabolism: Custom Probe and In Vivo Applications

Measurement of muscle oxidative metabolism is of interest for monitoring the training status in athletes and the rehabilitation process in patients. Time domain near infrared spectroscopy (TD NIRS) is an optical technique that allows the non-invasive measurement of the hemodynamic parameters in muscular tissue: concentrations of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin, total hemoglobin content, and tissue oxygen saturation. In this paper, we present a novel TD NIRS medical device for muscle oxidative metabolism. A custom-printed 3D probe, able to host optical elements for signal acquisition from muscle, was develop for TD NIRS in vivo measurements. The system was widely characterized on solid phantoms and during in vivo protocols on healthy subjects. In particular, we tested the in vivo repeatability of the measurements to quantify the error that we can have by repositioning the probe. Furthermore, we considered a series of acquisitions on different muscles that were not yet previously performed with this custom probe: a venous-arterial cuff occlusion of the arm muscle, a cycling exercise, and an isometric contraction of the vastus lateralis.