Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heteromeric, but Not Homomeric, Connexin Channels Are Selectively Permeable to Inositol Phosphates*

Previous work has shown that channels formed by both connexin (Cx)26 and Cx32 (heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 hemichannels) are selectively permeable to cAMP and cGMP. To further investigate differential connexin channel permeability among second messengers, and the influence of connexin channel composition on the selectivity, the permeability of inositol phosphates with one to four phosphate groups through homomeric Cx26, homomeric Cx32, and heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 channels was examined. Connexin channels were purified from transfected HeLa cells and from rat, mouse, and guinea pig livers, resulting in channels with a broad range of Cx26/Cx32 aggregate ratios. Permeability to inositol phosphates was assessed by flux through reconstituted channels. Surprisingly, myoinositol and all inositol phosphates tested were permeable through homomeric Cx32 and homomeric Cx26 channels. Even more surprising, heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 channels showed striking differences in permeability among inositol phosphates with three or four phosphate groups and among isomers of inositol triphosphate. Thus, heteromeric channels are selectively permeable among inositol phosphates, whereas the corresponding homomeric channels are not. There was no discernible difference in the permeability of channels with similar Cx26/Cx32 ratios purified from native and heterologous sources. The molecular selectivity of heteromeric channels among three inositol triphosphates could not be accounted for by simple connexin isoform stoichiometry distributions and therefore may depend on specific isoform radial arrangements within the hexameric channels. Dynamic regulation of channel composition in vivo may effectively and efficiently modulate intercellular signaling by inositol phosphates.
On the impact of outliers on high-dimensional data analysis methods for face recognition

In this paper, the impact of outliers on the performance of high-dimensional data analysis methods is studied in the context of face recognition. Most of the existing face recognition methods are based on PCA-like methods: Faces are projected into a lower dimensional space in which similarity between faces is more easily evaluated. These methods are, however, very sensitive to the quality of face images used in the training and the recognition phases. Their performance significantly degrades when faces are not well centered or taken under variable illumination conditions. In this paper, we study this phenomenon for two face recognition methods (PCA and LDA2D) and we propose a filtering process that allows an automatic isolation of noisy faces which are responsible for the performance degradation. This process is performed during the training phase as well as the recognition phase. It is based-on the recently proposed robust high-dimensional data analysis method RobPCA. Experiments show that this filtering process improves the recognition rate by 10 to 20%.
Effects of Motivating Operations on Academic Performance and Problem Behavior Maintained By Escape From Academic Tasks

At least three general subgroups of students display problems with their overall academic achievement: students with motivational deficits, students with academic performance deficits, and students with a combination of both types of deficits. The prevalence of students with both behavioral and learning problems has been reported to be between 10% and 25% and as high as 50%. The current study evaluated the effects of positive reinforcement and instructional strategies on the co-occurrence of motivational and academic deficits within three experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 were conducted with four school-aged children in a behavioral outpatient clinic. Experiment 3 was conducted with three school-aged children during extended behavioral evaluations. Experiment 1 evaluated the effects of positive reinforcement and an instructional strategy on the children’s preference for academic work tasks and their academic performance. Experiment 2 evaluated the effects of instructional strategies on the children’s problem behavior and academic performance. Experiment 3 evaluated the effects of positive reinforcement and instructional strategies on the children’s preference for academic work tasks, academic performance, and problem behavior. The results of this study showed that (a) preference for an academic task changed with the addition of positive reinforcement (Experiment 3) or an instructional strategy (Experiment 1), (b) problem behavior often decreased with the addition of an instructional strategy (Experiments 2 and 3), and (c) academic performance increased with the addition of an instructional strategy (all experiments). These results suggested that positive reinforcers and/or instructional strategies function as motivating operations by abolishing the value of negative reinforcement, thereby resulting in improved academic performance and decreased occurrences of problem behavior.
Bounded Independence Fools Halfspaces

We show that any distribution on $\pmo^n$ that is $k$-wise independent fools any halfspace (a.k.a.~threshold) $h : \pmo^n \to \pmo$, i.e., any function of the form $h(x) = \sign(\sum_{i = 1}^n w_i x_i -\theta)$ where the $w_1,\ldots, w_n,\theta$ are arbitrary real numbers, with error $\eps$ for $k = O(\eps^{-2}\log^2(1/\eps))$. Our result is tight up to $\log(1/\eps)$ factors. Using standard constructions of $k$-wise independent distributions, we obtain the first explicit pseudorandom generators $G : \pmo^s \to \pmo^n$ that foolhalfspaces. Specifically, we fool halfspaces with error $\eps$ and seed length $s = k \cdot \log n = O(\log n \cdot \eps^{-2} \log^2(1/\eps))$. Our approach combines classical tools from real approximation theory with structural results on halfspaces by Servedio (Comput.~Complexity2007).
Answering why-not questions on metric probabilistic range queries

Metric probabilistic range queries (MPRQ) have received substantial attention due to their utility in multimedia and text retrieval, decision making, etc. Existing MPRQ studies generally aim to improve query efficiency and resource usage. In contrast, we define and offer solutions to why-not questions on MPRQ. Given an original metric probabilistic range query and a why-not set W of uncertain objects that are absent from the query result, a why-not question on MPRQ explains why the uncertain objects in W do not appear in the query result, and provides refinements of the original query and/or W with the minimal penalty, so that the uncertain objects in W appear in the result of the refined query. Specifically, we propose a framework that consists of three efficient solutions, one that modifies the original query, one that modifies the why-not set, and one that modifies both the original query and the why-not set. Extensive experiments using both real and synthetic data sets offer insights into the properties of the proposed algorithms, and show that they are effective and efficient.
Upper Airway Control and Function : Implications for Sleep-Disordered Breathing Biomechanical properties of the human upper airway and their effect on its behavior during breathing and in obstructive sleep apnea

Bilston LE, Gandevia SC. Biomechanical properties of the human upper airway and their effect on its behavior during breathing and in obstructive sleep apnea. J Appl Physiol 116: 314 –324, 2014. First published July 3, 2013; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00539. 2013. —The upper airway is a complex, multifunctional, dynamic neuromechanical system. Its patency during breathing requires moment-to-moment coordination of neural and mechanical behavior and varies with posture. Failure to continuously recruit and coordinate dilator muscles to counterbalance the forces that act to close the airway results in hypopneas or apneas. Repeated failures lead to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Obesity and anatomical variations, such as retrognathia, increase the likelihood of upper airway collapse by altering the passive mechanical behavior of the upper airway. This behavior depends on the mechanical properties of each upper airway tissue in isolation, their geometrical arrangements, and their physiological interactions. Recent measurements of respiratory-related deformation of the airway wall have shown that there are different patterns of airway soft tissue movement during the respiratory cycle. In OSA patients, airway dilation appears less coordinated compared with that in healthy subjects (matched for body mass index). Intrinsic mechanical properties of airway tissues are altered in OSA patients, but the factors underlying these changes have yet to be elucidated. How neural drive to the airway dilators relates to the biomechanical behavior of the upper airway (movement and stiffness) is still poorly understood. Recent studies have highlighted that the biomechanical behavior of the upper airway cannot be simply predicted from electromyographic activity (electromyogram) of its muscles.
Effects of non-uniform substrate temperature on the clock signal integrity in high performance designs

This paper presents the analysis and modeling of the nonuniform substrate temperature in high performance ICs and its effect on the integrity of the clock signal. Using a novel non-uniform temperature-dependent distributed RC interconnect delay model, the behavior of clock skew in the presence of the substrate thermal gradients is analyzed and some design guidelines are provided to ensure the integrity of the clock signal.
A Stochastic Approach to Diffeomorphic Point Set Registration with Landmark Constraints

This work presents a deformable point set registration algorithm that seeks an optimal set of radial basis functions to describe the registration. A novel, global optimization approach is introduced composed of simulated annealing with a particle filter based generator function to perform the registration. It is shown how constraints can be incorporated into this framework. A constraint on the deformation is enforced whose role is to ensure physically meaningful fields (i.e., invertible). Further, examples in which landmark constraints serve to guide the registration are shown. Results on 2D and 3D data demonstrate the algorithm's robustness to noise and missing information.
Sex of physician: patients' preferences and stereotypes.

Patients' preferences for physicians of a particular sex tend to skew sex distributions of clinical populations in training and practice settings. A study was developed to explore these preferences and potential reasons for them. Of 185 adult patients surveyed at four family practice residency clinics, 45% expressed a preference for sex of physician; 43% of women and 12% of men preferred a female physician, while 31% of men and 9% of women preferred a male physician. Patients who stated no overall preference often expressed one in specific clinical situations, eg, anal or genital examinations. Patients who preferred female physicians reported humane behaviors as more characteristic of female physicians, and those who preferred male physicians reported humane behaviors as more characteristic of men; patients who had no overall sex preference did not sex stereotype physicians on these behaviors (F = 59.34, P less than .01). Patients who preferred male physicians reported technical competence behaviors as more characteristic of male physicians; others did not sex stereotype physicians on these behaviors (F = 15.4, P less than .01). Patients rated humaneness and comprehensiveness as being of high priority, but no relationship was found between priorities for aspects of care and preferences for sex of physician. Areas for future investigation include assessing preferences in other populations and exploring sex differences in physician behavior during office encounters and correlating these differences with patient satisfaction.
A Pilot Study to Validate a Standardized One-Week Salt Estimation Method Evaluating Salt Intake and Its Sources for Family Members in China

The objective of this study was to develop a new method named the “one-week salt estimation method” that could estimate an individual’s salt intake and the sources of salt in the diet, and to evaluate this new method with a 24-h urine collection. The new method estimates salt intake from: (1) household cooking by weighing the family salt container and other high-salt condiments or sauces at the beginning and end of a week; (2) processed food according to established China food composition figures; and (3) cafeteria or restaurant meals using the results of previous studies. Consumption of salt additives and major salt contained foods and salt intake related eating habits were collected using a structured simple seven-day questionnaire. In order to validate the method, we studied 37 individuals from 11 families using the new method and 26 of these participants collected seven concurrent 24-h urine samples. The average salt intake for the 26 participants was 15.6 ± 5.5 g/person/day (mean ± standard deviation) by the 24-h urine collection and 13.7 ± 6.5 g/person/day by the new method. The difference was 1.8 ± 4.2 g/day/person (p = 0.037). The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.762 (p < 0.001) and the partial correlation coefficient was 0.771 (p < 0.001) when adjusted for family code. Bland-Altman Plot showed the average of the difference between the two methods was −1.83, with 95% limits of −10.1 to 6.5 g/person/day. The new method showed that 43.7% of salt intake came from household cooking (33.5% from cooking salt, 10.2% from other condiments and sauces), 12.9% from processed food, and 43.4% from eating out. In conclusion, despite its limitations of underestimating salt intake, the “one-week salt estimation method” is easier for people to implement and is likely to provide useful information that highlights the excessively high intake of salt and its sources, and in turn is helpful in guiding dietary salt reduction.
Acquired Outside of Households, Rural Vietnam

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A signal recovery algorithm for sparse matrix based compressed sensing

We have developed an approximate signal recovery algorithm with low computational cost for compressed sensing on the basis of randomly constructed sparse measurement matrices. The law of large numbers and the central limit theorem suggest that the developed algorithm saturates the Donoho-Tanner weak threshold for the perfect recovery when the matrix becomes as dense as the signal size $N$ and the number of measurements $M$ tends to infinity keep $\alpha=M/N \sim O(1)$, which is supported by extensive numerical experiments. Even when the numbers of non-zero entries per column/row in the measurement matrices are limited to $O(1)$, numerical experiments indicate that the algorithm can still typically recover the original signal perfectly with an $O(N)$ computational cost per update as well if the density $\rho$ of non-zero entries of the signal is lower than a certain critical value $\rho_{\rm th}(\alpha)$ as $N,M \to \infty$.
Uniform Bounds on Pre-Images under Quadratic Dynamical Systems

For any elements $a,c$ of a number field $K$, let $\Gamma(a,c)$ denote the backwards orbit of $a$ under the map $f_c\colon\CC\to\CC$ given by $f_c(x)=x^2+c$. We prove an upper bound on the number of elements of $\Gamma(a,c)$ whose degree over $K$ is at most some constant $B$. This bound depends only on $a$, $[K:\QQ]$, and $B$, and is valid for all $a$ outside an explicit finite set. We also show that, for any fixed $N\ge 4$ and any $a\in K$ outside a finite set, there are only finitely many pairs $(y_0,c)\in\CC^2$ for which $[K(y_0,c)\col K]<2^{N-3}$ and the value of the $N\tth$ iterate of $f_c(x)$ at $x=y_0$ is $a$. Moreover, the bound $2^{N-3}$ in this result is optimal.
Two-color fluorescent analysis of connexin 36 turnover: relationship to functional plasticity

ABSTRACT Gap junctions formed of connexin 36 (Cx36, also known as Gjd2) show tremendous functional plasticity on several time scales. Changes in connexin phosphorylation modify coupling in minutes through an order of magnitude, but recent studies also imply involvement of connexin turnover in regulating cell–cell communication. We utilized Cx36 with an internal HaloTag to study Cx36 turnover and trafficking in cultured cells. Irreversible, covalent pulse-chase labeling with fluorescent HaloTag ligands allowed clear discrimination of newly formed and pre-existing Cx36. Cx36 in junctional plaques turned over with a half-life of 3.1 h, and the turnover rate was unchanged by manipulations of protein kinase A (PKA) activity. In contrast, changes in PKA activity altered coupling within 20 min. New Cx36 in cargo vesicles was added directly to existing gap junctions and newly made Cx36 was not confined to points of addition, but diffused throughout existing gap junctions. Existing connexins also diffused into photobleached areas with a half-time of less than 2 s. In conclusion, studies of Cx36-HaloTag revealed novel features of connexin trafficking and demonstrated that phosphorylation-based changes in coupling occur on a different time scale than turnover. Summary: Fluorescent labeling of Cx36-HaloTag revealed that turnover occurs on a different time scale than phosphorylation-driven plasticity. Cx36-HaloTag is also partially mobile within gap junctions.
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Correlations Between the Phenotypic and Genotypic Characteristics of the Mother and Abnormal Glucose Tolerance During the First Year Postpartum

We evaluated glucose tolerance during the first year postpartum in 113 women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) diagnosed according to the criteria of the First International Workshop-Conference on GDM and the National Diabetes Data Group. The high incidence of abnormal postpartum glucose tolerance (38% “diabetes mellitus” plus 19% “impaired glucose tolerance”) was correlated with certain of the heterogeneous characteristics of the population at the time of antepartum diagnosis. Virtually all women with antepartum fasting plasma glucose (FPG) >130 mg/dl (GDM class BO remained abnormal postpartum (21/22 [95%]), which suggests that this group may include women with preexisting glucose intolerance unrecognized before pregnancy. In the remainder, those with FPG > 105–129 mg/dl (GDM class A2) were more likely to be abnormal postpartum than those with FPG <105 mg/dl (GDM class A,). Within the A, and A2 groups, increasing maternal age, relative insulinopenia, and hyperglycemia at 2 h during antepartum OGTT were also associated with a greater likelihood of abnormal glucose tolerance postpartum. The presence of HLA-DR3 and/or -DR4 antigens was not predictive of the status of glucose tolerance during the first year postpartum, although the increased frequency of cytoplasmic islet cell antibodies in A2 and B1 subjects was associated with a high incidence of abnormal postpartum glucoregulation. The high incidence of abnormal postpartum glucose tolerance in all GDM classes makes a compelling case for careful, early, and continuing follow-up of all women with a diagnosis of GDM. The risks of abnormal glucose tolerance in the first year postpartum appear to be correlated with some of the heterogeneous characteristics of women with GDM. Differences in such genotypic and phenotypic features as we have analyzed may account for differences in the incidence of postpartum abnormality in different populations. They must be considered in all studies attempting to elucidate the pathophysiology of GDM or to evaluate therapeutic strategies designed to alter the prognosis for glucoregulation under nongravid conditions.
RAKE Receiver for Channels with a Sparse Impulse Response

We derive the optimal receiver for RAKE diversity combining on channels with a sparse impulse response. The receiver is based on the Bayesian philosophy and thus it requires the knowledge of certain a priori parameters. However, we also derive an empirical Bayesian version of our receiver, which does not require any a priori knowledge, nor the choice of any user parameters. We show that both versions of our detector can outperform a classical training-based maximum-ratio-combining detector.
The final chapter: End-of-life identity constructions in hospice narrative performances

Through a post-colonial narrative turn, scholars created space for alternative illness narratives to be performed; narratives that reflected the fragmented and unpredictable ways of ailing bodies, and allowed for multiple and diverse identities to be constructed. However, even with this post-colonial turn, illness narratives in U.S. culture often depict situations in which individuals overcome their illnesses, and death is somehow avoided (Langellier & Peterson, 2004), which present potential constraints for what narratives individuals at the end-of-life (EOL) are able to tell and what identities they are able to construct. Using post-colonial narrative theory (Frank, 1995) as a framework, I engaged in a thematic narrative analysis of 16 hospice patient narratives, to understand whether narratives and identity constructions are constrained for dying individuals as they attempt to make sense of the end-of-life. Patients constructed the five identities of the experienced individual, the believer, the ailing individual, the good dier, and the individual who is still living, through several themes. Ideals of both post-colonialism and modernism were present in identity constructions, suggesting some acceptance of alternative narratives for individuals at the EOL. However, notably a new type of colonization emerged as patients’ identity constructions and themes reflected elements of ars moriendi or the good death (Faust, 2008). Specifically, it appears that end-of-life narratives must reflect that the individual nearing the end-of-life is doing so in a culturally acceptable way which involves acceptance, sacrificial or selfless qualities, dying gladly, and dying not alone. This nuanced type of colonization suggests that specific illness situations might present unique narrative colonization. I end by offering practical implications for health care providers and family. Specifically, these findings might inform traditional practitioners and encourage them to broaden the clinical definition of the good death, with an understanding that elements such as esteem and emotional support or empowerment might be paramount for some