Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Basal Ganglia volumes in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

BACKGROUND Despite strong circumstantial evidence that the pathophysiology of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS) involves structural and functional disturbances of the basal ganglia, inconsistent findings from relatively small in vivo TS imaging studies have supported contradictory conclusions concerning the role of abnormal anatomical characteristics of the basal ganglia in the pathophysiology of TS. METHODS Basal ganglia volumes were measured on high-resolution magnetic resonance images acquired for 154 children and adults with TS and 130 healthy control subjects. Repeated-measures analyses tested hypotheses concerning regional specificity, age effects, and abnormal asymmetries in the basal ganglia of subjects with TS. Subjects with prior neuroleptic exposure had larger basal ganglia volumes and were excluded from further statistical analyses. RESULTS Caudate nucleus volumes were significantly (P =.008) smaller in children and adults with TS. Lenticular nucleus volumes also were smaller in adults with TS and in children with TS who were diagnosed as having comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder. Regional anatomical asymmetries did not differ across groups. Regional volumes did not correlate significantly with the severity of tic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Reduced caudate nucleus volumes may be a good candidate marker for a trait abnormality in the structure of the basal ganglia in persons with TS. Smaller lenticular nucleus volumes may be an additional marker for the presence of comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder and for the persistence of tic symptoms into adulthood. Brain regions other than the basal ganglia may have greater clinical relevance in determining the severity of tic symptoms.
A Capsular Polysaccharide-Specific Antibody Alters Streptococcus pneumoniae Gene Expression during Nasopharyngeal Colonization of Mice

ABSTRACT Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) elicit opsonophagocytic (opsonic) antibodies to pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides (PPS) and reduce nasopharyngeal (NP) colonization by vaccine-included Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes. However, nonopsonic antibodies may also be important for protection against pneumococcal disease. For example, 1E2, a mouse IgG1 monoclonal antibody (MAb) to the serotype 3 (ST3) PPS (PPS3), reduced ST3 NP colonization in mice and altered ST3 gene expression in vitro. Here, we determined whether 1E2 affects ST3 gene expression in vivo during colonization of mice by performing RNA sequencing on NP lavage fluid from ST3-infected mice treated with 1E2, a control MAb, or phosphate-buffered saline. Compared to the results for the controls, 1E2 significantly altered the expression of over 50 genes. It increased the expression of the piuBCDA operon, which encodes an iron uptake system, and decreased the expression of dpr, which encodes a protein critical for resistance to oxidative stress. 1E2-mediated effects on ST3 in vivo required divalent binding, as Fab fragments did not reduce NP colonization or alter ST3 gene expression. In vitro, 1E2 induced dose-dependent ST3 growth arrest and altered piuB and dpr expression, whereas an opsonic PPS3 MAb, 5F6, did not. 1E2-treated bacteria were more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide and the iron-requiring antibiotic streptonigrin, suggesting that 1E2 may increase iron import and enhance sensitivity to oxidative stress. Finally, 1E2 also induced rapid capsule shedding in vitro, suggesting that this may initiate 1E2-induced changes in sensitivity to oxidative stress and gene expression. Our data reveal a novel mechanism of direct, antibody-mediated antibacterial activity that could inform new directions in antipneumococcal therapy and vaccine development.
Fast Volume Seam Carving With Multipass Dynamic Programming

In volume seam carving, i.e., seam carving for 3D cost volume, an optimal seam surface can be derived by graph cuts, resulting from sophisticated graph construction. To date, the graph-cut algorithm is the only solution for volume seam carving. However, it is not suitable for practical use because it incurs a heavy computational load. We propose a multipass dynamic programming (DP)-based approach for volume seam carving, which reduces computation time and memory consumption while maintaining a similar image quality as that of graph cuts. Our multipass DP scheme is achieved by conducting DP in two directions to accumulate the cost in a 3D volume and then tracing back to find the best seam. In our multipass DP, a suboptimal seam surface is created instead of a global optimal one, and it has been experimentally confirmed by more than 198 crowdsourced workers that such suboptimal seams are good enough for image processing. The proposed scheme offers two options: a continuous method that ensures the connectivity of seam surfaces and a discontinuous method that ensures the connectivity in only one direction. We applied the proposed volume seam carving method based on multipass DP to conventional video retargeting and tone mapping. These two applications are completely different; however, the volume seam carving method can be applied similarly by changing the axes of the cost volume. Even though the results obtained using our methods were similar to those obtained by graph cuts, our computation time was approximately 90 times faster that of graph cuts and the memory usage was eight times smaller than that of graph cuts. We also extend the idea of tone mapping to the contrast enhancement method based on volume seam carving.
Robust eye contact detection in natural multi-person interactions using gaze and speaking behaviour

Eye contact is one of the most important non-verbal social cues and fundamental to human interactions. However, detecting eye contact without specialised eye tracking equipment poses significant challenges, particularly for multiple people in real-world settings. We present a novel method to robustly detect eye contact in natural three- and four-person interactions using off-the-shelf ambient cameras. Our method exploits that, during conversations, people tend to look at the person who is currently speaking. Harnessing the correlation between people's gaze and speaking behaviour therefore allows our method to automatically acquire training data during deployment and adaptively train eye contact detectors for each target user. We empirically evaluate the performance of our method on a recent dataset of natural group interactions and demonstrate that it achieves a relative improvement over the state-of-the-art method of more than 60%, and also improves over a head pose based baseline.
Performance Analysis for Different Interleavers in Various Modulation Schemes with OFDM over an AWGN Channel

The next generation wireless communications systems need to be of a higher standard in order to provide the customers with the multitude of high quality services they demand. In recent years, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) has been successfully used in terrestrial digital video broadcasting and showed it is a strong candidate for the modulation technique of future wireless systems. In order to investigate this, a simulation model was created and implemented using MATLAB. This letter focuses on the design of an OFDM system with the interleaver stage for a specific convolutional code operating with OFDM modulation. The interleaver is an important part in the design of a communication system. The performance of different interleavers (Matrix and Random) are compared over AWGN channel with digital and analog modulation schems in OFDM, Numerical results also evidence the importance of the interleaver choice when comparing the performance of different interleavers. Simulation results show that matrix interleaver can be very competitive to random interleaver.
Hypolipidemic effect of Sesbania grandiflora on cigarette smoke exposed rats

Summary Sesbania grandiflora (S. grandiflora) is widely used in Indian traditional medicine for the treatment of a large spectrum of diseases. In the present study, we assessed the possible effects of aqueous suspension of S. grandiflora (ASSG) leaves against cigarette smoke induced hyperlipidemia in rats. Adult WKY rats exposed to cigarette smoke for a period of 90 days were assigned randomly to a control group and a treatment (ASSG, 1000mg kg -1 ) group and were treated orally for 3 weeks. The efficacy of ASSG on total lipids, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), phospholipids, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoproteincholesterol (LDL-C) and very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C) were estimated in cigarette smoke exposed (CSE) rats. Total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, and VLDL-C were significantly increased while phospholipids and HDL-C was significantly decreased in cigarette smoke exposed rats. These results were reversed to near normal in ASSG treated with cigarette smoke exposed rats. These observations clearly demonstrated the hypolipidemic effect of S. grandiflora in cigarette smoke exposed rats. These results provide further support to the traditional use of S. grandiflora for the treatment of smoking induced hyperlipidemia associated diseases.
Using A Personalized Anomaly Detection Approach with Machine Learning to Detect Stolen Phones

We devise an anomaly detection system that detects stolen phones. In this system, we use a mining algorithm to extract sequential patterns from a user’s past behavior to construct a personalized model. We then put forward scoring functions and threshold setting strategies to detect stealing events. We evaluate our approach with a data set from the MIT Reality Mining project. Experimental results indicate that our approach can detect 87% of simulated stealing events with an average false positive rate of 0.9%.
Examining the Relationship between Message Variables, Affective Reactions, and Parents’ Instrumental Attitudes toward Their Child’s Physical Activity: The “Mr. Lonely” Public Service Announcement

This study examined the relationship between message variables and affective reactions with parents’ attitudes after seeing a physical activity mass media public service announcement (PSA). It was hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between message variables (i.e., personal relevance, novelty of information, and feelings toward sponsoring organization) and parents’ attitudes toward their child/children’s physical activity after viewing the PSA. Furthermore, we explored whether discrete affective reactions were related to attitudes, beyond the effect of message variables. A secondary data analysis was conducted with parental responses to an online campaign evaluation survey (n = 267). Hierarchical regression analyses showed an overall positive relationship between all three message variables and attitudes. Furthermore, two discrete affective reactions were positively related to attitudes. Parents who endorsed feeling motivated or guilty after viewing the advertisement had more positive attitudes toward their children’s physical activity levels. This study represents an ecologically valid assessment of how message variables and affective reactions are related to attitudes within the context of a physical activity mass media campaign. The results provide guidance for the effective design of mass media physical activity campaigns.
An Improved SMO Algorithm for Credit Risk Evaluation

Sequential minimal optimization (SMO) is the most commonly used algorithm for numerical solution of SVM, but traditional SMO is quite limited to the long execution time because of its high computational complexity. We present an improved SMO learning algorithm named FV-SMO in this paper. At each iteration, it jointly optimizes four variables and an theorem is proposed to guarantee an analytical solution of sub-problem. Three credit datasets are selected to demonstrate the performance of FV-SMO, including China credit dataset and two public datasets: German credit dataset from UCI and Darden credit dataset from CD-ROM databases. China credit dataset is generated based on a multi-dimensional and multi-level credit risk indicator system of China credit data. Experimental results demonstrate that FV-SMO is competitive in saving the computational cost and performs best in credit risk evaluation accuracy compared with other five popular classification methods.
Balanced multicolour Pólya urns via smoothing systems analysis

Abstract. The present paper aims at describing in details the asymptotic composition of a class of d-colour Pólya urns: namely balanced, tenable and irreducible urns. We decompose the composition vector of such urns according to the Jordan decomposition of their replacement matrix. The projections of the composition vector onto the so-called small Jordan spaces are known to be asymptotically Gaussian, but the asymptotic behaviour of the projections onto the large Jordan spaces are not known in full details up to now and are described by a limit random variable called W , depending on the parameters of the urn. We prove, via the study of smoothing systems, that the variable W has a density and that it is moment-determined.
Use of Standardized Uptake Value Ratios Decreases Interreader Variability of [18F] Florbetapir PET Brain Scan Interpretation

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Fluorine-18 florbetapir is a recently developed β-amyloid plaque positron-emission tomography imaging agent with high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in the detection of moderate-to-frequent cerebral cortical β-amyloid plaque. However, the FDA has expressed concerns about the consistency of interpretation of [18F] florbetapir PET brain scans. We hypothesized that incorporating automated cerebral-to-whole-cerebellar standardized uptake value ratios into [18F] florbetapir PET brain scan interpretation would reduce this interreader variability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized, blinded-reader study used previously acquired [18F] florbetapir scans from 30 anonymized patients who were enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 2. In 4 separate, blinded-reading sessions, 5 readers classified 30 cases as positive or negative for significant β-amyloid deposition either qualitatively alone or qualitatively with additional adjunct software that determined standardized uptake value ratios. A κ coefficient was used to calculate interreader agreement with and without the use of standardized uptake value ratios. RESULTS: There was complete interreader agreement on 20/30 cases of [18F] florbetapir PET brain scans by using qualitative interpretation and on 27/30 scans interpreted with the adjunct use of standardized uptake value ratios. The κ coefficient for the studies read with standardized uptake value ratios (0.92) was significantly higher compared with the qualitatively read studies (0.69, P = .006). CONCLUSIONS: Use of standardized uptake value ratios improves interreader agreement in the interpretation of [18F] florbetapir images.
Competing endogenous RNA network crosstalk reveals novel molecular markers in colorectal cancer

The competing endogenous RNA networks play a pivotal role in cancer diagnosis and progression. Novel properstrategies for early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) are strongly needed. We investigated a novel CRC‐specific RNA‐based integrated competing endogenous network composed of lethal3 malignant brain tumor like1 (L3MBTL1) gene, long non‐coding intergenic RNA‐ (lncRNA RP11‐909B2.1) and homo sapiens microRNA‐595 (hsa‐miRNA‐595) using in silico data analysis. RT‐qPCR‐based validation of the network was achieved in serum of 70 patients with CRC, 40 patients with benign colorectal neoplasm, and 20 healthy controls. Moreover, in cancer tissues of 20 of the 70 CRC cases were involved in the study. The expression of RNA‐based biomarker network in both CRC and adjacent non‐tumor tissues and their correlation with the serum levels of this network members was investigated. Lastly, the expression levels of the chosen ceRNA was verified in CRC cell line. Our results revealed that the three RNAs‐based biomarker network (long non‐coding intergenic RNA‐[lncRNA RP11‐909B2.1], Homo sapiens microRNA‐595 [hsa‐miRNA‐595], and L3MBTL1 mRNA), had high sensitivity and specificity for discriminating CRC from healthy controls and also from benign colorectal neoplasm. The data suggest that among these three RNAs, serum lncRNA RP11‐909B2.1 could be a promising independent prognostic factors in CRC. The circulatory RNA based biomarker panel can act as potential biomarker for CRC diagnosis and prognosis.
The Scale of Mission-Embeddedness as a Nonprofit Revenue Classification Tool: Different Earned Revenue Types, Different Performance Effects

Nonprofits rely on earned revenue to remain sustainable. Prior studies have generally aggregated all earned revenue and evaluated its influence on financial sustainability. Our study takes a different approach, assessing the effects of three different types of earned revenue on an immediate program outcome. We use Cultural Data Project data from 2,000 arts and culture nonprofits from 2004-2012. We find that embedded and integrated earned revenue are linked to better program outcomes while external earned revenue is related to poorer program outcomes. Results depend on type (performing vs. visual arts) and funding structure (donative vs. commercial).
Non-Hermiticity-induced wave confinement and guiding in loss-gain-loss three-layer systems

Following up on previous studies on parity-time-symmetric gain-loss bilayers, and inspired by formal analogies with plasmonic waveguides, we study non-Hermiticity-induced wave confinement and guiding phenomena that can occur in loss-gain-loss three-layers. By revisiting previous well-established ``gain-guiding'' concepts, we investigate analytically and numerically the dispersion and confinement properties of guided modes that can be supported by this type of structures, by assuming realistic dispersion models and parameters for the material constituents. As key outcomes, we identify certain modes with specific polarization and symmetry that exhibit particularly desirable characteristics, in terms of quasireal propagation constant and subwavelength confinement. Moreover, we elucidate the effects of material dispersion and parameters and highlight the potential advantages by comparison with the previously studied gain-loss bilayer configurations. Our results provide additional perspectives on light control in non-Hermitian optical systems and may find potentially intriguing applicability to reconfigurable nanophotonic platforms.
Nutraceutical and Ethnopharmacological Properties of Vangueria infausta subsp. infausta

Vangueria infausta subsp. infausta (VI) is a nutraceutical with plant parts valued in several cultures for its medicinal properties. Traditionally, VI is used against gastro-intestinal disorders, malaria, pneumonia, cough, menstrual problems, parasitic worms, chest complaints, snake bites, infertility, fever, candidiasis and abdominal pains. This study aims to critically summarize the nutraceutical properties, phytochemistry and pharmacology of VI with a view to provide baseline data required for further investigations on this plant. Relevant information on the nutraceutical and ethnopharmacological properties of VI was collected from established scientiﬁc databases such as ScienceDirect, SciFinder, PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline, and SCOPUS. Additionally, books, book chapters and conference papers were also consulted to access other important information. Comparative analysis of the literature revealed that VI is an important neutraceutical plant in east and southern Africa, used as herbal medicine in 69% of the countries where the species is native. Phytochemical studies revealed the presence in VI of fatty acids, flavonoids, iridoid lactones and triterpenoids. Based on in vitro and animal studies, the species exhibited antibacterial, antimycobacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antileishmanial, antioxidant, antiplasmodial, antifeedant and prostaglandin synthesis inhibitory activities. Pharmacological studies have provided supporting evidence for the therapeutic value of VI, however, detailed toxicological and clinical trials are required to assess efficacy of the species.
Microbiota epitope similarity either dampens or enhances the immunogenicity of disease-associated antigenic epitopes

The microbiome influences adaptive immunity and molecular mimicry influences T cell reactivity. Here, we evaluated whether the sequence similarity of various antigens to the microbiota dampens or increases immunogenicity of T cell epitopes. Sets of epitopes and control sequences derived from 38 antigenic categories (infectious pathogens, allergens, autoantigens) were retrieved from the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB). Their similarity to microbiome sequences was calculated using the BLOSUM62 matrix. We found that sequence similarity was associated with either dampened (tolerogenic; e.g. most allergens) or increased (inflammatory; e.g. Dengue and West Nile viruses) likelihood of a peptide being immunogenic as a function of epitope source category. Ten-fold cross-validation and validation using sets of manually curated epitopes and non-epitopes derived from allergens were used to confirm these initial observations. Furthermore, the genus from which the microbiome homologous sequences were derived influenced whether a tolerogenic versus inflammatory modulatory effect was observed, with Fusobacterium most associated with inflammatory influences and Bacteroides most associated with tolerogenic influences. We validated these effects using PBMCs stimulated with various sets of microbiome peptides. “Tolerogenic” microbiome peptides elicited IL-10 production, “inflammatory” peptides elicited mixed IL-10/IFNγ production, while microbiome epitopes homologous to self were completely unreactive for both cytokines. We also tested the sequence similarity of cockroach epitopes to specific microbiome sequences derived from households of cockroach allergic individuals and non-allergic controls. Microbiomes from cockroach allergic households were less likely to contain sequences homologous to previously defined cockroach allergens. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that microbiome sequences may contribute to the tolerization of T cells for allergen epitopes, and lack of these sequences might conversely be associated with increased likelihood of T cell reactivity against the cockroach epitopes. Taken together this study suggests that microbiome sequence similarity influences immune reactivity to homologous epitopes encoded by pathogens, allergens and auto-antigens.