Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Involvement of Nitric Oxide on Calcium Mobilization and Arachidonic Acid Pathway Activation during Platelet Aggregation with different aggregating agonists

Platelet aggregation by different aggregating agonists is essential in the normal blood coagulation process, the excess of which caused acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In all cases, the activation of arachidonic acid by cycloxygenase was needed for the synthesis of thromboxane A2 (TXA2) but the mechanism of arachidonic acid release in platelets remains obscure. Studies were conducted to determine the role of nitric oxide (NO), if any, on the release of arachidonic acid in platelets. The cytosolic Ca2+ was visualized and quantitated by fluorescent spectroscopy by using QUIN-2. NO was measured by methemoglobin method. Arachidonic acid was determined by HPLC. TXA2 was measured as ThromboxaneB2 (TXB2) by ELISA. Treatment of platelets in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with different aggregating agents resulted in the inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) which inhibited the production of NO synthesis and increased TXA2 synthesis. Furthermore, the treatment of washed PRP with different platelet aggregating agents resulted in the increase of [Ca2+] in nM ranges. In contrast, the pre-treatment of washed PRP with aspirin increased platelet NO level and inhibited the Ca2+ mobilization and TXA2 synthesis. These results indicated that the aggregation of platelets by different aggregating agonists was caused by the cytosolic Ca2+ mobilization due to the inhibition of NOS.
A Mobile Health System to Identify the Onset of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for clots, strokes, heart failure and other complications. One estimate states that 2.7 million individuals are living in U.S. With AFib and this number may increase to 5.6 million by 2050. Identifying patients with paroxysmal AFib early after the onset and treating them immediately may improve clinical outcomes, especially by reducing stroke. Currently AFib cases are identified only when the patients complain of palpitations or discovered during routine heart check ups. Improving early identification warrants a simple screening device to detect the onset of AFib. We have developed an mHealth system with a wearable ECG and an automated algorithm for this purpose. The machine learning based algorithm along with patient user interface can be downloaded as an App.
A planning system based on Markov decision processes to guide people with dementia through activities of daily living

Older adults with dementia often cannot remember how to complete activities of daily living and require a caregiver to aid them through the steps involved. The use of a computerized guidance system could potentially reduce the reliance on a caregiver. This paper examines the design and preliminary evaluation of a planning system that uses Markov decision processes (MDPs) to determine when and how to provide prompts to a user with dementia for guidance through the activity of handwashing. Results from the study suggest that MDPs can be applied effectively to this type of guidance problem. Considerations for the development of future guidance systems are presented
Equalization with Part-Time Help

We consider relay-assisted equalization where a half-duplex relay forwards a signal to a receiver in attempt to aid in the task of equalization. All channels are assumed to be frequency selective, and therefore they contribute intersymbol interference (ISI). We first consider the case of a naive amplify-and-forward protocol where the relay forwards a scaled version of its received (and ISI-corrupted) signal. We then consider an equalize-and-forward protocol where the equalizer attempts to perform linear equalization before forwarding its signal. We show that a relay can indeed provide considerable benefit in the task of equalization even when only providing "part-time help", and we demonstrate the performance of the two schemes with simulations.
Identifying Opinion Holders for Question Answering in Opinion Texts

Question answering in opinion texts has so far mostly concentrated on the identification of opinions and on analyzing the sentiment expressed in opinions. In this paper, we address another important part of Question Answering (QA) in opinion texts: finding opinion holders. Holder identification is a central part of full opinion identification and can be used independently to answer several opinion questions such as “Is China supporting Bush’s war on Iraq? ” and “Do Iraqi people want U.S. troops in their soil? ”. Our system automatically learns the syntactic features signaling opinion holders using a Maximum Entropy ranking algorithm trained on human annotated data. Using syntactic parsing features, our system achieved 64% accuracy on identifying the holder of opinions in the MPQA dataset.
An artificial intelligence approach to information retrieval (abstract only)

Current approaches to information retrieval rely on the creativity of individuals to develop new algorithms. In this investigation the use of genetic algorithms (GA) and genetic programming (GP) to learn IR algorithms is examined.Document structure weighting is a technique whereby different parts of a document (title, abstract, etc.) contribute unevenly to the overall document weight during ranking. Near optimal weights can be learned with a GA. Doing so shows a statistically significant 5% relative improvement in MAP for vector space inner product and Croft's probabilistic ranking, but no improvement for BM25. Two applications of this approach are suggested: offline learning, and relevance feedback.In a second set of experiments, a new ranking function was learned using GP. This new function yields a statistically significant 11% relative improvement on unseen queries tested on the training documents. Portability tests to different collections (not used in training) demonstrate the performance of the new function exceeds vector space and probability, and slightly exceeds BM25. Learning weights for this new function is proposed.The application of genetic learning to stemming and thesaurus construction is discussed. Stemming rules such as those of the Porter algorithm are candidates for GP learning whereas synonym sets are candidates for GA learning.
On steganalysis of random LSB embedding in continuous-tone images

We present an LSB steganalysis technique that can detect the existence of hidden messages that are randomly embedded in the least significant bits of natural continuous-tone images. The technique is inspired by the recent work of J. Fridrich et al. (see Proc. ACM Workshop on Multimedia and Security, p.27-30, 2001) and just like their work, it can also precisely measure the length of the embedded message, even when the hidden message is very short relative to the image size. The key to our success is the formation of some subsets of pixels whose cardinalities change with LSB embedding, and such changes can be precisely quantified under the assumption that the embedded bits are randomly scattered. Interestingly, our study on steganalysis of LSB embedding sheds light on the work of Fridrich et al. on the detection of LSB embedding, and offers an analytical proof of an observation made by them.
Global Spread of Human Chromoblastomycosis Is Driven by Recombinant Cladophialophora carrionii and Predominantly Clonal Fonsecaea Species

Global distribution patterns of Cladophialophora carrionii, agent of human chromoblastomycosis in arid climates of Africa, Asia, Australia, Central-and South-America, were compared with similar data of the vicarious Fonsecaea spp. , agents of the disease in tropical rain forests. Population diversities among 73 C. carrionii strains and 60 strains of three Fonsecaea species were analyzed for rDNA ITS, partial β-tubulin, and amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprints. Populations differed significantly between continents. Lowest haplotype diversity was found in South American populations, while African strains were the most diverse. Gene flow was noted between the African population and all other continents. The general pattern of Fonsecaea agents of chromoblastomycosis differed significantly from that of C. carrionii and revealed deeper divergence among three differentiated species with smaller numbers of haplotypes, indicating a longer evolutionary history.
Pathways in Type I IFN Induction Both the TLR3 and the Cytoplasmic NAK-Associated Protein 1 Participates in

TLR3 and the cytoplasmic helicase family proteins (retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5)) serve as dsRNA pattern-recognition receptors. In response to poly(I:C), a representative of dsRNA, and viral infection, they have been shown to activate the transcription factor IFN regulatory factor (IRF)-3, which in turn induces activation of the IFN- (cid:1) promoter. RIG-I/MDA5 recognizes dsRNA in the cytoplasm, whereas TLR3 resides in the cell surface membrane or endosomes to engage in extracytoplasmic recognition of dsRNA. Recent reports suggest that TLR3 induces cellular responses in epithelial cells in response to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The modus for TLR3 activation by RSV, however, remains unresolved. By small interference RNA gene-silencing technology and human cell transfectants, we have revealed that knockdown of NAK-associated protein 1 (NAP1) leads to the down-regulation of IFN- (cid:1) promoter activation > 24 h after poly(I:C) or virus (RSV and vesicular stomatitis virus) treatment. NAP1 is located downstream of the adapter Toll-IL-1R homology domain-con-taining adapter molecule (TICAM)-1 (Toll/IL-1R domain-containing adapter-inducing IFN- (cid:1) ) in the TLR3 pathway, but TICAM-1 and TLR3 did not participate in the IRF-3 and IFN- (cid:1) promoter activation by RSV infection. Virus-mediated activation of the IFN- (cid:1) promoter was largely abrogated by the gene silencing of IFN- (cid:1) promoter stimulator-1 (mitochondria antiviral signaling (MAVS), VISA, Cardif), the adapter of the RIG-I/MDA5 dsRNA-recognition proteins. In both the TLR and virus-mediated IFN-inducing pathways, I (cid:2) B kinase-related kinase (cid:3) and TANK-binding kinase 1 participated in IFN- (cid:1) induction. Thus, RSV as well as other viruses induces replication-mediated activation of the IFN- (cid:1) promoter, which is intracellularly initiated by the RIG-I/MDA5 but not the TLR3 pathway. Both the cytoplasmic and TLR3-mediated dsRNA recognition pathways converge upon NAP1 for the activation of the IRF-3 and IFN- (cid:1) promoter. The Journal of Immunology, 2006, 177: 8676–8683.
Involvement of TonEBP/NFAT5 in osmoadaptative response of human retinal pigmented epithelial cells to hyperosmolar stress

Purpose: Macular edema, a frequently encountered complication of diabetic retinopathy (DR), results from alterations of the blood retinal barrier (BRB) and leads to modifications of the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) functions. Osmolar changes of the surrounding medium could be responsible for modifications of the RPE functions leading to disturbance of retinal homeostasis. The expression, activation and function of the key hyperosmolar response factor Tonicity Enhancer Binding Protein (TonEBP also called nuclear factor of activated T-cell 5 - NFTA5) was investigated in ARPE-19 cells, derived from human RPE, in response to hyperosmolar stimulation. Methods: ARPE-19 cells were exposed to hyperosmolar medium. TonEBP mRNA and protein levels were quantified by qRT-PCR and semi-quantitative Western blot. TonEBP nuclear translocation was investigated by immunofluorescence. TonEBP transactivation activity was measured using a reported plasmid containing TonEBP binding sites. Results: In response to hyperosmolar stimulation of ARPE-19 cells, a dose-dependent increase in TonEBP mRNA and protein levels, as well as TonEBP nuclear translocation were observed. TonEBP transactivation activity was further demonstrated using a reporter plasmid containing TonEBP binding sites. A dominant negative form of TonEBP abolished NaCl-induced increase in TonEBP transactivation activity, and inhibited the increase of the target genes aldose reductase and sodium-dependent taurine transporter mRNA levels. SB203580, an inhibitor of two of the p38 protein kinase’s isoforms (p38α and p38β) inhibited the TonEBP nuclear translocation and transactivation activity in ARPE-19 cells exposed to hyperosmolar stimulation. Conclusions: Our data demonstrates the involvement of TonEBP in the mechanisms responsible for osmoadaptation to hyperosmolar stress in RPE cells. Given the emerging role of TonEBP in different pathological pathways, these data open new perspectives for the analysis of the mechanisms involved in the modification of functions of the RPE during macular edema.
A Survey On Algorithmic Aspects Of Tandem Repeats Evolution

Local repetitions in genomes are called tandem repeats. A tandem repeat contains multiple, but slightly different copies of a repeated unit. It changes over time as the copies are altered by mutations, when additional copies are created by amplification of an existing copy, or when a copy is removed by contraction. Theses changes let tandem repeats evolve dynamically. From this statement follow two problems. TANDEM REPEAT HISTORY aims at recovering the history of amplifications and mutations that produced the tandem repeat sequence given as input. Given the tandem repeat sequences at the same genomic location in two individuals and a cost function for amplifications, contractions, and mutations, the purpose of TANDEM REPEAT ALLELE ALIGNMENT is to find an alignment of the sequences having minimal cost. We present a survey of these two problems that allow to investigate evolutionary mechanisms at work in tandem repeats.
Young people with high-functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome planning for and anticipating the move to college : what supports a positive transition?

For many young people in England, the move into continuing education involves a transfer from the school where they were educated to a further education college. For those with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome, this can be a challenging process. Past research has demonstrated some of the problems that these young people can encounter. This article by Wendy Mitchell and Bryony Beresford, both based in the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York, adds to the evidence base by describing how best to support these young people, focusing specifically on ‘young person endorsed’ practice. Data are gleaned from qualitative interviews with 18 young people with high-functioning autism/Asperger's syndrome. Findings reveal that young people welcomed the involvement of practitioners; however, specific forms of help and knowledge were particularly valued. In addition, it was parents, as opposed to professionals, who typically emerged as the most significant and valued source of support. Implications for practice are discussed, including the support needs of parents.
Humor Styles and their Relationship to Well-Being among the Gifted

Abstract The present study examined the extent to which a sample of 202 gifted individuals (members of Mensa) engaged in four humor styles and the extent to which these humor styles were related to their well-being. These results were compared to a comparative population sample (n = 265). Results showed that gifted individuals most often used positive humor styles. There were no within sex differences in the use of humor styles between the gifted sample and the comparative population sample. Men (in both samples), however, used aggressive humor more than women. Self-enhancing humor (+) and self-defeating humor (-) were related most consistently to well-being across sub-samples. For men, significant differences were found between the two samples with regard to the relations between humor styles and well-being: Affiliative and self-enhancing humor related positively and substantially to well-being in men from the comparative population sample, but not in men from the gifted sample.
A subspace approach for blind estimation of time-varying channels under STBC transmissions

In this paper we consider the problem of blind estimation of time-varying multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels under space-time block coded (STBC) transmissions. Firstly, the time-varying channel is deterministically represented by means of a basis expansion model (BEM), which reduces the number of parameters to be estimated. Secondly, the STBC structure is exploited to blindly recover the channel parameters by means of a subspace technique, which reduces to the solution of a generalized eigenvalue problem (GEV). Unlike previous approaches, the proposed method provides very accurate results even for non-orthogonal STBCs and high Doppler frequencies, which is illustrated by means of some numerical examples.
A Simplified MPC for Image Compression

In recent years, principal component analysis (PCA) has attracted great attention in image compression field. However due to the linear nature PCA cannot simultaneously explain the global and local characteristics of the input image. To achieve high compression rate, only a few basis vectors should be used. The fewer the basis vectors used, the more local information is lost. To solve this problem, a number of improved PCA approaches have been proposed. The basic idea is to reduce the error by using different basis vectors for different sub-spaces of the problem space. These algorithms are non-linear, but very time-consuming and cannot be used easily. In this paper, a VQ based mixture of principle components (MPCs) is proposed. Experimental results show that the proposed approach, although simpler, is actually better than existing PCA based approaches
Modulation of Ca 2 1 entry by polypeptides of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) that bind transient receptor potential (TRP): Evidence for roles of TRP and IP3R in store depletion-activated Ca 2 1 entry

Homologues of Drosophilia transient receptor potential (TRP) have been proposed to be unitary subunits of plasma membrane ion channels that are activated as a consequence of active or passive depletion of Ca 2 1 stores. In agreement with this hypothesis, cells expressingTRPsdisplaynovelCa 2 1 -permeablecationchannelsthat can be activated by the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) protein. Expression of TRPs alters cells in many ways, including up-regulation of IP3Rs not coded for by TRP genes, and proof that TRP forms channels of these and other cells is still missing. Here, we document physical interaction of TRP and IP3R by coimmunoprecipitation and glutathione S -transferase-pulldown experiments and identify two regions of IP3R, F2q and F2g, that interact with one region of TRP, C7. These interacting regions were expressed in cells with an unmodiﬁed complement of TRPs and
Support for MIR Prototyping and Real-Time Applications in the ChucK Programming Language

In this paper, we discuss our recent additions of audio analysis and machine learning infrastructure to the ChucK music programming language, wherein we provide a complementary system prototyping framework for MIR researchers and lower the barriers to applying many MIR algorithms in live music performance. The new language capabilities preserve ChucK’s breadth of control—from high-level control using building block components to sample-level manipulation—and on-the-fly reprogrammability, allowing the programmer to experiment with new features, signal processing techniques, and learning algorithms with ease and flexibility. Furthermore, our additions integrate tightly with ChucK’s synthesis system, allowing the programmer to apply the results of analysis and learning to drive real-time music creation and interaction within a single framework. In this paper, we motivate and describe our recent additions to the language, outline a ChucK-based approach to rapid MIR prototyping, present three case studies in which we have applied ChucK to audio analysis and MIR tasks, and introduce our new toolkit to facilitate experimentation with analysis and learning in the language.
Truncating Temporal Diierences: on the Eecient Implementation of Td for Reinforcement Learning

Temporal di erence (TD) methods constitute a class of methods for learning predictions in multi-step prediction problems, parameterized by a recency factor . Currently the most important application of these methods is to temporal credit assignment in reinforcement learning. Well known reinforcement learning algorithms, such as AHC or Q-learning, may be viewed as instances of TD learning. This paper examines the issues of the e cient and general implementation of TD( ) for arbitrary , for use with reinforcement learning algorithms optimizing the discounted sum of rewards. The traditional approach, based on eligibility traces, is argued to su er from both ine ciency and lack of generality. The TTD (Truncated Temporal Di erences) procedure is proposed as an alternative, that indeed only approximates TD( ), but requires very little computation per action and can be used with arbitrary function representation methods. The idea from which it is derived is fairly simple and not new, but probably unexplored so far. Encouraging experimental results are presented, suggesting that using > 0 with the TTD procedure allows one to obtain a signi cant learning speedup at essentially the same cost as usual TD(0) learning.
Population-based study of hospital trauma care in a rural state without a formal trauma system.

OBJECTIVE Formalized systems of trauma care are believed to improve outcomes in an urban setting, but little is known of the applicability in a rural setting. METHODS We conducted a population-based analysis of hospital survival after trauma comparing an American College of Surgeons-verified Level I trauma center (TC) with the pooled results of 13 small community hospitals (CH) in a rural state with no formal trauma system. All patients admitted to any hospital within the state of Vermont over a 5-year period (1995-1999) with a trauma discharge diagnosis were included. Elderly patients with isolated femur fractures were excluded from the database. International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Scores (ICISSs) were calculated for each patient and used to control for injury severity in an omnibus logistic regression model that included age, ICISS, and hospital type (TC vs. CH) as predictors of survival. Patients who died were characterized on the basis of ICISS into "expected" (ICISS < 0.25), "indeterminate" (ICISS = 0.26-0.50), and "unexpected" (ICISS > 0.5). RESULTS In 16,354 trauma admissions over the 5-year period in the rural state of Vermont, 370 (2.2%) died. There were 5,964 (36%) admitted to TC. Patients admitted to TC were more injured (ICISS 0.94 vs. 0.96) and had a higher mortality (3.1% vs. 1.8). Overall, care at the CH provided an improved survival (odds ratio = 1.75, 95% confidence internal = 1.31-2.18, p = 0.000). However, in the more severely injured cohort of trauma patients (expected and indeterminate; n = 133), overall survival was higher in the TC (16% CH vs. 38% TC, p = 0.02, chi2). Because the TC was known to provide care equivalent to Major Trauma Outcome Study norms during this time period (Z = -0.03, M = 0.894), we believe this study confirms that trauma care throughout the state is in accordance with national norms. CONCLUSION In a rural state, without a statewide formal trauma system, survival after trauma is no worse at CH than TC when corrected for injury severity and age. Future expenditures of resources might better be concentrated in other areas such as discovery or prehospital care to further improve outcomes.