Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polymorphisms and phenotypic analysis of cytochrome P450 3A4 in the Uygur population in northwest China.

PURPOSE Genetic polymorphisms in CYP3A4 can change its activity to a certain degree, thus leading to differences among different populations in drug efficacy or adverse drug reactions. METHODS The study was intended to validate the genetic polymorphisms in CYP3A4 in Uygur Chinese population, we sequenced and screened for genetic variants including 5'UTR, promoters, exons, introns, and 3'UTR region of the whole CYP3A4 gene in 100 unrelated, healthy. RESULTS Twenty-one genetic polymorphisms in CYP3A4, and nine of them were novel. We detected CYP3A4*8, a putative poor-metabolizer allele, with the frequency of 0.5% in Uygur population. Tfsitescan revealed that the density of transcription factor varied in the different promoter regions, among which some were key regions for transcription factor binding. CONCLUSION our results provide basic information about CPY3A4 alleles in Uygur and suggest that the enzymatic activities of CPY3A4 may differ among the diverse ethnic populations of China.
Constructing a nursing identity within the clinical environment: The student nurse experience

Abstract Background: Nursing identity is an important element of being a nurse. Student nurses begin the construction of their nursing identity during their clinical placements. Aim: The aim of this research was to examine how the student nurses of a regional Australian university construct their identity when on off-campus clinical placement. Methods/ Design: Using a constructivist approach an online survey was used to elicit data in response to the question ‘What elements are needed during the work integrated learning experience to enable undergraduate nursing students to construct their nursing identity? ’ Results/Findings: Findings reveal five key elements to the construction of students’ nursing identity; positive role models, belonging, peer support, critical thinking abilities and confidence. Conclusion: Such findings are important as they provide information for student nurses, preceptors and educators in guiding clinical placement experiences that are able to facilitate the development of the nursing identity.
A Novel Evolutionary Algorithm for Numeric Optimization

Since evolutionary algorithms (EA) were proposed as an optimization method, they have been used to solve problems in many fields. However, accuracy, convergence and stability are always topics in EA research. This paper shows our efforts in such direction. We employ a novel approach, namely the cloud model, to model evolution process and then present an efficient EA, i.e. the cloud model based evolutionary algorithm or CEA. Because the cloud model is very successful in uncertainty modeling and transition between qualitative concept and quantitative description, using it we can model inheritance and mutation during individuals' evolution in a uniform and natural way. This enables CEA to perform well in fast converging to optimal values. Experiment results verify that CEA is much better than the compared algorithms, in terms of both precision and consistency.
Differences in the Ligand Specificity between CD1d‐Restricted T Cells with Limited and Diverse T‐Cell Receptor Repertoire

The natural killer (NK) T‐lymphocyte population consists of two subsets utilizing a diverse and restricted T‐cell receptor (TCR) repertoire, respectively. Both populations have been shown to include autoreactive cells. NKT cells carrying restricted Vα14(AV14S1)Jα281/Vβ8. 2(BV8S2A1) TCR have been shown to recognize α‐galactosylceramide (αGalCer) presented in the context of murine CD1d. In this study we screened a set of murine CD1d‐autoreactive T‐cell hybridomas with diverse TCR for their reactivity with several glycosylated variants of ceramide, including αGalCer. These hybridomas showed a different pattern of reactivity to CD1d‐expressing antigen‐presenting cells (APC) and were not reactive with any of the tested variants of ceramide. A second set of hybridomas had been selected for expression of Vα14 and Vβ8. 2 TCR chains. These cells responded to αGalCer presented on CD1d, but were only weakly reactive to syngeneic splenocytes or CD1d‐transfected cells. Their fine specificity in the response to glycosylation variants of ceramide demonstrated a homogenous reactivity pattern, including reactivity to α‐galactosylsphingosine, the variant of αGalCer with truncated fatty acyl chain. These findings underline the differences in ligand specificity between the two subsets of CD1d‐restricted NKT cells, and demonstrate a similarity in reactivity among the hybridomas using the Vα14‐Jα281/Vβ8. 2 TCR.
Supervised-LDA: A probabilistic topic model for collaborative filtering

Collaborative filtering, which identifies and recommends interest items to users based on the interest groups of other users, has received significant interest recently. In this paper, we propose a supervised LDA model (Supervised-LDA) for collaborative filtering. Supervised-LDA can deal with document collections where each document is accompanied by a ratting variable. By modeling the relationship among words in a document and the rating for the document directly, Supervised-LDA can generate an item list with the highest ratings for each latent topic. Moreover, Supervised-LDA can obtain the contributions of words in vocabulary, which can be used to predict the ratings of unseen items. Experimental results on real world data set show that the proposed model can address the collaborative filtering task effectively.
Description of an In Vitro Platelet Function Analyzer-PFA-100™

Abstract A new in vitro system for the detection of platelet dysfunction, PFA-100™* has been developed. It provides a quantitative measure of platelet function in anticoagulated whole blood. The system comprises a microprocessor-controlled instrument and a disposable test cartridge containing a biologically active membrane. The instrument aspirates a blood sample under constant vacuum from the sample reservoir through a capillary and a microscopic aperture cut into the membrane. The membrane is coated with collagen and epinephrine or adenosine 5’-diphosphate. The presence of these biochemical stimuli, and the high shear rates generated under the standardized flow conditions, result in platelet attachment, activation, and aggregation, slowly building a stable platelet plug at the aperture. The time required to obtain full occlusion of the aperture is reported as the m“closure time. ” We have found that impairment of von Willebrand factor, or inhibition of platelet receptors glycoprotein Ib or IIblIIIa with monoclonal antibodies or peptides, resulted in abnormal closure times. An antifibrinogen antibody, in contrast, failed to show any effect. The test appears to be sensitive to platelet adherence and aggregation abnormalities. The PFA-100™ system has potential applications in routine evaluation of platelet function in the clinical setting because of its accuracy, ease of operation, and rapid turnaround of results. * Under evaluation
Subject Selection on a Riemannian Manifold for Unsupervised Cross-subject Seizure Detection

Inter-subject variability between individuals poses a challenge in inter-subject brain signal analysis problems. A new algorithm for subject-selection based on clustering covariance matrices on a Riemannian manifold is proposed. After unsupervised selection of the subsets of relevant subjects, data in a cluster is mapped to a tangent space at the mean point of covariance matrices in that cluster and an SVM classifier on labeled data from relevant subjects is trained. Experiment on an EEG seizure database shows that the proposed method increases the accuracy over state-of-the-art from 86.83% to 89.84% and specificity from 87.38% to 89.64% while reducing the false positive rate/hour from 0.8/hour to 0.77/hour.
On Improving Integer Factorization and Discrete Logarithm Computation using Partial Triangulation

The number field sieve is the best-known algorithm for factoring integers and solving the discrete logarithm problem in prime fields. In this paper, we present some new improvements to various steps of the number field sieve. We apply these improvements on the current 768bit discrete logarithm record and show that we are able to perform the overall computing time in about 1260 core·years using these improvements instead of 2350 core·years using the best known parameters for this problem. Moreover, we show that the pre-computation phase for a 768-bit discrete logarithm problem, that allows for example to build a massive decryption tool of IPsec traffic protected by the Oakley group 1, was feasible in reasonable time using technologies available before the year 2000.
Multi-script iterative steerable directional filtering for handwritten text line extraction

In this paper, we introduce an iterative method for handwritten text line extraction. The proposed method improves the steerable filter approach by introducing an iterative scheme that iterates lines detection for various configurations of the filters, thus making the method auto adaptable with different types of scripts. We tested the method on different handwritten text datasets, used during earlier competitions organized at ICDAR or ICFHR, and using the same evaluation protocol. The tests carried out on the Open-Hart data set for Arabic scripts, as well as three other Latin and Greek scripts, show that state of the art performance are obtained without tuning any parameters.
Incorporation of radioactive citrate into fatty acids

BRADY AND GURIN 1 and DITURI AND GURIN 2 were the first to show that soluble enzymes of pigeon liver could synthesize long-chain fatty acids from acetate and that citrate stimulated this process. These results were confirmed and extended to a number of other tissues by other workers and purification of these systems has led to a rather detailed understanding of fatty acid synthesisa, 4. One observation, however, that has never been adequately explained is that at low concentrations ATP, CoA and citrate stimulate [z4Clacetate incorporation into fatty acids but as their concentrations are increased, a decreased incorporation of [14Clacetate occurs. We believe these results can be explained by the presence in these systems of the citrate-cleavage enzyme 5 which catalyzes the following reaction:
Impact of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide versus intravitreal bevacizumab on retrobulbar hemodynamic in patients with diabetic macular edema

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate and compare retrobulbar hemodynamic changes measured with color Doppler imaging (CDI) in diabetic patients receiving intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA) versus bevacizumab. Methods: Patients with diffuse diabetic macular edema were assessed prospectively by CDI following intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide (group I, 12 eyes) versus bevacizumab (group II, 14 eyes). CDI was used to measure the peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV) and the resistive index (RI) of the central retinal artery (CRA), ophthalmic artery (OA) and posterior ciliary arteries (PCA) one day preoperatively and one week postoperatively. Results: In group I, EDV of OA and CRA decreased significantly (p = 0.007 and 0.018, respectively). The PSV and RI of PCA decreased significantly (p = 0.035 and 0.002, respectively). In group II, both the PSV and EDV of the CRA decreased significantly (p = 0.000). Comparing the percentage of change in both groups, PSV of the CRA decreased significantly in group II (p = 0.034), while IVTA has more significant effect on the ophthalmic artery hemodynamic parameters as EDV decreased and RI increased significantly (p = 0.045 and 0.043, respectively) Conclusion: Intravitreal injections of triamcinolone acetonide and bevacizumab have a significant effect on the ocular hemodynamic. The effect of bevacizumab is statistically significant on the PSV of CRA compared to IVTA.
Different Active‐Site Loop Orientation in Serine Hydrolases versus Acyltransferases

Acyl transfer is a key reaction in biosynthesis, including synthesis of antibiotics and polyesters. Although researchers have long recognized the similar protein fold and catalytic machinery in acyltransferases and hydrolases, the molecular basis for the different reactivity has been a long‐standing mystery. By comparison of X‐ray structures, we identified a different oxyanion‐loop orientation in the active site. In esterases/lipases a carbonyl oxygen points toward the active site, whereas in acyltransferases a NH of the main‐chain amide points toward the active site. Amino acid sequence comparisons alone cannot identify such a difference in the main‐chain orientation. To identify how this difference might change the reaction mechanism, we solved the X‐ray crystal structure of Pseudomonas fluorescens esterase containing a sulfonate transition‐state analogue bound to the active‐site serine. This structure mimics the transition state for the attack of water on the acyl–enzyme and shows a bridging water molecule between the carbonyl oxygen mentioned above and the sulfonyl oxygen that mimics the attacking water. A possible mechanistic role for this bridging water molecule is to position and activate the attacking water molecule in hydrolases, but to deactivate the attacking water molecule in acyl transferases.
Soil moisture measurement and retrieval using Envisat ASAR imagery

High resolution data of the ASAR sensor aboard ESA's Envisat satellite offers the opportunity for monitoring surface soil moisture at high spatial resolution with multi-polarization and multi-incidence capabilities. Using Integral Equation Model (IEM), we simulated the backscattering coefficients of C band SAR backscatter at different incidence angles and the alternating polarization mode, and analyzed the sensitivity to soil moisture. The algorithm of inferring surface soil moisture from radar backscatter is developed according to semi-empirical model from the results of simulation and sensitivity analysis. The soil moisture map are retrieved from ASAR backscatter measurements in Hetian, Xinjinag (37/spl deg/15'N, 79/spl deg/48'E) area, where are the arid and semi-arid area of west China. Accuracy in the retrieval of the surface moisture content from ASAR is compared to the spatially distributed ground truth. The results demonstrate the effects of soil moisture monitoring using multi-polarization multi-incidence ASAR data.
An integrated approach of sequence and text mining technology for the identification of transcription factor binding sites

The study of the complex mechanisms that regulated gene expression on the level of transcription is an important and challenging issue in post-genomic era. A crucial step is to identify transcription factor binding sites(TFBSs). However, the number of the known TFBSs is limited, and the accuracy of the state-of-the-art identification methods is still far from satisfactory. In this paper, a novel integrated method for mining transcription factor binding sites is presented, which combines the sequence data mining method with the text mining method. Therefore, the method can not only obtain the putative TFBSs from the sequence data sets, but also acquire the experimentally verified TFBSs from the literatures. To evaluate the performance of our method, several experiments have been tested on real data sets. The results show that our integrated method outperforms each of the algorithms alone, furthermore, exhibits superior accuracy than existing algorithms.
Modeling the factors affecting unsafe behavior in the construction industry from safety supervisors' perspective.

BACKGROUND There can be little doubt that the construction is the most hazardous industry in the worldwide. This study was designed to modeling the factors affecting unsafe behavior from the perspective of safety supervisors. METHODS The qualitative research was conducted to extract a conceptual model. A structural model was then developed based on a questionnaire survey (n=266) by two stage Structural Equation Model (SEM) approach. RESULTS An excellent confirmed 12-factors structure explained about 62% of variances unsafe behavior in the construction industry. A good fit structural model indicated that safety climate factors were positively correlated with safety individual factors (P<0.001) and workplace safety condition (P<0.001). The workplace safety condition was found to play a strong mediating role in linking the safety climate and construction workers' engagement in safe or unsafe behavior. CONCLUSIONS In order to improve construction safety performance, more focus on the workplace condition is required.
Estimating the cost of smoking to the NHS in England and the impact of declining prevalence

Abstract Smoking cost the National Health Service (NHS) in England in 1996 an estimated £1.4–£1.7 billion. In 1998, in Smoking Kills, the Government outlined an action plan for reducing smoking prevalence. This paper estimates 2006 costs and the impact of declining prevalence. Estimates are derived from costs, service use, and attributable proportions based on current and ex-smokers’ prevalence and relative risk compared with never-smokers. Comparable 1996 costs were estimated by substituting 1996 prevalence. Smoking-attributable hospital admissions cost the NHS an estimated £1 billion in 2006, outpatient attendances cost £190 million, general practitioner (GP) consultations £530 million, practice nurse consultations £50 million and GP prescriptions £900 million; £2.7 billion in total. This represents 5% of adult hospital admission costs, 4% outpatients, 11% GP and 8% practice nurse consultations and 12% of prescription costs. Smoking accounted for 24% of respiratory disease hospital admission costs and 16% of cancer and cardiovascular disease costs (people aged ⩾35 years). The 2006 cost is estimated to be 13% lower than if smoking had remained at 1996 levels. Smoking represents a substantial cost throughout the NHS. Significant savings are associated with a reduction in prevalence, but much of this stems from an earlier phase of the smoking epidemic. Securing future such savings requires further policies to reduce smoking prevalence.
Allocation of above-ground growth in Pinus sylvestris - impacts of tree size and competition

The effect of tree age, size and competition on above ground growth allocation was studied with 69 Pinus sylvestris trees. Competition was described by tree-level indicators (needle density, crown ratio and height-diameter ratio). The stem, branch and needle growth were determined by stem and branch radial increments and tree level biomass analysis. Combined growth of compartments was strongly correlated with needle mass. Furthermore, tree age, size and competition indicators affected the allocation of growth among the compartments. The allocation of growth to stem and needle increased with tree age and size while the allocation of growth to branch decreased. The increasing crown ratio increased allocation of growth to branches. The combined growth of the components and separate growth of needles, branches and stem were related to needle mass. However, competition and tree size were significant additional explanatory variables when the stem, branch and needle growth were estimated according to needle mass. The growth efficiency increased with relative tree height and decreased with increasing needle density.
Machine learning-based anomaly detection via integration of manufacturing, inspection and after-sales service data

Purpose Quality management of products is an important part of manufacturing process. One way to manage and assure product quality is to use machine learning algorithms based on relationship among various process steps. The purpose of this paper is to integrate manufacturing, inspection and after-sales service data to make full use of machine learning algorithms for estimating the products’ quality in a supervised fashion. Proposed frameworks and methods are applied to actual data associated with heavy machinery engines. Design/methodology/approach By following Lenzerini’s formula, manufacturing, inspection and after-sales service data from various sources are integrated. The after-sales service data are used to label each engine as normal or abnormal. In this study, one-class classification algorithms are used due to class imbalance problem. To address multi-dimensionality of time series data, the symbolic aggregate approximation algorithm is used for data segmentation. Then, binary genetic algorithm-based wrapper approach is applied to segmented data to find the optimal feature subset. Findings By employing machine learning-based anomaly detection models, an anomaly score for each engine is calculated. Experimental results show that the proposed method can detect defective engines with a high probability before they are shipped. Originality/value Through data integration, the actual customer-perceived quality from after-sales service is linked to data from manufacturing and inspection process. In terms of business application, data integration and machine learning-based anomaly detection can help manufacturers establish quality management policies that reflect the actual customer-perceived quality by predicting defective engines.
Application of serologic assays for diagnosing acute hepatitis E in national surveillance of a nonendemic area

Variant performance of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) hepatitis E virus (HEV) assays may impact the diagnosis. The present study aimed to evaluate four different IgM/IgG assays for HEV infection for application in national surveillance in nonendemic areas. Sera from 300 patients that were stored in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of Taiwan for suspected acute HEV infection from 2004 to 2008, and 18 serum samples from acute cases of HEV infection in Taipei Veteran General Hospital were evaluated. Performances of EIAgen HEV IgG/M (Adaltis, Bologna, Italy), recomWell HEV IgG/M (Mikrogen, Neuried, Germany), MP HEV IgG/M (MP Biomedicals, Singapore), and in‐house kits, HEVLPs (HEV virus‐like particles) IgG/M were compared. Positive results of serum RNA detected by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction were defined as the definite diagnosis. There were five genotype 1, one genotype 3, and nine genotype 4 HEV samples. The four different IgM/IgG assays had excellent performance in terms of negative predictive value (98.4–100%) and varying performance in relation to sensitivity (66.7–93.3%) and specificity (62.9–95.6%). RecomWell IgM had the best overall performance. In addition, the combination of anti‐HEV IgM ELISA with anti‐HEV IgG or another anti‐HEV IgM ELISA provided better screening performance, especially the recomWell IgM and HEVLPs IgM combination (area under the receiver operating curve: 0.94; sensitivity: 100%, specificity 88.1%). In conclusion, anti‐HEV IgM ELISA is a good screening test for the national surveillance of acute HEV infection in nonendemic areas and not limited by inconsistent performances of sensitivity and specificity among different assays. J. Med. Virol. 86:720–728, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.