Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Observations on the patterns of 24-hour energy expenditure changes in body composition and gastric emptying in head-injured patients receiving nasogastric tube feeding.

BACKGROUND Although intolerance to nasogastric feeding is commonly observed after head injury, quantitative measurements of gastric emptying are lacking. Concepts about energy requirements are limited by the lack of long-term measurements of total energy expenditure. METHODS Six male subjects with severe head injury had their gastric emptying measured by the phenol red technique. N and energy balances were measured by classic balance techniques, which included continuous indirect calorimetry for up to 24 hours (days 3 to 5). Measurements of body composition were made on days 3 to 5 and 12 to 19 (4 subjects only). RESULTS The subjects lost a mean of 9.8 kg of which 2.3 kg was estimated to be due to fat (equivalent to -14 g N/d and -1690 kcal/d). On days 3 to 5, basal metabolic rate (BMR) was 130% to 135% of predicted. The low dietary intake (650 kcal and 4.2g N/d) was associated with negative energy (-1710 +/- 520 kcal/d) and N balances (-19 +/- 5 g N/d). Gastric emptying was delayed twofold (days 3 to 5) compared with controls (p < .001) and was associated with significant regurgitation of feed into the mouth (16 of 31 saliva samples contained glucose at a concentration of > 0.5 mmol/L compared with control values of < 0.2 mmol/L. CONCLUSIONS The large negative energy balance in the subjects studied was largely due to the inadequate nasogastric feeding, which was associated with a twofold reduction in the rate of gastric emptying and frequent regurgitation of feed. The large negative N balance and the high contribution of protein oxidation to total energy expenditure (25% to 28%) was predominantly due to the injury sustained and immobility. An increase in BMR is not necessarily associated with increased total energy expenditure or energy requirements.
Non-Linear Matrix Completion for Social Image Tagging

In this paper, we address the problem of social image tagging using practical vocabulary for mobile users on the social media. On the social media, images usually have an incomplete or noisy set of social tags provided by the mobile users, and we consider this issue as defective tag assignments. Previous studies on social image tagging have mostly focused on multi-label classification without considering the defective tags. In these studies, the usage of multi-label classification techniques is expected to synergically exploit the linear relations between the image features and the semantic tags. However, these approaches usually aimed to capture the linear relations from the training data while ignoring the helpful information from the test data. In addition, they failed to incorporate the non-linear associations residing in the visual features as well as in the semantic tags. To overcome these drawbacks, we introduce a novel approach based on non-linear matrix completion for image tagging task with defective tags. Specifically, we first construct the entire feature-tag matrix based on the visual features with non-linear kernel mapping. Then, we present a formal methodology together with an optimization method under the matrix completion framework to jointly complete the tags of training and test images. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that our method shows promising results on image tagging task on two benchmark social image datasets with defective tags, and establishes a baseline for such models in this research domain.
Dok-1 and Dok-2 Regulate the Formation of Memory CD8+ T Cells

Diverse signals received by CD8+ T cells are integrated to achieve the required magnitude of cell expansion and the appropriate balance of effector/memory CD8+ T cell generation. Notably, the strength and nature of TCR signaling influence the differentiation and functional capacity of effector and memory CD8+ T cells. Dok-1 and Dok-2, the two members of the Dok family expressed in T cells, negatively regulate TCR signaling in vitro. However, the role of Dok proteins in modulating T cell function in vivo has not yet studied. We studied the function of Dok-1 and Dok-2 proteins in the regulation of the CD8+ T cell response to vaccinia virus infection. Comparison of responses to vaccinia virus expressing OVA peptide SIINFEKL by wild-type and Dok-1/2−/− CD8+ OT-I cells showed that the absence of Dok-1 and Dok-2 slightly reduced the magnitude of virus-specific effector CD8+ T cell expansion. This was not due to reduced proliferation or enhanced apoptosis of effector CD8+ T cells. Dok-1/2–deficient effector CD8+ T cells showed increased cell surface TCR expression following virus infection in vivo and increased expression of granzyme B and TNF upon stimulation with peptide Ag ex vivo. Finally, Dok-1/2–deficient effector CD8+ T had a severe defect in survival that resulted in impaired generation of memory CD8+ T cells. These results reveal the critical involvement of Dok-1 and Dok-2 in a negative-feedback loop that prevents overactivation of CD8+ T cells and promotes memory formation.
Boosting Performance of Map Matching Algorithms by Parallelization on Graphics Processors

In this paper existing map matching algorithms are combined and modified such, that the resulting algorithm is suitable for the implementation on the graphics processing unit (GPU). The map matching algorithm implemented on GPU consists of a geometrical and topological processing step, which provides high accuracy with high efficiency at the same time. An important building block of the implementation is the parallelization of the R∗-tree search. An efficient implementation is achieved by high data parallelism and minimal divergence between execution blocks. The presented map matching algorithm performs better than available open source implementations.
POSTER: Page Table Manipulation Attack

The kernel exploit attacks have recently become difficult to be launched because executing either malicious scripts or instructions is prohibited by the DEP/NX (Data Execution Prevention/Not Executable). As an alternative way, return-oriented programming (ROP) could be another option to treat the prevention. However, despite lots of cost for making ROP gadgets, it has no guarantee to assemble the proper gadgets. To overcome this limitation, we introduce Page Table Manipulation Attack (PTMA) to alter memory attribute through page table modification. This attack enables an attacker to rewrite memory attribute of protected memory. We show how to find the page table entry of interest in Master Kernel Page Table and modify its attribute in AArch32 and x86-64. The results show that PTMA effectively circumvents the existing kernel exploitation defenses that are based on memory permission.
Detection and Measurement of Fungal Burden in a Guinea Pig Model of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis by Novel Quantitative Nested Real-Time PCR Compared with Galactomannan and (1,3)-β-d-Glucan Detection

ABSTRACT We developed and assessed the diagnostic value of a novel quantitative nested real-time (QNRT) PCR assay targeting the internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) in a guinea pig model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Groups of 5 immunosuppressed animals that were infected using an aerosol chamber with Aspergillus fumigatus conidia were humanely terminated 1 h postinoculation and at days 3, 5, 7, and 11 postchallenge, and lung tissue, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, whole blood, and serum samples were collected. The QNRT PCR results obtained with the serum and BAL fluid were compared to those achieved with galactomannan and (1→3)-β-d-glucan assays. High fungal burden levels were detected by QNRT PCR in both lung tissue and BAL fluid in all infected animals at each time point, and the sensitivity of each assay in BAL fluid was 100% by day 3 and remained so through the remainder of the study. The sensitivity of detection of fungi in whole blood and serum samples was significantly lower, and some samples remained negative by all three assays despite the advanced stage of the infection. From these data, we can conclude that this novel QNRT PCR method was highly sensitive for the detection of A. fumigatus from different types of samples in this model. In addition, BAL fluid samples appeared to be the most suitable for the early diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. When testing serum, the use of a combination of available assays may increase the possibility of early detection of this opportunistic mycosis.
Distinct roles of bone morphogenetic proteins in osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Efficacious bone regeneration could revolutionize the clinical management of many bone and musculoskeletal disorders. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) can regulate the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into cartilage, bone, tendon/ligament, and fat lineages. Early data documented the osteogenic potential of rhBMP2 and rhBMP7/OP‐1. However, prior to this work that summarized several of our recent studies, no comprehensive analysis had been undertaken to characterize relative osteogenic activity of all BMPs. Using recombinant adenoviruses expressing 14 BMPs, we have demonstrated that, besides BMP2 and BMP7, BMP6 and BMP9 exhibit the highest osteogenic activity both in vitro and in vivo. We further demonstrated that several BMPs may exert synergistic effect on osteogenic differentiation, and that osteogenic BMPs produce a distinct set of molecular fingerprints during osteogenic differentiation. The reported work should expand our current understanding of BMP functions during osteogenic differentiation. It is conceivable that osteogenic BMPs (i.e., BMP2, 4, 6, 7, and 9) may be used to formulate synergistic pairs among themselves and/or with other less osteogenic BMPs for efficacious bone regeneration in clinical settings. © 2007 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 25:665–677, 2007
Domain Wall Shift Register-Based Reconfigurable Logic

The current challenges of spintronic devices are the large power and long latency for magnetic switching. Current-induced domain wall (DW) motion is a new switching mechanism promising low-power, high-density, and high-speed circuits. It was first studied to build “race track” memory, which is considered as one of the most emerging technologies for future stand-alone memory. Based on the 3-D hybrid integration above CMOS circuits and using magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) as the write/read heads, DW motion can be advantageously extended to logic and embedded memory applications. In this paper, we present the first DW shift register-based lookup-table circuit to build reconfigurable logic, which may nearly halve the die area compared with conventional SRAM-LUT by sharing a number of subcircuits and suggest some new functions such as multicontext configuration and run-time reconfiguration for further performance improvement. By using a DW electrical model and CMOS 65-nm design kit, its performances such as low power and high computing/reconfiguration speed have been simulated or calculated.
An assessment on the quality of China’s preliminary data of quarterly GDP announcements

ABSTRACT This article examines the quality of China’s preliminary announcements of the quarterly GDP. We modify the tests for unbiasedness and efficiency by incorporating the Fourier approximation to capture the effect of the state of the economy, and employing the Kiefer, Vogelsang and Bunzel (KVB) approach, developed by KVB in 2000 to reconstruct the tests to improve the finite sample properties. The results show that: (1) there is no enough evidence to support that the preliminary and first revised data are unbiased and efficient; (2) there exist systematic errors related to the state of the economy, and hence information about the state of the economy was not incorporated into the GDP data. Furthermore, we find that there is a possibility that these systematic errors associated with the stages of the business cycle may offset each other, and there is also a possibility that there exist offsetting errors in the underlying components of GDP.
Quantification of the shape of fiber tracts

The fiber tracts generated using diffusion MRI are usually simply displayed and assessed visually for a specific clinical or medical research purpose. This paper proposes computational techniques that can be used to study the shape of the tracts and make interindividual comparisons. These methods make use of fundamental geometric invariants, such as curvatures and torsions, or Fourier descriptors, together with the link of a pair of curves. Intersubject comparisons only require that the starting and ending points of the tracts can be defined and do not require point‐by‐point correspondences such as obtained using image registration. Principal component analysis‐based shape analysis is also investigated. The invariants are tested on simulations and in vivo datasets, and the scale dependence and noise sensitivity of the measures are assessed. The potential for these techniques to be used in neuroscience research and clinical applications is demonstrated. Magn Reson Med, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
"The Trump Effect: Is This Time Different?"

From a macroeconomic point of view, 2016 was an ordinary year in the postâ€“Great Recession period. As in prior years, the conventional forecasts predicted that this would be the year the economy would finally escape from the "new normal" of secular stagnation. But just as in every previous year, the forecasts were confounded by the actual result: lower-than-expected growth--just 1.6 percent. The radical policy changes promoted by the new Trump administration dominated economic conditions in the closing quarter of the year and the first quarter of 2017. Markets have responded with exuberance since the November elections, on the expectation that the proposed policy measures would increase profitability by boosting growth and cutting personal and corporate taxes. However, an evaluation of the US economyâ€™s structural characteristics reveals three key impediments to a robust, sustainable recovery: income inequality, fiscal conservatism, and weak net export demand. The new administrationâ€™s often conflicting policy proposals are unlikely to solve any of these fundamental problems--if anything, the situation will worsen. Our latest Strategic Analysis provides two medium-term scenarios for the US economy. The "business as usual" baseline scenario (built on CBO estimates) shows household debt and GDP growth roughly maintaining their moribund postcrisis trends. The second scenario assumes a sharp correction in the stock market beginning in 2017Q3, combined with another round of private sector deleveraging. The results: negative growth and a government deficit of 8.3 percent by 2020--essentially a repeat of the crisis of 2007-9.
Febrile infants at low risk for serious bacterial infection--an appraisal of the Rochester criteria and implications for management. Febrile Infant Collaborative Study Group.

OBJECTIVE Prospective studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that infants unlikely to have serious bacterial infections (SBI) can be accurately identified by low risk criteria. METHODS Febrile infants (rectal T > or = 38 degrees C) < or = 60 days of age were considered at low risk for SBI if they met the following criteria: 1) appear well; 2) were previously healthy; 3) have no focal infection; 4) have WBC count 5.0-15.0 x 10(9) cells/L (5000-15,000/mm3), band form count < or = 1.5 x 10(9) cells/L (< or = 1500/mm3), < or = 10 WBC per high power field on microscopic examination of spun urine sediment, and < or = 5 WBC per high power field on microscopic examination of a stool smear (if diarrhea). The recommended evaluation included the culture of specimens of blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and urine for bacteria. Outcomes were determined. The negative predictive values of the low risk criteria for SBI and bacteremia were calculated. RESULTS Of 1057 eligible infants, 931 were well appearing, and, of these, 437 met the remaining low risk criteria. Five low risk infants had SBI including two infants with bacteremia. The negative predictive value of the low risk criteria was 98.9% (95% confidence interval, 97.2% to 99.6%) for SBI, and 99.5% (95% confidence interval, 98.2% to 99.9%) for bacteremia. CONCLUSIONS These data confirm the ability of the low risk criteria to identify infants unlikely to have SBI. Infants who meet the low risk criteria can be carefully observed without administering antimicrobial agents.
An analysis of spending behaviour under liquidity constraints with an application to financial hedging

For counter-parties to an options contract, the method employed to hedge their exposures depends on the agents’ risk preferences and the underlying asset. The thesis begins with a rudimentary model exploring the effects of sequential decisions to an investment problem. The insights gained from this analysis are discussed, as are the refinements necessary for more detailed investigation of the problem under consideration. Incorporating these into the rudimentary model leads to the main model for the thesis, one which describes agents’ behaviour in a dynamically constrained optimisation framework, and holds similarities to models of markets for storable commodities. When combined with fundamental results about the quadratic variation of stochastic price processes, the model provides a link to option pricing. The analysis thus facilitates the development of a financial instrument that can assist agents in reducing the risk associated with volatility of corporate cash flows. The instrument can be priced using fundamental (financial statement) analysis and market prices, both of which also provide information related to corporate creditworthiness, thus allowing corroboration of the results from the option pricing model. Under a variety of assumptions related to this model, the behaviour of a set of inter-connected agents is simulated. The results are suggestive of structures in market prices whose characteristics of which can be described in terms of price volatility. This allows the calibration of option prices by means of wavelet-based price processes, which are especially suitable for modelling quadratic variation. Our model generates related time series for unit prices as well as quantity flows. Selected aspects of this are elaborated upon to illustrate areas for future application of the concepts developed in the thesis.
Accurate design of digital rational approximations to the fractional order integrator using crow search algorithm

This paper presents an accurate design of stable, minimum phase, and wideband digital rational approximations to the Fractional Order Integrators (FOIs) based on a recently proposed nature-inspired metaheuristic optimization approach motivated by the intelligent manners of crows called Crow Search Algorithm (CSA). The proposed CSA based Digital Fractional Order Integrators (DFOIs) are compared with those of the designs based on four well-known nature-inspired optimization algorithms in terms of different frequency response performance indices and computational efficiency. The CSA based design of filter orders 5 and 6 achieves improvement of 5.9 dB and 10.3 dB, respectively, over state-of-the-art designs in terms of root mean square magnitude error metric, and also demonstrates a competitive performance with respect to the phase response. The proposed work demonstrates that CSA can be considered as an efficient optimizer for the design of DFOIs.
Amino acid substitutions in membrane-spanning domains of Hol1, a member of the major facilitator superfamily of transporters, confer nonselective cation uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Selection for the ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells to take up histidinol, the biosynthetic precursor to histidine, results in dominant mutations at HOL1. The DNA sequence of HOL1 was determined, and it predicts a 65-kDa protein related to the major facilitator family (drug resistance subfamily) of putative transport proteins. Two classes of mutations were obtained: (i) those that altered the coding region of HOL1, conferring the ability to take up histidinol; and (ii) cis-acting mutations (selected in a mutant HOL1-1 background) that increased expression of the Hol1 protein. The ability to transport histidinol and other cations was conferred by single amino acid substitutions at any of three sites located within putative membrane-spanning domains of the transporter. These mutations resulted in the conversion of a small hydrophobic amino acid codon to a phenylalanine codon. Selection for spontaneous mutations that increase histidinol uptake by such HOL1 mutants resulted in mutations that abolish the putative start codon of a six-codon open reading frame located approximately 171 nucleotides downstream of the transcription initiation site and 213 nucleotides upstream of the coding region of HOL1. This single small upstream open reading frame (uORF) confers translational repression upon HOL1; genetic disruption of the putative start codon of the uORF results in a 5- to 10-fold increase in steady-state amounts of Hol1 protein without significantly affecting the level of HOL1 mRNA expression.
Building Capacity in a Rural North Carolina Community to Address Prostate Health Using a Lay Health Advisor Model

Background. Prostate cancer is a critical concern for African Americans in North Carolina (NC), and innovative strategies are needed to help rural African American men maximize their prostate health. Engaging the community in research affords opportunities to build capacity for teaching and raising awareness. Approach and Strategies. A community steering committee of academicians, community partners, religious leaders, and other stakeholders modified a curriculum on prostate health and screening to include interactive knowledge- and skill-building activities. This curriculum was then used to train 15 African American lay health advisors, dubbed Prostate Cancer Ambassadors, in a rural NC community. Over the 2-day training, Ambassadors achieved statistically significant improvements in knowledge of prostate health and maintained confidence in teaching. The Ambassadors, in turn, used their personal networks to share their knowledge with over 1,000 individuals in their community. Finally, the Ambassadors became researchers, implementing a prostate health survey in local churches. Discussion and Conclusions. It is feasible to use community engagement models for raising awareness of prostate health in NC African American communities. Mobilizing community coalitions to develop curricula ensures that the curricula meet the communities’ needs, and training lay health advisors to deliver curricula helps secure community buy-in for the information.