Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Face emotion recognition is related to individual differences in psychosis-proneness

Background Deficits in face emotion recognition (FER) in schizophrenia are well documented, and have been proposed as a potential intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia liability. However, research on the relationship between psychosis vulnerability and FER has mixed findings and methodological limitations. Moreover, no study has yet characterized the relationship between FER ability and level of psychosis-proneness. If FER ability varies continuously with psychosis-proneness, this suggests a relationship between FER and polygenic risk factors. Method We tested two large internet samples to see whether psychometric psychosis-proneness, as measured by the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B), is related to differences in face emotion identification and discrimination or other face processing abilities. Results Experiment 1 (n=2332) showed that psychosis-proneness predicts face emotion identification ability but not face gender identification ability. Experiment 2 (n=1514) demonstrated that psychosis-proneness also predicts performance on face emotion but not face identity discrimination. The tasks in Experiment 2 used identical stimuli and task parameters, differing only in emotion/identity judgment. Notably, the relationships demonstrated in Experiments 1 and 2 persisted even when individuals with the highest psychosis-proneness levels (the putative high-risk group) were excluded from analysis. Conclusions Our data suggest that FER ability is related to individual differences in psychosis-like characteristics in the normal population, and that these differences cannot be accounted for by differences in face processing and/or visual perception. Our results suggest that FER may provide a useful candidate intermediate phenotype.
Visual readability analysis: How to make your writings easier to read

We present a tool that is specifically designed to support a writer in revising a draft-version of a document. In addition to showing which paragraphs and sentences are difficult to read and understand, we assist the reader in understanding why this is the case. This requires features that are expressive predictors of readability, and are also semantically understandable. In the first part of the paper, we therefore discuss a semi-automatic feature selection approach that is used to choose appropriate measures from a collection of 141 candidate readability features. In the second part, we present the visual analysis tool VisRA, which allows the user to analyze the feature values across the text and within single sentences. The user can choose different visual representations accounting for differences in the size of the documents and the availability of information about the physical and logical layout of the documents. We put special emphasis on providing as much transparency as possible to ensure that the user can purposefully improve the readability of a sentence. Several case-studies are presented that show the wide range of applicability of our tool.
New Methods for Inferring the Distribution of Fitness Effects for INDELs and SNPs

Abstract Small insertions and deletions (INDELs; ≤50 bp) are the most common type of variability after single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). However, compared with SNPs, we know little about the distribution of fitness effects (DFE) of new INDEL mutations and how prevalent adaptive INDEL substitutions are. Studying INDELs has been difficult partly because identifying ancestral states at these sites is error‐prone and misidentification can lead to severely biased estimates of the strength of selection. To solve these problems, we develop new maximum likelihood methods, which use polymorphism data to simultaneously estimate the DFE, the mutation rate, and the misidentification rate. These methods are applicable to both INDELs and SNPs. Simulations show that they can provide highly accurate results. We applied the methods to an INDEL polymorphism data set in Drosophila melanogaster. We found that the DFE for polymorphic INDELs in protein‐coding regions is bimodal, with the variants being either nearly neutral or strongly deleterious. Based on the DFE, we estimated that 71.5‐83.7% of the INDEL substitutions that took place along the D. melanogaster lineage were fixed by positive selection, which is comparable with the prevalence of adaptive substitutions at nonsynonymous sites. The new methods have been implemented in the software package anavar.
The buffering capacity of stems: genetic architecture of nonstructural carbohydrates in cultivated Asian rice, Oryza sativa

Summary Harnessing stem carbohydrate dynamics in grasses offers an opportunity to help meet future demands for plant‐based food, fiber and fuel production, but requires a greater understanding of the genetic controls that govern the synthesis, interconversion and transport of such energy reserves. We map out a blueprint of the genetic architecture of rice (Oryza sativa) stem nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) at two critical developmental time‐points using a subpopulation‐specific genome‐wide association approach on two diverse germplasm panels followed by quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping in a biparental population. Overall, 26 QTL are identified; three are detected in multiple panels and are associated with starch‐at‐maturity, sucrose‐at‐maturity and NSC‐at‐heading. They tag OsHXK6 (rice hexokinase), ISA2 (rice isoamylase) and a tandem array of sugar transporters. This study provides the foundation for more in‐depth molecular investigation to validate candidate genes underlying rice stem NSC and informs future comparative studies in other agronomically vital grass species.
Mass spectrometric identification of intermediates in the O2-driven [4Fe-4S] to [2Fe-2S] cluster conversion in FNR

Significance The transcriptional regulator Fumarate and Nitrate Reduction is the master switch for the transition between anaerobic and aerobic respiration in many other bacteria. It fulfills this role by controlling the expression of >300 genes in response to O2. It senses O2 through a [4Fe-4S] cluster cofactor, which undergoes conversion to a [2Fe-2S] cluster on reaction with O2, leading to loss of DNA binding. By using time-resolved electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, we gained insight into the reaction through detection of cluster conversion intermediates and products, including a [3Fe-3S] cluster. The data also show that sulfide released from the cluster is oxidized during the conversion reaction and not after it. Our methodology has great potential for broad application to studies of cofactor reactivities. The iron-sulfur cluster containing protein Fumarate and Nitrate Reduction (FNR) is the master regulator for the switch between anaerobic and aerobic respiration in Escherichia coli and many other bacteria. The [4Fe-4S] cluster functions as the sensory module, undergoing reaction with O2 that leads to conversion to a [2Fe-2S] form with loss of high-affinity DNA binding. Here, we report studies of the FNR cluster conversion reaction using time-resolved electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The data provide insight into the reaction, permitting the detection of cluster conversion intermediates and products, including a [3Fe-3S] cluster and persulfide-coordinated [2Fe-2S] clusters [[2Fe-2S](S)n, where n = 1 or 2]. Analysis of kinetic data revealed a branched mechanism in which cluster sulfide oxidation occurs in parallel with cluster conversion and not as a subsequent, secondary reaction to generate [2Fe-2S](S)n species. This methodology shows great potential for broad application to studies of protein cofactor–small molecule interactions.
Hardware accelerator for solving 0–1 knapsack problems using binary harmony search

Abstract The 0–1 knapsack problem (KP) is a well-known intractable optimization problem with wide range of applications. Harmony Search (HS) is one of the most popular metaheuristic algorithms to successfully solve 0–1 KPs. Nevertheless, metaheuristic algorithms are generally compute intensive and slow when implemented in software. In this paper, we present an FPGA-based pipelined hardware accelerator to reduce computation time for solving large dimension 0–1 KPs using Binary Harmony Search algorithm. The proposed architecture exploits the intrinsic parallelism of population based metaheuristic algorithm and the flexibility and parallel processing capabilities of FPGAs to perform the computation concurrently thus enhancing performance. To validate the efficiency of the proposed hardware accelerator, experiments were conducted using a large number of 0–1 KPs. Comparative analysis on experimental results reveals that the proposed approach offers promising speedups of 51× – 111× as compared with a software implementation and 2× – 5× as compared with a hardware implementation of Binary Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm. Hardware Accelerator Implementation using Binary Harmony Search
A Modular Real-time Tidal Prediction Model based on Grey-GMDH Neural Network

ABSTRACT Real-time prediction of tidal level is of great significance for activities of human beings in the fields of marine and coastal engineering. However, the disturbance factors of tidal level are very intricate, which deteriorate the tidal prediction accuracy. To improve the accuracy of real-time tidal-level prediction, a modular real-time tidal-level prediction approach is proposed based on the grey group method of data handling (Grey-GMDH) neural network. The modular model is composed of astronomical tide parts caused by celestial bodies’ movement and the nonastronomical tide parts caused by various meteorological and other environmental factors. The GMDH is a polynomial network that is commonly used in prediction and pattern recognition. However, GMDH is sensitive to nondeterministic time series, which would result in low accuracy of prediction. In this study, the grey prediction theory is introduced into the GMDH prediction model to alleviate the unfavorable effects of uncertainty caused by various environmental factors and the adverse effects caused thereby on the prediction accuracy. In this study of tidal prediction, the Grey-GMDH model is used to predict the nonastronomical tide parts, whereas the conventional harmonic analysis model is used to predict the astronomical tide parts. The final prediction result is achieved by combining the estimation outputs of the harmonious analysis model and the Grey-GMDH model. Measured tidal-level data of San Diego tidal station is selected as the testing database. Simulation and experimental results confirm that the proposed approach can achieve real-time predictions for tidal level with high accuracy, satisfactory convergence and stability.
Model of the 2000 Presidential Election: Instrumenting for Ideology

In a spatial model of voting, a voter's utility for a candidate is a function of ideological distance from the candidate and a candidate's quality. Candidate quality can potentially bias the measure of ideological distance in two ways. First, voters may be more drawn to high quality candidates thereby reducing the ideological distance. Second, a candidate's ideological position is a function of rivals�qualities and his own quality. We derive a theoretical model to sign the direction of both biases analytically. Next, using techniques established in the industrial organization literature, we estimate the model using two sets of instrumental variables.
Disabling Dactylitis and Tenosynovitis Due to Mycobacterium haemophilum in a Patient With Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

A 44-year-old man with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and CD4 cell count of 8 cells/mm presented with painful and erythematous swollen hands 1 month after starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) after a 4-year hiatus from care. During his interrupted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment, he was living in Mexico and incarcerated for a period of time. For the year preceding presentation with hand swelling, he was working as a cook in a Mexican restaurant in San Francisco, California, where he had frequent finger trauma from opening metal cans and preparing shrimp. Thickened flexor tendons and dactylitis were present bilaterally with stiffness and severely limited flexion and extension of his fingers (Figures 1 and 2). He did not have systemic symptoms. Skin biopsies demonstrated granulomatous dermatitis and panniculitis (Figure 3), with negative stains for organisms. Polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical stains for mycobacteria were negative. TB treatment along with clarithromycin was initiated empirically. Cultures from a second excisional biopsy of deep palm soft tissue on chocolate agar incubated at 30°C grew Mycobacterium haemophilum, suggesting unmasking immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in setting of HIV treatment. Additional biopsies grew M. haemophilium from mycobacterial cultures. Treatment was changed to moxifloxacin, ethambutol, rifabutin, and azithromycin.
Stigmatizing Images in Obesity Health Campaign Messages and Healthy Behavioral Intentions

Background. Antiobesity campaigns blaming individual behaviors for obesity have sparked concern that an emphasis on individual behavior may lead to stigmatization of overweight or obese people. Past studies have shown that perpetuating stigma is not effective for influencing behavior. Purpose. This study examined whether stigmatizing or nonstigmatizing images and text in antiobesity advertisements led to differences in health-related behavioral intentions. Method. Participants in this experiment were 161 American adults. Measures included self-reported body mass index, weight satisfaction, antifat attitudes, and intention to increase healthy behaviors. Results. Images in particular prompted intention to increase healthy behavior, but only among participants who were not overweight or obese. Conclusion. Images and text emphasizing individual responsibility for obesity may influence behavioral intention among those who are not overweight, but they do not seem to be effective at altering behavioral intentions among overweight people, the target audience for many antiobesity messages. Images in antiobesity messages intended to alter behavior are influential and should be selected carefully.
Towards Battery-Free HD Video Streaming

– Video streaming has traditionally been considered an extremely power-hungry operation. Existing approaches optimize the camera and communication modules individually to minimize their power consumption. However, designing a video streaming device requires power-consuming hardware components and computationally intensive video codec algorithms that interface the camera and the communication modules. For example, monochrome HD video streaming at 60 fps requires an ADC operating at a sampling rate of 55.3 MHz and a video codec that can handle uncompressed data being generated at 442 Mbps. We present a novel architecture that enables HD video streaming from a low-power, wearable camera to a nearby mobile device. To achieve this, we present an “analog” video backscatter technique that feeds analog pixels from the photo-diodes directly to the backscatter hardware, thereby eliminating power-consuming hardware components, such as ADCs and codecs. To evaluate our design, we simulate an ASIC, which achieves 60 fps 720p and 1080p HD video streaming for 321 µ W and 806 µ W, respectively. This translates to 1000x to 10,000x lower power than it used for existing digital video streaming approaches. Our empirical results also show that we can harvest su ﬃ cient energy to enable battery-free 30 fps 1080p video streaming at up to 8 feet. Finally, we design and implement a proof-of-concept prototype with o ﬀ -the- shelf hardware components that successfully backscatters 720p HD video at 10 fps up to 16 feet.
On Heckits, Late, and Numerical Equivalence

Structural econometric methods are often criticized for being sensitive to functional form assumptions. We study parametric estimators of the local average treatment effect (LATE) derived from a widely used class of latent threshold crossing models and show they yield LATE estimates algebraically equivalent to the instrumental variables (IV) estimator. Our leading example is Heckman's (1979) two‐step (“Heckit”) control function estimator which, with two‐sided non‐compliance, can be used to compute estimates of a variety of causal parameters. Equivalence with IV is established for a semiparametric family of control function estimators and shown to hold at interior solutions for a class of maximum likelihood estimators. Our results suggest differences between structural and IV estimates often stem from disagreements about the target parameter rather than from functional form assumptions per se. In cases where equivalence fails, reporting structural estimates of LATE alongside IV provides a simple means of assessing the credibility of structural extrapolation exercises.
Phytic Acid and Sodium Chloride Show Marked Synergistic Bactericidal Effects against Nonadapted and Acid-Adapted Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strains

ABSTRACT The synergistic antimicrobial effects of phytic acid (PA), a natural extract from rice bran, plus sodium chloride against Escherichia coli O157:H7 were examined. Exposure to NaCl alone at concentrations up to 36% (wt/wt) for 5 min did not reduce bacterial populations. The bactericidal effects of PA alone were much greater than those of other organic acids (acetic, citric, lactic, and malic acids) under the same experimental conditions (P < 0.05). Combining PA and NaCl under conditions that yielded negligible effects when each was used alone led to marked synergistic effects. For example, whereas 0.4% PA or 3 or 4% NaCl alone had little or no effect on cell viability, combining the two completely inactivated both nonadapted and acid-adapted cells, reducing their numbers to unrecoverable levels (>7-log CFU/ml reduction). Flow cytometry confirmed that PA disrupted the cell membrane to a greater extent than did other organic acids, although the cells remained viable. The combination of PA and NaCl induced complete disintegration of the cell membrane. By comparison, none of the other organic acids acted synergistically with NaCl, and neither did NaCl-HCl solutions at the same pH values as the test solutions of PA plus NaCl. These results suggest that PA has great potential as an effective bacterial membrane-permeabilizing agent, and we show that the combination is a promising alternative to conventional chemical disinfectants. These findings provide new insight into the utility of natural compounds as novel antimicrobial agents and increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the antibacterial activity of PA.
Alcohol consumption and endometrial cancer risk: The multiethnic cohort

The role of alcohol intake in the etiology of endometrial cancer is unclear. We examined the impact of alcohol intake on endometrial cancer risk among 41,574 postmenopausal African‐American, Japanese‐American, Latina, Native‐Hawaiian and White women recruited to the prospective Multiethnic Cohort Study in 1993–1996. During an average of 8.3 years of follow‐up, 324 incident invasive endometrial cancer cases were identified among these women. Data on alcohol intake and endometrial cancer risk factors were obtained from the baseline questionnaire. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for endometrial cancer associated with alcohol intake were estimated using log‐linear (Cox) proportional hazard models stratified by age, year of recruitment, ethnicity and study center, and adjusted for several confounding factors. Increased alcohol consumption was associated with increased risk (p trend = 0.013). Compared to nondrinkers, women consuming ≥2 drinks/day had a multivariate RR of 2.01 (95% CI: 1.30, 3.11). There was no increase in risk associated with <1 drink/day (RR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.77, 1.33) and 1 to <2 drinks/day (RR = 1.09; 95% CI: 0.62, 1.93). There was no clear effect modification by body mass index, postmenopausal hormone use, parity, oral contraceptive use or smoking status, though our power to detect such interactions was limited. Our results suggest that only alcohol consumption equivalent to 2 or more drinks per day increases risk of endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Measuring the modified early warning score and the Rothman Index: Advantages of utilizing the electronic medical record in an early warning system

Early detection of an impending cardiac or pulmonary arrest is an important focus for hospitals trying to improve quality of care. Unfortunately, all current early warning systems suffer from high false-alarm rates. Most systems are based on the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS); 4 of its 5 inputs are vital signs. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of MEWS against the Rothman Index (RI), a patient acuity score based upon summation of excess risk functions that utilize additional data from the electronic medical record (EMR). MEWS and RI scores were computed retrospectively for 32,472 patient visits. Nursing assessments, a category of EMR inputs only used by the RI, showed sharp differences 24 hours before death. Receiver operating characteristic curves for 24-hour mortality demonstrated superior RI performance with c-statistics, 0.82 and 0.93, respectively. At the point where MEWS triggers an alarm, we identified the RI point corresponding to equal sensitivity and found the positive likelihood ratio (LR+) for MEWS was 7.8, and for the RI was 16.9 with false alarms reduced by 53%. At the RI point corresponding to equal LR+, the sensitivity for MEWS was 49% and 77% for RI, capturing 54% more of those patients who will die within 24 hours. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2014;9:116–119. 2013 The Authors. Journal of Hospital Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Hospital Medicine
Compositional semantics for new paradigms: probabilistic, hybrid and beyond

Emerging computational paradigms, such as probabilistic and hybrid programming, introduce new primitive operations that often need to be combined with classic programming constructs. However, it still remains a challenge to provide a semantics to these features and their combination in a systematic manner. For this reason, we introduce a generic, monadic framework that allows us to investigate not only which programming features a given paradigm supports, but also on how it can be extended with new constructs. By applying our method to the probabilistic and hybrid case, we list for example all binary program operations they possess, and show precisely when and if important axioms such as commutativity and idempotency hold. Using this framework, we also study the possibility of incorporating notions of failure and non-determinism, and obtain new results on this topic for hybrid and probabilistic programming.