Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regularization for complex-valued network inversion

Network inversion solves inverse problems to estimate cause from result using a multilayer neural network. The original network inversion has been applied to usual multilayer neural network with real-valued inputs and outputs. The solution by a neural network with complex-valued inputs and outputs is necessary for the general inverse problems including complex numbers. The complex-valued network inversion method has been proposed to solve the inverse problems with complex numbers. In general, there is a problem attributable to the ill-posedness on the inverse problems. To solve the ill-posedness, the regularization is used to add some conditions on the solution. In this study, we propose to introduce the regularization to the complex-valued network inversion.
How principal participation in an online community of practice impacts the professional development experience of middle school teachers

This study provided insights about incorporating an online community of practice into a professional development program designed to facilitate the instructional implementation of technology. Two middle schools in a southern state served as a comparative case study where this model of professional development was implemented. The primary goal of this research was to gain understanding of how principals interact with teachers and the roles principals assume during these interactions. A second goal was to determine how teachers perceived principal participation and how their levels of competence and efficacy were influenced by this experience. During four weeks of implementation principals participated with their teachers as members of the online community. Qualitative data were collected from the online threaded discussions, focus group interviews with teachers, individual principal interviews, and periodic teacher selfreports. Quantitative data from a Likert-scale survey and unit plans scored with a numeric rubric were collected. Results showed that principal contributions to the online community fell into two categories: emotional support and professional support. In addition, principals noted that the any time, any place aspect of the online community of practice was beneficial and allowed them to increase communication with their teachers. Through their participation principals gained insight about their teachers’ beliefs about technology integration, their reactions to professional development, their varying levels of competence with technology, and their motivation to use technology. Challenges identified by principals included their limited technology proficiency, difficulties facilitating full participation by faculty, and time constraints. This experience also allowed teachers to gain insights about their principals’ priorities and their values and
Hypoxia inducible factor 1α links fast‐patterned muscle activity and fast muscle phenotype in rats

Non‐technical summary Muscle fibres change when they are used differently, such as by exercise. Genetic studies have shown that a hyperactive form of the gene regulatory protein hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF‐1α) occurs twice as often among strength‐trained athletes as in the normal population. HIF‐1α is ‘sensing’ the oxygen levels in cells, and the oxygen levels change by an order of magnitude in working muscle. We show that an ‘endurance’ type of activity reduces the level of HIF‐1α, while short intense bursts of activity increases it. When HIF‐1α was produced in higher quantities by introducing artificial genes in the muscle fibres they became larger and faster, and with a less oxidative metabolism. Thus, oxygen itself could be a trigger for changes in muscle. The composition of muscle fibres is strongly correlated to major lifestyle conditions such as diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and HIF‐1α might provide a new molecular link.
Hypothermic storage with University of Wisconsin solution preserves endothelial and vascular smooth-muscle function.

BACKGROUND The effect of University of Wisconsin (UW) solution on coronary endothelial function is debated. Although earlier studies demonstrated preservation of stimulated release of endothelial vasoactive factors, the effect of UW solution on basal nitric oxide release has not been investigated, and this was the purpose of the present study. METHODS AND RESULTS Isolated canine coronary arteries were evaluated immediately after being harvested (group 1) and after 24-hour hypothermic (4 degrees C) storage in either buffered physiological saline solution (group 2) or UW solution (group 3). Smooth-muscle vascular response to sodium nitroprusside (10(-9) to 10(-6) mol/L), KCl (5 to 50 mmol/L), and prostaglandin F2alpha (10(-9) to 10(-6) mol/L) was comparable among the groups, as was the endothelial response to acetylcholine (10(-9) to 10(-6) mol/L) and calcium ionophore A23187 (10(-9) to 10(-6) mol/L). Vessels in group 3 exhibited better preservation of basal release of nitric oxide, as measured by contraction to either N(G)-monomethyl L-arginine (10(-4) mol/L) or methylene blue (10(-5) mol/L), in comparison with control arteries exposed to saline solution (group 2). There was no difference in the basal production of nitric oxide between group 1 and group 3 vessels. CONCLUSIONS The present study demonstrated preservation of vascular smooth muscle and endothelium-dependent relaxations after prolonged hypothermic storage in UW solution. Furthermore, storage in this solution preserved basal release of nitric oxide.
Estimating the Dollar Value Contribution of Human Resource Intervention Programs: Some Comments on the Brogden Utility Equation

This paper addresses the issue of interpreting dollar value utility estimates using the Brogden utility equation. It shows that estimates of the standard deviation of job perfor Mance in dollars (SDy) must be compatible with the effect size measure in order to produce meaningful final utility estimates. With this interpretation of the utility estimates, it is argued that most existing SDy estimation methods would not produce accurate utility estimates of future cash flow.
Roles of Macrophages and Neutrophils in the Early Host Response to Bacillus anthracis Spores in a Mouse Model of Infection

ABSTRACT The development of new approaches to combat anthrax requires that the pathogenesis and host response to Bacillus anthracis spores be better understood. We investigated the roles that macrophages and neutrophils play in the progression of infection by B. anthracis in a mouse model. Mice were treated with a macrophage depletion agent (liposome-encapsulated clodronate) or with a neutrophil depletion agent (cyclophosphamide or the rat anti-mouse granulocyte monoclonal antibody RB6-8C5), and the animals were then infected intraperitoneally or by aerosol challenge with fully virulent, ungerminated B. anthracis strain Ames spores. The macrophage-depleted mice were significantly more susceptible to the ensuing infection than the saline-pretreated mice, whereas the differences observed between the neutropenic mice and the saline-pretreated controls were generally not significant. We also found that augmenting peritoneal neutrophil populations before spore challenge did not increase resistance of the mice to infection. In addition, the bacterial load in macrophage-depleted mice was significantly greater and appeared significantly sooner than that observed with the saline-pretreated mice. However, the bacterial load in the neutropenic mice was comparable to that of the saline-pretreated mice. These data suggest that, in our model, neutrophils play a relatively minor role in the early host response to spores, whereas macrophages play a more dominant role in early host defenses against infection by B. anthracis spores.
Complete Meiosis from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Gamete failure‐derived infertility affects millions of people worldwide; for many patients, gamete donation by unrelated donors is the only available treatment. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) can differentiate in vitro into germ‐like cells, but they are genetically unrelated to the patient. Using an in vitro protocol that aims at recapitulating development, we have achieved, for the first time, complete differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to postmeiotic cells. Unlike previous reports using human ESCs, postmeiotic cells arose without the over‐expression of germline related transcription factors. Moreover, we consistently obtained haploid cells from hiPSCs of different origin (keratinocytes and cord blood), produced with a different number of transcription factors, and of both genetic sexes, suggesting the independence of our approach from the epigenetic memory of the reprogrammed somatic cells. Our work brings us closer to the production of personalized human gametes in vitro. STEM CELLS 2011;29:1186‐1195
Protein Microarrays Discover Angiotensinogen and PRKRIP1 as Novel Targets for Autoantibodies in Chronic Renal Disease

Biomarkers for early detection of chronic kidney disease are needed, as millions of patients suffer from chronic diseases predisposing them to kidney failure. Protein microarrays may also hold utility in the discovery of auto-antibodies in other conditions not commonly considered auto-immune diseases. We hypothesized that proteins are released as a consequence of damage at a cellular level during end-organ damage from renal injury, not otherwise recognized as self-antigens, and an adaptive humoral immune response to these proteins might be detected in the blood, as a noninvasive tracker of this injury. The resultant antibodies (Ab) detected in the blood would serve as effective biomarkers for occult renal injury, enabling earlier clinical detection of chronic kidney disease than currently possible, because of the redundancy of the serum creatinine as a biomarker for early kidney injury. To screen for novel autoantibodies in chronic kidney disease, 24 protein microarrays were used to compare serum Ab from patients with chronic kidney disease against matched controls. From a panel of 38 antigens with increased Ab binding, four were validated in 71 individuals, with (n = 50) and without (n = 21) renal insufficiency. Significant elevations in the titer of novel auto-Ab were noted against angiotensinogen and PRKRIP1 in renal insufficiency. Current validation is underway to evaluate if these auto-Ab can provide means to follow the evolution of chronic kidney disease in patients with early stages of renal insufficiency, and if these rising titers of these auto-Ab correlate with the rate of progression of chronic kidney disease.
Notice of RetractionAutomated ontology-based customer needs translation and representation

Intense competition and high failure product rate calls for a deeper understanding of customer needs. However, the process of translation and interpretation of voice of customers (VoC) into customer needs statements involves much imprecise information with linguistic vague descriptions. In order to get accurate customer need statements and further to further to enhance customer satisfaction for product success, we have to take a review of how to well interpret, translate and represent customer needs in the front-end product design process. We endow the use of ontology is an efficient approach for accurate custom needs translation and representation. Although ontology is promising for our target, it is known that manually building ontology is a tedious work, which requires much human effort. To solve this problem, we present a framework that automatically translates and represents customers' needs in the form of ontology in this paper. We first employ natural language processing tools to pre-process the customer statements. Then, a set of algorithms are used to extract concepts and relations from the processed statements, building the final ontology. We have conducted a case study of the framework. In particular, the customer statements about digital camera products are collected from customer reviews. Then, we build ontology from the collected statement. The experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of our framework.
A randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of paroxetine in nursing home residents with non‐major depression

Depression is common across a broad spectrum of severity among nursing home residents. Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of antidepressants in nursing home residents with major depression, but it is not known whether antidepressants are helpful in residents with less severe forms of depression. We conducted a randomized double‐blind placebo‐controlled 8‐week trial comparing paroxetine and placebo in very old nursing home residents with non‐major depression. The main outcome measure was the primary nurse’s Clinical Impression of Change (CGI‐C). Additional outcome measures were improvement on the interview‐derived Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Cornell Scale for Depression (CS) scores. Twenty‐four subjects with a mean age of 87.9 were enrolled and twenty subjects completed the trial. Placebo response was high, and when all subjects were considered, there were no differences in improvement between the paroxetine and placebo groups. Two subjects that received paroxetine developed delirium, and subjects that received paroxetine were more likely to experience a decrease in Mini Mental State Exam scores (P = .03). There were no differences in serum anticholinergic activity between groups. In a subgroup analysis of 15 subjects with higher baseline HDRS and CS scores, there was a trend toward greater improvement in the paroxetine group in an outcome measure that combined the CGI‐C and interview‐based measures (P = .06). Paroxetine is not clearly superior to placebo in this small study of very old nursing home residents with non‐major depression, and there is a risk of adverse cognitive effects. Because of the high placebo response and the trend towards improvement in the more severely ill patients, it is possible that a larger study would have demonstrated a significant therapeutic effect for paroxetine as compared with placebo. The study also illustrates the discordance between patient and caregiver ratings, and the difficulties in studying very elderly patients with mood disorders. Depression and Anxiety 15:102–110, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Regional Deposition of Particles in an Image-Based Airway Model: Large-Eddy Simulation and Left-Right Lung Ventilation Asymmetry

Regional deposition and ventilation of particles by generation, lobe and lung during steady inhalation in a computed tomography (CT) based human airway model are investigated numerically. The airway model consists of a seven-generation human airway tree, with oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx. The turbulent flow in the upper respiratory tract is simulated by large-eddy simulation. The flow boundary conditions at the peripheral airways are derived from CT images at two lung volumes to produce physiologically realistic regional ventilation. Particles with diameters equal to or greater than 2.5 microns are selected for study because smaller particles tend to penetrate to the more distal parts of the lung. The current generational particle deposition efficiencies agree well with existing measurement data. Generational deposition efficiencies exhibit similar dependence on particle Stokes number regardless of generation, whereas deposition and ventilation efficiencies vary by lobe and lung, depending on airway morphology and airflow ventilation. In particular, regardless of particle size, the left lung receives a greater proportion of the particle bolus as compared to the right lung in spite of greater flow ventilation to the right lung. This observation is supported by the left-right lung asymmetry of particle ventilation observed in medical imaging. It is found that the particle-laden turbulent laryngeal jet flow, coupled with the unique geometrical features of the airway, causes a disproportionate amount of particles to enter the left lung.
Pharmacokinetics of antiviral agents for the treatment of cytomegalovirus infection.

PURPOSE The mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, and other advantages and disadvantages of ganciclovir and valganciclovir are discussed. SUMMARY Shortcomings of oral ganciclovir include low bioavailability, large pill burden, patient nonadherence, and the emergence of resistance. Valganciclovir, an oral prodrug of ganciclovir, has a nearly tenfold greater absolute bioavailability than ganciclovir. Dosage adjustment is required for both drugs in patients with renal impairment. CONCLUSION The pharmacokinetic profile of valganciclovir offers significant advantages for its use in cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis.
Transcriptional data mining of Salvia miltiorrhiza in response to methyl jasmonate to examine the mechanism of bioactive compound biosynthesis and regulation.

Salvia miltiorrhiza is a Chinese herb with significant pharmacologic effects because of the bioactive compounds of tanshinones and phenolic acids. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) has been used as an effective elicitor to enhance the production of these compounds. However, the molecular mechanism of MeJA-mediated tanshinone and salvianolic acid biosynthesis remains unclear. The transcriptional profiles of S. miltiorrhiza leaves at 12 h (T12) after MeJA elicitation and mock-treated leaves (T0) were generated using the Illumina deep RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) strategy to detect the changes in gene expression in response to MeJA. In total, 37 647 unique sequences were obtained from about 21 million reads, and 25 641 (71.53%) of these sequences were annotated based on the blast searches against the public databases. A total of 5287 unique sequences were expressed differentially between the samples of T0 and T12, which covered almost all the known genes involved in tanshinone and phenolic acid biosynthesis in S. miltiorrhiza. Many of the transcription factors (e.g. MYB, bHLH and WRKY) and genes involved in plant hormone biosynthesis and signal transduction were expressed differentially in response to the MeJA induction. Importantly, three and four candidate cytochrome P450s (P450s) that could be involved in the tanshinone and phenolic acid biosynthesis, respectively, were selected from the RNA-seq data based on co-expressed pattern analysis with SmCPS1/SmKSL1 and SmRAS, which are the key genes responsible for biosynthesis. This comprehensive investigation of MeJA-induced gene expression profiles can shed light on the molecular mechanisms of the MeJA-mediated bioactive compound biosynthesis and regulation in S. miltiorrhiza.
Differential Localization of Complement Component 3 within the Capsular Matrix of Cryptococcus neoformans

ABSTRACT The polysaccharide capsule of Cryptococcus neoformans is a powerful activator of the complement system. The goal of the present study was to assess serum and cellular variables that influence the sites for C3 binding within the capsular matrix. Confocal microscopy using fluorophore-labeled polyclonal anti-C3 and anticapsular monoclonal antibodies and rosetting of fluorescent microspheres coated with anti-C3 were used to identify sites of C3 binding relative to the capsular edge. The results showed that the source of serum was a major variable influencing localization of C3. C3 bound at or very near the capsular edge in the case of human serum. C3 deposition was further from the capsule edge with guinea pig and rat sera; in the case of mouse serum, there was no binding of C3 in the outer region of the capsule. Addition of human C3 to mouse serum led to deposition of the C3 at the capsular edge, indicating that distinct properties of mouse and human C3 account for the differential localization of C3. Finally, the density of the capsular matrix was an important variable in determining sites for C3 deposition. Yeast cells with a high concentration of polysaccharide near the capsule edge supported deposition of mouse C3 at or near the capsular edge, whereas cells with a low matrix density showed deposition well beneath the edge. Taken together, these results indicate that the spatial deposition of C3 within the capsular matrix is a complex process that is influenced by the serum source and the density of the capsular matrix.
Impact of modulating phase duration on electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses obtained during cochlear implantation

Abstract Objective To investigate the effect of increasing phase duration (pulse width, T-pulse) using a biphasic pulse composed of an initial anodic active phase followed by a balancing cathodic phase on the electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses (eABRs) recorded at the time of cochlear implantation. Design eABRs recorded during 188 surgeries for cochlear implantation from 1999 to 2006 in a single center were retrospectively reviewed by two independent observers. All patients were fitted with a NEURELEC cochlear implant (CI) device, initially DIGISONIC® then DIGISONIC SP® (2004–2006). Result Immediately following cochlear implantation, stimulation by the CI resulted in reliable wave III and V eABR waveforms (mean wave III latency 2.23 ± 0.38 ms SD and wave V latency 4.28 ± 0.42 ms SD). Latencies followed an apical to basal gradient (0.32 ms increase in mean eV latency and 0.12 ms for eIII latency). With increasing phase duration, wave III and wave V latencies significantly decreased in association with a shortening of the eIII–eV interwave gap, while amplitudes of both waves increased. Conclusion The impact of increasing phase duration on latency and amplitude of brainstem responses in a large set of patients implanted with NEURELEC CIs was reported.
Initial findings on preventive intervention for families with parental affective disorders.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to develop a clinician-based cognitive, psychoeducational, preventive intervention for families with parental affective disorder that would be suitable to widespread use, test its feasibility and safety, and define the areas affected by the intervention. The intervention was designed to increase understanding of parental illness and resilience in the children. METHOD The authors studied the first seven families (14 parents) to receive the intervention. Enrollment criteria included affective disorder during the preceding year in at least one parent, presence of at least one child between the ages of 8 and 14 years who was not psychiatrically ill at the time of participation, and willingness to participate in the research study. The intervention consisted of parent, child, and family sessions. Assessment included semistructured interviews with parents about affective disorders, standard ratings of marital satisfaction and therapeutic alliance, and a recently developed semistructured interview to assess response to the intervention. RESULTS Overall satisfaction with the intervention was rated moderate to high by parents. No harm was reported. Ten of 14 parent subjects reported five or more behavior and attitude changes that they attributed to the intervention. The most frequent behavior and attitudinal changes reported were increased discussion of the illness and related issues and increased understanding of information about affective illness. CONCLUSIONS The authors conclude that the intervention is safe and feasible in families with parental affective disorder.