Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are gestational age, birth weight, and birth length indicators of favorable fetal growth conditions? A structural equation analysis of Filipino infants

The fetal origins hypothesis emphasizes the life‐long health impacts of prenatal conditions. Birth weight, birth length, and gestational age are indicators of the fetal environment. However, these variables often have missing data and are subject to random and systematic errors caused by delays in measurement, differences in measurement instruments, and human error. With data from the Cebu (Philippines) Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey, we use structural equation models, to explore random and systematic errors in these birth outcome measures, to analyze how maternal characteristics relate to birth outcomes, and to take account of missing data. We assess whether birth weight, birth length, and gestational age are influenced by a single latent variable that we call favorable fetal growth conditions (FFGC) and if so, which variable is most closely related to FFGC. We find that a model with FFGC as a latent variable fits as well as a less parsimonious model that has birth weight, birth length, and gestational age as distinct individual variables. We also demonstrate that birth weight is more reliably measured than is gestational age. FFGCs were significantly influenced by taller maternal stature, better nutritional stores indexed by maternal arm fat and muscle area during pregnancy, higher birth order, avoidance of smoking, and maternal age 20–35 years. Effects of maternal characteristics on newborn weight, length, and gestational age were largely indirect, operating through FFGC. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Intracellular Distribution of Oligonucleotides Delivered by Cationic Liposomes: Light and Electron Microscopic Study1

Synthesized oligonucleotides are used in anti-sense and anti-gene technology to control gene expression. Because cells do not easily take up oligonucleotides, cationic liposomes have been employed to facilitate their transport into cells. Athough cationic liposomes have been used in this way for several years, the precise mechanisms of the delivery of oligonucleotides into cells are not known. Because no earlier reports have been published on the liposomal delivery of oligonucleotides at the ultrastructural level, we performed a study, using electron microscopy, on the cellular uptake and intracellular distribution of liposomal digoxigenin-labeled oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) at several concentrations (0.1, 0.2, and 1.0 μM) in CaSki cells. Two cationic lipids (10 μM) were compared for transport efficiency: polycationic 2,3-dioleoyloxy-N-[2(sperminecarboxamido)ethyl]-N,N-dimethyl-1-propanaminium trifluoroacetate (DOSPA) and monocationic dimethyl-dioctadecylammonium bromide (DDAB). Both liposomes contained dioleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) as a helper lipid. Endocytosis was found to be the main pathway of cellular uptake of liposomal ODNs. After release from intracellular vesicles, ODNs were carried into the perinuclear area. The nuclear membrane was found to be a barrier against the penetration of ODNs delivered by liposomes into the nucleus. Release from vesicles and transport into the nuclear area was faster when the oligo-DDAB/DOPE complex had a positive net charge (0.1 and 0.2 μM ODN concentrations), and only under this condition were some ODNs found in nucleoplasm. Although DOSPA/DOPE could also efficiently deliver ODNs into the cytosol, no ODNs were found in nucleoplasm. These findings suggest that both the type of liposome and the charge of the oligo-liposome complex are important for determination of the intracellular distribution of ODNs.
Stein's method for negatively associated random variables with applications to second-order stationary random fields

Abstract Let ξ = (ξ1, . . ., ξm) be a negatively associated mean-zero random vector with components that obey the bound |ξi| ≤ B, i = 1, . , m, and whose sum W = ∑i=1mξi has variance 1. The bound d1(ℒ(W), ℒ(Z)) ≤ 5B - 5.2∑i≠ jσij is obtained, where Z has the standard normal distribution and d1(∙, ∙) is the L1 metric. The result is extended to the multidimensional case with the L1 metric replaced by a smooth functions metric. Applications to second-order stationary random fields with exponential decreasing covariance are also presented.
Learning explicit and implicit knowledge with differentiate neural computer

Neural Network can perform various of tasks well after learning process, but still have limitations in remembering. This is due to very limited memory. Differentiable Neural Computer or DNC is proven to address the problem. DNC consist of Neural Network which associated with an external memory module that works like a tape on an accessible Turing Machine. DNC can solve simple problems that require memory, such as copy, graph, and Question Answering. DNC learns the algorithm to accomplish the task based on input and output. In this research, DNC with MLP or Multi-Layer Perceptron as the controller is compared with MLP only. The aim of this investigation is to test the ability of the neural network to learn explicit and implicit knowledge at once. The tasks are sequence classification and sequence addition of MNIST handwritten digits. The results show that MLP which has an external memory is much better than without external memory to process sequence data. The results also show that DNC as a fully differentiable system can solve the problem that requires explicit and implicit knowledge learning at once.
Mighty Thymio for University-Level Educational Robotics

Thymio is a small, inexpensive, mass-produced mobile robot with widespread use in primary and secondary education. In order to make it more versatile and effectively use it in later educational stages, including university levels, we have expanded Thymio's capabilities by adding off-the-shelf hardware and open software components. The resulting robot, that we call Mighty Thymio, provides additional sensing functionalities, increased computing power, networking, and full ROS integration. We present the architecture of Mighty Thymio and show its application in advanced educational activities.
Face recognition using multiple interest point detectors and SIFT descriptors

The use of interest point detectors and SIFT descriptors for face recognition is studied in this paper. There are two main novelties with respect to previous approaches using SIFT features. First, the use of two scale-invariant interest point detectors (namely, Harris-Laplace and difference of Gaussians) which are combined in order to detect both corner-like structures and blob-like structures in face images. Second, the distance measure used, which takes into account both the number of matching points found between two images (according to their SIFT descriptors) and the coherence of these matches in terms of scales, orientations and spacial configuration. The results obtained with our model-based algorithm are compared with those of a classic appearance-based face recognition method (PCA) over two different face databases: the well-known AT&T database and a face database created at our university.
GENTAMICIN DISPOSITION IN CEREBROSPINAL FLUID (CSF) AND AQUEOUS HUMOUR IN HEALTHY DOGS

Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the penetration of aminoglycoside antibiotic gentamicin in aqueous humour (AH) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Material and methods: Six crossbred clinically healthy dogs were used. A single bolus dose of Gentamicin 4% sterile solution for injections (Sopharma, Sofia, Bulgaria) was administered intravenously into the cephalic vein at a dose rate of 4 mg/kg. Antibiotic concentrations in plasma, CSF and AH were determined by microbiological assay. Results: Gentamicin was found in all studied fluids till 8 hrs after drug administration. Rate constants which characterized distribution rate of the drug from plasma to AH (1.09±0.39 h -1 ) and from plasma to CSF (1.84±1.91 h -1 ) were higher than these which described antibiotic disposition in the opposite direction, namely from AH to plasma (0.65±0.37 h -1 ) and from CSF to plasma (0.30±0.14 h -1 ). Conclusion: The data from the current study with healthy animals show that gentamicin penetrates CSF to a limited extent after i.v. administration and that it is not advisable to use it for treatment of inflammation of central nervous system. The antibiotic penetrates at higher extent in AH and measured concentrations reached therapeutic levels. These results should be validated in further clinical studies.
Loperamide modifies the tissue disposition kinetics of ivermectin in rats

Ivermectin (IVM) is a broad‐spectrum antiparasitic drug extensively used in human and veterinary medicine that is largely excreted in bile and faeces. Loperamide (LPM) is an opioid derivative that reduces gastrointestinal secretions and motility. Both IVM and LPM have been reported to act as P‐glycoprotein substrates (P‐GP). The goal of the present work was to study the LPM‐induced modifications to the pattern of tissue distribution for IVM. Thirty‐six Wistar male rats were randomly allocated to two groups (n = 18) and treated subcutaneously with IVM alone or co‐administered with LPM. Rats were killed at different times post‐treatment and samples (blood and tissues) were collected and analyzed by HPLC. The presence of LPM induced a marked enhancement in the IVM plasma concentrations, resulting in a significantly higher area under concentration time curve (AUC) value (P < 0.01) than that obtained after the administration of IVM alone. Significantly higher IVM availabilities in the liver tissue and small intestine wall (P < 0.05) were obtained in the presence of LPM. There were no statistically significant differences in drug availability in the large intestinal wall after both treatments. However, LPM induced a marked decrease in the amount of IVM recovered in the large intestinal lumen content. The ratio between IVM concentrations in the large intestinal luminal content and plasma at day 1 post‐treatment was 4.64‐fold higher in the absence of LPM. The delayed intestinal transit time caused by LPM accounting for an extended plasma–intestine recycling time, and a potential competition between IVM and LPM for the P‐GP‐mediated bile–intestinal secretion processes, may account for the enhanced IVM systemic availability reported in the current study.
Deep reinforcement learning for recommender systems

Services that introduce stores to users on the Internet are increasing in recent years. Each service conducts thorough analyses in order to display stores matching each user's preferences. In the field of recommendation, collaborative filtering performs well when there is sufficient click information from users. Generally, when building a user-item matrix, data sparseness becomes a problem. It is especially difficult to handle new users. When sufficient data cannot be obtained, a multi-armed bandit algorithm is applied. Bandit algorithms advance learning by testing each of a variety of options sufficiently and obtaining rewards (i.e. feedback). It is practically impossible to learn everything when the number of items to be learned periodically increases. The problem of having to collect sufficient data for a new user of a service is the same as the problem that collaborative filtering faces. In order to solve this problem, we propose a recommender system based on deep reinforcement learning. In deep reinforcement learning, a multilayer neural network is used to update the value function.
A novel cell-type deconvolution algorithm reveals substantial contamination by immune cells in saliva, buccal and cervix.

AIM An outstanding challenge in epigenome studies is the estimation of cell-type proportions in complex epithelial tissues. MATERIALS & METHODS Here, we construct and validate a DNA methylation reference and algorithm for complex tissues that contain epithelial, immune and nonimmune stromal cells. RESULTS Using this reference, we show that easily accessible tissues such as saliva, buccal and cervix exhibit substantial variation in immune cell (IC) contamination. We further validate our reference in the context of oral cancer, where it correctly predicts an increased IC infiltration in cancer but suppressed in patients with highest smoking exposure. Finally, our method can improve the specificity of differentially methylated CpG calls in epithelial cancer. CONCLUSION The degree and variation of IC contamination in complex epithelial tissues is substantial. We provide a valuable resource and tool for assessing the epithelial purity and IC contamination of samples and for identifying differential methylation in such complex tissues.
Identification of the accessory nerve by its relationship to the great auricular nerve

Objectives: To describe the use of the great auricular nerve as a 'road map' for locating the accessory nerve in the anterior and posterior triangle, in comparison with other methods described in the literature. Design: A review of the literature using Medline and Embase searches was performed. Illustrative photographs were taken from consenting, elective patients. Results: Various methods have been described, using different anatomical landmarks. We describe a new method, based on the fact that the great auricular nerve runs, with relation to the edges of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, 1 cm superior to the accessory nerve anteriorly and 1 cm inferior posteriorly. Conclusions: This is a reliable and safe method, used by the senior authors in their extensive work as head and neck and skull base surgeons. It allows the accessory nerve to be located in both the anterior and posterior triangle. This avoids the inherent dangers of following the nerve's tortuous course through the sternocleidomastoid.
Pilot test of a measure to assess therapeutic distance and its association with client attachment and corrective experience in therapy

Abstract Objectives: The Therapeutic Distance Scale (TDS) was developed in this project to assesse clients' experiences of distance versus engagement with their therapist. Method: In a survey study of 47 university clients at the “mid-stage” and 34 of these clients at termination, four TDS subscales were identified: Too Close, Too Distant, Growing Autonomy, and Growing Engagement. Results: TDS subscales were correlated as expected with working alliance and Client Attachment to Therapist. As hypothesized, (i) pre-therapy attachment Avoidance was significantly correlated with perceptions of therapists as Too Close (but not Too Distant), (ii) pre-therapy Anxiety was significantly correlated with Too Distant (but not Too Close); furthermore, among clients who developed a secure attachment to their therapist, (iii) pretherapy Avoidance was significantly correlated with Growing Engagement; however, (iv) contrary to expectations, pre-therapy anxiety was not significantly associated with Growing Autonomy. Conclusions: The TDS is a promising measure for assessing the in-therapy corrective emotional experiences of clients with hyperactivating attachment (i.e. increasing autonomy) and deactivating attachment (i.e. increasing engagement).
Click Chemistry-mediated Biotinylation Reveals a Function for the Protease BACE1 in Modulating the Neuronal Surface Glycoproteome *

The cell surface proteome is dynamic and has fundamental roles in cell signaling. Many surface membrane proteins are proteolytically released into a cell's secretome, where they can have additional functions in cell-cell-communication. Yet, it remains challenging to determine the surface proteome and to compare it to the cell secretome, under serum-containing cell culture conditions. Here, we set up and evaluated the 'surface-spanning protein enrichment with click sugars' (SUSPECS) method for cell surface membrane glycoprotein biotinylation, enrichment and label-free quantitative mass spectrometry. SUSPECS is based on click chemistry-mediated labeling of glycoproteins, is compatible with labeling of living cells and can be combined with secretome analyses in the same experiment. Immunofluorescence-based confocal microscopy demonstrated that SUSPECS selectively labeled cell surface proteins. Nearly 700 transmembrane glycoproteins were consistently identified at the surface of primary neurons. To demonstrate the utility of SUSPECS, we applied it to the protease BACE1, which is a key drug target in Alzheimer's disease. Pharmacological BACE1-inhibition selectively remodeled the neuronal surface glycoproteome, resulting in up to 7-fold increased abundance of the BACE1 substrates APP, APLP1, SEZ6, SEZ6L, CNTN2, and CHL1, whereas other substrates were not or only mildly affected. Interestingly, protein changes at the cell surface only partly correlated with changes in the secretome. Several altered proteins were validated by immunoblots in neurons and mouse brains. Apparent nonsubstrates, such as TSPAN6, were also increased, indicating that BACE1-inhibition may lead to unexpected secondary effects. In summary, SUSPECS is broadly useful for determination of the surface glycoproteome and its correlation with the secretome.
Parallel chromatography and in situ scattering to interrogate competing protein aggregation pathways

Protein aggregation can follow different pathways, and these can result in different net aggregation rates and kinetic profiles. α‐chymotypsinogen A (aCgn) was used as a model system to quantitatively and qualitatively assess an approach that combines ex situ size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC) with in situ laser scattering (LS) to monitor aggregation vs. time. Aggregation was monitored for a series of temperatures and initial dimer (ID) levels for starting conditions that were primarily (> 97%) monomer, and under initial‐rate conditions (limited to low monomer conversion—less than 20% monomer mass loss), as these conditions are of most to interest to many pharmaceutical and biotechnology applications. SEC results show that modest decreases of ID levels can greatly reduce monomer loss rates, but do not affect the effective activation energy for aggregation. The normalized aggregation rates determined from LS were typically ∼ 1 order of magnitude higher than the corresponding rates from SEC. Furthermore, LS signals vs. time became variable and highly nonlinear with decreasing ID level, temperature, and/or total protein concentration. Temperature‐cycling LS experiments showed this corresponded to conditions where dimer/oligomer “seeding” was suppressed, and high levels of reversible oligomers (“prenuclei”) were formed prior to “nucleation” and growth of stable aggregates. In those conditions, aggregation rates inferred from LS and SEC are greatly different, as the techniques monitor different stages of the aggregation process. Overall, the results illustrate an approach for interrogating non‐native protein aggregation pathways, and potential pitfalls if one relies on a single method to monitor aggregation—this holds more generally than the particular methods here.
Numerical methods for dynamic Bertrand oligopoly and American options under regime switching

Bertrand oligopolies are competitive markets in which a small number of firms producing similar goods use price as their strategic variable. In particular, each firm wants to determine the optimal price that maximizes its expected discounted lifetime profit. The oligopoly problem can be modeled as nonzero-sum games which can be formulated as systems of Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) partial differential equations (PDEs). In this paper, we propose fully implicit, positive coefficient finite difference schemes that converge to the viscosity solution for the HJB PDE from dynamic Bertrand monopoly and the two-dimensional HJB system from dynamic Bertrand duopoly. Furthermore, we develop fast multigrid methods for solving these systems of discrete nonlinear HJB PDEs. The new multigrid methods are general and can be applied to other systems of HJB and HJB-Isaacs PDEs arising from American options under regime switching and American options with unequal lending/borrowing rates and stock borrowing fees under regime switching, respectively. We provide a theoretical analysis for the smoother, restriction and interpolation operators of the multigrid methods. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our method by numerical examples from the dynamic Bertrand problem and pricing American options under regime switching.
Light- and electron-microscope description of Kudoa paralichthys n. sp. (Myxozoa, Myxosporea) from the brain of cultured olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus in Korea.

A new Myxosporea, Kudoa paralichthys n. sp. , is described from the brain of cultured olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus in South Korea. Mature spores were quadrate in apical view, measuring 5.19 +/- 0.54 microm in length, 8.23 +/- 0.50 microm in width, and 6.87 +/- 0.45 microm in thickness. Four valves were equal in size, each with 1 polar capsule. Polar capsules were pyriform in shape, measuring 2.2 +/- 0.22 microm in length and 1.2 +/- 0.14 microm in breadth. The sporoplasm consisted of a larger outer cell completely surrounding a smaller inner one, and had cytoplasmic projections. The junctions of shell valves were L-shaped. The sutural planes converged at the anterior ends of the spores and were associated with 4 small apex prominences in the central meeting point of the spores.
Ineffective ADL skills in women with fibromyalgia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background: Subgroups of women with fibromyalgia likely show different activity of daily living (ADL) skill deficits. Identifying ineffective ADL skills of significance in the ‘typical’ woman with fibromyalgia will promote the planning of targeted occupational therapy interventions aiming at improving ADL ability. Objective: To identify frequently reported ADL skill deficits of significance in subgroups of women with fibromyalgia who have decreased ADL motor ability in combination with decreased or competent ADL process ability. Method: Women with fibromyalgia were evaluated with the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS). If they demonstrated decreased ADL motor ability, the calibrated AMPS raters identified and reported ineffective ADL skills of significance. Descriptive comparisons were made between subgroups displaying either decreased or competent ADL process ability. Results: Moves, calibrates, bends, reaches, and paces were identified as the most frequently reported ineffective ADL skills of significance within the total sample (n = 188). The ADL process skills items organise and accommodate were identified as ineffective only in the subgroup with decreased ADL process ability (n = 105). Conclusion: It is suggested that clinicians modify the individual’s tasks and environments to compensate for identified ineffective ADL skills and to use the AMPS to differentiate interventions in women with fibromyalgia.
OBSERVATIONS OF ENERGETIC HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD PULSARS WITH THE FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE

We report the detection of γ-ray pulsations from the high-magnetic-field rotation-powered pulsar PSR J1119−6127 using data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope. The γ-ray light curve of PSR J1119−6127 shows a single, wide peak offset from the radio peak by 0.43 ± 0.02 in phase. Spectral analysis suggests a power law of index 1.0 ± 0.3+0.4 − 0.2 with an energy cutoff at 0.8 ± 0.2+2.0 − 0.5 GeV. The first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. We discuss the emission models of PSR J1119−6127 and demonstrate that despite the object's high surface magnetic field—near that of magnetars—the field strength and structure in the γ-ray emitting zone are apparently similar to those of typical young pulsars. Additionally, we present upper limits on the γ-ray pulsed emission for the magnetically active PSR J1846−0258 in the supernova remnant Kesteven 75 and two other energetic high-B pulsars, PSRs J1718−3718 and J1734−3333. We explore possible explanations for the non-detection of these three objects, including peculiarities in their emission geometry.