Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Grasp Admittance Center: Choosing Admittance Center Parameters

Extending the Grasp Compliance Center concept to grasps in dynamic situations, our previous work (Shimoga and Goldenberg, 1991) formulated a concept termed the Grasp Admittance Center and showed that a grasp with an admittance center will have 4 distinct advantages ¿ stability, decoupled force/motion relation, decoupled time response and the ease of assigning the grasp dynamic behavior. A grasp admittance center is completely specified by 5 parameters: the position and the orientation of the admittance frame, and the diagonal stiffness, damping and inertia matrices expressed in that frame. These parameters are collectively referred to as the admittance center parameters and choosing them carefully is an important step is using an admittance center. Developing a method of choosing them, in a given grasp and a set of tasks, is the goal of this paper.
Multiple-Pronunciation Lexical Modeling Based on Phoneme Confusion Matrix for Dysarthric Speech Recognition

In this paper, we propose speaker-dependent multiple-pronunciation lexical modeling for improving the performance of dysarthric automatic speech recognition (ASR). For each dysarthric speaker, a phoneme confusion matrix is first constructed from the results of phoneme recognition. Then, pronunciation variation rules are extracted by investigating the phoneme confusion matrix, and they are incorporated into a baseline lexicon to construct a multiplepronunciation lexicon. It is shown from dysarthric ASR experiments that an ASR system using the proposed speaker-dependent multiple-pronunciation lexicon relatively reduces the average word error rate by 5.06% compared to that using a group-dependent multiple pronunciation lexicon.
[Experimental study on detection of Schistosoma japonicum 5D gene by using PCR].

AIM To search for an effective method to diagnose the schistosomiasis and evaluate the effect of treatment. METHODS A PCR protocol was designed to detect the Schistosoma japonicum 5D gene encoding an immunogenic miracidial antigen in cercariae, eggs and adult worms. RESULTS Specific amplification of a 262 bp DNA fragment was achieved by using PCR and a 165 bp DNA fragment by using nest-PCR in cercariae, adult worms and eggs of Schistosoma japonicum. After 40 cycles by PCR, the product could be detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. This PCR protocol was able to detect as few as a single cercariae, a single egg or a pinpoint-sized tissue of adult S. japonicum. Nest-PCR and oligonucleotide probe hybridization could further increase the sensitivity. No specific PCR product was obtained with DNA from human leucocyte, Escherichia coli, Bacillus proteus vulgaris, Streptococcus faecalis and Salmonella typhi. CONCLUSION The sensitivity and specificity of this PCR protocol are satisfactory.
If not dieting, how to lose weight? Tips and tricks for a better global and cardiovascular health

Abstract Weight loss is a popular topic and may be of serious concern for many patients. Even with the abundant literature on obesity and cardiometabolic risk, it is always challenging to demystify and reinforce the determinants of safe approaches to lose weight. Measures of central obesity are essential to characterize the patient’s adiposity distribution and should be part of the routine medical examination. Beyond this, screening for fasting lipids and glucose are important for the assessment of the cardiometabolic risk which may lead to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Differences in adiposity as well as in weight loss exist between sexes and should be taken into consideration. Rather than avoiding some food or following certain type of diet, any planned weight loss interventions should promote lifestyle and environmental modifications with healthy eating and appropriate physical activity. With clear objectives, this appears to be the best way in order to achieve weight loss goals permanently.
Graph drawing by force‐directed placement

We present a modification of the spring‐embedder model of Eades [Congressus Numerantium, 42, 149–160, (1984)] for drawing undirected graphs with straight edges. Our heuristic strives for uniform edge lengths, and we develop it in analogy to forces in natural systems, for a simple, elegant, conceptually‐intuitive, and efficient algorithm.
History of breast feeding and risk of incident endometriosis: prospective cohort study

Objective To investigate the association between lifetime breast feeding, exclusive breast feeding, postpartum amenorrhea, and incidence of endometriosis among parous women. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Nurses’ Health Study II, 1989-2011. Participants 72 394women who reported having one or more pregnancies that lasted at least six months, 3296 of whom had laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis. For each pregnancy, women reported duration of total breast feeding, exclusive breast feeding, and postpartum amenorrhea. Main outcome measures Incident self reported laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis (96% concordance with medical record) in parous women. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for diagnosis of endometriosis. Results Duration of total and exclusive breast feeding was significantly associated with decreased risk of endometriosis. Among women who reported a lifetime total length of breast feeding of less than one month, there were 453 endometriosis cases/100 000 person years compared with 184 cases/100 000 person years in women who reported a lifetime total of ≥36 months of breast feeding. For every additional three months of total breast feeding per pregnancy, women experienced an 8% lower risk of endometriosis (hazard ratio 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.90 to 0.94; P<0.001 for trend) and a 14% lower risk for every additional three months of exclusive breast feeding per pregnancy (0.86, 0.81 to 0.90; P<0.001 for trend). Women who breastfed for ≥36 months in total across their reproductive lifetime had a 40% reduced risk of endometriosis compared with women who never breast fed (0.60, 0.50 to 0.72). The protective association with breast feeding was strongest among women who gave birth within the past five years (P=0.04 for interaction). The association with total breast feeding and exclusive breast feeding on endometriosis was partially influenced by postpartum amenorrhea (% mediated was 34% (95% confidence interval 15% to 59%) for total breast feeding and 57% (27% to 82%) for exclusive breast feeding). Conclusion Among women who experienced at least one pregnancy that lasted at least six months, breast feeding was inversely associated with risk of incident endometriosis. This association was partially, but not fully, influenced by postpartum amenorrhea, suggesting that breast feeding could influence the risk of endometriosis both through amenorrhea and other mechanisms. Given the chronic and incurable nature of endometriosis, breast feeding should be further investigated as an important modifiable behavior to mitigate risk for pregnant women.
Applying the concept of number of effective progeny to approximate accuracies of predictions derived from multiple trait analyses.

Effective numbers of progeny (EPN) are used to approximate the accuracy of sires’ predicted EBVs resulting from single trait and multiple trait analyses when all traits are recorded. A method is presented for approximating accuracies which accounts for information from sources other than progeny including that from self, parents and from correlated traits.
Relationship between Bone and Muscles of Mastication in Hemifacial Microsomia

&NA; The relationship between the bone and muscles of mastication in hemifacial microsomia was studied using three‐dimensional volumetric computed tomography scans and image processing techniques. High resolution head computed tomography scans were obtained from 31 patients with unilateral hemifacial microsomia and eight normal patients. Using three‐dimensional volume renderings of bone, mandibular deformities in patients with hemifacial microsomia were classified using the Pruzansky system. For each patient, specific craniofacial bones (temporal bone, maxilla mandible) and the muscles of mastication (masseter, temporalis and lateral and medial pterygoid) were segmented bilaterally from the image volume for independent display and volume measurement. Volumes were expressed as the ratio of the affected: unaffected sides. For the masseter and temporalis, the relationship between muscular hypoplasia and osseous hypoplasia in its origin and insertion was studied by plotting affected:unaffected bone volume as a function of affected:unaffected muscle volume for each muscle, bone of origin, bone of insertion triplet. The volumes of the pterygoid muscles were compared with hemimandibular volumes. The precision of object segmentations was examined by repetitive definition tasks, whereas the accuracy of volume measurement was tested by scanning custom‐made phantom objects and comparing digital to physical object volume measurements. Volume measurements performed using these techniques were both accurate and precise. In hemifacial microsomia, the extent of hypoplasia of specific muscles of mastication predicted the extent of dysplasia in their osseous origin and insertion. However, the reverse was not true. The extent of hypoplasia of the facial bones did not necessarily predict the extent of hypoplasia in the attached muscles of mastication. Pruzansky grade of the mandible described the degree of mandibular hypoplasia on the affected side, but was inconsistent in its prediction of volume decrease of the other facial bones.
Triple‐stimulation technique improves the diagnosis of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy

Introduction: A difficult clinical situation occurs when a chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) patient does not fulfill any of the diagnostic criteria. Moreover, nerve conduction studies (NCS) can be consistent with axonal neuropathy and lead to misdiagnosis. Methods: We aimed to assess the usefulness of the triple‐stimulation technique (TST) for detection of proximal conduction blocks (CBs) in patients with axonal‐like CIDP. Four patients with axonal‐like CIDP were studied and compared with 10 typical CIDP patients. In the axonal‐like group, NCS showed a decrease in compound muscle action potential amplitude without features of demyelination, but nerve biopsy showed features of demyelination in all 4. Results: Twelve nerves were tested with TST, and 8 CBs were detected between the root emergence and the Erb point in the 4 patients, all of whom improved after treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin. Conclusion: TST can identify very proximal CBs in CIDP. The sensitivity of nerve conduction studies may be improved by TST in CIDP. Muscle Nerve 51: 541–548, 2015
Borderline personality disorder: current drug treatments and future prospects

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) suffer from marked affective disturbance, an unstable sense of self, difficulty in interpersonal relationships and heightened impulsivity, leading to high rates of self-harm and suicide. Patients are often refractory to treatment and are at high risk for acute or dangerous presentations, with a serious impact on mental health services. There has been much debate on the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy in treating different facets of the psychopathology of the disorder. Several guidelines recommend the use of antidepressant agents, mood stabilizers for affective dysregulation and impulsive-behavioural dyscontrol, and antipsychotics for cognitive-perceptual symptoms. However, concerns have recently been raised regarding the strength of evidence for these treatment recommendations in BPD. Here, we review the evidence for efficacy of the main psychotropic medications used in BPD, drawing, in particular, on evidence from randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses. Overall, meta-analysis provides little evidence to support the use of antidepressant medication in BPD outside episodes of major depression. However, there is evidence for the use of both mood stabilizers and antipsychotic medications for the treatment of specific aspects of the disorder. Most existing studies have been conducted on small numbers of patients, and there is a requirement for further large-scale trials to substantiate these findings. In addition, given the limitations of current pharmacological treatment of BPD, there is a pressing need to investigate potential new therapeutic targets, including neuropeptides, such as the opioids and vasopressin, and drugs targeted at ameliorating the biological effects of early life stress.
Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Activated Transcription Factor ATF6α Requires the Disulfide Isomerase PDIA5 To Modulate Chemoresistance

ABSTRACT ATF6α, a membrane-anchored transcription factor from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that modulates the cellular response to stress as an effector of the unfolded-protein response (UPR), is a key player in the development of tumors of different origin. ATF6α activation has been linked to oncogenic transformation and tumor maintenance; however, the mechanism(s) underlying this phenomenon remains elusive. Here, using a phenotypic small interfering RNA (siRNA) screening, we identified a novel role for ATF6α in chemoresistance and defined the protein disulfide isomerase A5 (PDIA5) as necessary for ATF6α activation upon ER stress. PDIA5 contributed to disulfide bond rearrangement in ATF6α under stress conditions, thereby leading to ATF6α export from the ER and activation of its target genes. Further analysis of the mechanism demonstrated that PDIA5 promotes ATF6α packaging into coat protein complex II (COPII) vesicles and that the PDIA5/ATF6α activation loop is essential to confer chemoresistance on cancer cells. Genetic and pharmacological inhibition of the PDIA5/ATF6α axis restored sensitivity to the drug treatment. This work defines the mechanisms underlying the role of ATF6α activation in carcinogenesis and chemoresistance; furthermore, it identifies PDIA5 as a key regulator ATF6α-mediated cellular functions in cancer.
Analysis of a Custom Support Vector Machine for Photometric Redshift Estimation and the Inclusion of Galaxy Shape Information

Aims: We present a custom support vector machine classification package for photometric redshift estimation, including comparisons with other methods. We also explore the efficacy of including galaxy shape information in redshift estimation. Support vector machines, a type of machine learning, utilize optimization theory and supervised learning algorithms to construct predictive models based on the information content of data in a way that can treat different input features symmetrically. Methods: The custom support vector machine package we have developed is designated SPIDERz and made available to the community. As test data for evaluating performance and comparison with other methods, we apply SPIDERz to four distinct data sets: 1) the publicly available portion of the PHAT-1 catalog based on the GOODS-N field with spectroscopic redshifts in the range $z < 3.6$, 2) 14365 galaxies from the COSMOS bright survey with photometric band magnitudes, morphology, and spectroscopic redshifts inside $z < 1.4$, 3) 3048 galaxies from the overlap of COSMOS photometry and morphology with 3D-HST spectroscopy extending to $z < 3.9$, and 4) 2612 galaxies with five-band photometric magnitudes and morphology from the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey and $z < 1.57$. Results: We find that SPIDER-z achieves results competitive with other empirical packages on the PHAT-1 data, and performs quite well in estimating redshifts with the COSMOS and AEGIS data, including in the cases of a large redshift range ($0 < z < 3.9$). We also determine from analyses with both the COSMOS and AEGIS data that the inclusion of morphological information does not have a statistically significant benefit for photometric redshift estimation with the techniques employed here.
How do children ascribe gender to nouns? A study of Spanish‐speaking children with and without specific language impairment

The purpose of this investigation was to identify how Spanish‐speaking preschool children with and without specific language impairment (SLI) use the various cues available for ascribing a noun's inherent gender in the language. Via an invented word task, four types of cues were isolated and presented to each child: (1) two types of noun‐internal cues (semantic transparency and word ending), and (2) two types of noun‐external cues (article gender and adjective gender). Eleven children with typical language skills, 11 children with SLI, and 11 adults participated in the study. Results indicated, as expected, that adults outperformed both child groups. Significant differences were observed in the children's use of article cues, with the typical children outperforming the children with SLI. Individual data also indicate that most children with SLI were using the noun‐internal cue of word ending effectively. Discussion of previous research in the area of gender agreement in Spanish‐speaking children with SLI and explanations of potential reasons for the children's performance are addressed.
Coreceptor usage and RANTES sensitivity of non-syncytium-inducing HIV-1 isolates obtained from patients with AIDS.

OBJECTIVES The biologic phenotype of HIV-1 primary isolates obtained from approximately 50% of patients who progress to AIDS switches from non-syncytium-inducing (NSI) to syncytium-inducing (SI). We evaluated possible associations between virus coreceptor usage, sensitivity to inhibition by beta-chemokines, and disease progression of patients who continue to yield NSI isolates after developing AIDS. STUDY DESIGN/METHODS Sequential virus isolates were analyzed for biologic phenotype using the MT-2 cell assay, for sensitivity to beta-chemokines using RANTES inhibition, and for coreceptor usage using U87.CD4 and GHOST.CD4 cells expressing different chemokine/orphan receptors or donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) defective in CCR5 expression. In addition, the env V3 region was sequenced and the length of the V2 region determined. RESULTS All NSI isolates, regardless of patient status at time of isolation, were dependent on CCR5 expression for cell entry. Furthermore, there was no indication of broadened coreceptor usage of NSI isolates obtained from persons with late-stage AIDS. A majority of NSI isolates remained RANTES sensitive; however, virus variants with reduced sensitivity were observed. The V2 lengths and the V3 sequences exhibited no or minor changes at analysis of sequential NSI isolates. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that NSI isolates obtained from AIDS patients remain CCR5 dependent (ie, R5) and, in many cases, also remain sensitive to RANTES inhibition. However, virus variants with decreased sensitivity to RANTES inhibition may evolve during disease progression, not only as a result of a switch from NSI to SI but also in patients who develop AIDS while continuing to maintain R5 isolates.
Patch Classifier of Face Shape Outline Using Gray-Value Variance with Bilinear Interpolation

This paper proposes a method to classify whether a landmark, which consists of the outline in a face shape model in the shape model based approaches, is properly fitted to feature points. Through this method, the reliability of information can be determined in the process of managing and using the shape. The enlarged face image by image sensor is processed by bilinear interpolation. We use the gray-value variance that considers the texture feature of skin for classification of landmarks. The gray-value variance is calculated in skin area of the patch constructed around the landmark. In order to make a system strong to poses, we project the image of face to the frontal face shape model. And, to fill out each area, the area with insufficient pixel information is filled out with bilinear interpolation. When the fitting is properly done, it has the variance with a low value to be calculated for smooth skin texture. On the other hand, the variance for misaligned landmark shows a high variance by the background and facial contour gradient. We have proposed a classifier using this characteristic and, as a result, classified the true and false in the landmark with an accuracy of 83.32% through the patch classifier.
DLVM: A modern compiler infrastructure for deep learning

Many current approaches to deep learning make use of high-level toolkits such as TensorFlow, Torch, or Caffe. Toolkits such as Caffe have a layer-based programming framework with hard-coded gradients specified for each layer type, making research using novel layer types problematic. Toolkits such as Torch and TensorFlow define a computation graph in a host language such as Python, where each node represents a linear algebra operation parallelized as a compute kernel on GPU and stores the result of evaluation; some of these toolkits subsequently perform runtime interpretation over that graph, storing the results of forward calculations and reverse-accumulated gradients at each node. This approach is more flexible, but these toolkits take a very limited and ad-hoc approach to performing optimization. Also problematic are the facts that most toolkits lack type safety, and target only a single (usually GPU) architecture, limiting users’ abilities to make use of heterogeneous and emerging hardware architectures. We introduce a novel framework for high-level programming that addresses all of the above shortcomings.
Socio-economic differences in weight-control behaviours and barriers to weight control

Abstract Objective To examine socio-economic differences in weight-control behaviours (WCB) and barriers to weight control. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting Data were obtained by means of a postal questionnaire. Subjects A total of 1013 men and women aged 45–60 years residing in Brisbane, Australia (69·8 % response rate). Results Binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed, adjusted for age, gender and BMI. Socio-economically disadvantaged groups were less likely to engage in weight control (OR for lowest income quartile = 0·60, 95 % CI 0·39, 0·94); among those who engaged in weight control, the disadvantaged group had a likelihood of 0·52 (95 % CI 0·30, 0·90) of adopting exercise strategies, including moderate (OR = 0·56, 95 % CI 0·33, 0·96) and vigorous (OR = 0·47, 95 % CI 0·25, 0·89) physical activities, compared with their more-advantaged counterparts. However, lower socio-economic groups were more likely to decrease their sitting time to control their weight compared with their advantaged counterparts (OR for secondary school or lower education = 1·78, 95 % CI 1·11, 2·84). They were also more likely to believe that losing weight was expensive, not of high priority, required a lot of cooking skills and involved eating differently from others in the household. Conclusions Marked socio-economic inequalities existed with regard to engaging in WCB, the type of weight-control strategies used and the perceived barriers to weight control; these differences are consistent with socio-economic gradients in weight status. These factors may need to be included in health promotion strategies that address socio-economic inequalities in weight status, as well as inequalities in weight-related health outcomes.