Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Ability of Precursory Monocytes (MO) to Differentiate Varies Among Individuals But Is Stable Over Time

Background The ability to generate dendritic cells (DCs) from precursory monocytes (MOs) was a breakthrough in the field of immunology. However, it is unknown whether the ability of MOs to differentiate into immature DCs (iDCs) differs across subjects or is time dependent. Given that the study of immune system function is gaining recognition in the field of clinical medicine, it is important to know how certain immunologic features vary over time. Material/Methods This study investigates how much individuals’ MO-to-iDC differentiation potential changes over time. We estimated this potential by measuring the expression of an iDC marker (CD1a), cytokine secretion (interleukin [IL]-12p70), and the ability of IL-4 and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) differentiation MOs to stimulate T cells. We collected MOs obtained from different subjects (n=17) at least 1 month apart. Furthermore, we investigated several variables (expression for cytokine receptors, timing, and emergence of DC-related transcriptional factor PU.1). Results The ability of MOs to become DCs under the influence of IL-4 and GM-CSF varied greatly between individuals (range of CD1a expression, 20–80%) but was stable over time (change of CD1a expression between sampling, ~5%). A similar pattern emerged when production of IL-12p70 was analyzed. The ability to stimulate T cells was variable and depended on the T-cell source. The ability of MOs to become iDCs was not linked to the surface expression of receptors for IL-4 and GM-CSF but rather to the activation of PU.1 in the precursory MO. It took 5 days for all committed MOs to become iDCs under in vitro influence of IL-4 and GM-CSF. Conclusions We concluded that the potential of MO to become iDC is an individual feature and depends on activation of PU.1.
Focus Annotation in Reading Comprehension Data

When characterizing the information structure of sentences, the so-called focus identifies the part of a sentence addressing the current question under discussion in the discourse. While this notion is precisely defined in formal semantics and potentially very useful in theoretical and practical terms, it has turned out to be difficult to reliably annotate focus in corpus data. We present a new focus annotation effort designed to overcome this problem. On the one hand, it is based on a task-based corpus providing more explicit context. The annotation study is based on the CREG corpus (Ott et al., 2012), which consists of answers to explicitly given reading comprehension questions. On the other hand, we operationalize focus annotation as an incremental process including several substeps which provide guidance, such as explicit answer typing. We evaluate the focus annotation both intrinsically by calculating agreement between annotators and extrinsically by showing that the focus information substantially improves the automatic meaning assessment of answers in the CoMiC system (Meurers et al., 2011).
The Quantitative Genetic Basis of Male Mating Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

Male mating behavior is an important component of fitness in Drosophila and displays segregating variation in natural popluations. However, we know very little about the genes affecting naturally occurring variation in mating behavior, their effects, or their interactions. Here, we have mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting courtship occurrence, courtship latency, copulation occurrence, and copulation latency that segregate between a D. melanogaster strain selected for reduced male mating propensity (2b) and a standard wild-type strain (Oregon-R). Mating behavior was assessed in a population of 98 recombinant inbred lines derived from these two strains and QTL affecting mating behavior were mapped using composite interval mapping. We found four QTL affecting male mating behavior at cytological locations 1A;3E, 57C;57F, 72A;85F, and 96F;99A. We used deficiency complementation mapping to map the autosomal QTL with much higher resolution to five QTL at 56F5;56F8, 56F9;57A3, 70E1;71F4, 78C5;79A1, and 96F1;97B1. Quantitative complementation tests performed for 45 positional candidate genes within these intervals revealed 7 genes that failed to complement the QTL: eagle, 18 wheeler, Enhancer of split, Polycomb, spermatocyte arrest, l(2)05510, and l(2)k02206. None of these genes have been previously implicated in mating behavior, demonstrating that quantitative analysis of subtle variants can reveal novel pleiotropic effects of key developmental loci on behavior.
Body Mass Index and the Risk of All-Cause Mortality Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background— Several prospective studies have evaluated the association between body mass index (BMI) and death risk among patients with diabetes mellitus; however, the results have been inconsistent. Methods and Results— We performed a prospective cohort study of 19 478 black and 15 354 white patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the association of different levels of BMI stratification with all-cause mortality. During a mean follow-up of 8.7 years, 4042 deaths were identified. The multivariable-adjusted (age, sex, smoking, income, and type of insurance) hazard ratios for all-cause mortality associated with BMI levels (18.5–22.9, 23–24.9, 25–29.9, 30–34.9 [reference group], 35–39.9, and ≥40 kg/m2) at baseline were 2.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80–2.49), 1.74 (95% CI, 1.46–2.07), 1.23 (95% CI, 1.08–1.41), 1.00, 1.19 (95% CI, 1.03–1.39), and 1.23 (95% CI, 1.05–1.43) for blacks and 1.70 (95% CI, 1.42–2.04), 1.51 (95% CI, 1.27–1.80), 1.07 (95% CI, 0.94–1.21), 1.00, 1.07 (95% CI, 0.93–1.23), and 1.20 (95% CI, 1.05–1.38) for whites, respectively. When stratified by age, smoking status, patient type, or the use of antidiabetic drugs, a U-shaped association was still present. When BMI was included in the Cox model as a time-dependent variable, the U-shaped association of BMI with all-cause mortality risk did not change. Conclusions— The present study indicated a U-shaped association of BMI with all-cause mortality risk among black and white patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality was observed among blacks with BMI <30 kg/m2 and ≥35 kg/m2 and among whites with BMI <25 kg/m2 and ≥40 kg/m2 compared with patients with BMI of 30 to 34.9 kg/m2.
Exploring Bayesian Models for Multi-level Clustering of Hierarchically Grouped Sequential Data

A wide range of Bayesian models have been proposed for data that is divided hierarchically into groups. These models aim to cluster the data at different levels of grouping, by assigning a mixture component to each datapoint, and a mixture distribution to each group. Multi-level clustering is facilitated by the sharing of these components and distributions by the groups. In this paper, we introduce the concept of Degree of Sharing (DoS) for the mixture components and distributions, with an aim to analyze and classify various existing models. Next we introduce a generalized hierarchical Bayesian model, of which the existing models can be shown to be special cases. Unlike most of these models, our model takes into account the sequential nature of the data, and various other temporal structures at different levels while assigning mixture components and distributions. We show one specialization of this model aimed at hierarchical segmentation of news transcripts, and present a Gibbs Sampling based inference algorithm for it. We also show experimentally that the proposed model outperforms existing models for the same task.
Embolization of neurosurgical lesions involving the ophthalmic artery.

OBJECTIVE A number of anteriorly located cranial base and extracranial lesions receive their vascular supply wholly or in part from the ophthalmic artery, and embolization of the ophthalmic artery can be helpful in the management of these lesions, either as the primary treatment or as an adjunct to surgery. We present situations in which the embolization of lesions involving the ophthalmic artery was performed to effect a partial or total cure of the lesion. METHODS Twelve patients underwent a total of 15 embolization attempts on lesions involving the ophthalmic artery. Four patients had arteriovenous malformations of the orbit, four had dural arteriovenous fistulae, two had orbital meningiomas, one had a planum sphenoidale meningioma, and one had a juvenile nasal angiofibroma. In each case, a Tracker No. 18 microcatheter (Target Therapeutics, Inc., Fremont, CA) was navigated into the ophthalmic artery using a steerable guidewire and digital road mapping. Embolic agents included polyvinyl alcohol particles ranging from 350 to 1500 microm in diameter, 2-mm platinum microcoils, and n-butyl-cyanoacrylate. In 12 of 15 cases, lidocaine and amytal provocation tests were conducted before any attempt at embolization to assess the role of the ophthalmic artery in vision. RESULTS Embolization was successfully performed in the 14 situations in which it was attempted. Positive results of two lidocaine/amytal tests were noted. In one case, embolization was not attempted. In the other case, a larger caliber embolic agent (2-mm platinum coils) was used. A single transient decrease in visual acuity lasting 4 days was the only embolization-related complication. CONCLUSION Proper case selection, judicious use of embolic agents, and use of provocative testing can result in safe embolization of lesions supplied by the ophthalmic artery.
PACEMAKER INTERACTION IN HYDRA.

Previous reports have described in detail the characteristics of two pacemaker systems in hydras. Each of these, the rhythmic potential (RP) system located near the base of the polyp, and the contraction burst (CB) system at the sub-hypostome, has its own conducting system running the length of the animal, so that the impulses originated at either end spread throughout the organism. It has been postulated that these conducted impulses of each system can reach and influence both the pacemakers of its own, and those of the other, system. The over-all behavior of the hydra would thus be the integrated responses of the effectors responding to these interdependent coordinating systems. Certain evidence favoring this hypothesis is presented. It is evident that there are interactions between the two systems, especially in the control of contraction burst initiation. During periods in which RP impulses are appearing at short, regular intervals, contraction bursts are characteristically absent. Paradoxically when RP frequency is low, CB firing is also minimal. Normal CB activity levels are associated with intermediate RP frequencies. There is also a frequency correlation between RP rate and the onset of individual contraction bursts. The interval between RP impulses is longer just before the first CB pulse than it is midway between bursts. It is shortest just following the burst. The longest RP intervals occur during contraction bursts. It appears that the initiation of endogenous CB activity is influenced by RP frequency in a manner comparable to the triggering of the distinctive locomotor CB after RP pacemaker stimulation. Comparable work with other coelenterates has stressed the importance both of endogenous rhythmicity and ordered interaction between separate pacemaker-driven coordinating systems. Hydras are not exceptional to this pattern, but they do show distinctive features compared to strictly sessile polyps. Further investigation may disclose how the so-far unique RP pattern of repeated individual pulses and the absence of pulse bursts or trains is responsible for hydras' distinctive behavior.
Series Applicability of PCN-Based Admission Control

Pre-congestion notification (PCN) marks packets when the PCN traffic rate exceeds an admissible link rate and this marking information is used as feedback from the network to take admission decisions for new flows. This idea is currently under standardization in the IETF. Different marking algorithms are discussed and various admission control (AC) algorithms are proposed that decide based on the packet markings whether further flows should be accepted or blocked. In this paper, we investigate the applicability of PCN-based AC under challenging conditions and show the limitations of different marking and AC algorithms.
Genetics of survival in mice: subregions of the major histocompatibility complex.

In this study of murine survival, 422 F1 hybrids between DBA/2J (D2) female mice and C57BL/10 (B10) background H-2 congenic male mice (11 strains), 88 F1 hybrids between B10 female mice and B10 background H-2 congenic male mice (3 strains), and 532 control mice from the 11 parental B10 background H-2 congenic mice were bred over a period of 2 yr. Toward the end of the breeding period there was documentation of Sendai infection in the mouse rooms. All analyses were done separately for the two sexes. Although it did not appear that an unusually high number of mice died during the time the colony was infected with Sendai, there was a highly significant tendency for mice who were younger at the time of the Sendai infection to have shorter survival than mice who were older at that time point. The effect of birth date on survival was approximately as significant as the effect of strain on survival. Hence all analyses of genetic effects on survival were either done within subsets of mice born in the same quarter of a particular year or else included date of birth variables in survival models. Of the 18 possible comparisons of pairs of strains which overlapped in birth dates and differed only in the D end of H-2, five were associated with highly significant survival differences. Of the 11 pairs of strains which overlapped in birth date and differed only in the K end of H-2, none was associated with significant survival differences. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
ON FINITE ELEMENT UNIQUENESS STUDIES FOR COULOMB'S FRICTIONAL CONTACT MODEL

We are interested in the finite element approximation of Coulomb’s frictional unilateral contact problem in linear elasticity. Using a mixed finite element method and an appropriate regularization, it becomes possible to prove existence and uniqueness when the friction coefficient is less than C" 2 |log(h)| 1 , where h and " denote the discretization and regularization parameters, respectively. This bound converging very slowly towards 0 when h decreases (in comparison with the already known results of the non-regularized case) suggests a minor dependence of the mesh size on the uniqueness conditions, at least for practical engineering computations. Then we study the solutions of a simple finite element example in the nonregularized case. It can be shown that one, multiple or an infinity of solutions may occur and that, for a given loading, the number of solutions may eventually decrease when the friction coefficient increases.
Crosstalk between O-GlcNAcylation and proteolytic cleavage regulates the host cell factor-1 maturation pathway

Host Cell Factor 1 (HCF-1) plays critical roles in regulating gene expression in a plethora of physiological processes. HCF-1 is first synthesized as a precursor, and subsequently specifically proteolytically cleaved within a large middle region termed the proteolytic processing domain (PPD). Although the underlying mechanism remains enigmatic, proteolysis of HCF-1 regulates its transcriptional activity and is important for cell cycle progression. Here we report that HCF-1 proteolysis is a regulated process. We demonstrate that a large proportion of the signaling enzyme O-linked-N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase (OGT) is complexed with HCF-1 and this interaction is essential for HCF-1 cleavage. Moreover, HCF-1 is, in turn, required for stabilizing OGT in the nucleus. We provide evidence indicating that OGT regulates HCF-1 cleavage via interaction with and O-GlcNAcylation of the HCF-1 PPD. In contrast, although OGT also interacts with the basic domain in the HCF-1 amino-terminal subunit, neither the interaction nor the O-GlcNAcylation of this region are required for proteolysis. Moreover, we show that OGT-mediated modulation of HCF-1 impacts the expression of the herpes simplex virus immediate-early genes, targets of HCF-1 during the initiation of viral infection. Together the data indicate that O-GlcNAcylation of HCF-1 is a signal for its proteolytic processing and reveal a unique crosstalk between these posttranslational modifications. Additionally, interactions of OGT with multiple HCF-1 domains may indicate that OGT has several functions in association with HCF-1.
Causal attribution from covariation information: the evidential evaluation model

It is hypothesized that causal attributions are made by transforming covariation information into evidence according to notions of evidential value, and that causal judgement is a function of the proportion of instances that are evaluated as confirmatory for the causal hypothesis under test: this is called the evidential evaluation model. An experiment was designed to test the judgemental rule in this model by setting up problems presenting consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information in which the proportion of confirmatory instances varied but the objective contingency did not. It was found that judgements tended to vary with the proportion of confirmatory instances. Several other current models of causal judgement or causal attribution fail to account for this result. Similar findings have been obtained in studies of causal judgement from contingency information, so the present findings support an argument that the evidential evaluation model provides a unified account of judgement in both domains.
A Novel Soft-Output Layered Orthogonal Lattice Detector for Multiple Antenna Communications

This paper presents a soft-output lattice detector algorithm for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications called layered orthogonal lattice detector (LORD). LORD adopts a new lattice formulation and relies on a channel orthogonalization process. Building on the optimality of LORD for two transmit antennas this paper is a generalization of the algorithm to any number of transmit antennas. The most interesting aspect of LORD is that for two transmit antennas max-log bit soft-output information can be simply generated and for greater than two antennas approximate max-log detection is achieved with reasonable complexity. LORD can be implemented in a parallel fashion, as desirable for VLSI. Extensive simulation results in different scenarios of interest for next generation WLANs (IEEE 802.11n) are reported. The simulations show that LORD is able to achieve very high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gains compared to current practical soft-output MIMO detectors.
Unique binary search tree representations and equality-testing of sets and sequences

Abstract : Given an ordered universe U, we study the problem of representing each subset of U by a unique binary search tree so that dictionary operations can be performed efficiently. We exhibit representations that permit the execution of dictionary operations in optimal time when the dictionary is sufficiently sparse or sufficiently dense. We apply unique representations to obtain efficient data structures for maintaining a collection of sets/sequences under queries that test the equality of a pair of objects. In the process, we devise an interesting method for maintaining a dynamic, sparse array.
Odour User Interface for Authentication: Possibility and Acceptance: Case Study

Historically, some new technologies are faced with rejection or acceptance. So researchers developed TAM (Technology Acceptance Model). TAM depends upon the user perception of the easiness and benefits. Authentication plays an important role in our lives as we use it every day. Odour, as a biometric technique, has some important characteristics, mainly, it is faster and easier since users will be not involved with unfamiliar interfaces such as typing password, signing or even deliberate exposing some part of the body. Odour field is still under development and needs a lot of work. In spite of the few limited researches that discuss the odour as user authentication technique their results predict that it would be good tool. This brings a question about the future of odour authentication systems and using it in real world. A questionnaire was distributed to measure the acceptance of using odour as authentication system and analyzed the collect data. It is concluded that it would be successfully used in authentication systems.
Human Folliculin Delays Cell Cycle Progression through Late S and G2/M-Phases: Effect of Phosphorylation and Tumor Associated Mutations

The Birt-Hogg-Dube disease occurs as a result of germline mutations in the human Folliculin gene (FLCN), and is characterized by clinical features including fibrofolliculomas, lung cysts and multifocal renal neoplasia. Clinical and genetic evidence suggest that FLCN acts as a tumor suppressor gene. The human cell line UOK257, derived from the renal cell carcinoma of a patient with a germline mutation in the FLCN gene, harbors a truncated version of the FLCN protein. Reconstitution of the wild type FLCN protein into UOK257 cells delays cell cycle progression, due to a slower progression through the late S and G2/M-phases. Similarly, Flcn –/– mouse embryonic fibroblasts progress more rapidly through the cell cycle than wild type controls (Flcn flox/flox). The reintroduction of tumor-associated FLCN mutants (FLCN ΔF157, FLCN 1–469 or FLCN K508R) fails to delay cell cycle progression in UOK257 cells. Additionally, FLCN phosphorylation (on Serines 62 and 73) fluctuates throughout the cell cycle and peaks during the G2/M phase in cells treated with nocodazole. In keeping with this observation, the reintroduction of a FLCN phosphomimetic mutant into the UOK257 cell line results in faster progression through the cell cycle compared to those expressing the wild type FLCN protein. These findings suggest that the tumor suppression function of FLCN may be linked to its impact on the cell cycle and that FLCN phosphorylation is important for this activity. Additionally, these observations describe a novel in vitro assay for testing the functional significance of FLCN mutations and/or genetic polymorphisms.
Cross-institutional evaluation of BI-RADS predictive model for mammographic diagnosis of breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE Given a predictive model for identifying very likely benign breast lesions on the basis of Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) mammographic findings, this study evaluated the model's ability to generalize to a patient data set from a different institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS The artificial neural network model underwent three trials: it was optimized over 500 biopsy-proven lesions from Duke University Medical Center or "Duke," evaluated on 1,000 similar cases from the University of Pennsylvania Health System or "Penn," and reoptimized for Penn. RESULTS Trial A's Duke-only model yielded 98% sensitivity, 36% specificity, area index (A(z)) of 0.86, and partial A(z) of 0.51. The cross-institutional trial B yielded 96% sensitivity, 28% specificity, A(z) of 0.79, and partial A(z) of 0.28. The decreases were significant for both A(z) (p = 0.017) and partial A(z) (p < 0.001). In trial C, the model reoptimized for the Penn data yielded 96% sensitivity, 35% specificity, A(z) of 0.83, and partial A(z) of 0.32. There were no significant differences compared with trial B for specificity (p = 0.44) or partial A(z) (p = 0.46), suggesting that the Penn data were inherently more difficult to characterize. CONCLUSION The BI-RADS lexicon facilitated the cross-institutional test of a breast cancer prediction model. The model generalized reasonably well, but there were significant performance decreases. The cross-institutional performance was encouraging because it was not significantly different from that of a reoptimized model using the second data set at high sensitivities. This study indicates the need for further work to collect more data and to improve the robustness of the model.