Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation of salivary alpha amylase level and adenotonsillar hypertrophy with sleep disordered breathing in pediatric subjects.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and sleep disordered breathing (SDB) can affect the sympathetic adrenomedullary system (SAM). As a biomarker of SAM activity, salivary α-amylase (sAA) in pediatric subjects was evaluated whether it has any correlation with polysomnographic (PSG) parameters related to SDB. METHODS Sixty-seven children who attended our clinic during 1 year were enrolled prospectively and underwent clinical examinations and in-lab polysomnography. The sAA was measured at 2 points--at night before PSG and in the early morning after PSG. RESULTS Subjects were divided into control (n = 26, apneahypopnea index [AHI] < 1) and OSAS (n = 41, AHI ≥ 1) groups. The OSAS group was subdivided according to AHI (mild-moderate, 1 ≤ AHI < 10; severe, AHI ≥ 10). The sAA subtraction and ratio (p = 0.014 and p < 0.001, respectively) were significantly higher in severe OSAS than in the mild-moderate and control groups. Although oxygen desaturation index (ODI) and AHI were significantly associated with sAA, sAA in the OSAS group was not related to lowest oxygen saturation or adenotonsillar hypertrophy. CONCLUSION sAA was well related to polysomnographic (PSG) parameters related to SDB, such as AHI and ODI. Therefore, screening test for sAA in children suspected to have SBD may help to identify OSAS patients from control.
Sarcopenia is associated with significant liver fibrosis independently of obesity and insulin resistance in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Nationwide surveys (KNHANES 2008‐2011)

Sarcopenia is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study investigated whether sarcopenia is associated with significant liver fibrosis in subjects with NAFLD. Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2008‐2011 database were analyzed. NALFD was defined by NAFLD liver fat score, comprehensive NAFLD score, or hepatic steatosis index. Degree of liver fibrosis was assessed by NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), FIB‐4, and Forns index. Significant liver fibrosis was defined as FIB‐4 ≥2.67 and the highest quartile values of NFS and Forns index. Sarcopenia index (= total appendicular skeletal muscle mass [kg]/body mass index (kg/m2]) was calculated using dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry. Using the NAFLD liver fat score, NAFLD was identified in 2761 (28.5%) of 9676 subjects. Of subjects with NAFLD, sarcopenia was identified in 337 (12.2%). Sarcopenia was significantly associated with significant liver fibrosis assessed in fibrosis prediction models (all P < 0.05). In subgroups stratified according to body mass index and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, a significant association between sarcopenia and significant liver fibrosis by NFS was consistently present (odds ratio = 1.76‐2.68 depending on the subgroup, all P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated an independent association between SI and significant liver fibrosis by NFS after adjusting for other confounders (odds ratio = 0.52‐0.67, all P < 0.01). Other NAFLD (comprehensive NAFLD score, hepatic steatosis index) and fibrosis prediction models (FIB‐4 and Forns index) produced similar results. Conclusion: Sarcopenia is associated with significant liver fibrosis in subjects with NAFLD, and the association is independent of obesity and insulin resistance. (Hepatology 2016;63:776–786)
Structure and dimerization of the catalytic domain of the protein phosphatase Cdc14p, a key regulator of mitotic exit in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the protein phosphatase Cdc14p orchestrates various events essential for mitotic exit. We have determined the X‐ray crystal structures at 1.85 Å resolution of the catalytic domain of Cdc14p in both the apo state, and as a complex with S160‐phosphorylated Swi6p peptide. Each asymmetric unit contains two Cdc14p chains arranged in an intimately associated homodimer, consistent with its oligomeric state in solution. The dimerization interface is located on the backside of the substrate‐binding cleft. Structure‐based mutational analyses indicate that the dimerization of Cdc14p is required for normal growth of yeast cells.
Structure of the 70S ribosome bound to release factor 2 and a substrate analog provides insights into catalysis of peptide release

We report the crystal structure of release factor 2 bound to ribosome with an aminoacyl tRNA substrate analog at the ribosomal P site, at 3.1 Å resolution. The structure shows that upon stop-codon recognition, the universally conserved GGQ motif packs tightly into the peptidyl transferase center. Nucleotide A2602 of 23S rRNA, implicated in peptide release, packs with the GGQ motif in release factor 2. The ribose of A76 of the peptidyl-tRNA adopts the C2′-endo conformation, and the 2′ hydroxyl of A76 is within hydrogen-bond distance of the 2′ hydroxyl of A2451. The structure suggests how a catalytic water can be coordinated in the peptidyl transferase center and, together with previous biochemical and computational data, suggests a model for how the ester bond between the peptidyl tRNA and the nascent peptide is hydrolyzed.
Formalizing work: reallocating redundancy

This paper reports from an introduction of the electronic patient record for nurses in a Norwegian hospital. In addition to establish electronic written accounts of nurses' reports, a major aim was to formalize nurses' work, related to handover conferences. Despite the projects proclaimed success, like reduced overtime, improved quality of the written documentation and eliminated redundancy, our analysis demonstrates an opposite effect. Formalizing the nursing handover and thus reduce redundancy, in fact resulted in a reintroduction of redundancy, although at another time and place. We found that work (and redundancy) in fact had moved, to another time (i), into different artifacts (ii), or old artifacts that now were used/annotated differently (iii).
AIL Active and Incremental Learning August 27 , 2012 , Montpellier , France ECAI 2012 – 20 TH European Conference on Artificial Intelligence

Most machine learning techniques assume, either explicitly or implicitly, that the data-generating process is stationary. This assumption guarantees that the model learnt during the initial training phase remains valid over time and that its performance is in line with our expectations. Unfortunately, this assumption does not truly hold in the real world representing, in many cases, a simplistic approximation of the reality. The talk will describe the Just-In-Time (JIT) approach that is a flexible tool implementing the detection/adaptation paradigm to cope with evolving processes. Solutions following this approach improve the knowledge about the model in stationary conditions by exploiting additional information coming from the field during the operational life. Differently, in nonstationary conditions, as soon as a change in the data-generating process is detected, the learnt model is discarded and a suitable one activated to keep the performance. As a valuable and challenging application of the proposed approach, JIT classifiers for concept drift will be detailed and discussed. Incremental Decision Tree based on order statistics Christophe Salperwyck1 and Vincent Lemaire2 Abstract. New application domains generate data which are not persistent anymore but volatile: network management, web profile modeling. These data arrive quickly, massively and are visible just once. Thus they necessarily have to be learnt according to their arrival orders. For classification problems online decision trees are known to perform well and are widely used on streaming data. In this paper, we propose a new decision tree method based on order statistics. The construction of an online tree usually needs summaries in the leaves. Our solution uses bounded error quantiles summaries. A robust and performing discretization or grouping method uses these summaries to provide, at the same time, a criterion to find the best split and better density estimations. This estimation is then used to build a naı̈ve Bayes classifier in the leaves to improve the prediction in the early learning stage. New application domains generate data which are not persistent anymore but volatile: network management, web profile modeling. These data arrive quickly, massively and are visible just once. Thus they necessarily have to be learnt according to their arrival orders. For classification problems online decision trees are known to perform well and are widely used on streaming data. In this paper, we propose a new decision tree method based on order statistics. The construction of an online tree usually needs summaries in the leaves. Our solution uses bounded error quantiles summaries. A robust and performing discretization or grouping method uses these summaries to provide, at the same time, a criterion to find the best split and better density estimations. This estimation is then used to build a naı̈ve Bayes classifier in the leaves to improve the prediction in the early learning stage.
Boundary regularization and building reconstruction based on terrestrial laser scanning data

Digitization and modeling of city buildings is always one of the most important issues in Virtual 3D City. Traditional methods are usually expensive and time-consuming. Nowadays reconstruction methods based on LiDAR (Light Detection And Range) data have been widely used [1] due to its powerful capacity of data acquisition. Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data have got some promising results [2]. However the obvious disadvantage is that it can hardly get the profile information except for the roof of building, and the result is that people can not get complete building model. On the contrary, Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) could get points cloud of buildings with high density and accuracy by multi-stations scanning for realistic 3D model reconstruction. The information includes not only building roofs, but also building profiles. In this paper, the authors use TLS data, and explore an automatic model reconstruction approach to establish digital building model. The registered cloud points from multiple scanning stations are taken as input parameters. Profiles information of building is extracted from raw points cloud by a segmentation algorithm. And a regular polyhedron model of building is finally presented. The experiment results show that the automatic reconstruction procedure and algorithms are easy to implement and can get reasonable building model after facade boundary regularization.
Recent Advances in Energy Time Series Forecasting

This editorial summarizes the performance of the special issue entitled Energy Time Series Forecasting, which was published in MDPI’s Energies journal. The special issue took place in 2016 and accepted a total of 21 papers from twelve different countries. Electrical, solar, or wind energy forecasting were the most analyzed topics, introducing brand new methods with very sound results.
MRIVIEW: An interactive computational tool for investigation of brain structure and function

MRIVIEW is a software system that uses image processing and visualization to provide neuroscience researchers with an integrated environment for combining functional and anatomical information. Key features of the software include semi-automated segmentation of volumetric head data and an interactive coordinate reconciliation method which utilizes surface visualization. The current system is a precursor to a computational brain atlas. We describe features this atlas will incorporate, including methods under development for visualizing brain functional data obtained from several different research modalities. <<ETX>>
Low-dose CT coronary angiography in the step-and-shoot mode: diagnostic performance

Objective: To investigate the performance of low-dose, dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) coronary angiography in the step-and-shoot (SAS) mode for the diagnosis of significant coronary artery stenoses in comparison with conventional coronary angiography (CCA). Design, setting and patients: Prospective, single-centre study conducted in a referral centre enrolling 120 patients (71 men, mean (SD) age 68 (9) years, mean (SD) body mass index 26.2 (3.2) kg/m2). All study participants underwent DSCT in the SAS mode and CCA within 14 days. Twenty-seven patients were given intravenous β blockers for heart rate reduction before CT. Patients were excluded if a target heart rate ⩽70 bpm could not be achieved by β blockers or when the patients were in non-sinus rhythm. Two blinded readers independently evaluated coronary artery segments for assessability and for the presence of significant (>50%) stenoses. Sensitivity, specificity, negative (NPV) and positive predictive values (PPV) were determined, with CCA being the standard of reference. Radiation dose values were calculated. Results: DSCT coronary angiography in the SAS mode was successfully performed in all 120 patients. Mean (SD) heart rate during scanning was 59 (6) bpm (range 44–69). 1773/1803 coronary segments (98%) were depicted with a diagnostic image quality in 109/120 patients (91%). The overall patient-based sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for the diagnosis of significant stenoses were 100%, 93%, 94% and 100%, respectively. The mean (SD) effective dose of the CT protocol was 2.5 (0.8) mSv (range 1.2–4.4). Conclusions: DSCT coronary angiography in the SAS mode allows, in selected patients with a regular heart rate, the accurate diagnosis of significant coronary stenoses at a low radiation dose.
Interspecies Communication between Pathogens and Immune Cells via Bacterial Membrane Vesicles

The production of extracellular vesicles is a universal mechanism for intercellular communication that is conserved across kingdoms. Prokaryotes secrete 50–250 nm membrane vesicles (MVs) in a manner that is regulated by environmental stress and is thought to promote survival. Since many types of host-derived stress are encountered during infection, this implies an important role for MV secretion in bacterial pathogenesis. Accordingly, MVs produced by gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens contain toxins, virulence factors, and other molecules that promote survival in the host. However, recent studies have also shown that bacterial MVs are enriched for molecules that stimulate innate and adaptive immune responses. As an example, MVs may serve multiple, important roles in regulating the host response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), an intracellular pathogen that infects lung macrophages and resides within modified phagosomes. Previously, we demonstrated that Mtb secretes MVs during infection that may modulate infected and uninfected immune cells. Our present data demonstrates that Mtb MVs inhibit the functions of macrophages and T cells, but promote Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class II antigen presentation by dendritic cells. We conclude that bacterial MVs serve dual and opposing roles in the activation of and defense against host immune responses to Mtb and other bacterial pathogens. We also propose that MV secretion is a central mechanism for interspecies communication between bacteria and host cells during infection.
Predicting query performance for fusion-based retrieval

Estimating the effectiveness of a search performed in response to a query in the absence of relevance judgments is the goal of query-performance prediction methods. Post-retrieval predictors analyze the result list of the most highly ranked documents. We address the prediction challenge for retrieval approaches wherein the final result list is produced by fusing document lists that were retrieved in response to a query. To that end, we present a novel fundamental prediction framework that accounts for this special characteristics of the fusion setting; i.e., the use of intermediate retrieved lists. The framework is based on integrating prediction performed upon the final result list with that performed upon the lists that were fused to create it; prediction integration is controlled based on inter-list similarities. We empirically demonstrate the merits of various predictors instantiated from the framework. A case in point, their prediction quality substantially transcends that of applying state-of-the-art predictors upon the final result list.
The influence of identification training on identification and production of the american English mid and low vowels by native speakers of Japanese

Vowel identiﬁcation and production performance for an experimental group of 35 Japanese subjects was measured before and after a 6-week period within which subjects received identiﬁcation training with feedback. A control group of 9 Japanese subjects was administered the same identiﬁcation and pre- and post-test, separated by the same 6-week interval during which they did not receive the experimental vowel identiﬁcation training that provided feedback regarding which vowel sound had been produced by the native American English talkers. The results showed that the experimental group’s identiﬁcation performance (as measured by d’) for each of the ﬁve American English (AE) vowels /æ/, / (cid:0) /, / (cid:1) /, / (cid:2) /, / (cid:3) / improved more than the control group’s did. Both be- fore and after the 6-week identiﬁcation-training period, recordings were made of the experimental group’s productions of a list of words in a varied [CVC] context, each containing one of the ﬁve target AE vowels, which were evaluated by 3 AE native listeners using a 2-interval, forced-choice identiﬁcation task. The results showed the AE listeners preferred the post-test to pretest productions for four out of the ﬁve target AE vowels. Overall, the results indicate the feedback-based identiﬁcation training had a positive effect on both the experimental group’s identiﬁcation and production performance.
Sulfated compounds in the zymogen granules of the guinea pig pancreas

Sulfate incorporation into the guinea pig pancreas was investigated by light (LM) and electron microscope (EM) autoradiography using a system of minilobules incubated in vitro for 60 min in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate medium (KRB) containing 35SO4(-2). In acinar cells, examined by EM autoradiography, the label was found concentrated over Golgi elements (including condensing vacuoles) and zymogen granules. 35SO4(-2) was also incorporated by the epithelial cells of the entire pancreatic duct system, the incorporation being surprisingly high in the epithelium of the major ducts. In all ductal epithelia, autoradiographic grains appeared over the Golgi complex and the plasmalemma. Since a contribution of duct epithelium to the sulfated compounds found in the discharged secretion could not be ruled out, a purified zymogen granule fraction was used as a source material for the isolation of sulfated compounds of acinar origin. The presence of 35S- radioactivity in the zymogen granules and condensing vacuoles of this fraction was ascertained by autoradiography (of sectioned pellets). From a lysate of this zymogen granule fraction, a soluble sulfated compound of low isoelectric point and high molecular weight was isolated by gel filtration under conditions that allowed its satisfactory separation from the bulk of the secretory proteins.
Endogenous levels of mRNA for IFNs and IFN‐related genes in hepatic biopsies of chronic HCV‐infected and non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis patients

To investigate the intra‐hepatic activation of the IFN system in patients affected by chronic HCV‐infection in comparison with that observed in a non‐infectious liver disease such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis, we measured the liver steady state mRNA levels of interferon‐α, interferon‐β and interferon‐γ as well as of IFN‐related genes (IFNAR‐1, STAT1α, PKR, 2‐5 AS, IRF‐1, ICE and IL‐18). In HCV‐infected subjects, possible correlations of these parameters with viral load and liver injury were also analyzed. Twenty‐four chronic untreated HCV‐infected subjects and seven patients with non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis were enrolled in the study. Liver biopsies were graded according to Knodell scores. Intra‐hepatic mRNA levels of IFNs and related genes were assessed by semi‐quantitative RT‐PCR. In comparison with non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis, in HCV‐infected subjects IFN‐α and ‐β mRNA levels were significantly lower, whereas IFN‐γ, IFNAR‐1, STAT1α IRF‐1, and IL‐18 mRNA were upregulated. Moreover, IFN‐γ mRNA steady state levels were correlated positively with those of IFNAR‐1, IRF‐1, and IL‐18, suggesting a coordinated induction of these genes. Although plasma viral load was correlated inversely with IL‐18‐specific mRNA, viral load was not related to liver injury. IFN‐γ and IRF‐1 mRNA levels were correlated positively with ALT, but not with the grading or staging. Conversely, IFN‐α and ‐β mRNA levels were higher in livers with lower staging scores. These findings support the hypothesis that in chronic HCV infection there is an imbalance between an upregulated IFN‐γ system and a downregulated IFN‐α and ‐β system, probably due to a mixed effect exerted by HCV‐specific and inflammatory non‐specific factors. J. Med. Virol. 70:581–587, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of JavaScript Programs

JavaScript has been a de facto standard language for client-side web programs, and now it is expanding its territory to general purpose programs. In this article, we classify the client-side JavaScript research for the last decade or so into six topics: static analysis, dynamic analysis, formalization and reasoning, type safety and JIT optimization, security for web applications, and empirical studies. Because the majority of the research has focused on static and dynamic analyses of JavaScript, we evaluate research trends in the analysis of JavaScript first and then the other topics. Finally, we discuss possible future research directions with open challenges.
Global Chemistry Simulations in the AMMA Multimodel Intercomparison Project

The authors present results obtained during the chemistry-transport modeling (CTM) component of the African Monsoon Multi-disciplinary Analysis Multimodel Intercomparison Project (AMMA-MIP) using the recently developed L3JRCv2 emission dataset for Af-rica, where emphasis is placed on the summer of 2006. With the use of passive tracers, the authors show that the application of different parameterizations to describe advection, vertical diffusion, and convective mixing in a suite of state-of-the-art global CTMs results in significantly different transport mechanisms westward of the African continent. Moreover, the authors identify that the atmospheric composition over the southern Atlantic is governed by air masses originating from southern Africa for this period, resulting in maximal concentrations around 5°S. Comparisons with ozonesonde measurements at Cotonou (6.2°N, 2.2°E) indicate that the models generally overpredict surface ozone and underpredict ozone in the upper troposphere. Moreover, using recent aircraft measurements, the authors show that the high ozone concentrations that occur around 700 hPa around 5°N are not captured by any of the models, indicating shortcomings in the description of transport, the magnitude and/or location of emissions, or the in situ chemical ozone production by the various chemical mechanisms employed.