Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection: Immune Response, Immunopathogenesis, and Treatment

SUMMARY Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the single most important cause of lower respiratory tract infection during infancy and early childhood. Once RSV infection is established, the host immune response includes the production of virus-neutralizing antibodies and T-cell-specific immunity. The humoral immune response normally results in the development of anti-RSV neutralizing-antibody titers, but these are often suboptimal during an infant’s initial infection. Even when the production of RSV neutralizing antibody following RSV infection is robust, humoral immunity wanes over time. Reinfection during subsequent seasons is common. The cellular immune response to RSV infection is also important for the clearance of virus. This immune response, vital for host defense against RSV, is also implicated in the immunopathogenesis of severe lower respiratory tract RSV bronchiolitis. Many details of the immunology and immunopathologic mechanisms of RSV disease known at present have been learned from rodent models of RSV disease and are discussed in some detail. In addition, the roles of immunoglobulin E, histamine, and eosinophils in the immunopathogenesis of RSV disease are considered. Although the treatment of RSV bronchiolitis is primarily supportive, the role of ribavirin is briefly discussed. Novel approaches to the development of new antiviral drugs with promising anti-RSV activity in vitro are also described.
Structural knowledge transfer by spatial abstraction for reinforcement learning agents

In this article we investigate the role of abstraction principles for knowledge transfer in agent control learning tasks. We analyze abstraction from a formal point of view and characterize three distinct facets: aspectualization, coarsening, and conceptual classification. The taxonomy we develop allows us to interrelate existing approaches to abstraction, leading to a code of practice for designing knowledge representations that support knowledge transfer. We detail how aspectualization can be utilized to achieve knowledge transfer in reinforcement learning. We propose the use of so-called structure space aspectualizable knowledge representations that explicate structural properties of the state space and present a posteriori structure space aspectualization (APSST) as a method to extract generally sensible behavior from a learned policy. This new policy can be used for knowledge transfer to support learning new tasks in different environments. Finally, we present a case study that demonstrates transfer of generally sensible navigation skills from simple simulation to a real-world robotic platform.
Invasive candidiasis: update on current pharmacotherapy options and future perspectives

Introduction: Invasive candidiasis (IC), mainly candidemia, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised patients and those admitted to intensive care units. Despite the recognition of risk factors and advances in disease prevention, Candida-related hospitalizations and mortality continue to rise. For treatment, four classes of older and newer antifungal agents are currently available. Adjunctive immunotherapies and a monoclonal antibody against heat shock protein 90 (efungumab) are promising novel therapeutic approaches. Areas covered: In this article, approaches and therapeutic agents for candidemia and other forms of IC are reviewed. Expert opinion: The thorough understanding of the available antifungal agents in combination with the increasing knowledge of the mechanisms that underlie the pathogenesis of Candida infections and the development of newer approaches such as efungumab and immunotherapy with adjunctive cytokines may improve the prognosis of patients with life-threatening invasive Candida infections.
Vitamin D binding protein is a key determinant of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D levels in infants and toddlers

Circulating 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25‐OHD) levels vary among human populations. Only limited information regarding determinants of these measures is available for infants and children, particularly in minority groups at greatest risk for vitamin D deficiency. We identified demographic determinants of circulating 25‐OHD in a large cohort of minority children, and now extend our studies to examine potential roles of vitamin D binding protein (DBP) as a determinant of 25‐OHD levels. Serum DBP level and common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at positions 432 and 436 in the GC gene, encoding DBP, were examined. We confirmed self‐reported ancestry using ancestry informative markers (AIMs), and included quantitative AIMs scores in the analysis. The multivariate model incorporated previously identified demographic and nutritional determinants of 25‐OHD in this cohort, as well as GC SNPs and circulating DBP. Genetic variants in GC differed by self‐reported ancestry. The 1f allele (D432/T436) was enriched in African Americans, occurring in 71%. Homozygosity for the 1f allele (DDTT) occurred in 53% of African Americans but only 6% of Caucasians and 13% of Hispanics. Circulating DBP was significantly correlated with 25‐OHD. GC SNPs were associated with both circulating DBP and 25‐OHD. It appears that progressive substitution of lysine for threonine at the 436 position results in lower circulating 25‐OHD. Multivariate analysis revealed that genetic variance in GC significantly contributes to circulating DBP as well as 25‐OHD. Moreover, the effect of GC SNPs on 25‐OHD are evident after adjusting for their effects on circulating DBP. Thus in young children genetic variance of the common GC T436K SNP affects circulating levels of the DBP protein, which in turn affects circulating 25‐OHD. However, the GC genotype also affects circulating 25‐OHD independently of its effect on circulating DBP. These findings provide data that may be important in the interpretation of vitamin D status in children of varying ancestral backgrounds. © 2013 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
Exploring Interface Options in Multimedia Educational Environments

Multimedia technology allows information to be organized and represented in a wide variety of ways. For a computer-based educational environment to be effective, the subject matter must be presented in a clear and comprehensible format. Many multimedia applications organize information based on its physical format, i.e., sound clips, still images, text, and so on. However it is also possible to organize information based on the learner's plan to use information. Such "cognitive media types", media organized around cognition rather than physical format, include definitions, examples, worked problems, and problem sets [Recker, Ram, Shikano, Li & Stasko 1995].
Information Dependency and Its Applications

Independence is a basic concept of probability theory and statistics. In a lot of elds of sciences, dependency of di erent variables is gained lots of attention from scientists. A measure, named information dependency, is proposed to express the dependency of a group of random variables. This measure is de ned as the Kullback-Leibler divergence of a joint distribution with respect to a product-marginal distribution of these random variables. In the bivariate case, this measure is known as mutual information of two random variables. Thus, the measure information dependency has a strong relationship with the Information Theory. The thesis aims to give a thorough study of the information dependency from both mathematical and practical viewpoints. Concretely, we would like to research three following problems: i. Proving that the information dependency is a useful tool to express the dependency of a group of random variables by comparing it with other measures of dependency. ii. Studying the methods to estimate the information dependency based on the samples of a group of random variables. iii. Investigating how the Independent Component Analysis problem, an interesting problem in statistics, can be solved using information dependency.
Nonlinear H, Control of Robotic Manipulator

H, control theory for nonlinear systems has been developed, which is based on the concept of the energy dissipation. A nonlinear H, controller using the energy dissipation is designed in the sense of Lagain attenuation from a disturbance to performance and it is essential to find the solution of the Hamilton Jacobi (HJ) equation (or inequality) for application However, it is dificult to obtain its solution in general. In this paper, the robot dynamics is transformed to a afine form to express the HJ inequality as a more tractable form, i.e., a nonlinear matrix inequality (NLMI), and its approximated solution is obtained from the fact that the terms in matrices which describe robot manipulator can be bounded.
The Apolipoprotein E-mimetic Peptide COG112 Inhibits the Inflammatory Response to Citrobacter rodentium in Colonic Epithelial Cells by Preventing NF-κB Activation*

Inflammatory bowel disease arises from the interplay between luminal bacteria and the colonic mucosa. Targeted inhibition of pro-inflammatory pathways without global immunosuppression is highly desirable. Apolipoprotein (apo) E has immunomodulatory effects and synthetically derived apoE-mimetic peptides are beneficial in models of sepsis and neuroinflammation. Citrobacter rodentium is the rodent equivalent of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, and it causes colitis in mice by colonizing the surface of colonic epithelial cells and inducing signaling events. We have reported that mice deficient in inducible nitric-oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) have attenuated C. rodentium-induced colitis. We used young adult mouse colon (YAMC) cells that mimic primary colonic epithelial cells to study effects of an antennapedia-linked apoE-mimetic peptide, COG112, on C. rodentium-activated cells. COG112 significantly attenuated induction of NO production, and iNOS mRNA and protein expression, in a concentration-dependent manner. COG112 inhibited the C. rodentium-stimulated induction of iNOS and the CXC chemokines KC and MIP-2 to the same degree as the NF-κB inhibitors MG132 or BAY 11-7082, and there was no additive effect when COG112 and these inhibitors were combined. COG112 significantly reduced nuclear translocation of NF-κB, when assessed by electromobility shift assay, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence for p65. This correlated with inhibition of both C. rodentium-stimulated IκB-α phosphorylation and degradation, and IκB kinase activity, which occurred by inhibition of IκB kinase complex formation rather than by a direct effect on the enzyme itself. These studies indicate that apoE-mimetic peptides may have novel therapeutic potential by inhibiting NF-κB-driven proinflammatory epithelial responses to pathogenic colonic bacteria.
Telemedicine interventions for substance-use disorder: a literature review

A literature review was conducted to identify research into multiple-contact (i.e. extended) telemedicine interventions for substance-use disorder. The goals were: (1) to describe the methodology used to evaluate telemedicine interventions; (2) to identify the range of interventions which have been formally evaluated; and (3) to summarize the findings. Fourteen databases and Google Scholar were searched, as well as bibliographies of relevant papers and online conference abstracts. There were 50 studies which met the inclusion criteria, of which 50% were randomized controlled trials. The studies most frequently reported the effect on substance use and 61% of those findings fully supported telemedicine interventions. Although the studies reported persistent challenges in sustaining participation, 76% of the studies reporting on satisfaction indicated that participants were enthusiastic supporters of telemedicine. Only 30% of reviewed studies addressed the effect on resource utilization. The majority of studies reported evidence of clinical effectiveness, which justifies continued research in the field.
Higher-order mode substrate integrated waveguide cavity excitation for microstrip patch antenna arrays at 30-GHz

This paper presents a novel approach to the design and fabrication of low-cost and high-gain aperture-coupled microstrip patch antenna (AC-MPA) arrays with improved radiation pattern for millimetre-wave applications such as simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) and Internet-of-Things (IoT) device connectivity. A higher-order mode substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity is used to feed the MPA arrays through aperture coupling. The improved design approach is introduced and discussed in detail. Simulation and experimental results for 2 × 2 and 4 × 4 arrays are presented, demonstrating excellent agreement. Key performance metrics are side-lobe levels of less than −24 dB and −29 dB in the E-plane and −22 dB and −26 dB in the H-plane and realized gain of 11 dBi and 15 dBi for the 2 × 2 and 4 × 4 arrays respectively, at a design frequency of 30 GHz.
Better methods for solving parsimony and compatibility

Evolutionary tree reconstruction is a challenging problem with important applications in biology and linguistics. In biology, one of the most promising approaches to tree reconstruction is to find the "maximum parsimony" tree, while in linguistics, the use of the "maximum compatibility" method has been very useful. However, these problems are NP-hard, and current approaches to solving these problems amount to heuristic searches through the space of possible tree topologies (a search which can, on large trees, take months to complete). In this paper, we present a new technique, Optimal Tree Refinement, for reconstructing very large trees. Our technique is motivated by recent experimental studies which have shown that certain polynomial time methods often return contractions of the true tree. We study the use of this technique in solving maximum parsimony and maximum compatibility, and present both hardness results and polynomial time algorithms.
Using Machine Learning for Operational Decisions in Adversarial Environments.

Classical supervised learning assumes that training data is representative of the data expected to be observed in the future. This assumption is clearly violated when an intelligent adversary actively tries to deceive the learner by generating instances very different from those previously seen. The literature on adversarial machine learning aims to address this problem, but often assumes constraints that sophisticated and determined adversaries need not abide by. We model the adversarial machine learning problem by considering an unconstrained, but utilitymaximizing, adversary. In addition, rather than modifying the learning algorithm to increase its robustness to adversarial manipulation, we use an output of an arbitrary probabilistic classifier (such as Naive Bayes) in a linear optimization program that computes optimal randomized operational decisions based on machine learning predictions, operational constraints, and our adversarial model. Our approach is simpler than its predecessors, highly scalable, and we experimentally demonstrate that it outperforms the state of the art on several metrics.
Spastin Binds to Lipid Droplets and Affects Lipid Metabolism

Mutations in SPAST, encoding spastin, are the most common cause of autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). HSP is characterized by weakness and spasticity of the lower limbs, owing to progressive retrograde degeneration of the long corticospinal axons. Spastin is a conserved microtubule (MT)-severing protein, involved in processes requiring rearrangement of the cytoskeleton in concert to membrane remodeling, such as neurite branching, axonal growth, midbody abscission, and endosome tubulation. Two isoforms of spastin are synthesized from alternative initiation codons (M1 and M87). We now show that spastin-M1 can sort from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to pre- and mature lipid droplets (LDs). A hydrophobic motif comprised of amino acids 57 through 86 of spastin was sufficient to direct a reporter protein to LDs, while mutation of arginine 65 to glycine abolished LD targeting. Increased levels of spastin-M1 expression reduced the number but increased the size of LDs. Expression of a mutant unable to bind and sever MTs caused clustering of LDs. Consistent with these findings, ubiquitous overexpression of Dspastin in Drosophila led to bigger and less numerous LDs in the fat bodies and increased triacylglycerol levels. In contrast, Dspastin overexpression increased LD number when expressed specifically in skeletal muscles or nerves. Downregulation of Dspastin and expression of a dominant-negative variant decreased LD number in Drosophila nerves, skeletal muscle and fat bodies, and reduced triacylglycerol levels in the larvae. Moreover, we found reduced amount of fat stores in intestinal cells of worms in which the spas-1 homologue was either depleted by RNA interference or deleted. Taken together, our data uncovers an evolutionarily conserved role of spastin as a positive regulator of LD metabolism and open up the possibility that dysfunction of LDs in axons may contribute to the pathogenesis of HSP.
Foetal heart rate signal spectral analysis by using time-varying autoregressive modelling

Abstract During labour, foetal monitoring enables clinicians to prevent potential adverse outcomes, whose surveillance procedure is commonly based on analysis of cardiotocographic (CTG) signals. Unfortunately, this procedure is difficult because it involves human interpretation of highly complex signals. In order to improve the CTG assessment, different approaches based on signal processing techniques have been proposed. However, most of them do not consider the progression of the foetal response over time. In this work, we propose to study such progression along the foetal heart rate (FHR) signal by using spectral analysis based on time-varying autoregressive modelling. The main idea is to investigate if a particular FHR signal episode in the time-domain reflects dynamical changes in the frequency-domain that can help to assess the foetal condition. Results show that each FHR deceleration leaves a particular time-varying frequency signature described by the spectral energy components which could help to distinguish between a normal and a pathological foetus.
Video browsing using 3D video content trees

The cost for storing digital video decreases and will reach an affordable value. We can expect large numbers of digital videos to be used in business and non-commercial applications. Adequate video searching and retrieval support is essential to keep this huge amount of data under control. We developed a new visualization approach to hierarchical three-dimensional browsing of video contents. The visualization has been inspired by “Cone Trees” and is based on an automatic ranking and color evaluation scheme. We attempt to provide as much as possible information “at-aglance” about the videos contents.
Parallel-hierarchical neural network for 3D object recognition

In this paper, the authors propose a parallel-hierarchical neural network that can recognize multiple 3D objects from 2D projection images. The proposed network focuses on a parallel-hierarchical structure and memory-based recognition assistance, which are characteristics of the excellent vision systems that living organisms have, and refers to the neocognitron, which models the parallel-hierarchical structure of vision systems. The amount of calculations is reduced by deleting cells having a low degree of importance based on competition between cells and detecting features that differ for each cell. The network not only can recognize an object, but can also estimate its orientation at the same time. The memory-based recognition assistance is modeled by performing iterative processing during which the input image approaches a learning image based on the orientation estimation result. Weights are determined by sequentially presenting learning images, and no teaching signal is necessary. This is done in a short time since it is not an iterative learning method. The network performance was evaluated by using five objects from COIL-100. Images that were obtained by photographing each object after it was rotated 60° at a time around the vertical axis were used for the learning images. The experiments checked the recognition rates for various 2D projection images that were obtained from the 3D objects. These results verified the effectiveness of the proposed neural network as a 3D object recognition technique. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 35(1): 1–12, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10579
An Aggregation Algorithm Based on Group Numbers

OLAP (online analytical processing) queries are complex. When implemented in SQL (structured query language), they usually involve multi-table join and aggregate operations. As a result, how to improve the performance of the multi-table join and aggregate operations becomes a key issue for ROLAP (relational OLAP) query evaluation. To solve this problem, an aggregation algorithm based on group numbers named MuGA (group number based aggregation with multi-table join) is proposed in this paper. By taking the characteristics of star schema into consideration, the algorithm combines the aggregation operation with the novel multi-table join algorithm, Mjoin (multi-table join), and replaces the sorting and hashing method by computed group numbers in aggregation computing. As a result, the algorithm can not only reduce the CPU time, but also reduce the disk I/Os for OLAP queries. As illustrated by the experiments, the performance of the algorithm MuGA is superior to original aggregation methods and the new sorting based method for aggregation.
Effects of Extracellular Matrix on Differentiation of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Smooth Muscle Cell Lineage: Utility for Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering

Background: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into various types of cell, and the extracellular matrix (ECM) is acknowledged to be important for the regulation of cell functions. In this study, we demonstrated the effects of ECMs on the differentiation of human bone marrow-derived MSCs into a smooth muscle cell (SMC) lineage. Methods: Human MSCs (hMSCs) were cultured on dishes coated with 3 types of ECM including laminin (LM), collagen type IV (Col-IV) and fibronectin for 7 days, and simultaneously cultured on a noncoated dish as a control. Cell numbers of these cultured hMSCs were counted, and their expression of SMC-specific genes and proteins was evaluated. hMSCs were then seeded on LM-coated biodegradable sheets and implanted into rat subcutaneous space. After 2 weeks of implantation, these tissues were evaluated. Results: The number of hMSCs was significantly increased by culture on Col-IV-coated dishes. The expression of SMC-specific genes and proteins (α-smooth muscle actin, ASMA; h1-calponin, CALP) in hMSC was significantly upregulated from culture on LM-coated dishes. LM-coated sheets showed a significantly increased expression of ASMA and CALP protein in vivo. Moreover, a fully differentiated marker (SM2) was expressed in the in vivo implanted hMSCs in the course of 2 weeks on the LM-coated sheet. Conclusion: These results suggest that the signal transduction of the cell-matrix interaction for the differentiation of hMSCs into SMCs was activated when cultured with LM. LM-coated materials may thus be useful for cardiovascular tissue engineering.