Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proteomic profiling differences in serum from silicosis and chronic bronchitis patients: a comparative analysis.

BACKGROUND Silicosis is a severe occupational disease characterized by pulmonary fibrosis, whereas chronic bronchitis (CB) is an acute inflammation of the airways. Differences in the mechanisms of pathogenesis of these diseases are not well understood, therefore we performed proteomic profiling of silicosis and CB patients and, compared the results. METHODS Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF-MS (matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry) were used to identify differentially accumulated proteins in stage I of silicosis (SI), stage II of silicosis (SII) and CB. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to validate protein expression data. RESULTS A total of 28 and 10 proteins were up- and down-regulated in SI, and 21 and 9 proteins were up- and down-regulated SII, compared with CB. Transforming growth factor beta-1 precursor and interferon beta precursor were up-regulated in CB, while interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and a variant TNF receptor 13B were down-regulated in CB. Additionally, glycoprotein- and apolipoprotein-associated proteins including apolipoprotein A-IV and α-1-B-glycoprotein were up-regulated in CB, indicating an involvement in the pathogenesis of CB but not silicosis. By contrast, HLA-DRB1, medullasin and the proto-oncogene c-Fos were up-regulated in CB. CONCLUSIONS The immune, metabolism and apolipoprotein-related proteins were identified as playing specific and different roles in silicosis and CB. These proteomic profiling differences would facilitate further studies on the mechanisms underlying silicosis and CB, and may also prove useful to disease diagnosis and treatments.
Analysis and Characterization of Fructan Oligosaccharides and Enzymatic Activities in the Leaves of Agave tequilana ( Weber ) var

The ability of Agave species to synthesize fructans has been poorly investigated in the past. Agave tequilana, a CAM plant of Mexican origin, accumulates fructans in their false stem or piña that are harvested and used as a source of sugars for the production of tequila. Synthesis of fructans occurs in the agave leaf and in the past it has been suggested that they are transported through the phloem to the storage organ. In this work the structural characteristics of oligosaccharides present in plant leaves are examined by different methods such as TLC, MALDI-TOF and HPAEC-PAD. Also, leaf protein extracts were tested for enzyme activities by incubation with different sugars to identify the machinery responsible for agave fructan structures. Results showed that sucrose represents the largest contributor (67%) followed by fructans (20%) up to DP 12 and monosaccharides (13%), respectively. Leaf oligofructan structures are comprised of a mixture of inulin, neoseries and branched fructans. All DP3 and DP4 fructans were linear molecules of the inulin and neoseries type, with the notable absence of 6-kestose or bifurcose, which is considered to be the primer oligosaccharide in grasses. Enzymatic assays confirmed the presence of the synthetic activities 1-SST, 1-FFT and 6G-FFT, but could not detect any 6-SFT activity, generally considered responsible of the branching fructans and synthesizer of 6-kestose or bifurcose that could not be found. From this study we conclude that the branching activity in Agave spp. is of different nature than 6-SFT already characterized in grasses. We proposed that an unknown 6FFT activity may be responsible for the branched structure in Agave fructan. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interpretation-driven mapping: A framework for conducting search and rerepresentation in parallel for computational analogy in design

Abstract This paper presents a framework for the interactions between the processes of mapping and rerepresentation within analogy making. Analogical reasoning systems for use in design tasks require representations that are open to being reinterpreted. The framework, interpretation-driven mapping, casts the process of constructing an analogical relationship as requiring iterative, parallel interactions between mapping and interpreting. This paper argues that this interpretation-driven approach focuses research on a fundamental problem in analogy making: how do the representations that make new mappings possible emerge during the mapping process? The framework is useful for both describing existing analogy-making models and designing future ones. The paper presents a computational model informed by the framework Idiom, which learns ways to reinterpret the representations of objects as it maps between them. The results of an implementation in the domain of visual analogy are presented to demonstrate its feasibility. Analogies constructed by the system are presented as examples. The interpretation-driven mapping framework is then used to compare representational change in Idiom to that in three previously published systems.
Immunoelectron microscopy for rapid diagnosis of varicella-zoster virus in a complicated case of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 infection

Rapid techniques for the detection of herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) are needed for optimal therapeutic management. VZV infection poses a serious threat, especially to seriously ill patients, for instance, immunocompromised patients. We report a case of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1-positive leukemia complicated by atypical multidermatomal herpes zoster. Viral culture and standard serological tests failed to prove VZV infection. Herpesvirus infection was confirmed by cytodiagnosis (Tzanck test). The final diagnosis of VZV was made by immunoelectron microscopy (IEM), which can differentiate between HSV and VZV. Immunoglobulin M antibodies in serum directed against VZV were detected by IEM but not by immunofluorescence. Because IEM was able to identify virus and analyze sera in only 2 h, it is considered a valuable additional tool for the rapid diagnosis of HSV and VZV infections.
The complete mitochondrial genome of speckled dace, Rhinichthys osculus

Abstract In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of speckled dace, Rhinichthys osculus, for the first time. The length of this genome is 16 611 bp, and the mitochondrial genome harbors 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNA), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNA), and one control region (D-loop), and it has a base composition of A (30.7%), G (16.3%), C (26.5%), and T (26.5%), indicating that the percentage of A + T (57.2%) was higher than that of G + C (42.8%). Most of the genes were located on the H-strand except for the ND6 gene and eight tRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the R. osculus mitochondrial genome formed a cluster with the other seven Rhodeus genus genomes. The mitochondrial genome of R. osculus presented here will contribute to a better understanding of the population genetics.
Parameters Estimation of Unresolved Targets with Stepped Frequency Train of LFM Pulses for Phased Array Radar: Range, Angle and Velocity

When multiple targets are located in the same resolution cell, the performance of parameters estimation will get worse greatly. The stepped frequency train of linear frequency modulation (LFM) pulses can provide a high range resolution to separate multiple targets by forming the high range resolution profile (HRRP). But for the phased array radar, HRRP is not available because the range shift caused by targets' angles and velocities, which cannot be compensated in the case of unresolved targets. In this paper, the limitation of HRRP when used on the phased array radar is analyzed. To overcome this problem, the range-angle beamforming technique is used to separate the unresolved targets. However, the peaks of beamformer output still has the range shift caused by target motion. It is found that such range shift is nearly linear to the pulse repetition interval (PRI). So another stepped frequency LFM pulses train with different PRI is transmitted. By combining the target echoes of two pulse trains, the range shift is compensated well besides the ranges, angles and velocities of unresolved targets are estimated accurately. Several simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Use of complementary and alternative therapies by patients with human immunodeficiency virus disease in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

BACKGROUND Complementary and alternative medical therapies (CAM) are popular with patients who are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive, despite effective drug treatments, potential drug interactions, and overlapping toxicities. OBJECTIVE To determine rates and correlates of ingested and noningested CAM use, and to examine temporal changes in the rates of ingested CAM use during the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis with repeated measures from a cohort study, with the study visit as the unit of analysis. SETTING Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. PARTICIPANTS Adults who are HIV seropositive followed semiannually (n = 642) in Nutrition for Healthy Living (NFHL) study. MEASUREMENTS Rates of ingested and noningested CAM use were assessed by interview every 6 months between 1995 and 1999. RESULTS Ingested CAM use was reported at 60% of visits. Between 1995 and 1999, HAART use increased from 0% to 70%, and ingested CAM use decreased from 71% to 52%. In multivariate analyses, users of ingested complementary therapies were more likely to be gay men (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23-1.58; p < 0.0001), at least high school educated (PR 1.37, 95% CI 1.12-1.68, p = 0.002), and with secure housing (PR 0.75, 95% CI 0.61-0.92; p = 0.007). Even in the lowest risk group (less educated, nongay males with insecure housing), CAM use rates were 27% (95% CI 21%-34%). There was no association between HAART and CAM use. CONCLUSIONS CAM therapies complement, rather than replace, HAART. Even among poorly educated, nongay male patients with insecure housing, rates of ingested CAM use were substantial. Physicians should routinely ask about ingested CAM therapy use and become knowledgeable about potential hazards.
Eosinophilia in routine blood samples as a biomarker for solid tumor development – A study based on The Copenhagen Primary Care Differential Count (CopDiff) Database

Abstract Background. Eosinophilia may represent an early paraclinical sign of malignant disease and a host anti-tumor effect. The association between eosinophilia and the development of solid tumors has never before been examined in an epidemiological setting. The aim of the present study was to investigate eosinophilia in routine blood samples as a potential biomarker of solid tumor development in a prospective design. Material and methods. From the Copenhagen Primary Care Differential Count (CopDiff) Database, we identified 356 196 individuals with at least one differential cell count (DIFF) encompassing the eosinophil count during 2000–2007. From these, one DIFF was randomly chosen and categorized according to no (< 0.5 × 109/l), mild (≥ 0.5–1.0 × 109/l) or severe (≥ 1.0 × 109/l) eosinophilia. From the Danish Civil Registration System and the Danish Cancer Registry we ascertained all-cause death and solid tumors within the first three years following the DIFF. Using multivariable logistic regression, odds ratios (OR) were calculated and adjusted for previous eosinophilia, sex, age, year, month, C-reactive protein, previous cancer and Charlson's Comorbidity Index. Results. The risk of bladder cancer was increased with mild eosinophilia [OR 1.93 (CI 1.29–2.89), p = 0.0013]. No associations with eosinophilia were observed for the remaining solid cancers. Conclusion. We demonstrate that eosinophilia in routine blood samples associates with an increased risk of bladder cancer. Our data emphasize that additional preclinical studies are needed in order to shed further light on the role of eosinophils in carcinogenesis, where it is still unknown whether the cells contribute to tumor immune surveillance or neoplastic evolution.
The Menopause and Sexual Functioning: A Review of the Population-Based Studies

Abstract Sexual problems are among the most frequently presented health concerns of women attending menopause clinics. We examine rigorous observational studies of the menopausal transition to determine whether there are changes in sexual functioning associated with the menopausal transition and the relative roles of aging and hormonal factors. We detail the methodological limitations of menopause research. We then review studies documenting the effects of aging on women's sexual functioning prior to reviewing studies that document both aging and menopausal status. These latter studies are divided into both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. In summary, there is an age-related decline in sexual functioning but an added incremental decline associated with the menopausal transition. There have been relatively few studies that have been prospective, population-based, utilised a validated measure of sexual functioning, and carried out concurrent hormonal sampling. The Melbourne Women's Midlife Health Project is a prospective, observational study of a community-based sample of Australian born women aged 45–55 at baseline. There were eight annual assessments using a self-report questionnaire based on the McCoy Female Sexuality Questionnaire and blood sampling for hormone levels. From early to late menopausal transition, the percentage of women with scores indicating sexual dysfunction rose from 42% to 88%. Decreasing scores correlated with decreasing estradiol but not with androgens. By the postmenopausal phase there was a significant decline in sexual arousal and interest, frequency of sexual activities, and the Total Score. There was a significant increase in vaginal dryness and dyspareunia and women's reports of their partner's problems in sexual performance. Women with low scores of sexual functioning were more likely to be distressed on the Female Sexual Distress Scale. In conclusion, there is a dramatic decline in female sexual functioning with the natural menopausal transition.
Coronary stent selection and optimal course of dual antiplatelet therapy in patients at high bleeding or thrombotic risk: navigating between limited evidence and clinical concerns

Purpose of review Optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after coronary revascularization, in particular after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation, is a matter of ongoing debate. Recent findings First generation of DES, as compared with bare metal stents (BMS), reduce restenosis rates but increase very late stent thrombosis rates, thus requiring a prolonged course of DAPT. As a consequence, patients with high thrombotic and/or bleeding risk: have been systematically excluded from randomized trials comparing DES versus BMS; remain ‘uncertain’ DES candidates; should preferentially undergo BMS implantation at the time of percutaneous coronary intervention instead of DES. The Zotarolimus-eluting Endeavor Sprint Stent in Uncertain DES Candidates (ZEUS) trial is the first randomized study that demonstrated the superiority of the Zotarolimus-eluting Endeavor Sprint versus BMS in uncertain DES candidates who followed a personalized DAPT duration, which was tailored to patients's, not stent's, characteristics. Summary The results of the ZEUS trial may support a paradigm shift in our current understanding of the most proper use of DES in practice and should trigger further research in patients at high bleeding or thrombotic risk, who have been so far largely deprived of the potential benefit provided by DES.
Controlled delivery of a hydrophilic drug from a biodegradable microsphere system by supercritical anti-solvent precipitation technique

The purpose of this study was to prepare microspheres loaded with hydrophilic drug, bupivacaine HCl using poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA). Microspheres were prepared with varying the PLGA/PLLA ratio with two different levels of bupivacaine HCl (5 and 10%) using a supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) technique. Microspheres ranging from 4–10 µm in geometric mean diameter could be prepared, with high loading efficiency. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) revealed that bupivacaine HCl retained its crystalline state within the polymer and was present as a dispersion within the polymer phase after SAS processing. The release of bupivacaine HCl from biodegradable polymer microspheres was rapid up to 4 h, thereafter bupivacaine HCl was continuously and slowly released for at least 7 days according to the PLGA/PLLA ratio and the molecular weight of PLLA.
Fundamental mechanism behind volatile and non-volatile switching in metallic conducting bridge RAM

We establish an active electrode (AE) selection criterion for volatile and non-volatile switching in metallic conducting bridge (CB) RAM, relevant to cross-point selector and memory applications. Using first principle calculations, we show that: (a) volatile versus non-volatile switching is determined by the energy difference A between the cluster configuration of the AE atoms in the high-resistance (HRS) state, and the filament configuration of the AE atoms in the low-resistance (LRS) state; volatile switching is achieved when A is large, whereas the system will exhibit non-volatile behavior when A ∼ 0; (b) the maximum LRS (ON-state) current, Imax that can be delivered while sustaining volatile (selector) operation is proportional to the magnitude of A for the AE. Using molecular dynamical (MD) + NEGF transport simulations, supported by experiments, we confirm the volatile (selector) switching characteristics of Ag/HfÖ2/Pt, and the non-volatile (memory) switching characteristics of Co/HfO2/Pt, as predicted by our criterion; the corresponding temporal characteristics are also evaluated. Finally, we calculate the expected switching characteristics for various active electrodes (AEs), showing excellent agreement with experimental results. Our findings enable the design of CBRAM-based selectors and memory with the required switching properties.
A 80kS/s 36µW resistor-based temperature sensor using BGR-free SAR ADC with a unevenly-weighted resistor string in 0.18µm CMOS

A resistor-based temperature sensor with a BGR-free SAR ADC is reported. The non-zero temperature dependency of the ADC reference voltages, as a result of without using a BGR, is compensated by adopting the proposed unevenly-weighted 9-bit resistor string for reference voltage generation. Fabricated in a 0. 18µm CMOS, the sensor achieves 0.25°C resolution over 0∼100°C range and draws 20µA from a 1.8V supply. At a conversion rate of 80kS/s, the FOM [1] is 0.11nJ/°C.
Ins-Robust Primitive Words

Let Q be the set of primitive words over a finite alphabet with at least two symbols. We characterize a class of primitive words, Q_I, referred to as ins-robust primitive words, which remain primitive on insertion of any letter from the alphabet and present some properties that characterizes words in the set Q_I. It is shown that the language Q_I is dense. We prove that the language of primitive words that are not ins-robust is not context-free. We also present a linear time algorithm to recognize ins-robust primitive words and give a lower bound on the number of n-length ins-robust primitive words.
Garbage modeling for on-device speech recognition

User interactions with mobile devices increasingly depend on voice as a primary input modality. Due to the disadvantages of sending audio across potentially spotty network connections for speech recognition, in recent years there has been growing attention to performing recognition on-device. The limited computational resources, however, typically require additional model constraints. In this work, we explore the task of on-device utterance verification, wherein the recognizer must transcribe an utterance if it is in a target set or reject it as being out of domain. We present a data-driven methodology for mining tens of thousands of target phrases from an existing corpus. We then compare two common garbage-modeling approaches to utterance verification: a sub-word rejection model and a white-listed n-gram model. We examine a deficiency of the sub-word modeling approach and introduce a novel modification that makes use of common prefixes between targeted phrases and non-targeted phrases. We show good performance in the trade-off between recall and word error rate using both the prefix and white-listed n-gram approaches. Finally, we evaluate the prefix-based approach in a hybrid setting where rejected instances are sent to a server-side recognizer.
Formulating LUTI Calibration as an Optimisation Problem: Estimation of Tranus Shadow Price and Substitution Parameters

Cities and their employment catchment areas are focus points of economic activity, transportation, and social interactions. The need for land use and transport integrated modelling (LUTI modelling) as a decision aid tool in urban planning, has become apparent. Instantiating such models on cities, requires a substantial data collection, model structuring and parameter estimation effort; for conciseness, the latter is referred to here as calibration. This work is a partial effort towards the integrated calibration of LUTI models. It considers one of the most widely used LUTI models and softwares, Tranus. The usual calibration approach for Tranus is briefly reviewed. It is then reformulated as an optimisa-tion problem, in order to make it amenable to the systematic incorporation of constraints on parameters and additional data and to form a clear basis for future fully integrated calibration. The problem at hand concerns a dynamic system; an approach is shown how to " eliminate " parts of the dynamics in order to ease the parameter optimisation. We also discuss how to validate calibration results and propose to use synthetic data generated from real world problems in order to assess convergence properties and accuracy of calibration methods.
Incorporating local environment information with ensemble neural networks to robust automatic speech recognition

This paper proposes an ensemble neural network (ENN) framework for robust automatic speech recognition (ASR). The proposed ENN framework can be divided into offline and online phases. In the offline phase, the ENN framework first applies an environment clustering technique to partition the training data into several subsets, where each subset characterizes specific local information of the entire acoustic space. Next, each subset of training data is adopted to train an NN acoustic model. Finally, the entire set of training data is used to estimate a gating function, which can determine the most suitable NN acoustic model given an input utterance. In the online phase, given the testing utterance, the gating function specifies the optimal NN acoustic model to perform speech recognition. Because local environment information is incorporated, ENN can effectively determine the NN acoustic model that optimally matches the testing condition. The proposed framework was evaluated on the Aurora-2 task. Experimental results show that the proposed ENN framework can provide a notable word error rate reduction of 5.35% (from 5.05% to 4.78%) when compared to the baseline.
An Attribute Reduction Algorithm Based on Genetic Algorithm and Discernibility Matrix

In order to effectively solve the problem between genetic algorithm convergence and a local optimal solution, this paper presents an attribute reduction algorithm based on genetic algorithm with improved selection operator and discernibility matrix. In the algorithm, from the point of view of granular computing, rough set decision tables based on partition and covering are researched by measuring granularity again. The practical results show that the average convergence generation of modified algorithm is obviously superior to not modified algorithm, which is generally applicable in rough set decision tables based on partition and covering