Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attentive History Selection for Conversational Question Answering

Conversational question answering (ConvQA) is a simplified but concrete setting of conversational search. One of its major challenges is to leverage the conversation history to understand and answer the current question. In this work, we propose a novel solution for ConvQA that involves three aspects. First, we propose a positional history answer embedding method to encode conversation history with position information using BERT in a natural way. BERT is a powerful technique for text representation. Second, we design a history attention mechanism (HAM) to conduct a "soft selection" for conversation histories. This method attends to history turns with different weights based on how helpful they are on answering the current question. Third, in addition to handling conversation history, we take advantage of multi-task learning (MTL) to do answer prediction along with another essential conversation task (dialog act prediction) using a uniform model architecture. MTL is able to learn more expressive and generic representations to improve the performance of ConvQA. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our model with extensive experimental evaluations on QuAC, a large-scale ConvQA dataset. We show that position information plays an important role in conversation history modeling. We also visualize the history attention and provide new insights into conversation history understanding.
Bayesian generative learning of brain and spinal cord templates from neuroimaging datasets

In the field of neuroimaging, Bayesian modelling techniques have been largely adopted and recognised as powerful tools for the purpose of extracting quantitative anatomical and functional information from medical scans. Nevertheless the potential of Bayesian inference has not yet been fully exploited, as many available tools rely on point estimation techniques, such as maximum likelihood estimation, rather than on full Bayesian inference. The aim of this thesis is to explore the value of approximate learning schemes, for instance variational Bayes, to perform inference from brain and spinal cord MRI data. The applications that will be explored in this work mainly concern image segmentation and atlas construction, with a particular emphasis on the problem of shape and intensity prior learning, from large training data sets of structural MR scans. The resulting computational tools are intended to enable integrated brain and spinal cord morphometric analyses, as opposed to the approach that is most commonly adopted in neuroimaging, which consists in optimising separate tools for brain and spine morphometrics.
Modeling Multivariable Time Series Using Regular and Singular Autoregressions

The primary aim of this thesis is to study the modeling of high-dimensional time series with periodic missing observations. This study is very important in different branches of science and technology such as: econometric modeling, signal processing and systems and control. For instance, in the field of econometric modeling, it is crucial to provide proper models for national economies to help policy makers with decision making and policy adjustments. These models are built upon available highdimensional data sets, which are not usually collected at the same rate. For example, some data such as, the employment rate are available on a monthly basis while some others like the gross domestic product (GDP) are collected quarterly. Motivated by applications in econometric modeling, we mainly consider systems, which have two sets of measurement streams, one stream being available at all times and the other one is observed every N-th time. There are two major issues involved with modeling of high-dimensional time series with periodic missing observations, namely, the curse of dimensionality and missing observations. Generalized dynamic factor models (GDFMs), which have been recently introduced in the field of econometric modeling, are exploited to handle the curse of dimensionality phenomenon. Furthermore, the blocking technique from systems and control is used to tackle issues associated with the missing observations. In this thesis, we consider a class of GDFMs and assume that there exists an underlying linear time-invariant system operating at the highest sample rate and our task is to identify this model from the available mixed frequency measurements. To this end, we first provide a very detailed study about zeros of linear systems with alternate missing measurements. Zeros of this class of linear systems are examined when the parameter matrices A, B, C and D in a minimal state space representation of a transfer function matrix C(zI− A)−1B+ D corresponding to the underlying high frequency system assume generic values. Under this setting, we then illustrate situations under which linear systems with missing observations are completely zero-free. It is worthwhile noting that the obtained condition is very common in an econometric modeling context. Then we apply this result and assume that the underlying high frequency system has an autoregressive (AR) structure. Next, we study identifiability of AR systems from those population second order moments, which can be observed in principle. We propose the method of modified extended Yule-Walker equations to show that the set of identifiable AR systems is an open and dense subset of the associated parameter space i.e. AR systems are generically identifiable.
A qualitative assessment of disease surveillance activities in a resource‐limited environment: Perceptions and opinions of volunteer staff working in Northern Uganda

Annually, groups of health professionals from high‐income countries are drawn to work in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) through timed engagements intended to improve the well‐being of people in most disadvantaged communities. The existing evidence on understanding volunteer experience in LMICs often focuses on activities within the medical discipline; whereas little research has been conducted on the experiences of volunteers in other disciplines. This paper focuses on understanding veterinary and public health professional's experiences conducting disease surveillance work in Northern Uganda. Forty US‐based health care professionals were recruited to complete multiple‐choice and open‐ended questions to understand prior and current experiences working in resource‐limited settings. Responses were coded using NVivo 10®, qualitative analysis package. Of the 44 volunteers, 50% completed the questionnaire. Responses were largely positive towards surveillance activities; they reported personal and professional gains, new cultural experiences and mutual learning environment with local colleagues. Nevertheless, respondents highlighted challenges during various stages of program implementation—some difficulty with program logistics, inadequacy of preparation materials, in addition to concerns inherent to working in a resource‐limited environment. This assessment suggests that international volunteer work could positively influence programmatic outcomes, personal experiences, furthering health organizational goals, often achieved in a limited time‐frame. To maximize volunteer impact, these assessments are critical and suggest that volunteer and institutional capacities should be seriously considered when planning placement as it can influence programmatic decision‐making, gauge training needs and volunteer readiness.
Riceberry rice puddings: rice-based low glycemic dysphagia diets.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Swallowing difficulty and diabetes mellitus are common in the elderly. However, texture-modified foods suitable for blood sugar control are scarce. This study was aimed to identify texture, glycemic indices (GIs) and postprandial responses of original and high-fiber Riceberry rice puddings. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN International Dysphagia Diet Standard Initiative (IDDSI)'s methods were used to determine texture. In vitro digestion was performed for estimating glycemic indices. A randomized cross-over controlled trial was conducted in twelve healthy volunteers. Original pudding, high-fiber pudding and white bread containing 40 g carbohydrate each were assigned in random sequence with twelve-day wash-out intervals. Plasma glucose concentrations were measured at 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 min after food intake. Individual GIs of puddings were calculated. RESULTS Original and high-fiber puddings were classified as IDDSI level 3 (liquidized) and 4 (pureed), respectively. The in vitro estimated GIs were 51 for original and 48 for high-fiber puddings. Clinical trial showed rapid kinetics (peaked at 30 min) but lower postprandial responses of both puddings, compared to white bread (peaked at 60 min). The adjusted GIs for original and high-fiber puddings were not significantly different (at 41±7.60 and 36±6.40, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Addition of fiber to the original pudding changed physical properties but not significantly reduced the GI. Original and high-fiber Riceberry rice puddings could be low-GI dysphagia diets, which may be useful for step-wise swallowing practice from IDDSI level 3 to 4 for those who also required blood sugar control.
The Impact of Rhode Island’s Multipayer Patient-centered Medical Home Program on Utilization and Cost of Care

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Objective: To estimate the effect of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) participation on cost and utilization of care for patients in Rhode Island’s statewide, multipayer PCMH program, which serves over one-third of the state population. Data Sources/Study Setting: 2009–2014 claims data from all payers in Rhode Island, representing >743,000 unique patients. Study Design: A propensity score–matched difference-in-differences framework was used to separately estimate the effect of the PCMH on 3 patient cohorts, which were defined by their intervention start dates and amounts of implementation time. Outcomes included patient costs (total, inpatient, outpatient, professional, pharmacy) and utilization [emergency department (ED) visits, preventable ED visits, inpatient admissions, preventable inpatient admissions, all-cause 30-day readmissions]. Interaction effects were estimated to assess heterogeneity among clinical risk groups and payers. Principal Findings: There was no evidence of a PCMH effect on total costs, though we observed evidence of an increase in the odds of PCMH patients having outpatient and professional costs, and in one cohort, a decrease in inpatient costs for those with an inpatient visit. We also observed evidence of reduced ED visits, preventable ED visits, and inpatient admissions for PCMH patients. While subgroup effects varied by cohort and measure, high-risk patients often experienced the largest reductions in ED visits. Conclusions: All PCMH cohorts experienced statistically significant reductions in some types of utilization in as little as 1.25 years. Reductions were greatest for measures included in the PCMH contractual agreement. While PCMH programs may not expect cost savings in the short-term, costs could potentially be reduced in the longer-term through avoided ED and inpatient expenses.
Improving Lower Extremity Bypass Patient Outcomes

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Background: Care variation is associated with poor quality outcomes. Clinical practice guideline implementation is one method to decrease care variation and improve outcomes. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a clinical pathway encompassing best practices across the surgical patient care continuum. Local Problem: The lower extremity bypass (LEB) population had high length of stay (LOS), readmissions, and surgical site infections. Methods: A comprehensive and systematic project management process was utilized to implement the ERAS pathway in the LEB population with the help of an interdisciplinary team. Interventions: Clinical practice guidelines were created to integrate ERAS elements into the LEB population care continuum. Patient education was revised or created to ensure standardized information was communicated to patients from consultation through discharge and early follow-up. Results: Preliminary data show 4.57 mean LOS (n = 21) compared with the prior year's mean of 6.81 (n = 53). Conclusion: ERAS pathway introduction to the LEB population is suggestive of improved outcomes based on preliminary data.
Epidemiology and Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant and Extensively Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections

In recent years, the worldwide spread of the so-called high-risk clones of multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant (MDR/XDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become a public health threat. This article reviews their mechanisms of resistance, epidemiology, and clinical impact and current and upcoming therapeutic options. In vitro and in vivo treatment studies and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models are discussed. SUMMARY In recent years, the worldwide spread of the so-called high-risk clones of multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant (MDR/XDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become a public health threat. This article reviews their mechanisms of resistance, epidemiology, and clinical impact and current and upcoming therapeutic options. In vitro and in vivo treatment studies and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models are discussed. Polymyxins are reviewed as an important therapeutic option, outlining dosage, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and their clinical efficacy against MDR/XDR P. aeruginosa infections. Their narrow therapeutic window and potential for combination therapy are also discussed. Other “old” antimicrobials, such as certain β-lactams, aminoglycosides, and fosfomycin, are reviewed here. New antipseudomonals, as well as those in the pipeline, are also reviewed. Ceftolozane-tazobactam has clinical activity against a significant percentage of MDR/XDR P. aeruginosa strains, and its microbiological and clinical data, as well as recommendations for improving its use against these bacteria, are described, as are those for ceftazidime-avibactam, which has better activity against MDR/XDR P. aeruginosa, especially strains with certain specific mechanisms of resistance. A section is devoted to reviewing upcoming active drugs such as imipenem-relebactam, cefepime-zidebactam, cefiderocol, and murepavadin. Finally, other therapeutic strategies, such as use of vaccines, antibodies, bacteriocins, anti-quorum sensing, and bacteriophages, are described as future options.
Beyond the Individual: Evidence Linking Neighborhood Trust and Social Isolation Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Loneliness and social isolation are significant public health problems. However, the community and neighborhood factors that contribute to this pandemic are less examined. Adopting a neighborhood resource-based social capital theory, we examined whether neighborhood trust was associated with older Americans’ loneliness, number of friends, and perceived support from friends. We analyzed two waves of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, with a sample of 5,817 Americans aged 50 years and older. We used first difference models to analyze the data and controlled for potential confounders including perceived support from family and health status. Increases in the perception that neighbors are trustworthy and helpful were associated with statistically significant decreases in loneliness and increases in perceived social support from friends over a 4-year period. Findings have implications for conceptualizing social capital and for potential interventions targeting interpersonal trust and reducing loneliness and social isolation.
Simulation-based study of link-level hybrid FEC/ARQ-SR for wireless links and long-lived TCP traffic

Since the TCP protocol uses the loss of packets as an indication of network congestion, its performance degrades over wireless links, which are characterized by a high bit error rate. Different solutions have been proposed to improve the performance of TCP over wireless links, the most promising one being the use of a hybrid model at the link level combining FEC (Forward Error Correction), ARQ-SR (Automatic Repeat Request with Selective Repeat), and an in-order delivery of packets to IP. The drawback of FEC is that it consumes some extra bandwidth to transmit the redundant information. ARQ-SR does not consume much bandwidth, its drawback is that it increases the round-trip time (RTT), which may deteriorate the performance of TCP, if not done appropriately. We study in this paper the performance of TCP over a wireless link implementing hybrid FEC/ARQ-SQ. The study is done by simulating long-lived TCP transfers with ns-2 over wireless links showing Bernoulli errors. We are motivated by how to tune link-level error recovery, e.g. amount of FEC, persistency of ARQ, so as to maximize the performance of TCP. We provide simulation results for different physical characteristics of the wireless link (delay, error rate) and for different traffic loads.
Cigarette Smoking Exacerbates Skeletal Muscle Injury Without Compromising its Regenerative Capacity.

Skeletal muscle dysfunction (SMD) in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) negatively impacts on quality of life and survival. Cigarette smoking (CS) is the major risk factor for COPD and SMD, however, how CS affects skeletal muscle function remains enigmatic. To examine the impact of CS on skeletal muscle inflammation and regeneration, male BALB/c mice were exposed to CS for 8 weeks before muscle injury was induced by barium chloride injection and were maintained on the CS protocol for up to 21 days post-injury. Barium chloride injection resulted in architectural damage to the tibialis anterior muscle resulting in a decrease contractile function which was worsened by CS-exposure. CS-exposure caused muscle atrophy (reduction in gross weight and myofiber cross sectional area) and altered fiber type composition (31% reduction of oxidative fibers). Both contractile function and loss in myofiber cross sectional area by CS-exposure gradually recovered over time. Satellite cells are muscle stem cells that confer skeletal muscle the plasticity to adapt to changing demands. CS-exposure blunted Pax7+ centralized nuclei within satellite cells and thus prevented the activation of these muscle stem cells. Finally, CS triggered muscle inflammation, in particular there was an exacerbated recruitment of F4/80+ monocytic cells to the site of injury along with enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. In conclusion, CS-exposure amplified the local inflammatory response at the site of skeletal muscle injury and this was associated with impaired satellite cell activation, leading to a worsened muscle injury and contractile function without detectable impacts on the recovery outcomes.
The H3 histone chaperone NASPSIM 3 escorts CenH3 in Arabidopsis.

Centromeres define the chromosomal position where kinetochores form to link the chromosome to microtubules during mitosis and meiosis. Centromere identity is determined by incorporation of a specific histone H3 variant termed CenH3. As for other histones, escort and deposition of CenH3 must be ensured by histone chaperones, which handle the non-nucleosomal CenH3 pool and replenish CenH3 chromatin in dividing cells. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis orthologue of the mammalian NUCLEAR AUTOANTIGENIC SPERM PROTEIN (NASP) and S. pombe histone chaperone Sim3 is a soluble nuclear protein that binds the histone variant CenH3 and affects its abundance at the centromeres. NASPSIM 3 is co-expressed with Arabidopsis CenH3 in dividing cells and binds directly to both the N-terminal tail and the histone fold domain of non-nucleosomal CenH3. Reduced NASPSIM 3 expression negatively affects CenH3 deposition, identifying NASPSIM 3 as a CenH3 histone chaperone. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
miR-101-3p/Rap1b signal pathway plays a key role in osteoclast differentiation after treatment with bisphosphonates

Bisphosphonates are the mainstay of therapy worldwide for osteoporosis. However, bisphosphonates also have limitations. The objective of this study was to determine the role of miR-101-3p/Rap1b signal pathway in osteoclast differentiation after treatment with bisphosphonates. Our results revealed that miR-101-3p was an important regulator in bisphosphonates treated-osteoclasts. When miR-101-3p was down-regulated in bone marrow-derived macrophage-like cells (BMMs), the development of mature osteoclasts was promoted, and vice versa. However, alendronate decreased multinucleated cell number regardless of whether miR-101-3p was knocked down or over-expressed. TRAP activity assay confirmed the above results. Luciferase assay indicated that miR-101-3p was a negative regulator of Rap1b. Western blot analysis revealed that protein expression level of Rap1b in BMMs transfected with OV-miR-101-3p was lower than that in BMMs transfected with an empty vector. Rap1b overexpression increased TRAP-positive multinucleated cells, while Rap1b inhibition decreased the cell numbers. In vivo data showed that miR-101-3p inhibited osteoclast differentiation in ovariectomized mice while overexpressed of Rap1b blocked the differentiation. Taken together, our data demonstrate that miR-101-3p/Rap1b signal pathway plays a key role in osteoclast differentiation after treatment with bisphosphonates.
Trimodality therapy for atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor is associated with improved overall survival: A surveillance, epidemiology, and end results analysis

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RTs) are rare aggressive central nervous system tumors. The use of radiation therapy (RT) remains controversial, especially for patients younger than three years of age. The purpose of the current investigation is to robustly analyze the impact of RT among pediatric AT/RT patients using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.
Abdominal Compartment Syndrome: A Comprehensive Pathophysiological Review

With growing knowledge and advances in surgery and critical care, we are witnessing new concepts and understanding in spectrum of disease pathology. Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) or intraabdominal hypertension (IAH) is one such intriguing entity that has rapidly caught attention of all surgeons and intensivists. Lately, lot of researches are showing the correlation of ACS-IAH with worse outcomes and even mortality in sick patients. IAH has been found to be an important contributor to early organ dysfunction among patients with trauma and sepsis that can cause significant impairment of renal, gastrointestinal, hepatic, cardiac, pulmonary, and central nervous system function. The pathology is even more significant in cases of abdominal surgery or trauma. ACS-IAH is commonly seen in severely sick patients, with prevalence reaching to as high as 50%. There is an increasing awareness of IAH as evidenced by increasing number of studies in the literature. Although there is lot of documented evidence around the topic of ACS-IAH, measuring and managing it still does not figure in most of protocols and practice guidelines in India. The authors believe that a thorough understanding about IAH will enable medical professional in reducing surgical mortality and morbidity. Hence, there was a need to review literature for the latest concept and evidence especially in the area of ACS-IAH, in context of our country India, where there is dearth of knowledge in this subject and its implications. The present review is set to present the current understanding of IAH from pathophysiological and clinical point of view with future insights.