Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prominin-1/CD133 marks stem cells and early progenitors in mouse small intestine.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Prominin-1(Prom1)/CD133 is used, alone or in combination with other cell surface markers, to identify and isolate stem cells from various adult tissues. We recently identified leucine-rich-repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5) as a marker of the intestinal stem cells from which all cellular lineages of the gastrointestinal epithelium are derived. To determine whether there is a relationship between these markers, we investigated the intestinal expression pattern of Prom1/CD133 and created knock-in mice to visualize and trace Prom1(+) cells. METHODS We analyzed Prom1 mRNA and protein expression among stem cells within intestinal crypts. Prom1/CD133 knock-in mice (Prom1(-mCherry-IRES-CreERT2) KI) were generated that express a fusion of red fluorescent protein mCherry with the C-terminus of Prom1. The knock-in allele also contains the tamoxifen-inducible CreERT2 recombinase, allowing for genetic tracing of progeny derived from Prom1-positive cells. RESULTS In the small intestine, Prom1 mRNA was detected throughout the lower half of crypts and was not restricted to the rare stem cells that are sandwiched between Paneth cells. Prom1 protein was detected at the apical membranes of Lgr5(+) intestinal stem cells, but also on the transit-amplifying progenitors located above the Paneth cells. Analyses of the Prom1(-mCherry-IRES-CreERT2) KI mice showed that Prom1 is not exclusively expressed in Lgr5(+) intestinal stem cells but marks a much larger stem cell/transit-amplifying progenitor compartment. CONCLUSIONS Prom-1 marks intestinal stem cells, as well as transit-amplifying progenitors, so it is not a specific marker for Lgr5(+) intestinal stem cells.
The Concept of Electrically Assisted Friction Stir Welding (EAFSW) and Application to the Processing of Various Metals

Abstract : This report introduces a novel variant of conventional friction stir welding (FSW). Since 1991, friction stir welding provides an alternative to arc welding as a metal joining method in numerous applications. In FSW, the heat required to soften the target metal is generated totally by the rotating friction of the tool which necessitates rather high downward (Z) operating force and often leads to relatively short tool life. In the proposed modification, an electric current is added through the tip which provides ohmic heating of the work piece in its vicinity. This additional contribution combines with the tool rotation to produce Electrically Assisted Friction Stir Welding (EAFSW) and reduces frictional forces required of the tool to produce softening of the work piece metal. This can result in reduced tool wear, lower applied Z force and potentially higher weld speed. The reduction in Z force requirement, in particular, might enable construction of a smaller, more portable FSW machine having similar weld capabilities as the current large units. The machine modification/configuration is described. Experiments with various work piece metals and tool materials are discussed. Representative pictures of the resulting welds are presented. Finally, some conclusions regarding the possible scope and advantages of this new weld method are drawn.
Towards Treatment of Stargardt Disease: Workshop Organized and Sponsored by the Foundation Fighting Blindness

Accumulation of fluorescent metabolic byproducts of the visual (retinoid) cycle is associated with photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial cell death in both Stargardt disease and atrophic (nonneovascular) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). As a consequence of this observation, small molecular inhibitors of enzymes in the visual cycle were recently tested in clinical trials as a strategy to protect the retina and retinal pigment epithelium in patients with atrophic AMD. To address the clinical translational needs for therapies aimed at both diseases, a workshop organized by the Foundation Fighting Blindness was hosted by the Department of Pharmacology at Case Western Reserve University on February 17, 2017, at the Tinkham Veale University Center, Cleveland, OH, USA. Invited speakers highlighted recent advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of Stargardt disease, in terms of its clinical characterization and the development of endpoints for clinical trials, and discussed the comparability of therapeutic strategies between atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Stargardt disease. Investigators speculated that reducing the concentrations of visual cycle precursor substances and/or their byproducts may provide valid therapeutic options for the treatment of Stargardt disease. Here we review the workshop's presentations in the context of published literature to help shape the aims of ongoing research endeavors and aid the development of therapies for Stargardt disease.
Emerging Evidence for Pathogenesis of Sporadic Cerebral Small Vessel Disease

The data suggest that factors other than hypertension also contribute to the onset of WM damage, that is, gene–environment interactions. Differential gene effects can be observed in humans with WM hyperintensities (WMH). 25 An magnetic resonance imaging study in patients with SVD showed not only that hypertension could be a predictor of WMH damage in patients with mild stroke but also that salt intake itself is associated with WMH, independent of hypertension. 15 It is well known that there are salt-resistant and salt-sensitive hypertensive patients, the lat-ter of whom has been associated with greater endothelial dysfunction, characterized by defective endothelium-dependent
MEASURING SPRAWL AND ITS IMPACT

This study discusses urban sprawl and its impacts. It defines sprawl and describes the authors' four factor index, which helps to measure sprawl. It uses the index to compare and evaluate metropolitan regions, discusses the impact of sprawl on the quality of life in these regions, and presents policy recommendations to combat the effects of sprawl.
Toxic shock syndrome

In the past 10 years, we have learned much about TSS and S. aureus and its toxins. A number of important biologic principles have been reemphasized in this first decade of TSS research: S. aureus is a very complex organism, one not likely to yield quick answers; in vitro observations must always be confirmed in the patient; animal models may not always be reliable replicates of human disease; and epidemiologic associations cannot be equated with causation. Toxic shock is an intricate phenomenon with many interesting scientific facets. Unraveling its mysteries will undoubtedly teach us more about the complex interaction of patients and microorganisms.
Neonatal imitation predicts how infants engage with faces.

In human infants, neonatal imitation and preferences for eyes are both associated with later social and communicative skills, yet the relationship between these abilities remains unexplored. Here we investigated whether neonatal imitation predicts facial viewing patterns in infant rhesus macaques. We first assessed infant macaques for lipsmacking (a core affiliative gesture) and tongue protrusion imitation in the first week of life. When infants were 10-28 days old, we presented them with an animated macaque avatar displaying a still face followed by lipsmacking or tongue protrusion movements. Using eye tracking technology, we found that macaque infants generally looked equally at the eyes and mouth during gesture presentation, but only lipsmacking-imitators showed significantly more looking at the eyes of the neutral still face. These results suggest that neonatal imitation performance may be an early measure of social attention biases and might potentially facilitate the identification of infants at risk for atypical social development.
Childhood mortality in a cohort treated with mass azithromycin for trachoma.

BACKGROUND Mass azithromycin distributions are used to clear ocular strains of chlamydia that cause trachoma, but treatments may also affect respiratory infections, diarrhea, and malaria. Here, we monitor a large cohort in which almost 90% of individuals received azithromycin. We assess whether receiving treatment is associated with reduced all-cause and infectious childhood mortality. METHODS As part of a clinical trial for trachoma, a census was conducted in 24 communities in rural Ethiopia. All individuals ≥1 year of age were eligible for single-dose oral azithromycin, although antibiotic coverage was not universal. A follow-up census was performed 26 months after treatment to estimate all-cause mortality among children 1-5 years of age, and verbal autopsies were performed to identify infectious mortality. RESULTS The cohort included 35,052 individuals ≥1 year of age and 5507 children 1-5 years of age, of whom 4914 received a dose of azithromycin. All-cause mortality was significantly lower among those 1-5-year-old children who received azithromycin (odds ratio [OR]=0.35 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.17-0.74]), as was infectious mortality (OR=0.20 [95% CI, 0.07-0.58]). When individuals were compared only with members of the same household, azithromycin treatment was still associated with reduced all-cause mortality in children 1-5 years of age (OR=0.40 [95% CI, 0.16-0.96]), although this relationship was not statistically significant for infectious mortality (OR=0.35 [95% CI, 0.10-1.28]). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated an association between mass oral azithromycin treatment and reduced all-cause and infectious childhood mortality. This relationship could not be attributed to bias at the level of the household. Mass azithromycin distributions may have benefits unrelated to trachoma.
Algorithms with Logarithmic or Sublinear Regret for Constrained Contextual Bandits

We study contextual bandits with budget and time constraints, referred to as constrained contextual bandits.The time and budget constraints significantly complicate the exploration and exploitation tradeoff because they introduce complex coupling among contexts over time.Such coupling effects make it difficult to obtain oracle solutions that assume known statistics of bandits. To gain insight, we first study unit-cost systems with known context distribution. When the expected rewards are known, we develop an approximation of the oracle, referred to Adaptive-Linear-Programming (ALP), which achieves near-optimality and only requires the ordering of expected rewards. With these highly desirable features, we then combine ALP with the upper-confidence-bound (UCB) method in the general case where the expected rewards are unknown {\it a priori}. We show that the proposed UCB-ALP algorithm achieves logarithmic regret except for certain boundary cases. Further, we design algorithms and obtain similar regret analysis results for more general systems with unknown context distribution and heterogeneous costs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that shows how to achieve logarithmic regret in constrained contextual bandits. Moreover, this work also sheds light on the study of computationally efficient algorithms for general constrained contextual bandits.
Analysis of the Impact of Cloud Computing Technology to E-government Performance Evaluation

The ultimate goal of e-government is more efficient, lower cost of providing more public services. The primary purpose of the e-government performance evaluation system is to improve the level of governance and public satisfaction. It requires a lot of timely and complete data as supporting to achieve e-government performance evaluation objectives. Application of cloud computing technology can provide high-quality data for e-government performance evaluation. With the support of cloud computing, e-government performance evaluation can get the multi-party support of maximum range and receive the evaluation of the fullest range. This is particularly important for building a comprehensive e-government performance evaluation system.
Optimal Deposit Insurance

This paper characterizes the optimal level of deposit insurance (DI) when bank runs are possible. In a wide variety of environments, the optimal level of DI only depends on three sufficient statistics: the sensitivity of the likelihood of bank failure with respect to the level of DI, the utility loss caused by bank failure (which is a function of the drop in depositors’ consumption) and the expected economy-wide marginal resource loss in bank failure states, which directly depends on the marginal cost of public funds and the illiquidity/insolvency status of banks. As long as banks are competitive, changes in banks’ behavior induced by varying the level of DI (often referred to as moral hazard) only affect the level of optimal DI directly through a fiscal externality that reduces available resources in bank failure states, but not independently. We characterize the wedges that determine the optimal ex-ante regulation (which can be mapped to deposit rate limits or deposit insurance premia) and study the practical implications of our framework when calibrated to US data. JEL numbers: G21, G28, G01
Scene Transition based on Image Registration for Web-based Virtual Tour

Web-based Virtual Tour has attractive advantages over traditional 3D rendering approach in that it does not require labor intensive 3D modeling process or high bandwidth for realistic virtual tour yet provides virtual tour with free navigation and immersive experience of walking around through the WWW. In this paper, we focus on presenting a robust image registration technique for a web-based virtual tour system, Easy and Effective Virtual Tour (EEVT). EEVT constructs virtual tour from a set of images. It uses several snap shots of conventional photos without special tools, builds a simple 3D space within each photo using the spidery mesh technique, and expands the virtual spaces by connecting each space together. The connection between images is achieved by image registration, which finds correspondences automatically and estimates transformations. The image registration process is crucial for virtual tour applications in order to compose smooth transitional scenes between two views so that virtual tourists perceive continuous scenes during navigation. Our registration method uses a parametric approach and it includes the following key features: 1) coarse-to-fine hierarchical estimation 2) fast computation based on image feature-correspondences 3) FFT-based global matching 4) automatic outlier removal by RANSAC. The expanded virtual space creates a sense of navigational freedom for virtual tourists with less distorted viewing.
Apixaban Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics after Oral Administration to Humans

The metabolism and disposition of [14C]apixaban, an orally bioavailable, highly selective, and direct acting/reversible factor Xa inhibitor, was investigated in 10 healthy male subjects without (group 1, n = 6) and with bile collection (group 2, n = 4) after a single 20-mg oral dose. Urine, blood, and feces samples were collected from all subjects. Bile samples were also collected for 3 to 8 h after dosing from group 2 subjects. There were no serious adverse events or discontinuations due to adverse effects. In plasma, apixaban was the major circulating component and O-demethyl apixaban sulfate, a stable and water-soluble metabolite, was the significant metabolite. The exposure of apixaban (Cmax and area under the plasma concentration versus time curve) in subjects with bile collection was generally similar to that in subjects without bile collection. The administered dose was recovered in feces (group 1, 56.0%; group 2, 46.7%) and urine (group 1, 24.5%; group 2, 28.8%), with the parent drug representing approximately half of the recovered dose. Biliary excretion represented a minor elimination pathway (2.44% of the administered dose) from group 2 subjects within the limited collection period. Metabolic pathways identified for apixaban included O-demethylation, hydroxylation, and sulfation of hydroxylated O-demethyl apixaban. Thus, apixaban is an orally bioavailable inhibitor of factor Xa with elimination pathways that include metabolism and renal excretion.
Fusion of image and signal processing for the detection of obstructive sleep apnea

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome experience repeated periods of apnea and arousal during sleep. A condition which in short term leads to excessive daytime sleepiness and in the long term may have clinical consequences such as stroke and cardiovascular abnormalities. Although complex equipment can be used to screen for sleep apnea, the screening tests are often expensive, inconvenient for the patient, and time-consuming to be manually analysed. This research investigates methods for automating sleep apnea screening using low-cost off-body cameras. Polysomnography video recordings of twenty one patients, 11 with OSA, and 10 `normals' who were referred for suspected OSA, were analysed with the objective to differentiate the two groups. The proposed technique is based on motion estimation in videos using two successive video frames. The complexities of motion signals from the video data were analysed by calculating sample entropy over multiple time scales. The sample entropy values providing the best separation between the OSA and non-OSA groups were chosen using the Bhattacharyya distance and were then used as the input to a support vector machine classifier. The classification results both on the training and validation data indicate that patients with OSA can be differentiated from patients without OSA with 90% accuracy.
Correlations Between Life-Detection Techniques and Implications for Sampling Site Selection in Planetary Analog Missions

Abstract We conducted an analog sampling expedition under simulated mission constraints to areas dominated by basaltic tephra of the Eldfell and Fimmvörðuháls lava fields (Iceland). Sites were selected to be “homogeneous” at a coarse remote sensing resolution (10–100 m) in apparent color, morphology, moisture, and grain size, with best-effort realism in numbers of locations and replicates. Three different biomarker assays (counting of nucleic-acid-stained cells via fluorescent microscopy, a luciferin/luciferase assay for adenosine triphosphate, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to detect DNA associated with bacteria, archaea, and fungi) were characterized at four nested spatial scales (1 m, 10 m, 100 m, and >1 km) by using five common metrics for sample site representativeness (sample mean variance, group F tests, pairwise t tests, and the distribution-free rank sum H and u tests). Correlations between all assays were characterized with Spearman's rank test. The bioluminescence assay showed the most variance across the sites, followed by qPCR for bacterial and archaeal DNA; these results could not be considered representative at the finest resolution tested (1 m). Cell concentration and fungal DNA also had significant local variation, but they were homogeneous over scales of >1 km. These results show that the selection of life detection assays and the number, distribution, and location of sampling sites in a low biomass environment with limited a priori characterization can yield both contrasting and complementary results, and that their interdependence must be given due consideration to maximize science return in future biomarker sampling expeditions. Key Words: Astrobiology—Biodiversity—Microbiology—Iceland—Planetary exploration—Mars mission simulation—Biomarker. Astrobiology 17, 1009–1021.
A Lower Bound on the Size of Decomposable Negation Normal Form

We consider in this paper the size of a Decomposable Negation Normal Form (DNNF) that respects a given vtree (known as structured DNNF). This representation of propositional knowledge bases was introduced recently and shown to include OBDD as a special case (an OBDD variable ordering is a special type of vtree). We provide a lower bound on the size of any structured DNNF and discuss three particular instances of this bound, which correspond to three distinct subsets of structured DNNF (including OBDD). We show that our lower bound subsumes the influential Sieling and Wegener’s lower bound for OBDDs, which is typically used for identifying variable orderings that will cause a blowup in the OBDD size. We show that our lower bound allows for similar usage but with respect to vtrees, which provide structure for DNNFs in the same way that variable orderings provide structure for OBDDs. We finally discuss some of the theoretical and practical implications of our lower bound.
prlA suppression of defective export of maltose-binding protein in secB mutants of Escherichia coli

An Escherichia coli strain containing a signal sequence mutation in the periplasmic maltose-binding protein (MBP) (malE18-1) and a point mutation in the soluble export factor SecB (secBL75Q) is completely defective in export of MBP and unable to grow on maltose (Mal- phenotype). We isolated 95 spontaneous Mal+ revertants and characterized them genetically. Three types of extragenic suppressors were identified: informational (missense) suppressors, a bypass suppressor conferring the Mal+ phenotype in the absence of MBP, and suppressors affecting the prlA gene, which encodes a component of the protein export apparatus. In this study, a novel prlA allele, designated prlA1001 and mapping in the putative second transmembrane domain of the PrlA (SecY) protein, was found. In addition, we isolated a mutation designated prlA1024 which is identical to prlA4-2, the mutation responsible for the signal sequence suppression in the prlA4 (prlA4-1 prlA4-2) double mutant (T. Sako and T. Iino, J. Bacteriol. 170:5389-5391, 1988). Comparison of the prlA1024 mutant and the prlA4 double mutant provides a possible explanation for the isolation of these prlA alleles.
Defaultable Security Valuation and Model Risk

The aim of the paper is to analyse the effects of different model specifications, within a general nested framework, on the valuation of defaultable bonds, and some credit derivatives. Assuming that the primitive variables such as the risk-free short rate, and the credit spread are affine functions of a set state variables following jump-diffusion processes, efficient numerical solutions for the prices of several defaultable securities are provided. The framework is flexible enough to permit some degree of freedom in specifying the interrelation among the primitive variables. It also allows a richer economic interpretation for the default process. The model is calibrated, and a sensitivity analysis is conducted with respect to parameters defining jump terms, and correlation. The effectiveness of dynamic hedging strategies are analysed as well.
Radiotherapy for T1 glottic carcinoma: impact of anterior commissure involvement

The clinical notes of all new patients with T1 squamous cell carcinoma of the glottis seen in one head and neck cancer unit between 1989 and 1996 were reviewed. Fifty-three patients were treated with radical radiotherapy and of these 42 (79.2 per cent) had no loco-regional recurrence, after a median follow-up of seven years. Eleven (20.8 per cent) developed local recurrence and were treated with salvage surgery. Fourteen of the 53 (26.4 per cent) tumours involved the anterior commissure and eight of these 14 (57.1 per cent) developed recurrence, whereas only three of the 19 (15.8 per cent) tumours arising from the anterior half of the fold but not involving the anterior commissure had recurrence. None of the remaining tumours recurred. This difference is statistically significant (p<0.001). Anterior commissure involvement is a predictor of poor response to radiotherapy. This may be the result of understaging as none of the cases had computed tomography (CT) scans performed. Technical radiotherapy factors may also be important, although in all cases of anterior commissure involvement steps were taken to ensure adequate radiation dose to this region.