Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Platelet-active drugs: the relationships among dose, effectiveness, and side effects.

Abbreviations: ACE trial 5 Acetylsalicylic Acid and Carotid Endarterectomy; ADP 5 adenosine diphosphate; AMP 5 adenosine monophosphate; CAPRIE study 5 Clopidogrel vs Aspirin in Patients at Risk of Ischemic Events; CI 5 confidence interval; COX 5 cyclooxygenase; DVT 5 deep venous thrombosis; EPISTENT trial 5 Evaluation of Platelet IIb/IIIa Inhibitors for Stenting; ESPS 5 European Stroke Prevention Study; EXCITE trial 5 Evaluation of Xemilofiban in Controlling Thrombotic Events; FDA 5 Food and Drug Administration; GP 5 glycoprotein; HOT study 5 Hypertension Optimal Treatment; INR 5 international normalized ratio; LMWH 5 low-molecular-weight heparin; MI 5 myocardial infarction; NSAID 5 nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug; OPUS trial 5 Orbofiban in Patients with Unstable Coronary Syndromes; PCI 5 percutaneous coronary intervention; PE 5 pulmonary embolism; PEP trial 5 Pulmonary Embolism Prevention; PG 5 prostaglandin; PTCA 5 percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty; RGD 5 Arg-Gly-Asp sequence; RR 5 relative risk; TIA 5 transient ischemic attack; TPT 5 Thrombosis Prevention Trial; TTP 5 thrombocytopenic purpura; TX 5 thromboxane; VTE 5 venous thromboembolism (CHEST 2001; 119:39S–63S)
Automatic Summarization of Domain-specific Forum Threads: Collecting Reference Data

We create and analyze two sets of reference summaries for discussion threads on a patient support forum: expert summaries and crowdsourced, non-expert summaries. Ideally, reference summaries for discussion forum threads are created by expert members of the forum community. When there are few or no expert members available, crowdsourcing the reference summaries is an alternative. In this paper we investigate whether domain-specific forum data requires the hiring of domain experts for creating reference summaries. We analyze the inter-rater agreement for both data-sets and we train summarization models using the two types of reference summaries. The inter-rater agreement in crowdsourced reference summaries is low, close to random, while domain experts achieve a considerably higher, fair, agreement. The trained models however are similar to each other. We conclude that it is possible to train an extractive summarization model on crowdsourced data that is similar to an expert model, even if the inter-rater agreement for the crowdsourced data is low.
The Dynamic Effects of Hurricanes in the US: The Role of Non-Disaster Transfer Payments

We know little about the dynamic economic impacts of natural disasters. I examine the effect of hurricanes on US counties’ economies 0-10 years after landfall. Overall, I find no substantial changes in county population, earnings, or the employment rate. The largest empirical effect of a hurricane is observed in large increases in government transfer payments to individuals, such as unemployment insurance. The estimated magnitude of the extra transfer payments is large. While per capita disaster aid averages $356 per hurricane in current dollars, I estimate that in the eleven years following a hurricane an affected county receives additional non-disaster government transfers of $67 per capita per year. Private insurance-related transfers over the same time period average only $2:4 per capita per year. These results suggest that a non-trivial portion of the negative impact of hurricanes is absorbed by existing social safety net programs. The fiscal costs of natural disasters are thus much larger than the cost of disaster aid alone. Because of the deadweight loss of taxation and moral hazard concerns, the benefits of policies that reduce disaster vulnerability, such as climate change mitigation and removal of insurance subsidies, are larger than previously thought. Finally, the substantial increase in non-disaster transfers suggests that the relative resilience of the United States to natural disasters may be in part due to various social safety nets.
Building Efficiency and Sustainability in the Tropics ( SinBerBEST ) Title Model Predictive Control from Signal Temporal Logic Specifications : A Case Study

This paper describes current work on framing the model predictive control (MPC) of cyber-physical systems as synthesis from signal temporal logic (STL) specifications. We provide a case study using a simplified power grid model with uncertain demand and generation; the model-predictive control problem here is that of the ancillary service power flow from the buildings. We show how various relevant constraints can be captured using STL formulas, and incorporated into an MPC framework. We also provide preliminary simulation results to illustrate the promise of the proposed approach.
Research on electronic payment model

With birth and expansion of the Internet, many electronic commerce systems have been developed and put into practice. At the same time, several electronic payment models are introduced. We analyze the famous JW model and N.Asokan model that are complicated and not concrete. Based on their works, we introduce the 3e payment model according to the payment tools and N.Asokan model. The 3e payment model includes electronic credit card payment model, electronic cash payment model and electronic check payment model. We compare and analyses the three payment models from the following aspects: actual pay time, transaction information, online/offline, user, current popular degree, anonymity, micro payment, small payment, large payment, database safeguarding, limit on amounts, direct cash-like payment model and direct cheque-like payment model. In the last we classify the available online payment protocols that include VCC, SET, VCPT, CyberCoin, DigiCash, MilliCent, Netcash, NetBill with our 3e payment model. At the same time we discuss the payment protocols properties that include security, accountability, atomicity, anonymity, non-repudiation and fairness.
Obfuscation: The Hidden Malware

A cyberwar exists between malware writers and antimalware researchers. At this war's heart rages a weapons race that originated in the 80s with the first computer virus. Obfuscation is one of the latest strategies to camouflage the telltale signs of malware, undermine antimalware software, and thwart malware analysis. Malware writers use packers, polymorphic techniques, and metamorphic techniques to evade intrusion detection systems. The need exists for new antimalware approaches that focus on what malware is doing rather than how it's doing it.
Controversies Revisited: A Systematic Review of the Comorbidity of Depression and Anxiety with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Background:Although mental health concerns are known to occur commonly for those with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), the nature of this comorbid relationship has not been systematically reviewed to date. A review in 2007 identified 5 controversies regarding anxiety/depression rates and various comparators between and within IBD. We aimed to systematically analyze and critique the current evidence regarding this comorbidity, providing an update to the 5 controversies. Methods:Ebscohost Medline, CINAHL, Embase, and PsychINFO were searched between 2005 and 2014 using systematic review methodology. Controlled quantitative studies examining either symptoms or diagnoses of anxiety and depression in IBD were included in the review, with study quality assessed using a scale developed a priori to evaluate observational research. Results:(1) IBD versus healthy controls (pooled mean proportions) (n = 13 studies): anxiety 19.1% versus 9.6%, depression 21.2% versus 13.4%; (2) IBD inactive versus IBD active disease (n = 26): anxiety 28.2% versus 66.4%, depression 19.9% versus 34.7%; (3) ulcerative colitis versus Crohn's disease (n = 28): anxiety 31% versus 37%, depression 22% versus 24.4%; (4) IBD versus other chronic medical conditions (n = 17): anxiety 41.9% versus 48.2%, depression 14.5% versus 28.4%; (5) onset of anxiety/depression before or after IBD onset (n = 2): adults more likely to develop anxiety/depression before IBD onset, but a substantial proportion develops depression after onset; an increased risk for children of developing anxiety/depression after IBD onset. Conclusions:The high rates of anxiety and depression for those with IBD, particularly when disease is active, warrant a systemic approach to screening and treatment.
Quantitative magnetization transfer imaging of rodent glioma using selective inversion recovery

Magnetization transfer (MT) provides an indirect means to detect noninvasively variations in macromolecular contents in biological tissues, but, so far, there have been only a few quantitative MT (qMT) studies reported in cancer, all of which used off‐resonance pulsed saturation methods. This article describes the first implementation of a different qMT approach, selective inversion recovery (SIR), for the characterization of tumor in vivo using a rodent glioma model. The SIR method is an on‐resonance method capable of fitting qMT parameters and T1 relaxation time simultaneously without mapping B0 and B1, which is very suitable for high‐field qMT measurements because of the lower saturation absorption rate. The results show that the average pool size ratio (PSR, the macromolecular pool versus the free water pool) in rat 9 L glioma (5.7%) is significantly lower than that in normal rat gray matter (9.2%) and white matter (17.4%), which suggests that PSR is potentially a sensitive imaging biomarker for the assessment of brain tumor. Despite being less robust, the estimated MT exchange rates also show clear differences from normal tissues (19.7 Hz for tumors versus 14.8 and 10.2 Hz for gray and white mater, respectively). In addition, the influence of confounding effects, e.g. B1 inhomogeneity, on qMT parameter estimates is investigated with numerical simulations. These findings not only help to better understand the changes in the macromolecular contents of tumors, but are also important for the interpretation of other imaging contrasts, such as chemical exchange saturation transfer of tumors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Robot-assisted right colectomy: surgical technique and review of the literature

Following the successful introduction of robotic surgery to the field of urology and gynecology, its use gained even more interest among those in the field of colorectal surgery. Rectal resection is believed to be among the best suited for robotic assistance. In particular, the right hemicolectomy procedure has been proposed as a training tool in order to gain clinical experience with the robot. This article and attached video demonstrates, in detail, the robot-assisted right hemicolectomy, including key landmarks of the procedure. The case presented involved a 58-year-old man with an advanced cecal adenocarcinoma. In our opinionrobot-assisted right colon resection is a procedure that offers particular value for the novice robotic team who is in the beginning stages of their colorectal surgery experience. Although no concrete advantages for use of the robot in this particular procedure have been demonstrated in the literature, because it is a relatively straightforward and simple procedure, it can serve as a valuable training tool for the novice robotic surgeon.
Apoptosis in the Intrinsic Pathway c-FLIP Protects T Lymphocytes from

Apoptosis can be induced by either death receptors on the plasma membrane (extrinsic pathway) or the damage of the genome and/or cellular organelles (intrinsic pathway). Previous studies suggest that cellular caspase 8 (FLICE)-like inhibitory protein (c-FLIP) promotes cell survival in death receptor–induced apoptosis pathway in T lymphocytes. Independent of death receptor signaling, mitochondria sense apoptotic stimuli and mediate the activation of effector caspases. Whether c-FLIP regulates mitochondrion-dependent apoptotic signals remains unknown. In this study, c-FLIP gene was deleted in mature T lymphocytes in vitro, and the role of c-FLIP protein in intrinsic apoptosis pathway was studied. In resting T cells treated with the intrinsic apoptosis inducer, c-FLIP suppressed cytochrome c release from mitochondria. Bim-deletion rescued the enhanced apoptosis in c-FLIP–deﬁcient T cells, whereas inhibition of caspase 8 did not. Different from activated T cells, there was no necroptosis or increase in reactive oxygen species in c-FLIP–deﬁcient resting T cells. These data suggest that c-FLIP is a negative regulator of intrinsic apoptosis pathway in T lymphocytes. The Journal of Immunology , 2015, 194: 000–000. in the regulation of in
Rheb is a Critical Regulator of Autophagy During Myocardial Ischemia: Pathophysiological Implications in Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Background— Rheb is a GTP-binding protein that promotes cell survival and mediates the cellular response to energy deprivation (ED). The role of Rheb in the regulation of cell survival during ED has not been investigated in the heart. Methods and Results— Rheb is inactivated during cardiomyocyte (CM) glucose deprivation (GD) in vitro, and during acute myocardial ischemia in vivo. Rheb inhibition causes mTORC1 inhibition, because forced activation of Rheb, through Rheb overexpression in vitro and through inducible cardiac-specific Rheb overexpression in vivo, restored mTORC1 activity. Restoration of mTORC1 activity reduced CM survival during GD and increased infarct size after ischemia, both of which were accompanied by inhibition of autophagy, whereas Rheb knockdown increased autophagy and CM survival. Rheb inhibits autophagy mostly through Atg7 depletion. Restoration of autophagy, through Atg7 reexpression and inhibition of mTORC1, increased cellular ATP content and reduced endoplasmic reticulum stress, thereby reducing CM death induced by Rheb activation. Mice with high-fat diet–induced obesity and metabolic syndrome (HFD mice) exhibited deregulated cardiac activation of Rheb and mTORC1, particularly during ischemia. HFD mice presented inhibition of cardiac autophagy and displayed increased ischemic injury. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of mTORC1 restored autophagy and abrogated the increase in infarct size observed in HFD mice, but they failed to protect HFD mice in the presence of genetic disruption of autophagy. Conclusions— Inactivation of Rheb protects CMs during ED through activation of autophagy. Rheb and mTORC1 may represent therapeutic targets to reduce myocardial damage during ischemia, particularly in obese patients.
Silencing of E2F3 suppresses tumor growth of Her2+ breast cancer cells by restricting mitosis

The E2F transcriptional activators E2F1, E2F2 and E2F3a regulate many important cellular processes, including DNA replication, apoptosis and centrosome duplication. Previously, we demonstrated that silencing E2F1 or E2F3 suppresses centrosome amplification (CA) and chromosome instability (CIN) in Her2+ breast cancer cells without markedly altering proliferation. However, it is unknown whether and how silencing a single E2F activator, E2F3, affects malignancy of human breast cancer cells. Thus, we injected HCC1954 Her2+ breast cancer cells silenced for E2F3 into mammary fat pads of immunodeficient mice and demonstrated that loss of E2F3 retards tumor growth. Surprisingly, silencing of E2F3 led to significant reductions in mitotic indices relative to vector controls, while the percentage of cells undergoing S phase were not affected. Nek2 is a mitotic kinase commonly upregulated in breast cancers and a critical regulator of Cdk4- or E2F- mediated CA. In this report, we found that Nek2 overexpression rescued back the CA caused by silencing of shE2F3. However, the effects of Nek2 overexpression in affecting tumor growth rates of shE2F3 and shE2F3; GFP cells were inconclusive. Taken together, our results indicate that E2F3 silencing decreases mammary tumor growth by reducing percentage of cells undergoing mitosis.
Creature:Interactions: A Social Mixed-Reality Playspace

This paper discusses Creature:Interactions (2015), a large-scale mixed-reality artwork created by the authors that incorporates immersive 360° stereoscopic visuals, interactive technology, and live actor facilitation. The work uses physical simulations to promote an expressive full-bodied interaction as children explore the landscapes and creatures of Ethel C. Pedley’s ecologically focused children’s novel, Dot and the Kangaroo. The immersive visuals provide a social playspace for up to 90 people and have produced “phantom” sensations of temperature and touch in certain participants.
On simulating faults in parallel

Hardware engines (e.g. YSE and EVE) have been built to perform functional simulation of large designs over many patterns. The authors present a method of simulating faults in parallel that is applicable to these hardware simulation engines (and to software simulators with similar characteristics). A notion of independence between faults is used to determine the faults that can be simulated in parallel. An efficient algorithm is developed to determine the independent subsets of faults. Results of applying the algorithm to large examples are presented and shown to be very good by comparing them with theoretical lower bounds. This technique makes it feasible to fault simulate large networks using these hardware simulation engines. <<ETX>>
Period Concatenation Underlies Interactions between Gamma and Beta Rhythms in Neocortex

The neocortex generates rhythmic electrical activity over a frequency range covering many decades. Specific cognitive and motor states are associated with oscillations in discrete frequency bands within this range, but it is not known whether interactions and transitions between distinct frequencies are of functional importance. When coexpressed rhythms have frequencies that differ by a factor of two or more interactions can be seen in terms of phase synchronization. Larger frequency differences can result in interactions in the form of nesting of faster frequencies within slower ones by a process of amplitude modulation. It is not known how coexpressed rhythms, whose frequencies differ by less than a factor of two may interact. Here we show that two frequencies (gamma – 40 Hz and beta2 – 25 Hz), coexpressed in superficial and deep cortical laminae with low temporal interaction, can combine to generate a third frequency (beta1 – 15 Hz) showing strong temporal interaction. The process occurs via period concatenation, with basic rhythm-generating microcircuits underlying gamma and beta2 rhythms forming the building blocks of the beta1 rhythm by a process of addition. The mean ratio of adjacent frequency components was a constant – approximately the golden mean – which served to both minimize temporal interactions, and permit multiple transitions, between frequencies. The resulting temporal landscape may provide a framework for multiplexing – parallel information processing on multiple temporal scales.
Is irregular phonation a reliable cue towards the segmentation of continuous speech in american English?

This paper analyzes the potential use of irregular phonation as a cue for the segmentation of continuous speech. The analysis is conducted on two dialect regions of the TIMIT database which consists of read, isolated utterances. The data set encompasses 114 speakers resulting in 1331 hand-labeled irregular tokens. The study shows that 78% of the irregular tokens occur at word boundaries and 5% occur at syllable boundaries. Of the irregular tokens at syllable boundaries, 72% are either at the junction of a compound-word (e.g “outcast”) or at the junction of a base word and a suffix. Of the irregular tokens which do not occur at word or syllable boundaries, 70% occur adjacent to voiceless consonants mostly in utterance-final location. These observations support irregular phonation as an acoustic cue for syntactic boundaries in connected speech. Detection of regions of irregular phonation could improve speech recognition and lexical access models. [Work supported by NIH # DC02978. ]
Isolation and 13C‐NMR characterization of an insoluble proteinaceous fraction from substantia nigra of patients with parkinson's disease

Neuromelanin is a dark brown pigment suspected of being involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. This pigment can be isolated from normal human substantia nigra by a procedure that includes an extensive proteolytic treatment. In this study we used such a procedure to extract the neuromelanin pigment from a pool of substantia nigra from patients affected by Parkinson's disease. 13C Cross polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to characterize the solid residue obtained from the extraction procedure. We found that the pigment extracted from the substantia nigra of parkinsonian patients was mainly composed of highly cross‐linked, protease‐resistant, lipo‐proteic material, whereas the neuromelanin macromolecule appears to be only a minor component of this extract. A synthetic model of melanoprotein has been prepared by enzymatic oxidation of dopamine in the presence of albumin. Once it has undergone the same proteolytic treatment, this model system yields a 13C‐NMR spectrum which is similar to that observed for the parkinsonian midbrain extract. These results are consistent with the view that oxidative stress has a relevant role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.
Automatic generation of test-beds for pre-deployment QoS evaluation of web services

This paper presents Puppet (Pick UP Performance Evaluation Test-bed), an approach for the automatic generation of test-beds to empirically evaluate different QoS features of a Web Service under development. Specifically, the generation exploits the information about the coordinating scenario, the service description and the specification of the agreements that the roles will abide. The approach is supported by a proof-of-concept tool to validate the feasibility of the idea.
Inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis cascade implications in bisphenol A‐induced liver fibrosis in male rats

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a key monomer in the production of plastics. It has been shown to be hepatotoxic. Inflammation and oxidative stress are closely linked with liver fibrosis, the major contributing factor to hepatic failure. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of chronic exposure to BPA on the development of hepatic fibrosis in male rats and to determine the cross‐talk between the hepatic cytokine network, oxidative stress and apoptosis. For this purpose, 30 male Wistar albino rats were divided into three equal groups as follows: the first group was given no treatment (normal control group); the second group was given corn oil once daily by oral gavage for 8 weeks (vehicle control group); and the third group received BPA (50 mg/kg body weight/day, p.o.) for 8 weeks. BPA administration induced liver fibrosis as reflected in an increase in serum hepatic enzymes activities, hepatic hydroxyproline content and histopathological changes particularly increased collagen fibre deposition around the portal tract. In addition, there was inflammation (as reflected in increase in interleukin‐1beta ‘IL‐1β’, decrease in interleukin‐10 ‘IL‐10′ serum levels and increase in IL‐1β/IL‐10 ratio), oxidative stress (as reflected in increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) level, reduction in reduced glutathione (GSH) content and inhibition of catalase (CAT) activity) and apoptosis [as reflected in an increase in caspase‐3 level and a decrease in numbers of B‐cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2)‐immunopositive hepatocytes]. Interestingly, BPA had an upregulating effect on an extracellular matrix turnover gene [as reflected in matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9)] and a downregulating effect on its inhibitor gene [as reflected in tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (TIMP‐2)] expression. Thus, the mechanism by which BPA induced liver fibrosis seems to be related to stimulation of the inflammatory response, along with oxidative stress, the apoptotic pathway and activation of extracellular matrix turnover.