Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nerve growth factor induces P2X3 expression in sensory neurons

Glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) are neuroprotective for subpopulations of sensory neurons and thus are candidates for pain treatment. However, delivering these factors to damaged neurons will invariably result in undamaged systems also being treated, with possible consequences for sensory processing. In sensory neurons the purinergic receptor P2X3 is found predominantly in GDNF‐sensitive nociceptors. ATP signalling via the P2X3 receptor may contribute to pathological pain, suggesting an important role for this receptor in regulating nociceptive function. We therefore investigated the effects of intrathecal GDNF or NGF on P2X3 expression in adult rat spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (DRG). In control spinal cords, P2X3 expression was restricted to a narrow band of primary afferent terminals within inner lamina II (IIi). Glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor treatment increased P2X3 immunoreactivity within lamina IIi but not elsewhere in the cord. Nerve growth factor treatment, however, induced novel P2X3 expression, with intense immunoreactivity in axons projecting to lamina I and outer lamina II and to the ventro‐medial afferent bundle beneath the central canal. In the normal DRG, we found a greater proportion of P2X3‐positive neurons at cervical levels, many of which were large‐diameter and calcitonin gene‐related peptide‐positive. In both cervical and lumbar DRG, the number of P2X3‐positive cells increased following GDNF or NGF treatment. De novo expression of P2X3 in NGF‐sensitive nociceptors may contribute to chronic inflammatory pain.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Time Covering Eradication for All Patients Infected with Helicobacter pylori in Japan

Background: The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has increased in Japan since the end of the 20th century due to changes in environmental factors, such as a decreased infection rate of Helicobacter pylori and increased ability of acid secretion in the Japanese population. In 2013, the Japanese health insurance system started to cover eradication treatment for all patients infected with H. pylori to prevent gastric cancer, suggesting we may soon be able to completely eradicate this infection in Japan. Re-clarification of the clinical characteristics of GERD in Japan is therefore required in time covering the eradication for all patients infected with H. pylori. Summary: In Japan, more than half of GERD patients exhibit non-erosive reflux disease, and a majority of erosive esophagitis (RE) cases have mild severity of GERD (Los Angeles classification of grades A and B). The prevalence of RE in H. pylori-positive patients is relatively low (4.1%) compared to the general Japanese population (7.6-10.6%). In multivariate analysis to evaluate a risk of RE development, a risk in H. pylori-positive patients is elevated in those with mild gastric mucosal atrophy (C-I and C-II according to the Kimura-Takemoto classification, OR 12.14, 95% CI 1.28-115.26, p = 0.03) or with hiatal hernia (OR 5.24, 95% CI 1.80-15.22, p < 0.01). Here, we provide a comprehensive review of GERD in Japan, including associations between GERD and H. pylori infection, low-dose-aspirin-induced GERD, and pharmacological treatment for GERD. Key Messages: The recent decrease in the rate of H. pylori infection and increase in the proportion of elderly persons might have increased the prevalence of GERD in Japan.
Front-end electronics for a 1 mm3 resolution avalanche photodiode-based PET system with analog signal multiplexing

We are developing a 1 mm3 resolution breast-dedicated Positron Emission Tomography (PET) system with 4608 Position Sensitive Avalanche Photodiode (PSAPD) detectors. This paper focuses on three aspects of the system’s front-end electronics: multiplexing of the PSAPD analog output signals, scaling the dynamic range of the PSAPD output signals using charge attenuation, and positioning of individual interaction energy depositions that are below the 511 keV photo-peak.
Lithium: virtual machine storage for the cloud

To address the limitations of centralized shared storage for cloud computing, we are building Lithium, a distributed storage system designed specifically for virtualization workloads running in large-scale data centers and clouds. Lithium aims to be scalable, highly available, and compatible with commodity hardware and existing application software. The design of Lithium borrows ideas and techniques originating from research into Byzantine Fault Tolerance systems and popularized by distributed version control software, and demonstrates their practical applicability to the performance-sensitive problem of VM hosting. To our initial surprise, we have found that seemingly expensive techniques such as versioned storage and incremental hashing can lead to a system that is not only more robust to data corruption and host failures, but also often faster than naïve approaches and, for a relatively small cluster of just eight hosts, performs well compared with an enterprise-class Fibre Channel disk array.
Low Cerebellar Vermis Volumes and Impaired Neuropsychologic Performance in Children Treated for Brain Tumors and Leukemia

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Injury of the cerebellar vermis may occur in children with brain malignancies. Because the vermis is involved in motor and cognitive functioning, the goal of this prospective longitudinal study was to evaluate treatment-related changes in vermal volumes and neuropsychologic performance in children receiving brain radiation of the cerebellum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten patients (mean age, 11.6 years) and 10 healthy children (mean age, 12.1 years) were examined. Lobar vermal volumes and performance on neuropsychologic tests evaluating motor, visual, verbal, attention, memory, and executive functions were assessed at baseline and at 6-month follow-up visits. RESULTS: At baseline, lower mean vermal volumes and impaired performance on visual-spatial and fine-motor tasks were detected in patients. At 6-month follow-up, further decrease in vermal volumes was detected only in patients with medulloblastoma, who received the largest radiation doses to the entire vermis. The volume decrease was not associated with reduction in neuropsychologic performance compared with baseline. At 6-month follow-up, data from all subjects revealed an association between smaller vermal volumes and slower fine-motor speed and lower visual-spatial skills. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced brain-tissue volumes following radiation have been reported previously in pediatric patients. In this study, lower vermal volumes were detected even earlier, before radiation treatment was initiated or completed. Six months postradiation, vermal volume decreases detected in patients with medulloblastoma were not accompanied by declines in already poor neuropsychologic performance. In addition to radiation, the presence of brain malignancies and preradiation treatment may be important factors affecting cerebellar vermis tissue.
Opioid and Cannabinoid Receptor Inhibition of Adenylyl Cyclase in Brain a

Both opioids and cannabinoids bind to G-protein-coupled receptors to inhibit adenylyl cyclase in neurons. These reactions were assayed in brain membranes, where maximal inhibitory activity occurred in the following regions: mu-opioid inhibition in rat thalamus, delta-opioid inhibition in rat striatum, kappa-opioid inhibition in guinea pig cerebellum, and cannabinoid inhibition in cerebellum. The inhibition of adenylyl cyclase by both cannabinoid and opioid agonists was typical of G-protein-linked receptors: they required GTP, they were not supported by non-hydrolyzable GTP analogs, and they were abolished (in primary neuronal cell culture) by pertussis toxin treatment. The immediate targets of this system were determined by assaying protein phosphorylation in the presence of receptor agonists and App(NH)p, a substrate for adenylyl cyclase. In striatal membranes, opioid agonists inhibited the phosphorylation of at least two bands of MW 85 and 63 kDa, which may be synapsins I and II, respectively. Other experiments determined the long-term effects of this second messenger system. In primary neuronal cultures, opioid-inhibited adenylyl cyclase attenuated forskolin-stimulated pro-enkephalin mRNA levels, thus providing a feedback regulation of opioid synthesis. Finally, in cerebellar granule cells, both cannabinoid and opioid receptors may exist on the same cells. In these cells, agonists which bind to different receptor types may produce similar biological responses.
A Computational Model of Saliency Depletion/Recovery Phenomena for the Salient Region Extraction of Videos

This report proposes a new algorithm for extracting salient regions of videos by introducing two important properties of the early human visual system: (1) Instantaneous saliency depletion with gradual recovery, whereby saliency is instantaneously suppressed and gradually recovered in previously attended regions. (2) Gradual saliency depletion with instantaneous recovery, whereby saliency is gradually decreased over time in non-surprising regions and at the same time recovered in surprising locations. With the introduction of these properties, redundant information in videos can be suppressed and important information is eventually enhanced.
UVM ScholarWorks UVM ScholarWorks

Accurate estimation of forest net primary productivity (NPP), biomass, and their sensitivity to changes in temperature and precipitation is important for understanding the fluxes and pools of terrestrial carbon resulting from anthropogenically driven climate change. The objectives of this study were to (1) estimate potential forest NPP and biomass for New England using a regional ecosystem model, (2) compare modeled forest NPP and biomass with other reported data for New England, and (3) examine the sensitivity of modeled forest NPP to historical climatic variation. We addressed these objectives using the regional ecosystem model LPJ-GUESS implemented with eight plant functional types representing New England forests. We ran the model using 30-arc second spatial resolution climate data in monthly time-steps for the period 1901–2006. The modeled forest NPP and biomass were compared to empirically-based MODIS and FIA estimates of NPP and U.S. forest biomass. Our results indicate that forest NPP in New England averages 428 g C (cid:2) m (cid:3) 2 (cid:2) yr (cid:3) 1 and ranges from 333 to 541 g C (cid:2) m (cid:3) 2 (cid:2) yr (cid:3) 1 for the baseline period (1971– 2000), while forest biomass averages 135 Mg/ha and ranges from 77 to 242 Mg/ha. Modeled forest biomass decreased at a rate of 0.11 Mg/ha (R 2 ¼ 0.74) per year in the period 1901–1949 but increased at a rate of 0.25 Mg/ha (R 2 ¼ 0.95) per year in the period 1950–2006. Estimates of NPP and biomass depend on forest type: spruce-fir had the lowest mean of 395 g C (cid:2) m (cid:3) 2 (cid:2) yr (cid:3) 1 and oak forest had the highest mean of 468 g C (cid:2) m (cid:3) 2 (cid:2) yr (cid:3) 1 . Similarly, forest biomass was highest in oak (153 Mg/ha) and lowest in red-jack pine (118 Mg/ ha) forests. The modeled NPP for New England agrees well with FIA-based estimates from similar forests in the mid-Atlantic region but was smaller than MODIS NPP estimates for New England. Nevertheless, the modeled inter-annual variability of NPP was strongly correlated with the MODIS NPP data. The modeled biomass agrees well with U.S. forest biomass data for New England but was less than FIA-based estimates in the mid-Atlantic region. For the region as a whole, the modeled NPP and biomass are within the ranges of MODIS-and FIA-based estimates. Forest NPP was sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation: NPP was positively related to temperatures in April, May and October but negatively related to summer temperature. Increases in precipitation in the growing season enhanced forest NPP.
Towards Autonomic and Situation-Aware Communication Services: the CASCADAS Vision

The complexity of modern networks raises several challenges in the design and development of communication services. The unbearable costs in configuration and management call for autonomic approaches, in which services are able to self-configure and self-adapt their activities without human intervention. The need for ubiquity of service provisioning calls for the capability of services of adapting their behavior depending on the current situation in which they are used. In this paper, after having discussed the need for innovative approaches facilitating the development and execution of autonomic and situation-aware services, we analyze the key features that should underly such a general approach, propose an architecture centered around the abstraction of "autonomic communication elements", and sketch the main research thrusts to be pursued for the realization of the vision
The SP Theory of Intelligence as a Foundation for the Development of a General, Human-Level Thinking Machine

This paper summarises how the "SP theory of intelligence" and its realisation in the "SP computer model" simplifies and integrates concepts across artificial intelligence and related areas, and thus provides a promising foundation for the development of a general, human-level thinking machine, in accordance with the main goal of research in artificial general intelligence. The key to this simplification and integration is the powerful concept of "multiple alignment", borrowed and adapted from bioinformatics. This concept has the potential to be the "double helix" of intelligence, with as much significance for human-level intelligence as has DNA for biological sciences. Strengths of the SP system include: versatility in the representation of diverse kinds of knowledge; versatility in aspects of intelligence (including: strengths in unsupervised learning; the processing of natural language; pattern recognition at multiple levels of abstraction that is robust in the face of errors in data; several kinds of reasoning (including: one-step `deductive' reasoning; chains of reasoning; abductive reasoning; reasoning with probabilistic networks and trees; reasoning with 'rules'; nonmonotonic reasoning and reasoning with default values; Bayesian reasoning with 'explaining away'; and more); planning; problem solving; and more); seamless integration of diverse kinds of knowledge and diverse aspects of intelligence in any combination; and potential for application in several areas (including: helping to solve nine problems with big data; helping to develop human-level intelligence in autonomous robots; serving as a database with intelligence and with versatility in the representation and integration of several forms of knowledge; serving as a vehicle for medical knowledge and as an aid to medical diagnosis; and several more).
[Inhibition of human glioma cell growth by a soluble recombinant human CD40 ligand].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE CD40 presents on B cells, monocytes, dendritic cells, and endothelial cells, as well as a variety of neoplastic cell types, including carcinomas. CD40 stimulated by its antibody or CD40 ligand previously had been demonstrated to induce activation-induced cell death in ovarian carcinoma cell lines, colon carcinoma cell lines, breast carcinoma cell lines, and lung carcinoma cell lines and to inhibit their growth in vivo. This study was designed to assess the effects of a recombinant soluble human CD40 ligand (srhCD40L) on human glioma cell lines. METHODS The specimens of human glioma were examined for CD40 expression by immunohistochemistry. The human glioma cell lines were examined for CD40 expression by flow cytometry. The cell lines were incubated with srhCD40L for 24h and 72h, then the markers of proliferation and apoptosis of these cells were determined, respectively. RESULTS CD40 expression could be detected in 7/23 human glioma specimens and 1/3 cell line. The srhCD40L inhibited the proliferation of CD40+ human glioma cell line. The viability of these cells was decreased from 98% to 87%. The apoptosis and death of these cells were increased by 17.4%. CONCLUSIONS CD40 stimulated by its ligand directly inhibits human glioma cell growth in vitro. These results suggest that srhCD40L may be of clinic use to inhibit glioma growth.
On 2-Armed Gaussian Bandits and Optimization

We explore the 2-armed bandit with Gaussian payoffs as a theoretical model for optimization. We formulate the problem from a Bayesian perspective, and provide the optimal strategy for both 1 and 2 pulls. We present regions of parameter space where a greedy strategy is provably optimal. We also compare the greedy and optimal strategies to a genetic-algorithm-based strategy. In doing so we correct a previous error in the literature concerning the Gaussian bandit problem and the supposed optimality of genetic algorithms for this problem. Finally, we provide an analytically simple bandit model that is more directly applicable to optimization theory than the traditional bandit problem, and determine a near-optimal strategy for that model.
Missing the wood for the trees? New ideas on defining forests and forest degradation

The forest ecology literature is rife with debate about how to: (i) define a ‘forest’ and distinguish it from similar systems, such as woodlands, savannas, parklands or plantations; (ii) identify transitions from ‘forested’ to ‘non-forested’ states and, most challengingly; (iii) quantify intensities of degradation. Here we argue that past attempts to define forests and forest degradation, focusing on attributes of living trees (e.g., height, canopy cover), combined with regenerating processes such as recruitment and succession, whilst useful, are ecologically incomplete. These approaches do not adequately represent processes that, operating over long time scales, determine whether a forest system is structurally healthy (as opposed to degraded), functional and persistent. We support our case using a conceptual model to illustrate how deeper-time processes, as well as instantaneous or chronic disturbances that cause degradation, might be revealed through analysis of the patterns of size structure and density of the fallen wood, in relation to the living trees and standing dead. We propose practical ways in which researchers can incorporate dynamic, long-term processes into definitions of forests and forest degradation, using measurements of dead and fallen trees. Doing so will improve our ability to manage and monitor forest health under global change.
File System Virtual Appliances

Abstract : Implementing and maintaining file systems is painful. OS functionality is notoriously difficult to develop and debug, and file systems are more so than most because of their size and interactions with other OS components. In-kernel file systems must adhere to a large number of internal OS interfaces. Though difficult during initial file system development, these dependencies particularly complicate porting a file system to different OSs or even across OS versions. This dissertation describes an architecture that addresses the file system portability problem. Virtual machines are used to decouple the OS on which a file system runs from the OS on which user applications run. The file system is distributed as a file system virtual appliance (FSVA), a virtual machine running the file system developers' preferred OS (version). Users run their applications in a separate virtual machine, using their preferred OS (version). An FSVA design and implementation is described that maintains file system semantics with few, if any, code changes. This is achieved by sending all file system operations from the user OS to the FSVA. A unified buffer cache is maintained by using shared memory between the user OS and FSVA and by letting the user OS control the FSVA's buffer cache size. Features such as resource isolation and security are maintained through a single FSVA-per-user-OS design. Virtual machine migration is supported by simultaneously migrating a user OS and FSVA(s), maintaining shared memory mappings and live migration's low downtime. Several case studies demonstrate FSVAs' effectiveness in providing OS-independent file system implementations. Measurements show that FSVA overheads on different workloads vary from 0-40%. The main overhead source is the communication latency between the user OS and FSVA. If a processor core is dedicated to an FSVA, a power-efficient polling mechanism reduces the overheads to 0-10%.
Emotional eating and eating psychopathology among non-eating-disordered women.

OBJECTIVE A recent study (Arnow, Kenardy, & Agras, 1995, Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15, 155-170) has reported on the development and preliminary validation of the Emotional Eating Scale (EES), a questionnaire measure of the tendency to eat in response to affective state. The EES showed high levels of validity among obese binge eaters, but there was no attempt to validate the measure among nonclinical groups. The present study assessed the validity of the EES among nonclinical women, in order to determine whether or not emotional eating is related to unhealthy eating characteristics among the general population. METHODS The participants were 51 women with no current or past eating disorder. Each completed the EES and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI). Validity of the EES was tested using measures of internal consistency and correlations with EDI scales. RESULTS The EES scales showed a high level of internal consistency and specific associations with EDI scales (particularly Bulimia, Ineffectiveness, and Interpersonal Distrust). The normative scores for this population were substantially lower than among binge eaters, but similar to those found among other clinical groups. CONCLUSIONS The EES has good levels of validity. It demonstrates that emotional eating is related to bulimic eating attitudes in the broader population, although issues of causality need to be considered. The EES may have a role in the early identification of eating problems in nonclinical groups. Its utility with other eating-disordered groups remains to be established, but there are potential roles in the targeting and evaluation of treatment.
Passive imaging using cross correlations of ambient noise signals

It is possible to estimate the travel time or even the full Green's function between two passive sensors from the cross correlation of recorded signal amplitudes generated by ambient noise sources. Using the stationary phase method we show that it is possible to image reflectors buried in a smoothly varying medium by migrating the cross correlations of the noise signals.
Nearest-neighbor searching under uncertainty

Nearest-neighbor queries, which ask for returning the nearest neighbor of a query point in a set of points, are important and widely studied in many fields because of a wide range of applications. In many of these applications, such as sensor databases, location based services, face recognition, and mobile data, the location of data is imprecise. We therefore study nearest neighbor queries in a probabilistic framework in which the location of each input point and/or query point is specified as a probability density function and the goal is to return the point that minimizes the expected distance, which we refer to as the expected nearest neighbor (ENN). We present methods for computing an exact ENN or an ε-approximate ENN, for a given error parameter 0 < ε 0 < 1, under different distance functions. These methods build an index of near-linear size and answer ENN queries in polylogarithmic or sublinear time, depending on the underlying function. As far as we know, these are the first nontrivial methods for answering exact or ε-approximate ENN queries with provable performance guarantees.