Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Association Between Asthma Control and Health Care Utilization, Work Productivity Loss and Health-Related Quality of Life

Objective: To determine the association between asthma control and health outcomes. Methods: Cross-sectional data on asthmatic patients were from the 2006 U.S. National Health and Wellness Survey. Asthma control was determined by the Asthma Control Test. Outcomes assessed included work productivity loss/activity impairment, health-related quality of life, and resource utilization. Effects of asthma control on outcomes were determined with linear and Poisson regression models. Results: There were 2767 uncontrolled asthmatics and 2912 controlled asthmatics. Adjusting for confounders, controlled asthmatics reported (P < 0.001) higher physical and mental health-related quality of life scores (SF-8); fewer emergency room visits, hospitalization days, and medical provider visits; lower levels of overall work productivity loss and activity impairment. Conclusion: Results indicate that asthma control is associated with better health outcomes. Management with therapies optimizing asthma control may reduce direct and indirect costs of treatment.
Correlation of dry eye status with the duration of diabetes and the severity of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Purpose: To correlate dry eye status with the duration for which the patient has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and severity of retinopathy. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was done involving 384 patients aged above 45 years with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus of duration more than 5years. A detailed history was taken and ocular and systemic examination was done. Diabetic retinopathy changes graded according to ETDRS classification. Dry eye status was evaluated with TBUT, Schirmer’s test, Fluorescein and issamine green staining of ocular surface and graded as mild, moderate and severe dry eye. Diagnosis was established by positivity of one or more of the tests. Results: The prevalence of dry eye among the diabetics was found to be 19%. Out of them, 93.15% had mild dry eye and 6.85% had moderate dry eye. The prevalence of mild dry eye was 42.86% in those who had DM for more than 20 years duration. The prevalence of mild dry eye among PDR was found to be 66.67%. Conclusion: There was statistically significant positive correlation between the dry eye and duration of diabetes and severity of retinopathy. Early treatment of dry eye should be initiated in dry eye positive individuals in order to prevent potential corneal
Impact of Temporal Variation on Design and Analysis of Mouse Knockout Phenotyping Studies

A significant challenge facing high-throughput phenotyping of in-vivo knockout mice is ensuring phenotype calls are robust and reliable. Central to this problem is selecting an appropriate statistical analysis that models both the experimental design (the workflow and the way control mice are selected for comparison with knockout animals) and the sources of variation. Recently we proposed a mixed model suitable for small batch-oriented studies, where controls are not phenotyped concurrently with mutants. Here we evaluate this method both for its sensitivity to detect phenotypic effects and to control false positives, across a range of workflows used at mouse phenotyping centers. We found the sensitivity and control of false positives depend on the workflow. We show that the phenotypes in control mice fluctuate unexpectedly between batches and this can cause the false positive rate of phenotype calls to be inflated when only a small number of batches are tested, when the effect of knockout becomes confounded with temporal fluctuations in control mice. This effect was observed in both behavioural and physiological assays. Based on this analysis, we recommend two approaches (workflow and accompanying control strategy) and associated analyses, which would be robust, for use in high-throughput phenotyping pipelines. Our results show the importance in modelling all sources of variability in high-throughput phenotyping studies.
Multi-cue combination network for action-based video classification

Action-based video classification (or video-based action recognition) is an active research area in computer vision. However, all currently utilised action-based video classification approaches take spatial and temporal components into consideration while acoustic features (e.g. sound and speech) are neglected. In this study, the authors propose a novel approach to combine multiple cues (i.e. both visual and acoustic information) for action-based video classification. Additionally, they introduce dense connections into their three-stream network to address the gradient vanishing problem. Experimental results in the Kinetics Human Action Video data set and the Kinetics-Sounds data set shows that their approach can effectively improve the accuracy in action-based video classification.
Origin of thalamic inputs to the primary, premotor, and supplementary motor cortical areas and to area 46 in macaque monkeys: A multiple retrograde tracing study

The origin of thalamic inputs to distinct motor cortical areas was established in five monkeys to determine whether the motor areas receive inputs from a common thalamic nucleus and the extent to which the territories of origin overlap. To not rely on the rough definition of cytoarchitectonic boundaries in the thalamus, monkeys were subjected to multiple injections of tracers (four to seven) in the primary (M1), premotor (PM), and supplementary (SMA) motor cortical areas and in area 46. The cortical areas were distributed into five groups, each receiving inputs from a specific set of thalamic nuclei: 1) M1; 2) SMA‐proper and the caudal part of the dorsal PM (PMdc); 3) the rostral and caudal parts of the ventral PM (PMvr and PMvc); 4) the rostral part of the dorsal PM (PMdr); and 5) the superior and inferior parts of area 46 (area 46sup and area 46inf). A major degree of overlap was obtained for the origins of the thalamocortical projections directed to areas 46inf and 46sup and for those terminating in SMA‐proper and PMdc. PMvc and PMvr received inputs from adjacent and/or common thalamic regions. In contrast, the degree of overlap between M1 and SMA was smaller. The projection to M1 shared relatively limited zones of origin with the projections directed to PM. Thalamic inputs to the motor cortical areas (M1, SMA, PMd, and PMv), in general, were segregated from those directed to area 46, except in the mediodorsal nucleus, in which there was clear overlap of the territories sending projections to area 46, SMA‐proper, and PMdc. J. Comp. Neurol. 409:131–152, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Non-Linear Mechanisms in the Brain

Abstract Non-linear dynamical models of brain activity can describe the spontaneous emergence of large-scale coherent structures both in a temporal and spatial domain. We discuss a number of discrete time dynamical neuron models that illustrate some of the mechanisms involved. Of special interest is the phenomenon of spatio-temporal stochastic resonance in which coherent structures emerge as a result of the interaction of the neuronal system with external noise at a given level punitive data. We then discuss the general role of stochastic noise in brain dynamics and how similar concepts can be studied in the context of networks of connected brains on the Internet.
A bearing fault and severity diagnostic technique using adaptive deep belief networks and Dempster–Shafer theory

An artificial intelligent bearing fault and hierarchical severity diagnosis framework is proposed in this study. The framework utilizes a combined deep belief networks (DBNs) and Dempster–Shafer (D-S) theory fault diagnosis scheme and adopts a two-stage approach in classifying (1) bearing fault conditions and (2) fault severities. The combined fault diagnostic scheme first employs two parameter-optimized DBNs to process the horizontal and vertical vibration data acquired from the bearing house of a test rig, where the parameters of the DBNs are optimized using a hybrid genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization algorithm proposed in this study. The classification results from the two DBNs are fused further using the D-S theory to improve the diagnostic accuracy. The fault diagnosis scheme is used first to classify the bearing fault conditions in Stage 1 from a bulk dataset containing all bearing operation conditions under study. The same diagnosis scheme is applied once more to classify the hierarchical fault severities for each fault condition in Stage 2 using the pre-classified data from Stage 1. The effectiveness of the framework is then evaluated on a set of bearing condition monitoring data. A comparison study between the results obtained using the current method and those from existing published work is also presented in the article. It is shown that the accuracy for bearing fault and severity diagnosis can be substantially improved by using the current framework.
Scenario-Based Software Architecture for Designing Connectors Framework in Distributed System

Software connectors is one of key word in enterprise information system. In recent years, software developers have facing more challenges of connectors which are used to connect distributed components. Design of connectors in an existing system encounters many issues such as choosing the connectors based on scenario quality, matching these connectors with design pattern, and implementing them. Especially, we concentrate on identifying the attributes that interest an observer, identifying the functions where these connectors could be applied, and keeping all applications clean after adding new connectors. Each problem is described by a scenario to design architecture, especially to design a connector based on architecture attributes. In this paper, we develop a software framework to design connectors between components and solution of these issues. A case study is done to maintain high level of independency between components and to illustrate this independency. This case study uses Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) and AspectJ, Design Pattern to and Program Slicing to solve main problems of design of connectors. A conclusion is given at the end of this paper.
Sounds in Hands: A Sound Modifier Using Datagloves and Twiddle Interface

Although various ways of sound production have been actively studied and reported so far, the development of human-machine interface is not sufficient for the translation of emotional feelings into sounds. This paper presents two sound generation systems together with the direct manipulation devices to measure twiddling gestures. One employs a pair of datagloves for the gesture acquisition, and the other adopts a specially designed equipment which measures grasping forces caused by user’s twiddling manipulations. The approach is considered to provide not only a new sound generation techniques in music scene but also a flexible manmachine interface.
Effects of Nanoparticles on Algae: Adsorption, Distribution, Ecotoxicity and Fate

With the rapid development of nanotechnology and widespread use of nanoproducts, the ecotoxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) and their potential hazards to the environment have aroused great concern. Nanoparticles have increasingly been released into aquatic environments through various means, accumulating in aquatic organisms through food chains and leading to toxic effects on aquatic organisms. Nanoparticles are mainly classified into nano-metal, nano-oxide, carbon nanomaterials and quantum dots according to their components. Different NPs may have different levels of toxicity and effects on various aquatic organisms. In this paper, algae are used as model organisms to review the adsorption and distribution of NPs to algal cells, as well as the ecotoxicity of NPs on algae and fate in a water environment, systematically. Meanwhile, the toxic effects of NPs on algae are discussed with emphasis on three aspect effects on the cell membrane, cell metabolism and the photosynthesis system. Furthermore, suggestions and prospects are provided for future studies in this area.
Activation with CpG-A and CpG-B Oligonucleotides Reveals Two Distinct Regulatory Pathways of Type I IFN Synthesis in Human Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells 1

Two different CpG oligonucleotides (ODN) were used to study the regulation of type I IFN in human plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC): ODN 2216, a CpG-A ODN, known to induce high amounts of IFN-α in PDC, and ODN 2006, a CpG-B ODN, which is potent at stimulating B cells. CpG-A ODN showed higher and prolonged kinetics of type I IFN production compared with that of CpG-B ODN. In contrast, CpG-B ODN was more active than CpG-A ODN in stimulating IL-8 production and increasing costimulatory and Ag-presenting molecules, suggesting that CpG-A and CpG-B trigger distinct regulatory pathways in PDC. Indeed, CpG-A ODN, but not CpG-B ODN, activated the type I IFNR-mediated autocrine feedback loop. PDC were found to express high constitutive levels of IFN regulatory factor (IRF)7. IRF7 and STAT1, but not IRF3, were equally up-regulated by both CpG-A and CpG-B. CD40 ligand synergistically increased CpG-B-induced IFN-α independent of the IFNR but did not affect CpG-B-induced IFN-β. In conclusion, our studies provide evidence for the existence of two distinct regulatory pathways of type I IFN synthesis in human PDC, one dependent on and one independent of the IFNR-mediated feedback loop. The alternate use of these pathways is based on the type of stimulus rather than the quantity of IFN-αβ available to trigger the IFNR. Constitutive expression of IRF7 and the ability to produce considerable amounts of IFN-α independent of the IFNR seem to represent characteristic features of PDC.
N6‐Cyclohexyladenosine Inhibits Veratridine‐Stimulated Na Uptake by Rat Brain Synaptosomes

The effect of the stable adenosine analogue, N6‐cyclohexyladenosine, on 22Na uptake by rat brain synaptosomes stimulated by veratridine was investigated. In the presence of N6‐cyclohexyladenosine, both the initial rate and the maximum sodium uptake were decreased. The inhibitory effect of N6‐cyclohexyladenosine on sodium uptake by synaptosomes after 5 s of incubation with 22Na was concentration‐dependent, antagonized by 1,3‐dipropyl‐8‐p‐sulfophenylxanthine, and attenuated by increasing the concentration of veratridine. The possibility that the adenosine analogue, by activating a xanthine‐sensitive adenosine receptor, can operate inhibition of the voltage‐dependent sodium channels is discussed.
A transgenic mouse model reveals fast nicotinic transmission in hippocampal pyramidal neurons

The relative contribution to brain cholinergic signaling by synaptic‐ and diffusion‐based mechanisms remains to be elucidated. In this study, we examined the prevalence of fast nicotinic signaling in the hippocampus. We describe a mouse model where cholinergic axons are labeled with the tauGFP fusion protein driven by the choline acetyltransferase promoter. The model provides for the visualization of individual cholinergic axons at greater resolution than other available models and techniques, even in thick, live, slices. Combining calcium imaging and electrophysiology, we demonstrate that local stimulation of visualized cholinergic fibers results in rapid excitatory postsynaptic currents mediated by the activation of α7‐subunit‐containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7‐nAChRs) on CA3 pyramidal neurons. These responses were blocked by the α7‐nAChR antagonist methyllycaconitine and potentiated by the receptor‐specific allosteric modulator 1‐(5‐chloro‐2,4‐dimethoxy‐phenyl)‐3‐(5‐methyl‐isoxanol‐3‐yl)‐urea (PNU‐120596). Our results suggest, for the first time, that synaptic nAChRs can modulate pyramidal cell plasticity and development. Fast nicotinic transmission might play a greater role in cholinergic signaling than previously assumed. We provide a model for the examination of synaptic properties of basal forebrain cholinergic innervation in the brain.
Institute for Mathematical Physics Projective Techniques and Functional Integration for Gauge Theories Projective Techniques and Functional Integration for Gauge Theories

A general framework for integration over certain infinite dimensional spaces is first developed using projective limits of a projective family of compact Hausdorff spaces. The procedure is then applied to gauge theories to carry out integration over the non-linear, infinite dimensional spaces of connections modulo gauge transformations. This method of evaluating functional integrals can be used either in the Euclidean path integral approach or the Lorentzian canonical approach. A number of measures discussed are diffeomorphism invariant and therefore of interest to (the connection dynamics version of) quantum general relativity. The account is pedagogical; in particular prior knowledge of projective techniques is not assumed.
Definition of Managed Objects for the Neighborhood Discovery Protocol

This document replaces RFC 6779; it contains revisions and extensions to the original document. It defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network management protocols in the Internet community. In particular, it describes objects for configuring parameters of the Neighborhood Discovery Protocol (NHDP) process on a router. The extensions described in this document add objects and values to support the NHDP optimization specified in RFC 7466. The MIB module defined in this document, denoted NHDP-MIB, also reports state, performance information, and notifications about NHDP. This additional state and performance information is useful to troubleshoot problems and performance issues during neighbor discovery.
Complete Sequencing of pNDM-HK Encoding NDM-1 Carbapenemase from a Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Strain Isolated in Hong Kong

Background The emergence of plasmid-mediated carbapenemases, such as NDM-1 in Enterobacteriaceae is a major public health issue. Since they mediate resistance to virtually all β-lactam antibiotics and there is often co-resistance to other antibiotic classes, the therapeutic options for infections caused by these organisms are very limited. Methodology We characterized the first NDM-1 producing E. coli isolate recovered in Hong Kong. The plasmid encoding the metallo-β-lactamase gene was sequenced. Principal Findings The plasmid, pNDM-HK readily transferred to E. coli J53 at high frequencies. It belongs to the broad host range IncL/M incompatibility group and is 88803 bp in size. Sequence alignment showed that pNDM-HK has a 55 kb backbone which shared 97% homology with pEL60 originating from the plant pathogen, Erwina amylovora in Lebanon and a 28.9 kb variable region. The plasmid backbone includes the mucAB genes mediating ultraviolet light resistance. The 28.9 kb region has a composite transposon-like structure which includes intact or truncated genes associated with resistance to β-lactams (bla TEM-1, bla NDM-1, Δbla DHA-1), aminoglycosides (aacC2, armA), sulphonamides (sul1) and macrolides (mel, mph2). It also harbors the following mobile elements: IS26, ISCR1, tnpU, tnpAcp2, tnpD, ΔtnpATn1 and insL. Certain blocks within the 28.9 kb variable region had homology with the corresponding sequences in the widely disseminated plasmids, pCTX-M3, pMUR050 and pKP048 originating from bacteria in Poland in 1996, in Spain in 2002 and in China in 2006, respectively. Significance The genetic support of NDM-1 gene suggests that it has evolved through complex pathways. The association with broad host range plasmid and multiple mobile genetic elements explain its observed horizontal mobility in multiple bacterial taxa.
Microstructure, texture and colour development during crust formation on whole muscle chicken fillets

Abstract 1. The development of crust during a 22-min period was evaluated in an oven, and in previously cooked-in-bag products (no crust) placed in an oven for 10 min. The oven-roasted products started to develop a thin (2–4 μm) crust layer after 4 min. At that point, the colour of the fillets turned white but no browning was observed. As roasting time increased, crust thickness and shear force increased, the product turned brown and eventually black at certain spots. 2. Light microscopy revealed the shrinking of muscle fibres close to the surface, as they also lost water. At a certain point, tears between the different layers started to appear. The inner muscle fibres also progressively shrank and the spaces between them increased. Microscopy of cook-in-bag products revealed no crust formation during heating. Upon moving to the oven, crust started to form but was much faster compared with the other products. 3. Cook-in-the-bag samples showed a higher rate of cook loss during the first 12 min (to internal 70°C) compared with oven heating. This could have been due to the fast heating rate in water and/or no crust formation. 4. White colour was fully formed on water-cooked fillets within 2 min (L* = 83), while it was gradually forming on oven-roasted samples (max L* of 79 after 12 min). 5. Shear force measurements showed an increase in both treatments up to 18 min, with a decrease thereafter (when dry crust started to crack).
BGP Monitoring Protocol

This document proposes a simple protocol, BMP, which can be used to monitor BGP sessions. BMP is intended to provide a more convenient interface for obtaining route views for research purpose than the screen-scraping approach in common use today. The design goals are to keep BMP simple, useful, easily implemented, and minimally service- affecting. BMP is not suitable for use as a routing protocol.
Dual Reporter MESP1mCherry/w‐NKX2‐5eGFP/w hESCs Enable Studying Early Human Cardiac Differentiation

Understanding early differentiation events leading to cardiogenesis is crucial for controlling fate of human pluripotent stem cells and developing protocols that yield sufficient cell numbers for use in regenerative medicine and drug screening. Here, we develop a new tool to visualize patterning of early cardiac mesoderm and cardiomyocyte development in vitro by generating a dual MESP1mCherry/w‐NKX2‐5eGFP/w reporter line in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and using it to examine signals that lead to formation of cardiac progenitors and subsequent differentiation. MESP1 is a pivotal transcription factor for precardiac mesoderm in the embryo, from which the majority of cardiovascular cells arise. Transcription factor NKX2‐5 is expressed upon cardiac crescent formation. Induction of cardiac differentiation in this reporter line resulted in transient expression of MESP1‐mCherry, followed by continuous expression of NKX2‐5‐eGFP. MESP1‐mCherry cells showed increased expression of mesodermal and epithelial‐mesenchymal‐transition markers confirming their mesodermal identity. Whole‐genome microarray profiling and fluorescence‐activated cell sorting analysis of MESP1‐mCherry cells showed enrichment for mesodermal progenitor cell surface markers PDGFR‐α, CD13, and ROR‐2. No enrichment was found for the previously described KDR+PDGFR‐α+ progenitors. MESP1‐mCherry derivatives contained an enriched percentage of NKX2‐5‐eGFP and Troponin T expressing cells, indicating preferential cardiac differentiation; this was enhanced by inhibition of the Wnt‐pathway. Furthermore, MESP1‐mCherry derivatives harbored smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells, demonstrating their cardiac and vascular differentiation potential under appropriate conditions. The MESP1‐NKX2‐5 hESC reporter line allows us to identify molecular cues crucial for specification and expansion of human cardiac mesoderm and early progenitors and their differentiation to specific cardiovascular derivatives. Stem Cells 2015;33:56–67