Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A distributed wireless body area network for medical supervision

The emerging of wireless body area network has profound impacts on our daily life, such as pervasive medical supervision and outdoor exercises, and the large scale application of wireless body area network can effectively reduce higher cost burden owing to the aging society and long term healthcare for the chronic illness. It can also enhance the quality of life for elderly people and chronic patients, and decrease the harm of the sudden diseases. The paper presents a distributed wireless body area network for medical supervision. The system contains three layers: sensor network tier, mobile computing network tier, and remote monitoring network tier. It provides collection, demonstration, and storage of the vital information such as ECG, blood oxygen, body temperature, respiration rate. Furthermore, it also provides medical service management and disease warning. The system has many advantages such as comfort, low-cost, low-power, easy configuration, convenient carrying, easy transplantation, real-time reliable data, and friendly human-machine interaction. And then the design and implementation issues of the system composition are discussed in this paper.
Reverse engineering time series of gene expression data using Dynamic Bayesian networks and covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy with explicit memory

Dynamic Bayesian networks are of particular interest to reverse engineering of gene regulatory networks from temporal transcriptional data. However, the problem of learning the structure of these networks is quite challenging. This is mainly due to the high dimensionality of the search space that makes exhaustive methods for structure learning not practical. Consequently, heuristic techniques such as Hill Climbing are used for DBN structure learning. Hill Climbing is not an efficient method for this purpose as it is prone to get trapped in local optima and the learned network is not very accurate.
Thymus and activation‐regulated chemokine as a clinical biomarker in atopic dermatitis

Thymus and activation‐regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) is a member of the T‐helper 2 chemokine family. In Japan, serum TARC level has been commercially measured since 2008. After years of experience, we realized that TARC is an extremely useful clinical biomarker for atopic dermatitis (AD) treatment. Usually, physicians conduct a visual examination to determine whether their treatment has been successful; however, the visual examination results may not always be accurate; in such cases, serum TARC levels should be measured to eliminate any ambiguity regarding the treatment outcome. When the waning and waxing of eczema and fluctuations in the serum TARC levels were considered, we frequently found that AD does not follow a natural course but follows non‐regulated inflammatory floating caused by insufficient intermittent topical treatment. Serum TARC is a promising biomarker for remission and can be used for accurately monitoring proactive treatment for long‐term control. Abnormally high serum TARC levels indicate accelerated pathogenesis of cutaneous inflammation. Rapid normalization and maintaining normal serum TARC levels using appropriate topical treatment is a reasonable strategy for alleviating inflammation without upregulating cytokine expression. Observing serum TARC levels during early intervention for severe infantile AD is worthwhile to determine initial disease activity and evaluate treatment efficacy. Appropriate control of severe early‐onset infantile AD is important for improving prognosis of eczema and for preventing food allergies. Additionally, this biomarker is useful for improving patient adherence. Dermatologists will be able to make great progress in treating AD by adopting biomarkers such as TARC for accurately assessing non‐visible subclinical disorders.
Labeling of Human Motion Based on CBGA and Probabilistic Model

Abstract In this paper, we present a novel method for the labeling of human motion which uses Constraint-Based Genetic Algorithm (CBGA) to optimize the probabilistic model of body features and construct the set of conditional independence relations among the body features by a fitness function. The approach also allows the user to add custom rules to produce valid candidate solutions to achieve more accurate results with constraint-based genetic operators. Specifically, we design the fitness function using a probability model based on the decomposable triangle model(DTM), which is learned through the EM algorithm with the minimum description length (MDL) principle and CBGA algorithm to characterize the stochastic and dynamic relations of articulated human motions. We also extend these results to learning the probabilistic structure of human body to improve the labeling results, the handling of missing body parts, the integration of multi-frame information and the accuracy rates. Finally, we analyze the performance of our proposed approach and show that it outperforms most of the current state of the art methods on a set of motion captured walking, running and dancing sequences in terms of quality and robustness.
APPROACHES TO THE VALIDATION OF LEARNING HIERARCHIES.

Abstract : The paper describes a program of research in the application of scalogram analysis to the validation of learning hierarchies, together with the development of an alternative method for assessing hierarchical relationships among tests of instructional objectives. The relationship between scalability of tests and positive transfer between objectives in the course of learning is discussed and experimental transfer studies testing hierarchical hypotheses are described. Related research by developmental and learning psychologists and by test designers is discussed along with the authors' own research. (Author)
Calcium‐activated potassium channels in single smooth muscle cells of rabbit jejunum and guinea‐pig mesenteric artery.

Single‐channel studies were made using the patch‐clamp technique of K channels in dispersed single smooth muscle cells from rabbit longitudinal jejunal muscle and guinea‐pig small (less than 0.2 mm o.d.) mesenteric arteries. In isolated inside‐out patches from these two types of smooth muscle cell there was a population of K channels which had single‐channel conductances of about 100 pS in near physiological K gradients and about 200 pS with symmetrical 126 mM‐K solutions. Their conductance and other properties distinguish them from a K channel of smaller conductance which we have previously described in these cells. The relative permeability of the channel with respect to K was 1.4 Tl:1.0 K:0.7 Rb: less than 0.05 Na: less than 0.05 Cs. Cs (1 mM applied to the outside of the membrane) interfered with inward K movement when the membrane was hyperpolarized. Rb conductance of the channel when both sides of the membrane were exposed to 126 mM‐Rb was 30 pS. When the Ca concentration on the inside of the membrane ([Ca]i) was about 10(‐9) M, K channel opening was rarely observed and then only at strongly positive potentials. At [Ca]i between 10(‐9) M and 10(‐7) M mean channel open time increased and the probability of channel opening increased steeply; both were further increased by increasing membrane positivity. At [Ca]i between 10(‐6) M and 2.5 mM the channel was mainly in the open state and the probability of channel conducting state often declined with increasing membrane positivity. The effects of varying [Ca]i from 10(‐7) M to 2.5 mM on the kinetic activity of a single channel was studied largely in mesenteric artery patches containing one active channel. The distribution of open times could be fitted by a single exponential at low (less than 10(‐6) M) [Ca]i but a component of fast openings (to less than 1.0 ms) was observed at all potentials at [Ca]i 2.5 mM. Closed time distribution required the sum of three exponentials to fit it all [Ca]i greater than 10(‐7) M; at [Ca]i 10(‐6) M or greater evidence of a fourth component, probably caused by Ca block of open channels, was obtained. Raising [Ca]i increased the mean duration of the (long) open state and decreased or had no effect on the duration of short, intermediate, and long mean closed states.
Association between genetic variants in glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) gene, GPx activity and the risk of prostate cancer.

AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the association between GPx1 Pro198Leu polymorphism with the development and progression of prostate cancer (PCa) and evaluate whether smoking status and advanced age could modify this association. METHODS A total of 134 PCa patients and 159 healthy control subjects with serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels <4 ng/mL and normal digital rectal examination (DRE) findings were enrolled in this prospectively designed study. PCA patients were classified as low (T1 or T2 and N0M0 stages) and high stage disease (T3 or T4 and N0M0 or N1 or M1 stages). GPx1 Pro198Leu polymorphism was determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS Compared to the carriers of Pro/Pro genotype, subjects with the variant genotypes (Pro/Leu or Leu/Leu) had significantly higher risk of PCa. The Leu/Leu genotype was correlated with lower GPx activity among both controls and PCa patients. With respect to tumor stage, Leu/Leu genotype was more frequent in patients with high stage disease than those of low stage disease. In stratified analyses, although the variant Leu/Leu genotype was significantly associated with increased risk of PCa in older age, smoking did not alter this association. CONCLUSION The present data provide evidence that GPx1 Pro198Leu polymorphism may be associated with the development and progression of PCa and older ages may influence the association.between GPx1 Pro198Leu polymorphism and PCa.
The Development of an Operant Conditioning Training Program for New World Primates at the Bronx Zoo

This article describes the development of an operant conditioning training program for 17 species of New World primates at the Bronx Zoo. To apply less invasive techniques to husbandry protocols, the study introduced behaviors-hand feeding, syringe feeding, targeting, scale and crate training, and transponder reading-for formal training to 86 callitrichids and small-bodied cebids housed in 26 social groups. Individual responses to training varied greatly, but general patterns were noted among species. With the exception of lion tamarins, tamarins responded more rapidly than marmosets, Bolivian gray titi monkeys, and pale-headed saki monkeys in approaching trainers and learning behaviors. Marmosets, in comparison to most tamarins, had longer attention spans. This meant that fewer, lengthier sessions were productive whereas shorter, more frequent sessions were most successful for tamarins. Among the cebids, pale-headed saki monkeys needed relatively few sessions to perform basic and advanced behaviors whereas Bolivian gray titi monkeys were less responsive and progressed at a deliberate pace. Marked changes in the animals' behavior during daily husbandry procedures, their voluntary participation in training activities, and the disappearance of aggressive threats toward care staff indicated that training reduced stress and improved the welfare of the animals. During daily training displays, zoo visitors experienced interactive animals while learning the importance of low-stress animal husbandry.
HIV-1 and HIV-2 Vif Interact with Human APOBEC3 Proteins Using Completely Different Determinants

ABSTRACT Human APOBEC3 (A3) restriction factors provide intrinsic immunity against zoonotic transmission of pathogenic viruses. A3D, A3F, A3G, and A3H haplotype II (A3H-hapII) can be packaged into virion infectivity factor (Vif)-deficient HIVs to inhibit viral replication. To overcome these restriction factors, Vif binds to the A3 proteins in viral producer cells to target them for ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation, thus preventing their packaging into assembling virions. Therefore, the Vif-A3 interactions are attractive targets for novel drug development. HIV-1 and HIV-2 arose via distinct zoonotic transmission events of simian immunodeficiency viruses from chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys, respectively, and Vifs from these viruses have limited homology. To gain insights into the evolution of virus-host interactions that led to successful cross-species transmission of lentiviruses, we characterized the determinants of the interaction between HIV-2 Vif (Vif2) with human A3 proteins and compared them to the previously identified HIV-1 Vif (Vif1) interactions with the A3 proteins. We found that A3G, A3F, and A3H-hapII, but not A3D, were susceptible to Vif2-induced degradation. Alanine-scanning mutational analysis of the first 62 amino acids of Vif2 indicated that Vif2 determinants important for degradation of A3G and A3F are completely distinct from these regions in Vif1, as are the determinants in A3G and A3F that are critical for Vif2-induced degradation. These observations suggest that distinct Vif-A3 interactions evolved independently in different SIVs and their nonhuman primate hosts and conservation of the A3 determinants targeted by the SIV Vif proteins resulted in successful zoonotic transmission into humans. IMPORTANCE Primate APOBEC3 proteins provide innate immunity against invading pathogens, and Vif proteins of primate lentiviruses have evolved to overcome these host defenses by interacting with them and inducing their proteasomal degradation. HIV-1 and HIV-2 are two human pathogens that induce AIDS, and elucidating interactions between their Vif proteins and human A3 proteins could facilitate the development of novel antiviral drugs. Furthermore, understanding Vif-A3 interactions can provide novel insights into the cross-species transmission events that led to the HIV-1 and HIV-2 pandemics and evolution of host-virus interactions. We carried out mutational analysis of the N-terminal 62 amino acids of HIV-2 Vif (Vif2) and analyzed A3G/A3F chimeras that retained antiviral activity to identify the determinants of the Vif2 and A3 interaction. Our results show that the Vif2-A3 interactions are completely different from the Vif1-A3 interactions, suggesting that these interactions evolved independently and that conservation of the A3 determinants resulted in successful zoonotic transmission into humans.
2D-GE image analysis focusing on elimination of spurious spots

2D Gel Electrophoresis image analysis is widely recognized as one of the most crucial processes following a proteomic experiment. Amongst its stages, detection and segmentation are the most challenging ones. The available software packages and techniques fail to detect and segment some of the real spots while they often detect a vast number of spurious spots. In this paper, an original approach to analyze gel electrophoresis images is presented. The proposed approach is an improvement on our earlier version because it tackles the aforementioned deficiencies of existing software programs and techniques in a more efficient manner. The experiments conducted on a set of 16-bit 2D gel electrophoresis images, demonstrate that it outperforms state-of-the-art methods. Indeed, it detects more real protein spot, as well as eliminates spurious spots.
Implications of the Nucleocapsid and the Microenvironment in Retroviral Reverse Transcription

This mini-review summarizes the process of reverse-transcription, an obligatory step in retrovirus replication during which the retroviral RNA/DNA-dependent DNA polymerase (RT) copies the single-stranded genomic RNA to generate the double-stranded viral DNA while degrading the genomic RNA via its associated RNase H activity. The hybridization of complementary viral sequences by the nucleocapsid protein (NC) receives a special focus, since it acts to chaperone the strand transfers obligatory for synthesis of the complete viral DNA and flanking long terminal repeats (LTR). Since the physiological microenvironment can impact on reverse-transcription, this mini-review also focuses on factors present in the intra-cellular or extra-cellular milieu that can drastically influence both the timing and the activity of reverse-transcription and hence virus infectivity.
Mechanisms of distraction in acute pain perception and modulation.

Distraction is a shifting of attention away from pain or painful stimuli to stimuli that are more engaging or enjoyable. Distraction for acute pain can be internal (eg, imagery) or external to the individual; use audio (eg, music), visual (eg, book), or audiovisual (eg, movies) stimuli, require passive or interactive engagement, or involvement of others (eg, health care providers, parents). 1 Systematic reviews and metaanalyses generally support use of distraction for acute pain among infants and children, with less consistent evidence for adolescents and adults.1,10,11
Benefi t of S/N Enhancing Devices to Speech Perception of Children Listening in a Typical Classroom with Hearing Aids or a Cochlear Implant

Speech perception can be improved for children with hearing loss using signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) enhancing devices. Three experiments were performed with 28 participants, age 8 to 14 years using hearing aids or a cochlear implant. Participants repeated HINT sentence lists in classrooms with a typical level of background noise and reverberation times of either 1.1 seconds or 0.6 seconds. In addition to personal amplifi cation, the types of devices used were a classroom sound fi eld system, a desktop personal sound fi eld FM system, and a personal FM system linked to hearing aids or cochlear implant. The speech perception results of the three experiments support the use of a desktop or personal FM system by children with hearing loss who are auditory learners whether a poor or acceptable level of reverberation is present Based on the results of this investigation, providing classroom sound fi eld amplifi cation as a means to benefi t speech perception of students with mild to profound bilateral hearing loss who are successful learners in the mainstream appears to be an unjustifi ed practice for approximately 80% of students with hearing loss. Approximately 20% of participants did benefi t by least 5% in word recognition score improvement from classroom sound fi eld amplifi cation over use of their personal devices alone. Performance scores of these participants indicated an additional 5% or greater benefi t to word recognition when using desktop or personal FM as compared to their scores using classroom sound fi eld. Results indicted that 64% of participants believed that the personal FM device provided easiest listening with either the personal FM or desktop FM being preferred for use by 26 of the 28 participants.
Differential expression of the ccn3 (nov) proto-oncogene in human prostate cell lines and tissues

Aims—To investigate the expression of the human ccn3 (hccn3; nov) proto-oncogene, a member of the CCN family of proteins, in prostate epithelial cells and prostate tissue samples. Methods—Normal adult prostate luminal epithelial cells immortalised by SV40 large T (PNT1A and PNT1B), metastatic tumours (LNCaP, DU-145, and PC-3), and prostate tissue samples from patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatic adenocarcinoma were used. hccn3 (nov) mRNA was measured by the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and hCCN3 (NOV) protein expression was determined by immunochemistry. Results—hccn3 (nov) RNA values were higher in PC-3 cells than in the other prostate cell lines. The immortalised normal cell lines either did not express hccn3 (nov) RNA (PNT1B) or expressed very low amounts (PNT1A). BPH samples expressed variable amounts of hccn3 (nov) RNA. With the use of immunocytochemistry, all cell lines except PNT1A and PNT1B were shown to contain hCCN3 (NOV) protein. hCCN3 (NOV) was localised mainly in the epithelial compartment of BPH and adenocarcinoma samples, and there was evidence of luminal secretion. Conclusion—The overexpression of hccn3 (nov) RNA in cancer cell lines compared with other cell lines and its epithelial localisation in human prostate samples are consistent with a role for hCCN3 (NOV) in prostatic tumorigenesis.
Biospecimens, biobanking and global cancer research collaborations

The disparities in prostate cancer incidence and mortality continue to be a global public health problem. Efforts to address the prostate cancer disparity in black men have been met with a number of challenges, specifically in the accessibility to biospecimens in the context of global prostate cancer collaborations. During the International Educational Workshop at the Science of Global Prostate Cancer Disparities conference held 1–4 November 2012 in Nassau, the Bahamas, an overview of biobanking and biospecimen repositories, and materials transfer in global prostate cancer collaborations were discussed. The challenges faced by low-resource countries were identified, and potential solutions were recommended.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa Psl polysaccharide reduces neutrophil phagocytosis and the oxidative response by limiting complement‐mediated opsonization

Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes chronic lung infections in the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Psl is an extracellular polysaccharide expressed by non‐mucoid P. aeruginosa strains, which are believed to be initial colonizers. We hypothesized that Psl protects P. aeruginosa from host defences within the CF lung prior to their conversion to the mucoid phenotype. We discovered that serum opsonization significantly increased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by neutrophils exposed to a psl‐deficient mutant, compared with wild‐type (WT) and Psl overexpressing strains (Psl++). Psl‐deficient P. aeruginosa were internalized and killed by neutrophils and macrophages more efficiently than WT and Psl++ variants. Deposition of complement components C3, C5 and C7 was significantly higher on psl‐deficient strains compared with WT and Psl++ bacteria. In an in vivo pulmonary competition assay, there was a 4.5‐fold fitness advantage for WT over psl‐deficient P. aeruginosa. Together, these data show that Psl inhibits efficient opsonization, resulting in reduced neutrophil ROS production, and decreased killing by phagocytes. This provides a survival advantage in vivo. Since phagocytes are critical in early recognition and control of infection, therapies aimed at Psl could improve the quality of life for patients colonized with P. aeruginosa.
Women with Alport syndrome: risks and rewards of kidney donation.

Insights gained during the last 30 years of research in Alport syndrome have influenced the way potential related kidney donors for Alport patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are assessed. Awareness of Alport syndrome among clinicians and families has increased greatly, so the disease is more likely to be suspected in patients with haematuria and in kindreds with renal disease. Widespread application of electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry and molecular genetics has enhanced diagnostic accuracy, with the result that we are more likely to know which patients and families truly have Alport syndrome. We have learned that Alport syndrome is primarily an X-linked disorder (∼80% of families) and that only ∼10% of affected males represent de novo mutations, meaning that the mother of a boy with Alport syndrome is most likely a heterozygous carrier. Over 95% of heterozygous women with X-linked Alport syndrome (XLAS) exhibit haematuria, so detection of affected women in XLAS kindreds is a straightforward process [1]. Finally, it has been demon