Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward optimal vaccination strategies for probabilistic models

Epidemic outbreaks such as the recent H1N1 influenza show how susceptible large communities are toward the spread of such outbreaks. The occurrence of a widespread disease transmission raises the question of vaccination strategies that are appropriate and close to optimal. The seemingly different problem of viruses disseminating through email networks, shares a common structure with disease epidemics. While it is not possible to vaccinate every individual during a virus outbreak, due to economic and logistical constraints, fortunately, we can leverage the structure and properties of face-to-face social networks to identify individuals whose vaccination would result in a lower number of infected people. The models that have been studied so far [3, 4] assume that once an individual is infected all its adjacent individuals would be infected with probability 1. However, this assumption is not realistic. In reality, if an individual is infected by a virus, the neighboring individuals would get infected with some probability (depending on the type of the disease and the contact). This modification to the model makes the problem more challenging as the simple version is already NP-complete [3]. Here we consider the following epidemiological model computationally: A number of individuals in the community get vaccinated which makes them immune to the disease. The disease then outbreaks and a number of nodes that are not vaccinated get infected at random. These nodes can transmit the infection to their friends with some probability. In this work we consider the optimization problem in which the number of nodes that get vaccinated is limited to k and our objective is to minimize the number of infected people overall. We design various algorithms that take into account the properties of social networks to select k nodes for vaccination in order to achieve the goal. We perform experiments on a real dataset of 34,546 vertices and 421,578 edges and assess their effectiveness and scalability.
Bridge-to-Decision Therapy With a Continuous-Flow External Ventricular Assist Device in Refractory Cardiogenic Shock of Various Causes

Background—Mortality for refractory cardiogenic shock remains high. In this patient cohort, there have been mixed results in mechanical circulatory support device use as a bridge-to-decision therapy. We evaluated a continuous-flow external ventricular assist device (VAD), CentriMag VAD (Thoratec Corp., Pleasanton, CA), in patients with various causes of refractory cardiogenic shock. Methods and Results—This is a retrospective review of adult patients who underwent surgical CentriMag VAD insertion as bridge-to-decision therapy. From January 2007 through June 2012, 143 patients received CentriMag VAD. The cause of refractory cardiogenic shock was failure of medical management in 71 patients, postcardiotomy shock in 37, graft failure post–heart transplantation in 22, and right ventricular failure post–implantable left VAD in 13. Mean age was 52±16 years, and 71% were in INTERMACS (Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support) profile 1. Among 158 device runs, device configuration was BiVAD in 67%, isolated right VAD in 26%, and isolated left VAD in 8%. Median duration of support was 14 days (interquartile range, 8–26). Survival was 69% at 30 days and 49% at 1 year. The next destination after the CentriMag VAD was myocardial recovery in 30%, device exchange to an implantable VAD in 15%, and heart transplantation in 18%. The failure of medical management and the graft failure post–heart transplantation groups had higher 30-day survival compared with the postcardiotomy shock group. Major bleeding events occurred in 33% and cerebrovascular accidents in 14%. There was no CentriMag pump failure or thrombosis. Conclusions—Bridge-to-decision therapy with CentriMag VAD is feasible in a variety of refractory cardiogenic shock settings. Patients with postcardiotomy shock have inferior survival.
Appearance of the Levator Ani Muscle Subdivisions in Magnetic Resonance Images

OBJECTIVE: Identify and describe the separate appearance of 5 levator ani muscle subdivisions seen in axial, coronal, and sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan planes. METHODS: Magnetic resonance scans of 80 nulliparous women with normal pelvic support were evaluated. Characteristic features of each Terminologia Anatomica–listed levator ani component were determined for each scan plane. Muscle component visibility was based on pre-established criteria in axial, coronal, and sagittal scan planes: 1) clear and consistently visible separation or 2) different origin or insertion. Visibility of each of the levator ani subdivisions in each scan plane was assessed in 25 nulliparous women. RESULTS: In the axial plane, the puborectal muscle can be seen lateral to the pubovisceral muscle and decussating dorsal to the rectum. The course of the puboperineal muscle near the perineal body is visualized in the axial plane. The coronal view is perpendicular to the fiber direction of the puborectal and pubovisceral muscles and shows them as “clusters” of muscle on either side of the vagina. The sagittal plane consistently demonstrates the puborectal muscle passing dorsal to the rectum to form a sling that can consistently be seen as a “bump. ” This plane is also parallel to the pubovisceral muscle fiber direction and shows the puboperineal muscle. CONCLUSION: The subdivisions of the levator ani muscle are visible in MRI scans, each with distinct morphology and characteristic features. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III
Climate Impacts on Soil Carbon Processes along an Elevation Gradient in the Tropical Luquillo Experimental Forest

Tropical forests play an important role in regulating the global climate and the carbon cycle. With the changing temperature and moisture along the elevation gradient, the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Northeastern Puerto Rico provides a natural approach to understand tropical forest ecosystems under climate change. In this study, we conducted a soil translocation experiment along an elevation gradient with decreasing temperature but increasing moisture to study the impacts of climate change on soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil respiration. As the results showed, both soil carbon and the respiration rate were impacted by microclimate changes. The soils translocated from low elevation to high elevation showed an increased respiration rate with decreased SOC content at the end of the experiment, which indicated that the increased soil moisture and altered soil microbes might affect respiration rates. The soils translocated from high elevation to low elevation also showed an increased respiration rate with reduced SOC at the end of the experiment, indicating that increased temperature at low elevation enhanced decomposition rates. Temperature and initial soil source quality impacted soil respiration significantly. With the predicted warming climate in the Caribbean, these tropical soils at high elevations are at risk of releasing sequestered carbon into the atmosphere.
Vertebral Body Segmentation of Spine MR Images Using Superpixels

This paper presents a segmentation approach guided by the user for extracting the vertebral bodies of spine from MRI. The proposed approach, called VBSeg, takes advantage of super pixels to reduce the image complexity and then making easy the detection of each vertebral body contour. Super pixels adapt themselves to the image structures, once their formation law follows the homogeneity of the image regions. However, for some diseases or abnormalities, the boundary of each super pixel does not fit well in the vertebra contour. To avoid this drawback, we propose to use the Otsu's method as a possegmentation step to divide the super pixels into smaller ones. The final segmentation is obtained through a region growing approach using points manually selected by the specialist. It can produce masks of the five lumbar vertebrae with an average precision of 80% and recall of 87%, when compared to the manual segmentation of a trained specialist. These values show that the VBSeg is a valuable asset to assist the medical specialist in the task of vertebral bodies' segmentation, with much less effort and time demand.
The polarity protein Scribble positions DLC3 at adherens junctions to regulate Rho signaling

The spatial regulation of cellular Rho signaling by GAP proteins is still poorly understood. By performing mass spectrometry, we here identify the polarity protein Scribble as a scaffold for the RhoGAP protein DLC3 (also known as StarD8) at cell-cell adhesions. This mutually dependent interaction is mediated by the PDZ domains of Scribble and a PDZ ligand (PDZL) motif in DLC3. Both Scribble depletion and PDZL deletion abrogated DLC3 junctional localization. Using a RhoA biosensor and a targeted GAP domain, we demonstrate that DLC3 activity locally regulates RhoA-ROCK signaling at and Scribble localization to adherens junctions, and is required for their functional integrity. In a 3D model of cyst development, we furthermore show that DLC3 depletion impairs polarized morphogenesis, phenocopying the effects observed upon Scribble knockdown. We thus propose a new function for Scribble in Rho regulation that entails positioning of DLC3 GAP activity at cell junctions in polarized epithelial cells.
Effects of Divided Attention on fMRI Correlates of Memory Encoding

Performing a secondary task concurrently with a study task has a detrimental effect on later memory for studied items. To investigate the mechanisms underlying this effect, the processing resources available for an incidental encoding task were varied by manipulating secondary task difficulty. fMRI data were acquired as volunteers (n = 16) made animacy decisions to visually presented study words while concurrently performing either an easy or a hard auditory monitoring task. Subsequent memory effects-greater activity at study for words later remembered versus words later forgotten-were identified in the left ventral inferior frontal gyrus and the left anterior hippocampus. These effects did not vary according to whether the encoding task was performed concurrently with the easy or the hard secondary task. However, as secondary task difficulty increased, study-item activity declined and auditory-item activity increased in dorsolateral prefrontal and superior parietal regions that have been implicated in the support of executive and control functions. The findings suggest that dividing attention during encoding influences the probability of engaging the encoding operations that support later episodic memory, but does not alter the nature of the operations themselves. The findings further suggest that the probability of engaging these encoding operations depends on the level of general processing resources engaged in service of the study task.
Characterization of fsr, a Regulator Controlling Expression of Gelatinase and Serine Protease inEnterococcus faecalis OG1RF

ABSTRACT We have previously identified a locus, fsr, a homologue of staphylococcal agr loci, which positively regulates the expression of gelatinase and serine protease (encoded bygelE and sprE, respectively) inEnterococcus faecalis OG1RF. The expression of the three genes in the fsr locus, fsrA,fsrB, and fsrC, appears to be autoregulated, and we have shown that mutants with insertion disruptions in each of these three genes were significantly attenuated in a mouse peritonitis model compared to the parent strain. In the present study, we showed that fsrB andfsrC are highly expressed in the postexponential growth phase and that their expression is cell density dependent. Reverse transcriptase PCR using primers covering the intergenic regions in the fsr/gelE loci confirmed thatfsrB and fsrC, as well asgelE and sprE, are cotranscribed. We also showed, using a nonpolar fsrB deletion mutant, thatfsrB, the homologue of agrB of staphylococci with unknown function, is required for the regulatory function of fsr. Primer extension and analysis of transcriptional fusions indicated the presence of promoters immediately upstream of fsrA, of fsrB, and ofgelE and that the fsrB andgelE promoters are fsr dependent, while the fsrA promoter is an fsr-independent weak constitutive promoter. Two conserved 7-bp direct repeats were found immediately upstream of the fsrB andgelE promoters, similar to the repeats found upstream of P2 and P3 promoters of the agr locus; deletions and mutations in the repeated sequences completely abolished thefsrB and gelE promoter activities, suggesting that the repeats are important for the regulatory function in the fsrB and gelE promoter regions.
Obstacle Detection for Low Flying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using Stereoscopic Imaging

This paper describes a stereoscopic imaging algorithm that is modified for obstacle detection in low flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In this type of flight, obstacle detection must be carried out quickly for the system to be effective in real time. Additionally, since the aircraft is close to the ground, the horizon is usually at the top of the field of view and obstacles must be distinguished from the clutter of the terrain. The sparse edge detection and reconstruction algorithm proposed, produces fast but partial reconstructions of the environment. One image is passed through a series of edge detectors to generate a very sparse outline of the environment. This outline is then correlated to the second image and the resulting reconstruction is added to a model of the environment. Although each individual reconstruction is incomplete, the overall result after a short initialization period is a model of the environment that is more comprehensive than a single stereoscopic correlation run with a more detailed edge detector. Simulation of the algorithm on test image patterns showed an increase in performance relative to the length of the sequence of stereo pairs. On average, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) for sparse edge reconstruction was significantly higher than that for single correlation with more detailed edge detectors. Additionally it was found that the processing speed of the sparse edge detection algorithm on a pair of stereoscopic images is faster than the processing carried out by a more detailed edge detector. A test flight was also carried out to test the algorithm in a more realistic scenario. The test confirmed that the sparse edge reconstruction algorithm resulted in a much more detailed view of the environment than if a single, more detailed edge detector had been used.
Accent and identity: exploring the perceptions among bilingual speakers of English as a lingua franca in Hong Kong

This paper reports on a study that investigated the perceptions of a group of bilingual speakers of English and Chinese in Hong Kong concerning issues surrounding accent, identity and English as a lingua franca (ELF). Data were primarily collected via in-depth interviews with 28 university students in Hong Kong who are also regular users of English in lingua franca contexts. The analysis shows that the participants' perceptions of their preferred identities as speakers of English in ELF settings in relation to accent were varied and complex. Among the participants who preferred to use a local accent of English, their preference was not necessarily motivated by the need for expressing their lingua-cultural identity, but primarily by pragmatic considerations. It was also found that some participants' desire to speak English with a native-like accent was associated with their wish to present a positive identity or self-image as bilingual speakers of English. The paper calls for the need to recognize the role of individual variations in accent preferences for identity construction in ELF.
The International Family Quality of Life Project: Goals and Description of a Survey Tool

Abstract The International Family Quality of Life Project, begun in 1997, involves the collaboration of a team of researchers from Australia, Canada, Israel, and the United States whose aim was to conceptualize “family quality of life” and develop a survey tool. The authors describe the basis for the conceptualization and explain the survey development process. An initial version of the survey (the Family Quality of Life Survey—FQoLS-2000) was used to collect FQoL data across several countries in the early 2000s. The experiences of survey respondents and administrators and subsequent data analysis suggested modifications that resulted in an updated version—the FQoLS-2006. This new version focuses on 9 areas of family life: health, finances, family relationships, support from other people, support from disability-related services, influence of values, careers and planning for careers, leisure and recreation, and community interaction. The authors explore each of these areas in relation to 6 underlying concepts: importance, opportunities, initiative, attainment, stability, and satisfaction. Other sections entail obtaining information on the family make-up, family member, or members, with intellectual disability, and an overall summary of FQoL. The authors note that information from the FQoLS-2006 should be useful for a wide variety of purposes related to providing supports to individuals and families.
What Is a Good School? Critical Thoughts About Curriculum Assessments

Abstract Within the educational field, measurements such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) suggest we are living in a time of competition. This article takes a critical view of the modern drive to measure, evaluate, and rank programs within the educational field. Using Ken Wilber's epistemological quadrant-model, I analyze the question, “What is a good school? ”
A quasipolynomial-time algorithm for the quantum separability problem

We present a quasipolynomial-time algorithm for solving the weak membership problem for the convex set of separable, i.e. non-entangled, bipartite density matrices. The algorithm decides whether a density matrix is separable or whether it is ε-away from the set of the separable states in time exp(O(ε-2 log|A| log|B|)), where |A| and |B| are the local dimensions, and the distance is measured with either the Euclidean norm, or with the so-called LOCC norm. The latter is an operationally motivated norm giving the optimal probability of distinguishing two bipartite quantum states, each shared by two parties, using any protocol formed by quantum local operations and classical communication (LOCC) between the parties. We also obtain improved algorithms for optimizing over the set of separable states and for computing the ground-state energy of mean-field Hamiltonians. The techniques we develop are also applied to quantum Merlin-Arthur games, where we show that multiple provers are not more powerful than a single prover when the verifier is restricted to LOCC protocols, or when the verification procedure is formed by a measurement of small Euclidean norm. This answers a question posed by Aaronson et al. (Theory of Computing 5, 1, 2009) and provides two new characterizations of the complexity class QMA, a quantum analog of NP. Our algorithm uses semidefinite programming to search for a symmetric extension, as first proposed by Doherty, Parrilo and Spedialieri (Phys. Rev. A, 69, 022308, 2004). The bound on the runtime follows from an improved de Finetti-type bound quantifying the monogamy of quantum entanglement. This result, in turn, follows from a new lower bound on the quantum conditional mutual information and the entanglement measure squashed entanglement.
Development of a Short-Form Learning Organization Survey

Despite urgent need for innovation, adaptation, and change in health care, few tools enable researchers or practitioners to assess the extent to which health care facilities perform as learning organizations or the effects of initiatives that require learning. This study’s objective was to develop and test a short-form Learning Organization Survey to fill this gap. The authors applied exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to data from Veterans Health Administration personnel to derive a short-form survey and then conducted further confirmatory factor analysis and factor invariance testing on additional Veterans Health Administration data to evaluate the short form. Results suggest that a 27-item, 7-factor survey (2 environmental factors, 1 on leadership, and 4 on concrete learning processes and practices) reliably measures key features of organizational learning, allowing researchers to evaluate theoretical propositions about organizational learning, its antecedents, and outcomes and enabling managers to assess and enhance organizations’ learning capabilities and performance.
SEARCH TIME REDUCTION USING HIDDEN MARKOV MODELS FOR ISOLATED DIGIT RECOGNITION

This paper reports a word modeling algorithm for the Malayalam isolated digit recognition to reduce the search time in the classification process. A recognition experiment is carried out for the 10 Malayalam digits using the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) feature parameters and k - Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) classification algorithm. A word modeling schema using Hidden Markov Model (HMM) algorithm is developed. From the experimental result it is reported that we can reduce the search time for the classification process using the proposed algorithm in telephony application by a factor of 80% for the first digit recognition.
Making sense of mathematical graphics: The development of understanding abstract symbolism

SUMMARY In this paper we develop our theory of ‘Bi-numeracy’ and show the importance of children's own invented symbolism. Most studies to date have concentrated on the analysis of children's number representations in clinically set-up tasks (Hughes, 1986; Sinclair, 1988; Munn, 1994). These studies have added to our knowledge of and understanding of children's mathematical marks. Our research differs in that we based our study in children's homes, nursery and classroom contexts. Rather than being clinical researchers our role has been that of participant observer, based on ethnographic research and grounded theory. We have analysed almost 700 examples of mathematical graphics. These cover all aspects of number and mathematics from the wider mathematics curriculum. They range from child-initiated marks within play to adult-directed sessions in which the children also chose what they wanted to put down on paper. All the samples have come from our own classes or those in which we have been invited to teach. Based on this large sample of original children's marks from authentic teaching situations, our findings are therefore evidence based. We have grouped examples to show where some clear patterns emerged and developed categories that will support teachers' assessment of children's developing mathematical understanding. We will show the range of these mathematical marks from early play exploration to later written calculations. Our central thesis is that there is a huge need to more openly support children's thinking and mathematical thinking in particular.
Another Reason Why State Legislatures Will Continue to Restrict Public University Autonomy

Change in the political structure of state legislatures may influence their members to propose and pass more regulatory bills that restrict public university autonomy. This article reviews the political science literature on changing state politics, followed by a statistical analysis of the 50 states and a case study of Pennsylvania. The latter suggests a possible causal relationship between the changing political structure and continued limitation of public university autonomy.