Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cause Event Representations for Happiness and Surprise

This paper presents a linguistic analysis of emotions by introducing some concrete linguistic rules in identifying the important elements of an emotion, which are the experiencer and the cause. It specifically discusses two primary emotions, happiness and surprise, in Chinese. These rules can be very useful for emotion detection and classification. We also examine the features of a cause event according to its degree of transitivity, namely agentivity, kinesis, and event participation. We find that the emotion classes (happiness vs. surprise) override the emotion verb types (change-of-state verb vs. homogeneous verb) in terms of cause event features. We believe that this study will have some implications for the linguistic account of causal events as well as the theory of emotions in general. We also hope that this work will shed lights in the automatic detection and classification of emotion in language technology.
Cardioprotective Efficacy of Red Wine Extract of Onion in Healthy Hypercholesterolemic Subjects

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the red wine extract of onion (RO) and red wine (RW) on alleviating the risk factors of cardiovascular disease. During in vitro studies, various antioxidant activities [trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), DPPH, and H2O2 scavenging ability] of RO and RW group were evaluated. Both RO and RW showed the maximum antioxidant capacity. During in vivo studies, 23 healthy hypercholesterolemic volunteers were randomly selected and assigned into two groups, who drunk 250 mL of RO (n = 11) or RW (n = 10) for 10 weeks. No significant changes were observed in anthropometric parameters (body weight, height, body mass, and BMI) in each group. Both RW and RO extracts elevated (p < 0.05) antioxidant activity and thereby prolonging the lag time of low‐density lipoprotein oxidation. However, RO extract intake substantially suppressed (p < 0.05) the total cholesterol and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels when equivalence with RW thus, indicating its additional hypocholesterolemic effect. The inflammatory markers such as factor VII were also positively modulated by RO extract. Results indicated that RO extract consumption rendered better cardio protective effect than RW by altering cholesterol, improving antioxidation and suppressing inflammatory marker levels and thereby, attenuating the cardiovascular disease incidence. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Learning k-Modal Distributions via Testing

A k-modal probability distribution over the domain {1,. , n} is one whose histogram has at most k "peaks" and "valleys. " Such distributions are natural generalizations of monotone (k = 0) and unimodal (k = 1) probability distributions, which have been intensively studied in probability theory and statistics. In this paper we consider the problem of learning an unknown k-modal distribution. The learning algorithm is given access to independent samples drawn from the k-modal distribution p, and must output a hypothesis distribution p such that with high probability the total variation distance between p and p is at most e. We give an efficient algorithm for this problem that runs in time poly(k, log(n), 1/e). For k ≤ O(√ log n), the number of samples used by our algorithm is very close (within an O(log(1/e)) factor) to being information-theoretically optimal. Prior to this work computationally efficient algorithms were known only for the cases k = 0, 1 [Bir87b, Bir97]. A novel feature of our approach is that our learning algorithm crucially uses a new property testing algorithm as a key subroutine. The learning algorithm uses the property tester to efficiently decompose the k-modal distribution into k (near)-monotone distributions, which are easier to learn.
Perioperative respiratory complications in cleft lip and palate repairs: An audit of 1000 cases under ‘Smile Train Project’

Background and Aim: Anaesthesia for cleft surgery in children is associated with a variety of airway related problems. This study aims to review the frequency of associated anomalies and other conditions as well as perioperative respiratory complications during the cleft lip/palate repair surgeries. Methods: An audit of 1000 cleft surgeries in children enrolled under “Smile Train” is presented. Following informed consent, general anaesthesia was induced with endotracheal (ET) intubation using halothane in O2 and/or intravenous thiopentone 5 mg/kg or propofol 1.5 mg/kg, suxamethonium 1.5 mg/kg or rocuronium 0.8 mg/kg and maintained with halothane/isoflurane 0.4-1% in 50% N2O in O2 with rocuronium. The observational data regarding the occurrence of perioperative complications in 1000 cleft surgeries are mentioned as mean (standard deviation), number and percentage as appropriate. ‘Two sample t-test between percentage’ is applied for significance. Results: The frequency of isolated cleft lip was 263 (36.4%), cleft palate 183 (25.3%) and combined defect 277 (38.3%) of the operated cases. Other congenital anomalies were present in 21 (2.8%) of the children. The intraoperative airway complications occurred in 13 (2.4%) of cleft lip and 40 (8.7%) of cleft palate repairs (P < 0.05). Post-operative respiratory complications were observed in 9 (1.7%) and 34 (7.4%) patients of cleft lip and palate repairs respectively (P < 0.05). Mortality occurred post-operatively in 2 (0.2%) of cleft repairs (n = 1000). Conclusion: Cleft deformities in children when associated with other congenital anomalies or respiratory problems pre-dispose them to difficult airway and pulmonary complications. Frequency of perioperative respiratory complications were significantly higher with cleft palate repair than with cleft lip repair. Anaesthetic expertise, optimum monitoring facility and specialised post-operative care is necessary to decrease the morbidity.
Evolutionary Models of the Emergence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT Five major lineages of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have evolved since the introduction of methicillin for the treatment of infections caused by penicillin-resistant S. aureus in 1959. The clones of these lineages are responsible for the vast majority of hospital-acquired MRSA disease globally. We have constructed high-resolution evolutionary models for each lineage using a parsimony approach with 15 partial gene sequences from 147 geographically diverse isolates. On the basis of these models, we infer that MRSA has emerged at least 20 times upon acquisition of the methicillin resistance determinant, which is carried on a mobile genetic element called the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec). The acquisition of SCCmec by sensitive clones was four times more common than the replacement of one SCCmec with another. Notably, SCCmec type IV was found in twice as many clones as any other SCCmec type, and it is this SCCmec type which is commonly found in clones from patients with community-acquired MRSA disease. Our findings suggest that most clones of MRSA arise by the acquisition of SCCmec type IV by methicillin-sensitive isolates.
Dysbiosis in the Gut Microbiota of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis, with a Striking Depletion of Species Belonging to Clostridia XIVa and IV Clusters

The pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease affecting the brain and spinal cord, remains poorly understood. Patients with MS typically present with recurrent episodes of neurological dysfunctions such as blindness, paresis, and sensory disturbances. Studies on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) animal models have led to a number of testable hypotheses including a hypothetical role of altered gut microbiota in the development of MS. To investigate whether gut microbiota in patients with MS is altered, we compared the gut microbiota of 20 Japanese patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) MS (MS20) with that of 40 healthy Japanese subjects (HC40) and an additional 18 healthy subjects (HC18). All the HC18 subjects repeatedly provided fecal samples over the course of months (158 samples in total). Analysis of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene by using a high-throughput culture-independent pyrosequencing method provided evidence of a moderate dysbiosis in the structure of gut microbiota in patients with MS. Furthermore, we found 21 species that showed significant differences in relative abundance between the MS20 and HC40 samples. On comparing MS samples to the 158 longitudinal HC18 samples, the differences were found to be reproducibly significant for most of the species. These taxa comprised primarily of clostridial species belonging to Clostridia clusters XIVa and IV and Bacteroidetes. The phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that none of the clostridial species that were significantly reduced in the gut microbiota of patients with MS overlapped with other spore-forming clostridial species capable of inducing colonic regulatory T cells (Treg), which prevent autoimmunity and allergies; this suggests that many of the clostridial species associated with MS might be distinct from those broadly associated with autoimmune conditions. Correcting the dysbiosis and altered gut microbiota might deserve consideration as a potential strategy for the prevention and treatment of MS.
Parathyroid Interventions for Secondary Hyperparathyroidism in Hemodialyzed Patients

Abstract: Although parathyroidectomy (PTX) is the ultimate treatment for secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) that is resistant to medical treatment, recent advances in ultrasonographic techniques have increased the treatment options in Japan. Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) of the parathyroid was approved under the national health insurance system in 2004, and there have been trials of direct injection of vitamin D (VD) preparations. We followed 30 patients for at least 1 year who had undergone PEIT at the same institution. The overall mean concentration of intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) fell from 865.3 ± 388.4 pg/mL to 291.9 ± 277.8 pg/mL, or 34% of the pretreatment value. The effect was even more pronounced for one or two glands, with 68.4% reaching the target of intact PTH ≤ 300 pg/mL recommended in the K/DOQI guidelines, in comparison with 36.4% of cases of hypertrophy of three or four glands. The average time taken to achieve the target PTH concentration was 4 months. No correlation was found between the response to PEIT and the total parathyroid volume, or the volume of glands with suspected nodular hyperplasia. Cases in which PTH does not fall sufficiently after five or more injections should be considered refractory to PEIT and evaluated for PTX. Following PEIT, PTH falls relatively slowly, whereas after total PTX with forearm autograft the PTH concentration falls immediately and may still be less than 60 pg/mL 4 or 5 years later. Bone biopsies performed 1 year after total PTX with autograft showed a change from an osteitis fibrosa pattern to an adynamic bone disease pattern. In some cases of hypertrophy of three to four glands, markers of bone metabolism kept decreasing more than did PTH, corresponding to marked improvement in the patients’ quality of life. Important considerations for treatment selection include: (i) ultrasonography of the cervical region as screening; (ii) earlier recognition of the limits of medical therapy; and (iii) the number of affected glands, the age of the patient, and the likely course postintervention.
Noradrenergic function in generalized anxiety disorder: impact of treatment with venlafaxine on the physiological and psychological responses to clonidine challenge

Serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressants have evidence of efficacy in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD); however, it is not clear whether there is an advantage over selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medicines and there is limited evidence for noradrenergic dysfunction in GAD. We tested whether a dysfunctional alpha-2 adrenoceptor system is present in patients with GAD and the effects of SNRI treatment on this system. The method used was an infusion of clonidine (a selective alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist) on psychological and physiological outcomes in three subject groups: 10 untreated GAD patients, five SNRI-treated GAD patients and seven normal controls. The clonidine challenge elicited sedation, a rise in growth hormone, decrease in blood pressure, decline in saccadic eye movement (SEM) variables, and improvement in verbal fluency as anticipated in the 22 subjects examined. Lower cortisol levels were found in controls and higher blood pressure readings in GAD-treated subjects, as well as evidence that GAD-treated subjects had SEMs that were intermediate between control and GAD subjects’ scores and have less clonidine-induced sedation. The implications of these findings with reference to the study hypothesis in this small study are discussed.
Genome-Wide Interaction with Selected Type 2 Diabetes Loci Reveals Novel Loci for Type 2 Diabetes in African Americans

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the result of metabolic defects in insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity, yet most T2D loci identified to date influence insulin secretion. We hypothesized that T2D loci, particularly those affecting insulin sensitivity, can be identified through interaction with known T2D loci implicated in insulin secretion. To test this hypothesis, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) nominally associated with acute insulin response to glucose (AIRg), a dynamic measure of first-phase insulin secretion, and previously associated with T2D in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were identified in African Americans from the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Family Study (IRASFS; n=492 subjects). These SNPs were tested for interaction, individually and jointly as a genetic risk score (GRS), using GWAS data from five cohorts (ARIC, CARDIA, JHS, MESA, WFSM; n=2,725 cases, 4,167 controls) with T2D as the outcome. In single variant analyses, suggestively significant (Pinteraction < 5×10-6) interactions were observed at several loci including DGKB (rs978989), CDK18 (rs12126276), CXCL12 (rs7921850), HCN1 (rs6895191), FAM98A (rs1900780), and MGMT (rs568530). Notable beta-cell GRS interactions included two SNPs at the DGKB locus (rs6976381; rs6962498). These data support the hypothesis that additional genetic factors contributing to T2D risk can be identified by interactions with insulin secretion loci.
Quantitative determination of water‐soluble scavengers in neoplastic and non‐neoplastic human breast tissue

The water‐soluble scavengers ascorbic acid (Asc), cysteine (Cys), glutathione (GSH) and uric acid (UA) as well as DNA content were determined in 40 breast tissue samples (neoplastic and non‐neoplastic tissues from 20 patients). To allow proper homogenization to take place, a fixed number of sections was cut from a tissue cylinder of known diameter. Adjacent sections were stained with hematoxylin‐eosin and the fractions of epithelium, fat and connective tissue were estimated as a percentage of the section area. Protein‐free extracts were injected into a reverse‐phase high‐pressure liquid chromatography system and scavengers quantified with 2 electrochemical detectors (gold and glassy carbon). DNA and all scavengers, except UA, were greatly increased in cancer tissues in nearly all cases. Amounts of Asc and GSH in neo plastic tissue correlated closely with DNA values and percentage of epithelium, those of Cys not so closely and those of UA not at all. We assume that Asc and GSH were located mainly in the epithelium, UA mainly in the extracellular space and Cys in both spaces. When values were expressed as μmol/g DNA, a parameter related to content per cell, values were higher in neoplastic than in non‐neoplastic tissue for Asc (18/ 20 cases), GSH (17/20) and Cys (14/20) and lower in neoplastic tissue for UA (19/20). It is known that increased GSH protects cells against certain drugs in tissue cultures. For in vivo treatment the presence of increased Asc (and to a lesser extent Cys) in addition to GSH could be of importance.
Type III chaperones & Co in bacterial plant pathogens: a set of specialized bodyguards mediating effector delivery

Gram-negative plant pathogenic bacteria possess a type III secretion system (T3SS) to inject bacterial proteins, called type III effectors (T3Es), into host cells through a specialized syringe structure. T3Es are virulence factors that can suppress plant immunity but they can also conversely be recognized by the plant and trigger specific resistance mechanisms. The T3SS and injected T3Es play a central role in determining the outcome of a host-pathogen interaction. Still little is known in plant pathogens on the assembly of the T3SS and the regulatory mechanisms involved in the temporal control of its biosynthesis and T3E translocation. However, recent insights point out the role of several proteins as prime candidates in the role of regulators of the type III secretion (T3S) process. In this review we report on the most recent advances on the regulation of the T3S by focusing on protein players involved in secretion/translocation regulations, including type III chaperones (T3Cs), type III secretion substrate specificity switch (T3S4) proteins and other T3S orchestrators.
A Prototype Audio-Tactile Map System with an Advanced Auditory Display

Tactile surfaces can display information in a variety of applications for all users, but can be of particular benefit to blind and visually impaired individuals. One example is the use of paper-based tactile maps as navigational aids for interior and exterior spaces; visually impaired individuals may use these to practice and learn a route prior to journeying. The addition of an interactive auditory display can enhance such interfaces by providing additional information. This article presents a prototype system which tracks the actions of a user's hands over a tactile surface and responds with sonic feedback. The initial application is an Audio-Tactile Map ATM; the auditory display provides verbalised information as well as environmental sounds useful for navigation. Two versions of the interface are presented; a desktop version intended as a large-format information point and a mobile version which uses a tablet computer overlain with tactile paper. Details of these implementations are provided, including observations drawn from the participation of a partially-sighted individual in the design process. A usability test with five visually impaired subjects also gives a favourable assessment of the mobile version.
Urban landscape genetics: canopy cover predicts gene flow between white‐footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) populations in New York City

In this study, I examine the influence of urban canopy cover on gene flow between 15 white‐footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) populations in New York City parklands. Parks in the urban core are often highly fragmented, leading to rapid genetic differentiation of relatively nonvagile species. However, a diverse array of ‘green’ spaces may provide dispersal corridors through ‘grey’ urban infrastructure. I identify urban landscape features that promote genetic connectivity in an urban environment and compare the success of two different landscape connectivity approaches at explaining gene flow. Gene flow was associated with ‘effective distances’ between populations that were calculated based on per cent tree canopy cover using two different approaches: (i) isolation by effective distance (IED) that calculates the single best pathway to minimize passage through high‐resistance (i.e. low canopy cover) areas, and (ii) isolation by resistance (IBR), an implementation of circuit theory that identifies all low‐resistance paths through the landscape. IBR, but not IED, models were significantly associated with three measures of gene flow (Nm from FST, BayesAss+ and Migrate‐n) after factoring out the influence of isolation by distance using partial Mantel tests. Predicted corridors for gene flow between city parks were largely narrow, linear parklands or vegetated spaces that are not managed for wildlife, such as cemeteries and roadway medians. These results have implications for understanding the impacts of urbanization trends on native wildlife, as well as for urban reforestation efforts that aim to improve urban ecosystem processes.
Toward an Empirical Corpus of Literature on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

The research literature on higher education as a contextual site primarily explores institutional history, campus curriculum, organizational administration, and student behavior. These macro-level topics are given life through institutional analysis set in liberal arts colleges, universities, community colleges, and special population or special mission institutions. What we “know” about higher education varies in each of these settings. Despite more than a century of published scholarship in the field of higher education, the body of literature regarding historically black colleges and universities is more problematic. Until recently, we have “known” little about these institutions. To be more explicit, there is an extant literature on the cohort of institutions defined as historically black colleges and universities (or HBCUs). There are multiple citations to the unique characteristics, special features, remarkable performance, or historic legacies of historically black colleges. Many of the aforementioned publications are contextual assessments or historical accounts. However, the existence of a collection of articles or publications that present
An equation error algorithm based on correlation function with variable delay

Equation error adaptive algorithm (EQ-E) for an adaptive infinite impulse response (IIR) digital filter is one of the IIR adaptive algorithms that exhibit global convergence. In the presence of a disturbance signal, the coefficients of the equation error based adaptive digital filter (ADF) converge to solutions with bias. In this paper, we propose a kind of block adaptive algorithm for the EQ-E IIR ADF. By estimating the correlation functions, the effect of the disturbance signal onto the convergence of the algorithm is reduced.
Le parcours en emploi des immigrantes sélectionnées au Québec : quelles différences avec leurs homologues masculins ?

Quebec’s retrospective survey on selected workers (Enquête sur les travailleurs sélectionnés) was used to analyze the relationship between education and employment for immigrant women, arrived as primary movers. The analysis also offers a perspective on their integration in the labour market, as compared to that of their male counterparts. A special attention is placed on the effect of gender and the region of origin, as well as the interaction of these two variables for access to employment. Semi-parametric Cox models highlight how individual characteristics, as well as training in the host country, affect the hazard rates of first employment corresponding to pre-migration levels of education. Linear regressions are then used to show the determinants of wage after a two-year residence period in Quebec. The results reveal no differences regarding access to qualified employment for women and men. Differences appear, however, when looking at the country of origin, with a clear advantage for migrants from Western Europe and the UnitedStates. Gender based distinctions are therefore shown on access to first employment and wages, with female doing worst in these two outcomes. Among this group, almost no distinctions appear according to their region of origin, whereas when looking at male immigrants, the group proofs to be more heterogeneous. Moreover, individual characteristics, such as French knowledge and the admission category, have been found to have different effects on women and men regarding access to first employment.