Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual Learning by Evolutionary Feature Synthesis

In this paper, we present a novel method for learning complex concepts/hypotheses directly from raw training data. The task addressed here concerns data-driven synthesis of recognition procedures for real-world object recognition task. The method uses linear genetic programming to encode potential solutions expressed in terms of elementary operations, and handles the complexity of the learning task by applying cooperative coevolution to decompose the problem automatically. The training consists in coevolving feature extraction procedures, each being a sequence of elementary image processing and feature extraction operations. Extensive experimental results show that the approach attains competitive performance for 3-D object recognition in real synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery.
Design, delivery and evaluation of an email-based Continuing Professional Development course on outdoor air pollution and health

The authors designed an email-based discussion forum with the objective of promoting and supporting peer discussion on the health effects of outdoor air pollution, linked to a recently published review article. Clinical cases served as stimulus material and participants were provided with an online toolbox of resources. Message postings from 27 participants were most frequent (92) during the first of four weeks and lowest (17) during the second, suggesting that some participants were overwhelmed by the initial volume. Evaluation of short-term impact completed by 16 participants indicated that the course was successful in improving some participants’ knowledge. Evaluation three months after course completion by 20 participants revealed an impact on clinical practice. As an alternative to email, requiring participants to visit a web page to view and submit postings may avoid problems related to volume of messages. Controlled delivery of small portions of information tied to specific self-directed tasks is also recommended.
Supervision and motion planning for a mobile manipulator interacting with humans

Human Robot collaborative task achievement requires adapted tools and algorithms for both decision making and motion computation. The human presence as well as its behavior must be considered and actively monitored at the decisional level for the robot to produce synchronized and adapted behavior. Additionally, having a human within the robot range of action introduces security constraints as well as comfort considerations which must be taken into account at the motion planning and control level. This paper presents a robotic architecture adapted to human robot interaction and focuses on two tools: a human aware manipulation planner and a supervision system dedicated to collaborative task achievement.
Image clustering based on deep sparse representations

Currently, the supervised trained deep neural networks (DNNs) have been successfully applied in several image classification tasks. However, how to extract powerful data representations and discover semantic concepts from unlabeled data is a more practical issue. Unsupervised feature learning methods aim at extracting abstract representations from unlabeled data. Large amount of research works illustrate that these representations can be directly used in the supervised tasks. However, due to the high dimensionality of these representations, it is difficult to discover the categorical concepts among them in an unsupervised way. In this paper, we propose combining the winner-take-all autoencoder with the bipartite graph partitioning algorithm to cluster unlabeled image data. The winner-take-all autoencoder can learn the additive sparse representations. By the experiments, we present the properties of the sparse representations. The bipartite graph partitioning can take full advantage of them and generate semantic clusters. We discover that the confident instances in each cluster are well discriminated. Based on the initial clustering result, we further train a support vector machine (SVM) to refine the clusters. Our method can discover the categorical concepts rapidly and the experiment shows that the clustering performance of our method is good.
NFAT1 and JunB Cooperatively Regulate IL-31 Gene Expression in CD4+ T Cells in Health and Disease

IL-31 is a key mediator of itching in atopic dermatitis (AD) and is preferentially produced by activated CD4+ T cells and Th2 cells. Although pathophysiological functions of IL-31 have been suggested in diverse immune disorders, the molecular events underlying IL-31 gene regulation are still unclear. In this study we identified the transcription start site and functional promoter involved in IL-31 gene regulation in mouse CD4+ T cells. TCR stimulation–dependent IL-31 expression was found to be closely linked with in vivo binding of NFAT1 and JunB to the IL-31 promoter. Although NFAT1 alone enhanced IL-31 promoter activity, it was further enhanced in the presence of JunB. Conversely, knockdown of either NFAT1 or JunB resulted in reduced IL-31 expression. NFAT1-deficient CD4+ T cells showed a significant defect in IL-31 expression compared with wild-type CD4+ T cells. In agreement with these findings, mice subjected to atopic conditions showed much higher levels of IL-31, which were closely correlated with a significant increase in the number of infiltrated NFAT1+CD4+ T cells into the AD ears. Amelioration of AD progression by cyclosporin A treatment was well correlated with downregulation of IL-31 expressions in CD4+ T cells and total ear residual cells. In summary, our results suggest a functional cooperation between NFAT1 and JunB in mediating IL-31 gene expression in CD4+ T cells and indicate that interference with this interaction or their activity has the potential of reducing IL-31–mediated AD symptoms.
Scheduling strategies for multiprocessor real-time DSP

The authors explore the possibilities for automatic schedulers that result in low implementation cost and can target a broad class of DSP (digital signal processing) applications. They define four classes of scheduling strategies: (1) fully dynamic; (2) static assignment; (3) self-timed; and (4) fully static. Moving from (1) to (4), more scheduling activity is performed at compile time and less at run time. The authors argue that for most DSP applications, self-timed scheduling is the most attractive strategy. In this strategy, the assignment of actors to processors and the ordering of the firing of actors are determined by a compiler. Only the timing of the firing is determined at run time. The run-time cost of this determination is minimal. Furthermore, automatic scheduling techniques that fit this model are growing in generality and efficiency. <<ETX>>
DNA Replicons for Plant Genome Engineering[W][OPEN]

The ability to precisely modify DNA in cells offers great opportunities for basic and applied research, yet it remains difficult to achieve for most plant species. This work explores the use of geminiviruses for genome engineering. Properties of geminiviruses, including extrachromosomal replication and pleiotropic activity of virus proteins, enabled highly efficient editing of the tobacco genome. Sequence-specific nucleases enable facile editing of higher eukaryotic genomic DNA; however, targeted modification of plant genomes remains challenging due to ineffective methods for delivering reagents for genome engineering to plant cells. Here, we use geminivirus-based replicons for transient expression of sequence-specific nucleases (zinc-finger nucleases, transcription activator–like effector nucleases, and the clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat/Cas system) and delivery of DNA repair templates. In tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), replicons based on the bean yellow dwarf virus enhanced gene targeting frequencies one to two orders of magnitude over conventional Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA. In addition to the nuclease-mediated DNA double-strand breaks, gene targeting was promoted by replication of the repair template and pleiotropic activity of the geminivirus replication initiator proteins. We demonstrate the feasibility of using geminivirus replicons to generate plants with a desired DNA sequence modification. By adopting a general plant transformation method, plantlets with a desired DNA change were regenerated in <6 weeks. These results, in addition to the large host range of geminiviruses, advocate the use of replicons for plant genome engineering.
Stroke Impact Scale 3.0: Reliability and Validity Evaluation of the Korean Version

Objective To establish the reliability and validity the Korean version of the Stroke Impact Scale (K-SIS) 3.0. Methods A total of 70 post-stroke patients were enrolled. All subjects were evaluated for general characteristics, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Modified Barthel Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The SF-36 and K-SIS 3.0 assessed their health-related quality of life. Statistical analysis after evaluation, determined the reliability and validity of the K-SIS 3.0. Results A total of 70 patients (mean age, 54.97 years) participated in this study. Internal consistency of the SIS 3.0 (Cronbach's alpha) was obtained, and all domains had good co-efficiency, with threshold above 0.70. Test-retest reliability of SIS 3.0 required correlation (Spearman's rho) of the same domain scores obtained on the first and second assessments. Results were above 0.5, with the exception of social participation and mobility. Concurrent validity of K-SIS 3.0 was assessed using the SF-36, and other scales with the same or similar domains. Each domain of K-SIS 3.0 had a positive correlation with corresponding similar domain of SF-36 and other scales (HADS, MMSE, and NIHSS). Conclusion The newly developed K-SIS 3.0 showed high inter-intra reliability and test-retest reliabilities, together with high concurrent validity with the original and various other scales, for patients with stroke. K-SIS 3.0 can therefore be used for stroke patients, to assess their health-related quality of life and treatment efficacy.
Microbial Hub Taxa Link Host and Abiotic Factors to Plant Microbiome Variation

Plant-associated microorganisms have been shown to critically affect host physiology and performance, suggesting that evolution and ecology of plants and animals can only be understood in a holobiont (host and its associated organisms) context. Host-associated microbial community structures are affected by abiotic and host factors, and increased attention is given to the role of the microbiome in interactions such as pathogen inhibition. However, little is known about how these factors act on the microbial community, and especially what role microbe–microbe interaction dynamics play. We have begun to address this knowledge gap for phyllosphere microbiomes of plants by simultaneously studying three major groups of Arabidopsis thaliana symbionts (bacteria, fungi and oomycetes) using a systems biology approach. We evaluated multiple potential factors of microbial community control: we sampled various wild A. thaliana populations at different times, performed field plantings with different host genotypes, and implemented successive host colonization experiments under lab conditions where abiotic factors, host genotype, and pathogen colonization was manipulated. Our results indicate that both abiotic factors and host genotype interact to affect plant colonization by all three groups of microbes. Considering microbe–microbe interactions, however, uncovered a network of interkingdom interactions with significant contributions to community structure. As in other scale-free networks, a small number of taxa, which we call microbial “hubs,” are strongly interconnected and have a severe effect on communities. By documenting these microbe–microbe interactions, we uncover an important mechanism explaining how abiotic factors and host genotypic signatures control microbial communities. In short, they act directly on “hub” microbes, which, via microbe–microbe interactions, transmit the effects to the microbial community. We analyzed two “hub” microbes (the obligate biotrophic oomycete pathogen Albugo and the basidiomycete yeast fungus Dioszegia) more closely. Albugo had strong effects on epiphytic and endophytic bacterial colonization. Specifically, alpha diversity decreased and beta diversity stabilized in the presence of Albugo infection, whereas they otherwise varied between plants. Dioszegia, on the other hand, provided evidence for direct hub interaction with phyllosphere bacteria. The identification of microbial “hubs” and their importance in phyllosphere microbiome structuring has crucial implications for plant–pathogen and microbe–microbe research and opens new entry points for ecosystem management and future targeted biocontrol. The revelation that effects can cascade through communities via “hub” microbes is important to understand community structure perturbations in parallel fields including human microbiomes and bioprocesses. In particular, parallels to human microbiome “keystone” pathogens and microbes open new avenues of interdisciplinary research that promise to better our understanding of functions of host-associated microbiomes.
‘TAPPING A TIE’: SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIPS IN MANAGING ADDICTIONS WITH METHADONE

The Fredericton Community Health Clinic (FCHC) was established to provide comprehensive, accessible, and acceptable services to an underserved population who were downtown, poor, homeless, and living with addictions. A research team conducted a descriptive study to investigate how nurses' roles evolved in this setting and to understand these roles through stakeholders' eyes. We describe the perceptions of client stakeholders who first accessed the FCHC for help with opioid addictions. Findings include what drew clients in, their decision to access addiction treatment, their perceptions of nurses' roles, and the influence on their lives.
Inhibition of cytomegalovirus in vitro and in vivo by the experimental immunosuppressive agent leflunomide.

Despite progress in antiviral chemotherapy, cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among pharmacologically immunosuppressed transplant recipients, frequently engaging the clinician in a struggle to balance graft preservation with control of CMV disease. Leflunomide, an inhibitor of protein kinase activity and pyrimidine synthesis, is an experimental immunosuppressive agent effective against acute and chronic rejection in animal models. Herein we summarize our recent studies demonstrating that leflunomide inhibits the production of multiple clinical CMV isolates (including multi-drug-resistant virus) in both human fibroblasts and endothelial cells. In contrast to all other anti-CMV drugs currently in use, leflunomide does not inhibit viral DNA synthesis, but rather appears to interfere with virion assembly. Finally, preliminary studies in a rat model suggest that this agent reduces viral load in vivo. These findings imply that leflunomide, an effective immunosuppressive agent, shows potential to concurrently attenuate a major complication of immunosuppression, CMV disease, by a novel mechanism of antiviral activity.
The Analgesic Efficacy of Transversus Abdominis Plane Block After Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND:The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is an effective method of providing postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing midline abdominal wall incisions. We evaluated its analgesic efficacy over the first 48 postoperative hours after cesarean delivery performed through a Pfannensteil incision, in a randomized controlled, double-blind, clinical trial. METHODS:Fifty women undergoing elective cesarean delivery were randomized to undergo TAP block with ropivacaine (n = 25) versus placebo (n = 25), in addition to standard postoperative analgesia comprising patient-controlled IV morphine analgesia and regular diclofenac and acetaminophen. All patients received a standard spinal anesthetic, and at the end of surgery, a bilateral TAP block was performed using 1.5 mg/kg ropivacaine (to a maximal dose of 150 mg) or saline on each side. Each patient was assessed postoperatively by a blinded investigator: in the postanesthesia care unit and at 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h postoperatively. RESULTS:The TAP block with ropivacaine compared with placebo reduced postoperative visual analog scale pain scores. Mean (± sd) total morphine requirements in the first 48 postoperative hours were also reduced (66 ± 26 vs 18 ± 14 mg, P < 0.001), as was the 12-h interval morphine consumption up to 36 h postoperatively. The incidence of sedation was reduced in patients undergoing TAP blockade. There were no complications attributable to the TAP block. CONCLUSIONS:The TAP block, as a component of a multimodal analgesic regimen, provided superior analgesia when compared with placebo block up to 48 postoperative hours after elective cesarean delivery.
Moral Accounting: How Consumers Spend Money Tainted by Guilt

In this research, we examine how consumers react to receiving money that makes them feel morally uncomfortable and guilty. Whereas prior research suggests that feelings of guilt can trigger a wide variety of pro-social and self-improving compensatory actions, we find that money tainted with moral guilt triggers a remarkably specific reaction. Across eight studies, we find that feeling guilty about money as a result of a moral failure, increases pro-social spending of that tainted money (such as charitable donations), but does not increase self-improvement consumption, pro-social spending of time, or even pro-social spending of other, untainted money. We propose that the exclusive effect on pro-social spending of the tainted money results from both (1) the moral nature of the guilt and (2) its association with the money. In further support of this conjecture, we find that guilt attached to money does increase self-improvement consumption when it is non-moral in nature (i.e., resulting from a private self-control failure), and that moral guilt does increase pro-social spending of time when it is not attached to money. We conclude that participants who feel guilty about the money act as if they aim to cleanse the morally tainted money rather than redeem themselves.
Altered Expression of p 27 and Skp 2 Proteins in Prostate Cancer of African-American Patients 1

Purpose: The purpose is to investigate the clinical relevance of altered patterns of p27 and Skp2 expression in African-American patients with localized prostate cancer. The abundance of p27, an inhibitor of cell proliferation, is controlled by Skp2-dependent proteolysis. Experimental Design: A well-characterized cohort of 162 African-Americans who underwent radical prostatectomy at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of New York between 1990 and 2000 was studied. We analyzed p27 and Skp2 expression by immunohistochemistry. Altered expression of p27 (defined as <40% tumor cells expressing the protein) and Skp2 (defined as >20% tumor cells expressing the protein) were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence. Results: Altered expression of p27 and Skp2 was observed in 112 of 162 (69.1%) and 93 of 162 (57.4%) cases, respectively. Inverse patterns of Skp2 and p27 protein expression were seen in 87 of 162 (53.7%) cases. A marginally significant association was found between Skp2 overexpression and extracapsular extension (P 0.065). Moreover, patients with Skp2 overexpression had a 2.77 years decreased median time to PSA recurrence compared with patients with low Skp2 expression; however, the difference was not statistically significant. In multivariate analysis, only tumor grade and stage independently predicted PSA recurrence in this cohort. Conclusions: Our data suggest a role for Skp2 overexpression in prostate cancer pathogenesis that might not be exclusively related to p27 degradation. More studies are needed to determine the mechanistic role of Skp2 in prostate cancer.
Data Mining Application in Higher Learning Institutions

One of the biggest challenges that higher learning institutions face today is to improve the quality of managerial decisions. The managerial decision making process becomes more complex as the complexity of educational entities increase. Educational institute seeks more efficient technology to better manage and support decision making procedures or assist them to set new strategies and plan for a better management of the current processes. One way to effectively address the challenges for improving the quality is to provide new knowledge related to the educational processes and entities to the managerial system. This knowledge can be extracted from historical and operational data that reside in the educational organization's databases using the techniques of data mining technology. Data mining techniques are analytical tools that can be used to extract meaningful knowledge from large data sets. This paper presents the capabilities of data mining in the context of higher educational system by i) proposing an analytical guideline for higher education institutions to enhance their current decision processes, and ii) applying data mining techniques to discover new explicit knowledge which could be useful for the decision making processes.
Bond-order potential for molybdenum: Application to dislocation behavior

The bond-order potential ~BOP! for transition metals is a real-space semiempirical description of interactions between the atoms, which is based on the tight-binding approximation and the d-band model. This scheme provides a direct bridge between the electronic level modeling and the atomistic modeling, where the electronic degrees of freedom have been coarse grained into many-body interatomic potentials. In this paper we construct BOP in which both the attractive and the repulsive contributions to the binding energy are environmentally dependent due to both the nonorthogonality of the orbitals and the breathing of the screening charges. The construction of the BOP is described and tested in detail. First, the energies of alternative crystal structures ~A15, fcc, hcp, simple cubic! are calculated and compared with those evaluated ab initio. The transferability of the BOP to atomic configurations that deviate significantly from the bcc lattice is studied by computing the energies along tetragonal, trigonal, and hexagonal transformation paths. Next, the phonon spectra are evaluated for several symmetrical crystallographic directions and compared with available experiments. All these calculations highlight the importance of directional bonding and the investigation of phonons demonstrates that the environmental dependence of the bond integrals is crucial for the phonons of the N branch not to be unphysically soft. Finally, the constructed BOP was applied in the modeling of the core structure and glide of the 1/2^111& screw dislocation. The calculated structure of the core agrees excellently with that found in the recent ab initio calculations and the observed glide behavior not only agrees with available ab initio data but is in agreement with many experimental observations and explains the primary reason for the breakdown of the Schmid law in bcc metals.