Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Newly Diagnosed Ocular Hypertension and Open-Angle Glaucoma: Ocular Variables, Risk Factors, and Disease Severity

Purpose. To describe the distribution of ocular variables, risk factors, and disease severity in newly diagnosed ocular hypertension (OH) or open-angle glaucoma (OAG). Methods. Eligible subjects underwent a complete history and examination. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) obtained from multiple logistic regression models were used to compare OAG to OH and advanced to early/moderate OAG. Results. 405 subjects were enrolled: 292 (72.1%) with OAG and 113 (27.9%) with OH. 51.7% had early, 27.1% moderate, and 20.9% advanced OAG. The OR for OAG versus OH was 8.19 (P < 0.0001) for disc notch, 5.36 (P < 0.0001) for abnormal visual field, 1.45 (P = 0.001) for worsening mean deviation, 1.91 (P < 0.0001) for increased cupping, 1.03 for increased age (P = 0.030), and 0.36 (P = 0.010) for smoking. Conclusions. Increased age was a risk for OAG, and smoking decreased the risk of OAG compared to OH. Almost half of the OAG subjects had moderate/advanced disease at diagnosis.
Working with Asian American Families Whose Children Have Augmentative and Alternative Communication Needs

The increase in students with disabilities from Asian backgrounds who receive special education and related services places greater responsibility on professionals providing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services to children and families. Numerous values that are deeply embedded in Asian American families may influence the success of family involvement in team decision-making processes as well as subsequent AAC interventions. Contrasting Euro-American and Asian values are examined with particular emphasis on differences exhibited by these families with regard to (a) perspectives on disability, health care, family life, and education/intervention; (b) communication styles; and (c) reactions to AAC. Specific suggestions are offered to practitioners who may be working with this growing minority population in contemporary society.
Minimal surfaces in germs of hyperbolic 3{manifolds

This article introduces a universal moduli space for the set whose archetypal element is a pair that consists of a metric and second fundamental form from a compact, oriented, positive genus minimal sur- face in some hyperbolic 3-manifold. This moduli space is a smooth, finite dimensional manifold with canonical maps to both the cotangent bundle of the Teichmuller space and the space of SO3(C) representations for the given genus surface. These two maps embed the universal moduli space as a Lagrangian submanifold in the product of the latter two spaces. AMS Classification 53C42, 53A10; 53D30
Ergodic capacity and power allocation in wireless relay channels [ad hoc networks]

This paper studies the ergodic capacity and power allocation for a three-node relay channel over Rayleigh fading. Assuming perfect channel side information (CSI) at the transmitters and the receivers, we find the upper bounds and lower bounds on the capacity by solving generalized "water-filling" power allocation problems. Our results reveal that the optimum relay channel signaling can significantly outperform direct transmissions and traditional multi-hop transmissions. We also characterize the power gain of using the optimum signaling in the high SNR regime and find the corresponding power allocation policies.
Identification and Analysis of Driver Missense Mutations Using Rotation Forest with Feature Selection

Identifying cancer-associated mutations (driver mutations) is critical for understanding the cellular function of cancer genome that leads to activation of oncogenes or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. Many approaches are proposed which use supervised machine learning techniques for prediction with features obtained by some databases. However, often we do not know which features are important for driver mutations prediction. In this study, we propose a novel feature selection method (called DX) from 126 candidate features' set. In order to obtain the best performance, rotation forest algorithm was adopted to perform the experiment. On the train dataset which was collected from COSMIC and Swiss-Prot databases, we are able to obtain high prediction performance with 88.03% accuracy, 93.9% precision, and 81.35% recall when the 11 top-ranked features were used. Comparison with other various techniques in the TP53, EGFR, and Cosmic2plus datasets shows the generality of our method.
Deletion of the Mouse P450c17 Gene Causes Early Embryonic Lethality

ABSTRACT Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a 19-carbon precursor of sex steroids, is abundantly produced in the human but not the mouse adrenal. However, mice produce DHEA and DHEA-sulfate (DHEAS) in the fetal brain. DHEA stimulates axonal growth from specific populations of mouse neocortical neurons in vitro, while DHEAS stimulates dendritic growth from those cells. The synthesis of DHEA and sex steroids, but not mouse glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, requires P450c17, which catalyzes both 17α-hydroxylase and 17,20-lyase activities. We hypothesized that P450c17-knockout mice would have disordered sex steroid synthesis and disordered brain DHEA production and thus provide phenotypic clues about the functions of DHEA in mouse brain development. We deleted the mouse P450c17 gene in 127/SvJ mice and obtained several lines of mice from two lines of targeted embryonic stem cells. Heterozygotes were phenotypically and reproductively normal, but in all mouse lines, P450c17−/− zygotes died by embryonic day 7, prior to gastrulation. The cause of this early lethality is unknown, as there is no known function of fetal steroids at embryonic day 7. Immunocytochemistry identified P450c17 in embryonic endoderm in E7 wild-type and heterozygous embryos, but its function in these cells is unknown. Enzyme assays of wild-type embryos showed a rapid rise in 17-hydroxylase activity between E6 and E7 and the presence of C17,20-lyase activity at E7. Treatment of pregnant females with subcutaneous pellets releasing DHEA or 17-OH pregnenolone at a constant rate failed to rescue P450c17−/− fetuses. Treatment of normal pregnant females with pellets releasing pregnenolone or progesterone did not cause fetal demise. These data suggest that steroid products of P450c17 have heretofore-unknown essential functions in early embryonic mouse development.
e-Health solutions for better care: Characterization of health apps to extract meaningful information and support users' choices

In a larger and larger market of health apps (over 259,000 available on major app stores), an urgent emerging need is to find ways to provide accurate, useful app information to users. The aim of our research is the development of user support tools for a more informed adoption of health apps. Specifically, in this study we will outline three recently developed approaches aimed at highlighting meaningful information about health apps. First, we outline a novel descriptive method able to characterize a large set of apps for hearing healthcare by using a core set of features: the “At-a-glance Labelling for Features of Apps for Hearing Healthcare” (ALFA4Hearing) model. Second, we describe an original combined approach able to highlight, by using data visualization on the ALFA4Hearing model, the relevance of the apps' features and their relationships. Third, we propose an innovative automated approach able to extract, by using text analytics, meaningful information about apps directly from the web, a preliminary step towards the development of user support tools for automated characterization of apps.
A scalability test for parallel code

Code scalability, crucial on any parallel system, determines how well parallel code avoids becoming a bottleneck as its host computer is made larger. The scalability of computer code can be estimated by statistically designed experiments that empirically approximate a multivariate Taylor expansion of the code's execution response function. Each suspected code bottleneck corresponds to a first‐order term in the expansion, the coefficient for that term indicating how sensitive execution is to changes in the suspect location. However, it is the expansion coefficients for second‐order interactions between code segments and the number of processors that are fundamental to discovering which program elements impede parallel speedup. A new, unified view of these second‐order coefficients yields an informal relative scalability test of high utility in code development. Discussion proceeds through actual examples, including a straightforward illustration of the test applied to SLALOM, a complex, multiphase benchmark. A quick graphical shortcut makes the scalability test readily accessible.
Pancreatic b cells synthesize and secrete nerve growth factor

Differentiation and function of pancreatic b cells are regulated by a variety of hormones and growth factors, including nerve growth factor (NGF). Whether this is an endocrine or autocrine/paracrine role for NGF is not known. We demonstrate that NGF is produced and secreted by adult rat pancreatic b cells. NGF secretion is increased in response to elevated glucose or potassium, but decreased in response to dibutyryl cAMP. Moreover, steady-state levels of NGF mRNA are down-regulated by dibutyryl cAMP, which is opposite to the effect of cAMP on insulin release. NGFstimulated changes in morphology and function are mediated by high-affinity Trk A receptors in other mammalian cells. Trk A receptors are present in b cells and steady-state levels of Trk A mRNA are modulated by NGF and dibutyryl cAMP. Taken together, these findings suggest endocrine and autocrine roles for pancreatic b-cell NGF, which, in turn, could be related to the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus where serum NGF levels
Weighted Fourier Series Representation and Its Application to Quantifying the Amount of Gray Matter

We present a novel weighted Fourier series (WFS) representation for cortical surfaces. The WFS representation is a data smoothing technique that provides the explicit smooth functional estimation of unknown cortical boundary as a linear combination of basis functions. The basic properties of the representation are investigated in connection with a self-adjoint partial differential equation and the traditional spherical harmonic (SPHARM) representation. To reduce steep computational requirements, a new iterative residual fitting (IRF) algorithm is developed. Its computational and numerical implementation issues are discussed in detail. The computer codes are also available at http://www.stat.wisc.edu/ ~mchung/softwares/weighted-SPHARM/weighted-SPHARM.html . As an illustration, the WFS is applied in quantifying the amount of gray matter in a group of high functioning autistic subjects. Within the WFS framework, cortical thickness and gray matter density are computed and compared
Strain-specific neutralizing determinant in the transmembrane protein of simian immunodeficiency virus

Monoclonal antibody SF8/5E11, which recognizes the transmembrane protein (TMP) of simian immunodeficiency virus of macaque monkeys (SIVmac), displayed strict strain specificity. It reacted with cloned and uncloned SIVmac251 but not with cloned SIVmac142 and SIVmac239 on immunoblots. This monoclonal antibody neutralized infection by cloned, cell-free SIVmac251 and inhibited formation of syncytia by cloned SIVmac251-infected cells; these activities were specific to cloned SIVmac251 and did not occur with the other viruses. Site-specific mutagenesis was used to show that TMP amino acids 106 to 110 (Asp-Trp-Asn-Asn-Asp) determined the strain specificity of the monoclonal antibody. This strain-specific neutralizing determinant is located within a variable region of SIVmac and human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) which includes conserved, clustered sites for N-linked glycosylation. The determinant corresponds exactly to a variable, weak neutralizing epitope in HIV-1 TMP which also includes conserved, clustered sites for N-linked glycosylation. Thus, the location of at least one neutralizing epitope appears to be common to both SIVmac and HIV-1. Our results suggest a role for this determinant in the viral entry process. Genetic variation was observed in this neutralizing determinant following infection of a rhesus monkey with molecularly cloned SIVmac239; variant forms of the strain-specific, neutralizing determinant accumulated during persistent infection in vivo. Selective pressure from the host immune response in vivo may result in sequence variation in this neutralizing determinant.
Computational Complexity of Smooth Differential Equations

The computational complexity of the solution h to the ordinary differential equation h(0)=0, h′(t)=g(t, h(t)) under various assumptions on the function g has been investigated in hope of understanding the intrinsic hardness of solving the equation numerically. Kawamura showed in 2010 that the solution h can be PSPACE-hard even if g is assumed to be Lipschitz continuous and polynomial-time computable. We place further requirements on the smoothness of g and obtain the following results: the solution h can still be PSPACE-hard if g is assumed to be of class C 1; for each k≥2, the solution h can be hard for the counting hierarchy if g is of class C k.
Advancing Our Understanding of the Link between Statistical Learning and Language Acquisition: The Need for Longitudinal Data

Mastery of language can be a struggle for some children. Amongst those that succeed in achieving this feat there is variability in proficiency. Cognitive scientists remain intrigued by this variation. A now substantial body of research suggests that language acquisition is underpinned by a child’s capacity for statistical learning (SL). Moreover, a growing body of research has demonstrated that variability in SL is associated with variability in language proficiency. Yet, there is a striking lack of longitudinal data. To date, there has been no comprehensive investigation of whether a capacity for SL in young children is, in fact, associated with language proficiency in subsequent years. Here we review key studies that have led to the need for this longitudinal research. Advancing the language acquisition debate via longitudinal research has the potential to transform our understanding of typical development as well as disorders such as autism, specific language impairment, and dyslexia.
Refugees in Newfoundland: Families After Flight*

Almost all of the sociological work on "refugee families" after resettlement is about specific cultural or national groups; this delimitation of study may explain why the "refugee" part of the equation often does not appear in its full significance. The reason for focus on a particular group probably relates to the predilection of anthropologists to study one culture ata time, to learn about it in its entirety. In St. John's, Newfoundland, there was no one refugee group that was large enough or permanent enough to enable the case study approach. As a result I studied people from a variety of countries represented in the city: Iran, El Salvador, Cuba, Vietnam, Poland and Czechoslovakia. What joined them was their self-perception at some time in their own histories as refugees. Clearly, however, there are many kinds of refugees and the differences between them-politically, culturally and in flight-have important implications for their family life and their family longing across borders.
Control of fertilization-independent endosperm development by the MEDEA polycomb gene in Arabidopsis.

Higher plant reproduction is unique because two cells are fertilized in the haploid female gametophyte. Egg and sperm nuclei fuse to form the embryo. A second sperm nucleus fuses with the central cell nucleus that replicates to generate the endosperm, a tissue that supports embryo development. To understand mechanisms that initiate reproduction, we isolated a mutation in Arabidopsis, f644, that allows for replication of the central cell and subsequent endosperm development without fertilization. When mutant f644 egg and central cells are fertilized by wild-type sperm, embryo development is inhibited, and endosperm is overproduced. By using a map-based strategy, we cloned and sequenced the F644 gene and showed that it encodes a SET-domain polycomb protein. Subsequently, we found that F644 is identical to MEDEA (MEA), a gene whose maternal-derived allele is required for embryogenesis [Grossniklaus, U. , Vielle-Calzada, J.-P., Hoeppner, M. A. & Gagliano, W. B. (1998) Science 280, 446-450]. Together, these results reveal functions for plant polycomb proteins in the suppression of central cell proliferation and endosperm development. We discuss models to explain how polycomb proteins function to suppress endosperm and promote embryo development.
Reducing Surgical Site Infection with Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy After Open Abdominal Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

Background and Aims: Surgical site infection, in particular superficial incision infection, is a common type of complication following abdominal surgery. Negative-pressure wound therapy has been confirmed to reduce the incidence of surgical site infection in various surgeries, but there are few prospective randomized studies into its application to abdominal surgery. Material and Methods: A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted in which patients with abdominal surgery and open surgery were randomly divided into a negative-pressure wound therapy experimental group and a gauze-covering control group. Information about demographic data, type of surgery, surgical sites, incision treatment outcomes, surgical site infection factors, and follow-up was recorded. Results: From May 2015 to December 2015, 71 patients were enrolled in this study, including 33 in the experimental group and 38 in the control group. There were 10 cases of incision complications, all superficial infections, with an incidence of 14.1%. The surgical site infection incidence was statistically different between the experimental and control groups (3.0% vs 23.7%, p = 0.031). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that incision length ⩾20 cm increased the surgical site infection incidence (odds ratio value of 15.576, p = 0.004) and that the application of negative-pressure wound therapy reduced the surgical site infection incidence (odds ratio value of 0.073, p = 0.029). Conclusion: Negative-pressure wound therapy can reduce the incidence of surgical site infection in open abdominal surgery.
Age-Related Changes in Human Ciliary Muscle

Purpose To examine the role of the ciliary muscle in accommodation and presbyopia. Methods Sixteen pairs of eyes from donors aged 1 to 107 years were treated with atropine or pilocarpine and then processed for light microscopy. Seven pairs were analyzed for treatment effects, including morphometric measurements of muscle dimensions, muscle fiber group area, and the percentage of connective tissue. Results The ciliary muscle shortened in length in response to drug treatment at all ages. The ciliary muscle of older subjects contained greater amounts of connective tissue and was shorter, wider and the internal apical edge moved forward. Conclusions This study confirms previous reports that the human ciliary muscle retains its ability to contract throughout the lifespan. However, the ciliary muscle also displayed age-related changes, which may be partly accounted for by the forces exerted from the aging lens and zonules.
Metal‐Enhanced Fluorescence to Quantify Bacterial Adhesion

Dr. K. Lee , L. D. Hahn , W. W. Yuen , Prof. D. J. Mooney School of Engineering and Applied Science and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering Harvard University Cambridge, MA 02138, USA E-mail: mooneyd@seas.harvard. edu Dr. H. Vlamakis , Prof. R. Kolter Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115, USA
Aerosol-induced Mycoplasma synoviae arthritis: the synergistic effect of infectious bronchitis virus infection

The effect of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) infection (104.5 median embryo infective dose per chick) on the induction of Mycoplasma synoviae arthritis was investigated. Mycoplasma-free brown layer pullets, approximately 5 weeks old, were exposed to an aerosol dose of ≥102–3 colony-forming units (CFU) of M. synoviae alone or 3 days after inoculation of a field strain of IBV (D1466) by the ocular-nasal route. Chicks injected intravenously with 109 CFU M. synoviae served as positive controls. Thirty-one per cent of chicks receiving M. synoviae aerosol alone developed arthritis compared with 50% of those co-infected with IBV. Ninety-five per cent of positive control birds developed arthritis. In a repeat experiment an additional group was exposed to M. synoviae aerosol 3 days after infection with IBV M41 strain. These birds also received two aerosol doses of M. synoviae 14 days apart (≥100–1 CFU/bird initially and ≥101–3 after 14 days). Chicks injected intravenously with 106 CFU M. synoviae acted as positive controls. Fifty per cent of the positive controls were re-inoculated intravenously (108 CFU) after 14 days. Twenty-one per cent of chicks infected with M. synoviae aerosol developed arthritis compared with 33% of those co-infected with IBV D1466, and 55% of those co-infected with IBV M41. After the single intravenous, low-dose M. synoviae inoculation 11% of birds developed joint lesions, whereas 70% of those receiving the second inoculation developed lesions. These results suggest that IBV may enhance M. synoviae arthritis after aerosol exposure and that the incidence of joint pathology depends on the strain of IBV.
Circling the Wagons : Soft News and Isolationism in American Public Opinion

This study investigates the differences in coverage of foreign policy by the soft and hard news media, and the implications of such differences for public attitudes regarding the appropriate U.S. role in the world. I find that, relative to traditional news outlets, the soft news media place greater emphasis on dramatic, human-interest themes and episodic frames and less emphasis on knowledgeable information sources or thematic frames, while also having a greater propensity to emphasize the potential for bad outcomes. I then develop a conceptual framework in order to determine the implications of these differences. I argue that the style of coverage of soft news outlets tends to induce suspicion and distrust of a proactive or internationalist approach to U.S. foreign policy, particularly among the least politically attentive segments of the public. I test this and several related hypotheses through multiple statistical investigations into the effects of soft news coverage on attitudes toward isolationism in general, and U.S. policy regarding the Bosnian Civil War in particular. I find that among the least politically attentive members of the public, but not their more-attentive counterparts, soft news exposureFbut not exposure to traditional news sourcesFis indeed associated with greater isolationism in general, and opposition to a proactive U.S. policy toward Bosnia in particular.