Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The ADPRT V762A Genetic Variant Contributes to Prostate Cancer Susceptibility and Deficient Enzyme Function

The ADP-ribosyltransferase (ADPRT) gene encodes a zinc-finger DNA-binding protein, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), that modifies various nuclear proteins by poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and functions as a key enzyme in the base excision repair pathway. We have conducted two studies to test whether an amino acid substitution variant, ADPRT V762A (T2444C), is associated with prostate cancer (CaP) risk and decreased enzyme function. The first study used genomic DNA samples from an ongoing, clinic-based case-control study (488 cases and 524 controls) to show that a higher percentage of the CaP cases carried the ADPRT 762 AA genotype than controls (4% versus 2%). In Caucasians, the AA genotype was significantly associated with increased CaP risk [odds ratio (OR), 2.65; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08–6.49], and the VA genotype was associated with a slight but not significantly increased CaP risk (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.85–1.64) using VV as the referent group after adjustment for age, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and family history. Furthermore, this association was stronger in younger (<65) men (OR, 4.77; 95% CI, 1.01–22.44) than older (≥65) men (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 0.55–5.82). The second study used freshly isolated peripheral lymphocytes from 354 cancer-free subjects to demonstrate that the ADPRT 762 A allele contributed to significantly lower adenosine diphosphate ribosyl transferase (ADPRT)/PARP-1 activities in response to H2O2 in a gene dosage-dependent manner (P < 0.0001, test for linear trend). The PARP-1 activities (mean ± SD dpm/106 cells) were 18,554 ± 9,070 (n = 257), 14,847 ± 7,082 (n = 86), and 12,155 ± 6,334 (n = 11) for VV, VA, and AA genotypes, respectively. This study is the first to provide evidence that the ADPRT V762A-genetic variant contributes to CaP susceptibility and altered ADPRT/PARP-1 enzyme function in response to oxidative damage.
Implementation of Oblivious Bloom Intersection in Private Set Intersection Protocol ( PSI )

Today we are in the era of Big Data. The design of privacy preserving protocols in data processing is really challenging as the amount of data grows largely and complex. How to preserve privacy while meeting the requirements of speed and throughput have become critical criteria in the design. In this paper, we implement a practical use of Private Set Intersection (PSI) Protocol based on the new approach of oblivious Bloom intersection. The high scalability is achieved with parallel operations. We implemented the basic protocol and utilized Google Contact API to directly access the private contact information from two different Google accounts. The intersection of contact information could be found without disclosing any other private information from each account. We reported the result of the performance with respected to the number of contacts for different security levels. We only computed the intersections of two sets up to 25,000 contacts.
Smart grid of the future with large scale DR/DER penetration

One of the key regulatory considerations in review and approval of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) initiatives has been their enabling capability for demand response. It is envisioned that the Smart Grid of the future will support large penetrations of distributed, intermittent and demand-side resources coupled with system-wide demand response driven by economic and reliability signals. Management of such resources at high penetration levels will require significant levels of information management and integration, and operational coordination across functional groups spanning transmission and distribution operations, wholesale and retail supply, and customer services.
Femoral component revision with use of impaction bone-grafting and a cemented polished stem.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of revision of the femoral component of a hip arthroplasty with use of an impaction bone-grafting technique and a cemented polished stem. METHODS Thirty-three consecutive femoral reconstructions that were performed between March 1991 and February 1996 with use of the X-change femoral revision system, fresh-frozen morselized allograft, and a cemented polished Exeter stem were followed prospectively. Femoral bone stock defects were classified according to the Endoklinik classification. The average age of the patients at the time of the femoral component revision was sixty-three years. No patient was lost to follow-up, which was performed at a minimum of eight years, but eight patients had died. None of the deaths was related to the surgery. RESULTS No femoral reconstruction had been rerevised at a mean of 10.4 years postoperatively. There was one unrecognized intraoperative fracture, which healed following nonoperative treatment. There were three postoperative femoral fractures, all through cortical defects at the level of the tip of the prostheses. All fractures healed after plate fixation, and all femoral implants were left in situ. The average subsidence of the stem within the cement mantle was 3 mm; seven stems migrated > or =5 mm. The average Harris hip score improved from 49 points prior to surgery to 85 points (range, 68 to 100 points) at the time of this review. Subsidence did not affect the Harris hip score. Kaplan-Meier analysis, with an end point of femoral revision for any reason, showed a survival rate of 100% (one-sided 95% confidence interval, 100% to 91.3%). CONCLUSIONS Femoral revision with use of an impaction bone-grafting technique and a cemented polished stem resulted in an excellent prosthetic survival rate at eight to thirteen years postoperatively. The major problem that occurred was a femoral fracture in four patients.
Multilingual design of EuroWordNet

This paper discusses the design of the EuroWordNet database, in which semantic databases like WordNetl.5 for several languages are combined via a so-called inter-lingual-index. In this database, language-independent data is shared and language-specific properties are maintained as well. A special interface has been developed to compare the semantic configurations across languages and to track down differences. The pragmatic design of the database makes it possible to gather empirical evidence for a common cross-linguistic ontology.
Successful Focus Groups: Advancing the State of the Art

Introduction PART ONE: BASIC PRINCIPLES When to Use Focus Groups and Why - David L Morgan and Richard A Krueger The Group Interview in Social Research - James H Frey and Andrea Fontana The Design and Analysis of Focus Group Studies - John Knodel A Practical Approach Understanding Communication Processes in Focus Groups - Terrance L Albrecht, Gerianne M Johnson and Joseph B Walther Quality Control in Focus Group Research - Richard A Krueger PART TWO: COMBINING WITH OTHER METHODS Using Focus Groups to Adapt Survey Instruments to New Populations - Theodore D Fuller et al Experience From a Developing Country Improving Survey Questionnaires Through Focus Groups - Kerth O'Brien Focus Groups and Surveys as Complementary Research Methods - Brent Wolff, John Knodel and Werasit Sittitrai A Case Example Selecting Individual or Group Interviews - Benjamin F Crabtree et al PART THREE: CONDUCTING SELF-CONTAINED RESEARCH Using Dialogical Methods in Group Interviews - Raymond V Padilla Focus Group Research on Sensitive Topics - Richard A Zeller Setting the Agenda Without Setting the Agenda Focus Group Interviewing With Low-Income, Minority Populations - Robin L Jarrett A Research Experience Focus Groups and Community Mobilization - Thomas Plaut, Suzanne Landis, and June Trevor A Case Study From Rural North Carolina PART FOUR: CONCLUSIONS Future Directions for Focus Groups - David L Morgan
High Performance Implementations of the BST Method on Hybrid CPU-GPU Platforms

Model order reduction is necessary in many complex scientific and engineering applications. Among the methods for model reduction, those based on the SVD are well-known for their beneficial theoretical properties, though they require O(n3) floating-point arithmetic operations, with n being in the range of 103 - 104 for many practical applications. In this paper we propose several high performance implementations of the Balanced Stochastic Truncation method for model reduction. The new routines carefully distribute the computations among the computational resources of a hybrid platform composed of one (or more) multicore CPU(s) and a manycore GPU. Our results show that model reduction of a large-scale problem with 9,669 state variables, which previously required the use of a cluster of computers, can now be carried out in the target platform in less than 25 minutes.
Familiarity Modifies Early Perceptual Face Processing as Revealed By Event-Related Potentials

Accurate face recognition plays a critical role in developing and maintaining social relationships. Typically developing adults show expertise when processing faces, demonstrated by their ability to recognize new faces even after a single exposure. Furthermore, face recognition is superior for highly familiar faces associated with rich semantic information. Although semantic processes mediate familiar face recognition, it is unclear what processes mediate unfamiliar face recognition. The main objective of my thesis was to identify unique neural mechanisms underlying familiar versus unfamiliar face recognition and to detail how these mechanisms change as a result of learning. I used event-related potentials (ERPs) to assess the stages of face processing affected by familiarity. In Chapter 1, I reviewed the literature contrasting familiar and unfamiliar face recognition processes from cognitive and neural perspectives. In Chapter 2, I identified processes involved in unfamiliar face recognition by recording ERPs to repeated presentations of unfamiliar faces in upright and inverted orientations. Inverted faces portray the same structural information as upright faces but with novel orientation that disrupts identity processing. Repeated exposure to an upright face (and not an inverted face) produced repetition priming at an early perceptual stage reflected by the Nl70 component, suggesting that unfamiliar face recognition is mediated by early perceptual representation. In Chapter 3, I directly tested whether semantic information modifies early perceptual face processing. I recorded ERPs to new faces that were learned over a fiveday session with either person-specific or irrelevant information. Nl 70 repetition priming
Circulating Tumor Cells Detection and Counting in Uveal Melanomas by a Filtration-Based Method

Uveal melanoma is one of the most deadly diseases in ophthalmology for which markers able to predict the appearance of metastasis are needed. The study investigates the role of circulating tumor cells (CTC) as a prognostic factor in this disease. We report the detection of circulating tumor cells by Isolation by Size of Epithelial Tumor cells (ISET) in a cohort of 31 uveal melanoma patients: we identified single CTCs or clusters of cells in 17 patients, while the control population, subjects with choroidal nevi, showed no CTC in peripheral blood. The presence of CTCs did not correlate with any clinical and pathological parameter, such as tumor larger basal diameter (LBD), tumor height and TNM. By stratifying patients in groups on the basis of the number of CTC (lower or higher than 10 CTC per 10 mL blood) and the presence of CTC clusters we found a significant difference in LBD (p = 0.019), Tumor height (p = 0.048), disease-free and overall survival (p < 0.05). In conclusion, we confirm the role of CTC as a negative prognostic marker in uveal melanoma patients after a long follow-up period. Further characterization of CTC will help understanding uveal melanoma metastasization and improve patient management.
Handbook of Midlife Development

FRAMEWORKS AND CONTEXTS. A View on Midlife Development from Life-Span Theory (U. Staudinger & S. Bluck). Middle Adulthood in Cultural Perspectives: The Imagined and the Experienced in Three Cultures (U. Menon). BIOMEDICAL ASPECTS. Towards a Biology of Middle Age (C. Finch). The Physical Aging Process in Midlife: Interactions with Psychological and Sociocultural Factors (S. Whitbourne). Health in Midlife: Toward a Life-Span View (A. Spiro). Stress, Coping, and Health at Midlife: A Developmental Perspective (C. Aldwin & M. Levenson). PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES. The Development of Intelligence at Midlife (R. Sternberg, et al.). Memory in Midlife (R. Dixon, et al.). Personality and the Self in Midlife (M. Lachman & R. Bertrand). Emotional Development During the Middle Years (C. Magai & B. Halpern). Adaptation and Resilience in Midlife (J. Heckhausen). Generativity in Midlife (D. McAdams). SOCIAL FACTORS. The Role of Work in Midlife (H. Sterns & M. Huyck). Moving into Retirement: Preparation and Transitions in Late Midlife (J. Kim & P. Moen). Families, Intergenerational Relationships, and Kinkeeping in Midlife (N. Putney & V. Bengtson). Dynamics of Social Relationships in Midlife (T. Antonucci, et al.). Author Index. Subject Index.
A wireless force measurement system for Total Knee Arthroplasty

A wireless force measurement system is presented in this paper. The system, which is used during the operation of Total Knee Arthroplasty(TKA), is designed to assist surgeons to determine the proper position of the knee implants and consequently enhance the success ratio of the treatment. It consists of three parts: a device to measure and transmit force data, a receiver and a terminal to display the force data in real time. The transmitter communicates with the receiver by 2.4GHz Radio Frequency (RF) signal. The system consumes no more than 17mA current with 3V voltage supply typically. So it can work with a button battery cell. Experimental results show that the performance of the system meets the requirements.
The Role of the Human Orbitofrontal Cortex in Taste and Flavor Processing

Abstract: The human orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays an important role in representing taste, flavor, and food reward. The primary role of the OFC in taste is thought to be the encoding of affective value and the computation of perceived pleasantness. The OFC also encodes retronasal olfaction and oral somatosensation. During eating, distinct sensory inputs fuse into a unitary flavor percept, and there is evidence that this percept is encoded in the orbital cortex. Studies examining the effect of internal state on neural representation of food and drink further suggest that processing in the OFC is critical for representing the reward value of foods. Thus, it is likely that, in addition to serving as higher‐order gustatory cortex, the OFC integrates multiple sensory inputs and computes reward value to guide feeding behavior.
Interleukin 4 potently enhances murine macrophage mannose receptor activity: a marker of alternative immunologic macrophage activation

Expression of the macrophage mannose receptor is inhibited by interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), a T helper type 1 (Th-1)-derived lymphokine. Interleukin 4 (IL-4), a Th-2 lymphocyte product, upregulates major histocompatibility class II antigen expression but inhibits inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages. We have studied the effect of IL-4 on expression of the macrophage mannose receptor (MMR) by elicited peritoneal macrophages. We found that recombinant murine IL-4 enhances MMR surface expression (10-fold) and activity (15-fold), as measured by the respective binding and degradation of 125I-mannose-bovine serum albumin. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of cDNAs from purified primary macrophage populations revealed that MMR, but not lysozyme or tumor necrosis factor alpha, mRNA levels were markedly increased by IL-4. The above effects were associated with morphologic changes. These data establish IL-4 as a potent and selective enhancer of murine MMR activity in vitro. IL-4 induces inflammatory macrophages to adopt an alternative activation phenotype, distinct from that induced by IFN-gamma, characterized by a high capacity for endocytic clearance of mannosylated ligands, enhanced (albeit restricted) MHC class II antigen expression, and reduced proinflammatory cytokine secretion.
Discovery of Novel Human Breast Cancer MicroRNAs from Deep Sequencing Data by Analysis of Pri-MicroRNA Secondary Structures

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression and contribute to a variety of biological processes. Abnormal miRNA expression has been reported in various diseases including pathophysiology of breast cancer, where they regulate protumorigenic processes including vascular invasiveness, estrogen receptor status, chemotherapy resistance, invasion and metastasis. The miRBase sequence database, a public repository for newly discovered miRNAs, has grown rapidly with approximately >10,000 entries to date. Despite this rapid growth, many miRNAs have not yet been validated, and several others are yet to be identified. A lack of a full complement of miRNAs has imposed limitations on recognizing their important roles in cancer, including breast cancer. Using deep sequencing technology, we have identified 189 candidate novel microRNAs in human breast cancer cell lines with diverse tumorigenic potential. We further show that analysis of 500-nucleotide pri-microRNA secondary structure constitutes a reliable method to predict bona fide miRNAs as judged by experimental validation. Candidate novel breast cancer miRNAs with stem lengths of greater than 30 bp resulted in the generation of precursor and mature sequences in vivo. On the other hand, candidates with stem length less than 30 bp were less efficient in producing mature miRNA. This approach may be used to predict which candidate novel miRNA would qualify as bona fide miRNAs from deep sequencing data with approximately 90% accuracy.
Aggressive periodontitis and chronic arthritis: blood mononuclear cell gene expression and plasma protein levels of cytokines and cytokine inhibitors.

BACKGROUND Cytokines and cytokine inhibitors have been associated with many immunoinflammatory diseases. In the present study, we examined whether peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression mirrors the corresponding plasma levels of clinically important pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and cytokine receptors in patients with periodontitis and patients with arthritis representing two examples of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as periodontitis and arthritis. To identify possible disease-specific characteristics of subjects with periodontitis relative to subjects with chronic inflammation in general, patients with arthritis (juvenile idiopathic arthritis [JIA] and rheumatoid arthritis [RA]) were included. METHODS The study population consisted of white adults <35 years of age diagnosed with localized aggressive periodontitis (LAgP; n = 18), generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP; n = 27), JIA (n = 10), and RA (n = 23) and healthy controls (n = 25). PBMC transcripts of interleukin (IL) 1 alpha (IL1A), IL 1 beta (IL1B), IL 1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN), IL6, IL10, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFA), TNF alpha receptor I (TNFRI), and TNFRII were measured using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and compared to the corresponding plasma protein levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and a multiplex antibody bead assay. RESULTS Compared to controls, soluble (s) TNF-RII levels were significantly elevated in patients with GAgP (P = 0.001) or JIA (P = 0.002), and PBMC TNFA transcript levels were lower in patients with JIA (P = 0.001). A negative correlation was found between IL6 expression and IL-6 plasma levels in patients with JIA versus controls, and a positive correlation/association was found between TNFRI expression and sTNF-RI plasma levels in patients with LAgP and RA. CONCLUSIONS The study demonstrated only a few changes in the PBMC expression of various cytokine and cytokine inhibitor genes in aggressive periodontitis and chronic arthritis compared to controls. There were a few similarities among disease groups, and no direct and simple correlation between cellular transcripts and proteins was found.
Inpainting for Remotely Sensed Images With a Multichannel Nonlocal Total Variation Model

Filling dead pixels or removing uninteresting objects is often desired in the applications of remotely sensed images. In this paper, an effective image inpainting technology is presented to solve this task, based on multichannel nonlocal total variation. The proposed approach takes advantage of a nonlocal method, which has a superior performance in dealing with textured images and reconstructing large-scale areas. Furthermore, it makes use of the multichannel data of remotely sensed images to achieve spectral coherence for the reconstruction result. To optimize the proposed variation model, a Bregmanized-operator-splitting algorithm is employed. The proposed inpainting algorithm was tested on simulated and real images. The experimental results verify the efficacy of this algorithm.
The Barriers Incorporating Socioeconomic Factors Into U . S . Health Policy : Addressing

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Genetic Background of Patients from a University Medical Center in Manhattan: Implications for Personalized Medicine

Background The rapid progress currently being made in genomic science has created interest in potential clinical applications; however, formal translational research has been limited thus far. Studies of population genetics have demonstrated substantial variation in allele frequencies and haplotype structure at loci of medical relevance and the genetic background of patient cohorts may often be complex. Methods and Findings To describe the heterogeneity in an unselected clinical sample we used the Affymetrix 6.0 gene array chip to genotype self-identified European Americans (N = 326), African Americans (N = 324) and Hispanics (N = 327) from the medical practice of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, NY. Additional data from US minority groups and Brazil were used for external comparison. Substantial variation in ancestral origin was observed for both African Americans and Hispanics; data from the latter group overlapped with both Mexican Americans and Brazilians in the external data sets. A pooled analysis of the African Americans and Hispanics from NY demonstrated a broad continuum of ancestral origin making classification by race/ethnicity uninformative. Selected loci harboring variants associated with medical traits and drug response confirmed substantial within- and between-group heterogeneity. Conclusion As a consequence of these complementary levels of heterogeneity group labels offered no guidance at the individual level. These findings demonstrate the complexity involved in clinical translation of the results from genome-wide association studies and suggest that in the genomic era conventional racial/ethnic labels are of little value.
Sleep and protein synthesis-dependent synaptic plasticity: impacts of sleep loss and stress

Sleep has been ascribed a critical role in cognitive functioning. Several lines of evidence implicate sleep in the consolidation of synaptic plasticity and long-term memory. Stress disrupts sleep while impairing synaptic plasticity and cognitive performance. Here, we discuss evidence linking sleep to mechanisms of protein synthesis-dependent synaptic plasticity and synaptic scaling. We then consider how disruption of sleep by acute and chronic stress may impair these mechanisms and degrade sleep function.