Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the performance of two immune inspired algorithms and a hybrid genetic algorithm for function optimisation

Do artificial immune systems (AIS) have something to offer the world of optimisation? Indeed do they have any new to offer at all? This paper reports the initial findings of a comparison between two immune inspired algorithms and a hybrid genetic algorithm for function optimisation. This work is part of ongoing research which forms part of a larger project to assess the performance and viability of AIS. The investigation employs standard benchmark functions, and demonstrates that for these functions the opt-aiNET algorithm, when compared to the B-cell algorithm and hybrid GA, on average, takes longer to find the solution, without necessarily a better quality solution. Reasons for these differences are proposed and it is acknowledged that this is preliminary empirical work. It is felt that a more theoretical approach may well be required to ascertain real performance and applicability issues.
Human epidermal keratinocytes undergo (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate-dependent differentiation but not apoptosis.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is an important chemopreventive agent derived from green tea. We recently reported that EGCG treatment enhances keratinocyte differentiation as evidenced by increased human involucrin promoter activity [Balasubramanian,S. , Efimova,T. and Eckert,R.L. (2002) J. Biol. Chem., 277, 1828-1836]. In the present paper, we extend these findings and show that EGCG also increases the expression of other differentiation markers-procaspase 14 and type I transglutaminase (TG1). Both TG1 mRNA and protein level, and activity are increased by treatment with EGCG. Increased TG1 activity is evidenced by a direct transglutaminase assay, and by the ability of EGCG to stimulate the covalent incorporation of fluorescein cadaverine substrate into crosslinked intracellular structures. In contrast, type II transglutaminase levels are not altered by EGCG treatment. We also assessed whether EGCG promotes keratinocyte apoptosis. We show that EGCG treatment does not promote the cleavage of procaspase-3, -8, -9 or poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Moreover, treatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK, does not reverse the EGCG-associated reduction in cell viability. In addition, there is no increase in cells having sub-G(1)/S DNA content, and no evidence for the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria. These findings confirm, using several endpoints, that EGCG treatment enhances normal keratinocyte differentiation but does not promote apoptosis.
Dispelling Myths and Misinformation Using Social Media: A Three-Countries Comparison Using the Case of Tuberculosis

Myths and misinformation about diseases or illnesses can contribute to the stigmatization of patients suffering from them. In many cases, these people end up being ostracized from society and have lower positive health outcomes. Education has been known to be a good intervention to dispel such myths. With the increasing number of social media users, it is pertinent to explore the appropriateness of social media for health education and whether there are age and country differences. In this study, a contagious disease - tuberculosis (TB) - was used as a case study to examine the level of belief in ten TB myths in three different countries (Vietnam, India and Singapore). A total of 3,000 respondents completed a verbally administered survey and it was found that the most pervasive myth was that excessive smoking caused TB. India significantly agreed with the most number of myths. In terms of social media, the highest number of users for Vietnam is in the 21-25 years old group, with Singapore's in the 41-50 years old group, and the 31-40 years old group for India. The paper discusses implications for health researchers and policymakers in the use of media to educate disease myths.
Mandibular Growth following Reconstruction Using a Free Fibula Graft in the Pediatric Facial Skeleton

Background: Mandible reconstruction in the growing facial skeleton is challenging, especially with reconstructions necessitating free vascularized bone grafts. The need for further combined orthodontic-orthognathic intervention at skeletal maturity must be anticipated. The growth potential of these grafts and potential new problems associated with performing a sagittal split osteotomy at skeletal maturity are poorly understood. Methods: A retrospective chart review revealed 11 patients who underwent reconstruction with a free fibula at The Hospital for Sick Children from 1990 to 2000. Radiographic and photographic studies were assessed for long-term growth of the reconstructed mandible, with follow-up ranging from 2 to 12 years. Results: Of the 11 patients who underwent reconstruction with a free fibula, two had surgery at skeletal maturity, two moved out of the country, one died as a result of her malignancy, and one was lost to follow-up. The remaining five patients are being followed by the craniofacial and orthodontic services and have not reached skeletal maturity. Of the two patients who have had orthognathic surgery, the one patient whose reconstruction involved the temporomandibular joint exhibited no growth on the reconstructed side and required a 57-mm advancement on the reconstructed side. The other patient, who had preservation of the temporomandibular joint at the time of reconstruction, required only a 5-mm advancement on the reconstructed side. Both patients had significant surgical complications as a result of the initial reconstructive techniques. Technical modifications necessary at the initial reconstruction became apparent when the authors performed a sagittal split osteotomy on the reconstructed side. Conclusions: Certain technical modifications to the original free fibula reconstructed pediatric mandible should be considered in anticipation of the need for a subsequent bilateral sagittal split at skeletal maturity.
Large nitric acid trihydrate particles and denitrification caused by mountain waves in the Arctic stratosphere

[1] The contribution of stratospheric mountain waves to the formation of large nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) particles and subsequent denitrification of the Arctic polar vortex is calculated for the 1999/2000 winter using a three-dimensional (3-D) model. The model production mechanism involves the formation of NAT clouds with high particle number concentrations downwind of mountain wave ice clouds, as has been previously observed. These wave-induced NAT clouds then serve as “mother clouds” for the release of low concentrations of sedimenting NAT particles, following the mechanism of Fueglistaler et al. (2002a). Our calculations show that wave-induced NAT mother clouds can occupy up to 5–10% of the volume of air below the NAT temperature. NAT particles that have sedimented from the mother cloud bases can occupy in excess of 60% of the NAT supersaturated region. Integrated over the entire vortex at the end of the 1999/2000 simulation, it is estimated that denitrification due to this mechanism could potentially be responsible for as much as 80% of that observed. These results show that mountain waves may contribute to the occurrence of solid polar stratospheric clouds more than was previously thought and that they may play a significant role in denitrification.
Harmonic Magnus Expansion on the Universal Family of Riemann Surfaces

Let ${\mathbb M}_{g, 1}$, $g \geq 1$, be the moduli space of triples $(C, P_0, v)$ of genus $g$, where $C$ is a compact Riemann surface of genus $g$, $P_0 \in C$, and $v \in T_{P_0}C\setminus\{0\}$. Using Chen's iterated integrals we introduce a higher analogue of the period matrix for a triple $(C, P_0, v)$, {\it the harmonic Magnus expansion}. It induces a flat connection on a vector bundle over the space ${\mathbb M}_{g, 1}$, whose holonomy gives all the higher Johnson homomorphisms of the mapping class group. The connection form, which is computed as an explicit quadratic differential, induces "canonical" differential forms representing (twisted) Morita-Mumford classes and their higher relators on ${\mathbb M}_{g, 1}$. In particular, we construct a family of twisted differential forms on ${\mathbb M}_{g, 1}$ representing the $(0, p+2)$-twisted Morita-Mumford class $m_{0, p+2}$ combinatorially parametrized by the Stasheff associahedron $K_{p+1}$.
Macrophage function in response to PGE2, L‐arginine deprivation, and activation by colony‐stimulating factors is dependent on hematopoietic stimulus

Different macrophage preparations were compared for functional capacity in conditions of high prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) or low l‐arginine concentrations. Macrophages derived in vitro from bone marrow progenitor cells (bone marrow‐derived macrophages, BMDMs) using colony‐stimulating factor 1 (CSF‐1) as the myelopoietic stimulus displayed a greater sensitivity to PGE2‐induced suppression of tumor necrosis factor a (TNF‐α) secretion than did macrophages derived using granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐GSF). Neither BMDM population was inhibited by PGE2 for the direct cytolysis of L929 cells (TNF‐α sensitive), and only GM‐CSF–derived macrophages showed decreased killing of TNF‐α–resistant K562 targets. Exogenous cAMP inhibited TNF‐α secretion, but not nitrite secretion, by both BMDM populations. GM‐GSF–derived macrophages accumulated less cAMP following PGE2 treatment than did CSF‐1–derived macrophages. Removing l‐arginine from the medium did not inhibit cytotoxicity or PGE2 secretion, but the listeriacidal activity specific to interferon‐γ plus lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐activated GM‐CSF–derived macrophages was blocked by removal of l‐arginine. Treatment with CSF‐1 or GM‐CSF alone did not activate the macrophages, but GM‐CSF efficiently primed both BMDM populations for augmented TNF‐α secretion in response to secondary stimulation using LPS. However, GM‐CSF augmented the LPS‐induced production of nitrite and PGE2 by CSF‐1–derived macrophages only. These results demonstrate the potential for differential macrophage function within inflammatory sites based on the hematopoietic stimulus under which the macrophage is derived and the specific conditions present in the lesion.
The Body Image, Weight Satisfaction, and Eating Disorder Tendency of School Children: The 2-Year Follow-up Study

Objective: This 2-year follow-up study was conducted to enhance our understanding of changes and rates of disturbed eating attitudes/behaviors, weight satisfaction, and prevalence of obesity in elementary school students between the ages of 10 and 12 years. Methods: Questionnaires consisted of the following sections: (A) Demographics, (B) Body image, (C) Pubertal Development Scale, and (D) Children's Eating Attitudes Test-26 (ChEAT-26). School-based randomly selected participants completed the questionnaire at 10 years of age and repeated the same questionnaire 2 years later, at 12 years of age. Results: The following findings were reported: (1) when changes at 2 years were compared, it was seen that the actual body weight of boys tended to increase, and perceived body size and desired body weight showed significant changes; (2) the percentage of children who wanted to be thinner increased, especially among girls; and (3) the percentage of participants with a tendency toward eating disorders (measured by ChEAT-26, ≥20) decreased from 10.4% to 10.1% in boys, and increased from 10.9% to 12.3% in girls. Conclusion: Nutritional education should emphasize the importance of correct body image and eating attitudes for the prevention of unhealthy body weight concerns and eating disorders in children. Caregivers' attitudes about weight and how caregivers deliver information on weight issues to children should be recognized as important factors related to healthy body image and eating attitudes among children.
Internet Visual Media Processing for Graphics and Vision Applications: A Survey

In recent years, the computer graphics and computer vision communities have attracted signiﬁcant attention to research based on Internet visual media resources. The huge number of images and videos continually being uploaded by millions of people have stimulated a variety of visual media creation and editing applications, while also posing serious challenges of retrieval, organization and utilization. This article surveys recent research that processes large collections of images and video, including work on analysis, manipulation
Detection of Occult Metastases in Sentinel Lymph Nodes From Colon Cancer Patients by K-ras Mutation Peptide Nucleic Acid Clamp PCR

Objective:To identify colon cancer patients with occult lymph node metastases. Summary of Background Data:The prognostic value of regional lymph node (LN) metastases in colorectal cancer patients is well established. The disease recurrences nevertheless experienced by 20% to 30% of the LN negative patients suggest a potential for improvement in current LN diagnostics. We suspect that a subgroup of the patients that are LN negative by routine examination has occult LN metastases that are prognostically relevant. Methods:To identify these patients we applied ex vivo sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping to colon cancer patients and analyzed the SLNs by a sensitive peptide nucleic acid clamp PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assay for K-ras mutations, using these mutations as a surrogate marker for tumor cells. Results:SLNs were identified in 158 (96%) of 164 prospectively recruited patients with localized colon cancer. Of the 158 patients with successful SLN mapping, 67 (42%) had K-ras mutations detected in their primary tumors. We analyzed the SLNs from these patients by peptide nucleic acid clamp PCR for K-ras mutations and found mutations in SLNs from 35 (52%) patients. At least one SLN from 14 (70%) of 20 patients with histologically proven regional LN metastases was positive for the K-ras mutation test. Interestingly, 21 (45%) of the 47 patients without known LN metastases had K-ras mutations detected in their SLNs. Conclusions:Sensitive detection of K-ras mutations in SLNs from colon cancer patients indicates the presence of occult metastases with potential prognostic implications.
Predicting outcomes after renal transplantation--new tools and old tools.

More than 90 percent of renal allografts transplanted today will still be functioning one year from now. This rate represents a remarkable improvement over one-year graft-survival rates of 70 percent in 1990.1 Despite this improvement in short-term success, which reflects the use of better immunosuppressive medications and the specialized management provided by the teams that care for patients with renal transplants, the long-term deficiencies of the current approaches are increasingly apparent: undesirable side effects of immunosuppressive medications and the inexorable loss of grafts due to chronic rejection. The current reality is that allograft failure is one of the four most .
Oil Accumulation in Transgenic Potato Tubers Alters Starch Quality and Nutritional Profile

Plant storage compounds such as starch and lipids are important for human and animal nutrition as well as industry. There is interest in diverting some of the carbon stored in starch-rich organs (leaves, tubers, and cereal grains) into lipids in order to improve the energy density or nutritional properties of crops as well as providing new sources of feedstocks for food and manufacturing. Previously, we generated transgenic potato plants that accumulate up to 3.3% triacylglycerol (TAG) by dry weight in the tubers, which also led to changes in starch content, starch granule morphology and soluble sugar content. The aim of this study was to investigate how TAG accumulation affects the nutritional and processing properties of high oil potatoes with a particular focus on starch structure, physical and chemical properties. Overall, TAG accumulation was correlated with increased energy density, total nitrogen, amino acids, organic acids and inorganic phosphate, which could be of potential nutritional benefit. However, TAG accumulation had negative effects on starch quality as well as quantity. Starch from high oil potatoes had lower amylose and phosphate content, reduced peak viscosity and higher gelatinization temperature. Interestingly, starch pasting properties were disproportionately affected in lines accumulating the highest levels of TAG (>2.5%) compared to those accumulating only moderate levels (0.2–1.6%). These results indicate that optimized engineering of specialized crops for food, feed, fuel and chemical industries requires careful selection of traits, and an appropriate level of transgene expression, as well as a better understanding of starch structure and carbon partitioning in plant storage organs.
Parents’/carers’ perceptions and experiences of growing, preparing and eating their own fruit and vegetables as part of the ‘Field to Fork’ project

This paper reports research into a project to encourage KS1 and KS2 pupils to eat more healthily by supporting their families to grow their own fruit and vegetables at home. Participants were recruited through a Primary School Trust comprising four primary schools in the North West of England. They were given practical support to enable them to grow fruit and vegetables. The findings of pre-programme focus groups with parents/carers suggested families tended not to eat the daily government-recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables; cost, time and knowledge being the main inhibitors. With resources, knowledge and support most participants were enabled to grow their own fruit and vegetables leading to increased consumption. Availability to and familiarity with fresh fruit and vegetables by tending and growing them first-hand was shown to increase their consumption.
Sensor Fusion based 3D Target Visual Tracking for Autonomous Vehicles with IMM

This paper proposes an approach for object identification and tracking for autonomous vehicle application. In this scheme, data from the vehicle’s onboard vision and motion sensors are fused to identify the target 3D dynamic features in the world coordinate. Here several simple and basic linear dynamic models are combined to make the approximation of the target’s unpredicted or complex motion properties. With these basic linear dynamic models a detailed description of the 3D target tracking system with the interacting multiple models (IMM) for Extended Kalman Filtering is presented. The target’s final state estimates are obtained as a weighted combination of the outputs from each different model. Performance of the proposed interacting multiple dynamic model tracking algorithm is demonstrated through experimental results.
The development of a data-driven application benchmarking approach to performance modelling

Performance modelling is a useful tool in the lifeycle of high performance scientific software, such as weather and climate models, especially as a means of ensuring efficient use of available computing resources. In particular, sufficiently accurate performance prediction could reduce the effort and experimental computer time required when porting and optimising a climate model to a new machine. Yet as architectures become more complex, performance prediction is becoming more difficult. Traditional methods of performance prediction, based on source code analysis and supported by machine benchmarks, are proving inadequate to the task. In this paper, the reasons for this are explored by applying some traditional techniques to predict the computation time of a simple shallow water model which is illustrative of the computation (and communication) involved in climate models. These models are compared with real execution data gathered on AMD Opteron-based systems, including several phases of the U.K. academic community HPC resource, HECToR. Some success is had in relating source code to achieved performance for the K10 series of Opterons, but the method is found to be inadequate for the next-generation Interlagos processor. The experience leads to the investigation of a data-driven application benchmarking approach to performance modelling. Results for an early version of the approach are presented using the shallow model as an example. In addition, the data-driven approach is compared with a novel analytical model based on fitting logarithmic curves to benchmarked application data. The limitations of this analytical method provide further motivation for the development of the data-driven approach and results of this work have been published elsewhere.
Cyclin D3 activates Caspase 2, connecting cell proliferation with cell death

Precancerous cells that enter S phase without appropriate growth and viability factors undergo programmed cell death, suggesting that apoptosis may help guarantee organismic integrity [Evan, G. & Littlewood, T. (1998) Science 281, 1317–1322]. However, the connection between proliferation and cell death has remained unclear. Here, we show that the positive cell cycle regulator cyclin D3 [Matsushime H. , Roussel M. F. , Ashmun, R. A. & Sherr, C. J. (1991) Cell 65, 701–713] interacts with the death enzyme Caspase 2 [Wang, L. , Miura, M. , Bergeron, L. , Zhu, H. & Yuan, J. (1994) Cell 78, 739–750]. Directed expression of cyclin D3 and Caspase 2 in human cells potentiated apoptosis compared with expression of Caspase 2 alone. Cyclin D3 expression increased the amount of cleaved (active) Caspase 2. We describe a PCR mutagenesis/ligation/two-hybrid/green fluorescent protein approach that facilitates the isolation of missense mutant proteins defective in interaction with particular partners absent other phenotypes or knowledge of the system. We used this approach to isolate Caspase 2 mutants that did not bind cyclin D3 (noninteractors). Noninteractors were sensitive to apoptosis-dependent proteolysis, but did not potentiate apoptosis. Noninteractors did not block apoptosis caused by wild-type Caspase 2. Our results are consistent with the idea that an interaction with cyclin D3 may stabilize Caspase 2, and suggest that a physical interaction between cyclin D3 and Caspase 2 connects the genetic networks that govern cell-cycle progression with those that govern cell death.
Technology-assisted weight management interventions: systematic review of clinical trials.

INTRODUCTION More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese, which greatly increases their risks for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancer. Busy healthcare professionals need effective tools and strategies to facilitate healthy eating and increase physical activity, thus promoting weight loss in their patients. Communication technologies such as the Internet and mobile devices offer potentially powerful methodologies to deliver behavioral weight loss interventions, and researchers have studied a variety of technology-assisted approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS The literature from 2002 to 2012 was systematically reviewed by examining clinical trials of technology-assisted interventions for weight loss or weight maintenance among overweight and obese adults. RESULTS In total, 2,011 citations from electronic databases were identified; 39 articles were eligible for inclusion. Findings suggest that the use of technology-assisted behavioral interventions, particularly those that incorporate text messaging or e-mail, may be effective for producing weight loss among overweight and obese adults. CONCLUSIONS Only a small percentage of the 39 studies reviewed used mobile platforms such as Android(®) (Google, Mountain View, CA) phones or the iPhone(®) (Apple, Cupertino, CA), only two studies incorporated cost analysis, none was able to identify which features were most responsible for changes in outcomes, and few reported long-term outcomes. All of these areas are important foci for future research.