Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Confidence About Possible Explanations

We revise the notion of confidence with which we estimate the parameters of a given distribution law in terms of their compatibility with the sample we have observed. This is a recent perspective that allows us to get a more intuitive feeling of the crucial concept of the confidence interval in parametric inference together with quick tools for exactly computing them even in conditions far from the common Gaussian framework where standard methods fail. The key artifact consists of working with a representation of the compatible parameters in terms of random variables without priors. This leads to new estimators that meet the most demanding requirements of the modern statistical inference in terms of learning algorithms. We support our methods with: a consistent theoretical framework, general-purpose estimation procedures, and a set of paradigmatic benchmarks.
mTORC1 promotes proliferation of immature Schwann cells and myelin growth of differentiated Schwann cells

Significance The myelination of axons is essential for neuronal wiring and normal nervous system functions. In the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells (SCs) form myelin sheaths around axons during nerve development. Such myelination is compromised in a number of diseases. Hence, identification and understanding of the key pathways regulating SC development and myelinogenesis are essential for therapeutic progress. Here we uncover two separate roles of the cellular signaling node mTORC1 (mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1) for regulating the development of SCs and subsequently the growth of myelin sheaths. Moreover, we demonstrate that defective SCs possess a remarkable plasticity to remyelinate axons via mTORC1. Thus, manipulating mTORC1 activity in diseased SCs could be therapeutically beneficial. The myelination of axons in peripheral nerves requires precisely coordinated proliferation and differentiation of Schwann cells (SCs). We found that the activity of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), a key signaling hub for the regulation of cellular growth and proliferation, is progressively extinguished as SCs differentiate during nerve development. To study the effects of different levels of sustained mTORC1 hyperactivity in the SC lineage, we disrupted negative regulators of mTORC1, including TSC2 or TSC1, in developing SCs of mutant mice. Surprisingly, the phenotypes ranged from arrested myelination in nerve development to focal hypermyelination in adulthood, depending on the level and timing of mTORC1 hyperactivity. For example, mice lacking TSC2 in developing SCs displayed hyperproliferation of undifferentiated SCs incompatible with normal myelination. However, these defects and myelination could be rescued by pharmacological mTORC1 inhibition. The subsequent reconstitution of SC mTORC1 hyperactivity in adult animals resulted in focal hypermyelination. Together our data suggest a model in which high mTORC1 activity promotes proliferation of immature SCs and antagonizes SC differentiation during nerve development. Down-regulation of mTORC1 activity is required for terminal SC differentiation and subsequent initiation of myelination. In distinction to this developmental role, excessive SC mTORC1 activity stimulates myelin growth, even overgrowth, in adulthood. Thus, our work delineates two distinct functions of mTORC1 in the SC lineage essential for proper nerve development and myelination. Moreover, our studies show that SCs retain their plasticity to myelinate and remodel myelin via mTORC1 throughout life.
Biphasic Sodium Fluoride Effects on Bone and Bone Mineral: A Review

This paper reviews the clinical and experimental findings on the effects of sodium fluoride (NaF) on human and animal bone. NaF has been shown to cause a significant increase in axial skeletal bone mass. However, there is concern that the new bone may not provide the desired increase in bone strength. Yet, NaF remains the most commonly used agent capable of stimulating bone formation in most patients (30% non-responders). But whether NaF reduces vertebral fracture rate (VFR) remains controversial. For a given treatment duration, the effect of F on bone quality appears to depend on dose: there is a marked detrimental effect on bone strength at high dose but there tends to be a beneficial effect at low dose. This biphasic NaF effect on bone strength has also been observed in fluoridated rat femurs. Unlike a study on young female rats which shows a linear dependence of cancellous bone volume (Cn-BV /TV) on NaF dose, a short-term study on young male rats, together with studies on chicks and dogs show biphasic NaF effects. Biphasic character is also observed in the effect of NaF on the packing of canine cortical bone mineral. When taken together, the animal models that show biphasic NaF effects seem to suggest that NaF at low dose improves Cn-BV/TV and bone strength and at high dose undermines them. These findings are in agreement with the clinical observations that high NaF dose does not help reduce VFR but low dose seems to help.
Mitochondrial DNA Heteroplasmy and Purifying Selection in the Mammalian Female Germ Line

Inherited mutations in the mitochondrial (mt)DNA are a major cause of human disease, with approximately 1 in 5000 people affected by one of the hundreds of identified pathogenic mtDNA point mutations or deletions. Due to the severe, and often untreatable, symptoms of many mitochondrial diseases, identifying how these mutations are inherited from one generation to the next has been an area of intense research in recent years. Despite large advances in our understanding of this complex process, many questions remain unanswered, with one of the most hotly debated being whether or not purifying selection acts against pathogenic mutations during germline development.
Defining Cancer Subtypes With Distinctive Etiologic Profiles: An Application to the Epidemiology of Melanoma

ABSTRACT We showcase a novel analytic strategy to identify subtypes of cancer that possess distinctive causal factors, that is, subtypes that are “etiologically” distinct. The method involves the integrated analysis of two types of study design: an incident series of cases with double primary cancers with detailed information on tumor characteristics that can be used to define the subtypes; a case-series of incident cases with information on known risk factors that can be used to investigate the specific risk factors that distinguish the subtypes. The methods are applied to a rich melanoma dataset with detailed information on pathologic tumor factors, and comprehensive information on known genetic and environmental risk factors for melanoma. Identification of the optimal subtyping solution is accomplished using a novel clustering analysis that seeks to maximize a measure that characterizes the distinctiveness of the distributions of risk factors across the subtypes and that is a function of the correlations of tumor factors in the case-specific tumor pairs. This analysis is challenged by the presence of extensive missing data. If successful, studies of this nature offer the opportunity for efficient study design to identify unknown risk factors whose effects are concentrated in defined subtypes. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
Intracerebral Crises During Treatment of Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Sixty-nine instances of intracerebral complications of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), including 29 unpublished occurrences, were analyzed to determine predictive factors, the frequency of other disorders resembling cerebral edema, the effectiveness of intervention to reduce intracranial pressure, and whether any etiologic considerations appeared valid. The review failed to implicate rate of hydration, tonicity of administered fluids, rate of correction of glycemia, or use of bicarbonate. Infants and young children (<5 yr of age) were disproportionately represented (33%), as were new-onset patients (62%). Approximately 20% of patients were found to have localized basilar edema, hemorrhage, thromboses, or infection by computed tomography scan or on postmortem examination. The histories of 50% of the patients suggested a period of dramatic neurological change preceding respiratory arrest (RA) during which intervention might be effective. Twenty-three patients were treated for increased intracranial pressure before RA; 13 patients survived in an independent functional state, and 3 survived in a severely disabled or vegetative state. Only 3 of the remaining 46 patients survived normally: 2 were untreated and never developed RA, and 1 was given mannitol at the onset of apnea. This review supports close neurological monitoring and intervention to reduce intracranial pressure when there are definite signs of neurological compromise. However, treatment appears to be successful in only 50% of patients who give sufficient warning for such intervention, and they comprised half of the study population. Therefore, prevention of DKA remains the most important goal to avoid intracerebral complications.
The Impact of Housing Submarkets and Urban Form on the Foreclosure Crisis in U.S. Urban Counties

In this article, the authors introduce a novel way to define and measure housing submarkets in relation to foreclosures. Instead of the traditional methods of identifying submarkets a priori, this study uses an approach that empirically delineates housing submarkets based on spatial contiguity and housing attributes. The spatial clustering algorithm developed for this study identified submarkets in each of the urban counties. A spatial regression model was then used to assess the impact of submarket structure on foreclosure rates. In addition, the study also incorporates a measure of sprawl in its analysis. It was found that sprawling counties are not more likely to have higher rates of foreclosures compared with average rates. However, the counties with smaller and more fragmented housing submarkets are likely to have lower rates of foreclosures. The results suggest that urban form is less consequential than housing market structure in affecting U.S. housing market dynamics.
College Students’ Intent to Intervene when a Peer is Engaging in Nonmedical Use of Prescription Stimulants: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

ABSTRACT Background: This study examined college students’ communication surrounding nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS). Objective: Using a hypothetical scenario, the researchers employed the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to investigate the relationship of students’ attitudes, perceived subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control with their intent to intervene on behalf of a friend who is engaging in NPS. Methods: College students (N = 163) at a small, Southwestern university in the United States completed anonymous web- based surveys, reporting on their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention in the Spring of 2015. Self-reports of perceived knowledge of prescription stimulants were also collected as a control variable. Results: Results of structural equation modeling support the utility of TPB in this context; participants’ attitudes and subjective norms were significant predictors of behavioral intent. Perceived behavioral control was not a significant predictor. Conclusions and Importance: Based on these findings, several recommendations are offered for both researchers and practitioners who might consider a bystander intervention to address the growing NPS epidemic on college campuses.
Effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on tight junction permeability in intestinal monolayer cells.

UNLABELLED The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of C18 and C20 long chain fatty acids on tight junction permeability in a model of intestinal epithelium. METHODS Confluent Caco-2 cells on porous filters with double chamber system were used to measure fluorescein sulfonic acid (FS) permeability and transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER). Lactate dehydrogenase release and ultrastructure were evaluated. Effect of 200 microM eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5 n-3), arachidonic acid (AA, C20: 4 n-6), alpha-linoleic acid (ALA, C18: 3 n-3), linoleic acid (LA, C18: 2 n-6), or oleic acid (OA, C18: 1 n-9) enrichment in the culture medium during 24 hours were compared. The effect of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin, lipoxygenase inhibitors, NDGA or AA861, and antioxidant, BHT, was evaluated as a mechanism to change tight junction permeability. RESULTS Caco-2 cells formed polarized columnar epithelial cells with densely packed microvilli and well developed junctional complexes. Addition of EPA enhanced FS permeability to 3.0+/-1.6-fold and lowered TEER to 0.59+/-1.2-fold vs. control with concentration dependency without cell injury (P<0.01-0.05). OA, AA or LA did not change, but ALA enhanced tight junction permeability. Indomethacin and AA861 normalized the changes mediated by EPA. CONCLUSIONS EPA affects tight junction permeability in intestinal monolayer cells specifically and concentration dependently via cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase products.
Lateral Versus Medial Needle Approach for Ultrasound-Guided Supraclavicular Block: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: When performing a supraclavicular brachial plexus block (SCB) under ultrasound (US) guidance, the needle may approach the nerves in-plane with the US beam from 1 of 2 directions relative to the transducer, lateral-to-medial (lateral) or medial-to-lateral (medial). We aimed to compare the rates of sensory and motor block of the 4 major peripheral nerves of the upper extremity following a lateral or medial needle approach for US-guided SCB. Methods: Eighty adult patients undergoing US-guided SCB for elective hand, wrist, forearm, or elbow procedures were randomized to either a lateral or medial needle approach. A 30-mL local anesthetic admixture (1:1 lidocaine 2%-bupivacaine 0.5% with 1:200,000 epinephrine) was injected to all patients. Sensory and motor function was assessed by a blinded observer at predetermined intervals. The primary outcome was the rate of sensory block in the distribution of the ulnar nerve measured 20 mins after block performance. Results: Seventy-two patients were included in the final analysis. Patient characteristics were similar between groups. The rate of ulnar nerve sensory block at 20 mins was 63% in the lateral group and 62% in the medial group (P = 0.81). The rate of ulnar nerve sensory block at 30 mins increased to 89% in the lateral and 84% in the medial group (P = 0.96). The rates of both sensory and motor block in the distributions of the median, radial, and musculocutaneous nerves were high and did not differ between groups at any measured time interval. The block performance time and the postoperative pain scores were similar between the 2 groups. Complications were minor and transient and did not differ between groups. Conclusions: The rates of sensory and motor block of all 4 major peripheral nerves of the upper extremity did not differ at any time following a lateral compared with medial needle approach for US-guided SCB. Regardless of needle approach, the rate of ulnar nerve sensory block was less compared with the other peripheral nerves following US-guided SCB.
Signal Processing: Image Communication

Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has been an important breakthrough in pattern recognition in recent years. Nevertheless, with the increase in complexity, CNN becomes more difficult to train. To alleviate the problem of training difficulties, we propose a novel nonlinear unit, called Nonlinear Competitive Unit (NCU). By comparing the elements from different network layers and selecting the larger signals element-wisely, it can not only strengthen feature propagation but also accelerate the convergence of CNN. This unit can be regarded as a feature fusion method as well as a kind of activation function. We evaluate our NCU-based models for face verification task and visual classification task on four benchmark datasets. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of our models over many state-of-the-art methods, which shows the advantage and potential of the NCU in networks.
From Mouse to Man: Translational Value of Animal Models of Allergic Rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most prevalent atopic disease in the world, affecting 10-20% of the population or up to 600 million people (Asher et al. 2006; Meltzer and Bukstein 2011). Data from multi-year international studies show that the incidence of upper airway allergy is greater than that for asthma, and since 1994 the prevalence of AR has increased more rapidly than allergic asthma (Asher et al. 2006; Weinmayr et al. 2008). The common clinical definition of AR is nasal obstruction, sneezing, rhinorrhea, and pruritus associated with known or suspected allergens. Comorbidity with asthma is common, with 50% to 100% of allergic asthma patients in the United States and Europe reporting AR symptoms (Gaugris et al. 2006). Furthermore, as much as 30% of individuals with AR have lower airway symptoms, such as bronchial hyperreactivity, and AR has emerged as a risk factor for eventually developing asthma (Ciprandi and Cirillo 2006; Ponikau et al. 2003). Because of the frequency of AR coexisting with allergic asthma, a role for common pathophysiologic linkages between asthma and AR has been a focus of discussion among clinical scientists. Comparison of the nasal and bronchial mucosa from allergic airways reveal similar inflammatory and epithelial cell alterations in both tissues, suggesting that common mechanisms of pathogenesis may contribute to each condition (Chanez et al. 1999). Given the clinical and pathologic commonalities of AR and asthma, recent efforts of physicians worldwide has led to Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA), a collaborative development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to treat AR as an asthma risk (Bousquet et al. 2001). A central tenet of ARIA is that AR and asthma represent a “united airway disease” and should be viewed as an interrelated disease with common etiology, features and treatments (Compalati et al. 2010; Marple 2010). However the inherent differences in the anatomic, morphologic, and functional aspects of nasal versus pulmonary airways result in unique inflammatory and allergic responses in each site. For example, airway obstruction in upper and lower airways occurs by very different mechanisms. Smooth muscle contraction narrows conducting airways in lung, whereas acute vasodilation of vascular tissue limits airflow through nasal airways. Mucus overproduction and hypersecretion may also contribute to airway occlusion and obstruction in both nasal and bronchial airways. Excess mucus such as during rhinorrhea might be more easily cleared from the nose, but mucus plugging in pulmonary airways is a prominent feature associated with mortality in status asthmaticus. While the “one-airway” concept may be an attractive paradigm to describe relationships in allergic airways in support of the ARIA framework, differences in clinical opinions for treatment remain (Chipps et al. 2010).
Best Practices for Teacher Leadership: What Award-Winning Teachers Do for Their Professional Learning Communities

Preface About the Authors About the Contributors 1. Leading Through Collaboration With Colleagues Excellence in Education Operation (Help Me! ) Collaboration: Or How I Survived My First Years of Teaching Professional Collaboration Within An Inclusive Classroom Setting: How to Make It Work Using Staff Development to Implement a Schoolwide Reading Goal Statewide Teacher Training Networks Structured Freedom: Successful Schools Through Collaborative Learning Communities Lifelong Teaching and Learning Scopes Trial and Error: A Lesson in Integrated Teaching Staff Development Initiatives Within Faculty Groups 2. Involving Community and Families Pioneer Days at Bowers Elementary School Using School/Community Partnerships to Teach History, Heroism, and Heritage Finding Your Lost Dutchman Mine The Three "Cs" in Education: A Classroom, a Community, and Collaboration Parent Involvement Let's Take It Outside: Creating a Community Learning Environment Effective Parent Involvement in the Classroom Billy: Every Family Is a Special Family 3. Encouraging Hands-On Learning in Science and Technology Students and Research: Using Students to Create a Science Research Program CELLLSS (Creating Experiences in Life, Learning, and Laboratory Science Skills) for Girls: Turning Middle and High School Girls On to Science Voyaging Through Curriculum Teaming Up for Success Growing Community Ties Through Gardening Online Collaboration Benefits Students and Teachers: Classrooms Across the World Education Technology: Issues, Trends, and Leadership Promoting Student Interest in Life Science and Technology by Making Students Active Learners 4. Mentoring and Sharing Professional Development Give Me an "H": Homework Strategies Team Teaching From Two Perspectives Enriching and Extending Teaching Through Professional Conferences Leading and Modeling Staff Development Initiatives Within Faculty Groups and Within the School Developing Interest in Reading Strategies Inside the Teaching Community Teaching Is Not a Solitary Profession Professional Development: A Life-Changing Event 5. Teaching With Passion Leading Through Excitement Peeking Through My Door The Music Underlying the Words: Classroom Climate Thank You, Mrs. Woodford They Believe Perception, Focus, and Attitude: Teachers Leading the Way Accepting the Challenge 6. Empowering Students as Leaders Each One, Teach One To Russia With Love Using Children's Books in the High School Setting Index