Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nervous system complications of herpes zoster: immunofluorescent demonstration of varicella-zoster antigen in CSF cells

In nine out of 11 patients with herpes zoster and neurological symptoms varicella-zoster antigen was demonstrated in CSF cells by indirect immunofluorescent staining. Cerebrospinal fluid cytology was in most cases highly suggestive of viral infection. This study demonstrates the value of both immunofluorescent staining on CSF cells and CSF cytology, as corroboration of an otherwise exclusively serologically based virological diagnosis.
Effect of Mulligan’s mobilization with movement technique on gait function in stroke patients

[Purpose] We examined the effectiveness of Mulligan’s mobilization with movement (MWM) technique on spatiotemporal variables of gait in individuals who had a stroke. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-four subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups: Mulligan’s mobilization with movement group (n=12) and “weight-bearing with placebo” mobilization with movement group (n=12). The subjects in the mobilization with movement group performed 5 sets of 10 glides a day, 5 times a week for 4 weeks. The mobilization with movement technique comprised grade III movements that involved gliding and resting. The control group subjects performed lunges in the same conditions as those of the experimental group. Gait function was measured in terms of spatiotemporal parameters to determine the effect of mobilization with movement. [Results] The mobilization with movement group showed significant improvements in velocity, cadence, stride length, single-support time, and step length of the affected side, and step length and stride length of the non-affected side. Overall, the mobilization with movement group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group in terms of velocity, cadence, and single-support time of the affected side. [Conclusion] Mobilization with movement can be used to improve the gait function of patients recovering from stroke.
Fabry disease: molecular studies in Italian patients and X inactivation analysis in manifesting carriers

Anderson-Fabry disease (E C 3.2.1.22, MIM 301500) is an X linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme α-galactosidase A (GLA). 1,2 The onset of the disease and the severity of clinical manifestations depend principally on residual GLA enzymatic activity.1 Fabry disease can be classified into two clinical phenotypes: the classical form and the cardiac variant.1,3 The classical form is mainly characterised, in affected hemizygous males, by angiokeratoma, acroparaesthesias, hypohidrosis, pains, fever crises, and involvement of the kidneys, brain, and heart. Neurological and/or psychological manifestations with personality disturbances can also occur.1 The cardiac variant is characterised by symptoms restricted to cardiac abnormalities, including conduction defects and/or late onset cardiomyopathy with left ventricular hypertrophy.1,3,4 A prevalence of Fabry disease in a referral population of male patients with a clinical diagnosis of late onset hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has also been reported.5 The X linked disorders affect males, while the female carriers are generally asymptomatic, owing in part to the random inactivation of the X chromosome.6 Fabry female carriers can be asymptomatic or clinically affected, usually with a late onset and mild form of the disease. Corneal abnormalities are the most frequent clinical manifestations.1 The human GLA gene, mapped on Xq22, is organised in seven exons encompassing over 12 kb.7 So far, about 265 mutations spread throughout the GLA gene in all exons have been reported in the Human Gene Mutation Database Web site and, in addition, a further 65 have been published.8,9 ### Key points
The myth of find: user behaviour and attitudes towards the basic search feature

The ubiquitous within-document text search feature (Ctrl-F) is considered by users to be a key advantage in electronic information seeking [1]. However what people say they do and what they actually do are not always consistent. It is necessary to understand, acknowledge and identify the cause of this inconsistency. We must identify the physical and cognitive factors to develop better methods and tools, assisting with the search process. This paper discusses the limitations and myths of Ctrl-f in information seeking. A prototype system for within-document search is introduced. Three user studies portray shared behaviour and attitudes, common between participants regarding within-document searching.
The Effect of Local Speaking Rate on the Perception of Quantity in Estonian

Abstract The Estonian language with its elaborate system of contrasts in quantity, whose essentials are described in the paper, is used to investigate human perception of distinctive contrasts in the duration of vowels, consonants and larger units. In the experiments reported, the speaking rate of a preceding or following syllable was manipulated in addition to that of a target V, C or VC sequence that carried a quantity distinction in disyllabic words. The results confirmed that the second syllable in such words, in particular the duration of its vowel, serves as a reference, but they showed segments of additional syllables to contribute in the same direction. The results provided no support for ascribing quantity to any larger units than phonetic segments. Speech rate effects of similar magnitude have been observed in Japanese, while effects of the same kind were found to be smaller in Dutch. These differences may be linked with the functions durational contrasts have in the different languages. It appears that listeners have to adapt more fully to variations in the local speaking rate when there are no additional cues and the functional load of quantity distinctions is high.
SDA-2H: Understanding the value of background cover against statistical disclosure

The statistical disclosure attack (SDA) is an effective method for compromising the anonymity of users in a mix based system. Cover traffic, in the form off ake or dummy messages sent by other users of the mix, is an effective defense to make the task of the attacker difficult. Our aim is to examine the effect that background cover - the cover traffic sent by other users - has on the effectiveness of statistical disclosure attacks. Since the original SDA does not explicitly account for background traffic volumes, we developed an extension to the SDA called SDA-2H that uses this information to improve upon the SDA. Based on this attack, we are able to quantify the importance of background cover traffic, which we show in simulation to be effective in many scenarios.
Assessment of Ambient Particulate Air Pollutionand its Attribution to Environmental Burden ofDisease in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: A Review

Ongoing and past monitoring of ambient particulate air pollution assessed by PM10 and PM2.5 levels have shown high pollution concentrations in Kathmandu valley with levels more than five times than the accepted WHO and National Ambient Air Quality guideline values. Studies which associated ambient air quality with different health effects particularly related to respiratory diseases have also demonstrated significant health effect coefficients leading to substantial attributable environmental burden of disease in Kathmandu valley. These findings call for more attention towards reduction of dust particle and emission levels through proper and effective implementation of environmental management strategies and regulations including pragmatic preventive measures and henceforth deal effectively with public health burden concerns of Kathmandu valley inhabitants and achieve the targeted sustainable development goals related to safer environment.
Pre-Columbian chickens, dates, isotopes, and mtDNA

Recently Gongora et al. (1) stated that their analyses of chicken mtDNA and potential offsets for dietary marine carbon cast doubt on “claims for pre-Columbian chickens” in the Americas. We present additional data supporting the interpretation of Storey et al. (2) showing that evidence for pre-Columbian chickens at the site of El Arenal, Chile, is secure.
Learning of Legal Ontology Supporting the User Queries Satisfaction

In recent years, the development of legal ontologies has increased significantly with the diversity of their applications known as complicated due to the complexity of their domain. In the preliminary part of this paper, we introduce the major steps in the learning process, then we present some works interested in Arabic ontology learning. The rest of the paper serves to propose our approach for ontology learning from Tunisian Legal Texts designed for legal information retrieval. The search process that we suggest exploits the user's profile and uses a query reformulation mechanism based on the learned ontology. The purpose of the system is to satisfy a user's specific retrieval requirement by finding the best response to his request.
More Automated Formal Methods?! If so, why, where & how?

Formal Methods (FM) have been around for decades and many have been improving all the time. Automated formal methods techniques and tools have been making a mark in real world applications across industry domains. So, why and where do we need more automation? How much automation is required? This paper attempts to cover an assessment on where I believe we are, based on my own not-so-limited but diverse enough experience in automated industry-strength formal methods and model based systems engineering area, where we might need to get to and possibly how. Key characteristics of future automation needed for success are outlined. No attempt is made to be exhaustive as the world of FMs is vast and the collective work of FM expert researchers, developers and users is needed for exploration – “to boldly meet future challenges which no FM has ever met before”!
Detection of Waterborne Protozoa, Viruses, and Bacteria in Groundwater and Other Water Samples in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

In this study, the prevalence of various waterborne pathogens in water samples collected in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, and the applicability of Escherichia coli as an indicator of pathogen contamination in groundwater were assessed. Fifty-three water samples, including shallow groundwater and river water, were analyzed to examine the presence of protozoan (oo)cysts via fluorescence microscopy and that of viral and bacterial genomes via quantitative PCR. At least one of the seven types of pathogens tested (i.e., Cryptosporidium, Giardia, human adenoviruses, noroviruses of genogroups I and II, group A rotaviruses, and Vibrio cholerae) was detected in 68% (15/22) of the shallow dug well water samples; groundwater in the shallow dug wells was more contaminated compared with that in shallow tube wells (8/15, 53%). River water and sewage samples were contaminated with extremely high concentrations of multiple pathogens, whereas a tap water sample supplied by a water tanker tested positive for human adenoviruses and V. cholerae. The detection of host-specific Bacteroidales genetic markers revealed the effects of human and animal feces on groundwater contamination. The tested pathogens were sometimes detected even in E. coli-negative groundwater samples, indicative of the limitations of using E. coli as an indicator for waterborne pathogens in groundwater.
A new species of Burkholderia isolated from sugarcane roots promotes plant growth

Sugarcane is a globally important food, biofuel and biomaterials crop. High nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates aimed at increasing yield often result in environmental damage because of excess and inefficient application. Inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria is an attractive option for reducing N fertilizer needs. However, the efficacy of bacterial inoculants is variable, and their effective formulation remains a knowledge frontier. Here, we take a new approach to investigating diazotrophic bacteria associated with roots using culture‐independent microbial community profiling of a commercial sugarcane variety (Q208A) in a field setting. We first identified bacteria that were markedly enriched in the rhizosphere to guide isolation and then tested putative diazotrophs for the ability to colonize axenic sugarcane plantlets (Q208A) and promote growth in suboptimal N supply. One isolate readily colonized roots, fixed N2 and stimulated growth of plantlets, and was classified as a new species, Burkholderia australis sp. nov. Draft genome sequencing of the isolate confirmed the presence of nitrogen fixation. We propose that culture‐independent identification and isolation of bacteria that are enriched in rhizosphere and roots, followed by systematic testing and confirming their growth‐promoting capacity, is a necessary step towards designing effective microbial inoculants.
Responding to challenges for people with psychotic illness: Updated evidence from the Survey of High Impact Psychosis

Objective: The objective is to summarise recent findings from the 2010 Australian Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP) and examine their implications for future policy and planning to improve mental health, physical health and other circumstances of people with a psychotic disorder. Methods: Survey of High Impact Psychosis collected nationally representative data on 1825 people with psychotic illness. Over 60 papers have been published covering key challenges reported by participants: financial problems, loneliness and social isolation, unemployment, poor physical health, uncontrolled symptoms of mental illness, and lack of stable, suitable housing. Findings are summarised under the rubric of participant-ranked top challenges. Results: The main income source for the majority (85%) of participants was a government benefit. Only one-third was employed, and the most appropriate employment services for this group were under-utilised. High rates of loneliness and social isolation impacted mental and physical health. The rate of cardiometabolic disease was well above the general population rate, and associated risk factors were present from a very young age. Childhood abuse (30.6%), adult violent victimisation (16.4%) and alcohol and substance abuse/dependence (lifetime rates of 50.5% and 54.5%, respectively) complicated the clinical profile. Treatment with medication was suboptimal, with physical health conditions undertreated, a high rate of psychotropic polypharmacy and underutilisation of clozapine in chronic persistent psychotic illness. Only 38.6% received evidence-based psychosocial therapies. In the previous year, 27.4% had changed housing and 12.8% had been homeless, on average for 155 days. Conclusion: Money, social engagement and employment are the most important challenges for people with psychotic illness, as well as good physical and mental health. An integrated approach to recovery is needed to optimise service delivery and augment evidence-based clinical practice with measures to improve physical health and social circumstances. Meeting these challenges has the potential to reduce costs to government and society, as well as promote recovery.
Infusion of alpha-galactosidase A reduces tissue globotriaosylceramide storage in patients with Fabry disease.

Fabry disease is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme alpha-galactosidase A (alpha-gal A). This enzymatic defect results in the accumulation of the glycosphingolipid globotriaosylceramide (Gb(3); also referred to as ceramidetrihexoside) throughout the body. To investigate the effects of purified alpha-gal A, 10 patients with Fabry disease received a single i.v. infusion of one of five escalating dose levels of the enzyme. The objectives of this study were: (i) to evaluate the safety of administered alpha-gal A, (ii) to assess the pharmacokinetics of i.v. -administered alpha-gal A in plasma and liver, and (iii) to determine the effect of this replacement enzyme on hepatic, urine sediment and plasma concentrations of Gb(3). alpha-Gal A infusions were well tolerated in all patients. Immunohistochemical staining of liver tissue approximately 2 days after enzyme infusion identified alpha-gal A in several cell types, including sinusoidal endothelial cells, Kupffer cells, and hepatocytes, suggesting diffuse uptake via the mannose 6-phosphate receptor. The tissue half-life in the liver was greater than 24 hr. After the single dose of alpha-gal A, nine of the 10 patients had significantly reduced Gb(3) levels both in the liver and shed renal tubular epithelial cells in the urine sediment. These data demonstrate that single infusions of alpha-gal A prepared from transfected human fibroblasts are both safe and biochemically active in patients with Fabry disease. The degree of substrate reduction seen in the study is potentially clinically significant in view of the fact that Gb(3) burden in Fabry patients increases gradually over decades. Taken together, these results suggest that enzyme replacement is likely to be an effective therapy for patients with this metabolic disorder.
Everyday Attention: Variation in Mind Wandering and Memory in a Lecture

Summary Understanding the factors underlying variation in attentional state is critical in a number of domains. Here, we investigate the relation between time on task and mind wandering (i.e., a state of decoupled attention) in the context of a lecture. Lectures are the primary means of knowledge transmission in post secondary education rendering an understanding of attentional variations in lectures a pressing practical concern. We report two experiments wherein participants watched a video recorded lecture either alone (Experiment 1) or in a classroom context (Experiment 2). Participants responded to mind wandering probes at various times in the lecture in an effort to track variations in mind wandering over time. In addition, following the lecture, memory for the lecture material was tested. Results demonstrate that in a lecture mind wandering increases with time on task and memory for the lecture material decreases. In addition, there was a significant relation between mind wandering and memory for lecture material. Theoretical and practical applications of the present results are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A load balanced multiple Cluster-heads routing protocol for wireless sensor networks

In the conventional clustering routing protocols for wireless sensor network (WSN), the problem that cluster-heads are overloaded results in the dying of cluster-heads and reduction of the whole system's lifetime. In order to solve the problem, we proposes a novel multiple cluster-heads routing protocol improved on LEACH (MCHRP) in this paper. The definition of Decision Function is put forward in our algorithm according to the information of sensor nodes' remaining energy, location and frequency once selected as cluster-heads. On the basis of Decision Function, common sensor nodes are selected as Main Cluster-heads, Vice Cluster-heads or Alternative Cluster-heads used for data acquisition, data fusion and data transmission. The simulation shows that, compared with LEACH, MCHRP is able to make energy load of the whole system more balanced and extend the lifecycle of the system.
A Comparative Study of MRI Image Segmentation based on Fast Kernel Clustering Analysis

Kernel-based clustering provides a better analysis tool for pattern classification, which implicitly maps input samples to a highdimensional space for improving pattern separability. For this implicit space map, the kernel trick is believed to elegantly tackle the problem of “curse of dimensionality”, which has actually been more challenging for kernel-based clustering in terms of computational complexity and classification accuracy, which traditional kernelized algorithms cannot effectively deal with. In this paper, we have analyzed the merits and deficiencies of KFCM-I/KFCM-II, and KFMC-III and pointed out the connections of these three algorithms.
Structural Insight into the Binding Diversity between the Tyr-phosphorylated Human EphrinBs and Nck 2 SH 2 Domain *

The binding interaction between the Nck2 SH2 domain and the phosphorylated ephrinB initiates a critical pathway for the reverse signaling network mediated by Eph receptor-ephrinB. Previously, the NMR structure and Tyr phosphorylations of the human ephrinB cytoplasmic domain have been studied. To obtain a complete story, it would be of significant interest to determine the structure of the Nck2 SH2 domain that shows a low sequence identity to other SH2 domains with known structures. Here, we report the determination of the solution structure of the human Nck2 SH2 domain and investigate its interactions with three phosphorylated ephrinB fragments by NMR spectroscopy. The results indicate that: 1) although the human Nck2 SH2 domain adopts a core tertiary fold common to all SH2 domains, it owns some unique properties such as a shorter Cterminal helix and unusual electrostatic potential surface. However, the most striking finding is that the Cterminal tail of the human Nck2 SH2 domain adopts a short antiparallel -sheet that, to the best of our knowledge, has never been identified in other SH2 domains. The truncation study suggests that one function of the C-terminal tail is to control the folding/solubility of the SH2 domain. 2) In addition to [Tyr(P)]ephrinB2 and [Tyr(P)]ephrinB2, here we identified [Tyr(P)]ephrinB2 also capable of binding to the SH2 domain. The detailed NMR study indicated that the binding mechanisms for the three ephrinB fragments might be different. The binding with [Tyr(P)]ephrinB2 and [Tyr(P)]ephrinB2 might be mostly involved in the residues over the N-half of the SH2 domain and provoked a significant increase in the backbone and side chain dynamics of the SH2 domain on the microsecond-millisecond time scale. In contrast, binding with [Tyr(P)]ephrinB2 might have most residues over both halves engaged but induced less profound conformational dynamics on the s-ms time scale.
RI : Small : Collaborative Research : Probabilistic Models using Generalized Exponential Families

Minimizing convex loss functions is the holy grail of Machine Learning. A plethora of models based on this paradigm have been proposed over the past several decades. A fundamental problem with all such models is that they are not robust to outliers. In contrast, we explore the consequences of building probabilistic models with a parametric family of distributions that have been proposed in statistical physics. This leads to loss functions which are quasi-convex and flatten out for misclassified points which are far away from the decision boundary. Consequently, the models are robust to outliers. In this proposal we outline a research agenda to make models based on these new distribution families practical, and to study their generality and applicability to machine learning. Building upon our recent work on t-logistic regression, a generalization of logistic regression, we will show how conditional models based on this new family of distributions can be developed. The key challenge when working with these generalized distribution families, as in the case of the exponential family, is to compute the log-partition function and perform inference efficiently. We will address this challenge for two specific cases. For problems such as multiclass classification where the number of classes is fairly small, we will develop exact iterative algorithms. On the other hand, for problems such as sequence classification where the number of classes is exponentially large, we will develop approximate inference techniques by extending variational methods. We will also explore models that drop the normalization constraint. This sidesteps the issue of computing the log-partition function. We have done large scale experiments with models that employ convex loss functions and made all our implementations available. Building on this work, we will do systematic benchmark comparisons of the new algorithms with the previous ones and publicize our code.