Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early-onset drug-induced parkinsonism after exposure to offenders implies nigrostriatal dopaminergic dysfunction

Objectives The onset of parkinsonism in patients with drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP) exhibits extensive individual variability following exposure to offending drugs. We investigated whether the individual variations in the onset time of parkinsonism reflected the underlying subtle dopaminergic dysfunction in DIP. Methods We enrolled 71 patients with DIP who had visually normal striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) availability in 18F-FP-CIT positron emission tomography scans. According to their exposure durations to the offending drugs prior to onset of the parkinsonism, the patients were divided into the early-onset group (duration ≤6 months; n=35) and delayed-onset group (duration >6 months; n=36). We performed the quantitative analysis of the DAT availability in each striatal subregion between the groups. Results No patients with DIP had DAT availability that was more than 2 SD below the normal mean of DAT availability. Compared with the delayed-onset group, the early-onset DIP group had decreased DAT availability in the striatal subregions including the posterior putamen (p=0.018), anterior putamen (p=0.011), caudate (p=0.035) and ventral striatum (p=0.027). After adjusting for age, sex and cross-cultural smell identification test scores, a multivariate analysis revealed that the DAT availability in the striatal subregions of the patients with DIP was significantly and positively associated with the natural logarithm of the duration of drug exposure. Conclusions These results suggest that a short exposure to the offending drugs before the development of parkinsonism would be associated with subtle nigrostriatal dopaminergic dysfunction in patients with DIP.
The 20-cm Spiny Penis of the Argentine Lake Duck (Oxyura vittata)

Ecologia permit numbers 0492, 00987, and 11782. We thank the Secretaria de la Marina, Sexta Zona Naval, Guaymas, for transportation and food deliveries. For logistic support, we are indebted to the Instituto Tecno16gico y de Estudios Superiores de MonterreyCampus Guaymas, Rescue One, A. Robles, E. Velarde, J. Guzman, L. Gonzales, Prescott College, Baja Expeditions, Special Expeditions, H. and V. Ballance, and T. Pfiester. We are grateful to Eureka Tents, Ocean Kayaks, S. Emlen, J. Guzman, and E. Velarde, for use of research equipment. We especially thank D. Able, A. Angeles, S. Ashe, X. Basurto, G. Brabata, C. Carmona, M. Cervantes, D. Craig, G. Fernandez, K. Mingo, C. Navaro, N. Nufiez, H. P•rez, and E. Tob6n for excellent help and company in the field. We are grateful to D. Anderson, H. Drummond, and BRT's graduate committee members E. Adkins-Regan, S. Emlen, T. Gavin, P. Sherman, and D. Winkler for their excellent reviews of the manuscript.
A Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Gene Hot Spot Mutation in Dystrophin-Deficient Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Is Amenable to Exon 51 Skipping

Background Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which afflicts 1 in 3500 boys, is one of the most common genetic disorders of children. This fatal degenerative condition is caused by an absence or deficiency of dystrophin in striated muscle. Most affected patients have inherited or spontaneous deletions in the dystrophin gene that disrupt the reading frame resulting in unstable truncated products. For these patients, restoration of the reading frame via antisense oligonucleotide-mediated exon skipping is a promising therapeutic approach. The major DMD deletion “hot spot” is found between exons 45 and 53, and skipping exon 51 in particular is predicted to ameliorate the dystrophic phenotype in the greatest number of patients. Currently the mdx mouse is the most widely used animal model of DMD, although its mild phenotype limits its suitability in clinical trials. The Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) model has a severe phenotype, but due to its large size, is expensive to use. Both these models have mutations in regions of the dystrophin gene distant from the commonly mutated DMD “hot spot”. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we describe the severe phenotype, histopathological findings, and molecular analysis of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy (CKCS-MD). The dogs harbour a missense mutation in the 5′ donor splice site of exon 50 that results in deletion of exon 50 in mRNA transcripts and a predicted premature truncation of the translated protein. Antisense oligonucleotide-mediated skipping of exon 51 in cultured myoblasts from an affected dog restored the reading frame and protein expression. Conclusions/Significance Given the small size of the breed, the amiable temperament and the nature of the mutation, we propose that CKCS-MD is a valuable new model for clinical trials of antisense oligonucleotide-induced exon skipping and other therapeutic approaches for DMD.
Localization of gamma/delta T cells to the intestinal epithelium is independent of normal microbial colonization

Using monoclonal antibodies identifying all gamma/delta and alpha/beta T cell receptors in cytofluorometric analysis, we have compared the composition of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (i-IEL) in euthymic and athymic germ-free (GF) and conventional (SPF) mice. The results show a marked influence of microbial colonization in the numbers of single-positive (CD4+ or CD8+) alpha/beta i-IEL, but little effect in the pool size or characteristics of gamma/delta i-IEL. In young athymic mice, virtually no alpha/beta i-IEL are detected, while considerable numbers of gamma/delta i-IEL remain, though reduced in GF animals.
Generic bifurcations in the dynamics of biochemical networks

Complex behavior in the dynamics of biochemical reaction networks is commonly governed by bifurcations of equilibria and limit cycles. In this tutorial, we discuss two frequent types of bifurcations, the saddle-node and the Hopf bifurcation, and their relation to bistability and oscillations in biochemical networks, respectively. We also present examples from molecular biology where the dynamical behavior of specific networks is defined by these bifurcations.
Automated Ontology Evolution as a Basis for Adaptive Interactive Systems

research presented in this paper aims at realising an automated ontology evolution process based on feedback without a human inspection. For that, a generic adaptation strategy consisting of a feedback transformation strategy and an ontology evolution strategy is formulated. It decides when and how to evolve by evaluating the impact of the evolution in the precedent feedback cycle. These strategies are implemented in a feedback transformer component and an adaptation manager component respectively, constituting a new adaptation layer. The adaptive ontology is evaluated with an experiment and validated with a real-world conversational content-based e-commerce recommender system as use case.
Goldberg-Coxeter Construction for 3- and 4-valent Plane Graphs

We consider the Goldberg-Coxeter construction $GC_{k,l}(G_0)$ (a generalization of a simplicial subdivision of the dodecahedron considered by Goldberg [Tohoku Mathematical Journal, 43 (1937) 104–108] and Coxeter [A Spectrum of Mathematics, OUP, (1971) 98–107]), which produces a plane graph from any $3$- or $4$-valent plane graph for integer parameters $k,l$. A zigzag in a plane graph is a circuit of edges, such that any two, but no three, consecutive edges belong to the same face; a central circuit in a $4$-valent plane graph $G$ is a circuit of edges, such that no two consecutive edges belong to the same face. We study the zigzag (or central circuit) structure of the resulting graph using the algebraic formalism of the moving group , the $(k,l)$-product and a finite index subgroup of $SL_2(\Bbb{Z})$, whose elements preserve the above structure. We also study the intersection pattern of zigzags (or central circuits) of $GC_{k,l}(G_0)$ and consider its projections , obtained by removing all but one zigzags (or central circuits).
Parallel Matrix Distributions: Have we been doing it all wrong?

The basic premise of this report is that traditional matrix distributions for distributing matrices on distributed memory parallel architectures are in practice too restrictive. The primary problem lies with the fact that such distributions start with the matrix, not with the underlying physical problem. Through a series of examples, we show how this hampers convenient interfaces between applications and libraries. In some instances, we show how it hampers performance in general. We propose a new data distribution, Physically Based Matrix Distributions, which appear to show promise for solving the encountered problems. Some traditionally used distributions are shown to be a special, but often unnatural, case of this more general class of distributions.
Unconventional Approaches to Gathering and Sharing Resources for Spoken Dialog Research

The DialRC and DialPort projects have employed unconventional approaches to data gathering and resource sharing. The projects started sharing by distributing the speech, transcription and logfile data gathered by the Let’s Go system. That system has responded to over 220,000 calls from real users of the Allegheny County Port Authority. The Let’s Go platform proved to be a very successful way to run studies, with a dataflow of about 1300 dialogs per month. Thus, DialRC built a research platform that was used by other researchers, enabling then to run studies with the Let’s Go real users. Challenges were also run on this platform. Finally DialPort follows in the footsteps of DialRC by creating a spoken dialog portal with real users that other dialog systems can be connected to. This paper examines the impact that these activities have had on the spoken dialog research community.
UTILIZING MULTIUSER DIVERSITY IN MULTICAST TRANSMISSIONS AND GEOGRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS By BYONGHYOK CHOI A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy UTILIZING MULTIUSER DIVERSITY IN MULTICAST TRANSMISSIONS AND GEOGRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS By Byonghyok Choi May 2011 Chair: John M. Shea Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering Multipath propagation is a unique characteristic of wireless communication channels that causes signal level fluctuations called fading. Initially, the fading was considered an impairment to communications, but it has recently been shown that fading instead can be exploited to improve performance, especially in wireless networks. For example, in network with many communicators, there exist multiple communication links between radio nodes, and the different links experience different fading gains. At any instant time, it is likely that there is a pairs of radios that has a good channel quality. The probability of having such links increases with the number of radios in the network, thus achieving multiuser diversity or network diversity. We propose to develop new approaches to improve the performance by exploiting network diversity or multiuser diversity over a wireless fading channel. We propose the use of superposition coding that can be applied for the downlink transmission and a geographic transmission scheme for the uplink of wireless mesh or sensor networks. We first propose the use of superposition coding (SPC) over network coding for reliable multicast over time-varying fading channels. Two-level SPC is utilized in conjunction with two network-coded versions of the packets in order to take advantage of the diversity of fading gains that can exist during each message transmission. Through the use of SPC, a receiver who has good channel conditions can recover more copies of the network-coded packet. This approach can be utilized for the downlink
Levy Risk Model with Two-Sided Jumps and a Barrier Dividend Strategy

In this paper, we consider a general Levy risk model with two-sided jumps and a constant dividend barrier. We connect the ruin problem of the ex-dividend risk process with the first passage problem of the Levy process reflected at its running maximum. We prove that if the positive jumps of the risk model form a compound Poisson process and the remaining part is a spectrally negative Levy process with unbounded variation, the Laplace transform (as a function of the initial surplus) of the upward entrance time of the reflected (at the running infimum) Levy process exhibits the smooth pasting property at the reflecting barrier. When the surplus process is described by a double exponential jump diffusion in the absence of dividend payment, we derive some explicit expressions for the Laplace transform of the ruin time, the distribution of the deficit at ruin, and the total expected discounted dividends. Numerical experiments concerning the optimal barrier strategy are performed and new empirical findings are presented.
DNA and origin region segregation are not affected by the transition from rod to sphere after inhibition of Escherichia coli MreB by A22

The bacterial actin homologue MreB forms a helix underneath the cytoplasmic membrane and was shown to be essential in the morphogenesis of the rod‐shaped cells. Additionally, MreB was implicated to be involved in DNA segregation. However, in our hands the mreBCD deletion strain (PA340‐678) grew without apparent DNA segregation defect, suggesting that the reported chromosome segregation inhibition could be caused by a temporarily effect of MreB inhibition or depletion. To assess the involvement of MreB in DNA segregation during the transition from rod to sphere, we compared the effect of A22 and the PBP2 inhibitor mecillinam on the percentage of cells with segregated nucleoids and the number of oriC foci in wild‐type Escherichia coli cells. Cells became spherical in the same time window during both treatments and we could not detect any difference in the chromosome or oriC segregation between these two treatments. Additionally, flow cytometric analyses showed that A22 and mecillinam treatment gave essentially the same chromosome segregation pattern. We conclude that MreB is not directly involved in DNA segregation of E. coli.
High-speed structured light scanning system and 3D gestural point cloud recognition

In computer-vision-based human computer interaction (HCI), higher-quality signal leads to better system performance. In this paper, we develop a real-time high-resolution 3D object scanning system based on structured light illumination (SLI). Our system fuses depth information with RGB texture to reconstruct high-resolution 3D point cloud. The point cloud preserves accurate surface geometry of the object (e.g., finger postures of hands, facial expressions, etc). Respectively, for a 640 × 480 video stream, our system can generate phase and texture video at 1500 frames per second (fps) and produce full 3D point clouds at 300 fps. For gesture recognition, we propose to combine the module of robust face recognition with the module of 3D point cloud classification. Moreover, rather than extracting sophisticated features, we leverage the accurate reconstruction and classify each point cloud by directly matching the whole 3D surface geometry with the templates of different classes. The proposed recognition system is robust to the scaling, translation, rotation and texture of objects. Finally, utilizing the system, we contribute to the research community two large-scale high-resolution 3D point cloud databases, i.e., SLI 3D Hand Gesture Database and SLI 3D Face Database. The proposed point cloud recognition approach achieves recognition rates up to 98.0% over the gesture database and 88.2% over the face database in our pilot study.
3D dynamic displacement-field measurement for structural health monitoring using inexpensive RGB-D based sensor

The advent of inexpensive digital cameras with depth sensing capabilities (RGB-D cameras) has opened the door to numerous useful applications that need quantitative measures of dynamic fields whose simultaneous time history quantification (at many points as dictated by the resolution of the camera) provides capabilities that were previously accessible only through expensive sensors (e.g., laser scanners). This paper presents a comprehensive experimental and computational study to evaluate the performance envelope of a representative RGB-D sensor (the first generation of Kinect sensor) with the aim of assessing its suitability for the class of problems encountered in the structural dynamics field, where reasonably accurate information of evolving displacement fields (as opposed to few discrete locations) that have simultaneous dynamic planar translational motion with significant rotational (torsional) components. This study investigated the influence of key system parameters of concern in selecting an appropriate sensor for such structural dynamic applications, such as amplitude range, spectral content of the dynamic displacements, location and orientation of sensors relative to target structure, fusing of measurements from multiple sensors, sensor noise effects, rolling-shutter effects, etc. The calibration results show that if the observed displacement field generates discrete (pixel) sensor measurements with sufficient resolution (observed displacements more than 10 mm) beyond the sensor noise floor, then the subject sensors can typically provide reasonable accuracy for transnational motion (about 5%) when the frequency range of the evolving field is within about 10 Hz. However, the expected error for torsional measurements is around 6% for static motion and 10% for dynamic rotation for measurements greater than 5°.
A Comparative QSAR Study Using CoMFA, HQSAR, and FRED/SKEYS Paradigms for Estrogen Receptor Binding Affinities of Structurally Diverse Compounds

The three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) technique of comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) has demonstrated the ability to provide accurate predictions for diverse chemical compounds when trained with molecules of diverse chemical type. Although predictive, the derivation and utilization of models of this type are quite computationally and person power intensive. It is this intensity that pragmatically limits the widespread implementation of these models as predictive tools. In this study, two newer QSAR techniques were evaluated as possible alternatives to CoMFA based QSAR models for the purpose of rapidly identifying estrogen receptor ligands from diverse collections of molecules. The first of these is Hologram QSAR, or HQSAR. HQSAR utilizes Tripos molecular fingerprints as descriptors in conjunction with partial least squares (PLS) regression and cross-validation routines. The HQSAR technique demonstrated the ability to rapidly develop QSAR models independent of the intense user input (i.e. geometry optimization, conformational analysis, and molecular superposition were not required). Second, a newly developed QSAR paradigm that utilizes Molecular Design Limited (MDL) substructure keys (SKEYS) as descriptors in combination with an evolutionary algorithm, Fast Random Elimination of Descriptors (FRED), was evaluated. By utilizing the FRED/SKEYS algorithm, a simple substructure-based QSAR model was derived that was comparable in statistical robustness and predictive ability to both CoMFA and HQSAR derived models. A comparison of the utility of these three approaches as computational tools for the rapid identification of estrogen receptor ligands as potential endocrine disruptors as assessed by model predictive ability will be described.
Smartphone Radio Interface Management for Longer Battery Lifetime

A major concern for today’s smartphones is their much faster battery drain than traditional feature phones, despite their greater battery capacities. The difference is mainly contributed by those more powerful but also much more powerconsuming smartphone components, such as the multi-core application processor. While the application processor must be active when any smart apps are being used, it is also unnecessarily waken up, even during idle periods, to perform operations related to basic phone functions (i.e., incoming calls and text messages). In this paper, we investigate how to increase the battery life of smartphones by minimizing the use of the application processor during idle periods.We find that the application processor is often waken up by a process running on it, called the Radio Interface Layer Daemon (RILD), which interfaces the user and apps to the GSM/LTE cellular network. In particular, we demonstrate that a great amount of energy could be saved if RILD is stopped, such that the application processor can sleep more often. Based on this key finding, we design a Smart On Demand (SOD) configuration that reduces smartphone idle energy consumption by running RILD operations on a secondary low-power microcontroller. As a result, RILD operations can be handled at much lower energy costs and the application processor is waken up only when one needs to use any smart apps, in an on-demand manner. We have built a hardware prototype of SOD and evaluated it with real user traces. Our results show that SOD can increase its battery life by up to 2.5 more days.
Mechanism responsible for the induction of I-J restriction on TS3 suppressor cells

The mechanisms responsible for the induction of I-J restrictions on third-order suppressor T cells (TS3) were analyzed. The I-J phenotype of the antigen-coupled cells used for priming restricted the specificity of the TS3 population. Thus, TS3 cells were only generated after priming with antigen-coupled I-J homologous cells. Identity at the I-JM (and I-E) subregions was sufficient for TS3 induction. Furthermore, priming of H-2 heterozygous mice with antigen-coupled parental cells generated TS3 that were restricted to the parental haplotype used for priming. The splenic cell population responsible for antigen presentation and induction of TS3 cells was fractionated. The cells involved in antigen presentation were found in the splenic adherent population and were absent in the fraction containing splenic nonadherent T and B cells. The subsequent activation and interaction of TS3 cells is also restricted by genes in the H-2 complex. The results are discussed in terms of a general mechanism responsible for the induction of restrictions in T helper and TS3 cells.
Optimal feature selection algorithm based on quantum-inspired clone genetic strategy in text categorization

Information overload is a serious issue in the modern society. As a powerful method to help people out of being "lost" in too much useless information, automatic text categorization is getting more and more important. Feature selection is the most important step in text categorization. To improve the performance of text categorization, we present a new text categorization method called quantum-inspired clone genetic algorithm (QCGA). The experimental results show that the QCGA algorithm is superior to other common methods.