Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Air Toxics in Relation to Autism Diagnosis, Phenotype, and Severity in a U.S. Family-Based Study

Background: Previous studies have reported associations of perinatal exposure to air toxics, including some metals and volatile organic compounds, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Objectives: Our goal was to further explore associations of perinatal air toxics with ASD and associated quantitative traits in high-risk multiplex families. Methods: We included participants of a U.S. family-based study [the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE)] who were born between 1994 and 2007 and had address information. We assessed associations between average annual concentrations at birth for each of 155 air toxics from the U.S. EPA emissions-based National-scale Air Toxics Assessment and a) ASD diagnosis (1,540 cases and 477 controls); b) a continuous measure of autism-related traits, the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS, among 1,272 cases and controls); and c) a measure of autism severity, the Calibrated Severity Score (among 1,380 cases). In addition to the individual’s air toxic level, mixed models (clustering on family) included the family mean air toxic level, birth year, and census covariates, with consideration of the false discovery rate. Results: ASD diagnosis was positively associated with propionaldehyde, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), bromoform, 1,4-dioxane, dibenzofurans, and glycol ethers and was inversely associated with 1,4-dichlorobenzene, 4,4′-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), benzidine, and ethyl carbamate (urethane). These associations were robust to adjustment in two-pollutant models. Autism severity was associated positively with carbon disulfide and chlorobenzene, and negatively with 1,4-dichlorobenzene. There were no associations with the SRS. Conclusions: Some air toxics were associated with ASD risk and severity, including some traffic-related air pollutants and newly-reported associations, but other previously reported associations with metals and volatile organic compounds were not reproducible. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1867
Long Noncoding RNA GAS5 Suppresses Cell Growth and Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition in Osteosarcoma by Regulating the miR‐221/ARHI Pathway

Dysregulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) play key roles in the development of human cancers. The lncRNA growth arrest‐specific 5 (GAS5) is reported to be a tumor suppressor in multiple cancers. However, the roles of GAS5 and its related miRNAs in osteosarcoma are poorly understood. This study explored the potential functions and mechanisms of GAS5 in the tumorigenesis of osteosarcoma. Here, the expression of GAS5, miR‐221 and aplasia Ras homologue member I (ARHI) was determined in osteosarcoma tissues and cells by Real‐time PCR (RT‐qPCR). The underlying mechanism of GAS5 in osteosarcoma growth was analyzed via MTT, Transwell, RT‐qPCR, Western blot, dual‐luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation, and xenograft models after GAS5 overexpression. GAS5 and ARHI levels were significantly reduced, while miR‐221 increased, both in osteosarcoma tissues and cells. Overexpression of GAS5 suppressed the proliferation, migration, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of osteosarcoma cells. GAS5 could directly bind to miR‐221 to decrease miR‐221 expression and enhance ARHI expression. The effect of GAS5 overexpression on the proliferation, migration and EMT was reversed by miR‐221 mimics or ARHI siRNA in osteosarcoma cells. Additionally, GAS5 suppressed tumor volume, Ki‐67 and PCNA staining, and EMT process in the development of osteosarcoma in vivo. Taken together, lncRNA GAS5 functions as a competing endogenous RNA for miR‐221 to suppress cell growth and EMT in osteosarcoma by regulating the miR‐221/ARHI pathway. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 4772–4781, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Employing Semantically Driven Adaptation for Amalgamating Software Quality Assurance with Process Management

Often in software development processes, tighter and more systematic integration of quality assurance techniques and measurements in the operational processes is desirable. While some processes specify abstract quality assurance measures, concrete requisite measures directly relevant for specific product artifacts (e.g., code) or processes (e.g., testing) must be determined operationally and contemporaneously, yet are hitherto often determined manually and unsystematically. By employing semantically driven adaptation of software quality assurance congruent with software development processes, an approach is described and applied in the software engineering domain for the detection, mediation, and management of just-in-time quality measure assignments. The approach shows promise for adapting automated process enactment to enable effective and efficient quality assurance integration.
[Topical ozone therapy: An innovative solution to patients with herpes zoster].

OBJECTIVE To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of topical ozone therapy for patients with herpes zoster by reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM). Methods: A total of 60 patients with herpes zoster were divided into a control group and an ozone treatment group (n=30). In the control group, patients took oral valacyclovir tablets or granules (0.3 g per day, three times a day) and they were subjected to local weak laser irradiation treatment plus topical 2% mupirocin ointment twice a day. In the ozone group, the treatment is same as the control group except mupirocin ointment was replaced with topical ozone treatment (hydrotherapy every day plus ozonated oil twice a day). The clinical symptoms, discoid cell and adverse reactions were observed and taken records at day 0, 3, 7 and 14. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the clinical efficacy between the 2 groups. Results: On the seventh day of treatment, the discoid cells of the ozone group disappeared, and the difference between the control group and the ozone group was statistically significant (P<0.05). The difference of decreased percentage of pain scores at each time point between the 2 groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). The clinical efficacy was 100% in the ozone group and 86.7% in the control group, with significant difference between the 2 groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: Topical ozone therapy in patients with herpes zoster is helpful in relieving pain, shortening the course as well as improving the clinical efficacy without obvious adverse reactions. It is worth to be popularized.
What can data analysis recommend on design of wearable sensors?

The paper aims at developing recommendations on the design and use of human activity recognition systems based on wearable sensors and their applications. Both the system structure and the application design challenges are addressed. Various design problems are investigated such as the selection of a number and types of sensors, amount of samples used for recognition, choice of machine learning techniques and the features set for a classifier design as well as the type of a training model employed. The design is implemented on the Android smartphone sensors platform and tested by conducting an empirical study in a real-life environment. The study results are provided and discussed. The recommendations on the sensor systems design are derived.
Crosstalk-Preventing Scheduling in Single- and Two-Stage AWG-Based Cell Switches

Array waveguide grating (AWG)-based optical switching fabrics are receiving increasing attention due to their simplicity and good performance. However, AWGs are affected by coherent crosstalk that can significantly impair system operation when the same wavelength is used simultaneously on several input ports. To permit large port counts in a N × N AWG, a possible solution is to schedule data transmissions across the AWG preventing switch configurations that generate large crosstalk. We study the properties and the existence conditions of switch configurations able to control coherent crosstalk. The presented results show that, by running a properly constrained scheduling algorithm to avoid or minimize crosstalk, it is possible to operate an AWG-based switch with large port counts without significant performance degradation.
The Effect of Allowance Allocations on Cap-and-Trade System Performance

An implication of the Coase theorem is that under certain conditions, the market equilibrium in a cap-and-trade system will be cost-effective and independent of the initial allocation of tradable rights. That is, the overall cost of achieving a given aggregate emission reduction will be minimized, and the final allocation of permits will be independent of the initial allocation. We call this the independence property. This property is important because it means that the government can establish the overall pollution reduction goal for a cap-and-trade system by setting the cap and leaving it up to the legislature to construct a constituency in support of the program by allocating the allowances to various interests without affecting either the environmental performance of the system or its aggregate social costs. We examine the conditions under which the independence property is likely to hold—both in theory and in practice.
On the Current Measurement Practices in Agile Software Development

Agile software development (ASD) methods were introduced as a reaction to traditional software development methods. Principles of these methods are different from traditional methods and so there are some different processes and activities in agile methods comparing to traditional methods. Thus ASD methods require different measurement practices comparing to traditional methods. Agile teams often do their projects in the simplest and most effective way so, measurement practices in agile methods are more important than traditional methods, because lack of appropriate and effective measurement practices, will increase risk of project. The aims of this paper are investigation on current measurement practices in ASD methods, collecting them together in one study and also reviewing agile version of Common Software Measurement International Consortium (COSMIC) publication.
Collective Fraud Detection Capturing Inter-Transaction Dependency

In e-commerce, different payment transactions have different levels of risk. Risk is generally higher for digital goods, but it also differs based on product and its popularity, the offer type (packaged game, virtual currency to a game or subscription service), storefront and geography. Existing fraud policies and models make decisions independently for each transaction based on transaction attributes, payment velocities, user characteristics, and other relevant information. However, suspicious transactions may still evade detection and hence we propose a novel approach leveraging a graph based perspective to uncover relationships among suspicious transactions, i.e., inter-transaction dependency. Our focus is to detect suspicious transactions by capturing common fraudulent behaviors that would not be considered suspicious when being considered in isolation. In this paper, we present HitFraud that leverages heterogeneous information networks for collective fraud detection by exploring correlated and fast evolving fraudulent behaviors. First, a heterogeneous information network is designed to link entities of interest in the transaction database via different semantics. Then, graph based features are efficiently discovered from the network exploiting the concept of meta-paths, and decisions on frauds are made collectively on test instances. Experiments on real-world payment transaction data from Electronic Arts demonstrate that the prediction performance is effectively boosted by HitFraud where the computation of meta-path based features is largely optimized. Notably, recall can be improved up to 7.93% and F-score 4.62% compared to baselines.
Representation of multistanza life histories in Ecospace models for spatial organization of ecosystem trophic interaction patterns

The Ecospace model for spatial organization of trophic interactions has seen limited use for evaluation of policies such as marine protected areas, partly because of concern about representing key indicator populations only by spatial biomass distributions. The software has been improved to include spatial representation of age structure for such species, by means of the Ecosim "multistanza" population submodel, which assumes similar diet compositions, predation risk, and vulnerability to fishing over blocks or stanzas of fish ages. A computationally efficient version of Ecospace now preserves the multistanza age structure over spatial habitat and ecosystem biomass maps, evaluating body growth and mortality rates as spatial averages weighted by relative biomass use of each model spatial cell. A more computationally intense version divides each multistanza population into spatial packets (an individual-based model approach) for more precise analysis of how movement patterns and movement histories over mosaics of trophic opportunities and risks affect population performance and variability. The two approaches give surprisingly similar predictions of abundance patterns over both time and space, agreeing well in case-study applications to the Gulf of Mexico and California coast with each other and with nonspatial Ecosim predictions.
CrossNavi: enabling real-time crossroad navigation for the blind with commodity phones

Crossroad is among the most dangerous parts outside for the visually impaired people. Numerous studies have exploited navigating systems for the visually impaired community, providing services ranging from block detection, route planning to realtime localization. However, none of them have addressed the safety issue in crossroad and integrated three key factors necessary for a practical crossroad navigation system: detecting the crossroad, locating zebra patterns, and guiding the user within zebra crossing when passing the road. Our CrossNavi application responds to these needs, providing an integrated crossroad navigation service that incorporates all the essential functionalities mentioned above. The overall service is fulfilled by the collaboration of built-in sensors on commodity phones, and requires minimal human participation. We describe the technical aspects of its design, implementation, interface, and further improvements to make the system practical on a wider basis. Experimental results from three visually impaired volunteers show that the system exhibits promising behavior in both urban and rural areas.
Electrospun SrTiO_3 nanofibers for photocatalytic hydrogen generation

Homogenous strontium titanate (SrTiO_3) nanofibers were prepared via the electrospinning of precursor solutions containing both strontium and titanium salts. Photocatalytic activities of these SrTiO_3 nanofibers for hydrogen generation from water were examined and compared to that of SrTiO_3 nanoparticles. The nanofibers calcined at 700 °C showed the highest photocatalytic activity of 167 μmol/h/g among the SrTiO_3 samples tested. The high activity was attributed to the ideal stoichiometric ratio of Ti/Sr, small crystallite size, high crystallinity, mesoporous structure, large surface area, and appropriate energy gap. These were confirmed through field emission scanning electron microscopic with energy dispersive spectroscopic observations, x-ray diffraction patterns, N_2 gas absorption–desorption isotherm measurements, photoelectron yield spectroscopy in air, and UV-visible spectrophotometry.
Compressive strength of composite laminates with an open hole: Effect of ply blocking

This paper examines the application of a cohesive zone model to predict the open hole compressive strength of an IM7/8552 carbon fibre/epoxy quasi-isotropic multidirectional laminate and investigates the level-ply scaling or ply blocking effect on notch sensitivity. Cohesive zone models have been successfully applied to predict the damage from notches in engineering materials loaded in tension. They have also been used to determine the growth of fibre microbuckling from a hole in composite laminates under compression. The usual strategy is to replace the inelastic deformation associated with plasticity or microbuckling with a line-crack and to assume some form of stress-displacement (σ − δ) bridging law across the crack faces. Here a plastic fibre kinking analysis and a linear reduced (softening) σ − δ relationship are used for the prediction of the unnotched and open hole compressive strength; the theoretical results will be compared with experimental data in Part B of the 3rd World-Wide Failure Exercise.
Discriminant indices for distinguishing thalassemia and iron deficiency in patients with microcytic anemia: a meta-analysis

Abstract Background: More than 40 mathematical indices have been proposed in the hematological literature for discriminating between iron deficiency anemia and thalassemia trait in subjects with microcytic red blood cells (RBCs). None of these discriminant indices is 100% sensitive and specific and also the ranking of the discriminant indices is not consistent. Therefore, we decided to conduct the first meta-analysis of the most frequently used discriminant indices. Methods: An extensive literature search yielded 99 articles dealing with 12 indices that were investigated five or more times. For each discriminant index we calculated the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and summary ROC analysis was done for comparing the performance of the indices. Results: The ratio of microcytic to hypochromic RBCs (M/H ratio) showed the best performance, DOR=100.8. This was significantly higher than that of all other indices investigated. The RBC index scored second (DOR=47.0), closely followed by the Sirdah index (DOR=46.7) and the Ehsani index (DOR=44.7). Subsequently, there was a group of four indices with intermediate and three with lower DOR. The lowest performance (DOR=6.8) was found for the RDW (Bessman index). Overall, the indices performed better for adults than for children. Conclusions: The M/H ratio outperformed all other discriminant indices for discriminating between iron deficiency anemia and thalassemia trait. Although its sensitivity and specificity are not high enough for making a definitive diagnosis, it is certainly of value for identifying those subjects with microcytic RBC in whom diagnostic tests for confirming thalassemia are indicated.
Risk profile related to production and consumption of insects as food and feed

The present opinion has the format of a risk profile and presents potential biological and chemical hazards as well as allergenicity and environmental hazards associated with farmed insects used as food and feed taking into account of the entire chain, from farming to the final product. The opinion also addresses the occurrence of these hazards in non-processed insects, grown on different substrate categories, in comparison to the occurrence of these hazards in other non-processed sources of protein of animal origin. When currently allowed feed materials are used as substrate to feed insects, the possible occurrence of microbiological hazards is expected to be comparable to their occurrence in other non-processed sources of protein of animal origin. The possible occurrence of prions in non-processed insects will depend on whether the substrate includes protein of human or ruminant origin. Data on transfer of chemical contaminants from different substrates to the insects are very limited. Substrates like kitchen waste, human and animal manure are also considered and hazards from insects fed on these substrates need to be specifically assessed. It is concluded that for both biological and chemical hazards, the specific production methods, the substrate used, the stage of harvest, the insect species and developmental stage, as well as the methods for further processing will all have an impact on the occurrence and levels of biological and chemical contaminants in food and feed products derived from insects. Hazards related to the environment are expected to be comparable to other animal production systems. The opinion also identifies the uncertainties (lack of knowledge) related to possible hazards when insects are used as food and feed and notes that there are no systematically collected data on animal and human consumption of insects. Studies on the occurrence of microbial pathogens of vertebrates as well as published data on hazardous chemicals in reared insects are scarce. Further data generation on these issues are highly recommended.
Electrochemically driven polypyrrole bilayers for moving and positioning bulk micromachined silicon plates

The conjugated polymer polypyrrole undergoes a volume change of several percent when its oxidation state is changed electrochemically by the application of voltages between 0 and -1 V (versus Ag/AgCl). This volume change is due to ion movements in or out of the polymer film. Bilayers of polypyrrole and gold undergo a large bending and can deliver high force. They can thus function as hinges to lift rigid components. In this work, we demonstrate that silicon plates produced by reactive ion etching can be lifted by such PPy/Au hinges. The strength and efficiency of these bilayers are also determined.
The Relevance of Iron in the Pathogenesis of Multiple System Atrophy: A Viewpoint

Iron is essential for cellular development and maintenance of multiple physiological processes in the central nervous system. The disturbance of its homeostasis leads to abnormal iron deposition in the brain and causes neurotoxicity via generation of free radicals and oxidative stress. Iron toxicity has been established in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease; however, its contribution to multiple system atrophy (MSA) remains elusive. MSA is characterized by cytoplasmic inclusions of misfolded α-synuclein (α-SYN) in oligodendrocytes referred to as glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs). Remarkably, the oligodendrocytes possess high amounts of iron, which together with GCI pathology make a contribution toward MSA pathogenesis likely. Consistent with this observation, the GCI density is associated with neurodegeneration in central autonomic networks as well as olivopontocerebellar and striatonigral pathways. Iron converts native α-SYN into a β-sheet conformation and promotes its aggregation either directly or via increasing levels of oxidative stress. Interestingly, α-SYN possesses ferrireductase activity and α-SYN expression underlies iron mediated translational control via RNA stem loop structures. Despite a correlation between progressive putaminal atrophy and iron accumulation as well as clinical decline, it remains unclear whether pathologic iron accumulation in MSA is a secondary event in the cascade of neuronal degeneration rather than a primary cause. This review summarizes the current knowledge of iron in MSA and gives evidence for perturbed iron homeostasis as a potential pathogenic factor in MSA-associated neurodegeneration.
Explainable Planning

As AI is increasingly being adopted into application solutions, the challenge of supporting interaction with humans is becoming more apparent. Partly this is to support integrated working styles, in which humans and intelligent systems cooperate in problem-solving, but also it is a necessary step in the process of building trust as humans migrate greater responsibility to such systems. The challenge is to find effective ways to communicate the foundations of AI-driven behaviour, when the algorithms that drive it are far from transparent to humans. In this paper we consider the opportunities that arise in AI planning, exploiting the modelbased representations that form a familiar and common basis for communication with users, while acknowledging the gap between planning algorithms and human problem-solving.