Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The predictive value of asthma medications to identify individuals with asthma--a study in German general practices.

BACKGROUND The assessment of prescribing performance by aggregated measures mainly developed from automated databases is often helpful for general practitioners. For asthma treatment, the frequently applied ratio of anti-inflammatory to bronchodilator drugs may, however, be misleading if the specificity of a drug for the treatment of asthma, compared with other diseases, is unknown. AIM To test the association of specific drugs with the diagnosis of asthma compared with other diagnoses. DESIGN OF STUDY Cross-sectional study analysing prescription data from a retrospective chart review. SETTING Eight general practices and one community respiratory practice in a town in Northern Germany. METHOD All patients in the participating practices who received at least one of the 50 asthma drugs most frequently prescribed in Germany within the past 12 weeks were identified. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (ClI) were calculated to reveal any association between a specific drug and the diagnosis of asthma. The unit of analysis was the item prescribed. RESULTS Topical betamimetics (e.g salbutamol, fenoterol) were the most often prescribed asthma drugs in the general practices (52.1 ) and in the respiratory practice (57.6%). Inhaled steroids accounted for 15% and 13%; systemic steroids accounted for 10% and 13%, respectively. In the general practices, inhaled betamimetics had a moderate marker function for asthma (OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.14-3.58). A fixed oral combination drug of clenbuterol plus ambroxol was a marker drug against asthma (OR = 0.35; 95% CI = 0.20-0.61). In the respiratory practice, the diagnosis of asthma was strongly marked by fixed combinations of cromoglycate plus betamimetics (OR = 29.0; 95% CI = 6.86-122.24) and moderately by inhaled betamimetics (OR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.28-5.14). In contrast, systemic steroids (OR = 0.24; 95% CI 0.10-0.57) and even inhaled steroids (OR = 0.46; 95% ClI= 0.22-0.96) proved to contradict the diagnosis of asthma. CONCLUSION Only betamimetics were markers for asthma patients in both types of practices; inhaled steroids, however, were not. Combinations of cromoglycate were markers in the respiratory practice only. Limited specificity of drugs for a disease (e.g asthma) should be taken into account when analysing prescribing data that are not diagnosis linked.
Nonperturbative evaluation of the diffusion rate in field theory at high temperatures.

The Kramers approach to the rate of thermally activated escape from a metastable state is extended to field theory. The diffusion rate in the (1+1)-dimensional sine-Gordon model as a function of temperature and friction coefficient is evaluated numerically by solving the Langevin equation in real time. A clear crossover from the semiclassical to the high-temperature domain is observed. The temperature behavior of the diffusion rate allows one to determine the kink mass which is found equal to the corresponding classical value. The Kramers predictions for the dependence on viscosity are qualitatively valid in this multidimensional case. In the limit of vanishing friction the diffusion rate is shown to coincide with the one obtained from direct measurements of the conventional classical real-time Green's function at finite temperature
University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics on the Dp/np Analysis of Mandarin Chinese and Its Implications on the Dp/np Analysis of Mandarin Chinese and Its Implications on the Dp/np Analysis of Mandarin Chinese and Its Implications

In this paper, I examine the nominal structure in Mandarin Chinese (MC). Specifically, I discuss the issue of whether the DP projection is always present in syntax (the Universal DP Hypothesis) or the existence of DP may be dependent on languages (the DP/NP Parameter). Based on a test established in Despić(2009), I examine the relevant data in MC and argue that, contrary to the claim traditionally held in the literature, DP does not exist in MC. Using tests from binding paradigm, it is further shown that classifiers do head their own projections in MC, as previously argued in the literature. Similar examination is also applied to Japanese to show that Japanese behaves alike with MC in two respects. First, DP does not exist in Japanese, either. Second, classifiers are also heading their projection, not merely adjoined to NPs. Lastly, as a result of the paradigm, I discuss some of the consequences on the nature of classifiers and argue that, while classifiers in MC and Japanese are enclitics and need a preceding host, classifiers in Cantonese are free morphemes and can occur alone by themselves.
Adrenergic Receptor Supports Prolonged Theta Tetanus-induced LTP 1 2

5 Department of Pharmacology and Internal Medicine 6 University of Iowa 7 Iowa City, IA 52242-1109, USA 8 9 Department of Pharmacology 10 University of California 11 Davis, CA 95616-8636, USA 12 13 Department of Biology, 14 University of Maryland, 15 College Park, MD 20742, USA 16 17 * To whom correspondence should be addressed (jwhell@ucdavis.edu) 18 19 20 21 Running Title: The β2 AR in Prolonged Theta Tetanus LTP 22 23
1998 TREC-7 Spoken Document Retrieval Track Overview and Results

This paper describes the 1998 TREC-7 Spoken Document Retrieval (SDR) Track which implemented an evaluation of retrieval of broadcast news excerpts using a combination of automatic speech recognition and information retrieval technologies. The motivations behind the SDR Track and background regarding its development and implementation are discussed. The SDR evaluation collection and topics are described and summaries and analyses of the results of the track are presented. Alternative metrics for automatic speech recognition as applicable to retrieval applications are also explored. Finally, plans for future SDR tracks are described.
PRADA: Combating voltage noise in the NoC power supply through flow-control and routing algorithms

Network-on-Chip (NoC) has become the de-facto standard for on-chip communication in MPSoCs. The growing NoC power footprint, increase in the transistor current, and high switching speed of the logic devices, exacerbate the peak power supply noise (PSN) in the NoC power delivery network (PDN). Hence, preserving power supply integrity in the NoC PDN is critical. In this work, we propose PRADA (PSN-aware Runtime Adaptation)-a collection of a novel flow-control protocol (PAF) and an adaptive routing algorithm (PAR), to mitigate PSN in NoCs. Our best scheme achieves 14% and 12% improvements in the regional peak PSN and energy efficiency, with an average of 4.6% performance overhead and marginal area and power footprints.
HEDGING AND PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION UNDER TRANSACTION COSTS: A MARTINGALE APPROACH12

We derive a formula for the minimal initial wealth needed to hedge an arbitrary contingent claim in a continuous-time model with proportional transaction costs; the expression obtained can be interpreted as the supremum of expected discounted values of the claim, over all (pairs of) probability measures under which the "wealth process" is a supermartingale. Next, we prove the existence of an optimal solution to the portfolio optimization problem of maximizing utility from terminal wealth in the same model, we also characterize this solution via a transformation to a hedging problem: the optimal portfolio is the one that hedges the inverse of marginal utility evaluated at the shadow state-price density solving the corresponding dual problem, if such exists. We can then use the optimal shadow state-price density for pricing contingent claims in this market. the mathematical tools are those of continuous-time martingales, convex analysis, functional analysis, and duality theory. Copyright 1996 Blackwell Publishers.
Generic Interfaces for Formal Development Support Tools

We present a new approach to implement graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for theorem provers and formal development support tools. A typed interface between Standard ML and Tcl/Tk provides the foundations, upon which a generic GUI is built. Besides the advantage of type safeness, this technique yields access to the full power of the modularisation concepts of Standard ML: the generic GUI is a functor (a parametric module), which instantiated with a particular application yields a GUI for this application. We present a prototypical implementation with two instantiations: an interface to Isabelle itself and a system for transformational program development based on Isabelle.
Practical DRAM PUFs in Commodity Devices

A Physically Unclonable Function (PUF) is a unique and stable physical characteristic of a piece of hardware, due to variations in the fabrication processes. Prior works have demonstrated that PUFs are a promising cryptographic primitive to enable hardware-based device authentication and identification. A diverse number of PUFs have been explored, e.g., delay-based PUFs in dedicated circuits, SRAMbased PUFs in commodity hardware, and DRAM-based PUFs in custom FPGA-based setup. This paper is the first to extract and evaluate a DRAM PUFs from commodity off-the-shelf hardware and to provide a practical solution to query the PUF during a Linux system run-time, not just at startup. DRAM instances are traditionally larger compared to SRAM and thus provide an increased challenge-response space that makes them attractive. Lightweight protocols for device authentication and secure channel establishment are proposed, that exploit this large challenge-response space of the DRAM PUFs and the time-dependent decay of DRAM cells. Intrinsic DRAM PUF characteristics are evaluated based on commodity hardware using custom Linux kernel module and also firmware code.
A Census of Small Latin Hypercubes

We count all latin cubes of order $n\le6$ and latin hypercubes of order $n\le5$ and dimension $d\le5$. We classify these (hyper)cubes into isotopy classes and paratopy classes (main classes). For the same values of $n$ and $d$ we classify all $d$-ary quasigroups of order $n$ into isomorphism classes and also count them according to the number of identity elements they possess (meaning we have counted the $d$-ary loops). We also give an exact formula for the number of (isomorphism classes of) $d$-ary quasigroups of order 3 for every $d$. Then we give a number of constructions for $d$-ary quasigroups with a specific number of identity elements. In the process, we prove that no $3$-ary loop of order $n$ can have exactly $n-1$ identity elements (but no such result holds in dimensions other than 3). Finally, we give some new examples of latin cuboids which cannot be extended to latin cubes.
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Cc by a Neural Network Approach to Character Recognition

In this paper, an attempt is made to develop off-line recognition strategies for the isolated Handwritten English character(A to Z) and (0 to 9). Challenges in handwritten character recognition wholly lie in the variation and distortion of handwritten characters, since different people may use different style of handwritten, and direction to draw the same shape of the characters of their known script. The paper provides a review on the process of character recognition using neural network. Character recognition methods are listed under two main headlines. The Offline methods use the static images properties. The Offline methods are further divided into four methods, which are clustering, Feature Extraction, Pattern Matching and Artificial Neural Network. The Online methods are subdivided into k-NN classifier and direction based algorithm. Character preprocessing is used binarization, thresolding and segmentation method. Neural network based method improves the character recognition. The proposed method is based on the feed forward back propogation method to classify the characters. The ANN is trained using the Back Propogation algorithm. In the proposed system, English nue-merical letter is represented by binary numbers that are assume as input and fed to an ANN. Neural network followed by Back Propagation Algorithm which compromises Training.
Building Personal Maps from GPS Data

Abstract: In this article we discuss an assisted cognition information technology system that can learn personal maps customized for each user and infer his daily activities and movements from raw GPS data . The system uses discriminative and generative models for different parts of this task. A discriminative relational Markov network is used to extract significant places and label them; a generative dynamic Bayesian network is used to learn transportation routines, and infer goals and potential user errors at real time. We focus on the basic structures of the models and briefly discuss the inference and learning techniques. Experiments show that our system is able to accurately extract and label places, predict the goals of a person, and recognize situations in which the user makes mistakes, such as taking a wrong bus.
COALESCENCE IN A RANDOM BACKGROUND

We consider a single genetic locus which carries two alleles, labelled P and Q. This locus experiences selection and mutation. It is linked to a second neutral locus with recombination rate r . If r = 0, this reduces to the study of a single selected locus. Assuming a Moran model for the population dynamics, we pass to a diffusion approximation and, assuming that the allele frequencies at the selected locus have reached stationarity, establish the joint generating function for the genealogy of a sample from the population and the frequency of the P allele. In essence this is the joint generating function for a coalescent and the random background in which it evolves. We use this to characterize, for the diffusion approximation, the probability of identity in state at the neutral locus of a sample of two individuals (whose type at the selected locus is known) as solutions to a system of ordinary differential equations. The only subtlety is to find the boundary conditions for this system. Finally, numerical examples are presented that illustrate the accuracy and predictions of the diffusion approximation. In particular, a comparison is made between this approach and one in which the frequencies at the selected locus are estimated by their value in the absence of fluctuations and a classical structured coalescent model is used.
Wolbachia Divergence and the Evolution of Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in Culex pipiens

Many insect species harbor Wolbachia bacteria that induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), i.e. embryonic lethality in crosses between infected males and uninfected females, or between males and females carrying incompatible Wolbachia strains. The molecular mechanism of CI remains unknown, but the available data are best interpreted under a modification–rescue model, where a mod function disables the reproductive success of infected males’ sperm, unless the eggs are infected and express a compatible resc function. Here we examine the evolution of CI in the mosquito Culex pipiens, harbouring a large number of closely related Wolbachia strains structured in five distinct phylogenetic groups. Specifically, we used a worldwide sample of mosquito lines to assess the hypothesis that genetic divergence should correlate with the divergence of CI properties on a low evolutionary scale. We observed a significant association of Wolbachia genetic divergence with CI patterns. Most Wolbachia strains from the same group were compatible whereas those from different groups were often incompatible. Consistently, we found a strong association between Wolbachia groups and their mod-resc properties. Finally, lines from the same geographical area were rarely incompatible, confirming the conjecture that the spatial distribution of Wolbachia compatibility types should be constrained by selection. This study indicates a clear correlation between Wolbachia genotypes and CI properties, paving the way toward the identification of the molecular basis of CI through comparative genomics.
Extraordinary neoteny of synaptic spines in the human prefrontal cortex

The major mechanism for generating diversity of neuronal connections beyond their genetic determination is the activity-dependent stabilization and selective elimination of the initially overproduced synapses [Changeux JP, Danchin A (1976) Nature 264:705–712]. The largest number of supranumerary synapses has been recorded in the cerebral cortex of human and nonhuman primates. It is generally accepted that synaptic pruning in the cerebral cortex, including prefrontal areas, occurs at puberty and is completed during early adolescence [Huttenlocher PR, et al. (1979) Brain Res 163:195–205]. In the present study we analyzed synaptic spine density on the dendrites of layer IIIC cortico–cortical and layer V cortico–subcortical projecting pyramidal neurons in a large sample of human prefrontal cortices in subjects ranging in age from newborn to 91 y. We confirm that dendritic spine density in childhood exceeds adult values by two- to threefold and begins to decrease during puberty. However, we also obtained evidence that overproduction and developmental remodeling, including substantial elimination of synaptic spines, continues beyond adolescence and throughout the third decade of life before stabilizing at the adult level. Such an extraordinarily long phase of developmental reorganization of cortical neuronal circuitry has implications for understanding the effect of environmental impact on the development of human cognitive and emotional capacities as well as the late onset of human-specific neuropsychiatric disorders.
Les administrations publiques et les modes de gouvernement à l'épreuve de l'européanisation

L'elargissement constitue aujourd'hui la priorite de l'agenda europeen. Dans une perspective comparative, en considerant le Portugal et la Grece d'un cote, la Pologne de l'autre, cette Etude analyse les cheminements originaux et singuliers de chacune des configurations nationales, a partir de l'examen des changements administratifs et etatiques, notamment a travers la dimension regionale, la reorientation des politiques et les transformations des modes de gouvernement. Du fait de l'importance de l'acquis communautaire a integrer, de la nature des interventions de la Commission et du caractere avant tout reglementaire des directives europeennes, cette dimension parait l'une, voire la plus importante a l'oeuvre dans le processus d'europeanisation : l'administration joue comme un filtre dans cette dynamique et les Etats nationaux se trouvent paradoxalement renforces par la construction europeenne. Cette comparaison permet de souligner l'importance des innovations et la singularite des modes de gouvernement, suggerant que certains arrangements mis en oeuvre dans les pays de la cohesion peuvent jouer comme autant de sources d'inspiration pour les nouveaux entrants, confrontes a des problemes similaires de competences administratives, de blocages bureaucratiques, et d'heritages politiques et etatiques eloignes du modele de gestion publique, d'organisation bureaucratique et des regles europeens. Sous l'effet de la contrainte europeenne, une triple dynamique s'opere : une dynamique de delegation ou de privatisation via la creation d'agences, de bureaux ou d'instituts, une dynamique de (re)centralisation politisee, et une dynamique d'innovation politique, institutionnelle et sociale. On assiste ainsi a des emprunts partiels et sans cesse remodeles, a la formation de constructions hybrides, et donc a des configurations qui n'en sont pas moins europeennes que ce qui est donne a voir dans ce que l'on nomme le " coeur " de l'Europe.
High-order neural networks and kernel methods for peptide-MHC binding prediction

MOTIVATION Effective computational methods for peptide-protein binding prediction can greatly help clinical peptide vaccine search and design. However, previous computational methods fail to capture key nonlinear high-order dependencies between different amino acid positions. As a result, they often produce low-quality rankings of strong binding peptides. To solve this problem, we propose nonlinear high-order machine learning methods including high-order neural networks (HONNs) with possible deep extensions and high-order kernel support vector machines to predict major histocompatibility complex-peptide binding. RESULTS The proposed high-order methods improve quality of binding predictions over other prediction methods. With the proposed methods, a significant gain of up to 25-40% is observed on the benchmark and reference peptide datasets and tasks. In addition, for the first time, our experiments show that pre-training with high-order semi-restricted Boltzmann machines significantly improves the performance of feed-forward HONNs. Moreover, our experiments show that the proposed shallow HONN outperform the popular pre-trained deep neural network on most tasks, which demonstrates the effectiveness of modelling high-order feature interactions for predicting major histocompatibility complex-peptide binding. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION There is no associated distributable software. CONTACT renqiang@nec-labs.com or mark.gerstein@yale.edu SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A 16-$\Omega$ Audio Amplifier With 93.8-mW Peak Load Power and 1.43-mW Quiescent Power Consumption

A low-distortion three-stage class-AB audio amplifier is designed to drive a 16-Ω headphone speaker load. High power efficiency is achieved using fully differential internal stages with local common-mode feedback and replica biasing of the output stage. The threshold voltage of nMOS transistors was made comparable to that of pMOS transistors by negatively biasing the p-substrate in order to achieve high linearity. Multiple compensation networks guarantee the stability of the audio amplifier when driving a wide range of capacitive loads from 10 pF to 5 nF. Peak power delivered to the load is measured as 93.8 mW (corresponding to 46.9 mW RMS) with -77.9-dB total harmonic distortion; quiescent power is only 1.43 mW. The power-supply rejection ratio from both ±1.5-V supplies exceeds 63 dB over the entire audio frequency range. The design is implemented in a 0.5-μm CMOS process and occupies 0.34 mm2 of area.
The Drosophila caspase Dredd is required to resist Gram‐negative bacterial infection

The Drosophila innate immune system discriminates between pathogens and responds by inducing the expression of specific antimicrobial peptide‐encoding genes through distinct signaling cascades. Fungal infection activates NF‐κB‐like transcription factors via the Toll pathway, which also regulates innate immune responses in mammals. The pathways that mediate antibacterial defenses, however, are less defined. We have isolated loss‐of‐function mutations in the caspase encoding gene dredd, which block the expression of all genes that code for peptides with antibacterial activity. These mutations also render flies highly susceptible to infection by Gram‐negative bacteria. Our results demonstrate that Dredd regulates antibacterial peptide gene expression, and we propose that Dredd, Immune Deficiency and the P105‐like rel protein Relish define a pathway that is required to resist Gram‐negative bacterial infections.