Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Greater fear of visceral pain contributes to differences between visceral and somatic pain in healthy women

Abstract This functional magnetic resonance imaging study addressed similarities and differences in behavioral and neural responses to experimental visceral compared with somatic pain stimuli and explored the contribution of fear of pain to differences between pain modalities. In N = 22 healthy women, we assessed blood oxygen level–dependent responses to rectal distensions and cutaneous heat stimuli matched for perceived pain intensity. Fear of pain and pain unpleasantness were assessed before and after scanning. Visceral pain was more fear evoking and more unpleasant, and trial-by-trial intensity ratings failed to habituate across trials (all interactions modality × time: P < 0.01). Differences in fear of pain and pain intensity independently contributed to greater visceral pain unpleasantness (combined regression model: R2 = 0.59). We observed joint neural activations in somatosensory cortex and frontoparietal attention network (conjunction analysis: all pFWE <0.05), but distensions induced greater activation in somatosensory cortex, dorsal and ventral anterior insula, dorsal anterior and midcingulate cortices, and brainstem, whereas cutaneous heat pain led to enhanced activation in posterior insula and hippocampus (all pFWE <0.05). Fear of visceral pain correlated with prefrontal activation, but did not consistently contribute to neural differences between modalities. These findings in healthy women support marked differences between phasic pain induced by rectal distensions vs cutaneous heat, likely reflecting the higher salience of visceral pain. More studies with clinically relevant pain models are needed to discern the role of fear in normal interindividual differences in the response to different types of pain and as a putative risk factor in the transition from acute to chronic pain.
Parallel Implementation & Performance Evaluation of BLAST Algorithm on LINUX Cluster

BLAST is an efficient heuristic based algorithm, used for calculating local alignment between biological sequences. Due to exponential growth in the size of genomic databases, traditional techniques of sequence search proved to be slow. To address the above problem, an open source and parallel version of BLAST called mpiBLAST was developed by the programmers. In mpiBLAST, the master process distributes the database fragments among worker nodes to compute the sequence search in parallel. As merging and writing of the results is done sequentially by the master process, it would create performance bottleneck with increasing number of processors and varying database sizes. To handle this high nonsearch overhead, mpiBLAST-PIO was introduced. This study describes the optimized and extended version of mpiBLAST called mpiBLAST-PIO. The goal of this research was to investigate the performance of parallel implementation of BLAST in comparison to sequential NCBI-BLAST by measuring Speedup and efficiency on HPC Platform using Infiniband. Different options of mpiBLAST-PIO were activated that helped in understanding the optimal parameters for achieving highly scalable parallel BLAST implementation. The results found that parallel-writing of the results, can evolve as an efficient solution when high-performance parallel file system is available.
Emotional Eating: A Virtually Untreated Risk Factor for Outcome Following Bariatric Surgery

Empirical investigations implicate emotional eating (EE) in dysfunctional eating behavior such as uncontrolled overeating and insufficient weight loss following bariatric surgery. They demonstrate that EE may be a conscious or reflexive behavior motivated by multiple negative emotions and/or feelings of distress about loss-of-control eating. EE, however, has not been targeted in pre- or postoperative interventions or examined as an explanatory construct for failed treatment of dysfunctional eating. Three cases suggest that cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) might alleviate EE. One describes treatment for distress provoked by loss-of-control eating. The first of two others, associated with negative emotions/life situations, link treatment of a super-super-preoperative obese individual's reflexive EE with 52% excess BMI (body mass index) loss maintained for the past year, 64 months after surgery. The second relates treatment of conscious/reflexive EE with 84.52% excess BMI loss 53 months after surgery. Implications for research and treatment are discussed.
Using Data Crawlers and Semantic Web to Build Financial XBRL Data Generators: The SONAR Extension Approach

Precise, reliable and real-time financial information is critical for added-value financial services after the economic turmoil from which markets are still struggling to recover. Since the Web has become the most significant data source, intelligent crawlers based on Semantic Technologies have become trailblazers in the search of knowledge combining natural language processing and ontology engineering techniques. In this paper, we present the SONAR extension approach, which will leverage the potential of knowledge representation by extracting, managing, and turning scarce and disperse financial information into well-classified, structured, and widely used XBRL format-oriented knowledge, strongly supported by a proof-of-concept implementation and a thorough evaluation of the benefits of the approach.
Multiscale assimilation of Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer–EOS snow water equivalent and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer snow cover fraction observations in northern Colorado

Eight years (2002–2010) of Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer–EOS (AMSR‐E) snow water equivalent (SWE) retrievals and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover fraction (SCF) observations are assimilated separately or jointly into the Noah land surface model over a domain in Northern Colorado. A multiscale ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is used, supplemented with a rule‐based update. The satellite data are either left unscaled or are scaled for anomaly assimilation. The results are validated against in situ observations at 14 high‐elevation Snowpack Telemetry (SNOTEL) sites with typically deep snow and at 4 lower‐elevation Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) sites. Assimilation of coarse‐scale AMSR‐E SWE and fine‐scale MODIS SCF observations both result in realistic spatial SWE patterns. At COOP sites with shallow snowpacks, AMSR‐E SWE and MODIS SCF data assimilation are beneficial separately, and joint SWE and SCF assimilation yields significantly improved root‐mean‐square error and correlation values for scaled and unscaled data assimilation. In areas of deep snow where the SNOTEL sites are located, however, AMSR‐E retrievals are typically biased low and assimilation without prior scaling leads to degraded SWE estimates. Anomaly SWE assimilation could not improve the interannual SWE variations in the assimilation results because the AMSR‐E retrievals lack realistic interannual variability in deep snowpacks. SCF assimilation has only a marginal impact at the SNOTEL locations because these sites experience extended periods of near‐complete snow cover. Across all sites, SCF assimilation improves the timing of the onset of the snow season but without a net improvement of SWE amounts.
Caching with partial matching under Zipf demands

We study the caching problem when we are allowed to match each user to one of a subset of caches after its request is revealed. We focus on non-uniformly popular content, specifically when the file popularities obey a Zipf distribution. We study two extremal schemes, one focusing on coded server transmissions while ignoring matching capabilities, and the other focusing on adaptive matching while ignoring potential coding opportunities. We derive the rates achieved by these schemes and characterize the regimes in which one outperforms the other. We also compare them to information-theoretic outer bounds, and finally propose for certain cases a hybrid scheme that generalizes ideas from the two schemes and performs at least as well as either of them in most memory regimes.
Recent advances in diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of end stage renal disease worldwide and is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The earliest clinical manifestation is of microalbuminuria. Tight blood glucose and blood pressure control reduce the risk of microalbuminuria. Once microalbuminuria is present, the rate of progression to end stage renal disease and of cardiovascular disease can be delayed by aggressive management of blood pressure, glucose, and lipids. Inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system is important to reduce intraglomerular pressure but other classes of antihypertensive agent may also be needed to gain adequate control of systemic blood pressure. Such measures can at least half the rate of progression of nephropathy and cardiovascular disease.
A real-time fatigue driving detection system design and implementation

A reliable and real-time fatigue driving detection system is very important for traffic safety. Till now, various methods have been presented to improve the accuracy and robustness, however, few papers showed the efficiency of the system or the feasibility of real-time processing in embedded system. Considering the efficiency and reliability, a real-time fatigue driving detection system is presented in this paper. Firstly, Haar-like features and AdaBoosted classifiers are adopted for real-time face detection. The selection of the optimal sampling ratio and the minimum possible object size is discussed for high detection accuracy and computational efficiency. Secondly, eye location and iris positioning are applied to detected faces. We propose to use the area proportion that the iris takes in its minimum circumscribed circle as the indicator for judging the state of the eye, which is more convenient and has good robustness to distance. Finally, the percentage of eye closure (PERCLOS) is used as the criteria to determine whether the driver is tired. The embedded platform implementation of the proposed system turns out to be efficient.
Levenshtein distance metric based holistic handwritten word recognition

The rapid spread of pen-based digital devices and touch screen devices coupled with their affordability, and capability to take technology and digitization of data to the grassroots, has made online handwriting recognition an active field of research. The relevance of research on on-line handwriting recognition for Indian scripts is particularly high because the challenges posed by Indian scripts are different from other scripts. This is not only because of their extremely large alphabet size but also because the inter class variability among several classes is very small. In this article, we introduce a limited vocabulary online unconstrained handwritten Bangla (a major Indian script) word recognizer based on a novel word level feature representation. Here, we consider three different features extracted from a word sample and three event strings are generated corresponding to these three features. A distance function is formulated which uses the Levenshtein distance metric to compute the distance between two triplets of event strings representing two word samples. The nearest neighbour scheme is used to classify the input sample. We have simulated the proposed approach on vocabularies of varying sizes and the recognition performances are encouraging.
Large-scale characterization of peptide-MHC binding landscapes with structural simulations

Class I major histocompatibility complex proteins play a critical role in the adaptive immune system by binding to peptides derived from cytosolic proteins and presenting them on the cell surface for surveillance by T cells. The varied peptide binding specificity of these highly polymorphic molecules has important consequences for vaccine design, transplantation, autoimmunity, and cancer development. Here, we describe a molecular modeling study of MHC-peptide interactions that integrates sampling techniques from protein–protein docking, loop modeling, de novo structure prediction, and protein design in order to construct atomically detailed peptide binding landscapes for a diverse set of MHC proteins. Specificity profiles derived from these landscapes recover key features of experimental binding profiles and can be used to predict peptide binding with reasonable accuracy. Family wide comparison of the predicted binding landscapes recapitulates previously reported patterns of specificity divergence and peptide-repertoire diversity while providing a structural basis for observed specificity patterns. The size and sequence diversity of these structure-based binding landscapes enable us to identify subtle patterns of covariation between peptide sequence positions; analysis of the associated structural models suggests physical interactions that may mediate these sequence correlations.
Host Adaptation of Chlamydia pecorum towards Low Virulence Evident in Co-Evolution of the ompA, incA, and ORF663 Loci

Chlamydia (C.) pecorum, an obligate intracellular bacterium, may cause severe diseases in ruminants, swine and koalas, although asymptomatic infections are the norm. Recently, we identified genetic polymorphisms in the ompA, incA and ORF663 genes that potentially differentiate between high-virulence C. pecorum isolates from diseased animals and low-virulence isolates from asymptomatic animals. Here, we expand these findings by including additional ruminant, swine, and koala strains. Coding tandem repeats (CTRs) at the incA locus encoded a variable number of repeats of APA or AGA amino acid motifs. Addition of any non-APA/AGA repeat motif, such as APEVPA, APAVPA, APE, or APAPE, associated with low virulence (P<10−4), as did a high number of amino acids in all incA CTRs (P = 0.0028). In ORF663, high numbers of 15-mer CTRs correlated with low virulence (P = 0.0001). Correction for ompA phylogram position in ORF663 and incA abolished the correlation between genetic changes and virulence, demonstrating co-evolution of ompA, incA, and ORF663 towards low virulence. Pairwise divergence of ompA, incA, and ORF663 among isolates from healthy animals was significantly higher than among strains isolated from diseased animals (P≤10−5), confirming the longer evolutionary path traversed by low-virulence strains. All three markers combined identified 43 unique strains and 4 pairs of identical strains among all 57 isolates tested, demonstrating the suitability of these markers for epidemiological investigations.
Comparative phylogeography of unglaciated eastern North America

Regional phylogeographical studies involving co‐distributed animal and plant species have been conducted for several areas, most notably for Europe and the Pacific Northwest of North America. Until recently, phylogeographical studies in unglaciated eastern North America have been largely limited to animals. As more studies emerge for diverse lineages (including plants), it seems timely to assess the phylogeography across this region: (i) comparing and contrasting the patterns seen in plants and animals; (ii) assessing the extent of pseudocongruence; and (iii) discussing the potential applications of regional phylogeography to issues in ecology, such as response to climatic change. Unglaciated eastern North America is a large, geologically and topographically complex area with the species examined having diverse distributions. Nonetheless, some recurrent patterns emerge: (i) maritime — Atlantic vs. Gulf Coast; (ii) Apalachicola River discontinuity; (iii) Tombigbee River discontinuity; (iv) the Appalachian Mountain discontinuity; (v) the Mississippi River discontinuity; and (vi) the Apalachicola River and Mississippi River discontinuities. Although initially documented in animals, most of these patterns are also apparent in plants, providing support for phylogeographical generalizations. These patterns may generally be attributable to isolation and differentiation during Pleistocene glaciation, but in some cases may be older (Pliocene). Molecular studies sometimes agree with longstanding hypotheses of glacial refugia, but also suggest additional possible refugia, such as the southern Appalachian Mountains and areas close to the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Many species exhibit distinct patterns that reflect the unique, rather than the shared, aspects of species’ phylogeographical histories. Furthermore, similar modern phylogeographical patterns can result from different underlying causal factors operating at different times (i.e. pseudocongruence). One underemphasized component of pseudocongruence may result from the efforts of researchers to categorize patterns visually — similar patterns may, in fact, not fully coincide, and inferring agreement may obscure the actual patterns and lead to erroneous conclusions. Our modelling analyses indicate no clear spatial patterning and support the hypothesis that phylogeographical structure in diverse temperate taxa is complex and was not shaped by just a few barriers.
Hf isotope geochemistry of the Galapagos Islands

We report 176Hf/177Hf ratios determined by multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry on 49 basalts from the Galapagos Islands. The ɛHf values range from about +8, a value typical of many oceanic island basalts, to about +15, a value typical of mid‐ocean ridge basalt. The ɛHf shows the expected correlation with ɛNd and inverse correlations with Sr and Pb isotope ratios. The range of values and correlations observed is consistent with Galapagos mantle plume‐asthenosphere mixing inferred from previous geochemical studies. While oceanic island basalt isotopic arrays suggest that multicomponent mixing is common in the sources of such basalts, the Galapagos is unusual in that depleted upper mantle appears to be a principal component. Thermal and dynamic interaction between the Galapagos mantle plume and the lithosphere and shallow asthenosphere is the most likely cause of mixing and of the geographic pattern of geochemical variation. The Galapagos Hf‐Nd‐Sr‐Pb isotopic array diverges toward the “plume” end, indicating the plume is heterogeneous. This heterogeneity is geographic, with distinct northern, central, and southern components. The central component and, to a lesser degree, the northern component are compositionally similar to the “common component” of plumes (variously called PHEM, FOZO, and “C”), while the southern component is unique with relatively high ɛHf and 206Pb/204Pb compared to 87Sr/86Sr and ɛNd.
Harbinger of a Dilemma: an Evaluation of the Digital Divide and E-Government Strategies on the Isle Of Man

The ‘digital divide’, which is defined as the gap that exists between those with and those without access to the Internet, (i.e. the digital ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’) has been widely debated. The main protagonists are split broadly into two groups, the technology ‘optimists’ and the technology ‘pessimists’. Conventional wisdom is represented by the optimists’ view that the divide is cause d by societal barriers to Internet connectivity such as low levels of education, income and proliferation of technology. The pessimists disagree that these barriers cause the divide or that they are important enough to justify significant expenditure by go vernments in addressing them, e.g. through e-Government programmes. This paper reports on a study to evaluate the validity of the optimistic position. The Isle of Man (IOM) was selected for this evaluation because of its size, social stability, high levels of education and income, and established e-Government programme. The premise of the research was that if the optimistic view is correct, lower or similar barriers to those found in the UK should result in higher or similar levels of Internet access in the IOM. A review of the IOM’s historical and economic background provided a general context for the evaluation process. Members of the IOM Government were surveyed to determine the quality of their e-Government programme. Quality was tested through comparison with a similar survey of the US Federal e-Government programme, which is a recognised benchmark. The result was that the IOM programme compared favourably with the US one and, by implication, that of the UK, and was additionally expected by the interviewees to be a key variable in materially narrowing the digital divide on the Island. The remaining research activity was based on establishing the relative levels of age, education, and income between the IOM and the UK. These prime causal factors of the digital divide, as purported by the optimists, were found to marginally favour the IOM. However, the test of Internet access revealed that the IOM trailed the UK connectivity level by between 12% to 14%; a diametrically opposite result to that expected based on the optimistic viewpoint. This unexpected outcome could constitute a dilemma for the IOM Government and those with similar e-Government and digital divide challenges. A key question for governments arising from limited Internet usage is that legacy systems and processes may have to be perpetuated indefinitely. This will, at best, delay many of the benefits and savings often associated with e-Government and lead to incremental stakeholder costs and possible inconvenience for the foreseeable future.
Age at starting smoking and number of cigarettes smoked in Catalonia, Spain.

BACKGROUND Few studies have investigated the association between age at starting smoking and the average number of cigarettes smoked per day in adulthood. To provide further evidence on this issue, we analyzed data from the Catalan Health Interview Survey (CHIS). METHODS The CHIS was conducted in 1994 on a randomly selected sample (N = 15,000) of the population of Catalonia, Spain. A total of 4,897 current or exsmokers (3,276 males and 1,621 females) were included for analysis. Age-standardized proportions of subjects smoking <15, 15-24, and >/=25 cigarettes/day, age-standardized mean number of cigarettes smoked per day, and multivariate odds ratios (OR) of being a heavy smoker (>/=25 cigarettes/day) according to age at starting smoking (<15, 15-17, 18-19, >/=20 years) were computed. RESULTS Men who started smoking before the age of 15 smoked on average 5.5 cigarettes more than those who started at age 19 or over. Women who started smoking early in life smoked, on average, 6.8 cigarettes/day more than women who started later. The proportion of smokers of <15 cigarettes/day was higher among subjects who started smoking later. Both for males and for females, the OR of being a heavy smoker significantly increased with decreasing age at starting smoking (OR = 2.4 for males and 4.5 for females who started at age <15 versus >/=20 years). The level of education did not modify the relationship in males, whereas the association with age at starting was only apparent for more educated women. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms that age at starting smoking is inversely and strongly associated to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Thus, actions aimed at the prevention or delay of smoking onset among adolescents would have an important beneficial effect.
Using the ECN Nonce to Detect Spurious Loss Events in TCP

A sudden delay spike or reordering in the network can cause TCP to experience a loss event. Since loss is interpreted as a sign of congestion in TCP, this causes the protocol to reduce its sending rate. Several mechanisms for detecting and reacting to such spurious loss events have been proposed; each of them has some advantages and disadvantages. We extend this space with a new detection mechanism which complements the existing ones well. Furthermore, the mechanism is easy to implement because it only needs the sender to intelligently interpret feedback from ECN nonce.