Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Provisional diagnostic criteria for polymyalgia rheumatica: moving beyond clinical intuition?

In 1964, US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, a master of words, when trying to define hardcore pornography admitted, ‘I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so, but I know it when I see it…’. Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) has been in that sense the pornography of rheumatic diseases—a difficult to define syndrome of inflammatory pain and stiffness in older people, but one commonly encountered in practice, and not commonly missed by experienced clinicians. The response to low doses of corticosteroids is often rapid, dramatic, and has been used by many clinicians as a feature that helps define the disease. No single clinical finding or laboratory abnormality is unique to this disorder, and although some aspects of cytokine abnormalities and histopathological findings in this disorder are understood, there is no single identifiable aetiopathogenesis. The rather recent history of PMR is one of many names and definitions, reflecting this uncertainty about the pathology and pathogenesis.1 In this issue of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases , Dasgupta and colleagues2 report provisional classification criteria for PMR. In a study jointly sponsored by the European League Against Rheumatism and the American College of Rheumatology the authors propose a set of ‘provisional’ classification criteria. These emerged as the result of a multiphase effort in which they initially developed candidate criteria through a systemic literature review, then a consensus process and wider survey. These criteria were then assessed by experts, and those that emerged as most widely agreed upon were reviewed by both rheumatologists and non-rheumatologists in a wider survey generating a number of criteria most widely accepted. They then evaluated the performance of these proposed criteria in a 6-month prospective cohort study of 125 patients with new-onset PMR and 169 non-PMR control patients whose clinical presentation included features that can mimic PMR. They assessed …
Realistic heatmap visualization for interactive analysis of 3D gaze data

In this paper, a novel approach for real-time heatmap generation and visualization of 3D gaze data is presented. By projecting the gaze into the scene and considering occlusions from the observer's view, to our knowledge, for the first time a correct visualization of the actual scene perception in 3D environments is provided. Based on a graphics-centric approach utilizing the graphics pipeline, shaders and several optimization techniques, heatmap rendering is fast enough for an interactive online and offline gaze analysis of thousands of gaze samples.
An Integrative Model of Consumer's Adoption of RFID Credit Card Service

This research coalesces three different approaches to consumer''s adoption of new technology-based service into an integrative model. We use the basic framework of TAM and supplement technology readiness and perceived risk to the model to better address the consumer adoption context. The model is tested with data from 343 web surveys regarding RFID credit card adoption. Results show that technology readiness and perceived risk add a significant set of predictors to behavioral intentions while perceived usefulness remain the primary driver of behavioral intentions.
Enhancing Hybrid Self-attention Structure with Relative-position-aware Bias for Speech Synthesis

Compared with the conventional "front-end"–"back-end"– "vocoder" structure, based on the attention mechanism, end-to-end speech synthesis systems directly train and synthesize from text sequence to the acoustic feature sequence as a whole. Recently, a more calculation efficient end-to-end architecture named transformer, which is solely based on self-attention, was proposed to model global dependencies between the input and output sequences. However, although with many advantages, transformer lacks position information in its structure. Moreover, the weighted sum form in self-attention may disperse the attention to the whole input sequence other than focusing on the more important neighbouring positions. In order to solve the above problems, this paper introduces a hybrid self-attention structure which combines self-attention with the recurrent neural networks (RNNs). We further enhance the proposed structure with relative-position-aware biases. Mean opinion score (MOS) test results indicate that by enhancing hybrid self-attention structure with relative-position-aware biases, the proposed system achieves the best performance with only 0.11 MOS score lower than natural recording.
Data collection and processing in the carnegie mellon communicator

In order to create a useful, gracefully functioning system for travel arrangements, we have first observed the task as it is accomplished by a human. We then imitated the human while making the user believe he was dialoguing with an automatic system. As we gradually built our system, we devised ways to assess progress and to detect errors. The following described the manner in which the Carnegie Mellon Communicator was built, data collected, and assessment begun using these criteria.
J O U R N a L O F Veterinary Science Short Communication Tp53 Polymorphisms Allow for Genetic Sub-grouping of the Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumor

The canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is found mainly in dogs' sexual organs. Currently, it is widely accepted that all samples of CTVT show similar histopathological characteristics and share common genetic alterations. Despite the common genetic origin of CTVT, mutations in the P53 gene have been reported. In this study, we proposed that tumor samples can be genetically grouped using this gene. The presence of different subgroups of CTVT was determined in Mexican dogs using the TP53 gene sequence in CTVT samples. Four new polymorphisms were found and therefore, the CTVT samples were classified in five subgroups. The canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is characterized by the vertical propagation of tumoral cells from an affected individual to a healthy one. Although CTVT is mainly found in the sexual organs of female and male dogs, it can become highly invasive to other tissues [7]. Metastasis occurs in low frequency and the tumors generally respond to antineoplasic treatment [1]. Several findings have highlighted that CTVT arose from an ancestral neoplasic cell, coming from a single host, through successions of selection and clonal expansion [3,8]. Accordingly, worldwide samples of CTVT show closely related histopathological characteristics and share common genetic alterations such as aneuploid karyotype with the presence of 58 to 59 chromosomes and a particular long interspersed nuclear element (LINE-1) insertion near c-myc oncogene [4]. Despite the common origin of CTVT, tumor samples from different countries can be genetically subdivided, depending on their geographic origin. For instance, the DQA 1 locus has been found to be diploid in some CTVT samples and haploid in others. In addition, two genetic subgroups based on mitochondrial DNA analysis have been characterized [5]. Moreover, a mutation found in position 963 of the TP53 gene in CTVT cells from Asian dogs [2], was absent in tumor samples from Mexican dogs [10]. Taken together, these data suggest the existence of several CTVT subgroups, probably because of the acquisition of new genetic alterations after the development of the original CTVT clone. The TP53 gene is one of the most important suppressor genes associated with cancer development [11]. This gene represents a mutation hot spot in the mammalian genome and could be used as a marker of genetic diversity. To determine the presence of different subgroups of CTVT in Mexican dogs, 9 out of the 11 exons in the TP53 gene were sequenced in 5 CTVT samples. Four new polymorphisms were …
Statistical learning shapes neural sequence representations

ABSTRACT Although sensory input arrives continuously, we experience the world in discrete units, consisting of words, objects, scenes and events, which in turn form the basis of language, thought and memory. How does sensory input get parsed into meaningful units? A process known as statistical learning (SL) may underlie this ability. SL is ubiquitous, for example allowing babies to discover word boundaries in continuous speech by tracking transitional probabilities between syllables. Here we examine which cortical circuits extract such regularities, how these regularities are represented, and how this learning compares across sensory modalities. We exposed subjects to auditory and visual sequences containing temporal regularities while collecting direct, intracranial recordings (23 patients, 3689 electrodes). We used neural frequency tagging to first map the cortical circuits for SL and then representational similarity analysis to determine which aspect(s) of the regularities are learned. SL manifested into two distinct ways across electrodes, differing in terms of both anatomical location and hierarchical organization: one cluster of electrodes located in earlier processing stages (e.g., superior temporal gyrus, STG) represented both the constituent elements (e.g., syllables) and learned higher-order units (e.g., words); the other cluster was localized to later processing stages (e.g., inferior frontal gyrus, IFG) and represented only the higher-order units. Within these regions, SL shaped the similarity of neural representations at multiple levels, with a division of labor between earlier vs. later brain areas in terms of encoding of simple generic aspects of the sequences (i.e., transitional probability) vs. complex and specific information (i.e., ordinal position, identity). The anatomical and representational segregation of these circuits was observed for SL in both the auditory and visual modality, yet the anatomical areas (with the exception of IFG and anterior temporal pole), showed specificity to modality. These findings indicate the existence of multiple computational systems for sequence processing supporting learning across hierarchically segregated cortical circuits.
Ecological factors influence population genetic structure of European grey wolves

Although the mechanisms controlling gene flow among populations are particularly important for evolutionary processes, they are still poorly understood, especially in the case of large carnivoran mammals with extensive continuous distributions. We studied the question of factors affecting population genetic structure in the grey wolf, Canis lupus, one of the most mobile terrestrial carnivores. We analysed variability in mitochondrial DNA and 14 microsatellite loci for a sample of 643 individuals from 59 localities representing most of the continuous wolf range in Eastern Europe. We tested an array of geographical, historical and ecological factors to check whether they may explain genetic differentiation among local wolf populations. We showed that wolf populations in Eastern Europe displayed nonrandom spatial genetic structure in the absence of obvious physical barriers to movement. Neither topographic barriers nor past fragmentation could explain spatial genetic structure. However, we found that the genetic differentiation among local populations was correlated with climate, habitat types, and wolf diet composition. This result shows that ecological processes may strongly influence the amount of gene flow among populations. We suggest natal‐habitat‐biased dispersal as an underlying mechanism linking population ecology with population genetic structure.
CO2 activation for methanol synthesis on copper and indium oxide surfaces

Catalytic recycling of CO2 to added-value chemicals, such as methanol (CH3OH), has been proposed as a possible way for sustainable production of fuel and chemicals, in addition to providing a route to mitigate climate change. Multiple systems are known to be active for the conversion of CO2 to methanol, and the state of the art catalyst is Cu/ZnO/Al2O3. This catalyst is, however, known to deactivate rapidly. Moreover, there is no scientific consensus on either the active phase or the reaction mechanism. In response to this, the search for a longer-lasting catalysts for methanol-synthesis has been intense. In recent years, an In2O3/ZrO2 catalyst has attracted much attention, thanks to its high selectivity, activity and durability. In this thesis, we investigate the surface active phase and its effect on CO2 adsorption on Cu(100) and In2O3(110) with the use of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and ab-initio thermodynamics. Our results are compared to ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron emission spectroscopy (XPS) experiments. CO2 adsorption is the initial step in the reduction process. Hence, understanding of the active catalyst phase, and its effect on the adsorption process, is the first step for the rationalization of the catalytic processes on these systems. Simultaneously, understanding the electronic structure that allows for the high activity, might aid the rational design of better catalysts for CO2 activation. Our results show that Cu(100) oxidizes from the pristine surface to a p(2×2) overlayer at 0.25 ML followed by a reconstruction to a (2√2×√2)R45 (MR) structure at 0.50 ML. Moreover, dissociative adsorption of CO2 on Cu(100) occurs predominantly at surface steps. In2O3(110) is found to heavily hydroxylate in presence of H2 and/or H2O. Hydroxylation with H2 causes the undercoordinated In-sites to change oxidation state (from In 3+ to In 2+), while H2O does not. We suggest that the redox capacity of the undercoordinated In-site are responsible for the adsorption of CO2 on indium oxide, whereas oxygen vacancies act as spectators. Our results are in qualitative agreement with the experimental observation of heavy hydroxylation and the suppression of the reverse water gas shift on indium oxide
L'impact des polymorphismes du cytochrome P450 sur les résistances dans la schizophrénie

Introduction : CYP2D6, CYP2C19 et CYP1A2 sont des enzymes impliquees dans le metabolisme des medicaments psychotropes. Leurs polymorphismes pourraient avoir un impact sur l'efficacite du traitement. L'objectif de cette etude est d'evaluer la prevalence des polymorphismes du CYP2D6, du CYP2C19 et du CYP1A2 chez les patients atteints de schizophrenie resistante au traitement hospitalises dans une unite pour malade difficile (UMD). Nous visons egalement a evaluer l'impact des polymorphismes sur l'efficacite et la tolerance des medicaments antipsychotiques chez ces patients. Materiel et methode : les variants CYP2D6 et CYP2C19 ont ete detectes par sequencage de l'ADN. Les polymorphismes du CYP1A2 ont ete evalues par phenotypage. Les symptomes psychotiques ont ete evalues a l'aide de l'echelle PANSS et les doses de traitement ont ete converties en equivalents de chlorpromazine. Resultats : quatorze patients schizophrenes ont ete inclus. Les phenotypes predits par le genotype CYP2D6 ont identifie 7,1% de metaboliseurs lents (ML), 7,1% de metaboliseurs intermediaires (MI), 64,8% de metaboliseurs extensifs (ME) et 21,4% de metaboliseurs ultra-rapides (MUR). Les scores PANSS et les doses de traitement pour les MUR etaient superieurs a la moyenne des ME chez les patients recevant un substrat du CYP2D6. Les phenotypes predits par le genotype CYP2C19 ont identifies 85,7% de ME et 14,3% de MUR. Les scores PANSS pour les patients MUR etaient superieurs a la moyenne des patients ME. L’identification des phenotypes du CYP1A2 a identifie 45,5% de ME, 18,2% de MR et 36,3% de ML. Conclusion : un nombre eleve de polymorphismes extremes a ete trouve parmi un groupe de patients schizophrenes hospitalises en UMD. Cela pourrait etre une explication de la resistance au traitement trouvee chez ces patients.
Realization of efficient wireless power transmission by a vertical coil array

This paper presents the realization of efficient wireless power transmission (WPT) by using a vertical coil array as the receiver. The design of the array and the emphasis on the removal of mutual coupling effect among the coil elements are shown in a simulated WPT system. The high transmission efficiency by the proposed vertical coil array is demonstrated by simulation results.
Desmin expression in rhabdomyosarcoma: influence of the desmin clone and immunohistochemical method.

AIM--To determine which, if any, of five commercially available desmin clones is most reliable at labelling desmin filaments and whether the enhanced polymer one step (EPOS) method of labelling is of any advantage in the routine diagnostic laboratory. METHODS--Thirty four rhabdomyosarcomas from the files at The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London, were studied. Four different desmin clones, DE-R-11, D33, DE-U-10, and PDE, were applied to each using the conventional extravidin biotin peroxidase method. The D33 clone was also applied using the EPOS method. RESULTS--The EPOS method incorporating D33 persistently scored more cells as desmin positive and was positive in four cases which were negative on staining with the other clones. CONCLUSIONS--The D33 desmin clone used with the EPOS method is more reliable for identifying desmin filaments in tumours than other desmin antibodies tested. Different desmin clones using a routine technique label different rhabdomyosarcoma cells and therefore it is justifiable to use more than one clone.
Antidiabetic Potentiality of the Aqueous-Methanolic Extract of Seed of Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq. in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Male Albino Rat: A Correlative and Evidence-Based Approach with Antioxidative and Antihyperlipidemic Activities

Antidiabetic, antioxidative, and antihyperlipidemic activities of aqueous-methanolic (2 : 3) extract of Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq. (family Meliaceae) seed studied in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Feeding with seed extract (25 mg 0.25 mL distilled water−1100 gm b.w.−1rat−1 day−1) for 21 days to diabetic rat lowered the blood glucose level as well as the glycogen level in liver. Moreover, activities of antioxidant enzymes like catalase, peroxidase, and levels of the products of free radicals like conjugated diene and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in liver, kidney, and skeletal muscles were corrected towards the control after this extract treatment in this model. Furthermore, the seed extract corrected the levels of serum urea, uric acid, creatinine, cholesterol, triglyceride, and lipoproteins towards the control level in this experimental diabetic model. The results indicated the potentiality of the extract of S. mahagoni seed for the correction of diabetes and its related complications like oxidative stress and hyperlipidemia. The extract may be a good candidate for developing a safety, tolerable, and promising neutraceutical treatment for the management of diabetes.
Molecular Epidemiologic Approaches to Urinary Tract Infection Gene Discovery in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most frequently acquired bacterial infections. The vast majority of UTIs are caused by a large, genetically heterogeneous group of Escherichia coli. This genetic diversity has hampered identification of UTI-related genes. A three-step experimental strategy was used to identify genes potentially involved in E. coli UTI transmission or virulence: epidemiologic pairing of a UTI-specific strain with a fecal control, differential cloning to isolated UTI strain-specific DNA, and epidemiologic screening to identify sequences among isolated DNAs that are associated with UTI. The 37 DNA sequences initially isolated were physically located all over the tester strain genome. Only two hybridized to the total DNA of the sequencedE. coli K-12 strain; eight sequences were present significantly more frequently in UTI isolates than in fecal isolates. Three of the eight sequences matched to genes for multidrug efflux proteins, usher proteins, and pathogenicity island insertion sites, respectively. Using population characteristics to direct gene discovery and evaluation is a productive strategy applicable to any system.
Model-Based Screening for Robust Estimation in the Presence of Deviations from Linearity in Small Domain Models

Small domain estimation models, like the Fay-Herriot (FH), often assume a normally distributed latent process centered on a linear mean function. The linearity assumption may be violated for domains that express idiosyncratic phenomena not captured by the predictors. The direct sample estimate for such domain will be viewed as an outlier by FH when, in fact, it reflects an underlying true value. The model interpretation is also confounded by the variances of direct sample estimates because, while typically treated as fixed and known, they are estimates and thus contain noise. In this article, we construct a joint model for the direct estimates and their variances with nonparametric mixtures of normal distributions with the goal to improve robustness in estimation quality for these idiosyncratic domains. We devise a model-based screening tool to nominate domains where the model may not accurately account for deviations from the linearity assumption. We replace the modeled values for nominated domains with the direct estimate which we show robustify our models. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey publishes monthly employment estimates for domains defined by industry and geography. Model estimation is performed for smaller domains to improve the reliability of the direct estimator. We compare fit performances for our candidate models under data constructed to be similar to the CES and conduct a simulation study to assess the robustness of our candidate models in the presence of deviations from linearity. We apply our model-based screening method and quantify its ability to improve the quality of published estimates.
Role of Beta-Arrestin 2 Downstream of Dopamine Receptors in the Basal Ganglia

Multifunctional scaffolding protein beta-arrestins (βArr) and the G protein-receptor kinases are involved in the desensitization of several G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). However, arrestins can also contribute to GPCR signaling independently from G proteins. In this review, we focus on the role of βArr in the regulation of dopamine receptor functions in the striatum. First, we present in vivo evidence supporting a role for these proteins in the regulation of dopamine receptor desensitization. Second, we provide an overview of the roles of βArr2 in the regulation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinases/MAP kinases and Akt/GSK3 signaling pathways downstream of the D1 and D2 dopamine receptors. Thereafter, we examine the possible involvement of βArr-mediated signaling in the action of dopaminergic drugs used for the treatment of mental disorders. Finally, we focus on different potential cellular proteins regulated by βArr-mediated signaling which could contribute to the regulation of behavioral responses to dopamine. Overall, the identification of a cell signaling function for βArr downstream of dopamine receptors underscores the intricate complexity of the intertwined mechanisms regulating and mediating cell signaling in the basal ganglia. Understanding these mechanisms may lead to a better comprehension of the several roles played by these structures in the regulation of mood and to the development of new psychoactive drugs having better therapeutic efficacy.