Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased rates of pregnancy complications in women with celiac disease

Background Celiac disease is an immune-mediated small bowel disorder that develops in genetically susceptible individuals upon exposure to dietary gluten. Celiac disease could have extra-intestinal manifestations that affect women’s reproductive health. The aim of this study was to investigate fertility and outcomes of pregnancy among women with celiac disease. Methods In a retrospective cohort study, we analyzed information collected from patients at a tertiary care celiac center and from members of 2 national celiac disease awareness organizations. Women without celiac disease were used as controls. Women completed an anonymous online survey, answering 43 questions about menstrual history, fertility, and outcomes of pregnancy (329 with small bowel biopsy-confirmed celiac disease and 641 controls). Results Of the 970 women included in the study, 733 (75.6%) reported that they had been pregnant at some point; there was no significant difference between women with celiac disease (n=245/329, 74.5%) and controls (488/641, 76.1%; P=0.57). However, fewer women with celiac disease than controls (79.6% vs. 84.8%) gave birth following 1 or more pregnancies (P=0.03). Women with celiac disease had higher percentages of spontaneous abortion than controls (50.6% vs. 40.6%; P=0.01), and of premature delivery (23.6% vs. 15.9% among controls; P=0.02). The mean age at menarche was higher in the celiac disease group (12.7 years) than controls (12.4 years; P=0.01). Conclusions In a retrospective cohort analysis examining reproductive features of women with celiac disease, we associated celiac disease with significant increases in spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, and later age of menarche.
Enhancement of immune response to naked DNA vaccine by immunization with transfected dendritic cells

Immunization with plasmid DNA encoding various proteins promises to be a valuable vaccine approach especially if its immunogenicity could be optimized. In this study we show that the intramuscular delivery in dendritic cells (DC) of naked plasmid DNA encoding two proteins of herpes simplex virus (HSV) leads to the induction of significantly enhanced levels of resistance to viral challenge. Whereas DC transfected in vitro with DNA induced enhanced immunity, similarly transfected macrophage (Mɸ) populations lacked immunogenicity even though plasmid expression occurred in vitro. The enhanced immunity induced by DC‐delivered DNA appeared to be associated mainly with an increased Thl CD4+ T cell response. Our results add evidence that DC are the essential antigen‐presenting cell types involved in immune responses to intramuscularly administered DNA vaccines. J. Leukoc. Biol. 61: 125–132; 1997.
The role of neuromodulation in the management of urinary urge incontinence

Neuromodulation is increasingly becoming an important part of the treatment strategy for bladder dysfunction. In this issue a group of urologists have analysed outcome measures from all patients in pivotal clinical trials who have had this treatment, and have suggested that sacral nerve stimulation has an vital role in the management of refractory overactive bladder and retention problems.
The Value Relevance of Accounting Information in Thailand Around the 1997 Decline in the Value of the Baht

This study examines the value relevance of financial accounting in Thailand prior to and during the decline in the value of the Baht in July 1997. The study examines the association between security prices from the Stock Exchange of Thailand and accounting book values and earnings from first quarter 1992 through third quarter 1997. Our results show that Thai earnings and book values are positively and significantly related to security prices although to a lessor extent than for United States and British firms. Thai book values and earnings each have incremental information content relative to the other. We find that the value relevance of book values in Thailand are increasing significantly over time, particularly after the decline in the value of the Baht in July 1997. However, the number of Thai firms reporting losses increased in the second and third quarters of 1997. Thus, our evidence that the value-relevance of Thai book values increased is consistent with evidence from US firms that value relevance shifts from earnings to book values when earnings are negative. We find no evidence, however, of change in the value relevance of earnings.
Edge detection of digital images using a conducted ant colony optimization and intelligent thresholding

An edge detection algorithm based on Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) and neural network is presented. This algorithm uses a FIS with 4 simple rules to identify the probable edge pixels in 4 main directions, then the ACO is applied for assigning a higher pheromone value for the probable edge pixels rather than other pixels so that the ants movement toward edge pixels get faster. Another factor that needs to be considered in order to conduct the ants' movement is the influence of the heuristic information in the movement of any ant to be proportional to local change in intensity of each pixel. Finally, by using an intelligent thresholding technique which is provided by training a neural network, the edges from the final pheromone matrix are extracted. Experimental results are provided in order to demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed approach.
Population Analysis of Pharmacogenetic Polymorphisms Related to Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Drug Treatment

This study aimed to evaluate in the Brazilian population, the genotypes and population frequencies of pharmacogenetic polymorphisms involved in the response to drugs used in treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and to compare the data with data from the HapMap populations. There was significant differentiation between most population pairs, but few associations between genetic ancestry and SNPs in the Brazilian population were observed. AMOVA analysis comparing the Brazilian population to all other populations retrieved from HapMap pointed to a genetic proximity with the European population. These associations point to preclusion of the use of genetic ancestry as a proxy for predicting drug response. In this way, any study aiming to correlate genotype with drug response in the Brazilian population should be based on pharmacogenetic SNP genotypes.
Farkas-type results and duality for DC programs with convex constraints

In this paper, we are interested in new versions of Farkas lemmas for systems involving convex and DC-inequalities. These versions extend well-known Farkas-type results published recently, which were used as main tools in the study of convex optimization problems. The results are used to derive several strong duality results such as: Lagrange, Fenchel-Lagrange or Toland-Fenchel-Lagrange duality for DC and convex problems. Moreover, it is shown that for this class of problems, these versions of Farkas lemma are actually equivalent to several strong duality results of Lagrange, Fenchel-Lagrange or TolandFenchel-Lagrange types.
Nucleus Reuniens Thalami Modulates Activity in Hippocampal Field CA1 through Excitatory and Inhibitory Mechanisms

The nucleus reuniens thalami (RE) originates dense projections to CA1, forming asymmetrical synapses on spines (50%) and dendrites (50%). The hypothesis that RE input modulates transmission in CA1 through excitation of both pyramidal cells and interneurons was tested using electrophysiological methods in the anesthetized rat. The RE–CA1 afferents were selectively stimulated at their origin; evoked field potentials and unit activity were recorded in CA1. RE-evoked depth profiles showed a prominent negative deflection in the stratum lacunosum-moleculare and a positive one in the stratum radiatum. The lacunosum-moleculare sink–radiatum source configuration is compatible with RE-elicited depolarization of apical dendrites of pyramidal cells. Despite a consistent and robust paired pulse facilitation of RE-evoked field potentials, population spikes in the stratum pyramidale were not detected at any tested condition. This indicates the inability of RE–CA1 input to discharge pyramidal cells. However, stimulation of RE-elicited spiking of extracellularly recorded units in strata oriens/alveus and distal radiatum, indicative of the activation of local interneurons. Thus, RE seems to modulate transmission in CA1 through a (subthreshold) depolarization of pyramidal cells and a suprathreshold excitation of putative inhibitory oriens/alveus and radiatum interneurons. RE-evoked monosynaptic or disynaptic field potentials were associated with stimulation of rostral or caudal RE, respectively. Anatomically, a projection from caudal to rostral RE was demonstrated that can account for the disynaptic RE–CA1 input. Because caudal RE receives input from the hippocampus via the subiculum, we propose the existence of a closed RE–hippocampal circuit that allows RE to modulate the activity in CA1, depending on hippocampal output.
Medical Malpractice Appeals in a Civil Law System: Do Administrative and Civil Courts Award Noneconomic Damages Differently?

How do courts award noneconomic damages? Does it matter if the state is the defendant? This article addresses these questions in the context of medical malpractice appeals to the Spanish Supreme Court. Moreover, this study provides the first empirical analysis of the quantification of noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases in administrative courts, where the state is the defendant, and in civil courts. This separation of jurisdictions is a common feature in civil law tradition countries. Yet, critics of this separation in general, and specialized courts in particular, argue that parties might be subject to different treatments and that similar cases might reach different outcomes, namely in terms of the quantification of damages. A consistent result of this paper is that no significant differences between noneconomic damages in civil and administrative appeals were found. The separation of jurisdictions does not necessarily imply that courts reach different outcomes, even when the state is the defendant. Citizens should not refrain from bringing their claims forward against the state, a more powerful party. In the current era of increasing juridification and judicialization of modern life (Ginsburg 2009; Hirschl 2006; Hirschl 2011), it is crucial for society that citizens and other parties litigating with the state are not disadvantageously treated.
Posterior Integration in Dynamic Models

The analysis of general dynamic models involves a sequence of posterior distributions corresponding to the subsequent stages of the dynamic model. In the absence of normal/linear structure numerical integration schemes are required to estimate features of these posterior distributions. This paper reviews some previously suggested Monte Carlo based algorithms and suggests a new scheme which makes use of a Metropolis type algorithm to propagate a Monte Carlo sample simulated from the initial prior distribution through all stages of the dynamic model. For each of the posterior distributions in the dynamic model, the algorithm makes a Monte Carlo sample available which allows then to estimate posterior integrals as desired. Before proceeding to the analysis at time t, the algorithm requires reconstruction of the posterior distribution corresponding to period t ? 1. This is solved by an implementation of a mixture of Dirichlet process model, making use of the already available Monte Carlo sample.
Socioeconomic development and agricultural intensification in Mato Grosso

The Brazilian agro-industrial frontier in Mato Grosso rapidly expanded in total area of mechanized production and in total value of production in the last decade. This article shows the spatial pattern of that expansion from 2000 to 2010, based on novel analyses of satellite imagery. It then explores quantitatively and qualitatively the antecedents and correlates of intensification, the expansion of the area under two crops per year. Double cropping is most likely in areas with access to transportation networks, previous profitable agricultural production, and strong existing ties to national and international commodity markets. The article concludes with an exploration of the relationship between double cropping and socioeconomic development, showing that double cropping is strongly correlated with incomes of all residents of a community and with investments in education. We conclude that double cropping in Mato Grosso is very closely tied to multiple indicators of socioeconomic development.
Effects of chemotherapeutic agents on expression of somatostatin receptors in pancreatic tumor cells.

UNLABELLED Specific tumors express high amounts of receptors for somatostatin (SST), providing the basis for imaging and treatment using radiolabeled SST analogs. However, little is known about the potential influence of cytotoxic drugs on SST receptor (SSTR) expression in malignant cells. METHODS To study the interaction between cytotoxic drugs and SSTR expression, the pancreatic cancer-derived tumor cell lines BxPC-3, Panc-1, Capan-1, and ASPC-1 were exposed to a range of cytotoxic drugs in vitro: Gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin (cis-diaminedichloroplatinum [II]), camptothecin, mitomycin C, and doxorubicin were checked for changes in binding characteristics of the SSTR ligand (111)In-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane- N,N',N",N"'-tetraacetic acid-lanreotide (DOTA-LAN). Chemosensitivity was quantitated by measurements of reduction in cell numbers, changes in cell cycle distribution, and appearance of apoptotic subG1 (subG1/0 cell DNA content) cells. RESULTS Cells were treated with gemcitabine (1.0 or 2.0 microg/mL), 5-fluorouracil (65-520 microg/mL), camptothecin (1.5 or 3 microg/mL), mitomycin C (0.1 or 0.2 microg/mL), and doxorubicin (1.0 or 2.0 microg/mL). Each of the chemotherapeutic agents induced a loss of high-affinity receptors. In addition, gemcitabine caused a reduction of low-affinity receptors in BxPC-3, Panc-1, and ASPC-1 cells. Mitomycin C, camptothecin, and 5-fluorouracil also induced an overexpression of low-affinity receptors. In cells pretreated with cisplatin (2-10 microg/mL), binding of DOTA-LAN was increased. Excluding gemcitabine, the increase in low-affinity binding sites exhibits a weak correlation with apoptosis (r(2) = 0.62). For gemcitabine, these effects were reversed after 4 d of recovery of the cell lines, eventually revealing overexpression of low- and high-affinity sites for BxPC-3 and Panc-1 cells and low-affinity sites for ASPC-1 cells. CONCLUSION Our results clearly show that the pancreatic tumor lines reduce the expression of high-affinity DOTA-LAN binding sites during application of chemotherapeutic drugs, which is accompanied by variable overexpression of low-affinity binding sites. In the case of gemcitabine, SSTRs are overexpressed during recovery from drug exposure within 4 d. These findings may have implications on the interpretation of scintigraphic results obtained by receptor ligands.
IncreSTS: Towards Real-Time Incremental Short Text Summarization on Comment Streams from Social Network Services

This paper focuses on the problem of short text summarization on the comment stream of a specific message from social network services (SNS). Due to the high popularity of SNS, the quantity of comments may increase at a high rate right after a social message is published. Motivated by the fact that users may desire to get a brief understanding of a comment stream without reading the whole comment list, we attempt to group comments with similar content together and generate a concise opinion summary for this message. Since distinct users will request the summary at any moment, existing clustering methods cannot be directly applied and cannot meet the real-time need of this application. In this paper, we model a novel incremental clustering problem for comment stream summarization on SNS. Moreover, we propose IncreSTS algorithm that can incrementally update clustering results with latest incoming comments in real time. Furthermore, we design an at-a-glance visualization interface to help users easily and rapidly get an overview summary. From extensive experimental results and a real case demonstration, we verify that IncreSTS possesses the advantages of high efficiency, high scalability, and better handling outliers, which justifies the practicability of IncreSTS on the target problem.
Meta-synthetic Computing Formula of Situation Assessment in Social Interactions

Situation assessment in interactions needs to make an explicit evaluation of the social interactions. When there is more than one agent or ldquoplayerrdquo, the logic of knowledge and belief play an important role. One is interested not only in each personpsilas knowledge and beliefs about substantive matters, but also in his knowledge and beliefs about the others. This paper explored the meta-synthetic computing formula of situation assessment in social interactions. First, each personpsilas knowledge and belief determines the interactive structure, which can be computer-aided calculation. Second, the process of interactions is dynamic, the assessment needs an open interactive environment to analyze and understand the situation, which is human-computer symbiotic. Third, these interactions are supported by the data and information processing algorithm and models. Interactive structure aided by computer, human-computer symbiotic open interactive environment, data and information processing algorithm and models constitute meta-synthetic computing formula of situation assessment.
Matrix CRLB scaling due to measurements of uncertain origin

In many estimation situations, measurements are of uncertain origin. This is best exemplified by the target-tracking situation in which at each scan (of a radar, sonar, or electro-optical sensor), a number of measurements are obtained, and it is not known which, if any, of these is target originated. The source of extraneous measurements can be false alarms-especially in low-SNR situations that force the detector at the end of the signal processing chain to operate with a reduced threshold-or spurious targets. In several earlier papers, the surprising observation was made that the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for the estimation of a fixed parameter vector (e.g., initial position and velocity) that characterizes the target motion, for the special case of multidimensional measurements in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise, is simply a multiple of that for the case with no uncertainty. That is, there is a scalar information-reduction factor; this is particularly useful as it allows comparison in terms of a scalar. In this paper, we explore this result to determine how wide the class of such problems is. It turns out to include many non-Gaussian situations. Simulations corroborate the analysis.
Software ENgineering Term rewriting with traversal functions

Term rewriting is an appealing te hnique for performing program analysis and program transformation. Tree (term) traversal is frequently used but is not supported by standard term rewriting. We extend many-sorted, rst-order term rewriting with traversal fun tions that automate tree traversal in a simple and type safe way. Traversal fun tions an be bottom-up or top-down traversals. They an be either sort preserving transformations, or mappings to a xed sort. We give examples and des ribe the semanti s and implementation of traversal fun tions. 1998 ACM Computing Classi ation System: D.3. 1, D.3. 3, E.1
Interferon γ Eliminates Responding Cd4 T Cells during Mycobacterial Infection by Inducing Apoptosis of Activated Cd4 T Cells

In Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-infected wild-type mice, there was a large expansion of an activated (CD44hi) splenic CD4 T cell population followed by a rapid contraction of this population to normal numbers. Contraction of the activated CD4 T cell population in wild-type mice was associated with increased apoptosis of activated CD4 T cells. In BCG-infected interferon (IFN)-γ knockout (KO) mice, the activated CD4 T cell population did not undergo apoptosis. These mice accumulated large numbers of CD4+CD44hi T cells that were responsive to mycobacterial antigens. Addition of IFN-γ to cultured splenocytes from BCG-infected IFN-γ KO mice induced apoptosis of activated CD4 T cells. IFN-γ–mediated apoptosis was abolished by depleting adherent cells or Mac-1+ spleen cells or by inhibiting nitric oxide synthase. Thus, IFN-γ is essential to a regulatory mechanism that eliminates activated CD4 T cells and maintains CD4 T cell homeostasis during an immune response.
A Vision for Diagrammatic Ontology Engineering

Ontology engineering is becoming more important, given the rapid rise of data in this information age. To better understand and reason about this data, ontologies provide us with insight into its structure. With this comes the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders, such as information analysts, software engineers, lawyers, and domain experts, alongside specialist ontology engineers. These specialists are likely to be adept at using existing approaches to ontology development, typically description logic or one of its various stylized forms. However, not all stakeholders can readily access such notations, which often have a very mathematical style. Many stakeholders, even including uent ontology engineers, could bene t from visual approaches to ontology engineering, provided those approaches are accessible. This paper presents ongoing research into a diagrammatic approach to ontology engineering, outlining key research advances that are required.
Example-Based Machine Translation of Short Phrases Using the Context Equivalence Principle

In this paper we consider machine translation in a very specific setting of computerassisted software localization. This setting imposes certain requirements on the kind of translation assistance expected from the computer, and we believe that simple examplebased techniques suit best for the task. We propose a very simplistic method, that exploits the assumption of context-equivalence common to other example-based techniques. The novelty of the approach (as we believe) lies in the fact that it uses no other linguistic heuristics such as word-wise alignments. As a result, the method produces very reliable translations at the price of not being able to translate all sentences – the behaviour that is well-suited for the task at hand. We have tested the method on a realistic dataset of localized messages and labels from a typical web-application, as well as a dataset of messages from KDE games. In different tests the method succeeded in perfectly translating between 5 and 37 percent of the messages with a negligible amount of mistakes. We find this result quite successful.
The Feedback-Related Negativity and the P300 Brain Potential Are Sensitive to Price Expectation Violations in a Virtual Shopping Task

A large body of evidence shows that buying behaviour is strongly determined by consumers’ price expectations and the extent to which real prices violate these expectations. Despite the importance of this phenomenon, little is known regarding its neural mechanisms. Here we show that two patterns of electrical brain activity known to index prediction errors–the Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) and the feedback-related P300 –were sensitive to price offers that were cheaper than participants’ expectations. In addition, we also found that FRN amplitude time-locked to price offers predicted whether a product would be subsequently purchased or not, and further analyses suggest that this result was driven by the sensitivity of the FRN to positive price expectation violations. This finding strongly suggests that ensembles of neurons coding positive prediction errors play a critical role in real-life consumer behaviour. Further, these findings indicate that theoretical models based on the notion of prediction error, such as the Reinforcement Learning Theory, can provide a neurobiologically grounded account of consumer behavior.