Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Constructing Kernel Machines in the Empirical Kernel Feature Space

Over the last decade, kernel-based nonlinear learningmachines, e.g., support vector machines (SVMs) Vapnik (1995), kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) Scholkopf (1998), and kernel Fisher discriminant analysis (KFDA) Mika (1999), attracted a lot of attentions in the fields of pattern recognition and machine learning, and have been successfully applied in many real-world applications Mika (1999); Yang (2002); Lu (2003); Yang (2004). Basically, the kernel-based learning methods work by mapping the input data space, X , into a high dimensional space, F , called the kernel feature space: Φ : X −→ F , and then building linear machines in the kernel feature space to implement their nonlinear counterparts in the input space. This procedure is also known as a “kernelization”, in which the so-called kernel trick is associated in such a way that the inner product of each pair of the mapped data in the kernel feature space is calculated by a kernel function, rather than explicitly using the nonlinear map, Φ. The kernel trick provides an easy way to kernelize linear machines. However, in many cases, formulating a kernel machine via the kernel trick could be difficult and even impossible. For example, it is pretty tough to formulate the kernel version of the direct disciminant analysis algorithm (KDDA) Lu (2003) using the kernel trick. Moreover, for some recently developed linear discriminant analysis schemes, such as the uncorrelated linear discriminant analysis (ULDA) Ye (2004), and the orthogonal linear discriminant analysis (OLDA) Ye (2005), which have been shown to be efficient in many real-world applications Ye (2004), it is impossible to directly kernelize them via the kernel trick, since these schemes need first computing the singular value decomposition (SVD) of an interim matrix, namely, Ht (see Ye (2004)), which is generally of infinite column size in the case of the kernel feature space. Theoretically, the kernel feature space is generally an infinite dimensional Hilbert space. However, given a training data set {xi} (i = 1, 2, . . . , n), the kernel machines we known perform actually in a subspace of the kernel feature space, spanΦ(xi) (i = 1, 2, . . . , n), which can be embedded into a finite-dimensional Euclidean space with all data’s geometrical measurements, e.g., distance and angle, being preservedXiong (2005). This finite-dimensional embedding space, called empirical kernel feature space, provides a unified framework for kernelizing all kinds of linear machines. With this framework, kernel machines can be 10
Double dissociation of social functioning in frontotemporal dementia

Background: Efforts to characterize changes in social functioning in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) have failed to elicit clear dissociation between frontal and temporal variants of the disease based on behavioral measures. Methods: This study obtained premorbid and current first-degree relative ratings using an established measure of interpersonal functioning, the Interpersonal Adjectives Scales, to measure personality change in 16 patients with frontal variant (FLV) and 13 with temporal variant (TLV) FTD, and in a control group of 16 patients with AD. Results: All three groups showed significant change over time in multiple domains, including increased introversion (FG) and submissiveness (HI). However, patients with both FTD subtypes evidenced significantly greater increases in overall interpersonal pathology vector length [VL] than did patients with AD, who remained within the normal range on all scores. Patients with FLV showed a 2 SD increase in submissiveness (HI), but their cold-heartedness (DE) change scores were not significantly different from those of patients with AD. Conversely, the TLV cold-heartedness (DE) score increased 2 SD compared to minimal change for the AD and FLV groups, yet change in submissiveness (HI) did not differentiate between AD and TLV groups. Conclusions: The Interpersonal Adjectives Scales differentiated both FTD groups from patients with AD on the basis of both degree and direction of personality change. Also, the two subtypes of FTD showed distinctly different patterns of change in social functioning: patients with temporal variant shifted toward severe interpersonal coldness with mild loss of dominance, whereas patients with frontal variant showed the opposite pattern.
Shanghai Health Study (2001–2009): What was learned about benzene health effects?

Abstract The Shanghai Health Study (SHS) was a large epidemiology study conducted as a joint effort between the University of Colorado and Fudan University in Shanghai, China. The study was funded by members of the American Petroleum Institute between 2001 and 2009 and was designed to evaluate the human health effects associated with benzene exposure. Two arms of the SHS included: an occupational-based molecular epidemiology study and several hospital-based case control studies. Consistent with historical literature, following sufficient exposure to relatively high airborne concentrations and years of exposure, the SHS concluded that exposure to benzene resulted in an increased risk of various blood and bone marrow abnormalities such as benzene poisoning, aplastic anemia (AA), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was not significantly increased for the exposures examined in this study. Perhaps the most important contribution of the SHS was furthering our understanding of the mechanism of benzene-induced bone marrow toxicity and the importance of identifying the proper subset of MDS relevant to benzene. Investigators found that benzene-exposed workers exhibited bone marrow morphology consistent with an immune-mediated inflammatory response. Contrary to historic reports, no consistent pattern of cytogenetic abnormalities was identified in these workers. Taken together, findings from SHS provided evidence that the mechanism for benzene-induced bone marrow damage was not initiated by chromosome abnormalities. Instead, chronic inflammation, followed by an immune-mediated response, is likely to play a more significant role in benzene-induced disease initiation and progression than previously thought.
Prospective randomised clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of nepafenac 0.1% treatment for the prevention of macular oedema associated with cataract surgery in patients with diabetic retinopathy

Background/aims This study evaluated nepafenac ophthalmic suspension 0.1% for prevention of macular oedema (MO) when used 90 days following cataract surgery in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods Randomised, double-masked, vehicle-controlled, parallel group study conducted at 32 centres across the world. Participants were patients with diabetes with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy scheduled for cataract surgery with (posterior chamber) intraocular lens implantation. Patients were randomised to nepafenac ophthalmic suspension 0.1% or vehicle three times daily, beginning on the day before surgery and continuing through the last study visit (day 90 or early exit). All patients were instilled one drop of tobramycin 0.3% and dexamethasone 0.1% four times daily for 2 weeks after surgery. Primary efficacy end point was the percentage of patients who developed MO (defined as ≥30% increase in central subfield macular thickness from baseline) within 90 days following surgery. The secondary end point was mean change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from baseline to day 90. Results A total of 175 patients were randomised, with 87 and 88 patients in the nepafenac and vehicle groups, respectively. A significantly greater percentage of eyes in the vehicle group (17.5%; 95% CI 9.9% to 27.6%) developed MO within 90 days following surgery compared with the nepafenac group (5.0%; 95% CI 1.4% to 12.3%, p=0.01). Mean change in BCVA from baseline to day 90 following surgery was greater in the nepafenac group (17.7±14.6 letters) relative to the vehicle group (14.3±13.9 letters), though the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.14). No new safety issues or trends were identified. Conclusions A 90-day nepafenac treatment regimen prevented MO after cataract surgery in patients with DR and demonstrated no safety issues within this study group. Trial registration number NTC00782717 and NCT00939276.
The unique histidine in OSCP subunit of F‐ATP synthase mediates inhibition of the permeability transition pore by acidic pH

The permeability transition pore (PTP) is a Ca2+‐dependent mitochondrial channel whose opening causes a permeability increase in the inner membrane to ions and solutes. The most potent inhibitors are matrix protons, with channel block at pH 6.5. Inhibition is reversible, mediated by histidyl residue(s), and prevented by their carbethoxylation by diethylpyrocarbonate (DPC), but their assignment is unsolved. We show that PTP inhibition by H+ is mediated by the highly conserved histidyl residue (H112 in the human mature protein) of oligomycin sensitivity conferral protein (OSCP) subunit of mitochondrial F1FO (F)‐ATP synthase, which we also show to undergo carbethoxylation after reaction of mitochondria with DPC. Mitochondrial PTP‐dependent swelling cannot be inhibited by acidic pH in H112Q and H112Y OSCP mutants, and the corresponding megachannels (the electrophysiological counterpart of the PTP) are insensitive to inhibition by acidic pH in patch‐clamp recordings of mitoplasts. Cells harboring the H112Q and H112Y mutations are sensitized to anoxic cell death at acidic pH. These results demonstrate that PTP channel formation and its inhibition by H+ are mediated by the F‐ATP synthase.
Stable Metal–Organic Frameworks: Design, Synthesis, and Applications

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are an emerging class of porous materials with potential applications in gas storage, separations, catalysis, and chemical sensing. Despite numerous advantages, applications of many MOFs are ultimately limited by their stability under harsh conditions. Herein, the recent advances in the field of stable MOFs, covering the fundamental mechanisms of MOF stability, design, and synthesis of stable MOF architectures, and their latest applications are reviewed. First, key factors that affect MOF stability under certain chemical environments are introduced to guide the design of robust structures. This is followed by a short review of synthetic strategies of stable MOFs including modulated synthesis and postsynthetic modifications. Based on the fundamentals of MOF stability, stable MOFs are classified into two categories: high‐valency metal–carboxylate frameworks and low‐valency metal–azolate frameworks. Along this line, some representative stable MOFs are introduced, their structures are described, and their properties are briefly discussed. The expanded applications of stable MOFs in Lewis/Brønsted acid catalysis, redox catalysis, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, gas storage, and sensing are highlighted. Overall, this review is expected to guide the design of stable MOFs by providing insights into existing structures, which could lead to the discovery and development of more advanced functional materials.
The role of calcitonin gene-related peptide in the control of growth hormone and prolactin release.

In order to evaluate the actions of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a neuropeptide which is found within the hypothalamus, male and ovariectomized (OVX) female rats were injected intraventricularly (third ventricle, 3V) with varying doses of CGRP or antiserum directed against the peptide and the effect on plasma growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (Prl) concentrations studied. Intraventricular injection of the peptide (0.5 or 5.0 micrograms; 0.125 or 1.25 nmol) induced a suppression of GH release in conscious, OVX female and intact male rats. Conversely, intraventricular injection of diluted (1:10) highly specific antiserum against the peptide produced the reverse effect and a transient elevation in plasma GH occurring 2 h after the injection in males. A longer-lasting elevation occurred in OVX females which persisted for the 24-hour duration of the experiment. The elevation was delayed as has been the case with other antisera suggesting that the site of action was at some distance from the site of injection into the 3V. Since the peptide had an action to inhibit GH release from dispersed, overnight cultured anterior pituitary cells in vitro at doses of 10(-11) M, it is not certain from these results whether or not the effects of the peptide are exerted directly on the hypothalamus or the pituitary, but the results indicate a physiologically significant action of this peptide to suppress GH release. Similarly, intraventricular injection of the peptide produced a dose-related suppression of Prl release in OVX animals; however, antiserum directed against the peptide failed to alter Prl release. In males, only the lower 0.5-microgram dose effectively inhibited Prl release. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
FIXED PROSTHODONTICS

E sthetics have become increasingly important in the practice of modern restorative dentistry and are synonymous with a natural, harmonious appearance. ’ An attractive or pleasing smile clearly enhances the acceptance of an individual in our society by improving the initial impression in interpersonal relationships. A defective smile might be considered properly as a physical handicap. The smile is one of the most important facial expressions and is essential in expressing friendliness, agreement, and appreciation. Often the demand for esthetics motivates the patient to seek dental treatment.2-4 However, beauty is not absolute and is extremely subjective. It is dictated often by cultural or ethnic factors and individual preferences. It would be useful to describe some average desirable characteristic features of smiles to help achieve optimum results in esthetic oral rehabilitation. This study formulates a standard of normalcy in an esthetic smile relative to (1) smile type (high, average, low); (2) parallelism of the maxillary incisal curve with the lower lip; (3) position of the incisal curve relative to touching the lower lip; and (4) the number of teeth displayed in a smile. The standard may serve as a guideiine for restoration or enhancement of esthetics for the anterior component of the dentition.
GB Virus-C/Hepatitis G Virus Infection in Taiwan: A Virus That Fails to Cause a Disease?

Recently, an RNA virus designated GB virus-C or hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) was identified; however, its clinical significance remains uncertain. This discovery prompted us to investigate the virological, epidemiological and clinical implications of GBV-C/HGV infection in Taiwan where chronic liver diseases and liver cancer are endemic. Our results showed that genetic heterogeneity of GBV-C/HGV isolates exists, and primers from the highly conserved 5′ untranslated region of viral genome can efficiently detect GBV-C/HGV RNA. Epidemiological surveys showed that GBV-C/HGV infection is common in high-risk groups in Taiwan, and its coinfection does not aggravate the course of chronic hepatitis B or C. A prospective study of transfusion-transmitted GBV-C/HGV infection also showed GBV-C/HGV does not cause classic hepatitis in most patients. In addition, GBV-C/HGV plays a minimal role in causing fulminant hepatitis. Like hepatitis C virus, sexual transmission of GBV-C/HGV exists. The risk increases with prolonged duration of exposure. In addition, high-titered maternal viremia and mode of delivery are associated with the mother-to-infant transmission of GBV-C/HGV. Interestingly, we found that GBV-C/HGV exerts no suppression on levels of chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C viremia, and GBV-C/HGV responds to interferon; however, ribavirin plus interferon does not induce a higher sustained response. As to the replication sites of GBV-C/HGV, our preliminary results showed liver and peripheral blood mononuclear cells are not the major sites for GBV-C/HGV replication, and thus GBV-C/HGV is not a primary hepatotropic virus. In conclusion, transfusion and exchange of body fluids indeed can transmit GBV-C/HGV; however, current lines of evidence suggest that GBV-C/HGV fails to cause a disease.
Gilbert W. Beebe Symposium on 30 Years after the Chernobyl Accident: Current and Future Studies on Radiation Health Effects

This commentary summarizes the presentations and discussions from the 2016 Gilbert W. Beebe symposium “30 years after the Chernobyl accident: Current and future studies on radiation health effects. ” The symposium was hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies). The symposium focused on the health consequences of the Chernobyl accident, looking retrospectively at what has been learned and prospectively at potential future discoveries using emerging 21st Century research methodologies.
[The effects of cannabis and THC].

Cannabis and THC exert manifold actions on a number of organ systems. A lethal dose of THC in humans is unknown. Above the psychotropic threshold, ingestion of cannabis causes an enhanced well-being and relaxation with an intensification of ordinary sensory experiences. The most important unwanted acute psychical effects are anxiety and panic attacks. Acute somatic effects are increased heart rate, changes of blood pressure, conjunctival injection and dry mouth. Properties that might be used therapeutically comprise analgesia, muscle relaxation, sedation, increase of mood, stimulation of appetite, antiemesis, lowering of intraoccular pressure and bronchodilation. Chronic use may lead to dependency and to a mild withdrawal syndrome. The extent of possible long-term damage on psyche and cognition, immune system, fertility and pregnancy remains controversial. Marijuana can induce a schizophrenic psychosis in vulnerable persons presumably without increasing the incidence of the disease. Disturbance of immunological and hormonal functions and long-term impairment of memory, attention, and complex cognitive processes are low and do not preclude a legitimate therapeutic use.
REVIEW ARTICLE Mechanisms impeding natural Mediterranization process of Black Sea fauna

The inherent low species biodiversity of the Black Sea (roughly one-third of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea) is a sign of ineffective bio-invasion process of Mediterranean species. This phenomenon is explained on the basis of a hypothesis that strong physical gradients and some accompanying physiological limitations along the colonization route of Turkish Straits System (TSS) make Mediterranean pelagic and benthic plankton species and fish larvae vulnerable to long-distance natural expansions. The physical barriers include strong inter-basin temperature and salinity contrasts, two-layer counterflow and stratification along the TSS, very strong local vertical mixing and hydraulic adjustment processes along the Canakkale and Istanbul Straits. The physiological barriers are related to stresses induced by strong and abrupt temperature, salinity, and oxygen changes that affect the growth, mortality and reproduction characteristics within the two layer water column structure of the TSS. Long-term behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary acclimatization processes in the Marmara Sea environment to overcome these barriers constitute an essential first stage of species expansions to the Black Sea. Among the new physiologically adapted „source‟ populations, only those which manage to arrive at the southwestern Black Sea shelf region may have a chance to acclimatize Black Sea conditions and ultimately establish self-sustaining populations. These physical and physiological stresses are so strong and robust that inter-annual and decadal climateand eutrophication-induced perturbations can hardly alter this persistent structure. Starting by the second half of the previous century, the TSS has also been serving as an ideal invasion corridor for intentional or non-intentional alien species introductions via intensifying ship traffic.
Health-related quality of life in adults with congenital unilateral upper limb deficiency in Norway. A cross-sectional study

Abstract Purpose: To examine subjective health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults with congenital unilateral upper limb deficiency (UULD) in Norway and to explore the associations between demographic and clinical factors and HRQoL. Method: Cross-sectional study comparing HRQoL, measured by SF-36, among adults with UULD and an age- and gender-matched control group from the Norwegian general population (NGP). Results: Seventy-seven respondents, median age 42 years (range: 20–82); 71% were women. Most had left-sided (61%), below elbow (53%), transverse (73%) deficiency. Compared to the NGP, the UULD group reported reduced HRQoL on all SF-36 subscales except for the role emotional (RE) scale (p=0.321), mental health (MH) (p=0.055) and mental component summary (MCS) (p=0.064). The greatest difference was on the bodily pain (BP) scale (point difference of 20.0). Multiple linear regression models showed significant association between several physical- and mental SF-36 subscales and occupational status, occurrence of comorbidity and chronic pain. Conclusions: Persons with UULD reported reduced HRQoL on most SF-36 subscales, mostly in the physical health domain. Employment status, occurrence of comorbidity and chronic pain seem to have a negative impact on the HRQoL. Measures that can reduce pain and loss of function should be given particular attention in UULD rehabilitation. Implications for Rehabilitation Persons with congenital unilateral upper limb deficiency (UULD) who experience pain and discomfort should seek professional help for evaluating their everyday coping strategies. Professionals who meet persons with UULD should examine anomalies, comorbidity, pain and employment status before choosing advices and actions. Individually adapted grip-improving devices, environments, physical exercise and pain management programs should be implemented early to reduce pain, loss of function and decreased HRQoL. A multidisciplinary approach is often necessary when counseling persons with UULD.
Issues of Long-hop and Short-hop Routing in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks: A Comprehensive Study

One of the fundamental problems of Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) is to determine whether it is advantageous to route packet over many shorthops or a few longhops. Shorthop and longhop routing issues have been investigated in t he literatures since the early days of MANETs. Maximization of network throughput was the main focus of these works. But the maximization of network throughput is not the only issue of MANETs. There are other important issues of concern including overhead control packets, energy consumption, connectivity, shadowing effects and packet delay. All these issues have been investigated in this paper. Network Simulator (NS�2) has been used to create and simulate MANETs to investigate these issues. The main objectives of this paper are as follows (1) to find the merits and demerits of shorthop and longhop routing schemes, (2) to come up with a guideline so that one can choose an appropriate routing scheme for MANETs, and (3) to open up new area of researches for further investigations on the issues discussed in this paper.