Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
. sis ) 4-2014 Hierarchical Interest Graph from Tweets

Industry and researchers have identified numerous ways to monetize microblogs for personalization and recommendation. A common challenge across these different works is the identification of user interests. Although techniques have been developed to address this challenge, a flexible approach that spans multiple levels of granularity in user interests has not been forthcoming. In this work, we focus on exploiting hierarchical semantics of concepts to infer richer user interests expressed as a Hierarchical Interest Graph. To create such graphs, we utilize users’ tweets to first ground potential user interests to structured background knowledge such as Wikipedia Category Graph. We then adapt spreading activation theory to assign user interest score to each category in the hierarchy. The Hierarchical Interest Graph not only comprises of users’ explicitly mentioned interests determined from Twitter, but also their implicit interest categories inferred from the background knowledge source.
Comparisons of Gambling and Alcohol Use Among College Students and Noncollege Young People in the United States

Abstract Objective: Gambling and alcohol use were compared for college and noncollege young adults in the US population. Participants: Participants were 1,000 respondents aged 18 to 21. Methods: Data were analyzed from a representative household sample of US young people aged 14 to 21 years old. Telephone interviews were conducted between August 2005 and January 2007. Results: After taking into account gender, age, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, college student status did not predict gambling, frequent gambling, or problem gambling. In contrast, being a college student was associated with higher levels of alcohol use and problem drinking. Being male was the strongest predictor of both problem gambling and problem drinking. Blacks were less likely than whites to drink heavily; yet they were more likely than whites to gamble heavily. Conclusion: Young males should be targeted for prevention and intervention efforts for both problem gambling and problem drinking regardless of college student status.
An increase in cost‐effectiveness of first trimester maternal screening programmes for fetal chromosome anomalies is obtained by contingent testing

We assessed the discriminatory efficiency and cost‐effectiveness of a novel way of organising first trimester screening for Down syndrome (DS), contingent testing, where a serological test (PAPP‐A and β‐hCG: the double test) is made in early first trimester and followed by nuchal translucency testing (NT) only in women with an intermediate risk, e.g. <1:65 and >1:1000, and not in all women as in normal first trimester screening (NFTS). Using Monte Carlo simulation contingent testing had a detection rate (DR) of 78.9% and a false‐positive rate (FPR) of 4.0% for DS with 19.4% of women offered NT testing. The DR of NFTS was 85.5% and the FPR 4.4%. The decrease in NT screening was associated with an increase from 23% to 29% in the proportion of DS cases born. The cost of the contingent testing programme was £53 000 per DS case not born and £91 000 in NFTS. The number of aborted fetuses per DS case were 0.35 and 0.36, respectively. Thus, contingent testing is an organisation of first trimester screening where costs can be reduced with a marginal decrease in performance. Contingent testing is attractive in areas where NT screening is the bottleneck preventing the introduction of first trimester screening. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Continuous Authentication in Smartphones : An Analysis on Robust Security Practices

The current authentication systems in smart phones are classified as static or one shot authentication schemes in which the user is validated at a single point. The existing authentication systems cannot recognize the difference between an intruder and a legitimate user if the security credentials like passwords have been leaked. This issue is addressed in continuous authentication schemes where the system constantly monitors the user by different procedures to detect the user as genuine or intruder. Continuous authentications schemes can be deployed using different methods such as behavioral, gestural and facial, etc. In this paper, we critically analyze the different continuous authentication schemes. We evaluate the robustness and failure free operation of each approach. We aim to provide a precise knowledge about different continuous authentications schemes which help the user to determine the appropriateness of the underlying model adapted by each approach. Keywords—Continuous authentication; security; mobile sharing; TIPS; SenGuard; SilentSense; GeoTouch; gestures; key strokes
Growth patterns of low-birth-weight infants: 2-year longitudinal study.

A 2 year longitudinal study of the growth of 147 low birthweight (LBW) < 2,500 g infants who had no known factors disturbing growth was conducted. The infants were divided into 6 groups according to birthweight and maturity: group 1--appropriate for gestational age (AGA) with birthweight < 1,500 g (n = 18); group 2--AGA 1,500-1,999 g (n = 41); group 3--AGA 2,000-2,499 g (n = 26); group 4--small for gestational age (SGA) < 1,500 g (n = 5); group 5--SGA 1,500-1,999 g (n = 20); group 6--SGA 2,000-2,499 g (n = 37). The control group consisted of 149 normal birthweight (> 2,500 g) infants. Weight, height, and head circumference were measured at birth, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months postnatally and recorded in standard deviation score (SDS). All groups showed catch-up growth in the first 6 months. At 2 years old, all infants were above -2 SDS. However, the SGA infants with birthweight < 1,500 g were significantly lighter (-0.9 SDS, p = 0.003), shorter (-0.6 SDS, p = 0.001) and had smaller head size (-0.65 SDS, p = 0.027) whereas, the other groups were not different compared to the control group. We also compared those LBW infants who, at 2 years of age, weighed below -1 SDS to those who weighed above -1 SDS and found no significant difference in familial income, parental education, nursing care or parental height. We concluded that with adequate nutritional intake and nursing care, LBW infants have the potential for good catch-up growth. For the SGA infants with birthweight < 1,500 g, although they showed good catch-up growth, they still remained smaller than their peers at 2 years of age.
Structural and Kinetic Analysis of the Substrate Specificity of Human Fibroblast Activation Protein α*

Fibroblast activation protein α (FAPα) is highly expressed in epithelial cancers and has been implicated in extracellular matrix remodeling, tumor growth, and metastasis. We present the first high resolution structure for the apoenzyme as well as kinetic data toward small dipeptide substrates. FAPα exhibits a dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV)-like fold, featuring an α/β-hydrolase domain and an eight-bladed β-propeller domain. Known DPPIV dipeptides are cleaved by FAPα with an ∼100-fold decrease in catalytic efficiency compared with DPPIV. Moreover, FAPα, but not DPPIV, possesses endopeptidase activity toward N-terminal benzyloxycarbonyl (Z)-blocked peptides. Comparison of the crystal structures of FAPα and DPPIV revealed one major difference in the vicinity of the Glu motif (Glu203-Glu204 for FAPα; Glu205-Glu206 for DPPIV) within the active site of the enzyme. Ala657 in FAPα, instead of Asp663 as in DP-PIV, reduces the acidity in this pocket, and this change could explain the lower affinity for N-terminal amines by FAPα. This hypothesis was tested by kinetic analysis of the mutant FAPα/A657D, which shows on average an ∼60-fold increase in the catalytic efficiency, as measured by kcat/Km, for the cleavage of dipeptide substrates. Furthermore, the catalytic efficiency of the mutant is reduced by ∼350-fold for cleavage of Z-Gly-Pro-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin. Our data provide a clear understanding of the molecular determinants responsible for the substrate specificity and endopeptidase activity of FAPα.
Effect of High Glucose on Superoxide in Human Mesangial Cells: Role of Angiotensin II

Background/Aims: Reactive oxygen species, and especially superoxide (O2·–),have been implicated in diabetic nephropathy. O2·– accumulation in cells is dependent on O2·– production (by NADH/NADPH oxidase) as well as scavenging by superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. This study was designed to investigate the effects of high glucose (HG) on O2·– accumulation and SOD activity in human mesangial cells (HMC) and to determine if these effects are mediated by angiotensin II (Ang II). Methods: HMC were incubated in media containing 10 mMglucose (control, C), 30 mM glucose (HG), 10 mM glucose + either 20 mM 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) or 20 mM mannitol (high mannitol, HM) (osmotic controls), or Ang II (10–5M). Ang II action was antagonized by employing 10–4M of Ang II receptor antagonists (losartan or irbesartan) or 10–4M of NADH/NADPH oxidase inhibitors [diphenyleneiodonium chloride (DPI) or apocynin]. Superoxide and total SOD activity were assayed using chemiluminescence of lucigenin. Results: Incubation of HMC in HG resulted in a 1.6-fold increase in Ang I (p < 0.05) and a 1.4-fold increase in Ang II levels (p < 0.05) in cell lysates. These changes were accompanied by a >2-fold increase in O2·– accumulation (p < 0.01), which was inhibited by losartan and irbesartan. Exogenous Ang II increased net O2·– accumulation by 2.7-fold (p < 0.01), which was normalized by losartan and irbesartan. DPI and apocynin blocked the HG and Ang II-induced increases in O2·– (p < 0.01). HG but not exogenous Ang II inhibited total SOD activity by 30%, which was not affected by losartan. Conclusion: High glucose increases O2–· accumulation in HMC primarily by increasing its production via the Ang II-NADH/NADPH oxidase system.
CALIBRATION OF MEASURING INSTRUMENTS ON A COORDINATE MEASURING MACHINE

In order to perform a calibration, a traceable standard of measurement shall be available. In addition, we need instrumentation for transferring the measure from the standard to the calibration object. Co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs) can be used as such instrument for variety of calibrations. Since measuring processes can be programmed in advance, calibration procedures can be made easy and fast and a large number of simple standards and instruments can be calibrated at a time. Two different approaches can be applied when using a CMM as a calibration instrument a CMM is calibrated for special tasks, using special calibration procedures and standards, or a laser interferometer (LI) is used as a standard. The first approach is used when calibrating standards with simple shapes, for which traceable standards of similar sizes and shapes are available. The second approach is used for simple measurands like internal and external diameters and linear distances. In this case we are not limited by size. In our laboratory we have some positive experiences regarding this kind of calibrations and they are presented in this article.
Advanced LPC techniques of voice regeneration for “Virtual Dubbing”

Some recent voice conversion techniques consider models that make use of well-known paradigms of signal processing, such as Linear Predictive Coding and spectral modelling. We propose a voice converter based on Linear Predictive Coding, in which properly trained Gaussian Mixture Models transform the encoder coefficients, accounting for the glottal characteristics of a source voice, into new coefficients which provide the decoder with information about the glottal characteristics of a target voice. This voice conversion procedure results in a filter block diagram suitable for real time implementation, whose parameters can be accommodated depending on the performances of the DSP hardware at hand. A Simulink model of the voice converter that can be directly translated into DSP code is presented. Listening experiments are shown, reporting that both non-expert and expert subjects rated the voice converter positively.
Cloning, expression and characterization of a family-74 xyloglucanase from Thermobifida fusca.

Thermobifida fusca xyloglucan-specific endo-beta-1,4-glucanase (Xeg)74 and the Xeg74 catalytic domain (CD) were cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and characterized. This enzyme has a glycohydrolase family-74 CD that is a specific xyloglucanase followed by a family-2 carbohydrate binding module at the C terminus. The Michaelis constant (Km) and maximal rate (Vmax) values for hydrolysis of tamarind seed xyloglucan (tamXG) are 2.4 micro m and 966 micro mol xyloglucan oligosaccharides (XGOs) min-1. micro mol protein-1. More than 75% of the activity was retained after a 16-h incubation at temperatures up to 60 degrees C. The enzyme was most active at pH 6.0-9.4. NMR analysis showed that its catalytic mechanism is inverting. The oligosaccharide products from hydrolysis of tamXG were determined by MS analysis. Cel9B, an active carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)ase from T. fusca, was also found to have activity on xyloglucan (XG) at 49 micro mol.min-1. micro mol protein-1, but it could not hydrolyze XG units containing galactose. An XG/cellulose composite was prepared by growing Gluconacetobacterxylinus on glucose with tamXG in the medium. Although a mixture of purified cellulases was unable to degrade this material, the composite material was fully hydrolyzed when Xeg74 was added. T. fusca was not able to grow on tamXG, but Xeg74 was found in the culture supernatant at the same level as was found in cultures grown on Solka Floc. The function of this enzyme appears to be to break down the XG surrounding cellulose fibrils found in biomass so that T. fusca can utilize the cellulose as a carbon source.
JAK inhibition with tofacitinib suppresses arthritic joint structural damage through decreased RANKL production.

OBJECTIVE The mechanistic link between Janus kinase (JAK) signaling and structural damage to arthritic joints in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is poorly understood. This study was undertaken to investigate how selective inhibition of JAK with tofacitinib (CP-690,550) affects osteoclast-mediated bone resorption in a rat adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) model, as well as human T lymphocyte RANKL production and human osteoclast differentiation and function. METHODS Hind paw edema, inflammatory cell infiltration, and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption in rat AIA were assessed using plethysmography, histopathologic analysis, and immunohistochemistry; plasma and hind paw tissue levels of cytokines and chemokines (including RANKL) were also assessed. In vitro RANKL production by activated human T lymphocytes was evaluated by immunoassay, while human osteoclast differentiation and function were assessed via quantitative tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining and degradation of human bone collagen, respectively. RESULTS Edema, inflammation, and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption in rats with AIA were dramatically reduced after 7 days of treatment with the JAK inhibitor, which correlated with reduced numbers of CD68/ED-1+, CD3+, and RANKL+ cells in the paws; interleukin-6 (transcript and protein) levels were rapidly reduced in paw tissue within 4 hours of the first dose, whereas it took 4-7 days of therapy for RANKL levels to decrease. Tofacitinib did not impact human osteoclast differentiation or function, but did decrease human T lymphocyte RANKL production in a concentration-dependent manner. CONCLUSION These results suggest that the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib suppresses osteoclast-mediated structural damage to arthritic joints, and this effect is secondary to decreased RANKL production.
Methane oxidation in a landfill cover soil reactor: Changing of kinetic parameters and microorganism community structure

ABSTRACT Changing of CH4 oxidation potential and biological characteristics with CH4 concentration was studied in a landfill cover soil reactor (LCSR). The maximum rate of CH4 oxidation reached 32.40 mol d−1 m−2 by providing sufficient O2 in the LCSR. The kinetic parameters of methane oxidation in landfill cover soil were obtained by fitting substrate diffusion and consumption model based on the concentration profile of CH4 and O2. The values of (0.93–2.29%) and (140–524 nmol kgsoil-DW−1·s−1) increased with CH4 concentration (9.25–20.30%), while the values of (312.9–2.6%) and (1.3 × 10−5 to 9.0 × 10−3 nmol mL−1 h−1) were just the opposite. MiSeq pyrosequencing data revealed that Methylobacter (the relative abundance was decreased with height of LCSR) and Methylococcales_unclassified (the relative abundance was increased expect in H 80) became the key players after incubation with increasing CH4 concentration. These findings provide information for assessing CH4 oxidation potential and changing of biological characteristics in landfill cover soil.
Abnormal ECG patterns and significance in a group of mountaineers

In the present study twenty four trained and otherwise fit mountaineers of the Indian Air Force, selected for Mount Everest expedition underwent routine evaluation for medical fitness prior to the expedition at Air Force Central Medical Establishment, New Delhi. Unexpectedly, a high percentage (29.16 %) of individuals were observed to have non specific ECG abnormalities. A small but important subgroup of mountaineers showed ECG abnormalities suggestive of cardiovascular disease and were subjected to detailed cardiovascular evaluation with exercise stress test, echocardiography and stress myocardial perfusion scan studies. The prevalence, clinical significance and determinants of abnormal ECG patterns in mountaineers have not been documented so far in the literature, although they are well documented in athletes, especially those involved in high endurance sports activities. The clinical significance of the abnormal ECG patterns in mountaineers is discussed. IJASM 2006 ; 50 (1) :
Birth and death of cells in limb development: A mapping study

Cell death and cell proliferation are basic cellular processes that need to be precisely controlled during embryonic development. The developing vertebrate limb illustrates particularly well how correct morphogenesis depends on the appropriate spatial and temporal balance between cell death and cell proliferation. Precise knowledge of the patterns of cell proliferation and cell death during limb development is required to understand how their modifications may contribute to the generation of the great diversity of limb phenotypes that result from spontaneous mutations or induced genetic manipulations. We have performed a comprehensive analysis of the patterns of cell death, assayed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated deoxyuridinetriphosphate nick end‐labeling (TUNEL), and cell proliferation, assayed by anti‐phosphorylated histone H3 immunohistochemistry, in consecutive sections of forelimbs and hindlimbs covering an extensive period of chick and mouse limb development. Our results confirm and expand previous reports and show common and specific areas of cell death for each species. Mitotic cells were found scattered in a uniform distribution across the early limb bud, with the exception of the areas of cell death in which mitotic cells were scarce. At later stages, mitotic cells were seen more abundantly in the digital tips. The aim of the present study was to satisfy the need for organized data sets describing these processes, which will allow the side‐by‐side comparison between the two major model organisms of limb development, i.e., the mouse and the chick. Developmental Dynamics 235:2521–2537, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
QUARTERLY OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS

The method of diakoptics or tearing was introduced by G. Kron in order to reduce computations in the solution of certain problems arising from large inter-connected power distribution networks. Here the method is given a purely mathematical form which can be used to solve large systems of linear equations by first solving some smaller sub-problems and then combining these solutions into a complete solution. The sub-problems are formed from sets of equations and variables which are strongly connected, within the sub-problem, but only weakly connected to those of another sub-problem.
The Effects of Evictions on Low-Income Households

Each year in the U.S., more than two million renter households report being at risk of eviction, yet there is little causal evidence on how evictions affect low-income households. We assemble novel data linking individuals from housing court cases in New York City to administrative data and leverage the random assignment of cases to courtrooms to estimate the causal effect of evictions on homelessness, health, earnings, employment, and public assistance receipt. Evictions cause large and persistent increases in risk of homelessness, elevate long-term residential instability, and increase emergency room use. We find some evidence that evictions lower earnings modestly, but little evidence that they substantially worsen employment outcomes or increase receipt of public assistance. These results suggest that eviction prevention policies could provide important consumption smoothing benefits to low-income households but are unlikely to substantially reduce poverty on their own. ∗Corresponding author: rcollinson@nyu.edu (New York University, Wagner School of Public Service, 295 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10012) †davin.reed@phil.frb. org (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Community Development and Regional Outreach Department, 10 N Independence Mall W, Philadelphia, PA 19106) ‡Collinson is grateful to Ingrid Gould Ellen, Jens Ludwig, Kathy O’Regan and Dan O’Flaherty for their advice and guidance. We thank Eileen Johns and Maryanne Schretzman at the Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence. We also thank Eric Chyn, Kevin Corinth, Peter Ganong, Francisca Richter, and Tatiana Homonoff for helpful comments, and seminar participants for their valuable feedback. Collinson gratefully acknowledges funding support from the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here are those of the authors and should not be construed as representing those of the Office of Court Administration, the New York City Human Resource Administration, or the Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence. The views expressed here are not those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia or the Federal Reserve System.
A Study of Flow inside a Centrifugal Pump : High Performance Numerical Simulations Using GPU cards

April 10-15, 2016 Abstract The present work reviews calculations of a steady three-dimensional (3D) flow past a centrifugal pump with its diffuser channels using different hardwares. The open source CFD software OpenFOAM has been ported to the GPU platform with double precision. The performance of a high-end GPU was reported. The considered computational domain is one of the three stages, since each has exactly the same design. In this work, simulations were carried out at the best efficiency point (BEP) for single phase flow with four different turbulence models. The results were compared with the performance report from the manufacturer. Only the realizable k-ε turbulence model has been taken into account for performance tests. The comparisons at BEP showed that integral quantity based results were not sensibly influenced by the turbulence model and the steady state simulations demonstrated to be a good approximation of the LDV data, always containing the error within an acceptable limit. The ability of solving numerical problems faster makes GPU hardware attractive to be used for further investigations which will involve two-phase flow studies on the same pump.