Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the Longitudinal Item and Category Stability of the SF-36 Full and Summary Scales Using Rasch Analysis

Introduction The Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) is widely used for measuring Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and has undergone rigorous psychometric evaluation using Classic Test Theory (CTT). However, Item Response Theory-based evaluation of the SF-36 has been limited with an overwhelming focus on individual scales and cross-sectional data. Purpose This study aimed to examine the longitudinal item and category stability of the SF-36 using Rasch analysis. Method Using data from the 1921-1926 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, responses of the SF-36 from six waves of data collection were analysed. Rasch analysis using Winsteps version 3.92. 0 was performed on all 36 items of the SF-36 and items that constitute the physical health and mental health scales. Results Rasch analysis revealed issues with the SF-36 not detected using classical methods. Redundancy was seen for items on the total measure and both scales across all waves of data. Person separation indexes indicate that the measure lacks sensitivity to discriminate between high and low performances in this sample. The presence of Differential Item Functioning suggests that responses to items were influenced by locality and marital status. Conclusion Previous evaluations of the SF-36 have relied on cross-sectional data; however, the findings of the current study demonstrate the longitudinal efficacy of the measure. Application of the Rasch Measurement Model indicated issues with internal consistency, generalisability, and sensitivity when the measure was evaluated as a whole and as both physical and mental health summary scales. Implications for future research are discussed.
Türkiye’de Kişilerarası Sosyal Güven ve Bireysel Belirleyicileri

Kisilerarasi sosyal guvenin ekonomik gelisme, dusuk suc orani gibi pek cok olumlu toplumsal durum ile iliskisi literaturde kabul gormus durumdadir. Bu nedenle Turkiye’de cok dusuk duzeyde olan kisilerarasi sosyal guvenin mikro duzeyde belirleyicilerini anlamak oldukca onemlidir. 2015 yili sonunda Turkiye’nin secmen yasindaki nufusunu temsil niteligine sahip bir orneklem verilerine dayanarak yaptigimiz analizde elde ettigimiz bulgular kurumlara guvenin ve politik etkinlik algisinin daha yuksek kisilerarasi sosyal guvene sahip bireylerin ozelliklerinden oldugunu gostermektedir. Bu sonuc, daha iyi isleyen ve daha duyarli bir siyasi sistemin toplumdaki kisilerarasi guvene katkida bulunacagini gostermektedir.
Semantics column

In this quarter's column, Stephen Brookes and Peter O'Hearn describe how Concurrent Separation Logic (CSL) arose, including a little about the soundness proof and a discussion of later developments that arose from CSL. The column is especially timely, since Steve and Peter were just awarded this year's Gödel Prize for their work on CSL. The Gödel Prize was officially awarded for the papers [2] and [1] which describe CSL and its semantics. The Gödel Prize is testament to the importance of CSL as a fundamental tool for proving concurrent programs correct; the soundness proof forms a crucial component of this contribution.
Feature Extraction for Temporal Signal Recognition: An Overview

Due to the huge progress of the recording devices, data from heterogeneous nature can be recorded, such as spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal. Nowadays, time-based data is of particular interest since it has the ability to capture the characteristics evolution of the data over time. The temporal data could be gait, auditory scene, piece of music, and so on. In this paper, we are particularly interested in feature extraction for two different temporal recognition applications namely, audio and human behavior analysis and recognition. Indeed, relevant and discriminative features are of critical and fundamental importance to achieve high performances in any automatic pattern recognition system. This work is intended to provide researchers with a brief overview of the different existing features through an understanding of basic taxonomies which may serve as a reference to identify the adequate features for a specific task.
Inflection-Tolerant Ontology-Based Named Entity Recognition for Real-Time Applications

A growing number of applications users daily interact with have to operate in (near) real-time: chatbots, digital companions, knowledge work support systems -- just to name a few. To perform the services desired by the user, these systems have to analyze user activity logs or explicit user input extremely fast. In particular, text content (e.g. in form of text snippets) needs to be processed in an information extraction task. Regarding the aforementioned temporal requirements, this has to be accomplished in just a few milliseconds, which limits the number of methods that can be applied. Practically, only very fast methods remain, which on the other hand deliver worse results than slower but more sophisticated Natural Language Processing (NLP) pipelines. In this paper, we investigate and propose methods for real-time capable Named Entity Recognition (NER). As a first improvement step we address are word variations induced by inflection, for example present in the German language. Our approach is ontology-based and makes use of several language information sources like Wiktionary. We evaluated it using the German Wikipedia (about 9.4B characters), for which the whole NER process took considerably less than an hour. Since precision and recall are higher than with comparably fast methods, we conclude that the quality gap between high speed methods and sophisticated NLP pipelines can be narrowed a bit more without losing too much runtime performance.
Overexpression of RALY promotes migration and predicts poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction RALY plays a critical role in promoting invasiveness and is associated with poor prognosis in different types of cancers. However, the prognostic value of RALY and its precise role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unknown. Materials and methods We detected the expression of RALY in 127 clinical HCC tissue samples and seven HCC cell lines by immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting. The prognostic value of RALY expression was assessed using the Kaplan–Meier method. The expression and prognostic value of RALY were also studied by bioinformatics analysis of data from the Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas. The biological influence of RALY on HCC cell lines was studied using proliferation, transwell migration, and invasion assays in vitro. Results The expression of RALY in HCC tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent normal liver tissues. Abnormally high expression of RALY was associated with tumor size (P=0.031), TNM stage (P=0.026), presurgical serum AFP levels (P=0.025), and vascular invasion (P=0.001). Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that higher expression of RALY correlated with poorer overall survival and disease-free survival in HCC patients. High RALY expression was an independent adverse prognostic factor for overall survival (HR =2.559, 95% CI: 1.710–3.827, P<0.001) and disease-free survival (HR =2.053, 95% CI: 1.384–3.047, P<0.001) in HCC. Moreover, knockdown of RALY expression using a specific shRNA suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion capabilities of HCC cells in vitro. Knockdown of RALY expression in HCC cell lines resulted in upregulation of E-cadherin and downregulation of N-cadherin, vimentin, and snail. Conclusion Taken together, our results indicate that RALY represents a biomarker for the prognosis of patients with HCC and highlight the importance of RALY as an oncogene in HCC.
Solving group Steiner problems as Steiner problems: the rigorous proof

The Steiner tree problems are well-known NP-hard problems that have diverse applications. Duin et al. (2004) have intuitively proposed the widely-used transformation from the classical group Steiner tree problem to the classical Steiner tree problem in graphs. This transformation has not been rigorously proven so far. Specifically, the large M value that is used in this transformation has not been specified. In this paper, we address this issue by rigorously prove this transformation for a specific large M value.
Towards Automatic Discovery of Cybercrime Supply Chains

Cybercrime forums enable modern criminal entrepreneurs to collaborate with other criminals into increasingly efficient and sophisticated criminal endeavors. Understanding the connections between different products and services can often illuminate effective interventions. However, generating this understanding of supply chains currently requires time-consuming manual effort. In this paper, we propose a language-agnostic method to automatically extract supply chains from cybercrime forum posts and replies. Our supply chain detection algorithm can identify 36% and 58% relevant chains within major English and Russian forums, respectively, showing improvements over the baselines of 13% and 36%, respectively. Our analysis of the automatically generated supply chains demonstrates underlying connections between products and services within these forums. For example, the extracted supply chain illuminated the connection between hack-for-hire services and the selling of rare and valuable `OG' accounts, which has only recently been reported. The understanding of connections between products and services exposes potentially effective intervention points.
Viewpoint optimization for aiding grasp synthesis algorithms using reinforcement learning

ABSTRACT Grasp synthesis for unknown objects is a challenging problem as the algorithms are expected to cope with missing object shape information. This missing information is a function of the vision sensor viewpoint. The majority of the grasp synthesis algorithms in literature synthesize a grasp by using one single image of the target object and making assumptions on the missing shape information. On the contrary, this paper proposes the use of robot's depth sensor actively: we propose an active vision methodology that optimizes the viewpoint of the sensor for increasing the quality of the synthesized grasp over time. By this way, we aim to relax the assumptions on the sensor's viewpoint and boost the success rates of the grasp synthesis algorithms. A reinforcement learning technique is employed to obtain a viewpoint optimization policy, and a training process and automated training data generation procedure are presented. The methodology is applied to a simple force-moment balance-based grasp synthesis algorithm, and a thousand simulations with five objects are conducted with random initial poses in which the grasp synthesis algorithm was not able to obtain a good grasp with the initial viewpoint. In 94% of these cases, the policy achieved to find a successful grasp. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Size‐dependent movement explains why bigger is better in fragmented landscapes

Body size is a fundamental trait known to allometrically scale with metabolic rate, and therefore a key determinant of individual development, life history and consequently fitness. In spatially structured environments, movement is an equally important driver of fitness. Because movement is tightly coupled with body size, we expect habitat fragmentation to induce a strong selection pressure on size variation across and within species. Changes in body size distributions are then, in turn, expected to alter food web dynamics. However, no consensus has been reached on how spatial isolation and resource growth affect body size distributions. Our aim was to investigate how these two factors shape the body size distribution of consumers under scenarios of size-dependent and -independent consumer movement by applying a mechanistic, individual-based resource-consumer model. The outcome was then linked to important ecosystem traits such as resource abundance and stability. Finally, we determined those factors that explain most variation in size distributions. We demonstrate that decreasing connectivity and resource growth select for communities (or populations) consisting of larger species (or individuals) due to strong selection for the ability to move over longer distances. When including size-dependent movement, moderate levels of connectivity result in increases in local size diversity. Due to this elevated functional diversity, resource uptake is optimized at the metapopulation or metacommunity level. At these intermediate levels of connectivity, size-dependent movement explains most of the observed variation in size distributions. Interestingly, local and spatial stability of consumer biomass are lowest when isolation and resource productivity are high. Finally, we highlight that size-dependent movement is of vital importance for the survival of populations within highly fragmented landscapes. Our results demonstrate that considering size-dependent movement and resource growth is essential to understand patterns of size distributions at the population or community level and the resulting metapopulation or metacommunity dynamics.
Intestinal Dendritic Cells in Health and Gut Inflammation

Dendritic cells (DCs) mediate tolerance to food antigens, limit reactivity to the gut microbiota and are required for optimal response to intestinal pathogens. Intestinal DCs are heterogeneous but collectively generate both regulatory and effector T cell responses. The balance of outcomes is determined by the activity of functionally distinct DC subsets and their modulation by environmental cues. DCs constantly sample luminal content to monitor for pathogens; the significance of the various pathways by which this occurs is incompletely understood. Intestinal DC have distinctive properties shaped by local host, dietary and microbial signals. These properties include the ability to produce all-trans retinoic acid (RA) and imprint gut tropism on T cells they activate. In the steady-state, subsets of intestinal DC are potent generators of inducible Treg, aided by their ability to activate TGFβ and produce RA. However, responses induced by steady-state intestinal DCs are not exclusively regulatory in nature; effector T cells with specificity for commensal bacterial can be found in the healthy mucosa and these can be locally controlled to prevent inflammation. The ability of intestinal DCs to enhance effector responses in infection or sustain inflammation in disease is likely to involve both modulation of the local DC population and recruitment of additional populations. Immune pathways in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease can be mapped to DCs and in inflamed intestinal tissue, DCs show increased expression of microbial recognition machinery, activation, and production of key immunological mediators. Intestinal DCs may be targeted for disease therapy or to improve vaccine responses.
Vestibulospinal and Corticospinal Modulation of Lumbosacral Network Excitability in Human Subjects

As part of a project aimed to develop a novel, non-invasive techniques for comprehensive assessment of supraspinal-spinal connectivity in humans, the present study sought to explore the convergence of descending vestibulospinal and corticospinal pathways onto lumbosacral motor pools. Transcutaneous electrical spinal stimulation-evoked motor potentials were recorded from knee and ankle flexors and extensors in resting neurologically intact participants. Descending influences on lumbosacral motor neurons were studied using galvanic vestibular (GVS) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to elicit descending vestibulospinal or corticospinal volleys, respectively. Facilitatory conditioning effects of descending corticospinal volleys were manifested by a significant increase of spinally evoked motor potentials in recorded knee and ankle muscles bilaterally, and were observed at the 10–30 ms conditioning-test intervals (CTIs); whereas, facilitatory conditioning effects of vestibulospinal volleys manifested at longer latencies (CTIs of 90 and 110 ms), and lasted up to 250 ms. TMS mediated volleys revealed the conditioning effects at both short and long latencies, suggestive of both direct and indirect influence. In contrast, vestibulospinally mediated conditioning effects occurred at longer latencies, consistent with this pathway’s known anatomical and functional interfaces with other descending systems including the reticulospinal pathway and, suggestively, propriospinal interneurons. Our work demonstrates the utility and sensitivity of transcutaneous spinal stimulation in human neurophysiological studies as a technique for quantitative characterization of excitatory conditioning effects in multiple lumbosacral motor pools, obtained through descending pathways. This characterization becomes critical in understanding the neuroplasticity in the central nervous system during motor learning and neurological recovery.
Toward a Theory of Normalizing Function of Interestingness Measure of Binary Association Rules

Regarding the existence of more than sixty interestingness measures proposed in the literature since 1993 till today in the topics of association rules mining and facing the importance these last one, the research on normalization probabilistic quality measures of association rules has already led to many tangible results to consolidate the various existing measures in the literature. This article recommends a simple way to perform this normalization. In the interest of a unified presentation, the article offers also a new concept of normalization function as an effective tool for resolution of the problem of normalization measures that have already their own normalization functions.
Impact of Intravenous Fluid Challenge Infusion Time on Macrocirculation and Endothelial Glycocalyx in Surgical and Critically Ill Patients

(i) Purpose. The fluid challenge (FC) is a well-established test of preload reserve. Only limited data exist in regard to the FC efficacy based on infusion time. Slow administration may be associated with lack of effect based on fluid redistribution and external conditions changes. On the contrary, fast administration may lead to brisk fluid overload and damage to the endothelium and endothelial glycocalyx (EG). The aim of this trial was to compare the FC infusion time on its hemodynamic effects and EG. (ii) Methods. Prospective randomized single-center trial of fast (5-10 minutes) versus slow (20-30 minutes) administration of 500ml balanced crystalloid FC in spinal surgery (cohort OR) and septic shock (cohort SEP) patients. Hemodynamic response was assessed using standard monitoring and blood flow measurements; damage to EG was assessed using the perfused boundary region (PBR) via intravital microscopy monitoring in the sublingual region within relevant time points ranging up to 120 minutes. (iii) Results. Overall, 66 FCs in 50 surgical and 16 septic patients were assessed. Fluid administration was associated with increase of PBR in general (1.9 (1.8-2.1) vs. 2.0 (1.8-2.2); p= 0.008). These changes were transient in OR cohort whereas they were long-lasting in septic fluid responders. The rate of fluid responsiveness after fast versus slow administration was comparable in global population (15 (47%) vs. 17 (50%); p=0.801) as well as in both cohorts. (iv) Conclusions. Fluid challenge administration was associated with increased PBR (and presumable EG volume changes) which normalized within the next 60 minutes in surgical patients but remained impeded in septic fluid responders. The fluid responsiveness rate after fast and slow FC was comparable, but fast administration tended to induce higher, though transient, response in blood pressure.
Plant phenological asynchrony and community structure of gall‐inducing insects associated with a tropical tree species

Abstract The dynamics of occurrence of target organs in plant populations produces windows of opportunity that directly and indirectly affect the structure of herbivore communities. However, mechanisms that drive herbivore specialization between resource patches are still poorly known. In this study, we tested three hypotheses related to variation in host plant phenology and community structure (i.e., composition, richness, and abundance) of gall‐forming species: (a) plants with early leaf‐flushing in the season will have greater vegetative growth and high contents of secondary chemical compounds; (b) gall‐inducing insect community structure changes among temporary resource patches of the host; and (c) interspecific competition is a probable mechanism that drives gall‐inducing insect community structure on Copaifera langsdorffii. We monitored daily a total of 102 individuals of the super‐host C. langsdorffii from August 2012 to May 2013, to characterize the leaf flushing time of each host plant. The leaf flushing time had a positive relationship with the number of folioles per branch and a negative relationship with branch growth. We sampled a total of 4,906 galls belonging to 24 gall‐inducing insect species from 102 individuals of C. langsdorffii. In spite of some gall‐inducing species presented high abundance on early leaf‐flushing plants, direct and indirect effects of plant phenology on galling insect abundance was species dependent. At the community level, our study revealed that the quality and quantity of plant resources did not affect the richness and abundance of gall‐inducing insects associated with C. langsdorffii. However, the richness and composition of gall‐inducing species varied according to the variation in leaf flushing time of the host plant. The results of null model analysis showed that galls co‐occurrence on C. langsdorffii trees differ more than expected by chance and that interspecific competition can be one potential mechanism structuring this gall‐inducing insect community.
Autophagy Induction by HIV-Tat and Methamphetamine in Primary Midbrain Neuronal Cells of Tree Shrews via the mTOR Signaling and ATG5/ATG7 Pathway

Background: Addictive stimulant drugs, such as methamphetamine (METH), increase the risk of exposure to the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection and thus predispose individuals to the development of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs). Previous studies have indicated that HIV-Tat (the transactivator of transcription) and METH can synergistically induce autophagy in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and that autophagy plays a pivotal role in the neuronal dysfunction in HANDs. However, the underlying mechanism of METH-and HIV-Tat-induced neuronal autophagy remains unclear. Methods: We cultured primary midbrain neuronal cells of tree shrews and treated them with METH and HIV-Tat to study the role of METH and HIV-Tat in inducing autophagy. We evaluated the effects of the single or combined treatment of METH and HIV-Tat on the protein expressions of the autophagy-related genes, including Beclin-1 and LC3B, ATG5, and ATG7 in METH and HIV-Tat-induced autophagy. In addition, the presence of autophagosomes in the METH and/or HIV-Tat treatment was revealed using transmission electron microscopy. Results: The results indicated that METH increased the protein levels of LC3B and Beclin-1, and these effects were significantly enhanced by HIV-Tat. Moreover, the results suggested that ATG5 and ATG7 were involved in the METH and HIV-Tat-induced autophagy. In addition, it was found that mTOR inhibition via pharmacological intervention could trigger autophagy and promote METH and HIV-Tat-induced autophagy. Discussion: Overall, this study contributes to the knowledge of the molecular underpinnings of METH and HIV-Tat-induced autophagy in primary midbrain neuronal cells. Our findings may facilitate the development of therapeutic strategies for METH-and HIV-Tat-induced autophagy in HANDs.