Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential susceptibility to ozone-induced airways hyperreactivity in inbred strains of mice.

Individuals with heightened airways reactivity, such as asthmatics, may be at risk to inflammatory effects of oxidant air pollutants. In the inbred mouse, significant interstrain variation in airways reactivity to acelycholine (ACh) and differential susceptibility to ozone (O3)-induced airways inflammation has been described previously. This study used these murine models to test hypotheses that (1) O3-induced hyperreactivity to ACh is a function of inherent baseline ACh reactivity, and (2) susceptibility to O3-induced inflammation is associated with O3-induced hyperreactivity. Strains (15-25 g, 6-8 weeks) with HYPERREACTIVE (DBA/2J, AKR/J, A/J), HYPOREACTIVE (C3H/HeJ, C57BL/6J, SJL/H), or INTERMEDIATE (129/J) phenotypes for ACh reactivity were exposed for 3 h to 2.0 ppm O3 or air (control). ACh reactivity (25 and 50 micrograms/kg, IV) was assessed 0 and 24 h after exposure. Relative to air controls, mean airways responses to 25 and 50 micrograms/kg ACh 24 h post-O3 increased significantly in the HYPERREACTIVE A/J strain (p < .05). Among HYPOREACTIVE strains, O3 significantly (p < .05) increased the response to 50 micrograms/kg ACh in C57BL/6J and SJL/J strains 24 h postexposure. A/J, C57BL/6J, and SJL/J mice are susceptible to O3-induced lung injury. O3 did not alter ACh reactivity in the other strains. O3 also did not affect airways reactivity to methacholine or carbachol, observations consistent with the hypothesis that O3-induced hyperreactivity to ACh may be due, in part, to O3 effects on cholinesterase function. Treatment of C57BL/6J and A/J mice with an immunosuppressant (cyclophosphamide) or an anti-PMN antibody significantly (p < .05) attenuated circulating and infiltrating polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), but did not affect O3-induced hyperreactivity. Therefore, O3-induced ACh hyperreactivity was not a function of baseline reactivity, but correlated with susceptibility to acute O3-induced airways injury and inflammation. Pharmacologic studies suggest that although PMNs were associated with O3-induced hyperreactivity, these cells were not the cause of the effect, and that these two events are not codependent.
Survey and Classification of Methods for Building a Semantic Annotation

Though Arabic is one of the five most spoken languages, little work has been done on building Arabic semantic resources. Currently, there is no agreed-upon method for building such a reliable Arabic semantic resource. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive survey of different methods for building or enriching Arabic semantic resources; to study and analyze each method; and to categorize the methods according to their properties. This work should contribute to the definition of new methods and help researchers on Arabic semantics to fit their work in the panel of existing ones.
Neuronal Responses at the Sight of Objects in Monkey Basal Forebrain Subregions during Operant Visual Tasks

The basal forebrain appears to be important in cognitive function. It has been suggested that this region is composed of several cholinergic cell groups, mainly the medial septum, the diagonal band of Broca, and the nucleus basalis of Meynert. To elucidate the functional differences between these subregions, we have recorded single-unit activity from the periventricular areas involving the medial septum, the diagonal band of Broca (ms/dbB), and the substantia innominata (SI), including the nucleus basalis of Meynert, of an object-discriminating monkey. Of 226 ms/dbB and 439 SI neurons analyzed, 36 (15.9%) and 115 (26.2%), respectively, responded to the sight of some complex object. Thirteen (5.8%) ms/dbB and 80 (18.2%) SI neurons responded to virtually all objects and the ratio of these neurons in the SI was higher than that in the ms/dbB. The other 23 (10.2%) ms/dbB and 35 (8.0%) SI neurons responded preferentially to one or two of three categories (rewarding, aversive, or meaningless) of familiar or to unfamiliar objects, and response selectivity to one category of the ms/dbB neurons (15; 6.6%) was higher than that to the SI neurons (14; 3.2%). The results suggest that the SI, including the nucleus basalis of Meynert, may encode visual information about objects more broadly and participate more fully in visual attention than the ms/dbB region, which may be more closely related to learning.
Differences in the frequency of cholesterol screening in patients with Medicaid compared with private insurance.

OBJECTIVE To assess compliance with preventive screening for Medicaid recipients compared with individuals with equal access to preventive services. SETTING A community-based family practice residency program. METHODS Survey of a consecutive sample of English-reading individuals, aged 18 to 50 years, with Medicaid (n = 98) or private insurance (n = 75), who had scheduled appointments in the clinic. MAIN RESULTS Patients with Medicaid were as likely as those with private insurance to be screened for hypertension and cervical cancer in the last 5 years but were less likely to have received cholesterol screening (39% vs 65%, P < .001). Even after adjusting for differences in gender composition, age, race, marital status, and education level attained, patients with Medicaid were still less likely to have received cholesterol screening (odds ratio, 0.43; 95% confidence interval, 0.21 to 0.57). Although patients with Medicaid were no more likely to identify a barrier and, when identifying barriers, did not identify significantly more barriers than patients with private insurance, Medicaid recipients were less likely to state that cholesterol testing had been recommended by their physician (30% vs 44%, P = .05). CONCLUSIONS Because access to screening tests by patients with Medicaid is equal to or better than that of those with insurance, differences in the frequency of cholesterol screening should not reflect financial barriers. Differences in the attention paid to screening by physicians and differences in cultural beliefs about the importance of screening may play a role in the underuse of screening services by individuals in lower socioeconomic groups.
Suicidality, depression, and alcohol use among adolescents: A review of empirical findings

Suicide is a serious health problem as it is currently the third leading cause of death for teenagers between the ages of 15 and 24 years. Depression, which is also a serious problem for adolescents, is the most significant biological and psychological risk factor for teen suicide. Alcohol use remains extremely widespread among today's teenagers and is related to both suicidality and depression. Suicidality refers to the occurrence of suicidal thoughts or suicidal behavior. The consensus in empirical research is that mental disorders and substance abuse are the most important risk factors in both attempted and completed adolescent suicide. Therefore, it is incumbent upon researchers to identify the factors that can lead to their prevention among today's youth. This review compiles the existing literature on suicidality, depression, and alcohol use among adolescents spanning over the past 15 years. Both Problem Behavior Theory and Stress-coping Theory can explain the relationships among suicidality, depression and alcohol use. The prevention of suicidality is critical, especially during the early school years, when it is associated with depression and alcohol use. Suicidality, depression and alcohol use are three phenomenon that noticeably increase in adolescence marking this time period as an ideal opportunity for prevention efforts to commence. Future empirical work is needed that will further assess the impact of adolescent depression and alcohol use on suicidality. In sum, this review of empirical research highlights critical results and limitations, as well as indicates a need for continued efforts in preventing suicidality, depression, and alcohol use among adolescents.
Twitter in Mexican Politics: Messages to People or Candidates?

Twitter has reached Mexican politics in the presidential election. Despite the fact candidates have a twitter account to send messages; we propose the question how they use it to communicate with citizens? This exploratory research provides evidence that Mexican presidential candidates are only sending messages for politicians and not for citizens. We collected and analyzed 618 tweets from the three most important political parties: PRI, PAN and PRD, from November 2011 to February 2012. Using a five category framework, we found that most candidates sent thank and regret messages, but very few messages to their militancy and citizens. We found that the lack of information about this technological tool has disabled Mexican politicians to take advantage of this tool. Finally we hope this research contributes to analyze the impact of social media in Mexican Politics in a more systematic way.
Magnetic resonance chemical shift microimaging of aging human skin in vivo: initial findings

Background/aims: In recent decades, interest has increased in the chronological and environmental factors governing the aging of skin. Various methods have been used for determining water and lipid content of human skin as a function of subject age. Magnetic resonance chemical shift imaging (CSI) offers a noninvasive technique for observing detailed distributions of water, lipids and other chemicals in the skin, and thus may be useful in dermatogerontology.
Identification of neurodevelopmental trajectories in infancy and of risk factors affecting deviant development: a longitudinal birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND We investigate patterns of neurodevelopmental trajectories in infants, using a representative population, and identify risk factors that predict delayed growth. METHODS Participating infants (n = 952; 82.8% of the total sample) were assessed by Mullen Scales of Early Learning at seven time points, from 1 month to 24 months of age. Mothers were recruited in early pregnancy and data on demographic characteristics were collected during pregnancy. Trajectory patterns were investigated using latent class growth analysis, and risk factors for the derived trajectory classes were investigated by multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS Participants were found to be a fairly representative sample with respect to their demographic characteristics. Five classes of high normal (11.5%), normal (49.2%), low normal (21.2%), delayed (14.1%), and markedly delayed (4.0%) were identified. The markedly delayed class was characterized by overall delay from the early developmental stages; notably, such delay first became salient in motor domains and was then exceeded by language domains, especially receptive language. This class was predicted by male sex (odds ratio 4.0; 95% confidence interval 1.7-9.1), small for gestational age (2.8; 1.0-7.5), low placenta-to-birthweight ratio (2.8; 1.2-6.4) and low maternal education (4.7; 1.2-19.0). The delayed class was characterized by gradual downward deviation after the first birthday, and was predicted by male sex (2.5; 1.5-4.2), preterm birth (4.4; 1.6-12.6) and advanced paternal age (1.9; 1.0-3.5). CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that about 1 out of 5 infants exhibits delayed neurodevelopment. Infants with distinct patterns of delayed trajectories and varying risk factors are considered to have different pathophysiological mechanisms.
Churg-strauss syndrome in a group of patients receiving fluticasone for asthma.

Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a rare primary systemic vasculitis associated with marked eosinophilia. Reports have described patients with asthma who developed a systemic illness similar to CSS following treatment with leukotriene receptor antagonists. Over a 14 month period we encountered an unusual cluster of 6 patients who developed CSS. Only one patient received a leukotriene receptor antagonist prior to disease onset. However, common to 5 of 6 patients was the reduction or discontinuation of oral corticosteroids after the introduction of inhaled corticosteroids (fluticasone). This suggests an unmasking of underlying CSS by this therapeutic strategy.
An Educational Data Mining System for Advising Higher Education Students

Educational data mining is a specific data mining field applied to data originating from educational environments, it relies on different approaches to discover hidden knowledge from the available data. Among these approaches are machine learning techniques which are used to build a system that acquires learning from previous data. Machine learning can be applied to solve different regression, classification, clustering and optimization problems. In our research, we propose a “Student Advisory Framework” that utilizes classification and clustering to build an intelligent system. This system can be used to provide pieces of consultations to a first year university student to pursue a certain education track where he/she will likely succeed in, aiming to decrease the high rate of academic failure among these students. A real case study in Cairo Higher Institute for Engineering, Computer Science and Management is presented using real dataset collected from 2000−2012.The dataset has two main components: pre-higher education dataset and first year courses results dataset. Results have proved the efficiency of the suggested framework. Keywords—Classification, Clustering, Educational Data Mining (EDM), Machine Learning.
Development Pattern Recognition Model for the Classification of Circuit Probe Wafer Maps on Semiconductors

Spatial defect patterns generated during integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing contain valuable information on the fabrication process and can help engineers identify the root causes of any defect. Classification of these defect patterns is crucial to improving reliability and yield during IC manufacturing. Accurate classification requires good feature selection in order to assist in identifying the defect cluster types. In this paper, we demonstrate that the linear Hough transformation, the circular Hough transformation incorporating the cover ratio approach, and the zone ratio approach, when used as feature-extraction techniques, are able to distinguish lines, various solid circle-like cluster patterns such as blobs and bull's-eyes, and various hollow circle-like cluster patterns such as rings and edges. On the basis of these features, in this paper we provide a comprehensive evaluation of several data-mining classification approaches in terms of performance and accuracy. The results obtained using both artificial and real manufacturing data demonstrate the potential of this approach for analyzing general defect patterns that are generated during the IC fabrication process.
Feature Selection Based on Modified Bat Algorithm

SUMMARY The rapid development of information techniques has lead to more and more high-dimensional datasets, making classiﬁcation more di ﬃ cult. However, not all of the features are useful for classiﬁcation, and some of these features may even cause low classiﬁcation accuracy. Feature selection is a useful technique, which aims to reduce the dimensionality of datasets, for solving classiﬁcation problems. In this paper, we propose a modiﬁed bat algorithm (BA) for feature selection, called MBAFS, us-ing a SVM. Some mechanisms are designed for avoiding the premature convergence. On the one hand, in order to maintain the diversity of bats, they are guided by the combination of a random bat and the global best bat. On the other hand, to enhance the ability of escaping from local optimization, MBAFS employs one mutation mechanism while the algorithm trapped into local optima. Furthermore, the performance of MBAFS was tested on twelve benchmark datasets, and was compared with other BA based algorithms and some well-known BPSO based algorithms. Experimental results indicated that the proposed algorithm outperforms than other methods. Also, the comparison details showed that MBAFS is competitive in terms of computational time.
Randomized trial comparing monthly low-dose leucovorin and fluorouracil bolus with bimonthly high-dose leucovorin and fluorouracil bolus plus continuous infusion for advanced colorectal cancer: a French intergroup study.

PURPOSE This multicenter study compared the therapeutic ratio of a monthly schedule of low-dose leucovorin (LV) and fluorouracil (5-FU) bolus with a bimonthly schedule of high-dose LV and 5-FU bolus plus continuous infusion in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Of the 448 patients randomly assigned to treatment, 433 were assessable. Treatment A was a monthly regimen of intravenous (IV) LV 20 mg/m2 plus bolus 5-FU 425 mg/m2 for 5 days every 4 weeks. Treatment B was a bimonthly regimen of IV LV 200 mg/m2 as a 2-hour infusion followed by bolus 5-FU 400 mg/m2 and 22-hour infusion 5-FU 600 mg/m2 for 2 consecutive days every 2 weeks. Therapy was continued until disease progression. Second-line chemotherapy, which included 5-FU continuous infusion, was allowed in both arms. RESULTS The response rates in 348 patients with measurable lesions were 14.4% (monthly regimen) and 32.6% (bimonthly regimen) (P = .0004). The median progression-free survival times were 22 weeks (monthly regimen) and 27.6 weeks (bimonthly regimen) (P = .0012). The median survival times were 56.8 weeks (monthly regimen) and 62 weeks (bimonthly regimen) (P = .067). Grade 3-4 toxicities occurred in 23.9% of patients in the monthly arm compared with 11.1% of those in the bimonthly arm (P = .0004). Patients in arm A more frequently experienced severe granulocytopenia (7.3% v 1.9%), diarrhea (7.3% v 2.9%), and mucositis (7.3% v 1.9%) than patients in arm B. CONCLUSION The bimonthly regimen was more effective and less toxic than the monthly regimen and definitely increased the therapeutic ratio. However, there was no evidence of increased survival.
Introduction Imaging Gene Expression in Live Cells and Tissues

Monitoring gene expression is crucial for studying the responses of gene therapy and clarifying gene function in various environments. Molecular imaging is a powerful tool for noninvasive visualization of gene expression. This article summarizes the current status of fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging (BLI) of gene expression in live cells and tissues, with the emphasis mainly on the early studies that pioneered the field. First, we describe fluorescence imaging of gene expression with a wide variety of fluorescent proteins. Next, we discuss the strategies for BLI of gene expression. Besides incorporating the reporter gene into the host DNA, mRNA-based BLI of gene expression is also briefly mentioned. Last, the construction of doubleand triple-fusion reporter genes is presented. Because no single imaging modality is perfect and sufficient to obtain all of the necessary information for a given question, combinations of multiple molecular imaging modalities can offer synergistic advantages over any modality alone. Noninvasive optical imaging of gene expression has revolutionized biomedical research, and the progress made over the last decade should allow molecular imaging to play a major role in the field of gene therapy. For basic and preclinical research, optical imaging is indispensable for imaging gene expression. However, for clinical imaging of gene expression, positron emission tomography (PET) holds the greatest promise.
Inflammatory bowel disease: Incidence, prevalence, and disease characteristics in Barbados, West Indies

Background: The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be lower among people of African descent than Caucasians. However, incidence studies among the former are uncommon and are often limited by incomplete case ascertainment or uncertainty about the size of the “at‐risk” population. Methods: We report the incidence and prevalence of IBD among people of African ancestry in Barbados from island‐wide disease surveillance over a 25‐year period beginning January 1980. Results: The annual incidence of IBD age standardized to the world population was 1.85 per 100,000 person‐years (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.53–2.22) for ulcerative colitis (UC) and 0.70 per 100,000 person‐years (0.51–0.95) for Crohn's disease (CD). These incidence rates increased to 2.09 and 0.76 when standardized to the US population. The UC incidence rate increased from 1.3 in 1980–1984 to 2.3 in 1995–1999, and decreased to 1.6 in 2000–2004. The CD incidence rate followed a similar trend, rising from 0.3 in 1980–1984 to 1.3 in 1990–1994 before decreasing to 0.6. IBD prevalence in December 2004 was 44.3 per 100,000 person‐years (36.7–53.0) for UC and 16.7 per 100,000 person‐years (12.2–22.4) for CD. In the island‐nation of Barbados, with a population in 2000 of 270,000, we expect between 4.3 and 6.1 new cases of UC and between 1.5 and 2.6 new cases of CD each year. Conclusions: The reported rates are generally lower than reported for European and North American Caucasians, and are similar to The French West Indies—the only other IBD disease register in the Caribbean.
The Web's rich tapestry

The Web has evolved as a hypertext environment whose value is derived from a simple ability to link resources together. The advanced linking features of some early hypertext systems might be implemented in the Web in various ways. The Semantic Web is one aspect of the continuing evolution of the Web which may be of value to the evolution of scholarly publishing and research, and may enable publishers to justify investment in the future. The key advantages are the ability to unlock value from the existing scholarly literature by enabling innovation in research tools; further encouraging the creation of a marketplace of services of value to the publishing industry; and ensuring that websites and content are well integrated into the Web as it exists now and in the future.