Weakly Supervised Learning by a Confusion Matrix of Contexts

© 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Context consideration can help provide more background and related information for weakly supervised learning. The inclusion of less documented historical and environmental context in researching diabetes amongst Pima Indians uncovered reasons which were more likely to explain why some Pima Indians had much higher rates of diabetes than Caucasians, primarily due to historical, environmental and social causes rather than their specific genetic patterns or ethnicity as suggested by many medical studies. If historical and environmental factors are considered as external contexts when not included as part of a dataset for research, some forms of internal contexts may also exist inside the dataset without being declared. This paper discusses a context construction model that transforms a confusion matrix into a matrix of categorical, incremental and correlational context to emulate a kind of internal context to search for more informative patterns in order to improve weakly supervised learning from limited labeled samples for unlabeled data. When the negative and positive labeled samples and misclassification errors are compared to “happy families” and “unhappy families”, the contexts constructed by this model in the classification experiments reflected the Anna Karenina principle well - “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”, an encouraging sign to further explore contexts associated with harmonizing patterns and divisive causes for knowledge discovery in a world of uncertainty

Risk of Egg Parasitoid Attraction Depends on Anti-aphrodisiac Titre in the Large Cabbage White Butterfly Pieris brassicae

Males of a variety of insects transfer an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone to females during mating that renders them less attractive to conspecific males. In cabbage white butterflies, the transfer of an anti-aphrodisiac can result in the unwanted attraction of tiny egg parasitoid wasps of the genus Trichogramma that hitch-hike with mated female butterflies to a host plant where they parasitize the freshly laid butterfly eggs. Here, we show that the anti-aphrodisiac benzyl cyanide (BC) of the large cabbage white Pieris brassicae is depleted by frequent display of the mate-refusal posture that signals a female’s unreceptivity to mating. This depletion of BC is ecologically important because it results in a reduced risk of attracting the hitch-hiking egg parasitoid Trichogramma brassicae to mated female butterflies over time since mating. Our results indicate for the first time that a reduction in anti-aphrodisiac titre in mated females due to frequent adoption of the mate-refusal posture is beneficial to both mated females and males particularly when parasitoid pressure is high

Depressive disorders in caregivers of dementia patients: a systematic review.

Although depressive symptomatology has been well studied in caregivers of patients with dementia, depressive disorders have been examined much less. We conducted a systematic literature search in major bibliographical databases (Medline, Psychinfo, Dissertation Abstracts), and included studies examining caregivers of dementia patients that reported the prevalence of major depressive disorder, according to diagnostic criteria as assessed with a standardized psychiatric diagnostic interview. Ten studies with a total of 790 caregivers were identified (sample sizes: 22–147). In only one of the studies, a representative community sample was used. A total of 176 subjects (22.3%) had a depressive disorder (prevalence range from 0.15–0.32). In the three studies reporting differential prevalence rates for men and women somewhat smaller prevalence rates were found for men than for women. In six studies caregivers were compared to a (mostly matched) control group. The relative risks of having a depressive disorder in caregivers ranged from 2.80–38.68 (all RR’s were significant). In the three prospective studies relatively high incidence rates were found (0.48). This study made it clear that prevalence and incidence of depressive disorders are increased in caregivers of dementia patients. More research is clearly needed in this population

Effects of Chronic Ethanol Treatment on Neocortex

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66043/1/j.1530-0277.1986.tb05133.x.pd

Deducing in Vivo Toxicity of Combustion-Derived Nanoparticles from a Cell-Free Oxidative Potency Assay and Metabolic Activation of Organic Compounds

BACKGROUND: The inhalation of combustion-derived nanoparticles (CDNPs) is believed to cause an oxidative stress response, which in turn may lead to pulmonary or even systemic inflammation. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: In this study we assessed whether the in vivo inflammatory response-which is generally referred to as particle toxicity-of mice to CDNPs can be predicted in vitro by a cell-free ascorbate test for the surface reactivity or, more precisely, oxidative potency (Ox(Pot),) of particles. RESULTS: For six types of CDNPs with widely varying particle diameter (10-50 nm), organic content (OC; 1-20%), and specific Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area (43-800 m(2)/g), Ox(Pot) correlated strongly with the in vivo inflammatory response (pulmonary polymorphonuclear neutrophil influx 24 hr after intratracheal particle instillation). However, for CDNPs with high organic content, Ox(Pot) could not explain the observed inflammatory response, possibly due to shielding of the Ox(Pot) of the carbon core of CDNPs by an organic coating. On the other hand, a pathway-specific gene expression screen indicated that, for particles rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) enzyme-mediated biotransformation of bioavailable organics may generate oxidative stress and thus enhance the in vivo inflammatory response. CONCLUSION: The compensatory nature of both effects (shielding of carbon core and biotransformation of PAHs) results in a good correlation between inflammatory response and BET surface area for all CDNPs. Hence, the in vivo inflammatory response can either be predicted by BET surface area or by a simple quantitative model, based on in vitro Ox(Pot) and Cyp1a1 induction

Rnf12—A Jack of All Trades in X Inactivation?

International audiencePlacental mammals compensate the dosage imbalance of X-linked genes between males (XY) and females (XX) by silencing one randomly chosen X chromosome in females. This process is initiated during early embryonic development and can be recapitulated during differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs). X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is initiated by up-regulation of a non-coding RNA on the future inactive X chromosome, named Xist, which lies within a large complex locus, called the X inactivation center (Xic). Subsequently, Xist RNA induces silencing of the entire chromosome in cis. Although central to the XCI process, the molecular mechanisms underlying Xist's regulation still remain to be deciphered. In particular, it is unclear (1) how the up-regulation of Xist is triggered at the onset of differentiation, (2) why this is restricted to female cells, and (3) why one allele and not the other is affected? Although each aspect could in principle be controlled by distinct factors and sequence elements, one protein has recently been proposed to regulate Xist at all three levels: the E3 ubiquitin ligase Rnf12/Rlim. The X-linked Rnf12 gene acts as a dose-dependent activator of Xist, which is expressed at elevated levels in female relative to male cells and is up-regulated during differentiation. Two recent studies shed further light on the precise role of Rnf12 in XCI

Genome Wide Transcriptome Analysis of Dendritic Cells Identifies Genes with Altered Expression in Psoriasis

Activation of dendritic cells by different pathogens induces the secretion of proinflammatory mediators resulting in local inflammation. Importantly, innate immunity must be properly controlled, as its continuous activation leads to the development of chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or peptidoglycan (PGN) induced tolerance, a phenomenon of transient unresponsiveness of cells to repeated or prolonged stimulation, proved valuable model for the study of chronic inflammation. Thus, the aim of this study was the identification of the transcriptional diversity of primary human immature dendritic cells (iDCs) upon PGN induced tolerance. Using SAGESeq approach, a tag-based transcriptome sequencing method, we investigated gene expression changes of primary human iDCs upon stimulation or restimulation with Staphylococcus aureus derived PGN, a widely used TLR2 ligand. Based on the expression pattern of the altered genes, we identified non-tolerizeable and tolerizeable genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (Kegg) analysis showed marked enrichment of immune-, cell cycle- and apoptosis related genes. In parallel to the marked induction of proinflammatory mediators, negative feedback regulators of innate immunity, such as TNFAIP3, TNFAIP8, Tyro3 and Mer are markedly downregulated in tolerant cells. We also demonstrate, that the expression pattern of TNFAIP3 and TNFAIP8 is altered in both lesional, and non-lesional skin of psoriatic patients. Finally, we show that pretreatment of immature dendritic cells with anti-TNF-α inhibits the expression of IL-6 and CCL1 in tolerant iDCs and partially releases the suppression of TNFAIP8. Our findings suggest that after PGN stimulation/restimulation the host cell utilizes different mechanisms in order to maintain critical balance between inflammation and tolerance. Importantly, the transcriptome sequencing of stimulated/restimulated iDCs identified numerous genes with altered expression to date not associated with role in chronic inflammation, underlying the relevance of our in vitro model for further characterization of IFNprimed iDCs

Identification of platelet function defects by multi-parameter assessment of thrombus formation.

Assays measuring platelet aggregation (thrombus formation) at arterial shear rate mostly use collagen as only platelet-adhesive surface. Here we report a multi-surface and multi-parameter flow assay to characterize thrombus formation in whole blood from healthy subjects and patients with platelet function deficiencies. A systematic comparison is made of 52 adhesive surfaces with components activating the main platelet-adhesive receptors, and of eight output parameters reflecting distinct stages of thrombus formation. Three types of thrombus formation can be identified with a predicted hierarchy of the following receptors: glycoprotein (GP)VI, C-type lectin-like receptor-2 (CLEC-2)>GPIb>α6β1, αIIbβ3>α2β1>CD36, α5β1, αvβ3. Application with patient blood reveals distinct abnormalities in thrombus formation in patients with severe combined immune deficiency, Glanzmann's thrombasthenia, Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, May-Hegglin anomaly or grey platelet syndrome. We suggest this test may be useful for the diagnosis of patients with suspected bleeding disorders or a pro-thrombotic tendency.This work was supported by grants from the Center for Translational Molecular Medicine (INCOAG), the Dutch Heart Foundation (2011T6), the Landsteiner Foundation for Blood Transfusion Research (1006) and ZonMW (MKMD 114021004).This is the final published version. It's also available from Nature Communications at http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140716/ncomms5257/full/ncomms5257.html

Socio-Economic Instability and the Scaling of Energy Use with Population Size

The size of the human population is relevant to the development of a sustainable world, yet the forces setting growth or declines in the human population are poorly understood. Generally, population growth rates depend on whether new individuals compete for the same energy (leading to Malthusian or density-dependent growth) or help to generate new energy (leading to exponential and super-exponential growth). It has been hypothesized that exponential and super-exponential growth in humans has resulted from carrying capacity, which is in part determined by energy availability, keeping pace with or exceeding the rate of population growth. We evaluated the relationship between energy use and population size for countries with long records of both and the world as a whole to assess whether energy yields are consistent with the idea of an increasing carrying capacity. We find that on average energy use has indeed kept pace with population size over long time periods. We also show, however, that the energy-population scaling exponent plummets during, and its temporal variability increases preceding, periods of social, political, technological, and environmental change. We suggest that efforts to increase the reliability of future energy yields may be essential for stabilizing both population growth and the global socio-economic system

Pilates based core stability training in ambulant individuals with multiple sclerosis: protocol for a multi-centre randomised controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>People with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) frequently experience balance and mobility impairments, including reduced trunk stability. Pilates-based core stability training, which is aimed at improving control of the body's stabilising muscles, is popular as a form of exercise with people with MS and therapists. A replicated single case series study facilitated by the Therapists in MS Group in the United Kingdom (UK) provides preliminary evidence that this approach can improve balance and mobility in ambulant people with MS; further evidence is needed to substantiate these findings to ensure that limited time, energy, finances and resources are used to best effect.</p> <p>This study builds upon the pilot work undertaken in the case series study by implementing a powered randomised controlled study, with the aims of:</p> <p>1 Establishing the effectiveness of core stability training</p> <p>2 Comparing core stability training with standardised physiotherapy exercise</p> <p>3 Exploring underlying mechanisms of change associated with this intervention</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a multi-centre, double blind, block randomised, controlled trial. Eligible participants will be recruited from 4 UK centres. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of three groups: Pilates based core stability training, standardised physiotherapy exercise or contract-relax relaxation sessions (placebo control). All will receive face to face training sessions over a 12 week period; together with a 15 minute daily home programme. All will be assessed by a blinded assessor before training, at the end of the 12 week programme and at 4 week follow-up. The primary outcome measure is the 10 metre timed walk. Secondary outcome measures are the MS walking Scale (MSWS-12), the Functional Reach (forwards and lateral), a 10 point Numerical Rating Scale to determine "Difficulty in carrying a drink when walking", and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale. In addition, ultrasound imaging of the abdominal muscles will be performed before and after intervention to assess changes in abdominal musculature at one of the four centres (Plymouth).</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This pragmatic trial will assess the effect of these exercise programmes on ambulatory people with MS. It may not be possible to extrapolate the conclusions to those who are non-ambulatory.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01414725">NCT01414725</a></p