Supervised Collective Classification for Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing utilizes the wisdom of crowds for collective classification via information (e.g., labels of an item) provided by labelers. Current crowdsourcing algorithms are mainly unsupervised methods that are unaware of the quality of crowdsourced data. In this paper, we propose a supervised collective classification algorithm that aims to identify reliable labelers from the training data (e.g., items with known labels). The reliability (i.e., weighting factor) of each labeler is determined via a saddle point algorithm. The results on several crowdsourced data show that supervised methods can achieve better classification accuracy than unsupervised methods, and our proposed method outperforms other algorithms.Comment: to appear in IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) Workshop on Networking and Collaboration Issues for the Internet of Everythin

T Oligo-Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (TOP-PCR): A Robust Method for the Amplification of Minute DNA Fragments in Body Fluids.

Body fluid DNA sequencing is a powerful noninvasive approach for the diagnosis of genetic defects, infectious agents and diseases. The success relies on the quantity and quality of the DNA samples. However, numerous clinical samples are either at low quantity or of poor quality due to various reasons. To overcome these problems, we have developed T oligo-primed polymerase chain reaction (TOP-PCR) for full-length nonselective amplification of minute quantity of DNA fragments. TOP-PCR adopts homogeneous "half adaptor" (HA), generated by annealing P oligo (carrying a phosphate group at the 5' end) and T oligo (carrying a T-tail at the 3' end), for efficient ligation to target DNA and subsequent PCR amplification primed by the T oligo alone. Using DNA samples from body fluids, we demonstrate that TOP-PCR recovers minute DNA fragments and maintains the DNA size profile, while enhancing the major molecular populations. Our results also showed that TOP-PCR is a superior method for detecting apoptosis and outperforms the method adopted by Illumina for DNA amplification

Structural insights into the gating of DNA passage by the topoisomerase II DNA-gate.

Type IIA topoisomerases (Top2s) manipulate the handedness of DNA crossovers by introducing a transient and protein-linked double-strand break in one DNA duplex, termed the DNA-gate, whose opening allows another DNA segment to be transported through to change the DNA topology. Despite the central importance of this gate-opening event to Top2 function, the DNA-gate in all reported structures of Top2-DNA complexes is in the closed state. Here we present the crystal structure of a human Top2 DNA-gate in an open conformation, which not only reveals structural characteristics of its DNA-conducting path, but also uncovers unexpected yet functionally significant conformational changes associated with gate-opening. This structure further implicates Top2's preference for a left-handed DNA braid and allows the construction of a model representing the initial entry of another DNA duplex into the DNA-gate. Steered molecular dynamics calculations suggests the Top2-catalyzed DNA passage may be achieved by a rocker-switch-type movement of the DNA-gate

EFFECTS OF UPPER EXTREMITY FATIGUE ON BASKETBALL SHOOTING ACCURACY

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of upper extremity fatigue on basketball shooting accuracy. Twenty-four elite male basketball players from 2 teams the top 3 Taiwan High Schools were chosen as subjects. After a warm-up and proper practice, they were asked to shoot from 3 varied distance positions before and after fatigue protocols. The protocols used were the chest press and wrist curls. Results show that the shooting accuracies in different distance positions declined significantly after the chess press protocol, however, there was no significant difference in shooting accuracy after doing the wrist-curls protocol. The results suggested that avoiding shoulder muscle fatigue should keep the shooting accuracy constant and in return helping them win a basketball game

Distributed Content Management Framework for Digital Museum Exhibitions

Colloque avec actes et comité de lecture. internationale.International audienceA digital library focuses on conserving, cataloguing, accessing, and tracking the usage of digitized material. On the other hand, a digital museum, other than being a simple digital archive, indeed emphasizes more on providing users with highly educational and motivating exhibitions. Online exhibitions often consist of a variety of multimedia objects such as web pages, animation, and video clips. One can design different exhibitions about the same topic for children, experts, novices, high bandwidth users, low bandwidth users, all using the same set of digital artifacts. The difficulty here is that it is time consuming to produce illustrative and intriguing online exhibitions. To efficiently transform the organized media objects deposited in the digital archive into educational experiences, there is a need of a novel content management framework for organizing digital collections and for quickly selecting, integrating, and composing objects from the collection to produce exhibitions of different presentation styles

Effective Radiotherapy Cured Cauda Equina Syndrome Caused by Remitted Intracranial Germinoma Depositing

Cauda equina syndrome (CES) in children is very rare and can permanently disable. A remitted intracranial germinoma depositing on the spinal cord, leading to CES, has never been reported. We discuss the case of a 10-year-old girl who presented with sudden ataxia, low back pain, sensory deficits of the left lower extremity, and difficulty urinating and defecating 7 months after totally remitted intracranial germinoma postintracranial surgery and cranial irradiation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and spine showed multiple intradural extramedullary homogeneous masses from the cervical to lumbar levels, compressing the conus medullaris and cauda equina. After emergent craniospinal irradiation, the patient's neurologic symptoms dramatically subsided. A remitted intracranial germinoma depositing on her spinal cord could be the cause of CES. Early identification and a proper craniospinal irradiation may halt the progression of symptoms

Galloway-Mowat syndrome: Prenatal ultrasound and perinatal magnetic resonance imaging findings

AbstractObjectiveTo present prenatal ultrasound and perinatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of Galloway-Mowat syndrome.Case ReportA 31-year-old woman, gravida 3, para 2, was referred for genetic counseling at 29 weeks of gestation because of abnormal ultrasound findings and a previous child with Galloway-Mowat syndrome. During this pregnancy, microcephaly, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and oligohydramnios were first noted at 27 weeks of gestation. Repeated ultrasounds showed microcephaly, IUGR, and oligohydramnios. MRI performed at 32 weeks of gestation showed reduced sulcation of the brain, pachygyria, poor myelination of the white matter, and cerebellar atrophy. A diagnosis of recurrent Galloway-Mowat syndrome was made. At 40 weeks of gestation, a 2,496-g female baby was delivered with microcephaly, a narrow slopping forehead, epicanthic folds, microphthalmos, a highly arched palate, a small midface, a beaked nose, thin lips, large low-set floppy ears, clenched hands, and arachnodactyly. Postnatal MRI findings were consistent with the prenatal diagnosis. Renal ultrasound showed enlarged bilateral kidneys with increased echogenicity. At the age of 2 weeks, the infant became edematous and developed nephrotic syndrome.ConclusionMicrocephaly, IUGR, and oligohydramnios are significant ultrasound triad of fetal Galloway-Mowat syndrome. Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of microcephaly, IUGR, and oligohydramnios in late second trimester or in early third trimester should alert clinicians to the possibility of Galloway-Mowat syndrome and prompt a detailed search of abnormal sulcation, cortical gyral maldevelopment, and cerebellar atrophy by fetal ultrafast MRI

First Identification of a Patient Colonized With Klebsiella pneumoniae Carrying blaNDM-1 in Taiwan

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) is a novel type of metallo-β-lactamase (MBL). Enterobacteriaceae carrying this NDM-1 encoding gene, blaNDM-1, have been identified worldwide. Bacteria carrying blaNDM-1 are not only resistant to carbapenem, but also highly resistant to many classes of antibiotics, which indicate the importance of prompt identification of these bacteria and implementation of strict infection control measures to prevent their transmission. Here, we report the first identification and management of a patient colonized with Klebsiella pneumoniae carrying blaNDM-1 in Taiwan, who returned from New Delhi where he had been hospitalized for a gun-shot injury