Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accuracy of Combined Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid and Cervical Cytology Testing as a Primary Screening Tool for Cervical Cancer: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND The performance of combined testing visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and cervical cytology tests might differ from one setting to another. The average estimate of the testing accuracy across studies is informative, but no meta-analysis has been carried out to assess this combined method. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to estimate the average sensitivity and specificity of the combined VIA and cervical cytology tests for the detection of cervical precancerous lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS We conducted a systematic review and a meta-analysis, according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Review of Diagnostic Test Accuracy. We considered two cases. In the either-positive result case, a positive result implies positivity in at least one of the tests. A negative result implies negativity in both tests. In the both-positive case, a positive result implies having both tests positive. Eligible studies were identified using Pubmed, Embase, Website of Science, CINHAL and COCRANE databases. True positive, false positive, false negative and true negative values were extracted. Estimates of sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative likelihood (LR) and diagnostic odds ratios (DOR) were pooled using a hierarchical random effect model. Hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristics (HSROC) were generated and heterogeneity was verified through covariates potentially influencing the diagnostic odds ratio. FINDINGS Nine studies fulfilled inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Pooled estimates of the sensitivities of the combined tests in either-positive and both-positive cases were 0.87 (95% CI: 0.83-0.90) and 0.38 (95% CI: 0.29-0.48), respectively. Corresponding specificities were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.63-0.89) and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96-0.99) respectively. The DORs of the combined tests in either-positive or both-positive result cases were 27.7 (95% CI: 12.5-61.5) and 52 (95% CI: 22.1-122.2), respectively. When including only articles without partial verification bias and also a high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia as a threshold of the disease, DOR of combined test in both-positive result cases remained the highest. However, DORs decreased to 12.1 (95% CI: 6.05-24.1) and 13.8 (95% CI: 7.92-23.9) in studies without partial verification bias for the combined tests in the either-positive and both-positive result cases, respectively. The screener, the place of study and the size of the population significantly influenced the DOR of combined tests in the both-positive result case in restriction analyses that considered only articles with CIN2+ as disease threshold. CONCLUSIONS The combined test in the either-positive result case has a high sensitivity, but a low specificity. These results suggest that the combined test should be considered in developing countries as a primary screening test if facilities exist to confirm, through colposcopy and biopsy, a positive result.
Review of Fast Monte Carlo Codes for Dose Calculation in Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning

An important requirement in radiation therapy is a fast and accurate treatment planning system. This system, using computed tomography (CT) data, direction, and characteristics of the beam, calculates the dose at all points of the patient's volume. The two main factors in treatment planning system are accuracy and speed. According to these factors, various generations of treatment planning systems are developed. This article is a review of the Fast Monte Carlo treatment planning algorithms, which are accurate and fast at the same time. The Monte Carlo techniques are based on the transport of each individual particle (e.g., photon or electron) in the tissue. The transport of the particle is done using the physics of the interaction of the particles with matter. Other techniques transport the particles as a group. For a typical dose calculation in radiation therapy the code has to transport several millions particles, which take a few hours, therefore, the Monte Carlo techniques are accurate, but slow for clinical use. In recent years, with the development of the ‘fast’ Monte Carlo systems, one is able to perform dose calculation in a reasonable time for clinical use. The acceptable time for dose calculation is in the range of one minute. There is currently a growing interest in the fast Monte Carlo treatment planning systems and there are many commercial treatment planning systems that perform dose calculation in radiation therapy based on the Monte Carlo technique.
Influence of Recall Procedures on the Modality Effect With Numbers and Enumerated Stimuli

Experiment 1 extended J. S. Nairne and W. L. McNabb's (1985) counting procedure for presenting numerical stimuli to examine the modality effect. The present authors presented participants with dots and beeps and instructed participants to count the items to derive to-be-remembered numbers. In addition, the authors presented numbers as visual and auditory symbols, and participants recalled items by using free-serial written recall. Experiment 1 demonstrated primacy effects, recency effects, and modality effects for visual and auditory symbols and for counts of dots and beeps. Experiment 2 replicated the procedure in Experiment 1 using strict-serial written recall instead of free-serial written recall. The authors demonstrated primacy and recency effects across all 4 presentation conditions and found a modality effect for numbers that the authors presented as symbols. However, the authors found no modality effect when they presented numbers as counts of beeps and dots. The authors discuss the implications of the results in terms of methods for testing modality effects.
Robust SfM with Little Image Overlap

Usual Structure-from-Motion (SfM) techniques require at least trifocal overlaps to calibrate cameras and reconstruct a scene. We consider here scenarios of reduced image sets with little overlap, possibly as low as two images at most seeing the same part of the scene. We propose a new method, based on line coplanarity hypotheses, for estimating the relative scale of two independent bifocal calibrations sharing a camera, without the need of any trifocal information or Manhattan-world assumption. We use it to compute SfM in a chain of up-to-scale relative motions. For accuracy, we however also make use of trifocal information for line and/or point features, when present, relaxing usual trifocal constraints. For robustness to wrong assumptions and mismatches, we embed all constraints in a parameterless RANSAC-like approach. Experiments show that we can calibrate datasets that previously could not, and that this wider applicability does not come at the cost of inaccuracy.
Incidence and risk of regorafenib-induced hepatotoxicity

Regorafenib, an oral multi-kinase inhibitor, has been approved for the treatments of several malignancies. Unlike traditional cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents, regorafenib therapy often induces a distinct profile of adverse events (AEs) including hepatotoxicity. Here we conducted an up-to-date meta-analysis to assess the incidence and risk of regorafenib related hepatic toxicities. PubMed and Embase database were reviewed from inception to June 2017 for relevant trials. Eligible studies include subjects with solid tumors treated with 160 mg of regorafenib daily during the first three week of each four-week cycle, and adequate safety data reporting the elevation of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bilirubin. Statistical analyses were conducted to calculate the summary incidence and relative risk (RR). A total of 2,213 subjects from 14 trials were included. The incidences of regorafenib-associated all-grade and high-grade hepatotoxicity were: bilirubin elevation: 23% and 5%; AST elevation: 32% and 6%; ALT elevation: 27% and 5%; ALP elevation: 31% and 2%. Regorafenib-treated subjects had a significant increased risk of all-grade (RR = 3.10; 95% CI, 2.22–4.34) and high-grade (RR = 1.74; 95% CI, 1.09–2.80) bilirubin elevation; all-grade (RR = 1.51; 95% CI, 1.13–2.00) and high-grade (RR = 1.79; 95% CI, 1.00–3.22) AST elevation; all-grade (RR = 1.82; 95% CI, 1.25–2.64) and high-grade (RR = 3.07; 95% CI, 1.30–7.22) ALT elevation; and all-grade (RR = 2.11; 95% CI, 1.01–4.40) ALP elevation. Our results suggest that regorafenib is associated with an increased risk of hepatic toxicities. Hepatotoxicity examination at regular intervals should be advised to clinicians.
Insulin effects on honeybee appetitive behaviour

ABSTRACT Worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) carry out multiple tasks throughout their adult lifespan. It has been suggested that the insulin/insulin-like signalling pathway participates in regulating behavioural maturation in eusocial insects. Insulin signalling increases as the honeybee worker transitions from nurse to food processor to forager. As behavioural shifts require differential usage of sensory modalities, our aim was to assess insulin effects on olfactory and gustatory responsiveness as well as on olfactory learning in preforaging honeybee workers of different ages. Adults were reared in the laboratory or in the hive. Immediately after being injected with insulin or vehicle (control), and focusing on the proboscis extension response, bees were tested for their spontaneous response to odours, sucrose responsiveness and ability to discriminate odours through olfactory conditioning. Bees injected with insulin have higher spontaneous odour responses. Sucrose responsiveness and odour discrimination are differentially affected by treatment according to age: whereas insulin increases gustatory responsiveness and diminishes learning abilities of younger workers, it has the opposite effect on older bees. In summary, insulin can improve chemosensory responsiveness in young workers, but also worsens their learning abilities to discriminate odours. The insulin signalling pathway is responsive in young workers, although they are not yet initiating outdoor activities. Our results show strong age-dependent effects of insulin on appetitive behaviour, which uncover differences in insulin signalling regulation throughout the honeybee worker's adulthood. Summary: Insulin improves chemosensory responsiveness of young honeybees, but not their abilities to discriminate odours. Thus, the insulin signalling pathway would be readily mature in young hive bees.
Evaluation of Multiplexed Cytokine and Inflammation Marker Measurements: a Methodologic Study

Background: Chronic inflammation is etiologically related to several cancers. We evaluated the performance [ability to detect concentrations above the assay's lower limit of detection, coefficients of variation (CV), and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC)] of 116 inflammation, immune, and metabolic markers across two Luminex bead–based commercial kits and three specimen types. Methods: From 100 cancer-free participants in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Trial, serum, heparin plasma, and EDTA plasma samples were utilized. We measured levels of 67 and 97 markers using Bio-Rad and Millipore kits, respectively. Reproducibility was assessed using 40 blinded duplicates (20 within-batches and 20 across-batches) for each specimen type. Results: A majority of markers were detectable in more than 25% of individuals on all specimen types/kits. Of the 67 Bio-Rad markers, 51, 52, and 47 markers in serum, heparin plasma, and EDTA plasma, respectively, had across-batch CVs of less than 20%. Likewise, of 97 Millipore markers, 75, 69, and 78 markers in serum, heparin plasma, and EDTA plasma, respectively, had across-batch CVs of less than 20%. When results were combined across specimen types, 45 Bio-Rad and 71 Millipore markers had acceptable performance (>25% detectability on all three specimen types and across-batch CVs <20% on at least two of three specimen types). Median concentrations and ICCs differed to a small extent across specimen types and to a large extent between Bio-Rad and Millipore. Conclusions: Inflammation and immune markers can be measured reliably in serum and plasma samples using multiplexed Luminex-based methods. Impact: Multiplexed assays can be utilized for epidemiologic investigations into the role of inflammation in cancer etiology. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(9); 1902–11. ©2011 AACR.
From rational to emotional agents

To date, most research on multiagent systems has focused on rational utilitymaximizing agents. However, theories show that emotions have a strong effect on human's physical states, motivations, beliefs, and desires. The details have not been explicated clearly so far. In artificial intelligence, emotions have begun to receive more attention, but mostly in human-robot/computer interaction. The research on applying emotions to agents' decision-making is still very limited. Can agents be intelligent without emotions? We believe that, whether for humanlike or non-human-like agents, the effect of emotions on decision-making cannot be ignored, since agents with high emotional quotients (EQs) can be built to have better performance in complex dynamic environments than purely rational agents. This research focuses on the effects of emotions on decision-making. Taking into account the incompleteness of emotion theories and emotional differences among individuals, I describe EBDI, a common architecture for emotional agents, which specifies a separate emotion mechanism within an agent, instead of trying to model emotion mechanisms to reflect the reasoning process specifically, like most researchers have done. It reflects the practical reasoning process, and one can select and apply part of an emotion theory into the architecture as needed. Sample agents in Tileworld are presented and the results show that an EBDI agent can have better performance than traditional BDI agents. To apply EBDI in negotiation; a plug-in is designed, which modifies the OCC model, a standard model for emotion synthesis, to generate emotions. Considering the possibility of incorporating emotions into negotiation, I generate EWOD (Emotional Worth-Oriented Domain), which requires numerical emotions. Thus, a mapping from 22 OCC emotions to 3-dimension numerical PAD emotions is given. Finally, I describe how PAD emotions affect the negotiation strategy and provide an evaluation which shows that it can be used to implement emotional agents that mimic human emotions during negotiation. Thus we can design high EQ agents for negotiation according to specific design purposes. Since negotiation is used widely in many different domains, this research, based on a general process of negotiation, can also be widely applied to other areas.
The asparagine-transamidosome from Helicobacter pylori: a dual-kinetic mode in non-discriminating aspartyl-tRNA synthetase safeguards the genetic code

Helicobacter pylori catalyzes Asn-tRNAAsn formation by use of the indirect pathway that involves charging of Asp onto tRNAAsn by a non-discriminating aspartyl-tRNA synthetase (ND-AspRS), followed by conversion of the mischarged Asp into Asn by the GatCAB amidotransferase. We show that the partners of asparaginylation assemble into a dynamic Asn-transamidosome, which uses a different strategy than the Gln-transamidosome to prevent the release of the mischarged aminoacyl-tRNA intermediate. The complex is described by gel-filtration, dynamic light scattering and kinetic measurements. Two strategies for asparaginylation are shown: (i) tRNAAsn binds GatCAB first, allowing aminoacylation and immediate transamidation once ND-AspRS joins the complex; (ii) tRNAAsn is bound by ND-AspRS which releases the Asp-tRNAAsn product much slower than the cognate Asp-tRNAAsp; this kinetic peculiarity allows GatCAB to bind and transamidate Asp-tRNAAsn before its release by the ND-AspRS. These results are discussed in the context of the interrelation between the Asn and Gln-transamidosomes which use the same GatCAB in H. pylori, and shed light on a kinetic mechanism that ensures faithful codon reassignment for Asn.
The effect of reduced water potential on soybean mitochondria.

The respiration of excised hypocotyls and of isolated hypocotyl mitochondria from soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. , var. Wayne] was determined in various concentrations of sucrose and potassium chloride. Hypocotyl oxygen uptake declined with increasing solute concentration; no specific effects of either solute were apparent. Mitochondrial state III respiration was strongly inhibited as the solute concentrations were raised and there was in addition a specific inhibitory effect of the salt. State IV respiration, however, was unaffected by the presence of osmoticum. ADP/O ratios were also unaffected, except at high potassium chloride concentrations (470 mm). The primary effect of solutes was thus to limit the rate of substrate oxidation.Hydrostatic pressure did not reverse the decline in net phosphorylation accompanying reduced oxidation. It was inferred therefore that the inhibition was not due to lower water potential per se, but rather to some other effect of water or solute concentration.The effect of solutes on a mitochondrial enzyme, malate dehydrogenase, was also examined. Sucrose inhibited malate oxidation by both the mitochondria and the isolated enzyme in parallel, while potassium chloride was more inhibitory on the isolated enzyme. It was concluded that although the addition of solute lowers the water potential, the primary effects are exerted through specific effects of the solute on enzyme activity.
Assessment of sleep quality and correlates in a large cohort of Colombian women around menopause

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the relationship between self-reported sleep quality, menopausal symptom intensity, and correlates (including ethnicity) among middle-aged women. MethodsThe present cross-sectional study involved 1,078 Colombian women aged 40 to 59 years who completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), and a general questionnaire exploring sociodemographic data. ResultsThe median [interquartile range] age of the whole sample was 49.0 [9.0] years. Among the participants, 45.4% were postmenopausal, 57.2% had increased body mass index values, 13.9% were black, 20.7% had hypertension, 74.1% had a stable partner, and 3.8% used hormone therapy. The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 57.1% (PSQI global score ≥5). Significant correlations between PSQI global scores and MRS total and subscale scores were found. Multiple linear regression analysis found that higher PSQI scores (poorer quality of sleep) correlated with higher MRS psychological and somatic subscale scores (more severe symptoms), smoking habit, and hypertension. Menopause status and black ethnicity were excluded from the final regression model. ConclusionsDespite study limitations, poor sleep quality is highly prevalent in this large middle-aged Colombian female sample and is related to menopausal symptom severity, tobacco use, and presence of hypertension.
PowerSpy: Location Tracking Using Mobile Device Power Analysis

Modern mobile platforms like Android enable applications to read aggregate power usage on the phone. This information is considered harmless and reading it requires no user permission or notification. We show that by simply reading the phone's aggregate power consumption over a period of a few minutes an application can learn information about the user's location. Aggregate phone power consumption data is extremely noisy due to the multitude of components and applications that simultaneously consume power. Nevertheless, by using machine learning algorithms we are able to successfully infer the phone's location. We discuss several ways in which this privacy leak can be remedied.
Nursing Exploration Summer Camp: Improving the Image of Nursing

Improving the image of nursing and finding ways to encourage young people to enter the nursing field are two areas that need attention from nurse executives. That concept was turned into reality with Inova Nursing Exploration Summer Camp 2001, a camp for seventh and eighth graders who are exploring their interest in nursing careers. The camp was a unique partnership among a county public school system, a local university, and an integrated healthcare system. The program, developed by the system nurses in consultation with middle school educators, introduced students to the nursing profession via demonstrations, site visits at multiple hospitals, role-playing, discussions, and a trip to the local nursing school to experience life as a nursing student. The authors discuss the planning, implementation, and outcome of this unique summer camp.
GUIDELINES FOR USE OF DUST IN HOT-MIX ASPHALT CONCRETE MIXTURES (WITH DISCUSSION)

The dust or fine fraction can affect hot-mix asphalt concrete in a number of ways. It may (1) stiffen the asphalt cement, (2) extend the asphalt cement, (3) alter the moisture resistance of the mix, (4) affect the aging characteristics of the mix, and (5) affect the workability and compaction characteristics of the mix. The purpose of this paper is to examine the first two factors, which are reflected in the mechanical (stress-strain) behavior of hot-mix asphalt concrete.
Nef-mediated Clathrin-coated Pit Formation

The sequence of events leading to clathrin-coated pit (CCP) nucleation on the cell surface and to the incorporation of receptors into these endocytic structures is still imperfectly understood. In particular, the question remains as to whether receptor tails initiate the assembly of the coat proteins or whether receptors migrate into preformed CCP. This question was approached through a dissection of the mechanisms implemented by Nef, an early protein of human and simian immunodeficiency virus (HIV and SIV, respectively), to accelerate the endocytosis of cluster of differentiation antigen type 4 (CD4), the major receptor for these viruses. Results collected showed that: (a) Nef promotes CD4 internalization via an increased association of CD4 with CCP; (b) the Nef-mediated increase of CD4 association with CCP is related to a doubling of the plasma membrane area occupied by clathrin-coated structures; (c) this increased CCP number at the plasma membrane has functional consequences preferentially on CD4 uptake and does not significantly affect transferrin receptor internalization or fluid-phase endocytosis; (d) the presence of a CD4 cytoplasmic tail including a critical dileucine motif is required to induce CCP formation via Nef; and (e) when directly anchored to the cytoplasmic side of the plasma membrane, Nef itself can promote CCP formation. Taken together, these observations lead us to propose that CD4 can promote CCP generation via the connector molecule Nef. In this model, Nef interacts on one side with CD4 through a dileucine-based motif present on CD4 cytoplasmic tail and on the other side with components of clathrin-coated surface domain (i.e., adaptins). These Nef-generated complexes would then initiate the nucleation of CCP.
Answering Complex Questions Using Open Information Extraction

While there has been substantial progress in factoid question-answering (QA), answering complex questions remains challenging, typically requiring both a large body of knowledge and inference techniques. Open Information Extraction (Open IE) provides a way to generate semi-structured knowledge for QA, but to date such knowledge has only been used to answer simple questions with retrieval-based methods. We overcome this limitation by presenting a method for reasoning with Open IE knowledge, allowing more complex questions to be handled. Using a recently proposed support graph optimization framework for QA, we develop a new inference model for Open IE, in particular one that can work effectively with multiple short facts, noise, and the relational structure of tuples. Our model significantly outperforms a state-of-the-art structured solver on complex questions of varying difficulty, while also removing the reliance on manually curated knowledge.