Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-Term Outcomes of Cervical Laminoplasty in the Elderly

Incidences of cervical laminoplasty in the elderly are increasing; the influence of other age-related complications and neurological status must be considered for justifying surgery. This study identified the aforementioned influence on long-term outcomes of cervical laminoplasty in patients aged ≥75 years. Thirty-seven of 38 consecutive patients aged ≥75 years who underwent cervical laminoplasty were retrospectively evaluated. Minimum 5-year follow-up was acceptable if patients were complication-free. Follow-up was terminated when neurological evaluation was not possible, owing to death or other serious complications affecting activities of daily living (ADL). Postoperative neurological changes and newly developed severe complications were investigated. Postoperatively, one patient died of acute pneumonia, one remained nonambulatory owing to cerebral infarction, and 35 were ambulatory and were discharged. At a mean follow-up of 78 months, three patients died and nine developed serious complications severely affecting ADL. Of the 25 remaining patients, 23 remained ambulatory at mean follow-up of 105 months. Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that postoperative motor upper and lower extremities JOA scores of ≤2 and ≤1, respectively, were risk factors for mortality or other severe complications. Postoperative neurological status can be maintained in the elderly if they remain complication-free. Poorer neurological status significantly affected their ADL and mortality.
Practical Extensions to Cycle Time Approximations for the $G/G/m$-Queue With Applications

Approximate closed form expressions for the mean cycle time in a G/G/m-queue often serve as practical and intuitive alternatives to more exact but less tractable analyses. However, the G/G/m-queue model may not fully address issues that arise in practical manufacturing systems. Such issues include tools with production parallelism, tools that are idle with work in process, travel to the queue, and the tendency of lots to defect from a failed server and return to the queue even after they have entered production. In this paper, we extend popular approximate mean cycle time formulae to address these practical manufacturing issues. Employing automated data extraction algorithms embedded in software, we test the approximations using parameters gleaned from production tool groups in IBM's 200 mm semiconductor wafer fabricator.
Lateralization in Escape Behaviour at Different Hierarchical Levels in a Gecko: Tarentola angustimentalis from Eastern Canary Islands

At the individual level, to be behaviourally lateralized avoids costly duplication of neural circuitry and decreases possible contradictory order from the two brain hemispheres. However, being prey behaviour lateralized at higher hierarchical levels could generate different negative implications, especially if predators are able to make predictions after multiple encounters. These conflicting pressures, namely between the advantages for individuals and the disadvantages for populations could be concealed if higher-level lateralization would arise from the combination of lateralized behaviours of individuals which are mutually dependent. Here, we investigated the lateralization patterns in the escape behaviour of the gecko Tarentola angustimentalis undergoing a predatory attack simulation in a “T” maze experiment. Results showed that gecko populations displayed different degrees of lateralization, with an overall dominance of right-biased individuals. This trend is similar to that observed in the Podarcis wall lizards, which share predators with Tarentola. In addition, different morphological parameters plausible to affect refuge selection were explored in order to link directional asymmetries at morphological level with lateralization during refuge selection.
Relationship between Controlled Attenuation Parameter and Hepatic Steatosis as Assessed by Ultrasound in Alcoholic or Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background/Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and hepatic steatosis, as assessed by ultrasound (US) in patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods Patients with either ALD or NAFLD who were diagnosed with fatty liver with US and whose CAP scores were measured, were retrospectively enrolled in this study. The degree of hepatic steatosis assessed by US was categorized into mild (S1), moderate (S2), and severe (S3). Results A total of 186 patients were included: 106 with NAFLD and 80 with ALD. Regarding hepatic steatosis, the CAP score was significantly correlated with US (ρ=0.580, p<0.001), and there was no significant difference between the NAFLD and ALD groups (ρ=0.569, p<0.001; ρ=0.519, p<0.001; p=0.635). Using CAP, area under receiver operating characteristic curves for ≥S2 and ≥S3 steatosis were excellent (0.789 and 0.843, respectively). For sensitivity ≥90%, CAP cutoffs for the detection of ≥S2 and ≥S3 steastosis were separated with a gap of approximately 35 dB/m in all patients and in each of the NAFLD and ALD groups. Conclusions The CAP score is well correlated with hepatic steatosis, as assessed by US, in both ALD and NAFLD.
Studying the Effects of Motivated Reasoning on Appraisals of Message Strength

This study was designed to investigate decision-making as it relates to message appraisal, and determine what effect, if any, identification with the message source has on those appraisals. For the purpose of study, message appraisal was operationalized as message strength ratings. Furthermore, the study investigated how the political ideology of message receivers and the perceived partisanship of message senders might influence identification, and message appraisal by extension. The study used the theory of motivated reasoning to explain the role of identification in the process of message appraisal. The results indicate that there is a relationship between identification and message strength ratings, which suggests identification can produce motivated reasoning. However, the study did not show support for an interaction effect between the political ideology of participants, the perceived partisanship of message senders, and identification when considering message strength ratings.
Polybasic Trafficking Signal Mediates Golgi Export, ER Retention or ER Export and Retrieval Based on Membrane-Proximity

Trafficking of integral membrane proteins between the ER and Golgi complex, and protein sorting and trafficking between the TGN and endosomal/lysosomal compartments or plasma membranes, are dependent on cis-acting, linear amino acid sorting signals. Numerous sorting signals of this type have been identified in the cytoplasmic domains of membrane proteins, several of which rely on basic residues. A novel Golgi export signal that relies on a membrane-proximal polybasic motif (PBM) was recently identified in the reptilian reovirus p14 protein, a representative of an unusual group of bitopic fusion-associated small transmembrane (FAST) proteins encoded by fusogenic orthoreoviruses and responsible for cell-cell fusion and syncytium formation. Using immunofluorescence microscopy, cell surface immunofluorescence, and endoglycosidase H assays, we now show the p14 PBM can mediate several distinct trafficking functions depending on its proximity to the transmembrane domain (TMD). When present within 4-residues of the TMD it serves as a Golgi export signal, but when located at the C-terminus of the 68-residue p14 cytoplasmic endodomain it functions as an ER retention signal. The PBM has no effect on protein trafficking when located at an internal position in the cytoplasmic domain. When present in both membrane-proximal and -distal locations, the PBMs promote export to, and efficient retrieval from, the Golgi complex. Interestingly, the conflicting trafficking signals provided by two PBMs induces extensive ER tubulation and segregation of ER components. These studies highlight how a single trafficking signal in a simple transmembrane protein can have remarkably diverse, position-dependent effects on protein trafficking and ER morphogenesis.
A rosette-type, self-renewing human ES cell-derived neural stem cell with potential for in vitro instruction and synaptic integration

An intriguing question in human embryonic stem cell (hESC) biology is whether these pluripotent cells can give rise to stably expandable somatic stem cells, which are still amenable to extrinsic fate instruction. Here, we present a pure population of long-term self-renewing rosette-type hESC-derived neural stem cells (lt-hESNSCs), which exhibit extensive self-renewal, clonogenicity, and stable neurogenesis. Although lt-hESNSCs show a restricted expression of regional transcription factors, they retain responsiveness to instructive cues promoting the induction of distinct subpopulations, such as ventral midbrain and spinal cord fates. Using lt-hESNSCs as a donor source for neural transplantation, we provide direct evidence that hESC-derived neurons can establish synaptic connectivity with the mammalian nervous system. Combining long-term stability, maintenance of rosette-properties and phenotypic plasticity, lt-hESNSCs may serve as useful tool to study mechanisms of human NSC self-renewal, lineage segregation, and functional in vivo integration.
Impact of Tuning Delay on the Performance of Bandwidth-Limited Optical Broadcast Networks with Uniform Traffic

This paper studies the effects of tuning delay of transmitters in packet-based optical broadcast networks. We consider scheduling of random traffic with tunable transmitters and fixed-tuned receivers and obtain the degradation imposed by tuning delay using several performance criteria, such as schedule completion time, average packet delay, and session blocking rates. We show that for off-line scheduling the effects of tuning delay are small even if the tuning time is as large as the packet duration. We provide a lower bound to the expected completion time of any off-line schedule with an arbitrary number of wavelengths. We then describe a near-optimal schedule which is based on the principle of having idle transmitters tune to wavelengths just-in-time to start their transmissions. Stability and capacity issues in the transmission of real-time traffic are considered and a queueing-theoretic analysis of average packet delay is given. The packet delay is found to be insensitive to tuning delay under near-optimal transmission scheduling. Finally we extend the model to connection-oriented networks and evaluate the session blocking performance for scheduled circuit connections.
The Impact of Young Cohort Size on Adult Educational Upgrading: Evidence from Family Planning Policies in China

This paper investigates the e↵ect of the reduction in the young cohort size caused by Chinese family planning policies on the educational upgrading among older cohorts born before the policies. We show that family planning polices reduce the size of the young cohort and increase their educational levels. Through imperfect substitutability of workers with the same education but di↵erent ages, the incentives for older adults to acquire more education increase. Empirically, we examine the changes in the size of the young cohort aged 16-24 caused by the family planning policies initiated in 1964 with both geographical and temporal variation. We find heterogeneous e↵ects on the educational upgrading of older cohorts. A one percent decrease in the young cohort size increases the number of college graduates aged 25-49 by 70-100 persons within a birth cohort during 1982-1990, which is about 1.4-2 percent of the national average number of college graduates in 1982. The e↵ect is smaller for the age group 35-39 than for other age groups. The decrease in the young cohort size does not have a significant e↵ect on the number of college graduates during 1990-2000. We further show that the observed increase in adult college graduates is mostly driven by upgrading from non-college graduates who have already been in the local labor markets. As regards the migration of non-college graduates in response to the changes in the young cohort size, we find no significant e↵ect of the young cohort size on the number of non-college graduates for older cohorts, meaning the non-college migrants will replace the reduction in local non-college graduates who upgrade their educational levels. ⇤Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, School of Economics, daitianran@gmail.com †Peking University, National School of Development.
New insights into lunar petrology : Distribution and composition of prominent low ‐ Ca pyroxene exposures as observed by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper ( M 3 )

[1] Lunar geochemical groups such as Mg suite, ferroan anorthosite, and alkali suite rocks are difficult to distinguish from orbit because they are defined by bothmodal mineralogy and elemental composition of their constituent minerals. While modal mineralogy can be modeled, only specific minerals or elements can be directly detected. At near‐infrared (NIR) wavelengths, pyroxenes are among the most spectrally distinctive minerals, and their absorption bands are sensitive to structure and composition. Pyroxenes thus provide important clues to distinguish these geochemical groups and to understand lunar crustal evolution. Using Moon Mineralogy Mapper data, we search for lithologies dominated by strong low‐calcium pyroxene (LCP) signatures. We compare the NIR absorptions of 20 LCPs to a suite of synthetic pyroxenes to determine which lunar pyroxenes appear magnesian enough to be candidate Mg suite norites. We detail three prominent regions of LCP (1) in South Pole–Aitken Basin (SPA), (2) south of Mare Frigoris, and (3) north of Mare Frigoris. The absorption band positions suggest that the LCPs north of Mare Frigoris and those in SPA are compositionally similar to one another and of ∼Mg50–75, implying that the mafic material excavated by the SPA impact was relatively iron‐rich. Modified Gaussian modeling results suggest that the Apollo basin may have tapped different composition material than is exposed in much of SPA. The LCPs located in the highlands south of Mare Frigoris exhibit absorption bands at short wavelengths consistent with Mg > ∼80. The coincidence of these Mg‐rich LCPs with the thorium measured by Lunar Prospector make them good candidates for KREEP‐related Mg suite pyroxenes.
Discovery of δ Scuti pulsation in the Herbig Ae star VV Serpentis

Context. The study of pulsation in pre-main-sequence intermediate mass stars represents an important tool for deriving information on the stellar parameters and structure, as well as for testing the validity of current theoretical models. The interest in this class of variable stars has significantly increased during the last decade and about 30 members are presently known in the literature. Aims. A new observational study of the Herbig Ae star VV Ser has been performed to detect and accurately measure pulsation frequencies in the δ Scuti range, thus enlarging the sample of known pulsators and contributing to the empirical definition of the pre-main-sequence instability strip. As it belongs to the continuous field of view of the asteroseismological satellite COROT, this study also aims at characterizing the properties of VV Ser as a potential “COROT additional program” candidate. Methods. CCD time series photometry in the Johnson V filter has been obtained for three consecutive years. The resulting light curves have been subject to detailed frequency analysis and the derived frequencies have been compared to model predictions. Results. Seven pulsation frequencies have been measured on the basis of the best data set obtained in 2004, ranging from ~31 to ~118 $\mu\rm Hz$, with an accuracy of the order of 0.5 $\mu\rm Hz$. The comparison with an extensive set of asteroseismological models shows that all the observed periodicities can be reproduced if the stellar mass is close to $4~ M_{\odot}$. Conversely, the measured frequencies can be associated with p modes only if the effective temperature is significantly lower than that obtained from the spectral type conversion. Conclusions. The present results seem to suggest that more accurate spectral type determination is necessary to discriminate the best-fit model solution. In any case, the stellar mass of VV Ser is close to the upper mass limit ( ∼ $4~ M_{\odot}$) for this class of pulsators.
Load balancing via random local search in closed and open systems

In this paper, we analyze the performance of random load resampling and migration strategies in parallel server systems. Clients initially attach themselves to an arbitrary server, but may switch servers independently at random instants of time in an attempt to improve their service rate. This approach to load balancing contrasts with traditional approaches where clients make smart server selections upon arrival (e.g., Join-the-Shortest-Queue policy and variants thereof). Load resampling is particularly relevant in scenarios where clients cannot predict the load of a server before being actually attached to it. An important example is in wireless spectrum sharing where clients try to share a set of frequency bands in a distributed manner.We first analyze the natural Random Local Search (RLS) strategy. Under this strategy, after sampling a new server randomly, clients only switch to it if their service rate is improved. In closed systems, where the client population is fixed, we derive tight estimates of the time it takes under RLS strategy to balance the load across servers. We then study open systems where clients arrive according to a random process and leave the system upon service completion. In this scenario, we analyze how client migrations within the system interact with the system dynamics induced by client arrivals and departures. We compare the load-aware RLS strategy to a load-oblivious strategy in which clients just randomly switch server without accounting for the server loads. Surprisingly, we show that both load-oblivious and load-aware strategies stabilize the system whenever this is at all possible. We use large-system asymptotics to characterize system performance, and augment this with simulations, which suggest that the average client sojourn time under the load-oblivious strategy is not considerably reduced when clients apply smarter load-aware strategies.
Metrics on states from actions of compact groups

Let a compact Lie group act ergodically on a unital $C^*$-algebra $A$. We consider several ways of using this structure to define metrics on the state space of $A$. These ways involve length functions, norms on the Lie algebra, and Dirac operators. The main thrust is to verify that the corresponding metric topologies on the state space agree with the weak-$*$ topology.
An impure public good model of local food systems : Aggregative games of four locals

Local food systems have been flourishing across the world and attracting attention of the general public, policy makers and a wide range of academics. While some economists have conducted empirical analysis, there is virtually no theoretical work. Given the importance of economic theory, the objective of the paper is to initiate a theoretical discourse on local food systems with mathematical rigor while being mindful of empirical applicability. Our model is based on a simple observation: local food systems not only supply food but also help instill a sense of community. In this paper, local food is an impure public good, whose consumption both provides food-related experiences as private benefits and contributes to community development as public benefits. The model is analyzed using the aggregative game approach in order to examining the behavior of four types of consumers. The result is no surprise; a positive shock to a consumer increases the overall community development, and the others usually free-ride. Under a standard set of assumptions, local food systems can be modeled in a similar way to other social phenomena, thereby gaining general predictions for community development and its members’ behavior. For further theoretical development, deriving the ordinary results is a good start. The paper closes by numerically illustrating how the model works and providing brief policy implications.
Association of PD-L1 overexpression with activating EGFR mutations in surgically resected nonsmall-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND Recent clinical trials have shown that immune-checkpoint blockade yields a clinical response in a subset of individuals with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We examined whether the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is related to clinicopathologic or prognostic factors in patients with surgically resected NSCLC. PATIENTS AND METHODS The expression of PD-L1 was evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis in 164 specimens of surgically resected NSCLC. Cell surface expression of PD-L1 in NSCLC cell lines was quantified by flow cytometry. RESULTS Expression of PD-L1 in tumor specimens was significantly higher for women than for men, for never smokers than for smokers, and for patients with adenocarcinoma than for those with squamous cell carcinoma. Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR) mutations and adenocarcinoma histology were significantly associated with increased PD-L1 expression in a manner independent of other factors. Cell surface expression of PD-L1 was also significantly higher in NSCLC cell lines positive for activating EGFR mutations than in those with wild-type EGFR. The EGFR inhibitor erlotinib downregulated PD-L1 expression in the former cell lines but not in the latter, suggesting that PD-L1 expression is increased by EGFR signaling conferred by activating EGFR mutations. A high level of PD-L1 expression in resected tumor tissue was associated with a significantly shorter overall survival for NSCLC patients. CONCLUSIONS High expression of PD-L1 was associated with the presence of EGFR mutations in surgically resected NSCLC and was an independent negative prognostic factor for this disease.
Performance of elastic and mixed-line-rate scenarios for a real IP over DWDM network with more than 1000 nodes [invited]

A real network with 1113 physical nodes and 1 + 1 protection is evaluated by varying the fraction of core/metro nodes to find the optimum network size regarding cost and power efficiency of elastic in comparison to mixed-line-rate (MLR) IP over dense wavelength-division multiplex networks. No significant benefit for any of the network concepts can be deduced, neither for a hierarchical/flat nor for a MLR/elastic network concept. On the other hand, the results confirmed that the use of the flex grid is beneficial for both MLR and elastic network scenarios.