Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Trends in the Incidence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma in the United States

The incidence rates of liver cancers, both hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), are increasing in the U.S. It is possible that the increases are related to common exposures, and if so, similar trends in incidence by gender, age, ethnicity, and calendar period, might exist. To examine this hypothesis, age-specific trends in the incidence of HCC and ICC in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program (1976-2000) were examined by year of diagnosis and year of birth. Age-period-cohort models were also fit to the data. The incidence of HCC in the most recent time period was twice as high among Black men (8.8/100,000) and women (2.6/100,000) as among White men (4.6/100,000) and women (1.2/100,000). However, between 1976 and 2000, incidence among all four ethnic- and gender-specific groups increased by >90% (White males, 123.2%; White females, 96.8%; Black males, 97.9%; Black females, 91.9%) with young White men experiencing the greatest increases (432%). In contrast, ICC rates were similar for Black (0.93/100,000) and White men (0.92/100,000), but higher for White (0.57/100,000) than Black women (0.39/100,000). Although ICC incidence increased among all groups, the increase was greatest for Black men (138.5%), followed by White men (124.4%), White women (111.1%), and Black women (85.7%) Age-period-cohort analyses of HCC revealed a significant cohort effect among younger men (45-65 years old), but not older men (65-84 years old), suggesting possible differences in etiology. In conclusion, the rates of HCC and ICC approximately doubled between 1976 and 2000. Trends by age, gender, ethnicity, and birth cohort suggest that heterogeneity exists in the factors influencing these rates. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(6):1198-203)
First determination of the strong coupling constant using NNLO predictions for hadronic event shapes in e + e - annihilations

We present the first determination of the strong coupling constant from a fit of next-to-next-to-leading order QCD predictions to event-shape variables, measured in e+e− annihilations at LEP. The data have been collected by the ALEPH detector at centre-of-mass energies between 91 and 206 GeV. Compared to results of next-to-leading order fits we observe that the central fit values are lower by about 10 %, with considerably reduced scatter among the results obtained with different event-shape variables. The dominant systematic uncertainty from renormalization scale variations is reduced by a factor of two. By combining the results for several event-shape variables and centre-of-mass energies, we find αs(M2Z) = 0.1240 ± 0.0008 (stat) ± 0.0010 (exp) ± 0.0011 (had) ± 0.0029 (theo).
Business Cycle Variation in the Risk-Return Trade-Off

In the United States and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the expected returns on stocks, adjusted for volatility, are much higher in recessions than in expansions. We consider feasible trading strategies that buy or sell shortly after business cycle turning points that are identifiable in real time and involve holding periods of up to 1 year. The observed business cycle changes in expected returns are not spuriously driven by changes in expected near-term dividend growth. Our findings imply that value-maximizing managers face much higher risk-adjusted costs of capital in their investment decisions during recessions than expansions.
Coregulation in human leukocytes of the long pentraxin PTX3 and TSG-6

The prototypic long PTX3 is a multifunctional protein involved in innate resistance to pathogens and in controlling inflammation. TSG‐6 is a hyaluronan‐binding protein that is involved in ECM remodeling and has anti‐inflammatory and chondroprotective functions. PTX3 and TSG‐6 are coregulated by growth differentiation factor‐9 in granulosa cells, where they are produced during the periovulatory period and play essential roles in the incorporation of hyaluronan into the ECM during cumulus expansion. The present study was designed to assess whether PTX3 and TSG‐6 are coregulated in leukocytes, in particular, in phagocytes and DC. Monocytes, macrophages, and myeloid DC were found to produce high levels of TSG‐6 and PTX3 in response to proinflammatory mediators (LPS or cytokines). Unstimulated neutrophil polymorphonuclear granulocytes expressed high levels of TSG‐6 mRNA, but not PTX3 transcript, and stored both proteins in granules. In contrast, endothelial cells expressed substantial amounts of PTX3 mRNA and low levels of TSG‐6 transcript under the conditions tested. Anti‐inflammatory cytokines, such as IL‐4, dampened LPS‐induced TSG‐6 and PTX3 expression. Divergent effects were observed with IL‐10, which synergizes with TLR‐mediated PTX3 induction but inhibits LPS‐induced TSG‐6 transcription. Immunohistochemical analysis confirms the colocalization of the two proteins in inflammatory infiltrates and in endothelial cells of inflamed tissues. Thus, here we show that myelomonocytic cells and MoDC are a major source of TSG‐6 and that PTX3 and TSG‐6 are coregulated under most of the conditions tested. The coordinated expression of PTX3 and TSG‐6 may play a role in ECM remodeling at sites of inflammation.
Development of a Taste-Masked Orodispersible Film Containing Dimenhydrinate

Orodispersible dosage forms are promising new approaches for drug delivery. They enable an easy application, as there is no need to drink high amounts of liquids or swallow large solid dosage forms. The aim of the study was to develop an orodispersible film (ODF) as an alternative to tablets, syrups or suppositories for the treatment of vomiting and nausea, especially for the pediatric population. Formulations were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron and polarized light microscopy. Additionally, two commercially available electronic taste sensing systems were used to investigate the applied taste-masking strategies. Results obtained from X-ray-diffraction and polarized light microscopy showed no recrystallization of dimenhydrinate in the formulation when cyclodextrin or maltodextrin were used as solubilizing and complexing agent. All ODFs showed fast disintegration depending on the characterization method. In order to get taste information, the dimenhydrinate formulations were analytically compared to pure drug and drug-free formulations by electronic tongues. Results obtained from both systems are comparable and were used together for the first time. It was possible to develop an ODF of dimenhydrinate that is fast disintegrating even in small volumes of liquid. Furthermore, in vitro taste assessment by two electronic tongues revealed taste-masking effects by the excipients.
Model verification of GMM clustering based on signature testing

This paper provides a new model verification approach for Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) with application in partitional clustering. The proposed method relies on the statistics of the data and model and transforms them into a denser area. The transformed data and model have smaller variation compared to their original versions. Therefore, this data compression can be employed as a signature test for estimating the number of clusters and model verification. Simulation results illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method compared with a similar statistic test in terms of accuracy and robustness for estimating the number of clusters.
Factors Affecting Internet Banking Adoption among Young Adults : Evidence from Malaysia

This paper investigated the factors that influence the use of Internet banking services among young Malaysian adults. It is becoming critical for bank managers to understand their customers in order to deliver services effectively. This group of users happens to be the most targeted, and understanding them is essential. The conceptual framework is based on extended Technology Acceptance Model with six independent variables. We selected a sample of 310 participants using convenience-sampling method. Data analysis was then based on 229 valid responses. Results indicate that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, relative advantage, self-efficacy, perceived credibility and trialability tend to influence consumers to adopt Internet banking. The findings would be useful for literature development in the subject area, particularly in Malaysia. The findings would also be useful to theoretical development in Internet banking. Keywords-Internet banking; technology acceptance model; Malaysia; Internet adoption; young adults
Understanding video-ad consumption on YouTube: a measurement study on user behavior, popularity, and content properties

Faced with the challenge of attracting user attention and revenue, social media websites have turned to video advertisements (video-ads). While in traditional media the video-ad market is mostly based on an interaction between content providers and marketers, the use of video-ads in social media has enabled a more complex interaction, that also includes content creator and viewer preferences. To better understand this novel setting, we present the first data-driven analysis of video-ad exhibitions on YouTube.
Low-Rank Approximation and Completion of Positive Tensors

Unlike the matrix case, computing low-rank approximations of tensors is NP-hard and numerically ill-posed in general. Even the best rank-1 approximation of a tensor is NP-hard. In this paper, we use convex optimization to develop polynomial-time algorithms for low-rank approximation and completion of positive tensors. Our approach is to use algebraic topology to define a new (numerically well-posed) decomposition for positive tensors, which we show is equivalent to the standard tensor decomposition in important cases. Though computing this decomposition is a nonconvex optimization problem, we prove it can be exactly reformulated as a convex optimization problem. This allows us to construct polynomial-time randomized algorithms for computing this decomposition and for solving low-rank tensor approximation problems. Among the consequences is that best rank-1 approximations of positive tensors can be computed in polynomial time. Our framework is next extended to the tensor completion problem, where noisy entries of a tensor are observed and then used to estimate missing entries. We provide a polynomial-time algorithm that for specific cases requires a polynomial (in tensor order) number of measurements, in contrast to existing approaches that require an exponential number of measurements. These algorithms are extended to exploit sparsity in the tensor to reduce the number of measurements needed. We conclude by providing a novel interpretation of statistical regression problems with categorical variables as tensor completion problems, and numerical examples with synthetic data and data from a bioengineered metabolic network show the improved performance of our approach on this problem.
A Critical Period for Functional Motor Recovery After Peripheral Nerve Injury in the Mouse

Repair of peripheral nerve injury in humans often results in poor functional motor recovery, depending on the location and the timing of surgery. This deficit in motor recovery has previously been attributed to the failure of axons to regenerate into the target muscle. However, we have recently reported that following sciatic nerve transection and immediate resuture in mice, regenerating axons are observed at the motor end plate even in animals with poor functional recovery. In this model, motor recovery reaches a plateau approximately 35 days post-injury, with no further recovery beyond this period. Based on this, we proposed that following axonal injury, there is a critical period during which the axon must reach the target muscle in order to form a functional neuromuscular junction. To test this, we have developed a mouse model of differential prolonged denervation, in which the proximal sciatic nerve is crushed repeatedly every 3 to 7 days, preventing regenerating axons from reaching the target muscle. This multiple crush model allows us to vary the period of denervation, by modifying the number of crushes. We performed 3, 4, or 5 crushes every 7 days (corresponding to ~24, 31, or 38 days of denervation, respectively) and assessed functional motor recovery using the toe-spreading score and modified sciatic function index. Motor recovery occurs after 3 or 4 multiple crushes (24 or 31 days of denervation) but not after 5 crushes (38 days). Immunostaining for alpha-bungarotoxin and neurofilament demonstrated axonal regeneration reaching the motor end plates in all 3 groups. Thus following prolonged denervation > 38 days, a functional motor deficit persists despite motor end plate reinnervation. Although the mechanism for the motor deficit requires investigation, these results suggest that functional neuromuscular reestablishment following nerve injury requires more than anatomical reinnervation of the motor end plate and that there is a time limit for functional synapse reformation.
Neural Mechanisms Underlying Conscious and Unconscious Gaze-Triggered Attentional Orienting in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Impaired joint attention represents the core clinical feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Behavioral studies have suggested that gaze-triggered attentional orienting is intact in response to supraliminally presented eyes but impaired in response to subliminally presented eyes in individuals with ASD. However, the neural mechanisms underlying conscious and unconscious gaze-triggered attentional orienting remain unclear. We investigated this issue in ASD and typically developing (TD) individuals using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. The participants viewed cue stimuli of averted or straight eye gaze direction presented either supraliminally or subliminally and then localized a target. Reaction times were shorter when eye-gaze cues were directionally valid compared with when they were neutral under the supraliminal condition in both groups; the same pattern was found in the TD group but not the ASD group under the subliminal condition. The temporo–parieto–frontal regions showed stronger activation in response to averted eyes than to straight eyes in both groups under the supraliminal condition. The left amygdala was more activated while viewing averted vs. straight eyes in the TD group than in the ASD group under the subliminal condition. These findings provide an explanation for the neural mechanisms underlying the impairment in unconscious but not conscious gaze-triggered attentional orienting in individuals with ASD and suggest possible neurological and behavioral interventions to facilitate their joint attention behaviors.
BRITE: Universal Topology Generation from a User''s Perspective

Abstract Effective engineering of the Internet is predicated upon a detailed understanding of issues such as the large-scale structure of its underlying physical topology, the manner in which it evolves over time, and the way in which its constituent components contribute to its overall function. Unfortunately, developing a deep understanding of these issues has proven to be a challenging task, since it in turn involves solving difficult problems such as mapping the actual topology, characterizing it, and developing models that capture its emergent behavior. Consequently, even though there are a number of topology models, it is an open question as to how representative the topologies they generate are of the actual Internet. Our goal is to produce a topology generation framework which improves the state of the art and is based on design principles which include representativeness, inclusiveness, and interoperability. Representativeness leads to synthetic topologies that accurately reflect many aspects of the actual Internet topology (e.g. hierarchical structure, degree distribution, etc.). Inclusiveness combines the strengths of as many generation models as possible in a single generation tool. Interoperability provides interfaces to widely-used simulation applications such as ns and SSF as well as visualization applications. We call such a tool a "universal topology generator". In this paper we discuss the design, implementation and usage of the BRITE universal topology generation tool that we have built. We also describe the BRITE Analysis Engine, BRIANA, which is an independent piece of software designed and built upon BRITE design goals of flexibility and extensibility. The purpose of BRIANA is to act as a repository of analysis routines along with a user--friendly interface that allows its use on different topology formats.
Estratificación y movilidad social en Chile: entre la adscripción y el logro

En este trabajo se describen los cambios en la estructura de la estratificacion social chilena durante las ultimas decadas del siglo XX y las oportunidades de acceso al bienestar y a la movilidad social de los diferentes segmentos sociales, haciendo uso de los datos de la encuesta de movilidad social realizada por el Instituto de Sociologia de la Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (2001). El analisis se centra en las aproximaciones al estudio de la estratificacion y movilidad social, asi como de la estructura de la estratificacion social durante el periodo del estudio. Adicionalmente, se considera la relacion entre estratificacion y el acceso a oportunidades de trabajo, ingreso y educacion de quienes ocupan diferentes posiciones en la sociedad. Y, finalmente, la atencion se situa en los patrones y determinantes fundamentales de la movilidad social. En los anexos se incluyen las caracteristicas metodologicas de la muestra y los cuadros estadisticos contenidos en las diferentes secciones del estudio.
Histopathology of bilateral lower extremity inflammatory lymphedema in military basic trainees: A leukocytoclastic vasculitis of the deep vascular plexus

Bilateral lower extremity inflammatory lymphedema (BLEIL) is a recently described condition that presents with exquisite tenderness, erythema and edema of the lower leg, ankle and dorsal foot resembling an acute cellulitis. It was first reported in healthy, young adult military basic trainees with a normal body mass index during the first 72 hours of arrival to basic training. It occurs while standing at attention for many hours, and shows rapid resolution with elevation and rest. We report an additional case of BLEIL and describe the histopathology of this case and 2 of the previously reported cases. All 3 biopsies showed a deep perivascular infiltrate of neutrophils with karyorrhectic debris and prominent red blood cell extravasation. One of the 3 cases was positive for complement by direct immunofluorescence. We postulate this condition represents a deep leukocytoclastic vascultis with secondary reactive lymphedematous changes.
Depolarization-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells requires permissive, low level NGF receptor stimulation and activation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase

Neuronal activity is required for normal neural development. Excessive activity can cause abnormal growth of neural processes and may contribute to formation of epileptic foci. Using PC12 cells, we investigated mechanisms by which depolarization regulates neurite growth. Depolarization with 45 mM KCl induced neurite outgrowth only if NGF receptors were partly activated by overexpression of p140trkA or by treatment with a low concentration of NGF that alone was insufficient to stimulate neurite formation. Depolarization-induced neurite growth was reduced by inhibitors of L-type Ca2+ channels, Ca2+/calmodulin- dependent protein (CaM) kinases II and IV, and transcription. These results identify a novel mechanism by which depolarizing stimuli synergize with subthreshold activation of NGF receptors to induce neurite growth through a Ca2+ and CaM kinase-dependent signal transduction pathway.
Approximate Fast Graph Fourier Transforms via Multilayer Sparse Approximations

The fast Fourier transform is an algorithm of paramount importance in signal processing as it allows to apply the Fourier transform in <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(n \log n)$</tex-math></inline-formula> instead of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(n^2)$</tex-math></inline-formula> arithmetic operations. Graph signal processing is a recent research domain that generalizes classical signal processing tools, such as the Fourier transform, to situations where the signal domain is given by any arbitrary graph instead of a regular grid. Today, there is no method to rapidly apply graph Fourier transforms. In this paper, we propose a method to obtain approximate graph Fourier transforms that can be applied rapidly and stored efficiently. It is based on a greedy approximate diagonalization of the graph Laplacian matrix, carried out using a modified version of the famous Jacobi eigenvalues algorithm. The method is described and analyzed in detail, and then applied to both synthetic and real graphs, showing its potential.
Variability of eye movements when viewing dynamic natural scenes.

How similar are the eye movement patterns of different subjects when free viewing dynamic natural scenes? We collected a large database of eye movements from 54 subjects on 18 high-resolution videos of outdoor scenes and measured their variability using the Normalized Scanpath Saliency, which we extended to the temporal domain. Even though up to about 80% of subjects looked at the same image region in some video parts, variability usually was much greater. Eye movements on natural movies were then compared with eye movements in several control conditions. "Stop-motion" movies had almost identical semantic content as the original videos but lacked continuous motion. Hollywood action movie trailers were used to probe the upper limit of eye movement coherence that can be achieved by deliberate camera work, scene cuts, etc. In a "repetitive" condition, subjects viewed the same movies ten times each over the course of 2 days. Results show several systematic differences between conditions both for general eye movement parameters such as saccade amplitude and fixation duration and for eye movement variability. Most importantly, eye movements on static images are initially driven by stimulus onset effects and later, more so than on continuous videos, by subject-specific idiosyncrasies; eye movements on Hollywood movies are significantly more coherent than those on natural movies. We conclude that the stimuli types often used in laboratory experiments, static images and professionally cut material, are not very representative of natural viewing behavior. All stimuli and gaze data are publicly available at http://www.inb. uni-luebeck.de/tools-demos/gaze.