Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Progress in Using Circulating Tumor Cell Information to Improve Metastatic Breast Cancer Therapy

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were discovered nearly 150 years ago but have only recently been recognized as a feature of most solid tumors due to their extremely low concentration in the peripheral circulation. Several technologies have been developed to isolate and analyze CTCs, which can now be routinely accessed for clinical information. The most mature of these (the CELLSEARCH system) uses immunomagnetic selection of epithelial cell adhesion molecule to isolate CTCs for analysis. Studies using this system have demonstrated that categorization of patients into high and low CTC groups using a validated decision point is prognostic in patients with metastatic breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer. Initial attempts to use CTC counts to guide therapeutic decisions appeared to yield positive results and key concepts in clinical application of CTC information, including the CTC cutoff, predictive value in disease subtypes, and comparison to current evaluation methods, have been demonstrated. Clinical studies of the impact of CTC counts in routine clinical practice are ongoing; however, recent published evidence on the clinical use of CTCs in metastatic breast cancer continues to support these concepts, and experience in the community oncology setting also suggests that CTC enumeration can be useful for therapy management.
Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among Preschool Children in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Korea

We assessed the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis infection and changes in the egg positive rate (EPR) over 1-year time, using the adhesive cellophane-tape perianal swab method in 2,347 preschool children in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea in 2008 and 2009. The overall EPR for E. vermicularis was 4.1% in 2008 and 4.5% in 2009. A study population of 389 children was repeatedly examined for 2 years. Within this group, the EPR in 2009 was twice higher than in 2008, and the EPR of the group of 5-7-year-old children was significantly higher than that of other age groups. Moreover, in the group of 5-7-year-old children in 2009, the rates of positive and negative conversion were significantly higher and lower, respectively, than in other age groups. Conclusively, enterobiasis was prevalent during 2008-2009 among preschool children in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, and the increased EPR in 2009 was due to an increase in newly acquired infections among 5-7-year-old children.
ASSIGN: context-specific genomic profiling of multiple heterogeneous biological pathways

MOTIVATION Although gene-expression signature-based biomarkers are often developed for clinical diagnosis, many promising signatures fail to replicate during validation. One major challenge is that biological samples used to generate and validate the signature are often from heterogeneous biological contexts-controlled or in vitro samples may be used to generate the signature, but patient samples may be used for validation. In addition, systematic technical biases from multiple genome-profiling platforms often mask true biological variation. Addressing such challenges will enable us to better elucidate disease mechanisms and provide improved guidance for personalized therapeutics. RESULTS Here, we present a pathway profiling toolkit, Adaptive Signature Selection and InteGratioN (ASSIGN), which enables robust and context-specific pathway analyses by efficiently capturing pathway activity in heterogeneous sets of samples and across profiling technologies. The ASSIGN framework is based on a flexible Bayesian factor analysis approach that allows for simultaneous profiling of multiple correlated pathways and for the adaptation of pathway signatures into specific disease. We demonstrate the robustness and versatility of ASSIGN in estimating pathway activity in simulated data, cell lines perturbed pathways and in primary tissues samples including The Cancer Genome Atlas breast carcinoma samples and liver samples exposed to genotoxic carcinogens. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Software for our approach is available for download at: http://www.bioconductor. org/packages/release/bioc/html/ASSIGN.html and https://github.com/wevanjohnson/ASSIGN.
Leveraging User-Interactions for Time-Aware Tag Recommendations

For the popular task of tag recommendation, various (complex) approaches have been proposed. Recently however, research has focused on heuristics with low computational effort and particularly, a time-aware heuristic, called BLL, has been shown to compare well to various state-of-the-art methods. Here, we follow up on these results by presenting another time-aware approach leveraging user-interaction data in an easily interpretable, on-the-fly computable approach that can successfully be combined with BLL. We investigate the influence of time as a parameter in that approach, and we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method using two datasets from the popular public social tagging system BibSonomy.
Learning from Written Sentences: Effects of Order of Presentation on Retention

Deese and Kaufman (1957) have recently shown that the free recall ot topically connected passages of English text resembles the bowed serial learning curve. Sentences from the beginning of a passage were recalled most often, sentences from the end of the passage next most often, and the minimum for the central portion of the recall curve was slightly displaced toward the end of the passage. The factors which underlie these results are not entirely clear. Does the bowed curve obtained by Deese and Kaufman (1957, p. 182) reflect the associative strengths of the various items and are these strengths in turn determined by the serial order of presentation during acquisition? Or, are their findings due to complex serial dependencies to which the free recall method is sensitive, e.g., a tendency to reproduce textual material in the order in which it was first presented? The objective of the present experiment was to determine whether order in the presentation of topically related, but loosely connected, sentences had substantial effects on the retention of various instructional items. Another, secondary, purpose was to explore the possibility that the location of informative material within a sentence had some effect on retention. In order to avoid the sequential dependencies which may result from the free recall procedure, the method of stimulated recall was used. This method involved the use, during recall tests, of the actual instructional sentence from which one or more words had been deleted. The incomplete sentences were presented to Ss under instruction to supply the missing word(s). The method tends to resemble a performance situation which is now popular in programmed selfinstructional situations. METHOD Materials. '-Three instructional passages were used. Each consisted of 12 complex sentences which were topically but not sequentially connected. The instructional passages concerned themselves, respectively, with: ( a ) information about the life of the Gruanda, a fictional primitive tribe; ( b ) architectural and historical information about Westminster Abbey; and (c ) historical and
Optokinetic nystagmus reflects perceptual directions in the onset binocular rivalry in Parkinson’s disease

Optokinetic nystagmus (OKN), the reflexive eye movements evoked by a moving field, has recently gained interest among researchers as a useful tool to assess conscious perception. When conscious perception and stimulus are dissociated, such as in binocular rivalry —when dissimilar images are simultaneously presented to each eye and perception alternates between the two images over time — OKN correlates with perception rather than with the physical direction of the moving field. While this relationship is well established in healthy subjects it is yet unclear whether it also generalizes to clinical populations, for example, patients with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a motor disorder, causing tremor, slow movements and rigidity. It may also be associated with oculomotor deficits, such as impaired saccades and smooth pursuit eye movements. Here, we employed short-duration, onset binocular rivalry (2 s trial of stimulus presentation followed by 1 s inter-trial interval) with moving grating stimuli to assess OKN in Parkinson’s disease patients (N=39) and controls (N=29) of a similar age. Each trial was either non-rivalrous (same stimuli presented to both eyes) or rivalrous, as in binocular rivalry. We analyzed OKN to discriminate direction of stimulus and perception on a trial-by-trial basis. OKN reflected conscious perceptions in both groups. Treatment with anti-Parkinson drugs and deep brain stimulation improved motor ability of patients assessed by a standard scale of Parkinson’s disease, but did not impact on OKN. Furthermore, OKN-based measures were robust and their latencies were shorter than manual button-based measures in all subjects, regardless of stimulus condition. Our findings suggest that OKN can be used as an indicator of conscious perception in binocular rivalry even in Parkinson’s disease patients in whom impaired manual dexterity may render button-press reports less reliable.
Bisphosphonates Alendronate and Ibandronate Inhibit Artery Calcification at Doses Comparable to Those That Inhibit Bone Resorption

Abstract—The present experiments were carried out to test the hypothesis that artery calcification is linked to bone resorption by determining whether the selective inhibition of bone resorption with the bisphosphonates alendronate and ibandronate will inhibit artery calcification. Artery calcification was first induced by treatment of 42-day-old male rats with warfarin, a procedure that inhibits the &ggr;-carboxylation of matrix Gla protein and has been shown to cause extensive calcification of the artery media within 2 weeks. These experiments revealed that ibandronate (0.05 mg · kg−1 · d−1) and alendronate (0.1 mg · kg−1 · d−1) completely inhibited calcification of all arteries and heart valves examined after 2 and 4 weeks of warfarin treatment. A 10-fold lower dose of alendronate reduced artery calcification by 50% (P <0.005). These bisphosphonate doses are comparable to those that inhibit bone resorption in rats of this age. More rapid artery calcification was induced by treatment with warfarin together with high doses of vitamin D, a procedure that causes extensive artery calcification by 84 hours. Alendronate and ibandronate again completely inhibited calcification of all arteries and heart valves examined. The subcutaneous doses of alendronate and ibandronate necessary to inhibit artery calcification are comparable to the daily subcutaneous doses of these drugs that have previously been shown to inhibit bone resorption in rats of the same age, with 50% inhibition of artery calcification at 20 &mgr;g alendronate · kg−1 · d−1 and at 1 &mgr;g ibandronate · kg−1 · d−1. Bisphosphonate treatment did not affect serum calcium and phosphate, and so the inhibition of artery calcification cannot be due to a simple lowering of the serum calcium phosphate ion product. We conclude that bisphosphonates inhibit the calcification of arteries and heart valves at doses comparable to the doses that inhibit bone resorption. These results support the hypothesis that artery calcification is linked to bone resorption. The mechanism of this linkage remains to be established, however, and an alternative explanation for the present results is also considered.
Media Use, Social Capital, and Civic Participation in South Korea

Analyzing data from a telephone survey (N = 527), this study examines the interplay of social capital and media use in affecting civic life in South Korea. Two individual-level indicators of social capital (interpersonal trust and informal socializing) were both positively associated with civic participation. Use of the Internet for entertainment had positive relationships with both interpersonal trust and informal socializing, indicating that the Internet might enhance the production of social capital. Findings also supported the idea that different patterns of media use might either foster or undermine civic engagement.
Why We Need an Archaeology of Old Age, and a Suggested Approach

Archaeologies of identity have enriched our interpretations of the past in the last 20 years; however, despite interest in the social construction of age there has been little consideration of the later part of the life span. This is rooted in a mixture of methodological difficulties and social attitudes to old age in present-day societies. This article explores the ways in which old age can be constructed on both a physical and social level, and asks how this might be relevant to archaeological examples. In addition, it proposes a new way of understanding skeletal changes with age which allows us to explore the specific way that old age is constructed in particular archaeological contexts. In this way, it becomes possible to explore the relationship between the ageing process and social change. This is explored using a case study from Early Bronze Age Austria.
The Death of Multiculturalism

Dans cet article, l'A. dennonce les dangers des nouvelles orientations du gouvernement britannique en matiere d'integration. L'A. souligne ici le fait que le multiculturalisme n'est pas une atteinte au droit britannique et s'inquiete du renforcement institutionnel de la segregation raciale
Evaluation of a Medium (STGG) for Transport and Optimal Recovery of Streptococcus pneumoniae from Nasopharyngeal Secretions Collected during Field Studies

ABSTRACT Field studies of Streptococcus pneumoniae(pneumococci) nasopharyngeal (NP) colonization are hampered by the need to directly plate specimens in order to ensure isolate viability. A medium containing skim milk, tryptone, glucose, and glycerin (STGG) has been used to transport and store NP material, but its ability to preserve pneumococci has not been evaluated. Our objective was to qualitatively and semiquantitatively evaluate the ability of STGG to preserve pneumococci in NP secretions. Entwined duplicate calcium alginate NP swab samples were obtained from children. One swab was plated directly onto a gentamicin blood agar plate; the other was placed in STGG. Growth from the directly plated specimen was compared with growth from an STGG aliquot immediately cultured or stored at −70°C for 9 weeks, −20°C for 9 weeks, or 4°C for 5 days. Of 186 specimens, 96 (52%) were positive for pneumococci from the direct plating; 94 (98%) of these were positive from the fresh STGG specimen. Pneumococci were recovered from all 38 positive specimens frozen at −70°C, all 18 positive specimens frozen at −20°C, and 18 of 20 positive specimens stored at 4°C. Recovery of pneumococci after storage of NP material in STGG medium at −70°C is at least as good as that from direct plating. Storage at −20°C is also acceptable. Storage at 4°C for 5 days is not ideal.
The suicide attitude vignette experience: A method for measuring adolescent attitudes toward suicide

Abstract In spite of consistently increasing suicide statistics, little research exists that is designed to examine adolescent attitudes toward suicide. This study was designed to validate a new approach for measuring suicide attitudes among adolescents. The Suicide Attitude Vignette Experience (SAVE scale) consists of 10 vignettes which describe different situations leading to attempted suicide. The target figures described in the 10 vignettes are alternately male and female. There are two forms of the SA VE scale which include identical themes with the sex of the target figures reversed. The SAVE scale and several other instruments were administered to 198 twelfth-grade students. Factor analyses of the SAVE scale revealed three factors for both forms: sympathy, empathy, and agree. Significant correlations on Form A were found between the total sympathy scores and self-concept, depression, and death concern; between total empathy scores and death concern; and between total agree scores and depression and.
Culture and Microsociology: The Anthill and the Veldt

The authors argue that sociologists must use the investigation of interpersonal situations as a strategy through which “culture” can be understood in practice. Culture includes a broad range of social processes, institutions, and value systems. In contrast to perspectives that treat groups and individuals as units to be shaped by powerful cultural forces, the authors contend that culture is established, manipulated, and promoted by individuals and groups. Microsituations serve as arenas of action in their own right, locations where culture is both produced and experienced. Drawing examples from five areas of microsociology—groups, cognition, identity/ self, performance, and emotion—the authors demonstrate how a distinctively microsociological perspective allows sociologists to examine how culture, across its various conceptions, has an effect on actors and, in turn, is affected by actors. By exposing the workings of culture in situ, microsociology forces us to theorize the connections between meaning, behavior, and structure.
Monitoring Alcohol and other Drug Treatment: What Would an Optimal System Look Like?

This article focuses on the state of the art in the design, development, Operation and evaluation of information systems intended to monitor the delivery of specialized alcohol and drug treatment services. We draw particular attention to the conceptual frameworks that guide an overall treatment information system and that can serve as a template for planning new systems or reviewing existing ones. Several key principles are articulated including an open systems perspective to help manage change; active participation and buy-in from a wide range of key stakeholders; and a heavy emphasis on utilization (influence) of the results. We also highlight the ways in which an alcohol and drug services research agenda might intersect with these information systems and consider alternative frameworks for describing use of the information they produce. Supports must be provided at multiple levels in the provider agencies and on an ongoing basis in order to address low capacity for entering quality data at the provider level. The research community should play an important role in helping frame the questions these systems can (and cannot) address; developing high quality performance indicators; supporting innovative local and central data analysis; and reporting aspects of the data of broad interest from a research and health policy perspective.
Cost-effectiveness of online positive psychology: Randomized controlled trial

As yet, no evidence is available about the cost-effectiveness of positive psychological interventions. When offered via the Internet, these interventions may be particularly cost-effective, because they are highly scalable and do not rely on scant resources such as therapists’ time. Alongside a randomized controlled trial of an online positive psychological intervention, a health-economic evaluation was conducted. Mild to moderately depressed adults seeking self-help and recruited in the general population were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 143) and a waitlisted usual care group (n = 141). Improved clinical outcomes were achieved in the intervention group (at least for depression) at higher costs. When outliers (the top 2.5%, n = 5 in intervention group, n = 2 in control group) were removed, cost-effectiveness was increased considerably. For positive psychology, economic evaluations may be a means to nudge policy decision-makers towards placing positive psychological interventions on the health agenda.
Concise Report

Maintenance therapy of lupus nephritis with mycophenolate or azathioprine: systematic review and meta-analysis Abstract Objective. The objective of this study was to summarize the comparative efficacy and safety of MMF and AZA as maintenance therapy for LN. Methods. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials of MMF and AZA as maintenance therapy for LN were performed based on a sensitive search. Meta-regression was used to explore causes of heterogeneity. Safety was explored using crude and combined incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of the more frequent adverse events (AEs). Results. The search produced 7341 hits. Four randomized clinical trials and one long-term study were selected for detailed analysis. No significant differences between MMF and AZA were found in sustained remission, relapse, renal failure, creatinine increase or death. However, there was high heterogeneity in the design of studies, drug doses and treatment in the previous induction phase. Significant lower rates of discontinuation due to AEs occurred in the MMF group, with a relative risk (RR) of 0.60 (95% CI 0.41, 0.88) but significant risk of publication bias (Egger test, P = 0.012). Gastrointestinal manifestations were more common [combined IRR 1.68 (95% CI 1.06, 2.68)] and leucopoenia less frequent in the MMF group [combined IRR 0.14 (95% CI 0.05, 0.42)]. Conclusion. The available data does not support the superiority of MMF or AZA as maintenance therapy for LN. Nevertheless, the high heterogeneity of studies included in the analysis makes this contention questionable.
THE EVOLUTION OF ASYMMETRY IN SEXUAL ISOLATION: A MODEL AND A TEST CASE

We constructed a model for the evolution of sexual isolation by extending Lande's (1981) model of sexual selection. The model predicts that asymmetric sexual isolation is a transient phenomenon, characteristic of intermediate stages of divergence in sexually selected traits. Unlike the Kaneshiro (1976, 1980) proposal, our model does not depend upon drift and the loss of courtship elements to produce asymmetries in sexual isolation. According to our model, the direction of evolution cannot be predicted from asymmetry in sexual isolation. We tested some features of the model using data from an experimental study of sexual isolation in the salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus. We tested for sexual isolation between 12 allopatric populations and found significant asymmetry in sexual isolation in about a quarter of the test cases. The highest degrees of asymmetry were associated with intermediate levels of divergence. A curvilinear relationship between isolation asymmetry and divergence was predicted by our model and was supported by statistical analysis of the salamander data.
Use of formative research to develop a yoga curriculum for high-risk youth: implementation considerations

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the use of formative research to adapt, develop, and pretest a mindful yoga curriculum for high-risk youth attending a nontraditional high school. The formative work was conducted in the first year of a larger project to test the efficacy of a mindful yoga program through a randomized controlled trial. The formative work included focus groups with: (1) an Advisory Board of experts in preventive interventions with high-risk youth, yoga and mindfulness and (2) students in the target population. Major themes emerging from the Advisory Board included youths' preconceptions about yoga, desirable characteristics in a yoga teacher, racial/ethnic differences in yoga participation, gender differences, and youths' likely motivations for participation. Additional themes reported by the student focus group participants included perceived motivations for participation, likely benefits of yoga, perceptions of yoga, yoga experience, and peer opinions. Additional results pertained to important logistical considerations when implementing school-based yoga programs. The formative work resulted in a 20-session, manualized curriculum that was pretested with students. Pretesting indicated that the intervention was feasible and enjoyable. In a focus group following the intervention, students reported improved mood and a high degree of satisfaction with the intervention. Implementation challenges included logistics within a school setting, recruitment and consenting, gender considerations, and developmental issues.