Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum mesothelin for diagnosing malignant pleural mesothelioma: an individual patient data meta-analysis.

PURPOSE Mesothelin is currently considered the best available serum biomarker of malignant pleural mesothelioma. To examine the diagnostic accuracy and use of serum mesothelin in early diagnosis, we performed an individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis. METHODS The literature search identified 16 diagnostic studies of serum mesothelin, measured with the Mesomark enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. IPD of 4,491 individuals were collected, including several control groups and 1,026 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelin levels were standardized for between-study differences and age, after which the diagnostic accuracy and the factors affecting it were examined with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) regression analysis. RESULTS At a common diagnostic threshold of 2.00 nmol/L, the sensitivities and specificities of mesothelin in the different studies ranged widely from 19% to 68% and 88% to 100%, respectively. This heterogeneity can be explained by differences in study population, because type of control group, mesothelioma stage, and histologic subtype significantly affected the diagnostic accuracy. The use of mesothelin in early diagnosis was evaluated by differentiating 217 patients with stage I or II epithelioid and biphasic mesothelioma from 1,612 symptomatic or high-risk controls. The resulting area under the ROC curve was 0.77 (95% CI, 0.73 to 0.81). At 95% specificity, mesothelin displayed a sensitivity of 32% (95% CI, 26% to 40%). CONCLUSION In patients suspected of having mesothelioma, a positive blood test for mesothelin at a high-specificity threshold is a strong incentive to urge further diagnostic steps. However, the poor sensitivity of mesothelin clearly limits its added value to early diagnosis and emphasizes the need for further biomarker research.
Triple parallel concatenated trellis coded modulation

In this paper, we present a new bandwidth-efficient coded modulation scheme based on parallel concatenation of the three component trellis coded modulation (TCM) encoders. The resulting triple parallel concatenated TCM (TPCTCM) is investigated for the spectral efficiency of 2 to 7 bits/sec/Hz based on two-dimensional (2-D) TCM employing PSK and QAM signal sets. The component code is designed based on the symbol-based three-dimensional (3-D) extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) charts. The simulation results in terms of frame error rate (FER) performance demonstrate that the proposed TPCTCM can significantly reduce the error floor of the conventional parallel concatenated TCM.
Making Sense of: Sensitization in Schizophrenia

Abstract Sensitization is defined as a process whereby repeated intermittent exposure to a given stimulus results in an enhanced response at subsequent exposures. Next to robust findings of an increased dopamine synthesis capacity in schizophrenia, empirical data and neuroimaging studies support the notion that the mesolimbic dopamine system of patients with schizophrenia is more reactive compared with healthy controls. These studies led to the conceptualization of schizophrenia as a state of endogenous sensitization, as stronger behavioral response and increased dopamine release after amphetamine administration or exposure to stress have been observed in patients with schizophrenia. These findings have also been integrated into the neurodevelopmental model of the disorder, which assumes that vulnerable neuronal circuits undergo progressive changes during puberty and young adulthood that lead to manifest psychosis. Rodent and human studies have made an attempt to identify the exact mechanisms of sensitization of the dopaminergic system and its association with psychosis. Doing so, several epigenetic and molecular alterations associated with dopamine release, neuroplasticity, and cellular energy metabolism have been discovered. Future research aims at targeting these key proteins associated with sensitization in schizophrenia to enhance the knowledge of the pathophysiology of the illness and pave the way for an improved treatment or even prevention of this severe psychiatric disorder.
Compact Environment-Invariant Codes for Robust Visual Place Recognition

Robust visual place recognition (VPR) requires scene representations that are invariant to various environmental challenges such as seasonal changes and variations due to ambient lighting conditions during day and night. Moreover, a practical VPR system necessitates compact representations of environmental features. To satisfy these requirements, in this paper we suggest a modification to the existing pipeline of VPR systems to incorporate supervised hashing. The modified system learns (in a supervised setting) compact binary codes from image feature descriptors. These binary codes imbibe robustness to the visual variations exposed to it during the training phase, thereby, making the system adaptive to severe environmental changes. Also, incorporating supervised hashing makes VPR computationally more efficient and easy to implement on simple hardware. This is because binary embeddings can be learned over simple-to-compute features and the distance computation is also in the low dimensional hamming space of binary codes. We have performed experiments on several challenging data sets covering seasonal, illumination and viewpoint variations. We also compare two widely used supervised hashing methods of CCAITQ [1] and MLH [1] and show that this new pipeline out-performs or closely matches the state-of-the-art deep learning VPR methods that are based on high-dimensional features extracted from pre-trained deep convolutional neural networks.
FDA-approved medications that impair human spermatogenesis

We herein provide an overview of the single-ingredient U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs that affect human spermatogenesis, potentially resulting in a negative impact on male fertility. To provide this information, we performed an in-depth search of DailyMed, the official website for FDA-approved drug labels. Not surprisingly, hormone-based agents were found to be the drugs most likely to affect human spermatogenesis. The next category of drugs most likely to have effects on spermatogenesis was the antineoplastic agents. Interestingly, the DailyMed labels indicated that several anti-inflammatory drugs affect spermatogenesis, which is not supported by the peer-reviewed literature. Overall, there were a total of 65 labels for drugs of various classes that showed that they have the potential to affect human sperm production and maturation. We identified several drugs indicated to be spermatotoxic in the drug labels that were not reported in the peer-reviewed literature. However, the details about the effects of these drugs on human spermatogenesis are largely lacking, the mechanisms are often unknown, and the clinical impact of many of the findings is currently unclear. Therefore, additional work is needed at both the basic research level and during clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance to fill the gaps in the current knowledge. The present findings will be of interest to physicians and pharmacists, researchers, and those involved in drug development and health care policy.
Effects of Acknowledging Uncertainty about Earthquake Risk Estimates on San Francisco Bay Area Residents’ Beliefs, Attitudes, and Intentions

We test here the risk communication proposition that explicit expert acknowledgment of uncertainty in risk estimates can enhance trust and other reactions. We manipulated such a scientific uncertainty message, accompanied by probabilities (20%, 70%, implicit [“will occur”] 100%) and time periods (10 or 30 years) in major (≥magnitude 8) earthquake risk estimates to test potential effects on residents potentially affected by seismic activity on the San Andreas fault in the San Francisco Bay Area (n = 750). The uncertainty acknowledgment increased belief that these specific experts were more honest and open, and led to statistically (but not substantively) significant increases in trust in seismic experts generally only for the 20% probability (vs. certainty) and shorter versus longer time period. The acknowledgment did not change judged risk, preparedness intentions, or mitigation policy support. Probability effects independent of the explicit admission of expert uncertainty were also insignificant except for judged risk, which rose or fell slightly depending upon the measure of judged risk used. Overall, both qualitative expressions of uncertainty and quantitative probabilities had limited effects on public reaction. These results imply that both theoretical arguments for positive effects, and practitioners’ potential concerns for negative effects, of uncertainty expression may have been overblown. There may be good reasons to still acknowledge experts’ uncertainties, but those merit separate justification and their own empirical tests.
Influence of clinical and psychological variables upon the oral health-related quality of life in patients with temporomandibular disorders

Background To analyze the association between the OHIP-14 and the different subtypes making up the clinical and psychological axis obtained using the RDC/TMD. Material and Methods 407 patients treated at the TMD unit of the Andalusian Healthcare Service were administered the Spanish version of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders questionnaire (RDC/TMD), together with the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire (OHIP-14). The degree of association between the patients’ score in the OHIP-14 and the clinical and biopsychosocial variables was analyzed through bivariate and multivariate analyses, specifically through linear regression. Results 89.4% of the treated patients were women, while 10.6% were men, with an average age of 42.08 ± 14.9 years. The mean score and standard deviation for the OHIP-14 was 20.57 ± 10.73. A significant association (p<0.05) was observed with the following variables: Axis I, jaw disability checklist, depression, somatization, perceived pain duration, and pain interference with activities of daily living. Conclusions The analysis of the relation between self-perceived health in patients with TMD, as measured by the OHIP-14, showed a R2 of 0.3979, with a higher Beta value for the association between the OHIP and patients with both myofascial pain and arthopathy, jaw disability, depression, a higher pain duration and a higher pain interference with activities of daily living. Key words:Temporomandibular disorders, psychological factors, oral health impact profile, public healthcare, research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders (RDC/TMD).
Survival and Antibiotic Resistance of Bacteria in Artificial Snow Produced from Contaminated Water

This study shows microbiological contamination of water in two main Podhale rivers, whose resources are used for the production of artificial snow, and the resulting snow contamination. Thirty‐one E. coli strains were isolated from snow at two ski stations in the studied region, their antimicrobial resistance was determined, and the presence of extended spectrum β‐lactamase (ESBL) genes was searched for. The results indicate that the waters of both rivers are severely contaminated, resulting in the contamination of artificial snow with, among others, thermotolerant E. coli. E. coli isolated from snow were most frequently resistant to ampicillin (74.19%) and amoxicillin/clavulanate (51.61% isolates). Aminoglycosides and third generation cephalosporins were most efficient among the tested antimicrobials. Some bacterial strains were multidrug resistant and three strains exhibited the ESBL mechanism. Molecular analyses showed the presence of ESBL genes in the same three strains. Genetic variation among E. coli indicates that only some genotypes are able to survive the artificial snow production process.
Relevance of Phosphorylation and Truncation of Tau to the Etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease

Microtubule (MT) associated protein tau is abnormally hyperphosphorylated and aggregated into paired helical filaments (PHFs), which manifest as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related tauopathies. Hyperphosphorylation and truncation of tau have been linked to the progression of the disease. However, the nature of phosphorylation and truncation of tau in AD brain are not very clear. In the present study we investigated the association of phosphorylation and truncation with high-molecular weight oligomers of tau (HMW-tau) in post-mortem AD brain by western blots. We found that tau from AD brain appears as a smear from low molecular weight (LMW) to HMW tau species in western blots developed with pan-tau antibodies. Similar level of LMW-tau was found in AD and control brains, whereas HMW-tau was found in AD brain only. HMW-tau was hyperphosphorylated at multiple sites and not unphosphorylated at Ser46 or Ser198/199/202. HMW-tau was weakly labeled by tau antibodies 43D against a.a. 6–18 and HT7 against a.a. 159–163 of tau, whereas, the C-terminal antibodies, tau46 and tau46.1, strongly labeled HMW-tau. The ratio of HMW-tau/LMW-tau detected by tau antibodies increased as the epitope of the tau antibodies ranges from N-terminal to C-terminal. The level of tau truncated at Asp421 was increased in AD brain, but was poorly associated with the HMW-tau. These findings suggest that tau pathogenesis involves both hyperphosphorylation and dominantly N-terminal truncation of tau in AD.
Predicting the Critical Stress for Initiation of Dynamic Recrystallization

The critical stress for initiation of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) can be identified from the inflection point on the strain hardening rate (qds/de) versus flow stress (s) curve. This kind of curve can be described by an equation that fits the experimental q-s data from zero to the peak stress. Such a curve must have an in- flection point and the simplest relation that has such properties is a third order equation. Hot compression tests were carried out on a 304 H stainless steel over the temperature range 900-1 100°C and strain rate range 0.01-1 s � 1 to a strain of 1. An appropriate third order equation was fitted to the strain hardening data. The results show that the critical stress at initiation s c�� B/3A where A and B are coefficients of the third order equation. It is evident that this value depends on the deformation condi- tions. The stress-strain curve was then normalized with respect to the peak stress, leading to a normalized value of the critical stress (uc) equal to ucs c/s p�� B� /3A� . Here Aand Bare coefficients of the normal- ized third order equation. This value is constant and independent of the deformation conditions.
Trans-Atlantic Field Trial Using High Spectral Efficiency Probabilistically Shaped 64-QAM and Single-Carrier Real-Time 250-Gb/s 16-QAM

We report the transmission of probabilistically shaped (PS) 64-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) at 7.46 b/s/Hz over a 5523-km in-service trans-Atlantic fiber-optic cable that consists of 65–89-km spans of Erbium-doped fiber amplifier only amplified fiber. Using a looped-back system configuration, we achieve 5.68 b/s/Hz over a trans-Pacific-equivalent distance of 11 046 km. Net spectral efficiencies are increased by 18% and 80% by using PS, at 5523 km and 11 046 km, respectively, compared to uniform square QAM. Throughout our experiments, we pay particular attention that our claims are backed by implementable forward error correction schemes. In addition, we demonstrate real-time coherent transmission of single-carrier 200 and 250-Gb/s uniform 8-QAM and 16-QAM at 4 b/s/Hz over the 5523-km cable.
The role of feedback in ameliorating burnout

Purpose of review Assessment of the current literature surrounding interventions directed toward the prevention of burnout in the field of medicine and particularly in anesthesiology. Recent findings Recently, burnout has been noted to lead to medication errors and subsequently increased harm to our patients. On a personal level, burnout can lead to depression and even suicide amongst physicians. Strategies to prevent burnout amongst anesthesiologists that have been studied in the literature include multisource feedback, mentorship and early recognition. Summary There remains no clear or definitive intervention to prevent burnout for physicians. However, changing our environment to embrace mentorship, the continual exchange of feedback and the fostering self-care could startlingly improve our work environment.
NF1‐mutated melanoma tumors harbor distinct clinical and biological characteristics

In general, melanoma can be considered as a UV‐driven disease with an aggressive metastatic course and high mutational load, with only few tumors (acral, mucosal, and uveal melanomas) not induced by sunlight and possessing a lower mutational load. The most commonly activated pathway in melanoma is the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. However, the prognostic significance of mutational stratification is unclear and needs further investigation. Here, in silico we combined mutation data from 162 melanomas subjected to targeted deep sequencing with mutation data from three published studies. Tumors from 870 patients were grouped according to BRAF, RAS, NF1 mutation or triple‐wild‐type status and correlated with tumor and patient characteristics. We found that the NF1‐mutated subtype had a higher mutational burden and strongest UV mutation signature. Searching for co‐occurring mutated genes revealed the RASopathy genes PTPN11 and RASA2, as well as another RAS domain‐containing gene RASSF2 enriched in the NF1 subtype after adjustment for mutational burden. We found that a larger proportion of the NF1‐mutant tumors were from males and with older age at diagnosis. Importantly, we found an increased risk of death from melanoma (disease‐specific survival, DSS; HR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.21–3.10; P = 0.046) and poor overall survival (OS; HR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.28–2.98; P = 0.01) in the NF1 subtype, which remained significant after adjustment for age, gender, and lesion type (DSS P = 0.03, OS P = 0.06, respectively). Melanoma genomic subtypes display different biological and clinical characteristics. The poor outcome observed in the NF1 subtype highlights the need for improved characterization of this group.
Prevalence of psychotic‐like experiences and their correlations with internalizing problems: A study of early adolescents in rural area in Karawang, Indonesia

Adolescents who live in rural areas have been found to experience more mental health problems than those who live in urban areas. In Indonesia, adolescents who live in rural areas have limited facilities to access mental health services. On the other hand, there is still a strong belief in the rural communities that mental health problems are the consequence of demonic possession, having committed a sin, lack of faith, etc. Rural communities tend to seek traditional remedies such as advice from traditional healers or witchdoctors. Unfortunately, previous studies have indicated that the onset of most mental health problems is during adolescence, and this includes psychotic symptoms that are often manifested as psychotic‐like experiences (PLEs).
Oncological Benefits of Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation With Gemcitabine Versus Upfront Surgery in Patients With Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: A Prospective, Randomized, Open-label, Multicenter Phase 2/3 Trial

Objective: This study was performed to determine whether neoadjuvant treatment increases survival in patients with BRPC. Summary Background Data: Despite many promising retrospective data on the effect of neoadjuvant treatment for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC), no high-level evidence exists to support the role of such treatment. Methods: This phase 2/3 multicenter randomized controlled trial was designed to enroll 110 patients with BRPC who were randomly assigned to gemcitabine-based neoadjuvant chemoradiation treatment (54 Gray external beam radiation) followed by surgery or upfront surgery followed by chemoradiation treatment from four large-volume centers in Korea. The primary endpoint was the 2-year survival rate (2-YSR). Interim analysis was planned at the time of 50% case enrollment. Results: After excluding the patients who withdrew consent (n = 8) from the 58 enrolled patients, 27 patients were allocated to neoadjuvant treatment and 23 to upfront surgery groups. The overall 2-YSR was 34.0% with a median survival of 16 months. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the 2-YSR and median survival were significantly better in the neoadjuvant chemoradiation than the upfront surgery group [40.7%, 21 months vs 26.1%, 12 months, hazard ratio 1.495 (95% confidence interval 0.66–3.36), P = 0.028]. R0 resection rate was also significantly higher in the neoadjuvant chemoradiation group than upfront surgery (n = 14, 51.8% vs n = 6, 26.1%, P = 0.004). The safety monitoring committee decided on early termination of the study on the basis of the statistical significance of neoadjuvant treatment efficacy. Conclusion: This is the first prospective randomized controlled trial on the oncological benefits of neoadjuvant treatment in BRPC. Compared to upfront surgery, neoadjuvant chemoradiation provides oncological benefits in patients with BRPC.
Preliminary Causal Discovery Results with Software Effort Estimation Data

Correlation does not imply causation. Though this is a well-known fact, most analyses depend on correlation as proof of relationships that are often treated as causal. Causal discovery, also referred to as causal model search, involves the application of statistical methods to identify causal relationships from conditional independences (and/or other statistical relationships) in the data. Though software cost estimation models use both domain knowledge and statistics, to date, there has yet to be a published report describing the evaluation of a software dataset using causal discovery. Two of the authors have previously used regression analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the International Function Points User Group (IFPUG)'s and the Common Software Measurement International Consortium (COSMIC)'s functional size measurement methods for analyzing the Unified Code Count (UCC)1's dataset of maintenance tasks. Using the same dataset, the authors will report in this paper on what types of information causal discovery provides, and how they differ from correlation tests. This paper will introduce causal discovery to software engineering research, and its use in the future may impact how software effort models are built.
Spirit of Capitalism and Conspicuous Consumption with Social Status in a Neoclassical Growth Trade Model

This study deals with dynamic interactions among social status, conspicuous consumption, spirit of capitalism, global growth, trade patterns, and inequalities in income and wealth between countries. The paper constructs a multi-country growth model with endogenous physical capital, wealth accumulation and social status. The modelling of social status is influenced by the ideas related to economic growth and social status in the literature of economic growth. This study analyzes the role of conspicuous consumption by assuming that social status is enhanced by more consumption and the role of the spirit of capitalism (of some goods) by assuming that social status is enhanced by more wealth. The global economic system consists of any number of countries and each country has one capital goods sector and one consumer goods sector. This study applies an alternative utility function proposed by Zhang to analyze household behavior. The countries differ in preferences, spirits of capitalisms, and productivities. We show that the dynamics of -country world economy is described by differential equations. We simulate the motion of the model with three countries and carry out comparative dynamic analysis with regard to some parameters.