Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transient features for Markovian binary trees

We analyze a particular class of continuous-time multi-type branching processes, named Markovian binary trees (MBTs), and we focus on transient measures, such as the distribution of the population size at a finite time, the distribution of the time until extinction, and the distribution of the total family size until a given time, as well as the total size until extinction. Our results mainly are formulated as differential equations for probability generating functions and expressions for the factorial moments. They are applied to a demographic comparison of three countries.
Peer‐led interventions to prevent tobacco, alcohol and/or drug use among young people aged 11–21 years: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Background and Aims Peer‐led interventions may offer a beneficial approach in preventing substance use, but their impact has not yet been quantified. We conducted a systematic review to investigate and quantify the effect of peer‐led interventions that sought to prevent tobacco, alcohol and/or drug use among young people aged 11–21 years. Methods Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to July 2015 without language restriction. We included randomized controlled trials only. Screening and data extraction were conducted in duplicate and data from eligible studies were pooled in a random effects meta‐analysis. Results We identified 17 eligible studies, approximately half of which were school‐based studies targeting tobacco use among adolescents. Ten studies targeting tobacco use could be pooled, representing 13 706 young people in 220 schools. Meta‐analysis demonstrated that the odds of smoking were lower among those receiving the peer‐led intervention compared with control [odds ratio (OR) = 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.62–0.99, P = 0.040]. There was evidence of heterogeneity (I 2 = 41%, χ2 15.17, P = 0.086). Pooling of six studies representing 1699 individuals in 66 schools demonstrated that peer‐led interventions were also associated with benefit in relation to alcohol use (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.65–0.99, P = 0.036), while three studies (n = 976 students in 38 schools) suggested an association with lower odds of cannabis use (OR = 0.70, 0.50–0.97, P = 0.034). No studies were found that targeted other illicit drug use. Conclusions Peer interventions may be effective in preventing tobacco, alcohol and possibly cannabis use among adolescents, although the evidence base is limited overall, and is characterized mainly by small studies of low quality.
Ultrastructural study of a female adnexal tumor of probable wolffian origin

A broad‐ligament tumor, of probable wolffian origin, is presented. The ultrastructural features of this histologically benign tumor have not been previously described. The fine structure of this tumor is compared with normal structures and tumors derived from wolffian and müllerian anlage. The findings are consistent with derivation from wolffian duct.
Estimation of age‐specific incidence rates from cross‐sectional survey data

Age‐specific disease incidence rates are typically estimated from longitudinal data, where disease‐free subjects are followed over time and incident cases are observed. However, longitudinal studies have substantial cost and time requirements, not to mention other challenges such as loss to follow up. Alternatively, cross‐sectional data can be used to estimate age‐specific incidence rates in a more timely and cost‐effective manner. Such studies rely on self‐report of onset age. Self‐reported onset age is subject to measurement error and bias. In this paper, we use a Bayesian bivariate smoothing approach to estimate age‐specific incidence rates from cross‐sectional survey data. Rates are modeled as a smooth function of age and lag (difference between age and onset age), with larger values of lag effectively down weighted, as they are assumed to be less reliable. We conduct an extensive simulation study to investigate the extent to which measurement error and bias in the reported onset age affects inference using the proposed methods. We use data from a national headache survey to estimate age‐ and gender‐specific migraine incidence rates. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparative Proteomic Analysis of the Graft Unions in Hickory (Carya cathayensis) Provides Insights into Response Mechanisms to Grafting Process

Hickory (Carya cathayensis), a tree with high nutritional and economic value, is widely cultivated in China. Grafting greatly reduces the juvenile phase length and makes the large scale cultivation of hickory possible. To reveal the response mechanisms of this species to grafting, we employed a proteomics-based approach to identify differentially expressed proteins in the graft unions during the grafting process. Our study identified 3723 proteins, of which 2518 were quantified. A total of 710 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were quantified and these were involved in various molecular functional and biological processes. Among these DEPs, 341 were up-regulated and 369 were down-regulated at 7 days after grafting compared with the control. Four auxin-related proteins were down-regulated, which was in agreement with the transcription levels of their encoding genes. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that the ‘Flavonoid biosynthesis’ pathway and ‘starch and sucrose metabolism’ were both significantly up-regulated. Interestingly, five flavonoid biosynthesis-related proteins, a flavanone 3-hyfroxylase, a cinnamate 4-hydroxylase, a dihydroflavonol-4-reductase, a chalcone synthase, and a chalcone isomerase, were significantly up-regulated. Further experiments verified a significant increase in the total flavonoid contents in scions, which suggests that graft union formation may activate flavonoid biosynthesis to increase the content of a series of downstream secondary metabolites. This comprehensive analysis provides fundamental information on the candidate proteins and secondary metabolism pathways involved in the grafting process for hickory.
On Locating Multiple Interacting Quantitative Trait Loci in Intercross Designs

A modified version (mBIC) of the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) has been previously proposed for backcross designs to locate multiple interacting quantitative trait loci. In this article, we extend the method to intercross designs. We also propose two modifications of the mBIC. First we investigate a two-stage procedure in the spirit of empirical Bayes methods involving an adaptive (i.e., data-based) choice of the penalty. The purpose of the second modification is to increase the power of detecting epistasis effects at loci where main effects have already been detected. We investigate the proposed methods by computer simulations under a wide range of realistic genetic models, with nonequidistant marker spacings and missing data. In the case of large intermarker distances we use imputations according to Haley and Knott regression to reduce the distance between searched positions to not more than 10 cM. Haley and Knott regression is also used to handle missing data. The simulation study as well as real data analyses demonstrates good properties of the proposed method of QTL detection.
Autogenic geomorphic processes determine the resolution and fidelity of terrestrial paleoclimate records

Mesoscale geomorphic processes impose regularity in deposition, allowing quantitative resolution of proxy-based climate reconstructions. Terrestrial paleoclimate records rely on proxies hosted in alluvial strata whose beds are deposited by unsteady and nonlinear geomorphic processes. It is broadly assumed that this renders the resultant time series of terrestrial paleoclimatic variability noisy and incomplete. We evaluate this assumption using a model of oscillating climate and the precise topographic evolution of an experimental alluvial system. We find that geomorphic stochasticity can create aliasing in the time series and spurious climate signals, but these issues are eliminated when the period of climate oscillation is longer than a key time scale of internal dynamics in the geomorphic system. This emergent autogenic geomorphic behavior imparts regularity to deposition and represents a natural discretization interval of the continuous climate signal. We propose that this time scale in nature could be in excess of 104 years but would still allow assessments of the rates of climate change at resolutions finer than the existing age model techniques in isolation.
Planning the Product Development Process in Construction: An Exploratory Case Study

The emergence of a new production paradigm has been widely discussed in the literature. Concepts developed in operations management research related to the new paradigm should also be valid and useful in construction. Unfortunately, these have been weakly applied in the product development processes in most companies, despite the importance of this process. The product development process (PDP) comprises the set of activities needed for the conception and design of a product, from the identification of a market opportunity to its delivery to the final client. Its main objective is to translate customer requirements and needs into a design solution. Successful PDP requires the effective control of the work developed by the teams involved and of the exchange of information between them. This paper aims to contribute to the integration of the existing theories related to product development and operations management, looking for linkages between them. It also presents the results of an exploratory case study that aimed to propose a model for planning and controlling the PDP, based on the adaptation of tools originally developed for physical production planning and control. This involved the implementation of a previously defined process model for managing the PDP, as a basis for long term planning. The main benefits and difficulties faced during the implementation of this planning method are discussed.
Glutaraldehyde test for the rapid diagnosis of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in an area with high tuberculosis incidence

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The primary method for controlling TB is the rapid and accurate identification of infected individuals. Immune response exploitation represents one of the main methods used for early TB diagnosis; however, few studies have reported that whole blood originating from TB-infected patients gels faster in the presence of aldehyde than blood originating from healthy subjects, which is the focus of the current study. OBJECTIVES The study objectives are to determine the diagnostic value of a glutaraldehyde test (GT) in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) and to assess its performance compared with light-emitting diode fluorescence microscopy (LED-FM). MATERIALS AND METHODS This study included 272 specimens (176 suspected PTB specimens and 96 suspected EPTB specimens). Of the 272 patients, 98 patients had TB infection confirmed by culture (64 PTB cases and 34 EPTB cases), and 174 patients had no TB infection. The gold standard technique (culture) was used as reference to verify the GT's performance. RESULTS The GT showed a high sensitivity (96.9%) and specificity (82.1%) for PTB with a good positive predictive value (PPV = 75.6%) and negative predictive value (NPV = 97.9%). For EPTB, the GT showed a sensitivity of 91.2% and a specificity of 77.4%, with PPV = 68.9% and NPV = 94.1%. LED-FM had lower sensitivities for PTB (65.6%) and EPTB (42.1%) and an excellent specificity of 100%, with PPV = 100% and NPV = 100%. CONCLUSION We concluded that GT is rapid, easy, simple and cost-effective and does not require qualified personnel with a specific background or sophisticated equipment like molecular biology or mycobacterium-specific genotyping techniques. These qualities make the GT attractive for use in low- and high-income countries in addition to other conventional methods, particularly culture, which continues to be the gold standard.
Oncogene swap as a novel mechanism of acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor‐tyrosine kinase inhibitor in lung cancer

Mutant selective epidermal growth factor receptor‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR‐TKIs), such as rociletinib and AZD9291, are effective for tumors with T790M secondary mutation that become refractory to first‐generation EGFR‐TKI. However, acquired resistance to these prospective drugs is anticipated considering the high adaptability of cancer cells and the mechanisms remain largely obscure. Here, CNX‐2006 (tool compound of rociletinib) resistant sublines were established by chronic exposure of HCC827EPR cells harboring exon 19 deletion and T790M to CNX‐2006. Through the analyses of these resistant subclones, we identified two resistant mechanisms accompanied by MET amplification. One was bypass signaling by MET amplification in addition to T790M, which was inhibited by the combination of CNX‐2006 and MET‐TKI. Another was loss of amplified EGFR mutant allele including T790M while acquiring MET amplification. Interestingly, MET‐TKI alone was able to overcome this resistance, suggesting that oncogenic dependence completely shifted from EGFR to MET. We propose describing this phenomenon as an “oncogene swap. ” Furthermore, we analyzed multiple lesions from a patient who died of acquired resistance to gefitinib, then found a clinical example of an oncogene swap in which the EGFR mutation was lost and a MET gene copy was gained. In conclusion, an “oncogene swap” from EGFR to MET is a novel resistant mechanism to the EGFR‐TKI. This novel mechanism should be considered in order to avoid futile inhibition of the original oncogene.
Reactivation of neuronal ensembles in hippocampal dentate gyrus during sleep after spatial experience

Patterns of neuronal activity recorded in CA1 of the hippocampus and in neocortex during waking‐behavior, are reactivated during subsequent slow‐wave sleep (SWS). It has been suggested that this reactivation may originate in the hippocampal CA3 region, where modifiable excitatory recurrent connections are abundant and where sharp‐waves, in which the reactivation is most robust, appear to arise. The present experiment investigated whether ensemble firing patterns of granule cells in the fascia dentata (FD), an area ‘upstream’ from CA3, are also reactivated during sleep. Populations of FD granule cells were recorded from during spatial behavior and during prior and subsequent SWS. Firing rate correlations between cell‐pairs with overlapping place fields were significantly enhanced during post behavioral sleep compared to pre behavioral sleep. Correlations between cells with non‐overlapping place fields or which were silent during maze behavior, were not changed. Thus, reactivation of experience‐specific correlation states also occurs in granule cells during sleep. Because these cells do not have excitatory interconnections, but form a major input to CA3 pyramidal cells, current models predicted that sleep reactivation would appear first in CA3. There are, however, both extensive polysynaptic excitatory interactions among granule cells and feedback from CA3 pyramidal cells. Granule cells also receive indirect input from neocortical regions known to undergo trace reactivation. Although a simple model for a CA3 origin of the reactivation phenomenon cannot be confirmed, the present results extend our understanding of the generality of this phenomenon.
Efficacy and safety of nedaplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy for FIGO Stage IB2–IVA cervical cancer and its clinical prognostic factors

Abstract Cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is a standard treatment for cervical cancer, but nedaplatin-based CCRT is not routinely administered. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of nedaplatin-based CCRT (35 mg/m2 weekly) and analyzed prognostic factors for survival among 52 patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Stage IB2–IVA cervical cancer treated from 1999 to 2009. Patients were treated with a combination of external beam radiotherapy of 40–56 Gy (in 20–28 fractions) and 13.6–28.8 Gy (in 2–4 fractions) of high-dose-rate (HDR) intracavitary brachytherapy or 18 Gy (in 3 fractions) of HDR interstitial brachytherapy. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and local control (LC) were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. The Cox proportional hazard model was used for multivariate analysis. Acute and late toxicities were evaluated using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0. The median follow-up period was 52 months. The median patient age was 63 years. The 5-year OS, PFS and LC rates were 78%, 57% and 73%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that histologic type, maximum tumor diameter, and pretreatment hemoglobin level were independent risk factors for PFS. Regarding adverse effects, 24 patients (46%) had acute Grade 3–4 leukopenia and 5 (10%) had late Grade 3 gastrointestinal toxicities. No patient experienced renal toxicity. Nedaplatin-based CCRT for FIGO Stage IB2–IVA cervical cancer was efficacious and safe, with no renal toxicity. Histologic type, maximum tumor diameter, and pretreatment hemoglobin level were statistically significant prognostic factors for PFS.
The Inter-Life project: researching the potential of art, design and virtual worlds as a vehicle for assisting young people with key life changes and transitions

ABSTRACT Careers work in the twenty-first century faces a key challenge in terms of digital technologies: to evaluate their potential for careers work in challenging settings. Given the rapidity of developments, technologies require evaluation in research innovations and naturalistic settings. Virtual worlds offer potential for careers and guidance work, and the therapeutic domain. To illustrate this, we present examples in which young people explore their feelings and ideas, plans and difficulties, while preparing for film-making. During this they develop important life transition skills. We argue that the power of virtual worlds – to support emotional and cognitive engagement – could be utilised in practice settings. We conclude that they are serious candidates as digital tools in the careers and guidance domain.
Adaptive streaming over Content Centric Networks in mobile networks using multiple links

This paper presents the usage of Content Centric Networking (CCN) for adaptive multimedia streaming in mobile environments, leveraging the recent ISO/IEC MPEG Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) standard. The performance of DASH over CCN is evaluated using real-world mobile bandwidth traces and compared to previous evaluations of different DASH-based as well as proprietary systems. As there are no client-server connections in CCN, it offers the possibility to transfer data from multiple sources as well as over multiple links in parallel, which is definitely an important feature, e.g., for mobile devices offering multiple network links. This functionality is used and evaluated in this paper in combination with DASH, making it possible to dynamically choose the best performing link for media streaming, which is a clear advantage over DASH using HTTP and the TCP/IP protocol stack. The evaluation therefore investigates DASH over CCN in two scenarios using synthetic and real-world mobile bandwidth traces respectively, showing a significantly better performance than conventional DASH using only one connection.
North African migration systems: evolution, transformations and development linkages

The main aim of this paper is to understand the evolution and transformation of North African migration systems since 1945 within a conceptual framework drawing on migration systems and transitional migration theory. The analysis shows how regional migration dynamics have been an integral part of more general political and economic transformations. While the core Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) have become firmly integrated into the Euro-Mediterranean migration system, Egypt has been predominantly connected to the Gulf (GCC) migration system. Intra-regional migration has mainly been focused on Libya. Recently, regional migration systems show increasing complexity and interconnectivity, while increasing migration from sub-Saharan Africa towards Libya and other North African countries might herald their future transition into settlement countries. The extent to which policies can enhance the development impact of migration is assessed by focusing on Morocco. Recent increases in remittances and (holiday) returns suggest that Morocco’s policies towards migration and development have been successful at least to a certain extent. However, the analysis also exemplifies that specific “diaspora policies” have only limited effects if they are not accompanied by structural political and economic reform.
Mechanism of Cyclosporin-induced Inhibition of Intracellular Collagen Degradation*

The immunosuppressant cyclosporin A (CsA) markedly inhibits collagen degradation by an intracellular phagocytic pathway in fibroblasts, an effect that can lead to massive gingival overgrowth. We used a collagen bead model of collagen phagocytosis to determine whether CsA inhibits internalization by blocking efflux of calcium from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondrial calcium stores. CsA caused dose-dependent inhibition of phagocytosis of collagen-coated (but not bovine serum albumin-coated) beads. Chelation of intracellular Ca2+ with BAPTA/AM or inhibition of Ca2+-ATPase of ER stores with thapsigargin reduced collagen bead phagocytosis. Measurement of intracellular calcium by ratio fluorometry showed increases in response to collagen-coated beads. Preincubation with CsA or thapsigargin caused a >3-fold decrease in intracellular calcium elevations in response to stimulation with collagen beads. Direct measurements of Ca2+ in mitochondrial and ER stores showed that CsA only slightly inhibited collagen bead-induced discharge of calcium from mitochondria, but almost completely blocked discharge from ER stores. We reduced the numbers of mitochondria with chronic ethidium bromide treatment to test for the importance of ER/mitochondrial interactions. In these cells, CsA delayed collagen bead-induced calcium discharge from mitochondria. Collectively, these data indicate that CsA inhibits collagen phagocytosis by blocking calcium release from ER stores and may perturb functional interactions between the ER and mitochondria that regulate calcium stores.
An adaptive higher order scheduling policy with an application to biosignal processing

Efficient biosignal processing requires a solid algorithmic background as well as lightweight infrastructure. Job scheduling, namely the policy determining the maximum process number and the order of the actual process execution from the CPU, is closely related not only to performance but also to quality of service (QoS). Thus, scheduling policies are important infrastructure components along with hardware, network protocols, and memory management algorithms to name a few. In a typical workstation setting scheduling is local and constitutes part of the operating system, whereas in distributed systems such as Hadoop there is an additional global scheduling layer at the cluster level. An adaptive scheduling algorithm at the operating system level suitable for CPU bound processes and based on estimating higher order moments of the process size distribution is proposed. Then it is compared to FIFO, SJF, and RR policies with synthetic data derived from the standard MIT-BIH electrocardiogram (ECG) dataset serving as performance and quality benchmark.