Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High frequency of multiple melanomas and breast and pancreas carcinomas in CDKN2A mutation-positive melanoma families.

BACKGROUND : Inherited mutations in the CDKN2A tumor suppressor gene, which encodes the p16(INK4a) protein, and in the cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) gene confer susceptibility to cutaneous malignant melanoma. We analyzed families with two or more cases of melanoma for germline mutations in CDKN2A and CDK4 to elucidate the contribution of these gene defects to familial malignant melanoma and to the occurrence of other cancer types. METHODS : The entire CDKN2A coding region and exon 2 of the CDK4 gene of an affected member of each of 52 families from southern Sweden with at least two cases of melanoma in first- or second-degree relatives were screened for mutations by use of polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. Statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS : CDKN2A mutations were found in 10 (19%) of the 52 families. Nine families carried an identical alteration consisting of the insertion of arginine at position 113 of p16(INK4a), and one carried a missense mutation, in which the valine at position 115 was replaced with a glycine. The 113insArg mutant p16(INK4a) was unable to bind cdk4 and cdk6 in an in vitro binding assay. Six of the 113insArg families had at least one member with multiple primary melanomas; the 113insArg families also had a high frequency of other malignancies-in particular, breast cancer (a total of eight cases compared with the expected 2.1; P =.0014) and pancreatic cancer (a total of six cases compared with the expected 0.16; P<.0001). Families with breast cancer also had a propensity for multiple melanomas in females, suggesting that a sex-dependent factor may modify the phenotypic expression of CDKN2A alterations. CONCLUSIONS : Our findings confirm that the majority of CDKN2A-associated melanoma families in Sweden are due to a single founder mutation. They also show that families with the CDKN2A 113insArg mutation have an increased risk not only of multiple melanomas and pancreatic carcinoma but also of breast cancer.
Temperature and Heavy-Element Abundance Profiles of Cool Clusters of Galaxies from ASCA

We perform a spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopic study of a set of 18 relaxed clusters of galaxies with gas temperatures below 4 keV. Spectral analysis was done using ASCA/SIS data coupled with the spatial information contained in ROSAT/PSPC and Einstein/IPC observations. We derive the temperature profiles using single-temperature fits and also correct for the presence of cold gas at the cluster centers. For all of the clusters in the sample, we derive Si and Fe abundance profiles. For a few of the clusters, we also derive Ne and S abundance profiles. We present a comparison of the elemental abundances derived at similar overdensities as well as element mass-to-light ratios. We conclude that the preferential accretion of low-entropy, low-abundance gas into the potentials of groups and cold clusters can explain most of the observed trends in metallicity. In addition, we discuss the importance of energy input from Type II supernovae on cluster scaling relations and on the relation between the observed scatter in the retainment of Type Ia supernova products with differences between the epoch of cluster formation.
A new resource for incremental, dependency and semantic parsing

We introduce LTAG-spinal, a novel variant of traditional Lexicalized Tree Adjoining Grammar (LTAG) with desirable linguistic, computational and statistical properties. Unlike in traditional LTAG, subcategorization frames and the argument-adjunct distinction are left underspecified in LTAG-spinal. LTAG-spinal with adjunction constraints is weakly equivalent to LTAG. The LTAG-spinal for- malism is used to extract an LTAG-spinal Treebank from the Penn Treebank with Propbank annotation. Based on Propbank annotation, predicate coordination and LTAG adjunction structures are successfully extracted. The LTAG-spinal Treebank makes explicit semantic relations that are implicit or absent from the original PTB. LTAG-spinal provides a very desirable resource for statistical LTAG parsing, incremental parsing, dependency parsing, and semantic parsing. This treebank has been successfully used to train an incremental LTAG-spinal parser and a bidirec- tional LTAG dependency parser.
White matter alterations related to P300 abnormalities in individuals at high risk for psychosis: an MRI-EEG study.

BACKGROUND Psychosis onset is characterized by white matter and electrophysiologic abnormalities. The relation between these factors in the development of illness is almost unknown. We studied the relation between white matter volumes and P300 in prodromal psychosis. METHODS We assessed white matter volume (detected using magnetic resonance imaging) and electrophysiologic response during an oddball task (P300) in healthy controls and individuals at high clinical risk for psychosis (with an "at-risk mental state" [ARMS]). RESULTS We included 41 controls and 39 patients with an ARMS in our study. A psychotic disorder developed in 26% of the ARMS group within the follow-up period of 2 years. The P300 amplitude was significantly lower in the ARMS group than in the control group. The ARMS group showed reduced volume of white matter underlying the left superior temporal gyrus and the left superior frontal gyrus and increased volume of white matter underlying the right insula and the right angular gyrus compared with controls. Relative to individuals who did not later become psychotic, the subgroup in whom psychosis subsequently developed had a smaller volume of white matter underlying the left precuneus and the right middle temporal gyrus and increased volume in the white matter underlying the right middle frontal gyrus. We observed a significant interaction in the right middle frontal gyrus: white matter volume was negatively associated with P300 amplitude in the ARMS group and positively associated with P300 amplitude in the control group. LIMITATIONS The voxel-based morphometry method alone cannot determine whether abnormal white matter volumes are due to an altered number of axonal connections or decreased myelination. CONCLUSION P300 abnormalities precede the onset of psychosis and are directly related to white matter alterations, representing a correlate of an increased vulnerability to disease.
The effect of performance feedback on current behaviour versus performance feedback in terms of health outcomes on cycling performance in older adults

This study examined the effects of feedback valence and feedback type on cycling duration in older adults (age 56-98) living in a rehabilitation centre or care facility. Data were collected from participants who cycled on an indoor bicycle in a laboratory setting (N=50). Results demonstrated that participants who received feedback that was explained in terms of the effects of physical activity stayed longer on the bicycle than participants who received feedback solely about their current cycling behaviour. No differences were found for feedback valence. Furthermore, results suggested mediation effects of self-efficacy, indicating that after receiving feedback participants stayed longer on the bicycle because it increased their selfefficacy.
Injury risk in runners using standard or motion control shoes: a randomised controlled trial with participant and assessor blinding

Background/aim This randomised controlled trial investigated if the usage of running shoes with a motion control system modifies injury risk in regular leisure-time runners compared to standard shoes, and if this influence depends on foot morphology. Methods Recreational runners (n=372) were given either the motion control or the standard version of a regular running shoe model and were followed up for 6 months regarding running activity and injury. Foot morphology was analysed using the Foot Posture Index method. Cox regression analyses were used to compare injury risk between the two groups, based on HRs and their 95% CIs, controlling for potential confounders. Stratified analyses were conducted to evaluate the effect of motion control system in runners with supinated, neutral and pronated feet. Results The overall injury risk was lower among the participants who had received motion control shoes (HR=0.55; 95% CI 0.36 to 0.85) compared to those receiving standard shoes. This positive effect was only observed in the stratum of runners with pronated feet (n=94; HR=0.34; 95% CI 0.13 to 0.84); there was no difference in runners with neutral (n=218; HR=0.78; 95% CI 0.44 to 1.37) or supinated feet (n=60; HR=0.59; 95% CI 0.20 to 1.73). Runners with pronated feet using standard shoes had a higher injury risk compared to those with neutral feet (HR=1.80; 95% CI 1.01 to 3.22). Conclusions The overall injury risk was lower in participants who had received motion control shoes. Based on secondary analysis, those with pronated feet may benefit most from this shoe type.
Emerging concepts in the neurobiology of chronic pain: evidence of abnormal sensory processing in fibromyalgia.

Chronic pain often differs from acute pain. The correlation between tissue pathology and the perceived severity of the chronic pain experience is poor or even absent. Furthermore, the sharp spatial localization of acute pain is not a feature of chronic pain; chronic pain is more diffuse and often spreads to areas beyond the original site. Of importance, chronic pain seldom responds to the therapeutic measures that are successful in treating acute pain. Physicians who are unaware of these differences may label the patient with chronic pain as being neurotic or even a malingerer. During the past decade, an exponential growth has occurred in the scientific underpinnings of chronic pain states. In particular, the concept of nonnociceptive pain has been refined at a physiologic, structural, and molecular level. This review focuses on this new body of knowledge, with particular reference to the chronic pain state termed "fibromyalgia. "
1 E-Learning Adoption and Assimilation across Cultures : A Research Agenda

Technology-assisted learning has become increasingly crucial for academic studies and corporate training. E-learning has potentially become one of the most significant developments in the information systems and technologies. Motivated by such compelling advantages as geographical reach, learner control, and cost effectiveness in course delivery and management, educational institutions and professional organizations are embracing technology-assisted learning by implementing an expanding array of technology-enabled platforms. This paper is to set out a research agenda for investigating e-learning adoption and assimilation across cultures. The specific objectives of this study were: (i) to develop an extended technology acceptance model using TAM3 for the determinants of the adoption and assimilation of e-learning; (ii) to set out a research agenda for investigating e-learning adoption and assimilation across cultures; and (iii) to outline possible outcomes of the study, such as, managerial interventions and controls for better organizational e-learning management. It is hoped that this paper lends a roadmap to more understanding of the success factors and pre and post-implementation interventions contributing to the adoption and assimilation of the of e-learning systems globally.
On composition of a federated web search result page: using online users to provide pairwise preference for heterogeneous verticals

Modern web search engines are federated --- a user query is sent to the numerous specialized search engines called verticals like web (text documents), News, Image, Video, etc. and the results returned by these engines are then aggregated and composed into a search result page (SERP) and presented to the user. For a specific query, multiple verticals could be relevant, which makes the placement of these vertical results within blocks of textual web results challenging: how do we represent, assess, and compare the relevance of these heterogeneous entities? In this paper we present a machine-learning framework for SERP composition in the presence of multiple relevant verticals. First, instead of using the traditional label generation method of human judgment guidelines and trained judges, we use a randomized online auditioning system that allows us to evaluate triples of the form query, web block, vertical>. We use a pairwise click preference to evaluate whether the web block or the vertical block had a better users' engagement. Next, we use a hinged feature vector that contains features from the web block to create a common reference frame and augment it with features representing the specific vertical judged by the user. A gradient boosted decision tree is then learned from the training data. For the final composition of the SERP, we place a vertical result at a slot if the score is higher than a computed threshold. The thresholds are algorithmically determined to guarantee specific coverage for verticals at each slot. We use correlation of clicks as our offline metric and show that click-preference target has a better correlation than human judgments based models. Furthermore, on online tests for News and Image verticals we show higher user engagement for both head and tail queries.
Magnetic fields and factored two-spheres

A magnetic monopole is placed at the center of a ball whose surface S2 is tiled by the symmetry group, Γ, of a regular solid. The quantum mechanics on the two-dimensional quotient S2/Γ is developed and the monopole charge is found to be quantized in an expected manner. The heat-kernel and ζ-functions are evaluated and the Casimir energy is computed. Numerical approaches to the calculation of the derivative of the Barnes ζ-function are presented.
An improved distributed Bayesian algorithm for fault-tolerant detection in electromagnetic spectrum monitoring sensor networks

Electromagnetic spectrum monitoring sensor networks (ESMSNs) have become a new distributed solution for the electromagnetic spectrum monitoring and attracted a large scholars' attention due to its better detection performance. However, the detection performance of ESMSNs will decrease rapidly when the faults occur to the monitoring sensor nodes, which result from the node device itself and the harsh or hostile environment where they are deployed. The distributed Bayesian algorithm was proposed to correct some errors resulted from the sensor faults. But new errors were introduced while correcting errors. Therefore, it is necessary to do some further research on the distributed fault-tolerant detection for ESMSNs. We propose an improved distributed Bayesian algorithm for fault-tolerant detection in ESMSNs and investigate the performance of detecting and correcting such faults. Analysis and Simulation results show the proposed algorithm can perform better than the distributed Bayesian algorithm and the proposed algorithm can still obtain higher reduction in the average number of errors when the probability of the monitoring sensor node fault is high.
Perspectives on Research-related Anxiety among BSW Students: An Exploratory Study

Using a convenience sample of BSW students enrolled in a required research methods course, we explore two alternative perspectives on research-related anxiety. One perspective emphasizes the fear dimension of anxiety (math anxiety, library anxiety, and computer anxiety), and the other perspective emphasizes a dimension reflecting “eagerness to do well. ” Our exploration of these alternative dimensions finds that both have empirical support. By looking at student anxieties about research from a strengths perspective, however, we may find additional innovative ways to engage students in learning and using research.
Effort minimization and synergistic muscle recruitment for three-dimensional force generation

To generate a force at the hand in a given spatial direction and with a given magnitude the central nervous system (CNS) has to coordinate the recruitment of many muscles. Because of the redundancy in the musculoskeletal system, the CNS can choose one of infinitely many possible muscle activation patterns which generate the same force. What strategies and constraints underlie such selection is an open issue. The CNS might optimize a performance criterion, such as accuracy or effort. Moreover, the CNS might simplify the solution by constraining it to be a combination of a few muscle synergies, coordinated recruitment of groups of muscles. We tested whether the CNS generates forces by minimum effort recruitment of either individual muscles or muscle synergies. We compared the activation of arm muscles observed during the generation of isometric forces at the hand across multiple three-dimensional force targets with the activation predicted by either minimizing the sum of squared muscle activations or the sum of squared synergy activations. Muscle synergies were identified from the recorded muscle pattern using non-negative matrix factorization. To perform both optimizations we assumed a linear relationship between rectified and filtered electromyographic (EMG) signal which we estimated using multiple linear regressions. We found that the minimum effort recruitment of synergies predicted the observed muscle patterns better than the minimum effort recruitment of individual muscles. However, both predictions had errors much larger than the reconstruction error obtained by the synergies, suggesting that the CNS generates three-dimensional forces by sub-optimal recruitment of muscle synergies.
Neurofeedback, Self-Regulation, and Brain Imaging: Clinical Science and Fad in the Service of Mental Disorders

Neurofeedback draws on multiple techniques that propel both healthy and patient populations to self-regulate neural activity. Since the 1970s, numerous accounts have promoted electroencephalography-neurofeedback as a viable treatment for a host of mental disorders. Today, while the number of health care providers referring patients to neurofeedback practitioners increases steadily, substantial methodological and conceptual caveats continue to pervade empirical reports. And yet, nascent imaging technologies (e.g., real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging) and increasingly rigorous protocols are paving the road towards more effective applications and a better scientific understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Here, we outline common neurofeedback methods, illuminate the tenuous state of the evidence, and sketch out future directions to further unravel the potential merits of this contentious therapeutic prospect.
THE FIRST ACCURATE PARALLAX DISTANCE TO A BLACK HOLE

Using astrometric VLBI observations, we have determined the parallax of the black hole X-ray binary V404 Cyg to be 0.418 ± 0.024 mas, corresponding to a distance of 2.39 ± 0.14 kpc, significantly lower than the previously accepted value. This model-independent estimate is the most accurate distance to a Galactic stellar-mass black hole measured to date. With this new distance, we confirm that the source was not super-Eddington during its 1989 outburst. The fitted distance and proper motion imply that the black hole in this system likely formed in a supernova, with the peculiar velocity being consistent with a recoil (Blaauw) kick. The size of the quiescent jets inferred to exist in this system is <1.4 AU at 22 GHz. Astrometric observations of a larger sample of such systems would provide useful insights into the formation and properties of accreting stellar-mass black holes.
Optimization for Keratinase Enzyme Production Using Bacillus thuringiensis TS2

Keratinase producing bacterial strains were isolated from the chicken feather dumping site. Keratinase producing bacterial strains were identified by physical, biochemical characteristics, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and 16S rDNA sequences. Medium optimization of the selected keratinase producing bacterial strain (Bacillus thuringiensis TS2) was checked with various parameters such as incubation time (52.3±1.2 U/mg), substrate concentration (41.3±1.2 U/mg), inoculums concentration (43.54±0.89 U/mg), carbon sources (76.20±0.34U/mg), nitrogensources (85.60±3.12U/mg), pH (90.78±0.97U/mg), temperature (92.78±0.59U/mg) and chemical inhibitors (112.17±0.02U/mg) that were tested with specific keratinase activity.
The Use of Alternative Algorithms in Whole Number Computation.

Pedagogical reform in Australia over the last few decades has resulted in a reduced emphasis on the teaching of computational algorithms and a diversity of alternative mechanisms to teach students whole number computations. The effect of these changes upon student recording of whole number computations has had little empirical investigation. As reported in this paper, Years 4 to 7 students across three schools were tested for their ability to carry out written computations. A range of recording methods were documented, many of which seemed to be adaptations of mental methods of computation. Students who used alternative methods tended to be less successful than students who used traditional algorithms. The results suggest there is merit in conducting further research into the effects of using alternative written computational methods upon students‟ learning of mathematics.
Bankruptcy and Small Firms' Access to Credit Bankruptcy and Small Firms' Access to Credit

In this paper, we investigate whether and how personal bankruptcy law a ects small rms' access to credit. When a rm is unincorporated, its debts are personal liabilities of the rm's owner, so that lending to the rm is equivalent to lending to its owner. If the rm fails, the owner has an incentive to le for personal bankruptcy in order to obtain discharge of the rm's debts. While bankruptcy law is uniform across the country, states are allowed to set their own bankruptcy exemption levels and they vary widely. The higher the exemption level, the more attractive it is for debtors who live in that state to le for bankruptcy, because they can keep more of their assets while obtaining discharge of their own and the rm's debts. The paper presents a theoretical model of credit markets which shows that supply of credit falls and demand for credit rises when non-corporate rms are located in states with higher bankruptcy exemption levels. We test the model using the NSSBF and nd that high homestead and personal property exemptions exemptions are associated with an increased probability of non-corporate rms being denied credit, but do not a ect the probability of corporate rms being denied credit. We also nd weak evidence that both types of rms receive smaller loans when they are located in states that have high bankruptcy exemptions, but we nd no evidence that interest rates are a ected by bankruptcy exemptions. We also test for the e ect of a prior bankruptcy ling by non-corporate rms or their owners on access to credit and nd that a prior ling nearly triples the probability that these rms are denied credit.