Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of screening colonoscopy on outcomes in colon cancer surgery.

IMPORTANCE Screening colonoscopy seemingly decreases colorectal cancer rates in the United States. In addition to removing benign lesions and preventing progression to malignancy, screening colonoscopy theoretically identifies asymptomatic patients with early-stage disease, potentially leading to higher survival rates. OBJECTIVES To assess the effect of screening colonoscopy on outcomes of colon cancer surgery by reviewing differences in staging, disease-free interval, risk of recurrence, and survival and to identify whether diagnosis through screening improves long-term outcomes independent of staging. DESIGN Retrospective review of prospectively maintained, institutional review board-approved database. SETTING Tertiary care center with high patient volume. PATIENTS All patients who underwent colon cancer surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2011. INTERVENTION Colon cancer surgery. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Postoperative staging, death, and recurrence, measured as incidence and time to event. RESULTS A total of 1071 patients were included, with 217 diagnosed through screening. Patients not diagnosed through screening were at risk for a more invasive tumor (≥T3: relative risk [RR] = 1.96; P < .001), nodal disease (RR = 1.92; P < .001), and metastatic disease on presentation (RR = 3.37; P < .001). In follow-up, these patients had higher death rates (RR = 3.02; P < .001) and recurrence rates (RR = 2.19; P = .004) as well as shorter survival (P < .001) and disease-free intervals (P < .001). Cox and logistic regression controlling for staging and baseline characteristics revealed that death rate (P = .02) and survival duration (P = .01) were better stage for stage with diagnosis through screening. Death and metastasis rates also remained significantly lower in tumors without nodal or metastatic spread (all P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Patients with colon cancer identified on screening colonoscopy not only have lower-stage disease on presentation but also have better outcomes independent of their staging. Compliance to screening colonoscopy guidelines can play an important role in prolonging longevity, improving quality of life, and reducing health care costs through early detection of colon cancer.
Women's Parliamentary Representation in Africa: The Impact of Democracy and Corruption on the Number of Female Deputies in National Parliaments

Although many studies address the representation of women in parliament, few explore gender representation in Africa. Prior research on women's representation conducted in various areas of the world has emphasized the type of electoral system, quotas and the economic affluence of a country, as well as the state's political culture. In this evaluation these commonly used indicators are complemented by two factors that are not that frequently employed – a country's degree of democracy and its level of corruption. Besides quota provisions and the electoral system type of a country, both of these additional variables affect women's representation. Higher containment of corruption fosters higher percentages of women in parliament. In contrast, democratic states have fewer female members in parliament than non-democratic states.
ADVICE—Educational System for Teaching Database Courses

This paper presents a Web-based educational system, ADVICE, that helps students to bridge the gap between database management system (DBMS) theory and practice. The usage of ADVICE is presented through a set of laboratory exercises developed to teach students conceptual and logical modeling, SQL, formal query languages, and normalization. While working on the exercises, students use the system to access real databases, and the system provides them with feedback about their solutions. From the perspective of an instructor, the system allows easy exercise management and continual progress monitoring. The paper also describes a practical experience with the use of ADVICE on a database course over a three-year period.
CircuitStack: Supporting Rapid Prototyping and Evolution of Electronic Circuits

For makers and developers, circuit prototyping is an integral part of building electronic projects. Currently, it is common to build circuits based on breadboard schematics that are available on various maker and DIY websites. Some breadboard schematics are used as is without modification, and some are modified and extended to fit specific needs. In such cases, diagrams and schematics merely serve as blueprints and visual instructions, but users still must physically wire the breadboard connections, which can be time-consuming and error-prone. We present CircuitStack, a system that combines the flexibility of breadboarding with the correctness of printed circuits, for enabling rapid and extensible circuit construction. This hybrid system enables circuit reconfigurability, component reusability, and high efficiency at the early stage of prototyping development.
EFL students’ vocabulary learning in NS-NNS e-mail interactions: Do they learn new words by imitation?

Abstract The present study investigated Japanese students’ EFL vocabulary development through e-mail interactions with a native English speaker (NS), with primary focus on students’ imitation of new words. According to sociocultural theory, learners can internalize new linguistic knowledge by imitating an expert’s expressions to create his/her own utterances. This study, therefore, specifically examined whether (1) students could imitate the new vocabulary items provided by the NS tutor, and (2) they could retain these items at the end of the project. An examination of the e-mail log showed that students did imitate and use some of the lexis provided by the NS. The results of the post-test also revealed that some of the imitated words were subsequently retained. However, there were some words that had been learned without imitation. The questionnaire survey and the students’ interview comments indicated that students memorized a considerable number of new words provided by the NS by repeatedly reading them in e-mail text, as well as in other learning contexts, such as regular classes and independent study, through noticing, retrieving, and generating the meaning/form of each word (Nation, 2001). The study concluded that vocabulary learning via e-mail takes place not only by a single process such as imitation, but also by a combination of various processes functioning in an integrated manner.
The deduction rule and linear and near-linear proof simulations

Abstract We introduce new proof systems for propositional logic, simple deduction Frege systems, general deduction Frege systems, and nested deduction Frege systems, which augment Frege systems with variants of the deduction rule. We give upper bounds on the lengths of proofs in Frege proof systems compared to lengths in these new systems. As applications we give near-linear simulations of the propositional Gentzen sequent calculus and the natural deduction calculus by Frege proofs. The length of a proof is the number of lines (or formulas) in the proof. A general deduction Frege proof system provides at most quadratic speedup over Frege proof systems. A nested deduction Frege proof system provides at most a nearly linear speedup over Frege system where by “nearly linear” is meant the ratio of proof lengths is O(α(n)) where α is the inverse Ackermann function. A nested deduction Frege system can linearly simulate the propositional sequent calculus, the tree-like general deduction Frege calculus, and the natural deduction calculus. Hence a Frege proof system can simulate all those proof systems with proof lengths bounded by O(n . α(n)). Also we show that a Frege proof of n lines can be transformed into a tree-like Frege proof of O(n log n) lines and of height O(log n). As a corollary of this fact we can prove that natural deduction and sequent calculus tree-like systems simulate Frege systems with proof lengths bounded by O(n log n).
College and University Students with Disabilities: "Modifiable" Personal and School Related Factors Pertinent to Grades and Graduation.

We examined aspects of the experiences of postsecondary students with various disabilities that facilitate higher grades and stronger intention to graduate. Specifically, we focused on experiences that could be modified by the student, the community, or the school. Self-reports of 611 junior/community college and university students with various disabilities show that the best predictors of intention to graduate were the absence of social alienation on campus, strong course self-efficacy, and school environment related facilitators (e.g., good schedule, positive attitudes of professors) as well as personal situation facilitators, such as having friends and high levels of personal motivation. In addition, students registered for campus disabilityrelated services were more likely to intend to graduate as were full-time students. Intention to graduate and grades were only weakly related. Grades were best predicted by course self-efficacy. Stronger social self-efficacy and more personal situation and school environmentrelated facilitators were also related to better grades. Results also show that junior/community colleges are more “friendly” to students with disabilities than are universities (i.e., students feel less alienated and experience more school environment related facilitators). Recommendations are made based on the findings on aspects that can be modified to facilitate academic success.
Influence of Peer Tutors upon Academic Learning Time–Physical Education of Mentally Handicapped Students

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of peer tutors on the academic learning time (ALT) of moderately/severely mentally handicapped students in adapted physical education. A multiple baseline-across-students and withdrawal design was used to analyze the effects of untrained and trained tutors on the ALT–PE of the students. Motor appropriate behavior was documented with the ALT–PE observation system (Siedentop, Tousignant, & Parker, 1982). Data were analyzed by visual inspection. It was concluded that the presence of peer tutors appeared to have a positive effect on the ALT–PE of mentally handicapped students. No differences were evident between untrained and trained tutors with respect to ALT–PE.
Role of Emotional Intelligence on Employee Engagement: A Study among Indian Professionals

Business firms across the globe have always endeavoured to identify and strengthen drivers of employee engagement at the individual, group and organizational level. Drivers at the individual level have been less researched and tested in previous studies. This study attempts to examine the role of emotional intelligence as an individual antecedent of employee engagement. This is hypothesized drawing from literature that emotional intelligence plays an important role in shaping positive workplace feelings, attitudes and behaviour. Responses captured and analyzed from randomly selected sample of 182 professionals working in Indian organizations revealed that emotional intelligence especially mood repair augments high levels of employee engagement manifested through higher vigor, dedication and absorption in employees. These findings have significant implications for both research and practice.
Comparative genomics of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-dependent transcription factor regulons in Bacteria

The MocR-subfamily transcription factors (MocR-TFs) characterized by the GntR-family DNA-binding domain and aminotransferase-like sensory domain are broadly distributed among certain lineages of Bacteria. Characterized MocR-TFs bind pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) and control transcription of genes involved in PLP, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) and taurine metabolism via binding specific DNA operator sites. To identify putative target genes and DNA binding motifs of MocR-TFs, we performed comparative genomics analysis of over 250 bacterial genomes. The reconstructed regulons for 825 MocR-TFs comprise structural genes from over 200 protein families involved in diverse biological processes. Using the genome context and metabolic subsystem analysis we tentatively assigned functional roles for 38 out of 86 orthologous groups of studied regulators. Most of these MocR-TF regulons are involved in PLP metabolism, as well as utilization of GABA, taurine and ectoine. The remaining studied MocR-TF regulators presumably control genes encoding enzymes involved in reduction/oxidation processes, various transporters and PLP-dependent enzymes, for example aminotransferases. Predicted DNA binding motifs of MocR-TFs are generally similar in each orthologous group and are characterized by two to four repeated sequences. Identified motifs were classified according to their structures. Motifs with direct and/or inverted repeat symmetry constitute the majority of inferred DNA motifs, suggesting preferable TF dimerization in head-to-tail or head-to-head configuration. The obtained genomic collection of in silico reconstructed MocR-TF motifs and regulons in Bacteria provides a basis for future experimental characterization of molecular mechanisms for various regulators in this family.
SIRT1 activating compounds reduce oxidative stress and prevent cell death in neuronal cells

Activation of SIRT1, an NAD+-dependent deacetylase, prevents retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss in optic neuritis, an inflammatory demyelinating optic nerve disease. While SIRT1 deacetylates numerous protein targets, downstream mechanisms of SIRT1 activation mediating this neuroprotective effect are unknown. SIRT1 increases mitochondrial function and reduces oxidative stress in muscle and other cells, and oxidative stress occurs in neuronal degeneration. We examined whether SIRT1 activators reduce oxidative stress and promote mitochondrial function in neuronal cells. Oxidative stress, marked by reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, was induced in RGC-5 cells by serum deprivation, or addition of doxorubicin or hydrogen peroxide, and resulted in significant cell loss. SIRT1 activators resveratrol (RSV) and SRTAW04 reduced ROS levels and promoted cell survival in RGC-5 cells as well as primary RGC cultures. Effects were blocked by SIRT1 siRNA. SIRT1 activators also increased expression of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), a mitochondrial enzyme, and promoted deacetylation of PGC-1α, a co-enzyme involved in mitochondrial function. Results show SIRT1 activators prevent cell loss by reducing oxidative stress and promoting mitochondrial function in a neuronal cell line. Results suggest SIRT1 activators can mediate neuroprotective effects during optic neuritis by these mechanisms, and they have the potential to preserve neurons in other neurodegenerative diseases that involve oxidative stress.
Identification of Selective Lead Compounds for Treatment of High-Ploidy Breast Cancer

Increased ploidy is common in tumors but treatments for tumors with excess chromosome sets are not available. Here, we characterize high-ploidy breast cancers and identify potential anticancer compounds selective for the high-ploidy state. Among 354 human breast cancers, 10% have mean chromosome copy number exceeding 3, and this is most common in triple-negative and HER2-positive types. Women with high-ploidy breast cancers have higher risk of recurrence and death in two patient cohorts, demonstrating that it represents an important group for improved treatment. Because high-ploidy cancers are aneuploid, rather than triploid or tetraploid, we devised a two-step screen to identify selective compounds. The screen was designed to assure both external validity on diverse karyotypic backgrounds and specificity for high-ploidy cell types. This screen identified novel therapies specific to high-ploidy cells. First, we discovered 8-azaguanine, an antimetabolite that is activated by hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase 1 (HPRT1), suggesting an elevated gene-dosage of HPRT1 in high-ploidy tumors can control sensitivity to this drug. Second, we discovered a novel compound, 2,3-diphenylbenzo[g]quinoxaline-5,10-dione (DPBQ). DPBQ activates p53 and triggers apoptosis in a polyploid-specific manner, but does not inhibit topoisomerase or bind DNA. Mechanistic analysis demonstrates that DPBQ elicits a hypoxia gene signature and its effect is replicated, in part, by enhancing oxidative stress. Structure–function analysis defines the core benzo[g]quinoxaline-5,10 dione as being necessary for the polyploid-specific effects of DPBQ. We conclude that polyploid breast cancers represent a high-risk subgroup and that DPBQ provides a functional core to develop polyploid-selective therapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(1); 48–59. ©2015 AACR.
Organizational climate, work stress, and depressive symptoms among probation and parole officers

While work environment and stress are important factors for mental health, no studies have assessed whether these factors contribute independently to the psychological well-being of probation and parole officers (PPOs). Using statewide survey data from 825 PPOs, we examine the association between depressive symptoms, work stress, and work environment (using the organizational climate measures of role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload and emotional exhaustion/burnout). Findings indicate that organizational climate and work stress are important predictors of emotional exhaustion/burnout, and that these factors have both indirect and independent associations with depressive symptomotology. Together, models including organizational climate and work stress account for two-thirds of the variability in burnout. Moreover, models incorporating exhaustion/burnout, work stress, and organizational climate account for nearly half of the variability in depressive symptoms. Organization climate measures and work stress contribute to depressive symptoms through their effect on emotional exhaustion/burnout. In addition, emotional exhaustion/burnout, role conflict, and work stress are all directly linked to levels of depressive symptoms. This study demonstrates that organizational climate and work stress contribute substantially to the well-being of PPOs and reveals the potential mental health consequences of working in community corrections.
Short Intervals Between Sets and Individuality of Muscle Damage Response

Abstract Machado, M, Pereira, R, and Willardson, JM. Short intervals between sets and individuality of muscle damage response. J Strength Cond Res 26(11): 2946–2952, 2012—This study examined creatine kinase (CK) activity after resistance exercise sessions in subjects classified as high (HiR), medium (MeR), or low responders (LoR). Two resistance exercise sessions were performed that each involved 4 sets of the biceps curl at 85% of a 1 repetition maximum (1RM) and either 1- or 3-minute rest intervals between sets. High responders and MeR demonstrated significantly greater CK activity after the 1-minute session vs. the 3-minute session. Therefore, the HiR and MeR subjects exhibited less tolerance to resting 1 minute between sets, whereas the CK activity was not significantly different between rest intervals for the LoR subjects. The application of these findings indicates the need to vary the length of the rest interval between sets with the understanding that individuals exhibit varying recuperative abilities and some might be less tolerant of shorter rest intervals between sets.
Social Influence Spectrum at Scale

Given a social network, the Influence Maximization (InfMax) problem seeks a seed set of k people that maximizes the expected influence for a viral marketing campaign. However, a solution for a particular seed size k is often not enough to make an informed choice regarding budget and cost-effectiveness. In this article, we propose the computation of Influence Spectrum (InfSpec), the maximum influence at each possible seed set size k within a given range [klower,kupper], thus providing optimal decision making for any availability of budget or influence requirements. As none of the existing methods for InfMax are efficient enough for the task in large networks, we propose LISA (sub-Linear Influence Spectrum Approximation), an efficient approximation algorithm for InfSpec (and also InfMax) with the best-known worst-case guarantees for billion-scale networks. LISA returns an (1-1/e -ε)-approximate influence spectrum with high probability (1-δ), where ε, δ are precision parameters provided by users. Using statistical decision theory, LISA has an asymptotic optimal running time (in addition to optimal approximation guarantee). In practice, LISA surpasses the state-of-the-art InfMax methods, taking less than 15 minutes to process a network of 41.7 million nodes and 1.5 billions edges.
Mobile Technologies and its Impact - An Analysis in Higher Education Context

The technology of internet and wireless networks conceived the revolutionary concept of mobile learning or m-learning. Mobile learning through wireless enabled laptops within a university campus can make use of the learning management system that is already available through internet or intranet. Without restrictions within the four walls of computer labs or library, students can now access the learning resources anywhere in the campus where wireless access points or hotspots are located. We briefly investigate on the mobile learning concepts and also expand briefly on different wireless technologies, eventually emphasizing on a secure 802.11 network. Later an analysis of the student perceptions on mobile learning is presented through a survey and the future trends were discussed in conclusion.
The Involvement of Abl and PTP61F in the Regulation of Abi Protein Localization and Stability and Lamella Formation in Drosophila S2 Cells*

Most aspects of cellular events are regulated by a series of protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation processes. Abi (Abl interactor protein) functions as a substrate adaptor protein for Abl and a core member of the WAVE complex, relaying signals from Rac to Arp2/3 complex and regulating actin dynamics. It is known that the recruitment of Abi into the lamella promotes polymerization of actin, although how it does this is unclear. In this study, we found PTP61F, a Drosophila homolog of mammalian PTP1B, can reverse the Abl phosphorylation of Abi and colocalizes with Abi in Drosophila S2 cells. Abi can be translocalized from the cytosol to the cell membrane by either increasing Abl or reducing endogenous PTP61F. This reciprocal regulation of Abi phosphorylation is also involved in modulating Abi protein level, which is thought to affect the stability of the WAVE complex. Using mass spectrometry, we identified several important tyrosine phosphorylation sites in Abi. We compared the translocalization and protein half-life of wild type (wt) and phosphomutant Abi and their abilities to restore the lamellipodia structure of the Abi-reduced cells. We found the phosphomutant to have reduced ability to translocalize and to have a protein half-life shorter than that of wt Abi. We also found that although the wt Abi could fully restore the lamellipodia structure, the phosphomutant could not. Together, these findings suggest that the reciprocal regulation of Abi phosphorylation by Abl and PTP61F may regulate the localization and stability of Abi and may regulate the formation of lamella.