Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MTHFR C677T Polymorphism is Associated with Tumor Response to Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy: A Result Based on Previous Reports

Background Preoperative chemoradiotherapy (pRCT) followed by surgery has been widely practiced in locally advanced rectal cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer and other cancers. However, the therapy also exerts some severe adverse effects and some of the patients show poor or no response. It is very important to develop biomarkers (e.g., gene polymorphisms) to identify patients who have a higher likelihood of responding to pRCT. Recently, a series of reports have investigated the association of the genetic polymorphisms in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) genes with the tumor response to pRCT; however, the results were inconsistent and inconclusive. Material/Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed by searching relevant studies about the association of MTHFR and EGFR polymorphisms with the tumor regression grade (TRG) in response to pRCT in databases of PubMed, EMBAS, Web of science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang database up to March 30, 2015. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to assess the strength of the association under 5 genetic models. Results A total of 11 eligible articles were included in the present meta-analysis, of which 8 studies were performed in rectal cancer and 3 studies were performed in esophageal cancer. We finally included 8 included studies containing 839 cases for MTHFR C677T, 5 studies involving 634 cases for MTHFR A1298C, 3 studies containing 340 cases for EGFR G497A, and 4 studies containing 396 cases for EGFR CA repeat. The pooled analysis results indicated that MTHFR C677T might be correlated with the tumor response to pRCT under the recessive model (CC vs. CTTT) in overall analysis (OR=1.426(1.074–1.894), P=0.014), rectal cancer (OR=1.483(1.102–1.996), P=0.009), and TRG 1–2 vs. 3–5 group (OR=1.423(1.046–1.936), P=0.025), while other polymorphism including MTHFR A1298C, EGFR G497A, and EGFR CA repeat polymorphisms exerted significant association under all genetic models in overall analysis or subgroup analysis. Conclusions MTHFR C677T might be correlated with the tumor response to pRCT. Further well-designed, larger-scale epidemiological studies are needed to validate our results.
Flow topology and non-local geometry of structures in a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer

The flow structure of a DNS of a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer (Wu & Moin 2010) is studied by combining the topological techniques developed by Chong et al. (1990) and Ooi et al. (1999) with the multiscale non-local geometric analysis of Bermejo-Moreno & Pullin (2008), extending the latter to include physical parameters in the analysis and relating them to the geometry of the educed structures. The suitability of two local identification criteria used for the eduction of vortex tubes and sheets in turbulent flows is also evaluated for this flow type. Results are compared to isotropic turbulence. The time evolution of a hairpin vortex is analyzed by a series of snapshots available from the numerical database, integrating physical quantities with its geometrical characterization.
Do unattractive friends make you look better? Context-dependent male mating preferences in the guppy

Recent theory predicts that in species where females tend to mate with the relatively most ornamented males, males may increase their attractiveness to females, and hence mating success, by preferentially associating with females that are surrounded by less ornamented competitors. Despite this prediction, we still lack explicit experimental evidence that males strategically prefer females surrounded by less attractive competitors to maximize their relative attractiveness. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive test of this hypothesis in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a species where a female's perception of a male's attractiveness depends on his coloration relative to that of surrounding males. We found that males preferentially associated with females that were surrounded by relatively drab competitors, and that the strength of an individual male's preference was negatively correlated with his level of ornamentation. A series of control experiments made it possible to exclude the potentially confounding effects of male–male competition or social motivations when drawing these conclusions. The ability of males to choose social context to increase their relative attractiveness has important evolutionary consequences, for example, by contributing towards the maintenance of variability in male sexual ornamentation despite the strong directional selection exerted by female preferences.
The impact of IFRS on earnings management: evidence from the People's Republic of China

This research investigates how service quality of financial reporting changes with new accounting standards. In particular, the changes to earnings management (EM) due to the adoption of a new set of substantially International Financial Reporting Standards convergent accounting standards in a regulated market, the People’s Republic of China (China), is examined for the period 2005–2008 with only firms mandated to adopt this new set of standards. The findings indicate that EM through accruals has decreased in China since 2007 under the new set of standards. Implications have immediate benefits for regulators, filers, information consumers, the accounting profession and other stakeholders.
Sleeping with the Enemy: Wikipedia in the College Classroom.

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that is written and edited solely by volunteers who have no qualifying credentials save an Internet connection. With over 3.1 million articles in English, Wikipedia is indeed a formidable reference web site.2 From a research standpoint, Wikipedia is both the sinner and the saint: because anyone can make changes to content, Wikipedia lacks scholarly backbone in the form of subject experts and a referee process, but there is strength in its continual updating, allowing new information to be added very quickly instead of taking years to be added to a traditional print encyclopedia.3 While it certainly should not be the one and only source for undergraduate research, Wikipedia may have appropriate uses in the college classroom. If there are no editors or peer referees, where is the quality control in Wikipedia? Some will argue that if enough Wikipedians are working on
Crohn's disease-isolated mycobacteria are identical to Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, as determined by DNA probes that distinguish between mycobacterial species

DNA extracted from an unclassified Crohn's disease-isolated Mycobacterium strain was cloned. The recombinant clones were radiolabeled and hybridized to restriction digests of mycobacterial DNA transferred to nylon membranes. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were identified that distinguished between mycobacterial DNA samples. Quantitative estimates of frequencies of DNA base substitution were also obtained. No RFLPs were detected between the DNA of three unclassified Crohn's disease-isolated mycobacteria and Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, although several RFLPs were detected that distinguished between M. paratuberculosis and both M. avium complex serovars 2 and 5. The frequency of DNA base substitution between M. paratuberculosis and M. avium complex serovar 2 was measured as 0.87 (+/- 1.2)%.
Intergalactic Magnetic Fields from Quasar Outflows

Outflows from quasars inevitably pollute the intergalactic medium (IGM) with magnetic fields. The short-lived activity of a quasar leaves behind an expanding magnetized bubble in the IGM. We model the expansion of the remnant quasar bubbles and calculate their distribution as a function of size and magnetic field strength at different redshifts. We generically find that by a redshift z ~ 3, about 5%-20% of the IGM volume is filled by magnetic fields with an energy density ≳10% of the mean thermal energy density of a photoionized IGM (at ~104 K). As massive galaxies and X-ray clusters condense out of the magnetized IGM, the adiabatic compression of the magnetic field could result in the field strength observed in these systems without a need for further dynamo amplification. The intergalactic magnetic field could also provide a nonthermal contribution to the pressure of the photoionized gas that may account for the claimed discrepancy between the simulated and observed Doppler width distributions of the Lyα forest.
Perceptions of Family Physician Trainees and Trainers Regarding the Usefulness of a Virtual Community of Practice

Background Training for Australian general practice, or family medicine, can be isolating, with registrars (residents or trainees) moving between rural and urban environments, and between hospital and community clinic posts. Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs), groups of people sharing knowledge about their domain of practice online and face-to-face, may have a role in overcoming the isolation associated with general practice training. Objective This study explored whether Australian general practice registrars and their supervisors (trainers) would be able to use, and would be interested in using, a VCoP in the form of a private online network for work and training purposes. It also sought to understand the facilitators and barriers to intention to use such a community, and considers whether any of these factors may be modifiable. Methods A survey was developed assessing computer, Internet, and social media access and usage, confidence, perceived usefulness, and barriers, facilitators, and intentions to use a private online network for training purposes. The survey was sent by email link to all 139 registrars and 224 supervisors in one of Australia’s 17 general practice training regions. Complete and usable responses were received from 131 participants (response rate=0.4). Results Most respondents had access to broadband at home (125/131, 95.4%) and at work (130/131, 99.2%). Registrars were more likely to spend more than 2 hours on the Internet (P=.03), and to use social media sites for nonwork purposes (P=.01). On a 5-point Likert scale, confidence was high (mean 3.93, SD 0.63) and was negatively associated with higher age (P=.04), but not associated with training stage. Social media confidence was lower, with registrars more confident than supervisors for almost all social media activities. On a 5-point Likert scale, overall usefulness was scored positively (n=123, mean 3.63, SD 0.74), and was not significantly associated with age or training level. The main concerns of respondents were worries about privacy (registrar: 61/81, 75.3%; supervisor: 30/50, 60.0%) and insufficient time (registrar: 41/81, 50.6%; supervisor: 36/50, 72.0%). Using a multivariate generalized linear regression model, training stage and perceived usefulness were positively predictive, and concerns about privacy and time were negatively predictive of intention to use a private online network. Conclusions General practice registrars and supervisors are interested in using a private online network, or VCoP, for work and training purposes. Important considerations are the extent to which concerns such as privacy and usefulness may be overcome by training and support to offset some other concerns, such as time barriers. Participants at an early stage in their training are more receptive to using an online network. More senior registrars and supervisors may benefit from more training and promotion of the online network to improve their receptiveness.
A multiyear synthesis of soil respiration responses to elevated atmospheric CO2 from four forest FACE experiments

The rapidly rising concentration of atmospheric CO2 has the potential to alter forest and global carbon cycles by altering important processes that occur in soil. Forest soils contain the largest and longest lived carbon pools in terrestrial ecosystems and are therefore extremely important to the land–atmosphere exchange of carbon and future climate. Soil respiration is a sensitive integrator of many soil processes that control carbon storage in soil, and is therefore a good metric of changes to soil carbon cycling. Here, we summarize soil respiration data from four forest free‐air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) experiments in developing and established forests that have been exposed to elevated atmospheric [CO2] (168 μL L−1 average enrichment) for 2–6 years. The sites have similar experimental design and use similar methodology (closed‐path infrared gas analyzers) to measure soil respiration, but differ in species composition of the respective forest communities. We found that elevated atmospheric [CO2] stimulated soil respiration at all sites, and this response persisted for up to 6 years. Young developing stands experienced greater stimulation than did more established stands, increasing 39% and 16%, respectively, averaged over all years and communities. Further, at sites that had more than one community, we found that species composition of the dominant trees was a major controller of the absolute soil CO2 efflux and the degree of stimulation from CO2 enrichment. Interestingly, we found that the temperature sensitivity of bulk soil respiration appeared to be unaffected by elevated atmospheric CO2. These findings suggest that stage of stand development and species composition should be explicitly accounted for when extrapolating results from elevated CO2 experiments or modeling forest and global carbon cycles.
A 13-Year Retrospective Study of Basal Cell Carcinoma in a Canadian Dermatology Practice

Background: It is unknown whether the histologic subtypes of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) arise from a common progenitor cell or whether other factors play a role in their development. Objective: To investigate the relationship between the different BCC histopathologic subtypes and anatomical distribution of BCCs in a Canadian dermatology practice. Methods: The charts of all patients diagnosed with BCC between 1993 and 2005 from a single private dermatology practice in Vancouver, Canada, were reviewed. Descriptive data analysis was undertaken to look at the distribution of histologic subtypes based on age, gender, and anatomical location. Results: Nodular BCCs accounted for 58% of all tumors. Sixty-six percent of these were situated on the head/neck (odds ratio [OR] = 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.1-4.3, P < .0001). Infiltrative (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.5-4.1, P = .0003) and superficial BCCs were more common in women (OR = 3.7, 95% CI = 2.5-5.7, P < .0001), affected the trunk (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 2.1-4.9, P < .0001), and appeared in younger individuals (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.2-2.7, P = .004). Conclusion: Our results show a preference of distinct BCC subtypes for certain anatomical locations.
Monitoring Conscious Recollection via the Electrical Activity of the Brain

Although another person's experience of recollection cannot be observed directly, we have found that the underlying operations can be monitored using noninvasive electrophysiological techniques Results from two experiments showed that brain potentials elicited 500 to 900 ms after the onset of visually presented words vary systematically in amplitude with manipulations that influence the extent to which subjects engage in recollective processing These brain potentials can thus be construed as correlates of the subjective experience of recollection
The Impact of Perioperative Risk, Tumor Pathology and Surgical Complications on Disease Recurrence Following Potentially Curative Resection of Colorectal Cancer

Objective:The objective of the study was to identify determinants of disease recurrence after potentially curative resection of colorectal cancer. Summary Background Data:The identification of patients at increased risk of disease recurrence is currently based on pathological factors. Recently, there has been considerable interest in the potential impact of perioperative factors on long-term colorectal cancer outcome. Few studies have examined pre-, intra-, and postoperative variables in a single cohort. Methods:Four hundred and twenty-three patients with histologically confirmed colorectal cancer who underwent surgery with curative intent between 1997 and 2007 were included. Pre-, intra-, and postoperative variables were recorded. Logistic and Cox regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of surgical complications and disease recurrence, respectively. Results:The postoperative mortality rate was 4% and the morbidity rate 34%. The most important predictors of complications were smoking (odd ratio [OR] 1.32), ASA grade (OR 1.90) and POSSUM operative score (OR 1.32). During follow up (median 80 months), 35% of patients developed disease recurrence. Predictors of recurrence, independent of tumor stage, were POSSUM physiology score (hazard ratio [HR] 1.31) and systemic inflammatory response (HR 1.31). Conclusions:Preoperative risk factors, but not postoperative complications, are associated with early disease recurrence after potentially curative resection of colorectal cancer.
In Defense of IDEA Due Process

Due Process hearing rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are under attack. A major professional group and several academic commentators charge that the hearings system advantages middle class parents, that it is expensive, that it is futile, and that it is unmanageable. Some critics would abandon individual rights to a hearing and review in favor of bureaucratic enforcement or administrative mechanisms that do not include the right to an individual hearing before a neutral decision maker. This Article defends the right to a due process hearing. It contends that some criticisms of hearing rights are simply erroneous, and that others are overstated. The system is generally fair to the various classes of parents, even if some parents are better able than others to use it effectively. Costs are remarkably low given the number of children receiving special education, and hearings and hearing requests have been in decline for years. Far from being futile, the due process hearing system is one in which parents win a significant percentage of cases. And far from being out of control, hearings are generally being managed effectively. The system could be rendered still more efficient with a few modest reforms of the special education statute and its interpretation.
Pharmacokinetics of allopurinol in Dalmatian dogs.

The pharmacokinetics of allopurinol were studied in Dalmatian dogs. Eight dogs were given allopurinol orally at a dose of 10 mg/kg for seven doses prior to sample collection. After a period of at least two weeks, four of these dogs and four additional Dalmatians were later given a single intravenous (i.v.) dose of allopurinol (6 mg/kg) prior to sample collection. Allopurinol was found to follow first-order absorption and elimination kinetics. In the i.v. kinetic study, the elimination constant (Kel) = 0.31 +/- 0.03 per h, the half-life (t1/2) = 2.22 +/- 0.20 h, the initial concentration (C0) = 5.26 +/- 0.34 micrograms/mL and the specific volume (Vd) = 1.14 +/- 0.07 L/kg. Clearance of allopurinol was estimated to be 0.36 +/- 0.03 L/kg.h. In the oral kinetic study, the absorption rate constant (Kab) = 1.06 +/- 0.13 per h, the elimination rate constant (Kel) = 0.26 +/- 0.01 per h, the absorption half-life (t1/2ab) = 0.66 +/- 0.06 h, and the elimination half-life (t1/2el) = 2.69 +/- 0.14 h. Peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) = 6.43 +/- 0.18 micrograms/mL were obtained within 1 to 3 h (mean time of maximum concentration (Tmax) = 1.9 +/- 0.1 h). The volume of distribution corrected by the fraction of dose absorbed (Vd/F) was estimated to be 1.17 +/- 0.07 L/kg. Good agreement was obtained between mean kinetic parameters in the oral and i.v. studies. There was little variation between individual dogs in the i.v. study, whereas the rate of absorption and elimination of orally administered allopurinol was more varied among individual dogs. Because of this, and the fact that the magnitude of hyperuricosuria varies among Dalmatians, it is not possible to specify an exact dose of allopurinol that will effectively lower the urinary uric acid concentration to acceptable values in all Dalmatians with hyperuricosuria; rather, the dose must be titrated to the needs of each dog.
Effects of envelope filter cutoff frequency on the intelligibility of Mandarin noise-vocoded speech in babble noise: implications for cochlear implants

In cochlear implants, limited spectral and temporal information is provided. Previous studies argued for different effects of temporal information on speech identification in adverse environments. Particularly, it is unclear how speech intelligibility is influenced by the low-pass cutoff frequency of temporal envelope extractors in noise. The current study explored this issue with Mandarin noise-vocoder simulation in babble noise. Mandarin spoken sentences were mixed with multi-talker babble at different SNRs (4-, 6- and 8-dB) and then noise-vocoded. The vocoders had three numbers of logarithmic-spaced frequency channels (6, 8 and 10) with low-pass filtering the Hilbert envelope at 50 or 500 Hz in each channel. We measured the sentence intelligibility with native normal-hearing subjects and found that intelligibility for the high frequency cutoff condition (500-Hz) is significantly higher at 8-dB SNR with 6 and 8 channels, but significantly lower at 4-dB SNR with 6 channels than the low frequency cutoff condition (50-Hz). This finding suggests that high cutoff frequency of the envelope extractor in noise-vocoders can either improve or impair speech intelligibility in babble noise, hinging on the number of channels and the SNR level. Potential implications of the current finding for cochlear implant designs were further discussed in the paper.
Scaling limits of the fuzzy sphere at one loop

We study the one loop dynamics of QFT on the fuzzy sphere and calculate the planar and nonplanar contributions to the two point function at one loop. We show that there is no UV/IR mixing on the fuzzy sphere. The fuzzy sphere is characterized by two moduli: a dimensionless parameter N and a dimensionful radius R. Different geometrical phases can obtained at different corners of the moduli space. In the limit of the commutative sphere, we find that the two point function is regular without UV/IR mixing; however quantization does not commute with the commutative limit, and a finite ``noncommutative anomaly'' survives in the commutative limit. In a different limit, the noncommutative plane 2? is obtained, and the UV/IR mixing reappears. This provides an explanation of the UV/IR mixing as an infinite variant of the ``noncommutative anomaly''.
Finding multiple core-periphery pairs in networks

With a core-periphery structure of networks, core nodes are densely interconnected, peripheral nodes are connected to core nodes to different extents, and peripheral nodes are sparsely interconnected. Core-periphery structure composed of a single core and periphery has been identified for various networks. However, analogous to the observation that many empirical networks are composed of densely interconnected groups of nodes, i.e., communities, a network may be better regarded as a collection of multiple cores and peripheries. We propose a scalable algorithm to detect multiple nonoverlapping groups of core-periphery structure in a network. We illustrate our algorithm using synthesized and empirical networks. For example, we find distinct core-periphery pairs with different political leanings in a network of political blogs and separation between international and domestic subnetworks of airports in some single countries in a worldwide airport network.