Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Plasma Epstein-Barr Virus-DNA and Tumor Volume on Prognosis of Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

This retrospective study aims to examine the association of plasma Epstein-Barr virus- (EBV-) DNA levels with the tumor volume and prognosis in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A total of 165 patients with newly diagnosed locally advanced NPC were identified from September 2011 to July 2012. EBV-DNA was detected using fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. The tumor volume was calculated by the systematic summation method of computer software. The median copy number of plasma EBV-DNA before treatment was 3790 copies/mL. The median gross tumor volume of the primary nasopharyngeal tumor (GTVnx), the lymph node lesions (GTVnd), and the total GTV before treatment were 72.46, 23.26, and 106.25 cm3, respectively; the EBV-DNA levels were significantly correlated with the GTVnd and the total GTV (P < 0.01). The 2-year overall survival (OS) rates in patients with positive and negative pretreatment plasma EBV-DNA were 100% and 98.4% (P = 1.000), and the disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 94.4% and 80.8% (P = 0.044), respectively. These results indicate that high pretreatment plasma EBV-DNA levels in patients with locally advanced NPC are associated with the degree of lymph node metastasis, tumor burden, and poor prognosis.
The Evolution of Securitization in Multifamily Mortgage Markets and its Effect on Lending Rates

Loan purchase and securitization by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and private-label commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) grew rapidly during the 1990s and accounted for more than one-half of the net growth in multifamily debt over the decade. By facilitating the integration of the multifamily mortgage market into the broader capital markets, securitization helped to create new sources of credit as some traditional portfolio investorsâ€”savings institutions and life insurersâ€”reduced their share of loan holdings. A model of commercial mortgage rates at life insurers, expressed relative to a comparable-term Treasury yield, was estimated over a twenty-two-year period. The parameter estimates supported an option-based pricing model of rate determination; proxies for CMBS activity showed no significant effect.
Frequency Diverse Coprime Arrays With Coprime Frequency Offsets for Multitarget Localization

Different from conventional phased-array radars, the frequency diverse array (FDA) radar offers a range-dependent beampattern capability that is attractive in various applications. The spatial and range resolutions of an FDA radar are fundamentally limited by the array geometry and the frequency offset. In this paper, we overcome this limitation by introducing a novel sparsity-based multitarget localization approach incorporating both coprime arrays and coprime frequency offsets. The covariance matrix of the received signals corresponding to all sensors and employed frequencies is formulated to generate a space-frequency virtual difference coarrays. By using <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(M+N)$</tex-math></inline-formula> antennas and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(M+N)$</tex-math></inline-formula> frequencies, the proposed coprime arrays with coprime frequency offsets enables the localization of up to <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(M^2N^2)$</tex-math></inline-formula> targets with a resolution of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $\mathcal {O}(1/(MN))$</tex-math></inline-formula> in angle and range domains, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$</tex-math> </inline-formula> are coprime integers. The joint direction-of-arrival (DOA) and range estimation is cast as a two-dimensional sparse reconstruction problem and is solved within the Bayesian compressive sensing framework. We also develop a fast algorithm with a lower computational complexity based on the multitask Bayesian compressive sensing approach. Simulations results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach in terms of DOA-range resolution, localization accuracy, and the number of resolvable targets.
Case finding for depression in patients with long-term physical conditions in primary care

The aim of this thesis was to describe the impact and consequences of case finding for depression in patients with long-term physical conditions in primary care from the perspective of primary healthcare professionals. Study one (chapter two) evaluated the effects of incentivised case finding using an interrupted time series analysis of routinely collected data. It found that incentivised case finding increased new depression-related diagnoses and rates of antidepressant prescribing. Increased prescribing is of concern as it may include treatment of people unlikely to respond to medication. Study two (chapter three) identified and classified what has been written about primary healthcare professionals beliefs on implementing case finding using a systematic review and the ‘best fit’ framework synthesis approach. A range of contradictory beliefs and three new themes were identified; mistrust, trade-offs and dilemmas. These findings demonstrate conflict and tensions which could undermine implementation of case finding. Study three (chapter four) characterised the range of positions held by primary healthcare professionals on the role, implementation and value of case finding using an online Q method study involving primary healthcare professionals. Three recognisable positions were produced; objections to the principle of case finding for depression, case finding for depression is worthwhile and objections to implementation of case finding for depression. These positions may influence how clinicians deliver and respond to case finding. Implementation is challenging if there is a spread of perspectives. These findings, considered alongside the absence of evidence that case finding improves clinical outcomes, indicate that case finding for depression in long-term physical conditions should not be recommended or incentivised until more robust evidence of improved patient outcomes resulting from the changes case finding is likely to drive, especially in prescribing, and acceptability to professionals becomes available.
Vitamin E Intake and Pancreatic Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

Background Some epidemiological studies have suggested that vitamin E intake reduces the risk of pancreatic cancer; however, this conclusion has not been supported by all the published studies. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between vitamin E intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer by combining the results from published articles. Material/Methods We searched the published studies that reported the relationship between vitamin E intake and pancreatic cancer risk using the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases through December 31st, 2014. Based on a fixed-effects or random-effects model, the RR and 95% CI were used to assess the combined risk. Results In total, 10 observational studies (6 case-control studies and 4 cohort studies) were included. The overall RR (95% CI) of pancreatic cancer for the highest vs. the lowest level of vitamin E intake was 0.81 (0.73, 0.89). We found little evidence of heterogeneity (I2=19.8%, P=0.255). In the subgroup analyses, we found an inverse association between vitamin E intake and pancreatic cancer risk both in the case-control and cohort studies. Additionally, this inverse association was not modified by different populations. Conclusions In our meta-analysis, there was an inverse association between vitamin E intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer. A high level of vitamin E might be a protective factor for populations at risk for pancreatic cancer.
The role of values in pre-service teachers’ intentions for professional engagement

Abstract This study investigated inclusion of epistemic value into Richardson and Watt Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) framework to produce a more robust, useful teacher motivation model. We specifically examined pre-service teachers’ social utility value (SUV), personal utility value (PUV) and epistemic value regarding pursuing future professional engagement and development. Using principal axis factoring, we found four main factors: PUV, SUV, epistemic value—future value of knowledge (EVF) and persistence/satisfaction. These factors were then used in a structural equation model (SEM) to predict pre-service teachers’ intentions to pursue future professional engagement. Results provided the following three insights: (a) SUV was the most consistent, positive predictor of professional engagement and predicted all dependent variables; (b) EVF was a newly identified factor and a positive predictor of pre-service teachers’ desire to pursue a leadership position and (c) PUV negatively predicted planned effort and a desire to pursue a leadership position.
Parenting and child competence: A longitudinal investigation of the moderating influences of ethnicity, family socioeconomic status, and neighborhood quality

PARENTING AND CHILD COMPETENCE: A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF THE MODERATING INFLUENCES OF ETHNICITY, FAMILY SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND NEIGHBORHOOD QUALITY by Eric Dealing University o f New Hampshire, May, 2001 Although there is considerable evidence that parenting influences the behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social development o f children, the effects o f some parenting behaviors may not be universal. In the present study, child ethnicity, family socioeconomic status, neighborhood quality (i.e., crime and median income), and cumulative risk (i.e., composite o f family socioeconomic status and neighborhood quality) were modeled as potential moderators o f associations between parenting (i.e., maternal sensitivity and traditional values) and four child outcomes (i.e., behavior problems, depression, loneliness, and school performance). Pathways o f mediation for these parenting measures were also explored. In addition, age trends in neighborhood effects were examined. Neighborhood quality moderated the effects o f traditional parenting values and cumulative risk moderated the effects o f maternal sensitivity. More specifically, high levels o f traditional parenting values were associated with positive outcomes for children who lived in poor quality neighborhoods and negative outcomes for children who lived in high quality neighborhoods. Further, high levels o f maternal sensitivity were associated with positive outcomes for children who lived in high-risk
Bashkirian Rugosa (Anthozoa) from the Donets Basin (Ukraine). Part 8. The Family Kumpanophyllidae Fomichev, 1953

The Family Kumpanophyllidae Fomichev, 1953, synonymised by Hill (1981) with the Family Aulophyllidae Dybowski, 1873, is emended and accepted as valid. The new concept of this family, based on both new collections and discussion on literature data, confirms the solitary growth form of its type genus Kumpanophyllum Fomichev, 1953. However, several fasciculate colonial taxa, so far assigned to various families, may belong to this family as well. The emended genus Kumpanophyllum forms a widely distributed taxon, present in Eastern and Western Europe and in Asia. Its Serpukhovian and Bashkirian occurrences in China vs Bashkirian occurrences in the Donets Basin and in Spain, may suggest its far-Asiatic origin, but none of the existing taxa can be suggested as ancestral for that genus. Thus, the suborder position of the Kumpanophyllidae remains unknown. Four new species: K. columellatum , K. decessum , K. levis , and K. praecox , three Kumpanophyllum species left in open nomenclature and one offsetting specimen, questionably assigned to the genus, are described.
3′-Deoxy-3′-[18F]-Fluorothymidine PET Imaging Reflects PI3K-mTOR-Mediated Pro-Survival Response to Targeted Therapy in Colorectal Cancer

Biomarkers that predict response to targeted therapy in oncology are an essential component of personalized medicine. In preclinical treatment response studies that featured models of wild-type KRAS or mutant BRAF colorectal cancer treated with either cetuximab or vemurafenib, respectively, we illustrate that [18F]-FLT PET, a non-invasive molecular imaging readout of thymidine salvage, closely reflects pro-survival responses to targeted therapy that are mediated by PI3K-mTOR activity. Activation of pro-survival mechanisms forms the basis of numerous modes of resistance. Therefore, we conclude that [18F]-FLT PET may serve a novel and potentially critical role to predict tumors that exhibit molecular features that tend to reflect recalcitrance to MAPK-targeted therapy. Though these studies focused on colorectal cancer, we envision that the results may be applicable to other solid tumors as well.
DOF-Decoupled Active Force Sensing (D-DAFS): A human-inspired approach to touch-based localisation tasks

In the context of touch-based object localisation in structured environments, solving the full 6D problem is computationally expensive as complexity scales exponentially with the number of degrees of freedom. Previous related works provided solutions to problems whose initial uncertainty was bounded by the computational feasibility for on-line applications. Observing the results of an experiment in which human beings face a blind localisation task, a new planning approach, named DOF-Decoupled Active Force Sensing (D-DAFS), is presented for such robotics applications. Specifically, the whole task is divided into a sequence of subtasks, each of them focused on reducing a piece of uncertainty, so that the resolution of the inference model can be increased accordingly. This allows a better allocation of resources, focusing on adopting the most accurate, thus expensive, scheme only when the uncertainty is sufficiently low for on-line calculations. The proposed methodology has been applied to perform a 3-DOF localisation with a Staubli RX90 robot, and a series of simulations have been run to prove its effectiveness in coping with high initial uncertainty avoiding computational overheads.
phenotypic diversity in budding yeast Integrative phenomics reveals insight into the structure of Material Supplemental

Material Supplemental http://genome.cshlp. org/content/suppl/2013/06/25/gr.155762. 113.DC1. html References http://genome.cshlp. org/content/23/9/1496.full. html#ref-list-1 This article cites 46 articles, 10 of which can be accessed free at: Open Access Open Access option. Genome Research Freely available online through the License Commons Creative . http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ License (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported), as described at , is available under a Creative Commons Genome Research This article, published in
Linear Taylor–Couette stability of a transversely isotropic fluid

Fibre-laden fluids are found in a variety of situations, while Couette devices are used for flow spectroscopy of long biological molecules, such as DNA and proteins in suspension. The presence of these fibres can significantly alter the rheology of the fluid, and hence must be incorporated in any modelling undertaken. A transversely isotropic fluid treats these suspensions as a continuum with an evolving preferred direction, through a modified stress tensor incorporating four viscosity-like parameters. We consider the axisymmetric linear stability of a transversely isotropic viscous fluid, contained between two rotating co-axial cylinders, and determine the critical wave and Taylor numbers for varying gap width and inner cylinder velocity (assuming the outer cylinder is fixed). Through the inclusion of transversely isotropic effects, the onset of instability is delayed, increasing the range of stable operating regimes. This effect is felt most strongly through incorporation of the anisotropic shear viscosity, although the anisotropic extensional viscosity also contributes. The changes to the rheology induced by the presence of the fibres therefore significantly alter the dynamics of the system, and hence should not be neglected.
Reimagining alienation within a relational framework: evidence from the public sector in Ireland and the UK

Abstract This paper provides a counterbalance to the emphasis on positive psychology within recent HRM scholarship by utilizing a relational framework to explore the antecedents and outcomes of alienation. We focus on the associations between relational features of work – prosocial impact, employee voice and role overload – and job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion and explore whether alienation mediates these relationships. Drawing on data from two public sector organizations in Ireland and the UK (n = 1455), our findings show that the relationships between these three work features and job satisfaction are fully mediated by alienation. In the case of emotional exhaustion, our findings indicate that perceptions of the relational elements of prosocial impact and employee voice may give rise to higher levels of exhaustion where employees are alienated. The study’s contribution lies in its identification of alienation as an important mechanism through which relational work features influence well-being. In addition, by drawing on a relational framework utilised within the engagement literature, the study makes a first attempt in drawing alienation into the wider nomological net proffered by the engagement literature. Thus, it provides new insights into the nature and importance of understanding alienation in contemporary workplaces.
Validation of Self-Report Pain Scales in Children

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Faces Pain Scale–Revised (FPS-R) and Color Analog Scale (CAS) are self-report pain scales commonly used in children but insufficiently validated in the emergency department setting. Our objectives were to determine the psychometric properties (convergent validity, discriminative validity, responsivity, and reliability) of the FPS-R and CAS, and to determine whether degree of validity varied based on age, sex, and ethnicity. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational study of English- and Spanish-speaking children ages 4 to 17 years. Children with painful conditions indicated their pain severity on the FPS-R and CAS before and 30 minutes after analgesia. We assessed convergent validity (Pearson correlations, Bland-Altman method), discriminative validity (comparing pain scores in children with pain against those without pain), responsivity (comparing pain scores pre- and postanalgesia), and reliability (Pearson correlations, repeatability coefficient). RESULTS: Of 620 patients analyzed, mean age was 9.2 ± 3.8 years, 291(46.8%) children were girls, 341(55%) were Hispanic, and 313(50.5%) were in the younger age group (<8 years). Pearson correlation was 0.85, with higher correlation in older children and girls. Lower convergent validity was noted in children <7 years of age. All subgroups based on age, sex, and ethnicity demonstrated discriminative validity and responsivity for both scales. Reliability was acceptable for both the FPS-R and CAS. CONCLUSIONS: The FPS-R and CAS overall demonstrate strong psychometric properties in children ages 4 to 17 years, and between subgroups based on age, sex, and ethnicity. Convergent validity was questionable in children <7 years old.
You Are What Apps You Use: Demographic Prediction Based on User's Apps

Understanding the demographics of app users is crucial, for example, for app developers, who wish to target their advertisements more effectively. Our work addresses this need by studying the predictability of user demographics based on the list of a user's apps which is readily available to many app developers. We extend previous work on the problem on three frontiers: (1) We predict new demographics (age, race, and income) and analyze the most informative apps for four demographic attributes included in our analysis. The most predictable attribute is gender (82.3 % accuracy), whereas the hardest to predict is income (60.3 % accuracy). (2) We compare several dimensionality reduction methods for high-dimensional app data, finding out that an unsupervised method yields superior results compared to aggregating the apps at the app category level, but the best results are obtained simply by the raw list of apps. (3) We look into the effect of the training set size and the number of apps on the predictability and show that both of these factors have a large impact on the prediction accuracy. The predictability increases, or in other words, a user's privacy decreases, the more apps the user has used, but somewhat surprisingly, after 100 apps, the prediction accuracy starts to decrease.
RCMP: Enabling Efficient Recomputation Based Failure Resilience for Big Data Analytics

Data replication, the main failure resilience strategy used for big data analytics jobs, can be unnecessarily inefficient. It can cause serious performance degradation when applied to intermediate job outputs in multi-job computations. For instance, for I/O-intensive big data jobs, data replication is especially expensive because very large datasets need to be replicated. Reducing the number of replicas is not a satisfactory solution as it only aggravates a fundamental limitation of data replication: its failure resilience guarantees are limited by the number of available replicas. When all replicas of some piece of intermediate job output are lost, cascading job recomputations may be required for recovery. In this paper we show how job recomputation can be made a first-order failure resilience strategy for big data analytics. The need for data replication can thus be significantly reduced. We present RCMP, a system that performs efficient job recomputation. RCMP can persist task outputs across jobs and leverage them to minimize the work performed during job recomputations. More importantly, RCMP addresses two important challenges that appear during job recomputations. The first is efficiently utilizing the available compute node parallelism. The second is dealing with hot-spots. RCMP handles both by switching to a finer-grained task scheduling granularity for recomputations. Our experiments show that RCMP's benefits hold across two different clusters, for job inputs as small as 40GB or as large as 1.2TB. Compared to RCMP, data replication is 30%-100% worse during failure-free periods. More importantly, by efficiently performing recomputations, RCMP is comparable or better even under single and double data loss events.