Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry, RIA, and ELISA Methods for Measurement of Urinary Estrogens

Absolute and relative concentrations of estrogens and estrogen metabolites are important for clinical decisions as well as for epidemiologic, experimental, and clinical research on hormonal carcinogenesis. RIA and ELISA are routinely used for measuring estrogen metabolites in blood and urine due to efficiency and low cost. Here, we compare absolute and ranked concentrations of estrone, estradiol, and estriol measured by indirect RIA and of 2-hydroxyestrone and 16α-hydroxyestrone measured by ELISA to the concentrations obtained using a novel liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method, which measures 15 estrogen metabolites concurrently. We used overnight urine samples collected from control women (362 premenopausal and 168 postmenopausal) participating in a population-based case-control study of breast cancer among Asian American women ages 20 to 55 years. When comparing RIA or ELISA levels to LC-MS/MS, absolute concentrations for the five estrogen metabolites ranged from 1.6 to 2.9 and 1.4 to 11.8 times higher in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, respectively (all P < 0.0001). However, LC-MS/MS measurements were highly correlated [Spearman r (rs) = 0.8-0.9] with RIA and ELISA measurements in premenopausal women and moderately correlated (rs = 0.4-0.8) in postmenopausal women. Measurements of the 2-hydroxyestrone:16α-hydroxyestrone ratio, a putative biomarker of breast cancer risk, were moderately correlated in premenopausal women (rs = 0.6-0.7) but only weakly correlated in postmenopausal women (rs = 0.2). LC-MS/MS had higher intraclass correlation coefficients (≥99.6%) and lower coefficients of variation (≤9.4%) than ELISA (≥97.2% and ≤14.2%) and RIA (≥95.2% and ≤17.8%). Comparison with the LC-MS/MS method suggests that the widely used RIA and ELISA estrogen metabolite measures may be problematic, especially at low estrogen metabolite levels characteristic of postmenopausal women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(1); 292–300
Evaluation de la pertinence dans un système de recommandation sémantique de nouvelles économiques

De nos jours dans les secteurs commerciaux et financiers la veille electronique d’articles economiques est cruciale. Maintenir une veille efficace implique de cibler les articles a consulter, car la charge d’information est importante. Pour repondre a cette problematique, nous proposons un systeme novateur de recommandation d’articles, car il s’appuie sur l’integration d’une description semantique des items et des profils bases sur une modelisation ontologique des connaissances. Nous appuyons notre systeme de recommandation sur un modele vectoriel intrinsequement efficace que nous avons perfectionne pour pallier la confusion native de ces modeles entre les notions de similarite et de pertinence qui ne permet pas de prendre en compte les effets de la difference dans la precision des descriptions semantiques des profils et articles, sur la perception de la pertinence pour l’utilisateur. Nous presentons donc dans cet article une nouvelle methode d’evaluation de la pertinence adaptee au modele vectoriel.
The Light Gradients Inside Soybean Leaves and Their Effect on the Curvature Factor of the Light Response Curves of Photosynthesis

ABSTRACT Light gradients within leaves are not included in the model of Farquhar, although a steep light gradient does exist within leaves. For a bifacial leaf, the model shows good agreement with measured data, but for an isobilateral leaf the model may underestimate photosynthesis measured by conventional gas exchange. Isobilateral leaves easily developed when plants were grown in growth chambers where some light were reflected from the growth chamber metal base onto the lower surface of the leaves during growth, resulting in adjustment of the photosynthetic capacity inside the leaves. This could also happen in the field when canopy is very sparse and lower surface of leaves was exposed to reflected light from soil surface. Complications occurred when fitting the light response curves of the electron transport rate, due to the interaction between the quantum yield of electron transport (a2) and the curvature factor (Θ). It is suspected that there may be an interaction with the light gradient within the leaf. This manuscript discusses the effect of a light gradient inside a soybean leaf on the estimation of Θ. It is shown in the manuscript how the light curves of the isobilateral leaves (at different degree) responded when measured using conventional gas exchange and how it affected the estimation of Θ and the electron transport capacity, Jmax. An experiment was conducted to prove the hypothesis that this “out of ordinary” estimate of Θ (and hence Jmax) was due to the unmatched distribution of photosynthetic capacity with distribution of absorbed light. Keywords : light gradient / photosynthetic capacity (Jmax) / curvature factor (Θ) / gas exchange
Orbit-counting in non-hyperbolic dynamical systems

Abstract There are well-known analogues of the prime number theorem and Mertens' Theorem for dynamical systems with hyperbolic behaviour. Here we consider the same question for the simplest non-hyperbolic algebraic systems. The asymptotic behaviour of the orbit-counting function is governed by a rotation on an associated compact group, and in simple examples we exhibit uncountably many different asymptotic growth rates for the orbit-counting function. Mertens' Theorem also holds in this setting, with an explicit rational leading coefficient obtained from arithmetic properties of the non-hyperbolic eigendirections. The proof of the dynamical analogue of Mertens' Theorem uses transcendence theory and Dirichlet characters.
Promoting Community Preparedness: Lessons Learned From the Implementation of a Chemical Disaster Tabletop Exercise

Health educators are frequently called on to facilitate community preparedness planning. One planning tool is community-wide tabletop exercises. Tabletop exercises can improve the preparedness of public health system agencies to address disaster by bringing together individuals representing organizations with different roles and perspectives in specific disasters. Thus, they have the opportunity to identify each other’s roles, capabilities, and limitations and to problem-solve about how to address the gaps and overlaps in a low-threat collaborative setting. In 2005, the North Carolina Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response developed a series of exercises to test the preparedness for chemical disasters in a metropolitan region in the southeastern United States. A tabletop exercise allowed agency heads to meet in an environment promoting inter- and intraagency public—private coordination and cooperation. The evaluation results reported here suggest ways in which any tabletop exercise can be enhanced through recruitment, planning, and implementation.
Categorization of infant-directed speech: development from 4 to 6 months.

To extend a previous finding that 6-month-old infants categorized low-pass filtered infant-directed (ID) utterances, we examined a) 6-month-old infants' categorization of more naturalistic, unfiltered ID utterances and b) the developmental progression of ID-speech categorization. In Experiment 1, 6-month-olds heard seven different unfiltered tokens from one class of ID utterance (approving or comforting), followed by a novel token from either the same or an unfamiliar category. Infants recovered, responding only to the unfamiliar category token, suggesting that they categorized naturalistic ID utterances. Four-month-olds' categorization of filtered and unfiltered versions of the ID utterances was assessed in Experiments 2 and 4. Four-month-olds did not recover, responding to a test token from an unfamiliar class, suggesting that they did not categorize either filtered or unfiltered ID utterances. Experiment 3 demonstrated that 4-month-old infants' failure to categorize did not result from their inability to complete the procedure. These results suggest that infants' processing of ID speech changes from 4 to 6 months of age.
Memristor based computation-in-memory architecture for data-intensive applications

One of the most critical challenges for today's and future data-intensive and big-data problems is data storage and analysis. This paper first highlights some challenges of the new born Big Data paradigm and shows that the increase of the data size has already surpassed the capabilities of today's computation architectures suffering from the limited bandwidth, programmability overhead, energy inefficiency, and limited scalability. Thereafter, the paper introduces a new memristor-based architecture for data-intensive applications. The potential of such an architecture in solving data-intensive problems is illustrated by showing its capability to increase the computation efficiency, solving the communication bottleneck, reducing the leakage currents, etc. Finally, the paper discusses why memristor technology is very suitable for the realization of such an architecture; using memristors to implement dual functions (storage and logic) is illustrated.
Quality differences between private for-profit, private non-profit and public hospitals in Norway: a retrospective national register-based study of acute readmission rates following total hip and knee arthroplasties

Objectives To compare the quality of care—using unplanned acute hospital readmissions as a quality measure—among patients treated at private for-profit hospitals (PFPs), private non-profit hospitals (PNPs) and public hospitals (PUBs) in Norway. Design A retrospective comparative study using the Norwegian Patient Register. Readmissions were evaluated by logistic regressions both using adjustment for various patient-level and other covariates, and a two-stage model using distance as an instrumental variable. Setting The Norwegian healthcare system. Population All publicly financed patients having primary total hip (37 897 patients) or primary total knee arthroplasty (25 802 patients) at one of the three hospital types from 2009 to 2014. Primary outcome measure 30-day unplanned acute hospital readmission rate. Results We found highest readmission rates among PUBs and lowest among PFPs, for both procedures. However, the patients were on average more than 2 years younger at PFPs. PFPs also treated the least severe patients, while PUBs treated the most severe. Using adjustment for various patient-level and other covariates, compared to PUBs, both PFPs and PNPs had lower odds of readmission following both procedures. However, using the instrumental variable method, the only significant difference found was a lower odds of readmission at PNPs among hip patients when compared with PUBs. No patients in our data set were readmitted to PFPs, those originally treated at PFPs were readmitted to either PNPs or PUBs, and PUBs received most of the readmitted patients across hospital types. Conclusions Quality differences between hospital types were small; however, PNPs had significantly lower readmission rates compared with PUBs among patients having total hip arthroplasty. PUBs received the larger part of the readmitted patients across hospital types and thus play an essential role in the care of more complex patients and for readmissions, regardless of any quality differences.
RhoA-JNK Regulates the E-Cadherin Junctions of Human Gingival Epithelial Cells

The junctional epithelium (JE) is unique with regard to its wide intercellular spaces and sparsely developed intercellular junctions. Thus, knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that regulate the formation of the intercellular junctions of the junctional epithelium may be essential to understand the pathophysiology of the JE. HOK-16B cells, a normal human gingival epithelial cell line, were used to identify the molecules involved in the regulation of the formation of intercellular E-cadherin junctions between human gingival epithelial cells. Activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) disrupted the intercellular junctions through the dissociation of E-cadherin. The role of JNK in the formation of these E-cadherin junctions was further confirmed by demonstrating that JNK inhibition induced the formation of intercellular E-cadherin junctions. The upstream signaling of JNK was also examined. Activation of the small GTPase RhoA disrupted the formation of E-cadherin junctions between HOK-16B cells, which was accompanied by JNK activation. Disruption of these intercellular junctions upon RhoA activation was prevented when JNK activity was inhibited. In contrast, RhoA inactivation led to HOK-16B cell aggregation and the formation of intercellular junctions, even under conditions in which the cellular junctions were naturally disrupted by growth on a strongly adhesive surface. Furthermore, the JE of mouse molars had high JNK activity associated with low E-cadherin expression, which was reversed in the other gingival epithelia, including the sulcular epithelium. Interestingly, JNK activity was increased in cells grown on a solid surface, where cells showed higher RhoA activity than those grown on soft surfaces. Together, these results indicate that the decreased formation of intercellular E-cadherin junctions within the JE may be coupled to high JNK activity, which is activated by the upregulation of RhoA on solid tooth surfaces.
Sociodemographic predictors of HPV testing and vaccination acceptability: results from a population-representative sample of British women

Objectives To examine sociodemographic predictors of self-reported screening attendance, intention to accept human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and willingness to accept vaccination for a daughter under 16. Setting Home-based, computer-assisted interviews with a population representative sample of British women. Methods Participants were selected using random probability sampling of the Postcode Address File, 994 women aged 25–64 were included in these analyses. Women reported their attendance at cervical screening and intention to accept an HPV test. A subsample of those with a daughter under 16 years (n = 296) reported their willingness to accept HPV vaccination for their daughter. Results Screening attendance was associated with education level (odds ratio [OR] = 1.66, confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.07–2.56) and being married (OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.37–3.03). Acceptance of HPV testing was predicted by regular attendance for cervical screening (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.03–2.42) and being from a white background (OR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.18–4.13). Daughter's age was the only predictor of HPV vaccine acceptance, with mothers whose youngest daughter was 13–16 years old being the most likely to accept vaccination (OR = 2.91, 95% CI: 1.27–6.65). Conclusion In contrast to screening attendance, ethnicity plays an important role in HPV testing. Specific cultural barriers should be identified and addressed to ensure ethnic disparities in testing are limited. While marital status is associated with screening attendance, HPV testing could overcome this bias. Sociodemographic variables seem to play a limited role in HPV vaccine acceptance among mothers making vaccine decisions for their daughters, but as with other studies, age of daughter is important. The scientific reasons for vaccinating at 12–13 years should be emphasized in HPV information.
Global Change and the Biodiversity of Freshwater Ecosystems: Impacts on Linkages between Above-Sediment and Sediment Biota

disturbances varying in strength, frequency, predictability, duration, and spatial scale. Such disturbances can deplete the biota, disrupt ecological processes, and redistribute resources (Giller 1996, Lake 2000). Generally, in both lakes and rivers, recovery from the effects of natural disturbance is relatively rapid, although there are exceptions, such as recovery from catastrophes on the scale of the Mount St. Helens eruption (Niemi et al. 1990, Giller 1996). Human activities are now a major force affecting the ecosystems of the earth (Vitousek et al. 1997, Sala et al. 2000). Human enterprises—agriculture, industry, recreation, and international commerce—are the source of disturbances affecting all ecosystems to varying spatial extents and to varying degrees. The disturbances arise from changes in land use, anthropogenic changes in global biogeochemistry, and biotic additions and losses (Vitousek et al. 1997). These three factors are the principal agents of global environmental change. Furthermore, they interact to give rise to the two large-scale phenomena of climate change and loss of biodiversity (Vitousek et al. 1997). Freshwater sediment biota are particularly vulnerable to global change because of direct impact on the sediments and on the water over these sediments, and because of the transmission of impacts from adjacent terrestrial ecosystems. Fresh waters are intimately connected to the terrestrial realm through groundwaters and surface waters. Movement of organic matter, nutrients, and sediment among the terrestrial realm, the water column, and aquatic sediments
Accurately decoding visual information from fMRI data obtained in a realistic virtual environment

Three-dimensional interactive virtual environments (VEs) are a powerful tool for brain-imaging based cognitive neuroscience that are presently under-utilized. This paper presents machine-learning based methods for identifying brain states induced by realistic VEs with improved accuracy as well as the capability for mapping their spatial topography on the neocortex. VEs provide the ability to study the brain under conditions closer to the environment in which humans evolved, and thus to probe deeper into the complexities of human cognition. As a test case, we designed a stimulus to reflect a military combat situation in the Middle East, motivated by the potential of using real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Each subject experienced moving through the virtual town where they encountered 1–6 animated combatants at different locations, while fMRI data was collected. To analyze the data from what is, compared to most studies, more complex and less controlled stimuli, we employed statistical machine learning in the form of Multi-Voxel Pattern Analysis (MVPA) with special attention given to artificial Neural Networks (NN). Extensions to NN that exploit the block structure of the stimulus were developed to improve the accuracy of the classification, achieving performances from 58 to 93% (chance was 16.7%) with six subjects. This demonstrates that MVPA can decode a complex cognitive state, viewing a number of characters, in a dynamic virtual environment. To better understand the source of this information in the brain, a novel form of sensitivity analysis was developed to use NN to quantify the degree to which each voxel contributed to classification. Compared with maps produced by general linear models and the searchlight approach, these sensitivity maps revealed a more diverse pattern of information relevant to the classification of cognitive state.
Search, similarity, and integration of features between and within dimensions.

Three experiments test the claim that conjunction search is difficult only because the target resembles each distractor, whereas the distractors are highly discriminable from each other. The results show that when similarity is controlled, there is an additional difficulty created by the need to conjoin features. In addition, a target with standard values (blue and vertical) is found more easily than targets with nonstandard values (e.g., violet and tilted). Similarity may result in shared components in the functional codes that represent the targets and the distractors. A hypothesis that is based on coarse coding of features values relates the difficulty of feature search with nonstandard targets to problems in coding conjunctions of features within dimensions. Consistent with this account, illusory targets are reported not only in the usual conjunction displays but also in displays containing different features that may share the same underlying components.
Prognostic factors in adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in adults presents a formidable challenge. While overall results have improved over the past 3 decades, the long‐term survival for patients aged less than 60 years is only in the range of 30–40% and is 10–15% if between 60 and 70 years and <5% for those over 70 years. The historic lack of clear‐cut biological prognostic factors has led to over‐ or under‐treatment of some patients. Response to initial therapy is an important prognosticator of outcome based on disease biology, as well as pharmacogenetics, which include the patient’s response to drugs given. The more widespread availability of allogeneic transplantation and reduced‐intensity regimens for older patients have opened up this curative modality to a greater number of patients. Hopefully, those options, as well as novel cytogenetic and molecular markers, will enable a better selection of patients who undergo intensive therapies and finally break the 30–40% cure barrier for adults with ALL.
Casual mobile games for the elderly : a usability study

The elderly population is increasing in Brazil. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in the last ten years the elderly population increased 47,8% while the increasing proportion in the overall population was 21,6%. This fact raises the need for new forms of leisure and entertainment for this audience. Casual games on smartphones constitute an option for them. This paper presents the results of a usability evaluation of casual games for smartphones, considering the elderly. Each elderly who participated in the evaluation was asked to play five casual games installed on a smartphone and also to answer questionnaires. The contents of these questionnaires were based on a set of heuristics, obtained by the analysis and organization of guidelines collected from the literature, as well as other issues proposed by the authors. This study aimed to evaluate whether the set of used heuristics is valid to assess the usability of casual games on mobile device, focusing on the elderly. The results point to the need of interface adjustments on mobile casual games for the use by the elderly and also the need of exploring more this topic.
Mosaic bacterial chromosomes: a challenge en route to a tree of genomes.

In a recent analysis J.G. Lawrence and H. Ochman [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1998;95:9413-9417 (Reference 1)] surmised that about 10% of the current E. coli genome consists of genes that were acquired in over 200 events of lateral gene transfer, which occurred subsequent to the divergence of E. coli and Salmonella some 100 million years ago. Overall, the data suggest that no less than 18% of E. coli's genes might be relatively recent foreign acquisitions, and that the average rate of acquisition may be close to about 16 kb per million years. These quantitative estimates of comparatively recent genome flux have profound impact on evolutionary genome comparisons. They tend to suggest that a search should be on to identify principles that might ultimately govern gene distribution patterns across prokaryotic genomes.