Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differentiation of mammographically suspicious lesions: evaluation of breast ultrasound, MRI mammography and electrical impedance scanning as adjunctive technologies in breast cancer detection.

AIM Various modalities are used as an adjunct to mammography for differentiation of potentially suspicious breast lesions. Electrical impedance scanning (EIS) is a new technique based upon the principle that cancer cells exhibit altered local dielectric properties and thus show measurably higher conductivity values. The accuracy of differentiation of benign and malignant breast lesions was evaluated to determine whether EIS duplicates or supplements the results obtainable from ultrasound (US) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred mammographically suspicious lesions were examined using US, MRI and EIS. Definitive histology was acquired through either lesion biopsy or surgical excision. RESULTS Fifty of 62 malignant lesions were correctly identified using EIS (81% overall sensitivity), 24/38 benign lesions were correctly identified as benign (63% specificity). Negative predictive value and positive predictive value of 67 and 78% were observed, respectively. kappa-factor evaluation revealed a value of 0.82 between MRI and EIS and 0.62 between US and EIS. CONCLUSIONS EIS may be a valuable adjunct for differentiation of suspicious mammographic lesions. Based upon the calculated kappa-factor, EIS results supplement US examinations. Artifacts (superficial skin lesions, poor contact, air bubbles) currently result in the high false-positive rate of EIS.
Rat T cell responses to superantigens. II. Allelic differences in V beta 8.2 and V beta 8.5 beta chains determine responsiveness to staphylococcal enterotoxin B and mouse mammary tumor virus-encoded products

The previous paper in this series demonstrates that rat T cells developing de novo in the presence of mouse mammary tumor virus (Mtv) antigens in rat-->severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse xenochimeras display a distinct pattern of V beta-restricted deletion; this deletion pattern is remarkably similar to that occurring during thymic development of mouse T cells in Mtv+ strains. In addition, T cells developing in the absence of Mtv antigens in these rat-->mouse xenochimeras are tolerant of host antigens, but show strong primary proliferative responses in cultures stimulated with Mtv-7+ (Mlsa) mouse cells; like the mouse, these rat T cell responses are dominated by V beta 6 and V beta 8 T cells. Here, we continue analysis of rat T cell responses to superantigens; we show that T cells from Lewis and Fischer 344 rats expressing V beta 8.2 display an important all-or-nothing difference in their responses to Mtv-7 superantigens. This all-or-none strain difference in the response to Mtv-7 applies also to the response by V beta 8.2 and V beta 8.5 T cells to the soluble superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin B. Because these two rat strains express different alleles of these two V beta 8 family members, this finding identifies additional, hitherto unreported residues of the T cell receptor beta chain important in T cell responses to superantigens.
Plasma Coagulation Markers in Patients with Solid Tumors and Venous Thromboembolic Disease Receiving Oral Anticoagulation Therapy

Purpose: To correlate the concentration of plasma coagulation markers at baseline and during follow-up in patients with solid tumors and venous thromboembolic disease with the risk of recurrence and death. Experimental Design: Patients (N = 223) with first episode of venous thromboembolic disease received oral anticoagulation with warfarin for a target international normalized ratio of 2 to 3. Plasma coagulation markers were measured before instituting warfarin and at 3 monthly intervals, thereafter. Results: The median duration of oral anticoagulation was 6.7 months (range 2 weeks to 11 months). Major bleeding episodes occurred in 18 patients (8%), and minor hemorrhagic events occurred in 15 (6.7%) patients. Patients with advanced malignancy (P = 0.032), history of surgery (P = 0.057), and those with poor performance status (P = 0.001) were more likely to encounter major bleeding episodes. Recurrence of venous thromboembolic disease was diagnosed in 31 patients (14%). At univariate analysis, advanced stage of cancer (P = 0.03), performance status > 1 (P = 0.001), treatment with chemotherapy (P = 0.01), the presence of metastatic liver disease (P = 0.03), higher d-dimer (P = 0.001), and thrombin antithrombin complex levels (P = 0.01) were features predictive of recurrent venous thromboembolic disease. At multivariate analysis, poor performance status (P = 0.01) and d-dimer levels (P = 0.001) were predictors of recurrent venous thromboembolic disease. Persistent activation of coagulation as indicated by an upward trend in d-dimer (P = 0.001) and antithrombin (P = 0.001) was observed in patients who developed recurrent thrombosis. Similar upward trends in d-dimer (P = 0.001), antithrombin (P = 0.001), and prothrombin fragment F1 + 2 (P = 0.001) was observed in the 76 patients who died during the study period and in the patients who received chemotherapy. Conclusions: Successful oral anticoagulation with warfarin in patients with cancer and venous thromboembolic disease is more likely to be achieved in patients with early stage tumors and good performance status. The persistence of activation of hemostasis as shown by plasma coagulation markers is a strong predictor of recurrence and poor outcome.
Narratives of teacher stress : the impact of the changing context of professional work

In our daily lives we all experience forms of stress and as humans, we are equipped with internal mechanisms to react to the phenomenon. We utilize tactics that are recognised as ̀ fight or flight' depending upon how we perceive the threat and we employ them accordingly. However, when we are unable to meet the challenges placed upon us, when they form a barrier to our achievement and progress, we become overwhelmed and are susceptible to the detrimental effects of stress. The past two decades have witnessed rapid technological advances and we are thus connected to a global set of networks. Education has had to change in order to compete with a global market that requires new skills. Teaching and what teachers do have come under scrutiny in terms of audit to ensure that a `World-Class' education system is being delivered. As a result there has been an increase in teacher workload and the profession has become re-defined in order to meet contemporary needs. Recent research by government led bodies supports the need to address teacher workload as a major cause of stress. One result has seen the development of the Workload Agreement (2003) aimed at easing the everincreasing demands placed upon teachers. Whether this measure will be enough to address the difficulties surrounding teaching in a post-modem society remains to be seen. This inquiry focuses on teachers who have experienced work place stress which is a widely recognised phenomenon and has its own particular features. In revealing key issues surrounding teachers and their workload this study aims to uncover the particular features of teacher stress with
Target Scattering Decomposition in Terms of Roll-Invariant Target Parameters

The Kennaugh-Huynen scattering matrix con-diagonalization is projected into the Pauli basis to derive a new scattering vector model for the representation of coherent target scattering. This model permits a polarization basis invariant representation of coherent target scattering in terms of five independent target parameters, the magnitude and phase of the symmetric scattering type introduced in this paper, and the maximum polarization parameters (orientation, helicity, and maximum return). The new scattering vector model served for the assessment of the Cloude-Pottier incoherent target decomposition. Whereas the Cloude-Pottier scattering type alpha and entropy H are roll invariant, beta and the so-called target-phase parameters do depend on the target orientation angle for asymmetric scattering. The scattering vector model is then used as the basis for the development of new coherent and incoherent target decompositions in terms of unique and roll-invariant target parameters. It is shown that both the phase and magnitude of the symmetric scattering type should be used for an unambiguous description of symmetric target scattering. Target helicity is required for the assessment of the symmetry-asymmetry nature of target scattering. The symmetric scattering type phase is shown to be very promising for wetland classification in particular, using polarimetric Convair-580 synthetic aperture radar data collected over the Ramsar Mer Bleue wetland site to the east of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
ROC Graphs: Notes and Practical Considerations for Data Mining Researchers

Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) graphs are a useful technique for organizing classifiers and visualizing their performance. ROC graphs are commonly used in medical decision making, and in recent years have been increasingly adopted in the machine learning and data mining research communities. Although ROC graphs are apparently simple, there are some common misconceptions and pitfalls when using them in practice. This article serves both as a tutorial introduction to ROC graphs and as a practical guide for using them in research.
The Open University ’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs Modelled natural and excess radiocarbon : Sensitivities to the gas exchange formulation and ocean transport strength

Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online's data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. [1] Observation-based surface ocean D 14 C distributions and regional inventories for excess, bomb-produced radiocarbon are compared with results of two ocean models of intermediate complexity. By applying current descriptions of the air-sea gas exchange the models produce similar column inventories for excess 14 C among all basins. This result is robust across a wide range of transport parameter settings, but inconsistent with data-based inventories. In the absence of evidence of fundamentally different gas exchange mechanisms in the North Atlantic than in the other basins, we infer regional North Atlantic 14 C inventories which are considerably smaller than previous estimates. The results further suggest that the gas exchange velocity field should be reduced by (19 ± 16)%, which corresponds to a global mean air-sea gas transfer rate for CO 2 in seawater of 17.1 ± 3.3 cm h À1 , to find good agreement of simulated quantities with a range of data-based metrics.
Influences of zinc on fertilisation and development of bovine oocytes in vitro

The effects of zinc (as ZnCl2) on in vitro production of bovine embryos (IVMFC) and components of the procedure, that is in vitro oocyte maturation (IVM), fertilisation (IVF) and embryo development in culture (IVC), and the effect of added zinc on sperm motility were studied. Immature cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were aspirated from ovarian follicles (2-5 mm diameter) at slaughter, and matured, fertilised and cultured in chemically defined conditions. The presence of zinc (10, 100 or 1000 μg added per millilitre) throughout IVMFC inhibited fertilisation. After addition of 10 μg zinc per millilitre separately to media for IVM and IVF, fertilisation was inhibited only when zinc was present for IVM. When present for IVF, 80% of oocytes selected for IVM reached 2- to 4-cell stages by 46 h after insemination whereas 67% of control oocytes (inseminated without added zinc) cleaved. Higher zinc concentrations (100 and 1000 μg added per millilitre) for IVF inhibited fertilisation. Sperm motility was reduced with addition of 10 μg per millilitre of zinc for sperm preparation (i.e. capacitation interval). Addition of 1.0 μg zinc per millilitre to media used through IVMFC, or to the IVC medium alone, resulted in inhibition of development after 2- to 4-cell stages. When added to IVM or to both IVM and IVF media 1.0 μg/ml of zinc compromised development to the morula stage and beyond. Maturing bovine oocytes may be more sensitive to 1.0 μg ml of zinc in vitro than in vivo because a concentration of 3.0 μg/ml has been reported for bovine follicular fluid. Fertilisation was not adversely affected by 10 μg/ml of zinc; however, higher concentrations were inhibitory.
Selected Characteristics of a National Sample of Seriously Emotionally Disturbed Adolescents

There is very little information available on personal, educational, and demographic characteristics of seriously emotionally disturbed students based on nationwide data. The present study examined such characteristics and intercorrelations among them based on a national sample of adolescents identified as seriously emotionally disturbed, along with comparable nonhandicapped students. Results provided information about demographic (sex, age, race, population density of student's residence), personal (family structure, medication status), and educational (placements, extent of mainstreaming, related services, years in special education, and teacher information) variables, considered singly and in combination. Results are integrated with existing findings, and research implications are discussed.
Operators and Laws for Combining Preference Relations

The paper is a theoretical study of a generalization of the lexicographic rule for combining ordering relations. We define the concept of priority operato r: a priority operator maps a family of relations to a single relation which represents their lexicographic combination according to a certain priority on the family of relations. We present four kinds of results. We show that the lexicographic rule is the only way of combining preference relations which satisfies natural conditions (similar to those proposed by Arrow). We show in what circumstances the lexicographic rule propagates various conditions on preference relations, thus extending Grosof’s results. We give necessary and sufficient conditions on the prior ity relation to determine various relationships between combinations of preferences. We give an algebraic treatment of this form of generalized prioritization. Two operators, called but and on the other hand, are sufficient to express any prioritization. We pres ent a complete equational axiomatization of these two operators. These results can be applied in the theory of social choice (a branch of economics), in non-monotonic reasoning (a branch of artificial intelligence), and more generally wherever relations have to be combined.
Jobs, Workers and Changes in Earnings Dispersion

The ''fractal'' nature of the rise in earnings dispersion is one of its key features and remains a puzzle. In this paper, we offer a new perspective on the causes of changes in earnings dispersion, focusing on the role of labour reallocation. Once we drop the assumption that all firms pay a given worker the same, the allocation of workers to firms matters for the dispersion of earnings. This perspective highlights two new factors that can affect the dispersion of earnings: rates of job and worker reallocation, and the nature of the process allocating workers to jobs. We set out a framework capturing this idea and quantify the impact of reallocation on earnings dispersion, using a dataset that comprises almost the universe of workers and the universe of employers in Maryland. We show that these factors have potentially large effects in general on earnings dispersion. In the case of Maryland over the period 1985-1994, the changing allocation of workers to jobs played a significant role in explaining movements in the dispersion of earnings.
Using Multicultural Children's Literature in Adult ESL Classes. ERIC Digest.

Researchers and practitioners have documented the importance of children’s literature in elementary and middle schools for developing language and literacy skills and content knowledge (Rudman, 1993; Smallwood, 1996). Because high quality children’s literature is characterized by economy of words, stunning illustrations, captivating but quickly moving plots, and universal themes, carefully chosen books can offer educational benefits for adult English language learners. In addition, multicultural books honor diversity among writers and artists, give literary voice to underrepresented groups, and stimulate cross-cultural appreciation. This digest provides book selection criteria, literature-based teaching strategies, and an annotated book list for five English proficiency levels.
Supporting Discovery in Medicine by Association Rule Mining in Medline and UMLS

The paper presents an interactive discovery support system for the field of medicine. The intended users of the system are medical researchers. The goal of the system is: for a given starting concept of interest, discover new, potentially meaningful relations with other concepts that have not been published in the medical literature before. The known relations between the medical concepts come from the Medline bibliographic database and the UMLS. We use association rules for discovering the relationship between medical concepts. We evaluated the system by testing how successfully it predicted future discoveries (new relations between concepts). We first divided the Medline database into two segments (older and newer) using the publication date. Then we calculated how many of the new relations found by the system in the older segment become known relations in the newer segment. We found out with statistical significance that the system predicts new relations better then someone predicting randomly. The evaluation showed that our approach for supporting discovery in medicine is successful, but also that some improvements are needed, especially on limiting the number of potential discoveries the system generates.
Changes in patient and technique survival over time among incident peritoneal dialysis patients in Canada.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES In the last 15 years in Canada, there have been less stringent guidelines for peritoneal dialysis (PD) adequacy, availability of novel PD solutions, and lower PD-related peritonitis rates. Effects of these changes on outcomes of incident patients treated with PD during this period are unknown. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Risk of PD technique failure and mortality were compared among three incident cohorts of PD patients who initiated dialysis during the following periods: 1995-2000, 2001-2005, and 2006-2009. A multivariable model was used to evaluate time to PD technique failure using inverse probability of treatment and censoring weights accounting for changing survival and transplantation rates. RESULTS Between 1995 and 2009,13,120 incident adult PD patients were identified from the Canadian Organ Replacement Register. Compared with the 1995-2000 cohort (n=5183), the risk of PD technique failure was lower among patients between 2001 and 2005 (n=4316) but similar among incident patients between 2006 and 2009 (n=3621). Cause-specific PD technique failure revealed no difference in PD peritonitis-related technique failure over time. PD technique failure due to inadequate PD was initially higher in the 2001-2005 cohort but lower in the 2006-2009 cohort compared with the 1995-2000 cohort. Relative to incident patients between 1995 and 2000, adjusted mortality was lower among incident patients between 2001 and 2005 and 2006 and 2009. CONCLUSIONS Survival on PD continues to improve with only modest changes in PD technique failure. Peritonitis remains an ongoing and modifiable source of PD technique failure.
Epithelial cell-cell contacts regulate SRF-mediated transcription via Rac-actin-MAL signalling

Epithelial cell-cell junctions are specialised structures connecting individual cells in epithelial tissues. They are dynamically and functionally linked to the actin cytoskeleton. Disassembly of these junctions is a key event during physiological and pathological processes, but how this influences gene expression is largely uncharacterised. Here, we investigate whether junction disassembly regulates transcription by serum response factor (SRF) and its coactivator MAL/MRTF. Ca2+-dependent dissociation of epithelial integrity was found to correlate strictly with SRF-mediated transcription. In cells lacking E-cadherin expression, no SRF activation was observed. Direct evidence is provided that signalling occurs via monomeric actin and MAL. Dissociation of epithelial junctions is accompanied by induction of RhoA and Rac1. However, using clostridial cytotoxins, we demonstrate that Rac, but not RhoA, is required for SRF and target gene induction in epithelial cells, in contrast to serum-stimulated fibroblasts. Actomyosin contractility is a prerequisite for signalling but failed to induce SRF activation, excluding a sufficient role of the Rho-ROCK-actomyosin pathway. We conclude that E-cadherin-dependent cell-cell junctions facilitate transcriptional activation via Rac, G-actin, MAL and SRF upon epithelial disintegration.
An adaptive approach for heartbeat detection based on S-transform in seismocardiograms

This study presents a new technique which allows identification of individual heartbeats from seismocardiograms (SCG) with high accuracy. Our method is electrocardiogram (ECG) independent and designed based upon S-transform and Shannon energy. The S-transform which is a time-frequency (TF) representation first provides frequency-dependent resolution while preserving a direct relationship with Fourier spectrum. Subsequently, individual heartbeats are detected in the time domain by calculating the Shannon energy (SSE) of each obtained local spectrum and employing other techniques such as successive mean quantization transform (SMQT) and adaptive thresholding. A total of 30 recordings were analysed in this study by measuring SCG and simultaneous electrocardiogram (ECG) in supine position. The performance of the algorithm was tested using the standard ECGs obtained from each test subject. The obtained results were as follows (sensitivity, precision, and detection error rate): (98.0%, 98.4% and 0.2%). In conclusion, the results confirmed that combination of S-transform, Shannon energy, and other techniques considerably enhanced the efficiency for the heartbeat detection in seismocardiograms.