Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
erbB-2, p53, and efficacy of adjuvant therapy in lymph node-positive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND We have previously reported that high expression of the erbB-2 gene (also known as HER-2/neu and ERBB2) in breast cancer is associated with patient response to dose-intensive treatment with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and 5-flurouracil (CAF) on the basis of short-term follow-up of 397 patients (set A) with axillary lymph node-positive tumors who were enrolled in Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) protocol 8541. METHODS To validate those findings, we conducted immunohistochemical analyses of erbB-2 and p53 protein expression in an additional cohort of 595 patients (set B) from CALGB 8541, as well as a molecular analysis of erbB-2 gene amplification in tumors from all patients (sets A and B). Marker data were compared with clinical, histologic, treatment, and outcome data. RESULTS Updated analyses of data from set A (median follow-up, 10.4 years) showed an even stronger interaction between erbB-2 expression and CAF dose, by use of either immunohistochemical or molecular data. A similar interaction between erbB-2 expression and CAF dose was observed in all 992 patients, analyzed as a single group. However, for set B alone (median follow-up, 8.2 years), results varied with the method of statistical analysis. By use of a proportional hazards model, the erbB-2 expression-CAF dose interaction was not significant for all patients. However, in the subgroups of patients randomly assigned to the high- or the moderate-dose arms, significance was achieved. When patient data were adjusted for differences by use of a prognostic index (to balance an apparent failure of randomization in the low-dose arm), the erbB-2 expression-CAF dose interaction was significant in all patients from the validation set B as well. An interaction was also observed between p53 immunopositivity and CAF dose. CONCLUSIONS The hypothesis that patients whose breast tumors exhibit high erbB-2 expression benefit from dose-intensive CAF should be further validated before clinical implementation. Interactions between erbB-2 expression, p53 expression, and CAF dose underscore the complexities of predictive markers where multiple interactions may confound the outcome.
A study on substrate effects of silicon-based RF passive components

The substrate effects on the performance of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors and spiral inductors are critical to silicon RF IC's. Based on measured results and physical modeling, this paper presents an extensive study on the substrate parasitics. Contrary to common belief, it is shown that (1) the energy loss in lightly doped substrates is higher than that in epi substrates with heavily doped bulks, (2) the eddy current induced by inductors is negligible even in heavily doped epi substrates up to several giga-hertz, and (3) the high-frequency degradation of Q for inductors on epi substrates is due to a larger substrate parasitic capacitance which results in a lower self-resonant frequency compared to lightly doped cases. Furthermore, we report for the first time the improvement in Q for inductors on epi substrates with a patterned ground shield. A fourfold improvement in the Q of a LC resonator is achieved using polysilicon, or source/drain diffusion, PGS's.
Developing Models of Graduate Student Degree Progress

Few studies have focused on graduate student retention or degree progress; rather, the emphasis in the literature has been on attracting the best and/or the underrepresented students to graduate school [13]. What happens to these students once they enroll? The dropout rate differs for women and minorities compared to men and non-minorities at each step along the educational pipeline, including graduate school [5]. However, little information is available on the factors associated with graduate student retention or degree progress or on the reasons why some students stay and others leave before earning a degree. The purpose of this article is to present a model that links department and student characteristics, financial support, and student perceptions of the faculty with student grades, involvement in the program, satisfaction with the department, and alienation in order to predict progress toward the master's and doctoral degrees.
The Discussion Coding System (DCS)—A New Instrument for Analyzing Communication Processes

The Discussion Coding System (DCS) is a new instrument for coding face-to-face communication processes. The DCS was developed with several goals in mind: a well-grounded theoretical background, economical coding, the inclusion of nonverbal behavior into the coding, the ability to code different sized groups engaged in a variety of task types, and high ease of use. Important aspects of communication behavior are covered: the directly observable aspects of who speaks to whom, the functions of a statement for the interaction process, and the interpersonal meaning of an act on the two basic behavioral dimensions of affiliation and dominance. Furthermore, coding software was developed that greatly enhances the efficiency of coding as well as the creation of data files. The reliabilities are strong if video is used. The reliabilities for real-time coding are considerably lower but still satisfactory if special measures are taken. The validity of the DCS was established in several studies.
The Relationship between C-Reactive Protein Level and Discharge Outcome in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke

Previous studies showed that C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory marker, was associated with stroke severity and long-term outcome. However, the relationship between the acute-phase CRP level and discharge outcome has received little attention. We prospectively studied 301 patients with acute ischemic stroke (over a period of two weeks) from two hospital stroke wards and one rehabilitation department in Henan, China. Patients’ demographic and clinical data were collected and evaluated at admission. Poor discharge outcome was assessed in patients at discharge using the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS > 2). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the risk factors of poor discharge outcome after adjusting for potential confounders. Poor discharge outcome was observed in 78 patients (25.9%). Univariate analyses showed that factors significantly influencing poor discharge outcome were age, residence, recurrent acute ischemic stroke, coronary heart disease, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at admission, non-lacunar stroke, time from onset of stroke to admission, CRP, TBIL (total bilirubin), direct bilirubin (DBIL), ALB (albumin), FIB (fibrinogen) and D-dimer (p < 0.05). After adjusting for age, residence, recurrent ischemic stroke, coronary heart disease, NIHSS score at admission, lacunar stroke, time from onset of stroke to admission, CRP, TBIL, DBIL, ALB, FIB and D-dimer, multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that poor outcome at discharge was associated with recurrent acute ischemic stroke (OR, 2.115; 95% CI, 1.094–4.087), non-lacunar stroke (OR, 2.943; 95% CI, 1.436–6.032), DBIL (OR, 1.795; 95% CI, 1.311–2.458), and CRP (OR, 4.890; 95% CI, 3.063–7.808). In conclusion, the CRP level measured at admission was found to be an independent predictor of poor outcome at discharge. Recurrent acute ischemic stroke, non-lacunar stroke and DBIL were also significantly associated with discharge outcome in acute ischemic stroke.
A Cross-Cultural Study of Environmental Values and Their Effect on the Environmental Behavior of Children:

Environmental values (EV) are regarded as significant precursors for environmental behavior (EB) by many scholars. The present study addresses the issue of the invariance of EV (tapped by the two-dimensional model of ecological values), and their effect on EB, across cultural contexts. In all, a total of 1,833 ten- to thirteen-year-old children from Flanders, Guatemala, and Vietnam participated. The results show that EV and EB can be measured through a partially invariant model; children from the different groups differ in their EV and EB. Furthermore, the results show that the effect of EV on EB is different across cultural contexts. These results have implications for (among others) environmental education initiatives that aim for behavior change. Such initiatives need to take into account the target group, which—as illustrated by the results—shows different pathways toward reaching EB. Practitioners would therefore benefit from a culture-specific approach to designing environmental education.
Differential Interaction of Dendritic Cells with Rickettsia conorii: Impact on Host Susceptibility to Murine Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis

ABSTRACT Spotted fever group rickettsioses are emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, some of which are life-threatening. In order to understand how dendritic cells (DCs) contribute to the host resistance or susceptibility to rickettsial diseases, we first characterized the in vitro interaction of rickettsiae with bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) from resistant C57BL/6 (B6) and susceptible C3H/HeN (C3H) mice. In contrast to the exclusively cytosolic localization within endothelial cells, rickettsiae efficiently entered and localized in both phagosomes and cytosol of BMDCs from both mouse strains. Rickettsia conorii-infected BMDCs from resistant mice harbored higher bacterial loads compared to C3H mice. R. conorii infection induced maturation of BMDCs from both mouse strains as judged by upregulated expression of classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and costimulatory molecules. Compared to C3H counterparts, B6 BMDCs exhibited higher expression levels of MHC class II and higher interleukin-12 (IL-12) p40 production upon rickettsial infection and were more potent in priming naïve CD4+ T cells to produce gamma interferon. In vitro DC infection and T-cell priming studies suggested a delayed CD4+ T-cell activation and suppressed Th1/Th2 cell development in C3H mice. The suppressive CD4+ T-cell responses seen in C3H mice were associated with a high frequency of Foxp3+ T regulatory cells promoted by syngeneic R. conorii-infected BMDCs in the presence of IL-2. These data suggest that rickettsiae can target DCs to stimulate a protective type 1 response in resistant hosts but suppressive adaptive immunity in susceptible hosts.
Daily Electrode Change and Effect on Cardiac Monitor Alarms: An Evidence-Based Practice Approach

Frequent monitor alarms are distracting and interfere with clinicians performing critical tasks. This article describes a quality improvement rapid-cycle change approach to explore the benefits of changing electrodes daily on the number of cardiac monitor alarms. Eight days of baseline and intervention data were compared for 2 adult acute care units. Average alarms per bed per day were reduced by 46% on both units. Daily electrocardiogram electrode change reduces the number of cardiac monitor alarms.
Abstract Acknowledgements Taxes, Subsidies and Equilibrium Labor Market Outcomes

We explore the effects of taxes and subsidies on job creation, job destruction, employment, and wages in the Mortensen-Pissarides version of the search and matching equilibrium framework. Qualitative analytical results show that wage and employment subsidies increase employment, especially of low skill workers, and also increase wages. A job creation or hiring subsidy reduces unemployment duration but increases incidence with an ambiguous effect on overall employment. A firing tax has the reverse effects but the same indeterminacy. In the special case of a competitive search equilibrium, the one in which search externalities are internalized, there is a first best configuration: no tax on the wage, an employment subsidy that offsets the distortions on the job destruction margin induced by unemployment compensation and employment protection policy, and a hiring subsidy equal to the implicit tax on severance imposed by any form of employment protection, with the costs of these and other policies f inanced by a non-distortionary consumption tax. Computational experiments confirm this ideal also determines the direction in which marginal improvements can be made both in terms of efficiency and in terms of improving low skill worker employment and wage outcomes.
Psychological effects of the Euro - Experimental research on the perception of salaries and price estimations

In five studies we show that the introduction of the Euro influences price estimations and the perception of salaries among people in Germany. People confronted with wages given in Euros compared to the German Mark (DM) showed a reduced willingness to face long distances to get to work when accepting a job offer. When asked to price various consumer goods appropriately, they estimated higher prices if they used the ‘Euro’ currency compared to price estimations made in DM. This phenomenon only occurred with regard to the Euro, but not in comparison with other currencies (cf. the British Pound and Austrian Schilling). The differing price estimations between the Euro and the German Mark were not influenced by participants' attitude towards the Euro. Moreover, it turned out that they depended on how the judgement context was framed. Only if participants expected to make price estimations for shops in their home country, Germany, did the familiar nominal DM figures serve as an anchor heightening the estimated prices in Euro. The same effect disappeared if participants were instructed to make their price estimations for shops in a foreign country (Ireland). Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Self‐Regulation: Social Anxiety and Depression1

Self-regulation, trait depression, and social anxiety were investigated in a group of 174 (124 female, 50 male) undergraduate university students. Aspects of goal setting, self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement were assessed as facets of self-regulation. These four facets accounted for 62% of the variance in depression. The pattern of relationships between self-regulation and social anxiety was very similar to the pattern of relationships between self-regulation and depression. Individuals who were high on social anxiety were low on the expectancy to achieve goals, low on self-evaluation, and low on positive self-reinforcement. Individuals who were high on depression were also low on the expectancy to achieve goals, low on self-evaluation, and low on positive self-reinforce-mem.
Reframing e‐assessment: adopting new media and adapting old frameworks

Over the past 10 years, learning and teaching have benefited from greater use of social constructivist and situated learning, through more widespread adoption of the ideas of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner (e.g., Lave and Wenger 1991; Brown 2004). However, assessment has consistently failed to follow through these innovations, substantially because it squares the desire for improved constructivist learning against the demand for institutional and external reliability and accountability. Consequently, assessment has not kept pace with these developments and has remained largely transmission orientated in both conception and practice (Knight and Yorke 2003). This new generation of e-assessment is still in its early days, but its foundations are broader and more solid. No longer the speciality of a technologically-aware few, the pedagogical, social and even political dimensions of the problems of e-assessment are better known. Wide access to the knowledge and tools needed to deploy and develop innovative technology for learning has blurred the boundaries between pedagogical and technical specialists. Institutional support has improved, and open source virtual learning environments are being built by people who know both pedagogy and technology. E-assessment is starting to deliver measurable and successful improvements; but there is still much work to be done.
Independent development of refraction, accommodation and convergence over two years in primary school children

Abstract Purpose: To examine whether age-related changes in refraction covary with changes in parameters describing accommodation and convergence over time in a group of Danish school children. Methods: Two-hundred and seventy-eight unselected Danish school children (7.1-13.9 years) without manifest strabismus were studied at baseline and after two years. Each examination included measurement of distance visual acuity, unilateral cover test, non-cycloplegic autorefraction, monocular amplitude of accommodation, monocular accommodation facility, near phoria, near point of convergence, and positive and negative fusional vergence. The changes in the measured parameters were studied over time, followed by the testing for dependencies in the development of these parameters. Results: After two years there was a significant increase in distance visual acuity (p=0.04) , monocular accommodation facility (p<0.001), near point exophoria (p=0.04), near point of convergence (p=0.01), and fusional range (p<0.001), a significant reduction in hyperopia (p=0.01) and monocular amplitude of accommodation (p<0.001), while the midpoint of the fusional range changed significantly towards convergence (p<0.001). The increase in near point of convergence correlated significantly with the decrease in monocular amplitude of accommodation (p<0.001) and the convergent shift in the midpoint of the fusional range was significantly correlated with a larger fusional range (p<0.001). The changes in all other parameters were independent. Conclusions: The development of refraction, accommodation, and convergence parameters in school children over two years are independent. This may be due to separate processes regulating development, and suggests that therapeutic intervention may be performed on each of the parameters individually without a derived effect on the other parameters.
Foundation Impact on Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations

A survey of U.S. environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) receiving grants in 2000 from private California foundations allowed the authors to evaluate conflicting claims on the impact of foundation funding on nonprofit grantees. Different from the view of elitist critics that foundations co-opt their grant recipients, these NGO respondents view foundations as mildly constructive across several organizational domains. These results are more consistent with pluralist and resource dependency arguments that view foundation donors as supportive of NGO capacity building. Whether the funding impact is cooptation or capacity building has less to do with NGOs' degree of dependency on philanthropic funds and more with grant types received and their organizational traits. Multiyear programmatic grants are associated with capacity-building, whereas 1-year program grants are associated with cooptation. A simplistic interpretation of elitist theory may underestimate the diversity of motivations among funders and the tremendous administrative costs associated with a rigid supervision of grantees.
MAC/PHY Cross-Layer Design of MIMO Ad Hoc Networks with Layered Multiuser Detection

In this paper, we present a novel MAC approach for ad hoc networks in which Multiple Input-Multiple Output (MIMO) techniques are used at the physical level (PHY). The use of MIMO in PHY point-to-point as well as multiuser communications has been extensively studied in the recent literature. Here we go one step further, extending the approach to also include protocol design for decentralized and infrastructureless ad hoc networks. First, we study the impact of MIMO on packet transmission in an ad hoc network setting. Then, following a crossiquestlayer design paradigm, we deploy a distributed access control protocol and characterize its performance, with the aim to improve spatial reuse and convey more information on a single ad hoc link. We also explore the interaction between the Medium Access Control (MAC) and PHY layers, and use this knowledge to implement proper policies for distributed traffic control and robustness against interference. Important tradeoffs that arise when managing radio resources are highlighted, and extensive simulation results are presented and discussed.
Sensitivity of Breath-to-Breath Gas Exchange Measurements to Expiratory Flow Errors

During expiration, fluctuations in gas composition, water vapor, and temperature result in flowmeter errors when the flowmeter is calibrated for a given ambient inspiratory gas. In this paper, we indicate that alternative analytical methods of caleulating breath-to-breath gas exchange exhibit differing sensitivities to this error. A theoretical sensitivity analysis is verified by O2 consumption records from rest to exhausting exercise. We conclude that an error sensitivity of less than one is achieved by a method that incorporates measurements of nitrogen flow into and out of the lung, and includes the analysis of breath-to-breath changes in lung volume.
Psychometric Properties and Validity of the Dyadic Coping Inventory in Portuguese

Several studies have shown that dyadic coping, that is, the way couples cope with stress, plays a unique role in intimate relationships. The aim of this study is to validate the Portuguese version of the Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI; Bodenmann, 2008) by analyzing the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the DCI as well as its convergent and criterion validity. A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was conducted in a community sample of 605 participants living in Portugal who had been in a close relationship for at least 2 years. The findings support the hypothesized five-factor structure for the DCI and self- and other-perception, and a two-factor structure for joint dyadic coping. The psychometric properties of the DCI and its criterion validity with other relationship measures (RAS and B-SRQ) were good. These results add an important contribution to the determination of the criterion validity of the DCI with measures of other crucial domains of couples’ functioning (Shared Meaning, Con.
Lessons from a Middle Level At-Risk Program

The majority of the research on alternative programs for at-risk students focuses on the high school setting or on early intervention at the primary level. Middle schools have been the last group to receive attention, and dropout prevention programs for middle schools have lagged behind (DeBlois 1989). Attitudes toward school that are developed during the elementary years often manifest themselves as patterns of behavior in middle school students. For many middle schoolers, poor attitudes about school are associated with low academic achievement and behavioral problems. Bhaerman and Kopp (1988) report that 61 percent of students who have been identified as "at risk" drop out before completion of tenth grade. These data indicate that middle school students stand at a critical juncture in terms of their educational futures. Success with at-risk students is not a