Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trajectories of psychosocial adjustment in adolescents with spina bifida: a 6-year, four-wave longitudinal follow-up.

OBJECTIVE As a follow-up to an earlier cross-sectional study (Holmbeck et al., 2003), the current multimethod, multi-informant investigation examined individual growth in psychosocial adjustment across the adolescent transition in 2 samples: young adolescents with spina bifida (SB) and typically developing adolescents (N = 68 in both groups at Time 1). METHOD Growth curve modeling procedures were used to describe the developmental course of psychosocial adjustment across 4 waves of data collection from ages 8 to 15. Child gender was included in the models as a moderator of associations between illness status and adjustment trajectories. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Findings revealed that preadolescent differences between groups were maintained for several adjustment variables, indicating that adolescents with SB have enduring academic and attention problems and difficulties with social development (e.g., fewer friends and less influence during family interactions). For other outcomes, trajectories of adjustment levels for adolescents with SB converged on levels observed in comparison adolescents, indicating some areas of resilience. Girls with SB were at risk for increasing levels of social difficulties and negative perceptions of their physical appearance. Clinical implications are discussed.
Following the traces. An introduction to conjoint measurement without transitivity and additivity (sept. 2002, révisé avril 2003)

This paper presents a self-contained introduction to a general conjoint measurement framework for the analysis of nontransitive and/or incomplete binary relations on product sets. It is based on the use of several kinds of marginal traces on coordinates induced by the binary relation. This framework leads to defining three general families of models depending on the kind of trace that they use. Contrary to most conjoint measurement models, these models do not involve an addition operation. This allows for a simple axiomatic analysis at the cost of very weak uniqueness results.
Impact of Chip Shape on the Performance of DS-OCDMA in Presence of GVD and SPM

An analytical approach is presented to investigate the of chip shape-dependent bit error rate (BER) perfor mance of direct sequence optical code division multiple access with cascaded erbium doped fiber amplifiers in presence of fiber optic group velocity dispersion and self phase modulation. In o ur analysis, super-Gaussian and Hyperbolic-Secant shaped optical orthogonal codes are employed as address sequence. Avalanche photodiode is used for optoelectronic conversion in an optical co rrelator receiver. The system BER performance is determined on account of receiver, optical amplifier, and multiuser access interferenc e noises. The chip shape-dependent power penalty suffered by the syste m is evaluated as a function of various parameters at BER of 10 -9 for a system operating at 10 Gchip/s. The numerical results indi cate that the BER performance of the system is highly dependent on the chip shape and the proposed system performance can be remarkably improved if Hyperbolic-Secant shaped chip is used i nstead of super-Gaussian shaped chip.
An evaluation of virtual lenses for object selection in augmented reality

This paper reports the results of an experiment to compare three different selection techniques in a tabletop tangible augmented reality interface. Object selection is an important task in all direct manipulation interfaces because it precedes most other manipulation and navigation actions. Previous work on tangible virtual lenses for visualisation has prompted the exploration of how selection techniques can be incorporated into these tools. In this paper a selection technique based on virtual lenses is compared with the traditional approaches of virtual hand and virtual pointer methods. The Lens technique is found to be faster, require less physical effort to use, and is preferred by participants over the other techniques. These results can be useful in guiding the development of future augmented reality interfaces.
Learning multiple graphs for document recommendations

The Web offers rich relational data with different semantics. In this paper, we address the problem of document recommendation in a digital library, where the documents in question are networked by citations and are associated with other entities by various relations. Due to the sparsity of a single graph and noise in graph construction, we propose a new method for combining multiple graphs to measure document similarities, where different factorization strategies are used based on the nature of different graphs. In particular, the new method seeks a single low-dimensional embedding of documents that captures their relative similarities in a latent space. Based on the obtained embedding, a new recommendation framework is developed using semi-supervised learning on graphs. In addition, we address the scalability issue and propose an incremental algorithm. The new incremental method significantly improves the efficiency by calculating the embedding for new incoming documents only. The new batch and incremental methods are evaluated on two real world datasets prepared from CiteSeer. Experiments demonstrate significant quality improvement for our batch method and significant efficiency improvement with tolerable quality loss for our incremental method.
The Early Evolution of Animals: Insights from the 600 million-year-old Ediacaran Weng’an biota

The past three decades have witnessed profound progress in our understanding of the origin and early evolution of metazoans. New insights are being derived from molecular phylogeny and comparative development biology (Davidson and Erwin, 2009; Erwin et al., 2011, Cannon et al., 2016). In addition, discoveries of early animal fossils, especially the animal embryos from the Ediacaran and Cambrian deposits in China, provide evidential tests of evolutionary hypotheses (Xiao et al., 1998; Li et al., 1998; Dong et al., 2004; Chen et al., 2006, 2009a, 2009b; Yin et al., 2007). Since 1998, the phosphatized animal embryo microfossils with cellular and sub-cellular structures preserved in three-dimensional detail from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation at Weng’an phosphate mining area (Guizhou Province, southwest China), have been considered as one of the oldest fossil metazoan records on the planet (Li et al. 1998, Xiao et al. 1998). In spite of the fact that these Doushantuo embryo fossils are taphonomically biased, during the last decade, studies of animal fossils from this unique late Neoproterozoic taphonomic window have profoundly improved our outstanding of the evolution of multicellular animals in the Precambrian (Chen et al. 2000, 2002, 2004a, 2006, 2009a, b, Xiao & Knoll 2000, Hagadorn et al. 2006, Xiao et al. 2007). The different embryo sizes and ornamentations (Xiao & Knoll 2000), various embryo cleavage patterns (Chen et al. 2006, 2009a) and potential fossil gastrulae (Chen et al. 2000, 2009a, Xiao et al. 2007), as well as problematic animal adults (Xiao et al. 2000, Chen et al. 2002, 2004) indicate that the diversity of multicellular animals before the Cambrian radiation was much higher than previously thought. However, these exquisite Precambrian animal fossils remain to some extent controversial because of alleged taxonomic and ontogenetic biases. The majoDr. Zongjun Yin, Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Nanjing, China, Träger des Biologie-Preises 2016
Towards Automating the Initial Screening Phase of a Systematic Review

Systematic review authors synthesize research to guide clinicians in their practice of evidence-based medicine. Teammates independently identify provisionally eligible studies by reading the same set of hundreds and sometimes thousands of citations during an initial screening phase. We investigated whether supervised machine learning methods can potentially reduce their workload. We also extended earlier research by including observational studies of a rare condition. To build training and test sets, we used annotated citations from a search conducted for an in-progress Cochrane systematic review. We extracted features from titles, abstracts, and metadata, then trained, optimized, and tested several classifiers with respect to mean performance based on 10-fold cross-validations. In the training condition, the evolutionary support vector machine (EvoSVM) with an Epanechnikov or radial kernel is the best classifier: mean recall=100%; mean precision=48% and 41%, respectively. In the test condition, EvoSVM performance degrades: mean recall=77%, mean precision ranges from 26% to 37%. Because near-perfect recall is essential in this context, we conclude that supervised machine learning methods may be useful for reducing workload under certain conditions.
Clientele Change, Liquidity Shock, and the Return on Financially Distressed Stocks

Abstract We show that the abnormal returns on high default risk stocks documented by Vassalou and Xing (2004) are driven by short-term return reversals rather than systematic default risk. These abnormal returns occur only during the month after portfolio formation and are concentrated in a small subset of stocks that had recently experienced large negative returns. Empirical evidence supports the view that the short-term return reversal arises from a liquidity shock triggered by a clientele change.
A Helping Hand: Soft Orthosis with Integrated Optical Strain Sensors and EMG Control

Human fingers and hands are frequently injured because they are delicate, complex, and used constantly. More than 3 million people in the United States suffer from hand or forearm disabilities [1], and, worldwide, hand injuries account for one-third of all work injuries [2]. Due to the importance of hands and the prevalence of hand issues, there is an increasing effort toward developing hand orthotics. These efforts have resulted in active hand orthoses that have been used for rehabilitation training and restoring partial hand function [3]. To ensure safety and to reduce control complexity, some orthoses use mechanical compliances [4], [5] such as underactuated linkages [6] or low-stiffness materials and structures (e.g., rubbers and flexible wires) [7], [8]-[11]. The orthoses made of elastomeric materials tend to be more comfortable, perhaps because their low elastic modulus (10 kPa <; G' <; 1 MPa) [12] is similar to that of human skin (~100 kPa) [13].
Automatic discovery of language models for text databases

The proliferation of text databases within large organizations and on the Internet makes it difficult for a person to know which databases to search. Given language models that describe the contents of each database, a database selection algorithm such as GIOSS can provide assistance by automatically selecting appropriate databases for an information need. Current practice is that each database provides its language model upon request, but this cooperative approach has important limitations. This paper demonstrates that cooperation is not required. Instead, the database selection service can construct its own language models by sampling database contents via the normal process of running queries and retrieving documents. Although random sampling is not possible, it can be approximated with carefully selected queries. This sampling approach avoids the limitations that characterize the cooperative approach, and also enables additional capabilities. Experimental results demonstrate that accurate language models can be learned from a relatively small number of queries and documents.
A Randomized Trial of Conventional Chest Physical Therapy Versus High Frequency Chest Wall Compressions in Intubated and Non-intubated Adults

BACKGROUND: Conventional chest physical therapy (CCPT), applied by therapists using cupped hands to perform percussion, is commonly used in hospitalized adults. However, increased work load demands and occupational health concerns (eg, carpal tunnel syndrome) limit the overall utilization of this therapy. Therefore, we conducted a study to compare the overall effectiveness of CCPT to high-frequency chest wall compressions (HFCWC) applied via a vibratory vest. METHODS: A single-center, randomized trial among hospitalized intubated and non-intubated adult patients requiring chest physical therapy comparing CCPT and HFCWC. The primary outcome measure was hospital stay. RESULTS: A total of 280 per-protocol patients (out of an a priori estimated 320 patients required to demonstrate a 20% relative reduction in hospital stay) were randomly assigned to receive CCPT (no. = 146, 52.1%) or HFCWC (no. = 134, 47.9%). The hospital stay was 12.5 ± 8.8 days for patients randomized to CCPT and 13.0 ± 8.9 days for patients randomized to HFCWC (P = .62). Patient comfort was assessed using a visual analog scale (increasing score reflects greater discomfort) and was statistically greater for patients randomized to CCPT compared to HFCWC (2.2 ± 0.8 vs 1.9 ± 0.8, P = .009). The duration of time until radiographic resolution of lobar atelectasis trended less for CCPT compared to HFCWC (5.2 ± 4.3 d vs 6.5 ± 5.2 d, P = .051). All other secondary outcomes, including hospital mortality and nosocomial pneumonia, were similar for both treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study was inadequately powered for the primary outcome of interest and hence we cannot make recommendations on the preferential use of HFCWC or CCPT for intubated and non-intubated adult patients. HFCWC was associated with statistically better comfort scores. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT00717873.)
Casting-type calcifications on the mammogram suggest a higher probability of early relapse and death among high-risk breast cancer patients

A retrospective analysis of the relation between the presence of casting-type calcifications on the mammogram and the prognosis of breast cancer was performed. The mammographic tumor features and other characteristics (invasive tumor size, histological tumor type, grade, nodal, hormone receptor and HER2 status, presence of lymphovascular invasion) of 55 high-risk breast cancers were studied. After a median follow-up time of 29.1 months, the median relapse-free survival and overall survival times among breast cancer patients with tumors associated with casting calcifications were 26.6 and 29.6 months, respectively. The corresponding parameters among patients with tumors not accompanied by casting calcifications were 54.4 and >58.5 months, respectively. Significant associations were found between the presence of casting calcifications and the risks of relapse (HR = 3.048, 95% CI: 1.116–8.323, p = 0.030) or death (HR = 3.504, 95% CI: 1.074–11.427, p = 0.038). Positive associations were found between casting calcifications and ER/PR negativity (p = 0.015 and p = 0.003, respectively) and HER2 overexpression (p = 0.019). Our findings support the theory that breast tumors associated with casting-type calcifications at mammography comprise a disease entity which exhibits significantly more aggressive behavior and a poorer outcome than do cancers with other mammographic tumor features.
Land deformation associated with exploitation of groundwater in Changzhou City measured by COSMO-SkyMed and Sentinel-1A SAR data

Abstract The Urban Agglomeration in Yangtze River Delta is one of the most important economic and industrial regions in China. The City of Changzhou is one of the most important industrial citys in Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration. Activities here include groundwater exploration. Groundwater overexploitation has contributed to the major land deformation in this city. The severity and magnitude of land deformation over time were investigated in Changzhou City. A Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-InSAR) technology, provides a useful tool in measuring urban land deformation. In this study, a time series of COSMO-SkyMed and Sentinel-1A SAR images covering Changzhou City were acquired. SBAS-InSAR imaging technique was used to survey the extent and severity of land deformation associated with the exploitation of groundwater in Changzhou City. Leveling data was used to validate the SBAR-InSAR productions, the error of SBAR-InSAR annual subsidence results was within 2 mm. The results showed that three main land subsidence zones were detected at Xinbei, Tianning and Wujin District. Four subsidence points were selected to analyze the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of land subsidence. The subsidence rate of P1 to P4 was −2.48 mm/year, −12.78 mm/year, −18.09 mm/year, and −12.69 mm/year respectively. Land subsidence over Changzhou showed a trend of slowing down from 2011 to 2017, especially in Wujin District. SBAR-InSAR derived land deformation that correlates with the water level change in six groundwater stations. Indicated that with groundwater rebound, the land rebound obviously, and the maximum rebound vale reached 9.13 mm.
Combinatorial Control of Signal-Induced Exon Repression by hnRNP L and PSF

ABSTRACT Cells can regulate their protein repertoire in response to extracellular stimuli via alternative splicing; however, the mechanisms controlling this process are poorly understood. The CD45 gene undergoes alternative splicing in response to T-cell activation to regulate T-cell function. The ESS1 splicing silencer in CD45 exon 4 confers basal exon skipping in resting T cells through the activity of hnRNP L and confers activation-induced exon skipping in T cells via previously unknown mechanisms. Here we have developed an in vitro splicing assay that recapitulates the signal-induced alternative splicing of CD45 and demonstrate that cellular stimulation leads to two changes to the ESS1-bound splicing regulatory complex. Activation-induced posttranslational modification of hnRNP L correlates with a modest increase in the protein's repressive activity. More importantly, the splicing factor PSF is recruited to the ESS1 complex in an activation-dependent manner and accounts for the majority of the signal-regulated ESS1 activity. The associations of hnRNP L and PSF with the ESS1 complex are largely independent of each other, but together these proteins account for the total signal-regulated change in CD45 splicing observed in vitro and in vivo. Such a combinatorial effect on splicing allows for precise regulation of signal-induced alternative splicing.
Myc Prevents Apoptosis and Enhances Endoreduplication Induced by Paclitaxel

Background The role of the MYC oncogene in the apoptotic pathways is not fully understood. MYC has been reported to protect cells from apoptosis activation but also to sensitize cells to apoptotic stimuli. We have previously demonstrated that the down-regulation of Myc protein activates apoptosis in melanoma cells and increases the susceptibility of cells to various antitumoral treatments. Beyond the well-known role in the G1→S transition, MYC is also involved in the G2-M cell cycle phases regulation. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study we have investigated how MYC could influence cell survival signalling during G2 and M phases. We used the microtubules damaging agent paclitaxel (PTX), to arrest the cells in the M phase, in a p53 mutated melanoma cell line with modulated Myc level and activity. An overexpression of Myc protein is able to increase endoreduplication favoring the survival of cells exposed to antimitotic poisoning. The PTX-induced endoreduplication is associated in Myc overexpressing cells with a reduced expression of MAD2, essential component of the molecular core of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), indicating an impairment of this checkpoint. In addition, for the first time we have localized Myc protein at the spindle poles (centrosomes) during pro-metaphase in different cell lines. Conclusions The presence of Myc at the poles during the prometaphase could be necessary for the Myc-mediated attenuation of the SAC and the subsequent induction of endoreduplication. In addition, our data strongly suggest that the use of taxane in antitumor therapeutic strategies should be rationally based on the molecular profile of the individual tumor by specifically analyzing Myc expression levels.
Ligand-dependent Notch Signaling Is Involved in Tumor Initiation and Tumor Maintenance in Pancreatic Cancer

Purpose: Aberrant activation of the Notch signaling pathway is commonly observed in human pancreatic cancer, although the mechanism(s) for this activation has not been elucidated. Experimental Design: A panel of 20 human pancreatic cancer cell lines was profiled for the expression of Notch pathway-related ligands, receptors, and target genes. Disruption of intracellular Notch signaling, either genetically by RNA interference targeting NOTCH1 or pharmacologically by means of the γ-secretase inhibitor GSI-18, was used for assessing requirement of Notch signaling in pancreatic cancer initiation and maintenance. Results: Striking overexpression of Notch ligand transcripts was detectable in the vast majority of pancreatic cancer cell lines, most prominently JAGGED2 (18 of 20 cases, 90%) and DLL4 (10 of 20 cases, 50%). In two cell lines, genomic amplification of the DLL3 locus was observed, mirrored by overexpression of DLL3 transcripts. In contrast, coding region mutations of NOTCH1 or NOTCH2 were not observed. Genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of Notch signaling mitigated anchorage-independent growth in pancreatic cancer cells, confirming that sustained Notch activation is a requirement for pancreatic cancer maintenance. Further, transient pretreatment of pancreatic cancer cells with GSI-18 resulted in depletion in the proportion of tumor-initiating aldehyde dehydrogenase–expressing subpopulation and was associated with inhibition of colony formation in vitro and xenograft engraftment in vivo, underscoring a requirement for the Notch-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase–expressing cells in pancreatic cancer initiation. Conclusions: Our studies confirm that Notch activation is almost always ligand dependent in pancreatic cancer, and inhibition of Notch signaling is a promising therapeutic strategy in this malignancy.
The unique activity of bone morphogenetic proteins in bone: a critical role of the Smad signaling pathway

Abstract Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are multifunctional cytokines that belong to the transforming growth factor-β family. BMPs were originally identified based on their unique activity, inducing heterotopic bone formation in skeletal muscle. This unique BMP activity is transduced by specific type I and type II transmembrane kinase receptors. Among the downstream pathways activated by these receptors, the Smad1/5/8 transcription factors appear to play critical roles in BMP activity. Smad1/5/8 transcription factors are phosphorylated at the C-terminal SVS motif by BMP type I receptors and then induce the transcription of early BMP-responsive genes by binding to conserved sequences in their enhancer regions. The linker regions of Smad1/5/8 contain multiple kinase phosphorylation sites, and phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of these sites regulate the transcriptional activity of Smad proteins. Gain-of-function mutations in one BMP type I receptor have been identified in patients with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, a rare genetic disorder that is characterized by progressive heterotopic bone formation in the skeletal muscle. The mutant receptors activate the Smad signaling pathway even in the absence of BMPs, therefore novel inhibitors for the BMP receptor – Smad axis are being developed to prevent heterotopic bone formation in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. Taken together, the data in the literature show that the BMP type I receptor – Smad signaling axis is the critical pathway for the unique activity of BMPs and is a potential therapeutic target for pathological conditions caused by inappropriate BMP activity.