Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Peer Group Analysis - Local Anomaly Detection in Longitudinal Data

Peer group analysis is a new tool for monitoring behavior over time in data mining situations. In particular, the tool detects individual objects that begin to behave in a way distinct from objects to which they had previously been similar. Each object is selected as a target object and is compared with all other objects in the database, using either external comparison criteria or internal criteria summarizing earlier behavior patterns of each object. Based on this comparison, a peer group of objects most similar to the target object is chosen. The behavior of the peer group is then summarized at each subsequent time point, and the behavior of the target object compared with the summary of its peer group. Those target objects exhibiting behavior most different from their peer group summary behavior are flagged as meriting closer investigation. The tool is intended to be part of the data mining process, involving cycling between the detection of objects that behave in anomalous ways and the detailed examination of those objects. Several aspects of peer group analysis can be tuned to the particular application, including the size of the peer group, the width of the moving behavior window being used, the way the peer group is summarized, and the measures of difference between the target object and its peer group summary. We apply the tool in various situations and illustrate its use on a set of credit card transaction data.
EGFR Signaling Regulates Tumor Cell Migration in Craniopharyngiomas

Purpose: Constitutive Wnt signaling caused by mutations in the β-catenin gene is a molecular hallmark of adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas (adaCP) and promotes infiltration into adjacent brain tissue. Herein, we studied the pathogenic role of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation in adaCP and whether tumor cell migration can be inhibited by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib. Experimental Design: EGFR expression and activation [phosphorylated EGFR (EGFR-P)] was examined in a cohort of 25 surgical adaCP samples by PCR and Western blotting. Regional and cellular localization patterns of EGFR-P, β-catenin, and its target gene product Fascin were determined by immunofluorescence microscopy. Mutation analysis and gene copy number assay were carried out to examine genetic alterations in the EGFR gene. The impact of EGFR signaling on tumor cell migration was studied in vitro by using 11 primary human adaCP cultures treated with the EGFR ligand EGF and its inhibitor gefitinib. Results: Neither mutations nor amplifications in the EGFR gene were detected in our adaCP series. However, EGFR-P was detectable in tumor cell clusters located at the brain infiltration border and colocalized with nuclear β-catenin and Fascin. Activated EGFR significantly promoted tumor cell migration in vitro, whereas gefitinib reduced both tumor cell motility and Fascin expression. Conclusion: Our data suggest EGFR signaling to play a role in cell migration and brain infiltration of adaCP. Targeting the EGFR signaling pathway by gefitinib may present a promising pharmacologic option in the treatment of this challenging tumor disease. Clin Cancer Res; 17(13); 4367–77. ©2011 AACR.
REASONS FOR SATISFACTION AND DISSATISFACTION OF BANK CUSTOMERS. STUDY FROM SLOVAKIA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC

The satisfaction of bank customers presents an important area of building long-term relationships with the client, which significantly determines the financial performance of commercial banks through successful business. This article presents the current situation in the banking sector in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The aim of this article is to measure the customer satisfaction, its development in time, then to determine the main satisfaction and dissatisfaction attributes and finally to compare the situation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. To measure all these elements, standard statistical methods have been used. The observed overall satisfaction rate of the Czech and Slovak clients is very similar. The main reason for the satisfaction of bank customers in both countries is ability to use electronic banking and most important reason for their dissatisfaction is long-term high prices of products and services.
Monetary Policy Surprises, Credit Costs and Economic Activity

We provide evidence on the nature of the monetary transmission mechanism. To identify policy shocks in a setting with both economic and financial variables, we combine traditional monetary vector autoregression (VAR) analysis with high frequency identification (HFI) of monetary policy shocks. We first show that the shocks identified using HFI surprises as external instruments produce responses in output and inflation consistent with both textbook theory and conventional monetary VAR analysis. We also find, however, that monetary policy surprises typically produce "modest movements" in short rates that lead to "large" movements in credit costs and economic activity. The large movements in credit costs are mainly due to the reaction of both term premia and credit spreads that are typically absent from the standard model of monetary policy transmission. Finally, we show that forward guidance is important to the overall strength of the transmission mechanism.
Education Research in the Public Interest: Social Justice, Action, and Policy

Introduction, Gloria Ladson-Billings Chapter 1: What Should Count as Educational Research: Notes Toward a New Paradigm, Jean Anyon Chapter 2: Interrupting the Right: On Doing Critical Educational Work in Conservative Times, Michael Apple Chapter 3: Carry It On: Fighting for Progressive Education in Neoliberal Times, David Hursh Chapter 4: Public Intellectuals and the University, Alex Molnar Chapter 5: Trudge Toward Freedom: Educational Research in the Public Interest, William Ayers Chapter 6: This Is America 2005: The Political Economy of Education Reform Against the Public Interest, Pauline Lipman Chapter 7: Hopes of Progress and Fears of the Dangerous: Research, Cultural Theses, and Planning Different Human Kinds, Thomas Popkewitz Chapter 8: Democracy, Diversity, and Social Justice: Educating Citizens for the Public Interest in a Global Age, James A. Banks Chapter 9: Multiculturalism, Race and the Public Interest: Hanging on to Great-Great Granddaddy's Legacy, Carl A. Grant Chapter 10: Public Interest and the Interests of White People Are Not the Same: Assessment, Education Policy and Racism, David Gillborn Chapter 11: Curriculum and Students: Diverting the Public Interest, Catherine Cornbleth Chapter 12: Making Educational History: How Arts-Based Research Can Change Minds, Tom Barone Chapter 13: Renewing Curriculum Research/Curriculum Creation and Decision Making in the Public Interest Through Hermeneutics and Art Making, Donald Blumenfeld-Jones Afterword, William F. Tate.
An Experimental Model to Study the Impact of Lipid Oxidation on Contact Lens Deposition In Vitro

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study was to establish a controlled in vitro test system to study the effect of lipid oxidation on lipid deposition on contact lenses. Methods: Fatty acids with varying degree of unsaturation were oxidized using the Fenton reaction. The degree of lipid oxidation and the lipid moieties formed during the oxidation were identified and estimated by various lipid staining techniques following separation with thin-layer chromatography, and by measuring thiobarbituric acid reactive substances or peroxides in solution. Two different silicone hydrogel-based contact lenses (Balafilcon A and Senofilcon A) were incubated with fatty acids laced with radioactive tracer oxidized to varying degrees, and the amount of lipid deposition was measured using unoxidized lipid samples as controls. Results: The Fenton reaction together with the analytical methods to analyze the lipid oxidation can be used to control oxidation of lipids to a desired amount. In general, saturated fatty acids are not oxidized, the monounsaturated oleic acid produced peroxides while poly-unsaturated lipids initially produced peroxides and then fragmented into reactive aldehydes. Incubation with mildly oxidized lipids (most likely lipid peroxides) resulted in increased lipid deposition on Balafilcon A lenses compared to unoxidized lipids, but this was not observed for Senofilcon A lenses. Further oxidation of the lipids (carbon chain breakup) on the other hand resulted in diminished lipid deposition for both contact lens types. Conclusions: This study provides a method for inducing and controlling lipid oxidation so that the effect of lipid oxidation on contact lens binding can be compared. It could be shown that the degree of lipid oxidation has different effects on the lipid deposition on different contact lens types.
Exploration of workforce changes in integrated chronic care: Findings from an interactive and emergent research design

Introduction Integrated care interventions introduced in response to the increased demand for long-term care entail profound changes to the health workforce. This exploratory study aims to provide an overview of the workforce changes implemented as part of integrated chronic care interventions. Methods An interactive and emergent research design was used consisting of a literature review, qualitative expert questionnaires and case reports. We defined integrated care as interventions targeting at least two of the six Chronic Care Model components. Workforce changes were defined as those changes experienced by clinical and non-clinical staff responsible for public and individual health intervention. Results Seven workforce changes were identified: (1) nurse involvement, (2) multidisciplinary staff, (3) multidisciplinary protocols/pathways, (4) provider training, (5) case manager/care coordinator, (6) team meetings, and (7) new positions. Most interventions included more than one of these workforce changes. Conclusion The results of this study provide detailed insights into the current implementation of workforce changes in integrated care interventions and thereby pave the way for further investigations into the relative effectiveness of different workforce changes within the scope of complex interventions. Advancing knowledge in this area is essential for fostering health systems’ capacity to cope with the challenges related to the current demographic and epidemiological trends.
High-Density Lipoprotein Transport Through Aortic Endothelial Cells Involves Scavenger Receptor BI and ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter G1

Cholesterol efflux from macrophage foam cells is a rate-limiting step in reverse cholesterol transport. In this process cholesterol acceptors like high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and apolipoprotein (apo)A-I must cross the endothelium to get access to the donor cells in the arterial intima. Previously, we have shown that apoA-I passes a monolayer of aortic endothelial cells (ECs) from the apical to the basolateral side by transcytosis, which is modulated by the ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC)A1. Here, we analyzed the interaction of mature HDL with ECs. ECs bind HDL in a specific and saturable manner. Both cell surface biotinylation experiments and immunofluorescence microscopy of HDL recovered ≈30% of the cell-associated HDL intracellularly. Cultivated on inserts ECs bind, internalize, and translocate HDL from the apical to the basolateral compartment in a specific and temperature-dependent manner. The size of the translocated particle was reduced, but its protein moiety remained intact. Using RNA interference, we investigated the impact of SR-BI, ABCA1, and ABCG1 on binding, internalization, and transcytosis of HDL by ECs. HDL binding was reduced by 50% and 30% after silencing of SR-BI and ABCG1, respectively, but not at all after diminishing ABCA1 expression. Knock down of SR-BI and, even more so, ABCG1 reduced HDL transcytosis but did not affect inulin permeability. Cosilencing of both proteins did not further reduce HDL binding, internalization, or transport. In conclusion, ECs transcytose HDL by mechanisms that involve either SR-BI or ABCG1 but not ABCA1.
PharmaLeaks: Understanding the Business of Online Pharmaceutical Affiliate Programs

Online sales of counterfeit or unauthorized products drive a robust underground advertising industry that includes email spam, "black hat" search engine optimization, forum abuse and so on. Virtually everyone has encountered enticements to purchase drugs, prescription-free, from an online "Canadian Pharmacy. " However, even though such sites are clearly economically motivated, the shape of the underlying business enterprise is not well understood precisely because it is "underground. " In this paper we exploit a rare opportunity to view three such organizations--the GlavMed, SpamIt and RX-Promotion pharmaceutical affiliate programs-- from the inside. Using "ground truth" data sets including four years of raw transaction logs covering over $170 million in sales, we provide an in-depth empirical analysis of worldwide consumer demand, the key role of independent third-party advertisers, and a detailed cost accounting of the overall business model.
Near-Optimal Dynamic Spectrum Allocation in Cellular Networks

In this paper, we address the spectrum allocation problem in cellular networks under the coordinated dynamic spectrum access (CDSA) model. In this model, a centralized spectrum broker owns a part of the spectrum and issues dynamic spectrum leases to competing base stations in the region it controls. We consider a dynamic auction based approach where the base stations bid for channels depending on their demands. The broker allocates channels to them with an objective to maximize the overall revenue generated subject to wireless interference in the network. This problem is known to be NP-hard and has been addressed before in limited context. We address this problem in a very generic context where (i) interference in the network is modeled using pairwise and physical interference models and (ii) base stations can bid for heterogeneous channels of different width using generic bidding functions. We propose efficient approximation algorithms that give near optimal solutions with provable analytical bounds. Detailed simulation studies using randomly generated and real base station networks show that our algorithms scale very well for large network sizes.
Sample Size Re-Estimation without Breaking the Blind in Clinical Trial

From a regulatory perspective, it is important that the sample size recalculation is performed such that all persons involved in the study remain blinded. The proposed method is an extension of the work by Shih and Zhao (1997) to continuous endpoints. The treatment means are constructed by the convex combinations of the stratum means and then estimated by using the linear model of the stratum responses. In this article, the properties of the proposed estimators are studied. Simulation experiments are conducted to evaluate the difference between two estimators. The unblind estimators for the population mean and the population variance perform better than those of the blind estimators in terms of bias and mean square errors in the most of cases. Given a particular sample size, the accuracies of the blind means and the blind variances depend on the treatment proportions in each stratum. An example of interim analysis is given in this article to illustrate the use of sample size determination. The proposed sample size calculations are recommended in the interim analyses to meet Committee for Proprietary Medical Products requirement, retaining the blinding.
Pneumococcal and influenza vaccination status of hospitalized adults with community acquired pneumonia and the effects of vaccination on clinical presentation

ABSTRACT Background: Previous reports have shown that vaccination rates of adult at-risk populations are low in Turkey. There are differing reports with regards to the effectiveness of the influenza and the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) on the clinical outcomes of community acquired pneumonia (CAP). The purpose of this study was to analyze the influenza (FV) and pneumococcal vaccination (PV) status, the factors that influence the receipt of influenza/pneumococcal vaccine and the effects of prior vaccination on the clinical outcomes in adults hospitalized with CAP. Patients and Methods: Patients hospitalized with CAP between March 2009 and October 2013 and registered at the web-based Turkish Thoracic Society Pneumonia Database (TURCAP) were included in this multicentric, observational study. Of a total of 787 cases, data were analyzed for 466 patients for whom self-reported information on PV and FV was available. Results: In this adult population with CAP, the vaccination rate with both the pneumococcal and influenza vaccines was found to be 6%. Prior FV was found to be the sole variable that was associated with the receipt of PV [OR 17.8, 95% CI (25–75:8.56–37.01), p < 0.001]. Conversely, being vaccinated with PPSV23 was the only predictor of receipt of FV [OR 18.1, 95% CI (25 – 75:8.75 – 37.83), p < 0.001]. Compared to the unvaccinated cases, the chest radiograms of the vaccinated patients revealed less consolidation. The latter also reported fatigue, muscle pain and gastrointestinal symptoms less frequently. Although there was a trend for lower 30-day mortality and for lower rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, these did not reach statistical significance. A pneumonia severity index (PSI) score ≥ 90, CURB-65 score ≥3 and multilobar involvement, but not the vaccination status, were identified as independent determinants of ICU admission. Conclusions: This study showed that, among patients hospitalized with CAP, the FV and/or PV rates are low. Prior vaccination does not appear to significantly affect the clinical outcomes.
Beliefs about causes, symptoms, and stigma associated with severe mental illness among ‘highly acculturated’ Chinese-American patients

Background: Literature about experiences of mental illness among ethnic minority has tended to focus on first-generation migrants. This study fills that gap by exploring experiences among highly acculturated Chinese-American patients with mental illness. Materials: Twenty-nine participants completed semi-structured interviews based on Kleinman’s explanatory model, which were audio-taped, transcribed and coded for qualitative analysis. Discussion: Beliefs about the causes of mental illness included biological factors, head trauma and personal losses. Issues relating to stigma and shame were also discussed. Conclusion: Highly acculturated ethnic minority patients may ascribe to a biomedical model at the same time as ascribing to culture-specific beliefs.
Nonlinear polarization dynamics in a weakly birefringent all-normal dispersion photonic crystal fiber: toward a practical coherent fiber supercontinuum laser

Dispersion-flattened dispersion-decreased all-normal dispersion (DFDD-ANDi) photonic crystal fibers have been identified as promising candidates for high-spectral-power coherent supercontinuum (SC) generation. However, the effects of the unintentional birefringence of the fibers on the SC generation have been ignored. This birefringence is widely present in nonlinear non-polarization maintaining fibers with a typical core size of 2 µm, presumably due to the structural symmetry breaks introduced in the fiber drawing process. We find that an intrinsic form-birefringence on the order of 10−5 profoundly affects the SC generation in a DFDD-ANDi photonic crystal fiber. Conventional simulations based on the scalar generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation (GNLSE) fail to reproduce the prominent observed features of the SC generation in a short piece (9-cm) of this fiber. However, these features can be qualitatively or semi-quantitatively understood by the coupled GNLSE that takes into account the form-birefringence. The nonlinear polarization effects induced by the birefringence significantly distort the otherwise simple spectrotemporal field of the SC pulses. We therefore propose the fabrication of polarization-maintaining DFDD-ANDi fibers to avoid these adverse effects in pursuing a practical coherent fiber SC laser.
Does the implant make the difference ? - Prospective comparison of two different proximal femur nails.

The aim of this study was to compare two proximal femur nails with regard to the complication rate and midterm clinical outcome : the InterTAN nail (ITN) versus the third generation gamma nail (GN). 78 patients older than 60 years with an unstable intertrochanteric femoral fracture (AO/OTA 31 A2/A3) were randomised over a 20 month period into either ITN (n = 39) or GN (n = 39). The outcomes of interest were the perioperative implant-related complications and the functional status (Harris Hip Score) at 6 months postoperatively. In 14 of the ITN and in two of the GN procedures the surgeons rated the implant as cumbersome (p = 0.002). Functional outcome and complication rate did not differ between both groups. The mechanical failure correlated with the positioning of the lag screw independent on the used implant. The surgeon's technique (closed reduction, positioning of lag screw) and not implant configuration, is of crucial importance in achieving successful outcome.
Contact sensitisation in adults: a 5-year retrospective review in hospital Kuala Lumpur.

BACKGROUND The pattern of contact sensitisation should be monitored in order to detect the changing trend of sensitising allergens. We aim to evaluate contact sensitisation in adults suspected to have allergic contact dermatitis. METHODS This is a five-year retrospective review on contact sensitisation in adults patch-tested with the European Standard and extended series between 2011 and 2015 in the Department of Dermatology, Hospital Kuala Lumpur. RESULTS There were 689 adults (M:F= 1:2.04; mean age 40.5 years) who were patch-tested. The majority (175, 25.4%) were white collar workers and 118 (17.1%) were healthcare workers. The provisional diagnoses of patients included contact dermatitis (80.8%); endogenous eczema (7.9%); hand eczema (3.2%); hand and foot eczema (3.5%); foot eczema (1.4%) and photodermatitis (1.2%). The allergens selected for testing were based on past and present history of exposure. Almost all (688, 99.8%) were patch-tested with the European standard allergens and 466 (67.6%) were tested with the extended series. About three quarter (528, 76.6%) developed at least one positive reaction. The top five most frequent reactions were to nickel sulphate (35.3%); potassium dichromate (16.5%); methylchloroisothiazolinone (12.9%), fragrance mix I (12.6%), and cobalt chloride (10.2%). The commonest sensitisations identified in the extended series were palladium chloride (23/105, 21.9%), stannous chloride (18/85, 21.2%), miconazole (7/44, 15.9%), gold(I)sodium thiosulfate (16/105, 15.2%) and thimerosal (29/202, 14.4%). CONCLUSION Contact sensitisation was detected in 76.6% of adults patch-tested. Nickel sulphate was found to be the most frequently sensitising allergen. The rising prevalence of methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone sensitization poses significant concern.