Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
When randomized trials and observational data disagree: The case of preoperative versus postoperative chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer

We read with interest the recent study by Wojcieszynski and colleagues, who used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to assess “whether the sequencing of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has an effect on survival and cardiopulmonary mortality” for esophageal cancer. 1 Although chemotherapy data are not available in SEER, the authors use the delivery of radiotherapy (RT) as a surrogate for CRT, assuming that RT is “almost always administered concurrently with chemotherapy. ” 1 The findings are striking: the use of preoperative RT was associated with a 10% improvement in 5-year survival compared with postoperative RT (P < .0001). The sequencing of CRT relative to surgery is an area of clinical uncertainty, with arguments supporting both approaches. One advantage of neoadjuvant CRT is that RT volumes are usually smaller; conversely, with the adjuvant approach, some patients may avoid CRT if their surgical staging indicates very early stage disease. The authors indicate that no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are available to address this issue; but indeed there is at least 1, and the differences in results are quite informative. That trial randomized 238 patients who were undergoing surgery for locally advanced thoracic squamous cell esophageal carcinoma to preoperative CRT, postoperative CRT, or surgery alone. There were no differences in survival between the preoperative and postoperative arms, and both were superior to surgery. 2 Although there are some differences between the baseline populations in the 2 studies, we are faced with a situation in which RCT data conflict with the results from a population-based study. Conceivably, the 2 studies may differ because of a lack of generalizability of the RCT, but it is more likely that the differences arise because randomization can control for both measured and unmeasured confounders, whereas an observational study cannot control for the latter. One unmeasured confounder that threatens the validity of the SEER study is comorbidity. In some situations, controlling for comorbidity can reverse the results of an observational study: for example, SEER data indicate that postoperative RT for N2 nonsmall cell lung cancer improves overall survival, 3 whereas the more robust SEER-Medicare data (controlling for comorbidity) indicate a trend toward harm. 4 Furthermore, radiation dose is not available in SEER, and some patients in the postoperative cohort in the study by Wojcieszynski et al actually may have received RT for palliation of early recurrence. The optimal timing CRT for esophageal cancer remains uncertain, and an ongoing RCT is comparing quality-of-life outcomes with the 2 approaches. 5 We encourage additional RCTs to further examine survival outcomes between the 2 groups.
Breast-feeding and Overweight in Adolescence

Background: Previous reports have found associations between having been breast-fed and a reduced risk of being overweight. These associations may be confounded by sociocultural determinants of both breast-feeding and obesity. We addressed this possibility by assessing the association of breast-feeding duration with adolescent obesity within sibling sets. Methods: We surveyed 5614 siblings age 9 to 14 years and their mothers. These children were a subset of participants in the Growing Up Today Study, in which we had previously reported an inverse association of breast-feeding duration with overweight. We compared the prevalence of overweight (body mass index exceeding the age-sex-specific 85th percentile) in siblings who were breast-fed longer than the mean duration of their sibship with those who were breast-fed for a shorter period. Then we compared odds ratios from this within-family analysis with odds ratios from an overall (ie, not within-family) analysis. Results: Mean ± standard deviation breast-feeding duration was 6.4 ± 4.0 months, and crude prevalence of overweight was 19%. On average, siblings who were breast-fed longer than their family mean had breast-feeding duration 3.7 months longer than their shorter-duration siblings. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for overweight among siblings with longer breast-feeding duration, compared with shorter duration, was 0.92 (95% confidence interval = 0.76-1.11). In overall analyses, the adjusted OR was 0.94 (0.88-1.00) for each 3.7-month increment in breast-feeding duration. Conclusion: The estimated OR for the within-family analysis was close to the overall estimate, suggesting that the apparent protective effect of breast-feeding on later obesity was not highly confounded by unmeasured sociocultural factors. A larger study of siblings, however, would be needed to confirm this conclusion.
Improving Wireless Power Transfer Efficiency Using Hollow Windings With Track-Width-Ratio

With the widespread growth of slim portable electronics, research into planar spiral windings for wireless power transfer (WPT) battery charging systems has gained a lot of attention due to their low profile, reproducibility, and manufacturability. The major design goal for windings in WPT systems is high-quality factor (Q) for a given inductance. This study presents a new method to improve Q by using a nonunity track-width-ratio (TWR) geometrical arrangement in conjunction with increasing the inner radius of winding to make an improved hollow planar spiral winding. The inductance regulation of this technique combined with its exceptional improvements in Q make it a superior choice for resonant WPT systems. Inductance and resistance models are provided in order to assess the Q improvement. A 5-W, 110-200-kHz WPT system was built and tested based on the wireless power consortium Qi standard to confirm the advantages of the improved windings on the transmission efficiency of the system. An increase from 70% to 90% are observed from employing the proposed winding technique designed using the provided models.
Enteral tube feeding in older people with advanced dementia: findings from a Cochrane systematic review.

AIM Enteral tube feeding for people with advanced dementia who have difficulty swallowing and poor nutritional intake is common. Potential benefits or harms of this practice are unclear and the authors aimed to evaluate the outcomes of this intervention. METHODS A full literature review was undertaken in April 2008. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), controlled clinical trials, controlled before and after studies, interrupted time series studies and controlled observational studies that evaluated the effectiveness of enteral feeding via a nasogastric tube or via a tube passed by percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy were selected. The study population comprised adults aged 50 and over with a diagnosis of advanced primary degenerative dementia who had poor nutritional intake and/or developed problems with eating and swallowing. The primary outcomes were survival and quality of life (QOL). RESULTS No RCTs were identified. Seven observational controlled studies were found; six assessed mortality. There was no evidence of increased survival in people with dementia receiving enteral tube feeding. The other study assessed nutritional outcomes. None of the studies examined the effect on QOL and there was no evidence of benefit in terms of nutritional status or the prevalence of pressure ulcers. CONCLUSIONS There is insufficient evidence to suggest that enteral tube feeding is beneficial in people with advanced dementia. Data is lacking on the adverse effects of this intervention.
Corticostriatal and corticotectal neurons in area 6 of the cat during fixation and eye movements

We studied the visuomotor properties of 54 corticostriatal (CS) and 38 corticotectal (CT) neurons in a region of area 6 that largely corresponds to the cat's frontal eye fields in five cats trained to do simple oculomotor tasks. Overall, these cells were similar to the general population of area 6 neurons described in the previous paper (Weyand & Gafka, 1998), with very few showing pre-saccadic activity. Likewise, CS and CT cells were similar to each other, although only CS cells showed activity exclusively related to the delivery of the reward and CT cells were more likely to be active during saccades. Variability in visual response latencies and the observation that some cells showed initial visual suppression suggest CS and CT cells reflect the output of a variety of intracortical circuits. Despite similar response properties and overlapping laminar origin, CS and CT circuits appear largely independent. Among 32 cells that we could electrically activate (either synaptically or antidromically) from the superior colliculus, only two could also be activated from stimulating electrodes in the striatum. Similarly, 23 of 25 cells electrically activated from the striatum could not be activated from the superior colliculus. Although few of these efferent cells exhibited pre-motor activity, many exhibit properties that could contribute to gaze control.
Towards Deep Learning in Hindi NER: An approach to tackle the Labelled Data Sparsity

In this paper we describe an end to end Neural Model for Named Entity Recognition NER) which is based on Bi-Directional RNN-LSTM. Almost all NER systems for Hindi use Language Specific features and handcrafted rules with gazetteers. Our model is language independent and uses no domain specific features or any handcrafted rules. Our models rely on semantic information in the form of word vectors which are learnt by an unsupervised learning algorithm on an unannotated corpus. Our model attained state of the art performance in both English and Hindi without the use of any morphological analysis or without using gazetteers of any sort.
The spacer size of I-B CRISPR is modulated by the terminal sequence of the protospacer

Abstract Prokaryotes memorize invader information by incorporating alien DNA as spacers into CRISPR arrays. Although the spacer size has been suggested to be predefined by the architecture of the acquisition complex, there is usually an unexpected heterogeneity. Here, we explored the causes of this heterogeneity in Haloarcula hispanica I-B CRISPR. High-throughput sequencing following adaptation assays demonstrated significant size variation among 37 957 new spacers, which appeared to be sequence-dependent. Consistently, the third nucleotide at the spacer 3΄-end (PAM-distal end) showed an evident bias for cytosine and mutating this cytosine in the protospacer sequence could change the final spacer size. In addition, slippage of the 5΄-end (PAM-end), which contributed to most of the observed PAM (protospacer adjacent motif) inaccuracy, also tended to change the spacer size. We propose that both ends of the PAM-protospacer sequence should exhibit nucleotide selectivity (with different stringencies), which fine-tunes the structural ruler, to a certain extent, to specify the spacer size.
Control Vector Lyapunov Functions for Large-Scale Impulsive Dynamical Systems

Vector Lyapunov theory has been developed to weaken the hypothesis of standard Lyapunov theory in order to enlarge the class of Lyapunov functions that can be used for analyzing system stability. In this paper, we provide generalizations to the recent extensions of vector Lyapunov theory for continuous-time systems to address stability and control design of impulsive dynamical systems via vector Lyapunov functions. Specifically, we provide a generalized comparison principle involving hybrid comparison dynamics that are dependent on comparison system states as well as the nonlinear impulsive dynamical system states. Furthermore, we develop stability results for impulsive dynamical systems that involve vector Lyapunov functions and hybrid comparison inequalities. Based on these results, we show that partial stability for state-dependent impulsive dynamical systems can be addressed via vector Lyapunov functions. Furthermore, we extend the novel notion of control vector Lyapunov functions to impulsive dynamical systems. Using control vector Lyapunov functions, we present a universal decentralized feedback stabilizer for a decentralized affine in the control nonlinear impulsive dynamical system. These results are then used to develop decentralized controllers for large-scale impulsive dynamical systems with robustness guarantees against full modeling uncertainty
Liquidity of the Croatian Stock Market: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract In this paper we analysed liquidity of the Croatian stock market. Low level of liquidity is one of the key problem areas facing this small market. As the measures of liquidity we used the Zero Rates return by Lesmond et al. (1999), Price Pressure of non-trading as in Bekaert et al. (2007), and Turnover. For calculating the Zero Rates return, and Price Pressure measures we used prices of all stocks listed at the the Zagreb Stock Exchange in the period: 2005 - 2009. Results showed that the level of liquidity for the Croatian market is very low. For this market the least illiquid year was 2007 (the pre-crises year), and most illiquid year for Croatia was 2009. We showed that illiquidity is persistent in this market. The first measures of correlation between all illiquidity measure are given. Particularly, we demonstrated that the Croatian market is less illiquid than the Serbian market.
Progression of Nonradiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis to Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Population‐Based Cohort Study

The long‐term outcome of patients with nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) is unclear, particularly whether few or most progress to ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Our objective was to examine the progression to AS in a population‐based inception cohort of patients with nonradiographic axial SpA.
An Intrinsic Propensity of Murine Peritoneal B1b Cells to Switch to IgA in Presence of TGF-β and Retinoic Acid

Aims In the present study we have investigated the comparative switching propensity of murine peritoneal and splenic B cell subpopulations to IgA in presence of retinoic acid (RA) and TGF-β. Methods and Results To study the influence of RA and TGF-β on switching of B cell subpopulations to IgA, peritoneal (B1a, B1b and B2 cells) and splenic (B1a, marginal zone, and B2) B cells from normal BALB/c mice were FACS purified, cultured for 4 days in presence of RA and TGF-β and the number of IgA producing cells was determined by ELISPOT assay or FACS analysis. In presence of TGF-β, peritoneal B1b cells switched to IgA more potently than other peritoneal B cell subpopulations. When TGF-β was combined with retinoic acid (RA), switching to IgA was even more pronounced. Under these conditions, “innate” B cells like peritoneal and splenic B1 cells and MZ B cells produced IgA more readily than B2 cells. Additionally, high frequency of nucleotide exchanges indicating somatic hypermutation in VH regions was observed. Besides IgA induction, RA treatment of sorted PEC and splenic B cells led to expression of gut homing molecules - α4β7 and CCR9. Intraperitoneal transfer of RA-treated B1 cells into Rag1-/- recipients resulted in IgA in serum and gut lavage, most efficiently amongst B1b cell recipients. Conclusion Present study demonstrates the differential and synergistic effect of RA and TGF-β on switching of different B cell subpopulations to IgA and establishes the prominence of peritoneal B1b cells in switching to IgA under the influence of these two factors. Our study extends our knowledge about the existing differences among B cell subpopulations with regards to IgA production and indicates towards their differential contribution to gut associated humoral immunity.
Low vs. High Radioiodine Activity to Ablate the Thyroid after Thyroidectomy for Cancer: A Randomized Study

Background Radioactive iodine is commonly administered following thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid carcinoma to ablate the thyroid remnant. The optimal administered activity of radioiodine is unknown. Methodology/Principal Findings Adult subjects (n = 160) diagnosed with papillary or follicular thyroid carcinoma were randomly allocated to receive either 1100 MBq (30 mCi) or 3700 MBq (100 mCi) activity of radioiodine (131I) following thyroidectomy. The study participants were prepared for ablation using thyroid hormone withdrawal. Ablation was considered successful when serum thyroglobulin concentration was less than 1 ng/mL and no uptake was present in 131I scan. Ablation was successful following one administration of radioiodine in 42 (52%; 95% CI, 41% to 63%) of the 81 evaluable study participants who received 1100 MBq, and in 43 (56%, 45% to 67%) of the 77 subjects who received 3700 MBq activity (P = .61). There was no difference between the groups in the numbers of repeat radioiodine treatments needed to complete ablation (P = .27). The higher activity was associated with more nausea and taste disturbances, and a longer stay in a radioprotected isolation unit. None of the participants died from thyroid cancer during a median follow up of 51 months; three subjects in the 3700 MBq group and none in the 1100 MBq group were diagnosed with distant metastases during follow-up. In a meta-analysis of four randomized studies that compared the 1100 and 3700 MBq activities, the 1100 MBq activity tended to be associated with a higher risk of unsuccessful ablation (relative risk 1.148, 95% CI 0.974 to 1.353, P = .10). Conclusions/Significance The results provide no conclusive evidence that 3700 MBq activity is more effective for ablation of the thyroid remnant than 1100 MBq activity. The 3700 MBq activity is associated with more adverse effects. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00115895
Atrial Ectopy Predicts Late Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation After Pulmonary Vein Isolation

Background—Late recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after radiofrequency ablation remains significant. Asymptomatic recurrence poses a difficult clinical problem as it is associated with an equally increased risk of stroke and death compared with symptomatic AF events. Meta-analyses reveal that no single preablation patient characteristic efficiently predicts these AF recurrences. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of premature atrial complex (PAC) occurrence with regard to the risk of late AF recurrence after radiofrequency ablation. Methods and Results—The study cohort consisted of 124 patients with 7-day Holter recordings at 6 months post radiofrequency ablation for AF. No patients had AF recurrence before this time. Patients were followed-up every 6 months. Holter-detected PACs were defined as any supraventricular complexes occurring >30% earlier than expected. During a median follow-up of 4.2 years (first quartile to third quartile [Q1–Q3]=1.6–4.5), 32 patients (26%) had late recurrences of AF at a median of 462 days (Q1–Q3=319–1026) post radiofrequency ablation. The number of PACs per 24 hours was 248 (Q1–Q3=62–1026) in patients with and 77 (Q1–Q3=24–448) in patients without recurrence of AF (P=0.02). Multivariate analysis of the risk of late AF recurrence found ≥142 PACs per 24 hours to have a hazard ratio 2.84 (confidence interval, 1.26–6.43), P=0.01. Conclusions—This study showed that occurrence of ≥142 PACs per day at 6 months after PVI was independently associated with a significantly increased risk of late AF recurrence. These results could have important clinical implications for the design of post-PVI follow-up. Clinical Trial Registration—URL: http://www.anzctr. org.au. Unique identifier: ACRTN12606000467538.
A Practical Scheme for Wireless Network Operation

In many problems in wireline networks, it is known that achieving capacity on each link or subnetwork is optimal for the entire network operation. In this paper, we present examples of wireless networks in which decoding and achieving capacity on certain links or subnetworks gives us lower rates than other simple schemes, like forwarding. This implies that the separation of channel and network coding that holds for many classes of wireline networks does not, in general, hold for wireless networks. Next, we consider Gaussian and erasure wireless networks where nodes are permitted only two possible operations: nodes can either decode what they receive (and then re-encode and transmit the message) or simply forward it. We present a simple greedy algorithm that returns the optimal scheme from the exponential-sized set of possible schemes. This algorithm will go over each node at most once to determine its operation, and hence, is very efficient. We also present a decentralized algorithm whose performance can approach the optimum arbitrarily closely in an iterative fashion
FHHOP: A Factored Hybrid Heuristic Online Planning Algorithm for Large POMDPs

Planning in partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) remains a challenging topic in the artificial intelligence community, in spite of recent impressive progress in approximation techniques. Previous research has indicated that online planning approaches are promising in handling large-scale POMDP domains efficiently as they make decisions "on demand" instead of proactively for the entire state space. We present a Factored Hybrid Heuristic Online Planning (FHHOP) algorithm for large POMDPs. FHHOP gets its power by combining a novel hybrid heuristic search strategy with a recently developed factored state representation. On several benchmark problems, FHHOP substantially outperformed state-of-the-art online heuristic search approaches in terms of both scalability and quality.
Corporate Ownership Around the World

We use data on ownership structures of large corporations in 27 wealthy economies to identify the ultimate controlling shareholders of these firms. We find that, except in economies with very good shareholder protection, relatively few of these firms are widely held, in contrast to Berle and Means’s image of ownership of the modern corporation. Rather, these firms are typically controlled by families or the State. Equity control by financial institutions is far less common. The controlling shareholders typically have power over firms significantly in excess of their cash f low rights, primarily through the use of pyramids and participation in management.
A Multivariate Complexity Analysis of Lobbying in Multiple Referenda

We extend work by Christian et al. [Review of Economic Design 2007] on lobbying in multiple referenda by first providing a more fine-grained analysis of the computational complexity of the NP-complete Lobbying problem. Herein, given a binary matrix, the columns represent issues to vote on and the rows correspond to voters making a binary vote on each issue. An issue is approved if a majority of votes has a 1 in the corresponding column. The goal is to get all issues approved by modifying a minimum number of rows to all-1-rows. In our multivariate complexity analysis, we present a more holistic view on the nature of the computational complexity of Lobbying, providing both (parameterized) tractability and intractability results, depending on various problem parameterizations to be adopted. Moreover, we show non-existence results concerning efficient and effective preprocessing for Lobbying and introduce natural variants such as Restricted Lobbying and Partial Lobbying.