Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative contrast-enhanced ultrasonography for the differential diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial neoplasms

The present study aimed to investigate the feasibility of applying contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) imaging technology for distinguishing between benign and malignant endometrial lesions, and to screen markers that could be correlated with the pathological results. In this study, endometrial diseases were diagnosed by biopsy under hysteroscopy and CEUS examinations. The intensity and time parameters of the time-intensity curve (TIC) were analyzed. The mean arrival time (AT), time-to-peak (TTP), rise time (RT), washout half-time and clearance half-time of malignant lesions were shorter than those of benign lesions (P<0.05), whereas the average peak intensity (PI) and enhancement intensity (EI) of malignant lesions were higher than those of benign lesions (P<0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curve showed the following cut-off values: PI, 29.2 dB; EI, 21.35 dB; AT, 12.75 sec; TTP, 26.75 sec; RT, 13.2 sec; clearance half-time, 89.3 sec; and washout half-time, 75.45 sec. The lesions with PI, an EI higher than that of the cut-off and lesions with an AT, TTP, RT, half clearing time and washout half-time shorter than the cut-off were considered malignant. The TTP, RT and half clearing time were negatively correlated with microvessel density (MVD), i.e., MVD was higher when the TTP, RT and half clearing time were shorter. Overall, changes in the enhancement and clearing of lesions could be quantitatively analyzed by CEUS TIC and further discriminate benign from malignant lesions. In the present study, CEUS appeared to indirectly reflect blood vessel changes inside the lesions and provided a pre-operative non-invasive fast imaging method for the diagnosis of endometrial disease.
Rice germination and seedling growth in the absence of oxygen.

BACKGROUND Higher plants are aerobic organisms which suffer from the oxygen deficiency imposed by partial or total submergence. However, some plant species have developed strategies to avoid or withstand severe oxygen shortage and, in some cases, the complete absence of oxygen (tissue anoxia) for considerable periods of time. SCOPE Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the few plant species that can tolerate prolonged soil flooding or complete submergence thanks to an array of adaptive mechanisms. These include an ability to elongate submerged shoot organs at faster than normal rates and to develop aerenchyma, allowing the efficient internal transport of oxygen from the re-emerged elongated shoot to submerged parts. However, rice seeds are able to germinate anaerobically by means of coleoptile elongation. This cannot be explained in terms of oxygen transport through an emerged shoot. This review provides an overview of anoxic rice germination that is mediated through coleoptile rather than root emergence. CONCLUSIONS Although there is still much to learn about the biochemical and molecular basis of anaerobic rice germination, the ability of rice to maintain an active fermentative metabolism (i.e. by fuelling the glycolytic pathway with readily fermentable carbohydrates) is certainly crucial. The results obtained through microarray-based transcript profiling confirm most of the previous evidence based on single-gene studies and biochemical analysis, and highlight new aspects of the molecular response of the rice coleoptile to anoxia.
Foundations of empowerment evaluation

Introduction Introducing Empowerment Evaluation as Part of the Intellectual Landscape of Evaluation Background and Theory Exploring the Background and Theory of Empowerment Evaluation with Relevant Examples and Tools Three Steps Presenting the Three Steps of Empowerment Evaluation and Related Facets Four Case Examples Highlighting the Steps of Empowerment Evaluation with Four Case Examples A High Stakes Case Example Documenting the Utility, Credibility, and Rigor of Empowerment Evaluation in a High-Stakes Arena-Accreditation The Standards Applying the Standards to Empowerment Evaluation Caveats Discussing Caveats and Concerns About Empowerment Evaluation A Dialogue Distinguishing Empowerment Evaluation From Other Approaches The World Wide Web Using the Internet as a Tool to Disseminate Empowerment Evaluation Worldwide Conclusion Concluding by Speaking One's Truth About the Strengths, Limitations, and Conditions of Empowerment Evaluation
The Swedish Fiscal Policy Council: Watchdog with a Broad Remit

The Swedish Fiscal Policy Council (FPC) set up in 2007 is one example of the recent international trend to create independent fiscal watchdogs. The FPC has established itself as an important participant in the Swedish economic policy discussion. The FPC has small resources and a broad remit including employment, growth, income distribution and monitoring of how well the government explains its policies in addition to evaluation of fiscal policy. The reason why it can work is that the FPC acts as a complement to other institutions. The interaction between fiscal policy and other policy areas as well as the possibility to exploit the council’s expertise in several areas are arguments in favour of the broad mandate, but at the same time there could be a risk that interest is diverted away from fiscal issues. The FPC’s experiences illustrate the time inconsistency issues involved in establishing a fiscal council: a government has an incentive to create such a body as a signal that it will pursue responsible and rational policies, but it also has an incentive to constrain the council’s activities once government policies are criticised.
Comparative Analysis of TGF-β/Smad Signaling Dependent Cytostasis in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Lines

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major public health problem due to increased incidence, late diagnosis and limited treatment options. TGF-β is known to provide cytostatic signals during early stages of liver damage and regeneration, but exerts tumor promoting effects in onset and progression of liver cancer. To understand the mechanistic background of such a switch, we systematically correlated loss of cytostatic TGF-β effects with strength and dynamics of its downstream signaling in 10 HCC cell lines. We demonstrate that TGF-β inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in cell lines with low endogenous levels of TGF-β and Smad7 and strong transcriptional Smad3 activity (PLC/PRF/5, HepG2, Hep3B, HuH7), previously characterized to express early TGF-β signatures correlated with better outcome in HCC patients. TGF-β dependent cytostasis is blunted in another group of cell lines (HLE, HLF, FLC-4) expressing high amounts of TGF-β and Smad7 and showing significantly reduced Smad3 signaling. Of those, HLE and HLF exhibit late TGF-β signatures, which is associated with bad prognosis in HCC patients. RNAi with Smad3 blunted cytostatic effects in PLC/PRF/5, Hep3B and HuH7. HCC-M and HCC-T represent a third group of cell lines lacking cytostatic TGF-β signaling despite strong and prolonged Smad3 phosphorylation and low Smad7 and TGF-β expression. Inhibitory linker phosphorylation, as in HCC-T, may disrupt C-terminally phosphorylated Smad3 function. In summary, we assort 10 HCC cell lines in at least two clusters with respect to TGF-β sensitivity. Cell lines responsive to the TGF-β cytostatic program, which recapitulate early stage of liver carcinogenesis exhibit transcriptional Smad3 activity. Those with disturbed TGF-β/Smad3 signaling are insensitive to TGF-β dependent cytostasis and might represent late stage of the disease. Regulation of this switch remains complex and cell line specific. These features may be relevant to discriminate stage dependent TGF-β functions for the design of efficient TGF-β directed therapy in liver cancer.
Eco-Terrorism: Radical Environmental and Animal Liberation Movements

Radical environmentalism and its progeny, eco-terrorism, is a modern phenomenon. It is a movement far removed from the elite conservationists of the late 1800s and the mainstream environmental groups that emerged later. Drawn from the same pool of concerned individuals who comprise memberships in groups like Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the Wilderness Society, disaffected environmentalists have turned from political lobbying to direct action in the form of widespread property destruction and other types of crime and terror. Here, the author exposes the activities of radical groups determined to make their mark in the movement to protect the earth and its creatures from those they view as predators. He covers the major groups as well as less well-known ones and provides a careful portrait of who they are, what they do, and how to address them. The growth, from the 1980s through the present day, of organizations involved in eco-terror is noticeable and significant. Such groups have caused millions of dollars worth of damage throughout the country. The FBI estimates that the ALF/ELF have committed more than 600 criminal acts in the United States since 1996, resulting in damages in excess of $43 million. Tactics include pulling up survey stakes, tree-spiking, arson, and other methods. Most groups will claim responsibility for their actions, just as other types of terrorist groups will take responsibility for theirs. Eco-Terrorism takes an objective look at the most radical groups and their terrorist activities in the United States, including case examples and analysis of the methods and rhetoric the groups employ. It uncovers the losses both to individuals and the community as a result of these methods, and it describes the ideologies, motivations, history, and activities of the political movements that have been labeled environmental terrorism.
Qualitative Research About Attributions, Narratives, and Support for Obesity Policy, 2008

Introduction Successful efforts to reduce obesity will require public policy strategies that target both individuals and external factors such as social conditions, economic circumstances, and physical environments. Public opinion data suggest that many policy changes to reduce obesity are likely to face public resistance. Methods We conducted 4 focus groups involving 33 adults living in or near a midsized Midwestern city in July 2008. Participants were assigned to the focus groups on the basis of self-reported political ideology. We used a semistructured discussion guide to 1) better understand public perceptions of obesity and 2) assess the promise of narratives as a strategy to stimulate meaningful discussion about obesity-related policy change. Results Participants viewed internal factors as primary causes of obesity. Despite substantial acknowledgment of external causes of obesity, many participants — particularly political conservatives — were resistant to external policy solutions for the problem. Across the political spectrum, participants responded more favorably to a short narrative emphasizing barriers to reducing adult obesity than a story emphasizing barriers to reducing childhood obesity. Conclusion This study provides a deeper context for understanding public perceptions about obesity. Some types of narratives appear promising for promoting support for policy solutions to reduce obesity.
Discrete Choice Decision-Making with Multiple Decision Makers within the Household

There is still a long way to achieve the goal of providing a theoretical and empirical framework to model and apply economics of the family. Decision-making within the family has been neglected too long in transportation. Two special issues by Bhat and Pendyala, 2005 [17] and by Timmermans and Junyi Zhang, 2009 [81] provide the most notable exceptions. The objective of this paper is to set-up a flexible framework to discuss the development of integrated transportation models involving interacting and interdependent actors; updating previous reviews from the point of view of economics of the family . Transportation is very keen to have access to this type of models, since their applications are numerous. Let mention, for example, residential location choice, workplace choice, car ownership, choice of children's school, mode choice, departure time choice activity patterns and the like. The (non unitary) economics of the family models are totally different models, which do not merely extend existing discrete choice models. They introduce new concepts, which are specific to within family interactions: negotiation, altruism, or repeated interaction and Pareto optimality. This review is completed with the study of different types of accessibility measures including recent work on timegeography measures of accessibility.
Learning from a paradox: recent insights into Fanconi anaemia through studying mouse models

Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a rare autosomal recessive or X-linked inherited disease characterised by an increased incidence of bone marrow failure (BMF), haematological malignancies and solid tumours. Cells from individuals with FA show a pronounced sensitivity to DNA interstrand crosslink (ICL)-inducing agents, which manifests as G2-M arrest, chromosomal aberrations and reduced cellular survival. To date, mutations in at least 15 different genes have been identified that cause FA; the products of all of these genes are thought to function together in the FA pathway, which is essential for ICL repair. Rapidly following the discovery of FA genes, mutant mice were generated to study the disease and the affected pathway. These mutant mice all show the characteristic cellular ICL-inducing agent sensitivity, but only partially recapitulate the developmental abnormalities, anaemia and cancer predisposition seen in individuals with FA. Therefore, the usefulness of modelling FA in mice has been questioned. In this Review, we argue that such scepticism is unjustified. We outline that haematopoietic defects and cancer predisposition are manifestations of FA gene defects in mice, albeit only in certain genetic backgrounds and under certain conditions. Most importantly, recent work has shown that developmental defects in FA mice also arise with concomitant inactivation of acetaldehyde metabolism, giving a strong clue about the nature of the endogenous lesion that must be repaired by the functional FA pathway. This body of work provides an excellent example of a paradox in FA research: that the dissimilarity, rather than the similarity, between mice and humans can provide insight into human disease. We expect that further study of mouse models of FA will help to uncover the mechanistic background of FA, ultimately leading to better treatment options for the disease.
POVERTY IN INDIA: REGIONAL ESTIMATES, 1987-8

This paper presents estimates of rural and urban poverty and inequality for the 61 constituent "regions" of India's 16 major states in 1987-88, based on National Sample Survey data. The estimates are also used for preliminary investigation of selected issues, including the regional patters of poverty decline since 1972-3, the hypothesis of inter-regional "convergence" in poverty levels, the evolution of intra-regional and inter-regional inequality in consumer expenditure, and the relationship between poverty decline and regional characteristics.
A Currency Crises Model That Works: A Payments Disequilibrium Approach

The rash of international financial crises in the 1990s have stimulated great interest in models to predict crises and explain the patterns of contagion that follow crisis. In both of these respects analysis of the Asian crisis has proven to be quite controversial. While some economists have argued that the Thai crises should have been quite predictable based on the similarities between Thailand’s situation and that of the Mexican crisis two years prior, see, for example, Salvatore (1999), other economists have argued that the Thai crisis was not predictable on the basis of the then available research, see, for example, Furman and Stiglitz (1998). Likewise some leading economists have argued that the pattern of contagion following the Thai crisis cannot be explained by rational economic models. As a consequence they point to self-fulfilling and/or destabilizing speculation, rather than economic fundamental as the primary causes of the Thai crisis and subsequent international financial contagion. *Corresponding Author: Claremont Institute of Economic Policy Studies, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. Tel: 909-621-8787. Fax: 909-621-8460. Email: Thomas.Willett@cgu.edu 1 Unfortunately as yet there is no general agreement in the literature on the meaning of contagion. Some use it to mean the spread of speculative attacks unjustified by the fundamentals, while others such as Eichengreen et al. (1996) use it in a more neutral sense that a crisis in one country increases the probability of a crisis in other countries, whether justified by economic and financial interdependence and rational reevaluations of countries prospects or due to herding behavior. We use contagion in their neutral sense and refer to pure contagion as contagion not justified by plausible expectations about fundamentals. For a useful discussion of different concepts of contagion see Masson (1999). Claremont Colleges working papers in economics Claremont Graduate University • Claremont Institute for Economic Policy Studies • Claremont McKenna College • Drucker Graduate School of Management • Harvey Mudd College • Lowe Institute • Pitzer College • Pomona College • Scripps College
Fairness, Guilt, and Perceived Importance as Antecedents of Intellectual Property Piracy Intentions

We extend the moral approbation model of ethical decision -making, and suggest that establishing moral intention is influenced by perceptions of the fairness/justice of the act and by feelings of guilt for performing the act. Issues of high perceived importan ce of an ethical issue (PIE) are proposed to have stronger links from perceptions of fairness to moral intentions, while issues low in PIE have weaker links because of the influence of other factors. The results of a questionnaire experiment involving four intellectual property activities are presented. When establishing moral intent, individuals weighed the action’s fairness/justice equally with whether it would make them feel guilty for the highest PIE issue, while guilt was the only significant influence on intent for issues lower in PIE. In light of the relatively low impact of fairness/justice on establishing moral intent, we conclude by analyzing strategies for reducing the unauthorized duplication of intellectual property.
Youth-Culture or Student-Culture? Internet Use Intensity Divides University Students and the Consequences for Academic Performance

The effects of Internet use on the academic performance of university students is usually analyzed from a deterministic perspective that gives this technology an immanently positive or negative role. In this paper we consider the problem from an alternative point of view. We analyze the actual Internet uses the students engage in and the differences in these according to the students’ characteristics. We aim to explain when spending more time on the Internet has a positive and a negative effect on academic performance and explain why usually a high usage time of internet is correlated with a lower academic achievement.
The Effect of Electronic Audit Environments on Performance

This study reports the results of an experiment that examines the impact of electronic work environments on auditor performance. It builds on research that has found that electronic work environments are more cognitively demanding than traditional paper environments and, thus, negatively impact performance. Forty-eight auditors with an average of 78 months of audit experience from one Big Four accounting firm participated. Auditors in the electronic work environment were less able to identify seeded errors and to use them properly in evaluating loan covenants than auditors in the traditional paper environment. Given these findings, suggestions are made as to how to maximize auditor performance in an electronic work environment.
GARP-face: Balancing privacy protection and utility preservation in face de-identification

Face de-identification, the process of preventing a person' identity from being connected with personal information, is an important privacy protection tool in multimedia data processing. With the advance of face detection algorithms, a natural solution is to blur or block facial regions in visual data so as to obscure identity information. Such solutions however often destroy privacy-insensitive information and hence limit the data utility, e.g., gender and age information. In this paper we address the de-identification problem by proposing a simple yet effective framework, named GARP-Face, that balances utility preservation in face deidentification. In particular, we use modern facial analysis technologies to determine the Gender, Age, and Race attributes of facial images, and Preserving these attributes by seeking corresponding representatives constructed through a gallery dataset. We evaluate the proposed approach using the MORPH dataset in comparison with several state-of-the-art face de-identification solutions. The results show that our method outperforms previous solutions in preserving data utility while achieving similar degree of privacy protection.
Democratically Accountable Leadership: Tensions, Overlaps, and Principles in Action

This discussion focuses on the intersection of two dissonant concepts of importance in today's educational scene—democracy and accountability. In this article, we describe how these conflicting ideologies might be resolved, theoretically and practically, through democratically accountable leadership—that is, the dual necessity of educational leaders to successfully function as change agents working for social justice. Understanding how educational leaders conceive of these phenomena is an important starting place toward preparing future educational leaders to deal more effectively with them. Hence, we investigated the idea of rethinking accountability around democratic principles and incorporating it into leadership preparation. Specifically, we present results from a study involving doctoral students (i.e., educational leaders) who were asked to link the principles of democracy and accountability to the application of social justice. As such, the article contains suggestions for implementing democratically accountable leadership into practice.
CD8+ T Cell-Mediated Neuronal Dysfunction and Degeneration in Limbic Encephalitis

Autoimmune inflammation of the limbic gray matter structures of the human brain has recently been identified as major cause of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with interictal temporal epileptiform activity and slowing of the electroencephalogram, progressive memory disturbances, as well as a variety of other behavioral, emotional, and cognitive changes. Magnetic resonance imaging exhibits volume and signal changes of the amygdala and hippocampus, and specific anti-neuronal antibodies binding to either intracellular or plasma membrane neuronal antigens can be detected in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. While effects of plasma cell-derived antibodies on neuronal function and integrity are increasingly becoming characterized, potentially contributing effects of T cell-mediated immune mechanisms remain poorly understood. CD8+ T cells are known to directly interact with major histocompatibility complex class I-expressing neurons in an antigen-specific manner. Here, we summarize current knowledge on how such direct CD8+ T cell–neuron interactions may impact neuronal excitability, plasticity, and integrity on a single cell and network level and provide an overview on methods to further corroborate the in vivo relevance of these mechanisms mainly obtained from in vitro studies.