Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An evaluation of tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) in the two bronchoalveolar lavage fractions of lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND It has been proven that cytokeratins (CKs) are useful tumor markers for the follow-up, treatment monitoring and prognosis evaluation of lung cancer and among these, tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) plays an important role. Nevertheless, only a small number of studies have been reported about their diagnostic capacity. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) can be divided into two fractions: bronchiolar (BF) and alveolar (AF). For the above reasons, our aims were (1) to analyze the diagnostic usefulness of TPA in the BAL of lung cancer patients and (2) to observe if, in lung cancer patients, TPA levels in the two BAL fractions are different. This should mean that the study of tumor markers in the BAL should be carried out in both fractions to increase their diagnostic capacity. METHODS We studied 289 BALs divided into two phases. In phase I, TPA was analyzed in the BAL of six groups of subjects (healthy persons, chronic bronchitis, asthma, respiratory infections, diffuse interstitial pulmonary diseases and lung cancer). In phase II, TPA was studied in both BAL fractions of a group of patients with lung cancer. RESULTS We observed that TPA levels were significantly higher in the BAL of patients with bronchogenic neoplasias. In these patients, TPA was increased in the BF of the lavage in relation to the AF. In smoker patients with pulmonary carcinomas, TPA was higher in the AF of the BAL than in the lavage of non-smokers. This did not occur in the BF. We found no relation between the TPA concentrations and cancer histology. CONCLUSIONS We believe that TPA is a useful tumor marker with diagnostic capacity and this capacity is increased when it is studied in the two BAL fractions. Smoking habit may play a role in the secretion of tumor markers by the tumor cells.
INTROGRESSION IN THE DROSOPHILA SUBOBSCURA—D. MADEIRENSIS SISTER SPECIES: EVIDENCE OF GENE FLOW IN NUCLEAR GENES DESPITE MITOCHONDRIAL DIFFERENTIATION

Species hybridization, and thus the potential for gene flow, was once viewed as reproductive mistake. However, recent analysis based on large datasets and newly developed models suggest that gene exchange is not as rare as originally suspected. To investigate the history and speciation of the closely related species Drosophila subobscura, D. madeirensis, and D. guanche, we obtained polymorphism and divergence data for 26 regions throughout the genome, including the Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA. We found that the D. subobscura X/autosome ratio of silent nucleotide diversity is significantly smaller than the 0.75 expected under neutrality. This pattern, if held genomewide, may reflect a faster accumulation of beneficial mutations on the X chromosome than on autosomes. We also detected evidence of gene flow in autosomal regions, while sex chromosomes remain distinct. This is consistent with the large X effect on hybrid male sterility seen in this system and the presence of two X chromosome inversions fixed between species. Overall, our data conform to chromosomal speciation models in which rearrangements are proposed to serve as gene flow barriers. Contrary to other observations in Drosophila, the mitochondrial genome appears resilient to gene flow in the presence of nuclear exchange.
Classification of forest structure using very high resolution Pleiades image texture

The potential of very high resolution Pléiades image texture for forest structure mapping was assessed on maritime pine stands in south-western France. A preliminary step showed that multi-linear regressions allow a reliable prediction of forest variables (such as crown diameter or tree height) from a set of features automatically selected among a huge number of Haralick texture features with various spatial parameterizations. In a second step, to assess Pléiades image texture contribution for classification, Random Forests (RF) classification was performed to discriminate four forest structure classes from recent reforestation to mature stand. Two texture feature selection strategies are compared: (1) the previous regression-based modelling using in situ tree measurements (2) the RF-variable importance using a visual photo-interpretation. Both methods produced comparable classification accuracies. The results highlight the contribution of processes automation and the need for using both Pléiades image resolutions (panchromatic and multispectral) to derive the best performing texture features.
Modified dictionary learning method for sparsity based single image super-resolution

This paper proposes a self-learning based dictionary training approach for single image super-resolution where the low-resolution (LR) and high-resolution (HR) dictionaries are jointly trained using training data set and different scaled versions of the input image. Local variance based salient feature identification is carried out to speed up the super-resolution algorithm. It can be demonstrated that our modified SR algorithm can qualitatively and quantitatively outperform bicubic interpolation and state-of-the-art methods.
Religious and spiritual struggle: prevalence and correlates among older adults with depression in the BRIGHTEN Program

ABSTRACT Older adults (OA) are more religious and/or spiritual (R/S) than younger adults, but some experience R/S struggle which is associated with poorer quality of life. Little is known about R/S struggle in community dwelling OA. This study examines prevalence, correlates, the association with depression for R/S struggle, and a desire for spiritual care in community dwelling OA with depression. In a programme for integrating care for these OA, 188 participants provided demographic information along with the Geriatric Depression Scale and a tool screening for potential R/S struggle. Prevalence of potential R/S struggle was 50%. The younger OA and Caucasian individuals vs. Hispanic individuals were more likely to experience potential R/S struggle. A relationship of potential R/S struggle with depression persisted with the inclusion of controls. Of those with potential struggle, 52% wanted to see a chaplain. Screening for potential R/S struggle can play an important role in choosing specific interventions for OA with depression.
Overview of TAC-KBP2014 Entity Discovery and Linking Tasks

In this paper we give an overview of the Entity Discovery and Linking tasks at the Knowledge Base Population track at TAC 2014. In this year we introduced a new end-to-end English entity discovery and linking task which requires a system to take raw texts as input, automatically extract entity mentions, link them to a knowledge base, and cluster NIL mentions. In this paper we provide an overview of the task deﬁnition, annotation issues, successful methods and research challenges associated with this new task. This new task has attracted a lot of participants and has intrigued many interesting research problems and potential approaches. We believe it’s a promising task to be extended to a tri-lingual setting in KBP2015.
Sexual dysfunction and its determinants in Moroccan women with rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction To assess the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in married women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and compare it with a control group and to determine its association with clinical and disease activity factors. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study including sixty married women with a confirmed diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/ European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2010 Criteria, aged 18 or over and having sexual activity. Our controls were healthy volunteers women matched for age. Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were collected. Sexual function was assessed by a self-reported questionnaire the index of female sexual function (FSFI). Sociodemographic and disease activity profiles were compared between those who had and did not have sexual dysfunction. Results The prevalence of female sexual dysfunction in women with rheumatoid arthritis attending El Ayachi hospital was 71.9%, it was 54% in controls. There was a significant difference in the total FSFI score between patients 18.29±9.09 and controls 23.05±7.91 (p=0.016). We found a statistically significant difference between the two groups in almost all dimensions of sexual function (desire, arousal, orgasm, satisfaction), except for pain and lubrication. In multivariate analysis, pain assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS) and depression assessed by hospital anxiety and depression score (HAD) were the independent determinants of sexual dysfunction. Conclusion Our study suggests that sexual dysfunction is more common among patients with RA compared to controls. These dysfunctions were related to desire, arousal, orgasm and satisfaction. Pain and depression appear to be the most important predictors of sexual dysfunction.
Disease Detection On Cotton Leaves by Eigenfeature Regularization and Extraction Technique

1  Abstract— This work is proposes a approach that regularizes and extracts eigenfeature from cotton leaf image. Here scatter matrix is developed which is within class type, now this matrix is decomposed into various subspaces, related to various diseases i.e. fungal disease, leaf crumple and by providing the thousand no of sample images, i.e. here considering the various variation of pixel value. Eigen features are regularized differently in these subspaces based on that eigenspectrum is modeled this enables the discriminant evaluation performed in the whole space feature extraction or dimensionality reduction occurs at the final stage, after comparison of this feature results to disease identification.
The success of a planned bereavement response – a survey on teacher use of bereavement response plans when supporting grieving children in Danish schools

Abstract This article investigates the strengths and weaknesses of the Danish Bereavement response plans. These are used by teachers to support grieving students and have been implemented in 96% of all Danish schools. The study is based on an Internet survey conducted with 967 teachers. Issues investigated are: ‘generalisation of grief’, ‘forgetting long-term grief’, ‘teacher distress’ and ‘renewal of plans’. Participating teachers believe that the current system works well and that the bereavement response plans have made them feel more confident when confronted with loss. However, this comes at a potential cost of generalising children’s experiences of grief, so that they fit into the school support system. While the response plans are effective at ensuring initial support for bereaved children, their influence seems to diminish with time. The study found that many plans were around a decade old and that this could mean some had been forgotten or become outdated. The article concludes that while teachers find the current response plans effective, the bereavement response system could benefit from being updated. Such an update needs to focus on dealing with the issues highlighted in this article. Future response plans should also have greater emphasis on the needs voiced by bereaved students who have experienced the system.
Analysis and Modeling of Urban Land Cover Change in Setúbal and Sesimbra, Portugal

Abstract: The expansion of cities entails the abandonment of forest and agricultural lands, and these lands‘ conversion into urban areas, which results in substantial impacts on ecosystems. Monitoring these changes and planning urban development can be successfully achieved using multitemporal remotely sensed data, spatial metrics, and modeling. In this paper, urban land use change analysis and modeling was carried out for the Concelhos of Setubal and Sesimbra in Portugal. An existing land cover map for the year 1990, together with two derived land cover maps from multispectral satellite images for the years 2000 and 2006, were utilized using an object-oriented classification approach. Classification accuracy assessment revealed satisfactory results that fulfilled minimum standard accuracy levels. Urban land use dynamics, in terms of both patterns and quantities, were studied using selected landscape metrics and the Shannon Entropy index. Results show that urban areas increased by 91.11% between 1990 and 2006. In contrast, the change was only 6.34% between 2000 and 2006. The entropy value was 0.73 for both municipalities in 1990, indicating a high rate of urban sprawl in the area. In 2006, this value, for both Sesimbra and Setubal, reached almost 0.90. This is demonstrative of a tendency toward intensive urban sprawl. Urban land use change for the year 2020 was modeled using a Cellular Automata based approach. The predictive power of the model was successfully validated using Kappa variations. Projected land cover changes show a growing tendency in urban land use, which might threaten areas that are currently reserved for natural parks and agricultural lands.
Macroeconomic Fluctuations and Firm Entry: Theory and Evidence

This paper studies the behaviour of firm entry and exit in response to macroeconomic shocks. We formulate a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with an endogenous number of producers. From the calibrated model, we derive a minimum set of robust sign restrictions to identify four kinds of macroeconomic shocks in a vector autoregression, namely supply, demand, monetary and entry cost shocks. The variables entering the VAR are output, inflation, the nominal interest rate, profits and firm entry. The response of firm entry to the various shocks is freely estimated. Our main finding is that entry responds significantly to all types of shocks. The results also show a crowding-in of firm entry following an exogenous rise in demand, consistent with the effect of a consumption preference shock predicted by the model
The Role of the Character Graphic Information in Different Pinyin Processing Tasks

Because pronunciation information conveyed by Chinese characters is very limited, Pinyin represents a modern phonic transcription system of Chinese characters and assists Chinese children and foreigners in learning pronunciation of characters. Pinyin promotes the connections between the character graphic and phonological information. Over the past few years, a growing body of research has compared the alphabetic Pinyin and logographic characters to investigate whether the word forms affect brain processing during reading. However, few studies have directly examined whether while reading Pinyin, the corresponding orthography of the character becomes activated. The current study focused on the activation of character graphic representation during Pinyin processing. Four experiments were carried out. Experiment 1 and 2 explored the activation of character orthography in an automatic Pinyin reading task whereas Experiment 3 and 4 examined character activation during a Pinyin semantic judgment task. Experiment 1 and employed a Stroop-like priming task. The Pinyin prime word was presented for 300ms, which was subsequently replaced by the The target character would stay on the screen for 2000ms or until a color decision response was made. Sixty-four characters were chosen as targets. Half had similar graphic to prime characters, which were presented in Pinyin and the other half did not. In Experiment 3 and 4, the Pinyin prime word was exposed until participants made a semantic judgment response, followed immediately by a target character. In contrast to previous three experiments, Experiment 4 employed a naming task in which participants named the target character. The primes and targets were identical to those in Experiment 1. The effect of target type was observed only in the Pinyin semantic judgment task. The character graphic priming effect was inhibitory when the target characters had a similar graphic to the prime characters, which were presented in Pinyin, suggesting that graphic information was activated during Pinyin semantic processing and interfered with the judgment of similar target characters. It underscored the potential importance of the character graphic information in Pinyin semantic processing. In contrast, the inhibitory effect disappeared in the automatic Pinyin reading task, indicating that character orthography might not be activated during Pinyin automatic processing. These findings suggested that the involvement of character graphic information in Pinyin processing likely depends on the task demands. The activation of the character graphic information during Pinyin semantic processing supported the interaction of lexical constituents.
Control of myoelectric prosthetic hand based on surface EMG

In this paper, a robot hand with two fingers, thumb and index finger, aiming at application to a myoelectric prosthetic hand was built to implement fundamental motions, such as grasping and holding, required in daily life. In order to control each finger of the developed robot hand independently, an identifier which recognizes the finger motions based on the surface EMG using the neural networks was constructed, and recognition rate of the finger motions was examined. Experiment for online finger operation of the built robot hand was carried out using the identifier, and fingers of the robot hand were able to be operated as intended.
Embodied Cognition and the Origins of Geometry: A Model Approach of Embodied Mathematics Through Geometric Considerations

In this paper, we propose that ’embodied mathematics’ should be studied not only by reduction to the present individual bodily experience but in an historical context as well, as far as the origins of mathematics are concerned. Some early mathematical results are the Theorems of Geometry and arose as attempts to objectively render the main perceptual categories such as verticality, horizontality, similarity (or its varieties). Inasmuch as these are of a qualitative nature, it was required that they be expressed in a quantitative way in order to be objectiﬁed. The ﬁrst form of this objectiﬁcation occurred in the case of ’archetypal results’, namely the Pythagorean triads and the internal ratio of the legs in the right triangles. In the next stage, a ’scientiﬁc’ treatment would come from a shift of objectiﬁcation and descriptions inside an abstract theory, which would constitute the ﬁrst logicomathematical knowledge. In this theory, the ’archetypal results’ were incorpo-rated, generalized and acquired their unquestionable, supertemporal validity. The study presents a particular epistemological analysis of some of the main terms used in the beginnings of Geometrical Thought and Euclid’s Elements, utilizing the theoretical apparatus of the theory of ’embodied mathematics’. It also traces models of objectiﬁcation for the ’archetypal results’ and indicates their diﬀusion in later mathematical developments.
Study of Availability of Printed Non-Printed Instructional Media in Kindergarten to Develop Students' Reading Interest

This study focuses on seeing the printed and non-printed instructional media collection, which are available in Early Childhood Education (ECE). The developed reading interest programs are intended to enhance students’ reading interest as an effort to improve their reading skills. This study uses a descriptive research method with survey technique. The data were collected from early childhood education institutions available in Kota Bandung. The background of this study is the lack of reading skills of students, from ECE level until higher educations. This has become a drawback when students cannot understand what they read. As ECE is the earliest level of formal education, therefore, it has to contribute to the development of students’ reading interest. There are many kinds of fun activities that can be practiced in ECE, which are expected to internalize in students’ mind and become their main capital to enter the next level of education.
Measuring and explaining competition in the financial sector

The first part of this paper provides a systematic discussion of the structural problems of competition on financial markets as observed from the demand and from the supply side, using a diagnostic framework. Potential impediments to competition are concentration, entry barriers, lack of transparency, product complexity, switching and search costs, financial illiteracy, lack of consumer power and weak intermediaries. In response to such financial market failures, we suggest a number of possible policy reactions. The second part of the paper investigates ways to measure competition and provides empirical figures on banking competition in 101 separate countries and assesses the market structure as monopolistic (or a perfect cartel), perfectly competitive or monopolistic competitive. Also, banking competition is explained, using explanatory variables of market structure, contestability, inter-industry competition, and institutional and macro economic conditions. This analysis provides possible instruments for reform in order to help promote competition. Next, the impact of banking consolidation is examined. Finally, developments in competition are observed over time, generally pointing to a downward trend.
Using artificial neural networks to predict the distribution of bacterial crop diseases from biotic and abiotic factors

Constructing accurate computational global distribution models is an important first step towards the understanding of bacterial crop diseases and can lead to insights into the biology of disease-causing bacteria species. We constructed artificial neural network models of the geographic distribution of six bacterial diseases of crop plants. These ANN modelled the distribution of these species from regional climatic factors and from regional assemblages of host crop plants. Multiple ANN were combined into ensembles using statistical methods. Tandem ANN, where an ANN combined the outputs of individual ANN, were also investigated. We found that for all but one species, superior accuracies were attained by methods that combined biotic and abiotic factors. These combinations were produced by both ensemble and cascaded ANN. This shows that firstly, ANN are able to model the geographic distribution of bacterial crop diseases, and secondly, that combining abiotic and biotic factors is necessary to achieve high modelling accuracies. The work reported in this paper therefore provides a basis for constructing models of the distribution of bacterial crop diseases.
The thermodynamic Casimir effect in the neighbourhood of the λ-transition: a Monte Carlo study of an improved three-dimensional lattice model

We study the thermodynamic Casimir effect in thin films in the three-dimensional XY universality class. To this end, we simulate the improved two-component ϕ4 model on the simple cubic lattice. We use lattices up to the thickness L0 = 33. On the basis of the results of our Monte Carlo simulations we compute the universal finite size scaling function θ that characterizes the behaviour of the thermodynamic Casimir force in the neighbourhood of the critical point. We confirm that leading corrections to the universal finite size scaling behaviour due to free boundary conditions can be expressed using an effective thickness L0,eff = L0+Ls, with Ls = 1.02(7). Our results are compared with experiments on films of 4He near the λ-transition, previous Monte Carlo simulations of the XY model on the simple cubic lattice and field-theoretic results. Our result for the finite size scaling function θ is essentially consistent with the experiments on films of 4He and the previous Monte Carlo simulations.