Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International Journal of General Medicine Dovepress Epidemiology, Survival, and Costs of Localized Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the epidemiologic and economic burden in surgically resected localized gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients versus age-and gender-matched controls. Method: Two data sources were used to conduct a series of complementary analyses. First, the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry was used to identify diagnosed GIST patients from 1993 to 2002 and determine incidence, prevalence, and 3-year survival. Second, using the SEER–Medicare linked database, a matched case-control analysis was conducted to determine resource utilization, GIST recurrence, and costs. Because GIST recurrence is not explicitly defined in the database, patterns in resource use were used to identify probable recurrence. Kaplan–Meier Sample Average (KMSA) Estimator technique was used to estimate costs of GIST and recurrence. Results: SEER registry results show over the 10-year time horizon average annual GIST incidence was 0.32 per 100,000 persons in the United States, 15-year limited-duration prevalence was 1.62 per 100,000 persons, and 3-year survival was 73%. A total of 292 GIST patients were included in the SEER–Medicare analyses; 35 were identified with probable recurrence. GIST patients had increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio: 1.23; 95% confidence intervals: 0.94–1.61) compared to controls. Median recurrence-free and postrecurrence survival was 45 and 46 months, respectively. GIST patients incurred significantly higher medical care costs in the first year after initial resection, with $23,221 attributable to GIST. GIST recurrence costs totaled $101,700 over 5 years after initial resection. Conclusions: GIST is associated with substantial medical care costs, estimated recurrence costs more than $100,000; treatments that delay or reduce recurrence could substantially reduce the burden of GIST.
The Chicken or the Egg? The Direction of the Relationship Between Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematics Performance

This review considers the two possible causal directions between mathematics anxiety (MA) and poor mathematics performance. Either poor maths performance may elicit MA (referred to as the Deficit Theory), or MA may reduce future maths performance (referred to as the Debilitating Anxiety Model). The evidence is in conflict: the Deficit Theory is supported by longitudinal studies and studies of children with mathematical learning disabilities, but the Debilitating Anxiety Model is supported by research which manipulates anxiety levels and observes a change in mathematics performance. It is suggested that this mixture of evidence might indicate a bidirectional relationship between MA and mathematics performance (the Reciprocal Theory), in which MA and mathematics performance can influence one another in a vicious cycle.
Justice and Injustice

Machiavelli often uses the word " justice " (giustizia, iustizia) in his political and historical writings and correspondence. He seldom uses it, however, in the same ways as many christian political theorists and humanists. This leaves the impression that Machiavelli is uninterested in developing a more adequate account of justice as part of his political theory. The impression is reinforced by the overtly prudential form of his reasonings. He does, of course, frequently discuss topics that classical and humanist authors place under the heading of justice. The distribution of public goods and offices, appropriate punishments for bad conduct or rewards for good, and the value of keeping promises and pacts are among the most prominent themes in all Machiavelli's best-known writings. But his arguments seem to treat self-interested prudence, not justice, as the touchstone for evaluating distributions, punishments, and rewards, and for deciding when obligations are binding. These appearances explain why so many perceptive and sympathetic readers conclude that Machiavelli wanted to separate judgments grounded in reflective prudence from ethical considerations, especially considerations of justice, and to limit—if not obviate—the role of justice in political deliberations. This chapter tries to show that, appearances notwithstanding, reasoning about justice is at the very center of Machiavelli's ethics and political thought. indeed, questions of justice and injustice arguably form the main, implicit subject-matter of all Machiavelli's main political works. Although he uses the word " justice " more sparingly than more conventional republican writers, between the lines Machi-avelli is always writing about justice and injustice. even when he does not speak directly of giustizia or iniustizia, he often uses paraphrases or related words that signal a concern for justice, especially leggi, respetto, obligo, or termini (limits). Machiavelli employs these indirect modes of writing to discuss some of the most fundamental questions of political justice: how to define the limits of free action for individuals and sectional groups, how to regulate conflicts that ordinarily arise among free agents, and how to order various civil and judicial procedures under laws that everyone sees as fair. Moreover, Machiavelli does not set out standards eric nelson (2004, 85), for example, accepts the usual view: " as has been noted repeatedly, Machi-avelli is not at all interested in 'justice, ' " and " in this respect Machiavelli's account lacks the moral apparatus that would make real dialogue with the roman or Greek traditions possible.
Explaining Economic Policy Reversals

Policy reversals and how to explain them regulation, deregulation and reregulation public enterprise and privatization macroeconomic policy - from Keynesianism to monetarism government spending and employment - must what goes up come down? tax policy change - extinction or inertia? economic rationalism in public management - from progressive public administration to new public management? conclusion - economic policy shifts and political explanations.
Ternary complexes of pDNA, polyethylenimine, and γ-polyglutamic acid for gene delivery systems

We discovered a vector coated by γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) for effective and safe gene delivery. In order to develop a useful non-viral vector, we prepared several ternary complexes constructed with pDNA, polyethylenimine (PEI), and various polyanions, such as polyadenylic acid, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, α-polyaspartic acid, α-polyglutamic acid, and γ-PGA. The pDNA/PEI complex had a strong cationic surface charge and showed extremely high transgene efficiency although it agglutinated with erythrocytes and had extremely high cytotoxicity. Those polyanions changed the positive ζ-potential of pDNA/PEI complex to negative although they did not affect the size. They had no agglutination activities and lower cytotoxicities but most of the ternary complexes did not show any uptake and gene expression; however, the pDNA/PEI/γ-PGA complex showed high uptake and gene expression. Most of the pDNA/PEI/γ-PGA complexes were located in the cytoplasm without dissociation and a few complexes were observed in the nuclei. Hypothermia and the addition of γ-PGA significantly inhibited the uptake of pDNA/PEI/γ-PGA by the cells, although L-glutamic acid had no effect. These results strongly indicate that the pDNA/PEI/γ-PGA complex was taken up by γ-PGA-specific receptor-mediated energy-dependent process. Thus, the pDNA/PEI/γ-PGA complex is useful as a gene delivery system with high transfection efficiency and low toxicity.
The Low-Mass X-Ray Binary-Globular Cluster Connection in NGC 4472

We have analyzed the low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) candidates in a Chandra observation of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4472. In a region observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), approximately 40% of the bright (LX ≳ 1037 ergs s-1) LMXBs are associated with optically identified globular clusters (GC). This is significantly higher than the fraction of bright LMXBs in Galactic GCs and confirms that GCs are the dominant sites of LMXB formation in early-type galaxies. The ≈4% of NGC 4472 GCs hosting bright LMXBs, on the other hand, is remarkably similar to the fraction of GCs with LMXBs in every other galaxy. Although statistical tests suggest that the luminosity of a cluster is an important driver of LMXB formation in GCs, this appears largely to be a consequence of the greater number of stars in bright clusters. The metallicity of GCs is a strong determinant of LMXB specific frequency, with metal-rich clusters about 3 times more likely to host LMXBs than metal-poor ones. There are weaker dependences on the size of a GC and its distance from the center of the galaxy. The X-ray luminosity does not depend significantly on the properties of the host GC. Furthermore, the spatial distribution and X-ray luminosity function of LMXBs within and outside GCs are indistinguishable. The X-ray luminosity function of both GC-LMXBs and non-GC-LMXBs reveal a break at ≈3 × 1038 ergs s-1, strongly suggesting that the brightest LMXBs are black hole accretors.
A NEW FULL-REFERENCE QUALITY METRICS BASED ON HVS

In this paper, two new full-reference metrics for image quality assessment are presented. They are based on the Peak-Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Universal Quality Index (UQI) modified to take into account the Human Visual System (HVS) properties. Many studies confirm that the HVS is more sensitive to low frequency distortions rather than to high frequency ones. It is also very sensitive to contrast changes and noise. To test the effectiveness of the proposed metrics, we have performed a subjective experiment. In our experiment we have used seven types of distortions with three distortion levels in each. Three independent groups of observers from Finland, Ukraine and Italy, have been participating in image quality evaluation test. The analysis of the results shows that the proposed PSNR-HVS provides better correlation to Mean Observer Score (MOS) than PSNR, and that the proposed UQI-HVS metric outperforms two recently proposed state-of-the-art metrics: UQI and MSSIM.
Assessing the quality of written information provision for surgical procedures: a case study in oesophagectomy

Objective To examine the content and quality of written information provided by surgical centres for patients undergoing oesophagectomy for cancer. Design Cross-sectional study of the content of National Health Service (NHS) patient information leaflets (PILs) about oesophageal cancer surgery, using a modified framework approach. Data sources Written information leaflets from 41 of 43 cancer centres undertaking surgery for oesophageal cancer in England and Wales (response rate 95.3%). Eligibility criteria All English language versions of PILs about oesophagectomy. Results 32 different PILs were identified, of which 2 were generic tools (Macmillan ‘understanding cancer of the gullet’ and EIDO ‘oesophagectomy’). Although most PILs focused on describing in-hospital adverse events, information varied widely and was often misleading. Just 1 leaflet described survival benefits of surgery and 2 mentioned the possibility of disease recurrence. Conclusions Written information provided for patients by NHS cancer centres undertaking oesophagectomy is inconsistent and incomplete. It is recommended that surgeons work together with patients to agree on standards of information provision of relevance to all stakeholders’ needs.
Keck Spectra of Pleiades Brown Dwarf Candidates and a Precise Determination of the Lithium Depletion Edge in the Pleiades

We have obtained intermediate resolution spectra of 11 candidate brown dwarf members of the Pleiades open cluster using the Keck II telescope and Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrograph. Our primary goal was to determine the location of the "lithium depletion edge" in the Pleiades and hence to derive a precise age for the cluster. All but one of our 11 program objects have radial velocities appropriate for Pleiades members, have moderately strong Hα emission, and have spectral types M6-M8.5 as expected from their (R - I)C colors. We have constructed a color-magnitude diagram for the faint end of the Pleiades main sequence, including only stars for which high signal-to-noise spectra in the region of the lithium 6708 Å absorption line have been obtained. These data allow us to accurately determine the Pleiades single-star lithium depletion edge at IC0 = 17.80, (R - I)C0 = 2.20, spectral type M6.5. By reference to theoretical evolutionary models, this converts fairly directly into an age for the Pleiades of τ = 125 Myr. This is significantly older than the age that is normally quoted, but does agree with some other recent estimates.
How Noisy Should a Noisy Signal be: A Model of Bank Runs

In the literature on bank runs where depositors decide whether to withdraw early from the bank or not based on the noisy signals they receive about the future returns, a unique equilibrium is established with a threshold level below which depositor would withdraw. However, these papers assume precise information. In reality noise levels need not be very small. The information that is available to the depositors can be endogenised. This paper finds that to either minimise the probability of a bank-run or maximise the expected utility of the depositors, there should be high transparency of the banks' long-term returns.
Who Believes the Hype? An Experimental Examination of how Language Affects Investor Judgments

This paper investigates the effect of vivid language on investor judgments. Recent research finds that investor judgments are significantly influenced by disclosure tone (positive versus negative). Holding tone constant, we investigate investors’ reactions to vivid versus pallid information. Drawing on theories from psychology, we predict that investors will be sensitive to the differences between vivid and pallid language when the underlying information is preference-inconsistent, but not when the information is preference-consistent. Results of two experiments support our prediction. Vivid language significantly influences the judgment of investors who hold contrarian positions (i.e., short investors in a bull market and long investors in a bear market). Interestingly, vivid language has limited influence on the judgment of investors who hold positions consistent with the general tenor of the market. Our results provide evidence regarding when vividness matters and when it does not in financial contexts, thereby contributing to both psychology and a growing literature on disclosure tone in financial reporting. In addition, our results also speak to concerns raised by regulators and academics asserting that vivid language can inflate bubbles and incite panics.
Development of eye gaze and point following and its relation to word learning

Development of Eye Gaze and Point Following And its Relation to Word Learning Meghan Ann Kainz, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2018 Supervisors: Amy E. Booth and Catharine H. Echols Abstract: Socio-pragmatic cues are essential for supporting early word learning. Children use social cues, such as eye gaze and pointing to isolate and learn about referents in their environment. To what extent might individual variability in children’s ability to capitalize on these word-learning strategies relate to the well-documented differences in vocabulary development associated with socioeconomic status? To answer this question, we asked 170 2.5to 3.5-year-olds to identify the referents of novel words based on cues from either the experimenter’s gaze alone, or that gaze in combination with a pointing gesture. We found that socioeconomic status correlates with the use of eye gaze and point following for learning new words. Further, children from higher socioeconomic status households more reliably used these cues. The results of this study could have implications for our understanding of the differences in vocabulary development, as well as on how to best intervene in children’s early word-learning skills. Socio-pragmatic cues are essential for supporting early word learning. Children use social cues, such as eye gaze and pointing to isolate and learn about referents in their environment. To what extent might individual variability in children’s ability to capitalize on these word-learning strategies relate to the well-documented differences in vocabulary development associated with socioeconomic status? To answer this question, we asked 170 2.5to 3.5-year-olds to identify the referents of novel words based on cues from either the experimenter’s gaze alone, or that gaze in combination with a pointing gesture. We found that socioeconomic status correlates with the use of eye gaze and point following for learning new words. Further, children from higher socioeconomic status households more reliably used these cues. The results of this study could have implications for our understanding of the differences in vocabulary development, as well as on how to best intervene in children’s early word-learning skills.
A comparison of high-availability media recovery techniques

We compare two high-availability techniques for recovery from media failures in database systems. Both techniques achieve high availability by having two copies of all data and indexes, so that recovery is immediate. “Mirrored declustering” spreads two copies of each relation across two identical sets of disks. “Interleaved declustering” spreads two copies of each relation across one set of disks while keeping both copies of each tuple on separate disks. Both techniques pay the same costs of doubling storage requirements and requiring updates to be applied to both copies. Mirroring offers greater simplicity and universality. Recovery can be implemented at lower levels of the system software (e.g., the disk controller). For architectures that do not share disks globally, it allows global and local cluster indexes to be independent. Also, mirroring does not require data to be declustered (i.e., spread over multiple disks). Interleaved declustering offers significant improvements in recovery time, mean time to loss of both copies of some data, throughput during normal operation, and response time during recovery. For all architectures, interleaved declustering enables data to be spread over twice as many disks for improved load balancing. We show how tuning for interleaved declustering is simplified because it is dependent only on a few parameters that are usually well known for a specific workload and system configuration.
Institutions, Investment, and Growth: New Cross-Country and Panel Data Evidence

This paper outlines the alternative channels through which institutions affect growth and studies the empirical relationship between institutions, investment, and growth. The empirical results indicate that (1) free-market institutions have a positive effect on growth; (2) economic freedom affects growth through both a direct effect on total factor productivity and an indirect effect on investment; (3) political and civil liberties may stimulate investment; (4) an important interaction exists between freedom and human capital investment; (5) Milton Friedman's conjectures on the relation between political and economic freedom are correct; and (6) promoting economic freedom is an effective policy toward facilitating growth and other types of freedom. Copyright 1998 by Oxford University Press.
Towards Defeating the Crossfire Attack using SDN

In this work, we propose online traffic engineering as a novel approach to detect and mitigate an emerging class of stealthy Denial of Service (DoS) link-flooding attacks. Our approach exploits the Software Defined Networking (SDN) paradigm, which renders the management of network traffic more flexible through centralised flow-level control and monitoring. We implement a full prototype of our solution on an emulated SDN environment using OpenFlow to interface with the network devices. We further discuss useful insights gained from our preliminary experiments as well as a number of open research questions which constitute work in progress.
Prevention of renal dysfunction by nutraceuticals prepared from oil rich plant foods.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the protective effect of extracts prepared from avocado, walnut, flaxseed and Eruca sativa seeds in a rat model of kidney dysfunction induced by intraperitoneal cisplatin. METHODS Ethanol and petroleum ether extracts mixture was prepared from each plant. Six groups of rats were conducted; control healthy, cisplatin group and four test groups where rats were given daily oral dose of each extract mixture before cisplatin injection. Different biochemical and cytogenetic parameters and kidney histopathology were determined. Acute toxicity was tested for the nutraceuticals. Total phenolic contents, fatty acids (FA) and unsaponifiable matter were assessed in the extracts. RESULTS Walnut ethanol extract showed the highest content of total phenolic. FA analysis revealed that all the studied plants were rich in unsaturated FA. Gas-liquid chromatographic investigation of the unsaponifiable matter showed the presence of campesterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol in all the studied plants. Cisplatin treatment induced significant increase in plasma urea, creatinine and malondialdehyde along with significant reduction of plasma albumin, total protein, catalase and total antioxidant as well as reduction in creatinine clearance. Histopathological examination proved the induction of kidney dysfunction. Some sorts of chromosomal aberration and sperm-shape abnormalities were noticed after cisplatin treatment. Administration of extracts mixtures produced improvements in biochemical, histopathological and cytogenetic parameters. CONCLUSIONS Administration of the studied nutraceuticals proved to possess protective role against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity, chromosomal aberration and abnormal sperms. All studied nutraceuticals showed complete safety.
The Practicalities of Educational Games: Challenges of Taking Games into Formal Educational Settings

The complexity of balancing educational purpose and engaging gameplay mechanics through appropriate design decisions has frequently been discussed in learning game literature. The discussion has primarily focused on highlighting connections between game design principles and learning principles and making guidelines for achieving engaging learning scenarios through game mechanics tailored to specific subject matters. Play, and the learning derived from it, is thus often studied as a phenomenon of the two disparate forces of education and gameplay colliding inside a closed system. The complexity of designing games for educational purposes is subsequently also seen as a product of the dichotomies between these two forces. However, the discussions on the design of learning games and their potential as learning tools seldom take the practicalities of formal educational environments into consideration. In this paper, learning game design principles are investigated alongside developers' and educators' working practices. In our analysis we identify and examine a set of issues that complicate learning game design and development. The primary conclusion of this research is that the contexts in which learning games are used significantly alter the way they can be played by introducing constraints as well as facilitating conditions to the play sessions. The paper concludes with an argument for a shift of attention from the product centric view of today to a view that takes pedagogical contexts and organizational values into better account.