Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Unified PTAS for Prize Collecting TSP and Steiner Tree Problem in Doubling Metrics

We present a unified (randomized) polynomial-time approximation scheme (PTAS) for the prize collecting traveling salesman problem (PCTSP) and the prize collecting Steiner tree problem (PCSTP) in doubling metrics. Given a metric space and a penalty function on a subset of points known as terminals, a solution is a subgraph on points in the metric space whose cost is the weight of its edges plus the penalty due to terminals not covered by the subgraph. Under our unified framework, the solution subgraph needs to be Eulerian for PCTSP, while it needs to be a tree for PCSTP. Before our work, even a QPTAS for the problems in doubling metrics is not known. Our unified PTAS is based on the previous dynamic programming frameworks proposed in Talwar (STOC 2004) and Bartal, Gottlieb, Krauthgamer (STOC 2012). However, since it is unknown which part of the optimal cost is due to edge lengths and which part is due to penalties of uncovered terminals, we need to develop new techniques to apply previous divide-and-conquer strategies and sparse instance decompositions.
Endothelium-targeted delivery of dexamethasone by anti-VCAM-1 SAINT-O-Somes in mouse endotoxemia

Microvascular endothelial cells play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced inflammatory responses and multiple organ failure. Therefore, they represent an important target for pharmacological intervention in the treatment of sepsis. Glucocorticosteroids were widely used in the treatment of sepsis but vast evidence to support their systemic use is lacking. The limited effects of glucocorticoids in the treatment of sepsis may be explained by differential effects of drug initiated NF-κB inhibition in different cell types and insufficient drug delivery in target cells. The current study aimed therefore to investigate the effects of an endothelial targeted delivery of dexamethasone in a mouse model of endotoxemia induced by two consecutive i.p. injections of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). To achieve endothelial cell specific delivery of dexamethasone, we modified SAINT-O-Somes, a new generation of liposomes that contain the cationic amphiphile SAINT-C18 (1-methyl-4-(cis-9-dioleyl) methyl-pyridinium chloride, with antibodies against vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). In LPS challenged mice, the systemic administration of free dexamethasone had negligible effects on the microvascular inflammatory endothelial responses. Dexamethasone-loaded anti-VCAM-1 SAINT-O-Somes specifically localized at VCAM-1 expressing endothelial cells in the microvasculature of inflamed organs. This was associated with a marginal attenuation of the expression of a few pro-inflammatory genes in kidney and liver, while no effects in the lung were observed. This study reveals that, although local accumulation of the targeted drug was achieved, endothelial targeted dexamethasone containing anti-VCAM-1 SAINT-O-Somes exhibited marginal effects on inflammatory endothelial cell activation in a model of endotoxemia. Studies with more potent drugs encapsulated into anti-VCAM-1 SAINT-O-Somes will in the future reveal whether this delivery system can be further developed for efficacious endothelial directed delivery of drugs in the treatment of sepsis.
Research Article Genetic diversity of Brazil-nut populations naturally occurring in the municipality of Alta Floresta, MT, Brazil

Brazil nut is a native Amazon species of high commercial value classified as vulnerable in terms of extinction risk due to marked illegal-burning activity and agricultural-frontier expansion processes occurring in the region. This study was undertaken to analyze the genetic diversity within and between two natural Brazil-nut populations occurring spontaneously in the Southern Amazon region spaced 50 km apart, both of which were located in the municipality of Alta Floresta, northern Mato Grosso state, Brazil. These are rural areas and samples were from native forest patches. Leaf samples were collected from 86 plants from distinct areas; 36 were from population AGRO (Agrocondor II Farm, geographic coordinates 55o30’ W and 9o00’ S) and 50 from population CAR (Carolina Farm, geographic coordinates 57o00’ W and 11o00’ S). A molecular-diversity study was conducted using 11 microsatellite loci developed for the species. To determine the level of genetic diversity between and within subpopulations, we applied principal coordinate analysis, analysis of molecular variance, observed and expected heterozygosity, polymorphic information
Image matching for 3D reconstruction using complementary optical and geometric information. (Appariement d'images pour la reconstruction 3D en utilisant l'information optique et géométrique)

L’appariement d’images est un sujet central de recherche en vision par ordinateur. La recherche sur cette problematique s’est longuement concentree sur ses aspects optiques, mais ses aspects geometriques ont recu beaucoup moins d’attention. Cette these promeut l’utilisation de la geometrie pour completer les informations optique dans les tâches de mise en correspondance d’images. Tout d’abord, nous nous penchons sur les methodes globales pour lesquelles les occlusions et aretes vives posent des defis. Dans ces scenarios, le resultat est fortement dependant de la contribution du terme de regularisation. A l'aide d’une caracterisation geometrique de ce comportement, nous formulons une methode d’appariement qui dirige les lignes de la grille loin des regions problematiques. Bien que les methodes variationnelles fournissent des resultats qui se comportent bien en general, les methodes locales basees sur la propagation de correspondances fournissent des resultats qui s’adaptent mieux a divers structures 3D mais au detriment de la coherence globale de la surface reconstruite. Par consequent, nous presentons une nouvelle methode de propagation guidee par des reconstructions locales de surface
Producer Insurance and Risk Management Options for Smallholder Farmers

Many smallholder families are exceptionally prone to potentially catastrophic decreases in their incomes and access to food. Over the past decade, therefore, policy makers and economists have increasingly focused on potential mechanisms for expanding risk management strategies available to those families. Commercially provided weather-based index insurance products, perhaps partially funded by subsidies, have been of particular interest because of their apparent potential to provide payments to smallholder families when they are most in need of help. However, the empirical evidence from a wide range of studies indicates that, absent relatively substantial subsidies, small holder farmers will not purchase commercially priced index products or even "all risk" products where payments are tied to the farm's crop losses. There are three important reasons why this is the case. First, smallholder farmers already have many ways of managing their risks, including informal community-based initiatives, on-farm production decisions and off-farm work. Second, index insurance schemes are subject to considerable basis risk; families often do not receive an index insurance indemnity when they experience a substantial crop loss on their farms. Third, the fixed costs of delivering crop insurance to smallholders make such coverage expensive. The potential market for weather index insurance therefore may be limited to insuring relatively large groups of farmers, either directly or indirectly though providing micro finance and other lending institution with coverage against widespread loan defaults associated with catastrophic events like major droughts. Alternatively, weather indexes could simply be used to more accurately target emergency aid.
Clinical MEG Analyses for Children with Intractable Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a brain disorder characterized by recurrent and unpredictable interruptions of normal brain function, called epileptic seizures (Fisher et al., 2005). Epilepsy occurs in 1-2% of children (Hauser & Kurland, 1975). Twenty-five percent of children with epilepsy continue to seize despite appropriate medical management and are diagnosed as medically refractory epilepsy (Hauser, 1993). Medically refractory epilepsy is defined as seizures that continue despite at least two appropriate first line anti-epileptic medications at maximally tolerated serum levels for 2 years (Snead, 2001). A subset of patients with medically refractory epilepsy can be surgically treated after anti-epileptic medications fail. Successful control of the seizures can be achieved in children with intractable partial epilepsy by surgical resection of the epileptogenic foci (Duchowny 1995; Wyllie 1998; Snead 2001). In our institution, magnetoencephalography (MEG) is an essential part of the diagnostic workup in all patients undergoing presurgical evaluation. We introduced the concept of MEG-guided epilepsy surgery (Minassian et el., 1999; Otsubo et al., 1999, 2001a, 2001b; Holowka et al., 2004; Iida et al., 2005; RamachandranNair et al., 2007; Mohamed et al., 2007; Ochi et al., 2008). In patients with intractable partial epilepsy, MEG is a powerful tool for presurgical evaluation to predict an epileptogenic zone (Wheless et al., 1999; Pataraia et al., 2004; Paulini et al., 2007). The epileptogenic zone is a region of cortex that can generate epileptic seizures (Rosenow & Luders, 2001). By definition, total removal or disconnection of the epileptogenic zone is necessary and sufficient for seizure freedom. In this chapter, we would like to demonstrate our presurgical evaluation, including scalp videoelectroencephalography (EEG) monitoring to capture seizures and interictal epileptiform discharges, and clinical MEG studies and analyses to estimate the epileptogenic zone.
Factors associated with medical travel behaviours: the input–process–output perspective

This study adopts the input–process–output perspective to develop a research framework, and aims to investigate the factors associated with medical travel behaviours. A total of 343 international medical tourists who took low invasive treatments in Taiwan were surveyed using questionnaires. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling, and the results of this work are as follows. Medical tourists felt that higher service quality led to better corporate image. The service quality and corporate image of medical institutions had positive influences on the perceived value of medical travel. Perceived value plays a significant mediating role for the relationships between various medical institution factors and behavioural intention. Furthermore, destination image can be regarded as an important moderator that facilitates the influences of medical institution factors on perceived value.
Factor analysis of knowledge, attitude and practice of life style modification measures among hypertensive patients in North – Western Nigeria

Background: Hypertension is the most common of the risk factors for cardiovascular and renal disease affecting approximately 1 billion people worldwide, with more than 25% prevalence in Nigeria. Adherence to medications and life style changes are important to achieve desired therapeutic goal. This study was designed to evaluate the perception, knowledge and practices of life style modification measures among North – western Nigerian hypertensive patients. Methods: This was a cross–sectional study conducted at the Hypertensive clinic of Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano, North – Western Nigeria.Structuredpre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire was used for data collection.Questions werecategorized to elicit participants' demographic characteristics, knowledge, perception and practice of various lifestyle-modification measures. Chi square tests were performed.Reliability and validity of the dimensional structure of the questionnaire were assessed in factor analysis with principal component extraction using varimax rotation. Results: A total of 104 participants were recruited; 51 (49%) males and 53 (51%) females. Mean age was 56±11.7 years, with a range of 24 to 90 years. Mean systolic and diastolic BP were 151±25.7mmHg and 90±14.3mmHg respectively. Up to 92% were aware that regular exercise is part of lifestyle modification while 81% are aware about salt restriction. Only 9% and 13% of the participants are aware of the roles of unsaturated oil and reduction in diary food intake in the control of BP. Overall, 33(31.7%) of the patients had good knowledge, 40(38.5%) average knowledge and 31 (30%) poor knowledge. Despite the positive attitude towards lifestyle measures, only 59(56.7%) had good adherence. Questions in the knowledge domain had the best reliability index (alpha Cronbach 0.79) compared to attitude and practice domains. Conclusion: The level of knowledge and practice of lifestyle modification in blood pressure control among the studied population is low. Concerted strategies are required to increase the awareness, knowledge and practice of the lifestyle-modification measures in this part of the world.
The impact of organisational support, technical support, and self-efficacy on faculty perceived benefits of using learning management system

ABSTRACT This paper examines how organisational support influences learning management system (LMS) self-efficacy, technical support, and faculty-perceived benefits. An empirical study based upon responses from 379 instructors at several universities is conducted. Structural equation modelling is applied to develop and assess the measurement model, and analyse the relationships among the factors in the structural model. The results support the hypotheses that organisational support plays a primary role in enhancing faculty’s LMS self-efficacy and technical support. In turn, improved LMS self-efficacy and technical support lead to faculty-perceived benefits from using LMS. Implications are that universities can increase the use of LMS and achieve more effective outcomes from faculty for web-based distance learning and web-assisted course curricula by structuring their organisations to better support faculty in both technical and self-efficacy areas.
Correlates of Corruption

Studies have linked aspects of social capital, such as social networks and values, to the quality of government. Political corruption is a major factor contributing to overall government quality, but the literature on state government in the United States has not adequately explained the relationship between social capital and government. This article examines the relationship between various aspects of social capital and corruption. The results of empirical tests generally confirm the expectation of an inverse relationship between social capital and corruption. However, contrary to what others have found, the relationship between social capital and corruption is not limited to value-related aspects of social capital but extends to network-related aspects as well. These results elaborate on existing research and provide a more nuanced explanation for (and defense of) the role of social networks in the administration of public affairs.
Survival impact of low anterior resection in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer grossly confined to the pelvic cavity: a Korean multicenter study

Objective To evaluate survival impact of low anterior resection (LAR) in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) grossly confined to the pelvis. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 397 patients who underwent primary staging surgery for treatment of 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage II–IIIA EOC: 116 (29.2%) IIA, 212 (53.4%) IIB, and 69 (17.4%) IIIA. Patients with grossly enlarged retroperitoneal lymph nodes positive for metastatic carcinoma were excluded. Of 92 patients (23.2%) with gross tumors at the rectosigmoid colon, 68 (73.9%) underwent tumorectomy and 24 (26.1%), LAR for rectosigmoid lesions. Survival outcomes between patients who underwent tumorectomy and LAR were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves. Results During the median follow-up of 55 months (range, 1–260), 141 (35.5%) recurrences and 81 (20.4%) deaths occurred. Age (52.8 vs. 54.5 years, p=0.552), optimal debulking (98.5% vs. 95.0%, p=0.405), histologic type (serous, 52.9% vs. 50.0%, p=0.804), FIGO stage (p=0.057), and platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy ≥6 cycles (85.3% vs. 79.2%, p=0.485) were not different between groups. No significant difference in 5-year progression-free survival (PFS; 57.9% vs. 62.5%, p=0.767) and overall survival (OS; 84.7% vs. 63.8%, p=0.087), respectively, was noted between groups. Postoperative ileus was more frequent in patients subjected to LAR than those who were not (4/24 [16.7%] vs. 11/373 [2.9%], p=0.001). The 5-year PFS (60.3% vs. 57.9%, p=0.523) and OS (81.8% vs. 87.7%, p=0.912) between patients who underwent tumorectomy and those who did not were also similar. Conclusion Survival benefit of LAR did not appear to be significant in EOC patients with grossly pelvis-confined tumors.
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as a new source of bone in reconstructive surgery: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of preclinical studies

It is now well established that regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy are the most promising approach to obtain full tissue regeneration by using various cell types including stem cells isolated from adult tissues, embryonic stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Recently, iPSCs have been successfully differentiated into osteoprogenitors to facilitate repair and regeneration of bone defects. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review and meta‐analysis is to summarize the articles published that assess the osteogenic potential of iPSCs in vitro and their ability to heal bone defects in reconstructive surgery. PICO questions were subjected to literature search in four different databases. Methodological and risk of bias assessment of the included in vitro and in vivo articles were performed. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach was used to assess the quality of evidence for each outcome variable included in the systematic review. In vivo bone formation was selected as the primary outcome for meta‐analysis, and publication bias was explored using funnel plots. Initial literature search retrieved 4,772 studies, whereas only 70 articles included in the review. Yamanaka set was the commonly used reprogramming factor introduced with different vectors into the somatic cells. Several somatic cell sources have been used to successfully produce the iPSCs. iPSCs have osteogenic differentiation capacities and would be considered as a new source of stem cells that can be used in reconstructive surgery for bone regeneration.
The parallel tales of microvascular angina and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a paradigm shift.

An increasing number of studies clearly demonstrate that coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) plays a pivotal role in several cardiovascular diseases.1 In particular, emerging evidence suggests that CMD is the main contributor to myocardial ischaemia in a large subset of patients with chronic stable angina. Indeed, non-obstructive coronary atherosclerosis is observed in up to 50% of patients with angina and positive stress test results undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography.2 Thus, the prevalence of microvascular angina (MVA) is higher than previously thought and associated with worse clinical outcomes than those observed in asymptomatic subjects with similar risk factor burden.3 The diagnosis of MVA is based on the following criteria: (i) symptoms of myocardial ischaemia; (ii) absence of obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease; (iii) evidence of myocardial ischaemia on non-invasive stress testing; and (iv) evidence of impaired coronary microvascular function. The clinical relevance of MVA has historically been overlooked since the diagnostic tools required for the evaluation of the coronary microcirculation are infrequently utilized. A parallel ‘tale’ could be proposed for heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Indeed, HFpEF is observed in about 50% of patients presenting with HF symptoms and is characterized by the absence of a relevant reduction of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). 4 As with MVA, patients with HFpEF have poorer clinical outcomes compared with asymptomatic subjects exhibiting a similar burden of risk factors. The diagnosis of HFpEF is based on the following: (i) symptoms with or without signs of HF; (ii) normal or only mildy reduced LVEF; (iii) elevated levels of natriuretic peptides; (iv) relevant structural heart disease (i.e. left ventricular hypertrophy, left atrial enlargement) and/or diastolic dysfunction. In both MVA and HFpEF, no therapeutic intervention has hitherto been proven to improve patient outcome; similarly, symptomatic treatment is largely empirical. A key shared characteristic …
Automated cancer stem cell recognition in H and E stained tissue using convolutional neural networks and color deconvolution

The analysis and interpretation of histopathological samples and images is an important discipline in the diagnosis of various diseases, especially cancer. An important factor in prognosis and treatment with the aim of a precision medicine is the determination of so-called cancer stem cells (CSC) which are known for their resistance to chemotherapeutic treatment and involvement in tumor recurrence. Using immunohistochemistry with CSC markers like CD13, CD133 and others is one way to identify CSC. In our work we aim at identifying CSC presence on ubiquitous Hematoxilyn and Eosin (HE) staining as an inexpensive tool for routine histopathology based on their distinct morphological features. We present initial results of a new method based on color deconvolution (CD) and convolutional neural networks (CNN). This method performs favorably (accuracy 0.936) in comparison with a state-of-the-art method based on 1DSIFT and eigen-analysis feature sets evaluated on the same image database. We also show that accuracy of the CNN is improved by the CD pre-processing.
Management of intracranial pathology during pregnancy: Case example and review of management strategies

Background: Intracranial tumors during pregnancy are uncommon, and they present an interesting challenge to both the neurosurgeon and the obstetrician. Special considerations must be made in every aspect of care. The authors use the rare case of a 27-year-old pregnant female with suspected pineal region tumor eventually diagnosed as a thalamic region ganglioglioma to review the current literature on management of pathology in this unique patient population. Case Description: A 27-year-old female who was 26 weeks pregnant presented to her obstetrician with complaints of headaches, blurriness of vision, and left-sided numbness and tingling. She was diagnosed with 1-cm mass in the pineal region and obstructive hydrocephalus. She initially underwent an endoscopic third ventriculostomy with biopsy of what appeared grossly to be a thalamic mass. The child was delivered via cesarean section at 39 weeks. Serial postpartum imaging demonstrated increasing tumor size and enhancement, which led the authors to proceed with subtotal resection via a supracerebellar infratentorial approach with stereotactic neuronavigation. Tissue specimens obtained for pathological analysis resulted in a revised diagnosis of World Health Organization (WHO) grade II ganglioglioma. Conclusions: Pregnancy presents a challenge for any patient requiring neurosurgical intervention. We present an interesting case example with a rare central nervous system neoplasm and discuss the management of intracranial pathology in pregnant patients.