Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating prognostic parameters in women with uterine leiomyosarcoma. A clinicopathologic study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prognostic impact of different clinicopathologic parameters in patients with uterine leiomyosarcoma. STUDY DESIGN Twenty-one patients with histologically proven uterine leiomyosarcoma were included in the analysis. Leiomyosarcomas were defined as uterine smooth muscle tumors with > or = 5 mitoses per 10 high-power fields and nuclear atypia and/or necrosis. RESULTS The median follow-up time was 47 months; 5-year overall survival was 41%. A univariate Cox model revealed that early tumor stage (P = .00001), age at diagnosis < 50 years (P = .02), absence of vascular space involvement (P = .04), low myometrial invasion (P = .006) and low histologic grade (P = .04) were associated with lengthened overall survival. Adjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy (P = .1) did not influence overall survival. CONCLUSION Early tumor stage, age at diagnosis < 50 years, absence of vascular space invasion, low myometrial invasion and low histologic grade were parameters of a good prognosis in women with uterine leiomyosarcoma. Adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy showed no benefit in these patients.
On delay-dependent stability of neutral time-delay systems

This paper is concerned with the problem of stability of neutral time-delay systems. On the basis of Lyapunov-Krasovskii approach, a new delay-dependent stability condition is firstly obtained in terms of linear matrix inequality (LMI) using the free-weighting matrices method. Following the method of discretization of the delay, much less conservative stability conditions are secondly derived. In addition, the obtained results are further extended to neutral time-delay systems with either norm-bounded uncertainties or polytopic uncertainties. Finally, numerical examples illustrate that the proposed conditions are effective and less conservative than the existing results.
Signaling Effect of

After-sale service quality is a key to differentiating an online seller from numerous others and attracting returning customers. However, new customers cannot readily discern the quality of unfamiliar sellers. Sellers often try to reduce the information asymmetry and signal their quality by ensuring good website interface usability, considering that the website is the main point of contact with online shoppers. Most research on signaling has focused on its pre-purchase effects. Although researchers have argued that signaling could affect future purchase decisions, how signaling influences repurchase intention has not been detailed. This study proposes a model of the influence based on the signaling theory and expectation-confirmation model. The model posits that a signal influences an online shopper’s expectation and the expectationconfirmation subsequently determines repurchase intention. The model was tested with prepurchase and post-purchase data collected in a two-stage survey and analyzed with structural equation modeling. Findings indicate that signaling goes beyond the pre-purchase stage of initial purchase to influence repurchase intention. This indicates that signaling has longer-term effect than that typically examined in signaling research and further research on the effect is needed. For practice, the findings indicate that online sellers need to send realistic signals to attract returning customers.
Biomechanical transformation of the gastroc‐soleus muscle with botulinum toxin A in children with cerebral palsy

Objective measures (kinematics and kinetics) were used to study prospectively the effects of botulinum toxin A (BTX/A) on the gastroc‐soleus muscle in ambulant children with cerebral palsy. In this prospective before and after trial, 15 children with diplegia and 10 children with hemiplegia were studied (mean age 5 years 7 months, range 4 years to 9 years). A range of standardized clinical measures was undertaken but the emphasis for this report is on the three‐dimensional gait analysis (3DGA) results. All children showed improvements in sagittal ankle kinematics, as has been previously reported. Two new measures of ankle kinetics were devised: ankle moment quotient (AMQ), and ankle power quotient (APQ). Before intervention, ankle moments were characterized by a‘double bump’ankle moment. A typical abnormal baseline ankle‐power curve was triphasic with an initial trough of absorption followed by abnormal mid‐stance power generation, instead of the usual A1 pattern, and reduced terminal stance power generation (A2). Three weeks after treatment with BTX/A alone there was a statistically significant improvement of AMQ and APQ; some patients required potentiation of BTX/A with a short period of serial casts. Both groups (BTX/A alone and BTX/A plus casting) continued to show improvement in ankle kinetics from baseline after 12 and 24 weeks. This is the first study to demonstrate improvements in the typical abnormal ankle kinetics which we believe provides evidence of the ‘biomechanical transformation of muscle’.
Autophagy inhibition cooperates with erlotinib to induce glioblastoma cell death

Gliomas are the most common malignant primary brain tumors in adults. The median survival never exceeds 12 months, owing to inherent resistance to both radio and chemotherapies. Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is amplified, overexpressed, and/or mutated in glioblastomas (GBM), making it a rational for therapy. Erlotinib, an EGFR kinase inhibitor is strongly associated with clinical response in several cancers. Inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis by erlotinib were investigated in U87-MG and DBTRG-05MG, two human glioblastoma cell lines. The expression of several apoptosis-related proteins was investigated in these cell lines and in tumoral tissue from glioblastomas. Both cell lines expressed wild-type EGFR but were deficient for PTEN. Erlotinib induced a marked accumulation of the BIM protein, but the activation of caspase-3 machinery was missing, regardless of the decrease in XIAP. Moreover, in U87-MG, erlotinib promoted accumulation of αB-crystallin a small heat shock protein capable to impair caspase activation. DBTRG-05MG was found deficient for procaspase 3 and constitutively overexpressed αB-crystallin. Similarly, deficiencies in PTEN and procaspase 3 were constantly found in samples from glioblastoma samples, while αB-crystallin expression was inconsistent. In cell lines, high concentrations of erlotinib induced cell death through a caspase independent process and an autophagic process was evidenced in U87-MG. Inhibition of autophagy induced a marked increase in the death-inducing activity of erlotinib. These results confirm that glioblastoma cell lines exhibit several anti-apoptotic mechanisms, and underline that EGFR targeted therapy must be associated to other inhibitors to achieve an antitumoral effect.
A processing unit for symmetrical components and harmonics estimation based on a new adaptive linear combiner structure

Symmetrical components as well as harmonic tracking are of great importance in many applications in power systems such as power quality and protection. This paper introduces a novel Adaptive linear combiner (ADALINE) structure for symmetrical components estimation. This structure is capable of dealing with multi-output systems for parameter tracking/estimation rather than the existing ADALINE, which deals only with single output systems. As the new topology deals with Multi-Output systems, it is called MO-ADALINE. Moreover, the paper presents a new processing unit, which can estimate symmetrical and harmonic components from the measured current signals. The advantages of this proposed unit are its independence of the voltage waveform and its ability to give information about the reactive component of the resolved current. Simulation results are given to validate the proposed algorithms.
Dynamic gain-tuning control (DGTC) approach for AGC with effects of wind power

Variable wind power output introduces new challenges to power system frequency regulation and control, such as automatic generation control (AGC) which is very important to regulate power system frequency. The existing methods to design control gains for proportional-integral (PI) controllers in AGC are either time consuming or easily affected by the designer's experience. Further, the control gains are usually designed with fixed values for specific scenarios in the studied power system. The desired response may not be achieved when variable wind power is integrated into power systems. To address these challenges, a dynamic gain tuning control (DGTC) method for AGC is proposed in this paper. By the proposed control method, PI control gains can be dynamically adjusted to reach the desired performance. The proposed method is tested in a modified IEEE 39 bus system with actual wind data, and compared with conventional control approach with well-tuned fixed gains in the simulation. The simulation results show that the proposed control method provides better AGC response with less deviation of system frequency and tie-line flow under variable wind power.
Prevalence and characteristics of myocardial bridging in coronary angiogram--data from consecutive 5525 patients.

BACKGROUND Large discrepancy of the incidence of myocardial bridging (MB) has been reported either among the postmortem studies or among the studies with coronary angiogram. This study was to investigate the prevalence of MB in large number of coronary angiograms and the angiographic characteristics of MB. METHODS A total of 5525 consecutive patients who underwent first diagnostic coronary angiography from January 2003 to March 2006 in Zhongshan Hospital were enrolled in this study. MB was diagnosed when the angiographical "milking effect", defined as the systolic compression and complete or partly release of the compression in diastole, was seen in the epicardial coronary arteries. Angiography was routinely repeated after intracoronary injection of 200 microg nitroglycerin. The systolic compression and length of MB were compared before and after the administration of nitroglycerin and also before and after stent implantation in patients with significant stenosis in segment proximal to the MB. RESULTS Among 5525 patients, MBs were found in a total of 888 patients angiographically with the prevalence of 16.1%. Atherosclerotic lesions were found more often in the segment proximal to the MB with 344/854 (40.3%) patients than in the segment distal to the MB with 47/854 (5.5%) (P < 0.01). The systolic compression ((43.3 +/- 13.7)% at baseline vs (54.2 +/- 14.0)% after nitroglycerine) and the average length ((20.9 +/- 7.5) mm at baseline vs (22.7 +/- 8.0) mm after nitroglycerine) of the MB segment were increased after intracoronary injection of nitroglycerin (both P < 0.01). Stent implantation was performed in 88 patients with significant stenosis in the segment proximal to the MB. The systolic compression and the length of the MB segment were increased after stenting compared with those before stenting (systolic compression, (49.4 +/- 14.6)% at baseline vs (57.3 +/- 12.3)% after stenting, and length of MB, (19.5 +/- 6.1) mm at baseline vs (21.8 +/- 6.3) mm after stenting, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS MB was a frequent finding in coronary angiogram with an incidence of 16.1%. Intracoronary administration of nitroglycerin and stent implantation in the segment proximal to the MB could enhance the systolic compression and the length of the MB angiographically.
Reducing the Influence of Anecdotal Reasoning on People’s Health Care Decisions: Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Statistics?

Background . People’s treatment decisions are often influenced by anecdotal rather than statistical information. This can lead to patients making decisions based on others’ experiences rather than on evidence-based medicine. Objective . To test whether the use of a quiz or pictograph decreases people’s reliance on anecdotal information. Design . Two cross-sectional survey studies using hypothetical scenarios. Participants read a scenario describing angina and indicated a preference for either bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty. The cure rate of both treatments was presented using prose, a pictograph, a quiz, or a pictograph and quiz combination. Participants read anecdotes from hypothetical patients who described the outcome of their treatment; the number of successful anecdotes was either representative or unrepresentative of the cure rates. Setting and Participants . Prospective jurors at the Philadelphia County Courthouse and travelers at the Detroit-Wayne County Metropolitan Airport. Measurements . Proportion of respondents preferring bypass over balloon angioplasty. Results . In study 1, when statistical information was presented in prose, treatment choices were influenced by anecdotes, with 41% of participants choosing bypass when the anecdotes were representative and only 20% choosing it when the anecdotes were unrepresentative (x2 = 14.40, P < 0.001). When statistics were reinforced with the pictograph and quiz, anecdotes had no significant influence on treatment decisions (38% choosing bypass when anecdotes were representative v. 44% when unrepresentative, x2 = 1.08, P > 0.20). In study 2, the tradeoff quiz did not reduce the impact of the anecdotes (27% v. 28% choosing bypass after receiving or not receiving the quiz, x2 < 1, P > 0.20). However, the pictograph significantly reduced the impact of anecdotes, with 27% choosing bypass after receiving no pictograph and 40% choosing bypass after receiving a pictograph (x2 = 6.44, P < 0.001). Conclusions . Presenting statistical information using a pictograph can reduce the undue influence of anecdotal reasoning on treatment choices.
Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Inhibits Type I Interferon- and RNase L-Mediated Host Defense To Disrupt Intestinal Epithelial Cell Barrier Function

ABSTRACT Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) primarily infects children in developing countries and causes diarrhea that can be deadly. EPEC pathogenesis occurs through type III secretion system (T3SS)-mediated injection of effectors into intestinal epithelial cells (IECs); these effectors alter actin dynamics, modulate the immune response, and disrupt tight junction (TJ) integrity. The resulting compromised barrier function and increased gastrointestinal (GI) permeability may be responsible for the clinical symptoms of infection. Type I interferon (IFN) mediates anti-inflammatory activities and serves essential functions in intestinal immunity and homeostasis; however, its role in the immune response to enteric pathogens, such as EPEC, and its impact on IEC barrier function have not been examined. Here, we report that IFN-β is induced following EPEC infection and regulates IEC TJ proteins to maintain barrier function. The EPEC T3SS effector NleD counteracts this protective activity by inhibiting IFN-β induction and enhancing tumor necrosis factor alpha to promote barrier disruption. The endoribonuclease RNase L is a key mediator of IFN induction and action that promotes TJ protein expression and IEC barrier integrity. EPEC infection inhibits RNase L in a T3SS-dependent manner, providing a mechanism by which EPEC evades IFN-induced antibacterial activities. This work identifies novel roles for IFN-β and RNase L in IEC barrier functions that are targeted by EPEC effectors to escape host defense mechanisms and promote virulence. The IFN-RNase L axis thus represents a potential therapeutic target for enteric infections and GI diseases involving compromised barrier function.
Performance Analysis And Optimization of Restoration Using Lorentzian Robust Estimator with Circular Spatial Mask To Diversified Field Images

In this paper, a new robust statistical frame work for image restoration to images from diversified fields. Robust statistical approach the problem of estimation to the representation as better than reality assumptions about a system are occasionally violated. The degraded image is considered as a violation of the assumption of spatial intensities and is treated as an outlier random variable. A restored image is estimated by fitting a spatially co-herent still image model to the available degraded data using a robust estimator based regression technique within an optimal size of circular adaptive window. The robust formulation purpose at removing the noise outlier while preserving original contain in the restored image. We provide experimental result with synthetic degraded images and compare with the state-of-art techniques demonstrating with several examples. KEYWORDSimage restoration, synthetic noises, outliers, robust restoration, robust statistics. INTRODUCTION Image restoration is an inverse problem whose aim is to recover an image from a version of that image which has degraded with noise. Images are likely to be degraded by the sensing environment when acquired through optical, electro optical. The degradation may be in the form of sensor noise, blur due to camera motion, random atmospheric turbulence. For digitally acquired images noise can be summarized as the visible effect of an electronic error in the captured image. Noise is the function of how well the image sensor and digital signal processing system inside a digital camera are prone to and can cope with or minimize these errors. Noise significantly degrades the image quality and creating the discrimination in the image. It also complicates further image understanding. The sensor noise generated by typical charge couple device, CMOS sensors and channels can be modeled as a Gaussian, Salt & Pepper, Speckle and Poisson distribution with zero mean and noise density can be estimated from the degraded images [1][2][3]. In particular imaging degradation such as those result in image quantitative parameters that can be considered in statistics context as outliers. The problem to remove the noise can be treated as to obtaining the original image using outliers. In the following part of this paper, a detailed account of a simple technique for image restoration with robust statistics introduced with results showing its effectiveness at restoring at synthetic noise degraded images from various fields. IMAGE RESTORATION Statistical characteristics of images are fundamental importance in many fields of image processing. Incorporation of priori statistical knowledge of special correlation in an image, in essence, can lead to
Environmental dynamism, innovation, and dynamic capabilities: the case of China

Purpose - Based on the resource-based view, creating and maintaining a long-term competitive advantage requires significant attention to developing and nurturing dynamic capabilities in emerging markets. With increasing research attention given to the dynamic capabilities view, the need to explore the building mechanism has continued to escalate. This study aims to consider environmental dynamism as a moderating variable, to build a theoretical model for innovation strategy and dynamic capabilities, and finally to summarize the building mechanism for dynamic capabilities. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 400 high-tech and knowledge intensive and other kind business firms in Yantz River Delta region in China were approached. In total, 158 responses were received, of which 110 were usable. To check for possible response bias, early and late respondents were compared and no response bias was found in the study. Findings - The empirical results find that the coefficient for innovation strategy is positive and significant for dynamic capabilities. However, it also finds that the interaction term between innovation strategy and environmental dynamism is not significant in predicting dynamic capabilities. Therefore, an innovation strategy can build and upgrade dynamic capabilities in both stable and rapidly changing environments. Originality/value - An empirical verification of the links between innovation strategy and dynamic capabilities is conducted, and the role of environmental dynamism on innovation strategy and dynamic capabilities in the context of an emerging market is also examined, which there is a lack of in the current literature. This study provides implications for both government and entrepreneurs in finding the right way to build dynamic capabilities through employing innovation strategy.
Quantitative Marketing and Economics 2005 Conference Schedule October 21-22 , 2005 Sponsored by

We propose a structural approach to measuring brand equity in an equilibrium framework using observational data. Brand equity is defined as the difference in equilibrium profit between the brand in question and its counterfactual unbranded equivalent on observable attributes. Our structural model allows us to make this computation rigorously. The calculations take into account competitors’ reactions in the real situation and in the counterfactual situation. We illustrate our methods on aggregate and individual-level data in two product categories, ready-to-eat cereal and ketchup, and compare our brand equity estimates with those obtained from previously offered reduced-form methods.
Effect of the polymorphism in GPX5 gene on reproductive performance traits in Large White x Landrace crossbreed sows

1 Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin, al. Piastów 45, 70-311 Szczecin, Poland 2 Department of Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Jastrzębiec, Postępu 36A, 05-552 Magdalenka, Poland 3 National Research Institute of Animal Production, Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Krakowska 1, 32-83 Balice, Poland
Nodal T/NK‐cell lymphoma of nasal type: a clinicopathological study of six cases

Aims: To investigate the clinicopathological features of six unusual cases of nodal CD56+ and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)+ T/natural killer (NK)‐cell lymphoma, a putative nodal counterpart of nasal NK/T‐cell lymphoma (nodal T/NK‐cell lymphoma of nasal type) in comparison with nasal NK/T‐cell lymphoma with secondary lymph node involvement (n = 24) and peripheral T‐cell lymphoma (PTCL) of cytotoxic molecule (CTM)+ and EBV+ type (n = 21).
Review and Unification of Reduced Order Force Control Methods

In this paper, we compare some of the recent methods developed for simultaneous position and force control of a single a-link constrained robot manipulator. Mathematical models of the constrained manipulator are introduced and the advantages and disadvantages of the associated control formulations are discussed. The similarities between each of the proposed formulations are also highlighted. Finally, a transformation is presented which generalizes the methods of decompling force from the position dynamics.