Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Prostate cancer Research International: Active Surveillance study

Purpose of review To inform readers on the ongoing activities of the Prostate cancer Research International: Active Surveillance (PRIAS) study in the light of current findings and research problems on active surveillance worldwide. Recent findings Recent data from the PRIAS study combined with PubMed-based literature from the last 3 years. Summary The PRIAS study is a rapidly growing registry for active surveillance of low-risk prostate cancer. The study is conducted worldwide, facilitated by an electronic Web-based decision tool with password-restricted access for physicians. Inclusion and monitoring is performed according to protocol. Over 2000 men have been included from over 100 participating centres in 17 countries in four continents. The study was initiated in December 2006. Risk reclassification on repeat biopsy during follow-up has occurred in 27% of biopsied men, although a switch towards active therapy has been performed in 22% of the total cohort.
Paternalism and New Durable-Goods Energy Efficiency Standards: Consumers Ain't Misbehavin’

This paper extends the literature on consumer decision-making and energy efficiency through recourse to insights from behavioral economics and neuroeconomics. This approach is motivated by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) new regulations mandating more stringent energy-efficiency standards for consumer durables, stated to be nested in behavioral economics. Consumers, afflicted by intertemporal internalities, are said to undervalue energy savings from durables “investments,” causing suboptimal energy-efficient-appliance purchasing and, absent government intervention, the irrational foregoing of private returns. This paper critically examines DOE’s regulatory actions. We first analyze consumer heuristic-formation and decision-making regarding durables, inevitably leading to the core issue of decision-making under risk versus ambiguity -- informed by research on the neural correlates to this dichotomy. We then conduct an empirical analysis of retail residential energy prices and determine that these data are unequivocally ambiguous. DOE’s assertion that paternalism will produce private returns drives our subsequent step-by-step deconstruction of DOE’s empirical methodology, yielding the conclusion that it artificially purges volatility and nonstationarity from energy prices. We find no evidence that the DOE regulations will produce private returns to consumers, or that consumer behavior is irrational.
Destination Competitiveness—A Comparison of Subjective and Objective Indicators for Winter Sports Areas

Studies about measuring competitiveness of winter sport destinations are rare. Subjective measurements seem to dominate research mostly either from demand or supply side; however, seldom integrated approaches from both sides are used. Objective measures seem to be scarce, and comparisons of both subjective and objective measures seem to have been neglected so far. To increase the credibility of previous findings, this article relies on subjective primary data (demand and supply side), also named “soft” data, and objective secondary data (demand side), also named “hard” data, on the competitiveness of six Alpine destinations. Findings show evidence that subjective performance measures show deviations from the results based on objective measures.
S100 and cognitive impairment after mild traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the proteins S100B and S100A1B and symptoms and signs of cognitive impairment for 3 months after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). METHODS Serum concentrations of S100A1B and S100B were examined in a prospective cohort study of patients with MTBI and a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 14 or 15. Cognitive performance was assessed by repeated computerized neuropsychological testing and an extended neuropsychological test. Symptoms were assessed using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire. RESULTS Concentrations of S100B and S100A1B were above cut-off in 31% and 48% respectively. Eight percent of the patients had signs of cognitive impairment according to the computerized neuropsychological tests and 30% according to the extended test. Symptoms of cognitive impairment were reported by 44% of the patients on the first day post-injury and by 26% at 3 months. No significant associations between S100B or S100A1B concentrations and symptoms or signs of cognitive impairment were found. CONCLUSION Abnormal S100 serum concentrations and symptoms or signs of cognitive impairment were not significantly associated in patients with MTBI and a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 14 or 15.
5F-1 Analytical Models for Micromachined Transducers - An Overview (Invited)

Over the past decade, capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) have emerged as a viable alternative to existing piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers in some applications within ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation, gas flow metering, and diagnostic medical imaging. These transducers, which can transmit and receive ultrasound in fluid media, offer wide signal bandwidths and have potential advantages in fabrication of high-frequency arrays and integration with electronics. Accurate simulation and modeling of CMUTs transducers is critical to designing efficient transducer for a particular application, as the number of available design parameters is high. Although modeling techniques such as finite-element methods (FEM) are invaluable for predicting the behavior of such complex systems, more approximate analytical techniques may offer greater insight with significantly less time and effort. Techniques such as lumped equivalent circuit modeling are often the starting point for analyzing tradeoffs amongst designs and understanding measurement results. This paper surveys the most common analytical modeling techniques, largely based on linear, lumped, equivalent circuit models for CMUTs in air and water. Some potential extensions are proposed to account for fluid loading, high-order vibrational modes, and membranes composed of multiple material layers. In addition, we investigate the effects of variations among individual CMUT membranes within a transducer on measurements and performance, whether intentional or as an undesired result of fabrication nonuniformities
No upregulation of digitalis glycoside receptor (Na,K-ATPase) concentration in human heart left ventricle samples obtained at necropsy after long term digitalisation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE The aim was to evaluate the hypothesis that digitalis glycosides increase the concentration of their specific receptor (Na,K-ATPase) in human myocardial tissue, thereby possibly reducing the inotropic effect of long term digitalis treatment. DESIGN Intact samples of left ventricle were obtained at necropsy from patients who had been on long term treatment with digoxin and from patients not previously given digoxin. Digitalis glycoside receptors were quantified using vanadate facilitated 3H-ouabain binding before and after washing samples in buffer containing excess digoxin antibody fragments for 16 h at 30 degrees C. This washing procedure has previously been shown to reduce prior specific digoxin binding in human left ventricle by 95% and to allow subsequent vanadate facilitated complete quantification of 3H-ouabain binding sites. In this context it was performed to reduce occupancy of digitalis glycoside receptors by digoxin, caused by digitalisation before 3H-ouabain binding. SUBJECTS 11 patients who had been on long term treatment with digoxin and eight who had not previously been given digoxin were studied. Left ventricle samples were obtained at necropsy at around 15 h after death. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Standard 3H-ouabain binding was 39% less in samples from digitalised than from undigitalised subjects (p less than 0.001). Washing samples in buffer containing excess digoxin antibody fragments induced an increase in 3H-ouabain binding from 174(SEM 10) to 265(20) pmol.g-1 wet weight (n = 11, p less than 0.001) in samples from digitalised patients. After washing, the digitalis glycoside receptor concentration in left ventricle samples showed a tendency to a lower value (14%, p greater than 0.10) in patients exposed to digoxin compared to left ventricle samples from individuals unexposed to digitalis glycoside treatment. Calculating 3H-ouabain binding relative to dry ventricular muscle weight confirmed the results obtained using wet weight as reference. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that digoxin treatment in life is associated with a 34% occupancy of digitalis glycoside receptors with digoxin. In the human heart there was no evidence for upregulation of digitalis glycoside receptor concentration due to long term digitalisation. Thus at receptor level there was no evidence for development of tolerance to digoxin therapy. The lower digitalis glycoside receptor concentration in the left ventricle observed in the heart failure patients may support the report of a relationship between Na,K-ATPase concentration as evaluated by 3H-ouabain binding and left ventricular function.
On the role of parvocellular (P) and magnocellular (M) pathways in cerebral achromatopsia.

We assessed the ability of an achromatopsic patient to detect and discriminate colour and form concealed in a static or dynamic checkerboard display where the luminance differences among adjacent squares were randomly assigned. There were no conditions under which he could discriminate two very different saturated colours from each other. Nevertheless, he could discriminate chromatic from luminance boundaries in static displays when the colour defining the boundary was saturated and the achromatic boundaries all had similar luminance contrast, i.e. varied over a narrow range. However, he could not readily detect chromatic boundaries from among many achromatic boundaries that differed widely in luminance contrast. In addition, he was able to detect chromatic boundaries even when they were concealed by dynamic random luminance masking. His ability to pick out chromatic borders was abolished when desaturated colours were used. However, he was singularly proficient at detecting coloured forms in static or dynamic displays even when the saturation of the colours of which the form was composed were such that they were rendered invisible when concealed as a single square in a checkerboard. This implies that signals about chroma are still available in extracting shape. The patient performed flawlessly when asked to indicate the direction of motion of a horizontal red/green isoluminant grating which was phase shifted by 90 degrees in either direction, demonstrating unequivocally that he has access to the sign of colours that he nevertheless does not perceive.
Effect of alphatocopherol on diameter of proximal convoluted tubules of kidney in diabetic mice.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of alphatocopherol supplement on proximal convoluted tubular diameter of kidney in diabetic mice. METHODS The randomised controlled trials was conducted partly at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, and partly in Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, from November 2009 to November 2010. Thirty adult female mice BALB/C were randomly divided into three equal groups. Group A served as the control group. Group B was made diabetic by the intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Group C received injection streptozotocin and was fed with alphatocopherol (vitamin E) supplemented diet. After 12 weeks, the animals were sacrificed and their kidneys were removed for histomorphological study. RESULTS Diabetes caused significant changes in the diameter of proximal tubule of Experimental Group B (diabetic) compared to the controls in Group A, but these changes were prevented in alphatocopherol treated Group C. Tubular diameter in Group B was significantly reduced compared to theControl Group A (p <0.05), but there was no statistical difference in tubular diameter of Group C and Group A (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION Significant difference in proximal tubular diameter of kidneys between diabetic and alphatocopherol treated diabetic mice confirm that vitamin E does extend a protective role in improving diabetic nephropathy.
Hepatic venous pressure gradient predicts clinical decompensation in patients with compensated cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Our aim was to identify predictors of clinical decompensation (defined as the development of ascites, variceal hemorrhage [VH], or hepatic encephalopathy [HE]) in patients with compensated cirrhosis and with portal hypertension as determined by the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG). METHODS We analyzed 213 patients with compensated cirrhosis and portal hypertension but without varices included in a trial evaluating the use of beta-blockers in preventing varices. All had baseline laboratory tests and HVPG. Patients were followed prospectively every 3 months until development of varices or VH or end of study. To have complete information, until study termination, about clinical decompensation, medical record review was done. Patients who underwent liver transplantation without decompensation were censored at transplantation. Cox regression models were developed to identify predictors of clinical decompensation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate diagnostic capacity of HVPG. RESULTS Median follow-up time of 51.1 months. Sixty-two (29%) of 213 patients developed decompensation: 46 (21.6%) ascites, 6 (3%) VH, 17 (8%) HE. Ten patients received a transplant and 12 died without clinical decompensation. Median HVPG at baseline was 11 mm Hg (range, 6-25 mm Hg). On multivariate analysis, 3 predictors of decompensation were identified: HVPG (hazard ratio [HR], 1.11; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.17), model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03-1.29), and albumin (HR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.22-0.62). Diagnostic capacity of HVPG was greater than for MELD or Child-Pugh score. CONCLUSIONS HVPG, MELD, and albumin independently predict clinical decompensation in patients with compensated cirrhosis. Patients with an HVPG <10 mm Hg have a 90% probability of not developing clinical decompensation in a median follow-up of 4 years.
Neuroendocrine Differentiation in Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia and Adenocarcinoma

Neuroendocrine cells are thought to have a regulatory role in prostatic epithelial growth and may be prognostically useful in prostatic adenocarcinoma. To determine the extent of neuroendocrine differentiation in high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), a putative precursor of cancer, we studied the immunohistochemical expression of 10 markers in 26 radical prostatectomy specimens with PIN and adenocarcinoma. Expression was measured as mean percent of positive cases and positive high-power (×40) fields. The highest percentage of cases showed immunoreactivity for serotonin (73%, PIN; 54%, carcinoma), neuron-specific enolase (NSE) (67%, PIN; 46%, carcinoma), chromogranin (62%, PIN; 65%, carcinoma), and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (30%, PIN; 22%, carcinoma); the remaining markers showed immunoreactivity in fewer than 5% of cases (somatostatin, calcitonin, corticotropin) or in no cases (thyrotropin, prolactin, and glucagon). At least one of the markers was present in 88% of cases of PIN and 92% of carcinoma. Non-neoplastic epithelial cells expressed serotonin, NSE, chromogranin, and hCG in every case, and the expression was significantly greater than in PIN and cancer. Stepwise regression analysis revealed the following positive correlations: chromogranin expression in PIN and patient age, NSE expression in cancer and number of lymph node metastases, and hCG expression in cancer and percentage of Gleason pattern 5; serotonin expression in PIN and cancer did not correlate with any of the clinical and pathologic factors. Neuroendocrine differentiation is downregulated in prostatic carcinogenesis, with intermediate levels of expression in PIN compared with normal cells and carcinoma.
Geometrical Convergence Rate for Distributed Optimization with Time-Varying Directed Graphs and Uncoordinated Step-Sizes

This paper studies a class of distributed optimization algorithms by a set of agents, where each agent has only access to its own local convex objective function, and jointly minimizes the sum of the functions. The communications among agents are described by a sequence of time-varying directed graphs which are assumed to be uniformly strongly connected. A column stochastic mixing matrices is employed in the algorithm, which also exactly steers all the agents to asymptotically converge to a global and consensual optimal solution even under the assumption that the step-sizes are uncoordinated. Two fairly standard conditions for achieving the geometrical convergence rate are established under the assumption that the objective functions are strong convexity and have Lipschitz continuous gradient. The theoretical analysis shows that the distributed algorithm is capable of driving the whole network to geometrically converge to an optimal solution of the convex optimization problem as long as the uncoordinated step-sizes do not exceed some upper bounds. We also give an explicit analysis for the convergence rate of our algorithm through a different approach. Finally, simulation results illustrate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm and the theoretical analysis throughout this paper.
Do Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Have a Higher Risk for Sleep Apnea?

Objective. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to subjects in the general population. The development of CVD has also been linked to chronic sleep apnea. The purpose of this study was to examine the risk for sleep apnea in patients with RA compared to subjects without RA. Methods. We recruited RA patients and non-RA subjects who were age and sex matched from the same population. These persons completed the Berlin Sleep Questionnaire, which evaluated their level of risk (high or low) for sleep apnea. In addition, there were 3 subscales evaluating snoring, fatigue, and relevant comorbidities [i.e., high blood pressure and obesity [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2)]. Chi-squared tests were used for comparisons. Results. The study population consisted of 164 patients with RA and 328 patients without RA. Age, sex and BMI were similar for both groups. There was no difference in snoring (p = 0.31) or in the comorbidities subscale (p = 0.37). However, RA patients reported more fatigue (38%) than subjects without RA (13%; p < 0.001). Overall, the risk for sleep apnea was significantly higher for the RA patients (50%) than the non-RA subjects (31%; p < 0.001). Conclusion. Patients with RA may be at a higher risk for sleep apnea compared to non-RA subjects. This apparent risk difference may be attributed to reports of fatigue in RA patients, which may be associated with sleep apnea or RA disease itself.
Is environmental Kuznets curve a universal phenomenon?: - An econometric analysis of the existing studies

The impact of economic growth on environment has been a much debated topic among the economists and policy makers across the globe. From early 90’s estimation of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis emerged as a popular paradigm in academic discourses regarding growth environment relationship. EKC hypothesis states an inverted U relationship between income per capita and environmental degradation. At an initial level of development environmental degradation upsurges, and as income grows further beyond a point, environmental degradation slows down. Since EKC demonstrates economic growth as a cure for the environmental degradation and not as a cause for the same, large number of empirical studies have been conducted across the globe to examine the validity of EKC theory. But the available literature pertaining to the estimation of EKC hypothesis shows ambiguity in findings. Our present study makes an attempt to conduct a systematic review of 150 studies on EKC analysis along with its postulation, development over the years and methodological advancement. The objective of the paper is to examine whether EKC is a universal phenomenon or the findings of the studies depend on specific factors. The study conceptualized various factors namely, type of environmental indicators, measurement of environmental indicator, type of data set, income level of nations, econometric specification, and number of explanatory variables. After using a logit model we found that studies using panel data set, concentration per capita, multiple variable model, unit root tests have more probability of exhibiting EKC. However, studies are less likely to exhibit EKC once stationarity test is conducted in panel data. It implies that EKC is extremely context specific and not a universal phenomenon.
Expression of collagen and related growth factors in rat tendon and skeletal muscle in response to specific contraction types

Acute exercise induces collagen synthesis in both tendon and muscle, indicating an adaptive response in the connective tissue of the muscle–tendon unit. However, the mechanisms of this adaptation, potentially involving collagen‐inducing growth factors (such as transforming growth factor‐β‐1 (TGF‐β‐1)), as well as enzymes related to collagen processing, are not clear. Furthermore, possible differential effects of specific contraction types on collagen regulation have not been investigated. Female Sprague–Dawley rats were subjected to 4 days of concentric, eccentric or isometric training (n= 7–9 per group) of the medial gastrocnemius, by stimulation of the sciatic nerve. RNA was extracted from medial gastrocnemius and Achilles tendon tissue 24 h after the last training bout, and mRNA levels for collagens I and III, TGF‐β‐1, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), lysyl oxidase (LOX), metalloproteinases (MMP‐2 and ‐9) and their inhibitors (TIMP‐1 and 2) were measured by Northern blotting and/or real‐time PCR. In tendon, expression of TGF‐β‐1 and collagens I and III (but not CTGF) increased in response to all types of training. Similarly, enzymes/factors involved in collagen processing were induced in tendon, especially LOX (up to 37‐fold), which could indicate a loading‐induced increase in cross‐linking of tendon collagen. In skeletal muscle, a similar regulation of gene expression was observed, but in contrast to the tendon response, the effect of eccentric training was significantly greater than the effect of concentric training on the expression of several transcripts. In conclusion, the study supports an involvement of TGF‐β‐1 in loading‐induced collagen synthesis in the muscle–tendon unit and importantly, it indicates that muscle tissue is more sensitive than tendon to the specific mechanical stimulus.
Compact Superconducting Diplexer Design With Conductor-Backed Coplanar Waveguide Structures

This paper presents a compact superconducting diplexer with conductor-backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) structures. The couplings of the CBCPW structure resonators are significantly weaker than those of traditional microstrip resonators. High isolations between two channels are therefore achieved by using the CBCPW structures because of their highly suppressed unwanted cross couplings. The CBCPW diplexer consists of two four-pole channel bandpass filters. The couplings in the CBCPW structures, in which the air layer below the substrate varies in height, are simulated and compared with the coupling simulations of microstrip structures. The comparison shows that the coupling intensities of the CBCPW structures are nearly one order of magnitude lower than those of the traditional microstrip structures. The fabricated diplexer exhibits high performance with a compact core size of only 20 mm x 14 mm, and its measurements agree well with the simulations. The measured insertion losses of both channels are less than 0.19 dB, and the isolations are over 53 dB.