Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Critical analysis of the ability of the endorectal coil magnetic resonance imaging scan to predict pathologic stage, margin status, and postoperative prostate-specific antigen failure in patients with clinically organ-confined prostate cancer.

PURPOSE To determine whether there is a role for endorectal coil magnetic resonance imaging (erMRI) in the prediction of pathologic stage, margin status, and/or postoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure in patients with clinically organ-confined prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Using erMRI, the radiologic-pathologic correlation of extracapsular extension (ECE) and seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) was evaluated in 445 surgically managed patients. Logistic regression multivariable analysis was applied to the clinical stage, PSA, biopsy Gleason grade, and erMRI findings to assess the outcomes of ECE, SVI, positive surgical margins (PSM), and postoperative PSA failure. RESULTS The accuracy of erMRI to predict for ECE and SVI numerically decreased with both increasing PSA and biopsy Gleason score because of the increasing false-negative scans in cases of microscopic transcapsular or seminal vesicle disease. Of patients who could not be categorized into low or high risk for postoperative PSA failure on the basis of clinical stage, preoperative PSA, and biopsy Gleason score, a negative or positive erMRI for ECE or SVI stratified these patients into groups with a 78% versus 21% (P < .0001) 3-year rate of actuarial freedom from PSA failure. In this subgroup, the overall accuracy of the erMRI was 70% +/- 6% and 94% +/- 2% for ECE and SVI, respectively. The most significant predictor on multivariable analysis of PSM was the erMRI finding of ECE (P = .0001). CONCLUSION This initial report suggests that a preoperative erMRI can identify clinically organ-confined prostate cancer patients at high risk for having ECE, SVI, and PSM that otherwise would be missed on the basis of the clinical stage, preoperative PSA, and biopsy Gleason score. Confirmatory studies are needed.
A study on mobility-capacity-delay trade-off in wireless ad hoc networks

We show that mobility is a resource that can he traded-off with capacity and delay. More specifically, we consider two schemes for mobility of the nodes. We divide the entire network by cells which sizes can vary with the total number of nodes n, or the cell size is independent of the number of nodes. By restricting the movement of nodes within these cells, we calculate the throughput and delay for randomly chosen pairs of source-destination nodes, and show that mobility is an entity that can be exchanged with capacity and delay. We also present a study with directional antennas in a static network where we consider the relaying of packets to the closest neighbor and verify that capacity yet does not scale well.
Gene Expression Changes Following Acute Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)-induced Nasal Respiratory Epithelial Injury

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a naturally occurring gas that is also associated with several industries. The potential for widespread human inhalation exposure to this toxic gas is a public health concern. The nasal epithelium is especially susceptible to H2S-induced pathology. Injury to and regeneration of the nasal respiratory mucosa occurred in animals with ongoing H2S exposure, suggesting that the regenerated respiratory epithelium under-goes an adaptive response and becomes resistant to further injury. To better understand this response, ten-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed nose-only to either air or 200 ppm H2S for three hours per day for one day or five consecutive days. Nasal respiratory epithelial cells at the site of injury and regeneration were laser capture microdissected, and gene expression profiles were generated at three, six, and twenty-four hours after the initial three-hour exposure and at twenty-four hours after the fifth exposure using the Affymetrix Rat Genome 230 2.0 microarray. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that H2S exposure altered gene expression associated with a variety of biological processes, including cell cycle regulation, protein kinase regulation, and cytoskeletal organization and biogenesis. Surprisingly, our results did not show a significant change in cytochrome oxidase gene expression or bioenergetics.
Changes in Therapeutic Hypothermia and Coronary Intervention Provision and In-Hospital Mortality of Patients With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Nationwide Database Study*

Objectives:To evaluate the change in provision of therapeutic hypothermia and coronary intervention (postresuscitation care) over time and to clarify the association between these provisions and in-hospital mortality in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Design:A nationwide retrospective cohort study using multiple propensity score analyses. Setting:Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination inpatient database. Patients:Adult patients with cardiogenic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest related to ventricular fibrillation were identified from July to December in 2008–2012 (385 hospitals; n = 3,413). Measurements and Main Results:We evaluated the proportion of patients receiving postresuscitation care and all-cause mortality at 30 days after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The proportion of postresuscitation care provision increased significantly over the study period (Mantel-Haenszel trend test, p < 0.001). The overall 30-day mortality was 52.0% (1,774/3,413), and the crude 30-day mortality decreased significantly during the study period (p = 0.006). Logistic regression analysis showed significant associations between the fiscal years 2011 and 2012 and 30-day mortality (2011: odds ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.57–0.98 and 2012: odds ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47–0.81). Multiple propensity score analysis incorporating postresuscitation care showed that 30-day mortality was significantly associated with postresuscitation care, and the significant associations between 30-day mortality and the years 2011 and 2012 were no longer observed (2011: odds ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.82–1.3 and 2012: odds ratio, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.74–1.2). Conclusions:The 30-day survival rate of adult patients with cardiogenic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest related to ventricular fibrillation improved significantly after 2010 in Japan. This improvement may be associated with an increase in postresuscitation care provision.
International Review of Law and Economics he role of judicial review in developing evidentiary standards : The xample of market analysis in Russian competition law enforcement

Despite the fact that judicial review is an important part of competition law enforcement under the administrative system, in which courts decide on claims to annul infringement decisions made by competition authorities, its role in the development of evidentiary standards of economic analysis is understudied. This paper attempts to fill this gap by analyzing the impact of judicial review on the application of market analysis in competition investigations by the Russian competition authority during 2008–2015. Although the guidelines for the assessment of competition are mandatory for many types of anticompetitive conducts and they require application of the Hypothetical Monopolist Test to delineate antitrust market, competition authority does not always do that. We test hypotheses on the impact of legal requirements, experience of application, and the outcomes of the judicial review on the probability ussia to present either an informal market analysis or market delineation using the Hypothetical Monopolist Test in a particular decision. We find that positive outcomes of the judicial review of infringement decisions significantly increase the probability of undertaking a particular analysis in future investigations. The pressure of judicial review under the presence of mandatory standards of evidence is an important determinant of the development of evidentiary standards in competition law. © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Assessment of depression and anxiety in patients with chronic liver disease.

BACKGROUND/AIM In recent years mental health of patients including those with chronic liver disease (CLD), has become interesting because its disturbance leads to reduced quality of life, that is associated with worsening of clinical outcome, reduced compliance and increased mortality. The aim of the study was to determinate the frequency and severity of depression and frequency of anxiety in patients with CLD and to assess the contribution of selected socio-demographic, clinical and laboratory risk factors for depression and anxiety. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we used the Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS) and Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HARS) in patients with CLD. RESULTS The study included 54 male and 43 female patients. Depression was present in 62.9%, and anxiety in 13.4% of the patients. A higher HDRS was noted in the patients older than 50 years (p = 0.022) and unemployed patients (p = 0.043). The patients with at least one episode of gastrointestinal bleeding had a significantly higher frequency of anxiety than those without bleeding (p = 0.018). A higher HARS score was present in the women (p = 0.011), unemployed patients (p = 0.008) and those with non-alcoholic liver disease (p = 0.007). There was a significant correlation between the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and the value of the HDRS score, and between serum potassium and sodium levels and HDRS score. CONCLUSION Age and the mean corpuscular volume have significant influence on the HDRS score while unemployment, gastrointestinal bleeding, serum potassium and serum sodium have predictive value for HARS score.
PUB13, a U-box/ARM E3 ligase, regulates plant defense, cell death, and flowering time

The ubiquitination pathway is involved in a variety of cellular processes in plant growth, development, and immune responses. However, the function of this pathway in connecting plant development and innate immunity is still largely unknown. Recently, we characterized the U-box/ARM E3 ubiquitin ligase PUB13, which regulates both immune responses and flowering time in Arabidopsis. Here, we show that the rice Spl11 gene can complement the cell death and flowering functions of PUB13 in the pub13 mutant. In addition, HFR1, which functions mainly in photomorphogenesis, was identified as one of the PUB13-interacting proteins through yeast two-hybrid screening and pull-down assays. Because the flowering phenotype of pub13 depends on photoperiod, we propose that PUB13 may regulate HFR1 to fine-tune photomorphogenesis and flowering time in Arabidopsis.
Application of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic and stochastic modelling to 6‐mercaptopurine micronucleus induction in mouse bone marrow erythrocytes

This study investigates the kinetics of bone marrow micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes and some mechanistic aspects of micronuclei induction using mathematical models. Female mice were administered a single intraperitoneal injection of the purine antagonist 6‐mercaptopurine at 50 mg kg−1. The time course evolution of the drug concentrations in the plasma and the micronucleated polychromatic erythrocyte kinetic rate in bone marrow were observed. Two mathematical models were developed for this study. The first model was built from a simultaneous pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic approach, but was invalidated after comparing its predictions to experimental data. The second model was a stochastic model based on some biological hypotheses involved in micronuclei induction. This model predicted a wavy kinetic rate of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes that was confirmed by a second data set obtained from a specifically built experimental design. The biological hypotheses were then discussed. It turned out from this work that mathematical modelling could be used as a tool to explore the cellular mechanisms of toxicity of the compound: for instance, the assumptions that 6‐mercaptopurine induced micronuclei mainly in cells entering the S phase, and not only during the last cell cycle but during one of the earlier cycles preceding the extrusion of the main nucleus, were confirmed. Moreover, the use of the stochastic model would help to schedule more accurately the bone marrow or blood harvesting times in the in vivo rodent micronucleus test. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Competency Assessment as a Way of Determining Training and Educational Needs of Extension Professionals in Nepal

This study examines the level of and gaps in core competencies among agricultural extension professionals in Nepal. The study population was composed of agricultural extension professionals in governmental extension offices and agriculture-based, non-governmental organizations. During August-September 2015, 349 extension professionals completed selfadministered surveys. The design for the data collection instrument was based on a literature review and on focus group recommendations. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that respondents perceived themselves to be moderately competent in extension core competencies -program planning, program implementation, communication skills, educational and informational technology, program evaluation, personal and professional development, diversity, and technical subject matter expertise. Respondents’ perceived levels of competency differed by their current position, undergraduate college attended, and level of education, although not much by their age and experience in extension. Office chiefs and foreign-educated respondents perceived themselves as having higher levels of competency than their counterparts -subject matter specialists and technical officers, and in-country-educated professionals. The perceived levels of the importance of all core competencies were significantly higher than the professionals’ perceived levels of their own competency, indicating gaps in extension core competencies among Nepalese extension professionals. The findings imply that that there is a need for in-service training of extension professionals in all core competency areas. Preservice extension education curricula need to be reviewed and updated, incorporating the core competencies highlighted in this study.
propy: a tool to generate various modes of Chou's PseAAC

SUMMARY Sequence-derived structural and physiochemical features have been frequently used for analysing and predicting structural, functional, expression and interaction profiles of proteins and peptides. To facilitate extensive studies of proteins and peptides, we developed a freely available, open source python package called protein in python (propy) for calculating the widely used structural and physicochemical features of proteins and peptides from amino acid sequence. It computes five feature groups composed of 13 features, including amino acid composition, dipeptide composition, tripeptide composition, normalized Moreau-Broto autocorrelation, Moran autocorrelation, Geary autocorrelation, sequence-order-coupling number, quasi-sequence-order descriptors, composition, transition and distribution of various structural and physicochemical properties and two types of pseudo amino acid composition (PseAAC) descriptors. These features could be generally regarded as different Chou's PseAAC modes. In addition, it can also easily compute the previous descriptors based on user-defined properties, which are automatically available from the AAindex database. AVAILABILITY The python package, propy, is freely available via http://code.google. com/p/protpy/downloads/list, and it runs on Linux and MS-Windows. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Global water cycle and climate change signals observed by satellite gravimetry

Terrestrial water storage (TWS) is an important parameter in water resource manages and research of land-surface processes and hydrological cycle. However, the traditional instruments are very difficult to monitor global high temporal-spatial terrestrial water storage and its variability without a comprehensive global monitoring network of hydrological parameters due to high cost and high labor intensity. The recent Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission provides a unique opportunity to directly measure the global TWS and its change at multi-scales from August 2002 to February 2011. In this paper, the global terrestrial water storages with monthly resolution are derived from approximate 10 years of monthly GRACE measurements (2002 August-2011 February), and their changes at seasonal and long-term scales are investigated and compared with GLDAS (Global Land Data Assimilation System) model. Results show that significant annual variations of TWS are found at the globe, agreeing well with GLDAS model estimates. The secular trends are also observed at specific areas, reflecting extreme climate events, e.g., ice melting in Antarctica, Greenland, Canadian Islands, Alaska, Himalayan and Patagonia glaciers, La Plata drought in South American as well as floods in North Amazon, while the GLDAS model cannot capture these signals well.
The crowding‐out effect within government funding: Implications for within‐source diversification

The benefits and risks of revenue diversification lead scholars to propose within-source diversification as a possible compromise. Although this revenue strategy sounds promising, no scholarly attention has been devoted to empirically examining it. This study explores withinsource diversification across government funding, specifically whether nonprofit receipt of support from a major government funder affects support from other government funders. Using a panel dataset of U.S.-based international development nonprofits from 1995 to 2014, we find that nonprofits with more funding from the major funder are associated with significantly less funding from other funders. This crowding-out effect weakens as organization size grows. The findings imply that the within-source diversification strategy might be more desirable for larger organizations with the capacity to manage multiple funding relationships.
Distal radius fractures: Mechanisms of injury and strength prediction by bone mineral assessment

The strength of the radius depends on the mechanical properties of cancellous and cortical bone. By assessing both compartments quantitatively with bone densitometry. we tried to identify the specificity of each in predicting the load at which the distal raius will fracture. Twenty human cadaver forearms were scanned for bone mineral and geometric properties with quantitative computed tomography and dual x‐ray absorptiometry. In both a neutral loading situation and one in which the wrist was extended 45°, the load distribution was determined with pressure‐sensitive films, and a fracture simulating a fall on the hand was produced with a material testing machine. Fractures that occur with the wrist in extension were produced by a central impact of the scaphoid onto the radiocarpal joint, and those that occur under neutral loading conditions were produced by a more commonly distributed loading pattern. The load at fracture was most specifically predicted (r2 = 0.74) by bone mineral and geometric measures of the cortex at the shaft of the radius. Bone mineral density measures of trabecular (r2 = 0.64) and total (r2 = 0.66) bone were less successful in predicting the fracture load. After adjustment for bone size, the geometric and density measures revealed similar specificity. Cortical bone, therefore, contributes significantly to the strength of the distal radius and may play an important role in the prediction of osteoporotic wrist fractures.
Vibrio coralliilyticus Strain OCN008 Is an Etiological Agent of Acute Montipora White Syndrome

ABSTRACT Identification of a pathogen is a critical first step in the epidemiology and subsequent management of a disease. A limited number of pathogens have been identified for diseases contributing to the global decline of coral populations. Here we describe Vibrio coralliilyticus strain OCN008, which induces acute Montipora white syndrome (aMWS), a tissue loss disease responsible for substantial mortality of the coral Montipora capitata in Kāne‘ohe Bay, Hawai‘i. OCN008 was grown in pure culture, recreated signs of disease in experimentally infected corals, and could be recovered after infection. In addition, strains similar to OCN008 were isolated from diseased coral from the field but not from healthy M. capitata. OCN008 repeatedly induced the loss of healthy M. capitata tissue from fragments under laboratory conditions with a minimum infectious dose of between 107 and 108 CFU/ml of water. In contrast, Porites compressa was not infected by OCN008, indicating the host specificity of the pathogen. A decrease in water temperature from 27 to 23°C affected the time to disease onset, but the risk of infection was not significantly reduced. Temperature-dependent bleaching, which has been observed with the V. coralliilyticus type strain BAA-450, was not observed during infection with OCN008. A comparison of the OCN008 genome to the genomes of pathogenic V. coralliilyticus strains BAA-450 and P1 revealed similar virulence-associated genes and quorum-sensing systems. Despite this genetic similarity, infections of M. capitata by OCN008 do not follow the paradigm for V. coralliilyticus infections established by the type strain.
Impediments to the bus rapid transit implementation in developing countries – a typical evidence from Hanoi

ABSTRACT Creation of an effective bus rapid transit (BRT) system has never been an easy task, especially for the first case in a developing country, since a BRT project requires a considerable investment with participation from most walks of life. Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has omitted to overcome impediments in the maiden BRT establishment. The Hanoi BRT performs poorly with ridership at only 13,500 passengers per day. In this paper, it is scrutinized based on a series of barriers that are findings in previous works and in the shape of a theoretical framework with seven main categories, namely: (1) institutional and legislative context, (2) political leadership and commitment, (3) physical design and operation, (4) management of competing modes, (5) adequate funding, (6) public participation and (7) image promotion. Results emphasize that the difference in views of the funder and the local authorities on the BRT development is the chief barrier. Enforcement of the BRT lanes from motorcycles is demanding, which is distinct from cities previously creating BRT. The findings from the Hanoi BRT are not unique. Lessons drawn from its failure could be widely informative for the BRT establishment in a number of cities with similar contexts.