Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
United States-based practice patterns and resource utilization in advanced neuroendocrine tumor treatment.

AIM To assess advanced neuroendocrine tumor (NET) treatment patterns and resource utilization by tumor progression stage and tumor site in the United States. METHODS United States Physicians meeting eligibility criteria were provided with online data extraction forms to collect patient chart data on recent NET patients. Resource utilization and treatment pattern data were collected over a baseline period (after diagnosis and before tumor progression), as well as initial and secondary progression periods, with progression defined according to measureable radiographic evidence of tumor progression. Resource categories used in the analysis include: Treatments (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapies), hospitalizations and physician visits, diagnostic tests (biomarkers, imaging, laboratory tests). Comparisons between categories of resource utilization and tumor progression status were examined using univariate (by tumor site) and multivariate analyses (across all tumor sites). RESULTS Fifty-five physicians were included in the study and completed online data extraction forms using the charts of 110 patients. The physician sample showed a relatively even distribution for those affiliated with academic versus community hospitals (46% vs 55%). Forty (36.3%) patients were reported to have pancreatic NET (pNET), while 70 (63.6%) patients had gastrointestinal tract (GI)/Lung as the primary NET site. Univariate analysis showed the proportion of patients hospitalized increased from 32.7% during baseline to 42.1% in the progression stages. While surgeries were performed at similar proportions overall at baseline and progression, pNET patients, were more likely than GI/Lung NET patients to have undergone surgery during the baseline (33.3% vs 25.0%) and any progression periods (26.7% vs 23.4%). While peptide-receptor radionuclide and targeted therapy utilization was low across NET types and tumor stages, GI/Lung types exhibited greater utilization of these technologies compared to pNET. Chemotherapy utilization was also greater among GI/Lung types. Multivariate analysis results demonstrated that patients in first progression period were over 3 times more likely to receive chemotherapy when compared to baseline (odds ratio: 3.31; 95%CI: 1.46-7.48, P = 0.0041). Further, progression was associated with a greater likelihood of having a study physician visit [relative risk (RR): 1.54; 95%CI: 1.10-2.17, P = 0.0117], and an increased frequency of other physician visits (RR: 1.84; 95%CI: 1.10-3.10, P = 0.0211). CONCLUSION Resource utilization in advanced NET in the United States is significant overall and data suggests progression has an impact on resource utilization regardless of NET tumor site.
Acoustic measures of planned and unplanned coarticulation

We present a replication of an experiment [23] where vowel-to-vowel coarticulation was found when an utterance was initiated before an intervening consonant’s identity was known. English nonsense strings [əәˈbVCɑ] were used. In one condition, the V was known but the C was not, with the reverse in the other condition; missing information was presented once phonation began. Results show anticipatory vowel effects on the final portion of the schwa (transitions into the stop) occurred only when the vowel was known ahead of time. Anticipatory effects of the V on the schwa’s F2 were found throughout its duration when the V was known, but only for the speaker with the shortest V duration. Perseverative effects on the final vowel were similar in both conditions, as was consonant coarticulation. The implications of these results for planning are discussed, and the value of replication in the social sciences is emphasized.
Absorptive Capacity and Contextual Factors that Influence Green IT Assimilation

The first wave of research in Green IT has often focused on organisational adoption. As Green IT matures in organisations it is important to look beyond adoption and to investigate the assimilation of Green IT. To this end we draw from and compare two theories – contextual theory and absorptive capacity – and investigate which of the two theories better explains the level of Green IT assimilation in organisations. Results from an international survey of 148 large organisations show that both theories explain Green IT assimilation with a medium effect size and that while contextual theory has a slightly higher R2 value than absorptive capacity, the difference is not statistically significant. We then propose a parsimonious and integrated model of Green IT assimilation drawing on contextual and absorptive capacity theories and outline implications for practitioners. The integrated model is parsimonious and has a higher explanatory power implying that a combination of contextual and absorptive capacity factors influences why and how widely and deeply Green IT practices, technologies and values are embedded in the IT people, in the IT management and IT infrastructure of organisations.
Assessment of Vascular Endothelial Function With Peripheral Arterial Tonometry: Information at Your Fingertips?

Endothelial dysfunction is an important component in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The ability to assess the endothelium in a meaningful manner has been the subject of intense investigation over decades. Since the function of endothelial cells is a gauge of vascular health, assessment of vascular function is emerging as a useful tool for predicting cardiovascular risk and as a surrogate outcome measure for cardiovascular reduction intervention studies. This review highlights techniques for assessing endothelial function, focusing on a novel method of determining peripheral vascular reactivity via arterial tonometry.
Evaluating Natural Language Understanding Services for Conversational Question Answering Systems

Conversational interfaces recently gained a lot of attention. One of the reasons for the current hype is the fact that chatbots (one particularly popular form of conversational interfaces) nowadays can be created without any programming knowledge, thanks to different toolkits and so-called Natural Language Understanding (NLU) services. While these NLU services are already widely used in both, industry and science, so far, they have not been analysed systematically. In this paper, we present a method to evaluate the classification performance of NLU services. Moreover, we present two new corpora, one consisting of annotated questions and one consisting of annotated questions with the corresponding answers. Based on these corpora, we conduct an evaluation of some of the most popular NLU services. Thereby we want to enable both, researchers and companies to make more educated decisions about which service they should use.
A Causal Perspective on the Analysis of Signal and Noise Correlations and Their Role in Population Coding

The role of correlations between neuronal responses is crucial to understanding the neural code. A framework used to study this role comprises a breakdown of the mutual information between stimuli and responses into terms that aim to account for different coding modalities and the distinction between different notions of independence. Here we complete the list of types of independence and distinguish activity independence (related to total correlations), conditional independence (related to noise correlations), signal independence (related to signal correlations), coding independence (related to information transmission), and information independence (related to redundancy). For each type, we identify the probabilistic criterion that defines it, indicate the information-theoretic measure used as statistic to test for it, and provide a graphical criterion to recognize the causal configurations of stimuli and responses that lead to its existence. Using this causal analysis, we first provide sufficiency conditions relating these types. Second, we differentiate the use of the measures as statistics to test for the existence of independence from their use for quantification. We indicate that signal and noise correlation cannot be quantified separately. Third, we explicitly define alternative system configurations used to construct the measures, in which noise correlations or noise and signal correlations are eliminated. Accordingly, we examine which measures are meaningful only as a comparison across configurations and which ones provide a characterization of the actually observed responses without resorting to other configurations. Fourth, we compare the commonly used nonparametric approach to eliminate noise correlations with a functional (model-based) approach, showing that the former approach does not remove those effects of noise correlations captured by the tuning properties of the individual neurons, and implies nonlocal causal structure manipulations. These results improve the interpretation of the measures on the framework and help in understanding how to apply it to analyze the role of correlations.
Comparative Analysis of Secondary Metabolites of Pseudomonas aurantiaca Isolates from Different Sources

Extended Abstract The scope of developing microbial metabolites for commercial pesticides as an alternative to chemical fungicides is gaining importance due to increased concerns on environmental pollution, pathogen resistance and high plant protection costs (Web-1). Pseudomonas species are well known for the production of biologically active metabolites that widely function in microbial competitiveness and the suppression of soil-borne plant pathogens (Coleman et al., 2011). Present study aims to identify, characterize and comparatively analyze the secondary metabolites produced by different strains of Pseudomonas aurantiaca. Among these, six bacterial isolates (FSL-2, GSL-1, GSL-3, GSL-4, GSL-6 and GSL-7) were from cactus (Opuntia humifusa). One strain ARS-38 was isolated from cotton rhizosphere and another RP-4 (Pseudomonas chlororaphis) was isolated from paragrass rhizoplane. These isolates were earlier characterized morphologically and biochemically following their 16S rRNA molecular characterization. Next, these strains were grown for secondary metabolites production along with type strain of Pseudomonas aurantiaca and extracted with ethyl acetate (Niyaz Ahamed., 2012). TLC was carried out with the crude extract on silica gel and certain crucial metabolites were detected through LCMS. Comparison of secondary metabolites production of these strains with previously reported secondary metabolites of P.aurantica PB-St2 (Mehnaz et al., 2009) indicated the presence of commercially important antimicrobial compounds such as 2-hydroxy phenazine, Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, WLIP, Acyl homoserine lactones, pyrrolnitrin and bactericidal peptides. These strains were screened for the presence of phenazine O (phzO) and pyrrolnitrin A (prnA) genes. All ten strains were positive for pyrrolnitrin A antibiotic and nine for Phenazine O gene. Phenazines and pyrrolnitrin are anti-fungal metabolites of considerable interest as they are good replacement of environmentally toxic antimicrobial chemicals. Antifungal potential of these strains was tested on familiar Colletotrichum falcatum causing red-rot disease in sugarcane. These isolates exhibited certain plant growth promoting abilities through HCN production, extracellular enzymes like lipase, protease and cellulase production and zinc solubilization. These beneficial properties make these Pseudomonas aurantiaca isolates the suitable candidates for being used as biocontrol agents (Web-2).
Tungiasis in New York

A 33‐year‐old African woman was evaluated for tender nodules on her feet. Accompanied by her four children, she had recently immigrated from Somalia. Before her immigration, she resided in a Kenyan refugee camp for approximately 1 year, where she walked barefoot in sand and dirt. The patient stated that she and her four children, as well as many people living in the same compound, had similar, tender lesions on their feet. Her children were “treated” by their grandmother, who removed the contents of their lesions with a safety pin.
ICA Based Semi-Blind Decoding Method for a Multicell Multiuser Massive MIMO Uplink System in Rician/Rayleigh Fading Channels

A massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, which utilizes a large number of antennas at base stations to communicate with multiple user terminals each with a single antenna, is one of the most promising techniques for future wireless communications systems. A successful massive MIMO implementation relies on accurate channel estimation, which is typically performed through pilot sequences. However, the channel estimation performance or massive MIMO performance is limited by pilot contamination due to unavoidable reuse of pilot sequences from terminals in neighboring cells. In this paper, a semi-blind decoding method based on independent component analysis (ICA), channel energy levels, and reference bits is proposed. Specifically, the proposed decoding method uses ICA to separate and decode the received signals and to estimate the channels. The estimated channel energy is used to differentiate the in-cell signals and the neighboring cell signals, and reference bits are applied to identify a desired signal among signals within a cell. The analytical performance results of the proposed decoding method are derived. Numerical results show that the proposed semi-blind decoding method has better bit error rate performance and higher transmit efficiency than the traditional minimum mean-square error decoding method and the singular value decomposition-based decoding method.
Etiopathological study on cerebral palsy and its management by Shashtika Shali Pinda Sweda and Samvardhana Ghrita

According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimation, 10% of the global population has some form of disability due to different causes; in India, it is 3.8% of the population. Nearly 15-20% of the total physically handicapped children suffer from Cerebral Palsy (CP). For India, the estimated incidence is around 3/1000 live births; however, being a developing country, the expected actual figure may be much higher. Despite the advancement in modern technology and improved neonatal care, stagnant or increasing incidence of CP has been observed, which is of great concern. As far as management or preventive aspect is concerned, no satisfactory criteria have been developed to date. The present study is based on a positive hypothesis for the efficacy of Ayurvedic treatment. The study was carried out in 16 patients, 8 in each group, namely group A (Shashtika Shali Pinda Sweda externally and Samvardhana Ghrita internally) and group B (Samvardhana Ghrita internally) for 35 days duration. In group A, moderate improvement, mild improvement, and no improvement were observed in 50%, 37.5% and 12.5% of patients respectively. In group B, moderate improvement and mild improvement were observed in 75% and 25% of the patients respectively. Statistical significance of results on selected criteria showed the efficacy of the selected Ayurvedic treatment modality in relieving the signs and symptoms of CP. Although it is incurable, Ayurvedic science can provide a better direction by improving the quality of life of children with CP with better life expectancy.
7 Structure-Function Relationship of DNA Repair Proteins : Lessons from BRCA 1 and RAD 51 Studies

Effrossyni Boutou1,2, Vassiliki Pappa3, Horst-Werner Stuerzbecher4 and Constantinos E. Vorgias1 1Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Faculty of Biology, School of Sciences Athens University, Athens 2Prenatal Diagnosis Lab, Laiko Hospital, Athens 32nd Propaedeutic Pathology Clinic, Medical School, Athens University, Athens 4Molecular Cancer Biology Group, Institute of Pathology, UK-SH, Luebeck 1,2,3Greece 4Germany
Blood lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and colorectal cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

Objective To examine the association between serum concentrations of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein A-I (apoA), apolipoprotein B and the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC). Design Nested case–control study. Setting The study was conducted within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a cohort of more than 520 000 participants from 10 western European countries. Participants 1238 cases of incident CRC, which developed after enrolment into the cohort, were matched with 1238 controls for age, sex, centre, follow-up time, time of blood collection and fasting status. Main outcome measures Serum concentrations were quantitatively determined by colorimetric and turbidimetric methods. Dietary and lifestyle data were obtained from questionnaires. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs which were adjusted for height, weight, smoking habits, physical activity, education, consumption of fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, alcohol, fibre and energy. Results After adjustments, the concentrations of HDL and apoA were inversely associated with the risk of colon cancer (RR for 1 SD increase of 16.6 mg/dl in HDL and 32.0 mg/dl in apoA of 0.78 (95% CI 0.68 to 0.89) and 0.82 (95% CI 0.72 to 0.94), respectively). No association was observed with the risk of rectal cancer. Additional adjustment for biomarkers of systemic inflammation, insulin resistance and oxidative stress or exclusion of the first 2 years of follow-up did not influence the association between HDL and risk of colon cancer. Conclusions These findings show that high concentrations of serum HDL are associated with a decreased risk of colon cancer. The mechanism behind this association needs further elucidation.
Imidacloprid transport and sorption nonequilibrium in single and multilayered columns of Immokalee fine sand

Imidacloprid (IMD) is a neonicotinoid pesticide soil-drenched to many crops to control piercing-sucking insects such as the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). Neonicotinoids are persistent in the environment and transport analyses are helpful estimate leaching potential from soils that could result in groundwater pollution. The objective of this study was to analyze IMD breakthrough under saturated water flow in soil columns packed with three horizons (A, E, Bh) of Immokalee Fine Sand (IFS). Also, we used the dimensionless form of the convective-dispersive model (CD-Model) to compare the optimized transport parameters from each column experiment (retardation factor, R; fraction of instantaneous-to-total retardation, β; and mass transfer coefficient, ω) with the parameters obtained from sorption batch equilibria and sorption kinetics. The tracer (Cl-) breakthrough curves (BTCs) were symmetrical and properly described by the CD-Model. IMD BTCs from A, Bh, and multilayered [A+E+Bh] soil columns showed steep fronts and tailing that were well described by the one-site nonequilibrium (OSNE) model, which was an evidence of non-ideal transport due to IMD mass transfer into the soil organic matter. In general, IMD was weakly-sorbed in the A and Bh horizons (R values of 3.72 ± 0.04 and 3.08 ± 0.07, respectively), and almost no retardation was observed in the E horizon (R = 1.20 ± 0.02) due to its low organic matter content (0.3%). Using the HYDRUS-1D package, optimized parameters (R, β, ω) from the individual columns successfully simulated IMD transport in a multilayered column mimicking an IFS soil profile. These column studies and corresponding simulations agreed with previous findings from batch sorption equilibria and kinetics experiments, where IMD showed one-site kinetic mass transfer between soil surfaces and soil solution. Ideally, sandy soils should be maintained unsaturated by crop irrigation systems and rainfall monitoring during and after soil-drench application. The unsaturated soil will increase IMD retardation factors and residence time for plant uptake, lowering leaching potential from soil layers with low sorption capacity, such as the E horizon.
Personality Stability and Change in Early Adulthood: A Behavioral Genetic Analysis

Seventy-nine monozygotic and 48 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire twice, averaging 20 years of age at first and 30 years at second testing. There were significant mean decreases in measures of Negative Emotionality (NE), increases in measures of Constrain t (CO), but no significant mean changes for measures of Positive Emotionality (PE). Variance decreased for measures of NE but remained stable for measures of PE and CO. Biometrical analyses revealed that (a) NE variance reduction was due to diminishing genetic influences, (b) personality stability was due largely to genetic factors, and (c) although some evidence for genetic influence on personality change was observed, change was determined largely by environmental factors. It is concluded that the stable core of personality is strongly associated with genetic factors but that personality change largely reflects environmental factors.
Use of protective equipment among California farmers.

BACKGROUND Agriculture is a hazardous industry associated with many occupational injuries and illnesses. We describe California farmers' self-reported exposure to five agricultural hazards and their use of protective equipment. METHODS A telephone survey of 1,947 California farmers recorded information on occupational exposure, health outcomes and use of protective equipment to lessen risk from exposure to dust, sun, noise, pesticides and tractors. RESULTS Over 93% of respondents reported using personal protection around pesticides; however, fewer than 1/3 used consistent protection against other hazards. Younger age and male sex were associated with better use of protection from dust, noise, pesticide and tractors, but negatively associated with sun protection. There was no consistent relationship of protective behaviors with cigarette smoking, living on the farm, marital status, or time in non-administrative farmwork. Risk perception was strongly associated with behavior; farmers concerned about specific health problems were much more likely to use protective equipment. CONCLUSIONS Some farmer characteristics are associated with more safe behaviors, but efforts to encourage protective behaviors on farms should be broadly based in view of a lack of a single risk-taking profile among California farmers.
Carbohydrate-based vaccines with a glycolipid adjuvant for breast cancer

Globo H (GH) is a hexasaccharide specifically overexpressed on a variety of cancer cells and therefore, a good candidate for cancer vaccine development. To identify the optimal carrier and adjuvant combination, we chemically synthesized and linked GH to a carrier protein, including keyhole limpet hemocyanion, diphtheria toxoid cross-reactive material (CRM) 197 (DT), tetanus toxoid, and BSA, and combined with an adjuvant, and it was administered to mice for the study of immune response. Glycan microarray analysis of the antiserum obtained indicated that the combination of GH-DT adjuvanted with the α-galactosylceramide C34 has the highest enhancement of anti-GH IgG. Compared with the phase III clinical trial vaccine, GH–keyhole limpet hemocyanion/QS21, the GH-DT/C34 vaccine elicited more IgG antibodies, which are more selective for GH and the GH-related epitopes, stage-specific embryonic antigen 3 (SSEA3) and SSEA4, all of which were specifically overexpressed on breast cancer cells and breast cancer stem cells with SSEA4 at the highest level (>90%). We, therefore, further developed SSEA4-DT/C34 as a vaccine candidate, and after immunization, it was found that the elicited antibodies are also IgG-dominant and very specific for SSEA4.