Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High circulating miR‐18a, miR‐20a, and miR‐92a expression correlates with poor prognosis in patients with non‐small cell lung cancer

The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive value of angiogenic miRNAs for disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In total, 196 patients with NSCLC (tumor lymph nodes metastasis (TNM) stage I–III) were enrolled and peripheral blood samples were collected. Total RNA was extracted from blood samples, and the relative expression levels of candidate miRNAs were evaluated by real time‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The median follow‐up period was 56.7 months, and the final follow‐up date was in August 2016. The median DFS of all patients was 30.0 (14.0–49.0) months, whereas the median OS was 41.5 (23.0–58.0) months. Furthermore, the 5‐year DFS and OS rates were 11.3% and 32.3%, respectively. Kaplan–Meier (K–M) curves showed that high plasma miR‐18a (P < 0.001), miR‐20a (P < 0.001), miR‐92a (P < 0.001), miR‐126 (P < 0.001), miR‐210 (P = 0.003), and miR‐19a (P = 0.027) expressions levels correlated with a worse DFS. Moreover, patients with high plasma miR‐18a, miR‐20a, miR‐92a, miR‐210, and miR‐126 expression levels had a shorter OS than patients with low expression levels of these miRNAs (all P <= 0.001). Furthermore, multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that high plasma expression levels of miR‐18a, miR‐20a, and miR‐92a as well as lymphatic node metastasis (all P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for both DFS and OS in patients with NSCLC. Thus, the circulating miR‐18a, miR‐20a, and miR‐92a levels may serve as novel and promising prognostic biomarkers in patients with NSCLC.
Signals in the Developing Hippocampus

study patterning of a cortical structure. Ongoing studies indicate that hippocampal areas or fields are specified many days before birth – possibly involving signals from within the cortical mantle. Although the hippocampal CA fields are distinguished by cytoarchitecture only after birth, molecular differences between fields appear by late gestation. Moreover, these embryonic fields are already specified to develop additional features that characterize the mature fields. The basic division of the hippocampus into fields may be specified still earlier. Thus, if medial cortical neuroepithelium is isolated in vitro early in hippocampal neurogenesis, it can autonomously generate features of a patterned hippocampus. In vivo, the spatial progression of initial field differentiation suggests that signals regulating growth and patterning could arise from sources close to the hippocampal poles. Observations of mouse mutants indicate that the cortical hem, an embryonic structure close to one pole of the hippocampus, is a source of such regulatory signals.
Crises, rumours and reposts: journalists' social media content gathering and verification practices in breaking news Situations

Social media (SoMe) platforms provide potentially important information for news journalists during everyday work and in crisis-related contexts. The aims of this study were (a) to map central journalistic challenges and emerging practices related to using SoMe for collecting and validating newsworthy content; and (b) to investigate how practices may contribute to a user-friendly design of a web-based SoMe content validation toolset. Interviews were carried out with 22 journalists from three European countries. Information about journalistic work tasks was also collected during a crisis training scenario ( N = 5). Results showed that participants experienced challenges with filtering and estimating trustworthiness of SoMe content. These challenges were especially due to the vast overall amount of information, and the need to monitor several platforms simultaneously. To support improved situational awareness in journalistic work during crises, a user-friendly tool should provide content search results representing several media formats and gathered from a diversity of platforms, presented in easy-to-approach visualizations. The final decision-making about content and source trustworthiness should, however, remain as a manual journalistic task, as the sample would not trust an automated estimation based on tool algorithms.
A Recognitional Planning Model

Abstract : Planning under conditions of uncertainty, time pressure, and other stressors is a complex cognitive activity for military command post staff members. The Army and the Marine Corps have developed formal planning models intended as step-by-step guides. However, these models are inconsistent with the actual strategies of skilled planners, and they slow down the decision cycle. As a result, the formal models are usually ignored in practice, in order to generate faster tempo. Yet some procedure is needed, to direct inexperienced staff and to coordinate the actions of a planning team. We present a Recognitional Planning Model (RPM) based on a series of observations of Army, Marine, and Naval command post exercises. The RPM applies the concept of recognitional decision making. The RPM is intended as a prescriptive model to increase the speed of planning, but it is also a descriptive model capturing the strategies of experienced planning teams.
CD 30 + Lymphoproliferative Disorders Associated with Longstanding Mycosis Fungoides

Observation: The CD30 antigen is a type-1 transmembrane glycoprotein which is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family and may be expressed on activated B and T cells. CD30+ lymphoproliferative disorders (CD30+ LPDs) mainly include primary cutaneous CD30+ anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (pcALCL) and lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP). Other CD30 +LPD showing skin lesions are large cell transformation (LCT) of mycosis fungoides (MF), Hodgkin lymphoma and adult T cell lymphoma. Herein we represent three cases of CD30+ LPDs associated with longstanding MF.
Does Power Help or Hurt? The Moderating Role of Self–Other Focus on Power and Perspective-Taking in Romantic Relationships

Reconciling competing viewpoints suggesting that power helps and hurts perspective-taking in close relationships, in two experiments and two daily experience studies we tested the hypothesis that power’s effect on perspective-taking depends on the extent to which people are relatively self-versus other-focused. In Study 1, recalling a time of high (vs. low) power over a romantic partner reduced inclinations to take the partner’s perspective for relatively self-focused but not other-focused individuals. Studies 2 and 3 replicated Study 1 using daily variations in power and perspective-taking. In Study 4, being the “in-charge” partner during a conflict conversation reduced empathic accuracy for more self-focused individuals. Self–other focus was assessed with measures of gratitude, relational self-construal, and social value orientation. The current findings provide evidence that, particularly for the more self-focused, relationship power influences people’s inclinations to take their romantic partner’s perspective in daily life as well as their empathic accuracy during conflict.
5 mm high-power-density dual-delta-doped power HEMT's for 3 V L-band applications

A high-power-density dual-/spl delta/-doped AlGaAs-InGaAs-GaAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) for personal communication applications has been developed. A 5.0 mm gate-width device operating at a drain bias of 3.0 V gave an output power over 1 W. The 1 /spl mu/m gate-length HEMT exhibited a current density of 425 mA/mm at V/sub gs/=0.5 V. The maximum transconductance of the device was 270 mS/mm. The effective knee voltage was as low as 0.3 V. At the class AB operation, the HEMT demonstrated an output power density of 200 mW/mm, 64% power-added efficiency and 18.2 dB linear gain at 900 MHz. This is the highest power density of a dual-/spl delta/-doped AlGaAs-InGaAs-GaAs HEMT reported to date for low voltage (3 V) wireless applications.
Determination of Mn valence states in mixed-valent manganates by XANES spectroscopy

Abstract The valence states of Mn in mixed-valent layer and tunnel structure manganese dioxides (MnO2), usually referred to as phyllomanganates and tectomanganates, can be measured by X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy with a precision and accuracy that are difficult to estimate owing to the paucity of well-characterized standards. A compilation of the Mn K-edge XANES spectra of most naturally occurring manganates, synthetic analogs of known structure and chemical composition, and pure-valence phase species is presented and made available as an open source. We intend this compilation to serve as a basis for the spectroscopic determination of the fractions of the Mn 2+, 3+, and 4+ valences in mixed-valent manganates and phase mixtures. The XANES derivatives of tectomanganates and phyllomanganates with no or little Mn3+ in the MnO2 layer exhibit intensities, shapes, and relative energy positions of the main features characteristics of a particular valence composition. For these compounds, valence fractions can be derived using linear combination fitting analysis. Best quantitative results are obtained when the unknown spectrum is fit to a weighted sum of all reference spectra in the database with the fractions of species constrained to be non-negative (Combo method). The accuracy of the average valence is estimated to 0.04 v.u. in the range of 3+ to 4+, and decreases when the proportion of divalent Mn is higher than 15%. The accuracy of the method is also lower in (layer Mn3+, Mn4+) manganates, because the XANES features are affected non-additively by the amount and distribution of the Jahn-Teller Mn3+ cations. The merit of the Combo method for the determination of manganese valence sums relative to the methods based on calibration curves is discussed.
On the origin of post-aspirated stops: production and perception of /s/ + voiceless stop sequences in Andalusian Spanish

The present study investigates the role of articulatory and perceptual factors in the change from pre- to post-aspiration in two varieties of Andalusian Spanish. In an acoustic study, the influence of stop type, speaker age, and variety on the production of pre- and post-aspiration was analyzed in isolated words produced by 24 speakers of a Western and 24 of an Eastern variety, both divided into two age groups. The results confirmed previous findings of a sound change from pre- to post-aspiration in both varieties. Velar stops showed the longest, bilabials the shortest, and dental stops intermediate pre- and post-aspiration durations. The observed universal VOT-pattern was not found for younger Western Andalusian speakers who showed a particularly long VOT in /st/-sequences. A perception experiment with the same subjects as listeners showed that post-aspiration was used as a cue for distinguishing the minimal pair /pata/-/pasta/ by almost all listeners. Production-perception comparisons suggested a relationship between production and perception: subjects who produced long post-aspiration were also more sensitive to this cue. In sum, the results suggest that the sound change has first been actuated in the dental context, possibly due to a higher perceptual prominence of post-aspiration in this context, and that post-aspirated stops in Andalusian Spanish are on their way to being phonologized.
Comparing two procedures to teach conditional discriminations: simple discriminations with and without S- stimuli present.

The present study systematically replicated Gutierrez et al. (2009) in which two methods of teaching a conditional auditory-visual discrimination were examined. Gutierrez evaluated relations taught either with or without an Sstimulus present during teaching. After teaching, a test of conditional discrimination was performed with all the taught relations. The authors found that sessions to mastery of the conditional discrimination were slightly higher for relations taught with Sstimuli. Although Gutierrez et al. used auditory-visual relations and only two stimuli as comparison stimuli, the author of the present study taught visual-visual relations (state names to state pictures) and three comparison stimuli. In this study, participants reached the mastery criterion for simple discriminations in fewer sessions when Sstimuli were not present; however, during the conditional discrimination task, participants emitted more correct responses when presented with the relations that had been taught in the presence of Sstimuli.
The Tree that Hides the Forest: A Note on Revealed Preference

The common interpretation given to choice behavior that satisfies the traditional revealed preference axioms is that it results from the maximization of a single preference. We show that choice data alone does not enable one to rule out the possibility that the choice behavior that satisfies the revealed preference axioms is instead the result of the aggregation of a collection of distinct preferences. In particular, we show that any ordering is observationally equivalent to a majoritarian aggregation of a collection of distinct dichotomous orderings. We also show that any ordering is observationally equivalent to a Borda's aggregation of a collection of distinct linear orderings.
Efficacy of Hyaluronidase Preceding Subcutaneous Opioid Infusions for the Treatment of Pain among Hospice Patients

Background: Morphine or hydromorphone are often administered by the subcutaneous (SC) route when oral and/or venous access is difficult to achieve or higher doses of opiates are needed. Human recombinant hyaluronidase is believed to increase the permeability of SC connective tissues by degrading hyaluronan and increasing the dispersion and absorption of coadministered molecules. Objectives:To determine whether hyaluronidase coadministered with SC morphine or hydromorphone to hospice patients results in 1) faster reduction in pain level; 2) self-perceived pain relief, 3) improved pain-related distress, 4) reduction in the frequency of opiate bolus attempts utilized, and 5) more favorable outcomes on these measures over an eight-hour period. Methods:This double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study compared patients given SC hyaluronidase (n=25) and those receiving normal saline (n=29) both immediately prior to SC infusions with morphine or hydromorphone. Results:Hyaluronidase was found to facilitate reduced pain level (p=0.059) and augmented pain relief (p=0.047) during the first 15 minutes following co-infusion of hyaluronidase when compared to patients in the control group who received usual pain control medication involving SC morphine or hydromorphone. In subsequent periods of observation up to eight hours, the intensity of pain level and the magnitude of pain relief realized showed no difference between the groups. There were no differences between the groups in pain-related distress (p≥0.657) and in the frequency of nfusion bolus attempts during the entire period under observation (p=0.173). Conclusion: Hyaluronidase may be an effective adjunct during the first 15 minutes of drug administration in reducing pain intensity and enhancing pain relief when administered at the onset of a subcutaneous opioid infusion among hospice patients.
Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ induces fatty acid β-oxidation in skeletal muscle and attenuates metabolic syndrome

In this study, we defined the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ (PPARδ) in metabolic homeostasis by using subtype selective agonists. Analysis of rat L6 myotubes treated with the PPARδ subtype-selective agonist, GW501516, by the Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarrays revealed that PPARδ controls fatty acid oxidation by regulating genes involved in fatty acid transport, β-oxidation, and mitochondrial respiration. Similar PPARδ-mediated gene activation was observed in the skeletal muscle of GW501516-treated mice. Accordingly, GW501516 treatment induced fatty acid β-oxidation in L6 myotubes as well as in mouse skeletal muscles. Administration of GW501516 to mice fed a high-fat diet ameliorated diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance, an effect accompanied by enhanced metabolic rate and fatty acid β-oxidation, proliferation of mitochondria, and a marked reduction of lipid droplets in skeletal muscles. Despite a modest body weight change relative to vehicle-treated mice, GW501516 treatment also markedly improved diabetes as revealed by the decrease in plasma glucose and blood insulin levels in genetically obese ob/ob mice. These data suggest that PPARδ is pivotal to control the program for fatty acid oxidation in the skeletal muscle, thereby ameliorating obesity and insulin resistance through its activation in obese animals.
First implementation of secondary inorganic aerosols in the MOCAGE version R2.15.0 chemistry transport model

Abstract. In this study we develop a secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) module for the MOCAGE chemistry transport model developed at CNRM. The aim is to have a module suitable for running at different model resolutions and for operational applications with reasonable computing times. Based on the ISORROPIA II thermodynamic equilibrium module, the new version of the model is presented and evaluated at both the global and regional scales. The results show high concentrations of secondary inorganic aerosols in the most polluted regions: Europe, Asia and the eastern part of North America. Asia shows higher sulfate concentrations than other regions thanks to emission reductions in Europe and North America. Using two simulations, one with and the other without secondary inorganic aerosol formation, the global model outputs are compared to previous studies, to MODIS AOD retrievals, and also to in situ measurements from the HTAP database. The model shows a better agreement with MODIS AOD retrievals in all geographical regions after introducing the new SIA scheme. It also provides a good statistical agreement with in situ measurements of secondary inorganic aerosol composition: sulfate, nitrate and ammonium. In addition, the simulation with SIA generally gives a better agreement with observations for secondary inorganic aerosol precursors (nitric acid, sulfur dioxide, ammonia), in particular with a reduction of the modified normalized mean bias (MNMB). At the regional scale, over Europe, the model simulation with SIA is compared to the in situ measurements from the EMEP database and shows a good agreement with secondary inorganic aerosol composition. The results at the regional scale are consistent with those obtained from the global simulations. The AIRBASE database was used to compare the model to regulated air quality pollutants: particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide concentrations. Introduction of the SIA in MOCAGE provides a reduction in the PM2.5 MNMB of 0.44 on a yearly basis and up to 0.52 for the 3 spring months (March, April, May) when SIAs are at their maximum.
A Torenia (Torenia fournieri Lind. ex Fourn.) Novel Mutant 'Flecked' Produces Variegated Flowers by Insertion of a DNA Transposon into an R2R3-MYB Gene

A novel torenia (Torenia fournieri Lind. ex Fourn.) mutant ‘flecked’, which bears variegated flowers, was obtained from ethyl methanesulfonate-treated M2 plants. The lower lip of this mutant has small violet spots with a pale violet background, while that of the normal type is solid violet. The mutant trait frequently reverted to a semicircular violet sector or solid violet lower lip. Germinal revertant plants with a solid violet lower lip also frequently occurred in S1 plants derived from self-pollinated mutant flowers. In the lower lip of the mutant type, anthocyanin concentration was much lower than in the normal type. This was attributed to decreased expression of the genes encoding anthocyanin biosynthesis enzymes, i.e. torenia chalcone synthase (TfCHS), flavanone 3hydroxylase (TfF3H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (TfDFR), anthocyanidin synthase (TfANS), and UDP-glucose 3-O-flavonoid glucosyltransferase (TfUFGT). In the lower lip of the mutant, expression of a gene encoding R2R3MYB transcription factor (TfMYB1, Torenia fournieri MYB1) was much lower than in the normal type and the revertants; this was caused by insertion of a Enhancer/Suppressor-Mutator (En/Spm)-like transposon (Ttf1, Transposon Torenia fournieri 1) in the 2nd intron of TfMYB1. Furthermore, it was found that the reversion of anthocyanin accumulation in the lower lips correlated to excision of Ttf1 from the TfMYB1. Overexpression of TfMYB1 in torenia caused anthocyanins to accumulate in the purple callus as a result of enhanced expression of the five structural genes mentioned above, demonstrating that TfMYB1 regulates these genes. Therefore, we concluded that a homozygous allele of Ttf1-inserted TfMYB1 caused the mutant phenotype. Ttf1 is a nonautonomous element because Ttf1 does not have the DNA sequence encoding transposase. Based on these results, potential uses of the flecked mutant for torenia breeding and transposon tagging are discussed.
Geostatistical modeling of the spatial variability of arsenic in groundwater of southeast Michigan

During the last decade one has witnessed an increasing interest in assessing health risks caused by exposure to contaminants present in the soil, air, and water. A key component of any exposure study is a reliable model for the space‐time distribution of pollutants. This paper compares the performances of multi‐Gaussian and indicator kriging for modeling probabilistically the spatial distribution of arsenic concentrations in groundwater of southeast Michigan, accounting for arsenic data collected at private residential wells and the hydrogeochemistry of the area. The arsenic data set, which was provided by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), includes measurements collected between 1993 and 2002 at 8212 different wells. Factorial kriging was used to filter the short‐range spatial variability in arsenic concentration, leading to a significant increase (17‐65%) in the proportion of variance explained by secondary information, such as type of unconsolidated deposits and proximity to Marshall Sandstone subcrop. Cross validation of well data shows that accounting for this regional background does not improve the local prediction of arsenic, which reveals the presence of unexplained sources of variability and the importance of modeling the uncertainty attached to these predictions. Slightly more precise models of uncertainty were obtained using indicator kriging. Well data collected in 2004 were compared to the prediction model and best results were found for soft indicator kriging which has a mean absolute error of 5.6 µg/L. Although this error is large with respect to the USEPA standard of 10 µg/L, it is smaller than the average difference (12.53 µg/L) between data collected at the same well and day, as reported in the MDEQ data set. Thus the uncertainty attached to the sampled values themselves, which arises from laboratory errors and lack of information regarding the sample origin, contributes to the poor accuracy of the geostatistical predictions in southeast Michigan.
Effect of Chronic Tobacco Smoking on Hearing among Men

Cigarette smoking is a well known health problem affecting various body organs. There is a dearth of literature on early changes in auditory functioning at high frequency due to smoking. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the audiological parameters for 100 chronic smokers. Their results were compared to 50 non smokers. Audiological test battery included conventional pure tone audiometry, extended high frequency audiometry (up to 16 KHz), Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission (DPOAE) and Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emission (TEOAE). Results revealed a significant difference between the two groups on conventional and extended high frequency pure tone audiometry. Statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups for DPOAEs and TEOAEs. The results revealed that chronic smokers have impaired hearing at high as well as low frequencies. Smoking may also lead to cochlear dysfunction as revealed by significant difference in OAEs responses between smokers and non-smokers.