Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic role of EphA2 in various human carcinomas: a meta-analysis of 23 related studies

Abstract The prognostic role of EphA2 in human carcinomas remains controversial. We systematically reviewed the evidence of assessment of EphA2 expression in cancers to help clarify this issue. PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched to identify eligible studies to evaluate the association of EphA2 expression and overall survival (OS) of cancers. Hazard ratios (HRs) were pooled to estimate the effect. EphA2 overexpression was significantly correlated with poor OS of patients with cancer (HR: 1.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.65–2.28). Subgroup analysis also indicated a significant relation between EphA2 overexpression and OS in gastric cancer (HR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.48–2.59). However, there was no significant relation between EphA2 overexpression and OS in lung cancer (HR: 1.30, 95% CI: 0.93–1.83). Our analyses demonstrate that EphA2 overexpression was effectively predictive of worse prognosis in various human carcinomas. For certain cancers, EphA2 might be a marker of poor prognosis in patients with cancer, except for lung cancer.
Race, Ethnicity, and Shared Decision Making for Hyperlipidemia and Hypertension Treatment: The DECISIONS Survey

Background Racial/ethnic differences in shared decision making about cardiovascular risk-reduction therapy could affect health disparities. Objective To investigate whether patient race/ethnicity is associated with experiences discussing cardiovascular risk-reduction therapy with health care providers. Setting National sample of US adults identified by random-digit dialing. Design Cross-sectional survey conducted in November 2006 to May 2007. Participants Among participants in the National Survey of Medical Decisions (DECISIONS), a nationally representative sample of English-speaking US adults aged 40 and older, the authors analyzed respondents who reported discussing hyperlipidemia or hypertension medications with a health care provider in the previous 2 years. Measurements In multivariate linear and logistic regressions adjusting for age, gender, income, insurance status, perceived health, and current therapy, they assessed the relation between race/ethnicity (black/Hispanic v. white) and decision making: knowledge, discussion of pros and cons of therapy, discussion of patient preference, who made the final decision, preferred involvement, and confidence in the decision. Results Of respondents who discussed high cholesterol (N = 738) or hypertension (N = 745) medications, 88% were white, 9% black, and 4% Hispanic. Minorities had lower knowledge scores than whites for hyperlipidemia (42% v. 52%, difference –10% [95% confidence interval (CI): 15, –5], P < 0.001), but not for hypertension. For hyperlipidemia, minorities were more likely than whites to report that the health care provider made the final decision for treatment (31.7% v. 12.3% whites, difference 19.4% [95% CI: 6.9, 33.1%], P < 0.01); this was not true for hypertension. Limitations Possible limitations include the small percentage of minorities in the sample and potential recall bias. Conclusions Minorities considering hyperlipidemia therapy may be less informed about and less involved in the final decision-making process.
Private Equity Performance, Fund Size and Historical Investment

This paper discusses the performance pattern of US private equity fund from 2003 to 2013, measuring the effect of fund size and other fund characteristics as well as macroeconomic conditions on fund performance. The results shows that the number of historical investment decisively influences the performance of funds, and funds whose inception is at the peak of economic expansion seem to perform worse than those formed during other economic periods. Fund size effect is ambiguous in full sample specifications but appears to be concave with respect to return when we look at this relationship in segmentation. Overall, experience of investment plays an important role in continually improving the performance of the fund. More details of each investment within each fund are needed to further analyze the causality between fund total return, its investment characteristics and other unique factors.
Dispersive Hydrodynamics : the Mathematics of Dispersive Shock Waves and Applications

Dispersive hydrodynamics is the domain of applied mathematics and physics concerned with fluid motion in which internal friction, e.g., viscosity, is negligible relative to wave dispersion. In conservative media such as superfluids, optical materials, and water waves, nonlinearity has the tendency to engender wavebreaking that is mitigated by dispersion. The mathematical framework for such media can often be described by hyperbolic systems of partial differential equations with conservative, dispersive corrections that play a fundamental role in the dynamics. Generically, the result of nonlinearity and dispersion is a multiscale, unsteady, coherent wave structure called a dispersive shock wave or DSW. Over long time scales, multiple wavebreaking events or, in focusing media, modulational instability can lead to the development of soliton (strong) turbulence. This meeting brought together an international collection of mathematicians and physicists in order to identify common interests and emerging problems involving DSWs, soliton turbulence, and their mathematical description. This field of research has origins in soliton theory, conservation laws, and fluid dynamics. In 1965, the seminal computational work of Zabusky and Kruskal [1] demonstrated the existence of soliton solutions to the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation through a process of nonlinear wavebreaking. That same year, Whitham introduced a general asymptotic approach to study modulated periodic nonlinear dispersive waves [2, 3]. Both of these works considered conservative, nonlinear, dispersive wave problems. Again in 1965, although within the context of a different field of research, Glimm’s fundamental work on hyperbolic conservation laws [4] contributed to the rapid growth in understanding of this field, see, e.g. [5]. The marriage of dispersive nonlinear waves and hyperbolic conservation laws in the context of dispersive hydrodynamics was initiated in 1974 at the hands of Gurevich and Pitaevskii [6] through their study of a Riemann problem regularized by dispersion in the KdV equation. The resulting dispersive shock waves were understood utilizing Whitham’s modulation equations, later shown to describe the weak, zero dispersion limit of the KdV equation by Lax, Levermore, and Venakides [8, 9]. The KdV Whitham modulation equations are now known to be strictly hyperbolic and genuinely nonlinear [10], highlighting the deep connections between conservation laws and dispersive nonlinear waves in dispersive hydrodynamics. Another fundamental work was on averaging of multiphase solutions to the KdV equation utilizing finite gap theory [7]. An essential aspect of dispersive hydrodynamics is its physical realization. Laboratory measurements of DSWs were undertaken in the context of undular bores in shallow water waves by Favre in 1935 [11].
Incomplete Figure Perception and Invisible Masking

The Gollin test (measuring recognition thresholds for fragmented line drawings of everyday objects and animals) has traditionally been regarded as a test of incomplete figure perception or ‘closure’, though there is a debate about how such closure is achieved. Here, figural incompleteness is considered to be the result of masking, such that absence of contour elements of a fragmented figure is the result of the influence of an ‘invisible’ mask. It is as though the figure is partly obscured by a mask having parameters identical to those of the background. This mask is ‘invisible’ only consciously, but for the early stages of visual processing it is real and has properties of multiplicative noise. Incomplete Gollin figures were modeled as the figure covered by the mask with randomly distributed transparent and opaque patches. We adjusted the statistical characteristics of the contour image and empty noise patches and processed those using spatial and spatial-frequency measures. Across 73 figures, despite inter-subject variability, mean recognition threshold was always approximately 15% of total contour in naive observers. Recognition worsened with increasing spectral similarity between the figure and the ‘invisible’ mask. Near threshold, the spectrum of the fragmented image was equally similar to that of the ‘invisible’ mask and complete image. The correlation between spectral parameters of figures at threshold and complete figures was greatest for figures that were most easily recognised. Across test sessions, thresholds reduced when either figure or mask parameters were familiar. We argue that recognition thresholds for Gollin stimuli in part reflect the extraction of signal from noise.
Low Nadir CD4 Cell Count Predicts Sustained Hypertension in HIV‐Infected Individuals

Hypertension is associated with cardiovascular disease in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected population. The authors aimed to test the hypothesis whether advanced immunosuppression with low nadir CD4 lymphocyte cell count is a predictor of sustained hypertension in HIV‐infected individuals. In a longitudinal study of an HIV cohort of 434 patients (43±11 years, 72% men, 71% Caucasians), standardized blood pressure was measured in duplicate during 3 clinical visits both at baseline and after 3.4±0.8 years. The lowest CD4 cell count in the individual history was recorded as nadir CD4. Both nadir CD4 cell count <50 cells/μL and duration of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were associated with sustained hypertension, and the highest proportion of hypertensive patients was observed in those who had both nadir CD4 cell count <50 cells/μL and prolonged ART duration. Nadir CD4 cellcount <50 cells/μL was an independent predictor of hypertension (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27–4.83), as was ART duration (adjusted OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03–1.24). The predictive power of ART duration was more pronounced in patients with nadir CD4 cell count <50 cells/μL. Delaying ART initiation until a state of advanced immunosuppression might add to and even fuel the cardiovascular risk associated with ART. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2012; 00:00–00 ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Investigation of Clostridium botulinum in commercial poultry farms in France between 2011 and 2013

Between 2011 and 2013, 17 poultry botulism outbreaks were investigated in France. All cases were associated with Clostridium botulinum type C–D. Presence of C. botulinum was studied in seven areas: poultry house, changing room, ventilation system, surroundings, animal reservoirs, water, and feed. Swabs, litter, soil, darkling beetles, rodents and wild bird droppings, feed and water samples were collected. The presence of C. botulinum type C–D in the environment of affected flocks was detected in 39.5% of the 185 samples analysed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. C. botulinum type C–D was reported in each area. Four areas were more frequently contaminated, being found positive in more than one-half of farms: darkling beetles (9/11), poultry house (14/17), water (13/16) and surroundings (11/16). After cleaning and disinfection, the ventilation system and/or the soil (in the houses and the surroundings) returned positive results in four out of eight poultry farms. Consequently, darkling beetles, the drinking water, the ventilation system and the soil in the surroundings and the houses were identified as the main critical contaminated areas to consider in poultry farms to prevent recurrence of botulism outbreaks.
Reinventing Academic Publishing Online. Part II: A Socio-technical Vision

Part I of this paper outlined the limitations of feudal academic knowledge exchange and predicted its decline as cross-disciplinary research expands. Part II now suggests the next evolutionary step is democratic online knowledge exchange, run by the academic many rather than the few. Using socio-technical tools it is possible to accept all, evaluate all and publish all academic documents. Editors and reviewers will remain, but their role will change, from gatekeepers to guides. However, the increase in knowledge throughput can only be supported by activating the academic community as a whole. Yet that is what socio-technical systems do --- activate people to increase common gains. Part 1 argued that scholars must do this or be left behind in the dust of progress. The design proposed here is neither wiki, nor e-journal, nor electronic repository, nor reputation system, but a hybrid of these and other socio-technical functions. It supports print publishing as a permanent archive byproduct useful to a living, online knowledge exchange community. It could also track academic submissions, provide performance transcripts to promotion committees, enable hyperlinks, support attribution, allow data-source sharing, retain anonymous reviewing and support relevance and rigor in evaluation. Rather than a single "super" KES, a network of online systems united by a common vision of democratic knowledge exchange is proposed.
Polarization-mode-dispersion emulator using variable differential-Group-delay (DGD) elements and its use for experimental importance sampling

We demonstrate a practical polarization-mode-dispersion (PMD) emulator using programmable differential-group-delay (DGD) elements. The output PMD statistics of the emulator can be chosen by varying the average of the Maxwellian DGD distribution applied to each element. The emulator exhibits good stability and repeatability in a laboratory environment. In addition, we demonstrate how this emulator may be used to experimentally employ the powerful technique of importance sampling to quickly generate extremely low probability events. This technique is used to measure the Q-factor degradation due to both average and rare PMD values in a 10-Gb/s transmission system.
The Effect of Proton Energy on SEU Cross Section of a 16 Mbit TFT PMOS SRAM with DRAM Capacitors

Proton experimental data are analyzed for a 16-Mbit thin-film-transistor (TFT) PMOS static random access memory (SRAM) with DRAM capacitors. The presence of high-Z materials as tungsten causes an unusual increase of the single event upset (SEU) proton cross section for the energies above 100 MeV. Monte-Carlo simulations reproduce the experimentally measured cross sections up to 480 MeV and predict a further increase up to GeV energies. The implications of this increase are analyzed in the context of the LHC and other radiation environments where a significant fraction of the fluence lies above 100 MeV.
Every tweet counts? How sentiment analysis of social media can improve our knowledge of citizens’ political preferences with an application to Italy and France

The growing usage of social media by a wider audience of citizens sharply increases the possibility of investigating the web as a device to explore and track political preferences. In the present paper we apply a method recently proposed by other social scientists to three different scenarios, by analyzing on one side the online popularity of Italian political leaders throughout 2011, and on the other the voting intention of French Internet users in both the 2012 presidential ballot and the subsequent legislative election. While Internet users are not necessarily representative of the whole population of a country’s citizens, our analysis shows a remarkable ability for social media to forecast electoral results, as well as a noteworthy correlation between social media and the results of traditional mass surveys. We also illustrate that the predictive ability of social media analysis strengthens as the number of citizens expressing their opinion online increases, provided that the citizens act consistently on these opinions.
Adaptive networks for robotics and the emergence of reward anticipatory circuits

Currently the central challenge facing evolutionary robotics is to determine how best to extend the range and complexity of behaviour supported by evolved neural systems. Implicit in the work described in this thesis is the idea that this might best be achieved through devising neural circuits (tractable to evolutionary exploration) that exhibit complementary functional characteristics. We concentrate on two problem domains; locomotion and sequence learning. For locomotion we compare the use of GasNets and other adaptive networks. For sequence learning we introduce a novel connectionist model inspired by the role of dopamine in the basal ganglia (commonly interpreted as a form of reinforcement learning). This connectionist approach relies upon a new neuron model inspired by notions of energy efficient signalling. Two reward adaptive circuit variants were investigated. These were applied respectively to two learning problems; where action sequences are required to take place in a strict order, and secondly, where action sequences are robust to intermediate arbitrary states. We conclude the thesis by proposing a formal model of functional integration, encompassing locomotion and sequence learning, extending ideas proposed by W. Ross Ashby. A general model of the adaptive replicator is presented, incoporating subsystems that are tuned to continuous variation and discrete or conditional events. Comparisons are made with Ross W. Ashby's model of ultrastability and his ideas on adaptive behaviour. This model is intended to support our assertion that, GasNets (and similar networks) and reward adaptive circuits of the type presented here, are intrinsically complementary. In conclusion we present some ideas on how the co-evolution of GasNet and reward adaptive circuits might lead us to significant improvements in the synthesis of agents capable of exhibiting complex adaptive behaviour.
Antibody response to experimental Salmonella typhimurium infection in chickens measured by ELISA

An indirect ELISA has been developed to detect Salmonella typhimurium antibodies in chicken sera, using whole bacterial cell protein, flagellar protein or lipopolysaccharide as antigens. In experimental infections high concentrations of S typhimurium-specific IgG persisted after the faecal excretion of S typhimurium had ceased, whereas the specific IgM response was transitory. Some uninfected chickens placed in contact with experimentally infected birds developed high IgG titres in the absence of detectable faecal excretion. Other S typhimurium strains, which varied in their invasive abilities, also induced high titres of IgG. The ELISA allowed chickens infected experimentally with S typhimurium to be differentiated from chickens infected with 10 other serotypes, including S enteritidis. The use of whole blood in place of serum in the ELISA reduced the titres slightly. The storage of serum dried on to filter paper strips for four weeks produced little change in ELISA antibody titre, and the treatment of such strips with phenol or chloroform vapour had little or no effect on the antibody titre.
Diagnostic testing for 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in hospitalized patients.

Establishing a diagnosis of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in hospitalized patients can be challenging, especially in patients presenting late in their clinical course. Although real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the most sensitive testing method to detect 2009 H1N1 virus in respiratory specimens,1 results are not accessible right away. Influenza antigen–detection tests produce quick results, but reported sensitivities of rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs) to detect 2009 H1N1 virus infection in upper respiratory specimens as compared with real-time RT-PCR range from 10 to 70%; therefore, false negative RIDT results are common2 and also occur with direct .
Role of knowledge brokers in communities of practice in Japan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of knowledge brokers in Japanese communities of practice (CoP). This is because if knowledge brokers can connect across boundaries and introduce practices into another CoP, they can contribute by introducing practices as tacit knowledge to another CoP. Design/methodology/approach This study examines five hypotheses on knowledge brokers with respect to multi-membership in CoPs, knowledge brokering and career adaptability. In this study, an online questionnaire was administrated to 412 business persons, all employed by Japanese companies. Findings In line with the predictions, the results show that the cognition and behavior of multi-membership were composed of two factors: “creation and integration of diverse opinions” and “acceptance of diverse opinions”. With respect to covariance structure analysis, “concern”, one of the factors of career adaptability, had both direct and indirect effects on “knowledge brokering”. “Creation and integration of diverse opinions”, one of the factors of the cognition and behavior of multi-membership, had direct effects on “knowledge brokering”. Research limitations/implications Given that the data presented in this study are limited to knowledge brokers in Japanese CoPs, the study needs to be extended to an international context and to other kinds of knowledge brokers. Originality/value This study contributes to the findings which show the complexity of multi-membership and career adaptability. Upon closer examination, each subscale of multi-membership and career adaptability shows a different effect on knowledge brokering. In other words, this study reveals the importance of proactive behavior in integrating diverse opinions for knowledge brokering.
Effect of Saturation and Post Processing on 3D Printed Calcium Phosphate Scaffolds

Three dimensional printing was investigated for fabricating hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) composite scaffolds using calcium phosphate based ceramics and calcium phosphate cement chemistry. Scaffolds were formed by printing an aqueous sodium phosphate solution on the powder bed consisting of a mixture of dicalcium phosphate anhydrous (DCPA) and calcium hydroxide powders. The sodium phosphate solution was functioning as a binder material and also as the initiator of the wet chemical reaction. Compressive mechanical properties of printed samples were examined as a function of saturation level that was inversely proportional to the powder to liquid ratio. To increase mechanical properties and obtain hydroxyapatite and β-TCP composites, the printed samples were sintered. The effect of sintering parameters including dwell time and sintering temperature were also examined. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to examine material composition at different stages of the manufacturing process and to confirm the presence of HA and β-TCP in the final stage. The effect of sintering procedure on the surface topology of the samples was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).