Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictive value of the systemic immune-inflammation index for the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and prognosis in patients with stage III ovarian cancer—a retrospective cohort study

Background The systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) has been proven to be related to the prognoses of multiple malignant tumors. However, there are still few studies on the relationship between the SII and the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer. It is of great significance to predict the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer. Our study was aimed at determining the predictive value of the SII for the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and prognosis in patients with stage III ovarian cancer. Methods A total of 102 patients with stage III ovarian cancer treated in Tongji Hospital of Tongji University from January 2017 to January 2019 were retrospectively collected. According to the level of the SII before neoadjuvant chemotherapy, patients were divided into the high SII group and low SII group. We compared the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy between the 2 groups, and observed the progression-free survival and mortality of patients in the 2 groups after 3 years follow-up. Results Compared with patients in the low SII group, the complete response rate of patients in the high SII group decreased significantly after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (13.73% vs. 45.10%, P=0.001), and the progressive disease rate increased (19.61% vs. 1.96%, P=0.011). The SII had certain value in predicting the inefficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage III ovarian cancer, and the area under the curve was 0.655 (95% CI: 0.548–0.762, P=0.007). The progression-free survival of patients in the high SII group was shorter than that of patients in the low SII group (P<0.001), and the overall survival rate of patients in the high SII group was lower (47.06% vs. 70.59%, P=0.016). The SII had predicting value for the postoperative death of ovarian cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and the area under the curve was 0.646 (95% CI: 0.537–0.756, P=0.012). Multivariate regression analysis showed that higher SII was a risk factor for death in ovarian cancer patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (OR: 2.700, P=0.017). Conclusions A high SII was a predictor of inefficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage III ovarian cancer and was related to poor prognosis.
Equation of State and Phase Transitions in the Nuclear and Hadronic Systems

An investigation of strongly interacting matter equation of state remains one of the major tasks of modern high energy nuclear physics for almost a quarter of century. The present work is my doctor of science thesis which contains my contribution (42 works) to this field made between 1993 and 2008. Inhere I mainly discuss the common physical and mathematical features of several exactly solvable statistical models which describe the nuclear liquid-gas phase transition and the deconfinement phase transition. Luckily, in some cases it was possible to rigorously extend the solutions found in thermodynamic limit to finite volumes and to formulate the finite volume analogs of phases directly from the grand canonical partition. It turns out that finite volume (surface) of a system generates also the temporal constraints, i.e. the finite formation/decay time of possible states in this finite system. Among other results I would like to mention the calculation of upper and lower bounds for the surface entropy of physical clusters within the Hills and Dales model; evaluation of the second virial coefficient which accounts for the Lorentz contraction of the hard core repulsing potential between hadrons; inclusion of large width of heavy quark-gluon bags into statistical description. I believe that the suggested mathematical solution of the freeze-out problem in relativistic hydrodynamic model and in hydro-cascade model has not only an academic interest, but also has some practical value. In addition I hope that the experience gained in working out some partly successful signals of deconfinement transition can be useful for other researchers to go further in this direction.
The Efficacy of a 3β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Inhibitor for the Termination of Mid-Term Pregnancies in Dogs

Simple Summary The medical termination of unwanted pregnancies in dogs is practiced throughout the world for many reasons, including at the request of animal owners. For these procedures, it is advised to use rapidly effective drugs with minimal side effects. In this study, we investigated trilostane, which decreases progesterone levels, for its efficacy in terminating mid-term pregnancies in dogs, as well as potential side effects. Although trilostane is not a standalone alternative for the termination of pregnancy in dogs, it has been determined that its combined use with another medical agent of known efficacy reduces both the abortion time and potential side effects. Further studies investigating an increased frequency of administration rather than the administration dose could contribute to determining the efficacy of trilostane in dogs. Abstract Progesterone (P4) is the only hormone needed to maintain pregnancy in dogs. Therefore, a competitive inhibitor of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) could be a safe and effective option to terminate pregnancy by inhibiting P4 synthesis. To address this hypothesis, we investigated the efficacy of trilostane (TRL), a competitive inhibitor of 3β-HSD, in terminating pregnancy in dogs. Twenty-one dogs between days 30 and 38 of pregnancy were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups (trilostane (TRL) and aglepristone (AGL)) and an untreated control (CON) group (n = 7 dogs each). Fetal heart rates (FHRs) (measured at 12 h intervals) and serum P4 concentrations (measured at 6 h intervals) were evaluated. The pregnancy termination rates were 0% and 100% in the TRL and AGL groups, respectively. The decrease in the FHR in the TRL and AGL groups was significantly lower than that observed in the CON group. There was a marked decrease in P4 concentrations in the TRL group 6, 54, and 102 h after the initiation of treatment. The luteal expression of StAR appeared to be weaker in the AGL group than the CON group. In conclusion, although a treatment-induced decrease was observed in plasma P4 concentrations, a seven-day TRL treatment alone was not effective in terminating pregnancies. Further studies are needed on the effects of the prolonged administration of TRL with varying doses and frequencies for the termination of mid-term pregnancy in dogs.
Loss of monotonicity and anomalous scaling behavior in the passive scalar gradient

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss some fundamental aspects regarding the anomalies in the passive scalar field advected by forced homogenous and isotropic turbulence, by inspection of the analytical properties of the governing equations and with the aid of direct numerical simulation (DNS) data.Design/methodology/approach – Results from a pseudo‐spectral DNS of a unitary‐Schmidt‐ number passive scalar advected by a low Reynolds number flow field, Reλ=50 and 70 (based on the Taylor microscale λ) allow for a preliminary assessment of the developed numerical model.Findings – Manipulation of the governing equations for the scalar field (which are monotonic) reveals that the unboundedness of the scalar gradient magnitude is not ruled out by the mathematical properties of the correspondent conservation equation. Classic intermittency effects in the passive scalar field have been reproduced, such as non‐Gaussian behavior of the passive scalar statistics, loss of local isotropy, and multi‐fractal .
Thermodynamics and Spectroscopy of Halogen- and Hydrogen-Bonded Complexes of Haloforms with Aromatic and Aliphatic Amines

Similarities and differences of halogen and hydrogen bonding were explored via UV–Vis and 1H NMR measurements, X-ray crystallography and computational analysis of the associations of CHX3 (X=I, Br, Cl) with aromatic (tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine) and aliphatic (4-diazabicyclo[2,2,2]octane) amines. When the polarization of haloforms was taken into account, the strengths of these complexes followed the same correlation with the electrostatic potentials on the surfaces of the interacting atoms. However, their spectral properties were quite distinct. While the halogen-bonded complexes showed new intense absorption bands in the UV–Vis spectra, the absorptions of their hydrogen-bonded analogues were close to the superposition of the absorption of reactants. Additionally, halogen bonding led to a shift in the NMR signal of haloform protons to lower ppm values compared with the individual haloforms, whereas hydrogen bonding of CHX3 with aliphatic amines resulted in a shift in the opposite direction. The effects of hydrogen bonding with aromatic amines on the NMR spectra of haloforms were ambivalent. Titration of all CHX3 with these nucleophiles produced consistent shifts in their protons’ signals to lower ppm values, whereas calculations of these pairs produced multiple hydrogen-bonded minima with similar structures and energies, but opposite directions of the NMR signals’ shifts. Experimental and computational data were used for the evaluation of formation constants of some halogen- and hydrogen-bonded complexes between haloforms and amines co-existing in solutions.
Online Streaming Services Uses During The COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerates the adoption of online streaming service around the world, including online streaming services, which is now starting to be used in Indonesia, like Netflix. This study assumes that consumers search for emotional and instrumental satisfaction when they start to watch any video or live streaming on their digital devices. Therefore, this study is based on two theories about technology adoption: the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Uses Gratification Theory (UGT), to explore perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness from users' perceptions. By adding perceived risk perception related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to explore users' perceptions of online streaming services and describe their motivation to use the services. This study uses Smart PLS-SEM as analyze tool. There are 203 respondents used in this study. The research result shows that perceived ease of use positively and significantly affects perceived usefulness. Perceived usefulness, ritualized use, and instrumental use positively and significantly affect the intention to use Netflix. However, this study can't prove the effect of perceived ease of use and perceived risk perception on intention to use Netflix. Furthermore, perceived usefulness positively and significantly mediates the effect between perceived ease of use to intention to use Netflix.
Evolution of the IGG concept at IGF from 2004 to 2007

IGG is the acronym for Impulse Gravity Generator, a device developed by E. Podkletnov in 1997-2003 for generating high-voltage discharges through YBCO electrodes. According to Podkletnov, an anomalous force beam is generated at the discharge, which acts on distant material target of any composition with a small repulsive force proportional to the target mass. An independent replication of this device was started in 2004 at IGF, Germany (Institut fuer Gravitationsforschung, Goede Foundation). The author was involved as theoretical consultant and his first assignment was to study a possible scaled-down version of the device. This required a thorough analysis of the physical working principles of the apparatus, which was documented in several internal reports from 2004 to 2009. The whole content of those from 2004 to 2007 is given here. Several parts are outdated, but useful for an understanding of the phenomenon. In particular, the discharge mechanism was eventually found to be different, namely a vacuum spark discharge instead of a low pressure discharge with cascade gas ionization. Also outdated is the theoretical model developed in Ch. 1 on the "acceleration of Cooper pairs through the superconductor" as a possible basis for the anomalous emission. This naive representation, however, is useful to show that such an acceleration does not make sense in a superconductor like YBCO and that the correct picture is that of (low-voltage) tunnelling of pairs through intrinsic Josephson junctions. The present paper should therefore be regarded as an "historical summary", mainly valuable as a reference for further developments.
Multi‑locus sequence and drug resistance analysis of Salmonella infection in children with diarrhea in Guangdong to identify the dominant ST and cause of antibiotic‑resistance

Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) can be used to analyze the homology among the drug resistance gene cassettes in Salmonella and determine the prevalence. Information extracted using this technique can provide a theoretical basis for hospitals to devise protocols to control Salmonella infections. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible association between drug resistance and integrons in clinical isolates of Salmonella from human fecal samples. Therefore, in the present study, 52 clinical fecal isolates of non-duplicate (i.e., not genome contamination) Salmonella were harvested from children with diarrhea and used for bacterial identification using biochemical tests, drug susceptibility analysis by antibiotic susceptibility testing and serotype identification using an agglutination assay. In total, seven Salmonella housekeeping genes (chorismate synthase, β sliding clamp of DNA polymerase III, uroporphyrinogen-III synthase, histidinol dehydrogenase, phosphoribosylaminoimidazole carboxylase catalytic subunit, 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase E1 component and homoserine dehydrogenase) were amplified and sequenced using MLST, before sequence alignment was performed against the Pub MLST database to determine the sequence-typed (ST) strains and construct genotypic evolutionary diagrams. Subsequently, the 52 Salmonella strains were subdivided into 11 serotypes and 11 sequence types. The dominant subtypes were found to be Salmonella typhimurium ST34 and ST19, which were diversely distributed. However, no new subtypes were found. Although the serotypes, including ST19, ST29, ST34, ST40, ST11, ST27, ST469, ST365, ST1499, ST413 and ST588, were closely associated with the MLST subtype, they did not correspond entirely. The detection rate of class I integrons was 38.46% (20/52), but no class II and III integrons were detected. The variable regions of three of 20 class I integrons were found to be amplified, whereas nine gene cassettes, including dihydrofolate reductase A12, open reading frame F, aminoglycoside-adenylyltransferase (aad)A2, aadA22, aadA23, aadA1, cadmium-translocating P-type ATPase 2, lincosamide and linF, were associated with drug resistance. These data suggest that Class I integrons are important factors underlying drug resistance in Salmonella, which may serve a role in the spread of drug resistance and warrant specific focus. In addition, MLST typing and serotyping should be applied cooperatively in epidemiological research.
What Does Research Suggest About the Teaching and Learning of Introductory Statistics at the College Level? A Review of the Literature

Since the first studies on the teaching and learning of statistics appeared in the research literature, the scholarship in this area has grown dramatically. Given the diversity of disciplines, methodology, and orientation of the studies that may be classified as “statistics education research,” summarizing and critiquing this body of work for teachers of statistics is a challenging and important endeavor. In this paper, a representative subset of studies related to the teaching and learning of statistics in introductory, non-calculus based college courses is reviewed. As a result of this review, and in an effort to improve the teaching and learning of statistics at the introductory college level, some guidelines to help advance future research in statistics education are offered.
Inventory pooling and pricing decisions in multiple markets with strategic customers

This study considers the pricing and inventory decisions for the retailer selling in multiple markets with strategic customers. The impact of strategic customer behavior on inventory pooling is examined. The equilibrium decisions, in which strategic customers tend to purchase early, are subsequently characterized in the pooled/non-pooled systems. Our results highlight the role of the strategic customer in each market. Compared with myopic customers, the retailer is prone to reduce its inventory for strategic customers. The retailer’s optimal inventory for high-profit products is lower in the pooled system than in the non-pooled system. However, the result is reversed for low-profit products. The analytical and numerical results simultaneously demonstrate that, in the high-profit condition, the retailers’ inventory in the pooled system increases with the correlation coefficient of different markets, while the retailers' profit decreases with the correlation coefficient. There is an opposite relationship in the low-profit condition. When the markets are less correlated, the retailer owns low inventory but high profit. Moreover, the retailers’profit is always higher in the pooled system than in the non-pooled system.
Problèmes d'évolution en milieux aléatoires : théorèmes limites, schémas numériques et applications en optique

Cette these est consacree a l'etude mathematique de quelques questions relatives a des problemes d'evolution en milieux aleatoires. Dans une premiere partie, nous considerons une equation differentielle a coefficient aleatoire a variations rapides. Nous prouvons que la solution converge en loi vers la solution d'une equation differentielle stochastique dirigee par une mouvement brownien classique dans certain cas, vers la solution d'une equation differentielle stochastique dirigee par une mouvement brownien fractionnaire dans d'autres cas. Dans une deuxieme partie nous etudions l'equation de Schrodinger en milieux aleatoires. Dans un premier temps nous etudions une equation de Schrodinger non-lineaire modelisant la propagation d'une impulsion lumineuse dans une fibre optique a coefficient de dispersion aleatoire. Dans un second temps, nous etudions un systeme d'equations de Schrodinger modelisant la propagation d'une impulsion lumineuse dans une fibre optique birefringente.
Impact of Discontinuing Levofloxacin Prophylaxis on Bloodstream Infections in Neutropenic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Patients

Multidrug-resistant pathogens have emerged worldwide. We have driven the hypothesis that the non-use of fluoroquinolone prophylaxis during neutropenia could reduce antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria that cause bloodstream infections (BSIs) in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients and that this change in resistance pattern could lead to an impact on BSI mortality. This is a quasi-experimental study comparing BSI incidence, resistance patterns of bacteria that cause BSI, and BSI mortality when levofloxacin prophylaxis was routine for neutropenic HSCT patients (2016–2018) to when fluoroquinolone prophylaxis was discontinued in our center (2019). Bivariate comparisons and multivariate logistic regression models were used for analyses. A total of 310 HSCTs (66 (21%) allogeneic and 244 (79%) autologous) were performed during the study period. Sixty (19%) patients had BSIs, 30 in each evaluated period. The discontinuation of levofloxacin prophylaxis was associated with an increase in BSI incidence and a decrease in the resistance rates of causative BSI bacteria and in BSI 30-day mortality. The increase in the rate of resistant bacteria causing BSI and in BSI mortality might outweigh the benefits of a decrease in BSI incidence caused by fluoroquinolone prophylaxis in neutropenic HSCT patients. We suggest that the routine use of fluoroquinolone in this context be revisited.
EFFICIENT ESTIMATION OF NESTED LOGIT MODELS

This paper examines the Sequential, Full Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML), and Linearized Maximum Likelihood (LML) estimators for a Nested Logit model of time-of-day choice for work trips. These estimators are compared using a Monte Carlo study based on specification and data from a previously published empirical study. The sequential estimator is found to be much less efficient than either LML or FIML; and its uncorrected second-stage standard-error estimates are strongly downward biased. LML is only slightly less efficient than FIML, but is often easier to compute. However there are cases where the sequential and LML estimators do not exist.
Phylogeny of European Pyrochroa (Coleoptera, Pyrochroidae) reveals cryptic taxa and different glacial histories

Only three saproxylic species of Pyrochroinae (Coleoptera: Pyrochroidae) are distributed in Europe, two of which belonging to Pyrochroa: P. coccinea and P. serraticornis. However, P. serraticornis is polytypic, for the presence of the endemic subspecies P. s. kiesenwetteri in southern Italy. Using both molecular and morphological data, we explored the phylogeny of the European Pyrochroa species. A multilocus (COI, CAD, 28S) phylogenetic analysis helped highlight different evolutionary histories for the two examined species. First, P. coccinea, distributed throughout Europe, showed a high differentiation among Italian and European populations. Furthermore, three different taxonomic entities were identified within P. serraticornis, among which the cryptic species Pyrochroa bifoveata sp. n. from central Europe is described and illustrated. A comprehensive identification key to the European Pyrochroinae is also provided. Our results also suggested an historical survival of P. coccinea and P. s. kiesenwetteri in glacial refugia in Italy, and a subsequent post‐glacial spread of the former species throughout the Peninsula. In contrast, the current distribution of P. s. serraticornis likely originated from a post‐glacial colonization of western European relict populations, while the survival of P. bifoveata plausibly occurred in more eastern glacial refugia (e.g. Carpathian or Balkan regions). Similarly, the European populations of P. coccinea could have originated from relict populations in glacial refugia out from the Italian Peninsula. More comprehensive data on the taxonomy, ecology and biogeography of Pyrochroa are needed to learn more about these species and to help preserve the European saproxylic fauna.
EQUATION OF STATE FOR NEUTRON STARS WITH HYPERONS AND QUARKS IN THE RELATIVISTIC HARTREE–FOCK APPROXIMATION

We construct the equation of state (EoS) for neutron stars explicitly including hyperons and quarks. Using the quark–meson coupling model with the relativistic Hartree–Fock approximation, the EoS for hadronic matter is derived by taking into account the strange (σ* and ϕ) mesons as well as the light non-strange (σ, ω, &pgr; ? > , and &rgr; ? > ) mesons. Relevant coupling constants are determined to reproduce the experimental data of nuclear matter and hypernuclei in SU(3) flavor symmetry. For quark matter, we employ the MIT bag model with a one-gluon-exchange interaction, and Gibbs criteria for chemical equilibrium in the phase transition from hadrons to quarks. We find that the strange vector (ϕ) meson and the Fock contribution make the hadronic EoS stiff, and that the maximum mass of a neutron star can be consistent with the observed mass of heavy neutron stars even if the coexistence of hadrons and quarks takes place in the core. However, in the present calculation, the transition to pure quark matter does not occur in stable neutron stars. Furthermore, the lower bound of the critical chemical potential of the quark–hadron transition at zero temperature turns out to be around 1.5 GeV in order to be consistent with the recent observed neutron-star data.