Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiplexed monitoring of a novel autoantibody diagnostic signature of colorectal cancer using HaloTag technology-based electrochemical immunosensing platform

Background and Purpose: The humoral immune response in cancer patients can be used for early detection of the disease. Autoantibodies raised against tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are promising clinical biomarkers for reliable cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy monitoring. In this study, an electrochemical disposable multiplexed immunosensing platform able to integrate difficult- and easy-to-express colorectal cancer (CRC) TAAs is reported for the sensitive determination of eight CRC-specific autoantibodies. Methods: The electrochemical immunosensing approach involves the use of magnetic microcarriers (MBs) as solid supports modified with covalently immobilized HaloTag fusion proteins for the selective capture of specific autoantibodies. After magnetic capture of the modified MBs onto screen-printed carbon working electrodes, the amperometric responses measured using the hydroquinone (HQ)/H2O2 system were related to the levels of autoantibodies in plasma. Results: The biosensing platform was applied to the analysis of autoantibodies against 8 TAAs described for the first time in this work in plasma samples from healthy asymptomatic individuals (n=3), and patients with high-risk of developing CRC (n=3), and from patients already diagnosed with colorectal (n=3), lung (n=2) or breast (n=2) cancer. The developed bioplatform demonstrated an improved discrimination between CRC patients and controls (asymptomatic healthy individuals and breast and lung cancer patients) compared to an ELISA-like luminescence test. Conclusions: The proposed methodology uses a just-in-time produced protein in a simpler protocol, with low sample volume, and involves cost-effective instrumentation, which could be used in a high-throughput manner for reliable population screening to facilitate the detection of early CRC patients at affordable cost.
TCP Performance Measurement in GPRS Link Adaptation Process

This paper presents the results of measured TCP performance in the LA process during the deployment of GPRS CS1 and CS2 coding schemes and after the activation of two more coding schemes, CS3 and CS4. The measurements are done under various network scenarios based on users’ physical locations in one of Malaysia’s commercially deployed live GPRS networks. End-to-end FTP file transfer application is used for the assessment together with tracing at the GPRS air interface. The results show that TCP works well in the LA process and can adapt to the frequent switching between the coding schemes without any problem. The average throughput is increased by 23% for urban areas owing to the activation of higher coding schemes and aided by TCP tuning. It is also shown that bad radio condition is the main factor affecting throughput. TCP performance is seen to be constant in all scenarios and it can cope with GPRS mobility and bad radio condition, although at the expense of reduced throughput.
Association between Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Femoroacetabular Impingement. Is There A Relationship Beyond Image?

Introduction: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture may reach almost 50% of knee injuries within soccer players. On the other hand, femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) has been more frequently identified in active population, finding bone abnormalities around the femoral head causing cam impingement. Alpha angle is a common measurement within cam impingement, finding that an increase is related to a decrease of range of movement, favouring cam impingement. The aim is to provide a foundation for the future body of literature regarding hip pathologic abnormalities and “at-risk” hips in athletes with specific pathologies such as ACL injuries. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the anteroposterior pelvis radiographs of 29 elite male soccer players to determine the alpha angles of the hip (thus, 58 hips). 15 patients completed the ACL group, whereas the remaining 14 completed the control group of soccer players undergoing meniscus surgery alone. A blinded, sports medicine fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon conducted measurements with experience in treating hip disorders. Results: Mean alpha angle for the meniscus group was 56.93o (SD 16.58o), whereas the mean alpha angle for the ACL group was 58.40o (SD 13.31). Mean alpha angle of the affected side hip was 62.8o (SD 13.36), whereas mean alpha angle of the contralateral hip was 57.20o (SD 15.14). No significant differences were found. But, pathological alpha angles were observed in ipsilateral hips to the injured knee (ACL), in more frequency than contralateral hips with statistically significant differences. Conclusion: A significant relationship was observed between ACL injury and increased alpha angle in the ipsilateral hip. Soccer players should be considered as an at-risk population of hip deformities even with asymptomatic patients undergoing ACL surgery.
Complementarity as a Driver of Value in Business Intelligence and Analytics Adoption Processes

Objetivo: Os investimentos em Business Intelligence and Analytics (BIA) são cada vez mais essenciais para a competitividade das empresas. Apoiado na Visão Baseada em Recursos (VBR), este estudo analisou a implementação de um sistema de BIA no Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) para avaliar a geração de valor para a organização. Método: Coletamos dados qualitativos por meio de entrevistas, observação participante e em documentos internos e comunicações. A análise dos dados seguiu o processo usual de codificação, agregação e síntese, com auxílio do Atlas.ti, um software de análise de dados qualitativos. Originalidade: As abordagens tradicionais de avaliação de investimentos em Tecnologia da Informação (TI), especialmente no caso de sistemas de BIA, negligenciam a natureza dinâmica e as influências mútuas dos ativos e capacidades de TI e as capacidades sócio-organizacionais complementares, no processo de geração de valor para o negócio. Além disso, a Visão Baseada em Recursos tem sido pouco empregada no estudo do impacto de sistemas de BIA nas organizações. Resultados: Os resultados do estudo revelaram o papel fundamental desempenhado pelos recursos e capacidades organizacionais e de TI no processo de adoção de BIA, bem como a importância da dinâmica de complementaridade e seus resultados positivos. Contribuições teóricas: Nesta pesquisa, fornecemos evidências do potencial da VBR para elucidar as complexidades envolvidas no uso da TI para a geração de valor para o negócio sustentável, e, portanto, para explicar os diferentes resultados obtidos por organizações que adotam sistemas de BIA. Palavras-chave: Business Intelligence; Gestão de Tecnologia da Informação; Visão Baseada em Recursos; Valor de TI; Recursos Complementares.
Missed by Filter Lists: Detecting Unknown Third-Party Trackers with Invisible Pixels

Abstract Web tracking has been extensively studied over the last decade. To detect tracking, previous studies and user tools rely on filter lists. However, it has been shown that filter lists miss trackers. In this paper, we propose an alternative method to detect trackers inspired by analyzing behavior of invisible pixels. By crawling 84,658 webpages from 8,744 domains, we detect that third-party invisible pixels are widely deployed: they are present on more than 94.51% of domains and constitute 35.66% of all third-party images. We propose a fine-grained behavioral classification of tracking based on the analysis of invisible pixels. We use this classification to detect new categories of tracking and uncover new collaborations between domains on the full dataset of 4, 216, 454 third-party requests. We demonstrate that two popular methods to detect tracking, based on EasyList&EasyPrivacy and on Disconnect lists respectively miss 25.22% and 30.34% of the trackers that we detect. Moreover, we find that if we combine all three lists, 379, 245 requests originated from 8,744 domains still track users on 68.70% of websites.
How to teach mathematics and experimental sciences? Solving the inquiring versus transmission dilemma

Various theories suggest that the learning of mathematics and experimental sciences should be based on a constructivist pedagogy, oriented towards the students’ investigation of problem-situations, and assigning the teacher a facilitator role. At the opposite extreme, other theories defend a more leading role by the teacher, which would imply the explicit transmission of knowledge. After a synthesis of these instructional models, in this paper, we argue that the optimization of learning requires an intermediate position between both extremes, by recognizing the complex dialectic between the student’s inquiry and the teacher’s transmission of knowledge. We based on anthropological and semiotic assumptions about the nature of mathematical and scientific objects, as well as on assumptions related to the structure of human cognition.
The Impact of the Great Recession on the Number of Charities by Subsector and Revenue Range

http://www.urban. org/ http://cnp.urban. org http://nccs.urban. org Summary  This brief extends the analysis of the first brief in the series, “The Impact of the Great Recession on the Number of Charities,” which compared closures among nonprofit organizations over two periods: the “baseline period” of 2004–08, which includes the years immediately before the recession’s full impact, and the “recession period” of 2008–12, which includes the worst of the recession and its immediate aftermath.1  The brief takes a closer look at nonprofit organizations that ceased operations during the baseline and recession periods by revenue range and subsector (arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, international affairs, public and societal benefit, and other).  In both time periods and across all subsectors, smaller organizations with revenues between $50,000 and $99,999 were most vulnerable to closure.  In all subsectors, organizational closure was more prevalent during the recession period (2008–12) than during the baseline period (2004–08).  However, organizations with revenues of $1 million and above were no more likely to cease operations during the recession period than during the baseline period.  The largest increase in closure rates occurred among international organizations, while human services experienced the smallest increase.  In addition to higher closure rates, the recession is also associated with loss of revenue among smaller nonprofits. Twenty -two percent of all organizations with $50,000 to $99,999 in revenue in 2004 had revenue fall below $50,000 in 2008. That share jumped to 30.1 percent for the 2008–12 period.
Fine-needle aspiration biopsy under CT-scan guidance - the usefulness in diagnosis of malignant lung tumors

Aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB)indiagnosisof malignant lung tumors. Material and methods: The results of 438 CT guided FNAB of lung lesions performed between Sep. 1st 1999 and Feb. 20th 2004 were evaluated. Results: In 295 cases (67.35%) the cytological diagnosis of lung tumours were established by FNAB. The most common type of the tumours were: non-small cell lung cancer: 222 (50.69%) and small cell lung cancer: 49 (11.19%). 104 of these results were histologically verified and two false positive results were detected. In 143 cases (32.65%) however, the results established by FNAB were non-diagnostic. 63 of the lesions were verifiedandin36 cases (57.1%) the malignant tumours were proved. The specificity of the method regarding malignant lesions reached 93.10%, and its sensitivity for patients with malignancy was 73.91%. The average diameter of the malignant tumour was 5.4 ± 1.3 cm whereas in case of non-diagnostic results the diameter of the tumour was 4.1 ± 1.6 cm. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups. The most common complication of FNAB was pneumothorax, which occurred in 22 patients (5.02%) and in 13 cases (2.97%) required drainage of the chest cavity. Conclusion: FNAB is a safe diagnostic method with high specificity and moderate sensitivity in detecting of malignant lung lesions.
Attachment, Conflict Resolution, Marital Satisfaction, and Culture in Women

The aim of this study was to compare levels of attachment, conflict resolution strategies and marital satisfaction in women from Israel, United States, Turkey, and Spain (N = 343). A sample of individuals involved in a romantic relationship at ages 18-68 (M = 35.4, SD = 11.83) completed measures of attachment dimensions, conflict resolution strategies, and marital satisfaction. Tucker Phi coefficients revealed the same structure of the scales across all countries. Mean comparisons were used. Differences were observed among women from Israel, Turkey, USA, and Spain in attachment (avoidant and anxiety), as well as in own conflict resolution strategies and in perception of partner’s conflict resolution strategies. In individualistic countries, women reported using conflict withdrawal to a higher extent. Women from collectivistic cultures showed higher levels of avoidant attachment and of use of demand strategy. No cultural differences in women’s marital satisfaction were observed. Results are discussed in light of the combined possible effects of cultural dimensions and individual variables.
Imposing Contiguity Constraints in Political Districting Models

For nearly 60 years, operations research techniques have assisted in the creation of political districting plans, beginning with an integer programming model. This model, which seeks compactness as its objective, tends to generate districts that are contiguous, or nearly so, but provides no guarantee of contiguity. In the paper “Imposing contiguity constraints in political districting models” by Hamidreza Validi, Austin Buchanan, and Eugene Lykhovyd, the authors consider and analyze four different contiguity models (two old and two new). Their computer implementation can handle redistricting instances as large as Indiana (1,511 census tracts). Their fastest approach uses a branch-and-cut algorithm, where contiguity constraints are added in a callback. Critically, many variables can be fixed to zero a priori by Lagrangian arguments. All test instances and source code are publicly available.
Rainwater characteristics in the city of Kirkuk

This study was conducted to determine the quality of rain water falling on the city of Kirkuk, six different areas were chosen for collecting samples of the rainwater from November 2014 to February 2015, the study included examinations and analysis of rain water to see the effect of pollutants on them, Chemical analysis of the samples has been measuring the concentrations of positive ions included (calcium and magnesium), and negative ions (sulfate, nitrate and chloride), as were all of pH and electrical conductivity measurement for each model. The study has shown that the rain water falling on the city of Kirkuk tend to acidic where pH values ranged between (5.09-6.64), the minimum found in Huseran area that fell in the month of December, the upper limit found in the Arafa area fell in the month of November. The measured concentrations of pollutants have been represented on using GIS maps.
NJCC_02 bwerk v1.indd

Mechanical ventilation practice has changed over time; as new insights are provided by scientific research, so traditional modes of ventilation are being revised. In patients with acute lung injury (ALI) mechanical ventilation with lower tidal volumes contributes to patient survival, most likely by preventing ventilator-associated lung injury. In contrast, patients without ALI are still subjected to traditional ventilation modes using higher tidal volumes. Studies on ventilator-associated lung injury in subjects without ALI demonstrate inconsistent results. However, retrospective clinical studies suggest that higher tidal volumes increase the risk of developing lung injury. Moreover, even short-term mechanical ventilation seems to induce a pro-inflammatory response locally in the lungs, which can be limited by the use of lower tidal volumes. Conversely, the use of lower tidal volumes in patients has been associated with minimal adverse events. We propose that regardless of pre-existent lung injury, all patients in need of respiratory support should be ventilated with lower tidal volumes (i.e. 6 mL/kg ideal body weight), thereby preventing ventilator-associated lung injury. Prospective studies in both the operating rooms and intensive care units should be performed to evaluate optimal ventilator management strategies for patients without ALI.
VITAMIN D LEVELS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS DISEASE ACTIVITY

The objective of the present paper was to establish the correlation of vitamin D (VD) with various systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) specific variables. The study comprised 65 SLE patients that prospectively underwent clinical and laboratory (including VD status) evaluation. Our results showed that abnormal VD levels were highly prevalent among SLE patients; low VD levels and VD deficiency are associated with higher disease activity, higher damage and glucocorticoid treatment; VD deficiency was an independent risk factor for flare and high disease activity, while VD supplementation was a protective factor for flare status. Lymphopenia was associated with lower VD levels, VD insufficiency was more prevalent among SLE patients with cutaneous involvement and normal VD levels were more prevalent among SLE patients with neurologic involvement. Abnormal VD levels were not associated with SLE serology markers. In conclusion hypovitaminosis D can be considered a SLE disease manifestation and routine VD testing and supplementation in SLE could be beneficial.
Thermal and Viscous Damping of Propagation Process of Weakly Nonlinear Waves in Bubbly Liquids

This study theoretically examines an weakly nonlinear pressure disturbance in an initially quiescent liquid uniformly containing many spherical microbubbles, especially focusing on an effect of the liquid viscosity and the thermal conductivity on the wave propagation process. The use of method of multiple scales (e.g., Jeffrey & Kawahara, 1982) and of parameter scaling appropriate to a low frequency compared with the eigenfrequency of single bubble oscillations and a long wavelength compared with the bubble radius (Kanagawa et al., 2011) results a systematic derivation of a far field equation (i.e., nonlinear wave equation). The main results are summarized as follows: (i) The Korteweg–de Vries–Burgers equation incorporating the liquid viscosity and thermal conductivity was derived; (ii) The incorporation of energy equation affects the nonlinear, dispersion, and dissipation terms; (iii) The liquid viscosity and the thermal conductivity lead to change considerably the explicit form of coefficient of dissipation term.
Short Chain Fatty Acid Production, Organic Matter Digestibility and Metabolisable Energy Content of Indigenous Browses from Ethiopian Rift Valley

This study was conducted to estimate the organic matter digestibility, metabolisable energy and short chain fatty acid production of indigenous browses from rift valley of Ethiopia using in vitro gas production technique. Leaves of Acacia seyal, Acacia senegal, Acacia tortilis, Prosopis juliflora, Millettia ferruginea, Vernonia amygadalina, Croton macrostachyus and Cordia africana were collected, oven-dried, ground and analyzed for their chemical composition and in vitro gas production characteristics. General linear model procedure of SAS, Version 9.2 was used for statistical analysis. The highest (P<0.05) rate of gas production (c) and potential gas production (a+b) were observed for Acacia seyal and the least were for Cordia Africana. The highest (P<0.05) organic matter digestibility was observed for Acacia seyal and Vernonia amygadalina while the lowest (P<0.05) was for Cordia africana. The highest (P<0.05) metabolisable energy (ME) value was for Acacia senegal, Vernonia amygadalina and Acacia seyal while the lowest (P<0.05) was for Cordia africana. Short chained fatty acid (SCFA) was highest for Acacia seyal and lowest for Cordia africana. Crude protein (CP) was highest (P<0.05) for Acacia senegal and lowest for Acacia seyal. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) contents were highest for Cordia africana and lowest for Acacia seyal. The rate of gas production (c) and potential gas production (a+b) had positive and significant (P<0.001) correlation with CP and negative correlation with fiber (NDF, ADF) and condensed tannin (CT) contents of browses. All browse species studied had high CP contents, sufficient to be considered as high protein forages that can be used as supplements for low quality roughages. The high potential gas production (a+ b), highest metabolisable energy (ME) and SCFA production of Acacia seyal, coupled with its fastest rate of fermentation (c) would make the browse potential supplement of low quality roughages.
DATA DRIVEN SCORE TESTS FOR UNIVARIATE SYMMETRY BASED ON NON-SMOOTH FUNCTIONS

We propose data driven score rank tests for univariate symmetry around a known center based on non-smooth functions. A choice of non-smooth functions is motivated by very special properties of a certain function on [0, 1] determined by a distribution which is responsible for its asymmetry. We modify recently introduced data driven penalty selection rules and apply Schwarz-type penalty as well. We prove basic asymptotic results for the test statistics. In a simulation study we compare the empirical behavior of the new tests with the data driven tests based on the Legendre basis and with the so-called hybrid test. We show good power behavior of the new tests often overcoming their competitors. 2000 AMS Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary: 62G10; Secondary: 65C05, 62G99.