Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of PDGF and its receptor as well as their relationship to proliferating activity and apoptosis of meningiomas in human meningiomas

In this study, we detected the expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and its receptor in 61 human meningiomas by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation. The results showed that almost all the 61 meningiomas expressed PDGFBB and PDGF beta receptor and the positive rate of PDGFAA was 49%. Only two meningiomas expressed PDGF alpha receptor. The positive rate and the immunostaining intensity of PDGFBB and PDGF beta receptor were higher in atypical meningiomas than in benign types. There was no significant difference between the different types of benign meningiomas. The expression of PDGFB chain mRNA was coincident with that of PDGFB chain protein. There was no correlation between the expression of PDGFAA and the types or grades of meningiomas. The correlation between overexpression of PDGFBB/R beta and tumour grade provides a useful parameter in evaluating the prognosis of patients with meningiomas. The proliferative activity of meningiomas was evaluated by the proliferating cell nuclear antigen labelling index (PCNA LI). In the 61 meningiomas, the average PCNA LI (%) was 1.8+/-1.3, 1.9+/-1.3, 1.7+/-0.8 and 11.6+/-5.3 (in fibrous, meningothelial, transitional and atypical meningiomas, respectively). Statistic analysis shows that the PCNA LI is higher in atypical meningiomas than that in benign types, and there was no significant difference between the different types of benign meningiomas. The expression of PDGFBB and PDGF beta receptor was significant enhanced in ascending order from low PCNA LI meningiomas to high ones. This result suggested that PDGFBB/R beta autocrine loop may stimulate the growth of meningiomas. In this study, we also detected the cell apoptosis of meningiomas by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) method. The average apoptosis labelling index (%) was 0.11+/-0.05, 0.08+/-0.04, 0.09+/-0.03 and 0.35+/-0.15 in fibrous, meningothelial, transitional and atypical meningiomas respectively. The apoptosis labelling index was higher in atypical meningiomas than that in benign types. There was a positive correlation between the apoptosis labelling index and PC NA LI of meningioma. When the positive rate of PDGFBB and/or PDGF beta receptor was higher in meningioma, the apoptotic cells was also increased. In conclusion, the overexpression of PDGFBB and its relevant receptor PDGFR beta in meningiomas was correlated with grade of meningiomas and the proliferative activity of meningiomas; PDGFBB/R beta autocrine loop may play an critical role in the pathogenesis of meningiomas.
Optimisation of Antenna Arrays for Communication in Tunnels

This paper describes theoretical MIMO performances in tunnels, in terms of ergodic capacity. Frequencies of 2 GHz and 5 GHz are considered. The spread of the direction of arrival of the rays and the correlation distance are calculated versus the distance between the transmitter and the receiver. Then, for MIMO systems, the influence of the number of array elements but by keeping constant the total length of the array, is studied.
Supplementary Material for Unsupervised Domain Generalization by Learning a Bridge Across Domains

Additional comparison of typical examples of BrAD variants generated by Canny [2], pretrained HED [4], and our ‘learned BrAD’ are shown in Figures 2 and 3. The images are taken from PACS dataset [3]. Figure 2 presents images from the domains Real and Art, while Figure 3 presents images from Sketch and Cartoon. As can be seen, both ‘learned BrAD’ and ‘HED BrAD’ variants discard the background noise, but unlike HED, ‘learned BrAD’ learns to retain semantic details of shape and texture. These retained details are intuitively highly useful for making the representations, learned using the ‘learned BrAD’ as the bridge domain Ω, effective for the downstream tasks such as UDG or FUDA.
Analysis of the Adherence of Dental Pulp Stem Cells on Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Silk Fibroin-Based Biomaterials

Abstract Among various biomaterials used as scaffolds in tissue engineering, silk fibroin is a highly attractive material. A scaffold should be biocompatible and nontoxic, with optimal physical features and mechanical properties. For this reason, tissue-engineering approaches in regenerative medicine have focused on investigating the biocompatibility of possible biomaterials by analyzing cell–scaffold interaction properties. The aim of the present study was to examine the biocompatibility of silk fibroin as a film (two-dimensional [2D]) and a scaffold (three-dimensional [3D]) after being cellularized with human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). Human dental pulp stem cells were isolated from healthy patients aged between 18 and 31 years. Further, silk fibroin-based 2D films and 3D scaffolds were prepared. Human dental pulp stem cells were directly seeded onto the biomaterial surfaces and their proliferation, adherence, and cell morphology were analyzed after 24, 120, and 168 hours. Additionally, the characteristics of the silk fibroin 2D films and 3D scaffolds before and after cell seeding were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. After the initial 24 hours, silk fibroin-based 3D scaffolds displayed more adhered cells with a suitable fibroblastic morphology than those displayed on the 2D films. After longer culture times, hDPSCs proliferated sufficiently to cover the entire surface of the 3D silk fibroin scaffold, whereas the 2D films were only partially covered. Our results indicate the good in vitro biocompatibility of silk fibroin-based biomaterials, especially when 3D scaffolds rather than 2D films are used.
Separated Contrastive Learning for Organ-at-Risk and Gross-Tumor-Volume Segmentation with Limited Annotation

Automatic delineation of organ-at-risk (OAR) and gross-tumor-volume (GTV) is of great significance for radiotherapy planning. However, it is a challenging task to learn powerful representations for accurate delineation under limited pixel (voxel)-wise annotations. Contrastive learning at pixel-level can alleviate the dependency on annotations by learning dense representations from unlabeled data. Recent studies in this direction design various contrastive losses on the feature maps, to yield discriminative features for each pixel in the map. However, pixels in the same map inevitably share semantics to be closer than they actually are, which may affect the discrimination of pixels in the same map and lead to the unfair comparison to pixels in other maps. To address these issues, we propose a separated region-level contrastive learning scheme, namely SepaReg, the core of which is to separate each image into regions and encode each region separately. Specifically, SepaReg comprises two components: a structure-aware image separation (SIS) module and an intra- and inter-organ distillation (IID) module. The SIS is proposed to operate on the image set to rebuild a region set under the guidance of structural information. The inter-organ representation will be learned from this set via typical contrastive losses cross regions. On the other hand, the IID is proposed to tackle the quantity imbalance in the region set as tiny organs may produce fewer regions, by exploiting intra-organ representations. We conducted extensive experiments to evaluate the proposed model on a public dataset and two private datasets. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model, consistently achieving better performance than state-of-the-art approaches. Code is available at https://github.com/jcwang123/Separate_CL.
Design of quasi-orthogonal space-time block codes for cooperative wireless relay networks over frequency selective fading channels

This paper proposes a distributed quasi-orthogonal space-time block code (DQOSTBC) over frequency selective fading channels for amplify-and-forward cooperative wireless relay networks. The proposed DQOSTBC is designed to achieve maximal data rate, spatial diversity gain and full decoupling for a relay network with four active relays. These goals are obtained by precoding the received signals at each relay to form the quasi-orthogonal space-time block codes (QOSTBCs) as developed for multiple-input multiple-output systems. To avoid the intersymbol interference caused by the dispersive nature of frequency selective fading, the frequency domain equalizer is exploited in our design for low-complexity receiver. In addition, the simulation results prove that our design provides 4dB improvement in terms of bit error rate as a benefit of applying the QOSTBC to cooperative networks.
Intravitreal chemotherapy for vitreous disease in retinoblastoma revisited: from prohibition to conditional indications

Background Tumour control of vitreous seeds remains challenging owing to their resistance to radiation and systemic chemotherapy. Objective To describe the short-term efficacy of intravitreal melphalan for vitreous disease in retinoblastoma using a new injection technique and dose. Methods This study is a retrospective non-comparative review of 23 consecutive heavily pretreated patients (23 eyes) with active vitreous seeding and eligible for intravitreous chemotherapy (IViC). They received a total of 122 intravitreal injections of melphalan (20–30 μg) given every 7–10 days. The ocular status was objectively monitored under anaesthesia with fundus photography. Results All patients are alive without evidence of extraocular spread (95% CI 82.19% to 100%). Concomitant treatments, including other chemotherapeutic modalities, were used until complete sterilisation of the retinal seeding source and subretinal seeds. Globe retention was achieved in 87% (20/23) of cases. All retained eyes were in complete remission after a median follow-up period of 22 months (range 9–31 months). The Kaplan–Meier estimate of ocular survival rates at 2 years was 84.14% (95% CI 62.48% to 95.28%). A localised peripheral salt-and-pepper retinopathy was noted in 10 eyes (43%) at the site of injection. Conclusions This study reports the first clinically documented case series of patients with retinoblastoma treated with IViC. Despite a possible confounding effect of concomitant chemotherapy prescription using other routes of administration in four of the successfully treated eyes (20%), IViC achieved an unprecedented success rate of tumour control in the presence of vitreous seeding. Of note, none of the treated eyes required external beam irradiation to control the vitreous seeding. Further studies are required to assess IViC retinal toxicity and to better delineate its role in the management of retinoblastoma.
The social legitimacy of disability inclusive human resource practices: the case of a large retail organisation

Research in the field of HRM has begun to examine organisational responses to social policies around welfare-to-work programs. However, relatively little research has examined how organisations respond to the increased demand from people with disability for employment opportunities. The current study addressed this knowledge gap by exploring how a large Australian retail organisation legitimises disability employment practices against the background of the institutional context of disability employment. The findings revealed that the organisation seeks social legitimacy for disability employment practices primarily based on social expectations and to a lesser extent, from government funded disability employment agencies. The study makes three important contributions to the SHRM literature. It provides empirical evidence of how SHRM responds to welfare-to-work programs, informs the development of social policy relevant to disability employment and adopts the notion of institutional fit as a way of explaining how government incentives influence HRM diversity strategies.
Dans la « boîte noire » de la démarche d’analyse conjointe des données : les processus de collaboration entre les acteurs d’une recherche-action-formation

Cet article porte sur l’experience vecue lors d’une recherche-action-formation menee en collaboration avec une equipe-ecole d’un etablissement d’enseignement primaire. La nature collaborative de la recherche-action-formation requiert que l’analyse des donnees soit realisee conjointement avec les membres de l’equipe-ecole, ouvrant necessairement la porte a des interactions basees sur la recherche d’une comprehension mutuelle, puis sur la negociation du sens donne aux experiences vecues. Comment s’est deroulee cette rencontre entre les differents acteurs et s’est creee cette zone de partage permettant la production de savoirs qui ont du sens pour tous? De quelle maniere l’equipe de recherche et l’equipe-ecole se sont-ils transformes au contact l’un de l’autre? Les notes des rencontres de l’equipe de recherche, des extraits de journaux de bord et de resumes de rencontres collectives avec l’equipe-ecole donneront acces a la boite noire de la demarche d’analyse propre a ce projet.
Adoption of Knowledge Management Systems: A Study on How Wiki Systems Should Be Adopted by Minimizing the Risk of Failure

“Knowledge is power”. Knowledge is an important asset for any organization. Many organization are now considering knowledge as an intellectual property. Thus the emergence of organizational knowledge management technologies are observed especially in the twenty-first century. Many companies are seen investing heavily in developing or purchasing knowledge management systems (KMS). Among all the systems of knowledge management, wiki is one of the most popular system, which is easy to use, cost effective and required low maintenance. Hence hundreds of companies are currently using wiki as the central repository system. Unfortunately several researchers have identified that the technology adoption is sometimes very risky as the failure rate is very high, which may often cause huge financial losses if it fails to address the problem. In response to those researches, this study is done to know how wiki system should be adopted by overcoming the risk of failure. In order to meet the purpose of this study two success stories of wiki adoption by NBC universal and Peacock production were analyzed. The result shows that, in order to minimize the risk of failure to adopt a KM system, a company needs to choose the system based on functional, non-functional and transitional requirements for the system, as well as organizational strength and capacities. A particular KM system should be chosen, only if the system can meet all the requirements of KM processes. The organizational structure and the system functionality should be matched before adopting the system. The result also suggests, if the users of the system are collaborative, have the will to share the valuable knowledge and motivated enough to use and apply the knowledge gained from the knowledge management system like wiki in day to day operations, the success rate of KMS adoption and implementation increases. Due to the limitation of time only two success case stories were evaluated and since this is not an empirical study additional care should be taken in generalizing the research findings. Keywords: Knowledge Management (KM), Knowledge Management Systems (KMS), KM processes, KOPE Framework, functional, non-functional and transitional requirements.
Interictal cortical hyperresponsiveness in migraine is directly related to the presence of aura

Objective The objective of this study was to compare the interictal cortical response to a visual stimulus between migraine with aura (MWA), migraine without aura (MwoA), and control subjects. Methods In a prospective case-control study, blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) was used to assess the response to a visual stimulus and arterial spin labeled perfusion MR to determine resting cerebral blood flow. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess interictal visual discomfort. Results Seventy-five subjects (25 MWA, 25 MwoA, and 25 controls) were studied. BOLD fMRI response to visual stimulation within primary visual cortex was greater in MWA (3.09 ± 0.15%) compared to MwoA (2.36 ± 0.13%, p = 0.0008) and control subjects (2.47 ± 0.11%, p = 0.002); responses were also greater in the lateral geniculate nuclei in MWA. No difference was found between MwoA and control groups. Whole brain analysis showed that increased activation in MWA was confined to the occipital pole. Regional resting cerebral blood flow did not differ between groups. MWA and MwoA subjects had significantly greater levels of interictal visual discomfort compared to controls (p = 0.008 and p = 0.005, respectively), but this did not correlate with BOLD response. Conclusions Despite similar interictal symptoms of visual discomfort, only MWA subjects have cortical hyperresponsiveness to visual stimulus, suggesting a direct connection between cortical hyperresponsiveness and aura itself.
Control of osteopontin signaling and function by post‐translational phosphorylation and protein folding

Osteopontin (OPN) plays roles in a variety of cellular processes from bone resorption and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling to immune cell activation and inhibition of apoptosis. Because it binds receptors (integrins, CD44 variants) typically engaged by ECM molecules, OPN acts as a “soluble” ECM molecule. A persistent theme throughout the characterization of how OPN functions has been the importance of phosphorylation. The source of the OPN used in specific experiments and the location of modified sites is an increasingly important consideration for OPN research. We review briefly some of the ways OPN impacts on the biology of mammalian systems with an emphasis on the importance of serine phosphorylation in modulating its signaling ability. We describe experiments that support the hypothesis that differences in the post‐translational phosphorylation of OPN expressed by different cell types regulate how it impacts on target cells. Analyses of OPN's potential secondary structure reveal a possible beta‐sheet conformation that offers an interpretation of certain experimental observations, specifically the effect of thrombin cleavage; it is consistent with an interaction between the C‐terminal region of the protein and the central integrin‐binding RGD sequence. J. Cell. Biochem. 102: 912–924, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Oncogenic Neu/ErbB-2 Increases Ets, AP-1, and NF-B-dependent Gene Expression, and Inhibiting Ets Activation Blocks Neu-mediated Cellular Transformation (*)

Overexpression of Neu (ErbB-2/HER2) is found in 20% of breast tumors. Activation of Neu by a point mutation (Neu) causes constitutive tyrosine kinase activity of this transmembrane receptor and transforming activity in fibroblasts. To identify downstream targets of Neu, we have analyzed the ability of Neu to activate gene expression. Expression of Neu, but not normal Neu, caused transcriptional activation of Ets, AP-1, or NF-κB-dependent reporter genes. Dominant inhibitory Ras or Raf mutants blocked the Neu-mediated transcriptional activation, confirming that Ras signaling pathways were required for this activation. Analysis with Ets2 mutants indicated that activation of Ets2 transcriptional activity mediated by Neu or oncogenic Ras required phosphorylation of the same Ets2 residue, threonine 72. Cotransfection of dominant inhibitory Ets2 mutants specifically blocked Neu-mediated activation of Ets-dependent reporter genes. Furthermore, in focus formation assays using NIH 3T3 cells, the transforming activity of Neu was inhibited 5-fold when Neu was cotransfected with a dominant negative Ets2 mutant. However, parallel colony formation assays showed that the Ets2 dominant negative mutant did not inhibit the growth of normal cells. Together, these data show that Neu activates a variety of transcription factor families via the Ras signaling pathway and that Ets activation is required for Neu-mediated cellular transformation. Thus, downstream targets of Neu, including Ets transcription factors, may be useful points for therapeutic intervention in Neu/ErbB-2-associated cancers.
Large-scale joint topic, sentiment & user preference analysis for online reviews

This paper presents a non-trivial reconstruction of a previous joint topic-sentiment-preference review model TSPRA with stick-breaking representation under the framework of variational inference (VI) and stochastic variational inference (SVI). TSPRA is a Gibbs Sampling based model that solves topics, word sentiments and user preferences altogether and has been shown to achieve good performance, but for large dataset it can only learn from a relatively small sample. We develop the variational models vTSPRA and svTSPRA to improve the time use, and our new approach is capable of processing millions of reviews. We rebuild the generative process, improve the rating regression, solve and present the coordinate-ascent updates of variational parameters, and show the time complexity of each iteration is theoretically linear to the corpus size, and the experiments on Amazon datasets show it converges faster than TSPRA and attains better results given the same amount of time. In addition, we tune svTSPRA into an online algorithm ovTSPRA that can monitor oscillations of sentiment and preference overtime. Some interesting fluctuations are captured and possible explanations are provided. The results give strong visual evidence that user preference is better treated as an independent factor from sentiment.
Near-Field Scanning Microwave Microscopy: An Emerging Research Tool for Nanoscale Metrology

On 29 December 1959 at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society, Richard Feynman gave a lecture at the California Institute of Technology titled "There Is Plenty of Room at the Bottom: An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics. " This memorable lecture has since become very famous as it predicted and envisioned the current era of nanoscience and nanotechnology. The atomic level represents a totally new world of fresh opportunities for design and engineering due to the new physics available at such a small scale. Feynman mentions this in his lecture, "Atoms on a small scale behave like nothing on a large scale, for they satisfy the laws of quantum mechanics" [1]. This new physics allows the manipulation of matter atom by atom. As Feynman further states, "The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big" [1]. Feynman was right, and quantum mechanics continues to play a crucial role in miniaturization of technology. But advances in nanotechnology are not based purely on knowledge of the theory. Today we are realizing that all this "plenty of room at the bottom" has brought a great need for complex and ingenious metrology tools that accompany our knowledge of quantum mechanics. These metrology tools are necessary for atomic-scale manipulation as well as the characterization of each atom and its interaction with the environment. Feynman's lecture envisioned the need for significantly improved metrology tools. For example, he discussed improving the electron microscope by 100-fold. Today, in addition to the scanning electron microscope (SEM), we have the atomic force microscope (AFM), the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), and the near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM), among many other metrology tools used for the advancement of nanotechnology [2]-[4], which Feynman did not foresee. These metrology tools also function as a platform for engineering novel atomic- and molecular-scale devices. This means performing logical operations with a single atom or molecule, manipulation of DNA molecules for information storage, or putting together nanomachines [2]-[4].