Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treating hypogonadism in younger males

Importance of the field: Hypogonadism in the young and middle-aged male is a well-established clinical entity. The majority of the patients have primary gonadal insufficiency with Klinefelter syndrome a common cause. Secondary hypogonadism in these age groups can be congenital, secondary to medications, or associated with a hypothalamic–pituitary mass or inflammatory lesions. Signs and symptoms in males with hypogonadism can include impaired sexuality, decreased muscle strength, increased body fat, decreased bone mass, impaired mood and mild anemia; in young patients puberty can be delayed. Several new treatment modalities have become available in recent years and a number of future compounds are in development. Areas covered in this review/What the reader will gain: This review explores the treatment options for children, young adult and middle-aged males with hypogonadism related to various etiologies, including currently available and future testosterone formulations and other non-testosterone compounds. The long-term treatment effects, particularly on prostate health, remain unclear and may be particularly relevant for the younger patient initiated on chronic therapy; treatment monitoring and recommended clinical follow-up based on current guidelines are also reviewed. Take home message: Hypogonadism in younger males can be the result of a diversity of etiologies. Treatment options for hypogonadism and induction of puberty have expanded and can be individualized based on patient preference, side effect profile, and a number of other parameters.
Unlocking Neurocognitive Substrates of Late-Life Affective Symptoms Using the Research Domain Criteria: Worry Is an Essential Dimension

While investigations have sought to identify the distinct and shared contributions of anxiety and depression to neurocognitive processes in late life, less is known regarding the further contribution of worry, a unique and critical dimension of affective dysregulation. Capturing the full range of symptoms, as inspired by the NIH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), may provide finer-grained information on inter-relationships among worry, anxiety and depression on neurocognitive processing in later life. The objective of this study was to determine if the dimensional trait of worry intensifies known negative associations of dimensional measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms with neurocognitive processes, specifically cognitive control and memory processes. Using a cross-sectional and observational design, this study was conducted within a translational research center located with a Veterans medical center in Northern California. One hundred and nineteen community-residing older adults ages 65–91 years participated, and were characterized with psychiatric and neurocognitive dimensional measures. Affective symptom severity was assessed with the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Primary neurocognitive outcomes were inhibitory control assessed using a Stroop paradigm and delayed verbal memory assessed with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Secondary outcomes included other less frequently examined cognitive control mechanisms (working memory, information processing, and verbal fluency) and memory processes (visual delayed memory). Contrary to prediction, the dimensional trait of worry attenuated negative associations between anxiety and depressive symptoms and inhibitory control on the one hand, and between depressive symptoms and delayed verbal memory processes on the other. In the secondary models, symptom dimensions were not associated with other cognitive control or visual delayed memory processes. Our fine-grained approach, in line with the NIMH RDoC model, suggests the neurocognitive processes associated with dimensional measures of late-life affective symptoms are dissociable. Specifically, dimensional measures of worry operate independently from other anxiety and depression symptoms to reveal differential patterns of neurocognitive processes associated with affective dysregulation.
Repair of cerebrospinal fluid fistula following transoral transclival approach to a basilar aneurysm. Technical note.

✓ A technique for closure of a cerebrospinal fluid fistula following a transoral transclival approach to a basilar aneurysm is described. Transposition of a rotation flap of the mucosa of the septum and the floor of the posterior nasal cavity in the choana resulted in complete closure of the thin and fragile nasopharynx without tension at the suture site.
TLR2 Recognizes a Bacterial Lipopeptide through Direct Binding1

The TLRs play an important role in the initiation of cellular innate immune responses to a wide range of bacterial products, including LPS and lipoproteins. Although rapid progress has been made on signaling functions of activated TLRs, the molecular mechanisms that lead to TLR activation are still poorly understood. We report in this study that the extracellular domain of TLR2 interacts directly with synthetic bacterial lipopeptide (sBLP), a potent analog of bacterial lipoproteins. Using fluorescently labeled sBLP complexed to soluble recombinant CD14 (rsCD14), we observed specific binding of sBLP to the surface of cells expressing TLR2 transgenes and to a recombinant soluble form of the TLR2 ectodomain. TLR2-mediated binding of sBLP at the cell surface did not require prior induction of intracellular signals. In addition, using a chimeric TLR2/TLR4 construct, we showed that the leucine-rich region of TLR2 carries the specificity for binding of the agonist and for initiating signaling. Specific binding of fluorescent sBLP to purified sTLR2 required sCD14. However, sCD14 was not part of the complex formed by soluble TLR2 and sBLP. Together, these data provide evidence that TLR2 recognizes sBLP through direct binding.
A Comprehensive Characterization Method for Lateral Profiling of Interface Traps and Trapped Charges in P-SONOS Cell Devices

A comprehensive characterization method has been developed in this paper for reliable lateral profiling of the interface traps (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ it}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), localized charges (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ ot}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), and trapped holes (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ hole}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) in P-SONOS cell devices. Charge pumping current (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm I_{\mathrm{ CP}}} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>) measurement can be used to probe <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ it}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ ot}}} $ </tex-math></inline-formula> from the increase of maximum <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm I_{\mathrm{ CP}}\;({\mathrm{ I}}_{\rm CP,{\mathrm{ max}}} )}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and the shift of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm I_{\mathrm{ CP}}} $ </tex-math></inline-formula> curve along the base level voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm V_{\mathrm{ b}}} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>). When increasing the program and erase (P/E) cycles, the negative threshold voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm V_{\mathrm{ T}}} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>) shift at both program and erase states suggests the generation of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ hole}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The evolution of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ it}}} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ ot}}} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ hole}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> during P/E cycling can consistently explain the nonmonotonic variations of gate induced drain leakage current (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm I_{\mathrm{ GIDL}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) and substrate current (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm I_{\mathrm{ SUB}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) as well as dramatic differences between the source and drain. The lateral migration of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta {\mathrm{ N}}_{\mathrm{ ot}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> caused by extending P/E cycles may lead to the failure of two-bit operation in SONOS cell devices. The larger <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\rm V_{\mathrm{ T}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> shift and subthreshold swing, smaller read current, and lower transconductance may degrade the endurance and retention of P-SONOS when applied in Flash memory.
Synthesis of novel nitrogen-doped carbon dots for highly selective detection of iron ion

Herein, we report an eco-friendly and simple fluorescent nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot (N-CQD) biosensor which was synthesized via a hydrothermal method using erhanediamine (EDA) and citric acid (CA) as precursors. The surface functionalization of N-CQDs exhibited a bright blue emission under the excitation wavelength of 350 nm. The obtained N-CQDs were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the surface of the CQDs was successfully functionalized. After that, as-prepared N-CQDs were further applied in Fe(III) detection. Spectroscopic data indicated that fluorescent carbon-based nanomaterials displayed a sensitive response to Fe3+ in the range of 0.5–1000 μM as a fluorescence sensor in real environmental samples. Furthermore, the results also showed that a novel N-CQD nanomaterial could be employed as an ideal fluorescent Fe(III) probe.
Systemic Therapy in Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (CSCC): The Roswell Park Experience and a Review of the Literature

Objectives:Treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (mCSCC) is suboptimal with a paucity of robust data on systemic therapy. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and outcomes of patients with locally advanced unresectable or mCSCC treated with systemic therapy. Methods:Records of patients with CSCC treated with systemic therapy from January 2001 to January 2011 were reviewed. Response was assessed using WHO criteria. Descriptive results were assessed using Wilcoxon rank-sum test for ordinal responses and Pearson &khgr;2 test for categorical responses. Survival was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results:Of 28 patients identified, 25 patients (M:F=18:7), median age 66 years (range, 39 to 85 y), had the required data for final analysis. Partial response was 44% and stable disease (SD) was 24%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 5.5 months (2.3, 13.2) and 10.9 months (5.3, 21.3) respectively; 3-year OS was 22%. Patients with WHO response had improved PFS (20.8 mo; 4.4, NR) and OS (37.5 mo; 10.3, NR) compared with patients with SD/PD (PFS 2.7 mo; OS 5.9 mo). Use of platinum-based therapy significantly improved PFS and OS, whereas taxanes and cetuximab had no impact in this small cohort. There was no difference in PFS or OS with multiagent versus single-agent therapy. Conclusions:Platinum-based therapy remains as one of the standard options in advanced CSCC management. Agents to improve response rates are needed and future trials should address the use of novel targeted and new chemotherapy combinations in CSCC.
Use of student performance data of state-wide comparison tests and centralized examinations for instructional improvement in Brandenburg

Ergebnisse von Vergleichsarbeiten (VERA) und zentralen Abschlussprufungen bieten eine bedeutsame Datengrundlage zur Unterrichtsentwicklung. Innerhalb der Schule stellt die Fachkonferenz eine Schlusselrolle zur Verarbeitung der Ergebnisse und zur Einleitung von Entwicklungsmasnahmen dar. In diesem Beitrag wird deshalb am Beispiel des Bundeslandes Brandenburgs untersucht, inwieweit Ergebnisse von VERA und den Prufungen zum Mittleren Schulabschluss (MSA) in Fachkonferenzen ( N = 98) fur Unterrichtsentwicklung genutzt werden, ob es Unterschiede in der Einschatzung und Nutzung der beiden Testsysteme gibt, ob beide Datenquellen gemeinsam verwendet werden und welche Faktoren (Einstellungen und Organisationsmerkmale) die Nutzung der Ergebnisse vorhersagen. VERA- und MSA-Ergebnisse werden in der Mehrzahl der Fachkonferenzen fur die Weiterentwicklung von Aufgaben verwendet. Die Initiierung datengestutzter Unterrichtsentwicklung erfolgt am haufigsten auf Basis beider Datenquellen gemeinsam. Dennoch zeigt sich, dass MSA-Ergebnisse im Vergleich zu VERA haufiger Ausgangspunkt fur Entwicklungsaktivitaten sind und der MSA als Datengrundlage z. B. nutzlicher wahrgenommen wird. Bedeutsame Pradiktoren fur die Nutzung der VERA-Ergebnisse sind die eingeschatzte Nutzlichkeit und die Ausrichtung des Curriculums an den Bildungsstandards, wohingegen die MSA Nutzung primar mit dem Ausmas kollegialer Unterrichtsentwicklung zusammenhangt.
The determinants of internet financial reporting in Jordan: financial versus corporate governance

The internet has become widely used as a channel to disseminate financial information by Jordanian listed companies in response to the cross-listing agreement among the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM). This study aimed to investigate the determinants of internet financial reporting (IFR). The results should help policy makers and regulators in building a framework for mandating IFR. An IFR index was developed to measure the level of each firm's information content and format disclosures. IFR determinants were divided into financial characteristics and corporate governance mechanisms. The analysis determined that firms that are larger, profitable, and more leveraged, with a separation between chairperson and CEO positions, with larger board size numbers, and with fewer independent non-executive directors are more likely to engage in IFR. By extending the analysis using OLS and 2SLS regression, the findings suggest that IFR was predicted using size, liquidity, leverage, market-to-book ratio, chairperson/CEO separation, independent non-executive directors, board size, and shareholder number. Corporate governance mechanisms can predict IFR and its components, content and format more accurately than firms' financial characteristics.
A Hybrid Knowledge and Model Approach for Reviewer Assignment

In R&D project selection, experts (or external reviewers) always play a very important role because their opinions will have great influence on the outcome of the project selection. It is also undoubted that experts with high expertise level will make useful and professional judgments on the projects to be selected. So, how to assign the most appropriate experts to the relevant proposals is a very significant issue. This paper presents a hybrid knowledge and model approach which integrates mathematical decision models with knowledge rules, for the assignment of experts to review of R&D project proposals. The approach can be applied to government funding agencies in China and other countries
Scintillation Proximity Assay

Scintillation proximity assay technologies provide a rapid non‐separation method to measure common biological interactions using radioactively tagged molecules. This unit identifies potential uses of the technology for the measurement of receptor‐ligand binding, cAMP accumulation, GTP binding to heterotrimeric G proteins, protease activity and cellular uptake.
Reinterpreting Arbitration's Narcotic Effect: An Experimental Study of Learning in Repeated Bargaining

Field evidence suggests that arbitration increases negotiation dispute rates. We study repeated bargaining in a laboratory to understand the reasons why. Our results represent a reinterpretation of an explanation known as the narcotic effect. The standard interpretation assumes that the probability of dispute without arbitration is constant across negotiations, but field evidence suggests that experienced bargainers have fewer disputes. To properly assess arbitration's impact, we compare bargainer learning with and without arbitration, under otherwise comparable laboratory conditions, and develop a model to measure learning. We find strong evidence that learning occurs in both cases, but is slower with arbitration.
Direct binding between BubR1 and B56–PP2A phosphatase complexes regulate mitotic progression

Summary BubR1 is a central component of the spindle assembly checkpoint that inhibits progression into anaphase in response to improper kinetochore–microtubule interactions. In addition, BubR1 also helps stabilize kinetochore–microtubule interactions by counteracting the Aurora B kinase but the mechanism behind this is not clear. Here we show that BubR1 directly binds to the B56 family of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) regulatory subunits through a conserved motif that is phosphorylated by cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1) and polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1). Two highly conserved hydrophobic residues surrounding the serine 670 Cdk1 phosphorylation site are required for B56 binding. Mutation of these residues prevents the establishment of a proper metaphase plate and delays cells in mitosis. Furthermore, we show that phosphorylation of serines 670 and 676 stimulates the binding of B56 to BubR1 and that BubR1 targets a pool of B56 to kinetochores. Our data suggest that BubR1 counteracts Aurora B kinase activity at improperly attached kinetochores by recruiting B56–PP2A phosphatase complexes.
Dynamic social network analysis: A novel approach using agent‐based model, author‐topic model, and pretopology

We propose in this work a novel approach for dynamic social network analysis by combining an agent‐based model, an author‐topic model, and pretopology. We first introduce an analytical model for a dynamic social network associated with textual content using agent‐based and author‐topic models, namely, Textual‐ABM. The purpose of Textual‐ABM is to support for the concept exploitation of the “dynamics” of a social network, which contains not only network's structure transformation but also agent's interest variation over time. Agent's interest is revealed through topic probability distribution, which is estimated based on textual data using an author‐topic model. In addition to demonstrating the fluctuation of the social network related to textual content, we also exploit information propagation phenomena by proposing two expanded spreading models. The first model is an expanded model of an independent cascade model in which probability of infection is formed on homophily, namely H‐IC. We have implemented experiments on a collected dataset from the Neural Information Processing Systems Conference and have acquired satisfying results. Furthermore, we propose an extended model of pretopological cascade model from our previous work, namely, Textual‐PCM. The advantage of PCM comparison with classical cascade model is to utilize pseudoclosure function built from pretopology to define the more complex set of neighborhoods. In this work, we expand PCM to apply detail for a social network related to textual information. A toy example with some experiments and discussion is illustrated for Textual‐PCM. The work in this paper is an extended version of our paper dynamic social network analysis using author‐topic model presented in I4CS 2018 Conference.
The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders: Treatment of Comorbid Psychopathology Accompanying a Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Abstract Introduction: Comorbidity among the generalized anxiety disorder is common and may negatively impact treatment outcomes. This study aimed to examine whether the Unified Protocol (UP), a transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy for emotional disorders (i.e., anxiety, mood, and related disorders), is efficacious in the treatment of co-occurring disorders and symptoms Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Method: The research method is semi-empirical pretest-posttest and follow-up plan with a control group. In this randomized clinical trial, 24 GAD patients with comorbid disorders and symptoms of depression, social anxiety and health anxiety have been treated with pharmacotherapy treatment-as-usual or pharmacotherapy treatment-as-usual with 12 sessions of transdiagnostic therapy. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Social Anxiety Inventory (SIAS) and the Short Form of Health Anxiety (SHAI) were used for assessing comorbidities in pre-test, post-test and 2-month follow-up. Data analysis were done using the SPSS V20. Results: Significant differences were observed between the two groups. In the treatment group for pharmacotherapy treatment-as-usual and UP, GAD Patients, showed a significant decrease in the comorbid disorders and symptoms of depression, social anxiety and health anxiety compared to the pharmacotherapy treatment-as-usual. Conclusion: The findings of this study validated the effectiveness of the UP in decreasing comorbid disorders and symptoms of the generalized anxiety disorder. This protocol has a high clinical value in treating emotional disorders and other related disorders.
A comprehensive approach to clustering of expressed human gene sequence: the sequence tag alignment and consensus knowledge base.

The expressed human genome is being sequenced and analyzed by disparate groups producing disparate data. The majority of the identified coding portion is in the form of expressed sequence tags (ESTs). The need to discover exonic representation and expression forms of full-length cDNAs for each human gene is frustrated by the partial and variable quality nature of this data delivery. A highly redundant human EST data set has been processed into integrated and unified expressed transcript indices that consist of hierarchically organized human transcript consensi reflecting gene expression forms and genetic polymorphism within an index class. The expression index and its intermediate outputs include cleaned transcript sequence, expression, and alignment information and a higher fidelity subset, SANIGENE. The STACK_PACK clustering system has been applied to dbEST release 121598 (GenBank version 110). Sixty-four percent of 1,313, 103 Homo sapiens ESTs are condensed into 143,885 tissue level multiple sequence clusters; linking through clone-ID annotations produces 68,701 total assemblies, such that 81% of the original input set is captured in a STACK multiple sequence or linked cluster. Indexing of alignments by substituent EST accession allows browsing of the data structure and its cross-links to UniGene. STACK metaclusters consolidate a greater number of ESTs by a factor of 1. 86 with respect to the corresponding UniGene build. Fidelity comparison with genome reference sequence AC004106 demonstrates consensus expression clusters that reflect significantly lower spurious repeat sequence content and capture alternate splicing within a whole body index cluster and three STACK v.2. 3 tissue-level clusters. Statistics of a staggered release whole body index build of STACK v.2. 0 are presented.