Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tea drinking and risk of pancreatic cancer

Background Epidemiologic studies have reported inconsistent results regarding tea consumption and the risk of pancreatic cancer. This study aimed to investigate whether tea consumption is related to the risk of pancreatic cancer. Methods We searched Medline, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and the Cochrane library for studies published up to November 2013. We used a meta‐analytic approach to estimate overall odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the highest versus the lowest tea consumption categories. Results The summary OR for high versus no/almost never tea drinkers was 1.04 (95% CI: 0.91–1.20), with no significant heterogeneity across studies (P=0.751; I2=0.0%). The OR was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.77–1.28) in males and 1.01 (95% CI: 0.79–1.29) in females. The OR was 1.07 (95% CI: 0.85–1.34) in Asian studies, 1.05 (95% CI: 0.84–1.31) in European studies, and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.72–1.34) in the US studies. The OR was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.69–1.10) without adjustment for a history of diabetes and 1.16 (95% CI: 0.97–0.39) after adjustment for a history of diabetes. The OR was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.72–1.12) without adjustment for alcohol drinking and 1.16 (95% CI: 0.96–1.39) after adjustment for alcohol drinking. The OR was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.76–1.25) without adjustment for BMI and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.87–1.31) after adjustment for BMI. Conclusion This systematic meta‐analysis of cohort studies dose not provide quantitative evidence that tea consumption is appreciably related to the risk of pancreatic cancer, even at high doses.
Efficient algorithm for path-based range query in spatial databases

We study the path-based range query (PRQ) for 2-dimensional spatial database defined as follows: given a sequence of query points, P = {p/sub 1/, p/sub 2/,. , p/sub n/}, and a search distance d, we want to report all points in the spatial database that are within a distance d of some point p/sub i/ in P. This query arises from traveler information systems where it is often a feature to report events that lie nearby a planned route. The simple method of performing repeated range query (RRQ), i.e. the standard range query for each query point p/sub i/ (1 /spl les/ i /spl les/ n) and combining the results is inefficient as it involves multiple searches on the database. We present an algorithm for the PRQ that uses only one pass of the R-tree while simultaneously process all the points in the query path P. We generalize pruning rules for the standard range query and also present new ones for efficient processing of PRQ. Extensive experiments on the PRQ and RRQ using various different datasets (real and randomly-generated), different R-tree variants (including bulk-loaded ones), over different query paths P, and search distances d. Experiments show that the algorithm for PRQ outperforms RRQ significantly and that this is consistent across the various problem parameters studied. Recently, we have also compared this basic PRQ algorithm with more refined techniques for the PRQ such as the sorted-path algorithm and the rectangle intersection method. Our simple algorithm performs well in comparison to these more sophisticated methods.
Metal Ion Implantation for the Fabrication of Stretchable Electrodes on Elastomers

Here, the use of low‐energy metal ion implantation by filtered cathodic vacuum arc to create highly deformable electrodes on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes is reported. Implantation leads to the creation of nanometer‐size clusters in the first 50 nm below the surface. When the elastomer is stretched, these small clusters can move relative to one another, maintaining electrical conduction at strains of up to 175%. Sheet resistance versus ion dose, resistance versus strain, time stability of the resistance, and the impact of implantation on the elastomer's Young's modulus are investigated for gold, palladium, and titanium implantations. Of the three tested metals, gold has the best performance, combining low and stable surface resistance, very high strain capabilities before loss of electrical conduction, and low impact on the Young's modulus of the PDMS membrane. These electrodes are cyclically strained to 30% for more than 105 cycles and remain conductive. In contrast, sputtered or evaporate metals films cease to conduct at strains of order 3%. Additionally, metal ion implantation allows for creating semi‐transparent electrodes. The optical transmission through 25‐µm‐thick PDMS membranes decreases from 90% to 60% for Pd implantations at doses used to make stretchable electrodes. The implantation technique presented here allows the rapid production of reliable stretchable electrodes for a number of applications, including dielectric elastomer actuators and foldable or rollable electronics.
Data from selective harvests underestimate temporal trends in quantitative traits

Human harvests can select against phenotypes favoured by natural selection, and natural resource managers should evaluate possible artificial selection on wild populations. Because the required genetic data are extremely difficult to gather, however, managers typically rely on harvested animals to document temporal trends. It is usually unknown whether these data are unbiased. We explore our ability to detect a decline in horn size of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) by comparing harvested males with all males in a population where evolutionary changes owing to trophy hunting were previously reported. Hunting records underestimated the temporal decline, partly because of an increasing proportion of rams that could not be harvested because their horns were smaller than the threshold set by hunting regulations. If harvests are selective, temporal trends measured from harvest records will underestimate the magnitude of changes in wild populations.
Quality appraisal in systematic reviews of public health interventions: an empirical study on the impact of choice of tool on meta-analysis

Introduction Systematic reviews are a cornerstone of evidence-based public health. The method of appraising the quality of different intervention and observational study designs in such reviews remains an important challenge. This article examines the applicability of selected quality appraisal tools (QATs) and the impact of choice of tool on the meta-analysis of a published systematic review. Methods The authors selected a systematic review on the effectiveness of hand washing with soap in preventing diarrhoea, covering a range of epidemiological study designs. 6 QATs were used to assess 13 studies meeting their inclusion criteria; component sections/questions were coded numerically to derive a summary score between −1 (low quality) and +1 (high quality) for each QAT and study. Heterogeneity in study quality was evaluated graphically using traffic light schemes and spider charts. Random effects meta-analysis was undertaken for all studies; sensitivity analyses for each QAT included only those studies with a score of 0 or above. Results The authors found substantial heterogeneity in summary scores for a given study. Their main meta-analysis yielded an OR of 0.60 (95% CI 0.47 to 0.77) with most sensitivity analyses giving similar pooled effect sizes with wider CIs. Discussion The six QATs differ greatly in applicability across study designs, approach to quality appraisal (ie, scale vs checklist, presence/absence of summary score), coverage of domains and quality of component questions and answers. Learning from advantages and disadvantages of each QAT, we recommend research into the development of a reliable QAT with a broad applicability across study designs.
An investigation of sagittal velar movement and its correlation with lip, tongue, and jaw movement.

This paper examines the correlation between velar movement and the movement of other articulators in the midsagittal plane. A physiological model is proposed, which, while being based on common knowledge, is more extensive than has been used explicitly to explain observed movements of the velum. The model is used to guide the measurements taken from raw articulatory data provided by Electromagnetic Articulograph (EMA). The midsagittal velar movement is then examined for four different sentences by separate speakers and attempts are made to explain the patterns by reference to the model. The data was taken from a database of between 220 and 460 phonetically balanced sentences per speaker. This type of dataset allow general patterns of behavior to be uncovered. One such observation made and discussed in this paper is velum lowering before oral velar stops.
Survival Rate of Breast Cancer Based on Geographical Variation in Iran, a National Study

Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Based on the latest Iranian national cancer department report, the total number of women registered with breast cancer was 6976 cases during 2007. Five year survival is one of the indicators used for evaluation of the quality for care to different types of malignancies including breast cancer. Objectives The aim of this study was to estimate survival rate of breast cancer in 6147 Iranian patients at a national level in different geographic regions. Materials and Methods 6147 cases of breast cancer, which had telephone number and were diagnosed between 2001-2006, were called to obtain information about their life status. Survival estimates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the survival probability was calculated for the overall cohort and in different categories of gender, age and pathologic type of tumor. Hazard ratios (HR) according to demographic and risk variables were calculated by Cox's proportional hazard model. Results The overall 5-year survival rate was 71.0%. The mean survival time was different between men and women, which was statistically significant. The number of men involved with breast cancer was 172 (2.8%) of all cases. The 5-year survival rate for patients in age group 41-50 years was significantly higher than other age groups (P = 0.001). The likelihood of death was higher in patients with 61 years old or more years rather than those below forty years old (HR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.12-1.55). Conclusions The findings of this study might help Iranian health managers: 1) to be more conscious about geographical and regional determinants which will affect overall survival rate. 2) To carry preventive activities such as public education particularly in Iranian men. 3) To think about screening and early detection of breast cancer.
Reductions in External Divalent Cations Evoke Novel Voltage-Gated Currents in Sensory Neurons

It has long been recognized that divalent cations modulate cell excitability. Sensory nerve excitability is of critical importance to peripheral diseases associated with pain, sensory dysfunction and evoked reflexes. Thus we have studied the role these cations play on dissociated sensory nerve activity. Withdrawal of both Mg2+ and Ca2+ from external solutions activates over 90% of dissociated mouse sensory neurons. Imaging studies demonstrate a Na+ influx that then causes depolarization-mediated activation of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (CaV), which allows Ca2+ influx upon divalent re-introduction. Inhibition of CaV (ω-conotoxin, nifedipine) or NaV (tetrodotoxin, lidocaine) fails to reduce the Na+ influx. The Ca2+ influx is inhibited by CaV inhibitors but not by TRPM7 inhibition (spermine) or store-operated channel inhibition (SKF96365). Withdrawal of either Mg2+ or Ca2+ alone fails to evoke cation influxes in vagal sensory neurons. In electrophysiological studies of dissociated mouse vagal sensory neurons, withdrawal of both Mg2+ and Ca2+ from external solutions evokes a large slowly-inactivating voltage-gated current (IDF) that cannot be accounted for by an increased negative surface potential. Withdrawal of Ca2+ alone fails to evoke IDF. Evidence suggests IDF is a non-selective cation current. The IDF is not reduced by inhibition of NaV (lidocaine, riluzole), CaV (cilnidipine, nifedipine), KV (tetraethylammonium, 4-aminopyridine) or TRPM7 channels (spermine). In summary, sensory neurons express a novel voltage-gated cation channel that is inhibited by external Ca2+ (IC50∼0.5 µM) or Mg2+ (IC50∼3 µM). Activation of this putative channel evokes substantial cation fluxes in sensory neurons.
Performance Analysis of CSMA/CA in Wireless Local Area Network

With the rapid advance of mobile computing, high speed Wireless Local Area Networks (LAN) attracts a lot of research interests in recent years. A new international stander IEEE 802.11 on wireless LAN has been established. Its physical transmission is realized by either spread spectrum communication or non-directive infrared. The medium access control of IEEE 802.11 is using carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) as the basic level access. Continuing from the study of, we shall analyze IEEE 802.11 CSMA/CA performance with or without RTS/CTS in this paper. We have improved the simulation by including RTS/CTS exchanges, which is part of the CSMA/CA protocol. Using this methodology, we hoped to increase the number of successful transmissions and decrease the number of collisions within the WLAN. This particular aspect of the simulation is demonstrated in the Analysis section of this work. Additionally, the simulation makes sure that once an RTS/CTS handshake is completed; all other nodes not included in the data exchange remain silent. This is done to prevent nodes from getting into a continuous cycle of RTS/CTS exchanges. General Terms Wireless Local Area Network, CSMA/CA
Optimizing Fixed-Size Stochastic Controllers for POMDPs

In this paper, we discuss a new approach that represents POMDP policies as finite-state controllers and formulates the optimal policy of a desired size as a nonlinear program (NLP). This new representation allows a wide range of powerful nonlinear programming algorithms to be used to solve POMDPs. Although solving the NLP optimally is often intractable, the results we obtain using an off-theshelf optimization method are competitive with state-of-theart POMDP algorithms. Our approach is simple to implement and it opens up promising research directions for solving POMDPs using nonlinear programming methods.
New In Vivo Animal Model to Create Intervertebral Disc Degeneration and to Investigate the Effects of Therapeutic Strategies to Stimulate Disc Regeneration

Study Design. A new in vivo rabbit model was developed that produces disc degeneration through the application of controlled and quantified axial mechanical load. Objectives. To characterize the changes associated with disc degeneration, and to evaluate the feasibility of local in vivo transfer of agents to the compressed discs to stimulate disc regeneration. Summary of Background Data. Studies have shown that accelerated degeneration of the intervertebral disc results from altered mechanical loading conditions. The development of methods for the prevention of disc degeneration and the restoration of disc tissue that has already degenerated is needed. Methods. New Zealand white rabbits (n = 33) were used for this study. The discs in five animals remained unloaded and served as controls, whereas in 28 animals the discs were axially compressed using a custom-made external loading device. After 1 (n = 7), 14 (n = 7), and 28 (n = 7) days of dynamic loading, or 28 (n = 7) days of loading followed by 28 days of unloaded recovery time, the animals were killed and the lumbar spine was harvested for tissue preparation. Disc height, disc morphology, cell viability, disc stiffness, and load to failure were measured. Recombinant adenovirus encoding for two different marker genes (Ad-Luciferase and Ad-LacZ) was injected into the discs in loaded specimens in vivo, and the gene expression was measured. Results. The unloaded intervertebral discs of the rabbits consisted of a layered anulus fibrosus, a cartilaginous endplate, and a nucleus pulposus comparable with those of humans. After 14 and 28 days of loading, the discs demonstrated a significant decrease in disc space. Histologically, disorganization of the architecture of the anulus occurred. The number of dead cells increased significantly in the anulus and cartilage endplate. These changes were not reversible after 28 days of unloading. The stiffness and the load to failure did not change significantly in the discs after 28 days of loading, as compared with the unloaded control discs. Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer to discs was tolerated by all the animals. LacZ gene expression in vivo was found 2 weeks after injection of AdLacZ in loaded disc cells. Conclusions. The results of this study suggest that disc degeneration can be induced by axial dynamic loading in the rabbit intervertebral disc. The compressed rabbit intervertebral discs were large enough for the application of local transmitters through a percutaneous approach. We anticipate that this animal model could be used as a basic in vivo model to study intervertebral disc degeneration and to investigate new local therapeutic strategies for maintaining disc health or initiating tissue repair.
In Vivo Fluorescence-Based Endoscopic Detection of Colon Dysplasia in the Mouse Using a Novel Peptide Probe

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of cancer-related deaths in much of the world. Most CRCs arise from pre-malignant (dysplastic) lesions, such as adenomatous polyps, and current endoscopic screening approaches with white light do not detect all dysplastic lesions. Thus, new strategies to identify such lesions, including non-polypoid lesions, are needed. We aim to identify and validate novel peptides that specifically target dysplastic colonic epithelium in vivo. We used phage display to identify a novel peptide that binds to dysplastic colonic mucosa in vivo in a genetically engineered mouse model of colo-rectal tumorigenesis, based on somatic Apc (adenomatous polyposis coli) gene inactivation. Binding was confirmed using confocal microscopy on biopsied adenomas and excised adenomas incubated with peptide ex vivo. Studies of mice where a mutant Kras allele was somatically activated in the colon to generate hyperplastic epithelium were also performed for comparison. Several rounds of in vivo T7 library biopanning isolated a peptide, QPIHPNNM. The fluorescent-labeled peptide bound to dysplastic lesions on endoscopic analysis. Quantitative assessment revealed the fluorescent-labeled peptide (target/background: 2.17±0.61) binds ∼2-fold greater to the colonic adenomas when compared to the control peptide (target/background: 1.14±0.15), p<0.01. The peptide did not bind to the non-dysplastic (hyperplastic) epithelium of the Kras mice. This work is first to image fluorescence-labeled peptide binding in vivo that is specific towards colonic dysplasia on wide-area surveillance. This finding highlights an innovative strategy for targeted detection to localize pre-malignant lesions that can be generalized to the epithelium of hollow organs.
Extractive Summarization by Aggregating Multiple Similarities

News reports, social media streams, blogs, digitized archives and books are part of a plethora of reading sources that people face every day. This raises the question of how to best generate automatic summaries. Many existing methods for extracting summaries rely on comparing the similarity of two sentences in some way. We present new ways of measuring this similarity, based on sentiment analysis and continuous vector space representations, and show that combining these together with similarity measures from existing methods, helps to create better summaries. The finding is demonstrated with MULTSUM, a novel summarization method that uses ideas from kernel methods to combine sentence similarity measures. Submodular optimization is then used to produce summaries that take several different similarity measures into account. Our method improves over the state-of-the-art on standard benchmark datasets; it is also fast and scale to large document collections, and the results are statistically significant.
A Randomized Trial of Mobile Health Support for Heart Failure Patients and Their Informal Caregivers: Impacts on Caregiver-reported Outcomes

Background:Mobile health services may improve chronic illness care, but interventions rarely support informal caregivers’ efforts. Objectives:To determine whether automated feedback to caregivers of chronic heart failure patients impacts caregiving burden and assistance with self-management. Research Design:Randomized comparative effectiveness trial. Subjects:A total of 369 heart failure patients were recruited from a Veterans Health Administration health care system. All patients participated with a “CarePartner” or informal caregiver outside their household. Intervention:Patients randomized to “standard mHealth” received weekly automated self-care support calls for 12 months with notifications about problems sent to clinicians. “mobile health+CarePartner” (mHealth+CP) patients received identical services, plus email summaries and suggestions for self-care assistance automatically sent to their CarePartners. Measures:At baseline, 6, and 12 months, CarePartners completed assessments of caregiving strain, depressive symptoms, and participation in self-care support. Results:mHealth+CP CarePartners reported less caregiving strain than controls at both 6 and 12 months (both P⩽0.03). That effect as well as improvements in depressive symptoms were seen primarily among CarePartners reporting greater burden at baseline (P⩽0.03 for interactions between arm and baseline strain/depression at both endpoints). Although most mHealth+CP CarePartners increased the amount of time spent in self-care support, those with the highest time commitment at baseline reported decreases at both follow-ups (all P<0.05). mHealth+CP CarePartners reported more frequently attending patients’ medical visits at 6 months (P=0.049) and greater involvement in medication adherence at both endpoints (both P⩽0.032). Conclusions:When CarePartners experienced significant caregiving strain and depression, systematic feedback about their patient-partner decreased those symptoms. Feedback also increased most CarePartners’ engagement in self-care.
BeppoSAX observation of the eclipsing dipping X-ray binary X 1658-298

Results of a 2000 August 12{13 BeppoSAX observation of the 7.1 hr eclipsing, dipping, bursting, transient, low-mass X-ray binary (LMXRB) X 1658-298 are presented. The spectrum outside of eclipses, dips and bursts can be modeled by the combination of a soft disk-blackbody and a harder Comptonized component with a small amount (1:3 10 21 atom cm 2 ) of low-energy absorption. In contrast, an RXTE observation 18 months earlier during the same outburst, measured an absorption of 5:0 10 22 atom cm 2 . Such a change is consistent with a thinning of the accretion disk as the outburst progresses. Structured residuals from the best-t spectral model are present which are tentatively identied with Ne-K/Fe-L and Fe-K shell emission. The spectral changes during dips are complex and may be modeled by a strong (3 10 23 atom cm 2 ) increase in absorption of the Comptonized component only, together with reductions in normalizations of both spectral components. This behavior is in contrast to the \complex continuum" model for X-ray dip sources, where the softer blackbody component rapidly suers strong absorption. It is however, similar to that found during recent XMM-Newton observations of the eclipsing, dipping, LMXRB EXO 0748-676. An updated orbital ephemeris is provided which does not require a quadratic term, in contrast to that of Wachter et al. (2000).