Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic Performance of Whole-Body PET/MRI for Detecting Malignancies in Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Background As an evolving imaging modality, PET/MRI is preliminarily applied in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of PET/MRI for tumor staging in patients with various types of cancer. Methods Relevant articles about PET/MRI for cancer staging were systematically searched in PubMed, EMBASE, EBSCO and the Cochrane Library. Two researchers independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed the methodological quality using the QUADAS tool. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) were calculated per patient and per lesion. The summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC) curves were also constructed, and the area under the curve (AUC) and Q* estimates were obtained. Results A total of 38 studies that involved 753 patients and 4234 lesions met the inclusion criteria. On a per-patient level, the pooled sensitivity and specificity with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were 0.93 (0.90–0.95) and 0.92 (0.89–0.95), respectively. On a per-lesion level, the corresponding estimates were 0.90 (0.88–0.92) and 0.95 (0.94–0.96), respectively. The pooled PLR, NLR and DOR estimates were 6.67 (4.83–9.19), 0.12 (0.07–0.21) and 75.08 (42.10–133.91) per patient and 10.91 (6.79–17.54), 0.13 (0.08–0.19) and 102.53 (59.74–175.97) per lesion, respectively. Conclusion According to our results, PET/MRI has excellent diagnostic potential for the overall detection of malignancies in cancer patients. Large, multicenter and prospective studies with standard scanning protocols are required to evaluate the diagnostic value of PET/MRI for individual cancer types.
An agonistic TrkB mAb causes sustained TrkB activation, delays RGC death, and protects the retinal structure in optic nerve axotomy and in glaucoma.

PURPOSE Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) receptors TrkB and p75(NTR) are expressed in the retina. However, exogenous BDNF does not provide retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) with long-lasting neuroprotection in vivo during optic nerve axotomy or in glaucoma rat models of neurodegeneration. The authors set out to answer the hypothesis that a selective TrkB agonist might afford more efficient neuroprotection. METHODS Animal models of acute neurodegeneration (complete optic nerve axotomy) and chronic neurodegeneration (ocular hypertension, glaucoma) were used. After intravitreal delivery of test agents or controls, surviving RGCs were quantified. Transient or sustained activation of TrkB receptors in vivo was quantified by Western blot analysis retinal samples for TrkB-phosphotyrosine. Time-dependent changes to the neuronal retinal layers were quantified longitudinally by Fourier domain-optical coherence tomography. RESULTS The authors show that a selective TrkB agonist caused long-lived TrkB activation and significantly delayed RGC death in these models of acute and chronic retinal injury in vivo. Importantly, using noninvasive retinal imaging, they also show that a selective TrkB agonist caused preservation of the retinal structure in both animal models, with maintenance of the layers comprising neurons and neuronal fibers. CONCLUSIONS In animal models of acute and chronic neurodegeneration, a TrkB agonist affords long-lasting neuroprotection by causing sustained TrkB activation. The use of structural end points could have prognostic value to evaluate neuroprotection. This work contributes to the understanding of neurotrophic mechanisms underlying RGC death in glaucoma and optic nerve axotomy.
Entropy minimization for automatic correction of intensity nonuniformity

Outlines a fully automatic method for the correction of intensity nonuniformity in MR images. This method does not require any a priori model of the tissue classes. The basic idea is that entropy is a good measure of the image quality which can be minimized in order to overcome the bias problem. Therefore, the optimal correcting field is defined by the minimum of a functional combining the restored image entropy and a measure of the field smoothness. This measure stems from the usual physical analogy with membranes. A third term added to the functional prevents the optimal field from being uniformly null. The functional is minimized using a fast annealing schedule. The performance of the method is evaluated using both real and simulated data.
Distribution of Neuroendocrine Cells in the Transition Zone of the Prostate

Objectives. To evaluate the distribution of neuroendocrine (NE) cells which may influence the development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in the transition zone (TZ). Methods. We reviewed specimens from 80 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy in our institution and evaluated the density of NE cells in the TZ. They were histologically classified into 3 groups: those with no adenomatous nodule in the TZ (group A), those with small nodules with normal epithelium and stroma around them in the TZ (group B), and those with large nodules occupying the TZ (group C). In the patients of group B, intra-adenoma (adenomatous nodules) and extra-adenoma (normal tissue) NE cells in the TZ were separately counted. Results. There were 22, 23, and 35 patients in groups A, B, and C, respectively. The median density of NE cells in the TZ of group B patients, 2.80/mm2, was significantly higher than that of NE cells in group A, 1.43/mm2, and group C, 0.61/mm2 (p < 0.001). In group B, the median density of extra-adenoma NE cells was significantly higher than that of intra-adenoma. Conclusions. Many NE cells exist around small adenoma in the TZ. NE cells may influence the initial growth of BPH in a paracrine fashion. Trial Registration. This study approved by our institutional review board was retrospectively registered (#272-14).
A new framework to extract WordNet lexicographer files for semi-formal notation: A preliminary study

Despite its original use, which was very different, WordNet is used and used today as ontology. WordNet has a complex concepts concerning specific knowledge on semantic domain. The main objective is to analyze and recognize the most suitable and easier method for extracting WordNet lexicographer files which is very useful in developing the propose framework. In this paper, we describe the methodologies of this research. They are information binding, WordNet forensic, case analysis and method analysis. Some benefits are expected from this study are the development of framework for extracting WordNet lexicographer files for semi-formal notation, the development of middleware for extracting WordNet lexicographer files, the creation of own database for storing extracted lexicographer files from WordNet. The proposed framework will make WordNet efficiently exploitable in several applications.
Real-Time Estimation of Trajectories and Heights of Pedestrians

In recent years, there has been increased interest in characterizing and extracting 3D information from video sequences for object tracking and identification. In this paper, we propose a single view-based framework for robust estimation of height and position. In this work, 2D features of a target object is back-projected into the 3D scene space where its coordinate system is given by a rectangular marker. Then the position and height are estimated in the 3D scene space. In addition, geometric error caused by an inaccurate projective mapping is corrected by using geometric constraints provided by the marker. The proposed framework is entirely non-iterative, and therefore is very fast. As the proposed framework uses a single camera, it can be directly embedded into conventional monocular camera-based surveillance/security systems. The accuracy and robustness of the proposed technique are verified on the experimental results of several real video sequences taken from outdoor environments.
Prediction of Silicon Content in Hot Metal Based on the Combined Model of EMD and SVM

In blast furnace (BF) ironmaking process, silicon content in hot metal is an important index, which reflects the thermal state of BF. To predict the silicon content in hot metal effectively and level up the forecasting accuracy, a novel combined model based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and support vector machine (SVM) is proposed. Firstly, the time series data of silicon content in hot metal are decomposed into a series of stationary intrinsic mode functions (IMF) in different scale space via EMD sifting procedure. The local features of original time series data are prominent in the IMFs. Secondly, based on the analysis of Lemple-Ziv complexity and 10-fold cross validation, the right kernel functions and their parameters are chosen to build different SVMs respectively to predict each IMF. Finally, the predicted results of all IMFs are reconstructed to obtain final predicted result which shows that the prediction is successful and the hit rate increased to 90%.
Androgen receptor protein is down-regulated by basic fibroblast growth factor in prostate cancer cells

Interactions between polypeptide growth factors and the androgen receptor (AR) are important for regulation of cellular events in carcinoma of the prostate. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), the prototype of heparin-binding growth factors, and the AR are commonly expressed in prostate cancer. bFGF diminished prostate-specific antigen protein in the supernatants of androgen-stimulated human prostate cancer cells LNCaP by 80%. In the present study, we asked whether the bFGF effect on prostate-specific antigen is preceded by action on AR expression. LNCaP cells were treated with bFGF and AR protein expression was determined by immunoblotting and ligand binding assay. bFGF down-regulated AR protein in a dose-dependent manner showing a maximal effect at 50 ng ml−1both in the presence or absence of dihydrotestosterone. Down-regulation of AR protein expression occurred already after 8 h of bFGF treatment and a maximal inhibition was observed 24 h after addition of bFGF to culture media. As AR expression can be reduced by an increase in intracellular calcium levels, we investigated whether the bFGF effect on AR protein is mediated by this mechanism. Calcium release from intracellular stores and store-operated calcium influx after treatment with either bFGF or calcium ionophore A 23187 were measured by single cell fluorescence technique. The ionophore A 23187 was able to induce calcium influx and an increase in cytoplasmic calcium concentration in LNCaP cells. In contrast, bFGF was incapable of eliciting a similar effect. In contrast to AR protein, AR mRNA levels were not affected by bFGF as shown by semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In summary, these studies show that bFGF is a potent negative regulator of AR protein expression in the human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign
p27Kip1 and Ser10-phosphorylated p27Kip1 in breast cancer: clinical significance and expression

Background The protein p27 (p27Kip1) is a member of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor family, which negatively regulates cell cycle progression, and the phosphorylation of p27 has been proven to affect its stability and nuclear export. Clinical studies on the relation between p27 and phosphorylated p27 (p-p27Ser10) in breast invasive ductal carcinomas are still scarce. Methods We examined the expression of p27 and p-p27Ser10 using immunohistochemistry in 107 breast invasive ductal carcinomas and analyzed the relationship of these biomarkers and tumor characteristics. Results Of the 107 tumor samples, 38.3% (41 of 107) overexpressed p27 and 64.5% (69 of 107) overexpressed p-p27Ser10. Analysis of correlation with clinical characteristics showed that high expression level of p-p27Ser10 was linked to poor differentiation, advanced disease stage, and lymph node metastasis, whereas a contrary trend was observed for p27 (all P<0.05). In addition, the expression of p-p27Ser10 was significantly higher in malignant tumors than in adjacent tissues, while p27 showed the opposite trend. Also, there were different levels of p27 and p-p27Ser10 in different types of breast cancer. Conclusion p27 and p-p27Ser10 are involved in the development of invasive ductal carcinoma and are potential indicators to judge the degree of malignancy as well as recurrence and metastasis.
Application of Wavelets to the Modeling , Analysis , Visualization , and Data Handling of Complex Geological Processes

Wavelets have a wide range of useful functions that permit them to effectively treat problems such as data compression, scale-localization analysis, feature extraction, visualization, statistics, numerical simulation, and communication. We discuss their features and how they can be used in an integrated manner to handle large-scale problems in earthquake physics and other nonlinear problems in the geosciences.
Design and control of a two-wheel self-balancing robot using the arduino microcontroller board

This paper reports the design, construction and control of a two-wheel self-balancing robot. The system architecture comprises a pair of DC motor and an Arduino microcontroller board; a single-axis gyroscope and a 2-axis accelerometer are employed for attitude determination. In addition, a complementary filter is implemented to compensate for gyro drifts. Electrical and kinematic parameters are determined experimentally; PID and LQR-based PI-PD control designs, respectively, are performed on the linearized equations of motion. Experimental results show that self-balancing can be achieved with PI-PD control in the vicinity of the upright position.
Polling Models Under Limited Service Policies: Sharp Asymptotics

Exact asymptotics for exponential polling models under a general class of limited server scheduling policies are developed. This is done for a system with an arbitrary number of customer types. We find that the asymptotic behaviour can be classified into as many regimes as there are customer types, with the boundaries between regimes depending on the system parameters. To compute exact expressions for the tail asymptotics we employ methodology developed by McDonald. In the course of our analysis, we identify a means that has the potential to simplify a key step of McDonald's method for somewhat more general models.
A planar 4.5-GHz DC-DC power converter

In this paper, we present two DC-DC converters that operate at a microwave frequency. The first converter consists of a class-E switched-mode microwave amplifier, which performs the DC-AC conversion, and two half-wave diode rectifier outputs. The class-E MESFET amplifier has a minimum power-added efficiency of 86%, corresponding drain efficiency of 95%, and 120 mW of output power at 4.5 GHz. The diode rectifier has a maximum conversion efficiency of 98% and an overall efficiency of 83%. The second converter consists of a high-efficiency class-E oscillator and a diode rectifier. The class-E oscillator has a maximum efficiency of 57% and maximum output power of 725 mW. The DC-DC converter is planar and compact, with no magnetic components, and with a maximum overall DC-DC conversion efficiency of 64% for a DC input of 3 V, and the output voltage across a 87-/spl Omega/ load of 2.15 V.
Analysis of the properties of DVB-S signal for passive radar application

This paper presents a study to demonstrate the feasibility of using digital video broadcasting-satellite (DVB-S) signal for passive radar. The study concentrates on the analysis of DVB-S signal properties, mainly including its spectrum, resolution capability, ambiguity function, and analysis of direct path signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Since DVB-S signal has a higher range resolution due to its wide bandwidth and wider coverage area, it turns out to be more competitive than other passive radar signals. Finally, results based on field measurements provide some useful references about the performance and potential capability of using DVB-S signal for passive radar applications.
Design, Synthesis and Antifibrotic Activities of Carbohydrate- Modified 1-(Substituted aryl)-5-trifluoromethyl-2(1H) Pyridones

Pirfenidone, a pyridone compound, is an effective and novel antifibrotic agent. In this article, we describe the design, synthesis and activity evaluation of novel antifibrotic agents, 1-(substituted aryl)-5-trifluoromethyl-2(1H) pyridones modified with carbohydrate. Most of the title compounds exhibited comparable or better inhibitory activity than fluorofenidone. Notably, compound 19a demonstrated the highest cell-based inhibitory activity against NIH 3T3 (IC50 = 0.17 mM).
An Efficient Approach to Web Query Classification using State Space Trees

In web search engines, the retrieval of information is quite challenging due to short, ambiguous and noisy queries. This can be resolved by classifying the queries to appropriate categories. In this paper we propose a web query classification system by using a state space tree based approach which is a hierarchical arrangement of categories as states at different levels. The user given query is passed into yahoo directory search and we extract the resulting categories as features for further processing. The extracted features are mapped to the target categories using direct mapping, wordnet mapping and, glossary mapping. The frequency with which a target category term is matched when the various mapping techniques are involved is recorded at the various nodes in state space tree. Performing a best first search on the state space tree yields a ranked list of categories. This technique when compared with manual classification was found to produce a precision of 0.66.
Psychological Contract and Organizational Change: Assessing M&As’ Impact on Survivors of Pharmaceuticals in Puerto Rico

espanolLas fusiones y adquisiciones (F-A) afectan el contrato psicologico de los empleados. Este estudio evaluo el impacto de las F-A en el contrato psicologico, la satisfaccion laboral, el compromiso organizacional, la intencion de dejar la empresa, y si la explicacion creible modero las reacciones de los empleados. Se realizaron analisis estadisticos de los datos de 196 encuestados de dos farmaceuticas en Puerto Rico. Los resultados revelaron una correlacion inversa entre la percepcion de violacion del contrato psicologico (VCP) y las variables satisfaccion laboral y compromiso organizacional. Tambien confirmaron una relacion directa entre la VCP y la variable intencion de marcharse. Este estudio encontro un efecto de la variable moderadora explicacion creible sobre las variables satisfaccion laboral y compromiso organizacional. La comprension de la teoria del contrato psicologico puede reducir la violacion percibida y su impacto en las actitudes de los empleados. EnglishMergers and acquisitions (M-A) affect the psychological contract of employees. This study assessed the impact of the M-A on survivors’ psychological contract, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and whether credible explanation moderated employees’ reactions. Statistical analyses were performed on data gathered from 196 respondents of two pharmaceuticals in Puerto Rico. Results revealed an inverse correlation between perceived psychological contract violation (PCV) and the variables job satisfaction and organizational commitment. They also confirmed the direct correlation between PCV and the variable turnover intention. This study found an effect of the moderating variable credible explanation on the variables job satisfaction and organizational commitment. An understanding of psychological contract theory may reduce the perceived violation and its impact on employees’ attitudes.
STEP Levels Are Unchanged in Pre-Frontal Cortex and Associative Striatum in Post-Mortem Human Brain Samples from Subjects with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder

Increased protein levels of striatal-enriched tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) have recently been reported in postmortem schizophrenic cortex. The present study sought to replicate this finding in a separate cohort of postmortem samples and to extend observations to striatum, including subjects with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder in the analysis. No statistically significant changes between disease and control subjects were found in STEP mRNA or protein levels in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or associative striatum. Although samples were matched for several covariates, postmortem interval correlated negatively with STEP protein levels, emphasizing the importance of including these analyses in postmortem studies.
On-chip Magnetic 3 D Soft Microactuators Made by Grayscale Lithography

In this paper we describe a novel fabrication method of three dimensional polymeric magnetically driven microtools (MMT) for non-intrusive and no contamination experiments on a chip. In order to obtain precise and complicated three dimensional patterns of magnetically driven 3D microtools, a grayscale photolithography technique has been applied by making good use of thick nega-photoresist as sacrificed mold. By controlling an amount of ultraviolet light with a gradation of gray tone mask, we have fabricated smoothly curved (100 μm gap) object without steps which tend to be appeared in case of conventional layer by layer photolithography techniques. A wide range of on-chip application of microactuators can be proposed by using a softness of polymer-based 3D MMT. For example, microrotor was operated as miromixer and micropump, also microloader was actuated by the magnetic and fluidic force. The surface of the 3D MMT was fabricated with a group of spiked pattern to reduce the contact area between PDMS (Poly dimethyl siloxane) microchannel and PDMS-based 3D MMT. The produced 3D MMT can be applied to complicated on-chip manipulations of sensitive materials such as cells.
Objective Error Criterion for Evaluation of Mapping Accuracy Based on Sensor Time-of-Flight Measurements

An objective error criterion is proposed for evaluating the accuracy of maps of unknown environments acquired by making range measurements with different sensing modalities and processing them with different techniques. The criterion can also be used for the assessment of goodness of fit of curves or shapes fitted to map points. A demonstrative example from ultrasonic mapping is given based on experimentally acquired time-of-flight measurements and compared with a very accurate laser map, considered as absolute reference. The results of the proposed criterion are compared with the Hausdorff metric and the median error criterion results. The error criterion is sufficiently general and flexible that it can be applied to discrete point maps acquired with other mapping techniques and sensing modalities as well.