Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Problem of Post-Breast Cancer Lymphedema: Impact and Measurement Issues

Breast cancer treatment is recognized as the most common cause of secondary lymphedema (LE) in the developed countries of the world. LE occurs as both an acute and chronic health condition in which significant and persistent swelling is associated with an abnormal accumulation of protein-rich fluid. The impact of LE is significant on a wide range of daily activities and survivorship quality of life. Measurement and quantification of LE has been problematic despite the fact that various methods have been used to measure limb volume (LV). Perhaps in part because of difficulties in measurement and diagnosis, the reported incidence of LE varies greatly among persons treated with surgery and radiation for breast cancer. Through increased measurement accuracy, LE incidence and prevalence following current therapeutic approaches for breast cancer treatment cancer will be better understood, and more informed decisions about risk factors, treatment interventions, and recovery will be made. Further identification of epidemiological and clinical factors associated with risk and incidence will provide the necessary foundation for preventive intervention. Bilateral measurements at pre-op and over time are necessary to assess LV changes during follow-up, as it is important as part of the differential diagnosis to note whether volume change has occurred in the affected limb alone or in both limbs. Application of rigorous measurement protocols, assessment of symptom experience, and establishment of a data base on bilateral LV at pre-op for later comparison are essential components of a solid foundation for intervention studies. Through multidisciplinary collaboration with rigorous scientific approaches feasible to be carried out in the clinical setting, we have the opportunity to better target risk factors for development of LE, design data-based interventions, and improve post-treatment quality of life.
Effects of Adaptive Task Allocation on Monitoring of Automated Systems

The effects of adaptive task allocation on monitoring for automation failure during multi task flight simulation were examined. Participants monitored an automated engine status task while simultaneously performing tracking and fuel management tasks over three 3D-min sessions. Two methods of adaptive task allocation, both involving temporary return of the automated engine status task to the human operator (“human control”), were examined as a possible countermeasure to monitoring inefficiency. For the model-based adaptive group, the engine status task was allocated to all participants in the middle of the second session for 10 min, following which it was again returned to automation control. The same occurred for the performance-based adaptive group, but only if an individual participant's monitoring performance up to that point did not meet a specified criterion. For the nonadaptive control groups, the engine status task remained automated throughout the experiment. All groups had low probabilities of detection of automation failures for the first 40 min spent with automation. However, following the lO-min intervening period of human control, both adaptive groups detected significantly more automation failures during the subsequent blocks under automation control. The results show that adaptive task allocation can enhance monitoring of automated systems. Both model-based and performance-based allocation improved monitoring of automation. Implications for the design of automated systems are discussed.
Trs85 (Gsg1), a Component of the TRAPP Complexes, Is Required for the Organization of the Preautophagosomal Structure during Selective Autophagy via the Cvt Pathway*

Autophagosomes and Cvt vesicles are limited by two membrane layers. The biogenesis of these unconventional vesicles and the origin of their membranes are hardly understood. Here we identify in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Trs85, a nonessential component of the TRAPP complexes, to be required for the biogenesis of Cvt vesicles. The TRAPP complexes function in endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi and Golgi trafficking. Growing trs85Δ cells show a defect in the organization of the preautophagosomal structure. Although proaminopeptidase I is normally recruited to the preautophagosomal structure, the recruitment of green fluorescent protein-Atg8 depends on Trs85. Autophagy proceeds in the absence of Trs85, albeit at a reduced rate. Our electron microscopic analysis demonstrated that the reduced autophagic rate of trs85Δ cells does not result from a reduced size of the autophagosomes. Growing and starved cells lacking Trs85 did not show defects in vacuolar biogenesis; mature vacuolar proteinase B and carboxypeptidase Y were present. Also vacuolar acidification was normal in these cells. It is known that mutations impairing the integrity of the ER or Golgi block both autophagy and the Cvt pathway. But the phenotypes of trs85Δ cells show striking differences to those seen in mutants with defects in the early secretory pathway. This suggests that Trs85 might play a direct role in the Cvt pathway and autophagy.
Numerical simulations aided development of nanosecond pulse electroporators

Nanosecond pulse generators are used in various biomedical studies where the effects of high-voltage nanosecond pulses on biological cells are evaluated. The concept of generating nanosecond pulses demands new approaches in development of electroporators. Blumlein generator and diode opening switch generator are two concepts which have been most often used for generating nanosecond pulses. Development of nanosecond pulse generators based on these two concepts presents difficult engineering challenges due to high amplitudes and fast rise times of pulses. These challenges can be addressed with careful designing of the pulse generators architecture and selecting appropriate electrical components. Numerical approaches, such as SPICE, can be a great help during development of pulse generators by either verification of its configuration or defining values of electrical components in order to obtain desired pulse characteristics. We demonstrated this by simulating diode opening switch generator and comparing its results with measurements.
Linear Time Euclidean Distance Algorithms

Two linear time (and hence asymptotically optimal) algorithms for computing the Euclidean distance transform of a two-dimensional binary image are presented. The algorithms are based on the construction and regular sampling of the Voronoi diagram whose sites consist of the unit (feature) pixels in the image. The first algorithm, which is of primarily theoretical interest, constructs the complete Voronoi diagram. The second, more practical, algorithm constructs the Voronoi diagram where it intersects the horizontal lines passing through the image pixel centers. Extensions to higher dimensional images and to other distance functions are also discussed. >
Measurement of the Severity of Opportunistic Fraud in Injury Insurance: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT This article assesses the effects of claimant demographics and other claim characteristics on the measurement of the severity of opportunistic fraud using 96 excess claim lawsuits in personal injury insurance in China in 2000–2012. The empirical result indicates that severe opportunistic fraud that results in death is more numerous than it is for fraud that leads to disability and nondisability, which may be due to the fact that more severe injury may create greater openings for opportunistic fraud. Second, the severity of opportunistic fraud in provincial cities is lower than that in small or midsize cities because the former does not imply greater severity of opportunistic fraud. Third, the severity of opportunistic fraud in injuries from daily activity is greater than that for injuries from work and traffic accidents, implying that a higher excess claim probability and greater severity of opportunistic fraud in injuries from daily activity are consistent.
Reamer-mediated transalveolar sinus floor elevation without osteotome and simultaneous implant placement in the maxillary molar area: clinical outcomes of 391 implants in 380 patients.

OBJECTIVES Minimally invasive sinus elevation and augmentation using a transalveolar approach can reduce perioperative complications and patient discomfort. A specially designed reamer accomplishes this without the use of an osteotome or a mallet. The objective of this study is to present this technique with relevant clinical cases and patient outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS Series of reamers with one cutting and one reaming edge were used to prepare an osteotomy site for posterior maxillary areas. A total of 391 osteotomies were prepared with the reamer in 380 patients, and 373 implants were placed simultaneously. In addition to the procedure's success parameters, levels of intraoperative patient comfort were monitored using a visual analogue scale. RESULTS The mean height of the residual alveolar process was 5.8 (0.9) mm, whereas mean elevation of the sinus floor was 6.2 (0.4) mm. Eighteen (4.6%) Schneiderian membrane perforations occurred, and the 2-year survival rate was 95.4%. The success rate was 92.7% in sites with thin sinus floors (< 4 mm) and 96.4% in sites with greater bone height (> 4 mm). None of the patients experienced any discomfort during the procedure. CONCLUSIONS Within the limits of the present study, it can be concluded that reamer-mediated transalveolar sinus floor elevation is a reliable method for implant placement in the posterior maxilla, even at sites with ≤ 4 mm of residual alveolar bone height. This reamer-mediated procedure is less invasive than traditional osteotomy and can minimize patient discomfort during sinus floor elevation.
Contrast Sensitivity in Children With and Without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms

Dopamine regulation may play a role in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Visual contrast sensitivity has been proposed as a measure of retinal dopamine that may predict frontal lobe dopamine levels. Individuals with disorders involving dopamine dysregulation (e.g., Parkinson's disease, Phenylketonuria) have shown poor contrast sensitivity. In this study, 110 6- to 13-year-old children with and without ADHD completed a task measuring visual contrast sensitivity. As predicted, contrast sensitivity was significantly worse in children with ADHD-Combined Type than controls. Contrast sensitivity was significantly correlated with inattention and hyperactivity. However, unlike many neuropsychological studies of ADHD, only hyperactivity accounted for unique variance.
Compass clustering: a new clustering method for detection of points of interest using personal collections of georeferenced and oriented photographs

Knowledge discovery in large online photographic repositories has been an active area of research in recent years. This is due to the great popularization of devices equipped with image capture, such as digital cameras, smartphones and tablets. Moreover, the image files generated by those devices are easily spread out on the Web through social networking sites. Typically, the photos stored in these repositories bear valuable metadata, such as, geographic coordinates, timestamp, and camera orientation. This information can be used for many interesting data mining tasks, such as detection of points-of-interest (POIs) and trip planning. This paper introduces Compass Clustering, a new clustering algorithm for detecting POIs in georeferenced and oriented photo repositories. Most of the state-of-the-art approaches for POI detection cluster photos based solely on their geographic proximity. However, in many cases, the POIs are within a certain distance from the point where the photo was taken, that is, not in the exact camera location but in the direction it is pointing to, and thus many photos would be erroneously classified by existing methods. Therefore, we propose to exploit the camera orientation in order to identify more reliable POIs that reflect the real intention of people when taking photos. We evaluated our approach on a collection of more than 8,000 georeferenced and oriented photos collected from Flickr.
Characterization of Candida krusei strains from spontaneously fermented maize dough by profiles of assimilation, chromosome profile, polymerase chain reaction and restriction endonuclease analysis

Several isolates of Candida krusei from indigenous spontaneously fermented maize dough have been characterized for the purpose of selecting appropriate starter cultures and methods for their subspecifies typing. The present work describes the occurrence of C. krusei in Ghanaian fermented maize dough. For detailed pheno‐ and genotyping, 48 representative isolates were selected and comparison was made with clinical isolates of C. krusei and reference cultures. The techniques applied included the assimilation of carbon compounds by the API ID 32 C kit, determination of chromosome profile by pulse field gel electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) profiles, restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) and Southern blot hybridization. For the 48 isolates tested, 82% had the same assimilation profiles, being able to assimilate N‐acetyl‐glucosamine, dl‐lactate, glycerol and to ferment glucose. Chromosome and PCR profiles, REA and Southern blot hybridization techniques all had a high discriminatory power and revealed DNA polymorphism, which allowed for discrimination among the strains and hence subspecific typing. On the basis of PCR and REA profiles, isolates were grouped into clusters. Southern blot hybridization appeared to be the most sensitive with respect to strain specificity. Our results demonstrated that the three methods, PCR, REA and Southern blot hybridization, were suitable tools, easy to analyse, fast (with regard to PCR) and reliable methods for the typing of C. krusei isolates to species and below species level. Based on the use of these techniques, we demonstrated that several strains of C. krusei were involved in the fermentation of maize dough from the onset and remain dominant throughout the fermentation.
Agricultural Technical Change and Economic Diversity of Farm Households: The Case of Vietnam

This paper investigates the impacts of agricultural technical change on economic diversity of farm households in Vietnam. To develop the empirical analysis, a model is presented in which the estimated impact of agricultural technical changes on economic diversification allows for non-neutral technical change. The paper tests the theoretical predictions of this model by providing empirical evidence of the impact of land consolidation on farm and nonfarm outcomes such as labour supply, profits, labour intensity and productivity. By using different methods aimed at verifying and checking the consistency of the results, we find that land consolidation may reduce on farm labour supply, labour intensity and improve farm profits and productivity. Similarly, it may release more farm labour to nonfarm sectors and increase nonfarm profits. The empirical results show that factor-biased technical change plays an important role in explaining the impact of agricultural technical change on economic diversification in Vietnam.
Regionally restricted expression of the transcription factor c‐myc intron 1 binding protein during brain development

Transcription factors regulate proliferation, differentiation, and regionalization of the central nervous system. In a screen of developing cerebral cortex, we identified the transcription factor c‐myc intron 1 binding protein (mibp1) due to its abundant expression. In this study, we analyzed the temporal and spatial expression patterns of mibp1 mRNA in developing mouse brain to address the putative role of this transcription factor in neural differentiation. Northern hybridization studies revealed that mibp1 is expressed first in the mouse dorsal telencephalon at embryonic day (E) 14.5, during peak neuronal production. In situ hybridization experiments revealed that mibp1 expression in the cerebral wall is most abundant in postmitotic cells of the cortical plate and absent from proliferative zones. Moreover, mibp1 is restricted to dorsal telencephalon during embryogenesis with expression only in the cerebral wall, olfactory bulb, and hippocampus. N‐myc, a potential target of mibp1 regulation, exhibited complementary, nonoverlapping expression patterns in the telencephalon with greatest expression in proliferating cells of the ventricular zone from E12.5 to E14.5; N‐myc was absent from the telencephalon by E15.5. The specificity and timing of mibp1 expression in the cerebral cortex suggests a role in maintaining a state of neuronal differentiation in the dorsal telencephalon. J. Comp. Neurol. 467:581–592, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Talent identification in youth soccer

Abstract The purpose of this review article was firstly to evaluate the traditional approach to talent identification in youth soccer and secondly present pilot data on a more holistic method for talent identification. Research evidence exists to suggest that talent identification mechanisms that are predicated upon the physical (anthropometric) attributes of the early maturing individual only serve to identify current performance levels. Greater body mass and stature have both been related to faster ball shooting speed and vertical jump capacity respectively in elite youth soccer players. This approach, however, may prematurely exclude those late maturing individuals. Multiple physiological measures have also been used in an effort to determine key predictors of performance; with agility and sprint times, being identified as variables that could discriminate between elite and sub-elite groups of adolescent soccer players. Successful soccer performance is the product of multiple systems interacting with one another. Consequently, a more holistic approach to talent identification should be considered. Recent work, with elite youth soccer players, has considered whether multiple small-sided games could act as a talent identification tool in this population. The results demonstrated that there was a moderate agreement between the more technically gifted soccer player and success during multiple small-sided games.
Analysis of MicroRNA Expression in Newborns with Differential Birth Weight Using Newborn Screening Cards

Birth weight is an early predictor for metabolic diseases and microRNAs (miRNAs) are proposed as fetal programming participants. To evaluate the use of dried blood spots (DBS) on newborn screening cards (NSC) as a source of analyzable miRNAs, we optimized a commercial protocol to recover total miRNA from normal birth weight (NBW, n = 17–20), low birth weight (LBW, n = 17–20) and high birth weight (macrosomia, n = 17–20) newborns and analyzed the relative expression of selected miRNAs by stem-loop RT-qPCR. The possible role of miRNAs on the fetal programming of metabolic diseases was explored by bioinformatic tools. The optimized extraction of RNA resulted in a 1.2-fold enrichment of miRNAs respect to the commercial kit. miR-33b and miR-375 were overexpressed in macrosomia 9.8-fold (p < 0.001) and 1.7-fold, (p < 0.05), respectively and miR-454-3p was overexpressed in both LBW and macrosomia (19.7-fold, p < 0.001 and 10.8-fold, p < 0.001, respectively), as compared to NBW. Potential target genes for these miRNAs are associated to cyclic-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKG), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), type 2 diabetes, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)and Forkhead box O protein (FoxO) pathways. In summary, we improved a protocol for analyzing miRNAs from NSC and provide the first evidence that birth weight modifies the expression of miRNAs associated to adult metabolic dysfunctions. Our work suggests archived NSC are an invaluable resource in the search for fetal programming biomarkers.
Selecting Antibodies to Detect HER2 Overexpression by Immunohistochemistry in Invasive Mammary Carcinomas

There is an increasing clinical demand for HER2 analysis in breast cancer, especially since the release of trastuzumab. The authors assessed the ability of immunohistochemistry to detect HER2 overexpression in invasive mammary carcinomas (IMC) using five antibodies. Paraffin-embedded samples of 86 IMCs (T2N0) were used to compare the immunohistochemical overexpression of HER2 using two polyclonal antibodies (HercepTest [DAKO] and A0485 [DAKO]) and three monoclonal antibodies (CB11 from two different laboratories, Biogenex and Novocastra, and 4D5 [Genentech]). All immunostainings were scored according to the FDA-approved HercepTest recommendations. The HercepTest-positive cases were compared with gene amplification by FISH (Oncor Inform, Ventana). The HercepTest was positive in 31 of the 86 cases (36.1%). The DAKO antibody A0485 was positive in 25 of the 66 (37.8%). Monoclonal antibody 4D5 was positive in only 15 of the 86 cases (17.4%). There was almost total agreement in results between the two CB11 antibodies: 25 of the 86 positive cases (29.1%). All cases positive for CB11 or 4D5 were HercepTest positive. Most of the HercepTest 2+ cases were negative when using either monoclonal antibody. FISH was positive in 19 of the 20 HercepTest 3+ cases and negative in 5 HercepTest 2+ cases. Three CB11-2+ cases showed no amplification by FISH. In three FISH-positive cases the immunohistochemistry showed no overexpression by all antibodies used. These findings suggest that immunohistochemistry may be used reliably as a primary methodology for evaluating HER2; however, the use of polyclonal antibodies may not be adequate to assess HER2 overexpression. CB11, regardless of the manufacturer (Biogenex or Novocastra), showed better concordance with FISH (kappa=0.83) than did the polyclonal antibodies.
Trunk bend and twist coordination is affected by low back pain status during running

Abstract Recent literature has related differences in pelvis–trunk coordination to low back pain (LBP) status. In addition, repetitive motions involving bending and twisting have been linked to high incidence of LBP. The purpose of this study was to examine trunk sagittal motion – axial rotation (‘bend and twist’) coordination during locomotion in three groups of runners classified by LBP status (LBP: current low back pain; RES: resolved low back pain and CTR: control group with no history of LBP). Trunk kinematic data were collected as running speed was systematically increased on a treadmill. Within-segment coordination between trunk sagittal and transverse planes of motion (trunk lean and axial rotation, respectively) was calculated using continuous relative phase (CRP), and coordination variability was defined as the between stride cycle standard deviation of CRP (CRPvar). Bend–twist coordination was more in-phase for the LBP group than CTR (p = 0.010) regardless of running speed. No differences in CRPvar were found between the groups. The results from our coordination (CRP) analysis were sensitive to LBP status and suggest that multi-plane interactions of the trunk should be considered in the assessment of LBP. This analysis also has potential for athletically oriented tasks that involve multi-plane interactions of the trunk, particularly ones that contain asymmetric action, such as sweep rowing or a shot on goal in field hockey or ice hockey.