Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The prognostic value of PCNA expression in patients with osteosarcoma

Background: Numerous studies have attempted to determine the prognostic role of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in patients with osteosarcoma with no consistent conclusion. We performed this meta-analysis to systematically elucidate the association in a more precise manner. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to determine the prognostic role of PCNA in patients with osteosarcoma. Methods: A systematic search of relevant studies was performed in 6 electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang database, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) database, and Chinese Biological Medical (CBM) Database (up to March 1, 2016) with the following keywords: (PCNA OR proliferating cell nuclear antigen) AND (osteosarcoma OR osteogenic tumor). A manual search of references on relevant articles was also conducted by 2 investigators independently. We performed a comprehensive evaluation of the correlation between PCNA expression and overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS) by calculating relative ratios (RR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) using STATA software. A fixed- or random-effect model was chosen based on the between-study heterogeneity. Results: In total, 16 studies with 691 osteosarcoma patients were included in this meta-analysis. PCNA overexpression was found in approximately 57.31% of the patients with osteosarcoma. The meta-analysis suggested that PCNA overexpression in osteosarcoma patients is associated with low OS, but not significantly with DFS (RR = 1.82, 95% CI 1.53–2.18, P = .000; RR = 1.15, 95% CI 0.91–1.44, P = 0.234). Sensitivity analysis for OS and DFS showed no significant difference and the pooled RRs were stable when the included studies were removed one by one. Similar results were also obtained for subgroup analysis based on different follow-ups and cutoffs to determine PCNA expression. Conclusion: The findings from this meta-analysis indicate that PCNA overexpression is an effective biomarker for poor prognosis in patients with osteosarcoma for OS. Hence, more large-scale studies are still needed to further warrant this conclusion.
Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI) a Catalyst to the Niger Delta Crisis: The Case of Nigerian Oil Multinational Companies versus the Militants of Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

The Niger Delta crisis was as a result of years of neglect of the states that constitute the oil rich Niger Delta States. This study aims to see the contribution of the multinational oil companies towards this unrest. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a discipline came into business management just recently but has made a lot of impact towards the development of the communities where businesses are located. This study intends to look at how and what have been done and what have been left undone by the Multinational Companies (MNCs) that invariably initiated or contributed to the civil unrest of the Niger Delta (the communities where crude oil is abundantly found). The study employing qualitative and multi-method (secondary and primary sources) concludes that the MNCs have behaved irresponsibly towards the host communities through their philanthropic gestures rather than behaving responsibly by genuinely holding and treating the communities as real stakeholders.
An evaluative framework for TQM dynamics in organisations

Aims is to analyse the dynamics of total quality management (TQM) within organisations by using Leonard's Grounded Theory evaluative framework for TQM. There are a number of quality models which are used to analyse the effects of TQM on organisations, however all of these models are used mainly in an auditing role. There is a paucity of models, which seek to evaluate the dynamic effects of TQM in organisations. Develops an evaluative framework for the dynamics of TQM in organisations is developed. This was established from Grounded Theory and is used to analysis TQM dynamics within a multiple case analysis consisting of 57 cases. Data were obtained from multiple semi‐structured interviews, organisation and archive materials. The results show the complex non‐sequential and dynamic effects of TQM present in the cases. Also finds that TQM can have a dynamic role in strategy formulation, in addition to the more tactical role of strategy application and deployment.
Direct observation of platelet adhesion to fibrinogen- and fibrin-coated surfaces.

A flow system consisting of a parallel-plate flow chamber mounted on the epifluorescence video microscope was constructed to allow direct visualization of the entire platelet adhesion process under flow conditions. Digital image-processing techniques were applied to analyze the fluorescence images from video tapes. In this study we used cover glasses coated with either fibrinogen or fibrin as the testing surface of our flow chamber to compare platelet adhesion to both types of surfaces. We found that 1) platelets adhered to both types of protein-coated surfaces but not to uncoated glass; 2) platelets that adhered to fibrinogen were nonoverlapping, clustering, and saturated at approximately 40 cells/1,000 microns 2 at 445 s-1 surface shear rate and at approximately 60 cells/1,000 microns 2 at 70 s-1 surface shear rate; 3) platelets that adhered to fibrin were nonoverlapping, random, and saturated at approximately 55 cells/1,000 microns 2 at 445 s-1 surface shear rate and at approximately 65 cells/1,000 microns 2 at 70 s-1 surface shear rate; 4) ethyleneglycol- bis(beta-aminoethylether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid, the snake venom halysin (against glycoprotein IIb-IIIa complex), and monoclonal antibody Ab-15 (against glycoprotein IIIa) blocked platelet adhesion to both surfaces; 5) Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser and monoclonal antibody LIBS-1 (against glycoprotein IIIa) partially inhibited platelet adhesion to fibrinogen-coated surface but were almost ineffective in preventing platelet adhesion to fibrin-coated surface; and 6) monoclonal antibody Ab-144 (against glycoprotein Ib) was ineffective for platelet adhesion on both surfaces. These observations provide basic characteristics of platelet adhesion to fibrinogen- and fibrin-coated surfaces under controlled flow conditions. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Nonparametric Estimation of Average Volatility Differentials in Selection Models with an Application to Returns to Schooling

We consider identification and estimation of a selection model in which the variance of the outcome variable, as well as the mean, depends on selection. Under a bivariate symmetry condition, we show that the average volatility dierential, defined as the dierence in variance levels between those who selected and those who did not, can be identified by a matching method involving conditional interquartile ranges. An estimation procedure, based on nonparametric quantile regressions and kernel weighted matching methods, is proposed, and its asymptotic properties are derived. A simulation study indicates the new estimator performs well in finite samples. The estimator is applied to measure the volatility dierential
Comments on Selectivity Biases in Wage Comparisons

These comments on selectivity biases in wage comparisons stem from Gronau's paper on the subject in this issue of the Journal and assume that the reader is familiar with his paper. Consider a group of persons who differ in their home price of time W0, but who are alike in having the same discount rate r, search cost C, and distribution (W) of market wage offers W. I shall call such a group a "homogeneous" group. Let E be the mean market wage of persons in the group who, after a "sufficiently long period of search," are employed in the market; pw is the mean and a' the variance of their common wageoffer distribution; ,uwo is the mean and a2wo the variance of the home price of time W' in the group; and 0 is the group's labor-force participation rate. Then the search theory used by Gronau implies that:
Are climate model simulations useful for forecasting precipitation trends? Hindcast and synthetic-data experiments

Water scientists and managers currently face the question of whether trends in climate variables that affect water supplies and hazards can be anticipated. We investigate to what extent climate model simulations may provide accurate forecasts of future hydrologic nonstationarity in the form of changes in precipitation amount. We compare gridded station observations (GPCC Full Data Product, 1901–2010) and climate model outputs (CMIP5 Historical and RCP8.5 simulations, 1901–2100) in real and synthetic-data hindcast experiments. The hindcast experiments show that imputing precipitation trends based on the climate model mean reduced the root mean square error of precipitation trend estimates for 1961–2010 by 9% compared to making the assumption (implied by hydrologic stationarity) of no trend in precipitation. Given the accelerating pace of climate change, the benefits of incorporating climate model assessments of precipitation trends in water resource planning are projected to increase for future decades. The distribution of climate models’ simulated precipitation trends shows substantial spatially coherent biases, suggesting that there may be room for further improvement in how climate models are parametrized and used for precipitation estimation. Linear extrapolation of observed trends in long precipitation records may also be useful, particularly for lead times shorter than about 25 years. Overall, our findings suggest that simulations by current global climate models, combined with the continued maintenance of in situ hydrologic observations, can provide useful information on future changes in the hydrologic cycle.
Optimal Monetary Policy under Imperfect Financial Integration

After empirically showing imperfect financial integration among the euro countries, i.e., bank loan market heterogeneities in stickinesses of loan interest rates and markups from policy interest rate to loan rates, we build a New Keynesian model where such elements of imperfect financial integration coexist within a single currency area. Our welfare analysis reveals characteristics of optimal monetary policy. A central bank should take these heterogeneities into consideration. The optimal monetary policy is tied to difference in the degree of loan rate stickiness, the size of the steady-state loan rate markup, and the share of the loan market. By calibrating our model to the euro, we present the raking of the euro countries in terms of monetary policy priority. Because of the heterogeneity in the loan markets among the euro area countries, this ordering is not equivalent to the size of the financial market.
Segmenting the U.S. Travel Market According to Benefits Realized

This research studied the differences between what consumers say they want and what they will actually buy. A segmentation study was conducted based on the benefits derived from travel using a sampling methodology that was not destination-specific. The sampling methodology employed also allows for the findings to be generalizable to the U.S. traveling public. Four market segments are identified — three that are big enough to war rant different marketing strategies — and discussed in detail. Where appropriate, they are compared to the segments identified by previous researchers.
Growth, Expansion of Markets, and Income Elasticities in World Trade

The Houthakker-Magee effect implies that a country facing unfavorable income elasticities in trade must either grow at a slower rate than its trading partners or experience a trend worsening of the current account andsor depreciation of the real exchange rate. Krugman (1989 ) first documented the existence of a "45-degree rule" under which income elasticities are systematically related to growth rates. I develop a model which is a generalization of Krugman (1989 ) in several dimensions (including intertemporal). The intertemporal assumption of equal consumption growth for individuals across countries and the assumption of no intertemporal trade can be viewed as two extreme benchmarks. Empirical tests of the various 45-degree rules suggest that it is misleading to treat income elasticities as structural, as is commonly done in forecasts of current account movements. The data also seem to be more consistent with the benchmark of no intertemporal trade than that of complete intertemporal trade. Copyright © 2008 The Author. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Cerebral blood flow velocity during postural changes on tilt table in stroke patients.

AIM The aim of the study is to investigate the correlation between orthostatic hypotension (OH), mean flow velocity (MFV) as measured by transcranial Doppler (TCD) in middle cerebral artery (MCA) bilaterally during tilt table test (TTT) and functional and neurological parameters in acute ischemic stroke patients, undergoing rehabilitation. METHODS Thirteen patients after first ischemic stroke in the MCA territory and 13 healthy volunteers were examined. TTT was performed with elevating the subject from supine to 80 masculine standing position and back to supine within 10 min. Peripheral blood pressure was measured and monitoring of MFV in MCA of damaged and healthy hemisphere by TCD was performed during the TTT. Patients underwent the test few days after admission to rehabilitation department and were classified into 2 subgroups: those with decrease of systolic blood pressure of at least 20 mm/Hg during the test and those without the OH. RESULTS Among patients without OH, MFV indexes were almost the same in damaged and healthy MCA and did not changed during the test. Patients with OH symptoms showed significant differences between blood flow velocities in 2 hemispheres in favor of nondamaged size. No association was found between the OH and the severity of functional and neurological status after stroke. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the appearance of OH after ischemic stroke may be associated with decreased blood flow velocity in damaged MCA at the beginning of rehabilitation treatment, but not with functional and neurological status of the patient.
Cumulative Exposure to Gamma Interferon‐Dependent Chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10 Correlates with Worse Outcome After Lung Transplant

Outcomes following lung transplant are suboptimal owing to chronic allograft failure termed bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). Prior work in both mice and humans has shown that interferon gamma (IFNG)‐induced chemokines, including CXCL9 and CXCL10, are elevated in patients with established BOS. We hypothesized that patients who ultimately developed BOS would have elevations in these chemokines before losing lung function. We utilized a high throughput multiplex enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure biomarkers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). We modeled cumulative exposure to seven biomarkers (CXCL9, CXCL10, RANTES, IL1‐RA, IL‐17, MCP1 and IL‐13) by calculating the 1‐year area under the curve (AUC) for each biomarker in the BALF of 40 lung transplant patients who had at least four samples obtained in the first year posttransplant. Cumulative elevations in CXCL9 and CXCL10 were associated with a significant risk of subsequent graft failure after transplant (HR 9.37 and 5.52, respectively; p < 0.01 for both). Further these chemokines were also elevated in patients before the onset of BOS. CXCL9 and CXCL10 elevations were seen between 3 and 9 months before graft failure. Our data show that persistent presence of CXCL9 and CXCL10 portents worsening lung allograft function; measuring these IFNG‐induced chemokines might prospectively identify patients at risk for BOS.
Scanning electron microscope imaging in liquids – some data on electron interactions in water

The electron backscattering coefficient of liquid water has been determined for electrons in the energy range 15–30 keV using QuantomixTM capsules. Values of the mean atomic number for water estimated from a fit to the backscatter yield, the mean ionization potential of water and from Monte Carlo simulations, show that the scattering behaviour of water is not anomalous despite the effects of hydrogen bonding. Computations of the electron range, and of the mean depth for backscattering, in water as a function of incident beam energy show that water and vitreous ice are good media for imaging purposes.
Lack of regression of anal squamous intraepithelial lesions despite immune restoration under cART

Background:A high prevalence of anal squamous intraepithelial lesions (ASIL) and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections were observed in HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) in the precART (combined antiretroviral therapy) era. The impact of cART on the natural history of HPV infection and ASIL is poorly documented. Methods:Ninety-four HIV-infected MSM naive of cART were enrolled in a longitudinal study before starting cART. Patients were evaluated for anal cytology, histology and anal HPV DNA at baseline, month 12 and month 24 of cART. HPV DNA genotyping was performed by Linear Array assay. Anal cytologic samples were processed by the Thin Prep method. Results:Analyses included 76 patients with at least two visits with available cytology. The median age was 39.4 years. The median (interquartile range) CD4 cell count was 301 cells/&mgr;l (242–339) at baseline and 545 cells/&mgr;l at month 24, when 93% of patients had plasma HIV–RNA 50 copies/ml or less. An abnormal result was observed in 45 of 76 patients at baseline (59%) with prevalent low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) in 27 patients (36%) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) in seven patients (9%) and in 36 of 69 patients assessed at month 24 (52%) with LSIL in 23 patients (33%) and HSIL in six patients (9%). At month 24, regression of the severity of lesions was observed in 44% of patients, whereas a lesion occurred in 37% of patients. Conclusion:Our results show a high prevalence and incidence of ASIL in HIV-infected MSM despite immune restoration under cART. These data emphasize that HIV-positive MSM although receiving effective cART remain at high risk of anal squamous intra-epithelial lesions.
Key frame extraction using Faber-Shauder wavelet

Key frame extraction methods select the most representative frames of a video, which can be used in different areas of video processing such as video retrieval, video summary, and video indexing. In this paper we present a novel approach for extracting key frames from video sequences. The frame is characterized uniquely by his contours which are represented by the dominant blocks. These dominant blocks are located on the contours and its near textures. When the video frames have a noticeable changement, its dominant blocks changed, then we can extracte a key frame. The dominant blocks ( [1], [2]) of every frame are computed, and then feature vectors are extracted from the dominant blocks image of each frame and arranged in a feature matrix. Singular Value Decomposition is used to calculate sliding windows ranks of those matrices. Finally the computed ranks are traced and then we are able to extract key frames of a video [3]. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is robust against a large range of digital effects used during shot transition.
Military Spending and the Growth‐Maximizing Allocation of Public Capital: A Cross‐Country Empirical Analysis

In this paper we present an endogenous growth model to analyze the growth maximizing allocation of public investment among N different types of public capital. Using this general model of public capital formation, we analyze the stability of the long‐run equilibrium and we derive the growth‐maximizing values of the shares of public investment allocated to the different types of public capital, as well as the growth‐maximizing tax rate (amount of total public investment as a share of GDP). Then we proceed with an empirical investigation of the theoretical implication of the model that both the effects of the shares of public investment and the tax rate on the long‐run growth rate are non‐linear, following an inverse U‐shaped pattern. Using data of public investment in infrastructure and military capital formation, we derive empirical estimations that confirm the theoretical implications of the model.
Absolute photoionization cross sections of the Cs 7D3/2 level measured by use of fluorescence reduction.

Une technique simple de mesure de la section efficace absolue de photoionisation, σ, d'atomes excites, est appliquee au niveau 7D 3/2 dans Cs. Cette technique utilise la mesure simple de la reduction de la fluorescence d'atome excite due a la photoionisation pour trouver σ. On presente des mesures des sections efficaces a 6 energies de photons
The Aggregate Technology And Contractionary Effects: An Empirical Estimation

Two identifying techniques were used to examine the effects on employment (or hours worked) following a technological innovation at the aggregate level in the United Kingdom’s (U.K) economy for the period 1970-2007. In addition, special attention was given to the treatment and/or the definition of hours worked, particularly the debate on level and first differenced hours. Thus, in primarily utilizing the Bank of England dataset, no significant evidence of contractionary effects in the U.K private business economy was found, which contrasts with some recent studies based on the USA post-war II private business economy.
Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism in Manuel Antonio and Texel: A Tourist Perspective

This paper examines tourist perceptions of sustainability in Manuel Antonio/Quepos, Costa Rica and Texel, The Netherlands. It also reviews tourist opinions of site-specific sustainability aspects and assesses differences between tourist types and their perceptions of sustainability. The ecological dimension of sustainability was perceived the most important, followed by social-cultural and economic dimensions. Among tourists to Manuel Antonio/Quepos there was no distinctive difference between the last two dimensions while the economic dimension was far less important among Texel tourists. Loss of local lifestyles and processes of urbanisation were the most serious problems perceived in Manuel Antonio/Quepos. For Texel, a fewrespondents indicated problems such as increase of prices, urbanisation and loss of local lifestyles. Results demonstrate tourist awareness of sustainability issues and that in the long run this awareness might lead to changes in tourist preferences.
Photonic Nanojet Analysis by Spectral Element Method

Although it is known that the spectral element method (SEM) has both high accuracy and a lower computational cost when compared with finite-element or finite-difference methods, the SEM is not widely utilized in the modeling of boundary value problems in electromagnetics. This paper provides a 2-D formulation of the well-known perfectly-matched-layer approach in the context of the SEM for the frequency-domain electromagnetic problems in which dielectric scatterers are involved. The formulation is then utilized to numerically study photonic nanojets after the demonstration of SEM accuracy in an electromagnetic scattering problem. Interesting cases where unusual results are obtained from scattering dielectric cylinders are reported and discussed in this paper. On the other hand, a finite-difference time-domain method that is widely deployed for investigating photonic nanojets is found to fail in successfully capturing such resonance cases. Sharp resonances are characteristic of high-Q cavities and numerical methods with high accuracy, e.g., the SEM can provide superior performance while exploring such resonators.